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.
I felt bad that one of my other unpublished stories (the star wars one) is taking up so much of my potential writing time, so I figured I would publish one of the completed chapters I've had just sitting here.
Apologies in advance, but It may be a while before the next update, because I really prefer the idea of being very far ahead of the publishing curve.
The Lemon part of this chapter will be published elsewhere… eventually. I'm currently sitting on the fence and seeing which alternative posting site will eventually win out. There's just too darn many of them at the moment.
Chapter First Published: 2012-06-20
Chapter Last Update: 2012-06-20
Chapter 9 – The Bounty
The cheers and congratulations for Akitsu's winging to Harry had barely ended when the next unexpected major event of the day decided to happen.
This was not nearly as welcome as the previous.
Kusano was your average child; when you didn't take into account the fact she could turn a yard full of grass into trees thirty stories tall. Pretty colors and lights greatly amused and could captivate her for hours. When Akitsu and Harry bonded as Sekirei and Ashikabi, Kusano was enthralled by the light show. Her grin was from ear to ear, and her greatest desire suddenly was for someone to be able to make her wings do just what Harry had done for Akitsu.
As the kiss between Akitsu and Harry ended, and the cheering eventually subsided, Kusano had the typical delayed reaction of a child and simply said, "Pretty."
This event in of itself wasn't significant, but what happened after certainly was. The child's voice got everyone's attention in the room including Minato's, who was sitting in the back of the room inconspicuously on a chair with Tsukiumi beside him. The two of them were sitting there, silently watching the events unfold as outsiders to this group of close individuals. Kusano took one look at Minato, and to the shock of everyone in the room, ran towards him. The diminutive girl jumped into his lap, toppling the chair he was in backwards so that his head literally bounced when it smacked the floor.
Without hesitation, Kusano kissed the now nearly concussed boy full on the mouth.
Leaf-like wings emerged from the child's back, and the pulse that emerged caused the decorative plants in Akitsu's room to begin growing at a phenomenal rate.
Kusano broke the kiss and immediately exclaimed, "Now you're my big brother!"
The stunned silence that met this proclamation seemed deafening to Harry's ears. Miya was slowly grinding her teeth in her mouth. A palpable darkness began forming behind her that was so strong that Harry felt it wouldn't be long before you could reach out and touch it. Homura had her eyes narrowed at the boy, steam slowly wafting from her gloved hands. Tsukiumi was turning red with fury at the gall of the little girl putting moves on her self-proclaimed husband.
Not wanting to bear witness to the impending explosion, Harry turned and whispered to Musubi and Akitsu who were closest to him. "It is now time for a tactical retreat, let's go." Uzume heard him too, and after picking up Chiho, was close upon his heels.
-o0o0o-
"Tactical retreat?" Uzume asked, mirth in her eyes at Harry's desire to get away as fast as possible.
Before they had even left the room, the smell of smoke and the darkening demonic presence of Miya had them all wishing to be anywhere else. Being in Minato's shoes was not somewhere Harry wanted had any desire to be at that moment.
Harry simply laughed, "I thought it sounded far better than mumbling 'Brave Sir Harry, bravely ran away.'"
Reaching his room, he said, "You can all hide in here for a bit. I doubt they'll come looking for us for a while." The group slipped inside and Harry closed and locked the door with magic. Musubi immediately pounced on Akitsu and Harry, her arms around both in a fearsome hug, "I'm so happy for you both!"
Akitsu had already had a long tiring, and stressful day. The horrors that MBI had inflicted upon her had been brought to light, and nearly all were undone. She had exhausted herself using her ice abilities like she had never done before, and then she had achieved her greatest dream. She had found her true Ashikabi, and no one could ever again legitimately state that she was broken.
The sudden embrace from Musubi however was the straw that broke the camel's back. Akitsu's knees buckled and she began shaking uncontrollably. The emotions of the past ten minutes finally overcame whatever strength she had and she was left nearly incoherent. All Harry could do was to get on the ground and hold her. He wished he had a better room to place her in that was a bit more comfortable than the one he was in right now or that there was something he could have Dobby bring him.
Then, as usual, the thought of Dobby saved the day.
"Dobby!"
"Yes Sir, Harry Potter sir."
"Can you bring me one of the calming draughts please, as well as the largest Magical tent we own?"
"Ok, be right back."
Dobby popped away. Akitsu hadn't paid attention at all to the conversation, and Musubi just looked lost and didn't know what to do. Uzume and Chiho just watched on sadly, wishing they could help.
Dobby returned with the vial and a large oversized duffel bag filled with poles and canvas. Harry took the vial and tried to get through to Akitsu. "Baby, I'm going to need you to take this vial. I know you just got your emotions back, but they're overwhelming you. This will calm you down for a few hours so you can think more clearly. Please trust me that this won't hurt you."
Harry could tell Akitsu was weary of anything that would rob her of her emotions right now, but having them going full blast at the moment wasn't helping her either. She would have to be eased into them gently or they would cripple her at stressful times like this. The look she was giving him now was one of pure fear.
"Don't you think Miya, Musubi, and Homura would kick my ass if I did something right now to hurt you after all you've been through?" Harry said quietly, with a small rueful smile on his face. "Hell, I'm sure Uzume would kick my ass and then hold me down so Chiho could then get her licks in. Please?"
With that declaration, Akitsu tentatively took the vial from his grasp, opened and downed it, making a disgusted face afterwards. "Give it a few moments and then you'll feel a bit calmer. Your thinking will be just a bit clearer. It shouldn't be like before, when you could feel no emotions, but this should let you feel a small amount of the emotions you're feeling without overwhelming you. Ok?"
She nodded, closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply. To Harry's discomfort, she never once loosened her grip upon steely grip upon Harry's hand.. After about thirty seconds, she looked back at him and smiled. Musubi was still sitting a bit behind Harry, scared to look at Akitsu, and thinking she had done something wrong. "I'm sorry Musubi," said Akitsu. "Everything just got to me there. I couldn't tell if what I was feeling was anger or happiness. After that it just felt like the whole room started spinning."
"Well, you two kiss and make-up and I'm going to set up something special for us," said Harry.
With a wave of his wand, the contents of the duffel bag spread across the floor. Another wave had the metal supports suspended in the air and slowly inserted into the canvas cloth of their own volition. A final wave of the wand secured all straps, ties, and bindings that anchored the tent in place.
