Harry was suddenly...overwhelmed. He'd gotten three new outfits, a new guardian, and now he was about to go to a place he'd never heard of. On top of that, he was traveling by plane. Harry looked up at Miia, who had covered herself, as well as him, in blankets because the temperature from being so high up was a bit much for her. She was shivering, yet Harry remained toasty warm, snuggled up to his new mother-figure. "B-Brrrr! Chilly..." She muttered.
Harry looked at her with worry. "Miss Miia, are you gonna be okay?" He asked.
"Just cold dear.." She chattered. She went ahead wrapped him in her tail, lifting him up and nuzzling his face. "I'll be just fine, don't worry about me."
"Y-Yes ma'am..." He whispered, clinging to her neck. She awwed, then used her arms to carry him as she swayed back and forth.
"Why don't you take a little nap, darling?" She cooed softly.
"b-but I want to..." Harry said, suddenly yawning.
"I think you want to sleep." Miia said with a wink.
"Um...b-but you'll still be here when I wake up right..?" he asked. For the past week, it'd been a fear of his, that when he woke up, there'd be no more Miss Miia...
"Of course! I'm not going anywhere, don't worry your cute little head about it!" She said cheerfully, patting his head. Harry giggled, snuggled up to her, and fell asleep quickly passed out in her arms. She giggled, wrapped him up again, and looked out the window. 'I wonder what this Kimihito person is like...Will he be nice...? Will he let Harry stay? Is he cute?' "Ooooh I hope he's cute!" She squealed. Harry stirred, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. She had been too loud... "shh...no baby, go back to sleep..." she whispered, rocking him. Harry obediently closed his eyes and slept soundly. She giggled once more, then resumed hugging and looking outside the window at the clouds. The flight was only a liiitle while longer. Maybe she could take a little nap... That sounded nice...Eyes drooping, she fell asleep.
Meanwhile...
"Papi, where'd you go now?!" The exasperated government worker groaned. From atop of a building, Papi looked down at him, stumbling around. looking. She held her wings to her mouth and giggled silently. "He'll NEVER find me up here..." She whispered. She was so glad to get away from those government people. They were SOOOO stuffy and boring! She just wanted to...to go around and have fun! Play! She looked down at the man looking for her and stuck out her tongue childishly. "Papi I see you...get down!" the agent called to her.
The harpy's eyes widened. "Oopsie..."
*Later*
Miia yawned and stepped off of the plane, slithering through the gate and taking her and Harry's bag. Smith was following behind, sipping from a cup of coffee. "Ah okay, leeeet's see. A taxi should be around here." she said, looking around. Harry held Miia's hand and looked around nervously. 'M-Miss Miia...I-I dunno what anyone's saying..." he told her.
Miia frowned. "Oh...This isn't good..."
"Oh...forgot to teach the kid Japanese have we?" Smith asked lazily, sipping her coffee again.
Miia grinned sheepishly. "Yeah...But it's not too late!"
"What..?" He asked confused as to what to do.
"Miss Miia's gonna teach you Japanese, kid." Smith said simply.
"I-Is that what everyone is saying..?" He asked again.
"Yeah!" Miia grinned, snuggling him. "Yeah, that's what they say. And with a little practice, you'll learn too!"
Harry nodded to confirm he understood. "Oh...Okay..."
"Don't worry sweetie, I'll help you!" She cooed, entering the large cab and coiling up.
Harry smiled happily and snuggled into her. Smith sat next to them, and finished her coffee quickly. The cab driver asked where they were going in Japanese, and Smith replied, putting her feet up on the driver's seat. Harry and Miia sweatdropped at the sight of her rudeness. The cab driver grumbled something under his breath and drove forward. After several minutes of driving they arrived at the address they were going to. Miia looked at the decently sized house with a smile. "So...This is where Kimihito lives?"
"I think so." Smith replied, on her phone.
"You THINK so?" Miia replied flatly with a sweatdrop.
