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.

7. PART VII - SAM

Part VII! Enjoy!

This time my comments are at end of the chapter, so I'll see you there!

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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 VII – SAM

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A sharp, stinging slap to his face brought Danny back to painful awareness.

"Ow. Ow-ow… ow…" He groaned as he reacted first to the smack, then to his various other aches. His side hurt, but that was nothing compared to the pounding in his head. Gingerly, he ghosted the backs of his fingers against his jaw and winced. He checked his other injuries: fingers brushing his temple came away with dried blood.

"That's not good." He murmured. Then, the events that had led up to his injuries suddenly slammed into his memory and he bolted upright.

He swayed as dizziness and nausea threatened to send him back to the ground. But Danny grit his teeth and determinedly kept himself on his feet. He pushed away all else for a much more pressing concern. "Naruto!" He searched the room with his eyes, unable to find the blond child.

All the hard work Danny and Naruto had put into cleaning the room had been destroyed in a matter of minutes. The place was a mess: window broken, rain pattering against the floor, sheets from the bed scattered across the ground and soaking up soapy water from pail Danny had upended. His clothes and hair were wet. The doorframe was dented from the force of a supernaturally-powered fist ploughing into it. There was a crack in Naruto's wooden bedframe.

It was dark outside. But hadn't it been dark when he'd been knocked out? Danny's lungs felt too small. A chilling fear gripped him as he realized he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious. How long ago had Naruto been taken? Those people—'Barely people! Only monsters would kidnap a kid!'—had been vicious in their attack.

And they'd clearly come for Naruto. What did they want with him? Why would they kidnap him? Naruto… Anything could have happened to him by now. Naruto had been taken from him.

Danny's breath was speeding up.

He had no idea where they'd taken Naruto.

He could be anywhere by now.

Someone had taken Naruto from him—!

A sharp tug on his wrist made his eyes swing downward wildly and his gaze caught on a familiar mop of black hair.

"Sasuke?" Danny asked, breathless.

The black-haired boy pressed his palms together, fingers under his nose and looked at Danny with clear agitation in his dark eyes. He pointed to the ruined window, where rain and wind from the outside leaked into the room, and gestured urgently.

"Naruto?" Danny questioned and Sasuke nodded, pointing again. "You know where he is?"

Sasuke gave a noncommittal headshake, pointed to his eyes and then to the window, then back again.

Danny bit his tongue on the urge to tell Sasuke to spit it out. "You can see—Can track him? Even… even with the rain?" Danny voice hitched.

Sasuke nodded, Danny's heart leapt straight into his throat.

"Then why are you here? Why didn't you get help?"

'You know why.' Sasuke's withering stare seemed to tell him.

Danny carded his fingers through his hair and winced as he inadvertently scraped a nail over the bump on his head. "Dammit, Sasuke, this isn't time for—" Abruptly, he halted himself from continuing. Yelling at the boy for his silence was not going to help anyone.

"We need to get help." Danny said anxiously. "Maybe Shizune's still at the hospital? Or if we go to that ramen joint, maybe we'll find Kakashi?"

Sasuke shook his head sharply. The boy rapped two fingers against his palm, somehow conveying in that gesture that they had to hurry and there was no time.

"I know but—!"

Sasuke simply grabbed a fistful of Danny's damp shirt and pulled the teen toward the window.

"It's raining." Danny said worriedly as he stuck his head out. Though not a flood-inducing downpour, the rain was still coming down in heavy ropes. In moments, his hair was plastered to his face and he drew back inside to mop his bangs out of his eyes. "How're we going to—?"

Sasuke brushed by him. With a lithe movement, the boy hopped, tucking himself into a tiny ball as he perched on the windowsill.

Danny was instantly alarmed as he saw pitch eyes calculating the distance between the window and the nearest rooftop. Danny saw the boy's feet gain the faint blue glow of chakra.

"No! Wait—!" The teen cried, reaching out too late.

Like a cat, Sasuke sprang into the air, into the rain. Gasping, Danny moved to the windowsill and stared out into the night.

Wet rooftops were illuminated by the moon and he saw Sasuke had landed on a nearby building. Not even slipping on the uneven shingles, the boy was instantly running.

"No! Sasuke!" Realizing the boy was almost out of sight, Danny yelped and, before he could think better of it, he'd planted a foot on the sill, pushed off, and was flying through the air.

Inconceivably, he made the jump. He shouldn't have made the jump. Sasuke had chakra and fancy ninja skills to help him do such things, but Danny was just ordinary, he didn't have…

"Shut up. No time for that." He hissed to himself, raising a hand to try and shield his eyes from the rain and keep his hair off his face. He ran haphazardly across the rooftop. The slanted, curved shingles were slick with rain and he kept slipping. Cursing the water—'Why did all the crazy stupid stuff have to happen during freakin' monsoon season?!'—he caught his balance with one hand and used it to springboard himself forward.

Barely three more steps and his foot slipped again. His hand cut open on clay tiles as he fought not to tumble off the roof. The act of swallowing back pain was like putting on an old, familiar glove and he kept running.

Sasuke seemed to have no apparent problem running along the rooftops. He was already at the other end of the building and was preparing to leap.

"Wait! Sasuke!" Danny cried to no avail.

He couldn't let Sasuke out of his sight. Danny scrambled, racing more on all four limbs than just two, to catch up. Sasuke was getting further away and the rain was becoming a hindrance to his vision.

Danny saw the edge of the roof coming up and a lump formed in his throat.

Pushing his feet to move faster, he took his hands off the shingles and sped up.

Crazy! He was crazy!

He sprinted toward the edge.

The next rooftop was far. But it was lower and it was also flat concrete.

He could make it. He could—!

Danny, leapt. The wind stole his breath as he arced through the air, pin wheeling his arms, he freefell. The roof rushed up to meet him and he could make it—!

The ball of his left foot came down on the edge of the concrete.

There was a split second of relief that he'd landed the jump.

Then the concrete crumbled and he plunged.

Instinct took over. He clawed forward in the air, a startled outcry torn from him.

And landed with a "Whump!" as his upper torso landed on the rooftop, fingers digging at the gritty surface of the concrete, while his legs dangled freely in mid air.

He heard a scream below him and spared a glance downward. Some three or four stories below him there was a familiar girl with striking pink hair looking up at him, her green eyes wide with fear.

