I don't own Naruto or Breath of Fire 3. Just a fan of both. Enjoy this short story/one-shot.
World Beneath Your Feet
Kakashi Hatake, the notoriously late jōnin-sensei of Team 7, arrived to their designated meeting place three hours late as per usual. Today was a sunny day in the Elemental Nations, looking more positively inclined than yesterday. About two weeks ago they had returned from their first C-rank mission, which had turned into an A-rank due to missing-nin being involved. It turned out successful despite the situations—it also forced his three students to see that the ninja world was not all fun and games. He was glad a lesson was taught to them from such an experience.
Also, from said experience, Sasuke awakened his Sharingan and Naruto tapped into the Kyūbi's power for the first time. Both had some form of kinship with another, an acknowledgment of friendship. Sakura was in the center of them. While she was still making googly eyes at Sasuke to win his affections, he knew she had been changed by their last mission outside the village. The pink-haired girl didn't visibly show it like her teammates but she was more readable than they were.
But, all things considered, they were all right. He had fun watching them banter on or wait in silence for his arrival. Seeing as he was punctually late, even if it was for a good reason, it was best to show up and look like he didn't see them until now.
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted them casually.
"You're late again!" Sakura and Naruto quickly rounded on him the moment they heard his voice. Sasuke's patented glare was ever so present on his face as their teacher nonchalantly strolled towards them.
"Maa, don't get so angry my cute little genin. You see, I was on my way here, but then I got lost, wandering around the village." The silver-haired man replied while stowing away his orange book, giving them his usual 'eye-smile'.
"Liar!" The shouting pair pointed their fingers at him, clearly aggravated. Sasuke's glare got more intense. Kakashi simply laughed at their antics, quite used to them after months of spending time with them. He knew he was lying but it was hilarious to watch their reactions all the time. One day, he'd record them for comedic film material, but that would be a day in another time.
"Well, let's not wait here any longer," the jōnin said, earning harsher glares from his students, "Let's go get some missions for today!" They didn't seem so excited about that but it wasn't like they couldn't get away from it. They could only hope they didn't get the mission with Tora again.
-x-
When Team 7 filed into the large room, they saw the Third Hokage and other ninja sitting behind the desk, filing papers and documents away. It was the same as usual when they came here to receive a new mission. The three genin were hoping it wasn't more D-ranks, but they'd resign to it if they were.
"Ah, Team 7. Good morning, I trust everything is well?" The Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi, began his greeting, smiling as his eyes glanced at each one. Naruto grinned and demonstrated some part of his enthusiasm.
"Of course, Old Man!" The other ninja minus his teammates and Iruka narrowed their eyes at the blond for the blatant disrespect for the Hokage. Iruka, while upset, simply shook his head. But nonetheless, he was still proud of his former students. Sakura wound up bopping Naruto on the head for said disrespect, Sasuke rolled his eyes and Kakashi simply eye-smiled again. While Naruto was recovering from the hit comically, their silver-haired sensei spoke up.
"Are there any missions available for us, Hokage-sama?"
"Hm of course, let's see," The elder man began shifting through scrolls and papers, listing off assignments as he went. "There's another fence painting, a babysitting, a delivery, recapturing Tora," the genin in the room, including the other ninja, all paled at the mention of the 'demon cat's' name, "All D-rank." The Hokage finished, rolling up the scrolls for them to take. He noticed the genin looked either frustrated, saddened or indifferent to his listings. After all, they just came from a C-upped-A-rank mission two weeks prior and had been doing D-ranks since they returned.
"Old Man, do you have, well anything else we can do? We seriously kicked ass on that last C-rank!" the blond asked, trying to stay moderately polite. That, and Sakura's hits were getting stronger for some reason! Best to stay on her good side as long as possible. "We should get something better!" The orange-wearing ninja couldn't help blurting that one out though.
"Naruto!" the pink-haired kunoichi hissed. While she agreed to it, they had to be careful about what they asked for. Another mission like that one could wind up happening again and they might lose someone this time. Sasuke, however, was not having such sentiments. He agreed with the dead-last on this one. He needed to prove himself, to get stronger, and getting sent on higher ranking missions was the perfect opportunity. Plus, he had his Sharingan—testing it out further was something he wanted to do. Aside everything else, of course.
The old Hokage chuckled a little at the blond's words. It was true they superseded expectations on that mission. Although it was worrying about what happened, there wasn't any need to 'demote' them down to more D-ranks, at least for now. Seeing reason, and hoping they could handle it, he decided to give them another C-rank "Hmm, I may have another C-rank mission here," Hiruzen started and shuffled through some documents. "Ah, here's one." He tossed the scroll to Kakashi, who caught it.
The jōnin unrolled it and read it, his lone eye briefing over the details and approved it. "An escort mission to the village Dragnier," Kakashi summarized, glancing at his commanding officer in light confusion. For one, he'd never heard of the place and two, was there any information about it. The Hokage noticed the expression and decided to elaborate.
