Shiro-fukurō Harii

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto.

Chapter 2: Exploring Konoha

Author's Note:

In answer to a question, the ANBU haven't noticed any of Hari's skills. They are just keeping an eye on him because he is a civilian moving in next to Naruto. Hari bought a few supplies beforehand and had the windows closed while he was repairing anything major. Most everything was patched or fixed with runes (which was why Hari's hands were covered in ink), and the runes were 'absorbed' into whatever they are drawn to fix. Hari opened his windows only after his walls were painted and basic wards already anchored, so the ANBU didn't notice anything off. (They were monitoring his faint chakra signal to 'see' where Hari was.)

Ninja skills are geared more specialized for war, while wizarding skills are more multi-purpose. Chakra is more balanced energy that anyone with enough training could use while 'magic' is the ability to have and use larger than normal spiritual energy. On a one on one battle, the ninja is more likely to win. However, given that they use energy differently, simple things can cause greater damage. On the other hand, with forewarning a (smart) wizard is more likely to be able to defend a place or take advantage.

Backstory Info- While Hari knows how to survive (what plants to eat, how to remain hidden, how live in the wild/ suburban city), he doesn't know how to fight ninja style. Harry's fighting strength is in his magic skills (mainly wandless and runic), some non-magic/ non-chakra healing, partial infiltration, speed and wild luck. So while Harry was a child soldier (and abused/ neglected by the Dursleys), he's not as well trained as a ninja would be. Yes there were a couple of big (front line) battles, but not as many as there would have been in a ninja war and all of them were using a form of ninjutsu. Hari has some weapons, but doesn't really know how to use them. And Hari's skills with taijutsu or hand-to-hand combat is almost non-existent.

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Retrieving the remaining loaves, Hari set out for the day. He frowned slightly as not even five steps out of the apartment building, someone triggered his perimeter ward. But for whatever reason the ninja decided to investigate his apartment, Hari was confident that they wouldn't discover his runes unless they were close to being rune masters, but that was always a possibility however remote even if Hari originated from a different dimension. Anything truly important was always kept with him. The wizarding war had taught him that much in terms of paranoia. In attempting to get to the orphanage, Hari found himself being greeted by a tottering teenager instead.

"Pardon me, my legs just aren't working right. My sensei's a menace." And the girl, who appeared to be around Hari's age collapsed on the ground.

Hari looked at the teenage girl skeptically, "This early in the morning?"

"Maa... I had training all night." She explained, making no move to get off the dirt floor now that she had found an audience.

"What kind of training?"

"All of us genins on my team are training to be medic-nins of a sort." She pulled out something that looked like a long needle and used it to pin back her hair.

"Medic-nins?" Hari wasn't sure if this girl was just happy to have an audience or an upper ninja testing if he was really a civilian. But whoever had entered his apartment had left only about a minute ago, so she wasn't probing to know his skills. However, she might be trying to gather information on him for a random test for her 'sensei'. After all, if anything random was to happen, Hari often ended up in the middle of the chaos.

"Hey! Medic-nins are awesome, awesome like stealing Uncle's syrup jars." Whether she was an adversary or not, she did seem believably dizzy.

Hari sighed, before offering a hand out, "How far's your place?"

The girl blinked up at him suspicious, "You're not a pervert right?"

"No." Hari snorted, meeting her eyes truthfully, "There's too many if the blatant display of books with questionable material is flaunted so easily. Besides, it's always a good idea to not tick off a future healer." Eying the long needle in the girl's hair, Hari remembered what it was like at the mercy of a seamstress and added, "Or a tailor."

"True. Well, I need to get home to my family. So, nice meeting you." The girl flounced off the ground and began to walk away. She stumbled and fell.

"That training session playing hide and seek must have been rough." Hari sympathized, at least she was getting training. In his experience, he had been thrown straight into a battle or sent on the run without any or much preparation. Which, in the end, made sense when Dumbledore finally confessed to Severus Snape that Hari needed to die to get rid of the Dark Lord. But still, the war would have been over a lot sooner if not for Dumbledore's plans.

"You've no idea." The brown haired young ninja grumbled, hissing as she rubbed out a tangled muscle, "Adapting to terrain in the dark is hard."

Hari nodded as he pulled her up, "The dark does tend to make things confusing. Unless there is loud cover, there are at least stars. Which way?"

"You're not serious! You don't seem like a ninja. I had you pegged for a civilian." The girl, who admittedly looked familiar to someone else that Hari had met within the past few days, blurted out.

"Well... you're not wrong. I am a civilian." Hari shrugged, slightly wincing at her loud enthusiasm, "How'd you know that anyway?"

"Your weak chakra signature and you were indicating that you knew how to navigate by the stars."

"I somewhat do." Hari replied bemused, (he would know the stars better if they hadn't shifted, but he still knew his basic directions), "But not everything is a ninja art. My godfather's clan traditionally named their children by the stars. After I found that out, I collected star charts and learned how to navigate by them. And what's chakra? Is that how ninja's stick to walls sideways?"

