Greetings, all, welcome to my Naruto/Tales of Symphonia crossover. It's my first story, and I'm well aware that it's probably lousy. I'll come right out and say it, Takeshi is basically me, only with ninja powers. So this is something of a self-insert, though I hope that he comes off as a decent character and not a Marty Stu (If you don't know what that means, Eragon from the Inheritance Trilogy is a perfect example-someone who's perfect at everything, with no flaws) He's got no meta-knowledge, but I'll try to intersperse a few jokes that break the fourth wall every now and again, largely because they're funny. The setting is basically the world (I've got plans for a sequel- ANOTHER crossover, this time Naruto/Harry Potter. I'm an utter geek, aren't I?), with the Ninja world somewhere around Japan, and Sylvarant a couple of fairly large islands south of that. Tethe'alla is south of THAT. The setup- Tower of Salvation, waning mana, etc., is still the same, barring the hidden existence of the two worlds. I'm going to assume that all modern technology exists (as you'll see pretty quickly), but no one uses guns, largely for reasons stemming from the Rule of Cool. My handwaving explanation is that the exspheres and mad ninja skills make up for it- they're much faster than your average mook with an AK-47.

Hojo Takeshi, 17, was returning to Konoha after a six-month stay in Sunagakure, serving as an assistant to the ambassador there. He shouldered his pack, looking up at the gates adorned with the crest of Konoha, the same crest that was on the hita-ate band tied around his arm. He was dressed in loose cargo pants, a tunic emblazoned with his clan's crest (Author's Note: 'tis the triforce.), and a chuunin vest over that. He walked through the gates, smiling as he did. It was good to be back.

Takeshi followed the orders he had been given by messenger hawk before he left- "Upon your arrival, report directly to the Hokage's office." As he walked through the gates, he greeted the guards who sat, bored, at the gatepost. Clearly it was a slow day. He took his time walking down the streets, enjoying the hustle and bustle that had not been present in Suna- no one stopped to chat or just took a walk when the temperature was hot enough to fry an egg, and sand was blowing in your face. He didn't spot any familiar faces as he walked, figuring that most of his friends would be out on missions. Still, he began to look more carefully as he made his way closer to the main offices of the ninja of Konoha. In particular, he was looking for Shikamaru Nara. He had become good friends with Temari while he was in Suna, and before he had left, she had given him a letter for the ponytailed ninja. She had warned him against reading it, and Takeshi, having seen the look in her eyes when she said this, was not tempted. He chuckled. Besides, just by being that intense about it, she had given Takeshi a good idea of what the letter said. Takeshi had been a decent friend of Shikamaru, and was looking forward to a shogi rematch. He was no match for Shikamaru, but enjoyed seeing how close he could come.

However, he didn't spot Konoha's infamous lazy ninja, and he introduced himself to the receptionist, who radioed upstairs to let the 5th know that he had arrived. Takeshi sat down to wait until the receptionist signaled him, pulling out his headphones and turning them on. (A/N- I'll pepper this with whatever I'm listening to when I write this, seeing as I'm pretty much taking this as being set in reality, only with ninjas and the like. Right now, it's the Halo 3 soundtrack.) He relaxed as the music flowed through his head, content that here in the center of Konoha, he could afford to let his guard down. After a long wait, during which it was a struggle to remain awake, the receptionist finally signaled that the Hokage was ready for him. He walked up the stairs and made his way to the Hokage's office, knocking on her door. Hearing a "come in!" from inside, he walked through and waited for the Hokage to speak, headphones still around his neck. The 5th Hokage turned in her seat, looking coolly at this young ninja, who looked coolly right back.

"Hojo Takeshi, reporting back from Sunagakure, is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am. I have several sealed documents from the Kazekage for you, and a report from the ambassador detailing the past two months."

With that, Takeshi opened a pouch on his vest and pulled out 6 scrolls.

"I wasn't given clearance to know what these documents contain, save for the ambasador's report. That was my job, so I really don't have anything to add to it in person. Anything else, Hokage-sama, or am I free to go?"

