Tales of Destiny: The Ancient Power
Disclaimers: I won nothing besides my own characters.
Chapter 2: Preparations and the Festival
Dylan and Naruto were walking down the street. Both were taking time, no rush. Along the way, Dylan couldn't help but notice the civilians' attitude towards Naruto.
They were mostly indifferent, deliberately ignoring him. Others glared at him. Dylan overheard several insults.
"Stupid brat. He should just leave and do us a favor."
"I know. What a loser. Whoever made him a ninja had to have had several bolts missing from his head."
"Great, this was a good day and the next moment he shows up, ruining it."
"It's the monster, he's back in town, sadly."
Then Dylan noticed something out of the corner of his eye. His hand snapped up and caught the rock that was aimed at the back of Naruto's head.
Naruto spun around and saw Dylan with the rock.
Dylan glared at the civilians, crushing the rock in his hands. "Who's the wise guy?"
No one spoke up. Dylan snorted. "Let's go Naruto." he said as he keep walking.
Naruto followed. Dylan turned to Naruto.
"So, Naruto. Just curious, but…what's this festival Iruka was talking about?"
"Well, you know about HIM, right?"
"The nine-tailed furball in your gut?"
Naruto smirked, appreciating the joke. "Well, every year, on the day that the Fourth Hokage defeated the Fox, The village has held a festival to celebrate that day."
"October 10th, right? That's your birthday?"
"Yeah, but I don't like it. Before you ask, when I was younger, before I became a ninja, some of the villagers would make a sport of 'hunting down the Fox'. It was only because of Old Man Hokage that I wasn't killed."
"Old Man Hokage?"
"The Third. He taught the Three Sannin, or Legendary Ninja. In his prime, he was one of the strongest ninjas around. He knew almost ninjitsu created. He died in the Sand and Sound Invasion three years ago."
"Wow. That's harsh. Didn't anyone look after you?"
"Some of the ANBU Black Ops assigned to watch over me hardly did their jobs. They probably didn't like me either. The civilians don't do anything now, but they still hate me."
Dylan was ticked, but calmed down. "Well, don't worry. You have a friend now who can help you out. I have an apparent reputation now, so they'll think twice before messing with MY friends."
Naruto smiled. "Thanks Dylan."
Suddenly Naruto ran into another man. The other guy bounced off a little.
"Hey, watch where you're walking brat!" The man shouted as he got up. He eyed Naruto for a full second, before he seemed to realize something.
"Its…It's YOU!" He stammered. He quickly got hold of himself.
"Apologize, brat! Not only did you bump into me, you threw me to the ground as well! Ninjas shouldn't be allowed to attack citizens; you should have been kicked out a long time ago, DEMON!"
Naruto was silent. Dylan was twitching, attempting to rein in his temper.
"Well?! I said apologize, you brat, or so help me I'll…"
The man raised a fist.
It never fell.
FLASH
Dylan's sword seemed to appear in his hand like magic, aimed between the man's eyes.
"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you."
The man stared, cowed by both Dylan's glare and the sword that was aimed at him.
"Lower the hand. Now."
The man's hand dropped instantly. He could see that Dylan was angry.
"Get lost."
The man bolted. Everyone else backed off.
Naruto stared. "You shouldn't have done that. They'll hate you too now."
Dylan snorted. "Don't worry about them. If they can see the obvious truth, then they'll all idiots."
Dylan clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Come on, we've got work to do.
They got to the Akimichis' place with no further incidents. Naruto made several clones, and Dylan led a parade of Narutos down the street. Dylan was carrying a white cheese in each arm, Naruto carried the red cheeses, while the clones were carrying the big yellow cheese. To take his mind off of the villagers, Dylan started to sing 'I Don't Know What I've Been Told', an old favorite of his when he was younger. The Narutos gladly joined in. They soon set into a rhythm and the tension from the incident went away.
----
"All right then. Any questions on festival details?"
The ninjas shook their heads.
"All right. Dismissed."
The ninjas saluted and poofed off. Tsunade sighed and turned the leave the Academy, but heard a shout.
"Lady Hokage! There you are!"
Tsunade turned to see Iruka running up.
"Sorry to bother you, but the decorations are underway. I thought to report it just so you knew."
"Thank you Iruka. It's good to know everything's going smoothly. Where's Naruto and Dylan?"
"I sent to the Akimichis' compound to get the cheeses. They shouldn't be long."
Tsunade stopped for a moment. "You're sure that they can…Wait. Never mind. Here they come."
Iruka turned. Dylan was leading a parade of Narutos down the street towards them. Dylan was shouting something. When they got close enough, Iruka and Tsunade heard it.
"LEFT! LEFT! LEFT RIGHT LEFT! LEFT! LEFT! LEFT RIGHT LEFT!"
When they got close enough, Dylan yelled, "COMPANY, HALT!"
As one, the troop stopped. Dylan spoke up.
"We have the cheeses. Where do you want us to take them?"
Tsunade snapped out of her surprise.
"Umm…go to outer edges of town, near the training grounds. Chouza Akimichi should be there, he'll tell you what do with them."
Dylan saluted. "Yes ma'am!" Dylan turned to the Narutos. "Atten…TION!" The Narutos snapped to attention.
"FORWARD MARCH!"
The Narutos marched off, Dylan at the head of the band. "TWO, THREE, FOUR!"
The Narutos started to sing 'I Don't Know I've Told' again. The group marched off, Tsunade and Iruka watching them leave.
"SOUND OFF!" crowed Dylan.
"ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"
Tsunade turned to Iruka. "Well, you don't see that every day."
"How…how did he do that, Lady Tsunade? How did he whip Naruto into shape like that?"
"I don't think it was that, Iruka. I could see that both Dylan and Naruto were enjoying themselves. Good thing too. Naruto needs it for this."
Iruka turned to Tsunade. "Pardon?"
"I just got a report from an ANBU that Naruto was getting pushed around by another civilian. Dylan had stepped in before the ANBU could."
"I see. Dylan must've been trying to help out."
"That's just it. Dylan was angry. The ANBU was surprised that Dylan didn't do anything but scare him off. He could see that Dylan wanted to turn him to hamburger."
"Oh. So that's why they were doing what they were?"
"Dylan was trying to take Naruto's mind off of it, and it worked. Hopefully Dylan will be able to look after him until the festival is over."
"Why's that?"
"Normally, I allowed Naruto to go out of the village to train during the festival time. I always disguised it as a B-rank borderline A-rank mission. Usually, there was another mission available at that time to lower suspicions. You're aware of how he was treated before?"
"Yeah. I always stopped a little while to pay him a visit. Several ANBU always saw fit to accompany me. The truth is that they were visiting him too, but after I nearly got hassled by a civilian, one or two always went with me on their own. They were glad to visit him openly, if only for a little while. Why do you ask?"
"Unfortunately, this year there aren't any of those missions available, so Naruto has no reason to be outside the village. So he'll have to be here, and somehow I know that one of those idiotic villagers is going to give him a hard time."
"So that's why you want Dylan to be here?"
"Yes. I already cleared it with his mother, and she is okay with it. She's asked to be there herself, though, along with a few others."
"Others?"
"Not many. There is a girl named Sarah Richards, a childhood friend of Dylan's, and her parents. Sarah surprisingly knows more about this particular world than Dylan, and has been giving him the history of this place. She's on good terms with several of the younger ninja here, and is a nice girl. She'll won't cause trouble."
"I see. Alright then, if I may, I have to return to the Academy. Last-minute details and all."
"Of course. Dismissed."
Iruka nodded and poofed off.
-----
A few hours later, once the opening ceremony was complete, the festival was underway.
There were mostly merchandise and concessions, but in the training grounds and outskirts, there were several physical sporting events.
Dylan and Naruto were watching a younger Genin, Konohamaru, a young boy that looked up to Naruto as a role model and big brother, was attempting to climb a greased pole. Naruto, Sarah, Konohamaru's teammates, Moegi and Udon, and several others were cheering him on.
"Come, Konohamaru! You can do it!"
"Easy! A bit at a time!"
"Watch out! You're slipping!"
Konohamaru slid downward a little, then, in one burst of speed, scampered up the pole and over it, snatching the fruit basket at the top.
Everyone cheered as he landed on his feet.
"Way to go!"
"Well done!"
"Yay!"
Several of the Jounin instructors were watching them. They all were having a ball (hey that rhymes).
"Good job, he thought on his feet quickly. He's like Naruto in that regard." said Kakashi, his favorite book in his hands.
"Are you implying something, Kakashi?" asked another instructor, Asuma Sarutobi. He was Konohamaru's uncle.
"Not at all, Asuma. I'm only meant that Naruto, when he focuses, can make a plan on the fly. Konohamaru did practically the same thing. He focused chakra into his hands and feet to give him a better grip. That's how he got to the top."
Asuma nodded, understanding what happened.
Sarah's parents, Mike and Rachel, were watching everything. Melissa had explained everything before but still were surprised. They loved the festival though.
His longtime girlfriend, Kurenai Yuhi, looked across the training grounds.
"Here come the runners!"
Everyone turned to see several ninjas running up. Two Dylan recognized. One was feral looking, wearing a black coat, that was running on all fours like a dog. He was Kiba Inazuka. The other was wearing a green jumpsuit and was taking long strides. He was Rock Lee.
All the ninja were pushing themselves, giving one last spurt of speed. They crossed the finish line, Rock Lee first, with Kiba a very close second.
There were cheers for all the ninja, who were congratulating each other.
"Nice one Lee. You really have speed there."
"YOSH! You are fast as well, Kiba! If the race was a bit longer, you would have won yourself due to your burning flames of youth!"
"Uh…Thanks Lee."
