IMPORTANT LANGUAGE NOTE:
You'll notice that I write in third person with aspects of first person; i.e. when Severus is the central character, he will hear Naruto and Sasuke speaking Japanese which is unintelligible to him (hence the actual use of Japanese). Contrarily, when Naruto and Sasuke are the central characters they are both speaking and understanding Japanese so their conversations are written in English. I tried to incorporate the translations within the storyline as often as possible; I hope it hasn't become too bothersome to readers. Once the translation charms (Flitwick's earrings) are in place the actual Japanese will be less prominent.
I believe incorporating the Japanese adds another facet or dimension to the storyline, not to mention adds flavor. I want to establish, here and now, that I am not trying to use what is commonly referred to as "fan girl Japanese" but am truly attempting to provide realism. I am studying Japanese, and plan to in college; this type of story helps me improve it a bit. Also, I do tend to use the more formal Japanese as it is what I learned first and use with more confidence. I just started learning the informal version so I do not know it well enough. If anyone is an authority on Japanese (reviewer Pez?) please point out my mistakes (or give me the less formal versions) so that I may correct them. Thank you.
Chapter III
Communication…It's Overrated
---The Leaky Cauldron, London---
Tom was not very busy mopping up the bar when the fire in his grate flared to life. He glanced up interestedly, along with the handful of patrons occupying the odd table or two, to watch a blonde-haired boy wearing an eye-watering, nearly florescent-orange outfit tumble from the hearth. This first visitor was quickly followed by another, a pale boy with cut-back black hair oddly reminiscent of a rooster. Lastly, Tom's eyes caught sight of the dour looking Potion's Master. The man appeared anything but pleased as he brushed soot from his tailored robes. The prominent curl of his lip was testament to his ire. Tom's eyes flickered to the boys; they did not appear to be first years, if indeed they were students. His mind churning theories of all sorts, Tom swiped the bar one last time before acknowledging his guests.
"Good morning." Tom supplied after a quick glance out the front window to confirm the hour was still before noon.
"Ohayou!" the blond garbled in return. Tom blinked perplexedly at the human eyesore.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't bother yourself. They don't speak English." Severus interrupted abruptly before the confusion could escalate. The professor made sure to snag the back of the blonde's jacket to prevent him from touching the bewitched ale jug currently pouring a drink.
x
Tom watched Severus' odd motions but refrained from asking any questions knowing the unsociable man wouldn't appreciate what he would perceive as prying.
"What can I do you for then?" Tom didn't take his eyes off the two boys. The blonde kept inching away from Snape toward some object or another only to be pulled back when the professor took notice. Each time this happened the blonde would chatter inanely at his warder what Tom supposed were questions concerning whatever had caught his interest to begin with. Conversely, the other boy stood coolly silent with his hands sunk within his shorts pockets.
"They'll need a room until the start of term, compliments of Hogwarts. Here is Albus' authorization," Severus handed the barkeep a signed form. "For now, I suggest a plate of food for each of them."
"I'll scrounge up some eggs and hash¹." Tom assured as he came from behind the bar to show them to their room.
x
Severus motioned the boys to follow Tom, and trailed behind, being sure to keep Uzumaki's hands from anything within reach. It was a wonder they'd emerged from the floo at the right grate. Severus was only grateful he had the foresight not to allow them to travel through alone. Three people in one chute were quite a fit; but the alternative was Uzumaki jumping out at each and every grate that caught his attention, without any knowledge of how to get back on. Once they'd reached the main lobby of the Ministry and passed through security, where Uzumaki displayed his and Uchiha's passports, Severus had been hard pressed to keep the boy at his side. He promised retribution on the old man for having him baby-sit the blonde.
