So, I thought I could post the rest of the stories my brain wanted me to write.
I don't know if they will ever have more than a chapter, or what can pass for it, and I have even have some that don't have a beginning, just the one scene.
For now, I will put them all here, in this "Story Lair", and when I will have moved my lazy bones enough to write the rest, I will put them under their own title.
So! We start with this Persona 4 (be it the original game, the Golden or their Animations) and Harry Potter crossover.
It's part of my Kitsune!Harry realm (most of them are, btw)
Disclaimer: Persona 4 (c) ATLUS, Harry Potter (c) JKRowling
Christmas Eve 2010 - Inaba
It had been snowing a lot these days and Dojima Ryotaro and his daughter Nanako were going home from a short trip to Junes where they had bought cakes for the next day (and gifts for each others). It wasn't often that Ryotaro had a day off, especially around Christmas, so they had decided to walk to spend more time together and visit the new shopping centre that got implanted recently in Inaba.
They were crossing the Samegawa Flood Plain when they saw a body-shaped mound of snow in the middle of the road from which stuck out a lump of black fur. Ryotaro didn't hesitate a second before hurrying to its side and shoving the snow away. Just beneath it, he discovered the blood-covered body of a peculiar young boy, with fox ears and three tails as black as his hair.
Ryotaro checked his vitals as he snapped his cell phone open to call for an ambulance. Despite the blood and the frozen skin, he could feel a pulse beneath his fingers. The ambulance was on site in a jiffy, after all you just couldn't ignore an emergency call for a Kitsune, a Nine-Tailed Fox, because that was what the near frozen boy was and it explained why he wasn't dead yet. Foxes had inherent magic that was designed for their protection and that of their kits.
As they put the kit on a stretcher, they noticed he was part of a long dead Clan, meaning it would be near impossible to make him go with one of the Clans living in the surroundings of Inaba. Foxes were territorial creatures and rarely accepted a foreigner in their midst. And judging by the fact that the kit wasn't from a living Clan, nor was he Asian, somebody would have to take care of him while they searched for his family.
The Dojimas went back home, both worried about the kit, but there was nothing they would do for him as of yet. The next day in the afternoon, they went to the hospital, hoping to see him. They were able to enter his room, but he was still sleeping from the surgery he went through. His head was bandaged, passing over his left eye which had seemed to be savagely pierced, and from his neck down, his body was covered too. Nanako put her Christmas gift that she got for him earlier that day on the night stand. It was a red fox doll with a big heart between its paws, 'Get well soon' stitched over it in golden letters. Ryotaro brought Nanako the next day at the hospital, and the next, and the next, for two weeks before there were signs that the kit would wake.
The day he woke up, the kit panicked as foreign scents assaulted his sensitive nose, but the panic went through the rook as he noticed that he couldn't see from his left eye and that his legs from the feet up to his thighs were unresponsive. His quickened heartbeat alerter doctors of his conscious state and soon enough, after they managed to calm him down a bit, the Dojimas were permitted to visit him.
Surprisingly, the kit was much calmer around the Dojimas but he still didn't appear to be doing better. Over the days that followed his awakening, the kit seemed to become more tight-lipped than when he first woke. They still didn't know his name nor if he was from anywhere near Inaba.
It was in the middle of January when the doctors decided he would be better off outside of the hospital and Ryotaro volunteered to take care of him after they told him that he was getting worse, mentally. shortly after, the kit was pushed on a wheelchair toward the Dojimas' Residence. The first thing Ryotaro did when they both arrived was to give him a bath since the kit was in an apathetic state. He didn't fight the shampooing of his hair and tails, nor did he flinch as Ryotaro scrubbed him clean before soaking him in a tub of warm water even though the older man registered minute movements of his muscles at his touches.
Nanako came home that day to find her father and the kit sat in front of the television, the latter leaning against the former's chest, wrapped in a fluffy blanket that covered his scrawny body, one ear over Ryotaro's heart, asleep. The Detective Inspector had discovered that the sound of his heartbeat calmed the young agitated kit.
"The let him out of the hospital?" asked the young girl to her father, putting her things away in the entrance hall.
"They said he was giving up... He had stopped eating after a while."
Ryotaro passed one hand through the kit's hair, causing the young fox to whine and snuggle closer. "He need someone to take care of him."
After taking care of the young kit for two long week, they finally learned his name: Harry Snape, or rather Hadrian Snape. And with that, the fact that he could only talk in English; Fortunately, Ryotaro could speak it with no particular problems. They also learned that his father had been forbidden to look after him, else he wanted them to die, so Harry had been left with hateful relatives, hoping that someday, his daddy would come for him.
The Dojimas helped him gain weight since he was just skin and bones and with his health coming back, the silkiness of his fur and messy hair came back with force. Still, Harry showed signs of depression when he suddenly remembered that his legs were useless now and he was far from being totally fine.
Months passed and Harry was a little bit livelier but he was still clinging to Ryotaro, and was still sleeping in the older man's futon with him. When asked why he wanted to sleep with him, he had answered, half asleep, that he "smells like Daddy".
