Disclaimer: Ninjas own everything, because they are awesome. This ninja doesn't own Harry Potter though, JK Rowling does, because she is a ninja too. You heard it here first!

The Ninja, The Samurai and The Geisha

by Firebreathing Ninja From Space!

Chapter 3: The Samurai and the Ninja

Harry and four of his best samurai halted across the street from the tavern, and he looked up and down the street to make sure that the rest of his men were in place. Ron and Neville were leading more men round the back to cut off the enemy's escape. The tavern was run by a former supporter of Voldemort and had been identified as the hideout of the Death Ninjas in the city, so Dumbledore-sensei had sent them there to try and capture the Death Ninjas who had attacked the castle the week before. Most of the customers there would probably be Voldemort supporters as well.

"Remember, the other people in the tavern may work for Voldemort too." Harry reminded his companions. "When I order the owner to give up himself and the Death Ninjas, they might attack us!"

"Don't worry, Harry-sama! They won't get away with anything while I'm watching them!" said Colin Creevey eagerly. Harry smiled at his eagerness – the young samurai was very enthusiastic about his duties.

If Harry and his samurai could defeat this band of Death Ninjas, the city would be safe from their attacks and they could go and look for Voldemort's secret lair and get rid of him once and for all. Harry looked forward to putting down his swords and living a normal life...with Hermione. Harry smiled tenderly as he thought of his beloved. At least one good thing had come out of this war: he had met her. He might never have done if it hadn't been for Dumbledore-sensei.

(flashback)

"Harry," the Shogun mused as Harry bowed deeply to his master and teacher, "I think it is high time you knew the pleasure of a woman's embrace."

Harry blushed violently. "Dumbledore-sensei!" he exclaimed in shock, "Forgive me, but there is no need for such a thing. I am more than adequately in control of my baser instincts." It was true – he had never felt the slightest urge to join the other samurai and soldiers in mingling with loose women in the coarser taverns, or even to seek out the more refined pleasures of the Geisha houses. He tolerated but discouraged such behaviour in the men under his command.

"That, grasshopper, is the problem," Dumbledore explained, "If you deny your nature as a man, you risk harming your spiritual development or even driving yourself to darkness. Further, if you cannot understand your subordinates' desire for the company of the fairer sex, you do not properly understand them as men."

Harry bowed respectfully again. "I honour your wisdom, Dumbledore-sensei. What would you have me do?"

Dumbledore carefully handed Harry a piece of paper. "Go to this address tonight," he said. "The owner of the establishment is named Molly, and is known to me." (Known how?, Harry wondered.) "My foresight tells me that you will find what you need there."

(end flashback)

He had very reluctantly obeyed the Shogun's command and gone to the Geisha house. To his great surprise, the owner had been a kind and motherly woman who listened politely to his embarrassed, stammered explanation of why he was there. Put at his ease by the civilized air of the place but still terribly nervous, he had been invited to take his pick from the half-dozen beautiful, immaculately dressed and made up girls available at the time. He had picked Cho, because the Chinese girl stood out exotically among the group of Japanese girls, and because she had most aggressively presented herself to attract his attention.

It had been a bad choice, he soon realized. Cho was bossy and mean, pushing herself at him without any sympathy for his lack of experience – until she realized who he was, at which point she started being sickeningly fake-impressed. When the evening was over, he was wondering quite what possessed other men to seek casual encounters with women so enthusiastically, and fretting over how Dumbledore-sensei could have been so gravely mistaken.

But then...but then...

(flashback)

"You must come again, Harry-sama." Cho gushed irritatingly, clinging like a limpet to Harry's arm as he attempted to make his escape. "After you, no man will ever compare for me."

"Perhaps," Harry replied unenthusiastically. He quickened his pace as he made for the exit, but Cho still clung to him like a leech. They passed several other rooms where geishas were entertaining clients, and Harry tried very hard not to listen to the sounds coming from within. Suddenly, however, he heard a loud slap and a girl crying out in pain, which he could not ignore. He angrily slammed open the door from which the sound had come and saw a large, brute-faced man standing over a girl cowering on the floor, raising his hand menacingly.

"You keep your mouth shut unless I tell you otherwise, you got that, slut?" The brute got no further before Harry furiously grabbed him round the throat and slammed him violently to the floor. This knocked him unconscious, and Harry hauled him ungently out into the corridor, where he saw the house's owner and two of the female guards approaching.

"What is going on here?" Molly demanded in surprise. "Harry-sama?"

"This man was assaulting one of the girls." Harry explained calmly. "I taught him a lesson in manners."

