Chapter 3
A bunch of misfits

Harry opened his eyes to a new morning. Soft, warm sunlight entered through the large windows, the white curtains moving as a breeze entered through the open window. Blinking, the wizard stretched in the warm and comfortable bed, moaning appreciatively as his joints popped. "Ryuu nii-san, you're awake!" The excited shout came from the entrance of the hospital room before the hyper blond bounced into the room. A pink haired girl stood behind him, peering curiously into the room.

"So are you I see," Harry said with a chuckle, raising himself from the soft pillows. "Good morning Naruto-kun. How are you today?"

Naruto blinked at the slightly formal greeting, but did not lose his bright smile. "Tsunade baa-chan is healing Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-teme but she kicked me and Sakura out of the room. Apparently I was distracting her," he commented with a deadpanned expression as if something like that couldn't possibly be true. Harry smirked slightly and saw the pink haired girl muffle her laughter. She was still waiting at the entrance of the doorway. When Naruto noticed him looking, he quickly gestured for her to enter. "This is Sakura-chan Ryuu nii-san. She's my team mate. Sakura-chan this is Ryuu nii-san. He helped us fight against Orochimaru and Kabuto and got us to Konoha really quick dattebayo!"

Sakura entered the room and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you Ryuu-san. Thank you for getting our Hokage back so quickly."

The wizard smiled and bowed back from his position on the bed. "It is good to meet you too Sakura-san and it was my pleasure." Naruto looked at the two of them as if this formal greeting was alien to him and Harry silently wondered just how much the blond had learned about courtesy. The way he had introduced him to Sakura clearly showed inexperience with these things. Maybe he could teach the blond a thing or two while he stayed in Konoha. Then again, he had only known the kid no more than two days so maybe it was not his place. He cracked his neck. "Well you two, do you have any plans for today or are you willing to show me your lovely village?"

The two team mates shared a look. "Another friend of ours is also still in this hospital," Sakura admitted. "We were going to go see him while waiting for the Godaime to finish treating Sasuke-kun."

Harry smiled. Nobody could deny that these Shinobi weren't loyal to their friends. "Tell you what, while I get dressed and have something to eat, you can visit your friend who is also in the hospital. I will come and find you when I'm done. I don't know what kind of treatment your team mate will receive from Tsunade-sama, but I know that when I was treated by the nurse I would sleep away most of the day after any type of treatment. Maybe it would be good for Sasuke-san to have some sleep before you pester him with questions and heroic stories."

At first it seemed that either one wanted to protest, but when they realized that Harry didn't want to keep them away from Sasuke out of selfish means but because Sasuke could be tired from the treatment they nodded. "Sounds like a plan," Sakura said.

"Alright, see you later Ryuu nii-san! Come on Sakura-chan, maybe we can get Bushy Eyebrows a 'get well' gift." Naruto waved good-bye to Harry and rushed out the door. Sakura bowed hastily before rushing after her team mate, muttering all the way about annoying blonds. Harry chuckled slightly as he watched the now empty doorway. That blond bundle of bright sunshine really lit up the room and now that he was gone Harry could feel the emptiness sinking into every corner. The wizard sighed softly and swung his stiff legs over the edge of the bed. He had used too much magical energy when he transported their little group to Konoha, but he had done it. For a first time use Harry was really surprised it had worked at all.

He slowly made his way towards the bathroom, yawning and stretching all the way. Someone had cleaned and mended his clothes while he was asleep. They were lying in the bathroom in a neat pile, his backpack placed next to the door. Harry quickly showered and dressed himself in a loose pair of black trousers and a casual dark green shirt which hugged his chest comfortably. He wondered if he should wear a Shinobi pouch with weapons but decided against it. It would draw more unwanted attention then he wanted. A foreign civilian drew less attention than a foreign Shinobi.

Unsure if he would be returning to the Hospital room, Harry shrunk his backpack and placed it in his pocket. Casting one last glance around the room to see if he had forgotten anything he made his way down towards the lobby. Surely they would have some kind of eating facility here were everyone could eat. They did. There was a small restaurant where visitors and patients could buy drinks and snacks while they waited. The food was still slightly foreign to Harry was he studied the Japanese script with ease, but it was a hell of an improvement from the bugs he had been eating while he stayed with the Toads. So he enjoyed each bite of his small bento and green tea, studying the people around him with the casual attitude of a person who was waiting for someone or something.