"Well done, Kiba. Excellent." Kurenai told her student.
"Thanks, sensei."
Asuma smiled, then looked around as if to find somebody. He noticed who he was looking for: a young man with a pineapple hairdo wearing a Chuunin vest.
"Ah, there you are, Shikamaru. I'm not surprised you weren't in the running competition."
Shikamaru shrugged. "You knew I wouldn't?"
"It's not your thing, right?"
Shikamaru smirked. The two chuckled. They had a strong student-teacher relationship, though it was hard for one to notice it.
Dylan smiled and turned to Naruto, who was now looking uneasy. "Hey, you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry Dylan. Old habit. Every time this day comes around…" He trailed off.
"Hey, don't worry about it! You're among friends, so cheer up! Enjoy the festival!"
Naruto still looked unsure.
"You should take his advice Naruto."
Kakashi walked up.
"This is the outer part of the village. Don't worry. Like Dylan said, you're among friends."
Kakashi's visible eye became an upside U as he smiled.
"Enjoy the party. You're allowed to."
Naruto smiled. "Thanks." He went over to where Kiba and Lee were.
"I would've thought that with your speed, you'd enter the running contest."
Dylan shrugged as he faced Kakashi. "I'd have no challenge. There's not really anyone here who can match my speed."
"Until now."
Dylan spun around. Walking towards him was a black hedgehog with red stripes on his upwards-tilted spines. His boots had jets on them. Dylan smiled.
"SHADOW! You're here!"
The two shared a high five.
"Did Mom tell you that I was here?"
"Yeah. I came to find you, and I couldn't help but overhear…"
He clicked his heels, activating his jet shoes.
"That you wanted a race."
Dylan was shocked, and then he smirked. "Think you can keep up?"
"Hmph. I'll leave you in the dust."
Dylan pointed a finger at Shadow.
"OKAY! You got yourself a race!"
------
Both Dylan and Shadow were arched forward, ready to run. Everyone had gathered round. Kakashi was explaining the rules.
"Alright you two. One lap around the village, in the outskirts, then come back here. No foul play and no Chaos Control. Understood?"
"Got it."
"Understood."
Kakashi stepped to the side. He raised a hand.
"Ready."
"Set."
"GO!"
Both Dylan and Shadow took off, leaving a sonic boom behind.
Shadow was skating skillfully through the gate and through the canyons. Dylan easily kept up, his feet a blur as he ran beside Shadow.
"Is that all you've got, Dylan?"
"This is nothing, Shadow! I'm just warming up!"
With those words, Dylan put on an extra burst of speed and passed Shadow.
Shadow put more motion into his skating and increasing his speed. As Shadow sped ahead, Dylan made up his mind.
'Time to take this up a notch.'
Dylan let his arms fall loosely behind his body, taking longer strides, creating more momentum for himself and catching up with the dark hedgehog.
Dylan zoomed ahead, the cliffs and loops and rock formation zooming by at high speeds. Shadow came alongside him.
"Still here, Shadow?"
"Heh, you know me, Dylan."
Dylan looked back forward to see a huge boulder in the way. Dylan however, had no intentions of stopping. Instead, the boy pointed his hand forward as a purple bolt erupted from his hand, blasting the rock and sending it into the air. Both Shadow and Dylan sped underneath before the rock came back to the ground with a loud BOOM.
Dylan and Shadow came up to a flat area with just grass.
Dylan knew it was time. 'Here we go!'
Dylan leaned forward, his speed increasing every second. Shadow did the same.
Pretty soon, Dylan's vision on his sides became blurry and his ears started throbbing. He knew what was going to happen next. There was loud boom as Dylan found his entire vision blurry and his sense of hearing completely disappearing. He had broken the sound barrier.
This was soon followed by another boom as Shadow also broke the sound barrier. The ground under Shadow and Dylan gave way and crumbled as the two runners became nothing more than a black and purple blur.
With nothing stopping them, Shadow and Dylan flew over the gate and onto the street below, parting the ground and knocking over containers as they went. Thought their vision was blurry, they could see the faint outlines of three figures in the rain.
The blurs continued to move ahead until suddenly, there was another boom, followed by both of them completely lifting off the ground Shadow's shoes flaring behind him and shooting forward. Kakashi had his hands outstretched as the blurs that was Shadow and Dylan forcefully slapped both, knocking the poor ninja into a tree.
Both came to a stop, panting. "Who won?" asked Sarah.
Asuma picked up a dazed Kakashi. "Kakashi."
"Pretty birdies."
Everyone sweatdropped. "I think it was tie." said Asuma.
Shadow turned to Dylan. "I guess that you're one the fasting things alive now."
Dylan weakly nodded. "We…broke the sound barrier…Twice."
Dylan shot up on his feet and threw a fist in the air.
"BOOYAH!"
He then fell over.
Shadow sighed and picked up.
'How we're friends I don't know, but he's somehow a nice kid. Heh.'