A/N: Hello and welcome to Chapter 12! We've finally made it to Japan and will be exploring the Bleach side of things more. This is also where updates are likely to get a bit slower. I'm not used to writing most of these characters after all so writers block is likely to become a bit of a bother now ^^;

As one of my reviewers has pointed out, Harry should have received the Black lordship as well during his time in Gringotts and I completely forgot about that. I've fixed it now though.

On an extra note: Everyone will be speaking Japanese now and Harry can do the same thanks to the potion he was given in the last chapter, hence he will be inclined to address people with 'san' etc.

Enjoy!


"Ah, Harry-kun, you've awoken. You gave us quite a scare when we found you at the station, completely unconscious, you know."

He groaned softly and tried to sit up but was immediately pushed back down onto what felt like a rather hard mattress, not that he wasn't used to such things though. 'Where am I…?' He wondered vaguely before the last day's memories flashed back to him.

Ah, so that's why the voice talking to him seemed so familiar...

"Urahara-san." He opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the light only to find that it was pretty dark already. "I'm sorry to have worried you."

The blond man simply laughed at him with that goofy smile he had gotten somewhat used to through the mirror.

"Don't you worry about it, you're safe after all. Ah, these are Tsukabishi Tessai, Hanakari Jinta and Tsumugiya Ururu; they help me around the shop."

The three in turn said hello, one rather large man that from this viewpoint seemed to be the same size as Hagrid; then again, Harry was lying on a very low bed by the look of things so his perception was slightly altered.

The other two looked to be around ten, one shy girl with black hair and another with red hair that seemed brighter than Ron's. he blocked that thought train immediately, not wanting to think about his old friends just yet.

"Hmm, you sure look weird though. What the hell is a mask fragment doing under your skin?" The red-haired kid— Jinta said, poking the mask like it was the most normal thing to do. The next thing he knew Jinta was yelling to be put down while the boar of a man, Tessai, held him up.

"Ma, ma, you shouldn't treat guests like that Jinta-kun. It's rude after all."

The boy simply huffed at his… boss'? friend's? reprimand. Tessai set the boy back down, whom immediately moved on to attacking Ururu for laughing at him, though she had been so silent about it; Harry almost hadn't heard her. These sure were some strange people…

Finally Harry took his chance to sit up, noticing he was wearing some sort of weird kimono, his robes folded in a corner of the room.

"I'm sorry you found me unconscious by the way. I hadn't eaten much yet and I was pretty tired because of the trip from the school to Gringotts. Portkeys can spin really heavily so I must've had a bad reaction to it. I've never been very good with them." He tugged somewhat nervously at his sleeve. Not only was being unable to handle portkeys embarrassing in the wizarding world but he was with people he didn't know at all now, leaving him pretty clueless on how to react.

Luckily Urahara picked up on it though.

"Not to worry Harry-kun, I'm sure it could have happened to anyone. After all, coming all the way from England to Japan seems like quite the trip." He turned to the others in the room, giving them a kind but remarkably stern smile.

"Now, why don't you all give us a minute so Harry-kun and I can catch up, hm?"

Surprisingly there wasn't a single protest as the three made to leave, something that would have never happened at Hogwarts. If he would have gotten a weird guest only he knew about, his friends would never have given them a moment just like that… Well, ex-friends.

'I suppose it hasn't really sunken in yet…' He thought sadly. When he had met them on the train for their first year at Hogwarts, he could never have imagined something like this was going to happen. Not at all...

"Harry-kun, did you hear me?"

He snapped out of his thoughts immediately, looking a bit sheepish.

"I thought so. I was asking you about what happened. I know we talked about you coming here but I didn't expect it to happen so soon." Something must have happened for the young boy to come here in such a short time…

"Yeah, well… You know I was staying in the Room of Requirement instead of the dorms because it was safer there than with my year mates. This morning, though I suppose it would have been yesterday now, the headmaster and the rest of the staff tried breaking into that room and force me to sleep in the dorms again. Even though I didn't break any rules and I didn't miss my classes…"

He sighed softly, pausing to collect his thoughts.

"When they came and tried to force me back into a place I knew I would be cursed all the time, I acted rashly and I ran away. I know I probably shouldn't have but I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't." Probably nothing good. He didn't mention losing his friends though, that was something he felt he had to cope with on his own.

Just as Urahara was about to reply, Vacío appeared, flanking their master.

'Don't think badly of it master.'
'You made the right choice in leaving.'
'They would have shunned you.'
'And now they are trying to hunt you.'