"Uh, yea. Yeah, I'm about 80% sure this is the place." Smith said, bounding towards the door and knocking three times. Miia and Harry uneasily followed behind her. She rung the doorbell and waited. The sound of footsteps could be heard from behind the door...the suspense began to rise... Then, a youthful looking young man opened the door. "Are you Kimihito?" Smith asked, barging into the house.
The man stared at her with a raised brow. "Um...Yes...That's me..."
"Good, here's your new roommate." Smith said, making Coffee.
"H-Hello..." Miia waved, feeling cold. Kimihito extended a hand.
"Hi there!" Miia hesitantly reached out and accepted the handshake. He seemed FAR more genuine than Petunia... And he was cute... Kimihito, however, noticed she was shaking. "Hey...you alright?" He asked. Then a small voice from behind Miia said,
"You're cold again..."
Kimihito blinked at the unexpected sound and peeked behind Miia. And there was a little boy in her tail. What the..? "I...didn't know you were bringing another guest." He said with a chuckle.
"Did you read the fine print?" Smith asked him. He sweatdropped
"Yeah...It didn't say a thing about the little guy here." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "So, him being here's a bit of a surprise, not gonna lie."
"Will it...be a problem?" Miia asked him, hugging Harry.
"No, no, no problem. But uh...You two'll have to share a room, because...well, I only have two bedrooms."
"Awesome!" Miia cheered.
"We can get the workers in this dump, remodel it." Smith suggested.
Kimihito put a hand to his head. "Oh boy...How much is THAT gonna cost?"
"Government paid, no charge." Smith said casually. Kimihito grinned.
"Wow, I'm getting a bigger house out of the deal? Awesome!"
"Yes yes, all cool. Now, you three should probably start getting to know one another." Smith said, waving.
Kimihito nodded. "Well, all right then! Bye, Miss Smith!"
"Yeah yeah, see ya." she responded, leaving the household with a lazy step.
And with that, the black-haired woman left the building. "So...Miia, what's this little guys name?" Kimihito asked, trying to appear taller.
Miia grinned broadly. "Oh, his name is Harry, and he's an absolute angel!"
"An Angel huh? Well, then that's good! I don't like whiny...hey..." he noticed Harry's bruised face and arms. "Whoa...What happened? Did he...fall down some stairs or something? He should probably get treated for that! I have a first aid kit in my hall closet, I'll go grab it! And while I'm at it, you look cold, I'll get a blanket!" Miia gritted her teeth awkwardly while Harry looked down in shame. Kimihito returned a moment later, and tilted Harry's head up. Then he saw tears... "Oh...Uh...What's wrong, little guy?" He asked, concerned.
Then he burst into tears, grabbing onto Miss Miia, who picked him up. "M-M-Miss Miia!" He cried as she pressed him into her chest and rocked him back and forth.
"Shhh, Harry, what's wrong?"
"T-T-They hitted me..." He sniffled Kimihito watched Miia console Harry with a concerned frown. "Who hit him? Isn't he your son?" He asked. He was...DREADFULLY confused as to what was happening.
Miia sighed. "It's a LONG story...I'll explain later, okay?"
"Um...okay uh, your room is upstairs." He said, knowing that they must want privacy. He drapes the blanket over her and smiled. "I'll go turn the air conditioner down for you...You're cold."
"You will?" she asked, surprised. He was going to...
"Yeah, I mean you're half snake, so you're probably cold blooded, right?"
"Y-Yes I am...t-thank you!" she grinned, randomly crushing Kimihito in a huge Hug.
Kimihito immediately felt the crack of his ribs from the sheer force of the hug. "OKAY! OKAY! Too tough!" he protested in a wheeze before managing to escape.
Miia smiled. "You're such a sweet man! I like you...Darling." Kimihito blushed profusely, and Miia giggled before slithering upstairs to go back to comforting Harry. He was clutching at her shirt, still in tears... She shut the door behind them, then set Harry down, getting to his height. "Harry darling, what's wrong?"
Harry sniffled. "I...I don't like thinking about b-b-being hit..." He said softly.
