Summary: Harry Potter's luck can't give the wizard a break. In Voldemort's desperate and last attempt to kill Harry in the Final Battle, Harry is whisked away to a new world. Determined not to let himself be brought down, he thrives to become stronger and to find a new place to call home. However, how long it will take for his strange abilities to be noticed? Follow Harry as he deals with the difficulties that are thrown his way in this new life as he creates a new hidden identity for himself.

Beta: Thank you Iriomote Yamaneko Nokomis for offering!

Hello hello! I must be surprising a couple of you simply with the fact that I'm updating this. After a short (cough year right cough) break I practically pushed myself to writing this, no matter that I have a very tough exam in two days. How foolish I am... You must be glad.

Seeing as many of you liked the interaction between Jiraiya and Hari, I decided to give you a little extra. Also, many people wer curious on the trip to Konoha so I just decided to put it in.

So, there you go! Part 2!

Start of part 2!

Chapter 10: Making Preparations

~ About three days later ~

The whole village was silently stunned by the sudden change of attitude of their precious healer. Of course, Hari was still as pleasant to them as he always was. The young man greeted them warmly as he always had done before. He even followed pretty much the same routine that they had always seen him do.

Yet, the moment that he was not being distracted by something - anything - his face would twist to a brooding one.

Which would be a cue for his new shadow – Taiki – to provoke him into another activity or conversation.

Still, even the energetic Taiki was eventually asked to give him some alone time.

"I might love you like a brother Taiki, but it's not like I'm dying. Give me at least a few hours of peace." The medic had stated with a sad smile and Taiki had sighed in defeat and stalked off.

Not that the swordfighter hadn't expected this reaction eventually. The medic liked to have his personal space. So the swordfighter finally returned to training. Much to the relief of his Uncle. Even being as hardened as the man was, he hadn't been able to get himself to order his nephew to stop bothering the medic.

Training would come later. The medic would be leaving soon and the fact was eating at his charge.

They had still spend a lot of time together, more than usual, but at least now people could spot the two boys without being near each other again.

Which gave Hari the opportunity to return to his brooding when he thought that no one was looking.

But one cannot underestimate the skills of surveillance that such a small community possessed when they all turned their attention to one person.

The villagers could understand his behaviour though and tried to show him extra affection just because.

Just like today.

~Harry~

Harry slowly took a deep breath to smell the forest and calmly moved over when Ume pointed at another plant and asked him a question.

"No unfortunately, but I think I heard someone tell me that it is great to use as a tea." Harry told her after recognising it.

The girl brightened and carefully plucked the plant.

Ume had dragged Harry along with their usually twice-a-month activity that they had dubbed 'herb hunting'. During which she enjoyed walking and jogging around while being taught to recognise different herbs that Harry had studied and they would discuss what they could do. While she could not make potions – seeing as an input of magic was necessary to make one - the properties of many plants still had many uses.

The medic couldn't help but smile as he watched the girl hop over a large log. He had never thought that her leg would have kept her from being so energetic.

"So what are you currently working on?" He dared to ask and the wizard smirked as he listened to her ramblings about a couple of harmless experiments that she was doing.

At least the village would still have one near-expert that they could rely on. And seeing as Ume's parents ran the village's small drug store, they would be fine medicament-wise.

Still, Harry couldn't shake the feeling of responsibility. He needed to know when they needed him. He needed to be there.

Alright, fine! He might have bonded to this small place far too quickly, in what would soon be two years, for it to be considered healthy. Yet, he didn't care.

And fine, he might also 'suffer' from a hero-complex of some kind, but that acknowledgement made him only more determined to be there for them.

His eyes watched the familiar sight of the small village as they walked down the hill up north.

This was his home.

He walked her to the door of her house where they said goodbye. Harry was about to walk away when Uma called him.

"Hari, wait!" She called, still not used to the fact that he could hear her. Even with those – in her opinion – silly muffling headphone on.

Yet, the medic turned around and raised an eyebrow questioningly and smiled at her.

"Forgot to give your goodbye kiss?" Harry teasingly tapping his cheek as he walked back to her and turned his cheek to her.

Laughing, she shook her head and patted his cheek playfully before he retreated.

"No silly, I just wanted to give you this."

She held her fist, clearly having something in her hand. Hari couldn't help but feel somewhat curious and reached out.

"What is it?" She hesitated and grinned somewhat awkwardly.

Her closed hand touched his, but she didn't give it to him yet.

"Well, you have been a great friend and while you are not the most outgoing to show it, I know you care. I can't help but be grateful for everything you have done."

She gestured to her leg and Harry smiled awkwardly back. "That's really no pr-"

"No, it is." Ume insisted. "It means a lot to me, as did our little outings. I learned a lot from you and I will miss you." She stated bluntly.

