Thank you all so much for your reviews! It's really sad for me to have this be ending so soon. :( And I must say that this would have been out a day earlier, but as some of you may have noticed, the document manager was down for a few hours.
Anyway, I'd like to thank SaphireShade, KatonRyuuka, cardcaptor eternity, Lupanari, Megaolix, AznPuffyHair, SharinganKumiko, PedroCullenBloomTM, Twilight's Oblivion, DarkRavie, Fox Loves Shinigami. Utena-Puchiko-nyu, DarcSlayer, KakashiKrazed, FullMetalExorcist, ChinduPrinceOfDarkness, Ce-Ce Riddle, Namekazelil, Jumpingbeans480, MadnessLover, SumireMayonaka, hokage of dragon, frik1000, strangenewage, Shai Neko, Kakashifangirlnumber1000, romantiscue, the true elec, Madeline Cullen, geetac, Mafkeesje, Vero-Enelya, Orihime-San, whiteinu1, actressforever, Mesonoxian, yaoifangrl4ever, The Laughing Phoenix, AvatardsUnite MM, dragoncrazy247, ArrangedloveMatch, Kitty-chan and Nya-chan, The-Eighth-Sin, Obiki Doragon, candyman123, ColorfulDesert, redfoxrose, Mournful Storms, pamellka, kimcat, MinakoxShino, Lake25, kiki, YaoiLuvr, and Yorukifon for their wonderful reviews!
The 1,100th reviewer was pamellka! She has requested a Naruto/Gaara friendship moment. :)
kiki: XD I could never deal with the whole cast! It's hard enough trying to deal with three characters. Oh, and don't worry about that because once this is done I'm going to go back and fix some of the earlier chapters. Thanks for the review!
When Kakashi started to awaken from his coma, his first observation was that he hurt all over, especially his throat. You would think that when you die you wouldn't feel pain anymore, he thought dryly.
"Kakashi-sensei . . . Kakashi-sensei . . . "
Oh no, he groaned mentally. I knew shinobi didn't go to heaven! I'm in hell, and my eternal punishment is having a million Narutos who never give me a moment's peace! Maybe if I ignore them they'll all go away.
"Madame Pomfrey said he should be awake by now." Kakashi's heart raced. That was Gaara's voice, so unless he was part of his punishment, then that meant—
Kakashi's eyes flew open but then he shut them just as quickly as he felt the chakra drain from using his Sharingan. He waited for a moment to catch his breath, and then slowly opened his good eye.
The first thing he saw was a blurry blob of yellow and orange, but then it slowly gave way to a grinning Naruto. "I knew you'd be all right, Kakashi-sensei!" He backed up and Kakashi noticed that he had quite the crowd gathered around him. It appeared as if the entire Weasley family was there, along with Harry, Hermione, Naruto, and Gaara.
"Thought I was dead," Kakashi mumbled, his voice hoarse. He tried to get up, but found he couldn't move at all.
Mrs. Weasley noticed his frown and quickly explained, "Madame Pomfrey said you probably wouldn't be able to move for a while." Kakashi sighed; he knew that would probably be the case. "Though it's a wonder you're alive at all!" Mrs. Weasley continued.
Kakashi smirked. "I seem to get that a lot." When all the females in the room blushed, Kakashi realized that his mask was off and swore loudly, ignoring the shocked blush on Mrs. Weasley's face. "Naruto! You had better put my mask on RIGHT NOW!"
"Y-yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said quickly. He rushed to go retrieve the mask but not before Kakashi saw him smile in satisfaction. The jounin groaned. Part of the reason why he wore the mask was because his angry glares didn't hold as much power to them as they did with the mask.
"Why is it off in the first place?" he demanded.
"They had to put a tube down your throat," Hermione explained, "because you weren't able to breathe well enough on your own."
Well, that explains the sore throat.
"Why cover up a face like that, pretty-boy?" George teased.
"You'd have every woman in this castle wrapped around your finger if you kept it off," Fred smirked.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes and mustered as much anger into his voice as he could. "Those reasons are known only to me, brat."
