!Disclaimer! Honey, I don't need to own Naruto to write FanFiction.
Penname: LiveLoveLaugh
FanFiction Story: Magical Chakra
Summary: NarutoHP Xovr When Team Seven has been sent to Hogwarts School, they meet up with the Boy Who Lived, experience new wild rides in a new place, and go on incredible adventures of a lifetime.
Author's Notes: This chapter continues with Chapter Ten: Board Meeting with Dumbledore.
Sneeze, this a flashback chapter.
Pretty long…you have to read into this one…
NO! It's step-step-pivot! Are you trying to piss off the volcano! (Family Guy – Peter Griffin)
Chapter Eleven
Buildup of Office Mishaps
It was complete and utterly awkward quiet. There wasn't much of a silence they have ever experienced. No one was saying anything, no one was doing anything, and nobody wanted to do something. It was so tranquil that the entire thing sunk deep into their skins and tangled their bones into painful knots. They struggled themselves not to move an inch, as if one movement would plunder the world and everything in the meeting room except on the exception of Shizume who was shaking so bad that her pen fell out of her trembling fingers and hitting on the head of the pig by on her side. Right now, right there, honey hazel bore into electric blue.
"…Hokage…Mr. Uzumaki…I think we should continue our meeting…" Dumbledore murmured strongly towards the two. Tsunade nodded and settled down in her leather chair while Naruto staggered back to his.
"I know something would happen! I just knew it!" Elder Koharu scoffed, putting on a gruff face but inside she was happily living off this fight.
The Hokage stared at the foolish woman with furrowed brows and hot-ash eyes.
Shizume chuckled nervously, getting up her seat and started to walk frantically from her corner to the refreshment stand at the other side of the room. This wasn't very surprising since she always acted this way whenever her mentor Tsunade would go ballistic and do something stupid. Soon everyone's eyes were on her. Shizume was shivering with embarrassment as she was waiting for the hot water to boil.
Koharu fluttered her bony fingers on the table edge and crossing her nimble feet coyly; she ran her right hand over her ear to brush invisible gray strands and looked from the Hokage to Team Seven to Dumbledore then tilted her head to her colleagues. She spoke in a professional voice, as if asking rhetorically for everyone in the room to hear.
"It's just a question out of the blue!" Koharu waved her left hand in circles in midair cockily, catching everyone's attention, "Of course…but why do you, I ask, had the idea of choosing the old Team Seven? I'm sure there are other qualified shinobis that are willing to take on this mission…"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN TEAM SEVEN ISN'T QUALIFIED!" Naruto sprang up shouting, angrily.
This time no one bothered to shut him up. The words Koharu were saying were fighting words.
"It's not an insult!" Koharu blinked with false surprise, patting her chest softly, "I'm just saying that there are many other ninja teams willing to do this mission, whatever it may be…of course, anyone could have chosen a, well, more suitable team made up of members who had been familiar with each other for a certain amount of months…"
"But we've been a team since Sakura-chan, Sasuke, and I was twelve! We did surpass many Genins that time in teamwork!" Naruto exclaimed, "We are willing!"
"But you three have not worked together for about two years! How would Team Seven gradually cooperate with each other after so long…?" the old woman asked, silently listening to her male Elders who were whispering amongst themselves in agreement. "I'm can't quite wonder how the village would think if they sent an innocent girl, an ex-missing-nin, a man who reads adult novels, and—a troublemaker! And on such an important foreign mission! How would that classify the Hidden Leaf?"
There was a knife behind the female Elder's smile.
Sakura furrowed her brows, her inner self taking over, "Pardon! Is that what you think of us m'am! Because the entire village doesn't seem to care about this mission! They don't care about our inexperience or the stupid fact that we're still minors or that we had not worked together for two years! And they also don't care what kinds of people were being sent as long as the mission is accomplished!"
"Well said Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, elbowing her.
Koharu narrowed her black eyes, twisting her smile into a snarling frown, "I know what I'm saying girl! Minors cannot do this kind of mission, it's too dangerous!"
"Are you accusing me of doing a terrible job of being a Hokage?" Tsunade asked agitatedly, her hands curled into tight fists, "Are you accusing me of being inadequate with my decisions? Are you accusing the way I put up with the village, the way I do my best to help with Konoha? Are you not satisfied that Team Seven will be doing this mission even if your hypocritical words are being thrown at them or me?"
"I'm quite content with your decision, Hokage…" Elder Koharu whispered deadly, "I'm just a little disappointed that you have not asked the Council Board of Elders to make this decision also…"
"Oh really? I apologize!" Tsunade smirked, knowingly, "…but are you sure the Board is just upset because I didn't ask you to decide…?"
