Ran - Glad you like it. Yeah, Dumbledore seems a little... set. He doesn't see Zabuza as anything other than a Lestrange, and he doesn't see Haku as anything other than a miniture James. He's having a few issues. Yeah, yeah. I like to think that Sasuke just went a little crazy after Oreo bit him. And waking up to Sakura-chan so beaten up ((even if it was damn cool that she took a hit like that just to /bite/ Zaku)) probably wasn't good. More dark chakra in him. If he hadn't met Oreo, that wouldn't have happened-- he'd probably still be the guy who got himself "killed" to save Naruto's ass. Right now, he just has issues. And yes, leaving Leaf for Sound was stupid, and it's Itachi getting his way, but kids can be short-sighted.
Irihi Safaia - Woo Yay for Itch-love! =bounces with you=
dreamcatcher - I take it you're in the hurricane path...? Well, hopefully this gets to you before you loose power.
Nytingale - Indeed... Dumbledore's acting like an idiot because he was expecting something and didn't get it. It will take awhile to set his mind to the 'correct' path. As for Hermione... read on. Voldemort... heh, maybe. -- obviously not telling which question she's answer. Itch is mean like that. Blackouts are evil. Hope the hurricane doesn't do to much damage-- I don't know anything about hurricanes, since I have a mountain range between me and the closest ocean. Hehe, Remus has to /find/ Haku before the two of them can talk. But I have ideas for it.
Mayhem - If they paid me for fanfiction, I'd have long since gotten my tattoo. I was thinking of getting a tattoo like the one Ren has ((from Shaman King)) it's a bit large though... cost a whole hell of a lot, but it's also only one color. I've put LW on the backshelf for a moment, the scenes won't connect properly, so I'm going to give it some time.
Kanashii - Ninja-y is a cool word. I'm glad I thought of it. Mwaha. Oh! Oh! I'll join that club! It'll be fun! I think I've started confusing people, since I seem to have gotten stuck calling him Oreo even in normal conversations -;; Oh well, it's amusing. As for Haku in Huffle territory... you'll just have to wait and see, ne?
Akua - Healing classes? Now there's an idea. I'll have to-- oh hey, One Piece. Hmm, that was random. I need to stop watching the telly when I'm writing responses... Anyways, Sirius is safe for a little while, but Haku might be a little angry. And he might not be. Zabuza'll probably be pissed, though. Defense will certainly be an... interesting class. ((...I still don't know who'll be teaching it. =sighs=)) Nah, I can't see Haku in the uniform. He'll just have to wear a darker version of his outfit, with a yellow sash or something. Heh.
Black myst - Hehe, cute was what I was going for. I can't help but make Haku and Zabuza all cute and fluffy when they're alone. Hehe. Oh yeah, Naruto would get a kick out of the pranks-- he'd probably get a kick out of Fred and George, come to think of it. Heh, Zabuza just needs to get peoples' attention. Maybe he should cut the Head Table in half, eh? Just because one is stronger, does not mean one is better. Experience and skill comes into play-- Haku was surprised by Zabuza actually 'falling' for his trick, which left him vulnerable to Zabuza's /real/ intentions-- his counter attack. A trick like that only works if the opponent can't guess at what you're doing.
Chibi-Naru - Do you mind if I call you that, or do you have a different nickname? I'm the first one? Wow, that's weird. But He's so cute as a kid, that I couldn't help but comment! Heh, Haku's suspicions becomes Zabuza's suspicions and you know how Zabuza is...
Kaaera - I rested, I rested. =grins= Got another four and a half hours of sleep, and I was a happy Itch. I thank you for your worry about my welfare. Here's a new chapter because you cared! =grins= Ah, sorry. Haku has a technique called "Hijutsu Makyou Hyoushou" or Demonic Ice Mirrors in english. He uses water from the surrounding area ((ie: the mist created by Zabuza's 'Kirigankure no Jutsu' in Naruto)) to conjure mirrors to surround his opponents. The opponent can't get out ((unless they're Naruto)), and Haku "becomes one" with the mirrors. He literally 'enters' the mirrors, and can move from one to the other with such speed that he's invisible. He can also have reflections of himself in the mirrors, so an opponent never knows which is the real one. Haku attacks with his senbon-- his needles-- from the mirrors. When he fights Naruto, he literally 'drops out' of the mirror that hovers in the air over top of the 'ring' of mirrors. Haku can also use the mirrors to 'teleport' himself places-- like when he got between Zabuza and Kakashi's Chidori attack. That probably didn't help much, but if you do a google search with the technique name, you should be able to get more information on it.
