Chapter One: Crossing Paths

"I-I'm sorry, can you repeat that, please?"

Harry felt a chill creep up his spine as he stared up at the receptionist's sympathetic face. Her eyes flickered back to her screen as the sounds of her manicured fingers tapped through the air. He watched her closely, his anxiety and horror mounting. It could be ... there was just no way. They weren't that desperate, were they? He swallowed as the woman's eyes looked upon him with sorrow; she pursed her bright-red lips as she leaned forward and gripped his hand.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," she started. "According to my data, the Dursleys did in fact book a suite with three bedrooms. Unfortunately they didn't check in, so we were forced to cancel it." Her answer left him reeling, his emotions quickly changing from desperation to horror to shock and finally resignation. "Do you want me to call someone for you or perhaps get in touch with the police?"

Harry shook his head. "No. It's fine, I'll just ... I'll figure something out."

Before the woman could stop him, Harry ran out of the building without a second thought. He didn't have any place to go or anyone to run to, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Harry headed onto the streets of a foreign country with little knowledge of the customs and language. It didn't help that it was pouring rain either. Nonetheless, he let himself get drenched out of defeat and emotional fatigue. Now he had to deal with the consequences. The only place Harry could think to go would be the airport, in hopes of getting on a plane or locating the Japanese wizarding section. As far as he knew, each and every country had a magical area to seek help from. Hermione gave a long and deep lecture about the other magical communities around the world. Unfortunately, that had been on a rather long day, and neither Harry nor Ron was really in the mood to focus.

He personally blamed the Dementors, and he blamed Snape, too. A total prick, that one.

Overall, Harry considered himself rather lucky to have kept his wand and a small English-to-Japanese dictionary with him. Taking out the small blue book, the raven-haired boy allowed himself to relax for the moment. At least, he wasn't totally screwed.

Why didn't he purchase some books that dealt with traveling and local magical hotspots?

Harry made a mental note to get to the nearest bookstore and find some books. For now, he focused on trying to find some place to stay for the night. Easier said than done, as leaving the hotel hadn't been the best or brightest idea of his.

"Where can I even go?" Harry asked himself, rainwater seeping into his sneakers. The cold was finally starting to catch up to him, so he wrapped his arms around his body. He ignored the concerned and uncertain stares of passersby as he continued to walk down the path, looking at all the foreign symbols and street signs. Once again, he cursed his stupidity for leaving the inn. He hoped he'd be able to get somewhere safe and warm soon enough.

It was times like these where he wished Hedwig were with him. Though he doubted that he'd see his precious owl ever again. Knowing the Dursleys, they'd probably find some way to get rid of her. He cringed at the image of his dead owl. Then again, she was highly intelligent and should able to read the Dursleys just as he did. Though he didn't expect that they would abandon him in Japan of all places. Still, he should've realized something was up when Vernon had announced he had a job deal with the Japanese branch for Grunnings.

There was no branch company.

His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed darkly at the memory. He was stupid for actually buying that tripe! He should have realized that something was wrong when Vernon and Petunia allowed him to come to Japan, despite the fact that Dudley also came along. He knew there was a something wrong, but he ended up ignoring and pushing it to the side. He kept that idealistic and childish belief that the Dursleys were finally beginning to accept magic (which was utterly impossible after inflating Marge). The fact that he told them Sirius Black was his godfather would have sounded their warning bells.

What was the best way to get rid of him? Sending him somewhere far, far away from them.

It was perfect and clean. No one would have ever been able to tell what the Dursleys had done. After all, there wouldn't be fingerprints or anything else suspicious if they returned to Privet Drive sans one ungrateful, little brat. Since Harry was usually locked up in the house or busy doing all the chores, no one would've noticed he was missing in the first place!

Or maybe they'd tell everyone on the block that he'd been forced to attend St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys. The neighbors would've eaten it up. They were just as mindless as the student body of Hogwarts, following rumors and gossip without using their brains. It disgusted him; yet he'd accepted the reality that people just wanted to believe whatever they wanted. They didn't desire to find the truth.

The idea of siccing Hermione on them was rather delightful, and he chuckled under his breath. Harry imaged his bushy-haired friend verbally ripping apart the residents of Privet Drive. The thought of his dear friend was endearing as Harry briefly wondered what she was up to. The previous year was rather difficult on her due to her usage of the Time Turner, even if it had helped them saved innocent lives. One of them being Harry's godfather, who was unjustly imprisoned in the wizarding prison, Azkaban. It was a horrible place where Dementors roamed freely, feasting on the souls and happiness of those sent there.