"Dragnier is a village I recently heard about a few days ago. From the client who requested this, actually. The nature of its existence was difficult to pinpoint, however, it is safe to say it lies northeast within the Land of Fire," the Third Hokage began, "It is said to have predated even the Warring Era period, so expect to see 'outdated' material when you arrive there. Strangely enough, there have been sightings of odd creatures, monsters as they're labeled, that roam around its perimeter. The client has assured the creatures are weak, about average of a bandit. Please take caution—we do not know of their abilities."
Kakashi filed the information away and nodded. "Understood. We accept the mission." He said, then turned to his genin, who were smiling at the prospect of getting another C-rank. Well, Sasuke was smirking, Naruto was smiling and Sakura seemed a little unsure but all right for the most part. To their sensei, he was relatively pleased.
"Very well. Send in Ryu-san." When the Third Hokage said this, all attention turned to the door. Opening said door and stepping in was a young person wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt with beige shorts, matching pull over vest with no buttons or zipper, brown sandals, minimal shoulder plate armor and an orange scarf tied around their neck. Upon their back was a dark green bag with their arms through the straps. Their pale skin seemed to make them look sickly but they were smiling a healthy grin. Their hair was styled in a short way, some spikes protruding upwards naturally. There was a sheath strapped to the person's right hip, insisting they knew some form of kenjutsu. However, what caught the genin mostly off guard was the strange, electric blue of the hair and eyes of the person. Those eyes didn't hold any pupils in them—almost like the Hyūga clan's Byakugan. Added to that, this person was as short and young looking as they were. How queer!
"Hello!" the person, obviously a young boy, called to them with his cheery attitude. The ninja in the room felt a bit happier at his merry exhibition, minus Sasuke's indifference of course. When he saw the Hokage, he bowed respectfully to him. The old man nodded and gestured to the squad of ninja.
"Hello Ryu-san. Please meet Team Seven. Their sensei here is Kakashi Hatake." Said individual casually waved when mentioned, "And the genin of his squad are Sasuke Uchiha," aforementioned genin gave a simple nod, "Sakura Haruno," the pink-haired girl smiled, "and Naruto Uzumaki," the blond grinned wide at being introduced, "This accomplished group of ninja will be escorting you to your village."
The strange boy eyed his future escort team and smiled at them. "Ah, excellent. Thank you so much, Hokage-sama for allowing my brief stay and payment procedures. Your village is wonderful."
The elder Sarutobi could sense the honesty from his words and simply smiled. "It's no issue, Ryu-san. I hope you have enjoyed your stay. You're more than welcome to return whenever possible. Konoha will welcome you." The boy bowed respectfully again before turning to the team once more.
"Wow! You're not much older than we are!" Naruto pointed out bluntly, his blue eyes meeting the other pair. Sakura leered a little at him but the orange-wearing boy wasn't paying much attention. The other lad, Ryu, simply laughed jovially.
"Yes, I suppose you can say that." He replied then looked towards Kakashi, "Hatake-san, I will meet you by your village's gate, as I've been informed that is where we clients must go when awaiting our escorts."
"Yes. If you don't mind."
"Not at all, sir. Thank you very much. I will see you four in a few, then." Ryu bowed again to them before making taking his leave. Kakashi turned to his genin and gave them an "eye-smile" which spoke volumes.
"Now you three, get your things together. We'll be gone for another week or so, so pack up! Meet me at the gates in ten minutes. Don't be late." The three students shared one long look at their sensei before departing in varying amounts of excitement and apprehension. When they were gone, Kakashi's demeanor shifted into seriousness, as did the other ninja in the room.
"You felt it too, didn't you?" The Sandaime asked as he lit his pipe.
"Yes sir. It was unnatural. I will be keeping a close eye out."
"Very well, Kakashi. If anything happens, return to the village. Don't do anything rash or take things into control when they are not."
The jōnin nodded, swiftly bowed and used the Shunshin to exit. The old man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why can't they ever use the door..." He muttered to himself. While the others wanted to laugh, they held it in due to their commanding officer being present in the room with them. Oh well, they would laugh about it later.
-x-
Ten minutes passed swiftly and Team 7 were all packed up and ready to go. Well, except for Kakashi, who was tardy as usual. While this normally frustrated his students—and they were—they were currently occupied with wondering about their client. He was definitely around their height, although his age could be questionable. His bright blue hair seemed so farfetched, it made Sakura's pink hair look normal. It also made him stand out like a sore thumb, like Naruto's orange track suit.
Thinking to strike up a conversation with the other boy, totally not to avoid his annoyance of his tardy sensei or boredom whatsoever, Naruto piped up. "So uh, Ryu-san? What's your village like? Do you have a Kage that leads them? Are there ninjas there, too? And what about these monsters?" He asked all in rapid succession. His teammates were paying attention as well, also wanting to know for, more or less, the same reasons.
Ryu looked a little surprised for a moment before his smile returned. "My village does have a Kage, of sorts. A village leader, yes. What it's like? Well, it's mostly old fashioned and kind of out of the way. A perpetual fog encases it, like a permanent genjutsu in a way. Only a citizen of our village can get in or out. But, we get the occasional visitor if they meet one of our people on the outside." He tapped his chin a little to recollect his thoughts. "We don't really have ninjas, although it'd be nice if we had a group or two. It's mostly like Iron Country; mostly samurai origin with blends of ninjutsu. As for the monsters? Well, there are various kinds of them. Blue, jelly like monsters with their eyeballs outside their bodies, bouncing up and down for one."