Danny spared Sakura no more attention as he grunted and heaved himself upward. There was no time! If he didn't get up, Sasuke would be out of sight—and someone had taken Naruto!

He fought with the roof, clawing and forcing himself further onto the safe, flat surface. His legs strained, doing what they could to lever his body up.

He heaved out a strained breath of air when he finally got himself fully onto the concrete. Pushing straight to his feet, his right leg nearly buckled under him when he stepped forward.

He hissed and looked down. There was blood and pain, but no sprains or broken bones. He must have struck his knee against the edge as he fell. He panted: already out of breath and limping before the fight had even begun.

Squinting back up, he could barely even see Sasuke through the rain and the darkness. All he could make out was the blue glow of Chakra. Sasuke was heading toward the eastern exit of Konoha.

Had the people who kidnapped Naruto taken him out of the village?

Danny's teeth ground down into a snarl and his fingers curled into white-knuckled fists. He would not let another person he cared about be taken from him. He cursed his weak body—no powers, no stamina, weak, weak, weak!

Except that he didn't have a choice. Danny shook his head harshly: tossing his hair back and rattling his own sense of vertigo. He couldn't afford to be weak. Naruto was gone and Danny would damn well suck it up and get his brother back!

His mind tunnelled on his objective and he used the pain of his knee to spur his sprint onward.

The roof flew by under his feet. The next jump Danny made was a shorter leap onto a triangular rooftop. He ran recklessly over the slippery tiles.

The next jump, he wasn't even thinking. He threw himself bodily through the air and landed in a roll. In seconds he was up and running again.

His breath came in sharp pants. He had only the barest idea of where he was—he'd never ventured this far East before. The streets seemed darker, the houses seedier. They passed by in a blur as he ran…jumped… landed… ran… jumped again…

Until, finally, he saw Sasuke clamber down a tree. There was a graveyard on this side of Konoha and the boy ran straight through.

Danny leapt into the tree and descended dangerously fast. The last ten feet he simply pushed off the tree and landed in a roll that covered his limbs in muddy water and jarred his ankles. He ran forward into the graveyard.

The moment he crossed into the cemetery he felt it.

The very air felt electrified and instantly every hair on his neck and arms stood on end. The atmosphere grew thick and it was like someone had put a cup over his ears the world inhaled.

Despite himself, he skidded to a halt. Arms flying akimbo to keep his balance as his feet slid on muddy soil.

Danny's eyes were wide with disbelief as he took in the sight around him.

Running up to the cemetery, the place had looked like any other he'd seen: morose, dark and empty. But the graveyard in Amity Park had remained dark, morose and empty even when he'd stepped foot inside to bury…

To bury…

Danny's mind snapped like a rubber band away from the thoughts of his family and came back to the present and still he couldn't wrap his mind around what he was seeing.

Because graveyards were supposed to be empty.

Not filled with the glowing ghosts of the dead.

So many ghosts, that the entire cemetery was lit like a macabre festival of ghosts of ninjas who had passed away.

Ghosts who still bore signs of the injuries that had killed them.

The spectre nearest to him, a man in his thirties, looked up. He had a gaping hole in his shoulder. The ghost's eyes widened.

"You… you can see us?" The man gasped.

Danny instantly felt a wash of dread as a few more ghosts turned to regard him. One was missing an arm. The other had a horrific injury disfiguring the lower half of his face.

"Can you see?" A woman, body severed at the waist, looked up at him with beseeching eyes.

The first ghost was gliding forward and just as he was about to touch Danny, the teen snapped out of his stupor and lanced forward, determined to sprint through the graveyard as fast as humanly possible.

"Wait… wait!" The calls followed him but Danny did not heed them.

He ran down the center of the cemetery. He kept his eyes straight ahead. He did not dare to look at the ghosts even as he felt them turn to regard him.

One came too close and brushed his arm.

"I touched him!" Came the startled outcry and those words were a ripple that physically travelled through the masses. As one, they surged forward.

Danny was two steps away from the exit when a hand clamped down on his arm and yanked him back.

"NO!" Danny shouted as he was pulled away from the exit. "Let me go! I need—" He looked back and shrank in horror as he was met with a man with no face.

"Help us." A voice, hollow and faraway sounding, begged with desperation.

"I'm sorry!" Danny struggled, eyes wide. "I can't—I need to get out! I need to help—"

The grip around his arm grew bruising. "You will—!"

The ghost was suddenly cut off as it was violently yanked away from Danny and thrown aside.

Danny tumbled to the ground and looked up in shock at the broad back of a ghost that suddenly stood protectively over him. It was a man with spiky hair and a large, ornate cloak. The cloak had a series of symbols on it, three of which Danny recognized as meaning 'Fourth', the other two he didn't know but felt like he had seen before.

The man turned his head and pierced Danny with shrewd eyes.

"Go! You're trying to get to Naruto right? GO!"

Still dazed, Danny hesitated. Then he felt someone try to grab his hand and recoiled, eyes darting up to see a woman with long hair and pale eyes staring down at him. She was a ghost: made clear by the gaping hole in her chest, but unlike the others she had kind eyes. She smiled at him.

"Come on!" The ghostly woman encouraged as reached out to him again. This time Danny let her grasp his hand and she tugged him to his feet. "I'll get you to the exit!"

Danny was pulled along as the man stayed behind, acting as a shield between Danny and the other ghosts. When they reached the edge of the cemetery, the woman abruptly spun and shoved Danny toward the gates.

"Save our son!" The woman called just as Danny crossed over and exited the graveyard.

Abruptly, everything was dark again. The ghosts were gone. It was raining. Everything was dark. No voices. No sound but that of water hitting earth in stuttered applause.

Danny grappled with the idea that he might have just met Naruto's parents. Then his mind sharpened on Naruto and he turned, plunging headfirst into the forest behind the cemetery.

Danny had completely lost sight of Sasuke at this point. But somehow, he could still see the trace blue of Sasuke's chakra, like markers along the path the boy had taken. The boy had leapt through the trees.

Danny raced pell-mell through the forest, leaves and branches slapping him as he impatiently shoved aside the underbrush. He realized he was dangerously close to breaking his promise not to leave Konoha but didn't have time to put much worry into that thought. Sasuke's blue chakra had stopped. Slowing, Danny came to a halt under the tree in which Sasuke was crouching stealthily.