"Here we are room number two-eleven." Tom broke Severus from his thoughts as he proffered the keys. Severus accepted them with a perfunctory nod. "Well, settle in and then come down for breakfast." Tom bade and retreated. Severus let the two boys into the room and stood back to observe them in the doorway.
xXxXx
Naruto tossed his pack onto the floor at the foot of his chosen bed and flopped backward. As much fun as he'd been having driving Sunepu-sensei up the wall, almost immediately he felt his eyes threatening to close. Those initial days after Sasuke's retrieval, resting in Shikamaru's temporary camp, weren't enough to restore his chakra fully. Combine that with a full day of discovery and endorphin enhanced eagerness after twenty-eight hours of consciousness, thirteen of which he'd spent carrying Sasuke on his back, and Naruto was just about ready to fall over. Glancing sideways, he could see Sasuke methodically removing his belongings and setting them out on his bed, to be inventoried and repacked. Naruto rolled over and drew a pillow to his chest; he fairly curled around the fluffy, clean cushion.
"You shouldn't sleep." Sasuke called lowly, startling Naruto into wakefulness.
"This is our room. This is my bed. Why not?" Naruto moaned, nearly incomprehensible because he'd answered with his head buried in linen. Instead of receiving the scornful response he anticipated, Naruto unexpectedly found himself dumped unceremoniously to the floor. A wide-eyed stare alighted on Sasuke smirking callously above, the overturned mattress still in hand.
"Bastard!" Naruto shouted angrily.
"You deserve it." Sasuke snarled back, and Naruto flinched under the unbridled hostility directed toward him. Apparently Sasuke hadn't forgiven him at all, and just then he'd thought they were getting along fairly well.
xXxXx
Severus was taken aback when the first thing Uzumaki did was fall onto his bed and curl up to sleep. He'd expected a nosy exploration of the room followed by more superfluous babble. Instead, what he observed was a subdued teenager resembling a small child at naptime. Severus' urge to strangle the blonde became all the more difficult to control.
"Nenai hou ga iin da yo na." Uchiha called to the blonde.
"Koko wa ore-tachi no heya ja nee darou? Sou nattara, ore no bedo nan dattebayo, sore. Nande kuren no?" Severus could distinguish through the plaintive tone that Uzumaki did not appreciate whatever Uchiha suggested. He was even less keen on the subsequent dumping to the floor.
"Teme!" Naruto cried, shaking his fist at the smirking boy. Severus didn't need nor desire a literal translation; the context in which it was delivered was enough to deduce the meaning. However, Uchiha's subsequent snarl had Severus' well-honed instincts sensing a genuine threat. The unadulterated homicidal glint to the dark boy's eyes couldn't possibly be contrived; the boy really wanted to kill the blonde. Severus felt the stirrings of resentment; Albus was hiding something.
x
Severus turned his focus back on the boys. Uzumaki was putting his bed to rights and Uchiha was packing the items he'd just finished unpacking. Severus eyed the odd behavior but dismissed it as a cultural divergence.
"Purofesoru Sunepu?" Uchiha called out brusquely. Severus' gaze broke from the bedspread upon which the hands had stilled, to meet the challenging shale-colored eyes. When the boy didn't comment, simply stared expectantly, Severus realized his lingering in the doorway was a clear indication to both boys that separation was not at hand. Severus mustered the patience to attempt communication.
"Mr. Uchiha, Mr. Uzumaki," the blonde perked up, abandoning the disheveled covers he was struggling to tuck around the bed, "you will eat," Severus mimed bringing something to his mouth, "and you will sleep," again Severus used gestures, holding his hands together and laying his head upon them with his eyes closed, to represent his words, "Here." Severus finished by sweeping his arms to encompass the room and the general vicinity of the inn. "Understand?" Severus only hoped his expression conveyed his search for comprehension. Merlin knew he felt like a complete imbecile tacking such motions onto his words.
"Hai, hai. Koko ni gohan o tabetari, netari shinakya-tte wakattebayo!" Naruto chirped to which his companion cuffed him on the back of the head.
"Nanimo wakaran da, koitsu."
