Title: That Which is Found
Summary: The first 5 meetings of blue and green, and the resulting sparks that shape their lives. Or: In which Naruto might need a bit of help, he gets more than he ever expected, and (coincidentally) Harry has always had a saving people thing, especially when it comes to children. MoD!Harry, not slash.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto, they belong to their respective owners.
"Speech"
'Thought'
Biju or Biju-fied Naruto
Warnings: Off-screen torture, instances of mild child neglect/abuse (I'm honestly not sure how to judge this considering some of the shit I've seen with no warning. Ya'll know your own limits though, so if you're concerned, be careful please)
A/N: I like this one, I think it's pretty cute. It was an experiment in an unfamiliar writing style, so I'm not sure how it came out *shrugs*, I like it though. This is slated to be a twoshot (maybe more if anyone's interested), so it'll be an actual reasonably lengthed, cute little thing. Please enjoy, and read/review if you're so inclined!
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1.
The first time they meet, it's early evening, he's 6, and he's trying to keep ahead of a mob of civilians (and he's doing fairly well, if he does say so himself, though that's probably because he's got a lot of practice). He's managed to break ahead of the crowd by a pretty good margin, so he veers off into an alleyway beside a shop that he's never seen before, hoping to come out of it, loop around a few buildings, and lose his tail so that he can get home faster (or at all).
It takes him only a few steps to realize that the alley's a dead end, but a quick glance behind him tells him that it's too late to turn around (they'd only catch him faster and he'd lose his slight advantage), so he runs in further.
He trips over a trashcan - damn, how did he miss that? - and he barely manages to catch it before it loudly falls over. A panicked glance around shows that he, the trashcan, and the dumpster are the only things in the alley, and he, for lack of a better option, squeezes himself beside the dumpster and pulls the trashcan in front of him. There's no way this'll hold them for long, but he just needs more time to think so that he can get out of this.
The mob pauses at the mouth of the alley, apparently some believe he ran past it and around the next corner, but the others think he went through the alley in front of them. He almost breathes a sigh of relief, but then they decide to split up, and about 4 of them are still headed his way. Think his mind murmurs, think.
He begins to hyperventilate as the voices at the end of the alley get closer and closer, his pupils dilating with fear. He's never been caught before, he's always managed to get away, and he's terrified of what comes after this; despite not knowing the exacts, he's sure it won't be good for him. The group is looking for him, and he can't quite hear their voices over the sound of his pounding heartbeat, but they're muttering something about 'it's impossible' and 'well he didn't just disappear, idiot' and then nothing else is coming through over the sound of white noise and his quiet pants.
He tenses as, out of the corner of his eye he sees a door opening. He looks up sharply, and frightened blue eyes lock with placid green. There's a man standing in the doorway of the building whose alley they're inhabiting for the moment. His brilliant (almost glowing) green eyes quickly flit over everything, taking in the situation; the cowering blond crouching behind a trashcan, the angry-looking mob searching for something.
The blond tenses further as the man takes a step out of his doorway, bringing him one step closer to his very vulnerable hiding place. Another look at the whiskered blond, and the man turns to look at the group. He opens his mouth, and Naruto tenses to run as soon as he can, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, but his limbs go slightly loose in surprise as the group only looks around sheepishly before leaving.
Naruto breaths a sigh of relief as the four men leave, but tenses again as glowing green eyes send an assessing look his way. He's ready to run again, but the man just glances to a nearby rooftop, turns around, and heads back into his shop. Naruto warily waits another couple of minutes for the other shoe to drop, but when nothing happens he darts from his hiding place and heads for home, slipping from shadow to shadow to avoid the notice of the few people still outside. Green eyes watch until he's out of sight, eyes trailing from the whiskered blonde to glare angrily at the masked ANBU following him.
2.
The second time they meet, it's mid-afternoon, he's 7, and he's roughly scrubbing away tears as he crouches next to an oddly familiar dumpster (but he figures that if anyone should be familiar with the dumpsters in Konoha it's him; he's hidden in them enough), cruel words still echoing in his mind. His fellow children could be even more vicious than the adults could (dared to) be. As an almost comically enthusiastic boy with a strange fashion sense, and the pariah to boot, he's an easy target for even the most wary bully, no one willing to sully themselves and defend him.
