A/N: Hello! I would like to say that although I have no right in starting another story, I could care less. I have every intention of finishing all of the stories that I have started so far, I just need to get the conflicting things out of my head before I can continue on. It is usually good for me to have so many projects going on at once. So I shall keep working on all of them, but I have a few chapters of this already worked out that I need to clear out of my had.
I hope that you all like this, I know that I do. I also have good plans for it later on. Though I should mention that I am only about half way through the Anime of Naruto, so I am still getting used to the universe.
I do not own either Harry Potter or Naruto! Please enjoy the story!
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Chapter 1: Running Away
It was over. It had to be over. After all of the death that he had seen over the years, there was nothing more that he had left to give to the wizarding world. He had literally given it all to the final fight. He had even died in order to end the war that left them all in shambles. And now there was hardly anything left for him. He was bone tired and still he thought about what to do next. But there was nothing.
Even if he wanted to do something in this world it would be for nothing. Harry knew that there were still going to be people who would patronize him and others who wouldn't give a damn. He could already guess that the papers were probably going to write some half fabricated lie that would probably come back to bite him in the ass latter. That did seem to be the most popular thing in the Daily Prophet and what not. It would all end up as lies that would just make his life even harder, and that made Harry wish that he could just leave this world behind.
With his mind made up, he walked away from the destroyed castle where he had learned to live, and went into the Forbidden Forest; the place where he knew there would be something that would help him. He didn't know how he knew there was something in there that could help him, but he knew that it was something seeing as his instincts usually never led him astray. So he marched into the fog laden thick trees and into the dark depths of the forest that he had been in more than most of the students of Hogwarts combined.
He had been walking for maybe half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest when he found what it was that was going to help him. Walking towards him with grace that one doesn't normally associate with a skeletal winged horse was a thestral. It's skeletal frame making no noise as her wings were flat at her sides and the small amount of light that made it through the canopy of the forest gleamed softly off of the scale covered lizard like snout of the creature. The skin and bones tail swayed lightly behind her as well.
"Young master of The Hallows; I have been expecting you for quite some time." A woman's voice came from the thestral without the creature opening her mouth. The gleaming white eyes bore into him softly as if she was greeting a small child or a long lost friend. Harry was confused with how quickly he found himself comfortable with the horse like being.
"You were waiting, why?" Harry asked as he stretched out his hand to stroke her snout.
"Yes. We all knew that you would need somewhere to go after the end had come. We are creatures of death after all. So I have come to welcome you as a part of my family and take you to a new place where you can start anew. It will be a place without expectations for you where you can freely be whoever it is that you want to be." She said as she gently nuzzled him to comfort him.
Harry thought about that for a minute. He knew that things would never be the same, and as he thought along those lines he knew that it was perfectly natural for him to want a fresh start. And maybe this time he would be given an actual choice about whether or not he had to do something. And maybe this time the people would actually prepare him instead of codling him. It all sounded so much better than the prospects that he was looking at if he stayed.
"I think I would like that." He mumbled so that the thestral could just barely hear him.
"Then hop on. We have a lot of travel a head of us. I must warn you that there is a small price that will be paid for going where we are going, but I know for certain that it is nothing that is harmful." She said as she bowed low enough for Harry to climb onto her skeletal back.
"If it is a new start, then I don't mind the price." He said absently, not really knowing what he was saying, but knowing that he wanted to just fly away from this place that had once been a home to him. He wanted away from all of those bad memories.
He didn't know when the thestral started to fly, and he didn't know where they were going, but he had fallen asleep just after the winged horse had taken off and he was not waking up for the world. It was a part of the price that had to be paid as the thestral started to fly through the barriers that had stood for so long to hide the realities away from one another.
Sure enough, as Harry was peacefully sleeping, the price was taken without his knowledge. With each wing beat through the seal, Harry began to get younger. And as they were about to break through he was stripped of most of his memories, leaving behind just enough to keep up with impressions that had been formed and leaving the instincts that he had burned into his subconscious completely fine. What was left after the price was paid was an eight year old boy with no memories or name associated with him. It was truly going to be a new start for him.
And although he didn't know it yet, his abilities were also changing. His magic morphed into two separate pathways. One was just his normal magic core; however it had modified itself so that the only magic he would be able to do would be inside of his own body and not outside of it. And although he didn't know what that meant yet, it was the equivalent to his bloodline trait. And the other part molded itself into the chakra network that all the beings in this new pace had. In a last act, his magic also changed his main language to the one he would need. Now he was a part of this new world in all ways that counted. And it was not a part of the price that had to be paid, but just the changes that had to be made in order for him to survive.