"...Kinda. Turn left down that road. Chakra is a balance of spiritual and physical energies. Different mixtures of the two energies produce jutsus. My apartment is just around the corner. Oh look, there's blood following that trashcan." The girl giggled as she pointed at a random person.

"...How close are you to collapsing?" After examining that random person, just in case, Hari started pulling the dark-eyed rookie ninja faster down the road. He really didn't want to end up in the incoming awkward moment if she fell asleep in his arms.

"I can hold out until I reach my bed. I'm really tired." The girl yawned, stumbling along.

"I can tell." Hari grunted, "Does anyone else live at your apartment?"

"Hnn. My mom. And sometimes my uncle and his adopted twin."

"Okay." Hari shifted his arm to knock on the door of the apartment that was surprisingly close.

"Hello- Hanae!"

"I think she may have hit her head." Hari informed the girl's mother as he gently pushed her into her mother's arms.

"Did not!" Hanae protested as her mother immediately began fussing over her health.

"So... you always drop exhausted in front of a stranger? One that you neglected to introduce yourself to." Hari teased as he separated five loaves into another bag. While he was here, he might as well take the chance to get rid of a few more of the sweet loaves.

"Opps." Hanae muttered even as her mother scolded her. Yet her mother barely blinked when Hanae toppled over unconscious.

"She constantly over does things." the brown haired woman sighed in exasperation, before turning to address Hari, "Please forgive my daughter her rudeness. My name is Kamizuki Izumi and my daughter's name is Hanae."

Hari returned an equal bow, "Pleasure to meet you, Kamizuki-san. My name is Shiro-fukurō Harii. Could you point out which direction the orphanage is? I sometimes bake when I can't sleep, so someone else might as well eat the extras." Hari explained as he handed a good smelling bag over to Izumi.

"Of course I can help you. The orphanage is five blocks in that direction. These smell mouth-watering. Have you ever thought of opening a bakery?" Izumi praised.

Hari blushed as he rubbed his faded lighting bolt scar, "Yeah, but it's more work than I want to do. Maybe someday, but we'll see. I don't know how to make a lot of the local dishes."

"Oh." Izumi sighed in disappointment, "Could we at least trade recipes?"

Despite himself Hari perked up, "Really? I'd like that. I tried the daifuku sweets the other day and they tasted really awesome. I'd never had it before, and I'm rambling..." In the back of his mind, Hari wondered why he felt comfortable enough to relax in Izumi's presence. She was an adult, but she wasn't any taller than Hari.

"You've never had daifuku before yesterday?! What kind of sad life have you led?" Izumi cried out in dramatic horror, "We can make some right now if you want."

Hari blushed again, "That would be nice, but I need to go though." Mainly so Hari could figure out why his emotions were a mess, "I can come back in the afternoon or at another time." Hari offered.

"Of course Hari-san. Just a reminder, the orphanage is in that direction by the twisted trees." Izumi waved as he bowed and speedily left.

Troubled, Hari was easily lost in his thoughts as he tried to remember who the two Kamizuki ladies reminded him of. He was certain there was someone else in Konoha that gave off the same vibe. "Ha!" Hari snapped his fingers, "Tonks and the twins. That's who they remind me of. More so Tonks than the twins. Friendly and clumsy except less clumsy."

Emitting another wandless pulse of magic, Hari flinched as someone brushed up against him, snapping his eyes open. Scowling, as he hadn't meant to close his eyes, Hari hurried on. He paused in a shadow of a building to reassure himself that he hadn't been poisoned or robbed. (Not that Hari cared if he was robbed, because it was just a decoy pouch with only enough money for a few meals). Finding nothing, Hari sighed and hurried onward, carefully dodging anyone who looked like they were about to stumble into him.

Not too far from the outskirts of Konoha's walls, Hari finally found the orphanage. It didn't take long before a rambunctious child ran out of the building, being chased by an adult.

"Nana-nana!" The one-armed child yelled as he ran circles ahead of the woman, "You can't catch me!"

But the child hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings very well. Hari easily scooped the child off the ground, "Maybe she can't but I can, gaki."

"Let me go!" The child immediately protested, "I don't want a bath!"

Hari chuckled, "But who is going to help me deliver these loaves if you run away?" Glancing up, Hari met the woman's wary green eyes briefly before focusing on the squirming child.

Taking several big sniffs, the black haired and blue eyed child finally smelled the fresh bread, "Food? I can help?"

Hari set the boy on the ground and handed him the large bag, "Can you lift that?"

The gaki scoffed, "Off course I can! I'm going to be a nin-ja." The tiny chest of the child puffed out as he lifted the bag, tumbling backward when it was so easy to carry. Glaring suspiciously (it was more of a pout) at the bag, the boy peeked into the bag. His dark blue eyes widened immensely, "That's for us?" He asked in awe.

"Mhmm." Hari nodded, unable to hold back a smile before crouching and whispering conspiratorially, "Do you think you can accept a mission ninja-san?"

The child nodded eagerly, "Yes client-san."

Hari coughed to hide a laugh, "Can you escort these sweet loaves of bread to the kitchens?"

"Yatta! I can get them there safe and quick!" The one armed boy nearly ran off, but stopped after a couple of steps, "Client-san? I still don't want a bath."

"Well that's up to your leader isn't it? Can I ask what your name is ninja-san?"

"My name is Kaede! What is your name client-san?"

"Hari."

"Hai. Bye Hari! I'm off to fulfill my first mission. Iiiee! Maza, I'm on a mission! I've no time for baths." Kaede patiently explained as he scowled up at the woman who had been chasing him earlier. She laughed,

"Is that right? Well run swiftly to the kitchens, but you are still getting a bath." And the lady let the little boy, dragging the bag of baked goods, run back inside. She pushed her square glass up onto her nose before turning to face Hari.

Hari shifted nervously under the woman's thoughtful gaze, which was more humored than wary now, even if her stare was still piercing. When it came to monsters such as Voldemort or scars, Hari didn't even bat an eye. And yet, when it came to certain adults, particularly motherly nurses Hari wanted to flee before they could smother him. (Translate: Keep him tied to a hospital bed). And there was most definitely a medical symbol on her uniform. Why was he running into so many medic-nins today?

"You're thin squirt." She eventually pointed out bluntly, "Can you afford to give so much food away?"

Hari nodded, "I don't eat much and I bake or meditate when I can't sleep."

She blinked, accepting his answer, although she seemed to know there was more to it than that, "Name's Yakushi Nonō. I help run this orphanage."

"Shiro-fukurō Harii." he bowed and wondered what he was going to do next. He no longer had the bread to deliver, it was approaching mid-day and Hari wasn't ready to go home just yet.

"Hn, do you know how to hold a baby?"

Hari blinked, "A baby?" Besides normal primary school, Hari couldn't recall ever being near even a toddler before. Fleur had been pregnant, but Hari had left before Bill's daughter was born. Hari knew how to take care of himself and had also done most if not all of the work for the Dursleys, but he had never taken care of anyone younger than himself. (The younger Hogwarts students didn't really count as he had just been teaching them ho to survive a fight, and none of them had been younger than the starting age of 9.) Hari shook his head, but intrigued, asked, "I don't, but are you saying you'd let me?"

"You handled Kaede well enough."

"I'd like to try." At the very least Hari would gain some experience for his own family or the odd circumstance.

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Naruto scowled as he kicked a tree trunk. Once again he had been kicked out of class. He hadn't even pranked anyone or spoken out of turn! It wasn't his fault... okay it was partially, but it was not entirely his fault that he hadn't been listening well enough to answer an unknown question. Not that Naruto really cared for school, but the teacher was probably going over the interesting or useful parts of whatever lesson it had been that day. It might have been something to graduate the exam. Well, Naruto would show the teacher up by graduating! At least Iruka-sensei wouldn't send him out of the class for not answering a question, even if he did dislike the yellow-haired orange 'monster'. Not that Naruto had ever heard Iruka-sensei call him a 'monster' or other similar term. But he probably thought it, because all the other teachers had said it at least once.

His shoulders slumped as Naruto stopped injuring the tree and he raced off toward one of his hideouts. It was a crawl space in between some large roots that Naruto had dug out, with a couple of growing bushes to hide the entrance. It was one of his favorite hideouts, mainly because he had made it himself. Alone and hidden, Naruto curled up into his lone blanket that marked this hideout his. Unclenching his hand (had he really been holding onto the white bag for so long and so tightly?), the white bag he had been handed earlier plopped down. Quietly, Naruto opened the bag and gaped as a mouth-watering scent filled his secret den. Despite it being however long since Hari had given it to him, the bread was still warm and soft. Fortunately it also hadn't become squashed or crumbled. Immediately, his hand darted out and grabbed the first loaf. He wolfed it down, relishing how sweet and creamy the baked goods tasted. Not that it would ever be better than ramen, but it was good too. Before long, Naruto only had one loaf left, which was awesome because he didn't have any money leftover from paying the landlord the other day. Reluctantly, Naruto decided to wait to eat the last sweet bread, because while the people at the ramen stand would let him pay another day if he didn't have enough money, it might not be enough to stave off hunger later.

Naruto felt dazed as he replayed this morning's events, fiddling with the white bag. Someone, not including the Hokage or the rare jounin, had not only given him some kind of sweet bread that wasn't poisoned (he hadn't had a stomachache after all), but had greeted him and wished him well. Naruto found himself wondering how Hari responded to his reputation or would if he hadn't already. It was a gut feeling, but Naruto had the impression that Hari would... understand his life, understand Naruto! That is, if Naruto interpreted his instinct right. Maybe there was hope for a friend after all. Underneath that hope was a more selfish hope guarding his stomach. On the unlikely chance Hari became his friend, maybe Hari would give him more food.