The others blinked, looking at him as if they didn't believe him for the last part. Ryu couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's the truth!"
"Well, if you say so," Sakura decided to speak up, "But I'm curious. Why do you need an escort team to get to your village?" It was an innocent question.
"Well, Haruno-san, it's because I do not know the geography of the Land of Fire well. I wandered off without a map. Very silly of me, I know." Ryu answered her, a flustered smile on his face. With the way his pupil-less eyes shone with the light, it made him stand out even more. The girl slightly blushed at it.
'Wow, he's kind of cute,' She thought.
'But not as cute as Sasuke-kun!' Inner-Sakura said.
Interestingly enough, the aforementioned teenager steadily made his way towards the blue-haired boy, his hands inside his pockets. "The monsters. Are they normally weak or are there strong ones around?" He had to know. If they were strong, or if they encountered any strong ones out there, it would prove necessary for him to test his limits. They might not be a perfect substitute for him, but he'd rather reach his full potential and seek out any ways to get stronger.
Ryu's grin slightly melted into a thin line. "Some of the monsters are pretty weak in general. The strong ones don't come out until certain conditions are met, as what I remember. We'll be all right if we steer clear of them." He misinterpreted Sasuke's true reasons for asking such questions and although the Uchiha was a bit disappointed, he didn't let the information sink. Perhaps there was a way he could fight one. He'd have to find out. The black-haired boy nodded his head and returned to his spot.
A few minutes later, Kakashi appeared, casually greeting them. "Yo!" He was responded with glares by his students and a nod from their client. "Now that we're all here, let's get going. Dragnier is northeast from Konoha, according to directions, so let's head out!" The man eye-smiled and said cheerfully. The genin, minus Sasuke, grumbled something about stupidly tardy senseis but it was quietly ignored. The group of five set out of Konoha's gates, their new C-rank mission beginning.
-x-
The beautiful day was still present even as they traveled for an hour already. Their formation was similar to when they were escorting Tazuna; Kakashi in the front, Sakura behind him, their client, Ryu, in the center with Sasuke and Naruto on either side of him. They were remaining alert for any bandits or the mysterious monsters they were warned about earlier. So far, none have showed up. Naruto was currently engaging in a conversation with Ryu, who answered all the questions he streamed together on the fly.
"Ne, so do you like Ramen, Ryu-san?"
"Ramen? Well, not really," the blue-haired lad replied, earning a shocked look from Naruto, "I had a nice bowl from a ramen stand in Konoha called Ramen Ichiraku however. It was quite delicious though I can't say to put it on my top list of favorites just yet."
At the mention of his favorite restaurant stand, the blond perked up from his shock. "Oh. That's my favorite place to go! Like all the time!" Naruto exclaimed jubilantly.
"Really now? You must be a regular then."
"Definitely. Ever since I was a kid!"
"That's a long time. Teuchi-san and Ayame-san must know you very well then," Ryu said and Naruto nodded as his response. "Do you eat anywhere else, Uzumaki-san? I recall a place, a barbecue restaurant, while visiting. Have you been there?" The orange-wearing lad blinked before shaking his head.
"Naw. Ramen's all I need anyway," he replied a bit hastily, mostly trying to deflect the attention on that bit.
"I see. Well, perhaps you should one day. It's really good."
"I'll bet," Naruto then added to himself, 'If they'd let me dine inside...' His demeanor switched again as he prepared another question on mind. "Oh, Ryu-san? Just call me 'Naruto'. Calling me 'Uzumaki-san' is a bit... uh too formal?" The blond scratched the back of his head.
Ryu tilted his head curiously before agreeing lightly. "Very well then, if you insist, Naruto. Please, just call me 'Ryu' then. The formalities weren't a cup of tea for me." He glanced to the others, "this applies for you three as well, if you wish to."
"Okay," Sakura replied, smiling a little. She didn't mind being polite although simply calling the client by their name without proper honorifics suggested a closer connection. But, he was all right with it. Perhaps it was a custom of his village? Sasuke, as per usual, seemed indifferent to it. He wasn't going to call their client by the honorific anyway, as with most people except the Hokage. His own sensei, Kakashi, hadn't earned the right to be labeled "Kakashi-sensei" just yet by him. No—until the man taught him better, will he earn such a title.
While his back was facing them, Kakashi gave a thumbs up indicating he heard Ryu.
About ten minutes later in their travels, the large trees around Konoha becoming lesser than the norm, that's when they experienced their first encounter with one of the monsters. Kakashi had sensed it out as well as his genin. It was pretty baffling and strangely structured, given the way it and its apparent kin appeared. They were literally blue blobs with their eyes bouncing atop their heads. They even hopped around.
"Whoa, you weren't kidding around when you said about the blue jelly things," Naruto said. He and his team stared at the creatures incredulously while whipping out their kunai and getting into their respective stances. Ryu laughed a little as he shrugged.
"Yes, I try not to exaggerate too much. These creatures are called Eye Goo," Ryu replied and 'introduced' the monster to the group.
