Hell Song

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.

Pairing: Kanji Tatsumi/Harry Potter

Summary: Moving to Yasoinaba due to his uncle's promotion, Harry James Potter transfers into Yasogami High School along with his cousin, Dudley Dursley. Targeted by a serial murderer, he is saved by a group of students who are trying to stop the criminal. Joining them in their bid to uncover the identity of the killer, Harry soon finds the strength to show his true self. Along the way, he finds himself falling for a fellow truth seeker.

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Hell Song

Chapter 3: Green Eyes and Bandages, Pt. 3

The final bell for the day rang, and Harry immediately got up and gathered his things. Next to him, his seatmate Hanamura Yosuke was talking with Narukami and Satonaka with worried brown eyes. It has been a few days since the brunette's friend, Amagi Yukiko, had gone missing after the police had wanted to question her about that TV announcer's death.

Harry himself didn't care much for the murder stories, as he had enough on his plate with trying to not end up as a murder victim in his relatives' house. But due to him gaining a popular persona among the students, he was regularly bombarded with gossip from other students who wanted to make conversation with him. The most prominent being a particular boy, whom he had fondly dubbed "gossip-loving boy" in his head because of his constant need to have some new piece of gossip to chew on.

Just as the three teens got up from their desks and headed out the room, the green-eyed teen watched their hurried leave with a raised brow. Another thing he had noticed is that after school the Three Amigos, as Harry dubbed them in his mind, seemed to be urgently obsessed with something. Earlier in the week, he had stopped by Junes in order to drop off his resume in hopes of getting a job. Honestly, the man who he found out was Yosuke's father was honestly surprised to see a resume.

It wasn't that odd, the messy-haired teen could only guess that the teens in this town just showed up at the mega store and expected for them to be handed a job without any experience.

'Plus from how bad that one girl's service was, they probably don't work in order to get their payments…if what they were giggling about was true then Hanamura probably does all the work.'

Shaking his head with a snort at the pity he had for the brown-haired Junes Prince, Harry slipped his hand into his gakuran pocket and pulled out his phone. Today he had agreed to meet his 'student' today in the library in order to help him study for the exams that would start the week after next. It was a bit awkward during the first few study sessions, as the younger boy was obviously still uncomfortable about that position he had found Harry in.

Flipping his phone open with a quick saucy smirk, Harry thought about the completely adorable way the other would blush when the bandaged boy would catch him staring at odd intervals. Really, if the boy didn't cut it out then the second year was going to give him a reason to blush prettily. Brushing locks of hair from his face with the back of his bandaged hand, he winced slightly at the pain that shot through.

Last night Petunia had been angered by the fact that the women who attended her afternoon luncheons had left compliments to him for the chadango that he had made. Of course, the horse-faced woman tried to take the credit, but he had helped one of the women make some for the young children at the daycare center and she had apparently mentioned it. That night she had held a hot pan to the back of his hand for 'making her look bad'.

Thanks to the ointment that he had bought at Shiroku Store during a rainy day stroll, his skin had quickly healed and was only a little red now. He didn't want to be questioned, and so only wrap it with some of the new bandages he had also bought from the old woman in the South Shopping District. Rubbing the covered flesh gently as he looked through his messages, he allowed a small smile form on his face at the message he had received from Tatsumi Kanji.

Ummm, so I'm here…hurry up dammit!

Kanji

Closing the top of the cellphone down, Harry slipped it back into his pocket and made his way out of the classroom. Waving to the few students who called out to him, he made his way down the hallway in the direction of the library. Coming by the stairs, he was surprised to see the third year from before standing there with a determined look.

"Oi Potter…"

Blinking slowly as he came to a stop, Harry adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Immediately the common polite smile that he gifted others with popped onto his face, "Ah Sempai…"

The older male fidgeted a bit before stepping forward and placed a hand on the smaller male's slender shoulder. Glancing over at the hand on his shoulder, Harry's green eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second before he turned to look at the other with a confused look. He could feel the eyes of the few students that happened to be lingering around were glued onto the two of them.

