The group had decided that, while Harry napped, they would do a little bit of practicing for their next performance. They noted that Sakura was doing exceptionally well due to being in high spirits. "Y'know, I haven't seen Sakura this happy in awhile." Junko commented.

"Yeah, ever since she got all her memories back, she had a bit of a moody side. Guess the kid's really good for her." Saki agreed.

"My guess is that Lady Sakua values the feeling of feeling needed." Yugiri chipped in.

"And have you seen that little cutie? He can brighten anyones day!" Lily added with a grin. Tae seemed to moan slightly, signalling her agreement.

Sakura, having overheard the others. blushed slightly. It was true she had been feeling a lot happier recently, and deep down she knew all of it was because of the little boy she had found.

Soon enough, their practice session ended, and the girls took a seat to discuss their next performance. "...And that's how you do it, Tae." Sakura concluded her teaching session with the still somewhat feral zombie, who nodded with a grunt.

"Hey, it's been a while since you put the kid down for his nap. Maybe you should go check up on him." Saki suggested.

"Oh, shoot! He's probably awake by now!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Hurrying up the stairs, Sakura came to a fast stop and carefully opened the door to her room, quietly, as to not wake him if he wasn't awake yet.

"Harry?" She whispered.

She heard a soft grunt and saw the boy stirring in his slumber as he groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes "Hmm...? Where am I...?" He mumbled. Sakura smiled and moved to his side.

"Still with me, Harry. Still with me."

Harry looked up and give a genuine smile, Sakura felt her heart warm at the sight of it.

"Hi Miss Sakura." Harry mumbled, still waking up. He unconsciously reached forward somewhat, as if asking for a hug, and Sakura was more than happy to scoop him up and hold him close.

"Hi, Harry. Did you have a good sleep?" The redhead zombie cooed, patting his back. Harry nodded his tiny head.

"Your bed is really soft..." He mumbled into her chest. "S'nice..."

"Aw, that's great to hear." Sakura said in a playful tone. "I see Romero kept you company." Upon hearing his name, the dog's head perked up and he looked around, his stubby tail wagging in anticipation. Sakura giggled and patted the dog's head. "Good boy, Romero." She cooed as the dog licked her hands. She turned to Harry. "C'mon, little guy. Let's go back downstairs."

"Okay." Harry said, Sakura could tell he would've answered that even if he didn't want to, she frowned but understood where he was coming from. As the two made there way down, Harry looked up at his new caregiver in wonder.

"Miss Sakura? I heard some sounds coming from downstairs. What were they?"

Sakura smiled down at him. "Oh, me and the other girls were practicing." She explained, causing Harry to curiously tilt his head to the side.

"Practicing?"

"Yep! We're idols!"

"Wow!" Harry said excitedly, eyes sparkling, before looking confused. "What's an idol?"

"Well, an idol is like a musician." Sakura explained with a grin. "We go to big shows and perform for lots of people."

"Are you good?" Harry asked, his eyes wide in amazement.

"I like to think so." Sakura laughed.

"Th...the song you sang for me was pretty." Harry stammered, somewhat nervous. Sakura cooed and kissed the top of his head.

"Aww, thanks. Lily actually made that one. It's called 'To My Dearest'." Sakura explained to the boy.

"Wow...Miss Lily made a really good song..."

"Her dad sure thought so."

Harry briefly had a sad smile as he looked up at Sakura, but looked away so she didn't see it. The Idol thought she saw something but shook her head as she entered the room. In about two seconds, Lily was by Sakura's side again.

"Hi Harry!" She squeaked in her energetic way. "How ya doing?"

"G...good Miss Lily." Harry stammered, taken aback by her sudden appearance.

"Aww, you don't need to call me Miss Lily! Just Lily is fine! I'm too young to be a Miss!"

Harry nodded his head slowly. "M-Miss Sakura sang me your song..." He said softly. Lily grinned.

"Ooh! Did you like it?!" She asked.

"It was pretty..."

"Good! I knew I did a good job writing it!"

The others stopped what they were doing and watched the interaction between their smallest member, and their newest member. It was rather adorable to see not only Sakura in such a loving manner, but to see Lily's joy at just about everything about Harry. Sakura gently set Harry down on the couch next to Ai, who gave Harry a toothy, warm grin.

"Hey, little guy." She said, patting his head, causing him to smile softly.

"Hi, Miss Ai... Heehee... It rhymes..." Ai laughed gently and suddenly picked Harry up, getting an adorable 'Eep!' out of him.

