Severus blinked several times as he heard the announcement given for the Uzumaki boy and gave the blond a once over. He was a jinchuuriki; that was something that Severus could tell right off the bat. It was amazing how just a glimpse of a marking on the boy's toned, tan stomach had the entire seal sprawled before Severus' eyes. He shook his head and turned away, trying to get the feel of the young man's demonic chakra out of his mind. It was the Nine Tails and while the beast practically snarled at him, he wanted nothing to give him away.
"Albus, you must do something—he cannot possibly go into two houses!" Rolanda hissed, her cat-like eyes narrowing.
"I believe that Madam Hooch is correct," Filius nodded, agreeing with the flying instructor. Albus sat back in his chair, twinkling blue eyes running over the confused blond who was now on his knees with the hat in his lap. He was planning something, something that Severus had a feeling that he would not like.
"Let it not be said that we have argued with a hat. Naruto, my boy, I believe that I shall welcome you as the first student to be Sorted into two Houses," Albus announced as he stood up, his arms wide as if expecting the boy to give him a hug. The blond tilted his head for a brief second and looked around the still silent Hall, a slow smile taking over his tan face. Several teachers were sputtering and seeming as though they honestly wanted to protest and run away like chickens without their head. Then the students of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor erupted into roars of applauses, the two Houses rushing forward to congratulate the spiky haired blond. Severus took this time of chaos and confusion to slip out of the side doors. He didn't think he could eat with the stares from Uchiha and Potter.
"Snape, wait up." Speak of the persistent devil. The voice of Harry Potter bounced along the empty walls. Severus had already known that the boy would follow him but still he paused. He looked over his shoulder and saw the determined student, running towards him. He seemed to be pushing himself to go as fast as he could but he was still a distance away. He could make it around the corner and disappear or he could confront the Gryffindor. But then what? Was he going to wrap more lies around him until he was too blind to see the truth ever again? Or, he could tell the truth. He could finally allow someone in his life, someone into this life he built. He could be free.
But at what cost?
"Not now, Mr. Potter," Severus said as firmly as he could manage. He needed more time to think. He edged around the corner, shrouding himself in darkness with just a hint of magic. The rest of it came naturally. He watched with careful eyes as Harry ran past him, despair coloring his voice as he called for him over and over. He stopped and searched the darkness, straining to catch a glimpse of the former Potions professor. Then he was off again and it wasn't until the unique magic disappeared did he make a noise. A hard sigh through his nose cut into the silence and he nearly stepped out of his hiding place only to snarl as the presence of another caught his attention.
"What do you want?" he demanded aloud. He did not bother to keep up the charade seeing as the man had already found him and there wasn't a way that such sharp eyes would lose him too easily.
"I want to know why you are pretending to be this Severus Snape when you are clearly Uchiha Seiji. There may be some differences that could be done with a jutsu or spell but I know Uchiha Seiji when I see him and you fit the bill," Kakashi Hatake stepped from beyond the shadows, his one showing eye narrowing. He had abandoned the headband and ninja gear for an airy, nearly black robe with a collar high enough to cover his mouth and a casual eye patch.
"Ah, the delusional Mr. Hatake," Severus purred as he too stepped into the dim light that made up the corridors. He stood toe to toe with the taller man, placing the tip of his finger on his illustrious porn novel and pulling it down slightly so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "I do not know why you insist that I am a part of such a… infamous clan but I will not humor your mistakes. I am a potions master as your students correctly believe."
He noticed that the long fingers of the older man tightened on his book and his body nearly shook with the restraint needed to resist physically grabbing Severus and possibly shaking some sense into him. It hadn't worked well for Sasuke and he doubted that it would work well for him. Besides, he may not know Severus but he did know Seiji. If Seiji was told to lie then that was what he would do. He would lie until everything crumbled like stale bread. Seiji went missing nearly eighteen years ago and, if Kakashi was right, that meant that this secret has been going on for that long and it was time for it to stop.
"We both know for a fact that there is nothing simple about you, Seiji and if you will not simply admit it and, perhaps, give a small explanation then I will dig like a dog until I find the bone I'm looking for… and I will not stop," Kakashi nearly hissed, his eye narrowing before he pulled his book away and back to his face. Severus watched with glaring eyes as the man began to walk away, strides calm and even. Damn this nosy man—he would be as much of a nuisance as the young Uchiha boy and his cohorts.
