Chapter Two: Winds of Change
To say Harry had an idea of what was going on would be a complete lie.
He watched the television screen as the taller boy, Yamamoto Takeshi, and the silver-haired boy, Gokudera Hayato, played a fighting videogame. It looked similar to the games he'd seen Dudley and Piers play before heading to Japan.
However, his eyes also seemed to have fallen on the boy known as Sawada Tsunayoshi or "Tsuna" as the boy preferred. His Japanese was still very rusty, but he was able to understand it or at least get the general feel of it.
Harry could sense the boy's uncertainty and anxiety, not that he could blame him. He'd not only invaded this kid's house but also his own bedroom. They barely even knew each other!
Harry couldn't help but feel rather guilty for making Tsuna uncomfortable within his own home. He winced as he gazed down to the floor, ashamed.
"Ano ... Potter-kun?" Harry blinked, looking up to Tsuna in surprise. The brunet boy seemed to hesitate for a second. "You from Britain, yes?"
Harry nodded slowly. "Y-Yes ... I mean, Yes. M-my Japanese is small, please be patient with me."
"My English the same," Tsuna responded.
The two boys looked at each other, and after several moments they smiled and shared a rather large fit of laughter. Gokudera and Yamamoto stopped playing and turned their attention to the two. They watched in fascination as they kept laughing.
"You smiled!" Yamamoto exclaimed in English, pointing at Harry with excitement and relief. Without any sense of warning, he moved closer to Harry and draped an arm around the shorter teen's shoulder. He stopped when Harry suddenly froze at the touch. Takeshi frowned as he carefully stared at Harry before making a mental note of his uneasiness. Yamamoto carefully removed his arm. "Sorry! You must've had a bruise there!" He laughed it off before giving Harry an apologetic look.
Swallowing thickly, Harry smiled. "Y-Yeah. A bruise." He still wasn't used to people touching him. Very few people, like Mrs. Weasley for example, seemed to ignore his anxiety and hugged him, anyway. Even though he had become used to the bone crushing hugs, Harry really wished that she would respect his space. But he wasn't about to voice his opinion to her. Mrs. Weasley's anger was terrifying and loud. "T-Takeshi-san."
Yamamoto beamed happily. "Right!" Finally, a person who called him by his first name! He hadn't been able to get Tsuna to call him that yet! Then again, Harry was from England, and as far as he was aware, westerners addressed each other by their given name rather than their family name. "Hari-san!"
"Yes ... Yes,"Harry responded, a small grin on his face. He looked to Tsuna and Gokudera. "T-Tsuna-san and H-Hayato-san."
Tsuna smiled. At least they were getting somewhere! Tsuna felt rather bad for Harry. While he didn't understand his circumstances, Tsuna knew that Harry didn't mean any ill intent nor wished to be a burden. He felt that there was a deeper reason for him being here in Japan.
Tsuna continued to watch Yamamoto and Harry chat, while Gokudera seemed content with glaring at them. He decided not to pry into the boy's business, and allowed Potter-san to get comfortable around them first.
Tsuna blinked. Was he thinking responsibly and maturely? Maybe Reborn's Spartan training was good for him. He froze at that thought and decided to push it down, disregarding it as nothing more than a result of his loss of sanity.
Gokudera snorted. "Pretty good ... for a foreigner!" So what if this kid was able to communicate quickly? He'd been much faster than this kid; he glared at the raven-haired boy. Besides, he was also an unknown. Why were they being so friendly to him? For all they knew, he could be another assassin sent by Verde!
"Gokudera!" Tsuna exclaimed. He was shocked by how narrow-minded he was being.
Yamamoto frowned, looking at him crossly. "That wasn't very nice, Gokudera."
Harry titled his head, looking to Gokudera with uncertainty. What was happening and what did Hayato say, anyway? It didn't take a genius to see that something was said that shouldn't have been said. The more Harry looked deep into the silver-haired boy's eyes, the more he was able to pinpoint several emotions: anger, annoyance, guilt and pain. Because of what? Harry still wasn't sure since the two were still talking in their native tongue.
