The Wizard Ashikabi

by plums

Harry, forced into exile to save his heritage from thieves, begins traveling the world. While in Japan, Harry happens upon an intimidating woman dressed in black, and gets thrown into a plot he could have never seen coming. Harry / Multi

7. Life and Ice

Summary:

Harry Potter / Sekirei Cross-over. Harry, forced into exile to save his heritage from thieves, begins traveling the world. While in Japan, Harry happens upon an intimidating woman dressed in black, and gets thrown into a plot he never saw coming.

Disclaimer

I don't own Harry Potter in any way. JKR has those rights... Also, I hear Sekirei is owned by Sakurako Gokurakuin.

*Author's Note *

Some back story on a few of the Sekirei has been changed, just cause I wanted to use the characters and needed them to come from a different place. If it bothers you, tough.

Chapter First Published: 2012-03-07

Chapter Last Update: 2012-05-30

Chapter 7 – Life and Ice

"What the heck are you wearing, Harry?" Matsu exclaimed as they all finally gathered in the front entrance of the Inn.

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that," Harry smirked. His outfit was flat black with no clear markings or identifiable devices visible. At first glance it was a standard military uniform of pants and thick protective coat, but that's where the similarities ended. Bottomless pockets adorned almost every surface of the black basilisk lined uniform, though each pocket was indicated by only a small rune that only opened when touched. He probably had a metric ton worth of various items and weapons stored weightlessly within the pockets and Harry instinctively knew where each item was.

"You'll have to show me how all this works and what you're carrying. Our uniforms were never this good when I worked for MBI," squealed Matsu like a kid in candy store.

"Maybe I'll show you what I've got hidden in my pocket someday, Matsu," Harry smirked, but the laughter the comment drew was short lived as Miya had already brought her soup ladle down upon Harry's head.

"None of that now, you have a mission to focus upon," said Miya sweetly.

"I'm going to need a metal plate installed in my head before long," grumbled Harry nosily to himself, but everyone heard him clearly.

"What you don't have those in your pockets already?" laughed Uzume.

"Come on, let's go," said Homura, as she stepped out the door. She was all business. A Sekirei was in trouble and it was her duty to protect them. Nothing else mattered in the universe to her at the moment.

"Miya, I'll apparate 108 directly here once we've found her. I'll bring Uzume, Musubi, and Homura back afterwards," said Harry.

The group began their slow trek out the door, but Harry turned back and said quietly to Miya, "And if I happen to find Mutsu, I'll be sure to bring him back for you to play with too."

The calm sweet demeanor of their land lady instantly vanished. No demonic mask was seen, but somehow the power that radiated from Miya was no less intense. In fact it seemed far worse. This wasn't Miya, the kind lady landlady of the Izumo Inn, or Miya the crazy woman who could intimidate people with weird mind tricks. This was the first time he had seen Sekirei Number 1, first leader of the Discipline Squad, and she obviously wanted her former subordinate's head for his past and current transgressions.

"You do that, Harry," was all she responded with before she turned back into the house.

"Good luck, make sure you all come back. I think I've laughed and had more fun in the past two hours then I have had more whole life," said Toyotama with a sad smile before she too joined Miya, though the dark green haired Sekirei gave Miya an extremely wide berth.

"I like her," said Uzume, as her eyes followed Toyotama walk back inside.

"Yeah, I think we can trust her, but we should still be cautious around her for a while. Especially with all the un-winged Sekirei that will be around here. I don't want to put Matsu, Shi, or 108 at unnecessary risk. Probably an unnecessary worry, but it never hurts to be too cautious."

"If you shout 'Constant Vigilance' like you said that whack-job always did I'll burn your hair off," said Homura.

Harry ignored the comment and cast the disillusionment charm on Uzume, and then the sight spell on Musubi, Homura and himself so they could see her invisible form.

"This is so cool," said Musubi as she cocked her head back and forth, watching Uzume's semi-translucent form shimmer brightly in the moonlight.

The two kept waving at each other, doing more and more childish things. Eventually Uzume flashed her chest to the group, which caused Homura to clear her voice loudly.

"I'm going to fly there on my Firebolt, I'll meet you guys there, ok?" said Harry quickly. Homura was stressed out enough already, and Harry definitely did not want to add more strain to whatever Homura had already accumulated while she waited for this mission to start.

"Sounds good, let's go," was all Homura replied with before she leapt into air and off into the night.

"She's going to be no fun tonight, is she?" asked Uzume after a bit of silence.

"Nope, but we can have fun afterwards. Having 108 around will be so cool. It'll be just like having a little sister around," squealed Musubi who jumped away.

"Not the kind of fun I was interested in, and definitely not with 108," muttered Uzume, who quickly glanced at Harry before following Musubi.

Both sets of comments caused Harry to shudder for vastly different reasons. With thoughts of a seven year old with Musubi's energy and whatever crazy fun Uzume was interested in pursuing, he mounted his broom and rocketed off into the night.

-o0o0o-

The group rendezvoused at the north entrance to the Arboretum, and discovered they had no need to wait for Minaka to announce where Number 108 was located.

"So… fair assumption to say the Arboretum doesn't normally look like this?" asked Harry as he observed both Uzume's and Homura's bugged out eyes.

The park that Harry had stopped by and walked through during one of the days he wandered aimlessly around Tokyo two weeks earlier was gone. In its place, a massive growth of vegetation had erupted, some of it thirty stories tall. The park was overrun and there were no clear ways inside that were free from MBI goons that patrolled on high alert. The entrance they currently overlooked had three tanks and about a two dozen troops on watch.

"Number 108 is the Sekirei of Life. This is definitely within the scope of her powers to accomplish," said Homura, the awe she felt for the scene in front of her quite apparent in her voice.

"I don't know what's scarier. That one person was capable of all this, or the fact that Karasuba mentioned that Number 107 is the counter of Number 108. I don't even want to know what the exact opposite of all this is," breathed out Uzume worriedly as she gestured at the trees that towered almost out of sight in the dark.

"Death," said Homura ominously.

In an attempt to rein in the girl's now panicked thoughts, Harry interrupted whatever else Homura was about to say, "Ok, this just means we get some uninterrupted search time. I'm going to fly up above all of it, and search for the center of the whole thing. Maybe I can even spot her with my Mage-Sight. Do you three want to follow me inside or wait out here?"

"We can wait here for now, you'll be able to find her a lot quicker by being able to fly so high over that mess. We can lay low here and hopefully you can find her before it gets rough out here," said Uzume.

Harry looked at the group, "Just be careful out here, don't bite off more than you can chew if some random idiots show up, especially if it's Mutsu."

"You don't have to tell us twice. He maybe Number 5 and me Number 6, but there's no way I could stand against him alone. There's a huge difference in power and experience between us. The three of us together might be able to take him, but I really don't want to try, especially if he comes with backup," Homura said while looking up and down the street for cover.

"Just stay safe and call for Dobby if you need some additional cover. He loves crazy combat stuff like this. He'll probably show up in his own mini-me version of what I'm wearing. See you in a bit," and with that, Harry launched himself into the sky.

He checked his watch. He had fifteen minutes before Minaka dropped the hammer and sent every Ashikabi in the city here. He just hoped he could find 108 quickly. The Arboretum was huge, at least two miles per side. The whole thing wasn't infested though. The expansion of trees caused by 108 was roughly a circular growth with a definite epicenter, so Harry decided that would be the best place to start.

Harry swooped down with his Firebolt, his Mage-Sight only half turned on since he knew he could easily plow into a tree if he paid no attention here. He had always wondered how feasible the Speeder Bikes in Return of the Jedi actually were and whether to fly on a broom through a forest would be comparable. After five minutes of flying through trees in the dark, he finally determined the whole idea wasn't feasible at all. He had to slow to roughly twenty kilometers an hour simply to not ram into every other tree he saw and still have the ability to look around at the same time.

The rough epicenter of the mutated growth was still very large and he had not had any luck at all. There was no light, no magic, no anything here. All he found was darkness where his wand provided the only light. There was a sense of fear in the air, one which he couldn't quite explain the origin of. It was almost like the trees themselves were had saturated the air with the primal emotion.

That's when Harry realized that if 108 had made everything like this, then it was possible for the trees to be broadcasting the little girl's emotions. There was a frightened seven year old girl behind this staggering display of power, and her predominant emotion was likely fear at the moment.

He flew down to the forest floor. The canopy was so thick he could not even see the sky. Almost no light found its way this far down, and Harry required his wand to steer his broom. After landing he walked over to the nearest tree, emptied his mind, and dropped his Occlumency shields. Then he placed his hand upon the rough surface. He may not have been able to feel the magic behind the growth, but he could definitely feel the emotion.

