This chapter is a semi build-up, seeing as I would find it unrealistic for Harry to immediately be 'ok and ready to go' after this situation. I am quite proud of myself that I managed to write this in one go, which takes too much time. Sigh. Need more of that.
No beta. No claim to Harry Potter or Naruto.
Summary: Less afraid to die than to live forever, an haunted older Harry Potter took his first step towards the Veil in an attempt to get rid of Death's immortal curse and to figure out the lasting mystery of Sirius's death. Oddly enough, this next great adventure was not quite was Harry had speculated. At all.
Enjoy, fave and share your thoughts. But most importantly… enjoy.
Chapter 2: Stoking Fire
0
0 0 0
When Harry woke up, the female toad from before was still with him.
She greeted him back into the waking world with such warmth that it had shaken him somewhat. Ignoring her unfamilair words - another language - Harry slowly realized what had happened. That he was in fact in his next great adventure… but not the adventure that he had hoped for.
He didn't know what to do, how to react. He wanted to be left alone. If he couldn't fight, then he would choose flight.
So he fled.
Seeing as he was unable to go anywhere, he hid, deep within the ashes and froze. He waited until she left, with a sad frown, to pass on this new development that left the toads worried.
He felt empty again. No emotions to distract him from his thoughts. Calm.
He liked it… for now.
0
0 0 0
0
A few days passed.
Luckily, they didn't visit often. With the exception of a few young toads sneakily trying to get a look at him – they had soon been busted and chased off – he had only one visitor. Once a day, the female toad would approach cautiously, as not to upset him, and she would call out to him.
She was met with silence though.
She left.
He pretended he didn't feel her disappointment, seeing as the feeling left with her.
A minute later, he was alone again.
Good.
0
0 0 0
0
Two days passed.
Since the first meeting with the toads, Harry hadn't responded anymore. Nor would he respond this time, he knew, as he felt the female toad come closer to his little personal clearing.
Crunch.
She was nearing.
Again.
'Go away.' Harry thought, buried within his pile of still-hot ashes. He felt most content there. It reminded him of his time with Fawkes. Only now, said old friend wasn't there to take care of him. It didn't matter though. He wasn't interested in this 'other world' at the moment.
Admittedly, he had been very curious towards these odd toads. They could talk! They had clothes! Even for his standards, that had been unexpected.
They had seemingly saved him the moment he met them, given him their fire to fuel him; as well as their emotions to feel again. Though in hindsight, maybe he had only felt their curiosity towards him that they projected and assumed it was his. He suddenly wasn't sure anymore.
After days of loneliness, he felt… nothing.
Void.
Hollow.
He didn't feel like continuing much longer.
Even though his Phoenix's mind was not as focused – and as such, could not be as depressed - as his human one, he felt strangely empty. The vague feeling of loss, it seemed, still carried across. Here he was, alone.
Maybe too alone, he pondered absently. Since the united feelings of accomplishment and happiness from the toads, there had been no other feelings to counter his own. So his own vague darnk memories were the strongest that he had.
Was he feeling lonely? Was that it?
Still, he ignored her first call. The second. The third. He snuggled closer into his little nest.
He ignored her leaving, once again disappointed and more worried.
He ignored the feeling of loneliness that – maybe - was starting to form after all.
A feeling that actually seemed to come from himself.
Slowly, traces of other emotions followed.
0
0 0 0
0
He had fallen asleep it seemed, as he was startled by a presence – too close.
It was just her, he realized and calmed. It was the first time that she visited him in the late afternoon as well.
"Hello little one." Her bubbly voice called out to him again.
He wasn't alone anymore, he absently noted. He felt her warmth and cheeriness. It felt dimmed though. She was worried. Worried for him? Was she afraid that he would die?
She felt a bit like Molly Weasel.
Maybe. If he died, he would join that warm stream of fire again. Maybe it would carry him towards his parents, his friends, his comrades and towards Sirius – who he was pretty sure wouldn't have been able to cross that odd twilight zone that he had passed.
He missed them.
"Little one. Why are you hiding?" She asked and waited. "We worry for you."
He didn't understand her words, but he could understand her intention.
He didn't answer.
