Hey! Here's a new chapter for you!
THe title is in French, it means "A World Without Danger"
Also, thanks to AAAAAAAALLLL of you who reviewed, added this to their favorites, or added it to their alert list! I usually name you one by one, but this time I have to study, soooooo... please forgive me this time.
To clarify, since two votes went into the Kakashi remains short option of the last chapter, and the other options received no votes, Kakashi is staying short. That is, Kakashi is 147cm (4'9"), Rin stands at 164cm (5'4"), and Minato towers over them at 179cm (5'10").
Aaaaaannnnd! The gods decided (meaning I threw a die) that there will be an M-rated scene between Minato and Kakashi. Should you not want to read it, warn me so that I can make the appropriate signal of when it is going to start and where it ends, so you can skip over it when the time comes.
Oh! And I don't think I need to say anything, but just in case: Italics are the shinobi speaking Japanese. Non-slanted speech is English language.
EDIT: Adjusted Rin's surname.
Un Monde Sans Danger
She generally gave herself very good advice, (though she very seldom followed it), and sometimes she scolded herself so severely as to bring tears into her eyes.
Lewis Carroll
Minato woke up panting for breath, arms trembling and chest heaving. Adrenaline ran through his veins as the image from his nightmare began to fade. Someone groaned next to him, and the man covered his mouth to prevent a muffled scream.
"Mina-sensei?"
Still feeling jumpy, the shinobi turned to his left, were the voice had come from, finding a silver-haired teen lying shirtless on the bed while a girl allowed her hands to hover slightly over the boys chest, green light fading from her hands as she stared at him.
Huh?
As his heartbeat slowed down, the man recognized both little persons, and gave a sigh of relief as he got up from the creaky mattress, walking over to them. He sat down on the dusty hardwood floor at the same time the brown-haired female eyed him worriedly, and the boy pulled on his shirt, slipping the usual black mask back over his still-childish face.
The blond smiled reassuringly at the young girl and turned towards the silver-haired ninja. "Are you feeling better, Kashi-chan?" He extended a large hand above his head, intending to caress the oddly colored hair.
His hand was instead met with a pale, smaller one that didn't allow the man to go near the boy's face. "Stop calling me that, Minato."
Despite the fear still clinging to him, the older male pouted at the teen's expressionless face. "Aww, but I've been calling you that since you got back, and you never said a word about it!"
Kakashi remained stoic, though his black eyes did travel to his female teammate unnoticeably, almost thankfully, before facing his former sensei's blue ones. "Now I can speak without getting dizzy."
Minato tightened his hold on the smaller hand as he got op from the floor, moving to sit on the edge of the bed the grey-haired teen was occupying. Tugging on the limb he was holding, he extended his other arm as well, grabbing Rin by the shoulders, and pulled both children closer to him in a hug, which they returned somewhat hesitantly.
"Sen—?" Began the girl, only to have the man tighten his hold.
"It's nothing," He explained, though he didn't let go "I'm just glad both of you are here."
The silver-haired boy's skin still felt uncomfortably warm against his own, especially when compared to Rin's moderately cold flesh, but he had to admit, there was an abyss of difference between that morning and the night before.
To his surprise, it was Kakashi who first raised his free arm to wrap it around the man's middle after listening to his words, followed by the young girl's tight grasp. And he silently wished he had four arms so he too could hold both teenagers like that, embracing them and supporting them when they seemed to need it the most, just like in that moment.
A sudden, sharp round of knocking on the door made them all flinch, and they looked at each other, wondering why none of them had been able to feel someone approaching. But the confusion was short-lived, and the blond man quickly disentangled from the youngsters' grip to hastily grab his mask and slip it on, walking towards the entryway, alert.
"Turn away," He called to the teenagers, who immediately obeyed and pointed their faces the other way, towards the window. Satisfied, the blond opened the door, revealing the plump, red-haired woman that had showed them to their room the night before. She looked at his masked face nervously, not speaking. "Can I help you?" Minato prompted. The language he spoke changed without his will, and he immediately wrote it down in his mental list of things to ask once they got to see the client.
The woman attempted to look past him, as if she was trying to take a look at the kids who were also in the room, but he moved his torso to block her view.
"Oh," The red-head frowned, but raised her chubby arms to show him the tray she had been holding. "I just came to give you this. Dumbledore said you wouldn't eat together with us." The blond wasn't completely sure if what he heard was the woman being offended or suspicious, but he took the offered object soundlessly. "He also said someone would be coming in two hours to pick you up."
After he nodded, the woman looked at him for a couple more seconds before stiffly hurrying away, looking to Minato like she was outstandingly glad to be out if his line of sight.
Although confused, the adult one-handedly closed the door, careful to keep the tray from tilting one way or the other before he returned to his place on Kakashi's bed, leaving the trencher in front of the boy's folded legs so that it was within the reach of all three ninja.
The salver, as was to be expected, held three plates that contained some things the shinobi could assume were food, though they had never seen such things in their life, and one fork for each of them.
Kakashi was the first to grab his eating utensil as the other two watched him, and he examined the foreign tool as he silently struggled to understand how on Earth he was supposed to hold the god-dammed thing while his teammates took turns smelling the food, wanting to figure out what its flavor was before putting it in their mouths.
After maneuvering his hand and fingers a few times, the boy finally figured out how to hold the silverware. He explained for both Rin and Minato, and corrected their form by physically moving their fingers when they got them in the wrong position.
They would never admit it to the outside world, but the first mouthful of food they took had them coughing and spluttering, not expecting such strong flavors. From that point on, they ate much slower, carefully tasting each type of food instead of just shoving it of top of their seemingly oversensitive tongues.
Finished with their meal, the shinobi decided to get changed, admitting that they didn't have the slightest idea of where the bathroom was, and were not willing to walk around the house without their uniform on, which defeated the purpose anyway.
Rin, who was already dressed, simply put on her protective gear, back facing her male companions as she fastened the new, shiny silver metal guards over her arms and legs, and clasped on the stiff chest armor. The outfit allowed a red spiral tattoo on her right shoulder to be seen, the skin around it still somewhat inflamed. She gingerly touched the spot, breathing deeply as she mentally prepared for her first ANBU mission.
Once given the OK, the girl turned around to face the other shinobi, both in full gear. There were not many differences between their uniforms; only the fact that the black shirts of both males allowed their collarbones to be seen while hers didn't, and the guards protecting their shins and forearms were insubstantially duller.
"Wolf," Spoke the blond man, voice a little muffled by the porcelain mask. "I had trouble sensing these people's chakra signature earlier. I need you to find out why with your Sharingan."
Kakashi visibly tensed at the man's words before relaxing. His Sharingan. His. Not the Sharingan. Not Obito's Sharingan. A small amount of the almost-violent pressure the Uchiha Clan had put on him over his gift lifted from his shoulders.
