Chapter 10:
Harry watched in amazement as Minato and Naruto charged at one another exchanging blow after blow, working in tandem during the spar. At first, he had been rather concerned due to Naruto's injury during when his father had been summoned from the seal, and with the large amount of blood loss he had been surprised to see the other boy moving around so freely and energetically this soon. Harry could definitely understand why he was, after spending so much time in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey and subjected to the woman's overprotective and overbearing nature, the need to move around and do something would motivate anyone. He was certain that nothing bad would happen as long as the blonde boy didn't push his wounds too much and since he had brushed up on his knowledge concerning the human anatomy and problems that could come with blood loss.
During his spare time Harry had divulged into the medic-scrolls that Raidou had loaned him during his training for the summer and under Pomfery's tutelage, had gained a widespread of magical means of healing. There had been a number of similarities in regards to the usage of chakra and magic, but they still held a key number of differences. As Chakra based healing focused on the Tenketsu and the circulation of chakra through the system, while magic healing used the properties of the ingredients in the potion to help rid the problem and spread through the body of the patient via the core within seconds. Neither of the two did not come without its faults as Magic didn't always work immediately for certain things like Chakra did and vice versa, which was normal.
Chakra and magic were both sources of energy drawn from the inside. Chakra drew from the Tenketsu system which were nerves within the human body moving in motion to manipulate physical energy and molecules in tandem, connected to the core in which magic was drawing from the entire core and spiritual energy within. Due to contrary belief, the core was not in the wand but rather inside as wands were necessary focus to channel and use magic, in the beginning. The wand's own core and material was in fact aligned with the person's own core, in a similar manner of a Shinobi discovering their affinity.
It made Harry wonder what types of wands that the others would have. His train of thought was cut off as Minato successfully dodged Naruto's fists slipping in arm from the younger's side and slammed it into the back causing the younger blonde to gag and fall to the ground painfully. He almost winced and couldn't help feel pity for his friend, but was grateful to see the older help the blonde up and gave him a parental pat on the back as they made their way over towards him.
Just seeing the two interact with one another he was able to see a strong family bond forming between the two, despite what had happened all those years ago. He didn't know all the details of how and why Minato had been sealed into his son's stomach, and frankly it was not any of his business. There was an air around Naruto that was filled with fear and apprehension, that he had noticed when the Konoha Genin had regrouped together. The fleeting glances kept happening if not as much as before.
It was alright for him. His friend would tell him what was bothering him when he was absolutely ready, Harry refused to force the truth out of him. Patience was a virtue and trust was something very delicate, needing to be handled with the utmost care otherwise be shattered forever.
That was something Harry had learned very quickly in life. Upon meeting Iruka and the others, Harry hadn't really trusted anyone outside Ron and Hermione as adults had continued to fail him in the past refusing to take responsibility for their actions or just not caring in general. Like that one man, Remus Lupin, the supposed friend of his father as McGonagall had informed of during the previous day.
In all honesty, Harry had no idea of what to think of the man as he had not once approached him. His feelings were still in conflict in what to do with the man, and currently decided to keep his distance from him. Until he sorted his emotions out, it was for the best. Harry didn't want to accidentally blow him up.
After the last incident with his Aunt Marge, Harry took up the Emotional Control training with Anko seriously in fear of hurting someone else by accident. Granted, he was still a teenager and in the process of learning to control his magic and didn't have to particularly like everyone he came across. Power without control was just as or even more dangerous as power with control, Harry considered himself lucky that he didn't do any major damage when he was younger.
A part of himself was rather envious of the Pureblood students that had learned earlier on to control their abilities as from the information he managed to gather, were not tracked by the ministry at all and were free to do as much magic as they liked. It certainly explained a lot of things and how the Pureblood students did better than the muggle-born and half-blood ones, and while Harry was certainly sure that growing up in the magical world also gave them the advantage there was other students like Susan Bones from Hufflepuff, Neville and Ron from Gryffindor and Padma Patil, whom each grew up with magic but remained on the same level as everyone else...that is, everyone that wasn't in Slytherin.