In the middle of March, Ryotaro received a call from his sister who asked him if he could shelter her son for a year since she and her husband were going abroad for work. He accepted to take care of one Narukami Yu, thinking it would also be good for Harry to meet someone closer to his age. The farthest the kit had gone (sat on a wheelchair, and sometimes pushed by Ryotaro himself) had been the Samegawa Flood Plain and they had only met adults who gave the Fox a lot of food good for his health.
Harry seemed to take well the news and was looking forward to meet Ryotaro's nephew. He liked Nanako a lot and he loved Ryotaro so he could only hope that the nephew was similar to them. Nanako shared his enthusiasm but Harry was worried about one thing.
"I won't be able to sleep with you anymore, Ryotaro?" he had finally asked at the beginning of April, still talking in English for the most part.
"I think I will be even busier than before, I'm sorry..."
"You will have less time for us..." Harry had turned to look through the windows. Sometimes, he could tell things were going to be good or awful just by looking at the sky. Well, it wasn't really looking at the sky that did it, but the sky was a focus like any other.
After that affirmation, he seemed to revert back to how he had been at first. Ryotaro was indeed less and less at home, rookies at the Police Station annoying him and making stupid mistakes that he needed to cover up.
And then, the day Narukami Yu arrived came.
Harry had had a weird feeling since the start of the week. It had started after meeting Ryotaro's slave, Adachi Tohru. The rookie had felt like a predator hiding behind a weak façade but the sensation had been quick to fade, and Harry hadn't really thought of it again.
But now that he had Narukami Yu in front of him that evening, the sensation came back and Harry turned wary of him. As soon as Yu met his eyes, the young kit surprised everyone by growling low in his throat. He gave Yu the cold shoulder until Ryotaro left for the Police Station. Harry calmed down instantly and poked his food instead of eating. He chanced a glance at Yu who was looking at him with concern and immediately felt guilty. Not knowing if he had any skills in English, he tried to convey how sorry he was that he had growled at him for unknown reasons, but his Japanese was choppy and he ended up whining and poking some more at his food.
Still, Yu understood and accepted his apologies with a nod and the three of them finished they meal in a comfortable silence.
The older teenager, at first, had been surprised to hear that Foxes were real - his mother had told him about them when he was a kid but in a big city, beliefs like this tended to fade away. He had known his uncle was fostering one when it was decided that he would go to Inaba, but he had never imagined the cuteness the kit in front of him was unconsciously exuding. His mannerisms were somewhat feminine and that, coupled with his androgynous looks made him wonder it the kit wasn't female instead. The fact that he was a head or two shorter than him probably didn't help. It was said that Foxes often grew to look like what their mates liked the most, but Yu had the feeling that his petite stature wasn't due to the desires of Harry's mate.
Yu was cut from his thoughts by Nanako's soft voice asking Harry if he would be okay to take his bath. The Fox put his chopsticks on the table, replying in choppy Japanese, and declaring he as tired, crawled to the bathroom. He refused to show his weakness to a predator and without Ryotaro, he had to make some efforts. In his mind, scrubbing his tails clean, he was plotting a vengeance on one Adachi Tohru for ruining his bedtime rituals.
The next day, Harry woke up briefly in the arms of Ryotaro. He smiled and snuggled closer against him before trying to get more sleep, inhaling his surrogate daddy's scent.
Ryotaro had woken around the same time Harry did the first time, and upon seeing him so calm, he tried to extricate himself from his hold without waking him up since he had to go to work that day. After a quick shower to shake the sleep off, and putting some clothes, he went to make breakfast for four before going to wake his daughter and then the young kit up. To say that Harry was happy with the fact he had to go to school was wrong. Ever since he arrived in Inaba, Nanako and Ryotaro had tried to teach him to write and read Japanese. He still had trouble speaking it and still got a British accent, but he was progressing well.
Still, the need for him to go to school was here and Harry had grudgingly accepted since it otherwise meant that he would be all alone at home and that wasn't something he looked forward to. Ryotaro prepared him for school and carried him to the kitchen table. Yu was down the next minute and the D.I. was out for work almost immediately after kissing Nanako's and Harry's forehead. (Harry had refused to let him go without receiving one)
When they left for school, Harry in a wheelchair, and Nanako pushing him for a bit before Yu had to take over, they walked together until Samegawa Flood Plain where they went separate place, Yu to high school, and Nanako and Harry to grade school where he had been offered a place since there was a lot he didn't know and it would be easier than high school since it had become apparent that the young kit had gaps in his overall knowledge in academic subjects.
Yu walked toward the school, thinking about his meeting with the young kit. What was it that put him on edge so much? He wasn't particularly threatening and people often said that he was a born leader, but Harry's reaction was a first. Could the Fox smell something in him that made him react?
On the road, he was nearly rolled over by a student on his bicycle, but said student crashed into a garbage bin. Yu preferred to ignore him rather than deal with it right now; he needed to get to the teacher's office before the bell chimed.
His home room teacher wasn't what he had expected. He tried to brush off the insults but being called a sad sack and a loser in front of the class was too much, and he let his mouth run, claiming that he wasn't a loser. That he should look at himself first before criticising the others almost followed had he not bit his lip.
