Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 18

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 18:

“Oh, before we start, I just got the [Explorer] job,” Matsu informed me.

“Same here,” Uzume chimed in.

I was expecting that, so I wasn’t surprised; that job could be easily unlocked just by entering a labyrinth, of which there were many. Uzume was familiar with the setting of this world thanks to our early explanation, but she didn’t know the specifics of this job, so Matsu helped explain it to her.

“The [Explorer] has three job skills. [Item Box], [Party Organization], and [Dungeon Walk].” Matsu paused, “It’s a bit weird feeling the words pop into my mind like that.”

“What do you mean? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” The redhead reassured her brunette friend, “Saying the name of the skill gives you the incantation to activate it. Would you like to try?”

“Sure. Rick-kun, can I try doing the party thing?”

I nodded for her to go ahead.

“[Party Organization],” She said, then twitched, “I see what you mean. Okay, I’m going to try it now. Responding to the faith of companions. I have read the honesty of their hearts. Party Organization.”

A message window appeared in front of me, asking if I was going to accept the party invitation. Naturally, I accepted it.

“Oh, it worked,” Uzume said, slightly surprised.

Matsu went on to explain what being in a party did. The EXP gained from killing monsters would be shared by everyone in the party, allowing them to level up together, and any status boost granted by a member’s job would affect everyone in the party too. Another thing was that it allowed members of the same party to use the Explorer’s Dungeon Walk, which could allow the Explorer to go to any floor level they had been to before.

That was the reason why there was a man standing guard outside the labyrinth entrance. The guy, who had stared at my Sekireis lustfully like almost every other one we had passed, was to help transport parties to their requested level.

“Oh, I see. I thought it was strange why there was only one person on guard, as compared to say many other parties,” Uzume realized.

“Anyway, let’s not hang around here, and get started. I’ve brought some weapons for you two to use.”

Arming them with some of my spare weapons from Ivalice, we began making our way through the corridors. 

There were several reasons for us to visit this world. The first was to earn skills, while the second was to test some of the foreign skills we had with us, and not just the one that Sano made in Uzume’s possession. 

The skills I made with [Creation], the skills that could be learned with Ivalice weapons, and skills of varying compatibilities with this world’s system. The last one was of particular interest to Sano, since the skills I had initially stolen from this world had been difficult for him to work with. Yet the protagonist Michio’s skills were able to work within this world despite being foreign in a sense, so it was something that needed further study. It was a data gathering trip, so to speak.

The only monsters on this floor were Needlewoods, tree-like monsters that attacked by swinging thick tentacle-like branches in a whipping fashion. It was slow apart from that, and anyone with ranged attacks would have no trouble beating one. That made it perfect for serving as a test subject.

It also dropped twigs, which Uzume collected and put away into her Item Box. For beginner adventurers, selling them off to the guild was the only thing to do, but as ingredients from a different world, it could possibly have other uses.

Turns out, using an Ivalice weapon enough to learn a skill in this world also unlocked the corresponding job class. So Uzume soon gained [Fencer], while Matsu unlocked [Black Mage]. At the same time, our individual actions unlocked their own jobs, so Matsu’s use of magic also gained her the [Wizard] job once her [Villager] level was high enough.

“Okay, we’ll reach the boss’s room soon, at the next right,” I let them know. 

“Oh, that was fast.”

“That’s because Rick-tan is using a skill to find the right route,” Matsu reminded the other Sekirei.

“Oh, it slipped my mind,” Uzume said, slightly embarrassed. 

Sure enough, we stopped right outside a pair of stone double doors, the first that we saw so far. 

“Alright, Uzume. As we agreed, this is your chance to test your [Sylph Raiment] skill. Are you ready?”

Uzume nodded, a grin on her face. “I am. Here,” She returned the rapier she had been using up till now to me, “I’ll be only using my cloth.”

“Alright, then I’ll handle defense. Matsu, you stay back and observe,” I instructed, equipping a shield and setting some defensive skills to complement it.

“Leave it to me!” The redhead acknowledged.

With our preparations in order, we pushed open the door and entered an empty room. However, as we advanced further inside, smoke began to gather out of nowhere, collecting into a huge cloud that dispersed to reveal the floor’s boss.

The Oddwood resembled the Needlewood monsters we fought before, though it was at least half again as large, and it had four arms compared to the smaller version’s two.

“Here I go!” Uzume called out, already whipping her long cloth streamers around, one with each hand.

