白虎 ロキ


Chapter Five:

みんなは到着いて

Everyone is Arriving


Gaara woke to find himself in an unfamiliar room. It was dark and cold, and the air was muggy and smelled of rain and moss. This wasn't Suna. Konoha? No…no, that's right, he was on a god-awful mission outside the Barrier.

Gaara got up and began examining the room—he hadn't bothered last night before going to sleep—he still wasn't used to it, and he didn't think he'd ever be, but he valued it greatly after spending sixteen years suffering from extreme insomnia that, in addition to the monster screaming his lungs out in Gaara's head every hour of every day, essentially drove him insane—but he didn't want to think about that now.

Opening the drawers in the bedroom revealed that his clothes had already been delivered and put away for him, which was helpful, if a bit…strange. There wasn't much else in the room besides the drawers, the bed, and a lamp—he supposed he was expected to decorate or something of the sort.

Moving onto the sitting room he found the bookshelf filled to the brim with all the books he'd read whilst he stayed in Hogsmeade. He supposed it'd be helpful to have on hand if he ever needed to review or check anything. It must've been difficult to transport though…wizards weren't very strong after all. Ah, but they had their spells, didn't they? Perhaps they had a spell that functioned a bit like fūinjutsu…he did remember reading something about an expansion charm…*

Enough exploring though, he supposed it was time to get ready. Gaara returned to the bedroom and quickly dressed. He'd take a shower later—in the Sand, water was more of a luxury, and thus like all Sand Shinobi he was used to taking effort to preserve it.

As he dressed, he reflected on the events of the night prior…it was going to be difficult trying to avoid that Obā-san all year long—this mission was getting tiresome already. But seriously, he was determined not to spend any more time with her than he had to. The problem with that, however, is that she was one of only three people whom he was going to be able to report to, and he had already personally ruled Dumbledore out as well—the old mage unnerved him as well, but for different reasons. Maybe it was the way he always seemed to know more than he should, even more than he let on, or maybe it was the way he tended to act immature and foolish, and not all there, when it was clear he was a lot older and wiser than he often pretended to be—and why pretend? Why hide? Why try to get Gaara to let his guard down around him unless he had something to hide? Nonetheless, Gaara wasn't falling for it, and it only served to make him determined to avoid the old man at all costs.

Which unfortunately only left him with one remaining option: the elusive Severus Snape. He hadn't been there at dinner when Gaara had first arrived, but Dumbledore had assured him that he would be showing up for breakfast this morning.** Gaara could only hope that he wasn't as bad as the other two, because he needed someone to report to after-all, and he would really rather prefer if that person wasn't the Obā-san or that Ojī-san.*** This mysterious Severus Snape was his only hope—how unfortunate. He just hoped this guy would be different.

In the end, he was right—just not in the way he had been hoping for, or expecting…

The second Gaara arrived in the Great Hall, thanks to some not-entirely-helpful directions from Hashirama (evidently, portraits traverse the castle a bit differently than the living), he nearly walked into someone. He was about to apologize when the mop of greasy hair turned to then fix him with an accusing stare.

"And just who…are you?" The man drawled, grimacing distastefully.

But Gaara just grit his teeth and bared it, bowing slightly as a formality. "Sabaku no Gaara," he introduced.

The man sneered. "Ah, yes…the new professor." He looked Gaara up and down, "They did warn me about your…immaturity…but I must say, I did not expect…this." He spit out the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Evidently, I should have expected something like this—that since you're clearly a child you'd be expected to dress so…inappropriately ridiculous." He scoffed, "I mean, just look at you. Do yourself a favor and wipe that embarrassing mess off your face before the students arrive." And with that, he turned and marched off towards the High Table, leaving Gaara trembling in fury. He was barely resisting slaughtering the arrogant bastard.

No, calm down, he told himself, he's just random civilian, you'll probably never be forced to deal with him again…

And just that moment, the old witch approached him.