Fear, Panic, Loneliness.

But it didn't help him find 108 at all.

Harry cast a Tempus into the air. 9:55 P.M. Five minutes left before the announcement was broadcasted.

Harry knew his current actions would get him nowhere fast he could feel the tingle of desperation as it built within him. He had always been great under pressure and most of his craziest and most successful ideas came at times like these. This was the time when he usually shined through with his best. He saved the stone as an eleven year old even when he had no business whatsoever even thinking he could. He slayed a thousand year old basilisk by himself , which was something that should not have been possible for one wizard. By comparison, Nundu's were an African magical cat that had never required less than one hundred wizards to subdue, and Basilisks were more feared and powerful then that mangy breed of cats. Finally, when he somehow cast a Patronus powerful enough to drive off over one hundred Dementors in order to save his godfather, Sirius…

A Patronus.

That might be the answer. If the trees were giving off emotion, maybe they could feel it too. And a Patronus was pure emotion. Plus they could be used as messengers, meaning they possessed just a slight bit of sentience for the brief period of time they existed. He figured he had nothing to lose, so why not try something different. He placed a hand back onto the massively overgrown tree he was by, and brought the recent happy memory where he kissed Musubi that morning when he woke up. He incanted out loud in steady voice, "Expecto Patronum."

A blindingly bright light lit up the entire tree in front of him and sank into the ground. Nearby trees lit up and faded, while trees in the distance mimicked the effect as well. But not all trees seemed to give off the ethereal light. Only trees in a specific direction did. Maybe it was a sign?

Having no better option at the moment then to follow the glow in the dark trees, Harry took off and flew about fifty meters in the direction the lights flashed. He hopped off the broom and cast the Patronus into the nearest tree again. The trees once again illuminated with light, though the direction changed course just slightly.

Each time he watched for the direction of the flash of light. He was definitely still in the center of the mutated growth, but at least now he had a direction. Dobby appeared after the fourth time to inform him Matsu said the message had just gone out. The CEO of MBI had informed every Ashikabi in Tokyo that "The Green Girl was ripe for the taking, whoever got there first wins."

"Not if I can help it," growled Harry, and he cast a Patronus again.

He went in the direction of the light three more times before the light stopped suddenly around one lone tree. Harry flew over to it and searched around its base with only his wand as a guiding light but found nothing. He walked up to the tree and cast one more Patronus just to be sure. The tree illuminated, but no other trees followed. This had to be the place. He cast his Patronus into the air, hoping Prongs wouldn't fail him, and that the majestic stag would find the scared little girl.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry yelled while he silently prayed this would work.

The stag burst forth, but did not give the aggressive and protective stance it usually gave when summoned. Normally the stag searched out enemies to confront. This time, it simply cantered a short distance towards the tree, and looked up.

'She must be up the tree in the air somewhere,' thought Harry.

Harry hopped on his broom and circled the tree slowly. The broom climbed higher and higher as he examined the trunk and the branches that extended out from it as he hoped one would hold the little girl that was in so much trouble at the moment. Three quarters of the way up and probably one hundred meters from the forest floor, he found her.

She slept in a hollowed out nook in the trunk of the tree itself. A low green iridescent sheen of ambient light enveloped her and made the whole area look quite ethereal and otherworldly. She tossed and turned in her sleep though, as if in the grips of a nightmare.

"Hey, Kusano? Wake up," Harry whispered and only nudged the girl slightly. He didn't want to startle her, because a fall from this height would definitely be fatal.

The girl stirred and lifted her head up, "Are you my big brother?" the girl softly asked, with quite possibly the most innocent voice he had ever heard.

"No Kusano, I'm not. I came here to try and help you. There are a lot of bad people coming, and they are all trying to find you. A friend of Ms Takami, the women who took you here, asked me to try and find you and get you out of here."

"Miss Takami asked you to save me? Is she ok?" the girl whispered. The fear she felt was quite evident in her voice.

"She was hurt real bad, but she's going to be ok soon. Miss Takami is in the hospital back at MBI and she's healing. One of her friends there found out what happened to you, and asked me to come get you."

"Would you like me to help you? My friend Miya is real nice and is an old friend of Miss Takami too. Miss Miya really wants you to visit so she can take care of you," said Harry. He had to get her to agree willingly. A girl with this much power could easily destroy the Inn if he were to just grab her and apparate. Not to mention what Miya would do to him if he scared her doing that.

"Ok, I'll go with you," the sad girl's demeanor had instantly improved, and a wide smile shown on her face.

"Cool, they'll both be real happy. Let me bring you on to the broomstick and we'll go down to the ground. Then I can make us travel real fast to where Miss Miya lives so she can take care of you, ok?"

"Ok," and the girl practically leapt onto Harry, which thoroughly scared the living daylights out of him. She came dangerously close to smacking their heads together, which played to Harry's deep overriding fear that the girl would kiss him and wing herself to him. He definitely didn't need to go to an early grave over something like that, because that's exactly where Miya would send him if he happened to wing a seven year old.

He quickly used magic to turn Kusano around and held her tightly in front of him on the broom. They flew down to the floor, and Harry landed with the softest landing he possibly could.

"Ok, very last thing we need to do before we go. We're going to pop over to Miss Miya's place. It'll be weird for just a bit as we travel. We'll be travelling really, really fast, and it'll feel like you're going through a straw. You know what a straw is right?"

"Yes silly, I know what a straw is. You're stupid."

'Aren't kids amazing?' thought Harry, who was quite aware of how much time had passed since he last talked to Dobby.

"Good, because I'm going to take you to Miya now, ok? Hold on to me real tight. Ready? 3…2…1…" and with a crack they were gone.

-o0o0o-

"Miya! I've found her." Harry yelled as they appeared. Kusano just held onto his hand as she laughed loudly, said that was fun, and asked if she could do it again.

'Only a Sekirei child would be insane enough to like Apparition and think of it as a toy,' groaned Harry internally.

Miya burst out of the Inn, followed closely by Toyotama. Miya took one look at Kusano and said, "Oh my goodness, aren't you the most precious thing."

Harry leaned in and whispered to Miya, "Took me a while to find her. She was about one hundred meters in the air in the trunk of a tree in the Arboretum. I doubt anyone else would've been capable of finding her up there. I'm just happy she didn't fall out, there's no way she would've survived a fall that high." Miya nodded her agreement to that guess.

"I'm going to head back and find the others and let them know. Hopefully Minaka has no way of knowing tonight's entertainment has already ended before it could begin," Harry said as he looked at his watch. It was 10:07 P.M.

'Yep, definitely over before it began,' Harry said to himself inwardly and smiled despite the seriousness of the situation that still existed.

"You two good here?" he asked Miya while half turned to the side, prepared to apparate back to where he had left the three girls.

"Yes, we'll be fine. I'll get her into a bath, get her some new clothes, and some food into her. She should be just peachy after that," said Miya with a smile.

"Good job Harry. Nice to know there are some men in this world that aren't scum," said Toyotama with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes and laughed, nodded, and began to walk away, while he said, "Well, you just haven't known me long enough, Tama. Don't hesitate to ask Winky for help, Miya. She loves to help take care of children." With that Harry apparated back to the North end of the Arboretum.

-o0o0o-

With a purposefully loud crack, Harry reappeared in the street where he had left the girls before, which was now strangely deserted. The MBI troops had pulled out with the announcement. They probably had not wanted to get caught in the cross-fire of multiple Sekirei and Ashikabi in a race.

He looked around and saw nothing. The girls either had hidden themselves well, or they had run into trouble and had to flee. 'I hope they're not in trouble,' thought a very paranoid and worried Harry. 'I should have given them portkeys, damn.'

He had taken ten steps towards the Arboretum entrance nearby when he hear three soft taps nearby. A quick glance behind him saw Homura, Musubi and Uzume appear from thin air.

"We were across the street on top of the building over there, just peaking over to see if anyone would come," said Homura.

"Did you find her?" asked Musubi excitedly.

"Shhhhhh. Quiet. Not so loud," hissed Harry at her. "Yes, I found her, and she's already back at the Inn with Miya."

"Thank god," breathed Homura in relief. Uzume and Musubi were smiling as well. "Looks like we accomplished everything we set out to do today."

An arrogant voice interrupted their conversation however. "Well, well. Long time no see."

Homura looked up and narrowed her eyes as she recognized the speaker, "Speak of the devil, if it isn't Number 43, Yomi."