"Itai, wakatta, wakatta!" Uzumaki cried, rubbing at his head, and wincing. The dark-haired boy made a point to catch Severus' eye and nodded firmly. The potions Professor felt an inkling of relief, but dismissed it as a very brief and wholly atypical flight of fancy brought on by a barmy old man and insufferable, admittedly disturbed, teenagers. With a pronounced scowl, he merely waved for them to proceed ahead of him.
xXxXx
When Sunepu-sensei left, Naruto was under the impression he could not absent himself fast enough. Abandoned at the bar with a plate of dubious edibles in front of him, Naruto felt unexpectedly bereft. Sunepu-sensei was their guide in this unfamiliar place, and while Naruto would not go so far as to label him kind, his departure left a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Naruto was only grateful he was not alone.
"Ne, Sasuke, what is this?" Naruto queried with a nudge at Sasuke's elbow. The impassive boy had the tongs of the silver utensil between his lips, an indication he had tried the dish or was merely pretending as a cover for the others present. Naruto gripped the strange implement in a fisted hand; it felt awkward and weighed more then the chopsticks he was used to, but its use was clear.
"Meat. Vegetables. Sauce." Sasuke grunted. The expression that twisted Sasuke's face next was anything but pleasant. When the Uchiha resorted to the only recognizable food on the plate, the eggs, Naruto wondered if he should chance it at all. A few seconds of passing his gaze from his own plate to Sasuke's expression brought little decision.
"Ne, Sasuke, is it bad?"
"Shut up and eat, idiot." Sasuke ordered curtly, forking the last of his eggs into his mouth before setting down the implement with precise care. Naruto bristled but did not retaliate to the insult; the room full of strangers was oppressive and made him nervous. However, he did decide that anything Sasuke could do, he could do also.
x
Naruto scooped up some…whatever it was and stuffed it hurriedly into his mouth, prepared to gulp down his water if it proved unpalatable. To his immense surprise it was rich and heavy, much like curry. Even Naruto had trouble appreciating the taste after a stressful mission and too much action. His stomach roiled in mild protest, threatening to expunge the nutrient laden rations. The feeling brought to mind a time when Naruto ate seven helpings of beef ramen right after vigorous training with Ero-sen'nin, Iruka-sensei had to hold his head while he dynamically lost the contents of his stomach. After that occurrence, Naruto was lectured extensively on how his body would react to certain foods given his state of exhaustion. Naruto ignored the faux-curry in favor of the eggs, something he did not eat often but was light enough not to upset his fluctuating appetite. Soon enough they were both finished, and having nothing better to do, Naruto and Sasuke headed to their room for some sound sleep.
---The Leaky Cauldron: Mid-Afternoon---
Sixth year Cho Chang walked into the Leaky Cauldron accompanied by her best friend Marietta Edgecombe. They'd spent the day traversing the avenues of Diagon Alley and patronizing the various shops. As excursions go, they'd had an exquisite time which was spoiled only by the necessity of buying school related items. Yes, summer was surely coming to an end and school would start soon but, until then, they would enjoy their last bit of free time.
x
As it was, the two girls were taking a late lunch break at the cheapest establishment available. Marietta slipped unflattering comments about the bar into their conversation as they made their way to a table; and Cho made the appropriate responses. However, before they could reach the booth Cho drew up short as a blonde and orange monstrosity cut across her path, halted, flipped around, and grabbed onto her arm with such fervor she nearly screamed.
"Ajia no shounen ni atta ka? Kami no ke ya me ga kuroi shi. Sore ni, ao to shiro no sugume no fukusou o shite iru yatsu nan dattebayo." It gabbled earnestly, what turned out to be a blonde haired boy dressed in a garish orange jumper.
"What a fashion victim. Come on Cho, it might be catching." Marietta sneered at the incomprehensible boy while she attempted to nudge her friend along. Whether Cho desired to leave or not she was prevented by the strong grip the boy had on her arm.
"Nihongo wakaru?" the boy gibbered, his blue eyes wide and hopeful. Cho shook her head, baffled.
"Wakarimasen ka?"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Cho protested in exasperation as she tried to pry his fingers from her arm. "Let go!" she ordered when she realized the boy was a lot stronger than he appeared.
"Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!" The blonde snarled, clearly frustrated. Cho shared an apprehensive look with Marietta who was edging closer to the bar in order to signal for help if the boy became violent.