"Yes, sir." And the boy immediately pushed up the black headband covering his eye, opening it so he could fully stare at the world from behind the expressionless mask. He slowly got up from the mattress, shifting his weight from one leg to the other to test them after the four days he had been bedridden, making sure they wouldn't fail him once more as they had the night before.
Admitting that Rin's medical jutsu had actually helped a great deal, Kakashi somewhat repented of blatantly denying the hospital's aid when he had the chance to obtain it, and acknowledged that to be considered a genius, he had quite a share of idiot moments.
Kakashi picked up his duffle bag despite Minato's protests and slung it over his shoulder, slightly fighting against the cold that he felt had been attacking his skin since a little before he opened his eyes that morning.
"Are you all ready?" Rin's breathing was jagged under her mask, a clear sign that she still had to get used to it, but her words were strong enough to be heard.
Both males nodded their heads and walked out the door, the girl following close behind. They were quick and silent as they retraced their steps from the night before, and soon found themselves in the living room, looking every bit as creepy and macabre as it had earlier.
The shinobi knew exactly where to go from there, the loud sound coming from the room just in front of where they were impossible to ignore. Minato walked in front, ready for whichever attack that could come their way. The man opened the door and the foreigners immediately found themselves being the targets of several sticks, held by both adults and children alike, whose faces were wild with fear.
Minato used an arm to protect his chest while the other one flew to his side, forbidding the two younger ninja to give a step further.
"Oh, no, lower your wands, everyone!" The blond heard a woman order, and his eyes followed as said woman moved her arms up and down right in front of the faces of other people, while a man with equally red hair began to do the same thing with children that were close to him.
Eventually, all wizards had put away their wands, and Minato felt it was safe to enter the room. So he did, followed closely by the teenage ANBU. Together, they stood there awkwardly, not used to having people openly stare at them. Not when they had the uniform on, anyway.
The blond allowed a few minutes to pass, trying to find the person who was supposed to take them to their destination. While he did so, he found Top Priority Boy they were supposed to protect; he didn't look like anything special at all, really. He had been expecting at least someone who would seem somewhat superior to the rest, but no; the green-eyed teen just looked like an anxious, tired paranoid, looking at them like that.
Kakashi hummed next to him, looking around the wooden table where people had been sitting. He had closed his normal eye to make sure the Sharingan was getting every last bit of information it could, so now he was interpreting his new data. The chakra signature for these people was extremely odd, the boy could tell that much, but to explain was difficult.
"Who are you?" Demanded one of the wizards, and they were not very surprised to notice it was actually Top Priority who was now frowning at them.
"Harry, don't be rude!" Admonished the plump woman they had interacted the most with, though they still didn't know her name. She turned to the masked trio with uneasiness in her eyes, afraid that they had felt insulted.
Underneath his mask, Minato grinned. "Ah, it's not a problem" He said in the language he still couldn't recognize. Maybe the jutsu Dumbledore had used on them only worked when looking at one of the… wizards? "People get nervous when they see us." And that wasn't even a lie. He turned to Harry, making sure to look at him in the eye even though he couldn't look back. "Mr. Dumbledore hired us as guards for Hogwarts."
A few seconds of silence rolled by and then there was uproar. The shinobi didn't even flinch when people began to question them, launching them dubious stares, or sneering quietly and refusing to face them.
It was Kakashi who coughed to bring the attention towards him, sending off a glare that rather than seen could be felt towards the wizards. He didn't speak further, but Minato could have sworn he saw the boy sway slightly before he caught himself.
The blond grimaced, feeling completely guilty about telling the boy to use a tool that drained him of so much chakra. He opened his mouth to tell him to quit using it, that the task could be done when he was feeling better, but was stopped by a loud POP coming from behind him.
In an instant, the shinobi had turned around, weapons drawn and threatening the woman that had appeared out of thin air. Her thin figure stiffened, and with a stern look proper of the woman's face, she eyed the metal weapons. Though she tried to keep her composure, her gray eyes widened a bit at the blades.
After a few seconds, the woman finally cleared her throat, unnerved by the unmoving swords, which lingered near her neck. "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I was sent here to pick up the guards Dumbledore hired… I assume that would be you?"
Minato and Rin immediately retrieved their katanas, though Kakashi's tantō remained in place. The woman, in turn, stared at the wild greyish hair that the creepy mask didn't hide, its thickness immediately squashing the idea of old age.
"How do we know—" The boy stopped suddenly. The grip on his tantō tightened before loosening a bit, the weapon lowering immediately. He gave a step back, realization finally downing on him, and sheathed the blade back into the shiny red, wooden holster located on his back.
The stern woman looked at all three of them before stretching out her hand towards Toad, who was closer to her. The masked man openly stared at the offered limb for a few seconds before exchanging glances with both shorter uniformed ANBU. He looked back at the hand, then directed his gaze to McGonagall's face and gave a low bow.
Feeling decidedly awkward, the aging woman copied the blond, bowing just slightly before stiffly repeating the motion with the other shinobi. She then passed them an envelope, not moving until they opened and read it.
Minato was the one who grabbed a hold of it, showing it to Kakashi to study so he could be a hundred percent sure it was safe. When the boy nodded his head, the man bent down so his mouth was in the same level as Wolf's ear.
"Close your eye, Kashi. I'll keep on it now." He muttered. He knew the thirteen-year-old had obeyed, for the teen's posture relaxed a tiny fraction.
The blond then proceeded to tear the yellowish paper to extract the even more yellowish parchment from the inside. The three shinobi leaned in to read the message, and watched, awed, how the unknown characters moved around the paper to form a much more comprehensible style of handwriting.
The letter was straightforward. Simply stated that McGonagall would tell them what their duty was until she took them to Hogwarts Train Station, and then they would be by themselves to register said place and the locomotive to improve defenses or create new ones. During the ride, they were to make rounds to ensure the safety of all students.
All three of them looked up from the letter and nodded their understanding at the woman. Minato controlled his impulse to destroy the letter right then and there; if these people were scared of just seeing them, any of his techniques would only enhance the feeling, and from what he understood by a quick assessment, they were not supposed to fear them, but trust them.
"I would like to explain more to you about these people," McGonagall told the people sitting around the table.
All the eyes were upon her, except for the plum woman's who was now attempting to usher the six teenagers upstairs.
"But mum!"
"Come on! It's not fair!"
Similar shouts were being exchanged, mainly from a group of young redheads to a couple of older ones, and the blond ANBU was beginning to get frustrated by the lack of cooperation. He didn't understand why the children had to leave, for starters, since they seemed even older than his two charges, but he also didn't get why, if they had already been ordered, the teens just obeyed instead of fighting a losing battle.
In the end, all teenagers abandoned the kitchen with sour expressions, stomping their feet and slamming doors in a very juvenile display of anger. The adults, however seemed to think of it as a normal (or at least common) reaction, and didn't bother trying to scold them for their behavior.
