April 9, 2020
Hotel, Tokyo, Japan
.
"What a strange week" Harry voiced randomly, laying on the couch in their suite, recovering from the night before. Gabby was laying across his legs as they watched some random TV show.
"What're you whining about now, Harry?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the television.
"Just everything that's happened this week, is all" he answered, looking down as she rolled her head towards him.
"You say that as if it's been a bad thing" she retorted, before pulling him down into a kiss. "After all, we've had three different women in our bed in that time frame. Two of them more than once. Even last night wasn't all that bad compared to normal: she was a scientist and a MILF. Cougars know how to keep things interesting. Are you really complaining?"
He could only chuckle at that, kissing her again before she turned her attention back to the show. "No, that's not it. You're right about that part. It's the rest of it that's been strange. How do you know she was a cougar, anyways? It's difficult to tell with oriental women. Wait," he shook his head, "she was a MILF? Missed that detail."
"Hmm" she replied non-committal. To be honest, she'd had the same thought. About the week, not the cougar. That part was easy, not that she'd tell him. Was nice having something over him to drop on him later. But still, she was yet to meet this Musubi he mentioned, and was beginning to think she wouldn't ever. He'd told her about his blunder with the kid he ran into, accidentally getting him kicked out of his apartment. They'd gone to the place two days ago to check on him, only to find the place empty. She smirked as she remembered the overweight landlord try to sell the place to her, completely ignoring Harry. He had made several overt offers as to how she could get it discounted.
Deciding to have a little fun, she'd pushed it as low as she could by adding a bit of her allure, getting it down to 10k yen/ month. She got the man to create and sign the contract in record time, with Harry paying for the full year's lease upfront before he could back out. It wasn't until they were in the car before he came to, and angrily chased after them with the contract in hand as both laughed at his reflection in the mirrors. After that, they'd met up with an old friend of Harry's for dinner, the only other person besides herself and Hana that even knew his real name.
She was so lost in thought she hadn't realized Harry was speaking until the silver-haired woman's name came up. "...Kara mentioned a game as well, though unlike Hana she seemed to be looking forward to it. I wonder if they're playing the same game?"
"You could just ask them, y'know?" she offered, having forgotten about that bit entirely.
"I know…" he drawled, before sighing and looking at the ceiling. "Part of me wants to help Hana, as she really isn't looking forward to… whatever it is. I wonder if it has anything to do with the strange powers they're both suppressing?"
Gabby blinked a few times, not entirely certain what he was saying. "What do you mean, 'powers they're both suppressing'? What powers? I didn't sense anything?" She sat up and looked at him in confusion as she said that.
Harry just stared at her, his mind recanting all the conversations of the past week. 'Oh crap, I never mentioned that to Gabby? Oh boy.' "Umm, didn't I tell you?" he asked sheepishly, already knowing the answer.
"Tell me what, mister" she demanded. He held up his hands in surrender.
"Whoa whoa it's nothing baaad…" his eyes roamed to the side before focusing back on her, "...I hope. Just something I've been noticing a lot with a number of women around town" he quickly answered. Her eyes narrowed as she waited expectantly.
He took a moment to organize his thoughts, not that he actually needed to, as they both knew, being a master Occlumens. But it never hurts to use it as a convenient excuse to stall for time. "When I first met Uzume last year, I sensed she had a strange power. It wasn't magical… per se. But it wasn't not magical, if that makes any sense." She shook her head, turning fully and pulling a knee up into her arms as she laid her head on it.
"It was like she was full of energy. And not just cause she's the short-attention span Uzume we know and love. It was… power. Like, her chi was weaponized almost."
"Her chi? Like the Jedi?" she asked teasingly.
He just shook his head, not rising to the bait. "No, I'm thinking closer to Avatar and their ability to control the elements. I don't know for sure, to be honest. But it's not something I'd ever encountered before. And I wasn't able to determine the nature of it without being invasive, so I never bothered asking."
"It's not being invasive if you ask permission, Harry" she commented with a roll of her eyes.
"You're right, but it also isn't my business so I never brought it up."
"Ok… so now that it is brought up, what does Uzume have to do with Hana? Or your…" she waved her hands absently looking for the right word, "...whatever she is?"
Harry just chuckled. "Kara is my friend, Gabs."
"A friend who has tried to kill you how many times now?"
"The Doctor and the Master have tried, and succeeded, in killing each other loads of times."
"This isn't some TV show, Harry."
Harry gasped, going full drama queen as he holds a hand to his heart while leaning back wide-eyed. "Dr Who is not just 'some TV show', Gabriella! Blasphemer!" What ensued was a tickle fest, as she squirmed to escape her man's grasp, with absolutely no success. It wasn't long before he had her squealing and begging for mercy.
"I yield I yield I YIELD!" she screamed, before he finally released her, and she scrambled to the far end of the couch as he just laughed at her. After ensuring he wouldn't start up again, she slowly crawled back to his lap, and curled up. "You're a jerk" she pouted.
"And you love me for it" he countered, and tugged on her puffed out lip with his hand. This just made her pout harder for a few moments, so he kissed to top of her head. Giving up her pouting for a lost cause, she turned back towards him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So, you were saying about this power Hana and Kara have that resembles Uzume's?"
He chuckled at her segue, and marveled at how capable she was of keeping him on track. "Both Hana and Kara have the similar power, but they're suppressing it heavily. In the two years we've been having these romps with Hana I'd not noticed it before. Most likely because I wasn't looking for it. But last week when I went to the hospital, I told you about what happened with Higa, right?" The question came off more pleading than clarifying, hoping he hadn't forgotten to mention something else.
At the nod of her head he relaxed a bit before he continued. "Well, he had this woman there that, by all appearances, might've been his secretary alongside Kazizaki. But she also had this strange power. And when I was leaving, two more girls entered the office with similar capabilities. Uzume's was stronger than all three of theirs, but I could feel it nonetheless. Then that night, Hana came over, and when I walked in it had been on my mind. That was when I sensed it from her, though heavily suppressed."
"You mean it's weaker in her?"
"No, I mean whatever it is, is much stronger in her than the other four; she was just suppressing it so it wouldn't be noticeable."
"Why would she do that?"
"Don't know, but I can't help but think it has to do with this 'game' she referred to."
She thought over it a moment before connecting the dots. "And Kara has it as well?"
He turns towards her and nodded. "Also suppressed, and as strong, if not stronger, than Hana's. And those six aren't the only ones, either. Musubi had it as well, though hers was the strangest."
"Ok, strange power in strange women. Add to that an even stranger, mystery woman has a strange version of the strange power. You're on a roll today, lover" she teased with a poke to his chest, before squealing as he tickled her again. "I yield I yield je cède!" She caught her breath before smacking him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. "You're an asshole, you know that?"
"And proud of it, darlin'" he retorted, kissing her on the nose. She just crossed her arms and pouted again as she crossed her legs Indian-style, causing him to chuckle and pull her into his arms.