He couldn't see anything ahead of himself and so he looked up at Sasuke high in the branches. The boy stared down at him with an inscrutable expression. Then, slowly, the boy put a finger to his lips before pointing ahead.

Danny frowned. Moving quietly, he advanced toward the thick foliage in front of himself.

The rain masked both the sound of his footfalls and him pushing aside the branches of leafy bushes. He was grateful for this when he saw what was before him.

Trees and undergrowth gave way to a small clearing. At the far end was an old shrine set into a short rock cliff. The flute player and the dancer stood with three ninja—Konoha ninja, from their headbands—in the center of the clearing. Between them and the shrine was a raised stone dais.

Lying unconscious on the dais was Naruto.

Danny was close enough that he could hear the five people speaking even over the rain.

"So this is it, yeah?" One of the Konoha ninja asked with excitement. He had shaggy brown hair. "We gonna do this now?"

"And we're going to get what we were promised, right?" Another Konoha ninja with grey eyes added.

Just then, Danny recognized the three Konoha ninja. These were the genin who had harassed Naruto in that alleyway so long ago. Danny still didn't know their names, but remembered their appearances: Brown Hair, Red Hair and Grey Eyes.

"Well, that all depends," The female dancer intoned in a melodious voice. "Do you have what we agreed upon?"

"Tch, of course, Youmu." Grey Eyes said, and from inside his coat he drew out a scroll. Neither the dancer nor Grey Eyes seemed concerned about the scroll getting wet.

"That stupid one-eyed old man practically threw it at us. Guess even the higher-ups hate this kid." Brown Hair sneered.

Danny's eyes narrowed.

"Very good…" The dancer, Youmu, smiled and the expression was cold. Condescending. She beckoned to Grey Eyes with long, painted nails and he stepped closer and handed her the scroll. He was grinning, apparently oblivious to, or uncaring of, the dangerous glint in her eyes.

"So? We'll get it now, right? We're going to get the kid's power?" Brown Hair wanted to know.

"Oh…" Youmu breathed. "You shall get exactly what you are owed."

Quietly, then growing louder, the melancholic tones of a flute separated out from the pattering of rain. Everyone in the clearing turned to look at the man playing the flute.

The tune the man was playing was eerie. It pulled at Danny in an odd way. The sounds the flute made were unearthly. A ghostly wail.

Youmu was speaking again. "You see, my companion, Hibiki, doesn't like to talk much but he does love to play. And what lovely ways he does play…"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Brown Hair asked irritably.

"Hibiki, you see was named after a very famous ninja. One who was rumoured to have used that very flute Hibiki plays now… It's a slow technique but, you'll find, a very effective one. Ah, you're feeling it now, aren't you?"

Hibiki's tune had stopped and he was holding a long note.

Danny felt a discomforting tugging at his very being from that note. Unconsciously, his neck arched, head tilting to better expose his ear to the sound. He had a strong, inexplicable urge to hum the same pitch. He supressed that urge.

Brown Hair had grown stiff. Suddenly, he choked and grasped at his chest with a clawed hand. His movements were bizarrely slow, as though he were underwater. "What the fuck is happening to me?!"

"You see, everything has a frequency. Even your chakra. Hibiki has just found yours. You're probably finding it difficult to move…"

Indeed, Brown Hair's hands had slowly stopped clawing. His entire body was still—like a marionette held still by invisible strings. Even his friends, Grey Eyes and Red Hair, seemed paralyzed as they watched their companion's eyes flit from side to side.

"Now comes the fun part." Youmu smiled coldly. "Like a singer who finds the perfect pitch of a piece of glassware, holding the note will…"

Brown Hair gagged and with a wet choking, expelled blood from his mouth. Danny watched, horrified, as blood slowly leaked from the man's orifices: nose, mouth, ears and eyes before he simply keeled over.

"What the—You killed him!" Red Hair shouted at Youmu.

"Technically, his chakra killed him." Youmu corrected, her voice conversational as a smile curled at her mouth. "We are not ones who likes to get their hands dirty. I, however, prefer a quicker method than my partner. Speaking of…" Youmu canted her head and stared deep into Red Hair's eyes. "Pull out your kunai and stab yourself in the heart."

"Wha—! No… No!" Red Hair backpedalled, but his arms were rising without his consent and he was only able to give his hands one last look of horror before he'd pushed the weapon into himself. With terrifyingly little ceremony, he fell.

Dead.

"We had an agreement!" Grey Eyes was backing away from Youmu and the dais. "You agreed to share the power! You should be honouring your agreement!"

Youmu chuckled lowly. "Hm hm hmmm… who do you think we are, boy? Konoha ninja?"

"No! I won't let you kill me!" Grey Eyes fell into a defensive crouch and pulled out a kunai. "You wanna go? Let's do this, right here, I'll take you—"

"Enough." Came a new, deeply sinister voice and now… Now, despite having just seen two people murdered in cold blood in front of him, now Danny felt chilling spiders of dread track needle legs down his spine.

Grey Eyes didn't even have the time to turn around: a huge set of jaws clamping down over half his body. He screamed and thrashed as two large fangs ripped into his gut. Then he was tossed upward into the air and with a single gulp, a monstrously colossal snake swallowed the man whole.

The snake spat, coiled rapidly across the ground, then abruptly dissolved into nothing. Not even the body of the man it had devoured was left behind.

Danny felt physically ill. He had to grip the tree in front of himself hard to stop himself from sliding to the ground as his legs felt like rubber.

Three people had just been slaughtered right in front of him.

"Orochimaru. Teacher." Youmu spoke with quiet reverence as she and Hibiki bowed low. "Just as you ordered, we have brought you the Jinchuuriki and the scroll on the night of the full moon."

A tall, wiry man peeled way from the shadows. His hair was long and stringy; his face was painted and, though he stepped into the clearing, the shadows never left his snake-like eyes.

Danny knew, instinctively, that this man was not someone to be trifled with.

"Very good, my pupils…" The man even spoke like a snake, voice slick as oil and with an expression to match. "But you have made one failure. One rather glaring oversight."

