Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Bleach or Naruto. If I do, Snape and Itachi wouldn't have died.
A/N: My grammar might be bad, I won't be able to judge it correctly so please give me review on it. As for the story, there might be some inconsistencies because I wrote this bit by bit when I'm in the mood, so please tell me if you spot it. And last but not least, please give me better ideas for the title of this story.
Summary: This is HpxBleachxNaruto. Naruto was sent to Soul Society after he died. Decades after his arrival, he became a shinigami and rose through the rank. He left Soul Society centuries after he became a captain because he could no longer ignore the Central 46 corrupted ruling. Around a century after he that, he arrived in Britain and met Severus Snape whom he adopted.
Chapter Two: Meeting Severus
It had been decades since Naruto had left Soul Society, 172 years to be exact. He spent the years wandering the Living World. He had started in Japan and visited more than half of the countries in the world at least once. Shunpo was really convenient for long distance travel. He had learnt many things in his journey especially languages, laws, cultures, and politics. He had studied human's special abilities – like Quincy power for example – from different parts of the world; there are Onmyoudo in Japan, astrology in China, shamanism in Russia, and alchemy in Egypt. It was fascinating how humans handled hollow – at least the low level ones.
He always moved to another country and changed his identity every ten years or so. Usually he kept his surname – Namikaze – and only change his given name, but sometimes he used his real name. He randomly picked the fake name between Nagato, Minato, Raiya – from Jiraiya, Kurama, Sasuke, and Gaara. Currently he used his real name, had been for the last three years. His occupation never changed even when he used different names; he was a hired mercenary. There were always people willing to pay for someone to do their dirty job. However, he drew the line on hurting innocent people; the day he crossed that line would be the day he turned into the kind of people he despised. The wealth he had accumulated after more than a century was quite a sum although some of his payment was in the form of gemstones, jewelry, or estates.
He leant his head on his hand and looked out the small window to the sea of white, fluffy cloud. A tired sigh escaped his lips. He had been inside this metal contraption for four hours and he felt just a little claustrophobic. The only relief was that he wouldn't die if there was an accident. Thank God for specialized gigai that allowed to keep his abilities as shinigami. It was a good thing he met that Urahara in Japan back then. He got not too bad a deal, financial help and accomodation for a group of fugitives in returned for the gigai. Actually, he would have helped them for free after he heard their situation but Urahara proposed the deal before he could voiced anything and who was he to refused such a good deal.
His mind returned from its wandering a half hour later when an announcement came from overhead. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are ready to descent, please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened and all carry-on luggage is stored safely. Thank you."
He stepped out from the dim lighting of the airport building into bright sunlight and blessed fresh air. His oriental clothes stood out starkly among men with suit and trousers, or the occasional ladies with silk dress or woollen jacket. His subtle Oriental features – which usualy wasn't noticed at first glance – combined with his blond hair and cerulean eyes that made him looked like half-European descent attracted many appreciative glances and stares from women. He dragged his trunk to the nearest cab.
"King's Cross Station," he stated curtly to the driver.
It took nearly an hour to reach the station during which he gazed blankly at the passing scenery. The atmosphere of London was quite deplorable – as was any industrial cities he supposed – with its grey smoke and loud noises. He lamented the fact that people nowadays prefered loud and smelly vehicles to the old fashioned horse carriage. When the cab finally stopped at the station, he stepped out with his luggage and paid the fare. He took a train to Grantham which took another hour. From Grantham Station he took another cab to La Bénédiction Hotel where he will stay until he found a flat for his one month stay. The purpose of his stay was to visit Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, and Sheffield. He picked Grantham to stay at because the small town was located at the middle of those cities and he loved countrysides – the fresh air, the beautiful scenery, and the quiet.
He walked up the steps to the entrance of the hotel where the porter opened it for him. He gave a polite nod and went for the reception desk.
The woman behind it smiled and greeted him, "Good afternoon, how may I help you?"
"I want to book a single room for three days stay."
"We have one room on the second floor and three rooms on the third floor. Which one would you like?"
"I will take the one on the second floor," he answered smoothly.
After he paid the room, the receptionist wrote something and took a key from one of the drawer. She gave him the receipt and the key. "Your room is the fifth on the right. Here's your key. Enjoy your stay."
