Sayuri's bare feet padded soundlessly down the corridor, frigid water trickling down her legs from her soaked clothing. Eels writhed in her arms. She'd found one of the cats living in the castle right away, which was lucky. There were three more that she knew of, so she'd made it her personal mission to bring each of them an eel.
She'd also picked up one of the Twig Boys from her old tree and decided to name him Koeda. What was it Dumbledore-sensei called them? Botaku? Something like that. The tiny creature was tucked behind her ear.
If the crows were going to betray her like that, she needed some kind of trustworthy friend around.
She couldn't bring herself to eat the food that appeared in her room every day, but it was more important than ever to keep training. Someday maybe she could learn new techniques at this school. In the meantime, diving in the lake during mid winter was excellent training. That jerk Tsuchibue had taught her how to burn her chakra to sustain her body underwater. Underwater hunts for eels was an excellent exercise in sensing and chakra control, and eels were an excellent food. For now, she would just keep building up control and expand her puny reserves as much as possible.
The gross little squid things must have been hibernating in the cold or something because she hadn't run into any today. She was kind of looking forward to taking out her frustration on one.
A cat's presence appeared at the end of the corridor. Sayuri stilled. At least, its chakra was like a cat. But also, not a regular cat. Definitely stronger than a normal cat. Maybe it was somebody's summon?
I wish I'd gotten a contract with cats instead of those dumb birds, she thought. Cats wouldn't betray her to Itachi. If she had cats to carry messages, nobody would suspect them. Especially not Sasuke. He liked cats.
Maybe whoever summoned this cat would be willing to help her get a contract. Could you sign more than one summoning contract?
While she mulled all this over, the cat sauntered down the hallway toward her. It radiated a mixture of worry, and disapproval.
Well, cats don't like water very much, she thought. So it probably doesn't like me dripping all over.
Wishing she could have a conversation with this cat, she dropped into a crouch and put a small eel on the floor in front of it.
"You probably don't speak my language," she said, "but this is for you."
It regarded her silently, chakra shifting to something like amusement. Feeling a little lighter, she stood and started down the corridor toward her room.
She'd reached her limit for now. Goosebumps prickled all over her legs and arms as she tamped off the chakra flow keeping her warm. It was time to change out of the wet clothes and hang the rest of the eels to cook in front of the fireplace in her room.
There was a rapping at her door and Sayuri blearily sat up with a start, cracking her head on the underside of the table. Wincing and rubbing her forehead, she pulled herself out into the open. Instinctively she reached out with her senses, then withdrew in disappointment.
She was so groggy she'd forgotten the doors and walls were too dense to feel anything through.
Koeda, the little Twig Boy, slipped inside the collar of her robe with a tickle on her neck and she yawned. Smoothing out the rumpled garment, she reached to open the door. Her hand grasped the cool round doorknob.
The radiant presence of the headmaster beamed at her as the door swung inward.
"Happy Christmas," Dumbledore-sensei said. "Did you find your gifts?"
"Eh?"
"Ah, I see they haven't been touched yet." Her surroundings seemed to warm up by several degrees as he stepped into the room. "It's customary to give gifts on this holiday, and as a guest you couldn't be left out."
"Oh." Fleeting embarrassment washed over her. She hadn't gotten anyone anything. Nobody had mentioned that part to her. And disconcertingly, she hadn't noticed anyone enter the room.
"What part of the day is it?" she asked, rubbing at the blindfold out of the lifelong habit of having had eyes.
"Late morning," he said. "Do not worry. You aren't expected to provide any gifts. Though I am told the cats enjoyed their eels immensely." Though he didn't laugh outwardly, she got the sense that he found something about it humorous.
"If you would like to open your gifts now, some may even be of use to you today."
The old man guided her toward the fireplace where the scent of cooked eel lingered. There was a crinkling sound and a package nudged into her hesitant grasp. Plopping down into a seiza position, she pulled it onto her lap. Stiff paper crackled and silky ribbons slipped through her fingers.
"I can't accept these," she said. "I don't even know who they are from."