"Indeed it does! Do you think you're going to be an Idol when you grow up?" She said playfully, setting him on her lap.

Harry blinked and looked up at her. "I...I dunno..." He mumbled.

"Can there even be male idols?" Saki asked. The group went silent, looking to one another unsure of the answer. Eventually, Ai shrugged and hugged Harry.

"Well, whatever you want to do, we'll be there to help you."

"Thank you..." Harry said with a small smile. He liked everyone here. They were nice, with the possible, occasional exception of Mr. Kotaro, who still scared him.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Saki asked. "We're done practicing, we've already ate lunch... I think we've had our big surprise for the day."

"I'm fine staying where I am." Ai remarked, nuzzling the top of Harry's head. "All right then. Guess it's TV time." Ai said, turning the TV set on. Flipping through the channels, she found there was the usual stuff, news, game shows, a few animated tv shows aimed for adults... she frowned, there was nothing she thought Harry would like.

By this point, Sakura had taken Harry back, because he missed her.

Suddenly, the TV stopped on a very familiar commercial... "Miss Sakura, look! It's you and everyone else! You're dancing in chicken costumes!" Harry said excitedly. Sakura blinked, a bit confused by what Harry said, then her eyes widened and she grinned.

"Oh my gosh! Drive-In Tori ad!" Saki squeed. Harry nuzzled close to Sakura, eager to see whatever this was, as a joyful tune began to play.

"Ah, Tori... I'll always love you...Oh hey! We should get that for dinner! Harry, my dude, you haven't LIVED until you've had Drive-In Tori!" Saki exclaimed.

Harry, however, was mindlessly swaying along to the song, a childish grin on his face. It wasn't clear if he heard Saki or not, but it was clear he was loving the song. He seemed to be trying to hum along to it, while Sakura sang the words she knew all to well.

The commercial ended and the boy's shoulders sagged. "Aww... Will it come on again?" He asked softly. Sakura rested her chin atop his head.

"I'm sure it will."

After flipping through the channels a bit more, she managed to find a channel that showed kids cartoons.

"Have you ever watched any of these Harry?" Sakura asked, not sure what they were watching.

"No..." Harry replied sadly. "I wasn't allowed to, I always had to do the chores, and if I was found watching the telly I-"

"Okay, I get it." Sakura quickly replied. "Well, here you can watch it whenever you like."

She wrapped her arms around the boy's tummy and they watched the cartoon. Saki laughed at the TV. "Ha! These American cartoons are hilarious! What is this called, Fred, Fredd n Freddy or something?"

"I dunno." Sakura shrugged. "Never watched much as a kid, I grew up on Yu-Ge-Go and Techmon."

They turned their attention to the TV, which depicted three boys (of varying intelligence) attempting to come up with a plan to get money for jawbreakers. There was something about one of the boys, Freddy, that seemed oddly similar to Kotaro in his eccentircoes and mannerisms.

"Heh...If only Shades got half the amount of abuse this kid does, eh?" Saki said, nudging Yugiri with her shoulder.

"It is unbecoming of me to wish harm on others. ...But yes."

"Woof."

Looking down, Harry smiled and reached for Romero, who happily jumped into the small boy's arms. Continuing to watch the show, Harry found himself laughing at the escapades of Fred and the others, as no matter how smart their plan seemed... it always came crashing down in the end. "I hope they still get their jawbreakers... Even if I don't really get it... Why would you want to have a broken jaw? That would really, really hurt."

"No silly, a jawbreaker is a type of candy, it doesn't actually break your jaw." Sakura giggled.

"Oh..." Harry replied, feeling a bit bashful. However, that quickly turned back to laughter as both the show and Romero's constant licks continued.

The group watched the television until dinnertime. True to her word, Saki drove out to pick up some Drive-In Tori. She was still very grateful to Kotaro for allowing her to have her driver's license.

When she returned, the others eagerly awaited the food, and soon everyone was sitting about in the main room eating dinner.

"Open up Harry! This is really yummy!" Sakura said with a closed-eyed smile. Harry obediently opened his mouth wide, letting out a quiet 'Aaah' as Sakura put the little ball of chicken in his mouth. His face lit up. It really was yummy!

"So good..." He mumbled, his mouth full. His eyes were sparkling as she happily chewed and swallowed, then opened his mouth again.

