Disclaimer: I don't own any of this. I might be able to make a case for the original characters, but everything else here either belongs to Kishimoto(Naruto and related stuff) or to Sega(All Phantasy Star related stuff).
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
Flashback
Tech/Skill/Spell/Jutsu Name(Techs/Skills/Magic are using the English names, Jutsus will use the Japanese names).
"Demon/Deity Speaking"
Protectors of the Hidden Leaf
Chapter 1 - The Invasion
"Our village has been attacked by one of our nuke-nin, Orochimaru," Jiraiya begins. "You've probably heard of him." Rune shakes his head, even as he watches the battle around them. "I see..." Jiraiya continues. "Well, he's a powerful shinobi, an S-Rank ninja and leader of Sound. He's manipulated Sand into attacking us along with his village, and even now, he's fighting our Hokage back at the arena for the Chunin exams." Jiraiya looks out towards the war-torn village towards a large arena, where a barrier of purple flame was visible. "As much as I'd like to be helping him, my summons are really the only things available for dealing with those." Nodding towards the snakes that are moving towards them, Jiraiya continues, "I was trying to get a toad here to deal with them, but since you showed up instead, I can't wonder what's going on..."
'Drawn into a war, and Light only knows where... I guess it was too much to hope for that this would've been nothing...' Rune thinks as he looks out towards the barrier. Breaking free from his thoughts, he says, "We were caught in a space-time warp. It's a long story, and now's not the time... I can feel the dark power from within that barrier... I can also feel something else, farther from this village. It feels..." Rune shakes his head, as Jiraiya interrupts.
"The One-Tailed Tanuki, Shukaku. The demon was sealed within one of the Sand ninja, and as far as I'm aware it's close to breaking free. I think we've got some people going after it, though..."
Nodding, Rune says, "Lucas, you remain here and help Jiraiya with their defenses. Ryan, you're with me, we'll go help this Hokage... Just from the power I can feel, this Orochimaru reminds me of Zio, which means whatever he's doing can't be good. Alana, see if you can't track down that demon and help whoever's trying to pursue it. Just be careful."
Jiraiya blinks, saying, "I appreciate the help, but are you sure that girl should be going after the demon? And, for that matter, how do you intend to breach that barrier?"
Rune turns to leave, saying, "We'll be fine. Just plan on giving us more of an explanation later. For now, though, we've got a war to win." Looking out towards a group of ninja advancing towards them across the rooftops, Rune raises his staff, saying "Legeon!" and a barrage of pure energy launches towards the enemy shinobi. Several clouds of smoke appear as the shinobi substitute themselves with debris to escape the attack, but over half the group is pummeled by the blasts of magical power, and the rooftop is left clear in its wake.
"Saner..." Ryan whispers, even as Jiraiya looks on at the aftermath of Rune's spell, and the five of them find themselves wrapped in a light barrier of wind, lightening their bodies and hastening their movements. "That should help out... Lucas, Alana, be careful out there." He jumps across to the next rooftop, Rune following.
"You too..." Alana says quietly before closing her eyes, seeking out the dark power nearby. 'Let's see... alright, over there. That must be it...' Her violet eyes snap open, and she nods towards Lucas, before jumping down from the rooftop. Cushioning her fall with magic, she puts a pair of gloves on, each with three long blades extending from just above the knuckles. She takes one last look up towards the rooftop before darting through an alleyway towards the second source of darkness, eyes scanning for enemies as she runs. 'This power... it's dark... but it's not the same as Dark Force. It's just... malevolent... this place has its own evils, it seems.'
Adjusting his glasses, Lucas draws his daggers, and says, "So... those snakes are going to be a problem. However..." Turning towards one of the snakes, one of his daggers glows with a bright red light, and one of the snakes is suddenly engulfed in a massive pillar of flame. It quickly turns towards the rooftop that Lucas and Jiraiya stand on, as do the others. "Well... they're resilient, it seems. And given that they rely on scent as much as sight, my Illusion skill won't be of any use..."