Severus brought a hand to his nose and squeezed for several moments before beginning his much needed journey back to his rooms.
(**)
"So dobe, you just can't be normal, can you?" Sasuke smirked as he appeared on the blonde's side. Naruto had been looking back and forth between the two ties he had been provided with. It seemed as though Naruto would be allowed the pick which House he wanted to stay in at whatever moment. More likely than not, the idiot would simply make a shadow clone and get double the information.
"Hey, I am the most normal person here with my luscious blond locks and more than sexy body!" Naruto stuck out his tongue childishly as he faced the newly dubbed Slytherin. He eyed Sasuke for a moment, looking over the green and silver tie and the outside robes that he had on over the top of his school uniform. It looked odd on the shinobi but comfortable enough. The Uchiha rolled his eyes at the mock conceitedness coming from the blonde's lips. They leaned on the wall together and remained silent in the still of the night.
"What are you guys doing out here this late?" Sakura's voice appeared from the darkness. The demon container and avenger both looked down the Hall to see Sakura strutting over, the school skirt just long enough to be appropriate.
"Just talking. I'm trying to figure out which House I'm going to sleep in," Naruto shrugged, placing both ties around his neck without actually tying them.
"I am making a plan to corner 'Severus Snape' and get him to admit that he's Uchiha," Sasuke admitted. He couldn't sleep as the thoughts ran around his head. He knew that the man was his Head of House and that, eventually, he could ask for an audience in private for whatever issue he made up. However, there was a chance that the man would deny him because he wasn't a real student.
"Sasuke, I honestly do not think that he's Uchiha. I mean, it's impossible to have magic and chakra much less have enough control to balance the two within one body," Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's broad shoulder. The seventeen year old looked at her and shook his head, not willing to believe for a single second that Severus Snape was not a family member of his. Yes, there were obvious differences such as his nose, perhaps his jawline, and body build but that man was an Uchiha. Those parts didn't match his eye shape, cheekbones and forehead as if they were glued there by some toddler. Something was going on and Sasuke would find out what it was!
"There is someone among your group with a brain behind their eyes… amazing," the silky voice came from nowhere. The shinobi jumped, shocked that they hadn't sensed anyone and they still could not pinpoint where the voice came from.
"It is beyond your curfew—go to bed," the voice continued, "Oh and twenty points from each House." The shinobi looked amongst each other before parting in different directions, their eyes still looking for the man to the voice. Sakura bit into her lip because there was no way that a simple wizard could hide like this from them—they were each trained and good at what they did yet she could not even sense anything displaced by this hiding man. Maybe… just maybe… he was related to Sasuke.
(**)
It wasn't his day, was it?
Severus had known that it would be a bad day the second he finished his daily exercise. School was in full swing so of course he had to sneak back in to avoid being spotted by some early rising student or a teacher coming down for a head start on breakfast (Black being the usual pig that he was). No one needed to see his dimly defined body without a shirt and his smooth legs in a pair of shorts that were perhaps a bit too tight so as to permit the more difficult gymnastics that were a part of his exercise.
However his sneaking plan was put on halt by two problems and those came in the form of the ever patrolling shinobi that thought themselves precautious to investigate the person that was slinking back into the castle at sunrise. Now Severus could have avoided them, put his training to use and sunk into the shadows and stopped himself from having such a confrontation but he knew that they'd chase him. They would be suspicious and attempt to capture him. It was not worth the hassle.
So that was how Severus found himself standing a toe to toe to the two creeping shinobi, both crouched low and kunai in their hands. The scarred man let out a slight huff and straightened, his face immediately shaping into something that seemed a bit embarrassed while relieved at the same time. A hand came up to the prominent scar over the plane of his nose to rub against it.
"Good morning Professor Snape-kun. We are sorry for potentially startling you," the shinobi smiled. Severus grunted and moved past the two.
"While it is morning, I do not agree that there is anything good about it," he retorted over his shoulder. Of course their meeting couldn't end like that, oh no that would have been too easy for the poor Potions Master that was already being tortured just by being in the same building as an Uchiha and the Hatake that was currently walking besides him.
