Chapter 13

Hari bowed deeply to the council member. "I truly apologize but I cannot accept your offer." The woman laughed, though it was forced. "There's no need to be so formal Hari-kun." Hari straightened but did not meet her eye. "To be honest Hari-kun, you mustn't make this kind of decision so lightly. The lives of good, strong Konoha shinobi are at stake, you understand." "Yes, I understand." He agreed. "However, your proposal would cause more harm than good. An unlimited supply of potions to all shinobi would lead to too much dependency on them. Not to mention some of our potions run the risk of addiction upon them; they must only be taken sparingly. I could name dozens of other risks; it's simply too dangerous." The council member clicked her tongue. "Then what good are your stupid potions then, huh?" the bearer winced but held his ground. "I'm sorry." He bowed again. He listened as she left the private room.

He sighed. It's the fourth meeting of this kind this month. Some of the council members and other influential people in the village have been harassing him to either provide more potions, up the dosage or simply remove restrictions on the potions, for the betterment of the village of course. He understood their worries to some extent but he couldn't change his rules. The potions exist not to make super soldiers but to make sure the ninja are able to return home to their families. Who knows the effects overindulging would have on the body?

Since his host didn't pay for their light meal he left some notes on the table before he left. After picking up some groceries for the house he went back home. Team 7 was on a mission and Severus had left for Suna to hunt for some elusive plant he wanted to test for potions. That meant he was all alone for at least the week. He wasn't lonely yet though. He just had to finish some paperwork to submit to the Hokage then go back to tinkering with the weather regulating runes for the greenhouse. He'll be receiving a batch of seedlings soon and he had to make sure the greenhouse is ready to house them.

"I'm home!" he announced as soon as he entered the house. He wasn't surprised by the silence. He packed the groceries and went to leave for his study room when an odd noise caught his attention. It seemed to come from upstairs. Cautiously, he took the stairs to his study. His right hand was glowing slightly, ready to unleash a spell if necessary. He peeked into the room but everything seemed normal. "Homenum revelio." The spell came back negative. Just then the bell rang, making him jump in fright. Taking a deep breath to calm himself he ran down the stairs and didn't notice an odd small mouse dissolve into ink on the clean red carpet.

Hari opened the door. "Yes?" On his front step was a peculiar boy with the strangest dress code. He wore regular ANBU-style pants with his shinobi shoes, which he topped off with a crop top that completely exposed his belly. Twin short swords were on his back. He was rather handsome with short-cropped hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. Much like Sasuke, Hari thought. What threw him off though was the fabricated smile on his face. "Good evening, Hari-san." The voice was a bit too chipper to be real too. Hari smiled back though. "Good evening. Can I help you with something?" "Yes. I was told to find a Hari Peverell." The teen informed. Hari looked around to make sure he was alone before moving aside. "That's me. Please come in."

Once his guest was settled, still with that smile pasted on his face, Hari brought him some tea and biscuits. "So, can I help you with something?" "Are you sure you're a man?" The comment threw him so off-guard he could do nothing but blink for a few seconds. "Excuse me? Who are you?" His smile grew. "My name is Sai. I find it fascinating that you seem to swing both sides of the gender spectrum. Do you have a dick, or are you dickless?" Hari's eyes twitched, especially because Sai seemed to be genuinely curious. "I assure you, I'm male. I'm sure you didn't come all this way to ask about my gender though." To his relief, Sai nodded. He placed down his cup of tea. "I have been sent on a mission by Danzo-sama, with the Hokage's approval, to protect you Hari-san."

Again, Hari blinked. "Why would I need protection?" "Too many people not affiliated with Konoha are getting interested in you Hari-san, primarily because of your potions. I believe Snape-san is also in danger but unlike you, he can protect himself." The older raven huffed indignantly. "I can take care of myself." Sai grinned, all teeth. "I'm sure." Hari shuddered internally but focused back on the problem at hand. "You say Danzo sent you? Are you a Root agent?" Sai froze in surprise. "You know Root?" "I've heard bits and pieces, yes. I'm not sure I can accept this offer to protect me though. I'm sure nothing will occur within the village's walls." "It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Besides, I said I can take care of myself." Hari continued as if Sai never spoke at all. Sai just smiled. "I doubt that." "You don't know me, so you have no right to talk." "I know you're a civilian with a questionable lack of male genitalia." Hari sputtered at Sai's words. "Let those who are stronger help you protect yourself." "Are you insulting me?" Hari asked, outraged. "Of course not." Hari stood abruptly and pointed a menacing finger at Sai's face. "You'll regret those words! Levicorpus!" Before he could even register it, and largely due to the lack of tangible intent to harm, Sai found himself hanging upside down by his ankle. Ropes materialized out of nowhere to bind him. Sai was getting nervous now but kept his calm composure. "What are you doing, dickless." There was a brief spike of killing intent that made a cold sweat run down his spine. Hari's grin gained a manic edge to it.

"Showing you how well I can take care of myself." The bearer produced a feather out of nowhere. "Good thing I have the rest of the day all to myself. I have all the time in the world to learn your soft spots." With that, he started laughing maniacally. Sai sweatdropped. "Are you okay?" "Oh yes, perfectly fine. Let's get started."

~Twenty minutes later~

Hari had drawn a very reluctant apology from the weird Root agent and they had reached an…understanding. "Call me dickless again and I'll do worse." He threatened. Sighed smiled. "Not that I believe you, but sure." "Good. And stop giving me that smile. It's so fake it's giving me the creeps." Sai was surprised to find his tea still hot. "Your kekkei genkai is quite versetile." He noted. Hari shrugged. He fixed Sai with a serious stare. "If I'm going to allow you to act as my bodyguard I'm going to need you to make an oath." "An oath?" Sai parroted. "An oath." Hari agreed. "A binding oath that you will not divulge any of my household's secrets to anyone not in the know. Otherwise, I cannot let you enter my house again." Seeing the seriousness of the situation and knowing precious little about magic users despite his mission, Sai said. "I would need you to explain a bit more about this oath before I agree to anything.

Hari easily agreed and told him what he needed to know about oaths. "So should I break the oath I would lose my chakra like a wizard would lose their magic." He asked anxiously. Hari shook his head. "Your case wouldn't be so severe." The look on his face wasn't reassuring, however. "I believe chakra is essential to life here and its loss would be equivalent to death. Magic wouldn't condone that for this type of oath. No, you would merely lose the ability to mold chakra." Sai's eyes widened. "Of course if you're not willing to make this oath you can walk away." 'With no memory of this conversation.' Hari failed to add.

Sai settled down. "Why is this so important to you?" "You must understand Sai-san, magic users are the equivalent of a miracle to most. As you've noted, our abilities are multiple and versatile. Revealing more of what we can do would spell trouble. No, I need an oath from you." Sai thought over Hari's words for a few minutes then nodded. "My mission is to protect you. Pulling out because of a threat on myself is not acceptable. How do I make the oath?" Hari smiled in releaf but with a hint of worry for the young man who seemed to be disregarding his own safety.

~Scene Change~

Sasuke was glad to be back home after a two-week long mission. Assassination missions have always rubbed him the wrong way, ones where he had to get to know his target even worse. Knowing he had to kill someone on an all-powerful individual's whim was horrible to think about. He was a shinobi, however; such sentimentalities shouldn't play a role in his task. 'But it does.' He sighed sadly, looking down at his clean, blood-soaked hands. The nightmares related to his career were piling up uncomfortably, and no amount of talking or crying was going to change that. He had learned to deal with it, but now that they were getting worse he knew he needed a break. Luckily, Tsunade held the same thoughts and he got leave for three weeks along with his team. A team that was on the brink of being officially disassembled. Jounin don't have fixed partners after all.

"Seventeen years old and you're already Jounin." Kakashi praised, eyes glued on his book. Naruto swallowed a mouthful of ramen. "It's not that great an achievement." Kakashi hummed thoughtlessly. Sasuke chimed in. "It doesn't matter, we're Jounin. It's a big deal you know. Maybe we'll have teams of our own soon." Naruto gave him a shrewd look that made him chortle. "I'm joking, Naruto-nii." Naruto finished his food and left the payment on the table after waving at the waitress. "I'm going home." "Hai." Sasuke waved him off before engaging Kakashi in another conversation.

Naruto walked down the street to his home. He raised his gaze to the Hokage mountain, the one which once upon a time he had sworn his face would adorn. Now nothing more than a distant dream. Akatsuki was already on the move against junchuriki, and he was hard at work tracking their movements. Any mission that would bring him closer to the red clouds on black cloaks he took. Heck, he had agreed to be an on and off apprentice of Jiraiya's mostly because of the old man's spy network since he was fourteen. He made it his problem to know what Akatsuki was up to. Now that they had begun to move he was going to start on his plans too. With his knowledge, he knew that Pain's plan to use the tailed beasts was doomed to fail. His plans were betting on the fact that should Pain know how futile it is he would stop hunting the jinchiruki. If not, well he could always kill him again. He hoped it never came to that.

~Scene Change~

"Ah, Naruto-chan. Welcome back." Hari hugged the blonde tightly in an embrace he had grown to expect. The teen hugged him just as tightly before pulling away. He followed the raven into the house, the only thing dominating his thoughts being a long shower and an even longer nap. He paused at the kitchen door, about to walk right past it to his room. Sitting at the counter was a dark-haired youth with a familiar smile. "Kaa-chan, what is a Root agent doing in our house?" Hari rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Ah, about that…"

Hari proceeded to explain what was going on. Naruto never thought such a development would occur, but he was glad Hari had the forethought to demand an oath out of the shinobi. Not that he wasn't glad to see Sai again. "Let's get this straight; I don't trust you and should something happen to Hari under your watch you'll regret ever taking this mission." He threatened with a straight face, large amounts of killing intent leaking out of him. Sai sweatdropped but continued to smile. "I don't need a weakling to threaten me to do my job." A vein throbbed on Naruto's temple. "Now now, boys." Hari cut in and put a plate of food in front of Sai. "No need to be so aggressive. Naruto-chan, are you hungry?" Naruto shook his head. "No. I'm turning in for the day." "Sure. I'll need you to go to the hardware store for a couple of things tomorrow, so don't sleep in too late." Naruto waved him off and disappeared up the stairs.

After taking a well-deserved shower he burrowed into his sheets as he promised himself. He heard Sasuke come in and a few minutes later his brother was having a row with their new housemate but he ignored all that. He would deal with all the morons tomorrow.

~Scene Change~

He was in a very good mood today. The seedlings had come in early in the morning, all healthy, nice and snug in their little pots. He successfully planted them in the prepared greenhouse and he was optimistic about them. Within a few weeks, they'll be ready to be experimented on. Severus was also expected to come back from his self-appointed assignment in Suna by evening. He missed the man and couldn't wait to know what he discovered. A meeting with Tsunade dashed his good mood quicker than she could blow her funds on a gambling spree. "What?" "My hands are tied on this." Tsunade said tiredly. "I, out of all people, really appreciate your input into the well-being of my shinobi. The council believes that you are coming up short, however. They are clamoring for more input, more results, just…more." She sighed, rubbing her forehead to stave off a headache. Hari felt the rage creep into his system. "I told them I cannot do more for them. This is delicate Hokage-sama, one mistake could cost you your shinobi!" "That's not all, Hari-kun." She sat up straighter. "The chakra-enhancing potion has garnered a positive response and you are required to officially start producing them."

Hari's jaw unhinged and he stammered for a moment. "Th-that's an experimental potion. I never authorized its use." "I know, neither did I." Hari shot to his feet and leaned over the woman's desk. "This is getting out of hand, Tsunade-sama! I feared something like this would happen when all this started. You need to put your foot down!" Tsunade gained a stony expression. "I know this isn't going to end well Hari, but it's either we give them even a fraction of what they want or they'll take more behind my back. This is the lesser of two evils." Hari sighed in exasperation. The Hokage was right of course. The chakra-enhancer was an experimental potion that only a select few knew about due to his recklessness. Now it was somehow out there being used by some poor sods that would soon experience the backlash of the potion, an effect that he and Severus were still trying to work out of it. "I understand." Tsunade's face softened. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, Hari-kun." Hari tried to smile. "It's not completely your fault, Tsunade-sama. I'll talk to Severus." She nodded. "Thank you."

