Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), some moderate Dumbledore bashing (he's more manipulative than evil but mostly just stubborn), and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 8: Fate and Destiny versus Free Will
The first week Satoshi spent under guard went by fairly quickly as Satoshi passed the time training and spending time with the children. He was unsurprised when Hinata and Neji turned up with their new guard in tow; a fourteen year old branch member by the name of Ko in addition to the original branch member that had escorted the pair to the Aburame Compound prior to the appearance of the outsider.
All four children were pleased to once again spend time with Satoshi but Naruto was the happiest of all four because the time he spent with the others was the only time he was both safe and happy. The young Jinchuuriki only just barely safe and rarely ever happy when not with Satoshi since around ninety percent of the citizens of Konoha hated the not quite three year old with a passion simply because he was the Kyuubi's new Jinchuuriki (not that Naruto or any other child under the age of nine was aware of that fact).
The second and third week passed by nearly as quickly as Satoshi and his guards went on four back to back missions that saw them running from one side of Fire Country to the other and back again. These missions were of a slightly higher level than Satoshi was used to since his three teammates were all Jounin and keeping up with the older, more advanced teens pushed the ten year old to his limits. By the time their fourth and final mission had been completed, Satoshi was more than ready to go home and sleep for a month. He actually ended up needing to be carried part of the way home due to sheer exhaustion (from being constantly on the move).
Something his guards slash teammates had found more than a little amusing.
At the start of the forth week (after two solid days of rest where he did nothing more strenuous than tell stories to the toddlers), Satoshi was quickly beginning to get fed up with having a constant shadow. It wasn't that he disliked the three teens, even Ibiki was kind of cool to hang out with even if or maybe because of the fact that the man was nearly as unreadable as the ten year old (Ibiki lacked the advantage of sunglasses and something to hide his face behind). The eighteen year old was in fact the only one of Satoshi's three shadows that didn't constantly try to make him smile and laugh.
No, what annoyed the ten year old was the fact that he had absolutely no privacy and was not allowed even a single minute to himself (outside of when he needed to use the restroom).
Two days after they'd returned to the village, security got even tighter in the village and around Satoshi when the outsider somehow disappeared without a trace from a locked prison cell. That news had Satoshi feeling the noose of restriction tightening as he was now required to have two guards with him at all times and a fourth guard was added to the team in the form of Toriichi Kumade (Satoshi's old friend from the Academy).
Six days after the outsider's disappearance, another two strangers appeared within the village looking for Harry Potter. The first was a rather tall, fierce looking man with tawny hair streaked with gray that fanned out around his head like a lion's mane, a neatly trimmed goatee, and oval shaped glasses. The other man, by contrast, looked rather rough and unkempt, was somewhat short and stocky, had limp brown hair, and a sparse looking five o'clock shadow that made him look rather scruffy.
Both men wore the same blood red dresses that the other outsider had worn. Satoshi's Kikaichu didn't like either man as Scruffy practically stank of the taint that had clung to the green killing jutsu while Lion-man felt extremely shifty and powerful. At the time they had appeared, Satoshi had been training under the watchful eyes of Tenzou and Kumade when the two men slipped unseen through the defensive barrier surrounding Konoha and turned up on the edge of the training grounds after somehow tracking down the ten year old.
A short, intense battle followed and Tenzou managed to capture Scruffy in his Mokuton only for the man to turn the wood binding him into ash with a powerful fire jutsu. Satoshi was quick to help Tenzou douse the searing hot and wildly out of control flames that were growing larger the longer they burned and quickly heading for the surrounding forest while Kumade attempted to hold both men off. Scruffy took immediate advantage of Satoshi's momentary distraction as he unexpectedly transported himself across the training field with a loud crack, grabbed the ten year old around the waist with one arm, and began hauling him towards Lion-man as he yelled at the other man to hurry up.
Satoshi drove a kunai into the man's right shoulder joint and another into his right lung to loosen the man's grip on him and then used Kawarimi to swap places with a log. A dozen AnBu guards and Satoshi's other two guards turned up at that point (Satoshi had sent his Kikaichu for reinforcements the moment the two men had shown up) and Lion-man cursed loudly and popped across the training field with a loud crack as they were surrounded by the masked shinobi. The two men then grabbed hold of what looked like a bit of rope at that point and both men soon disappeared in a swirl of blue as a wave of ozone washed over Satoshi.
"Get him out of here, Toriichi," Kakashi snapped irritably as he noticed Satoshi standing at the edge of the torn up training grounds, shaking with anger and barely disguised fear due to the near successful kidnapping, as the AnBu dispersed to hunt down the now missing intruders.
Satoshi said nothing and made no protest when Kumade grabbed him by the shoulder and Shunshined him back to the Aburame Compound; his mind still focused on the attack. The ten year old was still somewhat out of it when his father returned home that evening; he didn't even pay attention to the short argument between Kakashi and the two that had been watching over Satoshi's training at the time of the attempt.
The fact that there were at least three other men out there that had the same wild energy as Satoshi and that all three of them had lacked chakra networks was somewhat disturbing. It also meant that they had no way of tracking those men if they returned to the village except through the clan's Kikaichu (that still flocked to feast on his magic) and the village's ninken through scent.
Later that night, Satoshi was attacked during the middle of supper by a flaming bird, of all things, and only Satoshi's quick reflexes saved him as the bird swooped down on him with outstretched claws. Six senbon blossomed on the bird before he could connect with Satoshi; one in each shoulder joint, three in the chest, and one in the head. The bird, instead of falling down onto the table dead, burst into flames with a startled squawk and a tiny chick buried in a pile of ashes ended up in the bowl of rice Satoshi had been eating from just moments earlier.
The bird cheeped plaintively from within its nest of still warm ashes as the three Jounin and one Chuunin sitting at the table stared at the bird in shock while Shino squealed happily and clapped his hands; the toddler obviously thought it was a trick that his oniisan had performed just for him.
