EDIT! - 10/21/2019 - EDIT!

Just segmenting error. The horizontal lines were missing, creating an issue with story flow, and I didn't notice until I was reviewing the chapter for continuity with the following. My apologies for getting hopes up.

Next chapter due before end of week. Thank you for your patience. See you in next chapter!

END EDIT A/N


A/N: Hey y'all, sorry about the long delay. Was "promoted", and received a new shift for my reward. That new shift happens to be the graveyard shift, which is when I like to do most of my writing. THEY'RE MESSING WITH MY MOJO GUYS! Oi vey. So annoying.

Anyhow, this has been slowly edited and expanded over the past month or so. I just need it posted so I can move the story along, this chapter has been driving me bonkers. It's less than stellar, I know. I'll endeavor for the following chapter to be an improvement.

As always, as my new "promotion" reaffirms me, I'm not the owner of any recognizable characters. Ciao!

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April 20, 2020

Izumo Inn

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The next morning was quite the event. The girls all came back from the sleepover, and no one was surprised by Musubi and Ku racing towards Minato to hug him, even cracking his back in the case of Musubi. It was comical watching Minato's reaction to that. Harry took note of the others and observed Uzume carrying Chiho back in bridal style. Her strength was recovering, but two-and-a-half years of atrophy takes a number on the body, even with stimulation. The potions were helping, but it was still a long recovery process for her muscles to develop naturally. He was confident that with her determination, and motivation in the form of Uzume, Halloween was not out of the question for a full physical recovery. Maybe sooner.

Gabby was in the rear, chatting with Shi. The shy girl looked a mix of determined and embarrassed. As if she was working herself up to something, and the blonde was offering encouragement. He couldn't help the internal smirk, having a pretty good idea of what. Miya came out and joined them in greeting the returning ladies, followed by Kagari.

And then, to the surprise of most, Shi made her move. After Musubi and Ku released Sahashi, she walked up and kissed him without any preamble. Harry was a riot of laughter at Sahashi's startled face. Her wings were a soft gray, like a gentle fog in the morning light. It was a few moments before Minato recovered to return the kiss, but by then Shi lost her nerve, blushed a bright red and sprinted into the house, leaving behind a very stunned 19-year-old.

Harry turned towards Kagari, who was slack-jawed next to him. "Damn it" he whined, pulling out his wallet and handing the green-eyed Ashikabi 10k yen. He caught Miya's laughing eyes, handing him her own 10k as she shook her head, before she returned to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Harry then winked at Gabby, who smirked at him in return.

"Pleasure doing business with you" Harry remarked, as Kagari just shook his head dejectedly as he returned to the house. His arm was suddenly being wrapped around someone, and he turned to see Gabby cozying up to him.

"Sooo… when we going shopping?" He just laughed, kissing the top of her head before leading her back in himself.

"Did you all have a good time?" he asked her, holding her hand as she sat down.

"It was pretty great, actually. Everyone has painted nails, now."

"Is that so? Went with your normal pink?"

"Yep!" she exclaimed, waving her dainty feet and wiggling toes in front of him, before crossing them. "Musubi got pink too. Though, it took a while. Apparently, she's really ticklish on her feet, so we kept making a mess. Thank goodness for cleaning spells."

She caught him up on some of the day and night's events, leaving things out that were for "girls only" that he tried to coax out of her, but she was stubbornly refusing. Even when he broke out the big guns and began tickling her she held firm. Ku came and rescued her by tackling Harry, who mock-laughed as the little girl began tickling him. After he surrendered, the youngest of the house showed off her painted nails, choosing a soft, golden yellow that matched her hair. She even had some light green glitter on them that matched her normal outfit.

An interesting combination, Harry thought, but Ku was very happy with her choice.

"So, what happened here while we were gone? Get into any shenanigans?" Uzume's tease had all the girls - well, the ones present - turning to him questioningly. Kagari was shaking his head on the other end, but otherwise silent. Minato was a bit confused, as he hadn't remembered anything happening.

"Wait… why is Kagari shaking his head?" Gabby asked him, turning the attention on the silver-haired man. He was clearly uncomfortable by the sudden attention, especially when the resident Veela slowly got up and sauntered over to him.

"Oh Kagari… do tell me what my beloved boyfriend got himself into while we were away…" she whispered saucily into his ears, rubbing his shoulders. Uzume was beside herself, as she'd never seen him looking so lost and uncomfortable with anyone besides Miya in her mean-lady mode. It was quite the treat for the brunette.

Not that everyone else wasn't enjoying it. While he didn't understand what was going on, Minato was enjoying that someone else was being teased for a change. Musubi and Ku looked lost, though Harry caught some flecks of violet in the elder of the two's eyes. He really did need to find out more about what happened to her.

"I… uh… don't really know for sure what happened" Kagari began, stuttering as Gabby's soft hands began wandering under his shirt. He was slowly losing his nerve, as his heart was racing under the ministrations.

"So? Do tell what you suspect then. I promise I won't bite… unless you ask me…" she stage-whispered, licking his earlobe. This time Minato did get embarrassed, as he broke into another nosebleed. Harry was certain Kagari was about to follow him, as his face became redder and redder the longer she massaged him.

"Breakfast is ready… oh my!" Miya stepped in carrying a platter and stopped in the doorway as the sight caught her eyes. Kagari looked momentarily relieved, thinking the fear of the landlady would stop the blonde's touch.

It didn't.

If anything, she grew bolder, dipping her hand down the front of his shirt even further.

"You really shouldn't keep information from a lady, Kagari. It is quite rude you know." Chiho became a support pillar for both Uzume and Potter, who were leaning on each of her shoulders laughing at Kagari's deer-in-the-headlights look. While not understanding the context, even Ku was laughing at his funny face, as was Musubi.

"I… uh… it's not really my business, Gabby-sama" he stuttered, causing said woman to grin at the back of his head. If there was any question the hold she had over him, no one had any doubts any more as he succumbed faster than a lovestruck teenager. Especially once her fingers trailed up and ran through his hair. His head fell forward, failing to hide how much he was enjoying it. "Evil. Pure evil you are."

"You were bound to learn that sooner or later" Harry snarked, getting another round of titters from the girls. He summoned the ducky from Miya's pocket, causing her to slightly gasp at the intrusion, and bopped him on the head with her hand before turning back to the kitchen. "Why don't you come down here and join us, pet?"

A sudden scrambling and quick footsteps saw all eyes but Kagari and Harry's turning to the stairs, where the redhead was coming to a stop behind Harry. She stepped up next to him, and after he patted the spot on his right between him and Musubi, she sat.

"GHOST!" Ku cried, before running back and hiding behind Minato.

"Not… ghost… just… Matsu…" Kagari muttered under the blonde's fingers. Matsu giggled at the sight.

EJ introduced her. "For those of you who don't know, this is Matsu. She's been living in Room 201."

"Where's room 201? I've only seen 202 thru 213."

Black nodded at Minato. "That's because 201 is a hidden room. Have you ever thought the upstairs seemed disproportionate?"

"Actually yeah, I have. It felt smaller than down here. I was assuming the extra space was maybe storage or something"

"Eh, in a sense it is. It's storing our local snoop here." The pigtailed girl pouted at that but couldn't deny the accusation. "The area directly above the kitchen is her bedroom."

"So… why is she in a hidden room?"

"That's a fair question, Minato. Care to answer that, Matsu?"

"Simply put, I'm hiding here." Minato, Musubi, Ku, Gabby and Chiho all turned towards her. Harry bit back a smirk at Kagari's pouting face he was making, as Gabby had stopped what she was doing to listen to Matsu.

"Why are you hiding?" Ku was peeking out from behind Minato's shoulder, still unnerved by her 'ghost' making her appearance. But it didn't stop her curiosity.

"The short answer? M.B.I. is after me. When I stopped working there, I took something. Aaand… they're a bit eager to get it back."

