AC_D1: The Red Flame (Part 3)

It's that time of the year- the time to revive my blog with posts. Also time for Advent- but, how is it already December? 

I haven't taken any prompts for this year's advent because that's probably way too ambitious for this revival. Mostly, there's going to be chapters from some of my fav AUs and hopefully some newer ideas. Not sure how many posts I'll manage, so let's see what happens. 

In case you haven't read this Uchiha-centric time-travel AU, here's the previous parts:

Part 1

Part 2

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 

Konoha in the past was a mix of tents in between a few wooden structures and numerous towering trees. Realizing that he was probably gawking like a tourist, Harry paused and chanced a glance at Madara.

Madara didn't bother hiding that he was watching Harry and even raised a questioning brow at him. 

"There's a lot of big trees," Harry said. “They make it hard to know I am and where I need to go.”

Madara snorted. "Blame Hashirama for that."

"But the mountain makes it easier to find my way," Harry said, eyeing the bare mountain which would become the Hokage mountain. "Though, it's strange seeing it so… empty."

Madara frowned. "Empty?"

"It's," Harry hesitated, searching for the right word to describe the Hokage mountain with it's elaborately carved faces, "more decorated in the future."

Madara glanced at the mountain with a suspicion and distaste. "Why?"

Harry remembered his first glimpse of the mountain. "Because it makes an impression on the visitors."

Madara scoffed. "Who cares about making an impression?"

"You need to make a good impression on people," Harry said. "They'll be more likely help you later."

Madara waved his hand, dismissing the words. "That won't work here. No one has made a good first impression on anyone else in this village."

Harry frowned. "Why not?"

Madara stared at him, like he couldn't believe that Harry had asked that out loud. When Harry didn't show any signs of understanding Madara's disbelief, the Uchiha said, "Our first impressions of each other were made on the battlefield."

Harry blinked and grimaced. "Oh. Yeah, I can see how you wouldn't have made a good first impression on anyone."

"Not just me," Madara bit out.

Harry turned to the older man and decided to push his luck. If he was going to depend on Madara, then he needed to know just how much of Harry he could tolerate. Steadying himself with a deep breath, Harry said, "I think it was mostly you who didn't make a good first impression with anyone."

Madara frowned, the lines on his forehead deep as he stared at Harry. "Is that the how you usually talk to your elders?"

Harry shrugged, his shoulders relaxing a little. "I haven't been poisoned by any of them just yet."

"Yet," Madara repeated with a pointed look at Harry. "Why has no one corrected your manners?"

"There's more important things to do," Harry said as he glanced at the mountain again and adjusted his course towards where the Nara property would be in the future.

"How often do you go here?" Madara asked in a low voice.

"Pretty often," Harry said as he walked past some woodcutters hard at work. "It's easy to drop by when you live close."

"Close?" Madara murmured, his tired eyes looking around.

"This will be prime location for houses," Harry said in a low voice, acutely aware of the wary eyes that watched the two of them from a distance. "It'll be easy to get lost if you don't pay attention."

"Sounds too cluttered," Madara said. “Without enough space, annoying people will find you and give you headache.”

"Does being in the clan compound mean you have less headaches?" Harry asked in a cautious but curious tone.

"Everyone knows not to bother me when I am in the house," Madara said.

Harry chanced at glance at the older man, "Don't you need to work? How can you do anything if you're stuck inside the house all the time?"

"Is this really how you talk to everyone?"

"Yes," Harry said. "I ask people questions when I want to hear answers."

Madara sighed. "Who answers you with that attitude?"

"Most people do. People like to talk," Harry admitted as they finally stopped in front of their destination.

"Unbelievable," Madara muttered in a low voice even as he pushed his wild mane of hair away from his eyes.

Like the rest of the village, the Nara property was in the middle of construction. Instead of the high walls and gate that Harry had become so familiar with, banners stitched with the Nara crest hung down from the tall trees.

For the first time, Harry doubted the idea of going to the Nara for help. His friendly relationship with the Nara in the future, didn't mean anything here in the past.

"Why are you stopping with such a stupid look on your face?" Madara asked.

Harry twitched in annoyance, his doubts disappearing as he put together a biting retort.

But before he could answer, Madara asked, "Are you having doubts now that we're at their doorstep?"

"I'm allowed to have doubts," Harry grumbled at the older man at his shoulder. "I'm sure you have doubts too."

"I've had doubts the moment you first opened your mouth," Madara said. "But you're the one who insisted on coming here."

Harry tried not to show his growing annoyance at the man.

"You can't just come all the way to someone's front door, stand there and then leave," Madara said. “The guards are testy enough as it is.”

A quick cast of the Homenum Revelio spell revealed two guards hidden from sight in the tall trees. Seeing that Madara wasn't making any move to get entry into the Nara property, Harry glanced at one of the hidden guard's location and said, "We've come to visit Nara-san, if they're not too busy with work."

Madara sighed beside Harry, but he didn't add anything to Harry's words.

With the help of his spell, Harry saw a guard leave only to be replaced by another almost immediately.

