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edenfallingThis is part 12 of An Ounce of Prevention, a Naruto/Harry Potter crossover that I started as a giftfic for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
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 12: Even a Stopped Clock
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Sakura stared blankly at Kakashi. "You think Tomu wants to brainwash me into committing suicide by unsealing him?"
"I think it's a possibility," Kakashi said, tossing the diary back across the table. Sakura caught it reflexively, then dropped the book as if it had burned her fingers. "The imprint might also be an innocent victim caught in a particularly nasty trap. I've never talked to him -- I have no firsthand experience to point one way or another."
"You've watched us talk," Sakura said, turning to Anko. "What do you think?"
Anko twirled her kunai around her little finger and frowned. "Hard to say. He comes off shifty, but anyone would get paranoid after decades stuck in a book, and just being shifty doesn't make someone an enemy. He also comes off arrogant... but like I said, being a jerk isn't a crime. Yet." She jabbed the knife into the table. "It's a fucking pain trying to read this Tomu guy with no vocal inflections or body language to help out."
"But he does have inflections. Sometimes he smiles when---" Sakura said, and then stopped. "Wait. I dispelled that part of the genjutsu. Why do I still think I can see his expression when he writes?"
Kakashi and Anko exchanged a grimmer look.
"I think I'd better watch while you write in this book," Kakashi said, walking around the table to stand at Sakura's shoulder. "Anko, call Tsunade-sama. I'd like her to run a medical diagnostic while Sakura's using the diary; I'll check for genjutsu and ninjutsu at the same time." He pushed up his forehead protector, exposing the whirling black-and-red of his Sharingan.
Sakura's stomach sank. She'd thought she was doing a good job, considering her lack of experience, but if she hadn't noticed something as obvious as body language attached to a featureless book -- especially when she knew the 'be my friend' part of the genjutsu seemed to renew itself each time she used the diary -- maybe Kakashi had been right. Maybe she was in over her head. Maybe she should resign from the mission and turn it over to--
"Stop fidgeting," Kakashi said, slouching against the wall by her right shoulder. "You'll do fine. You've made it through two weeks; another few minutes won't break you."
Tsunade and Anko walked in before Sakura could frame any sort of response.
"Would you prefer a contact or distance scan?" Tsunade asked, striding around the table to Sakura's other side. Anko busied herself plastering seals to the door and window.
"Contact. It restricts the wave resonance," Kakashi said. "Ready?"
Tsunade laid a cool hand on the back of Sakura's neck, and a low thrumming tingle spread phantom fingers through her body. After a few seconds, it faded from her immediate awareness. "Yes. Sakura?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes." Sakura opened the diary and inked her brush; one drop fell onto the open pages, spread in a ragged circle, and was swallowed by white. "Hello, Tomu. I'm sorry I'm late -- Kakashi-sensei, one of my old teachers, came to sit in on my morning lesson, but he's never on time, so we ran past noon."
It was petty, but she couldn't resist the dig.
--I don't mind, Hana; I'm glad for any time you can spare me. Did Kakashi-san have anything interesting to add to your lesson, to make up for inconveniencing you?-- Tomu's answer welled up like blood, glistened briefly, and subsided.
"I'm not sure. He talks in circles, so it'll take me a while to figure out what he meant," Sakura fudged. "He claims it's good training in creative problem-solving, but I think he just enjoys irritating people."
--I had a teacher like that, back home,-- Tomu said. --Danburudoa-sensei taught transfiguration, which is the art of changing one object into another, and I think it made him incapable of taking anything at face value. He loved secrets. I wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't always smiled like he was secretly laughing at me.-- A sense of frustration rose briefly from the pages, and was smothered in careful neutrality. --On the other hand, it was very satisfying whenever I figured out one of his more obscure remarks.--
Sakura smiled despite herself. "I'm glad your teacher and mine won't ever meet. They'd probably become best friends and drive everyone in both worlds completely crazy." Even if this Danburudoa wasn't a pervert, he obviously had Kakashi's streak of cheerful sadism, and one enigmatic jerk was more than enough for any town. Sakura re-inked her brush and tried a tangent. "It was good to see him, even though he's a jerk. I know my other teammates are learning a lot from their new teachers, but I miss them, and Kakashi reminds me of them."
--They were your friends, not just teammates?-- Tomu asked.
"More or less. We argued---" Sakura started.
Tsunade drew a sharp breath; her fingers flexed against Sakura's skin. "Break off. Now."
"---a lot, but we worked well together. Tomu, my mother just knocked on my door. I have to go."
--Until later, Hana.--
Tomu's words faded into the diary. Sakura closed the book, set her brush down on the ink dish, and looked up at Tsunade, frowning. "That's the first time he's mentioned any person by name. It might have been a sign of trust. Why did you stop me?"
Tsunade shook her fingers out as if they were numb. "Because the book is killing you."
---------------------------------------------
End of Chapter
Back to Never Put Off for Tomorrow
Continue to Don't Judge a Book
Read the final version on ff.net
---------------------------------------------
I am not always a good guesser on the phonetic rendition of English names and words into Japanese. If you know what the standard rendition of 'Dumbledore' is, please tell me! (On a related note, do the official translations of the series translate or transliterate the names? It's a tricky issue, since a lot of Rowling's names either mean something, or are deliberately very close to words with actual meaning.)
...
Back in real life, the presidential primaries continue to be fascinating! I refer you to this article from the Ithaca Journal for Tompkins County results.
I voted for Obama.
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*)
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 12: Even a Stopped Clock
---------------------------------------------
Sakura stared blankly at Kakashi. "You think Tomu wants to brainwash me into committing suicide by unsealing him?"
"I think it's a possibility," Kakashi said, tossing the diary back across the table. Sakura caught it reflexively, then dropped the book as if it had burned her fingers. "The imprint might also be an innocent victim caught in a particularly nasty trap. I've never talked to him -- I have no firsthand experience to point one way or another."
"You've watched us talk," Sakura said, turning to Anko. "What do you think?"
Anko twirled her kunai around her little finger and frowned. "Hard to say. He comes off shifty, but anyone would get paranoid after decades stuck in a book, and just being shifty doesn't make someone an enemy. He also comes off arrogant... but like I said, being a jerk isn't a crime. Yet." She jabbed the knife into the table. "It's a fucking pain trying to read this Tomu guy with no vocal inflections or body language to help out."
"But he does have inflections. Sometimes he smiles when---" Sakura said, and then stopped. "Wait. I dispelled that part of the genjutsu. Why do I still think I can see his expression when he writes?"
Kakashi and Anko exchanged a grimmer look.
"I think I'd better watch while you write in this book," Kakashi said, walking around the table to stand at Sakura's shoulder. "Anko, call Tsunade-sama. I'd like her to run a medical diagnostic while Sakura's using the diary; I'll check for genjutsu and ninjutsu at the same time." He pushed up his forehead protector, exposing the whirling black-and-red of his Sharingan.
Sakura's stomach sank. She'd thought she was doing a good job, considering her lack of experience, but if she hadn't noticed something as obvious as body language attached to a featureless book -- especially when she knew the 'be my friend' part of the genjutsu seemed to renew itself each time she used the diary -- maybe Kakashi had been right. Maybe she was in over her head. Maybe she should resign from the mission and turn it over to--
"Stop fidgeting," Kakashi said, slouching against the wall by her right shoulder. "You'll do fine. You've made it through two weeks; another few minutes won't break you."
Tsunade and Anko walked in before Sakura could frame any sort of response.
"Would you prefer a contact or distance scan?" Tsunade asked, striding around the table to Sakura's other side. Anko busied herself plastering seals to the door and window.
"Contact. It restricts the wave resonance," Kakashi said. "Ready?"
Tsunade laid a cool hand on the back of Sakura's neck, and a low thrumming tingle spread phantom fingers through her body. After a few seconds, it faded from her immediate awareness. "Yes. Sakura?" Tsunade asked.
