Chapter 2: Floo Powder and The Half-Giant
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I have attempted to reply to your reviews, but I don't know if the reply system actually works, and I have reason to doubt...Well, anyway, here's chapter 2. Enjoy!
Hatake Kakashi scowled as he packed his sparse belongings into his standard-issue, black mission bag. "Diplomacy mission my ass," he muttered to himself with a roll of his eyes. Did Sandaime really think he was so clueless? He knew that the Third Hokage had been worried about him ever since that mission several months ago, when Orochimaru had first made an attempt to snatch him. And with this latest mission last week, the Snake Sannin had very nearly made a successful kidnapping.
The fourteen-year-old ANBU hissed involuntarily as he put too much weight on his injured left leg, a souvenir of that confrontation. He supposed he had been lucky that the mission had been with Tazura Kenji, a seasoned veteran who had been able to divert the half-dozen Sound agents before spiriting the injured Kakashi to safety. He scowled at the memory. He had been quite useless in that particular battle, something had made him seize up like a rookie Genin just before the shuriken tore through his leg. Kenji had later explained that one of the ninja had used some sort of sound-based attack to upset his inner ear, thus causing the minutes of disorientation and sluggishness.
Even so, he still felt ashamed of his…well, rookie-ness. He was well aware that even though he was a year-long veteran of ANBU—he had joined the day after Rin died, despite his mentor's pleas—he was the youngest member in the entire organization, and most everyone, rookies, veterans, and subordinate agents alike, thought of him as the baby of the group, and treated him accordingly.
Kakashi let out a sigh as his eyes scanned his bare apartment, mentally running through his checklist of Things to Pack. This was a yearlong mission, of course, so his checklist basically encompassed everything that wasn't nailed down. Not that that was saying much. Everything he had fit into the single black bag, though he would have to buy a new toothbrush when he got there, as his current one seemed to have been rather badly scorched sometime during last week's mission. He wondered briefly how that had happened, but it didn't really matter, did it?
"Diplomacy mission," he growled again. "Yeah right." He was being sent away for his own protection, he knew. Not for the protection of this Potter kid, nor for the formation of an alliance between the two nations. No, he was being sent away because he was Kakashi and he was in danger and everyone was so worried about him. Well, bull. If Sandaime thought the village could survive without him, then all the more power to him. He'd be sorry.
He contented himself with this thought, until he was calm enough to remind himself that he was ANBU, and it was not his place to ask why. He would do as the mission scroll told him, down to the finest detail, and he'd do it without complaint. That was the shinobi way. That was his shinobi way.
He still had an hour to get to the first checkpoint, he realized. That gave him just enough time to drop off his potted bonsai tree, Mr. Ukki, at Gai's house and still visit the memorial to say goodbye to his team. He wondered if Obito would be angry. Probably, knowing Obito, but he would get over it eventually. He always did. After a brief conversation with Gai's mother (thank Kami it wasn't Gai himself) he arrived at the memorial and apologized that he was going away, and promised to pray for them daily.
"I'll even set up a shrine," he pledged rather desperately, "I'll think of you every day," but the black obsidian stone just stared at him mutely, as if silently accusing him, You ungrateful bastard, Kakashi! I gave my life for you, and this is what I get? "I'm sorry Obito, but I can't refuse this mission! I'm doing the best I can!" Well, it's not good enough. Kakashi sighed. At least Rin and Arashi-sensei didn't mind. Maybe they could calm Obito down. He could hear Rin's worried voice telling him not to get hurt, and sensei playfully teasing, Remember to make friends, 'Kashi-kun! He almost smiled. Almost.
"I have to go," he told them, and reached down to run his fingers over those two familiar names, and over the sharp, newly-carved name of his sensei. "I won't forget."
He fit his wolf ANBU mask over his face and tightened the straps of his pack over his shoulders, and set off into the trees.
Hagrid glanced nervously at his pocket watch, then at the fireplace, then back at his pocket watch again. There were only 125 seconds until the exchange student was scheduled to arrive. The half-giant had no idea what to expect. He had a brief description of the kid (silver hair…?) and the list of passwords he was supposed to recite, but that was it, he didn't even have a picture.
He had been tasked by Dumbledore to greet this new student at the Leaky Cauldron Pub, through Floo Port 3, and to escort him around Diagon Alley and help him purchase his school supplies. After that was all said and done, he was to escort him up to the school on the 31st of August. That was two days away. He just hoped they would get along.