"Sasuke!" the boy suddenly shouted making both girls flinch with surprise. All around the Leaky Cauldron heads swiveled to regard the outlandish boy causing the ruckus. "Ittai doko da! Teme…"
"Do you want me to get the barkeep?" Marietta whispered urgently to Cho, all the while staring fixedly at the disturbed boy.
"No, wait. I think he's speaking in Japanese," Cho's expression turned thoughtful; "I've got an idea. Give me a quill and a bit of parchment from my bag." Cho murmured intently. Marietta looked uncertain, but did as requested, passing over the newly bought implements after she'd unwrapped them from their packaging.
x
Using the nearest flat surface, which happened to be a table cluttered with sullied dishes, Cho scribbled on a clean sheet of parchment. Once finished, she hastily thrust the paper toward the stranger before he could scream a third time. The boy's eyes stared unerringly at her for a few brief seconds before curiously glancing at the paper. Then he eyed it intently; his hand reluctantly released her wrist so that he could accept the scrap held out to him. As the boy studied the parchment his brows drew together in deep concentration.
"Fude o karitemo ii?" The boy queried at length only to receive identical looks of bewilderment. Cho watched as he cursed again—at least she assumed the sharp sounds were swear words—and gestured to the plume in her hand.
"I think he wants the quill." Marietta hissed to her still befuddled friend. Cho quickly passed it over. "What did you write?" Marietta questioned nearly under her breath, not realizing fully that the boy could not understand her even if he could hear what she said.
"I asked him if he needs help." Cho explained.
"But…if he can't understand English, how can he read?"
"I didn't write in English. I used Kanji." Cho explained shortly. At that moment the boy excitedly shoved the paper back toward her, impatient for a reply he could finally understand. Cho looked at the scrap, her brow furrowed momentarily then cleared with understanding.
"Well, what did he write?" Marietta sought eagerly to look at the paper, only to be stumped by the foreign characters once she saw it.
"It says he's looking for a boy with black hair and eyes. Wearing a blue shirt and white…" Blushing, Cho eyed the characters a second time, unsure of the translation.
"What?" Marietta queried.
"Well, it says he's wearing white knickers." Even as she related the message sotto voce, Cho could see the blonde searching the pub.
"Knickers? As in…without any trousers?" Marietta demanded; her eyes were incredulously wide.
"That's what…well I suppose he may have chosen the wrong character." Cho mused audibly.
"Mita no?" The boy was once again focused on the pair. When they made no motion of affirmation or denial he flicked the paper in Cho's hand with irritation ablaze in his eyes.
"Oh!" Cho quickly shook her head. The blonde's shoulders slumped and he frowned. Cho scrawled on the paper a second time and was nearly forced to grab hold of the boy before he wandered off in his search for the other. A paper shoved in his faced garnered the girls a perplexed stare, until he read it.
"Uzumaki Naruto dattebayo!"
"Chang Cho," Cho set her hand against her breast, "Edgecombe Marietta," Cho indicated the girl beside her.
"What?"
"Introductions." Cho explained shortly to her friend. "His name is Naruto." The blonde smiled widely and waved at Marietta.
"Oh. So what…" Marietta began awkwardly before she was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice speaking a newly recognizable language.
"Oi, Dobe." Both girls were greeted with a vision of dark sloe eyes, sharply gelled hair, and a straining intensity scarcely contained in lean muscles and artfully draped clothing. They blushed, the color of ripe tomatoes.
---The Leaky Cauldron: Noon---
Contrary to popular opinion, Sasuke was not a morning person. He usually cracked his eyes open with the common lethargy of the greater percent of humanity; and stumbled from bed with the same complaints on his lips. Only after he'd partaken of his morning carbohydrates, often in the form of bonito flake filled rice balls, was his brain effectively awake—effectively meaning he was capable of higher communication, that which is beyond grunts and monosyllabic responses. Not that Sasuke was a chatterbox by anyone's standards. For that reason, when he woke abruptly with his senses fully alert his brain stumbled to process, why?