"Yay! He likes it!" Lily cheered. Sakura smiled and fed him another mouthful, then another, and another. Soon, Harry shook his head, and simply moved a bit closer to Sakura, who picked him up and rested his head on her shoulder, He looked over her shoulder and saw Yugiri smile at him with a friendly wave. He hesitated, but eventually smiled back at her.

"You full, Harry?" Sakura asked kindly. "I don't want to make you sick."

"It was so good." Harry repeated.

Saki gave the boy a grin. "Heeey, we got a fellow Tori fan over here!" She said joyfully. "Good to know that the place will be loved for generations to come!"

Harry gave a small giggle as Sakura adjusted Harry in her arms. Finally, the zombie asked "You want to hold him?"

Saki seemed surprised, but nodded. "If he's okay with it." She added.

"Harry, is it okay if Saki hold you?" Sakura asked gently. Harry seemed to think it over. He really liked Miss Sakura, but Miss Saki was also nice to him, and she didn't seem to be acting... Finally, he looked up at Sakura and nodded.

Smiling, the redhead handed the boy over to her blonde friend, who took him with a grin. "What's up, little man?" She said, setting the boy on her lap.

"Um...I think I see a fly..." Harry said, pointing upward. Everyone looked up, seeing a fly on the ceiling.

Saki snickered as Junko yelped and ran for the flyswatter. "I don't mean literally, squirt. I mean how ya doing? You feeling good, or are you feeling good?"

"Oh. I'm doing okay." Harry replied. It seemed like he was going to say more, and eventually he shifted in Saki's lap before adding. "I still feel weird that all this is happening. I'm scared it's all a dream. I don't wanna wake up..."

Saki gave the boy a smirk. "You fell asleep twice already and you're still here, pipsqueak. If you haven't woken up in that alley by now, you're definitely not gonna."

"I..I know..." Harry mumbled. "It's just... you're all so nice to me... And... and... And I don't know why!" Saki was taken aback by the genuine distress on Harry's face, and after a few flustered moments, she hugged him tightly like she had seen Sakura do. Gently trying to calm him.

"Buddy, we're nice to you because we like you. You're an adorable, good kid. Why wouldn't we like you?" She spoke calmly and gently to Harry.

Harry looked down. "I...I dunno..." He admitted. "But if they hated me so much, there must be SOMETHING wrong with me..." Saki ruffled his hair.

"Well, I ain't seeing it." She replied.

"Thank you Miss Saki." Harry replied, a small smile on his face, as he tried to hug Saki, but his arms were too short, so he ended up wrapping them around her waist. Saki smiled none the less and hugged him back.

Sakura then noticed something. "Aww, he's all dirty... I'm gonna go ahead and get him washed up." She picked the boy up. "C'mon, Harry. Bath time."

"Um. Is it gonna burn?" Harry asked nervously.

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked, shocked.

"Whenever I had a bath... it was as punishment. It was always really hot or really cold. And they'd hold my head under and I couldn't breathe... It was really scary."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Sakura hugged Harry tightly. "It-It'll be a nice bath, Harry...I promise it won't be painful or scary..."

"You promise?" Harry asked, looking up at Sakura, his eyes wide with a mixture of hope and slight fear.

"Of course." Sakura nodded, gently taking Harry out from her friends arms and carrying him into the bathroom.

Sakura set the boy down on the counter and started to run the bath. She made extra sure that it was set to a reasonable temperature. When she was satisfied, she turned off the water. She approached Harry and carefully removed his shirt...

And she let out a horrified gasp and clapped her hands over her mouth.

His chest was covered in cuts and scars, several of which were a gangrenous green darker than her zombified skin. Splotches of red and orange dotted across his body. If that wasn't bad enough, she could count every last one of his ribs. She was afraid if she looked too hard she'd see his spine while she was at it. All his wounds seemed like they had never been cleaned, and were left to continue to bleed out until they stopped naturally. She had been used to the smell of death for so long that she hadn't realized that a stench that was off was coming from Harry.

She stared blankly at the boy, her mind processing the horrifying sight. She knew he was abused, but...this? This was absolutely horrific... Slowly, she wrapped her arms around the little boy and hugged him tightly. "Miss Sakura?" Harry asked confused.

"I...I...I..I'm SO SORRY baby..." She finally managed to get out, tears running down her face.

"I didn't mean to make you sad! I'm sorry!" Harry cried, hugging Sakura's head, trying to comfort her.

"No, it wasn't you...It was...It was whoever did THIS to you... Oh my GOD, this is horrible! It's...It's not right, it's not fair! You don't deserve to be hurt like this!"