Harry was once again reminded why he had come to like – in a protective brother-like way -the girl in front of him so much. Hermione had never been afraid to tell him what she had on her mind either.

Too bad that it never had been his best quality in situations like these.

"Well…" He started. "I'm just glad that I could help. You are a good friend Ume and you deserve it to be healthy." He was afraid that it sounded too mushy, but she simply grinned at him.

Then Ume seemed to remember her hand.

"Ah, right!" She didn't seem to be embarrassed at all to nearly hold hands like this either, Hari noted. 'So much like Hermione...' The thought repeated itself before he could help it.

"Hari..." The girl started and Harry made sure to pay attention to what she was going to tell him.

"It might be silly to believe in stuff like this but it always brought me a lot of luck; so I hope it will do the same for you. Seeing as we can't be there to keep an eye on you and to drag you home to get a good night of rest." She teased.

The girl finally handed the object over and as soon Harry held it, he knew what it was. He opened his hand and stared at the small coin with amazement. As soon as he spotted it, a memory resurfaced. That familiar feeling of a similar object burning in his pocket…

Alerting him… Of course!

She had handed him a small bronze coin. It was light and sturdy but pretty plain otherwise. Yet it reminded him of the DA coins... Those that warned each other... How could he have forgotten?

For days he had been brooding in hope to come up with something so that they could alert him if they needed him and there it was! Ume watched with some nervousness as the medic stared rather blankly and wide-eyed at the coin, his expression frozen.

"I'm sorry, it seems silly now. If you don't like it..." She tried to gauge his thoughts.

That snapped Harry out of it.

"No no no! I love it. You just took me by surprise. Thank you!" He grinned at her and she momentarily was taken aback by the amount of joy that his face seemed to radiate.

Sure Hari smiled often, but this was a full-force grin and those were special. She smiled as he hugged her fiercely for a moment.

"Thank you Ume-chan!"

"Y-your welcome." She said with a chuckle and watched him practically run home.

Well… he seemed happier with her gift than she had expected. With a satisfied smile she turned around and entered her home.

Then she frowned. She still needed to find Taiki so that they could have that talk of theirs.

At the other side of the village, said brown-haired young man felt a sense of foreboding come over him and he couldn't help but wonder what the hell had caused it.

At least, until his instincts and reflexed took over and he felt himself dodging to the side.

"Brat, don't get distracted like that! I could have taken out your eye without you noticing!"

Taiki mentally snorted. His uncle was always so subtle, but he shook off the thoughts nonetheless and readied himself for the next attack.

"I'm sorry, Uncle."

"Apologies don't get you anywhere. Show me!"

"Hai!"

~ Harry ~ That evening ~

Now that the idea was there…

It still needed to be worked out... which was the frustrating part.

The wizard had helped Hermione research them before - which had mainly consisted of simply keeping her company - and she had made it a point to teach him to make them so that they could make the whole batch together.

'You could just as well help me Harry! It will be your club after all!'

So he did know what he had to do, but yet that wouldn't work. The whole context was different. This world was different. The distance was different – probably much greater than Hogwarts was. Then there was the need of magic to keep the runes running. Not to mention the magic to keep it activated.

Besides, what about the influence of chakra? How was he going to let someone else use magic?

Damn it.

Harry's head hit his desk with a loud 'thunk'. The objects on the wooden surface quivered momentarily. With a tired sigh Harry turned his head to the side and stared at Ume's small coin in front of him. It shone in the light from the candle that stood in the corner of his writing table.

Harry was afraid that he didn't have enough time.

Even if he could get the warning system to work - which was still the question if he could - he still had to improve his transportation. He still hadn't managed to Apparate and was meanwhile pretty sure that the lack of magic on this 'earth' had to do with it.

Running, even at his speed, might take too long if it was urgent.

His eye shifted from the coin towards a familiar empty flask that stood in the windowsill, the warm glow of the candlelight caressing the glass.

He sighed wistfully as he looked at the bottle and then at the dark sky outside, small lights scattered across it as if it were a painting.

Harry was actually quite close to reaching his inner animagus. He knew it. He could sometimes feel it. That nagging urge that would haunt him, just as it was doing right now.

That need for freedom.

As he had expected, the little booklet had opened as soon as he had taken the potion and dropped some blood on the cover. In it, there was a guide to the steps that should help him connect with his inner animal – which involved a lot of meditation.

He was doing well, but it was a slow process.

With a sigh, he stood up, took the candle from the desk and put on a safe spot on the floor. He settled down behind it on a small rug placed there for this exact purpose. Crossing his legs, he put his hands entwined his fingers together and his thumbs touched.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

His process was slow because it was difficult for him to break through the awareness that he had seemed to be able to reach after a few weeks of practice.

The energy in this world was… captivating. He couldn't keep himself from studying it every time he entered this mindset. There was too much that he still didn't know.

