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: I'm updating again, because it was just editing for this chapter. Many have asked when Itachi will come in, originally he would have come in already, but that would have been if I was summarizing and did not value character development. I also haven't looked at most of this in probably a year so I forgot when I exactly I put Itachi in and I thought it was sooner than I've written. So...to make up for that, chapters are going to get twice as long since I'll start combining them; which means, there will be much more editing on my part and it will be a while before I update again. 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 Huit
"I don't get it!"
The two guards at the front of the village winced at the volume of the screech, along with three others. Harry recovered first, dropping his shoulders from their raised position and smoothing out his face of all emotion.
"I just have to go Karui-chan," Harry tried for a second only to be jabbed with a very sharp nail in the chest by the hot-tempered redhead. The five-year-old girl had one hand on her hip while the other was repeatedly poking the boy in the chest.
"Why?! What can't you tell me, huh? What?!" the girl even began to circle around the frowning boy, punctuating each word with a jab to the boy's torso.
"Karui-chan!" Two of the four present adults tried to stifle their snickering behind coughs at the slightly elongated phrasing of the name and the higher pitch added to it. Said adults looked at each other and nodded with knowing smiles. That was the closest they most likely ever hear the boy come to whining.
"Go save him," B jerked his head toward at the two children, the girl was continuing her tirade of questions but gave the older boy no opportunity to respond.
"Karui-chan," Jiraiya called the yelling girl's attention, silencing her for the moment – a most blissful moment of silence for the two guards waiting by the village gates. "Nami-kun, as you know, is a ninja and he is on a training mission with me. We need to go onto a new location to further his training. Do you really want to hold Nami-kun back by making him stay here? Would you want Nami-kun to do that to you if you were a ninja?" Jiraiya reasoned in a slow steady voice. His gray eyes bore into the dark girl's golden eyes.
The girl's shoulders dropped while she slowly shook her head in negation. She and Nami-kun had had a long conversation about him being a Konoha-nin. She knew her friend would have to leave but she didn't think it would be so soon! He inspired her to be a ninja too – to be a super cool kunoichi as soon as possible!
"Sorry Nami-kun," Karui brought her hands together in front of her, raising her shoulders up slightly while she looked down at the ground. While she mumbled her apology she scuffed the ground with her sandal and scrunched her nose. "I don't have many friends," she whispered, peering at the slightly shorter child despite her downturned face.
"It's okay, you're my second friend, ever," Harry admitted, mimicking her position except that his hands were clasped behind his back and a small blush dusted his pale cheeks. Kauri's face shot up and her eyes widened while her mouth fell open.
"Really?" there was a breathless quality to her voice, and after Harry nodded his head slightly, she launched herself at the boy. Harry tensed initially at the contact but returned her hug. Jiraiya and B glanced at each other again, smiling slightly.
Jiraiya still feared being tortured, who knew how a psychopath like James would react to his six-year-old having a five-year-old 'girlfriend.' But it was a good experience; he just hoped the kid wouldn't tell his father. He really didn't want his mind attacked again, or be put under that crucio thing. Jiraiya blinked a few times when he saw the little girl kiss his student on the cheek before shyly waving goodbye.
Harry ducked his head in response, waving in return. The girl quickly ran away, leaving B to give his official goodbye to the kid. B crouched down in front of the still blushing boy and clapped his hands on Harry's shoulder.
"See you kid. Come visit sometime, okay?" B's expression was neutral once more, but his eyes looked into the boy's eyes intently. Harry tried to stay on the surface of B's thoughts but he quickly found himself pulled into the jinchūriki's mind.
"You better not have been thinking of leaving without saying bye to me!" Harry jumped slightly at the loud yell Hachibi threw at him. The demon then gestured for the boy to hop onto its nose.
"I'm sorry Hachibi-sama," Harry stated as he jumped onto the bull-octopus. B was already sitting on the demon's nose and quickly pulled the boy onto his lap.
"I'll miss you kid," B mumbled nudging the boy's head playfully with his nose.
"I'll miss you too Jinchūriki-sama, and I'll miss you too Hachibi-sama. You're so much nicer to talk to than Kyūbi. It just says bad words all the time and asks me to release it," Harry scrunched up his nose when he mentioned Kyūbi, he could carry on a conversation with the demon, but it was much more difficult than with Hachibi-sama.
"Why thank you," Hachibi tilted its head slightly, not enough to tip the two sitting on its muzzle, but enough to show his appreciation for the child's words. "Now…" the demon's eyes narrowed as he looked cross-eyed at the boy, "No dying on us, you hear?"
