Ectoplasm and Chakra

by Sholay

When Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius combined to create the catastrophe that would plague Amity Park for ten years, everyone assumed Danny Fenton died. But the truth is far different. Stranded in a strange new land, a world-weary Danny meets a young Naruto Uzukmaki. It is an odd turnabout to be only 'ordinary' in a village of the extraordinary… TUE timeline; Naruto prequel.

6. PART VI - NARUTO

Hello!

So the response to the last chapter was above and beyond what I was expecting. Thank you all for continuing to be awesome, supportive readers :)

This may just be the longest chapter yet (scratch that. It totally is the longest). It's also possibly my favourite so far. I'm pretty excited to hear what you guys think of this one! Even just letting me know if you like the story so far is enough to make my day.

Part VI. Enjoy!

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Ectoplasm and Chakra

When Danny Phantom and Vlad Plasmius combined to create the catastrophe that would plague Amity Park for ten years, everyone assumed Danny Fenton died. But the truth was far different. Stranded in a strange land, a world-weary Danny meets a tiny blond boy with a nine-tailed fox on his shoulder and trouble on his heels. It is an odd turnabout to be simply ordinary in a village of the extraordinary… TUE timeline; Naruto prequel.

A Danny Phantom & Naruto Crossover Fanfiction

By: Sholay

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PART VI - NARUTO

:o:

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When foreigners came to the village, Danny finally understood why everyone had stared at him so much in the beginning. It wasn't that Konoha was small enough that people knew or could recognize every resident. Rather, it was simply that foreigners stood out. Starkly. Whether it was their slightly-off style of dress, or the way they walked, or simply the way they expelled carbon dioxide, they were different, and they attracted the curious eyes of every person they passed.

They were a pair: one man and one woman. The man wore a long set of heavily embroidered robes and a wide brimmed straw hat that shadowed half his face. The woman was similarly dressed in flawless decorative robes dyed in colors that complemented her partner's. While the man's face was hidden, hers was visible and painted.

Without fanfare, they moved through the village, leaving a quiet cloud of intrigue in their wake. Then, claiming a spot of open space, the man abruptly stopped and pulled a long flute from his sleeve. The first few notes silenced the bustle and gossiping of passer-bys. With the next few notes, the woman started to sway and then the crowd began to gather.

Danny had been on his way back to the apartment he still resisted calling 'home' and had been privy to this entire display. He slowed, then turned his steps to join the gathering, intrigued. He'd been living in this village of Japanese ninjas for half a year but still this display seemed strange and exotic.

The woman was very attractive. That was the first thing he noticed. He didn't know the dance but understood the elegance of her movement. He couldn't help but stare, entranced. From the way most of the men in crowd were surging forward to toss coins into the offering bowl, he wasn't the only one appreciating the display.

It wasn't clear how long he'd been standing there when a voice at his side broke him out of his reverie.

"Ooo… She's so pretty!" Naruto proclaimed and Danny, not having noticed the other arrive, looked down at the kid in surprise. The tones of the flute turned soft before ending on a drawn out unhappy-sounding note. The dancer drifted forward, bent her knees to gracefully sweep up the collection basket, then rose up again in one fluid movement.

Naruto dug around in his pockets. "I think I got some change still."

Apparently finding some, Naruto started to weave through the crowd toward where the woman was collecting donations with a sweet smile and a bow.

Danny blinked. "Hey… wait a sec," He struck forward and was repelled by the wall of people. Grunting, he began squeezing and pushing past people.

Spotting Naruto's conspicuous orange pants and blond hair, he reached out and pulled the boy to his side by the shoulder just in time for them both to pause as a rush of fabric swirled through the air before them.

"Any change to spare?" Came a melodious voice.

Danny swallowed hard, his thoughts effectively scattered by the pair of large, intense dark eyes watching him intently.

"I, uh… uh…" Danny stalled as his mind inexplicably went to the wallet he'd left on the table in Vlad's lab months ago. "…No?"

The woman took on a mildly contrite expression. She pushed her lower lip out in a pout.

"No? Are you sure?"

Danny, by this time, was able to collect his thoughts enough to recall that he did in fact have this week's pay on him. But the dire straits of his current financial situation were a strong deterrent. Not only did he have his own rent and food to take care of, he had Naruto and Sasuke to think of. Naruto, who loved Ichiraku's Ramen and never seemed to have enough money for rent, and Sasuke, who only ever seemed to buy tomatoes and sweets when he went grocery shopping. Danny shook his head with more certainty.

"Sorry."

The dancer drew back a touch, head tilting as she regarded him with a confused expression. It was like she was unaccustomed to being refused. A pink tongue wetted red lips and Danny was distracted enough by the action that he didn't immediately react when she bent, placing her face inches away from his own.

Her eyes narrowed and her lips parted in a little smirk.

"You're an interesting one, aren't you?" She asked rhetorically. "You know, it's quite rude to experience the entertainment then not offer any compensation for your enjoyment." She told him.

Danny could only blink in stupefaction.

"But," She continued. "You have such pretty blue eyes that I think I'll let you off this time." Her hand, pale with long, painted nails, came up and traced a curved pattern from his temple to his chin. Danny strove hard to hide the discomforting shiver caused by that touch.

The woman straightened but before she could turn away, Naruto called for her attention.

"Wait lady! I have some money!"

Danny shook off the vestiges of his shock just in time to watch Naruto thoughtlessly giving away what was likely his food money for the next few days.

"Aw…kid…" He sighed, passing his fingers through his hair.

Moving lithely, the woman folded to sit daintily on her ankles so that she was level with Naruto. She favoured him with a charming smile.

"Well! Aren't you such a warm-hearted child…" She reached out and cupped Naruto's face, tilting it until he was looking right into her eyes. Danny stiffened as he had the sudden, inexplicable urge to snatch Naruto away from the woman's hold. Her expression made him intensely ill at ease.

"Yes, you are another interesting one, yes? Perhaps even unique. What's your name, little one?" The woman asked, her eyes penetrating as they never broke contact with the child's.

"Naruto!" The boy chirped happily. "And yes, I am very interesting! And also that other thing you said."

The woman laughed and sent the boy one last piercing look, then gradually let go of his face. The way she dragged her hand away was almost reluctant.

She stood, and threw a look back over her shoulder at the boy. "Perhaps we'll meet again, Naruto." She said with a wink, before sauntering away.

No they wouldn't. Not if Danny had anything to say about it. There was something entirely too calculating about that woman. Her honeyed smile did not match the sharpness of her eyes. The way she had looked at Naruto had unexpectedly made his mind flash back to how Vlad used to look at Danny's mother. Danny thought on that for a moment, trying to isolate the emotion.

Calculation? Desire? Hunger… Lust…?

Suddenly completely unwilling to consider that line of thought further, Danny simply resolved himself to making sure the woman never came near Naruto again.

"Hey, kiddo. Let's get outta here." Danny suggested to Naruto.

"Aww… but I wanna look more!" Naruto whined.

"Well…" Danny thought quickly. "You know Mr. Akira just received a shipment today from the north and he always offers a discount on shaved ice on the first day. I was thinking we could get some… We'd have to go now though, since the stores are closing soon. 'Course, if you want to stay…"

"No! Let's go, let's go!" Naruto hopped and grabbed Danny by the hand, pulling the teen away from the dancer.

A sly grin grew across Danny's face. "Are you sure? We could stay—"

"No, we're getting shaved ice. You said!" Naruto insisted. "Can I choose any flavour I like?"

Danny had a sudden vision of ramen-flavoured shaved ice. "Um…"

"C'mon, please?"

Naruto was giving him watery-eyed pout and Danny rolled his eyes. "Fine." The flavours couldn't be that strange, right?

Naruto grinned toothily and let go of the teen's hand to dash ahead. "Come on! Come on! What are you doing?"

Danny had stopped to look back. He had slowed to a halt as he saw the flute-player was standing apart from the crowd. The man was turned toward them, seemingly watching them leave from the shadows of his straw hat.

"Nothing." Danny said at length. Decisively, he turned on his heel and put his back to the man. He smiled at Naruto. "Let's go."

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Danny woke the next morning to the sound of his windows rattling. A glance outside revealed trees flagging in a medium wind and a splatter of rain.

By the time he had dressed and descended to the ground level, the grey sky had darkened and the rain had crescendoed into a tropical downpour that soaked through his hood and clothes hardly two steps out.

The receptionist at the hospital, upon glimpsing his sorry, soggy self shivering in the entrance of the hospital, had covered her mouth in a poor attempt to hide her giggling.

"Got caught in the rain?" She teased.

"Rain! You call that rain!" Standing close to the doors, he had to raise his voice to be heard over the racket created by water hitting dirt. "That is a torrential hurricane! A storm! I had to leave my bag at my apartment!" The rain would have ruined the leather, not to mention his books.

Grumbling, Danny stood on the threshold and rung out the wide corners of his short sleeves and ankle pants. Peeling his hair away from his clammy face he noticed it was also long enough now to wring out. Sighing, he swept his hair back, then winced as he felt drips of water trickle down his neck and under the collar of his shirt.

Just then, Shizune entered the reception room. She saw his waterlogged figure and grinned widely.

"Welcome to the rainy season." She said.

"Season? There's going to be a whole season of this?" He had no idea how he was going to handle this. "How… How do you even get to work?"

"You sound like you had no idea this was coming. It's been cloudy for days now."

"Cloudy does not automatically equal rain." He informed her.

Shizune actually looked at him in surprise. "One day, Danny, you're going to tell me all about this strange place you come from. It sounds quite amazing."

"Oh, I don't know if it can quite measure up." Danny sent her a lopsided smirk. "After all, there aren't any overbearing, bossy, know-it-all ninja doctors there."

Laughing, he dodged as she made to smack him over the head with her clipboard.

"Idiot." She said, clearly smothering a smile. She noticed the creases in his clothes where he'd been attempting to drain the water from his clothes. "Wringing yourself out isn't going to help. You're going to have to grab a pair of scrubs."

Danny gave an audible groan. He hated the hospital's sterile surgical uniforms. No one wore them unless there was a serious emergency with possibility of infection. He'd stick out like a sore thumb all day.

"No complaining." Shizune scolded. "You're the one who didn't think ahead and bring a change of clothes. Now hurry up. The rain makes a lot of people sick. We have a lot of work to do."

Knowing he had to suck it up, Danny gave Shizune a nod. "Yes, boss!"

That evening, Danny was tidying up in preparation to leave work when Shizune approached him again. In her hands were a pair of boots and what looked to Danny like a hooded plastic cape. He gave them and her an inquiring eye.

"Here." She offered him the boots and cape. "I don't know if you've looked outside but the rain hasn't let up all day. People are saying some streets are flooded."

"Oh! You didn't have to." He blinked in surprise.

"Just take them and don't cause a fuss. Don't be too grateful either. They didn't come out of my pocket."

He frowned as he took the cape and boots. "Then where?"

Shizune averted her gaze. "You know after the Uchiha massacre many of the family's personal items were sent here—"

Danny was horrified. "No, no, no. I can't take this. If Sasuke finds out—"

"There is nothing here that belonged to his immediate family." Shizune interrupted. "And everyone owns a coat and boots. They're generic enough not to be recognized."

"Doesn't Sasuke… inherit everything from his family?"

Shizune nodded. "This will all go back once we're done with it. Call that a loan."

Danny looked down at the coat gripped between his hands.

Sensing his unease, Shizune put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, if you're as good friends with the kid as it seems, I doubt he'll mind you wearing that for a few days until you get your own."

Danny wasn't so sure. Unwillingly, he began wondering what had happened to all his sister's things. Jazz hadn't been wearing her headband on… that day…

"Look," Seeing he was still unconvinced, Shizune tightened her hold on his shoulder and spun him so he could look out the window. It was dark and the rain was coming down so hard Danny could see the lights from the houses reflecting off the ground. The effect made it seem like the houses were sitting over a lake, instead of solid ground.

"Rats and other things come up from the ground when it rains like this. It sounds harsh but the living have to live. Wear the boots. Get your own tomorrow."

The living have to live.

He took the boots and coat.

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It was a difficult journey to return to his apartment. The roads were more shallow lake than ground and it was dark. The street that his apartment was on was narrow and submerged under feet of water. Determined to reach his apartment, Danny had wadded on through the muddy water, his unease growing as the street dipped but the water level did not. Multiple times he nearly slipped into the black depths and all he could hear in his ears was loud applause of the rain hitting the surface of the water.

'Would be nice if I could still fly…' Unlike usual, he didn't immediately squash down on this thought, instead allowing himself to linger over it nostalgically. He'd had his ghost powers for about a year. He'd lived half that long in Konoha. And he'd lived for years in Amity Park without powers. The memory of his powers should be fading. At the very least, his longing for them should be dying down. But then why did they still feel so vivid? Why did he still instinctually reach for the cold comfort of his ghost-half every time he was in danger?

Danny continued walking down the sloping street, now hanging onto walls, trees, poles and whatever else he could to keep his balance. The water was passed his waist. The galoshes he had on were too big and he was struggling not to lose them in the water.

There was no one else in sight. The night was dark, the shops had all closed down and all the sane, reasonable people had apparently retreated to their houses to wait for the water level to lower.

That, or maybe they had used their stupid teleportation-ninja tricks, Danny thought irascibly, even as his unease grew.