The boss took one step forward, and that was all it did before her first hit landed.

The deceptively thin streamer struck like a powerful gale; the boss was sent flying off its root-like legs, crashing against the far wall with an earth-shaking slam that left a huge crater. Despite that, I was surprised to see it still alive, struggling to get back onto its feet.

“And the finisher!” 

The other length of cloth had twisted up into the shape of a drill, and Uzume whipped it forward, piercing through the Oddwood’s trunk mercilessly. That did the trick; the boss burst into a cloud of smoke, as though being ripped apart had returned it back to the smoke it had first appeared from, leaving only the deep hole in the center of the crater left by the earlier attack.

“...that was seriously overpowered,” I said. I didn’t even have to do anything.

“I agree. How do you feel, Uzume-tan?” Matsu asked the stunned Sekirei.

“Um… was it supposed to be that easy?” She wondered.

“No, I don’t think so?” Michio had a little difficulty even with his Durandal sword and Roxanne helping him. “We could try again if you like.”

“I think we should do that,” Matsu agreed, “It would give a good baseline.”

“Oh, the boss dropped something.” Uzume bent down and picked something off the ground, “Ah, I got a new job. It’s [Herbalist].”

“That’s unlocked by picking up the leaf the boss drops,” Matsu explained as she approached, holding her hand out for said item.

Uzume obligingly handed it over. “Oh, so what does the job do? And if I give this leaf to you, will you unlock it too?”

“Unfortunately not, so if we all want the class, we’ll have to beat the boss another two times,” Matsu examined the leaf closely before returning it to Uzume. “As for what the job does, it can turn herbs into medicine.”

“Oh, I see! That’s interesting!” She turned to look at me, “Shall we rush this boss monster again then?”

I grinned at her. “That’s the plan.” Maybe this time, I’ll get to use my shield.

We didn’t just go a second time, but several more times as we got used to adventuring in the labyrinth. The boss proved that it was a tough fight against newbies, but once we figured out its patterns, we were able to shut it down in a direct confrontation. At the same time, I made use of the multiple runs to extract the job classes and store them away for Sano. That precluded us from getting some of the stronger jobs, but that was fine since we were just here for a short trip. Diminishing returns might be a thing, but quantity still has a quality of its own.

The sun was setting when we left the labyrinth, and the person who was standing there earlier was gone, probably having returned to Vale now that no more customers wanting to skip floors were coming. Fortunately for us, we didn’t have to go all the way back there to return home. 

“Welcome back,” Sano greeted us, laying down the skill he was examining to do so, “Were you satisfied with your purchased skill?”

Uzume nodded fervently. “Yes! It’s amazing!”

“Another satisfied customer for me then. And what about the results of your journey?”

“I’ve got several copies of the basic jobs and skills,” I began, taking out the skills in my storage, “But I also retrieved the analysis skill I placed in the reincar- I mean, transmigrator,” I corrected myself, “That I met there before, so it should have the data of his skills and cheat abilities.”

I handed the item in question over to him before finishing unloading the rest of what we collected, taking my time to let him peruse through the large amount of skill data that was collected within.

“Highly rewarding despite the short trip,” Sano gave his verdict after I turned over the excess skills, making the three of us look between ourselves with grins.

“It will take me some time to properly evaluate the total amount of DP to award for this, but I can promise you that it’ll be a lot. And yes,” He turned to look at Matsu, “You’ll get your chance to fiddle around with some of them. I’m curious to see what you might tinker up on your own.”

“Alright. Just leave it to me!” 

“Moving on,” Sano continued, “Which world are you intending to visit next? You still have a lot of time.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” I nodded in agreement, “We did a lot over there, but it was only one day in total in that world.”

As such, as shown by the clock on the wall, it was still Friday night. We had all weekend to visit other worlds.

<Tomorrow then?> I asked the others. 

<Tomorrow.> They agreed.

With the decision made, I turned my attention back to Sano. “We’ll call it a night here. See you tomorrow, boss.”

“Mmm. Good night.” 

I snuck a look back on the way out, and saw Sano excitedly working with the skills I had brought, with a look that was almost like childish wonder.

…

“So we’re doing this then,” I said to the two Sekireis.

“Yes, we are,” Matsu confirmed, “Don’t look so worried, Rick-tan! You’ve got us Sekireis on your side!’

“Not to mention all the skills you’ve loaded us up with,” Uzume pointed out as a reminder.