The Elder's eyes widened and she frowned most unhappily.
"O-oh! T-Tsunade-s-Sama!" the poor medic-nin began freaking out, unstacking paper cups on the counter and fumbling with the plastic bag, "R-remember you have to keep your temper in order—"
"I don't have a temper," the Fifth smiled, leaning into her chair relaxingly. She was just enjoying the way Koharu was bracing herself from not launching at her.
"Of course you don't, Obaa-san…" Naruto whispered sarcastically that the woman didn't catch.
Shizume began quickly pouring hot herbal tea into eleven cups, squealing softly to herself when she spilled a little. Her behavior started out just like her young pupil Hyuuga Hinata, stuttering and blushing embarrassingly.
"Ha! Ha! This—that was quite a-a s-start on the b-b-beginning D-Dumbledore-sama!" She was jumpy when she tried to excuse her old mentor's sly conducting. Shizume's entire face flushed deep red when she accidentally snorted between her laughing. She clapped one hand over her mouth, kicking Ton-Ton to the side so she could serve the tea, "E-excellent jump on the s-speech! Oh no—"
And the hot liquid fell on the table from the constant quivering and the puddle escaped on one of the male Elders. Shizume gasped and quickly began to mop up the mess and repeatedly apologizing while the old balding man scowled and shaking his robe off the steaming spill.
(Inner Sakura: STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELF WOMAN!) 'You're not making this any easier you know that!'
Sakura looked confusingly at her, getting up from her seat, "Shizume-sempai, do you need help?"
Before the older kunoichi could reject, Koharu leaned towards to her fellow elder with her bony wrinkled hand curling around her mouth, whispering rather cruelly, "Obviously…"
And that had really twisted Tsunade's suppressed anger. She already hated the Council Lady, and she didn't want her older pupil to take this crappy treatment from this despicable woman and the tremendously stupid old males. Elder Koharu had no right to take out her boredom on the girl and acting as if she was the Lady Hokage herself! She slammed her hands on the table, shooting nasty heated glares at the old woman with her even white teeth clenched from underneath her peach lips.
"OUT! Get out! GO! I have enough this nonsense! I don't know what's sticking up your ass but this is enough!"
Everyone's eyes bulged out of their sockets. But then, no one could really blame the Hokage for blowing up and speaking in such a manner. Dumbledore looked calmly at the raging woman while Kakashi didn't seem to mind, if not amused.
"T-Tsunade-sama! This isn't—"
"Shut up Shizume! And stop calling me Sama dammit! The Board of Elders is not required at this moment I'll just send the damn papers over to your offices to sign! YOU CAN STILL ACTUALLY GO TO YOUR GRANDSON'S PLAY!"
Tsunade may have been telling all five of the heads to scoot, but everyone knew she was directing her argument to the old crone. Shizume was hushed, yet grateful and settled back into her chair with tremendous worry. Koharu's face was priceless. All the other Elders were relieved to get out, intentionally glaring at Naruto and Sakura were practically giggling with glee just watching the faces of the older villagers.
Shizume looked at her watch, and her eyes bulged into twice their size.
"What's the matter Shizume-Onee-chan?" Naruto asked, his electric blue eyes followed her movements when she dashed very sloppily from one place to another trying to clean up the meeting room.
"I-I didn't think this meeting would take so long! Kuso! I forgot I had to meet Hinata-san for her medic-training! I'm half an hour late! Dammit!" she accidentally knocked her sandaled foot against her chair leg, quickly grabbing her bag and tugging on Ton Ton's pearl necklace, "I forgot about this little guy's meal too!" the little pig oink with a big smile.
She quickly ran to the door, opening the door, and exclaiming into the hallway, "Hinata-san! There you are! Okay!" She turned to the rest occupants, "My apologies that I would not be able to record—"
"Don't worry about it," Tsunade murmured clearly, watching the young woman leave immediately after the second word she had said. Her blazing hazel eyes turned to her right, "I thought I said the Board of Elders had to leave—"
"We're leaving!" one of the male Elders with pockmarks on his face exclaimed irately.
The snow-white beard old man stood up again, straightening out his purple hat crowned around his head. He bowed respectfully towards the Board Council when they were exiting the room. He lifted up his eyes to surfacing around the ceiling, smiling softly. It was as if he could see right through the walls, as if he could see beyond any naked eye and he could see it so clearly.
The Elders stopped and were awed by this man. They have heard of him in several meetings with the Third Hokage many years ago, of course having great memory, the Elders have never seen this sort of being that seemed so compassionate and just one look at this mystical man, you can truly trust him…
Though they didn't like to show it, they scrunched up their noses and looked away from the simplicity of his inner power, only seeing this as a stranger who dared step into the grounds of the Hidden Leaf and unfortunately crossed paths with them.