Within moments the guard returned in front of Harry. Clad in a deerskin coat, his sharp eyes lined in black as shadows flickering at his feet, the guard said, "Uchiha-sama, may I ask what business you have with Nara-sama."

"My cousin," Madara said with a gruff tone as he glanced at Harry, "Wished to see the Nara. Apparently, he has heard tales of your clan."

That sounded ominous.

And who was Madara calling his cousin?

The Nara guard assessed Harry, his narrowed eyes lingering on Harry's face.

Harry had to turn the situation around. "Deer," Harry said. "I heard that the Nara keep deer. And I was wondering if I could see them."

"The deer do not show themselves to outsiders," the guard said in clipped tones.

"I'm okay with just talking about them," Harry replied.

The guard stared at Harry's eyes with a frown.

Madara shifted beside him, but Harry ignored him and searched for something that would pique the Nara's interest. Normal topics about the Nara deer would not be enough. Harry needed something mysterious. Something the Nara wouldn't really know about but still something that make them talk. With a sudden burst of inspiration, Harry said, “I'd like to ask the Nara about a silver stag that saved my life.”

Whatever the guard had been expecting, it clearly hadn't been that. The guard tilted his head and regarded Harry with narrowed eyes that were more curious than before.

Madara stared at Harry as one of the guards disappeared from Harry's spell range once again.

Harry waited with bated breath until the the guard finally said, “Shikano-sama will see you now.”

Harry, very pointedly, did not look at Madara as the two of them were taken into the Nara property.

Unlike the future where houses were spaced out on an area of the property that was free of trees, the current Nara property was a mess of tall trees that cast long shadowns, dark leather tents and an air of watchfulness that made Harry's skin prickle with unease.

Harry's doubt about coming to the Nara grew with each step into their forested land as he failed to find any familiarity on the Nara property. The guard led them to a table where a single grey-haired Nara sat waiting for them.

The Nara shared Shikaku's sharp eyes and hairstyle, but there was a wildness in him that left Harry wary.

“Uchiha-sama,” the Nara, who Harry assumed was Shikano, stood and greeted with a bow.

“Nara,” Madara replied with a curt nod.

Harry glanced at Madara. For someone who had been quick to question Harry's lack of manners earlier, Madara's greeting didn't seem right or proper.

“Your cousin wished to know about a certain stag?” Shikano said, apparently not bothered by Madara's greeting.

Madara nodded and turned to Harry, motioning for him to talk.

“The silver stag that saved my life about two years back,” Harry said, thankful that he wasn't lying completely. The only real lie was that it wasn't a real stag. “I... it's not something a wild stag would do. Saving a person, I mean.”

“No,” the Nara clan head agreed, eyes still fixed on Harry. “Where did you see this stag?”

“It was so deep in the forest and I wasn't exactly,” Harry hesitated. He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't exactly tell the truth of the situation. “It was a life and death situation. Without the stag, I wouldn't have survived that night.”

“No wonder it left a lasting impression on you,” Shikano said, “But I'm sorry to disappoint you. The Nara do not and have not had any silver stags amongst our herds.”

“Oh,” Harry said, unsure of what to say. He wasn't actually searching for the stag, especially since it was his patronus. Given how serious and even apologetic Shikano sounded, Harry felt bad about his deception. But now he had no idea how to move the conversation forward.

Madara took over. “This silver stag could still be out there somewhere.”

“Some of our herd deer have been known to live for eighteen years,” Shikano said with a wry tone.

“And wild stags?” Madara asked.

Shikano stared at the Uchiha for a long moment. “The lifespan of every creature outside of a clan protection was precarious until recently.”

Harry couldn't think of anything to say to cut through the sudden tension in the air.

“What are the chances that this silver stag belongs to someone?” Madara asked. “Someone who isn't a Nara.”

Shikano shrugged. “We have no knowledge of anyone outside of the Nara who have tamed deer. But it's not entirely impossible.”

“The Nara can't be the only ones who have tamed deer,” Madara said.

“We have years of experience with them. Others who try to tame a deer blindly without proper knowledge would just end up with an antler through the gut.”

Forget the deer, Harry wanted to say. He didn't come here to talk about deer. Why wasn't Madara changing the topic into something less antagonistic?

“If this silver stag doesn't belong to anyone and was brought to Konoha,” Madara said, showing no reaction to Shikano's words.

“You can't just bring in a stag,” Harry protested at Madara, not even waiting for the Uchiha to finish whatever he was going to say. When both clan heads turned to him, Harry said, “He's probably got family out there. You can't just take him away from that.”

“Some species are like that. If he is already part of a herd,” the Nara clan head nodded and said, “taking him away could be detrimental to him and his herd. He would never get used to living alone in a new space.”

“What if he was introduced to a new herd here in Konoha?” Madara asked.

Shikano blinked and turned his complete attention to Madara. “You'd want to introduce a deer you tamed to one of our herds?”

“Would it work?” Madara said without hesitation.

Shikano sighed and looked away for a long moment before he replied, “I do not know. It's not something I can agree to, just like that.”

