Guardian of Leviathan

Warning: Mild swearing. Pointless short story.

Disclaimer: I have no claim over the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII or Naruto franchises.

Silver-mane. A single, covered eye. Masked. Thin and sinewy. Slouched posture.

Cloud Strife ticked the imaginary checklist and came to one conclusion: not dangerous.

"Give it back!"

The strange man, resting comfortably in his seat, leaned forward and drawled out, "...How about no."

"But-But-But-!"

The rest of AVALANCHE exchanged wry looks behind a sputtering Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Hmm?"

"You can't say no to the White Rose of Wutai, old perv!"

"Reading porn in broad daylight does not constitute to a perverted personality," lectured the 'old perv'.

Cid Highwind muttered a quiet, "bullshit", and Tifa Lockhart crossed her arms, unimpressed by the hermit's attitude. Cloud rubbed his brow impatiently, a gut feeling telling him that this was 'old argument territory'.

Yuffie retorted loudly, nose held high, "Whatever keeps your conscience at bay."

The middle-aged man cleared his throat. Lone eye curving in amusement, he remarked, utterly serious, "You know, everyone has a fix…Though I doubt a sheltered kid like you would ever understand those finer points in life."

Silence marked the statement before the Wutai teenager started lowly, "You did not just go there with the sheltered kid crap."

"Chill," intervened Cid. He exhaled smoke, lit cigarette between clenched teeth. "You're forgettin' why we're here, muffin."

More silence.

No one jumped in to save the dying conversation. When the pause lingered seconds longer than intended, Tifa supplied helpfully, "We need Leviathan."

"…And?"

Cloud was about to answer but Yuffie interrupted, "Wolfie, what part of 'we need Leviathan' do you not understand?"

"Oh I understand…But as you so carelessly forget, your Father let me keep Leviathan." The man dubbed 'Wolfie' paused deliberately, modulations low and delicate but with certain finality. "It was payment."

"But it's my rightful inheritance! You can't just take the crown jewel of Wutai. You're not even of blood!"

'Wolfie' sighed, "Say what you will."

Spluttering, Yuffie scathingly growled, "You can't even Summon."

This time, the silence breached past that terribly fine line of propriety and rude, running smack-dab into pure uncomfortable; the keeper of Leviathan dispelled this with a murmured, "…Probably."

"Raaagh-You make me so mad!" The Wutai ninja glared at him. "This is so stupid. You're so stupid."

A silver eyebrow rose curiously.

Yuffie continued, "And just so you know, Wolf, I didn't need saving that day."

The man hummed agreeably. "I'm sure you didn't, Princess."

The other members of AVALANCHE could see the lie for what it was.

And when the frustrated Princess stomped out of the house, Tifa chased after her hot-headed friend. Wolf, however, stalled Cid and Cloud with a question before they could follow after the girls.

"Why?"

Cid growled, "Why what?"

"Why do you need Leviathan." A storm grey eye seemed to weigh their worth. "I don't squander my reading time lightly by arguing with an upstart."

Upstart? Cloud shrugged, diluting his explanation, "We need to win against the bad guys so we're gathering as much fire power as possible."

"And so you're back for Leviathan…" Wolf sank deeper into his seat, thoughtful.

Gnashing his teeth together, Cid grumbled, "Listen. If you're not gonna give it to us, we'll leave. We're not gonna waste time grovellin' at your feet for it."

"I'd imagine not," said Wolf, smile evident in the tone modulating the words. "But Leviathan is important, isn't it?"

"Let's just say we're trying to go against someone who's not quite human anymore and is almost like a Mako Reactor on legs," said Cid, ignoring Cloud's scrunching nose.

"Mako Reactor, hm?" Wolf murmured out loud, "That would pose quite a problem, wouldn't it?"

Cloud crossed his arms and stared down at the waif man. "So. Your answer."

The singular grey eye curved. "Ever heard of the Wutai war?"

Cid started coarsely, "Who hasn't?"

"It was rhetorical." Wolf continued before Cid could curse at him, "…I got that bratty princess out of thick trouble and her father thought that Leviathan made an excellent reward." Wolf stood up and Cid and Cloud took an involuntarily step back when they realized the previously sitting man was, in fact, quite deceptively tall and daunting. "That, or he didn't know he was bestowing me their 'legendary' Summon materia."

"Hm. I don't think so," said Cloud, shaking his head.

"Me too, kid," agreed Wolf pleasantly enough. "Godo Kisaragi is not fool enough."

"So what exactly are you tryin' to get at?" asked Cid impatiently, cigarette wagging in his mouth.

"Catch."

A glittering blood red materia soared through the air and Cloud caught the spherical object with ease.

Wolf commented sardonically, "You heard the girl. I can't Summon." But he seemed to be laughing at them with those words.

"Now scram before I change my mind about letting you borrow it."

When AVALANCHE went on their way, Wolf's PHS rang.

"Did they honourably fight you for Wutai's Summon?" asked Godo arrogantly once the Lord's image filled the screen.

"No, not really." Wolf, also known as Kakashi Hatake of Konohagakure, commented, "I let them walk out with it."

"You're supposed to be Leviathan's Guardian yet you let them dance in and out of your hermitage? That wasn't what I had in mind!" exclaimed Godo angrily. "At least pose a challenge!"

Wolf shrugged uncaringly as he donned his old shinobi battle gear. "Well what can I say…I don't do very well against people with blond hair and blue eyes."

Used to the man's eccentricities, Godo ignored his excuse and grumbled, "I knew I should have kept Leviathan on hand…Wait." The Wutai leader stopped and asked suspiciously, "Why are you wearing your armor?"

"You can say your guests roused my curiosity." Wolf snapped on the arm guards. "I feel like doing a bit of reconnaissance at Midgar. It's been far too long."

Godo was a mite surprised. "You're going now? But the world is in chaos right now." 'Wutai might need your help in the coming days,' was left hanging in the air.

"Someone needs to keep my home in the loop, Lord Kisaragi." The shinobi adjusted the belt around his waist.

"Don't you 'Lord Kisaragi' me, Wolf," snapped the leader gruffly.

Wolf retorted, "We're talking about the life and death of the entire Planet, Lord Godo. The media can provide only so much truth before it becomes propaganda and exaggerations. And living here in the Wutai Mountains…I'm quite far removed from the actual events."

Ceding to the skilled shinobi, Godo grumbled, "Just…be careful. Wutai may not have much but we can still offer you ways of flight transport, if you want."

"I'd appreciate that," thanked Wolf frankly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an investigative mission to prepare for and it seems we're running out of time."

Godo asked curiously, "What did they tell you?"

"Not much, really. They compared Sephiroth to a Mako Reactor, though."

"They what?"

Wolf smiled, mismatched eyes crinkling, and teased, "Such misinformation. I was almost inclined to help them and reveal my hand."

The Lord of Wutai frowned and felt compelled to defend AVALANCHE, "They know what they're doing and are likely more in the loop than we are...I hope."

He readily agreed. "I trust they are." Pensively, Kakashi gazed out the window facing the Northern Crater. "It's why I gave them Leviathan in the first place. And if we meet at Midgar during this chaotic time, maybe its fate that I become an active shinobi again and help them."

A/N: No. Comment. Lawls. The plotbunny demanded a short story. And yes, Kakashi's a hermit living at the very top of the Wutai Mountains. Deal with it lol!

But ah. I really want to read a well done FF7 crossover with Naruto - one with no pairings and have a decent plot. Hehe. It's why I amused myself with writing this rather pointless drabble.

~Phoenyxx