05 Impatient Virtue
2/15/08
-- 2062 words sans ANs
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (Rowling) or Naruto (Kishimoto?).
AN: This was supposed to be ready last weekend but it wound up being longer than anticipated (5 pages not 2). So, here you go. I think this might be one of the longest chapters so far. Don't expect these often. I think I used the term "chibi-kun" at one point to refer to Naruto. Otherwise, a few honorifics, nothing huge. As stated previously, I'm not Japanese and I'm not going to pretend I am by destroying the language.
Switching the Aburame's kikai onto Naruto wasn't hard; actually, it was disappointingly easy. Evidently his visit earlier had thrown off what little team rhythm existed and the genin were all off in their own worlds. Even that moron Kakashi had let his guard down - what respect Harry held for his abilities were dropping like a rock. Planting the kikai without even the jounin being the wiser, it was now officially pathetic.
Harry brushed his hand roughly through his braids, sending the ornaments clashing wildly. He would delay the planned attack on the kiddies; there was no fun to be had killing an already wounded enemy.
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''You were right brat. So much for the legendary Copy-nin if a little visit from you can throw 'em that far off.''
''Unfortunately. I had been looking forward to fighting Chibi-kun, see how much work he needed.''
''Another time Harii-kun. We are going to meet them on the bridge after all.''
''Enough talk, back to base. ''
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Haku was right to a degree - they, Zabuza, Haku, and himself, would visit Team 7 later. However, Harry didn't intend to wait a week. Hurrying ahead of the civilian-escorting Leafs, it wasn't hard to slip into the depressed Wave town Tazuna called home. An hour later he 'accidentally' ran into Tsunami and gallantly offered to carry her -meager- groceries for her after, ''So rudely interrupting the radiant young lady's day.'' It won a smile from Hermione and a giggle from Tsunami - he gladly accepted the dinner invitation issued.
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Something was wrong with the little one, Inari, but overall the dinner was nice. Harry talked about his travels, the condition of Wave, and his desire to help in some way. By the time he had finished cleaning the last dish -- after a minor disagreement with Tsunami which he resolved by pointing out her depressed son -- he gratefully accepted the invitation to stay until her father returned.
In a showing of gratitude Harry promptly went to the river behind the house and caught a string of fair sized fish. It was refreshing feeling the stares of honest wonder and delight when he presented his hostess with his prize. After all, a blind man fishing? Successfully? Plus, it had the added benefit of lifting the aura of gloom surrounding the little one.
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Four days later the little Leafs arrived. Although shocked and wary to find him there, nothing held Naruto back from tackling Harry in a bone bruising hug. Kakashi hung back, watching the strange traveler from earlier; quietly nursing his suspicions at finding said stranger just happened to be staying at their final destination. Shinobi work was comprised of finely honed skill on a strong foundation of gut instinct and those instincts were screaming at him that something was not right. However, Harry was currently hugging Naruto as hard as Naruto was hugging him and taking great pleasure in mussing Naruto's already unruly mop of golden blond hair, much to the blond's vocal distress.
"Harii-san! What are you doing here?"
"I was already heading to Wave when I ran into you guys earlier. I stopped into town a few days ago to resupply and accidentally bumped into Tsunami-san. After I helped her with her groceries she offered me dinner. Trust me Chibi-kun, you travel as long as I have and you learn to never turn down an honest to goodness home cooked meal; you can only live off the taste of ration bars for so long before seppuku becomes appealing. Tsunami was then kind enough to offer to let me stay for a few days."
"It was no trouble Harii-san, really. I haven't seen Inari this happy in a long time, and it was nice not having to do the dishes for a couple days." Tsunami quickly spoke up in Harry's defense, embarassed by the sincerity of his compliments. "True, it was also nice not having to worry about Gatou's men as well. After that incident two days ago, they haven't been back."
The bridge builder, Tazuna, perked up at that. "What incident? Daughter, are you and Inari alright?" A hint of steel under-lied his words and the aura he gave off made it clear why he was the one to stand against the shipping magnate.