Elder Koharu frowned deeply when she left last after them, slamming the double doors behind loudly.
It was a docile silence again. Sakura was deeply touched by the very prescense of Albus Dumbledore. Ibiki had taught her well in noticing fears at first sight. Just look at the cleft of their chins, the curve of their lips, the color of their skin, the cut of their shoulders, the length of their nose, the look of their eyes… and she knew this man possessed more than just fame and glory. He was strong, truly strong.
'Has it already been an hour and a half?' she said to herself thoughtfully.
Sasuke blinked. He too wanted to feel the shield emotion the Elders were trying to put up, but he could agree that Dumbledore was a wonder.
Kakashi had only seen this man once in his life, precisely years before Yondaime was chosen as Hokage ever since he was a child. He even stopped reading (Which is a very big deal in terms of the one-eyed ninja) just to look, just to stare at the appearance of this wise man.
Naruto looked from one person to another who was all somewhat paused. For some reason he could not feel the way or express the way he felt about this man. He didn't mean to be mean towards him. He didn't mean to insult him when they first met. It wasn't as though he hated him…it was…just…so…very…unexplainable…He didn't need boundaries around his emotions but deep within him, he can't—he just can't deal with him right now…
The blonde looked away and found something on the floor worth staring at. 'How long has that gum been there?'
Dumbledore noticed firsthand how Naruto was acting, so he decided to continue on with the meeting. When he was about to talk, he saw that one more person was still here.
"Oh! Kakashi, I don't think this part of the meeting would require you—"
Seeing what only he knew, the masked shinobi smiled behind his face cloth and stood up from his chair with his stupid adult novel in his hand, "Of course, sir," turning to his old pupils who were gaping at his departure, waving a short wave, "I'll see you three around…"
"Wait! Why can't Kakashi stay!" Naruto complained.
"I'll escort your teacher out…" Tsunade smiled indignantly, "I'll be meeting you three in a short while. Have a nice tormenting time with the village idiot, Dumbledore!" And poof! The two legendary ninjas of Hidden Leaf disappeared in a short explosion of smoke (And before Naruto could pounce on the Hokage).
"We're stuck with a stranger! How irresponsible is she!" the blonde exclaimed, steam whishing out his ears. He turned his tense sapphire eyes at the client, "Explain yourself old man."
"Naruto!" Sakura whispered in a scolding tone.
"No, no, it's alright, I do say I am getting old," Dumbledore laughed richly, a kind of laugh that betrayed his age, whatever it may be.
With a look of a grandfather, the stranger ran his hand down his beard pensively, "Do you trust me…?" he asked softly.
Naruto raised his mustard-colored brows and stared into the clear blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore's. There was always a sort of pleasant twinkling in this old geezer's youthful orbs, whose eyes were almost like his…weird…
"Of course I do, sir," Sakura said serenely, after a moment of analyzing him.
Sasuke just nodded.
The three sets of curious eyes turned to the blonde, who had yet to answer in his own specific way.
After a long while of struggling himself with a slight irritating bend in his stomach, Naruto murmured a very small 'yes'.
"This mission…" he began, "…is indeed crucial between the shinobi world and the wizarding world…" Dumbledore spoke slowly, "It is indeed very important that we have your attention and constant participation within this assignment…this is of course, a foreign land where the four of you would be working side by side together for seven months—"
"Seven months?" Naruto and Sakura repeated breathlessly, wide-eyed.
"It can take up to more than a year if the amount of accurate information is not gathered within the minimum time limit," Dumbledore murmured strongly, "This is a tracking-and-spying mission which means you must collect certain important data of current events happening within the schools. I'm sure the students and teaching staff at Hogwarts wouldn't be so keen with several older adult investigators walking around, especially with the Minister of Magic currently taking a chance to sabotage my standing…"
"Sabotage?" Sasuke repeated aggressively, drawing intensity into the word.
The pink-haired kunoichi fingered her black trousers, curiously, "In what meaning? Aren't government figures supposed to be reasonable? Unless you did something—"
"No, nothing illegal under the eyes of those who are open-minded, my dear. It seems that two years set of happenings have triggered an alarm within the Ministry, sadly," the old wizard said, his finger tips pressed together, "It'll take more than a few long hours to explain, I'm quite sure, but to sum it all up, I am willing to pay a good price of one million yen in your participation in this mission—"
"ONE MILLION!" Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke, screamed, quickly standing up from their leather cushioned chairs in utter astonishment.
"It would be enough to supply the hospital and fix the old children's playground!" Sakura exclaimed eccentrically.
