Iruka had to give his host credit for his self-control: The man's tone hadn't changed at all from when he had been politely translating the medic's instructions. His eyes, on the other hand, had taken on the intense focus that says 'answer quickly, answer honestly, and give me a reason not to get very angry with you' while he had clearly readied his stick-tool for some purpose that likely wasn't the diagnostic or medical functions Iruka had seen thus far. Now the chuunin just had to hope that what little information he had about his strange arrival would be enough to placate his host, as he really didn't want to have to fight in his current state, especially with at least two civilians helpless nearby and no idea what his potential opponent(s) could do.
«I'm still trying to figure the answers out myself,» began Iruka, keeping his body language as non-threatening as possible. «I was overseeing a training session when one of my students attempted... something... and the next thing I knew I was in a strange place with an unfamiliar woman lying injured nearby. My training took over at that point, and thankfully I had an extended first-aid kit on me in case of training accidents. With the help of that girl - your daughter?» The man nodded. «I managed to stop the bleeding and suture some of the more serious cuts.»
«Suture? I'm not familiar with that term.»
«Closing and securing a wound by sewing it shut using sterile thread. It helps keep the wound closed and the edges properly aligned, to speed healing and reduce scarring,» Iruka replied.
«That explains the stitching Healer Haff was describing,» the man nodded. «You talk about having some sort of training that applied in this situation, and yet you didn't cast any healing spells - why not?»
This had Iruka pausing to think. While it may have been done clumsily, likely due to inexperience and/or using a language other than his native tongue, the man seemed to be using a classic information-gathering technique the Academy taught all its students: Get the subject to open up by asking about innocuous topics, then once they're already comfortable answering your questions, pivot to the more sensitive information. It took him a moment to formulate his response. «I've never been properly trained in your method of performing techniques, and medical jutsu of the methods I am familiar with require more fine control than I've been able to manage. Thus, I've only trained in more mundane first-aid methods, with the goal of keeping the injured person from deteriorating or suffering further damage so that they can receive proper treatment from an expert.»
His host's eyebrows rose somewhat at that explanation. «Interesting. I'd be fascinated to discuss the differences in our... methods... later, but we seem to have gotten off-track. You're telling me that your sudden presence in my house is due to a freak accident, which just happens to coincide with my wife suffering some sort of mishap in one of her experiments?»
«To be honest, I can't guarantee that my arrival and her mishap were unrelated. It could well be that whatever sent me here contributed to this incident. If that is the case, I can only reiterate that this was purely accidental and offer my sincerest apologies for my part, however unwitting, in your wife's misfortune. Rest assured that when I find my way home, I will be having words with the student I believe may have caused my inadvertent trespassing.» Iruka maintained eye contact throughout this statement, allowing his sincerity to shine through.
The man held Iruka's gaze for several more seconds before relaxing somewhat and putting away his stick-tool. He spoke briefly to Haff in their own language, before turning back to the chuunin. «I believe you. At worst, your presence here is an unfortunate accident, and perhaps your arrival is only related to my wife's mishap by Fate, or some higher power bringing someone well-prepared to help her at the exact moment she needed that help. Ah - I'm being terribly rude! We've been talking quite a bit and yet completely skipped over introductions! I am Xenophilius Lovegood, (or Lovegood Xenophilius, by the Japanese ordering of names) though you may call me Xeno. My daughter Luna Lovegood and my wife Pandora.» The now-named Xeno (apparently these people put personal names before family) gestured towards his wife and daughter as he named them. «I'll introduce you to them properly when they're awake and feeling better. And you are?»
«Iruka. Umino Iruka, by my ordering. A pleasure to meet you, Xeno-san.» The foreign name felt strange on his tongue as he smiled warmly and held his hand out to his host, who grasped it and firmly with an understandably strained smile of his own. «Perhaps we can continue our conversation later? It looks like the medics are ready to take your wife to the hospital.» Iruka nodded to where Pandora was laying, swathed in bandages, as the medics were packing their supplies back into satchels that appeared far too small to contain so much material. This could possibly be explained by some sort of seals, but what happened next was the real shocker.