"Christmas gifts are a mysterious thing," he said. "Traditionally a figure known as Father Christmas is responsible for bringing them."
"Who is that?"
"Just a kindly old man who secretly leaves gifts for children."
Sayuri fidgeted with the ribbon. "Did he bring these?"
"Perhaps."
His cryptic answer confused her. Either Father Christmas did, or didn't.
Still, she sensed nothing but benevolence and expectant curiosity from the old sensei and guessed he was the mysterious gift giver. It didn't make sense for him to trust a stranger to enter the castle undetected and leave things behind. That was how people got blown up, their throats slit, or-
They got poisoned.
She pushed that thought down. This was supposed to be happy. Her fingers tugged softly at the ribbon, untangling the knot. She opened the paper and ran soft, thick fabric through her hands. Her fingers found four large buttons, and felt out long sleeves.
"It's a dress," he explained. "It buttons up in the back. You've been wearing black student robes, but this is much more suited to a little girl. The pattern is green and blue squares, and it would be very suitable for the holiday gathering today." He paused, "I think not, for swimming in the lake however."
Sayuri felt her cheeks heat up and she bowed her head. "Thank you, Dumbledore-sensei."
The next packages contained an assortment of socks and underclothes, two more dresses, a pair of sturdy leather boots, something that might have been a blanket or cloak, and even a modest bathing suit. She stood and bowed when she was finished, thanking him profusely for the gifts.
"The holiday gathering starts in one hour in the great hall," he said. "I know Snape-sensei is anxious to give you your potion. I trust you will be there?"
"Yes, Dumbledore-sensei."
After the old man excused himself, she laid the clothing out flat and spent several minutes just running her hands over it. A strange emotion stuck in her throat. It wasn't happiness, not really. But it wasn't the crushing weight of fear or smoldering rage like she'd grown accustomed to. It was sort of a numbness.
Numbness was okay.
Grabbing the dress with the four buttons and a pair of underwear, she crawled under the table with it and slipped out of the robe. There was a brief wrestling match with the dress, contorting her arms to reach the buttons at her back. She then emerged and reached for a pair of socks, pulling them almost all the way up her legs.
Springing to her feet, she smoothed out the soft skirt which went down to her knees. The fabric was thick and wooly, nothing like the light breathable clothing she'd worn in Konoha. And really, it was perfect for this cool damp climate.
Hair was next. There was no doubt her head looked like a sea urchin.
Brushing only did so much to tame it. She picked a random ribbon from the gift wrapping and used it to bind everything back in a spiky ponytail. Then fixed her bangs so they fell naturally over the blindfold the way they would if it was a hitae-ate. Koeda clung to the ribbon and settled somewhere in her hair.
It felt weird to put on boots indoors, yet it was obvious from their footfalls that all the adults except Dumbledore wore shoes inside the castle. He seemed to favor soft slippers. She frowned, then decided to slip her feet inside them on her way out the door.
Softly falling snowflakes danced overhead, but none ever reached the floor of the great hall. Dumbledore had removed all the tables except for one down the very center in a bid to make the Christmas feast feel more cozy. As usual, the elves had outdone themselves preparing an impressive spread of food which the attendees had no hope of finishing.
There was a smattering of students left behind for the holiday at the far end of the table. Their disgustingly cheerful voices echoed in the mostly empty hall. On this day, Severus dutifully ignored them. There was an unspoken agreement not to ruin one other's Christmas.
Severus leaned back in his seat, eyeing the solemn black haired child sitting to his left. He could have sworn a bowtruckle had just hissed at him from her ponytail. Albus was seated to his right, smiling at everyone from the head of the table. Minerva and Filius were side by side across from him. Blessedly, the girl hadn't done anything particularly irritating yet.
He would never openly admit it, but he was eager to see how well the modifications he'd made to the Lingua Nova potion worked on the child. Granted, it was considerably more bitter this way but she would simply have to endure it.
Pulling the flask from his robes he emptied it into a goblet, enjoying the subtle sheen of gold over the pine green that his changes had wrought. Suddenly anxious that she would spill it, he set it next to her plate but did not take his hand away.