"Is this true, Hermione-chan?" Molly gently asked the girl Harry had rescued. The girl – Hermione – had risen gracefully to her feet, and Harry looked at her properly for the first time. Even with tears glittering in her eyes and an angry red mark on her otherwise flawless white cheek, he was immediately struck by her delicate beauty and the kindness and intelligence in her cinnamon orbs.

"Yes, ma'am. He was drunk and violent – he was going to hurt me badly for his pleasure if this man had not intervened."

"Then we are in your debt, Harry-sama. Hermione – this is Harry Potter, the Shogun's personal champion."

Blushing brightly, Hermione bowed low. "I cannot thank you enough, Harry-sama. I am unworthy of your gallantry."

"That's not true!" Harry blurted out without thinking, causing everyone to look at him in surprise. Hermione's eyes were luminous and wide with shock as she stared at him. "I...I mean...you shouldn't say such things. No-one should be brutalized so."

"You are very kind to say so, Harry-sama." Hermione averted her eyes modestly, but he could sense her unstated emotion.

"I hope you will accept our hospitality another time as a gift, Harry-sama," said Molly.

"I...yes, I think I will." Harry replied, still looking at Hermione, who smiled timidly but brightly. Harry's heart lurched in an unfamiliar way, and he wondered if this was what Dumbledore-sensei had sent him here to find.

(end flashback)

The magical signal came that Ron and Neville were in position, so Harry nodded decisively to his companions. They walked casually across the street to avoid arousing suspicion, and entered the tavern. Inside it was dark and dingy, and mostly empty. The few men sitting at the tables looked disreputable and dangerous. The barman's eyes went wide as he saw the five samurai, and he reached for something under the bar.

"Nobody move." Harry ordered firmly. "There are Death Ninjas hiding in this building, and we are here to arrest them. If you try to stop us, you will be arrested too."

"You and what army, boy?" the barman snarled angrily, pulling out his hidden short sword and jumping over the bar to attack. The other customers drew weapons and moved in on the samurai as well. One of them whistled piercingly to alert their comrades.

"Bad decision," Harry sighed resignedly, drawing the larger of the Phoenix Blades to parry the barman's attack. When it leapt from its scabbard, the crimson-hilted sword began to emit phoenix song, the signal for the other samurai outside to attack. Another man tried to stab Harry from behind, but he drew his second sword and parried with such force that the man was thrown to the ground. He could see Colin and the other easily fighting off the other customers. However, a trapdoor behind the bar had now opened and black-clad Death Ninjas were starting to climb out of it.

Harry hurriedly finished his duel with the barman, raining down blows too fast for the man to parry easily. At last the barman fell, bleeding from several cuts and a deeper slash to his neck. Five Death Ninjas were now approaching Harry warily, so he moved swiftly into a magic stance, drew a symbol in the air with his sword and shouted "Aquadraconus!" All five were flung off their feet by a blast of water and into a wall. The rest of the samurai were now starting to pour into the tavern and engage the ninjas.

Several more ninjas, using magic-assisted leaps, had made their way into the building's rafters and prepared to drop on Harry from above. Changing stance, he shouted "Aerodraconus!" Glowing gusts of wind intercepted the ninjas in mid-air.

"Look out, Harry-sama!" Colin's voice alerted him to the presence of a familiar green-clad figure. It was the Serpent Ninja, Draco Malfoy, an infuriating smirk on his palely handsome face.

"Potter," Malfoy spat, drawing his sword and assuming a magic stance. The combatants in the middle of the room instinctively cleared the space between the two warriors as Harry squared off determinedly against his arch-enemy.

"Malfoy. Give yourself up and you will live," Harry replied, readying his sword to cast a spell at Malfoy if need be.

"Never," Draco responded sardonically. "Serpentium!"

"Aerodraconus!" Wind and snakes met in the centre of the room with a flash of energy as they annihilated each other.

"Multiplicatus!" Dozens of copies of Draco suddenly filled the room, surrounding Harry on all sides.

"Ignidraconus!" A ring of fire formed around Harry and blasted outwards, incinerating all the clones.

"Sharingan!" Draco's eyes glowed as he used his most feared power in an attempt to paralyze Harry. The green-eyed samurai was prepared, however, raising the polished blade of his sword over his eyes and reflecting the attack back at Draco, who was temporarily stunned.

"Terradraconus!" The very earth under Draco's feet rose around him, trapping him in a rocky cocoon. He fought to get free, snarling, but could not. Harry grinned in triumph and looked around the room. Most of the Death Ninjas had now been killed or subdued, but some were still fighting. It was fortunate that he looked up when he did, as another Death Ninja hiding in the rafters dropped towards him with a bloodcurdling scream, green fire trailing from the edge of her sword. Harry neatly sidestepped and impaled the attacker on his Phoenix Blade, which flared with spiritual fire and incinerated the minion of evil.

