Hello, I'm back! Sorry for the delay, I've been rather busy lately, between my job, a report I have to write and my muse keeping silent, I had a bit of trouble to finish this.

Anyway, the title of this chapter is rather explicit on the content, so I won't say anything more.

Please enjoy.

I don't own Harry Potter or Sekirei.

Only this particular plot.

06

Meeting Akitsu

"KARASUBA WHAT?!" shrieked Takami, as she stared at Harry, who was having some of his blood taken for tests, since it had been one of the few things Takami AND Minaka had agreed on. Both wanted to examine his blood, though the Head Geneticist of MBI wanted to make sure that there was not going to be aftereffects of having his DNA altered, while she was fairly sure that Minaka just wanted to see if he could replicate the process.

She could only stare at a rather grumpy Harry, who had just told her that Karasuba had winged herself on him. True, she should not have been that shocked, seeing as her unhealthy obsession with Harry was painfully obvious, as was her desire for him to become her Ashikabi, but she had expected the Sekirei to wait until he was a little older, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, before doing it. She knew that the grey-haired Disciplinary Squad member was reacting to Harry, as she sometimes asked for missions outside of the country to lessen the reaction for a time, but she knew that no matter how much she reacted, she would wait until she wanted to wing herself. That meant that she had acknowledged him as someone...well, she wasn't sure about how she wanted her Ashikabi, but she knew that she viewed him as strong, and as someone she could relate to. She wasn't sure of exactly what had caused her to want her winging to happen now of all times, if it was because of how Harry had acted during the attack, or if it was because he had become the first part-Sekirei human of history.

However, that meant that now, Harry was stuck with her for good, and that he would undoubtedly attract other Sekirei, after all Minaka had already summarized that an Ashikabi gaining a strong Sekirei would emit an even stronger "signal" to the aliens, meaning that some that might not have reacted before may now react to her little protégé. She had no idea of who he would affect among the one hundred and seven remaining, but she was willing to bet that he wasn't going to attract the "normal" ones, but rather the oddballs. She just hoped that he was a positive influence on Karasuba, and not the other way around. She had noticed that since Harry had started to live at MBI's Tower, she had been in an overall better mood than usual, and she had toned down her mindless slaughtering of employees. She still killed one from time to time, but at least those she had a reason to, not like the ones she had sometimes killed because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Like I said, she just kissed me, and now she's my Sekirei!" growled Harry, who had his hands on his ears, since he had been a bit too close to Takami to not be deafened by her earlier shriek. Despite that, he seemed to be in an overall excellent mood, though she could understand that, since he was now free of the tank he had been confined inside of for an entire month, and now had the person he had looked up to bonded to him and willing to do anything to please him. She knew that unlike others, Harry wasn't likely to take advantage of the situation, at least not to the point that most men would, but she couldn't help but feel apprehensive. She was aware that one day, sooner or hopefully later, his family and this Dumbledore would come looking for him, and she didn't think they'd react too well to Karasuba, not that she minded what the Black Sekirei would do to them if they came between her Ashikabi and herself. She held no love for people who abandoned their own child on the word of an old man, no matter how powerful and respected he was, especially when they didn't even check on him to make certain that he was happy and healthy. And the old man himself wasn't someone she liked either, despite his apparent excellent reputation in the magical world. Someone who asked parents to abandon their child and didn't even make sure that said child was treated properly was someone for whom she held only contempt.

With a sigh, she looked at the now grey-haired wizard. His mane of grey hair with a few lavender strikes made him look like a mini and male version of Karasuba, though he wasn't nearly as hotheaded than her, since he was intelligent and mature enough to know how and when to act for it to benefit him, but not to the point where it could be called manipulative. He just tried to get what he wanted peacefully first, before going for a more...persuasive approach, while Karasuba would simply threaten people until they gave her what she wanted. And if they didn't comply, well she would always be able to take what she wanted from their corpses.

With a sigh, she watched as the physicals continued.

-Break-

Harry groaned, while he wasn't really against scientists, their need to have a sample of everything was disturbing, and he was glad that Takami had stepped in when things had gotten a little too strange for him, otherwise he would have had to explain to Minaka why he had seen the need to maim some of his employees. At least now he was free, and he was looking for the section of the Tower where Takami had told him the Sekirei were kept. Well, the few that stayed at the Tower, since most of them were hidden in secret facilities scattered around Japan, with a security fit for the President of a developed country to protect them until Minaka deemed it was time to let them out in the world.

