Disclaimer: sadly, I still don't own it despite my efforts
A note on pairings in this story: I really don't plan to include any, het or yaoi, pairings, though there might be slight undertones throughout.
Once more, thanks so much to everyone and their wonderful reviews. So now…
Enjoy :3
Chapter 6: Broken English
"…I…no longer want to run away!"
"You are going down!"
"I'm going to kill him because I want to kill him."
"I have a real monster in me."
Neither of them made a sound as they moved.
The barrier pulled irritatingly at his skin but he paid it virtually no mind, instead focusing solely on the man next to him as they moved through the thick trees. His long brown hair, which was pulled back with a thick tie, flipped behind him as he leaped from branch to branch, but it was his eyes that were the real cause for fascination. The thick, ropey veins that protruded around his eyes pulsed with power, pupil-less eyes taking in their entire surrounding with a single glance. Suddenly he stopped, kneeling on a branch, body crouched and ready to spring. No words were spoken, but the sand in his gourd shifted restlessly.
'What will happen to us now?' Deep within the confines of his mind, Uzumaki Naruto crouched within the murky depths that partially made up his mind's sewer-like prison. He studied his watery reflection with a grim look. The great fox didn't reply right away, instead taking the time to observe his host. Even in his mindscape, his usually bright countenance was dim and uncharacteristic, and he would feel the root of denial taking hold if he said he didn't care. When one was stuck with someone, no matter how grating their personalities, and great Kami no matter how much damned orange they wore, you couldn't help but grow grudgingly attached, which was exactly the predicament the ancient beast found himself in, something that was just another item to add to his continually growing list of "Why I Hate the Yondaime."
The feeling of eyes watching him made him return his wandering thoughts to the smaller blonde in front of him, and he felt a great rumble move through his body, before he hunkered down, resting his head on his enormous paws.
'We will most certainly be affected, but to what extent I cannot know. Without doubt though, a change will occur, if only slightly. It could be something as insignificant as having a sudden preference for rarer meats or a heightening of your senses. Not that you need that with me.'
Naruto sank deeper into the water. 'Worst case scenario?'
'Hard to say, the fact that he wasn't in wolf form must be taken into consideration, however even without the added advantage of his wolf, the venom was still potent enough to withstand my efforts to destroy it and continues to course through your veins. We could be looking at a full-scale transition on the full moon, or even merely extreme wolf-like tendencies. Hell, with your luck brat, I wouldn't be surprised if you merely sprouted a tail and ears.' Naruto sputtered and glared.
'That wasn't even a little funny…'
The fox sobered, gigantic eyes zoning in on his host's inconsolable face. Another sigh worked itself through his less than corporeal body, and he pushed his face closer to the bars. Naruto looked up, a look of utter hopelessness painting his face. 'What if I hurt someone?' Kyuubi sneered.
'Don't be so foolish boy; do you think for even a second these people will leave you by yourself, especially at the time of your maybe transformation? I doubt they'll even leave you a window of opportunity to harm one of their pathetic own.' Despite the callous way of his words, Naruto felt an instant flood of relief.
'I don't understand your worry brat. If anything you should be glad to rip them to pieces. I know I certainly wouldn't mind. Wizards and their kind are no better than your pesky shinobi, always seeking power where they have no right to tread, always a continuing irritation to higher beings.'
Naruto smiled humorlessly, gently flicking his hand through the water.
'I supposed it's just our nature.'
His reflection rippled before fading completely.
His mouth felt like he'd swallowed several hundred sheets of paper, and every single piece had seen fit to give him a paper cut. Though the thick cloying feeling in his mouth was nothing compared to the still throbbing pain in his neck and he hissed as he reached up to finger it experimentally. Instantly he clamped down on his lip, scowling as he only served to irritate it further. It seemed that despite the muffin-lady's best attempts and many, many nasty potions and uncomfortable spells, the wound continued to fester. He didn't have a mirror, but he could already tell without one that his neck was undoubtedly bright red with infection, and the crusty feeling he felt every time he so much as turned his head was testimony to the thick scab that was beginning to form.