"But to answer your question, yes, it was even stranger in Musubi." Remembering the brunette reminded him of several other women he'd came across, but he'd come back to them later. "In her, there was the active power that I could easily sense, especially when she was running. Or when she made a move on Sahashi and I."
"Both of you at the same time? Kinky" she quipped, giggling after she spanked her lightly.
"No, you brat." Then he cocked his head and thought about it a moment. "At least, not openly. That's when it got strange. She was nearly dry-humping him at one point, which is when I started to leave 'cause he seemed far too innocent and self-conscious to want an audience. But when I started to leave, she grabbed me by the arm, and a second, almost separate, power source bloomed within her."
Gabby was thoroughly confused, still trying to wrap her head around the strange power he couldn't identify. Considering how many different versions of magic he'd come across in the past decade, one that he didn't know about was… curious. Add to that one or more of their bed partners may have it and she hadn't realized it made her suddenly doubt her own abilities.
She was brought out of her self-assessment by the tightening of Harry's arms around her. "Hey, don't fret about it. You didn't have 7 years of training to make it practically second nature. It was only because Uzume was practically oozing it, no pun intended, that I even noticed it in the first place."
Mildly reassured, she wrapped her arms around one of his and held it between her breasts as she leaned into him. "You were saying about the second power?"
The sudden segue caught Harry off-guard, and he had to blink a few times before it came to him. "Wha- oh! Right. So, it was when I was grabbing my shoes to leave that she grabbed my arm. Now, Musubi has these brown eyes that remind me a lot of Hermione's. But, when I looked at her then, they'd turned violet, much like Hana's, only brighter. Her whole being seemed to change, even some physical ones. And the initial power I sensed from Musubi faded, and a second, more potent one stepped forward. It was almost as if…"
"...There were two people" she finished his thought, intrigued and confused at the same time. She felt his nodding of his head against the back of her own.
"Yeah. Exactly. Not to mention, she knew my name."
She frowned at that. "Well, yeah, dummy. You'd been hanging out for a while by that point, I'd imagine you'd have introduced yourself."
He shook his head. "No, I mean my real name. I introduced myself as EJ Black. She called me Harry-sama." Her eyes widened, as to her knowledge only a couple others in the whole country knew that name. The honorific finally hit her, and she frowned and turned towards the green-eyed man holding her. "'-Sama'? Why would you be '-sama' to her? And why the hell did you tell her your real name? I thought we were keeping that a secret in the non-magical world. Or, NOMA-world, as the Japanese magicals call it."
"I didn't" he declared adamantly. "To my knowledge, we'd never met before that day." He knew she wasn't thrilled about these dreams he kept having, and was signing them off as a strange fantasy. "Except, in my dreams." The blonde in his arms froze at that, he felt her stiffen against his chest. She slowly turned towards him again, wide-eyed.
"She's the one you've been dreaming about?"
He slowly nodded. "Damn near identical. The only difference being her clothes. Musubi looks almost like a younger version of the girl in my dreams, though, ironically, she looks familiar too, though I'm not sure why. But, whoever the second person was that came forward, after the physical change she undertook, looked exactly the same. Even the same height. And she knew my real name." He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed.
"According to her, we've met before." Gabby's eyes widened some more. Harry didn't notice, as all the confused thoughts he'd had about the brunette were running through his head again as he thought back to the interaction the previous week. "She knows who I am, said we met 10 years ago. She even named the time frame, early August." Gabby was doing the math in her head quickly. She'd met him during that stupid tournament her sister had been in, which had ended Spring, 2010. He'd told her much of what'd occurred after that, before they were reunited a few years later, including…
"Tonks" she whispered, glancing at him for confirmation.
"Yeah" he agreed as softly. "Whatever mission I took after my 15th birthday, I think that's when I met her, if I did actually meet her. The problem is, outside of that dream, I don't remember anything. There's a two-week gap that I'm missing, but everyone kept saying it was from being in a coma for most of it."
"Isn't there supposed to be some sort of mission report?" Gabby had never gotten involved with the contingent he'd worked with, as they hadn't reacquainted until after Voldemort was defeated, and he'd left the unit.
Once again, he nodded in confirmation. "I thought so as well, but it was black-flagged, deep-6'ed and labeled beyond need-to-know. I didn't have high enough clearance to access it, which was preposterous at the time considering I had the highest clearance possible. Or, at least I thought I did. But, before I could really press to find out, I was healed and sent on another mission, the one that resulted with me fighting those dementors and ending with that ridiculous court case. With all that, it just slipped my mind and I never really thought about it again."
She couldn't deny he led quite the busy lifestyle, and couldn't honestly blame him about forgetting. The stupidity of that case had reached even her in France. "Couldn't you contact one of your old commanders? Maybe after so long they'd be willing to give you some more details?" She wasn't entirely certain if she believed that, but it didn't hurt to hope. Well, not too much, at least.
Harry, though, was thinking it over quickly. "Possibly, but I'm not sure if they would. We didn't exactly part on the best terms, y'know. Not to mention, it would depend on what it was that I uncovered. Then again, this is all assuming what she told me was true."
"What reason would she have to lie to you, Harry?" Gabby asked, now fully turned around and facing him, partly straddling him. She was toying with his hair gently as she went through her thoughts. While her occlumency was fairly proficient, they weren't nearly at Harry's level. Her determination at discovering the truth behind this mystery girl was beginning to bleed through, amplified by her bond-mate's frustration as well. "I mean, from what you've told me, this girl is stuck in someone else's body. Maybe that's why it's been so long, because of whatever happened to her?"
Harry was nodding along, her thoughts running along the same path several of his own were. "I've been wondering about that myself, and I admit, it makes sense. More so since I'm not the only one that thought of it." He sighed, and tucked a strand of the blonde's hair behind her ear, smiling at her. "But, like a dunderhead, I only gave her my number, I didn't think to ask her for hers. So, I have no way of getting ahold of her."
"Well…" she drawled out, poking at his nose. He just smirked and shook his head.
"I tried that when we went back to the apartment. It'd been empty for days, and her scent was too faint to track her. If I come across it, I'll recognize it, but…" whatever he was going to say after that was cut off, as his cell suddenly rang.
*I, I'M DRIVING BLACK ON BLACK, JUST GOT MY LICENSE BACK, I GOT THIS FEELING IN MY VEINS THIS TRAIN IS COMING OFF THE TRACK*
"'Speaketh of the devil and she shalt appear'" Gabby quoted sing-song as Harry just rolled his eyes, before moving her off his lap.
"We don't even know if it's her" he retorted.
*I'LL ASK POLITE IF THE DEVIL NEEDS A RIDE BECAUSE THE ANGEL ON MY RIGHT AIN'T HANGING OUT WITH ME TONIGHT*
"Where the hell is that damn thing" he muttered, pulling off the couch cushions before finding it wedged next to the remote he didn't even realize was missing. "I swear these things have legs" he added, hitting the mute button on the remote as he answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Is this Black-san?" came the male voice on the other end in Japanese. Harry recognized it, not hiding the surprise on his face, to which Gabby was smirking smugly.
"Yeah, this is him. Sahashi?"
"Yes. I was calling to let you know that I found a place to live."
"Oh, good, I was worried. I went by your old apartment and the chubster said you'd moved out."
"Sorry about that, Black-san. During the chaos of looking for a new place I lost your card you gave me. I only just found it while unpacking."
"Alright, well, I'm glad that you're settled in. Can you give me the address? I'll come by and make good on my offer."
"You don't need to do that, Black-san" the voice quickly deflected. Harry had this mental image of the man waving his hands at nothing. He heard a female voice in the background, but couldn't make out the words. "Yes, Miya-dono" he heard resignedly on the other end.
'Miya? Why does that name sound familiar?'
"Sorry about that, Black-san. The Landlady invites you over. She wants to meet you for some reason."
'That doesn't sound ominous at all' he thought to himself, stifling a chuckle. "Sounds good. I'm not doing anything; we can come over right now."
After getting the address, they said their goodbyes and hung up. "Harry, are you sure that address is accurate?" He looked up at Gabby who was on a laptop, frowning.
"Yeah, this is what he said. Why?"
In response she turned the screen of the laptop around to face him, and folded it back before handing it to him. "Look where it is."
He just stared dumbly at it for a moment, before realization set in. "Wow. Small world. Miya… Miya!" He snapped his fingers and pointed at her once the name finally hit home. "Miya Asama! Or is it Asama Miya? Whatever. That's why it sounded familiar, she's the woman who wouldn't sell. Y'know, you'd think with all my occlumency training, I wouldn't have so much trouble remembering someone's name."
"No, but then again, you don't actively handle your real estate purchases yourself either, so it's not really a surprise" she said casually, taking the laptop back. "And you yourself have said that Occlumency doesn't make your mind perfect, just enhances its capabilities." He had to concede the point, as Gabby did most of the hands-on buying. Though, in this case, she'd used a mediator herself as well. And she was right, he had said that.
"Got me there. That's what I've got you for m'dear" he teased, kissing her neck, before adding a nibble to her ear lobe and walking away.
"You bastard" she said breathily, staring daggers at his back before racing after him and tackling him to the ground. It'd be a while before they actually left the room.
Izumo Inn
Later that afternoon
.
"Well, this is quaint" Harry voiced as they pulled up, switching to Japanese as he parked the car. He was dressed in a casual, baby-blue button up with the sleeves rolled up, complete with black pants and sneakers. Moving around the car, he opened the door for Gabby. His blonde companion was in a skin-tight yellow sundress, accenting her womanly figure and showing off plenty of leg.
"Almost like a bed-and-breakfast" she responded as they entered the gate. "Huh, I actually kind of wish we'd stayed here instead of the hotel. This feels much more homey."
"Miya will be happy to hear that" an androgynous voice sounded from the doorway. Both their eyes snap forward to the man (woman?) that was standing there. Both had noticed quite a few persons here in Tokyo that were difficult to accurately identify the gender of. Harry was tempted to use a passive form of legilimency on him to find out, but held back as he sensed that strange power coming from them as well. Besides, where's the fun in that? That it'd also be very rude was no never mind.
Both Harry and Gabby stepped up on the porch, and the unidentified person held out a hand. "Name's Kagari. Welcome to Izumo Inn." Considering the little they knew of Japanese names, it sounded masculine, despite the person's appearance. But they still weren't really sure.
"EJ Black" he answered, before turning towards his partner. "And this is Gabrielle Delacour."
"French, eh? Enchante" Kagari added, kissing her knuckles lightly. She giggled lightly. Harry didn't miss the strange facial expression that Kagari made after kissing her knuckle. He was mildly impressed at the man's ability to be unaffected by her allure, but was wondering what that expression had been.
"Merci, monsieur. Et vous" she replied. Kagari smiled, though this time it seemed more than a simple smile to Harry. For some strange reason, it reminded him of Musubi. Speaking of…
"Are Sahashi and Musubi here?" Harry asked. For some strange reason, he instinctively assumed they would both be here. Why, he wasn't sure, but some part of him knew it was almost guaranteed.
Kagari nodded. "Yeah, they arrived about 5 days ago. I'm guessing you're the one that Miya wanted to meet?"
Harry nodded, not missing the mild grimace behind his (her?) statement. Apparently, whenever Miya wanted to meet someone, it was rarely pleasant. Kagari turned and beckoned into the house. "She's in here. I think Sahashi is in his room, and Musubi was in the washroom."
The trio entered into the parlor, and seated at the table was a woman with purple hair, wearing a matching purple hakama and a white haori. While Kagari and Gabby continued on, warning bells were ringing in Harry's head. He stopped at the other end of the table, searching his memory banks as fast he possibly could for any memory regarding the woman in front of him.
As if feeling his eyes on her, she looked up with a friendly smile, her bangs not hiding the sweet brown eyes that took only a few moments for recognition to set in. And just like that, they turned blood red, the smile became a snarl, and quicker than either Kagari or Gabby could see, she had a wooden spoon under Harry's chin, pinning him against the wall, and a dark aura was permeating the air around them. "YOU!" she snarled, and Harry was suddenly doubled-over, holding his head.
~~Flashback~~
"Takehito! Get out of here!" Harry was casting spell after spell, putting out electrical fires as fast as they were forming, trying to protect the man who'd become his friend.
"I'm not leaving you to do this alone!" The man was trying to collect everything he could, keeping an eye on the crystal that was overloading
"You'll die if you don't! Think of Miya! Think of the rest of the Sekirei! They need you!"
"I can't help them if I just leave now! This data is what will save them! I'm not just about to abandon it!"
~~End Flashback~~
"AHHHH!" Harry was on the floor, holding his head between his hands as the memory hit him. And he knew it was a memory, because unlike the dream, he was wide awake, and his occlumency barriers were being shredded by his own mind.
Gabby had frozen in shock at seeing Miya charge her lover so angrily, but moved into action once he collapsed. At first, she'd thought Miya had done something to him, but the way he was holding his head suggested otherwise. Whatever it was, she knew she wasn't going to like it.
"What did you do to him, Miya" Kagari asked slowly and cautiously. The sounds of footsteps drew his attention, seeing that Minato and Musubi had both shown up, the latter wrapped in a towel.
"Nothing…" she answered harshly, before turning a look at him. "Yet" she added with finality. Kagari almost blanched at the tone, and caught Minato backing up fearfully. He was surprised to see Musubi's eyes suddenly change colors, turning violet as she charged towards the downed man, whose whole body was vibrating. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as if the man was pumping out some sort of energy. Whatever it was, he could feel the vibrations in the air.