'These people... just who in Kami's name are they? And how is it I've never heard of a group like this?' Jiraiya thinks to himself as the snakes advance towards them. "Alright, let's try this again. I'll get a summon and deal with the snakes, you just help out where you can, alright?" Lucas nods as Jiraiya flashes through hand signs, running towards the edge of the rooftop. Biting his thumb and slamming it down, he shouts, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" and a massive cloud of smoke appears around him, dispersing quickly as a gigantic toad leaps out of it, swords crossed over its back and Jiraiya standing atop its head. As the toad draws its swords and strikes at the snakes, Lucas turns, seeing another pair of shinobi landing on the rooftop next to him, both with the music-note symbol on their headbands.
As the two advance towards him, drawing kunai, Lucas raises his daggers, thinking, 'Later on, I'll have to see if he can teach me that. I'll have to watch for those hand signs, as well, since they seem to be linked to the Techniques used in this place...' Darting forward, Lucas strikes at one of the shinobi, his dagger clashing with the attacker's kunai before he slips around the side. He thrusts his second dagger forward at one of the attackers, a vortex of slicing wind forming around the man and repeatedly slashing into him before dissipating. The man vanishes in a puff of smoke, a log left in his place, and Lucas says to himself, "I'll have to learn that one, as well..."
As the figure appears behind Lucas, his hands moving through seals, another black-garbed ninja shouts, "Futon: Renkudan!", finishing his own hand seals. Bringing his hand up to his mouth held in a circle, the ninja blows out a ball of spinning wind, which slams into the Sound ninja as Lucas turns, knocking the man back. "You alright, kid?" the ninja asks, as Lucas sees the Leaf symbol on his headband. Nodding, Lucas vanishes, a shimmering form appearing before the second Sound-nin. The shinobi swings at Lucas, his blade passing through as Lucas slices forward with his daggers, what appears to be an echoing afterimage mimicking the attack. The man cries out in pain at the two cuts on his body, as Lucas swipes again, landing two more blows before vanishing, and reappearing where he first stood, next to the other Leaf-nin, daggers ready as another trio of shinobi, wearing the Sand's symbol of the hourglass, lands on the rooftop opposite them. "I've got them... if you can go help with the evacuation of the civilians, that would be appreciated."
"I'm not from this village..." Lucas admits, "I don't know where they'd be going. Are you sure I should..."
"Yeah. Even if you don't know where the shelters are, just look for other ninja," the ninja answers. "If they're enemies, deal with them, if they're ours, just stick with them. Shouldn't be too hard." Lucas nods and turns, running towards the village and jumping down from the rooftop.
'That explanation didn't answer much. Still, the mere fact that this Orochimaru possess such dark power is reason enough to fight him, and we can get more information later...' Rune thinks to himself as he runs through the village, Ryan close behind him. "Hear anything nearby?" Rune asks, watching Ryan tilt his head slightly. After a moment, Ryan nods.
"Fighting," he answers, "coming from ahead. That's the arena, though, so I can't be surprised there's still battles going on there. Any idea where we are, anyway?" As Rune responds with a shake of his head, Ryan sighs... "Great, just great... as if having to deal with a new Dark Force wasn't bad enough, we have no idea where we are. From the looks of things, I'm not sure these people even have the technology for space travel..." Traling off, Ryan thinks to himself, 'We may be stranded here... and if Dark Force attacks Algo again... we've got to find a way back.'
Rune looks at Ryan, and said, "We'll get home, trust me. Besides, Elsydeon wouldn't have guided us here without a reason. Right now, though, we have a battle to fight. Let's get moving." Ryan nods in reply, and Rune runs forward to the arena entrance, Ryan following. As they enter, they can see several battles being fought through the stands and across the arena floor. "Remember, the ones with that Leaf symbol are on our side..."
Moving forward, they skirt around behind a Sand ninja who was facing a silver-haired Leaf shinobi, the latter tracking their movements with his mismatched eyes. The Sand ninja turns towards them, only to be forced to dodge a blade of wind from Ryan, as the two jump up onto a collapsed portion of the wall and into the stands, climbing towards the barrier. 'I don't recall seeing them in the village before...' the Leaf-nin thinks, even as he slams his blade into the base of the Sand-nin's skull, killing him. 'And they're heading towards the Hokage... I can't follow, though, until the arena is clear.' The silver-haired shinobi turns back towards the stands, rushing towards another enemy.