The simpering smile on Youmu's face fell. It was the first time Danny had seen the dancer look worried. "T… to what do you refer, Master?"

"You failed to notice you were followed."

Danny felt his spine grow stiff, his limbs twitched with sudden alertness and where another might freeze in fear, Danny instead had to tramp down hard on the stupididioticyou'renotPHANTOManymore! adrenaline in his veins telling him to charge out there and fight his way to Naruto because there was a freaking murderer who could control gigantic snakes between him and his kid.

"We have an interloper: an unsolicited guest to our little party. Let's see if we can't invite them to join, yes?"

Danny backed away, hands rising defensively, but the loud gasp form above him made him realize another, more terrible truth. His eyes snapped upward and he saw Sasuke. The boy was struggling against ropes that had appeared out of nowhere to bind him securely. Sasuke was dragged upward kicking and squirming into the air by some telekinetic force. Then the boy was dragged into the clearing toward Orochimaru.

And Danny was half out of his mind in panic because now they'd taken not just Naruto but both Naruto and Sasuke and he wouldn't—would not. No. Never again—

Danny half-rose and was about to throw himself into he clearing after Sasuke when a painfully familiar voice sternly stopped him in his tracks.

"Get DOWN, you idiot. They haven't noticed you yet but they WILL if you make a spectacle of yourself."

Years of listening to that voice and words spoken in that tone had Danny instantly obeying and he swiftly dropped back down into the cover of the bushes.

What surprised him was that he wasn't surprised. It made perfect sense that Sam would appear now of all times.

Orochimaru chuckled and there was a disquieting, hungry glint in his eyes as he pulled Sasuke toward himself and Danny snarled and needed people to stop looking at his kids like that.

"Well, well… now aren't you an unexpected bonus." Orochimaru leered at Sasuke. To his credit, the boy didn't show any fear. He simply glared back at Orochimaru, silent, as always.

"You are… Uchiha Sasuke, are you not?" Orochimaru cocked his head. "Last survivor of the once great and mighty Uchiha clan… or so they say."

"We saw him hanging around the Jinchuuriki a lot. Him and that one other kid. The foreigner." Youmu informed.

"Is that so? Become friends, have you? How… unoriginal. Now… Sasuke. Is that really something you should be wasting you time on?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "You're the only one he left alive—though looking at you now, I can see why… you're quite the useless runt of the litter, aren't you? He probably didn't even want to waste the energy it would take to kill you. And he was right. Look at you. Instead of training to seek your revenge, you're playing around, cavorting and making friends. Letting all that potential your family left you with just rot. You don't even have your Sharingan yet, do you? Urgh… a disappointment." Orochimaru, looked away from Sasuke, who was so clearly seething with indignation, he was shaking with the force of it. Gesturing dismissively, Orochimaru sent Sasuke against a tree. The boy was momentarily dazed by the impact and the ropes quickly bound Sasuke to the tree securely.

Danny sucked on his teeth as he got a good look at the red rage on Sasuke's face. With just a few words, Orochimaru had done quite a number on the kid's mental state. That was probably going to be a problem.

Still, despite the danger surrounding them, Danny couldn't help but feel his heart strum—practically slaphappy—as he stole a glance at the ghostly girl by his side. Sam's presence was an incredible boon. It made him feel powerful—confident. Like he was no longer alone. Like he could do this.

"Did you just wait until I was in the biggest amount of danger to show yourself?" He asked quietly and shot Sam a wry smirk. He couldn't help the humour bubbling up in him—almost hysterical, but not quite. He could control this. It had been normal, once, after all.

She grinned back and it was dazzling sunlight. Beautiful. "Maybe." She responded. "Now stop ogling. There'll be time for that later. Right now we need to get you out of this alive."

Danny nodded, smile fading, but still present on the edges of his lips.

"There's no more of them coming, if you were wondering." She informed him, quick and efficient—like back then. "So we only need to get around these three. Hey, if you can wake the blond kid up, we'll out-number them."

"Sam, look at them. I can't take them. Even with Naruto and Sasuke's help. I'm just human now, I can't fight these guys."

Sam shot him an intensely irritated look. "Danny, shut up. Every time you doubt yourself it sets you back. It's pathetic and it drives me up the wall. Trust your instincts. If that's not good enough then trust me. And I'm telling you to trust your instincts. Ok?"

Danny gave a slow nod.

"Good. Now that that's been dealt with… we need a plan." Sam mused.

"I can make my way around and cut Sasuke loose." Danny suggested.

"With what? Your teeth?" She snarked as she purposely looked him up and down.

Danny understood her sarcasm. He was wearing sneakers, socks, pants and a shirt—all thoroughly soaked by the rain—and that was all. He had nothing else on him and without his powers he was utterly weaponless. Instead of refuting her, he pointed with his chin to Sasuke tied to the tree. "Sasuke usually has one of those ninja knives on him. I can see him struggling—he's probably trying to reach it now."

Indeed, ignored by the others in the clearing, Sasuke was wriggling in his bonds. Orochimaru had swept through the clearing to stand over Naruto. He'd taken the scroll from Youmu's hand and had opened it up to study its contents. Rain cascaded down on Youmu and Orochimaru's bent shoulders.

Sam clucked her tongue. "By all rights, that scroll should be soggy by now. Bu… Wait. You said ninja, right?"

Danny sent Sam a knowing smile. "Knew you'd like that part." He said quietly.

Sam shook her head in amazement. "That is so not fair."

Danny winced, feeling the resentment in Sam's voice. He didn't reply.

"Ok, let's assume my head is wrapped fully around the fact that you apparently ran away from our home to an honest-to-God ninja village and move right along. What do we know about Japanese Mr. and Mrs. Smith over there?" Sam continued, abruptly changing topics.

Danny tsked. "The man kills by playing his flute. The woman can mind control."

"That is freakin' cool." Sam intoned. When Danny raised an eyebrow at her she raised her hands up and shrugged. "Well it is!"

"I think… I think their abilities might not work on me." Danny said hesitantly. He was pretty sure Youmu couldn't control him but he was only making a guess about Hibiki. "And I haven't met any ninjas yet who can see or hear ghosts, so you're likely going to be invisible from them."

"Ok." Sam accepted. "Good to know." Then, as the rain grew stronger, she commented, "Might as well move now. The rain will keep you quiet." Danny complied. Sam kept talking as she moved with him.