What in Merlin's name did Severus say to the poor child?! He was already traumatized enough, being raised amongst those barbarians! This is the last thing he needs! Just look at him! He was quite literally shaking in those ridiculous sandals of his! Of course, just leave it to Severus to traumatize the poor boy even worse…

Minerva quickly began marching her way over to him, muttering all the while about how Severus probably just set her back even further—how was the boy ever going to understand the castle was a safe place if Severus pulled things like that! Once she got close enough to be in hearing distance, she forced herself to quiet her mumblings and frustrated ranting lest she add fuel to the fire and upset the boy even further. Finally coming up next to the mortified child, she focused on bringing forth her most gentle and reassuring voice and asked, "are you alright?"

The poor child jerked the moment she began to spoke, and his trembling only worsened. Oh, Merlin, what to do…but suddenly the boy stopped and ceased his trembling, his head turning quickly to look towards the doors. She looked as well, curious as to what could have pulled him out of his episode, only to see Quirrell nervously bumbling into the Hall.


Something was wrong.

Something was just…off…about this wizard's chakra signature. Most wizards had puny, weakened signatures—just enough to show that they were alive, and to slightly distinguish them from what they called "Muggles." But this man's chakra…something was wrong with it.

It was larger than others, larger even than Dumbledore's, and it was shaped oddly, too much centered around his head, and about half of it—especially that which was centered around his head—felt…wrong. Corrupted. Twisted. It was like a diseased lump stuck to the back of his head, bursting with chakra—but that didn't make any sense. Some weird wizard illness, perhaps? He would have to ask someone about it—perhaps this Severus Snape if he didn't turn out to be too bad.

But it was probably fatal, judging by the state of it—you didn't have chakra that corrupted and live very long. He wouldn't be surprised if the disease was manifesting itself physically, and he wore the turban to conceal the rotting, pulsating, swollen flesh that covered the back of his head. Gaara could understand that.

Nonetheless…he would probably be making an effort to avoid him as well this year. Something about that chakra just…made him uncomfortable. Unnerved him in a way different from the way Dumbledore and McGonagall unnerved him, an arguably worse way. His diseased chakra felt corrupted and cold, and almost reminded Gaara of villains such as Orochimaru or that apprentice of his…Yes, he was going to be doing his best to avoid many people this year, including McGonagall, Dumbledore, and this…individual.

As he approached, Gaara couldn't help feeling wary of him. He made sure to watch him carefully, and not take his eyes off the stranger as he approached.

The old witch glanced back and force between the two of them curiously, before addressing the diseased wizard. "Quirrell, good morning. You weren't at dinner last night, so you missed Gaara here's introduction."

Gaara bowed slightly, determined to keep the polite habit despite everyone else's refusal to do so. And as he did so, he made sure not to bow too low so that he could keep his eyes on the man at all times. In the distance, Snape watched the exchange carefully. "Sabaku no Gaara," he introduced curtly.

"Y-yes," the man stuttered, reminding Gaara briefly of Naruto's betrothed—Hyūga Hinata, he believed her name was. Besides the stutter though of course, he was nothing like the kind and sweet, but also strong and tenacious woman Gaara had been introduced to.

"I am P-P-Professor Quirrell…" Gaara watched as he quickly looked him up and down. "A-aren't you…a-a little…y-young to be a p-p-professor?"

Gaara stared straight ahead whilst McGonagall fumbled, appearing flustered. "Yes."

"Now, Professor Quirrell, please, Mr. Gaara is very mature and talented for his age and—wait, what?"

Gaara continued to stare. "In this country, yes, I am considered young. But in my homeland, I was already teaching students when I was just thirteen years old."****

McGonagall looked startled, and Quirrell oddly assessing. "But what—"

She was interrupted before she could even finish her question (Gaara was secretly relieved) when Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the room. "Ah, Mr. Gaara! I see you've met Professor Quirrell."

Gaara tried not to twitch too obviously when the old man blatantly referred to him as 'Mister' and Quirrell as 'Professor' in the same damn sentence. Despite what he likes to lead people to believe, it's clear to Gaara that—whether it's because of his age or where he comes from—Dumbledore can't seem to help looking down on him and seeing him as lesser.

Gaara however simply nodded in acknowledgment, wanting to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible, and without waiting for a response made his way over to the High Table and took his seat beside Filius—unfortunately, he was still stuck beside Dumbledore, but if he's lucky that will change in the future.