Reaching the top of the arena, Rune and Ryan rush towards the barrier, stopping as the three cloaked men there turn towards them, white animal masks covering their faces. One of the men, wearing a white cloak in contrast with the others' black cloaks, questions, "Who are you, and what business do you have here?"
"We're here to help," Rune replies. "Jiraiya mentioned that your Hokage was trapped in that barrier."
"Jiraiya-sama sent you?" the white-cloaked man asks. "I see... however, they are maintaining this barrier from within. We lack the ability to break it. And Orochimaru has resurrected two of the previous Hokages with a Resurrection Jutsu, forcing them to aid him... if we could get inside, we could aid him... however..."
Rune gazes into the barrier, looking past the hazy purple flames and seeing a large forest seemingly sprouting from the building itself. Within, a sphere of utter blackness can be glimpsed, with a pale-skinned man standing outside it. The sounds of metal striking metal echo from within the barrier as well. The man turns towards them, his slit amber eyes narrowing as he met Rune's blue ones. "That man... that's Orochimaru?" Rune says, more as a statement than a question. The white-cloaked man nods, and Rune mutters, "His soul... such darkness..." Raising his voice, he says, "I'll crack this open. Ryan, be ready to move. You can feel the two in that dome, I'm sure... we'll take them out first."
Nodding, Ryan shifts Elsydeon into an offensive stance as Rune raises the Psycho Wand. The staff's tip begins pulsing with light, faster and faster until it seems to match the flickering flames of the barrier. Suddenly, the flickering stops, and the light fades... and the barrier with it. As Ryan rushes forward, Elsydeon's blade begins shining brightly. The cloaked figures dart towards other figures that were hidden in the corners of the barrier, garbed in the same outfit as Orochimaru, taking advantage of their surprise and attacking them. As they begin fighting, Ryan dashes into the darkness, which disintegrates under the sword's light. Rune says, "I've got the blue one... FLAELI!" and thrusts his staff towards a white-haired man in a black outfit similar to the other ninja, with blue armor atop it. Four bolts of flame launch from the staff, streaking towards the man, who opens his mouth and expelled a stream of water, which swirls upwards into a barrier to absorb the flame.
"What...?" Orochimaru mutters as Ryan seemingly vanishes, appearing before the second, slightly younger looking man in red armor. The man's dark eyes gaze expressionlessly at Ryan as he thrusts forward, sharp branches shooting from a nearby tree and passing through Ryan's form. Ryan slices into the red-armored man with Elsydeon, a second image of himself echoing the strike. As Ryan vanishes again, reappearing where he stood before, two trails of light can be seen through the man's body, where Elsydeon cut through.
The man turns towards Ryan, and a smile crosses his lips as he whispers, "Thank you... and Saru... I'm sorry." As the man's body collapses into ash, a third figure, behind the man, looks up. This elderly man wears solid black, both the ninja outfit and his black armor, and his sharp grey eyes gaze out from his wrinkled face at the two newcomers. Looking at the red-clad ninja's remains, another body can be seen sticking out, wearing a Sound headband.
"You... you even sacrificed your subordinate's lives for this? Orochimaru..." Orochimaru turns back towards the elderly man, about to speak, only to be interrupted by Rune.
"I see... You truly are as bad as Zio..." Turning towards the older man, he says, "You are the Hokage, correct?" At the elderly man's nod, he continues, "I see. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'd like you to let me deal with Orochimaru." The snakelike man's name was almost spit, as Rune continues, "Ryan, you help the Hokage with that guy in blue... Elsydeon's more than capable of disrupting whatever's holding their bodies together." Turning back to Orochimaru at Ryan's nod, he says, "I'm not entirely sure what you're after... but..." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and a wave of killing intent washed over Rune, who shrugged, and finished, "I've faced down monsters, machines, demons, and the Profound Darkness itself. I'm going to make you regret coming here, Orochimaru."