During recess, classmates gathered around his desk. Among questions about him and his life in the city, some asked about Harry, was he cute, was he really one-eyed, is it true that he has three tails? He didn't have much time for himself that day.
Fortunately, for him at least, sirens echoed in the neighbourhood, and an announcement was made that they shouldn't leave the school without further notice. When they could finally leave, Yu was stopped by his seat neighbour, Satonaka Chie, and her friend, Amagi Yukiko.
They walked a little bit before arriving at a crime scene. The teens stopped as Dojima walked in their direction.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, a bit irritated at their presence.
"We're just passing by."
"I told the principal not to let students go," the D.I. ranted, "would you check on Harry, please? He is bound to get depressed, or even vicious since I won't be home tonight. Nanako is used to it but..."
Yu nodded and before they could move, an officer sped past them and threw up in the grass.
"Adachi! Stop acting like a rookie!"
The three teens separated shortly after and Yu went back home to make sure the Fox was alright.
Nanako and Harry were already home when Yu came back, and Yu visibly deflated when he saw it was just him.
"Are you alright?" Yu asked the Fox, not by obligation but because he also truly felt concerned. He knew little about Foxes, but there was something they all had and Harry still hadn't found it. A mate. Someone to help them through the hardships of life, someone to keep them safe if they were the submissive of the bond, someone to love until death did them apart and beyond...
But Harry latched on Dojima Ryotaro for filial comfort since his family couldn't be around just yet, and the more he had to consider family, the better he would be before finding his mate.
Harry nodded shyly, before asking in Englsih: "How was your day? I heard that there was a teacher to avoid?"
"It was fine. That teacher is my home room teacher... Everybody calls him King Moron."
"Oh! Morooka? That poor sod looks like my aunt. Well, she doesn't have her teeth like his though... but they are like two peas in a pod. I bet he called you a loser?" Harry asked in a knowing tone. Yu only smiled and nodded before asking if his day had been good too.
"Yeah! I become better!" he answered in choppy Japanese. Harry suddenly frowned and grabbed a stick he had stuffed in on of his tail. He waved it in front of his throat and stuffed it back in his fur.
"This will be better like that." Both Nanako and Yu were surprised to hear him talk in a fluent Japanese all of a sudden. "What? I just remembered we were magical creatures... I wasn't feeling well before so it didn't occur to me to even try. And to be honest I still don't, feel okay, I think I depleted my magical core some more... But I didn't want to spend my days only being able to understand only a fraction of Japanese... Ugh, this is so embarrassing! Ryotaro will laugh at me..."
"Dad would never laugh at you," Nanako reassured him. "And if he laughs, it is because he will be happy to know that you're getting better to use your Magic."
Harry brightened at that nd his tails thumped against the floor. He turned toward Yu, his nose still catching that dangerous scent, and frowned.
"I truly am sorry for acting like I did yesterday. You feel... like a dangerous creature and... it put me on edge. Oddly enough, you don't feel like that anymore today..."
They ate dinner in silence, Harry glancing every now and then toward the front door. He wanted Ryotaro to come back home, not gallivanting in the streets and catching criminals. Didn't he have rookies for that?
"If I lay paws on Adachi, I'm gonna beat some sense into him..." he ranted as he stabbed his dinner with his chopsticks. "Can you believe that, Yu? It's been several months since that guy is here and he is dragging Ryotaro down! Had I known it would turn like that, I would have smacked him sooner and made him go back to the city he came from..." he continued to rant, Yu still listening. A shiver coursed through his spine as he listened to Harry talk. Dojima was right, Harry was getting vicious rather than depressed and he didn't know which one he preferred.
When Dojima came back home, Harry turned the cold shoulder on him and pouted, cutely if you asked the others, until Dojima put a cup of milk in front of him with chocolate in it.
"Y-You're trying to buy me, but it won't work. I'm still mad at you. But I will take it because it would be a shame to waste milk like that."
Despite being surprised at his sudden gift of speech, Dojima only petted his head and he proposed coffee to his daughter and nephew so that they didn't feel left out. He knew Nanako wanted it super sweet and he would make it even sweeter to make up for the days he couldn't be home with them. Yu apparently took coffee with just cream, no sugar.
When the young kit started to doze, Dojima took him to bed. It was raining hard so he hoped Harry would sleep peacefully. It was one of the sounds that could calm him, rain and his heartbeat. He only hope Harry could find the missing pieces in his life.
AN: I stopped here because the rest were scenes that couldn't be linked to the main piece of the story yet, like Harry's discovery of his mate, or his father managing to get free etc.
I wrote it on my phone and tablet and since I couldn't think of a way to transfer it on my computer, I had to retype the whole thing. Thanks to this, I managed to correct two or three things.
You're welcome to criticise! I've been so long out of school, I think my writing skills plummeted to the ground...
The next chapter of "Story Lair" won't be related to this cross-over btw, I have a NEEDLESS/Harry Potter I thought about posting, but I think I will also post it independently from this... So I don't know which crazy idea will be following!