The International Venture
A ringing /bang/ echoes through the crevices of the building, surrounding the area like the walls of an imposing colosseum. A young girl, kneels before the bodies of her parents lying lifelessly on the ground in front of her. A man, their killer, runs off into the night without a second glance, afraid to be caught by the enforcers of the law. Rain continues to pelt down mercilessly as if crying out for the orphan who had just seen her parents be brutally murdered by some desperate criminal whose only care was the few paper bills the dead couple were carrying that night.
"Kuso (shit)" a man says gravely in a soft manner as he makes his way from behind the toddler; careful, as to not frighten the girl more. He looks over the young girl to see two bodies, both with gun shots through their hearts. He shakes his head solemnly and sends the dead parents a little prayer, he then bends down next to girl and asks in a quiet tone "daijōbudesuka (are you okay)?" The child turns and stares at him, her eyes hollows and filled with grief. Sighing, he stands up as he hears' sirens from afar. "Kowagaranaide kudasai (Don't be scared)" he says as he grabs the girl and side-long apparate's to an unknown location.
The toddler is put down carefully, and she (thankfully) heaves into a nearby bush, as she was not used to apparition. The man flicks his wand in an intricate pattern and in an instant, she was able understand his words. "Are you okay little one?" the man asks in a calm and soothing tone. She nods her head, still traumatised by the events that had just occurred not two hours before. The man, who looks to be about 45, Asian with, clear skin, clean shaven, midnight black hair, and even darker coloured eyes bends down and places a hand atop the girls' head.
"My name is Mori Hideyoshi (note: In Japanese culture, the surname comes before the first name.) Can you tell me yours'?" he says smiling kindly at her, wiping away her tears and other liquids covering her face.
Looking away from the man, the girl replies softly "Hermione Granger."
Hideyoshi looks on in sadness as he uses leglimens to see what exactly happened to the little brunette's parents. He frowns seeing that the family of three had simply visited japan on holiday whilst the parents were here for some sort of dentist convention. He knew he probably shouldn't invade the child's mind like this, and felt guilty for doing so but it was better than scaring the little girl and interrogating about the events.
Now understanding the young toddlers fears Hideyoshi delicately holds the brunette's chin and slowly lifts Hermione's head to stare into his eyes. "You'll be alright Granger-san, I will take care of you" he tells her firmly with determination.
"W-why you help?" she asks bottom lip trembling as tears begin to well up once more, her sentence a bit off but good for her age.
"I felt your magic protect you from the gun shot. I arrived as fast as I could, but clearly it was not fast enough. I am sorry for your loss" he tells her solemnly a frown creeping on to his face.
"M-magic?" Hermione asks in confusion as she wipes away the tears building up in her eyes.
"Indeed, you are a Mahōtsukai (a witch)" he says as he gets up off the ground, and holds out his hand to her.
"But mummy said witches and wizards aren't real. They're just stories" she replies, even more confused than before. Grabbing onto Hideyoshi's hand, now more comfortable after he had explained what had happened, but still slightly hesitant around the man.
"Yes, well Maguru's (muggles) tend to not take very kindly to those who can perform magic. You must understand Granger-san that all fairytales have some truth and history written between their sentences unseen by its readers" Hideyoshi explains as he leads her into a small Japanese house, well-lit and homey. "Take your shoes off please."
Complying with the request, Hermione tries to take off her shoes, but her tiny hands just aren't dexterous enough quite yet to perform the task on her own. Seeing her struggle, Hideyoshi bends down and unties the shoes, quickly taking it off. He stands and with another flick of the wand a towel appears, one for each of them. "The bath is being prepared as we speak, use the towel to keep yourself warm first. No point, in using a drying spell if you're going to shower anyway" he tells her in an efficient but somehow kind manner, walking further into the house, he motions for her to follow along.
Scurrying after the man they make their way to a room filled with books and a low table, cushions surround the table as a kettle floats in mid-air pouring tea for the two, leaving Hermione astounded. "Wow ~" she says as she watches a samurai battle commencing in a picture on her left, and another of a geisha dancing on the right.
"Please sit" the Japanese man tells her, gesturing to seat opposite him.
Hermione awkwardly tries to copy Hideyoshi's seiza seating position, but as she was unused to sitting on her knees in such a way, her legs quickly became numb. The toddler's self-inflicted torture quickly ended as he told her to sit more comfortably, eyes lighting in amusement at her actions as the little girl sighed in relief. Looking around, and hearing nothing but their breathing, the toddler breaks the silence "Where is your mummy and daddy?"
Smiling sadly at the young girl, Hideyoshi shakes head "I don't have a mummy or daddy."
Mouth forming into a sad frown, she says more than she asks "You alone like me."
"Yes" Hideyoshi says, one word conveying so much sorrow, and years of loneliness. "I don't want you to go through life alone, as I have been forced to do." She looks at him in understanding, even as a two-year-old Hermione was perceptive for her age. She had an idea of what it would mean for her now that she was an orphan.
As if reading her mind Hideyoshi declares "You don't have to go to an orphanage, I can take care of you as I've said before. However, it is your choice, I shall not force you to live with me and I respect your freedom to decide despite your age. Wherever you feel you want to go, you decide." He the pauses to look up at the ceiling then looks back at her "the bath is ready, come I will tell you how to use it as we head upstairs."
Hermione nods and follows him up the stairs, listening attentively as he goes through how people first used the shower to wash off any dirt or grime and then used the bathtub. He passed her a simple white shirt, and pokemon shorts. "Call me if you have any trouble okay. I'll be in the bedroom right there" he says pointing diagonally at the room with the open door. Hermione nods and heads into the bathroom shutting the door with a click.
Hideyoshi stares at the door for a few seconds and heads into the bedroom, and begins pacing up and down. 'He had never taken care of a toddler before, what was he thinking?! What if Hermione drowned whilst taking a bath, oh kami-sama (god) he would be the worst parent ever, having his child drown after she had been in his care for only one and a half hours.' Pausing at the thought, Hideyoshi palms his face and harshly sighs as he sits on his bed to contemplate.
Meanwhile, in the bath Hermione, sits and watches the steam rise and evaporate at she drapes herself over the side of the tub. 'To stay or to go to an orphanage/some person she didn't know'. Honestly, the choice was easy for the three-year-old. She couldn't imagine being shipped around staying with people who she didn't know, but I suppose that is a similar case with regards to Hideyoshi. The difference? He could tell her more about the strange spark that saved her from what could have been her ultimate demise. And if the flying pots, and moving pictures were anything to go by, it also meant he was very much equipped in teaching her how to use magic.
Hermione closes her eyes for a moment, in contemplation and drags herself out of the comfort of the warm bath, changing quickly into some clean clothes, with only minor difficulty. (She may be smart, but she was still just a toddler after all.) Using the stool nearby to help her open the door, she makes her way towards Hideyoshi's bedroom. "Umm mister, you use the bath now" she said adorably, her hand clenching the end of her shirt, unsure of what to do.
Looking up from where he sat, Hideyoshi smiled at the young girl. "Yes, give me a moment to get cleaned. In the meantime, why don't you get settled in one of the bedrooms" he tells her, as he walks out of the room. Opening a door next to his. Inside was a simple and comfortable looking single bed. A desk, wardrobe and a similar low table that was found in the living room. "Will you be okay sleeping here?" he asks, looking down at her with concern.
Nodding her head silently, the young toddler makes her way towards the bed and dives right under the warm sheets. Smiling at his young charge he says "if you need anything, my door will be open. Don't hesitate to wake me up, okay."
"Okay ~" Hermione replies sleepily, before she drifts off into dreamland thinking about how warm and safe she felt with this kind stranger.
"Goodnight" Hideyoshi says softly, switching off her bedroom lights, leaving the door half open as he softly bids her goodnight to get cleaned.
Sometime around 4.20am, a door creaks open and a small dark figure enters Hideyoshi's room. Its hand reaches out in the darkness and grabs hold of the Asian man startling him awake. "What, Who, Where?!" he screams as he scans the room for any potential threats. He looks down at his arm to see a small hand gripping his wrist. Followings his gaze up the arm from the hand, he looks straight at fearful brown chocolate eyes.
"Hermione, what's wrong" he says quickly getting out of bed. The toddler quickly latches onto his neck as he bends down, refusing to release him. Hodeyoshi fidgets awkwardly a bit, not use to such affection as he hugs her back and carries her, and places the young brunette on his bed.
"Shh, shh its okay. I'm here its okay" he tells her rocking the girl back and forth soothingly.
Hermione was sobbing on his shoulder, the small toddlers' hair more mused than it was after her bath. "We /hic/ we were walking and the bad man came, and and…" Hermione sobbed even harder, her words becoming more incoherent. Mori Hideyoshi knew more than anyone what a death of a persons loved ones could do to an adult, much less a child. He didn't push her, but he held on to the sobbing girl till the sun rose over the tree tops and the birds sang their song. It was a new day, and with it came new moments and memories. He just hoped that he could be the one to help this little girl create happier ones.
When she finally stopped, he had found that the young girl had been sleeping for quite some time, the hiccupping had been from her earlier crying fit, and as Hermione blinked blearily awake; he thought to himself that 'yes, he had made the right decision.' Now it was up to Hermione to decide whether she wanted him as her new guardian/father figure.