Before any further questions could be asked, Miya returned with another platter. "My husband built the room as a joke. He thought it would be funny to have a secret room to disappear to.

"As I have told you before, Minato-san, my husband was someone who never turned anyone away in need. Matsu-san needed somewhere to hide and has been here ever since." Harry was a bit confused, wondering why she didn't just leave the country if she was hiding. In fact, now that he thought about it, it seemed far too coincidental with how many Sekirei were here in Tokyo. More information he's missing.

'Y'know, it's been over two weeks. I should really have that conversation with Miya soon. I… we… I… one or both of us keep putting it off. Hmm… now that Matsu has been revealed, and they all know our usage of magic, maybe we should have a full-disclosure conversation. Feel like there should be a rule book or something for this "game". Or… the Game Master. Hana. Or Kara. Should talk to them, see if I can't convince them to enlighten me.'

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. It got everyone's attention, but most of all Matsu's, who, with an "eep!", vanished back upstairs to her room.

"I wonder who that could be, so early this morning." Miya asked no one in particular, before moving to answer it. Harry's senses were tingling. 'Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling about whoever is at the door? Better go and…' He was only halfway up when Miya's not-so-friendly voice cut through the house.

"What are you doing here?" 'FUCK!' Harry bolted for the front door and slid to a stop behind Miya. Where she'd pulled her sword from, he had no idea, but it was currently leveled at a very familiar silver-haired woman. One of the last people Harry expected to see here of all places.

"Kara?" The single word had both women turning towards him: one with a questioning frown, the other with a surprised delight.

"Well well, it's a small world after all, Potter."

"Harry-san, how is it you know this woman?"

"With how many times she's been hired to kill me, difficult not to be acquainted."

"Ouch. I would say 'acquainted' is the least of what we are, wouldn't you?" Her devilish smirk was clearly enjoying the newly developed situation they found themselves in, and Harry couldn't blame her. Though, he was thinking fast, as all those conversations about her 'rival' were suddenly slotting into place in the puzzle that was the Sekirei game. The one she always professed to being unable to defeat but had every intention of doing so before she died.

"So… Miya is the One, I suppose? While I was unaware of that, I find myself unsurprised, now that the name is placed with the allegations."

"And that is why I keep you around, Potter. And not just 'cause you're a good lay." Of all the things she could have said at that moment, she found the one that would trigger Miya. Why it triggered her, he would have to ponder on later, as right there and then, Miya's face became angry, her eyes blood-red, oozing killer intent. 'Fuck. Me.'

"I want you both out of my house this instant." Harry just sighed before pulling on his shoes, deciding now was definitely NOT a good time to try arguing with her. That she wasn't just swinging her sword at him was a good sign, he hoped. Or, it was because of the full house she was hosting at the moment.

"I'm not in your house, Miya. I'm still on the front porch. Besides, I just came to see how Musubi was doing. I heard she was staying here, and I wanted to say hello." Her shit-eating grin never left her face the whole time, pushing the purple-haired woman's buttons. It was clear they had a history, because she did it so flawlessly.

"You 'heard', did you?" Miya accused, her sword still pointing at the woman. "Where is your sword?"

"I left it in Natsuo's car, of course. See?" she raised her gray haori and spun around. "I came completely unarmed but my hands. Didn't want to chance angering you on your home turf, Miya." Harry stepped forward to walk out but stopped in front of Miya. They shared a look. If Harry wasn't mistaken, and at that moment he couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw pain underneath those eyes. At who or what, though, he had no idea, as it couldn't possibly be towards him.

Could it?

She lowered her sword from Kara's face, not taking her eyes off of Harry before a surprised voice called out from the entryway. "Karasuba-sama?" All three turned towards the voice. Musubi was peeking out from the corner, but upon recognizing the woman in gray stepped out, her chocolate eyes wide in excitement.

"It's good to see you again, Muu-chan."

"Karasuba-sama!" The brunette bounced forward, her buxom chest matching in stride, as she moved between Harry and Miya to get to her friend. They embraced, though Harry could see Kara looked mildly uncomfortable with the action but did so anyways.

"What're you doing here?"

The conversation went on, but Harry ignored it, having returned his gaze to Miya's, who was matching it. They stood there like that for a few minutes, just staring at each other, before she turned away. "She is welcome in this house for the duration of her visit with Musubi-chan. But she is your responsibility, Black-san. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Asama-san. I'll keep an eye on her."

"See that you do." With that she walked away.

'That woman is giving me whiplash.'

"Come, Karasuba-sama! I want to introduce you to everyone!" Harry turned in time to see Musubi dragging Kara into the house. The woman was highly bemused, and just managed to kick off her shoes before being pulled further down the hallway. He shook his head, took his own off and arranged the lot, before following.

They were in the dining room, and he immediately noticed that both Ku and Shi were hiding behind Minato. Well... they were doing their best to, at least. He wasn't all the big to hide behind. Miya wasn't there, not that he was surprised, but Kagari was looking more than slightly worried by the guest's appearance. As was Uzume, he noted, though Chiho was doing her best to calm her down.

He noted Matsu's absence, though wasn't surprised by it, as she had only moments ago said she was on the run from M.B.I. And having the leader of M.B.I.'s disciplinary squad show up at her hiding place had to be more than a bit off-putting.

Unsurprisingly, Gabby had greeted the woman cheerfully. While the two hadn't interacted much over the years, they both knew quite a bit about each other from Harry. It should probably be concerning him that a woman who's attempted to kill him no less than two dozen times was talking happily with his bond-mate, who's also tried to kill him a few times. And he was actively sleeping with one and would sleep with the other whenever he got the chance.

Such a strange life he led, he thought with a chuckle, shaking his head.

The last Potter made his way to the kitchen, where Miya was absently doing dishes… badly. She was clearly not paying any attention, as half of her scrubs weren't even on the plate she was holding. And the ones that were covered the exact same spot as the dozens before them.

He sighed, turning to make some tea for them all. The sound of a plate being dropped in the sink caught his attention, and he turned his head towards the source. Miya was leaning over the sink, both hands on the counter, fists squeezing tightly; her whole body was trembling. He could see them turning white, and he was wondering if the counter would survive. As comforting or confronting her in any way seemed a horrible idea at that moment, he let her be.

Once the water was boiled, he prepared the tea, then carried it out to the table, setting it in front of Gabby with a look that she nodded at. He returned to the kitchen, grabbing spoons, creams and the like, putting them on a platter before carrying them, too, out to the table.

Kara's visit proved to be a short one, as she promised Miya. She was introduced to Minato as Musubi's Ashikabi, who didn't really have much of a reaction to who she was. As he hadn't had any run-ins with the Disciplinary Squad, it wasn't much of a surprise. Kara made the requisite threat of being good to Musubi, which had Harry, Gabby and Chiho all laughing at Minato's backpedaling promise to do so.

Thankfully, nothing about their… relationship… was brought up. Whether it was to save the innocent ears - which he doubted - or just didn't feel like it - more likely - he was grateful, nonetheless.

An hour after her arrival she departed. Musubi said her farewell at the door, but Harry walked her to the gate.

"Hoping for a kiss goodbye, Potter?" she teased, standing coyly with a hand on her hip.

"I wouldn't be opposed, Kara" he retorted, stepping towards her.

"You shouldn't be, I'm a damn good kisser" she responded, stepping forward as well.

"I'd say that's one of your lesser talents" he jibed, closing the final gap. She was taller than the others, even Miya. He estimated she was about 5'8/ 172cm. Her chest was pressed up against his, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tighter against him. She responded by wrapping hers around his neck, peering into his eyes. "It's your other talents I'm much more interested in."

She smirked, getting up on her tiptoes, hovering her lips over his in tease for a few moments. "If only I was yours," she whispered, before pulling away with a cocky grin.

