Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I gain anything (but writing and editing experience) by using the plot and characters from these works. Naruto and and the Harry Potter series belong to their respective creators, editors, publishers, and companies.
Summary: They were all trying to escape, whether it was from fate, war, grief, abuse, hate. They were all trying to escape. There are many Harry Potter spoilers for those who have not read the books, and spoilers for the Naruto series as well.
A/N: Yep, an update, I really have no excuse, it's just editing right now, but I don't want to do it. The main problem is that my writing style has changed some since I originally wrote a lot of this, so my issue is jiving it with my current writing style. But then I give up and just edit for grammar... So that's the delay, I just don't want to edit... Anyways, thank you to all who reviewed, put this on alert or favorite. Enjoy, much love ~ depressedchildren
Key:
text is text
levi corpus a known spell, usually a perversion of a Latin phrase
"Dialogue" the opposite language of the world they are in
Chapitre Sept
When training started up the next day, Jiraiya noted the way Harry was avoiding him while B decided to actually do his job that day. For the first time, the Sannin found himself wanting his student's ability to read other's minds, what happened last night to make the boy so wary of him? Harry's shoulders were nearly up to his ears and his green eyes were trained on Jiraiya's chest with cold calculation. Yep, he was going to be subjected to that crucio jutsu when they got home.
"Well, why don't I show you how to summon toads?" at the boy's back step Jiraiya cursed. What did B tell the boy? Jiraiya's mind whirled with possibilities yet the old man could not imagine what the twenty-year-old could have said to his student. Did he inform the child of his expenditures, his part in the Third Ninja War, his inability to keep his comrade from defecting? If only the perverted sage knew!
Harry watched in silence as the toad sage presented the seals Harry would need to make. How could such a childish and seemingly kind man do that to those women? Weren't they in pain? After all, they were screaming! Harry swallowed, he never wanted to have sex - it only seemed to cause pain
Refocusing on the seals being taught to him, Harry closed his eyes and brought forth his memories of his seal lessons. He knew the purpose behind each hand sign, the meaning of the blood used, and he comprehended how much chakra he was to use. A channel, so to speak, opened up between wherever the summoner was and the location of the summon. Due to the hand signs, the location was Mount Myōboku, and the amount of chakra channeled to the toad land determined which toad was able to come through. The boy understood all of this, yet nothing came of his efforts except a puff of smoke.
Naruto was resting against Jiraiya's chest in the baby strap, but the old man had to pass the baby off when he tried to summon one of his toads. This at least proved that the area was not the problem.
Jiraiya took the infant back and motioned for the six-year-old to do the seals again.
Looking critically at the boy's form, Jiraiya concluded that Harry composed the correct hand signs and seemed to put the right amount of chakra behind the summoning. So what was hindering the boy from summoning a toad? … Maybe the boy just needed to be in a life threatening position?!
In spite of all these ponderings, half the day was wasted with the boy's attempts to summon a toad, and the rest of it was spent trying to pop the rubber balls. It was on their way back to the hotel, from the training area, that a plan formed in Jiraiya's mind. Shifting Naruto more securely in his arms, Jiraiya looked around with a smirk on his face and his gray eyes shining in the November sunlight.
They were walking along the edge of the mountain plateau, and there was sheer rock face below and across from them. Jiraiya knew the kid had the energy and that he knew what to do, thus he had no fear for the possible repercussions of what he was about to do. Waiting for the boy to walk ahead of him a little, Jiraiya made a well-placed kick that sent the six-year-old hurdling between mountains. Any second now the kid would -
Jiraiya's thoughts came screeching to a halt when he heard a pop, and there, before his rapidly blinking eyes, appeared a shaking six-year-old. Harry's green eyes were wide, dark, and trembling as they regarded his teacher. The boy's mouth was partially open as harsh bursts of condensed air escaped into the chill mountain air. Harry's little chest was racing up and down as he tried to breathe but found he could not get enough air into his lungs, partially because each breath was like a knife diving down his throat. His whole body shook in addition to the heaving from each deep lungful of air that did not seem to satisfy the burning in his chest.
Cursing, Jiraiya rushed to the boy's side only to have him flinch away, understandably this time. Damn it! "You're hyperventilating, calm down, breathe slowly," if only he had a bag! Shit! What did he do wrong?
"Here," Jiraiya looked up to see B handing him a small bag with which to calm the kid's breathing.
How long had the jinchūriki been watching them? Jiraiya wondered, as he worked to get the boy to breath into the bag, thus regulating the amount of air entering the six-year-old's lungs.
Gray eyes narrowed at the dark man crouching beside him, why hadn't B stepped in sooner? Where had he been hiding? Was he enjoying the aftereffects of whatever he told the impressionable child? In fact, why was this young Jōnin seemingly turning Jiraiya's student against him? With Harry composed and scooting closer to the now kneeling B, Jiraiya's suspicion seemed to confirm itself. The damn twenty-year-old was trying to turn Harry against him!
"Did you try summoning a toad?" Jiraiya began in a gruff voice, eyes zeroed in on B, he was still trying to work out what the Kuma-nin was doing. The boy, who was practically sitting in said Kuma-nin's lap, nodded adamantly, thus causing Jiraiya to furrow his brow and divert his attention on the six-year-old, "Then you should have been able to summon a toad. Hell! You probably could have gotten Gambunta!"
The Sannin's brow scrunched up, which caused his eyes to squint as he gazed at the air in front of him. There had to be a reason as to why the kid would not be able to summon anything when in such a state of distress.
They might have to talk to an elder toad if this continued, Jiraiya surmised, his expression clearing. But at the moment he needed to get the boy comfortable with him again before they were going to head back to Konoha in order to visit Mount Myōboku. In fact, he needed the boy comfortable with him to continue to be his teacher.