Chuckling, Orochimaru responds, "Kukuku... You are certainly an interesting one... I'd like to learn more about your Jutsu, but I still need to kill Sarutobi-sensei, so..." Orochimaru raised his sword, continuing, "I'll kill you, and then I'll take the secrets of your jutsu from your corpse!" Rushing forward in a blur, Rune raised the Psycho Wand, barely blocking Orochimaru's sword. As Orochimaru jumps back from Rune's swipe of the staff, he says, "So, that weapon can even withstand Kusanagi... and I thought only Enma's staff form could do so. I'll have to remember to take that weapon, as well," Orochimaru says, looking curiously at Rune.
'He's fast... faster than Rika, even, at her best,' Rune thinks to himself, his eyes never leaving Orochimaru. 'I'll have to be careful...'
"This guy..." Ryan says, looking at the blue-armored man, "he's just another reanimated corpse, I'm guessing?"
Sarutobi nods, replying, "Yes. He's still a formidable opponent, though... Nidaime-sama was the man who taught me the shinobi arts. And this Jutsu that resurrected him allows him to regenerate anything... I'm not certain how you were able to stop Shodaime-sama, even."
"Elsydeon..." Ryan began, "is a sword that exists for the purpose of destroying darkness. A soul bound to this world by such corrupted power can't withstand the light of this blade." Shifting into an offensive stance, Ryan continued, "All I'll need is one good strike to take him down... think you can give me that opening, Hokage?"
"I can," Sarutobi answers, "just be ready to strike." Raising his black staff, which seems to grow thinner and longer, Sarutobi asks, "Does your sensei realize just how powerful Orochimaru is, though?"
Ryan chuckles, responding, "Rune knows what he's doing. He's faced far worse than this, believe me." Sarutobi nods, and Ryan smirks, "So, shall we begin, then?" In lieu of an answer, Sarutobi charges towards the resurrected ninja, swiping with his staff. The man blocks, jumping back and raising his arms to block the elderly Hokage's second strike. He raises his hand to attack, but jumps aside as a glowing, boomerang-shaped blade whistles through the air where he stood, arcing around through the trees. Ryan catches the slasher as Sarutobi begins flashing through seals for a Jutsu, and rushes at the Nidaime himself, raising Elsydeon as he hooks the slasher onto his belt. Ryan leaps towards the man, who steps back only to see Ryan smirk as he stabs his blade into the ground before the water user, energy causing the ground to flow up around his feet. The Nidaime jumps forward at Ryan, using his own chakra to cancel the ensnaring attack, and sends Ryan flying with a vicious roundhouse kick as Sarutobi finishes his seals.
"Doton: Doryuso!" Sarutobi shouts. Spears of dirt and mud begin flying towards the Nidaime from all around. The Nidaime shifts his stance, bringing his index and middle fingers together before his face.
"Suiton: Suijinheki!" The resurrected ninja opens his mouth, and a torrent of water gushes out, swirling into a barrier around the Nidaime and deflecting the spears. Sarutobi focuses, forming more spears to send at him, but the blue-clad enemy darts forward from the barrier, the water swirling around his arm to form a drill. Sarutobi jumps back as the drill of water slams down before him, and deflects a second swipe with the staff in his hands, a return blow knocking the Nidaime back into a tree. The staff extends towards him as Sarutobi thrusts it forward, widening as well, and striking the tree as the Nidaime jumps aside, rushing towards Sarutobi with the drill raised.
As he raises the drill of water to strike, Ryan appears before him, swinging, with the after-image following again. The Nidaime jumps back, and dashes off to the side as Ryan's flickering form vanishes, reappearing right in the man's path. As the Nidaime raises his water drill to strike, Ryan raises a hand, shouting, "THU!" and firing a focused beam of lightning at his foe. The Nidaime dodges to the side, but some of the energy arcs into the water drill, shocking the Nidaime's arm. Even as the Nidaime dashes forward again, Ryan jumps to the side, the slasher flying from his hand again. A trail of silver light follows the glowing blade as it spirals upward around the Nidaime, slicing into him repeatedly. Ryan rushes forward, catching the slasher and swinging with Elsydeon, and the ninja leaps backwards, ducking under a blow from Sarutobi's staff.
