Song of the Caged Blackbird
Abby Ebon
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Disclaimer: I do not own 'Harry Potter' or 'Naruto'; heck, I don't even own the idea behind this – it is a Challenge from Serpent in the Shadows.
AN: Xurtan again must receive credit for research into the Bjiuu; and showing me to the Naruto Forums by giving me a link to Dyroness' theory in the "Konoha Library" entitled "Legend of the Tailed Beasts - Advanced Bijuu Directory" which is the main bases of Houkou. Even if I had originally hoped for a wolf - a dog is fine too.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Tale of the Five-Tailed Dog Bijuu; Gobi no Houkou
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Harry, unconscious from the pain of the acid eating into his flesh – ravaging nerves and destroying long-used muscles, was unaware of the efforts going into healing him.
That his sword, Miyabita Shi - Graceful Death lay under his hand; a pulsing warm thing – determined to save him, to keep its second would-be Partner alive.
Unknowingly, these things triggered a memory of the happenings of his birth; of the reason why – suddenly, to the amazement of the desperate people, his wounds were healing.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
A bijuu, the giant two-tailed cat, Nekomata, yowled, black angle-like wings fluttering, as he struck the side of a mountain; the nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi – snarled at him – for Nekomata truly was the Death God's pet, and turned on the bijuu Harry saw through the eyes of.
"Why are you doing this, Gobi no Houkou?" Kyuubi demanded, hissing, tensed – he had yet to turn his back on Nekomata who shook himself, his tails lashing angrily.
Harry caught his refection in the eyes of the Kyuubi.
A snarling white dog – his five tails – of the appearance of lashing wind, waves of hurricane-like water, tornado-swirling earth, strikes of never-ending lightning, and a raging torrent of fire.
"Nekomata has told me, you wish to destroy our world and start anew." Harry found himself answering – but, he realized, this were not his words, but the words of the being he inhabited.
"He lies!" Kyuubi snarled, enraged that Houkou, his closet ally among the bijuu could believe such a thing of him. Houkou paused, confused, turning to Nekomata for an explanation.
Nekomata snarled – seeing his plan to gain power falling down around him, and cutting his losses, he rushed at Houkou; stealing a part of his very soul – Houkou howled in agony as Nekomata disappeared behind the Gates of Death, his very soul torn, a grievous wound.
Houkou whined softly, he lay at Kyuubi's feet, defeated, soul-torn, in agony. Instead of killing him, Kyuubi took pity. Kyuubi hid Houkou away on an island, attempting to nurse him back to heath, but with each passing day, Houkou faded even more – until all but two (that of wind and fire) of his once great elemental tails were turned normal.
Finally, Kyuubi admitted to himself that he had to leave Houkou, and return with what Nekomata had stolen.
"I shall avenge you, Houkou, old friend; I swear I shall return with the traitor's life-force, I shall return you to your glory days…" Kyuubi promised him, nuzzling the soft fur of Houkou's neck, Houkou, helpless, merely watched Kyuubi go… Houkou would never know what happened to Kyuubi afterwards.
That his friend– following Nekomata's end-trail, cornered Nekomata and killed him, and upon returning to Houkou's den, with the missing fragments of Houkou's soul…He would only be too late, finding, instead of a injured friend; that Houkou had disappeared. Hastily, Kyuubi put the fragments of Houkou's soul into a tree at the base of a volcano, then, following the scent of those who had taken his vulnerable friend, led the Fox bijuu to Leaf – where all traces disappeared; made mad by the loss – by what he thought of as the death of his once mate and friend, Kyuubi ravaged all that crossed his path until he was Sealed into a squalling infant.
But…Instead of death, Houkou would be used as a bargaining clip between two men who formed a dark alliance.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
In a back-alley of Konoha, four men, at the orders of their leaders, met for the first time. Two were robed and hooded in black, and wore white skull masks; the other two hid their faces in the darkness of their midnight blue cloaks.
"Do you have it?" A man in a black robe and white skull demanded, one of midnight blue cloaks, came foreword, slowly. The black robes fiddled with sticks, and the other two seemed amused by this.
A small statue of a five tailed dog was held up; as if an offering – and the black-robe closest murmured something softly, and the two midnight blue cloaks, feeling something, stiffened.
"Very good; here is the potion and scroll that will allow your master to do as he wishes." A white-skull hissed; the five-tailed dog statue was passed over to him, for a vial of green-and-blue potion and an ancient looking scroll.
Once the dog statue was in their position, the black-robes, with a crack like a whip, disappeared – moments later, if not quite as loudly, the midnight cloaks followed.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"You are to place this on the Potter child's head, Wormtail." The Dark Lord, his master, murmured to his lowly servant. Shuddering, Wormtail reached for the foreign art work, of course, he knew it had to be something else…
"Yes, my Lord." Wormtail whimpered his hands shaking as he took the statue.
"What is it, Master?" Wormtail dared ask, and, instead of throwing a curse at him for daring to do so, the Dark Lord smiled.
"It, Wormtail, will ensure my victory." The Dark Lord purred, and Wormtail, quite terrified by this revolution, ran off, appearing in the hospital run by muggles that Lily Potter had insisted on having her little Harry Potter.
Wormtail would know James' son anywhere – that messy black hair, and Lily's bright green eyes…
Moments after the child's birth, he was being taken care of by nurses – stunning them and modifying their memories was easy, and – shuddering at the feeling rolling off the five tailed dog statue, he placed it on the infants head.
The statue seemed to melt into the boy, and as he started wailing, Wormtail fled, leaving the baffled nurses to deal with the infant Harry.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"What do you mean by 'he isn't dead'?" The Dark Lord roared, for he knew very well of the prophesy that the lay his defeat at the feet of an infant.
"J-just as I said, my Lord, he is alive, and Dumbledore has placed himself as their Keeper…" Wormtail whimpered, hoping that would appease his master. It seemed to; for the Dark Lord muttered about 'doing it right', and, gripping his wand in clenched white knuckles, the Dark Lord motioned for Wormtail to show him the way.
With Wormtail to show him the way – the Dark Lord tore into the Potter home, killing Harry's parents, and saving the infant for last…In the end, it was not that the curse failed, for it did kill the Dark Lord – for a time; nor did it mean his mothers love had saved him, but that the Dark Lord threw a curse meant to kill a human at a Jinchuriki, a human with a tailed bijuu demon inside them – a fruitless gesture.
Little Harry was taken from the ruins of his home, and given, against the wishes of the dead, to his aunt and uncle.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
A three year old Harry was weeding the garden, he enjoyed it – for it was the only way he could get outside in the summer or spring months, he was not allowed to play like other children.
His other chores were to dust everywhere in the house, once a week, and it took half a day – because his aunt looked for dust for half a hour once he had thought he had finished – and she always found some.
His aunt had also started making him clean up after his cousin when he left his toys around. His cousin, seeing this, made the mess all the more bigger and told his friends, and Harry wished in those times that he had died with his parents in the car crash.
Something within him – strange and alien like, loathed being treated this way – detested it with every fiber of Harry's small body.
Harry did not know that through his eyes, Houkou saw his hosts' treatment, and loathed those who were the cause – and of the two of them, Houkou knew who was responsible.
On this day, Harry's uncle came home early, and demanded he take out the garbage. The sense of wrongness within him erupted like a volcano.
"No." Harry growled at his uncle, his uncle, furious and red faced he attempted to get up and hit him. Houkou snarled – and Harry's lips mimicked the movement, shoving power at the man – causing him to fall back.
"What was that you little brat?" Houkou's green eyes gleamed, and he carefully pushed Harry's frail human psyche away.
"I am not a brat, fat-man; and I will not lower myself – or this boy, to serve a human…" Houkou snarled at him, Harry's features shifting to handle the sheer amount of charka Houkou held – injured or not. It was more then enough to flee out of the grasp of these …humans…
"What!" The boy's uncle roared – even as he was unable to move. Houkou let his words seep into the man's mind – and he saw the difference; Houkou was pleased with this, the fat-man's ruddy face had paled to white.
"What are you?" A woman hissed; Houkou turned to her – the boy's aunt. For the first time, he glimpsed the changes he had caused to his host in the mirror behind her. Houkou was not surprised by the changes – but the boy, who still lingered enough to see through his own eyes, was horrified.
Houkou's green eyes had taken over the boys, leaving no whites or pupil. His hair, normally scruffy black, had shots of white running through them – and his ears had changed entirely, pointed sharply.
Most noticeably to the boy – most important, were the sharpened fangs – Houkou was surprised when the boy whimpered 'monster, I'm a monster' then started to fade – which would leave Houkou with the boy's body.
Houkou did not want this – he saw the advantage of the boy holding the body while Houkou healed, so – Houkou frantically gripped the boys psyche. The boy's magic – alarmed at the sheer amount of demon charka, and the boys frantic wish to be away-invisible granted both; in a swirl of fire and lighting… which came from the sky, and very likely totaled the boys 'home' and his relatives hope for a 'normal life'; Houkou was very pleased with this thought.
The magic drew on Houkou's memories; to the place he had always felt powerful and superior, among humans. Entirely drained of the power Houkou had gained, Harry's changes faded away, but his wish to remain unseen, to be invisible utterly, the magic had not – could not reverse.
A week later found Harry starved, for, because he could not be seen – no one saw the little boy who was in desperate need of a home.
All but one, but Houkou was 'gone' – he could not protect the boy from his fate.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Hiashi Hyuuga was curious of the little boy who approached him, as if Hiashi could not see him, the boy was obviously a pick-pocket, but not, Hiashi thought, a very good one. The black haired orphan (for he could be nothing else) was after Hiashi's scarf. Hiashi planned to bring the little thief to Hokage…
Just as the boy came close enough to grab, Hiashi gripped his wrist – startled green eyes gleamed up at him.
"You, you can s-see me?" The black haired boy whimpered, Hiashi frowned, and took a closer look at the people's reactions – they acted as if they could not see; then Hiashi knew, suddenly – they were not acting, the boy could not be seen.
"Yes, little blackbird, I can - but no one else seems to. What Jutsu did you use?" Hiashi asked the boy, giving him a candy he used to lure his daughters into training. Without much notice, he activated his Byakuugan.
"Jutsu?" The boy's head was tilted to the side – and Hiashi knew, quite suddenly, that the boy hadn't used a Jutsu.
Such a skill, Hiashi knew, would be invaluable to a thief – and, he knew, the protector of his daughter.
"My Clan's ability must be what can see you, come, and let us go test this theory." Hiashi told him, and led the boy to his home; they found that the Hyuuga Clan, could, occasionally see him.
Hisahi offered the boy the ability to be seen, if he would take the Seal – Harry, not knowing Hisahi's intentions, agreed, and the next day his training began, and when Harry grew weary of it, Hisahi used the Curse Seal, and told him his fate.
Houkou was unable to help Harry – because the Curse Seal limited the amount of charka he could have at one time – too much and the Curse Seal would activate on its own...
The same had applied to Harry's magic…
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
So, Houkou bid his time and rested, attempting to heal himself, in this way, he 'slept' for twelve years; then, on the day of the demon attack, sensing the drain on his energy, the bijuu stirred – displeased in being used in such a manner, it drew its 'landlord' to it.
Into their joined spirits, where the scenery was of a volcanic island – a tree swaying in the wind above Houkou, and the cave he had been taken from…
It was surprised at the state of its host – and even more surprised at the company he was keeping…Houkou, not wanting Harry to be in pain, healed him, which – compared to what Houkou could do, was a minor thing, and the Curse Seal – he was pleased to see, didn't react – something else did though.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
From within Gaara, Shukaku – feeling the stir of familiar demonic charka – that of a fellow demon lord bijuu, pulled from his madness enough to see what – or who, the boy Gaara was somewhat fond of, really was.
Houkou…
For the first time since being Sealed inside Gaara, Shukaku calmed.
Gaara felt his, with every core of his being, and though those close to him would likely not have noticed, Gaara's eyes were wide with – not astonishment, for he could feel the necessary charka to heal the boy stirring, but with alarm.
Gaara had found another Jinchuriki…
When he had thought – by Shukaku's madness, and the Kazekage's smugness, that Shukaku was the last…
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
AN: Sorry for the delay loves, I know I usually update every day or so, but my inner self saw the chance to tie Harry even deeper into the Naruto-verse, and screamed yes – while the rational part was going 'you dolt! You leave me with this idea – how the bloody hell are we going to pull it off?' – In which my inner self stuck her tongue out, wrote up the absolutely creepiest pairing ever, and my rational self, seeking to save the remaining shards of sanity, and wrote this chapter…
I have to get to Harry being at least seventeen – he'll just kiss till then…Um, pairings…well, you see, the plan was just Neji, then there were …complications (read; Uchiha, Itachi) and I realized I, in my insistent 'wisdom', was planning a bloody harem. Because, Shikamaru is just so damned cute and brilliant – and Kiba, well, Harry will need some help with his newly to be found dog instincts…and I couldn't leave Remus or Sirius out in the cold, now could I? Nor could I let cute and scary Gaara out of the loop – and what's Naruto to do when Sasuke turns obsessed with finding 'Blackbird' who caused his brother to slaughter his clan? Or the promised hot and intense moments of lust/killing intent between Sasuke, Itachi, and 'Blackbird' …?
So really, this is entirely Itachi's fault….and Serpent on the Shadows…really….
I can't be faulted for writing-with-encouragement can I?
...Don't answer that…
