[Fic] "An Ounce of Prevention" chapter 21 -- Naruto/Harry Potter
This is part 21 of An Ounce of Prevention, a Naruto/Harry Potter crossover that I started as a giftfic for askerian.
Technically, it's an insertion of one HP character/plot device into the Naruto world, but that does count as a crossover of sorts. "An Ounce of Prevention" will not affect canon in either series; that is, it takes place during the Naruto timeskip, and significantly before CoS in HP. (Which gives away at least part of the ending, but whatever. *grin*)
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Chapter 21: If Wishes Were Horses
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Odorless smoke roiled over Tsunade's hands, lapping against the table legs and the outer wall. After a moment, it thinned and pulled inward, revealing a fat, tan slug with electric blue and yellow stripes, roughly as long as Sakura was tall.
It twitched its eyestalks around the room, then bent one toward Tsunade. "I see no enemy, Tsunade-san," it said in a formal, melodious voice, impossible to class as male or female. Kikaikuji evidently didn't humor summoners by pretending to have a gender.
"I called you to talk, not fight," Tsunade said. "Thanks for coming, Kikaikuji. Do you remember this book?" She held the diary forward, letting the slug brush the cover with its feelers. "It fell into our world in your wake several years ago, and we'd like you to take it away again."
Kikaikuji tapped the book with its feelers, humming softly. "Yes. This is familiar. I remember the resonance pattern, though the human scent on the pages is different."
"Resonance? Do you mean the seal on the book?" Tsunade sent a questioning look back toward the other humans. Kakashi and Anko shrugged; Sakura held up her hands in a defensive gesture and tried to express 'don't look at me, I only know what you've taught me' without actually speaking. She shuffled around the table, trying to get a closer look at the slug.
"Not chakra resonance," said Kikaikuji. "Reality resonance." The spotted fringe around its foot rippled in what might have been impatience.
Sakura blinked. "You mean you know where Tomu came from?"
"Hanjimono Tomu is a memory imprint contained in the book," Tsunade said as Kikaikuji swung an eyestalk toward Sakura. "Kikaikuji, that's my apprentice, Haruno Sakura. She may request a contract in a year or two." Sakura tried to look worthy as the slug examined her.
Kikaikuji's feelers twitched. "So she may. And yes, I know this book's world of origin."
Tsunade's face tightened. "Eight years ago," she said, her voice cold and precise, "you told me you had no idea where the book was from. Since when does our contract permit you to lie to me?"
Kikaikuji's feelers drew inward and its fringe rippled more violently. "Eight years ago, I told you that I could not tell you where the book originated. I spoke truly. Since then, I have traveled the void many times and felt new resonance patterns. One matches the traces on this book."
"I see. My apologies." Tsunade bent her head in a shallow bow. "Kikaikuji, is it possible to return this book to its world of origin? Failing that, would you be willing to take it home and guard it? It has no power unless someone opens it and writes to the imprint. Your people can't write."
Sakura held her breath. Across the table, Kakashi and Anko had gone equally tense and still.
Kikaikuji dipped its head, returning Tsunade's bow. "The people of that world make use of the void. I will attempt to link the book to one of their transports. Failing that, I am willing to guard the imprint, but only with Katsuyu-sama's knowledge and approval."
Tsunade waved the qualification away. "Right, of course. Thanks." She turned back to the other Leaf-nin. "Any objections to sending the diary away?"
Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and tipped his head sideways. "I bow to the wisdom of my Hokage."
Tsunade's smile thinned dangerously. "So noted. Anko?"
"That depends," Anko said, tapping her fingers against the hilt of a kunai. "Who else has a contract with the slugs? A safe-house is no good if the enemy knows where you hid the back door."
"Only Tsunade-san has an active contract with us," Kikaikuji said, bending its eyestalks toward Anko. "This could, of course, change at any moment. Nevertheless, if Katsuyu-sama agreed to conceal the book, we would only bring it to a new summoner at that person's specific request. Since we would have no reason to reveal the book's existence, such a request should never occur."
