Warning: This fic will contain OCs, both ashikabi and sekirei.

Don't know what ashikabi and sekirei are? Don't worry about it. I do my best to explain the important things as I go.

This fic starts a little over a month before the Sekirei manga does in canon.

Note: a '. . .' indicates either a scene change, a POV change, or both.

I Hate Running

She ran through the streets of Tokyo, her small body carrying her as fast as she could make it go. She had been running for a while, her hair was a mess, and her breaths were becoming painful from sucking in the cold air. A few people tried to stop her and ask what was wrong, but she wouldn't stop.

"How dare they try and do something like that? I'll figure things out for myself!" she ranted in her head. She felt like the thought had gone through her mind a thousand times already. She just kept running and running, and her mind just played the same, angry lines through her head over and over.

She felt like she must have been running for hours. Finally, she had to stop. She looked up and grit her teeth at the sight of a tall building looming over the cityscape. It was as if she hadn't run away at all. She'd hoped to get far enough away that she wouldn't be able to see it standing there like a hateful obelisk staring back at her. Hell, she'd been running so long; who was to say she hadn't gone in circles? She stumbled into an alley where the close quarters would block her view of the hated building. She leaned against the cool stone of the wall and waited for her heart and breathing to slow.

She decided it was a bad idea a minute later. Now she just felt tired and hungry. No, she should keep running for now, if only to stay awake. That way at least she'd be able to keep her mind partly occupied, even if it was only to focus on the pain of pushing herself so hard. With that she stepped back out of the chilly, shadowed alley and into the mid-day sun that promised more heat than it actually gave in that season. She turned away from the tall building and resumed running, hoping soon it would no longer be over her shoulder every time she glanced back.

. . .

In the more suburban area of Tokyo, one house was getting a bit loud. It was an occurrence that happened about twice a week. The neighbors could practically set their watches by it at this point.

"Boy, don't walk away from me! My patience is wearing thin!" a man shouted. A moment later the front door of the house in question swung open.

"Love you too, father," a young man responded tiredly as he exited. He had blond hair down to his shoulders and blue eyes. His left eye however had sectoral heterochromia and about a quarter of it was a reddish brown. In the past he'd complained that he hadn't gotten something better, like green, as he'd found the brown ugly. Now though, he just ignored it for the most part. He was also tall, merely a half inch away from being over six feet.

"Wait, Madoka!" a woman called out. His mother.

"Sorry, mother," the young man, Madoka, replied. He continued out the door, shutting it behind him. He knew his parents would argue now, but he didn't want to deal with it. He was sick of it all. He only visited for his mother's sake. He wouldn't say he hated his father, but he couldn't recall having a friendly conversation with the man within the last five, maybe more, years.

He couldn't stay longer and work through his family issues now, regardless of his utter lack of any desire to do so. Unfortunately, he had a job. Why unfortunate? Because getting from his parent's home to his job took too long and he'd likely be late. Again. He took the time out of his day to visit his family and all he ever felt he got was a bad taste in his mouth and a dirty look from his employer. There wasn't anything he could do about it now except get moving though.

He began to cross the street only to find that, a moment later, a car that was breaking the speed limit was careening towards him. It swerved at the last minute, though not before nearly giving him a heart attack, and slowed down. Apparently it wasn't out of concern, however.

"WATCH IT, ASSHOLE!" the driver took the time to yell and throw an empty can out of the window and at his head. It missed, but a few drops of the liquid still spilled onto his shirt as it bounced off his chest. The car then sped off.

Madoka sighed. "Ugh... I'm gonna kill myself... I'm gonna kill myself... I'm gonna kill myself..." he muttered repeatedly under his breath. Lips pursed tightly in frustration, he continued on his way to work, contemplating the least painful method of suicide as he went.

Eventually his contemplation ended and he just shook his head. His life may have been terribly mediocre with the occasional extra rough patch thrown in, but he'd manage. Probably. He arrived at his job of stocking shelves at a small convenience store about 20 minutes after the incident with the speeding driver. It was bigger than what one might find at a gas station, but not as big as a department or grocery store.

"You're late. Again," his boss said harshly. His voice was naturally a higher pitch which made it easy for him to speak in a tone which would hurt one's ears. He then leaned close to Madoka and sniffed him. "Alcohol. You've been drinking?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Apparently, he had almost been hit by a drunk driver instead of simply a bad one.