“...why do I get the feeling you two have ulterior motives for this?”

They refused to meet my eyes, shifting their bodies awkwardly. Matsu turned to Sano, who was looking uncharacteristically impatient. It seemed like he really wanted to work on the skills, and we were keeping him from doing so.

“Alright, we’re ready to go!” She said, almost too eagerly.

“Feel free to take your time,” He told us bluntly.

The environment of the shop was instantly replaced by an urban one, in an alleyway as usual. 

Another world, another Tokyo… though this one is one I’ve been to before. “So, where should we go first?”

“Between the two stops I have in mind, one will see us having to make an emergency departure,” Matsu explained, “So we’ll do the other one first. Give me a moment.”

“Sure. We’ll check on our equipment first.”

I could sense the bespectacled Sekirei using her power to link to the wifi signals running around the city, while Uzume and I checked over the ATs we were wearing, making sure that they were working properly.

“Are you sure about what you want to do?” I asked her quietly.

Her side ponytail bobbed slightly with her nod. “I’m your Sekirei now, not like the other version of me we read about. But… I… I think I’d like closure,"she confessed.

“That’s fine,” I told her, “I’m not going to blame you for wanting that. I’d be an asshole if I did.”

“You’ve been spending too much time on that subreddit,” Uzume mock-scolded, but ended her statement with a laugh and a peck on my lips, “But thanks.”

“Alright, I’ve confirmed our location and route!” Matsu informed us. “Follow me!”

She switched on her ATs, and kicked off the ground, zipping up along the wall towards the roofs of the buildings we were between. Exchanging brief smiles with Uzume, the two of us did the same. 

“Which direction, Matsu?”

“It’s not too far, just over in that direction,” She pointed.

I looked where she was indicating, then glanced in the opposite direction, where the large skyscraper stood out among the other tall urban buildings.

The thought of the megalomaniac at the top there finding out about me when he realizes his wayward Sekireis have returned to the city was not a comfortable one, but I wasn’t going to shy away from accompanying them back to Shinto Teito.

Just as we discussed before, Matsu and Uzume’s plan was to get MBI’s data on the Sekireis, most of which were stored on the servers within MBI Tower. That was the main reason we came back to this version of the world that I recruited them from. As for how… Well, we were still working out the details.

For now, our first destination was Izumo Inn, the place where Asama Miya was staying.

I leapt off the edge of the roof, twisting my body to roll my center of gravity around, sending me flying further than my initial trajectory would have. The wheels of my ATs caught on the wall of the building I was aiming for, and instead of falling down to the ground far, far below, I continued upwards, performing another spinning flip as I did so.

“Were you missing your time in Air Gear?” Uzume called out to me, amusement evident in her tone.

“Uh huh!” I replied unashamedly.

Matsu stopped on the top of a billboard sign, and crossed her arms as we caught up to her. “Want to get it out of your system?” 

“Any suggestions? I’m all ears,” I offered.

“Izumo Inn is in a suburban area, so you won’t be able to go as high once we reach that part. And we’re just about there.”

Sure enough, the residential area was already within sight, and just as she said, the tallest structure was only three floors, belonging to those shophouse buildings. 

“Oh, that department store has a large roof,” I commented absently as my mind noted that location. “But maybe next time… now that we’re so close already, we might as well head straight to the inn.”

“You sure, we could- Woah!” 

Uzume yelped as I dashed over to her, sweeping her off her feet and picking her up in a princess carry. 

“We can dance in the night sky later,” I told her, even as she blushed deeply at being in her current position. 

“Okay,” She replied in a small, hopeful voice.

I didn’t miss how she tried to lean closer to me, despite being plenty close already. 

“I expect the same,” Matsu informed us as well, gliding alongside, “Now, anything else, Rick-tan?”

“Nope, please go ahead.”

Something niggled at my senses, and a furtive glance in the direction of its origin spotted another figure standing on a roof. This one had long dark hair, and was wearing a body-hugging purple dress. However, the obvious female made no move to approach, instead choosing to simply observe as we made our way down to the lower roofs of the buildings ahead.

“I think I spotted Kazehana,” I said, releasing Uzume to skate on her own ATs as I did so.

Matsu slowed slightly. “You did? Where?” 

“On a building some distance back. She definitely noticed us.”

“She’s back already? Either the manga was mistaken about the time frame, or our disappearance made Minaka call her back.”

“What’s the current date anyway?”