"I'm sorry, Jyuudaime. That isn't what I meant," the half-Italian remarked as he stared at the floor with a beaten-puppy look. He just wanted to prove to Jyuudaime that the foreigner wasn't all that impressive. He didn't mean to come off as a racist! He scowled at himself for allowing his anger to take hold over him once again.
Tsuna sighed heavily. "Iknow, Gokudera-kun. I know," he said tiringly. Tsuna knew that he hadn't meant to be mean, but he really wished Gokudera would learn to think before saying anything or it'd get him in trouble one day.
I don't understand what's going on. Harry thought to himself while he watched Hayato seemed to bow his head in shame. Tsuna and Takeshi were staring at the teen, frowning. "Tsuna, Takeshi. It's okay. No harm done."
Tsuna blinked. "Oh? A-alright." He knew that Harry probably didn't understand what Gokudera said to him, but he supposed that it really wasn't that important in the end. Glancing at the clock, he noticed that it was getting close to dinner. He realized that his friends were probably going to stay over again. "Harry-kun? Would dinner stay?"
"Dinner? Dinner here?" Harry repeated as his tongue rolled around the Japanese.
Yamamoto looked to his shorter friend. "You sure your mom won't mind, Tsuna?"
"She likes cooking," Tsuna said. Plus, she's glad that I finally have friends. So I guess it's a win-win situation for the both of us.
The door slammed open as Lambo came running into the room laughing, while an irritated Ipin followed. The young girl jumped into the air and performed a spin-kick towards the cow-print wearing boy, only to miss as he dodged the attack.
"Nya-nyah!Ipin can't catch me!" Lambo mocked the girl.
Ipin glared. "Lambo! Won't get away!"
"H-Hey! Watch it, you two!" Tsuna called out. The two toddlers jumped around the room, as everything seemed to fall all over the place. He glared at them as Ipin attacked the boy again, who retaliated with his pink grenades. "W-wait, Lambo. Don't!"
Harry blinked. Why are those grenades pink?
"You idiot cow!" Gokudera snapped loudly, glaring at the young boy. Why was this kid always causing trouble for Jyuudaime? Couldn't he be a good little brat and leave them alone?
"Oh! More of Lambo's toys!" Yamamoto stated with a huge grin. "They're so realistic nowadays!" Takeshi didn't even consider how real the danger actually was. Lambo began to throw his grenades at Ipin furiously. Thankfully for Tsuna, Ipin was able to disarm them, placing them quietly on the ground.
"Hi-ya!" Ipin's foot connected with Lambo's face, sending the boy spiraling to the ground. The Chinese girl seemed rather pleased with her work, turning to Tsuna and the others and bowing politely. "Ipin sorry!"
"N-No. It's fine, Ipin!" Tsuna denied, trying to pacify the young girl. "It's not your fault. Just ... please knock next time, alright? Neither you or Lambo can keep barging in like this!"
Gokudera nodded sharply. "Besides, it's the stupid cow's fault for disturbing Jyuudaime!"
"Now, now, Gokudera. Lambo's just acting like himself. Just leave him alone," Yamamoto said, trying to curb Gokudera's anger. "He doesn't know any better. Just leave him be."
Harry didn't really know what to do as his eyes glanced to the small boy, instantly feeling bad for the little guy. Though, from what he was able to get out of the Japanese conversation, it seemed as if this Lambo kid was a bit of a troublemaker, and it was a normal occurrence for the girl and Lambo to be fighting.
It was like a younger version of Hermione and Ron. He shuddered; what a scary thought.
"M-must n-not cry ... Waaah!" Lambo attempted to keep himself from crying as tears began to roll down his cheeks. His small hands reached deep into the black nest of his hair and pulled out a strange, purple machine.
"What the hell?" Harry commented in shock, looking at the contraption. How was Lambo able to get that thing in his hair? He watched in amazement as the machine was placed over the boy and Ipin and a loud boom went off. The room was quickly filled with pink smoke.