The freezing air and rain reminded him greatly of the presence of said creatures.

What time is it? Harry wondered, looking up at the darkened skies. It can't be that late, could it? Tiredly shaking his head, he continued to walk down the streets of a marketplace. He decided to take a look around, keening with interest.

He was unable to recall at exactly what time the Dursleys boarded the plane and he didn't remember the time difference between England and Japan. By his guess, it was probably a dozen hours or more.

Scowling at himself, he felt the sudden urge to slam his head against the nearest wall. He should've brought a watch or something that told time. He'd never felt so lost and alone before. No ... that wasn't right. He felt isolated, again.

No one could understand him, and he was unable to understand anyone else around him. Getting over a language barrier would be difficult, even with the dictionary. Harry was unable to think of any other alternative of what to do. Either way, he'd find someway to survive in Japan, even if it meant resorting to life on the streets.

It could be worse. Harry told himself as he continued to walk down the street with his head down. He tried to maintain a calm and well-adjusted expression. There are worse things than being stranded in a different country. No need to get all angry and annoyed. After all, I could be dead.

Voldemort would probably end up finding a way to revive himself before killing Harry, anyway. At that thought, Harry was finally starting to realize just how much he was beginning to lose his mind. Just perfect.

Harry stopped in his stride, seeing a young woman with an indigo top and white skirt. She held her bag close to her chest as three rougher looking men approached her, wearing sinister smiles. It didn't take much for him to figure out that they were up to no good. Glancing around, he noticed the lack of people walking around, much to his surprise. From what he remembered while reading before boarding the plane, Japan was over populated and crowed in the cities. Regardless, now wasn't the time to take note of the scenery, Harry returned his attention to the woman. He watched as one of the three men said something in a rather brutish-like manner as he took a step forward.

The woman shook her head and stepped back, looking fearfully at him.

Screw it. I can't let her get hurt! Dashing forward, he managed to prevent one of the three men from grabbing the woman's bag. Their attention twisted back onto him as he grabbed his arm. "You know, it's not nice to take things that aren't yours. Why don't you three run along home before someone gets hurt."

The three were taken back by his British accent, while the guy in front of Harry smirked. "Hey, guys. Looks like we'll be having twice the fun tonight! An old bat and a foreigner!"

The two behind him let out loose and wild laughter. It didn't go over Harry's head, as his emerald eyes narrowed darkly. He glared at the three with great intimidation and they suddenly froze. Their fear could be tasted in the wind. They stared at this small boy, who looked so fragile and broken that there was no way he'd be able to fight against them! The leader shuddered as he continued to look deep into his green eyes, finding himself utterly lost in its cold darkness.

They held a mature edge, as volumes of suffering were made evident. The kid's eyes also promised pain. Deep levels of pain, if they dared to attempt to harm anyone. Frowning thinly, the man snorted. Screw that, he wasn't dealing with this shit.

Not until he got reinforcements, anyway.

"This isn't fun," the leader sneered, throwing the boy's arm down before turning away. Walking past the two boys, he shouted, "Let's go."

The one of the left said in surprise, "Boss!"

"Are you sure, man?" the third one asked with surprise, looking at their leader. "We can totally take him!"

The leader glared at them darkly, causing the two to scramble behind him. They left Harry and the woman standing alone and rather confused by what happened. Either way, Harry was glad that the entire thing was resolved so easily and without violence. Letting his body relax, a smile appeared on his face. Looking up at the sky, it seemed to start clearing up, the rain coming to a stop. It seemed like everything was starting to turn out alright —

"Thank you!" the woman cheered, placing her hands on Harry's shoulders and spinning him around to face her. She smiled brightly at him. "Are you okay?"

Harry stared at her with confusion. "I'm sorry. I don't speak Japanese."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled again. "A-are you ... okay?" Her accent was broken and heavy as she attempted to speak his native tongue. Harry felt rather bad that he hadn't attempted to speak hers. "Come to my house. I'll patch you up."

"W-wait!" Harry protested as the woman grabbed him by the arm. She kept smiling brightly with absolutely no shame whatsoever. "I-I can't go with you. I don't even know your name!" His verbal response was able to get her to stop, as she turned towards him and stared deeply into his eyes. Good, at least now he was able to do something about all of —

"Sawada Nana, nice to meet you." The woman bowed to him politely, gesturing her hand towards him. "What's your name?"

