Chapter 19: I Will Accept You As My Apprentice

PLEASE READ: So...barely had any time to write because my daughter's bday is right after Christmas. I'm trying to take the time now, but we will soon have guests arriving again and then the peace will be snatched away again once more. Hope this chapter makes up for the slight cliffie from the last chapter though...

...and please, I mean no offense to the people who are trying to make a living out there, I myself work almost three jobs to be able to pay for everything and to save up for my daughter's university fund...but please stop leaving reviews and PMs about doing commission work. I would truly help you if I could, but my daughter comes first and I already have a few family and friends I am also trying to help since they are in tight financial situations.

HP/KH/IU

Naruto and Itachi noticed his movement and were about to stop him, but Hadrian momentarily kept them in place before he gave Orochimaru a warning glance that said 'Hurt him, you die'.

It wasn't required however, since Orochimaru had found himself interested in what the youngest Uchiha could do and he knew that Hadrian had somehow noticed that he'd been meaning to take Sasuke as one of his apprentices if he proved to be powerful enough.

Sure, Kabuto was his apprentice as well, but he seemed to be more interested in the scientific side of Orochimaru's lessons instead of the rest and this caused Orochimaru to seek out a second apprentice; though he couldn't deny that he would have taken over Sasuke's body if they had proved to be compatible...not that it would happen anymore due to Hadrian's interference.

As their fight continued, Orochimaru found himself surprised by the resilience and foresight that the teen portrayed...traits that hadn't been present before since his minions had described Sasuke in a much different light; arrogant, loner, angry at the world...the list went on.

Now those traits seemed to have found a different purpose, to protect the ones he cared about, and Orochimaru couldn't help but notice that he was much stronger for it.

After deciding that he'd seen enough, Orochimaru held out his hand and blocked the punch Sasuke had sent his way before holding the teen's fist in place, "Stop."

Sasuke froze as he suddenly came back to his senses and looked around to find everyone watching their fight. He then turned his attention back to Orochimaru with a frown, something about the situation wasn't adding up.

Orochimaru let go of his fist and took a step back, "That was a good fight, but I am not your enemy anymore and I had no intention of trying to attack the back of the man who not only defeated me but gave me another chance to return to my old home."

Sasuke's gaze immediately jumped to Hadrian since he was the only one who seemed to be followed by miracles wherever he went.

Hadrian gave him an encouraging nod and Sasuke turned his attention back to Orochimaru, "Why keep fighting me then? Why not just say that at the start?"

Orochimaru gave him a pleased smile, "Because I wanted to test your abilities and see whether you would be able to learn my own..."

Sasuke's eyes went wide as he remembered how Jiraiya had taken on Naruto as his apprentice...now he would also get the chance to become one of the Sannin's apprentices...if he chose to do so.

He glanced toward his brother, but Itachi didn't move at all, seemingly happy to leave him to make his own choices.

Finally, he turned his full attention back to Orochimaru.

Now that he realized that Orochimaru wasn't his enemy, it was easy to see that the man incorporated slight hints and abilities during their fight to also show Sasuke a bit of what he would learn if he chose to accept.

It wasn't that difficult to see that Orochimaru's techniques would blend almost perfectly with his own fighting style and that meant that he would be able to learn the abilities quite quickly if he paid enough attention and worked hard.

He glanced at Naruto.

It also meant he would be able to protect Naruto better, instead of being taken out with one blow.

With this thought, his determination solidified, but he was still a proud Uchiha so he refused to drop down on one knee as tradition demanded.

Instead, he gave a slight bow before looking up and he was surprised to see that Orochimaru seemed pleased by this, which became evident at the man's next words, "Good, if you are to learn from me then you should know that I expect you to carry yourself as more than a simple follower. You will be above them, and as such there is no need to dirty your knees."

HP/KH/IU

Itachi and the rest couldn't deny that they were surprised by the turn of events, but for some reason, it felt right and it made more than one person wonder if Hadrian knew beforehand that Orochimaru would be a good teacher for Sasuke.

Hadrian noticed their gazes and shook his head, "I didn't know that this would be the outcome when I asked Orochimaru to make a choice. I stopped you from interfering because I knew Sasuke was running on instinct at that moment and I knew Orochimaru had been planning to kidnap him in the past because of his potential so it was safer for them to fight it out here rather than to stop them and have it happen somewhere else."

It made sense and the others nodded their understanding as everyone except Orochimaru and Sasuke headed back into the cave.

They were still discussing things calmly when Hadrian's back went ramrod straight and his eyes darkened to the point of almost becoming black.

