Little Birds of Brockton Bay

I don't drink, so when I woke up in an alleyway with a pounding head and no idea where I was, I was understandably very confused. Then, a teenage superhero landed on my head while trying to escape from an oversized rage dragon and I figured out I'd been ROBed. I wasn't expecting to start a flock of little birds though...

And we're back! Nothing to say here, so lets get started! Enjoy!

Chapter 10

My wind barrier dispersed as a super strong fist slammed into it, sapping some of its momentum before it slammed into my sword, sending me flying back into and through the door and into the wall on the other side. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting, allowing me to react to the second attack and flip out of the way of the fist that shattered the hardwood window ledge. I winced. Miya was NOT going to be pleased about that.

I quickly pushed the worries about Miya aside for now however as my attacker turned and swung at me again. Her speed had nothing on Karasuba, so I was able to evade it and counter with a powerful swing backed up by a blast of high velocity air, sending her flying back down the hall. The lull in the action also served to allow me to properly register just who was attacking me.

"Wha...Glory Girl?!" I spluttered, "What are...WHOA!"

I ducked as the girl shot at me again and took a swing at my head hard enough that my jaw would probably have been shattered if it made contact.

"Wheres my sister bastard?!" she snarled as she took another swing at me, which I blocked, "I know shes here!"

"Yeah, shes…"

I was cut off as I felt Glory Girls Aura slam into me, making me take a step back. Surprisingly, it didn't actually affect me that much. I could feel it like a weight pressing down on me and there was definitely an increase in intimidation, but it didn't reduce me to a gibbering wreck, so that was nice. Still, I probably ought to stop her before she does anything to make Miya mad...er.

"Calm down Glory Girl!" I shouted, "Amy is…"

"Don't you tell me to calm down creep!" she snapped, "I don't know what you did to my Sister, but I'm gonna stop you!"

My eye twitched. She wasn't listening to me at all. I was starting to wonder if something other than just overprotectiveness and misunderstanding was at play here, but that could wait until after I stopped her from annoying the most dangerous woman in the country. I took a deep breath and focused, drawing more wind around my sword as my body instinctively shifted into a new stance. I ignored Glory Girl as she took off, shooting down the hall towards me as I felt my power twist inside me.

"Martial Art: Ts…"

I was cut off as a sensation of dread washed over me. The momentary distraction was enough for Victoria to close the distance and take a swing at me, forcing me to sidestep to avoid taking a bone breaking punch to the ribs. I turned to keep the girl in sight, only to freeze when I saw a vision of pure terror who had just appeared in the hall. Glory Girl stopped in mid air and spun, clearly intending to make another attack, but before she could, the gleaming blade of a sword appeared next to her left eye and a purple demon mask with blood leaking from the eyes appeared directly in front of her. She, quite reasonably, froze in complete horror.

"My my, this is quite the commotion," said Miya, her voice eerily calm, "Would one of you care to explain just what is going on?"

"Ahh, Glory Girl's apparently jumped to conclusions and apparently thought I'd kidnapped Amy or something," I said quickly.

I quickly regretted it as Miya turned her smile on me, although thankfully the mask remained focused on Glory Girl, who looked like she was going to pass out she was so pale.

"I see," said Miya, turning her attention back to Glory Girl, "Miss Dallon, you are aware that breaking and entering is a crime, correct?"

That seemed to snap Glory Girl out of her fear induced trance and she gritted her teeth.

"Who do you…"

She turned to punch Miya, but was cut off as the Number 1 flicked the New Wave Brute in the forehead and sent her flying down the hall with enough force to create a small windstorm. To my suprise, Victoria started getting to her feet, although she looked a little unsteady and had a red mark on her head where Miya had hit her. However, before she could do anything else stupid, the walls came alive and sprouted new branches that quickly wrapped around Victoria, blinding her in place.

"Vicky, thats enough!" shouted Amy as she stepped out from behind me.

Victoria immediately stopped struggling and stared at her sister, apparently rather surprised that she was here.

