"Aaaaahahahahaaaaa! Oh my god! Oh my god! Ohhhhohohohoooooh!"

Uzume, naturally, couldn't stop laughing.

"An interesting theory," Matsu said, ignoring Uzume- which we all were doing, now, as it had been a full five minutes. "In testing, they did notice that Akitsu was notably stronger than was normal for an elemental-type..."

"A Sekirei derives strength from their Ashikabi," I said. "Given how much more power Sekirei have than humans, it only makes sense that they'd make for better Ashikabi in that sense."

"Kissing me made you think about science!" Uzume repeated.

"Kissing you made me think about kissing my actual girlfriend," I said dryly.

"What now?" Akitsu asked, staring straight at me.

"We sit on this for a day and think," I said. "If, by this time tomorrow, we still think my theory is right..." I shrugged. "Then I touch you with the Jinki and un-wing you, and we try that whole 'kissing' thing again."

"It's risky," Matsu said. "We need more data. More experiments- and real experiments, not just kinky sex I saw on the internet and want to try out with real people."

"The clarification was definitely necessary," Kazehana said, nodding her head.

"The unfortunate thing is, I don't have any kind of valid analogue for a Sekirei," I said. "Any experimentation is going to have to be done on Sekirei. Which... well. It's risky, and I can't ask anyone to do tha-"

"I volunteer," Tsukiumi said, stepping forward.

I blinked, turning to regard Tsukiumi. "...Por que?"

"Beg pardon?"

"Why do you volunteer?" I asked. I mean, admittedly, if I was gonna be cold about it, Tsukiumi was the one I was most comfortable with experimenting on. Despite the fact that we nominally had a love-fueled psychic mate-bond between us, I didn't actually like her, as a person. I thought she was annoying and disagreeable, and was quite happy that she seemed equally disinterested in me, in favor of attempting to monopolize the attention of another Sekirei I'd winged and discovered I didn't really like all that much. "I mean, let's be honest: I could be wrong, and what's actually happened to Akitsu is a sort of psychic scarring, caused by doing exactly the sort of experiment I'm about to perform on you. We don't know what's going on here, only guesses and intuitions."

"For someone who consistently throws around the word 'psychic,' you seem unwilling to consider the possibility your intuitions are trustworthy," Tsukiumi pointed out. "And, should you be wrong? Hmph. It is no matter. I was already prepared to prove myself the strongest Sekirei without an Ashikabi; it shall be no great hardship to resume that endeavor."

"...Right, well," I said, sighing. "Sleep on it, okay? We'll talk about it in the morning."

"Very well."

"Matsu," I said, turning to address who I was realizing was my one and only winged Sekirei I actually liked. "Can you try to get me the notes from whatever experiments they were running on Akitsu? We need as much information as we can get."

"I'll try," Matsu said, nodding.

----------------------------------------

I sat in the Warehouse, taking a break and getting some goddamn peace and quiet. As much as my libido might enjoy being surrounded by attractive women who hung on my every word, I did need my alone time.

Well. Okay, that was dishonest. As much as my libido enjoyed that experience, the rest of me did not. It was stressful as hell, being the Ashikabi- de facto or otherwise- of four Sekirei, none of whom I felt truly comfortable with. The alone time wasn't because I was an introvert, it was because of how transcendentally stressful it was to always be walking on eggshells with people I was afraid I would hurt the moment I got careless.

And so...

So, I came out to the Warehouse, and spent a few hours by myself, relaxing. Thank god sleep was a formality for me, or else doing this would noticeably throw off my routine.

"Pues yo," I sang to myself, "no tengo amigos, mas que el viento, y el mar. Y cuando reste frio y falda, estos son los que me entierran."

"The sea is your companion in name only," a familiar-sounding voice behind me said. "And the wind, not at all."

I sighed deeply, as someone sat down next to me.

"We need to talk," Musubi's body said, piloted by a wholly different person.

"And you'd be..."

"Sekirei Number 8, Yume," Musubi's body said. "When Musubi was very young, a mole in MBI working for the Chinese government managed to kidnap her, and spirit her away to a laboratory of their own. Her tama, the special core that manages a Sekirei's powers, was damaged, and I feared she would not survive. And so..." She sighed. "I gave her my own, to save her life."

"Refresh my memory a little further- what put you in a position to do that?"

"I was in the second-generation S-Guard, with Sekirei Number 4, Karasuba," Yume said. "We were responsible for retrieving Musubi, and destroying the laboratory. It was..." She shuddered. "It was a bloodbath. I always tried to be gentle with humans, but Karasuba... well. She hates humanity. She sees them as inferior, and punishes them for their weakness with unthinking slaughter. She smiled, when she told me she'd killed everyone inside because I hadn't been there to stop her."

I nodded. "Well," I said. "You didn't come here to talk about ancient history, I reckon. What did you come to talk to me about?"

"You are a bad Ashikabi," Yume said simply.

I turned to regard her carefully.

"What do you mean by that?"

"When is the last time you told any of your Sekirei that you loved them?" Yume asked.

I blinked.

"...I don't think I ever have," I said.

"It is, at least, honest," Yume said. "Because... I can tell. You don't love any of your Sekirei. Some, you do not even like."

"Alright, guilty as charged," I said. "Musubi's naivete and forthrightness make me uncomfortable, and Tsukiumi's general personality is just annoying to me. I don't really like spending time with either of them as people- sure, as human-shaped stim toys, they have magnificent tits that they allow me to touch, but there's more to love than simply 'you're sexy, I would like you in my bed.'" I sighed. "With Matsu and Akitsu... I'm not happy to be told that your assessment is that I don't love them, but I can't really dispute that. I like them as people, not just sex objects, and I like spending time with them, but..." I shrugged helplessly. "Is that enough to be love? I really don't know."

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I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, and sighed deeply, turning to look at Yume. Despite me having failed as an Ashikabi, by her own admission... she did feel somewhat sympathetic to my plight. Was this what Matsu meant, when she said that our relationship was precious but not fragile, and that making allowances for people and having patience was simply a thing people did for those they loved?

"If I'm being perfectly honest," I said quietly, "I'm not sure I'm truly capable of love like that, Yume."

"You are, though," Yume said. "You share it with someone already. Just... not the someones you need to."

"Really?" I asked, a little taken aback. "Who the hell do I love so much, then? Because I have... no fucking clue what you're talking about."

"You do know," Yume said. "Your special someone, to whom you give selflessly to make them happy, demanding nothing in return. For whom you make time every day to sit down, and talk, and simply be together."

"Wait, do you mean-"

"I do, in fact, mean Uzume."

I blinked.

"...I mean, Uzume's a friend," I said, "but, like..."

"You stabbed a man, in no small part for how he treated her," Yume said. "And you feel more free to be yourself around her. With your Sekirei, there is always a tension to you, a worry that you could do something selfish to ruin things. With Uzume, though... she is not your Sekirei, and so, paradoxically, you feel more free to be close to her."

I sighed.

"Well," I said. "I don't suppose you have a solution in mind, do you?"

"You need to unlearn a few unhealthy behaviors that are still holding you back," Yume said. "You need to stop viewing your affection as something tainted, that you inflict upon people. You are a kind person, Rose, even as you are, also, an asshole. You care about others, and how they feel. You need to learn to accept that others can come to like you, to love you, and to want your affection, your intimacy, your desire. I know how you talk about Akitsu- how she wants nothing more than to be desired, like she thinks a Sekirei should be. I need you to understand, Akitsu is not special. Matsu, Musubi, Tsukiumi- they all desire you, and they all want you to desire them in turn."

"How do you know that, exactly?" I asked. "Because if your answer is something essentialist, like 'that's what all Sekirei want from their Ashikabi,' I would like to remind you that not all Sekirei agree with you on that."

"Then ask them yourself," Yume said with a shrug. "You do value communication so much, do you not?"