"Tell her that it will not taste good, but she must drink it all."
Dumbledore relayed his message to her in a much more kindly voice. The girl set her chopsticks down and reached, hesitating just short of the goblet stem.
He took hold of her sleeve, guiding her fingers to the cup and only releasing it once she had it firmly in her grasp.
The child raised it to her mouth, and drank.
He expected her to pause for a breath part way through it or stop to complain about the flavor, but somehow she managed to get it all down in one go.
The staff all stared at her expectantly.
"I believe this is the point when everyone is supposed to be making conversation," Severus said softly.
Nervous laughter rippled through those that had been staring.
"Filius, you are wanting to restart the school choir this spring?" Dumbledore said helpfully.
And just like that, conversation sprang back up as if it had never been interrupted. He ate in silence, favoring the honeyed ham while he watched her reactions. Her head subtly moved left and right, following the headmaster's familiar voice in the conversation. This went on for at least twenty minutes until the echoing bang of a cracker filled the hall and a shower of confetti rained down at the far end of the table.
"Where did the child go?" Filius asked worriedly.
Severus blinked in confusion. The chair next to him was empty. He glanced around the room, then peered under the table expecting to find her hiding beneath. "She's not here," he said.
"I could swear she was right there, and then she vanished," Filius wrung his hands. "Where did she go?"
Minerva was also glancing around and at a loss. "Was that accidental magic? Maybe's she's gone invisible."
Severus gave the empty air in her seat an experimental jab.
"No, I'm afraid she left," Dumbledore said, his face suddenly sorrowful. "I didn't think to warn her about the crackers."
The two boys at the end of the table who'd pulled the cracker suddenly looked stricken.
"Oh no, we didn't realize it would frighten her. We'll go find her," said the older boy.
Severus rose from his seat, abandoning his unspoken pact to not ruin any student's holiday since they had finally intruded on his. "Tell me Mr. Stebbins, in all your free time at the castle this past week have you managed to find her once?" The boy's ears turned red and he shrank back down into his seat. "Obviously if she's hiding in fear it will be even harder than usual. I will find her." He shoved the chair hard. The dishes clattered as it made contact with the table. "Otherwise that blasted potion I spent the whole week brewing is going to waste."
The boys exchanged looks that said they doubted being hunted down by an angry Professor Snape was going to be any less terrifying for the small girl. He swept past them, out the doors of the great hall.
He stood in the corridor outside, tightly reigning in his irritation.
At least she couldn't see him, so he didn't have to consciously smooth the scowl off his face in order to avoid frightening her. Ever since she'd been captured in the forest she hadn't shown any overt fear of him, if she showed any awareness of his presence at all. Their interactions had been neutral, aside from the eel incident which could almost be counted as friendly for her part. At any rate it didn't suggest she recognized his role in her capture.
He cleared his throat roughly and turned to a painting of a knight lounging against a tree. "Tell the others I'm searching for a small child in a blue and green dress. She's just taken a potion and needs to be found as soon as possible."
The knight stretched and yawned. "What? Oh, she did run this way a bit ago. I'll let the others know."
Severus turned down the corridor, his gaze darting right and left as he walked. The paintings at the corner shrugged at him helplessly.
Worthless.
Turning his attention inward, he thought back to when he was small and frightened. Fleeing to a quiet secluded place would be the most appealing. Unfortunately, that could be anywhere in the castle right now.
If she was even inside the castle.
"Blast that Dumbledore," he muttered. "Picking up broken strays and making them other people's problems. Should have taken her to St. Mungo's."
Filch's beseeching cries of, "Mrs. Norris! Where are you my sweet?" came echoing down the corridor. The stooping old caretaker rounded the corner, trembling and out of breath.
"Professor," he breathed. "I need your help. That little, that horrid rat took my Mrs. Norris. First she tried to poison her, and now she's kidnapped my cat!"
Lip curling, a wave of relief swept over him. Perhaps this would be over with sooner than he thought. "We'll find your cat, Argus. I doubt the child has any ill intent. She's not even a student after all. Where did you last see them?"