With a wave of a stick, Pandora began to float up into the air, coming to hover at approximately waist-height. Iruka had only ever heard of levitation or gravity control in accounts of S-Rank shinobi, like Oonoki, or Tendo Pain. To see it used with such casual ease, and nobody treating it as anything unusual, meant that either these people were somehow much more powerful than their chakra suggested, or their jutsu had very different capabilities from those known in the Elemental Nations. It would appear that Iruka had a great deal to learn as soon as possible.
Xeno stood, then bent to scoop Luna into his arms, still asleep and wrapped in a blanket. «You should probably accompany us to Saint Mungo's, our hospital. Since you're not familiar with our language - English, by the way - I'll ask one of the Healers to accompany you through the Floo to avoid any problems due to mispronunciation.» At this, he turned and called to the medics, one of whom nodded and moved to stand with Iruka, who was by now back on his feet. The group of seven moved once more downstairs and towards the hearth, with Pandora still floating along between two medics, who clearly took great care navigating her down the spiral steps. A handful of powder once again kindled those strange green flames, with Pandora and her escorts being the first to crowd in. Both medics gripped the woman's clothing as one firmly called out the name of their hospital, causing all three to spin and vanish downward, as if they had somehow drilled through the floor. The third medic tugged at Iruka's arm, urged him into the hearth, and called out.
The flames actually felt quite pleasant, almost like a warm breeze. What followed, however, was significantly less pleasant. Iruka was pulled downwards, spinning violently as if caught in some tremendous vortex, and he strongly suspected that the medic's grip was the only thing keeping him from being roughly tossed out at some random point - something he'd rather avoid, as he had done quite enough housebreaking for one day. Looking out through the flames, he saw dozens of other hearths whipping past, each offering him a momentary glimpse of another room and adding to his picture of the strange country he'd been sent to.
The majority of the hearths looked out into domestic locations, though there seemed to be a few shops, a couple of restaurants and/or pubs, and one location Iruka strongly suspected would have drawn patronage from Jiraya-sama based on what the young ladies there were (and weren't) wearing. Taken together, the style of construction and furniture was moderately different from what he typically saw in the Elemental Nations, most notably in the far greater degree of ornamentation and wildly variable and frequently clashing use of color (though he noted that bold shades of blue, yellow, green, or red often dominated the color schemes). Those people he could see (aside from the one establishment) were predominantly dressed in floor-length robes and closed-toed footwear, with what appeared to be cloaks and tall conical hats hung near doorways.
After about fifteen seconds of dizzying travel, Iruka and his escort emerged in another hearth, with the chuunin reflexively using a quick burst of chakra to his feet to avoid pitching forwards from the momentum their journey seemed to have imparted. The two then walked out toward Pandora and the other medics, one of whom was speaking to a middle-aged receptionist. Turning around, Iruka watched as Xeno and Luna appeared as the medics had at his previous location, and noted that the hearth from which they had emerged was one of six lined up side-by-side along that wall. The remaining three walls of the room were mostly lined with chairs and benches, with a couple of breaks for doors and end tables. Even if the decor was different, the layout still said 'waiting room'.
A bit of movement drew Iruka's attention, and he froze in shock. There were a number of portraits on the walls of the waiting room, but that wasn't what startled him. His surprise came from the fact that the subjects of these portraits were all moving. Several were napping in their painted chairs, while others were audibly conversing with each other or with patrons. As he watched, a distinguished older woman turned and walked to the edge of her canvas, appearing in that of her neighbor as if she'd just walked into another room. It was so unbelievable that Iruka reflexively disrupted his chakra flow to release any genjutsu on him, but the scene before him remained unchanged. The strangeness and impossibility, it seemed, were going to continue to pile up.