When he looked back at Malfoy, the grey-eyed ninja had clawed his way out of the cocoon and was fleeing towards the nearest exit. Determined not to let the Serpent Ninja escape, Harry flung his sword after him. It tumbled end over end as it flew, and Draco only barely managed to parry it. Even then, the force of its strike shattered the other sword, and fire scorched Draco's face. He fell to the ground and scrambled and crawled away. The look of defeat and terror in his eyes filled Harry with quiet satisfaction – he had proved himself the Serpent Ninja's better and broken his spirit.

**********

"So Draco Malfoy escaped?" Hermione asked, later that night. They had taken supper together while Harry told the story of the raid, and were now relaxing over tea.

"Yes. Dumbledore-sensei told us not to pursue him for the time being – Voldemort is more important, and one of the prisoners said that relations between Malfoy and the Death Ninjas were poor already. I doubt they'll hire him on again."

"That's good," said Hermione fervently. "Will you have to leave soon to find the Dark Lord?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry shook his head in reassurance. "Not for some time. We need time to gather forces and prepare the expedition, and Dumbledore-sensei needs to do more magic to try and find him. It'll be at least a couple of weeks." He smiled encouragingly at her over his teacup. "So I'm not going anywhere for the time being."

Hermione returned his smile dazzlingly, and took his large callused hand between her small delicate ones. "I'm so glad," she murmured happily. "Can...can you stay till morning tonight?" she asked nervously, her pale cheeks reddening faintly like opening blossoms.

"Of course," Harry replied reassuringly, gently touching the rich softness of her hair. In answer, she threw her arms around him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. Surprised, he returned the embrace, his strong arms easily encompassing her slender waist. She looked up and took his face between her hands – the look on her face took his breath away even before she passionately kissed him. This was far more daring than she had ever been with him before, he thought – could it be that he had finally managed to help her break out of her shell? Delighted with the change, he returned the kiss with interest, losing himself in the delicious softness of her ruby lips, the chocolate warmth of her eyes and the floral sweetness of her feminine scent.

Hermione broke the kiss at last, and they both took shuddering breaths as they gazed at each other lovingly. She took his hand and stood up – he noticed that her belt had come partly undone at some point, causing her kimono to slide down, revealing her soft ivory shoulders and a tantalizing glimpse of the delicate curves of her bosom.

"Take me to bed?" she whispered huskily. Harry's emerald eyes widened at her boldness, but he was only too happy to oblige, letting her lead him to the bed and then draw him down into her loving embrace. He trailed butterfly kisses down her neck and throat and lower, determined to grant her all the pleasure and passion he could give, and that she so richly deserved.

Blissful, uncounted hours later, they lay entwined together in a state of exhausted delight. Harry tenderly caressed Hermione's hair while holding her close, his heart filled with love for this fragile, passionate creature who had awakened him to a whole new universe of emotion. He was more determined than ever to give her a new life free from exploitation and abuse.

"I love you, Harry," Hermione murmured against his chest, surprising him – he had thought she was asleep.

"And I love you," Harry replied fervently, kissing the top of her head. "Have you given any more thought to my proposal?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes. And...and...when the war is over, if you still want me...I will marry you, Harry." Hermione blushed as she looked into his eyes, but she spoke firmly and with conviction. Then she looked away shyly. "I can still scarcely believe it...I don't know if I will make you a very good wife. I've never learned to cook or keep house, all I know is how to be a geisha."

"That doesn't matter," Harry responded firmly. "So long as we are together, I will be the happiest man in the world."

"Harry..." Her earlier passion seemed to re-ignite in Hermione's eyes and she drew herself up above him, the fragrant curtain of her hair falling around them both. Her touch and the breathtaking sight of her in the moonlight made his head spin, and he eagerly reached for her to resume their love-making.

When he left the next morning, kissing Hermione's forehead as she lay sleeping peacefully, Harry knew he was going to be late for a meeting at the castle, but he didn't care. Molly greeted him warmly as he made his way out of the building.

"Harry-sama, good morning!"

"Hello, Molly. Is Hermione free tomorrow night?"

"To you? Of course. I wouldn't dream of keeping the lovebirds apart." Molly winked saucily, and Harry blushed slightly. "In fact, you should take her out on the town like a proper lady."

"You don't mind?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course not. Show her a good time, she deserves it."

"I will."

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: Well, it seems like things are settled now. Or are they?! (Hint: No.) Next chapter we find out where Draco's been and whether the love triangle is really resolved or not. (Hint: It isn't.) Review please! Even if it's just to say you read and enjoyed!

Oh, and I borrowed some ideas from Naruto from the fight scene. In case it wasn't obvious.