What is a Sekirei?
The Sekirei are extraterrestrial super-powered beings with genetic code similar to humans. Once in the past 8 Sekirei spaceships ("Iwafune", lit. 'Rock Ship' , the name of the ship used when gods head down from the heaven to the surface world in Japanese mythology) reached earth of which at least one suffered severe damage and only the "Pillar" and 8 Sekirei survived. Another spaceship, the one which carried the current Sekirei, crashed in the sea near Japan and thousand years later an island called Kamikura emerged suddenly which was discovered in 1999 by the two students Minaka Hiroto (future MBI chairman) and Takami Sahashi (future MBI head researcher). Onboard the spaceship found on that island were 108 life-forms described as "One pillar and 107 baby birds"
- The first of them, the pillar, shown as #01 was an adult, and it is not a Sekirei.
- Eight (later known as #02-09) were embryos.
- 99 others (later known as #10-108) were fertilized eggs.
The Sekirei's developmentThe adult and eight embryos are also known as the Single Numbers. It is hinted, that unwinged Single Numbers are equal or even more powerful than winged others. All Sekirei have undergone adjustments for the "Sekirei Plan", especially the Single Numbers (some of their adjustments were mischievous. Adjustments to Sekirei's are needed to control and stabilize their power. In this process however MBI fitted all Sekirei with a limiter reducing their strength significantly. Most Sekirei only knew about the world through TV because they never were allowed to leave Kamikura Island. The first contact with the outside world they made was when they were sent out to find their Ashikabi. When the so called wings of the Sekirei are released by the Ashikabi, the power of a Sekirei multiplies and he/she can use his/her true potential. It is stated that Sekirei are interesting beings because ordinary training wouldn't do much for raising their abilities, but according to the state of their heart their soul manifests itself through their ability. Anger, hatred, joy, sorrow and overall their feelings of love influences their abilities and let them get strong.
The Sekirei's battle abilities and rules
Sekirei have a strong ability called a Norito. To utilize this, they need to confirm the bond they share with the Ashikabi through a kiss and recite a prayer. Each Sekirei has their own unique Noritos and prayers. Multiple Sekirei that are under the same Ashikabi can also merge their techniques in order to create more powerful techniques. This puts most Ashikabi at a disadvantage, as only a few Ashikabi possess more than one Sekirei. An important rule for every Sekirei is, that if a Sekirei is terminated the winner has to guard the corpse till MBI arrives and recovers the body. It was shown in the manga that if a Sekirei doesn't follow this rule and refuses to show her respect to the loser other Sekirei might try to punish her. Musubi stated that the reward for the last remaining Sekirei of the game (Sekirei Plan) is that the Sekirei can be with their favourite person (Ashikabi) forever.
Sekirei Physiology
The physiology of a Sekirei is similar to humans. They have similar requirements such as the need to eat food, drink water, and breathe oxygen. They are also also capable of reproducing with the human species; thousands of years in the past, some Sekirei were able to conceive offspring with their Ashikabi. Due to this, the genes of Sekirei, while recessive, are still carried by nearly half of the world's population. However, they also have a significant differences that set them apart from normal members of humanity. Many members of this group have greater strength, speed, and stamina than is possible for a normal human. The what is most important and unique for the Sekirei's is the Sekirei Core, the source of their power and very existence. Sekireis who lost their core cease to function. In order to terminate a Sekirei, a fixed amount of damage inflicted to her is needed or the Sekirei opponent needs to touch the Sekirei Crest and recite a spell (Norito). Then the Sekirei crest disappears and a Sekirei whose crest has disappeared can't function.
What is an Ashikabi?
Ashikabi are humans with unique genes that enable them to empower Sekirei destined to serve them through an exchange of saliva between Sekirei and its Ashikabi, which is usually done through a kiss, thereby resulting in a "winged" Sekirei with who an everlasting bond is forged. For many Sekirei, the reaction is one of deep love and fondness. If a person is an Ashikabi they can forcefully wing Sekirei against their will and make them their "slave", but this goes against the theory that the Ashikabi's power is the power of fate.
The power's of an Ashikabi increase with the amount of Sekirei that they wing. One important part of the Ashikabi-Sekirei relationship is the fact that when an Ashikabi is killed, all of the Sekirei that they have winged are 'terminated'. This is supposed to be classified information, however, most Sekirei and many Ashikabi know about it anyway. One part of the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi is that they can feel each others feelings. 4
Unlike Sekirei, who are mostly buxom women, or handsome young men, Ashikabi can be quite innocuous as they can appear in any gender, age, and even status. In the series, the power of an Ashikabi can be determined not only by the number of the Sekirei he or she has in his or her disposal, but by the bond between them. In any case an Ashikabi dies, all Sekirei winged by him or her will also perish.
Disciplinary Squad
The Disciplinary Squad is a group of Sekirei under the command of MBI charged to hunt down all who oppose or try to escape from the Sekirei Plan. It is indicated that this wasn't the purpose of the squad in earlier times.
Known Members of the Disciplinary Squad:
- #5 Natalia
- #6 Mutsu
The Sekirei Plan
Previously called S-Plan, was to protect the "sleeping birds" (sleeping Sekirei) safe from the attacking international army attacking Kamikura Island. But now it turned into a dangerous and sometimes deadly competition developed by Minaka Hiroto the CEO of MBI.