For Your Dream
Part Seven
The Itch
Haku nearly rolled his eyes as Zabuza poked and prodded his sides. The hunter-nin was hardly amused by the Demon's inspection of his ribs, but it was hardly a new experience. Every single time he'd been injured since joining up with the man, Zabuza had insisted on checking his wounds periodically. It was a gesture that touched him, but it was hardly an exciting experience.
"I'm fine, Zabuza-san."
"I don't trust magic very much."
This time Haku /did/ roll his eyes, "Zabuza-san, you were born into magic."
"Can't use it worth a damn, and it's never helped me out," the man retorted, before stepping back and letting the boy pull his clothing back on. Haku rolled his shoulders to make sure the clothing and weapons were settled properly, shaking his head in exasperation.
"Honestly, Zabuza-san, you confuse me sometimes," Haku smiled as the older man laughed, before continuing, "Sometimes you seem to like magic, and other times you express your distaste for it. Which is it?"
"Whichever I feel it is at the time," the man was grinning at him, the bandages around his face unbound for the time being. His companion just smiled back at him, before turning around to adjust his hitae-ate into a more comfortable position. Zabuza frowned, "When do classes start again?"
"Two days from now," Haku was prompt with his response, "It shall be... interesting... being introduced to the rest of the student body."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow, "The last time you had to be 'introduced' to a group was when I brought you before the Mizukage."
"And we both know how well /that/ turned out," both of them winced. It had been an uphill battle to convince the Mizukage to allow Haku to both join the village and become a Hidden Mist Ninja. The amount of time he had spent practicing and fighting with Zabuza on the trip from England to China, had helped to get Haku into the village. Not that he had been there for very long-- barely long enough to be trained as a Hunter-nin-- before Zabuza's little rebellion.
"Yeah, well..." the man shrugged, "You're actually wanted here. That could prove all the difference."
"Indeed," Haku sat on the edge of the bathing tub, frowning, "Zabuza-san?"
"What?"
"Have you noticed that Scarecrow seems to act... different from other dogs?"
Zabuza blinked, "He's a nin-dog."
"That's not what I meant," Haku folded his hands in his lap, looking down, "He seems... more than that. He knew how to get me to the Hospital Wing earlier today. And he knew his way through this castle well enough to find our room when we knew he wasn't anywhere near us."
"As I said, he's a nin-dog. Atop that, he's also trained to track people. He may have well just sniffed us out."
He shook his head, "That still doesn't explain how he knew how to get to the hospital wing."
This time Zabuza frowned, eyes growing distant as he thought back on their trip from China to Scotland, and every time Scarecrow was involved. Thinking about it, the dog did seem to act strangely-- different from any dog he'd ever seen, ninja or otherwise. Oh, he put up a great front, but there were certain differences; only noticable if you had spent a great deal of time with him, "Henge no jutsu?"
"I don't think so," Haku shook his head, "The amount of chakra needed to sustain the illusion for so long would be inconceviable-- especially since we've both seen him sleep while in dog form."
Zabuza was scrabbling at old memories, long since faded. His brow furrowed as he thought back; he was sure he'd heard something similar once, "...I'm not quite sure, but I think... I heard once that there was magic to turn someone into an animal. It was specific... I don't remember what it was..." Zabuza hated not knowing something that could be a possible trump card, either for him or an enemy.
Haku gave him a wry grin, "I suppose it's time to research our dog?"
"Your dog, Haku. That mutt gives me nothing but trouble!"
They were quiet, she had to give them that, but Hermione Granger didn't miss anything. Not nice first year, had she ever allowed anything or anyone to sneak up on her. Her grades might not have been as high as they could have been-- she knew she had the intellect to be in the top 98 percentile-- but the Gryffindor Fifth Year only cared about staying alert, and therefore alive.
