Silk & Wool
By: MercurialMelon
Summary: (Rewrite of "For Those Among Us") Harry Potter disappeared from the Dursley's doorstep that fateful night; Hattori was a shinobi that made clothes come to life. Slow-burn possibly slash! Later on.
A/N: Chapter twwwwwwoooooooooo! For the first time in a hot minute, I'm kind of excited to write lol. I need to outline more... So I didn't really mean for Sayuri and Shion to become actual fleshed out characters but here we are, with even more OC's than originally planned. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto and do not own nor make a profit off of anything. This story is written purely for my own enjoyment, I own nothing but what I added in.
Reviews: Thank you so much to Jordansdevil and Entrusting for reviewing! I really appreciate the support.
Jordansdevil: Thank you! I was really hoping this version would be more clean cut than the last, as when I read through FTAU, I kind of internally cringed at my own writing lol. Thanks for sticking with me on both versions.
Entrusting: I am definitely planning on a long arc involving the wizarding world so stay tuned for that. This story, in general, will be pretty slow-burn so It may take a while to get there though lol. And yeah, sort of like Gaara's but some extra properties involves as well. In regard being directionless, it's fun to write like that but I would have written myself into a corner and just gotten frustrated eventually lol; I would end up having to pull a serious Deus ex machina; and I have done so in stories in the past to get me out of ruts when I write with no particular destination in mind. Thanks for reviewing!
Chapter Two: Naruto
The gates of Konoha were titanic, so tall that Hattori swore it pierced the sky. At the very top were two guards, their faces set into serious looks that made him and some other children shift uncomfortably.
-Line Break-
Their trip had been a hard one, not just for Hattori, but for everyone, shinobi included. The men and women that had come to their rescue were loud, dirty, and sometimes cold to them. Hattori didn't take it as cruelty, their frigid attitude had started when they had carried the children past the wreckage of their home; their frigid came from the same sort of sad exhaustion he'd felt when they'd walked past what remained. The children had cried, then cried some more with every broken beam and burnt shrine; they'd run out of tears soon enough.
The five-day trip had been even harder on the group. Chiaki wasn't too far from Konoha going at Shinobi speeds. Any chūnin worth their salt would be able to make the trip there and back again in a day, tops. But these were exhausted ninja with arms full of traumatized civilian children with no training, and little food available to them. Much of the travel time had been spent scavenging the woods to feed them.
Some of the shinobi went hungry, Hattori noticed, or maybe just couldn't bring themselves to eat, and he couldn't blame them. A man with black eyes and hair had offered him a slab of whatever animal they'd caught, he'd pierced it on a sharpened stick. He refused with a grimace, he hadn't been able to stomach anything since they had been freed; nothing but small amounts of bread and water. The man sighed, getting up and much to Hattori's amazement, spat fire.
"You're a dragon!" Hattori breathed watching the flames lick at the dry kindling. The ninja around them chuckled, the dragon man gave him something close to a smile.
"Hn." The dragon, with a smirk, looked back at the group with victory in his eyes. Hattori realized that the two of them were being watched, closely. He smiled nervously at the woman leaning against a tree with a strange look in her eye and purple pineapple hair. She grinned back like a madman…woman? And he found himself shrinking back…just a little bit. The dragon snorted next to him, roasting the sticks of meat over his fire while giving the purple haired woman a wary look. What strange people Shinobi were, Hattori thought, some were dragons and others were pineapples.
The boy with raccoon eyes shook his head in disdain at Hattori's awe; Hattori being the mature boy he is, stuck out his tongue. The boy returned the gesture. Being a dragon was something to be awed about, what was the raccoon so mad at? Hattori decided that that was a question for another time as another ninja spout water from his hands, putting out the fire after the dragon had finished roasting his meat.
A dragon, a pineapple, and a faucet…maybe they were kami? Hattori wondered what the others were like if these were the first few shinobi he'd met.