He twisted his pursed lips. "One of these days, darlin', you WILL be mine," he declared adamantly with a hint of husky and was graced by that dilation of the eyes he'd come to enjoy in Sekirei. She stepped back up to him, grabbing his head and pulling him into a kiss that more closely resembled a face battle before releasing him.

"But not today, sugar" she responded in that sultry voice that got every warm-blooded male's blood racing south.

With a wink, she pecked him again before sauntering off, disappearing down the street. 'Welp, that certainly answers whether or not I can just claim someone else's Sekirei. But oh how I wanted to. Bummer.'

He returned to the house, greeting a smirking Gabby standing next to a slack jawed Kagari at the door. He pecked her on the lips before heading inside. Someone had cleaned up the table, as all the dishes were gone. Ku was still sitting there with Minato. It looked like she was drawing something he couldn't make out. How there were crayon marks on the outside of her arms he had no clue.

Continuing on into the kitchen, Shi was at the sink doing the dishes. She was startled by his sudden entry, which he apologized before asking if she needed help. She meekly declined his offer, not looking him in the eyes. In as soft of a voice he could manage, he congratulated her.

"I am happy for you and Minato, Shi," he said gently. It didn't stop her from jumping so violently she cracked the plate she was holding as she meekly cowered from him. He held his hands up in surrender, showing he didn't mean her any harm. "I apologize for startling you."

"That's ok" she whispered, averting her eyes. Sighing, he waved his hand at the broken plate in her hand. She stared at it as it repaired itself, and then gawked at him as he backed up towards the doorway. He smiled softly before turning and leaving her to herself. It bothered him she was so unsettled around him, but normally shrugged it off as his aggressive, perverse lifestyle bothering her. Didn't mean he had to like that she couldn't even look him in the eye most times. He made a note to talk to Minato about it.

He ran into Musubi on the stairs, who was in her training getup and on her way outside, with Uzume and Chiho behind her. Uzume was similarly dressed, answering that question.

That left only Matsu and Miya. He flipped a coin in his head, not that it would actually change his decision.

He turned away from the stairs and down the rarely-traversed hall that led to Miya's room. Outside of the laundry room, which was also on the hall, there wasn't a reason to come this way. Which, for what would likely happen next, was most fortunate, as he knocked on her door.

"Miya?" He knew she was in there, as he could sense her. And hear her, somewhat.

Knowing it was a terrible idea, he slid open the door and stepped into the dark room.

She was on the side of the bed (he'd realize that it was an American-style queen-size instead of traditional Japanese later when remembering this night) perpendicular to him, sitting upright like a proper lady, but her head was tucked down as her body shook. Her hands were in fists on her knees, pale white from the lack of blood flow.

They stayed like that for a few moments, as he debated on whether to say anything or not. Instincts were saying not, but his body betrayed him and moved forward. Alarms were screaming in his head to stop moving, but his body wouldn't respond, as his hand reached out to cover hers. Her shaking stopped instantly.

"Do not. Touch. Me." She snarled without looking. Why his body wasn't listening he couldn't figure out, but his hand closed around her fist.

This instantly proved a mistake, as she spun around faster than he was able to process at that moment and had him by the throat in her left hand, her right wielding a very sharp knife, and was pressing it against his stomach. Where the butcher's knife came from, he only distantly fathomed. His enhanced eyesight made out her blood red eyes that were screaming rage at him. And pain.

"I said: Do. Not. Touch. ME!" Yeah. He was going to die. Because, instead of moving back towards the door, his right hand came up and settled on her waist, gently pulling her closer. Her eyes sharpened at the contact but didn't fight the movement as she stepped nearer. But she did press the blade into his stomach a bit harder. He somewhat wagered she'd broken skin, but that didn't overly concern him at the moment.

"Tell me" he whispered, pulling her closer. The blade slid into him, as he definitely felt that last jolt.

"Why?" she gnashed. He wasn't sure what she was referring to, as the question was much heavier than a challenge to his request. His left arm began caressing her right that was still holding the knife in his stomach. He could feel the warm liquid that was his life source creeping down his front, but made no indication he was aware.

"Why did you let him die?"

Ah.

The question he'd been wondering about himself for some time was weighing heavily on his heart. And her rage-filled eyes were pleading him for an answer. An answer he couldn't give.

"I don't know" he responded softly, not leaving her eyes.

"Not good enough" she retorted, pushing the dagger further. That time he felt pain but resisted responding to it.

"If I knew the answer, Miya, I would tell you. But, I don't. My memory has not recovered enough to give you what you seek."

"Did you kill him?"

How he wanted to deny it. How he wanted to be offended by such a suggestion. But even then, he couldn't. The bit of memory he had recovered told him that he had several chances to get Takehito to safety but didn't. Why didn't he?

"I don't know" he answered honestly, not leaving her eyes.

"Karasuba was supposed to be his bodyguard. Was she there?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"You're not exactly making a case for why I shouldn't kill you."

"No. I'm not" he agreed. His left hand stopped on her elbow and, surprising her, he pulled it towards him, pushing the dagger further into his gut.

"I don't know what all happened, only that I had a chance to make him leave and didn't."

"Why!?" she barked at him, having overcome the shock. The force of her demand jiggled the blade, and he actually winced at the action.

"Whatever he was working on, he said the data would save the Sekirei. And you." Her eyes welled up slightly, but the anger and pain were still there. "I was too busy putting out fires to pay attention if he said more. But whatever it was, I let him keep downloading it instead of making him escape."

"Who did you work for? Why were you here to begin with? What did you hope to gain by becoming his friend? Where the hell was 'Suba? You both swore to me you'd protect him, why didn't you? HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THE EXPLOSION? WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE!?" She screamed the last at him, punctuating each question with another jab of the blade into his stomach. The last was tear-filled, and she collapsed into him, releasing his throat. He caught her, holding her head to his chest while she sobbed. Occasionally she'd pound on his chest, repeating "Why?" as she did.

He could feel his blood loss beginning to take hold. Despite his accelerated healing factor, the blade itself was still in his stomach, and he didn't dare touch it. Gabby was going to pitch a massive fit should he survive this, but he felt it was necessary. For both of them. He'd failed her, the woman in his arms. How and why, he still didn't know, but he knew imperatively he had failed.

If only he could figure out what was blocking the memories.

Guiding her back to the bed, he sat her down on it as he took the spot next to her. She slid an arm under his right, and wrapped her steel grip around his neck, sobbing into his chest. She'd cried so much already that he could feel his shirt soaking through. But, again, was not going to comment on it anytime soon.

It was nearly 20 minutes before her sobs began to dissipate. He had to wonder if she'd spent the past ten years bottling it all up. Being the eldest of the Sekirei, she watched over them all, despite letting them beat each other up. He'd question the logic of that, but the Weasleys were seven kids and they had done it to each other all the time, so perhaps it was a big family kind of thing? Though, somehow, all six boys had been afraid of Ginny.

Ginny.

Logically, he knew her death hadn't been his fault. But, tell his heart that. He'd done all he could to keep her away from the battle, short of locking her up himself. Even now, eight years later, he still felt guilty. Daphne and Gabrielle had done wonders to help him move forward from it, but it still weighed on him.

Daphne.

Another death that weighed on him. If he hadn't gotten her pregnant, she wouldn't have been at that hospital. Had he been with her instead of travelling for work he could've saved her. Protected her.

He mentally slapped himself. Daphne would be kicking his ass if she saw him blaming himself for her death. There wasn't anything he could've done. Even with him there she might've still died. He might've died from the suddenness of it.

And now, in the past few weeks another death has been weighing on him: one that he felt instinctively was very much his fault. He just didn't know how. Or why.

The sounds of a soft snore snapped him out of his musings, as he looked down at the woman in his arms. 'She fell asleep? Great… and left the dagger in my stomach. I can't stay like this but moving might be very counterproductive. Damn women really are going to be the death of me.'