He was still quite a far way from his apartment. But the water level continued to creep upward. He was in chest-deep now and keeping upright on the soft, shifting dirt street was difficult. The movement of the water as it flowed down the street tugged on his poncho and his ankles, insistently trying to pull him off balance. If the water got much deeper, he'd be swimming—

Just then there was a loud splash to his right, He jerked around, then let out an exclamation of revulsion and surprise as he saw something large and furry, flailing in the water. Shizune's warning about rats streaked across his mind and Danny leaped backwards.

The too-large galoshes slipped halfway off his feet. He stepped down on uneven ground and slipped. Barely managing a yelp of alarm he dropped into the water.

Danny could swim, but the suddenness of his fall, along with the fact that it was nighttime and everything was pitch black, momentarily disoriented him. One boot was slipping off his foot.

Struggling to right himself and come up for air, Danny suddenly felt a strong hand clamp down on his shoulder and fist into his collar. The unknown person heaved him upward and Danny's head and shoulders broke the surface of the water in a loud rush. In one powerful motion, Danny was pulled completely out of the water and thrown onto something dry.

Danny gasped in much-needed air as he lay, dazed, on some hard, curving surface. Then, recovering quickly, he looked up and into a familiar one-eyed face.

"Kakashi?" Danny spluttered, incredulous.

"Yo." The masked ninja, crouched comfortably on his heels, raised a hand and saluted Danny.

"Wh—" Danny looked down passed his hands, realized that he was laying on a raft made out of large logs, then looked back up. "Wha—" Mind whirling, his gaze snapped around before something important occurred to him and his eyes widened. "My boot!"

Instantly, Danny was on his knees and scampering to the edge of the raft.

"Whoa there. Easy. Unless you want another drink?" Kakashi said as the raft rocked. In spite of his words, the ninja's tone was still level and unconcerned.

"I'm missing a boot. I need to get it back." Danny said urgently. Then he turned to Kakashi. "Don't you have a ninja-spell-thing for that?"

"Nope." Kakashi answered succinctly.

"Urgh…" Danny ran a hand over his face in agitation. Then, after a few moments of silence, he spotted something floating in the water a little way down the street.

"There!" Danny pointed with excitement. Seeing Kakashi wasn't moving, Danny cast his gaze over the raft. "It's my boot. Don't you have anything to paddle with?"

"Nope." Kakashi repeated, this time offering Danny a shrug. "The raft was kind of an on-the-spot thing too."

"What…?" Danny goggled. Then seeing that the boot was in danger of floating away, he simply buckled down and began paddling with his hands.

It took some effort, but Danny managed to manoeuvre the raft to the boot. With a sigh of relief, he bent, scooped the boot out of the water and emptied it of water before thankfully sliding it back onto his foot.

"See? Boot." He gestured to the galosh as he looked up at Kakashi with satisfaction.

"So it is." The man said thoughtfully.

With a huff, Danny flipped soggy hair out of his eyes and peered at Kakashi through the rain. "So? Now that's out of the way, wanna explain what you're doing here—conveniently floating by on a random, empty, flooded street in the middle of the night?" As he questioned Kakashi he looked up at the man, a frown growing on his face when he noticed that the man's usual scarecrow hairstyle was still perfectly in place—despite the fact that it was still raining cats and dogs. Danny's own hair was a solid sheet plastered unpleasantly over his forehead and face.

"You've pretty good eyes, being able to pick out the boot in this darkness." Kakashi said, as though he hadn't heard Danny's question. "Even I could barely see it."

Danny shrugged. He had no response to that observation. "You didn't answer my question."

Kakashi didn't respond for a long while, then, "I got lost."

Danny sent the man a withering stare. "You've already used that one on me."

"It's a nice night for a float."

"No… No. It really isn't."

"My radio doesn't have reception, so I was going over to the Hokage's place."

"That is… Wait… What?" Danny choked. "You guys have radio?"

"Haven't you seen the satellite dishes?" Kakashi asked blandly.

"Yes… but… but…" Danny was at a loss for words. But the rain was still coming down hard and it had been a long day at work. Danny threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine. Fine! Radios! No TV, no washing machines, no cars, but radios are fine, so are refrigerators and spotty electricity. That makes about as much sense as a Box Ghost. But y'know, who am I to judge? It's a freakin' ninja village." And Danny sat himself down and began to paddle the raft toward his apartment.

"What would that be: a Box Ghost?" Kakashi asked at length.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. Not anymore." Danny grumbled the last under his breath. Then, tossing a look back at Kakashi he added, "think about it this way: it makes as much sense as your hairstyle."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow rose.

"Look at it!" Danny flapped a boneless hand at the offending hair before returning to his paddling. "It's raining buckets out here and your hair is just sticking straight up in the air, like it's cemented on or something!"

It was difficult to tell, but from the way Kakashi's eye closed Danny had a feeling the man was smiling at him.

Letting out a brief sigh, Danny glanced at the man's hands—neatly folded over his knees. "You aren't going to help paddle…?"

"You're doing a splendid job." Kakashi complemented and made no further move to help Danny.

Danny sighed, but relented and kept paddling. A few moments passed, and Danny realized the rain was letting up. A few minutes later and the rain had stopped completely.

The dark street was eerily quiet in the wake of the noisy rain. Clouds covered the moon and stars from view but now that the rain had stopped the lights from the houses on each side of the road reflected brightly off the flooded street. They lit the street in mesmerizing tints of yellow and orange.

Danny felt a prick on his conscience and bowed his head before looking back at Kakashi.

"Thank you." He said, offering his belated gratitude. "For pulling me out of the water."

"I was in the neighbourhood." Kakashi dismissed with ease. "You would have been fine."

"You're a ninja." Danny pointed out. "You can just poof away home any second. But you're still here keeping me company. I appreciate that."

Kakashi said nothing in return to that for a long while. Eventually the man did speak up, but it was to ask a different question.

"Why was getting that boot back so important?"

"Huh…" Danny looked at the galosh. "It's not mine. Shizune—at the hospital—gave it to me to borrow." Danny could have left it there, but after Kakashi's goodwill, Danny felt he owed the man something in return. So he explained. "It's not hers either. It came from the items that were kept after the Uchiha Massacre…" He allowed a short silence to fall after that admission. "I couldn't lose it."

"I doubt Sasuke will have need of them." Kakashi responded reasonably.

Danny shook his head. "That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

Danny hesitated a long while before simply sighing. "I don't know. I can't put it into words. But it feels wrong, so it can't be right."

"It feels—" Kakashi repeated and his tone was such that Danny felt a self-conscious heat rise in his cheeks.

"Nevermind." The teen shook his head. "Anyway. You said that this raft wasn't a planned thing, yeah? So that means what—you ninja'd it out of think air?"

"It's called a jutsu. But yes." Kakashi sounded amused.

"So you can make rafts but you don't have a spell—jutsu—for making paddles? Or for grabbing boots out of the water?"

Kakashi was quiet and when Danny looked back at the man he saw he was making that closed-eye smiling face again. Danny had a feeling that Kakashi was toying with him. It made Danny think of Vlad and he wondered about that. Was Kakashi trying to test him for some reason? Why would he bother?

"We're here." Kakashi said mildly and Danny snapped out of his thoughts and noticed they'd arrived at the entrance to his apartment.

Normally there were a few stairs leading up to a small wooden porch in front of the door. This was lucky because it meant that now, though the stairs were underwater, the door was not.

Danny grabbed onto one of the wooden rafters holding the awning over the porch to slow the raft. As he did, the door to the apartment opened.

"Danny!" Naruto, haloed by the light in the hallway, hopped up and down in the threshold. "You're late!"

"Naruto! How'd you know I was coming?" Danny asked.

"I saw you coming from my window. Come on up, I just made some ramen! You can have some too!"

Danny chuckled, "Ok. Ok." Then remembering Kakashi, Danny raised a hand. "Oh, I should probably introduce you: this is—" Danny turned but halted mid-introduction when he saw there was no one on the raft with him.

"Huh? What were you going to say?" Naruto asked quizzically.

Danny shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Why are you so late, anyway?" Naruto huffed as Danny got up on the porch and hooked a foot up to tug off his boot then repeated the process with the other foot.

"Oh, no reason. It was just… a nice night for a float." Danny grinned at the confused Naruto and he could have sworn he heard an amused chuckle coming from the awning above him.

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:o:

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"Oh, you found your own already?" Shizune asked with surprise as Danny handed her back the cape and boots a couple of days later.

"Yeah. I managed to pick them up yesterday but didn't want to return these to you wet." Danny explained as he tied on his hospital apron.

"You should find time to get a new pair of shoes too," Shizune gestured at his worn sneakers. "Those look like they're ready to fall apart."

"Urgh," Danny grimaced. "All anyone wears here are sandals though."

"So?" Shizune looked honestly confused by Danny's reluctance.

Danny wiped a hand across his face. "The purpose of shoes is to protect your feet. Flip-flops, though they don't protect your feet, keep you cool when it's hot."

"Flip-flops?" Shizune repeated the word quizzically. Danny ignored her confusion as he continued. He'd been holding in this rant ever since he got to Konoha and there was no stopping it now. His hands rose to gesticulate and emphasize his points as he spoke.

"The shoes everyone wears here aren't even proper sandals! They cover all the foot—except the toes! Why would you ever want that? They're like military boots, but with a high likelihood for getting your toes caught on things. And you guys are supposed to be ninjas! You're supposed to be jumping around and fighting and all that stuff—why would you leave just your toes uncovered? It's an obvious vulnerability. All you have to do is stub your toes on a doorframe, or a tree root. You can't tell me it's practical. The only purpose for it that I can possibly think of is to show off your toes. Like… like… if I was an artist and I was really good at drawing toes—that's what I'd do: design open-toed sandals for my characters."

Danny huffed as he finally finished his tirade, feeling like he'd finally gotten a weight off his chest that he'd been carrying around for months.

"Goodness, Danny, if you don't want to wear the shoes, then don't. But don't whine to me then when people keep treating you like a foreigner. You think our shoes are weird? I'm constantly seeing you nearly trip up on the ties of yours. Where did you even find shoes like that?"

Danny looked down at his sneakers and noted that, indeed, the laces of one shoe had come undone. Balancing on one foot, he brought his other knee up so he could reach down and quickly tie the laces.

"These are from back home." Danny said somewhat defensively. "Everyone wears them there."

"MMhm…" Appearing to have lost interest in the conversation, Shizune turned her head down to examine her clipboard. "Ah, this might be interesting for you. We admitted a bone fracture last night."

"Fracture of what?" Danny questioned. Shizune had turned to walk down the hall at an efficient clip and he hurried to follow her.

"Open and displaced shaft fracture of the tiba and fibula." Shizune said without inflection even as Danny cringed, feeling his lower leg twinge with sympathetic phantom pain.

"She'll be going into surgery in a couple of hours. I'd like for you to sit in. You can take the opportunity to study what the assistants do. You might not be able to use chakra but there are still many ways you can be useful." Shizune opened the door to a patient's room and greeted the man sitting on the bed as she checked the board attached to the foot of the bed.

Danny allowed Shizune to complete her round of the patient. As soon as they stepped out of the room and closed the door, he turned to her.

"I can sit in on the surgery? I thought I wasn't allowed to observe you using chakra. That councilman, Danzo, said…"

Shizune stopped mid stride. "Danzo… isn't going to be a problem for you or for me anymore." And Danny saw she had a grin on her face.

"Whaddaya mean?" Danny blinked. "Someone offed him?"

Shizune chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous." She scoffed, even as Danny grumbled under his breath "Ninja village, how'm I to know?" "It's been a long while in coming but the Hokage finally removed him from the council."

"He can do that?" Danny wondered suspiciously. He didn't know much—or anything at all, really—about politics, but he would've imagined that the Hokage shouldn't have the ability to fire a councilman. Something about division of powers. Or something.

Shizune nodded. "Yep. And now that Danzo is off the council, I have permission to get you more involved in hospital matters."

"More?" Danny groaned.

Shizune chuckled. She ducked into another room to check on a patient. When she came out picked up the conversation without problem.

"You're the one who's been asking me to be more open with you. And besides, you're a breath of fresh air around here. Look…" Her voice dropped as though she didn't want what she was going to say next to be overheard. "Don't think I haven't noticed what's been going on. I've seen the other hospital staff dump off work they don't want to do on you, just because of who you are. Many medic-nins… they join the hospital because they're hoping to meet my mentor, or because they want the glory of being one of the first to master the ten-hand technique…"

Danny guessed this ten-hand technique was some uber-powerful medical ninja ability. He couldn't help it though, when his mind simply conjured up an image of Shizune smacking a patient in the face ten times while yelling 'HEAL!'. Sensing his thoughts would not be appreciated, he worked hard to smother his humour, using the back of one hand to wipe his smirk off his face.

Shizune, meanwhile, continued speaking, oblivious to Danny's thoughts. "But you're not in it for gain. You looked after Sasuke diligently and that was an entirely thankless job. I've noticed this and many other things. And I want to make it so that you can have some way to advance here. Even without chakra, if you can gain status then the others will be forced to stop looking down on you."

Danny was surprised by the fact that Shizune was thinking about his well-being and he offered her a warm smile.

"Thanks." He said.

She shrugged. "You've earned it." She ducked in to see another patient.

Danny, too, had a number of responsibilities he needed to get done before he sat in on the surgery, but he had one more thing he wanted to ask Shizune.

"Why did Danzo get removed from the council. Do you know?"

For a flash of a moment, Shizune looked uncomfortable. Then, the expression cleared from her face. "Oh, it was probably just some political stuff. I don't really know."

Danny sensed the lie, but he bit his tongue and didn't comment. Secrets were a part and parcel of living in Konoha.