Thinking of the madman that was also MBI's CEO was enough to make his mood sour. The first thing he had said, the very first, when he had seen his adoptive son, was to tell him that as soon as his physicals were clear and that he had rested, he was going to be paired with Yume to try and replicate some of her powers. While he had known that the man wasn't really what could be called caring, he had hoped that he would at least get a few words from him that weren't around his obsession for the supernatural. He had almost died to protect two Sekirei, damn it! He didn't expect to be treated like a child, sure, but he had hoped that the man would at least congratulate him for a job well done, or something!

He finally reached his destination, an area that looked less like the headquarters of a multinational company, but more like a hospital, a private, extremely expensive, hospital. The walls were white, a color that made him grit his teeth as he had grown to dislike the color after numerous times ending in an infirmary. The few scientists that saw him scampered away, after all, the news of Karasuba's winging had spread like wildfire since Takami had been loud enough for half the Tower to hear her, and the fact that he had been known as her disciple certainly made him someone they had no wish to associate with more than necessary.

Nonetheless, the area was rather deserted, as he saw maybe three scientists on the floor, which surprise him as he expected more people to be around and examining the Sekirei. He wasn't about to complain, after all he couldn't just explain that an alien AI had asked him to find a "broken" Sekirei and take care of her, possibly wing her. He would probably be beaten black and blue by Karasuba when he would tell her that he had another Sekirei, and he would have to be careful not to upset Akitsu, as from he had been told, she believed herself worthless.

Looking around, he tried to guess where the former Number 07 could be.

-Break-

Akitsu stared blankly at the white ceiling, as she did every day since she had been broken. Since that day, she had become worthless, a discarded thing that no longer held any purpose. She had lost her will to live at the same time she had lost her ability to get winged, and now she was but an empty husk, with her only emotion left being despair. Despair at knowing that while her sisters would gain Ashikabis, she would forever be alone, forever without a purpose. Something had died inside of her, and while she had already been a rather cold person before, she was now little more than a walking corpse, without any visible emotions, without a will of her own. She meekly did what she was told, as without a purpose or a reason to live, fighting was pointless, everything was pointless. The only reason she was still alive at this point was because killing herself or letting herself wither away was pointless as well.

She spent her days almost motionlessly, only moving when she had to eat or go to the toilet. Even the scientists had stopped coming to see her, save for a very select few, like Takami, who tried to bring her out of her shell, unfortunately, lately she had come less often, though she had told her that if it had been only up to her she would be there almost every day. The chief geneticist was an enigma to Akitsu, why did she bother coming back? There was no reason in losing time by associating with her.

She heard the door of her room ( a rather grand term for what was barely more than a mix between a cell and a lab) open, and, expecting to see the white-haired scientist, she didn't move, knowing that Takami would walk towards her and sit next to her cot.

"Akitsu?"

The voice was not Takami's. Not only was it male, it was the voice of a child not having entered puberty yet, yet there was steel in it, something she had never heard from MBI's scientists. Turning her head to see who had called her, her eyes fell on the most peculiar sight she had ever seen in her years at MBI's Tower.

There, standing before her, was a child, probably around ten or eleven, quite tall for his age (well, from what she could tell from what she had learnt by watching the television and reading books, it wasn't as if she had been able to meet any children at all in her life), and with odd hair, even when compared to the unique shades some Sekirei displayed. Their hair was at least of only one color, yet this child had ashen grey hair akin to the Number 04, while it also had streaks of lavender in it, making him an oddity. He was wearing black clothing, simple yet practical, and was standing in a posture she had already seen several times when meeting her elder sister, one of the two Disciplinary Squad Sekirei, Karasuba.

Blinking, she slowly sat upright, and tilted her head to the side, watching the intruder without blinking.

-Break-

Harry had finally managed to find what he had been looking for, amongst the rooms on the floor he was currently in, this one was the most isolated, which would suit its purpose very well, since Akitsu was supposed to be kept in observation and isolated, thus ensuring that MBI could keep an eye on her. After all, she was a single number with power over ice, and ever since her ability to wing herself had been destroyed, she had developed a rather large resentment towards the responsible. The scientist who had made the mistake that had ultimately caused the loss of her ability to find an Ashikabi had found himself skewered by pikes of ice the very moment Akitsu had realized what had happened to her, and had afterwards frozen an entire floor in her fury and despair.

Entering the room, he found himself staring at a woman who was undoubtedly a Sekirei. She was wearing a simple, hospital gown that barely contained the largest bosom he had ever seen, even with Tom's memories, and was laying on her bed, fixing blankly the ceiling without blinking. Her face was a blank mask, but he could tell that without a doubt the woman in front of him was Akitsu.

"Akitsu?" he asked gently, causing her to slightly widen her eyes, before she turned her head to look at him. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of her face, despite the large Sekirei crest on her forehead, she was an exceptional beauty, easily beyond Karasuba or Yume. Her skin was pale, and she had short, spiky, light brown hair that despite not being not overly feminine enhanced her ethereal beauty.