Deciding the worst was over for the moment, and the need to get a blood replenishing potion was rising, he tucked his left arm under her knees and slowly moved to lay the woman on the bed. With a wave of his hand, the blanket disappeared from under her, and appeared on top. He watched her grab another pillow and pull it to her chest, wrapping her arms around it before returning to her slumber.

He watched her for a few moments, before moving to stand back up. Vertigo hit him like a truck, and he nearly collapsed, narrowly avoiding landing on the sleeping landlady. 'Cause that would have gone over soooo well' he thought dryly as he staggered to the door.

Sliding it open, he took one last glance at the bed, reassuring she was still asleep, before slipping out. Closing it behind him, he looked up and was surprised to see Musubi standing there, arms crossed.

Well... Musubi's body. The brilliant, violet eyes told him who he was really looking at. Next to her was Matsu, biting her nails and looking very worried.

"How is she?" Musu-Yume asked, voice full of concern.

"Sleeping" he responded. He was curious how they'd respond if it came out that he really had killed their eldest sister's husband. Or, at the very least, been responsible for his death.

"And you?"

"What's another day if you don't do something that might get you killed" he joked, though the cough at the end ruined it. Worse, some blood spat out, and landed on Musu-Yume's front.

Matsu half-shrieked, mouth still covered by her face, mixed with fear of waking up Miya, as she finally noticed the blade sticking out of Harry's stomach. Musu-Yume looked at it, before looking back at him.

"You wanted her to kill you" she accused. The lack of emotion in it would've been highly unsettling had he not bled so much. He could feel his healing factor working, but blood loss took longer to replenish without help.

"I wanted to give her the chance to do so away from prying eyes" he rasped out, leaning against the wall. Matsu made to move forward, but Musu-Yume stuck a hand out, stopping her. "It's only fair that the woman be given the chance to take vengeance on the one responsible for her husband's death."

"So, you did kill Takehito?" The question may have sounded accusatory, but Musu-Yume did not look convinced in the slightest. Matsu was looking between the two of them and the blade with a worried expression that was increasing with every passing moment.

He sighed heavily, aided by the pain he was in. "I don't know" he conceded. "Not for sure. Every time that memory goes through my head, I get more and more of the argument between he and I about getting him to safety. It's never mentioned what happened, but there are flashes of a strange crystal that was emitting some sort of - I don't know, electrical shockwaves? - sending them everywhere, causing mayhem to all the electrical circuits, starting fire after fire. I see myself putting out the fires the best I can, arguing with Takehito about escaping. But he keeps refusing, saying whatever he was grabbing would save the Sekirei. All of them."

"And you think that because you didn't force him to abandon his life's work to save himself, work that would potentially save over a hundred Sekirei, that you're the one responsible for him dying?"

"As Miya said, I was supposed to protect him. Sometimes, you have to protect people from themselves. And I didn't."

She studied him, looking torn between berating him and hugging him. Instead, she sighed. "Maybe you should listen to your own words of wisdom, Harry," she whispered, stepping to him. Without preamble, she yanked the dagger out and pressed her hand over the wound. Matsu saw the pink-purple glow of her power envelope her hand, and Harry grunted as the wound was cauterized.

When finished, she removed her hand and inspected the scar she intentionally left. Once satisfied, she turned to the redhead. "Get him up to his room so he can rest. I'll tell Gabby-san he needs one of their potions. Musubi needs to get back to training." Looking at the knife, she spun it around her hand a few times before surprising the other two and, with a twist and a flick, flung the knife into the wall next to Miya's door, where it buried itself to the hilt.

They stared at it for a moment, both processing the various meanings of the action, before turning to the woman in question: she was gone.

.


"Harry-sama! Harry-sama! Wake up!" The raven-haired man had taken Yume's advice and gone to bed, further enforced by Gabby's shrieks. The blonde had considered not giving him anything at all but decided that she'd find another way to kill him once he was fully functional and she could kick his ass without reservation. He hadn't bothered defending himself, as it would only get worse if and when she knew the whole truth.

"Harry, wake up damn it!" Speaking of the blonde… "Something's going on in the city! Some strange guy is on the TV! He's hacked into every channel, making some crazy announcement." She yanked his blanket off of him as he rolled over.

"Alright I'm up I'm up, sheesh. Can't even let a guy suffer in agony peacefully anymore these days."

"Oh, shut up you asswipe. I'm still mad at you. But the girls are calling this guy the 'professor' for some reason."

"It's Minaka Hirato, Harry-Sama." The redhead's words slammed into him, and he looked up at her.

"This can't be good." Springing up, he wobbled a moment, getting his balance before Gabby helped stabilize him. With a quick thanks, they moved to Matsu's room, where most of the house had gathered. Matsu slipped through the crowd and dropped to her knees before tapping a few keys on a keyboard.

Sure enough, the Director of M.B.I. was on the screen. It appeared that Matsu was recording/ had recorded the broadcast, as he could make out that the time on the screen didn't match the screens around the room.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Tokyo, I am Minaka Hiroto of M.B.I., and I have an announcement to make. We M.B.I. have occupied Tokyo! A new age of gods is dawning here!"

The announcement continued, but the room's mood had already shifted.

"Wha… what does he mean b-b-by 'occupied'?" Minato's words cut through the sound, as Matsu hit pause on the recording.

"It's already started…" Matsu was in the beginning stages of a freak-out. "Sekirei Plan: Second Stage has begun."

"'Second stage'?" Minato repeated. Harry was wondering what the first stage was, but then immediately realized the winging of the Sekireis was the first. But, if they're in the second stage now, that meant…

"It means the number of winged Sekirei has reached a certain percentage. Specifically, 93%."

"That is an awfully specific number" Harry voiced, doing the math in his head before coming to the answer. "No. it's not the percentage that matters…"

"Exactly, Harry-sama" she concurred, before looking at the room at large. "There are 108 total Sekirei in the Game. 93% means 99/ 107 viable Sekirei have now been winged."

"Leaving only 8 un-winged" Chiho whispered. Uzume and Matsu both looked at Kagari, who was paling rapidly. Minato, Musubi and Shi hadn't put him together quite yet by the looks of it. Though, he wasn't actually certain about Shi, considering her shyness. Ku was looking between all of them, trying to understand it all. Gabby was looking at Harry.

Harry had his chin in his hand, thinking it all over. "Matsu, who is left un-winged? Are you able to determine that? Primarily, Akitsu. Is she considered winged?"

The woman immediately turned to another screen, and with a few moments of fast keystrokes, had the information popping up on three screens.

"Yes. Despite the alterations to her removing her bond to you, Number 7 Akitsu is still considered both viable and winged, though the modifications are noted here as well. They're not pleasant, but that's for another time. The M.B.I. database still has on file her winging on August 4th, 2010 to you. She was the third Sekirei to be winged, after Number 5 Mutsu who had been first to Mikogami Hayato in 2009, and Number 8 Yume, on August 2nd, 2010, also to you."

"So, besides Number 6 Homura, who we know is un-winged, who all is left?"

"The other seven are… Number 3, Kazehana" which Gabby and Harry shared a look about. "Number 9, Tsukiumi." The woman's picture popped up next to Kazehana. Harry noticed Minato flinch. An interesting response he'd address at a later time. "Number 50, Nimsu." A rare male showed up, and Harry bit back the laugh at his stoner disposition. "Number 97, Kaneie." This woman was in a skin-tight tracksuit head to toe, most of which was leg, and was also 'peacing' the camera.

"Here's 107, Shiina. Though, I must add I suspect this is temporary. He's staying with someone who I've calculated a 99% chance of also being an Ashikabi, so it's likely a matter of time."

"Shiina" Ku repeated, standing up and moving towards the screen. She caressed his digital image while the others watched. After a few moments, Minato crawled over to her and hugged her from behind. Ku turned and wrapped her small arms around him, tears threatening to fall.