"Wha...Amy? But I thought…"

"What? That I'd been kidnapped or something?" growled my second Sekirei, "And you thought the best way to deal with that was to smash through the window of a private residence and punch the first person you saw? As opposed to, I don't know, CALLING ME FIRST?!"

She brandished her mobile under her sisters nose.

"But I…"

"We have code words and phrases for just that sort of situation!" shouted Amy, cutting across her sister, "Not only that, but you blew straight past me in your haste to attack Lucas!"

Victoria looked between her sister, a now slightly calmer Miya and me for a moment, before her gaze fell on my sword.

"Wait, I know you!" she gasped, "Your Vergil!"

"Lucas out of costume," I said.

She scowled.

"What have you done to my sister?" she growled, "Shes been acting weird ever since she met you!"

"Oh for...Lucas hasn't done anything but help me!" snarled Amy, "The reason I've been acting so strange is because of you and your Aura!"

There was a moments silence as everyone stared at the panting Healer.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I put it together from what Miya told me about Winged Sekirei being immune to Masters and the fact that I always felt like shit after exposure to Vicky's Aura," said Amy, "I didn't want to accept it, but now that my minds no longer under the effect of it, its a lot easier to see. I've been...addicted to it for the past two years and it was only when I started Reacting to you that I really started fighting it."

"Huh...glad to be of assistance I guess," I said.

"Not really, it hurt," grumbled Amy.

"Wait wait, hold up," said Victoria, "How can my Aura have done anything to you? Family members are immune!"

"Yes, blood family members are immune," said Amy, "But in case you forgot, I'm NOT a blood family member. The only reason I ever seemed to have an immunity to it was because I was already completely pickled on it to the point that I thought I was in love with you!"

By the end of her rant, Amy was shouting, Glory Girl was pale and Miya was looking annoyed. The purple haired Sekirei quickly moved forwards and hugged Amy as the younger Sekirei burst into tears.

"Lucas, take Miss Dallon downstairs," she said, "I think we should discuss this now and clear the air."

She looked at Victoria and frowned.

"Miss Dallon, you need to learn control and quickly," she said, "I know of your reputation and I can see it was well earnt. You have no idea how to control your strength and sooner or later, that WILL get someone killed. Any one of those punches could have easily killed Lucas, had it hit him dead on and its apparent that your Aura is much more dangerous than was believed. I will be calling your Parents to tell them what happened here and requesting that they come and pick you up."

She swung her sword as she turned away and guided Amy in the direction of the bathroom with Taylor hurrying after them.

"Hey wait, are you just going to…" started Victoria, before her wooden bonds fell away, leaving surprisingly smooth cuts, "Wha…"

"And that is why you don't annoy the Hannya of the North," I said as I placed my sword back in my bedroom, "Come on."

"H-how did she do that?" asked Victoria as she followed me downstairs, "Some kind of wind power?"

"Nope, that was pure force," I said.

"Your joking."

"Not in the slightest," I said, "Miya is easily the strongest person in the City, if not the whole country, and I'm including the Triumvirate in that. She might act like a demure landlady, but shes the reason that the Gangs avoid the north."

I paused and looked back at Victoria, noting the look of disbelief on her face.

"Have you ever heard of Izanami?" I asked.

"You mean the woman who founded the Guild?" asked Vicky, "What about her?"

"She was named after Izanami no Mikoto, the Shinto Goddess of Creation and Death," I said, "And she was more than capable of living up to that name. She killed the Siberian, who was supposed to be completely invulnerable, and was the one primarily responsible for the destruction of Ellisburg. Shes been called a Human Endbringer and for bloody good reason. When she draws her sword with the intent to use it, its best to take cover and pray your not in the line of fire. Shes retired now of course, but her skills and power have not dulled in the slightest."

Victoria frowned.

"Whats she got to do with anything?" she asked.

I just pointed up the stairs. Victoria looked confused for a moment, before her eyes widened in shock.

"You mean…"

"Yep, Miya Asama is, or rather was, Izanami," I said, "In short, we're about to have tea with Cthulhu. Please don't do anything to piss her off."

Victoria gulped and nodded slowly as she followed me the rest of the way downstairs and into the sitting room where Riley was sat at the table with a large sketchbook she was scribbling in with her tongue sticking out her mouth. As we entered, the little blonde looked up and smiled.