Kakashi tried to kill the bird a second time which only caused it to burst into flames once more and made the bird indignantly scold the gray-haired Jounin for eight minutes straight. Shortly after that, Shibi calmly told Satoshi to find a box or something to keep the bird in until they figured out what they were going to do with it. Not wanting to actually touch the bird, Satoshi picked up the bowl of rice, ashes, and bird and tucked the entire thing into an old shoebox. The bird chirped happily, snuggled down into the warm ashes, and promptly fell asleep as he placed the box back on the kitchen table and moved as far away from it as he could.
Satoshi would spend the next seventeen days once more patrolling the border between Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni with his guards (part of that time spent traveling). He probably would have been left out there even longer if not for Sarutobi's earlier promise to Shibi to always give the young shinobi the ninth, tenth, and eleventh of October off every year so he could hold his vigil.
The moment he finished his report to the Hokage, Satoshi immediately began gathering supplies for his yearly vigil only for Shibi to remind Satoshi that he couldn't abandon his guard completely. The ten year old tensed up before asking his father if he would act as one of his guards while grudgingly offering to allow Kakashi to participate since he knew the seventeen year old best out of his four guards. Shibi agreed with little hesitation and his remaining three guards would stick around the house while they were out in case someone attempted to set up a trap while the house was empty.
At eleven at night on the ninth, Satoshi led his father and his honorary brother towards the cemetery while carrying both Shino and Naruto. This year, Satoshi had bought extra flowers to place on each of the graves and at the base of the flame sculpture; including enough for his father and Kakashi to place flowers. Once Kakashi had placed the last two flowers down beside the sculpture (in memory of Obito and Rin), Satoshi led both men towards his first sanctuary and when he reached the edge of the barrier he stopped and turned to face Kakashi.
"There are no masks allowed past this point; no hiding your face and no hiding from your emotions. If that is something you can't or won't do; then I'm going to ask you to stay out here."
Satoshi then keyed his father into the barrier while the poleaxed Kakashi stared at Satoshi; the gray-haired Jounin had hidden his face religiously since before Satoshi had been born. The ten year old then glanced at Kakashi who hesitated for another minute before he stepped forward and gave a shaky nod and Satoshi keyed him into the barrier before stepping through with the two toddlers. Once inside, Satoshi wasted no time in removing both his sunglasses and jacket before passing his father the playpen to set up. The two boys were then temporarily deposited inside the playpen while Satoshi began setting up the candles.
A quick check of the time let him know he still had ten minutes before it was time to start and he glanced up at Kakashi as the teen slowly pulled his mask down and Satoshi stared for a full minute before he grinned and began snickering over the tan line. Both Shibi and Kakashi were a bit shocked to hear the ten year old laughing out loud (soft as it was) but the older man soon joined his son when he too noticed Kakashi's two-toned face (much to the gray-haired teen's chagrin). Satoshi then hesitantly explained how he'd spent the day during the two previous years; including the fact that he had fasted both times and how he'd spent half the time last year telling stories and playing with the boys.
At one minute before midnight, Satoshi sat down inside of the semi-circle of candles with both toddlers on his lap and a box of long matches. He lit a match as the first chime rang out singling the arrival of midnight and he lit the first candle as he spoke the name Lily Potter. He helped Shino light the next candle and spoke their mother's name and called her kaasan so that Shino would understand who he was talking about. The ten year old then helped Naruto do the same for Kushina before passing the lit match to Shibi who lit a candle for Shoichi while Kakashi lit one for Obito; the teen leaving Naruto to light one for Minato.
Satoshi lit another for James Potter while Shino lit one for their Uncle Shikuro, his father lit one for his mother (Satoshi & Shino's grandmother, who neither child had ever met), Kakashi lit another for Rin, and Naruto lit the next candle for his father. Satoshi then lit another three candles for Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail (even though he didn't know whether or not the three of them had actually died) while Kakashi lit another two for his parents and by that time Satoshi was crying as he cuddled the two three year olds. The last of the candles were then lit by Shibi in memory of the other clan members that had fallen both during the Third Great Shinobi War and during the Kyuubi's attack.
Shortly after that, the two toddlers were given sippy cups of warm milk before they were tucked into the playpen to sleep. Kakashi and Shibi then sat and listened to Satoshi spend the next three hours speaking non-stop as he told those no longer with them about his past year; it would be the most that the two men had heard the ten year old speak in three years. When Satoshi finally fell silent, Shibi unzipped his jacket and slipped his glasses off as he picked up the thread of the story, covering the last three years, while Satoshi snuggled up next to him and just listened.
By the time Shibi finished, the two toddlers were awake again and Satoshi cut them up a couple of apples, dished up some peanut butter, and poured them both some orange juice while Kakashi hesitantly followed the two Aburames' lead and spoke of his past three years.
The rest of the morning saw all three shinobi sharing different stories about those people whom they were honoring with the two boys; both three year olds hanging on their every word. Time and time again, both Jounin would be taken aback by Satoshi's openness; both of them reminded of a younger, happier Satoshi who had constantly been in motion while wearing a near permanent smile. Shibi felt more than a little relief knowing that his son hadn't completely lost touch with his emotions as it meant there was less of a danger of him closing himself off completely or having a second, more severe, mental breakdown at some point in the future (or worse lose complete control of his emotions and therefore lose control of his swarm).
During the first half of the afternoon, Satoshi romped about the small clearing with the two boys wearing them out so they'd take a nap. Once they were sleeping, Satoshi spent a while talking with his father about his insecurities while asking all of the questions that had been sitting in the back of his mind since they first learned that people from his past were hunting him. The ten year old couldn't understand why the men that kept showing up looking for him always attacked first without even attempting to talk to him and see if he was happy where he was or not. Shibi answered his questions and addressed his concerns as best he could but there were some answers he just didn't have.
