Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 9: Culture Shock at its Finest
Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan
August 1987 – July 1988
Ryuu's first year in Japan was, perhaps, the most difficult year. He'd only gotten a single week to get used to the Fujiwaras before Takashi's classes started once again. This probably wouldn't have been as big of deal if the elderly couple knew more than just a few words and a handful of phrases in English. Takashi had left them his grandmother's English to Japanese dictionary so they could translate Ryuu's written notes and Ryuu had the Japanese to English children's dictionary he'd purchased for the boy but that only helped so much.
When the day came for Ryuu to start his own classes at the local elementary school, Ryuu had refused to step foot out of the house and promptly vanished completely for the rest of the day until Takashi returned home. After a week of trying to coax the frightened child into attending classes, Takashi finally sat down and had a long discussion with the boy about the youkai. It had taken the entire weekend to get the full story from the distraught child. Once he'd learned the full extent of the torment Ryuu had endured at the hands of the youkai, which was far worse than anything Takashi had experienced in his youth, he'd approached Touko and Shigeru about hiring a tutor for Ryuu.
He felt it was far too soon to try and push the terrified child into facing his fears while he was still trying to adjust to his new home and thought allowing him a year to catch up to his peers and learn the language would go a long ways towards easing Ryuu's fears. In the end, Touko interviewed twelve different individuals for the position during the following week at Takashi's request. Out of those twelve people, three of them had the qualifications that Takashi had been looking for in a tutor and only one of them didn't frighten the boy into hiding.
That one person ended up being one of Takashi's friends (though Ryuu had not known that at the time), a young woman by the name of Tooru Taki who had just obtained a first class teaching certificate after earning her Bachelor's Degree. She'd also just passed the prefecture's examination which allowed her to apply to any of the elementary or junior high schools within the prefecture. Unfortunately, she'd not been able to find an opening in the area in which she wished to work and had been dreading the need to move away from Takashima Town just to get a job. That was why she had jumped at the chance to tutor Takashi's adopted son when she'd seen the advert in the newspaper.
On the evening of the day Taki was hired, Takashi sat down with her and gave her a summary of Ryuu's former life and his current difficulties; only leaving out any mention of Ryuu's magic. She'd not been too shocked to learn that Ryuu could also see the youkai, since the ability did sometimes run in families. On the other hand, Taki had been shocked, and more than a little horrified, to learn that the youkai had hunted and tormented the child to such extremes that the child stopped eating because of the fear, stopped speaking to avoid drawing their attention, and hid himself away in order to avoid the spirits. She could empathize with Ryuu's situation though due to her own traumatic experience with a rather nasty youkai that had sworn to kill her and those whose names she spoke over the course of one year.
From that point forward, Ryuu would spend eight hours a day Monday through Friday with Taki and another five hours on Saturdays. The initial subjects they focused on were; penmanship (since this was Ryuu's main form of communication), Japanese (both written and spoken), math, science, art, (because numbers, experimentation, and art needed no translations), and sign language (to give Ryuu an alternative method of communicating).
Like Takashi, Taki quickly discovered that Ryuu was far more intelligent than expected despite his lack of formal education. The fact that his above average intelligence was coupled with a strong desire to learn meant that Ryuu actually dove into his lessons with little to no fuss (so long as he was not asked to leave the house without Takashi). The days when Takashi didn't have classes, he'd often join Taki and Ryuu during their lessons; the three of them going on field trips to various museums, historical monuments, or other places of interest (Ryuu only willing to leave the house when Takashi was with him).
On those days the three of them would often run into Takashi's other friends and after a while Ryuu began relaxing in their presence as they frequently told the seven year old stories about Takashi. The only thing that worried Takashi about Ryuu's budding social skills was that the boy showed absolutely no interest in making friends with any children his own age. When he asked his son why, Ryuu had just shrugged and eventually wrote that he didn't want to be teased which led to the revelation that his cousin Dudley had sometimes taunted him and called him names.
Shortly after resolving the issue of Ryuu's education, a whole new problem cropped up when the seven year old discovered that Nyanko-sensei was a youkai in disguise; which had completely freaked him out. It had been right after one of his Saturday lessons with Taki; Takashi had just returned from the store and the cat had been following the thirty-two year old into the house complaining loudly about Takashi being stingy with the fried squid and sushi he'd purchased for lunch.
Ryuu, who'd been in the middle of practicing his times tables on a small chalkboard, had been so startled he lost his concentration and had scratched the chalkboard with the metal end of the chalk holder that created a high pitched screeching scratching sound that had everyone in the room clutch at their ears, including the cat. When Nyanko had started complaining about the pain in his sensitive ears, Ryuu's eyes had grown wider and he'd thrown the chalk and holder in his hands and pegged the disguised youkai between the eyes.
That, of course, had not improved Nyanko's temper and the cat had stalked towards Ryuu with the intent of telling him off only to end up being punted across the room when Ryuu had kicked him instinctively. The boy had then glared right at Takashi before he fled the room and vanished into whatever hiding spot the boy had found; no one had yet been able to figure out where the boy went when he vanished and they'd searched all of the cupboards and closets each time he disappeared.
Ryuu usually never hid for more than a few hours when he retreated to his hidden sanctuary but after learning the truth about Nyanko he vanished for an entire week. He didn't even come out for meals though they knew he was using the bathroom because they'd sometimes hear the toilet flush but by the time they reached the bathroom he'd be gone again. When he did finally stop hiding, he looked terrible with dark circles beneath haunted and bloodshot eyes, face gaunt with hollow cheeks, and his skin pale; it was easy to see that he'd spent the seven days getting little to no sleep on top of the fasting he'd done.
It had taken another week before Ryuu would even look at Takashi, let alone communicate with him. It would be another two months before he would stay in the same room with Nyanko and another month after that before he'd finally confronted Takashi about the not-cat (which is exactly what Ryuu had called Nyanko). Takashi had then explained how he hadn't wanted to frighten Ryuu in the beginning due to his experiences with the youkai and then later because he wanted him to get used to Nyanko's presence.
Takashi had also sworn that he had planned to tell him at some point, when he thought it would be less stressful, and there just never seemed to be a good time. He'd also told Ryuu that it was Nyanko that had chased away the spirits that had been haunting his aunt and uncle's house and helped keep them away each time they left the hotel in London. Ryuu was then formally introduced to Madara, upon his request, and the sheer size of the wolf spirit had practically overwhelmed the seven year old.
Only the fact that the powerful youkai had simply laid down on the floor with his head on his paws and watched Ryuu silently allowed the child to relax as he clung to Takashi's leg. After five minutes spent in another impromptu staring contest (much like the one that occurred when Ryuu had first met Madara in cat form) Ryuu had tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow as he slowly let go of Takashi's leg and stepped forward. He had then reached out and placed his hand on Madara's nose without breaking eye contact with the enormous spirit. When Madara closed his eyes at the touch, Ryuu moved a little closer and actually stroked the short fur of the wolf's snout for a moment before dropping his hand and walking out of the room.
That day marked a significant change in Ryuu's behavior as he slowly stopped hiding inside the house, going so far as to play outside in the yard after his lessons. When Takashi later asked him what had changed, Ryuu had given him a note saying that the not-cat's eyes weren't hungry. It had been Ryuu's first experience with a spirit that didn't involve pain or abject terror and while he still feared youkai in general he no longer panicked the moment he saw one passing by. He still wouldn't leave the yard unless Takashi was there with him but the adults in his life were still happy that he was making some progress in getting over his fears.
Ryuu's education was moving along in leaps and bounds as he gradually grew more comfortable with his surroundings. He excelled in math, sign language, and understanding spoken Japanese. His penmanship improved as well and he didn't have many problems with writing romaji but he struggled with kanji and kana as he had difficulty with those characters that were similar. His favorite lesson was without a doubt sign language because it allowed him to speak his mind without having to scribble down his words. Takashi, Touko, and Shigeru were also learning sign language so that they would have no problems understanding Ryuu though they rarely used the hand signs when talking with the seven year old.
The one subject Ryuu wanted nothing to do with (in the beginning) was music. He didn't mind listening to the radio or listening to other people playing instruments or singing but he absolutely refused to learn any instrument. When Taki had asked him what was so wrong with playing an instrument, he'd looked up at her with his haunted green eyes before shakily writing; they will hear me.
It wasn't until after he'd finally learned the truth about Nyanko-sensei that he finally showed any interest in learning how to play an instrument and that was only after he'd accidentally whistled a short note when he'd tried to silently copy a bird out in the garden; startling himself in the process. When he wasn't immediately swarmed by youkai, he'd tentatively repeated the sound deliberately and to his shock the bird, a young magpie that had stopped singing when he whistled the first time, chirped back at him.
Taki had been the one to stumble across the seven year old making chirping and whistling sounds to the bird in question and after listening to the bird and the boy mimicking each other for several minutes she snuck back into the house and brought Touko-san out to watch and listen. Shigeru and Takashi were each brought around to listen to the pair the moment they arrived home.
Takashi had opted not to confront Ryuu (or even let him know that all four of them had heard him) about his newfound skill, not wanting to push his cousin into burying the ability unconsciously. That turned out to be a wise decision as two days after that Ryuu had timidly approached Takashi and asked him if there was a musical instrument that sounded like a bird. That led to Ryuu receiving lessons on how to play the various traditional Japanese bamboo and reed flutes.
Towards the end of the first year, Ryuu finally met Natori Shuichi and by extension his youkai servant Hiiragi. It was a meeting that neither Ryuu nor Takashi would soon forget and one that Natori would have loved to be able to remember. Takashi and Ryuu had just finished lunch at a tea house when Natori had found them, the older man looking to enlist Takashi's help in sealing a particularly nasty demon that was haunting a warehouse. The famous actor had been caught off-guard by the presence of Ryuu, especially when Hiiragi had spotted Ryuu standing beside Takashi and she'd immediately reached out for the boy.
Ryuu reacted instinctively as he took in her masked face and the slightly glowing aura that surrounded her; he ducked out of her reach and darted behind Takashi. When Takashi's mere presence didn't deter the curious youkai, Ryuu bolted before either of the two men quite knew what was going on. Takashi let out a string of curses and ordered Natori to call Hiiragi to heel (something he'd never done before) as he took off after his panicking son. Hiiragi in the mean time was trying to corner the boy, intent on finding out why she was so drawn to him, which only served to make matters worse.
In the end it was Madara who 'saved' Ryuu as the powerful wolf spirit dropped down from the sky and whisked Ryuu away just when Hiiragi had nearly captured the runaway. Madara had then blasted Hiiragi head over heels in order to knock sense into her as Takashi and Natori finally caught up. The giant wolf was growling and glaring at both men and the female youkai as Ryuu desperately clung to his chest, his entire body trembling with suppressed sobs.
Takashi ignored the powerful youkai and rushed to Ryuu's side only to end up trapped beneath Madara's paw when the youkai interfered. That earned the wolf a punch on the nose which caused Madara to revert back into his cat form after which he promptly ended up being squeezed to death by the terrified Ryuu who was still clutching him tightly. Ryuu transferred his death grip to Takashi's neck the moment his adopted father picked him up, his face burrowing into Takashi's neck as the now unconscious Nyanko dropped like a rock (the poor youkai suffering from oxygen deprivation).
Hiiragi apologized profusely as she embarrassingly admitted that she'd been unable to help herself before she vanished when it became apparent that she still felt something within the child calling to her. Natori-san had been completely shocked as Hiiragi was usually one of his more reliable servants and that only served to spark his interest in Ryuu. The actor slash exorcist had stepped closer intending to ruffle Ryuu's hair as he too apologized on his servant's behalf when his youkai tattoo had rushed eagerly to the tip of the hand he'd stretched out towards Ryuu.
The small shadow-like gecko had then peeled itself from Natori's skin and jumped across the distance separating the actor from the young wizard. The moment it disappeared into Ryuu's hair, the seven year old had stiffened and jerked back away from Takashi with wide, terrified eyes as he brought his hands up to start tearing and scratching at his hair and then his face; his little hands unerringly following the path of the strange youkai tattoo as it traveled over his body.
Takashi nearly lost his hold on the frantic child and quickly dropped down onto his knees beside Ryuu trying to keep the boy from seriously hurting himself while at the same time trying to reassure him that he'd get the youkai off of him. Natori was far too stunned to be of any help and Madara was still out for the count from when Ryuu had unintentionally choked him into unconsciousness.
Ryuu's terror and rising stress levels soon triggered his first severe bout of accidental magic since he'd silenced himself four years earlier. The strange scar on the side of his head began to glow a soft gold color just before a shockwave of energy spiraled out from the seven year old. The moment the power touched the youkai that was trying to possess Ryuu it turned bright red and white hot as the gecko tattoo began smoking.
A heartbeat later the tiny youkai was ripped from the side of Ryuu's face and blasted across the small alley they were in where it smashed into the wall before dropping to the ground. Ryuu's magic then began retreating back into his body, the golden glow turning a soft yellow as it healed the scratches he'd torn into his face in his efforts to expel the youkai from his body.
Natori had finally shaken himself out of his stupor and staggered over to the youkai that had been a part of him for as long as he could remember. The moment he picked it up, it slowly sank into the skin of his hand and just laid there unmoving on the palm of his hand. It took him a moment to realize the tattoo was still smoking softly and had shrunk to a size that was less than half its former size.
The man had then turned to stare at Takashi and Ryuu as the boy passed out from magical and emotional exhaustion, his scar slowly fading away. Before the older man could demand to know what had just happened, two loud cracks echoed through the alley as two men appeared wearing full samurai regalia complete with drawn katana. Their armor was thin and lightweight compared to traditional samurai armor and mostly pitch black with both the hitatare and hakama beneath a dark bronze.
Barely a minute had passed before another two men appeared from out of thin air. The two new arrivals were both wearing the same dark bronze hakama as the first two without the armor with one wearing a black hitatare while the other was wearing a white and green hitatare. All four men were wizards with Japan's Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu; the first two to arrive were Samurai no Mahoujutsu (Japanese equivalent to the European Aurors with more of a military background than their counterparts), the man wearing the black hitatare was a Keikan no Mahoujutsu (a magical policemen), and the one wearing white and green was a healer assigned to the four man squad.
All four wizards had the crest of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu emblazoned on their backs; a white lotus in bloom with two crossed bronze swords beneath the flower with a red wand vertically bisecting the flower and its handle resting on the point where the two blades crossed just above their hilts. Takashi instinctively clutched Ryuu's unresponsive body close to him as the two samurai secured the alley before sheathing their swords while the magical policeman kept his wand pointed directly at Takashi, Natori, and Ryuu and the healer watched impassively from just behind the officer.
"Keep your hands where I can see them," the wizard in black and bronze ordered as he slowly approached the trio, his wand never wavering as he kept it pointed between the two adults. "A large, violent discharge of magic was registered in this area less than ten minutes ago by the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu and we are here to investigate the cause and the source. If either of you gentlemen know anything I would appreciate your complete cooperation."
"Magic?" Natori asked in disbelief as he glanced between the wand wielding officer, his hand, and the child cradled in Takashi's arms.
"Gomen nasai," Takashi automatically intoned without emotion as he refused to meet Natori's gaze. "My son was responsible for the accidental outburst; he had a severe panic attack."
"I see," the officer replied as he glanced down to study said child for a moment before signaling for the healer to step forward.