"You gotta eat something, brat." The pineapple commanded, shoving a stick of meat in front of a little girl's face. Sayuri; he thinks her name is, a small girl with dark hair and watery blue eyes. She'd been new to the orphanage, someone from tea country had brought her in, she didn't like meat. Hattori told the pineapple so, and the woman's nose scrunched up before she seemed to accept it. The pineapple shuffled around and handed the girl some bread, Sayuri gave him a grateful smile and shuffled over next to him.
"Ain't that cute? Green-eyes got a girlfriend." Pineapple snickered, Hattori's face went scarlet, but he stayed next to her. He didn't like her like that, he barely knew her name! He thought indignantly. He glared fiercely at the pineapple. She cackled in the face of his mighty glare.
"Anko, leave the kids alone, you're scaring them." Faucet muttered, he laid on the forest floor, an arm slung over his face.
"More like being a nuisance, Mitarashi don't you have a report to write?"
Dragon piped up, he clapped his hands to get rid of the dirt.
"Got that done a while ago Uchiha, Don't nanny me; besides! I'm just having some fun, right? er…kid?" Pineapple, asked nudging Hattori. He nearly fell over from the force.
"You don't even know his name." The fire-breather blandly stated, hands on his hips.
"Not like you do either, Uchiha" Faucets muffled muttering, he was now face down in the dirt.
The dragons ears went red. He turned to Hattori with a queer look in his eyes.
"What…is…your name" Hattori didn't think a single sentence could be such a struggle but apparently for a dragon ninja, it was.
"Hattori; Shinobi-san, what's yours?" The man was taken aback; did he not expect him to answer?
"Ehehehe, com'on Uchiha tell little Hattori-chan your name~"
The man glared at the pineapple something fierce, "My name is Kaze, Uchiha Kaze; Hattori-kun." He gritted out, the pineapple relished in how uncomfortable he was.
"Nice to-"
"Why are you acting like nothing happened?!" The raccoon exploded, he was breathing hard; his eyes were wide and rimmed red, he was trying hard not to cry, poor thing stumbled over himself.
"Shion, calm…"
"I won't calm down! I won't! How can he act like nothing's wrong? What is wrong with you, you, you…" He breathed in deep, looking for the right word. Hattori sighed and braced himself for another scream-fest.
"FREAK! You never liked any of us, did you! You're probably happy everything is gone" He broke down into fitful sobs. Freak, is that the best he could come up with? Hattori sighed. The shinobi seemed at a loss with the sudden outburst.
He was used to it; the constant verbal abuse that the other kids liked to hurl at him, that is. Despite the matron being a kind woman who discouraged bullying, she couldn't catch every instance of it. Hattori was different, he knows that he looked different; wild black hair and dark skin, almond-shaped eyes, clunky glasses, and a square jaw; not to mention the lightning bolt marring the entire left side of his face. He wasn't like the other kids, a majority of them had the same round faces, dark hair and dark eyes. But he didn't really hold it against them, it had after all been much worse back when he'd shown up not even able to speak Japanese. He internally winced, things had been worse then…much worse.
"I'm not," He said with a sigh, Hattori dropped to the ground with a quiet "plop."
He didn't really have anything else to say, what could he? Hattori didn't really bother to get to know the other kids at the orphanage, most didn't bother to get to know him either. The last person he had attempted to make friends with had gotten adopted out of the city. People tended to leave Hattori, and after a while, his child's brain had decided that he wouldn't give them a place to stay either.
Shion sobbed, shaking like a leaf in the wind; another girl with a ribbon wrapped around her wrist patted his back. He seemed to gather himself for a moment to yell again, at the shinobi.
"Where were you? Where were you when everything was burning?" He screamed at Kaze; Kaze's face could be anywhere from pitying to immense discomfort.
"We don't have an explanation for you." Shion had been shocked silent, he hadn't expected a response. The faucet had gotten up, he was tall; really tall. His mouth was set in a grim line, eyes half-lidded, there was deep exhaustion set into his shoulders. Hattori felt his own shoulders weigh down as he looked at him.
"We should've been their kid, wish we could've; but we didn't know" He looked into Shion's eyes, the shadows under his own grew.
