Title: Kuro ga Kin'iro ni naru Toki
When Black Becomes Golden
Author: Kerwin
Fandom(s): Naruto & Harry Potter
Category: Crossover, Drama, Angst
Rating: PG13-R or T-M
Warnings: AU, Crossover
Disclaimer: Naruto and all character names, and likenesses thereof are trademarks of Shonen Jump and Viz and are property of the original author Kishimoto Masashi. Also, Harry Potter and all character names and likenesses thereof are trademarks of Warner Brothers and are the property of the original author J.K. Rowling. Any other original character names, places, or overall storyline/plotlines are property of the author (meaning myself) Kerwin. Thanx for your support!
Summary: AU, Naruto manages to bring Sasuke back to the village; only Tsunade has to find a way to keep him from leaving for Orochimaru again. Traitors are usually executed, but Godaime finds an alternative. Sasuke will be exiled to a place far enough away that he poses no danger to Konohagakure. And being the one who captured him in the first place, Naruto is sent as his keeper. How will the two shinobi fare in this new place, Hogwarts?
IMPORTANT NOTE: In this story Naruto managed to subdue Sasuke at the Valley of End. Kakashi did not return from his mission in time to go after the boys. Plus, Tsunade did not send the Sand siblings to the rescue, but they did show up and help out.
Chapter I
The Prodigal Son Returns…Glaring and Mutinous
The approach to Konoha's North-Eastern gate was marked by an almost tangible release of tension. Naruto slumped a bit under the burden of a restrained and unconscious Sasuke while Shikamaru, under the considerably reduced weight of Chouji, could be heard grumbling under his breath. Not one of the accompanying Genin could be sure if the words were grateful or indifferent, but all knew for certain the amount of trouble involved was well voiced. Naruto was simply relieved by the disruption, in light of the overshadowing silence that seemed a constant companion these past couple days. Shikamaru especially had taken the wounding of their comrades badly. Speaking of, behind the assigned—and self proclaimed—leaders of the pack, preceding Gaara and his siblings, were two suspended flatbeds of sand supporting Neji and Kiba. The injured parties remained comatose as they had been through much of the journey.
Even Lee was unnaturally subdued in the face of the boy who almost destroyed his dream. Gaara may have saved the Taijutsu specialist, but it became clear in the prolonged company of the redhead that some fear and distrust still resided within the gejimayu. Lastly, the sand shinobi, while helpful, proved to be even duller company than a brooding Shikamaru. Naruto was doubly eager to return home; not only would he fulfill his promise to Sakura, but he would also be able to turn his friends over to more capable hands. With these thoughts in mind, the blonde Genin jostled his load a bit higher and walked with renewed vigor--Shikamaru's more voluble complaints bringing nothing more than a vulpine smile to his lips.
xXxXx
The road into Konoha was sparsely populated given the time of day. Most out-of-town market owners, traveling merchants, and visitors made the hectic time-consuming passage into the hidden village during midmorning to escape the heat from the height of the sun. Being late afternoon, as Naruto's transitory team came within twenty yards of the gate there was predictably only one person there to greet them, the entry guard. However, upon seeing the returning shinobi, the guard vanished in a flurry of wind and leaves without as much as a word to the assemblage. Shikamaru assumed, loud enough for the others to hear, that the sentry went to inform Godaime of their return.
"Suppose baa-chan will meet us at the gate?" Naruto questioned with a sideways glance to his laconic companion. Shikamaru shrugged his usual response to circumvent a long, drawn out explanation or answer of any kind.
"I hope Gai-sensei is there!" Lee brightened considerably at the prospect, his eyes gleaming and a fist drawn in front of him. Naruto found his eyes inexplicably drawn to his less than glowing teammates.
"You should hope that your Hokage has the sense to order medics to the gate." Temari pointed out, echoing Naruto's own concern. Shikamaru nodded tersely with a frown of worry over his brow.
xXxXx
By the time their motley group crossed the threshold into the city, a sizable crowd was gathered. Whispers were exchanged and fingers pointed. All of these the returnees ignored in favor of more welcome faces. Ahead of the curious gossip-mongers were the remaining fractions of their assorted teams. The kunoichi watched with expectation, looking to spot their absent team members. Tsunade-sama herself stood haughtily, forward and centered to the opening; close to her right a team of medics awaited their charges. Clearly the guard stationed at the gate noticed some of their number inactive and dutifully informed the Hokage.
'Sakura-chan, I kept my promise.' Naruto thought reverently, but his first words, voiced before anyone could say anything concrete, involved his downed comrades.
