I know a lot of you wanted me to update HIDragon. I really should have, but I've been slammed with several issues IRL. Keeping lights on, working things out with family, moving states and jobs, etc. I don't know when I'll update next or for which story, but if you don't hear from me, assume I've got something in the works.

I'll do you guys the courtesy of writing a note in the event something happens and I can't continue any of my stories. Not that I expect that to happen, just something to disprove the naysayers out there.

Yes, I should have mentioned before, but this story technically starts pre-canon. A year at most, half a year at least, but not enough to make a big deal of it. Thanks to you who asked! His age and the timing of it all is coming together bit by bit.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei. I only own my work, this interpretation/AU of canon events.

Love at First Sight

Chapter 3: she learned more about him

Uzume stepped out of her room, 203, and yawned softly. She'd spent the last several hours reading through Matsu's loaned materials and had gotten a crash-course on as much as she could in caring for and living with a blind individual. She hadn't left her room since, but she needed the toilet and a glass of water before turning in for the night.

Relieving herself, Uzume washed up and moved to the staircase, intent on that drink when she heard voices from downstairs. Both women, so that ruled out Homura, besides he worked all night anyway, and Matsu rarely ventured out of her own room save for baths and meals. So who was here?

"You don't usually call Miya, let alone invite me for tea. I know something's up."

"Your son is now an Ashikabi. Congratulations."

The woman Uzume could only guess to be Sahashi Takami spat out her tea and coughed, violently reacting to the news. For a brief moment, Uzume thought about introducing herself to the mother-in-law but thought better of it, remaining where she was to hear the conversation stemming from the living room.

"How… when… who…"

"A chance encounter near Tokyo U, this afternoon, and to Uzume," Miya calmly answered each truncated query.

"I… I have to make a call," Takami reached for her cell.

"To your son? To offer your congratulations? Or to properly inform him of their union? Minaka did not make any call to him to inform him of the Sekirei Plan, and Uzume has decided to handle her relationship delicately. Perhaps you'd like to be the one to explain?"

'No! Don't do that, Sahashi-sensei! I want to be the one!'

Takami shook her head. "No, to the university, I need them to withhold~"

'Withhold!? Why would~'

"His test scores? He did quite well, both he and Yukari-chan seemed excited. Third overall, if I remember right." Miya took a sip of her brew. "I believe they'd be heartbroken if he learned his acceptance was nothing but a 'tragic clerical error'."

The other woman winced but didn't set her phone down. "Third, you say?"

"On the standardized questions pre-prepared for his condition. Matsu looked it up, he was monitored fairly and passed with flying colors. The few questions he erred upon had nothing to do with his condition, further impressing the proctors." Another sip. "You were unaware."

It wasn't a question.

Uzume took some pleasure in that she knew that tidbit earliest, second only to Yukari.

"When was the last time you talked to your son."

Takami sighed and set aside her phone. "Over the phone, three months ago. Face to face," she held hers in her hands. "A lot longer."

Putting aside that she didn't give an exact date or time, Miya sighed to express her disappointment. "You've changed, and not for the better."

"I hoped to keep him out of the city during Minaka's game. And I really don't know how I can get any worse in his view. If he finds out that I'm part of the plan then I can kiss goodbye any chance of reconciling with him."

"Minato is rather perceptive. Though he doesn't know Uzume isn't human, I imagine he'll learn quickly. He'll learn about your connection to MBI then."

"He already knows."

Miya elegantly raised an eyebrow for an explanation.

"He knows I work for MBI. He has for years, though not exactly what I do specifically." Takami sighed and held her head in her hands. "My mother sent me a video presentation he did on Parents' Day. I missed it, but he didn't mind, proudly telling everyone that I was busy working for MBI and had tons of responsibilities. Every kid had a parent there, except him."

Miya didn't say anything. Takami's guilt for mishandling her familial relationship was clear to see, her opinion on that matter would help no one at the moment.

Uzume didn't say anything, too invested in learning more about her special person.

"I managed to make Yukari's turn in her year a surprise, and he calmly accepted it, smiling up at me," Takami groused. "Two weeks later, there was the accident, and he lost his sight. We haven't been on good terms since."

"One accident is hardly enough to break what you had~"

"It was an MBI tanker."

Miya's eyes widened, as did Uzume's while hidden from where she was.

"The road was icy. The truck skidded as it was going through town, enough to flip. The tank ruptured." Takami looked up and Miya could see the regret painfully etched on her face. "The MBI logo was the last thing he saw before getting doused with the contents. And he was the only one affected."

Uzume had to clap both hands over her mouth to keep from making any noise. Suddenly, explaining to Minato that she was practically grown and raised by MBI was becoming a less and less attractive option.

"He's smart enough to know I'm not directly responsible for the accident. And I don't think he blames me for working at MBI to begin with, but me continuing to work there raised a wall between us, despite my efforts to work it out."

"You could have resigned from MBI, as I did."

"And leave the Sekirei completely under Minaka's mercy? I couldn't do that."

Uzume wasn't the brightest girl in town, but even she knew that the director wasn't quite right. It was why she hadn't needed much convincing to help Matsu in her heist and getaway.

"A difficult choice to make indeed, and yet you still chose the Sekirei over your own son."

"I've done everything I can to be there for him without cutting ties to MBI," Takami gave the Pillar an agonized look. "I've been trying to make up for being a shitty parent and bless her heart, Yukari tries to be the bridge between us but Minato silently shuts me out."

"Then I would think that supporting him would be in your best interests?" Miya took another sip. "After all, despite our respective views for the game and this city's near future, there is an opportunity to letting him study here."