Harry blinked. Namae? Oh ... name. "Potter, Harry." He bowed back to her. Alright, so names were out of the way; that was a step forward! "I'm sorry, Miss Sawada, but I really need to be going so ... argh!" The woman beamed once more as he was suddenly dragged on.

"Potter-kun, American?" Miss Sawada asked curiously, trying to keep her words in simple, small clips of English.

Harry shook his head. "English, Miss Sawada."

"Ah. English." Miss Sawada nodded as her eyes danced with excitement and wonder. "Tell me more?"

Harry sighed heavily as he found himself unable to resist the two giant brown eyes that were filled with childish desire. He found his lips begin moving as he began to tell her all about England, its weather and all the tourist attractions to visit. Somewhere in the world, Harry was certain Ron and the twins were laughing at his current predicament. Not that he minded; talking with Miss Sawada allowed him to find that she was a very beautiful and kind woman.

Unfortunate for him, Harry failed to realize that he was currently being watched.

A young baby wearing a black suit and fedora sat on a branch, watching them via green binoculars. An orange stripe around his hat and a yellow pacifier hanging from his neck were visible. Suddenly, the binoculars flashed a strange, multicolored light and changed into a small lizard. The baby's eyes glinted with interest with a wide smirk on his face.

"Potter, Harry, huh? I'll have to look deeper into your past."

Tsuna could only stare on in despair at his test score; he shook his head lowly. Once again there was a giant fat zero marked in bright red at the very top of his paper. Even with Gokudera's studies, Reborn's Spartan training and Yamamoto's endless cheering, he was still unable to pass a simple math test! He looked to his two friends. Gokudea was doing everything in his power to cheer him up and Yamamoto suggested they have a late-night study session to pick up their grades. Needlessly to say, Tsuna nearly sighed with relief at the fact that Yamamoto also failed his test just like he had. He knew it was wrong of him. However, he could help but be grateful to know that he wasn't the only one that was struggling in school.

"Don't worry, Jyuudaime!" the half-Italian declared, grinning ear to ear. "I will help you study and get a huge passing grade for the next test! With my help, there'll be no way you'll fail!" The sparkles and shines emitting from the boy were both frightening and amazing.

Just where did Gokudera get all of those sparkles, anyway?

Yamamoto simply laughed it off. "Of course Tsuna will pass!" His arm went around the younger boy's shoulder and he grinned widely. "Don't worry. It's just one test, Tsuna."

"Don't go and touch Jyuudaime, you baseball freak!" Gokudera shouted at him, glaring at the taller boy, who simply grinned back at him.

"Maa, maa. Gokudera, you need to loosen up more. Milk would help!"

"Idiot!"

Tsuna smiled a bit as he watched his two friends start up their never-ending shouting match. It was just another part of his daily life. At first, he found it extremely annoying, but as the months had rolled by, he came to love it. He looked at Yamamoto and Gokudera with a soft smile on his face; having friends was at the very top of his list to better his life. Still, Tsuna couldn't deny the fact that he was slowly going deaf.

Yet, it was worth it.

"Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, bringing the boy out of his thoughts. "You alright?"

The boy blinked. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Yamamoto. No worries!" he said as they approached his house. "I'm sure you'll be able to stay for dinner again tonight. We still have lots of food left over from last night."

"You sure?" Yamamoto asked, scratching the back of his head. "I know Gokudera and I have been staying over an awful lot."

Tsuna shook his head, smiling at him. "No, it's fine. Besides, my mom's happy that I'm finally bringing friends over."

Yamamoto had the decency to flinch at his comment, not that he was one of those people that dared use the jibe 'Dame-Tsuna.' Yet, he was one of the people who didn't do anything about it. And, like the rest of the Namimori students, he avoided the boy for that reason alone. However, now that he was friends with Tsuna, he began to see a wider and broader view of the boy. Yamamoto could honestly say without a doubt that he was ashamed that he hadn't reached out and befriended Tsuna earlier. He, like the rest of the school, was blinded by a mere title. Now ... now he knew better. The fogged-up glasses he was seeing the world through had been removed, and now he could see clearly now.

Gokudera grinned. "I can't wait to try some of Mama's cooking!"

