Magic Ramen-no-Jutsu
AN: Thank you so so much for the support! Shoutout to all the reviewers! Thats my motivation :)
Rating: T for now, M possibly for future chapters but not sure. Rating may be subject to change
Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor.
Planned Pairings : FemHarry/Naruto, FemHarry/Kakashi, FemHarry/Shikamaru, FemHarry/Shino, FemHarry/Neji, FemHarry/Chouji, FemHarry/Kiba, FemHarry/Gaara, FemHarry/Iruka, FemHarry/Asuma.
Summary: If Harry were being honest with herself, she would have said that yes, accidents happen in magic. It's what made magic, well, magic. But nothing could've allowed her to predict that magic would've transported her into the body of the daughter of a Ramen Stand of Konoha. Now finding herself living the routine of a restaurant waitress, Ayame must struggle between hiding her magical ways, adjusting to life in a shinobi village and warding off the unwanted attention of multiple ninja. She's not quite sure which will be the bigger task. [Fem!Harry, Reverse Harem, Final Pairing Undecided]
Warnings for this chapter: Language
Chapter 3: Courses
She was having a crash course in Ninja and Konoha history
And her teacher was none other than Naruto Uzumaki
Stranger sentences have been written
In some ways Naruto was the perfect teacher for one Harry Potter, girl-who-lived now in the body of a 15 year old japanese ramen waitress, because it wasn't that he was dumb by any means. He was more intellectually challenged as Hermione would've put it. He hated books, he hated debate, and most of all he hated the thought of lectures.
But Naruto was not dumb, the kid knew his stuff and if asked the right question in the right way he would answer as enthusiastically as he did when he was talking about ramen (his now favorite food) or about being hokage. But the kid was also two shy of a six-pack and wasn't perceptive enough to pick up on the fact that "Ayame-chan" seemed to have forgotten a lot of things about Konoha, ninja, and pretty much everything else. He didn't ask many questions in return, which was perfect for Harry
She had a lot of questions
Which Naruto was very ready to answer his Ayame-chan
Thus, Harry found herself, as she had done the past three days, sitting on the ground, legs crossed, with a flurry of textbooks and scrolls Naruto had "borrowed" from the local library. Her (now) signature white bandana tied around her forehead, and Naruto Uzumaki with his orange jumpsuit tied around his waist doing a dramatic reenactment of the Second Shinobi World War in the back-room of the ramen stand.
"Now tell me what happened during the third shinobi world war"
He smiled at her, giving his biggest grin, blasting her with good vibes
"So it goes like this!"
She understood the irony of asking a "fictional" character about the plot of a comic book (or manga) that was named after him without him knowing that he was actually a fictional character or that the girl who sat in front of him was actually an english witch and not japanese civilian.
Irony at its best
However, watching Naruto jumping up and down with his blue eyes shining brighter than a florescent lamp and trying to make her laugh by doing impressions of old "farts" from years gone by, Harry couldn't imagine him not being real.
Naruto eased into her sphere like no other had before, by her own volition due to her circumstances or because he was just Naruto she wasn't sure. He was part of her routine, now, just after a couple of days. Despite promising herself not to get close to people in order to not compromise her situation, she couldn't help be drawn to Naruto.
In some ways he reminded her of the Weasley twins.
Forge and Gred
At first, they seemed so out of her reach and she felt so out of depth talking to them; she was introverted and they were not. She was quiet and collected for the most part and they were not. She was stubborn and rigid, and they were everything but. But they tried, oh, they tried to get through the little bubble she had at first reserved for only herself; they extended it, just like Hermione and Ron had. Playing jokes and trying to make her laugh when they could. When Hermione and Ron were bickering they would swoop in with a toffy treat, twirling her hair in their hands trying to get a reaction out of her in the chaos of Hogwarts. Worming their way in with pranks and charm. Trying to make her forget all the disasters around her, for just a moment.
They always tried to make her smile
Where's that smile princess?
Some exploding snap baby doll?
Forget em' Henrietta
At your service darling
"Ne ne Ayame chan! Check out my nindaime face!"
"T-that's...ridiculous hahaha!"
"But ne Ayame-chan, I'll be like the nindaime someday dattebayo so I gotta come up with my own hokage face right?"
"Right Naruto-kun, do your best!"
She smiled a little into her text book
Why yes, Naruto Uzumaki would've gotten along fabulously with the twins. He was their type of smart
Maybe not book smart, but he had his own brand of mischievous playful intelligence; make no mistake.