Musubi and Akitsu barely had time to register the whole process had begun before it was finished. Uzume and Chiho just stared on in silence. Apparently a day of being apparated and flown around on broomsticks had rendered Uzume a bit harder to surprise, and Chiho saw Uzume's lack of reaction and seemed to know that everything had to be safe. Infinite amusement filled Harry at the sight of Musubi's and Akitsu's open mouths. Harry said simply, "Well don't just stand there, aren't you all going to join me?"
The two girls just looked at him like he was crazy, with looks on their faces that clear asked how were the five of them supposed to fit into a tent that size? Harry laughed openly at the confusion written all over their faces, and then he lowered his head and walked into the tent.
The walls of the tent didn't move like they should have from the air displacement that should have occurred when a man the size of Harry entered a confined space. Uzume, who respected and liked Harry more every time she was around him wasn't about to let him goad her into anything or get one-up on her, picked up Chiho and walked quickly into the tent. Musubi and Akitsu looked at each other with their eyebrows raised and wondered just what in the world they had gotten into now.
"Let's go see," said Musubi finally. She grabbed Akitsu's arm and dragged her over to the tent opening. They both ducked inside and found themselves behind a stationary Uzume and Chiho, all four of them rendered speechless upon the inner threshold at what they saw.
An entire house was inside the tent. They currently stood in an oversized great room and could see a kitchen beyond it.. A few of the windows in the kitchen were visible and they looked out over on a bright and sunny day with mountains, a forest, and a vast lake. There were wide stairs that climbed to an open second floor and numerous doors that could be seen which opened to numerous unknown rooms.
And in the middle, sat Harry Potter with a smile on his face like the cat that got the canary while he leaned back upon an expansive couch.
"Do you like it?" were the only words out of the grinning wizard's mouth.
Musubi didn't even hear him ask the question, as she looked in every direction and was completely absorbed with the new things she found at each turn of the head. Uzume had already walked over to the couches to allow Chiho to lean back against some pillows. Akitsu at least still had the presence of mind to reply to the question, "This is amazing. What happens when the tent is put away?"
"The portal behind you closes and won't open. Technically you can get stuck in here if that happens, but I have my own emergency ways out. There's bedroom's upstairs for the two of you, and a Master Bedroom we can all share if we ever get to that point. Uzume, you and Chiho are welcome to commandeer any room you want at any time as well."
Musubi still hadn't heard a word of what was said, but Akitsu did. She walked over to Harry and stood before him. She towered over him as he lay back on the couch and looked upon his third Sekirei. She smirked and slowly raised one knee onto the couch, and then lifted the other so that she straddled his waist.
Harry honestly didn't know where to look. On one hand, Akitsu was on the super-model tier of the term 'drop dead gorgeous.' Her eyes shimmered and almost seemed to stare into very Harry's soul as he gazed up into them. On the other hand, her massive cleavage was less than an inch from his nose as he looked up, and Harry was very aware that Akitsu had not appeared to have worn a bra this afternoon even through all the exercises they had done.
She held his head in both hands, reached down and kissed him. He decided to not let his hands wander too much since Musubi was right behind them. Besides, he figured his hands would get all the wandering time he could possibly want later. He pulled her tucked-in shirt out of her pants and began massaging her now exposed lower back as they continued to deepen the kiss.
Eventually they broke apart, with equal-sized grins on their faces. Harry suddenly had an idea, "You know, we've had quite an active day. Would you care to go into the other room and share a bath, milady? You have many hard to reach areas I'm sure you will require assistance with."
A slight grin and nod was her only response, Harry looked around for Musubi, who could be seen still entranced by the many features of the various visible rooms. She currently stared out the magical windows and hadn't heard or noticed anything that had transpired on the couch. Uzume had Chiho balanced comfortably on top of her, and both had stopped whatever they were doing to watch Harry and Akitsu with salacious grins upon their faces. "Musubi? Akitsu and I are going to go and get cleaned up after the workout we had. Go ahead and explore the tent for a while, and if you need anything, just call Dobby, ok?"
"Sure thing Harry," Musubi beamed. "This place is amazing."
Musubi ran into the first room on the second floor and claimed it as her own. Harry could hear a girlish squeal of delight at what he assumed was her reaction to how large the room was. However, Harry had something else on his mind right now, and that was taking Akitsu into the large bath adjacent to the master suite.
He entered the large master bedroom in the tent for the first time in years. He had bought this tent a long time ago when he camped alone in the Australian outback. The native aborigines were kind enough to share some secrets of shamanism with him in exchange for learning some of his own magics. He stayed in the tent, just because he realized it had been months since he had spent money on himself for purely splurging purpose. The tent became a life-saver and sanctuary, since the wards he was quite adept at prevented unwelcome visitors and he was rather adept at finding obscure locations where the tent would not be found.
Harry and Akitsu entered the master bath. It was essentially a small pool, not quite as large as the prefect's bathroom he had seen in Hogwarts during his fourth year, but it was quite close. One of the elves must have overheard their desire to use it, because it was already full of hot, bubble-filled water when they entered the room. Harry had time enough to ensure there were towels present in the room when, the next thing Harry knew, he was forcibly turned around and Akitsu locked lips with his.
For a long beautiful moment Harry was entranced by her eyes before she slowly closed them. Her Norito had expanded outwards again and transitioned her eyes to that fathomless glowing blue that made him think they were wells of light stretching out to some incalculable distance.
[*A wild Lemon approaches…*]
** Scene will be posted elsewhere… eventually. Suffice it to say Akitsu and Harry get together, and a VERY out of character Musibi joins in **
[*/End Lemon*]
-o0o0o-
Akitsu, Musubi, and Harry left the bath thirty minutes later with smiles still plastered upon their faces when Dobby suddenly popped in. Without saying a word, the diminutive elf handed Harry a note.
Harry
What on Earth have you done now? I thought last night was insane with Mutsu's head arriving special delivery, but something just happened which has all the bigwigs running around like chickens with their head's cut off.
I don't know what's going on, but I do know the Discipline Squad is being mobilized for a new mission because of it. We're being briefed in fifteen minutes. The CEO is also going to send out another mass-broadcast at the same time, like the one he did for 108 last night. Minaka is furious about something and I have a feeling I'm going to be ordered to 'fix it'.
Please be careful if you are going out. I have a feeling they'll try targeting you in some way. Your name hasn't been mentioned directly yet, but I don't think it'll be much longer before it is. The man is relentless when it comes to gaining information, and your identity is something I don't think can remain secret for long.
I'd tell you to stay safe, but I know you probably won't listen.