Harry had been struggling to stamp out his dislike and irrational animosity of the serpent house, hearing Malfoy's insults and Snape's constantly insulting him left and right had done nothing to rid himself of it. It was a continuous battle he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to win.
"So what did you think of the fight?" Naruto exclaimed, bouncing around and grinning big at him. His eyes danced with excitement and happiness, as they locked onto Harry's instantly he continued. "I was awesome wasn't I? Me and my powerful fists!"
Minato chuckled softly at his son, and placed his hand upon Naruto's head ruffling it fondly. "You did well, however it does need some tweaking here and there." At the younger blonde's fallen expression, he continued. "That doesn't mean you didn't do well," He stressed the word calmly, his gentle smile appeared. "It simply means you can continue to master and improve it. Before we had back to Konoha, I'd still rather you be prepared for further missions and the Chuunin Exams."
Naruto and Harry blinked exchanged looks, and stared at the blonde. "Chuunin exams?"
"After the war with Iwa it was decided to maintain a...level of peace," Using quotations to get his meaning across to the two. "Between all of the countries and build further relationships, gain clientele, and so on. That each country would hold the Chuunin exams every six months; whether it is still true today I'm not sure." He shrugged his shoulders looking thoughtful and curious, before laughing cheerfully. "Either way, the exam is dangerous. So I'd rather the two of you be prepared."
Seeing the bashful and slightly shy looks on both of the boy's faces, Minato's lips twitched as he recalled when Jiraiya had informed his team of the Exams. His sensei had put them through a rigorous training session the month before the exam to make certain that they remained alive. Needlessly to say, it paid off.
"The Chuunin Exams are used to promote Genin to the next level, depending on if they meet the qualifications," Minato continued casually.
Naruto's eyes light up at that. "Really!?" He punched his fists into the air. "I can't wait to participate then!"
"Are the Chuunin exams the only way to get promoted, Minato-san?" Harry asked curiously, looking deep into thought. "I mean, I can't really see all the countries promoting all of their Genin at the Chuunin Exams or allowing them all to do them. Wouldn't that give away too much information to a rival village?"
Minato's lips twitched at his words. "Oh, you saw through that did you? Yes. It's true that there are other ways for a Genin to be promoted and so forth. After all, no one wants to reveal all of a village's tricks that they had hidden, do they?" His hands slid into his pockets as his gaze softened at them. "Other ways of getting promoted are reaching a certain number of accomplished missions or performing a certain task that wins favor in the eyes of the Daimyo or Hokage. Most Jounin instructors perform the exams as they force their Genin team to adapt and grow, using the skills that they've gained under guidance and exceed further as Shinobi."
"They force them?" Harry asked incredulously.
"By that," Minato quickly answered. "I mean they omit the other ways of reaching Chuunin, as no one really bothers to ask about it."
The emerald eyed boy snorted. "Not lying, but not telling the truth either. Looking underneath the underneath," He drawled dryly at the man.
"Exactly," The former Yondaime nodded approvingly at Harry and smiled.
Naruto frowned. "That's what Kakashi always says, but he never told us the meaning behind it."
"It means not everything is as it is seems," Harry clarified slowly trying to explain in a manner that made sense. "Just because someone tells you something doesn't necessarily mean it's the truth or at least the entire truth. Go looking for the truth, relentlessly and without fail, to find it. Looking beneath the surface and beyond and grasp it."
"So... just think, look and than act?" Naruto asked slowly, his words hesitate and uncertain as the blue orbs darted from Harry to his father. Between the Academy and being placed on Team 7 he had never really had people that were willing to sit and answer his questions, outside of Iruka, whom did the best to his abilities to help him. Now that his father was back, it felt odd to actually receive straight answers.
Minato's lips softened. "In a manner of speaking; just don't take things at face value. Especially, if you're a Shinobi; deceit is a part of our job."
Naruto nodded in acceptance and grinned. "You guys explain things way easier!"
"I don't know about that," Harry responded flushing under the praise and smiled a bit. "I'm not good at explaining things," 'that's Hermione's forte. Not mine.'