"You still have to beat me in a solo match," B added after his tenant finished speaking. Harry laughed softly, before he nodded his head. His eyes scrunched slightly as he gave the two beings a closed mouth smile.
"I'll do my best," Harry finally answered, letting his mind slip out of theirs. Seconds had passed while they had talked to the bijuu. B squeezed the boy's shoulders once more before standing up and nodding to him. The twenty-year-old then turned to the white haired man watching the two of them. B tipped his head down, one corner of his mouth quirked up. Jiraiya repaid the gesture before ushering his student out of the village, both carrying walking sticks this time.
The snow along the path was thick by this point, and both travelers were prepared for the worst while the little baby strapped to Jiraiya's chest was an indiscernible blob of blankets, leathers, and wool. All three bore a paper seal on their clothes, a seal of Harry's own making. It would ensure the object it was attached to would maintain a heat of at least twenty degrees Celsius, twenty-five degrees if the mountain wind was not too strong.
With ducked heads against the occasional gust of wind which shot up sprays of snow, the two began their decent. The sticks in their hands were used to feel for the mountain's edge as thick clouds enveloped their path. Within half a day they made it out of the clouds, but the path was still covered with snow, nearly up to Harry's waist, most places were only at his knees though.
Jiraiya suggested he use his chakra to keep him atop the snow, so as to make their way easier. The advice worked surprisingly well for an hour until the boy nearly fell off the mountain due to a large gust of wind and snow. It blinded him for moment, during which he as nearly at the edge of the mountain. Jiraiya quickly shot out a hand to drag the boy back toward the inner part of the mountain path.
Within a day of nonstop walking, the two soon found themselves at the base of the mountain, where a few centimeters of snow lay. From there, they made it back to Konoha in good time, bypassing the land of frost but not stopping in the hot spring town as they had the first time around. Jiraiya was on a mission, one that was doing wonders for Harry's endurance and speed. They would start running at sunrise and would stop to set up camp during sunset. Their only breaks occurred when Naruto cried from being jostled too much, needed a changing, or was hungry.
Once they were near home, Jiraiya diverted away from the village and began to travel along a very well hidden path. They moved much slower at this point, due to the discreetness of the path. If they moved along it too quickly, they easily lost sight of it and became lost. Harry continued his work on seals now that they were walking; he even invented a few designs.
After the first week of walking this path, Harry could no longer stay quiet. "Where are we going? Why is it taking so long?" It was the middle of the night and Jiraiya had finally decided to set up camp. They would walk the majority of the day. Sometimes they headed east, other times west, the path made no sense!
"We're going to Mount Myōboku, the place where the elder and sage toads reside. They'll have an answer for why you can't summon any toads," Jiraiya stared at the boy from across the fire. His brow was furrowed slightly, and in the fire light it cast a deep shadow over his forehead.
It was a mystery to him, no matter how many times he put the kid into a life threatening situation; he could not summon a toad. The boy usually ended up popping himself out of it, though one time he appeared with the skin missing from his left forearm. Jiraiya really didn't want to know how that happened, but was thankful that B was there to calm the screaming boy down. The Sannin was positive the boy wasn't using the Hiraishin technique when this happened either, but then what was the boy doing?!
"How long will it take?" Harry asked while yawning, his eyes were burning from the long day and they refused to stay open. It didn't help that the weather was steadily growing colder, thus making the boy feel feverish before the fire.
"Another three weeks, maybe less if we can move faster without losing the path," Harry nodded slowly, his head lolling forward before his eyes fell closed.
Jiraiya chuckled, no matter how intelligent or powerful the brat was, at the end of the day he was just a little kid. It was a relief to see him finally acting that way.
They reached their destination when Jiraiya said they would. Naruto had grown quite a lot in last three months; he gurgled and giggled more, in addition to the thick, wild, blonde hair that crowned his head. Winter had fully set in as they walked, but with the young baby as swaddled as he was he felt nothing. Harry's seal also helped. Jiraiya could not be prouder of his student, the boy was already inventing his own seals!
Upon entering Mount Myōboku, the travelers were greeted by the thick smell of peat but the crisp scent of winter. There was frost skirting along the deep boggy pools, and frost shimmered off the trees. This would melt away in a few weeks, seeing as the temperature during winter in Konoha averaged three to five degrees Celsius.
Regardless, both children seemed stunned by the large stone statues around them; both of them experiencing the sight for the first time. The waterfall falling, from the plateau they were standing, on shimmered in the sunlight. The mists of the waterfall crystalized in the air before falling to the ground like jewels.