Kara
"Shit," was all Harry could say. 'What could've caused this,' he wondered. Was it when he healed Akitsu and winged her, or was it Kusano being winged by Minato, since he is the son of some scientific bigshot at MBI.
"We have to go see Matsu, now," Harry said as he quickly put on some clothes Dobby had brought for the three of them. He did have the presence of mind to stop and watch both Musubi and Akitsu stretch their arms over their heads to pull on their shirts. The day that view got old was the day his heart stopped completely.
Once the three were dressed, they tore out of the tent, with both Uzume and Chiho closely behind them. Both inquired what was going on as Uzume attempted to straightern her own shirt from whatever activities the trio's sudden reappearance had interrupted. The group of five ran to the solid wall behind which Matsu's room was hidden. Upon the activation of the hidden entrance, they entered the door to the hidden compartment and were promptly swallowed by the clinical darkness as usual. The only light in the small cramped room Matsu inhabited came from the dozen or so computer monitors and televisions which surrounded the bed in the middle of the room.
"Hi Harry, what's up? Care for some private experimentation? Musubi and Akitsu can join as well if you haven't already worn them out from whatever you were all doing in that tent in your room," said Matsu with an evil smile that was just enhanced by the reflected glare off of her now opaque glasses.
"Maybe later Matsu. For now, start checking MBI. Something big is about to go down from them according to a note I just got from Kara. There should be a CEO announcement in about ten minutes plus the Discipline Squad is about to be mobilized. Have you seen anything yet?"
Matsu's playful demeanor dropped instantly into a serious expression that proved why she was a former member of the original Discipline Squad. The playful perverseness of Matsu switched just as fast as he had seen Miya go from sweet land lady to hardened battle commander. Her hands flew across the keyboards in front of her, and random glances at monitors around her also showed some of her telepathic ability to mentally interface with information networks as those monitors suddenly displayed new information.
"Nothing yet, but they're definitely up to something. I see the blocks of time devoted to debriefing the Discipline Squad right now, and for Minaka to prattle on to us about something in a few minutes. There's no information about what it actually is though. Looks like whatever they're doing has been travelling mainly by word of mouth. Nothing to do now but wait and see what it is," said Matsu.
The whole situation seriously bothered Harry. He had no idea why, but somehow he felt the stakes had just risen.
"Rio!" he called aloud.
A nerdy looking older house that wore horn-rimmed glasses suddenly popped in. "Yes, Master Harry? What do you require?"
"Rio, has there been any news on the warding of the real estate that I purchased?" Harry asked, much to the surprise of the other inhabitants of the room.
"Warding shall be finished this afternoon, Master. We have four elves standing by to relocate there and provide staffing. Furnishings are already being moved in and will be completed shortly."
"Good, have the goblin's create me one emergency portkey to the site for me. Inform them I'll stop by later today and take control of the wards personally. Hopefully we can begin moving some people in there later tonight if we absolutely need to."
"What was that all about Harry?" asked Matsu after Rio popped away. She was the only one really paid attention to the whole conversation. Akitsu now dozed against a pillow in the corner of the room, while Musubi, Uzume, and Chiho amused themselves with some children's show on one of the TV monitors.
"I purchased a property here in Tokyo and had it expanded and warded magically so you will all have a true safe house. No one will ever be able to find it or access it without my explicit permission. I assume Miya will want to stay here, so that's one reason I had the emergency goblin portkey made. Just in case she needs it."
Harry paused, and then looked at Matsu, "I generally have really good instincts. I have a bad feeling right now."
Matsu gave a sad smile and was about to say something when the TV broadcast Musubi watched, as well as all the other TV stations, was suddenly interrupted.
A white-haired man with glasses had appeared on the screen. He wore what Harry would have loosely described as a badly clichéd magician's high-collared suit and jacket on. All he was missing was a top-hat to pull a rabbit out of. The entire ensemble was white, and it seemed to rub Harry wrong in every conceivable way. His loud boisterous greeting immediately woke Akitsu up from her nap, and had the full attention of all six people in the room.
"Hello. I'm Hiroto Minaka, CEO of MBI. I'm currently broadcasting to let you all know of a disturbing development to our little game. Someone has winged a little bird that should never have flown. An altogether dangerous little bird has dared to defy the Gods. This travesty cannot be allowed to stand. I want both her and her Ashikabi out of our game. Here is the Sekirei I want all of you to familiarize yourselves with:"
The image of Minaka faded into an image of a half beaten and barely conscious Akitsu sitting within a padded MBI medical cell. Akitsu, who stood next to Harry, made a gasp of horror and fell to her knees. One hand was over her mouth and she just sat there and shook her head.
"What you all see here is Akitsu, Number 7. She was never meant to wing because of how mentally unstable she is. She is a deranged killer, and it's likely the only Ashikabi that could wing her is also as insane as her. Do not attempt to speak with her. Do not attempt to negotiate with her. If you find her, call this number."
At this point a cell phone number flashed across the bottom of the screen over the image of Akitsu.
"If you call this number, the Discipline Squad will be dispatched immediately to your location to deal with this aberration. Your reward for phoning in the tip that leads to either the capture of Number 7 or her Ashikabi will be eight billion yen. Have a great day and enjoy the game."
The screen faded to black before the regular programming resumed. Harry just reached over and hugged Akitsu. "Don't worry. I told you, Karasuba and Haihane are on our side. Benitsubasa is a joke and I could kick her ass blind-folded. No one here in the inn would betray us after how we've helped them."
"We're not safe he-…" Akitsu began to say, but was interrupted as Harry placed a gentle finger over her quivering lips. He was so focused upon Akitsu he failed to register the door to Matsu's room silently open.
"If we have to leave, we leave. I've lived on the run before. If it comes down to it, I can hide people better then probably almost anyone on the planet. If we don't want to be found, we won't be found. I have everything we need. We have gold that's in Gnomish vaults in Switzerland. We have houses hidden in almost every major country on the planet, including this one now. I told you that in the eyes of magic we are married. You are my wife. That's what I mean when I say 'we'. Nothing is going to happen to you if I have any say about it."
He pulled back, and spoke a little louder so that all the occupants in the room, rather than just Akitsu, could hear him, "All this means is we may need to move our end-game move for Minaka up a few weeks. It'll all work out."
Akitsu was crying, but nodding her head. Musubi had her hand on her shoulder and was rubbing it softly.
Harry just now finally noticed that Miya had walked in and had been followed by Homura. The rest of the girls in the inn could be seen in the hallway. The entire group had apparently heard Harry's speech to Akitsu, and couldn't agree more. Miya took a look at them and said, "Congratulations again. Normally I think we would all be a bit happier for the two of you, but in light of the latest broadcast, I think some discussions are in order."
