Hello everyone out there that read this story!
Finally the fifth chapter is done and out!
I got amazing response to the last chapter which made me a very happy girl indeed. I soared past a hundred reviews so fast I barely could react! Simply amazing and astonishing! God I love you people! "Sniff"
Because of the enormously good response I got so motivated that I began to write on the next chapter immediately. As I usually pause for a few days after posting a chapter before starting on the next chapter. This chapter has been looked over by my Beta, 'XxTaintedxDaggerxX', give her a cheer for wonderful jobb!
Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto.
Two broken souls heals together
Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped.
Chapter 5
"Normal speech"
'Thinking'
"Snake speech"
"Fawkes"
Previously: "Are you the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind was in a state of panic, not that anyone could see or notice it. He was a master at hiding any emotion he didn't want to reveal. Naruto, the boy he saw as his grandchild, was missing. Apparently he had been gone for about two weeks, but it could've been longer for all he knew.
He wasn't blind to the village's hate for the boy, as much as he was pained to admit it. He honestly tried to help the boy as much as his schedule and time allowed him, but being Hokage for one of the largest hidden ninja villages in the world had its downsides. The never ending search for traitors or spies, the endless paperwork that varied between missions from other villages and his own, to complaints from the civilians about someone that played their music too loud one night.
To put it bluntly, Sarutobi didn't have a lot of time outside of the office for either his family or his friends.
Still, he tried to visit the boy as much as he could. Every time someone hurt him, he would get furious and sentence the attackers to death or prison for many years. It wasn't easy, however, to find the attackers when the guards he set on the boy refused to do their job properly. They would watch the boy, yet when the village people attacked him, they just stood to the side and watched, even though they are supposed to be protecting him.
The only people Sarutobi knew would help him, regardless of the demon trapped inside the child's body, was Hatake Kakashi and Jiraya the Sannin, but none of them where available or even suitable to take care of boy.
To start with, Kakashi was Naruto's father's, Minato's, student. He took the death of Minato very harshly and decided to bury his grief in work and deadly missions. The Hokage sometimes worried for the teen, but there was not much he could do. The incident that took Minato's life drastically lowered the shinobi population and Sarutobi needed every ninja he had to manage the village's safety with all the missions that fed the village economy.
As such, he could not deny the man's request for higher ranking missions, meaning they were more dangerous, because there were so few people that could take them, succeed and come home alive in the process.
Then there was Jiraya. Though he was a very strong and dangerous person when threatened, he couldn't be trusted with a child any more than fire and water could get along. The man wasn't even in Konoha at the moment and had not been for the last two years, though Sarutobi did receive regular reports about his findings and scouting almost every month.
Jiraya was also a very well-known and wide-spread pervert that regularly spied on the women in the bathhouses. When asked, he would only say that he collected information for a new book that he was eagerly writing whenever he had time.
To put it bluntly, Sarutobi would never put such a young child in that man's care, no matter how trustworthy he might be. Jiraya was, after all, his former student, but sadly it did not change the Hokage's view on him with the care of a child.
No, Sarutobi was forced to place the child in an orphanage until he was old enough to live by himself, but much to the old man's grief, the orphanage repeatedly continued to throw the child out for his ´demoness´ or something like that. No matter how much he threatened them with prison and death, they just wouldn't change. Perhaps the worst thing of all was that little and adorable Naruto didn't understand at all why the adults hated him with such passion. The Hokage couldn't bear to tell him the reason why, while he was so young and wouldn't completely understand anyway.
Sarutobi had been informed by one of his ninjas that didn't hate the child as harshly as the others, that the boy was lost and could not be found. After an investigation made by the Hokage himself, he could safely say the child had been gone for over two weeks or more. The village people and ninja refused to cooperate any further or plainly didn't know. Not that they cared what happened to the boy anyway.
Sarutobi had immediately set out his most trusted hunters and Anbu to search for him throughout the whole village and the forest. After two days of failure, the Hokage began to believe that the boy was dead. The child could have been killed weeks ago or been kidnapped by someone or gotten lost in the forest and been killed by some animal. The endless possibilities, some more gruesome than others, didn't help the old man's mind and sanity.
He didn't want the council to sniff out that the child was missing either. They would no doubt throw a feast or a party for the whole village in gleeful joy. After all, they had made anything Sarutobi wanted to give or say to the boy harder with their closed-mindedness.