Madara clucked his tongue and stood, “Then there's no need for us to waste any more time here.”

Before Harry could make any sense of the situation they were out of the Nara property.

“What was that?” Harry rounded on the Uchiha clan head, once they were far enough from the Nara property. “Were you even making an effort to be nice?”

“No one, especially if they're as smart as you seem to believe, would take me being nice as genuine,” Madara pointed out as he led them through the quiet trees without pause. “Bitter, cranky and selfish is who I am known to be. If I don't act like that, then I'm obviously hiding something.”

There was a touch of self-loathing in the old man's voice that paused Harry's irritation. But he didn't think the older man would appreciate any positive or consoling sentiment from him, so Harry said, “You forgot annoying.”

Madara narrowed his eyes at Harry. “Are all children in your time this mouthy?”

“Some people say I'm too nice actually,” Harry said. Naruto and his clones counted as some people, Harry reassured himself. “You weren't actually trying to tell the Nara that you were bringing in the silver stag?”

“Considering it saved you, I imagine I wouldn't even be able to find it anywhere now,” Madara said with a pointed tone.

“So you were just,” Harry didn't know how to continue his question. “What were you trying to do with all that talk?”

“Trying to find out if the Nara would be willing to work with the Uchiha,” Madara said. “And you heard him. It's not something he can agree to just like that.”

Harry blinked in realization. “So that's what all that introducing it to the herd talk was all about. It wasn't a literal thing you wanted.”

“It was both,” Madara stated.

“What?” Harry exclaimed in surprise.

 “If the Nara can take care of deer, I don't see why we Uchiha can't. Especially the smart ones that are willing to protect people.”

Harry gaped at Madara's words. “The stag that saved me wasn't a ninja animal.”

“It would need training before it reached that level,” Madara nodded.

“That's not,” Harry paused and sighed. Again the conversation was going on about stags when it should have been about the time-travel. “Forget about the stag. That's not what you need to be thinking about.”

“With their reluctance to even talk about deer, do you think you could have talked to them about anything else?” Madara asked.

“No,” Harry admitted with an unhappy sigh. “It's just...”

Madara glanced at him.

“It was strange being there. It was so different.”

Madara was silent for a long moment. “It takes time to build connections. And considering no one died, today's visit was a success. Maybe today's meeting will create a connection that will deepen enough to talk about... things.”

“So you're saying it could take years before they'll ever want to talk about anything useful,” Harry groused at the older man.

“You should have realized that before,” Madara said.

“Then what was the point of letting me go there if you knew that we wouldn't get anything,” Harry said."I'm still stuck here."

“You might not have gotten anything, but I did,” Madara said. “I saw that people would be willing to listen to the Uchiha without weapons.”

“You didn't know that before?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“We had no reason to talk to any of the others,” Madara replied as they stopped in front of the Uchiha property.

There was a strange buzz amongst the Uchiha. A buzz that they tried to hide as they greeted Madara.

“What's the matter?” Madara asked one of the older women, who stilled at his voice.

The woman lowered her gaze and said, “One of the boys fell from a tree and broke his arm, Madara-sama.”

“Kagami?” Harry asked in worry.

The woman glanced at Harry in surprise but nodded.

Harry turned to Madara. “I told you this would happen. Kids need to be supervised.”

Madara frowned at him but asked the woman, “Where is the boy?”

“In Takumi-sensei's tent,” the woman replied in a soft and cautious tone.

“Then everything is settled,” Madara said with careless shrug as he turned and walked away.

Harry gaped at the man. “Aren't you going to check on him?”

Madara paused and glanced at him with narrowed eyes.

“Injured children need visitors to show that people care about them,” Harry said with a stern voice, heedless of the stares from the other Uchiha. “Otherwise they don't heal.”

Madara stared at him, unamused and unblinking, for a long and intimidating moment.

Harry blinked, losing their impromptu staring competition, but Madara scoffed and changed directions, heading towards an area filled with tents. Harry jogged after Madara, trying to keep up with the man's longer strides.

Madara slapped aside a tent opening and entered it with all the menace of a rampaging hippogriff. Thankfully, Kagami was asleep.

“He's perfectly fine,” Madara pointed out to Harry, ignoring the man at the back of the tent who Harry assumed was the doctor. “There's no reason for either of us to be here.”

Before Madara could exit the tent, Harry said, “You can't just leave him here.”

“Why not?”

Harry ignored the man's prickly tone. “You have rooms in your house that are just collecting dust.”

Madara's eyes narrowed at the implication. “If he comes, you'll be in charge of him.”

Harry huffed. “Obviously. If it were up to you, he'll end up breaking all his bones.”

Madara glanced between the sleeping Kagami and an impatient Harry, and motioned to other Uchiha in the tent, “Move the boy's items to the main house.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 

The more I think of this AU, the more I'm convinced that I just wanted an excuse to write two fools [non-crazy Madara and Harry] interacting and giving each other different kinds of headaches. That's it. That's the whole AU. 

Polar