"Keep reading those scrolls, I'll get it," Jiraiya got up from the hotel bed, Naruto nestled in his arms, to yell at whoever was knocking on their door. Jiraiya was not in a pleasant mood, not only had he not gotten laid the night before but he seemed to have damaged his student's trust in him. He didn't need the boy to feel like that when had just started to act like a child.
If it had not been for B, Jiraiya doubted the boy would have slept the night before. The sage was not sure what the jinchūriki had said to make the boy wary of him the other day, but Jiraiya knew he blew it with the boy either way when he kicked him over the mountain side. B's presence seemed to reassure the boy that things would be okay, and he was able to keep Harry breathing normally after his free-fall experience. The twenty-year-old even stayed with them for dinner and bedtime. He wasn't sure what exactly B did, but he helped the boy.
With a sigh, Jiraiya opened the hotel door to be greeted by the object of his thoughts. The young Jōnin walked in without being welcomed and went straight to the boy siting on the floor surrounded by scrolls. "Hey Brat," B squatted down so as not to loom over Harry. B had always hated it when adults stood over him like towering obelisks, it made him feel unsafe, even pressured. He could only imagine the little six-year-old would feel the same.
"Good morning Jinchūriki-sama," Harry greeted voice less enthusiastic than it had been the past few days.
"Have you ever had dango before?" green eyes bore into his own with a blank stare, "I'll take that as a "no"," B stated in an almost cheerful manner, before pulling the kid to his feet. "I'm stealing your student and the baby," B then jerked his head toward the sleeping Naruto in Jiraiya's arms, gesturing that Harry go take him.
Damn, there went his chick magnet! And the brat still flinched back when he came over to pick up Naruto! Damn it!
Jiraiya managed to keep his facial expression neutral, while his student was shepherded out of his sight. His gray eyes picked up every little movement, analyzed all he could in his student's actions for an answer. As the boy was leaving he discovered nothing new, but he quickly caught the young Jinchūriki's vest when he was about to leave.
Reflexively, B had a kunai to the sage's neck. However, he dropped it in the face of the older man's stern expression and hard gray eyes. Two sets of dark eyes shifted to the hallway where Harry was looking at them, his expression guarded.
"Why don't you go down to the lobby," B suggested in a commanding tone, before shifting back to the old man. He knew the child would heed his words, and sure enough the light "tack" of a trained ninja walking away was heard.
"What did you tell him? What do you think you're doing?" Jiraiya's fist clenched in the Jōnin's flak jacket before he dropped his hand and fixed the young man with stony eyes. "He's my student," the statement was a low growl, a mere preamble to his following words "He is a Konoha ninja, do you plan to kidnap him like your country," the Sannin was interrupted, and for once his tone held no joke when in reference to that situation. Jiraiya's jaw was set in a hard line while his gray eyes seemed to bore into B's soul.
"I wouldn't dare," B growled back, stepping into the older man's space and managing to loom over Jiraiya in spite of their slight height difference. "I explained what you were doing the night before," Jiraiya suddenly found his shoulders, down through his arms, tense. Red light flashed before his mind's eye, and the muted sounds of his own screams echoed in his mind. Shit.
"Are you aware his parents never informed him of his own body? He may be a child but he is a ninja and he needs to know everything he can to have an advantage over his enemies." B's eyes were narrowed when he finished speaking, and his arms came up to fold over his chest.
"I imagined as much," Jiraiya sighed, lips set in a firm line, "You explained sex to him?"
"Vaguely, no detail,"
"Then what had him acting like," Jiraiya choked over an appropriate word to describe the boy's previous behavior, his arm closest to the hallway flailing slightly.
"I took him to the market to see first-hand the powers women have to manipulate men. We just happened to be above where you and….your women…" B rolled his wrist, consequently making his hand move in a circular fashion as he trailed off for the second time. He could not believe the old man, how could he have a threesome - or was it more than that!? – within a day of being in a city that knew all of his tricks? Any man had to admire the pervert for his prowess.
"I take it he assumed I was hurting them?" Jiraiya let out a breath he was not aware he was holding when B nodded slowly. At least the boy had not seen what he was doing. Perhaps his innocence was still intact and Jiraiya would not be blamed for defiling that psychotic ANBU operative's son. He would let the boy believe he had harmed those women during the process of sex, it would likely keep the boy from every trying it himself. Inwardly, Jiraiya flinched. The poor boy – now he really would never experience the joys of sex!
With a heavy sigh, Jiraiya focused back on the young Jōnin, "You better not keep him waiting, his curiosity gets the better of him," the old man gave the young man a faint smile, fatigue showing in his eyes "stupid brat," he grumbled under his breath before moving into the room.
B inferred that as his dismissal and began after the six-year-old and one month old.
Harry was seated opposite B as he fiddled with two bare dango sticks. It had been surprisingly wonderfully delicious. He had never had such a treat before, and he was certain his father would never treat him to such a thing. He would never be good enough, and he would rather hear about his mother than have something sweet.
"What did you think of it?" B started conversationally, gesturing with his hand toward the sticks in Harry's hand.
The boy looked up through his bangs, centering his gaze on the older male's lips. It kept him from delving too far into one's mind – it was like skimming the edges of the other's mind. He was not sure how his father was able to control the reaction so easily, but Harry often felt like his head was spinning from the rush of thoughts and images. Even now he could see himself looking up at, well, B but it seemed like himself.
"It was good," Harry murmured slowly, looking away from the other as new thoughts surged toward him. What he would give for the silence of his father's mind. True, he couldn't look his father in the eye without entering his mindscape, but even then he did not hear his father's thoughts.
It felt wrong to Harry, to be able to constantly know what those around him were thinking. What gave him the right to know what others were thinking? Thoughts were meant to be private for a reason! Decisions yet to be made were abundant in people's thoughts, emotions lurked at every turn, plans and conversations saturated the environment. Nearly all of one's life lay bare before Harry, and it was frustrating. Wasn't there a turn off switch? Or did that come with age?
