Maito Gai

No Portkey available today. But I will not be late while I have a broomstick!! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. ..I saw the train while I was flying north.... what's it doing making a trip at this time of year? Supplies? A new teacher?? Good grief, I hope no one else got hurt....


[[Filtered to Neji]]

This is another new journal, so maybe it will actually work and you will be able to read this.

WHERE ARE YOU??

[[/filtered]]


[[Filtered to TenTen]]

My journal blew up and I did not receive your latest messages. What is going on?

[[/filtered]]


[[SO TOTALLY PRIVATE]]

I should talk to the Counselor. The Ministry has pamphlets about depression, but they are too general to be any use. If it's this bad, I cannot fail him through incomplete understanding. I... as much as I care about him, I cannot do this alone....

This has gone far beyond poor Neji. Ah, my Lee... loss and rejection have ruled his young life. His foster parents, resenting his magical disability. His best friend... disappearing for years, trying to kill him, and then disappearing again after they'd reconciled.... other friends leaving, one by one... perhaps only his youthful spirit sustained him for this long.... confound the Ministry, keeping me back in London after the paperwork was in already.... ..does he think that even I will leave him? These wounds are so deep, so deep....

I can't lose him....

[[/private]]


Only another week, then the winter break and we will -- but...

*swears blackly, then covers the words with a heavy strikeout when he realizes what he's said*

That assignment.... I had forgotten.....


[[Due to ministry work and his all too convenient journal malfunctions, Gai has NO CLUE what has been happening since he left Hogwarts on Wednesday. He will be arriving on the castle grounds as you read this, nearly frozen solid from flying all the way to Scotland in the dead of winter, visibly shaken by Lee's recent signs of major depression, and with his hair significantly shorter in front. Rose, Jen, Cella, Kris, EMAIL MEEEE!~]]

[[Private, 30% hackable]]

Now that the school is getting back to normal, I've got to get hold of the Counselor. This idea is right up her alley! And I'm... uh... sure she'll handle it with her usual... ah... verve and aplomb!!

If I don't finish last week's studies before I have to report back to the Auror office, I shall do fifty extra warm-up sets after class. That's a PROMISE!!!

[[/private]]


AAAH! Hey, Kakashi, Jiraya is a frog again! Want to see?

..*croak*


YOSH! It looks as though this inexplicable event has nearly ended, and no harm done mostly!! Are there any familiars still missing? Be careful -- if your pet is still human, you should stay around the poor thing, lest it turn back suddenly and find itself lost in the castle!!


[[Filtered to Hirako]]

Hey!!! Your Archimedes has been making friends with other owls over the journals! Did you see that!? At least that's a good sign....

[[/filtered]]


[[The cute little green frog's picture is saved on my other computer which I can't turn on because the adapter cord's broken, but picture it as about the size of a man's thumb.]]

[[Private, hackable to acquaintances]]

..Come to think of it, it's VERY strange that the Auror program doesn't put more emphasis on pure self-defense. There's plenty of magical dueling, but almost nothing about simple hand-to-hand combat. What if a person's wand is lost -- or broken!? That shouldn't have to be a crippling blow, especially for a wizard! WELL. As long as I'm on the grounds, nobody will lack for a fervent sparring partner against whom to test their skills!!!!

[[/private]]


Ah, the happy sounds of industrious study!! Everybody, watch out for the west corridor on the third wing -- I hear it's full of some kind of bubble charm that simply sweeps people off their feet. But don't worry, it'll soon be put to rights!!!


*jogs down the hall, smiling at all and sundry*


[[Feel free to be responsible for (or affected by) the bubble prank... or to have a spar with the Green Beast. XD]]

[[Private, partially (and inadvertently) hackable to friends]]

AUGH. Training this week was more grueling than ever. I didn't even have a chance to work on tracing... well, Madame Vance has been looking at it. Maybe she had time.

Is it my imagination, or have some of the Hogwarts staff been acting a little bit... odd? Hexing one another in the courtyards -- they're supposed to be protectors and sources of inspiration for the youth under their care! What is this world coming to!?

Strange... how the world changes as one's youth passes by... Three years ago I would have laughed! But there's a point where laughter becomes cruelty. There was a time when I, too, took offense at the smallest slight to my honor. Sometimes, though.... sometimes the obvious answer makes things worse. I could get mad at him for being mad at me, but isn't it more important to remember that he's my friend?

Does that mean... I'm more mature than Kakashi???? *boggles*

[[/private]]


Of all the strange holidays they observe in England, Halloween has got to be the best. Costumes, jokes, even more weirdness than usual, and a chance to face your darkest fears in a secure environment.... what's not to like? BE SAFE WITH YOUR PRANKS, PEOPLE! If it's fun, it should be fun for everyone, not just you. What better way to spread hilarity and joy?

Some of my London comrades are planning to celebrate with a scary movie night!! There's something I never did before! Ah, how I wish my good friends at Hogwarts could share this amazing experience!! Ooh, ooh!! Speaking of experiences, who else is helping with the haunTED HOUSE?????

*a few VERY LARGE scribbles, then something that sounds remarkably like a book being whacked repeatedly with a wand*

Gah, it's doing it again! My journal is JINXED!! JINXED, I SAY!!! Aaaaugh, why me? I thought I got rid of my journal problems when I THREW THE LAST ONE OUT.



[[Strike = absolutely unhackable.]]

*showing off new knowledge of emoticons* >DDDDD

What a weekend!! It's wonderful to be back in the darkened, echoing halls of Hogwarts, even if it is three in the morning. Gad, who's awake at this time of night!? Auror training is... but NO, it's a NOBLE ENDEAVOR and I must MASTER MY WEARINESS and STRUGGLE ON!!!!


[[Private, 50% hackable to associates]]

But no food all day does not a virile warrior make!!! An Auror must get the right amount of nutrition to keep up his strength. Food, sleep, and an EARLY START TO BUILD CHARACTER -- and if I don't get up at five to catch up on what's been going on around the castle, I shall run around the lake twice before breakfast!!

[[/private]]





...


( AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!! )

*as Tuesday dawns over Hogwarts, Gai's bed in his temporary quarters is mysteriously empty.....*



[[A hurried summons for an unexpectedly early training session forced Gai to leave Hogwarts without warning, so you may note a strange absence of PROUD GREEN ENTHUSIASM IN THE HALLS.]]

Staff quarters, staff quarters, staff quarters! *dances* I get to stay at Hogwaaaaaaaaaarts!!!!

Well, as I only have one solid week here before my Auror classes start in London, I'm going to make the most of it!! *proud green pose* WHO WANTS TO GO FOR AN INVIGORATING RUN AROUND THE LAKE!????


[[Private]]

What a summer..... epic at both its best and worst! Heart-wrenching at times, and yet full of the most unexpected sources of joy. Although... sometimes I could swear this new journal is looking at me. O_O

Gaara's situation... something definitely has to be done. Now, of all times, his friends must stand by him. As long as Neji and Lee are no longer at each other's throats, perhaps they could join together in this endeavor. Hmm... Mytho is also sounding odd lately -- I don't know why it's taken me so long to notice. Stupid journal. Whatever they all got up to over at Ahiru's... I wouldn't have expected them to return separately, and so... muted, I suppose. And Rinali has a chicken?? And all these new faces! I missed a lot, apparently.

WELL!! On to happier matters -- tonight I start my first patrol of the grounds! The whole school looks different now that I'm no longer a student. The first years are so tiny! *chuckles* Come to think of it, I never did get that one's name.... she wants to feed the giant squid, eh? No problem!!! Her COMC teacher will be proud of such fearlessness and zeal!

[[/private]]


[[Johnson-mun, do you have time at all to plot? *big hopeful anime eyes*

BTW, for the sake of clarity, Gai now falls under the category of 'authority' when it comes to anti-authority filters. So he'll now miss out on a lot of stuff. ;_; Feel free to see him around the castle and grounds.]]

HOME AT LAST.....


[[Private]]

..well, home in England....

..the place has grown on me in the four years since I arrived here, a frightened zealous young Muggle-born preternaturally thrown into a world of incredible marvels.

It's humbling to know how many places I can belong in......

The urge to belong.... it transcends time, space, and culture. When we were dancing in Durgapur, Lee and I, and even Gaara, melded seamlessly with the dervish spirit of that small town. I wept at Gaara's story. An experience like that is more than enough to cause the deep wounds that he struggled with during this last year. Whatever the case... he will always be at home around US!!!!

*sitting down by the window, gazes out over Diagon Alley*

..That owl... even a few days a week would suffice, they said... but where?

[[/private]]


SAKURA!!! That run you mentioned around the lake? There are probably some amazing lakes up where you are, so BRING IT ON!!!!!


[[Gaara may not have said anything definite; Gai's responding to the emotion. Have been insanely busy the past few days but may be around tomorrow to work out how the mission is going. If it's not over, just say Gai had to go home early and knew he was leaving it in good hands.]]

*jogs from the Ministry entrance to a nearby park -- the same one he'd wandered through the previous night -- finds an unoccupied bench and pulls out his journal*


( Filtered to Gai's friends and associates )


YOSH!!!! With my tests complete, it will soon be time to quit this happy town and begin the next month's EPIC WILDERNESS ADVENTURE, where the sights and scents of city living are replaced by insectile drones, wheeling buzzards, and the desiccating heat of the dusty desert air -- where senses must be sharp and spirits honed to the keen knife-edge of SURVIVAL!! LEE!!! Where will we be meeting? And farewell, my London friends -- MAY YOU ALL HAVE A FANTASTIC, PRODUCTIVE SUMMER!!!!!

And HEY!!!! Happy birthday, Tatsuki!!!!


[[Totally meant to post this yesterday. :D Anything else Gai does in England will have to happen in the next few days. And Tats will shortly receive an owl bearing a gift certificate for her favorite sports supply store.]]

Auror exams are going GREAT. The Ministry is full of the most INCREDIBLE people!! After five days, I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of that amazing place. It's practically an underground city all by itself!!

Met a lot of fellow Auror candidates at the exams. Some of them were nervous. I smiled a lot to try and BRACE UP THEIR COURAGE.

One more test on Sunday. Of course they do need to give us a psychological exam. It would be TERRIBLE if actual DARK WIZARDS managed to sneak past the application process!!! Well, I've worked HARD at being WELL-ADJUSTED, so I'm sure I can blaze through with NO TROUBLE AT ALL!!!!


[[Private, difficult to hack]]

Mwahahahaha. Kakashi won't know what hit him. He'll thank me later -- lying around with those books all day is NOT CONDUCIVE TO PERSONAL GROWTH!!!!

[[/private]]


[[Over the weekend, Gai will try to find Kakashi to drag him off for some kind of challenging workout fun -- swimming, a climbing-wall race, rugby, what have you. He may or may not succeed in actually finding him -- up to you, Kakashi-mun.]]