As she sat up and turned to look at him, he had to look away as her bosom swayed in a way that made clear that she was not wearing a bra. While he hadn't started puberty yet, he could feel the first signs of the dreaded period of his life manifesting, and he gulped as he realized that if Karasuba was right and he was going to attract more Sekirei, he was in for years of mental torture as he would be living surrounded by beautiful women that would do anything he asked without hesitation. That would be the wet dream of almost every teenager, but he wasn't yet a teenager, and he liked to think that despite the hormones (those accursed hormones that should be cursed to Hell and back), he would be able to treat his Sekirei respectfully. That would be rather hard to achieve if every woman living with him was enough to cause his mind to go in overdrive.

Shaking his head, he used a little flare of magic to disrupt the cameras around the room, he was not stupid enough to believe that Akitsu was left unmonitored when she was so powerful and potentially dangerous to MBI. Looking around he spotted a chair and dragged it towards the bed, sitting it as he stared at the Ice Sekirei. Up close she was even more beautiful, even someone who didn't have much hormones in his body like Harry could see that. She had a thin, yet aristocratic face, and beautiful almond-shaped eyes, that while emotionless, still drew him in.

Deciding he should explain why he was there, he gave her a bow.

"Hello, Akitsu, my name is Minaka Harry, pleased to meet you." he said, bowing politely.

As he waited for an answer, Akitsu tilted her head, before she gave him a brief nod.

"Ah...Akitsu." was all she said, as she went back to staring at him unblinkingly.

He had to admit, it was pretty damn creepy, though he wasn't really bothered by it, after all his circumstances and memories made it quite hard for something so trivial to bother him. Quite a few Death Eaters had very creepy fetishes, so someone who stared at him without blinking could be considered pretty tame.

There was an uncomfortable silence, as he thought about just how he could explain the situation to the woman in front of him, he could not just tell her he wanted her to be his Sekirei, could he? Actually, why not? It isn't as if she has something else planned for her life, and staring at the ceiling isn't something really good for her continued sanity, neither is brooding good for her self-esteem.

The thing was, how could he present it? No matter how much he sugarcoated it, he already had Karasuba as his Sekirei, and knowing her, at worst she would try to kill Akitsu for taking him away from her, and at best she would ignore her, or mock her. That and he wasn't sure that Akitsu would be very comfortable with Karasuba around, after all pretty much everyone he knew was jumpy in her presence, save for Takami (who knew what to do and not do around her) and Minaka (who was crazy, so he didn't count.). There was also the fact that she was extremely possessive, and would probably not react well to another Sekirei living with them, especially one he hadn't winged.

Sighing, he just pinched the bridge of his nose, he just knew that this wasn't going to end well. Now, he could only hope that it would only end with a few hits, and not one Sekirei killing another. He may not know Akitsu, but he could guess that if she was threatened, then she would probably have no qualms about ending Karasuba's life, and he had no idea just how powerful she was. Akemi had hinted that while she was a single number, the accident that caused her to lose her ability to bond to her Ashikabi had also drastically increased her power, making her a very dangerous Sekirei, who had nobody to fight for, yet was more powerful than most of her sisters.

Sighing, he decided that he might as well be honest, since he knew by experience that lying or telling her a half-truth, or even giving her false hopes could very well come back and bite him in the ass later. Besides, he had faith in his ability to convince her to come with him, it wasn't as if she had anyone to rely on, and he very much doubted that she wouldn't try and grasp any chances she might have to get an Ashikabi.

"Akitsu, would you like to be my Sekirei?" he asked, hoping that the offer would make her react, at least a bit.

He saw that her eyes widened ever so slightly in shock, which was more than enough of a sign for him to know that despite being apparently emotionless, Akitsu till could feel emotions. He would have been worried if she had been so psychologically broken that she wouldn't have been able to feel emotions at all.

"...Why?..."

"Why what?"

"..Why would you want me as your Sekirei? I am broken, I am nothing. I cannot be winged..."

"That...may not be true. It's a long shot, but I may be able to find something to allow you to bond with someone else, however even if I do find something, there is no guarantee that you'll find your Ashikabi. Even knowing that, do you still want to be my Sekirei?""

He was aware that he should haven't told her that he might not find anything, and instead focus on how maybe she would be able to get winged, however he was clever enough to know that he better not withdraw information on such a matter. It was Akitsu's decision to make, and she deserved to know of everything, even if meant telling her that the chance of success in finding anything about creating a soul-bond was rather low.

The silence lasted for several minutes, during which Ice Sekirei stared at him, seemingly judging him and weighing his words, before she gave him a small nod.