"And last, but likely the most dangerous..." she pressed a final key with emphasis, "Number 13 Tsubaki: the Dark Star." The woman's picture who popped up could've given Miya a run for her money in looks of rage.

"That's only seven total with Homura, Matsu. Who is the eighth?"

She tapped a few keys. "That's because only seven are left now. Number 98, Kujou, was just winged a few minutes ago."

'Damn. too bad. She looks hot. I mean, she's wearing stockings and a mini skirt! Look at those perfectly, formed jugs! Sex on legs!' A few more keys, then she whined/sighed. "By Higa."

'Aaand yet another reason to hate that wanker.'

"So, they've captured another one. Great" he muttered. A beeping from another screen, and one of the pictures left the visual.

"Make that six left. Nimsu was just winged by Mikogami."

Harry took a deep breath. "Ohhh boy…"

"What do you want to do, Harry-sama?" Matsu's question kept him from delving into his thoughts. He looked up and realized everyone was looking at him, but Minato and Ku, who were still looking at Shiina's picture.

"What do you mean, Matsu?" Though, he was fairly certain what she was asking, he just didn't want to put it to words all that much.

"There are only six left" she repeated, indicating the screens behind her. "And this is a Game. You could… potentially… add six more Sekirei to your flock."

Yeah. He really didn't want to put that to words. It appealed to his ego, sure. But the more he remembered, the more he learned, the more he hated it.

Six Sekirei left to be winged.

He wanted to laugh. He had one of them on speed-dial and was standing in the room with another. Leaving four. Another sob from Ku had him looking at the picture again. He vaguely recognized the boy but wasn't sure why.

He was very curious why the blonde Tsukiumi had gotten a flinch from Minato. Did he know her? She looked grumpy. Tracksuit girl had him curious, though she greatly resembled Tracer from Overwatch: tall, very skinny, with crazy long legs. Even the hair color and face was the same. Change the outfit and she'd be cosplaying her.

But Number 13. That one intrigued him greatly and felt himself drawn to her. He'd learned that the Sekirei were released in waves, almost always in order of their numbers. Shi had been an abnormality due to her extreme shyness, 'til she'd been outright kicked out of M.B.I. It hadn't helped that she'd been immediately set upon by Higa's thugs. Which reminded him… he hadn't spoken with Toyotoma or Ichiya in a while.

Getting back to the point, he'd learned that single digits were considered a whole class of their own. Uzume had said more than once that even Number 9, who they were looking at, outclassed her in power level by a huge margin, despite being one digit apart. Harry himself knew that Kazehana and Karasuba had enormous power and suppressed them greatly. Only matched, if not exceeded, by Miya herself… which he was suddenly wondering…

He'd ask Matsu later what she meant by '107 viable' and not 108.

But Akitsu and 'Homura' had proven to be high on the power scale as well. Especially as Akitsu had even done a number on him. Granted, she was angry and angry women could be terrifying, but it was all the same to him.

Well… not really. She was LIVID. And she'd actually hurt him physically, something that had surprised him at the time.

The real question was, how much did he WANT to be involved? And how the hell was M.B.I. getting away with occupying an entire city?

He was seriously considering just taking everyone who wanted to leave, namely those in Izumo with him, plus Hana, Ichiya and Toyotoma, and just… well… leave. Between him and Gabby, they could side-by-side apparate everyone to Osaka, where the Japanese Ministry of Magic was. Hell… actually, he could just go to the Ministry, get a portkey for twenty, then head back to the UK.

It was suddenly sounding like a great idea.

And he'd gotten off the point again. Thirteen. How a number that high was still free, one that wasn't a single digit, was highly intriguing.

"Harry?" Gabby's question brought him back to Earth, and he looked down at her questioning eyes. He took a deep breath.

"What do you think, Gabs? I mean, do we really want to play this game?" He asked her in English.

"I thought I had…" she began. "But, taking over an entire city? Who does that? Why? I get the feeling there's a lot to this whole thing that we're not being told about."

Harry just nodded. "I agree. I was just thinking that maybe we should just… y'know… leave."

"You're not seriously suggesting just leaving them all here to fend for themselves, are you?" she accused. He didn't even bother hiding the hurt look.

"C'mon, Gabs, you know me better than that." She looked down guiltily, before he tilted her chin up to him. "I was planning on taking everyone here in Izumo who wanted to leave, as well as Hana. Toyotoma and Ichiya, too, if they were willing."

"Not Kara?"

"She wants to play. Plus, she's one of the ones in charge of making sure everyone participates."

"You know she'll just come after you again."

"And she'll fail again." She at least nodded, not voicing her concerns regarding that line of thought. Not that he needed her too, it wasn't anything she hadn't said before.

"How would we leave?"

"Portkey" he answered simply, and she widened her eyes before facepalming.

"That's far too simple" she responded in Japanese.

"What's too simple" Minato asked. Unbeknownst to most of the occupants, Matsu and Kagari had been following the conversation, and were now having a whispering one.

"Harry and I aren't really interested in getting involved in something that involves taking over an entire city. The implications of what that entails are not sitting well with us."

"What would you do?" he asked. "I mean, if they've shut down the city, it's not as if we can just leave." The moment he finished his question, he realized he'd walked into something as they both smiled mischievously at him. "Can we?"

"We're wizards, Minato" Harry smirked. "Yeah, we can leave. So long as there aren't any anti-apparation or anti-portkey wards up. Which, for an entire city, would be bloody difficult to do in a short time. And that's assuming anyone knows what I or Gabby even are."

"I'm guessing those… portkeys and apparation… are some form of magical travel?" he prompted, trying out the foreign words, and was surprised by Chiho and Uzume's enthusiastic nod. Kusano's surprised him the most.

"Yeah, remember how I got down from that tree with Kusano?"

Minato's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that." He rubbed the back of his head. "Wait, how far can you go with that, anyways?"

"Truthfully? If it was just me? Halfway around the planet. With Gabby? To Istanbul, if I wanted to."

"With all of us, though?" Uzume questioned, waving a hand at the room.

"All of us wouldn't get very far, admittedly. But…" he added before the room looked dejected, "we don't need to get far. Just far enough."

"However, that's not what we were planning on doing, as I don't have the magical reserves Superman here has" she teased, slapping Harry's chest with the back of her hand. "There's an item called a portkey we can get or just make ourselves. It is specifically designed to carry mass groups of people. Upwards of twenty-one people at once. And, they can go anywhere in the world."

"Where would we go?" Chiho prompted, sitting up with Uzume's help.

"Home" the duo chorused, before butting foreheads with a smile.

With the exception of Matsu and Kagari, who were still whispering to each other, the room broke into various conversations, happy smiles all around. Even Shi was looking excited, the idea of being far away from the fighting very appealing to her.

Miya, who'd been listening from outside the door, sighed, doing her best to hide a sniffle as she walked away.

.


April 21, 2020

Early afternoon

.

The excitement from the previous day received an extra incentive to become a reality in less than 24 hours. Lunch had just finished, though Miya had been conspicuously absent, and everyone was pitching in to clean up when a sudden chime sounded. The two magicals shared shocked looks, looks that turned to angry ones as a secondary chime was heard in their ears only, indicating an intrusion of their home.

Both turned and bolted to the front door where they surprisingly ran into Miya, who'd been outside, her eyes looking as tired as Harry felt from the previous day's overwhelming emotions. "I was just coming to look for you. Why do I hear chimes in my ears? Did you do something?"

"Get your sword" was all Harry said, pushing past her, waving his wand to magically put his shoes on himself. Gabby was right behind him pulling out her wand but turned and looked at the stunned woman.

"Now!" she ordered, and the woman's surprise changed to resolve as she darted into the house.

"Gabby, go to the house. The wards should keep anyone out, but be careful" he ordered, turning to look at her. He saw Kagari racing towards them. "Kagari, go with her. Someone's trying to break into our place. Don't engage unless attacked first, no matter who it is." They both nodded, and Gabby grabbed Kagari's arm before turning with a *pop*. Uzume came flying out the front door in her Veils, followed by Musubi in her fighting outfit.