No matter how far they had flown through the sky, it didn't seem like long to either of them. Time had been altered for them, and so it didn't pass the same as it did for other humans and creatures. And as they flew, the thestral promised death that in this new world she would look after the boy as if he was her own foal. And when the time came, she would teach him the things he would need that would give him a slight edge in the world they were to live in.
After finding a place where she believed to offer the best town for her newly acquired colt to grow up in, she started to spiral down. Of course she also made sure to let the shinobi on duty see her so that they would come and meet her. Inside, the thestral was almost cackling with excitement on intimidating a few new people. It had been a while since she had been given the time to have fun with other beings.
Almost at the exact same time that she landed, a group of three men clad in black with white animal masks on entered the same clearing and looked at her wearily. The ANBU operatives were not afraid; it was simply that they were unsure about what to make of the thestral. They were slightly unnerved that they didn't know what it was or what it could do.
"Greetings, shinobi of the hidden leaf." She greeted. Her voice slightly shocking them due to the fact that she didn't open her mouth to speak. Usually the summons that spoke actually used their mouths to do it. Talking without looking like she was talking as just strange to them. But what had them worried was the child that the horse like creature was carrying on her back. He didn't look to be in good condition.
"What are you doing here?" The man with the bird mask asked as he took a steady and measured step forward.
"I thought that was obvious. I am here because he needs help that I cannot give. We only just left a war zone and I feel that it would benefit him if he was raised by humans instead of creatures like me." She said with a slight scolding tone.
The last part got their attention as the one with the cat like mask asked "And what exactly are you?"
"I am a thestral. We are known as creatures of death because the only way that someone can see us is if they have seen death themselves." She answered easily as she carefully slipped the boy off of her and lowered him gently to the ground with her wing. Obviously she wanted them to help him.
"Who is this boy?" The bird ANBU asked. They were still unsure of what to think about this situation, but they were always willing to take in people looking of asylum.
"He is no one and anyone, as of right now. His memories have been taken I am afraid, and he does not know the answer to that question himself. But I think that he can be a great asset to your village. And he is in no way a spy." The answer that she gave was not expected, but the shinobi knew better than to question further when it was clear that the boy really did need medical attention. They would leave it to the others to decide if they thought he was a threat to the village or not.
The man in the cat mask was the one who took the boy. They took off towards the hospital, and ignored the looks that they were given due to the thestral. When they got to the hospital they had to explain to the winged skeletal horse that she was not allowed into the hospital because she was an animal. And although she had a problem with that, she knew that it was the way of things. A stupid way, but the way none the less.
Inside the hospital, the staff that treated the boy was horrified at the number of scares that marred his skin. They were not even the normal ones that one would expect from a pre-genin or any stage of ninja. It appeared as though someone took great pride in marring the skin of the boy. And the large puncture was right above his elbow looked as if someone took a claw from a large summon and stabbed it through the arm. Then there was the lightning bolt scar on his forehead; just looking at it made them believe that it had been made on purpose with a blunted blade sometime when he was very young. And it pissed them off.
The staff had come to the conclusion that the boy had been abused. Child abuse was the one thing in the world of shinobi that was looked down on. Sure, when it happened to a street urchin it was a little different, but for a little boy to have this many scares, it was more likely that he had been tortured for some reason. Not even the harshest of the shinobi in the village would do that to a child. They were pissed off.
It was about two hours later when the boy woke up. And he was surrounded by people. There was a man with long blond hair that was strung up in a pony tail, a man who was covered in scares, a girl with purple hair, and a man who was dressed in white robes and had on a ridiculously large white hat. And they all were very surprised when the boy opened his eyes and looked at them with eyes so green that they reminded them of the forest. None had seen eyes like those.
"Do you know where you are?" The Hokage asked as he stepped forward to see the boy better.
The boy with the brilliant green eyes looked at all of them in turn before he shook his head. Then his eyes landed on the scared man and he said "You remind me of someone, but I can't remember who. The memory was taken." The boy said it in such a matter of fact way that the others couldn't really understand why he had said it.
"Do you know anything more about the man that I remind you of?" Ibiki asked as he stepped forward. It was an unconscious reaction to getting information that he had gotten from his job that had him leaning forward in an intimidating fashion, but the boy didn't seem to notice.
He tilted his head to the side and his eyes unfocused for a moment as he tried to remember. Finally he shrugged and said "He is dead now."