"Don't worry Homura, you're not the target tonight, I came here to collect the Green Girl. Like the message said, the first one there wins," said Yomi with a feral gleam in her eyes. She was a brunette with a rather ridiculous dress with oversized shoulders on. She carried a massive scythe on her back, and if she had been a male, Harry would've easily joked that she seemed to be overcompensating for something.

"She appears to not realize you've been winged," whispered Harry to Homura

Homura just sneered out loud at Yomi's previous comment, "I'd never let anyone who said something so stupid get their hands on Number 108."

"I had a feeling you would say that, but I'm on a schedule and don't have time for you," with a smug arrogant look that told everyone there she felt they weren't worth her time. Yomi looked over her shoulder.

"Akitsu?" she called out loud.

Another Sekirei appeared. The newcomer was stunningly beautiful, yet didn't seem to display any emotion whatsoever. Her most prominent feature besides her super-model looks was the Sekirei crest tattooed on her forehead rather than her upper back. She landed with a subtle grace from wherever she had jumped in from and walked lithely forward.

"Keep our guardian friend busy, would you? And don't bother coming back to Mikogami if you fail, Akitsu," Yomi sneered the last at her supposed ally, and jumped forward to enter the forest.

Harry was amazed at her arrogance as she thought she could insult a group of combat experienced fighters and then jump directly over them without retaliation. Harry simply nailed Yomi in the forehead with an overpowered stunner that snapped her head back so violently it probably gave her whiplash, and then cast a disillusionment and tracking charm on the falling body. He may have forgotten to place a cushioning charm that would have prevented her from breaking bones as she slammed to the ground unconscious, but Harry realized he couldn't always be perfect.

"Don't worry about that one," said Harry as he gestured to the air where their opponent had just been. "I already stunned her as she flew over. You guys see where she landed, right?" Seeing all three nod, Harry continued, "Uzume, Musubi, you guys go into the forest about ten meters in and hide. Act like you're chasing that acrobat into the Arboretum. Let me talk to this one with Homura. Yomi seems to treat her like dirt, and I'm always up for more allies, ok?"

"Ok Harry, but be careful. This one's strong, and she's a scrap number. So she'll be dangerous," said Uzume cryptically before her and Musubi jumped into the forest and hid.

Comprehension of what Uzume said had not quite settled into Harry's brain yet, but he couldn't afford to be distracted with a potential enemy thirty meters away on the other side of the street. Harry turned with Homura as they brought their attention back to the stoic Sekirei in front of them. She wore an open-chested ensemble in white that hung in curtains from her that was tied together with chains throughout the outfit. The metallic loops seemed to be the only thing that kept her massive cleavage from spilling outwards.

Harry walked slowly towards Akitsu in the least threatening way he possibly could manage. While he did so, he barely gestured with one of his hands and cast a translation charm on her before he asked out loud, "Does she normally talk down to you like that. That girl didn't seem very nice."

"Don't worry about her. I'm your opponent. If I fail the task my master gave me, I will be thrown away, again. Just like before. I must do this," said Akitsu as she reared back and flung a massive volley of razor sharp conjured ice at both Homura and Harry.

Homura began to charge up some fire, but before she could unleash the conflagration at the projectiles, a wave of Harry's hand turned all the projectiles into water, which splashed harmlessly against them.

"So what the heck is a discarded number," asked Harry in a conversational tone loud enough for Akitsu to know he had inquired.

"Remember I told you about her, she's like me. We were the guinea pigs for MBI. Akitsu and I were first two Numbers worked on after the first five. Only they took everything one step further with her. She can't wing. She can't have an Ashikabi. Even if she finds the one she's supposed to be with, they won't ever bond," Homura said sadly, while keeping one eye on Akitsu as she said this loudly enough that Akitsu could hear the conversation as well.

"So all the experiments they did to you, they did even worse to her," Harry said with disgust in his voice. Nothing angered Harry more than when he heard about people being abused. Since he had been a victim of both child and magical abuse, situations like this were one of the few times Harry would lose focus and make rash decisions in the name of helping others. He had already let his guard down the previous day when he confided information to Miya after he heard about Homura's abuse. The careless way he given away many of his secrets the previous day in the inn had only occurred since he had been mentally exhausted after surprise after surprise had hit him the previous day. Granted, it had turned out ok in the end, but here he was again in almost the exact same situation as the previous day, and he unfortunately had already forgotten his self-promises to be more careful and diligent.

"I swear we're going to have a party at MBI someday, and kill every adjustor we find in there after what they've done to you all," said Harry finally after his rage had barely reigned in after he encountered yet another victim of MBI's abuse.

Akitsu just stood there and listened. She made no indication she agreed or disagreed with what was said. Harry could get no read on the woman, and wasn't quite close enough to try to use Legilimency on her.

"What's your number, Akitsu?"

"I don't have a number. I am discarded. I am nothing."

"You are not nothing, and don't let them place labels on you like they obviously did for you to say that so automatically," said Harry. He paused and tried to think of how to get through to this woman. Just from that exchange, Harry realized she likely had an inferiority complex from hell, just as Harry did at eleven fresh from his relatives lovingly administered beatings.

Harry briefly glanced at her with Mage-Sight and gasped. This woman was on the same level of power as Miya or Karasuba. The magic behind the girl was insane when compared to most of the normal Sekirei, and yet it didn't look like she believed she had any real worth at all.

'I am nothing,' thought Harry as he puzzled over her words.

"They say things like that to make you think you're less than you are. They do it because they're afraid of you. They're absolutely terrified of what you'll do the day you realize you're stronger than all of them. That nothing in the world can hold someone like you back."

The only reaction Harry received after his monologue was Akitsu's silence as she looked back and forth between Harry and Homura. He could not tell if from her face if currently pondered the upcoming possible fight or if she was merely quiet as she thought about his words and questions.

"So you have to do what your master says because he's threatened to throw you away? Like some piece of trash? You know you're more than that. You're easily twice as strong as that little girl who insulted you and jumped into the forest. You're not a thing, Akitsu. You're a person. You're a Sekirei."

"What is your number, Sekirei?" said Harry forcefully.

Homura had stood there wide-eyed as she watched Harry this entire time. She had no idea why Harry tried to talk to the broken woman. They were dangerous, unpredictable. But then again, so was Harry from what she had seen so far. She had started to understand him a bit more throughout the day. He had a natural urge and tendency to want to help people in need, even if he downplayed it. With this realization, all she could think to do was stand by his now side while he continued whatever he intended to do and protect him if it went bad.

Akitsu still remained silent. She had not attacked though, so Harry took that as at least a small good sign.

Harry took a deep breath and walked forward. He quietly asked, "What was your number before they took it away from you? Please tell me."

Harry looked into the eyes of the woman now that he was close enough and was almost driven to a knee by what he saw through Legilimency.

Pain... Rage... Inadequacy… and a complete absence of hope.

"I was Number 7," Akitsu finally said, in a quiet whisper only Harry could hear.

In a voice as equally soft, that only Akitsu could hear in response, Harry said, "Number 7, Akitsu. The Ice Sekirei. You know this is Homura, the Fire Sekirei with us? Number 6. You two should have been sisters. Binary opposites to each other. Just like the Green Girl in there has her opposite with Number 107 from what I hear."

"But instead, those bastards experimented on you. Both of you. They tried taking away everything that made Homura special, but I was able to help her. I was able to undo what they did to her. Will you let me try the same for you?"

Harry had no clue if he had made any headway at all with the woman who stood before him. She stood impassively as she watched both of them, with the rage and mistrust that festered in her mind only visible to Harry through her eyes. But he also something else that wasn't there before, just a glimmer of hope.

"You won't owe us anything if you come. You'll have a place to live, eat, and even family and friends to be with if you want them. For as long as you want them. It's safe there. No one would dare attack us where we live, considering just who we live with."

"And you will never have to call someone Master again. Nor will you ever have to wear chains again," said Harry as he gestured to the metal links holding her clothes together. "You're not a slave, Akitsu. You're the Ice Sekirei. You're Number 7."

"And we'd like you to join us."

Harry walked up, and held out his hand to the woman. He had no idea if he could block her attack at his range if she decided to reject the offer. He figured the basilisk hide woven into his combat uniform would protect him from most of the magical damage, but he was far from certain.

Harry would look back upon this moment later and wonder just what on god's Earth possessed him to do what he just did. He readily admitted that he was nuts to have said everything he did and for taking the risk to himself and his girls when he made this offer. All he could say was that he had no idea why he wanted so badly to help this woman. When he dealt with threats to himself, he was as Slytherin as anyone could come. He designed plots within plots so that when he took down one enemy, he implicated a second enemy in the crime. But when faced with someone potentially in distress, and a damn hot one like Akitsu for that matter, Harry would still suffer bouts of Gryffindorism that worried him greatly in retrospect.