Kagari and Minato were startled by a vase in the room suddenly shattering. Miya merely cast a quick eye at it, raised an eyebrow, then turned towards the man she was dedicating all her anger towards. Both men exchanged a confused look, then turned towards the three on the floor, catching the last of what the blonde was saying.
"...Follow my voice, EJ, follow my voice. Let the memory play itself out, stop fighting it. What comes will come. Focus on my voice, deep breathes mon amor." Harry was noticeably calming down, and after a few moments, simply collapsed into both girls' waiting arms. Gabby pulled out her wand, which had Miya raising her spoon again, and waived it over him before sighing deeply.
"Well… this could have gone better" she vocalized, before turning to the other girl. She took her all in, most noticeably the violet eyes. "Oh, so it's you, is it?" she asked, cocking her head. The brunette didn't answer, just turned a questioning look towards her. Gabby shook her head almost imperceptibly, before adding, "You must be Musubi. I'm Gabby."
The brunette regarded her for a moment, before nodding her head. "Nice to meet you!" she responded energetically, hoping to sound like her host. Agreeing non-verbally with the blonde it was neither the time or place, she looked back down at the ebony-haired man. "What happened to him?" she asked, turning towards the landlady. "What'd you do?"
Before the woman could respond, Gabby interrupted. "It's not her" she defended, drawing all eyes. "Well… not directly her. If I'm not mistaken…" she turned her own eyes on the spoon-wielding woman, "whoever you are, you broke through a mental barrier of his."
"Mental barrier?" Kagari asked tentatively, still not willing to move forward less he enter Miya's line of sight.
Gabby sighed deeply, and ran her hand through her hair like Harry often did. "Yeah. We were afraid of this." She turned towards the man in question. "He's currently passed out. Whatever memory you drug up, breaking that barrier took a lot out of him. And while I'd rather take him back to the hotel, I'm not able to carry him up to our room."
"He will stay here until he wakes" Miya promptly ordained, with more heat than anyone was expecting. "He can use the room next to Sahashi's. It is currently available."
"I'll carry him up there" Musubi promptly offered. Ignoring Gabby's questioning look, she picked up Harry with ease and disappeared towards the identified room. Gabby was left gawking, her mouth open. Movement caught her eye, and she saw Minato slowly stepping towards her, the familiar glazed-over look in his eyes. She sighed, then cast a stinging hex at the man's leg, which had him yelping and holding it while dancing in place.
"I think we need to have a discussion" Miya supplied, startling Gabby, who, in her annoyance at the man, had forgotten she was there. 'Oh shit! I just used magic in front of NOMAs!'
An hour later, Harry was stirring from his slumber. Rolling over, he immediately held a hand to his head, rubbing his temple. 'What… the fuck. Ok, if I wasn't sure before, I am now. Definitely a memory block, and a powerful one at that.'
"So, this is what the great Dr Black does in his time off." The voice registered with Harry, but he was almost certain he was imagining things, because it was too much of a coincidence she'd be here. "What's the matter, too much sake?"
Harry rolled on his back, leaned on his elbows, and looked up at the familiar face of Uzume leaning on the wall next to the door, arms crossed with a mischievous smile on her face.
"Uzume?" he questioned, more for proprietary than actual wondering. He knew it was her, he was just unsure how it was her.
"Must've been some good stuff if you're having trouble remembering little ol' me" she retorted with a wide smile.
"'Good' is certainly not the right word here" he mumbled, sitting upright. He took around, adjusting to his surroundings. He saw it was still light out, though darkness was creeping fast. The events of the evening came rushing back to him in a hurry. "No, definitely not the right word."
"So I've heard, mister magic user." That froze Harry, and he slowly looked up at Uzume, that mischievous glint shining in her eye. "Whoda thunk that the great Doctor Black was actually a wizard that can do magic. Almost feels like cheating if you're using magic to accomplish everything you've done." It was fairly rare to be put on the back foot so easily in just about anything not related to flirting. So he did the only thing he could do and attacked.
"Well, considering Chiho is a squib you shouldn't really be complaining." That had Uzume's smile slowly falling off as she stepped towards him.
"What're you talking about?" she asked, the teasing manner gone. He couldn't deny his surprise, thinking she'd have been aware. Then again, not all squibs knew they were squibs, so it's a distinctive possibility Chiho herself didn't even know.
"Chiho has magic in her veins" he answered calmly, slowly getting to his feet. He began stretching himself out, undoing the kinks that had formed.
"If she has magic, how come I've never seen her use any of it?" The disbelief was evident in her voice, reaffirming Harry's thought that perhaps Chiho didn't even know. Considering how close the two of them were, it's highly unlikely that Chiho would've hid something like this from her lover.
"Chiho's your Ashikabi isn't she" Harry threw out. He had to blink at that, wondering where in the high heavens that question came from, as that was nothing that he was intending to say. His mouth was working on its own it seemed.
But as surprised as he was at his own question, Uzume's eyes looked incredibly frog-like at the moment, her jaw doing its best to hit the floor. "Ho- how do you know that?" she squeaked out.
"I'm not sure" Harry answered honestly, scratching the back of his head. "I feel like I know more than I do about Ashikabis and Sekireis, but something is preventing me from remembering it all."
"Another memory block, perhaps?" Gabby's voice permeated the air as the door slid open. Behind her was Kagari looking on worriedly.
"I think so" he admitted whilst hugging the lithe girl. "Thank you for calming me down. Whatever they did to me, it hurt worse than being bitten by that basilisk when I broke through it."
"You mean when Miya broke through it" Gabby corrected, and he conceded her correction.
"Yeah. Whoever she is, we have a past. And I don't think I'm going to like whatever it was that happened between us."
"No, you're not" Gabby corrected again, sounding slightly defeated, and at the same time worried. Very worried, if what he was sensing through their bond was any indication.
"That bad, huh?" he asked, and she nodded into his shoulder.
"You need to talk to her. And I mean talk with her. She's borderline ready to kill you" Gabby told him, and he just sighed in resignation. "In fact, I think she would have already, but she wants to hear whatever it is from you first."
"That's pretty bad. Great." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, before another thought hit him. "By the way, how much did you tell them about magic?" She went rigid in his arm, and he had to fight back a laugh. "Uzume let it slip that she knew I was magical. And I vaguely remember something shattering during my mental meltdown, which I'm assuming was some accidental magic I was throwing out?"
"She also hit Sahashi-san with something she called a stinging hex" Kagari provided helpfully from behind. Gabby spun and gaped at him for the betrayal, while Harry just laughed and drew her back into a hug.
"I'm guessing Sahashi was succumbing to your allure then?"
"You really are too smart for your own good" she mumbled into his shoulder, before punching him in the chest.
"Not as smart as I like to think I am" he stated, kissing the top of her head. "And you didn't answer me."