A rather tall, handsome boy with the same Afro hairstyle and a lazy eye spoke up. "Yare, yare. Greetings, Young Vongola." His tone was just as lazy as his expression. The teen was decked out in a black jacket and a cow-printed dress shirt underneath, a few chains hung from his pocket and jeans. His eye turned to Harry and he raised his hand. "Ah, young Harry. I was wondering when you were going to show up."
"Oh, no!" the girl spoke. She was standing in place wearing a delivery girl outfit. "The ramen is going to get cold, again! Uncle Kawahiro won't like this!"
The strange teen looked to her. "Ipin. Before you go running off, at least greet Harry."
"Harry? Harry-nii!" the girl instantly exclaimed, her eyes falling to him.
Harry stared. Harry ... nii? Why did they know his name?
"A-ano, Harry-kun? Purple thing. Time … ten years in future f-for five minutes," Tsuna managed to get out, wincing at his terrible jumble.
Harry stared at Tsuna for several moments. "Time-travel?" He was quite curious as to how a bunch of muggles were able to develop time-travel.
"Anyway, our time is almost up," Lambo stated with a shrug, looking rather bored. He narrowed his eyes as Gokudera opened his mouth. "Don't ask questions. I won't answer them."
Ipin looked to the half-Italian. "It's better if you learned for yourself, rather than have us tell you everything."
"Tell us what?" Tsuna asked, quite curious.
Ipin giggled. "Nothing, Tsuna! You'll see." Her eyes danced with mirth and her smile widened like a Cheshire cat. Before anyone could say anything at all, the two vanished back to the future. The four boys were left staring, a bit bewildered by what happened right in front of them.
Yamamoto, thankfully, had been the first one to break the silence. "Kid's toys these days. I wish we had these back then!"
It's not a toy, Yamamoto! / Baseball freak! Tsuna and Gokudera thought in unison.
Harry was stunned by the revelation of muggle time-travel as well as the machine Lambo used. He was trying to wrap his head around the entire concept; after experiencing the Time-turner just a few months back, Harry was rather reluctant to have access to something as dangerous as time magic. Yet, he couldn't deny the fascination of seeing the machine and its capabilities. It wasn't something that he got to see everyday, after all! His thoughts were interrupted when Tsuna's mother called them down for to dinner, and the six of them left the room and descended down the stairs to the kitchen.
Even though he barely knew any of them, Harry never felt so at home before.
Reborn frowned as he removed his magnifying glass, looking at the files he managed to get via hacking. While it hadn't been difficult to obtain, the government and school records were a breeze compared to the usual computer grids he once worked with, the information he was able to gather was quite interesting.
Harry was born in England where his biological parents, James Potter and Lily Potter had met their end by car crash. Though this was more likely speculation than concrete truth as far as he was able to find. He was placed with his closest blood relatives, the Dursleys. The photograph of the three made the Arcobaleno wonder if they were merely animals that were cursed into human form. One looked like a hippo, the other looked like a beached whale and the woman looked like a strangled giraffe! Nonetheless, these animals were of no concern to Reborn or his plans.
However, that was not what caught Reborn's curiosity. The kid's grades seemed to be all over the place. During his first few years of school, he had tops marks. Then, they began to drop through the later years of life. The boy suddenly vanished off the face of the Earth once he turned eleven years of age.
Either way, this Harry Potter piqued his interest. Smiling slyly, he put the papers away and pulled out a phone. He dialed a memorized set of numbers and waited as it went through.
"Hmmm, Reborn? What is it?" Shamal's disgruntled and slightly drunken voice came through. The lack of sounds in the background was a good indication that the man was most likely alone. Or he was stuck somewhere and unable to walk or move.
Reborn smirked widely, as some of his sadism leaked through. "I've found someone interesting. I want you to test them."
"This is unusual," Shamal replied, the sounds of his inebriation leaving his voice, becoming composed. "What's going on, Reborn? You're not the type to just ask me to test someone out of the blue. What's special about this person of interest?" A pause. "I know your grinning over there, tell me."
"Come to the beach tomorrow. Haru, Kyoko, Hana and Bianchi will be there," Reborn stated smoothly even though he was lying through his teeth. It didn't matter in the end; Bianchi would come if he asked her to and convincing the other girls to bring Hana along wouldn't be too difficult. They were easy to manipulate.
Shamal hummed pleasantly. "Well, if they're coming along ..." The sounds of perverted giggling could be heard across the line. "I don't see why not —"
"Don't be drunk," Reborn commented with a hard edge as he cut off the call. Though, his smirk was still wide. Everything was falling into place, and while Harry managed to save Nana, he'd yet to display his true strength and resourcefulness.
Between the current members of Tsuna's Family, each of them shared a trait. Tsuna was the boss, Gokudera was the tactician and firearms expert, Yamamoto was the natural killer, Ryohei was the physical muscle and strength, and Hibari was the necessary cruelty. However, the five of them lacked the speed that Harry seemed to posses, and there was also the fact that Harry seemed be the only member of Tsuna's family who spoke fluent English. The only draw back was that the boy barely knew any Japanese.
That had to be fixed immediately. Having another no-good student ... a cold, predatory smile appeared on his face. Oh, this was simply delicious.
"Are you sure you can't stay the night, Harry-kun?" Nana repeated. She was scared for the boy who saved her life. She felt a strange tiredness and resignation about him, which made her want to pull him into a hug and reassure him that everything would be alright. As she stared deeply into his emerald green pools, all she could see was pain and suffering that no child should ever have to deal with, and the way he looked nearly made her heart stop. Deep down, she was seething with rage. What kind of a parent or guardian would starve their children? She couldn't let Harry go back to those people! Plus, he was such a kind boy, too.
Harry gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Sawada, but I really need to get going. Thank you for having me over for dinner. I hope you and your family have a good night. And thanks Tsuna, Takeshi, Hayato. It was fun!"
"A-alright!" Tsuna smiled hesitantly, only to frown. "Get home safely. Okay, Harry-kun?"
Yamamoto grinned. "We'll definitely see you tomorrow!"
"Tch," Gokudera sneered as he sent Harry a dark glare. "Good night." His tone was gruff and low, as his eyes remained trained on him. He still didn't trust this foreigner around Jyuudaime, just like he didn't trust the baseball freak!
Ignoring Gokudera's sneering, Harry bowed properly. "Have a good night!" He gave a wave as he walked down the road, watching as the door closed. The lights from the lamps shined brightly above him and he slipped his hands into his pockets. He continued to walk as he gazed at the dark night sky that hung above him. The cold breeze didn't really bother him that much; in fact, he rather enjoyed it. Harry always did prefer the night, he felt more secure and safe than he did during the day, but only because no one was actually awake or aware of their surroundings at night. He didn't have to worry about prying and intrusive eyes; the lack of pressure was a bonus, too.
It was nice, though ... being around Tsuna and the others. It was different from being around Ron and Hermione. With his friends from back home, Harry did feel a bit pressured into being a reckless adventurer and overall slacker.
Yet, with Tsuna and the others ... he couldn't put it into words. It felt nice. There was no pressure, no need to wear a mask. He could just be himself for once. The three Japanese boys were different from the types of people he usually came across.
Tsuna was shy and timid, and yet he didn't hesitate to welcome him with open arms. Harry felt a deep kinship with this boy, as if they were both being pulled into something so utterly complex and terrifying that neither wanted anything to do with. Their friends were the only reason they kept going. Yet, he could sense a strange power coming from the boy; it was wide and free and held endless potential. He could tell that Tsuna was going to make something out of himself one day. Harry was certain of that.
Takeshi was bouncy and friendly; he certainly had no problem with invading his personal space, much to his annoyance. Yet, he was the first to talk to him, even though their language barrier was difficult to get around. It hadn't discouraged the taller boy from trying to make Harry feel part of the group. He had a calming and trusting presence that brought Harry to ease, allowing him to relax. As the afternoon and evening rolled by, it didn't take long for Harry to consider the taller boy a close friend of his. It was odd for him; it usually took him forever to befriend people.
