Alan
30th July 2004, 11:00 PM
The Griffin and the Fox
Chapter 4 – The Chapter Which Has No Name
The room at the end of the hall on the second floor of the Suzaku Inn on Shikigami Way was currently rather crowded. Six genin: (Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji and Hinata, she’d learned). Three jounin (a higher rank than genin, it seemed): Ebisu, Anko, and Genma (who was rather handsome, if you were interested in that sort of thing. The girls at Hogwarts would go crazy over him. As for herself, she’d learned her lesson after her second year.) Of course, there was the one Naruto called (rather disrespectfully in her opinion), ero-sennin. Jiraiya. Then there was she, Hermione Granger, who had requested answers about why they were here and what they were doing, resulting in her current status. Sitting in a room full of shinobi, all of whom, if Naruto was any indication, could kill her before she could raise her wand (or her hand) in defense.
Usually it’s Harry getting into these sorts of situations. She thought with a faintly amused smirk.
“So,” the huge white-haired man asked, settling into a crossed leg stance before her. “What would you like to know?”
“Why are you here?” Hermione said. Best to start with the obvious questions. Hopefully she could get the things she really wanted to know answered once she’d established that they weren’t going to do something disastrous. I’m glad it’s me here and not Ron. He’d think they were all dark wizards from the first technique they used, I just know it.
Jiraiya produced a pipe and began to stuff the bowl, raising his eyebrows at her in a questioning glance. “You don’t mind, do you?” As she shook her head, he continued speaking. “We’re here because this fool.” He indicated Naruto, who was busily eating a bowl of ramen he’d requested. “Is in dire need of a proper education.”
“This requires all of you to escort one boy?” Hermione asked skeptically, as she and Jiraiya both ignored Naruto’s garbled outburst.
“He’s a very difficult person to keep in line,” Jiraiya said with a straight face. “As I’m sure you’ve already discovered.”
“Difficult seems to be rather condemning.” She noted. “Do you usually let your students run around unattended?”
“Naruto’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself from all but a select few.” Jiraiya asserted. “A select few, I’ll add, who are far from here.”
“I wasn’t referring to Naruto.” Hermione corrected. “I was referring to his sister.”
Jiraiya blinked. The rest of the room simply stared.
Except for Naruto, who choked on his ramen, gasping for air and trying to clear the obstruction.
“...Sister?” Jiraiya asked, directing a suspicious glance toward Naruto. “Where’d you get a sister? Is she pretty?”
“...stupid pervert!” Naruto shouted, his words barely audible as he continued to try and clear his throat. “What would you know?” He threw the bowl at his sensei’s head and stormed out the door, not sparing looks for anyone.
“I apologise.” Hermione said after the echoes of the door closing faded. “I didn’t mean to step into a touchy subject.”
“Well...” Jiraiya exchanged a look with the others, arching an eyebrow at Ebisu’s open look of disapproval. “You have something to say, Ebisu?”
“I can’t believe that he’s openly engaging in shameless behavior when we’re visiting a foreign country.” Ebisu muttered.
He? “Am I missing something?” she asked, glancing from Jiraiya to Ebisu and back.
“Naruto has a....problem.” Jiraiya said slowly. “We’re not entirely sure of the specifics, though. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“Do you know what it is?” Hermione asked, curious.
“No, that’s part of the problem.” Jiraiya told her, shaking his head. “All we know is that he’s subject to...bouts where he isn’t really himself.”
There’s something they’re not telling me. Nodding slowly, she glanced at Ebisu again, but his anxiety had passed. “And it causes his sister to run around naked starting fights?”
Something in Jiraiya’s face made her feel suddenly uncomfortable and she had the sudden urge to run as he spoke. “...Naked?”
“Shameless...” Ebisu muttered under his breath, staring at the ceiling.
“We’ve already heard all about that, Ebisu.” Anko muttered, rolling her eyes before glancing over at Jiraiya. “Or at least, we’ve heard that he does shameless things. Ebisu was reluctant to tell us what those shameless things were. Right, E-bi-su-kun?”
“A-a-Anko-san.” Ebisu stammered.
“Naruto’s sister...” Jiraiya paused, his expression clear he was searching for the proper words to express what he was trying to say. “She’s... difficult. Rather like Naruto himself, actually.” He nodded, then turned his head slightly to regard the others in the room, as if daring them to contradict him.
Right. Difficult. Definitely not telling me the truth. “So where is she now?”
“Not here.” Jiraiya replied quickly. “She comes and goes at will.”
“Do you seriously expect me to buy this when it is obvious you’re...”she trailed off as the door opened and the girl in question walked in, wearing a very similar outfit to what Naruto wore, but tailored differently.
“What are you telling her about me, pervert?” she demanded as soon as she entered, eyes flickering from Hermione to Jiraiya. Ebisu choked, covering his face with one hand as Anko turned to him, concerned.
“Only the truth, stupid.” Jiraiya retorted. “Just like she deserves.”
“Yeah, like you know what truth is.”
“I’m not the one keeping secrets.” Jiraiya grinned.
The girl’s expression twitched in an oddly familiar way, then became a mischievous smirk. “Oh, Jiraiya-sama, you know I’m not keeping secrets, right?” She leaned forward as she spoke, giving the older man a direct view of her breasts.
Well, that’s one way to change the topic, I suppose. Hermione thought, watching as Jiraiya reddened.
“No?” Jiraiya coughed, smirking as well. “And who’s being deceitful right now?”
“You, stupid.” She retorted. “Telling her all those lies about Naruto- kun.”
“Excuse me,” Hermione interjected. “This is all very interesting, but, could I have my cloak back?”
“Eh?” the girl blinked. “Oh, right! Sorry about that.” She slid the backpack she carried off one shoulder and began rooting through it. “Here you are.” She produced the cloak, folded in a neat square and offered it to Hermione.
“Thank you.” Hermione said, shaking out the fabric to deal with any wrinkles. “I didn’t catch your name earlier, though.”
“Yes, do tell her your name.” Jiraiya said, bringing his pipe to his lips.
“My name....” The girl trailed off. “Naruko. Uzumaki Naruko.”
Jiraiya choked, coughing and twitching.
Naruko? Naruto....? What’s going on here? “That’s a very similar name to Naruto’s...”
“Duh, he’s my little brother.” She said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
“You don’t have to be rude.” Hermione replied. “It was simply an observation.”
“Wasn’t being rude.” Naruko said. “Told you he was my little brother.”
“Naruko-chan.” Jiraiya said, having recovered from his choking fit. “Be nice to our guest. Your...brother helped her out earlier and she deserves to see that we’re not antisocial and violent.”
“The Ministry’s propaganda, wasn’t it?” Hermione asked, changing topics with an irked look at Naruko. “Except most of the populace doesn’t know about you.”
“The Ministry knows.” Jiraiya snorted. “They just prefer not to talk about us. We make them uncomfortable. I think they believe if they ignore us, we’ll go away and not be a problem for them.”
“Stupid.” Naruko commented, earning a dirty look from Jiraiya.
“You’re quite a bit different from earlier.” Hermione remarked. “You could at least trying being polite.”
“Pfft!” the girl snorted. “Being nice is just not saying what you really mean. Not gonna happen.”
Hermione’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to make me wish I hadn’t helped you earlier.”
“Good.” Naruko retorted. “Didn’t need your help anyway.”
“Enough.” Jiraiya raised a hand to forestall the impending fight, as he spoke, though he appeared a bit reluctant. “We’re not here to argue. Naruko, be quiet.” He sighed, then looked at Hermione. “You had other questions?”