Jiraiya was prepared to wait for the toads to come up from their sleeps in the deep swamps, but was shocked when the ground rumbled and Gambunta appeared. The boss toad had a pipe to his mouth in an attempt to circulate heat into his body. The large amphibian's pupils narrowed at the sight that greeted him. He had felt someone come into their domain despite the freezing temperatures. He was not happy to be woken up when there was frost in the air.
"What's with the brat and tadpole?" the boss summons asked, pipe hanging lazily from his mouth. "And why the hell did you choose winter to visit?" the boss summon growled, arms crossed over his chest while his webbed hands clenched together in frustration.
"The brat is my new student, and the 'tadpole' is Minato-kun's son, so show some respect!" Jiraiya shouted back as he tilted his head back to nod while he looked up at the large toad. One hand was on his hip while the other was pointed at the toad. The effect was lost however by the blob of cloth strapped to his chest.
"Maybe when they can summon me and prove themselves," retorted the large toad as he sat back on his hind legs. His eyes attempted to glare at the white haired man but the effect was lost due to his anatomy.
"What on earth is all this ruckus?" a feminine toad burst forth from the boggy pool, a shawl wrapped around her purple robe. Shivering, she came forward, her eyes narrowing when they took in the sight of raven haired boy.
"Shima-san!" Jiraiya walked forward to greet the Sage Toad when she held up her webbed hand, stopping him in his tracks.
"This boy is strange," she began, her pupils narrowing as she zeroed in on Harry and pointed a ball-tipped finger at the boy. "He seems to have potential for senjutsu but has no way to form a contract with us," her brow furrowed, "I must be sensing incorrectly," the female toad laughed feebly, but a frown was set in her toad features while she wrapped her arms tightly around her. Gods it was freezing!
An elderly male toad appeared beside her, wearing a cloak around his shoulders, and also stared at the boy curiously. However, his eyes shifted to the baby in Jiraiya's arms. "Strange…" male toad turned to the woman and they both nodded.
"What is it Fukasaku-san?" the two toads said nothing to their old pupil's question. Gambunta was also silent, his expression turning uneasy. What had the usually bickering couple so serious and in agreement? What was so unique about this boy? How could he be able to do senjutsu without a contract?
"Come with us," they ordered in unison, now leading the three travelers to the location of the Great Toad Sage. He would surely have answers for them, plus his hut was delightfully warm and muggy this time of year.
Jiraiya couldn't sit still as he waited for the elder toad to come out of his reverie, perhaps it was the uncomfortable climate of the hut but the man could not take much more this waiting. Harry was also antsy, but that was to be expected of a six-year-old. Of course Naruto was oblivious to the world, happily cooing in Shima's arms. She enjoyed the little human, it made her think of having tadpoles if she wasn't so old. Throwing a look toward her husband, Fukasaku shook his head quickly. While Shima glowered at her husband, the Great Toad Sage spoke.
"He's not from our world," the toad stated simply, gesturing to the raven haired child. "Thus, he has no connection to our contracts," The toads eyes were nearly closed as he gave the boy a wrinkly smile.
"But he does have potential for senjutsu?" Fukasaku questioned, stepping forward slightly. His webbed fingers came together for a moment, tapping each other in his anxiousness.
"Not quite, it seems he has innate ability to draw in natural energies but what happens after doing so, I cannot say. However, Minato-kun and now this little one" the old toad turned his gaze toward the baby in Shima's arms, his ever present smile growing fonder before he continued, "Can also easily draw in the natural energy, but senjutsu seems much more plausible for them."
Jiraiya looked at the baby in Shima's arms, his eyes marginally wider, what was different about them? Minato had always been a curious child, strange things happened around him and his uncle. Both children had inexhaustible energy, and it was almost magical what Minato could do with seals. Not to mention the infamous spinach debacle, no one ever did figure out where it all went... Perhaps it was something in their blood, something Minato and Harry gained from their grandparents that allowed such curious things to happen around them?
"This boy also has a prophecy over his head," the toad murmured suddenly, his squinted gaze grew more so, and his expression took on one of deep concentration "let's see if I understood it correctly… 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies, and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not. And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies'" the Great Toad Sage paused, "Very confusing and boring, that is."
But the prophecy left a heavy silence upon Harry and Jiraiya. Both of their heads were directed toward the ground as they mulled over what the toad told them. Harry's small fingers clinched his pants until his knuckles turned white. It was the Bad Man, he was sure of it. It was his entire fault the Bad Man killed his mother.