Akitsu had given no indication whether she would accept the offer or begin to rain curtains of icicles down upon them. The emotions from her eyes rapidly fluctuated from rage to hope to suspicion back to rage again. Several moments passed with no change or movement. Harry could feel the tension as it built, even a drop of sweat as it slowly went down the small of his back despite the cooling charms on his combat uniform.

Finally, Akitsu stepped forward and took his outstretched hand.

"We won't let you down," said Harry simply

She just looked at his for a moment, and gave a slow small nod. Harry smiled at her and guided her over to Homura.

"Homura, I'd like you to meet your sister. Sekirei Number 7, Akitsu," Harry said with a smile on his face.

"Hello again Akitsu, I see you've met my fearless," and after she turned towards Harry, "…and utterly insane Ashikabi, Harry," said Homura while she pulled down the mask from her mouth and smiled while she grasped Akitsu's outstretched hand with both of hers.

"Hello. Yes, he does seem rather reckless, doesn't he," Akitsu said while she looked at him. He couldn't tell whether or not in the low-light she was smirking or not.

"Everyone's a critic," Harry grumbled. Harry looked back at the entrance to the Arboretum and yelled, "Ok Musubi, you can stop hiding over there."

Musubi jumped out from the behind the gate and quickly ran up. Uzume followed her while still invisible. Musubi smiled in a very enthusiastic manner at Akitsu, while Uzume watched the whole scene in a much more guarded manner.

"Hello, I'm Musubi, Number 88. I'm a fist-type."

"I'm Akitsu." Harry nudged her at the way she stopped. "I was Number 7," she finished quietly.

"And you still are," Harry said pointedly. "Don't let anyone belittle you. And if anyone calls you discarded or anything of that nature ever again, let me know. I'll deal with them."

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself Uzume?" asked Musubi as she turned and spoke to what in theory was thin air to Akitsu, forgetting that Uzume was supposed to be there in secret.

"Musubi, no one is supposed to see or know she's here with us," groaned Homura.

Akitsu creased her brows, trying to decipher what bit of information had been let slip that wasn't being explained. Harry sighed as he saw this reaction. This wasn't how he wanted to potentially reveal magic to Akitsu, so he decided to go with the half-truth method for time being. "There's a third Sekirei standing here that you can't see because I made her invisible. It's just something I've learned I can do. She's not one of my Sekirei, but she's a good friend. We're trying to keep it quiet that some Sekirei are allied with us that are either un-winged or with another Ashikabi. Helps us to stay under the radar for the time being and avoid too much attention. Sorry for the deception on that."

"Sorry, Harry," moaned Musubi loudly to Harry, quite upset for her forgetfulness.

"Don't worry Musubi, it was an honest mistake," said Harry kindly.

"Very understandable. Thank you for telling me," was all Akitsu said.

"Well, how about we deal with Yomi over there before heading back to the inn. I'm sure our landlady will be thrilled to have her fourth new guest in one day," said Harry with a lop-sided grin.

"Yes, and you can be the one to tell her, since you're responsible for bringing us all the new guests," said Homura. "And give us ample warning, so we can go to the other side of the city first."

"Details, details," said Harry dismissively as he reached Yomi. Harry waved his hand, and Yomi appeared from thin air, still unconscious from the stunner Harry hit her with.

Akitsu gave no reaction to the suddenly appearing woman, but definitely did not take her eyes from her former ally.

"So, do we just abandon her here and hope her Ashikabi picks her up, or do you want to eliminate her? You have input into this as well, Akitsu. I personally have no knowledge of the girl other than her being quite nasty to you as she left you alone here vs. two Sekirei to go chase 108 all by herself," asked Harry.

"She's part of Mikogami's blood hound squad. Just like the three person squad you and Uzume took out earlier today that belonged to Higa. Her and Mutsu have been working together for the last few months to forcibly wing Sekirei to Mikogami," said Homura.

Akitsu blinked for a few moments at hearing that the hidden Uzume and Harry took out Higa's feared gang of kidnappers by themselves. Returning to the present and the implied question, she said simply, "She is not a nice person."

"Well, that settles it then," said Harry. "Musubi, would you care to take her crest, and we'll wait here for MBI to show up and then we'll head home."

"Ok. But I really don't like this part. We didn't defeat her in battle," said Musubi sadly.

"I know Musubi, but she also would run right out again and help kidnap more Sekirei. Don't you want everyone to have the chance you got? To meet the person they react to? We don't stop her, I'll guarantee other girls will suffer cause of her," said Harry in response.

She reached down and flipped Yomi over. She pulled down the back of her dress and recited the words she did before while she lay one finger on Yomi's crest. "By the fists of my contract, my Ashikabi's peril will be shattered."

The Sekirei symbol on Yomi's back glowed brightly before it faded away.

"It's done," said Homura.

As Musubi took up her position guarding the fallen body, Harry suddenly thought of something. "Akitsu, what was your evacuation plan if you had to leave or something went wrong?"

"Mikogami is around the corner in his limousine. He is probably observing this chain of events and quite angry at the moment," responded Akitsu in her even voice, which caused everyone to suddenly turn to stare down the street.

As if the words themselves were prophetic, a limousine peeled out from behind a nearby building at that exact moment and raced straight towards them. Harry realized they weren't going to stop, and he personally wouldn't be able to escape without injury unless he used magic. Then he realized Mikogami was the Ashikabi that wanted to throw out Akitsu if she failed. He was also the same Ashikabi that had gone after Kusano to start the whole mess that night. Very quickly, Harry found his ideas of escape quickly overshadowed by those of vengeance. He transfigured a section of the road directly in front of them into a solid ten foot thick slab of concrete with his father's wand. He lifted it just slightly and threw a sticking charm underneath it. The whole spell chain took only a few seconds.

The car couldn't swerve and ploughed straight into the wall. Half the car pancaked into the concrete slab, which didn't even twitch with the sticking charm under it.

"Holy Shit!" said Homura and Uzume together simultaneously. Akitsu, initially shocked at the concrete's sudden appearance, cocked her head and looked vaguely in Uzume's hidden direction. Musubi had no clue what was going on, but happily figured another fight might happen. She ran forward around the corner of the block and took a defensive stance.

As he stepped around the block himself, Harry realized the driver never had a chance and obviously died instantly on impact. No skin off of his back, the driver was about to try and run him over. The farthest passenger door from the front of the limo suddenly creaked open and a man with an orange scarf around his neck stumbled out. He had a sword at his side and was carried a child dressed in a ridiculous white outfit.

Harry recognized the man instantly from a picture Matsu had shown him earlier when they discussed the first Discipline Squad.

Number 5, Mutsu.

Which meant that the little boy he was carrying was likely Mikogami, Akitsu's 'Master'. 'He's the one who threatened to throw her out like trash if she failed him,' growled Harry internally as he realized this.

Harry saw red. He hated bullies. He had gone his whole life as he grew up completely unprotected from them, and now would never allow one to go unpunished if they crossed him. However, Mikogami now lay before them injured somewhat badly, so there was no point in smacking the kid around for his misdeeds now, even if he did deserve it.

But that certainly didn't negate Mutsu's role in attacking Takami earlier today, which thereby set off the whole Green Girl fiasco they had just endured.

Harry yelled "Scatter!" to the women that surrounded him and ran forward. Mutsu tried to hold Mikogami under one arm while he reached for the sword at his side. Harry threw a chain of repeated stunners at Mutsu, who managed to dodge all the bolts while he simultaneously kept his grip on his Ashikabi. Then, Harry watched as the hand Mutsu flailed blindly at his side closed down around the scabbard of this sword.

"Smashing Point!" he yelled as he slammed the tip of sword's scabbard into the ground. A huge pulse emitted from the sword. Harry instinctually apparated behind Mutsu. A pulse of magic preceded a huge crack that opened in the street and extended at least fifty meters in a straight line from where Harry just stood and easily reached past the entrance to the Arboretum and extended inwards out of site.

With the apparition, Mutsu had no clue where his foe was other than his Sekirei. He looked wildly left and right while trying to shield Mikogami and hold the sword at the same time. But he never once looked behind him and never once heard Harry's silenced footsteps as he stunned Mutsu in the back. Number 5 fell backwards unceremoniously while dropping Mikogami on his face.

"At least the little shrimp's nose made a pleasing sound just now, no?" laughed a clearly satisfied Uzume as she walked up. Akitsu, who had not wandered far from Harry after he said scatter in an attempt to protect him, stopped and stared when she clearly heard Uzume speak for the first time. She stood with her eyebrows furrowed and gazed at the space where she assumed the Sekirei was hidden.