The Hokage had even wanted to adopt the boy, but had been ruthlessly denied by the council's men and women. The other clan's either wanted the child's power or wanted nothing to do with him, though the majority of them would see the boy dead if given the chance.
The Hokage sighed to himself on a bright early morning after two days of searching. How could he ever forgive himself if the boy was indeed dead? How could he ever face Minato the day he died if it was so?
After being occupied with searching for the child, the paperwork had been begun to pile up and now it had reached such heights that he could no longer ignore it. He also waited for reports from different ninjas, one about an assassination mission and three spying missions. All was due this early morning before ten-o-clock.
He let none of his worries for the boy show on his face as he was never alone in his office. The four Anbu guard were always present, and though they tried to mask their chakra, he always sensed them. He wasn't a Hokage for nothing after all. It wouldn't do for the others to see his moment of weakness. Outwardly, he was as calm as ever, but his mind was whirling with possible reasons for the boy's absence.
After working and listening to all the reports for several hours, the clock struck eleven and Sarutobi decided to take a brief moment to relax. Bringing forth his trusty old pipe, he smoked for a couple of minutes before he began to feel a strange presence outside. It was very subtly hidden, not hostile, but it wasn't emotionless either. It was almost soothing in a way, that Sarutobi felt a spark of familiarity. Straightening in his chair, he wracked his mind for information on where he could have felt the presence before.
Coming up blank, he alerted his guards with a hand sign that someone was close who was not a Konoha Nin, in case they hadn't noticed. What he had not been prepared for was a lithe young man with black long hair in a tight braid and astonishing green eyes to just ´pop´ into the middle of his office without giving it away with his chakra signature, that always happened when someone used the teleportation jutsu.
Controlling his surprised face into a passive mask, as his Anbu guards surrounded the still man, he prepared himself to speak, but was beaten to it.
"Are you the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
Momentarily in shock by the cold, icy tones and the commanding waves of power that radiated from the young man, which was in no way chakra, made it difficult for him to compose himself.
Once again calm and in control, he met the young man's eyes and marveled silently by the beauty they held before responding.
"Yes, I am. Who are you and what do you want?", the elder man commanded in a stern tone, allowing nothing, but the answer he was seeking. The Hokage decided to remain sitting in his chair, feeling content that his ninjas were surrounding him and restraining the stranger from doing anything.
Though Harry always hated to do what others told him to do, especially adults and elderly people like Dumbledore, he also hated people that tried to corner him and make him do something like in this situation. So he decided to play by his own rules; meaning asking the question and getting the answer, though saying his name was probably something he had to do anyway.
"The name is Harry Potter and I believe I have something that you have been searching for.", Harry responded in a monotone voice that betrayed none of his feelings as he studied the old man before him. He wasn't worried about the people surrounding him at all; if they would do anything that could possibly break through his shield, it would warn him ahead of time. Besides, they were, at the moment, a bit ´stuck´. ´Quite literally´, Harry cackled evilly to himself.
The man before him looked old, not as old as Dumbledore, but quite close. Luckily for the Hokage, he did not remind Harry of his late headmaster at all, making Harry give him a chance to explain himself before he set his judgment on him at least.
"Something I seek, you say? You will have to expand and explain it somewhat more for me, I'm afraid.", the Hokage stated cautiously, after all, the man had not made any move to attack or harm him, yet.
"No riddles or games old man, if you don't know what I mean, then I will return to where I came from and take it with me in the process and, believe me, you will never find me unless I allow it. Tell me what I have and we will discuss things more seriously.", Harry snapped angrily and met the elder man's eyes defiantly.
"I see, I don't know who you are to say such things to a man of as high a stature as I or what powers you wield to make it happen, but I will take you seriously as you demand.", Sarutobi offered gently to the man and awaited the response.
'A good beginning makes a good end', Harry muttered to himself, before drawing himself taller from his already short height and inserting a slight bit of confidence into his tone as he stood proudly.
"Good, then what is it that you seek at the moment? Answer me that and I will reveal if it's true or not.", Harry answered in a clipped tone, very happy that Naruto continued to sleep and didn't see him act like this in front of the man he obviously liked very much. But Harry needed proof that the man was genuine and not some fake as he discovered that his former mentor revealed himself to be. He didn't want to make the same mistake again, especially as this involved a small child such as Naruto.
Sarutobi sighed heavily as he contemplated the young man ahead of him with a critical eye. What could the man indeed have that he searched after? Something about his enemy's, hidden village of Iva or Kumo perhaps? No he had his spies on them. Some artifact that had been stolen from Konoha? Information? A person? 'A person, no- but that's-'.