"aww...Harry..." she cooed, hugging the little boy and rocking him, trying to calm him down. "It's okay...It's over now. You're not with him anymore, so he can't hurt you ever again. It's okay, Harry..." "B-B-But it was s-so scary!" he cried once more, continuing his tears as she rocked him gently."And it hurt! It hurt a lot!"
Miia shushed him with a finger and adjusted him to eye level. "Harry...you never have to worry about them again, I promise...now c'mere and lemme hold you. It's a happy time!" Harry sniffled, wiped his tears away, then forced himself to smile at the lamia. She wanted him to be happy, so he would try to be happy. "See! There you go...now hug Miss Miia." she chided. Smiling softly, Harry obediently wrapped his arms around her torso. "Good...I love you Harry..." she whispered
Harry sniffled. "Love you too, Miss Miia..."
Miia gasped, then hugged him a bit tighter. He was...such a perfect ANGEL! She was squealing in delight as she held him as close as she could without hurting him. "OH YOU'RE JUST SUCH AN ANGEL!" Harry blushed at her praise and smiled bashfully. After he was cured of sadness, she took him back downstairs. She was humming cheerfully as she carried him down to get a fresh start.
Meanwhile...
Papi was just waiting for her opportunity to sneak away and see more of the city. She was getting incredibly restless... It was just so weird seeing Monsters and people get along...it made her happy. Humming to herself, she flew above the rooftops again.
*meanwhile*
Kimihito sweatdropped. "Uh...Miia? I never went grocery shopping for your arrival, and food is low...care to go out and help me shop? Get you used to the city?"
Miia nodded eagerly. "We'd be happy to, darling!" She exclaimed happily.
"U-uh okay! What's with the darling-"
"Don't worry about it! Come along Harry Darling!" She called, grabbing Harry's hand. Harry obediently allowed himself to be led out of the building, a bemused Kimihito following close behind. Later, they were wandering through the thick crowds of people, denser than Stevie, and it was becoming hard to keep track. Miia had kept ahold of Harry's hand to the best of her ability. "Hold tight sweetie, wouldn't want to lose track of y-OU!" She yelped as someone stepped on her tail tip. She threw her hands in the air and chewed out the person who did it while the crowd pushed. After the entire ordeal was over with, she sighed. Kimihito grew worried.
"Uh Miia? Where'd...Harry go?"
Miia looked at Kimihito with a tilted head. "Huh? What do you mean, Darling? He's right here." She turned to look down beside her, and it took a few seconds for her brain to process that Harry was no longer there. "H-H-Harry! Harry! HAAARRRYYY!" She screamed as she frantically searched for him.
*with Harry*
Harry was being pushed around everywhere by the crowd, unable to see where he was going. He was lost, confused, and absolutely terrified. Where was Miss Miia?! "M-Miss Miia!" He cried scared. But Miia was nowhere to be seen, and he was being pushed around by the huge crowd because he was too tiny to be seen noticed by the bustling people. Eventually he was pushed around violently until he finally broke through and fell, violently scraping his knee He let out a small yelp and clutched at his knee in pain. He was so scared! Where was Miss Miia?!
Meanwhile...
Papi snickered to herself, having finally managed to get away from the government workers in charge of watching her. She knew she couldn't be out without a person to watch her...So all she had to do was find a person, right? She flew over another rooftop and then looked down. It was a bright day out...and a little boy was sitting on a back alley sidewalk. "Yay! Someone to play with!" She said excitedly. She flew down gracefully and landed behind him. But the sad part was he was crying! The harpy tilted her head with a frown. THAT couldn't be good. Kids weren't supposed to be sad! They were supposed to be happy and playing! "Hey, little boy! What's wrong?" She cooed, crouching down next to him. He was so little and adorable! The child flinched at the sound of her voice and sobbed harder. He wanted Miss Miia. "Hey...did you lose your mommy? Shh hey hey hey, don't cry..." She said, trying to calm him. Then, she looked at his knee. "Oooh...Ouchie..." She said with a wince. He began to scooch away, and Papi followed. "Don't be scared!"