x
The room was dimly lit. The subdued glow coming through the one curtained window was evidence of the daylight hour. Sasuke found it disconcerting to wake with the sun already so high in the sky. His internal clock was telling him the hour was still late, no earlier than seven in the evening, and yet the rays were defying gravitational law. Sasuke turned over and blearily regarded the unfamiliar room. There wasn't much to it besides another bed, a joint dresser, and a few oddly placed objects Sasuke neither recognized nor knew the uses of.
x
Directly across from him he could discern a body sprawled on its back sideways across the bed. The tufts of blonde hair sticking out from the edge of the blankets identified the person as Naruto. And, now that Sasuke's attention was focused on the boy, he could also perceive the soft exhalations upon every downward movement of Naruto's chest. The process slowed. Sasuke blinked to disengage his sharingan. With a huff he drew himself into an upright position before staggering from the bed.
"Che." Sasuke grabbed hold of the bed post until his vision steadied and his balance restored itself. His chakra reserves were still dangerously depleted and that slip had cost him. More than it was worth. There was no sense in attacking the idiot. He was in a foreign country among a foreign people speaking a foreign tongue under the dubious protection of someone named Dumbledore who he'd never met. Any action taken on his part would be conveyed to this man and then relayed to Godaime. So, even if he could rid himself of Naruto, he had no way of finding where he was in relation to where he'd been much less how to get back. All this without taking into consideration Anbu, hunter-nin, and whatever passed for such things in this place coming after him the moment he slipped his guard.
"Che." Sasuke repeated and scowled darkly at the unconscious form of his rival. The blonde slept undisturbed, even as Sasuke dressed and crossed the room to the door where he quietly let himself out.
---Leaky Cauldron: Mid-Afternoon---
"Bastard Sasuke, where have you been?" Naruto shouted as he whisked around, coming face to face with the one he'd been searching for. The admiring stares of Cho and Marietta did nothing to calm his ire as they painfully reminded him of the infatuated kunoichi of Konoha. Sasuke simply stood, posture conveying boredom, with his hands sunk into his front pockets. He stared balefully back at the blonde without answering the question posed to him. Naruto's temper was quickly escalating to the point of attacking the arrogant Uchiha when he was cutoff by the similarly Asian girl.
"You must be Sasuke," Sasuke's unwavering stare unnerved the older teen more than she cared to admit, but she gamely continued with her spiel, "My name is Chang Cho, pleased to meet you." Cho gave an abbreviated bow.
"Marietta Edge, I mean Edgecombe Marietta?" Marietta looked to Cho for approval and received an encouraging smile. Sasuke blatantly ignored the hand offered by the second girl until she embarrassedly withdrew it.
"Well, have either of you seen anything of Diagon Alley?" Cho scratched characters to parchment even as she said the words though they were unintelligible. As she attempted to position the fragment in Naruto's line of sight her wrist was seized by a pale hand with a crushing grip. "Please let go!" Cho yelped, cringing with pain.
"Hey, let go of her!" Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke's wrist, the one attached to the hand inflicting pain on the girl interpreter. When Sasuke failed to release the smaller, more fragile wrist, "She knows our writing." Naruto hissed. Sasuke abandoned the limb immediately in favor of snatching the flimsy communiqué. Emotionless eyes passed over the characters then flicked to Naruto with ill concealed irritation.
"I never knew you were so informed about my under garments," Naruto's face twisted in disgust, "Does the Hokage really find such knowledge valuable?" Sasuke's expression remained stonily displeased, but a glimmer of uneasiness passed through his eyes.
"What! No! I'm not a pervert! Where the hell do you get off talking about your underwear anyway?" Naruto spluttered angrily.
"This says here that I'm wearing white boxers." Sasuke held the paper an inch from Naruto's eyes, until it was nearly touching the blonde's nose, pointing out the erroneous kanji. Naruto squinted cross-eyed at his barely legible scribble and scowled.
"I wrote shorts."
"You used the wrong kanji, moron." Sasuke deadpanned.
"Ehem," both boys glowered at the Chinese girl, "Diagon Alley?" Ignoring their smoldering eyes, she managed to pry the crumpled parchment from Naruto's clenched fist and, after smoothing it out, drew the two boys' attention to the latest question.
