HOW I LOVE YOU
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or King of Fighters.
Shout Out: This chapter is the last one for now, as I have to concentrate on another project. I will be uploading the next one Saturday or Sunday next week, depending on how the project in question will pan out. Thank you for your reviews, and I am happy to share this story with you all. Toytoya, big answer is NO. And another one for you - Harry will have to come clear about his own abilities… and soon. Almonda, thank you, happy to like the little makeshift family they've created. Amarante96, oh the two will fuss, don't worry. Happy to hear you've enjoyed reading the breakdown chat-room, so to speak. Suzu no Miya, here's to you, and Iori will have some gray hairs dealing with the intrepid duo that are Harry and Orochi… Asarita, thank you. R.A. Cross, glad to have you along the ride. Thanks for your support, everyone, and I hope to brighten your days with new chapters soon.
Warnings: AU-verse, SLASH, long explanations are long and creative misuse of powers. Iori is also not in trouble for once…but has a feeling of certain doom nonetheless... Orochi stole the show, the jerk! Not beta-read.
"You know, it kind of bothers me that I got two for one deal." Harry murmured as he stretched across the couch, his eyes tearing a little with the force of yawn that managed to escape his mouth. The three of them had been on the song-writing for four hours already – well, Harry and Iori were, at any rate, while Orochi was petting the little miss highness that was Mischief and listening to their arguing back and forth, red eyes lazy in the afternoon light. It was a calm day, and while Iori had to get out to buy the groceries and Harry returned the books he had borrowed from the local library, the days was kind of calm, considering its explosive beginning at the morning.
Thankfully, they had finished the whole song to Iori's satisfaction - what remained was that Iori and his band tweak the melody to the song and practice it until it was their second nature. And knowing Iori, they would practice it until it would be ingrained in their very bones.
"You're right." Iori nodded to Harry as he went to place his guitar back to its case. Concluding the task, he returned back to Harry, scooping him up in a bridal hold and making him yelp with the unexpected movement, only for him to sit down on the pace Harry had occupied previously, with the green-eyes wizard glaring at him for his little stunt. Undaunted, Iori pecked his nose, causing the green eyes behind the glasses widen and an adorable blush appearing on his cheeks.
"You're terrible." Harry complained, but without heat in his voice as he used the chance to snuggle toward Iori's much warmer body.
"Of course." Iori smirked at his Harry - and wasn't that a grand feeling - before he looked at the spirit entity again. "Care to explain?"
Sighing, Orochi ruffled his hair, making it appear like some kind of a dandelion as he straightened himself up, much to Mischief's disgruntlement. The kitten growled, clawing his right tight in retaliation, before once again curling on his lap flicking its ear and closing the eyes to nap on. "I don't know." He replied, white eyebrows furrowing in consternation. "What I can offer, is a guess at most." He grumbled, peeved. It straight out galled him that he didn't know something, especially something so very important.
"Then guess away." Harry was actually curious himself how could that happen because at first he had thought Orochi as a part of Iori's personality, and to find out that Orochi was actually a separate entity, set out an entirely new ball game, so to speak. Absentmindedly, he felt Iori to hug him around the waist, and he joined his hand on top of his, feeling a jolt of warmth when Iori entangled his fingers with Harry's own. This was something Harry had missed, and wished for his own and now, he had it. Maybe not with a person he wished for, but it didn't matter. He would always love Hermione and wish her luck, however he silently promised himself that he wouldn't dwell on his unrequited feelings for her anymore. He deserved his own bit of happiness too, and it would be a foolishness of the utmost degree if he let it go just because it appeared in a little bit unconventional shape. Sometimes differences were a good thing, to experience and accept, which was Harry still slowly learning to deal with, but that may have been for the best.
Maybe Yamato-san was right…
"I am a spirit entity, Gaia's protector." Orochi began slowly, interrupting Harry's flow of thoughts and gaining his attention. "I was created to protect her from harm a long time ago. But when humanity went too far, I retaliated." He scowled, red eyes darkening with wrath. "I would've wiped the fools off her visage, but I had been stopped by three warriors that sealed me away, leaving the humans to continue their misdeeds and destroy the planet even further." He growled, clenching his right hand and causing blueish white electricity to sparkle around the fist. Surprisingly Mischief snoozed on, unaware of the ire of force of nature whose lap she was currently napping in.
"Orochi, quit with the lightning show, unless you want us to be evicted out of the apartment, please." Harry requested, but his own eyes were glued on the electric arcs dancing around Orochi's fist nonetheless.
Orochi blinked as he looked at his hand. Exhaling, the previously almost blindingly bright arcs petered off, until they were very weak and the shade of sea blue, finally flickering off and leaving the fist bare. "I apologize. I am still furious at the three warriors that dared to fight against me and protect that scum." He sneered at the last word. "They had three divine implements even I, Orochi, could do nothing against if they were used in conjunction."