"By jove—I do believe we have been insulted!" Fred said in mock horror.
"Well, we know to leave when we're not wanted," George said in a huff. "C'mon, Fred. We have work to do." The two then stuck their noses in the air and exited the hospital room in a dramatized fashion.
"Did you drop them on their heads when they were younger?" Kakashi asked, directing his question to Mrs. Weasley. She appeared startled for a moment, then laughed.
"No, I do not believe so. Arthur and I have been trying for years to figure out a reason for their behavior, but I fear we will never know."
"My patient needs his rest now!" Madame Pomfrey announced, coming over to them with a tray in hand. "Glad to see you're up, dear," she said kindly. Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He hated it when those older than him always felt a need to baby him. He hated it when he was five and he hated it now.
"Now you need to drink this," she instructed, holding up a bubbling green concoction, "to help with your muscle weakness and sore throat, and then this," (she held up a small goblet with a purple liquid inside) "to help you sleep and rest." She narrowed her eyes and leaned in closer to whisper, "And if you give me any trouble, I will not hesitate to force it down your mouth, seeing as how you can't move at all."
Kakashi glared at her. "I promise I won't give you any trouble. In fact—you won't have to do anything at all." The jounin took a deep breath and then pushed himself into a half-way seated position and grabbed the green potion before downing it all in one gulp. He grinned mischievously at her, despite the sweat plastered on his brow.
"S-see? Tha . . . that wasn't so hard—" His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed as the cup clattered onto the floor. Madame Pomfrey pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.
"I should have put restraints on him," she muttered. "I knew I should!"
"I got your mask, Kakashi-sensei! The healers kind of destroyed your original one, so I went and got one of your spare—" He gasped at the still form of his sensei. "He's dead! Somebody do some—"
"Calm down, Naruto!" Hermione pleaded, grabbing his arm. "He just passed out."
Naruto frowned. "He seemed fine when I left!"
"That's because he had to be an arrogant bast—er, he tried to move before his body was ready," Madame Pomfrey replied.
The genin laughed. "That's Kakashi-sensei! The only one who can make him do anything is baachan." Naruto walked to Kakashi's side and slid the mask over his face, wanting to avoid his sensei's wrath should he awake once more without his mask.
Two days later, Dumbledore met with the three shinobi next to Kakashi's hospital bed. The jounin had spent every moment that he could to get his body back in shape once he could move freely again. Last night he had tired to practice more while the rest of the castle was asleep, but Madame Pomfrey had interrupted while he was on his 157th push-up. She had been furious and informed him that before he went to bed each night he was to take a sleeping potion and she would not leave until she was sure it was working. Kakashi could have easily used the Sharingan on her, but with the state he was in it would be just as effective as drinking the medicine. Better to sleep with his chakra reserves at least relatively in tact.
"I just wanted to inform you that the spell to bring you back to your dimension is completed," he said. Naruto immediately started cheering while Gaara and Kakashi sighed in relief. "However," the headmaster continued, "I think it would be best to wait until Kakashi has had more time to recover, since I do not know what the stress of traveling could do to him." Naruto pouted and glanced at Kakashi for approval.
"As much as I want to return home," the jounin began, "I believe you are right, Dumbledore-sama. It would do me no good to return to my world with me in a worse condition than I was before." With that said, Naruto realized that they had no choice but cheered up when he discovered he would at least he could go say good-bye to his friends properly!
As the genin and the headmaster left, Kakashi contemplated his decision. In all fairness he should be well enough to travel, and then Tsunade could heal him properly if he happened to suffer an ill side effect of traveling. Medical ninjutsu was better suited to heal a shinobi's wounds, and he felt safer in Tsunade's care. The healing magic of this dimension was exceptional, but it didn't suit the body of one with chakra networks as well as it did with everyone else. The reason why he went ahead with Dumbledore's decision was because he wanted to give the genin some leeway time to say their good-byes.
