Chapter 58: 4-6: Message in a Bottle

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.

Given the excitement of the evening, the large amount of sweets many of the students had consumed, and the suddenness of the plume of smoke, it didn't really come as a surprise that the characteristic poof of a Summoning was quickly joined by shrieks and cries of fright and startlement, not all of them from the children. Several staff members had drawn their wands, uncertain of what to expect.

After a few tense seconds, the smoke cleared to reveal a Toad about twenty centimeters tall; its skin was a tortoiseshell pattern in green and purple, and it wore a pair of maroon cloth sashes in an "X" over its torso. Tucked under the point on the Toad's back where the two sashes crossed was a small scroll with orange trim. That color, combined with a Summon with only one known contractor, set Iruka's heart racing with hope.

«Yo!» the Toad yelled, straight at Iruka, «Gamato, the super-awesome courier Toad, reporting for duty! Are you Umino Iruka?»

«That's me,» the chuunin replied with a growing smile, «did Naruto send you?»

«Yep!» At Gamato's reply, Iruka heard a gasp from the Ravenclaw table, and glanced over to see Luna's face split by a joyous grin. «Got a message here for ya from the boss,» the Toad jerked a webbed thumb at the scroll on his back, «but the short version is I can stick around for about an hour, then I'm headed home, so anything you gimme I can pass to the boss for ya! It's gotta be kinda small, though, 'cause I ain't got enough chakra this trip to bring anything big back with me. A scroll or somethin' would be fine, though!» He pulled out the scroll and held it up for Iruka to take.

Meanwhile, the reactions around the room were... mixed. Some - such as Albus and Filius, Madame Maxime, and quite a few Ravenclaws - were looking on in curiosity and fascination. Others (Crouch, Snape, Karkaroff, much of Slytherin) glared at Gamato in disgust or hostility. Moody, Minerva, and a fair number of nearby Hufflepuffs wore looks of caution and suspicion, Moody's magical eye repeatedly looking between Iruka and the Toad. The most prevalent response, though, was one of confusion.

For his part, Iruka casually vaulted the staff table, crouching to retrieve the scroll while pulling another from his robes. «Here,» he said, «this is a log I've been keeping. Just let me read Naruto's message before you go back, in case he's asked for anything I haven't already included.» Gamato nodded, taking the proffered scroll, while Iruka stood and opened the Hokage's message. It was in code, of course, but one of the low-security ones that'd been in use for years and was mostly just used to thwart casual snooping, so to someone that'd spent decades working administrative tasks it wasn't really any harder to read than unencoded text:

Iruka-sensei,

If you're reading this, then we finally succeeded! Ever since you disappeared (and Boruto is really, REALLY sorry for that, by the way) I've had people trying to figure out what happened. The best theory they've got is that you got transported somewhere like a Summoning realm or something, so they came up with a way to send a Summon along the same path, more or less. Assuming everything worked like they expect it to, Gamato should have come out right near you, and he should be able to stick around for about an hour and bring back up to maybe a kilo of mass with him. Given the fact that this much took enough chakra to wipe ME out for a few days, you can understand why it's so limited - we didn't want to commit the resources to bring a person back until we were sure it would work, so this is more a test than anything else. Just don't ask me how it all worked; you know theory's never exactly been my strongest subject.

But yeah, I put Gai in charge of the team. I doubt he understands much more of what they're saying than I do (he just doesn't understand it LOUDER), but he's hard to beat in terms of motivating people, and he's kept any of the researchers from dominating things or letting their egos get out of hand (getting their ass kicked by a maimed retiree in a wheelchair keeps 'em pretty humble). Between you and me, it also gives Gai something more involved and productive to do than just occasionally advising taijutsu students, and he's really been relishing the challenge.

Anyway, send any reply you can back with Gamato, even if it's just a verbal message. Let us know where you are, how you're doing, what's been happening at your end, all that stuff. Also, tell me whether you want to come home ASAP or stay put for a while, so I know how much chakra to use next time. Right, next time - it'll take about a month to prep Gamato's next trip, two if he's bringing you back with him, so you'll know when to be ready.

We've included some storage seals full of every type of supplies we thought you might need, from rations and camping gear to weapons and trapping supplies to regular old writing materials (those are in the first seal, by the way, in case you need them to write a reply - Shikamaru's idea). If there's anything we missed or that you'd like more of than we sent, let us know in your message back. The second seal is some more messages from people, and some accounts of what's happened here since the incident at the Academy.