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:o:

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"So, how was it?" Shizune asked Danny after the surgery was complete. They were standing near the washbasins, taking turns removing their masks and gloves.

"Amazing!" Danny effused with honesty. "In the textbooks I read, the only way to deal with a fracture like that is to drill screws through the bones. But you just put your hands over her leg, did that green glowy thing and bam! Leg fixed. We weren't even in there half an hour!"

Shizune let out a brief laugh. "Ah, well, it wasn't exactly a complex procedure. That's interesting that you saw the glowing though. Usually only chakra users can see that. Can you see all types?"

Danny shrugged. "Not sure what you mean by 'types'. I've seen the green before, but that was before I knew you guys were ninjas. This is the first time I've associated it with chakra." Belatedly, he remembered the trip he and Kakashi had taken to the ninja academy. Hadn't he seen the kids light up with blue power? He thought about this but didn't comment on it to Shizune.

"Green is normally associated with healing. Other combative types of ninjutsu have different colors. Then there are bloodline specific jutsu—the kekkei genkai—those are a whole different matter."

Danny hummed and, mentally, he soaked in that information. Finally, he had an answer to the question of what a kekkei genkai was. Bloodline specific powers? So that meant certain ninja skills could only be passed down in a family. Danny supposed that made sense. It was sort of like the power was genetic. His mind flashed back to that day at the Hyuuga compound, when Neji had rebuffed and warned Sasuke. He'd called Sasuke's kekkei genkai 'useless' to the Hyuuga, but also said that Sasuke would be hunted for his ability once it manifests. Was Sasuke's ability rare?

Danny mentally rebuked himself. Of course it was rare. The rest of Sasuke's family was dead.

"Are they unusual?" Danny asked. And when Shizune hummed in confusion, he clarified. "Bloodline jutsu. Is it unusual for families to have one?"

"Hm..." Shizune shrugged. "More or less."

Danny could tell from Shizune's tone that he'd get no more out of her on that topic, so instead he switched to something else he'd been wondering about. "I was wondering… I saw something during the surgery. The patient… she had another injury on her leg, the one that was fractured. It was a pair of puncture wounds. It looked almost like a snakebite. But for a snake to inflict a bite like that… it'd have to be huge…"

Shizune's face twisted in displeasure. "Yeah. I suppose there's no point in keeping this from you. Higher ranked ninja are often sent out on dangerous missions. That much should be pretty obvious already. The world isn't a safe place, as you likely already know."

Shizune sent him a significant look which was completely lost on Danny. She'd probably meant to refer to the injuries he'd sustained before coming to Konoha, but she had no idea that Danny hadn't been anywhere near Japan when he'd been hurt. In fact, Danny wasn't even sure if he was still in the same time. The people of Konoha didn't mark the years in the same way as he knew from home. And besides, Clockwork was, apparently, the self-proclaimed Master of Time. For all he knew, the ghost could've sent him to an alternate time. Maybe even an alternate universe.

Danny said nothing though, instead opting to let Shizune continue.

"I don't know all the details but the person the patient was fighting—he's a snake. And I mean that in every way because he's a rotten traitor and he also likes to use conjured snakes to fight."

"And the rest was hisstory, eh, eh?" Danny sent Shizune a cheeky grin and lightly elbowed her in the side.

Shizune let out a brief, exasperated chuckle, shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Danny, you shouldn't even try. That was terrible."

"Hey, if it made you laugh, my job is done." Danny's grin faded to a lopsided grin. Then he noticed that their wandering through the hospital had actually brought them to a very specific wing.

"Post-surgery? Why're we here?"

"We're checking up on the patient she should be waking up now." Shizune said as she paused before an unmarked room.

"Really? You don't usually do that in person." Danny commented.

"This patient is a good friend of mine. Anko. I think I've told you about her before—when I recommended that dango store."

"Oh yeah…" Danny did his best to remember. "When Sasuke woke up. What is dango, anyway?"

"Oh ho ho…" Shizune's laugh was ominous. "Don't let her hear you say that."

"So wait, you want me to come too?"

"Sure, I mean, it's always good for you to get experience discharging patients. But also, she's been bugging me to let her meet you. Soooooo… two birds, one stone." Shizune flashed him a grin over her shoulder as she opened the door and Danny realized he'd been had.

"Shizune!" Came the excited greeting from inside the room.

Danny entered and saw that the patient—Anko—was not only awake but up and about. She was standing and walking on her leg with such ease that no one would've guessed it had been broken in half nearly an hour earlier.

"By the beard of the Second, it took you long enough to fix me up! I've been in the hospital since last night!" Anko was complaining to Shizune. Anko was already dressed—in a bizarre skin-tight outfit that looked like fishnet but could also maybe be some sort of especially distracting ninja armour. Danny, who had been working at the hospital long enough to have seen almost everything, still found that he had to force himself not to stare.

"That's what you get for getting yourself beaten up at such an ungodly hour. Next time, work within my office hours, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, tell that to the bastard snakeface." Anko spat. "It was a set up all along. He knew we were following him from the very beginning." Then, Anko's eyes alighted on Danny and her eyebrows shot up. "Holy Hell, I almost didn't notice you standing there in the doorway all quiet-like. Who're you?"

Shizune laughed. "He is quiet, isn't he?"

Anko pulled on a long trench coat and Danny was grateful because it allowed him to look straight at Anko without feeling like he was going to turn as red as a tomato.

"Fenton Danny." He said and sketched a bow.

"So formal!" Anko smirked. "Ah! So you're the foreigner—Shizune's new underling. Shizune might be all caught up on those stuffy formalities but you don't need to bother with me. I'm Anko."

Danny grinned in response and nodded.

Anko advanced a few steps and stood before Danny. Her hips cocked and arms folded as she looked him up and down. "Huh. Wow. Wow. You really weren't kidding, Shizune."

Shizune held her clipboard and seemed to be pouting. "I don't kid. And Danny's not my underling."

"He doesn't seem to have any objection to me calling him that, so why do you?" Anko hooked a thumb at Danny.

"Eh," Danny shrugged. "There're worse things to be called."

When Anko continued to stare at him like he was some sort of display model, Danny's patience waned and he frowned, crossing his own arms.

"Look. I get it. I have awesome hair. But you don't need to be so fascinated. Kakashi's hair defies physics, you know." He snarked without heat.

Anko, blinked, stared, then let out a burst of laughter.

"Ahaha! I like him. You should definitely keep him." She said to Shizune, who was looking at her friend in exasperation.

"But seriously, kid." Anko sobered. "How do you do that? I've never seen anyone hide their chakra so well."

"Not hide." Shizune pointed out. "He doesn't have any. Period."

"But you yourself said that was impossible." Anko countered.

"Impossible for anyone living."

"So what is he, then? The white ghost is literally a white ghost?" Anko quipped.

"Of course not." Shizune grumbled. "But like I said—the chakra treatments don't work on him."

"Well, got any explanation for yourself?" Anko directed this question at Danny.

Danny let out an exasperated sigh. "You do realize that I come from a place where there are no ninja, right? I never even heard of chakra or jutsu or anything like that until I came here. To me, you all are the crazy ones. You find out what's so kooky about me, then you can let me know. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Anko considered this, then shrugged. "Guess you have a point."

"So…" Shizune interjected and drew Anko's attention back to her. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

Anko shifted uneasily. "Yeah. Yeah, I suppose. Lady Tsunade deserves to know as well, and only you can tell her."

Danny's ears perked up at that name. Tsunade. He'd heard that name before. Was that the name of Shizune's elusive mentor?

"But let's not do it here." Anko decided. "All that waiting around in the hospital has me working up a big appetite!"

"We aren't going to have sweets for dinner, Anko." Shizune said definitively.

"Awww… Poo." Anko stuck out her tongue. "You're no fun. Fine, whatever. I'm meeting Kakashi for dinner anyway. He also wants the full story so why don't you just come along? Then I don't have say everything twice."

By this point, Danny felt distinctly like he'd been dismissed from the conversation. He eyed the doorway and wondered if he should just slip away.

"Kakashi, huh? Then… you mind if I invite Iruka too?" Shizune asked. "I've been wanting to catch up on what's going on with the newest graduates. And, you know, I heard that Kakashi got his first genin group assigned to him a couple of days ago."

"Genin?... Kakashi?" Anko choked back a bark of laughter. "Did those kids survive the day?"

"I heard he failed the whole team and sent them back to the academy." Shizune snickered.

"No way… I didn't even know you could do that. I hope Kurenai gives him a piece of her mind. She's head of the academy, so she'll probably be the one cleaning up the mess, right?"

"Yep, although I wouldn't be surprised if she starts taking genin soon and leaves the academy to Iruka."

"I can see that. More than I can see Kakashi teaching." Anko said with a laugh.

Danny was still gauging his exit but he wondered if Anko and Shizune weren't being a little unfair to Kakashi. Sure, the man had issues: he had thrown a knife at Danny the first time they met, after all. But Danny could see the man mentoring ninjas… Maybe. They'd be more trained than Danny anyway… probably more used to having sharp objects thrown at them… and less likely to be bothered to the point of distraction by how the man could eat without removing his mask…

"I heard that the test he put them through lasted all night… and they still failed." Shizune said.

"Wait, wasn't that two nights ago? The night it was raining?" Anko questioned.

"Yep."

Danny frowned. Wasn't that the night Kakashi had fished him out of the water?

"Anyway," Shizune continued. "Dinner sounds good. My shift ends at 6."

"Great I'll meet you both outside the hospital then." Anko chirped.

Realizing what Anko had said, Danny, who had finally made it to the door, stalled, "Wait…"

"Both?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, bring him along. Why not?" Anko shrugged, gesturing to Danny with a flick of her wrist. "He could use a good meal. I mean, look at him."

"Oie." Danny protested.

"Oie yerself," Anko shot back. "You have no high ground. Believe me, I know a bad diet when I see one. When was the last time you had a proper full meal?"

Danny folded his arms self-consciously and refused to answer.

"Aren't you his superior? Aren't you supposed to take care of your staff?" Anko looked at Shizune.

Shizune, for her part was looking at Danny like she was just seeing him for the first time. He saw the guilt in her eyes and rebelled.

"Look, I'm not her charge, or her student. I'm a co-worker. She doesn't have any obligation to monitor my eating habits." Danny protested.

"Whatever, come or don't come. It's up to you." Anko waved a hand at Danny. "But, don't complain later if you miss out on dessert."

---

:o:

---

The rest of the day passed smoothly. The sky was bright with the fire of the setting sun as Danny finished his shift. It was raining, but only mildly, and the flooding from the last couple of days had diminished enough that people were once again freely walking around outside. Danny had finished packing his bag and was slipping on his galoshes when Shizune approached him.

"So, will you be joining us?" She asked.

Danny, figuring he should be straightforward, nodded. "I'd like to. I'm not sure if I'll be welcome, but I can't say I'm not curious."

And indeed, Danny was curious. It was the Phantom in him, he guessed, that was so intrigued by the idea of a mystery. He wanted to know more about this 'snakeface' that Anko had fought with.

'See, Sam?' Danny thought as he pictured her face in his mind. 'Haven't lost my sense of adventure yet.'

Outside the hospital, Anko was already waiting. She was wearing the same fishnet outfit and trench coat and was leaning against the side of the building. There was a small skewer of round balls in her hand. She plucked the food off the skewer with her teeth and then used the sliver of wood to pick her teeth.

"Anko," Shizune admonished. "Sweets already?"

"Whaaat?" Anko complained. "I get in my cardio."

"It's not your figure I'm worried about, it's your teeth." Shizune clarified.

"Whatever. Oh hey, you came!" Anko grinned as she saw Danny. "Danny, right?"

The teen nodded.

"You know, it really is the craziest thing. I can't sense you at all." Anko reflected, and Danny assumed she was talking about his lack of chakra. "You're really gonna have to be careful around ninja. People are gonna think you're sneaking up on them and then you'll be liable to get a face full of iron."

"Oh, believe me, I know." Danny said wryly.

"We were talking about Kurenai." Anko continued and looked up at Shizune. "Maybe we should introduce him to her. Maybe she could tell us what's wrong with him."

Danny objected to the idea of anything being 'wrong' with him, but he stayed quiet.

"But Kurenai specializes in genjutsu, right? I don't think…" Shizune trailed off.

"Apparently she can also enter people's subconscious to 'see their true selves'. Whatever that means." Anko added.

For whatever reason, those words made Danny tense. 'True self'? Danny ruminated over those words. What could that mean—especially for him? Danny had a feeling he didn't want to know and so made a mental note to avoid this Kurenai person in the future.

They walked down the street and Danny let Anko and Shizune chat and catch up as he quietly looked around and appreciated the sight of Konoha at sunset. Earlier that day, the rain had been coming down hard enough that the splashes of water hitting the ground almost resembled grass. Now, the water was roughly at ankle level and it was raining less. The sight of the fiery sky reflecting off the buildings and off the water was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The trees and the foliage too, struck him as incredibly green.

They arrived at a small restaurant. Everything was outdoors, but there was a raised wooden platform on which benches and tables were lined up. Overhead was a canopy constructed of wood, metal, plastic and fabric. The rain pattered loudly off the canopy as they stepped up on the wood platform.

They took their shoes off and Danny looked at the pile of unattended shoes with uncertainty. But when Anko and Shizune lay their footwear down and walked away, Danny was left with no choice but to follow suit.

They picked a table close to the edge of the canopy and sat down. Shizune grabbed a paper menu for marking off orders and Danny only had to glance at it to know reading it would be far beyond his comprehension level.

It wasn't long before they saw a familiar figure round the corner of the street and approach the restaurant at a jog.

