1,117Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and J K Rowling respectively.
I am making no profit from this story, it is only for entertainment.
This is my first fanfic and I would like to dedicate it to Lorraine-chan, without whom I would never have been able to do this.
***Chapters 1-10 have been edited as of 21/06/21 to correct early mistakes and to make the story flow better; no content has been changed.
I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1: Mission
A light tapping sound resonated in the mostly empty room. The previous sounds of cloth against metal ceased as the sole occupant look up at the window, seeking the source of the intrusion. The presence of the messenger hawk in the window alerted the young ANBU within that his leader had another mission for him. He silently gathered up his now clean weapons and hid them again within his uniform.
With the exception of his tanto and kunai pouch, he ensured all were hidden from view.
He grabbed his mask and cloak from beside his futon as the hawk continued to tap the window. He turned his sole grey eye to the bird as he started towards the window. He opened it and the hawk gazed at him with sharp golden eyes, the action confirming the completion of its mission. It took off towards the Hokage tower as the ninja stared after it.
The dull grey eye turned to scan the room.
Minimal furniture occupied the room. Near the centre of the room there was a single narrow futon laid out, and against the opposite wall there was a small table with a single chair. A single photo of his old team sat on this table. Three books were piled up by the framed photo, each detailing various aspects of assassination missions. A short bookcase sat beside the chair, each novel sorted alphabetically. There was a small wardrobe containing the rest of his uniforms and his spare masks. His additional weapons were contained in a small chest beside it. The grey walls were bare and the room felt hollow. Crimson marks, reminders of his last mission, still tainted the floor. He knew he should get rid of them, but couldn't find it within him to care.
He opened the window fully after securing his mask and cloak and slipped his lean frame through, closing it quietly behind him.
The Village Hidden in the Leaves was starting to wake up as the night started to recede. Kakashi set off towards the tower travelling the rooftops, ignoring all those below
Sarutobi sighed as he stared at the mission request on his desk.
He had spent the last hour debating over the decision to accept it but he knew that he had been putting off the inevitable. With the economy of Konoha still weak after the destruction of the Kyuubi the previous year, they needed all the missions that they had the capacity to accept. However, they also had fewer ninja to carry out these missions and to lose such an asset for an entire year... was it worth the payment offered?
In the end, it had been decided that he could not refuse such an offer but there was another reason for accepting. He looked at the papers beside the mission request and a lone grey eye stared back.
Hatake Kakashi, an excellent shinobi with the best mission completions record in Konoha and a valued member of the ANBU Black Ops. Unfortunately, if the reports from his fellow ANBU indicated anything, he was also the most mentally unstable. How he had not died in any of the A or S ranked missions he had been accepting over the past year Sarutobi would probably never know; but the mission in front of him seemed like the perfect opportunity to break the suicide steak.
The request was from an old friend he had met many years ago, not long after the Second Shinobi War had ended, and the mission itself was a simple bodyguard mission. The part that had been the cause of Sarutobi's indecision was the duration of the mission. To lose such a highly skilled shinobi for a whole year at a time such as this... but the income produced from the mission was too much to ignore. He read over the letter again.
Dear Hiruzen Sarutobi,
It has been a while, old friend, and I hope you are well.
I wish I could have contacted you at a better time but I am in need of your services. I would like to hire one of your best ninja for a bodyguard mission. This mission shall be financed by the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation set up by myself that opposes Voldemort, a dark wizard that is quickly gaining power once again in our society.
The person in question is Harry Potter, a now fifth year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Last year, Voldemort attacked Harry and killed a fellow student. Now that he is back I have a horrible feeling that Harry is going to be in danger this year and have decided to take precautions.
I do not want it known by the rest of the students that Harry is under protection so please send one that could pass as a student; however, Harry himself shall be informed.
The duration of the mission would be the school year so it would be 10 months from the start of August until June the next year.
The ninja sent will be equipped the same as any other student, with the Order of the Phoenix financing anything required, and the ninja himself can bring whatever supplies he needs from Konoha himself.
Upon acceptance of this mission, please find the enclosed sock from within the envelope. This is a portkey, the mechanisms of which I had explained to you long ago. Also enclosed is a necklace that has a translation charm woven into it.
At 2202 on July 30th, please instruct the shinobi to take a hold of the sock and he shall be transported to the meeting place where one of the Order will pick him up. He will then be taken back to the Headquarters and introduced to Harry and the rest of the Order.
Thank you and I hope you will be able to assist us.
Albus Wulfric Percival Brian Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Sarutobi looked at the dirty old sock sitting on top of the envelope. He had been wondering why it was there.
He took the cheque for the mission out from under the request and stared at it. It was enough for 2 S ranked missions. There was no way Konoha could refuse in its current condition.
So why had he taken so long to consider?
He knew exactly why.
Kakashi was the perfect shinobi for the job in more ways than his success as a ninja. However, forcing him away into a foreign culture, surrounded by possibly hostile strangers could be detrimental to his mental health, or what was left of it. But as the leader of a powerful shinobi village he knew his duty. He looked up as a slight breeze from the window indicated someone entering the office.
Knelt in front of him was the very shinobi that he had been thinking of.
"Inu, please rise and remove your mask," he asked, watching the fluid movements of the assassin before him.
Kakashi took off the dog mask off his face and a single grey eye looked at the Hokage, betraying nothing. His other eye was closed, sealing off the gift from his teammate and his customary face mask was in place.
Sarutobi sighed and simply said, "I have a mission for you."
Kakashi did not react, but merely waited for his leader to continue.
"I have received a request from an old colleague, and from the information given I have concluded that you would be the best choice," Sarutobi stated, scrutinizing the ninja in front of him.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied in monotone, as if automated.
"It is a long-term bodyguard mission in a foreign country and will be considered an S ranked mission," continued Sarutobi.
"Your mark is a student named Harry Potter, who has recently come under threat from his enemies, of whom had been thought of as dead. You are to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as an exchange student and allow no one to discover your true mission. You will be supplied with the necessary equipment upon arrival at the meeting place with the client though you are to take your own mission supplies. The codeword the contact will use is Kanabi. Pack for a 10 month mission and report back here in 15 hours in full gear".
"You are not in ANBU uniform for this mission. You will represent Konoha as a jounin as identities of ANBU are classified"
Sarutobi continued to watch Kakashi, noting the way he digested the information given to him. He wondered if he would ask about the title of the school, if he would demand an explanation at the mention of wizards.
Kakashi merely nodded his head, confirming he had retained the report. Sarutobi again sighed, wishing that the operative would show some sign of being human instead of a drone he was acting as now. He handed Kakashi a paper copy of the mission brief and the necklace that Dumbledore had sent.
"The necklace is for translation purposes since they speak a different language to ourselves. If you tap it on any paper or book you are reading, it will transcribe it into kanji for you".
"Sort out your affairs and be back for the stated time. Dismissed" Sarutobi concluded, again feeling a slight breeze, but this time from a Shuishin.
Normally, when sending one of his shinobi out on such a long-term mission he would add to the dismissal the words 'say your goodbyes'.
However, he knew that Kakashi had no one left.
The air in the meeting room at Grimmauld Place was tense after Moody's announcement. Each of the wizards at the table looked uneasy, glancing at their neighbours with confused expressions. Lupin decided to break the silence.
"Why would Dumbledore hire a bodyguard? And what is a shinobi?" he questioned, the rest of the room turning their heads for Moody's reply.
Moody looked down at the letter from Dumbledore. It explained the bare minimum that the members of the Order were required to know but that was it.
He read it over again.
Order,
I have hired a shinobi for the school year to protect Harry due to the events of the previous year.
He will be undercover as a student and though his primary objective is the bodyguard mission of Harry, he will be keeping an eye on the rest of Hogwarts also.
Moody, please meet the shinobi at the abandoned park on the next street over at 2203 and ensure that you are not seen by any muggles. His name is Hatake and the codeword is Kannabi.
Please treat this man with extreme caution.
He is a trained warrior and is to be treated with respect.
AD
"I am surprised that Albus would hire such a man but after the return of 'You-Know-Who' it makes sense," he answered Lupin, pocketing the letter.
"Do you know who he is Moody?" Arthur piped up, noting that Moody seemed to be familiar with the term.
Moody looked at the faces around the table, watching as they waited for his answer.
They were not going to like this.
"A shinobi is their word for ninja, which is what they are. They are paid for missions such as bodyguard work, but they are also soldiers of war, spies, messengers and assassins. I have no doubt that they do other types of missions but I couldn't list them all," Moody revealed.
"I met one when I was chasing after a death eater a while back. They were on a different mission to infiltrate some wealthy family's household and assassinate their son. The only reason I know their mission is because the death eater was the target's brother. Shinobi are ruthless and will resort to anything to complete their mission. Dumbledore meant it when he said to treat this man with caution and I will say it as well. They are not to be taken lightly."
More silence followed this revelation. However, it was broken much quicker this time in the form of Molly.
"So we are just going to let a trained killer protect our kids? This is outrageous! And Dumbledore said that this shinobi person is going undercover as a student, how does he expect to do that? It is all very well knowing how to disguise yourself but passing off as a student? What on earth is he thinking?"
Molly fumed in her seat, Arthur trying to calm her down. None looked to disagree with this statement however and Sirius stood up and looked Moody directly in his human eye.
"Is it safe?" was all he said.
Moody looked straight back at him has he digested the hidden meaning behind the question. Would the shinobi hurt anyone outside of the mission parameters and was there a possibility of him hurting the kids?
"Shinobi are professionals. They will not deviate from their mission and they will not go on random killing sprees. Harry and his friends will probably be the safest in the damn school if they have a shinobi watching over them," he answered, turning to look at Molly.
Kingsley looked at the clock and spoke for the first time in the meeting.
"It is time for this man to arrive. You should go meet him and we can string together our judgments when the man is here to defend himself."
Moody nodded and headed out the door. Life was about to get interesting.
On the next level of the ancient house, the students were reeling from what had been discussed. Hermione looked over at Harry, trying to see what he was thinking. She could see his fists clenched as he stared at the ground. Ron also looked Harry, his mother's word resounding in his head.
"So Dumbledore has hired a murderer to spy on me," were the only words out of his mouth.
"I think he is more of a mercenary than anything by the sound of it. He is being paid to protect you so by the way Moody says it, he should be fine with us," Hermione pointed out, trying to see the sense in Dumbledore's actions.
"But still, 'Mione, hiring a killer to deal with another killer? Doesn't sound like the best plan that the Professor has come up with," Ron argued.
He definitely could not see the perks of having a man who could kill on demand watching over them.
Harry turned to his two friends and sighed. It looked like this year was going to be even harder than the last, if that was even possible. And with this so-called 'shinobi' in the mix, it seemed danger was literally going to be around every corner.
"Well I think we should listen to Kingsley. There is no use judging someone when there is no evidence to support the theory," Hermione rationalized, nodding her head to convince herself.
"So all we have until he arrives is that he is paid to kill people and is apparently good at it. But of course, his wonderful personality could make that all okay," Harry replied, giving Hermione a look that said how much he believed in what he had said.
Hermione glared at him as she stood up.
"Come on, let's go tell the others".
Harry and Ron got up and followed Hermione into the twins' room, their mind in turmoil about the impending arrival.
Moody had arrived at the park he was to collect the shinobi. He had to admit it was a good spot. The place was falling to pieces and looked like it hadn't been used in decades. Weeds were popping up everywhere and the rusted metal blended into the night. There was one dim streetlamp on one side of the park, and if it wasn't for his artificial eye, he wouldn't be able to see much at all.
The breeze picked up and there was the telltale sign of an incoming portkey. He looked up as a black blur hit the ground. He could see the crouched silhouette of a man, alert and searching for potential danger, with a strangely shaped object in his hand. Moody stepped forward a small pace and immediately stopped as one grey eye turned to him sharply, assessing him as a possible threat.
"Kannabi," was the only word that Moody spoke, aware of the damage that this shinobi could inflict.
The man hesitated before nodding once and standing to his full height, the object in his hand seeming to vanish. With his electric blue eye, Moody scanned the man and was surprised at what he found.
The shinobi was quite short, barely even taller than Harry, and from what he could glimpse of his face he seemed young; far too young to have already condemned himself to this path. He wore what looked to be a headband around his forehead, which covered his left eye and only slightly tamed the spiky mess of silver hair on top of his head. It had a strange symbol which looked like a leaf on it. He wore a facemask that came to just below his eye and disappeared below his neckline. In fact, it looked like it connected with his shirt.
He wore a form-fitting black sleeveless vest with what looked to be grey body armour strapped to his chest. His upper right arm was bandaged, while the lower part of both arms had fingerless gloves which reached his elbows. Strapped on his forearm were more of the grey armour and the strange symbol appeared again on the metal plated knuckles of the gloves. He wore slightly baggy black trousers were bandaged at the bottom. Oddly, he was wearing black sandals. For some reason, he also had bandages wrapped around his right thigh. There was a short sword on his back and various pouches lining his belt. Moody had no doubt that there were many other weapons hidden around his person. He was carrying a small duffle bag, which was surprisingly, black.
However, the oddest thing about the shinobi's outfit was the red scarf that was wrapped around his neck.
The rest of his uniform, Moody could understand. The outfit was designed for stealth, protection and efficency. But even in the faded light, the red scarf stood out proudly, daring Moody to look at it.
The shinobi stepped forward and sketched a short bow.
"I am Hatake Kakashi and I am here representing the mission request made to Konoha by Dumbledore-sama," the boy said, the voice finally causing Moody to realize that he could only be as old as Harry himself.
Moody nodded at the boy and gruffly told him to follow as he turned to head back to Grimmauld Place.
They were really not going to like this.
That concludes the first chapter. I hope you can review please and tell me if you liked it and what I can improve.
Arigatou gozaimasu