"Our best advantage is that they haven't noticed you yet. You've got to try and keep it that way—at least until we can separate them."

Danny nodded. He was closing in on Sasuke. He saw that, while a few lines of rope ran horizontally across the boy's chest pinning him firmly to the tree, Sasuke's wrists had been bound together in front of himself, making it so that he couldn't reach the weapons pouch on his back.

"Sasuke," Danny hissed and instantly the boy stilled his struggling. Danny reached down to Sasuke's pouch and pulled out a dagger, which he used to start sawing away the thick ropes holding Sasuke to the tree. "Listen, I need to try and get Naruto without them noticing me. Can you distract them?"

Sasuke gave a slow nod.

Danny did not like having to put Sasuke in danger but he pursed his lips and bore down. They didn't have a choice. "Don't be reckless." He advised Sasuke in a quiet undertone. "Don't let them get their hands on you. You saw what they can do, so don't stick around to let them. Don't give Hibiki time to find that note. Get far enough away quickly so you can't hear Youmu. Don't engage them. Just get their attention and then run into the trees. Get them to chase you and try to lead them away toward Konoha. I'll handle the rest." Danny had no idea how he was going to 'handle' anything but no way was he going to tell Sasuke that. "You understand?"

Sasuke had a stubborn set to his face that spelled all kinds of trouble and Danny grit his teeth and gripped Sasuke's upper arm tightly. "You understand?" He repeated.

Sasuke offered a tight, terse nod.

Danny would have to take it.

Behind him, Danny heard Sam hiss.

"What the hell is that freak doing?" She asked, revulsion in her tone.

Danny looked up and saw that Orochimaru had shorn through the centre of Naruto's shirt.

"He cut open his own hands." Sam continued.

Indeed, the snake-like man was bleeding from his fingertips. He was drawing arcane symbols on Naruto's abdomen. The man's hands were glowing and, as Danny watched, the entire dais began to glow with a dark, distinctly vile aura.

"What is he doing?" Sam repeated.

"I don't know." Danny replied quietly. "It can't be good though. We need to hurry."

Sasuke was staring at Danny with a narrow expression that clearly conveyed the message 'This again?'

Obviously, Sasuke was not pleased that Danny was once again talking to invisible ghosts.

"I'll explain later." Danny said to Sasuke as the ropes split apart. "Hands."

Sasuke presented his bound wrists and Danny quickly cut through the rope.

"Be careful." Danny warned as Sasuke darted toward Youmu and Hibiki. Danny, moving just as fast, spun behind the tree and began closing the space between him and the dais where Naruto lay.

Someone cried out in alarm and pain. Danny peered around the edge of the tree and saw Youmu gripping her arm—now bleeding freely.

"Dammit, Sasuke." Danny groaned. He'd told the kid not to engage.

"The kid is free!" Youmu yelled.

Sasuke had three daggers in his each hand. He launched a set of them at Orochimaru, but they were deflected by Hibiki, who swooped in to protect Orochimaru.

"Well, I'd suggest you capture him, then." Orochimaru suggested, his voice slow and dangerous. "I will kill anyone who interrupts this ceremony. Including you two."

Sasuke launched another couple of knives at Youmu, but this time she was ready and she dodged with a snarl. Finally making the smart decision, Sasuke turned and ran into the woods.

"Good job, kiddo." Danny admitted as he saw Sasuke successfully make his escape after effectively distracting both Hibiki and Youmu. Hopefully Sasuke would heed his instructions now and run.

Focussing on his own target, Danny prepared himself to dash out into the clearing toward Orochimaru and Naruto. Maybe if he tackled Orochimaru first—

The soft tune of the flute halted Danny just as he began. He wasn't paralyzed but he could feel the power in those notes and knew Sasuke was in trouble.

Of course Sasuke was too stubborn to just run.

The glowing around Naruto increased. The grin on Orochimaru's face widened.

"Go!" Sam urged. "What are you waiting for?"

"I can't leave Sasuke…" Danny wavered.

"Well, make a decision quick or they'll both be dead."

Turning on his heel and begging Naruto to forgive him, Danny sprinted in the direction he knew Sasuke had gone.

Following hints of blue chakra energy in the air, it took no time to track down Sasuke and his pursuers. He saw the kid standing shock-still, frozen in place by Hibiki's spell. Youmu was looming threateningly over Sasuke while Hibiki stood a few feet back. Hibiki's lips were to his flute, breathing out an eerie tone that once more gave Danny the unexplainable urge to sing. Danny tucked his head down, did his best to block out the sound and tried to think of a way out of this that wouldn't lead to all of them dying.

"What an honour." Youmu hummed with a smile. "To be the one to cut the final string in such an illustrious family line. Too bad you're so young. I would have enjoyed more of a fight. Maybe even some fun. Now… why don't you be a good little boy and use that kunai to slit your own throat?"

Danny's eyes widened. He remembered with vivid clarity how quickly Red Hair had responded to Youmu's order.

To his credit, Sasuke's hand did not move, resisting the compulsion more than Youmu's last victim.

"Now you have a spark of will, don't you? Too bad it will do you no good. Cut your own throat. Now."

There was no more time for planning. Danny had to reach Sasuke now.

Sasuke's left hand gripped the kunai so tightly his knuckles were white. The boy's teeth were bared. His arm shook with the strain of resisting the woman.

Running full-tilt, Danny leaped in front of Sasuke and with a sharp slap he knocked the kunai out of Sasuke's hands. Sasuke staggered as the spell was broken.

"Get away from him." Danny ordered Youmu.

"Oh, so there you are. I had a feeling when the Uchiha slipped his bonds you weren't far behind. Very nice." Youmu crouched and snarled. "I don't usually get my hands dirty, but I will enjoy gutting you. Hibiki, why don't you keep the Uchiha busy while I deal with this foreign trash."

Sasuke had moved to stand next to Danny and for a brief moment their eyes met. Danny nodded, saw the understanding in Sasuke's eyes, and then Sasuke had no more time as he was forced to dodge a strange, powerful gust of air aimed at him from Hibiki's flute.

Danny was forced to trust Sasuke to hold his own as he looked back at Youmu, fearlessly meeting her eyes.