"There's only three of them, so let's have the three here take care of them," Kakashi said as he indicated his genin. "You don't know the enemy well, so assess the situation before charging in. Be careful and work together." The man stressed the last part. The students nodded—well, Sakura and Naruto did. Sasuke just grunted—and rushed the Eye Goo.
Kakashi kept an eye out on his genin team as did Ryu. This should be interesting.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan, trying to analyze the Eye Goo in front of him. The blue blob bounced and hopped causally, until it spotted the black-haired boy. The thing jumped at him to attack, he saw it in a slow down motion like a movie, and dodged it easily. The Uchiha threw a kunai at its jelly body... Only for it to bounce off! What the? Sasuke was perplexed though didn't have time to ponder as he had to dodge again.
Sakura and Naruto had the same issue as he did; their shuriken and kunai all bounced off the blubbery bodies of the Eye Goo. This frustrated them a little. Naruto, however, decided to go physical and launch himself at his enemy. Fist balled up, he thrust forward to punch the monster. His fist collided with jelly-like body, effectively getting stuck. Needless to say, it had no effect whatsoever. "Eh!?" Naruto gaped when he saw this happening.
Kakashi observed as Sakura attempted to free Naruto from his mistake while Sasuke tried to look for any weaknesses. He side glanced to his client to see him smiling. The boy appeared knowledgeable about these creatures, so it wouldn't hurt to ask him.
"They should aim in between the eyes," Ryu said, almost as if sensing the oncoming question, "That's their weak point. Or, an elemental ninjutsu would work just as well." It appeared he said that out loud on purpose because the genin overheard.
'Elemental ninjutsu, huh? Perfect.' Sasuke thought as he flashed through the hand seals of his only known elemental jutsu. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!" He inhaled and blew out the large, flaming orb at the Eye Goo in his way. The blue blob had no chance and dispersed the moment the flames engulfed it.
Sakura turned to her Eye Goo, which was hopping around and aimed for the eyes. Taking another round of shuriken, she threw them quickly and they hit their mark. Like Sasuke's, it dispersed, leaving no trace of it behind. Naruto, however, since he was virtually closest to his own Eye Goo—the thing staring at him blankly becoming weirder by the second—whipped up another kunai and jabbed it between its eyes. Like its brethren, it also dispersed upon the critical hit of contact. The boy's hand was freed from its sticky prison as well.
"I'm glad that's over," Sakura said as she watched her teammate try to wipe the sticky feeling off his hand.
"Heh, that was too easy though!" the blond-haired boy grinned wide. "They didn't stand a chance."
"You're the one that got stuck, baka!" the pink-haired girl huffed and reminded him. Naruto's grin faltered a little but not by much. Sasuke said nothing. He didn't feel very satisfied with the kill of the monster. As Naruto said, it was too easy. Common thugs and bandits would have put up more of a challenge than those things. Before Naruto could say anything, however, their sensei conveniently intervened.
"Good work, everyone. Now that you know what to experience when encountering those, just remember where to hit them," Kakashi gave Ryu a look who returned it casually. "It also appears we'll run into other creatures as we near the village. So be prepared."
"Yes sensei," two of the three genin answered back with one grunting in response. The silver-haired jōnin's eye crinkled, evident he was smiling.
"Good. Now, let's continue on, shall we?" No one objected to this as they resumed their positions from before and continued onwards.
-x-
By the time it was night on the first day, the group had many encounters with different assortment of monsters; there were a feisty group of purple, semi-bipedal creatures called Lizards, floating, blue things with spikes and a bird's beak called Gongheads, and annoying bugs that even Shino Aburame—a fellow genin—wouldn't want in his colony called Dragonflies. Also, the last few monsters were more Eye Goos, which were taken down much faster than their first encounter. It was tiring since the monsters popped up out of nowhere and it seemed like every step they took they would come up again. Kakashi had participated in a few fights himself just so they could advance further.
The monsters had them dodging everywhere and utilizing their skills in every which way, it was almost like an extended training session, but with their lives mostly on the line. Dangerous yet exhilarating; pretty much what two of the three genin liked about this mission so far.
'At this rate, I'll become stronger. Maybe strong enough to finally kill that man,' Sasuke thought as he was regulating his breath.
'I'll get stronger through this. I'll be strong enough to be Hokage in no time if this keeps up,' Naruto thought, doing the same thing as his fellow teammates. Boy, that was some skill exertion back there.
'I wonder if Sasuke-kun thinks I'm getting better now and will recognize me? Surely he has. I mean, I've been putting my all into the fights too,' was Sakura's thought as she glanced at her 'one true love'. The boy in question wasn't paying her much attention, to busy focusing on something else. While she was eyeing him, Naruto was busy eyeing her.
'I wish Sakura-chan would look at me that way.' He half pouted. He'd been trying to get her attention for years now, having taken a liking to her to win her over as part of his rivalry with Sasuke.
"Well done for today kids. You deserve some rest. We'll camp here and resume tomorrow morning," Kakashi said plain and simple. The genin didn't refuse and began making camp, hustling themselves so they could rest faster. Even one as determined as Naruto and Sasuke were trying to hurry up and sleep.
