The Third Hokage stared patiently at the ranting blond child. "Why don't we ever get any good missions?"
"That's because all of you are all still genin," Kakashi replied, restraining his student. "You're just not ready to take on any truly difficult missions."
"But we got to fight that Zabuza guy," Naruto protested.
"That was an accident," Kakashi reminded him. Naruto hmphed and folded his arms, a rebellious expression on his face.
Sasuke sighed in a way that let everyone present know he had nothing to do with his teammate's tantrum. "Naruto, quit being such a loser."
"Yeah, Naruto," added Sakura.
"I am not a loser!" he retorted immediately.
The Hokage sighed. Perhaps it was the best option...
Looking up from his paperwork, the Third made eye contact with the silver-haired jounin. "Kakashi, do you think they would be ready for a group mission?"
Interested, the three of them stopped fighting long enough to listen.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Kakashi mused, "Well, their teamwork could do with a little improvement, but on the bridge they fought well together, so I would have to say..."
They leaned forward in anticipation, nearly falling on their faces.
Grinning secretly at their antics, Kakashi finished, "...yes."
"WA-HOO!" Naruto shouted triumphantly. Even Sasuke gave a little smile.
"I will trust your jugement on this, Kakashi," said the Hokage. Pulling out a thick mission scroll marked "B", he opened it and began to scan its contents.
"So? What's our mission this time?" questioned Naruto excitedly. ("Be patient, Naruto," his sensei reprimanded gently.)
The Hokage put down the scroll. "The reason this mission is marked so high is because you will be staying in a foreign place for an extended period of time, nearly a full year. Also, you will be expected to protect a young boy from an escaped criminal, but the boy must not suspect you."
"Hah, that sounds easy!" boasted the blond ninja confidently.
"Oh, one more thing," the Third added. "The place where you will be staying is several hundred miles away, so you'll be traveling a lot."
"WHAT!?"
Ignoring his hyperactive student's groans of dismay, Kakashi turned to the Hokage. "What's the name of the boy we will be protecting?"
The Third fixed the jounin with a serious gaze. "His name is..."
--
"So, Ichigo, I hear you're transferring to a different school for a year," said Orihime.
"That's right," he answered.
Quickly glancing around to make sure no one could hear, Orihime whispered, "Does it have something to do with Soul Society?"
Pausing to think, he replied, "Probably. Rukia really hasn't said much about it yet."
"Rukia's okay then?" Orihime asked hopefully.
"Yeah. She says that staying in Soul Society has helped her recover, and now she's ready to get back to work. Though why she has to drag me into it..."
Orihime smiled. "Well, good luck, Ichigo. We'll miss you."
"Huh? Oh, right. Uh, you take care, too,"
Not long after Orihime left, Rukia came walking up to the orange-haired teen.
"There you are," Ichigo sighed. "Finally. What's up with this 'transfer schools' thing?"
Putting on her usual authoritative look, Rukia replied, "The supreme commander has decided to send someone to investigate an unusual number of Hollows. We just happened to be assigned to the task."
"Wait, what do you mean we?"
"I mean that I was assigned and asked to take along another shinigami. I nominated you."
Which means that she probably didn't trust anyone else to go with her, Ichigo thought. Either that, or nobody wanted to work with a former criminal.
"Of course, they've already signed us up as exchange students. Depending on how quickly we eliminate the source of the problem, we may or may not be there the entire year-"
"I get it already," he interrupted, rubbing his spiky hair impatiently. "Basically its just slaying Hollows in a different place, right?"
"Well, there is one other thing we've been able to find out," Rukia said slowly. "The Hollows seem to be revolving around a single boy. His name is..."
--
"Harry Potter."
Harry looked up at the sound of his name. Mr. Weasley was striding over to where the dark-haired boy was struggling with several suitcases and a large birdcage. Mrs. Weasley, sending off the rest of the children, called to her husband, "Hurry up, dear, the train's about to leave!"
"In a minute!" he answered. Facing the disheveled teen, he said quietly, "Harry, there's something you should know."
"If it's about Sirius Black, Mr. Weasley, then I already know." At the man's look of surprise, he added, "I heard you talking about it last night."
"Though it's not how I would have preferred you to find out, I guess it'll have to do," Mr. Weasley sighed. "Still, Harry, I want you to promise me not to go looking for Black."
"Why would I go looking for someone who wants to kill me?" asked Harry, confused.
"Well, there are circumstances..." Mr. Weasley hedged.
"Hurry up, you lot, the train's leaving!"
"Coming!" Mr. Weasley repeated automatically. Gripping Harry's shoulders, he continued, "Harry, I want you to promise me, that whatever happens, whatever you might hear-"
An earsplitting whistle resounded as the train started to move, slowly gaining momentum. Shouting back a quick, "Sorry, got to go!" Harry raced to the train, Ron helping him up, just barely making it on before they passed the station and were on their way to Hogwarts.
Panting from the slight exertion, Harry turned to his friend. "Ron, I need to talk to you."
NaruBleacHP crossover. Enjoy!
