AN: So here's chapter two, still cleaning up from the original story. I did some revision to chapter one in case anyone's interested, just mostly grammar and maybe a couple extra sentences here and there. Might come back and clean up this chapter too before I put out the third chapter where I begin to write new stuff.
Had it not been for the mask, his jaw would be touching the floor. An elderly man was making his way out of the fireplace, casually stepping out of the flames as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The client had to be the oldest person Kakashi had ever laid eyes upon; the best way to describe him might be to say he was one big wrinkle. A long crooked nose pointed out from the elderly man's face and the shinobi wondered how many times it had been broken before it lost its original form even after healing. He wore the queerest piece of purple clothe with sapphire stars on them, and a matching pointed hat that bent at the tip.
However what really made the elderly man stand out were his eyes, the twinkling orbs that hid behind the half moon glasses gleamed with intelligence and hinted at a wellspring of wisdom attained by those who have aged. Only one man Kakashi knew had had eyes that could match, and that was the 3rd Hokage may his soul find peace in the afterlife.
"Kakashi, meet our client, Dumbledore-sama. Dumbledore, this is Kakashi. He will be the one to take on your mission." The old man stepped forward with sparkling eyes and a pleasant smile that was a sharp contrast to the blinding grin Kakashi was used to receiving from his self proclaimed eternal rival. Reaching out with both hands, Dumbledore shook the immobile Kakashi's hand with great gusto. The man seemed frail, but he had a grip of steel.
"Ah…Kakashi-san was it? It's a pleasure to meet you! I must say, this is all really exciting for me. Atlantis was thought to be a lost civilization, but here you are! In all my years of research, I have never come across any reference to your world. At least not until I read the diary of Nicholas Flamel. That man has passed on to his next adventure, bless his soul. As soon as I read about your world, I could not contain my curiosity, and immediately apparated to what you call… ah Wave country was it?" Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow. While the strange looking man was obviously foreign, he spoke flawlessly even though he had thrown out a word Kakashi wasn't familiar with and what may have been a name.
"You came to the shinobi continent with no prior knowledge, and suddenly you have a mission request? That hardly adds up for a man who just arrived." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even brighter if possible.
"My, you shinobi are quite sharp! Yes, I have in fact been living here for a month already. When I first arrived, I met an elderly man named Tazuna who was kind enough to allow me to live in his home after I helped fix his roof after the rather unfortunate incident caused by my unexpected arrival. Over the few weeks, we talked quite a bit, and when I brought up the issue of my endangered students, he had pointed me straight to Konoha. And here I am!" Dumbledore fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a stick of some sort of candy.
"Lemon drop?" Kakashi politely refused, but instead turned his attention back to the Hokage.
"So when do I leave, and how long will this take?" Tsunade smiled softly.
"One year, and you can leave with Dumbledore-sama as soon as you are packed and ready." Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
The silent Dumbledore who had been quietly sucking his lemon drops in the background spoke up. "Did you tell him the second part of his mission?" "No. You can tell him yourself. I find the concept hard enough to understand, so it would be better if you were the one to explain it to him later." Dumbledore sighed and nodded.
"I think it may be best if you write down official orders for him so that I can prove what I am saying." Tsunade nodded and began writing down a letter to Kakashi. Right after handing Dumbledore the form, a puff of smoke announced the return of Kakashi. He looked no different than before except for the travel bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hokage-sama, you'll tell Anko for me right?" He felt slightly guilty for leaving his slightly psychotic girlfriend behind without even saying goodbye. But mostly regret because Anko's idea of bidding him farewell usually involved him strapped to a bed frame with little clothes on while she pumped his manhood dry. A little motive to come home to her in one piece she called it. It certainly worked.
"Don't worry." Tsunade smiled mischievously. "You'll be seeing her a lot sooner than you think." Blinking, Kakashi decided to take the Godaime's word for it.
"So where to Dumbledore-sama?"
"Well, you'll be living in the school for the first few weeks before term begins, but first things first. In order for you to blend into wizarding society, you must have a wand. And so to Diagon Alley!" Kakashi nodded.
"A wand?" he asked curiously.
"Yes, Yes. Hmmm. Now where is it?" Reaching into his purple robes, the old man pulled out a highly polished wooden stick. "In essence, shinobi and wizards both use what you call chakra and what we call magic. The difference being that you shinobi do not need wands and use hand seals I believe?" Tsunade nodded an affirmative to the man's question.