"...I am...Akitsu...I will be your Sekirei, Ashikabi-sama..."

As he looked into her eyes, he could see the barest sparkle of hope.

-Break-

In the end, he had managed to bring Akitsu back to the "apartment" (the floor he lived on with Karasuba) without much trouble, he knew that someone must have informed Minaka and Takami by that point, the first probably didn't care enough to intervene, while the second was probably taking out some steam by beating the man back and blue before coming to confront him, he knew that she probably wouldn't approve of putting Akitsu and Karasuba in the same room for any extent of time.

As it was, for now Karasuba was out of town, so it was why he had chosen now to go see Akitsu, now that the Black Sekirei had become his, he was very aware that he would not likely have many moments left when he would be alone, and being alone was primordial if he wanted to ease Akitsu into his life, she needed to have some time to integrate everything concerning her new life.

She was now sitting on an armchair in the living room, but instead of looking around like most people would to take in a new environment, her stare was focused solely on Harry. He seemed to have made a rather strong impression on her, or at least she found him very interesting, he wasn't really sure of which one it was.

It felt strange for him, who was more or less used to know or at least predict how people would act, yet Akitsu was...different, that was the word, from anyone he had ever seen. She barely spoke, and barely moved in the short time he had spent with her, which meant he had next to nothing to evaluate her personality, that is behind the fact that she was rather apathetic, though he could understand why. She was part of a species that lived to find their Ashikabi, who basically had no other purpose than serving this person, and she had lost that ability. It was the same as losing her reason to live, and he was frankly surprised that she had not gone completely insane from the shock her psyche must have felt when she realized it.

The fact that he had asked her to be his Sekirei must have been another rather important shock to her, yet she hadn't displayed any emotion, any relief, any happiness at all, save for the slight widening of her eyes at the moment he had asked her. He really had no idea how she felt, how she perceived him at the moment.

While she was sitting on the armchair, he had brought some tea, as he had no idea what she liked to drink, though he was pretty sure she didn't really care. If she was really as broken as she seemed to think, then he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't even enjoy the simple things of life, like eating or drinking what she liked.

"Here." he said, putting the tea on the table before her. She looked at the cup for a moment, before turning to look at him again, tilting her head to the side as if she was trying to understand him.

Seeing as she had apparently no intention of speaking on her own anytime soon, he sat down and sipped his own tea. While he was British by birth, he liked to think it wasn't something in his blood that made him eager to drink the beverage, but rather his own tastes. He didn't really like it when people made assumptions by basing themselves on stereotypes. It wasn't because he was British that he liked tea, and it irked him when he found people giving in to stupid assumptions like that.

Finally having enough of the silence, he decided that he might as well explain to Akitsu what she had just signed up for, without even once asking about how he would treat her.

"Akitsu. Now that you are my Sekirei, there are things you should know, things about me, things that also concern you now, and things you need to know to understand how I might be able to find a way to allow you to wing yourself."

He spent the next hour explaining about wizards, his status in Britain and how he couldn't care less about it, he talked about how he had ended up becoming an existence similar to her own, how he had no idea how this would affect his powers. He explained about the similarities between winging and soul-bonds, how Veelas, who had researched the bond more so than any other in the world might have knowledge about how to create an artificial bond, or restore one. Of course, he left things out, personal things that he would tell her later, like how he was treated at the Dursleys, and all that he had suffered through. He kept that for later, when she would have had some time to adapt to her new situation.

He showed her some spells, nothing too flashy, simple levitation spells, animation spells and the like. Not once did she speak, only listening to what he was saying, absorbing the information at a steady rate. Her eyes were sharp as she listened, and he wondered just what she was thinking, what she was feeling at the moment.

When he was finished, he waited for a reaction from Akitsu, but there was none, no matter how long he waited. Puzzled, he asked:

"Akitsu?"

"Yes, Ashikabi-sama?" she asked, causing him to gulp. There was something in her voice that made him uncomfortable, something that reminded him of the way Bellatrix Lestrange spoke to Voldemort. There was devotion in the Sekirei's voice, no, veneration. Somehow it seemed as if by asking her to be his Sekirei, he had gained a woman that would do anything and everything he asked without question.

"I...uh, wanted to be sure that you were fine. I understand that it's a lot to take in, but you know I'm here if you need anything, right?" Speaking of which, we'll have to go shopping, she can't stay with a hospital gown for only clothes, he mused.

"Ah...I am fine Ashikabi-sama, thank you for your concern." said Akitsu, though he could swear that her voice had softened. Maybe treating like normally would do her some good? After all, he doubted anyone treated her well, save for Takami, since MBI didn't strike him as a company too concerned about morals.

