EDITED – 27/02/2011


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CHAPTER ONE—
Surprises


Neji paused before inhaling sharply and responding in a condescending tone. "Well, for starters, the catalyst for the stream of events that followed was undoubtedly the arrival of a certain someone at our door, not two days after our arrival at the Leaky Cauldron. That was your first mistake."

"You've got to be kidding me."

Sakura stared at the man before her with lidded eyes, her hand still gripping the aging handle of the wooden door loosely. The muscles in his large chest rippled beneath skin-tight clothes—a green singlet and tight black shorts—as he chuckled before he breathed in and sent the frozen pinkette a thumbs-up. Sakura swore there was a flash of light that reflected on his teeth from behind his massive hand—she was tempted to observe around to see if there was any light that could have done that.

"No kidding here!" The man beamed.

She only vaguely felt her bottom lip droop before she half gazed over her shoulder and screamed, "Neji-san!" The brunette was by her side in a heartbeat.

"What is—" His sentence slowed as he took in who was at the door, "—it. Gai-sensei?" Neji looked completely perplexed as Sakura stared wide-eyed at his face in absolute horror, her eyes practically screaming/demanding if he knew why the jounin was right outside their room.

"Indeed it is I, Neji-kun!" Gai chuckled, moving his thumb to the side towards his student. Sakura's hand on the handle tightened.

Neji's jaw stiffened. "What—"

There was a blur and a rustle of clothes just milliseconds before Lee—dressed in British garments, sans hitai-ate, just like the rest of them—appeared in front of them, his eyes shining with mirth and his hands clasped together. "Gai-sensei!"

"Hello, Lee-kun," the older mirror-image grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "Tsunade-sama sent me to escort the four of you around this... er, youthful place..." Sakura had a feeling that he used that word, 'youthful', when he couldn't find a better adjective or a proper word to describe his intention. "...and ensure your utmost safety until you begin at your youthful school." His inhalation was deep. "An honour."

"Oh, Gai-sensei."

"Don't cry, Lee-kun, there is much to do and—you'll wreck your shirt."

Lee's watery eyes instantly dried as he straightened and saluted his teacher. Sakura and Neji both shared the same expression of absolute fear—though Neji's was far less extreme—at what was about to come their way while Gai stayed with them until they left. Sakura never thought she'd wish that day would come sooner—and find something that both she and the Hyuuga were mutual with. One over-the-top, exuberant guy was bad enough, but another?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Sakura cut in, crossing her hands over the other repeatedly as she shook her head. "Wait."

Gai raised a bushy eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

"So that's why you're here but..." she swallowed, hoping that the man—and for that matter, Neji and Lee—wouldn't be insulted for what she was about to say. "...why you?"

The green beast laughed, dropping a large hand on Sakura's small shoulder, to which her eye twitched. "I was the only jounin to spare after my... little mishap on a solo mission." She got the hint, but was intent in moving the hand resting on her shoulder like a dead weight purely with her eyes; her whole right side was growing numb.

Gai chuckled approvingly as Sakura nodded minutely. "Now, where is the fourth? Where is Aburame, Shino?" He pronounced every syllable in an almost song-like way.

Sakura sent a desperate glance, when Lee and Gai weren't looking, to Neji who matched her gaze, and she felt her chest cave when she took note of his resigned expression. She stepped out of the way to let the teacher in to their humble abode—two rooms consisting of a bathroom, and a larger room where they slept; Sakura's bed separated by a white sheet. At the same time, Shino walked into the room; his eyes, hidden behind his black glasses, were no doubt running over Gai, resulting in the rise of one of his eyebrows.

"I thought this mission was to be done with just the four of us?" he asked monotonously, seemingly ignorant to the water droplets dripping from his wet locks.

"It was and still is," Neji responded. "Gai-sensei is—"

"—here to escort you around this youthful place until—"

"—untilweleaveforHogwart's," Sakura cut in quickly. It may have been rude, yes, but the Green Beast always drew out everything he said, making her antsy. It was only when he was on the move that he was faster.

To her surprise, as she closed her eyes and waited for a scold that she was used to getting from Tsunade-shishou, Gai merely guffawed. "Someone's in a rush to explore this place!" Sakura felt herself blanch wehn he patted her back. To him, it was lightly, to her, well, she had to stumble forward a few steps to regain her balance. "Good work, Sakura-chan! That's the spirit!"

Her face went white ("Sakura-chan?" she mouthed to herself) and she sent an inconspicuous look to Neji, wanting to know how the hell he dealt with this almost twenty hours a day (and because of the fact that Gai-sensei had misinterpreted what she said), but then she caught sight of his lip twitching into a constrained smile. She frowned instead, glaring.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "I see."

Gai looked triumphant, his nostrils flaring. Lee looked proud, nodding at Sakura with a soft snort as if to say 'good work'. Sakura, herself, was a little shaken. I'm surrounded by freaks and... scary people, she mused to herself while she closed the door hurriedly at the sound of magic-folk coming up the rickety steps.