Once the preparations were done, the three promptly lied down around the instated campfire and sighed in relief. They would take out something to eat. However, they saw their client pulling out ingredients and a few bowls from his own pack. Huh?
"Ryu-san? May I ask what you're about to do?" Sakura was the first to ask, her voice dogged in curiosity. Her teammates and sensei appeared interested as well.
"Going to make shisu."
"Shisu?"
"Yes. It's one of my village's homemade dishes. It's very filling, despite it's size and it's similar to the sushi dish that's commonplace in the Elemental Nations," the bluet replied, beginning to knead the fish, vinegar, rice and oil together. Within a few minutes, four shisu were made and presented for the ninja to take one each. "Please try one." Each ninja took one, the three having taken a bite first.
"Wow, this is really good!" Sakura beamed happily.
"Yeah, this is tasty!" Naruto added, devouring the rest of his in one bite. 'Not as good as ramen but I'd say second best!'
"Hn, it's not too bad..." Sasuke thought to comment. It was actually very good although expressing such an emotion right now would be contradictory to his usual behavior. Sakura's ears perked up at the mention of this particular thing and noted to herself to get the recipe from Ryu. If she could make this for Sasuke, then perhaps he'll notice her more often! It was absolutely perfect!
After the light dinner other than the shisu, the genin turned in for the night while Kakashi kept watch. Some time passed and they were out, that's when the jōnin spoke up. "You're still awake, Ryu-san?" The bluet simply nodded as he stared into the fire, watching the embers burn away effortlessly. "Surely you don't need any rest?"
"I'm all right, Hatake-san," Ryu replied sincerely. "Though, I believe you have some questions for me? Something you wanted to discuss privately?"
"Quite," Kakashi didn't bother looking surprised as he continued on, "You seem much stronger than you appear. Are you possibly being hunted by missing-nin?"
Ryu chuckled before answering. "I appear stronger than I look? Well, it's for my own safety that I look 'weak'. I'm not surprised a top ninja such as yourself could detect the underlying layers of my charade easily. As for missing-nin? Well, not that I'm aware of." The first bit put Kakashi on alert though the bluet decided to alleviate his worries. "Be at ease. I have no intentions of harming you or your genin, Hatake-san. Despite what you sense from me, I am no danger to anyone unless they attack me first without proper reasons," he paused to think about what he just said, "Then again, even with reasons, justified or not, I still don't take kindly to being attacked. I travel peacefully."
Kakashi nodded slowly, processing everything he was told. "Our Hokage sensed it from you as well. Our last C-rank mission had some missing information from the client that was quite vital. I'd rather not have our team fall into such a situation again, if you don't mind."
"I understand," Ryu answered back, poking the fire with a stick he found, "Trust me, I have not left out any information about my reasons for an escort team. I've tried to suppress my power as best as possible. I suppose how you 'rank' it is about jōnin level, correct?"
"Yes. But from your expression, it tells me you're much stronger than that," the elite ninja replied, feeling a little relaxed. He was still on alert, however, not letting his guard down completely.
The boy nodded. "Have you ever felt what one of the Bijū was like?" Kakashi eyed the lad and noticed he was staring in Naruto's direction. The blond was snoring but not too loudly. The silver-haired ninja froze just a bit—this kid knew what Naruto contained? Or, was he a sensor type? He didn't seem to have any sort of ninja training so it was unlikely but still... He couldn't rule it out. No, not with how he carried his sword, even if he hadn't drawn it out yet. It spoke experience.
"Yes. One time I have." And it was highly unpleasant and, dare he admit, terrifying.
"...Imagine two or three of them in one place, exuding powerful killer intent at the same time," the bluet returned his focus back to the fire, his expression transforming into one of forlorn, "And its magnitude crushing you like an insect, that it's hard to stand up or even breathe. That's... what my full power will feel like, if it's not reared in like it is now."
At that moment, Kakashi and Ryu exchanged glances and the man could have sworn the boy's eyes flashed a menacing red before reverting back to blue again. However, he couldn't hide the mixed look of incredulous on his face—or what could be seen, what with his mask and all—or the shock written there.
"You're... that strong, huh?" Kakashi asked lightly, taking out his Icha Icha book and flipping to the place he last left off. Ryu looked up to watch the stars instead of the fire.
"I suppose. I didn't mean to hide my abilities, or at least that. I just didn't want to scare anyone around me..." He gave a low sigh before a hand went through his hair, "Though, I did get genuinely lost. Still can't believe I didn't take a map with me." He was ashamed of himself for that.
"Right... So the monsters we've been encountering today..."
"More or less sparked to attack because of my aura. If I'm alone, they come. If I'm with a group, they appear a bit less than normal. Right about now, they'd be attacking me."
"Will they get stronger the closer we get to your village?"
"It's possible, I won't lie. But not to worry; it'll be all right."
The jōnin remained silent after that. He hoped they wouldn't have to fight anything as large as the Kyūbi. Just one of them was enough. Kakashi turned the page in his book as he and Ryu stayed awake in a companionable silence—or as much of companionship as possible at this point. It was much too soon to dictate that yet. He'd worry about the possibilities when they crossed that bridge.