Looking up from her book-- A Guide to the Ultimate Magical Defense-- her eyes were immediately trained upon the two newest residents of Hogwarts. Raising an eyebrow, she had to wonder just what, exactly, Zabuza Momochi and Harry Potter needed in the library, that they would be going about so quietly. It didn't take either of the males long to note her presense, but Momochi continued deeper into the library, while Potter nodded politely to her. She, somewhat hesitantly, raised a hand in greeting.
Her attention returned to her book, though she could still feel the presense of the two in the room. There was a tingle along her skin as to where the two men were, and a vague impression of their distance from her. Before that... incident... on All Hallow's Eve in 1991, she had never felt it. But now... it never left her alone. That sensation of knowing where everyone was at all times-- it was infinitely distracting during her classes, preventing her from being able to absorb information through instruction, when her classmates shifted and fidgeted. She had yet to figure out just what it was that she was feeling, but she wouldn't give up until she knew.
With a frustrated grunt, the short-haired girl slammed her book onto the table, glaring at the offensive thing. There wasn't anything in it that she didn't already know-- she'd spent so much time in this library, trying to discover this unknown ability of hers, or trying to figure out a better way to protect herself than relying on said ability, but there was nothing.
"You look... annoyed," the voice was softer than she thought it would be, even after hearing it at dinner two nights ago. Blinking, she was startled to realise that Potter had somehow managed to traverse the distance between here and there within seconds-- so fast that even her 'warning system' didn't give her any notice. It had been the same when he had appeared before Ron, but that hadn't been quite so bad-- Hermione stumbled back, knocking her chair over. She stared into the warm liquid brown depths of Potter's eyes, her own wide with shock.
"How... how did you move so quickly?"
"Practise," the boy smiled softly, and Hermione was startled to realise that he looked very, very feminine. His sleek long dark hair was so different from her sun-lightened and raggedy short brown hair, and his face appeared unblemished-- a stark contrast to the scars left over from having her jaw shattered as a child. Had she been anywhere but Hogwarts, the wound would have been fatal. As it was, Hermione had barely pulled through; to this day, she didn't know how she got away from the troll, only that she had and that the bathroom she'd been hiding in looked like it had been scorched, "Now then," he was saying, "What has you so frustrated?"
She settled back into her chair, looking down at the book she had been studying with a growl, "Five years I've been trying to figure this out, and I haven't got it yet."
"Got what?" Zabuza half grumbled, striding closer. Damn Haku and his sensitivity. He couldn't leave the girl to figure out her problems on her own, could he?
"I don't know," she admitted, "It's just this... feeling. I know where everyone around me is at all times." It wasn't like she hadn't told other people-- Dumbledore knew, McGonagall knew, her year-mates knew even though they didn't believe her, and her parents knew. Telling someone else was not a big deal, "A tingle... like all the hair on my body is standing, but in reaction to someone's presence."
Potter looked at Granger in surprise, then up at Momochi, then back to her. He spoke quickly to Zabuza in japanese, rattling off words faster than Hermione could recognise a few sylabels-- not that it would help all that much if she had been able to make 'words' out of all the "wa"s and "ga"s he was spouting. She didn't know Japanese.
Momochi shrugged and responded in kind, before Harry nodded sharply, "Miss...?"
"Granger. Hermione Granger."
"Miss Granger," the fifteen year old began, "You may have something we call a 'Bloodline Limit'."
"A what?" that wasn't a term she'd heard before. Perhaps it was a pureblood thing? Shaking her head, she frowned, "Can't be. I'm the first wizard in my family!"
"Bloodline Limits only follow the bloodline after they've been trained properly," Zabuza snorted. Haku chuckled.
"That would explain why Kakashi could use the Sharingan, even though he is not an Uchiha," the long haired boy shook his head, "But we're not talking about Uchiha or Kakashi. We are talking about the possibility of a new Granger Bloodline Limit."
Hermione frowned, "I still don't know what a Bloodline Limit is."
"It's normally a jutsu-- a specific way of molding your chakra and your inner mana together-- that can only be produced by someone with similar abilities to you," Zabuza explained somewhat moodily, "Which is why it's called a bloodline limit-- one's descendants are always the ones most similiar to one, especially if one is there to raise said descendants. The jutsu does not always stay within one family... but it does not need hand seals or magic words to use."