The older one's eyes flashed with an unreadable look. His facial expression hadn't changed. "I'm glad to hear that. You can always ask me if you don't understand something," Minato informed his son gently, feeling a stab of guilt when Naruto smiled up at him. If he and Kushina hadn't sealed themselves into the seal with Kyuubi, their son would have been treated better. Better than he had. His anger towards his home was growing each possible minute and he was a relatively calm person!
Most of his anger was directed towards himself for ever thinking that the citizens of Konoha were actually capable of showing compassion to Naruto, after sealing the Kyuubi inside of him. He should have known better as memories of old rushed at him remembering how he comforted and consoled Kushina during her nightmares and confined in him her fears. As much as Minato loved Konoha, arrogance and narrow-mindedness plagued the village.
He was thankful that at least now his son would no longer be alone and protected from the hate. As he should have been! Those thoughts made him wonder as to why Kakashi and Jiraiya hadn't raised or visited his son as a child as the responsibilities had fallen on to them after his and Kushina's deaths. Though, he could already guess his former student's reason, but that did not explain Jiraiya's absence at the very least the man could have dropped in and introduced himself to his son!
It took all of his might not to scream in utter frustration. All that mattered to him at the moment was his son's safety and getting his skills back up to scratch as quickly as possible, after that Minato would deal with everything else.
Personally.
"Dad?" Naruto's voice echoed. "Dad, you there?"
Minato gave his head a shake. "Sorry, I was thinking. What were you saying?"
"Do you want to head back up to the castle, Minato-san?" Harry asked concerned for the man.
The older blonde shook his head, making a face. "No thanks. I've been cooped up in one place for far too long. If you don't mind, I'd like to spend time outside a bit more and enjoy the fresh air."
"How about Harry shows us some magic?" Naruto suggested ignoring the loud squawk from the other boy.
Minato grinned slyly, eyes flickering over to the stunned magic-user. "Now thatwould definitely be a treat!" Plopping himself onto the grass and folded his arms against his chest he stared intently at Harry. "Well entertain us!"
"Yeah! Show us magic Harry!" Naruto goaded him with a loud cheer.
"Say please, Naruto."
The blonde blushed. "I mean please show us some magic?"
"Er...um..." His eyes blinked rapidly at the request trying to think of what to show them. "Anything specific?"
Naruto grinned somehow managed to grow wider. "Some super cool! Like a technique!"
"Like a technique, huh?" Harry murmured under his breath, thinking seriously on his friend's request. There was some magic he was certain that the other boy would definitely enjoy, but it wasn't flashy as the jutsus he had seen and learned from the others. "How about the Glacius charm?" He went over to the water and placed his wand upon the surface, causing ripples to appear. Carefully gauging his magic as Harry did not want to freeze the entire lake and harm the animals. "Glacius!"
Ice formed from the glistening spray that had emerged from his wand and spread upon the edge of the lake; forming into a ball of complete solid ice. Satisfied Harry plucked it and turned at Naruto holding it out towards him.
"Hey," Harry offered kindly. "Touch it."
Naruto stared at the ball in fascination, slowly pressing his finger at it skimming quickly before pulling away in fright. "I-it's c-cold!"
"It is made of ice," Harry stated with a small smirk. "Have you never seen ice before?"
The genin shook his head. "Kinda, I mean...but in Konoha, it's rare."
"Oh," Harry said. What could he say? Then again, Iruka hadn't really gone into detail about the climate of Konoha compared to England so he knew now. "Well, maybe one day, you can experience a White Winter!"
Naruto grinned. "I certainly hope so!"
"What other magic can you do?" Minato asked curiously, his lips twitched fondly watching the two bond rather quickly. He was glad to see that his son was making a true friend, his eyes darkened for a moment. It didn't seem that the Nara and Shino were particularly close to him that in its self was odd as Shikaku had been one of his closest friends and trusted advisor. He only hoped at his long time friend hadn't backstabbed the trust of his clan.
Harry threw his attention toward the man as a mischievous grin appeared which in no way calmed Minato. The boy pointed his wand at him as his grin turned into a smirk. "Evanesco!"
He blinked slowly. What exactly happened? Nothing seemed to change as far as he could see and tell. Perhaps the spell had been a dud? It was possible. Minato did have his fair share of failed jutsus in the past. Why was everything so cold all of a sudden? Wrapping his arms around his chest and looked around, he noticed a patch of peach that immediately captured his full attention. His eyes flickered downwards as his jaw nearly fell to the floor.
"M-My shirt!"
His head snapped up and saw the young wizard staring openly, his face completely red as his son was rolling on the floor struggling to contain the muffled laughter. Minato doubted that the laughs would be contained much longer.
Harry's eyes flickered away to the ground. "I-I'll get you a new one, hold on!" Sharply turning his back at them his head whipped around furiously looking for something that he could use. His eyes landed on exactly what he needed and darted towards it, located near the edge of the Forbidden Forest laid a pile of twigs that had fall from the bushes and trees. Pulling out his wand, Harry gave it a wave watching as they formed into a brilliant white t-shirt and picked it up as he returned to Minato and Naruto as he held it out towards the older male. "S-sorry!"
"It's fine," Minato accepted the shirt and slipped it on with ease, feeling it pressed against his chest. "The shirt's tight."
'I don't mind,' Harry thought to himself, still slightly dazed by the surprisingly pleasant sight of Minato's bare chest. 'Wait...what?' The very thought of finding another male attractive was a bit sudden to Harry. While he was aware that his new friends were involved such as Raidou and Genma, Izumo and Kotetsu, never before would he would end up finding men attractive.
Especially when that one guy is the father of his new friend!
As he found himself staring into the mature blue eyes that gazed back at him, an overwhelming feeling of trust and warmth washed over him. The man was unlike any other adult he had come across thus far, Minato did not treat him as a kid and was willing to talk and listen rather then make accusations. He was also humble and quite righteous, as his serene presence seemed to bring peace around the area. His looks were quiet nice as well. Minato's hair was bright like a summer's day, and his blue eyes shone with intelligence and good humor. His features were strong and friendly in contrast to the very dangerous aura he could emit when displeased. Finally, his body... well, if Harry didn't know what kind of shape he was building for himself with all these Shinboi exercises he would've thought Minato a health nut. Oh, he wasn't covered in muscle; everything on that torso looked useful as opposed to someone who built their bodies purely to attract others. In hindsight, Harry wasn't terribly surprised that if he was to be attracted to a man, if would be this man.
Harry shook his head, firmly. "Transfiguration is based on changing the appearance of the object in question inside of out. From inanimate to animate and vice versa, just like I did with that shirt. I can also turn both of you intro frogs if I really wanted to."
"Can you turn rocks into ramen?" Naruto asked curiously, slightly grimacing at the thought of becoming a frog.
Minato, on the other hand, merely smiled.
"Unfortunately, you can't. It goes against the rules of Transfiguration, no matter how powerful the magic may be eventually it runs out and will revert back to it's original form," Harry informed his friend with a sad smile, and chuckled at the puppy dog pout on the blonde's face. "I'm rather sure you don't want rocks in your stomach, right?"
Naruto winced. "N-No!"
"Thought so. You could of course, turn something you didn't like, say brussel sprouts, into ramen. It'd still change back but it wouldn't bother your system too much," Harry commented with a nod. "Any other questions?"
"Can transfiguration be used offensively and defensively?" Minato questioned.
Harry nodded swiftly. "Yes, but it also depends on the complexity of the spell and what exactly you want done; it also depends on how strong your magic is. However, the key element is how you visualize the change." His emphasised the two words as much as possible. "If you can't get a clear image in your head, then the spell won't work."
"And you have to maintain it," Minato presumed nonchalantly.
Naruto looked interested. "It's not that hard, you just to make sure to keep moving and be one step ahead of the opponent! It's how I got my Orioki no Jutsu to work!" he seemed rather proud of that statement. His smile dropped at the stare he had received from his dad and Harry. "W-well it's just I'm not that good with Genjutsu, so I use a combination of Ninjutsu and Henge to change my appearance inside and outside."