Though Naruto was different, he was difficult to read. It fascinated Harry every time he skimmed the surface of the baby's mind, for his thoughts were…were peculiar. Each noise, smell, sound, and feeling was new and befuddling to the baby. His mind would store each experience away, and when something occurred, the infant's thoughts would scramble around to find a match within its current database. It was fascinating. More often than not, the child thought by connecting how he felt at a particular time to each new situation.
"Brat!" Harry jumped at the loud bark. His eyes darted away from Naruto, who was snoozing in the highchair the small restaurant provided, and landed on a grumbling Jinchūriki. B had his arms folded over his chest, a frown set in place while he shook his head. Had…Had the Jōnin called for Harry's attention more than once? It seemed that way, but Harry became aware that that was, indeed, the case by the loud thoughts entering his own mind.
"Listen Kid," B began with a sigh as he moved to lean forward from his current position to resting his elbows on the table, "You can't let what happened yesterday bog you down."
What was he trying to say? Harry leaned back into his chair, directing his gaze at the Jōnin's flak jacket. Harry wasn't "bogged" down, he was reminded, harshly. His guard had become lax. His perception of danger was not as sharp as it had been. His father would be so…so disappointed. It could have cost Harry his life in a more hostile situation. Harry was just letting the lesson from the experience sink in.
"Many instructors do what the Old Man did to help students grasp the summoning technique better. Most students are too cautious, but when in a life threatening situation they can complete extraordinary feats, like summoning a summon to save them," B's expression was neutral, but the hard gleam to man's eyes told Harry how serious he was.
So…So Jiraiya had only been trying to give him an extra push? It wasn't to test his abilities? It was to help him learn?
"What?" Harry tensed slightly before relaxing. B must have noticed Harry chewing on his bottom lip with his brow furrowed. That must be the case; otherwise the man would not have snapped the question at the boy.
"I…" Harry looked up slightly, still keeping away from the other's eyes. "My father would have," Harry paused, trying to think of a word other than punish for the repercussions of letting down his guard. Sighing as nothing came to him, he tried a new approach. "A ninja isn't supposed to let down his guard, my father liked to drive home the possible consequences," Harry whispered, one shoulder raised slightly.
B gave a short grim laugh, his head tilted backwards as he leaned back into his seat. His arms were still folded over his chest, "Let me guess," B began, bitter smile in place. "He would beat you?"
Was it beating him? Was invading his mindscape and slashing his mental image a beating? It hurt so much, but it was not a physical attack, it was mental one.
"Why do you say that?" Harry responded after a pregnant pause. His eyes were marginally narrowed as he dared to look the other in the eye. Harry wanted to know the truth; he would not be lied to.
"You're too mature to be five. Kids like you often did not know how to view their parents when they were young – real young, like just over a year old. You probably weren't sure if your father was supposed to protect you or not," so far everything matched up with the man's thoughts, B was telling the truth. He was saying what he thought, and it was backed up by memories of old friends. "You feel like you need to be the adult, that or you can't trust him to protect you so you need to be your own adult, your own protector," is that what it really looked like? No, B had to be lying! Harry's father would protect him … wouldn't he?
"My father wants me to be strong. I have to be, we both have to be. Father says the Bad Man is still alive," Harry tore his gaze away from the other when he finished his desperate defense; he did not want to hear B's thoughts. Harry's fists were clenched tightly, nearly snapping the dango sticks in his hand. "The Bad Man can destroy Konoha, I have to be strong!"
"You can act like a child and still be strong," B began softly, despite his hard expression. "I acted like the child I was, but I still managed to be one of the strongest genin in my village."
He didn't like what B was saying. It hurt. His chest felt weird, and he felt small again. Harry's whole body was tense and felt warm. Harry couldn't stand it, where did B come off acting like he knew everything about Harry? The boy was on his feet, hands slammed against the top of the table, and his teeth gritted together.
"I'm not you! I'm not a jinchūriki, I wasn't neglected, and my father only comes at me with killing intent for training!" Harry's chest was heaving, his legs shook beneath him and his fingers dug into the wood of the table. The heat in his veins was dissipating now, but his face felt warm and his chest was tight. He felt sick. People were looking at him now. He could see his father shaking his head in Harry's mind's eye; the boy could see James turn his back on Harry with disappointment screaming in his body language.
B let the boy get his breathing back in check before he slowly stood up, towering over the small boy. "You're right. You're not a jinchūriki, and no one has purposely tried to kill you. Good assumptions, on your part. You're correct on all counts about me," B was now around the table next the trembling boy. It was not with fear that he shook, but whether it was anger or embarrassment, B could not tell, he doubted the boy would know either way.
"However, you say you weren't neglected. Then why haven't you had dango before, I'm told it's a cheap and very common treat in Konoha. In fact, why'd you ask what nearly every dish on the menu outside the restaurant was? They're dishes you can find anywhere," Harry's face flushed further, one hand fell away from the table to clench at his side.
"What do you know about your family, hmm? Who is your mother, your grandparents?" Harry's eyes began to sting and he let out a short breath of air before gasping in more, "Why don't you have a name?" the tears slipped down his cheeks now, while his shoulders started to rise up to his ears. Harry let out small sob, he couldn't look at B, and he couldn't look at anyone.
"Ninja don't cry," he could hear his father's voice repeating those words over and over in his head. He could see his father shaking his head; he could almost feel the punishment he would receive for acting in such a disgraceful way.
"Why are you ashamed to show emotion?" Ashamed…Harry was ashamed? Was that what the debilitating pressure on his chest was, the flipping in his stomach, the burning in his face? "Were you ever allowed to play? Were you allowed to interact with other children your age?" Harry's legs gave out under him; he couldn't keep back his sobs anymore. B was right, right about everything!