"Hey, Kakashi!" Anko waved.

The man didn't stop jogging, ignoring the entrance to the restaurant entirely, he instead came straight for the table.

Danny's eyes widened. "Is he gonna—"

Kakashi approached the platform. There was a guardrail on which he planted a hand. Effortlessly, Kakashi gracefully vaulted over both the rail and the table. He landed in a crouch on the other side of the table and ducked so that he was out of view of the street.

Danny stared at the man, who was crouched almost at his feet. At some point during the jump, Kakashi had taken off his shoes and he was holding them in one hand. With his other hand he put a finger to his lips as he winked at Danny.

"Kakashi, what—" Shizune's words were abruptly drowned out by a much louder voice.

"KAKASHI, WHERE DID YOU GO, MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL!"

Around the corner, Maito Gai skidded into view. He ran full tilt toward the restaurant then slammed to a stop mere inches away from crashing into the railing. Danny stared at the man, who was drenched in water head-to-toe. His spandex suit was so shiny it reflected the setting sun like reflectors on a bicycle. Gai's soggy hair clung to his forehead and hung in his eyes.

Danny mentally noted that gravity-defying hair wasn't a ninja thing.

Perhaps, Danny thought, it was Kakashi's kekkei genkei…

"Have you forsaken our eating competition, Kakashi?" Gai questioned the air around himself. Then, clenching a fist, the man snarled and cinched his eyes shut. "No! Of course not! For you, my youthful rival, have passion unlike any other! I should have never questioned your conviction." Gai looked up and Danny could see the man's eyes actually shining with unshed tears. "Kakashi! Your passion has stoked the fires of rivalry in my heart anew! For my faltering heart I challenge myself to climb up Hokage hill 50… no… 100 times! With one arm tied behind my back! You there!"

Danny froze, stiff with fear and eyes wide as Gai pointed directly at him.

"Yes! I remember you! You are the youth who has experienced burning chagrin—the unquellable bitter fragrance of defeat at the hands of those more talented than you—and the unfaltering will of iron to overcome weakness!"

"Um… um… uh… Wh…" Danny stammered. He looked to Shizune for help but she was busy unhelpfully dissolving into a fit of giggles. Anko was staring at him with a smirk that told him clearly that she'd be no help.

"You were the kind-hearted youngling who timed my race with Kakashi!" Gai continued.

"Um… Stopwatch!" Danny remembered abruptly. "Yeah…"

"I have need of your impractical shoe tie that constantly appears to be undone! Would you surrender it honourably for my fight against unfairness?!"

"I… but…" Danny looked over at his sneakers in the pile with the other shoes. The laces were undone but that was because he'd taken the shoes off. He didn't really want Gai taking the laces. Still, he inexplicably found himself getting up and pulling the lace out of his shoe.

"Alas!" Gai grieved when Danny held up the lace. "It is not of sufficient size. You are kind! Though unhelpful… I will have to rely on my own strength of will to keep my hand behind my back! Alternatively I shall track down rope! Kakashi! I am coming!" And then, Gai offered Danny, Anko and Shizune a quick salute before running away.

"Hahahaha…." Shizune struggled to catch her breath. "Your face! Oh, hahahaha…."

"You can put that back now, though honestly, I'd just recommend you get a pair of sandals." Anko said.

"Oh, haha, don't mention sandals around him." Shizune continued laughing. "He feels very strongly against the sandals."

"I'll do it later." Danny decided, knowing it would take too long to thread the lace back into the shoe.

"You could use it to tie back the hair that's always getting in your way these days." Shizune suggested.

"Or better yet, just get a haircut. A tie would make you look like a foppish old man." Anko said.

Danny had a sudden vision of Vlad, standing with his hair slicked back into a ponytail. Then in an odd moment, he remembered the long, fiery hair of the Phantom-Plasmius ghost. Did that thing tie its hair back?

But Plasmius had horns, so why had Phantom-Plasmius had fiery hair?

Why did it even matter? The memories of that time felt so distant. The ghost was probably locked up in a lab by now. Who cared how it kept its hair?

'What if he wasn't locked away…?'

'What if the ghost was too strong for the GiW? For Vlad? For Valerie…?'

This was the first time such thoughts had occurred to him and they were an icy hand clenching hard around his heart.

Kakashi had raised himself off the ground and Shizune had made a displeased remark that he was dripping everywhere. Ignoring the medic-nin, Kakashi took a seat at the table and looked first at Danny then at Shizune then at Anko.

"You didn't tell me there'd be others." Kakashi said, and there was a hint of displeasure in his normally bland tone.

'Did I fail everyone?' Danny was busy wondering to himself as he sat back down at the table. 'Should I have stayed in Amity Park? I'm nothing without my ghost powers but it was still my responsibility…'

"I invited them. Iruka is joining us too." Anko said. And that was clearly all the response she intended to give.

"I'll find out what happened either way." Shizune said.

'Should I have stayed and died?' Danny wondered.

"And him?" Kakashi looked at Danny.

"I can vouch for him." Shizune said.

"And what does he have to say?"

Danny, his thoughts still whirling and shifting to remember responsibilities he'd left behind half a year ago, was in no mood to fight with Kakashi. Looking at the man sharply, Danny, eyes narrowed and he rose out of his seat.

"Would you rather I leave?" He asked without preamble.

"Danny, come on." Shizune sighed. "Don't be like that."

Anko merely sat back, watching the scene play out with amusement.

Danny locked gazes with Kakashi and for a long while the man merely watched him. Then, eventually, Kakashi must have read what he wanted out of Danny's eyes because he broke eye contact and gestured at the table.

"By all means. Stay."

Slowly, Danny sank back into his seat.

The stand off had focused not just Danny's body, but his mind too. And his thoughts had thankfully stopped spinning. He'd made his choice half a year ago. For better or worse he lived in Konoha now. Naruto and Sasuke needed him. They grounded him in this reality. He'd have to trust that those he left behind in Amity Park could take care of themselves. But for now he was here which meant here was where he had to live.

Stay. Kakashi told him.

He would.

"Hey!" Came a voice from behind Danny and he turned to see Iruka approaching the table. Iruka greeted Anko, Shizune and Kakashi with smiles and then he turned to Danny with a surprised, but pleasant grin.

"Hey, Danny! Good to see you again! So you'll be joining us for the evening?"

Danny nodded. "I will."

Iruka sat down and they began passing around the paper menu. When the thing made it's way to him, Danny was actually impressed to find that some of Sasuke's lessons had started to sink in: he recognized the symbols for 'rice', 'fish', 'pork', and a few more. But still, by and large the paper was gibberish to him.

Shizune, always observant, didn't take long to notice his predicament. She paused in the conversation she was having with Anko to turn to Danny.

"Sorry," She apologized with a smile. "I forgot." She reached over and he handed her the menu with a small smile.

"So what do you want? Something with meat, probably. Noodles or rice? A soup?"

"What's the matter, he can't read or something?" Anko questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Pushing away the lingering embarrassment at being called out. Danny instead opted for a self-deprecatory laugh as he raised a hand. "Guilty as charged."

"Really?" Anko looked legitimately surprised and Iruka and Kakashi were looking at Danny too.

"But your spoken language is exemplary. You have some speech quirks but I can hear almost no accent. You even know our colloquialisms." Iruka was amazed.

Danny shrugged, still smiling his hand had fallen to rest on the back of his neck.

"It is odd." Anko agreed.

"There are probably genjutsu that can teach language…" Iruka said thoughtfully. "Is that what you're using?"

Shizune shook her head and answered for Danny. "He doesn't have chakra. And since he doesn't have it, he's immune to most forms of chakra-manipulating jutsu."

Danny's eyes narrowed a bit in thought as wondered on those words. Was that true? He didn't know about that. After all, Clockwork had put the spell—the mark of 'Ajna' he'd called it—on the base of Danny's neck. And Danny had done some research. He was reasonably sure that that was a chakra point.

Maybe it was like the ghosts and the fox on Naruto's shoulder. Maybe his chakra was simply invisible to these ninja?

That seemed to be an odd stretch.

"Immune, you say? That would be quite the incredible talent." Kakashi spoke up in response to Shizune. "Do we know that for sure?"

"Well, none of the medical treatments worked on him." Shizune said uncertainly.

"That in itself only means he's easier to kill." Kakashi said mildly and Danny raised a brow, an odd sense of surreality falling on him. Was this how Sam, Tucker and Jazz had felt when he'd tell them they were more fragile than him in a fight?

Well… he hadn't been wrong…

"Do we have any way to test this?" Kakashi was still speaking.

Iruka looked appalled. "Kakashi! He's a civilian!"

"So? Imagine if he can resist genjutsu. Imagine how useful such a skill would be to our cause—"

"No. You're crossing a line here, Kakashi."

"I agree." Shizune said. "Kakashi, Danny isn't a ninja."

"Yet you brought him here, to sit amongst us. And here he is, actively interested in getting information from us." Kakashi pointed out

"No, Kakashi, I won't have this discussion continue any further." Iruka's voice was final. "You have used many unconventional methods in the past but even you must admit dragging a civilian into things would be beyond reproach. You must know, after all, you were the one who sent three genin back to my class by discounting them as immature and unprepared."

"They are." Kakashi stressed.

"And what, he is somehow different?" Iruka gestured at Danny, who quietly wondered why they were all getting so heated over this. He would have to research what 'genjutsu' was.

"Stop." Anko spoke up for the first time. Her voice, though quiet, was strong and surprisingly the table did fall quiet. "This is not a productive conversation. More importantly, your bickering is going to put me off my food. Topic change." She grabbed the menu out of Shizune's hands.

"We're getting Yakiniku. Not the most complicated thing to order. I'll add in an extra order of meat and rice for you." She jabbed a finger at Danny. "And there we go." She got up to deliver the menu to the cook.

"Oh!" Danny, a thought having suddenly occurred to him, hopped up and followed Anko.

"What? You a vegetarian or something?" Anko asked him with some irritation.

"No." Danny frowned. Then, shaking his head, he let go of his own defensiveness. Forcefully, he wiped Sam's face out of his mind. "It's not that. It's just—is there a way to get two more meals… but for take out? I'll pay."

"Hm… Yeah. Can do." Anko paused at the counter and made the changed to the menu before handing them to the cook. "You want those delivered at the end?"

"Yes." Danny nodded, then added, "Please."

Anko nodded and looked at the chef. "You got all that?"

"Aye aye, Miss Jonin." The man gave Anko a smart salute.

"Jonin…" Danny repeated. "That's the highest, right?"

"I guess you could put it like that. Though really there's also the ANBU, the Kages and S-Ranks…You know, Kakashi's right about something: you really are showing an interest in us." She shot him a look.

He shrugged. "I like helping out at the hospital. But there's only so much I can do without chakra. But simply learning more isn't beyond my ability."

They sat back down at the table and seemed to enter in the middle of a conversation.

"They were idiots." Kakashi was saying as he rested his head on his hand. "Nevermind their complete lack of focus, they couldn't even work together long enough to track me."

"Kakashi, that's what you're there for." Iruka rolled his eyes.

"I'm there to teach ninja. Not to babysit brats who argue so loudly they're a liability to themselves. My expectations aren't high, Iruka. I just expect my team to be willing to be just that: a team."

"That… forgive me, Kakashi, but that just sounds very unusual coming from you." Iruka said slowly.

"Perhaps you are correct." Kakashi's eyes drifted to the side. "But that is where I stand."

"So interesting…" Shizune mused. "So different from what I expected. I honestly expected you to have given them an impossible task and then failed them because you didn't want to take up the charge of 'babysitting' as you put it."

Kakashi let out an amused sound. "Well, I can't say I didn't consider it. Fortunes have it, I didn't even need to worry."

"What was the test?" Iruka asked.

"The test was no more or less than I had to overcome at their age." Kakashi said ambiguously.

Iruka opened his mouth and he might have said more, but just then the dulcet tones of a flute reached them and a hush fell over the crowd at the restaurant.

The sun had nearly set, but there were still lingering hints of twilight: streaks of pink and orange lighting up the edge of the horizon. The rain had stopped completely and the moon was gaining light in the sky.

The melancholic tune of the flute was almost ethereal and over the hill outside the restaurant, the foreigners came into view. Haloed in the waning light and draped in elaborate robes, the two looked otherworldly.

The small hill had escaped flooding and path of uneven stones trailed a path down. Slowly, the flute player and the dancer descended.

They were coming toward the restaurant, Danny realized with some discontent.

The couple stopped right before the restaurant and the flute player backed into the shadows as the dancer stepped up to play her role. The patrons of the restaurant were entranced and slowly a crowd began to gather. Same as last time, the dancer was hypnotic and beautiful. Even Danny, who held reservations about the couple and a lingering distaste for the way the woman had looked at Naruto, couldn't take his eyes away.

Eventually, the music stopped. People applauded. Wallets were fished out and a fountain of coins rained into the donation basket.

The woman bowed, smiling beatifically, ever gracious.

Then she stepped up into the restaurant and Danny swallowed.

She didn't take off her shoes. That was the thing that struck Danny so sharply. He felt offended. Everyone else had taken off their shoes. But this woman went unbothered, tracking wet dirt from the soles of her shoes across the restaurant.

Eventually, the woman made her way over to his table. Iruka, Anko and Shizune all offered money with smiles. Then the woman turned to Danny.

Her eyes seemed to change—was that recognition?—but she made no other indication that she remembered him as she extended the basket.

"A pittance," She beseeched. "For a weary traveller."

This time, he didn't have much trouble shaking his head. "Sorry." He offered.