Matsu informed me, then added, “There was an incident in the Botanical Garden a short while ago, though it was already resolved. Unfortunately, I don’t have the capability to hack into MBI servers directly without a proper computer rig.”

“So the main character should be at Izumo Inn by now then.”

“Yup. Well, we’ll know for sure once we ask Miya.”

“Rick-kun, what do your skills tell you?”

“That there’s someone I wouldn’t want to face waiting up ahead,” I answered in a serious tone, “Should we go down on the road and walk the rest of the way?”

“That seems like a good idea,” Matsu agreed.

We leapt down to land on the road, and switched off our ATs to continue at a more sedate pace, and finally our destination came into view.

It was a classic two-level Japanese house, though it had gone through some renovation to take on a more modern appearance. There was also a tall wooden fence concealing the sight of the entire first floor from anyone outside, and judging by its size, the yard space within was quite significant. 

Matsu led us around the side, where the entrance to the inn was. The fence had no gate, so we were able to walk right up to the front door, where she rang the bell. It took several seconds before the sound of padding feet could be heard, and the door opened to reveal…

A small girl with long blond hair and green eyes.

“Who?” She asked, looking up at us with curiosity.

“Oh my, how cute~” Uzume gushed, almost reaching out to cuddle the young girl, but managing to restrain herself.

“Kusano-chan, who is it?” Another voice asked from behind, an elegant female one that was drawing closer with every word.

“Strangers!” The young girl called back 

“Go to Sahashi-kun then, I’ll take care of this.” A purple-haired woman in a hakama finally appeared in the doorway, gently shooing the girl away.

“Un!” 

She slipped out of view, and the sound of her stepping away faded into the distance.

“It’s been a while, Miya,” Matsu greeted, a bit awkwardly.

The look of surprise looked very out of place on Asama Miya’s face. “Matsu-san? Where have you been?! And Uzume-san too?”

“It’s a long story. Could we come in?” 

Miya didn’t reply right away, but took a moment to study each of us in turn. I smiled politely when her scrutinizing gaze fell on me, but she eventually relented and allowed us to enter her abode. 

Of course, not without taking off our ATs first.

The interior was all Japanese, with tatami mats and paper screen walls, and the room we were led to was one that obviously served as a dining room. Miya then left for a moment to prepare some tea, as well as to warn the other tenants not to eavesdrop, or at least that was what I assumed. 

“This really has a nice homey feel,” I remarked as I leaned back on my hands.

“I know, right? But I prefer our own version.”

The door slid open to reveal Miya, bearing a tray of cups. “Oh my, is that so?” 

“M-Miya…”

“I’m just teasing.” 

She went around to distribute the cups, before taking a seat at the head of the table.

“Miya,” Matsu began, “Let me introduce you. This is my Ashikabi, Rick. Rick, this is Miya.”

“I’m just an ordinary housewife who runs this inn,” The lady landlord cut in, clearly intending to keep her secret. “Nice to meet you, Rick-san.”

“Nice to meet you too, miss landlady.”

She presented herself as a widow who was aware of the Sekirei Plan because of her late husband who had previously worked there, so likewise we just introduced me as a foreigner who encountered Matsu and got himself wrapped up in the whole thing.

Miya naturally wanted to know where Matsu had been, given the way she somehow vanished from Shinto Teito without leaving any clues. Apparently, a mutual acquaintance of theirs had reached out to Miya to inform her of the disappearance of two Sekireis and one Jinki.

“Let’s just say that the Jinki is safe from anyone who might use it against the Sekireis,” Matsu deflected, “I’m asking you to trust me on that, based on our history together.”

Miya didn’t reply, but quietly stared at Matsu, who stayed firm on her decision despite fidgeting under the pressure of that look.

My Sekirei was referencing their shared history as members of the first Disciplinary Squad, which had their start defending Kamikura Island and the Sekirei ship against an international army seeking to claim it. It was her way of saying that she wasn’t affiliated with those people responsible.

It was a logical conclusion, seeing as I had a non-Japanese name and could be identified as a foreigner.

“Rick-san?” Miya turned an intimidating gaze towards me.

Ooh, that’s tough, but definitely nothing compared to Arceus’s. “I’m not forcing them to say that.”

Uzume shook her head furiously when that look turned towards her next. “I can’t say anything either, but please believe us, Miya-san!”

“Then what brought you back to Shinto Teito?” She wanted to know.

The three of us exchanged looks.