'This is going to be difficult... Even with Saner, I can barely keep up with either of them...' Ryan thinks to himself, panting slightly as the elderly Hokage continues to battle his teacher. 'And I won't be able to maintain this pace forever. I need a plan...' Glaring, Ryan flings the slasher forward again, rushing after it, Elsydeon raised.
"Uchiha Sasuke!" a boy growls, his face twisted in rage. Sand can be seen spilling forth from a large gourd on the boy's back, spreading over his right arm and the right half of his face, giving the appearance of a massive and misshapen claw arm and the mask of a demonic raccoon-like creature, brown flesh streaked with blue. His right eye is black where it would be white, and the iris of the eye a sandy gold, with a cross-shaped pupil. His left eye, a bloodshot teal, with a dark ring encircling it, holds unbridled rage and insanity, and a scar rests above it, a kanji meaning 'Love'. "Do you fear me? Do you fear my existence?" the monstrous boy shouts to the forest around him, as he gazes around from his perch upon a high branch.
Not seeing his prey, the boy lunges forward, lashing with his claw and cleaving the treetops in his wake. As the forest canopy crashes down behind him, another boy, wearing all black, a headband around his forhead with the Leaf symbol, stands on a lower branch, his back pressed against the tree. 'His strength is insane... what in Kami's name is he?' The boy turns to peer around the edge of the tree, at the back of the red-haired figure.
"Are you afraid of me, Uchiha Sasuke?" the monstrous boy shouts. "Your hatred, your anger, your killer intent... have they given way to fear? Is this the extent of your existence?" The boy lashes forward with a claw, cleaving through more of the nearby trees. "Fight me... Prove the worth of your existence! Come at me!"
The dark-eyed boy pushes forward from where he leaned against the tree, his cold eyes narrowing. 'I... I was allowed to live. Me, alone.' His hands flash through seals, before he holds his left arm in front of him, palm down, gripping the wrist with his right hand. "Why was I allowed to live? What was the reason?" In his mind, a memory flickers, a dark-eyed child staring up at an older boy with a similar face, but emotionless red eyes, with three tomoe around each pupil. Around the two, several others lay dead, blood staining the ground. Returning to the present, the boy mutters to himself, "No... I know why. That man left me alive to escape the guilt of killing an entire clan..." As the boy spoke, lightning begins to spark in his opened hand, the crackling reminiscent of chirping birds. The ball of lightning grows brighter, a beacon illuminating the area around him. "Itachi chose me... made me an avenger... in order to have me kill him!" the boy says to himself as the lightning dances in his palm, small bolts flying off around him. His eyes shift from black to crimson, with two tomoe in each, as he turns towards his opponent.
The redhead turns, gazing at the light coming from behind the nearby tree, and his face twists into a malicious grin. "Good... Now, let me have some fun... Uchiha Sasuke!" he roars, even as he raises his claw to strike.
"I'll finish this with one blow!" Sasuke says, leaping towards the monstrous warrior, who leaps forward as well, the claw thrust forward to strike. Sasuke thrusts the lightning ball forward, colliding with the claw, splitting through it as the redhead roars in pain.
As the two land on opposite branches, the readhead falling prone on the branch, a blonde girl wearing a pale purple outfit and a Sand headband around her neck shouts from a nearby tree, "G-Gaara!" Concern and fear fill her dark, blue-green eyes as she looks on. As the redhead rises to his feat, maniacal laughter bursting forth from his lips, she whispers to herself, "He... he countered Gaara's attack in his condition?" Her gaze shifts to Sasuke, who is crouched, panting, on the branch he landed on, looking at Gaara, his red eyes fading back to black.
"So that's what it was..." Gaara cries out, his insane grin growing wider even as he clutches at his shoulder. "I just realized... why it's so fun! This pain... To utterly destroy an opponent who could wound me this way..." His gaze falls upon Sasuke, as he shouts, "That will make me truly feel alive!"
"Gaara's never been hurt before..." the girl mutters to herself, "But he managed to wound him twice, first in the arena, and now..." The girl shakes her head. "Still, Gaara's only transforming his right arm right now..." At that, she brings her hands up to her chin, almost as though praying.