Groaning at her failed attempt to divert his attention, she stepped back and sighed. "I told them how magic was real, showed them a couple things, and explained how certain mental magics can block and/or erase memories altogether, and how breaking through those barriers, or regaining certain memories can have the effect that they witnessed with you. It was towards the end of that that Uzume here showed up, and I was so surprised I nearly pissed myself."
"So, everyone here knows, now?"
She nodded, and he mirrored it, resigned. "Alright, then. Time to face the music."
They followed Kagari back down to the table, Miya already sitting at her place at the head, eyes meeting Harry's the moment they entered. Eyes that Harry had seen in others, right before a blood bath began. He couldn't deny that such a sight got his blood pumping, and a part of him that hadn't been used in a while was aching for her to attack him.
"Hello again, Doctor Asama." If she was surprised by his knowledge of her appellation, she wasn't showing it.
"Hello yourself, Doctor Black." He stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills with the purple-haired woman. It continued for several minutes before Kagari coughed, and both eyes snapped to him momentarily.
"Please, seat yourself, Black-san" Miya said, much more friendly than Harry was expecting. Nonetheless, he offered his hand to Gabby as she sat, then took his seat next to her at the opposite end from Miya. Next to her was Kagari on one side, and, surprisingly, Minato. Gabby was next to Kagari on Harry's left, and to his right was Uzume. Between Uzume and Minato sat Musubi, whose chocolate brown eyes were sparkling in recognition towards him.
"So" she began, drawing all eyes towards Miya. "I believe everyone here knows everyone already, but let us introduce ourselves. I am Asama Miya." She turned towards the other ebony-haired man, who looked like a deer in headlights being put on the spot.
"Sahashi Minato" the he provided, more croaked, before turning to the girl next to him.
"Number 88, Musubi. I'm a fist-type!" the brunette exclaimed excitedly with a two-handed fist pump. Harry wasn't sure what that meant, and judging by Gabby's face she didn't either, but his inner workings associated it with her being a Sekirei, so sidelined it for now.
"Uzume" the long-haired brunette offered with a smile. Instead of looking at him, she looked pointedly at the third male in the group.
"Guess I'm next, then. I'm Kagari" he offered with a wave.
"Gabrielle Delacour."
He momentarily considered telling his real name, but instantly signed off that, as it wasn't a can of worms he was willing to open to strangers. Then he considered using his titles as a Black, but decided against that as well, as Miya hadn't used hers. "EJ Black" he finally said, meeting everyone's eyes before settling on Miyas. "Or Black EJ, in the Japanese norm. Not really sure how I should say it" he added with a shrug.
"Now that we're introduced, from what I've been told, you've met everyone here at least once before today, is that correct?" He nodded confirmation towards the three on his right, but turned a questioning look towards Kagari.
"I work as a host at a club. You two came there with a friend of yours about a month ago. I admit, if it wasn't for Gabby I wouldn't have remembered you at all."
Harry admitted he didn't remember the man whatsoever, but Gabby nodded her confirmation of the man's statement, so he took her word for it.
Finally he turned his attention back towards the woman at the end of the table, waiting for her to make the next move. "Yes, we've met more than a few times, Mister Black. At least, that's the name you're going by now. I assume you have reason for not telling them your real name?" she nodded towards the three on her left and Kagari before turning her attention back towards him.
"Yes, I do" he declared adamantly. He raised his hand, and wandlessly summoned the rubber ducky from the table next to her hand, surprising all but the woman and Gabby. He held it up to lips and spoke slowly but clearly. "And if you think you can discover what my true name is, whoever you are, good luck. However, should you succeed, I swear on my life and magic to reward you accordingly." At his declaration, a light glow surrounded him before dissipating. He banished the duck towards the woman, landed it gently in the place it was in previously.
"Who were you talking to?" Minato prompted, looking at him questioningly. Harry just smiled, shaking his head. He caught Uzume's smirk, and Kagari's surprised reaction. Gabby was giggling next to him, then elbowed him and whispered "show-off."
"I see Gabby-san's acclaims towards your magical prowess were not overstated" Kagari offered.
"Indeed" Miya provided, before Harry could respond, not taking her eyes off him. "In fact, she has severely understated, if my memory of him is accurate."
"What is going on?" Minato interjected, drawing all attention to him. He looked awfully confused: his eyes were wide, his mouth opening and closing, and his attention kept shifting between the two newcomers and their hostess. It was one of the last motions that another part of the conversation caught up to him. "And you're a Doctor, Miya-dono? I'm so sorry!" he begged off, bowing to her.
To the group's amusement, she tittered at him, waving him off. "That's quite alright, Sahashi-san. I haven't been a practitioner in many years."
"Engineering and pediatrics, if I'm not mistaken" Gabby provided helpfully. At the collective group's attention, she shrugged. "We looked her up on our way over. Wanted to know some of who we were going to speak with. Though…" she glanced at her lover, "it seems we got more than we bargained for."
The violet-haired woman smiled a soft smile and nodded. "That is correct, Delacour-san. Though, as I have said, I've not practiced either in many years."
"Gabby, please" the blonde insisted. "And why not? Pardon my rudeness but what we found in our short research was nothing short of astounding results."
Miya smiled a sad smile, before that gaze hardened and focused back on the black-haired man, who actually did gulp this time. 'Ohhhh goody. What'd I do this time?'
Before anyone could say anything, Kagari's cell phone rang. He looked at it, then with a strange look excused himself to answer it. A few moments of silence later, he returned in frustration. "Sorry, Miya, duty calls."
"Was that her?" she asked cryptically. Harry caught the quick glance that Kagari sent towards Minato and Musubi before answering.
"Yeah. She said there's another one that needs help. That idiot is letting everyone know, too."
Miya just sighed, whatever frustration she had towards Harry disappearing. "Do what you can. If you must, bring them here."
"Thanks, Miya." With that, Kagari took off towards his room. Moments later, Harry heard doors close.
Before anyone else could speak, Sahashi's cell went off. A quick conversation with someone named 'Say-oh', though Harry was certain it wasn't spelt that way, Minato was hanging up. "That was Say-oh. He says there's a girl in the park who needs help. He's asked me to bring Musubi and help him find her."
"And what does that scoundrel intend to do with her after he finds her" Miya asked. A dark, demonic visage appeared behind her, and Harry was treated to everyone cowering to it. Even Gabby next to him was shaking a bit, as he just smirked and admired it. 'Hmm… it seems I'm not the only one with tricks here am I, Miya?'
"I-I-I don't know, ma'am" Minato stuttered, holding his hands up in surrender. "He's just asked me to help him find her."
"Very well" Miya stated, the visage disappearing much to everyone's relief, and Harry's disappointment. "Go and get her, bring her back here." She turned towards Harry and Gabby, before focusing on Harry. "Why don't you go with him. I daresay they'll be needing your talents this evening."
