Hey everybody! Just wanted to take the time to say thanks for the reviews, since I realized that I ask for them a lot, but then I don't say thank you. Which is incredibly rude in my opinion, so thank you so much; you guys are great! Also glad to hear that some of you actually think I don't get enough reviews—you have no idea how much of a confidence booster that is. One other thing, a lot of people asked questions along the lines of "Oh, so Kakashi and Harry are friends now?" Hehe, no. More like they are able to coexist peacefully. I truly haven't decided yet if or when they will ever become friends. Chapter 12, le gasp!

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Chapter 12- Backup

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Everything was still and blissfully quiet in the common room when they returned. They headed straight for the stairs, having no desire other than to sleep.

"Potter," Kakashi whispered as they tiptoed up the steps.

Harry, in front of Kakashi, looked over his shoulder in silent question.

"Don't tell anyone else about Umbridge. Not even Ron and Hermione."

Harry nodded. He had been having an internal battle over the pros and cons of telling his best friends that Umbridge was torturing them, for that was really what it was, and the fact that Kakashi didn't think it was a good idea either cemented the thought that maybe they should keep it secret.

They entered the dormitory to snores and the rustle of sheets-- Ron was unconsciously rolling over-- and froze. After a few tentative seconds, they both climbed into bed and slept.

Well, as well as they could after being tortured.

--

The days went by, slowly, but they passed. The red patch of skin grew more prominent each night. By the time Thursday evening came, the barely-visible words, I must not tell lies, were etched into his skin. To make matters worse, he was right-handed, so whenever he had to write, either in class or for DADA homework, his hand ached. Not to mention, it was bad if he had to throw a kunai or perform a jutsu.

As he and Harry retreated from Umbridge's office that Thursday, he stopped as they exited the classroom, attempting to control his fury at the insufferable woman. He clenched and unclenched his fists, stopping when he winced from the pain.

Harry continued walking, but stopped when he noticed that Kakashi wasn't keeping up.

"You alright?" he asked, a note of pain in his own voice.

Kakashi breathed deeply, "I'm trying not to go back in there and kill her."

"Look who needs to control their anger now," Harry couldn't resist the jab.

"Shut up," Kakashi replied, but it wasn't nearly as sharp as he intended.

Kakashi finally moved, and they started walking back to the common room, repeating the steps of the last three days. Suddenly, Harry let out a startled gasp of pain; his left hand dropped his book bag and flew to his forehead.

Kakashi immediately whirled around. Had someone hit him? Where was the spellcaster?

"Its fine," Harry gasped out. "It's gone."

The wizard straightened unsteadily, having bent over from the pain.

"What the hell was that?" the ninja asked.

Harry blinked a few times, "It's nothing, just my scar. It does that sometimes. It's no big deal."

Kakashi immediately deduced that he wasn't telling the truth, but he let it slide for now. All his senses were on alert, and he really wanted to get back to the common room where it would be somewhat safer.

"C'mon, let's go," Kakashi said, glancing around, on edge.

--

Finally, Saturday came. Kakashi was up before the sun, determined to check out the forest. He savored in putting on his normal attire, no robes today. Grabbing his pack with all the ANBU gear in it, he quietly exited the dorm and made his way through the castle.

He exited the same way he had the first time. He wondered if Dumbledore would notice that he was sneaking around again. He shrugged; it didn't matter.

He reached the edge of the forest and paused, looking up at the trees. The sun was just starting to creep above the horizon, giving the wood a mysterious sort of haze. The shinobi continued into the trees.

He walked for about five minutes before he came across a small clearing. It would do as well as any other place. He dropped his bag on the ground and removed the contents. Arm bracers, shin guards, breast plate, mask. He picked up the bone white mask. A wolf. Rin had said it suited him, and he could see how. Quiet and cunning, it attacked just when its prey let its guard down and…

He dropped the mask next to the empty bag. Right now it would only impair his vision. A cool autumn breeze swept across the trees.

He looked down at his hands. He finally had some free time to get back on track with training, at least a little. He untied his headband and set it next to the bag as well. Closing his eyes, he focused chakra into his palm. He winced when the back of his hand tingled. I must not tell lies. He gritted his teeth and only concentrated harder. He performed the signs.