The medics - 'Healers', Iruka reminded himself they were apparently called here - floated Pandora through one of the closer doors, with Xeno, Luna, and Iruka following them down a short corridor before being directed to a smaller waiting area while Pandora was taken into a nearby room for treatment. After several minutes of tense silence, Healer Haff stepped out and spoke briefly with Xeno, before returning to the treatment room. Xeno turned to Iruka, «Pandora's life is in no danger, thanks in part to your timely intervention, and the Healers don't expect any significant lasting damage, though they'll know more when they've finished treating her. Again, thank you for helping her. If not for you...» He trailed off with a distant look in his eyes. While seeming calm, the man held the same fragility Iruka had seen in others and felt in himself when loved ones were seriously injured. The ninja could only nod solemnly, acknowledging Xeno's thanks while respecting his delicate emotional state.
It was another forty minutes of waiting and anxiety before Healer Haff returned. One didn't need to speak the local language to know that the news she delivered was good, as an immense weight seemed to fall away from Xeno and some light had returned to his eyes when he turned to Iruka. «There will be some minor scarring, but Pandora will make a full recovery. The Healers are keeping her asleep for now, to let her body rest and heal, but they'll be lifting the charms in a couple of days, after which she should wake on her own when she's ready.» Xeno's smile of joy and relief was soon mirrored by Iruka's. «I find myself once again thanking you for your timely aid. It seems only right to offer you my assistance in return: Assuming Luna doesn't object, nor Pandora when she wakes, I'll put you up and help you arrange for passage home.»
«Even just helping me find my way home would be wonderful, but you don't owe me anything. I could hardly just stand by in that situation and do nothing.» Iruka's gaze turned to the sleeping Luna. «I was around your daughter's age when I lost both my parents, and I've taught quite a few orphans. That life is not something I would wish on anyone.»
«Well then,» here Xeno's smile turned wry, «by your own logic I simply must help you! After all, I myself have found myself floundering around in a foreign land without speaking their language, so why not save someone else that trouble?» The blond man's eyes sparkled with mirth.
Chuckling, Iruka shook his head, while he raised his estimate of his strangely-dressed translator's intelligence. «Okay, okay, you win.» At this point, he heard steady footsteps approaching down the corridor, so he decided to hold off on further conversation for the moment.
The man that stepped into the room a few seconds later was probably a few years older than Iruka, with hints of grey in his close-cropped black hair. He wasn't particularly tall, and had a build that Iruka associated with members of the Akimichi clan - heavyset, but moving in a way that spoke of muscle underlying the fat - with an unremarkable clean-shaven face and eyes that gave the room a practiced once-over as he reached the door. This reaction, along with garments that appeared to be a uniform complete with insignia, indicated an experienced soldier or law-enforcement officer. Given his status as an undocumented foreigner arriving under suspicious circumstances, Iruka could see either being the case. Since the man was alone, he was more likely to be law enforcement, and unlikely to be here to make an arrest (though if he was here to arrest Iruka, the chuunin was ready to consider it an insult to his character and skills).
"Xenophilius Lovegood?" The man asked Xeno, who nodded. Another question produced another nod, before the man turned to Iruka. "Umino Iruka?" Iruka nodded in confirmation. «Auror Joseph Proudfoot. I've been sent to interview witnesses to today's incident and discuss our preliminary findings with Lovegood-san.» Proudfoot's accent was thicker than Xeno's, but still understandable. «Ordinarily we'd have sent someone from the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, but I'm the only one in the department that speaks Japanese,» he said with a shrug and a 'what can you do?' expression on his face.
Proudfoot turned back to Xeno and the two spoke briefly in English, before Xeno gently woke his daughter, his voice soft and reassuring in tone. Luna grabbed her father in a fierce, needy hug for at least a minute, then released him and dashed over to Iruka to give him a hug as well, speaking what were likely profuse thanks in rapid English. Iruka, meanwhile, gave the standard male response to baffling speech by a female - smile and nod. This seemed to satisfy the girl, and she soon returned to her father's side and turned back to Proudfoot.