"I have been meaning to ask you one question." Youmu said conversationally as she casually brandished a long, thin, single-edged blade. "May I?"

"What?" Danny said gruffly as he crouched and narrowed his eyes in caution. There was a barely visible blue glow around the woman.

Without warning, Youmu flew forward, blade slicing the air. Danny twisted, then pivoted in a full spin as he allowed the woman to fly by, inches away from skewering him. He fell back into a crouch and glared. They had effectively switched places and Youmu stood at ease with a smile on her face, as though she hadn't just tried to kill him.

"I've met a number of ninja who are capable of resisting my genjutsu. But I've never met one who is quite so good at hiding their chakra. Tell me, what is your secret?"

Danny frowned, then shook his head. "You have it wrong. I'm not a ninja. You can't sense chakra from me because I don't have any."

Youmu's face suddenly grew ugly. "Liar!" She accused and abruptly closed the distance between them.

Danny gasped as he barely hopped backward in time to avoid a horizontal slash that would have split him in half. He back stepped quickly, dodging strikes that he could barely see. Then his back abruptly struck the unyielding trunk of a tree. He twisted again to avoid a stab, but felt the blade tear through his forearm.

Youmu's blade was momentarily lodged in the wood and Danny used the chance to put some distance between them.

"You can't fight her like this!" Sam told him from over his shoulder. "You need a weapon!"

"I know! I know!" Danny hissed. But there was nothing nearby. He gripped his injured left forearm—the blood flowed freely between his fingers. It hurt to move his fingers.

"I can sense it in you." Youmu snarled as she pointed her weapon at him. "You are sloppy and unskilled, but you have seen battle. You cannot be a civilian. My genjutsu has never failed on a civilian."

Danny smirked.

"Well, Youmu." He teased. Phantom's instincts were rising strong in his mind and body. He could feel the adrenaline. He felt alive. "Guess you're not quite as bewitching as your name suggests, huh? And who're you calling unskilled anyway? You can't even kill a simple civilian foreigner."

Youmu scowled. "You're starting to grate on my nerves, boy."

"Aww… isn't that a shame?" Danny straightened and put a mocking finger to his lips. "What was it that you told me? 'Deny me a third time and I might think you don't like me?' Well, gee… I'm sorry it took you three times to finally get the message."

"You're going to die." Youmu promised.

"Make me." Danny quipped. "Oh wait… you can't."

Youmu let out a yell of anger.

Danny suddenly remembered what that glowing blue around Youmu's body meant

"DANNY! BEHIND YOU!"

Danny heard Sam's outcry a split second after he felt the burning instinct to move. Eyes widening, he spun on his heel and saw the gleam of a blade slicing toward his neck. He let his legs give out, falling to the ground as the blade passed over his head—he felt sharp edge pass right over his nose, shearing off the tips of his fringe. Lying on the ground, he saw the blade come down and rolled to avoid it. Scooping up a handful of dirt he threw it in Youmu's face as he scrambled to his feet.

He glanced around wildly. The Youmu in front of him had vanished in a flash of blue chakra and a puff of smoke—Danny recalled seeing that technique in Iruka's class

Clone Technique

The real Youmu had recovered, eyes wiped clean of mud, and was running forward, sword trailing behind.

She approached and swung the blade around. Danny was still recovering and ill-prepared to dodge. Old instincts flared and he raised his arms over his head and called on his power to form a ghost shield.

'You haven't got powers!' His mind screamed at him and Danny's heart clamoured to beat through his chest as he realized he was about to lose his arms and life—

"What jutsu is this—?" Youmu exclaimed.

When Danny realized he wasn't dead yet, he squinted his eyes open and looked beyond his arms.

He gasped as he saw crystals of rain frozen in the air before him. The blade hovered just above the ice, hesitating. Youmu had stopped mid-strike to stare at the bizarre display.

Danny's breath fogged.

"Ice?" He breathed as he stared at the tiny shards.

'But… but the ghost was gone!'

But this…

This…had never even been one of his ghost powers.

"Sam?" He looked at the ghost next to him. "Is this you?"

Sam was standing next to him and a triumphant smirk was on her face as she held out her hands in front of her, mimicking Danny's stance.

"No." She said and grinned wider. "This is us."

And she thrust her hands forward. The ice shot toward Youmu, tiny projectiles that pelted the woman.

Youmu yelped and backed away, more out of shock and surprise than pain.

"Danny! That's only going to distract her!" Sam said.

But Danny knew what he had to do. While on the ground, he'd glimpsed Sasuke, who had been fighting Hibiki. The boy wasn't doing well. He'd lasted this long but Danny saw that the flute player had managed to paralyze the boy again and likely going to use the same technique he'd used to kill the Konoha genin.

Danny dashed forward and the thrill of power was in him as he bent down and ran his fingers through a puddle of water. The water responded eagerly to his touch and warped to form a heavy, hard piece of ice, Danny gripped the weapon and swung his arm around as hard as he could and struck Hibiki in the head.

The man staggered away and Danny dropped the ice—which immediately melted into water— and turned to Sasuke, who was staring at him in surprise.

"Sasuke! Switch!" He called and Sasuke immediately understood, moving to keep Youmu busy.

"Hey! Ugly!" Danny called with a grin and he pointed behind the man. "Look behind you!"

Hibiki frowned and looked at Danny as though the boy was stupid.

Sam, standing behind Hibiki and controlling a club of ice, swung it like a bat.

Danny winced at the loud crack of the bat meeting Hibiki's skull. Two blows to the head were apparently enough and the man crumpled.

Danny looked down at Hibiki and let out a shaky breath. "Is he…?"

"Who cares? We still have things to do!" Sam responded.

Danny was still uneasy but nodded and turned. Sasuke was doing a pretty good job of avoiding Youmu's blade. The boy was doing his best to retaliate with thrown shuriken, but other than irritating the woman, the attacks didn't seem to be doing much.

"So Sam, how does this ice thing work?" Danny asked.

"Like I know? You're the one who has… had ghost powers."

Danny sensed the judgement in Sam's voice but held off on commenting on that. "It was instinct for me. But I don't have that… connection anymore. Can't you feel anything?"

"I think the cold is you, but the power is me." Sam said after a moment's hesitation.

Danny nodded. He could work with that. "Ok. So we should have range."