He tenses as someone squats down in front of him, the man's white apron becoming slightly dirtied from the alley ground. He starts as a handkerchief is smoothly moved into his line of vision by an offering hand. He doesn't want to look up (as soon as people meet his eyes and see his marks, kindness turns to cruelty, concern to scorn, pity to disgust).
He stiffens further as a gentle hand grips his chin, and tilts his face up from where his eyes are locked on the ground. Still avoiding eye contact, he waits for a push, a slap, a cruel word, for the person to recoil in disgust upon realizing that they're attempting to comfort the demon brat. His eyes flinch shut as the person gently strokes over the bruise marring his right eye (some bullies were more physical than others), the light, barely there touch leaving tingles behind, and he awaits whatever this person has planned (because no one would help him).
He jerks in surprise as the handkerchief brushes away his tears, and he opens his eyes slightly to peer through his lashes at the man in front of him. Even though slightly blurred vision, there is no mistaking those glowing green eyes, and he opens his eyes further to take the man in, fear retreating but far from gone, making way for wariness, curiosity, and a healthy dose of confusion in its wake.
Luminescent green orbs eye him assessingly as calloused hands carefully wipe his face free of tears and dirt. Naruto is frozen; no one's ever done this before, not even Jiji. No one ever touches him without evil intent in mind because he's the demonbratpariahkillermonster, and then his chin is released and the man is standing. Their eyes are locked again, and Naruto finds that he can't seem to look away. He jolts as the man reaches out, pats him on the head, and heads back to his shop.
A few moments more of frozen shock, then Naruto heads home. Before he goes to sleep that night, he notices (in the warped reflection his cracked and broken mirror portrays) that his black eye is gone. He attributes it to whatever normally makes him heal quickly, and goes to bed.
3.
The third time they meet, it's too early to be morning, Naruto is 8, and he's out of food again. The masks are supposed to get it for him, but only Weasel, Dog, and Snake ever really bother, and Rat and Lizard are the ones on duty right now. Bear, at least, would bring him something, a bowl of fruit, some vegetables, or even some instant ramen, but these two were completely content to let him suffer.
This time had been even worse than usual, because he'd had to decide between using everything he had for bills or going hungry, and while intellectually he realizes that his water bill was more important, his grumbling stomach's complaints don't make him feel any better. He should be able to pay all his bills and get food, but they always skimp on his stipend (he's just the demon brat after all).
He takes the lid off another trash can, and wrinkles his nose at the moldy smell before carefully picking through the rancid bits of food to try and find something to quiet the grumbles of his stomach. He's considered going to Jiji or Iruka-sensei or Teuchi-ossan about this, but he doesn't want to bother them (doesn't want to burden them, doesn't want to push past those boundaries, doesn't want to turn the warmth in their eyes to cold), so he'll just do this himself. He's independent, almost a grown up now! He pushes his way through binding depression to put a large, brittle smile on his face, pushing away the shame and sadness and rage to keep going.
All he's managed to find by this point is a few bits and bobs too rotten to eat, the rest having already been taken by rats, stray dogs, and the other orphans not lucky enough to have an apartment. His smile is locked onto his face, even as he clutches his protesting stomach and walks with brittle bones. He's been out here since 3, the sun is just beginning to come up, and he's found nothing. He knows that he'll have to retreat soon, food found or not, because the streets become dangerous for him as the sun rises.
He stumbles his way forward, and ducks into an alley to rest for a moment. He idly moves the lid from the trash can next to him (he didn't notice it at first, but he figures that's just hunger vision for you), not particularly hopeful, but going through the motions anyway. His head jerks to the side as he smells not the normal scent expected of trash, but the scent of cut vegetables, relatively fresh fruit, and bread.