He turned back towards the gate, ignoring Miya who'd stepped up next to him, in an outfit he'd not seen her in before. It resembled Karasuba's, but had long, black leggings that left hardly an inch of bare skin visible. The skirt and blouse were also pure leather, and they along with the cloak were pitch black. She was even wearing fingerless gloves on her hands, with spiked gauntlets.

Yeah… she looked every bit the part of Sekirei Number 01: Miya Asama, the Hannya of the North.

He didn't want to look and see if she was wearing heels of some sort, 'cause he'd not be responsible for his actions if she was.

A sudden sound of glass breaking had him wincing, covering his ears. The Sekirei had as well, before a multitude of *pops* sounded in front of them caught their attention, and many shouts were heard as balls of light were fired in their direction. A large area of the fence around the gate exploded inwards, revealing the rest of the intruding party.

Harry immediately cast multiple shield spells, deflecting or absorbing all of the attacks before he began firing return spells off at the intruders. He managed to take out several of them before they realized their surprise attack failed. Shields were being thrown up by the intruders, deflecting many of his retaliations.

Once the ringing stopped, Miya took a quiet appraisal of the situation, inwardly awed at the raven-haired man's shield protecting them. His sudden return fire, though, was all she needed to snap out of it, as she launched forward, attacking those who had landed in her yard. Musubi had joined her, while Uzume was attacking those without. Her veils kept getting deflected or cut, but they were all the diversion Harry needed to slip spells through their blind spots.

Between the four of them, the 'battle' was over in a matter of moments. Harry couldn't help but grin at Miya and Musubi: clearly, all that training with her elder had done the boisterous young woman a wonderful amount of good. He was surprised to see not one of their opponents had been killed. Clearly, Miya had been restraining herself greatly. In all honesty, she probably didn't need their help to defend the property. Nor, if he wasn't being humble about it, had he, truthfully. Certainly made cleaning up the mess easier.

But it was good working together. And now, they could get some answers.

"Uzume, sweetie, be a dear and restrain this one." He toed one of the older guys with his badge on his front, and Uzume used her veils to lift him up. His reading of Japanese was still shite, so couldn't make it out. "Miya, what does the badge say?"

The woman still hadn't sheathed her bloodless sword, a feat he'd ponder later, not that he blamed her mind you, but leaned in to read it, nonetheless. "Auror? It is a strange kanji combination." She turned towards him. "Does Auror sound familiar to you?"

He ran his fingers through his head. "Fuck." He looked around, rolling over a few more that were inside the yard. Most had the same badge on their front. "We just took out a team of Aurors." He sighed deeply. "This is not good. Not good at all."

"What's an 'Auror'?" Musubi asked, looking around. Her excitement for the battle had died down and was now looking concerned if anyone had been hurt badly.

"Magical police" he responded numbly, before swearing again skyward. "FUCK! Why the hell are they here?"

Just then, a blue sparrow flew towards him, landing on his shoulder. Gabby's voice came out of it. "Harry, the Japanese Aurors were trying to enter our property. They took down most of the wards, somehow, but weren't able to enter the house itself. The ones we added ourselves held up. They weren't happy, screaming about illegal wards. Before they could do much more, one of them called for a retreat, saying how the other team was wiped out. They all portkeyed right away.

"We're both still here. Once we saw how outnumbered we were, we snuck around back and went inside, so we didn't take any prisoners. We're still here, but most of the ward stones are damaged. Whatever they did, they somehow overloaded them from the outside."

"Fucking hell that takes a lot of power to do" he muttered, not liking the implications, before the sparrow could keep speaking.

"With how much power that would take, and that they were Japanese Aurors, for some reason we've made an enemy out of the Japanese Magical government. I have no problems making enemies of uptight fuckwads, but I don't recall us doing anything to warrant this level of aggression.

"What do you want us to do?"

With the last question, the sparrow bumped its blue head against Harry, transferring a spark of comfort towards him, before it disappeared.

"What was that?" Uzume asked, startled by the blue bird.

"A Patronus. A light construct formed by positive emotions, used to fend off creatures formed by darkness, and also used as a messenger."

"It was pretty" Musubi said with awe, causing Harry first to glance at her in surprise, then smiled at her comment. Even Miya had a tilt of her mouth at that, though wondered why he was surprised.

"Yeah, they are, Musubi" he replied, before grinning. "Let me show you another." With a flick of his wrist, his wand appeared in his hand, a feat that had the younger girls gawking at, not knowing where it'd appeared from. Even Miya was mildly surprised by its sudden appearance.

With an exaggerated wave, he orated the incantation: "Expecto patronum". A burst of blue and silver erupted from the wand, and the gathered caught sight of the winged creature that made a lap flying around them, before coming to a gentle landing a few meters from them, slowly padding over to EJ and muzzling him.

Rubbing his companion with a smile, he turned the same smile to the three women. Musubi's bursting exciting had him nearly laughing, Miya's aw had him smiling, but it was Uzume's gawking that nearly killed him.

"THAT'S AMATERASU!" she exclaimed. That halted his laughter as he cocked his head in confusion, looking down at the winged wolf.

"I thought Amaterasu was a Japanese deity of some sort?" he replied, looking to Miya for confirmation. She nodded slowly, also looking at Uzume in confusion. "I wasn't aware that the Japanese deities had an animal form associated with them like the Egyptians."

Uzume was already waving him off. "No no… well, yes… but no I mean Amaterasu from Ōkami who is based on the deity. She's represented as a winged wolf, or a wolf dragon if you will."

Harry admittedly snorted at that last part. "A wolf dragon? Like a wolf that breathes fire or something?"

"And lightning and ice, yeah."

He just gaped at her in response, cocking his head in confusion. "What exactly is this Ōkami?"

"A video game."

"Ah. That makes much more sense, now."

"What, yours doesn't do that?"

"To my limited knowledge, none of the Pterolyca do. But, that's admittedly to my- "

"Wait, WHAT?" she screamed, dropping the Auror she was holding, who crashed to the ground hard enough to stir with a groan. Harry hit him with a stunner without looking, looking in askance towards the Veiled Sekirei. "You're telling me that winged wolves are REAL?"

"Uh… yeah? Why wouldn't they be? Unicorns, sphinxes and chimera are real, why wouldn't," he indicated the pterolycus next to him, "these be real?"

"You never mentioned them!" He shrugged.

"You didn't ask." He shrugged again, petting the pup. "They're an endangered species, but I've a mated pair to aid in the propagation of the population. She greatly resembles my girl back home. Unfortunately, she doesn't travel well, so bringing her here wasn't an option.

"Also, she's quite attached to my 8-yr-old godson, and quite protective of him, so there was little chance of her leaving him." He patted the pup on the head, giving a slight scratch behind her ethereal ears. "Tell Gabby to come back over. The excitement is over and we've plenty of trash to sift through." With a light yip, the wolf bounded off, and Musubi squealed lightly as it did so, watching it leave.

He ran his fingers through his head, taking deep breaths. "To the matter at hand, though, I honestly have no idea what I did to piss off the magical government."

Miya turned an inquisical look at him. The "are you kidding me?" it was full of almost had him on his back foot.

"No, truly, Miya. I don't. The non-magical government, maybe. I hate both M.B.I. and Hiyamakai Enterprises, both of which have been in Tokyo much longer than I have. I've made trouble for both of them, and both have deep connections in the non-magical government. But the magical one? Unless this is the level of response for usage of magic in front of non-wizards, which it isn't, then something else is going on."

"Let us ask them, then" Miya offered diplomatically, turning towards the one that Uzume had dropped. "Can you wake him up?"