Tsunade's eyes thinned. "Gai-kun was the only jounin around who was even able to go."

"But why was one needed, Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura asked suddenly. She hesitated at the end of her question, remembering who she was talking to and what she was capable of. True, her training had fared well before the mission, but Sakura still couldn't shake the overwhelming intimidation the Hokage held, especially since she had witnessed her frustration first hand.

The gliding of her honey-coloured eyes over to her student resulted in a slight flinch from the pinkette. "Three chuunin and one fresh jounin in an entirely different world for the first time for any Leaf ninja; I think that's a good enough reason, don't you? Gai-kun's arrival may have been late, but the four of you could not depart at a later date to wait for the presence of a fully-trained jounin sensei.

"You may be a jounin Hyuuga, Neji, but another adult jounin would have been required, as per usual to a mission. And it was only until you left that he would stay around."

"Then that would have been the first mistake, Hokage-sama," Shino intervened. His voice was gravelly, monotonous.

"So you've said," Tsunade nodded. "Still you've yet to explain how."

Neji leaned forward in his seat. Sakura felt herself gawk at the change, as well as the alter in respect of the deliverance of the report. It was almost as though the two males were accusing Tsunade-shishou for what happened at Hogwarts, yet she couldn't have known. It was stupid. It was dangerous. And she voiced her concern by catching Neji's eye and shaking her head slightly in worry, but he just gave a glare in return.

"Have you ever been to Britain, Hokage-sama?" Neji asked rhetorically. The furrow of the Hokage's brow answered his question—no. "The people there are easily stunned by out-of-the-ordinary things. The magic-folk are even the same way, despite being unordinary themselves." He paused. "Do you have any ide—"

"I'd watch your tone, Hyuuga," Tsunade cut in, her fingers now laced before her penetrating eyes. Sakura froze, fearing this reaction. Honestly, Neji's disrespect was a surprise, but she supposed that what had occurred over the past year may have been a reason for that. He had seen—they all had—so many different things at Hogwarts that the stress of it all as the leader of the group would have no doubt caused some frustration to fester in his mind. And now having his Hokage inform him that his first mission as leader was a job badly done... well, it must have harmed his pride.

Neji bowed his head in apology, and Sakura watched in trepidation as he inhaled. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama, there are many things on my mind."

"Done. Now go on."

He continued where he left off. Sakura sighed in relief when he started on a better note. "Having Lee-kun and Gai-sensei together was a bad idea, put shortly. Their antics when together is widely known in Konoha, and very well tolerated. Not many people would think too ill of them, as it has become almost normal. But in Britain, in Diagon Alley, it was not."

Hagrid was in a good mood when he arrived at the ninja room, only to have the door suddenly fling open and be met with a large cheesy grin of a strange, tall man with a bowl-shaped hair-cut and skin tight clothes. What's more frightening was that the man didn't seem to notice that he couldn't understand a word he was saying as he herded the giant into the room and patted his back as though they were lifelong friends. What surprised Hagrid even more was that the ninja looked to be used to it—though he could note the paleness of Sakura's skin as her green eyes darted around worriedly.

Neji had said something in their native language, causing Hagrid to scrunch his nose as he stared at them in confusion. The Hyuuga paused before understanding. Seeing that there was a definite language barrier, he slipped a simple, silver pendant around his neck that was provided by Dumbledore beforehand with a set of instructions—the remaining three followed suit. Neji introduced the older, stranger man and what his role was.

"What are we doing today, Hagrid-san?" Neji said next, curiosity evident in his eyes. In the background, Sakura had smirked at how strange an English name sounded.

The giant looked relaxed as the young ninja took charge, but he watched the beaming man with a close eye.

"Uh, well," he started somewhat nervously, "Dumbledore 'ad sent me ter show yer where to go fer yer 'quipment." He was referring to the list that was given to them two days before by the Landlord of the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, Neji had his already out and he swiped it from his bed to gaze at it. Many of the objects required for their year at Hogwarts were most definitely going to be sold in some sort of secluded shopping market, but he wondered where such a place would be to remain hidden from 'Muggles'.

"Right," Sakura recalled. "We still need to get in our last minute cram, don't we?" Shino and Neji nodded—the latter a little distractedly. "So we'd need books and we were told that... we'd need wands?"

Hagrid gestured to her as if she was correct, something to which she beamed at despite her upbringing—who could resist those warm, brown eyes? "'xactly. That's where I'm takin yer now. Diagon Alley," he said with pride.

All the student ninja appeared interested by the title of this place, and as Gai—who somehow knew they were about to leave despite not actually knowing what they were saying—had Lee, Sakura and Shino (with difficulty of course) get the barest essentials for their trip, Neji approached Hagrid quietly, the list still in his hands, a frown marring his clear face. "Hagrid-san."

"Hmm?"