Take care of yourself, and remember we're all thinking of you!

-Uzumaki Naruto

Iruka blinked back tears at the message of support from his former student, before shaking himself and perusing the remainder of the scroll. As the letter indicated, it held a series of storage seals, each with a label beside it to indicate its contents. Given the fact that the label «Reading Material» was in the Sixth's handwriting, he figured he'd hold off opening that one unless he was feeling particularly desperate. Overall, it was indeed a very comprehensive set of supplies, even including some money in case wherever he was accepted ryo and he needed emergency funds.

Opening the first storage seal, he did indeed find a blank scroll with a brush and inkpot, along with a pad of notepaper with a pencil. Figuring that speed would be more useful than calligraphy, he re-sealed everything but the pad and pencil before turning to Gamato. «I'd like to write a note to go with my scroll, if that's not too much for you to take back.»

«Eh,» the Toad said dismissively,«a couple grams of paper ain't gonna be a problem. If you wanted to add a second scroll, that might be a bit much, but a note'll be fine.» He gave what was probably the first batrachian shrug most in the Great Hall had ever seen. Thinking of the hundreds of onlookers reminded Iruka that they were still in public and interrupting a fairly important ceremony. The three champions were probably getting sick of waiting...

"Sorry about that, everyone," Iruka sheepishly addressed the Hall, "it's just that this is the first I've heard from my home country since I came to Britain. We'll get out of your way and let you get back to celebrating." Outside of S.E.N., most of the students simply responded with blank stares and silence. Hermione and Neville just rolled their eyes, while Harry, Luna, and Ginny were trying to hide their snickering. He turned back to Gamato. «Could you please follow me? I'd like to take this to my office - we're sort of interrupting a ceremony here.»

«Lead the way,» came the cheerful response.

Iruka nodded and headed for the doors, Gamato hopping along behind him as every head (save theirs) in the Great Hall turned to track the strange giant (by their standards) talking toad.

«So where are we, anyway?» Gamato asked once they were out into the entrance hall, «I've never heard of a building like this, everybody's dressed in robes, and you were talking some strange language back there.»

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the chuunin replied, then gave a rough translation of the name, «in Scotland, on the island of Great Britain, part of the United Kingdom. The continent is called Europe, on the planet Earth which as far as I can tell is in some kind of alternate dimension.»

«Over my head, to be honest,» the Toad said, «but the whole 'other world' thing kinda makes sense with how weird the trip here felt.»

After a couple minutes worth of walking while explaining their surroundings, man and Toad were safely ensconced in the former's office. «Now,» Iruka said, «just let me write a note to go with that scroll...»

Hokage-sama:

I had almost given up hope of ever having contact with home again, so Gamato's arrival was a small miracle for me - not exactly new territory for you, I know. Speaking of typical Naruto, you happened to send him right at the end of a big ceremony at the school I'm teaching at, in front of all the staff and students plus some international guests. Since they'd never seen a Summoning before, or any ninjutsu for that matter (my report explains that bit, don't worry), bafflement and confusion were the general result. Like I said, typical Naruto.

The scroll I sent back with Gamato has an explanation of where I've ended up, plus a log of everything I've done and experienced. I also sealed in a bunch of books and items that might be of use, though a lot of the books are in a language nobody in Konoha speaks, so I've included books on the language as well. The short version is that I've ended up in a different world somehow, one that's very different from home, and as part of making a living while looking for a way back I've ended up teaching at a school for children who use real, honest magic. If you think that's strange, wait till you read the report...

As far as the supplies go, I'm pretty well stocked on most things, though having more shuriken and kunai than I was carrying at the Academy might come in handy - if I run into trouble again, I won't have to worry so much about husbanding my supply. Actually, since I've told a few people here about Konoha, could you send some photos of the village, the Hokage Monument, the Academy, Ichiraku's, and the like? Maybe throw in some photos of people while you're at it, so my students can put faces to the names they've heard stories about?

While I would absolutely love to see Konoha and everybody there again ASAP, I've made a commitment that if a way home became available, I would first teach through the end of the current school year if possible. That school year only started a couple months ago, so unless there's only some narrow window of opportunity or an urgent need for me to come back, I would prefer to follow through on my promise and not leave my students here hanging mid-term.

Speaking of students, I think you'd really like the small group I've been teaching about chakra and jutsu. One of them in particular, well, in terms of personality and personal history, he's almost like a cross between you and Sasuke. Fourteen years old and he's already saved my life twice despite being a civilian - you'll understand more when you read the report.

This world is strange and insane and wonderful and terrifying, and I hope that I'll be able to use what I've learned here to open a connection so that people back home can share it eventually.

Let me know in your next message if there's anything you want more information on or more samples of, and I'll see what I can do.

Umino Iruka

P.S. - Sorry for the formal opening, but I figured it was best to keep this at least slightly official.

Giving his missive a last once-over, Iruka nodded, before tearing the pages from the pad, folding them, and helping Gamato secure them in his harness with the scroll. "That should be it," he said, "give everyone back home my best for me?" Gamato nodded, have a cheeky salute, then disappeared in another puff of smoke.

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The next time Iruka was among the students was the following morning, and it didn't take a shinobi to notice the 'surreptitious' glances and 'subtle' whispering. The word "toad" featured prominently in the whispers.

As he took his accustomed seat at the staff table for breakfast, he was almost immediately accosted by an especially-inquisitive Bathsheda Babbling. "So what was with that gigantic talking toad last night?"

Iruka smiled, noticing that several of his fellow Professors and a lot of nearby students were unabashedly listening in. "His name was Gamato, apparently. One of my former students, now the leader of my home village, is able to summon Toads to assist him in various ways, and all of them are at least as smart as a human and able to speak like one. As to that one last night being gigantic," he chuckled, "he was actually pretty small. Some of the Toad summons are so big they wouldn't even fit in this Hall, and I'm not just talking about fitting through the doors. Anyway, somehow the folks back home figured out a way to send one of those Toad summons directly to me to act as a messenger."

"Ah!" her face brightened, "So that's what that scroll was? A letter from home?"

The chuunin nodded. "And some supplies in storage seals, in case I was living rough. The scroll I sent back was basically a journal of what I've experienced here, plus some books and the like to help them understand. I wish I could see their faces when they read about flying broomsticks!" That prompted a round of laughter among those listening.

Even if the quasi-eavesdropping Hufflepuffs passed along what they'd heard, Iruka knew he'd still be fielding questions at the next Sealing class or two. Unfortunately for any curious student, he'd already shared all he was really comfortable revealing on the subject.

After the meal, Albus pulled Iruka aside. "I take it that this resumption of contact means you will likely be leaving us at the end of this school year?"

"Most likely," Iruka confirmed, "and I'd probably be gone for some time. You recall how Pandora and I worked out an adaptation of her project that could connect our two countries?" He spoke obliquely, conscious of the fact that they weren't in a secure location. "I'd need to find somewhere to put the transport circle, then do all the seals, runes, and spells to create it, followed by charging it up. The first step would probably go pretty quickly - I'm sure our government would love to have access to the new knowledge and resources that trade with Britain could bring. Laying the circle in would take weeks or months, depending on how much tweaking and adjustment it ended up needing. Charging, well, I honestly don't know how long that would take - in a magic-rich location like Hogwarts, it would probably take seconds at most, but I suspect that Konoha might not have as strong a magical environment."

"Regardless," he continued, "I'd do my best to reestablish contact as soon as safely possible. Both our countries could benefit a lot from an exchange program, and more personally I've got people in both places who I care deeply about."

Albus smiled. "Well then, we will just have to do what we can to ensure that your journey home, whenever it may come, is safe, and that you are as prepared as we can make you to create the bridge between our two nations. If you can give me a list of your requirements, I shall secure a location for you to begin preparing this end of the connection."

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Being a Sunday, that day also held a weekend S.E.N. meeting-slash-training-session, and the five students were all visibly holding back their questions. Luna in particular seemed to be almost vibrating in place, while Hermione kept opening her mouth to begin the interrogation, only to close it again with a determined look on her face.

"I'm sure you're all wondering about last night," Iruka began, "though Luna at least was able to hear what Gamato was saying. The short version is that Naruto and Konoha have found a way to contact me, and to eventually retrieve me." The looks on their faces were mixes of joy and sadness, though the balance fell in different places for each of them, from mostly joyful in Luna to mostly sad and worried in Harry. "That said, unless for some reason I have to go back immediately at some point, I'll be staying here through the end of this school year, maybe a bit longer. Also, even when I do leave, there's a strong chance that I'll be able to visit Britain again eventually, and hopefully even bring some friends from back home with me, maybe take you guys to see Konoha." The last statement definitely brightened all of their expressions.

"So you're not- I mean, you won't..." Harry asked tentatively. He didn't have to say it out loud for his teacher to hear the words "abandon me" at the end.

Iruka smiled gently. "Never. Call me greedy, but I want to have all my students and friends, from both worlds." Harry gave a relieved smile at that, while Luna was simply beaming.

Hermione raised her hand and asked, "Sensei, can you tell us how they managed to send Gamato here? I mean, they'd have to find you somehow, or maybe they just followed the path you took, but that would have sent him to the Lovegoods' house, and-"

"Breathe, Hermione," Iruka chuckled. "Naruto's letter didn't have much in the way of details, so I don't really know how they pulled it off. To be honest, even if they'd sent a complete report on the method, it would probably be over my head - even with all the research I've done since coming to Britain, time-space jutsu aren't exactly my strong suit. I do know that whatever their method was, it must take an insane amount of chakra, since Naruto said it left him drained."

Neville gaped. "But you said he had way more chakra than anybody else in the Elemental Nations, plus being a jinchuuriki and a sage..."

Iruka nodded. "I've never known anything to tire Naruto out for more than a day, and he said this had him tired for three. Best guess, whatever it is has to use chakra from a single source, which would mean he couldn't use senjutsu or Kurama's chakra, let alone just having other people pitch in." This led into a discussion of chakra theory that ended up running through much of that day's training.

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Iruka had been surprised when that Sunday morning's Daily Prophet hadn't mentioned Gamato's interruption of the Choosing of the Champions at all in their coverage of the ceremony. Reading Monday's paper led him to figure that Crouch and Bagman hadn't passed along that little tidbit to the media, and thus it hadn't been until after press time that the Prophet had gotten wind of Iruka's visitor: STRANGE CREATURE INTERRUPTS TRIWIZARD CEREMONY

The article that followed was mostly composed of rumor and insinuation, but it did get a few facts right: It had the timing of Gamato's appearance correct, though his arrival was described as an explosion (and, of course, linked with Iruka and fuuinjutsu); they noted Gamato as a large, colorful, talking toad, but the details of his size and appearance were wrong and his conversation with Iruka was described as "ominous speech in a strange and inhuman tongue"; his following a sheepish Iruka from the Hall was written up as Iruka "imperiously commanding the beast". Checking the by-line revealed that, unless the unregistered beetle Animagus was using a pen name, the Prophet had found someone else to handle unsubstantiated character assassination and scandal mongering. It was probably a different writer; Skeeter's work tended to be a bit more subtle in its insinuations, with a more compelling dramatic flair to really engage (and enrage) the reader.

Though he briefly considered offering Skeeter an interview to set the record straight, Iruka was much more inclined to see if the whole thing would just blow over and be forgotten about. Deliberately drawing attention wasn't usually in the playbook for (most) shinobi, and there was also the consideration that the interviewer wouldn't be particularly inclined towards favorable interpretations given his part in exposing her secret to Dumbledore.

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About a third of the way into the first class period on Monday morning, Iruka got a knock on his office door. Opening it with a flick of his wand (and frowning inwardly at how lazy magic allowed him to be), he found Amos Diggory of all people outside. "Mister Diggory? What brings you here?"

"Official business I'm afraid, Professor; reports of an unidentified magical creature showing up at Hogwarts, wouldn't look good for my department if we didn't look into it." The wizard was 'subtly' glancing around into Iruka's office, presumably looking for Gamato.

"Of course, of course," Iruka replied, "come on in. He's already gone back - he could only stay for around an hour, tops - but I'll be happy to answer your questions. Tea?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Soon enough the two were seated across from each other, cups of tea on the desk between them. Iruka had elected to use the chair behind his desk, just in case he needed a slight edge in the conversation. "So," he ventured, "why don't I give you a brief overview of things, then you can ask questions about anything that you need further clarification on?"

Diggory nodded, pulling a parchment and quill from his robes, setting them up to record after casting a quick Tempus. He started out by reciting some standard-sounding record-keeping items - date, time, location, and participants. "Interview in regards to the unidentified magical creature which appeared at Hogwarts on thirty-first October. Professor Umino will begin by describing the events and creature in question."

At the wizard's 'go ahead' gesture, Iruka began. "It was just at the end of the Choosing of the Champions ceremony for the Triwizard Tournament. Headmaster Dumbledore was the first to notice, and drew my attention to, a sealing array beginning to form seemingly-spontaneously on the floor of the platform in the Great Hall upon which the staff table rests, directly in front of my seat. I should note here that several years ago an accident transported me from my home country of Hi no Kuni to Britain, and I have been searching unsuccessfully since then for a means of returning to or contacting my home. Anyway, I realized that this seal was almost certainly an attempt by people back home to reach me in some way, and urged those nearby to keep their distance in case whatever my countrymen were doing proved dangerous."