Tsunami waved her hand dismissively, not wanting to worry her father. Harry would have none of that and subtly tapped Naruto's shoulder. Surprisingly, Naruto understood and turned to face the bridge builder. Harry squeezed his thanks before launching into his tale.
---flashback 2 days---
Wave, no surprise, was wet with swamps, lakes, rivers, and streams crisscrossing over the surface. Because of that the town was built on stilts and bridges over the water, connecting the houses to each other and to solid land. A bridge spanned the water before Tsunami's home ending at the front porch of another, deserted, house.
Wood on wood made a very distinct clunk. Two people were heading towards the house, one in geta and the other sandals, not even trying to hide their presence. Just the opposite in fact, Geta was putting more of his weight behind each step ensuring each was loud enough for an untrained civilian to hear. His partner was softly snickering, rattling his swords in their sheaths. 'Samurai? Or…no, the steps are all wrong. Geta has more training than Swords but still, he's only slightly better than an amateur. What do they want?'
Harry cocked his head and caught the sound of Inari drawing at the low dining room table. Creaking overhead suggested Tsunami was cleaning the upper floor again. She might not have had much but she took care of what she did have, something Harry found admirable. Putting Zabuza's hardwon skills to the test he silently walked over to Inari. Inari, realizing something was wrong, tensed but remained quiet until Harry could explain. Whispering softly against his ear, Harry warned him to quietly head upstairs and keep himself and his mother hidden.
"Go, I'll take care of these idiots."
"Hai, Harii-san." Inari whispered back before abandoning his doodling and heading upstairs. 'Surprisingly good for a bratling. See if I can't teach him a couple tricks before I have to leave. Now, let's find out what Geta and Swords want.'
Loosening the daggers strapped to his forearms, Harry stepped outside to confront the intruders. They stopped, surprised to find an obviously blind man blocking their entrance to the house. Ninjas were known for being eccentric but the blind man looked like no ninja Geta had ever seen, instead he seemed to take eccentric to an all new level. Camo pants, leather jacket, silk shirt, hunting boots and shiny braids. He'd never seen anything like it. And that scarf covering his eyes trailing down to his hips, taunting enemies to try and grab it. No ninja would leave such an apparent liability.
"Oi! Who the hell are you?!" His partner was an idiot but he wasn't paid to complain.
The odd man cocked his head before focusing on Shiro. 'Creepy. He's looking right at that idiot.'
"What are you doing here? Only a young woman and her child are in—nobodies to you." His voice was young but sure, confident in his ability to remain safe. 'I don't think his voice has even cracked yet.'
"We're here for the girl! If that idiot bridge builder wants to build his bridge he'll do it over his kid's corpse." Shiro shouted, cocky and arrogant. Itching for blood he drew his swords and ran for the blind man.
'Coming from the right. Cross strike.' Jump back and to the right, swords whistle past. 'Back slash with the right.' Hold the dagger flat side out, gripping the hilt. Clang of metal on metal. 'Left sword.' Shove the right sword away; duck under the off course left sword. Kick up with right leg, balance on free hand, snap left leg into sternum. 'Got him.' Back flip and return to starting position, daggers out and loosely held in his hands.
Shiro landed heavily at his feet while his swords clattered and slid off the bridge into the water. The defeated swordsman groaned, weakly rolling onto his side. "Damn idiot. Rushin' into situations head on. Ya got what ya deserve."
"Maybe so, but what about you? You've seen what I can do, are you still going to try and attack Tsunami-san?" The blind man shrugged elegantly, exaggerating the daggers present in each hand.
"I ain't as stupid as him. I don't got much but ya and Gatou ain't worth the hassle for what I do. Ya let me leave and I'm outta here."
"Fine, leave the bridge builder and his family alone and you may leave. However, tell me who you are first. After all, I wouldn't want to accidentally track down the wrong man should you betray my trust."
"Takato. My name's Takato the mercenary. An' what about ya? So I know who ta avoid in future."
"Harii, the Blind Traveller or the Eccentric Blindman. Now, I have answered your question, I suggest you take your little friend and leave. My patience and, more importantly, my generosity are quickly coming to an end. It will not be pleasant for you should you still be here when they run out."