"I guess," I said. "But, I just..." I sighed. "Look, Yume, the problem isn't just that I'm afraid I'll hurt them, so I keep my distance. I literally sleep in the same bed as them every night. I talk to Matsu and Akitsu every day. The problem is also that, after all this time, I just do not feel that way about them. And I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do about that!"

"Well," Yume said. "You love Uzume, after all."

"Uzume already has an Ashikabi," I said. "And while Chiho might be grateful enough for curing her illness that she accepts me un-winging Uzume so I can take Uzume for myself, I can't help but feel that's a bridge too far."

"You misunderstand," Yume said. "As I said earlier, you value communication, and talking to people. Well, talk to Uzume, and tell her what I told you- that your weary heart has taken its greatest liking to her, rather than any of your Sekirei... and then, try to figure out why." She paused for a moment, and then, apparently, decided that she didn't have that much faith in my intelligence. "And, well. Once you've figured out what it is you did that transformed your like of Uzume into love... see about performing that for your other Sekirei."

"So, talk to Uzume and get advice from her instead," I summarized.

"More or less."

"That's... probably a good idea," I admitted. "Ugh. Well." I stood up, and stretched a little. "My Medbay can fix anything short of brain death, so... if you want, I can see about repairing Musubi's tama, and growing you a new clone body to transfer your own tama into. I'm not sure how to do that second part, but... well, you figured it out, didn't you?"

"As it so happens," Yume said, "I did so with the help of a Jinki- I'd been issued one for the duration of the mission, in case it was useful."

"You had a Jinki?" I asked.

"Indeed," Yume said, nodding. "Minaka had reset it to general purpose mode for our mission; he didn't want to keep them in their usual specialized state, because then I would need to bring all of them, and he felt that was an unacceptable risk."

"I'm sorry, reset?" I asked. "General purpose? Specialization? You can't just drop those bombshells on me, Yume."

"I don't have much more time," Yume said, sighing. "I don't think it's enough to explain. Taking control of Musubi like this... it tires me. If you can heal her enough to stand without my help... then please, do. There are... people I'd like to see again."

"I will, Yume," I said. "Thank you for your help."

"You are welcome, my... Ashikabi..."

She closed her eyes, and went limp, flopping back a little in her seat.

A few seconds later, Musubi opened her eyes, yawning loudly. "Wow... Where are we? Did I sleepwalk again?"

"No, that was the ghost of Yume possessing your body to tell me I need to do better," I said. "Sorry I've been a bad Ashikabi, Musubi."

"You're not a bad Ashikabi!" Musubi protested. "Just because you have boundaries, doesn't make you a bad Ashikabi! Our love is more than just the two of us- it is all of us, working together! If you can't do something? Someone else can!"

"So..." I blinked. "You're aware that you and Tsukiumi are pretty much girlfriends?"

"Of course!" Musubi said, nodding seriously. "You and Tsukiumi may not love each other very much, but you don't need to! I love the both of you enough to make up the difference!"

"Well," I said. "That... hrm. Despite the way you talk about it feeling a little off to me, that's... actually a fairly adult and nuanced stance on the nature of polyamorous relationships. Well, Musubi, now I'm sorry for not taking you as seriously as I should've. All this time, I've thought you were childish and naive, and simply didn't understand that you should have boundaries. But..."

"I understand that I should have them," Musubi said, nodding. "I choose not to!"

I snorted.

"Well, hell, if I let Matsu get away with talking like a child while also being horny in an anything-goes, 'fuck me up and make me like it' kinda way, I guess I should extend the same courtesy to you, too," I said, patting her head.

"Miya and her rules..." Musubi said, pouting. "I wanted to wake you up with a blowjob, but she won't let me."

"Still probably for the best," I said. "As hot and fuckable as you are..." I sighed. "Well. I may still have some hangups of my own to work through before I can show you the good time you deserve."

"When you figure it out," Musubi said, "can we move out?"

"Maybe so," I said with a shrug. "Maybe so. Now, c'mon, let's go back to reality. I've had enough peace and quiet, if you came looking for me."