Harry merely raised an eyebrow, something he realized he was doing more and more of late. 'Oh...kay… she certainly knows me fairly well. Might as well play along.' Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Uzume frowning at him with a questioning glance. "You wanna come with? Should be fun."
The frown deepened, before she shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, not like I have anything else to do right now." He turned towards Gabby, who was looking at him questioningly. He answered her in English.
"Say here with Miya. You two can chat freely while we're gone. Just keep nosey-Nancy there from listening in" he pointed a thumb in the direction he sensed another person. The petite blonde frowned at first, then caught his meaning and nodded her agreement.
"Unfortunately, she speaks English as well" Miya voiced from the other end of the table with a soft smile.
"Maybe. But magic has many wonderful abilities, and we have ways to prevent people from listening in, even with the best technologies." The last had Miya's eyebrow raising, almost challengingly. He just grinned at her, before turning back to Gabby.
"I'll see you later tonight, ok?" he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She nodded, and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Don't get any blood on this shirt. I like this shirt" she said, fixing his collar. He just laughed.
"Yes, ma'am." With a last peck, he exchanged another look with Miya.
"Do come back, Mister Black. We have so much to talk about." Recognizing the order for what it was, he just smiled and bowed towards her.
"Your wish is my command, Miya-chan." Her eyes flashed dangerously as he just smirked and headed towards the door. Waiting for him were Minato, Uzume and Musubi. "Let's take my car, it'll seat all four of us."
"And what about when we rescue the mystery girl? Will it seat five?" Uzume asked flirtatiously. Harry eagerly rose to the challenge.
"Nope" he replied. "Guess you or Musubi will just hafta sit on my lap, woncha?" He winked at both brunettes, and he caught the flash of violet in the younger girl's eyes. Minato looked on the verge of another nosebleed, though, and he had to fight an internal laugh as they piled into the car.
"Here, stop here. That's him up there." Minato was pointing to where three persons were standing near a building. To Harry's surprise, he recognized the two women with him, in their S&M outfits no less. 'And the plot thickens.' Ignoring just how cliché that sounded, he parked the car.
"Hey Minato!" the man called out. The two women turned, and once they saw Harry, their hands were full of lightning.
"YOU!" they chorused, and Harry had to fight back a laugh.
"ME!" he replied instead, pocketing his hands as he strolled up to them. "Small world. Y'know, you two keep following me like that, I'll hafta take you home and punish you."
"Why you-" the one in magenta snarled, starting towards him before her sister held her back.
"You think you can take us on?" the other in dark violet demanded.
"Oh easily. Take you home, spank you a bit. Get those asses nice and red. Then I'll hang ya up by the rafters and leave a vibrator in ya, see how long you last." Both girls went scarlet; whether in rage or embarrassment, though, he wasn't sure.
"Damn, kid, you've got some good ideas" Say-Oh declared. Apparently this was the wrong move, as both girls instantly turned on him, most definitely in rage.
"If you think for one moment," the one in dark violet he'd assigned Thing One began.
"That we will ever let you do that to us," Thing Two continued.
"You'll be dead before you can try" they chorused, then sent him a bolt of electricity. The foursome were treated to the comical view of the man dodging bolts before yielding, and even then he got another bolt before the two girls huffed and turned back towards the group.
"So, which of you two is her Ashikabi?" Uzume and Harry exchanged glances, before both turned and looked expectantly at Minato. He looked more confused than they did.
"Not me" he squeaked out, rubbing the back of his head and an uncomfortable chuckle. With all the eyes on him, he took a step back. "Musubi told me about Ashikabis and Sekireis, but I didn't think I was the best one to be hers. Especially as she reacted to you as well, Black-sama."
"It's EJ, Sahashi. None of this '-sama', I'm not your superior" Harry waved him off, before turning expectantly to Musubi. She looked sad at Minato's admission, but when she met his eye, that violet flashed in her eye again, and held his gaze for a while before disappearing. Harry nodded, realizing there was more to it than what Minato was saying.
Turning back towards the duo, he answered their expectant gazes. "It appears neither of us are. And no, your Ashikabi will not be claiming her."
"As if we'd let the lazy layabout take any more Sekireis" Thing One declared, sending daggers at the man that Harry hadn't realized was unconscious. He really needed to learn more about what Sekireis and Ashikabis were. He didn't think he could bullshit his way much longer. Considering he was now firmly of the belief that several of the women in his life were actually Sekirei, he knew he had to confront them about it soon, and what that had to do with this 'game' that Hana was so adamantly against.
"So why are you here for the girl, then?" Minato asked. Harry was surprised at the sudden determination, and shared a surprised look with Uzume. He noticed that Musubi was reacting again, openly, and holding a fist to her chest as she looked at the young man.
"Because our Ashikabi told us to, that's why" Thing Two answered, sighing deeply in frustration. "Why he's doing it, we don't have a clue. But, we do know at least part of it is so no other Ashikabis will come looking for her."
Uzume and Harry exchanged a bemused look, before an equally distrustful one towards the unconscious man. "Altruism does not appear to be his strong suit" Harry offered, looking at the ragged man.
Both girls just scoffed. "Not in the slightest. Why we ever thought winging ourselves to him was a good idea, we'll never know" Thing One whined, hanging her head.
"Because we were younger, naive and stupid, that's why" Thing Two answered.
"Ok Thing One, Thing Two, enough whining already" Harry called out, getting their attention. "Where is this girl, do y'all know?"
They both turned and pointed at the forest, ignoring the nicknames. "In there. Say-Oh got a text saying the 'Green Girl' was in there waiting to be winged.
"Green girl?" Harry's thought was echoed by Minato, and he looked him curiously. Seeing he'd spoken aloud, he answered the unasked question. "I had this weird dream the last few nights, about a little girl referred to as the Green Girl. And all day, I've been hearing a little girl's voice calling for me. I thought I was going crazy."
Harry's surprise was matched by everyone else's. "Calling for you?" he repeated.
"Well, not by name, no. But, she was calling for her onii-san, her big brother if you will. I recognized the girl's voice from my dream."
'There is no way my luck is that good that I've ran into another magic-user out of the blue. I don't sense a magical core. He's gotta be a squib, just like Chiho. That, or something else is really playing havoc with this city right now. Now's not the time, though, if a little girl's freedom is on the line. Whatever "winging" is, it sounds pretty permanent to these Sekirei.'
"Do you hear that?" Uzume's voice drew him out of his thoughts, and he glanced at her before his enhanced hearing picked up what she was referring to.
"Sounds like a fight going on" Harry supplied, turning towards the forest far beyond the military barricade they were in view of.
"What are we waiting for?" Musubi called out excitedly, before grabbing Minato's hand and jumping. Harry watched in fascination as she must've made it a hundred feet in the air, and twice that distance in one leap, clearing the barricade by a large margin.
"Well then, that's different" he drawled, turning towards a smirking Uzume.
