So....I apologize if I offend any readers from Michigan...but...your state...pissed me off greatly. You don't want to know how badly we got lost, and how crappy the trip was. So at the very least...the webberville area is crap. And it was a loooong competition yesterday....So I'm exhausted.....
But...I got the chapter for you guys...and right now...that's all that really matters...
Anyways....
Thanks to my AMAZING reviewers: Mitsu-Aya33, ErinHerz, TNT666, Nime. Lee, FallenHope-Angel, killing u with umbrellas, TrenchcoatMan and Sandninjanaru
Oh...and I got a what-the-hell-is-up-with-Lexi-theory. Like I expected....I very much enjoyed it....more are appreciated.
And before I forget to apologize...I'm pretty sure this chapter is crap. But some stuff needed to happen/be explained...and this is doing it. Plus...I kinda wanna go collapse somewhere. So...YAY FILLER CHAPTER!
And remember....
I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto.
ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!!
thoughts
japanese
'silent communication'
The next morning came quickly, especially for two of the boy's sleeping in the Gryffindor common room. Naruto had been sound asleep at first, until Sasuke's soaring chakra levels had woken him up, only to see his dark haired 'friend' staring at Ginny, who had a bright smile, and a box in her hands.
Seeing Naruto awake as well, Ginny had signaled for him to head to the common room with Sasuke, before sneaking over to Harry's bed as well. Just a few moments later, she returned, Harry's prized invisibility cloak in hand.
"Why the hell did you wake us up at….five in the damn morning?" Sasuke demanded, angrily, though his eyes were amused.
"Well…I got a present from George…you know. He wanted to see if I would test it…give some feedback on what the professors think about…product improvements." She grinned, "And you two, are going to help me."
Naruto thought about complaining, he really did. But this was a chance to see Sasuke do something that had never been none to happen in the history of the Uchiha clan: prank someone. And from what he'd heard about this George guy, the prank would be worth it. "I'm in."
Sasuke nodded, "I guess someone has to keep you from getting caught….again."
"It's not like Flitwick was going to do anything to me!" She protested
"That's one out of how many teachers?"
She ignored him, "Anyways…Since we all know precious Hermione has a exam in Ancient Runes first thing tomorrow…we're going to be giving her…a little bit of stress…"
"Define stress…"
Ginny grinned, "You remember the swamp?"
Twenty minutes later found the two shinobi and the witch standing a bit away from the Ancient Runes room, hidden beneath the invisibility cloak. They'd told Naruto the basics of the original swamp, that it could apparently be charmed away quickly, that there'd been nothing dangerous about it, as long as you didn't fall in.
This swamp, was completely different. According to the letter Ginny had been sent with it, the only charm to get rid of it was invented by George, so there was no way to destroy it. To make things better, crocodiles who were completely harmless, and trapped inside the swamp, it smelled like a swamp, if you were to step in the swamp (though why any civilian who stepped into a swamp with crocodiles was probably insane) it would have the consistency of swamp water. Overall, it was as realistic as any S-rank Genjutsu Naruto had seen. It was kinda creepy really. But now, with just half an hour before the rest of the school would wake up, the trio returned to the Gryffindor common room.
Naruto was nearly asleep once more, when realization hit him, "Hey Sasuke…think we should tell Shino?"
His only reply was a snore.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Shino slipped into the dorms, making no noise as he settled onto his bed. In all reality, he was exhausted, having been awake for twenty-four hours straight. But, he knew if he could function on missions with broken bones, chakra exhaustion and worse, he knew he could handle going through the classes. For a moment, he'd debated on using a soldier pill, the energy would be incredibly useful, and the Kikai would gladly siphon off most of the remaining chakra. But the pills were to precious, they were needed for emergencies, for getting back home when they found the way. He wasn't foolish enough to make the work any harder. He could always sleep later in the day, once he knew Naruto and Sasuke hadn't killed each other in the night.
The information on magic he'd found in the past hours was incredibly useful as it was. Magic and Chakra were more similar than he'd thought, the main difference being that chakra was energy that needed to be formed, if you worked early enough and quickly enough, almost anyone could develop the abilities. Magic was something one was apparently born with, it was merely the random genetic ability to manipulate energy. As far as Shino was concerned, wizards had been to lax in research, they knew little about what they based the entirety of their lifestyle on. Shinobi at least, knew how they manipulated chakra, how to alter it's properties, how to develop new techniques. Wizards only knew they could use magic, that occasionally, if they did something different, they might get a new result. Only truly ingenious people could develop new techniques, and only after months of research and testing.
Magical drain was a rare occurrence, only happening when massive amounts of magic was used in quick succession. Where chakra was consciously used energy, (in most instances) and therefore, placed a stronger drain on the user, flowing closely connected to the body's organs, magic developed subconsciously, and Shino suspected it flowed in pathways that weren't connected to the circulatory system, lessening the bodies strain.
Magic could easily be considered more useful than chakra, it would rarely be exhausted after all, but the presence of a wand, or at the very least, a focus of sorts, was needed, something chakra didn't need. If the wand was broken, lost or stolen, who knew what would happen to someone solely reliant on it.