"By the way, you know you can address me however you like, right? There's no need for the "Ashikabi-sama"', I'd rather have you call me Harry."

"As you wish, Harry-sama." she nodded, dutifully acknowledging his request. While he still cringed at the obvious veneration in her words, which reminded him a bit too much of a certain purple-eyed, raven-haired witch for him to be comfortable, he felt that it was still better to have her call him by his name instead of his title. Truth to be told, ever since he had learnt of his moniker, 'Boy-Who-Lived', he had loathed the idea of having titles. He could make exceptions when it came from a position he held, but titles about something he did not even remember, he was not comfortable with.

Deciding to change the topic, he asked his new partner:

"Say Akitsu, would you mind showing me what you can do?"

He was curious, Akemi had told him that Akitsu, as most of the Single Numbers, could manipulate an element, hers being ice. He was very interested in what she could do with it, since unlike Karasuba, who was a physical type, there was virtually no limit to what an element wielder could do, since they could literally shape an element at will. While he expected Akitsu to be able to create ice and freeze things, there was no telling what else she could do. Besides, once she had shown him, he may be able to give her suggestions in how to use her power better. Manipulating ice meant that she would be able to do many things, from immobilizing someone by freezing their legs to creating ice constructs.

Gesturing to her to follow him, he brought her to the room he used to train for his spells. After all, Karasuba would already be rather angry when she found out about Akitsu, he'd rather not anger her any more by having Akitsu destroy some of their furniture.

The room was bare, the floor covered by tatamis that he had protected by etching a complicated rune array on their borders, making them innately resistant to most magic. It wouldn't resist to something like Fiendfyre, but anything less powerful wouldn't so much as put a scratch on them. He had a few dummies to train his spell casting, though so far he hadn't been able to use them, since he needed to wait until he was eleven for his magical core to allow him to cast spells used in fights.

"Wait here for a moment, please." he said, as he rushed to grab some of Karasuba's old clothes. He was not going to let a woman, let alone one who would cause men to faint from blood loss by nosebleed, walk around in nothing but a hospital gown. He had caught a glimpse of something that had made him look away earlier, she seemed to be wearing absolutely nothing under that gown! Fortunately, he had found some of Karasuba's old uniforms that she had discarded since she could get as many as she wanted, while he had tried to repair them, as he wanted to experiment sewing.

He quickly went back to the room he had left his new Sekirei in, as he didn't want her to worry that he was abandoning her. He himself had had the same fear for a while after having been taken in by MBI and Karasuba, but Akitsu didn't look like she could cope with being abandoned at all. Luckily, since he had known where to look for the clothes, he had been gone for only a few minutes, not long enough in his mind to get worried about him.

As it was, when he came back, Akitsu was standing dutifully at the exact place she had been in when he had left her, and he once again inwardly cringed at how obviously desperate she was to please him. Someone else would have at least looked around, yet she hadn't moved an inch from where she had been. He was even willing to bet that she hadn't blinked since he had left. It really worried him how Akitsu was so dependent on his every word. While he wasn't against someone listening to him without complaining for once, he still didn't like it when she acted like she did. He wanted her to be with him, a partner, not a mere follower standing behind him and doing things because he asked her to.

"Here, Akitsu, would you mind changing into these." he said, handing her the clothes he had gotten for her.

He saw her eyes widen slightly as she looked at the clothes, and before she could ask (or not, considering her silent personality), he explained:

"They belong to Karasuba. While they may a bit small, they'll still be better than the gown you have now."

"...Harry-sama, you know Karasuba-san?" asked a very neutral Akitsu, though he could easily tell that he better think his answer carefully.

"She is my first Sekirei. I have been her Ashikabi since a few hours ago."

-Break-

Despite her face staying in the same blank face it almost was, Akitsu felt her eyes slightly moisten. Here she had thought Harry considered her special, that he had wanted her because he felt something towards her, anything. Yet here she had just learnt he already had a Sekirei, one with whom he had bonded to, no less. Was she only some kind of tool for him to use, to protect his first Sekirei? To protect her sister who had had the chance to find her Ashikabi?

It didn't matter. He would obviously abandon her, like the scientists had abandoned her after they had finished their experiments on her. They had no need for a broken thing, a lab rat that couldn't even get winged properly. Harry obviously planned on using her, but would it be so bad? Even if it was fake, even if it was not a true Sekirei-Ashikabi bond, it was still better than nothing at all. So what if in the end he would end up discarding her? He didn't need her, but she needed him.

Was it why it hurt so much? Was it because she had wanted this to be real, to be what she had dreamt of when she had learnt that she couldn't be winged? The valiant Ashikabi that would come and save her from her misery?