He seemed to pull himself together a moment later, but everyone in the cave had seen the reaction and it froze them in place as they wondered what the hell just happened.

Hadrian could see that everyone seemed to want an explanation, but he had no time to give one as Kakashi stepped in front of him to try and determine what was wrong and it made him glance around the cave to find that all of those present seemed to be ready to defend him at any cost.

Hadrian looked at Kakashi and then Itachi as trauma battled with the need to protect. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed, "30 minutes...I'm not ready to share my past, but if I take longer than that then I will willingly tell you everything..."

The two glanced at each other and nodded, but the moment Hadrian disappeared through the mouth of the cave, Kakashi spoke while ignoring Itachi who disappeared through the mouth of the cave right after Hadrian, "Once he gets back I want no one to mention a word no matter if he takes longer than 30 minutes."

It was easy to see how close-knit they were as Asuma and his team as well as Jiraiya and the rest of team 7 nodded without a second thought.

Even a blind man could see that Hadrian seemed to hold a lot of trauma despite the amazing abilities he seemed to wield and no one wanted to drive him away, even more so because it felt as if he just seemed to fit right into their giant family.

The only problem with trauma was that the person would likely be unpredictable in their behavior when certain topics or scenarios appeared and it made them worry since Hadrian's reaction a few moments prior had shown that he was quite angry about whatever just happened.

They only hoped that none of them had been the cause of it.

HP/KH/IU

Itachi tried to follow Hadrian as closely as he could without getting in the man's way, but after a while the man stopped and glanced back at him...his eyes were still bordering on black, though a hint of green flashed briefly as he looked at Itachi, "Go back. I meant what I said. If I'm not back in 30 minutes..."

Itachi shook his head and Hadrian paused before he sighed, "I'm not in any danger, but if I don't hurry now, you might find quite a few secrets of Konoha in the hands of someone who won't hesitate to use them."

Itachi immediately froze at that and Hadrian moved toward him to place a hand on his shoulder, "Please...I'd rather you didn't see me like this..."

Itachi nodded, not really understanding what Hadrian meant, but then two gigantic black wings formed from the shadows behind him, and with one flap Hadrian was gone, leaving behind a wide-eyed Itachi that struggled to get his breathing under control as he tried to understand what just happened.

There was one thing he couldn't deny though...Hadrian looked damn hot with wings.

Even more-so with ones that Itachi knew hadn't been shaped with chakra.

HP/KH/IU

Hadrian cursed his own impulsiveness, knowing that his very being really wanted to trust quite a few people from Konoha with his true origins, but fear always seemed to hold him back, and it was too late to turn back now as he rushed toward the area that Death had warned him about.

Apparently, two of Konoha's other team had survived and their enemies were currently keeping them sedated until they could be interrogated.

According to Death, the methods the enemy was about to use to extract information from them would turn them into mere puppets, and in the end, they would be sent to infiltrate Konoha, leading to the death of more than a few people who weren't meant to die just yet...including Kakashi.

The mere thought of losing Kakashi was enough to almost make him lose control over his powers as the MoD to such an extent that he only discovered that Itachi was following him after about 20 minutes had gone by.

Naturally, he knew he could continue to act as if he was unaware of the man's presence, but he honestly didn't know how he would react once he was confronted by the thoughts of the people who would perform such atrocities without a second thought, and he didn't even want to imagine what he would do if they managed to capture Itachi as well, so...he stopped and turned to face him.

It was obvious Itachi didn't want to leave without having anyone watching Hadrian's back, so he decided to be truthful, "Please...I'd rather you didn't see me like this..."

His words seemed to catch Itachi off guard, but the other man made no move to follow him as he left, opting to use his wings to get there faster since he'd just lost precious time and hoping that Itachi wouldn't be too wary or angry with him once he returned.

He knew that Itachi would easily realize that his wings hadn't been made by chakra, which naturally would leave only a few scenarios as possible answers...yet Hadrian was sure none of the scenarios Itachi would think of would include the fact that he was the MoD.

The rest of the trip didn't take long at all and Hadrian made sure to obscure his face and cast a notice-me-not spell before he dived straight into the compound with no one being the wiser.

He quickly made his way to the dungeons and easily found the two shinobi before he used his shadows to transfer the three of them to a nearby area outside the compound, knowing instinctively that it would take a few hours before someone decided to check on the two.

Just as he was about to leave with the two he felt a shiver of disgust roll down his back as he felt another's presence...one that reminded him more of a cockroach than anything else.