She moved next to him. "What's your name, cutie?"
He sniffled and let out a quick squeak. "Harry!" Before he returned to crying.
Papi wrapped her wings around him and pulled him into her chest. "Hiya, Harry! I'm Hapi, and I'm a parpy!" She smiled broadly before blinking. "Wait...No, that's not right...Um...I'm Parpy, and I'm a Hapi! Gah, that's not it either! I'm Papi, and I'm a harpy. There we go! That's right!" Harry seemed to stop crying, and he looked back up at the blue haired lady. She was funny... Papi looked down at the little boy and giggled. "So, are your mommy and daddy around?"
"Um...I don't have a mommy and a daddy...just Miss Miia and Mister Kimihito..." He replied, looking discouraged.
"Awww." Papi cooed. "So are you lost?"
"W-we got separated...n-now I'm scared..." He whimpered to the monster.
Papi looked at him with a huge smile. "Well guess what? You don't have to be scared ANYMORE!" She stood tall, still holding him in her wings. "Because I'M gonna help you find your family!"
"T-they aren't my-"
"Cmon now! Let's look around! Maybe they're close!" She replied cheerfully. Harry looked up at her and smiled softly. She was nice...Just like Miss Miia...
Meanwhile, with Miia and Kimihito...
"M-Miia, calm down-"
"ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!" She screamed, darting back and forth. "HE'SGONE,HE'SOUTHEREALLALONEANDSCAREDANDMAYBEHURTANDWEHAVETOFINDHIM,IWANTMYHARRYBACK,DARLINGYOUHAVETOHELPME!"
"Miia I-"
"HE'S JUST A LITTLE TINY BABY WHO CARE BARELY LIFT A FINGER, AND DO YOU KNOW WHO PATROLS THE STREETS?!"
"Okay, okay, Miia, I think you might be underestimating him. He looks like a tough kid to me, I'm sure he'll be just fine until we find him."
"But he's just a little baby!" She cried, squeezing Kimihito half to death. Kimihito felt his spine crack and the air leave his lungs. "Quick! Let's backtrack and look around!" She demanded, dropping him and slithering through the streets.
Kimihito greedily sucked in air as her grip slackened. "She's gonna kill me..." He grumbled, stumbling along behind her with difficulty.
Meanwhile...
Papi had Harry's hand wrapped in her wing as she walked with him. "A-And she has a big snake tail...she's super pretty, a-and nice..." Harry said, finishing describing her in brilliant detail.
"Uh-huh! I got it!" Papi said, when in reality she was going to forget all about the description seconds later. "Hmm...I don't see anybody!" She said, pouting. "Oh how about we get ice cream!" She smiled gleefully as she remembered she had some spending money from the government.
"I-IceCream...? But we have to-"
"Hey it's alright cutie! We'll just grab some ice cream and then keep looking!"
Harry bit his lip, and Papi picked him up. "C'mooon, ice cream's really really gooood!"
"Um...o-ok..." He agreed.
She dashed away from the road and into a nearby park, where the stand lay in wait for their hungry mouths. Papi had a huge grin on her face as she got their ice cream. A chocolate cone for Harry, a vanilla flavoured popsicle on a stick for her. "Is it good?" She asked with a grin. Harry nodded, not one to speak with food in his mouth. Papi giggled as she watched him eat. She was having a little bit of trouble holding her ice cream, since she had wings instead of arms. She frowned. "Um...Cutie, when you're done your ice cream can you hold mine for me so I can eat it? It's hard with my wing arm...things..."
"S-Sure..." He whispered, quickly finishing, then holding the cone up to her. But he was small, so Papi had to bend down to eat it.
Thankfully, he was holding it up to her, thus avoiding any questionable looks from passersby. After gulping it down in a total of four bites, she rubbed her stomach happily. "Mmm! Yummy!" She said cheerfully. "Now, let's go find Miss...Uh...Maya...?"