"You're right, " said Harry, who promptly took a deep breath before he proceeded with another quickly thought up plan.
"Miya, I don't want your inn becoming a war zone. If it comes down to it, I have a safe house that should be completed this afternoon with more protections than on it than you can possibly imagine."
Harry paused for a second, debated the merits of an idea, and slowly nodded to himself. He looked up at Miya and said, "In the meantime, Miya, I need your permission to do something."
"What do you need to do that would need my permission, Harry?" asked the purple-haired Sekirei titan.
"It's just how this type of thing works. I can't actually do this and have it work correctly without your permission. The magic won't function like it should unless I do. You own this Inn, correct?"
"Yes I do," said Miya, confusion quite evident.
"May I have your permission to erect wards over this Inn for the protection of everyone who stays here?" asked Harry, quite formally.
"What will these… wards do?"
"They will warn you if anyone approaches within two kilometers of this Inn who specifically intends to harm anyone residing in the inn. They will also protect the inn from physical and magical damage, and can prevent fires, reinforce the walls to prevent damage to the property, and limit the damage any magic cast against us does while they're on the property. Usually people would remove the wards so that they could attack us at full power. I kind of doubt anyone in Tokyo at this point would know much about how to take down wards."
"Then yes, you have my permission to ward the inn," said Miya immediately.
"Ok, I'll eventually need some of your blood so that we can tie the wards directly to you so you can control them. Rio?"
The older elf returned with a pop. He promptly bowed extra low and said, "You bellowed, Master Harry."
An eye roll was Harry's only response to the elf. "I need you to go over to the goblins and get a Class One ward stone. Something they would use for a family estate. Price really isn't important right now, time is."
"Understood Mi'lord," was the elf's response as he popped away.
"Lord?" asked Uzume, totally ready to dig for more dirt to embarrass Harry.
"Rio is an older elf. He likes to stick to the proper ways. Technically, I'm a Lord back in England… twice over. He likes calling me that to rile me up a bit because he knows I don't like it. Let's go find where we want to place the ward stone."
After some quick discussions, Miya and Harry decided to place the ward stone directly in the center of the house. Harry transfigured a hole in a hallway floor just outside the lounge, and lined the circular pit with newly transfigured stone that had been spelled Impervious to weather and the elements.
With the hole set and ready for the stone to be set with runes, all Harry could do now was wait. His need to kill some time was unexpectedly short however. Rio popped in, and immediately asked a question.
"Can Master provide an international portkey to this location? The Goblins wish to hand-deliver the ward stone," said Rio.
"Why would the goblins wish to come in person?" asked a flabbergasted Harry. Goblins did not normally venture out into the muggle world. They only liked to deal with muggles if it meant they could financially ruin a company through covert economic warfare.
"The Goblin's volunteered, sir. They heard who the ward stone was for, and demanded the honor of personally delivering and configuring the wards themselves."
If thoughts had sound effects, a 'ding' would have just been heard on the inside of Harry's head. "Master Cursebreaker Spinebreaker, I assume?"
Rio nodded.
"Excellent!" Harry said in such an enthusiastic voice that it made nearly everyone jump. This was excellent news. If there was anyone on the planet Harry trusted more than Neville, his wife Hannah, Luna, or Hermione, than it was Master Cursebreaker Spinebreaker. Harry quickly made an overpowered portkey to an empty room in the inn and gave the object to Rio.
While in Egypt, he had contracted himself out to Gringotts for a few curse breaking expeditions to gain some practical experience. Most of the Goblins thought it was all for show, and that Harry was a simple rich adrenaline junky and would likely get himself and members of their team killed. Harry somehow charmed the leader of the expedition into taking him despite this notion. The Goblin's opinion of Harry changed however when the expeditions financier betrayed them, leaving the group to die in a heavily warded room after an attempt to steal the treasure they had collected. Harry's quick actions and observation skills saved the expedition from certain death. Furthermore, he had helped the Goblins catch their traitorous ally and reclaim the stolen loot, which ensured the expedition was not a loss.
Since then, he had been on five additional expeditions with Spinebreaker, the goblin second in command on the original expedition, and all of them were successful. He even saved the group twice more on subsequent expeditions in situations that the Goblin freely admitted should have killed them all.
Spinebreaker had since dropped some none-too-subtle hints that he and his team would have no problem assisting him if he ever had any warding needs. It now looked like, to Harry at least, Spinebreaker was going to attempt to pay off some of the debt he felt he owed Harry.
A large whoosh startled Harry out of his thoughts. Ten Goblins emerged in the room. Spinebreaker simply grunted while looking at Harry, who laughed at the absurdity of the greeting. Harry pointed at the prepared hole in the floor, and with a clap of the Ward Master's hand, the Goblin's got to work.
"Do I even want to ask what sort of nastiness is about to be placed upon that stone?" asked Harry loudly with a broad smile on his face.
Spinebreaker looked at Harry, and every Sekirei present cringed at the fang-filled smile the Goblin afforded Harry with. "We know what kind of sense of humor you have, lad. Suffice it to say, we won't be activating any full lethality wards. Just your standard set of terror-inducement, lethargy, migaine, dizziness, flatulence, and incontinence. Of course those are beyond the normal ones which really matter, such as unplottability, fire-proofing , structural integrity preservation, and anti-app and portkey. It'll have all the typical anti-dark magic protections as well, but I doubt that's the sort of thing you'll be worrying about in the present environment."
"Very true. Thank you for your help, brother. This will make a lot of my plans here go much more smoothly."
"And just what are your plans?" asked Miya.
Harry looked around, and saw every person, be they goblin, Ashikabi, or Sekirei, had focused their attention squarely upon him. His first inclination was to tell a half-truth or lie, but that only made him feel like Dumbledore.
"At a high-level?" Harry asked, getting a nod from Miya.
"Well, at a high level here are my goals. Not one of you present here, or my two future girls over at MBI, will be eliminated or terminated in this 'game'… ever." He spoke this last word with such vehemence that half the people present flinched, and Spinebreaker merely smiled wider at the implied threat of violence.
"We're going to find every Sekirei on Uzume's list, and give them a place to stay if they want it at the safe-house I've had created. Another Goblin team is finishing the wards up on it across town and it should be done today. We're going to offer freedom to what's left of Higa's and Mikogami's girls as well. That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish with what we know about how they treat those girls. Mikogami's group will be in tatters without him around, and I think Higa's stupid enough to actually come right to us."