"It was a royal fuck up, those people you saw burning your city? They were smart about it, took out what little ninja we had there; they made sure nobody got anything out." He leaned back into the tree like he'd been hoping it'd absorb him.
"We…I had friends in Chiaki too. But whoever organized that attack? They made sure we didn't know" Faucet seemed to age, his back pressed painfully against the rough tree bark.
"We didn't know…I'm sorry kids" He addressed all of them, a few had tears coming down in droves, Hattori touched his own cheeks and found them wet.
Shion pushed himself back up from his fetal position, he looked at the faucet and spat at the ground.
"I hate you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less" Faucet said with a wry grin. Pineapple looked near rabid at what Shion had declared.
Faucet turned back to Kaze. "We'll move out at dawn, I want to be in Konoha by the end of the week."
-Line Break-
He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding once they'd passed the threshold between Konoha and the rest of Hi no Kuni. His first impression of the bustling city? it was loud.
Like the shinobi that'd brought them here, Konoha was loud. The chatter of people was so loud in volume; that he found that he could barely think, let alone enjoy the city sights.
"Hey brat, eyes forward" Pineapple grinned and reveled at the awed look on his face. Konoha held it's similarities to Chiaki, The architecture was relatively similar, and the markets too. But the atmosphere was entirely different, there was a weird feeling of duality in the air.
Chiaki had had no such feeling, their city was full of lights and music; entirely made for leisure and entertainment. Chiaki was itself a patron city for the fine arts, no need for shinobi; they had a brush on one hand and a shamisen on the other. It was a city where even the dirt it was built on had known its purpose. Where everyone had been required to learn something related to the arts, even the orphans.
Konoha wasn't like that, it seemed ripped between two different worlds; the shinobi and the people, but it was working, he thinks…
"Hattori-kun" The girl, Sayuri, tugged at his sleeve.
"Yeah?" He looked at her, and just over her head, he could see Shion glaring daggers at him, yikes.
"Where do you think they're taking us?"
Hattori shrugged, "I don't know, maybe the Hokage?"
Ha! the Hokage, good one Hattori. Like the Hokage would meet with a group of run down kids.
"You're going to the hospital first kiddo" Faucet ruffled his hair, Hattori huffed indignantly. His hair had turned into a rats nest, it'd been one before but now it was worse!
"You're adorable" Faucet snorted at Hattori's fierce glare, ruffling his hair again. Hattori swatted at his hand with an indignant yelp. He wasn't adorable, damn it!
Sayuri giggled as Faucet decided that she was an easier target, he ruffled her hair, taunting Hattori with a sly smile.
Pineapple nudged Faucets shoulder, grabbing his attention.
"Uchiha and I will be reporting to Hokage-sama, can you handle the kids?" Her eyes roved over the cuts and bruises littering Faucet's body.
He waved a dismissive hand. "Go ahead"
-Line Break-
They'd been discharged from the hospital with little fuss, most of them had been recommended high nutrient diets, and handed vitamin pills. The doctor had handed all of them a sheet of paper and looked at it for a while, for some; like him, Shion, and Sayuri, it would glow. They would nod, like something they'd already known had been confirmed.
He'd been corralled with the rest of the kids into a stark white room that assaulted his nose with the smell of antiseptic. The children begin to chatter with one another, Hattori settled next to an uncomfortable looking Sayuri.
"It smells really bad" She began, her nose scrunching up. She covered her face with her hands.
"I think the lights are worse" Shion muttered, who settled down next to her.
He glowered at Hattori, why did Shion sit here if he was just going to glare at him?
"Mmm, what do you think Hattori-kun?"
"It's loud" it really was, even in this room with its thick walls he swore he could hear the bustle of Konoha. Shion gave him a strange look, his mouth quirked downward.
"No, it's not."
"I think he's talking about the city Shion," Hattori grunted in agreement, he felt out of his element.
"We-" Shion was cute off by a portly woman who'd entered the room, he stared, a bewildered look on his face. She's magnificently round, Hattori thought, her body so large he could barely see her face from where he sat.