Suddenly, he dropped his pipe in shock as he froze and burst out, "Naruto! Do you know where he is? What have you done to him!", Sarutobi demanded to know in his most deadly voice he could muster at the moment.
Narrowing his eyes, Harry answered coldly. "I haven't done anything else then help the child from a crowd of villagers. I saved the child from being beaten in a dark alley and he would have surely died had I not come. I took him home with me and healed him myself and, from what I have heard from him, this has happened several times already.", Harry hissed angrily, as he spoke he saw the Hokage sink further down into the chair in shame.
"I didn't blame you, the Hokage, at first. After all you can't know and check on every orphan child yourself if you don't know them personally. But after knowing that Naruto's nice ´old man´ was in fact the Hokage himself, then I laid the whole blame on you. You are one of the most powerful men alive today and you couldn't even protect a child that you knew from being beaten, starved, and thrown out on the street. Apparently, the rumors' about you being one of the best and kindest Hokage in the elemental land is false and bullshit indeed.
"I asked myself, why such a man as yourself, could watch a child as bright and brilliant as Naruto get beaten without doing anything. With all your power and wisdom, you surely are a failure as a human being and a man.", Harry finished grimly with hard eyes, seeing how the words pierced the man who seemingly aged in front of him.
The silence hung heavily in the air as Harry refused to say anything more. He wanted to know what the old man would say in his defense. Depending on the answer, Harry would set his opinion about him, though he didn't expect in the least the reply he got.
After mentally seeking forgiveness from Minato for neglecting his child, who needed his help more than anyone else in his mind, Sarutobi lifted his hand and motioned for his guards to leave the room. Getting a brief hesitation he sent them a hard glare which made them obey immediately.
Sarutobi pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaled some smoke from his pipe and sighed deeply.
"There are no excuses I can give you or the child that could forgive my actions, or lack of them. All I can say, is that I tried with the small time I had to help Naruto. I must admit that I have become lax with the ruling as the council is on my back at my every decision I make for the boy. You have to understand that running a ninja village of this size is an enormous task for one man alone, so the council itself is necessary and cannot be disabled however much I would have wanted to."
The Hokage sighed again and straightened his back to peer closer at the young man before him. "From what I gather from earlier, you seem to care a great deal for the boy and also the way you dress proves that you are not from Konoha. My guess is that you have no idea what the Kyuubi no Yoko is?"
After getting a short strained nod from the younger man, Sarutobi continued in a grave voice that spoke of sadness and regret.
"What I'm about to tell you is S -classified information and cannot get out of these walls or you will be sentenced to death. Are we clear?"
Getting a hard and icy look that Sarutobi translated as a ´understood´ he continued slowly.
"The reason for Naruto's bad treatment is because of the Kyuubi, a demon that attacked this village four years ago. You see, Naruto's late father was this village's forth Hokage before he died. My successor. When the demon attacked, Minato, Naruto's father, came up with a plan to seal the beast, as it is impossible to kill a demon, into a newborn child to save the village. Of course, such a powerful seal has its price. Minato's soul was taken by the shinigami to be forever tortured in its stomach.
"Minato, the kind soul he was, could not seal the demon into any child. Lucky or unlucky, Naruto was born that very same day, October the tenth. When giving birth, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, died from blood loss, the poor soul. When Minato succeeded at sealing the beast into little Naruto, he was then left alone in the world. Minato's last wish was for the boy to be seen as a hero, but as you can see that is not the case at all."
'No kidding', Harry thought grimly.
"So many civilian and ninja died in the attack, and there are so many mourning people that would love to take out their frustration and sadness on an innocent child that had done nothing wrong at all. Grief can cause people to do things they would never think about doing normally. People say and do things they don't mean when they are upset.
"There are very few people that see the boy for how he is and I am one of them who sees the little boy, I promise you." Sarutobi stopped to give the young man a chance to process the mass information he was given for a couple of minutes while he himself tried to calm down the raging feelings from reliving the terrible day.
Harry's expression was almost that of a gaping fish as he heard and took in the words.
The young wizard was mildly stunned at best and his mind tried to take in what had been said. 'Poor Naruto, Harry thought sadly, to be subjected to such a thing because of something that he had no control over.' He had wondered what the strange tattoo was on Naruto's stomach, but had forgotten it after a while because it didn't seem important at the time.
The situation with Naruto's sealed beast and Harry's scar seemed fairly similar in an ironic way, the wizard decided. Naruto didn't seem to know about the demon, so at least it couldn't talk to the boy, not yet anyway. As he mulled over the information, he conjured absently a pallet to sit on without disturbing the child on his back, forgetting his audience for a moment.
Not noticing the elder man's shocked face and gaping jaw, he sat down on the soft covered pallet and put his face in his right hand, in a 'thinking position', as Ron had liked to call it. He sat still as stone as he stopped for a moment, as if to gather his thoughts and reassemble them into something he could work with.
Suddenly he spoke as if out of nowhere with a solemn tone and downcast eyes.
"A flawed man."
Sarutobi had no idea what the man spoke about and, as if the young man had read his thoughts, he continued in the same voice.
"You are a flawed man, Sarutobi Hiruzen. That's all I can describe you as at the moment. You care for the child with your whole heart, yet you do not act on it in fear of making it worse or making enemies. You try to make the child's life better, yet you do not follow it all the way and stop half way. You mourn for the child's miserable life and pray that it will get better, yet you do not interfere on your own to make it happen. I do not understand what you are waiting for. For the child to grow up? For something to happen that will do the job for you? I can see in your heart and soul that you love the child, but why are you not doing anything?", Harry finished, glaring angrily at the very quiet older man.
Sarutobi's mind had frozen as the man hit the nail after only being in the same room with him for only an hour. He had seen through him faster than anyone ever had and the Hokage couldn't help but respect the man for it. 'A flawed man, huh, I suppose that does describe me very well', Sarutobi mulled lightly in his mind.
He was not supposed to be the Hokage at this age either. He had once given up the title, but the accident forced him take it back and he had no say over it at all. Perhaps it was time to look after a successor again? Tsunade or Jiraya are both good candidates for the post and could rule the council better than anyone else could if he taught them the ropes before taking over. Yes, perhaps it was time.
But for now, he had to do his best for Naruto. Leaning back into the chair and taking up his beloved pipe he regarded the young man before him.
"There is nothing I can say in my defense against those words. You seem to care for Naruto, tell me, is he happy in your care?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation in Harry's tone or word. "If you want to start making amends to Naruto, you can give him to me and let me care for him. My best friend once gave me the best advice I have gotten in my life. He said, 'each day is a gift, not a given right. Leave no stone upturned, leave your fears behind and try to take the path less traveled by. That first step you take is the longest stride.'
"I think he meant that the easiest decision is not always the best and sometimes you have to suffer a bit before getting the thing you want or wish for. After the time I have spent with Naruto, I have come to love him deeply. He, nor I, wish to be separated.", Harry finished with a serious expression. This was it, it would decide if he would get to keep the boy legally or if he would have to 'kidnap' him.
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment and tried to see if the man played some game with him or if he genuinely cared for the boy.
"I can't do that without knowing that is really what the child wants. Can you let me see him?" The Hokage wasn't about to give the child away to a man he had no idea who he was, even though he seemed to genuinely like the boy.
Seeing the man smirk with a teasing glint in his eyes, he braced himself for a second before the Hokage forced himself to relax. It was for naught, as the backpack the man had on his back suddenly transformed before his eyes into a little boy with bright yellow hair sticking up everywhere. He absently noticed that the child seemed to be in a deep sleep and his mind raced wildly. How had he hid the child from him and how he had not noticed in the least? If he had used a genjutsu, he would have known the moment he had entered his office! What kind of powers did the young man before him control? He was interrupted by low chuckling that screamed amusement.
"He has been here the whole time, just asleep." Harry had a great time after seeing the look on the Hokage's face. He grinned in delight, knowing he had fooled the rumored strongest and smartest shinobi in this century; that was something he could brag about some other time.
Harry had no intention of explaining his magic to the elder man. The man already knew that he was different from the normal shinobi, bloodline or not. There was nothing he could do about that as it was not a smart idea to obliterate the man, after all. Harry had decided earlier to only show him that he was strong enough to protect the boy by himself, nothing more.
As the shock wore off, Sarutobi was overwhelmed by his emotions for the boy that he had not seen for so long. Standing up slowly from his chair and starting to move around his desk he saw the man tense up slightly before relaxing again.
He observed intently, as the man turned his head around and poked the boy gently awake with a fond and loving smile on his face. Still relived and happy to have found the boy he had thought was dead, he couldn't help the smile that lit up his face at the scene. The manner the younger man handled the child with made his heart swell with gladness and he watched as the boy slowly awoke. The moment the child caught the green eyed man's eyes, he beamed a positively radiant smile that no man could mistake for anything other than awe and love, directed all to the younger man that carried him on his back.
That was all Sarutobi needed to make his decision, but waited to say it to let the boy notice him first. It didn't take long for the child to see him and graced him with another smile, though not as big and happy as the last one. He smiled back at him and grinned slightly when the child jumped of the younger man's back to sprint forward towards him, while shouting his nickname the child had given him.
"Ol' man hokage!", the boy blurted out in excitement and took off towards the elderly man.
Spreading out his arms just in time to catch the child that lunged at him, he managed not to topple over. Hugging the boy tightly, the elderly man breathed out a contented sigh. To have been forced to think the boy as dead had torn more at him then he had expected. Loosening his hold on the boy, to see his face, he smiled fondly and ruffled his hair lightly.
"Hello Naruto. I have missed you greatly my boy. How are you feeling?", Sarutobi asked gently.
"I'm grewt old man! Harry-san has bewn takin' care of me! He is real'y, real'y nice! Pleas'e can I stay wit' him!", Naruto begged with shining eyes and clutched the shirt in front of him.
The elderly man observed the child for a second to see if he was honest. He saw in the end that it was no lie; the child was speaking from his heart.
"Is that what you really want Naruto?", the old man asked more for confirmation than anything else. He already knew what the child wanted.
The child nodded enthusiastically, his eyes shining with raw hope that the elder man had no intention to break. Sarutobi turned his gaze to the man that had stayed silent under the reunion between them. The Hokage sent everything through his eyes that he couldn't say with the child present. He sent both his approval for the young man to get Naruto and a threat to take care of him or else.
Harry nodded in understanding, feeling a heavy weight lift off his chest, and a chuckle escaping as him as he sighed in relief. He understood everything the elder man wanted to say. He had no intention ever to hurt the boy. Harry wanted to dedicate his whole life to make the child happy.
He caught Naruto, as he lunged to hug him as well, and slid his arms around the child protectively. Perhaps fate was rewarding him in some way, at least that was what Harry wanted to believe. He smiled down at the child that had wormed himself into his heart effortlessly, like water sliding down the throat.
A discreet cough brought him back to the present and he looked at the other man with question in his eyes.
"Can you guarantee that you can protect Naruto from the danger that resides in this land? Because of Naruto's… situation, there are people after him. Can you protect him against them?"
'What do you think I am, a bloody damsel in distress?' was on the tip of Harry's tongue, but he held it in as he studied the elder man. Slowly he straightened his back and gazed seriously at him. Harry slowly released some of his repressed energy to surround him, carefully to not let Naruto notice anything but letting the elder man feel what he willed him too.
After a couple of seconds, he got a small nod from the other man and Harry supposed he passed whatever test he had been given. Harry reined in his energy to be similar to an average civilian, but still a bit stronger than them. He relaxed as he steadied his energy to stay there, feeling very exposed when revealing his enormous powers to anyone.
Naruto didn't notice the strange silence or the stare the two men gave each other, content to be in Harry's arms, feeling both safe and happy.
Sarutobi seemed to sense the other man's feelings, for he cast him a concerned look as he thoughtfully changed the topic and addressed the child.
"Naruto, do you still want to be a ninja some day?", the Hokage asked, already knowing the answer in advance.
"Yes! I wan' to be stro'g enougf to protect everywone I like!", Naruto immediately burst out, excitement and determination practically written on his face.
Harry's head whipped around to look at the boy, wide-eyed. Remembering with a pang that he had said something similar to those words once for several years ago in a shouting match, but for the life of him he could not remember who he had shouted and argued with.
"I see.", the Hokage smiled warmly at the child before turning to the young man. "Seeing as that is Naruto's wish I will leave you, Potter-san, a few scrolls and documents with information to help Naruto. They contain a few jutsu for beginners that he would otherwise learn at the Ninja Academy and one extra I think he will find quite useful. I trust that you will only give Naruto these one at the time and only when he is ready for them?"
As Harry nodded and smiled somewhat confident he continued in a demanding tone.
"He will need to have a lot of training in hand to hand combat or taijutsu with someone that can teach him well, no slacking." The last, Sarutobi addressed to the child and watched as the boy nodded seriously, very unusual from the bright and energetic child. "Can you promise me, Naruto, that you will do your best no matter how hard it gets?"