"So, what were you doing outside so early?" Iruka (Severus believed his name to be) inquired. Severus pressed his lips together, planning on firmly ignoring the Academy teacher. Obviously he didn't have to answer because the silver haired man, still reading his porn, answered instead which led to the second thing that indicated that he would be having a bad day.
"More likely than not, Seiji was training. Up until he disappeared, Seiji was always up going through many training sequences. He trained more than Gai and Lee combined then again if he didn't, I'd be upset about being beaten by someone far younger than I," Kakashi came to walk next to him.
"Then you are wrong for my name is Severus Snape and flattery gets you nowhere. I know that I appear my age of thirty seven," Severus shot back, folding an arm over his chest and stalking just that bit faster. If he had on his usual robes, they would be snapping and billowing around his ankles at this point. If he had his wand, he would have cursed the bastards intent on following him. Had Severus been feeling rather giving, he might have admitted that it might be his fault that he was in this current predicament—he should have waited and studied the patrol a bit before venturing outside to do his daily exercise but if Severus didn't get his blood flowing via physical means then he was liable to snap out and kill someone.
"Thirty five," Kakashi suddenly said. Severus glanced over his shoulder at the silver haired man and raised a brow at the man.
"What are you blubbering on about?" he sighed. The ninja smirked. Now how could Severus possibly know that Kakashi was smirking under that mask? He didn't need to explain his knowledge; he simply knew that he was correct. The smirking shinobi leaned close to him, their noses almost touching one another as he lowered his book and looked dead into his eyes.
"You know that you appear your age of thirty five. Severus Snape went to Hogwarts a year early and his birthday is in January. He is thirty five until then…" he elaborated. Severus stiffened and pressed back against the stone wall behind him, feeling the coolness seep into his naked flesh.
"Do not speak of me as if I am not here… I am Severus Snape and my age is not any of your concern," Severus snarled. He brought his hands behind his back and made several motions that were out of view from the man. He felt as the stone behind him become almost liquid like and fell back into it. He scoffed at the Leaf ninja before him as he reached out to touch him but missed. "Goodbye Mr. Hatake, I believe it is time for me to properly dress myself."
(**)
Harry pressed his lips together as he wanted outside of the classroom. It was the first day of classes starting once more and his first class just so happened to be DADA with the 7th year students which happened to be a mixture of all the years. The purple haired shinobi woman would be co-teaching with Severus Snape, the man he had been looking for. A few days past a week had passed and Harry had yet to speak with the black haired man since the time he told him a bit about his past. He knew that the part revealed might be a little embarrassing and soul searing but that didn't mean that he had to be ignored and avoided.
"How long until this starts?" Naruto groaned and plopped his head onto Harry's shoulder seeing as he was the closest person to him, not that the Gryffindor minded. The blond was rather funny and unique especially as he spotted Ron beside him and leapt on the sullen redhead with a loud battle cry.
"We arrived almost five minutes early but I'm sure S-Snape is in there already," Harry assured the air that the shinobi had been standing at. He turned his head and winced as the blond went down because of the hex that caught him directly in the stomach. He yelped and hit the ground with a loud thud. His friend, Sasuke, raised a brow at the blond in such a Severus type way that Harry nearly choked on his own saliva. Instead he strode over to where Ron was swiftly whispering the counter spells.
"I… am sorry," Ron spoke, his voice gritty with lack of use, "Did not… expect."
"Heh, hee! No worries! It would take much more than that to keep me down! Believe it!" Naruto shouted, a giant smile rippling his face. The redhead blinked rapidly at him as if he had expected to be bombarded with shouts and accusations instead of the easy going nature that Naruto provided at nearly every turn of the way. Ron shook his head minutely and held out his roughened hand, gripping the equally work toughened limb and pulling the muscled blond to his feet.
"If you are expecting a written invitation then you shall freeze in these halls," a velvety voice purred out from the opened door way. The small group of teenagers whirled around to see that their professor had opened the door and most of the students had drifted in. Harry rushed forward, knowing that the door would slam even if the man knew that they were there—especially because they were there. He heard Ron, Naruto, and Sasuke dashed after him and they just made it in the door right as it shut and locked itself.