The wizard friends they made here in Hogwarts were exceptional, because they made Naruto and Gaara feel like they were regular kids (somewhat). They knew what was inside of them yet they were not prejudiced. From what Kakashi had seen, it was mainly because this world had seen their share of strange things, but mostly they seemed more trusting. Most likely it was because they were not as war-torn as his world was. It was a nice change, but he couldn't wait to get back to the normalcy of shinobi life. Were it not for his duties in the tournament Kakashi would have died of boredom.
"Time for your sleeping potion!" Madame Pomfrey announced, all too eagerly. Kakashi groaned but knew there was no way out of it.
As the effects of the sleeping potion wore off the next morning, Kakashi found he actually wanted to go back to sleep, not that he would ever admit it to Madame Pomfrey. The potion she had given him put him into a dreamless sleep, and he wished he could sleep like that forever. Far too often were a shinobi's dreams plagued with the various horrors of their past, and Kakashi had quite a selection. He was rather proud of himself over the course of the past few months in the wizard dimension though, having only had three nightmares. There weren't as vivid as most of his usually were, where instead of screaming his throat raw and ripping his bed sheets into shreds, he had only woken up in a terrible sweat and the fear gripped him so forcefully he panted as if he had run all the way to Suna without stopping.
As his other senses started to awake from the induced slumber, Kakashi noticed that the hospital was rather noisy. They were all whispering, but to Kakashi it was rather loud. His brain was too sluggish to interpret just what they were saying at the moment, but the acoustics seemed rather incorrect for what they should be in the hospital wing. There was almost an echo to the whispers, as if—
Kakashi opened his good eye in fear and shot up into a seated position only to find he wasn't in the hospital wing anymore.
He was in the entrance hall, surrounded by what appeared to be the entire Hogwarts student body, as well as the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. As he stared in shock and horror, a few of the boys sniggered while the girls sighed in the dreamy tone Kakashi had heard Ino and Sakura use around Sasuke.
Who could have done this? he thought frantically, trying to overcome his terror at seeing so many eyes upon him. It wasn't that he was afraid of them (he could kill them all under ten minutes if he chose to) but being at the center of attention wasn't his thing. It was why he adopted such an aloof persona, to try and keep the attention shifted from himself. Having this many eyes staring at him brought back painful memories of the few years after his father had been disgraced. The students weren't looking at him with hatred, but he couldn't help but feel the same.
"MARRY ME!" some crazed girl called out. Everyone erupted into laughter at that, and it was then that Kakashi realized with horror that his mask was off.
In front of the whole wizard school.
The jounin involuntarily reached up and touched his face, only to discover that both his mask and Hitai-ate were gone. His earlier fear quickly transformed into rage. Who could have done this? Not Gaara; even though he had opened up more through his experience at Hogwarts it wasn't in his nature. Naruto was a possibility, but he knew better than that to play such a nasty trick on him. It was too low for Naruto—possibly. Who could it be?
"My, my," a voice called out from somewhere behind him. "I do believe we should have charged admission for this!"
"We would be rich as kings, we would," a similar voice conceded. "Maybe we can salvage our misfortune with a kissing booth? I doubt it would be just girls."
Kakashi whipped around to face the voices as the crowd either wolf whistled or squealed in delight. Standing smugly with their arms folded near the edge of the crowd were Fred and George. The jounin's mind went blank for a moment as he tried to process what had happened.
"Th-this . . . this is your—"
"Our prank?" George finished, as one would help a child.
"My dear lad—you have been pranked and there can be no doubt about that," Fred smirked. "I believe you mentioned something along the lines about pronouncing your undying love for the Giant Squid?"
"Why yes he did, dear brother!" George exclaimed, feigning shock. "Well then, I guess our first paying customer in the kissing booth is the Giant Squid, and I must say—she's been waiting for you!"
Fred turned to George with a contemplative look on his face. "So that must be the reason for his love for animals! Do you suppose he's got a number of animal wives at home?"