His interest was piqued when he felt a… blob of chakra walk towards his shelter. It was clearly different than the sentient chakra that was, well everywhere.

That ninja… it was part of him. Just like magic was part of him. Yet, it felt different. It was as if Harry's energy was white, while his was blue.

Interesting. A short rapid knock forced him to acknowledge the presence outside his door.

The fact that the person hadn't barged in ruled out Taiki. Noburu didn't do sharp rapid knocking and Ume would simply keep knocking because she thought it would help.

Harry would have guessed that white-haired ninja by this way of eliminating other suspects, had he not been sure that it was the ninja. It was after all the man's signature that had been approaching him a few seconds before the knocking had started.

His concentration broken, Harry opened his eyes drowsily and climbed to his feet – careful to dodge the candle. Stretching, he crossed the room with a few steps and swiftly opened the door.

"Ninja-san" He plainly stated as he came face to face with Jiraiya.

"Is there anything you want?" He inquired, instead of using his usual "Can I help you?"

Jiraiya didn't mention anything, but the bemusement in the man's eyes told him enough.

"I want to discuss the plans. I will stay another three days before I have to leave."

"Oh, so now you decide to listen to my input?" Harry dryly asked as he walked away from the door, not even caring to invite him in.

Jiraiya stepped after him and seemed somewhat surprised by the rug and the candle – an obvious setup for mediation.

Harry grabbed a pillow from a closet and placed it on the other side of the candle for Jiraiya to take if he wanted to. He sat back polity on the other side, offering the most comfortable spot to the ninja.

He might be annoyed with the man, but he was still going to try to be polite.

The ninja regarded him for a while, taking in his ruffled appearance, those odd green sound mufflers on his head and finally his expression. He hummed and he settled down on the pillow and crossed his legs as well.

Harry had no clue what the hum had meant.

Instead, the medic was once again very aware of the height difference between them. That man was huge.

'And powerful… don't anger him.' His self-preservation warned, but he disregarded it a second later. He wasn't afraid of the man.

"Look brat, I know you are angry about this whole thing but-" Jiraiya started.

"Don't worry, I get why my presence might eventually be considered a threat for my friends. At least when I wouldn't do or be able to do what they say." The medic stated with a dismissive wave of his hand.

He knew that he might be acting disrespectful towards the man, but he was tired and for the moment didn't care. Not that Jiraiya seemed to care about it a lot, especially between the two of them. Their bickering the other day had pretty much destroyed any polite attitude for each other.

"That doesn't mean that I'm not pissed though, but I will be able to accept it eventually. However, I hate it when people start planning and experimenting-" He shot the man a pointed glare. "behind my back."

Planning... the word echoed in Harry's mind as he said it out loud.

Jiraiya watched as the teen's eye suddenly glanced towards the desk as if suddenly remembering something and the medic stood up.

Harry picked up the coin and put it in the small brown pouch that hung on a cord, before settling back down. He didn't want to forget to put it in.

From what Jiraiya noticed, he always carried that little pouch under his shirt. Precious objects maybe?

The wizard took a deep breath and looked him in the eye again. "Besides this, I despise it when they pretend practically using someone as a lab rat is nothing special." He stated bluntly.

Harry could see that his comment had rubbed Jiraiya the wrong way.

The shinobi sighed. "Look brat..."

Hari tsked. "Save it. You would have done the same if you had the chance again"

Jiraiya tensed. How was he so good at reading him!? It frustrated him to no end but he couldn't help but admit that the tern was right.

The Sannin studied him again. Now near the candle light, the ninja could study him better than at the door. Though he had been watching the teen this afternoon as well.

The medic looked tired, nervous, moments of plain panic in those eyes when he thought that no one was watching. Hair even wilder than yesterday, sticking out in nearly every direction.

The ninja glanced at the papers on the desk, some files on different people. Some ingredient and herbs for those - what the people told him tasted horrible - brews of his probably.

The Sannin realised that he hadn't really given much thought to the medics perspective before.

"Look 'Hari'…" He slowly started.

The simple fact that man was using his name showed the medic that he was being serious.

"You are right about my decision. After all, it did heal your deafness."

Harry nodded easily.

"Still I would have at least tried to ask for permission this time." He said sincerely.

Harry regarded him. "Fine. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that you got rid of my ear problem, but your method rubbed me the wrong way. I might not have fully realised it and said much about it at the time, but it still did."

The Sannin nodded, somewhat surprised by how mature the medic was acting. He knew plenty of shinobi who acted like that at an even younger age, but after having bickered with the medic like a child – which had been pretty amusing – it made the Sannin realise that there was more to him than he had even considered before.

Maybe, the healer did know what he was getting himself into.

"To make it fair. I want to study you as well." The wizard stated bluntly and smirked when Jiraiya narrowed his eyes.