"The seal that formed looked like some type of Summoning array - a part of a method certain people can use to call various types of creatures or beings to aid them. Once it completed, it erupted with smoke as is typical of a completed Summoning technique, disgorging a Toad courier that gave his name as Gamato. The leader of my village, a good friend and former student of mine, is the only person I know of that is able to summon Toads, so this was obviously a good sign. Gamato carried with him a scroll containing both a letter from my village leader and storage seals filled with various supplies in case I was living rough and needed resupply. I led him here to my office in order to stop disrupting the ceremony, then gave him a note to take back with him along with a journal of my experiences and observations here in Britain. After that, he went back."

"In case you were wondering," Iruka continued, "the 'strange inhuman tongue' as the Prophet called it was Japanese, my native language. Gamato is a member of the Toad clan of summons. The Toads live on Mount Myouboku, a location not generally accessible except by Summoning or similar methods. All but the youngest can speak like a human, and are of comparable intelligence. Some stop growing at around Gamato's size, around..." he did the mental conversion, "eight inches tall, while others continue to grow and can reach the size of a large building." This was technically true, as buildings could get very big. "On vary rare occasions, someone worthy is allowed to sign their contract, enabling that individual to summon Toads to help them. As I said, the only living Toad Summoner currently is my village's leader, the Seventh Hokage."

Diggory nodded. "And what do these Toads actually do when summoned?"

"Different tasks," the chuunin replied, "depending on the Toad - the Summoner chooses who to call once they've mastered the technique. Some serve as messengers, couriers, or scouts; others can provide transportation. In dire circumstances, certain Toads can be called to help in battle: When I was a child, our village was attacked by a powerful, dangerous creature, and our leader at the time Summoned one of the Toads' most powerful warriors to help him protect the village."

"And you?" the wizard asked, "Can you summon such creatures?"

Iruka shook his head. "Summoning contracts are rare and hard to access, and even if I'd been able to sign one I don't really have the power to call anything spectacular. It also wasn't really something I expected to need - I'm a teacher that sometimes moonlit in the exciting world of administrative work. Of course, landing here in Britain having access to a messenger Summon might have made contacting home a lot easier, but this wasn't exactly a planned trip."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Professor," Diggory said. "Interview ends." Once the quill stopped scratching, he grabbed it and the parchment and put them back away. "Everything seems to be in order, so unless something unexpected comes up this should be the end of it, though we'd obviously prefer to have an expert examine and catalogue this toad should the opportunity arise."

"We'll see what happens," Iruka replied.

Omake:

Based upon my wife's mis-hearing of my mentioning Flippy a while back...

«Now,» Iruka said, «just let me write a note to go with that scroll...»

An unfamiliar House-Elf appeared with their characteristic crack. "You looks like you is writing a letter. Cans Clippy help?"

Defense Teacher Omake:

From: Just_Will on AO3

Teacher: Harry Potter

Reason for Leaving: The rest of the staff realize he hasn't graduated yet.

A/N: I am borrowing a convention from another fic and capitalizing the word "Toad" when referring to a Summon.

As far as why the Prophet didn't learn about Gamato's arrival in time for their article about the Choosing of the Champions, that's simply because Bagman and Crouch didn't tell them. In canon, Harry's selection as a fourth Champion was part of the Tournament, and in fact brought it greater attention and prestige, so Bagman (and whoever had Crouch under Imperius) were fine with telling the Prophet. Here, Gamato is an interruption and a potential distraction - the Ministry doesn't want its big event overshadowed by something else, nor do they want to talk about how it was interrupted or otherwise less than absolutely perfect.

For the scene where Diggory interviews Iruka, I'd originally written out the whole bureaucratic spiel at the beginning, only to realize that it was boring and wordy and irrelevant, so I cut it out in favor of a summary. This was after I'd spent several minutes digging through various versions of Hogwarts timetables to figure out when first period started and ended. Oops.

Fic Recommendation: "Backward With Purpose Part 1: Always and Always" by deadwoodpecker - the first in a trilogy of some of the best time-travel fics I've ever read. Harry, Ron, and Ginny go back from a much darker future than canon to try and save their friends and family, but they're not the only ones messing with the timeline...

Posted 19 May 2019

Current WIP Chapter: 74