Chapter 9: 0-9: Learning
Disclaimer: Being neither British nor Japanese, it should therefore come as no surprise that I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto, nor anything from their respective franchises.
The next day, all four current residents of the Rook made their way out to the glen that had become Iruka's ersatz training ground. "I thought I'd start the demonstration by showing you what caught Luna's interest," Iruka stated, before calmly striding out onto the center of the small pool. Turning back to his hosts, he saw Luna continuing to radiate eagerness, as her parents gazed in wide-eyed surprise at the common shinobi skill. "This is an intermediate-level application of chakra, allowing me to walk on a surface that should be unable to support my weight." Jogging over to the trees, he stood at the base of the largest among them. It was still less than twenty meters tall and only slightly thicker than his thigh, but it would suffice for this demonstration. He stated, "A more basic version looks like this," and stepped onto the tree's trunk.
If the adult Lovegoods had been surprised by water-walking, tree-walking left them outright shocked. Both gaped openly, unable to respond, as Iruka stood calmly while protruding parallel to the ground. Having demonstrated, he stepped smoothly back to the ground. "Both of these techniques are used as training methods for refining a person's control over their chakra. Walking on a vertical surface requires that the correct amount of chakra be gathered in the soles of the feet and maintained at a steady level; too little and you lose your adhesion, too much and the surface suffers damage and your footing is destroyed. Water-walking requires even greater control, constantly adjusting for the fluid ever-changing nature of the water." He stepped back onto the pool. "Here is an actual jutsu, albeit one more advanced than Luna would be likely to learn any time soon." Forming a tiger seal, Iruka pushed out and shaped his chakra, causing a mass of water to rise up into a perfect likeness of himself. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu, the water clone - it's got its limits, and it's not as flashy as some other ninjutsu, but it's saved my life on a few occasions." He cut the flow of chakra to the clone, causing it to collapse back into the water from whence it came.
Stepping back onto dry land, he addressed them again. "Chakra can also be used to reinforce one's body. When combined with physical conditioning, this can produce feats that would be otherwise impossible." To demonstrate, he leapt back, spinning while turning upside down and returning to land on his feet, on the far side of the pool. From his standing start, he had covered over five meters of horizontal distance and cleared at least three at the peak of his arc. "As far as the self-defense, I'll demonstrate as best I can. Most of the training, especially initially, would be practicing the forms to learn the basic movements before attempting to actually learn techniques and applications." He then ran through the first kata of the standard Academy taijutsu style, the movements flowing with trivial ease after over thirty years of practice. Next, he moved back to the pool and called up another water clone, with which he proceeded to spar lightly, holding back to account for the clone's relative weakness and fragility. Still, he made sure to demonstrate several techniques that he knew would be of interest to his audience, such as breaking and counterattacking from several grabs, and having his clone pull its wand only for him to close distance and disarm it.
Dispelling the clone by forcefully countering one last grapple, he returned to shore somewhat damp and spoke to the Lovegoods. "I should mention that, even if Luna were to begin training today, and spend at least as much time training as I do, it is unlikely that she would achieve more than the most basic of these techniques before the end of this year. Further, shinobi begin their training from a very young age, in order to better develop their bodies and their chakra. Luna's later start would likely mean that she would never be able to reach the level of an elite shinobi. I myself would be considered low- to mid-level in my capabilities, and starting late would likely mean that she would need to have far greater talent and potential than I did to ever be able to significantly surpass what I can do. That said, unless she intends to work as an Auror or Hit Wizard, she will hopefully never need to be a powerful fighter, and can instead simply enjoy the benefits of being uncommonly fit and mobile."
Xeno and Pandora looked at each other, communicating without words for several seconds, before turning to their daughter who was looking up at them with nervous enthusiasm. "You have our permission," Xeno stated as he and his wife were engulfed in a hug, "and we will all keep your abilities confidential. Anything that can give our daughter an additional advantage in the world is something we support. We only ask that you consider Luna's health and safety to be the top priority during your training."
Iruka bowed formally to the couple. "Of course, Xeno-san, Pandora-san. The wellbeing of my students is and always has been my highest priority." Detatching their daughter, Xeno and Pandora returned the bow, their daughter imitating them moments later. "So, Luna, your training begins tomorrow. Make sure that you wear clothing you can move freely in while remaining comfortable and decent and that you don't mind getting worn and dirty."
"Hai, Iruka-sensei!"