Harry could see B kneeling down next to him, in spite of his closed eyes. B's two chakras swirled within the man. The bijū's chakra coated B's chakra as they weaved through his body. Harry saw the brightly glowing arms come to circle around him as he continued to cry, it looked like the impression of sunlight behind one's tightly closed eyes. The boy allowed himself to clutch onto the other's flak jacket and cry into the crook of his neck.
He could see B covering him, his chakra swirling around him. It was so…so comforting. "You can be a child now, Brat," B whispered, his voice gruff as usual. "You can be strong and still be a child. You can express your emotions. You're entitled to act foolish, because no one will judge you, so get it out now. Being a child is when you're allowed to make mistakes, so long as you grow from them."
Harry just held tighter to the man, it was as if a weight lifted off of him. B was right. His father wasn't here, so he couldn't do anything to Harry. Harry could be a child. But how did children act? They were destructive, and loud, and noisy and, and… but that was how his father saw children, were they really like that?
"H-How?" Harry asked in a trembling voice, finally opening his eyes to look at the man before him. Their eyes met, and Harry realized his mistake too late.
"What the hell?!" B's head whipped around, Hachibi behind him was presenting a similar reaction, before its eyes settled on the pale boy standing in the middle of their mindscape.
"Great another potter!" the demon groused, before sitting down heavily and glaring at the small and trembling boy. "I thought you all left us to rot."
B set aside his unease at finding someone else in his mind to stare at his tenant. His mouth was hanging open as his arms dropped to his sides. Both of his pale eyebrows were reaching his hairline while he blinked a few times at the demon. Harry was in a similar state except that his brow was furrowed and his mouth was only partially open.
"Did you just reference the potter myth?" Hachibi gave its vessel a blank stare, surprised the man had yet to leap onto its nose and sit down.
"Wh-what is this myth?" Harry was slowly edging toward B. Hachibi was much nicer than Kyūbi, that was most certain, but it was uncomfortable to be around a bijū and not be given death threats.
"A group of potters came up with the first jinchūriki," B supplied before fixing his demon with a determined expression, "Now why the hell do you think he's a potter? I've never seen the kid mold clay," B had a finger pointed at the now tense boy, when the demon looked like it would not give its reasoning, B jumped onto its nose, "Come on Hachibi-sama, spill it."
Harry blinked a few times, he doubted many jinchūriki were so comfortable with their tenants, but then again Hachibi seemed rather stable. In fact, their relationship was interesting. Hachibi was giving its human an almost indulgent expression, the sigh only confirmed Harry's guess.
"They were potters of," the demon began rather confidently before pausing and looking at the kid in their mindscape critically. Its mouth was open partially while it cocked its head to one side, thus causing B to jump of his demon and land next to the brat in question. Harry shifted slightly as the silence stretched and B's shoulders drooped.
"I can't remember why they're called potters but they can enter someone's mind with one look," Hachibi stated after a very pregnant pause, which caused B to shake his head before looking at the blushing child.
"So you can enter people's minds?" Harry felt his shoulders rising to meet his ears as he grimaced. "No wonder why you were a step ahead of me the other day," B regard the boy, lips pursed slightly, arms folded over his chest, and eyes narrowed marginally. "And that was how you knew about my past," Harry tried to control his reaction, but he still flinched.
"I'm sorry! I can't help it! I want to shut it off but I can't. I don't like it! It's wrong!" Harry had his eyes clenched tightly closed, his arms were stiff but still flailed about him in jerky motions, before coming to clutch his head.
Harry tensed up further when he felt arms wrap around him. Taking strained breaths through his nose, Harry stopped moving completely, lest it warrant unsavory consequences. His mind was just as vulnerable as B's was. He didn't think he could stand being harmed in such away at the moment.
"It's okay brat," the words did nothing to calm him down, it just made him stiller. "It's your bloodline, there's not much you can do. I noticed you try not to make eye contact, let alone look at people. I figured that could be from abuse but it's more out of your respect for others, right?" Harry nodded stiffly, "Cool, then you have nothing to worry about, okay Kid?"
"I noticed slight intrusions to our mind but it always skimmed the surface. You have more control than you think kid. Many people with your ability would not be so…kind," Hachibi stated, its voice reverberating through them. "Now get your asses up on my nose and talk to me. Do you know how boring it is being in a cage?!"
Harry blinked a few times, that was the first time he heard the demon swear. He certainly was less profane than Kyūbi. As B picked up the still blinking child to move them to the large eight-tail bull-octopus, Harry could not keep one thought to himself, "He said a bad word," by pure will B did not fall to the ground mid jump, it also may have helped that he altered his mindscape so that they fell into a slide that brought them onto the Hachibi's nose.
"Hey! I'm a large mass of chakra, I have no sex!" the demon barked out as the two landed on its nose. Its human stopped laughing, only to sigh and shake his head sadly, "Oi! Shut it," Hachibi directed at its vessel, earning dark eyes shining with amusement and a rather smug smirk.
"Anyways, Kid, call me Hachibi-sama," Harry nodded slowly as he was settled into B's lap atop the bijū's nose. "Now…" the demon began once more, peering at the two in front of it, if the creature had a humanoid form Hachibi would most likely have its hands touched together in the form of a steeple. "What else can you do, mind reader?"
The two came to after nearly a half hour of sitting on the floor. The occupants of the restaurant had stared at the two for nearly half of that time. They were steadily growing more concerned. What was wrong with them? Why were they just staring at each other? It was disturbing to see the two seemingly frozen in position. Especially when there was a baby sleeping right beside them that could wake up at any minute!
B looked around for a moment, and then tilted his head back to look at the sun's position. Standing up coolly when he noticed their audience, B held his arms in front of him. "What? A guy can't have staring match anymore?!" B then nodded his head back, daring anyone to comment.
Harry had risen to his feet by this point, but his head hung down as his cheeks flushed. B could hazard a guess as to why the boy was reacting so, he was uncomfortable with such attention. He interacted with a very small amount of people, and on top of that, no matter what he did it was never enough to appease his father. B felt the same often. B was ostracized for years because of what he contained, and his best efforts were never enough for the village. He could really relate with the kid.