She was so wrapped in her thoughts that she didn't notice Harry closing the distance between them, and give her a hug. Startled (not that she showed it), she looked at him, where he had his head under her breasts, hugging her in a comforting embrace.

"Ah...Harry-sama?" she asked, confused.

She saw him look at her in the eye, a very cold expression on his face, and for a moment she feared that she had upset him and that he would throw her away. She was already halfway thinking about how to apologize to him to avoid getting thrown away, but his next words froze her in place, like her ice had done to so many things before.

"Akitsu, you are my Sekirei, winged or not. So what if Karasuba was winged? You aren't any different, and I swear that I'll find how to make it so that you can get winged too."

"..But I am broken...I am nothing..."

She saw him cringe, and she thought he was already offering her words of support because it was the right thing to do and that he was "that" kind of person, those that spoke words they didn't mean, because it was what normalcy expected of them.

She was surprised when he took off his shirt, leaving his surprisingly toned torso bare. However, she was surprised, not by how toned his torso was for a boy his age, but by the numerous scars he sported. Despite knowing little about the outside world, she knew that no child should sport that many scars, and she looked up at Harry's face in confusion.

"Akitsu, I lived for six years with people who hated me and called me a freak for something I had no control over, and since I knew nothing else, I believed them. I believed myself to be useless, a freak, an abnormality. These scars were given to me by these people, and I always thought that I deserved them, that I deserved to be treated like dirt, because I knew nothing else.

You are like me, Akitsu. You have been hurt by people, and told that you were something that you are not. Do you know what I see when I look at you, Akitsu? I see an amazingly beautiful Sekirei, someone who was strong enough to live on when the very purpose of her life was taken away by people that didn't understand anything about you and who called you things you were not, because they couldn't bear to admit that the fault of what had happened to you was born from their own inability to understand their mistakes and help you when you needed it.

I am here to help you, Akitsu. So what if you can't be winged right now? I told you, with a little luck, the Veela will have something that can help us fix that problem. And even if they don't, I'll always be here for you, you know that, right? I may get other Sekirei, or I may not, but that won't change the fact that you are my Sekirei too, winged or not."

There was no words to express how she was feeling right now. Had she not been unable to be winged, she was quite sure she would have winged herself right then and there on the child, no, the man that had told her he would be there for her. He knew about her, about how broken she was, but instead of finding her ugly, disgusting and beneath his notice, he actually thought that what she had lived only made her more beautiful in his eyes.

A lone tear fell from her eyes, before she simply nodded:

"...Thank you, Harry-sama."

And this time, she knew why there was veneration in her voice, child or not.

-Break-

Harry woke up feeling very refreshed, after all it was his first night of true sleep, and on a true bed, in over a month. However, as he went to sit up, he felt a weight on his chest. Looking down, he was treated with a sight that made him blink several times as he tried to comprehend just what he was seeing. He was fixing a sleeping Akitsu, who had somehow snuck inside his bed sometime in the night, and who was holding him so tightly that if he hadn't become a Pillar he was sure he would have cracked ribs. As it was, he just felt her holding him tightly.

He was actually happy that he hadn't yet started puberty, otherwise he knew he would have had a reaction that he really didn't think was appropriate considering that he only knew Akitsu since the day before. Not only that, but he knew that she was still fragile mentally, and while he wasn't old enough to have an interest in sex, he knew very well that in a few years if the same thing happened his hormones would be driving him mad.

As it was, he saw nothing wrong with what was happening, so he didn't move, as he was quite sure that should he try, then he would wake Akitsu, and he didn't want that. Unlike when she was awake, her face did show some emotion, not much but it was still there, in the form of a very small smile. He wondered for a moment if the traumatism of the accident that had caused her to lose her ability to get winged hadn't awoken some kind of ability similar to Occlumency in her, Akemi had told him that some Sekirei needed a perfect control on their emotions to use their powers, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume that Akitsu had created mental barriers to protect her mind after what had happened.

With a smile, he watched the Sekirei's eyes snap open and immediately focus on him.

"Ah...Good morning, Harry-sama."

"Good morning to you too, Akitsu. May I know how you ended up in my bed?" he asked. He did not want to chastise her, but even if he considered himself a responsible adult, he was still only ten, and for a woman like Akitsu, it wasn't really proper to sleep in the same bed as him. However, Karasuba had all but made sure that the three years he had spent in her care had destroyed any notion of "proper" he had. Not only that, but Akemi had repeatedly told him that for a Sekirei, there was no notion of "improper" with their Ashikabi, so even sleeping with a child while naked wasn't much of a taboo for them, so long as said child was their Ashikabi, they wouldn't do it for anyone else though. Despite knowing that, it didn't mean he liked the idea of Akitsu sleeping with him naked when he was barely eleven, not old enough to attend a magical school.