"What do you…? Ohhh… Ok." Sam grinned.

Youmu was brandishing her blade. She lunged forward toward Sasuke who held up a kunai defensively. Danny extended a hand and Sam copied the move.

The watery grass under Youmu's feet abruptly froze solid. The woman gasped as her feet slipped out from under her. Her hands planted down into a puddle to catch her balance and instantly the puddle froze to entrap both her hands. Similarly, the ice under the woman's feet rose to encase her ankles.

"You!" Youmu's eyes blazed as she glared at Danny. "I knew you were no civilian!"

"Sasuke! We gotta get to Naruto!" Danny yelled as he raced past Sasuke at a dead run. The ice wouldn't hold Youmu for long and they still had to deal with Orochimaru.

They entered the clearing and slid to a halt, gasping at what they saw.

The clearing was alight with sinister power. Orochimaru's eyes were glowing red. The scroll in his hands was spilling black light like a void opening.

Naruto's entire upper body was covered in bloody symbols. The boy's eyes were still closed and Orochimaru finished the last lines on a symbol that ended between the boy's eyes.

"Yessss… and with this the power of the Kyuubi will be mine. Come, host, open to me and give your power to one more deserving of the honour!" Orochimaru made a series of hand gestures then thrust his palm over Naruto's abdomen.

Naruto's eyes slammed open. His mouth opened and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Danny recoiled. At his side, he felt Sasuke do the same.

Naruto's back arched off the dais. His shriek continued, head thrashing as he looked to be in terrible agony.

Danny blinked and his eyes abruptly focussed on something new. Something he had no idea how he'd missed in the first place.

The fox had been a constant, sleeping presence on Naruto's shoulder for as long as he'd known the boy. In all their time together, the fox had moved only once and had never awoken. These days Danny almost forget it was there. Not now though. Now it was different.

The fox was awake.

Bright eyes—the color of fresh blood—rolled wildly as the spirit writhed. Tails whipped the air in a frenzy as the fox seemed to claw at Naruto's chest, though its nails drew no blood..

But that wasn't all. Danny's eyes widened.

The fox was growing.

Tails fanned out, the creature let out a howl that echoed eerily with Naruto's scream.

"We have to stop that spell!" Sam was yelling.

Suddenly, Sasuke was no longer at Danny's side. The Uchiha bounded across the clearing and then leapt into the air. Danny watched, stunned, as Sasuke seemed to float. The boy's hands flew, making odd symbols before steepling below his mouth.

In a strong voice, Sasuke bellowed the first words he'd spoken since he'd woken up screaming Itachi's name all those months ago:

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The rush of hot air blew Danny's hair back and the light of the fire reflected off his wide eyes as Sasuke created a massive fireball that fell toward Orochimaru like a meteor.

"No!" Danny lunged forward, but was quickly blown back by the force of the explosion as the fireball hit the dais and the spot where Orochimaru had been standing. Flat on his back, Danny quickly rose to his elbows. "Naruto!"

Sasuke landed gently on the ground.

Danny twisted and lunged ungracefully to his feet. He ran unsteadily toward the dais and then he gasped in relief as he saw a mop of blond hair through the smoke. Somehow, Naruto had come out unscathed.

"You've got a flare for the dramatics, kid." Danny intoned with quiet awe to Sasuke, who merely raised a withering eyebrow at him. "Not that I'm complaining. If that's what happens when you open your mouth, I'm glad you waited til now."

The smoke was beginning to clear and Danny saw that Naruto appeared conscious. The boy's eyes were wide open and he was gasping for breath. The nine-tailed fox was still visible and too large, its head down and body trembling wildly. The black power of the perverse spell lit up the clearing, though it was no longer flowing toward Orochimaru.

And Orochimaru… Danny felt a chill as the smoke cleared and the man came into view. He was a little charred, face blackened with soot and the edges of his hair fried. But other than that he seemed completely unharmed.

'A giant flaming fireball couldn't take him down. Fenton, you are so screwed.' Danny felt a thrill of hysteria at that thought and had to stifle an uncontrolled giggle that rose in his throat.

"You little cockroaches!" Orochimaru spat as he glared at Danny and Sasuke. The very air around the man seemed to blacken. "You've interrupted the unsealing! You have no idea what you've done."

Danny felt keenly that he and Sasuke were in mortal peril. He knew their lives were on balancing on a thin line that would snap as easily as the snake-faced man's temper. He knew it.

As surely as he knew all this, he was just as sure that there was no stopping the giddy grin that was spreading rapidly across his face. Danny felt his pulse spike. He couldn't help himself. He laughed.

"Your looking a little burnt out." Danny quipped as he practically hopped from foot to foot. "You sure you don't want to take a break and continue this evil plot some other time?"

He didn't need to look to his side. He could feel Sasuke's incredulous stare boring into him.

Orochimaru looked at him with disgust. "You simpleton. You fashion yourself some parlour tricks and ally with a child and you presume to pit yourself against me? You are less than the dirt on the soles of my shoes."

"Well, this bit of dirt and this child just shut down your sorry little plan so what does that make you?" Danny's eyes narrowed, grin finally fading into a feeling he was well familiar with: protectiveness. "And I don't presume to do anything. You started this when you went after my—" Danny glanced down at Sasuke. "—Our friend."

Orochimaru sneered. "Like I said: you understand nothing."

Just then, Naruto let out a pained outcry.

Danny's eyes shot to the boy and saw that Naruto had clawed his way off the dais. He was on his knees on the ground and was clutching oddly at his chest. He was shaking. Perspiration beaded on his forehead. Above Naruto, the fox was floating in the air. It had grown to the size of a large bear. It gnashed its teeth and let out a growling howl. At the same time, Naruto groaned.

"Wh—what's happening? What's happening to me?!" Naruto cried to the air, shaking his head wildly.

"The seal wasn't broken, but I did enough to make it unstable." Orochimaru informed happily, an unsettling smirk cutting across his face. "If the spell had continued to fruition the Kyuubi would have transferred from its current host to me. Everyone could have walked away better off. Now, because of your interference, the Kyuubi has awakened with enough power to break its remaining bindings. It will destroy the mind of its host and likely take over the shell body. Pat yourselves on the back—you've killed the very friend you aimed to save."

The Kyuubi was still growing. It roared and lighting split the sky.