~Scene Change~

Severus wasn't at all surprised at the development. Human nature demands improvement, the weakening of others, power. Power that laid under their skin in the form of the limitless potential that was magic. Potential whose extent they know nothing of at the moment. That's not to say he wasn't angry. He was furious, especially at the fact that the pompous bastards went behind their backs and manipulated them into this corner they found themselves in. There was no choice but to agree now lest the situation goes out of control, more than it already was. It was now a contest of time, not quality, to finish the chakra enhancing potion and remove the worst of its effects. Two weeks of tireless effort achieved their goals, credit being given to a whole year's worth of experimentation and refinement. To be honest Snape had hoped the potion would never be introduced to the battlefield. A concoction that could make a meager genin seem as powerful as a jounin would create monsters in battle, and it would be delusional to think the potion wouldn't somehow find its way into enemy hands.

Though he usually avoided the meetings he made sure he was there to introduced the semi-finished product. There to get more of a clue of their intentions. There to caution them on their misdeeds. There to warn. The effort was like hoping for a cure to lycanthropy. Hari was afraid. Severus sympathized with his feelings. In the end he made a choice.

The Hokage called them both to her office three months after the potion was made official. She looked grave, her fingers steepled under her nose. "The potion has stopped being effective in some of our shinobi. Reports of this have been sent to you within the last couple of days. Do you have an idea of what is happening?" Hari shifted in his seat, preparing to respond. "The thing is, Hokage-sama…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say faced with this strange situation. Severus cut in. "I believe the potion becomes less effective with each use of the potion. One of the ingredients is one that the body can gain an immunity for, and I had suspected this may happen. Rushed as we were I had little opportunity to come up with a new solution. I believe this is not something we can fix any time soon unless the potion is constantly in the user's system." Tsunade frowned at the hypothesis. "Are you sure?" Hari was giving Snape a contemplative look, attentive to the conversation he was not prepared for. Severus replied, "I would need to actually test this theory extensively but I'm rarely wrong when it comes to potions." "I see." The blonde's mouth was drawn thinly in frustration, already imagining the grief the council and those in their pockets would give him over this.

"I give you permission to test your theory. I want a full report within a fortnight." Severus nodded at the Kage's order. Taking it as the dismissal it was, the dark-haired man stood to leave. Hari followed his example and, bowing to the village leader, he followed Snape out of the room.

As soon as they were outside Hari whirled on the man. "You knew this would happen. Why didn't you tell me?" Severus waved his hand and, with the wand under his sleeve, a silencing bubble was erected around them. "It was a lie." "What?" Hari hissed, anger underlying his disbelieving tone. Severus forged on. "You and I both know this potion shouldn't have made it out of the lab. It was a mistake born of curiosity and the desire to achieve something great. A wonderful creation in the right hands, but we both know shinobi don't exist for the good of all." Hari winced at the derision in Severus' tone. "So you botched the potion to be a one-use miracle." Severus didn't reply. "I know you're right. I regret blurting out the potion's existence to Danzo of all people. I was just so angry after he mocked our abilities." He shook his head. "It is for the better that we bury its existence after all." Severus placed his hand at the small of his back to propel him forward, back home where they can discuss this further. And the shadows that had been watching them fleeted away.

~Scene Change~

"What did you say?" the hissed question did not phase the ANBU operative. Utatane Koharu was livid at the revelation laid out before her and he companion. Homura held the same rage but was more inclined not to show it. "Thank you, Boar." He said. The ANBU disappeared. "The insolence of that cur! How dare they?" "Calm down, lest the whole village know of this." The man said to his long-time friend. "It is indeed concerning how we've been sabotaged." "We must do something." Utatane said, now much calmer. She had a calculating gleam in her eye. "Snape is the one who put them up to this. I think it's about time we removed the outsider out of the picture. His presence lessens our influence on Peverel-san." Homura nodded. "Yes, you are right. I'll leave it up to you. Make sure you don't compromise us." The old woman grinned. "I wouldn't even need Danzo to help me with it."

A/N: Trouble is brewing with the Konoha Council. Poor Hari, poor Severus. And will Naruto ever resolve the issue with Akatsuki? Will the author ever finish this story with only a vague plot? Stick around to find out.