"You're sure? Not even a bit of change for the poor…" Her tone…twisted. Danny shivered and as he looked into her eyes he finally noticed it—a twinge of glowing red. Chakra.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't got any money to spare." He said again. And it was entirely true. He had enough on him to pay for the three meals that he'd bought and that was all. If he gave anything to this woman, he'd have nothing left for Naruto and Sasuke's meals.

The woman pulled the basket back but her gaze was intense. She hummed "That's twice now I've been spurned by those pretty, pretty blue eyes. So cruel…be careful now, a third time and I might think you don't like me."

She was about to move away when Danny's mouth blurted out the thoughts in his head.

"Your shoes." He said.

"Hmm?" She looked back at him, eyes half lidded with disinterest.

"You didn't take them off." And he glanced down at her feet.

She smirked. And it was a cold, sharp expression. She turned away then and moved in on the last person at the table that she had yet to proposition.

She batted he eyes at Kakashi. "Any change for…"

"No." The man's response was blunt, cold and brooked no argument.

The woman was visibly affected. Immediately she drew back, the smile dropped from her face and she stared at Kakashi.

"What, no pandering expression, no coy smiles? The boy must've thrown you off your game." Kakashi drawled.

Danny could see the shrewd calculation going on behind the woman's eyes. Then she put on a simpering smile and sketched an insincere bow.

"Forgive me. I… have business elsewhere." She with a twirl of fabric, she swept away from the table and glided down the off the wooden platform. There she was joined immediately by her companion and together they stole into the night, quickly disappearing from view without a second glance.

The two entertainers left utter silence in their wake. Gradually though, the volume returned to the restaurant as people returned to their conversation and food.

"Well," Kakashi spoke up, filling the silence around the table and drawing everyone's attention to him. "I think we can clear up one question."

"Yeah? What's that?" Anko asked.

Kakashi paused as a server came around and poured tea for everyone, then set up the table for the meal.

"He," and Kakashi inclined his head in Danny's direction. "Has at least rudimentary ability to throw off genjutsu."

"Huh? When?" Iruka sounded confused.

"The dancer. The control was subtle, but it worked well enough to draw out a pretty penny from each of you."

"Oh, I barely remember…"

"Urgh, what a bitch." Anko was immediately irritated as she checked her wallet. "At least I didn't give too much."

"That kind of behaviour should be unlawful." Shizune frowned. "How did they even get in to the village?"

"That is odd, Danzo himself approved of their entrance request." Iruka said.

Danny however, was busy making a connection in his head. "Oh, oh! Wait! You mean… with those two… so that… does that mean that genjutsu is, like… mind control?"

"In a way," Iruka looked at Danny with a frown.

"Not just control. All types of chakra manipulation skills that deal with the mind are genjutsu. Control, deception and illusion being the most common." Kakashi clarified.

"Urgh…" Danny couldn't help this quiet reaction of revulsion. He remembered only too well Ember McLain's concert featuring her single hit 'Remember'. He remembered only too well being hit by her love spell.

Sam…

Danny's dislike toward the flute player and the dancer shot to Freakshow levels. If there was one thing Danny hated more than being tied down and restrained it would have to be mind control. If only ninja were ghost-like enough that he could put them in the Ghost Zone. "Need a better thermos." He grumbled under his breath. "Can't call in the GiW like for Freakshow."

If the others at the table noticed his seemingly nonsensical mumbling, they ignored it for the sufficient distraction of seeing the food arrive. Even Danny couldn't stay upset as the scent of grilled meat immediately set his mouth to watering.

He was aware though, that he was surrounded by people who were all older than him, and these few months in Konoha had taught him basic social norms. So he waited with baited breath and shadowed everyone's movements as they all took their chopsticks. He murmured the required 'We humbly receive this food' and he watched them each take food, taking mental notes of how much was polite to take and how they held their chopsticks.

It was a good thing they each had their own bowl of rice. He gathered the chopsticks in one hand, the bowl of rice in the other and, thusly armed, he strove forward.

The first time he pinched the meat, it slipped out from between his chopsticks and back onto the grill. On his second attempt, the meat slithered off the grill and fell onto the wooden table. Feeling the heat rise in his ears, Danny was sorely tempted to pick up the meat with his fingers. Nevertheless he persisted and picked the piece of meat up off the table. This time he had a firm hold.

He heard a snicker and didn't have to look up to know it was Anko.

"You can take another piece." Shizune said, meaning to be kind, but just making the situation worse.

"It's fine. Five second rule." He said, realizing belatedly that that saying likely made no sense when translated into Japanese, he simply surrendered and popped the piece of meat into his mouth.

He paused, and his eyes closed with pleasure as he savoured the taste.

After he'd swallowed, his eyes popped open and this time he didn't hesitate before reaching for another piece of meat. This time there were no hiccups, he rested the meat on the rice before putting it in his mouth.

This one, fresh off the grill, was hotter and even better. Danny felt his stomach grumble quietly in happy satisfaction.

The others were talking and Danny was glad for this small slice of solicitude. He didn't bother paying attention—they were engaging in small talk, catching up or discussing people that Danny didn't know. Normally, he'd probably put an effort into paying attention—maybe to learn more or glean important information. But the food was just too good.

He took some of the vegetables, ate them with the rice and even that was so good he found himself reaching to take more again and again.

Too soon, his rice had run out and he realized he was probably giving a bad impression by stuffing his face. Guiltily, he put the empty rice bowl down and set the chopsticks down as well.

"Did you enjoy?" Shizune asked him with a smile once she saw he'd stopped eating.

Iruka laughed. "Did you see him? He ate with the all the voraciousness of a starved boy. I'm sure he enjoyed. But come, There's still another piece of meat left—go on."

The others also nodded and Danny was only too happy to oblige. He was careful with the chopsticks and managed to manoeuvre the meat into his mouth. He chewed happily.

"Now, I really want to know about this place where you come from." Anko said with interest. "You can speak our language fluently, but you can't read, can't write, and cant even use chopsticks. How the heck does that happen?"

"Hey," Danny objected, then he swallowed and continued. "I'll have you know, I'm a lot better with these torture devices than I was when I got here." He gestured at the chopsticks.

"It's true." Kakashi weighted in. "A few months ago he was holding them like a child."

"Only because you told me to!" Danny pointed out.

"Your ramen was getting cold. I felt sorry for the noodles" Kakashi shrugged.

"Well… you… you have a mask covering half your face!" Danny shot back as though this was a valid taunt.

Kakshi's visible eyebrow rose.

"It makes no sense! Like toeless shoes!"

"Danny. We're not going through that again." Shizune sighed.

"One day, you'll see. Just wait. The logic will be irrefutable and you won't be able to ignore the facts." Danny promised.

"What are you two even talking about?" Anko wanted to know.

"It really doesn't matter." Shizune said quickly, forestalling anything Danny would have said. "But Anko, we're finished with dinner. Why don't you tell us what happened to you to put you in the hospital?"

With that comment, the levity was immediately sucked from the atmosphere. Anko's expression turned dark and the other three ninja leaned closer to her.

Danny too, quietened and focused on listening.

"Well… you know Orochimaru's been slinking around the borders of Konoha for the past while."

Danny focused on that name. Orochimaru. Where had he heard that name before?

Anko, meanwhile, was still speaking. "The earliest he was spotted was around the time right after the Uchiha Massacre."

Backs stiffened all around the table at the mention of that terrible event.

"You don't think—" Iruka began.

"It's not my place to speculate." Anko said, clearly uncomfortable. "Whatever his reason, the Third thought it might be a good idea to send a team to keep an eye on him. Who better to send than me, yeah? A snake to watch the snake." Anko's grin was bitter.

"Anko…" Shizune said softly.

The ninja shook her head. "Nevermind that. Our goal was to see if we could follow him far enough to get a sense of what cave he's holed himself up in."

"And? Did you find it?" Kakashi pressed.

Anko shook her head. "Nowhere close. He knew we were following him. He set up a trap and we just walked right in. I… don't remember exactly how he got the upper hand on us. It must have been some sort of illusion. Suddenly he was just there and I was dodging snakes."

"Did he say anything? Do anything?" Kakashi asked.

"Nothing different from the usual slimy vitriol. A lot of taunting, some vague hints that he has something big planned, a hefty does of insults…"

"Something planned? Like what?" Iruka asked.

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it won't be good for Konoha." Anko said.

"Do you think…" Shizune hesitated. "Maybe he's come looking for another apprentice…?"

Danny actually saw the atmosphere around Anko turn black. Was that ill intent? Bad emotions? Chakra reacting to how much Anko hated Oorchimaru?

"But who could that be? I'm sorry Iruka, but from what I can see, this batch of genin seem unremarkable." Anko's words were straightforward and blunt.

"I know." Iruka agreed with an honest nod. "They're good, but no one head sticks out higher than the rest. No exceptional talents or prodigies."

"Maybe he had his sights set on Uchiha Itachi." Kakashi said and everyone at the table hushed.

"Kakashi…" Iruka said warningly.

"I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking. We know those two have met, have spoken. And if Orochimaru collects prodigal talent then Uchiha Itachi certainly fits the bill."

"But he's gone." Anko said irritably. "Orochimaru is not. That would imply that there's something or someone else that the snake wants still in the village."

"Maybe the youngest Uchiha?" Iruka suggested. "What was his name—Sasuke?"

"Doubtful. That boy hasn't displayed any impressive talent. He hasn't entered the Academy yet. Hasn't even awoken his kekkei genkai." Kakashi said dismissively.

Danny felt like they were being unfair to Sasuke. But then he remembered the Hyuuga's words: 'Hunted the five nations over for your kekkei genkai.' If that was what was in store for Sasuke then maybe it was better for him to be normal.

The tallest nail was the first one to get hammered down. Or so the saying goes.

'Unless it's actually the smallest.' Danny thought cynically. 'Then all the other ones get hammered down first and the smallest one is left alone. Then it really does become the tallest.'

Was he talking about Sasuke? Or himself? Danny wasn't sure.

"I don't know what Oorchimaru is after. All I know is that he's here, keeping an eye on Konoha and we were unable to follow him to his hideout." Anko summarized.

"So… in other words, you weren't able to figure out anything new or of any use whatsoever." Kakashi intoned, his words cutting deep.

Anko winced. But her gaze hardened. "We did find out one thing. Once I realized it was a trap, I sent my team back to scout the route while I kept Orochimaru busy. They discovered signs of a camp. Not just that, but they found tracks to indicate that multiple people had passed through the area. It was close to the sealed grounds."

Anko paused and a thoughtful silence fell over the group. Danny wondered what Anko was talking about. What were these 'sealed grounds'? Why were they sealed? How did you even seal ground?

"I'm not sure I understand the significance." Iruka mused. "Why the sealed grounds?"

"I don't know." Anko shook her head. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

Kakashi and Shizune said nothing.

Danny thoughtfully turned the clay cup of green tea in his hands. He remembered now where he'd heard Oorchimaru's name before. It had been when Danzo had told the Hokage they should throw Danny out of Konoha.

'Remember what happens when we allow foreigners in to Konoha?' Danzo had warned. 'Remember Oorchimaru?'

It sounded like Konoha had some threatening people opposing it. Dangerous people, given what had happened to Anko. It took tremendous force to break the leg so completely that bone broke through skin. If that injury had been sustained in a fight…

Danny remembered his own skirmish with the three genin who had been harassing Naruto. He remembered how one of the men had cracked the wall with his bare fist.

'If I still had my powers…'

Danny quickly shut down that train of thought.

Shaking himself back to awareness, he looked up at the sky. The sun had set. Danny wagered dinner had taken a couple of hours so it was probably around 8pm. He would have to leave soon.

Just as this occurred to him, the server came around with the bill.

"Don't worry about it." Shizune smiled at him. "I'm your supervisor so it's my treat."

"Aww, did my comment earlier make you guilty?" Anko teased.

"Ah," Danny blinked with surprise. "Thank you." He smiled gratefully. "But I—"

"I insist." Shizune said, her voice firm.

Danny let out a chuckle. "Ok, ok. But I need to pay regardless. I ordered two meals for take out."

"Huh?" It was Shizune's turn to look surprised. "For who?"

"DANNY!"

As if on cue, a familiar blond came bounding down the street. Naruto came to screeching stop in front of Danny's table. Stepping up on the edge of wooden platform, Naruto blithely ignored the stares and unfriendly looks he was getting from other guests and the restaurant staff. He hung on to the wooden guardrail so he wouldn't fall backward.

"Hey Naruto." Danny grinned at the boy.

"You're late!" Naruto pointed at him. Then looking past Danny, Naruto's offended expression morphed like quicksilver into a happy grin. "Hey Iruka!"

"I told you I was going to be late when we met for lunch, remember?" Danny told him, then he looked between Iruka and Naruto. "You know each other?"

Iruka smiled and nodded.

"Iruka buys me ramen sometimes! He's awesome!" Naruto answered. Danny ahh'd in understanding.

"Actually, I think the more pertinent question would be how do you two know each other?" Iruka said, still smiling.

Both boys answered at the same time.

"Danny tried to save me from some bullies."

"Naruto stole my laundry."

Naruto squinted his eyes at Danny. "Did not! I borrowed."

"Only 'cause I caught you." Danny quipped back. "And what's this about tried to save?"

"I mean what I said!" Naruto nodded emphatically. Then he appeared to notice the empty plates of food on the table. His face visibly fell. "Awwwww… you ate without me?!"

"Sorry, kid. I was just sooo hungry." Danny patted his belly with a grin. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Shizune watching the exchange with a smile.

