Edit: I don't know if FFN deleted this part or I forgot to write this here in the first place, but here's the warning: slash and hetero pairs alike, undecided or surprise pairing, original male character, and possible tragedy.

1. The Beginning

The fourth year of his schooling at Hogwarts was not a pleasant experience, Harry thought with a tired sigh as he sipped the cup of hot chocolate Koma Enji prepared especially for him when he saw him entering the cafe looking exhausted and a bit disheartened. Well, how can he not be disheartened? Not only he was forced to compete in a deadly tournament, he had to see a friend die, and to top of it all he had accidentally killed a man too.

It didn't even matter to him that the man he accidentally killed was someone who had been terrorizing his country and had been trying to kill him ever since his birth. He had never liked to hurt anyone, let alone kill them. It was bad enough that he had also accidentally killed another man, his teacher, just three years prior. Now he had more blood on his hands and the government was going to reward him for that. How depressing.

Sirius' attempt at cheering him up helped a great deal, but now that the man was not here with him all the bad things that he tried to forget began creeping back to haunt his mind. He was not looking forward to his fifth year at all, if his fifth year would be anything like his previous years. Maybe he should ask Sirius if he could be home schooled for the rest of his education later.

The warm liquid immediately calmed his nerves once it entered his system and he sighed again, now in contentment as he enjoyed the calm atmosphere of the cafe and the warmth that were spreading through his body. Though it was summer, the nights here were a bit chilly. Koma smiled seeing his reaction, obviously feeling proud that a customer enjoyed the drink he made so much and Harry smiled back timidly, still not used to the hospitality of the people here.

He looked out the window, seeing people walking by.

This was his 11th day here in Japan already, ever since his godfather, who had been proven innocent when Pettigrew were caught, decided to take him out on a vacation to take his mind off things.

Tokyo was a nice place, Harry thought with a smile. The people were nice and helpful, and he had found this nice café near the hotel that he and his godfather were staying that he was quickly becoming a regular at. Anteiku makes really good coffee (and hot chocolate too in this case) and the cafe's cakes are the best he had ever eaten, maybe even better than the one the elves made at Hogwarts.

"Sirius-san not with you today, Harry-kun?" Koma-san asked him as he made his way to the cashier, intending to go back to his hotel before it got too late. He smiled at the chubby waiter as he paid for his drink.

"Sirius said he had a business to attend to today, so unfortunately he can't accompany me." He answered.

"Oh, I see... well here's your change." He received some coins from the usually jovial man whose expression turned serious and concerned all of the sudden. "Um, Listen. I know you're a man and all and don't need to be told this, but… be careful on your way home, alright? Our district is not the safest place this time around. It'd sadden us if something happened to you."

He looked at the older man's eyes, saw the genuine concern there before he smiled and nodded at him. "I will. Thank you, Koma-san."

He put on his light jacket and stepped out of the café. The distance back to his hotel was only half an hour of walk away and he had been walking for about 10 minutes when a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his arm, before he was pulled inside a narrow dark alleyway and pushed back until his back was met with a wall. That same hand released his arm and moved up to cover his mouth before he realized what was happening to him.

"Sssh..." his assaulter, a blond man wearing a fox mask that only covered his upper face, whispered beside his ear. "Don't scream."

What is this? Harry's mind raced. Is this robbery? Is he going to rob me?

The man suddenly nuzzled his neck and inhaled deeply before Harry shivered as warm wet tongue licked the hollow of his neck.

No wait, it's a pervert!

He panicked and tried to push the man, who didn't even budge. He grew more frantic when he felt the man's teeth on his neck and pushed the man again when he felt his magic flared and the man was suddenly thrown away from him and onto a trashcan several feet away from their location.

Not questioning the small miracle that saved him, Harry began to race his feet, wanting to get away from the man as fast as he can. The man cursed and chased him when he recovered from the fall. In his haste to get away from the quickly approaching man, he didn't pay attention to where he was running and suddenly from his peripheral vision he saw a bright light before he heard a loud thump and found himself lying on the roadside.

