A.N. So, I had a few reviews claiming Harry was something along the lines of a weak ass bitch, and that this somehow ruined the story, and that he would utterly fail at making any difference in the Sekirei side of the crossover. I'd like to take a moment to address this, even if I have my doubts those people would be reading five chapters in.

Harry has had one fight with a wizard, and it (mostly) occurred off screen. That wizard was a complete unknown, and Harry wasn't doing too well, before he somehow won.

Consider this; The wizard being unknown, and the fight taking place off screen, mean there is no way to know what Harry's level of skill is, only that he can 'lose' to 'ordinary' wizards. A single loss can be chalked up to dozens of things; it doesn't say much about the characters involved.

Well, that was my intention, anyway. Not sure how well I portrayed it. Also, I don't like writing fight scenes. I'm rarely happy with what I produce whenever I try it. So that may have been part.

Secondly; don't underestimate what even a 'weak bitch wizard' could potentially do. As one reviewer has said, one Fiendfire and its bye-bye MBI tower. And even Draco's minions can cast that.

Also; anyone who's read any of my stories before should know this one, but I'm not writing wizards as a bunch of inbred morons that get ridiculed by everyone and everything. Seriously, if you want that, there are a bunch of stories even in this crossover section that you'd probably enjoy more.

So, any reviews in the vein of, quote, "weak-ass, lame and pathetic magical UK" will henceforth be disregarded. There is not a single reference in canon to the UK being worse than any other country that I can recall. So far as I know, that is a fanon. Nothing wrong with it, even as much as it has come to irritate me, until people start telling me that 'that is how it is' when commenting on my story. Note; I'm specifically talking about a comparison. How good the UK magical world is, is irrelevant here. But, I'll leave that there.

As for the few people who complained about Voldemort not being a pathetic piece of crap, people holding an idiot ball is prevalent in every franchise. Probably. When a villain failing comes down to "Hero Luck" and "Deus Ex Machina", you really can't say they were that pathetic. That aside, since those people typically complain that Harry isn't a God in mortal form, I can't see why making drastic alterations to Harry is apparently fine, but a change to Voldie is unacceptable.

I'll tell you this one for free, this main villain is more Tom Riddle than Lord Voldemort. Hopefully.

Harry gently lowed Yashima into the bed, frowning. Whether due to the things she'd accepted during her time with her previous ashikabi, or due to the mental shock at changing her bond to him, she seemed to view herself as being somehow 'dirty', that being with him the way she had was somehow dirtying him.

Added on to that her apparent belief that enjoying those sort of activities was somehow wrong, and her near desperation to hide her reaction to his actions, well, he could guess, but maybe he should watch her videos, just to get an idea of how to help her with her issues. He rubbed at his face in irritation, he really had no idea how to deal with that sort of thing, and where on earth did the powers that be think that tossing her his way would be in any way a good idea, he could barely keep himself together! He supposed he should just try and accept her, encourage her… beyond that? Who knew.

Other than that… Sekriei adapted to their Ashikabi… what, exactly, did that mean, besides the obvious? He idly stroked the hair out of her eyes as she slept peacefully, the reason she normally wore a headband clear. He grimaced as a thought occurred to him. He'd really need to ask someone at MBI if Sekirei could get pregnant. That was a hassle he really didn't need. He had stopped himself from casting a contraception charm. No idea how it would react to a sekirei's physiology.

He straightened up with a sigh. He should get some sleep of his own. This was another complication, but, well, he should focus on what he was doing. His eyes flicked over to Kuno, then Akitsu. The former reminded him somewhat of Neville; what with the low self-esteem, and such. Like his friend, there had to be some way to bring out her potential. Given he was planning on keeping them around for a while, well, it would be a load off his mind if they could take care of themselves.

That led him to the other body on the bed. He had to get a grasp of what she was capable of; the only thing he knew of Sekirei was that fearsome sword wielder, the one Akitsu called the Black Sekirei, those lightning twins, though he only had a vague idea as to their capability, and that other girl, the one in white, or rather, the durability she showed.

Find some abandoned place, or something. Probably best when no one was around. Late night or very early morning. He checked his watch. He had time for two or three hours sleep, if he wanted to do it this morning. He'd operated on less. He nodded to himself, that was the first step.

Other than that… well, he had some thoughts about increasing his own combat power. He hadn't been able to act on them until now, and honestly, it had a chance of heavily damaging his hand beyond his ability to repair, but… he had seen it, at some of the places he'd been. A mark, left by Voldemort when he'd travelled the world. Not everywhere he'd been, thanks to some miracle, but enough that he wasn't sure the tricks he'd picked up would be enough. It was… it had to be worth the risk.

He shook his head furiously. No time to think about this, nor did he have time to let thoughts plague him from getting what little sleep he could. He cast an alarm charm, before turning his wand on himself. It was a poor substitute, but he should try and get some rest. With a focused thought, a jet of crimson light led him to oblivion's embrace.

A familiar landscape. He'd know it anywhere, even after all this time. The edge of the forbidden forest at Hogwarts. Even now, it felt like home.

He looked ahead, it was all he could do.

There were figures in the clearing he was positioned before. The intimidating visage of the Dark Lord, Voldemort. The faceless ranks of his Death Eaters, a threat that could be anyone, anywhere.

And a final figure, that of his own, the seventeen year old Harry Potter whom bore a near identical appearance to his own standing among them. Words were exchanged, words he couldn't hear. He didn't need to hear them, he knew how this played out, he'd seen it countless times before.

There was a green flash as Voldemort raised his wand, and the figure of Harry Potter fell, lifeless, to the ground.

From his position, across from it, he was filled with a sense of rightness, that this was how it should be.

Had he eyes, he would have closed them. "Tch." He grunted, sick of the familiar dream, and the sensation of rightness. He focused on his occlumency exercises, and forced the dream to dissipate.

The area was shrouded in darkness.

"Where are you?" came a feminine voice.

He glanced down, he was veiled with darkness, matching the area around him, a perfect camouflage.

"My Ashikabi-sama, where are you?" the voice repeated.

He glanced over towards it, the familiar form of the unlucky sekirei he'd met a few times greeting him.

"Where are you?" she repeated desperately, running around like a puppy.

This was a dream. That was clear to him. He had experience with visions, and repelling influences from his sleeping mind. It was odd that it happened again, so soon after the last vision. But; getting into his head, that was some mental power. Some kind of sekirei ability? God knew he had had trouble with other races mental abilities before, he could adapt.

He closed his eyes, willing the dream to end.

His eyes snapped open in response to his alarm charm. A quick tempus charm told him it was the right time, not another thing like what had happened to that Sekirei. That dream, it was somewhat concerning. He could actively try and prevent such visions, he supposed.

He snarled as he considered the first dream. It had haunted him for a while. He had his thoughts, as to what it meant, but it wasn't anything good. No use dwelling on it. He had things to do.

He groaned as he got to his feet. He was used to it, but, looking at the Sekirei, part of him longed to actually sleep in a proper bed for once in God knew how long.

He walked over to the bed, slowly reaching forward and shaking Kuno, "Hey, wake up." He murmured.