At the curious looks this last statement caused, Harry merely smiled devilishly. "Call it gut instinct. Higa is scum. He's lost a lot lately, and I have a feeling he'll be in pure damage control mode and tying up loose ends. He may come calling for that folder of Uzume's. He'll likely assume it's in her room here."
"Sometime soon, we need to re-wing Karasuba and Haihane. With the safe-house open, we can do it at any time, and I will if they directly ask me to. However, I would like to wait until an opportunity presents itself to do it when it'll be most advantageous to us. They still have unfettered access to pretty much that whole building. Who knows what kind of skeletons we can dig out of MBI's closet with those two and Matsu on our side."
And finally? There are at least two people on our… visit list. Minaka Hiroto… and whatever wizard or wizards are there running experiments on all of you. Besides that, we'll play it by ear."
"I think I'm more emotionally invested in all of you after three days than I've been in anyone in over a decade. I'll be damned if I see any of you hurt by that man, regardless of whether I'm your Ashikabi or not."
Smiles met his declaration at the end, and were a few looks of gratitude as well. Miya was the only one to voice their thoughts however. "You have spoken aloud something that so many of us had wished someone would say for a very long time. You have already done what we haven't dared pray for because none of us thought it even possible. You offer an alternative to Minaka's madness. Following the path you have opened may not lead to the ruin of us all, which I know will happen if we continue as we did."
Miya cast her eyes down, and for the second time, he saw the real Miya for a split-second as her shoulders wilted. She quickly recovered and gave a rueful, sad smile.
"I wish my husband were here to see it. He fought for so long against all of this. Thank you, Harry. I'll go and prepare dinner for us all. Well, I'll tell Dobby and Winky what we'll be having for dinner at least," she finished while she smiled at the absurdity of trying to cook in a household where house elves were present.
'At least she learned to give in far quicker than Molly Weasley did. Then again, she would never have been able to potion us so easily if she had," thought Harry.
As she walked away, Harry turned to the remaining girls. "Are the rest of you ok with this? I know you've been told to fight each other for years by MBI."
Homura spoke up first, "I think everyone has always known it was wrong for us to fight each other. There are only 108 of us… we are the only ones of our kind here on this planet. Why would our ancestors send us to a new planet just for us to beat the crap out of each other and possibly kill one another? I don't think any of us here want this in the end."
"Good, I don't want any of this to be a surprise to you all in the end. I jus-", but whatever Harry was about to say was interrupted by Dobby and Rio popping in.
"Master Harry, the Goblins have finished their warding. Your presence is required to tie the wards to you," spoke Rio in his low dulcet tones.
"Great," said Harry, accepting a package Dobby was holding up at the same time. "What's this?"
"This is the Goblin Portkey the great Master Harry wanted," said a bouncing Dobby, who had nearly all the girls in stitches over his enthusiasm.
"Oh, awesome Dobby. Can you take this to Miya and tell her what the activation phrase is?" Dobby nodded and popped away.
"Go ahead and go, Harry. The boys won't take long to finish this, and we can portkey directly out after we have the landlady place some blood in the blood runes on the stone. You know the proper way to add your blood to the runes later if you wish to tie yourself in," rasped Spinebreaker from the corner of the hole. He quickly turned his attention back the Goblin warders who individually carved runes at a rate five times faster than Harry could manage on the best of days and there were nine Goblins in the pit at work.
With a nod of acknowledgement, Harry turned back to the large group still standing around. "Well, seeing as how I played BBQ with Homura all morning and then let Akitsu try to kill me for two hours with her ice, I think its Musubi's turn for some one on one time. Shall we go visit our future home, darling?"
Harry stopped, frowned, and decided to rephrase that last statement. "Well… one of our future homes at least."
"Sure, Harry!" shrieked a suddenly buoyant Musubi.
Harry turned back to the rest of the girls present. "Homura, Akitsu… heck all of you. Make sure you're working on your Occlumency exercises. Someone give Tsukiumi one of the spare books as well." Harry turned to Uzume and whispered, "Please watch out for Akitsu, just in case the calming portion I gave her ends early."
Uzume smiled and nodded, "Sure thing bro, though I may ask for a favor in return." She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and walked slowly away while she gave an exaggerated shake to her hips that was missed by no one present.
With an arm held out for Musubi to loop hers through, he said, "Come on, girl. Let's go see our new home and paint the town red."
-o0o0o-
They apparated directly to the safe-house and met a pair of Goblins outside who keyed them into the external wards, then escorted Harry and Musubi directly to the primary Ward Stone. Harry tied the wards to him and felt the familiar surge of power as knowledge of the status of his newest home rushed his senses. It joined the constant thrum of information about all his properly around the world he was similarly aware of at all times.
They walked the Goblins out and bid them good day, which left Harry and Musubi in the main entrance hall of their new magically expanded home.
"This place is more beautiful than the tent was, Harry," gushed Musubi while she spun and tried to take in everything at once.
"I would certainly hope so," laughed Harry. "Come on, let's take a look around."
The house could be divided into roughly five sections; living quarters, entertainment areas, workout areas, kitchen and support Staff areas, and a massive unfinished underground room.
The bedrooms exceeded everything Harry had envisioned for them. Right now they were set up with the assumption an Ashikabi had only one Sekirei. The walls, however, could be knocked down between rooms and beds easily expanded so that, if Ashikabi's arrived with more than one Sekirei, the rooms could be reconfigured to support more than two occupants. Everyone would be allowed complete privacy as a bathroom, mini kitchenette, and family room was provided within each miniature apartment. Harry had made sure this specification was included in case an Ashikabi or Sekirei wished to be alone or were like Shi and had unnatural fears of others and wouldn't want to be in the public areas of the house. One room specifically was even setup so Matsu could use it as a failover room in the event her primary room in Izumo Inn were ever compromised.
The entertainment area was a place he figured would get quite a few of the girl's attention. TV's, video games, a library, and computers all set up in separate rooms and in sufficient quantities so that they would be hard pressed to not be able to fulfill whatever urge came upon one at a given moment.
The workout areas were everything his fighting obsessed girls and their sisters could need to stay in shape. He looked at the sheer enormity of what the Goblins had managed to fit inside the allotted space and shook his head. Even after fifteen years in the magical world, the concept of space expansion charms still ranked as the number one cool thing about magic to Harry. He marveled at colossal number of televisions floating in mid air, which could be summoned and would follow someone around as they worked out. He laughed as he noticed the bar off to the side of the workout pool, with a massive hot tub in between. He quickly wagered he would spend more time walking between the bar and the hot tub than swimming laps in the twenty-five meter pool next to both.