"Very well," McGonagall started again, motioning for the three ninja to come closer to the table. They did so, Minato standing in the middle, each of the younger soldiers to his sides. "First of all, I would like to introduce you to Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." As she spoke, the aging woman pointed to the plum woman they already knew, a man with red hair, then to a thin man with black hair, and finally to a sickly-looking male. "They are part of the Order, as are Dumbledore and myself."
The woman looked at them as though she expected some sort of reaction, but the ANBU remained stoic in their body language.
"'Order'?" Asked Rin, voicing the growing doubt on both of her teammates' minds. Her question was met with a confused expression on most faces.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Began the teacher once more, trying not to sound surprised by the lack of information the ninjas seemed to have "Is a secret society created to fight against the Dark Lord." Having a general idea of who this person was, the trio nodded in understanding. "Now, I'm sure everyone here would prefer to see your faces. We haven't trusted masked people for quite a while."
Rin and Kakashi looked at the Squad Leader for confirmation. The blond hesitated, however, analyzing his options. Finally, he decided to follow the instructions on the letter they had been shown and obey the woman. He slowly untied the red string that held the mask up, and the teenagers were quick to imitate him.
The wizards stared at the faces in front of them, taking in the youthfulness of all three ninjas. Most of the attention was either on the man's cobalt blue eyes, which didn't hide the smile his mouth refused to form, and the very young faces of his teammates.
"Is this some sort of joke, McGonagall?" The man previously identified as Black said, his laid-back posture changed to become suspicious. "That one can't be older than ten."
Minato frowned deeply when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi clench his fists. The boy, who always made it a point to stand at the blond's left, looked at the black-haired man straight in the eye.
"I am almost fourteen. And I do not see how my age is of importance." Minato didn't see it either. Both Rin and Kakashi were amazingly skilled shinobi, why pay attention to the number of trips around the sun they had completed? Besides, the boy hardly looked ten. Saying he looked ten was like saying Jiraiya looked thirty, which was far from the truth.
"They are just children! What was Dumbledore thinking?!" The red-headed woman insisted, ignoring Kakashi's remark. Her eyes travelled from Rin's body to Minato's face and finally to the grey-haired boy's jagged scar, plainly visible without the Konoha headband covering it.
"We are not children." The blond said calmly, though he was a little bothered by the fact he had been called a kid as well. "There will be no problem for us during our assignment."
"Molly, I'm sure that if Dumbledore trusts them, we should, too." Ah, finally someone who could think. Minato made sure to mentally thank the red-headed man.
"Don't be ridiculous, Arthur! They are the ones who should be in school and have protection!"
"I'm twenty-six." Minato supplied quietly, knowing the wizards were not even paying him attention.
"We should at least see their skills before judging them."
"Oh, not you, too, Remus!"
"I think Dumbledore should—"
"Please—!"
"Don't interrupt him!"
The sound of metal hitting wood silenced the adults immediately, and they looked around only to find Kakashi eyeing them, a blank stare plastered on the visible part of his face. He held a shuriken in his hand, ready to launch it if they were to start ignoring them again.
Rin's hand flew to her mouth and she looked away in an attempt not to show the adults she was laughing at the scene. She then cleared her throat, deflecting the attention from her teammate's increasingly irritated face to her own.
"We have been selected by our village's leader to perform this mission. We are experienced, so you can rest easy." For once, she didn't smile, for her eyes travelled to where her youngest teammate now pocketed his weapon.
The adults expressions shifted from incredulity to shock and then back to incredulity. "Are we supposed to trust you because you can throw muggle weapons?"
The Hell is a muggle? "Ah, you really shouldn't worry. We are part of the strongest group of shinobi in Konoha." Minato finally spoke up. He closed his mouth for a second, assessing the wizards. They still seemed doubtful, though now the red-headed man was looking at him with interest. What could make them trust them a little more? "My name is Minato Namikaze, twenty-six years old." He gave another bow, hopping that treating these people with respect would earn him respect as well.
With both of his former students glancing at him strangely, the man simply smiled kindly at the other adults and sent an apologetic gesture to McGonagall, who didn't seem to know if she should trust her own instincts or trust her boss' crazy ideas.
Kakashi let out a weary sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, looking tired. "Kakashi Hatake, and like I said, I'm almost fourteen years old."
Most of the men nodded at him, apparently a little more convinced of his abilities. Molly, though, still looked scandalized. She had her hand over her mouth, her eyes traveling between Rin and Kakashi as though she couldn't decide which of them needed a hug the most. Her eyes finally settled on the girl.
"And you, dear?" Her voice trembled with something akin to worry.
The kunoichi actually smiled at her sadly at her tone of voice. She didn't understand why it was such a tragic deal for the woman, but at hearing her speak like that, something in her heart told her it didn't really matter why, but the fact that it was that mattered.
"I'm Rin Nohara, and I'm fifteen." She smiled despite the horrified glances the woman was still giving her, but sent an uncomfortable look to her former sensei, who moved his hand to squeeze her shoulder.
This time, he adults all got up from their seats to formally greet the guards, exchanging a few words with them, and doing their best to forget about their ages as they advised them on several students they knew. Sirius took advantage of the moment to tell the oldest ninja all about Severus Snape and his attempts to make Harry's life impossible, which Minato found rather dull but decided not to comment, since the manwas still watching him with a faint air of suspicion.
Minato snapped his head away from the conversation with former convict, eyes suddenly trained on the door. Soon followed Kakashi and Rin, who had been further away and were being pestered by Molly on how and why that had become soldiers at such a young age.
"Someone's been listening for a few seconds…" Kakashi whispered as he drew out a shuriken form his holster.
"FRED AND GEORGE! YOU BETTER BE FINISHED WITH YOUR PACKING!"
The blond shinobi blinked stupidly at the door when he heard a muffled yell and then the distinctive sound of feet scampering away. He then turned to his teammates, both of who were staring at Mrs. Weasley. Rin was even covering her ears at the woman's superfluous volume.
He sighed and motioned to them, pulling his porcelain mask over his face once more. The teenagers approached him, stoic expressions on their faces as they hid behind their uniforms. When they were close enough, the man hooked his arms around their necks, then turned his face towards McGonagall pointedly.
Getting the message, the stern woman cleared her throat and asked people to calm down so she could concentrate. She got near the ninjas and offered both of her arms to them, explaining the process of what they were about to do.
Slightly skeptical, Kakashi and Rin held on to her left arm while Minato took a hold of her right elbow. The next instant, they were met with an overwhelming darkness and they felt themselves being compressed into nothingness. All three of them attempted to fight, but they were being pulled so fast it was impossible for them to do it.
They landed on their feet, having already experienced the wonders of Portkey traveling.
Minato easily adjusted his bags over his shoulders, suddenly feeling something pulling at his forearm guard. He looked down, only to discover Kakashi leaning on him just the slightest bit. He knew better than to fuss over the boy when someone other than Rin was around, so he pretended not to notice.
Rin looked around in awe after sending her youngest teammate a concerned look. The place was enormous; the ceilings so high the girl had a hard time believing that birds didn't crash against the glass that made out the ceiling. Her eyes landed on the sleek, black and red machine that stood all along the room.