"You really are in the dark, aren't you Doc?" she teased, hip checking him.
"More than I'm willing to admit, yeah" he answered, shaking his head. "Alright, let's go say hi." Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed her arm, turned, and with an almost imperceptible *pop*, vanished. Their bodies were yanked into a tube, squeezing them both before being deposited onto the forest floor. Uzume immediately keeled over and dry heaved a few times.
"What in the gods' names was that!?" she screeched after regaining her composure.
"Apparition" he responded blandly, taking stock of the forest. Being amongst the trees, it felt very much alive, as if everything there was watching him.
"Another one of your magic tricks, I presume" she asked rhetorically, holding her stomach. "I don't think I like that one."
"It gets easier the more often you do it" he answered absently, before closing his eyes. "I'm impressed, most people vomit the first time."
"Can't imagine why" she breathed out dryly.
A few deep breaths later through his nose, he opened them. "I smell a young female, prepubescent, likely younger than 10." He searched the ground around him, waving a hand and creating a small ball of light in it. He held it over the ground as he searched, before finding what he was looking for. "Look, she's barefoot. Very small feet, they look like she ran here, but then they just stop at the base of this tree."
He looked up at it, and it was beyond massive. He saw thick limbs interlaced with thick limbs from other trees, forming a path from one to the other. Looking around at the rest of the canopy, he noticed most of the trees had limbs interlaced with others, creating plenty of ways to run from one to the next.
"If I didn't know any better, and I'm willing to admit I don't, I'd say she's in the trees somehow." He turned and looked at his brunette companion, who was following his gaze.
"She is called the 'Green Girl'" she began, before looking at him. "It wouldn't be difficult to believe she actually created all this."
Harry stared incredulously at her, then turned a new appreciative and impressed eye on the forest. "If that's so, then she is fucking powerful. Especially considering her age. Holy shit." He placed a hand on one of the trees, and the sense of being watched returned. "It would also explain why I've felt like I was being watched since we entered the forest. If she created all this, then she's probably able to monitor us through them."
The sounds of fighting reached their ears again, and both turned in the direction it came from. "Let's go, maybe whoever that is fighting knows where she is." Without answering, Uzume took off, running much faster than he'd have given her credit for despite wearing flip-flops. He took the moment to admire her plump rear before following suit.
'Y'know, that "10" I often saw on her clothes suddenly makes a lot more sense. Musubi said she was Number 88. What if these Sekirei are numbered for some reason? Musubi has 88 on the gauntlets. Hana… if she's a Sekirei, where's the… wait. That tattoo. It was the Avatar symbol for Airbending. It has the three squiggly 6'es. What if that was intentional? Is she number 3? Perhaps 6? And would it be so hard to believe that "Air" or "Wind" is her power? That seems way too easy. But… what if?'
The sounds of fighting got louder, and the two skidded to a stop in a clearing. In front of them, two matches were going on: on their right, a fire user and an ice user were going at it. On the left, Musubi and a girl with a scythe were fighting. And he used that term loosely, as Musubi was being manhandled… or, should he say, woman-handled, though it didn't exactly roll off the tongue. Regardless, Musubi was losing and badly, and Minato was nowhere in sight.
Harry was momentarily distracted by the scythe wielder, who'd just flipped over Musubi, displaying to all her lack of panties. At the same time, Musubi's top was split open, her ladies now on view to all.
"Come on, Musubi! What's the point of all that training you've been doing with Miya if you're just gonna lose!" He was brought out of his perverted thoughts by Uzume's sudden declaration. A few moments later, the words sank in, and he was momentarily confused by the 'training with Miya' part, before understanding hit him.
'Of course Miya is a Sekirei. Because, why wouldn't she be? Wait, stupid Potter. Of course she is! I was so distracted by everything going on I didn't even register the power she was putting out when using that Demon-visage. Gotta learn how she does that. Wonder if it's like my Reverse Legilimens technique?'
A sudden male's shout from the woods reached his ears, and without processing it, he took off for its origin, leaving Uzume behind. Making his way through the trees, he stumbled over a downed Minato, who was bleeding from his face profusely, holding his gut. He was staring defiantly at the woman in the long kimono wielding a large, double-sided blade. She was looking at him angrily, her free hand pushing down her skirt.
"How dare you look at my panties! Not even my Ashikabi has seen them! They are not for your eyes! And now, I shall remove them!" She screamed at him, then raised her arms to stab him with her blade. Years of training and reflex kicked him, and Harry was tackling the woman before her swing could connect. Coming out of the roll, he flung her to the side where she slammed into another tree with a grunt. Both of them got back to their feet, and stared each other down.
"I am a princess you filthy worm! How dare you lay your hands on me!"
"And I don't give a shit, cause you were trying to kill my friend here" Harry retorted, indicating Minato behind him.
"He laid his eyes upon that which was not his to see! He must be punished!"
"Considering your skirt is so short that I can see your underwear from here, maybe that's your fault."
Wide-eyed, she looked down and saw that her skirt had ridden up again, and angrily pushed it back down. "Filthy pervert! Now I will gouge your eyes out as well, and then I will remove his!" She charged him, swinging the blade wildly. Harry merely moved to the side like a torero, and even slapped her on the bottom. Turning around, she screamed and charged him again, and he once more stepped out of the way, with another spank and a dramatic, "Ole!"
That only served to rile her up more, but this time she threw the blade at him. He dodged it again, and watched the blade sink into a tree nearby. Sensing her behind him, he spun as she drew another blade, this one shorter. They ended up sparring, and Harry was surprised by the woman's strength. This was added by her trying to throw him, while failing, succeeded in getting him over her head, which he reversed and threw her into a tree.
To his dismay, he threw her into the one that had her blade sticking out of it, which she quickly took notice of. Before she could retaliate, two bolts of lighting landed at her feet. Harry looked and saw the twins landing next to him, their hands ready for another attack.
"This is not the last you've heard from me!" the woman cried out, before disappearing into the trees, opposite the direction he'd come from.
"Damn, and I thought I was cliché" Harry mused, chuckling to himself. He turned towards his fellow man that was trying and failing to stop the bleeding. Harry noticed it wasn't a nosebleed as he'd thought… well, not just a nosebleed, though this one looks to be because his nose was broken. But also his mouth was bleeding, as were the couple cuts he had, most likely from the woman that'd just left.
Pulling out his wand, he waved it over the man's face, and read the parchment that appeared. Confirming what he had observed, he vanished the parchment. "Remove your hand, Minato. I'm going to fix you up." Seeing the questioning disbelief, he pulled the man's hand off his face, letting the blood run freely. With another wave of his wand, the nose audibly snapped into place, and he saw the twins flinch at the sound from the corner of his eye.
After removing Sahashi's hand again, that was checking his nose, he cast a few cleaning charms at his mouth and the cuts. As the blood disappeared, the cuts began threatening to replace the missing blood. He waved his wand again, and the cuts sealed themselves up. Sahashi's eyes went wide as he felt his face.