"Damn bastard…" Naruto muttered, glaring at the tear in his robes from the door catching the end. He blinked in surprise as a slim stick tapped the material and it stitched itself back together. He looked up at the redhead turning on his heel and stepping amongst his student to the platform that Snape now stood upon.
"As you were made aware at the Welcoming Feast, I am the new DADA teacher although I must be forgiven for not being there to graciously accept your welcome," the sharp grin that adorned the pale lips told each of them that he didn't give a hot rat's ass about their opinion. If Naruto thought back, he believed that there were actual shrieks of horror at the Potions Master suddenly becoming the Defense teacher. "As in my potions class, I will not accept late work, failure, or stupidity. I can only pray that each of you possess enough brain cells to retain the information that you will receive." The large nostrils flared and contracted as a deep breath was taken and released. The man looked as though the words he would be stating next would simply kill him. "I have been informed that I will have a co-teacher that arrived with our foreign exchange students. As you know, they are from Japan in which a different form of magic is used. Wands are not needed but they tend to use what you know as 'Old Magick'."
"Chakra is not magic," a brash voice scoffed. Eyes turned to the corner of the class where a woman was stepping out. She wore her long, professor robes open to reveal her rather unprofessional outfit of skin tight pants and a netted shirt that was thankfully out of sight due to the strategically placed robes. Severus turned his eyes, not looking at the woman as he brought out his hand, sweeping it out in the direction of the dark violet haired woman.
"May I introduce Professor Mitarashi? Please, Professor, the stage is all yours. Perhaps you would tell our students what chakra is," Severus' smile was very nasty but the woman ignored it as she flipped onto the stage, landing with nary a sound.
"Chakra is better for one and it is energy that is harnessed to perform even the most basic techniques. It flows through our very blood, becomes more common than it actually," the female professor smirked. Severus shook his head as if he were disappointed in the woman.
"Magic is very much the same, Ms. Mitarashi. Each of the students of Hogwarts will tell you the same thing when they perform magic. It soars through their blood, makes their veins sing as it flows through their channel—their wand. Chakra is different for the fact that it is more specific—clans. Even then it is the same with magic. Certain families lean towards darker magic, some find themselves excelling at transfiguration or healing. Some 'Magic Users' can speak to snakes because of the blood that flows through their veins."
Anko remained silent, taking in the words calmly. She wasn't one to not admit that she was wrong and, perhaps she was. She didn't know much about Magic Users and their culture but she had always assumed that they were much different, otherwise why wouldn't they get along? However, by the way this particular Magic User (that could possibly not be a Magic User) spoke, it sounded like chakra.
"You didn't argue with me on one point, you know," the woman pointed out, "Do you agree that chakra is better? Shinobi stronger?"
"Of course not, you silly woman. I judge by single individuals and I can honestly say that my, personal, magic can trump a lot of those that have chakra… including you," Severus goaded in a purring voice that spoke of challenges unsaid but implied. The students looked on at their teachers, knowing that a battle was brewing and that they would be getting a hands on look at not only the infamous Potions Master fighting but something entirely new that they had never seen before. Anko grinned viciously and shifted her feet, facing the man fully.
"Well, you wanna test out those words? I'm pretty sure that your students would love a demonstration," she suggested lightly. Severus had a mental war with himself at that one moment. He knew, logically, that he probably shouldn't but damn it had been so long since he sparred or dueled… besides, it was an academic opportunity for his students.
"Allow me to erect the safety shields," Severus retorted. He didn't need any of his students to get side clipped.
"Fifty galleons on Professor Snape," a voice suddenly quipped next to Sasuke. The Uchiha raised a brow at the girl who had suddenly appeared at his elbow. He hadn't seen her last night, she must have come late. As he looked over her slightly upturned nose, sun kissed face and deep brown eyes, he decided that she was quite pretty.
"Hundred on… Professor Mitarashi," Sasuke held out his hand. The other Slytherin grinned and shook his hand softly. He made sure to remember her voice in case he heard it in the darkness.
"Name's Pansy Parkinson," she introduced herself.
"Uchiha… Sasuke Uchiha."
(**)
TBC