They were trying to WHAT?! How dare they try to hunt him down like a common animal, only because they needed to 'set him right' and get back their Golden Boy of the Light? Well, wouldn't they be in for a surprise when they realised it was their fault he had stopped believing in them…

Urahara noticed Harry's dark look, surprised by the intensity hidden in those green orbs.

"What happened, Harry-kun?" Obviously nothing good, but it was better to ask. Harry seemed like a boy that wasn't too secretive if you were nice to him. It only made him wonder what could have angered him like this.

"Apparently the headmaster and his gang of idiots are trying to set up a man-hunt for me. They won't think to look outside of Britain though." He grumbled darkly, barely noticing that he had insulted the Order without even thinking about it.

This definitely didn't seem like regular Harry behaviour though. Urahara had seen the boy when they were training: kind, passionate and motivated. Right now he was cold and angry, looking as if he wanted to tear something into pieces. Harry was going to be a force to be reckoned with once he gained control of his powers… 'Well, that only means I'll have one more to look after. It should be fine.'

At least until the Shinigami spotted him… It was a good thing they were far too busy with a crisis of their own to deal with an odd Hollow.

"In that case there's nothing to worry about. You're safe here Harry-kun." Urahara smiled at him again, noticing it as helping to calm the boy doing. Well, wasn't he awfully conscious of who he was around when angered? Almost as if he knew he could cause a lot of damage but didn't want to. Something like that was hardly ever seen in children, especially those so young.

"You're free to stay here until you've gained better control over your powers. We have a training facility similar to what the Room changed into downstairs so any damage made is not a problem at all. So how about you rest up for now and tomorrow we can see how far you've gotten?"

Harry nodded, feeling rather tired. He had no idea what time it was even so it would be a good idea to sleep off the jetlag as well.

"Thank you, Urahara-san, I really appreciate the trouble you're going through for me." Harry said, glad to have calmed down as well. He didn't like being so angered; it meant he was giving more control to his inner Hollow...

"It's no trouble at all, Harry. Just sleep, we'll have some food for you when you wake up."


When Harry woke up the next day it was to the smell of sweet soup and fresh air. He was surprised at how refreshed he felt, really. Perhaps being out of a stressful environment helped with that?

He spotted a bowl of soup, some fish, rice and vegetables on a tray. Was that breakfast? Well, he was on the other side of the world now, they did have different customs and such…

His eyes narrowed when he spotted the chopsticks. How was he supposed to eat rice with two long pieces of wood? No fork, no spoon— No, there was a spoon. It had an odd shape though and was next to the bowl of soup. Well, that was going to go first then.

Once he started on the meal he was surprised at how good it all tasted, despite the fact it was a bit difficult to eat. He used the chopsticks to cut up the cooked meat only and then ate it with his hands since he had never operated chopsticks before and thus had no idea how to use them. The rice was consumed with help from the spoon. It was a really healthy yet filling meal, something he definitely wasn't used to with all the greasy food he was forced to make at the Dursleys. Hogwarts often had fairly greasy meals as well actually.

With that settled he changed into his robes, noticing his shoes were missing. Oh well, he'd find them later. For now, finding Urahara was his best bet.

When he stepped out the door he was met with a fairly long-looking corridor, how was he going to find his way in here? He didn't see how they had brought him here after all… Maybe he should just wander around and see if he could—

"Oh, you're awake."

He spun around quickly, only to spot the red-haired kid from earlier looking at him with a rather bored expression, though he was obviously amused with having startled Harry.

"Come on, I'll take you to the owner." Jinta said, turning around again immediately without waiting for their guest to follow.

Harry hurried to follow after him, knowing Jinta was currently his only way out of the confusing corridor.

They made their way to a sitting room with a low table and a bunch of cushions where Urahara was drinking something.

"He's finally up." Jinta announced carelessly, already half turned towards the door again.

"Ah, very good. Go help Ururu clean out the courtyard then. Tessai-san can keep an eye on you two."

"Oi, we don't need a babysitter!" Jinta protested immediately but left anyway when Urahara simply chuckled at him.

Not sure of what to do Harry sat down at the table, facing Urahara. He had no idea what the older man was planning though; he was used to training at Hogwarts, he wasn't used to actually training with someone there physically as he knew was going to happen from now on. He knew he had a lot of improving to do… At least he had all the time he would need now, right?

"Good afternoon Harry-kun. I believe we have a lot to talk about."


A/N: Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing etc, it's very much appreciated!

Before I finish I want to clarify something, because it's getting annoying to me that people keep asking this. Like I've said before, the entire story has been planned out already and since there are no pairing brackets in the character mentions of this fic… There will be NO pairings.

There, wanted to get that off my chest… Until next time!

Love,
~Lumina