"No. Someone threw a can at me." Madoka shrugged nonchalantly. "Apparently, I offended them when I interrupted their drunk driving." Fortunately, he must have looked lucid enough that his boss decided not to press the matter.

"Get in uniform, you're still late!" The man impatiently motioned for him to get moving. His uniform was actually just a red apron with the store's logo and a name-tag, so it didn't take him long to get to work. An hour later, Madoka was stacking cans on the shelves.

He figured half the reason he still had a job was because of how meticulous he was. He sometimes wondered if he had OCD since he could never leave an aisle until everything was perfect. Thankfully, he was also fast so perfection didn't take long. The counterbalance to his work ethic was his temper. He had a lot of repressed anger on a good day. Today was not a good day.

"Sir. Remove that from your coat," Madoka said halfheartedly to a customer who thought he was being sneaky. He got no response and the man simply tried to walk away. Madoka clenched his fists and followed him. "I know you heard me..." he growled. The man walked faster. Oh, he'd heard him. "That's it." He chuckled darkly before smirking a little. This might actually feel good.

Madoka quickly caught up to the man, who'd been on his way to the exit, and grabbed his shoulder.

"Sir, let me escort you to the exit," Madoka said and then quickly tore the soon to be stolen item away from the shoplifter.

. . .

Outside, the air was crisp and the sky was clear. It was a nice day if one could get past the slight chill.

"AND DON'T COME BACK, YOU SHOPLIFTING BASTARD!" A man suddenly flew out of a convenience store and tumbled across the sidewalk into the street. He quickly got up, whimpering in terror, before running as fast as he could.

. . .

Back in the convenience store, all the customers had turned to stare at Madoka. Well, he had just picked up another man and thrown him out of the establishment. He supposed it wasn't something they saw every day. One or two clapped quietly while the rest quickly looked away to finish their business there. The one thing on none of their minds was stealing.

"Madoka," he heard his boss sigh behind him. "I'm warning you! You're going to scare away customers! We have security cameras, I don't need you attacking thieves! This is the third time I'm telling you this!" A moment later he heard the door open as a new customer walked in.

"Right... sorry." Madoka shook his head. He was sure his boss was a little miffed to have someone walk in right as he suggested Madoka was scaring off customers. It certainly weakened his argument.

"Just stop attacking customers who steal! It's too much! You might be arrested instead!" The man finished his rant and walked off to the back of the store.

. . .

"And stop attacking customers who steal!" The words ran through her head. Damn, damn, damn! This was the worst place she could have walked into. She'd had a card for expenses, but in the end looking at it had made her too angry and she'd tossed it away. However, now she was worried about causing a commotion if she got caught stealing because she had no money! She could just leave, but she was starving and it wasn't like going somewhere else would magically cause her to be able to pay for anything. No, she'd be stealing no matter where she went. She might as well just get it over with.

"Hey, you need something?" She nearly jumped out of her skin. In her indecision she'd just been standing there blankly which had drawn the attention of the angry man who supposedly attacked people.

"No! No, no, no!" She shook her head rapidly. "Wait, yes. Uh... food!" What the hell was her problem? It wasn't like he was going to hurt her. Not that he even could if he tried. Then again as tired, hungry, and a little cold as she was, maybe he could.

"Can you be more specific?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Anything is fine. I'm hungry," she spoke more confidently now.

"Well 'anything' includes things you need to cook. If you're hungry now, then you might not want that." He wasn't being very polite, but he was clearly in a very bad mood. She could sympathize.

"Well, err, what do you have?" she asked as if expecting him to list things off one by one for her.

"Miss, this isn't a restaurant. Just... ugh, I have to stock those shelves anyway. Whatever, follow me," he grumbled and walked off, not seeming to care if she followed him. For a moment she was pleased that she was getting her way. Then dismay struck her when she remembered that she couldn't pay for anything and now he'd be watching her if she tried to steal.

"DAMMIT!" she screamed in her head, but followed him anyway. Once in an aisle, the young man set down a box and began stocking a shelf. He must have known the place by heart because he began listing things off without even looking.