Somehow, Neji couldn't help but respect this man. He was helpful, kind-hearted—maybe a little too much—and didn't ask too many questions about who each of the ninja were and provided them with privacy. The ex-wizard was interested, of course, but didn't utter a word. He was actually one of the few that knew of their real background, but he did not know the mission.

"Where is Diagon Alley?" he asked.

The giant's eyes lit up. "Now tha' you'll find out soon 'nough."

Neji didn't feel particularly pleased with the secrecy but nodded nonetheless, turning back to the others who were shuffling about in a degree of excitement. "We might need to get another language pendant for Gai-sensei while he's here. Sakura-san, did we receive an extra?"

"No—yes!"

"Dumbledore-sensei's a little more well-prepared than we thought," Shino muttered on the sideline beside Hagrid, who only glanced at him in response.

It took them another ten minutes to depart their room, wherein Gai was absolutely baffled with the language charm and the other magical trinkets on their way down to the kitchen—the others were too, but had done most of their gawking the night before. Sakura and Shino both wondered how he wasn't delayed by staring at everyone on the way up, and Neji found himself having to lead his sensei away from a huddle of wizard's garbed entirely in flashy robes because the Green Beast saw fit to advertise green spandex. Hagrid was embarrassed, tilting his head in apology as he directed the group in a different direction to the exit, much to their confusion.

"Yer a strange lot," he muttered as he sidled through the group to the front and stood before a slimy, stone wall. The ninja all looked curiously around his thick body, while Gai stood directly by him and watched, wondering what 'youthful magic' display Hagrid would show them—though the sensei doubted anything the giant did could beat the moving chairs, which he found amazing in itself. Neji, Shino and Sakura agreed, but also couldn't deny the tingle of impending knowledge of magic.

They just knew they had seen nothing yet.

The way of the ninja would be a sight to see for a human—magic or non—but magic in itself was very different to what the shinobi could do. Sure, their speed could almost be considered as disappearing, from what they'd heard from Hagrid, but none of them could say that many ninja could move things just by the flick of a wrist; unless you were a puppeteer.

All five watched with careful eyes as Hagrid raised his umbrella and started tapping at selected bricks on the wall. At the last tap, there was a brief silence—they relaxed their shoulders as they had been expecting something sudden that they'd have to jump out of the way or the like (you never knew with magic, they learned)—before the bricks shifted, turning, twisting, peeling away at the centre until an archway was created. If that hadn't kept them gaping, it was the sight before them that did.

"Woah," Sakura said. They nodded in agreement.

Enough said.


"Yer Lady 'Kage sent quite a bit of money 'fore yer 'rrived. Dun worry 'bout it. It's been 'xchanged for wizarding money already, so it's right for spendin'," Hagrid explained as he trumped through the narrow street, the ninja right behind him considering he cleared the way with ease.

It was difficult trying to listen to what he was saying as they were distracted by so many things lining the sidewalk, such as the cages of owls and outside stalls displaying alchemic products promised inside the store. There were tonnes of people weaving out of the giant's way and groups bunched up at windows that showed brooms and pets. Sakura pointed out the sweet shop, an assortment of flashing candies winking at the group through the window as they passed. The inside was packed.

There were bookstores, small cafes, alchemy stores, broom stores, more bookstores, clothes stores, and so many more things that all the craning started to hurt Sakura's neck. She was suddenly jostled, and her green eyes flickered around her group, only to see them all standing and staring up at a massive towering building with crooked columns holding it.

Shino adjusted his glasses. "That shouldn't be possible by all laws of physics."

Neji smirked, patting the Aburame's shoulders as Hagrid ushered them into the building dubbed as 'Gringotts'. "Only in our world."

Sakura felt light as they passed under the huge arch of the building. Excitement was building up in her. She wanted to explore this new world, splurge, eat, read, or just simply browse. Her heart was pounding as she sent a wistful look back out to the filled streets.

"What are...?" she heard Neji start, and curious about his unfinished sentence, she moved away from behind Hagrid and took a look at the massive hall before her. Her jaw dropped. She had never seen such strange looking creatures.

"Goblins," Hagrid explained. "Don't look 'em in the eyes."

At that point, Lee was staring at one directly but tore his bug-like eyes from the black, beady ones scrutinising him to look at something else. The goblin muttered under its breath before walking off, a fat bag in his grey hands.

"What is your money like?" Sakura asked innocently. Hagrid approached one of the tall counters with a working goblin behind it and dropped a crumpled letter onto the desk. The goblin paused in his work and gingerly took the parchment, reading it. Meanwhile, the giant gazed down at the pink-haired ninja.

"Simple. Not sure 'bout yer money but 'ere it's all in galleons, sickles and knuts," he started, proceeding to skim over the workings of wizarding currency which only made her think that it was far more complicated than what it had to be. She decided she'd leave the math with Shino or Neji from then on.

As both Gai and Lee gazed around the gigantic room filled with dozens of small creatures and busy witches and wizards, Shino half turned to Neji beside him and remarked, "They're more like tourists, now."