Seconds passed, and whatever determination had been present in his eyes had died. Annoyed by the hold up, the black-haired second year gritted his teeth. Clenching his fist around the bag strap, his smile became strained.

What the hell did this guy want with him?

"Is there something you wanted Senpai?"

For a moment he said nothing before shaking his head and the blush that Harry had once briefly thought was adorable only annoyed him. "Y-Yes, I-I wanted to talk with you…"

Looking into the boy's brown eyes, Harry almost cringed physically at the emotion that was in the boy's eyes. Did this guy actually – no! It couldn't be!

Just as it looked like the boy was finally going to spit it out, the green-eyed boy felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere in the hallway and the reason why was made known to him as a hand landed on his shoulder. "Oi! Didn't I say I was waiting for you in the Library? What the hell is taking you?"

At that moment, Harry could've kissed the boy – not that he wouldn't have at any other time of course.

Promptly disregarding the third year, the messy-haired boy turned to look up into the handsome scowling face of Tatsumi Kanji. The platinum blond-haired punk turned his blazing gaze from the slender second year towards the extremely nervous third year. As if offended by his very presence, the tall first year's scowl seemed to deepen as the older male seemed to almost faint under the weight of his slate irises.

"Who the hell are you and WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE STARING AT? HUH?"

Not waiting a second more, the third year and everyone else that were littering the hallway immediately scattered. Watching all this, Harry brought a hand up to his mouth and began to chuckle at the hilarity of the situation. "It is so funny how they all scatter at the mere raising of your voice, but I appreciate you getting that idiot away from me."

Kanji blinked in confusion before glancing over towards the spot where the third year was.

"Was he bothering you or something?"

Wrapping one arm around himself while leaning most of his weight on one leg, Harry tilted his head. "I guess you can say that, he was the young man that you had caught me with on that day…apparently it seemed he wanted to make our brief affair into a permanent thing…"

Sighing, the green-eyed male turned to make his way towards the library and walked away a few steps before he noticed that the younger male wasn't following. Peering over his shoulder, he raised an eyebrow as he saw the uncertain look on his Kohai's face. "Is there something wrong Kanji-kun?"

A small frown took residence on the scarred teen's face, and he glanced in the direction that the third year ran before shaking his head. Bringing his hand up, he scratched the back of his head with a resigned look. "Naw, let's just go and get this studying over with – I know that damn math is going to be a pain in the ass."

Chuckling once again, the green-eyed young man continued towards the library. Behind him the platinum blond's eyes softened a bit as he stared intently at the other's back.

Kanji had no idea that he would come to enjoy hanging around this foreigner, especially with the two times they met being strange. The first with him saving the boy from committing suicide, and the second time... even now the slight flush on his cheeks darkened when he thought about it. Of course the second meeting had caused the toughest punk of Yasoinaba to not be able to meet the boy's eyes, and that had made the first few tutoring sessions to be awkward.

'It also didn't help that he was smirking all the while.'

It hadn't taken the platinum blond long to realize that the second year wears a mask in front of others, and he would always remember the completely surprised look the other gave him on that day. He had plainly told the older boy that he didn't give a damn about that polite attitude that he forced on for everyone's sake. But now he wondered if he regretted saying that.

Since that day the green-eyes male had acted completely shameless, and he allowed his hidden cunning and slyness emerge. Of course when the smaller boy had talked about some of his trysts with boys, and had even hinted at the fact that he wouldn't mind taking a roll in the hay with the first year.

"I'M NOT INTO GUYS!"

He had blurted out unexpectedly, and even he could practically see the issues he held about his sexual preference. The other had gaped at him from his spot next to him by the Sasagawa River before he began to giggle at Kanji, while he stared down at his lap in mortification. After a few moments the older male had calmed down, and shrugged off Kanji's declaration. Harry had of course asked him what that outburst was all about, and he listened patiently to the first year as he told his Senpai about his struggles with females.

"While I can tell that you yourself is unsure about you're sexuality, but what you have to realize is that everyone is confused about their sexuality at some point in their lives…I was the same way at one time, but after a bit of help from an upperclassman of mine…I was no longer confused."