Hayato on the other hand, clearly disliked him. Harry had absolutely no idea as to why, but then again, he didn't seem to like Takeshi either. That didn't stop the taller teen from being out-going and friendly around Hayato, though. Harry really wished he could understand Hayato, just so he could figure out what he was saying. Sighing bemusedly, Harry decided that once he learned more Japanese, he could figure out the silver-haired boy's problem with him. His attitude was rough and strong, enough that Harry could practically feel the other boy's strength raging from across the room like a giant gust of wind. Though, it softened whenever Tsuna talked or when the kid said something to Gokudera.
Were they boyfriends? Harry wondered to himself curiously. Not that it'd really matter. It was just interesting to watch Hayato act like a love-struck teen whenever Tsuna spoke to him. It was almost like watching one of his Aunt Petunia's old soaps on the telly.
Instantly freezing at the thought of his relatives, he forced the memories down, trying to bury them deep in his mind. There was no use worrying about the past. At the moment, he needed to focus on surviving for the night until he found a place to stay. He couldn't take advantage of Mrs. Sawada's hospitality.
Though, he wasn't about to live on the streets, mainly because he didn't trust those who were skulking around the area. Harry valued his life, despite his escapades —
"H-hey, let me through, you creep!" a young female voice shouted angrily.
And there was his cue. Feeling a rush of adrenaline, he rushed to the source of the shouting. He gritted his teeth as he mentally scolded himself. Why did he always rush into things? He made a sharp turn around the corner and saw a young girl around his age with long, dark hair wearing a dark-navy skirt, an indigo jacket and a white dress shirt. She looked rather irritated by her assailant, a teen who made an attempt to grab her.
Well, this certainly looks familiar. Harry thought to himself dryly, only to push that thought to the side once the other male pushed the girl against a wall. His eyes narrowed darkly, this was different from Mrs. Sawada. It had to be stopped immediately. "Hey! She said to let her go," he said frigidly. The male turned his attention to him. "Are you going to let her go? Or am I going to have to kick your ass?"
The teen sneered at him, still gripping the girl's wrists and pressing against her. "Why don't you just leave, brat!"
"I said: let her go." Harry's voice grew colder as his eyes flashed under the dim streetlights, creating an eerie emerald-green glow. "Then again, I guess trash like you are unable to grasp such simple words. Doesn't surprise me."
"Fuck you," he said with one of the few English insults he knew. The teen seemed relatively uninterested with what Harry had to say. He grinned. "Not like you can do anything to me. I'm all muscle, baby! And you?" Gazing up and down Harry with an air of superiority, he said, "You barely have any muscle on you. I'd crush you."
Harry was bored now; he made his way over to the muscular teen rather lazily. Without warning or sound, his hand shot up and pulled the muscular teen off of the girl and sent him spiraling to the ground. Years of escaping Dudley and being drilled under Oliver for quidditch practice helped him develop quick reflexes, which were really coming in handy at the moment. He stood in front of the girl protectively. "Get lost."
"Brat!" The muscular teen got back to his feet. "I'll fucking cut you!"
Harry glanced to the girl. "You should run. It isn't safe here."
"I'm not leaving you here with him!" the girl protested in English as she shook her head firmly. "Who knows what this monkey is going to do to you!"
Harry winced. "Don't worry, miss. I know what I'm doing." At least, I hope so.
"Die!" The teenager rushed him like a mad bull, attempting to slam his fist into Harry's chest. While he looked physically intimidating, he moved rather slowly. The girl moved to the left and Harry took the right, so the teen ended up slamming into the wall. He gripped his nose, blood dripping down his face. "I'll get you this time!"
Why can't morons ever learn? The guy charged at him once more. It was a weak attack, and Harry was able to dodge once again —
A sharp pain made itself known. Harry shot his hand down to his stomach, gripping his side as his shirt stained with blood. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the smug teenager.