"With practice," Haku murmured, "your ability to 'sense' when people are near could quite concievably allow you to know exactly where they are even from rooms or floors away. Possibly, your 'sense' is similiar to certain doujutsu, and you would be able to 'see' what you're senseing."
Hermione's eyes had widened remarkably wide at the prospect. Such an ability... that would make protecting herself against mishaps like the one with the troll, and the following ones with Lupin and Crouch easily escapable. Oh the possibilities...!
"How... how would I practise this? How could I learn to do that?"
"You would need someone to teach you," Haku's eyes slid towards Zabuza, and Momochi looked stunned for a second.
"What? No! Haku, you are my only student, remember?!"
Grander blinked, "You have a Bloodline Limit?"
"I do, yes," Haku nodded, "But Zabuza-san did not train me in it. No, I was thinking that Zabuza-san could begin your instruction in chakra, so that you can learn the basics. From there you will have to figure it out on your own. My Bloodline Limit is not a doujutsu, and the only ones with doujutsu that I know are in China."
"And they think you're dead."
"There is that."
"Dead?" Hermione's lips quirked, "There must be some story behind that one."
"Oh, there most certainly is," Haku gave her an amused smile, "But it is a story for another day. Zabuza-san and I came here for a reason."
Zabuza nodded, "Glad to see you remembered."
"Sarcasm suits you," the Gryffindor smirked up at the Hufflepuff's guardian. Zabuza rolled his eyes. Haku was bad enough alone. After a moment, she tipped her head to one side, "What are you looking for? I know this library off by heart, even if I haven't read many of the books."
"We're looking up people who turn into animals."
"Like... lycanthropy? Or Animagi?"
"An.. that's it!" Zabuza pounded a fist into his open palm, "Animagus! That's the word I couldn't remember!"
"Far wall, three rows in, left side of the unit, two shelves from the bottom. Basic information Animagi. Restricted section, near wall, four rows in, left side of the unit, top shelf. How to become an Animagus," Hermione rattled off the information as quickly as she had said she could, to the amazement of both men. She tapped her chin lightly, "So why are you looking for information like that?"
Haku had already gone to gather the books, so Zabuza shrugged, "Haku's dog, Scarecrow, doesn't act like any dog either of us have seen before. We wanted to know if he was a human in disguise or not. What better way?"
"Confronting him?"
Zabuza laughed, "And if you were pretending to be someone's pet, and suddenly had someone demanding that you shouw them your real self, would you reveal yourself?"
"Point," Hermione chuckled as Haku returned. Picking up one of the books on Animagi, she had to wonder, "Mister Zabuza?"
"What?"
"If I help you locate information on Animagi... will you train me?"
Zabuza was silent for a long time. If he accepted her, he felt that he would be on the way to making his own little 'genin' team. Except that Haku wasn't a genin, and neither was Granger. And she never would be, if he didn't bring her back to ye olde ninja world.
Zabuza slapped a mirror shard onto the cover of the book in her hands, "I suppose I could."
It never hurt to have more than one weapon.
End Part Seven
And people are going to start wondering what Hermione looks like. Well, I doubt I'll be putting in a whole lot of description of her appearance, but for those who care this is what she looks like:
She has short hair, kinda wild, like Shino's ((except shorter, and without the insects living in it)). Whenever she leaves Hogwarts grounds, she wears a high-collared cloak ((like Itachi's, only without the clouds)) to hide the scars that litter her jawline and neck from her encounter with the troll. The scars are there, because Madam Pomfrey was more worried about her surviving, than her looking pretty. By the time she was stablized, too much time had passed, and the tissue scared. She wears her Hogwarts robes loose and open, despite repeatedly being told to 'straight them up'. Her robes are cinched at the waist with a red and gold silk sash. ((Picture the men's kimonos worn in Kenshin and other such period anime/manga/photos)) Underneath her robes she wears a simple white tunic.
I am, as always, going with the assumption that the movies are grossly out of touch with reality, considering that wizards don't have any idea how to dress like muggles, even though they do in the movies. My version of Hogwarts robes are similar to yukata, only without the "stylized" collar, and the thick belts/sashes. Beneath the robes they wear things like tunics and leggings. Yay.
As for Hermione's muggle clothing... I dunno. I'll think of it later.