"Certainly." After indicating for Uzume to pick the Auror back up, he pointed his wand at the man, with a whispered ennervatethe aged Auror stirred. Getting his bearings, he looked up at the young man holding his wand at his side. If he was surprised by the woman next to him holding a sword, he didn't let on. Though, when he tried to move, he found he couldn't. The white cloth holding his ankles and wrists were restraining him, and he didn't dare chance looking to see by what.

"Release me" he ordered the man with a wand. When neither of them moved, he added more. "I am Senior Auror Saijo. You have assaulted a team of aurors here to apprehend a criminal. Release me and turn him over, and I will see your sentences reduced."

"Or…" Harry countered, taking a step forward, "we kill all of you now, transfigure you to fish food, and dump your bodies in the river."

"Doing so would make you an enemy of the state. And when you are caught, you will be executed." Harry snorted.

"You and your team just invaded private property for absolutely no reason at all. The owner of this property," he turned and indicated the sword-wielder, "is well within her rights to defend herself and all its occupants. As her good friend and frequent visitor, I assisted her, as did two of her tenants."

"Attacking Aurors is a crime, young man."

"So is trespassing, old man" Uzume's voice teased from behind him. The auror tried turning to see the voice-owner, but couldn't turn his head enough to do so. He was able to determine that whoever it was was likely responsible for his inability to move his limbs.

"I am not trespassing. This property was seized by the Japanese government. All of you are in violation of... "

"Stow it." The venom in Harry's voice surprised the aged auror, who went to retort, but was cut off. "You're either lying to us, or are going off of inaccurate information. This property is under ownership of one Miya Asama, the woman here beside me with the very sharp sword and looking very upset at your claims."

"Miya Asama? She's dead" the man verbosed, though with mild uncertainty. That did surprise the gathered group, even Musubi, who the auror hadn't seen yet, was wide-eyed. "We were here to apprehend one EJ Black who illegally claimed land in this area."

"You mean when I legally, through several governments, both magical and non, purchased nearly two square kilometers of land surrounding this domicile? When I paid all the fees, taxes and whatnots to have wards put up around it? You mean when I repeatedly had to fend off several other interested parties from bribing and muscling their way into forcing me to sell, or outright claim it as theirs? Which illegal claim?"

"By Order of the Japanese Ministry for Magic, you, Evans James Black are in violation of code…"

"Again, stow it. Where's your warrant?"

"You will address me as Senior Auror Saijo. And I do not answer to you."

"International Confederation of Wizards Statute 347 Article VII Paragraph 5 Subsection B: All intrusions made by Aurors on private property in the interest of apprehension of wanted suspect or suspects must be accompanied by warrant of authorization. Said warrant must be provided on request for purview to all persons in attendance of the immediate and intruded locale at the time of the incursion. Violation of this may result in compromisation of warrant's validity: including but not restricted to trespassing and invasion of privacy. Failure to adhere to the doctrine may potentially escalate to invalidation of all active warrants against the intended suspect, or immediate Stays of Execution against any further attempts of apprehension at the invaded locale or locales. Any and all evidence gathered, collected or observed at the aggravated locale or locales is immediately declared void and inadmissible in Court."

The senior Auror couldn't help but be impressed by the - as far as he could tell from memory - verbatim rehearsal of an ICW Statute. He glanced down towards the ground, thinking quickly before careening his head. "Could you turn me around so I can see where she is?" The green-eyed man nodded at - who he presumed - was the person holding him up, and he was rotated towards the rest of his team.

A fourth person, a busty young woman with a short skirt, was moving the ones in the yard against the fence, laying them in line on their backs. He could see pieces of wood, what he was guessing were parts of the destroyed fence, dotting the ground around them. He scanned the dozen or so in the yard, before looking out into the alley. "There, the blue-haired woman in the back with the black coat and blue scarf. She's the team leader. She should have the warrant on her."

The man who claimed to be EJ stepped towards the woman in question. He poked and prodded with his wand, before levitating a folded-up clutch of papers he knew to be the warrant. He held out his hand, and the Auror was surprised when the paper didn't fall into it, but remained elevated above it as he waved his wand around him.

Harry was once again thankful for his training, as the paranoia it instilled in him paid off right then. "Really? A portkey on the warrant? I must say, that's either awfully clever or awfully paranoid."

"What's a 'portkey', EJ-san?" Miya had stepped forward towards him, all but ignoring the Auror, her sword unsheathed in her hand. She'd picked up the need to maintain a familiar appearance quickly, but it didn't diminish her curiosity.

"It's a magical construct capable of transporting a person, or group of people, great distances. The history of them is fascinating, and will have to be saved for another time. For the moment, however, a portkey is a simple way for Aurors like these intruders to send their suspects straight to a holding cell without having to accompany them."

"Is that why you aren't touching it?"

"Exactly why. Portkeys can be activated in a number of ways: they can be set to activate at a specific time, or by a password or passphrase. Even can be set to activate if a certain level of stress is put on them, though that one is more recent discovery. However, this one in particular is most fascinating, because it's none of those. In fact, it is keyed to me and me alone." He waved his wand again, and the papers lined up next to each other. He was surprised to find them all in English. Because that wasn't suspicious, or convenient, at all.

"What do you mean 'keyed' to you?" He turned towards the woman, who was now standing next to him. He took a moment to think over how to respond, and whether or not he should make their conversation private or not. Deciding that he was already looking at a headache for this, might as well go all-in.

"All magical beings have a unique magical signature to them" he began. "Wizards, witches, elves, goblins, dragons, unicorns, etcetera etcetera… essentially, any magical being has a magical signature, and each their own, like a fingerprint. Magical creatures of the same species will often have ones that highly resemble others of their own, nearly imperceptible differences, but the differences are there.

"In sapient magical beings, like myself and Gabby, those differences are enough to create a form of magical lock with them. Like a fingerprint scanner or optical scanner, both of which identify unique characteristics of their respect mediums, we are capable of doing the same with our magical signatures. They're difficult to create, as they have to be keyed exactly to the intended target or targets, or the whole construct will fail."

"So, whoever is after you, knows the exact… frequency… of your magical signature?" Miya hypothesized. Not really having a better way to describe it to someone unfamiliar with magical theory, he simply nodded in response before answering.

"That's about as accurate as I can describe it to you at this moment, but essentially, yes. Magical signatures are more unique than even fingerprints and optical character recognition, as those can be duplicated easily. Magical signatures cannot. Whoever is after me has a history with me, or has done a LOT of research. Neither option particularly bodes well for me." He was already forming a list of possible suspects, and one in particular sat very firmly at number one. Miya proved her intelligence once again, as she came to the same conclusion.

"You were awfully worried about that General from your former organization. Is it possible he has finally made his first attempt at neutralizing you?"

"I'm wondering the same thing, Miya. I have a lot of enemies as Harry Potter, but very few of them know me as EJ Black. And those that EJ Black has as enemies, very few of them are magical; the likelihood of EJ Black's enemies making the correlation is very slim. With the exception of a couple unknowns, none of which I've ever performed magic in front of due to the Statute of Secrecy, most that I've had grievances with as EJ Black think me just an up-and-coming doctor who is also a shrewd businessman. And none of them would've been able to get my magical signature off me without my usage of magic."

"How many of your enemies know you as both, though? Could it possibly be one of them?"

"That, my dear Miya, is the real question. My former organization may very likely be behind this, but do I truly count them as an enemy? That's the issue. How many of my not-friends are actually enemies? There are only two ways to get someone's magical signature: scan them while they're unconscious, or spend a large amount of time around them as they cast magic." He sighed in frustration. "Worse, is this warrant isn't really giving me many clues."

She looked at it, then leaned closer squinting her eyes. "Is it… in English?" Standing upright, she scanned the gathered Aurors, all of which were distinctively and decidedly Japanese. "That's highly unusual considering no one here looks foreign."

"Agreed. Which in itself could be a clue… or a misdirection. Someone knows me. Making the warrant a keyed portkey was a safeguard. Whoever it is gave me the benefit of the doubt that I'd defeat all of these Aurors."