He peers hopefully into the trash can, apparently freshly dumped from a restaurant (odd, for 5 in the morning). He immediately dives in. The lettuce from a salad is a bit wilted, the bread a bit stale, the fruit a bit bruised, but it's the only food he's seen in days, and fresher than anything he's ever found in the garbage before. His gag reflex doesn't even twinge as he begins to gorge himself, not sure when he'll find food again.
The jingle of keys some feet to his left breaks him out of his single-minded focus. His eyes shoot to the sound, his hands paused. Glowing green eyes stare back at him, their owner holding keys out to lock the side door of the restaurant...and yes, there's the dumpster he hid behind a few weeks ago, he's in the alley again. They're both evaluating each other, and Naruto shifts warily, preparing to flee at the slightest provocation. Despite recognizing the man's past kindness to him, no one likes a street urchin.
Green eyes hold him in their normal assessing look. Still keeping eye contact, he backs away, turning as he reaches the mouth of the alley, and fleeing, that assessing gaze still filling his mind.
oOo
He manages to stay away for a couple of days until the hunger drives him back. He comes earlier than last time, hoping that, perhaps, the man will not be here. Creeping with every bit of stealth that he can manage (a considerable amount for an academy student), he slowly makes his way to the mouth of the alley, peering down the narrow street to check for others. He thanks his rarely lucky stars when the alley is empty, and the trash cans appear to be untouched, and unlocked; no chains keep them closed, and they are, to appearances, easy pickings. For once, something is going right.
He skulks his way to them and reaches out hungrily to take the top off of one of them, but jumps like a scalded cat when he feels a slight shock in his fingertips. It's no more painful than a slap on the wrist, but he finds himself in an odd mixture of confusion and feeling emotionally stung. He should've known that the man would do something to keep him - everyone, that is - out, but somewhere deep in his mind he'd been harvesting feelings of hope that head have at least one person on his side.
He scolds himself for his weakness even as he cautiously reaches out his hand again, this time to the other can. He braces for the shock, but there is none, the trashcan merely won't open. He struggles with it for a few minutes, digging his nails under the edges, and even accidentally knocking it over when he kicks it in hungry frustration, but it won't open.
Giving up, he sits down against the wall next to the trashcan, nearly putting his hand in a bowl of food. He stares down at it in confusion, wondering if it's one of those strange mi-rage things Daifu-sensei once told the class about, but upon attempting to touch it, his hand meets the warm outer rim of the bowl. He lifts it and stares into it in utter confusion, nostrils subconsciously flaring as he takes in the warm, brothy scent.
A sound from the other end of the alley startles him, prompting him into sudden and panicked flight. The bowl is still in his hands when he arrives home, and after placing it on the table and staring at it suspiciously from multiple angles and places in the room, testing it for corrosive substances by dripping some on his table (on purpose, of course), and feeding some to his flatmate (a particularly unfriendly rat that had taken a liking to his apartment and would not leave) to check for poison, he finally just shrugs his shoulders and bites the bullet, scarfing it down.
It's warm and rich, with beef cooked in a way he's never had it before, carrots, potatoes, and thick, meaty gravy, and he's never felt so happily full on so little in his life. An hour later he's freaking out from the strange pain in his stomach, and the rest of him, convinced he's going to die, but upon waking up in the morning with nothing more than an ache (panicking is tiring work), he concludes that he's probably just not use to such rich food.
His money comes the next day, and apparently Snake is back because his fridge has an overabundance of dango added to the normal food, filling it to the brim. Naruto is very glad to have a reliable food source again, but he feels like he should do something nice for the person who fed him, now that he can. He washes the bowl until it sparkles, then (with help from a confused Hokage) sloppily paints it his favorite shade of orange (the shade that makes him happiest) and, the next night, sneaks back to the alley and places the bowl back where he got it from before retreating home.
And when there's no food again, the alley is the first place he goes (despite knowing there's no way he'll find more food there, he can't keep himself away), and he's surprised and happy to find his orange bowl, now with a green stripe around the middle, sitting on the ground with another dish in it.
4.