While the healer began casting diagnostic spells over the unconscious Ryuu, the officer quickly established Natori's identity as a non-magical citizen and after a carefully placed memory charm sent the actor on his way. Takashi watched him go regretfully, he felt bad that the man had needed to have his memory modified because of the encounter with his son. Takashi and Ryuu were then taken to the local branch of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu that was located within the Shiga prefecture.
Once at the station, Takashi was asked to repeat everything that had happened before, during, and after the accidental outburst of magic; including what had caused Ryuu's panic attack. Ryuu was also registered as a wizard of Shiga prefecture, his magical signature and magical index level recorded so that future bursts of accidental magic that Ryuu expended could be logged accordingly. Both the healer and the officer had blanched when they noted Ryuu's magical index at eighty-eight after overhearing Takashi's offhand comment about the child's level having risen four full levels since his previous medical exam around a year earlier.
When the magical policeman learned that Ryuu was adopted he asked to see a copy of Ryuu's birth and adoption certificates because their office should have been notified when the adoption took place. That of course led to the revelation that Ryuu had been born outside of the country. The moment Ryuu's birth name was mentioned, the entire office was up in arms as they'd had no advance warning that Harry Potter would be settling within the prefecture of Shiga. Takashi tiredly informed the awed and intimidated officer that Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore was supposed to have contacted the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu in order to make certain that Ryuu's paperwork was filed with the appropriate offices.
Throwing around Dumbledore's name only seemed to make the poor officer even more frantic; apparently the ancient wizard was just as famous in Japan as he was in England as was poor Ryuu (through his position as the Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W. and his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald). Several officials from the main offices of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu in Tokyo as well as the headmaster of the Japanese Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu located on Hokkaido Island turned up to interview both Takashi and Ryuu (whom they insisted on calling Harry Potter).
It was about the time that Headmaster Yamamoto began making plans for Harry to be enrolled at the Japanese School of Sorcery that Takashi had to burst the man's bubble. One Natsume Ryuu (formerly Harry Potter) was already enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and due to start in four years time after Ryuu turned eleven. The wizard had looked so heartbroken that Takashi started feeling slightly bad for the his bluntness; until Ryuu woke up and nearly ended up having another panic attack due to the number of official looking strangers that were surrounding him.
By the time father and son had returned home, well past supper time, they'd been wrung out from dealing with bureaucrats, negotiating a summer training course contract with Headmaster Yamamoto (to start the summer before Ryuu's tenth birthday under the provision they never used his birth name), applying for permission to inform a small handful of individuals about Ryuu's magical heritage, and collecting an extensive 'muggleborn' packet that held everything Takashi would need to know about the hidden magical world as it applied to Japan.
Ryuu had nearly disappeared the moment they walked in the door when Touko-san had appeared and gone into one of her patented 'how dare you worry me' tirades. Instead, he'd gotten halfway across the room before he froze and scampered right back to Takashi's side when it became apparent that they had guests. Taki had obviously come by for Ryuu's afternoon lessons and had stayed to provide moral support for Touko when it became apparent that Takashi and Ryuu were running late. Kaname had arrived with Taki, planning on hanging out with Takashi while Taki was tutoring Ryuu.
Natori had come by looking for Takashi since he still wanted to know if the younger man would give him a hand with a sealing a troublesome demon and he'd stuck around because his memories of the afternoon were skewed and he could have sworn he'd met Takashi just outside the tea house while everything after that was nothing a big blur or a complete blank. Hiiragi also remembered far more than Natori and the discrepancy was disturbing both of them (though she knew nothing of the incident involving the youkai tattoo).
It had been the moment that Ryuu had seen Natori sitting on the couch with Hiiragi hovering behind him that he'd frozen in sheer terror before he'd backtracked to Takashi's side. He remembered the creepy mask wearing youkai chasing him as well as the creepy feeling of a youkai crawling over his skin. If Ryuu had been able to make a sound, he'd have been whimpering in fear as he cowered behind Takashi.
