"As expected of our Ashikabi."
Hikari hugged Goku tightly, eyes brimming with reverence and affection. "Amazing… This means we can stay with you forever."
Akitsu and the others were just as thrilled, pressing in around him in a warm, giddy crush.
"Hehe… with him here, this round of the Sekirei Plan will be quite entertaining," Asama Miya said softly, watching Goku being smothered by five very enthusiastic women.
"Miya, don't forget our wager," Goku managed, prying himself free from soft arms and curves. He walked over to her with a grin.
"A bet is a bet," Miya replied, still all gentle smiles—though behind that warmth, the faintest Hannya mask flickered again, a hidden chill that could make hearts seize.
"Then I won't be polite," Goku chuckled. Ignoring the dangerous undercurrent in her aura, he swept her up and lowered his head.
The five women behind them all frowned at once, a pang of sourness in their hearts. If they could, they would have swatted Miya away and taken her place themselves.
As Goku's face drew near, Miya's composure finally wavered. That intense, mature, masculine presence poured over her; her heartbeat spiked, heat flooded her face, and a strange, overwhelming sensation swelled from her chest—an irresistible poison that shook her control.
Panic flickered. She couldn't believe it: the resonance—Sekirei and Ashikabi—was stirring in her as well.
"Im… impossible… I can't be resonating with an Ashikabi… He can't be—no."
The instant the thought surfaced, she rejected it. My Ashikabi is only Takehito. I will acknowledge no one else.
"Seems your heart is still attached," Goku murmured, reading her look. "Forget it."
He set her down and released her.
"I didn't expect you to be so gentle, Goku-san," Miya said, a soft smile returning—and beneath it, a quiet sigh of relief. "Still, I won't go back on my word." She rose on tiptoe and planted a light kiss on his cheek.
"That makes us even," she added with a playful sweetness, then turned and slipped back to her room.
"Hey! Miya, that's cheating! We agreed I'd be the one to kiss you!" Goku called after her, but the door had already shut.
Inside, Miya pressed both hands to her chest. Her breathing quickened; color burned high on her cheeks; a hazy glaze crept into her eyes. 'Why is my heart pounding this hard… Is he… truly mine…?'
She had forced herself to suppress the resonance by sheer will. It had been so strong, so frightening, she'd nearly lost control. If she hadn't left his side at once, she might have surrendered to that tremor in her soul and entered a bond with him on the spot.
"Why do I react to him… and so intensely? I'm a fully matured Sekirei. Even Takehito never made me feel like this…"
Peeking through a narrow gap in the window, she watched Goku in the courtyard, surrounded by five women, her brows knitting with a complicated light in her eyes.
Elsewhere, in a room crammed with monitors and instruments, a bespectacled, voluptuous woman stared at a live feed of Miya's room. She trembled with excitement, eyes blazing. "Unbelievable… absolutely unbelievable. Even the landlady reacted to him. Ahh—my heart's racing… I'm burning up… Hehe… I have to study him—properly, hands-on. I can't wait another second…"
Dusk deepened. At dinner, Miya claimed she wasn't feeling well and stayed in her room. The reason, it seemed, was understood only by her and Goku.
Goku himself was surprised by how fatally attractive his aura was to Sekirei. But the realization thrilled him too—recruiting others into his crystal palace would be far easier.
Still, he wouldn't force anyone. Any woman he winged would do so willingly—no matter how exceptional she might be. Miya, for example: if he wanted, he could wing her immediately; even if others said she was "unwingable," he could make it happen. But because she resisted in her heart, he let it go. He believed that one day, Miya would choose to let him wing her.
---
After they'd eaten their fill and night had fully fallen, Goku wrapped an arm around Akitsu's waist and another around Hikari's, heading toward the bath with a roguish grin. "Come on, you two—give me a good back scrub."
"Mm."
All five women flushed, shy but obedient. As Goku's Sekirei, they belonged to him; none refused.
Steam filled the bathhouse. Goku eyed five voluptuous, scorching silhouettes and felt his mood soar.
"Goku… I forgot to mention—Izumo Inn forbids any impure behavior," came Miya's voice as the door slid open. She stood smiling in the doorway. "Break the rules, and you'll be evicted."
"E-evicted?" Hikari and Hibiki yelped together.
"What kind of rule is that?" Goku snorted. "If you keep ruining my couples' bath, I'll make you join us."
"You're welcome to try," Miya replied, all pleasant warmth—with something chilling behind it.
"Fine, fine. You all go. I'll wash alone," Goku sighed, recognizing she was serious. Getting kicked out before he'd fully "conquered" the landlady would be troublesome. Best to humor her for now.
Soaking alone in the warm tub, he drifted into memories of living by himself: a true shut-in once upon a time—leaving the house only to buy food, otherwise buried in anime or gaming day and night.
"Haven't played in ages," he murmured with a smile. His parents had tried everything to break his gaming habit; somehow, decades had slipped by without him touching a game. Incredible.
"A quiet bath, a little nostalgia… not bad." He leaned back, eyes half-closed.
At that moment, a woman in a sultry yukata eased the door open and slipped inside.
She approached silently, wolfish excitement glinting in her eyes as she gazed at Goku's relaxed face. "Goku… my Ashikabi," she breathed, a little laugh escaping. "Hehe."
She crept to his back. "Goku-sama, shall I scrub your shoulders?"
"Hm? Didn't I tell you all to wait outside? Aren't you afraid Miya will throw us out—…? Wait. This aura…"
Goku opened his eyes, lifted his head, and looked over his shoulder.
A beautiful, big-busted stranger—and yet familiar. He already knew who she was, but still asked, "And you are?"
"Fufufu… not rattled at all? As expected of the Ashikabi of Sekirei No. 02, Matsu," she purred, leaning forward.
Cheeks flushed, breath quick, Matsu toppled into his arms.
"Um… it sounds like someone else is in the bath," came Hikari's voice outside. The door slid open with a clack.
"Who are you?!" The women stared, catching Matsu sprawled over Goku in a near-kiss. A storm of jealous fury brewed instantly—women's jealousy is no small thing.
"Ugh! So close!" Matsu clicked her tongue. "Interrupted at this moment… Still, all as calculated." She pushed her glasses up with a wicked smile and sprang to her feet. A massive, bizarre gun appeared in her hands as if from nowhere.
She pulled the trigger. A wide mesh net exploded forth and snapped around Hikari in an instant. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free.
"MBI's special composite filament. It doesn't break," Matsu said smugly, shining her glasses.
Goku blinked. "This girl… is she a full-on fujoshi mad scientist?"
"Hehe… don't worry. It's a gentle experiment—"
Crack… hiss!
The room's temperature plunged. Frost raced over Matsu's limbs, binding her in ice—then a bolt of lightning crashed down and zapped her straight-on.
Akitsu and the others filed through the door.
"Damn… I got so excited I forgot the other Sekirei," Matsu groaned, collapsing.
"How dare you seduce my Master," Mitsuha said, advancing a step at a time, whip in hand, eyes gleaming with ill intent.
Matsu scooted backward, pale. "W-What are you going to do…?!"
---
"My, my… what's all this commotion?" Miya appeared at the doorway, smile serene; behind it, the faintest demon mask flickered. "Matsu, you're not causing trouble again, are you?"
Matsu blanched. Cold sweat beaded on her brow. "A-Ah! She's mad… Miya's really mad, isn't she?!"
"Huh? The landlady knows her?" Hibiki asked, curious.
"She's also a tenant—Room 201," Miya said with her gentle smile. "But… this isn't the time for introductions, is it?"
.....
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