"I'm going to go make breakfast now okay" he says laying her down on the bed, as he got up to start the day. She grabs onto once more, but with less fear that she did earlier that morning. "Yes" he hears her say.
"What?" Hideyoshi asks confused at the young girl.
"Yes, I wanna stay wi~f you" she tells him with a bit of a lisp due to her tiredness.
And suddenly the sun looked a lot brighter, the day a lot happier. "You want to stay with me?!" He asks her once more, just to make sure he's not dreaming. She smiles and gives him a nod of confirmation that yes, she wanted to stay with the man who took her in, and that has been nothing but kind towards her.
In that moment, Mori Hideyoshi had just gained himself a family, a child of his own, someone he would teach and protect the best that he could. He had grabbed the young toddler and spun her around, and Hermione laughed in delight. "Okay, I'm going to make a few calls, write a few letters, sign a few documents but once that's all sorted, I'll be your guardian. That means we're family now and family takes care of one another."
At the time, Hermione as smart as she was, did not understand the full extent of the meaning of that sentence. But Hideyoshi knew, he would die for this child. It didn't matter that they weren't related by blood, nor that they had only met half a day ago. He knew family was a fluid thing that could be created from just about anything. He wasn't alone anymore in this world, and that made all the difference.
8 months later
The months flew by from Autumn to Spring. Christmas passed by solemnly as it was the first Christmas wherein Hermione would not spend it with her parents but with her new father figure. Hideyoshi did his best to bring the cheer towards the holiday, knowing how important it was for the toddler, but he found simply being in her presence and watching the snow fall together under the kotatsu was the best medicine for her sad heart.
Speaking of which though. Honestly, kotatsu's were amazing, why didn't more wizrds use it instead of the silly heating spell. It was so much more comfortable. Sure, the raven-haired man had used maguru objects and inventions before, heck he even had a tv, which he used to keep up with day to day news. But until Hermione arrived into his life, he was always hesitant to buy the strange duvet/table/heater combo. Also, nowadays he found himself watching more Japanese anime's, Western cartoon's, and lots of documentaries; learning things he wouldn't have known had the toddler not been there.
Slowly he was teaching everything he knew, from Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji to charms and potions. They made a strange pair for sure however by now most people around them got used to the out of place father/daughter duo. He even got her a broomstick for children that could hover three feet in the air. This scared Hermione at first, since she was not used to her feet not being able to touch the ground. And as Winter gave way to the birth of Spring, you couldn't find the small brunette without her trusty broom.
He had taught her day after day, how to balance on a broomstick, how to face her fears, how to use to the wind around you as an advantage, and even showing her some cool moves like standing on her broom like she was surfing. Of course, maybe that wasn't his best idea to date, considering she almost broke her arm when she first tried to 'surf' on her broomstick from the second floor down the stairs.
The one thing he noticed in all their classes, was simply how quickly she absorbed information, and her ability to understand complex ideas. Being a researcher in spell crafting, this had excited him because her curiosity made it so that she would ask a multitude of questions about whatever he was working on. Some he might have never thought of himself, which usually helped him find solutions a lot quicker than before when he trying to experiment with spells or create his own. His work brought the two closer together, and it was to be the catalyst of another huge shift in the young witches' life. For you see, spell crafting was an intricate field, only for the patient and adventurous. Magic had no culture, no prejudice, no judgment; it was simply raw power harnessed by people who had the abilities to do so. Yet, people divided up magic users by language, wealth and borders.
He looks towards the young girl who is hovering around on her broomstick playing with the Niffler that old man Scamander had sent him to watch over for a few days. Those creatures may be quite but they sure like their shiny objects. He's basically lost most of his silverware by now, wherever the Niffler has hid them. Thank kami (god)for the accio charm, or else he won't have any chopsticks to eat with and might have to levitate his food into his mouth instead. Shaking his head out form its musings, he had decided that maybe bringing Hermione along his research would be best for her, rather than simply staying in one place. The one thing that had solidified his thought on this happened 3 months ago.
Flashback
It was about noon that day. The sky was alight as a knock came from the front door. Hermione had said loud enough that she would open the door, considering Hideyoshi was busy make a midday snack for them both. Wiping his hands on a dish rag, as he walked closely behind his charge the door opened to reveal an old Asian man. White hair combed back, and almost surgically cut to end at the base of his nape. "Ohayō gozaimus Mori-san." The old man greeted with a small smile.
Blinking in shock Hideyoshi replied "Sensei? What brings you here?"