As soon as he sat down, Filius smiled brightly and wished him a good morning, asking about how his first night in the castle had been. Gaara liked Filius. Unlike most of the other wizards he had met since crossing the Barrier, Filius was always kind, and warm, and welcoming, and friendly. Today he was no different. Gaara could almost ignore Dumbledore on his other side, listening to Filius rant about how bright all of his students were. Filius was a kind man.

And sitting next to him, breakfast went by quickly enough, and as soon as the food was magicked away Dumbledore whisked him away and ushered him off to see the vault.

He was informed that it was currently empty, but that they had all finished setting up their traps and he allowed Gaara to look over them as he explained that someone named Rubeus Hagrid would be personally delivering the Stone later that evening. Gaara wasn't so sure about that, but Dumbledore assured him that up until then they'd kept it safe in a vault at the best wizarding bank in the world, and that this Hagrid character was more than capable of handling this job. Gaara had no choice but to accept him at his word.

After that he was allowed to return back to his quarters, where he worked on writing up a report to send to Kakashi about his experiences outside of the Barrier so far, and what he'd learned, along with his plans for the future of this mission. He had a feeling Kakashi was going to be amused by his letter. Prick.

Before he knew it, it was time for the students to arrive, and Gaara could hear the train's loud approach from inside his quarters, the whistle loud and shrieking and impossible to ignore. He supposed it was time to head down to the Great Hall for the whatever-Feast.

When he arrived, the Hall was bustling with energy, professors and staff running back and forth and hurrying around—those already in their seats were endlessly fidgeting and fretting over their appearances, continuously smoothing over their clothes and fixing and re-fixing their hair, over and over again. It was mayhem.

Filius was one of the ones excitedly fidgeting in their seat, and when Gaara sat beside him he was nearly blown away by the force of his smile. Just as everything was getting out of control, Dumbledore strode into the room announcing that the thestrals were bringing the students up as they speak. If Gaara thought it was bad before, it was total and absolute chaos now. It was amusing to see some of the more rigid staff members such as McGonagall running around, but she slipped out the back door just as the last person threw themselves into a chair and straightened their robes one last time and the main doors burst open with a roar of noise and in poured a massive stream a students buzzing about like a swarm of bees after someone kicked their hive. What was previously hushed panicking was now a wave of noise that easily encompassed the entire hall.

Gaara rubbed at his temples. It was a madhouse, and he hoped dearly that not every meal would be like this—Filius seemed to sense this and leaned over, whispering, "Don't worry, they're just excited to be back—they're normally not nearly this loud—not to say that they're quiet, either, but, well…this is a whole other level."

Gaara nodded in acknowledgment to his reassurance, unsure of how to respond further; Filius didn't seem to mind, and Gaara appreciated that. He almost reminded him of Naruto, in fact—loud and friendly and talkative, but completely understanding and appreciating of Gaara's…less talkative nature, and stunted social skills. He'd be a bit uncomfortable saying it out loud, but it made him feel significantly better having someone like Naruto here with him. Someday, maybe not soon, but eventually, he would thank Filius for that.

But as he took a closer look at the students, however, he was quite startled to find that many looked almost as old as him! And the very youngest ones…they looked about the same age as academy graduates—no wonder the wizards all thought he was young, their system was incredibly backwards! How could they only start school once a child was already that old? He was borderline appalled. He knew they were civilians, but…this was far too old to just be starting schooling. And they don't even graduate until they're nearly Gaara's age. That was just so…unnecessarily excessive. They wouldn't have to stay in formal schooling so long if they'd just started earlier, when the students' minds were still young and easily moldable. But at this point…

And when would they ever even start to get first-hand experience as an apprentice? Surely not at Gaara's age, for he was already more than old enough to take on an apprentice himself…This was just…too much. Were all institutions outside the Barrier like this? Surely not…right?

As he was pouring over this, he noticed that some students had started pointing at him and gesturing—he supposed it made sense, after all compared to these wizards he stood out quite a bit, not to mention that if they truly didn't even start their careers until they were already eighteen years old…he supposed to them he would appear a bit on the young side—okay, a lot—but it was ridiculous!

Gaara sighed. He wondered if the Stone had arrived yet…

And just as he thought that, probably the largest man he had ever seen squeezed through the back door from which McGonagall had escaped, and immediately began making his way towards Dumbledore.

