Chapter Eight
Dumbledore looked around at the staff that had witnessed the fight between the teacher and the intruder. Filius Flitwick, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall Rubeus Hagrid and Sybil Trelawney. The last of which was wringing her hands nervously. He brought out his pensieve.
"While all of you have the choice to simply relate what you saw in words, I am hoping that you would share your memories of the unexpected events today."
Most of them agreed to it, since the wizards were unfamiliar with what they had seen and felt that words could not do it justice. Sibyl alone remained silent.
Filius was the first to step up, since it had been his student that had been attacked. Each one also cast a translation spell since none of them knew Japanese. Like a muggle slasher film it started with Professor Flitwick explaining the basic movements of the Aguamenti spell when a boy no older then thirteen or fourteen grabbed Charlie Thurston and started making demands of them, threatening to kill the boy if they didn't hand over the Red Dawn.
Sibyl twitched at that.
Remus entered the scene, hands up and trying to get the boy to understand, he had been driven out by a barrage of those strange metal stars and the man started screaming for the Red Dawn to come out of hiding. A few minutes later, Professor Shiori appeared and the teachers, sans Minerva, were appalled at the conversation between them, though there were a few things that didn't translate well. Horrified when she suggested what she would have done in his place.
Minerva remembered what Shiori had told her not too long ago. She had been a soldier and had taken many lives before. But it had seemed she did not enjoy the prospect of killing another. Yet here she was acting like she did and then reminding the boy that he had done the same many times over. The boy was a child soldier. She thought, feeling nauseous. How barbaric! Who were these people? She wondered. Who would train children to do things that most adults had never even done? Stripping away their souls and denying them the joys of childhood?
Shiori had once told her that wizard and civilian children should count themselves lucky and now, seeing what had happened to this young boy and even to Shiori, she realized that the children here never would understand how lucky they truly were.
The fight began between them and they watched Remus' own exchange with Shiori.
Then came her own, another brief moment and the same with Severus'though he had stayed to watch the fight after they had both fallen off the railing amazed at their acrobatics.
Finally it was Hagrid's turn and what they saw stunned them all. In the first half of Hagrid's memory, it was incredible to see the two people perform amazing feats of martial arts. The boy moved with feral savagery, all raw, angry power. Shiori moved with cool, poetic, grace. Her face giving away nothing save for two moments of emotion. The brief flash of pain as the boy pinned her with his sword and her surprised laughter.
Hagrid didn't seem to understand the morbid humor. Even now that he understood what they were saying. The boy's manipulation of the very earth around him was simply staggering! No witch or wizard could do what he did!
Sibyl reluctantly revealed her own brief memory and they were shocked further to see her flying on white paper wings.
The second half of Hagrid's memory revealed what happened to the lake, which seemed to dwarf the fact that they could fight on water as easily as they could on solid ground, the whole thing ended with Hagrid stumbling back to his feet after a small explosion.
Silence reigned in the room and after a long discussion they dispersed.
Severus frowned, he had always known that there was something odd about their newest teacher, had known it since he first saw her teaching DADA and now here it was. She was nothing but a cold-blooded killer and he didn't believe for a second that she had let that boy live, though he could not prove it since he was not keen on risking her wrath by attempting Legilimancy again now that he had a good idea of what she was capable of.
But that begged the question. What was she exactly? He wondered as he headed towards his room. Clearly she and the boy were not wizards. Yet they could walk on water, manipulate their natural surroundings and change their appearances at will.
Konan had slept lightly during the night, ears pricking at every sound she heard. Twice she'd had to forcibly refuse the nurse's sleeping medicine, then at four thirty she left a "sleeping clone" in the bed and slipped out into the cold, dark, morning.
Hagrid had had several tasks to complete in the forest as well and he unwittingly found himself in front of some very strange people. His eyes flickered nervously between the hungry golden gaze of the strange plant man, the blue shark man and the deranged looking man with the scythe. They began to close in on him and Hagrid wished more then anything that Shiori was here.
Then something more interesting caught their attention behind him.
The scythe man grinned, reminding Hagrid of Draco Malfoy when he was getting ready to start trouble.
"Blue you prissy bitch! That was an awesome ass move you pulled on that Iwa jerk yesterday. Seriously! I swear I'll never make fun of your girly girl jutsu again!"
Konanrefrained from rolling her eyes at Hidan's nickname for her. She was not particularly pleased to see him here, she'd been looking forward to living the rest of her life without having to put up with the mouthy priest again.
They watched as she turned towards the large hairy man and began speaking with him.
Hagrid frowned, she did not seem tense or wary this time around. In fact, given the casual way the man with the scythe talked, they seemed to know each other.
"Hagrid. Go back to the castle and wait for me. It is not safe for you here."
"But-" He began.
Konan cut him off.
"I do not want you alone with them Hagrid, if you will wait a half an hour I will escort you into the forest."
Hagrid glanced at her healing wounds and winced.
"All righ'." He murmured, realizing that it would be better to trust her instincts.
"And Hagrid, I would appreciate it if you would keep quiet about them for the time being. I will tell the Headmaster myself." She reassured him.
She turned towards Zetsu and Hidan expectantly.
"Hey now that we've found the bitch let's go home!" Hidan said impatiently.
Kisame almost grinned at the look of startled gratitude on her face. Even though it would look like nothing had really changed, Kisame had been partnered with one of the most expressionless shinobi on the face of the planet and he had learned to read his moods very well.
Konan tensed a little, she was surprised and…pleased that they would come all this way just to find her and bring her home. She wasn't sure exactly how they would react to the news that she could not go home just yet. If at all.