“You’re going to be teaching at Hogwarts, yes?” she asked. At his nod, she continued. “I’ll see what I can do to ask them then, when we don’t have rude young women being a nuisance.”
“Very well.” Jiraiya nodded. “However. I have a request.”
“Yes?”
“The Headmaster knows we are coming, in fact, invited us. However, no one else does. I’d like to ask that you keep it a secret. I want to make an entrance.”
Despite herself, Hermione smiled. “Do I have to keep it a secret from everyone?”
“If you trust them not to talk about it openly?” he made a careless gesture. “Use your own judgment there.”
Nodding, she settled the cloak about her shoulders. “I’ll keep that in mind. For now, thank you for answering my questions.” She glanced at Naruko, her gaze turning frosty. “Thank you for returning my cloak after you stole it.”
“Whatever.” Naruko replied, blowing a bubble with the gum she had apparently starting chewing at some point. “S’not like the thing is my size anyway.”
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then closed it, her gaze turning frostier. “Your brother is nothing like you.”
“Good for him.” She responded, popping the bubble.
Her face tightened and she started to say something, then she noticed Jiraiya shaking his head, a pensive expression on his face. “I’ll be going now.” Adjusting her cloak, she made her way to the door, nodding to the rest and quietly left.
Jiraiya sat there, his head tilted as he listened to the receding sound of her departure, then, his face stoney, he glanced at the others. “Could you give me a moment here? I have something to discuss with Naruto.”
The group quietly, but reluctantly slipped out of the room, leaving Jiraiya alone with the insolently smirking girl.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jiraiya demanded as soon as they were alone. “And drop that disguise.”
“Too distracting, old man?” Naruko replied acidly, smoke billowing up around her to reveal a confused looking Naruto.
“Eh?” he blinked, then glared at Jiraiya. “How the hell did I get here?”
“Don’t try to be ignorant, fool!” the older man snapped. “I just sat here and watched you come in and be terribly rude to Hermione while disguised with your sexy no jutsu!”
Naruto looked at him for a moment, still frowning, then glared again. “This is one of your pranks, ain’t it?”
“No, stupid!” Jiraiya replied, his expression settling from angry disapproval to speculative. “Transform.”
“What?”
“Use your sexy no jutsu. I want to test a theory.” Jiraiya repeated, rolling his eyes.
“Pervert!” Naruto accused.
“Guilty.” Jiraiya countered. “Now shut up and do it.”
“You asked for it.” Naruto replied, cracking his knuckles once. “Henge!” Smoke again billowed up, replacing Naruto with his female disguise, who immediately opened her mouth to speak.
“One look not enough for you, old man?” she sneered.
Jiraiya nodded, not really listening to her. “Change back.”
“Like little boys now, I see.” Naruko snorted, releasing the jutsu to reveal Naruto, again looking confused.
“As I suspected.” Jiraiya looked at Naruto intently. “Under no circumstances are you to use the sexy no jutsu while we are in wizarding lands. Not here. Not at Hogwarts. Not at all. Clear?”
“Why the hell not?” Naruto demanded. “It works against all adults!”
“I’d like to see you use it on Orochimaru.” Jiraiya muttered. “I’ll explain, stupid, though I doubt you’ll understand.” He reached toward the table where Naruto had been eating and grabbed the salt, then unceremoniously dumped it on the floor between them.
“Ah!” Naruto screamed and pointed. “You’re going to have bad luck now!”
“Shut up and look.” He smoothed the salt out flat, then poked one spot with his finger. “This is you. Right?” Without waiting for a reply, he drew a large square in the salt. “This is Diagon Alley. Now. Diagon Alley is filled with wizards, who use chakra almost constantly for everything imaginable. They cook with it, they clean with it. You name it.”
“That’s stupid.” Naruto muttered.
Jiraiya nodded once. “But we’re not discussing the overuse of chakra. We’re discussing your problem.” He made a series of marks all around the spot that represented Naruto. “As a result, the excess chakra from what they do just lingers around because they’ve been here so long and keep doing this. Thus, you have chakra -everywhere-, from many different people, all just floating around.”
Naruto nodded, listening eagerly. “And?”
“Well, then we have you.” He pointed at the spot again. “Who is host to the kyuubi, which is a source of chakra unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And as a result, the chakra of the kyuubi is in everything you do, even if it is only in tiny amounts.”
“What’s that go to do with my problem?” Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. “This sounds like bullshit.”
“I’m getting to that, moron.” Jiraiya retorted. “As I was saying, you are the kyuubi’s host. The chakra of the kyuubi can actually take physical shape if enough of it is present. So, when you’re using the sexy no jutsu, some of the kyuubi chakra is filtering in with yours and that, combined with the excess chakra floating around here in Diagon Alley and such, is causing your sexy no jutsu to work in an interesting way.”
Naruto tilted his head. “I don’t understand.”
Sighing Jiraiya wiped a hand through the salt. “Your repeated use of the sexy no jutsu, combined with the kyuubi chakra and the chakra here, is causing your female disguise to take on a life of her own.” He paused, noting Naruto’s blank look. “Too many big words? Fine. When you use henge, you’re not just creating a different appearance, you’re creating another personality for that appearance.”
Frowning, Naruto glanced down at the salt. “Like... I’m turning into someone else?”
“Exactly.” Jiraiya said, pleased that his student had grasped the concept. “So, no using it until I say so.”
“Still sounds like bullshit, but whatever.” Naruto crossed his arms behind his head as he spoke. “I won’t use it.”
“Now go run along and apologise for your sister’s bad manners.” Jiraiya told him. “Naruko was very rude to her.”
Naruto stared at Jiraiya for a moment, then scowled. “Probably deserved it.”
Jiraiya smacked him on the back of the head. “She most certainly did not. No student of mine is going to display such atrocious manners. You will go and apologise to her now. Be glad I don’t make you tell her the truth.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” Naruto muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he sulked out of the room.
Standing there for a moment, Jiraiya reached out after Naruto had left, catching something in the air and looking at it curiously. “Do tell Kurenai that I’m not as stupid as I sometimes look. I know perfectly well why she sent you.” With that, he released the bug, watching it quickly flee the room.
-
Aburame Shino listened as the insect relayed what it had heard back to him, one eyebrow raising as he reached the end. “Interesting.” He released the insect, not giving it any mind as it flew down his collar while he walked away from where he had been standing.
-
Hermione stepped off of Shikigami Way onto Diagon Alley and sighed, glancing back at the inn where she had just come from, then shook her head and continued onward, merging quietly into the flow of the people as she made her way back toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Ron and Harry intercepted her about halfway.
“Are you alright?” Ron demanded, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was alone. “Not hurt?”
“I’m fine.” She said, frowning. “And why would I be hurt?”
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then Harry spoke. “Ron said you’d be abducted. Some strange boy and his illusions. Figured he was a dark wizard.”
Hermione’s expression flickered. “That is the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Ron started to reply, then his attention shifted. “There he is!” Without waiting for Harry, he rushed past Hermione toward the short blond shinobi whom he had spotted through the crowd. He skidded to a stop, glaring down at the much shorter male, who was looking back with a bored expression.
“Ron Weasley!” Hermione’s voice cracked as she and Harry both came over. “What are you doing?”
“This one is trouble.” Ron said, not his eyes off Naruto. “Dark wizard, I’d bet.”
Naruto looked up at him, still bored. “What’s a dark wizard?”
All three stared at him, before Hermione spoke. “You don’t know what a dark wizard is?”
His expression clearly said that he did not. “Nope. Never heard of one. In fact, never heard of wizards before this trip.”
Ron snorted. “Like we believe that.”
“Ron!” Hermione snapped, glaring at him before turning her attention back to Naruto. “There are no wizards where you’re from?”
