"Okay. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you HAVEN'T been accepting the various letters OR treating Naruto as a member of the family," said the man, slumping against the wall and sounding quite bored.
"What do you expect? Just dumping the boy off like-" The adult woman stopped as the stranger was suddenly not over there against the wall, but actually standing directly behind her?! Slowly she turned her head, and noticed that lightning was arcing between the fingers of the hand he was holding up.
"Mah mah. Were you saying something?" asked the stranger.
"No," said the woman in a very quiet voice.
"That's good," said the man, whose face was mostly concealed but still managed to convey a smile. "You two haven't been BAD parents have you?"
"Certainly not," said the man.
"Yes," said the white-haired girl.
"Uhm, I'm Naruto Uzumaki," said the little boy.
"Yes, I kind of guessed that," admitted the stranger. "So you two run a mini-orphanage in the countryside for 'special needs' children and you were paid to take care of Naruto here."
"No refunds," said the man, pushing his glasses back in place. "It's quite clear in the contract."
"You two are muggles who were deemed safe and out of the way," said the stranger. "You'll be dealt with later. In the meantime, you'll find that your records have been confiscated, your little experiments in the basement are no longer a concern, and the charges of using your orphans as slave labor are under investigation. Do you really want to press this further?"
"If we're investigated, that'll throw off your whole secret society won't it?" asked the man.
"If you draw that gun in your jacket, that will be a serious mistake on your part." The stranger sighed again. "Naruto. We're going elsewhere. Either of you girls want to come along. You're not wizards so you can't go to that school as students but there are other possibilities."
Naruto Uzumaki, the Boy Who Lived, shook his head. Had something odd just happened?
"Something odd just happened," said Hinata Hyuga, sitting back in her seat as the train continued on. "Like an old phonograph where the record skipped."
Kiba shrugged. "I didn't see anything. How about you, Akamaru?"
Akamaru cocked his head and whined a little.
"That's a 'no'," said Kiba. "Anyway. Formal introductions ain't really my thing - but I'm Kiba Inuzuka. Inuzuka clan. Our familiars are dogs and dog spirits. Pleased ta meetcha."
Naruto shook hands with him. "Sorry. I don't know anything about this wizarding world thing. Raised entirely in the city among non-magic people kinda. Didn't even know I was a wizard until two days ago."
"Have any of you seen a little black piglet?" asked a girl with pink hair at the door.
"No, a piglet?" asked Naruto.
"Oh Great Pumpkin," said the girl, green eyes staring. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Uhm, yeah," said Naruto.
"Sakura Haruno," said the pink. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru," said Kiba, grinning in such a way one of his fangs showed. He'd been told it was one of his better features.
Akamaru yapped slightly but wrinkled his nose. He really didn't care for that particular shampoo that the girl's hair smelled of. The herbal one that smelled faintly of lemon grass was much better.
"Oh, cute puppy!" declared Sakura, instantly putting herself on Kiba's 'acceptable people' list.
"Urf," protested Akamaru. He was a fierce Inuzuka hound after all. Cute just wasn't the image he wanted to put out.
"Hinata Hyuga," said Hinata, turning her gaze towards the pink. "Byakugan."
Everyone except Kiba stared at the girl as the veins extended around her eyes and they gained a faint shimmering glow.
"There's a piglet three rooms towards the back of the train," announced Hinata. "He's under the seats, napping."
"Oh, that's handy," said Naruto.
"Family talent," admitted Hinata, letting the technique drop and blushing at the attention.
"Out of the way, breed!" said an imperious voice.
"Excuse me?" said Sakura, stepping in and to the side as someone crowded in.
The tall boy that took over the doorway to the room looked over the occupants. He nodded slightly towards Hinata, ignored Kiba, sneered slightly at Sakura, and finally settled his gaze on Naruto. "So. It is true. Naruto Uzumaki is attending Konoha Academy."
"Yeah," said Naruto. "Am I really that famous?"
"Sasuke Uchiha, of the prestigous Uchiha family. You'll find that some friends come with better families and can help you - much more than other families," said Sasuke. "You don't want to make the wrong kind of friends."
"I think I can choose my own friends, thank you," said Naruto. He really had NO idea what was going on but the boy's attitude just struck him as wrong.
"Hmph, wait until you've gotten a better chance to assess things," said Sasuke. "Then we'll talk."
The group watched the boy walk off.
"I better get the piglet then," said Sakura, drooping a bit after the obvious hostility.
Things were briefly quiet in the compartment after Sakura left.
"So, 'familius'?" asked Naruto.
"Familiar, familius, totem, guardian spirit, or something similar," said Hinata. "Not everyone has one but they can be quite handy. You're allowed one at Konoha."
"My sister has three," volunteered Kiba. "Akamaru's my familiar. Everyone in my family has a bond with at least one dog."
"I don't think I've got one of those," admitted Naruto.
"Neither do I, actually," said Hinata. Her odd eyes focused on Naruto. "My clan's specialty is the Byakugan. We're clairvoyant, you see. Able to see things that others cannot."
"Oh, like Superman's X-ray vision and stuff?" asked Naruto. "That's really cool."
"Like who?" asked Hinata.
Sakura grumbled. Sure that boy was cute but an arrogant prick. The three (four if you counted the puppy) in the compartment had seemed fairly nice, so that was a positive at least.