"That is a woman," Shion muttered, his mouth slack, Hattori agreed.
"Follow me!" She bellowed.
The three kids found themselves in another room, uglier than the last. The woman was their new matron. Yumi was her name, she was gruff and seemed constantly angry, the complete opposite of their old matron. Hattori could already see the indignant fury rising on Shion's face and the exasperated look on Sayuri's.
She took them to a four-story building near the hospital, the entire thing was a little old but seemed well maintained in Hattori's opinion. Then the door opened and Hattori immediately took back everything, Konoha's orphanage was a hell house.
Even Shion, who in the past had refused baths even in times of desperate need of them, looked horrified. Everything had made its way everywhere, there was an unknowable stain near Hattori's foot. The entire left wall looked ready to collapse with the number of random kinds of stuff hung on it, and Hattori was almost entirely sure that he saw a child-sized rat scurry across from them.
"What…is this?" Sayuri whispered; completely shook.
"Yer new home princess, welcome to Konoha Orphanage!" The matron said, she lumbered toward the building and shouted.
"OY! All ye brats better get yer butts down here, we got some new kids!"
"You were right," Shion whispered next to Hattori, he swore that the nindaime probably heard her from his grave; poor man must be rolling in it.
The entire orphanage seemed to rattle with the force greater than an earthquake. He braced himself, was he being dramatic? Yes, but Konoha had managed to prove itself to be nothing like Chiaki. Kids, a lot of them, sped down the stairs at light speed, stumbling over one another, some tripping and crying out in pain. His horror grew, a smaller child had been virtually trampled by an older boy in his haste to meet them.
Things finally settled a bit, and much to Hattori's relief the children fell into a line.
"This is…" She paused for a moment, realizing she hadn't bothered to remember their names from her debriefing. She turned and stared at them expectantly.
Shion stepped up first with a confident stride. The other orphans burst into chatter before he could even speak; he deflated a bit before puffing right back up.
"Yamasaki Shion! I'm nine and 3/4 years old, I like yakitori!" Why was he shouting? that wasn't necessary.
"Nagakura Sayuri, I'm nine years old, and I like Mochi."
Oh shoot, it was his turn. The entire room looked at him expectantly, he winced.
"Hattori, I'm eight years old, and I like…I don't like Takoyaki" Hattori shivered at the mere mention of Takoyaki.
Sayuri and Shion had weird looks on their faces.
"Ne, Hattori-kun I didn't know you were a year younger than us," Sayuri commented, she tapped her chin.
"Of course he is! I knew it, look at him, he's tiny!" Shion said with his chest puffed out, Hattori frowned, he wasn't small.
"Shion! That's mean"
"I'm just stati-g facts!" He whisper-yelled back.
"It's stating, Baka!"
The entire orphanage watched them bicker, Hattori shifted from one foot to another. He didn't like being the center of attention, it made him feel vulnerable.
The matron eventually stepped in, stopping the two from getting into a full-blown screaming match. She rolled her eyes at the three of them.
"I can already tell the three of ye are goin' to be trouble" She huffed.
The two of them hung their heads, Hattori shrugged. An hour passed and they'd been introduced to, and Hattori wasn't exaggerating, every child in Hi no Kuni…Ok, He was, but just a bit. But it was a lot of kids! He swore he'd met at least seven; repeat after him, SEVEN, "Ren's".
Chiaki didn't have nearly this many kids, was Konoha intentionally killing parents to have this many orphans? Hattori grimaced, another unbidden and incredibly morbid thought. This was his home now, he really needed to adopt a cheerier outlook.
The matron quickly dumped them onto the hands of some of the older kids, there was just the three of them. The other children had been separated from them at the hospital. When Hattori had brought it up, Shion decided on being his bullhorn, asking the doctors where the other kids were going.
They'd been given an excuse about occupancy, and that they were put into different orphanages. He didn't really believe it at first until he'd seen the place, and suddenly he was glad they hadn't been all stuck together. Honestly, nobody needed a group of traumatized children on top of this mob.