"I wouldn't count out husbands just yet," George warned, shaking a finger. "Have you seen the way Fang looks at him? Why if that dog wasn't so old I'm sure that by now he would have tried to—"
Unable to keep his rage under control, Kakashi leapt with a single bound towards the twins, snarling as he did so. He was grateful that he had been able to change out of the horrible hospital garb when he awoke two days ago and been permitted to wear his jounin pants and sleeve-less shirt. It certainly would have made things a lot worse.
"He even acts like an animal!" Fred remarked in astonishment.
"I let you off too nicely last time!" Kakashi yelled. "Now it's time for you to experience pain like you've never experienced it before!" The jounin steadied his feet and put his hands into one of the many seals the wizards associated with his various jutsu. Fred and George glanced at Kakashi, silently wondering if he dared use a jutsu against them and then took a step back in terror. Now with his mask removed, they got the full blast of Kakashi's crazed and murderous look. The jagged scar across one of his eyes made him all the more terrifying. They quickly turned around and ran, deciding it was in their best interest to flee.
"As if you're getting away that easy!" Kakashi laughed. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" A clone appeared beside Kakashi and they disappeared, only to reappear in front of the fleeing twins. They shrieked and tried to run in the other direction, but the original and clone Kakashi were ready.
"SENNEN GOROSHI!" The twins yelped in utter pain as the "secret" jutsu sent them flying. Every onlooker stared in shock and utter silence at the original Kakashi and his clone, who appeared pleased with themselves. Fred and George landed quite a few feet away from the jounin and rubbed their painful backsides. At their whimper the students either erupted into laughter, amazed to see the twins bested at their game (sort of—it couldn't really be called a prank) or they rolled their eyes at the immaturity of it.
As the noise died down and he dispelled his clone, Kakashi glanced back towards the center of the crowd. "You can return the bed to the infirmary, can't you?" he said to the twins before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Can you believe it's end of term already?" Ron asked, idly picking blades of grass.
"It always passes by so fast," Hermione said softly. Harry simply nodded. The three of them were enjoying a calm and peaceful moment out on the school grounds. They just came back from visiting Hagrid, and Harry didn't want to go into the castle anytime soon. All everyone ever did was whisper about him, postulating theories about whether or not his head was screwed on just right, or what really happened in the graveyard, or whether or not he was an attention-deprived delinquent. He found he no longer cared what others thought, but it irritated him to no end. He preferred to be in the company of Hagrid, Hermione, Ron, or the shinobi.
He hadn't seen the shinobi much since the graveyard though. He was concerned but he knew they were all right. As much as he missed them, Harry felt somewhat relieved because all he could think about were Naruto and Gaara sitting in the chair as their life force (or whatever it was called) was sucked out of them, and then of Kakashi lying practically dead in the grass at his feet. Seeing them also reminded him that Cedric was gone, and that knowledge pained him greatly.
"I can't wait for you to come to the Burrow, Harry!" Ron said happily, trying to brighten the mood.
"After I have to go back to the Dursleys," Harry grumbled.
"Dumbledore would only make you do that if it carried some special meaning," Hermione reminded them.
"To make me feel miserable, yeah. If only—" He was interrupted by a high shriek. Harry and Hermione whipped around to find Ron on his feet and Naruto nearby, clutching his sides as he laughed.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, looking back and forth between the two boys.
"I-I . . . didn't mean to s-scare you," Naruto laughed. "But you scream like a girl!" Ron went a bright shade of pink and avoided Harry and Hermione's amused expressions.
"Caught me off guard, that's all," Ron mumbled.
"What did you want, Naruto?" Hermione inquired, trying to suppress a smirk.
The genin flashed one of his mischievous grins and they all knew they were either in trouble, or in for a treat. He leaned in closely to them and cupped a hand at the side of his mouth. "That Fudge guy is leaving today!" he whispered.
The three wizards blinked. "Sooo?" Ron wondered aloud.
Naruto sighed in exasperation. "You don't get it! Come on, I'll show you." He quickly gestured for them to follow him. "Come on!" Hermione and Ron frowned at Harry, who just smiled faintly and shrugged. The blond lead them around the castle and towards the entrance, where Fudge and various other high-ranking Ministry officials were leaving. He ducked in some nearby bushes and gestured for them to do the same. Before the wizards could ask once again what was going on, the wind around them blew sand in their face and soon Gaara appeared.
"Good, you brought them," he noted.
"I still don't know what—" Naruto silenced Hermione with a raised hand.
"Just wait for it!" he whispered, his glee written plainly on his face. The five of them then turned their attention to the discussion.
"We will be returning, Dumbledore," Fudge warned. The Headmaster merely nodded with a pleased smile and waved back, which apparently was not what the Minister was expecting. "Just like Albus," he grumbled to his companions as they pressed forward. "Always making a mockery of things and getting everyone to love and adore him. But we'll see just how smug he is once I expose him for just the type of person he truly—"
The Minister's rant was cut short as he tripped and landed face down in the dirt. To onlookers, it seemed as if the very ground itself had risen up for a moment like it were alive. Harry, Ron, and Hermione glanced at Gaara and were surprised to see his hand stretched out with a dangerous smirk on his face. The Suna shinobi then lowered his arm and nodded to Naruto, who chuckled and then rubbed his hands together.
"Nijiiro no jutsu!" Fudge tried to regain his composure by calmly dusting off the dirt on his cloak and firmly placed his lime green bowler hat atop his head, which now clashed horribly with his neon pink hair. For a moment there was complete silence, then everyone within the general vicinity started laughing, leaving the poor Minister horribly confused. Only when one of his companions calmed down enough to explain what had happened did he understand. His eyes went wide with fright and he tugged at his hair, yelling at Percy to assist him. The young Weasley was the only one not laughing, and he appeared just as horrified at the predicament as did the Minister.
When it became apparent that no regular spell would nullify the effects, the Minster tried to gather what pride he could and quickly strode out of sight to where he could Apparate back to the Ministry.
"I would reconsider your brand of shampoo!" Dumbledore called after him. Another wave of laughter followed and Dumbledore glanced in the direction of the shinobi and wizards. He said nothing else, but gave a slight nod in their direction as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Naruto responded by placing his right hand over his chest in a salute, causing the headmaster to chuckle lightly as he walked back through the castle doors.
"You—are bloody brilliant!" Ron laughed, clapping Naruto on the back.
"I've changed it so that each color lasts for an hour," he explained.
"I don't think he'll be attending any meetings for the rest of the day," Harry noted.
"We are sure going to miss your great pranks," Ron said, looking at both Naruto and Gaara.
"Has Dumbledore figured out that spell yet?" Hermione asked in concern. Gaara nodded.
"He has; he told us yesterday."
"Why haven't you left yet? Do you not want to?" Hermione almost sounded hopeful that they would stay.
Naruto shook his head. "We're waiting until Kakashi is well enough to travel."
Harry frowned. "But he was running after Fred and George earlier today," he pointed out. "He seemed well enough to me."
"He overworked himself," Gaara explained. "When he returned to the infirmary his legs collapsed and we had to help bring him back to another bed. Madame Pomfrey believes him well enough to walk around, but now he has to use a cane."
"That was a nasty trick they played," Hermione huffed.
"No worse than what he did to them!" Ron argued. "And you've got to admit it was funny!" At Hermione's glare Ron realized it would be wise to give up. She then turned back to the shinobi with a worried expression.
"But . . . " She bit her lip. "Then that means you have to go back to accepting missions a-and—"
"Killing?" Gaara finished. Hermione's face flushed and she nodded vigorously.
"It's just . . . I know that you're used to it and all—and you definitely have the ability to do so—but you still have a choice, right? Haven't you enjoyed your time here, being away from all that? Don't you want to stay?" she pleaded.
Naruto and Gaara glanced at each other and then the ground sadly. "We have," Naruto answered.
"But we can't stay," Gaara continued.
"Why?" Hermione seemed on the verge of tears. "It hurts me to know that you go around killing people! You've been doing this since you were five, and that's all you'll ever do! That isn't the type of life you're supposed to live! I know I don't completely understand, but I can tell you and Kakashi are all suffering on your own! Doesn't it eat you up inside?"
Naruto stared at Hermione sadly. "Do you think we enjoy killing?" he asked softly. "Is that what you think of us?"
"No! It's—I-I . . . I just—"
"The only ones who truly enjoy killing where we are from are evil and lost their minds," Gaara explained, his voice practically a whisper. "We fight to protect those most precious to us, and that is all the reason we need." Naruto smiled and put a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"We all wish for peace," the blond explained, "and who knows—someday it may happen! But until then, we want to protect our village and those we see as family so that they can live to see another day. That is what being a Hokage and shinobi is all about!"
"We appreciate your concern," Gaara added, "and if we could we would certainly take you up on that offer." He glanced at Naruto. "But the both of us have some important duties to fulfill—as do you three." There was silence for a few moments, until Naruto's stomach rumbled.
"Time for dinner!" he announced emphatically.
"I guess this is good-bye then," Harry said sadly.
"Yeah, I guess," Naruto said. They were all standing in Professor Dumbledore's office, along with Hagrid, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Professor McGonagall, the twins, and Ginny. It was after the Leaving Feast, and so the mood was already rather depressing. Tomorrow the students would be leaving, and Dumbledore wanted the shinobi's departure to be as quietly handled as possible. All the shinobi's gathered belongings, Christmas presents, and wands were packed into one large suitcase, and they were adorned in their regular clothing.
"Now, before I send you back," Dumbledore began, "you should know that if this is done properly only a few minutes would have passed in your world." The three shinobi stared at Dumbledore incredulously while the wizards gasped.
"Really?" The Headmaster nodded, smiling kindly at them. All three shinobi let out a breath they did not know they had been holding. Their greatest fear had been not knowing what awaited them back at home. How many people were still living? Were they declared as dead? How were they going to explain themselves? Would everything be changed?
Unable to express their appreciation, the three shinobi quickly bowed.
"Oh, no need to thank me," Dumbledore protested, shaking his head. "It was our fault you arrived here in the first place, and despite that you still managed to help us." He picked up a small bag on his desk and held it up. "You accept missions in your world, correct?" At their nod he continued, "And as such, I assume you accept payment." More nods. "Then here is our payment for your services." He tossed the bag to Kakashi who expertly caught it with his left hand, since his other hand was currently gripping a cane Madame Pomfrey had provided. His eyes widened at the weight of it, for it certainly was not any type of wizard currency.
"I know you don't use the same currency as we do, but I imagine gold is inter-dimensional? There should be enough in there for the three of you."
Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara stared in awe at the small bag. The money they could get from it would certainly benefit their villages for the better. "But are you sure—"
Dumbledore waved the jounin off. "Please accept it, for it is the least we could do." Kakashi nodded and the three bowed once again.
"We sure are going to miss you," Ron began.
"This placed won't be as much fun without you three," Fred chuckled.
"Yeah, who else can we enjoy pranking as much as you?" George pointed out. Kakashi narrowed his eye, still suffering the sting of their last prank. Though, judging by the slight differences in their stances and walking, they were as well.
"Take care, dears!" Mrs. Weasley walked up to each of them and enveloped each in a warm embrace. Their surprise and slight unfamiliarity with the action didn't go unnoticed by Hermione, who watched them sadly. She and Ginny then gave them hugs as well.
"We have something for you three," Kakashi said. There was no doubt as to whom he was addressing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione frowned in confusion as Kakashi withdrew something from his weapon pouch. He held up three simple necklaces with a brown leather cord and a silver pendant that reminded the wizards of a Chinese good-luck charm. "The kanji means 'strength' and you can use this for just that." He dropped one into each of their hands.
Harry gasped as he felt the tiny pendant touch his bare flesh. He could actually feel energy coming from it, as if it were alive!
"All three of us made this," Kakashi explained. "I invented a jutsu to make it possible for it to transfer energy to you when you need it—"
"—while I used some of the strongest minerals I could find to shape them—" Gaara continued.