"You can change your outside and inside as well?" Minato was a bit surprised at that piece of information. He couldn't recall whether Kushina had been able to do that, but it seemed to him that it had been something his son managed to discover on his own. His throat went dry in tandem of his stomach doing a flip-flop. "How exactly did you discover that you were able to do this, Naruto?" He tried to come off as casual rather than demanding but the growing fear inside of his son being injured played in his mind.
The boy shuffled his feet nervously, glancing around. "You know... experimenting and studying," A pitched laugh escaped his lips and shifted his face away from the two.
Minato's eyes flashed with an unreadable emotion once again but, did not comment on the blonde's words.
Harry was rather lost as he noticed the change in atmosphere, the tension that had appeared between the two mixed with fear coming from Naruto and a spike of killing intent that was rolling off of Minato, for what reason? He didn't know. His knowledge of Naruto's past and whatever happened to the boy during his time growing up in Konoha hadn't been the best experience that much, Harry was able to tell. He was well aware that no city or country was entirely perfect, that was only a delusion, and each had their own faults. However, he was rather pleased to see that his new friend was managing to adjust to Hogwarts as well as himself, as they seemed to grown closer and closer by the minute.
It was a welcome change outside of Ron and Hermione, and the others. As Harry wouldn't help but, feel a strange kinship with Naruto, whatever the reason was he was glad for it.
Naruto's stomach roared loudly.
"Hungry are we?" Minato teased his son with a large on his face.
"A-A little," The younger blonde admitted, sheepishly grinning at them.
Harry pointed. "Just head towards the castle and towards the Kitchen, I'm sure that the House-elves would be happy to make you something." During his summer training with the others Raidou and himself had accidentally stumbled upon the kitchen after their evening training, they had happily offered to make them something to eat upon discovering them. He hadn't known that Hogwarts had a staff of them working in the kitchens and during the laundry, but, really he should have especially after freeing Dobby from the Malfoy's. He wisely kept his mouth shut about them as Harry was certain that it Hermione ever found out, trouble would follow.
"House-elves?" Minato and Naruto chirped in unison, and exchanged a sorrowful look on their faces as they sighed together.
Harry's lips twitched curiously. "Is there something the matter?"
Minato shook his head. "No, no. Everything's...fine."
"Alright," He didn't believe the man but decided not to comment. "Let's go and get something to eat then. Anyone can access the kitchens at any given time. As long as you're not caught that is," Harry winked with a grin.
"Really?!" Naruto let out a happy whoop. "That's awesome!"
The older shinobi bowed his head. "I'm glad to hear that, it's been while since I've eaten anything. I have to say though this magic school is... different from back home, there are many things here that are new and beyond our wildest imaginations." The things he had seen and witnessed so far were amazing, abilities and even creatures that people back home could only dream of. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity being able to see everything that normal wouldn't be considered 'real' back home.
"I know how you feel," Harry stated with a genuine laugh. "When I first discovered magic, and everything I thought was in fairy tales and stories turned out to be real, it was overwhelming."
Naruto stared. "Didn't you grow up with all of this?"
Oh. Right. Harry had forgotten that they didn't know much about his past, or the decision to become a Shinobi. It had mostly been kept quiet and really, that's the way he personally wanted as he shifted his body carefully and waved his hand.
"I grew up in the muggle world with my relatives, they were manophobic." Harry explained trying to avoid specifics, averting his eyes away from the two. "Needlessly to say, they did everything in their power to make sure I remained oblivious about magic until I turned eleven, the rest is history."
"Manophobic?" Naruto questioned eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not understanding the world.
"It means that they had a fear of magic," Minato answered instantly. His lips were pressed together thinly stomping out the displeasure that seemed to surface, it seemed that Harry had not had a good life either from the sound of things. "They shouldn't have denied you your heritage, what and who are you."
Harry's leveled him a look. "Fear brings out the worst in people and because they fear it, they seek to destroy it."