"C-could the Dark Lord be the one in my head?" Harry asked his teacher, his eyes wide yet dark. It made so much sense to him… "I-is he the Bad Man Father always talks about finding us and…" Harry's lip began to tremble as tears welled up in his big green eyes. Saying that out loud confirmed his previous thoughts. The piteous evil soul attached to him must be the Dark Lord; it must be the Bad Man. He was the reason for his mother's death, for everything that had happened to them, him and his father.
"Now, now," Shima passed off the baby to her husband and moved to comfort the child, oh how she loved children! "Everything's going to be fine, there's no bad man here, and you may have already defeated him. Besides, he's senile at times," Shima gestured back to the decrepit looking toad behind her for her last comment, "for all we know, it may be a false prophecy since it isn't one of his own foreshadowings,"
The silence that fell over the room's occupants spoke otherwise. Even Harry knew what the kindly old toad said was too good to be true, and his father had said the bad man was still alive, still looking for them. Harry also had a piece of the man's soul to prove he wasn't gone, yet. That something inside of him was prolonging that vile man's life. Only the uttermost certainty of death could destroy that soul fragment, or at least allow Harry to communicate with the being.
"Hmm…? I wonder what you are?" the Great Toad Sage's comment made all those gathered laugh slightly. It wasn't what he said but how he said it that made the tension leave the room. It was a quite amusing for the toads lips smacked together several times, as if tasting the words as he said them.
"Hey Brat, why don't you show Gambunta your Rasengan?" Jiraiya's voice rang out in the small muggy hut. His face distorted in his attempt to smile, his eyes squinted from the force of the smile. Harry turned around to face his teacher and smiled meekly at the suggestion before he nodded and got up to leave of the eerie room. His shoulders were drawn up to his ears, he felt so small. Jiraiya rose from his seat as well, one hand clamping down on the boy's shoulder that was closest to him. In a way, he was grounding the boy by simply letting his presence be known. It eased the boy immensely, so much that his other shoulder began to lower and his head rose higher.
"Boy!" Harry and Jiraiya paused mid step as the Great Toad Sage called for Harry's attention, "You will not be alone in your fulfilling of this prophecy. A brother will be beside you every step, and a father will support you both through to the end,"
Silence rang after the old toad's words, a weight seemed to lift slightly off of Harry's shoulders, but his chest still felt burdened. He knew the trials would come later in his life and that Jiraiya would not always be with him, thus knowing that there would be someone with him through it all…it was a relief, but he could not bear dragging someone else into this mess. He saw the Bad Man's memories; he knew what horrors that thing could bring.
"Thank you, Great Toad Sage," Harry murmured, turning to bow in respect before leaving with less of a spring in his step.
Naruto seemed very fond of the swampy world they found themselves in. Perhaps it was from Shima's constant coddling, and maybe the toads playing with him as he began to crawl, but the infant would scream if they headed toward the exit. And honestly, Jiraiya didn't want to leave. He was perfecting his sage mode under the watchful eye of Fukasaku and Shima, while Harry worked on his speed, agility, and stealth with the toads, primarily Gambunta's children Gamakichi and Gamatatsu.
Time flew by, the only real gauge they had was Naruto's growing form and the weather changes but it slipped their mind, as if time didn't really exist in this place. They knew a week passed when they looked at Naruto and realized he had grown. Shima had all but kidnaped Naruto from his guardians, thus it shocked Jiraiya and Harry whenever they saw the baby. He was looking more and more like his father with his mother's eyes and baby fat.
It was while they lived in the toad community that the boy finally mastered the rerouting of his chakra. It had taken the seven-year-old (not that they were aware a year had passed) by surprise.
"Gamakichi-nii, got you!" Harry tagged the red little toad before leaping out of the way of the toad's tongue. Harry's impish face was stretched by the smile on his face, and his eyes glimmered with mirth.
"Brat!" the small red toad all but screamed. Harry just smiled mischievously, unknowingly mimicking an expression his father often wore as a child. He had only meant to dodge to the right, but he found himself experiencing the strange sensation of the world slowing down and his body speeding up.
He whipped his head to the side to gap at his after image, Gamakichi's tongue sticking out of the flickering stomach. Harry looked down at his body in surprise; he didn't feel tired, at all! As he looked at his torso he gasped at what he saw. His chakra was moving in the correct pattern for the Hiraishin, without him having to put a conscious effort into it. Gamakichi mirrored the seven-year-old's expression, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. As if on the same brain wave, the two children ran off toward the ring of toad statues.
"Jiraiya-sensei!"
"Old Man!"