“Nope.” Naruto repeated. “Just shinobi. Samurai show up every so often too.”
“Shinobi?” Ron cut in. “My dad’s mentioned them. The Ministry says they’re dangerous.” He started to say something else, but subsided when he saw Hermione glaring at him.
“Would you mind telling Harry and Ron what you are, Naruto?” Hermione asked.
“Well...I’m not supposed to tell anyone...”
Now he wants it to be a secret? “That didn’t stop you back there with Malfoy, did it?”
“He already knew.” Naruto said, stubborn.
“Associating with Malfoy, are we?” Ron asked, venom in his voice. “Guess we know who you bow to, don’t we?”
“Ron...” Harry said quietly, but was ignored.
“Don’t know what your problem is, jerk.” Naruto snapped. “Don’t care. Now shut up.”
“Enough.” Hermione hissed. “Ron, quit acting like a prat. Naruto, quit provoking him. Harry, quit standing there and make Ron back off before he gets hurt.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew they were the wrong thing to say.
“This short little rat?” Ron snorted. “Hurt me?”
At this, Naruto’s expression turned mischeivous. “Ya know, you look like that jerk I stomped down on Knockturn Alley. Your brother?”
“Right, like any of my family would be down on Knockturn Alley.” Ron snorted again. “Try another one.”
Naruto shrugged. “Little bit taller than you. Same stupid look on his face. Yeah, definitely your brother.”
“I do not have a stupid look on my face!” Ron yelled, turning red.
“Course ya don’t.” Naruto agreed, ignoring Hermione’s look of exasperation as she tried to interrupt them. “You’ve got a stupider look than he did. His mouth wasn’t hanging open like an idiot.”
“That is enough!” Hermione snapped, shoving in between them. “Ron, you’re behaving like a child. Naruto isn’t a dark wizard. He didn’t hurt me. Quit letting him provoke you.”
“Why are you defending him?” Ron asked.
“Mebbe because I’m right and you’re an idiot?” Naruto asked from behind Hermione, clearly having fun with this.
“Naruto.” Hermione said, almost growling. “You’re not helping.”
“Not trying to.” He retorted. “This guy’s being a jerk.”
“And you’re not?” she fired back.
He shrugged. “He’s a jerk to me. I’m a jerk right back.”
“There’s thing called being tactful.” Hermione ground out.
“Tact is just not saying true stuff. Not gonna happen.” Naruto retorted.
“Being nice is just not saying what you really mean. Not gonna happen” Hermione stiffened, then turned to look at Naruto with a frown.
He blinked. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” she said, shaking her head. It’s impossible, isn’t it? But... “Never mind.”
“Ok...” Naruto stared at her for a moment, confused, then glanced at Ron. “Is this dip going to glare at me the rest of the day or do I need to move him so I can get by?”
“Move, Hermione.” Ron said in a low growl, his hands twitching.
She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I did warn you.” She calmly stepped out of the way. Ron wasted no time, shoving his hand into his pocket for his wand, then freezing as Naruto was suddenly right in front of him, a kunai pressed none-too-gently against his wrist.
“I took the last redhead’s little stick away from him.” Naruto said quietly. “You wouldn’t like me to do the same to you.”
Ron said nothing, eyes wide as he took in the sharpened edge, plain disbelief written on his face. “What are you?”
Grinning widely enough that his teeth were showing, the genin answered. “Shinobi.”
The Weasley sibling’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and he staggered backward, face pale. “Why are you here?”
Naruto spun the kunai once on a finger, then put it away. “None of your business.” He started to say something else, but stopped as a blur of white and black resolved into a familiar figure beside him.
“Naruto.” Hyuuga Neji said in greeting, inclining his head to Hermione briefly. “We’re leaving. Jiraiya-sama sent me to find you.”
“Eeeeh?” Naruto sighed. “What does the ero-sennin want now?”
Neji almost smiled as he repeated. “We’re leaving. We have a train to catch. You don’t want to be left behind, do you?”
“Oh. Right.” The blond genin let his arms fall and glanced at Hermione. “I suppose I’ll see you in a bit. Sorry about how my sister was behaving. She’s a bit of a pain.”
Neji gave him an odd look as Hermione replied. “Do try and behave a little better.”
“Hah!” he proclaimed, his expression mischievous. “Behaving is boring. I’ll never do that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I’m not surprised about that. I’ll see you later.”
Naruto nodded, then vanished with Neji without another word.
Hermione watched the space where they had stood for a moment, then turned to look at Ron. “Ron Weasley.”
The aforementioned male winced at her tone, in the process of inspecting his wrist for any sign of injury. “Um...yes?”
She opened her mouth to unleash a serious rant, then closed it. “Never mind. I don’t want to look at you right now. I have to go to Flourish and Blotts to find a book. I do not want to be followed or spied on this time, either.” She gave Ron a hard look.
“What’re you going to get?” Harry asked, curious.
“Whatever I can find on Chinese curses.” She replied over her shoulder, already walking away from the two boys. “I have something I want to research.”
-
“Why’d we stop?” Naruto asked as he glanced over at Neji from the rooftop.
“I want to see something.” Neji said simply, raising two fingers before his face. “Byakugan!”
“What are we looking for?” the other genin asked.
Neji ignored him, focusing on the dark haired young man and frowning before releasing the jutsu. “Alright. Let’s go.”
“What did you see?” Naruto persisted.
“The one boy.” Neji murmured. “Harry, was it? He’s had a kinjutsu used on him in the past. A very powerful one. The traces are all over his chakra system.”
“Um...” Naruto nodded, his face set in a confused frown. “What’s it look like?”
“Green. It’s been a long time, so the traces are no longer as prominent as they might have been, but it’s everywhere. A very malicious green.” Neji replied as they two moved from rooftop to rooftop. “All centered around one particular part of his body too. Must have been where the jutsu struck initially. What I can’t understand is how he survived it.”
“Ah, who cares?” Naruto muttered. “Let’s just go find the others and get out of this place. The people here are boring.”
Neji permitted himself a faint smile. “Agreed. I can figure out the mystery of that boy later.”
The blond genin merely nodded and the two rushed across the rooftops back toward the meeting place, Neji in the lead.
-
Hermione entered Flourish and Blotts with a frown, wondering if she was mad as she began searching the shelves. “I don’t see how people can just switch genders like that, but...I’m positive I read something about a gender curse that originated in China.”
“Gender curses in China?” one of the attendants asked, approaching from the opposite end of the aisle. “I think...” The young man glanced around, then reached up and pulled down a book. “Our most comprehensive text on those. Covers the workings of the sorcerer Lo Pan to other, more obscure curses.”
She flipped through the book, stopping at the index and skimming it. “This is perfect. Thank you.” Nodding to the attendant, she made her way to the front and paid for the book, paying no mind to the meager remains of her funds. Smiling to herself, she left Flourish and Blotts, the book held open before her as she walked. She smoothly entered the flow of the crowd, heading back toward the Cauldron so she could gather her things for the train ride to Hogwarts.
-
The party of shinobi moved along the train platform, drawing odd looks from passersby as Naruto yelled at Jiraiya.
“Stupid pervert!” Naruto muttered. “Where the hell is this train at?”
“Would someone please shut him up?” Jiraiya said to no one in particular, looking around. “Platform nine and three-fourths...”
“There’s nine.” Chouji said, switching to another bag of chips.
“There’s ten.” Genma added, giving bored looks to anyone who stared at them for too long.
“But no nine and three-fourths.” Anko finished in a taunting sing- song.