The kitchen and support staff rooms and offices were the domain of the house elves. Everything needed to wash, clean, and provide food for what could potentially be over 150 to 200 people was found here. He just hoped he would be able to still sneak in and prepare a romantic meal or two for his girls on occasion without too much griping from the elves.
Musubi had found the entire touring experience to be amazing. She wasn't enthralled with the rooms as much as she liked the paintings, artwork and various personal items spread through some of the public areas. Harry had a pre-set group of personal belongings which he had placed copies of in all the properties he owned. There were copies of the last six generations worth of family portraits from the Potters, including his parents. There were scores of photographs everywhere, split between shots of both his parents and the Marauders. The Marauder's set were comprised half of group-shots, though Peter more often than not found himself kicked viciously out of photographs by Sirius, and the other half were the documented aftermath of various pranks they had pulled over the years at Hogwarts.
By the time Musubi had finished walking a hallway filled with prank recaps, she was doubled over in laughter. Harry was able to explain what each one involved because of the meticulous notes and documentation provided by his father's journals.
Upon the discovery of his parent's portraits, she wanted to stop and talk with them, but Harry told her he had something better if that was what she wanted to do. Before they tried that though, they needed to get something to eat.
Before they left, the elves provided an incredibly fancy black cocktail dress for Musubi, with a plunging neckline which left little to the imagination. Some of the Potter family jewels were laid out for her as well, and her face beamed as Harry reached around her neck and clasped an enchanted necklace of white gold, rubies, and diamonds around her neck.
The necklace was enchanted to simultaneously draw people's eye, but keep them from approaching simply to chat unless you were keyed into the necklace by having Potter blood. The combination of compulsion and repelling charms were quite subtle, and Harry, who had never seen that particular necklace before, was incredibly impressed with the artisanship.
The only part of the outfit they changed was her shoes. The original high-heels the elves had chosen for Musubi only resulted in her falling over and tripping every few steps, more often than not directly into Harry. Instead of finding new shoes, Harry simply transfigured them into flats of the same style as an alternative.
The new husband and wife decided their first date would be an up-scale restaurant specializing in Katsu, which was high-quality pork pounded almost paper thin with a light breading, served with fresh cabbage. Miya seemed to enjoy the recipe the elves had come up with for it, so Harry and Musubi agreed to see if there were other variations they could convince Dobby and Winky to prepare for the group.
The meal was enjoyable, and their conversation was focused upon the events of the day, though they avoided up topics specifically related to MBI. Musubi was very interested in Magic, and hoped to someday try and see if a wand would work for her. He told her many of the spells that he intended to one day teach Homura and Akitsu.
It had never previously occurred to Harry to delve very deeply into how magic could be used directly within physical fights, so he didn't readily have any suggestions that could help Musubi. He suddenly realized that quite a few Sekirei seemed to be physical fighters, and many focused upon weapons training instead of magical attacks. Abilities such as Homura's control of fire and Akitsu's dominance over Ice seemed to be rarities. This would definitely be something for Harry to look into, and Musubi volunteered eagerly to help him search for answers.
Eventually near the end of the meal, Harry decided to inquire about an observation he had made the previous day.
"So you know Karasuba?" asked Harry, quietly. If it was a particularly sensitive subject, he hoped to be able to change the subject quickly.
"Oh yes. I've known Karasuba for years. She always been there, watching over me, pushing me to be stronger. We have a promise to each other…"
Suddenly though, Musubi stopped speaking. She cocked her head and bit her lip while she thought in a manner that would probably only appear cuter or more innocent if Kusano had been the one doing it. After a few moments of silence she continued, "Or, had a promise I should say. If you're going to stop the S-Plan, we won't be able to keep the promise to each other. We promised we would be the last two Sekirei. That we would be the last two to fight and see who would be the strongest. I don't think that will happen now."
She almost sounded disappointed to Harry's ears. He personally could not see enjoyment in the knowledge that they had reached their goal only at the expense of everyone else's defeat and separation from their Ashikabi's. The old Karasuba would probably want such a thing. That person simply wanted everyone else to suffer as much as she had. The new Karasuba wouldn't see the point of such a thing though. Harry couldn't understand what would make Musubi, who was normally so happy and full of life, want to see everyone else conquered to achieve this pact.
"What is the real reason behind this promise?" asked Harry tentatively.
"When I was young, I was kidnapped by a foreign country along with another Sekirei, Number 87, Kaho. They focused on me first. They… did things to me. Trying to figure out how I worked. Karasuba and Number 8 rescued me. Karasuba never really talked about it. Number 8 died on that mission to save us."
'Click.' Several pieces suddenly fell into place in Harry's mind. The Sekirei that Karasuba had been paired with on the second iteration of the Discipline Squad had died. Karasuba had resented Yume's beliefs and possibly had a bit of jealousy of her power as well.
"Number 8's name was Yume, right?"
"Yes, the Karasuba you know now has changed quite a bit from then. That woman didn't understand love and how it can change the world." As Musubi spoke, her voice changed slowly, morphing into something far more serious than normally came from his first winged Sekirei. The brunette's morphed into something much more pronounced, and her normally soft features took on almost a hardened, wearied look.
"She hated the world. To see someone give up everything so easily like Yume did changed Karasuba. Unfortunately I don't think it was for the better. You're the one who has truly passed through her walls. I'm so grateful to you… for helping my sister where I failed."
Harry stared at Musubi for a few seconds, utterly bewildered by the comments seemingly in direct contradiction to the knowledge he had. "Where you failed… what? You were a child at the time, Musubi. How could this possibly be a failure on your part?"
Musubi blinked a few times, and then smiled brilliantly. "What Harry? I'm sorry I didn't hear the last question. This food is excellent by the way, you should try some."
The complete shift in personality and subject totally threw Harry for a loop. 'What on Earth just happened? It was like she was two separate people or something,' thought Harry.
"You were talking about how you failed Karasuba," repeated Harry.
"No I wasn't…" said Musubi, surprise clearly etched upon her face. "Maybe I'm not strong enough to make good on our promise, but I don't think I've failed her. You don't think I have, do you Harry?"
"No Musubi, I don't think you've failed her." The confusion was almost too much for him. There were definitely two Musubi's. The ultra-serious one, who had spoken up earlier that day during Akitsu's ritual and somehow believed she had failed Karasuba, and the girl he usually had been with the past few days, who was bright, cheerful, innocent, and seemed to like everyone.