Kakashi leapt to his feet, looking around wildly, and promptly landed on his rear again. Well, whatever he had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. He had taken the old boot in his hands, just as the instructions had said, and the thing had…well he wasn't sure quite what it did but the point was he was quite certainly not in Konoha anymore. He regained composure and looked around for the next key-thing, a portkey as the instructions had called it. He only had a few seconds to find the thing before the spell timed out. He finally located the hat (he was sitting on it) and grabbed it, preparing for another dizzying plummet to Kami-knew-where.
He managed to land sloppily on his feet that time, having anticipated the landing and adjusted his trajectory appropriately, but as soon as he thought he was steady he lost his balance and fell on his backside. He got to his feet and looked around him. He had no idea where he was, but it appeared to be someplace far away, seeing as the sun seemed to be just setting here, whereas it had been already dark when Kakashi left Konoha. He spun around and spotted the moldy old shack the mission scroll had mentioned, wherein he was supposed to find a fireplace and…floo powder?
The Shinobi shrugged and headed inside, suppressing a sneeze as pollen and mold spores assaulted his immune system. Damn allergies…he found the fireplace and pulled out his mission scroll for more instructions.
Upon approaching the fireplace, he read silently, you will notice a small flower pot resting on the mantle. Empty out the dirt and you will find concealed within a second jar. Remove the cork stopper from this jar and take a handful of the white powder inside. Throw the powder into the lit fireplace and step inside once you see the flames turn green. Clearly speak the words, "Diagon Alley."
He blinked. What the hell? He skimmed for more information, but that was all there was on the matter. Eyebrows furrowed, he read the next lines: Upon exiting the fireplace, you will meet a half-giant named Hagrid. Speak these words to him, "Flippit, jiminy, oddment, tweak." He will counter thusly: "What is your name, and tell me your quest." You are to reply: "I am the Wolf of Netherworld, I come to see the moon rise."
Kakashi allowed himself a small smirk. Netherworld, huh? It fit. Of course he understood the code. He was the Wolf, obviously; Wolf being his ANBU alias. Netherworld was code for ANBU. Again, very fitting. Watching the moon rise was his mission, in this case building up a political alliance and babysitting some brat while hiding from Orochimaru. Well, a mission was a mission, (no matter how stupid) and he would do it. For this was his ninja way.
He sent a small Katon jutsu into the fireplace and set it ablaze, and fished the secondary jar out from the flowerpot. He tossed a handful of powder into the flames, and nearly leapt back when they turned a vibrant shade of green. Weird.
He very reluctantly stepped into the flames, and found them to be quite cool. Even so, they had a funny smell to them and Kakashi got the distinct feeling that he was going to die. Well, here goes… "Diagon Alley!"
Hagrid glanced at his watch. The exchange student was due 10 seconds ago. He took another cautionary step back, suddenly wondering whether or not this student had ever used floo powder before. Those who hadn't had a tendency of flying out of fireplaces at a rather high velocity…
His question was answered seconds later, when a great plume of dust spewed from the fireplace, shortly followed by a very disoriented human who was flung from the fireplace and flat onto his face. Hagrid winced as the teen hit the floor with a dull thud.
"Yeh…yeh alright there, mate?" he asked uncertainly. The kid wasn't moving. He didn't even twitch. Hagrid bent down. "Mate?" He stepped back in surprise as the boy turned over abruptly, revealing an alarming white and red mask.
The masked teen got to his feet before Hagrid could extend a hand to help him, and gruffly dusted himself off. "Flippit, jiminy, oddment, tweak," he said in a rather shaky voice, obviously struggling to regain his shattered composure.
"Er, yeah," Hagrid said uncertainly, and instinctively put out a hand to steady the boy as he teetered dangerously on his feet. "Yeh sure yer alright?"
The boy looked up at him and said rather testily, "Just say the password."
"Right, right. Er, wot is yer name, and tell me yer quest."
"I am the Wolf of Netherworld, I come to see the moon rise." The boy recited flawlessly, without the slightest trace of an accent.
"Er. Yeah. Well done, I suppose. Well…m'name's Hagrid." He held out a hand for him to shake. "It's good t'meet yeh, um…wot should I call yeh?"
"Wolf," the boy answered without skipping a beat. He did not shake the proffered hand.