"They went this way," he pointed a gnarled finger down the corridor. "I know she's being held hostage by that brat, or she would have come right back when I called for her."
"Let me handle this, she's to be taken straight to Dumbledore."
"I'm going to wring that scrawny little neck when I find her."
"No," he let his voice drop to the silky, practiced timbre that promised punishment beyond a student's wildest imaginings. "You will leave her to me."
This seemed to appease the old man, who grunted and shuffled along behind him.
Mrs. Norris followed the curious child through the halls until they entered the library and came to a stop beneath a dusty table in the back corner. Her nostrils flared in curiosity. The little girl reeked of distress, which was something the cat honed in on. Usually distressed children meant rules were being broken somewhere nearby, and her dear Argus needed to be kept alert to that.
This child was different though. The old cat did not like children and did not care for most adults, but she'd never encountered one this tiny. It was certainly different than the adolescent humans that swarmed the castle for months at a time, their sour sweat filling the halls, voices shrieking and laughing and tormenting her poor Argus.
This child smelled different. That was all.
Still, something made the cat linger longer than she should have. Maybe it was the eel she'd been gifted earlier that week, or perhaps the sheer novelty of the situation. Tentatively, she put a paw on the soft fabric draped over the girl's knee and sniffed at her face. Then after a moment's consideration, licked a salty tear off the end of her nose.
"H-hello," the girl whispered in a wavering voice. "Neko ga koishi."
Mrs. Norris didn't understand most of the words that were just spoken, but felt the intent behind them and managed a rumbling purr that shook her bony little body. Tiny hands gingerly touched her face and moved under her chin, rubbing just so.
It was nice. Not as nice as Argus, but still nice. Much nicer than the nasty students she usually dealt with.
Her ears swiveled, flattening against her head as she caught the old man's voice down some distant hall. Meowing softly, the cat gave the small child a parting bunt on the chin.
"T-thank you," the girl stammered.
Turning and flicking her tail, the cat sauntered back toward the man calling her name.
"Mrs. Norris! You're alive!" Mr Filch abandoned all sense of dignity and dove at the animal. Sweeping her up into his arms he frantically checking her over for any injury she might have sustained.
"Really Argus, I told you she would be fine. Let her down so she can lead us to the girl. I'd like to get this over with and enjoy what's little is left of my holiday."
The old caretaker glared at Severus balefully for a moment. "I just had to be sure, Professor. You can't be too careful around those brats." Lovingly, he lowered the cat to the floor. "There's a good girl Mrs. Norris. Now go on and show us where that nasty little child is hiding."
The cat flicked her tail primly and led them to the dark and silent library. It was here that Severus bid the caretaker good bye. The old man scurried off clutching the wretched animal.
Severus flicked his wand, lighting the end up. He stalked through the towering shelves, watching for any movement or misplaced shadows in the cast light.
"Miss-, Child," he said, careful to temper his voice. Careful to control it, remembering acutely just how terrifying his own father could sound to a small child when shouting. Most students only experienced the fear and intimidation Severus chose to inspire with his voice, but he could evoke calm when the situation called for calm.
"S-sensei?"
He tamped down the irritation that rose at her use of her native language and followed her voice. "Try harder. I know the potion is working. You will call me 'Professor', not 'sensei'."
"P-professor Snape?"
"Very good," he said in a measured way, inching closer to where she crouched beneath a corner table as if approaching an untamed kneazle. "What should I call you? I can't very well call you 'child' forever. What name do you go by?"
He kept nattering on, far more than he liked. But without that nattering the potion wouldn't take proper effect. Their limited window of time was rapidly closing.
She didn't reply right away, so he kept speaking.
"The explosion you heard earlier was not harmful. It was merely a stupid toy called a cracker. They explode when pulled apart and cover everything in obnoxious glitter while toys for blithering idiots come sailing out. Were you startled by it?"
He felt stupid for asking something so obvious out loud, even though she needed to hear these words in order to learn them. She couldn't articulate things she didn't know, but he didn't know how much longer he could tolerate this one sided narration. Skimming the surrounding bookshelves for stories with dialogue, he settled on a dusty copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. With a sigh, he flicked his wrist causing the book to fly up into his hand. She flinched visibly at his use of magic.