"No, I think that will be all. You're free to go. Report to me tomorrow at 0600 for your next mission."

"Yes ma'am. Will I be seeing my team on this mission? It's been a while."

"No, they're still out on a mission along with most of our other Chunin squads. This will be a solo mission."

"Alright. Length?"

"You'll find out tomorrow. Now go, I have work to do."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

As he walked out of the office and through the halls, his headphones once again blasting music into his ears (A/N- Dragonforce: Through the Fire and Flames), he started grumbling to himself. Only one day's break, a 6 AM report time, and all my friends out of town. Brilliant. Haven't seen the village in 6 months, and I've got barely an afternoon to enjoy it, less because I'm sure my parents will just be dying to hear about my time in Suna. Takeshi rolled his eyes. Not that there's anything to tell. I was basically stuck behind a desk for 6 months. The ambassador himself took care of the one assassination that came down from the Hokage- that would have been fun, and might have gotten me closer to Jounin. Ah well, maybe this mission will be a bit better. But still, one day's break, and I don't even get a chance to sleep in. Still grumbling, Takeshi headed out of the building and made his way through the village to his family's compound. He pulled the key out from its position on his belt loop, unlocked the door, and walked inside the gate.

It was a fairly lavish compound- the Hojo clan was fairly important in Konoha- not on the level of the Hyuuga clan or the former glory of the Uchiha clan, but close. Their kekkai genkai was a valuable asset to the village, and the clan was wealthy and generous. Those members of the family who were not gifted with the ability to become Ninja had become fairly prosperous in the electronics markets, and they owned the majority of the video game stores and electronics chains in the land of Fire. Takeshi was the son of the chief and stood to inherit the leadership of the clan when his father passed on. He didn't want this task- his goal was to serve his village as a ninja, and the leader of the clan more often than not focused on the electronics and day-to-day-life of the clan than being a Ninja. Fortunately, his father was not likely to get himself killed- he had never been a ninja, and the greatest threat to his life was that Takeshi would finally snap at his constant nagging to "secure an heir", as he put it, and kill him just to shut him up. This nagging also resulted in his attempts to arrange dates with various "suitable" ladies of the village for him, which, after the first two, Takeshi vehemently shot down. This had been a large portion of Takeshi's reasoning for applying for the ambassadorial post in Suna- he had needed to get out of the house for a while. But now he was back. He looked around the compound. Nothing had changed. The main house, his, stood in the middle of it all, still tall and ugly. The various houses belonging to his relatives, those lower down on the totem pole, surrounded the main building, none of them so high or so ornate. The family crest was prominent everywhere, even embedded in the path over which he walked. He walked up to the front door, and pulled it open, kicking off his shoes as he gave the traditional greeting. Silence greeted him. Well that's typical- the one time I'm home and they're all out. Meh, whatever. With that, he went to the fridge and pulled out some food. Making his way over to the living room, he grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV, searching for something good. He didn't find anything. Daytime TV was always horrible. So, he decided to pull out some video games that he hadn't had a chance to play in a long while. He smiled as he turned on the machine and threw the disk in- Halo 3 on a 60-inch HDTV. With massive surround sound. I guess there are SOME benefits to having your family own a chain of electronics stores. He chuckled. This game was far removed from actual combat- death was cheap, one man could kill thousands of enemies, and healing was simply a matter of waiting. As he had once described it to his friends- "You remember when we were training, we'd get hurt, and sensei would tell us to walk it off? Well imagine him telling us that after we've taken 5 bullets to the chest. Now imagine it working." But it was fun and took skill, and that was what mattered to Takeshi right now. He sat back, engrossed in the game.

Ch. 2-

The next time Takeshi looked up, it was dark out and his family still hadn't gotten home. He looked around and saw the note taped to the fridge that he had missed in his search for food-

"Takeshi-

I know you were supposed to get home today, and I'm sorry we can't be there. I've had an important business deal, and for appearances, it's important that I have a family with me. We will be home in three days. Food's in the fridge. See you soon!