Anko crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. "Works for me. I vote yes."
Tsunade turned again, almost putting her back to the slug. "Sakura?"
Sakura bit her lip. "No. Yes. Um. I mean... he's from that world, so it's their problem, not ours, but..." She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to arrange her thoughts under the pressure of four interested stares. "If civilians had found the diary, they'd probably be dead by now. I think most people in Tomu's world are civilians, and even their guardians are, um... more lax than we are. If we send the diary back with no warning, we'd be killing them."
Tsunade tapped the diary against her palm, frowning thoughtfully at Sakura. "True. So?"
"So that's wrong," Sakura snapped.
"I repeat: so?"
Sakura stifled a scream of frustration. So two wrongs didn't make a right! So if they were that callous, what was the difference between her and Tomu! So they had to send a warning! So how could Tsunade justify---
Oh. Wait. Tsunade didn't restrict her teaching to scheduled lessons. Not, 'So why should I care?' but 'So how will you solve the problem?'
"So let me write a note," Sakura said, walking forward and holding her hand out for the diary. "Maybe Tomu's translation jutsu will work on my words as well as his. Even if it doesn't, at least we'll have tried."
Tsunade smiled. "Good."
Two minutes later, Sakura glued her warning to the front cover. She'd done her best to describe Tomu, the immortality jutsu, and the diary's draining effects, as well as offering her best wishes to anyone attempting to destroy the book.
Kikaikuji gripped the diary firmly in its mouth, dipped its head and vanished in another burst of odorless smoke.
Stepping back from the fading cloud, Sakura set her brush on the table.
She'd won.
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End of Chapter
Back to Three Can Keep a Secret
Continue to What Doesn't Kill You
Read the final version on ff.net
---------------------------------------------
I thought this would take longer to write, but the last three paragraphs* came to me in a flash at work, along with the opening of chapter 22, so I filled in the transitional bits as fast as I could. And now here I am with probably the fastest update of my life. :-)
One chapter plus an epilogue left to go!
*Okay, so I revised the blocking details a bit. The flow and intention remain the same.
Technically, it's an insertion of one HP character/plot device into the Naruto world, but that does count as a crossover of sorts. "An Ounce of Prevention" will not affect canon in either series; that is, it takes place during the Naruto timeskip, and significantly before CoS in HP. (Which gives away at least part of the ending, but whatever. *grin*)
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 21: If Wishes Were Horses
---------------------------------------------
Odorless smoke roiled over Tsunade's hands, lapping against the table legs and the outer wall. After a moment, it thinned and pulled inward, revealing a fat, tan slug with electric blue and yellow stripes, roughly as long as Sakura was tall.
It twitched its eyestalks around the room, then bent one toward Tsunade. "I see no enemy, Tsunade-san," it said in a formal, melodious voice, impossible to class as male or female. Kikaikuji evidently didn't humor summoners by pretending to have a gender.
"I called you to talk, not fight," Tsunade said. "Thanks for coming, Kikaikuji. Do you remember this book?" She held the diary forward, letting the slug brush the cover with its feelers. "It fell into our world in your wake several years ago, and we'd like you to take it away again."
Kikaikuji tapped the book with its feelers, humming softly. "Yes. This is familiar. I remember the resonance pattern, though the human scent on the pages is different."
"Resonance? Do you mean the seal on the book?" Tsunade sent a questioning look back toward the other humans. Kakashi and Anko shrugged; Sakura held up her hands in a defensive gesture and tried to express 'don't look at me, I only know what you've taught me' without actually speaking. She shuffled around the table, trying to get a closer look at the slug.
"Not chakra resonance," said Kikaikuji. "Reality resonance." The spotted fringe around its foot rippled in what might have been impatience.
Sakura blinked. "You mean you know where Tomu came from?"
"Hanjimono Tomu is a memory imprint contained in the book," Tsunade said as Kikaikuji swung an eyestalk toward Sakura. "Kikaikuji, that's my apprentice, Haruno Sakura. She may request a contract in a year or two." Sakura tried to look worthy as the slug examined her.