The fourth time they meet, it's early afternoon, he's 9, and he's just finished a (rather clever if he does say so himself) prank at the academy, and is running away from the masks trying to catch him. He's being clever, leading them through pre-placed traps that, since he knows they're there, he's able to avoid, but leave his pursuers covered in glitter, orange feathers, and obnoxiously orange paint. He'd already determined several escape routes before initiating his prank, but all of them led back to the same familiar alley, the one he'd noted that the masks almost seemed to not notice, and the one he went to for food.
He's found that when the dumpster is empty, he's easily able to open it, but when it has garbage in it it's completely impossible. It works like clockwork, and he's' begun planning his pranks around it; mostly implementing them on the Mondays and Thursdays that the dumpster is emptied. It means that the masks have come to expect trouble on Mondays and Thursdays, but that's fine by him. He likes the challenge.
As he snickers inside the (surprisingly clean) dumpster, congratulating himself for a job well done and an escape well played, the dumpster suddenly opens, and a trash bag appears in his field of vision as someone prepares to drop it in. He squawks in instinctive surprise before clamping his mouth shut, but the damage is already done, he knows it. Once the person sees who's in their dumpster they'll shut it and lock it and throw away the key and oh god he's gonna die here, but the trash bag is dropped, hitting the ground with quiet thunk, and he's surprised by the intense rush of relief he feels when familiar face pokes in, staring down at him in mild bemusement.
Green eyes meet blue, one set full of wary relief, the other placidly staring, before the man does something that surprises Naruto so much he falls out of his crouch to his bottom on the dumpster floor. He speaks.
He states, calmly, as though he speaks to people in dumpsters all the time, "Ah, you must be why the ANBU are running around so frantically."
His voice is a low, pleasant tenor with strange accent, and before Naruto can think, he's hopping to his feet and pointing at the man, blurting out "Hey, how come ya think this's my fault! Could be anything, really!"
The man raises an eyebrow at him and he internally winces. He hadn't meant to be so rude to the man who's been feeding him for almost 6 months now without expecting payment, and now he's gonna hate him forever just like everyone else and he'll lose the only sort-of-friend he has other than Jiji and the dog mask guy who leaves him presents every so often and actually talks to him (him! The demon brat!) without sneering, but then the man's speaking again, replying, "The bright orange of the paint and feathers they're covered in was a pretty good clue."
And Naruto's so happy that the man remembers (and that the man sees him, doesn't glare at a monster, doesn't stare through him with angryhauntedfrightened eyes), and relieved to just have someone, anyone, talk to him (acknowledge him, not curse his existence), that he blurts out, "Hey, who are you anyway?" Another internal wince as the man's other eyebrow raises.
The reply comes as, "I'm the owner of this restaurant who's dumpster you're inhabiting," and Naruto almost pouts at the non-answer. He barely manages to stifle a flinch as the man reaches an arm into the dumpster toward him, but isn't able to stop the yelp as the man lifts him easily and sets him on his feet outside of the dumpster. Once the two are face to face, the man continues, stating "But my name is Hari. Nice to meet you."
Naruto is shocked again (a sadly common occurrence). Nice to meet him? No one's ever happy to meet him. He blames the shock for the fact that he yells out "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"
The stranger, no, Hari-san, winces slightly and twists his pinkie in his ear, muttering, "Lower the volume a bit, kid, I've got sensitive ears." Naruto scuffs the ground contritely, staring down at his fraying shoes in silence, and flinches when he feels a hand on his head, gently ruffling his hair. He jerks his head up to look at the man in front of him, who murmurs, "Hokage, huh? Well, if anyone can do it, it's you kid. Good luck." Before walking through the back door leading into his restaurant.
Naruto watches him go, still frozen in shock. Someone acknowledging his dream instead of just blowing it off? No one has ever reacted with anything other than scorn to his declarations; even Jiji just chuckles at him in a patronizing way before patting him on the head. This, this event is amazing. It's moralizing. It gives him a warm feeling that doesn't go away even when he's caught by the ANBU and taken to Jiji's office to be reprimanded, because apparently filling the girls bathroom with toads wasn't a good way to handle his problems. Go figure.
5.
