Chapter 7 - Of Disappearing Ninjas and Desk Ornaments
Perhaps merchants or some other remote profession, but what kind of merchant in Fire Country didn't speak Japanese?
The meeting had progressed very little since the grey haired ninja had disapparated out of the large conference room in a whirlwind of leaves and smoke. Having calmed himself, Sarutobi took a seat at the table, and in order not to confuse anyone, explained his side of the story: the two strangers appearing in one of the many clearings in the forest bordering Konoha, being spotted by a Genin and later being imprisoned by a team of Anbu. He also went over the rather strange fact that these two people didn't speak a word of Japanese, and that -unless this was all an elaborate act- they were completely and utterly lost.
"And as the council of the heads of the clans of Konoha, we have to decide what is to be done with the two strangers." the Hokage concluded, "Are there any suggestions?"
The answers ranged far and wide, even reaching the possibility of they being spies from Orochimaru, or of the Atatsuki. Thankfully, some of the more sensible folk suggested to put Harry and Sirius under guard, or at some other ninja's house. This suggestion received more nods and sounds of agreement than the others, so the Hokage took a moment to consider it, fingering his short, white goatee pensively.
Although he still held doubt about both strangers' identities- and this wasn't the easiest decision that he would be making in his long Hokage career- Sarutobi was relatively sure that going with his instincts and letting the two foreigners into his village would do no harm to anyone. He nodded to himself, satisfied with his decision: new blood would bring in new ideas, and if they weren't able to send the pair back to where they belonged, perhaps in time he might be able to gain two good shinobi for Konoha. This was indeed turning out to be a solution to his advantage, (in long terms) and as Hokage, Sarutobi could easily have the foreigners watched, therefore putting any insecurities that he and the head council could have to rest.
Perfect.
"Having thought this over, I believe that temporarily taking the foreigners into the village would be the best solution to our dilemma." He paused at someone's displeased huff. "However, to settle any dissention anyone may have here, I will assign a Jounin rank ninja to the pair, and they will live with said jounin until decided otherwise. Are there any objections to this?"
Ibiki, the head of the Morino clan spoke up, apparently displeased with the Hokage's leniency. He was not the only one who didn't trust the foreigners. As head of the interrogation department, Ibiki Morino certainly had the right to be suspicious of the two strangely dressed individuals sitting at the same table as him.
"How do we know that they are trustworthy?" A handful of other ninjas nodded, agreeing with Ibiki.
"We don't, but I can assure you that they will be under surveillance." Sarutobi sighed, looking all like the tired old man he was. "I myself don't see any alternative to this, besides refusing to let them in the village, which in turn, would be as bad as throwing them to the dogs… If any of our enemies or neighbouring villages caught wind of Konoha rejecting two foreigners for no apparent reason, the result wouldn't be very pleasant for them or us."
The clan heads nodded, agreeing with Sarutobi's reasoning. There really didn't seem to be any other better solution at the moment, and there wasn't really any time available to think the issue over..
"Which Jounin will be assigned to the foreigners? None our Ninjas know how to speak the same language as the foreigners." The Akimchi head asked.
The Hokage's brow furrowed as he puzzled the Akimchi clans leader's question over.
"It will have to be someone patient and kind, trustable and reliable, subtle too… We need this Jounin to be able to unobtrusively collect information about the foreigners and teach them about daily life in Konoha. It would do us and them no good to keep them under lock and key." Sarutobi mused aloud, fiddling with his short goatee again. "Asuma is out of the question, as is Kakashi. I wouldn't think Gai would work either, or Anko… Ibiki would likely terrorise them, and Mitate is more useful as Medic Nin. Kurenai, perhaps? I recall her being good with children, very patient, and there doesn't seem to be any problem with her team. Yes. Yuuhi Kurenai it is. Any disagreements?"
No one moved, or spoke up. It was unanimous.
"Very well. I will inform Kurenai as soon as possible." The Hokage stood up, the rest of the assembly following suit. "Dismissed!" He barked, ending the conference.
Harry and Sirius had silently watched the whole meeting happen, both unobtrusively and unsuccessfully trying to figure out what was going on. Although it was easy enough to get the gist of what was happening by the body language of the men sitting around the round, wooden table, understanding exactly what was being said wasn't easily accomplished for people who didn't even speak the same language.
Sirius was frustrated, and Harry was more nervous than before, his creative mind wondering about all of the awful things that these bizarre folk could think up. Torture and kill him, kick them out of wherever he and Sirius were now, imprison him forever, cook and eat him and Sirius for dinner… Harry looked away from the diplomatics and arguments, feeling slightly nauseated. This was not a good thought to continue to think about, even on an empty stomach!
Sirius however, was twiddling his thumbs nervously, frustrated at his lack of understanding about whatever situation he had dug him and Harry into. He didn't understand what the hell these people were blathering on about, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let any harm come to his godson. Even if it killed him! (Again?) Which brought him back to what Harry had mentioned about. What had happened in England between his being stunned by his cousin and his arrival in weird people land? Had he died and somehow missed the path to heaven? Shaking himself out of his rambling thoughts, Sirius realized that the people previously sitting around the table had stood up, and currently seemed to be concluding the important matters that they had been called together to discuss. The important matters, incidentally being his and Harry's fate… (And his grumbling stomach.)
Harry stared at the men as they stood up, and one by one, began exiting the room in the most varied manners that he had ever seen. A couple employed the same smoke trick that the grey-haired man had used, only without the whirlwind of leaves, simply popping out of existence, and leaving smoke that smelt a lot like burnt sulphur behind. Harry wrinkled his nose at the bad smell. One or two men walked out of the door the normal way, and another by leaping out of the room's only window. The window itself must've been at least two storeys high.
What the hell?
One man however, stood up lazily and stretched, making it look as if he had been napping through the meeting, and seemed to phase out of existence by melting into the shadows on portion of the room's wall. Another seemed to blur out of the room. Perhaps going too fast, even for Harry's keen eye. To top it off, the strangest way of departing the room that Harry saw, was with the one man that looked an awful lot like Mad Eye Moody. (Without the missing chunk of nose and the magical eyeball.) Scar-face simply stood up, blinked, and walked calmly up the wall and through the conference room's ceiling. Harry was rendered speechless and gaping.
Seeing the jade-eyed boy's reaction to his trusted shinobi's methods of leaving the building, the Third Hokage chuckled, drawing both foreigners' attention back towards him.
"Would I be right to assume that neither of you have seen Shinobi do this before?" He asked, his dark brown eyes twinkling.
Harry nodded, still shocked. "Y-yeah…"
Sirius was intrigued at the word the Old Man had used to describe the men from the meeting. "Shi-no-bee? What does that mean?"
"It would be -I think- the equivalent of your word for ninja. We are a community of people who operate mostly through the use Shinobi, but this would be better discussed later. We have more important problems presently, and I should like to enlighten you about what has been decided of this situation."
This really got the two's attention. Sirius perked up immediately, forgetting about his previous worries and his empty stomach..
"I would prefer to discuss this matter in my office, away from prying ears." The Old man stood up, his chair creaking a relieved sigh. "If you could please follow me."
Once again, Harry found himself trailing behind his guide's flapping robes as they glided (surprisingly fast for and old man) through some other endless corridors in the white walled building. Left, right, second left, up a flight of stairs: one storey, two, three, (by then Harry was getting out of breath) four, through another sliding wood door, and into a round room filled with massive shelves that looked rather like the inside of bee hives. The place was littered with even more stray papers and scrolls than the previous place Sirius and Harry had been dragged through at the beginning of their stay with these people. Here there were people working at desks, but these workers weren't dressed in any sort of uniform, and their clothing looked semi-normal, or as normal as things got in Ninja Land. Brushes and other writing tools were busily scratching across paper, copying things out of thick, heavily bound manuscripts and scrolls by ink stained hands. Amidst all of the paperwork, books and other miscellaneous junk that cluttered the room, there were several massive manuscripts and scrolls resting around the place on equally large wooden stands, workers leaning over the aged pages and taking notes. One of the largest books was -if taken off its stand- as tall as a man's waist! Several times Harry had to be dragged by Sirius to keep him from falling behind in the bustle.
Only a few more turns and twists later, Harry, Sirius, and Sarutobi came upon a room that was much more clean and refined than the others they had visited. Although it wasn't carpeted, the room had nicer wooden floors and three windows that let the sunlight flood through. There were also two secretaries that were sitting quietly at their individual desks sorting papers, one of them muttering softly to herself as she sorted through hefty piles of paperwork. When the group entered, they both nodded respectfully to Sarutobi, quickly going back to work.