“It’s here, it’s here.” Jiraiya muttered, glancing around to be sure they were being mostly ignored as he stopped between the two sections. “They like hiding things, the wizards do. Like the entrance to Diagon Alley.”
“Another stupid puzzle?” Naruto snorted.
“Not nearly as annoying.” Jiraiya answered, tapping the side of the pillar for platform ten that was facing platform nine. “Through here.”
“It’s a solid wall, fool.”
“Hinata, if you would?” Jiraiya glanced back the Hyuuga heir.
“Um...y-yes.” She stepped forward, face red as she engaged her bloodline skill. “T-there’s something on the other side. This is a door.”
“Yay! Go Hinata!” Naruto shouted, pumping his fist once in the air. “You rock.”
“A-a-rigato, Naruto-kun.” Hinata stammered, quietly moving toward the back of the crowd.
“So, we just walk right through.” Jiraiya said, nodding in appreciation to Hinata. “Take it fast and there should be no problem.”
“Won’t we be noticed?” Shikamaru asked, glancing around at the people walking past them in either direction.
Neji shook his head. “The area between the pillars is no doubt spelled in order to divert attention from there. If you don’t know that the gateway is here, you’d never notice it. And since we’re standing between the two pillars...”
“No one notices us.” Ebisu commented.
“Cool.” Naruto said, nodding. “Well, let’s go!” He turned and stalked through the wall, vanishing into the brick pillar. The other genin followed suit, with the jounin and Jiraiya going last.
They all plowed into Naruto, who had stopped almost dead on the other side, his eyes wide at the scene before him.
“What the hell’s the big idea, stopping like that?” Jiraiya shouted, his own rant dying as he too noticed the scene before them. His expression darkened at the sight of the robed and masked men running wild on the platform, terrorising the assorted groups of children. Some of them were fighting back, but most were incapable of matching the skills of the attackers. “Chouji, Shikamaru. Take the left. Contain the group chasing the youngest kids. Shino, Ebisu, take the train. If there are any, remove them by whatever means you see fit. Anko. You and Hinata will take the right. Keep any more from getting on the train. Genma, Neji, keep them from getting out through this doorway. No one leaves that way.. Naruto, you’re with me.”
“What are we doing?” the young genin asked as the group split up into their assigned tasks.
“We’re taking the ringleaders.” Jiraiya murmured. “That bunch in the center.”
“Who threatens a bunch of kids?” Naruto wonder, his expression darkening slowly. “That’s stupid and cowardly.”
“They’re looking for someone, I expect.” Jiraiya replied. “The question is...who?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Naruto growled, his eyes flashing red just once. “They’ve found me.”
“Keep your temper.” Jiraiya warned. “We don’t need an incident. The kyuubi coming out now would cause just as much panic if you let it get out of control...Move!” Both sidestepped the spells coming out them from behind.
“I’ve got these two.” Naruto snapped, falling back and charging the masked men that had flanked them. He skidded to a halt, grinning at them.
“Mudblood lover!” one of them shouted, firing a beam of red light at Naruto, who sidestepped it easily.
“Too slow.” He replied, his grin turning sadistic as he charged, smoke billowing up and replacing him with six duplicates of himself. They circled the men, then charged as one, two sliding in and kicking them up into the air. The other four appeared above, slamming kicks into the men that sent them back down to the platform with a thud. Certain that they were out, Naruto grabbed their wands and broke them, moving to catch up with Jiraiya.
“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” Jiraiya’s voice cracked, and a giant toad appeared beneath him. Its huge tongue shot forth, grabbing one of the three men who appeared to be leading and slamming him down forcefully. “You would be wise to surrender.”
“Interloper!” the center man shouted, raising his wand to attack. Naruto appeared before him a kick slamming into the man that sent him flying down the platform. The last remaining one brought his own wand around, but was caught by the toad’s huge tongue and given the same treatment as his companion.
“We’re being slaughtered!” one of them shouted to the leader, who was climbing to his feet slowly.
“Reinforcements.” He bared one of his forearms and laid his hand over it, then smiled nastily at the genin and his sensei. “You’re all going to regret interfering in our affairs now.” He began laughing, as another group of similarly dressed people appeared behind him.
“Hear that, Naruto?” Jiraiya asked, dismissing the summoned toad and landing on his feet. “We’re going to regret this.”
“Pfft.” Naruto rolled his eyes. “One of them. Ten of them. It won’t matter.”
Jiraiya smirked, looking over the group arrayed before them. “Still. There are too many people in our way. I believe we should change the choice of battlegrounds.”
“Whaddya mean?” Naruto demanded, ignoring the group of masked assailants as they began to approach.
“Watch.” Jiraiya smirked again, then tilted his head back and spoke in a commanding voice. “Anyone who isn’t a masked freak, please get on the train in an orderly fashion. NOW!” The students all exchanged looks, then poured into the open doorways for the Hogwarts express, several stopping to help their injured companions.
“You’ve just made it easier for us to kill you.” The leader of the group said, stopping his spiel when one of the others rushed forward to whisper in his ear. “He is? Excellent! Take him as he enters the platform. Our Master will be pleased.”
“Neji!” Naruto yelled, a sudden suspicion flaring in his mind as he roared an alert. Behind, he could see Hermione, along with her two friends pushing their carts through the barricade. They all three stopped laughing as they saw the group of masked men there, wands aimed at them. For a moment, there was silence, then one of them spoke.
“The Dark Lord is waiting, Potter.” One of them said, triumphant. “Stu...”
“Kaiten!” the man’s words were drowned out as Hyuuga Neji appeared between the trio and the masked men. He spun, blue light flaring up around him as the wizards unleashed their attacks, intending to subdue their target. Every single attack was brushed aside, bouncing wildly around the room the instant it struck the sphere of chakra.
“Baiku no jutsu!” Chouji’s voice rang out. “Nikudan Sensha!” The four masked men found themselves run over by the rapidly moving Chouji, who had enlarged to a massive round sphere of flesh that plowed over the masked men.
“Who the bloody hell are you people?” the leader shouted, starting to raise his wand, then frowning as his arm stopped.
“Now, now.” Shikamaru admonished. “Such language is bothersome.” He stood on one side of the main group, hands in his pockets, his shadow stretched to trap all of the people standing before Jiraiya and Naruto.
“You seem to be a bit outmatched.” Jiraiya remarked, crossing his arms. “Maybe you should quit while you’re ahead.”
The leader started to reply, then hissed, grabbing his forearm. After a moment, he released his arm and straightened. “We go!” As one all the group vanished, leaving those who were unconscious behind.
“...What the bloody hell?” Ron Weasley said, staring around at the chaos in front of them, then looking at the train and the cheering that emerged as the students there had all started applauding the strangers.
“Train’s leaving, children.” Jiraiya said, walking over. “Get loaded. Explanations later.” He kept an eye around, pausing to kick one of the men in the head when he started to rise.
“Let’s go, Ron.” Hermione murmured, pushing past with her cart. The bewildered Weasley followed, with Harry coming up in the rear.
Harry stopped, turning to look at Neji. “Thank you.”
Neji glanced at him once, nodded, then returned to whatever he was watching out for.
“Alright, show’s over.” Jiraiya said. “The rest of you on the train. We don’t need another incident.” He pointed toward the train and the genin all started toward it. Jiraiya himself stopped as Genma touched his shoulder.
“Those were...” he began.
Jiraiya raised one hand. “I know. It seems the situation here has deteriorated faster than I thought it would have. We’ll discuss that later. We have a train to catch.” He started forward as well, not giving the jounin opportunity to do anything more than follow with a faintly amused smirk.
This chapter, along with all that have come before and will after, is devoted to Ralph Gates.