"Do you think our land lady will appreciate seeing her old friend Mutsu tonight?" asked Harry while he looked at Homura as she approached the reassembled group.

"She definitely has a problem with him, that's for sure. I'm sure MBI will do something with Mikogami as well when they get here to collect Yomi, so no need to worry about leaving him here like that," said Homura.

"MBI will give medical care to Ashikabis?" asked Harry.

"As long as they still have one Sekirei out there they will. It's not very well known, but it has happened a few times," responded Homura.

""What?" shouted Uzume. "Chiho went through all that and I could've just taken her to MBI to get healed? Why did no one ever tell us about that before we left MBI?"

"Not sure, I just know from seeing two winged Sekirei take on a certain loud blond water-using Sekirei to try and forcibly wing her. In the aftermath of the fight the Ashikabi got a little too close and mouthy and paid the price." Homura sighed while she shook her head at the memory.

"Ok, I see the helicopter. I personally would rather my identity remain a mystery for the time being. Especially since I think they might not be happy with having to fish Yomi's body out of that crevasse now. No need to stick around here now. Gather around and I'll make a portkey to take us home." Harry summoned two pieces of broken concrete from the front of the car wreck. He held his hand over one and it pulsed with a soft blue light before fading. He tossed it on Mutsu and he instantly vanished.

Harry looked at Akitsu and held up the stone, "I'm going to make this piece of concrete into a Portkey. This will teleport us directly to the place we stay at. Everyone hold on tight to it and each other. It'll be fairly uncomfortable, but the trip will only last a few seconds before it's over and we arrive where we are going, ok?"

The five individuals held tight to one another while they gripped the busted piece of rock. Harry waited for everyone to grab on to each other and the stone before putting one arm around Akitsu's back. He held the other hand above the stone and said "Portus" as he lowered his hand to join the rest that touched it. The stone softly glowed blue before the entire group vanished from sight.

-o0o0o-

The group arrived with a loud thump and found themselves in a pile in the grass. Mutsu was ten feet to their left, still unconscious. Harry threw an extra stunner at him again just to be sure. Someone that powerful was not about to get loose if he could do anything to prevent it. Homura regained her bearings from those sprawled across the ground first.

"Don't EVER, do… that... again! That was even worse than the other way of travelling." Homura was hitting Harry to punctuate the words, while he just laughed.

"I don't feel so good now," said Musubi, turning a distinct green color.

Akitsu, who somehow remained standing on her first every Portkey, seemed outwardly unaffected by the Portkey, but said slowly, "I believe I will walk next time."

Uzume just smirked, and said nothing as Harry removed the disillusionment from her. She had survived multiple side-along apparitions that afternoon and thought the portkey was nothing compared to those and a broom ride from Harry. And her arrival at home just meant she got to go climb into bed with Chiho.

"Fine fine, we won't use Portkeys for short range travel. But if you guys want to go to Australia or the United States in seconds rather then fly there for hours, we'll see what you say then," said Harry as he walked off to find Miya and introduce their new house guest.

Miya was in the kitchen when the group walked in. Musubi had bailed halfway there to run into the bathroom. The Portkey obviously affected her more than the others.

Miya saw them all enter the room, but cocked her in confusion after seeing Akitsu standing there instead of Musubi. "Where is Musubi, and who is our new guest?"

"We took a Portkey back. Another travel thing I can do. It apparently didn't agree with Musubi and she's in the bathroom. This," said Harry as he gestured towards the quiet brunette, "is Akitsu, Number 7. She needs our help too."

Toyotama's reaction stared wide-eyed at Akitsu, but Miya only briefly glanced at the Sekirei crest on her forehead before she said, "Welcome to Izumo Inn, Akitsu. You can stay as long as you follow the three rules. No Fighting, no obscenity, and no sexual contact."

Akitsu showed the first emotion Harry had seen her give since they met the moment they walked into the kitchen. Shock. She obviously recognized who Miya really was, and replied to her offer with, "Thank you Miya. You were always kind to me at MBI, and I thank you for your continued generosity."

Miya only gave a sad smile, "It has been a long road, hasn't it Number 7? Come with me, I'll show you to your room. Winky, could you finish the food for Kusano?"

"Yes Misses Miya, I will."

"Thank you Winky," said Harry, who turned to Miya and whispered into her ear. "Can you send Homura to escort her to her room. I think you should come with me outside."

Miya looked at him curiously and obviously wondered where this was going.

Harry simply smirked and leaned in again while he whispered, "You'll want to bring your sword with. We have a guest outside who is simply… dying to meet you."

Miya's eyes widened and her jaw suddenly set firmly in determination. She nodded and turned to Homura. She very sweetly spoke to him, no betrayal, or hint of the turmoil that raged inside her visible to any present besides Harry, who could only tell Harry through her eyes. "Homura, could you please show Akitsu to the room next to yours on the right. She'll be staying there. Afterwards bring her back and have Winky measure her for some new clothes and find out what else she requires."

Neither waited for an acknowledgement and they stepped out of the room into the hallway. Miya stopped at a hidden compartment near the door and pressed a latch Harry had never noticed. A small sliver of the wall moved and Miya extracted the goblin-made sword from the compartment and turned towards the main entrance with Harry at her side.

"New hiding spot?" asked Harry.

Miya smiled, "It's a beautiful sword and a generous gift. It deserves better than a closet."

The duo walked outside and approached the dark form still that lay on the ground. Miya's eyes burned with an otherworldliness that was visible even in the low light of the moon.

"He's bound, unconscious, and petrified. There's his sword," said Harry as he pointed to an object on the ground about a meter away from Mutsu. "I wouldn't touch it yourself though. I assume it's loaded to hell and back with spells from whoever put the same ones on yours and Kara's."

Miya understood and nodded, then ordered, "Make it so he can talk, but not move."

Harry acknowledged and waved his hand, the pulse that issued from it freed only Mutsu's head from the petrifying curse. Another woke him up with a Rennervate.

Mutsu groaned loudly, but quickly stilled. He was quickly on high alert as he realized he could only move his head.

"You seem to have found yourself in a difficult position, Number 5," Miya said coldly.

Mutsu's eyes snapped to Miya's, true fear now showed in them as he realized just how bad of a situation he had managed to find himself in.

"Hello Miya, I haven't violated your rules since I did not willingly place myself within your territory."

Harry smirked at this, if Mutsu wanted to claim the moral high-ground of not violating some agreement between Miya and the others who knew her identity, he would certainly allow it. These rules may have been all that prevented Karasuba and Miya from all out blows that would have turned all of Tokyo into a battleground.

However, Harry certainly never agreed to anything.

Miya simply stared at him. It actually unnerved Harry. She displayed not a drop of her considerable power or moved her hand to her sword. She was simply gazed into Mutsu's eyes. Harry could almost hear the unspoken challenge from Miya to Mutsu that dared him to dig himself a deeper hole.

Miya whispered, "You attacked Takami. You helped your master almost steal a child's innocence. I knew you were cruel. I knew years ago that you secretly enjoyed turning the members of the squad against each other in some sadistic game for your own amusement. But all that pales in comparison to what you and your little boy master tried to do today."

"How is the one standing next to you any better?" shouted Mutsu. "He didn't save your precious Green Girl. He was there fighting my master's Sekirei for the right to claim her himself. And then he stole a discarded number for his own gratification."

Harry growled in response. He suddenly desired nothing more than to Crucio this guy's brains out through his ears. The Elder wand was already in his hand and half-way raised up, its tip a bright blood red. Its steady rise stopped however when Miya reached and stayed his hand. He looked at her, and simply saw her shake her head.

"There will be no violence within the Inn," Miya said simply. Harry's mind cleared, and then nodded in acknowledgment. He then forced himself to clamp down on his anger as best he could. He had just fallen easily for another of Mutsu's vaunted word games.

"So who's the new guy Miya. You finally replaced old Takehito, huh? He's a bit of a shrimp though, I doubt he'd even be able to last long enough to scratch that…" but that was all he was able to get out before Harry silenced him with a quick wave of his hand. He turned to Miya.

"There's no point listening to this idiot. All he knows is how to manipulate people. Without his voice, he's useless. What do you want to do with him, Ma'am?" It was very rare someone held enough of Harry's respect that his automatic circuitry to disrespect authority decided to shut down. Miya was definitely one of those individuals you couldn't help but show respect to after someone met her. That was even after he knew quite a bit of her dirty laundry. This was first and foremost Miya's grudge, and in this he would defer to her wishes entirely.