Naruto crossed his arms childishly and pouted deeply at being told to do something he already decided to do no matter what. Nonetheless he answered the old man.
"I will, I prowise!" He sounded so confident that none of the older men could doubt him for a second.
"Good. Potter-san, the adoption papers will take a few days to complete, how will I contact you when I need you to come here to complete it?"
Harry thought for minute before handing over a coin that D.A club had once used to communicate. "This will alert me that you seek me. The coin is keyed to me and when you activate the password it will inform me and I will come to you in an hour's time. Expect an eagle to arrive."
If the Hokage was confused by the coin, he didn't show it. "I see, a most interesting thing. What is the password, may I ask?"
"The password is, 'Time heal broken souls'. If there is something I would want to ask you I will send a message with a bird to you, you can send your answer back with the same animal.", Harry said and thought that Hedwig would be so happy to be able to deliver a letter as it had been awhile since she had last done it.
"Excellent. The scrolls and documents will be given when the adoption is finished, I hope you don't mind.", Sarutobi said with a small smile.
"No, of course not. If that was all for the moment, Naruto and I will return home for the day. I do thank you deeply for your help and cooperation. I you wish, in the future, to contact us after the adoption is finished, use the coin and I will know. I don't want Naruto to lose contact with the only person that cared for him in this place.", Harry said and glanced down at Naruto.
"Naruto, do you wish to say anything to the Hokage before we leave?" Naruto nodded and stepped forward to hug the elderly man again and whispered a 'thank you' into the man's ear as the older man leaned down to his height. The man returned the hug and felt his heart swell with genuine love that the low spoken words projected.
Harry then gathered Naruto in his arms and nodded slightly to the man, before twisting his body and, with a small 'pop', they disappeared.
Death is a strange thing, is it not? The way it haunts a person day in and day out, just waiting for the time to strike. It is kind of like the grim reaper, with his silver bladed scythe, that collected the souls from the inanimate bodies. But all death didn't lead to endless misery and despair. If Naruto's father and mother didn't die, Harry wouldn't have been able to meet him and think of him as a son. If Harry's parents and friends didn't die, he wouldn't even be here in this land at all.
Strange how something seems so logical, but at the same time not. The way Naruto filled Harry's life was something he had never felt before, not even with Hermione and the others. As much he thought that he should feel guilty for that, he found that he could not. He did not want to dwell on the past, he wanted to live in the present and look forward to the future, with Naruto by his side.
After coming back to the tent from the Hokage's office, he let Naruto play and help himself to anything he wanted as he himself sat down in one of the armchairs to think. He really had done it. He successfully convinced the older man to let him adopt Naruto as his own. Harry felt the tension in his shoulder release and his whole body relax by the warmth by the open fire.
Only then, did he realize how much he had really stressed because of the meeting. Harry could feel a dull headache begun to build, but was too tired to move and get a potion for it. Instead, he could feel himself grow dizzy and decided a nap would be great for him right now.
Harry woke up two hours later by something poking him in the side. Turning sleep filled eyes onto the 'guilty' one, he was met with two sky blue eyes.
"I'm hungry.", came the shy statement. Harry mustered up a fond smile and heaved his butt up from the armchair. Harry felt very relieved that the child now dared to ask for food when he was hungry instead of waiting for Harry to decide when it was time to eat. Lifting the surprised child into his arms, he walked towards the kitchen while asking what the boy wanted to eat.
"Panc'ackes!" Naruto shouted immediately in answer, and then continued in calmer tone. "Can I hav'e des'ert afterw'rds too?"
"We will see.", Harry said, shaking his head and grinning at Naruto who was trying his hardest to look innocent and cute. "If you behave, then maybe." Harry couldn't help but tease the boy.
"I will!" the child eagerly promised with excited eyes.
Naruto patiently waited for the pancakes to be done and offered to help set the table to show the elder man that he could indeed behave and deserved a dessert afterwards. He missed the other man's amused look as he eagerly placed two plates on the table. Harry-san's pancakes were the best Naruto knew and he loved the delicious dessert he always got when he had been particularly good or done well on the writing and reading lessons. Finished with setting the table, Naruto sat down on the chair and watched as the last pancakes were finished.
Harry brought the food and sat down on the opposite chair, smiling at his soon-to-be-son at the same time. He let the child pile up food on his plate first before taking a pancake himself. 'In a week this little ball of energy could become my son. I can barely believe it, even now.', Harry thought to himself as he poured some cream and syrup on his plate.