"What is that?" She asked.
McGonagall regarded her with a funny look "The train." When the girl didn't look back from the Express, the woman turned to the other two. "You are to ensure the Hogwarts Express is safe for all the students during the journey, and have an hour to register the station. You will arrive at a place called Hogsmade, where Professor Grubbly-Plank, will be waiting. No harm is to come to the students on the way to the school. Understood?"
Minato nodded firmly, Rin copying the motion while half her attention was still absorbed by the engine machine. Clearly unconvinced of their respones, McGonagall looked at them stiffly, but seemed to accept their answers in the end. She took a deep breath and once again disappeared with a pop.
Not even a second after the woman was gone, Kakashi was on his knees, ANBU mask on top of his hair and black facemask yanked to his neck as he retched on the floor, unable to hold in the food any longer. Rin flew to his side, her hand instinctively reaching for any visible skin to measure its temperature.
Anger flowed through the oldest shinobi for the first time since the night before. He knelt next to the sick teen and murmured soft words to his ear and drawing soothing circles on the boy's back with his hand. He would really need to talk to the Third about sending ill kids out on missions. That travel method was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever experienced, and for Kakashi, who was not on top form, it had to have been horrible. Sure, the Hokage probably had no way of knowing about it, but still…
After a few seconds of heaving, the Hatake cleaned his enlarged canine teeth with his tongue and spitted on the ground, trying to get rid of the flavor left behind by the vomit. He groaned a little and thanked whoever there was to thank that the station was empty, not counting the three of them. He heard Minato sigh next to him, so he tiredly turned to face him.
"Well, that's that." The man said setting his luggage on the floor to search through it. "Both of you give me your bags and go rest."
Rin undid the straps of her backpacks, but Kakashi simply spit again. His arms were trembling with the effort of keeping himself up, but he still frowned slightly, looking back at the blond. "I'll rest when I'm dead."
The Namikaze decided to take a page out of Jiraiya's book. "That's what scares me, brat." The boy attempted a defiant stare, but in his current state, it failed miserably. "Look, no one's going to judge you, all right? You're sick. So just go and rest."
The blond met Rin's mask in a silent plead. She didn't need to nod; she took a hold of Kakashi's arm while her former sensei took the other and they both helped the boy back to his feet. Resigned, the youngest handed his duffle bag over.
Taking it, Minato watched as the two teenagers left, slowly walking towards the train-thing, hopefully to actually rest and not to either scold or receive a scolding. He hesitated for a few seconds, but against his better judgment he decided not to touch the vomit.
He turned to his left, his eyes barely catching a sign that read "Platform 93/4", and he left all the luggage on the floor. Skillful hands took out a few scrolls out of his weapon pouch and one by one, they deposited all five bags into the storage mediums, then placed them back into his pouch.
The station was definitely big. Terribly unprotected, however. ANBU Toad spent the next forty-five minutes setting actual working defensive mechanisms, investigating the station, and wondering how was is possible that Dumbledore had referred to Hogwarts as a very safe place when he talked to the Third, given the obvious lack of safety. But well, that wasn't the school. The other building would hopefully be a fortress.
Knowing he still had to find his team in that giant train, Minato hurried back to where they had originally arrived and made his way into the vehicle cautiously. The inside of the locomotive was pretty luxurious, considering it was intended for a bunch of schoolchildren. His sandaled feet slightly sank on the plushy carpet that covered the floor as he walked, taking note of the golden doors with a small window that seemed to separate little rooms from the main hallway.
He relaxed, trying to feel the chakra signature of him former students, and succeeding, quickly made his way over to the compartment they were in. He could already see some kids on the platform, so he hurried to open the door and walking inside.
Both Rin and Kakashi were sitting on the same bench, leaving the one in front of them free. He was actually glad they weren't fighting. The man eyed the male teen's once-again-masked face, studying the strangely relaxed posture the boy sported. His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline, since when was Kakashi one to lean his head on windows?
"Oh," Minato finally said, a small smile forming on his lips "He fell asleep?"
"I made him sleep." Rin pulled out a small, transparent-orange bottle full of pills and moved her hand so that the contents would jingle.
His smile faltered "Why?"
The man could practically see the girl's disapproving frown. "He was being stubborn, sensei!"
"So you drugged him?"
After a few seconds of hesitation, the kunoichi shrugged her shoulders, causing Minato to sigh in response. He could understand, though, somewhat. The boy could be very bull-headed when he was tired or when he felt weak. So he nodded, albeit reluctantly, and moved to sit down across from the two teenagers. Kakashi needed the rest anyway.
The older shinobi talked for a few minutes, Minato explaining what he had found in regards to the security and assuring the girl that he had covered all the possible weaknesses he had seen around the place. Rin then sighed a little at the thought of having to go through the whole train at some point during the trip; even using chakra to make clones seemed exhausting to her, taking into account the considerable lack of sleep she was experiencing. She hesitated at drinking one of her own sleeping pills, but decided against it in the end. She couldn't just leave the blond alone when he too was suffering from sleep deprivation.
Minato's head snapped to the door, and Rin was not far behind in reaching for her weapon holster, turning her body so that the potential enemy could see as little of her sleeping teammate as possible.
The door opened with a loud yank, revealing the faces of four very confused young people who after a few moments of dumb staring pulled out their wands to point them at the ninja.
"Who're you?" Asked one of the boys with urgency, the hand holding his only means of defense trembling.
"They're guards." Called another voice from the back, and Rin almost had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the group of tall people to notice one of the redheaded boys she had noticed back at the old house they had been in earlier "Dumbledore hired them."
That seemed to do the trick, since all the teens lowered the wooden sticks before slowly and carefully choosing their seats, Minato noticed, a bit separated from them.
The man was about to get up and sit on Kakashi's other side so that the kids from the school could huddle together away from them if they wanted to when something poked him lightly on the arm. He looked down to see the slightly familiar bushy-haired girl, whose brown locks were now rubbing uncomfortably into his bare shoulder.
Awkwardly staring, Toad ANBU opened his mouth to ask the girl what she needed, only to close it a second later when the teen did the same thing.
"I'm Hermione Granger," The girl said. Minato nodded at the name. "I was wondering… Where are you guys from? I don't recognize your, um…" She doubted, brown eyes traveling from the blond's mask to the identical outfits all the shinobi wore "Uniforms."
"We can't tell you that unless our client says it's okay." The man replied in his best professional tone, and this time he was sure he didn't actually understand the words he spoke. Was he speaking in the other language? He looked at Rin, but the kunoichi's posture didn't betray her opinion on neither the answer nor the language he had spoken.
When the girl reacted to his answer, Minato had never been more certain that he had never seen someone so disappointed, except for that one time he had told a nine-year-old Obito that he couldn't go eat ramen with him since he had to drop both Rin and Kakashi at their own homes and then had to rush for a mission. He still felt a pang of guilt over it; it really hadn't been that late, he could have taken all the children with him. And the mission wasn't that important either, it could have waited until he had paid proper attention to his student.