Miya was silent for a few moments and seemed to stare not at Mutsu but through him. When she finally responded, she spoke casually, almost conversationally to Harry. No trace of the vicious bloodthirsty warrior that had been held in check the past few minutes could be heard. "When a single number was eliminated in the past, it caused a widespread disruption at MBI. If instead of being eliminated, one was terminated today, it would incite panic throughout the upper echelons of the company."

Easily seeing where this statement would lead, Harry played along. "I take it the location of the discovery of such an incident would be just as important as the identity of the victim," Harry mused out loud. "As well as ensuring the perpetrators of such an event remained anonymous, furthering MBI's paranoia."

"I see you understand, Mr. Potter," she said sweetly before she turned back to Mutsu. Harry, who had enjoyed the little banter, learned something new just then. Up till this point in his life, he was unaware if bodily functions would work while under a petrifying spell. Mutsu just proved the theory correct when it became quite obvious he had pissed himself at their words. He knew there was no way he would survive whatever vengeance Miya was about to exact upon him. His mouth still flapped, despite no sound coming out. Even after everything he had done, the fool still tried to beg for his life or insult them.

"I shall return shortly, Mr. Potter. Please tell the others, not to worry," Miya said as she turned and walked toward Mutsu.

"Are you sure you don't want any help. I can make it so you aren't seen and then transport you back here instantly when you're through."

She gave a sad half-smile, walked over, and held Harry's cheek with one palm. "You've done enough today, Harry. You've given hope to three girls today who had had thought it lost, and shown two more the possibility that it may exist again. You gave me back my sister today, even if we will likely never be as close as we once were. Today has brought more then I could have ever dreamed."

She leaned in and lightly kissed his other cheek, "You've done enough. Let others carry the burden once in a while."

"I'll see you soon," she said simply and walked towards Mutsu. She reached down and easily lifted the man with one hand by the scruff of his neck.

"Be careful, Miya. I think Kusano will miss you if you don't come back."

She gave a full-blown smile that had a mischievous element that only grew the longer she held it, as if she realized something Harry hadn't. "Yes Harry, I'm sure Kusano will be the only one to miss me."

And with nary a sound, she was gone like the wind into the night, which left Harry to simply rolls his eyes. 'Get busy with the demon land lady? Righhhtttt,' thought Harry.

He needed that about as much as he needed a hole in his head.

-o0o0o-

Harry checked his watch as he sat down alone in the inn's lounge. It was now 10:55pm. He really should head to bed now with as long as this day had been so far, but he got the nagging feeling there were a few more things he could do tonight.

Mutsu's fate really didn't bother him. Mutsu had been party to what was essentially the attempted rape and enslavement of a seven year old girl. According to Homura, he had helped do this to other Sekirei serving under Mikogami. He wished he had ripped the names of the victims from his mind before turning him over to Miya, but it was only a small matter. He had a few ideas on how to undermine the authority of the mega-Ashikabi's at some point in the future that he would have to run by the girls later. At least one of them would hopefully be the route taken.

He wondered what Karasuba had done during the rest of her day. She wasn't aware of the four new people in the inn, maybe he should write her before going to bed. Whatever Miya was about to inflict upon Mutsu was likely to cause Karasuba some headaches for her job.

He realized the rambling nature of his thoughts betrayed his weariness. Mentally he was utterly exhausted. Maybe, instead of composing a letter, he would see if Karasuba was alone and apparate over to her apartment. He had weighed that ideas potential for about ten seconds in his head when Akitsu walked into the room.

She had changed at some point in the last hour into an oversized T-shirt and sweatpants. Despite the rather slovenly look, she looked just as amazing as she did in the revealing outfit she wore when he had first encountered her.

"How are you?" Harry asked.

"Fine. Trying to come to terms with tonight still," she said quietly after she had sat down next to Harry at the table.

"Quite a bit happened today, that's certainly for sure."

"Homura gave an overview. She wouldn't tell me who tipped you off that Minaka would make an announcement at 10pm to go after Ku."

"Ku?" Harry asked.

"108 likes being called Ku," she stated simply. She looked at him, a definite smirk on her face now, "That was rather sneaky by the way, bringing Ku here and then heading back to the Arboretum and just standing there."

"I think we were more interested in Higa's gang of thugs than Mikogami's at the time. We knew Mutsu was likely in the area though. Homura was very uncertain about going head to head with Number 5. Uzume and Musubi may have brought the fight close, but they would've had a rough time. And that's a big 'if' that hinged on the fight being a three-on-one. That's why I went right back, I knew I could take him out if he showed up."

"Well, from what I saw, Mutsu didn't stand a chance against you. Homura mentioned a bit more about your powers. They're quite amazing."

Harry ran his hand through his hair sheepishly at this. Despite years of practice, he still could not quite react normal or understand when people complimented him. He avoided a response when her first compliment made Harry think about something else that had had bothered him in retrospect.

He had noticed only a few Sekirei had that drive to kill and could do it instinctively, reactively, and have the act completed before it had even registered in their own minds that the deed was done. Karasuba had 'it'. Miya had 'it' as well. Haihane almost had it with her training, but she still needed a lot more experience. Musubi definitely didn't have it, and neither did Homura for that matter. Akitsu may have a bit more of the potential for it if she was properly trained in her abilities, though Harry wasn't sure if that was exactly the sort of mindset Akitsu needed after everything that had happened to her.

Harry then thought of an idea. It may even help bring Akitsu out of her shell a bit. "Would you like me to help you train your abilities a bit more? I was already thinking about trying to help Homura with her control of some advanced forms of fire. I'm sure I could find some pretty crazy things to do with Ice that I could teach you to do as well. Quite a bit won't have anything to do with fighting. It'll be more about you learning about yourself."

"What can you train me in?" she asked quickly, clearly interested.

"Well, not all of your powers have to be used to fight. Some elemental powers can be quiet expressive, beautiful even. And they're only limited by your imagination. Exploring them will only make you that much more powerful."

Harry reached out and took hold one of Akitsu's hands. He placed one of his above and below her hand. "Magic is all about intent. It's all about imagination. And most importantly, it's the same as life itself. Once you realize that if you remove the artificial barriers we and others place around ourselves. If we ignore what others say is impossible or that we can't possibly do…"

At this point, Harry removed his hands from Akitsu's, "You'll realize that you can do anything, and nothing is impossible."

A softly illuminated flower made of ice now lay in Akitsu's hand. It was cool to the touch, and shifted and changed colors randomly as Akitsu stared at it unblinkingly.

"You're just like me, Akitsu. You were raised and conditioned to think a certain way. That you were worthless. That you were a freak. It took me a long time to realize it was those who hurt me who were the freaks, who weren't normal. I'll be teaching you things you can do with your abilities, pushing you to become better. And, if you'll let me, I'll be helping to undo all the things people have done to you through words."

"It'll be hard. Even to this day, fifteen years after I found out I can do the things I do, I still have moments where I just need to be alone. Where I feel my life hasn't amounted to anything. Where I still hear my aunt and uncle shout 'freak' at me."

"I'll help you going forward, if you'll help me when you see me slip."

Akitsu simply looked away and closed her eyes, and nodded.

"I know you are probably uncomfortable talking about what they've done to you, so how about I tell you a little bit about me? I think with everything you've gone through, if you're going to trust me, you should be able to ask as many questions of me as you want."

With the number of questions Akitsu asked about how he grew up, most of it pre-Hogwarts related, it was nearly one in the morning before Harry mentioned the previous day of his life. Harry's ideas on re-winging Sekirei made her shake her head in wonder, and made her curious as to the identity of the two mysterious Sekirei he wanted to protect. After she heard just how Homura had changed, it made her wonder if there really was hope for her future. Maybe Harry could fix her, and make it so she could choose an ashikabi.

"I'm surprised at your willpower. You potentially have multiple un-winged Sekirei here who will all likely want to wing to you, and yet you've made no effort to do so," said Akitsu slowly and evenly. "You realize that acting like this will only make you more attractive to these girls."

Harry bowed his head and nodded in acknowledgement. "Maybe yes, maybe no. But I won't ask any of them to let me wing them. I'll let them pursue me in this case. I really don't see myself denying any of if they flat out ask me. I'm just more worried about having a lack of time to fairly devote to each girl if more come. I've essentially got four now, no need to actively seek more."

"Right now I have Musubi, Homura, and potentially the two other girls. I've barely had time to really sit with Musubi and talk with her much since her winging and that really bothers me. At least with Homura, I get the distinct feeling she isn't into dudes, and holds a candle for someone else. I rarely have ever pursued girls in my life. Too many times they've only wanted my reputation or have been interested in my family's money. Very few of them have ever been genuinely interested in me."