Hagrid had left them not ten minutes ago, claiming he had other business he had to attend to on behalf of Dumbledore, but he had made sure that the ninja were prepared to go shopping by themselves before he left. They were left outside Gringott's bank, watching the magic-folk pass them by as they wondered where to go next.

"Excuse me," a witch said, and Sakura shyly shuffled into Shino to let her pass.

Neji looked uncertain. "Where do we start?" he asked, more to himself really.

Gai punched the air—Sakura inwardly gaped. "Alright! Let's go do some shopping!" he cried, ignoring the stares of some groups of magic-folk around him—Sakura noticed though, and was feeling slightly insecure. "What's first on the list, Neji-kun?"

The Hyuuga pulled out his copy of the list, eyes scouring the parchment. "There's a lot for us to get." Sakura read the page over his shoulder. "We should split up to get what's required and meet somewhere again later on," he suggested—sort of.

The destination and groups were quickly decided. Sakura and Neji were forced together by Gai after they started some sort of petty 'unyouthful' squabble about who'd go with whom. This left Shino, Lee and Gai, himself, as the other group—Shino didn't complain. His group meandered off quickly into the thickening crowds of the afternoon to search for the apothecary and alchemical equipment, such as the scales and cauldrons—the fitting of the robes and the like was their last stop. Neji and Sakura were left with the books, to which they both didn't complain about—Sakura had to roam through the ones there they had on magical healing—but had to get their robes beforehand. At three, they'd meet at Ollivander's, a wand shop recommended by Hagrid before he left. He had eyed them a bit queerly as he said it, though, a mask of worry in his brown eyes.

Tsunade's interest was piqued. "What happened?"

Neji tilted his head towards Shino, as if to say that he wasn't going to explain the story but the other would. The Aburame's lips thinned at the switch but explained anyway. "They got out of hand."

"Look at it," Gai beamed, waving his arm gigantically at the creaky store that had a chipped sign hanging over head saying 'Cauldrons'. Shino glanced behind to note that the apothecary was just across the street. "Imagine its youth in its prime days."

Lee nodded, watching witches and wizards stream in and out of the small store. "I can, sensei, I can!"

The larger man patted his student fondly on the back, chuckling. "Even though it's old and... maybe a little rundown... you can see the love in its use. The scratched painting of the walls. The chipped sign hanging like a beacon above the door." Shino looked away in slight embarrassment. "It almost makes you want to cry, doesn't it?"

The smaller replica nodded nearly tearfully, to which Shino thought it was high time to actually enter the store. He had the list of what they needed for their year already ingrained in his mind as he weaved through the semi-crowded building. It was loud, filled with chatter of excited kids—some older than him but many younger.

"My father said he was going get me a broom for my birthday," he heard a kid say as he squeezed past two of them staring out the window at a larger shop further down the street. Shino paused, running the word 'broom' over again in his mind. The kid couldn't be that excited about a regular broom could he?

His friend gasped. "No way. But I heard first years weren't allowed to bring brooms."

"Harry Potter did."

Shino froze, his eyes gazing over the shelf of small cauldrons in front of him but his mind was more focused on the kids' conversation. Harry Potter. This boy was most definitely a part of their mission; Secondary Task 2.

"He got onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team when he was in first year."

Quidditch? Hagrid hadn't said anything about that, but then again, they had only been in London for three days at the most. The giant couldn't have explained anything to them without risking the explosion of their heads. But what did this have to do with brooms? Shino shook his head and grabbed four pewter cauldrons', along with a few other essentials that he thought may be necessary. He'd have to talk with the others, and Hagrid.

Paying for the items, Shino took a few steps towards the exit when he heard a witch gape to her friend about something that was awfully familiar.

"Look at those two. Out on the street, in public, hugging."

Her friend shook her head in embarrassment. "I hope that man isn't trying to lure the boy anywhere. He can't be more than fifteen."

Shino peeked at the two witches from behind his glasses before swiftly leaving the store, quickly capturing sight of Gai-sensei and Lee embracing each other like they usually did in Konoha. He halted, dark eyes scanning the streets to see dozens of heads turning their way and whispering secretively to a person nearby. He had to stop it, but found himself too late when a young blond boy, tailed by two others with a bulkier structure, approached his teammates.

He couldn't hear the exchange of words over the deafening chatter of the narrow street, but he could clearly see the curl of the boy's lips into a familiar smirk. A smirk that spoke of superiority. Shino stepped forward, watching closely at Lee and Gai's expression. The sensei was laughing, awkwardly though, and appeared to be trying to usher the boys away but the blond one slapped away his muscled arm with a sneer. Lee's face was clearly masked. Even a genin could see the hurt in his eyes.