It was the action of Rin moving out of her seat what brought him out of his memories. The young woman stood between a dark-skinned girl, and a platinum-blond teen boy. She held a kunai firmly to the male's throat, even when her body language told Minato she wasn't really planning on attacking him.
"We want no fights while we're on this train." Shrike ANBU told him, using her elbow to push him aside.
The kid had the nerve to put a smug look on his pale face, staring down at the girl, despite the small tremble of his hands that Minato was able to catch. Not surprisingly, the boy asked just what he thought he was going to ask, followed by exactly the same answer they have already given twice that day.
"Then get that thing away from me! Don't you know who my father is?" The younger blond demanded, earning a slightly more offensive stance from the kunoichi.
Minato quickly moved to sit next to his other teammate, letting Rin handle herself. He knew she wouldn't have a problem dealing with the taller teen; probably was much stronger, too, despite what the kid, judging by the superior look he was throwing at her, seemed to believe.
After a threat laced with half-hearted killing intent, everyone was in their respective seats, though it was still easy to see the nervousness in everybody's stiff postures.
Six hours, four emergency plans from the teens that surrounded them, eleven rounds around the train, and twenty-three attempts of starting a fight in the compartment after they had left the station, Kakashi still hadn't shown any signs of coming back to the world of the living, and Minato was really started to get worried.
Discretely, the man reached for the boy's wrist, trying to feel the blood pumping through the veins, and sighed in relief at the normal rhythm underneath his fingers. The young woman, who had silently insisted Kakashi to sit between the both of them after their first inspection of the train, sighed dramatically, which attracted several stares of the growingly weary occupants of the compartment.
"I gave him just enough for a person his height. He'll wake up when he has to." Apparently either the trip or the whole magic thing had also made Rin fatigued as well, since her words were usually much kinder. Then again, Minato probably should have noticed that when she somehow forced a pill down the boy prodigy's throat.
"Well, sorry." The man whispered, letting go of the Hatake's wrist and attempting to soothe himself by the feeling of the boy's head resting placidly against his shoulder. "If he dies, though, I'm telling Kushina. See if she likes her sensei's little baby boy being killed by his teammate."
Despite the profile they were trying to maintain in front of the students, the Konohan girl shuddered, a mental image of her sensei being chased around the village by an irate, red-headad woman worming into her brain. That was how the female jinchuuriki had first reacted to Minato's relationship with Kakashi. Cold sweat bean to form at Rin's forehead at the thought of what Kushina would do to her if she actually killed the boy. She too grabbed a light hold of one of the Wolf ANBU's wrists to make sure there was still a healthy pulse.
Under the mask, her eyes widened a little when she felt the limb twitch, followed by the sharp intake of breath that was usually followed by a yawn or a groan, but Kakashi merely buried the side of his head a little more into his former sensei's arm before slowly raising his head to scan his surroundings.
Hidden eyes made a point to watch every single face out of the twenty-six that were around him, not stopping for a long time on the people he already knew. Black irises stopped on a blond teen that seemed indecisive between being smug or feeling threatened. He looked a lot like a frail, whiny version Yamanaka Inoichi, Kakashi reasoned in his drugged state, but stupid and a lot shorter.
"Are you feeling any better?" Kakashi heard, and he slowly nodded, even though he didn't feel much of anything at all. He moved his fingers on his right hand to try and get the feeling back in them.
The blond grinned under his mask and returned attention to the rest of the teenagers, most of which were now staring at the silver-haired ANBU like he was some sort of caged animal that was going to attack them at any moment.
Minato swore he could see the young teen's bored expression as he studied the unknown children. He allowed one heavy hand to fall on Kakashi's shoulder, his absolute relief masked in a simple gesture. The boy turned to him, understanding, and gave slight nod.
"How long was I out?" The porcelain wolf found Rin's own mask, a querulous glance in the hidden, young features. "How much time do we have until we get to the town?"
"You were asleep for a little more than six hours" Well, he had counted six hours, but the sky he could see from the window was much too dark for that. "…I think. And…" The blond paused, admitting he didn't know the answer to the second question.
He turned towards the bushy-haired girl that had been staring at them for almost the whole trip and asked her. The girl seemed startled, but roughly grabbed the wrist for the red-head sitting next to her. Her sudden expression of surprise made almost all the young wizards jump from their seats and hastily run out of the compartment. Minato stared at the commotion. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Rin's shrike mask turn to him, like he expected him to explain what was going on. Finally, the girl—Hermione, she had said her name was—turned back to him, black clothes under her arm as she too made to run out the door.
"Sorry sir, we have ten minutes left, so we have to change." Was the hurried answer he got before the girl, too disappeared behind the heavy metal door that led to the main hallway.
With the new information in hand, the three shinobi rose from their seats and planned their formation to get the students to the school safely.
When the train stopped, they made their way out of the train. Rin hissed quietly and brought a hand to rub her arm, taken aback by the cold air. They walked around as the kids either shied away from them or stared long enough to be pushed out of their stupor by their friends. Not even Minato, who was the tallest out of them, was able to look over the heads of all the older students. He frowned a bit at it, but then shrugged it off and instructed the younger ANBU to go to their posts as all the children fell into a messy, wide line behind a woman with close-cropped grey hair.
Kakashi went to the very back of the row while Rin hurried to reach the middle-left side of the students. The blond, however, first made sure to flicker himself in front of the professor, who jumped at the sight of the man.
"Are you Miss Grubbly-Plank?" He asked, noticing the fear on the woman's face as he crossed his arms over his chest. He stopped; he wanted to shield himself from the cold, but it was obviously frightening the teacher.
"Yes." The woman said, looking behind herself at the group of children that were looking at them intently. Her eyes must have fallen on Rin, because though she didn't relax, she did seem a little less edgy. "Are you the guards Dumbledore hired?"
He nodded "I will be over there." He pointed to the woman's right, hoping she understood the exact spot just by his pointing . "My teammates are already covering the rest of the group."
He swiftly ran to his post before the teacher could say anything, and this time he did cross his arms protectively over his chest. Truth to be told, the wind was not that cold, but it was not a temperature to be expected at the very beginning of September. Nor the sky was supposed to be that dark.
The blond took a fleeting glance at the back of the student-formed line, Kakashi's small frame obscured by the comparatively prominent wizards, and he hoped the kid was being shielded from most of the cool wind.
The walk was longer than what they had expected, and Rin found herself wondering if it wasn't possible for the station to be built closer to the school. She followed the group in silence, catching slurs of conversations about boys and crushes and how Harry Potter was crazy. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Sure, she liked boys and she couldn't deny that she thought about them or had conversations with her friends about the topic, but the mission said that these kids were in danger. That's why they were hired. And surely Dumbledore had promised a lot of money to the village, since asking for three ANBU, let alone a Black Ops squad captain like Minato was, was sure to be expensive. So why were the teens having such petty conversations? They didn't seem scared or anguished at all.