"Daiaagon Aarii?" Naruto mimicked as Sasuke chose to say nothing while staring fixedly, and uncomprehendingly, at the unfamiliar Romanized label.
1) Hash- diced cooked meat and potatoes or other vegetables browned together or reheated in gravy.
Translations:
Ohayou- good morning
Hai, hai. Koko ni gohan o tabetari, netari shinakya-tte wakattebayo!-Yes, we'll eat breakfast, we'll sleep here.
Nanimo wakaran da, koitsu.- He doesn't understand!
Itai, wakatta, wakatta- Ow, I know, I know.
Ero-sennin- ero means eroticism while sennin means hermit, together they mean perverted-hermit. (For those of you who are fellow Naruto Fanfic writers don't confuse sennin with sannin-referencing the three legendary ninja known collectively as san meaning three and nin meaning ninja!)
Ajia no shounen ni atta ka? Kami no ke ya me ga kuroi shi. Sore ni, ao to shiro no sugume no fukusou o shite iru yatsu nan dattebayo.-Did you see an Asian boy? His hair and eyes are black. Moreover, he's dressed in blue and white.
Nihongo wakaru?- Do you understand Japanese?
Wakarimasen ka?-Do you not understand?
Kuso- Shit
Ittai doko da! Teme…- Just where the hell are you Bastard! (Note: "Teme" is not defined as "bastard" in the Japanese dictionary—that would be "yarou"—but it is the established translation in the fansubs. It is my understanding that "teme" is really just a very rude way of saying "you" with negative connotations concerning the character of the one being referenced. For the purposes of this fic, I'll stick with "bastard" as the translation.)
Fude o karitemo ii? – May I borrow the brush?
Mita no?- Have you seen him?
Che- Damn
KUDOS! To Son of Darkness for all the help informalizing (my own word –smirk-) all the Naruto/Sasuke interactions in Japanese. And thanks for correcting my atrocious grammar! God, I hadn't realized how much has slipped in the number of months I've been away from class!
AN: Honestly, I've had this chapter on my notebook for some time (I was tweaking). It has too much dialogue and not enough of anything else for my tastes (what an ironic twist for the title eh?), but it'll suffice I guess. I wanted to write another ten pages but realized after re-reading tonight that it was a good place to leave off. Not to mention you've waited long enough for an update! So, I guess we'll explore the wonders of Diagon Alley in the next installment eh? .
AN2: You know, for a fic that's got over 2,000 hits, this sure hasn't garnered many reviews! Please write some constructive criticism (and don't just nag about updates!). It would help a great deal if some of you gave me some idea on what you'd like to see happen. So far I've got a loose (read: non-existent) outline for this story. This thing kind of sprung full-form in the first two chapters, giving me a premise, but not an ultimate goal. I do have plans for the sorting and some interactions but nothing is iron-clad as far as the plot goes. Any ideas generated by the readers can help spur my own creative juices, just ask my DBZ fic fans!
Review Replies:
Pez- Thanks for the correction on the title. If you wouldn't mind looking over my Japanese in this (and possibly successive chapters) I would appreciate it. I've had two semesters of Japanese so far (I plan to continue in college) but I still muddle through a great deal, especially with grammar and tense.
Peter Kim- Teachers may crop up later, but I'm not sure which ones yet. We've got a ways with the two boys before we involve the other zany characters of Naruto!
Falcon-Rider- Thanx! I've gotten mixed reviews on the character's interactions. Some say very in character, others say what the…! I realize they're a bit too polite, but I frankly can't help it! As for the sorting…that'll come later. And lastly, Lost Wing is driving me nuts! I've got tidbits for the final chapters but this current one is really frustrating! I keep coming to it and just draw a complete BLANK! Gah! I have a thorough outline but it is testing my patience in the script. I'll keep at it and probably end up forcing it one of these days.
Thanx goes to: Hao'sAnjul, CuriousDreamWeaver, Tigerrelly, ;;, Fic Slayr, kei-kanna-chan, Oren, kirallie, Painted Turtle Shell, InsaneBlackHeart, and just wandering!