He noted with interest the empty room, taking in the lingering scent of the muffin-lady and Harry, and he idly wondered how long he'd been out this time. He shook his head, happy when the motion didn't bring him a splitting headache for once, and moved out of bed and to his feet. A grin split across his face as he felt the returning strength of his legs and he gladly stretched his arms, his back giving a mighty crack as he leaned down to touch his toes. 'Ah, something good at last.' He didn't think this morning could be going any better when he smelled it. The salty, heavenly tang of noodles and beef teased his nose, and his slowly returning strength seemed to return tenfold.
"Oh sweet Kami above," he whispered, words dripping with awe, "the wizards have ramen!" He zipped out of the room in a yellow flash, thundering downstairs with renewed energy, not noticing the rather perplexed and surprised curly haired brunette and a rather gangly redhead he passed in his scramble down the hallway and stairs.
Sirius Black hadn't seen someone inhale so much food in one sitting since he'd been a teenager, and he felt a melancholy grin slip unto his face as he thought of the more strenuous food challenges he and James had partaken in during their times at Hogwarts. But he had to admit, even combined; the two of them would have nothing on this kid. He watched in absolute astonishment as he plowed his way through his 5th bowl of the rather salty noodles in record time, hardly seeming to take time to breathe between bites and bowls. Looking around the table, he saw that he wasn't the only one watching. Molly Weasley looked as though she was struggling to not reprimand the boy for his atrocious table matters, while her twin sons watched with appreciative glimmers in their identical eyes. Tonks had a faintly disgusted expression on her face, flinching slightly as he gave a particularly loud and sloppy slurp. Moony's face had an exasperated look, and he had no doubt the other man was also recalling the same thing as him.
The sound of a chair pulling out beside him snapped him out of his observations and the grin on his face stretched wider as he welcomed his godson to the table. He noticed when the blonde briefly halted in his devouring of noodles, blue eyes moving quickly to Harry, and he was just as mystified to see Harry doing the same, before they both disconnected gazes, the blonde returning to his noodles and Harry tucking into a plate of hash browns and bacon.
As the blonde started on his 6th bowl, the sound of the front door opening and hurried footsteps reached them, causing a halt to everyone's action, excluding the blonde who seemed to attack his noodles with even more vigor. The flushed face of one Arthur Weasley greeted them, who immediately locked onto the blonde, who still had yet to pause in eating, and hurried over to his fussing wife, giving her a quick peck on her cheek, before he marched to the front of the table, wiping a handkerchief over his thinning hair. His blue eyes stayed strained on the blonde as he spoke.
"Dumbledore would like to speak with you."
The blonde didn't respond, tipping the bowl up to catch the last drippings of broth, before setting the bowl down, leaning back with a satisfied burp. Molly tittered in the background. However the blonde paid her no mind, instead leveling the head of the Weasley family a steady gaze.
"What the hell is a Dumblydoora?"
Though Naruto liked to think he had somewhat of a firm grasp of the English language, there were just some words that wizards used that he couldn't for the life of him figure out. Even after the painstaking years Jiraiya had taken to drill it into his admittedly thick skull, it was times like these that reminded him how little he really knew, and despite himself he felt a flush creeping up his neck. Regardless of how well he'd communicated with Harry or his bundle of rescuers, he was all too aware that that there was still a language barrier between them no matter how hard he tried to hide it.
It was then that he realized that there seemed to be an astounded silence as the results of his words, and he looked up to find nearly every occupant of the table giving him looks of utter disbelief. Except for those two redheaded twins near the end of the table, both of whom looked like they were barely holding in raucous laughter. "Ah, ahem, Dumbledore is a person, our leader to be more specific." The person who'd piped up was the odd woman with the nature defying hair, Tonks, he recalled, and was giving him a rather amused look, her eyebrows turning hot orange while she spoke.
Dumbledore had the most impressive beard he'd ever seen. If it weren't for the fact that the atmosphere between them was so suffocated with tension, he would have gladly commented on it. As it was, the old man pierced him with an intense studying gaze, blue eyes shimmering with an odd twinkle. It made him uncomfortable, and he was sure it showed. He searched aimlessly for something to say, but found nothing. He silently cursed this decrepit old house and its complete lack of conversation starters. Finally, he sighed, and met the old man's gaze unfalteringly.