Naruto's face of dismay was comical. The boy was about to blurt out something when a server came over carrying two bags.

"Here's your take out…Oh." The server frowned as she noticed Naruto. "Is this kid bothering you?" She tsked and her lip curled. Danny was sure she was about to say something unkind to Naruto so he quickly intervened.

"No, no. Not at all. He's with me." Danny said with his best grin. It was a familiar expression—one he'd used on his sister many-a-time when trying to convince her he wasn't a half-ghost, messed-up head-case.

"You…" Now the server was looking at Danny with some suspicion. "You know this kid's trouble, right?"

"Not at all." Danny repeated, holding his smile. Leaning over to Naruto, he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "Naruto, get off the platform."

"Huh?" Naruto looked down, saw his grimy shoes on the baseboards of the restaurant. Danny saw the edges of the boy's mouth twist and knew his expression had turned crafty. The boy's eyes rose and locked on Danny's.

Danny's gaze was even. Naruto's eyes were mischievous.

Danny felt the moment that he'd won and Naruto sulked, stepping down.

"I think we'll just be paying now." Shizune said and as she stood from the table the others did as well. Shizune's expression was polite but cold and the server was clearly made uneasy by it.

"Ah, y-yes. Of course, ma'am." The server bowed. "At the counter, if you will." She hurried away.

"Yeah, that's right, walk away." Naruto teased and pulled a face at the server's retreating back.

"Naruto," Danny sighed. "Remember what I was saying…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I know" Naruto nodded his head. "Discretion… blah blah blah… valour… blah blah blah. Just wait. When I'm Hokage then everyone will respect me."

Danny smiled. It wasn't the first time he'd heard Naruto say this. Becoming Hokage was a dear dream of the boy. Danny's smile was weary though. Being a powerful heroic figure wasn't always all it was cracked up to be. "Be careful." He intoned softly. "People as a mass are generally very stupid. Being Hokage isn't going to change that. Instead of contorting yourself into the person you think they'll respect, become someone you respect. Don't worry, they'll catch on."

Naruto's face scrunched as he ruminated over those words.

Danny felt a hand clap down on his shoulder.

"Wise words, Danny!" Iruka praised. "You've given a lot of thought to this?"

Danny shrugged and turned back to the others. Kakashi had his lewd novel out, and Shizune was watching him closely. Anko looked down at Naruto.

"Hey, kid, wanna join us for dessert? We're going to grab some dango." Anko smirked at Naruto.

"Ooo! I'd love to!" Naruto practically hopped up and down. Then he seemed to remember something and he looked at Danny. "Oh, but we should probably head over to Sasuke's. He's probably waiting for us. Maybe we can get some for him too?"

"Sasuke's?" Shizune repeated, her eyes narrowed.

Danny shrugged. "Maybe." Recently, the Uchiha had developed an odd love-hate relationship with anything sweet. Sasuke tended to buy a lot of sweets for himself. But the last time Danny had brought Sasukesome sweets, Sasuke's eyes had burned and in an unexpected fit of violence he'd thrown the food across the room before storming out. Danny had a suspicion that sweets reminded Sasuke of his family in some way and were therefore a sensitive topic. "Maybe we'll avoid bringing him any dango."

Anko looked at Danny, scandalized.

"Oh wait, so those two meals you bought, they're for Naruto and Sasuke?" Iruka clarified. When Danny nodded, Iruka looked surprised. "Oh, well, then, here! I'll chip in too for their meals."

"Same." Shizune nodded.

Anko shrugged. "Just got paid, so might as well."

Danny was baffled and he held his wallet, unsure what to do. "But then, how…?"

Kakashi had somehow made his way to Danny's side. The man put a hand on Danny's shoulder and the teen found himself being steered toward the exit of the restaurant.

"Just wait outside." The man said. "We'll join you."

---

:o:

---

"That was a nice thing you did back at the restaurant, standing up for Naruto like that." Iruka told Danny as they walked to the sweetshop.

Danny shrugged off the praise. "I didn't do anything special. What I'm wondering is how that server could just treat Naruto like that?"

Danny looked up and noticed that Iruka was avoiding his eyes.

"So… You're heading to Sasuke's place?" Shizune directed the question at Naruto and Danny.

"Yep! He's teaching us how to read. We'll probably spend the night there too—we do that sometimes 'cause being alone in that place can get creepy. At least the ghosts are gone."

"Naruto…" Danny sighed. Sometimes the kid just spoke too much. Iruka, Anko and Shizune were all looking at Naruto in interest.

"Wait, Sasuke's teaching you how to read?" Shizune blinked at Danny. "Does he—"

"I haven't heard him speak yet." Danny shook his head. "It sorta makes the process a lot slower." He chuckled ruefully. "Actually, on that point, I've been meaning to ask—is there a library somewhere in Konoha?"

"There is… on the western side. You have to cross a bridge over the river that runs through town. It should be easy to find if you follow the road. But English is your native language, right? I don't think you'll find any books in English there."

"English." Anko snapped her fingers. "That makes sense. Finally, something that makes sense about you."

Danny glanced at Anko and did his best to hide his unease at her continued interest in his background. Tearing his eyes away, he answered Shizune's question. "I won't be looking for English. Just… maybe some children's books or something with a lot of pictures."

Kakashi conspicuously raised his manga higher over his nose.

"No!" Danny exclaimed and pointed at the man. "Not like those! Stop putting words in my mouth!"

Kakashi merely raised an eyebrow.

Naruto came over and hopped on his toes. "Oh, is that manga? Can I see?"

"No!" Danny said abruptly and grabbed hold of Naruto's hand before the boy could try and reach for Kakashi's book.

Kakashi suddenly whisked the book out of view and Naruto made a sound of disappointment.

"You said there were ghosts at the Uchiha compound." Kakashi looked down at Naruto. "What did you mean?"

Naruto opened his mouth but Danny beat him to it. "Oh, you know, just an overactive imagination. Naruto didn't actually see any ghosts, right, kid?" Danny looked at Naruto and purposefully squeezed the boy's hand, doing his best to tell the kid to play along.

Naruto looked at Danny for a second and then his eyes widened. "Oh! Oh… well… that's true." Naruto took his hand from Danny and folded his arms behind his head as he grinned up at Kakashi. "I didn't actually see any ghosts, dattebayo!"

Kakashi looked down at Naruto, then looked up and locked gazes with Danny. Danny smiled and met Kakashi's eyes evenly. He knew Kakashi didn't believe their lie, but really, what was the man going to do?

Later, after they had bought their sweets, Naruto and Danny parted ways with the adults to head over to Sasuke's place. Naruto looked up at Danny as the teen pulled piece of dango off its skewer with his teeth.

"Why didn't you want me to tell them about the ghosts?" The boy asked once they were alone.

Danny rolled the sweet in his mouth and took a moment to think as he swallowed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I think… I think it's pretty unusual that I can see ghosts."

"I'll say!" Naruto agreed. "And it's cool!"

Danny smirked. "Cool though it may be, I'm also still a foreigner. When I got here, the council was looking for any reason to kick me out. Unusual skills could very easily fall under the category of 'Reasons to throw Danny out of Konoha'. You see?"

Naruto swallowed his own dango—practically eating all three pieces at once—and nodded, looking worried. "'Kay. I won't mention it to anyone else."

Danny nodded in return and looked forward to continue walking.

When he felt a small hand tentatively slip into his, he smiled. He took Naruto's hand confidently and tucked both their hands into his pocket as they continued down the path to the Uchiha compound.

---

:o:

---

Days later…

Danny ran down the dirt path, clutching tightly to a plastic bag filled with books with one hand while the other held up the hood of his waterproof poncho.

The rain had started after he'd left the library and it had escalated quickly. Unfortunately, there was no cover nearby. But if he could get to the bridge then maybe he could find some shelter.

His boots splashed up water with every footstep. Night had fallen. The sky was black but in places the water gleamed white with reflected light.

The mud under his feet was slick. When the path took a slight downhill his boots lost traction and he gasped, throwing his arm out to steady himself as he slid down the hill unsteadily.

Without his hand holding his hood, a gust of wind blew the plastic back and Danny was instantly blinded by both the rain and his hair. The cacophonous rain nearly deafened him and he hurried to pull his hood back up.

'Intangibility would've come in handy right now.' He thought, and even the little voice in his head that usually spoke against his ghost half agreed.

He continued running. He could see the reflection of the light on the rushing waves of the river. The bridge came into view and Danny increased his speed.

He saw that the river had flooded. It was moving fast and had risen so high that it was spilling over onto the old wooden bridge.

Danny squinted as he saw dark figures moving on the bridge. People? 'There are people on the bridge!'

They looked to be young: around his age or even younger. Two figures were standing at the end the bridge, looking down at the water rushing under them. One boy was standing in the center of the bridge with his arms spread and face tilted upward, enjoying the feel of the rain.

They were obviously children just having fun, but as Danny neared the bridge he got a foreboding feeling. The wind was strong, as were the waves of the river. The bridge, on the other hand, was shifting unsteadily under the feet of the kids.

Danny rushed toward the bridge. Maybe he'd yell at the kids to get off it as he passed. He jumped, skidded down an incline and made a beeline for the bridge.

Mere footsteps away from stepping on the bridge, a bizarre feeling touched Danny. The hair on the back of his neck rose and the sharp smell of ozone hit his nose.

Then the sky cracked open and Danny was blinded by a bright light.

He skidded to a stop and slipped backward as he back-pedalled away from the bridge. He dropped his hood in favour of catching himself from falling. As he did, the booming clap of thunder made his heart thrum and his head ache.

Still blinded by the lightning, he couldn't see anything but he could hear the screams. Hastily, he scrambled to his feet. As his vision cleared he saw what damage the lighting had wrought: wooden posts were on fire—a section in the middle of the bridge had completely caved away under the pressure. The river raged in the empty spot where the bridge was missing. Two people—kids or young teenagers—Stood on the far side of the bridge. They were screaming in panic.

Danny's mind sharpened into focus as he remembered that there had been three people on the bridge.

"He fell in! He fell in!" Screamed a boy on the other side of the bridge.

Over the din of the rain, Danny could barely hear them but he knew what he had to do. He jumped onto the bridge, stepped up on the tallest log he could find and stared out into the river.

He was stripping off his bag, coat and boots even before he spotted the figure thrashing in the water. The kid was quickly being swept away. He tossed the bag of books and coat into a pile.

"GET HELP!" He screamed to the two panicking teens on the other side of the bridge.

Then Danny gasped in a deep breath and dove into the water.

The rush of the cold river was a shock to his senses. He wasn't prepared for the water to be this cold. The rush of the waves battered him and he was momentarily knocked senseless when the water buffeted him into a large, immovable rock.

It was so cold, his limbs felt like lead and his clothes sank him.

Disoriented, he momentarily couldn't find the surface of the water. Panicked, he strove to take a gulp of air but his lungs burned when he ingested water. His eyes snapped open, wide, and a sudden fear gripped him.

'No!' He objected to his panic. 'You've survived worse than this! Pull yourself together, Fenton!'

Gritting his teeth he flailed out his arms and legs and one of his hands scraped against something hard.

He looked down and suddenly he could see the bottom of the river. He looked up and he could see the surface of the water.

Using all his strength, he righted his body, bent his knees and kicked the ground away from himself.

His head broke the surface of the water and he was gasping loudly, intaking half air and half water he choked and gasped again.

A wave washed over him, submerging him momentarily, but he scissor-kicked back to the surface and took in air.

This time, his ears caught the sound of gargled screams. Danny's head swivelled and he saw a small child struggling in the water. The child's arms swung wildly in the air and he looked like he was having trouble staying above water.

Danny surged forward.

His nose and throat burned. Against the rain he could barely see anything. But by far it was the fabric of his pants weighing his legs down that was the biggest problem.

Hissing, he spared the choice a bare second of thought before quickly shucking his trousers and kicking again, swimming after the drowning child in only his t-shirt and boxers.

The river helped to sweep him forward, almost too fast, and he scraped hard against a few rocks. But he was slowly gaining on the boy so he forgot the pain, forgot the icy coldness of the water and swam faster.

"Help! Help me!" Came the cry of a young boy.

As Danny came close, the boy's eyes fixed on him. They were wild and shining with fear and panic.

"Calm—Calm—!" Danny made an attempt to tell the boy to calm himself. But the moment Danny was within arm's reach the boy lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Danny's neck and sank both of them underwater.

Instinct made Danny shove away from the boy and he came up choking and coughing out water. Danny was unharmed but the boy was not so lucky. While underwater, Danny saw the boy tumble and then jerk as his head struck something. After Danny had gotten a gasp of air, he dove down again and grasped the boy by the collar and kicked upward with as much strength as he could.

When they both came up, Danny immediately began swimming toward land. He didn't have time to check if the boy was conscious, he needed to get them to land.

It was impossibly hard to manoeuvre while dragging the boy behind him. With every stroke, he plunged underwater and he knew he was pulling the boy under with him. His arms were burning. He didn't think that the shore was getting any closer.

Seeing a large rock bearing down on them. Danny angled himself to protect the kid as well as he could, then grunted out as his side slammed into the large surface of rock. Immediately, he gripped onto the rock with one hand, then heaved the boy up to bellyflop onto the rock next to him.

Danny gasped desperately for air and took a moment to rest. He pushed his hair back and squinted against the rain as he tried to see if he could see anyone along the shore. Maybe this was good enough? Maybe they could wait for help here…

Lightning arced through the sky once, then twice and Danny gasped as a flash of light struck a tree on land, setting it ablaze. Booming thunder followed and Danny was already gathering himself and the boy. They couldn't stay in the water. They had to get to land or they risked being electrocuted.

