NOTE: So sorry I'm late! The internet died over here, but Chapter 10 is well on the way.
"RAIKIRI!"
Momentarily, the storm's hazy curtain of rain was clear, and through the mist, the whole school vaguely heard the chirping of a thousand birds. Those closest to the empty tower saw a white blur concentrated purely in the guard's hand. They in turn also saw the Dementors, how the dark beings were cut through by the guard's attack, the white lightning eating through the darkness.
Though they couldn't see his face, his mask was encrusted in ice from the Dementor's touch.
The guard slashed through four more Dementors in midair, a white aura enveloping him. The chirping came from the lightning in his fist, now unleashed to cut through anything that it touched, and then their attention was to the Gryffindors, and their now falling Seeker.
More Dementors, at least a hundred followed Harry Potter in his dangerous descent. The guard, it seemed, had seen Harry, for his hands began to move to form strange shapes.
In a flash of lightning, the guard was beside Harry, the distance crossed. The guard moved himself below Harry, seeking to cushion him from his inevitable fall. They were nearing the ground now, the Dementors following in a black swarm of cold…
"Lucky the guard caught him."
"I thought they were dead for sure."
"But he didn't even break his glasses"
Harry awoke to voices and blurry figures in crimson red clustered around his bed. Someone handed him his glasses from the side and Harry's vision finally cleared up, the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team was by his bed, as well as Ron and Hermione. The team was crusted in mud, and Harry's two friends looked as if they climbed out of a swimming pool with their clothes on. A bed away, the guard's familiar figure didn't move.
"Harry! Are you okay?" Fred asked him, face white underneath the mud that hid most of his face. "We thought you were a goner…how are you feeling?'
Harry rubbed the back of his head where he had landed on the guard's chest plate. "I have a massive headache, but I feel fine everywhere else."
George's face broke into a smile. "That's…that's good."
Harry blinked and rubbed at his arm. He knew he'd be getting a bruise there soon. "What happened? Did we win?"
There was silence; the only sound that was heard was the guard's labored breathing.
Realization dawned on Harry, and his eyes widened slowly. "We lost?"
"Diggory got the Snitch." Fred said. "He wanted a rematch, but Wood said they won fair and square."
"Where's Wood?" Harry asked upon not seeing the Quidditch captain.
"Still in the showers," George replied. "We think he's trying to drown himself."
Harry took his head into his hands. Fred and George launched into a discussion regarding Gryffindors' chance for the Quidditch cup. They were there until Madam Pomfrey shooed the whole team out of the hospital wing, leaving Ron and Hermione to explain.
"Who caught me? I felt something grab my collar…" Harry asked, looking up.
"It was the guard, mate." Ron replied. Hermione continued for him in a quaking voice.
"Dumbledore was really angry. I've never seen him like that before. He ran out into the field as you both fell, slowed you both down. You landed on the guard; he took most of the fall. Then he pointed his wand at the remaining Dementors, those that the guard didn't kill, and shot some silvery stuff at them."
Ron handed Hermione a piece of tissue. From the growing pile in Harry's wastebasket, she had been crying for a while.
"Then he magicked you both onto two stretchers and walked to school with you two on. Everyone thought you were…"
Ron's voice faded. Harry hardly noticed. He was staring at the guard's bed. On the guard's bedside table were his wand and his mask. The mask was propped up on a bottle of painkiller. Only now Harry realized the snarling paint on the porcelain mask resembled a wolf. Staring at the guard's now unmasked face gave Harry some insight on the guard's real face.
He looked no older than seventeen or eighteen. It seemed as if the guard had a secondary mask, this was now bunched up underneath his chin. His face looked slightly boyish, but even in sleep his mouth was in a permanent frown. A hideous vertical scar cut through his left eye, a shock of white hair cascaded down his head, covering his right eye in a shower of snow.
Ron caught Harry's gaze and nodded. "Surprised, aren't you? He's barely a day older than Wood."
Harry nodded. "Where's my broom?'
Ron looked uneasy. "I'll…I'll tell you tomorrow, alright? Just rest, Harry."
A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey shooed Ron and Hermione out and a few minutes later, Dumbledore walked in, bearing a bag. Harry pretended to be asleep.
The old Headmaster put the bag at the edge of Harry's bed, and then he approached the guard's bed. Harry's body was facing the guard's bed; so he opened his eye a crack and listened in.