<Should we tell her?> 

<I think it would be best.>

<Just be careful in case she reacts badly…>

I raised my hand. “I’ll be honest,” I said, “These two want some of the medical data related to Sekireis and their tuning.”

“What do you mean, ‘these two’?” Matsu protested, “This is for our important sexual liaison!”

A moment passed, then the sound of my facepalm could be heard. 

“Matsu…” I groaned.

“But it’s true!” She continued to dig her hole, “Otherwise, how would we know what sort of play that we can or cannot do? Plus-”

The perverted Sekirei’s speech was cut off as the image of a hannya mask appeared behind the quietly furious landlady.

“Matsu…” 

“Eep!” 

I looked at Uzume, who was similarly frozen. “This tea is nice, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah, it is…”

Matsu might have grown somewhat, but at her core, she was still the same old perverted glasses girl.

We had to swear and make promises with regards to that matter, but eventually we managed to convince Miya that we really weren’t going to use that data against the Sekirei race. Anything we managed to obtain would only be for our personal (and according to an unrepentant Matsu, perverted) use. 

Still, it was easier said than done. MBI was a formidable force to face; aside from the current generation of the Disciplinary Squad, they also had trained soldiers, military vehicles like APVs and helicopters, and an orbital laser cannon too. Even with some of the skills we had, I wasn’t confident in my chances in a straight up fight.

So it was the sneaky way once again. That meant that we needed a base of operations, and fortunately, there was one convenient spot available.

“It’s fifty thousand yen per month for a six-tatami room,” Miya said with a smile, “But as that is a room meant for two people, it might be a little small for the three of you.”

“Then we’ll have to get two separate rooms…”

“It would be the best option. After all, illicit sexual relations are forbidden under this roof.”

“Miyaaaa…” Matsu whined, but the landlady was unmoved.

I laid a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t be spending that long here, so I think it’s okay, isn’t it?”

“But then I won’t have enough money to buy the computer equipment we need!” She objected.

“Then you’ll just have to work, isn’t that right?” Miya rebutted mercilessly.

“Guh…”

“Anyway,” I turned to the purple-haired lady, “We accept those terms. When can we sign the contract and move in?”

Uzume spoke up, “Rick-kun, aren’t you being too hasty?” 

“Ah, you’re right. Could we see the rooms first?”

Miya chuckled. “Certainly.” 

She got up to open the door, then paused as she caught sight of something outside the room.

“I might as well introduce you now. Sahashi-san, Musubi-san, would you come here for a moment? Kusano-chan too.”

I felt Matsu take hold of my hand and squeeze slightly, and I returned the gesture as the three tenants came into the room. An ordinary-looking young man in baggy clothing, a buxom black-haired girl in a gym outfit and bloomers, plus the little blondie from earlier. 

Three of the main characters of this setting. Sahashi Minato, and his Sekireis Musubi and Kusano.

Miya introduced us as prospective tenants, and we briefly got to know each other. Minato was a bit awkward at social interaction, possibly due to him being a ronin, a term for a person who failed his college entrance exams and was repeating it. In contrast, Musubi was cheerfully straightforward, and she ended up blurting out that she was his Sekirei, though none of us pointed it out. Kusano was shy, but managed to state her name for us.

“I’m Matsu, and I used to work for MBI!” 

“The name’s Uzume, I’m her friend.”

“I’m Rick Steel, I’m with these two.”

All of what we said was technically true.

“Were you exercising?” Uzume asked the peppy Sekirei.

“Yes! I spar with the landlady every morning, and I’m improving a lot!” 

“Ufufufu, that just shows that you’re working hard. Alright, why don’t you go take a bath first, Musubi-san? Also, Sahashi-kun, don’t you have your part-time job?”

“Ah! You’re right!”

“I made a boxed lunch for you. It’s on the kitchen counter, so don’t forget to take it on your way out.”

“Thank you, landlady!”

“Now,” Miya turned to us, “Shall we continue the room tour?”

The rooms were very nice, though without any furnishings and slightly dusty, but Miya assured us that she would have it cleaned by the time we moved in tomorrow. So for today, we would have to spend the night at a hotel.

As for the secret room that Matsu would have had in canon… it appeared that Miya was using it as a storage space. It would take much more work to prepare that place for moving in, and it lacked some of the creature comforts we were used to.

There wasn’t anything to object about, so we paid a deposit to reserve those rooms. The landlady agreed to get started on cleaning the rooms, and that left us to kill time until then.