The room was adequate – just as his former client said – with earth colored theme and cozy atmosphere. He stored his trunk inside the closet and unpacked a thin book titled Curative Herbs of Southern China. After making sure he had his gun and knife on his body, he walked out of his room and locked the door. He was going to get some lunch since the last time he ate anything was the breakfast served in the plane which is five or six hours ago.
While roaming the street looking for a restaurant, he noted every flats and housing agency he passed by. He needed to rent a flat for the next month while he visited the cities as he had planned. After around twenty minutes of walking, Naruto found a small cafe between a flower shop and a clothing store. He stepped inside and picked a table beside the window at the back. The waiter came to give him the menu and he ordered a simple meal of fruit salad, mushroom risotto, and apple juice. He read his book while waiting for his foods. He opened it to the page he had marked and read in silence. It took ten minutes for his drink to arrive and another fifteen for his foods.
After finishing his lunch, he walked around the town for a bit and finally stopped at a park three blocks away from his hotel. He had seen three flats during his walk but between those, only two seemed to have potential. He would have to see them tomorrow as he was not in the mood to bargain a place.
On his way to the flat he had seen the day before, he noticed a black haired child sitting in the shade of a tree in the park with an opened book on his lap watching other children played in the playground. He could see the longing in those black eyes and his mind immediately conjured another child with similar eyes – both as black as polished onyx with sadness and longing swimming in their depths.
Unconsciously, his steps brought him to the park and by the time he returned to the present, he was already halfway to the child. His steps faltered and he changed his direction slightly to the benches facing the sand pit. A child at that age should have been told not to trust strangers, and he didn't want the child to be alerted of him. He felt like a stalker. Thankfully, he brought his book with him so he had an excuse to stay in the park without looking strange or – god forbid – looking like a pedophile.
It was an hour later that a young woman – no similarities and too young to be the boy's mother – approached the boy and ushered him to pack his book. The woman called out in the direction of the playground and several high-pitched voices responded with disappointed cries and groans. Naruto took on the familiar setting from behind his book. He had seen a similar scene a long time ago, although from the black-haired boy's point of view and he was sitting on an old swing.
Orphanage. The boy was an orphan just like him and Sasuke. And he was lonely, and an outcast if the looks thrown his way by the other children were any indication. His heart clenched at the reminder. He knew there were a lot of people with a past like him or Sasuke, but he had never met any. Until now, that is.
His lips formed a thin line in disapproval when a group of older children advanced on the boy and tear away the book roughly. The woman from before – most likely the orphanage matron – had went deeper into the park to fetch the lingering children so no help will come from that front. The younger just ducked his head and kept his silence, he didn't even try to get his book back which meant this wasn't the first time this had happened.
"What are you doing with this, idiot? Looking at the picture?" the boy who held the book taunted loudly as he flip through the book, "Tsk, this thing is full of writings. What, did you just stare at the letters?"
The three other children cornering the boy laughed mockingly, their voices grated on Naruto's ears. Children were such cruel creatures. The grip on his own book tightened, but he held back from interfering. He wanted to see the boy's reaction first to judge if he will help the boy. If the boy was just a little coward, he wouldn't have to get involved because people like that would just grovelled to those in power.
"Don't compare me to you who will only read children book. I know perfectly well what I read which cannot be said about you." A fierce scowl painted the chubby face as he glared at the offending boys.
Well, well, that boy certainly had fire. Naruto smirked and closed his book with a soft snap. He rose from the bench with the grace of a predator on a hunt and walked casually to the small cluster of children. Those outside the circle clearly noticed the adult approaching the bullies and victim, but they wisely didn't say anything to alert them because they could feel the dangerous aura coming from the man. Children were more sensitive when it came to things like that.
Naruto stopped behind the bully who was holding the book – the leader, he assumed – and greeted them with a voice dripping with kindness, "Good morning. There's no trouble here, is it?"
The bullies all whirled around in surprise and the leader stuttered for a bit before offering an excuse, "Yes, there's nothing wrong. We're just...taking a look at Snape's book. U, umm, it seems interesting."
The other quickly catched on and muttered weak agreements. Naruto accepted it easily and shooed them away with a light, "And don't forget to give back the book. I'm sure – Snape, is it? – would like to finish his reading."