Iori listened, fascinated. It was one thing to read about, but completely another to hear it first hand. "The Shield, the Mirror and the Sword." He supplied, causing those red eyes flash at him. For a moment, he tensed, thinking that Orochi would be attacking him for his impertinence, but the spirit's shoulders slumped and eyes lowered to half-mast, once again lost in memories.
"Yes. Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Kagami no Yata, and Yasakani no Yagatama." He hissed with dislike at the mere mention of the three. "The Three Sacred Treasures. The warriors managed to defeat and consequently seal me, thus preventing me from returning to this plane of existence. However, that didn't stop Yasakani Kunizuna from coming to me, begging me for the power to demolish the Kusanagi bastards who had killed his wife." He smiled mirthlessly. "The fool had done a blood promise, and I granted him the flames of destruction, both to him and his lineage to realize his vendetta against the wielders of Kusanagi no Tsurugi. If there weren't anyone of that accursed blood to hold the holy sword, then there was one less chance I would be sealed again, once I would've been free of the seals. And if Yasakani clan had been converted to madness what with using the flames I had granted them, then the chance was even smaller. To hide the shame of their failure, the Yasakani went into the hiding and renaming themselves as Yagami clan." Iori's jaw clenched at the revelation. He had already known that, of course, but it still didn't hurt any less.
"The Yagami and Kusanagi clans have been blood enemies ever since." He interjected, glaring at Orochi all the while as he clutched Harry closer to his body, as if to reassure himself that the wizard was still here, alive and breathing and not figment of imagination. Not one more bloody corpse to add to the ones already on his hands.
"But I managed to get free once more. "Orochi continued, grimacing at the memory. "My servants managed to break the seal, but not enough to release all of me to freedom. In haste, I managed to possess one of the fighters in the KoF tournament."
"Quick question." Confused, Harry lifted his left arm before lowering it again as he saw Orochi nod to him. "What is that KoF tournament you are speaking of?"
Iori's eyebrows quirked. "Seriously?" He asked, incredulous. "You really don't know about King of Fighters?" The tournament, even if not known to many outside the fighter's circles, still had a diverse enough audience through the population, even if most of the dealings within the tournaments had been hushed from the masses, especially higher tier fights.
But looking into Harry's clueless eyes, Iori fought the urge to face palm. Figures. Only Iori would date someone who was completely in the dark that Iori was the boogeyman of that particular tournament. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the revelation.
"What, have you been under the rock all the while or something?" He just had to ask.
Harry glared at him. "You could say that. Besides, I didn't really have the time to drink tea and have my daily dose of morning newspaper news when I had played a wanted fugitive all over the country." He snapped out, peeved at Iori's tactless words.
Orochi tilted his head. 'Wanted fugitive? Oh, my. Seems my Little One's soul is on a little bit on an adventurous side.' He thought to himself, intrigued. That was a venue worth questioning… but much later. "King of Fighters tournament is the tournament for the best fighters of different martial arts, and the winner is crowned as a King of Fighters." He explained, before moving on as he stroked the kitten's back, causing it to purr louder in bliss. "I had been resurrected there because the accumulation of the fighters' energy managed to enable me to possess one of the Yagami fighters here." He reiterated, before sighing. "It wasn't enough, as both Chris and I were incompatible, thus allowing him use only a mere fraction of my abilities. To my additional misfortune, Yagami, Kusanagi and Chizuru were also there, managing to seal me again."
"The seal should have worked." Iori grumbled, discontented, causing Orochi to nod. "It would have, but Chizuru-san was the weak link in the sealing process. I've managed to wound her enough for her part of the sealing to be a little bit weaker than the ones of you and Kusanagi. Instead of cutting me off of this plane completely, like the last sealing had, this one left behind a small gap."
Harry's eyes widened with understanding and his hand entwined with Iori's clenched around the fighter's fingers. "Iori." He breathed out, stunned.
"Correct." Orochi nodded, smiling. "And then, there was you."
"Me?" Harry looked quite comical, blinking owlishly at the proclamation, his glasses a little askew and appearance rumpled. Iori ruffled his hair even further, prompting a small swat and a pout for his troubles.
"I've noticed that there was something different when Iori was in contact with you. The air seemed somehow…cleaner, purer, if that makes any sense." Orochi frowned faintly. "Despite you being cursed and blessed, your presence calmed me down from my usual pain and rage."
"Are you talking about eternal flame?" Iori questioned. Orochi paused, thinking. "No. It's not that. It's something else." He finally replied, the words halting on his tongue. "It made me sit up and notice him. The eternal flame was just a bonus, so to speak."