He quickly decided this mystery was not going to be solved without some input from Karasuba. Instead, he focused on the random thought he had earlier that night. It was spontaneous, and something he had thought he would never do again, but somehow it finally felt right to attempt.
"Anyway, I believe we're done. Let me pay the check, and then let's head back over to the safe-house for a few minutes. I'd like to introduce you to two people who I hope will be very happy to meet you," said Harry.
This seemed to cheer her up, and they left after they quickly settled the bill. The couple walked a short ways before they slipped casually into a quiet alley between the tightly packed buildings and disapparated and appeared in the middle of one of the entertainment rooms in the safe-house.
The room Harry had chosen had a very large comfortable couch for the two of them to sit on. Harry quietly pondered one more time the wisdom of what he was about to do. It may be selfish, but Harry had rarely been selfish during his life and, the more he thought about it, figured it was about time he was. The clincher to Harry that absolved him of most his reservations had been how he knew Dumbledore would be against what he was about to do. Harry had long-ago learned that the truth or correct path was usually the exact opposite of what Dumbledore believed or wanted.
Now resolved to carry out his plan, he quietly called out, "Dobby?"
The elf appeared, and seemed quite sober. The elf always seemed to pick up on his mood and knew to hold back his usually unrestrained enthusiasm. "Yes Harry, what do you need?"
"I need you to go into the high-security vault, Dobby. The one placed under the Fidelius. I want you to go to the portrait I had commissioned of my parents, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks that's in there, nearly at the back. Tell the portrait 'I seek wisdom from those far more intelligent than me.' When it opens, bring the package inside the pocket dimension back here."
The elf left and was gone for about five minutes. He returned, and held a black silk bag with a large circle upon it quite reverently. The elf passed it with both hands to Harry, who said, "Thank you Dobby."
The elf left quietly without his usual pop. Harry's unusual friend could definitely sense that something profound was likely about to take place.
"Let me tell you a story Musubi. It's a very old story from the magical world. It's about three brothers. They came across a wide, fast moving river, which had claimed many travelers' lives. They easily crossed since they were wizards, and this angered Death. Hoping to ensnare them later through guile, he offered the three brothers gifts as a reward. One received a powerful wand, which other people would forever covet. Through that brother's boasting, it lead to his death that very night. Another received a stone, which could be used to call the dead back to this realm. That brother used it to call his dead lover back, but she was unhappy when he attempted to keep her permanently in this realm, since the dead don't truly belong here. So he committed suicide to join her. The last brother asked simply to leave the meeting with a way that Death couldn't follow him. So Death, very reluctantly, gave him a cloak of invisibility, which allowed that brother to protect himself and his loved ones from dangerous events that could threaten their lives."
Harry looked up after staring at the bag the entire time. "Those three brothers were all ancestors of mine. The one with the cloak is my many times direct grandfather. I received the cloak when I was eleven years old. This…" he said, holding up the bag, "…is something I came across five years later."
He opened up the bag and allowed a cracked black stone to fall into the palm of his hand. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "This is the Resurrection Stone. It allows you to commune with those who have passed on. I've only ever used it once, and that was when I thought I was walking to my own death. I told myself I would never use it again, that I would see my parents again one day when I passed on and that would be enough. Now however, after seeing you wanting to speak with my parents' portraits, I figured I would offer you something better."
He held Musubi's palm upwards and placed the stone in it. He picked it up, and turned it over three times while he cupped it between their hands. With each rotation he thought of his parents. After the third turn, Harry heard Musubi gasp as two semi-solid apparitions appeared in front of them.
"Hello son," said the beaming visage of James Potter. Lilly Potter said nothing but gazed lovingly at both Harry and Musubi.
"Are both of you ok? I was always very reluctant to do this, because I didn't want to cause pain to either of you by bringing you back. I'll stop this right away if that's the case," said Harry. The pleading and hope in his voice for the opposite that he had tried to disguise was obvious in the way he asked his questions.
Lilly shook her head and smiled, "This is fine, Harry. The stone shouldn't be used to keep us here permanently, in some pale imitation of life. I had hoped for a long time now that you would use it again to speak with us, or any of the others. I'm glad you finally decided to talk with us again."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment where he collected his thoughts, he gestured to Musubi with the hand that did not hold hers with the stone between them. "Mom, Dad. I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Musubi. Musubi, this is my mother and father, James and Lily Potter. We can speak with them as long as we're both touching this stone."
"It's wonderful to meet you," said a smiling Musubi. "Harry has done so much for me and my sisters. He's the best Ashikabi I've ever met, and I'm honored he's mine."
"It's absolutely wonderful to meet you in person Musibi," said a very gracious Lilly.
"Welcome to the family," James said immediately afterwards.
Harry turned back to his parents, "I'm not sure how much you guys keep abreast of current events up there. Musubi's my wife, but she's also quite more than that actually. We're bonded. She was about to start a conversation with your portraits earlier, but I thought it might be best to introduce you directly."
"We have been following things a bit, definitely more recently since I was able to sense your bondings. You have three, don't you?" asked James, who very subtly tried to wriggle his eyebrows at Harry. He failed miserably, and the smack he received from Lily on his head was almost felt across whatever planes of existence separated them from Harry and Musubi.
James continued, rubbing the back of his head, "The Potter family magic let me feel it. I can still tap into it a bit even though we've passed on. It was something I was never really able to master when I was alive. Normally we were taught in our mid-twenties by an older member of the family, but my father died when I was sixteen and I never had a chance to go through the family grimmoire before we went into hiding."
"Well, I have three Sekirei now," Harry said, before he gave his mother a slightly frightened look, "but I know of at least two more that will likely become bonded to me. Possibly in the next few days or so."
"Five wives…" Lily said with a stern look.
The rant he could see his mother work her way up to reminded him eerily of Hermione, so he quickly decided to head off the signs of his approaching doom. "I think after everything that's happened, finding five wonderful people who love me for being me and will spend the rest of their lives with me is probably the best thing that's ever happened."
Her features softened. "You're right. We trusted the wrong people when we were alive, and you paid the price for our mistakes. I hope you can forgive us. How Dumbledore managed to delay his final judgment long enough to throw that twaddle at you while in limbo is beyond me. He was sent to the place all betrayers go right after his meeting with you."
"Anyway," interrupted James, who glared at his wife while he snaked an arm around her back. "I doubt Harry asked us here to discuss such unpleasant things."