There was a sigh, filled with sadness, he felt.
"Have you given up? Why would a young one like you give up? Do you not know what kinds of wonders there are in the world, little one?" She coaxed, saddened by the thought.
He didn't care for her words, but the feeling of determination that seemed to rise within her made him listen anyway.
"Then I will tell you. I will collect some food for you in the meantime. Do you like berries? I don't know what you eat, but I promise that they are good."
The young phoenix guessed that he actually did need food. He wouldn't grow if he didn't eat. Not that he would die anytime soon if he didn't. He had too much magic to support him. The fire and this… non-magic seemed to support him as well. Only to survive for a while though. Not forever.
That, Harry was counting on. Wasn't he?
"I hope you can hear me, little one. I hope you understand my words seeing as you haven't yet spoken."
He didn't, not her strange language, but her intentions formed by her thoughts he could follow. Her… odd energy helped. He could guess what she was saying. He could connect the dots, should he want to.
"I don't know where to start. Maybe I could tell you where you are. You are in the Mountains of Myobōku. These mountains have been the home for the Toads a long time. It all started when the energy that we live from, called Chakra…"
The not-magic – the warm soothing fire-like energy that had brought him here - was called chakra?
Harry paid attention.
0
0 0 0
0
Another day passed.
"Hello young one. You still haven't touched the food I have left for you. Weren't they good, or haven't you tried? I will add some different ones just to be sure. Now… where did we finish yesterday? Oh right. Silly me. The Great Honourable Geezer is our respected elder. He has dreams of the future sometimes and saw your arrival…".
Seriously? Were seers everywhere?
"We got to you just in time. The Hallow Fire that we carried with us was given to us by a Sage called Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki. I will tell you more about him tomorrow alright? Now please try to eat at least one berry. Please, little one?"
She left, feeling hopeful.
Hope.
0
0 0 0
0
Disappointment.
The 'Molly' toad sighed as she stared at the variety of berries on the leaf she had left behind. Once again untouched. She frowned slightly at the pile of ashes where that odd little bird was still hidden from sight. Some toads back in the village had already shaken their heads, saying that it was taking too long to be healthy, but she wasn't planning to give up.
The little one just needed a bit more time. So she would give it to him, in the form of stories.
So she cleared her throat and started.
"Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki is like a myth for the shinobi in this word, but I'm very sure that he has been real. He is better known as the Sage of the Six Paths. He is known for…"
What- Shinobi? Oh gosh.
Unknown to her, the phoenix's attention was caught.
Again.
0
0 0 0
0
More disappointment.
'Molly' shook her head when she once again stared at the untouched berries in front of her.
"Really little one, I'm trying to help you. Don't you think my stories are interesting? My children always seemed to like them…" She muttered to herself.
"If you continue like this you won't be able to hear any more of them? Wouldn't that make you sad? Or don't you like my stories? You know what, if you eat a berry before I return in the morning, I will tell you a special story about a shinobi that we know. His name is Jiraiya, but before that I will tell you more about the countries. You see, there are many different ones. We are currently in Fire Country, which is…"
When she left, she didn't notice the movement of the ashes. Nor the one eye that peeked out as its owner peered at her leaving form – taking the feeling of hope with her.
Regret?
0
0 0 0
0
'Molly' strolled into the clearing and mulled as what to do this time to lure the phoenix out of its hiding place. She was worried about him. She was silently afraid that he might already have passed away during the night, but the warmth that came from the ashes told her otherwise.
She sighed in relief. Already more than a week had passed. She didn't know how much longer a fragile new-born could cope without food.
She stifled a sniff at the thought.
Then she looked down at the leaf and stared.
They were burned but one of them had disappeared. She counted again in slight disbelief.
Yes. Only fourteen.
She smiled – but she felt far more than 'simply happy'.
The little phoenix could understand her after all and he seemed to enjoy her presence. He listened to her. She was helping. Tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes and she quickly them away.
"Thank you little one." She told him heartedly as she settled down, before curiously picking up one of the burnt berries and rolled it between her fingers. It shattered into pieces. Odd.
"Well… about Jiraiya. The first thing you should know about his is that he is a great ninja. Unfortunately he has some nasty habits that we haven't been able to get out of him. He is a pervert, you know? Which means eh… maybe you are too young for that. Let's just say that he really like female humans. Still, he is a very good person. He actually found us, even though these mountains are very difficult to travel to, he managed to…"
In his small hide-out the phoenix felt oddly happy that he had eaten the berry after all.
0
0 0 0
0
Snap.
Dark eyes opened at the sound – though there was no surprise or shock in them, as the figure had already felt the presence approaching. Ruffling his feathers, the young phoenix pushed himself away from the warm ashes. The movement created a small cloud as he appeared into the open air.
As the phoenix turned to meet his visitor, he regretfully watched a part of the ashes from the cloud being carried away with the wind. His little warm nest was dwindling and his body was growing, soon it would become too small for him. He would regretfully have to find another place to rest, seeing as being unable to hide would make him feel too vulnerable.
No matter that he seemed to be able to sense an awfully lot around here, like the fact that his visitor had now reached her destination.
He let out a warm croon to welcome her.
"Hello little one." The familiar female toad cooed happily at him in reply as the phoenix turned its head to watch her come closer to him.
The female put a large leave on the ground filled with different kinds of berries. Even though she had been visiting for weeks, she was still careful not to invade his personal space. Sometimes she brought others along, but made sure that they paid him the same respects. The animal didn't know why they were so respectful towards him, but he was very glad for their efforts. He enjoyed the distance.
Being too close to people – or animals in this case, was sometimes still difficult for the inexperienced phoenix. The emotions that they could feel, the intentions and especially the auras that they could feel… it could be very overwhelming.
Thud.
The toad sat down. Once again she kept a nice distance from the leave, so should he decide to eat, her presence wouldn't hinder him. He thrilled in appreciation and hopped carefully down his little hill of ash. Carefully not to scatter more of the ashes than necessary.
He curiously studied his meal, at the same time trying to remember them for when he could fly himself. He ate half of it, knowing that these were eatable. The others were unfamiliar and he would try more carefully. Two different berries he politely rolled of the leaf. He wouldn't eat those.
Meanwhile the female toad was telling him stories again. About the Shinobi Wars and their conflicts. He listened carefully, even though he still didn't know how to feel about having ended up here. This words, even though very different, didn't seem to be that different after all.
He had just wanted to die.
That wish hadn't quite disappeared yet. Though he didn't feel like he couldn't wait a little longer.
He just wanted to find his peace.
Actually, he was pondering about leaving as soon as he could fly.
It would take a while though, he reassured himself, as the feeling of suddenly leaving 'Molly' behind made him oddly restless.
He carefully looked the toad in the eye and crooned, watching the eyes of the female go wide from the sudden feeling that settled down on her. She stopped midsentence and looked at him in shock before she smiled brightly.
"You're welcome."
0
0 0 0
0
"What is your name little one? Soon I'm not able to call you little one anymore." 'Molly' joked as she watched him exercise his wings with interest.
The phoenix stopped and shuffled restlessly. He didn't want to be called by his old name again. His eyes turned to her, questioning and she looked surprise.
"I never told you! How impolite of me! Hikaru. That's my name. Now, don't you have one?" The not-Molly-but-Hikaru asked.
She frowned at the ghosts of pained emotions that she felt when she looked into his eyes. He then quickly returned to his exercise.
"Well, then I will give you a new one." She smiled at his odd mid-flap maneuver when he turned around to look at her in surprise.
She grinned at him. "Don't worry, I will make it a good one."
He looked at her warily.
He had a bad feeling about this.
"How about Fūka?" She pondered. "Or Haru! Oh or Akira! Hikaru would fit you as well, but it would be silly for me to give you my own name." Her eyes squinted as she thought, not noticing that the phoenix next to her considered her name.
"Wait, are you a female or a male?"
The phoenix let out a odd chirp that sounded suspiciously like a sigh.
0 0 0
0
Yeah the name thing… I will see what I end up with, sticking to Harry/Hari or Haru/Hikaru/anything else. It's long past bedtime for me now – 'oops.'
Opinions anyone?
Next chapter, I'm planning to have more explore the Shinobi world in it.
Cheers!