"Ah...Warm..." she said, without so much as blinking.

"...Akitsu, I understand that you want to spend time with me, and I'll be the first to say that it makes me happy. However, if you wish to sleep in the same bed as me, I am going to have to ask you to wear some clothes, like the ones I gave you yesterday. Why aren't you wearing them?" he asked gently, not willing to appear admonishing for something like this, even if he wanted to set a firm limit on what Akitsu could do.

Looking at him, she put her hands under her breasts and hefted them.

"...Too tight." she said, as if it explained everything. And in a way, it did, though Harry was busy staring the other way as despite not being a teenager yet, he had the mind of an adult man and didn't want to disrespect Akitsu by openly ogling her body.

"...I...see. We'll have to get you some clothes then."

He was aware that a shopping trip with Akitsu was most likely to be very awkward, for one he was barely eleven, so most people would assume that she was his guardian, and considering her own very deferent attitude things were bound to be strange. Maybe I can ask for help, he realized, and he immediately realized just who would be able to help him. Karasuba wasn't here, and even if she was he didn't trust her to not try and scare Akitsu, he didn't like Yume much, despite the fact that they didn't see each other often, which only left Takami.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" shrieked said woman as she stood in the doorway of his bedroom, staring at him and the naked Sekirei next to him, her eyebrows twitching.

"Ah...Hello Takami-san." said Akitsu as she cuddled next to Harry, smashing her rather big assets on his back. He found the sensation to be oddly pleasant, and wondered how he would feel if she did the same thing after he had entered puberty.

"Akitsu?! What are you doing in his bed?!"

"Ah...Harry-sama requested that I become his Sekirei."

"I knew that much, Akitsu, Minaka spent last evening cackling like a madman when he learnt about that. What I mean is why are you sleeping in the same bed as him, AND NAKED?!" she growled, glaring at Harry, who could almost swear she was about to take out a clipboard, never mind the fact that she couldn't have hidden one on her person.

"Hey, who do you take me for?! I gave her some of Karasuba's old clothes to use yesterday, and I was going to ask you to come shopping with me for clothes that would fit her."

"Too tight." Akitsu "explained", hefting her breasts once again to show them to the white-haired woman.

Takami simply sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, before turning around and walking out.

"I'll wait in the kitchen, I need some coffee before dealing with all this shit. So hurry up and GET DRESSED!"

-Break-

Later that day, Takami, Akitsu and Harry were walking, though Akitsu was attracting a lot of stares since she was wearing clothing the Head Geneticist had lent her. Surprisingly, she had a bigger bosom than Karasuba, which was surprising since usually Sekirei tended to be more "stacked" than human women, Akitsu being an extreme example of that trend.

"Why did I even agree to this?" asked Harry, whose patience was already wearing thin. Akitsu had been accosted nine times since they had left MBI's Tower. Nine! And the only reason she hadn't been constantly harassed was because any time a man approached them Takami glared at them. So far, she had scared around three times the amount of those who had had the courage to talk to her despite Takami's glaring. The worst was that all nine men, from the courageous university student to the playboy businessman, all of them had assumed Harry was Takami's child, and Akitsu was either his aunt or an older cousin.

"You agreed to this the moment you asked her to become your Sekirei." grunted Takami, who was smoking (again). "You asked her, now be a man and assume the consequences of your actions!"

"I'm not even eleven yet! How the Hell am I supposed to know what clothes a woman wants to wear?!"

"Who said you were supposed to be the one to pick? You're here to carry the bags!" growled Takami, who was looking for a clothing store as they walked down the street. "Ah! Here it is!"

Harry just looked where she was looking at and groaned, she was looking at a store that sold underwear. While he knew full well that Akitsu needed underwear, he had hoped that he wouldn't be there when she picked it. With his luck, he was almost sure that she would ask him his opinion, and he did not want to imagine how people would react to a very attractive woman asking a ten-years old boy about what underwear she should wear. Not only that, but she still acted almost reverently towards him, and he was sure that people would notice it.

-Break-

Harry groaned as many of the female customers were eyeing him curiously or squealing and taking photos of him. He had let his hair free, and it now reached his waist, covering the black clothing he wore. It wasn't anything fancy, a simple black muscle shirt and black jeans with black boots made to fit him. However, it seemed that many of the younger customers, from high school students to university students found him unbelievingly cute, and his eyebrow was twitching as he felt their stares on him and the flashes of their phones as they took pictures of him.

Next to him, Takami was smirking, obviously enjoying his discomfort, probably considering it payback for asking her to help him pick clothes for Akitsu.