The adults seemed to flinch back at the tone. It was as if it was someone talking about history and not about someone that they had known. But then again, if he couldn't remember the man, then it would make sense that he wouldn't say it as if it was personal. It was more like he was stating a well known fact.
"Would it be alright if I looked into your mind little one? I promise that it won't hurt you, but it will help us to know where it is that you are from." The blond man asked as he came forward and squatted by the bed so that he as level with the boy.
He thought for a moment before nodding his head. The boy knew there was nothing personal there anyway.
With a hand on the boy's head and the other forming the needed seal, he slipped into the boy's mind and took a look around. What he found verified what the ANBU told them the creature that called itself a thestral said. There were no memories in this boy's head. But there were impressions, instincts of what to do in certain situations. Also, it seemed as if his base personality was still there, even if he no longer had the experiences that formed it.
He came out of the boys head after not even a minute of being there and gave a look to the others and shook his head once to say that there was nothing to see in the boy's mind. None of the four adults noticed the snake summon that Anko had forgotten she had out. The snake was now on its way up the bed without the highly qualified ninja noticing. That spoke volumes of how focused they were on the boy.
Or at least they didn't realize it until the boy was speaking in syllables that were hissed out in a very snake like way. They all took a step back as they saw the snake making herself eye level with the boy as he hissed out the serpentine words that they didn't understand. And then the snake hissed back at him as if she was excited.
"Anko-san, why is your snake out?" The Hokage asked as he looked at here with a slightly annoyed expression.
With a nervous laugh she said "Yeah, sorry about that, I forgot she was out." The others in the room suppressed the urge to face palm.
Then the snake decided to speak. "He is our brother among men. He is a speaker! I am afraid that no snake would ever attack him unless ordered by another speaker. Our laws dictate that it is a death sentence to any who attack a speaker. And on top of that he is a slayer of a basilisk. Lord among snakes. This little one has so much potential. I don't think that there has been a speaker in the elemental nations in over a thousand years at least!"
"What's a basilisk?" Anko asked.
"It is a serpent so deadly that a single look into its eyes means death. The scare above his elbow is actually a puncture mark from where he was bitten by one. There is only one cure to the venom from the lord of snakes, and to have survived the bite means that most poisons will never work on him anymore. At least not the natural ones." The snake said excitedly.
"And what is the cure to the venom?" The Hokage asked out of curiosity. Perhaps if he knew that he would know just how poisonous the serpent really was.
"The only cure to basilisk's venom is the tears from a phoenix." The snake answered with a very smug voice.
"Shit," Anko summed up the conversation with a single awed word.
After a moment of awed silence where the boy continued to converse casually with the snake, the Hokage said "I think it might be a good idea to take this outside and ask the thestral thing that brought him here more questions. She seemed to remember a lot more that he does."
With nods they all left, leading the boy through the sterile hallways of the hospital and towards the thing that had brought him to their village. They were somewhat surprised by the level of youthful curiosity that the boy conveyed as he looked from side to side and into rooms on his way out. He was like a little puppy in a way.
And once they were outside, all four of the shinobi were on edge as they walked up to the black winged skeletal horse with milky white eyes. They would have never admitted it, but they all found the creature slightly daunting. The boy didn't though. He ran straight towards the creature and hugged one of the front legs as though it was a house hold pet or friend. To Anko it reminded her of a young child hanging off of a parent's leg.
"Hello, I am the Hokage of this village and I would like to ask you some more questions regarding the boy." The Hokage said as he looked into the eyes of the thestral.
"I think it would serve both of us better if I simply tell you what I can about him. It would take less time and you could ask more questions when I am done." She gave him a reasonable counter argument.
With a nod of approval she started. "Fist I would like to tell you that I am Suzu, a thestral. We are known as creatures of death because the only way for you to see us is if you have seen someone die in front of you. A depressing way to gain the sight, but it does change someone to see death rather than to hear about it." She started off.
The adults then looked to the boy, all four knowing now that he had seen someone die in front of him, and they were all a little concerned over the implications. Luckily they didn't have to ask because Suzu caught on to what they were thinking and answered their question before they could ask it.
"This young one has not led an easy life. He has been forced to watch again and again as those he came to care about were killed in front of him. One by one he lost them all. It all started when he was just over a year old. Your snake has told you that he is a speaker. Well there was another who could speak the language of the snakes, and he was threatened by the boy. He went in to kill him at the time and ended up murdering his parents before he turned his power onto the boy. The scar on his head is from that night. Somehow his mother was able to put up a protecting ward that sent the power back onto the attacker.