The female ANBU breathed a sigh of relief when the grey-haired woman leading the students stopped, calling out to the first-year students to follow her.
As the smaller kids cautiously made their way towards the woman and the older ones began to walk in the opposite direction, Rin looked around in an attempt to find her companions, since this hadn't been a part of the plan. Kakashi found her first, his hands clenched in fists and shoulders tense. She was alerted for a second, then noticed the faint trembling of his arms. Grimacing at the obvious signs of a dispelling, but still present fever, the girl walked over to him.
"Are you—"
"The captain wants us with him. He said the younger ones had to go alone." The grey-haired male's words were strained and short.
She nodded at him, and together they made their way through the black-clad teenagers. They found the blond standing next to Top Priority Boy, both of them staring at black leathery winged horses. As they came closer, the teenaged ANBU cringed slightly at the easily noticeable bones all along the sleek creature's body. A glance at the rest of the open carriages told them the one they had noticed first was not the only one that was pulling the carts.
Harry turned from the horse to his friends, jumping when he saw the guards standing behind him. The boy then turned to the left, trying to find something that was clearly missing, only to find it a few meters away. He began walking towards his friends, who were already sitting in one of the carriages and looking back at him confusedly.
"Hey," A mature voice called and Harry looked back to an eerie porcelain mask. The man didn't pay him much attention however, and instead looked back and pointed at the animal he had just been looking at. "What are these?"
Harry just shook his head and walked off, too startled by either the guards or the creature to answer. Minato stared after him, brushing off Rin's whispered opinion on the boy's rudeness.
"I would prefer if we used one of these." The man said to his companions as he pointed to one of the carts with his head. They were beginning to move, though the man didn't seem to be in a hurry. "But then most of the kids would be unprotected. Shrike, can you cover the right flank by yourself?" The girl nodded quickly and rushed towards a more appropriate point on top of the trees that surrounded the path the demonic horses were taking. Minato looked down at the silver-haired teen next to him and kneeled, a grin plastered on his whole body language "You, young man, are riding on my back weather you want to or not."
Kakashi wasn't amused. He leaned away from the blond. "No."
"If you let me take you to the school, I'll stop 'babying you' for as long as your next illness lasts." Because they both knew there would be a next one, whenever it would come. With Kakashi's obstinate necessity to train even when he wasn't supposed to, there would always be another illness.
Without a word, the boy wrapped his arms around Minato's neck. He would never admit it, but the man's warmth did ease the uncomfortable feeling of fire and ice attacking his skin. He allowed the man to pick him up and fall into a steady rhythm as they followed the carriages towards the school.
"How has Kushina-san been?" Kakashi asked into Minato's ear after a few minutes of silence. The boy felt the man's grip on his tights stiffen.
"Kakashi—"
"I understand what happened. I'm not angry, we weren't even together then." The blond felt how the teen shook his head only to rest it on his shoulder a second later. "I'm just asking how she is doing. She hasn't visited me lately."
Minato slowed his pace, but he did his best not to stop. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "She's okay. She… says the pregnancy can be hell, though."
There was a minute of blissful silence that allowed the adult to hope the matter had been dropped. But then the grey-haired teen hugged his neck tighter.
"What are you naming him?"
"I don't know, Kashi."
The boy frowned and lifted his head, studying the heads of the teenagers below them. "But isn't he due soon? How come you don't have a name?"
Minato refused to reply. Mostly because he didn't know the answer, but there was also the ever-lingering question of what exactly would happen to the baby once he was born. He knew Kushina was having trouble balancing out how she could take care of the boy while still going on missions, and he… well, despite what Kakashi said, he still feared the boy's reaction to his son.
"That's the school?"
The blond snapped his head up when he heard the alarmed tone in the youngster's voice. Blue eyes widened at the size of the building: it was as big as a castle! Not only that, it actually looked like a castle as well; with the greenish (or were they grey?) tiles that adorned the ceilings of the tallest towers the ninja had ever seen.
It was another unexpected turn of events, but hopefully it would make the mission a little more interesting than what it initially sounded. A slight dread filled the elder's mind: How would they cover all that ground every day and night and not end up chakra depleted?
The carriages carrying the students came to an abrupt stop, causing Minato so halt as well. The blond looked over to where his female teammate was; a sinister presence among the surely innocent children she was now following towards the imposing gate of the castle.
Kakashi let go of Minato's neck, easily sliding off the man's back and steadying himself on his feet before the pair followed the group of students. They reached Rin, easily falling into step with her. Thankful for the masks covering their faces, the three of them marveled at the architecture of the castle, unable to stop even when they had gone through the massive metallic doors and had begun walking through the cold hallways of the castle's insides.
"You three." Said a familiar voice. Several students turned towards the source, but continued when they noticed the call wasn't for them. The ninja instead walked over to the woman, who, if possible, looked even sterner than what she had back when she had gone to get them several hours ago. "You are to go through those doors and stand where you think it would be best. Then stay silent. Professor Dumbledore wants to speak with you after the feast, so you must stay where you are until all the students are gone."
She didn't wait for their nod of agreement, simply started off towards a wooden door where a rather strong amount of chakra had begun to accumulate. Kakashi, having explained to his former sensei what he had seen through the brief use of the Sharingan, was quick to assume the energy had to belong to at least fifty people. He attempted to find some sort of threat in the room, but found nothing and hurried to go into what seemed to be the main hall.
The grey-haired boy heard a quiet gasp next to him. He looked up to his friend, the girl's mask tilted upward to look at the ceiling. Intrigued, the boy imitated her. He quirked up an eyebrow at what clearly appeared to be the sky; there was a roof, he was sure of that much since there was no wind. Instinctively, the boy walked over to where he usually did when he was assigned sentry duty: the corner farther away from the door at his right. He saw Rin take over the other corner along his wall, and knew Minato had taken the opposite side of the room for himself.
The youngest ANBU could hear the students speaking, but he did his best to concentrate on something else. He considered the decoration on each of the five tables that took up most of the gigantic room. The one with the red mantle was the closest to his and Rin's side of the hall, and he was hit with the unnerving thought that its occupants had to be the loudest out of the whole bunch. Next was a yellow one, which was, he was glad to say, slightly more quiet. Then there was blue, the shade so kind to his eyes after the shocking brightness of the other two houses that he decided those kids were automatically their favorite, even when they began looking at him and his companions in a way that made him hate them. He didn't bother observing the green table when he saw Minato attempt a glare at one of the students.
As the boy's eyes moved towards the only table placed horizontally in a higher place than the rest, the grand wooden doors opened, revealing stoic-faced McGonagall and a rather long line of children walking behind her.
The place immediately quieted down. Everyone intently watched as the aging witch walked over to stand in front of the table with the purple cloth draped over it, placing a three-legged stool on the floor. Then she was quick to put a scruffy, patched-up pointy hat on top of it.
Rin could only tilt her head slightly as the largest rip on the hat opened up.