Quickly paying the tab, B ushered the boy out while he settled the still sleeping baby on his hip. Really, how much did this baby sleep? Did he store all his energy up for during the night when he could wake up his caretakers? Man, B was glad he wasn't either of the Konoha-nin.
B finally risked speaking once they were well away from prying ears, "We were in there for what seemed like hours, how has only half of one passed?" B hissed, eyes diverting to a movement on a roof above them. His expression was neutral, his arms casually folded over his chest. Harry titled his head back to look at the other before focusing back on the village path in front of him.
"Your brain sends thoughts throughout your body really fast," Harry began, his words running together due to his youth, "And each dream you have takes up a few seconds, why would the mindscape be different?" The boy's shoulders had risen up slightly in a shrug as he finished his inarticulate explanation.
B nodded slightly, his lips coming out into a frown as he thought over what the boy said. It did make sense. One's mind did work at a faster pace than one's body often did. It was understandable that hours in one's mind would be little time outside of it. Laughing slightly, B looked down at the six-year-old walking beside of him. He couldn't believe how quickly he had come to care about the kid, perhaps it was the boy's skills as a combatant, perhaps it was because of all the pain he carried, or perhaps it was because Hachibi accepted the kid after a few minutes of talking with him.
B's thoughts were quickly derailed when a red blur smashed into his muse. B quickly stifled a laugh as the boy was rolled away by the force of the impact and quickly found himself in a tangle with the one to collide with him. Why hadn't the boy dodged? He proved he was a capable…Oh! There were ANBU behind them… B glanced over his shoulder to confirm what he already knew.
Right…Jiraiya probably told the boy to keep his abilities on the down low in case he might disappear during the night. He wouldn't put it past his country, in fact, he sort of wanted to steal the kid and make him an apprentice. Alas, it seemed the boy was going to be the infamous sage-pervert's protégé.
"Hey! Watch where ya going!" the red headed thing shrieked in mangled speech, while trying to untangle limbs from a rather uncomfortable Harry. "Who ya think you are, huh?" B could now discern that it was a young girl, and about the brat's age by the look of it, maybe a year younger.
"Uh…" B coughed to hide his snicker when wide green eyes turned to him, beseeching for help, or some sort of response.
"What!? Say sorry now!" the spiky red haired girl demanded, as she got to her feet to loom over the boy still sitting on the floor. Harry's mouth was partially open, his brow slightly furrowed, while he continued to look for B for help.
After a few impatient foot taps from the fuming girl, Harry turned slowly around toward the other child. "I…I'm sorry?" there was a minute rise to one of the boy's eyebrows while his head was cocked to one side.
"You better be!" the girl nodded her head confidently, her arms now folded in front of her. "I'm Karui, by the way," she greeted, looking away from the boy.
"Eh….It's nice…to…meet you?" Harry slowly stood up, dusting his pants off, all the while looking to B with his wide eyes. B nodded his head minutely, assuaging the boy's fears by confirming that he was reacting correctly.
"What! You're too good to tell me your name?!" the girl roared, hands on her hips once more. Karui's gold eyes narrow and her brow furrowed. Harry instantly flushed, his mouth flapping open and closed as he sputtered out weak syllables. Occasionally, the flustered boy would look at B out of the corner of his eye for help. B could read the look in those eyes. What was he supposed to say? Was the question in them.
"Karui-chan," B stepped forward, as much fun as it was to see the boy flounder about, it was becoming painful to watch the stoic boy in such a condition. Not that it would appear so to most bystanders. Harry's actions were still small, and his flush was only a slight dusting of pink. Any ninja would tell that the boy was uncomfortable, but not terribly so. However, B was sure that he and Jiraiya would be able to tell the boy was horribly uncomfortable with the situation.
"This is Nami-kun," B finished his introduction; the gold eyed redhead looked up at him with wide eyes before smiling broadly at the boy.
"You know Jinchūriki-sama!?" Karui asked quickly, grabbing tightly to the boy's hands and jumping slightly. Biting his tongue while Harry was rendered speechless for the moment, B refrained from shouting something along the lines of, 'Of course he does idiot brat, listen to your elders,' too something marginally more subdued.
"I introduced him didn't I?" B stated blandly, he look the girl right in the eyes until she flushed and fidgeted around a bit.
Scuffing her feet into the pavement, Karui clasped her hands behind her back and pursed her lips. "Umm…." She started and B stepped back a few paces, zeroing in on Harry with narrowed eyes when the boy began to side step toward him. He shook his head minutely, causing Harry's shoulders to tense. The brat better be listening to his thoughts right now, because moving away from the girl would have very bad consequences on their eardrums. Not to mention, the boy would be missing out on a wonderful opportunity which came with childhood.
"'d you want to pay Ninja, Nami-kun?" Karui finally blurted out, rocking onto her toes and back to her heel.
"I…umm…" B snickered when the boy didn't even look his way, he at least learned that B was not going to help him in this situation. "I've never played," the reaction to Harry's softly spoken words was instantaneous.
Karui's mouth dropped open and her gold eyes widened far past the width most children's eyes were supposed to go. Her small fingers quickly circled around Harry's pale wrist as she began racing off toward the nearest playground, "You never played Ninja before!?" she screamed before rambling on and on about how it 'was the greatest game in existence, next to "ANBU and Nuke-nin".'
B chuckled as he followed after the two children at a more sedated pace. Slowly taking out his rap book to write down whatever came to him, while he bounced a now awake blonde against his hip.