When he was little Harry had only been at the Hospital once for a check-up. It was a standard requirement otherwise Harry was sure the Dursley's wouldn't have done it. That and it was free, as were his glasses. Glasses he, fortunately, didn't have to wear anymore. The wizard chuckled slightly as he watched a small child being dragged along by his mother, screaming that he didn't want to. He remembered Dudley being the same, hitting and screaming at his mother that he didn't want to get his shots. Harry was sure his cousin had been overweight even then and he wondered if aunt Petunia had received the advice to exercise her son more. This child looked healthy though. Sure he had some cuts and bruises but Harry figured ninja children played more rough then normal children. Then again Dudley and his friends had never been too kind to him either. He really had them to thank for making him as fast as he was today.

An elderly woman sitting at the table next to him shook her head. "Kids these days have become soft. In my day you were thankful for any medical treatment you got."

Harry smiled kindly at her. "Yes, children these days get spoiled because their parents are trying to compensate for the horrors in their own past. They create little monsters that do not know how to think for themselves and can only see in black and white."

The elderly woman took her tea and sat down on the chair opposite of him, smiling as Harry stood to bow respectfully to her. "Ah please sit my young friend; this old woman is still as fit as a fiddle." Harry chuckled softly. "Now let us hear about those little monsters. You do not seem so old that you should be troubled by the weight of the world."

"I have always fended for myself," Harry said. "I often wonder if the youth of today realizes just how lucky they really are."

"Of course not," she said, resting her hands on top of her walking stick which reminded Harry of old witches from fairy stories. She sat there, in the comfortable wooden chair, her warm brown eyes eying the crowed around her fondly. "They rush off to play ninja and boast about the fights they've been in and even the civilian children are a rowdy bush, but they have not witnessed war and suffering. Our Shinobi and Kunoichi will learn, the more dangerous the mission, the more comrades they loose, the colder they will become. And we need them cold for war."

Harry looked thoughtful. "I'm not so sure about that. Caring about your friends and family, even caring for the villagers you don't know, can make you strong enough to fight any war." The elderly woman looked at the wizard with sharp, calculating eyes, but she refrained from commenting any further. A short silence fell between them, not unpleasant or awkward, before she spoke again. "Maybe. We will know soon enough."

Why she said that was a bit of a mystery to Harry, but he shrugged it off as something which was not his business. So they spoke of casual thing like the weather and what is was like to live in Konoha, but nothing personal or close to their hearts.

When Harry finished his bento her husband showed up. She waved goodbye, chuckling softly as her husband continued to mutter about his treatment. Stretching as he stood, Harry decided it was time to look for the sunny blond and his pink haired companion. He walked up to the reception desk and smiled kindly at the lady behind it. "I was looking for Tsunade-sama or Shizune-san. I belief she was looking after a patient here today."

The woman blinked before smiling, a lightly blush spreading on her cheeks. "I belief she is on this floor. If you keep to the left you will find her for sure."

"Thank you," and with a wink Harry left the blushing receptionist so he could search for Naruto and Sakura. He didn't have to search very long as they were just around the second corner, standing in the hallway probably discussing what to do next. Naruto looked up, a broad grin spreading on his face when he noticed Harry. "Ryuu nii-san! We were just talking about coming to find you."

Harry ruffled through the blond mane, earning an even wider grin and slight blush. "Well here I am. How is your friend? I'm guessing this is his room?"

Sakura nodded, a hopeful but worried light shining in her eyes. "Tsunade-sama is in there at the moment talking about Lee's treatment together with Gai-sensei."

"I'm sure Tsunade baa-chan can heal him right away," Naruto said confidently. Harry nodded. "Are you too ready to show me your beautiful village?" The blond Shinobi excitedly grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the lobby again. "We'll show you every best bit."

Konoha was larger than Harry could have imagined. He recognised some things from when he had wandered through the blonde's mind, but now he realised just why Naruto had taken so long to figure out a good place to teleport them too. There was a special area designed for the Shinobi training grounds, far away from the civilian public. With every training ground they passed a story came attached with it. Especially training ground 44, the Forest of Death, which Harry found resembled the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts, seemed to bring way to many different emotions. It seemed a sensitive subject, but exciting enough to tell a little about. The clan compounds were close to either the edge of the village or the Hokage tower. Sakura enjoyed teaching Harry about the different abilities of each clan (at least the ones she knew off, since there were a lot more secrets among clans then Harry first realised). The area where Sakura lived with her parents was one of the nicer areas of the village, close to the shopping districts and markets. The area reminded Harry slightly of Privet Drive with its clean and prestige's walls. If there had been gardens and laws they would have been neatly kept which would bore the Weasley twins to no end. Naruto refused to tell him where he lived, quickly changing the subject with an embarrassed blush creeping towards his cheeks.