Both children tackled said old man, their eyes wide and excited. Jiraiya was abruptly forced out of sage mode by a tap to his head from the rod in Fukasaku's hand. He was about to scold the two boys when they quickly stunned him into silence.
"I can use the Hiraishin!" Harry exclaimed, quickly demonstrating by appearing on Gambunta's head before appearing on top of one of the stone statues, "I'm not even tired!" Harry cheered as he performed the jutsu once more and was back on his teacher's chest.
"Isn't it cool?" Gamakichi asked, looking up at his father who just stared at the human boy with his mouth partially open. Gamakichi jumped on his hind feet a few times, his webbed hands clasping together as he waited for a verbal response from his father.
However, as the silence stretched the two children looked at each other. A set of circular pupils and rectangular pupils flicked between the three adults and other child. Their breathing increased and both boys found themselves swallowing thickly as the two older toads and older human continued to stare at Harry with varying degrees of open mouths. A small yellow toad came bouncing over from his place by his father, having watched what the human boy did with wide, excited eyes.
"I think you broke Daddy and the old ones," the toad stated, his puffed out cheeks becoming more so. He began to jump up and down as he looked between the five other occupants of the clearing. "I really think you did," the toad stated again. Jiraiya's jaw was the most open, his gray eyes were nearly popping out of his head.
"I think you're right Gamatatsu-nii," Harry whispered slowly, his green eyes once more flickering between the three adults. The three children began to slowly back out of the statue area, each one had their wide eyes trained on one of the adults, just in case smoke started to pour out of the grown-up's ears and sparks shot out of their joints.
"What's my name Naruto?" Shima cooed at the baby version of Minato.
"Nii!" the little boy cried, his blue eyes gazing past the elder toad. The little blonde's mouth was wide open, showing off his gummy mouth. The little blonde even stuck his fingers into his mouth while his feet kicked up in the small chair he was strapped to.
"No Naruto, Kaasan" the old toad tried, elongating the word 'Kaasan.' In her attempts to make the one-year-old call her his mother, she became completely unaware that two young toads and a young human standing behind her.
"Obaasan is more likely," chuckled Gamakichi, bringing a webbed hand to covering his mouth. His comment caused his little brother and Harry to snicker with him. Shima turned around with her eyes narrowed as best as her anatomy allowed, but they softened when they landed on Harry.
"What brings you three back before dinner?" If she had eyebrows they would have been raised, but her webbed hands still clasped before her as she looked expectantly at the three children. It was often the case that by the time the boys came back, Naruto would be in bed, allowing the older inhabitants to eat without the chance of food being thrown at them.
"Harry broke Daddy and Old Man Jiraiya and Fukasaku-sama," Gamatatsu rushed out, flailing his yellow arms and jumping up and down on his hind legs for emphasis. Despite his excited tone, his words still caused Harry to bow his head and flush slightly, his shoulders at his ears.
"Now how could that happen?" Shima questioned her voice air and edged with amusement. Her aged eyes twinkled playfully while her toad mouth stretched into an almost indulgent smile. She assumed the boys pulled a prank on the 'men', something the two toads were experts at wrangling Harry in to doing. Harry was much stealthier than the other two, thus was often chosen to perform the prank lest it was a trap prank.
"He can do the Hiraishin" Gamatatsu exclaimed, flailing his yellow arms yet again, nearly whacking his brother in the process.
"Yes he can, but I hardly see how that 'broke' them," there was laughter in the elder toad's voice, which only made Harry bow his head further, his chest felt warm again and his face was flushed.
"But he can do it and not be tired," Gamakichi's statement wiped the mirth off of the old toad's face, and she too appeared broken. Her eyes were wider than normal, while her mouth hung open and her arms fell limply to her sides. It was the exact same reaction as the other adults.
"When do you think they'll be better?" Gamatatsu asked his big brother, his brow furrowed, who just shook his head in reply.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Harry turned an exasperated expression on his teacher, who was flitting around him like a parent who was about to see their first child off to school. Jiraiya's hands would not stay still; they kept clasping and unclasping, even drumming in the air to some unknown yet spastic rhythm. Jiraiya's feet were not any better, they kept walking over each other, cross without the older man's knowing and consequently stumbling him.
Harry put the finishing touches to his wax seal on the swamp floor. The ornate patterns interlocked and created two circles within a greater design. He wasn't sure what the seal would look like on him, but he guessed his lightning scar would become more prominent after this was over. He wanted his mind separate from the other soul living inside of him. He wanted to suppress it from interacting with him; to keep its dreams and thoughts to itself and vice versa.