"That's another reason why the past two days hasn't been all that bad I think. These girls could care less that I have money. For some reason, they seem attracted to me for reasons they can't help without even really knowing my past or caring for it once they hear about it. And it's been a long time since I've felt 'useful' I guess. I've just been going through the motions, learning things for the sake of learning. Now, I'm actually getting to put some of this stuff to use again. Like when I helped Homura this morning or hopefully helping you next."

"Speaking of which, might as well get the first part of that out of the way now."

Harry conjured some paper and pen, and set them up to write out the results of the diagnostic spells.

"Just sit there for about the next fifteen minutes. I know you'll be bored, but it takes a while to get through all the healing diagnostic spells I know."

He once again muttered spells and waved his wand over Akitsu. She listened intently to the words he mumbled for a while, but eventually gave up. She was interested at first in what the pen wrote out, but it was a bit too far away and she was never very good at English beyond the basics. Eventually the lateness of the hour began to show, and she slowly began to succumb to sleep.

Harry finished probably five minutes after Akitsu had nodded off. She even had begun to drool slightly, which Harry thought was one of the cutest things he had ever seen. Miya had silently walked in halfway through his casting and just stood behind him and silently observed him. When Harry finished, he walked over to the paper and cast two duplication charms on the documents. He surprised Miya by handing one to her.

"Did you think that I didn't notice you walk in?" he smiled a tired smile at her.

"I guess I'm losing my skills in my old age," Miya said cheekily.

"You're hardly old. You look like you're younger than me in fact."

"Such flattery young man, you'll give an old woman ideas."

"Oh I wouldn't dream of giving a woman in this place ideas. I'd be afraid of permanent injury from your soup ladle."

"As well you should," her eyes seemed to dance merrily, which caused Harry to laugh.

"You alright?" Harry asked, figuring it was best to not mention Mutsu directly.

She nodded in acknowledgment of the unspoken question being asked, "I'll be alright. You sir, however should put her to bed and then find your own. Who knows what plots you will find yourself embroiled in tomorrow."

After a half-smile, he wandered over to the table, picked up the two remaining copies of his spell analysis, and pocketed them. He picked up the still sleeping Akitsu, who wrapped her arms around Harry's neck as she settled into his arms. Harry could not help but think that she really was a natural beauty. Her hair smelled amazing as she nuzzled into Harry's neck.

'Miya's going to kill me if she keeps this up,' thought Harry.

He carried her to Akitsu's room without incident and wandlessly opened the door. He was able to get her into bed easily enough, but by this time she had woken up and just watched Harry tuck her into bed without him realizing it.

"Harry?" she spoke softly.

Harry looked up into the shining blue eyes of the women that had spent the last few hours with him. The most of any Sekirei he'd met so far beyond Karasuba.

"Yes?" he said as he conjured a chair and sat down beside the bed.

"Thank you for bringing me here, for giving me a chance to be something. I don't think I'll be able to repay you for doing this."

Harry smiled, "Akitsu, there is no debt of honor amongst friends."

He leaned forward and gently kissed the crest on her forehead and said, "Never give up hope." He wiped a tear from her otherwise emotionless face and squeezed one of her hands.

"Wait just a few more moments before going to sleep. Dobby."

"Yes sir, Harry Potter Sir?"

"Could you retrieve a necklace for me, Dobby?"

The elf popped away. At her half-tilted head and the glance she was giving him, he said "Yes, that was Dobby, the elf I told you about earlier. He's worked directly for me for a long time now."

Dobby returned right then, and handed him the necklace and popped away.

Harry held out the necklace, so she could see it, "This necklace serves two purposes. One is a translation charm, so you'll never have to worry about me speaking English to you instead of Japanese. The second is the crest on the necklace itself. It's my family crest. The Potter crest. Wearing this means you are under my family's protection. It means you can also call the elves to you if you're in trouble. Would you wear this for me?"

"I would be honored to wear it," she all but whispered to him.

Harry placed the necklace around her neck and clasped it in the back. She fingered the crest lightly between her fingers, and watched in fascination as it reflected light from muted lamps in the hallway.

"Goodnight, Number 7."

There was a slight hesitation from Akitsu, and then she said, "Goodnight, my Ashikabi."

Harry stared, "Are you sure?" he asked.

"I do not care if I am ever able to gain my crest properly. I know I have found you, and I know in my heart that's all I will need."

Harry stared at her after her declaration for only a moment, before he walked back over, leaned down, and kissed her full on the mouth. He felt the magic of the Sekirei bond for the briefest of moments, but then suddenly it wasn't there. They broke apart. There was confusion in his eyes and disappointment in hers. Akitsu genuinely hoped it would have worked.

"We'll figure it out, Akitsu. Get some sleep."

He kissed her one more time, holding it just a bit longer then he previously did. Their tongues circled gently around each other, tasting the other's mouth. As they kissed, Harry placed one hand over hers and created another Ice flower which glowed a dull electric blue similar to the color of her eyes. He thought of how Ku had somehow imbued the trees in the forest with her emotions, and wondered if the same could be done here. He pushed the peace and feeling of contentment he felt while kissing Akitsu into the flower. As they broke apart, Harry wiped away her tears one more time and then covered the flower with her other hand.

"Why is walking out of this room so hard?" he whispered with a smile.

Her lip twitched and head jerked a bit. Harry assumed that was as close to an outright laugh as she was capable of getting in her current state. "Go to bed, before Miya kicks your ass."

"As you wish, oh almighty Ice Queen."

She shook her head at him, definitely amused this time as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. He looked up once in the hallway to see Miya there, with a small smile upon her face.

"You two are incredibly cute together. I'll let this slide this one time."

"Thank you Miya. I'll see you in the morning," he said with a smile. Turning, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on top of his head.

"Oww, what was that for then?"

"I'm sure I missed you doing at least one thing wrong today," she said mischievously while she walked away.

'That woman is going to be the end of me,' thought Harry ruefully.

-o0o0o-

Harry finally made it to his room, to discover that there were no intruders present. He had half expected and hoped Musubi would be there again, but figured Miya must have just come from doing rounds and swept her off to her own bed. He highly doubted Homura would ever pay him nightly visits. With his reaction to Takami's injury today, he figured there was something there long established between the two, and Harry vowed not to stand in its way if his guess was true.

He pulled the diagnostic results of Akitsu out, sat down at the desk in the room, and read. She had an obscene number of compulsions placed upon her. None of them however were woven together with any means of subtlety or skill. It should be easy to remove the compulsions, but he could not, for the life of him, figure out what they did to Akitsu

A few random potions affected her and, but that did not worry Harry. They were nowhere near the level of intensity that the alchemic loyalty potions Dumbledore had laced Harry's food with for years, but they were still somewhat strong. At least the potions were basic enough in composition that he figured they were keyed to MBI or someone specific like an adjustor and were not anything more sinister or complicated.

Finally, his eyes reached the mind scan portion of the results and read the words 'Emotion Suppression Block.' This was not unheard of despite how terrible its impact had to be on her. He felt sick as he continued reading and began seeing things he had never heard used before: Empathic Block and Psyche Response Ward.

Empaths were very rare in the magical world. Probably on the order of ten times more rare then Metamorphs like Homura. And what the heck was a Psyche Response Ward. He vaguely recalled something with psyche in the description being used on prisoners who were escape risks. It slowed their cognitive thinking down, causing them to become forgetful and make more mistakes.

Then he tried to think, how would these things prevent Akitsu from winging from her ashikabi? When he had kissed her, he felt the process try to start, but it had died before it could begin. One of these three things likely sabotaged the process was the likely culprit. However, which one was it?

He began writing down his intended treatment list. He would start with the easy stuff, which was the removal of compulsions and flushing of specific random potions still in her system. He saw no problem with the removal of the Emotion Block or Psyche Ward if it indeed was what he thought it was. It was the Empathic Block that worried him.

Empaths were rare, not only because the ability rarely manifested itself, it was because if the Empath wasn't identified early, such as four to five years of age, almost all were eventually declared clinically insane by the age of six or seven. He took out the additional duplicate copy of her results and summoned Dobby.

"Dobby, can you see if Madame Pomfrey is busy again, and see if she recalls any specific treatments related to preparing Empaths for the onset of their ability. Please show her these results as well, along with this copy of what I intended to do to treat Akitsu."

Figuring Dobby would be a while, he decided to see how Karasuba was doing. "Winky!"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Can you go over and quietly check on Karasuba and see if she's in her apartment, alone and awake? If she is, can you ask her if she minds if I stop by?"