Shino moved from the crowd to his teammates in calm steps, matching the blond's grey eyes as he glanced in his direction. Silent, the Aburame stood; unmoving. The teenage wizard sneered at him as well, saying "What? Another freak?" to himself and his friends who laughed. Shino's lips thinned as he shifted slightly so that his elbow brushed the blond's, a clear warning signal.

In his eyes flashed uncertainty, looking Shino up and down with a curled lip. He took a step towards him. "What do you want?"

Shino remained still, keeping his brown eyes trained on the boy through his dark glasses.

"What are you, blind and mute?" the blond sniggered—his cronies chuckled too. It was disgusting how they followed him so blindly, but still, Shino remained unmoving.

Unmoving until another wizard suddenly appeared from the crowd. "What's going on here?" he demanded with a strong voice. He was an authority figure, a wizard policeman; it was obvious. He was garbed in royal purple wizarding robes, and his hair was a dull brown, his hairline receding. His thin moustache twitched as he eyed both Shino and the blond offender carefully.

The boy scoffed, suddenly noticing the thick crowd around him. He growled, pushing passed his cronies and disappearing into the mass without another word but it seemed abundantly clear that he had more he wanted to say on the matter.

Shino, meanwhile, regarded the taller wizard quietly.

Gai laughed. "It is a matter that's already settled, good sir," he said to the wizard. He bared his teeth and gave him a cheesy grin as though the mere sight of it would diffuse the tension.

The policeman straightened, slipping a drawn wand back into his robes. "Mr Malfoy is certainly tenacious. Whatever he did, pay him no heed," he said before stalking away, shooing away the gawking crowd of magic-folk. Shino stared after him, his hand tightening around the bags ever so slightly.

Malfoy, he repeated. I'll remember it.

"How could this occurrence affect what happened for the rest of the year?" Tsunade asked. She was confused. Yes, she was irritated that some foolish boy had chosen to take his dislike for public affection to the next level, and that Shino had put himself out in the open like that, but there wasn't a visible link yet.

"Malfoy," Sakura started before the other two. She sighed. "Malfoy was like a school bully. No, scratch that. He is a school bully. He had a reputation of being a snobby, stuck-up father's boy, and got his way by manipulating the fear people had for his family. They're Purebloods." She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Go figure. The point is, Tsunade-shishou, when he started something, others followed. In other words, Shino-san and Lee-kun—particularly Lee-kun—were targets."

The Hokage groaned into her hand, seeing the problem. "Kids," she muttered, then waved a hand at the three ninja. "Continue. Tell me everything."


"They're late," Sakura stated, pacing between where Neji was leaning against the wall of Ollivander's and the entrance to said shop. She'd glance into it every now and then, excitement almost taking control of her. She was looking forward to this bit; they all probably did. Her time at Flourish & Blott's was interesting still. She had found a few books that related to magical medicine but didn't want to purchase them until she further approved it with Shishou. Her and Neji had even sat down at one of the desks and glossed over the contents page for each of the books, picking out anything that interested them. Actually, it was just Sakura that did that, and she insisted on leaving when she got tired of Neji's dismissal of her interest.

Neji frowned. "You've been saying that for a while now."

She rounded on him, hands on her hips. "So?"

"It's annoying."

She poked her tongue out at him. "Deal with it. The wait is killing me. Oh, Kami, Naruto-kun! You weren't there for a year but still you rubbed off on me!" she screamed into the air, punching it comically. Heaving, Sakura resumed her pacing, only to see a few young wizards around her age that were staring at her, befuddled. She scratched her head nervously before grabbing one of the bags by Neji's feet and slinking into the shop, her cheeks red.

The Hyuuga rolled his eyes.

A slight tug on his black pants forced him to open his eyes and glare at whoever disturbed him, but he faulted when he saw a young girl, about eight or nine, grinning at him. She wore an amusing pointy black hat—similar to what he and Sakura purchased earlier—that was too big for her head and slipped over her eyes. She pouted and pushed it back, brown eyes shining at him.

Neji was unnerved by this girl's sudden interest, and he looked around wildly to find an adult that was escorting the child. There were none that were watching her. And he wasn't skilled with kids. At all. Cursing his luck, he gazed back down at the hay-blonde female and said, "Hello."

"Hiya! You're really pretty!"

His skin went white, and within seconds he grabbed the remaining bags at his feet and followed after Sakura, leaving the girl behind blinking in confusion. He really wasn't good with kids, especially when they hinted at him being effeminate—damn their naivety.


The store was stuffy, the air filled with dust. She eyed the vacant benches, noting that the wood was decaying with age. The whole room was so quiet that Sakura feared to make any noise, and so she placed her bags down quietly by the chair as she gazed curiously at the packed walls behind the counter. There were small boxes stacked on top of each other, and not exactly neatly either. She took a step closer to the counter, green eyes peeking curiously at the glass objects and yellow parchments littering the surface. She counted five or so lengthy woods, no doubt wands.

Bang!

