Red Hand
Summary: In order to recover from the deaths of his teammates a young Kakashi is given a mission to hunt missing-nins in a country overseas where he will stay in a castle with one of Sandaime's old friends; an eccentric old man named Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. :.:.Naruto/HP Crossover.:.:
Genre: Drama/Angst
Rating: T
Author's Notes: Please excuse grammatically
and spelling errors. This is my NaNoWriMo novel...who says it has to be
great? Not me, that's for sure.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. They are both owned by other, much richer people, mkay?
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The dawn's light has already begun to filter into my room, casting eerie shadows across the floor and couch. The bedroom door is cracked open, allowing the sun's first rays of light to make their way into the living room.
I sigh as I sink into the couch. The dancing flames from the fireplace warm my cold skin.
I stayed in the shower for too long again, the hot water ran out. I really should stop that habit of mine. There can't be anything good about it.
Her eyes held such fear right before I killed her; held a desperate wish for mercy.
I gave her none.
My blood soaked shirt and mask is still held tightly in my left hand. I'm still not sure if I should clean the clothes or just toss them in the fire. I know the smell will never quite wash out and normally I would just burn them but here I don't have an unlimited supply of clothes; here I have to plan ahead.
I toss the fabric into the dancing flames. The smoke turns black as it twists its way up the chimney. The clothes shrivel up and turn to ash.
"You can't burn every article of clothing that gets blood on it," Mikoto states as she lifts her head to stare at me.
She lays on the floor near the fire, her body flickers from colour to shade as the fire's light bounces of her fur. Pakkun lays snuggled in against her belly.
I get up and walk over to my room, pushing the door open fully and sliding a drawer of my dresser open. I pull out a shirt and a mask and slip them on over my head. I adjust the mask to make it a little more comfortable.
I walk back to the living room to be greeted to the sight of a very small, very goblin-like creature carrying a tray of breakfast food. He sets it on the table between the two doors, the table I'm standing right beside. He then disappears in a tiny puff of smoke.
I look from the food to the spot where the goblin-like creature stood, then back to the food, then back to the spot, then back…
"Just eat the food," Mikoto mumbles, her head buried in her fur, "Don't ask questions, just eat."
I look at the food. Should I eat it? Like always I don't feel hungry.
I walk over to the couch and lay down on my back, starring into the memorizing flames of the fireplace.
"Not eating isn't going to make you feel better," she states, lifting her head from her fur.
Blood still stains a tiny part of her fur, a little patch right under her right eye.
"Talking isn't going to change what I did," I nonchalantly reply, "It's not going to change the fact that I made a mistake."
"Who could've guessed she would be that strong."
"I underestimated her," a slight hint of anger, directed at myself, creeps into my voice, "I made a stupid mistake and nearly got myself, and you, killed."
"You still killed her, be grateful for that," she buries her head back into her fur.
I close my eyes, exhaustion tugging at the edge of my mind. Perhaps I can get a few moments of sleep before classes start and I have to go teach.
Loud knocking interrupts my thoughts, dragging me from the drowsy darkness of sleep. I crack my right eye open and slowly push myself up into a sitting position. The knocking continues, steadily becoming more rapid with each passing second. Someone is impatient.
I groggily make my way to the door, grabbing my hitaiate off the ground where I last discarded it and slipping it on to cover my left eye. I turn the doorknob and pull the door open.
"You don't have to knock so loudly," I state as I scratch the back of my head.
"Dumbledore said that you didn't know where my classroom is," Remus says.
I look back to see through the window in my bedroom. The light that filters through is brighter now. How much sleep did I get? An hour, maybe two, I'm not too sure but I do know it wasn't enough.
I turn back to face Remus, "Just give me a sec."
I walk over to the couch and grab my katana, still secure in its holster, and slip it on; tying the straps tightly. I pick my vest up off the ground where it slid off the couch and put it on over the katana holster. I zip it up and then walk over to the table where I grab my gloves and slip them on.
"Do you really need all that stuff?" Lupin asks as I close the door behind me and fall into step beside him.
"Would you go any where without your wand?" I question.
"No."
"Exactly. Your wand is your tool, my katana and vest are my tools."
We fall into silence as he leads me through the twisting hallways and stairs. I carefully plot out the path we take in my mind, storing it away so that I will remember it for further reference.
"We have Third Years first, a class of Gryffindors and Slytherins," Remus opens the door we stopped in front of, "the two houses don't really like each other."
"Uh-huh."
There's something different about this man, a strange pattern to his chakra signature. Something that's just…off.