"Tsk, I'm not planning anything. I'm just curious. I never healed ninja before. I'm not even sure if I can". Harry pondered out loud, leaning his chin on his fist.

Now that particular admittance peaked the older man's interest as well.

"What are the risks?" He carefully asked.

Harry shrugged. "What you did to me might have gone well, but it might as well have gone very wrong. Seeing as I'm not dead though, I'm pretty sure that you won't have any damage."

They regarded each other for a moment and Harry knew that he had won. The man was too interested and too intrigued himself to do anything else. Yet, there was that pensiveness in his eyes again that warned him that the wheels in the man's brain were spinning.

"Alright." Jiraiya conceded. "I apologise once more. I did not know enough about your… energy." Harry shrugged and didn't correct him. "- to know that it could have such catastrophic consequences. However, please don't think that I was not careful." He said formally.

"Apology accepted. I apologise for hitting you." It was an obvious lie that he didn't even try to cover up.

The built-up politeness between the two felt so odd for both parties that it was easily broken.

The medic smirked in amusement and Jiraiya snorted.

"Still I knew you wouldn't hurt me. Noburu would have skinned you alive and left the rest of the pieces to the village." Jiraiya chuckled in agreement. "It's just the knocking out part that annoyed me."

"I will keep it in mind."

"I will try to be more respectful if it bothers you so much." Harry eventually offered.

The Sannin waved it off. "No need. I prefer the honesty, instead of showing a polite mask. Damn masks. I get enough of that in my career."

The medic nodded easily and watched the light of the candle flicker.

"So… you came from somewhere else before you settled here?"

"It is behind me." Harry told him, not in a defensive manner but it was more like a statement. "I will not discuss it."

"Anything I should be afraid of?" Jiraiya couldn't help but ask and the wizard shrugged again.

"I can do this as long as I can remember. I don't have any family. I can't ever get home. I am not a threat for anyone that doesn't pose one for the people I care about." He told him honestly.

'… or to those that are defenceless.' Mentally added, but kept himself from saying it at the last moment.

Jiraiya hummed at him again.

Deciding that their discussion was over, the medic stood up and moved to switch on the light. "Can you blow out the light?" He asked the man before he walked towards the second bedroom. The man simply licked his fingers and pinched the flame, smothering it instantly.

Harry rolled his eyes but didn't comment.

"Then, if you don't mind, I would like to see just how far my healing goes." He stated as he walked in.

"Fine, but you are not going to experiment on me if you don't mind."

Harry turned around with a frown when he saw Jiraiya followed him, opening the door as he went. He was about to protest when the Sannin cut him off.

"You can practice on him."

Harry realised that his expression must have been pretty astonished for the shinobi to laugh, but he couldn't help himself.

"Bloody hell." He muttered in English.

He had seen clones before, but this one simply reeked of chakra.

"But how-" He started as he looked at the second Jiraiya that had walked into the small room.

The second Jiraiya waved at him. "I'm not the real one."

Harry glanced at the other one that was still laughing. Ah yes… he could sense something in the real shinobi that wasn't in the copy. A shiver went don't his back when he tried to focus on it.

"You don't know a lot about ninja do you Hari-kun?" Jiraiya pointed out with amusement.

More than he though, Harry thought mentally with a smirk, but didn't correct him.

"Just… whoever is going to be the guinea pig, please lie down on the bed and please remove your shirt."

For once, the Sannin held back the innuendo's he could easily come up with, and judging by the pointed look the the medic was shooting him, he knew exactly what he was thinking.

Harry rolled his eyes again and cleaned his hands as the clone settled down. Focusing, he stood next to the clone and easily fished a clean knife form a drawer and cut his hands.

"Isn't that dangerous when dealing with bloody wounds? It might be poisonous."

Harry shrugged, not feeling like sharing the fact that he had basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his blood, which seemed to have a protective effect on antigens entering his blood stream.

Though he couldn't deny that he had only considered this after he had started healing. Luckily it just proved not to be dangerous for him to do so, or he would have been screwed.

"It's fine." He answered instead and closed his eyes.

Charkra was interesting. He could practically feel the clone vibrating with it. It was completely made out of this energy, forming masses identical to the user.

In the end, it was all energy.

So why was it so different to his own?

Much to Harry's frustration, his magic seemed unable to stop the blood flow. The charka was too dense – it was one of the few words that Hary could come up with - for his magic to fight.

Frowning, he shifted his stance, preparing himself to pull of an all-nighter if that was what it took to figure this out.

If they were really going to come after him, then he and Seirei needed to find a way to fight against this chakra.

"There is a chair in the corner. Jiraiya-san. Take a nap if you feel like it. This might take a while."

"Jiraiya is fine."

"Call me Hari then."

"Sure brat."