"Oi! We need some help here! They're busted up pretty badly!" Naruto motioned with a toss of his head to the two boys being bared gently to the ground by Gaara's sand, and to Chouji who did not look like he'd survived the trip. At Naruto's arrested expression, Shikamaru shook his head in negation and mouthed two words that reassured him.
'He's breathing.'
"You heard him! Take those Genin to the hospital!" Tsunade gestured imperiously with one hand. The medics hastened to do her biding, not one of them dared to refute the necessity of the order.
x
As Kiba, Neji, and Chouji were conveyed through the noisy crowd, Tsunade's piercing gaze alighted on Gaara with interest. One silent look in Shikamaru's direction had the boy sighing as if bothered to clarify the foreign presence. Tsunade glared threateningly in displeasure.
"Alright, alright, they crossed our path in their own travels and facilitated the completion of the mission." Shikamaru grumbled. Annoyance was predominant on his face and a tension hung about him as if he did not want to be there any longer.
"Why don't you just say they helped us?" Naruto cried out, aggravated by the complicated choice of wording. Shikamaru simply turned a dark frown on Temari, who was smirking.
"Then I suppose our village owes you thanks." Tsunade declared with a raised brow to the sand siblings who in turn gave nods of acknowledgement. "You are welcome to refresh yourselves overnight but I would not encourage an extended stay given the strain between our renewed alliances." Tsunade's lips were pressed thinly together as she regarded the silent party.
"No. We leave immediately." Gaara verbalized in his familiar abrupt monotone. Naruto found Gaara's eyes locked on his and gave a nod of thanks. Gaara blinked, and without another word to anyone, he turned to leave. Kankurou huffed at the rushed departure and Temari tossed a wink Shikamaru's way before all the Konoha shinobi and villagers could see were their backs fading into the forest.
x
"Shikamaru, you will meet me in my office later this evening to relay your report. For now, go check on your team." Tsunade ordered. Some of the stiffness left Shikamaru's frame and Naruto remembered belatedly that Chouji was Shikamaru's best friend. "Naruto," the blonde's gaze strayed to his village leader, "Bring Sasuke and follow me." There was no option to deny, it was not a request. As the retrieval party slowly broke up, so did the crowed. Naruto could do little but nod and smile reassuringly at Sakura as he passed. The kunoichi watched him leave briefly before concentrating on Lee who was the only one left to describe what happened. Sakura knew better than to embrace either of her teammates; Sasuke had done something seriously wrong.
Naruto stood nervously outside of Tsunade's office. There was a meeting being held inside that he was unfortunately not invited to. That did not stop the blonde from listening in as best he could. He did not have to strain too much given the door stood a hairs-breadth open from when Sasuke was forcibly led inside by two other ninja.
"Uchiha Sasuke," said an old graveled voice, undoubtedly one of the elders, "You have been charged with assault, consorting with a known enemy, reckless endangerment, and treason. What have you to say in relation to these charges?" As much as Naruto listened, silence reigned within.
"I hope you realize how closely you escaped a fate worse than this? If not for being forcibly brought before us you would have been hunted by ANBU and dealt with accordingly." Tsunade pointed out ominously. Naruto could only discern an indifferent grunt.
"Insolence! Have you no shame or remorse for what you have done?" An unsteady voice cried out angrily.
"You've forced my hand; I have only one option left to me…"
"If Hokage-sama wasn't so benevolent you would suffer…" the scathing voice cut off as if gestured to do so. Naruto confirmed it when Godaime continued. And Tsunade could only be Godaime in Naruto's mind when she used that authoritative voice to sentence his fallen comrade.
"Because you actually failed to reach the missing-nin Orocimaru I will be lenient with your punishment. To the degree you will not be executed on the spot as is customary in cases of treason." Tsunade elaborated harshly. Naruto wondered just what expression was on Sasuke's face at that moment but decided it was probably as impassive as ever. "You will be forbidden to activate the seal with consequence of death should you do so. You will not be stripped of your rank but you are hereby on probation. Any manipulation of your chakra is to be well monitored and commence only after you have received permission. Furthermore, you will be temporarily exiled for an indeterminate amount of time." At this proclamation Naruto heard something that sounded suspiciously like a splutter. "You will have an escort who will ensure your cooperation with these provisions." Sasuke must have made some kind of foul sound or face because Tsunade's voice became that much more unforgiving. "I am going to send you so far away that it will be impossible for you to attempt this travesty again. We will deal with Orochimaru, and you…you will have to prove your loyalty or face life as a civilian prisoner. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Crystal." Sasuke's tone was glacial in return.
x
"Restrain Uchiha downstairs until I can arrange passage for him and his keeper. Izumo, Kotetsu, one of you go to the Uchiha residence and pack his supplies, anything you deem necessary for the duration of approximately a year." Tsunade ordered curtly.
"And his weapons?" the shinobi special trailed off.
"Bring them to me. I will entrust them to his escort." And then Naruto was backing away from the door because Sasuke was being lead away between two guards and Izumo was headed to fulfill Tsunade's bidding. For a brief moment their eyes met and Naruto found himself on the receiving end of Sasuke's hateful glare. Naruto looked away; an illogical feeling of guilt welled up within his chest. And then the pale Uchiha was passed, closely followed by the village elders who weren't beneath sneering coldly at Naruto, despite his accomplishments.
"Naruto, come into my office!" Tsunade called from within. Naruto avoided the displeasured looks sent his way as he slipped into the room after the last elder had gone.
"Oi, Naruto!" Naruto turned as a voice, easily recognized, called into his abode. The door was wide open, affording Naruto a view of Shikamaru lounging comfortably against the frame.
"Un." Naruto turned his back to resume packing an overlarge duffle-bag even as he acknowledged the other boy. Naruto's lack of attention prevented him from noticing Shikamaru's annoyed eye-roll.
"Chouji, Neji, and Kiba were all sent to the hospital while you and Sasuke disappeared into Hokage-sama's office. The evidence suggests something's up." Naruto glanced over his shoulder to catch Shikamaru's nod toward his bags. The blonde Genin looked back to his possessions, staring a moment in quiet contemplation. The sheer lack of response combined with Naruto's unnatural seriousness alerted Shikamaru to the significance of the other's actions.
"It's Sasuke, isn't it?" Shikamaru questioned with his customary insight. Naruto's brows furrowed deeply. Then his face turned away as he reached for a white clothed bundle Shikamaru recognized as a traveling kit for kunai. The indolent shinobi also recognized the red and white symbol embroidered into the cloth as that of the Uchiha clan.
"Ano, Shikamaru, how are they?" There was no need to clarify who Naruto was asking about. By tacit agreement Shikamaru did not point out the abrupt change in topic or the suspicious lack of an answer to his previous inquiry. Naruto's silence was confirmation in itself.
"Kiba will be all right; while his injuries are severe they aren't nearly as worrisome as Neji's or Chouji's. Neji has been stabilized, but Chouji is still in critical condition. The pills he used are damaging his chakra channels as well as his automatic physiological processes;" at Naruto's perplexed expression the Chuunin clarified, "His unconscious life systems, such as his heart beat and breathing are shutting down from the rapid weight loss."
"You shouldn't worry too much; Tsunade no baa-chan will put him right." Naruto nodded confidently at his own words. "She was actually headed that way last I saw her." The blonde added absently. Naruto's reassurances weren't acknowledged out loud though inwardly Shikamaru took heart from Naruto's certainty.
x
The dark haired boy remained in the doorway regarding Naruto's motions with a disciplined eye for detail.
"I guess I won't be seeing you around." Shikamaru commented at length. Naruto zipped up his bag with such finality Shikamaru felt a chill creep along his spine. Without his mind fully engaged, the
lazy genius reached out and grasped Naruto by the arm.
"You aren't in trouble because of Sasuke, are you?" Shikamaru couldn't explain what prompted the near panicked concern, but for Naruto's continued unusual behavior. All Shikamaru could think about were the looks of hatred that seemed to follow Naruto wherever the blonde happened to tread. In turn, Naruto met Shikamaru's gaze with one of understanding and slowly shook his head so there would be no mistaking the truth in the motion.
"I'm not being blamed for Sasuke running away. And I'm not being punished for bringing him back. Godaime gave me another mission, I'm sorry I can't say more."
x
Shikamaru held the stare a full minute longer until he saw what he was searching for in the blue-eyed boy. Naruto, for his part, maintained eye-contact and remained silent.
"Good luck. When you get back we'll go out for Korean Barbecue with Chouji." Neither of them contemplated the possibility that Naruto would not return or the odds that Chouji would not be there when he did. Shikamaru held out a hand. Naruto accepted the Chuunin's parting gesture and offered a relatively subdued but genuine smile in return.
"That'll be great, oyabun. And by the time I return I'll be ready to surpass even you!" Naruto challenged, a more familiar grin spreading across his face. Shikamaru was just thankful Naruto was acting more like his old self. With a shake of his head and a mutter of how troublesome Naruto's return would be, Shikamaru walked away. Naruto watched the other boy's retreating back; catching sight of Shikamaru's raised hand in farewell.
"I guess that's that." Naruto mused before grabbing his well packed bags, shutting the door, and turning the lock with his key. "Yosh! On to the mission!"