Kikaikuji's feelers twitched. "So she may. And yes, I know this book's world of origin."
Tsunade's face tightened. "Eight years ago," she said, her voice cold and precise, "you told me you had no idea where the book was from. Since when does our contract permit you to lie to me?"
Kikaikuji's feelers drew inward and its fringe rippled more violently. "Eight years ago, I told you that I could not tell you where the book originated. I spoke truly. Since then, I have traveled the void many times and felt new resonance patterns. One matches the traces on this book."
"I see. My apologies." Tsunade bent her head in a shallow bow. "Kikaikuji, is it possible to return this book to its world of origin? Failing that, would you be willing to take it home and guard it? It has no power unless someone opens it and writes to the imprint. Your people can't write."
Sakura held her breath. Across the table, Kakashi and Anko had gone equally tense and still.
Kikaikuji dipped its head, returning Tsunade's bow. "The people of that world make use of the void. I will attempt to link the book to one of their transports. Failing that, I am willing to guard the imprint, but only with Katsuyu-sama's knowledge and approval."
Tsunade waved the qualification away. "Right, of course. Thanks." She turned back to the other Leaf-nin. "Any objections to sending the diary away?"
Kakashi shoved his hands into his pockets and tipped his head sideways. "I bow to the wisdom of my Hokage."
Tsunade's smile thinned dangerously. "So noted. Anko?"
"That depends," Anko said, tapping her fingers against the hilt of a kunai. "Who else has a contract with the slugs? A safe-house is no good if the enemy knows where you hid the back door."
"Only Tsunade-san has an active contract with us," Kikaikuji said, bending its eyestalks toward Anko. "This could, of course, change at any moment. Nevertheless, if Katsuyu-sama agreed to conceal the book, we would only bring it to a new summoner at that person's specific request. Since we would have no reason to reveal the book's existence, such a request should never occur."
Anko crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. "Works for me. I vote yes."
Tsunade turned again, almost putting her back to the slug. "Sakura?"
Sakura bit her lip. "No. Yes. Um. I mean... he's from that world, so it's their problem, not ours, but..." She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to arrange her thoughts under the pressure of four interested stares. "If civilians had found the diary, they'd probably be dead by now. I think most people in Tomu's world are civilians, and even their guardians are, um... more lax than we are. If we send the diary back with no warning, we'd be killing them."
Tsunade tapped the diary against her palm, frowning thoughtfully at Sakura. "True. So?"
"So that's wrong," Sakura snapped.
"I repeat: so?"
Sakura stifled a scream of frustration. So two wrongs didn't make a right! So if they were that callous, what was the difference between her and Tomu! So they had to send a warning! So how could Tsunade justify---
Oh. Wait. Tsunade didn't restrict her teaching to scheduled lessons. Not, 'So why should I care?' but 'So how will you solve the problem?'
"So let me write a note," Sakura said, walking forward and holding her hand out for the diary. "Maybe Tomu's translation jutsu will work on my words as well as his. Even if it doesn't, at least we'll have tried."
Tsunade smiled. "Good."
Two minutes later, Sakura glued her warning to the front cover. She'd done her best to describe Tomu, the immortality jutsu, and the diary's draining effects, as well as offering her best wishes to anyone attempting to destroy the book.
Kikaikuji gripped the diary firmly in its mouth, dipped its head and vanished in another burst of odorless smoke.
Stepping back from the fading cloud, Sakura set her brush on the table.
She'd won.
---------------------------------------------
End of Chapter
Back to Three Can Keep a Secret
Continue to What Doesn't Kill You
Read the final version on ff.net
---------------------------------------------
I thought this would take longer to write, but the last three paragraphs* came to me in a flash at work, along with the opening of chapter 22, so I filled in the transitional bits as fast as I could. And now here I am with probably the fastest update of my life. :-)
One chapter plus an epilogue left to go!
*Okay, so I revised the blocking details a bit. The flow and intention remain the same.