"Miss Miia!" He giggled, thinking she was joking.
"Yeah, her!" Papi said with a grin. "And...Kirihoto...?"
"Mr. Kimihito." Harry corrected.
She lifted Harry off the park bench, then lead him towards a swingset. "Maybe if I push you high enough, you'll find then!"
Harry tilted his head. "Um...I don't think the swings go high enough for that..."
"Let's just try it!" she coaxed, setting him on the swing and pushing him. Soon enough, Harry had forgotten entirely how scared and desperate he was as Miia played with him. Miss Papi was really nice! And when his booboo started to hurt more, she did this! "Aww is it hurting you? Here..." she stopped over, and kissed it! Papi giggled as his face lightened. He was so happy now, yay! Awww, she wanted to get put with this baby! He was so cute! And he was such a good playmate too! When they found his family- "OH MY GOSH, YOUR FAMILY! WE FORGOT!" She exclaimed.
"AH!" Harry exclaimed as Papi pulled him off of the swing randomly, then went back to the city.
"We gotta find this Mila and Komohiro!" She reminded.
"Miss Miia and Kimihito!" He corrected, being dragged along.
Papi realized she was dragging him, and didn't like that. She could hurt him! Carefully, she stopped and picked him up gently. "Better? Better. Ok let's go!" She cheered, running. Harry clutched to her tightly, not wanting to be dropped. But despite being unable to hold her ice cream, she actually had a pretty good, protective hold on him. After running about for a little bit, Papi rounded a corner and crashed into a tall, scaly figure. She had turned her body just in time to prevent Harry from taking the brunt of the impact, but she was still knocked back, falling on her butt with an "Oof!"
She heard a gasp, and then, "HARRY!"
Followed by cries, Harry was snatched away. Harry immediately smiled joyfully as he gazed into the overjoyed eyes of his caregiver. "Miss Miia!" He cheered happily.
"Oh my god, thank goodness you're okay!" She said tearfully, holding him tightly and pressing him into her chest.
Papi got back to her feet, and Kimihito caught up to the teary-eyed lamia, panting in exhaustion. "Oh good... You got him..." He panted.
Papi tilted her head. "Ooooh, so you're the little cutie's family!" She said cheerfully. "Hiya!"
"DID YOU STEAL MY BABY?!" Miia roared.
Harry sensed things could potentially get bad, and stepped in to defend his new friend. "N-No! She helped me!" Harry protested to his Lamia guardian.
Miia still glared at the pouting Papi reproachfully. Kimihito stepped in to defuse the situation, looking over at Harry. "Hey, buddy, good to see you're okay." He said kindly. "Wanna tell us what exactly happened?"
"I scraped my knee, then Miss Papi came to help!" He said happily.
"Yep! I sure did!" Papi waved cheerfully.
"Need me to kiss your boo boo?" Miia offered, snuggling him.
"Miss Papi already did.."
Miia's eyes widened at that, then narrowed. This hussy was trying to steal her baby! "Well then...Darling! We're going!" She demanded, trying to escape this situation.
Kimihito frowned. "Miia, you should thank...Papi, was it?"
"Yep!" Papi replied cheerfully.
"Humph...thank you." She said, sarcastically. Suddenly, Harry jumped from her arms and hugged Papi. "Noooo!" Miia exclaimed dramatically. "My Harry's being taken!"
"Bye Bye Miss Papi..." He whispered.
"Bye cutie..."
Then Harry went back and hugged the Lamia. Papi was about to walk away, when... "So, that's where you wandered off to." A bored-sounding female voice sounded. Everyone turned to see Smith approaching Papi, an unamused expression on her face. "You had me running all over the place you know, Papi."
"O-Oh Hi Miss Smith!" Papi smiled, blushing. Smith looked at the group and shrugged.
"Seems like you found a host."
Miia's jaw dropped, Kimihito tilted his head and Harry smiled widely. "Wait...what do you mean?" Kimihito asked
"Nonononononononono!" Miia protested
"Yay! Miss Papi gets to stay with us!"