Proudfoot smiled kindly and sat in the chair next to Luna, pulling a roll of parchment and a quill pen out of his long open-fronted robe. Iruka was again astonished as both items floated into a position beside man and child, the quill's nib coming to hover just above the top of the parchment. The man spoke briefly in an authoritative voice (with his and Luna's names being the only parts Iruka understood), before engaging Luna in a long conversation. Iruka simply watched, as did Xeno, for the fifteen minutes the interview lasted, while the quill scratched away on the parchment, somehow writing its unfamiliar script despite lacking any apparent source of ink, presumably transcribing what was being said.
Once Luna's interview was finished and she had once again curled up in her father's lap, Proudfoot turned to Iruka, putting away the roll of parchment and bringing forth two more, along with a small (and very old-looking) calligraphy brush and a brass clip, the latter of which he attached to the quill. These writing materials were set hovering beside the officer(?) and chuunin, and Proudfoot began: «Auror Joseph Proudfoot, interviewing witness Umino Iruka regarding the events of 27th March 1990 at the Rook, Ottery St. Catchpole, residence of the Lovegood family. Interview conducted in the waiting area of the Emergency ward of Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, 5:35, PM 27 March 1990. Interview begins: Please state your name, occupation, and place of residence.»
«Umino Iruka, teacher, citizen of Hi no Kuni, resident of Konohagakure no Sato.»
Proudfoot looked confused for a moment, but pressed on. «Please explain, in your own words, how you came to be in the Lovegood residence, and the actions you took as a result.»
Having had more time to process the day's events, Iruka was able to answer more completely now than he had when Xeno questioned him. «We had the students in the school's training field, doing basic jutsu training, when a student whom I cannot name without parental permission attempted something other than the jutsu being taught. I didn't recognize the jutsu he was attempting, and suspect it may have even been an experiment. Regardless, his attempt caused a serious mishap of a type I've never even heard of before: I felt a strange pulling from behind my navel, then found myself spun violently while moving at tremendous speed, with the directions of both spin and movement changing erratically. There were impacts of some sort, flashes of heat, cold, light, darkness, and other sensations that are difficult to categorize. When it finally stopped, after a period of perhaps fifteen to twenty seconds, I was in the Lovegood home. Luna-san was screaming, which managed to cut through my disorientation enough to recognize that Pandora-san was seriously injured. I am trained in emergency first aid, and had a well-stocked kit in my possession in case any of my students were injured during training, so I immediately moved to render assistance to Pandora-san.» From there, Iruka continued to recount the afternoon's events until the Healers' arrival, at which point Proudfoot indicated he could stop.
«Thank you for your cooperation, Umino-san. Interview ends.» At this the man reached out and began reclaiming his writing supplies. Iruka noted that the calligraphy brush had written his words in kanji, albeit somewhat clumsily, while the quill had written more of the unfamiliar characters. Proudfoot then spoke to Xeno for a couple minutes, before nodding to all present and departing.
A polite cough from Xeno drew Iruka's attention. «I spoke with Luna during your interview, and with her agreement I would like to offer you a place to stay while you find your feet in this country. Given the fact that you landed here unexpectedly, I suspect you don't have much money on you, and what you do have is likely not in local currencies. Add in culture shock and a language barrier, and you've got significant obstacles to overcome before you can claim to be reasonably self-sufficient, especially if you're not trained in magic.»
As much as Iruka's pride (and decades of ingrained shinobi paranoia) rebelled at the thought of being so dependent on a near-stranger, he knew that Xeno's logic was sound. If he tried to make it on his own, he'd likely be sleeping in an alleyway and resorting to petty crime to obtain even basic necessities - not a situation conducive to doing research, even if you don't end up arrested or dead. He stood and bowed formally. «Thank you for your hospitality, Xeno-san, though I insist that you keep a record of any expenditures on my behalf so that I can pay you back you once I'm able to obtain adequate funds myself.»
Xeno's grin only grew, «Splendid! The investigators from the Ministry should be done and gone in another hour, so let's get some dinner here then head back to the Rook and get you settled in. I must confess to an ulterior motive regarding dinner, though,» he whispered with a wink, «Pandora is such a delightful cook that I haven't really taken the time to learn more than simple basics.»