After that, he was forced into a war he really had no part in. The old geezer had decided to keep him alive only so long as to die when the time was right. He was forced into battles before he was ready and without proper training. But somehow he managed to win. He defeated the dark speaker at the cost of those closest to him. I took him after that. I would not leave him in a place that would rather scorn him than look at him as the hero he was. We are not from this world; there are thick barriers that separate this world from the one that we are from. There is always a price that must be paid to get through the wards. I am almost grateful that it was his memories that it took." The thestral finished.
All four of the shinobi didn't like the story at all. But it looked to be true enough from what the healers had seen of his body. They were slightly outraged that someone would use a child like that. Of course they did not know that the boy had been in his late teens when the final battle happened.
"What is his name?" Ibiki asked.
"I think it would be better for him to have a new one. This is a new start for the young one, and I don't think he would have wanted to keep it anyway."Suzu answered.
"Well he needs a name," Inoichi said as he scratched his head.
"If it helps, his original name did start with an H if you want to narrow down the search for a name." Suzu cut in
"I'm gunna call him Hiroto!" Anko announced after a very long pause where everyone was thinking of names.
"Well, I think I can safely welcome Hiroto-kun into the village, the only question now is where to put him." The Hokage said in his gruff voice as he looked at the child with calculating eyes right after he accepted the new name.
"I think the T&I department should look after the gaki. I mean, he had met the three of us here; he is fine with Ibiki, likes my snakes, didn't mind Inoichi going through his mind, and he needs to get acclimated to life here in Konoha. What better way than to be with a department. And it also helps that Suzu here looks nice and creepy. She would totally fit in!" Anko suggested in complete sincerity.
The other two looked at Ibiki who just shrugged before saying "Anko, why can't you just say that you want a little brother to spoil but don't want to take care of him the entire time?" He asked his subordinate.
"Fine, but it is still a good idea. It might even be good for the others in our department. Kids can relieve stress and what not." She continued with a shrug.
Suzu giggled slightly before saying "It might also be good for you to know that I will have to take him every once in a while away from the village to help train him in his bloodline. I also think it will surprise you to know that he will have an ability to see into someone's mind once he is given proper training. But that is only one of the things that he will be able to do. There is also a summons scroll that I will be giving him in the event that he is to become a shinobi of this village."
The talk of a bloodline that was not just the gift that the little gaki had in talking to snakes spiked all of their interests, but at the same time they knew that fishing for information wasn't the wisest thing to do. They decided that they would learn more about him as they went.
"I think that will work. I mean, if you two need help I have a daughter that is about a year younger than this little one so I'm sure I can help from time to time." Inoichi said with a smile. The message behind that simple statement was that he was happy to help but he had his own daughter to think about and would not be able to take the kid in that much.
Suzu decided to interject right about then and said "If it helps, Hiroto-kun is a fairly talented cook. Just give him written instructions with the foods he needs and he is good to go."
"I'll take him!" Anko declared as she smiled widely and scooped the kid up from where he was currently fighting sleep at the thestral's feet.
The three men all laughed good naturedly as they wondered how much dango she was going to try and make with the kid. Ibiki decided that it would be smart for him to accompany them tonight to make sure that the kid was going to be alright in the warzone known as Anko's apartment seeing as Kurenai was out on a mission at the moment. He also was not one to say no to the promise of food after a long day. Of course, it would seem as if the boy had fallen asleep at the moment, still in the snake woman's arms, but it was only just after lunch time, so they had time.
And that was how Anko found herself covered in rice flour a few hours later as Hiroto giggled and Ibiki chuckled at the spectacle. It was perfect blackmail material for when Anko decided to eat her dango during an interrogation. Though, that one time really did get good results, even if the man hadn't wanted the new piercings that the snake summoner gave him with the left over sticks.
The thestral had not been kidding when she said that the kid was a good cook. Not only had Hiroto happily cooked dinner, but he was even happy to rope the other two in to make desert as well. His trust had been earned so quickly with the other two that it was almost startling. And they somehow found themselves trusting him as well.
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A/N: And that concludes my first chapter of this cross over. I hope that you all liked this, and although I already have a pairing in mind, I also have an open mind. I would like to put in a few omakes here and there, and I am willing to listen to whatever ideas that you all might have in that regard!
I hope that you liked my story idea, and I hope that you all review and favorite, and follow this story!
Bye!