The moment he had Apparated into the office and met the Hokage, he had fallen into an auto mode of sorts. It wasn't until he had awakened the child, that he had stopped feeling that he had been standing and observing from the sidelines instead of actually being there and arguing himself.
Now when he could calm down and think clearly, Harry could barely contain his joy and happiness. He had the urge to take the child into his arms and dance around the room like a lunatic and inside he was a mess of feelings, and suddenly Harry came to realise that he had something to live for once again, though this time it had nothing to do with a war or death. He a bit weary and tired from the day, so he decided to celebrate more after a good night's sleep and plenty of food.
He settled for smiling like a fool and cooked Naruto's choice of food. It didn't take more than half hour to eat up and clean the dishes for the two males, but for Harry this day felt like it had been going on forever and he felt somewhat exhausted. Though as expected, the yellow ball of energy didn't seem tired at all and seemed to shine with life. He certainly didn't seem to be willing to go to bed for a couple of hours.
Thinking a couple of seconds for a solution that could help him, he quickly came up with a plan. Calling for Fawkes in his mind, Harry explained his need and got an agreement instantly. Harry then turned towards the child, getting his attention with a gentle nudge on the arm.
He informed Naruto that he wished to go to bed early because he felt tired and that Fawkes would keep him company so that he wouldn't be alone. Also, that he needed to go to bed when the bird ordered him too, and to brush his teeth before bed. Harry tried to say this sternly like a parent would say to his or her child. When he saw the boy nod, Harry finally smiled and ruffled his hair, before heading for the bedroom. He absently heard the arrival of the Phoenix and the child shout in welcome to the bird before he shut the door gently behind him.
Harry quickly dressed for bed and slipped into the sheets. The sleep came ridiculously easy for someone with so many thoughts on his mind, but Harry didn't complain in the least. He was very glad that he didn't need to take a potion to be able to sleep a full night. He was soon out like a light and didn't even stir at all when several hours later at ten-o-clock Naruto crept into the bed and snuggled closer to him.
Four whole days went before Harry was contacted by the Hokage, which was longer than Harry would have thought it would take. Wondering slightly if the elderly man had run into trouble with the adoptions papers with the supposed 'council', Harry informed Naruto that he had to leave for a couple of hours. He had to use sheer will to not give in when the child begged to be taken with him to the Hokage.
Harry didn't want Naruto around for the final meeting with the Hokage because it could be a trap. The last time Harry had unexpectedly arrived but this time he would be waited for and the whole meeting could turn out to be fake and a trap to capture him for all he knew.
Harry did not want to expose any child to such a mess, should it happen. Instead, he had both Fawkes and Hedwig keeping the child company, so that he would not be alone or bored. Both birds loved the child and oddly enough could keep the boy occupied and interested for hours sometimes with different magic tricks or just cuddling, which both birds loved to do anytime.
Finally, Harry got a reluctant nod from the child to stay at home and he begun to quickly pack his bag lightly, some clothes and food for a day, just in case something would happen.
Kissing Naruto's head one time in goodbye, Harry stepped outside the tent before Apparating to a blind spot beside the large tower where the Hokage waited for him. Taking a deep breath, Harry schooled his face into a passive one that didn't reveal his emotion, but didn't make his face seem emotionless and cold.
Preparing himself with a curse on his lips in case of an attack for when he entered the office, he once again Apparated inside the tower into the room where he last had seen the elderly Hokage.
To the Wizard's surprise, the room was empty except for the old Hokage who sat in his chair, smoking his beloved pipe at the same time and a quick scan of the room with his magic confirmed that they were indeed alone. Though, at the moment it was obvious that the elder man tried to compose himself from Harry's rather abrupt arrival. Harry decided to give the man a chance to calm down before coming down to the business. No good would come by rushing or pushing it to go faster.
Harry observed the powerful man before him silently and noticed that the man looked quite worn out, though he had made an almost successful attempt to hide it.
After a while, Harry grew bored with the silence and struggled to say something. At the same time, it seemed as the Hokage had finally manage to composes himself enough to speak, for what felt for Harry several minutes was in fact just a couple of seconds. He couldn't help but blurt out the closest thing on his mind.
"Well someone's all sunshine and rainbows this morning. Had a rough night?", Harry asked, not quite enough will power to stop himself from questioning.