"From what I've seen, your hand seals allow you to control a much larger portion of your 'chakra' then wizards, but wands allow us to control our 'chakra' much more precisely then shinobi are able to." Giving his wand a small flick, Dumbledore jabbed the stick at the ink pad on Tsunade's desk while muttering words Kakashi didn't catch. The wad of paper seemed to bunch up and flow upwards into the shape of a sake bottle.
Kakashi picked it up gingerly and examined it with a critical eye. It seemed real enough, and the sake even smelled right. Tsunade snatched it out of his hands and after a quick whiff proceeded to take a swig from it. Sighing in pleasure, the woman placed the now empty bottle back onto the desk before facing her shinobi with a deadly serious look on her face. "Kakashi, I don't care what it takes, I want you to learn how to do that! That's an order!" Dumbledore chuckled.
"Well if you're ready then perhaps it's time for us to leave." The old man inclined his head at the Hokage before he walked over to the fireplace.
"Now Kakashi, we will be traveling by what the wizards call floo. Take a pinch of the powder and throw it into the flames and it should turn green." Following his own instructions, the headmaster released a pinch of powder into the flames causing it to turn into a bright shade of jade.
"Shout out the name of your destination, and the flames should grow high enough to allow you to walk into them. I'll go first so that you can see how it's done. Our destination is Diagon Alley." The man pronounced the foreign name a few more times until Kakashi could repeat the name with confidence. Kakashi watched closely as his client shouted his destination while stepping into the emerald flames. Turning around, he bade the Godaime farewell with a lazy two finger salute, and repeated the old man's actions.
As soon as he stepped into the flames, Kakashi regretted having eaten earlier during his quick return trip to his spartan apartment. The world became a green blur, as the shinobi felt his body being thrown around in a cyclone of energy, he noticed the multitude of sounds and voices coming from numerous other exit points in the wall of flames that flashed by at a blinding rate. This continued for a few minutes before he saw an opening at the tunnel of green energy. As soon as he fell down into the fireplace, he flipped around back onto his feet with a kunai drawn, ignoring the ash that clung to his person. Senses drinking in his surroundings while scanning for danger, he came to the conclusion that he was no longer in Konoha.
The place was dimply lit with what appeared to be candle light, and shady clients sat around in what passed for a bar judging by the strong smell of alcohol from behind the counter.. Nobody seemed to find a man falling out of the fireplace out of the ordinary. There had been some quick glances at Kakashi, but then most turned their attention back to whatever it was they had been doing. As he continued to scan the room, his eyes caught the familiar purple robes of the elderly man that had hired him. He was currently chatting with a hunched over man in a language that gave Kakashi a headache to listen to. Turning around, Dumbledore gestured for Kakashi to join them.
Walking over to his client, Kakashi found that he could not understand a single word that the hunched over man spoke even though Dumbledore seemed to be replying in the elemental nation's tongue. Dumbledore finished talking to the hunchback while Kakashi waited patiently for the headmaster all the while puzzling over the seemingly multilingual conversation taking place before him.
. "All right Kakashi-san, this way." Following the old man out of the building to a dead end alley behind the dingy building Kakashi decided to voice his concerns.
"Dumbledore-san, I don't seem to understand your language. This could become a problem if I am to teach at your school." Dumbledore smacked himself on the head even as he chuckled slightly.
"Ah, I must apologize Kakashi-san, in all the excitement I forgot to give you the potion." Reaching into yet another pocket in his robes, Dumbledore pulled out a small flask of foul looking liquids. The dark brown stuff bubbled and hissed with malevolence.
"Drink this down, and you will be able to understand our language and speak it perfectly fine. Its how I was able to communicate with you." When he saw Kakashi hesitate, he gave an understanding chuckle. "Don't worry, it's not poison."
Still slightly suspicious, but deciding that if the client had paid that much to assassinate him then it would be worth it to the village to take that risk, Kakashi pulled his mask down quickly and downed the potion before Dumbledore could even catch a glimpse of his face. The potion itself tasted like old socks laced with mint and banana. Choking behind his mask, Kakashi was pretty sure he had been poisoned.
Dumbledore blinked. He had been hoping to catch a glimpse of his employee's face. As Kakashi caught his breath from the horrible mixture he had just swallowed, Dumbledore began counting bricks. After finding the correct combination, he tapped the correct brick with his wand. The entire wall seemed to shift before Kakashi's eyes, individual bricks squirming and reorienting until an archway appeared before them. If this was genjutsu, then Kakashi had seen better.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Dumbledore's cheerful announcement was almost lost amongst the din and hubbub of the shoppers crowding the narrow street before them
The veteran shinobi stared in wonder at what lay before him. Hundreds of people wandered about shopping, all wearing those ridiculous bath robes, though the majority seemed to be flavoring black. He followed wordlessly as Dumbledore led him down the alley, listening to the rambling of the old man and filing away any useful information. Soon, they arrived at a rundown old shop. In the dusty windows, Kakashi could make out a single wand laying on a purple pillow on display.