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Once Iruka had gained a sufficient understanding of magical theory, Pandora began explaining her recent research to him. While this still often required him to stop her in order to pursue more in-depth information on topics being discussed, she confessed that their talks had actually advanced her work somewhat: Having to put her ideas into words and explain them to a relative layman brought new organization and insights, and Iruka's very different perspective showed her several mistakes and oversights she had made. Sometimes he would ask a question for which she didn't know the answer, and the two would work together to figure it out, uncovering new information that she hadn't previously thought to be relevant. Conversely, Iruka began teaching Pandora some of the theory behind fuuinjutsu, comparing it to runic scripts and arithmantic diagrams used in warding and enchantments. His reason, other than wishing to reciprocate the education he was receiving, was the mark used as a destination point by the famous Hiraishin no Jutsu and the sealing arrays that spread in advance of a summoning jutsu: If seals interacted with space-time jutsu, then perhaps they could be useful in completing Pandora's work or even reversing whatever confluence of events had brought him here.
The research was, admittedly, tiring; while he knew ninja who spent their careers working in R&D, that work had never appealed to Iruka. Teaching had become his calling, even if he also spent a lot of time on administrative work, but if research was his best chance at returning home, that's what he would do.
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At the beginning of July, a note from Charlie Weasley had Iruka returning to the Burrow; it was time for him to learn how to fly.
The front door of the curious house was opened by Mrs. Weasley, whose expression was a combination of welcome and surprise. "Why, Mister Umino! Charlie said you'd be coming over, but I would've expected you to come by Floo..."
"I much prefer walking to Floo travel, at least when the distance is so short; doubly so in such nice weather. Besides, it's still so new to me, I tend to feel like I'm intruding to just pop up in someone's kitchen instead of knocking." Granted, back home, the knock might sometimes be on their window, but the principle was the same.
Judging by her warm smile, Mrs. Weasley approved of his courteous attitude. "Well, do come in and rest a moment while I get Charlie for you. I should probably warn you, Fred and George may want to come as well - they're hoping to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so tips from last year's captain might help their chances a bit." She moved towards a staircase, calling "Charlie! Mister Umino is here!" as Iruka stepped inside.
The interior of the Burrow was warm and inviting, albeit rather cluttered. Its furniture was a somewhat chaotic jumble of different styles, every piece worn and well-used, but also clearly well-made and well-cared for. An odd clock caught the chuunin's eye, showing not the time but the current location or status of each of the nine Weasleys, a fascinating piece that Iruka hoped he might learn how to reproduce, as it could be quite useful back home. The relative clean of the house contrasted with the clutter to suggest a near-constant battle (presumably by Mrs. Weasley) against the various messes made by the Weasley children.
As with the Rook, the inside of the Burrow gave an overwhelming sense of home, family, love, and life. Unlike the Lovegood home, which also felt calm and tranquil in spite of its colorful decorations, the Weasley house seemed steeped in energy and activity. Then again, Iruka supposed, a home that had held seven children at once in a relatively confined space would almost have to get a bit raucous. Iruka's consideration was interrupted when a thundering of footsteps heralded the arrival of Charlie and (as Mrs. Weasley had predicted) the twins.
All three boys had their family's characteristic flaming red hair and pale, freckled skin, and all had fairly robust builds. It struck Iruka that Charlie was likely much more quick and agile than his stocky build suggested, as he had learned that the Seeker position in Quidditch required both speed and maneuverability, though perhaps the young man's muscular build helped somehow in steering his broom. The twins were, as at the party, dressed identically to each other, and it would likely take him some time to learn to distinguish between the two. He also suspected that they would be actively trying to confuse the issue.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Umino," Charlie greeted him, extending his hand for a firm handshake, "why don't you come on out back and let's see if we can't get you in the air." The teen turned and headed for the back door and Iruka followed, bracketed by the twins.
"Ah, our dear friend," "Mister Umino," "welcome back" "to our humble abode." Only years of dealing with Naruto and his tendency to be everywhere at once kept Iruka steady as he dealt with the twins' back-and-forth style of speech. "We must say," "that your advice on your last visit" "has already proven invaluable" "in our efforts to bring laughter to others."
"You can take the teacher out of the school easily enough, but taking the school out of the teacher is a bit harder." Iruka smiled at the two while mentally offering his sympathies to their instructors.
Exiting the Burrow, Charlie made a beeline for the rear outbuilding, emerging moments later with a pair of broomsticks. Like everything else the Weasleys owned, they were clearly used and worn but well-maintained. "Cleansweep Fives," the teen said, "a bit obsolete and slow but they're steady and reliable. Good for learning, and should serve those two troublemakers" gesturing to Fred and George "well on the pitch next year. Anyway, here's what you need to do..."
Fifteen minutes later, Iruka was flying lazy patterns behind the Burrow, making sure to keep below the level of the trees to stay out of sight of the neighbors. Due to the constraints on his movement, he wasn't really moving any faster than he'd have been able to run, but there was a sense of unencumbered freedom to the act of flying that meant that given the opportunity he'd be going much higher and faster. Flying broomsticks were definitely something to try and bring back with him if he ever found a way home.