"—and I supplied the energy!" Naruto ended happily.
"If you ever find yourself running low on energy when you need it most, just put your hand in this position," (Kakashi demonstrated, holding two fingers up near his mouth) "and say, Kai which means release.Then you can control how much you draw from the pendant."
There was silence as the three wizards examined the necklaces with curiosity. "But . . . can we handle chakra? It's too different from our magic for us to take it internally—" Kakashi held up a hand to silence Hermione.
"I made the necessary modifications, but you can feel free to test it out yourselves, just to be sure. But be careful to only accept a small amount. Naruto filled them over the course of a few days, but it should still be used sparingly. I don't know what will befall you in the future with Voldemort brought back to life, but I have no doubt this may come in handy."
The three wizards glanced at each other and then shrugged. They copied Kakashi's hand sign and said, "Kai!" The pendant glowed blue for a moment and then stopped, during which time the wizards felt an increase in their stamina.
"That was wicked!" Ron exclaimed.
"We'll be sure to put this to great use," Harry promised.
"Thank you very much," Hermione said.
The shinobi smiled. "Oh, and if you happen to see Snuffles again," Kakashi added, "let him know we appreciate his message, are grateful for his friendship, and wish that we could see him one last time." The jounin had found the letter that Sirius had left and it simply contained his gratitude for all their help, his concern for Kakashi's condition, and his wish that they would be safe when they returned home. Sirius also explained his regrets for not being able to say it in person but he was on an urgent mission for Dumbledore.
Harry grinned. "I will."
"Well then, I believe it is time to go now," Dumbledore said. "If you will all stand together while I prepare."
Naruto nudged Gaara. "It was a lot of fun being here," he whispered. "I'm sad that once we get back you have to go back to Suna." Gaara nodded.
"You are my first . . . and very best friend," he whispered back, glancing at the floor. He felt a slight blush on his face with being so open about his feelings because it definitely wasn't something he was used to. "I wouldn't be who I am if . . . if it weren't for you."
Naruto's grin widened as he clapped Gaara on the back. "What are friends for? You'd better take care of yourself while I'm with Jiraiya. Maybe we could visit!" Gaara smiled and they focused their attention back to what Dumbledore was doing.
He finished the incantation and to everyone's surprise the shinobi started to slowly dissolve while surrounded by a type of purple electricity. They felt a similar tingling as before, and knew the spell would work.
"Safe travels!" Hagrid called after them, waving his massive hand. McGonagall smiled warmly and waved as well.
Naruto waved both his hands emphatically while the other two gave a small nod. "BYE!" the energetic blond called.
Each of the other wizards joined in with a hearty wave until the shinobi had completely disappeared.
"I still can't get over the fact that there is another dimension," Mrs. Weasley said softly.
"It is a wonderful fact to know, though," Dumbledore remarked. "That we are not alone."
Harry glanced back at his necklace fondly, and then tied it around his neck, knowing that his fourth year at Hogwarts would be all the more memorable because of the three friends that he made.
Sakura burst in the door, having heard Naruto's yells and thought Naruto had done something stupid again. She was the one who would dismiss them from the hospital, yet she froze at the sight of the three fading before her eyes. As she ran towards them however, they vanished with the purple electricity fading not long after.
"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Sakura raced through the hospital, too worried to notice that people were giving her dark looks as they jumped out of her way. Who would want to take them? she wondered. I can understand Kakashi-sensei, and I guess Gaara is a bit of a threat, and there were those people going after Naruto a while ago. What kind of jutsu did they use? Maybe—
Her thoughts were cut short as someone snatched her arm from behind in a vice-like grip. "Sakura! You'd better have a good reason for running so dangerously through my hospital!" The young girl spun around to find the Hokage glaring at her.
"I-It's horrible!" she squeaked. "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and Gaara have all disappeared!"
Tsunade's irritated demeanor immediately transformed into one of urgency. "Explain," she said, taking off in the direction Sakura had come from. Shizune was right at her heels, with Sakura closely following.