At first Gaara was on edge, ready to fight, but when the Ojī-san warmly greeted him Gaara forced himself to stand down—he still kept careful watch, though, of course. Just because you trust someone doesn't mean they won't betray you.

The old wizard addressed the large man as "Hagrid," and asked him if the package was safe, whilst making brief but significant eye contact with Gaara.

Ah, so this was the man delivering the Stone…

Gaara had to admit, on the surface at least, he definitely seemed more equipped than most wizards to protect the Stone, being so naturally heavily-built—however Gaara knew from experience that size wasn't everything, and could only get you so far. After all, most of the men he had fought and killed—no, slaughtered when he was younger, were much bigger than him—no. He's not going to think about this, not here, not now. Not while he's on an important mission outside the Barrier—not after all this time. For god's sake, he's moved on from this—he has.

(He was also lying to himself.)

The large man—Hagrid—glanced at Gaara as well, first wary, then confused.

He must've just noticed how young I look, Gaara thought. This was getting real tiring, real quickly. Gaara almost wished that something would happen to the Stone just so he could show them that he wasn't a child—no. He wasn't going there, he mustn't think like that. He is no longer the bloodthirsty killing machine that he once was. He was no longer a monster—that was removed from him a long time ago. He must show them he is not a child through maturity, not violence.

Control yourself.

Gaara held in a scoff, he could almost imagine Shukaku grumbling at that thought—he was very glad that demon was gone, or that would have made this mission a hell of a lot harder.

Gaara was drawn back to the present by Hagrid addressing Dumbledore, "Yes sir, yes, safe an' sound. Professor McGonagall should be bringin' in the firs' years any moment now."

And just like that, the doors were pushed open once more—and he hadn't even noticed them being closed, so drawn up in his thoughts—and in walked that old witch again, with an army of small, nervous-looking students trailing behind her.

Ah, so these were the first years—the very youngest students they had…

It was…irritating. Everyone knew children learnt best when they're still young—but these students were far too old to just be starting. It was…pathetic.

And extremely ineffective.

But there's nothing he can do about that—he's just here on a mission to guard the Stone and the inhabitants of the school whilst performing his duties as a language teacher, and nothing more. He—what the hell was that? A dirty old hat? What?

McGonagall called a name off a long list, and one of the small, civilian wizarding children stepped forward, trembling in their incredibly impractical shoes, and took their seat on a rickety old stool in front of the High Table, in view of the entire school, and—

…and she put the decrepit old hat on the child's head. Okay.

Suddenly it screamed—one of the House names? And there was massive applause as the kid scurried off to the table that was cheering the loudest—ah. So that's what they meant by "sorting ceremony."

And they thought Gaara was weird…

It went on like this for a while, until they got to the P's and they called out this one name that caused the entire hall to collapse into silence, which was soon followed by hushed and frantic whispers that gradually got louder and louder, up until this small, messy haired boy with a skinny frame and ill-fitting glasses stepped forward, and the Hall descended into silence once more—you could hear a senbon drop.

Just what's so special about this Harry Potter kid, Gaara thought.


*Fūinjutsu, or Sealing Techniques: jutsu that involves sealing objects, living beings, chakra, etcetera, within another object. (Ex. Sealing ninja tools in scrolls or sealing the Kyūbi inside of Naruto).

**Some people may remember Snape was actually mentioned in the first chapter, but due to some contradictionsand since he never really did or said anything anywayI just removed him from that chapter entirely, so Gaara hasn't met him yet.

***Means "grandma" and "grandpa," respectivelyoften used to refer to old people in general (if you watched the sub you might remember Naruto calling Tsunade thisI think in the dub it was translated as "Granny").

****Technically it was a filler, but whatever. At the end of the first series, when Gaara's one student gets kidnapped, blah blah blah.


A/N: Next chapter should feature his first class.

Please notify me if you catch any mistakes, thanks…I'm too tired to correct them right now and I just really wanna get this chapter out after going so long without updating—college has had me very busy, unfortunately, and I only started working on this chapter this afternoon, but I've been working on it for HOURS. It is now 12:55 AM, and I want to sleep.

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And thank you for reading!

Ja,

- BL.