More sand spills forth from Gaara's gourd as he mutters, "More... more!" The sand forms into a tail, several spikes jutting from it. The girl gasps in fright as Sasuke looks on.
'What... what is he? Parts of him... keep changing, one after another...' Sasuke thinks to himself as Gaara grasps the tree branch he's on with his claw and tail, pushing back from it, and slingshotting at Sasuke, smashing through the branch the dark-haired Leaf-nin is standing on. Sasuke's eyes flicker to red again as he leaps away, receiving a shallow cut in his arm for his trouble, and lands, standing upside-down on the underside of another branch above. "He's even faster..." he says, astonished. "I can't dodge unless I read ahead of his movements. If I didn't have these eyes, I'd have died long ago." His eyes track Gaara unerringly as the transformed boy spreads his sand claw out, catching onto nearby trees and branches, and he slingshots back towards the Uchiha. Sasuke forms a single seal, thinking, 'I can't use Chidori again...' as he takes a deep breath, exhaling with a shout of, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" and launching a large ball of flames at Gaara.
Gaara's claw and tail expand, wrapping the boy in a cocoon of sand as he launches forward through the ball of fire. The sand retracts as he passes through the other side, and Sasuke's eyes widen. "So the Fire style won't work against sand... and what's more, this level of Jutsu can't break through his defense. It... it has to be Chidori..."
"Die!" Gaara shouts, bloodlust filling his expression as he slams his claw into Sasuke, launching him through several branches before the dark-haired ninja strikes a large tree, leaving a crater behind as he lands on a branch.
'I can only use the Chidori twice, since it has to be used with the Sharingan...' Sasuke thinks to himself, 'and Kakashi-sensei said that it could kill me to try a third in a single day...'
Gaara laughs, maniacally, and says, "What's wrong? Is this all your existence is worth? You're weak... because your hatred is weak! The power of hatred... the intent to kill... the power of revenge... your hatred is weaker than mine! Do you understand? That means that you... you are weaker than me!"
"Shut up!" Sasuke says, pulling himself to his feet. "Itachi chose me as the one to kill him..." Lightning began to spark wildly in his hand again, the ball of energy forming rapidly. Red eyes snapping up towards Gaara, Sasuke shouts, "I am an avenger!" and launches himself towards the redhead, raising his hand with the lightning ball in it. Gaara launches himself forward as well, his grin firmly in places as he raises his hand. As Sasuke flies forward, the ball of lightning begins to ebb as pain lances through his body, and he thinks, 'No... it's... not enough... I need more!"
The two collide, slicing at each other, one with a claw of sand, the other with a ball of electricity that suddenly swells. As they land, the sand at Gaara's shoulder crumbles, cascading down his arm, the claw falling apart. A slash can be seen on Sasuke's shoulder as well, revealing dark, flame-like markings spreading across his skin and his face. Gaara grimaces in pain as sand flows from his gourd, spreading over his left arm this time and reforming the sand claw, while Sasuke collapses in pain, his hand coming up to a spot on his neck where the black markings seem to originate. "The Curse Mark again," he mutters, "My body won't move..." As Gaara lunges at him again, Sasuke lets out another cry of pain, thinking, 'It's as though... something's tearing at my soul...'
Just as Gaara brings his claw down to strike, another figure comes out of nowhere, a powerful kick knocking Gaara back across the trees. The figure, a blonde, spiky-haired boy in an orange jumpsuit, wearing a Leaf headband around his forehead, lands on a branch between Sasuke and Gaara, his blue eyes glaring at the monstrous readhead, his mouth set into an angry snarl, framed by three whisker-like marks on each cheek. Behind him, a pink-haired girl in a red dress and black shorts lands next to Sasuke, along with a small brown dog wearing a blue coat and a Leaf headband. Gaara meets the blonde's glare with one of his own, his eyes promising untold pain and death, as the girl and dog check on Sasuke.
'I haven't seen a single person, friend or foe, since leaving the villiage proper...' Alana thought to herself, running through the forest, guided by the malevolent power, her Esper training allowing her to sense it as clearly as a lighthouse beacon on a dark night. 'How far are they... and why?' Her amethyst eyes darted from side to side, and flickered up into the foliage above as she continued running. "This power..." she muttered to herself, "Am I really prepared to face a foe with this kind of power?"