Satoshi then spent the rest of the evening in prayer and meditation while the two Jounin fed Shino and Naruto a light supper and kept the kids occupied until midnight when they blew out the candles, cleaned up the small sanctuary, and bid their missing loved ones good night. The three shinobi then replaced their masks and hid their emotions as they passed through the barrier and back into the real world. The shared vigil had brought the five of them closer together and the three shinobi felt far more certain of themselves as they made their way back to the Aburame Compound.
They were met half way home by a pair of AnBu guards and Shibi was informed that the Hokage had requested his presence in his office immediately. Shibi gave a very pointed look towards Satoshi, who was holding the two sleeping toddlers, before declaring he would be there in five to ten minutes. He was about to leave when he was told that Satoshi's presence had been requested as well and that made all three shinobi (who were tired and hungry after the long day's vigil) frown before Shibi gave a sharp nod.
The older man then dropped his hand onto his son's shoulder and Shunshined them back to the house where they were immediately surrounded by the other three guards assigned to Satoshi's team. Shibi gave them the agreed upon password and they relaxed just as Kakashi entered the room through the nearest window and quickly gave his password as well. Satoshi then left Kakashi and his father to explain what was happening to the other three Jounin while he tucked Naruto and Shino into Shino's bed.
When Satoshi reentered the living room, his father and Kakashi grabbed hold of his shoulders and the three of them Shunshined to the roof of the Hokage Tower, leaving Ibiki and Tenzou to watch over the sleeping children while Kumade followed the three of them to the Hokage's Tower where he would wait on the roof in case backup was needed. Shibi then led the way down the side of the wall and into the Hokage's office through the window, startling the six strangers that were gathered in the office and making Sarutobi sigh.
Bracketed front and back by his father and older brother, Satoshi's eyes were immediately drawn to the six outsiders in the Hokage's office.
Sitting in front of the Sandaime's desk, there was a man that appeared to be even older than Sarutobi; his long white beard and hair reaching down passed his stomach. The man had a crooked nose upon which were perched a pair of half moon glasses behind which his blue eyes twinkled maddeningly. The man wore long, pale blue robes covered in bright red birds that looked exactly like the undying bird that had attacked Satoshi just prior to his most recent stint on border patrol.
Seated to the left of the bearded man, was a stern looking woman wearing an emerald green dress and robe combo and square glasses. Her black and gray streaked hair pulled back in a severe bun and a green pointed hat with a wide brim perched primly on her head. In the third chair (to the bearded man's right) was a short, pudgy man wearing a pinstriped suit with a bright red tie over which he wore a black ankle length cape. His hair was slicked back and more than a little rumpled and in his hands he twisted a hideous bright green hat.
The other three men were all standing behind the three seated individuals and one of them Satoshi immediately recognized; the individual in question just happened to be the Lion-man that had attacked Satoshi and his guards several weeks earlier. The next man was a tall dark skinned man who stood well over six feet tall, was completely bald with a gold hoop earring hanging from his right ear, and wearing the same red robes as the Lion-man. And the last man stirred old memories in Satoshi's mind as he took in his shabby clothing, gray streaked light brown hair, scarred face, sickly pallor, and kind blue eyes with flakes of dark amber in their depths.
It was the startling revelation that all six individuals possessed the same wild energy that was inside of Satoshi that put the ten year old on edge though and his Kikaichu buzzed beneath his skin in agitation in response to his emotions. It didn't help that one of the men that had tried to kidnap him was standing there with a triumphant smirk on his face as his eyes landed on Satoshi. In response, Satoshi reached back and palmed a kunai that he twirled around his index finger before holding it loosely enough that he could throw it the moment he sensed a threat.
The man scowled at the unspoken threat and promptly turned away from Satoshi as he crossed his arms and fingered the wooden handle of the stick that was secured to the inside of his right arm. The sharp flick to the back of his head from Kakashi reminded Satoshi that he wasn't alone and he reluctantly tucked the kunai into his jacket pocket where it would be close at hand and calmly followed his father a little ways further into the room.
"Ah, there you two are, I didn't expect it to take Fukurou and Uma quite so long to find you," Sarutobi stated as he glanced in their direction (Satoshi's inspection of the six strangers and silent threat to his would be kidnapper had taken less than ten seconds to conduct). "Kakashi, your presence is actually not needed; you are dismissed."
Kakashi turned to leave through the window but Satoshi's hand snaked out and grabbed hold of his shirt, holding him in place as the ten year old let his eyes linger on the sickly looking man that almost looked familiar. Sarutobi frowned as he noted Satoshi's interference but let it slide after a moment when he caught Shibi giving him a slight head shake. The Sandaime took in the number of strangers and realized that they would be outnumbered two to one should the outsiders decide to attack (not counting the hidden guards that always watched over him).
Sarutobi let Kakashi's presence slide since his being there seemed to set Satoshi at ease (not that the Hokage could blame the ten year old for being untrusting since one of the men present had attacked him without provocation), and instead introduced the strangers, "Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce my guests, Dumbledore Albus, McGonagall Minerva, Fudge Cornelius, Scrimgeour Rufus, Shacklebolt Kingsley, and Lupin Remus. Gentlemen, madam; may I present Aburame Shibi and his son Aburame Satoshi. Also with them is Hatake Kakashi."
"It is a pleasure to meet you," Dumbledore, the man with the beard, murmured in lightly accented Japanese as his eyes locked onto Satoshi. "You'll have to forgive my companions, they don't speak Japanese." The man then turned to address the other five outsiders in English. "Mr. Sarutobi simply introduced the three individuals that just entered the room."
"Let's get on with this farce then," the hat wielding man that had been introduced as Fudge Cornelius ordered irately as he gesticulated wildly with his hat. "I don't have time to sit here all night; just tell them to hand over the boy so we can leave."
