This is a Cal Leandros crossover with Naruto Shippuden (an anime series), you don't need to watch it to enjoy the story but I do reconmend it, it is a great show. Cal is 23 and Niko is 25 for the mass of this story. Cal has advanced with his ability and his skill with guns and fighting. I thought this would be a good cross over because The main character Naruto is similar to Cal in the respect that he has a monster inside of him that he is adament that he won't let out.

Cal and Niko stood in front of this new client promise had picked out for them. Cal stood there looking overly suspicious, on one hand Cal was always suspicious but on the other Niko believed he had a reason to be this time s this guy looked more shifty than any of the other seedy clients they had come across. This gig was unlike any other.

"I want you to listen carefully because I am only going to explain this once. As you well know, there are other dimensions apart from this one," they knew that alright, "there is this one dimension that that is populated with people called shinobi. Shinobi are real live ninja's who use chakra which is the energy of their life force to perform wonderous acts such as nature manipulation, super human acts of speed and strength and much more. They came to this world around the 16th century and tried to settle here but their power got them persecuted and they returned back to their dimension and they took the Japanese lanuage with them. I suppose you've already guessed the reason why you are the only people who can complete this mission?"

Both Cal and Niko where uneasy. Cal was only half human and therefore he had this ability in which he could create portholes at any time, any place and to anywhere. This ability was discovered over two years before this meeting and when it happened he would pass out for half an hour, then when he got over that and he tried it blood seeped out of his nose, mouth and ears so his older brother Niko decided it wasn't safe to be using it but Cal usually obiedient towards his brother decided it could save his brother's life one day if they needed a quick get away so he continued practicing.

Cal's nightmarish family, the Auphe had created him for the purpose of bringing their prehistoric family back into the over human populated world. The Auphe were evil, vicious and they would torture their prey for hours before they finally killed it or left it to die. Cal was so afraid of becoming one when he was younger, he was still afraid now but he had grown up an awful lot and on top of that he trusted Niko with his whole soul not to let him become the nightmare that created him. The mother he and Niko shared (Niko was fully human but his skill with a sword and his predatory ways were anything but human) was not much better than the Auphe, she may have fed and clothed Niko but she never gave him anything a mother really should and when she took gold from the Auphe to bear it's child she didn't even touch him, she just handed him to a four year old Niko and said, "you've always wanted a pet."

Niko treasured Cal above all else, until he found Promise Cal was the only being he loved. Promise was a vampire which meant he didn't have to hide his life from her and she was there when he couldn't talk to Cal. The world they lived in was full of non humans and he was one of the few humans who knew that.

He asked Promise how this warlock knew about Cal's ability and she said that as usual mythology got it wrong (the Auphe were in fact elves, way to get it way of mythology), a warlock was someone who had knowlage over the world, human and supernatural and from childhood knew how to manipulate it. Cal was the only one who could pass through dimensions and get what this guy was paying them $150,000 to get, something called The Scroll of the Forbidden seal. Just hearing the name made Cal less willing to do it and when he heard that we were required to learn Japanese Niko knew he would be having an argument with him when they got home.

"I can only create portals to places I've been before, they're not just created by wishful thinking you know."

Niko felt like slapping him, except that he was right Cal needed to have been somewhere before he could revisit it.

"I understand that but the mind can be manipulated. While learning Japanese you will also study everything I have on this dimension and soon I guarente you, you will be able to travel there."

He and Niko studied for over a year, or rather Niko forced Cal to study and they learnt the launuage.

"You're not coming." said Niko to Robin. The puck was trying to convince Niko he would behave himself while Cal mumbled the odd 'Yeh right' and 'That'll be the day'.

Niko slapped his little brother upside the head and gave the puck a final firm No and walked out of the room to arm himself before they set off. Niko had traveled through enough gates to get use to the oddness of traveling from one atmosphere to another. As he loaded his weapons into the large coat he concealed them in he contemplated how far Cal had come since they defeated the Auphe. Cal could now use his gates to a much higher level than he expected him to excel to. He could now create a gate around a person so they have no chance of escaping it, he could also create multiple gates at one time and make one around himself so that he could appear and disappear in less than a second. Niko doubted anyone could catch him. Not only that but his hand to hand fighting skills had increased a lot, he was still no match for Niko (or Robin who was old enough to have practiced the art to death, even Niko doubte he could be defeated). Cal prefared a gun though, he was too lazy to love the sword the way Niko did, a gun was a quick way of killing. He had a natural aptitude for the gun and he had always had a great aim but in these three years since defeating the Auphe there wasn't much, moving or still that he couldn't hit.

Niko finished loading himself with his arsenal and thought, despite the fact Cal would never use his ability or his gun when they were sparring that didn't change the fact that Cal could now completly take him. Niko was a proud man but not in that sense, Cal defeating him wouldn't hurt him in the slightest but it was just proof that his little brother was growing up and perhaps out growing him and Niko thought on some level Cal knew that and that is why his attitude hadn't matured in the slightest over these years and Niko was glad, despite the slaps he delivered to Cal's seemingly empty head he silently pray Cal would never change.

Niko went back into the room where Cal had a knife to Robin Goodfellow's throat looking amused, "I can't believe you fell for that," grinned Cal.

"You think you've got me?"

"Oh no you could totally take me," said Cal soberly, putting his knife back in his belt, "but you're still not coming."

Niko let a rare smile pass his face and sighed, yes Cal was most definately growing up. "You ready?" he asked in Japanese.

Niko nodded and watched his brother open a gate.

In the next chapter the Shinobi encounter Cal and Niko and are shocked by what they find.