The half-giant blinked, slightly put off. "Oh. Right. Well then, er, Wolf, we'd best be off, I suppose. Would yeh like t'eat first, or put away your things?"
"Eat," the boy answered automatically. Hagrid nodded and led him out the door and through the gate to the magical world, before settling them both at a table at one of Hagrid's favorite restaurants. The half-giant eyed the exchange student through the corner of his eye as they waited to order. He was rather short for a fourteen-year-old, and looked abnormally skinny, too. And what was with the hair? Had he dyed it or something?
He wore an eccentric ensemble that would not look out of place on a warrior, or a serial killer or something. There was a black, form-fitting sleeveless shirt, and over that he wore light, flexible mesh armor that covered the chest and black. Judging from the quiet clicking every time the boy moved, Hagrid guessed he was wearing light chain mail under that. He wore loose black pants that were bound to his ankles with strips of white bandages, tucked under a pair of practical shoes with open toes. Several pouches of various shapes and sizes hung from his belt, along with a simple dagger in it's scabbard. Long, open-fingered gloves extended up past his elbows, with metal guards running the length of his forearms. Perhaps the most intimidating was the long, curved sword that was secured to his back, the handle was wrapped with dark red leather that looked as though it had endured much abuse. Lastly was a black spiral tattoo on his left bicep, and then of course that frightful mask with those empty slits for eyes, so he appeared to be staring everywhere and nowhere all at once… Hagrid suppressed a shudder. He didn't think he liked this boy very much.
Kakashi, on his part, had finally regained his composure after that dizzying ride through the floo powder. Kami-sama, what a stupid way to travel. So now he was free to stare at his escort, and he had to admit he hadn't quite expected him to be so, well, large. But presumably they didn't call the enormous man a half-giant for nothing, though Kakashi had assumed it had been code in the mission instructions.
He stared unabashedly at the huge man, confident that his mask would conceal his eyes. He sized the half-giant up, as he was no doubt doing likewise that very minute. Hagrid's hair resembled a bush more than anything, and Kakashi was quite sure he could see several broken comb teeth lodged in the mass. He wondered how long they had been there. His face was barely visible behind the tangle of hair, but Kakashi could tell that the man was nervous and avoiding eye contact. His hands fiddled with each other apprehensively as they rested on the table, nearly hidden by the cuffs of his mottled brown coat that looked like it had been stitched together with the skins of various unfortunate animals.
"Erm…perhaps yeh'd like t' take off that mask, eh, uh, Wolf?" the giant's voice startled him slightly, so caught up had he been in staring. The huge man's English was imprecise at best, and it took Kakashi a bit of thought to dissect the meaning.
"No," he answered curtly once he had figured it out. "It's part of my uniform."
The half-giant opened his mouth as if to say something, but he seemed to lose heart and instead muttered, "Oh. Er, alright,"
Kakashi reached up and adjusted his mask, his fingers lingering on the porcelain maybe a second longer than they would have otherwise. There was something comforting in the wolf mask…something familiar in this strange new society he was trapped in, that he would remain trapped in, for a whole year… A waitress approached their table and asked for their orders, and Kakashi realized he hadn't even glanced at his menu. Well, that was just fine; he wasn't hungry anyway.
"Water, please," he said in a bored voice once Hagrid was finished ordering his enormous 4-course dinner. He wanted an appetizer, salad, soup, and an entrée…ugh. The half-giant looked at him, no doubt about to say something along the lines of, You should eat, it's been a long journey, you need to put meat on those bones, et cetera. But Kakashi's abrupt glare cut him off before the words formed on his lips.
He sipped at the water the waitress brought minutes later, silently mulling over this ridiculous mission. Well, in short, he didn't like it. He had never been this far west before, so he had no idea how the culture and customs worked. It would take weeks before he could effectively blend in. And Kakashi certainly didn't like that. A conspicuous shinobi was a dead shinobi.
He kept one arm slung casually over his pack beside him, ready to spring into action with it at any second. He had asked to eat first for this exact reason, so that if he had to make a sudden flight he would still have all his supplies. It was one of the first things Genins learned in the classroom.
He didn't notice the awkward silence that graced their table, too busy was he carefully examining the restaurant. He didn't like it. It was much too closed in, and the number of people in it wasn't right; just enough to execute an attack, but not enough to add the public and it's subsequent security into the equation. The strong smell of smoke and liquor was so strong it made his eyes water, even through the double masks. He cursed his sensitive nose, and violently sneezed.