"Now, now, Cornelius; we have to handle this delicately as your aurors' crude attempts at recovering the boy have created tension enough. If you had allowed me to send someone in first…" Dumbledore began only to be cut off before he could finish.
"The boy is a national treasure and it's ludicrous that you of all people would hesitate to immediately bring him back home where he belongs. It was your fault he was lost in the first place, Albus; so stop trying to lay the blame of this mess at the feet of the aurors that I sent to correct your blunder!"
"Maybe you should listen to Dumbledore-san since you are already on the verge of declaring war upon Konoha; what with an attempted murder, two attempted kidnappings, and breaking a known criminal out of prison," Kakashi drawled lazily in English to the shock of the six foreigners.
"Now see here, boy," Fudge spluttered indignantly. "You have no right to speak to me that way! You are the ones that have all but declared war on us by kidnapping the Boy-Who-Lived eight years ago."
The wave of killing intent that flooded the office at that point had all six outsiders paling with the weak willed Fudge sweating bullets and nearly pissing his pants while the other five just shifted nervously with the Lion-man, the bearded man, and the black man the least affected. The killing intent stopped a moment later and several of the foreigners gasped in relief with Fudge bending over and fanning his face rapidly with his green hat.
"If we can kindly get down to business without throwing accusations back and forth now?" Sarutobi inquired after Kakashi had relayed the entire conversation to the Hokage through hand signs while the outsiders were paralyzed with fear (part of the reason Kakashi had released the killing intent in the first place). "You have sent men into my village, attacked my people without provocation, broke into our prison to help a known criminal escape, and attempted to kidnap one of our children. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have the six of you executed for your crimes."
"Peace, Sarutobi-san, we mean you and your village no harm; we have been searching for a child that was taken from us eight years ago and in our rush to bring him home certain individuals allowed their emotions to cloud their common sense."
"Hnn," Sarutobi grunted in reply as he lifted his pipe to his mouth and chewed on the stem as he contemplated the group of foreigners from beneath his hat. "Let us start what exactly it is you hope to accomplish by coming here, Dumbledore-san; in the company of a would-be-criminal no less."
"We merely wish to retrieve the child that was stolen from his home eight years earlier. His relatives are most anxious to see him returned," Dumbledore began explaining when he was interrupted by a soft derisive snort which had him glancing between the three visible shinobi in the office and the Hokage in confusion as he tried to figure out who had made the sound before he continued. "As I was saying, his family has been worried sick about him these past eight years and we simply wish to see him returned to his home."
"Liar," Satoshi blandly stated in his emotionless whisper as he pulled his eyes away from the sickly man and glanced at the bearded man; his memories of the Dursleys' hate prompting him to utter that single word.
Dumbledore seemed taken aback by that simple statement but before he could respond, Sarutobi demanded, "How do you know that the child is here in Konoha?"
"We have tracked him to this village and I am ninety-eight percent certain that the young boy standing just beside your desk is the child for which we have been searching. It is a simple matter to check; Mr. Potter has messy black hair, bright green eyes, and a scar on his brow in the shape of a lightning bolt. I'm certain that if this young man were to remove his headband and glasses that I would find he has green eyes and the scar to go with the messy hair he inherited from his father."
The corners of Satoshi's mouth angled downwards just the slightest bit at the mention of his eyes and scar but he made no move to confirm the man's assumption. Few outside of his family had seen his eyes or his scar since he first donned both glasses and headband and he would not willingly change that now. The temptation to slip a henge on to hide both filled Satoshi as he glanced briefly in his father's direction before he let out an inaudible sigh as he realized it was a little late to try and hide now.
"And if he is? What is it you hope to accomplish?"
"As I said, I wish to return him to his rightful guardians; they have missed him these past eight years."
"How much longer is this going to take, Albus?"
"Patience, Cornelius; I am doing everything I can," Dumbledore replied in English with a sigh.
"What are your plans should the child you seek have no wish to leave? If the child has found a family, a home, and established a life of his own within my village? Will you resort to force as you attempted to do prior to approaching me earlier in the evening? Will you tear him from his life here just to return him to his supposedly loving family? A family I might add that didn't even have the courtesy to join you in hopes of being reunited with their long lost family member."
"It would depend greatly on how Mr. Potter came to be here," Dumbledore slowly replied as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I could not, in good conscious, leave the child with his kidnapper; regardless of how he felt simply because he was brain washed into thinking this kidnapper was his family when his real family have been racked by grief these past eight years."
"I see… and if the child in question was not in fact kidnapped? If he was instead rescued from certain death and adopted into a loving family?"
"I would need proof but if that is true, then I would owe those who found him and the couple that adopted him my eternal gratitude. I am not completely heartless and would not tear a family apart needlessly. If we could first confirm the identity of the young boy in question…?"
"Very well, Satoshi-kun; if you would?"
Satoshi tensed as he frowned slightly from behind his jacket at the Hokage in betrayal; he had no desire to bare his face to these strangers. Strangers that intended to rip him away from his family, take him far away from his home, and hand him back over to a family that had hated him with a passion. Shibi's hand fell on his shoulder after a moment and gave him a reassuring squeeze and Satoshi felt a small measure of confidence return to him as he recalled that his father wasn't going to let him go without a fight. Sighing in resignation, Satoshi reached up and removed his head band and nearly cringed when several gasps rang out from the outsiders as the jagged scar on his forehead was revealed.
"By Merlin, it is him!" Fudge breathed as he jumped to his feet and crushed his hat in his hands. "Shacklebolt, Scrimgeour; I want that boy taken into custody and transported back to England immediately!"
"Cornelius, don't be too hasty. It appears as if Mr. Potter has made a family for himself here and it would not do to antagonize him or his new family needlessly by using excessive force. We have not even established how the child ended up in Japan; let alone in the Hidden Countries."
"I don't care; I have wasted eight years trying to track the boy down and I'm not going to take any chances of him slipping through my fingers now that he's been found."
