Disclaimer: no own. This fic says trans rights. The usual.

Chapter Six

The Territory Tenkai

By the time Dudley, Yamaguchi, and the wizard arrived at a set of doors marked in grand lettering Dudley had no hope of reading, his energy had all but fled. They'd somehow managed to muscle the wizard onto a subway car, Yamaguchi speaking to him in a quiet but bright-sounding voice that no outsider would guess carried threats. Dudley was impressed despite himself. Terrified, but impressed.

Back before the dementors, Dudley had liked to think of himself as a brave sort of bloke, like the protagonist of one of his video games. He'd realized in the years since that he was very much a coward. Not a peaceable coward, but a coward all the same. He loved boxing, loved to fight in the comparatively low-stakes scenario of a sport, where he just got to feel the ache and the sweat and the adrenaline without the potentially dire consequences. As a child he'd enjoyed being a bully, where he had all the power and none of the risk. He did not love things like this - where there were consequences and his own skin was pinched tightly in the game.

Yamaguchi, thankfully, did not seem to relish the violence, exactly. But violence rippled across her skin with an ease Dudley would not have guessed at - even after seeing her take down all of his teammates in the boxing ring, even after an evening spent with her family lawyer, after seeing a member of her family arrested before breakfast. He'd guessed that she was involved in a whole lot of crazy that he didn't want to end up immersed in, but that guess hadn't quite extended to a Yamaguchi who was competent, comfortable, and practiced in real violence.

The wizard snarled at a pedestrian, rage at Dudley and Yamaguchi misdirected somewhere safer. Yamaguchi whispered something in the wizard's ear, and he stiffened. Expected or not, Dudley was grateful. Who knows what would have happened if she hadn't been there. Hadn't been following you, you mean, said a snide voice in Dudley's head. He supposed that he could be grateful and uncomfortable with the implications all at once.

Dudley would think on it more later, when they weren't closing the distance between them and the building with the grand signage. They had been walking into somewhat sketchy territory for a while now, and Dudley found himself reminded of Kamiyama and the Kuroda household. The neighborhood was more urban, surely, and this building was built in a curious blend of western and eastern architectural sensibilities. A firm contrast to the small-town-nestled-in-a-city vibe that the neighborhood around the very traditional Kuroda house managed to exude. Still, he could not shake the sense of familiarity.

He looked at Yamaguchi, and for a moment she seemed to waver. He remembered her promise over the phone, that she would owe this Tenkai family a favor; he wondered if she wasn't in over her head, too. But her hesitation vanished in an instant, and she rang the bell with her jaw set and her shoulders back.

"Kuroda Ojou-san," said the person who answered the door, and while Dudley's Japanese was truly atrocious, he'd gotten comfortable enough with the shape of Japanese words to 1) pick out the name of Yamaguchi's family and 2) remember 'Ojou,' the name Shinohara had used when instructing Dudley to keep out of the police's way. He had been referring to Yamaguchi then, and it was a name she was used to carrying. The person at the door continued talking, and that was a lost cause, but Dudley felt suddenly that he had most of the pieces to the mystery of Yamaguchi's family, if only he wanted to puzzle them together.

He didn't, he decided.

Even without the language barrier, Dudley never would have told Yamaguchi about his cousin or about his horrible year on the run if it hadn't caught up to him spectacularly. She was allowed her privacy, too, and she'd drawn a line at the threshold of her family secrets a few times.

Yamaguchi looked absolutely stately as she replied to the person at the door - named Hirano, apparently - all professionalism and curt gratitude. Dudley found himself, along with Yamaguchi and the wizard, hustled through the doors. The Western tint to the architecture didn't stop this building from having one of those shoe rooms, so Dudley paused to toe his off. Yamaguchi beat him to it, but didn't bother getting the shoes off the wizard.

Hirano extended a hand, presumably to take the wizard from Yamaguchi. She shook her head. "I'd rather hold on to him, if that's alright," she said, still in English. Hirano responded seamlessly in Japanese, like he didn't even notice the language switch. Dudley spared a glance at the wizard, who did not seem to think that was even worth paying attention to. He was glaring around at everyone in equal measure, and while Dudley didn't feel bad about taking kidnappers to the homes of apparently dangerous people, he could understand being upset at the situation all the same.

"Sorry," he said to the wizard. "But you have to admit that this isn't unfair."

"I'll make you filthy muggles pay," said the wizard.