The older man smiled faintly and shook his head briefly. "Hello Potter-san. I assure you that I'm fine and well. I apologize for the long wait before I contacted you; I predictably encountered problems for the adoption from both the council and heads of the shinobi clans. As you knew, none of them care for Naruto, but are still reluctant to send the boy away from the village in fear that he joins another Shinobi village, even though Naruto is only a child. It was not easy for me to convince them to let the child go, but after many meetings and discussions we finally came up with a decision."
Sarutobi stopped to puff on his pipe a few times as he leaned back into the chair. Harry took the opportunity to speak his mind.
"I assume that I will be able to adopt Naruto?" The Hokage nodded slightly in answer.
"That is correct, but they demand to see and speak to you before you get to sign the papers. They most likely want to know what sort of person you are and if they can manipulate you, I'm afraid. There is nothing I can do in that aspect, but I promise you that this is all you have to do.", Sarutobi finished with gentle look.
"I see. I almost expected to be ordered to fight someone or prove myself that I am who I say I am, but I shouldn't really be surprised by it if what you have said about the council from last time is true. When am I supposed to meet them?" Harry asked curtly, his gaze hardening slightly as he straightened his back.
"They want to see you as soon as possible and they are waiting for you at this very moment. With your permission, I will send a message to them to expect us in few minutes.", Sarutobi stated solemnly as he watched the other man closely, seeking for any hesitation or regret to adopt the boy. After finding none he sighed in satisfaction and relaxed slightly in his chair.
"Hmm, well, we should not keep them waiting, shall we?" Harry smirked slightly at the thought to be able to give the men and woman on the council a piece of his mind. He was not really worried of getting killed or getting a rejection to adopt Naruto. If it came to the worst situation, he would simply Apparate out of there and take Naruto back to his home world, where none of them would ever find them.
Harry saw the Hokage give him a suspicious glance, then a small mischievous smirk appeared on the elder man's lips as though he read the younger man's mind. Harry saw the man write something on a piece of paper that, as soon he rolled it to a scroll, poofed away immediately.
Silence reigned between them for a few more minutes and Harry became aware that Sarutobi clearly had more he needed to talk about. Harry gave the man a chance to say what he wanted without being interrupted.
"I feel that I must warn you about a couple of things that may become a problem in the future.", the old Hokage started seriously and puffed on his pipe, making smoke rise around him.
"I have heard rumors about a group of people that are planning something with people that are like Naruto. What kind of goal they have or what their purpose are about is still unclear, but I fear that in the near future they will play an active role in the ninja world. Akatsuki is what they call themselves I believe, though I can be wrong as we do not have much information about them as of yet. I must warn you of them, should they appear, the members are very powerful and strong from what little we have seen of them. Very few ninja from this village, that have crossed their way, have come back alive or uninjured."
Harry simply nodded, more in understanding of what the statement implied than as an acknowledgement of the truth of the statement. The old man wanted him to train Naruto so that he could protect himself when the time came and Harry had every intention of doing so.
Harry sighed and scrubbed at his face with his free hand. He could feel the beginning of a headache starting to throb in his temples at the thought of what needed to be done and finished before Harry would declare the child ready to face the world on his own. Harry already felt possessive and protective of the boy and the young wizard had no doubt that it would become deeper as the time went. Letting the child into the Ninja world would be the hardest decision he would ever make, at least that was what it felt like that at the moment.
Harry pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind; he needed to be able to concentrate on the meeting with the council right now.
"I will be careful and look out for them to the best of my ability. Naruto will not come to any harm in my care, that I can promise you.", Harry responded at last.
"I will hold you to that. Where I failed, I hope you will succeed.", Sarutobi stated as he rose off the chair to make his way toward the younger man. "I believe it is time to face the council, I hope you are ready."
"I'm as ready as I am ever going to be. Let's face the wolves head-on, shall we?", Harry cheerfully replied and grinned as he followed the older man through the office door.
Ohh, another cliffhanger, though not as exciting as the last one I suppose. The chapter is a bit shorter than the last one but I wanted to get this out before I died of old age.
Is there someone that has any suggestion on what Harry will do at the meeting with the council? I can either turn the whole meeting into a shouting match or Harry can scare the dipshits to their early grave. (I must admit, I really like the last one!)
Any suggestion I get will be taken into consideration!
I thank again everyone that had reviewed on this story to far! You guys and girls are absolute brilliant!
Well that is it for me in this chapter; I hope and pray that you wonderful readers out there will continue to read this story of mine!
Next chapter: Thunder storms
Arrivederci!
~~Tigersissi~~