“I look forward to having you as a tenant of Izumo Inn,” She said with a bow, as we took our leave, using normal footwear instead of our ATs.

I have a feeling she hopes we can derail the Sekirei Plan with our actions, I thought to myself, before turning to Matsu. “How did it feel for you?”

“What?”

<Seeing the guy who could have been your Ashikabi, I mean.> I answered her through the mental link.

The Sekirei stopped, making us two pause as well. She closed her eyes and placed her hands over her chest, then opened her eyes to look at me.

“I didn’t feel anything.” She stepped closer to me. “My Sekirei core… it reacts only to you, my Ashikabi.”

With that, she grabbed the front of my clothes and pulled me into an intense kiss.

It lasted for several seconds before she released me.

Uzume was watching with a troubled expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, Uzume-tan?” 

Instead of answering the other Sekirei, she looked at me. “Rick-kun, I still want to meet her.”

“Sure,” I replied without any hesitation.

“Her?” Matsu echoed. “Oh! You mean… your original Ashikabi?”

The brunette nodded. “Yes. Hidaka Chiho.”

“Well, if Rick-tan says he’s fine with it, then I have no objections either. Rick-tan, you can find her, right?”

“With my skill, yes. Hold on a moment…” I activated the same skill that I used to meet them in the first place.

[Map: Search] [Target not found.]

Huh? I hummed, and tried again, only to receive the same message. “I can’t find her?”

“Your skill’s not working?” 

“Hold on, let me try someone else.”

Trying to locate the three strongest Ashikabi proved that the skill was working without any issue; Sanada in the west, and Mikogami in the south. Yet it refused to find Chiho. On a hunch, I decided to use a different person’s name. Asama Takehito.

[Map: Search] [Target not found.]

Feeling a heavy sensation settling in my gut, I turned to Uzume. “I think… she might be dead already.”

“What?” 

I explained what my search skill returned to me, and the obvious conclusion I drew from it.

“Oh.” She could only say softly.

With the mood down, Matsu took over, and directed us to a net cafe. We booked a private room big enough to accommodate the three of us, and helped ourselves to the refreshments there. Uzume was behaving oddly clingy, and I indulged her by cuddling her closely while Matsu looked up information on the computer.

After several minutes, she drew our attention. “Rick-tan, Uzume-tan, look at this.” 

We leaned in close behind her to read what was on the screen. It was an article about a recent accident, where a girl was struck and killed by a truck in a hit and run, and she passed away before help could arrive. The victim’s name was Hidaka Chiho, and despite police investigations helped locate the abandoned vehicle a few blocks away, the driver of the truck had yet to be located. The article also included some details about the girl, such as her being an orphan.

“...” Uzume turned away from the screen and grabbed me in a tight embrace. 

I returned it, patting her head comfortingly. I could also feel her breasts pressing against my chest, but that wasn’t important right now.

<I don’t really feel anything after seeing this.> She admitted telepathically. <Am I a bad person?>

<I don’t think so… The one who would have met Chiho, that’s a different person. If anything, I should be the one to blame, taking that chance to meet her from you.>

Her arms squeezed tighter. <Yeah. Yeah, I’m not Hidaka Chiho’s Sekirei. I’m your Sekirei.>

“And I’m your Ashikabi,” I said out loud.

Uzume tilted her head back to look up at my face, her lips looking extremely attractive to my eyes. 

“Now and forever,” She whispered, and closed in for a simple kiss.

Yet it carried a lot more emotion than usual, her emotions leaking over into mine to cause my LP to increase yet again.

Still, I couldn’t help but find Chiho’s case suspicious. A truck accident like that was raising some flags in my mind.

Surely not, right?

Afterword: And we’re back in the Sekirei world! I’m sure some of you saw this coming, but it’s going to be interesting to see what my muse gives me with regards to the whole plot butterfly thing. Chiho’s dead without meeting Uzume, and who knows if Minato will wing Tsukiumi without Matsu boosting his power? So many things are off plot rails…

I’ve been rereading the Harem Labyrinth manga, and I really enjoy the part where Michio’s trying to figure out the conditions for unlocking some jobs.

Also, I've adjusted the membership to remove the basic tier since there aren't any members there, and included some additional higher tiers for those willing to donate more money my way. No need to feel pressured to upgrade though.

Leave your comments to share your thoughts! (Sadly, no Sekirei pics today)