-x-
Without much incident, the five made it through the week almost relatively the same as when they first started out. The monsters, predictably as Kakashi noted before, had gotten tougher the closer they seemed to get towards Dragnier. There were creatures that exploded if they didn't defeat it in time, and some that resembled human beings called Assassins. This had baffled the genin when they defeated them because of their outward appearances.
However, during the trip, the three genin and client chatted about stuff from their respective villages; from dreams to locations to everything in between that wasn't sensitive. It was odd that Sasuke sometimes joined in on the conversations but no one said anything about it.
The sixth day into the week, they wound up in a heavily coated fog. It was thicker than the jutsu Zabuza Momochi, the now deceased missing-nin they fought with on their last C-rank, had used. This one seemed more... stranger than his. This was leaning more on natural occurrence than a chakra-induced technique.
"This is it," Ryu said as he stepped forward.
"What's it?" Both Sakura and Naruto asked simultaneously.
"This is Dragnier, my home village," he answered and was met with confused expressions from the latter two, an incredulous one from Sasuke and an indifferent one from Kakashi. "I did mention it was in perpetual fog, hadn't I?"
"Oh, right," the pinkette blushed a bit in embarrassment. "You said before we left Konoha."
"And it was in some sort of genjutsu?" Naruto added, recalling the memory.
"Uh-huh," the boy replied with the nod of his head. At this point, both Kakashi and Sasuke activated their Sharingan, peering into the thick fog. While not a Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan, the Copy-Wheel dōjutsu could detect hints of genjutsu as easily. As suggested, they saw it; there was a cubical barrier within the fog. Both parties deactivated or covered their Sharingan once seeing it.
"It's there," Sasuke commented. After a moment, he tried to dispel the genjutsu, but it didn't so much as disrupt once.
"The illusion isn't for you to disrupt; it's there to block people from getting in." Ryu said, laughing a little at the Uchiha's attempt. He tugged on Naruto's right arm's sleeve and gestured for them to follow him. "Come on, I know where to go from here," He started but then immediately paused. "Oh right, one more thing. Hold hands."
"Huh? Why?" the blond asked, suddenly startled by the odd order.
"Well, the barrier will block you if you're not holding onto a citizen of the village," the bluet responded with open amusement. With that, he took Naruto's hand and waited for the others to do the same. The blond tried to get Sakura's hand with his other unoccupied one but instead grabbed Sasuke's. Both boys leered at one another for half a second before resigning. The pinkette quickly took Sasuke's other hand, the latter rolling his eyes to her excitement. Kakashi shook his head but took Sakura's remaining hand. It was weird they were doing this and couldn't help but wonder if this was some elaborate joke regardless.
"All right, here we go." Ryu announced and began stepping into the denser cloud of fog. Team 7 braced themselves for anything to happen but were surprised when nothing did. Although, passing through the barrier felt like going through water. Mysteriously, nothing happened when they crossed over. Once securely on the other side, Ryu released Naruto's hand and the others did likewise. Sakura was saddened by the fact she couldn't hold Sasuke's hand anymore since he practically wrenched it from her grip.
Ryu turned around, smiled wide and outstretched his arms. "Well, here we are. Welcome to the Dragnier Village!"
-x- For the Dragons (Play) -x-
Team 7 were expecting a lively village filled with people and samurai, as Ryu had told them. They were expecting a lot of things though, but none of what they were seeing now wasn't even remotely close to their imaginations.
This place... seemed dead. These were ruins. Buildings, tents, and the like were run down, halfway destroyed, torn down or otherwise not standing any longer. The road's pavement wasn't left untouched by whatever destruction occurred here. Weeds and other vegetation sprouted out but they looked unhealthy compared to the grass and trees of Konoha. This place was a drastic change to what they had known. Where were all the people? Where were all the cool things Ryu had told them about?
"Wh-what's this...?" Naruto couldn't find the words to complete his question, too stunned to. But, in seconds he gathered his thoughts and finished, "Ryu? Where is everyone? Where is all the stuff? Why does this place seem so... empty?" Everyone had their eyes on their client, who's smile had partially deflated.
"It is empty," the bluet replied solemnly, "It has been for the past three thousand or so years." When he unintentionally had their, well, attention, he continued. "Dragnier had been the home of a powerful clan of people. This village predated what you guys know as the Sage of Six Paths. There's a story that surrounds this very village."
"A story?" Sakura wondered, cluing in she wanted to know it. Her teammates and sensei didn't object, curious and interested as well. Sasuke especially, since the clan word was mentioned. Ryu thought to oblige them.
"A long time ago, there was a land that was founded by the proclaimed dragon god called Ladon. He was powerful enough to spawn his own dragons, eventually labeling them as a clan. However, over centuries, it split up into two clans; the reason was because they warred over one another to gain a wish from a goddess," he started the tale, beginning to walk as the four followed him, "The dragons, they were shape-shifters in a sense. As stated before, they had been one whole clan before, but split asunder to fight for the wish. They became known as the Light Dragon Clan and the Dark Dragon Clan. Eventually, one member of the Light Dragons, a fraction of Ladon's will, power and spirit, sought out to destroy this goddess because he learned of her wickedness. Her wish was a ploy to have the dragons destroy one another so that she could rule over the world.
"Together with companions, the Light Dragon defeated the goddess and sealed her away. It'd be a long time before his spirit would be called down again. Several centuries later, a spawn of the goddess appeared and brainwashed many people under a church name called St. Eva. This weakened the dragon god's, Ladon's, power and, as such, was another ploy to gather energy large enough to resurrect the goddess. This plot failed when a descendant and reincarnation of the first Light Dragon appeared, alongside his own friends and successfully stopped and defeated the demon.
"But... That's when chaos appeared in another form: an entryway into the realm of dragons, those who survived the war both of the Light or Dark clans, would soon open and could unleash many demons upon the land. The first seal weakened and needed to be sealed again. The descendant knew, as his role, he would have to become the one to use his body, in dragon form, to seal the pathway.
"Eventually, they, his friends and family, found another way to seal it up again. As such, peace returned to the world once more. The dragons that remained lived in peace together, forming one whole clan over time, once more like their ancestors. They called themselves the Brood."
They stopped at a rural painting of what depicted the first and second battles with the goddess on a wall inside a decrepit building. The group, while listening, had taken glances at it and were in various degrees of awe, or simply replaying the information told. Ryu didn't mind the mild distraction and simply continued with the tale. "The Brood were a peaceful clan, living in isolation, away from other people. The only way to tell them apart from humankind was due to a red mark upon their foreheads or somewhere on their bodies," Ryu ran his hand over the old painting on the wall with something akin to reverence.
"The goddess from before had eventually reawakened and sought to destroy the dragons for good, feeling they were too powerful. She ordered a genocide of the entire race, wiping them off the face of the earth," Sasuke suddenly felt cold and frozen at the mention of this part of the tale. It was all too familiar to him. "Unknowingly, two survived but were separated. Over time, they didn't know who they were or what they were. Eventually, they discovered they were dragons, apart of the Brood bloodline. Even so, one was brainwashed by the goddess and the other, destined to defeat her as the labeled prince of their clan, the reincarnation of the first Light Dragon.
"With his companions, similarly to the first and second, he was able to defeat and convince the goddess that she was not needed and humankind could fend and think for themselves."
"What happened to the other dragon?" Sakura wondered, having been too entranced with the tale to interrupt. Ryu glanced at her with saddened eyes and she knew that was the wrong question to ask.
"He was killed by the one destined to defeat the goddess. He couldn't be convinced to reason... He had been like a brother to him." Ryu reined in his emotions quickly, giving out a smile instead. "After that tale... That's when the Sage of Six Paths entered the world and well, the rest is history."
"We don't know that story, sadly. In fact, we didn't even touch up on the Sage of Six Paths in the Academy. Why would they omit that?" The pinkette wondered again, this time minding her choice of words.
"Yeah! And, what about that dragon guy? The, uh, first one. Where did he go?" Naruto asked next. His blue eyes cast a brief glimpse to Sasuke. The boy was staring ahead, unblinking.
"I assume no one recorded what happened before the Sage because it hadn't been well known," Kakashi said, glancing at the bluet for confirmation. When he nodded slowly, the jōnin sighed to himself.
"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" the blond questioned next, turning his attention to the man. "If this whole war thing with this goddess and dragons and stuff went on, then wouldn't people know about it? At least, in some tale or written down?"
"Something of that scale should have at least have some folklore to it," the pink-haired kunoichi added. "It really seems farfetched, Ryu-san. That nobody would know of this tale surrounding this village."
Instead of looking upset, the boy simply shrugged. "It's quite all right. There weren't many people who knew of these tales because the group of people involved didn't tell anyone outside their quest or friends. It was supposedly passed down through their family generations but possibly not outside the family line. Probably to preserve its truth than what outsiders could do to twist it." Remembering Naruto's question prior, he turned to the orange-wearing ninja, "As for the last dragon, the prince? He died eventually. The reincarnation cycle of his blood doesn't 'regenerate' until a time of peril descends the world once again that would call for his power. Dragons don't live forever mind you. They age slowly yes, and can live for over hundreds of years, but they eventually pass. It's apart of life."
It was silent for a while until it was interrupted by none other than...
"...You're him," Sasuke said lightly, staring at the bluet. When Ryu stared at him inquisitively, the Uchiha carried on. "The first dragon. You're him. You were vague, but I noticed the way you spoke. In folklores about reincarnations, the person usually receives memories of their past lives and reintroduce them into the new life. You spoke of the tale as if you lived through them..." The dark-haired lad narrowed his eyes at Ryu, "And the mark on your own forehead suggests this theory moreover. I had briefly saw it during our travels but hadn't asked of it because it was unnecessary." To finish off, he ended with, "...you lost your entire clan, too..." This surprised his team since Sasuke hardly ever talked more than two to three sentences before.
Ryu blinked and then suddenly laughed a bit. "You're right. I am the latest reincarnation of the Light Dragon of old. Everything I told you was from the memories, the experiences, all of it, was the truth." The boy lowered his pack to the ground and stretched. "This place used to be called Drogen, the village the first Light Dragon I am technically descended from, originated from. Dragnier became the name when the Brood came into existence. But enough of that!" His happy mood returned, replacing his solemn gestures swiftly.
