Hi guys! I know, I know its been a long time since I updated and I am n=very sorry for that! But here is the new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it! Also I made some changes in the first chapter, it will clear up Harry's vague arrival.
Previously
However, he still had to look after Naruto. He sighed tiredly before gently waking up the chibi. Naruto opened his eyes minutely before protesting.
"Wanna sweep more zombie-san. Me weally weally tiwed", he yawned cutely before falling asleep again promptly.
'Well if he is sleeping then I should also hit the sack'. Harry cast a disturbance charm that would wake him up if Naruto woke up. Yawning, Harry was asleep beside Naruto in a few moments.
Present time…
He was flying, twisting, turning, diving, feeling the thrill he associated with freedom. It was blissful or at least it would have been if he didn't feel like someone had hexed him with a stinging charm. "Stop it, lemme fly in peace, go away..."
Only it didn't, the stinging sensation got stronger with each passing moment. He jerked awake nearly falling of the bed.
'Where the hell am I?' Harry thought looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling.
"Wat'cha doing zombie-san?"
His head whipped around so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. Oh, Naruto!
He remembered now, he was in some weird ninja village. One thing was clear his home, was not around here. It was probably not even in the same universe or dimension. Well wasn't that a hard pill to swallow? Even though he was used to extremely bizarre happenings, this one was too much, even by his standards! Regardless of that, his current conditions was better than it had been for a long time. His headache has subsided and his knowledge about this world of hidden villages has risen exponentially.
'Looks like I only needed time to assimilate all the information I took from the shinobi.'
He was pulled out of his thoughts after being not-so-lightly poked by the chibi's bony elbow.
"Zombie-san me hunwwy. Awe you hungwwy? Wet's go eat wamen! I wuv wamen! Wamen must be the food-"
"Whoa, slow down champ! Tell me, are you feeling alright? We both slept for a long time!
"Huh! Me fine Dattebayo! Wet's go zombie-san wamen's waiting", he said excitedly. He jumped from the bed, eager for his ramen. Naruto collapsed as soon as his tiny little feet touched the ground.
"Itai! Itai! Hewp me zombie-san someone stowe my wegs! Hewp me! Hewp me! I can't wive without my wegs! How am I gonna be the greatest ninja without wegs! I-"
"Pipe down squirt! Your legs are fine! No one has stolen your legs, see. They are right their attached to your skinny little knees. They are just resting you know, 'cause you slept for a long time. You woke up but your lazy legs are still sleeping", Harry said barely controlling his laughter.
"Oh! Bad legs! Wake up!" Naruto said, "The wamen will go away, I wanna eat wamen! You wanna eat wamen too! Wake up."
'Merlin's beard! This little guy is too funny. Is ramen the only thing in his mind?' Shaking his head, Harry stood up, before slumping down again.
'I don't have anywhere to go! I can't keep confounding people. I don't have any money, or at least any money that works here. No safe house, no possessions, nowhere to go. I don't even know of a way to go home! Besides, I can't abandon Naruto! Merlin knows what these idiotic people will do to him. What to do? What to do?' he thought frustrated.
'The only way I see right now is to send Naruto back to that horrible orphanage. I can get him back after I arrange some money. By now, every shinobi in the village must be looking for Naruto. This place won't be safe for long. I need to get a safe place for us. When I take him I can't keep running forever. But what till then? How do I return him without raising suspicion? Think Harry ,think!'
'Wait a moment, what if I obliviate him? He won't remember me and I can put him to sleep without harming him. If I place him in some deserted alleyway the shinobi will soon find him. I can cast some protective wards around the place to keep him safe until then.'
'As soon as they find him, there will start an investigation. And the best part is that the Hokage will probably be personally involved. His involvement will make it impossible to hide the signs of abuse. Naruto is so thin, that without any signs of injury it will probably be assumed that he passed out due to hunger.'
'As for not finding him sooner, the blame can be pinned on shinobi not searching thoroughly for the demon-boy. But, I will need Kurama's help in this. I can't risk Naruto's mental health. Merlin knows what a poorly cast obliviate will do to him!'