In times of old, when I was new,
And Hogwarts barely started,
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted.
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
At that, the kunoichi's mouth parted slightly in surprise. The hat was talking. No. No, it wasn't even talking; it was singing. She looked over to see if her friends looked as startled as she felt, but neither of them looked the tiniest bit amazed.
"Together we will build and teach"
The four good friends decided.
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided.
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there, so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry's purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest"
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot
And treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light.
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted
so, for instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning just like him.
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest
and taught them all she knew,
Thus, the Houses and their founders
Maintained friendships firm and true. So Hogwarts worked in harmony
for several happy years,
but then discord crept among us
feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four
had once held up our school
now turned upon each other and
divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
must meet an early end.
what with dueling and with fighting
and the clash of friend on friend.
And at last there came a morning
when old Slytherin departed
and though the fighting then died out
he left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
were whittled down to three
have the Houses been united
as they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
and you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
because that is what I'm for.
But this year I'll go further,
listen closely to my song:
though condemned I am to split you
still I worry that it's wrong,
though I must fulfill my duty
and must quarter every year
still I wonder whether sorting
may not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
the warning history shows,
for our Hogwarts is in danger
from external, deadly foes
and we must unite inside her
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you...
let the Sorting now begin.
"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?"
"Too right it has,"
Kakashi frowned a bit, trying to forget about the queer hat by listening to the students. His eyes fell on when he though was the most interesting conversation as a bushy, brown-haired girl wondered about a warning out loud. How could a hat ever give a warning? But then, the song had sounded a little odd even to him, and considering what he understood of the situation with the poor amount on information they had been given and the conversation he had heard from the students before the hat began singing, maybe the girl was right.
But once again, the grey-haired boy disconnected from reality as the room became quiet for a second time, except the show at the front was now boring and dull list of names followed by the dirty hat yelling something and then a round of applause.
And then finally, finally, Dumbledore stood from his seat at the center of the staff table and invited all of the students to eat. Even watching the kids launch themselves at the magically appearing food, Kakashi had a hard time even wondering where one Earth the items had come from. Now completely free from the drug Rin had used on him, he felt the ache in his head coming back. The cold in the room intensified, and the boy wanted nothing more than to crawl under some covers and go to sleep. He didn't even want to eat. No, just thinking about the heaviness of the morning food made him want to puke for the second time that day.
The youngest ANBU didn't even know how long it had been, but by the sudden worry he felt in the air—pointed towards him, he knew, and he tried to send his team captain a signal to show he was okay— he snapped back into attention. His gaze passed over the table, where food was no more, and instead the plates had become shiny for how clean they were. Rather than focusing much attention on things he couldn't quite comprehend at the time, his black eye fell on the headmaster, standing up and making a hearty little speech on school rules.
"As you might have seen, we have some new friends this year!" The old man beamed, motioning at the shinobi's general direction with his hands. "They are very special guards I decided to hire to help us through the hard times that are upon us. They are ninja that have come all the way from Japan to aid us!" The silver haired boy could have groaned at the description would it not had been terribly unprofessional. "They are here to protect our beloved school, but I must remind you that if you do something they believe is a threat, they will not doubt about harming you first and asking for reasons later."
"This is all very amazing," Kakashi's mind voice drawled "But if you could hurry…"
Not even his thought had finished when another voice rose through the air, high-pitched an irritating. Minato shifted, the thirteen-year-old saw, as the woman began talking.
The blond was listening intently to every word, unfazed by the dirty look the squat woman gave him. He really had a lot of questions to ask Dumbledore. He didn't understand what the Ministry of Magic was, but by the utter crap that was coming out of the pink-wearing monstrosity's mouth, he could imagine it being something like the elders, back in Konoha. And seeing the faces of the rest of the adults in her table, his idea didn't seem all that outlandish.
The oldest shinobi remained still as the scattered, disoriented applause broke out, feeling his mouth go dry. Yes, he wasn't completely sure of the details involving everything in the school or the pink Umbridge woman, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that not everything was going as perfect as it was supposed to.
Together with his younger companions, he obeyed McGonagall's previous order and waited until the mess that was the hall emptied; ignoring the little shoves the students in green managed when walking by him. Slowly, he began walking towards the center of the room, an action the teenage ANBU imitated soon enough. The adults that were sitting at the table approached as well, but he could clearly see their movements were stiff compared to their own.
"Dumbledore! What is all this about guards?!" The same irritatingly keyed voice that had spoken previously yelled.
The oldest man was either very patient, or he pretended he was. He only looked at the woman for a second before smiling warmly. "Oh, Dolores, you must understand. The school can never have too much protection. Everything for out dear students don't you think?"
Most of the teachers looked at the ninja curiously, but neither Umbridge nor the man with greasy black hair bothered to hide their disgust.
"And I suppose it would be too much to ask of our friends to remove their masks?" Were the first words the man allowed to slip from between his clenched teeth.
"We would prefer not to do so in front of so many people." Minato imitated the man's coldly polite tone. It was an outright lie, since he had no problem with the quantity of people, but rather who those people included. "But if you must know, we are referred as codenames. I am Toad, aged twenty-six. The lady is Shrike, aged fifteen. And the young man is Wolf, age thirteen." He paused here silently observing the changes in the pink witch's expression, trying to get a reaction. "We will make sure your school is protected at all times."
Dumbledore brought his hands together in a gesture that said he couldn't think of anything more delightful in his life than to have Hogwarts protected by the shinobi. He then pointed at each of the teachers, indicating their name and position. "If you have any questions, I hope they can wait for tomorrow. I am sure all of you must be very tired from the long trip." His twinkling blue eyes fell discreetly on Kakashi's rigid posture.
Minato fought the absurd urge to hide the boy behind him, and nodded. "It has been a long journey, yes. But we need to begin our duties." He swore he felt a deadly threatening intent in the air coming from one of the two teenagers on either side of him, but he was too focused on Dumbledore to figure out who had sent it.
"You needn't worry about that, my boy. Your duties will begin tomorrow." The old man winked at the blond, leaving him confused. "For now, Minerva, would you show them to their room? A special dinner is already waiting for them."
The stern woman nodded immediately, looking pleased and urged to get out of the Hall. She began walking after motioning for the shinobi to follow and deciding they were better off doing what they were told, the three of them walked behind her.
Mazes made of stone were easy enough for the ANBU to remember as they were led through various corridors and up and down so many flights of stairs a normal person would have lost the sense on whether they were moving up or down.
After a few minutes, they came to stand in front of a painting made of mainly blues and oranges. The sky extended over the awkward representation of a bald man holding his face, his mouth open in mid-scream.
"Such an interesting choice." Rin thought bitterly, her face contorting in a grimace.
The beady eyes of the depicted male bore into them, and then his mouth moved, though the pained expression never left his features. "New password?" The voice, too, was painful to hear.