"The inn's still in relatively good condition, so you three can borrow the rooms in there," Ryu smiled, "I do try to keep up with some things here, for, well, old time's sake. Can't do to have too many run down buildings. Never know when someone will try and visit." He led them to the inn building, which strangely enough was still erected firmly in place.
"Even after so long, it's still standing. Amazing," Sakura said mostly to herself but her teammates couldn't help but agree.
"Uh-huh. Every room has a restroom, so no need to share much. Uh, just be careful about the floor though. Replacing the wood was hard work," the bluet said with a chuckle. When the genin slowly dispersed to find a room they liked, Kakashi remained behind to study their not-anymore-client.
"Your story..."
"You're welcome to tell your Hokage. I have a few things as proof and if you wish to deliver it to him for safe keeping," the boy answered. "I've uncovered Ladon's scrolls about techniques the dragons could use whilst in their human forms. As a descendant of Ladon myself, I labeled it the Dragon Release." Blue eyes met the lone gray of the jōnin's, "It is the devastating combination of the elements of Wind, Fire and Lightning, as what you people call it. Back then, there was no such thing as 'chakra'; it was all essence of magic, drawn in from the natural and abundant energy of the world, called Nature Chakra nowadays. I trust that your village can uphold the truth of Dragnier's lineage and power and keep it concealed. One day, someone from my line may be born in your village this way. Ladon's spirit goes where the truth resides."
"I see. Are you sure of this? It seems almost... sacred. Like the Wood Release kekkai genkai." Kakashi wondered, curiously eyeing the boy. Ryu shrugged almost indifferently but the Hatake knew he meant well.
"I'm sure. Look around, Hatake-san... Dragnier is unfortunately a lost relic to the world... There's no hope to revive my clan. At least, not by myself. I may have inherited Ladon's power but not completely... I cannot 'spawn' new dragons from the ability alone. I'm as human as you are in that regard."
Kakashi understood. He wasn't blind to the signs or the state of this land. It was like his late sensei's wife's homeland, Uzushio. Left in the ruins of the Second Shinobi World War. Dragnier appeared like a second replica of the land in the Whirlpools. Before he knew it, three beaten up scrolls were being handed to him by the last dragon's incarnation. Kakashi blinked before taking them, storing them away in a storage scroll. "I'll take care of them and give them to Hokage-sama the moment we return to Konoha," he promised the lad.
Ryu, much like Naruto, removed his 'mask' and smiled genuinely, one his truest smiles most likely, the jōnin noted.
"Thank you very much, Kakashi-san. I appreciate it. May the dragons live on in Konoha."
-x-
The next day, Team 7 departed Dragnier. Naruto had tried his hardest to convince Ryu to return with them, that he didn't have to stay. The bluet declined but said he would visit sometime later when possible. Right now, he wanted to take care of some "loose ends" and it would take a few years. With much sadness, they left him and the relic of a village behind, taking the tree tops route back home. They noted that their trek back lacked any sort of monster encounter. It was as if the monsters didn't exist anymore.
Returning to Konoha this time from a C-rank didn't feel as heartwarming as last time. Naruto felt terrible about leaving their new friend behind. He considered Ryu one and the boy had likewise returned such feelings. Sakura felt the same way as he did and Sasuke, while looking indifferent, felt he left behind a clansman. He, Naruto and Ryu all had one thing in common; all three lost their families and clans. All they had were themselves, but in Naruto's and Sasuke's case, they could rely on friends and teammates.
Ryu had no one.
The lone dragon of the Brood clan would most likely remain that way for centuries until he passed on. However, the day after, their sensei surprised them with a few, new scrolls in hand.
"What's this, Kakashi-sensei? Another mission?" Naruto wondered.
Kakashi eye-smiled at them. "No Naruto. From our last C-rank we received a bonus. These scrolls here will teach you three how to incorporate a kekkai tota called the Dragon Release." The man said gleefully. The term 'dragon' in the word caught their attentions quickly.
"This is from Ryu isn't it?" Sakura was the first to ask and decipher. Kakashi didn't bother correcting her or misleading them.
"That's correct. He gave this to me before we departed. He wanted us to continue the line of the dragons through this. We may not be of blood related but we can make sure his people live on this way." Their sensei replied easily. His students looked at the scrolls with reverence in some way or form, knowing how important this was. "Some of these techniques in here require us to learn to gathering nature chakra, like a sage. It can be done if we apply these correctly. So," with another eye-smile, he went on, "Let's get to training, my cute little genin!"
With this new-found knowledge, Team 7 would not only continue the line of the Brood but prepare for many difficult challenges they would later face in their lives. The most important thing to remember was that they couldn't do it alone, but together. Together, lie the power to accomplish anything—just like the Light Dragon had done with his own companions. Sasuke would later restore his clan, Sakura would later come to support her teammates, and Naruto would later have the family he craved and his dream accomplished.
It all started upon the nature of the Dragon Release, and it would continue throughout Konohagakure as one of the most respected techniques it deserves.
Review if you like.
Revised: 8/20/2015