"I wish to request permission to use any force necessary to neutralize the outsiders who are currently discussing plans to forcibly remove Satoshi-kun, Hokage-sama," Kakashi intoned as he began leaking killing intent once more as he glared at Fudge.
"Permission gra…" Sarutobi unhesitatingly began, only for him to be cut off.
"Please allow me a moment to talk some sense into my companions," Dumbledore quickly insisted as he noted the weapons that had somehow appeared in the hands of the two individuals that were hovering protectively beside the boy he now knew for certain was Harry Potter. "Cornelius, will you please cease your brainless blundering and stop and think about what you are ordering? Think man, think! These men have twice beaten your aurors to a standstill and either forced them to flee or taken them into custody. Now is not the time to charge in recklessly."
"I don't care! My job is on the line because of your mistake and I will not allow a chance to set things right to slip away because you are far too old and senile to take proper action."
"The first one of you to attempt to lay a hand on my little brother will die by my hand," Kakashi growled as he pushed the hitai-ate he wore crookedly over his left eye up in preparation of unleashing his Sharingan though he kept his left eye closed for the moment. "I suggest you think carefully about what you are attempting to do before one or more of you die a messy and painful death."
"Minister, please stop and think before you make matters worse," McGonagall huffed in exasperation as she entered the conversation for the first time. "If you continue to insult them and threaten them, then you will only lose what may be our only chance at bringing Mr. Potter home and it will have been entirely your fault because you were too impatient."
"I think it might be best if you were to return to England, Cornelius, now that you have seen for yourself that Mr. Potter still lives," Dumbledore added as he gazed over his half moon glasses at the smaller, fatter man in disappointment. "I realize that you are under a great deal of stress and that you have other obligations that need your attention. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W., I have more than enough authority to carry out negotiations for both our Ministry and our Country. I would not be opposed to you leaving Auror Shacklebolt to act as your witness for the duration of the negotiations if you feel the need to have someone monitor the negotiations."
"Fine, but you'd best make certain the boy is brought to the Ministry when you are finished; I will see to it he is placed with an appropriate family so he can be properly educated on his responsibilities prior to his enrollment in Hogwarts next year. Someone is going to have to undo everything these barbarians taught the boy; least the public rebel because their icon has become tarnished."
The short man rose to his feet, jammed his hat on his head, and imperiously signaled to Scrimgeour, the Lion-man that had nearly succeeded in kidnapping Satoshi alongside the Scruffy man, and the two of them vanished out the door. Two masked shinobi made themselves visible at that point and followed in the wake of the two foreigners to ensure that they left the village and didn't attempt to set up an ambush in order to kidnap Satoshi. The two Aburame present had also tagged the two men with several Kikaichu each in order to keep track of them since they didn't trust them.
"I apologize, I had originally tried to convince Cornelius to stay behind but he was most adamant about being seen returning Mr. Potter to his home. I had hoped that he would remain diplomatic but alas… I fear his emotions clouded his common sense."
Satoshi snorted softly in disbelief or maybe disgust as he tied his bandana back in place and allowed himself to relax just a bit now that the numbers inside of the office were a bit more in their favor (it helped that the man that had attempted to kidnap him a few weeks earlier was now gone). He then turned his attention back to the one man that seemed vaguely familiar, studying the man's shabby clothes and worn down appearance. He also couldn't help but feel that the man would never hurt him despite the fact that there was something about the man that agitated his Kikaichu. Determined to figure out who he was and why he felt so familiar, Satoshi stepped out from behind his father and tentatively made his way around the room until he was standing about six feet away from the man.
"Harry…?"
Satoshi shook his head no without taking his eyes off the man's face as he felt Kakashi step up behind him in order to guard him on the off chance that any of those present attempted to snatch Satoshi. Through the eyes of his Kikaichu, he knew that everyone in the office was watching him closely but he ignored them for the most part as he began searching through his oldest memories for one that matched the man standing before him.
"His name is Aburame Satoshi. Aburame Shibi adopted him roughly eight years ago after finding him lost and alone out in the middle of the forest; severely malnourished and dying," Kakashi corrected softly, with an underlying hint of steel in his voice. "Shibi-san took him in, gave him a home, adopted him into his family, and raised him as his son for the past eight years. He may not have been born into the Aburame Clan but Satoshi-kun is Shibi's son in every other way that counts."
"Dying? What do you mean dying?" McGonagall demanded as she shot a glare at Dumbledore before refocusing her attention on the gray-haired teen.
"He was more than half starved, wearing nothing but rags, bruised from head to toe, and suffering from several hours exposure to the cold. He was also extremely distrustful of everyone no matter how young or old; desperately clinging to the one person who had shown him a measure of kindness."
"What did I tell you, Albus! I told you the Dursleys were the worst sort of people! And you left him there despite my protests."
"We don't know that they are the ones responsible for the child's condition," Dumbledore countered in an attempt to sooth McGonagall's ruffled feathers. "There is still the matter of who kidnapped Mr. Potter from his home and somehow managed to lose him along the way."
"The Dursleys hated me from the moment they found me on their porch. They would have celebrated my disappearance, if they even bothered to check on me and noticed I was missing, and the only thing that would have made them happier than me no longer being there, would have been seeing my dead body," Satoshi stated in his usual monotone as he tore his eyes away from the man in front of him and turned to the right to gaze at Dumbledore. "And no one kidnapped me. They had locked me in my cupboard again because I dared defend myself and my food from my cousin; I was cold, thirsty, hungry, hurting, and frightened of the dark and wished to be free and then I was."
"You promised me my cub would be safe with his aunt," Lupin half snarled as he turned to glare at Dumbledore, his blue eyes glinting gold as the flecks of amber took on an inner glow in their depths.
"I know you… you're Moony," Satoshi stated as he finally placed the shabby man in his mind; the glowing quality of his eyes and his use of the nickname 'cub' bringing forward the associated memories in Satoshi's mind.