"Hi Luke," she said.

"Sup shrimp," I said as I walked over and ruffled her hair.

She responded by pouting and elbowing me in the stomach. I just snickered.

"Do you know what made Mama have to go?" she asked.

"Yes, apparently Glory Girl found out Amy was here, jumped to conclusions again and decided to drop by to get her," I said, "Right through my window."

Riley blinked and looked over at where the older blonde was stood in the door.

"That was dumb," she said.

I snorted as Victoria went red.

"Nicely put Riley," said Kagari as he entered with a steaming cup in his hands, "You should listen to the kid Glory Girl, it'll keep you from getting into trouble."

He nodded to me and brushed past Glory Girl on his way back upstairs.

"What exactly is this place?" asked Victoria as she got her blush under control, "You don't look related."

"Its a boarding house," I said as I led the way through to the front room and dropped onto the sofa.

Victoria frowned.

"Why are you living here?" she asked, "You don't look older than me, so…"

I scowled.

"I don't have anywhere to go," I said.

Fortunately, Victoria apparently caught enough from my expression not to ask and simply sat down on the very edge of an armchairs seat as an awkward silence fell over the room.

Fortunately, we weren't waiting long. After about ten minutes, Miya came into the room, followed by Taylor and a slightly red eyed Amy.

"Your Parents are on their way," said Miya as Amy and Taylor joined me, the former not looking at her sister, "Your Mother didn't sound happy."

"Alright," said Victoria, looking a bit nervous, although whether that was because of the revelation of Miya's former identity or the idea of her Mother being angry with her I don't know.

"However, before they arrive, its important that the two of you clear the air about the issues caused by Miss Dallons Aura," said Miya, "While it is serious, it was also unintentional and unknown and it would be a shame to see the two of you grow apart because of it."

"I don't get it," said Victoria, "I've been through power testing and they said that the effects of my Aura faded relatively quickly. How could Amy have been affected that badly by it?"

"I can think of a few reasons," I said, "One, the testers were only exposed for a short time whereas Amy has been under near-constant exposure since you Triggered, two, they were adults and thus had fully developed brains while Amy was still young and developing and three, she already thought the world of you due to you being a genuinely good older sister. Combine all of those together and its not surprising she ended up addicted to it. I bet that the people you spend a lot of time with at school also exhibit mild symptoms as well."

Victoria went pale and swallowed.

"Your Aura is a powerful and useful tool," said Miya, "However, you NEED to be able to control it."

"I-I know that," said Victoria, "I've been told it over and over and I've tried, but its incredibly hard to keep it suppressed. I-I never realized it had lasting effects, so I...oh god!"

She bent forwards, vomited into the bucket that was handily provided by Miya and burst into tears. I nudged Amy and indicated to her sister. She glanced at me, before taking a deep breath and moving over to her sisters seat. Immediately, the blonde latched onto Amy and started sobbing apologies as Amy hugged her back.

Miya nodded, apparently pleased, and stood, indicating for Taylor and I to follow her out of the room.

"Let them have some time," she said quietly.

Taylor and I nodded as Miya cocked her head and frowned slightly.

"You kids go entertain yourselves," she said, "I think I've got a rather difficult conversation to have."

She headed for the door and opened it at the exact same time that the doorbell went, revealing a rather miffed looking Carol Dallon.

"Good evening Mrs Dallon, thank you for coming," said Miya.

"Where are Amy and my Daughter?" asked Carol shortly.

I frowned as I felt Taylor shift slightly beside me and a flair of surprised anger came across the bond. Yeah, she didn't miss the obvious dismissal of Amy as one of Carols children and, from the way Miya's fingers briefly tightened on the doorframe, neither did she.

"They are in the front room," said Miya, indicating to the door to said room, "However, before you…"

She was cut off as Carol rudely pushed past her and marched into the house, pushing past Taylor and I with barely a look as she shoved the door open and marched inside. Miya slowly shut the door and I could see that her shoulders were rather tight.

"Lucas, get Riley and take her upstairs," she said, "I have a feeling that this discussion may get violent and I don't want her to get caught in the crossfire."

I swallowed and nodded. Miya was angry and not the type of angry where she'd break out the Mask or even the anger that brought out the Number 1 Sekirei. No, this was the anger of a Mother who's child was placed in danger. Regardless of her joking comments about being more of an older sister, the fact remained that, as the Pillar, she had personally birthed every single one of the Sekirei. While she'd happily allow any one of her Little Birds to follow their own paths, regardless of whether that brought them into conflict, there were still things that brought her maternal side to the fore and I had no doubt that Carol Dallon was about to discover just how dangerous that could be.

I took a step to the side as Miya followed Carol into the front room, before sharing a worried glance with Taylor.

"I really hope this won't devolve into a fight," I said.

"Me to," said Taylor, "But just in case, lets go take cover."

I nodded and we headed to collect Riley to get her out of the potential line of fire.

Amy had just managed to get Vicky to stop crying, although the blonde was clearly still upset, when the door suddenly slammed open and Carol stormed in with a dark expression on her face which only darkened when she saw the state Vicky was in. Amy swallowed and braced herself. This would likely be rather unpleasant.

"What happened?" asked Carol, not even glancing at Amy as she crossed the room and looked Vicky over, "Are you hurt?"

Vicky shook her head as she dried her eyes with a tissue pulled from a box on the side.

"No, just…" she took a deep breath, "I had some rather uncomfortable truths thrown at me."

Carol frowned.

"What truths?" she asked.

Vicky took a deep breath and flinched.

"Apparently, my Auras addictive," she said, "Amy's been getting blasted with it for years and it...didn't do her any good."

"We don't know for sure if anyone else has been negatively affected by her Aura," said Amy, "It could have just been because of my close proximity and young age, but its still something that…"

"What kind of negative affects?" asked Carol, cutting her off.

Amy frowned slightly. This...probably wouldn't end well, but she wasn't about to lie.

"It basically made me love Vicky," she said, "Well, maybe loves the wrong word…"

She trailed off as Carols expression went from suppressed anger to surprised disgust, then flipped right back to anger as she looked over the sisters and the way Vicky was clinging to Amys side.

"What have you done?" hissed Carol.

"I...what?" she asked, "What do you…"

"I don't know what your thinking, but it stops now," snapped Carol, "The PRT…"

"The PRT were wrong!" snapped Vicky, suddenly shooting to her feet, "And Amy hasn't done anything but help me calm down! I happened to be a little upset that I've basically been...MASTERING my own sister for years!"

Carol stared at Vicky for a moment, before turning a glare on Amy.

"I see, so thats your plan," she hissed, "After all this time, after everything we've done for you,you've been working to turn my Daughter against me!"

The two younger Dallon women exchanged a look of confusion and dawning horror.

"No Mom, thats not…"

"Be quiet Victoria," snapped Carol, not taking her eyes of Amy, "I knew taking you in was a mistake! I hoped that I'd be wrong, but now I see that your Fathers influence is too strong…"

"ENOUGH!"

Miya had entered the room just in time to hear the last statement and even an idiot could see that she was pissed.

"Mrs Dallon, that was both uncalled for and completely unfair!" she said, her voice carefully level and cold as ice, "You know as well as anyone else that the entire idea of a 'bad seed' is utterly unsubstantiated and, more to the point, you should know that Amy is about as far from being a Villain as can be, regardless of who her father may or may not be. She is a kind, good hearted and strong girl who anyone would be proud to call their Daughter and who you are happy to toss aside, simply because of who raised her for the first few years of her life. Shame on you Carol Dallon, shame on you."

Amy blushed at the simple complement despite herself. It had been a very long time since anyone but Vicky had said something like that about her. Oh, there were plenty of compliments and kind words from grateful patents, but they were always directed at Panacea, not Amy. It was...nice.

Carol was less pleased however.

"How dare you…" she started, before she was cut off as a huge weight suddenly settled over the room.