"I'm grateful that you came all this way. But I have a debt to repay to these people."
"Oh is that so?" Zetsu's Ligher Half asked politely.
"I told you we should have left her alone." His Darker Half growled irritably.
"What?! We came all this way for nothing!" Hidan yelled, shooting her and Zetsu nasty looks.
"What do you owe these people exactly?" Kisame finally asked.
"They paid my hospital bills, took me in and gave me a job. I am indebted to at least pay them back the money." Konan explained.
Hidan ran a hand through his hair in agitation.
"Fuck Blue! Do you realize what we've been through just to get here?! We had to place our hands on some smelly, magical boot and fly through some freaky rainbow tunnel only to get dumped on the ground in the fucking rain."
"A boot?" Konan asked, giving him a strange look. Surely he didn't mean that old boot in the canyon?
"They gave you a job?" Kisame asked. "What kinda job?"
"I teach Japanese to the students at the school." She replied.
There was a moment of stunned silence as Kisame and Hidan blinked owlishly at her. Then they burst raucous laughter.
"Seriously? You're teaching a bunch of foreign brats Japanese?" Kisame asked.
"You do know that civilian teachers make dick for wages right?" Hidan chortled, holding his stomach.
"We're getting off track. What's this about a boot Zetsu?" She asked in confusion.
"Yeah what about the boot Zetsu?" Hidan asked once he'd managed to stop laughing. "I thought you said she'd teleported or whatever."
"She did." Zetsu said.
"Well I never said she was conscious when she teleported." Both halves grinned.
Hidan scowled but didn't say anything.
Kisame scratched his head and muttered. "Well now what?"
"Well you owe us a debt too Konan-chan! We came all this way looking for your prissy ass so you had better show us some goddamn hospitality!" Hidan declared, pointing a finger at her.
Konan gave the aggravating man a tiny smile. "Of course Hidan-san." She turned and they followed. "Though it will have to wait until I can speak with my boss about your lodging. He may also be able to get you home in a safer way."
"What time do you get off Konan?" Zetsu asked.
"Three thirty. I will meet you at six."
Albus looked up from the paperwork on his desk when he heard the knock on his door.
"Come in." He called.
Professor Nakamura walked in with Madame Pomfrey trailing closely behind, berating the blue haired woman for being foolish.
"You must get more rest Shiori! You are in no condition to teach a class right today!"
"Madame Pomfrey, I am grateful for your concern, however I have suffered much worse and have still been able to work. I assure you that teaching a foreign language to a well behaved class will not tax my strength."
Albus' eyes sparkled when he heard the faintly amused tone in her voice. "If you don't mind Madame Pomfrey, I must speak with the headmaster on private matters."
Suddenly her voice was all business and Madame Pomfrey glowered at her before stalking out the door, muttering darkly under her breath.
"You have questions about the attack yesterday and I will answer them." She said and Albus suddenly realized that this was a woman who was as adept at taking charge as she was at following, there was something about that he had not noticed before, a sort of military manner in which he associated with Aurors and the like.
"Do you know why Charlie Thurston was attacked?" He knew why of course but he wanted to hear it from her own lips.
"He used the boy as a hostage to get to me." She replied.
Short and to the point. He thought.
"Why?" He asked.
"As I have told Minerva, I was in born into a militaristic village prior to this. I killed his brother because he was my target specifically. He wanted revenge on me."
"How did he find his way here?"
"That I do not know, though I have a theory." She said. "It involves a different matter though, so we will have to side-track a bit."
"Go on." He urged.
"It appears that some of my colleagues are alive, I found them in the Forbidden Forest. They had tracked me here out of concern. By the use of…" She trailed off.
"By the use of what?" He prodded.
"This is going to sound crazy…but they said they-teleported here by the use of a boot."
Albus was startled to hear that and though he kept it well hidden, he could see that she was perfectly aware of his shock.
"Indeed? I see. That my dear is what we wizards call a port key, it is a mundane object magically charmed to take the user to a specific location. Furthermore, this must be happy news for you my dear. Do your friends need lodging? Perhaps they can do a little teaching here as well."
"I would not advise allowing them to work with the students." Again there was the faintest tinge of amusement in her voice.
"It seems they are quite anxious to return home." She said. "As far as lodging goes well….they are not an idle bunch and would prefer to work, though I doubt you have need of their skills."
Albus' mind was churning, it seemed to remember something about a military oriented group of wizards off in the east, something had long since been banned by the increasingly paranoid Ministry during the beginning of Voldemort's reign of terror.
"Your friends are welcome to visit free of charge and perhaps we may find a use for their skills yet."
"I will pay for their lodgings, though it may take a little longer to repay the money." She said.
"Not a problem at all Ms. Nakamura. In fact we were rather hoping you would stay on."
She smiled. "I would like that Headmaster."
The two men had found their way out of the canyons of Earth Country and were now in Rice Country. They hadn't gone very far when a group of people stopped them, donning purple headbands and white and purple uniforms.
"State your business." An older man growled, he was bald with a black beard and golden eyes, he carried a metal stave and had small gold earrings in his left ear.
"We have come to hire shinobi." The first man, O Malley said.
The strange bald man considered for a moment then beckoned for them to follow him. They were led through thick forests and blindfolded before going deep down into the earth. For O Malley, it felt as though he were being led down to the Underworld and he shivered a little under the oppressive atmosphere. When the blindfolds were removed they were stunned by what they saw.
Author's Note;
We'll continue this fun little meeting in the next chapter
The plot unfolds!