An awkward silence settled over the group as they approached the castle within minutes having not strayed too far and entered, ignoring the students that gazed at them with prying eyes while they moved out of the way when they drew near them. Their curiosity and hypocritical aversion was both irritating and amusing, jumping to conclusions without stopping to think that they might be wrong but, instead they continue to follow the words as truth joining the herd of sheep.
He wondered if the previous year had been a part of the reason he was so willing to become a Shinobi of Konoha. Despite telling himself over and over again that the rest of the student body were just children, compared to Ron, Hermione and himself, they hadn't known any better and reacted out of anger and what they had been taught. And, Harry knew it was childish of himself to felt resentment towards them due to their ignorance of the events that had taken place such as the first year when the three had attempted to save Hagrid's job by getting rid of Norbert resulting in the lose of 150 points and the wrath of the other houses, though in the end it had been better off that they hadn't told anyone about it. For his friend's sake anyhow. Either way, the fact of the matter was, everyone was quick to react without stopping and asking them first believing only in the false rumors that had been spread around by various other houses.
Now Harry wasn't stupid and blind to believe that the same thing wouldn't happen in Konoha. However, the place was a military village and seemed to hold a great upholding for their allies and comrades; while not everyone would get along with one another at least they'd fight tooth and nail to protect each other on the field. It was trust built from being of the village. He wasn't entirely sure if he would be accepted due to being an outsider of Konoha.
But that wouldn't stop him.
The three entered the kitchen and were greeted by the house-elves, eagerly wanting to make them something to eat. The solemn looks on their faces perked his curiosity, they almost looked like pouts from Harry's perspective. Rather cute ones.
Harry ended up having a sandwich as the two Konohans received food from their homeland, but neither of them looked particularly happy with it. The two ate slowly and unhappily.
"Is food badz sirs?" One house-elf questioned, almost fearfully eyes darted from the food to them and back to it's fellow houselves.
Minato had the deciency to feel ashamed. "N-no! It's fine sorry," He said sincerely and scratched the backside of his head. "It's just...I'm rather disappointed at the lack of ramen. I don't really understand how you cannot have it here."
"It's a total bummer!"
He threw a look at his son. "Naruto." The warning tone crept in the man's voice, chiding his son gently as the younger blonde blushed at the rebuttal.
"I-it was good, but r-ramen's my favorite," The young Shinobi added quickly. "T-the food was good though!"
"We only cook whats is in the books sirs," Another house-elf spoke up. "We cannots cooks what is not in the books."
"That... makes sense," Minato murmured with a nod. "Without knowing how to cook something, you really can't make it." Not that making ramen was hard to do, but the house-elves never heard of the dish and had no knowledge of it.
Harry looked thoughtful. "Maybe we can take a trip to Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade or London and grab a cook book on it. I'm sure that there's one somewhere floating about," He shrugged his shoulders and was suddenly meant with dozens of happy filled eyes all focused directly on him. His moved his arms struggling not to squirm at the eerie stares from everyone else in the room. "W-what?"
"Harry," Minato began as he went over to him, placing both hands on his shoulders. "You are a godsend."
Naruto jumped into the air. "YES! RAMEN FOR EVERYONE!"
"I've never had ramen before," Harry told them. "So I'm kinda curious what it tastes like-why are you two staring at me like that?"
Minato shook his head. "You poor, poor soul. Never having had the wonderful taste that is ramen."
"Don't worry, we'll make you see the joys of ramen." Naruto was nodding as he said this.
Harry let out a huge sighed. 'What have I got myself into?' As a smile slide onto his face as the chatting and laughing between the three of them continued through the rest of the day, sitting in the kitchen just hanging out. Normally.
It was something Harry didn't regret and hoped would continue.
The days rolled by as Thursday finally arrived; the third years were anxious to have their first defense lesson of the year after Quirrell, whom had turned out to be evil and Lockhart, who had obliviated other witches and wizards of their accomplishments and wrote it off as his own. This year the defense classes had been split into two; one with their regular teacher, who turned out to be Remus Lupin and were the foreigners that they had seen walking around the halls of Hogwarts. The years that did have them kept their mouths shuts and hadn't said a single thing about the class, only promising the others that they'd enjoy it.