"And why's that," the mother snapped.

"Well, there's the game to consider. The winning Sekirei would remain with their Ashikabi forever and become the rightful holder of the eight Jinki and all that entails. For all Minaka's prattle about the "Age of the Gods", he isn't wrong about their power."

"Power won't bring Minato any happiness."

"Power can be quite blinding, true," the Pillar agreed. "But your son doesn't seem the type to be swayed by it, and the Jinki may be a viable cure for him."

"Ridiculous, I've exhausted all other options and even the Jinki can't restore..."

"I think you are too quick to define their limits."

There was a brief pause, as both Takami and Uzume considered the heavy implications. "...You're being serious."

"The Jinki are vessels of world-ending power, but in the hands of one who would wish to heal they are still rather effective."

"Minato wasn't blinded with gasoline, he got a face-full of fuel from your crashed ship! We're no closer to understanding the effects it could have had on him than we were on day one!"

"Then all the better, the Jinki would be more effective against something originating from the same world, wouldn't you think? I am no engineer or doctor even among my kind and couldn't tell you of the effects of exposure, but I'm confident that the Jinki would be a solution."

Takami was stunned into silence, so Miya continued. "Assuming that you did somehow interfere and keep Minato away, that would leave Uzume to fight alone. Of course, she is smart and skilled enough to last until the end, but without love growing between the two of them, she will eventually reach her limit. And he would go on, never truly knowing what cherished one he had lost. On the other hand, if he accepts my offer for boarding here, then I imagine they will both grow for the better. Perhaps in time, that love will heal him and he'll reach to you again."

"Miya..."

"Society might politely disdain certain disabilities, but I promise he'd receive no unfair treatment while under my roof. I'm also aware that generally the blind are more showing of their affection, meaning that any Sekirei that reciprocates his feelings would be a perfect match. So why do you drag your heels in this matter?"

"I don't want my kids in the city while the game is going on."

"Understandable, but I don't believe that choice is entirely up to you."

"It's almost like you're in his corner."

Miya tapped her chin in thought. "Perhaps in this way. It might be unfair of me to meddle in the affairs of others, but given the circumstances, a little push in the right direction wouldn't be remiss. After all, it was my husband's policy to never turn away those in need. And if you'll forgive me saying it, Minato may need more help than most."

Uzume made a note to ask Matsu for recordings on this evening but was distracted at the next words. "How would he even afford living here? I know your rule on MBI cards."

"If Uzume hasn't given him the one lent to her, then I don't see how that would be an issue."

"Your policy is less about the cards and more for the origin of their funding. You understand that any money Minato has saved would be from damages paid by MBI, and I won't support his finances if he chooses to stay when the Game starts officially."

Miya hadn't seemed to consider that, and neither had Uzume for that matter. Duh, accidents and injuries meant paying out cash in most businesses, but would that be enough? Miya hated MBI with a passion, would she turn Minato away for using their money? And what kind of mother wouldn't support her son!

"I suppose that will be a subject for me to discuss with Minato should he accept my offer." Miya acquiesced and from her tone, it seemed that she would say no more on that subject.

"Figures," Takami scoffed before finishing her tea and setting aside the cup. "If he has any trouble, would you please… please let me know."

Unsaid was the high certainty that Minato may not be inclined to.

"I will," Miya nodded politely, and that seemed to be enough for Takami.

"Thank you, for the tea and talk," The vice-director left the living room, took her coat and keys and left without another word.

Only after she had left the gate did Uzume dare to come downstairs.

"It is rude to eavesdrop, Uzume."

"Says the landlady with the peeping, rubber ducky mic named Duck-san."

Miya had no dignified response to that, so instead changed the point of the conversation. "I imagine Minato will make a call here in the next few days to accept my terms. If I were you, I'd take the time between now and then to continue your own studies and determine what kind of relationship you want with him."

"I'm not even sure now." Uzume stepped into the kitchen to retrieve that drink she'd wanted, suddenly bemoaning the house's liquor situation.

Miya kept all alcohol under lock and key, allegedly to ward off bottle fairies. Whatever on earth that meant. It certainly didn't help her with tonight's revelations.

"I do want to get to know him. Be a big part of his life. Love him for sure." Uzume finished her water and set the cup down. "Maybe, he might even love me too."

"I understand why you hesitated. Love certainly makes us do strange things, and perhaps it drove you to alleviate some future pain for yourself and for him. To hide a future feeling of loss. But a relation built on lies even until they become a truth; those will ache all the more when the foundation breaks. Minato hardly deserves to be hurt again. Think on that."

Miya took her tea set, Uzume's glass, and some odd dishes back to the kitchen where the sounds of running water and washing began quietly. That left the Tenth to rub her eyes in discomfort and distress.

"How the fuck am I gonna make this work?" she muttered under her breath as she headed back upstairs.

And thus, wraps up the intro segments of this story. Not bad for a few words written here and there on Ubers, bus rides, and waiting room times, which have sadly been the freest time I've had to write lately.

I really want to get into this story, especially since I feel Sekirei may be a bit more manageable than writing DxD and all its many complex characters; especially since I'm starting from my own concept and controlling the rate of character intro and development (Rather than introducing a whole peerage at once). That, and there are no Artemis shippers here. Small things like that make my day.

But I feel HIDragon has been neglected long enough. Can't promise it'll be the next thing I update or even give a deadline, but I am working on the next chapter. Hopefully, it's the last hurdle and I can finish that damn arc and move on with the rest of it.

Until then!

Updated: 5-21-19