Papi's smile threatened to tear her face apart. "YES! I'll stay with Komohuto! Perfect!" she cheered, flying around happily."Yaay, I get to stay with the little cutie~!"
Miia glared at her and turned Harry away, smothering him in an overly protective hold. "Hey...Miia, a word?" Kimihito asked her, who set Harry down and turned away with the human.
Papi and Harry were eagerly discussing the transfer of Papi to Kimihito's house. "And we'll get to play every single day! Doesn't that sound fun?" Called Papi's voice from the background. It made Miia growl. Then Kimihito stepped in.
"Miia? What's your problem with Papi?"
"She's gonna steal my baby!" She growled to the man. Kimihito rolled his eyes and put a hand in her shoulder.
"Hey...I'm sure Harry still loves you!" He coaxed awkwardly.
"You don't get it! When I found Harry, he was getting beaten by a despicable family!" She cried
Kimihito's blood ran cold. "Wh-What...?"
"I-I got taken in by a bad family in England, and the tried to force me into labor...but I found Harry...and he was so scared of me, and his size...oh he was so cute..." She recalled, trailing off.
Kimihito stood and listened to Miia's gushing for a few minutes. "So...so Harry was abused?" He cut in. Miia broke out of her gushing and nodded.
"He was sleeping in a cupboard, and he said they hit him..." Little did she know, Papi had grown bored with listening to Smith talk, and overheard Miia's words.
"W-wait what..?" She asked herself
She turned to look at Harry, who was still listening to Smith with rapt attention. He had a nasty bruise...and he was skinny... Yikes... So then...Millia had saved him from being hurt by his mommy and daddy? "And it wasn't even his parents, just people who claimed to be his aunt and uncle.." Miia mentioned, for plot convenience.
Papi's shoulders sagged. 'Then where's his mommy and daddy...?' She thought. Coincidentally, Kimihito asked the same question.
"Well...I think they're dead..." Miia responded sadly.
Papi decided to talk to Miia about this. "Miia? Um...what about Harry?" She asked , sorta barging in.
Miia looked at the harpy with a glare, before her expression softened. Maybe it was good to have more people care about Harry... She sighed softly and approached Papi. "Harry's an orphaned, abused little boy who needs love and affection..."
Papi saluted. "Aye-aye! I can do that!" She replied.
"Let's agree to both love him, alright?" Miia offered, holding out her hand.
Papi eagerly outstretched her wing to shake Miia's hand. "Yeah!"
"Good..." 'Now as long as I don't have to share him with anyone else...were fine.' She thought. If only she knew how hard she was jinxing herself...
A day later, Papi showed up at their door, shaking in glee. She had a small suitcase in her wings, and her overjoyed demeanour provided a start contrast to Smith's calm, almost indifferent one. "ok, well they should be entering-"
Harry jumped up and pulled the door knob, pulling it open, He, Miia and Kimihito were there to greet her. "Miss Papi!" Harry cheered, diving to her and allowing himself to be scooped up and hugged.
"Cutieeeee!" Papi cheered, twirling him around. They snuggled a bit, and found the proper places to build Papi's room. Papi didn't pay attention, cuddling Harry. Miia felt a pang of jealousy watching it, but pushed it away.
She wasn't stealing Harry from her... Harry still gave her plenty of hugs, and was just as eager to spend time with her as he was with Papi... So...yes! This was good! She grinned, and joined in on the snuggles. This could be fun! A new friend, her Harry, her darling...This would be nice!
*meanwhile*
A certain centaur was searching through the city for a host family... However, she wasn't having much luck so far. Sadly, she had come across people she considered...less than polite. There had to be someone...she sighed, then returned to her searching, looking thoroughly. Unfortunately, she also had to avoid being noticed by the government...And this was no easy feat, as her lower body made it...difficult to say the least. Would anything good happen? Anything? Sighing, the centaur rubbed her temples. "My voyage is proving fruitless so far..." But little did she know of the child who'd bring her closer to a loving family...