"A-ano..." asked a timid female voice, causing him to turn his head to look at the girl who had talked. She was rather cute, probably in high school, with long, dark hair and an uniform he had seen on one of the students of an all-girls high school of the area. She was rather pretty, but not only was he too young to feel any kind of attraction for girls, but he lived with (now) two beautiful women, meaning that he found her rather average.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked, trying to be nice and giving her a small smile.

However, before the girl could ask anything, Akitsu stepped out of the changing cabin, causing the people who were present to shift their attention to her, and with good reason. She was only wearing underwear, if what she was wearing could even be qualified as such. From what he could tell from the glimpse he had gotten before hastily turning away, it was black, but that was about all he could say.

"Akitsu!" growled Takami, though there was no response from the Sekirei.

Harry then felt a tugging on his shirt, and he inwardly groaned as he knew this was going to end badly. If he ignored Akitsu, he would possibly hurt her feelings, but at the same time, looking at her when she was barely covered was not something he felt comfortable doing, not before he had gone through most of his puberty.

Capitulating, he looked behind him to see the Sekirei tugging on his shirt like a child would be tugging the shirt of a parent, though the other customers seemed to be either confused or in shock from what they were seeing. Her cheeks were pink, despite the fact that her face was still as blank as ever.

"Yes, Akitsu?" he asked, trying to not sound like a ten-years old looking at a drop-dead gorgeous woman in underwear IN THE MIDDLE OF A SHOP FULL OF PEOPLE!

"Ah...Do you like them, Harry-sama?" she asked, almost shyly.

Forcing himself to not look away, he put a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her in the eyes (which had the advantage of allowing him to focus on something else than her body).

"Akitsu, these are your clothes. It doesn't matter if I like them or not, I want YOU to like your clothes, and to feel comfortable in them. Besides, you'd be gorgeous in just about anything, so feel free to take what you like."

With that, he gently pushed her towards the cabin, motioning to Takami to take care of the Sekirei, the Head Geneticist looking a bit baffled at how easily he had handled the situation a she disappeared inside the cabin with the brunette.

Meanwhile, Harry tried to avoid looking at people in the eye, while he thanked whatever deity watched over him that Tom had been a very smooth talker, being able to sweet talk Akitsu into taking care of herself enough that she wouldn't cause other awkward situations was going to prove essential in the next few years, he could just tell.

-Break-

"So, what you are saying is that you didn't find anything?" asked Miya Asama, the owner of Izumo Inn, at a (for once) serious Matsu.

Sitting at the same table were Uzume and Homura, who were sporting grave faces as well. The former had her eternal tight clothes, while Homura was wearing a simple white shirt and black slacks.

"That's not what MatsuI said. When Matsu hacked MBI's databases, there were several files on this person, whoever he or she was, but the level of protection around them was too high to get past in the time Matsu had."

"What do you mean, Matsu? Why would MBI protect this person's data so much?"

"Matsu doesn't know, but there must be a reason. The only files more protected are the ones concerning the Sekirei Plan, which means that whoever Karasuba's Ashikabi is, Minaka doesn't want anyone to know anything about him or her."

Miya just frowned. Until then, Matsu had always been able to access the information she needed, not that she had asked for much from the hacker, but for her to be actually unable to get past the securities around this person's file, MBI must really have wanted to keep their existence a secret.

"Very well. Since we can't obtain this information the usual way, I believe we will have to use other means. Homura?"

"Yes, Miya?"

"Do you think you could get in touch with Sahashi-san? She may be the only able to help us in this case."

"...Are you sure about this, Miya? Takami isn't a bad person, but that doesn't mean she'll be willing to tell us anything. Why not ask Yume?"

"Yume is a member of the Disciplinary Squad, and while I trust her, she is too closely monitored to come here. No, we should ask Sahashi-san, she may be able to give us precious information. And if she is reluctant, well, we will just have to convince her, then." said the owner of the inn, with her ever pleasant smile on her face, causing the three other people present to gulp. While Miya was indeed terrifying, Takami wasn't a pushover either, despite being a normal human. She was probably the only person Minaka feared, which was no small feat as Miya herself, a being that had slaughtered armies didn't scare him all that much. They didn't want to be anywhere the two women when they met.

I hope this was enough, I'm already working on the next chapter.

Someone mentioned that so far I've been rather focused on the Sekirei side of this universe, and of course they're right. I mean, Harry IS living with Karasuba at MBI's tower. That, along with the fact that he doesn't need to learn as much magic as other children his age, and that in Japan his celebrity status doesn't mean nearly as much to the locals than in Britain, he doesn't interact with the magical too much for now. Of course, that will change soon, but I won't spoil.

Please review, consctructive criticism is welcome, but not flames.