It was Harry who questioned her own intelligence
Hermione would probably hate her
Are you blind Harry Potter?! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS?!
She could almost hear her voice in the back of her head
Maybe being thrown into another dimension made her lose a couple of screws?
Perfect excuse
She should've realized earlier, that the boy who stood in front of her now explaining history was the Naruto. He was the boy on the main cover and the main focus of the comic that had gotten her into this mess. He was the very same Naruto that hung out with her in the evenings. Was the very same Naruto she had swatted a fully grown man for. Was the very same blonde, blue-eyed boy (very rare it seemed in this village) who hung out with her afterwards. Was the very same Naruto who, after she decided to become friends with him, would spend his afternoons and evenings eating ramen and studying with her if he wasn't training and pranking the hell out of villagers. Was the very same Naruto who would give her the most precious smiles.
Of course she would befriend the main character
Of course she would
Why would it be any way otherwise?
Fate had a way of tangling her up in these messes
And maybe following fates path and getting involved with the main character of a book series that, from what Dennis had described was long as Flitwicks Parchment, was a bad idea. But she didn't know enough to care, she had only gotten to page 13 before she was transported into this world. And rather than questioning what she was supposed to do, Harry figured, just as she concluded every time she gave herself time to think about it, she just had to go with the flow of the situation.
It had been 3 days since she met Naruto and 3 days since she had stopped trying to get home through apparition. Clearly her magic, at this point, was not strong enough to do much except react to her emotions (strong emotions at that). Adapting to this world, instead of trying to fight against it with her own magic, was the best she could do at the current moment. Now armed with a new friend and developing knowledge of the world around her, Harry was starting to feel that more capable of adapting.
Adapt she would
Closing the textbook that lay on her lap as Naruto's "history lesson" came to a close, Harry felt accomplished. She had learned a lot more about Konoha's darker points in history, mainly war and attacks, and it gave her and even better understanding of why Naruto was treated the way he was. She had made her own conclusions reading some of the textbooks on Konoha's more recent history too...
So that's how it is
Maybe tomorrow she would "quiz" him on more ninja-like things. Like the strange word "Chakra levels" that people kept talking about in the restaurant (it sounded like some hippy fad to her) and how Justus worked. Perhaps, it was similar to magic? She could bring it up, under the guise that he should study some more about that and it would be a reciprocal learning process. There were still a lot of questions, but the sun had set and Harry realized how late it was getting.
They were done for the day
"Wah thanks for that reenactment Naruto-kun!" she giggled "Good luck tomorrow at the academy, I'm sure you're quiz will go great"
"Ugh, stupid academy..."
"Not looking forward to it huh? Don't worry it's almost the weekend" she chuckled
"Not looking forward to having to deal with that stupid teme again, thinks he's so cool...Well I'll show him!"
'Teme' as Naruto described it, was 'duckbutt haired' boy in his class who all the girl seemed to fawn over although he couldn't for the life of him understand what was such a "huge deal about Teme". Although, grudgingly, Naruto admitted that 'Teme' was smart, top of their class apparently and Naruto's "ultimate" rival who wouldn't acknowledge his existence at all. In fact the more Naruto seemed to kick up a fuss about Teme in classes and the more Teme would drop cool one-liners, the more it seemed that Teme's popularity increased
He reminded her a little bit of a ferret she used to know...
"You know Naruto, if you really wanna get back at 'Teme' there is something you can do" smirking slightly at the idea that blossomed in her mind
Eyes widening, Naruto turned to her with full attention "Really?! Tell me!"
"Well...you know the saying kill them with kindness? I say you should just be really nice to him, don't even call him Teme anymore"
"Ehh? Why would I do that?!"
Smirking further "Because he won't be used to it, it'll drive him craaazzzzyy. Wondering why the great Naruto Uzumaki is not challenging him or teasing but instead being nice to him. He'll get paranoid, he'll start to demand why you're being so nice and sweet until one day he completely and utterly loses it!" raising her arms above her head for dramatic effect.
Scrunching his nose at the thought of being nice to that stick-up-his-ass Teme, Naruto gave it some more thought. It would be nice to kick the big Teme off his precious Uchiha high horse, and seeing him lose composure like some of the villagers would be pretty sweet. Ding Ding Ding the plans a winner!
"Yeeeaaahh...sounds like a plan! Teme is going to piss himself when he sees how sweet I can be! Thanks Ayame-chan"
"No problem"
Naruto gave his own smile in return but noticing the clock he suddenly realized the time
"Maa maa, I better get going home Ayame-chan"
She clasped her hands together and smiled
"I'll walk you home! I'd like some fresh air too after all that studying plus I've haven't been to your neighborhood yet-"
"EH?! B-bu-but Ayame chan! Whose going to walk you home?"
Sniffing lightly and turing her head to the side Harry didn't seem perplexed at all
"It's not a problem, I can walk home alone, it's not that late at night anyway and I can probably find my way back easy"
"EHHHHHH NO DON"T WALK HOME ALONE AT NIGHT! You're a girl! And not just any girl you're a pre-"
He slammed his hands on his mouth before he could finish his sentence. His entire body language screamed flustered and jittery. His usual tan faced turned into a bright salmon pink.
And of course, lovable Harry Potter didn't notice a thing as she crouched down to collect some of the textbooks and scrolls and arranged it into neat piles. Turning back towards her companion she could see that his blue eyes were glossed over and his face was still a noticeable pink
"Ehhh, Naruto?" placing her hand on his forehead and drawing their faces closer "Are you feeling alright?"
She was so close, Naruto could feel her breathe on the skin of his whiskered cheeks, and Kami help him he could smell the scent of her hair
She smelled like strawberries and pine trees.
And his face seemed to have reached new heights of pink-dom
Turning his head to the side, in an attempt to release himself from the feel of her palm on his forehead he was able to mumble out a simple "Im.M'fine"
Still she would not let go. If anything her eyebrows scrunched up in, as Naruto described it, "worry" expression. The expression she got when she was concerned over something and reserved for Naruto and Teuchi. Typically the eyebrows would scrunch together, her eyes would get smaller and she would start to bite her lip.
Naruto might still be a 10 year old kid but even he understood the meaning of too close for comfort
"You sure? You're burning up, you don't think you're sic-"
"I'M SURE!" waving his hands in front of his body. He felt the droplets of perspiration flying all over the place.
Taking the time to take a deep breathe of cool air as he turned away from Ayame, Naruto tried to slow down his heart-his racing heart.
"I think I just need to walk home, get that fresh air-ttebayo! haha" rubbing the back of his head
"Okay...I'd still like to walk you home though..."
"No! Its not safe dattebayo!"
"Mo, It's fine Naruto-kun, don't be worried I can handle myself"
"But ano Ayame-chan! Still you shouldn't-"
"It's fine!"
"No it's not!"
"Don't worry!"
"Still! You can't come-ttebayo!"
"But-"
"Just-"
"How about we all walk home hmmm?"
Cutting through the shouting match and into the backroom, Teuchi emerged like a gentle giant placing his hands on both of the noggins of his daughter and her new friend; trying to stop the little disruptions these two chibis were having in the back of his restaurant.
Turning to the boy, Teuchi chuckled "Now it's late and I know we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Ayame tonight right Naruto?"
He nodded at that, fists pumping the air "Right old man!"
Turning towards his daughter, Teuchi smile widened "And we still want to spend some time with Naruto, right Ayame?"
She smiled sweetly "Yes, Tou-chan"
"Alright then! I guess the only solution would be if we all walk together!" The fatherly smile he directed to the pair warmed both their hearts "Let me get my robe and we can start the journey little ones"
"Yes sir!" the two gave him a mock salute and broke down in laughter as he went outside of the backroom. Grabbing his robe, Teuchi turned the sign of the restaurant to "closed"
Just a little earlier today
These two...
As the three made their way outside of the restaurant, Naruto jumped up and down attempting to make Ayame laugh and boy did she respond. Teuchi was happy to witness this scene and added his own jokes to make the kids laugh.
The three walked together, a comfortable atmosphere around them.
Content under the warm glow of the Konoha street lights
The next day Harry Potter found herself jogging
Jogging only because the state of the little bento box wrapped in a cloth in her hands worried her more than how ridiculous she must look like to onlookers in her white dress, blue apron, opened-toed boots (yes she had jumped on the bandwagon) and bandana.
Harry, in all her glory, briefly suspended her embarrassment for this brief journey to the academy
Besides, she suspected there was nothing more embarrassing to watch then to see her attempts at cooking solo earlier that morning. She dropped a lot of the bowls, rice was strewn all over the kitchen floor, pots overflowed, spoons and knife clattered in the sink and floor. Her bandana and apron were covered in brown curry as she tried to stir the pots as much as she could.