Harry was ready, they had been preparing his sealing abilities for past year and a half, and this was not nearly as complicated as fixing a jinchūriki seal. Taking a deep breath, Harry ran over the hand signs that would amplify the chakra he put into the seal.
Giving his teacher and the toads around him a nod, Harry began pushing his chakra into the seal, his hands were blur as they mechanically worked through the hand signs. The blue of his chakra was already seeping into the seal after only a few seconds. Closing his eyes he saw the effect better. The blue chakra bleached out into white shimmering light that danced behind his eyelids. The boy was met with resistance as the separating part of the seal began to take effect.
The other soul was no match though, as Harry added five more hand signs that were guaranteed, and proven, to suppress foreign spirits. Those hands seals were more commonly used with weakened demons, but the other soul was just that, a weak demon. As the inner part of the seal was activated, he could hear the other soul screaming and cursing him in some foreign language. The suppression seal took hold, and the soul could no longer psychologically harm Harry. Though the soul was not outside of his body, it would no longer harm him, only death would guarantee a chance to get rid of the soul completely.
The seven-year-old fell to his knees, his arms held his torso up as he panted. He felt so tired! He could feel the thrumming energy around him, and it felt so tempting to just reach out and…
Harry's green eyes fluttered open, the air around him was buzzing with a natural and wild energy. He could see his body dragging it in, replenishing him. Laughing weakly, Harry collapsed forward; the colorful energies around him were dancing and hugging him. Sighing in comfort, Harry drifted off, feeling protected by the energy around him.
"Do you have to go?" Shima was all but begging, her eyes lingering on the little baby Naruto, who was four months shy of two years old.
"Bye-bye Baasan!" Naruto cheered, he was currently on his 'big brother's' hip, and waving wildly at the old toad woman. His baby teeth were displayed proudly as he gave a slightly gummy smile.
"We've been here too long," Jiraiya deadpanned after Naruto was done shouting. "And I've been meaning to see my old students" the sage toads nodded in understanding, but with heavy hearts waved the three males off.
"I hope they write!" Shima cried into her husband's chest, her webbed hands covering her mouth. She was already missing her little Naruto's company.
"I hope Naruto-kun summons us some day!" cried Gamatatsu, large smile distorting his puffy features, "And that he has lots of snacks!" this received him a thump over the head from his older brother and a whispered, 'idiot'.
"If that blonde bundle of energy summons anyone, it'll be me first," Gambunta grumbled, before splitting his children up before they got into fight and wrecked part of the forest.
The three had been walking for a week, Harry studying his scrolls while Jiraiya tried to teach Naruto how to speak correctly, and failing.
"Neh, Neh, Ojii, what's that?" Naruto screeched; his words would have been completely unintelligible to a bystander. This was primarily due to the rate at which the toddler spoke and the fact that his tongue could not form certain consonants yet.
"That's a shuriken" Harry cut himself off, as both he and Jiraiya got into defensive positions. The Sannin threw Harry a giggling and wriggling Naruto before ordering him to hide as a barrage of throwing weapons began raining down on them.
Harry used the Hiraishin technique to get out of the range of weapons, while Jiraiya used his hair as a shield, forming a hard cocoon around him.
Rouge-nin entered the clearing their faces falling when the realized they had not hit the two children. They then gasped at the white haired shell and began stumbling backwards.
"Shit, that's a Sannin!"
"Fuck," but the men's curses were cut off with guttural gurgles. Harry just held Naruto close to his chest, keeping him from looking at the clearing below. The almost seven year old had his eyes clenched tightly closed, his whole body trembling. He could see the bright energy of the rouge-nin flicker away as Jiraiya dispatched the wanna-be bandits. He felt sick…
"They're dead, come out," Jiraiya's words were gruff. He shook his head at the fools lying on the ground in their own pools of blood. A hunter-nin would come by soon and clean up the mess, there was bound to be one or two searching for these ruffians. Scowling, Jiraiya moved away from the carnage.
Harry dropped down from the tree branch they had occupied, he held firmly to Naruto while he kept his eyes tightly closed. Jiraiya frowned but he too did not want children so young seeing the sight he had left behind him. Wrapping an arm around his student, the Sannin led them away from the clearing. Thus dashed Naruto's hopes of seeing what had happened, but that only encouraged the blonde to punish his guardians for not letting him see by pulling on their long hair until he was set down to waddle beside them.
As the name Amegakure suggested, the sky was letting loose buckets of water upon the three travelers' heads. Harry and Naruto marveled at the towering skyscrapers above them, their wide eyes now taking up most of their faces. However, they soon grew tired of having water fall into their eyes.
Jiraiya watched the two children fondly, glad that Harry was finally acting his age. Of course the boy was still afraid of disappointing anyone but the man hoped he would grow out of that someday. They were just exiting the market district with a few bags tucked into Harry's pack, when Jiraiya's gray eyes caught the sight of a paper bird ducking into an alley. Good, now he wouldn't have to search for them.
"Come on, this way," Harry shifted Naruto on his back so he could move faster as he chased after his teacher.
The paper bird lead them through a complicated circuit around the village, one tiring enough that Harry had to pass off Naruto so he could keep up with his teacher. After an indefinite amount of time in the rain, Naruto claiming it was taking forever, they came to a nondescript parchment store.
Knocking with one hand on his knee and panting, Jiraiya waited with baited breath for his student to open the door.
"Jiraiya-sensei," a blue haired woman greeted, opening the door wider, her eyes narrowing at the sight of a young Konoha Genin and a little toddler.
"Konan!" he greeted, dropping the suffix due to his familiarity with the young woman. "I've been meaning to catch up with you three, how are you all? Are Yugato and Nagato still having petty arguments?" despite panting, Jiraiya's mouth was stretched wide, his eyes crinkling due to the broadness of his smile.
The woman remained stone faced, refusing to reply to her old teacher's questions. Instead, she lead them to the back of the store and through a secret passage way.
What they saw on the other end caused Harry and Jiraiya to gasp while Naruto just giggled, "Neh, Nii, what's that?" Naruto began to wriggle in Jiraiya's arms. Unfortunately, the sannin was too shocked by the sight before him to keep a firm hold on the boy. Naruto screamed as he started to fall, and if not for Harry's absentminded reflexes, the boy would have landed on his head.
Nagato and Konan just stared at the curious blonde boy, having not understood a single thing the young child had said. Though if his chubby pointing finger was anything to go off of, then they assumed he was commenting on the chakra rods coming out of Nagato's back.
"Nagato" Jiraiya was going to add a suffix but his voice caught in his throat, his hands were trembling while his mouth fell open. "What happened?" the old man fell to his knees in horror, cursing himself for leaving those young children so soon.
"Danzo and Hanzo happened," the emaciated man with black rods sticking out of his back stated in a cold tone.
"Brat, take Naruto and wait outside," Jiraiya's voice was hard, he could see the loss clearly on his former students' faces.
"Why? Father's been trying to find dirt on him for ages so Hokage-sama can kick him off the council," Konan and Nagato turned their sharp gazes to the young boy holding a squirming and confused Naruto. The narrowed green eyes and firm line of the boy's lips confirmed that he was serious, thus giving the two rogue-nin something to think about.
"I doubt the words of rogue-nin will be much valued," Konan whispered bitterly, her eyes dark while her face distorted from a scowl.
"But it can cause some ninja to turn against him," Jiraiya offered, his gray eyes were like steel while a frown marred his usually cheerful face. "Brat, you and Naruto get out, now," the man nearly growled, one hand was fisted in his gray pants while he continued to look at his old students. In a way, he was punishing himself for leaving them too soon by taking in the damage dealt to Nagato's body.
Harry stayed stubbornly in his place, his jaw moving around as he thought through the various consequences such disobedience would have. While he was thinking, Naruto began to wail and carry on, pleading in his inarticulate way to stay. Blue eyes glimmered with tears as his pudgy hands feebly hit the pale arms wrapped around him.
"Fine, but Danzo needs to pay," Harry threw over his shoulder as he moved toward the paper store, "for trying to take Naruto away," Jiraiya winced as the boy left their presence. Of course the kid would have heard about the council's various plans. One plan was to kill Naruto and place the Kyūbi in an older host – unsurprisingly, that was Danzo's plan and the vessel he had in mind was one of his brainwashed ROOT kids. However, when that idea was rejected, the man decided he would just make Naruto into one of his 'brainwashed kids'.
The two former students looked at their teacher, eyes flashing like metal for a moment before beginning to speak.
After a good fifteen minutes of Naruto screaming his head off, the boy was finally calm and pouting at the other end of the counter Harry was currently sitting against. Harry tried to cheer the little blonde up with a slight of hand trick, but the boy obstinately continued to sulk. In the end, the two children just leaned against the store's counter and waited and waited. Naruto finally fell asleep, using Harry as his pillow; having finally forgiven the raven haired boy.