He turned his gaze back to Musubi, "You've had a hard life as well. I'm glad you were able to find a small bit of heaven by finding Harry, and giving him the same. We know a bit about your life, Musubi, but not everything. You need to be strong in the coming days."
"Harry is going to need you, and so will Karasuba and Miya," continued Lily.
"What d-" Harry tried to ask, but was interrupted by James.
"We can't tell you Harry. We're allowed to talk about the past to a point, but we're not allowed to really go much into future. It's one of the few rules imposed upon us," said Lily while she involuntarily winced.
"Ok, I know how unique and special what we're doing is. I won't complain," said Harry.
"Such maturity, Harry. Padfoot will be appalled," said James with mock-disappointment.
"I'm sure Sirius is merely jealous of my great luck with women," said Harry with a Malfoy-esque drawl. "I mean you have mom. Remus has Tonks. All Padfoot can do is change into a dog and lick his own-"
"Anyway!" shouted Lily, which didn't stop James and Harry's riotous laughter. When they had calmed down, she continued.
"You shouldn't say such foul things around Musubi. She's had a sheltered life and you shouldn't be corrupting her in such a manner. Do be careful with Akitsu, Homura, Haihane, and Karasuba as well. Akitsu will look to you as more and more of a savior in the future for the things you've done for her. Don't allow her to risk herself recklessly to protect you. Homura may love Takami, but she will grow to love you just as much because of her bond. Please don't ignore her feelings."
James continued, "Haihane will need you to bring her out of her shell. She's got fire in her, a lot like Lily. I think you've seen it a few times. She just needs a bit of encouragement. Once that comes about, I doubt you'll find someone with a more acerbic wit than her. I think Karasuba will be the one to help you the most with all this. She'll act, not quite as the mother to your little group, but she'll still be a good person for you all to turn to just as much as Miya acts that way now."
James suddenly looked very seriously at Harry, "Trust Karasuba's and the other's judgment. You don't need to do everything on your own any more. Place the trust you wish Dumbledore and Weasleys had been worthy of in your girls. They will never betray you."
"And don't believe that you need to fight all the coming battles on your own, Harry. The women you've found are quite capable of defending themselves. You can trust them to look after themselves," said Lily.
"We'll never let Harry down," said a voice to his left Harry quickly recognized as the mysterious one he had so many questions about.
Lily looked curiously at Musubi, and then broke into a grin that was quickly mirrored by her husband. "Thank you, it means a lot to us that the Sekirei of Fate watches over Harry. Be patient. Your time will come soon."
Musubi nodded and did a quick blink and shake of the head. Harry looked from her to his parents and wondered if they were going to clue him into something they were obviously aware of but he wasn't. Lily shook her head at his look, but James took pity and obviously decided to give him the barest of hints. "Talk to Karasuba. It's a puzzle you have to figure out on your own. It's not something to rush, but the reward I believe will be well worth it for you and your wives."
Nodding slowly, Harry could merely say, "Ok."
"You should get going soon. There's no need to discuss everything in one night. You can call us or anyone else whenever you wish," said James. "There are still many things I would like to tell you about our family, and things your mother and my mother will want to pass on to you and your wives directly. Portraits are meant to suffice in situations like ours, where a family has passed on and Family Secrets could be lost. With the stone, however, the entire family would like to do our duties properly for you after all you've been put through."
"Understood, and thank you, from both of us," said Harry, with Musubi nodding her agreement.
"Now, the others will be worried about you being out so long. Uzume and Chiho are becoming particularly attached to you, as are Miya and Matsu. You may not bond to them all, but don't hesitate to include them in this new family you're building," said Lily.
"Fine, fine, though I don't see why you're getting rid of us. Watching Padfoot run in circles after his tail for the rest of eternity can't be that interesting," joked Harry.
After she rolled her eyes, Lily looked at Harry with the same loving gaze she had for him all those years ago in the forest, "We love you Harry, and we're so proud of what you have done and what you are planning to do. You deserve all the happiness you can find."
James smiled at the couple, "…and, again. Welcome to the family Musubi. We're honored to call you a Potter." James looked thoughtful for a second. "You should have Karasuba definitely be Lady Black, Harry. It's quite appropriate I think."
"I'm sure she will appreciate the thought," said Harry wryly with a smirk on his face. "One more thing, before we go. Tell Tonks to expect a few calls soon. She's going to have a new student. I only hinted at it to Homura a few days ago, but I really would like Tonks to teach her if she's willing."
"We'll mention it to her, but you're the one who will need to negotiate teaching fees with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I'm sure she'll be quite disappointed to find out your tattoo is gone," said James with a laugh.
"That should teach you not to drink so much if you're depressed," said Lily with a hint of admonishment towards Harry, who couldn't help but look down sheepishly at her rebuke, which caused James to laugh even harder.
"Anyway, we'll see you again soon. Love you Mom, Love you Dad."
"Goodbye Mrs. and Mr. Potter," said Musubi.
"Its James and Lily, Musubi," said Lily with a smile. "Goodbye, you two."
Harry let go of Musubi's hand, dropping the stone back into the silk bag. Musubi turned to him and hugged him, "Thank you for introducing me to them. I really liked your parents."
Harry squeezed her in return while he whispered, "They were truly special people. Just like you, Musubi."
--
*Author's declaration of known strangeness*
I'm well aware people will look at Musubi's actions during the lemon and go, 'Eh? That's not right.' I think I've dropped enough hints at what's going on that some of you may understand what really happened in that scene, and just who exactly was involved. For all the others. Just be patient, it'll be explained a few chapters down the road. Whenever I do get around to posting them, that is…
-o0o0o-
Current Residents of Izumo Inn:
Harry Potter (Ashikabi)
Chiho Hidaka (Ashikabi)
Sahashi Minato (Ashikabi)
Number 1 Miya Asama
Number 2 Matsu / No Ashikabi
Number 6 Homura / Harry Potter
Number 7 Akitsu / Harry Potter
Number 9 Tsukiumi / Minato
Number 10 Uzume / Chiho
Number 17 Toyotama / Higa (Unwilling)
Number 40 Shi / No Ashikabi
Number 88 Musubi / Harry Potter
Number 108 Kusano / Minato
-o0o0o-
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
-o0o0o-
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 87 Kaho / Oosumi Orihiko (Kidnapped along with Musubi as a child)
Number 101 Oriha / Higa (Unwilling)
Number ? Oshino / Higa (Unwilling)
Number ? Kujou / Higa (Unwilling)