Chirping filled the air.

--

Trooping back up to the castle, bag once again full and over his shoulder, hitai-ate back in place, the ninja felt pretty good. A bit elated, even.

Even after months of no practice, his chidori was in prime condition, as was his summoning. Pakkun trotted next to him, looking around at everything. Pakkun was still being trained as a ninja dog; he was only two years old. But despite his size and age, the pug was gifted with an incredible intellect and wit to match. It was this level of intelligence that made their partnership possible.

"I don't know what you're complainin' about. This place seems pretty nice to me," the dog was saying.

"You haven't seen the inside," Kakashi contradicted, "You wouldn't last a day."

"I don't doubt it," the pug admitted, "We ninja dogs and humans don't mix well."

"We get along well enough," Kakashi said.

Pakkun snorted, "You're a shinobi. You don't mix well with anybody."

"I'm offended," Kakashi said sarcastically, though the statement was quite true. Mostly true, anyway.

"Things are going well in Konoha," Pakkun continued, ignoring Kakashi's sarcasm.

"How's Rin?" Kakashi immediately asked.

"Fine, last I heard," the pug replied.

"And sensei?"

"Also fine," the dog sniffed at the air, "Some interesting rumors going around about him."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"Nothing real juicy," the dog said indifferently, "Seems he might be getting promoted."

"You mean he's going to be Hokage?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"That's the word," Pakkun shot a glance up at him.

Kakashi pondered this. It was true he had been hearing rumors about Minato even before Pakkun had told him, but he still couldn't believe his sensei would become the next Hokage. Was he the only one who thought that it was ridiculous? Was there a side to his teacher he didn't know about? He always acted so aloof, carefree. Even when he had reprimanded their team, there was always a softer edge, just barely noticeable. It was an attribute that Kakashi envied greatly.

They were coming upon the Quidditch fields, now. Kakashi spotted the tail of a broom zooming by.

"Keep an eye out at home for me," Kakashi said to the dog by way of dismissal.

Pakkun nodded, "Will do."

The next time Kakashi looked down, he was gone. He headed for the fields.

--

Kakashi maintained his distance and watched Harry and Ron practicing on the fields. Ron was pretty good, blocking most of the shots that Harry chucked at him, but not wonderful. Kakashi wasn't judging though; he was sure he couldn't even get on one of those things.

"Any chance either of you have any food?" Kakashi hollered up to them.

Ron fumbled the ball and dropped it, the sphere rolling just off his finger tips. Kakashi ran over below the red head and caught it deftly. Now that he could see it properly, he found that it was not a sphere at all, but had three large craters carved out of it.

He lobbed the ball back up to Harry, who caught it lightly.

"Where you been?" he asked.

Kakashi shrugged, "Walkin' around."

Harry made a face. "Right."

Kakashi turned to Ron, "No food?"

"Sorry, mate," Ron replied, "Lunch is pretty soon, though."

Kakashi looked down at his now growling stomach ruefully.

"You want to play?"

The shinobi looked up at Harry, an eyebrow skeptically raised. "I don't even know what this is," he deadpanned.

Harry grinned.

--

As they trooped up to the castle, Kakashi fumed silently. He determined that Quidditch was the most ridiculous game in the world. How was he supposed to respect a broom? It's an inanimate object! The ninja glared at the back of Harry's head. If looks could kill…

The wizard was clearly quite pleased by this turn of events. Big deal; one thing that Harry was good at that Kakashi wasn't. So what?

Kakashi shook his head vigorously. Why did he even care?

This place was getting to him.

"You okay?" Ron gave him a curious look.

"Fine," Kakashi grumbled. Harry only smiled wider.

Kakashi took out his anger on lunch, eating ravenously. He then stomped back up to the common room and started his DADA homework.

After working for a while, he began to calm down, focusing his energies on writing. He sighed every once in a while; it was a shame that these kids weren't getting a proper fighting education. From what he could tell, they were only in the early stages of what could be a very ugly war, and none of them knew what to expect or how to fight back, or even thought of the possibility of having to fight. The situation was rapidly getting worse. Not only were politics playing an increasingly larger part in the war, for what else do wars occur over, but the resistance was also growing.

He stuffed the paper into his bag and stared at the fire. He realized that he was quite tired; the training had taken a lot out of him. This was the crash after the high. He blinked rapidly.

'Stay awake. Stay awake.'

He blinked again, and nearly jumped out of his seat. There was a face in the fire! And then it was gone. He shook his head. Woah. Hallucinations. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. Just a few hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. Potter was out at Quidditch practice, as was Ron. Hermione was in the girls' dormitories, doing homework. It would be fine. Just a few hours. He really couldn't function properly…

He closed his eyes and promptly passed out on the couch.

--

Talking filled his ears, mixing with the dream voices in his head.

'Go away.'

Despite his pleas, the noise grew louder. And louder.

He realized it wasn't talking at all.

It was screaming.

Kakashi bolted upright from the couch, looking around wildly.

"Kakashi!"

The shinobi directed his attention to behind the couch where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were staring at him. It was Hermione who said his name.

"What's going on?" Kakashi demanded.

"Nothing!" Ron said quickly. "You just… startled us."

"You looked…" Harry added.

Kakashi glared at him, daring him to say it.

"Surprised," the wizard changed his choice of words at the last minute.

Kakashi glanced around with a clearer head. Everything was fine; he was just imagining it. It was a dream…

"What time is it?" he asked.

The three exchanged glances. "After midnight," Hermione replied quietly.

Kakashi's eyes widened. He had been asleep for eight hours. Eight hours when he wasn't protecting the school. Eight hours when something could have happened. When in any second of one of those eight hours, he could have failed his mission. His charge could have been killed. Unlikely, but true. Was it the training that made him so tired? Probably not; he had never felt that tired after training back home. He rubbed his eyes. Why did he feel so weak?

He turned his attention back to the fire—

"Sirius!"

Before he had time to say anything, Harry blurted out his godfather's name in shock. Looking amusedly out at them from the flames, was Sirius Black.

A face in the flames… so he hadn't been hallucinating after all.

"I don't have much time; I need to know what's going on," Sirius whispered.

"Umbridge is horrible," Harry replied immediately.

"Yes, I would expect her to be. Minister's concocted some crazy idea that Dumbledore's training you all up to fight the Ministry," Sirius rolled his eyes, a peculiar sight in the fire, "She's supposed to keep an eye on things, evidently."

"Fudge thinks… an army?!" Hermione stammered. "That's insane!"

"Yes, well, so is Fudge," Sirius said airily. "What else?"

Kakashi drifted in and out throughout the conversation; he just felt so drained of energy.

"I have to leave; this isn't the safest way of communication," Kakashi caught Sirius' farewell.

"Wait," Kakashi said, "I need to talk to you."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. The ninja stared back at him.

"Three o' clock," Sirius set the time, "Be here."

His face vanished.

Without a word to the others, he headed straight for the stairs and up to his bead.

--

Two hours later, Kakashi crept downstairs and into the common room. He stoked the fire, letting the coals burst into tiny flames again. And he waited.

Yesterday had not been good. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the day, while Harry and Ron went to Quidditch practice, where a genin could have taken them out in one try. They were far too easy to hit on those brooms. Sure, it would be near impossible to hit them at sixty miles an hour, but they were more often than not simply sitting ducks, floating in mid air.

The fact was, Kakashi couldn't keep an eye on an entire school by himself.

He had thought that he could handle it, but on top of homework and training and Umbridge; he was just wearing himself out. He couldn't sleep; half the time he didn't have enough time to eat.

Kakashi rubbed his eyes. He was sure to get made fun of for this. Who ever heard of an ANBU, much less Kakashi Hatake, who needed help when he had only just started the mission? But they certainly wouldn't say he was stupid. He knew when to ask for help and when not to.

The fire spit out a few sparks, and Sirius' head poked through the coals.

"What is it?" the wizard got straight to the point. Kakashi sighed.

"I need backup."

--

So, is that a sufficient excuse? I realized that I put Kakashi through kind of a lot. No sleep plus torture plus homework plus training equals very little chakra and therefore exhaustion. Security needs to be taken in shifts or something. I'll figure it out. Either way, guess who's coming next chapter!

Review please!

Oh yeah, Kakashi sucks at Quidditch, lol!