"That's highly arrogant of you, sir!" the forgotten Auror called out, only to be silenced by a veil covering his mouth.

"And yet, your team is knocked out and you're hanging there by your arms. It would seem my arrogance is well-founded, sir." The accompanying sneer to the emphasis lent weight to just what he thought of the pompous little man. To his credit, not that Uzume gave him the chance to do otherwise, he didn't even try to retort, but glanced again at his felled team members.

"Well, now. Someone is definitely doing their research on me. I should be flattered." He tapped the middle of the three pages with his wand tip. "I've been accused of 'aggressive acquisition of Japanese territories, including but not limited to forced sales by unwilling local persons and companies, to bribery of government officials permitting vast amounts of rural properties to be acquired with minimal to no regard for acquisition policies.' Someone has gotten creative."

"Did you really buy that much land, EJ-san?"

"I did. All legally. It has taken Gabby nearly 18 months to finalize the whole thing, as this was what we wanted to avoid. Though… not to this degree…

"What's really strange, outside of this warrant being in English, is that the magical purchase of this land through the Japanese Ministry was finalized over a year ago. There are no magical… anything, for nearly three kilometers in any direction from this Inn. No businesses, no homes, no creatures, no plants, no being whatsoever, nothing. That's why I chose this area; because it was prime real estate for us to take advantage of. Odd, considering the size of the city, but we certainly weren't going to complain.

"As far as the magical government is concerned, this Inn and all its accompanying property, belongs to me."

Miya turned towards him, her expression flickering between confusion and anger. He saw this and chose, wisely, to elaborate.

"The magical government often goes around the non-magical one, and just as often ignores it altogether. Land disputes being one of them. We wizards don't actually need that much space, because we can create more of it with charms and enchantments. This whole Inn and its land? Give me a couple weeks, and I could have a mirror of it built in the alleyway. From the outside it would look much smaller, but the inside could be ten times the size and space.

"With magic, I could build a mansion in a suitcase if I really wanted to. I don't, but it's possible.

"I wanted all this land so I could make money off of it. A portion of the land I bought could be turned into a magical commercial hub in a few years, from which I'd make a small fortune from rent alone. As far as the magical government is concerned, I own this land. Which is why I was able to put these wards up in the first place without these Aurors showing up sooner.

"On the non-magical side, though, you do. Yes, I tried throwing lots of money at you to get you to give it up, but you refused. Obviously. And, now that I know why, I can't say I'm sorry I failed. Cause I'm not. It's a quaint, homey place. I'd hate to see it go anywhere. Becoming friends was a nice boon to go with it, making our dilemma much easier to adjust to."

"'Our dilemma'?"

"As far as the world is concerned, between both worlds, we co-own this place. Which brings us back to these pieces of paper and what our auror friend here said, how you're supposedly dead and I'm forcing people to sell."

"For those of us who aren't geniuses, can you repeat, like, all of that? And in some sort of straightforward manner? You lost me. What does any of that have to do with these guys?" Harry stifled a chuckle at Uzume's request, then bit another at Miya's smirk towards him, before both turned towards the woman.

"The simple answer? In my world, I've owned all of this land for over a year. No complaints, no negative reactions. Hell, the Japanese Ministry practically shoved the paperwork down my throat to get me to sign faster so we could get to the part where I handed them money.

"So with all of that in mind, and absolutely no government mandates or other nonsensical bureaucratic crap, why the hell did they suddenly send two full teams of Aurors after me for a resolved, non-aggravated and unorthodox issue as land dispute? It makes no sense.

"And on top of all of that, the warrant itself is in English. ENGLISH. It's almost as if…" he suddenly trailed off as a new thought occurred to him. Turning towards the warrant itself again, a new level of comprehension dawned on his face as his eyes widened. "It's almost as if whoever it was that sent them knew I had trouble reading Japanese" he whispered.

"Is that why mine is in French?" a new voice asked from behind them. He turned and saw his bond-mate walking up with Kagari next to her, her wand pointing at a similar-looking group of papers in front of her.

"That one's in French?" he repeated, before a new meaning of her question hit him. "Wait, 'yours?' Is that warrant for you?" She nodded before responding.

"Yeah, one of them dropped it when they retreated. Which is strange, because I have no trouble at all reading Japanese. Isn't that one just for you?" His eyes widened in shock, as he hadn't even looked at that part yet. He'd merely assumed it was, as the Auror even said it was for EJ Black. He turned back to it, scanning for the suspects listed, and started.

It wasn't addressed to EJ – or even Evans James - Black, as the Auror had said. The warrant was for Harry James Potter.

.


Later that night, a figure was standing on a rooftop overlooking the city. Her black robes billowing out behind her, as her blonde hair did the same.

Her arms crossed, face set in a scowl, she watched the humans scurry from one place to another in this wretched hive she was confined to. Oh how she hated it. How she hated them all.

And worse, the 'beloved professor' had just told the whole city that she was still unwinged. As were several of her siblings.

"What an awful farce!" she exclaimed angrily.

"Tsukiumi" came a familiar voice behind her.

The Water Sekirei, Number 9: Tsukiumi, turned and faced the newcomer. Her 'rival', Homura, stood there looking at her, donned in his usual black getup, mask and all. Part of her wanted to immediately attack, but a greater part had no interest the act at all.

"Let's not fight. We've just recovered." If her simple request surprised the man, he didn't let it show, merely nodded. She spun and returned to her vigil, as Homura stepped up next to her.

They stood there in a silence for several minutes, observing the going-ons of the city.

"Why are you here?" she suddenly asked. To be frank, she had a feeling she already knew, and the thought angered her to no end.

"You do know, right? That the 'Sekirei Plan' has moved into the second stage. It means the required number of Sekirei are now winged. I think you know this, but this place here, Tokyo, in order to make it a fit place for Sekirei to fight, it was 'configured'. Now the unwinged Sekirei, including me and you, number merely 6 people.

"Also, the winged Sekirei can now release their true abilities. You want to be the 'strongest' right? So why don't you seek an Ashikabi, so you can be winged?"

The blonde woman spun to her companion irate. "Don't talk nonsense! An Ashikabi is just a common monkey! This is merely a method to permit an uncouth Philistine to violate my person! I will not allow it! NEVER!" She screamed, before clasping a hand to her heart. With a sniffle, she turned away.

"But… lately… it's really weird, like so… in my heart. My heart feels a little fluttery. This irritating sensation goes on and on." Homura watched some of the angry woman's shell come off, much to his surprise. It seemed she'd stumbled upon the truth all on her own, and went to voice it.

"Tsukiumi, that is…" but he was cut off.

"I know! If this is the reaction towards an Ashikabi, then it's a perfect chance. I'll definitely find him… and then kill him" she said adamantly. Homura just held his head. 'Three steps forward, two steps back.'

"Anyway, you bastard, you only talk about me, but what about you?"

The accusation caught him off-guard, and he almost spilled the beans about Gabby. But, managed to hold his tongue at the last moment, deflecting. "Ah, me? I'm not gonna become… Those of the fire, are hated by the gods." He lost himself in the pain of the near-winging that he'd almost went through, only for something to reject it, and stopped it like a brick wall.

Had he not been so absorbed, he would have seen the sympathetic look on the woman's face. While she did not want one for herself, who was she to deny others their wish for happiness. And she knew the man next to her wanted to be winged badly.

"That's right, Tsukiumi." She turned back to him, and saw a look in his eye that usually preceded a mischievous remark. "I can clearly see your panties… again!"

Her eyes widened as her hands flew to the bottom of her robe, pulling it and her skirt down. "The wind is strong! You're not supposed to look!" she snarled, turning back towards the city. The mood ruined, she made a final declaration. "Mark my words, even without an Ashikabi, I'll be the strongest! Just wait and see!"

Elsewhere, a messy raven-haired boy sneezed.