Merlin save her
She had gotten the idea to cook when Naruto mentioned that he was excited to eat packed ramen for lunch the next day which prompted her to ask him if he always ate unhealthy preserved cup ramen for lunch everyday to which he excitedly exclaimed yes although he switched it up with sandwiches he made himself
"I just don't have the time to cook-ttebayo!"
That stuck to her. Harry was blessed with the fact that her surrogate father was a brilliant ramen cook and still better home cook if he needed to switch it up. She always had delicious homemade food ready at her disposal and the thought of Naruto having to eat food that was ready in 3 minutes using hot water left a bad taste in her mouth.
Which is why she resolved herself to wake up earlier the next day to make Naruto a 'bento' box for lunch. She would make him a lunchbox, deliver it to him herself personally during lunch time and her task would be complete. Of course the actual result ended up in complete disaster but the bentobox she made passed her father's presentation inspection and well, looked edible
Sure, she wasn't the best chef in the world by any means but if she could could chop some sausages to look like octopuses and make rice balls shaped like pandas that had to count for something right?
Presentation of the food was half the battle wasn't it?
At least she that's what she kept telling herself, as she ran towards the academy in time for the kids lunchbreak. She believed Naruto had mentioned they were let out of the classroom around 12?
She felt slightly out of breathe as she turned the corner to see the academy but she could feel that the delivery of the lunchbox would be worth it.
Reaching the playground next to the building, Harry began to wonder which room or door to go through
So unaware of the dominoes that were being placed
They all fall down
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP
He groaned and turning his body towards the sound, and with his arm sticking out of the blankets he fumbled for the clock
6:00am
Ugh, another day...
Slowly peeling himself off of his bed to sit up he started to rub his face and continued to sigh internally
Iruka sometimes hated working for the academy
It made getting out of bed harder every single day
Children were dumb
Children threw things at him
Children never listened
Children were obnoxious
Children never learned anything
Why the hell did he keep trying?
"It's your duty to the village Iruka" he said to himself mockingly as he got up to find a shirt to wear on the ground. Iruka Umino, Chunin and Academy Instructor was a young man who was tired of life and his job. His apartment echoed those sentiments. Living by himself, Iruka had resigned himself to a solitary bachelor existence without having to be too concerned about his apartments appearance. His clothes were strewn over the floor, bowls of cereal and milk sagged in the corners of the living room floor and there was a small layer of grime on his windows.
He figured that as long as his own appearance was professional and clean, he wouldn't need to worry much about anything.
He slipped on his black long sleeved sweater and flak jacket, and shuffled through the towers of papers to find the quiz he was going to assign his class today.
His class...
What a class it was, he felt like they were slowly ebbing away the years of life he had left in him, as he always someway somehow found himself shouting at the top of his lungs for one of his students to calm down. If it wasn't the girls who kept ignoring their work to fawn over Sasuke Uchiha, it would be one of the slackers like Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi or Kiba Inuzuka who would give him a headache
The ultimate migraine would be one Naruto Uzumaki
The demon fox boy
The very source of his migraines, aching backs, worry and distain, Naruto Uzumaki never failed to cause some form of trouble for Iruka Umino
And he couldn't do a thing about it
Iruka was a no-nonsense type of man and the antithesis to his ways would be stuck with him till he graduated
If he even made it
It was hopeless, life was dull and dreary and a chore. He had to uphold his duty to the hokage and his students
Even him
He'd just have to put up with it
Today was just as difficult as the last
None of the kids were paying attention, in fact they seemed more hyperactive than they did last week when they had covered clones, and today was quiz day. Although surprisingly that kid seemed more quiet than usual, staying in his seat and not even trying to provoke Sasuke Uchiha. It unnerved Sasuke just as well as it unnerved Iruka. He felt uncomfortable everyday as the boy came into his line of sight. Though it seemed that Uzumaki was raising his hand these days more than he used too, Iruka couldn't bring himself to give in to the boy's requests.
He questioned what the kid was up too, he was sure what was going through the child's mind could never be good
The paranoia gave him a headache
Pinching his nose, as it was clear the children were way to excited for lunch than to learn and with only 7 minutes left on the clock Iruka excused himself from the classroom with instructions to read a chapter for the lesson after lunch.
He tried his not to let his discomfort show as he felt the blue-eyed gaze on him...