Sakura jumped, whirling around to see Neji dropped his bags by hers. "Shh, Neji-san. You scared me," she reprimanded quietly. He raised an eyebrow at her but she merely rolled her eyes. "Decided to join me did you?" she whispered.

Neji shrugged, his own eyes gazing at the high walls. "Don't be smart with me, Haruno-san. I'm not in the mood," he responded just as quietly, though it was more of a hiss.

"Whatever," she ended.

He stepped up beside her. "Why are you whispering?" he asked softly.

Sakura shook her head. "I dunno. It just seemed appropriate."

Neji groaned and rolled his eyes, strolling to the wooden seat and dropping himself into it, momentarily freezing when it creaked at his sudden weight. "They should be here soon," he said, forgoing the low volume. He was sorely tempted to activate his Byakugan to search this place, considering the few aisles that could be seen from the counter seemed to go on forever. However, doing any sort of trick with chakra caused a drain on the body, no matter what the jutsu was. They had learned this upon arrival when he was goaded—so he said—into using his kekkei genkai on the Leaky Cauldron.

The effects of activating his bloodline was further dulled, his sight not as far as he was used to. Furthermore, using it felt as though there was a force that was pushing back on him. None of them understood what was going on and were forced to limit the use of their techniques to an extent, at least until they figured out what was going on.

When Tom, the Leaky Cauldron Landlord, had given him mail on the first day in Britain from Dumbledore, they had received some assumptions—as well as the equipment list—on the clashing of the two energies: magic and chakra. In small, spidery hand writing, the Headmaster had written some theories: that the magical atmosphere may dampen any jutsu used because of the obvious difference in energy. That, if raw chakra came in contact with magic, there may be some unknown effects. All in all, he was incredibly vague.

There was a sliding sound, and within several seconds a man slid into view from the aisles, gripping onto a ladder. He eyed them carefully, his white hair wispy like fairy floss. The robes he wore were old and moth-eaten, but it suited the decor of the rest of the store. He mumbled to himself as he descended his ladder ("more than welcome to ring the bell") and approached the counter.

"Good afternoon, young witch and wizard." He smiled somewhat serenely but Sakura was a little unnerved by him. They both nodded a 'hello' in response. "Your wand arm," he then said.

She stared at him in confusion but raised her right arm, assuming he meant the arm she used the most. He nodded, and a measuring tape curled into the air from its coiled form on the desk and proceeded to gauge the length of her arm.

"Uh, Ollivander-san?" Sakura tested. The old wizard responded with bob of his head, though did a double-take when he realised she had said -san. "We're—I mean—my friend—uh..." she glanced over at Neji and stared at him. He wasn't really a friend, more like her leader at the moment. Just because they were doing a mission together didn't mean they had to be friends. Tolerate each other, yes, but not friends. Still, she settled with that description and continued on. "We're waiting for others as well."

"Fine, fine," Ollivander dismissed, eying Sakura with light blue, almost white, eyes. He muttered a few more things under his breath and she swore she caught the words 'swishy, unicorn hair, and fig' but not all in the same sentence.

He disappeared into the aisles almost excitedly, coming back seconds later with a box. Tenderly, the wizard passed the wand to Sakura, who took it carefully as though the strength she had developed from her training with Tsunade would snap it. "Rowan and unicorn tail hair, ten inches, flexible," he said, and then actioned for her to swish it.

She stared at the tip of the finely carved wood, praying she'd get the channelling of chakra well enough, before swinging it in the air. There was hardly a reaction, but she noticed that it felt odd in her grip, before Ollivander yanked it from her hands and left to find another one.

"Mahogany," he said, handing a new one over. "Unicorn tail hair, eight inches, sturdy."

Like before, Sakura swished the wand, though very minutely. A plant pot beside Neji's head shattered—he jumped away—and again the wand was taken away. "Sorry," Sakura mumbled to the both of them.

"Trying to hurt me, Sakura-san?" Neji remarked as he seated himself down in his original spot. There was an unspoken sentence in the air; did she overdo the chakra?

Sakura let it go and peered over her shoulder at him. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd stab you with it."

"You better not, young lady," Ollivander scolded upon his return, a dull, green box in his wrinkly hands. "Wands are a part of the witch or wizard. It is like their own arm. Here, try this. Birch and dragon heartstring, swishy. Eight inches."

Sakura held her breath, hoping this would be the last wand. She took the wand just like before, and instantly she felt a warmth envelope her. This was a good sign. It had to be. She swished it smoothly through the air and she stared as her wand dribbled a few golden sparks. Her heart was racing while her body temperature dropped to normal, her hasty breathing steadily slowing as the seconds passed.

Ollivander looked pleased. "Good, good. I thought that'd suit you. Now you, young man. Up you get." Like before, the measuring tape slithered through the air and started sizing Neji before he had even stood up.

It felt good holding it in her hand. She could understand what he meant by it being a part of the person, but yet she wondered how she'd be able to use this in actual combat. It'd have to be quick, and it supposedly was if it was 'swishy.' That was good. As a medic-nin in training, she was taught to be able to dodge, and a fast casting wand would prove useful for defence.