Sighing, Takashi gathered his son into his arms, apologized to everyone (several times), and then disappeared upstairs with Ryuu to draw the kid a bath in order to help him relax enough to go to bed. They were met at the top of the stairs by an irate Nyanko-sensei who was more than a touch upset over having been left (unconscious) in the middle of the alley.
After he sent Ryuu to bed, Takashi had returned downstairs for the interrogation he had known was waiting for him. He'd then spent several hours revealing everything he'd previously left unsaid about Ryuu's heritage from his biological parents. The revelation that magic existed wasn't really much of a shock to those gathered in the Fujiwara's home that evening; the concept of magic was after all a part of their culture.
What was surprising to the adults was the presence of a hidden world-wide society of magic users that basically had their own governments, laws, and schools. Natori had been a little upset when he learned that his memory had been altered earlier that afternoon but he grudgingly accepted that it had been done to protect that hidden society and in a way Ryuu's heritage from discovery.
By the time Ryuu's eighth birthday rolled around just a few months after the incident in the alley and the Natsumes' subsequent immersion into the Japanese Magical Society, things had once again settled down in the Fujiwara household. Ryuu had continued to make leaps and bounds in his tutoring sessions, nearly catching up to his peers in all but history (which he hadn't studied much aside from major events) and writing composition (in Japanese). He was nearly two grade levels above his peers in math and about half a grade level above them in science (it would have been more if not for the fact that he still sometimes struggled with deciphering written instructions).
The subject he'd shown the most improvement in over the shortest amount of time was music; the flute had in a way become Ryuu's voice. The two types of flutes he favored most were the shakuhachi (an end blown flute favored by monks) and the shinobue (a traverse flute). Ryuu would often spend his free time sitting outside 'chirping' and 'singing' with the starlings and magpies that gradually began flocking to their yard in higher numbers out of curiosity and for the seeds that Ryuu inevitably set out for them.
Occasionally a few sparrows or finches would also make an appearance but the magpies often chased the smaller birds out of the yard. The way he managed to mimic the birds call, in both tone and pitch, was almost magical in that it allowed him to sit in the middle of a mixed flock of the various songbirds without making the birds scatter each time he moved because they considered him just another bird.
For Ryuu's eighth birthday, he was given a pair of ocarina (a ceramic transverse ocarina with ten finger holes and a wooden multi-chambered ocarina) from the Fujiwaras, a western concert flute from Taki, a protection pendant strung on a leather cord and a book on drawing protective barriers (wards) from Natori, a medium sized box of assorted Japanese sweets and snacks from Kaname, Kitamoto, and Nishimura, and a voucher for martial arts lessons (more of a written promise since Takashi wasn't going to sign him up unless he was willing to attend the classes), a book of Japanese fairy tails, and a stuffed dragon from Takashi.
Like on his seventh birthday, which Takashi and Ryuu had celebrated in London, Ryuu was completely overwhelmed by the gifts, the small party, and the general fuss that was made over him just because it was his birthday.
Translations: Japanese to English
Anone – excuse me
Hitatare – a short jacket type garment
Hakama – traditional Japanese clothing, usually worn over a kimono; can be divided or undivided
Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu – Magical Magistrate (Derived from Bugyou Tokoro meaning Magistrate's Office and Mahoujutsu meaning magical arts – correction courtesy of Junpaku Karasu back on 07/23/12).
Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu – Vocational School of Sorcery (From jujutsu meaning sorcery and kakushugakkou meaning vocational school)
Keikan no Mahoujutsu – magical policeman
Keikantai no Mahoujutsu – magical police force
Samurai no Mahoujutsu – Magical warrior (a samurai is a Japanese warrior).
AN: This chapter gave me a few fits as there was so much I needed to convey and I'm still not certain I'm completely happy with it but it is much better than it was when I first wrote it. I tried to portray the Japanese Ministry as being completely different than the English Ministry in how they handled things like accidental magic and I hope that came across.
I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has left a review or added this story to their alert/favorites list. ~ Jenn
09-01-12: This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas as well as breaking a few paragraphs down so as to improve readability.