Preparing himself, he took a breath and plunged back into the river.

He barely made it back to the surface. The boy in his hands was underwater. He tried to heave the unconscious body up but the water buffeted both of them into a roll.

He couldn't do this. He wasn't a hero anymore. Not Phantom, just Fenton. What had he been thinking? Now he'd doomed himself and the boy—they were both going to drown—!

"The Great Molasses Flood! Mr. Fenton you had better pull yourself together and stop feeling sorry for yourself! You have a job to do!"

Danny nearly lost his grip on the boy as he let out an outcry of surprise when he saw the ghost of Mr. Lancer materialize before him.

"Swim, Daniel! SWIM! SWIM!"

Danny shook off the surprise and focused on the teacher's words. The word echoed in his head like a mantra.

Swim. Swim. Swim!

His eyes were closed but, inexplicably, it felt like it got marginally easier to pull himself through the water. His fingertips felt cold but he pulled forward with one arm while kicking hard behind himself.

Suddenly, his feet hit the ground and with an exclamation of surprise and relief he scrambled on all fours to pull himself and the boy forward. He slipped, multiple times, cutting himself on sharp rocks but soon enough he was able to stand without fearing that the tide would pull him back out.

"By The Lightning Thief, Fenton, get out of the water!" Lancer urged.

Danny, still panting and unable to speak, simply nodded and shoved himself to his feet. He gripped the boy under his arms and pulled him backward until they were both on the grass.

Danny looked at the line of trees then remembered seeing the lightning strike a tree only minutes earlier.

"Not the trees…" He gasped out.

Mr. Lancer nodded. "Very good. Definitely don't sit under a tree—they're tall conductors. Stay close though."

Danny was already scurrying around to kneel at the boy's side. He placed a finger near the boy's nose, then leaned down put his cheek near the boy's nose.

"No air… no air… he's not breathing! I don't—he's not breathing! I don't... I don't remember how to do CPR!" Danny panicked.

"Calm down, Mr. Fenton!" Mr. Lancer commanded and Danny took a couple of steadying breaths. "Now… I don't know if I…"

Danny heard Mr. Lancer pause in his speech but paid no more mind. It was like the brick wall that had kept him from thinking had just crumbled and the steps were flowing through his mind. He hurried to follow them before he could forget.

Finding that there was still water in the boy's mouth, he turned the boy onto his side and used his fingers to empty the water out. Pulling the boy back onto his back, Danny pulled the boy's chin back, opened the mouth, plugged the nose and blew. He waited two seconds then blew again.

Instantly he felt the body underneath him heave. The relief nearly made him limp, but he moved quickly to roll the boy onto his side as the boy began to vomit. Once he was done, Danny again cleaned out the boy's mouth. Then, a gentle smile formed on his lips as the kid groaned and opened bleary eyes.

"Hey there kiddo, you're going to be ok, alright?" Danny said softly.

The boy moaned. "H-head hurts… mmm… feel sick…"

Danny's eyes widened and then he quickly moved to reposition himself behind the boy. He gently pulled the boy's head into his lap and grazed his fingers along the back of the boy's scalp.

"Ow…" The boy complained. "Uh…" His eyes began to droop.

"No… no, no, don't go to sleep." Danny insisted. "C'mon. Here, OK. My name is Danny. Can you tell me yours?"

"Ch-Choji." The boy answered quietly.

"Ok, that's good. Great. That's a nice name. Can you tell me how old you are, Choji?" So help him if this boy was eight-years old…

"Ni…nine." Came the halting reply.

Well, it wasn't eight. That was something, Danny supposed. "Ok, Choji, can you tell me what you were doing on that bridge?"

Choji gave no reply.

"Choji? Choji?" Danny leaned forward but resisted the urge to shake the boy. Choji was unconscious. Danny sat back. "Oh… butternuts."

Danny directed his worried gaze at Mr. Lancer. "I think he has a concussion. I couldn't keep him awake. I don't think there's much else I can do until help comes. If only I had some ice, that might help."

Mr. Lancer was staring oddly at Danny's hands, resting under Choji's head. "Oh, I don't think you need to worry about that."

Danny frowned, not understanding Mr. Lancer's words. He looked back down at Choji in worry.

Mr. Lancer drifted forward, then with a sigh the man sat down cross-legged. Since he was a ghost, he hovered over the grass rather than sitting on it.

"Hm… haven't been able to sit like this for years." The man observed.

Danny's head snapped back to the man and his expression was stricken. "I'm sorry, I got caught up in this…and you…"

Mr. Lancer waved him off. "Don't apologize for being a hero, Daniel. It's who you are."

Danny bit his lip and looked down. He disagreed.

"So, when did you learn Japanese?" Mr. Lancer asked conversationally. "Or was your slacker attitude all just an act as part of your secret identity?"

Danny let out a wry chuckle. "No… not an act, I'm afraid. Though ghosts did have an annoying tendency to attack during school hours."

"Aha! All the washroom trips." Mr. Lancer looked like he'd been enlightened.

"The Japanese is a spell gifted to me by… a friend." Danny said slowly.

"And all the medical knowledge?" Mr. Lancer raised an eyebrow.

Danny cocked his head with a smile and shrugged.

It was still raining hard, Danny wasn't cold but Choji was starting to shiver. Danny wished he had something to help keep the boy warm.

There was a flash of lightning and Danny's eyes widened as a deadly streak cut into the water not too far away from where he was sitting.

"Deep Fried Trouble, it's a good thing you got both of you out of there." Lancer exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Danny agreed. Then, he quirked an eyebrow at Mr. Lancer as he noticed the teacher's strange epithet. Mr. Lancer had a strange penchant for swearing using book names, but still… "I think you need to work on your book titles."

"I'll have you know, Deep Fried Trouble is an excellent read." Lancer huffed.

"And didn't you say something about molasses earlier?"

"I was on a prune juice diet just before I died. I think I'm owed a little food envy." Mr. Lancer pouted.

Danny immediately sobered. "I… I need to tell you, Mr. Lancer. I am so… so sorry for what happened."

"What happened at the Nasty Burger was a terrible thing. But it wasn't your fault, Daniel." Mr. Lancer said. "I do certainly hope that someone brings a lawsuit against that fast food company though… Flammable sauce is a horrific oversight."

"No," Danny cringed. "I mean… I cheated on that test. I shouldn't have. If I hadn't, then you would never have been at the Nasty Burger…"

"Who's to say I wouldn't have been there for another reason? I do remember that my incentive to diet had been broken that day and I was fully intending to buy take-out. It's why I suggested meeting your parents at the diner… Regardless, that place was going to explode whether or not you cheated on that test. Even still, it's incredible that the casualties were so few… Was there no one inside the restaurant at that time? Anyway, we do agree on one thing however: you should not have cheated on the CATs."

"And in the end it was a such a stupid thing to worry about." Danny said and seeing Mr. Lancer's offended look, Danny elaborated. "I know. I know. I remember everything you said that day about careers and futures. But look, compared to what the cost ended up being…" Danny trailed off, then shook his head. "Besides… I doubt any CAT would have predicted this future for me."

"What do you mean? You are… working? Here?" Lancer frowned.

Danny nodded. "I'm an odd case so they don't have a specific name for my job yet… but I guess I'm sort of like an assistant nurse."

"That's quite impressive for someone your age." Lancer said approvingly. "I knew you had potential."

Danny let out a scoff. "Yeah. Right. C'mon. I was doomed from the start. Well, kinda… yeah… that's more or less when it started."

"Started? You mean when you…"

"Ghost powers." Danny nodded. "Happened right before I got banned from the chem lab."

"You broke 34 beakers!" Lancer recalled.

Danny smirked. "To be fair, I was a little busy trying not to drop through the floor… or… how did you put it 'Dropping Trow'." Danny sent Lancer a wry look.

"Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants! I thought you were trying out a new fashion sense! All that time you were trying to control your powers?"

Danny shrugged.

"If we are being plain… that is one reason I came to see you." Lancer said. He looked uneasy as he met Danny's eyes. "I'm afraid that I've failed you as a teacher…"

"No. Don't let that worry you." Danny said honestly. "We did actively try to hide it from everyone anyway."

"'We'?"

"Me, Sam, Tucker... Valerie, too, in a way… Oh… and I guess Jazz too, since she knew about me all along."

"Wait… Ms. Grey? I remember she'd leave class almost as often as you, but…"

"You remember the Red Hunter?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

Lancer looked shocked.

"To be honest, I actually didn't expect to see you… or at least to see you earlier. It's been months…" Danny looked at Lancer.

"You are my second stop." Lancer responded. "In fact I have family in Amity Park that I wanted to see first. You should stop, by the way…"

"Huh?" Danny frowned, "Stop what?"

"He's getting cold." Lancer said, looking down at Choji. Danny followed Lancer's gaze, but didn't see what the man was talking about.

Then, his head came up as he heard voices in the distance.

"They're coming…" Danny said to himself, then, looking back at Lancer, he asked quickly: "Wait, before you go—you saw Amity Park! How is it there? How is everyone?"

Mr. Lancer's brows pulled down into a frown. "I won't lie, Danny—"

Just then a puff of smoke appeared right over Mr. Lancer and a female ninja came somersaulting out of the thin air. In the brief moment that Danny was distracted by the ninja's entrance, Lancer had disappeared.

"They're here!" The ninja yelled over her shoulder then turned to look back at Danny. "Hey are you—"

Their eyes locked and Danny gasped as he felt himself caught in a blood-red gaze and then pulled… He squeezed his eyes shut but the eyes seemed to follow him. They pierced his mind and dug deep… deeper…

A vision of white hair and glowing green eyes came to Danny and he abruptly jerked back, away and physically yanked his body back. This knocked Choji's head off his lap, but it also broke whatever spell the ninja had placed on him.

"Easy." The woman said, and she seemed to either had not noticed the bizarre exchange or was, for whatever reason, ignoring it. She knelt next to Choji. Feeling his face, she conjured a blanket out of the air and wrapped the boy in it, simultaneously lifting him effortlessly into her arms.

"You are the one who pulled him out of the water?" The woman asked Danny and he nodded, avoiding looking into her eyes.

"I am Yuhi Kurenai. Jonin." The woman introduced herself.

Kurenai… Danny remembered that name. So much for trying to avoid her.

"Fenton Danny." He responded.

"I know." Kurenai said blithely. She then observed his sodden form. Finally, the rain had started to abate, but Danny was still soaked to the bone. "You are not cold?"

Danny shook his head. But then, remembering that he was practically in his underwear, he felt heat rise in his cheeks. "But… um…"

"Kurenai!" Someone called. There was another puff of smoke and then a tall male ninja appeared. "Kurenai, you found the kid—both of them!" He added the last part as he saw Danny.

"Yes, Asuma." Kurenai greeted.

"So you're the idiot who dove into the water after the kid?" Asuma said, raising an eyebrow at Danny.

"Likely saved the boy's life too—you saw the lightning." Kurenai pointed out.

"No shit." Asuma sounded impressed he shot an appraising look at Danny. "That's a good job, boy! You should consider joining the Academy." Then he looked at the boy in Kurenai's arms. "Oh hey, that's Akimichi Choza's boy, isn't it?"

"Looks like it."

"Man," Asuma chuckled. "Kid's going to get a right scolding when his old man hears about this."

"Never mind that, he's freezing cold. I'm taking him back to the hospital. Why don't you get our hero some pants and then bring him along." Kurenai jerked a chin in Danny's direction then in a puff of smoke she was gone.

Asuma looked at Danny and scratched his beard. "Huh, she's right. What happened to your pants, kid?"

---

:o:

---

At the hospital, Danny was beset by people: concerned co-workers, gossiping co-workers who played concerned, and complete strangers, all of whom wanted him to repeat his story over and over.

Feeling a headache coming on, Danny was wishing fondly for the power of invisibility when he was fortunately rescued by Shizune. She gave him a brief check up and then sent him to a private room to rest.

"You've got some scrapes and bruises but other than that you seem to be fine. Don't be surprised if you come down with a bad flu though—I'm just surprised you aren't hypothermic like the kid." Shizune said as she ordered him to stay in the room.

"I can just go back to my place…" Danny suggested.

"No. I want to be able to keep an eye on you just in case something else develops. And look at you: you're exhausted. I'm not sending you home in this condition."

Danny whined, but relented. She was right: he was exhausted.

"I'm sorry, you'll probably have to sleep in a gown. Your shirt is soaked." Shizune said and ignored the face Danny made at the open-backed gown lying on the bed. "I'm still surprised you've no symptoms of hypothermia. The kid's body temperature was quite low when he came in… although, all in all that was probably a good thing."

"Why's that?" Danny asked.

"The trauma to his skull caused a minor brain contusion. The cold kept the swelling down and we healed it in time to prevent any major damage. The alternative could have lead to more lasting brain damage."

Danny swallowed. He hadn't realized it had been so dire. "I see."

Pausing at the door, Shizune turned to look back.

"Oh and Danny,"

"Yeah?"

"That was a good job resuscitating that boy tonight. Well done."

"You could tell?" Danny was surprised. Then, shaking his head, he smiled. "Thanks." Then, he paused before sending her a cheeky grin. "No mention about the diving in after him and pulling him to shore part?"

"Well, now that you mentioned it, Diving in after the boy was entirely foolhardy and reckless. You could have easy both died. You're lucky it worked out the way it did."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Bah. You guys are supposed to be ninja aren't you? Where's your appreciation for dramatic flair?"