"Meal replacement bars are on the right. Energy bars are below them..." He went on to name more, but all she heard in her mind was a list of stolen goods; or at least they would be if she decided to take them. She considered stealing money from another customer, but she had no idea if she'd make a good pickpocket and figured she'd likely be caught anyway. She was starting to not feel so good. She felt herself growing extremely hot, and her running must have been catching up with her because her knees were starting to feel weak.

"Miss, are you OK? You look a little feverish." She just then noticed that he'd walked over to her. Suddenly, she felt claustrophobic and quickly reached out to push him away. The second she touched him it felt like she had taken a 1,000-foot fall the way her heart lurched in her chest. He stumbled away from her she had pushed him so hard.

"S-sorry. Lost my appetite," she stuttered and quickly turned to leave. She heard the man say something, certainly confused by her actions, but she didn't care what it was. She had to get away.

. . .

Madoka was left standing in the store, blinking in confusion. First off, a girl who was at least nine inches shorter than him had just pushed him hard enough to nearly knock him over. Secondly, she had looked very strange and not just because she'd gone from looking fine to looking like she was about to pass out in the span of 30 seconds. She'd been wearing tight, black bike shorts and a black and red floral pattern, short-sleeved top held shut by a cloth belt. She also had been wearing red gloves like what he'd expect a martial artist to wear. To top it off her hair was pink. The hair would have made him peg her as some loser, scene kid, but the outfit made him think differently. Maybe she was just insane.

"I swear, I am so close to just giving up on humanity..." He shook his head and got back to work.

. . .

She was running again. She wasn't even paying attention to where or what direction. She ran until she was certain the reason her heart was racing was from exertion and nothing else. To be honest, she was getting sick of running. Finally, she stopped again and doubled over putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"D-dammit... what's wrong with me?" She shut her eyes tightly as she tried to catch her breath, but she was finding that near impossible. She'd run out of stamina much faster than she should have this time. She'd been running on empty for a while now, but even so she felt strangely weak. Gathering what energy she could, she straightened up and stumbled down the side of the street for a while longer.

Eventually, the sun started setting and her heart sank along with it. When she'd started running she hadn't really planned ahead. "Is it going to get colder?" she asked herself. She'd never spent a night outside and the air was already chill. She hung her head and found herself in an alley. She hoped it wouldn't be too hard to sleep.

Both of her worries came to pass.

. . .

"I'm leaving," Madoka called out to his boss at the end of his shift, having stashed his apron and made his way to the exit.

"Come back in the morning," his boss called back.

"I don't work mornings." Madoka turned and looked quizzically back at the man.

"No more part-time, our morning worker quit today. You'll be taking a full shift unless you want to lose your job. And try to be on time."

"Son of a..." Madoka muttered to himself. This was too short notice, it wasn't fair! They couldn't just threaten his job because of someone else! He clenched his fists, but bit back the many arguments that came to him. "Fine, I'll be here." He sighed and then pushed the door open and left. "I hate my life."

. . .

She shivered hard as she woke up and worried that her teeth would break against each other as they chattered. She'd nearly frozen to death that night. Morning brought nearly no relief and she swore she saw frost on the windows above her. She started walking in the hope that she'd get warmed up, but it didn't do much. Short sleeves had been a bad idea it seemed. She felt weak and as two hours passed, even just walking was making her breathe a bit heavier.

"Well look at you, out of breath and we haven't even met yet," she jumped at a female voice speaking. She glanced in the direction it came from to see two women with long, dark hair in horrendously skimpy outfits. How the hell were they not freezing to death themselves? A pang of jealousy hit her when she realized they must have a warm place to sleep. They probably weren't still alone like her. "You'll be victim number four." Victim?

"Umm...we didn't actually get the first three..." her partner mumbled. That was only a mild comfort to hear.

"Shut up!" the first one snapped and looked back at her. "Hmph, judging by your pitiful state you're still without an ashikabi. So sad. But we'll put you out of your misery." The two women suddenly linked hands and electricity sparked around them.

"No! I'm not ready for this!" Her eyes widened at the sight. She quickly turned and ran, sprinted, away from them. "I feel sick! I can't keep running like this!" She darted onto a side street and then found an alleyway off of that. For a moment she thought she was safe, but then a garbage can next to her exploded as lightning hit it. "DAMMIT!"

She tried to run faster, but ended up stumbling and nearly tripped. The alley ended and she ran across a street, almost getting hit by a car, and then into another alley. Everything was starting to hurt and she hadn't even been hit by their lightning.

She skidded to a halt at the sight of a man with silver hair before her. He wasn't old, in fact he looked fairly young. He had a black, tailed coat on, matching black gloves, and a mask covering the lower half of his face.

"You're alone... Keep running. You know what you have to do if you want to survive," he said to her and stepped aside. "They won't be following you much longer, but that doesn't mean they won't find you again later." She wasn't sure what to make of him, but decided not to ask questions and resumed running. True to his words, as she kept running, somehow, she didn't see hide nor hair of the scantily clad women. About ten minutes later she was spent and slowed to a stumbling walk, barely staying on her feet.

"Well, you look even worse today," she heard after walking for a short while.

"NO!" She shut her eyes tightly and held her arms in front of her to fend off an attack. However, she then realized it had been a male voice. She then cracked an eye open and saw a semi-familiar face. Dropping her hands she turned her head and found that she was out in front of the same store she'd almost robbed the day before. "What the hell?" Furthermore it was the same angry man she'd shoved.

"Yeah, I'm asking myself the same thing here..." The man before her gave her a confused and tired look. Suddenly she didn't feel cold anymore and she was starting to think it had nothing to do with running. On a whim she suddenly walked forward and pressed her hands against his chest, experiencing the same powerful sensation she'd felt the last time she touched him. She then pushed him all the way into the alley behind the store. "Wh-hey! What are yo- STOP IT!" He pulled away from her, but she'd already gotten him where she wanted him.

He glared at her suspiciously, though she couldn't imagine she seemed like much of a threat. He was taller, and she must have looked like... well, she didn't want to think how bad she must look after running for miles and sleeping in a cold alleyway.

"So... if you're trying to mug me you're not off to a good start," he said, but she had much different things in mind.

"No... that is... I... umm." If only she knew where to start. She'd just randomly run into him moments after escaping near termination; she hadn't had any time to plan. She hadn't know she'd need to have! "I'm a sekirei!" Well, she never had been one for subtlety.

. . .

Madoka had wondered if perhaps this girl was insane when he'd first run into her. Now he was sure of it. What the hell was she talking about? A sekirei?

"I don't... I... what?" Madoka blinked a few times. She'd shoved him into an alley to tell him this delusional nonsense?

"You heard me!" The psychotic girl before him crossed her arms. "N-now pay attention!" At this point he saw that her face was rapidly turning red.

"Yes. OK. I'll listen to whatever yo-" he started to say slowly, but-

"Don't talk to me like I'm stupid!" She glared at him.

"Right. Sorry," he replied in a normal voice. "So... Sekirei?"

"Yes. And I need an ashikabi," she continued, staring into his eyes with an unsettling intensity.

"Yeah... we don't sell those. Whatever the hell those are." He glanced around, hoping someone might rescue him from this awkward situation. He wasn't scared, but he was definitely confused.

"Ashikabi are people." The girl continued to stare at him... at him.

"Oh," he said and then his eyes widened. "Wh- me? No. No, no! I stock shelves and sweep floors, I'm not a... a... what the hell is an ashikabi?" Why did this have to happen to him? Wasn't his life annoying enough as it was?

"I'm a sekirei and I need an ashikabi. The... the way I feel right now... you have to be one. My one." She was starting to look desperate now.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but that doesn't tell me anything! I don't even know who you are! How can I be an ashikabi if I've never even heard of all this stuff? And what do you mean, 'your one?'" Madoka asked. He didn't know why he was asking her these questions as if what she was saying weren't the ramblings of a deranged psychopath.

"I'm Benitsubasa, sekirei number 105." She started walking towards him.

"OK... that's a start. I guess," he responded and took a step back, but she was advancing quickly now. Suddenly she took a big step forward and grabbed the front of his shirt.

"Please... be my ashikabi." She stared up at him longingly. For a second he was entranced and found himself staring back. He shook his head and forced himself to come back to his senses.

"Assuming I were to say yes, how? You don't even know me!" He tried to lean away, but found she was actually rather strong.

"What's your name?"

. . .

"Err... Madoka..." he answered her. He sounded very uncertain and it looked as if he regretted telling her the moment he said it. For her, though, him saying that was all she needed. Without thinking about it any more she pulled down on his shirt so his face was brought down closer to hers...