Shino sighed quietly, taking a slow breathe to clear his head. It would do no good to continue thinking for now. He needed to focus on surviving around the magic, not attempting to merge magic and chakra.
Sensing the rest of the Ravenclaw's were waking up, Shino slid out of bed, silently ghosting down the stairs and into the common room. As expected, Lexi was sitting on the couch, her bag next to her. He was going to get sick of this steady predictability soon. Despite the fact the unexpected tended to mean danger, it was better to be kept on guard, than to be lulled into false security only to get killed.
They greeted each other quietly, the younger girl shouldering her bag easily. However, the moment they were in the hallway, the girl turned to him, surveying him for a moment. "Why are you so exhausted? I thought you said you were going to Madam Pomfrey about the problems you've been having sleeping."
He shrugged, having nearly forgotten he'd told her about his 'issues'. "Sasuke woke up. Suddenly it wasn't quite as important."
"So how much sleep did you get...?" He shrugged again, uncaring. "It obviously wasn't enough. Madam Pomfrey has a stock of potions, they'll help with your energy levels, at least until you get some sleep."
"It doesn't matter."
"Actually…considering I'm training to be a Healer….To me…it does matter."
"Not really…"
She pulled out her wand, narrowing her eyes, "Well, you have two choices, we can walk calmly to the hospital wing, and get back to the Great Hall with plenty of time for breakfast…or…I can stun you, levitate your body to the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey can take care of you then." Her gaze was firm, a look similar to Hinata's, when she felt the team was in danger, when she was fearful for their health.
Damn medic.
He sighed, "Fine, I'll go, I'll go. Happy?"
"Very. Now let's go."
The walk was quiet, no other students were quite ready to begin the day, so the hallways were empty. Blissfully quiet, in fact, even in the hospital wing. It was incredibly quiet, even the medic didn't seem present. He thought that would mean the trip would have been worthless, and yet, Lexi seemed undisturbed. It was with quick familiarity, that she made her way to a locked cupboard, casting what Shino could only guess were really multiple spells. The cupboard swung open, and after a moment, she pulled out a shining blue potion.
"Drink this." It wasn't a question, it was an order. So, he cast a quick, one handed, one sealed jutsu. The moment it came up clear, that there was no poison, he downed it. The rush of energy was heavy, though it leveled quickly. "Good boy." She plucked the vial from his hands easily, placing it on top of the cupboard, and scrawling a quick note on a piece of parchement.
"Now that we're done with that…Can I go now?"
"Well…considering you don't look like you're about to pass out….Yes. But you're coming back for the Dreamless Sleep Potion later."
Sensing she'd remain as stubborn as she had been earlier, he nodded. "Let's head out then."
There was small talk for a while, after leaving the hospital wing, normal, common questions, though eventually, one of Shino's many questions came to the surface.
"Lexi…I don't mean to offend you…but why do the others treat you like they do?"
"What?"
"They hate you here…" He pointed out bluntly
"No they don't" Denial tinged her voice, though it was well hidden.
"They don't talk to you, barely acknowledge your existence. Quite a few send you dirty looks, other's seem to enjoy poking fun at you behind your back. Last I knew, that sounded a lot like hatred."
"I have a…difference in opinion…with a few students. They think I did something, only I didn't do it." Her last sentence seemed guilty, she didn't believe her own words. "It's nothing all that big though."
"If you say so…" The guilt in her voice only arose more suspicion, but he wouldn't act, for now at least. There was a pause in conversation, as Shino debated on asking one of his many questions, finally, he decided to try it. "What do they think you did?"
She stopped, looking for a moment so ashamed, terrified, and generally sad, he regretted asking. "It was all just a misunderstanding, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like Sirius Black. But…they think….they think I killed someone."
Shino raised an eyebrow, having expected anything but that, his Kikai hadn't reported anything like that. Of…Fucking…Course.
One more issue to talk about with Naruto.
Somehow, there was very little tension in the Great Hall that Shino could detect. Naruto and Sasuke sat next to each other, seemingly holding a conversation with Ginny and Harry. How they could to that, considering just what had happened the night before, was a mystery to Shino, but one that was insignificant at the moment. They weren't killing each other just yet, and that was one of the only good things that he'd seen so far. It was a much better thing than find out just why Lexi was hated, or worse finding out they'd killed each other, which had been the expected results.
So settling into a chair, he couldn't helped but be shocked when the same owl as before, the one that wound up attacking other people's plates for food, landed one more time before him. Like before, a piece of parchment was rolled up and tied to it's leg. Only this time, it wasn't quite as serious, and was written in English.
'Just so you know...You won't be having that Ancient Runes class today that Lexi's in. The teacher's probably a little bit....swamped...right about now.' A quick glance at the table proved that Professor Vector truly wasn't present, 'So feel free to relax for one, make friends, do something. But you're definately not having an exam today.'
Shino closed his eyes slowly, sighing as he wondered just what his teammate had done now.
Another chapter I'm not incredibly happy with. Oh well...guess there's always good ones and bad ones...huh?
On another note.... Reviews are amazing!!! And, you get cookies and soda!!!! And I went to the mall today....so there's pocky too!!!!
So...hope you enjoyed the story and see you soon!
~CP