The fifth time they meet, Naruto's 10, it's almost midnight, and he needs somewhere to stay. His landlord tossed him out for the week, citing that he hadn't paid his rent. Considering that the money for his rent was supposed to be taken automatically from his stipend, he assumes that either the man is lying to him, or he didn't get his money again this month, probably because someone was drunk somewhere along the line (he has a lot of opinions about how their government works). Despite arguing against it, he's only 10, so when his landlord had threatened to bodily throw him from the building, he'd decided that discretion was the greater part of valor and conceded momentary defeat.
He'd waited outside in the cold for three hours, hoping the masks would help him out a bit, but the masks are nowhere to be found, and he knows that if he stays on the streets he's going to die, either from the mid-January cold, or from some outside attack. He goes to the only place he knows of that might help him, Hari-san's restaurant. The man had been helping him for months, they'd even talked once, so surely he'd help him again? It's a long shot, but it's his only hope, so he stands from where he's seated on the frigid ground, and takes off at a quick jog toward Hari-san's, snow beginning to fall even as his steps speed up.
When he gets there, teeth chattering and breath coming out in billowing gasps, the lights are out and the restaurant is closed. He leans against the wall, slowly sliding down it to sit in the quickly forming snow, and tries not to cry. He stuffs his hands into his armpits, curling into as small of a ball as he can physically manage in order to preserve warmth. He doesn't know how long he's seated for, but he can practically feel himself freezing over, and he's on the verge of sleep, but something is telling him that if he falls asleep, he probably won't wake up again.
Hours later, the jingling of keys and the slightest sound of crunching snow are his only indication that someone is near. He opens his eyes, tears bitingly cold and practically frozen on his cheeks, ready to flee as soon as he can work up the energy to move his frigid limbs, but is utterly relieved to see Hari-san leaving the shop.
He opens his mouth to call out, but he can't seem to find his voice, can't seem to move either. A strange wheeze comes out, near silent, and he begins to lose hope again, but it seems that Hari heard it, because he stiffens and whips around, reaching for something in his pocket. Upon seeing Naruto in the snow, lips blue with cold and covered in a light layer of frost, his mouth drops open in an uncharacteristic display of shock, and he rushes over, beginning to curse in several languages.
Naruto's head lols as he's lifted from the ice encrusted ground, and he curls closer to Hari-san's body heat instinctively, Hari's chest vibrating slightly as he speaks. He's muttering, something about a hospital? Does Hari-san need to go to the hospital? Is Hari-san sick?! Naruto hopes not, he'd feel really bad if Hari-san was out in this cold for him and he was sick. Wait, Hari-san's asking him something? Oh, no, he's just speaking. Well, he should probably pay attention anyway.
Forcing himself to focus, he turns his head slightly, and catches the end of the sentence, "- to the hospital, Naruto." Confused, he opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out again. Hari-san seems to get the gist of his question though, repeating his statement. "I'm taking you to the hospital, Naruto." he states, beginning to head in the direction of the Leaf Village's main hospital. Oh, Hari-san wants to take him to the hospital? That's fine then, he supposes. His eyes begin to close again, but then shoot open.
Him, at the hospital? That's...that's actually not a good idea. The last time he'd gone in there, he'd limped through the door on a broken ankle, cradling his ribs, bleeding from a cut above his eye, and someone had literally kicked him back outside. They didn't like him at the hospital. Going to the hospital is a Bad Thing, and he tries to say as much, but doesn't get out more than some heavier breaths for a moment.
Hari-san is still walking quickly, like a man on a mission, and Naruto knows he has to stop him, because if he goes to the hospital he's probably going to die. Digging deep, he reaches up an arm, twining his fingers in the front of Hari-san's apron and pulling to get his attention. Hari looks at him in confusion, slowing, and Naruto slurs out something about Them wanting him dead even more than the rest of the village, somehow getting out something more than wheezes for a moment.
He waits until green eyes fill with understanding before allowing his arm to drop, his eyelids sliding to half mast as he observes Hari-san's reaction. The green orbs darken in dawning realization and anger, and Naruto almost flinches before he realizes that the anger isn't directed at him. It's strange, someone being angry for him, instead of at him. He doesn't think anyone has been angry for his sake in, well...forever.