"You didn't actually think I'd fight fair, did you?" the teen questioned. He mockingly waved a knife in the air as his smile stretched ear to ear like the punk he was. The teen was rather pleased with his work, really. Now, if that brat would just stay down ...
The girl glared at him. "You're twisted!" She gripped Harry's shoulders, torn between eyeing him with concern and watching the punk idiot. Her hand rushed down to her bag and pulled out a phone. "I'll call the police —" She stopped as the teen laughed at her. "What's so funny?"
The teen snorted. "Yeah, like the police are going to anything. Please. They're useless, girl. Now why don't you get that pretty body of yours over here and I'll let the kid live."
"I'm not down, yet," Harry spoke up, gripping his stomach and ignoring his bloodied hand. "I'm ready for another round." He stood up, wincing in pain. Though this was nothing compared to what he went through in the past. Even then, Harry knew he wasn't the strongest person and that he didn't have a lot of combat experience; he'd barely been in any actual fistfights before. Nonetheless, he refused to let this scum do whatever he pleased!
"You're still moving? Fine. This time I'll finish you off!" the teen mocked, holding up his knife sadistically. He grinned down at him with a deranged glint in his eyes. "I'll enjoy cutting you up!"
Harry resisted the urge to snort, figuring out what the teen said by body language. "Get in line then."
His eyes trained on the teen as he rushed forward, wearing a disgustingly smug look. He pulled the knife back as his free hand reached above in front. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the idiot planned to grab him and thrust the knife into his side.
The teenager charged him, thrusting his knife hand forward. Unfortunately, his speed increased and caught Harry off guard as he felt the blade slide against his arm. Lines of blood beaded down it, staining the ground dark-red. Ignoring the pain, Harry's green eyes narrowed, focusing back on the enemy. As the teen smirked, he made a quick turn and lunged forward again, fully intent on inflicting more damage.
"I've got you now!" said the teen, his gleeful voice loud and clear. He rushed forward, straight towards Harry. "Die, brat —"
Before he could say another word, he came to a sudden stop and promptly fell unconscious. The girl was standing behind the crumpled teen, holding up her bag. She glared at the unconscious man before stepping over his body and heading over to Harry's side.
"You idiot!" She scowled as she took Harry's arm and inspected it. "What were you thinking? If you took him on like that, you could've been killed!"
Harry winced from the rough handling of his arm. "Well, I couldn't let him hurt you!"
"I could've taken care of him myself," the girl stated. She waved her hand in the air before returning her attention to his wounds. "I was planning on kicking him in the balls and knocking him out with my bag. I would've been able to get away unharmed." She glared at him. "I had everything under control. Still ... I appreciate your efforts. It was thoughtful of you"
Harry felt his cheeks burn a bit at the compliment. "The both of us are okay. That's all that really matters."
"You're still bleeding!" the girl snapped roughly, her eyes narrowed. She sighed. "C'mon, I'll clean you up."
Harry cringed at her strong grip as he found himself dragged away. "H-hey, ouch! Can you at least tell me your name before you drag me off somewhere?"
The girl whirled around sharply, eyeing him critically. It took a while as she finally settled upon a soft smile. "Kurokawa Hana."
"Kurokawa Hana, huh. H-hey, wait!" Harry suddenly realized something. "You were speaking in English the whole time!"
Hana giggled.
Neither of them noticed the smirking infant standing above them. "It seems I need to re-evaluate Kurokawa Hana's usefulness to the Family." Holding Leon up to the sky, the chameleon morphed into a balloon, and he floated away into the night.
He had much to plan for tomorrow. Oh yes, much planning to do.
Chapter two end.
Oh, Harry. Why must you rush to the defense of others? And yes, I've brought in Hana. She's one of my most favorite female characters in the KHR series. It's so sad how little screen time she actually has compared to the other girls in the series.
Anyway, I digress. On another note, I've gone back to school so expect some time between updates. I will, however, try to update whenever possible, so please keep that in mind.
Thank you all so much for the reviews. Also, keep in mind there will be no OC's in the fic. At all. Anyway, with that said, I'm still taking suggestions for pairings!
Editing done by Tetractys01.