It drove people like Hermione and Ron up the wall when no one talked about it and with Harry constantly avoiding them the excitement built up more. The whispers and chatter increased as the third years flooded straight into the room, taking seats besides those that were in their house waiting anxiously to see whom would be teaching them today.
Suddenly, without any sort of warning the room was filled with smoke spreading from the front to the back. Many students let out harsh coughs as it dissipated quickly revealing a young tanned man with brunet hair an a scar over his nose, his eyes were friendly yet hold a stern edge standing in the middle. He wore a dark blue clothing with a light green vest snuggled over his chest and a headband wrapped around his forehead with a strange symbol that resembled a leaf.
"Good morning everyone; my name is Umino Iruka or Iruka Umino in your tongue. From here on in I shall be your instructor," Iruka introduced himself in a firm and kind manner as he flashed them his parental smile. "You may refer me as Iruka-sensei only. I will not answer to anything else." The students were stunned in their seats and he continued as if he hadn't noticed. "This year Dumbledore-sensei has requested my fellow Shinobi and I to help you prepare for the inevitable outside of these walls due to the failures of teaching from the last two years. Now, does anyone know what a Shinobi is?"
He was met with silence. No one dared moved or said a thing, had his entrance really left them that bewildered? Iruka suppressed the urge to shake his head, it really wasn't that impressive. Anyone and everyone was capable of doing it.
"I asked a question," Iruka stated a bit firmly, not enough to scare them but to bring these students back to earth. From looks of it, they had.
The girl with the dark skin draped in the same black robes with the blue crest upon the breast raised her hand. "Shinboi's are ninjas aren't they? That's what my dad told me."
"That's correct Miss Patil," Iruka felt a bit smug as the girl blinked at him in surprise as he chuckled loudly. "I know each of everyone of you. As a Shinobi gathering information before hand is imperative. Before all of you entered this room I along with my associates made sure to find said information, that was deemed necessary, in order to get a better understanding on how to being your training."
"Isn't that stalking and invading our privacy?" A boy with brunet hair questioned.
Iruka snorted.
"And training?" A pointy pale boy with platinum blonde hair sneered at him with a twisted look and glare. "What training?"
The man's eyes narrowed upon the boy, seeing the gaze of superiority and arrogance shining through just like several students that hailed from clans; such as Hyuuga Hanabi and Uchiha Sasuke. The two believed that they were above everything else and deserved to have everything handed to them, more Sasuke rather than Hanabi as many instructors and civilians as he had seen literally dumped it straight into the boy's lap without any effort at all. The difference between this boy and the other two, was that this brat seemed to think he was above training from the drawling sound of his voice.
"As I said; training." Iruka's tone was flat and cold as steel, a field trained Shinobi. "I will not lie to any of you. Every single one of you will be trained in physical combat, it will be long and hard. But I assure it is necessary."
The blonde looked repulsed by the idea, making a screwed up face the same as several others that wore the green crests upon the robes. He was pleased to note that not all of them seemed to have similar thoughts as two girls looked rather intrigued by his words.
"Is there a problem?" He asked in a tone that was far too cheerful for anyone that personally knew him.
"I won't stand for this, wait until I tell my father that you're forcing us to do physical exercise!" The blonde complained loudly, standing up abruptly and glaring at him with a cocky smirk on his face while he slammed his fist on top of the table like a spoiled child. "You and your friends will be tossed out of the country before you know it! The ministry won't stand for this!"
"Your so-called ministry and Dumbledore were the ones who hired us, together." Iruka stressed watching glee as the boy blanched at the words.
The boy gritted his teeth. "My father will think of something!"
"You're absolutely welcome to try," Iruka informed him. "Oh. Down and give me 15."
A moment of silence as the boy stared at him with a contemptuous gaze.
"15?" He repeated with a glare. "15 what?"
"Down and give me 15 push ups," Iruka answered flatly pointing to the ground. The rebellious gleam flashed. "NOW!"
