Relatively short chapter this time. Not really that much to cover left for this 'part'. Next chapter will be the epilogue, then I'll be moving onto Part 3, which will be about a 2-year time skip from there.

Btw, for those of you still wondering about the timeline here:

Naruto: 9 years old.
Harry: 21 years old.
Inu-san: 23 years old.

That's only for Part 2 up to this chapter. The epilogue next chapter will have everyone up 1 year. Well... don't worry about it too much. This is mostly important to me cause I don't want to get the happenings at each time mixed up as I write.

Most of you already know who Inu-san is (lol) but I'll just leave him as that since he's not really meant to go around telling who he is while in ANBU anyway (not like you wouldn't be able tell just by looking at him...)

"No, no, no," Harry shook his head again. "No skipping school for no reason. I'm only going to be familiarizing myself around the village and doing some shopping today."

Naruto pouted – probably unconsciously – "school is boring anyway. Nobody…" he trailed off. Nobody wants me there anyway.

Harry's gaze softened. Probably being able to guess what was going through the boy's mind; given the many hints he'd been given of the village's attitude concerning the little boy. "I'll be here to pick you up when you're done," he said, crouching down to catch the boy's gaze. "I promise." Harry smiled and held out a pinky.

Eyes widening, Naruto blushed slightly at the childish gesture Harii-nii was giving him – he was already nine! – but his eyes belied his thoughts, gaze yearning as he recalled all the he would often see other children have with their parents. Almost shyly, he reached out and quick intertwined his pinky with Harry's before just as hastily pulling away.

"Fine," he conceded. "But I want ramen for dinner then!" He waited for a response but only saw Harry standing up and brushing off his pants. As there was no immediate reply, Naruto began to worry that he'd already overstepped his bounds with Harry. Heart thudding louder, he glanced up, ready to apologize when he spotted Harry's quirked lips.

"Fair enough. But only this time," Harry smiled. "you can't just keep eating ramen all the time, Naruto. You're still a young boy who should eat lots to grow up strong."

He was too relieved that Harry wasn't mad at him to protest much. The next thing he knew, Harry was petting him on the head and telling him to "try and make some friends. You don't need to have lots of friends. Just a few close ones that you can trust." Naruto frowned, feeling a tightness in his chest; somehow… these words sounded familiar.

"Don't worry too much if you can't seem to get things right, things that are worth it always take time. But be sure to respect your teachers, even if it seems like they don't respect you. You never know what you might learn from them without you even realizing it." Harry didn't know why he felt the need to say some of these things. He was just dropping Naruto off to school! But as he spoke, he unknowingly smiled as he realized now just how important schooling days were in shaping you as a person.

Just as he finished speaking, a ringing sounded, and Harry looked up to see children dashing inside the building. Gently patting Naruto's shoulder and turning him, he said, "go on then. I'll see you in a few hours."

Having spent a number of hours simply walking the streets and acquainting himself with his new home, Harry had also managed to find the real estate agent Teuchi had recommended. He succeeded in finding a small mansion just beside one of the training areas that suited his needs perfectly.

It was neither too close nor too far away from the main area of the village. It was fairly large, given most families still tended to live in apartments, except those from ninja clans, and this meant plenty of spare rooms for him to use. It also had a decent garden at the back for him to do some gardening in his spare time – which he still enjoyed even after the Dursleys'.

Given that it was close to a training ground, it went slightly cheaper as he was told civilians tended to stay away because ninjas were wont to accidentally get a bit too rowdy at times and civilians would fear for their safety, no matter how well-trained the shinobi.

That was all fine with him, though. He could easily set up some wards for such eventualities; and just as easily repair any damages that might happen too. He was pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of the process, as Harry managed to walk out with the keys right after signing the relevant documents and paying.

Now, he was wondering how much furniture shopping he should do, given that he wasn't sure what he would really need to use, and the fact that he hadn't really measured out the new place either. Stopping suddenly in the middle of the street, he turned his head and glanced up a rooftop. He saw nothing, but after frowning for a bit at the spot, saw a ripple in the air.

His frown cleared and Harry smiled, motioning a 'come here' with his hand in that direction. Waiting for a few seconds patiently, in which time Harry glimpsed a handful of people glance his way curiously, before the air rippled again, only to disperse and reveal a familiar form.

"Hello… um, inu-san?" Harry hoped he hadn't mixed up the animal again this time. The ANBU nodded once in silent confirmation. "Have you been following me the whole time?" He received no reply, but thought that it probably wasn't surprising; the Hokage had told the guard to yesterday, after all.

"Well, I'm just going to do some shopping, if you'd like to join me?" He smiled genially at his 'escort'… or was it 'warden'? "Although it might not be as exciting as…" he glanced at the rooftop he had sensed the ANBU at earlier.

"…if you wish," the ANBU replied in an even tone.

Harry's smile brightened at hearing the response. Then, he managed to convince inu-san to take him to some furniture stores "he would recommend".

As they walked, the ANBU glanced over at his new charge. The man was an unusual one, for sure. He didn't seem fazed by the fact that he had casually invited – and was now walking with – a professional killer, so to speak. He had been somewhat wary after hearing of the man's ability to sense him yesterday, but it seemed like the foreigner, Potter-san, didn't harbor any thoughts of using it for anything other than realizing he was there.

He ended up accompanying Potter-san for the rest of the day, shopping to furnish his new home, as well as bringing some groceries back. He found himself slightly amused by the effect his presence had on the various shopkeepers. Then again, assuming that Potter-san was someone very important because he had an on duty ANBU with him was probably not a surprising response, really. He had the suspicion that Potter-san had actually used it to his advantage to get a little extra discounts on his purchases.

"You know," Harry spoke up as they were sorting out the groceries in the now-clean kitchen of his new home. "If you're going to be tailing me around all the time anyway, would you like to join us at Ichiraku's tonight?"

Surprised, the ANBU shook his head, firmly finding it improper to be so casual with his charge. Walking with him today had been one thing, he would be even closer at hand should something happen, but there was no need to go as far as joining them at meals.

Harry frowned silently, hoping the man didn't forego dinner just because he had been assigned to watch his – in his opinion – mundane life.

Later, they had walked together again to the Academy, where Naruto had grinned in pleasant surprise after spotting inu-san. The boy had greeted him cheerfully, having seemed to forgotten he was sulking after exiting the building.

"How was school?" Harry asked. He laughed when the boy's expression changed back into a pout, exaggeratedly declaring he would soon die of boredom if he had to keep going.

They all walked together to Ichiraku's, where Teuchi greeted them happily and served them quickly. Harry thanked the man for his recommendations, telling him – and Naruto – of the place he'd manage to secure.

Throughout the meal, Harry could sense inu-san's chakra signature lingering atop the stall's roof. He frowned at the thought that his suspicions had been right about the guard skipping his meal, and made a mental note to mention it to the Hokage at some point that his ANBU needn't be so uptight in his duties regarding Harry – as if there was even any need to tail him at all.

After, when Harry had shown a beyond-excited Naruto their new home and settled into bed – just Harry's, as he wanted to let Naruto choose his own bed next time – Harry resisted the urge to shake his head when he realized inu-san was once again on the roof. Just how serious did these people take their jobs? It wasn't as if it seemed he was in that much trouble, was it? Or maybe they thought he was the threat…

Sighing, Harry decided not to think about it too much and simply cuddled a still-awkward Naruto before slipping into sleep.

For those of you who don't know, in Japan, most 'houses' are called 'mansions'. That's just the term they say. It doesn't necessary mean a mansion. That's because most Japanese do tend to stay in apartments rather than actual houses.

Not sure when I'll have the next chapter done; I'm gonna try to finish the next chapter for my "More than Bargained For" fic first before writing more of this one.

Luckily both fics are 'short and simple' compared to VtAoA, so they are easier to write anyway.

As usual, let me know what you think and review! (: