Key for this chapter:

[[......]] means that a flashback is occurring
"…" is talking (duh)
Italics is thoughts, or emphasized words
(#) means I have a note for this part after the story chapter
-UC- is a scene change

United Cause
Chapter One
Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure

The enemy of my enemy is considered to be my friend.
--Anyomounus

August 30th, 1997
Konoha Village

An unearthly shriek woke up half of the villagers of Konohagakure on the morning of August 30th, 1997. Most of them were startled and several older shinobi already had placed their hands on their weapons, waking up instantly alert (1). But then, after a few moments the shriek faded and was replaced with an evil, pressuring aura which sent all of the awakened villagers hurrying for some aspirin.

Hataki Kakashi, considered to be one of the most perverted shinobi of the village, sighed before he tucked his precious bundle (the worn book title read ‘Icha Icha Paradise’) into one of his many pockets and pondered the newest shriek. Konohamaru had a decently level head; he wouldn’t shout out at nothing, unlike the loud blonde he watched over. Something must be wrong.

Or........ Kakashi felt the large sweatdrop on the back of his head maybe that idiot decided to disappear again.

The silver haired shinobi let out a sigh; he wouldn’t put it past his Hokage to “mysteriously disappear” as soon as his paperwork started to arrive. Kakashi started towards the Hokage’s office, wondering if Hyuuga Neji was back from his mission yet. If anyone could find Rokudaime it was Neji. Pondering it, the masked Jounin pulled out his orange book, opening it to his current page. All of his previous thoughts slipped away and were replaced by very, very perverted images of him and a certain dolphin doing exactly what was being done in this book. With a small cackle he changed his course completely, heading for a certain house in the village, and in the process forgetting all about the scream and whatever had caused it.

-UC-

Meanwhile a frantic brunette was tearing up his Hokage’s office, desperately trying to find his sensei. Behind him a pink haired girl was seething, taking out her anger on everything in her sight. Papers were thrown everywhere, as if their Hokage could be hiding underneath the stacks of his documents. When she found nothing she whipped around, emerald eyes furious, and gave the teenager with her a long cold stare.

“Konohamaru,” she said in a stern voice. “Go. Find. Him. Now.”

Trembling (though now it was because of the terrifying woman in front of him; how did Lee manage her?!) Sarutobi Konohamaru, the assistant of Rokudaime (as well as the unofficial babysitter of his Hokage) darted out of the room quickly. Behind him Haruno Sakura, the head of the Iryohan Unit, let out a soft sigh, allowing her shoulders to slump and a brief curse at the world that seemed to hate her so much. Wearily she glanced down at the papers she had managed to litter all over the entire Hokage office carpet.

“Stupid baka,” she muttered underneath her breath. “At this rate he’s going to die from some sort of assassination. Idiot.”

Sighing again Sakura bent down and began picking up the mess on the floor. After all she wouldn’t want to hear him whining to her about it when he got back. While she was bending down to pick up the papers near Rokudaime's desk, she noticed a small slip of parchment underneath the oaken table. The Kunoichi's curiosity piped Sakura picked it up, and flipped it over to see elegant green script. However a few moments of scanning the page left her face very white and her green eyes wide. Flinging the door open, she raced after Konohamaru as fast as possible.

-UC-

“There you are Hokage-sama!!”

Konohamaru was relieved beyond all measure to see his sensei safe. Secretly it was mostly because this meant he would escape Sakura's murder attempts; the medic-nin would calm down when her friend came back alright.

Uzumaki Naruto was hanging in a tree, his white Hokage robe discarded and thrown to the side (2). His thick, dark blonde hair hung messily over his closed eyes; the spiky tendrils hadn’t tamed though Naruto had grown older. In fact, they had only got messy and longer. The usual headband on his forehead was missing, leaving his hair to fall constantly into his eyes. His skin was still tanned and the fox whiskers on his face deeper, making them more pronounced. His face still held some baby fat, leaving him with an even more girlish and childish face. Pale pink lips pouted in the morning sun as the blonde stared down at his friend, beautiful cerulean eyes turning sulky at being caught outdoors. His small frame was still petite and – despite the boy’s numerous protests – girly looking. The black shirt showed of wiry muscles gained from training and the baggy orange pants stopped above his feet, showing off delicate ankles and slim legs.

Oh yes, puberty had given the Uzumaki a very nice gift.

Konohamaru huffed and decidedly ignored the soft pout and puppy dog eyes. He had fallen for that trick over and over in the first year of having Naruto-sensei as a Hokage, and he was well used to it by now. The only person that was not completely immune to it was Hyuuga Hinata-san, who still fell over with a bright red blush every time Naruto turned that look at her.

“Hokage-sama! Get back to your office now!!” Konohamaru yelled up the tree, now feeling more fury then relief. This was the sixth time (sixth time!) that Naruto had skipped off his duties in the last two weeks.

“Aww Konohamaru! You always spoil my fun!” Naruto whined, pout becoming over exaggerated while he sulked.

The brunette counted to ten, telling himself that murdering the fox would not be a good idea. No matter how fun it sounded.

“Kagekaze-sama is coming soon Naruto!” he shouted, dropping the formal use of his sensei’s name. “You need to be prepared! And that letter you received…..”

Naruto stiffened for a moment before waving a hand and laughing, “Gaara doesn’t give a damn about how I look Konohamaru, and you know that. And as for the letter…..” the blonde trailed off, becoming serious as he thought back to the letter’s contents.

[[Naruto, giving a quiet, sullen sigh, checked over the 113th paper of the morning. Scanning it quickly he nodded his approval and showed his acceptance by signing the bottom edge. Wiping his forehead (where was that damn forehead protector when you needed it?!) the blonde glanced out the window briefly, longing to go outside. However it was what he saw outside his window that made him stiffen.

An owl.

Hesitantly Naruto opened the window, allowing the brown bird to fly in. It quickly did so, making a few laps around his room before settling on the Hokage’s desk, near the stack of never-ending papers. Eyeing the bird, his hands went automatically to his thigh for his Kunai, but he paused when the bird held out its leg, as if it was giving something to the blonde. Approaching the owl cautiously Naruto noticed it had a small piece of paper attached to its leg, and the Third’s name was written on the outside.

As he controlled his feelings – after all it had been years since the old geezer had died hadn’t it? – Naruto tentatively reached for the paper, relieved when the bird gave it up without a fight. It was wrapped in a tight scroll and after smoothing it out a couple of times he was able to make out the tiny words written in emerald ink.

Dear Sarutobi-kun,

Greetings. I hope this letter finds you in good health, and your village in excellent condition. I am well, as are Minerva and Filius. However, I did not write just to inform you of our wellbeing. You know that I would not send a letter unless it was something urgent.

He is back.

Lord Voldemort has returned; or did return three years ago. I apologize for not telling you this sooner Sarutobi-kun; I was much distracted at the time. However, he has returned and we are doing all in our power to stop him. But it is not enough.

I request two shinobi, Jounin or higher, to come to Hogwarts for its school year, ten months, September to June. Their duties would be to protect the students and help the professors if Death Eaters got inside the castle. I would not ask this of you Sarutobi-kun, except that all the guards of the castle have either died or joined the war force, and the students are in danger from attacks of Voldemort.

I also have to warn you, my comrade, of the threat to your village. Voldemort has spoken of a man by the name of Orochimaru, and has said he knows of the Hidden Villages. He is an enemy of your village and our contact in Voldemort's inner circle has told us his master's desire to crush Konoha as soon as the wizards have been defeated.

I am not sure of our success, Sarutobi, and I hope that you will help us. If we do not defeat him, he will come after you, and your people will be put in danger. He is powerful and dangerous. I give you warning.

There is money for an S-rank mission inside, as well as directions to The Three Broomsticks, a pub nearby Hogwarts. One of my people will be waiting there to meet your shinobi. Please have them arrive there by Midnight of the 30th.

Awaiting your response,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Naruto stared at the page before letting it drop to the ground and placing his head in his hands, all while resisting the urge to wail. Why did this have to happen today?! He was actually doing the paperwork, so why would the world punish him like this?! Letting out a groan of despair, Naruto took his head out of his hands and looked at the second piece of paper on his desk with depressed eyes. With a sigh, he picked it up and quickly scanned the elegant handwriting.

Remus Lupin will be waiting for you. He has sandy hair, pale blue eyes, and his skin will be pale. He may look a tad sick, and his robes will be patchy. He will be in the bar of The Three Broomsticks until Midnight. Hogwarts is located in Scotland. A carriage will take you across the Black Lake, and into the school. Thank you for your assistance.

Dumbledore]]

Sighing Naruto scratched the back of his head. If this man, Voldie something, was a threat to their village............If helping the wizards would get rid of him...........Naruto counted in his head how many powerful shinobi he had that could take this job and came up with only one. All the rest of his men were on missions right now, especially all the Jounin and ANBU. The rest were guarding the village, and they were barely enough as it was. And no matter how skilled that teme was, he wouldn't be able to guard anything by himself for 10 months straight............Naruto let out a sigh. He could only see one solution, and it wasn't one he especially liked.

Looking down into the brown eyes of his subordinate and assistant Naruto ground his teeth and choked out, “Konohamaru, go get that teme Sasuke. I’ve gotta brief him on a new assignment.”

Naruto easily climbed down the tree and retrieved the white robe that marked him as a Hokage, as well as his pointed hat. Konohamaru gave him a raised eyebrow of curiosity (especially at the fact that Naruto was going back to work without a fight or sob fest) but shrugged and started to run back to the village. Uchiha Sasuke would probably be on guard duty right now, so it wouldn’t take long to find the tensai. While he ran the dark haired teen considered what kind of mission could make Naruto look like that while requesting to see his longtime rival and friend, and sent a troubled glance over his shoulder. He had no idea what was in that letter Naruto-sensei had received, but his instincts were telling him it was something big to make the carefree blonde look as if the world had ended. And his instincts were never wrong.

-UC-

Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably as he waited for Sasuke to arrive in his office; the room was stuffy and he could feel sweat pouring down his back. He resisted the urge to groan and instead glared at the large clock across from him, as if it was the cause of all his troubles.

“Did that clock do something to offend you, Hokage-sama?”

The blonde jumped nearly a foot in the air; he had been paying so much attention to his staring contest with his clock, that he hadn’t heard anyone enter his room. Quickly he turned to see Sasuke standing behind him, leaning against one of his windowsills, the window behind him open and letting cold air blow in.

The Uchiha hadn’t gone through as dramatic a change as Naruto; he was taller for sure, and maybe even a little paler. His hair was still spiky, but had deepened to a blue-blackish color. Obsidian eyes now always held a streak of crimson, as if in warning of what they could do, and his baggy shorts and blue top with the Uchiha fan on the back were missing; instead he was dressed in all black with a sword on his back and Kunai strapped around his thigh. His scratched headband was in place, keeping the long bangs out of Sasuke’s face. The Uchiha was still delicate looking and slender, but strong muscles could be clearly seen through his clothing which led no one to underestimate him (not that they would anyways). A white mask with a Raven's face engraved into it told of his ANBU status; however instead of being over his face, the black haired boy had placed it on the side of his head.

So, all in all, he was still the gorgeous Sasuke that girls squealed over.

Naruto scowled at his friend, “Next time use the door teme,” he pointed at said wooden door over his shoulder. “Now in front of the desk. I have a mission for ya, and you need to listen carefully.”

Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow (after all, Naruto rarely told him off for using the window as an entrance; the small blonde had done the same thing many a time while Tsunade and Sarutobi were Hokage) and moved swiftly in front of Naruto’s desk. He stood stiffly at attention, black eyes regarding the kitsune with utmost seriousness and indifference at the same time. This alone made Naruto fidgety; he rarely had Sasuke look at him like that; most of the time the black haired Uchiha was looking at him with indifference and sarcasm, even after he became Hokage.

“It’s an S-rank mission,” the blonde began uneasily. “You’ll be protecting the school of Albus Dumbledore, an old comrade of Sandaime-ojii-san. It’s a wizarding school, located in Scotland. There’s this guy, Voldie something or other, who the wizards are fighting, and they want us to protect their kids while they’re in the war. Dumbledore-san also mentioned that this guy might come after the Konoha if the wizards don’t destroy them, so this mission is now more important than it should be. Do you understand?”

Sasuke nodded quickly before asking, “And why couldn’t I have just gotten this mission the regular way? Why the personal briefing dobe?” He raised a silky black eyebrow in question.

Naruto sent him a wide grin before taking off his hat and stepping around his desk, “Because I’m coming with ya teme!”

“NANI?!”

Both boys winced at the loud shriek and turned towards the door, watching without surprise as Sakura tumbled inside. The pink haired Kunoichi glared at her previous teammates and placed her hands on her hips. The cold, furious look in her emerald eyes made both of the shinobi (even Sasuke who was the master of cold stares) shiver with involuntary terror.

“What are you talking about Naruto-baka?!” she asked, more harshly than she intended. “What do you mean you’re going with him?!”

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Were you eavesdropping Sakura-chan?"

Sakura flushed, "Ano….."

Naruto gave a sigh, "I'll assume you heard everything then ne?" Sakura nodded quickly. "I'll get down to the point; every other Jounin and ANBU we have are on missions or protecting the village. I could wait until Neji or Fuzzy Eyebrows got back, but by then, Dumbledore may think we decided not to show up. I'd rather not take that chance. Sasuke is the only available ANBU, and he can't patrol a school day and night for 10 months. Plus I want to talk to this Dumbledore in person, find out who the hell this Voldemort crackpot is, and what he's after."

Naruto watched with slight guilt as Sakura’s eyes started to fill with tears. He knew she was thinking of when Sasuke left and never intended to return, and when he himself left her alone for two long years. The pink haired kounin's tears were making him feel uncomfortable so he opened his mouth, intending to say something meaningful and incisive to make her stop crying. However, Sasuke beat him to it.

“We’ll come back,” the Uchiha told her quietly. “Unlike the last time we left for that long.”

Sakura blinked in surprise; the tensai wasn’t usually one to offer comfort of any kind. But then she gave her friends and comrades a watery grin and nodded her head.

“Of course you will. Silly; I’m always the one to cry aren’t I? You leave tonight right?”

Naruto raised an eyebrow, “And how exactly would you know that Sakura-chan?” he asked suspiciously. Said suspicions heightened when he saw the guilty look on Sakura’s face.

She scuffed the ground with her shoe, “Ano…..I may have accidentally peeked at the letter on your desk from that Dumbledore person…..but I swear it was an accident! I was just cleaning up, and it was on the floor….”

Naruto sighed in affectionate exasperation, “You and Konohamaru were tearing apart my office again weren’t you? Well it can’t be helped. Sakura you’re the only other person to know the truth behind this situation; no one else can be told. Not Kakashi-sensei, not Iruka-sensei, not Fuzzy Eyebrows, and most definitely not any of our classmates. No one can know except for Tsunade, and only she will be informed because I need her to take care of Konoha for me while I'm gone. I'll let you know if I want someone to be told about this. Do you understand?”

Sakura nodded again and rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the chill she felt growing inside her. They will come back, she chanted in her head, they won’t go away and leave me all alone again like last time..........They will come back, they will.

-UC-

Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure was very, very pissed off.

Now, for the most part, she was a mild mannered woman (3), but this was just outrageous. Her kitsune was leaving? For an entire year? To Scotland? That was plain ridiculous, especially since he had volunteered for this mission instead of being assigned to it.

She cast a disapproving eye over her young successor and said in a snippy tone, “If I had thought you’d abandon your duty this quickly, Naruto, I would never had nominated you to be our next Hokage.”

She wasn’t surprised at the spark of anger in the blonde’s eyes; after all she had insulted him. However she was surprised by the words that came out of his mouth in a low, furious tone.

“Tsunade-baa-baa, if you even think for one measly second that I am not doing all I can to protect this damn village then you don’t know me at all. If I thought this mission was not tied with the welfare of my village I would have left it to Sasuke-teme and be done with it. Don’t even start on me with my duty to Konoha; I’ve been loyal to this village ever since I was born and all through my childhood when they continued to spite me. This mission is higher than an S-rank; it is too important to leave alone, and I have to go. And that is final.”

She stared at him, shocked. When he was younger and she was still Godaime, Tsunade had seen some of Naruto’s serious side; the side he kept from people most of the time. It was this side as well as his cheerful personality and unnatural ability to ally with the most unlikely people that she nominated him to be the next Hokage when she handed in her resignation. But this was the first time, the very first time, that she had seen him this serious and stern.

And suddenly she was very afraid for her village.

Whatever could make Naruto this stern? There had never been any mission higher than an S-rank; only if it was a war mission. She quickly banished that thought from her head. She remembered previous war……and the faces of the two men she loved the most swam back into her head, making tears prickle in the back of her eyes. Shaking her hair out of her face she stared into Naruto’s eyes for several long, tense moments. He remained stern, his blue eyes lighter in color and colder than chips of ice. Then suddenly his facial features softened slightly and he sent her a small smile.

“Don’t worry Obaa-chan. I’ll be there to stop this,” he flashed a grin that looked suspiciously like a ‘Good Guy Pose’ smile. “And there’s Sasuke too,” he added in, almost as an afterthought.

That statement alone made Tsunade’s whole body relax and she felt a bubble of laughter spring in her throat. Of all the things to say she thought and of all the times to say it. After stopping herself (just barely) from laughing aloud a question occurred to her and she turned to Naruto.

"Did you talk about this to Goikenban?" she asked, staring suspiciously at her successor. The blonde's dislike of the advisory council was well known around Konoha, and she wouldn't put it past him to skip out on telling the elders.

Naruto gave her a guilty look that told her she had been right on the dot, "Ano…..No."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at her kitsune, "When were you going to inform them you were going to be gone for ten months?"

Naruto rubbed his shoe against the ground and muttered something about a letter. Raising her eyes to the heavens, the medic-nin silently asked the gods why they would do this to her today. After not receiving an answer (why had she waited for one anyways?) Tsunade sighed and let another question on her mind roll off her tongue.

"Well never mind," she started. "But how do you suppose you're going to communicate with them brat? You don't speak English, or Scottish, or whatever they speak over there, and I doubt they speak Japanese."

He gave her a look before shrugging and waving his arms around helplessly, “I was just gonna wing it. You always have to make me think on plans Tsunade-baa-baa.”

He gave her a good-natured grin that she easily returned with one of her own smiles. However, that smile melted into a frown as she pondered how she could eliminate that stupid little language barrier. Then an idea came to her and Tsunade began to smile.

“Obaa-chan….” said Naruto cautiously. “You’re starting to scare me. What’s with that crazy look?”

However Tsunade just said, “Wait here,” and leaped away, heading towards her house. It only took a few moments (she was rather fast after all) and another ten minutes of quick rummaging through all of her junk to find the items she needed. Withholding the whoop of glee she dashed back to where Naruto was waiting, prize clutched tightly in her hand. Skidding to a stop in front of her kitsune Tsunade held up the items in her hand: two linking golden bracelets that were perfectly set without a scratch on them.

“Nani?” Naruto asked, obviously puzzled. “What’s with the bracelets Obaa-chan?”

Tsunade gave him a triumphant grin, “They’ll help you get rid of that idiotic language barrier. Ichidaime got them from some lord or another in the Sand. If you touch a person while wearing them you instantly adapt to their language and intake some of their vocabulary. It was very useful when negotiating with other countries. I found them while rummaging around in old Hokage crap and kept them because I thought they might come in handy. It seems I was correct.”

Naruto stared at her, open mouthed. They had that sort of thing locked up in storage?! What the hell?! It almost made him want to rummage through all of the crap in there, just to see if there was any other good stuff left. But, thinking of the mess he had seen last time he had entered the room with the storage stuff in it, Naruto quickly eliminated the idea with a grimace.

“T-thanks Tsunade-baa-baa,” he said, accepting the bracelets from her. “These’ll come in handy. Well, I have to go meet Sasuke so we can poof over to that Three Broomsticks place. I’ll come back every once in a while, but the soonest will probably be the day after tomorrow when that teme is on guard duty. You’ll take care of the village while I’m gone won’t you?” he looked at her with expectant and pleading eyes.

She sighed; she had never been able to resist those eyes, even before he was Hokage (besides the fact that had already been planning on doing what he asked).

“Yes, Naruto. I’ll make sure Konoha doesn’t fall into ruin while you’re away. Now, off with you, and tell that tensai if he doesn’t bring you back in one piece I will most certainly make sure he can’t make any Uchiha heirs. Got that?”

The blonde grinned and scampered away, waving a hand over his shoulder to her in farewell. Tsunade sighed with affectionate exasperation before yelling at his back.

“The same goes for you brat!!”

-UC-

Sasuke resisted the urge to stamp his foot as he waited impatiently for Naruto; what was taking that dobe so long?! He’s as bad as Kakashi the Uchiha decided after realizing it was a full hour after their agreed time. Trying to smother his frustration with the blonde Sasuke leaned against the wall of a nearby house, and let memories wash over him. It had been nearly three years since he had come back to Konoha, bleeding and at death’s door.

[[He stumbled and coughed up blood yet again. Resisting the urge to smile at his blood Sasuke continued on, his feet weary and sore after walking in such great pain. Dizziness and nausea were starting to make him falter and he stumbled several times over loose roots and stones. But he was close to the village, which meant he was close to Kakashi, close to Sakura and close to—

Naruto!

He knew that chakra! Eyes widening, Sasuke hastened his steps, heading in the direction of the enormous power he felt radiating in the trees. There was only one person with that much of the stuff, and it could only be his blonde dobe. He's probably training the Uchiha thought vaguely or fighting with someone.

As he moved Sasuke watched as everything around him grew hazy and distant. The only thing that remained was the feeling of Naruto’s chakra. Blindly the Uchiha followed that, hoping and praying he would find the idiot in time.

Stumbling over an unseen root Sasuke tripped onto the ground, sprawled on his stomach. Too tired and hurt to move the Uchiha merely considered what he had done in his life and closed his eyes. This was the end after all. It was only appropriate to close your eyes while you waited to die.

Just as the darkness started to close around his vision Sasuke had heard a very familiar voice shout out his name.........]]

“Sasuke!!”

Blinking the black haired shinobi straightened and turned towards his blonde Hokage, hoping the dobe wouldn’t notice he had been dreaming about old times. Naruto did notice, much to Sasuke’s annoyance, and a full grin was on the fox’s face before you could say ‘Ramen’.

“Who would have thought Uchiha Sasuke would be losing concentration on the job? Maybe you weren’t the best person for this mission….”

Sasuke growled, “I was not “losing concentration”! I was waiting for you, usuratonkachi; you’re getting as bad as Kakashi these days.”

Naruto stuck out a tongue at Sasuke, “At least I don’t use the sucky excuses; I’ve very proud to be a late person, unlike a certain pervert I could mention,” he grinned and then turned serious. “Well I hope whatever you were brooding about Sasu-chan,” the Uchiha flinched at his dreaded nickname, “wasn’t all that important, ‘cause we gotta keep our eye on the prize here. I was just talking to Tsunade, and she told me to tell ya.........”

Quickly he relayed Godaime's last statement to Sasuke and was rewarded to see the ANBU leader flinch at the mental picture in his mind. He mentally snickered at the horrified look on the Uchiha's face, and decidedly left out the older woman's last statement about the same thing applying to him.

“Oh and she also gave me these,” the blonde added, as if in afterthought. He held up the two bracelets. “They’ll help with the language barrier and stuff. We just need to touch one of those English guys and we’ll immediately know all that we need to know.”

Sasuke regarded the bracelet Naruto held out to him with curiosity. A magical bracelet that allowed you to learn a language immediately? Carefully he pulled it over one of his own slim wrists and watched the kitsune do the same.

“Now,” Naruto started, “shall we go?”

Sasuke nodded and the two shared a half smirk/grin before they placed their hands together in a seal and disappeared with a small ‘poof’, leaving only the silent night behind them.

(1). Oh how I envy them……
(2). Hey?! Why do you all looked so surprised?! Weren’t my clues obvious?!
(3). Tsunade? Mild mannered? Hahahahaha…….
(4). Okay, I’m not Japanese. I admit it. Since I’m not Japanese (actually I’m American), I’m not familiar with the Japanese Language. I know a couple of things here and there, but mostly I’m looking up these words. If I’m wrong please Email me or tell me in a review, because I hate being wrong.

Okay, I know I felt stupid when I read stories with Japanese stuff in 'em and I had no idea what they were saying. So! Welcome to the Idiot's Guide to the Japanese Language (sorta)! This'll be at the bottom of every chapter, so keep a lookout. (And no, I'm not insulting your intelligence or saying you can't understand Japanese. If you don't know Japanese, then this makes things a little easier. If you do, then just skip this).

The Idiot's Guide to the Japanese Language (sorta):

Ne: At the end of the sentence it's somethin' like 'correct' or 'right'.
Obaa-chan: A title used for people in their fifties and over. 'Grandmother', 'Old Lady'.
Tensai: Genius, prodigy ect.
Godaime: The Fifth
Rokudaime: The Sixth
Ichidaime: The First
-chan: Intimate title, usually used for children or added to the end of a close friend's name to make it sound cute.
Usuratonkachi: 'Moron of Morons'? Sasu's pet name for Naru
Kitsune: Fox
Nani: What?
-sama: Honorific: The equivalent in English is something like 'Lord' or 'Lady'
-kun: Usually added to boy's & men's name of close acquaintance
-san: Honorific: The equivalent would be something like Mr. Mrs. or Miss in English
Baka: Idiot, Moron, ect.
Dobe: Dead Last, another one of Sasu's pet names
-sensei: Title used for a teacher or mentor of sorts (same with just the regular sensei that isn't a title and is used without a name)
Shinobi: Ninja
Kunoichi: Female shinobi
Teme: Basterd, Naru's pet name for Sasu
Ano: A filler word; something like 'um' in English
Goikenban: Advisory Council; the council of elders that assist the Hokage with their superior knowledge.
Iryohan: Medical Unit; The medical unit whose membership is limited to medic-nins.

Jesus Christ that's a long guide….. Most of these are probably right; as I added in before, I'm not Japanese so I'm not very familiar with their language. Most of this is stuff I picked up from stories and anime. Next chapter to be released soon.

Nina: Alright! The next chapter! –shimmies-
Sasu-chan [Uchiha Sasuke]: -raises eyebrows at the shimmying-
Naru-chan [Uzumaki Naruto]: -pouts- What’s so great about the next chapter nee-chan?
Nina: -evil glint enters eye- What was that sweet Naru-chan?
Naru-chan: I said what’s so great about th-OMPH!
Sasu-chan: -realized the danger and covered Naru-chan’s mouth before it was too late-
Nina: -looks at Sasu-chan with approval- Good boy. Anyways, the happenings in this chapter are: Remus and the two shinobi meet, and The Trio and Dumbledore (as well as the rest of the school) meet them as well……Other stuff happens.
Naru-chan: -grins at the readers for unknown reasons-
Sasu-chan: -glares because he's Sasuke-
All of the Sasuke fangirls: *SQUEE!!*
Nina: -evil glint enters eye once again- My, my you’re popular Sasu-chan…………
-mysterious kunai appears and author chases Sasu-chan with it-

~30 minutes later, in a booth outside the house, with a huge line of Sasuke fangirls in front of said table~

Me: -has thousands of pictures of Sasuke in front of her- COME GET YOUR SASUKE PICTURES HERE!! $20 bucks a piece!
Naru-chan: -mouth drops open- Why didn’t I ever think of that?! –mutters curses underneath his breath-
Sasu-chan: -sulks and tries to nurse his bruises (heh heh…..you can’t get away from me that easily Sasu-chan! Kukuku…..)-
Kaka-chan [Hatake Kakashi]: -appears and sweatdrops at the lot of us-
--
"Regular speech"
'Thoughts'
Emphasized words
[[Flashback]]
"Kyuubi speaking"
‘Kyuubi thinking'
-UC- = change of scene
(#) = Additional comments at the bottom

Disclaimer: If Naruto belonged to me then Sasuke, the basterd, who never have left and he'd be in love with Naruto. Anyone who suggests that I'm plagiarizing will be fed to Kama-chan.
--

United Cause
Chapter Two
The Meetings with the Wizards

Keep smiling; it makes everyone wonder what you are up to.
--Unknown

August 31st, 1997; 11:00 pm
The Three Broomsticks, Scotland

Remus Lupin was a patient person.

He had been told for most of his life that "patience was a virtue" and "it would help him later in life" so he always tried to use it. Remus was usually patient with everyone; it was one of his trademark things. However, waiting for the ninjas Albus had sent for was wearing the werewolf’s patience thin.

He was well aware that the ninjas could take several days to get to The Three Broomsticks from their Hidden Villages in Japan. But, when he mentioned this fact to Albus, the old headmaster had smiled (with that –insert swear word here- twinkle in his eye) and told Remus that just because the shinobi of Konohagakure were without magic didn’t mean that they were unable to transport themselves in a day to Scotland. And, when further questioned about what that statement meant, old wizard had just shaken his head and continued to smile. So here he was, waiting for them days before they might actually arrive here.

Sighing he rested his head against his table. The Three Broomsticks was clearing out; more and more people were heading for the door. Rosetta was clearing the tables wearily, and her sparkly high heeled shoes were missing. Instead she padded around in her long pantyhose, a tray carrying the garbage of her customers underneath one arm. Remus sighed again, wondering what he was going to tell Snape in his letter. After all, the Potions Master would be the one to take his place if the ninjas (actually; didn’t Albus call them shinobi?) didn’t arrive by tonight or tomorrow afternoon. Rosetta gave him a quick nod before disappearing behind her counter: Albus had asked for permission for Remus to sit in the bar until Midnight. Remus let out another sigh and closed his eyes for several moments, wondering if this hour would go any faster so he could get to his bed and get some sleep.

Two soft touches to his shoulder alerted him to new people in the room, as did the small voice asking, “You’re Lupin Remus-san ne? Dumbledore-ojii-san said you’d be waiting for us here…..” Startled, he gave a soft jump and glanced upwards in alarm.

Remus stared at the short boy who had spoken, whose wide cerulean eyes were regarding him with a friendly interest. The boy’s hair was a wild mess of untamed golden spikes which gleamed even underneath the bar’s dim lighting. His tanned face was round and smooth except for three deep whisker like marks on each of his cheeks, making an air of mischievousness as well as innocence hang around him. He was slim and petite; however Remus could definitely see the muscles underneath the black cloth and billowing high collared white cloak he was wearing. A sword was strapped to his back and arm guards covered his arms from the back of his hands to his elbows. Underneath one arm the boy carried a triangular white hat with a very wide brim and soft cloth hanging from the sides; the front was turned to reveal a Japanese character written in red. Around his neck there was a deep blue cloth headband, with a strange, leaf-like symbol engraved into its flat silver front.

Another person stood near the beautiful blonde and Remus turned his gaze towards him with a wary, slightly awed eyes. This guy was taller than his companion and had dressed himself in all black. A length of white bandage ran around his thigh, binding a black pouch carrying who knew what inside of it. His hair was a dark shade of black blue, naturally spiking up in the back with neat bangs in the front. Obsidian eyes stared at Remus with an indifferent expression, though the werewolf could tell that this boy was taking in every detail about himself and the bar around him. Behind the boy’s head a black hilt of a sword poked out, and he also carried a headband; this one around his head with a deep scratch along the length of the silver, cutting across the leaf-like symbol.

Remus managed a nod, wondering how in Merlin’s name the ninjas (shinobi?) from the “Hidden Leaf Village” had gotten here so fast. These people could only be them! The Japanese character on the blonde’s hat helped him out there (After all Albus had informed him the ninjas would be Japanese) as well as the headbands, which he had been told all ninjas of Hidden Leaf wore. Plus the blonde had mentioned Albus saying he would be waiting for them. Yes, they must be the ninjas. There was no other explanation for why two beautiful, mysterious people carrying swords and wearing strange, foreign clothes would approach him. Remus, even after reaching this conclusion, still eyed them warily; after all, if they were Japanese why could they speak English so fluently? Did they teach English in the Hidden Leaf?

“Yosh! We’re the shinobi Dumbledore-san asked to come,” said the blonde excitedly. “I’m Uzumaki Naruto and this teme over here is Uchiha Sasuke. Sorry it took so long, but we had to stop for Ramen and Sakura-chan kept going on and on about everything she knew about wizards, plus Tsunade-baa-baa had to find us these bracelets…..” The boy held up a hand to reveal a small golden bracelet on one slim wrist. The dark boy also had one on his arm. Naruto continued on, “Obaa-chan was right after all. Just touch an English guy and you immediately know the language. These things are amazing.”

'Well that somewhat answers one of my questions' Remus thought wryly. 'Now about their names……' He remembered once reading up about Japanese customs as a teenager; he had been curious about other languages at the time. 'Let’s see…….the family name comes before the given name right? So the little blonde would be Naruto Uzumaki and the tall brooding one would be Sasuke Uchiha'.

“Lupin-oji-san?” he heard Naruto ask concernedly.

“Ah! Yes, yes I’m sorry,” Remus laughed uneasily. “It’s just you startled me. We weren’t expecting anyone to come for about two more days. It’s nice to meet you Uzumaki-san.” '–san: an honorific title that would be the equivalent of Mr. and Mrs. in the English language' he recited in his head with an inward self satisfied smile.

The blonde shuddered as he said, “Just Naruto please. And it’s nice to meet ya Oji-san.”

Naruto gave him a wide smile before turning back to Sasuke, leaving Remus to ponder the 'oji-san' he had heard already several times in this conversation. He watched as Naruto gave Sasuke a hard stare before leaping on his companion and complaining loudly, “Saaaasuke-teme!! Say hello to Oji-san! Yer not being very polite!”

Remus stifled a grin at the expression on Sasuke’s face. 'I suppose Naruto must be close to Sasuke to be able to say stuff like that and not get his head blown off' he thought idly, watching with amusement as the small blonde burst into tears. Sasuke, with obvious annoyance, drew his companion of his arm before turning to Remus with cold onyx eyes. The wizard was barely able to suppress a shudder; Snape’s glares were nothing compared to the black haired Uchiha’s.

The boy eyed him for a few moments before saying, with a short bow, "Thank you for agreeing to guide us Remus……"

Naruto immediately stopped crying and grinned up the Uchiha, "See that wasn’t so hard, was it teme?"

Remus could swear he saw Sasuke’s mouth twitch and his eyes sparkle with amusement for a moment before becoming cold and indifferent once again. Naruto turned back to the wizard and opened his mouth to talk again but then stopped short, his eyes becoming glazed. His mouth started to move as mumbled, incoherent words tumbled out. Remus watched him in slight surprise and concern; it looked like the boy was conversing with…..something. But as he and Sasuke were the only ones in the room and those mumbled words were clearly not meant for them……Who could it be? The werewolf’s fair blue eyes narrowed as he tried to figure it out. Quickly he ran through several theories before an idea hit him hard in the head.

Maybe it was…..something inside of Naruto? Like his own wolf? 'That’s what it looks like……' Remus thought with unease. He watched as Naruto snorted and felt his rising confusion go even higher as Sasuke put a hand on his comrade’s shoulder; as if the black haired Uchiha was used to this sort of thing from the blonde. After a few moments of silence (Remus tried to speak up, but was silenced by Sasuke’s eyes. Snape was going to have a fit when he realized that somebody was better at glaring coldly then he was.) Naruto’s eyes cleared and they were once again an unfoggy blue. However now he was scrutinizing Remus with obvious curiosity and….empathy? The wizard fidgeted uncomfortably; Naruto had very unnerving eyes when he stared at you like that. Very, very unnerving eyes.

“Lupin-oji-chan…….” Naruto said with an unusually soft voice that was laced with a surprising amount of empathy, “When did that basterd wolf get inside you?”

Remus nearly fell out of his chair, surprised beyond all measure at that statement. 'Wolf? What? He can’t mean……' But that was the only ‘wolf’ the wizard knew to be inside of him. The wolf that had come to be when Fenrir bite him in his childhood. But how would Naruto be able to know that? He didn’t know anything about wizard’s from what Remus could tell, and few wizards could sense a werewolf after talking to them for a short amount of time. And yet this boy, who had been utterly loud and slightly obnoxious for the first five minutes the sandy haired wizard had met him, was instantly able to tell he had another being living in his body.

“H-How can you know about that?” he choked out, feeling a little shell-shocked.

Raising his eyes he felt uneasy when he noticed Naruto’s eyes were still a soft and understanding blue. Unnerved he glanced at Sasuke who was watching his companion with something akin to weary acceptance. 'Does he know how Naruto did it?' Remus wondered. Remembering how the Uchiha had acted when Naruto was in that strange state, the wizard felt that Sasuke knew exactly what was going on.

“It sucks having a monster inside of you doesn’t it?” the blonde’s voice startled Remus out of his thoughts and he gazed up into weary, serious, and sad blue eyes.

Nearly falling off his chair for the second time, Remus stared at the boy who was offering him a weak grin. 'He speaks as if……' the sandy-haired wizard thought to himself 'as if he had a monster inside him as well. But that’s ridiculous! How could he have…………' The wizard snuck a look at Naruto who was still staring intensely at him with those damn cerulean eyes.

For a few minutes the two people stared at each other, one feeling understanding and the other feeling shock. The black haired boy between them felt the steadily rising tension in the room and was about to interrupt the staring match when Naruto spoke.

“Well let’s get going shall we Remus-oji-chan?” he said, grinning widely in a fox-like fashion to reveal a nice set of white teeth.

Remus, too shell-shocked to notice the slightly more intimate use of his name, nodded distractedly before walking out of the room. Sasuke noticed however and narrowed his eyes at his partner. Naruto’s own eyes weren’t sparkling like they always did when he really, truly smiled; making the ANBU captain more than fairly suspicious that Rokudaime was hiding his sadness behind a smile, once again. However he hid his annoyance and followed Naruto silently out of the room, making a note to talk to the dobe about it later on in private. (1)

-UC-

Remus kept stealing glances at he boys as they all sat down in the carriage that were currently carrying over Hogwarts Black Lake. Hagrid was still chasing the Threstals around the Forest, so Albus had magicked a carriage to carry him and the ninjas to Hogwarts. The vehicle moved slowly, powered only by Dumbledore’s strong magic. It was slightly unnerving to be floating above the Black Lake (especially knowing what was in the lake) but the wizard instead focused at the task at hand.

Observing the two ninjas sitting across from him Remus started to notice the black haired Sasuke sneak several looks at his companion, eyes holding emotions that drifted from annoyance to slight concern. The werewolf was faintly surprised that this boy, who had seemed not so outgoing to begin with, was suddenly letting his emotions to flicker across his face. 'But' he thought with a near sigh 'this Naruto seems to have that affect on people'. The werewolf allowed his thoughts to drift back to the semi-serious scene at The Three Broomsticks as it had been for the past half-hour in this carriage.

[[“It sucks having a monster inside of you doesn’t it?”]]

Frowning Remus wondered for the fiftieth time what the small boy had been talking about. The blonde seemed perfectly happy right now; he was chattering the ear off of the once again stoic Uchiha, a giant smile on his face. He didn’t act like a person in suffering; he barely acted as if he had seen pain at all. It was strange, to say the least.

'But……' A small voice whispered in the back of Remus’ mind 'what was that face in The Three Broomsticks? If the kid was really so happy-go-lucky he shouldn’t be able to make a face like that……' Quickly he pushed all of these thoughts of his mind. 'Of course the boy is happy he told himself he’s just a kid after all'.

Remus was startled out of his thoughts when Naruto spoke, “Aw, man this thing is going slow. Hey Sasuke-teme; how ‘bout we take the faster route?”

The little blonde turned to his companion with a grin, which Sasuke replied to with his own smirk and a nod. Confused, Remus watched as the two stood and made their way to the carriage doors. He was about to speak against whatever they were planning to do, but Naruto flung the door open and jumped outside before he could even open his mouth. The wizard jumped up as soon as that happened, expecting to hear a splash and cries for help.

Instead he was faced with the sight of a perfectly fine Naruto standing on the surface of the water as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Remus gaped as he wondered how much these ninjas could do.

Sasuke (noticing his amazement) said in a low tone, “We can stay above water by focusing Chakra into our feet. It’s something we learned to do at an early age, so we can do it without thinking now. The dobe’s especially good at it because he finally got excellent Chakra control.”

However this added to the questions swirling around in Remus’ brain; what was Chakra? How else could they use it? What did dobe mean? How early on did they learn to do that? And hey; was the pride in Sasuke's tone when he talked about Naruto's Chakra control?

Sasuke, silent once again, moved around the gaping wizard and joined his companion on the surface of the Black Lake. He turned to look at Naruto, noticing the mask of innocence about the kitsune’s features, which covered a layer of amusement at Remus’ awe. Concealing his grin (Uchiha’s never grinned; it was improper after all), Sasuke raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

“How ‘bout a race teme?” Naruto turned to him with his own eyebrow raised.

The Uchiha merely smirked (2) and nodded, before readying himself. Naruto gave a grin of his own before turning to face the shore where the large shape of a castle could be seen against the dark skyline. He scanned the shoreline and instantly his eyes narrowed and a frown appeared on his face. Without turning to look at Sasuke, Naruto pointed towards the sloping coastline of the lake.

“Sorry Sasuke, that race’ll have to wait. It seems we have a welcoming party.”

Sasuke, also seeing the small, nearly invisible wizened person on the edge of the Black Lake merely nodded. Then he let his grin unfold on his face (to hell with the rules!); it would be interesting to see the old man’s reaction to the dobe’s abilities. Naruto was Hokage after all; and he didn't get to use his abilities often, so he'd probably show off to their host for entertainment. Sasuke watched the dobe give him a wave over his shoulder (still without looking back) and focus his chakra.

And then Naruto was gone.

-UC-

Albus Dumbledore watched with amusement as a small blonde figure hurtled out of the carriage doors and stood on the surface of his lake as if it was as easy as pie. He had seen Sarutobi do that trick once in a while; apparently he wasn’t the only one who could do it. The blonde figure was followed by a taller person dressed all in black who jumped out at a much more leisurely pace than his companion. Albus watched them with curiosity, wondering what kind of shinobi Sarutobi could have sent, and what news of Konohagakure they would have for him. His eyes went to the grass as he pondered the possibility of Sarutobi being dead, and a new Hokage. The letter he had received a half-hour ago hadn't given him any details; it had only contained the names of the shinobi coming and their physical descriptions.

When he looked up again, Albus blinked with surprise and dismay. Where had that small blonde fellow disappeared to?! Quickly he examined the gentle lawns around him for any hint of the shinobi. His companion was still standing on the water, his body obviously relaxed. So the blonde hadn’t been kidnapped or anything such as that……If that was the case where was he?! The old headmaster’s eyes caught a flash of gold coming towards him and instantly stiffened.

And then he was standing in front of Albus, serious blue eyes regarding him utmost curiosity.

Albus, startled, took a step back from the small figure in front of him with a sense of respect towards the blonde’s speed. If it hadn’t been for his bright hair, he would have never seen the child coming. 'No wonder he was sent' the wizard thought 'he is obviously talented in speed, and who knows what else'.

“Dumbledore-ojii-san?” the boy asked quietly.

Albus nodded and gave the boy (Uzumaki Naruto wasn't it?) one of his famous, twinkle eyed smiles. Naruto smiled back, his own grin wide and fox-like, filled with mischief. However, after a few moments, the grin slid off his face and a serious mask was put into place as he regarded Albus with an air of grimness. The old wizard was surprised at the change; he had rarely seen anyone change moods so quickly.

"Dumbledore-ojii-san," Naruto started, "we need to talk. As soon as possible, and in a place where we won't be overheard."

Albus nodded and sent a pointed glance at the black haired boy (Uchiha Sasuke right?) who was still standing on the lake's surface, watching their exchange. Naruto turned and gave an impatient sigh, muttering something under his breath about stupid teme's. Quickly the blonde gave off a clear, high whistle; three long notes and two shorter ones. The Uchiha instantly disappeared, landing next to his companion in a few seconds. Albus inwardly smiled; they were very good shinobi as far as he had seen, skilled in both speed and stealth as well as their chakra ability, if the trick on the lake was anything to go by.

"Will you both follow me to my office?" he asked, giving them a pleasant, twinkle eyed smile.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other before giving a simultaneous nod. Albus smiled again, turned, and walked away swiftly, heading towards his office with surprising speed for someone his age.

-UC-

Albus sat down easily in the chair behind his desk, before motioning Sasuke and Naruto to sit in the two chairs across from him. Naruto instantly took a seat, while Sasuke remained standing, an impassive look on his face. The old wizard let out a quiet sigh before peering out at the blonde Uzumaki with expectant eyes.

Naruto gave a sigh of his own before leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful look his face, as if he was unsure of how to start. After a few moments of silence, the blonde leaned forward again, opening his previously closed eyes to give Albus one of the most thoughtful eyes he had seen in quite a long while.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he started, "but I am also known as Rokudaime Hokage. This is Uchiha Sasuke, head of our ANBU forces. Our Jounin and the rest of the ANBU squads were in missions and needed to protect Konoha, so we're all you're gonna get Dumbledore-ojii-san. Sandaime did not send us however. He's been dead for five to six years."

Albus gave Naruto a faintly puzzled look, "Sandaime?"

Sasuke answered his question (to Albus' surprise; he had begun to think the Uchiha was mute), "Sarutobi was known as Sandaime Hokage, the third leader of Konoha. Weren't you aware of his status?"

Albus peered thoughtfully into space for a few moments, reflecting back to those long years in the past when he and Sarutobi-kun had been comrades in battle. "He mentioned the position of Hokage," the wizard started slowly. "But I don't believe he ever admitted to being the one to fill that seat. We never talked after the war had ended, so I never knew. I sent the letter to him in hopes that he could arrange for us to have some shinobi escorts. I'm afraid I don't know much about your village systems. Sarutobi-kun is dead then?"

Naruto nodded in confirmation, and Albus gave him an interested look, "Then you would be his successor? You mentioned being Rokudaime Hokage."

The little blonde quickly shook his head and explained, "There was another Hokage before me; Tsunade-baabaa, Godaime Hokage. She retired last year and nominated me as her successor. The council agreed mostly because Baa-chan is very forceful."

Now the older wizard leaned forward in his chair, questions racing across his mind. However he only voice one; the most important one as it was.

"Hokage is the head position is it not? Sarutobi-kun mentioned that being Hokage……meant you had to protect your entire village and run it, correct?" Both shinobi nodded. "If that's so Naruto…..Then why are you here now instead of with your village. Certainty you could have waited until one of your better shinobi had come back from their missions and appointed the task to them?"

Naruto, to Albus' surprise, gave a loud, weary sigh and leaned back in his chair as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. "Why does everyone always ask that question? Do you know almighty Sasuke-teme?" he turned to his companion with a hopeful look that quickly turned to despair as Sasuke merely stared at him with annoyance. Rubbing his forehead in a tired fashion, Naruto sat up a little straighter and opened his eyes fully, giving Albus a solemn stare.

"Dumbledore-ojii-san," the little boy started, "let me ask you a question. If Konoha was under attack from a bad guy who was out to destroy you as soon as he had finished with us and we needed your help, and you had no available wizards to go, would you – you yourself, in person - go to help us?" Without waiting for a response, Naruto continued. "My Jounin and ANBU forces are needed elsewhere; I'm also well aware of the fact that I could have waited for a shinobi to show up after he had finished a mission. But I was afraid that you might have believed us to have rejected your offer if we did not come to your school close to the chosen date, and no shinobi were due back for at least three more weeks. I had no way of contacting you, so that wasn't an option. Sasuke was the only available ANBU I had, and he can't guard your castle day and night for 10 months by himself. I thought about this for a while before I got the idea that I might come with him. Tsunade-baabaa is still alive (God knows how) and she's done this Hokage thing before. The village can manage without me for a little while at least."

"Besides," Naruto leaned even more forward, as if he was telling a secret, "you mention that this Voldie crackpot," Albus covered his laugh with a cough (how would Tom react to being called 'Voldie crackpot'?), "might be a threat to Konoha's security. If your wizards fail Dumbledore-ojii-san, than Voldie may come after us next, and my people's lives will be put in danger. If it was anything less than that, I promise you that I would not be sitting in your office right now, discussing why I decided to come to Scotland. Anyways," Naruto gave Sasuke a sideways glance and smiled widely, "Sasuke's gonna need all the help he can get."

Sasuke scowled at his companion and Naruto answered with one of his own fox-like grins. Albus watched them in amusement and slight puzzlement; he had seen the soft gleams of respect and acknowledgement in their eyes as they looked at each other and yet here they were, acting like two school boy rivals. The old wizard felt curiosity come over him and longed to ask what kind of relationship they had…….but bit his tongue. Now was not the time to pry into his guest's lives.

"Dumbledore-ojii-san?" Albus was pulled out of his thoughts by Naruto's voice and turned to look at the small blonde. "Is there anything else you need, or can we go to wherever we're staying?"

Albus sighed, "Actually Naruto, there is something else I would request of you. Tomorrow our students will arrive, on a train coming from London. We usually have a feast, a sort of reunion ceremony if you will, and I would like you both to be there so I can introduce you. The students know Voldemort is back, and I'm sure some of them are uneasy; I think knowing there will be extra guards may help them feel more secure. The feast is at 7:00. Do you think you could both show up?"

Naruto and Sasuke traded looks, and then nodded simultaneously. Albus felt relieved; he couldn't have forced them to come, and this would make his job of explaining the shinobi to his students much easier.

"Well then!" clapping his hands together, Albus stood up from his chair and moved around his desk. "Shall I show you to where you'll be staying?"

-UC-

Harry Potter not a having a good day.

First of all; Ron and Hermione were starting to make him sick with all the love-talk. His best friends had (finally!) gotten themselves together during the last week of summer, only a few days before they had to leave for Hogwarts. And Harry was happy for them; he really was. But there are only so much goo-goo eyes and pet names that a single guy can take before he starts to go slightly insane.

The next problem on 'Harry Potter's List of Doom' was the fact that he had broken his relationship with Ginny Weasley only two weeks earlier, and the silly girl was still avoiding him. He loved Ginny; but now instead of a girlfriend all he could see was a sister and a close friend. It was unnerving and he couldn't really pinpoint when it had began, but when he started to feel guilt unravel in his stomach when he kissed her he had decided to call a halt to their relationship. At least until he could sort out his feelings for the violent redhead.

The third problem; it was godamned raining outside.

……Okay, so maybe he was fishing for problems! Everyone needed some brooding time right?! So what if he was trying to come up with reasons to brood, if only to distract himself from the soft sounds of kissing nearby.

Harry ran a hand through his already mussed up black hair and sighed wearily. At least they were close to Hogwarts where he wasn't stuck with Hermione and Ron in such close quarters all the time, and hopefully they would go off and be love-struck teenagers somewhere far away from him.

The door to their compartment slid open and Harry had never felt so relieved to see Draco Malfoy's pompous face before in his life.

"Potter," Malfoy said, strangely without a sneer and with a strange look in his eye for a few moments. Then his usual expression flared up and Harry had to wonder what the hell that was all about. Was everyone at Hogwarts going crazy this year, or was it just him?

"Malfoy," Harry added his own sneer to this, his eyes narrowing at the pale haired boy before him.

For a few moments they stayed like that; both of them sneering for all their worth, tension crackling and thickening the air until it was hard to breathe. Harry, out of the corner of his eye, could see Hermione wince and Ron clutch at his head, for once not joining the fray and growling at Malfoy.

Malfoy glared.

Harry glared back.

And the uncomfortable silence continued.

Malfoy glared one last time before giving a 'humph!' and stomping out the door without even a 'Scarhead', 'Weasel', or 'Mudblood'. 'Not that I mind….' Harry thought, watching with astonishment as the door closed shut behind his arch-nemesis 'but it seems rather odd, especially for Malfoy. I wonder if he's planning something'.

Shaking his head, Harry turned to the two other shocked members of his compartment and gave a rueful smile. At least the blonde Slytherin was good for something. Malfoy always had a way to shut people up, no matter if he said anything or not.

"We should get changed," Harry said after a few moments. "We should be coming to Hogwarts soon."

-UC-

Harry entered the Great Hall with the rest of the Seventh Years, feeling slightly lonely as he watched Hermione giggle at one of Ron's jokes. The two lovebirds probably didn't mean to leave him out, but he still felt like they were in their own world that he could never enter. Harry sighed and sat across from his friends, next to Seamus, Dean, and Neville. 'No use worrying about it' he thought, staring at the tabletop moodily.

"Hey!" Ron's exclamation of surprise brought the green-eyed Gryffindor out of his brooding. "What's with those weird looking people by Dumbledore?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the staff table, then whipped his head around for a full on stare. There were two very strange people standing behind his old Headmaster. One was tall with duck-butt black hair and a Raven mask covering his face, dressed in black. The other was a little shorter than his companion with bright blonde hair, tan skin, and ceruluean eyes. He was covered with a long white coat and had dark clothes on beneath it. On top of his head there was a strange white pointed hat that had soft cloth on the sides.

"Dunno," Harry said, eyeing the men cautiously. "The blondie doesn't seem to be much older than us, and that weird guy has that face-mask so you just can't tell. I wonder what they're doing here?"

Hermione's eyes changed to what Ron called her "studious gaze". "They're obviously very important. One of them could be the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, but then wouldn't he be sitting with the rest of the teachers? And those clothes remind me of Muggles, not Wizards."

Her lecture was cut off by the arrival of McGonagall and beginning of the Sorting. Harry kept his eyes on the two mysterious strangers during the ceremony, only turning away when his stare was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

After the last girl was sorted (Zeel Kayla: Hufflepuff!), Dumbledore stood up and greeted his audience with one of his well-known twinkle-eyed smiles. "Hello and welcome to another year at Hogwarts, my dear students! I know that some of you are anxious to begin the feast," here a look was sent at Ron, who blushed a deep red. "But I ask you to reign yourselves in for a moment as I give a rather important announcement. I'm sure some of you have noticed the two men behind me," he gestured to blondie and duck-butt, "as they are rather hard to miss. As for why they are here; these two are Ninja from a faraway country who have come to watch over our school in case of attacks from Death Eaters."

Here a gasp rose from the ranks of the students. Dumbledore merely chuckled and continued on, "I would like them to introduce themselves. Uchiha-san, if you please?"

The man with the face-mask came forward and said – in a deep voice that sent many girls hearts a-thumping, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. It is my honor to assist the students of Hogwarts."

The other man, the blonde, rolled his eyes and bounced up besides his companion, giving the audience a full-blown, fox-like grin that made him look like his was 12 years old.

"Hey, hey! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Don't mind this grouch Uchiha, he's just plain boring!" the blonde exclaimed, throwing an arm around the duck-butt's (Sasuke? Uchiha?) shoulder. His 'plain boring' companion turned his head, and Harry got the funniest feeling that the man was giving the blonde an annoyed look.

Dumbledore stepped in with a smile, "During the day our allies will be patrolling the halls, so you may see them around the school. Please do not be alarmed, as they are only here to help. Now! Please have an excellent feast. Spread."

Harry ignored his food and his friends that were hurriedly stuffing their faces in, in favor of watching the ninja approach Dumbledore about something and than disappear into thin air. Guessing from the gasps he had heard from around the room, the Raven wasn't the only one to notice the stunning escape. Harry frowned, quietly wondering why such strange looking people would appear out of nowhere and help them against Voldemort. It made absolutely no sense…..

He sighed and turned to his food. There was only so much time you could brood when faced with Hogwarts feasts after all.

A.N. Well, I'll end it there. Next chapter is the two Konoha shinobi meeting the Hogwarts Trio, and maybe some of Malfoy. Sorry this is kinda short, and that I didn't get it out sooner!

(1). I wanted to get a look at Naru's conversations with Kyuu-chan from an outside view. Trust me, this scene was extremely hard to write, especially from Remus' point of view.
(2). My, my there's a lotta smirking going on here isn't there?

The Idiots Guide to the Japanese Language (sorta):

Teme: Basterd; Naru's nickname for Sasu.
Baa-chan: A term used for woman older than 50, something like Grandma, Grandmother, Old Lady, Old Woman ect.
Baabaa: A less formal use of 'Baa-chan', it means something along the lines of Granny.
Ne: At the end of the sentence it's something like 'Correct?' or 'right?', and at the beginning it's used as a word to get your attention like 'hey'.
Ojii-san: A term used for men older than 50; something like Grandfather, Grandpa, Gramps, or Old Man.
Oji-san: A term used for men older than 25 or so; means something like Uncle.
Ano: Filler word, something like 'um' in English
Kitsune: Fox
Rokudaime: The Sixth
Dobe: Dead Last, Moron, Idiot, ect. Sasu's nickname for Naru
-san: Honorific, something equivalent to 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.' in English.
-chan: Honorific, term used for girl friends and children, or to make something sound cute.

KC: Yatta! The next chapter is finally finished! I am awesome!
Naru-chan [Uzumaki Naruto]: -whines- Why'd ya have to make me all serious nee-chan? I'm all solemn and crap……
KC: -rolls eyes- 'Cause you're Rokudaime baka, so now you hafta be serious.
Sasu-chan [Uchiha Sasuke]: -glares- Duck-butt hair……?
KC: -swallows nervously- Ya hafta admit Sasu-chan……It does sorta look like a duck's behind with it being all sticky uppy and all……
Kaka-chan [Hatake Kakashi]: -giggle-
Saku-chan [Haruno Sakura]: -roars- Take that back!! How dare you insult Sasuke-kun's hair!!
KC: -rolls eyes- Oh dear. Ah well, readers please review as I try to calm down a pissed off fangirl. Next chapter will be up sooner or later.