"I went to check Naruto and Gaara out from the hospital, but then I found that they along with Kakashi-sensei were disappearing!"
Tsunade frowned, unaware of those leaping to get out of her hastened path. "They were in the act of disappearing? It didn't happen all at once?"
Sakura nodded fervently. "There was this purple type of chakra all around them and I could actually see through them!" Tsunade moved even faster.
"Why do you think they were targeted, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked. The fear and concern were evident in her voice.
"I honestly have no idea," she sighed. "Separately, yes—but all three at once?"
They finally reached the room and Tsunade threw the door open, almost shattering it in the process.
"That's where they disappeared!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing in between the two beds.
"However it happened, the enemy was using a type of power I've never encountered before," Tsunade muttered, probing the energy in the room with her chakra. "Shizune! I want two ANBU squads here now! This power is still lingering in this room, so there might be a chance of—"
"Look!" Shizune interrupted.
The three females froze, startled by the purple electricity in the air. It started as a speck, but then it swirled outward in a circular pattern until it was nearly a meter in diameter. The completed appearance looked like a purple cloud with spontaneous lightning protruding from it.
"That's what it looked like last time," Sakura whispered. The beauty of it was fascinating, but the energy was so foreign to her she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling it gave off.
"Get ready," Tsunade warned. She held out her arms defensively while Shizune ran a mental check over her hidden weapons and Sakura grabbed a variety of kunai and shuriken. "Most likely the first wave will be—"
Whatever she was going to say next was lost as she stared at the occupants that were deposited from the strange void. First fell Gaara, followed by Naruto, and lastly Kakashi, though it wasn't just them. A large bag fell as well and judging by the loud bang it made on the hospital floor, was quite full.
"You'd think the actual journey would have been a bit more smoother than last time," Kakashi sighed. He pushed himself up off the ground with a simple cane and glanced to the two genin. "Sorry about that, Gaara. It seems that this spell really likes you."
"Sorry, Gaara!" Naruto apologized. He had landed on his friend again and offered a hand up for the boy.
"Sure you are," Gaara muttered sarcastically, flashing a small smile. He glanced at their surroundings. "Well, Dumbledore-sama was right about coming back to the same place, there's my gourd!" The genin (calmly) rushed to his beloved gourd and placed a hand on it, feeling home at last.
"Uh, oh," Kakashi chuckled. "It seems that we have an audience."
Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura were beyond confused. First of all, all three of them were alive and they seemed quite fine, though Kakashi appeared to be recovering from something. Second, there was a large bag on the floor, and third—Gaara was acting so . . . normal!
"How long has it been?" Naruto demanded. He rushed up to Sakura and grabbed her shoulders.
"I . . . wha-what do . . . what do you mean?"
"I remember seeing you when we left!" he explained. "How long has it been?"
"A-a few minutes—at the most?"
Naruto let out a whoop and punched a fist into the air. "The old geezer was right! Hardly any time has passed in our dimension! This is so cool!" He pointed his finger at Sakura. "I'm a year older than you now! Oh!" He leaned in close and cupped a hand towards Sakura's ear and whispered, "And I got to see Kakashi-sensei with his mask off!"
As Naruto laughed, Tsunade turned a critical eye on Kakashi, taking note of his weakened condition before asking, "You had better start explaining."
Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Eh . . . honestly, you wouldn't believe us if we told you."
"Oh?" Tsunade folded her arms. "Try me."
So do you see why I haven't addressed the Konoha issue? I'm sorry for those of you who wanted something else to happen (like other people to come into the Hogwarts picture) but I assure you that there is a very important reason for this particular turnout of events. You'll find out later.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I would just like to point out that I purposefully made it so there weren't too many changes made by the shinobi on the wizard world. My purpose in writing this fic was to show how easily the Naruto group could have inserted themselves into the story. However...well, just keep on reading. ;)
Well, the main story here is over. :( The next chapter is a sort of epilogue, so STAY TUNED! There is still more to come, I promise!