"What the hell do you want old man?" The old man, Dumbly, because damn he still couldn't say it right, blinked in surprise, and he got the feeling he wasn't spoken to in such a way that often. To his surprise, he started to chuckle, and it disturbingly reminded him of another old man, with a less impressive beard.
"My dear boy, there's no need for such hard words. I've merely brought you here with me to inquire as to your origins." Naruto didn't reply, eyes narrowing at the old man and his strange purple robes. "However, it is my thoughts that you are not from here at all Mister Uzumaki." He was up in seconds, across the room even faster, with a wand pointing right in the middle of his chest just as quickly. He snarled, hands once more itching to draw a kunai he didn't have and press it against the old man's feeble throat. "Now, now Mister Uzumaki, there's no need to overreact like this. Please return to your seat and I will explain as best as I can."
He stood there for a few more moments regardless, paranoia slowing his decision. Finally, he slowly backed up, eyes never leaving the man or his slender wand, and sank back into the overly stuffed armchair.
"The Sandaime was a rather good friend of mine. We met earlier in our lives during our numerous travels, and from the time spent with him, it is easy for me to identify a chakra-user such as yourself young man." Naruto's finger tightened around the arms of the chair and his voice was slightly strangled when he spoke. "And my name? How is it you know that?"
"We kept a correspondence over the years, and he spoke quite fondly of a rather mischievous blonde boy with whiskers who just couldn't seem to stay out of trouble." He paused, sending Naruto a sympathetic look. "I was greatly saddened to hear of his death."
Naruto wasn't sure what to say at that point, memories of the Sandaime flitting through his mind, and the tight clenching of sorrow around his heart was crushing. That same bone-deep sadness that coursed through him whenever he thought of him was broken as Dumbly reached out, hands going to rest on his shoulder in what he must have thought would be comforting. He leaned back, breaking contact, shoulders sagging.
"If you know so much, then do you know how to return me to my village?" His voice sounded hollow even to his own ears.
He sighed, eyes closing behind his crescent moon glasses, and Naruto got the feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "Unfortunately my dear boy, I have never had the chance to set foot in your village, or any of the hidden villages for that matter, nor has anyone that I've ever known in my many years and travels. I met the Sandaime here in my world, and we never spoke of the location of his village, as I'm sure you understand. Our worlds are completely separated, and the fact that you have made it here is a mystery upon itself. Few people are even aware that your continent even exists, so please, it might help us greatly in getting you home, if you told me first how it is you came to be here."
Silence sang out between them, and the temperature of the room seemed to drop considerably. If Dumbly noticed, he certainly didn't speak up, but the slightly firmer grasp on his wand was a definite indication. He wasn't sure how long they merely sat there stewing in silence, but when he spoke next, his words were cold.
"I was looking for someone."
Hermione Granger often felt exasperated in the presence of one Ronald Weasley. And this time was no different as she listened to him ramble on and on about the mysterious blonde they'd seen in the hallway this morning. She chose not to comment as he continued; instead focusing on the fact that Harry hadn't spoken a word on the matter at all.
She pursed her lips, standing and moving over to where her dark-haired best friend was seated. She could already tell that he was holding something back from them, and pinning him with a stern glare, she could practically feel him falling apart. Her honey brown eyes softened slightly, and she huffed as she moved closer to him on the bed, silencing Ron with a single look.
"Something you would like to share with us Harry?"
He shifted uncomfortably, hand coming up to rub nervously over the back of his neck.
"I've uh…I've talked to him." Ron sputtered, coming to sit with them, giving Harry a betrayed look. "Why didn't ya tell us sooner mate? All this time we've been worrying over it and you haven't said a word!" Harry flushed, and Hermione sighed. "I'm sure Harry had an excellent reason to keep this from us, right Harry?"
Harry could only nod, all words dying on his tongue at the look his friends were giving him. He studied the worn pattern of the bed sheet they were sitting on, idly fiddling with a fringed hole. The burning stares of Hermione and Ron made him feel like they were giving him optical sunburn. He wanted to tell them, truly he did, but he also wanted to keep it to himself, wanted to be the only one with a connection with the odd blonde. But looking once more at their expectant faces, he knew he wouldn't be keeping it to himself any longer.
"It started over the summer…"
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