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Chapter 4 – The Chapter Which Has No Name
The room at the end of the hall on the second floor of the Suzaku Inn on Shikigami Way was currently rather crowded. Six genin: (Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji and Hinata, she’d learned). Three jounin (a higher rank than genin, it seemed): Ebisu, Anko, and Genma (who was rather handsome, if you were interested in that sort of thing. The girls at Hogwarts would go crazy over him. As for herself, she’d learned her lesson after her second year.) Of course, there was the one Naruto called (rather disrespectfully in her opinion), ero-sennin. Jiraiya. Then there was she, Hermione Granger, who had requested answers about why they were here and what they were doing, resulting in her current status. Sitting in a room full of shinobi, all of whom, if Naruto was any indication, could kill her before she could raise her wand (or her hand) in defense.
Usually it’s Harry getting into these sorts of situations. She thought with a faintly amused smirk.
“So,” the huge white-haired man asked, settling into a crossed leg stance before her. “What would you like to know?”
“Why are you here?” Hermione said. Best to start with the obvious questions. Hopefully she could get the things she really wanted to know answered once she’d established that they weren’t going to do something disastrous. I’m glad it’s me here and not Ron. He’d think they were all dark wizards from the first technique they used, I just know it.
Jiraiya produced a pipe and began to stuff the bowl, raising his eyebrows at her in a questioning glance. “You don’t mind, do you?” As she shook her head, he continued speaking. “We’re here because this fool.” He indicated Naruto, who was busily eating a bowl of ramen he’d requested. “Is in dire need of a proper education.”
“This requires all of you to escort one boy?” Hermione asked skeptically, as she and Jiraiya both ignored Naruto’s garbled outburst.
“He’s a very difficult person to keep in line,” Jiraiya said with a straight face. “As I’m sure you’ve already discovered.”
“Difficult seems to be rather condemning.” She noted. “Do you usually let your students run around unattended?”
“Naruto’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself from all but a select few.” Jiraiya asserted. “A select few, I’ll add, who are far from here.”
“I wasn’t referring to Naruto.” Hermione corrected. “I was referring to his sister.”
Jiraiya blinked. The rest of the room simply stared.
Except for Naruto, who choked on his ramen, gasping for air and trying to clear the obstruction.
“...Sister?” Jiraiya asked, directing a suspicious glance toward Naruto. “Where’d you get a sister? Is she pretty?”
“...stupid pervert!” Naruto shouted, his words barely audible as he continued to try and clear his throat. “What would you know?” He threw the bowl at his sensei’s head and stormed out the door, not sparing looks for anyone.
“I apologise.” Hermione said after the echoes of the door closing faded. “I didn’t mean to step into a touchy subject.”
“Well...” Jiraiya exchanged a look with the others, arching an eyebrow at Ebisu’s open look of disapproval. “You have something to say, Ebisu?”
“I can’t believe that he’s openly engaging in shameless behavior when we’re visiting a foreign country.” Ebisu muttered.
He? “Am I missing something?” she asked, glancing from Jiraiya to Ebisu and back.
“Naruto has a....problem.” Jiraiya said slowly. “We’re not entirely sure of the specifics, though. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“Do you know what it is?” Hermione asked, curious.
“No, that’s part of the problem.” Jiraiya told her, shaking his head. “All we know is that he’s subject to...bouts where he isn’t really himself.”
There’s something they’re not telling me. Nodding slowly, she glanced at Ebisu again, but his anxiety had passed. “And it causes his sister to run around naked starting fights?”
Something in Jiraiya’s face made her feel suddenly uncomfortable and she had the sudden urge to run as he spoke. “...Naked?”
“Shameless...” Ebisu muttered under his breath, staring at the ceiling.
“We’ve already heard all about that, Ebisu.” Anko muttered, rolling her eyes before glancing over at Jiraiya. “Or at least, we’ve heard that he does shameless things. Ebisu was reluctant to tell us what those shameless things were. Right, E-bi-su-kun?”
“A-a-Anko-san.” Ebisu stammered.
“Naruto’s sister...” Jiraiya paused, his expression clear he was searching for the proper words to express what he was trying to say. “She’s... difficult. Rather like Naruto himself, actually.” He nodded, then turned his head slightly to regard the others in the room, as if daring them to contradict him.
Right. Difficult. Definitely not telling me the truth. “So where is she now?”
“Not here.” Jiraiya replied quickly. “She comes and goes at will.”
“Do you seriously expect me to buy this when it is obvious you’re...”she trailed off as the door opened and the girl in question walked in, wearing a very similar outfit to what Naruto wore, but tailored differently.
“What are you telling her about me, pervert?” she demanded as soon as she entered, eyes flickering from Hermione to Jiraiya. Ebisu choked, covering his face with one hand as Anko turned to him, concerned.
“Only the truth, stupid.” Jiraiya retorted. “Just like she deserves.”
“Yeah, like you know what truth is.”
“I’m not the one keeping secrets.” Jiraiya grinned.
The girl’s expression twitched in an oddly familiar way, then became a mischievous smirk. “Oh, Jiraiya-sama, you know I’m not keeping secrets, right?” She leaned forward as she spoke, giving the older man a direct view of her breasts.
Well, that’s one way to change the topic, I suppose. Hermione thought, watching as Jiraiya reddened.
“No?” Jiraiya coughed, smirking as well. “And who’s being deceitful right now?”
“You, stupid.” She retorted. “Telling her all those lies about Naruto- kun.”
“Excuse me,” Hermione interjected. “This is all very interesting, but, could I have my cloak back?”
“Eh?” the girl blinked. “Oh, right! Sorry about that.” She slid the backpack she carried off one shoulder and began rooting through it. “Here you are.” She produced the cloak, folded in a neat square and offered it to Hermione.
“Thank you.” Hermione said, shaking out the fabric to deal with any wrinkles. “I didn’t catch your name earlier, though.”
“Yes, do tell her your name.” Jiraiya said, bringing his pipe to his lips.
“My name....” The girl trailed off. “Naruko. Uzumaki Naruko.”
Jiraiya choked, coughing and twitching.
Naruko? Naruto....? What’s going on here? “That’s a very similar name to Naruto’s...”
“Duh, he’s my little brother.” She said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
“You don’t have to be rude.” Hermione replied. “It was simply an observation.”
“Wasn’t being rude.” Naruko said. “Told you he was my little brother.”
“Naruko-chan.” Jiraiya said, having recovered from his choking fit. “Be nice to our guest. Your...brother helped her out earlier and she deserves to see that we’re not antisocial and violent.”
“The Ministry’s propaganda, wasn’t it?” Hermione asked, changing topics with an irked look at Naruko. “Except most of the populace doesn’t know about you.”
“The Ministry knows.” Jiraiya snorted. “They just prefer not to talk about us. We make them uncomfortable. I think they believe if they ignore us, we’ll go away and not be a problem for them.”
“Stupid.” Naruko commented, earning a dirty look from Jiraiya.
“You’re quite a bit different from earlier.” Hermione remarked. “You could at least trying being polite.”
“Pfft!” the girl snorted. “Being nice is just not saying what you really mean. Not gonna happen.”
Hermione’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to make me wish I hadn’t helped you earlier.”
“Good.” Naruko retorted. “Didn’t need your help anyway.”
“Enough.” Jiraiya raised a hand to forestall the impending fight, as he spoke, though he appeared a bit reluctant. “We’re not here to argue. Naruko, be quiet.” He sighed, then looked at Hermione. “You had other questions?”
“You’re going to be teaching at Hogwarts, yes?” she asked. At his nod, she continued. “I’ll see what I can do to ask them then, when we don’t have rude young women being a nuisance.”