The slender boy brought a hand up to his chest and tilted his head to the side with an impish smirk.

"I bat for the home team."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kanji knew that the gaping he had done in the second year's direction had only amused the green-eyed male further. Turning his attention to the other, who was sitting across the table, he let his eyes take in the second year without any distractions. Harry was a very attractive male, and the fact that he was in a sense cute with his slender body and lack of height didn't help matter. But out of all his features, Kanji could admit that he loved his bright green eyes.

The slate-eyed punk could honestly say that he had never seen that eye color anywhere in his life. He had seen people with green eyes, but no one with the extraordinary shade that the dark-haired boy seemed to possess. Penciling in the final bit of the problem, Kanji placed his mechanical pencil down and slid the paper over to the older boy.

As the black-haired boy went over his problems, he hummed a strange little tune while tilting his head slightly from side to side. Closing his eyes, Kanji allowed himself to listen to the strange yet soothing melody and aided by the gentle pattering of rain on the windows to the side of them. The relaxing atmosphere slowly but surely lulled him to sleep, and he had let his guard down.

On the other end of the table, Harry had finished reviewing Kanji's answers and felt a sense of pride at the fact that he had answered them all correctly with some time and effort. Looking up from the paper, a surprised look cropped up on his face as he saw his underclassman was fast asleep. Setting the paper down, a small smile crossed his face as he sat back in his own chair.

"I'll let him sleep for a bit…he's earned it."

Leaning back into his seat, Harry pulled out a small novel he had bought from the Yomenaido Bookstore and began to read. He would allow the other to sleep for a bit, he had plenty of time and he didn't feel like leaving and putting himself at the mercy of his relatives anytime soon. Warm green eyes peered over the pages of his book towards the dozing punk, and a feeling of contentment that he had never felt before welled up inside of him.

When was the last time he had ever felt so content?

The vibration of his cellphone caught his attention and he slipped a hand into his pocket. Bringing out his cellphone, Harry flipped the top up and went to his messages. At the sight of the message, any warmth that had gathered in his eyes was instantly extinguished.

Sorry Harry, but Dad said that he wanted you back here to cook dinner for some guys from his job.

Dudley

It was only a testament to his control that he didn't crush the phone in his hand into pieces.

Closing down the top of the phone a little harder than needed without another thought, he turned it off and threw it into his bag. He didn't have time for his relatives, if they wanted food cooked for their little get-together then that was on them. Any other time he would go just to avoid any trouble, but he wasn't going to allow them to ruin this contentment he felt more than they already did.

Shutting his eyes, he leaned back into his seat and watched Kanji until he himself fell into a light doze.

Maybe this was how people felt when they found someone that could see even a glimpse the real them?

---

A week had passed since then, and Harry stared at himself in the mirror. Taking in the purple hand prints around his neck, Harry rubbed the stinging flesh and only grits his teeth a bit at the pain he undoubtedly felt. Vernon had been a foul mood more often than usual as of late, and he had been a bit more vicious in his beatings of the green-eyed teen for the smallest infractions in his head – funny as the fact that Harry is breathing happened to be a major one.

It was only thanks to the timely intervention of his cousin and aunt, the former for some unknown reason and for the latter to prevent her husband for going to jail for murder, that he escaped with only some bruises and his life. From what he had been able to gather it seemed like things weren't going as the whale of a man had hoped for in his new position. No one was taking him seriously, he had said as he slapped Harry around.

"I know they're talking about me in their damned foreign trash language!"

He had knocked Harry down onto the ground with his next slap, and all the while Harry couldn't help but wonder what kind of language the bastard expected them to speak in their own country?

The man continued raining down hits onto the green-eyed boy as he continued to rant and rave. It was when he got to the matter of a deal falling through due to Vernon's lack of knowledge in Japanese, and how the supervisor from the city was unimpressed did the fat ass wrapped his meaty hands around his slender neck. Beady eyes seemed to bulge and madness lit up the blue irises as he squeeze tighter all the while yelling about humiliation, and that I had to be Harry's fault that everything had gone wrong.

But Harry wasn't surprised.

Why the hell would he blame himself for his own failings when he could use his favorite scapegoat and punching bag?

Some positive news that was even remotely interesting during the week was the mysterious disappearance and return of Amagi Yukiko. Not that he had actually cared, but he noticed that the Three Amigos had been more relaxed since her reappearance.

Fiddling with the collar of his dark green turtleneck sweater with a gold 'H' sewn on the front, he ran a hand down the front while looking at the black jeans he had chosen to wear. Grabbing his leather wallet that used to belong to his father, Harry grabbed his school bag, which held the study guide that he had made for Kanji's upcoming exam, he ran a hand through his unruly hair as he closed and locked his door behind him.

He wouldn't put it past Vernon to try and destroy his things while he was gone if the asshole came home before him.

Glancing at the time on his cellphone, Harry noted that it was near the time he had said he would meet Kanji at the Junes food court. He had planned for them to go over the study guide that the messy-haired teen had made for the first year in order to prepare for the Exams that would start the next week. The green-eyed male wasn't too concerned about the exam, and that was only due to the fact that he was almost completely ahead of his classmates personally.

The same couldn't be said about Kanji.

Due to his habit of skipping, which had waned greatly after he was taken under Harry's wing, the slate-eyed first year was behind most in his year. Even now he could remember the boy's face when he had mentioned this during one of their many tutoring sessions. Bringing up a hand to muffle his small chuckle, Harry couldn't help but think of how adorable the platinum blond delinquent was.

After spending all this time with Kanji Tatsumi, Harry has come to understand a lot about the temperamental boy. The major aspect being the confusion he seemed to have about his sexuality, which Harry was trying to help him figure out. While they were having one of their many talks by the Sasagawa River, the other day the boy had blurted out that he may like guys and why.

Even now Harry wanted to find the girls who had humiliated Kanji and rip their pretty little heads off. Children were just cruel little bastards, and this he had discovered and accepted as a young child. Slipping into his beat up trainers, the bandaged second year stepped out and closed the door behind him. He had made sure to bring his spare key as he knew that the Dursleys wouldn't hesitate to leave him locked out of the house.

Stepping out into the street, the green-eyed boy inhaled the sweet air that hit him with the soothing breeze. Brushing his hair from his face, the foreigner moved to walk up the pathway when a voice reached his ears.

"Potter-kun?"

Turning his head into the direction of the voice, a sigh slipped from his lips as he saw the familiar silver-haired youth that had shown an interest in him for some unknown reason. Coming to a complete stop, Harry adjusted his hold on the strap of his bag and forced a smile onto his face.

"Ah, Narukami-kun…hanging out with friends today?"

It wasn't a bad guess, especially since the usually straight-faced young man was dressed in a stylishly casual way. Gray eyes that always seemed to search his soul was locked with his green.

"And you?"

Blinking for a moment, Harry closed his eyes and nodded. "I had promised to meet a kohai of ours and help him study for the exams that are starting this coming week…we're meeting at the Junes Food Court since he doesn't want to be cooped up in some 'dusty' library."

Nodding, the taller male seemed to contemplate something.

"My friends and I are going to be meeting at Junes, so why don't we walk together?"

Raising his brow questioningly at the silver-haired second year, he sighed and nodded.

"That's acceptable I guess, but once we get there we're going to have to part ways…"

Narrowing his green eyes at the taller male, Harry scowled on his face, "While I tolerate Hanamura-kun in school…I won't tolerate his rudeness outside of it."

Turning to leave without another word, he could feel the astonished look he received from the boy. It wasn't hard to realize why he received such a look. After all, he hadn't showed much hostility towards their little group much less the brown-haired second year, who had had a disliking of since he arrived there. But it only took him a moment to shake himself from his small daze, and catch up to the shorter male with his longer legs.

"I would like to apologize for Yosuke's thoughtlessness, he isn't a bad guy but he just doesn't seem to realize when he's being rude…"

Snorting as they came to the street at the top of the hill, crossing his arms he tilted his head up at Souji.

"Whatever, while I appreciate your apologizing for the Junes Prince…I would like for him to apologize on his own."