. . .

Suddenly her face was a lot closer to his. Though, perhaps it would be more correct to say his face had suddenly been forced closer to hers. Before he could react her face got even closer, much closer. His eyes shut instinctively, but he could still feel something soft touch his lips. He realized she'd just kissed him. Even though his eyes were shut, he noticed that something incredibly bright was shining in front of him. He opened his eyes and glimpsed something shining over her back, but it was gone a split second later before he could identify it.

He looked down and saw that her head was now pressed against his chest with a small smile on her lips. She looked very happy now.

"Did... did I just get sexually assaulted by a fourteen year old?" He twitched. She was certainly small enough, though to someone his height a lot of people seemed small. The girl's eyes snapped open and she quickly pulled away.

"Moron, I'm not that young!" she growled, teeth gritted dangerously as she pointed a lecturing finger at him. "Just because my bre-"

"Whoa! Slow down!" he interrupted. "What did you just do?"

"I'm your sekirei now," Benitsubasa replied, crossing her arms as she calmed down a bit.

"Riiight... OK?" He didn't get it. Benitsubasa sighed and walked over to a nearby dumpster.

"Watch." She ordered and grabbed it before straining. He figured he should stop her for fear she'd hurt herself, but even as her face started to turn red from the effort, the dumpster actually began to tilt to one side as Benitsubasa lifted up the side she had grabbed. With one hand.

"I... I don't...I ca- I can't... I don't... I... can't... h-how?" Madoka stuttered in shock at her physical achievement. He jumped slightly when she dropped it with a loud, resounding bang.

"I'm your sekirei. You winged me," she said as she caught her breath. "That made me stronger."

"C-clearly." Madoka was still staring at the dumpster, trying to guess how much it must weigh. "I-I still don't get what's going on though." All he really knew anymore was that he was once more at risk of being late for work.

"Well... explaining everything would be hard." She shuffled her feet nervously.

"Ugh. I really don't have time for this," Madoka groaned. He really just wanted this to be a dream. He didn't need more stress in his life. This girl was going to be trouble, he just knew it.

"You... don't have time?" Benitsubasa looked insulted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have a job. If I don't show up, I get fired. If I get fired I end up living on the street," he explained through gritted teeth. "As much as I'd love to sit you down and have you explain all this... I can't." Benitsubasa didn't respond, but just crossed her arms and looked away from him.

Madoka pinched the bridge of his nose. She'd kissed him, there had been some sort of strange light, and then despite being barely over five feet tall she had lifted an object ten times her size and weight. As absurd as it all was, somehow the evidence added up in her favor.

"Alright, alright. Here." He rooted around in his pocket and pulled out a key. "Just take this and go to my house. I'll talk to you after I finish working..." This got her attention again and she walked over to take the key.

"I... OK, bu-"

"Go down the street, take the second right..." He interrupted her, knowing what she was going to ask. He finished giving directions to his house and then sent her off when he was sure she had it memorized. With that he went back around to the store entrance. It was going to be a long day at work after that.

. . .

She must have gotten lost at least three times, but she finally found the place. It was a small, two story condo, though the top floor looked like it had been in a fire and never repaired. Fortunately her destination was the bottom floor which looked fine. She let herself in and decided she wasn't impressed. Then again the only other places she'd ever lived in were hardly a fair comparison. The furnishing was cheap and sparse, but at least it was clean. Her stomach started complaining fiercely as she realized this house probably had food...

. . .

Madoka finished his first day of working full time. It was exhausting and boring because he'd find times when there wasn't much to do. He got home and realized with a groan he didn't have his key. He turned the door handle experimentally and found it was unlocked, which almost scared him. It was then that he remembered what had happened that morning. Halfway through his mind-numbingly boring work day his head had just gone blank and he'd forgotten all about it. It also helped that Benitsubasa was currently staring at him. She was lying face up on the floor, head pointed towards the doorway and tilted back to look up at him.

They just stared at each other for a few seconds before Madoka finally shut the door behind him and spoke.

"So, do you want to go sit down somewhere and talk?" he asked.

"Not really." Benitsubasa kept staring at him. It was really unnerving how she just fixated on him and nothing else. "I'm comfortable here."

"OK then." Madoka shrugged. As he walked over to sit down next to her, her gaze followed, never wavering. "Are we still gonna talk?" he asked.

"What do you want to know?" She was right to assume he had questions. It was finally time to get some real answers, he hoped.

"I suppose a good place to start would be... why me?" He looked back at her. He simply couldn't think of why he would be special. Why would this strange girl, this sekirei, choose him out of the millions of people in Japan?

"Because when I was near you I felt that you could be my ashikabi," she replied.

"Only could?" Madoka raised an eyebrow. He wondered if her choice of words had any significance.

"Any ashikabi could have winged me, but I wouldn't have felt like that for just any ashikabi," she clarified.

"So, what? I'm special or something?"

"No... well... yes... to me." She glanced away and started fiddling with a loose strand of hair.

"I... I see." Madoka was caught off guard by her answer and felt himself blush a little. Before they could speak more, he heard his small television in the next room turn on. "Is someone else here?" He glanced in the direction of the television and then back at Benitsubasa.

"No," she replied, sitting up.

"Excuse me. In here please," he heard an unfamiliar voice speak. It seemed to be coming from the TV. Madoka stood up and cautiously walked into the television room. Inside, the TV was indeed on and displaying the image of a flamboyant man with white hair and glasses. "Ah, there you are!"

"You c-" Madoka began.

"See you? Why yes I can, young ashikabi!" The man grinned in amusement.

"Ashikabi... wait... do you have something to do with this?" He pointed at the man on the screen. He turned back towards the entrance of the room just in time to see Benitsubasa walking into the room, only to see the man on the TV and immediately turn around.

"Ah, the cold shoulder!" the man chuckled. "Oh well, it's only important that I speak to you!"

"Good. Maybe you can explain what's going on." Madoka crossed his arms.

"Indeed I can!" the man replied energetically. "You're a lucky man! You've winged a sekirei and thus become a participant in the Sekirei Plan. There are 108 sekirei and they will fight, fight, fight until only one pair remains! That lucky pair will be allowed to ascend! The winning ashikabi will then hold the fate of the world in his hands!"

"OK. Interesting," he said with a blank look on his face.

"Isn't i-"

"You're fucking insane," he said plainly. Fighting? He had enough bullshit in his life dealing with his father. However, if Benitsubasa could lift a dumpster, this fighting must be what her strength was truly meant for. It wasn't a pleasant realization.

"How rude!" the man complained. "Anyway, this is an MBI project and you are now privy to some very sensitive information. You'd best keep it quiet or we at MBI will be forced to respond with all the forces we possess."

"Did... you just say MBI?" Madoka's jaw dropped. MBI, as in the massive pharmaceutical corporation that practically owned the city at this point? What the hell was he getting dragged into?

"Of course! Who else could facilitate such an event?" The man laughed. "Anyway, do take care of our little runaway! Farewell!" With that, the TV turned itself off.

"Well... fuck me." Madoka twitched nervously. This was one hell of a curve ball. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a knock came from his door. "Dammit, what now?" An exasperated groan escaped him and he went to answer the door. His eyes widened when he opened the door and the culprit was revealed to be a large man in a suit with an MBI name tag. "Uhhh..." He wasn't sure what to say.

"You should keep this with you." The MBI employee held out a small cellphone. Madoka was one of maybe three people in all of Tokyo who didn't already have one. If he ever wanted to make or take a call, he was fine doing it from home. He felt like having a cellphone would just be annoying and an unnecessary expense.

"Err... OK?" Madoka took it, confused.

"You will be receiving messages through this from now on," the man said, then turned and left without another word.

"When is this day going to end?" He sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head felt like it was going to explode if one more thing happened. He then turned around and looked at Benitsubasa who seemed to be avoiding his eyes. "And you. Why did he call you a runaway?"

"Because I am," she mumbled, avoiding the question.

"Yeah, I kinda guessed that part. Why?" Madoka scowled in annoyance. On top of all this, now she was going to keep secrets from him?

"It's not important." She was for once avoiding looking into his eyes. Madoka growled in his throat and walked over to her so they were face to face.

"Hey! You just threw a huge wrench into my life! I'll decide what is important!" he yelled. He was quickly running out of what little patience he had left. Benitsubasa didn't seem scared, but she did look surprised and almost hurt that she was being yelled at by him.