"Will do Harry."

Winky popped away, and was back within fifteen seconds. "She is awake, Harry. She says you can come over if you would like." Harry immediately stood, disillusioned himself, and apparated directly into Karasuba's apartment.

He appeared by the table where they had spoken with each other the day before. She sat alone and absently swirled a glass of red wine while she stared out the window at the city. She intuitively glanced at the empty air as he popped into the room and began to silently cast ward spells with his wand.

When he finished, he removed the disillusionment and sat down. The moment he hit the cushioned seat, he took a deep breath and sigh loudly. She had never glanced away from where she knew he was invisibly standing, and showed no surprise as he appeared out of nowhere.

"Busy night?" she said mischievously.

Harry snorted. "Remember this afternoon? I mentioned something vaguely along the lines of 'we could always add more tasks since it was obvious we weren't trying to do enough?" Harry said all this while waving one hand absently in the air to emphasize and quote words while he quoted his own words in a very mocking voice. However, he utterly failed to match his movements up with any words of importance while he talked, which made the effect rather comical.

She merely nodded and never stopped the slow swirl of the wine glass in her hand. She did purse her lips in an effort to keep from smiling at the sight of him being so tired.

"Well, would you smack me real hard next time I say something like that before it jinxes us again?"

"Why, what happened? Minaka was furious tonight. 108 was taken from the Arboretum and no one knows how or where she ended up." Seeing Harry's self-satisfied nod at this, Karasuba decided to reveal the surprise of the night that had her up drinking at 2 AM.

"Oh, and Mutsu's severed head was found downstairs in the building's lobby on a pike."

That got Harry's attention. Harry blinked, then blinked again, and then suddenly began laughing hysterically. Karasuba understood immediately that he definitely was involved in these events, but something had likely taken an unexpected turn.

"You're never going to believe it, but here's what happened…" and Harry began his tale. He summarized the meeting with Higa, his bloodhound gang's actions, rescuing Shi and Chiho, the fate of the three prisoners, the correct diagnosis for Chiho, the actiones that surrounded Number 108 minutes after the announcement went out, being attacked by Yomi and Akitsu and Akitsu's subsequent, the capture of Mutsu and delivery to Miya, and then the results of Akitsu's scans.

"Well," began Karasuba in reference to Mutsu. "That certainly was Miya's style years ago. I didn't expect her to do something like that now though. They certainly won't connect it with her. She'll be a suspect initially when it comes to people who had grudges against Mutsu, but those are almost too numerous to count. MBI's 'think tank' folks all are firmly of the belief she's staying entirely neutral in all this. I'm rather sad I'm not considered their primary suspect since I unfortunately have an alibi for the time-frame," she said with wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Well, I'm glad you're such good spirits at least. I wouldn't want your life to become boring either. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Akitsu's scans. They really did a number on her." Harry duplicated the paper again, and passed it to Karasuba.

"I'm drinking Harry," she deadpanned. "Can't you at least translate this or something? Honestly, making me think in English past two in the morning," she pouted spectacularly, which was a face he would've never in a million years believed Karasuba could pull off.

Harry waved a hand at the paper, and the writing changed over to Japanese which she then read. He could tell the moment she reached the mind scan portion. "Empath?"

"Yeah, I think that maybe the main culprit, but I'm not sure. It's crazy, Homura is a Metamorph, and Akitsu is an Empath. Unfortunately, I can't remove that block yet. I'll need figure out how to prepare her mind for what will happen once she starts getting flooded with people's emotions. Otherwise, she'll need to live in goddamn cave for the rest of her life in order to avoid going nuts from feeling everyone's emotions."

Harry just shook his head and closed his eyes, "She isn't going to have it easy."

Harry decided that being depressed about Akitsu's future helped no one now, "So what did you do this afternoon after you got back?"

The smirk came back full bore at this question. She was definitely highly entertained at whatever happened.

"Oh, listened to Benitsubasa complain how Natsuo isn't in love with her for a good while. She can definitely rant if she needs to. I listened to Minaka do one of his loony bin rants to the sky and his gods about his great plan for the 'golden age'."

She paused to take a sip of wine, and then resumed her slow swirl of the remaining contents of the glass. "Then listened to Minaka scream and rage when Yomi got found in a war zone with only her half-dead Ashikabi nearby. Listened to the Board of Directors go nuts an hour and a half ago when Mutsu's head got found here in the lobby. Oh, and listened to Minaka give the Discipline squad new orders."

A Cheshire cat grin appeared on her face. Harry realized he never wanted that face directed at him if he had somehow wronged Karasuba. "He figures it was Higa's massive group of Sekirei that somehow overpowered Mutsu and Yomi and then attacked Mikogami. Minaka obviously heard Higa lost two Sekirei today and must believe Mikogami was behind that encounter so Higa must have sought revenge for it."

"Our new orders are to focus primarily upon the ongoing actions of Higa and Mikogami, since such levels of violence aren't to be tolerated this early into Minaka's game. We're to interfere it they get too… uppity."

At Harry's stunned expression at the unintended positive consequences of their actions tonight, Karasuba continued. "Basically, I did a lot of 'listening' today, and laughing on the inside that you were probably behind pretty much all of it and nobody had a clue." Karasuba tipped her glass in a mock-salute to Harry at the end of this. "Hearing what actually happened from you just makes it all the more impressive."

Harry thought some wine sounded very good at this point. He waved a hand at the table and conjured a crystal glass. Another wave and the bottle rose into the air and poured him a drink without a drop spilled.

He raised his glass into the air, and nodded to Karasuba, "A lot happened today. And we have you to thank for getting 108 out as easily as we did."

She snorted, "Occasionally I'm nice when it amuses me."

Harry nodded again with a small grin. He stood up, waved a wand and Karasuba's chair expanded into a small loveseat. He sat down next to her, and leaned back, and put an arm around her shoulder and absently began playing with her hair. After a few moments, he look her in the eyes and lightly touched her face. "Do you intend to stay amused with this passing fancy for long? Or will you get bored with it and move on?" asked Harry.

Karasuba downed the rest of her wine in one gulp. She looked at him with lust in her eyes and a grin on her face, "If we weren't waiting to try and re-wing me for at least a few days more, I would throw you on that bed right this instant."

Harry merely raised an eyebrow. He responded with mock-arrogance in his voice, "It's late, and no doubt you're quite tired. I doubt you could keep up with me at the moment," Harry said with small taunting half-smile formed on his face as he finished

"Is that a challenge, Mr. Potter?" she said, eyes flashed not in rage, but instead that this was a challenge she would gladly accept.

Harry leaned in, thoroughly enjoying their banter. "The only challenge I see is being so close to you without removing all your clothes myself. I see no challenge occurring for me after that happens."

She held her poker face for only a few moments before she began to laugh uncontrollably. Finally she said in frustration, "This is so unfair."

-o0o0o-

Current Residents of Izumo Inn:

Harry Potter (Ashikabi)

Chiho Hidaka (Ashikabi)

Number 1 Miya Asama

Number 2 Matsu / No Ashikabi

Number 6 Homura / Harry Potter

Number 7 Akitsu / No Ashikabi

Number 10 Uzume / Chiho

Number 17 Toyotama / Higa (Unwilling)

Number 40 Shi / No Ashikabi

Number 88 Musubi / Harry Potter

Number 108 Kusano / No Ashikabi

MBI Headquarter Residents:

Minaka / MBI CEO

Sahashi Takami / MBI Sekirei Adjustor / Friend of Homura

Number 4 Karasuba (Discipline Squad Member) – Natsuo (Unwilling)

Number 104 Haihane (Discipline Squad Member) – Natsuo (Unwilling)

Number 105 Benitsubasa (Discipline Squad Member) – Natsuo

Previously Encountered / Mentioned Sekirei:

Number 3 Kazehana (Former Discipline Squad Member) / No Ashikabi

Number 5 Mutsu (Terminated Former Discipline Squad Member) / Mikogami (attacked Takami)

Number 8 Yume (Eliminated Discipline Squad Member) / No Ashikabi

Number 11 Hikari / Seo (Lightning Twin / "Doofus" Twin 1)

Number 12 Hibiki / Seo (Lightning Twin / "Doofus" Twin 2)

Number 18 Ichiya (Eliminated) / Higa

Number 22 Kochou / Higa (Unwilling)

Number 31 Sai (Eliminated) / Higa

Number 43 Yomi (Eliminated) / Mikogami

Number 86 Katsuragi / Higa (Unwilling)

Number 101 Oriha / Higa (Unwilling)

Number ? Oshino / Higa (Unwilling)

Number ? Kujou / Higa (Unwilling)