"Whatever old man."

~Next day ~

The wizard groggily opened his eyes and realised he had fallen asleep on the bed that was usually meant for his patients. The clone had disappeared and he vaguely remembered climbing on the bed to give in to his exhaustion.

Looking up, he saw the Sannin reading a scroll in the chair that he had assigned to him the night before.

"Morning."

"Morning brat. Not much luck, huh?"

Harry sighed and buried his head back in his arms, replying with a muffled. "No."

The old ninja hummed in thought. "It was odd. My skin tingled but I couldn't really feel anything inside of me."

"Huh? How do you know?"

The Sannin tapped his head. "A secret ninja thing brat. Forget about it."

The medic narrowed his eyes at the man. "Well then, I will just guess that part of your chakra found a way back to you and took it's experience along with it."

The ninja actually looked up and watched him with a frown.

"Are you a genius in hiding or something?" He asked, to which Harry snorted in reply.

"Still, what is your idea behind it?" The Sannin pushed when the medic didn't elaborate.

"Energy. It's all energy." The medic replied vaguely, slipped off the bed and stretched.

That didn't seem much like an answer, but the Sannin didn't comment on it.

Harry sniffed his shirt and grimaced. "I'm taking a shower. Don't start snuffing around my stuff. I will know."

"Don't worry about it brat, I already did when you were knocked out."

Exasperated, Harry pinched his nose and was about to slip out when the Sannin called out to him.

"You are leaving in a couple of days."

The medic froze and closed his eyes.

"I want at least two weeks." He said, fighting the urge to look over his shoulder. The wheels in his head were spinning.

"I want to check up on all villagers one last time before I go. I have to brew a few more potions to last at least until I can visit again."

'I have to get those damn coins to work.' Harry mentally added.

"And I would like to spend some time while you are here to figure out if I would be able to heal ninja."

Jiraiya couldn't really argue with his last reason. Having another medic – even if he was no ninja – in Konoha was always welcome. Besides, this Harry was special. There was something about him that Jiraiya couldn't put his finger on, but his instincts would not let him slip from his grasp.

Who knew, he might save his life sometime.

He didn't share any of these thoughts though and instead regarded the medic for a moment.

"Sure, I will help you out the next few days." He conceded as if he was only doing Hari a favour, causing the medic's eye to twitch and glare at him.

Jiraiya ignored it.

"The shinobi will watch over you in the meantime that he is here. It will leave you unguarded for a few days but I will be in the neighbourhood. If anything happens, fire this off." The man pulled out something familiar to firework and put it on the table right next to him. "I will leave in a couple of days."

Harry hummed in acknowledgement and left the room.

Two weeks.

He had a lot to do.

~ Two nights later ~

The few days that the Sannin had stayed were mostly used to experiment with his healing once the sun had set. It had taken two full days before Harry had a breakthrough and he had practically begged Jiraiya to let him heal a small cut on his arm to confirm his theory.

The Sannin had watched with surprise as the gash had healed within seconds. He barely felt anything of the process...

Harry had laughed gleefully and they had continued to practice a little bit more. Though Harry had refused to let the Sannin maim himself beyond a few cuts, which the man had been well-prepared to do, much to Harry's dislike.

Once the medic had realised what to do, it suddenly seemed so simple. Sure it took more effort than healing civilians, but the chakra oddly enough gave him a boost as well.

'If you can't work against it, work along with it. Guide it and show it what needs to be done.' Harry thought, feeling like it was one of those philosophical thought.

He didn't really know where it came from.

Maybe Dumbledore had said something like that before, or had it been Noburu?

He didn't really care, instead he couldn't help but wonder why his magic seemed to buzz in his body as soon as he came in contact with the chakra. It had taken a few tiring wandless spells in the bathroom to get it to calm down again.

He would have to look into that later.

The next morning, Jiraiya appeared in Noburu's house to say goodbye and warned him that he might visit the medic if he was in Konoha. Harry was surprised to hear that the man didn't live there.

'For someone who was so set on sending him to Konoha, it makes him sound like an hypocrite.' Harry thought, watching the man say goodbye too Noburu.

He decided to share his thought with the man.

Jiraiya simply laughed at him and teasingly slapped him on the back.

"Oomph!" Harry lost his breath as he went face down on the ground.

Rolling around, he glared at the sheepish looking Sannin.

"I don't think I will miss you any time soon." He told the shinobi bluntly.

It would have sounded a lot more serious had the medic not said it while holding his nose closed, giving a nasal tone to his sentence.

Noburu softly snickered at his charge's expense and then at the sannin's expense as he watched the man's shoulder's drop in disappointment.

"There, there." He consoled the ninja as he helped his charge up. "I'm sure that Hari didn't mean that."

The snort that came from the medic's direction didn't sound very reassuring.

With a bit more jabs being moved around – Hari's scrawniness to his annoyance - and a healed nose, they all bid farewell.

That evening Hari couldn't help but glance towards the second bedroom.

Maybe… maybe he might miss him just a little bit.

~ Five days later ~

The coin had been a large puzzle, but he had eventually managed to find a few gemstones in one of the tiny shops that were able to keep a little bit of magic in them.

More than prepared to test everything endlessly if he had to, Harry had started with the runes, eventually resorting to the use of blood and a needle to carve it into one of his golden coins. Five failed carvings later, he finally made three coins that seemed to work properly. Channelling his magic in them, his blood glowed and was absorbed by the coin.

At moments like these, Harry was glad that the Sannin had left, or he would most likely have been completely intrigued by this new skill.

The last thing that the medic wanted was even more attention.

Once having done the basic tests, Harry had then moved over to Taiki's house and proceeded to drag his friend along to experiment with the distance range of the coins.

Telling the boy to tap the coin with a gemstone had evoked a priceless expression, but that amusement was nothing compared to the amount of relief that washed over the medic when he felt his coin burn gently from the small pouch against his chest.

A weight fell from his shoulders.

And he had promptly tackled Taiki with a hug.

According to Taiki, the happy hug that Harry had given his friend was worth the next few hours of work of gauging if the distance would be a problem. To find out, they had run in opposite directions, though Harry never mentioned to the swordsman that he had quickly slipped into his Seirei disguise and run even further than they had planned.

Every quarter of an hour, his coin continued to burn.

Once he had made his way back, he had continued to explain it to Noburu who watched with bewilderment as the coin in his hand glowed with heat. Taiki grinning like a madman next to him.

"You are really one of a kind, Son." Noburu said, looking at him with a new light in his eyes, but not once with fear. He looked at the coin again and turned it over.

"One of a kind really."

Harry couldn't fight down the proud blush that was slowly appearing on his face.

Noburu proceeded to fasten the leather cord the two small pouches– one with the stone and one with the enchanted coin – around his neck and slipped it under his shirt.

"I will watch over them for you Hari." He told him knowingly.

"It's not like you have anything better to do." Harry joked back, dodging a swipe for his head.

Taiki chuckled as he watched their interaction.

"You know, you should make one for Seirei!" The brown-haired teen had jokingly suggested.

The two men watched as the medic's eyes widened.

"I'm not sure if that is a goo-" Noburu tried, but sighed when he saw a familiar glint in the wizards eyes.

"That's a great idea Taiki! Thanks!" The medic grinned and then run off, probably to do just that.

Taiki twitched as he saw the Chief give him a disapproving and pointed look.

"What?"

"Taiki-kun…"

"I'm sorry?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

Noburu sighed and shook his head as he stalked off. The youth these days…

~ Another week later ~

It had been two days ago that the other ninja had arrived. They had briefly spoken, but the medic didn't look for much interaction beside that.

Nor did he want to go blind by having that 'thumb-up-and-bling-bling-smile' directed at him like at their first meeting.

"I will watch over you, so you don't have to worry at all!" This "Might Guy" had brightly stated, before rambling about some punishment if he wouldn't be able to follow through with his promise.

Harry had blinked, shared a questioning glance with Noburu – who had shrugged helplessly at him– and bowed towards the man.

"Thank you for looking out for me, but please make it something more severe than a scratch and a cut. I would like to be able to heal my patients without making you go through…" He frowned. "Well… all that stuff you just talked about."

The green-clad 'Beast of Konoha' had looked at him in surprise for a moment, before nodding and making the necessary amendments with another load proclamation.

Nope, Hari kept a polite distance from the man for now. He would spend enough time with him on their way to Konoha. He had too much to do.

He had loads of potions to finish and people to check.

Luckily everything was on schedule and finished the next day.

Which meant that he even had had a day of freedom to spare, which Harry had gladly spent with his closest friends.

He sparred with Taiki with a wooden sword, much to the Uncle's amusement. Guy watched from the side-line and had given some constructive criticism that had been surprisingly helpful.

This of course had resulted in a deep discussion between the two elder men, leaving the two friends to simply try to poke each other with these new tips. Not that Hari stood a chance against Taiki. No matter the fact that the swordsman had one of his arms tried to his chest.

After this small work-out, he discussed Ume's experiments with her for a while, before Taiki had reached his limit of boredom and dragged both of them out of the house.

They had spent the rest of the day outside, before dining at Noburu's place and playing a few games of Shogi.

As much as Harry had wanted the time to slow down, he had eventually fallen asleep, promptly followed by Taiki who decided to stay over.

He was awoken by Noburu, breakfast ready and the two proceeded to check all his luggage.

A couple of hours later they stood outside, watching the shed that Harry had come to call his own. Had Noburu and he not met that day… Harry wouldn't have known what to do.

The wizard might not be fully able to consider Noburu his father figure – even Sirius hadn't been a real father figure for him – he was like family. Still, he had come close. So very close.

The man smiled somewhat sadly at the wizard as he looked at him questioningly.

"Coin for your thought, son?"

Harry smiled at the endearment.

"Nothing… Just thinking. I will miss you."

The smile saddened and the man's hand fell upon his shoulder. "Me too. Just make sure to visit once in a while. We owe you a lot."

"I owe you a lot as well." Harry muttered and with a final glance, he turned around and walked towards the main road where the shinobi was waiting for him.

"Hello, Guy-san." He dared to greet the man with a smile. He had been told to drop the "Might-san" the first time he had used it.

"Hello Hari-san!" The man greeted back with a grin – and the accompanied bling.

They would leave in a few minutes.

Harry felt restless as he watched all the people gather to see him off. His backpack was filled with gifts which the ninja next to him had been so helpful to store in those odd scrolls.

It excitedly reminded him of Hermione purse. Maybe he could look into that in this ninja-filled Konoha.

For a moment he wasn't sure what to do, but his decision was taken from his as one of the children grasped his arm and led him around the group. He was suddenly overwhelmed with quick hugs from woman and children, pats on his back and people ruffling his hair – eventually his headphone had dropped to his neck from all the contact.

All the babbling was taking a toll on his ears but the medic beared with it this time.

While giving Ume one last hug, she quickly pecked him on the cheek. He grinned at her for following through with his usual joke. "Thank you."

"Break a leg." She smiled at him, but her eyes were watery.

"Don't break a leg." He muttered back, patting her cheek gently and then turned around to the next person.

"Hari."

"Taiki."

The two regarded each other, before they simultaneously moved forward to embrace each other in what they would later insist to be a very brotherly-hug.

The moment they let go, Taiki put his hand on his chest, pushing against the two small pouches hidden under his clothes.

"If there is anything…"

Harry smiled. "I will call. Same to you baka. That friend of ours should have one as well, so don't hesitate to call alright?"

"Hai."

They hugged once more, this time quickly patting each other's back and Hari then turned to Noburu.

Hari didn't hesitate to give him a hug as well, taking the man of guard, but he returned it nonetheless.

Then it was time to go. With a sigh, he turned around for last on time and waved.

"I will try to visit as soon as possible! Look after my place for me!"

"Hai!" A few people chorused.

With a final look at the three most important people, he turned around, trying to ignore the painful twist in his chest as he did so.

He kept walking and walking – the road was so long - until he couldn't contain the urge any longer and glanced over his shoulder. They were still there and waved at him, which he returned and then turned around again.

He felt like crying, but he didn't dare to appear weak in front of the ninja walking next to him.

"Hari-san."

Harry looked at Guy, whom had stopped and now stood crouched, his back turned to him in silent invitation. Harry hesitated for a moment before he climbed on the man's back.

He looked at his friends one more time, trying to burn the picture into his mind and then closed his eyes.

"I'm ready."

With that statement, the shinobi took to the trees and raced away, startling Harry with his speed for a moment, but the ninja's hold was strong.

"Thanks." He muttered after a while.

The ninja turned his head to look him in the eye and smiled sadly at him. Harry could sense the compassion and understanding in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it Hari-kun. Your situation is most un-youthful! If it is possible, try to get some sleep. I won't drop you or I will-." He started, but he was cut off by Hari.

"I know." He told the man honestly.

This man was strong. Not as strong as the Sannin, but still strong. Harry could feel it even better from the position he was in and the medic had to fight down the urge to study the chakra.

Instead he turned his attention to the ninja watching him. "I trust you to deliver me safely, so please don't make set those... punishments for yourself. It is not necessary."

The ninja's eyes widened slightly in surprise, before a soft smile broke on his face. Harry couldn't help but feel honoured to see that small smile instead of the grin that was on the man's face the whole time.

It took a long day of running and many breaks to get to Konoha. The breaks were mostly for Hari's well-being Guy had insisted, even though the medic silently pondered that he could probably have run along with the man nearly the whole way.

Not that he was going to tell him that.

The medic had fallen into a somewhat meditative mind-set at the end of their journey. Guy had told him a lot about Konoha on their way and he was now simply processing it all. It did sound like a peaceful life to live in, filled with more opportunities in comparison to his village – Kurokkasu.

Harry didn't really care about that though.

Still, the shinobi was obviously proud of his village and more than welcoming towards him. He was a nice guy once you got past his somewhat traumatising appearance and attitude.

"We are nearly there. I will drop down in three, two, one." The shinobi counted down.

Harry appreciated the warning and groaned slightly as he felt his legs protest as he walked. After a few steps – and magic – the feeling was gone though and he gave a small bow towards Guy for the ride.

It had saved them many days of travel. Maybe that's why he had been assigned for this mission, Harry thought.

As they continued to walk, Harry couldn't help but admire the massive walls that they were approaching. It might not be as impressive as Hogwarts, but it was still impressive.

"Wow."

"That is the main gate of Konoha." Guy explained as they neared. "I'm happy that I get the honor to be the first one to welcome you to my home."

Hari smiled weakly at him before staring at the large doors that were opened to grand them and other travellers access to the city. As they drew closer, Harry suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine as if he had just stepped through a wall of cold air.

With a puzzled expression the wizard subtly glanced back from the corner of his eyes, but he couldn't spot anything.

Yet, his magic was buzzing again. Had that been chakra?

Before he could make assumptions, Harry was steered towards one of the boots at the sides, where Harry handed over the paperwork that Norubu and Jiraiya had quickly put together. The medic didn't really know whether it was legal, but he didn't really care.

He could always go back.

"Everything is in order, Sir. Enjoy your stay." A random ninja behind the desk stated and gave him his papers back and smiled at his guide. "Hokage-sama wishes to speak to you Might-san."

"Thank you Akita-san." Guy grinned at him and Harry noted that the bling-grin was back full force. "May you have a youthful day!"

"Ah… thanks, you too." The Chuunin returned somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, Hari!" Guy called out to him and easily placed an arm around his shoulders – these ninja were tall! – and waved his other hand in front of them.

"Welcome to Konohagakure!"

It was the shinobi's handmovement that brought Hari's attention to the four large faces cut in the Rock.

He couldn't help but feel slightly more impressed.

"Thanks."

"Well, let's go! It would be very un-youthful me not to help you settle down! Especially seeing as your Fire of Youth is still burning brightly, even though you are going through such a difficult change!" The green-clad shinobi stated and promptly scooped him up, forcing Harry to hold onto him awkwardly.

He eventually managed to climb on the man's back like before– he refused to be escorted in the man's arms like a woman!

Once he was safe again, he watched the shinobi with a confused expression. Why was he suddenly going back to that 'Flame's of Youth' stuff again?

Ninja were so... well crazy.

It was as if all ninja were obliged to have some kind of mental problem or an obsession – he had heard Noburu complain about Jiraiya and Hot Springs before – because this mental switch couldn't be healthy.

Though hadn't Jiraiya mentioned something about ninja and their masks? Maybe this was just an extreme version.

Deciding that he probably would never know, Harry used this moment to take in the village around him. The atmosphere was nice, he reluctantly admitted. He might have been able to settle her comfortably – had he not suffered from a certain doubled homesickness.

About an half hour later, the shinobi and the passenger dropped down in fornt of the largest tower. He only had a moment to study it before he was pulled inside. They walked through the circling hallways for a while until they reached a secretary and were told to wait for a few minutes.

Hari took the time ask some basic questions. Any good restaurants? Schools? Any taboos that he couldn't speak about?

The latter question made Guy grin at him and pat his shoulder. "Don't worry Hari-kun. There's not much taboo here, and the small things, you will find out eventually."

That grin had seemed the most fake one that the wizard had seen in the last few days.

Harry's eyes narrowed mentally. That wasn't really reassuring.

"Hokage-sama is waiting for you Might-san, Hari-san."

Guy nodded his thanks to the Chuunin and ushered the medic inside the now opened office. The wizard wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he waited for the man, clad in white and red robes, to turn around. His presence was powerful at least, like Jiraiya. The man looked like he had been looking through the window over the city for a while. He took a drag from the pipe in hand that that seemed to finish the picture.

Actually, the whole scene looked like those you saw on photos.

It made Harry wonder if the man did it on purpose.

Said man turned around and though Harry had been told that the man was old, he was still surprised. The amusement in the old man's eyes told him that he hadn't been able to mask his surprise well enough.

"Hokage-sama. Thanks for letting me stay." Harry bowed politely.

"Ah, welcome to Konoha Hari-san." The Hokage stated, pleasantly. "Jiraiya told me a lot about you. I must say that I'm surprised by your politeness." He added with a chuckle.

Harry face faulted and smiled somewhat sheepishly.

So much for good first impressions.

~ End chapter ~

I wish you all a belated Happy New year! May you dear readers out there read a lot of great fanfiction worth reviewing (always appreciated a lot by the writers) and faving and may all those writers out there find the inspiration and time they need to write twice as much! (always appreciated a lot by the readers)

(...I could use some of that).

For those who are curious I made a basic design of 'Seirei appearace' on my deviantart (link to my profile is on my profile)... It's just a sketch but who knows you might like it. (If not, then I dare you to make something better *wink*)

I hope to hear from you guys soon! And till next time!

Note: HIATUS due to real life stuff... - _ -