The blonde grumped angrily under his breath and lazily did fifteen push ups in front of the entire class, glaring hatefully up at Iruka. How embarrassing that a Pureblood like him was forced to do filthy muggle exercises! Just who did this man think he was? Getting up from the floor upon finishing, he sneered and placed himself back to his desk.
"Again, , and this time do it right." Iruka stated dryly.
Malfoy glared refusing to budge from his seat.
"Now. Or else I'll make it thirty," The man warned sternly, not giving into the spoiled brat's attitude. "You'll find that punishment does exist in this classroom and won't be easy to get away with."
"What about Potter then!?" Malfoy shouted angrily. "Where is he! And why isn't he getting punished?!"
Iruka ignored the question. "Thirty push-ups, and I'd like you to start." Watching as the blonde teen glared at him again and resumed his push ups, he went over to his desk and wore a very cheerful smile. "And by the way, every one of you can thank Mr. Malfoy over there for your pop quiz today," he held up the sheets. "I was going to give them to you tomorrow but..." His eyes locked onto the blonde, whom gapped at him. "Plans changed."
Every single student turned towards Malfoy and glared. It was evident that the blonde wasn't going to get any special treatment from this teacher and Malfoy already lost favour even before the class had even started! Little did the blonde know, favour of a teacher wasn't the only thing he was going to lose.
Harry grinned as gripped his broomstick and made his way outside. He had been dying to fly after all these months his training had taken up most of his time, and now he finally had the chance! It was his free period which he played on using getting back into the air. Rubbing his hands in glee, he entered the Quidditch Pitch and taking in the scentful aroma of the grassy fields, it tickled his nose nearly causing him to sneeze. Looking around the area, no one was in sight.
Perfect.
The broom was tilted downwards and held in place as Harry placed himself on it, shooting into the air. The winds pressed roughly against his body, coolly kissing his exposed skin. There were no words to explain how good it felt to be in the air.
It was a freedom at it's finest.
A familiar screech captured his attention; he turned his head and smiled as a streak of white zoomed past him perching on the end of his broomstick staring at him with pointed amber eyes. Hedwig managed to escape the Dursleys during that night, but hadn't flown too far away from him. Harry was just glad that his long time friend managed to stay alive, and rejoined him.
"Hey girl," Harry said gently, and stroking the beautiful white feathers gazing gently at her.
Hedwig let out a happy hoot.
His lips twitched fondly and he switched his gaze back into the air, circling around the Quidditch pitch hoops and stadium. His eyes surveyed the area, gaining a glimpse of how large it appeared to be from the sky, and noticed a small figure entering the pitch; being only able to see the spiky black hair and green smudge from the sky. Harry turned his broomstick, focusing on going down back to the ground, the person in question started to become clearer and clearer the closer he got to the ground.
To his surprise, it was Asuma in all of his lazy glory standing there with his cigarette grinning at him.
"Yo!"
Harry blinked and dropped to the ground. "Hi Asuma-sensei," What was the man doing here anyway?
The man's eyes flickered towards the broomstick and approached him, staring at it. "So you actually fly on these things? Like in the actual stories?"
"Yeah," Harry answered watching as the man focused on his Nimbus. "Do you want to give it a shot?"
"Could I?" Asuma asked, rather happily looking very interested in the offer. It almost caused him to laugh at seeing the older man beam up like a child.
Harry bent his broomstick back down, and looked at the man. "Are you going to stand there all day or get on?"
The older man gleefully joined him on the Nimbus 2000 gripping onto the broomstick tightly, making sure that Asuma was set. Harry once again zoomed straight into the air, Hedwig flying alongside as they pierced above the clouds.
Asuma's happy shout rang through the arena.
Chapter 10-end.
I want to apologise for the lack wait for the chapter, but I really do home it was worth it! I'd like to thank all my reviewers and readers for helping to continue to keep this fic alive, and my awesome beta Alec McDowell for doing such a great job for the editing.
Serious A/N: Lately I've been struggling with the plot of this fic. I'd really love just a quick review telling me what you're liking, what you don't, and what you think should/could happen next!
Thanks!