Naruto scratched the front of his forehead protector, thoughtfully, "Wow, with that much money, it could be given to reconstruct the Ninja Academy! Wouldn't I like to see Iruka-sensei's face—"
"Yes…I know the money is very important to the Hidden Leaf during this time…" Dumbledore chuckled sumptuously.
"What exactly does this mission require?" Sasuke asked sternly, leaning his mouth and chin to his crossed fingers, staring skeptically at the bearded stranger. Uchihas never liked to waste time.
"I need you to be familiar with my school," the two twinkling blue eyes looked back into Sasuke's onyx eyes carefully, "Evil has fallen upon my world and must be stopped. I need you three to protect Hogwarts, along with the staff and students. There are three boys who are the subjects of attacks. Here are their profiles…and pictures, too, provided by a charming boy by the name of Colin Creevey, a nice boy indeed…"
And slipping into his violet cloak, Dumbledore pulled out three cream-colored folders and gave each one separately to each teenager. Naruto pulled out several snapshot pictures of a bespectacled boy with the most unkempt mass of point black hair (That even rivaled his sunshine blond sensation) and unhealthy skinny complexion. 'Dork Alert', rang in his mind like church bells making him snort and cover his mouth completely from cracking up. Of course most of the black-and-white pictures showed this particular boy with shocked wide eyes and stiffened movements—wait, movements?
The demon vessel boy peered closer into the photos, and there they were, the figures were moving consistently and the boy's hand kept shooting up to block off most of the picture, light shined and reflected off the round lens of his rimmed glasses, the camera must have moved with slight shaking, and then repeated again with the same boy having an irritated expression.
Naruto didn't feel like commenting on the short cinema movements on the pictures, looking on with what felt like a hundred—and infuriating—shots. Unknown to the boy, Dumbledore read his facial expressions, alongside his teammates', and smiled.
'Man, this photographer must be annoying!' he thought frankly, looking through more of the pictures.
After most of the unpleasant snapshots were placed back into the folder, Naruto came across a photograph that was a really good one. The boy sat in what looked like a lounge, surrounded by about five other people. The boy looked up to greet the camera and looked back at his friends, laughing and having on a huge smile. A lanky boy with uncombed hair and many freckles scattered across his face was punching his arm playfully and the girl with bushy tresses was indulged into reading but waved into the picture. A younger petite girl whose freckled face was hidden by her hair sat on the arm of the chair next to the first girl, and behind the giant couch, was a small mousy boy with short lop of dark hair was nervously laughing and scratching the back of his head. They all looked like they were having a good time.
When the four-eyes ran his hand through his hair, lifting up his short ruffled bangs, on the right side of his forehead showed a very skinny scar which resembled a thunderbolt. Strange, yet again…
Sakura had only two pictures of her subject. The first one was a weird black-and-white picture of a huge grassy coliseum where a dozen people in uniform were flying in, what appeared to be, broomsticks. The photographer must have been close to the scene because it caught a good format of a young man with glasses diving into the ground and made a fast safe upright turn, leaving another boy trailing behind him and accidentally crashing violently into the grass. She winced at the awful impact.
Not wanting to see the repeat she placed the photo back into the folder. Next one she looked at was a full blown format of a young man, probably older than her, had on a confident smirk and neatly combed back hair. He was quite handsome, but his light colored eyes were fierce and cold like ice, which threw off his good looks. She frowned and looked through more of the contents of the folder.
Sasuke looked disgustedly at the third boy. There were only a few of him. Most of the pictures had him with wide shocked eyes and whimpering mouths, confused positions and some had him tripping on his feet. He had a look of a deer caught in headlights, with short black hair and watery dark eyes. He had round cheeks and his lips were small and parted to show a set of small front teeth that were biting anxiously on his lower flesh. His shoulders were round and slouched, and only in alarm would he straighten up in posture.
This was a face of a very sad pitiful wimp.
The last picture he saw was an impressive one (Even in the Uchiha prodigy's level) of the same young man in a combat position with a skinny stick struck outright, a cast of bright colors burst and knocked out another boy with dark skin into the air and land strongly against a mass of assorted cushions. In this snapshot, the boy was no scaredy-cat. Right then this boy had the look of a warrior, his eyes looking straight forward with boldness and strength.
Sasuke smirked.
"I need you three to especially protect these boys before you, as you can see in the folders," Dumbledore said in a tense voice, "Their present days are being watched by strangers unknown and dangerous. But most of all, your first priority is this boy…" the old wizard pointed to the picture Naruto had in his hand.
"That is the Boy Who Lived," Dumbledore murmured, "The boy who survived a disastrous murder only with a scar on his forehead…his name is Harry Potter…your number one client…"
To Be Continued