. . .

"I-I..." She wasn't sure what to say in response. What had she done to make him so mad?

"Whatever. I don't care." Madoka shook his head and backed away.

"D-don't care?" Did he mean he didn't care about her? It felt like a physical blow just thinking about that.

"If you want to keep secrets, fine. But don't think I won't ask again later if I think it's important," he grumbled. He was clearly, and perhaps understandably, in a bad mood. At least he wasn't pressing the matter, but she still felt like things were spiraling out of her grasp.

"I'm sorry..." Benitsubasa said in a small voice. She felt confused and sad. She'd found her ashikabi and had been so happy and excited, but now... did he even like her? She felt like he didn't. She felt like she was only causing him problems and earning his anger. She wanted to yell or hit something... preferably both. Yet all she could do was stand there, head hung and shoulders slack.

"Whatever," was all Madoka said in response to her and she flinched. He then began walking towards his very small kitchen/dining room. A minute later he walked back towards Benitsubasa. "What happened to my food?" he asked.

"I-I was hungry..." Benitsubasa blushed in embarrassment.

"What are you, four feet tall? How much do you need to eat?" Madoka clutched his head, looking completely exhausted at this point.

"I hadn't eaten for a day... and I'd been running a lot... a-and I'm not that short!" She looked away. She was starting to feel sick at this point. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to deal with his disapproval before she did something embarrassing... like cry. She hadn't expected that having an ashikabi would be this horrible. Why was all this anger directed at her? Should she have waited for him to come home before she ate? But another whole day without food, she wasn't sure if she could have handled it. She still felt guilty.

"I'm going to find whatever you didn't inhale." Madoka shook his head. "It's late. You can sleep on the couch."

"OK," Benitsubasa mumbled and found the couch. It was a small, beige, two seat couch. It turned out her small stature might actually be the only reason she'd fit on it. She lay down on it and tucked in her legs. She had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping well.

After twenty minutes of not even feeling drowsy, she looked up upon hearing Madoka walking over. She flinched when something hit her, but it was only a blanket and a pillow.

"Good night," Madoka spoke in an indifferent tone. Benitsubasa was torn between feeling happy that he'd thought of her and upset over the dismissive manner in which he continued to speak to her.

. . .

Her body ached and the blanket she'd been given hadn't kept her that warm. It was better than sleeping in an alleyway, but she found that Madoka's house was fairly cold. She crawled off the couch and arched her back to stretch out her cramped muscles. She looked around at her semi-familiar surroundings. She remembered the events of the previous day and gained a small smile. She had an ashikabi now. She knew that things hadn't been going that well between them, but she was sure she could fix that. Just having an ashikabi was all she needed to be happy!

She had explored the dwelling when waiting for Madoka the previous day so she knew where his bedroom was. She walked over to wait outside it. Some time passed before finally the door opened and he walked out. Benitsubasa immediately stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his waist. He was nice and warm, pressing up against him felt good after sleeping on the chilly couch.

"Good morning." She sighed happily and nuzzled his chest. Madoka looked down at her and groaned.

"Oh, right...you're here..." The way he said was like he'd hoped she was just a bad dream. It hurt. "Good morning," he said and then promptly pried her off of him. He'd said good morning, but suddenly it was a very bad morning for her. "I have a job to get to, remember? Don't distract me." And with that he walked away.

Benitsubasa stared at his back as he walked away, stunned by his cool dismissal of her. Was this how it was to be? Was this really her fated ashikabi? Would he always treat her so coldly... so... cruelly? He hadn't harmed or really insulted her, but, as a sekirei, it felt cruel to be pushed aside.

She wanted to cry.

No, she wouldn't cry. She wouldn't let herself cry. Crying was for pathetic weaklings. She hated weakness; she'd never show any. She wouldn't let her ashikabi see her that way. She already felt unwelcome; she didn't want her ashikabi to think any less of her.

His opinion was all that mattered.

To those new to Sekirei, don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure the following chapters start explaining things.

If you're reading this note, then you're lucky to be reading this after I went back and edited many of the chapters. There were a decent number of embarrassing mistakes (like constantly misspelling Benitsubasa's name...), so I decided to go back and edit and revise. I'll also be smoothing out the occasional continuity error...

Til' next time!