Harry smirked at the sound of Takato's geta moving away while dragging the groaning body of his partner behind. When even his sensitive ears could no longer catch the sounds of Gatou's men, he turned and sauntered calmly back into Tsunami's house.
---end flashback---
"Whoa. That's awesome Harii-san!"
Harry laughed and rubbed his hand through his braids sheepishly. They clicked and clattered in agitation before settling down.
"You know, you look like Naruto when you do that?" Sakura stated.
"Eh? I wouldn't know but I'll take that as a compliment. So, Tsunami-san, since your father has returned, and with so many guests in tow, I guess it's time for me to leave. After all, with so many ninja staying with you Gatou's men wouldn't dare to return. Most mercenary do their best to avoid confrontation with ninja because they usually have more training even if they are only midgets." Harry threw in the last comment with a subtle head toss in the direction of the genin. Not subtle enough because he could hear the little Uchiha growling, Snake-bait huffing, and Naruto felt like he was pouting.
"Mom, you can't let Harii leave yet! We don't even know what they can do, but we know Harii kicks butt and those stupid henchmen of Gatou's won't come near him." Inari tossed in his two cents. His disdain for the newbies was blatantly clear.
"I'm proud you think so highly of me little one but your mom only has so much room. Four ninja plus you, your mom and your grandpa is seven people - I'd make eight. Even if your grandpa let me stay, it wouldn't be fair to take all your family's food without contributing."
"But you do! You fish better than even Grampa!"
"Erm--"
"I insist you stay Harii-san. In gratitude for keeping my family safe and because I'd also ask a favor of you. If you stay here then all the trained ninja can follow me to the bridge. Not only will I be safe but so will my workers. The morale boost will drive the men to complete this last leg in no time at all and Wave will finally throw off Gatou's oppressive yoke!"
"Dang, I didn't think such a lazy drunk could be so eloquent."
"Hn, I didn't think you knew what eloquent meant, loser."
"HEY! Sasuke you bastard!"
"HEY! DON'T CALL SASUKE THAT YOU DEAD-LAST IDIOT!" Sakura made to hit Naruto per usual. The blond cringed and ducked his head, already starting to apologize to "Sakura-chan". After a minute and no extreme pain came, Naruto glanced up through his crossed arms and gaped. Harry had caught Sakura's wrist in bruising grip and he was not happy. He yanked the pinkette forward and while she was off balance, threw her back into Kakashi.
Growling, Harry turned, facing the surprised jounin-sensei. "Fix this before they wind up dead," he snarled then turned to Tazuna. "I will accept your offer Tazuna-san. Tsunami and Inari have become precious to me and I will not leave their safety in the hands of a broken genin team."
If Inari seems a bit OOC, he did become less of a brat when Naruto saved his mom and him, proving he had the ability to stand up to Gatou without being killed. Harry is definitely more skilled and confident than Naruto and also saved Inari's family so Inari doesn't have the same misgivings as he currently has with Team 7.
Kakashi : Harry doesn't like Kakashi. He's supposed to be teaching Harry's charge what is required to be a good ninja and from Harry's POV Kakashi is failing miserably. And he's not just failing Naruto but Sasuke and Sakura too. To Harry, Kakashi has made no attempt to form his three genin into one cohesive whole -- Team 7 much less taught them anything. Harry is of the opinion that Kakashi's infamous reputation is mostly hyped up horse shit; that he is a lazy ass who should have never been given the opportunity to teach genin and that the only reason he has been is because Kakashi's the only loyal Sharingan user left in Konoha that can teach Princess Sasuke. Harry may or may not change his opinion over time but at the moment, Kakashi is a useless idiot that doesn't deserve his reputation. (Personally, I believe Kakashi is human. He starts out with his head in his ass prior to timeskip but he learns and becomes a productive character post timeskip.)
Should I give you a little hint of what is to come? I mean, it is rather obvious that Harry's presence is already having drastic effects on the Wave Arc. Hmm...
Golden slitted eyes glittered with malicious humor as clawed hands grabbed Kakashi's forearm and yanked his fist free of the young boy's chest. The squelch and splatter of blood was loud in the sudden silence. Kakashi stepped back and watched in horrified fascination...
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