Dumbledore took out his wand and pointed it at the guard. With a murmured spell, the guard was groggy, but awake. He sat up and rubbed at his head.
"Ano…Dumbledore-sensei…what happened?' The guard asked, groaning slightly as he squinted at the Hogwarts Headmaster with one eye, which was coal black. He kept his left eye shut.
Dumbledore took out a pill from the bottle of painkillers next to the guard's bed and offered it like he would a lemon drop.
Wordlessly, the guard popped it in his mouth like a piece of candy, grimacing at the bitter taste.
"That was an admirable thing you did, cushioning Harry from the fall." Dumbledore began. "How do you feel? No broken bones, I trust?"
The guard scowled. "It was my job. Dumbledore-sensei, how do I combat those Dementors without Raikiri if I run out of chakra?"
Dumbledore's blue eyes must've twinkled then, as Harry saw his shoulders were shaking in amusement. "You've only woken up and yet you're eager to find out how to do your job even more effectively. The Sandaime Hokage was right to choose you."
The guard scowled even more. "I will not tolerate this...weakness of mine. Weaknesses are for lesser shinobi, not ANBU."
Dumbledore nodded. "So I see. Another letter has arrived, bearing your name. Should I read it to you, or should I just leave it here?"
"I don't feel like reading anything, Dumbledore-sensei. Read it to me." The guard snapped. "If only the spinning in my head would stop I would read it myself."
Dumbledore chuckled. He cleared his throat. Harry chose at this moment to listen very carefully. He showed the letter briefly to the guard, who scowled. He turned the letter over to check the seal, and Harry spotted some bit of writing.
ANBU Wolf, Jounin of Konoha
November 9, 1992
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
A minute later, the guard turned the letter over again and handed it to Dumbledore, who broke the seal and read off the paper.
Kakashi,
Gai will come by this Christmas break to give you the latest news, as well as your 'Christmas' presents from your comrades here in Konoha. Give Gai your report, he'll hand it to me. Enclosed is the new set of explosive notes Asuma promised to give back to you. Enclosed also is a kunai belonging to Shiro. He died this morning on a hospital operating table. Whatever you're doing to cloak the fact that your team is fractured, remove Hawk and put in ANBU Weasel. Itachi cannot make it there as of yet. Continue your previous assignment.
Sandaime Hokage
Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure no Sato
Dumbledore put the paper back into the envelope. He seemed sad.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Dumbledore spoke, slipping the paper underneath the bottle of painkillers.
The guard waved a hand. "Go on your way, Dumbledore-sensei."
The Headmaster of Hogwarts nodded and left the room. After a few minutes, the guard stared at Harry directly with one eye.
"How long have you been listening in, Potter?"
Harry stiffened before sitting up. It was useless to try and pretend, after all, the guard had done it once.
"Long enough. What's a Konoha?" Harry asked, looking at the guard. "What's a shinobi? Who are you anyway? Your name is oddly similar to that of the new DADA teacher!"
After a moment of silence, the guard chuckled. Harry stiffened. An oddly shaped knife narrowly grazed his cheek, drawing forth a thin line of blood as it landed on the headrest of Harry' bed.
"It's no use hiding from you anymore, damn gaki, prying his head into something that might bite."
Harry suddenly felt a burst of fear. This guard, even though he was just as old as Wood, had seen death. He was a child soldier, trained to kill. Harry shivered.
The guard narrowed his one eye as he opened his left a crack. Immediately, Harry felt slightly sleepy. The moment the guard closed his eye again, Harry felt fine.
"Let me elaborate…" Kakashi began. "I'm only here to guard your school. Nothing more, nothing less, Dumbledore-sensei isn't paying Konoha for me to baby-sit you brats."
Frustrated, Harry blurted out in a harsh whisper. "What is Kon-oh-ha?"
The guard glared at him angrily, Harry winced. A few minute later, the guard spoke, his voice harsh.
"It's pronounced Konoha, gaki. It is the very reason that the Fire Country is the number one Shinobi country of the Great Five. Shinobi means ninja. Ninja is a tool to kill. I am the elite of the elite, the cream-of-the-crop; I am the ANBU Wolf, tracker, assassin..."
Harry braced himself.
"Murderer." Kakashi growled. "Now that you know so much, I'll have to erase your memory…"
Harry winced, looking at the guard. Was he going to Obliviate him? He braced himself to scream for help. Before the Potter boy could even open his mouth to scream for help, the guard's left eye snapped open.
Sharingan