Dad

Takeshi chuckled. With that mission, he might go longer between seeing his family than he expected. Well, that was fine with him. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out some of the food his dad had prepared- Teriyaki chicken and rice. Ah, bliss. No matter how much he complained about his dad, he couldn't deny that he was a fantastic cook- a skill that still eluded Takeshi. Throwing the food in the microwave, he waited for it to warm up as he pulled some vegetables out of the freezer- a ninja needed to stay fit. Cooking these (he could handle frozen vegetables), he soon had a satisfactory dinner, that he greatly enjoyed. Finishing, he decided to hit the sack early- he had an early mission tomorrow and he wasn't doing anything else. So, heading upstairs, he fell into his bed and went to sleep, just barely remembering to set the alarm.

Before he drifted off, he reflected on the fact that he had spent the only day he had in Konoha completely alone, playing video games. Upon further thought, he realized that he really didn't mind. He had never been an incredibly social guy (a fact that drove his parents crazy), and simply didn't need to spend much time with other people, many times preferring the company he kept in his own head. He knew that this wasn't entirely healthy, but whatever. He didn't particularly care.

The next morning, the alarm went off at 5:00. After nearly breaking the clock punching the snooze button several times (his ninja abilities and his desire to sleep in meant that he invariably went through several alarm clocks a year- something that did not particularly please his hosts in Suna), he stumbled out of bed, took a shower, and revived a bit over a warm cup of tea. Now able to function, he pulled on his vest and tied his headband around his arm. He locked up and headed out, leaping quickly so as to make it on time, and enjoying the chance to bleed off a bit of chakra- he had not had the occasion to use much lately.

He arrived at the Hokage's compound and was admitted, quickly, into the Hokage's presence.

She explained the mission to him- as the details came out, his face got more and more this was a "bread and butter" mission- one of those long, usually tedious bodyguard missions that brought the most money in to the village. Takeshi shuddered. A job spent guarding some "chosen" high horse in a land called Sylvarant as they released "mana links" and restored their land to prosperity. It was ranked as a A-rank, but only because Takeshi was going alone- normally, this would be handled by a small team. Takeshi would have to take on the job of an entire 3-man cell of chunin by himself. The hokage strongly hinted that a strong performance here would be a good sign that he was ready to finally begin the trials to earn the rank of Jonin, so at least some good would come of it. She handed him a map of the region, a seal from the Hokage ensuring that yes, he was the ninja coming to assist the chosen and not here to assassinate the prime minister, and a plane ticket that was to depart for a town called Triet at noon.

"Any questions?"

"Just one. Am I the only one who is going to be protecting this person? That could get tricky."

"The message indicates that a few of the locals are competent enough to assist you, and the chosen herself won't get in the way. You should go in with pretty much a full team, though I can't guarantee that they'll be at your level."

"Alright. Time to go, I think."

"Good luck, safe travel."

Takeshi went home to pack. He knew to travel light, and so threw together one bag containing his ninja gear (several scrolls and larger shuriken), basic medical supplies, his light bedroll, and a few changes of clothes. Pocketing his iPod (A/N- yes, it's an iPod. So sue me. Unless you're Steve Jobs, in which case, please don't.), wallet, and travel papers, he set off on the flight. On his way to the airport, he stopped at the Nara compound and left the envelope in the care of Shikamaru's mother. Temari'd probably kill him if she knew he did that, but then she'd probably kill him if he held on to it for the few months this mission would take. Takeshi's hita-ate allowed for easy security clearance- the two bored genin on security detail waved him through. It was fun, he reflected, to be able to walk through the airport tossing a kunai up and down as he walked while the civilians had their nail clippers confiscated. He made it to his seat (actually, he had the whole row- ninja weren't popular traveling companions). So, he put on his headphones, figuring that this would be the last time he'd really get a good listen in (A/N- Bruce Springsteen. I'm from New Jersey. It's pretty much required) It was a short trip, only about two hours away, and he landed and looked for a way to travel north to Iselia.