Nana had insisted on Yamamoto, Gokudera and pretty much everyone else Tsuna had brought home to call her Mama, much to Tsuna's embarrassment. However, none of the others seemed to have a problem with it, so he let it slide.

"Mom, I'm home!" Tsuna called out. The three got to the house, removing their shoes outside before entering.

A voice came from the kitchen, capturing Tsuna's attention. He and his friends slowly made their way to the other room. Tsuna frowned once he noticed Bianchi's long, pink hair through the cracks of the doorway coupled with the sounds of Lambo and Ipin coming from the other side. He opened it with full force and he was met with a shocker.

A young boy with messy, black hair and glass was sitting with his mother, smiling uncertainly as she chatted with him. Tsuna could see how thin and lithe the boy was; he seemed to be paying close attention on whatever his mother was saying in English, no matter how simple it was. However, her attention drifted for a moment as her eyes landed on him.

"Tsu-kun!" his mother cried out, leaping out of her chair and pulling him into a tight hug. "How are you?"

"M-mom!" Tsuna replied, as he was pulled deeply into her chest before he was released. "W-who is that and what is he doing here?"

Nana smiled. "This is Potter, Harry. He's from England, Tsu-kun!"

"That's nice," Tsuna remarked rather dryly, feeling slightly annoyed by the dodged question. He eyed the uncertain boy before returning to his mother. "Still, why is he here, mom?"

"I brought him here as a thank you for saving me from some thugs!" she answered without missing a beat. She was utterly oblivious to the three boys' slacked-jawed faces. Spinning around with joy, she said, "I couldn't just leave him out in the rain after he helped me. So I brought him here for supper!"

"M-mom!" Tsuna exclaimed.

Nana stopped her spinning. "Yes, Tsu-kun?"

"What about Potter-kun's family?" Tsuna questioned. "Don't they want to know where he is?"

Nana blinked. "I hadn't thought of that. I should probably give them a call!"

You should have done that in the first place! Tsuna thought wildly, only to sigh at his mother's oblivious and naïve nature. He gave a small smile before returning his attention to the foreigner, who sat across from him looking rather anxious and confused. "I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Everyone calls me Tsuna, though."

The boy blinked a bit surprised, as he smiled hesitantly. "I-I am Potter, Harry. Nice to meet you, Tsuna-san?"

"Yamamoto Takeshi!" the baseball teen introduced himself, grinning wildly at the smaller boy.

Gokudera crossed his arms. "Gokudera Hayato." His tone was gruff and low as he glared at the foreigner teen that dared to come into Jyuudaime's house without his permission! Scowling at the smaller boy with immense distrust, he decided to keep an eye on this boy.

"N-Nice to meet you," Potter replied, stumbling with his English accent and broken Japanese phrases.

Tsuna couldn't help but feel pity for the boy, being dragged into his house and barely even able to speak the same language as them. If he were placed in Potter-kun's situation, he'd probably be crying or screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Potter-kun." The boy looked at him with confusion. Tsuna took a deep breath as he attempted to speak English. "We're going to my room. Come?"

Potter stared at him for several moments. "Tsuna-san's ... room?"

"Yes!" Tsuna nodded, relived that the boy knew how to speak some Japanese. Nevertheless, Tsuna had a strange feeling that it was going to be one hell of a night, as the four boys went upstairs and the rest remained in the kitchen.

Nana turned to Bianchi, wearing a smile. "The family is certainly growing. Isn't it, Bianchi? First it was Reborn, then Lambo and Ipin, then you and Dino. And now, Harry has joined us!" She giggled with a smile.

"Yes it has, mother." Bianchi replied with a smile, watching the four boys vanish to the other side of the doorway. She ended up frowning. She noticed how thin and fragile the boy looked, and how timid he was around other people. If her experiences as a hit-woman told her anything, it was that the boy had seen too much at his age. She couldn't help but wonder just what had happened to Harry in the past. Then again, that didn't matter now.

If Reborn had his way, Harry would soon be apart of the Family.

Chapter one end.

I've had this KHR x HP on the mind, and I finally relented to writing one out. I also want to apologize for my Japanese it's been awhile since I've used romanji. I hope that it's passable. I've yet to decide on all the pairings, and I'm willing to take some suggestions. However, I won't write the follow pairings 1827, 9627, 8059, K27, H27 or pair Hibari and Mukuro with anyone. So, please don't ask!

Please leave constructive criticism in your reviews!

Editing done by Tetractys01.