As she moved forward, a faint rustling noise reached her ears. "What..." she whispered, before calling, "Hello? Is someone there?" As she looked around, a figure dropped behind her from the trees, almost silently, a kunai in hand and poised to strike. Raising the blade, the figure suddenly stopped, a grunt of pain passing its lips. Alana turned, seeing the figure... a young, brown-haired boy, pale and sweating, eyes hidden behind dark glasses and mouth hidden behind the high collar of a grey jacket. Seeing the stylized leaf on his headband, she relaxed, saying, "Oh, I thought you were an enemy."
"Who are you?" the boy asked, not lowering his blade. Even behind his sunglasses, Alana could tell that he was glaring at her, determined to fight even through his apparent pain if she appeared to be a threat.
"My name is Alana Tierney," she responded, quickly. "I'm a friend, I promise... Jiraiya asked me to come out here, to help against... Shukaku, I think it was. The sand demon. Were you fighting him? You're hurt..."
"..." The boy watched her impassively for a tense minute before lowering the blade, saying, "A demon... that would explain the chakra I feel from him. One of my comrades is pursuing him, and I assisted by fighting one of the Sand ninja trying to aid in his escape. I emerged victorious, but am not in any condition to continue pursuit, as you saw..." The boy grunted slightly, clutching his chest briefly before continuing. Alana, watching, noticed a couple of insects crawling along the boy's hand, though he seemed to take no notice. "I can direct you, if needed, though..."
Alana shook her head, answering, "No, I can find him easily enough... but first, I can try to heal you... I know several healing Techs, and a bit of healing Magic, as well."
"I'm afraid healing my physical wounds won't aid me..." the boy stated, still in a quiet monotone. Taking a couple of breaths, he continued, "My opponent employed poisons... and my insects are unable to remove it from my system."
"I... see..." Alana said slowly, thinking, 'His insects? What... no, never mind, no time for that now. Still... I wonder what he looks like if he uncovers his face...' Shaking her head to clear it, she replied, "Poison I can deal with... Anti!" With the last word, she extended her hand towards the boy, a green glow flickering briefly over her hand before a similar glow encompassed him. The glow lingered for a moment before fading, and as it cleared, a bit more color was visible on the boy's face. A single raised eyebrow was the only indicator of the boy's surprise.
After taking a moment to evaluate his condition, the boy nodded, saying, "Thank you... Tierney-san. I should be able to continue shortly."
"That's good..." Alana replied, saying, "I'll wait for you, then. Umm... what's your name?"
"...Aburame Shino." the boy answered, quietly.
Alana looked at the boy, and said, "Aburame? That's... an interesting name..."
"As is Tierney," the boy stated, "though I must say, I've never heard of the Alana clan. Are you from a civilian family?"
Shaking her head, Alana responded, "No, Alana's my first name. Tierney's the name from my adopted family... My birth parents were Espers, as are my adoptive mother and I."
The boy thought for a moment, before answering, "Tierney Alana, then... it must be custom to place the family name after the given name where you come from. By your customs, my name would be Shino Aburame, then."
"Shino... I see. I'll keep that in mind... but..." Alana hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "What did you mean, what you said earlier? About your insects?"
Shino gazed silently at Alana for a moment, before replying, "The Aburame clan uses insects in our jutsus." As he spoke this, Alana noticed one of the insects crawling into a small hole in Shino's skin. "I believe I'll be able to continue, now. We should hurry... Uchiha Sasuke should have caught up with them by now."
"Alright..." Alana answered, turning to continue with Shino beside her. Shino leaped into the trees, looking back at her as she started to run. Looking up, Alana said, "I'm... not a ninja... I can't do things like that." After a moment's thought, Shino nodded, and jumped back down beside her. As the two ran forward, Alana suddenly blinked for a moment as she felt a familiar darkness come from the same direction as the demon's malevolent presence. 'That power... It's... it's the same as Dark Force...'
Glancing at Alana, and seeing the sudden distress on her face, Shino said, "You are concerned about Sabaku no Gaara's power? The power of this sand demon? That... is wise. From what I've seen, it is clear that Gaara is a powerful opponent... Some caution would be prudent."