Jiraiya looked up from his place on the couch in the hotel room. His foot had not stopped twitching for the past half hour while he read over scrolls listlessly. He didn't even go to a bathhouse while he waited, because he wasn't sure when the three would come back. He needed to talk to the brat – he had to explain himself! Maybe he should just go to a bathhouse to ease his nerves, the giggling of women had always put his mind to a happier place in the past. But the sun was nearly set, where the hell were they? Jiraiya couldn't go out now, they had to be back soon. Oh…. If B kidnapped his student-
"We're back," in a white and red blur Jiraiya was looming over the dark-skinned twenty-year-old. Jiraiya's eyes were wide while his mouth was drawn into a tight line and his nostrils flared.
"Where the fucking hell have you been!?" the Senin's carotid arteries protruded as he yelled at the younger man. Spittle flew out of his mouth, splattering onto the unimpressed jōnin's face.
B sidestepped the enraged man and wiped at the spit on his face with the back of his hand. "Chaperoning the brat on his first date," B stated calmly, making his way to sit down before bouncing a giggling Naruto on his knee. Jiraiya turned slowly around to look between the little boy and the two jinchūriki. The white haired man's mouth was partially open while his eyebrows furrowed.
"What's a date?" Harry asked softly before taking his seat on the floor surrounded by scrolls.
"You're too young to have dates, not until your thirty," Jiraiya was no longer looking at the boy, his gaze fixed on the smirking jinchūriki. Jiraiya's heart was beating quickly in chest, this was not good, there would be a red light on him when they got back to Konoha, he didn't want that to happen! It was only their third day in the stupid village!
"Why does everybody use thirty as the go to age?" Jiraiya shrugged in response to his to the jinchuuriki's amused question before sitting down shakily next to the still smirking B. Harry peered up from his scroll and tilted his head to one side before writing them off as crazy and turning back to his seal theory. By all the gods did he love that topic!
"Well, Old Man, I couldn't rudely pull him away from his first girlfriend, now could I? It goes against our code," B absently poked Naruto on the nose, after which the blonde's pudgy fingers went to wrap around the man's digit. Little coos rose over the sudden silence emitting from the older man next to them.
Jiraiya's heart was stopped in his chest, this was not good. "He is too young to have a girlfriend! You're mistaken," the old man's chest was rising and falling quickly, his eyes were wide open and he was shaking his head back and forth. Oh gods, this was not good. Shika was going to kill him for allowing his son to have a girlfriend!
"What's a girlfriend?" Harry asked, sighing as he set his scroll to the side. It was more than apparent that he would not be able to read for a while with the way those two were carrying on.
As Jiraiya sputtered for a response, B calmly and coolly made his own, "Karui-chan, she kissed you on the cheek when you two were hiding in that bush for an ambush," Harry's shoulders rose up to his ears while he looked down at the floor, his face flushing slightly. He had only been kissed by his father, cousin and Uzumaki-san but they were only family so it was weird that Karui-chan had kissed him.
"Why'd she do that?" Harry asked while Jiraiya continued to stare between the two with wide gray eyes, an open mouth and a deathly pale complexion.
"Because she likes you," B teased, voice rose slightly in pitch from its usual baritone, purposely elongating 'likes.'
"But she kept yelling at me, and pushed me around, and kept blaming me for her mistakes…" Harry trailed off when the two adults dropped their heads into one hand before shaking their heads. Was he missing something? Jiraiya was the first to recover, raising his head up while his hand lowered to cover his mouth while he exhaled deeply.
He just had to face the facts, no matter what, he'd be tortured when they came back to Konoha. Though was having an innocent childhood girlfriend really such a terrible thing? It wouldn't defile the kid in anyway, right? Oh who was he kidding, that psychotic ANBU never even told his kid about every guy's best friend, he doubted the man wanted him to have girlfriends.
"Some girls your age act abrasive with the boys they like. When they hit puberty they usually change tactics…" Jiraiya sighed in defeated, shaking his head again while a frown marred his expression. "Don't tell your father about any of this, he'll" Jiraiya quickly clamped his mouth shut before laughing sheepishly and rephrasing what he was about to say, "He'll yell at me. He probably wanted to be there for your first girlfriend," B and Harry just looked at him with deadpan expression.
"I know my father tortured you before we left Konoha. I…I recognized your symptoms," Harry quickly bowed his head, his small fists clenched the material of his pants, he didn't want to see his teacher's reaction.
Jiraiya saw red for a moment. He was on his feet, his hands clenched at his sides while he ground his teeth together. He looked over to see how the jōnin was taking the news and faltered slightly at the grave expression. B already knew about this? The brat told him before he told his own teacher?!
"He shouldn't even have parental rights!" Jiraiya growled before dropping onto one knee in front of his downcast student. "No one would ever excuse physical torture for training," Jiraiya's voice was tight and shaking. His eyes were stinging but he held his angry tears at bay.
"It was mental training," Harry spoke up softly, "Father's only ever physically hurt me during a spar," the boy clarified, causing Jiraiya to pale further and swallow thickly. One hand gravitated up toward his mouth as he took a few calming breaths.
B remained silent, staring down at the floor in front of him. They had talked about this in his mindscape. Harry explained his abilities, abilities his father often tested. B was livid when the boy told him; he even molded his mindscape into a training field where he let out some of his anger. Everything instantly fixed its self and obviously left no damage on his psyche but it certainly calmed him down.
Jiraiya was in a similar state to how B first reacted. How could the boy's own father attack his mind? It was still developing! Jiraiya closed his eyes slowly, he felt stretched, weary. No wonder the boy never acted like a child, he had to be his own adult, his father certainly wouldn't be his protector.
"Nami-kun," Jiraiya began, gently placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. He was thankful the boy only tensed and did not shy back. "Please tell me you will no longer be training or living with him?" Harry looked up slowly before he nodded.
"I should be living with Kakashi-san when we return home," two sighs permeated the air from the now relieved adults. Jiraiya gently tugged the boy into a hug, tucking the boy's head beneath his chin.
"Good, because no child deserves to live that way," Harry flushed in his current position. Was it truly such a travesty, what he had been through? Both men seemed to think so…did that make his father a bad man? What would his mother have done or said? Would he have lived this way if his mother was alive, if both his parents were dead?
Either way, he felt safe right now. He knew Jiraiya wouldn't hurt him, that he wouldn't test him the way his father had. Everything he did was to help him learn, help him grow. Perhaps it was unorthodox, but Jiraiya never punished him for being unable to grasp something –he was never looked at like a disappointment. Harry's nose began to burn while his eyes stung. He didn't want to cry again, ninja weren't supposed to cry! But moisture slipped down his cheeks anyway.
For a week they tried again and again for the boy to summon a toad. After the thirtieth try each day, B would intervene and work with the kid on his knife skills. So far the boy could wield four at a time, which made the jinchūriki feel proud of Harry's progress. Maybe the kid could learn to fight with eight as B was prone to fighting?
B did more with the boy than just train him in the art of blades. He also taught Harry a little history and talked about diplomacy between the other countries. Though, he wasn't the only jinchūriki seeking to mentor the bright child, which led to one of B's proudest moments.
Yugito had happened upon them training and was thoroughly surprised. It was not every day one saw the feared and respected 'Jinchūriki-sama' playing with a child; for truly, that was what it looked like, despite there being knives involved. The kunoichi watched B smile as he worked with the little boy, laughing at times. She had never seen her fellow demon vessel so happy. Perhaps she should drop a few hints to A-sama about B taking on a Genin team.
The teenage girl stifled the laughter building inside of her at the sight she was now witnessing. It seemed the child had successfully disarmed the master swordsman and kicked him in the back of the knees with a clone. With his opponent neutralized, the child now sat on B's chest, leaning forward slightly and smiling excitedly.
"Jinchūriki-sama, will you tell me more about the princess from Shimogakure?" he was telling the boy old historical stories!? Yuugito could barely contain herself as she watched her senpai interacting with the child.
"Only after you summarize the Suna incident," the boy seemed to deflate slightly, but still began to rattle off the key points which occurred during that specified event. B just nodded, encouraging the boy to continue talking while he sat up, which caused the boy to fall onto his lap. Not that that deterred the child.
The boy finally finished his summary and took one refreshing breath, "Why's there a girl laughing?" without looking at Yugito, the boy was pointing her out, all mirth drained from her as B slowly turned his head in the indicated direction. Crap!
Composing herself, the young jinchūriki walked calmly from her hiding place toward the duo and smiled pleasantly, "Nii Yugito, two tails container," she bowed slightly while introducing herself.
"Namikaze," the boy greeted in return, thus causing the teenager to right herself and regard the boy with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Cousin Minato let us take his last name," the boy explained, already knowing where the woman's thoughts had traveled to. One shoulder was raised slightly as his face scrunched into a partial grimace, was he embarrassed? No…he was shy, Yugito could tell.
"What do you want?" B had withdrawn his Rap-Book from his flak jacket and was currently scribbling in it. He was not pleased with the young kunoichi interrupting his training session with the boy. B finally accepted the fact that Jiraiya would dump him with the brat half way through the day so he could flirt with women in the village, using Naruto to soften them up and melt away memories of the last time he was in Kumogakure.
But B wasn't going to complain. He enjoyed the boy's company, and he had never met a more enthused learner. Every story he told the boy, beginning from the time in his mindscape, would be lapped up with bright green eyes. The boy truly loved to learn, it was not for power, but for the simple joy of knowing something. The more time they spent together the more expressive the boy became, especially when they would meet up with Karui after training. But, B's thoughts were derailed by the fourteen-year-old in front of them.
"I was just on my way home from training when I saw you two. I have to say, Namikaze-kun, you are very good with your knives. Do you think I could teach you a shuriken technique?" the teenager had crouched down to address the boy easier, remembering how uncomfortable she felt when adults would tower over her.
"Hey!" B was glaring at her from his position on the ground, Harry still sitting in his lap without a care in the world. "I was teaching him first,"
"Yes Senpai," there was an amused edge to her voice, "perhaps tomorrow then?" she suggested, on golden eyebrow raised while her harsh features softened with a smile.
That would not do, Harry was his brat to train, well…technically Jiraiya was the boy's teacher, but over the past week it felt like B was the kid's teacher too. Hell, Hachibi even began claiming the kid was their little…what was the term the bull-octopus used? It was the equivalent of kid, not that B really minded. The kid just drew B in with little effort; he weaseled his way into B's ring of precious people within the first few days of knowing him.
"The brat can decide tomorrow," with that said, B withdrew a rubber ball from his pocket and gave it to the kid; signifying that their training session would be over soon. Yugito smiled to herself as she hurried away, already planning what she would teach the boy. From the looks of it the kid was like a sponge, soaking up what he was taught.
Harry continued to sit in B's lap while he worked on popping the rubber ball. The chakra inside the ball made protrusions similar to a mace, but it refused to burst. After ten tries, B interrupted the boy's concentration, hoping to keep him from becoming too frustrated.
"Yugito-san, she's the second jinchūriki in our village," Harry nodded his head, having recognized the mixed chakras from earlier and having paid attention to her introduction. With a sigh, he let the ball drop from his hand and he turned to face B better.
"She's," Harry couldn't think of the word and so interlocked his fingers, "like that with her bijuu,"
"Yes, she's in tune with her tenant, mastered it even. Of course, when we do that we become more like our tailed beast. I mean, cats and teenagers are bad enough, but she's both," B gestured with his head in the direction Yugito left. The pieces were being set for his ingenious plan to be the boy's sole jinchūriki teacher. Thankfully the man kept his expression neutral as he spoke, he did not want to elude what he was planning.
"How are cats bad?" B gave his best shocked expression before he shook his head slowly.
"You have much to learn, but…experience is the best teacher," it took all of his will to keep from smirking while Harry stared up at him with wide green eyes. "I'll show you where all of the cats hangout in the village," without really thinking, B stood up, carrying the small child against his hip. Harry just scrunched up his face and looked forward to where they would be heading.