"Don't be getting all twitchy now," he said in a voice that was much more soothing than he would have liked to use. "You're not cooperating at the moment, so I'm going to read this book out loud.
Mentally cursing whatever forces had conspired to put him in this position, he cleared his throat and began.
"The first story is 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot'."
Sayuri crouched under the table, small hands wrapped around the smooth wooden legs. The bottoms of the table legs were metal, and shaped like animal claws clutching cold round balls like big glass marbles or something.
Snape-sensei, or rather Professor Snape, was seated in a nearby chair. His deep velvet voice rose and fell with the words. Somehow snatches and phrases continuously broke through the fog of ignorance and entered her understanding.
Lost or stolen.
Grievously ill.
Helped the villagers.
She hadn't paid much attention to his chakra in the forest with Dumbledore's both dazzling and terrifying her, but since coming to the castle and especially right now it held her full attention. It felt both viscous and shimmery, like the flask of silver mercury in kaa-san's desk that Sayuri used to like swishing around when kaa-san wasn't looking.
Two more stories went by, the new vocabulary pounding itself into her consciousness. He had gotten partway through a more gruesome story where a dark wizard was licking the heart of a murdered girl, when he paused and cleared his throat. He muttered something unintelligible and his chakra flared lightly. Then she heard him sip some water.
She decided the break in the story might be a good time to try answering his earlier question. "My name-" she trailed off, still unsure if she should offer it. But, he had said she couldn't always go by child. He was right. "My name is Sayuri." The words felt strange in her mouth.
There was a beat of silence before he replied. "Is that your given name? Or your family name?"
"It is my name." The words dropped from her tongue thickly, and she knew she wasn't quite saying them right.
"In this country it is customary to address others by their family name unless you are very close friends."
She hesitated. If Dumbledore knew of Uchiha Madara, then he must know of Konoha. Whether it was Akahane or Uchiha, she couldn't risk giving any family name. "No family. Just me."
"Very well then, Miss Sayuri. Shall I continue?"
"Yes." Relief washed over her when he hadn't pressed for a family name.
"Yes sir," he corrected. "Or you may say, yes professor."
"Yes, sir."
Seeming pleased, he continued to read The Warlock's Hairy Heart out loud. The ending was kind of a downer. She rested her chin on her knees and frowned.
"Was that too gory for you?" he said, a sneer creeping into his voice.
"No," she said. "But that girl stupid."
"The correct way to say it is, that girl was stupid. What would you have done?"
"I would set fire on him." Sayuri paused, still in thought. "And stab him in neck."
"Stab him in the neck," he corrected. His chakra flared with unexpected mirth, but there was no outward expression of it. "I suppose that's an acceptable response when someone is trying to kill you."
The summon cat she'd met before had been sitting nearby in the library. It began to approach, then halted near Professor Snape. Maybe that's his cat, she thought hopefully. Maybe he has a contract with cat summons, and he could teach me how to get one too.
Her hopes were dashed spectacularly when the cat's chakra twisted and grew into the warm breezy feeling woman she'd sat across from at dinner. She jumped back, clunking her head on the underside of the table.
But how? That was nothing like a henge worked. Henge didn't change someone's chakra.
"Careful Minerva, you're going to give her a concussion."
Sayuri crawled out from under the table, reassured by Koeda's tickling under her ear that she hadn't accidentally squished him.
"How?" Sayuri asked.
"What is it my dear?" the older woman said in a kindly voice.
"You." Sayuri searched out the words which came to her mind in a way she didn't quite understand yet. "You a cat. Then not a cat. How?" She stood and dusted her skirt off.
"That is my specialty. I teach transfiguration. I am curious how you could tell since you could not see me transform."
Sayuri hesitated. She did not want to betray her strengths to people who were still complete strangers, no matter how nice they seemed. "I hear you."
"I understand. Well, thank you for the eel earlier this week. You left dinner before I had a chance to give you your gift," she said.