"Glad to hear that." Harry remarked, and for once, his words rang true. "But that still doesn't explain just how I separated you two. The first time when we've met, you've used Iori as a medium."
Closing his eyes in an acute embarrassment at the memory, Iori groaned. "Please don't talk about it like that – it makes me feel like I am a cardboard box full of evil goodies." He complained, prompting Orochi to scowl at him and Harry to chuckle.
Harry giggled at his disgruntled voice, but nodded all the same. "But it was oh so true." He teased, making Iori poke him into the ribs and letting out a yelp.
"You resemble the remark, Iori." Orochi couldn't help but join the teasing. "Anyway, that energy of yours acted similar to the fighters' energies enough that when you whacked Iori with the harissen, to give it a final push for the seal to open wide enough to let me outside."
Harry slumped. "So it was all my fault in the end?" He groaned, as he rubbed his face in embarrassment. "And what does that mean for us?"
"I would term it a lucky happenstance." Orochi replied back quickly. "I am not sharing Iori's head space anymore, and I can interact with you on my own volition. That's also the second part of a reason why I proposed the familiar contract. Somehow, your energy is stabilizing mine, allowing me to exist outside the seal."
Iori quickly cottoned on what Orochi was aiming. "So no random possessions of my body anymore?" He asked, a little bit suspicious of his good fortune.
"If all goes well, no." Orochi agreed. "I would be existing separately of you as I am, my own entity entirely.
"And what if Harry's strange energy collapses or something? What would happen then?" Iori was relentless in his questioning.
Orochi paused. "I... didn't think about it yet." He admitted slowly. "If it does, when we still haven't formed the contract, it would simply return me back into the seal and the co-existence with you."
Iori mentally cringed at the possibility. It wouldn't be nearly as simple as Orochi was painting it to be, because there would be certainly a good deal of pain present along the ride.
"And if we form the contract beforehand?" Harry looked at Orochi, green eyes serious. He had inkling what that 'energy' was, but he was holding mum for now.
Both brown and red pair of eyes snapped to him. "I would be free." Orochi breathed out, red eyes widening as he imagined the feeling, before slamming on his mental brakes as he looked at Harry.
"I am not as strong as you." Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair, messing it even more.
Orochi smiled at the ruffled green-eyed wizard. "It's like a collar." He offered, smirking at Iori's startled glare, but Harry perked up, green eyes zeroing on him with curiosity. "Oh? Is that what Iori's collar is doing?"
Iori spluttered. "No, it's not! And you," he pointed at the smirking spirit threateningly "Stay away from my collars!"
Orochi chuckled. "Oh? Jealous that I will be getting one made by my Little One? Tsk, how petty." He clicked his tongue, amused at Iori's defensiveness of this particular fashion accessory of his.
"But they are my trademark!" Iori complained, only to click his mouth shut when Harry turned around and looked into his eyes incredulously.
"Really, Iori?" Harry asked flatly. "Really?" He watched, fascinated, as Iori blushed and avoided his eyes. Smiling, Harry reached up and hugged him. "You are you, with or without collar." He whispered into his ear. "But if you really want to, I can get one for you." He blushed so hard he felt his cheeks burning, but the grateful shine in Iori's eyes out weighed the embarrassment, if only by a smidgen.
Iori gifted him with a kiss before he let him go, only for Harry to be kissed by Orochi causing the Yagami heir to roll his eyes at the spirit's possessiveness.
"But what does it mean, for Orochi to be your familiar?" He addressed Harry after Orochi kissed him, causing his green-eyed roommate to blink.
"Essentially, we are bound to death and beyond. If I die, he dies. " Harry explained, before frowning in confusion. "But that is with ordinary animals. Maybe the rules are different with spirits." He shook his head, frustrated. "I've never heard of the parthership where the familiar would be a spirit entity instead of animal, so I am not sure on that score."
A tense silence reigned between the three of them.
"So… How do we do it?"
Harry's innocent question made Iori face palm for real at his stubbornness and Orochi laugh - in fact, he laughed so hard he fell off the couch he had been kneeling on when he had kissed Harry. His body quivered with mirth, and his stomach was curiously hurting, but really -
His Little One was a truly precocious soul, indeed!
Catching his breath, he looked at the blushing and pouting green-eyed youth, who had his arms crossed on his chest as he glared at his still chuckling form. "We can't do anything until we know more about that strange energy of yours." Harry's face lost its frustrated cast and morphed into a more sheepish one.
"Well, I may know a thing or two about it."
Orochi swiftly stood up and flopped on the couch, thoroughly entertained. Whatever Harry had to answer, it was bound to be interesting.
"Do tell, Little One." He smiled. At the rate this was going, Orochi had no doubt he wouldn't be bored for a long time coming.
/To Be Continued/