After a few minutes of running through the village with the six-year-old clinging to him, B came to an alley filled with cats. To be honest, he allowed the kid to be close to him so that his scent would rub off on him. To the cats he had an underlying 'fish' smell, which made them want to attack. B set the boy down and as he straightened he hid his smirk behind his Rap-Book.
"I've never been this close to a cat before," Harry whispered, crouching down with his hand extended toward the felines in the alley.
"You were wise to be distant," Harry turned his head to the side with his brow furrowed. Since his attention was elsewhere, he did not see the predatory expressions gracing the approaching cats' faces.
The little boy cried out in shock when he was pounced on by one cat and bitten by another. He quickly scrambled away but more cats jumped onto him, nipping and scratching at him. B was shaking with mirth, but was quick to aid the child. He didn't want him traumatized, just wary and distrustful of cats.
He brushed the cats off of the boy, earning a few scratches himself, however the animals were quick to understand that he was the fishy one. With Harry clear of the cats, B became the new target.
"Why are they attacking?!" Harry's green eyes were wide and dark, shimmering with fear, childish fear. His hands would not stop shaking as he back stepped out of the alley.
"Because that's what cats do," B finally got the last cat off him, Hachibi was already healing him. "Run!" Harry did not need to be told twice and quickly fled the evil alleyway, B silently laughing behind him. All according to plan!
The next day, after Jiraiya worked with the boy and ran off with Naruto to flirt with unsuspecting women, Yugito joined the two males again.
"So, Namikaze-kun, would you like to learn that shuriken trick I was talking about?" the little boy was tense around her and he shook his head quickly. His green eyes were wide as he watched every movement she made, like she was about to attack him. Each muscle spasm was caught in the boy's sharp yet trembling eyes.
"No thank you," his voice was small and wavered slightly with, what the teen believed to be, fear. "I only know how to use senbon and kunai anyways," Harry added, subconsciously moving closer to B, who was laughing softly.
"What did you do, Senpai?" Yuugito's eyes were narrowed in an accusatory fashion, her hands found their way to her hips. She knew the boy wasn't afraid of her because she was a jinchuuriki, it had to be some other reason.
"I merely showed him the evil of cats," shaking her head slowly, the girl hissed at him before running away to train. That selfish jerk, he needed to find his own students to teach!
"I don't like cats," Harry whispered softly, moving close enough to B for his shoulder to touch the man's leg. His eyes were wide and his face pale. He really, really did not like cats.
"Me neither," B ruffled the boy's messy hair, a satisfied smile in place. All according to plan.
At the end of every day the kid would work on trying to pop the rubber ball, but to no avail. After spending a month in Kumogakure, they were going to go back to Konoha and Harry just wanted to make a Rasengan before he did. Screaming in a childish desire to show his frustration, Harry threw the rubber ball as far as he could away from his person.
He felt a bit like Karui when the girl didn't beat him at a race, one which she started and would give herself a head start. But it was so frustrating. He did his best, but it wasn't enough! Just like Karui trying to beat him at speed.
Glaring down at his hand he started to circulate the chakra in his hand to make a Rasengan. He didn't get why he couldn't make the rubber ball explode, it was driving him nuts. He couldn't summon a toad and he couldn't pop the rubber ball! Closing his eyes angrily, tears of frustration sliding down his face, Harry kept forcing his chakra into his hand.
The only thing he'd been successful with the last few weeks was his progress in knife-play. Though B wouldn't openly admit it, the boy knew the man was proud of him. That was an emotion he recently learned his father expressed often. The light in his father's usually dull brown orbs was pride, and B shared that emotion when Harry was able to fight with four knives or recite a historical event.
So why was this so hard? He could Hiraishin, he could imitate the chakra circulation perfectly for the Rasengan, but it never worked. Yelling in his frustration, Harry smashed his hand into the ground, only feel the mountain shake beneath his hand.
Blinking his eyes open, Harry found himself standing in small carter as tall as him. Jiraiya could be heard above Harry clapping and laughing, for once not running off to flirt, mainly because B had the old man's secret seduction weapon, Naruto.
"Congratulations, you made a successful Rasengan!" Harry couldn't believe it, and accordingly fell onto his bottom in shock.
Sitting in his own carter, Harry held up his left hand and began circulating his chakra through it in the correct pattern. Sure enough, a small orb of blue chakra swirled in his hand. Closing his hand Harry tried it with his right hand again. The same results occurred. He did it? He did it!
Jumping up, Harry ran out of the carter and tackled his teacher while laughing. Fortunately B was holding Naruto. The Jinchūriki had taken a liking to the little baby, having known from day one it was Uzumaki's offspring; the eyes gave him away. The spiky blonde hair also identified the babe as Namikaze's, though keeping to his mantra, he did not tell a soul. After all, they did not mess with Uzumakis or Namikazes, and that boy was both of those families.
"Don't get too full of yourself, Kid, you still haven't beaten me in a one on one spar," B teased, as he bounced a giggling Naruto on his hip, a smirk firmly in place. Harry sat up on his teacher's chest, and turned to B with marginally narrowed eyes, which glimmered like crackling green flames. The boy nodded once, knowing that he had yet to be the man without the help of clones.
"Next time we're here, we'll fix that," B couldn't contain his laugh, noting that the boy was chuckling too. He would be looking forward to that visit. The boy was certainly something else.
"Yeah, I'll make sure of it," the corner of B's mouth quirked upward, "I'll also make sure you say hi to your girlfriend, when you visit" the two adults chuckled at the boy's slight flush at the mention of his brash friend Karui. Telling her good bye would be an interesting but loud affair.
A Suivre
A/N:
So I'm well aware that B is probably OOC, sorry about that (I'm not comfortable writing raps or poetry so...). I see B being a parental figure for Harry, for some reason... Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it. ~ Love, depressedchildren