The conversation was officially over with that statement, and Souji himself could only sigh at the surprising stubbornness that the usually polite boy was displaying. It was a major change from the quiet acceptance that he usually displayed with the other students in the school, but he had already guessed that wasn't the other second year's true self.

While the conversation had ended with a bit of a sour note, the silence between them wasn't uncomfortable. Harry had nothing against Souji, but his brown-haired friend was a source of his distaste. The taller male was also just as if not more curious of the shorter since the first time they had locked eyes that morning. If anything, the fact that he even bothered to apologize for his friend seemed to gain him some favor with the green-eyed boy.

They weren't friends, and they probably won't ever become that until whatever problem that the foreign boy had with Yosuke was resolved. But he could feel the faint stirrings of a bond between them, and his eyebrows almost raised in surprise. Igor had mentioned that he would be making bonds with people and creating social links. Plus he had only felt this feeling with a certain few people, and now the green-eyed boy was invoking the same feeling.

Maybe he was soon going to be another holder of a social link?

As they reached the Junes food court, Harry broke off halfway as he was called over by a platinum blond boy who seemed very uncomfortable in his surroundings. Watching as the shorter male walked towards him with a small skip in his step, Souji wondered about the connection between them. It was only the familiar sound of Yosuke calling his name that he snapped out of it and continued on his way.

Reaching the brown-haired boy, who was obviously taking his break, he took a seat at the table near his overworked friend. Leaning back into the chair, he eyed his friend with his grey eyes. A small smile grew on his face, and he tilted his head slightly. "They've been working you pretty hard haven't they?"

Nodding, Yosuke slang an arm over the back of the chair and sighed.

"I really am regretting the fact that I let them run over me so much at this point…the only thing to look forward to is this new employee that my dad is going to interview soon time after the upcoming exams."

Making a small surprised noise, Souji's eyes widened a bit.

"Someone had applied for a job here?"

Snorting, Yosuke crossed his arms.

"Yep, and even had a resume prepared and everything…you have no idea how excited my dad is about this guy, he was singing praises about how polite the boy was."

Immediately, realization struck him from the words and he couldn't keep the small smile on his face from widening a bit. "Ah, that's what a lot of adults are saying about him."

Yosuke snapped his head in Souji's direction and pointed a finger at him.

"Do you have any idea who this guy could be? Tell me so I can make it clear that he won't be taking advantage of Hanamura Yosuke!"

The hilarity of the situation only caused his smile to widened even further much to Junes Prince's irritation. While he hung out with Yosuke, the time quickly passed by and before he knew it, Souji was already making his way back home. Getting into the house, he was shyly greeted by his younger cousin Dojima Nanako and surprisingly his Uncle, Dojima Ryotaro, was home before him.

Getting their dinner set, they all sat down and his unshaven guardian for the next year or so turned on the TV and put on the News. The excitable newscaster was going on and on about biker gangs who were causing a lot of racket in the night. Continuing to eat his meal without a second thought, it was only when a rough voice pierced the white noise in his mind that he looked at the screen.

Much to his surprise, he watches as the camera now focused on two boys who happened to come walking down the path towards the biker gang. One he didn't recognize immediately, but the other caused his jaw to drop. Unnoticed by him, he slowly brought his chopsticks down and the name slipped from his lips before he could control it.

"Potter-kun?"

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End of Chapter 3

So we finally made it to the third chapter! I am so happy that you all are enjoying this story so far!

Once again, I am here to answer the reviews and comments that were given in response to Chapter 2.

I am happy that everyone is happy about the changes that have happened with this rewrite. To Rinzei86, I have to say that your review is one of my favorites honestly. I am very happy that you enjoyed the story so far! To black, when is your mom going in the T.V.? LMAO I'm just kidding! 8D Obviously this was the chapter before he is thrown into the T.V. and the next starts with the moment Harry is pushed into the TV as well as Souji and the others being the main focus as they begin their search in the Midnight Channel. We are coming close to the end of the Green Eyes and Bandages Arc.

Ja ne,

She Who Writes Smut