He sighed, kicking off his shoes, and falling onto the strangely bumpy futon without thinking.
"HEY!" a voice shouted.
Hattori's eyes widened, he leaped off the futon with a yelp. Bewildered, he realized that a tuft of bright yellow hair peeked from under the blanket.
The yellow tuft threw off the covers with a growl, and Hattori reared back. What the heck? Why had there been a whole boy in his bed, and why was his hair such a headache inducing color. His thoughts raced, the boy glared at him with his very, very intense blue gaze. Hattori found himself uncomfortable for the thousandth time in that hour.
"Why'd ya jump on me Datteboyo!" He had whiskers, Hattori thought blithely. People in Konoha could have whiskers. First a pineapple, a dragon, a faucet, a balloon of a woman, and now whiskers? He stared at the boy in horrified fascination, slowly coming to touch his own cheeks; would he get whiskers?
"Hey! What're ya staring at?" The blond boy, with whiskers, shouted.
"Am I going to get whiskers?" Hattori blurted out, then turned scarlet to the tips of his toes. He didn't mean to say that out loud.
"…what?" The boy seemed equally confused.
"Why would ya…wait!" The boy turned an unhealthy shade of purple.
"Yer making fun of me aren't ya!?" Hattori shook his head violently, oh my god, he couldn't make an enemy the very first day he walked into a new orphanage; Shion already took the enemy slot!
"No! I just, I mean…I…I…" To Hattori's horror, he began to hiccup, tears formed, distorting the edges of his vision. His breathing starting to pick up, and he could hear his heart pounding. Oh my god, he'd already made an enemy what was wrong with him?
The blond boy seemed to panic with him, he started to hop from one foot to the other.
"Hey, Hey! It's cool Datteboyo! It's fine, oh my god…AHH! you can have whiskers too! Please be okay!" Now they were both panicking, the blond boy hopped off the bed and grabbed his arms.
-Line Break-
Naruto grabbed the boy's hands and tried to remember what the stuffy hag had done to calm down Yuuta. The green-eyed boy looked like he was only getting worse and Naruto wasn't the best in delicate situations.
"Er…Can you breathe in slowly?" He tried, the boy nodded way to fast, fast enough his head would roll off his head if he did it again.
The other boy took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. Naruto patted his back, hey! he was doing pretty good, Datteboyo!
"And breathe out again! see…er…we can both have whiskers!" He said enthusiastically. Why did he say that?
The other boy was calming down though, his breathing evened out, and he slumped back into the wall.
"ah, I didn't mean ta get mad, a' though ye were making fun'a me…and ya can have whiskers if ya want'em." Why was he repeating the thing with the whiskers? Naruto mentally smacked himself.
He seemed exhausted, he pushed up his glasses and finally looked at him. Wow, his eyes were really green, like greener than the leaves on the Hashirama trees.
"You have lightning on your face!" Naruto realized, he hung his head, he'd just done the same thing with the whiskers.
The boy was dead silent and Naruto prepared himself for scorn.
"Do you want lightning too?"
His head snapped up.
"What?"
"Oh..uh, I asked if you wanted lightning too?" The other boy sounded so drained, that if Naruto's brain wasn't an energizer bunny he would've wilted.
"Ah…Sure! And ye can have whiskers, Datteboyo!" Naruto paused for a second.
"What's your name?" He asked, head cocked to the side.
The other boy was turning redder by the second, he'd been doing that a lot in the past few minutes. He looked away, was he embarrassed?
"Hattori…What's yours?" a warm feeling spread through Naruto, he grinned widely.
"Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Datteboyo!" He held out a hand toward Hattori, who smiled tentatively back.
"Nice to meet you…Naruto"
END. Chapter Two: Naruto
A/N: So what do ya'll think? I have completely been revamping everything and I wasn't expecting this chapter to be as long as it was but it looks like Shion and Sayuri wanted more screen-time lol.
Please leave a review as I really appreciate and do obsessively read all of them. Tell me what ya'll think. Do you like their interaction, the newer formatting, Hattori's personality so far etc…?