At this point, the others had rushed in to see what was the matter.

"Sakura what's the-" Junko began, but all the women went dead silent when they saw Harry's chest. "Oh my God..."

"He...he...he..." Lily stammered, trying to form words.

"I think I'm gonna puke..." Saki muttered.

Harry was now really upset by this point. Ai stepped forward. "Sakura, give Harry his bath. Clean up his wounds the best you can. I'm gonna go get the first aid kit ready."

"I have an old remedy that may help. I just need a few things from the garden." A very solemn Yugiri said.

"Good. Everything helps." Ai said to the older girl with a nod.

Sakura looked back to Harry, whose eyes were squeezed tight. Sighing audibly, she gently picked up the scraggly boy and set him into the warm bath. Harry winced slightly as the water hit his wounds. "Is it too hot Harry?"

"No, it just...hurts a little bit..." Sakura nodded sadly.

"Yeah...Those are some seriously nasty injuries... I had a feeling it was gonna sting a little..." Leaning down, she kissed a few of the injuries. Harry winced but cooed as she kissed him. Gently cupping some water, she began gently cleaning the wounds, doing her best to clean them up, but not to hurt Harry. He sat in silence, trying not to react to the stings he felt. Sakura noticed and gave him a sad look. How badly she wanted to make this monster pay... She gently began to scrub his hair, cleaning it the best she could, grimacing somewhat at the slimy feel of it as the shampoo did its thing.

Soon enough, Sakura felt she had cleaned him off the absolute best she could, and she carefully rinsed him off before pulling him out of the tub and wrapping him in a big fluffy towel. Only Harry's face was visible as Sakura carried the bundle into her bedroom, setting it down on the bed.

"Feel better sweetie?" She asked.

"I feel clean, it feels nice." Harry replied, looking up at her.

"Great!" Sakura grinned as she held the fluffy bundle close.

She carried him downstairs, where Ai was waiting with the first aid kit. "Okay...We need to get this stuff disinfected and fast." She said calmly, though not without a slight quake in her voice.

"What does dis...en...fected mean?" Harry asked, trying to sound out the word he didn't understand.

"It means you won't get sick from these wounds." Sakura explained.

"But don't I deserve them?" Harry asked innocently.

"No. Don't even think that." Sakura chided lightly. Harry looked down.

"But I...I don't know what else to think..."

"Think about this; you're a wonderful little boy, you never deserved what you went through, and you should never see yourself as a freak. You're perfectly normal." Sakura replied, determination in her tone.

"You think so?" Harry asked, a tint of hopefulness in his voice.

"I KNOW so." Sakura nodded. "And so do all the others."

Harry looked down at the floor timidly. "If...If you're really, really sure, then I guess I have to believe you..." He said shyly. Sakura put a hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Daw... Don't worry Harry. You'll see we're telling the truth soon enough!"

Harry smiled up at Sakura, who happily returned the smile as Yugiri and Junko watched from the doorway.

"They're so cute~" Ai cooed.

"Yes, Lady Sakura seems to be adjusting to her new role rather nicely." Yugiri nodded with a faint smile.

Sakura sat back and watched as Ai carefully cleaned out and disinfected the wounds the best she could. When all was finished, Ai sighed. "Okay...That's the best I can do." Ai patted Harry's head. "Sorry, I know it stings."

"It's okay... I got worse owies..." Sakura bit her lip, not liking hearing that. But decided not to press too much, but still... she needed SOME questions answered.

"Harry, I know this may not be fun, but can you tell me about... Them?" Sakura finally asked.

"Them?" Harry replied, confused.

"Your family."

Harry looked down nervously. "Do...Do I have to...?" Sakura shook her head.

"If it's too hard, then I won't force you."

"Is the little one ready?" A voice asked from the doorway. Everyone turned and saw Yugiri walk into the room holding a bowl that seemed to have steam gently wafting off of it.

"I think so. Thanks a bunch Yugiri." Sakura sighed in relief.

Yugiri smiled and nodded. "But of course." She looked at Harry and gave a sad smile. "Young Harry...Could I get you to lay on your stomach, please?" Harry obediently sprawled front first on the floor. Yugiri dipped her fingers into the salve she made, then carefully applied it to the boy's injuries. She studied her handiwork before smiling and nodding in satisfaction. "There, you should feel better soon little one." She stated. Sakura wrapped him back up in the towel and set him on her lap, giving a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Miss Yuri." Harry said with a shy smile. Yugiri gave a light giggle and patted his head.

"You're quite welcome, young Harry." She replied. She stood tall and turned to leave the room. "I imagine it would be the best time for bed...Good night, everyone." The eldest idol calmly left.

"She has a point, I'll see you two tomorrow." Ai nodded with a smile as she left the room, leaving the two sitting on the couch.

"They're right, we should get ready for bed." Sakura nodded. "It's been a long day." Harry was about to respond, but a yawn kept him from doing so, Sakura gave a tired smile down at him before realizing a problem. Harry had no decent clothes... She sighed softly at this realization and wondered what she was going to do about this issue. "Well, I guess you're borrowing one of my sweaters until we can get you proper clothes."

Digging through her closet, she found a warm sweater with the Tori Drive-In Logo and Mascot on it. Slipping it over Harry's tiny frame, she couldn't help but giggle as she saw how large it was on him. Even when he stood up, it was still a little bit longer than he was, making it a sort of robe. Picking him up under the armpits she grinned.

"Perfect." She smiled.

Harry smiled happily. "It's really, really soft." He said, funnily enough in a very soft voice. Sakura giggled and kissed his head.

"Yep, it's my favourite sweater for that reason." Setting Harry on the bed, she lifted up the large blanket and set Harry under it. He seemed to happily nestle down, letting the warmth cocoon him. "Would you like to hear a story Harry?" Sakura asked gently.

Harry looked up at her with wide eyes and a big smile. "Story? Really?" He asked excitedly. "What's the story about?" Sakura had to giggle at his enthusiasm.

"Well, this is a story about..." Sakura went quiet, trying to think about what she should tell him. Then she got an idea. "Well, once there was a young girl named Sarri." Sakura began, stroking Harry's hair. "She was a young girl who wanted nothing more than to dance for big audiences, nothing made her happier than when she was dancing." Harry listened intently to Sakura's story. "But...Sarri had very bad luck... It seemed that everything she did was doomed to fail...And...It made her feel very, very sad."

"Oh..." Harry said sadly.

"She never gave up though." Sakura continued. "No matter how hard things got, she never let the fear of failure take over, she knew in her heart that if she kept trying, she'd find her footing." She looked up at the ceiling. "But one day, something happened that was too much, even for her to handle...She had her chance at happiness taken away one too many times, and that was the point where she gave in... She tried to keep smiling, but everywhere she went, it felt like rainclouds were following her. When she smiled, it felt fake, like no matter what she did, nothing could make her happy the way she used to be." Harry looked up at her, feeling a knot in his tummy. This story was hitting close to home. "But Sarri had something that could help her through this mess...Her friends."

"Her friends?" Harry asked, hopefully.

"Yes, along her travels she met several others like her. Her friends had a love of dance as well, and they understood her plight. They practiced together and began to do other things together, spending time, going out to restaurants, they all became inseparable friends. Sarri began to smile again, she felt happy."

Harry's face formed into a huge smile. "Did... Did Sarri get what she wanted? Did she get to make people happy by singing and dancing for them?" Sakura smiled down at Harry.

"Well, she continued doing her best. But no matter how good or bad she did, she knew she had her friends with her, supporting her the entire time. With the love of her friends, which with each day became more and more like family, Sarri knew she could make everyone happy." Harry was happy to hear that everything worked out okay for Sari. He had been feeling sad for her, but now everything was okay. He felt content. "And I hope that like Sarri, you'll find something that makes you happy." Sakura concluded, leaning forward and kissing Harry's forehead.

"But... you make me happy..." Harry mumbled, a bit nervous to admit that, he honestly said it hoping Sakura wouldn't hear it.

But hear it she did, and it brought a huge, warm smile to her face. "Aww... You make me happy too, Harry." She said, engulfing the boy in a hug as she climbed under the covers with him. Sakura yawned, the long day now coming to a close, Sakura rested her chin on Harry's head and pulled him closer to her chest. Harry snuggled in closer.

"Goodnight Harry." Sakura muttered, feeling sleepy herself.

"Goodnight Ma-Miss Sakura." Harry replied halfway asleep. Sakura thought nothing of it, thinking he was just about to mispronounce 'Miss'. Little did she know he had stopped himself from calling her mama...

Harry wanted to caller Miss Sakura Mama, but he wasn't sure if he was allowed. She already fed him, bathed him, cleaned his wounds... He didn't want to push his luck. Still, he was happy with the new living arrangements, and finally, as sleep overtook the duo, there were content smiles on their faces and warm dreams in their minds.