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One fairly mild day in early July, Iruka found himself strangely idle. Xeno was out doing research for his next edition, and the ladies were out on a shopping trip. With nobody to talk to, research with, learn from, or train, the chuunin concluded that today would be a good time to learn about the non-magical majority of this world that he had been largely ignoring, living mostly sequestered in the Rook outside of his regular trips to Gringotts to deliver seals and irregular errands for books and other supplies. Mind made up, he stepped into the Floo and spun off to the Leaky Cauldron.
Reading up on his new world had revealed that the pub which served as the primary gateway to Magical Britain's main commercial district was hidden by wards which made those without magic unable to take conscious notice of it. These wards even extended slightly outward from the front of the building, in order to make certain that the entrance and those passing through it were always fully concealed. It was these wards Iruka hoped to make use of in order to get an idea of how he would need to look and behave to remain relatively unobtrusive in mundane London. Once he could pass without drawing too much attention, he would be able to step out and actually research the technology, culture, and history of the wider world. Any knowledge that could help him get home, or that could be of use if he did manage to return, was worth tracking down.
So it was that Iruka found himself leaning against the outside wall of the Leaky Cauldron, out of the way of the door, simply observing the street outside and the teeming crowds that passed by.
His first shock had come upon opening the door: While he had wondered about the odd vehicle in Arthur Weasley's shed, the answer was startling as he witnessed scores of the machines rumbling and roaring along the street. Whatever they were, they had to be quite heavy, judging by the vibrations Iruka could feel through the soles of his feet as they passed. He could only assume that the noisy section in front of the passenger area contained a motor, though such motors were rarely used in the Elemental Nations as wind, animal power, and human effort tended to be cheaper and less problematic. Clearly the technology behind them had advanced further here.
The construction of the city had been the next big focus. Many of the nearby buildings were four to six stories tall, and of a fairly consistent, if unfamiliar, architectural style, though he could also see glimpses of taller buildings resembling some of Konoha's newer construction. The street itself was paved with a seamless grayish-black substance, bordered by concrete walkways to either side which quite sensibly kept pedestrians from mingling with the heavy, fast-moving vehicles. The walkways had small gaps in places, showing dirt in which small trees had been planted, providing at least a bit of green amongst the brick, stone, concrete, glass, and... whatever that paving material was.
Finally, after assessing his environment, the chuunin moved on to the pedestrians themselves. Their clothing was much closer in style to some of the garments worn in the Elemental Nations. No robes or cloaks were in evidence, and few sandals, but he did see plenty of suits, trousers, shorts, t-shirts, and dresses that wouldn't have looked out of place back home. No weapons of any kind were in evidence anywhere, even to eyes trained at spotting concealed blades. The people he watched largely moved with a single-minded focus, barely acknowledging those they passed. A bit of eavesdropping on the conversations of groups of locals, and he should have the information needed to venture out.
That confident thought was interrupted by a rumbling roar from overhead. Iruka's head snapped up to see a truly massive machine flying loudly overhead. He recognized the general shape as being like the distant flying silhouettes he saw on occasion in the skies over Ottery St. Catchpole and took for a species of local bird, but if those were of similar size to this thing, they had to have been flying much higher and faster than he'd previously thought. A quick glance around showed that few of the surrounding pedestrians even glanced at the airborne behemoth, suggesting that something utterly unseen in the Elemental Nations was here considered downright commonplace. Flying machines flew straight to the top of the chuunin's non-magical to-research list.
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Time passed in a blur of research, training, and learning. After obtaining a supply of "Pounds Sterling" and "Pence" at Gringotts and selecting what he hoped were suitably nondescript clothes, Iruka made his first ventures into London proper in mid-July. He did some more extensive people-watching, then went on a shopping trip, picking up some more suitable garments for these expeditions (and some good exercise clothes for both himself and Luna) as well as an extensive collection of books on history, science, and engineering. Many of the books he chose on his first couple of runs were aimed towards children, which he figured would allow him to start at the basics before moving on to more advanced topics. Of course these inevitably ended up shared with Luna and subsequently her parents, and all four of the Rook's residents marveled both at how inexpensive the books were for the quality of illustrations they contained and at the amazing feats accomplished without magic. The book on space travel completely blew all of their minds, though Iruka couldn't help but shudder at the idea of walking on the moon. He could only assume that this world's moon didn't contain the body of a civilization-smashing beast and couldn't be used to hypnotize the planet's population.