She'd only been aware of the wizarding world for the past four months and she'd begged her father and mother for books on the subject.
Even though they were both 'muggles' as they were called, they'd rallied and contacted the witch who'd brought the Konoha letter and that had led to a shopping expedition.
Picking up the appropriate supplies, including the school uniform, had also seen a number of books and scrolls which she'd eagerly poured through.
There were several patterns which she found quite disturbing. There had been wars, the occasional evil sorcerer, a lich or two, prominent class envy/conflict, discrimination against the magical races and species, and so on.
The wizarding world was rather backward in some respects. She'd commented on it and her father (who was also quite the reader) had pointed out that wizards and witches tended to have very extended lifespans. Not only might that be a factor - but that the more powerful witches and wizards tended to fry electronics just by walking near them.
As her father was an electrical engineer, he found that rather concerning. Actually, so did she. Her smartphone had to be left behind rather than see it melt down into rather expensive goo at the school.
"Excuse me, is there a black pig under that seat?" asked Sakura as she reached the compartment.
"Let's see. I've got the books," said Naruto. "Don't got no familiar or anything like that. Got the uniform."
"They're pretty much hand-me-downs," said Kiba with a frown as he pulled one of the sets of robes out.
"Yeah. The guy who got me, Hatake-sensei, said these were cheap. I think he really didn't want to bother with me too much."
"I'm not exactly into fashion, but guy - those look ratty," said Kiba. "What, did the guy take you to the Secondhandery?"
"Yeah, you know the place?" asked Naruto.
"I was kinda joking," said Kiba. "Man. No money from your folks or anything? That's gonna make things rough."
Hinata fidgeted, looking as though she wanted to say something.
A long walk up to what looked rather like a old-fashioned castle. To make it really odd - it was a EUROPEAN castle.
"Okay," said the woman who'd been their guide from the train station to the gates to the castle. "Last chance. Anyone with ANY electronics of ANY kind. Turn them over to me. I'll put a label with your name on it and they'll be waiting for you at the station when you leave for holiday or at end of year. Anyone? No?"
Of course, once past the gates marking the entry to the castle ground, at least three people had sparks erupting from various pockets - and in one case their wrist.
"Told you," said the woman. "You might want to dispose of them before you start a fire. Konoha is typical of magical schools in that we use old layered spells upon spells for defense and to keep off the muggles. Last year someone sent one of those 'drone' planes by and it ended up crashing in Sussex."
"Where's that?" asked Naruto.
"England. Other side of the world," said their guide. "Space and time can get a bit wonky in here. Sometimes we have to adjust things just so the Alchemy Labs don't end up six months in the future or something. Once we had one of the girl's bathrooms end up in 1962. Which wouldn't have been so bad if the rest of the school hadn't been in 1989. Ironing out the paradoxes was a right pain."
The path led past various statues and was framed by a deep forest on either side. Instead of famous peson's statues, it was instead of various creatures.
"Look Haruno. A veela! Maybe it's your mother or something, eh?" said one of the boys hanging around Sasuke.
"Veela?" asked Sasuke Uchiha, looking back at her. "Veelas are powerful magic creatures. Not appropriate. Maybe a harpy."
Sakura felt her teeth clenching and forced herself to relax.
"Do not wander off into either forest," said their guide. "The forest has a maze enchantment on it. There are actually three forests surrounding Konoha. The Forest Of Silence, the Forest Of Death, and the Forest Of Forbiddance. There's a path in the Forest Of Silence and our Master Of Monsters lairs there. Some of you will have his class. You poor sots."
Nobody was quite sure what to make of that.
Naruto glanced up at one statue and was pretty sure the statue's eyes were following him. And hadn't something landed on that one in the deepening gloom and shifted shape?!
"Don't sweat it," said Kiba, walking at his side. "They're just keeping an eye out."
"Monsters?" asked Naruto.
"Eh, most of 'em resent humans - and they got reason to," said Kiba. "Still - some of 'em take humans as individuals. Some good, some bad, some prey, some predator, some just trying to get by."
"More philosophical than your clan has a reputation for," mumbled a boy to the other side of Kiba.
"Yeah, well, ain't that the wizarding world?" asked Kiba.
"You're Naruto Uzumaki, aren't you?" asked the boy, eyes flicking towards Naruto. "How troublesome. I was hoping for a quiet school year."
"Yeah, well." Kiba bit off what he was going to say, closing his mouth and sniffing the air. "Huh. Lots of scents. There must be a lot of them watching this year."
"What a pain," complained the strange boy. He glanced over at Naruto. "Shikamaru Nara. My clan helps maintain the deer grounds on the outer ring."
"Hmph," hmphed Kiba, acknowledging the other boy. "Man, these space-folding areas really mess with your sense of direction. Then again, that's the point - ain't it?"
"Yeah yeah," said Shikamaru.
"So you guys have deer?" asked Naruto, thinking that didn't sound so bad.
Shikamaru shrugged slightly. "Yeah. Kinda."
"Here we go!" said the guide, turning around as they reached the doors. "Here is where we part company. When you enter, you'll be sorted into your various Houses. Each House is almost a clan unto itself. Each House has a noble history, standards, sports teams, banners, housing, and specific goals. Sorting is because you fit a particular House's motto a bit better than the others. Welcome to Konoha Academy."
Houses are:
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(Posted Thu, 12 Feb 2015 17:05)
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