"Kakashi-sensei lives around here," the blond said, pulling at Harry's arm as he dragged him towards one of the more cheap looking flats. "Tsunade baa-chan already visited him so he should be alright now. You have to meet him too Ryuu nii-san and I want you to meet Iruka-sensei too. We can have lunch with him at Ichiraku's."

Sakura stopped, looking back over her shoulder towards the general direction of the hospital. "I'll visit Kakashi-sensei later. It's getting late and I want to visit Sasuke before I have to do my chores for today. It was good meeting you again Ryuu-san. See you later Naruto."

The blond seemed slightly chest fallen but quickly smiled his brightest smile. "See you tomorrow for practice Sakura-chan! Tell Sasuke that I'll visit him later."

The pink haired girl had already disappeared into the crowd. "She seems very fond of Sasuke," Harry mused gesturing towards the building so Naruto could take the lead. The blond frowned, his bright blue eyes looking thoughtful. He didn't say anything though and his silence became slightly depressing. Harry ruffled the young Shinobi's hair. "You're all still young Naruto. Look at me, I'm nineteen and I've only been on one date in my entire life. It was an absolute disaster and the relationship stranded, but we remained friends even if it was slightly awkward to talk to her afterwards. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that it love will happen at some point in your life. Don't worry too much about it. There are more women in the world then the pink haired girl you think you love."

Harry winked at the sputtering Naruto, enjoying seeing the kid behave like a normal child. "Now let's meet this teacher of yours. His name sounds awfully familiar." Naruto blinked before rushing up the stairs of the apartment building. "Kaka-sensei is really awesome Dattebayo! He's known as the Copy-nin and he taught us a lot of cool things. He's also taken really good care of Mr Ukki, which shows just how awesome he is. Mr Ukki is the plan I gave him by the way," he added as he glanced back to see Harry's confused expression. "Sasuke-teme refused my plant when I gave him one when we became a team and Sakura-chan let it die." The disappointment in his voice nearly sent a chill down Harry's spine and he shook his head. He really needed to block his feelings towards the blond or he would be stuck in Konoha just to be with Naruto.

"But at least Mr Ukki is still alive," Harry said in a soft, encouraging voice. "It shows character. I will enjoy meeting your sensei." Something else stirred inside his body. Some more unwanted feeling for the mysterious sensei, which might not be so mysterious at all.

"Here we are," Naruto said with renewed enthusiasm and he knocked on the door before entering cheerfully. "Kaka-sensei! You awake? I got someone for you to meet!"

A long suffering moan sounded from what seemed to be the bedroom and Harry wondered if he should stop Naruto in opening the door, before he heard the tired greeting followed by at least two more who were chuckling. "Come on Ryuu nii-san, these are Kaka-sensei, Gekimayu-sensei who is Bushy Eyebrows sensei, Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei."

As Harry stepped into the room he was met by three strange and yet familiar faces and one person who was lying deep under the covers, meaning only a bit of silver/grey hair stuck out from under it. "I apologise for the intrusion but Naruto-kun wished for me to meet him sensei while he made sure of the man's health. My name is Ryuu. It's an honour to meet you all." And Harry bowed with the right amount of respect to the Shinobi and Kunoichi of Konoha.

The Kunoichi with the most startling red eyes and ebony hair smiled kindly at him, a wave of calm emitting from where she stood. The two men were staring at him wearily but calmly. One is sitting in the windowsill with a cigarette, the other leaning casually against the wall with the most amazing eyebrows and bowl-cut. The one lying on the bed, who Harry presumed to be Naruto's sensei, was staring at him intensely with one eye. "It's good to meet you Ryuu-san," the Kunoichi said kindly. "I'm Yühi Kurenai."

"Sarutobi Asuma," greeted the man by the windowsill, blowing the smoke out of the open window. The one with the large eyebrows and the bowl-cut flashed Harry a grin worthy of Lockhart but with a lot less self-indulgence and a bit more macho flair. "Meito Gai. Good to meet you Ryuu-kun!"

"Hmm," the bit of silvery grey hair hummed from beneath the covers and Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, it is good to see you again Ryuu-chan." The ninja's in the room startled slightly at looked at Harry for a reaction, but the wizard just stared at the famous Copy-nin unimpressed. "The Toads let you down the Mountain again then?"

Naruto was gaping at him in surprise and slight betrayal and Harry flashed him an apologetic smile before turning his attention back to Kakashi. "Har, har scarecrow. It seems that you are lazing around as usual. Maybe I really should have asked Pakkun to-"

"Yes," Kakashi quickly interrupted, the bits of his face which were visible seemed to colour an almost irresistible pink. Harry chuckled at the obvious discomfort the man was showing. "Well, good to see you again. How long will you be staying for?" The fellow ninja in the room seem almost shocked at the usually level headed Shinobi and Harry would almost hear the wheels turning in their heads, each wondering just what this stranger had done to their friend and fellow comrade.

Harry pouted cutely, gesturing for Kakashi to move so he could sit on the end of the bed before he rested himself on the foot end. "Be nice scarecrow. I haven't seen you in two years and this is the welcome I get? Mah and Naruto-kun was so excited too. Look at him now, all sad and moping, picking at the plant…"

Naruto was standing by the window, close to Asuma, inspecting the lone plant with a pout. He suddenly turned to Kakashi with the saddest expression you could ever see on a child. "W-what…?" the Copy-nin started but Naruto interrupted him with a soft, miserable, whiny voice. "Why are you letting him die Kaka-sensei? If you needed someone to look after Mr Ukkie you should have said so. Both Shikamaru and Ino know how to deal with plants. Even Iruka-sensei…"

The only wizard in the room sighed softly. "I'm sure your sensei didn't do it on purpose Naruto-kun. Right scarecrow?" And he gestured for Naruto to come to him as Kakashi huffed. The blonde approached him with the dying plant and held it up to him. "It's not as bad as it looks Naruto, but you already know this. With some fresh water and some fertilizer, this little one will bloom again in a few weeks. For now though, place him in the sink with a little bit of water for him to soak up and Mr Ukkie will feel a little bit better." He ruffled through those sunny blonde locks, earning him a blush, and listened in amusement as Naruto left the room muttering about how disappointed he was and that Iruka-sensei would have never done something like this.

Suddenly he came back, running directly for Harry who caught him in a hug. "Thank you Ryuu nii-san." And he rushed out the room again. Harry chuckled as he watched the blonde leave for the last time. "You got a lot of making up to do with your student scarecrow."

"It wasn't my fault," Kakashi whined. "And stop calling me scarecrow!"

Harry grinned cheekily. "Sure Inu-chan." Kurenai chuckled while Gai laughed loudly. Asuma coughed as if he choked on his smoke. "Anyway, it was good meeting you all. I'm sure we'll see each other around Konoha at some point. Don't stay in bed too long Kakashi. You'll get stiff if you lie in bed to long at your age. See ya." And he hastily stepped out of the room as the Copy-nin tried to get out of his bed. His flight was followed by laughter and a smile creped onto his face. One thing he couldn't live with was seeing people sad or in pain. "Hey Naruto-kun, you ready for lunch?"

The blonde was standing in front of the sink, talking softly to the plant as he picked away the dead leaves. He perked up at the mention of lunch and Naruto soon joined him as Harry moved towards the door. "At least he looked okay," Naruto muttered as they stepped out of the apartment building. "But I can't believe he would let Mr Ukkie die like that."

Harry ruffled trough those blonde hairs. "You shouldn't be too hard on him Naruto-kun. Your sensei was injured, so he couldn't have taken good care of your plant. He didn't mean to let it die. Sometimes things just happen. It is the same as when we get injured during battle because our opponent is stronger. We are all misfits in an imperfect world."

Naruto frowned, looking up at him with confused, sky blue eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Harry said with a wink. "So is this the place?" The distraction was instant and soon Naruto had flung himself on the next person available. A tall, brown haired man who had a scar across his nose. His eyes were extremely kind and a great strength shone from within. So this must be… "This is Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, introducing the brown haired man. "He's way cooler then Kaka-sensei. He used to teach Sakura and me at the Academy. And the others too of course. Iruka-sensei, this is Ryuu nii-san. He came back with Ero-Sennin and me when we fought Orochimaru together with Tsunade baa-chan and Shizune nee-chan."

"I think you would want to start at the beginning for that story Naruto-kun," Iruka said with a smile. "Good to meet you Ryuu-san. Are you joining us for lunch?"

"I would love to," Harry said. "But I wouldn't want to interrupt your precious time together, even though I doubt the story will be told accurately with only Naruto-kun there." He winked at Naruto's indignant huff.

Iruka chuckled. "I'm sure we can spare another bowl for you, can't we Naruto-kun." Naruto beamed up at his teacher, clearly admiring the man that he was so accepting towards someone who only just arrived at the village. For most Shinobi foreigners were cause for suspicion, but it seemed that as long as Harry had Naruto to back him up he would have many allies here.