Naruto poked him again."Zombieeeeee- san, Wet's go. Imma hungwy", he moaned piteously.
"Hey Naruto, we can go get ramen later. Come here, will you?" Harry smoothly pulled Naruto on his lap, Naruto facing towards him.
"What is it zombie-san? Why awe you wuking so sad? Awe you huwt? Don't wowy I can take cawe of you. See, I am not a good boy and matwon says that bad boys awe always punished. See, I know how to take cawe of my boo-boo's zombie-san! I know how to hewp you!"
'Blimey, he is even worse than me! I at least knew that the Dursley's were wrong to treat me like that. Naruto does not even realize that he is being abused!' he thought angrily.
"Naruto, look at me", Harry said gently lifting the child's chin tenderly so that he could look in his eyes. "You are not a bad boy alright? You are a very good child. The bloody Matron must be blind not to see that! Don't believe what anyone else says, alright? They are idiots! I am telling you that you are one of my most precious people and I will always protect you, remember that."
Naruto's cerulean eyes were so big that you would think he discovered a treasure!
"Weawy Zombie- san, I am not bad? I wuvv you Zombie-san! You awe one of my most precious person! Dattebayo!" He threw his thin arms tightly around Harry's middle, catching him off-guard.
He flinched involuntary before relaxing and hugging him back.
After a while, he gently murmured a sleeping charm. Settling Naruto gently on the bed, he carefully pried his eyes open. A moment later, he was back in Naruto's mind landscape, again inside the massive cage with Kyuubi.
Honestly, how had he not noticed the cage was beyond him. Now that he understood a little bit more he was certain that the Kyuubi was unable to get out of the cage. Currently, Kurama appeared to be …cleaning his tails? It was a bizarre sight.
"What are you doing here maggot? Can't you see that I am busy?"
"Yeah, I can see that but I need your help. Hey, isn't it difficult to keep your tails clean in this sewer?"
"Yes it is, since I am grooming my tail after a long time. Now go away you insolent critter."
"After a long time? What do you mean by that? Maybe I can help in cleaning up this place." He didn't think he could ever forget his own childhood room, his cupboard. If living in a cupboard had been that bad, he did not want to imagine living in a cage, for Merlin knows how many years. Especially, since the cage was hardly big enough for Kurama to stretch.
"How will you be able to help me, you pint-sized human?" he said tilting his head in a …well foxy manner, his tails flicking impatiently behind him.
Harry shrugged of the insult, after all if he had been stuck in a cage in a sewer he won't be all that charitable. "I can enlarge your cage from inside, block this sewage water for some time, and maybe conjure a big brush to groom you."
"Hmm, then what are you waiting for? Get to it", he said sniffing imperiously.
"Humility just drips from your furry tails, doesn't it?" Harry said sarcastically, "But, as you said I should get to it." He concentrated before waving his wand in some very complex motions. Expanding a cage from inside was hard, however convenient it may be. Then he warded the cage against water and cast a refreshing charm. The cage stank to high heavens!
He was startled by the fact that it was very easy to control his magic. He could almost feel his magic. He knew that magic was somewhat sentient, but there was something different with his magic. It was more powerful as if it wanted to be used!
He had thought that it was Kurama's magic that had been helping him, calling to him. He was right to an extent Kurama's magic was calling to him, but not aiding him. Rather it seemed to bask in the presence of his purer magic.
His eyes flew open. He didn't even remember closing them! 'Purer magic? How can I know that my magic is purer? What is happening? I can almost feel Kurama's tainted magic.' It was like a virus that had spread all over the fox's magic core. He could feel the taint being destroyed, slowly but surely, in the presence of his magic.
He shook his head, 'I will research it afterwards. I should groom him before he starts take-a-snap-at-harry game again.'
He raised his hand before realizing a problem, there was nothing in the cage that he could use to transfigure a brush. Simply conjuring a brush that large would be very taxing. He did not know his own extents now and with his luck he would probably be exhausted again.
"There may be a problem? I can't conjure a brush from nothing", he said sheepishly.
"Foolish youngling! This is a mindscape, you only need to think of it and it will be conjured."
'Youngling? That is almost kind for him. Well, he has been magically sick for decades.' Harry imagined a brush, the kind Hermione had only larger. The sudden unexpected heavy weight in his hands had him stumbling down on his arse.
'Blimey it's heavy!' The roaring laughter had his cheeks burning. When he looked up the fox was almost rolling on the floor with laughter. Embarrassed, he cast a feather light spell on the brush.
"Will you stop laughing? It wasn't that funny! If you don't stop laughing I swear I will not brush your coat" said Harry chagrined.
"Meh! Enough entertainment I suppose. Are you going to just stand there or do your work?"
Harry scoffed before casting an overpowered scourgify on the fox. It seemed to help a little. 'It can't be worse than scrubbing cauldrons I suppose.' He started with the tails scrubbing them gently but thoroughly.
"You do know that I came here for a different purpose right? I need your help. I have to find a way home and it's too dangerous for Naruto to be with me. Can you assist me in erasing his memory temporarily?"
"A way to go home? What do you mean by that? Do you not have control over your own powers Master of Death?"
Harry almost dropped the brush in his surprise. "Master of Death! I can't be master of death!
"Keep grooming! I know not how you achieved this power ,only know that you wield it."
"Does that mean that I can't die? I don't want to be Master of Death. I just want to be normal, be just Harry", he said miserably.
"You mortals think too highly of yourself! Of course you will die. Master of Death is just a misleading title, as if any entity can master Death! It is more likely that you have increased power and sensitivity over matters of death."
He sighed with relief, this he could manage. What he could not manage was living forever while his loved one's died! He resumed his cleaning thinking about this new twist that fate had thrown in his life.
"I will think about that another time. The bigger issue here is Naruto, can you help me?"
"I can, but why should I?"
"What do you mean why should you? You gave me a demon's word that you will help me!"
"And you gave me your word that you will make my vessel more powerful. Yet you are working to find a way to return to your world."
"I need information! I need to go back and who said that I will abandon Naruto? I will take him with me!"
"Imprudent brat! You cannot take my vessel with you. Have you forgotten my presence? I can't leave this universe."
"Oh! I didn't know that. That doesn't change the fact that I need to go back to my world. I will come back, I promise. I need to settle my affairs and I need money. I cannot survive in this world without money. Money is power and everyone respects power."
"I do not trust your words. You maggots are creatures of sentimentality. How do I know that you will not change your mind?"
'I can't do this, I won't do this! Merlin!'
"I will give you a wizard's oath, if I break it, I will lose all my powers. Now will you help me?"
'Dammit, that just slipped out from my mouth!'
"You make the oath and then we will have an agreement. You come back within a month and I will push your memory in gaki's subconscious. Be even a day late I won't be able to help."
"One month! That is not possible! It will probably take me one month to find my way back!"
"Oh this is ludicrous! You don't know the way back? Just when I thought that your puny little mind is not so empty you go and prove me completely wrong. You go back the same way you came dunce!"
"And that is the root of this problem! I have no clue about how I came here. All I know was that I had just defeated my arch-enemy before and suddenly I feel as if something is pulling me hard. I panicked, so I tried to apparate. It's all blurry after that. I don't remember what happened next."
"Why must I be surrounded by dumb-witted cretins? As soon as you acquired the last item of power you were transported outside your time and dimension. In middle of that you tried your own teleporting power. Due to this interference, you were tossed in time and space, where you were thrown in this universe. To return all you need to do is use your brain and teleport back."
'That was the longest I have heard him talk', Harry thought numbly, 'All this seems so outlandish! Nonetheless he has more knowledge than me.'
"Alright then! I give you a wizard's oath that I will be back for Naruto within a month from my departure from this dimension. So mote it be!"
"Very well then. Be gone from here and remember your words. The gaki would not remember you on waking."
A/n
That's it guys! One more thing, I have a poll on my profile. Please vote!