The children quickly complied and ran away from Naruto. How rude. He had been sure to keep his smile during their short conversation but they still went without even one goodbye at him. Well, at least they weren't his concern. He turned his attention to the remaining boy who had just finish inspecting his book for any damage.
The pair of black fathomless eyes was looking at him warily and Naruto could clearly feel the tenseness radiating from the small body. "Thank you, mister." The tone was sincere, but there was a touch of apprehension in it.
Naruto could relate to him, he would have been suspicious too if a stranger had helped him in the days he was still Konoha's pariah. After all the bad treatments, he had been expecting the worst from every people he met although he had always hid it behind his village-clown mask. He might be loud and hyperactive but even his friends didn't seem to notice – at least until years later – that he never really opened up about himself – his horrid childhood for example, or even something as simple as his hobbies. He could admit he was quite a paranoid little thing back then, still was actually. It seemed the little one in front of him was quite the same although he hadn't perfected his mask into an art like him.
"You are welcome," Naruto replied lightly, "You should stuck close to an adult, stay in their line of vision at least. They might not care much about you individually, but their presence will be protection against the rowdier children."
A fierce scowl – a cute pout according to him – made its way into the childish face as the boy tilted his face defiantly. "I can protect myself," he said heatedly.
Naruto quirked a half-smile at the response he got. "No need to be so prickly. It's just an advice from a concerned adult," he replied mildly. He paused for a second before asking for his name.
Snape hesitated for a bit, but he decided that the man couldn't do anything with just his name after all. "Severus Snape."
"Mine's Naruto Namikaze," Naruto returned easily, "It's a pleasure meeting you, Severus-kun. I have to go now, supposed to be flat-hunting. Do you know a nice place where I can rent for awhile?"
Severus frowned at the form of address and Naruto chuckled apologetically. "I'm sorry. It's the way we address a boy your age from my home country."
Severus accepted the explanation with a soft grumble as he only just now noticed the foreign features – his blond hair and blue eyes made him European at first glance. "There is one... several blocks away from the orphanage at Sidney Street. I only heard about it from the gossipping matrons. Apparently, the young and handsome owner left for London two weeks ago." From the way he sneered the last sentence, Severus clearly didn't have a high opinion of said owner.
"I think I might see it later today. There are two flats I want to check out first. Well, I better go then."
He stole a chance to ruffle the boy's hair and evaded the swat that came after it. "See you again, Severus-kun," he threw a wave in the boy's direction. His sharp hearing caught the irritated mumble, "I surely hope not."
A quick glance at the sky showed the high position of the sun. Naruto considered having lunch first but then decided against it as he was already behind schedule. He was supposed to finish his survey by noon, but he was just going to start and it was already passed 11 AM. He could eat after he got a place to stay for the next month.
It only took around twenty minutes to reach his first destination from the park and he took a look around the building first before asking for the manager. It was quite an old building and rather plain – five stories, slightly peeling light-green paint, no balconies. Well, the reason he considered this place was the location which was only five-minutes walking distance from the train station and there were several restaurants and cafes around as well. At least he wouldn't be starving if he stayed here.
Naruto proceeded to ask for the manager of the building and soon he was given a tour around one of the empty flat consisted of one dining room cum kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. He almost grimaced at the condition of the furnitures – stained and unbalanced table, the stove and most of the cookware were rusty, the smell coming from the bathroom was disgusting, and the bed sheet was stained – and immediately cross out this place from his list even though the manager offered a low price. He would rather lived in the park earlier than here. At least he was used to sleeping in the wild while on mission back when he was alived.
The second place in his list was better but there was only one empty room which was on the highest floor. It wasn't the condition that apalled him, but the other tenant, more specifically the neighbouring room's. It was occupied by a single female, and by single he meant the woman wasn't in any relationship. That wouldn't bother him if not for the fact that she was a FANGIRL and immediately set her sight on him when he introduced himself for politeness sake. Shudder. The owner of the building sympathize with him when he explained the reason he retracted his decision of renting the room. It seemed the woman was the sole reason that exact room had stood empty for a long time.
Naruto sighed resignedly as he walked to the third – and last – flat in his list which was the one Severus told him earlier. He hoped this one would be acceptable because he would have to continue tomorrow.