That was ten minutes ago, but now the store bell rang and woke Naruto up. Harry shot to his feet, bringing Naruto to his hip. "The owner is in the back, I'll go get…" Harry's words died on his tongue when he saw the customer. His expression remained neutral while the little blonde's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. Before the blonde could speak loudly to the newcomer, Harry brought his finger to the baby's lips and shook his head.
"Konoha Genin Namikaze, yes?" Harry nodded slowly, swallowing thickly, but otherwise giving nothing away, "with the demon child, perfect," the person drawled. Harry's body tensed as the masked man started for them.
Harry knew the man was from Konoha due to the ANBU tattoo on his upper arm. Each village had a unique tattoo for their ANBU but what the sign was not known between countries. Thankfully, due to Harry's father he could recognize the Konoha symbol. If it were any other country he would not have recognized it, and would have been more on guard.
"Ah!" the ANBU was shaking his head and wagging his finger when he noticed the boy tense up to move, "You run, and I'm to assume you defected," Harry's mouth fell open, his shoulders slackened. Naruto had his head tilted to one side and his face was scrunched up, what was the masked person saying? What was 'defected?' seemed to be the questions go around inside the almost two-year-old's mind.
"W-why would you say that?" The ANBU chuckled darkly at Harry's stammer and stepped closer to the boy. He then began pacing in front of Harry, stalking him like wolf before a rabbit.
"Nii, I'm scared" Naruto whined pitifully, unable to pronounce the final consonants; his expression fell into a frown while his pudgy hands clung tightly to the fabric of Harry's shirt. The blonde's trembling words only made the ANBU laugh harder.
"The Council sent out a summons six months ago for your orderly return, they sent it to every country, friend and foe," Harry couldn't respond, he knew they spent a long time at Mount Myōboku, but six months? No, that had to make sense, Naruto was a rather big and well-functioning baby by this point. But it did not feel like months past, time seemed to hold no meaning in Mount Myōboku.
"The last village you stayed in was Kumogakure, correct?" Harry nodded quickly, unknowingly making the ANBU smirk wider under his mask "that was eighteen months ago. Care to explain where you've been, defector?" the ANBU practically spat out the word. And Harry knew the man was telling the truth, it reflected in his memories of his mission debriefing from a reluctant Hokage with the elder most Council members standing behind him.
"I wasn't defecting, I-I," Harry had never felt so small or so lost, he could feel the man's sneer behind his feline mask — gods Harry did not like cats! "Jiraiya-sensei took me to Mount Myōboku for training, we've been there the whole time," Harry's voice grew smaller and smaller as the ANBU drew closer to him, clearly not buying what the kid was saying. Harry brought the shaking blonde closer to him, wrapping his arms around the blonde like a shield.
"Well, now you and the demon spawn have a lot of explaining to do. I wonder how merciful the Council will be to a demon sympathizer," Naruto seemed to understand that something bad was happening and started to cry into his 'big brother's' shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms more securely around the little boy, narrowing his gaze at the bastard in front of him.
"He's not a demon and I'm telling the truth," he ground out, his usually impish face was distorted with a scowl. Letting out a long breath and composing himself once more; Harry spoke again, but in a softer voice, "I'll come with you."
The seven almost eight-year-old, narrowed his gaze once more at the ANBU in front of him, "you can put your kunai away!" he added when he saw the man reach behind him. "J-Just let me leave a message for Jiraiya-sensei?" he asked weakly, his eyes looked down at the ground while he held to Naruto like a lifeline. His shoulders had fallen and a lump was forming in his throat.
"Be quick, and let me read over it,"
"I planned for you to sign it," Harry stated as calmly as he could while he was allowed to grab some parchment and a writing utensil. No sooner had the ANBU signed the missive, authenticating it, did he grab Harry roughly by the arm and force him out of the building.
Jiraiya-sensei,
While we were training at Mount Myōboku, the Council ordered for my return to Konoha with Naruto. We were there for well over a year and since no one has heard from us, they assumed I defected and kidnaped Naruto. An ANBU operative has come for us and we are willingly leaving with him. It seems the Council will hold a trial to determine if I was a traitor or not. The ANBU operative bringing us to Konoha will sign below.
Your brat of a student, Namikaze
Konoha ANBU Neko.
A Suivre
A/N:
Again, I'm sorry it's taking so long to get Itachi into this, but I swear he is a main character but unlike Harry his childhood isn't drastically altered, only Harry's is. I'll make up for this lack of Itachi by writing a chapter dedicated to him. But I'll start combining chapters, so if it seems like a weird flow, that's why. Hope you enjoyed, love ~ depressedchildren