It was a history book, however, that truly frightened the chuunin. The scale of this world's wars was staggering, but somewhat unsurprising given its high population; some of the weapons used were profoundly disturbing: Supersonic projectiles that could kill from kilometers away, explosives hurled even greater distances to devastate large areas, weapons whose individual attacks were too fast-moving for even an elite shinobi to dodge and shot out by the score... these were all bad enough, but Iruka swore that he would never tell anyone of even the possibility of atomic weaponry unless it was to warn against its development. It was too close to the superweapon sought by Pein, and there would always be fools and madmen that would seek to use such a weapon if it was available. That this world had experienced plenty of wars since the advent of atomic weapons also proved that Pein's insane plan would never have worked.
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Luna persisted enthusiastically in her training, and managed to mold chakra for the first time in late November. It took several more weeks of hard work, but she eventually managed to channel a trickle of it to her fingertips. Her proud smile outshone the glowing light seal when she showed her progress to her parents that evening. Iruka felt some pride in her as well - many students took upwards of a year to reach this point, though they were significantly younger, and Luna was a very dedicated student.
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Even as well as he was getting to know the Lovegoods and their culture, he still required their help in selecting gifts for each of his hosts in the leadup to their winter solstice holiday. Apparently, despite not being adherents of the dominant religion practiced in Britain, the magicals of the country had somewhat adopted its holiday traditions, such as gift-giving, singing special songs, and bringing a cut-down evergreen tree indoors to decorate. Iruka felt distinctly awkward when he discovered that gathering with family was also a major part of this holiday's celebration, not wanting to intrude on the Lovegoods' time as a family, but when he offered to spend a few days at the Leaky Cauldron to give them time to spend together as just family both Xeno and Pandora immediately insisted that he stay and join them in their celebrations. It was with a warmed heart and suspiciously moist eyes that the orphaned bachelor found himself welcomed as a sort of unofficial cousin of the Lovegood family.
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It was with great relief that Iruka received his Apparation license in late January. The method of travel was, like other magical modes of transport, quite uncomfortable, but the mobility and freedom it offered was too valuable to pass up. His first few lessons from Xeno and Pandora had been unspectacular, with him staring vainly at his destination a few feet away; he had been assured that this was typical, and that they were in no way laughing at the expressions he made or his fruitless spins in place. Partial successes left him missing failure but marveling at the ability of magical healing to readily reattach severed body parts. After his first incident of splinching, he'd understood why Luna wasn't allowed to watch his lessons, and why a license was required.
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Luna's tenth birthday party was small in attendance but large in enthusiasm. The only attendees from outside the Rook had been Ginny Weasley and her father, and Iruka had used the opportunity to gift Arthur copies of several children's "How it Works" books as a slightly belated birthday present.
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Winter turned to spring, as it generally does, and things continued apace. It was in early June that Pandora and Iruka admitted something they had been trying to deny for several months: Their research had stalled. They had both reached the limits of their knowledge and the available resources. When discussing how they could possibly expand their search and progress further, Pandora informed him that there was really only one source in Britain of rare tomes and esoteric knowledge outside of the jealously-guarded private libraries of the pureblood aristocracy, and she wasn't comfortable leaving Luna home alone to go off researching. This left only one practical option, which defined their plan.
Umino Iruka was going to Hogwarts.
A/N: Dun-dun-dunnn! I'm certain you're utterly shocked by that last development, right? Yeah, didn't think so.
In case you're wondering why the boost to magical strength isn't mentioned when discussing the benefits of shinobi training, it's because none of them know that'll happen. That's not to say that nobody will ever notice that Iruka's students all tend to be well above-average in magical power, but that's years (in-story) down the road.
Lots of time-skips this chapter, since most of what was going on was research and domestic life, neither of which are particularly exciting. If somebody wants to write some fluffier scenes or omake of Iruka with the Weasleys and the Lovegoods, be my guest - I'd happily consult with you if desired, and assuming it all fits with how I'm intending to portray the events and characters, I'd point people to it in at least my A/N.
My intent is to, when I post this chapter, go back and tweak the chapter titles to reflect that this is all part of Book Zero (since it'll all be part of the same fic). Yell at me by PM if I forget, please.
Confession time: I've been in a bit of a writing slump this past month. Remember how I mentioned having to struggle more on the less 'landmark' scenes? Well, I'm currently in the middle of Book Two, and until I actually get to the Chamber incident I've got a lot of the 'stitching together' to do. Thankfully, my one-year buffer is still intact, and I am now somewhat vindicated in keeping a buffer.
Fic Recommendation: "The Lonely Devil" by Ezit Meti - a short Doctor Who story that does a truly brilliant job of making the reader feel sorry for the most unsympathetic of beings.
Posted on 13 August 2017