A bell rings to signal the beginning of classes.
"You can observe the class for the first few days if you wish," Remus walks over to his desk and sits down, "Just to get a feel for the subject and the students."
I nod, moving to lean against the wall in the back corner of the room, "Very well."
I cross my arms as the classroom slowly begins to fill with children who take their seats. A few I recognize from the flying class yesterday while others I don't know at all.
Remus points to me, "We have a new assistant teacher, Professor Hatake."
The children all twist around in their seats to look at me. This class doesn't have that strong of a chakra field to it. All the children emit no more than average chakra levels except one, that Hermione child from yesterday…her chakra is stronger than the others, and more controlled.
"He will just be observing the class for the next few days," Remus continues, "until he feels more comfortable with the subject."
The children turn around to face their teacher again.
"Now," Professor Lupin stands up, "Today we will be learning how to approach and defeat boggarts. Who can tell me what a boggart is?"
Hermione's hand shoots up and she doesn't even bother to wait for Remus to call on her, "A boggart is a shape-shifter that takes on the form of its intended victim's worst fear."
"Correct," Remus says with a nod, "Now the best way to first learn how to deal with a boggart is to approach it in pairs. That way the boggart will have difficulty in choosing which one to frighten and also so that if one person is frightened then the other person will be less frightened since they will likely have different fears."
"Did you get that Harry?" the red-haired kid from yesterday whispers to the kid sitting beside him.
"The easiest spell to defend against a boggart is 'Riddikulus' which is simply used to turn your boggart into something funny that will make you laugh," Lupin walks over to a cupboard at the front of the room, "Laughter weakens boggarts."
He places is right hand on the latch of the cupboard, "Now who wants to go first?"
No one puts up their hand up, no one volunteers. Typical.
"Very well then, how about you Neville?"
A shy, slightly chubby kid slowly stands up and makes his way to the front of the room.
"Don't I get a partner?" he asks Remus.
"Nope," Professor Lupin replies with a smile, "that's the easiest way to beat a boggart but not the most practical. Most boggarts are faced alone so you all must learn to defeat them on your own."
The kid, Neville, gulps.
"Now Neville, what is it that you most fear?" Remus asks.
"Pro…Professor Snape."
"Who isn't scared of Professor Snape?" Remus asks, smiling, "You live with your Grandmother, correct?"
Neville nervously nods.
"Well, I'm quite sure she must wear…how should I say this? Old fashioned clothes."
Neville nods again.
"Then imagine Professor Snape in your grandmothers clothes," Remus suggests as he opens the cupboard.
Whatever shape the boggart naturally has has already disappeared by the time it exits the cupboard. It immediately takes the shape of Professor Snape.
"Riddikulus!" Neville nervously shouts, pointing his wand at the boggart.
Professor Snape's clothes change from his normal black robes to the clothes of an old lady, complete with a feather hat.
The kids laugh and I can't help but smile. My amusement is short-lived though as I hear rather loud knocking against a window at the front of the room. I look to the source of the sound to see an eagle perched on the window sill. I uncross my arms, push myself off the wall, and make my way to the window.
I reach the window, glad that no one else has yet to notice that I've moved. The children's attention to detail is lacking.
Something tugs at my conscious, forces me to turn around to face the center of the room. So I do; I've learnt to trust my gut instincts.
The boggart has changed shape and I know it's now attempting to frighten me.
Instead of Professor Snape there now lays the bloody, broken, and torn body of Sarutobi.
"Kai," I calmly state and the boggart begins to change shape again.
It rapidly forms different bodies, shinobi I know, comrades that I'm meant to protect. They're broken bodies lay before me; Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Genma, Shikaku, Fugaku, Inoichi, Tsume, Ibiki, even the young Hayate and Anko.
Does this boggart, this object, really think it can strike fear in me? I know these people aren't here, I know these people aren't dead.
"Kai," I state, a little louder and a little more forceful then before.
The boggart changes shape again but not into someone else. No, this time it becomes a black fog, a floating inky substance.
It flies towards me and stops right in front of my face. A few moments of silence go by and then the boggart changes shape again.
For fuck sakes, if I only had a wand I could get rid of this stupid thing. Using the Genjutsu dispel only seems to force it to change shape, not defeat it.
It takes the form of Rin, then Obito, and finally Arashi-sensei. I stare into the lifeless blue eyes of the dead Yondaime.
I thank God that Arashi died a clean death, not a bloody gory death like Rin and Obito.
He opens his mouth to speak but then closes it again.