Sigh
Iruka Umino exited the hall then, going into the playground to get rid of the sense of suffocation that gripped his psyche. Sometimes teaching was way too much and sometimes he just needed an escape. Allowing his gaze to wander he spotted an unfamiliar sight in the field.
A young girl, who couldn't be more than 16 years of age, with a white bandana tied around her head, seemed to be trying to look through the windows of the academy. Searching for something. She was quite fair-skinned, with pin-straight brown hair
Cute...
Iruka blushed at the thought, but found himself approaching the girl who he recognized as Teuchi's daughter from Ichiraku Ramen even so.
"Ma'am, excuse me but what are you doing here?"
"Oh...um sorry" she said sheepishly
She was just as cute up close than she was from afar, Iruka could see the faint trace of freckles and flour that adorned her nose and cheeks. She was short in stature in comparison to him, only reaching his chest, and exuded a pleasant and calming aura. She was, however, quite distracted at the moment and she tried to look over his shoulder and her own.
"Uh...well um see I wanted to deliver a lunchbox I made for a student here?"
That's sweet of her...
"Ah I see, which student would that be?" giving her a polite smile
She turned towards him, a look of familiarity crossed over eyes as she looked at him but it was gone in a flash, instead she chirped happily.
"Oh, Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki?"
It was a knee-jerk reaction, what Iruka said next, a reflex that reflected his subconscious thoughts.
It was a mistake
"Uzumaki? You're delivering food for that?"
Her eyes immediately narrowed into slits and the pleasant aura around her dissolved
"What did you just say?"
Iruka had never felt killing intent to this degree in his life directed towards him, not by chunin, not by jounin and not even ANBU
It radiated out of her, and while she was so short compared to Iruka the hate she was directing towards him was palpable. Like a tons of water pressure was washing over him.
In short, he was about to piss himself in front of a short brown haired girl that looked like she was going to punch him through the stratosphere.
"N-n-nothing..."
"No, don't nothing me. What did you call Naruto Uzumaki?" her hands balled up into fists
"I-"
"Because it sounded like you were calling him "that". Last time I checked Naruto was a person, a human being" crossing her arms before her chest
"Th-That came out wrong. Uzumaki is my student so-"
"You're Naruto-kun's teacher and you would say something like that?!"
Naruto-kun?
"Um...I" Rubbing the back of his head he coughed nervously "L-lu-lunch break will begin in 5 minutes if you would like to deliver that to U-uzumaki the kids will be um...released to the playground shortly."
She did not utter a single word during his rambling, instead she stared at him with ferocity and hate, as if she didn't care at all for the information he had given her. As if being Naruto's teacher had suddenly stamped a red target on his forhead
It made him nervous, he felt afraid
Finally, after three beats of silence, the girl spoke
"You..."
With malice that could cut through steel
"You're nothing but a coward..."
She turned on her heels as the bell rang to signal lunch, storming off with lunchbox in hand and never gave a glance back as the children filed outside.
If she had she would've seen that she, with one sentence, had left Iruka Umino in a dumbfounded and guilty mess. She had never talked to him before, though he remembered seeing her working for Ichiraku Ramen for her father, and yet...
The last sentence she had uttered struck him and hung over him more than anything said to him before.
Nobody, not even Mizuki whose mean-spirited humor occasionally hurt Iruka, had ever told him he was a coward with such ferocity and certainty
And over Naruto Uzumaki...
It replayed in his head, as he watched her brighten up at the sight of the Uzumaki boy.
It replayed in his head, as he watched Uzumaki jump for joy and hugged her with a flushed face seeing the girl at school with a homemade lunchbox made especially for him
It replayed in his head, as he watched the pair have lunch together, talking animatedly and laughing together, both parties content with the company
It replayed in his head, as he realized that this was the first time he had seen Uzumaki smile so happily
It replayed in his head, as he forgot lunch entirely and the bell rang to signal his return to the classroom and the girl left
It replayed in his head, as he became distracted while attempting to control the classroom and teach his students (while he snuck glances at one blonde student) about the government structure of Konoha
It replayed in his head, as the afternoon dragged and he found himself in his office grading history quizzes and to his shock finding himself giving Uzumaki an A
He passed?
And it replayed in his head, as the work day ended and instead of going out for a drink with his colleagues or heading to the Hokage's office for an update or heading home he took a long detour, walked towards a ramen stand as the sun set...
You're nothing but a coward...
He entered the quaint Ichiraku Stand vaguely flustered, which was bustling with customers as it did most evenings, but the individual he was seeking was nowhere to be found in the front of the restaurant. Teuchi was hard at work, boiling noodles and stirring his soup as his back was turned to Iruka, the warm smell of pork soup filling the air and his lungs
Teuchi was alerted to the new customer and his gave out his regular fatherly smile
"Ahhh Iruka! What brings you here? What would you like to eat today?"
Iruka stood their, shifting the weight of his body between his feet as he began to gulp down the same dread, nervousness and guilt that still pulsed through his bloodstream all day.
"Ac-actually Teuchi-sama...I was wondering if your daughter was in today? I-I...would like to talk to her."
Teuchi's eyes narrowed at then, looking up and down Iruka with curiosity and apprehension, which only made Iruka more nervous. Though he didn't understand why he felt so compelled to come talk to the girl who had verbally stabbed him earlier today.
Perhaps, to absolve the guilt that threatened to paralyze him or perhaps it was to answer many of the burning questions her actions in that short encounter had somehow brought up, perhaps it was because he realized he had never apologized for what he said and even more so because for so long he had been told that his sentiments towards Uzumaki were warranted and yet in one full swoop the girl had seemed to have shaken that belief foundation and made him feel so wrong. And in some strange way, it had given him a jolt of energy, a sort of purpose.
He needed to know why he suddenly felt guilty and worked up over what she said
He needed some way to work through all the emotions that seemed to threaten to break him from the comfortable bubble he had, for so long, let himself create
I need
"...Ayame is outside in the back Iruka. Washing some washcloths. I would go out the restaurant and work your way back"
"...I...Thanks Teuchi-sama"
Teuchi nodded in acknowledgement, but his eyes told another story as his gaze did not leave Iruka until he had left the restaurant and made his way to the back.
The enthusiasm his body that he seemed to have had when he went on autopilot to reach the ramen stand seemed to leave him when he saw Ayame
There she was, the girl he somehow felt the need to talk to, sleeves rolled up and arms deep in a bucket full of soap and water as she watched a washcloth against the wringer with furious speed and strength. As if she was trying to take out her inner frustrations out on the washables.
He approached her as calmly as he could, but he seemed to have forgotten the stealth training that had been hammered in to him. Shaking he stepped on a branch, whose cracked alerted Ayame to a presence. Turning towards him, her eyes immediately narrowed
"You..."
He gulped
"...What are you doing here?" full of ice, turning back to her task and continuing to wash.
His throat felt so dry, and cracked as he struggled to say anything, utter any sound.
"I-"
He found himself at a loss for words
"I-"
"I...I came to apologize."
He let out a breathe
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry for what I said earlier today..."
It halted her movements, the washcloth hanging midair in her hands, the only sound was the dripping of water, still she did not lift her head to turn towards him
"I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to..."
That surprised him, but he dare not speak. Iruka felt trapped and stuck in his tracks. Staring at her, eyes flickering with a need to know
Why am I wrong?
Convince me
Please
She had said it in a voice devoid of the malice he had faced earlier that day, but it replaced with a soft sadness that struck him even more
She turned towards him, a mournful expression on her small face
"Now what are you doing here...?"
He blinked in surprise and his gaze lowered
"I don't know...I-I just felt guilty and I felt I should...I..."
"I know you know" she whispered "I know why you said it"
Twisting the washcloth around in her hands, she never let him see her eyes
"It's about the demon isn't it? Thats why you called him 'that'"
She gripped the washcloth tightly as he winced.
"I know what it did, how evil it was, how much rage it had, how much it took and how much pain it caused. He explained it all to me..."
"So like 10 years ago right? There was this big demon, the nine-tailed fox, that came out of nowhere and tried to destroy the entire village. But no matter how many ninja went to try and destroy it nothing worked. It ruined half the village."
"Then how? How was it destroyed?"
"That's the thing! No one knows how, but the fourth hokage gave up his life to destroy the fox and save the village on October 10th! He must've been so cool and strong! To destroy something so evil and to save the village. Too bad we can't ask him how he did it-ttebayo..."
"...October 10th? Did you say October 10th Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah? Why?"
"Isn't that your birthday?"
"Yeah, I was born that day..."
Rip
"But I that doesn't excuse you belittling and demonizing him! That's not what Naruto is! Naruto isn't any of those things, he's not a demon for Merlin's sake, he's just not!"
Washcloth ripped in her hands
'-Jiji told me that my parents died that day'
'Iruka-sensei won't look at me'
'I've been on my own since'
Hermione, Hermione...
Can you hear me?
There is this boy, he has whiskers on his cheeks and he's an orphan. He's been helping me since I met him, Mione, bringing me books to read so I can learn more. I read a book about putting creatures in 'vessels'...
He was orphaned on the day that the nine-tailed fox attacked, they say he was born with those whiskers. He's all alone, Mione, and always has been. You should see the way the adults look at him, and how the children are encouraged to run away from him. I hear the whispers when I walk with him, They call him 'scum', 'useless' and also
'Demon'
Hermione if you were here, you'd think the same thing too right? Always pay attention to the details you said. Then that means that...
'Don't look so sad Ayame-chan, it's all good now isn't it-ttebayo? I'm going to be hokage and it'll all be alright, believe it!'
"Just because that thing is inside of him doesn't mean that's who he is!"
You fifthly little Mudblood
Youngest tri-wizard champion in a century!
You're a wizard Harriet
Parslemouth?!
My my... the girl-who-lived
I think I've known for a while
I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed
7 Hocruxes
Harriet Potter...
And I think you have too...
"To...to judge someone based on what they are instead of who they are, t-there's nothing I HATE MORE!"
And that hit him
It really really did
He had never seen things that way. Everyone hated him, he hated Naruto too, for taking way his parents but-
It was never really Naruto was it?
Deep down, Iruka knew this. Deep down he knew that all the hate, fear and disgust was misplaced blame. Naruto had never held a Kunai against anyone, not even the villagers who resorted to physical assault. And Iruka...Iruka stood aside and let it happen...even silently encouraged it. For he would rather face the classroom without the child then with him. He would rather hate than forgive
He was worse than scum
He crouched down then, hands on the ground and hanging his head in complete shame
"I'm...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"
Events flashed through his mind, how he had requested to change classes as soon as he heard Naruto was in his, how he never picked on Naruto to answer even when he raised his hand enthusiastically, how he would try to look anywhere but in those blue eyes out of fear of what they might contain. Out of fear that it would make the boy seem too real.
"I-I don't have a right to call myself his teacher...I-"
I can't stand him Hokage-sama
I just...I can't do it
He's a monster
No Iruka, he's just a boy, a boy of the hidden leaf village just like you
He's nothing like me
"I let...I let my fear and anger...I let my history with that thing cloud my judgement against an innocent boy. I'm...I'm ashamed of myself. I'm worse than scum. I-"
He's just a boy...
How could I...
It was silent then. Only the breeze and the sounds of the trees and crickets filling the air. Though Iruka did not lift his head, he heard the shift of movement as Ayame approached him.
"...Don't be so dejected, Umino-san."
It seemed she understood how harsh her tone had been, and she hesitantly laid the palm of her hand on his back, as she stood above him and exclaimed softly
"It's not too late. If you want to make this right...don't run away from this. Be his teacher, uphold your responsibility and do right by him and all your students. He will turn into what you already think he is if you do otherwise."
I should know...
Looking towards the starry sky, Harry took a deep breathe, her eyes indescribably full
"You can be a better man..."
A better man...
Could he? Could it be possible? Could it be possible that he could find forgiveness and redemption for all the years of neglect and hate he held for a boy who had no ill will for him. Could it be that simple? Could he just be better? Maybe he could
Maybe he still had a chance
He laughed to himself, realizing the position he was in: curled on the ground with a 15 year old girl comforting a practical stranger. He sighed to himself but was full of gratitude.
"You're wise beyond your years Ayama-san"
She snorted at that, a look of disbelief and humor crossed over her face, but a small smile crept in as she looked at him
"I guess" she shrugged "It's just common sense really"
Wiping the remnants of tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes, he let out a strained smiles
"Then I suppose a lot of us shinobi don't have common sense" he whispered
"No arguments there" she laughed vaguely
Finding the courage to look towards her, he found Ayame looking contemplative as she looked down at him. She no longer had the malicious aura, and instead replaced it with the calm aura that she had when he first encountered her. The weight that had, earlier, seemed to crush his conscience had lifted with her apparent acceptance.
"So then..." holding out her hand to him with a soft smile "You better watch yourself, or I'm gonna add another scar to your nose with my soup ladle and I warn you, I have large ones."
"Duly noted ma'am" taking her hand and standing up once again
He gave her a smile, which she returned
And silently thanked her
You did it
You convinced me
Iruka's weekend was, subsequently, very eventful.
Having had a belief changed 180 degrees because of the advice of a girl 5 years younger than you does something to a man
Namely, Iruka did not find much enjoyment hanging with his peers as he used too
He had gone to the bar with his three fellow academy teachers, minus Mizuki who seemed a lot busier as of late.
He sat and rank and his peers discussed their classrooms cracking jokes and jabs when they could
Especially about Naruto
And Iruka could feel the irritation and hate rising to the surface
As they left the bar, Iruka felt like jumping out of his skin. There were too many jokes, too many comments, too many long monologues about getting rid of Naruto Uzumaki. Though these may have been his friends...
Iruka had enough
"So I say that demon-"
"Don't call him that..."
Enough is enough
"Wha?"
"I said...DON'T CALL HIM THAT. That person you're calling a demon...is my student" His fists curled up "And I won't have you disrespecting my student like that."
"What the hell man? Don't tell me you're soft on that shit all of a sudden. It's nothing but a parasite. Have you forgotten what it did? What he took away yo-"
The chunin felt his collar tightened as he was lifted off the ground, his comarades gasping in shock, as Iruka's eyes darkened and he held him by the neck
"IF you ever call Naruto Uzumaki a demon or try to bring up my parents in front of me again you will regret the day you were born..."
Swallowing his fear, Iruka's friend struggled against his grasp. Anger boiling in his veins.
"F-Fi-Fine...whatever! Stay the fuck away from me for all I care. Just go to your fucking demon, demon-lover!"
He watched his fellow chunin crawling and scurrying on the ground as Iruka dropped him. His former friends looked at him strangely, eyes narrowed and lips turned in disgust but they chose not react. Instead, the trio turned their backs towards him and left him alone on the Konoha street.
Iruka Umino had burned some bridges
But he did not care.
You can be a better man
He walked home alone that night with a new resolve settling in
Thoughts of the blonde fox boy and the girl with the white bandana tucked in his mind.
Author Note: A little more development on the bond between Naruto and Harry and introducing Iruka Umino in this chapter :) Which is why this chapter was so long. This was pretty heavy stuff to write. The more I'm developing these chapters the more I'm realizing the parallels in themes Harry Potter and Naruto has. Especially in judgement and discrimination. I had a lot of feels writing this chapter especially when Harry rips into Iruka and she flashes back to everything that everyone had called her in harry potter. These are actual quotes. It kinda became more deep than fluffy as I initially intended but hope you liked it anyway!
To kind of counter balance this chapter, I'm writing a more humor filled (as sarcastic as my humor can be) for next chapter but still having some depth. Especially given whose going to be making an appearance, I'm having a lot of fun writing with this character right now and how I want his relationship to start and continue with Harry. There will be a lot of banter so look forward to that
I hope this chapter also answers some of the questions you have had about how much Harry knows about the naruverse, why she reacted the way she did last chapter in the face of Naruto and how she will continue to learn more. I wanted her to be aware that she was in a new world, a manga specifically, so that she wouldn't freak out completely when she first arrived but not so much that she would intentionally try to disrupt the plotline (she will unintentionally because it's Harry Potter lol) and that's why her magic will be brought up later down the road.
Thanks for the support and especially for those that took the time to review. I really appreciate it :)
For last chapter, thanks to: Dragonlily22, newerher3, elise caester, Cissnei69, Fire Dolphin, DeltaMLP, RebelliousOne, munited17, Illusionist Owl, icyquest4, Vangran, DarkDust27, Shelik, RenTenTen, DoctorKnight and guest reviewers for the great reviews and feedback :)
DoctorKnight: Thanks for support! As for as paslemouth goes, no Harry cannot speak to snakes anymore. Given the Harry you see now has been transported to the naruverse after the war in her own world [Spoiler!] Voldy has been removed from her body, which mean she has lost her connection to those abilities. The mistress of death angle is another matter entirely... and in terms of ero-sennin I can tell you she'll be mighty conflicted (there's some parallels to her own godfather no?)
Reader input means a lot to me, especially with suggestions for final pairings and so pls feel free to leave a review or pm with any ideas you wanna add to the table
Thanks again!
Preview
Chapter 4: Cigarettes
"You have a lot of spunk for a ki-"
"Stop right there, I'm sorry but I can't take you seriously when you're hanging upside down a tree with a cigarette in your mouth.