"Well, when I heard that one of my favourite students had adopted a child, I simply had to meet them after all." He looks at Hermione, smiling at the girl but eyes slightly calculating before turning towards his student. "You make a strange pair" he says, amusement glinting in his eyes.
"Indeed, oh I better introduce you. Hermione this is my sensei Yakumo Saemon. He is the Kocho Sensei (principal) of Mahoutokoro. Do you remember the school I told you that I went to for magic."
Hermione for her part was half-hidden from view as she stepped behind Hideyoshi's legs and gripped on to it for comfort, not used to the unfamiliar face. But Hideyoshi felt her nod nonetheless. He placed a hand on her head and pushes her forward from behind him "Why don't you introduce yourself" he asks encouragingly. Hermione looks up at him, nervous at using her Japanese to speak to someone that was not her father (Hideyoshi) nor the other villagers. "Gambatte (you can do it)" Hideyoshi says softly with his fist in a good luck pose.
Bowing at a 90-degree angle, Hermione stutters out a bit loudly "H-hajimemashite (Nice to meet you) Yakumo-sama, watashiwa Hermione Granger Mori-desu."
Laughing jovially at the young girls keen response he replies "Haha please rise, there is no need to bow so deeply towards me. And please just call me Yakumo-sensei, or just sensei is fine."
"H-hai" Hermione replies with a sharp nod, looking back at Hideyoshi to see him giving her a proud grin and she grins back at him.
'Honestly, these two' Yakumo thought exasperatedly. The both acted similar in that they could be quite shy at times but never back down from a challenge. It was funny to see how nurture was playing a huge role in the child's development. He could see the fire in the young toddler's eyes, with a hunger for knowledge.
They all went to the living room, Hermione being asked to help carry the rice crackers as Hideyoshi brought the tea in for everyone. They all sat down around the table Hermione and Hideyoshi sitting next to each other facing Yakumo. "So Hermione-san, has Mori told you much about Mahoutokoro."
Fidgeting a bit as she sat, still not quite used to sitting in the seiza position but a lot better than before, Hermione replied "A bit, he said it was fun and that he learned lots and…." Hermione thought for a moment before brightening "and how he was the best quidditch seeker." Hideyoshi preened slightly at his adopted daughters proud statement of him.
Smirking a bit at the reference to quidditch; Yakumo had to say he was proud to be the principal of a school that had an intense quidditch regime, churning out champion after champion in the International Quidditch Cup. "Are you interested in quidditch Hermione-san."
Shrugging Hermione replies "Maybe….I like flying with the birds."
Nodding in understanding, Yakumo did not push her. He simply let her be. It was one of his ideologies after all, let those who seek it out earn the knowledge. "Well, since you are now living in Japan, and have already turn 3 and will be 4 this year, I wanted to know whether you will be enrolling Hermione into our day program when she is 7."
Eyebrows scrunched in confusion, Hermione looked towards Hideyoshi, who replies "Well my research will be taking me to a few countries as it had always done, but I was worried that should she move around with me, she would not be able to either get the attention she needs, or be able to have a magic school accept her at random times of the year."
Gripping his chin in thought, Yakumo looked between the two and nods "Mori-san, you are aware of the system we use, having been a student yourself" he begins to explain, the other two watching him with rapt attention "I think education is education, and one doesn't need to only be in an institution to attain that education. Therefore, should you continue her studies whilst you take her out of the school, I will be happy to welcome her back at any time, so long as she comes back to take the relevant tests each year, or I can personally come and judge her performance."
Next to Hideyoshi, Hermione is beaming at the old man in front of her. She wanted to go on Hideyoshi's research adventures as well and was glad that someone seemed to support the idea. "Sensei" Hideyoshi says concerned "this is too much, you are a busy man, I can't –"
Hideyoshi trails off as Yakumo rose his hand for him to stop. "Mori, when I say you are one of my favourite students, I meant to say you are my favourite student. It may not be right for me to have biases even amongst the graduating class, but none are more deserving than you. Someone who has worked hard to attain a golden robe, who had no one to support him. Let me help you now, not as a sensei but as a friend."
Hideyoshi was speechless, and he bowed his head in thanks not lifting it until, he felt Hermione pull on his shirt sleeve. And he hugged her, the balm to his lonely soul. He thanked Yakumo Saemon again as the man left. Telling Hermione to watch out for the owl that would be sure to bring her the acceptance letter to Mahoutokoro before he apparated away.
Flashback end
Smiling at the memory, Hideyoshi looks down at his desk filled with papers and books. Ad in the middle of the mess was a map, with a single red circle drawn around in the edge of Deputatsky, the coast of the Laptev Sea, Sakha Republic, Russia. A smirk filled with the thrill of excitement Hideyoshi thought to himself 'Let the Venture Begin."