The Old Man Sarutobi walked straight to the end of the room, and opened a polished wood door, beckoning for Sirius and Harry to enter the room before sliding door closed. He motioned for the pair to take a seat and was about to sit himself at a finely crafted desk when he stopped, remember something important
"If you will excuse me for a moment. I have an important matter I must attend." Sarutobi excused himself, and with a whirl of his white robes, rushed off to attend said matter.
Looking bewildered, Harry methodically copied Sirius' actions: dazedly sitting down onto the comfortable chairs in front of the Old Man's desk. Harry assumed this was his office. It certainly looked different from what he remembered Dumbledore's round room at Hogwarts to be like. Sunlight poured through the two slightly dirty -but open- windows. Looking around the rectangular, wood-panelled room's walls, Harry spotted five portraits hanging on the wall behind his and Sirius' chairs. They were all framed with a simple wooden frame, two red tassels hanging down from each bottom corner. All of the subjects inspired a little awe and respect in Harry, even if he didn't know them. One of them was of Sarutobi, looking younger than he was now. Harry noticed that the only thing in common with the men in the photos, was the white robes they were all wearing over their clothing. And what strange clothing it was indeed!
A light coloured desk stood in front of the windows, a pile of papers was on top of the sturdy-looking furniture, fluttering with the breeze, trying to escape the paperweight that held them down. A few brushes, pens, and other writing implements were neatly tidied in a pencil pot. The paperweight itself was an artfully carved sculpture of a large toad reaching for a long, curved sword sheathed onto it's back. Harry didn't know what kind of material the paperweight was made of, but it was coloured a deep green and looked strangely alive. It seemed to glow from inside.
Probably the sunlight playing tricks on my eyes.. Harry thought. This had been one heck of a day, and one that surprisingly enough, (for a change) didn't include Voldemort and his Death Eaters. He jumped slightly as he heard Sirius sigh and shift in his seat next to him.
Turning towards his godfather, he asked "Sirius, you don't suppose you have the faintest idea about where we might be?"
The man rolled his eyes. "Not a clue. Kiddo, even if I had my wand, I don't think I would be able to pinpoint where the hell we are. I have a feeling this isn't England, though…"
Harry snorted at his godfather's sarcastic attitude, but stopped, remembering Sirius' comment about his wand. He froze. "Merlin! My wand! They've taken it too, haven't they.." He groaned and took off his glasses, rubbing the arch of his nose tiredly. His neck hurt like hell after his stay in that prison-room, and falling a sleep sitting upright without even a chair was something he hadn't done in a long while. Harry sighed and, finding a clean spot on one of Dudley's overlarge shirts, started cleaning his glasses as best as he could. He had been wearing this very same outfit for about two or so days, and he didn't think the smell would be too pleasant. For once he probably didn't smell much better than Sirius. "D'you think were ever going to get it back?"
Before Sirius could answer, the door the trio had originally entered the room through quietly opened, The Old Man striding briskly into the room holding a small cardboard box with things inside. He walked to his desk, and took a seat, placing the box directly in front of him.
"Now then." he addressed his (rather small) audience. "Here are perhaps some of your belongings. My Anbu team report that they found these either on or about your person. I apologise for the inconvenience, and hope these objects are in workable condition. If not, I am most willing to give you a full refund." Sarutobi didn't even sound sure what the objects were, but he didn't falter, and held out the cardboard box to Harry and Sirius.
"My wand!" Harry exclaimed, quickly retrieving his precious holly wand. Sirius did the same with his stolen wand and pocketed it, not before making sure that his tattered robe pocket didn't have any holes. Wouldn't want to be loosing that again.
Sarutobi was indeed curious at the foreigners actions when they hurriedly took their polished, wooden sticks- wands? He hadn't the foggiest idea what they were, but both the boy and the man seemed to handle them carefully. They must be important.
"May I enquire as to what these objects are used for?" Sarutobi asked the foreigners, while folding the cardboard box to fit the bin by his desk. The jade-eyed boy looked up at him, and said one word, looking surprised at the Hokage's question.
"Magic."
Sarutobi blinked. "What is this 'magick' you speak of?"
The boy turned to his companion. "Can I, Sirius?"
The blue-eyed man nodded. "They probably won't be able to trace us here, Harry."
The boy -Harry, was it?- turned back towards Sarutobi, and with a swish and a flick, a stray pen started to rise into the air! This was unlike any sort of Jutsu or Bloodline Konoha's Hokage had ever seen. His eyes opened slightly wider, but the elder man hid his surprise well.
"Can both of you perform this kind of magick?"
The blue-eyed man -Sirius, he was called- spoke up this time. "Yes. There are many other things we wizards can do with our magic and our wands, and not all of them are pleasant." He sighed
This was very interesting to Sarutobi. Although the two strangers were still a possible threat, they carried a new weapon that if used right, could greatly help Konoha. Even if it was only the two strangers that could use this magick, they could easily become Konoha's allies. This would have to be kept as classified information.
"Can this ability only be used by you, or could someone else use it say- in a battle?" Sarutobi asked
The boy called Harry shook his head. "Only people with magic can use magic, and you would have to have a wand made for you… And besides, wand making is an art that not many people know. We certainly don't.."
The Hokage nodded. "I understand. I would like to thank you for trusting me with this. I would also like to warn you against telling any one in this village of your ability. I do not think it would be wise to unveil it quite yet." He interlaced his fingers, twiddling his thumbs. "On a lighter note, I would like to inform you that I have found a person who has agreed to temporarily allow you to live in her home until we find a better arrangement, or you find another home here in the village. She is willing to teach you our language and ways, so that you can properly integrate into Konoha." At Sirius' questioning look, he elaborated. "Konohagakure is our village, an I am its Hokage -a leader of sorts.. Oh, and before I forget, all costs will be covered, so you won't have to worry about paying anything."
Sirius looked relieved and Harry had to admit that he hadn't thought about any of that, so caught with the present he was.
A knock sounded at the door. Sarutobi stood, (Harry and Sirius following suit) and went to the door, opening it. A young black-haired woman stood at the door, dressed in even stranger clothes than what Sirius and Harry had seen so far. Her outfit looked a little like a sort of dress, combined with a fishnet top and a plain, long-sleeved shirt. She, like nearly every other person Harry had seen, wore the same head band with the spiral design engraved on the centre of the metal. Her calves were partly wrapped with bandages, and she also wore the same, dark blue sandals. What struck Harry the most, was her deep red eyes. They were almost the colour of blood, and contrasted sharply with her pale skin and almost black hair. She turned and bowed to the old man, talking to him fluently in the same foreign language Harry didn't understand. Harry caught a word or two he recognized, like Hokage, but didn't understand much of the rest.
"You requested my presence, Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked, unsure if she had come at the right time. Perhaps her new mission might have to do with the two men- obviously not ninjas- standing by the Hokage's desk. She rarely came up to his office because he rarely requested for her services. She preferred to stick to the mission assignment office. Besides, people usually requested other elite Jounin than herself. Customers seemed to prefer brute strength over illusion and strategy tactics.
"Yes, Kurenai." The Hokage replied, "These two men are foreigners, and the council and I have decided to place them under your guard. We do not know much about the two, only that they do not speak or understand Japanese. The specifics are in this packet-" He held out an envelope which Kurenai took, tucking it away in a pocket. " - and you are to house and teach them our language and about our culture. This will be your mission, set indefinitely, on top of training your team. You will report to me weekly."
He switched to English and turned to foreigners. "May I know your names?"
"Harry Potter."
"Sirius Black"
Sarutobi frowned. "You say your clan name after your birth name?"
The black-haired man nodded a yes.
The Hokage then turned to Kurenai, indicating each person in turn. "This is Potter, Harry and Black, Sirius." He told her in Japanese.
She bowed and said something that they didn't quite catch, leaving both foreigners looking puzzled.
Sarutobi turned back to Harry and Sirius looking satisfied. Harry supposed that things were going as he had planned. The man was a little like Dumbledore in that respect, just more serious and less fond of sweets.
"Gentlemen, this is who you will be housed with. Her name is Kurenai. Yuuhi Kurenai."
Yuuhi Kurenai - An elite Jônin. Her speciality lies in Genjutsu. (I believe.) Her Genin team is composed of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba.
Japanese Language - Because the author of Naruto is in fact Japanese, I believe it is right to have the people of "Naruto Land" speaking Japanese.
The Council - The council is of my invention. It is made up of the heads of several clans. Most of these clans are the oldest in Konohagakure. They help the Hokage manage the village. The council acts as advisors of sorts, influencing the Hokage's decision but cannot change the final result. The Council meets monthly.
Morino Ibiki - Jônin Leader of the Torture and Interrogation Department of Konoha. Sports many scars on his face and head. Very menacing figure.