"Well Kakashi, this is where we will be getting you a wand." Kakashi nodded and followed him into the quiet building. He stood still inside the seemingly abandoned shop as Dumbledore rang a bell on the desk. The soft ding seemed to carry on forever, and for a moment Kakashi strained his ears to try to capture how large the shop was based off the echo from the bell.
"Well, it seems I have a customer." Whirling around Kakashi nearly killed the old man standing behind him. His heart beating wildly, Kakashi lowered the blade that had unconsciously made its way into his right hand. That man had managed to sneak up on him, and very few people could sneak up on Kakashi. The old man blinked and then laughed when Kakashi replaced the blade into its proper holding container.
"My Albus, he sure is a cautious one isn't he?" Dumbledore gave a soft chuckle and nodded in agreement.
"He needs a wand Garrick, and I could think of no finer shop to go to." Examining the ninja with a critical eye, Olivander pulled out a tape measure and began measuring every part of Kakashi.
"Well if it is a wand you seek, you have certainly come to the right place." Chuckling at his own shameless statement, the thin balding man released the tape where it hung in midair before Kakashi. "Which is your wand hand?" Kakashi stared at the tape measure which was currently operating on its own. Sure, a Suna puppeteer could easily do the same thing with chakra strings, but the man obviously wasn't manipulating his fingers in any way due to the fact he was currently climbing up a ladder to riffle through the thousands of boxes placed neatly together on the seven level shelves that ringed the shop.
" Ambidextrous." The tape was currently measuring the area between Kakashi's crotch, and what that had to do with finding a wand was beyond him. Nodding his head, Olivander began pulling out boxes from the top most shelf he was currently leaned against as the tape measure fell to the floor lifeless. Kakashi poked the tape measure with his foot but it didn't move. What a strange world Dumbledore-san lived in.
Kakashi looked up as Olivander returned with a stack of small long boxes. Pulling off the lid of the box at the top of the stack, the deceptively spry old man pulled out a wand and handed the dull looking wooden stick to the shinobi. Not sure what he was supposed to do, he grabbed the wand prepared for anything. Nothing happened.
"Hmm. No, definitely not unicorn and holly." Jerking the wand out of his hand, Olivander thrust another wand at Kakashi. Grabbing this one, he once again failed to get the reaction Olivander wanted, because that wand was replaced by yet another. Minutes passed as Kakashi became extremely bored grabbing random sticks a strange old man was handing to him. \
As Olivander handed him yet another wand, this time he felt a reaction even before it reached his hand. It felt like he was touching a part of himself that he had never been aware of. As he grasped the wand, Kakashi felt his chakra being pulled away from his body, the strangest sensation when he was so used to forcing his chakra to move on his own. The wand sizzled with energy at the tip, emitting a familiar chirping sound and Kakashi could feel the heat emitted by the wand.
"Bravo Mr Hatake!" Dumbledore was clapping like he had just done the most amazing demonstration. Olivander seemed just as delighted as Dumbledore as he hurriedly wrapped up his new wand.
"Well, it seems you're more the dragon heartstring and ash type eh? You will no doubt find offensive magic much easier than anything else with this piece." Kakashi nodded, trying his best to look like he knew what the hell the old man was saying.
"Transfiguration may not be too difficult either, though I'd be careful with charms. That branch of magic requires a certain amount of flexibility that this wand lacks." The wand maker continued to mutter to himself as he finished wrapping the channeling medium. After paying the odd man, Dumbledore and Kakashi exited the store.
"Well, that's it for now Kakashi-san. Next stop will be Hogwarts." Dumbledore pulled out a sock from his pocket causing Kakashi to stare at his employer. Sweet Kami, he was working for a maniac. Taking out his wand, the ancient wizard tapped the sock muttering something under his breath that sounded like gibberish to Kakashi even with the potion in effect.
The sock glowed blue for a second, then went back to normal. "Touch the sock please." Kakashi eyeballed Dumbledore for a second, wondering if the Hokage would kill him if he ran away from the client. Clearly the man was going senile. Sighing, Kakashi decided he had done a lot dumber and much more dangerous things then touching a sock, and poked the piece of clothing cautiously. With a violent jerk in his navel, Kakashi managed to utter a single curse before Diagon Alley disappeared into a miasma of color.