"Pay?" said Yamaguchi, looking over from her conversation with her countryman, voice artificially bright and cheerful. "Did you think there wouldn't be consequences to trying to kidnap my classmate?" she nudged Hirano. "Isn't he cute, thinking he shouldn't face consequences?"

It occurred to Dudley that Hirano, though objectively terrifying to look at himself, seemed afraid of Yamaguchi. None of the men at the Kuroda household seemed afraid of Yamaguchi, what the hell? Dudley knew why Gill and the rest of the UEL boxers were scared of her, but her own allies? Really?

The wizard, however, was either unafraid or a very good actor. Dudley suspected the latter, because threats had effectively managed his behavior on the way over, but his face did not give that away. He maintained an expression of total disdain.

Hirano seemed eager to get Yamaguchi away from issuing threats. He gestured down a hallway. "Of course," said Yamaguchi. "I really appreciate Tenkai's help in this."

They walked down the corridor and turned into a room with springy tatami flooring. Waiting inside was the grandest woman Dudley had ever seen. She was dressed in traditional clothing, her hair piled artfully on her head, face powdered, lip red, and gaze frighteningly clear.

She looked at the wizard standing between Yamaguchi and Dudley with the coldest disgust Dudley had ever seen in his life. She said something in Japanese to Hirano, who bowed, stammered, and fled from the room. Huh.

"Tenkai-anego-san," said Yamaguchi, "Thank you."

She inclined her head. "I take it our guests are British?" she said, in heavily accented but perfectly understandable English. Dudley blinked. Yamaguchi blinked.

"Excuse me, Anego-san," said Yamaguchi. "But what language does it sound like I'm speaking to you?"

Anego-san seemed puzzled. "English, Kumiko-chan. I was surprised, because I was not aware you could speak it."

Yamaguchi let out a strangled yelp. Anego-san had not betrayed even a flicker of surprise to Dudley during their entire exchange.

"I don't," said Yamaguchi. "It's something he did." She kicked the wizard's calf with enough force to send him stumbling forward.

Anego-san caught him by the chin before he could fall. Now the wizard looked a little afraid. Dudley could understand that. "So you're the scum that thought he could come into Japanese territory and engage in kidnapping. Don't you know that there are local organizations who make that their business?"

The wizard was exceptionally brave, because despite the terror on his face, he shot back. "What I do is no business of a muggle like you, no matter what your little 'organization' does."

Anego-san began to laugh. It was high and bright. Yamaguchi chimed in, but Dudley would bet money that it was because she didn't quite know what else to do. For all Yamaguchi seemed respected and involved in this world Dudley had caught a glimpse of, it occurred to him that she was young and somewhat out of her depth. This woman, this Anego-san, was what Yamaguchi was expected to become. And Yamaguchi's major was maths education!

"Magic apparently doesn't make people any brighter, does it, Kumiko-chan?" she said, before firmly backhanding the wizard right across the face. He fell, sprawling wide across the reed floor. He spit, and his saliva was pink. Dudley felt a rush of fear himself.

Anego-san turned her attention to him. "And you, young one. The clans don't appreciate you involving Kuroda's successor in dangerous business."

Dudley's heart fell to his feet. Bollocks.

"I can take care of myself,Tenkai-anego-san," said Yamaguchi. "Besides, Grandpa hasn't named his successor. I'm studying to teach maths!"

"I didn't say you couldn't," said Anego-san. "Just that now is not the time for you to be taking unnecessary risks." She didn't address the point about successorship, but her expression said enough. Dudley suddenly heard Shinohara's voice echo in his memory, saying that his life would be easier if Yamaguchi "married someone suitable." Dudley remembered the look on Shinohara's face that made obvious the tightrope he was walking: that he liked Yamaguchi and also did not want to be that suitable man. Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. Dudley tried not to actively explore it.

Anego-san's attention shifted back to Dudley and he shivered. Her red-painted lips quirked upward. "It took my husband a long time to learn he should fear me in the early days of our marriage," she said. "It's good to see young men who are a little more sensible."

"Don't bully him, Anego-san," said Yamaguchi. But Anego-san fixed her with a look, and suddenly Dudley could feel her shiver right along with him. At least he wasn't the only one.

"Do we have any more surprises to expect?" said Anego-san.

Dudley shook his head vehemently, then considered. "Uh. I don't think I know, ma'am," he said. "I wasn't expecting this surprise." He took a page out of Yamaguchi's book and nudged the wizard with his toe. "But you should know he's a wizard. Not every wizard technically needs this, but I think this one's bad enough at magic that he does." Dudley lifted the wand.

Anego-san raised an eyebrow. "You really don't speak English, Kumiko-chan?"

"I've never been very good at language," said Yamaguchi, looking incredibly opposed to admitting any weakness at all in front of this woman.

A delicately boned hand reached out, and Dudley immediately handed the wand over. "I think to be safe," said Anego-san, trailing off. She looked at the wizard, cleanly snapped the wand in two. The wizard howled, and Anego-san's eyes measured his reaction. "Do you have any accomplices coming? Tell me true, or next it will be your finger."

Dudley had gone queerly numb, and suddenly he realized he wasn't sure if he was more scared now than he'd been the night on the thestral. He'd been numb then, too. The fear hadn't really made itself known until he was in the next safe house and able to break down to pieces without potentially dire consequences.

The loss of his wand had broken the wizard's composure, but he seemed to rally. "I won't be telling a muggle bitch like you anything ."

Anego-san's smile grew even colder than it had been before. She looked at Yamaguchi. "Kumiko-chan, take your exchange student and get out of here. I'll get the information out of him, but I don't think you want young civilians to see this."

There was a moment where Dudley could see Yamaguchi deliberate - she didn't want to lose face by leaving but she didn't actually want to stay. The two women locked eyes, and whatever Yamaguchi found there, she gave Anego-san a brisk nod. She glanced at the wizard.

"Before we go, will I be stuck like this? With the stupid English?"

The wizard just spat at her, but Dudley realized he actually knew the answer to this one. There had been a few foreign wizards in Britain for tourism that had gotten stuck when Voldemort took over the ministry, he'd shuffled through safe houses with them. "No," he said. "I'm surprised it lasted this long, honestly."

Yamaguchi looked at him. "Right," she said. "That's fine." She turned to Anego-san, bowed deeply. "I thank Tenkai for this, really. I owe your clan a favor."

Anego-san's smile flashed shark-like. "I'll hold you to it."

If Dudley hadn't been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her, he didn't think he would have noticed Yamaguchi's flinch. Their walk out of this Tenkai place wasn't hurried , exactly. But Dudley could tell, after weeks of walking by her side, that Yamaguchi set as fast a pace she could without it being obvious.

There was steel set in her jaw, and she nodded cordially at people they passed. Dudley did not miss their deliberately respectful expressions. Kuroda's successor indeed. As he had realized under the uncomfortable prickle of Anego-san's stare, the answer was hanging there, that Shinohara might want Yamaguchi but not want - Dudley cut off his thought process before he reached its end. Thinking about it too hard, reaching that conclusion, would be an invasion of privacy of the highest order. Carefully, Dudley turned away from the part of his brain that was following the breadcrumb trail of clues that led so clearly to the truth of Yamaguchi's family life. The answer was waiting, but Dudley did not have to meet it.

Dudley and Yamaguchi stepped out into the open air, looked up at the glowing street lamps.

It was just the two of them, and suddenly Dudley felt the need to explain. Now, while the translation charm still held. "My parents took in my cousin as a baby. And then they abused him." Yamaguchi angled her face to look at him, but did not betray a reaction, so Dudley continued. "They didn't hit him often, but they still did it. His bedroom was a cupboard until we were eleven, and they locked him in there whenever they felt like it. Denied him regular meals. They encouraged me to bully him, and I did it. I didn't see anything wrong with hurting a freak . Then he went and saved our lives. Saved the whole bloody country. At seventeen. I don't know how he ended up so good, Yamaguchi. I just don't understand it."

Yamaguchi did not seem to know what to say, and for a moment Dudley worried that the spell had worn off, that he'd been speaking to little more than the void. But her small hand reached up and rested on his shoulder, packing more force than he was expecting. Finally, she said, quite simply, "Shit."

Dudley let out a noise that was part breath, part laugh, part sob. "Yeah."

"You seem like you're becoming a good man yourself, though," Yamaguchi said, squeezing his shoulder before withdrawing her hand. What she said next was in Japanese again. She seemed to notice halfway through her sentence, cut herself off with a look of rueful wonder.

But what she'd gotten out was enough, and Dudley's heart was warmer than it had been in a good long time.

"Arigatou," he said, shaping each Japanese syllable deliberately.

"You're welcome," said Yamaguchi, in her own careful English. He thought he liked her English better than the magic anyway.

Dudley reached out a hand and she took it. They walked to the subway, rode through the rumbling tunnels, and walked back to the Hoshien Guest House all in a companionable silence.

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