“Very well.” Jiraiya nodded. “However. I have a request.”
“Yes?”
“The Headmaster knows we are coming, in fact, invited us. However, no one else does. I’d like to ask that you keep it a secret. I want to make an entrance.”
Despite herself, Hermione smiled. “Do I have to keep it a secret from everyone?”
“If you trust them not to talk about it openly?” he made a careless gesture. “Use your own judgment there.”
Nodding, she settled the cloak about her shoulders. “I’ll keep that in mind. For now, thank you for answering my questions.” She glanced at Naruko, her gaze turning frosty. “Thank you for returning my cloak after you stole it.”
“Whatever.” Naruko replied, blowing a bubble with the gum she had apparently starting chewing at some point. “S’not like the thing is my size anyway.”
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then closed it, her gaze turning frostier. “Your brother is nothing like you.”
“Good for him.” She responded, popping the bubble.
Her face tightened and she started to say something, then she noticed Jiraiya shaking his head, a pensive expression on his face. “I’ll be going now.” Adjusting her cloak, she made her way to the door, nodding to the rest and quietly left.
Jiraiya sat there, his head tilted as he listened to the receding sound of her departure, then, his face stoney, he glanced at the others. “Could you give me a moment here? I have something to discuss with Naruto.”
The group quietly, but reluctantly slipped out of the room, leaving Jiraiya alone with the insolently smirking girl.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jiraiya demanded as soon as they were alone. “And drop that disguise.”
“Too distracting, old man?” Naruko replied acidly, smoke billowing up around her to reveal a confused looking Naruto.
“Eh?” he blinked, then glared at Jiraiya. “How the hell did I get here?”
“Don’t try to be ignorant, fool!” the older man snapped. “I just sat here and watched you come in and be terribly rude to Hermione while disguised with your sexy no jutsu!”
Naruto looked at him for a moment, still frowning, then glared again. “This is one of your pranks, ain’t it?”
“No, stupid!” Jiraiya replied, his expression settling from angry disapproval to speculative. “Transform.”
“What?”
“Use your sexy no jutsu. I want to test a theory.” Jiraiya repeated, rolling his eyes.
“Pervert!” Naruto accused.
“Guilty.” Jiraiya countered. “Now shut up and do it.”
“You asked for it.” Naruto replied, cracking his knuckles once. “Henge!” Smoke again billowed up, replacing Naruto with his female disguise, who immediately opened her mouth to speak.
“One look not enough for you, old man?” she sneered.
Jiraiya nodded, not really listening to her. “Change back.”
“Like little boys now, I see.” Naruko snorted, releasing the jutsu to reveal Naruto, again looking confused.
“As I suspected.” Jiraiya looked at Naruto intently. “Under no circumstances are you to use the sexy no jutsu while we are in wizarding lands. Not here. Not at Hogwarts. Not at all. Clear?”
“Why the hell not?” Naruto demanded. “It works against all adults!”
“I’d like to see you use it on Orochimaru.” Jiraiya muttered. “I’ll explain, stupid, though I doubt you’ll understand.” He reached toward the table where Naruto had been eating and grabbed the salt, then unceremoniously dumped it on the floor between them.
“Ah!” Naruto screamed and pointed. “You’re going to have bad luck now!”
“Shut up and look.” He smoothed the salt out flat, then poked one spot with his finger. “This is you. Right?” Without waiting for a reply, he drew a large square in the salt. “This is Diagon Alley. Now. Diagon Alley is filled with wizards, who use chakra almost constantly for everything imaginable. They cook with it, they clean with it. You name it.”
“That’s stupid.” Naruto muttered.
Jiraiya nodded once. “But we’re not discussing the overuse of chakra. We’re discussing your problem.” He made a series of marks all around the spot that represented Naruto. “As a result, the excess chakra from what they do just lingers around because they’ve been here so long and keep doing this. Thus, you have chakra -everywhere-, from many different people, all just floating around.”
Naruto nodded, listening eagerly. “And?”
“Well, then we have you.” He pointed at the spot again. “Who is host to the kyuubi, which is a source of chakra unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And as a result, the chakra of the kyuubi is in everything you do, even if it is only in tiny amounts.”
“What’s that go to do with my problem?” Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. “This sounds like bullshit.”
“I’m getting to that, moron.” Jiraiya retorted. “As I was saying, you are the kyuubi’s host. The chakra of the kyuubi can actually take physical shape if enough of it is present. So, when you’re using the sexy no jutsu, some of the kyuubi chakra is filtering in with yours and that, combined with the excess chakra floating around here in Diagon Alley and such, is causing your sexy no jutsu to work in an interesting way.”
Naruto tilted his head. “I don’t understand.”
Sighing Jiraiya wiped a hand through the salt. “Your repeated use of the sexy no jutsu, combined with the kyuubi chakra and the chakra here, is causing your female disguise to take on a life of her own.” He paused, noting Naruto’s blank look. “Too many big words? Fine. When you use henge, you’re not just creating a different appearance, you’re creating another personality for that appearance.”
Frowning, Naruto glanced down at the salt. “Like... I’m turning into someone else?”
“Exactly.” Jiraiya said, pleased that his student had grasped the concept. “So, no using it until I say so.”
“Still sounds like bullshit, but whatever.” Naruto crossed his arms behind his head as he spoke. “I won’t use it.”
“Now go run along and apologise for your sister’s bad manners.” Jiraiya told him. “Naruko was very rude to her.”
Naruto stared at Jiraiya for a moment, then scowled. “Probably deserved it.”
Jiraiya smacked him on the back of the head. “She most certainly did not. No student of mine is going to display such atrocious manners. You will go and apologise to her now. Be glad I don’t make you tell her the truth.”
“I’m going, I’m going.” Naruto muttered, rubbing the back of his head as he sulked out of the room.
Standing there for a moment, Jiraiya reached out after Naruto had left, catching something in the air and looking at it curiously. “Do tell Kurenai that I’m not as stupid as I sometimes look. I know perfectly well why she sent you.” With that, he released the bug, watching it quickly flee the room.
-
Aburame Shino listened as the insect relayed what it had heard back to him, one eyebrow raising as he reached the end. “Interesting.” He released the insect, not giving it any mind as it flew down his collar while he walked away from where he had been standing.
-
Hermione stepped off of Shikigami Way onto Diagon Alley and sighed, glancing back at the inn where she had just come from, then shook her head and continued onward, merging quietly into the flow of the people as she made her way back toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Ron and Harry intercepted her about halfway.
“Are you alright?” Ron demanded, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was alone. “Not hurt?”
“I’m fine.” She said, frowning. “And why would I be hurt?”
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, then Harry spoke. “Ron said you’d be abducted. Some strange boy and his illusions. Figured he was a dark wizard.”
Hermione’s expression flickered. “That is the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Ron started to reply, then his attention shifted. “There he is!” Without waiting for Harry, he rushed past Hermione toward the short blond shinobi whom he had spotted through the crowd. He skidded to a stop, glaring down at the much shorter male, who was looking back with a bored expression.
“Ron Weasley!” Hermione’s voice cracked as she and Harry both came over. “What are you doing?”
“This one is trouble.” Ron said, not his eyes off Naruto. “Dark wizard, I’d bet.”
Naruto looked up at him, still bored. “What’s a dark wizard?”
All three stared at him, before Hermione spoke. “You don’t know what a dark wizard is?”
His expression clearly said that he did not. “Nope. Never heard of one. In fact, never heard of wizards before this trip.”
Ron snorted. “Like we believe that.”
“Ron!” Hermione snapped, glaring at him before turning her attention back to Naruto. “There are no wizards where you’re from?”
“Nope.” Naruto repeated. “Just shinobi. Samurai show up every so often too.”
“Shinobi?” Ron cut in. “My dad’s mentioned them. The Ministry says they’re dangerous.” He started to say something else, but subsided when he saw Hermione glaring at him.
“Would you mind telling Harry and Ron what you are, Naruto?” Hermione asked.
“Well...I’m not supposed to tell anyone...”
Now he wants it to be a secret? “That didn’t stop you back there with Malfoy, did it?”
“He already knew.” Naruto said, stubborn.
“Associating with Malfoy, are we?” Ron asked, venom in his voice. “Guess we know who you bow to, don’t we?”
“Ron...” Harry said quietly, but was ignored.
“Don’t know what your problem is, jerk.” Naruto snapped. “Don’t care. Now shut up.”
“Enough.” Hermione hissed. “Ron, quit acting like a prat. Naruto, quit provoking him. Harry, quit standing there and make Ron back off before he gets hurt.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew they were the wrong thing to say.
“This short little rat?” Ron snorted. “Hurt me?”
At this, Naruto’s expression turned mischeivous. “Ya know, you look like that jerk I stomped down on Knockturn Alley. Your brother?”
“Right, like any of my family would be down on Knockturn Alley.” Ron snorted again. “Try another one.”
Naruto shrugged. “Little bit taller than you. Same stupid look on his face. Yeah, definitely your brother.”
“I do not have a stupid look on my face!” Ron yelled, turning red.
“Course ya don’t.” Naruto agreed, ignoring Hermione’s look of exasperation as she tried to interrupt them. “You’ve got a stupider look than he did. His mouth wasn’t hanging open like an idiot.”
“That is enough!” Hermione snapped, shoving in between them. “Ron, you’re behaving like a child. Naruto isn’t a dark wizard. He didn’t hurt me. Quit letting him provoke you.”
“Why are you defending him?” Ron asked.
“Mebbe because I’m right and you’re an idiot?” Naruto asked from behind Hermione, clearly having fun with this.
“Naruto.” Hermione said, almost growling. “You’re not helping.”
“Not trying to.” He retorted. “This guy’s being a jerk.”
“And you’re not?” she fired back.
He shrugged. “He’s a jerk to me. I’m a jerk right back.”
“There’s thing called being tactful.” Hermione ground out.
“Tact is just not saying true stuff. Not gonna happen.” Naruto retorted.
“Being nice is just not saying what you really mean. Not gonna happen” Hermione stiffened, then turned to look at Naruto with a frown.
He blinked. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” she said, shaking her head. It’s impossible, isn’t it? But... “Never mind.”
“Ok...” Naruto stared at her for a moment, confused, then glanced at Ron. “Is this dip going to glare at me the rest of the day or do I need to move him so I can get by?”
“Move, Hermione.” Ron said in a low growl, his hands twitching.
She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I did warn you.” She calmly stepped out of the way. Ron wasted no time, shoving his hand into his pocket for his wand, then freezing as Naruto was suddenly right in front of him, a kunai pressed none-too-gently against his wrist.
“I took the last redhead’s little stick away from him.” Naruto said quietly. “You wouldn’t like me to do the same to you.”
Ron said nothing, eyes wide as he took in the sharpened edge, plain disbelief written on his face. “What are you?”
Grinning widely enough that his teeth were showing, the genin answered. “Shinobi.”
The Weasley sibling’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and he staggered backward, face pale. “Why are you here?”
Naruto spun the kunai once on a finger, then put it away. “None of your business.” He started to say something else, but stopped as a blur of white and black resolved into a familiar figure beside him.
“Naruto.” Hyuuga Neji said in greeting, inclining his head to Hermione briefly. “We’re leaving. Jiraiya-sama sent me to find you.”
“Eeeeh?” Naruto sighed. “What does the ero-sennin want now?”
Neji almost smiled as he repeated. “We’re leaving. We have a train to catch. You don’t want to be left behind, do you?”
“Oh. Right.” The blond genin let his arms fall and glanced at Hermione. “I suppose I’ll see you in a bit. Sorry about how my sister was behaving. She’s a bit of a pain.”
Neji gave him an odd look as Hermione replied. “Do try and behave a little better.”
“Hah!” he proclaimed, his expression mischievous. “Behaving is boring. I’ll never do that.”
She rolled her eyes. “Somehow, I’m not surprised about that. I’ll see you later.”
Naruto nodded, then vanished with Neji without another word.
Hermione watched the space where they had stood for a moment, then turned to look at Ron. “Ron Weasley.”
The aforementioned male winced at her tone, in the process of inspecting his wrist for any sign of injury. “Um...yes?”
She opened her mouth to unleash a serious rant, then closed it. “Never mind. I don’t want to look at you right now. I have to go to Flourish and Blotts to find a book. I do not want to be followed or spied on this time, either.” She gave Ron a hard look.
“What’re you going to get?” Harry asked, curious.
“Whatever I can find on Chinese curses.” She replied over her shoulder, already walking away from the two boys. “I have something I want to research.”
-
“Why’d we stop?” Naruto asked as he glanced over at Neji from the rooftop.
“I want to see something.” Neji said simply, raising two fingers before his face. “Byakugan!”
“What are we looking for?” the other genin asked.
Neji ignored him, focusing on the dark haired young man and frowning before releasing the jutsu. “Alright. Let’s go.”
“What did you see?” Naruto persisted.
“The one boy.” Neji murmured. “Harry, was it? He’s had a kinjutsu used on him in the past. A very powerful one. The traces are all over his chakra system.”
“Um...” Naruto nodded, his face set in a confused frown. “What’s it look like?”
“Green. It’s been a long time, so the traces are no longer as prominent as they might have been, but it’s everywhere. A very malicious green.” Neji replied as they two moved from rooftop to rooftop. “All centered around one particular part of his body too. Must have been where the jutsu struck initially. What I can’t understand is how he survived it.”
“Ah, who cares?” Naruto muttered. “Let’s just go find the others and get out of this place. The people here are boring.”
Neji permitted himself a faint smile. “Agreed. I can figure out the mystery of that boy later.”
The blond genin merely nodded and the two rushed across the rooftops back toward the meeting place, Neji in the lead.
-
Hermione entered Flourish and Blotts with a frown, wondering if she was mad as she began searching the shelves. “I don’t see how people can just switch genders like that, but...I’m positive I read something about a gender curse that originated in China.”
“Gender curses in China?” one of the attendants asked, approaching from the opposite end of the aisle. “I think...” The young man glanced around, then reached up and pulled down a book. “Our most comprehensive text on those. Covers the workings of the sorcerer Lo Pan to other, more obscure curses.”
She flipped through the book, stopping at the index and skimming it. “This is perfect. Thank you.” Nodding to the attendant, she made her way to the front and paid for the book, paying no mind to the meager remains of her funds. Smiling to herself, she left Flourish and Blotts, the book held open before her as she walked. She smoothly entered the flow of the crowd, heading back toward the Cauldron so she could gather her things for the train ride to Hogwarts.
-
The party of shinobi moved along the train platform, drawing odd looks from passersby as Naruto yelled at Jiraiya.
“Stupid pervert!” Naruto muttered. “Where the hell is this train at?”
“Would someone please shut him up?” Jiraiya said to no one in particular, looking around. “Platform nine and three-fourths...”
“There’s nine.” Chouji said, switching to another bag of chips.
“There’s ten.” Genma added, giving bored looks to anyone who stared at them for too long.
“But no nine and three-fourths.” Anko finished in a taunting sing- song.
“It’s here, it’s here.” Jiraiya muttered, glancing around to be sure they were being mostly ignored as he stopped between the two sections. “They like hiding things, the wizards do. Like the entrance to Diagon Alley.”
“Another stupid puzzle?” Naruto snorted.
“Not nearly as annoying.” Jiraiya answered, tapping the side of the pillar for platform ten that was facing platform nine. “Through here.”
“It’s a solid wall, fool.”
“Hinata, if you would?” Jiraiya glanced back the Hyuuga heir.
“Um...y-yes.” She stepped forward, face red as she engaged her bloodline skill. “T-there’s something on the other side. This is a door.”
“Yay! Go Hinata!” Naruto shouted, pumping his fist once in the air. “You rock.”
“A-a-rigato, Naruto-kun.” Hinata stammered, quietly moving toward the back of the crowd.
“So, we just walk right through.” Jiraiya said, nodding in appreciation to Hinata. “Take it fast and there should be no problem.”
“Won’t we be noticed?” Shikamaru asked, glancing around at the people walking past them in either direction.
Neji shook his head. “The area between the pillars is no doubt spelled in order to divert attention from there. If you don’t know that the gateway is here, you’d never notice it. And since we’re standing between the two pillars...”
“No one notices us.” Ebisu commented.
“Cool.” Naruto said, nodding. “Well, let’s go!” He turned and stalked through the wall, vanishing into the brick pillar. The other genin followed suit, with the jounin and Jiraiya going last.
They all plowed into Naruto, who had stopped almost dead on the other side, his eyes wide at the scene before him.
“What the hell’s the big idea, stopping like that?” Jiraiya shouted, his own rant dying as he too noticed the scene before them. His expression darkened at the sight of the robed and masked men running wild on the platform, terrorising the assorted groups of children. Some of them were fighting back, but most were incapable of matching the skills of the attackers. “Chouji, Shikamaru. Take the left. Contain the group chasing the youngest kids. Shino, Ebisu, take the train. If there are any, remove them by whatever means you see fit. Anko. You and Hinata will take the right. Keep any more from getting on the train. Genma, Neji, keep them from getting out through this doorway. No one leaves that way.. Naruto, you’re with me.”
“What are we doing?” the young genin asked as the group split up into their assigned tasks.
“We’re taking the ringleaders.” Jiraiya murmured. “That bunch in the center.”
“Who threatens a bunch of kids?” Naruto wonder, his expression darkening slowly. “That’s stupid and cowardly.”
“They’re looking for someone, I expect.” Jiraiya replied. “The question is...who?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Naruto growled, his eyes flashing red just once. “They’ve found me.”
“Keep your temper.” Jiraiya warned. “We don’t need an incident. The kyuubi coming out now would cause just as much panic if you let it get out of control...Move!” Both sidestepped the spells coming out them from behind.
“I’ve got these two.” Naruto snapped, falling back and charging the masked men that had flanked them. He skidded to a halt, grinning at them.
“Mudblood lover!” one of them shouted, firing a beam of red light at Naruto, who sidestepped it easily.
“Too slow.” He replied, his grin turning sadistic as he charged, smoke billowing up and replacing him with six duplicates of himself. They circled the men, then charged as one, two sliding in and kicking them up into the air. The other four appeared above, slamming kicks into the men that sent them back down to the platform with a thud. Certain that they were out, Naruto grabbed their wands and broke them, moving to catch up with Jiraiya.
“Kuchiyose no jutsu!” Jiraiya’s voice cracked, and a giant toad appeared beneath him. Its huge tongue shot forth, grabbing one of the three men who appeared to be leading and slamming him down forcefully. “You would be wise to surrender.”
“Interloper!” the center man shouted, raising his wand to attack. Naruto appeared before him a kick slamming into the man that sent him flying down the platform. The last remaining one brought his own wand around, but was caught by the toad’s huge tongue and given the same treatment as his companion.
“We’re being slaughtered!” one of them shouted to the leader, who was climbing to his feet slowly.
“Reinforcements.” He bared one of his forearms and laid his hand over it, then smiled nastily at the genin and his sensei. “You’re all going to regret interfering in our affairs now.” He began laughing, as another group of similarly dressed people appeared behind him.
“Hear that, Naruto?” Jiraiya asked, dismissing the summoned toad and landing on his feet. “We’re going to regret this.”
“Pfft.” Naruto rolled his eyes. “One of them. Ten of them. It won’t matter.”
Jiraiya smirked, looking over the group arrayed before them. “Still. There are too many people in our way. I believe we should change the choice of battlegrounds.”
“Whaddya mean?” Naruto demanded, ignoring the group of masked assailants as they began to approach.
“Watch.” Jiraiya smirked again, then tilted his head back and spoke in a commanding voice. “Anyone who isn’t a masked freak, please get on the train in an orderly fashion. NOW!” The students all exchanged looks, then poured into the open doorways for the Hogwarts express, several stopping to help their injured companions.
“You’ve just made it easier for us to kill you.” The leader of the group said, stopping his spiel when one of the others rushed forward to whisper in his ear. “He is? Excellent! Take him as he enters the platform. Our Master will be pleased.”
“Neji!” Naruto yelled, a sudden suspicion flaring in his mind as he roared an alert. Behind, he could see Hermione, along with her two friends pushing their carts through the barricade. They all three stopped laughing as they saw the group of masked men there, wands aimed at them. For a moment, there was silence, then one of them spoke.
“The Dark Lord is waiting, Potter.” One of them said, triumphant. “Stu...”
“Kaiten!” the man’s words were drowned out as Hyuuga Neji appeared between the trio and the masked men. He spun, blue light flaring up around him as the wizards unleashed their attacks, intending to subdue their target. Every single attack was brushed aside, bouncing wildly around the room the instant it struck the sphere of chakra.
“Baiku no jutsu!” Chouji’s voice rang out. “Nikudan Sensha!” The four masked men found themselves run over by the rapidly moving Chouji, who had enlarged to a massive round sphere of flesh that plowed over the masked men.
“Who the bloody hell are you people?” the leader shouted, starting to raise his wand, then frowning as his arm stopped.
“Now, now.” Shikamaru admonished. “Such language is bothersome.” He stood on one side of the main group, hands in his pockets, his shadow stretched to trap all of the people standing before Jiraiya and Naruto.
“You seem to be a bit outmatched.” Jiraiya remarked, crossing his arms. “Maybe you should quit while you’re ahead.”
The leader started to reply, then hissed, grabbing his forearm. After a moment, he released his arm and straightened. “We go!” As one all the group vanished, leaving those who were unconscious behind.
“...What the bloody hell?” Ron Weasley said, staring around at the chaos in front of them, then looking at the train and the cheering that emerged as the students there had all started applauding the strangers.
“Train’s leaving, children.” Jiraiya said, walking over. “Get loaded. Explanations later.” He kept an eye around, pausing to kick one of the men in the head when he started to rise.
“Let’s go, Ron.” Hermione murmured, pushing past with her cart. The bewildered Weasley followed, with Harry coming up in the rear.
Harry stopped, turning to look at Neji. “Thank you.”
Neji glanced at him once, nodded, then returned to whatever he was watching out for.
“Alright, show’s over.” Jiraiya said. “The rest of you on the train. We don’t need another incident.” He pointed toward the train and the genin all started toward it. Jiraiya himself stopped as Genma touched his shoulder.
“Those were...” he began.
Jiraiya raised one hand. “I know. It seems the situation here has deteriorated faster than I thought it would have. We’ll discuss that later. We have a train to catch.” He started forward as well, not giving the jounin opportunity to do anything more than follow with a faintly amused smirk.
This chapter, along with all that have come before and will after, is devoted to Ralph Gates.
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