"How did you do that?" he asked wide-eyed.
"Magic" Harry retorted, waving his wand over the man's stomach. Another parchment appeared, this one much shorter. Reading it and vanishing it, Harry holstered his wand again. "Can you stand?" Seeing the nod, he held out a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Got the wind knocked out of ya pretty bad, eh?"
"Yeah, she caught me by surprise" he admitted, rubbing his stomach. "Then after I was already on the ground, I saw up her skirt and she tweaked out. I was surprised she didn't do more damage to my face than she did."
"Lashing out angrily often causes one to miss their targets more easily" Harry offered. Even from up-close. It's likely she intended to, but was so riled up she couldn't even control her own attacks."
"That's a real comfort" the man responded dryly. "Anyways, thank you for saving me."
"Don't worry about it" he replied, before point a thumb at the twins. "Thank them, they're the ones that chased her off."
While he was thanking them, Harry turned and took in the area. He jumped to the conclusion that they must be near the girl, as why else would a sekirei have attacked Minato here. That, or she was just the angry type, both were possible solutions in Harry's mind. Pulling out his wand, he cast a few charms, and realized he was fairly close to the mark, as there was someone nearby, about 50 meters away and half that above them.
Leaving the trio behind, he took off in the direction the spell pointed him, and arrived at the base of a very, very large tree. Even without the various spells he used, Harry knew he'd have found the girl's hiding spot just from the fact that every single limb and branch was moving on this tree. Holstering the wand again, he slowly stepped forward as to not attract too much attention.
He was 3 meters from the tree when he caught sight of the girl. She was curled up on a large limb high above him. He'd not have noticed her at all had she not leaned over and looked at him. She was so small; her pale green dress and light brown hair hid her amongst the canopy.
"Hi there" he called up, waving his hand with a smile. "This is a very nice tree you have here. May I climb it?"
She just looked at him, and he stayed put as to not frighten her. After a few minutes, she held out a small arm and beckoned him up. He briefly considered just apparating up there, but in the interest of not scaring her, decided against it and began his slow climb. Several minutes later, he was pulling himself up onto the same branch the little girl was on. She had moved further out on it, clearly not afraid of heights, and the branches of the trees were moving in a protective manner.
He sat down, his back against the tree trunk, and crossed his legs. "That was fun. It's been a long time since I've climbed a tree. Even longer since I've climbed one this high. I'm EJ, what's your name?" he asked, smiling at the girl. Now that he was up there, he realized her hair wasn't light brown but a soft, golden yellow. And, to his surprise, she had green eyes, just like he did.
"Kusano" she answered quietly. Were it not for his enhanced hearing, he might not have heard it.
"That's a very pretty name, Kusano" he replied. "A pretty name for a pretty girl." She giggled at him, and it reminded him not unlike Gabby used to when they first met.
'No! Do not go down that road. Way, way, wayyyy too young for you.'
"You're pretty too" she replied, moving slightly closer.
Harry mimicked being embarrassed, being shy and turning his head. "You're just saying that, I'm ugly."
"No you're not!" she screeched, and he was surprised by how fast she'd ended up nearly in his lap. 'Damn, that was quick. And I didn't even sense her moving. Who the hell is this girl?'
"You're very handsome" she declared adamantly, sitting fully in his lap, legs crossed. "I'm the ugly one." In response, he just reached out and tickled her, and she began laughing.
"If you're ugly then I'm very, very ugly" he declared, tickling her some more before pulling her back into his lap.
After she caught her breath, she turned and looked up at him with her bright green eyes. They sat there for a few minutes, before she began moving towards his lips.
Startled, he almost didn't move, until she was close enough and turned his head at the last moment. She ended up kissing his cheek before pulling back. To thank her, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, too, not giving her the chance to turn her head.
"Are you my big brother?" she asked softly, looking somewhat fearful but hopeful again. His smile softened, feeling sadness at what the girl wanted.
He shook his head. "No, I am not, kiddo." Before she could pull away, he tightened her arms around her. "But I know where he is."
Her bright green eyes lit up in excitement. "Really! Where?" Without answering, Harry leaned over and pointed with his chin down at the ground. She followed his look, and saw Minato standing there looking up at them, the twins behind him doing the same.
"He's right there. He's the one who heard you calling for him. I just came with to help him find you. And to keep the bad people from getting you."
"Who are those two weird-looking ladies?" she asked, and he had to fight back a laugh. Mostly successfully.
"Those, uh, 'weird-looking ladies' are… uh… actually, I don't know their names" he admitted, realizing he didn't. "I just call them Thing One and Thing Two."
She giggled at that. "You're really silly." He just smiled and maturely stuck his tongue at her, and she mimicked the action back, her petite tongue hardly larger than - and just as red as - a cherry tomato.
"Are they my brother's sekirei, too?" She asked, the pure curiosity and innocence in her eyes dazzling him. He was surprised that she didn't seem upset by the idea she might have to share. 'I am REALLY in the dark on this Sekirei/Ashikabi business.'
"Nope, they are with another friend of your brother's. They helped us fight off another Sekirei who wanted to get to you."
"Friends! Yay! I always wanted more friends!" Harry nearly teared up at that, reminded very bluntly about a little, 13 year-old blonde he met when he was 14 and was stuck at that blasted castle for a year. It had taken him nearly 2 months to convince her he wanted to be her friend. "Can they be my big sisters?"
Harry chuckled. "You'll have to ask them yourself. How about we go down and meet them?"
"Okay!" she cried, and went to jump off the limb. Harry barely caught her, almost losing his own balance and making the 75 foot plunge head first.
"Quite the daredevil you are, aren't you?" he asked, tickling her lightly, causing her to laugh. "Tell you what, I'm going to get us down there in a very special way, okay? It'll feel as if you're going through a straw. You know what a straw is, right?
She just giggled and poked him the nose. "Yes, silly, I know what a straw is. You're being stupid."
Harry just laughed at her antics. 'Kids are amazing.' "Well alright miss smartypants, it's going to feel really funny, and you'll have to hold on tight, but we'll both get there really quick."
"Okay!" she repeated, and clung onto him. He chuckled as he stood up, holding her in his arms. And with a spin and a pop, apparated to the forest floor right behind the twins.
"WHEE!" Kusano screamed in his ear, before leaning back and looking at him. "Can we do that again?" Harry just laughed, bumping his forehead against hers before setting her down. 'Only a Sekirei child would think Apparation was fun.'
"Another time, okay? Right now, I want to introduce you to your big brother." She immediately turned around, and saw Minato wide-eyed in front of them. She took a few slow steps towards him, then sprinted and leapt into his arms, tackling him to the ground.
"ONII-SAN!" she cried out, squeezing him tightly. Harry just laughed at the boy's predicament, then beckoned the twins as he turned and headed back towards the others.