"How…?" Lupin asked in shock as he whipped back around to stare at Satoshi.
"Moony, where's Padfoot? What happened to Wormtail?"
"Wormtail died just a few days after your parents did and you don't have to worry about Black; he can't hurt you any more. He's locked up where he belongs."
Satoshi frowned as he couldn't ever remember Padfoot hurting him. He was startled out of his memories a moment later when Lupin crossed the distance between them, dropped down to his knees, and tried to hug him. Sidestepping his arms, Satoshi put several feet between them once more. He felt kind of bad when he saw the man's face fall but he didn't trust him not to use the contact to whisk him away from his father.
"You know this man, Satoshi-kun?" Kakashi asked in Japanese as he maneuvered around him so that he was half standing in front of the ten year old in order to shield him from the other man.
"Hai; he was close to my birth parents."
"Now that we have confirmed the child's identity beyond a doubt," Dumbledore rumbled in his grandfatherly tone, his eyes twinkling like mad once more. "I would like to make arrangements for him to be returned to his home."
"I will not go. This is my home and I will not leave," Satoshi declared loud and clear; the first time he'd raised his voice above a whisper since entering the office; startling everyone in the room aside from Kakashi and Shibi who'd spent the last twenty-four hours listening to him talk normally. He then turned to meet Lupin's eyes once more as he added in English, "I waited a year for Moony, Padfoot, or Wormtail to save me from the Dursleys. I don't need saving now. I am home; my family is here. I will stay here."
"As I recall, Dumbledore-san, you stated earlier that you had no wish to tear Satoshi from his family; you are not thinking of going back on your word now, are you?"
"I do not wish to take him from his new family but is it fair to keep him from his last remaining blood relatives? He needs the protection they can provide him; he is just a child after all."
The shinobi in the office all exchanged a single glance before Kakashi, Sarutobi, and the unseen masked AnBu guards still watching over the Hokage all burst out laughing uproariously over the very idea that Satoshi needed someone else to protect him. Even Shibi had a smug grin on his face while Satoshi just crossed his arms and rolled his eyes behind his lenses over the antics of the adults and the slight against his abilities.
"Oh, Dumbledore-san, I must thank you; I haven't laughed so hard in years," Sarutobi gasped as he finally calmed down and wiped the moisture from the corner of his eye. "That you think Satoshi-kun needs protection; at his age and current level – other than from your countrymen's attempts to kidnap him. Or that mere civilians could provide an adequate level of protection when compared to the protection he is surrounded with while inside of this village."
"I'm not certain I understand what is so funny about seeing the child is protected from outside threats…"
"I am not a child. I am shinobi," Satoshi countered (his voice once again whisper soft), placing just the slightest hint of disdain in his voice as he said the word child. "I am capable of protecting myself long enough for back up to arrive if the situation calls for it."
"My dear boy, you are just a child to the eyes of the world."
"You bear the appearance of a feeble old man; do you need someone to hold your hand and protect you?" Shibi inquired blandly as he arched an eyebrow at the bearded man.
"I see the point you are trying to make but I have many years of experience and knowledge with which to protect myself," Dumbledore replied.
"My son has years of knowledge and experience in protecting himself as well and while there is always room for improvement and growth; he can adequately protect himself and has been doing so since the day he graduated from the academy."
"Albus, if he is happy would it not be best to allow him to remain here with those he considers his family?" McGonagall half asked and half demanded as she studied Kakashi protectively standing guard over the ten year old. "They obviously care for the child enough to protect him from any perceived threats and he has been safe these past eight years."
"Better that the boy stay here than allow Minister Fudge to pass him off to the likes of a family like the Malfoys for 'reeducation'," Kingsley pointed out in a deep rumbling voice.
"Taking Har… Satoshi… from his family would only make him resent our world in the long run," Lupin pointed out, the man briefly tripping over Satoshi's name.
"If you need to see proof that Satoshi-kun can protect himself, we can arrange a small demonstration," Kakashi suggested (after silently asking permission from Shibi and Sarutobi using hand signs) as he glanced between the now tense Satoshi and the bearded man seated in the chair.
"It is not just his protection that concerns me; young Harry will need to be trained," Dumbledore continued as he swung his eyes back to Sarutobi.
"Trained how? Satoshi has already graduated from our academy; his grades were exemplary, he is an intelligent and highly skilled young man, and he has since passed the first of two promotional tests. What could you possibly teach him that we haven't already taught him?" Sarutobi demanded with a frown.
"There is one thing you could not possibly teach him," Dumbledore countered. "If you could allow me to ascertain that our conversation is private and send away all but Harry and his father, I will gladly explain further."
In reply, Sarutobi signaled to the two masked AnBu still in the room and they promptly vanished in a puff of smoke (though they would not be going very far). Once they were gone, the Hokage turned to glance at Kakashi and noticed that once again Satoshi had latched onto the teen's shirt and knew he'd not be able to send the Jounin away without upsetting the boy further. Shibi in the mean time nodded to the Hokage to indicate that his Kikaichu could find no trace of any eavesdroppers or listening jutsu. Sarutobi then poured a measure of chakra into the hidden seal beneath his desk and the entire room glowed yellow for a moment; indicating that a privacy barrier had been raised.
"The room has been secured," Sarutobi declared a moment later.
"If Hatake-san would kindly step outside I shall begin," Dumbledore murmured in reply as he glanced at the teen in question.
"Oniisan can stay; I trust him with my life. He has already been briefed on the wild energy, what you call magic, inside of me," Satoshi stated firmly. "We are also aware that all four of you and the two that left earlier all have that same wild energy inside of you. Kakashi-nii and Tenzou-san have been training me to use my wild energy for over a year now."
"You already know about your magic? But how…? How did you learn about your magic and how can they train you if they do not have a magical core?"