I turn my back on the boggart, open the window, and untie the scroll off the eagle's leg. I close the window as the eagle flies away.
I turn around, "You're still here?"
Those blue lifeless eyes just stare at me.
"You know," I address to Remus, "someone with a wand might want to get rid of this thing for me. Unless of course, you all wish to stare at my dead teacher…in that case just keep it around as long as you like."
"Does it not…"
The boggart begins to change shape again, cutting off Remus' words.
My father comes into view, a bloody katana in his hand and a gigantic whole where is vital organs should be. Blood soaks is clothes, reminding me of a moment in time I would much rather forget.
I know that the others, even the most idiotic kids, will be able to realize that this man the boggart has changed into is my father. Our resemble is uncanny, we look like the same people except for his tamer hair and older age.
"Professor Lupin," I say, a little louder then normal, "again I ask that you get rid of this thing. I'd rather not stare at the dead body of my father. It's a little…how should I put this? Odd."
No one does anything and I resist the urge to throttle this stupid teacher. I focus my chakra into my right hand. If I can't dispel this boggart then I'll just destroy it. I punch through the body of my father and it disappears.
The boggart falls to the ground, taking it's original shape; only cut in half.
I raise my right hand up to my face and look at it, "Black blood…interesting."
I wipe my hand on my pants and then return to the corner in the back of the room. I tuck the scroll into my vest and fold my arms back over my chest.
"Now then," Remus begins with a small smile, "What we just saw was a confused boggart. Professor Hatake here either has no fear or is very talented in hiding his fear. This caused the boggart to become confused and change shape multiple times in order to try and find the thing that would strike fear into Professor Hatake."
"Did he just destroy the boggart?" the red-haired kid asks.
"Well yes, I believe so," Lupin answers, "How did you manage that Professor Hatake?"
"Raikiri."
"Pardon?"
"It's a jutsu. A large mass of chakra in my hand," I pause, "Sorry…I should've said magic not chakra."
The bell rings and the kids get up to leave. How long are these classes? Did that boggart really take up that much time with me?
"Professor Hatake," Remus waves his hand to call me over.
I uncross my arms and push myself off the wall.
"Yes?" I question when I reach his desk.
The children have all left by now and none from the next class are here yet.
"You did a remarkable job in confusing the boggart but was it really necessary to destroy it like that?"
"What was I suppose to do? You made no move to dispel it for me and in case you haven't noticed I don't have a wand, I can't do the magic you do here," I pull out the scroll the eagle gave me earlier.
"What is that?" Remus leans over his desk to try and see.
I unroll it, "A mission."
Something seems odd, something foreboding about this particularly mission. My mouth opens slightly in shock but my mask hides the motion from Remus.
Beside the name Toshio there's a picture of a child I recognize, the child from the shower room who spilt poison on his arm. What did Severus say his name was? Oh yah…Stephen Cornfoot.
Besides the picture is his vitals; eleven years old, missing for one year, member of the Kaguya clan.
The Kaguya clan? Isn't that the clan that can manipulate their bodies skeletal frame?
"Oh shit," I mutter, completely forgetting about Remus.
"Kakashi?"
"Do you know where this kid is right now?" I ask, desperately trying to keep my panic in check.
If this kid is like any of the other shinobi from the Kaguya clan that I've fought then I'm fucked and so is this school.
"Why do you want to know?" Remus ask.
"This isn't time to bullshit around," I spit out as I hand the scroll over to the Professor Lupin, "I know it's in Japanese but look at the picture. Does it look familiar?"
"Why, it's Stephen Cornfoot," Lupin replies, "but why is he on your mission report?"
I push my hitaiate up to reveal my still closed left eye, "Are you really that blind?" I ask.
"Do you mean to say that he's one of the people you've been sent here to deal with?" Remus asks as he looks up from the scroll to search my eye.
"He's a missing-nin masquerading around as an incompetent First Year student," I state, taking the scroll from Lupin, rolling it up and placing it in my vest, "A missing-nin of the Kaguya clan."
"The Kaguya clan?" he questions as children start to fill up the classroom.
"A clan with one of the most powerful bloodline limits," I nervously shift my katana so it sits a little more comfortably on my back, "they can manipulate their skeletal frame and regenerate their own bones. They can rip their bones out of their bodies and use them as weapons while regenerating them immediately after."
"They can…"
"And his already seen me," I mutter to myself, unintentionally interrupting Remus, "He already knows that I've been weakened from earlier."
I snap my left eye open to search through the walls of the castle.
"But I have an advantage now too," I murmur, "I know his chakra signature."