Alana nodded as they continued, but thought to herself, 'Suddenly, this demon... Gaara, or Shukaku, or whatever he's called... he's not what's worrying me.'
A/N: Sorry about the delay, this chapter took a lot longer to get out than I expected. The invasion is underway, with several battles being fought at once. Our wayward friends from Algo have joined in on Konoha's side, but will they be able to handle the invading shinobi, or will their own skills fail them? And what of the dark power that Alana senses? The next chapter continues the battles, as shinobi and Protectors clash, and the invasion draws to a close.
Meanwhile, for those who might not be familiar with both of the source materials for this fic, I'll be including lists of all Skills, Techs, Jutsu, Magic, and Combination Attacks introduced in each chapter. The prologue is already updated with this information, as well.
Thanks for reading, and please review!
Techs:
Nafoi - Fire Element, B-Rank - This technique superheats the air around the target, engulfing them in a pillar of flame. Lucas carries a dagger with this Tech embedded into it, allowing him to trigger it as needed, though not at full power.
Thu - Thunder Element, D-Rank - This technique fires a highly focused beam of lightning at the target. The beam is roughly the diameter of a small coin.
Anti - No Element, C-Rank - This technique will purge the body of easily-detectable poisons and diseases. Complex poisions and diseases, or ones that are difficult to isolate, will not be removed.
Skills:
Earthbind - Earth Element, D-Rank - The user strikes the ground in front of an opponent, using chakra to make the ground flow up in an attempt to ensnare the target. The target can use their own chakra to cancel this effect.
Spells:
Legeon - No Element, S-Rank - This spell launches a barrage of pure magic over an area, devastating anything within the blast.
Flaeli - Fire Element, C-Rank - This spell launches four bolts of flame at a target simultaneously.
Jutsus:
Shishienjin(Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment) - Fire Element, B-Rank - The users of this jutsu create a box-like barrier with themselves placed at the barrier's corners. The barrier does not allow anyone to enter or exit so long as the users are unharmed. Those who come into contact with it burst into purple flame.
Futon: Renkudan(Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet)- Wind Element, C-Rank - This jutsu allows the user to fire a ball of compressed air from his mouth, which explodes on impact with a target. The power of the bullet is in proportion to the amount of chakra used, so a powerful user can cause a great deal of damage.
Kokuangyo no Jutsu(Bringer of Darkness Jutsu) - No Element, A-Rank - This genjutsu creates a field of impenetrable darkness, blocking all sight within. Other senses are not affected.
Suiton: Suijinheki(Water Style: Water Encampment Wall) - Water Element, B-Rank - This jutsu creates a wall of water around the user, flowing upward to divert attacks. The user still has some visibility through the wall, allowing for a swift counterattack.
Doton: Doryuso(Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears) - Earth Element, C-Rank - This jutsu causes mud and stone nearby to condense, forming spikes that rise from the ground. The jutsu can cause the spikes to fire out at an opponent if the user wishes.
Suiton: Koka Suijin(Water Style: Water Hardened Drill) - Water Element, B-Rank - The user of this jutsu focuses heavily condensed water around their arm, forming it into a spiralling drill. Upon striking an enemy, the drill can be made to explode in a powerful blast of water.
Chidori(One Thousand Birds) - Lightning Element, A-Rank - This jutsu channels a great amount of lightning chakra into the users hand, so compressed it becomes visible. The user then rushes forward in a straight line, slamming the compressed chakra into a target. The jutsu can only be used effectively by bearers of the Sharingan, as those are the only individuals who can see possible attempts to counter or dodge the attack at the high speeds required to use the jutsu effectively. The jutsu's name is derived from the sound created by the compressed electricity, that of innumerable birds chirping.
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu) - Fire Style, C-Rank - This jutsu converts chakra inside the body into flame, and breathes the fire out. The flame forms into a fireball a few feet in front of the target.
Also, I'm still in need of a beta for this fic. Knowledge of Naruto is a must, knowledge of Phantasy Star IV is recommended, but not required. Send me a PM if interested!