He feels his eyelids getting heavier, the warmth of Hari-san's body and the man's heartbeat dragging him closer and closer to the black in the corners of his vision. He falls asleep in the swaying arms, and to the soothing sound of the other man's melodic voice telling him to stay awake.
oOo
When Naruto wakes up, he doesn't know where he is or why he's there, though it's the work of a few moments to realize this.
His eyes slip open, long eyelashes fluttering as tan eyelids slide back from azure eyes, and he stares hazily at the ceiling for a moment. He sits up slowly, stretching languidly as the blankets, all in tasteful shades of green, pool around his hips. He yawns, rubbing the sleep out of one eye, and stares with blank confusion at the walls around him.
These...are not his walls. His walls are white, with dingy spots and randomly placed stains and old graffiti that he does his best to ignore because it just won't wash off. These walls are a beautiful shade of dark green. His hands stroke along the soft blankets around him, which are certainly not his. His sole blanket is scratchy, holey, and leaves him him cold around this time of year.
The sound of birdsong drifts through the window, another discrepancy that proves this is not his room, as the first thing he hears in the morning is often the cursing of the other early morning denizens of the red-light district. The final nail is the smell of food drifting through the space, because his house smells only of the cheap cleaning agents he uses to keep his house clean (and to get rid of the ruin that people leave behind), never of food he hasn't made himself. So, his conclusion must be that this is not his house.
It takes another moment for this to sink in, and his eyes, previously half-lidded with sleep-warm content, widen. He scrambles out of the bed, or tries to anyway. His legs get wrapped up in the blankets, and he waves his arms wildly for a moment before finally falling to the floor in a heap with a thump. He freezes for a moment, his heart beating wildly as he waits for someone to come rushing to kick him out. When no one has 5 minutes later, he slowly stands up with a sigh of relief.
Creeping over to the bedroom door, he opens it silently and pokes his head out, looking first one way, then the other. No one is there, so he steps out completely, his steps light and his breathing even, just like he'd been taught at the academy (or like he'd learned from his pranks, really, because no one ever teaches him anything). He skulks down the stairs, past a master bedroom that is, thankfully, empty, a bathroom, and a room that looks sort of like an office.
He can hear sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen, which is unfortunately the only remaining obstacle between him and the door that leads outside. He steels himself to go run past it, dart out the door and find his way back to his apartment, but before he can even take a step, he hears a familiar voice call from the kitchen, "Naruto, breakfast is almost ready. You can come in here and wait if you want, but if you want to go back to the guest room, that's fine too."
That voice is...Hari-san? In a rush, his memories of the previous night come back to him, and he's almost embarrassed at his behavior this morning. All this sneaking around for nothing. He pouts as he walks cautiously into the kitchen, and sits down at the table, which is already laden with various fruits and...well, he thinks that's yogurt, but he's not sure.
Hari-san speaks again, startling him as he inspects the strange, pale substance, and he jerks his eyes to the other. "I wasn't sure what you like, so I kinda just made everything." The green-eyed man looks faintly embarrassed as he turns back toward his stove, and Naruto feels some of his remaining wariness slip away. No one has ever treated him like this, like a normal person, with kindness and compassion and actual emotion and - well, he just thinks that it'd be doing the other man a disservice if he treated him with any less courtesy than the green-eyed man treated him with, okay?
He's shaken out of his thoughts as Hari-san walks over, settling a large plate of bacon, eggs, some strange circle things, something that looks like shredded cheese, and slices of some kind of meat, in front of him. Naruto looks between it and Hari-san with wide eyes. What is all this?
He must've spoken aloud, because Hari-san speaks up a moment later, with a faintly amused expression. "The bacon and eggs I'm sure you recognize. The circles are pancakes, a sort of breakfast pastry from my homeland. Then we have potatoes, and some fried slices of ham." Hari-san turns away from him then, retrieving a plate of his own, and sits down across from him at the table, beginning to eat. He watches as the man begins to eat (not because he thinks the food is poisoned or anything, that's stupid), sweeping black hair behind his ear as it drapes into his eyes.