Sayuri found another item nudged into her hands. Feeling it all over, she was delighted to find a soft toy with two triangle ears, cool glassy eyes, and a long fluffy tail.
"A cat," she whispered.
"You seem to be fond of them."
"What color cat?"
"White, my dear."
"White cat," a shock of emotion washed over her unexpectedly. She bit her lip to stop it from trembling.
"Is something the matter?" the older woman rested a hand lightly on her shoulder.
She took a deep breath, steeling herself while giving the toy an extra tight squeeze. "No. I love it."
Thankfully Minerva was more than happy to step into the role of conversing with the child. Mundane things about some old cat, and questions about transfiguration. Severus interrupted periodically to correct the girl's grammar, disappointed that the modifications he'd made hadn't naturally sorted out her sentence structure.
Perhaps one fewer magpie feathers was called for, though he'd need to balance that out somehow.
The three of them stepped out into the corridor. Severus trailed behind, wondering why she'd hesitated to give her family name. Surely she knew it. The admission records for the school had documented it. Then again, Albus or Minerva could sort that out. He was looking forward to settling down with his books and a nice bottle of nettle wine in the privacy of his study.
They escorted her back to her room, a converted adjunct office. She bowed politely to both of them before closing herself in for the night.
"Well, that was the most exciting Christmas I've had in years," Minerva declared. "Severus, are you planning to join us in the staff room? Filius was hoping for a few rounds of exploding snap."
He rolled his eyes. "I'd rather find another live eel in my pocket."
Smiling, the older woman glanced back at the closed door. "I must congratulate you on your potion. It worked wonderfully."
"Not as wonderfully as I'd hoped," he shoved his hands into his pockets, which were thankfully eel-free. "But it was passable."
"That's all right. She has the basics now. Her grammar and things will sort themselves out with practice. I will confess, finding you reading stories out loud to a small child was the last sight I expected to see this Christmas." She looked at him over the rim of her glasses. "Or ever."
"How long were you eavesdropping?"
"Not eavesdropping," she huffed. "How could I interrupt such a rare scene? It's been a long time since I've heard The Fountain of Fair Fortune and The Wizard's Hairy Heart read so well."
Not a word Minerva," he growled. "Not to a single soul."
He shot her a venomous look when she simply looked at him fondly. "You know I never imagined you would be good with very young children, but I suppose you do treat your Slytherins well enough. If you ever have one of your own-"
"I will never," he snarled. "I despise the helpless little beasts and will never willingly subject myself to the care and feeding of one."
"Well that one is hardly helpless," she snorted. "If she attends school here I'm curious to see what house she'll be sorted into. She certainly is fearless considering her condition and situation."
"She has more cunning than bravado," he grumbled. "Albus and I found her living in a wiggentree in the Forbidden Forest. She'd recruited every bowtruckle in the vicinity to act in her defense."
"Oh my," Minerva's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That explains how she survived anyway. As long as she was in that tree, no dark creatures could have harmed her."
Somewhere deep in Kiri, Uchiha Itachi sat cross legged on a log. Black robes embroidered with stylized red clouds fell around him. Moisture from the thick fog beaded up on his marred hitae-ate, and dripped from the ends of his black hair.
Silent wing beats slashed through the fog, one of his crows returning. He raised a forearm for it to perch on, the fabric of his sleeve rustling lightly under the bird's weight.
"She finally asked us about sending a message to Sasuke," the crow sighed. "I gave her the answer you said to give."
"What was her response?" he asked.
"Lots of swearing," the bird said. "She sent me away. It's been more than a month since she summoned any of us. She believes we'll betray her in favor of you."
"That's fine," Itachi said.
"Maybe for you," the bird scowled. "But you're not the only one who made a promise to Shisui."
"As long as she never tells Sasuke what Danzo did to her," he said. "I don't care."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading along. I think I'm starting to feel well enough to start working on Dog Ninja again, but am still going to continue this story so hopefully there will be updates to both even though barely anyone is reading this one. Our entire state is on home confinement due to the coronavirus outbreak so it's not like I'll be able to do much else, ha ha.