"What's it like?" the Hyuuga asked as he glared at the offending tape measuring the size of his head.

"You'll see," Sakura replied knowingly, fingering the light coloured wood and the small carvings around the handle. Neji grunted at the lack of an answer—like he could talk.

Ollivander returned, a black box in his hands. He handed the wand to Neji. "Yew with dragon heartstrings. Inflexible and six inches."

Neji glared at the wood, feeling ridiculous having to rely on such a silly stick for the use of magic when he knew that chakra was better. But it'd be a challenge, and a great opportunity. He wasn't one to pass these things by, so he swished it.

"We've—" Shino started.

Smash!

The glass for the wooden door suddenly exploded everywhere but somehow didn't harm anybody near the door or in the room. Shino was frozen, however, his hand still gripping the unoiled handle tightly with a curious but surprised Gai and Lee behind him. Seconds later and Sakura was giggling, Neji sending her a glare.

"Silence, Sakura-san."

She bit her tongue but it didn't stop the cheesy grin. Either it was the wand or Neji had done the exact same thing she had done.

Neji placed the dark wand on the counter while the rest of the team cautiously stepped into the room, gazing around like the other two had done before.

"What happened?" Sakura asked. "I mean, you're late by twenty minutes."

"Nothing much," Shino responded vaguely, earning a stare from the pinkette.

"Reed with a unicorn tail hair core. Eight inches, springy." And just as quickly the wizard snatched it away. Neji glared. He was given another one not long after, Ollivander stepping back to observe the combination. Neji swished it.

All of a sudden a pile of papers started zooming around the room, and just as quickly the spell was broken and the parchments floated to the floor.

"That's the spirit, Neji-kun!" Gai called in the background, but Ollivander snorted, returning to the aisles and fiddling around. Shino raised his eyebrows at what had happened, eyeing Neji's broad back as the elder ninja returned the wand to the shopkeeper—in the background Lee was getting measured by the floating tape. Both Green Beasts were eying it with interest, grins on their faces.

"That isn't meant to happen, Gai-sensei," Sakura explained. "The wand rejected him."

"So the wand chooses the owner," Shino mused as the pinkette nodded.

"Walnut and phoenix tail feather. Sturdy, eight inches."

A swish.

"You know right awa—yeek!"

Sakura's chair shuddered all of a sudden and she shot up from it, gluing herself to Lee's back as all occupants eyed the furniture. Gai started laughing, finding both Sakura and the chair youthful with the way they moved. He stated he was looking forward to the rest of the results, all the while patting Lee's back reassuringly.

"It seems these wands are strong in their dislike to be fitted with you. Try this one," Ollivander sighed with excitement. "Oak, dragon heartstring. Inflexible, and ten inches."

Neji knew exactly what Sakura had meant when she said he'd know. As soon as his fingers touched the thin wood, a warm sea seemed to flood his body and the wand grew slightly hot in his palm. This was it. This was his. This wand chose him. It was like a sealing contract. He waved it nonetheless and felt slightly elated to see the golden sparks spew from the tip.

"Excellent!" the old wizard cried. "I knew that would be it the moment I saw it."

Gai slapped Neji's back hard as he moved to the back of the room, making the Hyuuga cough and almost drop his new wand. "Good work, Neji-kun! Lee-kun, you're up!"

The chuunin ninja bounded to the counter excitedly, his fingers gripping the edge of it tightly. His bug-like eyes were wide as he watched Ollivander climb back down the ladder and take out a wand from a pale, golden box. "I think this is perfect for you," the wizard said ominously. "Holly with a phoenix tail feather. Nine inches and quite springy."

Lee gripped it and the old man was correct. Just like Neji and Sakura, Lee felt warm and stared with amazement as the tip of his thin wand spilled several sparks of red after he swished it. It was beautiful; youthful.

It was Shino's turn now. Ollivander eyed him for a moment before returning to the back. In the moment he was gone, the ninja discussed what they had to do next. Since everything was bought already—except for their optional pet, Lee pointed out—they chose to return to their room in the Leaky Cauldron and unpack their belongings. Neji suggested starting cramming right after dinner in the Inn but his idea was rejected by Gai-sensei who persuaded them with flowery words to explore the rest of Diagon Alley and see if there were any odds and ends they'd want to buy. Sakura found herself agreeing, anticipating a squabble if they tried to plan out a study schedule among them this early.

Before long, Ollivander returned. "Kaya wood, dragon heartstrings. Flexible. Seven inches." Shino prepared to swish it like he had seen Neji doing before but the wand was gone from his grasp before he had the chance. He found himself disappointed, curious about what would have happened if it wasn't for him.

The next few did not suit him, and during the following ten minutes, Shino had forced several wand boxes in the aisle in front of them to shoot from their rest and clatter of the floor and torn his shirt. He was irritated. It was his favourite. And Sakura was getting tired of having to be on edge considering practically anything could go wrong in the shop if there was a strong contrast between the wand and the 'wizard'.

As Ollivander put the dragon heartstrings with Hawthorn wand away, it was clear that everyone was getting antsy. Lee couldn't stop moving and Gai refused to halt his pacing in front of the door. Both of them continuously looked outside, dying to stretch their legs.

"Yew with dragon heartstrings as the core. Sturdy, ten inches."

The wood vibrated in his hand the moment he had his fingers wrapped around the handle, and instead of feeling the warm sensation that the others had described, it was the slightest bit colder but still noticeable. It was his the moment he swished it and saw the familiar sparks spurt from the tip. He frowned at his new wand, wondering what exactly the previous sensation was meant to mean but he was quickly ushered from the counter as Gai—keeper of the remaining money—payed Ollivander and rushed outside with Lee.

"To the youthful Leaky Cauldron!" Gai-sensei declared. Sakura was thankful the streets weren't as populated as they had been when they entered the store.


"Wake up my youthful Cherry Blossom to a most glorious morning!"

Sakura blearily parted her glued lids to see Lee's blurry face grinning back at her. She groaned and rolled over, burying her head into the wheat-scented pillow. She was warm. But as Lee nudged her again and mentioned breakfast loudly in her ear—as well as hearing Gai singing in the shower (the Leaky Cauldron were kind enough to provide a mattress for him on the floor for the night)—Sakura shot up from her bed.

Lee was gone and she grabbed at the white sheet separating her from the rest of the room and gaped at the already dressed and groomed Neji and Shino—the former was tying up his shoelaces, a look of concentration on his face. Lee was dancing along with Gai's singing in the other room, swaying in circles.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up earlier?" Sakura asked, climbing out of her warm bed and patting mournfully at her bed-hair.

"It is five am," Shino responded. "It still is early."

"Oh." She plodded to her duffel bag and rummaged through it.

Neji, the leader he was, handed Sakura a piece of paper. "That's the cramming schedule. I did it this morning when I couldn't sleep with Gai-sensei's snoring." Sakura giggled at the thought of a sleep-deprived Hyuuga and mentally thanked Kami for letting her sleep through the entire thing. "Since you and Aburame-san are in the year below Lee-kun and I, you have to study a few different things according to what subjects you chose."

Sakura nodded. She knew them, having decided them before they left Konoha—Shishou had sent the responses off to Dumbledore. "Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures."

Neji's lips tightened. "Three electives, Sakura-san. Impressive."

Her ears went slightly pink at the compliment but she sent the Hyuuga a glare, knowing full well that he was goading her. "Continue," she condescended, running a brush through her knotted hair and wiping some sleep from her eye.

"The schedule is simple. Learn what you need to individually. Any help required, just ask, and don't act smart."

"What better advice to follow than your own?" she responded with quickly.

Neji gritted his teeth. "You're being smart, Sakura-san." Her response was an 'innocent', but tired, smile, to which he scowled to before he continued. "And here I thought you weren't a morning person," he muttered.

"Oh," Sakura groaned as she stood, her pyjama's rising a little to bare her midriff as she stretched. "It must be Lee-kun's wake-up call, or Gai-sensei's wonderful singing, but for some reason, I'm in a good mood."

Shino raised his head from a book on Herbology. "I'm sure you're jesting."

Her giggle was like a sigh before her stomach growled. Neji rolled his eyes before shoving the parchment into her hand. His writing on it was a little messy due to inexperience with quill and ink and the fact that he was writing in English when he thought he was writing in Japanese; it took him a while to get used to it, and even then he hadn't.

"You're starting off with Transfiguration. We start today, after breakfast."

Her mouth watered at the thought of toast and smiling eggs which seemed to also disparate any tire she may have had. At that moment, Gai exited the bathroom in nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist, finishing off his last deep note. Sakura paused, green eyes wide, before she screamed and bolted for the door, tripping over the mattress and Lee's backpack on the way. The image of a wet half-naked man was burned into retina, and not just any man, but Gai.

The Green Beast of Konoha.

Sakura whimpered, curled up against the wall of the dusty hallway. "Good thoughts, Sakura, good thoughts." Oh, why did Tenten-san have to go on that mission and leave me with her teammates?

"Psst. Haruno-san."

The pinkette yelped, looking back towards the door to see Shino staring back at her through the crack. He slipped a pile of clothes she had picked out previously through the door and said, "There's a public bathroom down the hall. Change there."

Panting and clutching her chest, she nodded and tried to give the Aburame a warm smile but it probably turned out more like a grimace. She didn't trust her voice, and she definitely didn't want to go back into the room so soon, so Shino's gesture was actually incredibly thoughtful.

She took the package, whispering a "thank you" before stealing her way to the room, ignoring the cold wood on her bare feet. She just knew she wouldn't be able to look either Gai or Lee in the eye for a long time.