"How dare I?" hissed Miya, now so angry that her power was starting to leak out in a faint purple aura that made her hair float and her eyes glow faintly, "I called you to inform you of your Daughters little mishap with my window and you respond by barging into my home and berating my guest and accusing her of all manner of erroneous things."

She reigned in her power and shook her head.

"I'm disappointed. I thought an experienced Hero would know better."

She shook her head again and pointed at the door.

"Get out. Victoria and Amy may stay, but I want you gone."

Carol stared at the Number 1 for a moment, before scowling and stalking towards the door.

"Come on Victoria, we're leaving," she growled.

Vicky scowled.

"If you think I'm going home with you after that, your dreaming!" she snarled.

Carol jerked back in shock and stared at her Daughter in disbelief as Vicky sat back down and hugged Amy again. Carol stared at the two for a moment longer, then glanced at Miya and, with a stiff nod, left the room. A moment later, there was the sound of the front door opening and closing, followed by a car door slamming and said car driving away. With Carol gone, the tension in the room faded.

Vicky sighed and gave her sister a squeeze.

"I'm sorry for that," she muttered.

Amy snorted.

"What are you apologizing for?" she asked, "You didn't say any of that. In a way, I'm kinda glad. Its nice to finally know how she really feels."

Vicky winced. She couldn't refute that, no matter how much she wanted. She also couldn't stay, regardless of how much her sister needed her. After all of the revelations, she desperately needed some time to think and someone to talk to, preferably someone whos window she hadn't broken in what had to be her most stupid move yet.

She sighed and looked up at Miya

"I'm sorry for the damage I caused," she said, "I'll pay you for the repairs when I get the chance."

Miya nodded as Vicky turned to Amy.

"Amy, I'm sorry but I...I need to go," she said.

Amy's head snapped up and Vicky caught the panicked look on her face. She quickly hugged her sister again.

"I'm not leaving you Ames," she said, "I...I just need some time to think all of this through, talk to Aunt Sarah about it all."

Amy relaxed against her and nodded.

"Alright, I understand," she said, "I'll...I'll be alright here. If thats OK Miya?"

Miya smiled and nodded.

"Of course it is dear," she said, "I'll never turn away someone in need."

She looked at Vicky and frowned.

"I'm not pleased with your actions tonight, but I understand that they were well intended," she said, "You are welcome to drop by when you want, but please use the front door."

Vicky blushed and nodded. She gave Amy one last squeeze and stood.

"I'd better go," she said, "I want to get to Aunt Sarahs before they go to bed."

She nodded to Miya and followed her Mother out of the house. Once she was gone, Amy took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," said Miya.

Amy gave a watery smile and shook her head.

"Not your fault," she said, "I just…"

She took a shuddering breath.

"Thank you for letting me stay," she said instead of finishing her thought.

Miya smiled.

"As I said, I don't turn people in need away," she said, "Especially not when their my Little Birds."

Amy smiled back weakly. She took another deep breath and stood.

"I need to…"

Miya just nodded and shooed her out of the room. Amy made her way upstairs, subconsciously following the bond back to Lucas room. She opened the door to find her...Ashikabi and Taylor talking quietly. They fell silent as she entered and turned to her. She didn't say anything, just crossed the room and hugged Lucas tightly as the tears she'd been holding back began to flow. She'd have time to think everything over later, for now, she was done with today.

And thats done. I have to say, as much as I enjoyed writing it, this was a lot harder than I expected. I'm not entirely happy with the whole confrontation between the Dallon ladies, but most of the time on this was spent figuring out how to get it done. I really hope I didn't go to far with Carol.

So, a short but intense fight, followed by a pissed of Miya interrupt scaring everyone involved shitless. Pretty much what everyone expected.

I bet they weren't expecting Miya to go full Mama Bear though. Actually, thats probably not that unexpected.

I really don't think its that unlikely that Miya would take a Japanese name and its not like she doesn't deserve to be named after a Goddess. I dare say that we'll get to see her break that persona out again eventually.

I...don't really have anything else to say here. I know that this has been another 'talky' chapter, but we should be getting back to the action next time as Bakuda steps up her game. Should be...interesting to say the least.

Until then however, don't forget to leave a review!