When he woke up the next time, he was looking on an unfamiliar white ceiling.

Observing his surroundings with his slightly blurry eyes, he saw the unmistakable features of his godfather sitting on a sofa across the room. Using his right hand, which throbbed with pain even though he didn't see any injuries on it besides a few light scratches here and there, he tried to pry away the device that was attached to his face; a movement that alerted his godfather that he has woke up.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you're awake...! Do you know how worried I was when the hospital called me, saying that you've been in an accident? And stop prying that thing off your face, it's supposed to help you breathe!" The man stood up and fussed over him when he saw what he was trying to do.

"Accident...?" He croaked weakly, voice muffled by the device he was apparently forbidden to remove to the older man who squeezed his hand in response.

"You were hit by a muggle car. I... I was... the doctors spent ten hours trying to fix you in the surgery room." Sirius explained to him, his voice strangely hoarse. Was he crying? "How are you feeling now? Wait, your doctor told me to call for him when you wake up."

He watched from the corner of his eyes as the man fumbled with the many buttons beside his bed. While he was doing that, he observed the room he was placed in too. It seemed expensive, since the facilities looked high class. There was an IV bag attached to a pole beside his bed and he followed the line to see that it was inserted into his left arm.

"I feel... kind of… sore." He told his godfather when the man finally found the correct button for the nurse. "Where are my glasses?"

"Just 'kind of' sore? Harry, you punctured your lung and stomach, smashed your head on the pavement, broke your left arm, and your right leg too! You should be in massive pain right now." Sirius squeezed his uninjured arm again before he sat back down tiredly. "And your glasses didn't survive. But that's not important! You almost died, you—" the older man made a frustrated sound.

"I… did?" He asked, a bit surprised by the revelation. That sounds... really bad, actually. And yet... despite the soreness he was feeling, he felt fine. Maybe there were leftover anesthetic from the surgery that were numbing the pain for him, he thought as he noticed for the first time that his left arm was indeed encased in a white cast.

"You did. Doctor Kanou told me. That's why it took them so long in the surgery room."

"Doctor Kanou...?"

Sirius nodded. "He's the Head Doctor of this hospital, as well as the one who performed that surgery. I don't know how he could have done all that without the help of magic and potions. Muggles are incredible."

Sirius then told him about what happened when he was out cold. Apparently he was hit by a car and was injured badly enough that he almost lost his life. The one who hit him was terrified that he had just killed someone and drove away leaving him bleeding on the middle of the road half dead in fear that he would be put to prison.

Luckily someone witnessed this happening and contacted the ambulance fast. He was brought to a nearby hospital and the head of the hospital himself performed a ten-hour long surgery that was said to have nearly zero percent chance of success. Obviously since he was still alive, the surgery was a success.

There were knocking sounds from behind the door, ending the brief story time and Sirius stood up to open the door, revealing a middle aged man wearing a doctor coat.

"Doctor Kanou! I was just telling Harry here about you. Please come in." Sirius said, trying to sound cheerful through his tiredness as he stepped aside to let the doctor in.

"Is that so? I hope you only told him about the good things then." Doctor Kanou smiled kindly at Sirius before he turned that smile to him. "How are you feeling, Harry-kun?" the doctor asked as he walked up beside him.

He tried to return the smile as best as he can before he answered. "A bit sore, but other than that I feel fine."

"I'm glad that to hear that." The doctor told him as he looked at the various machines and examined his body thoroughly. "Well, as long as you keep taking your medicines and rest up properly, I think you will be out of here soon. I was afraid that your concussion was going to be worse than this, but you're already healing very nicely."

"Thanks to your care, Doctor."

"Please don't thank me. I'm just glad that you are feeling alright now. You should be more careful when crossing the street next time, though Harry-kun. You made Mr. Black here really worried that he hasn't slept since you were brought in."

He glanced at his godfather who was indeed looking really exhausted from across the room. "You really shouldn't neglect caring for your own health, Sirius. I'm fine."

Sirius shook his head adamantly. "But I have to stay with you! I let you out of my sight once and look what happened to you!"

"Sirius." He smiled tiredly at the man. "I'm sure that I'll be fine. I'm sorry for worrying you but please go back and get some rest, you look terrible. Doctor Kanou wouldn't let anyone hurt me here, right Doctor?"

The doctor nodded at him indulgently, an amused smile on his face as he silently observed the interactions between him and his godfather. "Of course. We wouldn't let anyone harm someone who is under our care. You can be sure of that."

He looked at his godfather again and smiled. "See?"

Sirius sighed and nodded, conceding defeat. "Alright. I'll go back, only after you've eaten and take your medicines though."

At the mention of food, his stomach rumbled loudly. He felt blood rushing to his face as his appointed doctor laughed heartily at the sound before he stood up and straightened his coat.

"I'll call a nurse to bring you something then." Doctor Kanou said with another smile. "I hope you enjoy our food, Harry-kun."

Somehow, those words felt ominous to him, but he only nodded at the doctor as he didn't know why he felt that way even though the man had been nothing but kind to him.

"Thank you, doctor."

After he ate and drank his medicine, he fell asleep before he could tell Sirius about the pervert who attacked him.

Harry was released from the hospital a mere week after he woke up, having healed quickly thanks to the potions Sirius bought from the nearest magical district several days ago. They leave the external wounds and didn't remove the cast though, not wanting to raise Doctor Kanou's suspicion too much as he were already puzzled by his quick recovery.

"Well, I would like it if you stay for another week at the very least, but if you and Mr. Black are sure about this…" Doctor Kanou frowned.

"Yes, we are very sure." Sirius nodded seriously at the doctor who only sighed in resignation. Sirius can be really persuasive and headstrong when wanted to be.

"Alright then, please sign this form here and you are free to go." The doctor handed over several pages of important looking documents to Sirius, who immediately signed it without even reading the content. "Please do take care, Harry-kun, and please rest up as much as possible for at least the next three weeks. Take it easy and don't do straining activities."

"I will. Thank you, Doctor." Harry nodded at the man, wincing a bit as Sirius helped him to a wheelchair. It was not painful at all, but mighty uncomfortable. He was glad that he was a wizard and not a muggle, therefore allowed to drink potions to speed up his healing.

They left after paying for the hospital bill with Sirius pushing the wheelchair that carried him a little too enthusiastically that he had to yell in fright twice to finally get him to do it properly.

Sirius had banished his casts some time after they left the hospital but before they reached the hotel so that he didn't have to keep up appearance there. He still had to be pushed in the wheelchair for a while though, as his bones were still feeling a bit weak after being mended by the Skele-Gro.

That time, he didn't notice if there were anything wrong with his body.

Once he was able to walk on his own somehow, Sirius offered to take him to Anteiku for a drink. Having missed both the café and the worker, Harry quickly agreed.

There were not a lot of customers inside Anteiku, only a pair of old men chatting animatedly and a young, handsome man with dyed blond hair and a refined air around him. As they stepped inside the well lit café, Koma-san who were trying to placate a pair of angry looking purple-haired teenagers looked up at him and positively beamed in relieve. Maybe he was happy to have a distraction from the arguing pair.

"Harry-kun!" the man greeted, promptly ignoring the angry teenagers who continued to bicker with themselves. "I thought you went back to your country already. But… what happened to your head?"

"Koma-san." Harry greeted him sheepishly as the chubby man led them to Harry's favorite table near the window, where they took their seat and made themselves comfortable. "Um, I got into an accident on the way home that day. Sorry. Even though you've warned me to be careful."

"An accident?" the waiter asked in concern.

"He got hit by a car crossing the street, this careless boy." Sirius elaborated, flicking Harry's nose with his finger as he accepted the menu from the waiter's hand, eliciting a yelp from the boy's lips.

"You were hit by a car?" Koma-san exclaimed. "That's terrible. But you're alright?"

"Yes. I got away with only a few scratches and a concussion. Thanks for worrying about me." Harry lied with a smile as he rubbed his still stinging nose and glared at his godfather.

"That's good, then. I—" the waiter's words were cut as a boy, one of the purple haired teenagers from before, storm out of the café, followed by the other's shout as she followed him out: "Ayato! Come back here, I'm not finished with you yet!"

The sounds of their arguing faded out as they disappeared. Harry and his godfather watched the scene with a wince as the chubby waiter sighed.

"Sorry about them. They're wards of the manager and… well… violent." He grimaced. "Well, forget about them! How can I serve you today? How about to celebrate your recovery we'll give you a cake of your choice for free?"

"No, that wasn't necessary, Koma-san, really." Harry felt his cheeks burn a bit as he said this, part happy that the chubby waiter wanted to celebrate his recovery yet also embarrassed by the attention he was getting from the man. They didn't know each other that long after all, and yet the man was already treating him like an old friend.

"Please, Harry-kun. I insist." He received a playful grin from the chubby man and he looked down at the menu to cover his smile.

"Thank you… if you're sure then I'd like black coffee and one strawberry shortcake, please."

Koma gave a satisfied grin as he jotted down his orders. "There you go! And what would you like today, Sirius-san?"

Sirius smiled seeing their interaction. "One cappuccino for me please, Koma-kun, and a slice of your strawberry shortcake as well."

"I'll be back with your orders soon then." The man bowed slightly before he disappeared to prepare their orders. When he couldn't see the man's back anymore, Harry turned towards Sirius with a small pout on his lips as he rubbed his nose again.

"That was mean, Siri. If it wasn't for that pervert chasing me, I would never be hit by a car you know."

There was a small silence while Sirius processed his words.

"Pervert?" Sirius blinked as his brain finally registered them. He leaned towards his godson while resting his arms on the table. "Wait. Harry did you just say that a pervert was chasing you?"

Harry blinked in confusion. "I haven't told you yet?"

Sirius sputtered. "This is the first time I heard of this!"

"Oh… I thought you already knew. Sorry. It seems I forgot to tell you." He ducked his head awkwardly. "But yeah, I was walking back to our hotel when this man—blond, tall, wearing fox mask that covered his upper face—pulled me to an alley and… licked my neck. I panicked and managed to push him off, but he chased me all the way to that street where the car hit me."

They heard someone choking on their drink before coughing up a storm a couple of tables from theirs and a startled chortle from somewhere at the back of the cafe, but Sirius was too preoccupied with his rage to be curious about them while Harry was still looking down guiltily.

"Did you tell the policemen this when they were questioning you?" Sirius looked near apoplectic when he said this, gritting his teeth with murder etched clearly in his eyes. Harry didn't know if he should feel happy that Sirius cared for him that much or scared that the man would really hunt the man and land himself in prison… again.

"Yeah I did. That's why I thought I already told you, but I forgot you were still resting at the hotel when they came." He paused and looked up at the man. "Are you angry at me?"

"Goodness no! No I'm not! I just… wish that you'd tell me about things like this sooner." Sirius said, his anger quickly cooling down at the look in his godson's eyes. "I worry about you, Harry."

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked down and wrung his fingers together.

"Enough of that please. I don't like seeing you like that." Sirius sighed and rubbed his forehead as he leaned back on his seat, "Just… be more careful from now on, please. You're going to make my hair prematurely grey if you keep this up."

Harry had to smile a bit at that. "I will."

Koma chose that moment to walk to their table, balancing their orders on a small round tray.

"Sorry for the wait! Here's your orders, hope you enjoyed them." The man said with his usual prideful grin, although there was something on his face that's not quite like usual. Harry still can't pinpoint what that was, though.

"Thank you, Koma-san." Harry said politely, before he squinted his eyes to study the man's face. Something is a bit strange from the man. "Um, Koma-san, why are your face red?"

The waiter made a mix of choked and strangled sound with the back of his throat at his question.

"I-it's nothing." Koma coughed into a hand and waved off his question with the other. He looked like he was trying to suppress a grin and a scowl from his face at the same time, which made a very strange expression. "Well, if there's nothing else I could help you with, then please excuse me."

"Yes. Thank you, Koma-kun." Sirius said before the waiter go. He took a sip from his cappuccino and sighed in contentment. "The coffee here really is the best."

"It is." Harry nodded in agreement, sipping his own drink slowly to savor its taste. "By the way, Sirius, there's something that I want to ask you…"

They spent a few hours at the quaint café, just talking and exchanging stories and jokes like they always do when they were there. It was really nice, Harry thought. He was really glad to be out of the hospital's depressing air.

They walked back to their hotel afterwards, with Sirius walking really closely to him. It was 'so that he could protect him should something happen again', he said. As if something like that was going to happen twice in a row, Harry secretly thought even though he was touched by the gesture.

"Hey Sirius, what would you think if I said I want to be homeschooled?" Harry asked as a car passed by them, its sharp roaring sound masking his faint voice almost completely.

"Hm? What was that?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, before he finally smiled and shook his head. "No, it's nothing."

Sirius smiled and ruffled his hair. "Weird kid."

"Hey!" He protested, but the smile that was still in his lips indicated that he was not at all offended by his godfather's teasing. The atmosphere between them was that of relaxation and serenity, that was why they were completely unprepared when Sirius was thrown to the wall of a nearby building by a swift kick to the side of his stomach.

"Sirius!" Seeing Sirius's unmoving form lying on the ground, Harry paled and ran towards him, but a hand caught his and he was whirled around and pulled onto someone's chest before he could reach the unconscious man.

"What—" When he saw the one who had pulled him, he saw the blond man from the café holding him with a glare. He tried to push the man away, but the man seized his hands and pushed him until his back met with a wall.

"You—I can't believe you called me a pervert!" The man sputtered; face red with disbelieved indignation and embarrassment. "Like I'll be attracted to a short, bespectacled, messy haired little boy like you. Just because you smell a little good, you—"

The blond took a deep breath to calm himself while a bewildered Harry mulled over the man's words trying to understand what he meant when suddenly a large red scaled tail burst out from his lower back.

"What—"

Harry's blood run cold as his mind recalled some information from last year's impromptu discussion with Hermione at the sight of the red tail. Information of a creature long forgotten by the magical world; of a man-eating creature with claws as hard as diamonds, tough skin, limbs that could move faster than a speeding car, high recovery rate, and possessed a deadly weapon inside their body: a ghoul.

"You're the person from that night—" Harry paled as he stared right at the blond's now black and red eyes. His fingers automatically reached towards his pocket where he kept his wand, but he wasn't sure if he could draw it fast enough before the man killed him.

"Yes I am, and I was about to eat you quickly and painlessly, but since you've embarrassed and pissed me off, what do you think I should do? Should I just eat you straight away like what I originally planned?" The man gave him a mockery of a smile and tilted his head. "Or do you prefer to watch me eat Sleeping Beauty there first before I eat you?"

No matter how scared Harry was, hearing those words caused anger to surge throughout his body, blinding all his sense of self-preservation as he readied himself for battle. No one threatened the people he treasured like that in his presence and got away with it. To hell with underage magic restriction, he's going to curse this man to oblivion.

"Like hell I'll let you lay your hands on him!"

Adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream, and before he realized what had happened, his body was engulfed by darkness.

Next Chapter: Metamorphosis

The title of this story is taken from Kenshi Yonezu's song of the same name. If you have some free time, please go search the song on youtube, think of Kaneki and his relationship(s) with Touka and/or Hide as you listen to it, and cry with me.