"I have always known about my magic, though I wasn't certain that it was called magic until now," Satoshi answered as he held up his left hand and began pooling magic and chakra in his hand to condense the air and turn it into a ball of water in his hand that he promptly turned into a solid ball of cement. "And they taught me how to use the energy the same way they taught me to mold my chakra."
"Sweet Circe, he performed wandless conjuration and transfiguration, Albus!" McGonagall exclaimed excitedly as she leaned forward intently. "May I please examine the stone ball you made, Mr. Potter?"
Satoshi frowned at the use of his old name but he set the ball on the floor and rolled it towards the woman while he calmly insisted, "My name is Aburame Satoshi, ma'am; I have not gone by my birth name since the day that my father adopted me into the Aburame Clan."
"My apologies, Mr. Aburame; it is hard to look at you and not see your father. You look very much like him when he was your age," McGonagall absently replied as she pulled out her stick and began tapping it against the stone ball she now held in her hand. "Amazing, the transformation is solid and the composition of the cement is even throughout the entire ball. How long have you been able to transfigure water into cement like this?"
"Almost six months now; but I was eight when I first turned wet sand into concrete though that was more of an accident at the time."
"What else can you do?" Lupin asked curiously as he stepped up beside McGonagall and studied the ball of cement as well.
"Lots of things," Satoshi replied vaguely as he had no desire to give away all of his secrets. "Why were you so shocked that I did that… what was it you called it? …wandless? What does that mean?"
"It is very rare for a child your age to perform controlled magic without a wand; most adults don't have enough magic in their cores or good enough control over their magic to perform wandless magic," McGonagall explained as she held up her stick; which Satoshi assumed was what she called her wand. "Wands are a special form of focus that help witches and wizards draw their magic out of their core and the spells are what allows them to control that magic to perform various tasks; such as turning a ball of cement into a ball of metal."
McGonagall tapped the cement ball that Satoshi had made with her wand and turned it into a ball of copper after taking it back from Lupin. She then levitated it across the room to Satoshi so he could see what she'd done. Kakashi plucked it from the air before it reached Satoshi, the teen making certain it wasn't a trap to kidnap or harm his little brother.
"You could teach Satoshi-kun how to use one of those stick-things to do spells to change things?" Kakashi asked as he rolled the ball in his hands and lifted it to his nose to sniff at it before passing it to Satoshi.
"If he were to attend Hogwarts, then yes; we could teach him how to use a wand to manipulate his magic."
"I'm not leaving," Satoshi stubbornly insisted as he retreated to his father's side after he tucked the copper ball into his pocket so that he could study it later.
"Satoshi-kun?"
"They want to take me away to some school to teach me how to use my wild energy with the sticks they use," Satoshi replied in response to his father's unspoken question.
"This is the training of which you spoke, Dumbledore-san?" Shibi inquired as he reached out to lightly rest his hand against Satoshi's back in order to reassure his son.
"Yes, we would teach him how to use a wand and control his magic. I am the current Headmaster of Hogwarts and Minerva is one of our professors; she teaches Transfiguration and watches over one-fourth of the students as the head of one of the four houses that the students are sorted into when they first arrive," Dumbledore explained. "They also learn Charms, Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, History of Magic, and Defense against the Dark Arts. After their second year they have the option of picking up two additional classes from five elective courses that include; Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, and Muggle Studies."
"And what happens if he is not trained?" Sarutobi asked as he leaned back in his seat and chewed on his pipe stem.
"Usually, the wizard who chooses not train his magic has his magic bound by the Ministry of Magic and his memories would be modified so that he forgets magic ever existed. In the rare instance, where the magic of the wizard in question is not bound; he usually dies when his magic reaches maturity. The reason for that is because his core will have grown fragile and unyielding from a lack of proper exercise and when he reaches magical maturity at the age of twenty-five, the sudden influx of magic he gains fractures his unyielding core. It is a most painful way to die."
"Satoshi-kun already has some control over his… magic," Shibi pointed out, the twenty-six year old feeling slightly odd at calling the wild energy found alongside his son's chakra coils magic. "Would he therefore not be exempt from the memory modifications? And would not that ability negate the risk of a fracture upon his seventeenth birthday?"
"He might be able to avoid having his memory modified simply because of who he is in our world but there is no guarantee that his core would not fracture since there is no way to measure how much exercise his magic is being given on a yearly basis. Wandless magic has different rules than wanded magic and while it is the more difficult of the two forms that doesn't necessarily mean that using wandless magic exercises his core more than using a wand ten months out of the year would."
"What exactly did the blithering idiot with the hat mean when he called Satoshi a national treasure?" Kakashi inquired curiously. "He also called him a public icon and…"
"The-Boy-Who-Lived," Dumbledore provided with a sigh. "Mr. Potter is…"
"Aburame Satoshi," Shibi interjected firmly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"My son's name is Aburame Satoshi. He was legally adopted into my clan eight years ago and I would appreciate it if you would acknowledge him as my son; instead of trying to pretend that he is not a part of my family."
"My apologies, Aburame-san, I meant no disrespect. I have known him for ten years as Harry Potter and it is hard to think of him by anything other than his birth name," Dumbledore quickly soothed as he leaned his elbows on the arms of the chair he was sitting in and steepled his fingers. "The name Harry Potter is rather famous in our world for something that happened on the night his parents died."
"And exactly what was it that made Satoshi's birth name famous?"
"He temporarily defeated one of the darkest wizards of this past century and he is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse," Dumbledore replied gravely.
"You said temporarily; that implies he still lives. His body turned to dust when it was hit by his own curse; how does one survive without a body?" Satoshi asked in confusion as he frowned at Dumbledore while reviewing the memory in question.
"No one knows how he survived that night, only that he did and that he is somewhere out there biding his time as he seeks to regain enough of his strength before he makes his next move. Most people don't wish to believe that he can return and therefore choose instead to believe that he died that night," Dumbledore explained before he frowned and studied Satoshi closely. "How did you know something happened to his body that night?"
Satoshi shifted uncomfortably and glanced up at Shibi who silently gave him permission after a moment. The ten year old then sighed again as he dropped his gaze to the floor and answered, "I have an eidetic memory; I remember everything I have ever seen or heard. That is how I recognized Moony."
"Remarkable and not completely unexpected as your mother was blessed with a near photographic memory and your father was no slouch in the intelligence department," Dumbledore mused; his eyes were once again twinkling full force.
"The protection you mentioned Satoshi-kun needed; it wouldn't be from this disembodied spirit of a dark wizard would it?" Sarutobi asked after spending a few minutes digesting everything Dumbledore had revealed up till then.
"In part," Dumbledore confirmed as he turned grave once more. "There are also a number of his followers that slipped through the cracks at the end of the war. Now that the Ministry knows where young Ha… young Satoshi lives there is a chance that they may attempt to kidnap him or kill him in the hopes that he can tell them where their master is or that his death will bring their master back."
"Knowing that; why did you believe his former guardians, who from what I understand are mere civilians without even the protection of your supposed magic, could have protected him any better than we have over the past eight years?"
"There were special wards that I was able to raise around his aunt's house due to his mother's sacrifice; so long as he resided in the home of one that shared his mother's blood, he could not be harmed."
"Would such protection have survived these past eight years that he has been gone?" Shibi questioned.
"I am uncertain and the only way to find out would be to have him live there for at least a year."
"I won't go back," Satoshi stated bluntly as he glared at Dumbledore behind his sunglasses. "I have no desire to be called a freak, be told my parents were drunken criminals, or live inside of a hallway cupboard again. I may have been taught not to raise a hand against a civilian but I would sooner kill the Dursleys than allow them to hurt me ever again."
"Kill?" Dumbledore gasped in horror as the blood drained from his face. "You would kill your own family?"
"They may be my relatives but they are not my family and I would kill anyone that sought to harm me, my family, or my village," Satoshi replied in a hard voice barely above a whisper. "I am not a child, Dumbledore-san; I am a shinobi and it is my duty to protect Konoha and the people who live here. If that means killing my enemies, then so be it."
"Such coldness; what have they done to you, you poor child?" Dumbledore demanded in a pained voice as the twinkle in his eyes died completely and he sagged back in his chair.
"Do not mistake a simple desire to protect or see justice done for coldness, Dumbledore-san," Shibi countered as he placed a comforting hand on Satoshi's shoulder. "Are you telling me that murderers, rapists, and traitors are allowed to walk free in your world?"
"No, they are not; not if we can help it at least but we don't simply kill them. They are tried before a panel of judges and sent to prison for their crimes."
"We imprison simple thieves as well in addition to other petty criminals but we do not allow murderers a chance to walk free. If the man you managed to break free from our prison had actually managed to kill anyone the night he was captured, then you can bet that he would have been executed the moment we finished interrogating him," Sarutobi countered with a shrug. "You have your methods and we have ours."
"But to force a child to kill?"
"He has never been forced to kill and Satoshi-kun has always tried to capture his opponents before resorting to lethal force to subdue his opponents," Kakashi interjected on Satoshi's behalf.
"I think we have gotten far off topic," Sarutobi stated as he gave into the temptation and finally lit his pipe, taking a long draw on the now smoldering tobacco leaves. "We were discussing the potential harm Satoshi-kun could befall should he not be properly trained in the magical arts. I do not like the idea of subjecting one of my citizens to a potentially hostile environment for a form of protection that is not guaranteed to protect him so there will be no further discussion of placing him with his former guardians. Tell me, Dumbledore-san, how long is one expected to train before they are considered completed with their magical training?"
The next six hours would be spent discussing the different aspects of Satoshi's magical education, negotiating the terms under which Satoshi would be allowed to attend Hogwarts, setting up a formal mission contract to allow for a minimum of three guards to go with Satoshi to ensure that he is well protected from outside threats, and making arrangements for a tutor to spend the next year with Satoshi to prepare him for the day he was due to start Hogwarts in about eleven months. Satoshi remained quiet during the proceedings, the ten year old allowing Kakashi and his father to look out for his interests while his Kikaichu monitored the conversation.
In a valiant effort to remain awake, since he'd now been up for well over forty-eight hours at that point, Satoshi alternately studied the copper ball that McGonagall had made from his cement ball and discreetly watched the man he knew as Moony.
Translations: Japanese to English
Fukurou – Owl
Hai – Yes
Oniisan/niisan – brother
Otousan/tousan – Father
Uma – Horse
AN: And Harry Potter has been identified but the magicals found far more than they bargained for. Poor Fawkes ended up with the short end of the stick. And while a second killing so soon after the first one might have normally killed a phoenix, I couldn't bring myself to off Fawkes. I also can't see Kakashi not trying to kill Fawkes after seeing him burst into flames and be reborn. Fawkes's fate and current whereabouts will be dealt with in the next chapter.
Now onto the poll results...
Satoshi/Fu - 237
Satoshi/Temari - 155
Sakura Sidelined - 91
Sakura Un-fan-girl-ized - 216
Pairing Doesn't Matter - 75
Sakura's Fate is Unimportant - 160
And there are roughly 64 unsorted/yet to be tallied review votes and the poll will remain open for another ten days.
Now, for those who are upset about the current leading pairing, please do keep in mind that I will be posting BOTH versions, the vote is only to determine which pair will be placed here in the main story while the less popular pairing will be put up in a side-story. The only reason I asked for a readers vote was so that I knew which pairing I needed to focus on first since the side-story will be updated slightly slower. The same reasoning applies to Sakura's fate, since her fate does affect the main plot, even if she's not really a main character in either sub-plot. You'll just see more of her in the un-fan-girl-ized version because her character will be developed further.