The girl groaned, slowly sitting up, stretching her arms, "W-what time is it?" she asked groggily.

"Early." Harry replied, "Now get dressed."

Kuno looked down through lidded eyes, before looking back at him. She repeated this several times, her eyes widening, "Kyaah!" she shrieked, her arms coming across to cover her chest, "D-don't look!"

Harry staggered back, hands covering his ears from the enhanced scream. "great, please tell me I put up silencing charms around the room."

He looked over to the other Sekirei, whom had woken up from the noise.

"Get dressed!" he told them, barely hearing himself over the sound of the ringing in his ears.

"I-I'm sorry!" he thought he heard Kuno yell, her head bowed.

"Don't worry about it!" he shouted back. He winced again as the ringing sound assaulting his senses hadn't let up. Wait a minute, he had something for this, some charm that should fix things. He cast his mind about for a moment, before recalling the spell. Drawing his wand, he cast it, sighing in relief as the world became peaceful again. Glancing over at the other two Sekirei, he cast it at them too.

"Th-thank you, Harry-sama." Yashima whispered, unable to meet his eyes. He grimaced, seriously, he had no idea how to deal with her issues.

"Ah, yeah, thank you, Harry-sama." Akitsu echoed.

"Don't worry about it." He muttered, hoping they wouldn't be asked to leave. He had better things to be doing than trying to track down everyone who would be in need of confounding.

"S-sorry." Kuno mumbled again.

"I said not to worry about it didn't I?" Harry snapped, causing Kuno to pull back. He sighed again, feeling like he'd kicked a puppy, "Sorry. It's early, I'm cranky, but I shouldn't have snapped at you." He rubbed her head gently, bringing a smile to her face. Honestly, he was starting to understand just how… young, the Sekirei seemed to be.

"Now, everyone get dressed." He told them, clapping his hands for emphasis.

He considered places to go as they got dressed, Kuno in her familiar blue blouse and skirt, Yashima in her dress, and Akitsu in whatever the hell her clothes were meant to be. Honestly, why did Sekirei seem to have just multiples of one outfit?

He shook his head, a meaningless thought. Now, somewhere discrete, perhaps a park or construction site? He could… probably repair any damage they cause. He nodded to himself, he thought he had a good place in mind.

Looking around, he saw that they were dressed. He momentarily cursed that he could only side along apparate one person, before slapping his head gently. "Akitsu," he called out.

The girl looked up at him, "What is it, Master?"

He reached out, grabbing hold of her arm. "We're going ahead; I'll be back for you two in a moment." He told the other Sekirei in the room.

Yashima looked down, "U-understood, Harry-sama."

Kuno was a bit more upbeat, "T-take care, Harry-san!"

He shook his head in amusement, such simple words, but…

He and Akitsu disappeared with a crack.

Harry clapped his hands to draw the girls' attention to him as they marvelled about the awesomeness (if unpleasantness) that is apparition.

"Alright, I've put up a spell that should keep the mug- non-magical's away. Hopefully there aren't any other wizards here, and it won't keep away Sekirei either, but I can't really do much about that." He'd also put up a charm to stop sound escaping, so they were pretty discreet right now.

"U-um, Harry-san?" Kuno asked hesitantly.

"what is it Kuno?" he replied.

She shivered happily, with a soft smile on her face, that, for the life of him, he couldn't quite grasp. "Y-you don't want to meet other wizards?"

Harry hesitated, a grimace forming on his features. He… he had to tell them, at some point, but… well, he didn't really want too. "That's, well, ask me again later. I'll tell you about it."

Kuno looked down, "O-okay."

"It's not something I find, shall we say, pleasant, to talk about." He amended, "but, I suppose it is something you have a right to know.

"Anyway! The reason we're here, is so I can get an understanding of your power." His lips twitched in amusement, "We already had a demonstration of Kuno's" the girl stiffened in embarrassment, "but I want to see both of yours, Akitsu, Yashima."

"Understood." Akitsu responded coolly, turning to face away from him. She raised her arms slightly, and, without any other warning, spikes of ice seemed to thrust out of the ground, in a line leading away from her.

Harry whistled, that was pretty impressive, walking over, he pressed his finger against the tip, pulling back at the piercing pain, revealing a drop of blood emerging from the tip of his finger. Pretty sharp too. Turning to face Akitsu, whose face was still as impassive, he asked, "Anything else?"

She closed her eyes. Then, crystals of ice appeared in the air beside her. As she opened her eyes, a crystal shifted into a much more spear like shape, and rocketed forward towards a nearby tree, slamming into it with a thud.

Harry nodded appreciatively. That was fast. If he wasn't focused, he doubted he'd have been able to stop it. That said, if he had been fighting her, he was confident he'd have been able to either dodge or block it with a shield charm. To put it bluntly, making the ice sprout from the ground like daisies was more dangerous.

Harry nodded, "Alright." He waved his wand, altering the humidity of the air around them. "Can you try now?" he asked.

Akitsu made no verbal response, instead repeating her earlier gesture, propelling another shard of ice at a nearby tree.

"Was that any harder than before?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It was, just as easy." She replied.

Harry considered it for a moment. It seemed her ability was unrelated to the availability of moisture. Well, figuring out the underlying mechanic probably wasn't worth the effort. He was no theorist, he should probably just settle for figuring out what they were capable of, and go from there.

He nodded again, "Okay, Yashima, you're up."

The girl stepped up as Akitsu fell back. She hefted her hammer, closing her eyes, probably some kind of concentration improvement.

"Haah!" she yelled, bringing her hammer down.

Harry's eyes widened as the ground shook, a crater proof of her destructive power.

"I-I change gravity. The hammer feels lighter, almost weightless," she explained, "b-but, it doesn't change the power the hammer hits with. T-the scientists said it had something to do with the difference between w-weight and mass."

Harry considered, well, he didn't know enough about science to comment on that, but saying 'because magic' was probably enough.

"Is it just your hammer? Or can you do it with yourself?"

Yashima squirmed, "I-I don't know." She whispered.

Harry sighed, reaching toward her head, ruffling her head. "Hey, they're your powers, you can figure them out at your leisure." He saw her smile beneath his hand.

"Anyway, let's try that norito thing Takami mentioned."

He noticed Akitsu avert her eyes as Yashima squirmed, "O-okay!"

The girl raised her face, opening her mouth presenting her tongue. Harry just stared at her, before sighing. Yet another reason to curse that guy.

Perhaps thinking he was unsure how to proceed, Yashima reached forward, grasping his hand, bringing it to her face, inserting his fingers into her mouth as she worked on them, a lascivious look on her face. Harry just stared, partly in shock, as her face got more and more salacious as she continued.

He pulled his hand back, cupping it under her chin. "H-Harry-sama…" She shivered at the feel of his prosthetic. He leaned down, catching her lips with his own. Yashima's eyes closed, moaning gently into his mouth.

He was surprised at the way she submissively encouraged him to dominate her mouth with his tongue, though he really shouldn't have been. He watched as her cheeks flushed from the way he was claiming her, her azure wings spreading from her back.

After a long moment, he pulled away from her, amused at the way she leaned after him, trying to prolong the kiss.

He smiled at her as reason returned to her eyes, blinking rapidly as she pulled back, face turning down in embarrassment.

"S-sorry." She mumbled.

Harry shook his head, still smiling, "Don't worry about it. Now, why don't you show me what you can do?"

She mumbled acquiescence. She closed her eyes as she tightened her grip on her hammer. "The hammer of my pledge! Shatter the enemy of my ashikabi!"

A glow surrounded her, and she leapt into the air. Harry watched as she reached the peak of her leap, and rapidly accelerated back to the ground. As she approached the ground, she began to sing her hammer, "Gravity Hammer!" she yelled, slamming the hammer into the ground.

Harry had begun to wonder whether being found by that Minaka caused them to yell out attack names, or whether it was an incantation. Unfortunately, the shaking ground from the impact swept his feet from under him, falling to his hands and knees from the shaking.

After what seemed like a much longer time that it was, Harry managed to get to his feet. His eyes widened at the sheer size of the crater that had appeared in what was formerly a pristine park. That… would be a challenge to fix. His eyes darted around, he, wasn't sure that his precautions would have stopped that form getting out. Hopefully MBI would handle it.

"H-how was that, Harry-sama?" Yashima asked nervously.

Harry rubbed at his ears, just about able to hear her. "That, was certainly, unexpected."

Yashima bit at her lip anxiously.

"Good though, more than I was expecting." He admitted.

Yashima broke into a relieved grin, "I'm glad."

Harry's lips quirked into a wry grin. "Alright, lastly, Kuno."

The girl pulled into herself, "D-don't expect too much." She muttered.

Walking over to the crater, she took a deep breath, before letting out the same ear-piercing shriek as before. Harry winced, and he saw both Yashima and Akitsu do the same, albeit with different intensities. After a moment the sound ceased, and Kuno looked over at him, tears in her eyes.

He walked over, "Let's, let's try your Norito." Harry said, inwardly shuddering at how god-awful that would probably sound.

She looked away, "If, if that's what you want." She whispered.

Harry took hold of her chin, her eyes closing as he leaned inward toward her, pressing his lips to hers, her wings appearing behind her. As he pulled back, she whimpered, reluctant to let go of his warmth.

"Show me what you can do Kuno."

"O-okay." She nodded. She took a step back, coming dangerously close to the edge of the crater. "This is the song of my vow… please light the path for my ashikabi!"

With the incantation stated, she began to sing.

Harry closed his eyes, it was… gentle. Relaxing, warm. He felt all the strength, all the tension, the worry, the anger, he felt all of it slipping away. His head suddenly cleared, shaking it furiously, some sort of mental compulsion cast through song? Opening his eyes, he watched Kuno sing, her arms bruohgt to her chest, a small smile on her face.

It was a bit of effort, but he could shrug off the compulsion. He glanced over at the other sekirei, both sleeping on the floor where they had been standing.

Kuno… she really had a wonderful voice. Even without the compulsion. He closed his eyes, enjoying the song. He couldn't make out the words, but, it filled him with… peace. Something he was unsure he'd ever truly felt.

He shook his head, smiling softly, it really was dangerous. He continued watching the girl as she sang. It really was relaxing.

The song ended and she continued standing there. "Kuno?" he asked.

She turned to him smiling. Then she coughed up blood, falling backwards. His eyes widening, he lunged for her, following her into the crater, "Kuno!" he shouted.

He followed her over the edge, sliding down the edge of the crater after her. Reaching her comatose form, he drew his wand, waving it over her, some diagnostic charms flooding his head with information.

Her body couldn't cope with the strain of using her power. The more delicate parts, the organs, took the brunt of the damage. As it was, it wasn't life threatening, so using potions he had limited amounts of would be a waste. Some rest, and she should make a recovery. The few healing spells he knew weren't suited to this kind of thing.

In order for her to use her power, her body would have to be enhanced. To do that, there were two options he could see; using some of the leftover potions he'd obtained for his own use, which might have an unknown effect given her non-human physiology. Second, take her to MBI. Given they'd tinkered with her body in the first place, it might be best to wait to get her files before doing anything.

Satisfied she was in no immediate danger, he pulled her up over his shoulders, he cast the flight spell he'd copied from Voldemort, rising swiftly into the air, barely managing to stop himself near the edge of the crater.

He frowned, the spell had never been that responsive before. Outside of special circumstances; his patronus sprang to mind, proficiency with spells didn't tend to just jump in such a manner. He didn't have time to ponder the phenomena though.

"Harry-sama!" Yashima shouted, running over to him worriedly. He saw Aktisu slowly following behind her. "Is she…?"

"She's fine." Harry reassured, lowering himself to the ground gently "she just needs some rest."

Yashima's face broke into a relieved smile, "Thank the Gods." She whispered.

"What, happened?" Akitsu voiced. Harry had to admit surprise, she didn't seem to be the inquisitive type.

"Her body can't handle the strain of her Norito." He explained, "If she gets some rest, she ought to be fine. You Sekirei seem to have fairly robust bodies."

"H-Harry-san?" a weak voice murmured from behind him, "W-was I good?"

"Yeah. You were brilliant." He replied, "Just rest for now. You'll be fine."

"O-okay." She whispered, relaxing across his shoulders.

He sighed as he closed his eyes in thought. "Alright, I don't want to apparate if she's not in the best condition, so, let me fix this place up and then we can go get breakfast." He decided, drawing his wand again.

They certainly made an odd image as they walked the streets one guy, followed by two women with a third being carried across his shoulders, thankfully the muggle repelling charms stopped anyone from paying them undue attention.

"So, anyone have a particular place they want to eat?" Harry asked.

"Um, th-there is a place near here I used to go." Yashima said meekly.

Harry glanced over at her, nervously looking at her feet. "You sure you want to go there?"

"Ye-it's fine."

He stared at her for a moment, before shrugging, "Lead on then."

He waited for her to pull ahead of him, and followed her towards whatever place she was going.

"I-It's just up here." Yashima called back, turning to face him, and inadvertently walking straight into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the woman snapped.

"Ah!" Kuno exclaimed from his shoulders.

At the same time, Yashima also pulled back, gripping her hammer, "I-I remember you!" she muttered darkly, "I won't lose now!"

An almost identical woman appeared from behind her, "Look, we don't want to fight, we're just trying to work."

"A-after you chased me all around the city?" Yashima snapped.

The calmer woman sighed, "We don't fight emerged ones, we just want to stop sekirei from emerging, with this game, it's just going to be painful for all involved."

Yashima staggered back, looking away. "I-I don't accept that!" she said weakly.

The woman she bumped into snorted, "Whatever. Look, you found your ashikabi, so we no longer have a reason to fight. Just, go away somewhere."

Harry took this opportunity to step in, "Hey there."

"You these girls ashikabi?" she asked, eyeing his group, "call them off will you?"

Harry glanced at them, "I get the feeling you caused them some trouble. Well, I'd prefer to avoid unnecessary fighting." He said firmly, placing a hand on Yashima's arm reassuringly, even as she flinched at his words. "That said, I've not met an Ashikabi and had a chance to speak with him." He drew his wand, using Yashima as a cover, poking the tip through the gap between her arm and body, for now, casting a fairly weak compulsion charm, "Could you give me yours's phone number?"

The two twins glanced at each other for a moment, "I don't see why you'd want to talk to that bum, but I guess." She proceeded to give him some kind of business card. Harry glanced at it, something along the lines of 'handles any problems and troubles'. He supressed a snort, he doubted whoever it was could even put a dent in his troubles.

"Thanks." He said nicely, "we'll be going on in."

The two of them bowed, "Have a good time." They intoned, clearly something they were employed to say.

They made their way to a free corner, Harry gently setting Kuno down in the seat before joining at her side. Aktisu and Yashima sat opposite them. He idly let his view wander to the latter's hammer. What an eye catching weapon. Really, it didn't suit his wanting to keep a low profile at all. Would it be worth shrinking it, or would that cause trouble if he needed to restore its size in a hurry?

He glanced sideways towards Kuno. Her Norito. He glanced back to Yashima. He didn't have much to go on, just Yashima's, but her Norito just seemed like an amplification of her base power. Kuno's on the other hand, it didn't amplify sound, but rather, caused her voice to have some kind of mental compulsion ability.

It wasn't something he couldn't overcome, but it was definitely more than he had anticipated. Was there more to her ability than Kuno was aware of?

He drummed his fingers on the table; either way, until Kuno recovered some more and Takami sent over her data, there was little point thinking about it.

The four of them ordered some food, though he didn't really know what he was ordering. He turned his mind to his sudden improvement in flight capability.

The last time he used it was the night he invaded MBI, after he formed a bond to Kuno, and found Akitsu. What had changed since then? The only thing of note was his stealing of Yashima. He glanced over at her; her power seemed to be some kind of gravity manipulation. It wouldn't be strange if gravity influenced the ability to fly. He didn't fully understand the spell, so it might have been what was missing.

He brought his hand up to rub at his chin. Causing an emergence in a sekirei established some kind of bond. It was a fact that it brought about various changes in the sekrei themselves. Bonds were established between people, if it influenced one end, it wouldn't be strange if they influenced the other as well.

"U-um, Harry-sama?" came Yashima's nervous voice.

He blinked, looking up, "huh?"

"Y-you just had an intense look on your face." She murmured weakly.

Harry forced himself to smile, "Sorry, just had a lot to think about." He focused on the girl in front of him, "How are you holding up Yashima?"

"Huh?"

He glanced around, "Well, switching ashikabi is a pretty big change, I guess, and, since you brought us here, means you were taken here before. I thought you might have some bad memories.

"I-" Yashima looked down, "It… it's confusing. I, I still, about him," she shook her head, "I'm… happier, now, I think." She mumbled.

Harry reached out, laying a hand on her head reassuringly. She looked up at him, a bashful smile on her face, "by the end, he'd never make me feel this… warm." She whispered.

He honestly couldn't think of anything to say to that, so, seeing the food arriving, he let his hand fall back to his side.

"Ittadakimasu." Harry blinked at the unfamiliar word, repeated by all three sekirei. He shrugged it off, it probably wasn't important.

"H-Harry-san?" came Kuno's meek voice.

"Hm?"

"You said to ask you again later, so, um, can you tell us about other wizards now?" she murmured.

Harry sighed, letting his prosthetic rest on the table, drumming his fingers against it.

"Yeah. Suppose I should, shouldn't I" He responded, thinking about what, exactly, he should tell them.

"Alright." He decided after a moment. He subtly drew his wand, flicking it to cast a privacy charm.

"First things first, wizards and witches are people, good, bad, and every stop in-between." He explained, "unlike ordinary people, it's much easier for a skilled wizard to make an impact."

He glanced at their faces, Kuno and Yashima looking at him with rapt attention, Akitsu looking as neutral as ever.

"There was a bad wizard, pretty much unstoppable. And, well, due to circumstances, the world expected me to beat him, but… well," Harry shrugged, idly lifting a finger to trace the famous scar on his forehead, "he's better than I am. I… left, to find a way to beat him." It wasn't exactly how it played out, there was a lot more whiskey in those early days, for one thing, but it was a pretty accurate description of his current agenda.

"The world… the world disagrees with me. The magical governments probably fall in to one of two camps, those who want my head to appease the bad guy, and those who think throwing me at him will cause things to sort themselves out. Either way, I'd rather not get involved with them."

"T-then, can't you explain that to people?" Kuno suggested.

Harry smiled wryly, "Heh, I doubt it." He'd never had the best of luck when it came to swaying public opinion, even in the best of times. "Wizards I meet can generally be sorted into four types." He explained, raising a hand to count them off, "People who work for the Dark Lord, people who work for the governments, freelancers; either mercenaries, bounty hunters, or people looking to make a name for themselves, and people who meet me and fancy their chances at taking me down, but wouldn't go out of their way to come after me."

He leaned back, picking up his spoon to toy with his food, "a lot of them are, shall we say, unconcerned with collateral damage." He smirked in self-derision, "Naturally, I get the blame for all of that. My public image is probably almost as bad as That Guy's at this point."

"That guy?" Yashima asked.

Harry shook his head. "The Dark Lord's."

They fell into silence. There were probably more questions they wanted to ask, but, either from sensing his mood, or some other reason, they left them unasked. He was grateful, he didn't really care to talk about it.

"A-and what about that scar?" Kuno asked.

"Hm?"

"The, the scar on your head," she said, "you rubbed it while you were talking, so, I thought…" she trailed off. She really needed some more confidence. He didn't really know what to do about that though.

"The Dark Lord gave it to me." He confessed, "It's, some kind of… connection. A symbol." He snorted, "Even now, people that see it recognise me instantly. It's a real pain." Especially since the damn thing somehow eroded at glamours trying to hide it.

"Couldn't you wear a headband?" Yashima suggested.

Harry opened his mouth to refute her idea, before pausing, unable to think of a reason. Why didn't he wear a headband? It wasn't that uncommon, and it would hide it perfectly.

"I… literally can't believe I never thought of that." Harry confessed. He sat, contemplating how he'd overlooked something so simple.

After a few moments, Yashima interrupted again, "u,um, Harry-sama?"

"Hmm?"

"C-can I," she fumbled "Can I f-feed you?"

"Huh?" Harry said dumbly.

Yashima blushed, "w-well, I mean, like, 'say ahh'."

Harry stared at her nonplussed. "Huh?" he repeated.

"M-me too!" Kuno insisted suddenly.

"Ah," Akitsu started, causing Harry to look over at her.

"You too?"

"…yes."

Harry sighed, rubbing at his head, "Whatever. If it'll make you happy, then sure. Knock yourselves out."

"Thank you!" Yashima said happily, reaching over for his plate, "Say 'ahh.'"

After they'd finished the meal, they'd left the building. There'd been a large number of older persons pointing and chuckling behind their hands, but, given the ecstatic look on Yashima's face, and the smiles adorning the other two, admittedly a faint smile on Akitsu's, he couldn't really bring himself to care overly much.

After all, it was hardly the worst attention he'd received over the years, and those pointing and stares usually didn't have people he was forced to admit he at least somewhat cared for being happy as the cause.

Well, either way, he was happy to be away from it, even after all this time he was still somewhat uncomfortable with it, though this was unlikely to lead to a fight for his life, so, brightside.

Glancing once again at the Sekirei, he considered the situation. With regards to the Sekirei, MBI, the vague 'reward' for this silly scheme the muggles had cooked up. He didn't have enough information, but… he could try breaking in again, he was fairly confidant in his ability to do so, but it might harm his relationship with the organisation.

True, the relation wasn't that good, but they were definitely interested in him after both Yashima and his break in. There would probably be some way to turn that to his advantage. If he could only think of it. He grimaced, not for the first time, he wished Ron and Hermione were with him. They were always better together, the three of them pushing each other. One of them would figure out how to make the situation advantageous. He laughed softly, mirthlessly, and here he was trying to avoid pointless thoughts.

They'd left. A long time ago. If they hadn't… well, things would certainly have been different. He doubted he'd be here, for one.

He was pulled from his musings by something bumping into him. His body moved reflexively, cathing the person before they fell to the ground.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He apologised.

"No, I was looking at something else." The girl replied. He took a moment to examine her, average height, black hair. Seemed like a perfectly ordinary teenage girl.

He released his hold on her, taking a step back, "Well then, if you'll excuse me." He mumbled, moving around her.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." The girl said.

Just as he was putting the girl from his mind, she spoke again.

"Wh-whoa," she breathed, "They can't be real!"

Mildly curious, he turned to look, seeing her staring at Akitsu… or rather, Akitsu's exposed cleavage.

He stared, amused as she mumbled to herself.

He had to admit, the next bit caught him by surprise.

The girl had the guts to reach out to a total stranger and seize hold of her breasts.

Harry was sufficiently taken aback that he didn't respond, at least for a few seconds. Aktisu's face remained completely impassive, but Harry had a vague feeling that it annoyed her.

He stepped toward the girl, raising his hand, bringing his hand down on the girl's head, "Oy."

"Ow." The girl complained, moving her hands to her head where he had chopped her. "Hey, what's the big… idea?" she trailed off, staring at the fake hand, still hovering in the air where it had impacted her.

"That's… so cool." She breathed. A moment later, she blinked, "Ah! Sorry, that was insensitive of me." She said, bowing her head.

Harry snorted, "don't worry, I'm pretty thick-skinned." He held it up, looking at it. "And, well, it is pretty cool." And it was certainly useful. He couldn't regrow an arm, since it was lopped off with Dark Magic, and he wasn't sure he would if he could.

"Ahaha," the girl laughed nervously, before straightening, remembering something, "What's the idea with hitting me, huh?" she demanded.

Harry quirked an eyebrow, "You mean, when you were molesting Akitsu?" he replied, nodding his head toward the girl.

The girl made a 'geh' sound, "W-well, we're both girls, so it's fine, right? Right?"

Harry stared at her, the intensity of his gaze causing her to sweat nervously.

He flicked his eyes to Akitsu, "Did you mind?"

Akitsu held his gaze, before looking to the side, "I don't care." She murmured, "But, if it were you…" she trailed off, her cheeks reddening.

"Th-there!" the girl exclaimed, "She doesn't mind!" she nodded vigorously to herself.

Harry sighed, "It's up to Akitsu, I suppose. But really, there's a time and place for things, you know."

The girl looked away.

Harry glanced to the other Sekirei, Kuno was holding her arms across her chest, whereas Yashima was standing normally, staring at the ground. He figured Yashima was, at least somewhat, used to that kind of thing.

It kind of pissed him off.

His lips twitched as an idea struck him. His hand shot out, grasping at the modest chest of the girl.

Predictably, she yelped, jumping back, "W-what the hell!" she yelled, crossing her arms across her chest.

Harry winked at her, raising his hand, vibrating with a soft sound. "Not nice? Try and learn from this, alright?"

She looked away again, red faced, "I-I'm sorry. Just, I couldn't believe how big they are," she looked again at Akitsu, "I mean, it's ridiculous." She said sullenly.

Harry inwardly agreed, but it would be insensitive to voice that in front of Akitsu.

"Heh, come on, let's go. See ya 'round kid."

He grimaced at what she muttered as he left, Sekirei in tow, "Kid? He doesn't look much older than me."

He'd sent the Sekirei off so he could get back to looking around. They'd met up again for lunch before he'd gone off again. He'd probably done just enough on that front for now. Next, he'd just have to memorise routes to them. He couldn't bank on whoever he ran into being able to track apparition, so he'd have to know the closest one at any place in the city, and the best way to get to them. Streets that weren't too crowded, nor too deserted, allowing people to follow, and not risk open confrontation.

He smiled to himself, he'd not done something like this since he'd been trying to track down a 'lost city' somewhere in South America. He sighed at the memory. Inferi. An entire city of them. Well, he'd picked up a thing or two that might come in handy. He'd long since lost his squeamishness with blood.

Of course, he'd have to be in pretty dire straits to use an irreplaceable artefact. He shook his head, he was done here, he should get back. He idly considered apparating, before dismissing it. There was no real rush, and no real reason to stay off the streets. He'd just walk it. It'd be good to have some time to consider the Sekirei, and any possible effect they were having on him.

He stopped in his tracks. He felt a shiver down his spine. Something was wrong. He glanced around, narrowing his eyes. The people… there were none. It was relatively late, so it wasn't too surprising, but it was suspicious, as was this feeling he was having.

He mentally activated his eye, allowing it to swivel. He frowned in thought. There was something, at the edge of his thoughts. His eyes widened, his wand appearing in his hand and slashing out.

The air appeared to shift around him, his eyes darting around, searching for what he knew must be nearby. He idly tapped his wand against his thigh, putting some charms on his clothes. He really hoped he was wrong.

There!

His wand slashed out, "sectumsempra!" he spat.

A nearby lamppost fell with a screech, crashing into the ground.

A figure dropped from the sky, gracefully landing atop the broken post, gently brushing the hair away from its face.

He focused on it, the face, it seemed kind of familiar. His eyes met hers, bold, dark, crimson.

An image, the vampire's face pulling away from his neck, dripping crimson.

He stumbled back a step, hand coming to his face. Shit, the vampire was already in his head. He focused on his occlumency exercises, he needed to keep his attention here. More importantly;

"Didn't I kill you?" he demanded.

The vampire laughed, a dark look upon her aristocratic features. "Moi? One such as Moi would not be killed by thee." Her eyes narrowed, "'Tis funny though, in my centuries, I hath killed scores of thine kind, and I could swear, that I had killed thee."

He let his eyes roam the vampire, a rather tight black leather outfit. He grimaced, couldn't get more stereotypical, outside of gothic Lolita, but in that, she was unlikely to have any concealed weapons. His eyes fell to her hands, not that she would need any to eviscerate someone.

He forced himself to relax. The moment he made a move, the vampire would attack. That said, he had to make a move. If he waited too long, the vampire would start it, and he couldn't afford to give up the initiative, especially given the vampire would perhaps have made correct assumptions about certain things.

If those assumptions even approached the truth, the vampire's survival was not an option even worth considering. It left a foul aftertaste, but it couldn't be helped.

He took a deep breath, had to focus, he couldn't afford a screw up. Now; the opponent was a vampire. Expect immense physical prowess, depending on its age, there were a ton of potential abilities it could have developed. It's reference to centuries was kind of foreboding on that front.

So; expect at least some magic resistance. Curses might be ineffective. He glanced around, best to use terrain manipulation. He wasn't great at that on the fly, transfiguration? Touch and go. Might be fine. Anti-vampire spells? It would take a moment to focus the spells, he'd need a distraction.

Fire? Fire worked on most things. Had to be careful about collateral. MBI might cover it up, but it might draw unwanted attention. He grimaced, what a pain in his arse.

He saw the vampire tense its legs. Time to go.

He started off by throwing something flashy; literally a flash, to hopefully make his opponent flinch, missing his next move. A spell that summoned a hail of arrows. One of the few spells he learnt courtesy of Ron and his endless quidditch talk.

He gaped a moment at the response; the vampire's body turned to mist, the arrows passing through.

He rallied himself, that was highly unfortunate. No time to dwell. He mentally locked Moody's eye onto the vampire, one of the many useful abilities it possessed, so long as it kept working.

The vampire had returned to physical form, and had begun rapidly closing the distance between them.

New plan, he conjured a chain, flinging it at the vampire. He followed it up with a wide banisher; that would stop its advance if it misted again.

It jumped over the chain, the banisher still managing to push it back, causing it to stumble the landing.

He focused, had to keep a tight rein on this, he slashed his wand, a whip of fire lashing out. It scorched the road as the vampire seemed to vanish.

His eye kept on target, tracking the vampire into the air, as it launched itself off the lamppost.

Quickly assessing its trajectory, he lashed out with another sectumsempra, its body misting to avoid it; a sharp hiss of pain telling that it didn't entirely work on the dark magic.

As the vampire landed, it lashed out with a hand, the surroundings being consumed by a darkness deep enough to deaden eve his artificial sight. He grimaced, a trick he was familiar with. Honestly, helping the twins get started with their shop seemed to keep coming back to bite him.

He dismissed the history from his mind. A being of darkness like the vampire would be much less hindered by it. Think, where would it attack from? He pointed his wand behind him, throwing up a shield spell, one thing he knew he was good at.

There was a crackling, hissing sound and the vampire screeched in pain, even as it's blow sent him tumbling down the street. He gasped as air was driven from his lungs; thankfully there was little pain, his protective charms tanking most of the damage.

As he finished tumbling, he pushed himself to his feet, trying to get his bearings. He took the opportunity to lock the eye back on target, stabbing his wand at her. She leapt to the side, a mighty crack accompanying a large chunk of the road being destroyed.

He was forced to switch to defence as a chunk of the asphalt came flying at his head. It bounced harmlessly off of his shield, but he was forced to turn, shielding against the next piece.

He was once again grateful, if he didn't have this fake eye, he was doubtful he'd be able to keep up with its movements.

As if a direct appeal to the higher powers that seemed to have it out for him, that thought triggered whatever glitch was present in his ocular accessory that caused it to jam in its socket.

"Shit." He cursed.

He struggled as best he could to keep up, but the vampire was too fast with things to push herself off from.

The stream of projectiles stopped. He quickly glanced around, why would she stop then… He span, raising his wand as he looked up, seeing the vampire lunging toward him from above. He quashed the momentary panic, sending a stream of flames from his wand, what he fondly named the flamethrower charm.

It wasn't enough. Heavily burned arms shot through the flames, grabbing the wrist holding the wand and wrenching it to the side, as another arm shot forth and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

With the flames gone, he could see the heavily burned face of the vampire, a hideous mess, even as is slowly began to heal before his eye.

She began cackling, "Finally, finally Moi shall kill you!"

Harry merely grunted, unable to speak with the grip around his throat. He glanced to the hand still being gripped. This had to work.

"Thou shot a hole through my chest, burnt down my home, and killed all my pretties, now, Moi'll finally make you pay!"

He grimaced, partly at the unbidden memories of her thralls whom had picked him up during a period of inebriation and self-pity at some bar, and had led him back to their home, and partly at how he'd been forced to cut them down as they scratched and clawed at him, insane with fury after he'd thought he'd killed their mistress. It seemed what they said about vampires attachment to their belongings was as bad as it was claimed. She'd followed him across half the globe to kill him, it seemed.

He released the wand from its place in his hand while the vampire rambled, and focused all his attention on it. He was rewarded by it not falling down, but rather being summoned to his free hand.

The moment it was in his hand, he swung it up, non-verbally casting sectumsempra at the vampires face.

Barely a moment had passed before he bit back a scream of pain. The vampire had released his fake hand and had grabbed the one now holding his wand. She had then snapped it. He could see the bones jutting out. That would be a mess to fix.

His eyes went to the vampires face, to the small scratch across her cheek. Had he been able to speak, he'd probably have shouted something like, 'Oh come on!'.

"To cast such a pathetic curse… It's like thou're a wet behind the ears whelp, using someone else's wand." The vampire mused.

He grimaced, he didn't like to think about the difficulties his wand gave him from time to time, he was hardly in a position to get it looked at.

"Well, Moi thinks it is time to lay this matter to rest, time for thee to die."

He swung his arm up, grabbing at the limb grasped around his neck.

For a moment, he and the vampire simply stared at it. The limb seemed to be incased in a red glow, deep, ominous looking veins appearing along it, pulsing with crimson energy. It felt like it was, for lack of a better word, feeding from the vampire.

He honestly had no idea what was happening.

The vampire's response was a lot more violent. With a shout, he was turned in place and flung through the nearest wall. He kept the presence of mind to try and summon his wand from its place on the floor, unfortunately losing his concentration as he was smashed through the building. Pain lanced through his body. It seemed his protective charms couldn't keep up with that on top of the hits he'd taken through the fight.

He tried to get to his feet, failing miserably as pain lanced through his broken arm. He tried again, somehow managing it. He glanced around. He didn't have long before, ah! There it was. He struggled forward, grabbing his wand.

"U-um, are, are you okay?" a person asked. Harry looked around, seeing the source of the voice. Youngish, (though looking older than him) black hair, scared shitless and kinda dopey looking.

"Stupefy." He muttered, rendering the young man unconscious. It was better this way.

He glared at his wand, of all the times to fail… He shook his head, no, he needed to focus. He breathed deeply. All right, plan set, now to put it into motion.

The wind seemed to blast through her hair as she leapt from the rooftops. He was in danger… her ashikabi! She wasn't sure who it was, though she had her hopes that it was someone kind, like the man that kept helping her out, but she knew he was this way, and that he was in trouble. That's why, that's why she had to get there, as fast as she could!

She was sorry about the lampposts she'd broken, using them as landing platforms… and the cars… and that one shop she'd accidentally fallen into… but it was important! There might not be anything more important than this!

She was also sorry about skipping out without paying for her meal, but it couldn't be helped. What if the time it took to pay was the difference between making it or not?

She landed on the roof, taking a few steps before pushing off with everything her les could muster. She winced as she heard the roof cracking where she'd jumped. But it was okay! MBI would definitely pay for it… maybe.

She landed in the middle of a road that had been used as a battle ground. She looked around, spotting a house with the wall broken. Had she… No! that had been broken when she'd gotten here!

The feeling was coming from there, so she jumped up to the hole in one go. Landing, she quickly scanned the room. One unconscious guy in the corner, one woman in the middle, leaning over… AH! It was him! Then… was he, was he really her Ashikabi-sama!

Her heart beat wildly, yes, it was him, it was definitely him. She was happy. She wanted to bounce right over there and embrace him. But… he looked pretty beat up. The woman had picked him up by the neck.

"Hey! Let him go!" she demanded.

The woman turned, "…And what, exactly, are you supposed to be, little girl?"

"Sekirei number Eighty-Eight!" she announced, "Musubi! And I won't let you harm him!"

The woman dropped her saviour to the floor. He wasn't moving.

"Alright, Moi does so enjoy new delicacies. Besides, a starter makes the main course sweeter."

She dropped into a fighting stance, "Here I come!"

The Sekirei was pretty good, he supposed. He wasn't such a good judge of martial prowess to say for sure. But she was outclassed, even to his, admittedly amateur eyes.

The vampire could match her power and speed, or more, and had way more experience with fighting. Added to that her ability to go intangible, he was pretty sure she was playing with the girl.

"You have talent, girl," the vampire told her, "And you are pretty enough. Yes, I think I shall make you mine."

"Musubi doesn't belong to you." The Sekirei replied, "I've finally found him though."

"You say that like you have a choice." The vampire countered, amusement in her voice. Her eyes began emitting a red glow.

Musubi's body stiffened, before relaxing.

"Very good," the vampire said hypnotically, "Now, present your neck to your master."

Musubi followed the instruction, as the vampire leaned in and bit into her neck.

Damn, Harry mused, no time to fix the arm, gotta go now.

He brought his wand up, resting it against his forehead. He took a deep breath, he couldn't afford to let his wand fail again now.

"Solaris Secare"

A bright beam of light burst form his wand, he slashed it at the vampire, who began to turn in shock, crimson dripping from her lips.

As the light went across her body, it seared from the beam, the smell of burning flesh reaching across the room, her body being cleanly cut in two. Black marks adorned the walls where the beam passed, but the girl, Musubi, behind her was unharmed, though her clothes were further damaged by his attack.

"H-how?" the vampire coughed.

He glanced to his side, where a body that looked like him lay, before it shimmered, turning into a mannequin he'd transfigured from the rubble. His spell had disrupted his disillusionment. He turned back to the vampire.

"My question, how did you survive before?"

The vampire laughed and coughed at the same time, a rasping sound. "Birth defect, my heart, it's on the other side."

"Tch." Harry raised his wand, "The lesson form this? Always double tap." Fire burst from his wand, reducing the vampire, both halves, to ash.

Job done, he turned to the Sekirei, who was wobbling on her feet. He shot forward, grimacing in pain, catching her as she fell.

"Ah, it seems, you're rescuing me, again." She whispered.

He smiled, "You helped me out, this time."

She smiled beautifully, though the crimson adorning her throat kind of spoiled it, "I'm glad, my Ashikabi-sama."

Her hands came up, barely managing to take hold of his head, gently trying to pull his face down to meet hers.

He didn't have the heart to resist, and gently pressed his own lips to hers, bright pink wings of light sprouting form her back, and eliciting a sound incredibly similar to moans he was familiar with hearing from amorous activities.

The moment was cut short due to her passing out, but it seemed he'd gotten another one. He looked around. He could try and fix this, but… he shook his head, the girl was more a priority. And fixing himself up. He looked down at his arm, wincing. Damn, it wasn't pretty. He glanced to his other arm. Well, that was just a whole new thing he had to try and figure out.

He floated the girl across his shoulders, and with one final look around, disappeared.

A man looked at his computer screen with rapt attention. The scene, one of his little birds fighting something that could match her in unarmed combat, and with powers of its own. He grinned, a cackling laugh threatening to erupt.

The questions this raised! What was that? How was the participant in his game involved? He watched as said participant bisected the unknown, and then incinerated the remains. A pity, what he could have learned from the body!

He waved his hand, replaying the video from the start of the recording.

A giggle burst from his lips, He had to know, he had to find out! He should focus on the Sekirei plan, he'd spent so long, people he cared for had put all they had in it, he couldn't stop, but… he wanted to know! It was like a whole new world opening before his eyes!

His eyes gleamed, he had to speak to him, this mysterious man who hid behind fake name after fake name, but who to send to escort him in? Who indeed. He watched the video again giddily.

After apparating them back to his hotel room, he'd done what he could, both for Musubi and himself. Musubi had seemed to be recovering fine, so he'd just fixed up the wound. Vampirism was nowhere near as contagious as muggles thought, so it was highly unlikely she'd contract it. If Sekirei even could.

Anyway, he'd been a bit more trouble. But a foul-tasting potion and a few charms, including one to hold his arm in place, and it would be fine in the morning. Just ached now.

He'd had to leave the room though. Partly to drown his troubles in alcohol, he knew of a few places, partly to get away from the sekirei.

He always hated taking lives, and when it happened, he liked to get away to a bar to throw a one man misery party, at least for a night. As for the sekirei, well, he could see clear as day that Kuno was torn between being depressed about his new acquisitions attractiveness. There was a metaphorical cloud of depression hanging over her head. Yashima was apparently worried about being replaced, not surprising since they met by switching what they'd thought was a permanent bond. As for Akitsu? He sighed, fucked if he knew what she was thinking.

He'd deal with it tomorrow. Now to wash away his troubles with streams of whiskey.

Entering the dimly lit bar, he couldn't stop himself from examining the other patrons. A bunch of muggles who looked like they'd come from some office, a few apparent regulars in the corners. One beautiful woman, who, if he wasn't mistaken, was a Sekirei.

No one of apparent note, and no one who paid much attention to him coming in. Just the way he liked it.

Walking to the bar, he moved past the Sekirei. Their eyes briefly met, before he carried on. He wasn't here for anything other than drinking.

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a small mound of cash, placing it on the bar. He pointed to a bottle he was familiar with. "The whole bottle."

The bartender's eye's stared vacantly for a moment, before he nodded, grabbing and handing over the bottle. A little charm made everything easier.

"Thanks." He responded, taking the bottle over to one of the booths. Was the money sufficient to cover the cost? No idea. But paying something made him feel happier about the whole affair.

Moments after he sat down, there was a thunk as a pair of glasses were placed in front of him.

Looking up, his eyes met those of the sekirei again. "Can I help you?" he asked cooly.

She helped herself into the seat across from him, tilting the glass towards him. "I prefer not to drink alone." She said.

He snorted, "I do." He countered.

The woman smiled, "Just pour me a drink will you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, opening the bottle, "I guess I owe you one for the glass." He began pouring. Filling her glass, he began to pour his own, only to be stopped by the woman grabbing the bottle.

"Can I help you?" he repeated.

Her expression twisted, "You're not from around here, are you? It's polite to pour your drinking partners drinks."

He rolled his eyes, but acquiesced, letting her take hold of the bottle, pouring his drink. He kept a close eye, not seeing her try and slip anything into it, nor did the glass have anything in or on it, to his very close eye.

When she was done, she put the bottle down, picking up her glass, raising it towards him. Understanding her intent, he raised his own glass, chinking it to hers, before throwing it back. He placed the glass down, relishing the burn. Moments later her glass joined his.

"Haahh," she gasped, "That's got more kick than my usual poison."

Harry sniggered, "Yeah, that's why I go for it."

He reached to pour himself another glass, interrupted by her offering her own. He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless poured for her and allowed her to pour his again.

They downed their next glasses in silence. While they were pouring the third, Harry spoke up. "So what brings you to a place like this?"

She quirked an eyebrow, "A bit personal for someone you just met?"

He snorted, "In my… experience, people only bother me when I'm drinking, if they want to talk about something they really don't want to talk about." He eyed his drinking partner, "Also, by my guess, you've been drinking a while, and the bartender's cut you off. Now you're… mooching."

She winced, "Harsh. But fair, I suppose. Fine, I'll tell you." She swooned back dramatically, "I'm drinking to forget a failed love."

Harry smirked wryly, "Failed love, huh? That, always hurts."

She leaned forward, "Oh? Some girl turned you down?"

He chuckled, "No, it wasn't like that." He paused. He glared at the beverage in his hand. He quickly became pretty chatty after consuming even a little. But… he couldn't help it. Not tonight. He threw back the glass, offering it for a refill. "You were talking about your love, if I recall."

She grinned wryly, pouring him a new glass, "Fair enough. Not much to say. I made a shot at the guy. He shot me down. Caught him later with another woman." She shrugged, "Haven't found my wings since."

Harry sighed. "Que será será. Whatever will be will be," He explained. "Can't blame him if there was someone else."

She grumbled, "I don't care for truths when I'm drinking. Your turn."

Harry leaned back. "There was a girl. Looking back, it was a crush, but at the time… well, I was sure she was the love of my life. Being with her, well, it made the world seem brighter. I… needed that. But… I had things I needed to do. They were dangerous. I couldn't let her come. I-I suppose I wanted her too, even despite that." He trailed off.

"What happened?"

He threw back another glass. Harsh words? Abandonment? There was blame all around, even if he was more inclined to lay it at his friends' feet. "Shit happened. I had to leave the country, and, well, I was in a dark place. Had to get my head sorted. I've not seen her since. Heard she's engaged to someone else now. Happy." The 'more than me' went unsaid.

"Really? That seems sudden. You can't be a day over seventeen." She pointed out, pouring another glass.

He snorted. "Yeah, seventeen. I'm seventeen alright." He'd been seventeen for far longer than he'd care to admit.

She tilted her head, "huh?" she asked, offering her glass.

He poured, "No, it's nothing. I'm… older than I look."

There was a long moment of silence. "If that happened in the past, what brings you here tonight?"

"Hm?" Harry glanced up. "What indeed." He murmured. "If it's them or me… well, I won't apologise for making sure that equation ends in my favour. But… well, I usually drink to forget the fresh blood on my hands. But then, I suppose you'd know about that, being part of the battle royal in the city."

She stiffened, "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes, pouring her a new glass. "You're a Sekirei, right?"

She sighed, "Yeah. Got me there."

She leaned forward, "So, do you want to make me yours?" Their eyes met, before Harry closed his, leaning back.

"Not really. Just drinking."

She laughed softly, "I'll drink to that." She raised her glass, "Sekirei number zero-three. Kazehana."

He paused. He probably shouldn't, but… "Harry Potter." He introduced himself, chinking his glass to hers. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

They had a few more glasses, the coversation lulling about inconsequentially, before their conversation was interrupted as the door opened. He stiffened, glancing over at the arrival of another sekirei. He gave her a once over. Cute young lady, pink hair, wore her anger like an aura, practically pouring off her.

"I'm looking for a Peter Potts!" She loudly announced to the room.

Harry sighed. Yeah, that was one of his fake names.

He turned, planting a smile on his face. "Yeah? Can I help you too a drink?"

He could practically feel his drinking partner's confusion. "Fake name." he whispered.

"You're coming with me to the tower." She said, storming over.

He chuckled, "I think not." He said, discreetly drawing his wand and flicking it in her direction. He frowned, feeling the spell fizzle. He grimaced, again, so soon? How unlucky. He properly made sure to make the proper motions, casting the spell.

This time it worked, and moments before grabbing him, she stumbled. She grabbed hold of a nearby chair, shaking her head. "I-I need to bring you in." She mumbled.

"You look a bit unwell." He told her.

She spun round, stumbling again, "I, you, come…" she mumbled.

"You should lie down."

She staggered back, falling into a chair. "I-what?"

She fell forward, her head impacting the table with a dull thunk.

He frowned. Huh. She was way more susceptible than he'd ever have guessed. He scratched his head.

"What was that?" Kazehana muttered from beside him.

He glanced over, before taking out his phone. He quickly navigated the menus, arriving at the number of the MBI president, which had been in the phone when he got it.

"If it isn't our little mystery! Congratulations on obtaining number Eighty-Eight," came the annoying voice, "would you mind coming over? I've sent someone to pick you up!"

He glanced at the lightly snoring sekirei. "Yeah, she's… indisposed."

"Really? How… intriguing."

"Anyway, I'm in no mood for a… chat. And now that you've completely killed my buzz… Well, try asking before sending someone to… escort, me. It's rather… rude." He narrowed his eyes, trying to think. It was… likely that he somehow knew about what had happened with that vampire. That might… complicate matters. He shook his head, he'd deal with this after clearing his head.

"Hmm. I suppose it might be for the best. If you've subdued One-oh-Five, number Zero-Four would be next, and she may not keep you… able to answer my questions." The president acknowledged. "You need time to come up with an explanation while keeping whatever secrets you don't want me to know."

He glared at nothing in particular. Behind his… eccentricity, he certainly had a keen mind. "Send someone to pick your girl up." He told the man, hanging up the phone. "how annoying."

He glanced over at Kazehana. "It was nice drinking with you. Maybe we'll get a chance some other time."

"Hmm." She acknowledged, "Perhaps."

He turned away, another person who had questions he didn't care to answer. He glanced around the muggle bar. Once again, he was the centre of attention. He nodded to the bartender, before making his way to the exit.

Once he was certain he was out of sight, he disappeared with a crack, reappearing outside his hotel room. He checked the wards, making sure no one would come upon him with him unaware, before quietly making his way in.

He glanced over at the bed. Musubi was still on the matress he'd transfigured for her, Kuno and Akitsu were sleeping soundly on the bed, but Yashima had risen slightly, looking over at him.

Their eyes met in the dim light. "Yashima…" he breathed. There was a tense moment of silence, as his eyes roamed the pale flesh of her nude body. "I need you."

Her lips turned up, a smile forming, "O-okay."

A.N. What to say here… I really don't care for fight scenes. If only I could come up with a story that didn't seem to need them. Or I could figure out how to skip them well. Once again, I read some scenes, and I think 'what the hell am I doing'. Unfortunately, I can't think of a way to do them better, and I don't really want to cut them out.

As always please review and stuff.