McGonagall turned to them, assessing them one last time. "These will be your quarters. There is enough living space in there, and a bathroom had been made available for you to use. You are to decide your password in privacy and tell it to him" She pointed to the painting as if it was the most natural thing in the world "That is the code you must give every time you want to go inside your room. Breakfast starts at seven in the morning tomorrow." Without so much as a good-bye, the witch retreated hastily away from them.
The three ninja discussed their pass in almost muted whispers, even though they knew no one else could understand their language. Deciding, it was Minato who once again took charge, giving a small step towards the painting.
"He shall walk this land once more." He spoke with a commanding voice.
There was a pause.
"Very well" The suffering voice of the painting replied before sliding away to the left to reveal a passage.
Slightly unnerved, the three Konohans walked across the hole on the wall. The room that awaited them was indeed "enough living space" for them. A little more than that, even.
The main room had a purple rug spread in front of a large fireplace, three black, velvety-looking sofas on top of it and surrounding a small coffee table made from dark wood. To their right was a door which upon later inspection they discovered had a small dining table, over which rested various silver platters full of familiar food; and to their left, another door that led to a big bathroom, where a tub big enough to fit five big-boned people was incrusted to the floor. At the very back of the main room there was a flight of stone stairs.
A bit warmer thanks to the fire burning bright in the room the three of them made their way upstairs. A small lobby, solely decorated by three wooden doors and a big grandfather clock was what they found. The three doors revealed three bedrooms with a fireplace each, and purple carpet covered the floor. All three rooms had a spacious closet and a few drawers, as well as a desk neatly pressed against one of the walls. They soon discovered that, oddly, even though it was physically impossible, above all of the four-poster, beds with black covers there was a window of considerable size.
"I'll go to sleep now," Kakashi broke the awed silence, much preoccupied by his tiredness than by the living quarters.
"No, Kakashi-kun!" exclaimed Rin, suddenly alarmed. "You need to eat something first!"
The grey-haired youth closed his eyes in tired defeat and took off the porcelain mask that obstructed part of his breath. As if for the first time they remembered they were wearing their equipment, the other two followed suit.
"Oh, right!" The blond grinned guiltily pulling the storage scrolls out of the weapon pouch tied to his tight. He undid the jutsu, revealing their luggage. "Why don't we all take this to our rooms and then go down to have some dinner?"
Silently agreeing, the teens grabbed their bags and practically dragged them towards the room they claimed as theirs. While Kakashi and Minato simply removed their equipment and changed their shirts once in privacy, Rin completely changed her clothes to a more comfortable set of brown shorts and a light red sleeveless blouse.
Minato was the first to finish changing and he enthusiastically bolted down the stairs and into the dining room, quickly moving all of the platters to the small table in the main room. He was followed by a lethargic Kakashi, who didn't say a word before plopping down on the sofa closer to the stairs.
"Are you really feeling that bad, Kashi?" Whispered the blond, sitting down next to him. The only response he got was the boy wrapping his thin arms around himself, burying himself a little deeper on the sofa. "Well, Rin-chan said you had to eat. So go on, the sooner you're done the sooner you can sleep." He didn't want to sound cold, but he knew if he became overly concerned with Kakashi the boy would not appreciate it in the least.
Not a few minutes passed before two bowls of steaming noodles were placed under their noses, and they both looked over to see the female member of the team smiling slightly at them. They took their share with care, and all three of them murmured their thanks for the food before digging in.
"So," Rin's voice slithered through the silence "About this place, what do we know so far?"
The youngest closed his eyes for a second while the blond man chewed his food "The students are divided in four colors the moment the get here. Some of the colors don't like each other."
"Four houses," Minato corrected "And we know who the teachers are. Except… I heard some of the kids whispering about another one, apparently very bad at teaching, that was missing."
"There's also twenty-four kids who seem to have authority over the rest." Rin declared.
And that was it. They had a lot of questions to ask, and their minds were restless with the curiosity of what was there that they didn't know about that could affect their mission for the worse.
Minato felt something fall into his lap, and he looked down to see a mess of silver hair resting there. Observing a bit more carefully, he saw Kakashi's empty bowl was now in the floor, the boy's body taking a big portion of the length of the sofa, as if he had fallen sideways from where he was seating.
The two older shinobi watched the boy carefully.
"I'm still surprised, you know," Rin said as Minato took off the boy's headband. "You said he was chakra depleted this Monday?" The man nodded and bent awkwardly to pick up the bowl that had fallen to the rug to put it back on the coffee table. "Well, his level right now is more than half his usual. With a recovery like that… well, hopefully his fever will break through the night."
Smiling slightly at the news, he rubbed the boy's arm in an attempt to soothe the goose bumps he felt along the pale skin. His expression darkened a bit just seconds later, and he looked up, his sapphire eyes meeting the girl's copper ones.
"I… find it odd, though. This whole situation. This place seems peaceful, sure, the… government seems a little… forceful, but… that's it." Rin understood what the man meant without him saying it "It doesn't seem like this world is dangerous in the least."
So, people are probably going to jump me yelling "You! You gave Kakashi a Tantō and Minato and Rin katanas! So unfair!" Yes. I did. It's not unfair though, or trying to make the kid special. In Kakashi Gaiden, Kakashi uses a tantō. It's been less than two months since then, so I figured that if he was used to wielding a tantō, using a katana, which is almost double (or more) in length, would be a bit too much. And inefficient, too.
Minato is right-handed, from what I can tell, and so Kakashi stands to his left to protect Minato's "weaker" flank.
So… I thought Jiraiya was much older in the series. As in… 10 years older. So here he is about 48-50 rather than 38-40 (which would be his actual age by this time).
Right, so… Obito and Rin were the same age, and I'm making Kakashi younger for it to fit my very odd reasoning and distorted timeline of the manga events (No, seriously, look at their Ninja Registration Numbers. Kakashi must have graduated in a different year, there's 1165 people between them. Look at Narutopedia if you don't have the databooks) . Nine-year-old Rin still lived with her parents, and seven-year-old Kakashi has one year of awkward-not-so-innocent-childhood before Sakumo kills himself, so he too was living at his own house at the time. And this is Minato, so of course he takes the little genius and the only girl of his team to their homes.
Yes, there were 27 people in that compartment. Imagine that it's very, very large and remember that there should be 24 Prefects in total. Since all the prefects are supposed to travel together for a part of the trip, that makes 24, plus three shinobi. Sigh. Things in the Hogwarts Express make no sense.
Well… damn. I had written the whole Hogsmade-Hogwarts part… then I remembered Hagrid wasn't there. I felt so stupid. If you see a mistake where it says "he" instead of "she" or something of the sort, please tell me ASAP! That way it looks less ridiculous.
'Bout the ANBU tattoo, from what I understand/remember/have seen, females wear it on their right shoulder and males on their left. Correct me if I'm wrong?
Oh, yeah, by the way, I do refer to Kakashi as both "grey-haired" and "silver-haired". Is there any you prefer or are you fine with me changing it when I please?
The painting "The Scream" obviously doesn't belong to me.