"Dramatic flair lands you in a hospital bed—that's what I appreciate." Shizune shot back. Then she shook her head and smiled. "Get some sleep Danny. You've earned it. We'll talk tomorrow."

---

:o:

---

The next day Danny was up and about. Naruto and Sasuke dropped by to see him in the morning and had chosen to loiter around for a while. Soon after, Danny was visited by Kurenai.

"These are yours, I assume." Danny was making his bed when Kurenai entered and unceremoniously dropped a large bag onto the bed. Looking inside, Danny recognized his coat, boots and the bag of library books.

"Oh! Yes! Thank you." He said and gathered the bag up.

"I'm afraid we were unable to recover your pants." The woman sent Danny's hospital scrubs a wry smirk and Danny blushed, fidgeting in his outfit. At least he wasn't still in that open-backed hospital gown.

"I see you've made a full recovery." Kurenai changed the topic.

"Oh, um, yeah. Choji too."

"Yes, that boy likely owes you a life debt now." Kurenai said.

Danny wondered if the woman was messing with him. "What? No…"

"Indeed. Saving a life is no small matter and the Akimichi's are nothing if not a proud ninja family. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a visit from them later today where they tell you the very same thing."

"I…see…" Danny said with a frown as he awkwardly twisted the handles of the bag in his hands. "Um… not… to be… rude, but why are you here to see me? I… doubt you came all this way just to return this bag."

"You are astute." Kurenai nodded. "To speak frankly, I came to warn you that I shall be keeping an eye on you from now on."

"Excuse me?" Danny blinked.

"You are fortunate in that you have made so many allies in the short time you've been here. In particular, if it hadn't been for Kakashi, I would have gone straight to the council and recommended your immediate expulsion from the village."

"I… what?" Danny choked.

"You are… not what you seem." Kurenai said and she narrowed her eyes on Danny. Danny felt chills looking at her and remembered to avert his eyes. "I can tell you are not a ninja. And on first glance you appear to have no chakra. But what I saw in you yesterday was nevertheless powerful. And if you should know anything about ninja… we love keeping our secrets, but we do not like having secrets kept from us. Look, even now, you purposefully hide your gaze from mine."

Danny's tongue ran over his teeth but he kept his mouth shut, not knowing what to say.

"Still…"Kurenai paused. "Your actions yesterday were those of a noble heart. And such selflessness deserves its own reward. This is why I've come today to warn you."

Danny opened his mouth and was about to respond when Naruto hopped into the room.

"And here's more patient rooms!" The blond said with excitement gesturing to someone outside the room. "And Danny! Danny's my other good friend—a much better friend than sour-faced Sasuke. Come in! I want you to meet him."

Stepping timidly into the room came a small, pale girl who looked up at Naruto with a shy smile before she looked into the room. Danny was captivated by the girl's stunning, white eyes. He wondered if she was blind, then dismissed the thought as the girl's eyes rested on Kurenai and the girl visibly reacted.

"Ah! Kurenai!" The girl hopped and bowed.

"Hinata,"

Danny's eyebrows rose. Kurenai, who had spoke to Danny with such curt aggressiveness, now hummed to this girl in a kind, gentle tone.

"Hinata, why don't you and your friend go wait in the reception area? I'm almost done here. I'll join you soon."

The tiny girl gave a bow and obediently left.

"Aww…" Naruto pouted. "But I was giving her a tour."

"Go on Naruto." Danny encouraged. "You know you shouldn't be wandering around back here by yourself anyway. Much less giving tours."

Naruto grumbled, but followed after Hinata.

Danny watched Naruto's receding back, noting, as he always did, the long tails of the fox which curled over Naruto's shoulder. Then, in peripheral vision he noticed Kurenai also staring. His eyes snapped between Kurenai and Naruto to confirm that he wasn't just imagining it.

"You…! You can see the fox too, can't you!" Danny exclaimed, his excitement at finally finding someone else who could see the not-quite-a-ghost creature overriding his wariness. This was a mystery that had been grating at him for ages… to finally find someone like him…!

Kurenai's expression of surprise and alarm told Danny all he needed to know.

"So that means you know what it is then, don't you? Can you tell me?"

Kurenai's lips pulled into a tight line. "You must truly have no idea… to have the gall to ask me a question like that so candidly, there's no way you could be faking that ignorance…"

Danny frowned.

"Let me ask you one question first: when I looked at you yesterday I saw you, but I also saw another version of you—one with snow white hair and glowing green eyes. Can you tell me what it was that I saw?"

Danny paused then the corner of his lip twisted into a lopsided smile. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Kurenai smirked. "Perhaps one day you'll try me, and on that day perhaps we can begin a sharing of information."

Danny tsked, knowing he'd walked straight into that trap.

"Anyway, you have received my warning and that is all I have to say on the matter. Today." Kurenai told Danny solemnly and he fought a shiver that threatened to travel down his spine. "Good day to you." Kurenai finished briskly and she left the room.

Later on that day, Danny did indeed receive a call from Choji and his parents.

"We of the Akimichi Clan are proud ninja." Choji's father said, reflecting almost word for word what Kurenai had said. "We take life debts seriously."

Danny resisted a sigh. Maybe he could ask Shizune about manufacturing a way for Choji to 'save' his life.

---

:o:

---

"This place is an absolute pigsty! How can you stand living in this mess, Naruto?" Danny asked as he stood in the centre of the blond's room. He had asked this question before. For months he'd been actively prodding the blond boy to clean up his apartment. Naruto had been just as active in ignoring Danny's prodding. Finally, the teen had had enough and had told Naruto that they were going to take Danny's entire free day and scrub the boy's apartment from top to bottom. Naruto hadn't been pleased, but had relented after being subjected to Danny's sternest frown—an expression the teen had channelled, unexpectedly, not from his mother but from Vlad.

Danny didn't spend time thinking about the implications of that.

There was a large bag intended for trash hanging from Danny's fingers. He had a feeling they'd be needing at least five more. "I don't even know where to start!"

"What's a 'pigsty'?" Naruto asked as he hopped on a stool and reached into a high cupboard to pull out a packet of dry ramen.

"No! No eating!" Danny stalked over, cut through the boy's attempts to hide the food behind his back, and plucked the packet out of the boy's hand before easily tossing it back into the cupboard. A quick glance into said cupboard revealed too much dust and too many cobwebs. "You ate barely two hours ago. We're here to clean your place, remember?"

Naruto pouted. "We don't have to clean it! I hardly spend any time in here anyway and it's not like I have cockroaches or anything."

"Cockroaches?" Danny made a disgusted face. "You better not have cockroaches."

After many minutes of simply staring about the room dumbly while Naruto hummed and picked his teeth in boredom, Danny came to the conclusion that there was no correct way to do this. They'd just have to dive in.

"Fine. Naruto, strip the bed and gather all your dirty clothes. I'm going to empty the cupboards."

"We can't do laundry, it's raining." Naruto pointed out cheekily.

'Raining' was still the largest understatement Danny had heard since coming to Konoha. The teen sent the window a displeased expression. Rain pelted the glass pain in a violent cacophony. Leaves and branches of trees shook with such force that it was audible even inside the room. It was still morning but the storm clouds blotted out the sun and cast a dark, foggy gloom over the buildings and narrow streets of Konoha.

Every time Danny looked outside at the rain he was struck with a sense of awe, and some unease. In Amity Park, bad weather had been sometimes inconvenient, or, in the event of snow days, sometimes fun. But Konoha was completely different. Here the weather was loud and close and powerful. It made him feel small, insignificant, and that was an uncomfortable feeling.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Danny looked back down at Naruto.

"Doesn't matter." The teen said. "We still need to separate out your dirty clothes from the clean ones."

"How do I know if it's dirty?" Naruto whined, still sulking.

Danny, blinking at the odd question, did some quick thinking. "Anything you've worn twice put it aside for laundry."

"Aw…" Naruto pouted. "But that's practically everything."

Danny sighed. "We… we'll figure it out. Just start sorting."

"Where should I put it all?"

"You don't have a—nevermind. Use this for now." Danny shoved the bag in his hands at Naruto. Once he saw the boy was progressing fine, he turned to the cupboards.

Crouching and poking his head inside a larger one, the tickle in the back of his nose hit him so suddenly that he didn't have time to prepare. The explosive sneeze caused a cloud of dust and who-knew-what-else to billow up into his face and out of the cupboard.

"Augh!" Grimacing in disgust and squinting his eyes, Danny retreated out of the cupboard and grabbed for a washcloth sitting on the counter.

"No! Not that one!" Naruto yelped, quickly replacing the one in his hand with a second one.

Now wary, Danny squinted at this new cloth in his hand then at Naruto. "Clean?"

"Y-yeah…"

Deciding he'd rather risk the cloth than take a long walk to the washroom, Danny perfunctorily wiped the dust away from his eyes, nose and mouth.

Bending back down, he was careful not to inhale too quickly as he went back to inspecting state of the cupboards.

"For once I'm glad all you eat is ramen." Danny told Naruto, who blinked up at him. "It's much easier to clean up."

"You mean we'll be done soon?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Danny laughed painfully. "Ha. Ha ha. Oh no… We'll be lucky if we get out of this room before the sun sets."

Everything had to be wiped down with a wet washcloth and Danny, as he worked, grew increasingly irritated with his hair, which kept flopping into his eyes. It had grown shaggy and long—longer than he'd ever had it back home—and he silently wished for the simple, old, familiar salon that had been a few houses down from FentonWorks. Here in Konoha he knew no one and with his job he really didn't have time to go scoping out barbershops.

Home. He paused, sitting back on his heels as the word practically struck him across the face. He still thought of Amity Park as home…

A long handkerchief dangling before his eyes brought him back to the present.

Naruto stood a little above the crouching Danny and the teen looked up at the boy questioningly.

"For your hair." Naruto shrugged. "You keep huffing and pushing it back, so here."

"Thanks." He took the material with a small smile.

Many hours later, Danny flopped backward onto Naruto's bed. "That's it." He groaned, dropping his arm to cover his eyes. "Enough. If I clean another cupboard or floorboard or windowsill or whatever my arms are going to drop off. I don't even have the energy to walk back to my own room. D'you mind if I just crash here?"

"Not at all!" Naruto sounded pleased.

"Urgh…" Danny turned his head to glance over the edge of the bedframe. "It was a traumatizing experience, but right now I am so glad we cleaned out the underneath of your bed."

Naruto dropped down on the bed and sat on his knees, grinning slyly down at Danny. "You're just upset 'cause everyone on the floor heard you scream when we found that lizard."

"It was the size of my face!" Danny defended. "And it just ran right at me!"

Naruto laughed and had just opened his mouth to respond when the window suddenly shattered inward.

Danny and Naruto both cried out and ducked to avoid the flying shards of glass.

Two figures leapt feet first into the room.

Danny was the first to regroup and he quickly pulled himself to his feet. Before him were two people: one male, one female, both dressed in black and wearing masks over the lower halves of their faces. For a moment they just stood and stared at one another. They looked just as surprised to him as he was to see them.

"There's two of them!" The man hissed.

"Stick to the plan. We only need the kid. Take the other one out!" The woman instructed.

Danny was instantly on his guard. Reaching out, he grabbed the still dumbfounded Naruto by the arm and tugged the boy behind him.

"Hey, just who are you guys any—Whoa!" Danny cut off and jumped to the side as the man suddenly launched forward. The teen yanked Naruto with him as he dodged.

Danny gasped as a fist was thrust through the space where his head had been. The man recovered fast and Danny managed to backpedal as a foot lashed out toward his stomach. Danny continued to move backward as the man pressed forward. He weaved and twisted to avoid the attacks that came whip-fast and with enough force to break bones.

This man was fast. He made the genin from the alley seem like school-yard bullies. Danny couldn't keep up, especially not while dragging Naruto with him.

"Let me go, let me go!" The boy fought Danny's hold. "I can help!"

"No!" But Danny was soon left with no choice as a fist caught him across the jaw. Danny fell, Naruto's arm slipping from his grip as he spilled across the ground. He sat up almost immediately, touching the injury. He grimaced at the taste of blood in his mouth, but was relieved to find that his jaw was merely bruised, not broken.

As Danny recovered his wits, Naruto wasted no time in throwing himself at the man with a loud battle cry. The fight was over almost as soon as it began. The man flipped the boy, planted a knee in his back and restrained his hands all in a matter of seconds.

"No! Naruto!" He reached out, scrambling to lift himself off his hands and knees as he tried to help the boy.

Before he was even back up on his feet, a finely placed heel to the ribs sent him right back to the ground where he rolled over, gasping and staring right up into the masked face of the female robber.

He'd forgotten about her.

As he met her eyes, he felt a spark of familiarity. He remembered that slanted, calculating stare.

"Hey! You're that dancer—!" He gasped, lifting himself up on one knee.

The woman's eyes narrowed, then an eyebrow arched in what seemed to be an amused expression. "Hello again, pretty-eyes."

"What are you doing here? Why are you after Naruto—Hey!" He turned and scrambled to his feet. He saw the man pressing a cloth over a struggling Naruto's mouth and nose. The boy's eyes were drooping and he was clearly weakening.

"Get away from him!"

"Oh, we don't have time for this."

Danny felt more than saw the blow aimed at the back of his head. He twisted away, but fate was not on his side as his foot caught on a pail of soapy water he'd been using to clean Naruto's apartment.

The pail upended. Danny slipped in the water. His head struck something on the way down and then all was dark.

---

:o:

END PART VI

To be concluded in PART VII – SAM

:o: