"This is bad. This is so bad!"
"I know, Uzume. You kept repeating that for the last 5 minutes."
"Because we're dead, Homura! Walking dead!"
To everyone in the mall, they could only conclude this couple are having a lover's spat, not realizing the depths of their plight and the consequences of what will come to them.
Uzume is already in hysterics, she's afraid, confused and very much worried about the missing baby but mostly because said baby will be the deciding factor of her continued subscription to life. She can already imagine what Miya will do to her!
While Uzume's having a meltdown, Homura is much more proactive than the hysterical Sekirei. His eyes are already searching all across the mall for any signs of the missing baby or anything that would point to a clue. Unfortunately, the mall and inhabitants are acting normal aka nothing peculiar has happened.
Meaning that somehow by some goddamn miracle, Baby Sakura managed to sneak her way among so many people.
Or worse!
The baby was kidnapped!
"Panicking won't help our case." Homura shook his head, "What we need is backup and I know just the woman we need." Pulling out his phone, he dialed a familiar number.
###########
Matsu's having a nice day today. For once, she has the entire house for herself, allowing her to stretch her legs around the house without being seen.
Although Miya, Homura and Uzume knew of her existence, she can't reveal herself to the likes of Emiya and his brother, Minato-chan. Especially the former who creeps her out. Not because he's older of the two or something but because of the way he sometimes looks around while alone.
More than once she found herself staring directly into his eyes in an accident whenever he stared at the hidden cameras. Not like he knows them but she doesn't have definite proof.
Can't believe the two are brothers. It's like night and day honestly. In her opinion, she prefers Minato-chan over Shirou. The latter is far simpler to tease and fun..
With Shirou, she feels like she's dealing with Miya.
The Miya she knew all those years ago.
Ignoring that disturbing line of thought, she has the entire house today and that means she's free to enter the kitchens!
Emiya is away for work while Miya is visiting her husband's grave. Homura and Uzume are on an outing with Sakura-chan. Minato and Musubi meanwhile are away for a grocery run that Miya gave to them before leaving. With all of them away, Matsu can finally take a taste of what everyone is feasting on for a few months.
Shirou's cooked leftovers. Even though it's leftovers from breakfast, it's still flagrant, rousing her appetite even more.
For months, Matsu's been suffering in a torture of watching the rest of the house eat such delicious meals everyday while she could only smell them from afar in her secret room. As much as she wants to eat the leftovers, she can't due to most of them being eaten to the last crumbs!
She's been seething in jealousy and hunger for said meals for months!
'Damn you! Emiya! If only your cooking wasn't great, I wouldn't be like this!' Matsu cried in her head as she finally finished heating up the leftovers. 'But today is the day I will finally get to EAT!'
Mama's bringing it home today!
After heating up the leftover and putting it on a platter, of course it needs to be so, Matsu raised her fork and knife to cut a piece. Mouth is already salivating from the rich aroma despite being heated leftovers.
But as soon as her fork was less than a millimeter from the soft meat, her phone rang.
"Fuck! What who's this?" Matsu doesn't normally curse but goddamn the timing was so bad, it was worse than the time she had to go while Karasuba was still in the bathroom back then.
Answering her phone and putting it next to her head, Matsu snapped at the caller.
"What?! This better be good or else!" She seethed, retreating from her well deserved meal. Eating while on call is bad etiquette and sacrilege to the meal as good as this.
What she didn't expect is to hear Uzume bawling her heart out.
"Waaaaaah! Matsu, help us! Sakura-chan got kidnapped!" What! When! How! Where!
"Shut it, Uzume!" Homura spoke next, "We don't know if Sakura-chan is kidnapped or not but the baby is missing Matsu. We need help ASAP!"
What the hell happened!?
########
"I can't believe you both, you actually lost the baby in the freaking mall of all places!" Homura winced as Matsu berates them on the phone, well mostly him as Uzume's too busy losing her mind. The hacker has been at it for 5 minutes since calling her.
"I know, I know. We got distracted by some Sekirei and lost track of her. Can you help find her?" Homura retorted, trying to get a word in at the rabid woman at the other end.
"What do you think I have been doing? Running around like a goose?" Cursing our stupidity, Homura supplied in his mind but didn't dare say it to the hacker. "I'm already on the Malls system and rewinding the camera records to find the baby."
"Oh thank God." Homura sighs in relief. Sadly, Uzume heard it and practically shook him like a maraca as she rounded him.
"Did she find her? Please tell me she found her already! Was the baby kidnapped?!" Uzume cried.
"Snap out of it already, Matsu's already have news." The grey haired Sekirei pushed the girl's face away from him, "Matsu, tell me what you got."
"..."
"Matsu?"
"..."
"Matsu? I'm getting scared, what did you find?"
"... Miya's gonna kill us all."
"...Please tell me so I won't die of suspense here."
"... She's out."
"She's out? What do you mean she's out?" Homura asked, eyes widening in realization.
"...She's out, Homura. She crawled out of the mall." Matsu squeaked.
#############
Back in the inn, inside of Matsu's hidden room, the hacker watched as one of the screens displayed what footage she found.
Right at the entrance of the mall, one inconspicuous baby crawled between the legs of a busy-bodied crowd. More than once Matsu's heart leaped to her throat at near misses and downright screamed at whoever close on stepping the infant. What's more bizarre is that no one realized that there's a baby crawling on the floor.
How did no one notice at all?!
What made it more terrifying is that said baby crawled out of the mall successfully and went out of view on the next corner, the camera footage finally losing her.
…She needs an Ashikabi. Fuck waiting. Miya's gonna kill them all if she doesn't do anything. The call is still on and with the way Uzume is hysterically bawling her eyes out, her panic is more than justified.
Lucky for her, there's an Ashikabi available to her soon.
Meanwhile, Matsu's meal was left to go cold in the dining room, untouched.
In the city, Homura and Uzume have already gone in different directions to find the wayward baby and cover more ground. Unfortunately for the two, chaos is about to follow both Sekirei.
An innocent picture of Baby Sakura is already circulating in the forums among Sekirei and Ashikabi.
The tagline?
Proof of Sekirei mating.