"Yes." Sakura opened the diary and inked her brush; one drop fell onto the open pages, spread in a ragged circle, and was swallowed by white. "Hello, Tomu. I'm sorry I'm late -- Kakashi-sensei, one of my old teachers, came to sit in on my morning lesson, but he's never on time, so we ran past noon."
It was petty, but she couldn't resist the dig.
--I don't mind, Hana; I'm glad for any time you can spare me. Did Kakashi-san have anything interesting to add to your lesson, to make up for inconveniencing you?-- Tomu's answer welled up like blood, glistened briefly, and subsided.
"I'm not sure. He talks in circles, so it'll take me a while to figure out what he meant," Sakura fudged. "He claims it's good training in creative problem-solving, but I think he just enjoys irritating people."
--I had a teacher like that, back home,-- Tomu said. --Danburudoa-sensei taught transfiguration, which is the art of changing one object into another, and I think it made him incapable of taking anything at face value. He loved secrets. I wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't always smiled like he was secretly laughing at me.-- A sense of frustration rose briefly from the pages, and was smothered in careful neutrality. --On the other hand, it was very satisfying whenever I figured out one of his more obscure remarks.--
Sakura smiled despite herself. "I'm glad your teacher and mine won't ever meet. They'd probably become best friends and drive everyone in both worlds completely crazy." Even if this Danburudoa wasn't a pervert, he obviously had Kakashi's streak of cheerful sadism, and one enigmatic jerk was more than enough for any town. Sakura re-inked her brush and tried a tangent. "It was good to see him, even though he's a jerk. I know my other teammates are learning a lot from their new teachers, but I miss them, and Kakashi reminds me of them."
--They were your friends, not just teammates?-- Tomu asked.
"More or less. We argued---" Sakura started.
Tsunade drew a sharp breath; her fingers flexed against Sakura's skin. "Break off. Now."
"---a lot, but we worked well together. Tomu, my mother just knocked on my door. I have to go."
--Until later, Hana.--
Tomu's words faded into the diary. Sakura closed the book, set her brush down on the ink dish, and looked up at Tsunade, frowning. "That's the first time he's mentioned any person by name. It might have been a sign of trust. Why did you stop me?"
Tsunade shook her fingers out as if they were numb. "Because the book is killing you."
---------------------------------------------
End of Chapter
Back to Never Put Off for Tomorrow
Continue to Don't Judge a Book
Read the final version on ff.net
---------------------------------------------
I am not always a good guesser on the phonetic rendition of English names and words into Japanese. If you know what the standard rendition of 'Dumbledore' is, please tell me! (On a related note, do the official translations of the series translate or transliterate the names? It's a tricky issue, since a lot of Rowling's names either mean something, or are deliberately very close to words with actual meaning.)
...
Back in real life, the presidential primaries continue to be fascinating! I refer you to this article from the Ithaca Journal for Tompkins County results.
I voted for Obama.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-06 05:36 pm (UTC)I know for some of the translations transliterate the names (like I read somewhere how the French version changed Tom Riddle's name around to keep the meaning and the anagram), but I don't what the Japanese versions are.
And I think the rendition of Dumbledore is okay, but my spelling is horrible in all languages...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 03:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-06 05:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 03:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-06 05:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-02-07 05:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 08:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 08:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-06 06:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 03:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-06 08:35 pm (UTC)I do like this story. It's very different from the classic crossover, and it combines the elements in a believable way. Well, except for 'how the heck did the diary get way the heck out here?' part, but you have to do something to get the crossover to happen in the first place...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 03:23 am (UTC)I admit my rationale -- non-space between dimensions, and the possibility of trying to make the diary indestructible by using an open-ended banishment spell of some sort -- is a bit far-fetched, but it's as close to plausibility as I could make it. And I do like taking crazy starting ideas and trying to execute them logically. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 09:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 02:59 pm (UTC)I really liked this chapter and Tsunade was awesome - as always. :)
I absolutely can't wait to see what happens next! So a cliff hanger!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-07 07:51 pm (UTC)The rough equation looks like this:
Awesome + Tsunade = 2(Awesome + 1)
...
I am such a dork.