Hari-san gives him an odd look, glancing between his face and his plate, then back again pointedly. Naruto suddenly realizes that he hasn't touched his food yet, too busy taking in the sight of another friendly human being, and he hastily grabs a fork, mumbling "Itadakimasu," and digging in as politely as he can.
His resolve at being polite is immediately tested, because this is the best food he's ever had. Other than Teuchi-ossan's ramen of course, because ramen is the food of the gods. And when Hari-san tells him to add some of that weird see-rup stuff? Amazing. It's so sweet. He polishes off his plate, and Hari-san gives him seconds before he can even begin to try and dredge up the courage to ask for them, and Naruto is just barely holding the tears in because no one has ever treated him like this.
They finish eating, and then they just sit. Naruto thinks it should be awkward, but it isn't, not really. Hari-san is drinking tea and reading from the FC News, a newspaper that covers the major stories of the Fire Country, while Naruto just kind of drifts in a content food coma, stretched back languidly in his chair.
Eventually though, Hari-san finishes his tea, and sets down his newspaper with a sigh. Naruto wonders what they do now, because he has no idea of the etiquette of these things. Does he say thank you and leave, try to find somewhere else to stay for the next day? Does he owe Hari-san something now? Probably so, people don't just help out of the goodness of their heart, at least not if it's him.
He's beginning to feel a bit lost, when Hari-san suddenly pins him with a stern look, and he freezes automatically because that's a lot like the look that Iruka-sensei gives him when he finds him after his pranks and it makes him frantically backpedal and wonder what he's done or if he should run before he's tied up and returned to the classroom.
He stays in his seat though, because he told himself he'd treat the man with courtesy, and running out of his house just because he looked at him isn't polite. He starts a bit when Hari-san speaks, not because he wasn't expecting it, but because the words are on a completely different subject than the one he'd been preparing to discuss. "Naruto, why were you outside my restaurant in the middle of the night, in the dead of winter?" The man asks, and Naruto's mind blanks a bit.
Hari-san wants him to tell? That goes against everything he's learned in his life; never tell anyone your weak points unless you want to be stabbed in them, don't ask for help because people will just kick you while you're down, and never trust adults. This last is a bit iffy, because doesn't Iruka-sensei count as an adult? Doesn't Teuchi-ossan count as an adult? Jiji's definitely and adult, and an old one at that.
But really, he can honestly say that he doesn't completely trust them either. He's always kept some pieces of his heart to himself because he doesn't know that he could handle it if they took everything he had to give, and then stomped on his fragile trust broke it.
This in mind, Naruto tries to wave it off. "Oh, I uh - I forgot my key! I got, um…" Hari-san's face is getting sterner, and Naruto frantically tries to make up a good lie, because...just because, okay? "I got locked out, and my landlord has been out for weeks on, uh, landlord business?" He cringes, because this doesn't sound like a good lie, even to him. "So I couldn't get him to let me in. It was a stupid mistake of mine, won't happen again!" He stands from his chair, stretching quickly and faking a shocked look at the clock. "Wow, is that the time? I'm gonna be late for the academy, gotta go!" he says quickly, and turns to leave.
"Naruto." Hari-san's tone is familiar, and Naruto stops in his tracks instinctively, because that's the same false-calm that Iruka-sensei uses, and he ducks his head. "Your key was in the pocket of your jacket, which you almost left behind in my washing machine, by the way." He hears the chair on the other side of the table as it's pushed back. "Your landlord was in my restaurant two days ago, brash, blunt, and rude as usual, complaining about the delivery service." He hears footsteps behind him, but he can't seem to move. "And it's Saturday morning, there's no school today." A hand lands gently on his shoulder, and he starts violently, whipping around to face shuttered green eyes.
Naruto opens his mouth to say something, he doesn't know what, but Hari-san interrupts him before he can even begin, kneeling to be eye level with him and murmuring, "Please tell me the truth. I only want to help you." Naruto wants to scoff, he wants to run away from this man and his lies, but he doesn't. He can't. Not when he remembers the Hari-san from last night, who touched him without disgust and carried him and talked to him and helped him and got angry for him -
"He kicked me out and I didn't know where else to go." He blurts, avoiding those eyes as he fidgets nervously. And somehow the whole sordid story comes tumbling out in a rush, though he manages to stop himself before he tells the man more than he asked for.
Hari-san's expression hardens as Naruto babbles, and when Naruto's just standing there, feeling naked without some of his secrets to cover his vulnerable spots, but somehow lighter in a good way, Hari-san stands. Hari-san raises a hand to the bridge of his nose (and Naruto prides himself on how he doesn't flinch), and Naruto catches some mutters about Hokages and management, and Naruto feels his heartbeat fly in his chest because no. If he finds out how weak he is, Jiji will leave him and he honestly doesn't know what that would do to him.
Naruto's mouth flies, he barely even knows what he's saying, but he somehow manages to convince Hari-san not to bother the Hokage with this issue for at least the weak that the landlord had promised. In the end, Hari-san stares at him with a stubborn expression, and insists that Naruto stay with him for the rest of the week, so that Hari-san doesn't worry about him freezing to death out on the streets somewhere.
Naruto has never felt warmer than when he accepts.
oOo
This is another of those things that Naruto thinks should feel strange and awkward, but it doesn't. It's different, that's for sure. But it's different in such a good way that Naruto doesn't know how it could possibly be bad. It's nice to have someone to say good morning to. It's nice to have food everyday, and no worry that it won't be there. It's nice to have someone to come home to (even if it's technically not his home). It's beyond nice to have someone interested in hearing about his day, someone who listens as he babbles on about how Iruka-sensei threw a chalkboard eraser at Shikamaru and the lazy boy had somehow dodged in his sleep and the projectile hit Kiba who yelped like a dog and the beautiful and magnificent Sakura-chan had yelled at him for annoying that annoying bastard Sasuke who was really such a bastard and - well. It's nice to have someone there.
At the end of the week, Naruto tries to go back to his apartment, the landlord throws him out again, stating that because he'd busted the pipes in his bathroom and flooded the entirety of the fourth floor, he couldn't come back yet. This makes no sense, since Naruto lives on the third floor, and he hasn't even been there, and no one else has left because of this "flooding", but there's nothing Naruto can do, so he grits his teeth and retreats to Hari-san's to plan how he can...well, do something, though he's not sure what.
When Naruto tells Hari-san what happened, the man's eyes seem to glow ominously for a moment before he stalks out the door, telling Naruto he'll be back soon.
Soon is apparently about two hours later, as the man walks back in looking a bit annoyed, but much more relaxed than when he'd left. And, apparently, with good reason. Naruto gapes as Hari-san tells him that he had gone and talked to the Hokage, and now Naruto has an apartment in the Lark District (a mostly shinobi area of the village that was closer to the academy, and much much nicer than his previous), already completely paid for, so he owns it. No one will be able to kick him out ever again.
Naruto feels tears welling in his eyes, and he quickly ducks his head and swipes at them with his sleeve, because he's so happy that he's got a place of his own but he was so happy to be here, and he's not supposed to cry, he's not weak, and - but then Hari-san gently presses his fingertips against the underside of his chin, guiding his face up, and he can't hide the tears that trail over whiskered cheeks. Hari-san looks at him for a moment, then tilts his head to the side with a serene smile, and tells the blonde that he can always come by anytime he needs something, whether Hari is at his restaurant or in his apartment.
And Naruto can't help himself as he shakes off the man's grip, and reaches out blindly for a hug. For a long moment, Naruto thinks he's overstepped some kind of invisible boundary, but then Hari-san is hugging him. Him! He sniffles as tears continue to pour from his eyes, and Hari-san smells like rain and sunlight and sizzling electricity and home, and Naruto gives someone a whole piece of his heart for the first time.
It doesn't feel damning, it feels like a beginning, and Naruto is so very, very glad that he found this man.
*****Break*****
A/N: First installment complete! The next is Harry's pov, which'll be a thing at some point in the future. Probably.