"Sasuke… you can see this, right?" Danny needed to make sure.

Sasuke nodded.

"Any idea what to do?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Sam?" Danny asked.

The ghost at his side clenched her hands into fists.

"No. I'm sorry, Danny."

Naruto was clutching his head and a deep red glow was taking over his body.

Danny stepped forward.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Danny admitted. "But I need to get to him. I won't let that ghost-thing…Kyuubi… kill him. Maybe I can talk to him."

"Is it a ghost?" Sam asked. "If it is…"

"I dunno if it makes much difference." Danny said. "Unless you happened to have a Fenton Thermos on you."

Danny took another step forward when he abruptly felt the unmistakeable sharp prick of danger. Diving abruptly aside, Danny nearly avoided being crushed by a large, shifting… hissing tree trunk.

Danny looked up and saw the tree trunk was actually a horrifically massive hooded cobra. The snake's head weaved hypnotically above him. The thing spat dangerously, displaying large fangs dripping with venom.

"Oh no. I'm not letting you interfere again. You may have stopped the unsealing but if the Kyuubi overtakes its host and lays waste to Konoha… well, at least one of my goals will have been satisfied." Orochimaru gloated.

Danny raised his hands and backed away from the snake. "Whoa there big guy. Now… now hey… hey… Oh," Danny's eyes lit up and, vaguely he heard Sam groan at his side as she realized what was coming. "I heard you're on good terms with Danzo." Danny shot a look at Orochimaru and the man's eyes narrowed.

"Being that close to the council, you should try out for a position in the government…" Danny's smirk grew into a full-blown grin.

"You'd make an awesome civil serpent."

The look on Orochimaru's face was murderous. The snake hissed violently.

Danny raised his hands, placating. "Oh, hey, can't we at least worm our way into an agreement… shed our past hisstor—Yikes!" Danny was leaping aside even as his brain registered that the snake had lunged at him. The head snapped out, fangs biting down in the space he'd just occupied.

Just as suddenly, the snake reared back, letting out a choking sound of pain as it tossed its head side to side. Danny saw embedded in one of the snake's eyes a piece of metal. The teen looked down and saw Sasuke readying a second kunai to throw.

But then the coils of the snake bunched and it whipped its tail across the ground.

Sasuke had a moment to gasp and bring his hands up to protect his face before he was struck by the snake and tossed aside.

"Danny!" Sam called.

"On it!" Danny took a moment to re-establish his connection with Sam. He reached, extended his hand to a large pool of water nearby. This time he felt the energy coursing through him. He felt the power burn in his hands and in his eyes, and he focused.

The water obeyed and lifted. It shifted and re-shaped. It grew long and sharp until it was a spear of ice, glittering in the light of Naruto's red chakra.

The snake had slithered over to the prone Sasuke and was rearing back slowly, preparing to sink its fangs into the boy.

Danny held the ice spear in mid-air. It felt heavier than an ectoblast—which was odd… But then, who even knew how telekenetic powers worked anyway?—It also felt more unwieldy.

He gauged the distance between him and the snake.

The snake hissed, mouth opening wide.

This time he didn't bother with any witticisms. Danny reared back then flung his arm forward, his entire body twisting into the motion as he threw the spear as hard as he could.

The spear arced gracefully through the air and for a moment Danny worried that the snake might lunge before the spear hit.

But Danny's aim was true and the spear pierced through the back of the snake's head. The snake let out a pained sound and spasmed backward. Danny saw the spear had exited out the roof of the snake's mouth and was dripping blood. The snake fell, like a massive, falling redwood it struck the ground with a ground-shaking thud.

This time, Sam was the one who looked uncomfortable. Danny offered her a sympathetic look.

"I'm so—"

His apology cut off as the snake abruptly vanished in a puff of purple smoke.

"Well, well, the foreign rat has little fangs. How adorable." Orochimaru grinned. "I like how you can summon ice without chakra or hand seals. But it looked like it took you quite some time to get that ready. I wonder… what if we… upped the stakes?" Orochimaru began making symbols with his hands and Danny dropped into a defensive crouch.

"What are you…?"

Orochimaru thrust his arm forward and snakes and snakes poured from his sleeve like water from a sieve. They writhed in the air, slithered through the grass, cutting a path too quick to follow—too many to count—

Danny gasped and backpedalled.

"There's too many!" Sam exclaimed.

Danny raised his hands and called the ice. But then, as the snakes surged forth he realized he wasn't the intended target.

"Sasuke!" Danny yelled and there was no time to form the ice. He swiped his hand and threw a thin shield at the snakes. He saw them swerve to avoid it but Danny was running toward Sasuke. He skidded in the water then crouched next to the boy.

Sasuke was still unconscious and Danny gathered him up before curling around him protectively.

"Danny!" Sam cried and Danny felt her attempt to build a shield of ice around him.

There was no time. The snakes lunged forward and Danny closed his eyes and hugged Sasuke close. If he could just keep them off Sasuke—!

Then he heard Orochimaru bellow in in rage and his head rose.

He saw a flash of metal and the snake about to bite down on him was abruptly yanked aside and pinned to a tree. The next two snakes followed, then half a dozen more. Danny gaped as a dozen snakes were flawlessly killed by a hail of kunai knives.

Orochimaru was scowling at the surrounding trees, glaring at the general spot where the hail of kunai had come from.

"So this is where you stand, is it?" The man spat. "Very well, I do not intend to pick a fight with you today."

Danny stared into the trees, trying to glimpse whoever had just saved his and Sasuke's lives. Had help finally arrived from Konoha?

There came the sound of a crow cawing and Danny stilled, his eyes widening as his grip on Sasuke tightened.

"You got very lucky today." Orochimaru told Danny as he looked down at him disdainfully.

"And as for you…" Orochimaru's eyes dropped and Danny looked down as well. He saw that Sasuke was awake and glaring at the man with a dark expression. "Perhaps one day you will desire to attain true power and stop hiding in the arms of others. If that day comes and you decide to honour the name of your family then seek me out with eyes of red."

Sasuke stiffened in Danny's arms. Then with a puff of smoke, Orochimaru was gone.

Immediately, Sasuke was up on his feet and pushing away from Danny.

Danny didn't have time to deal right now to deal with the effect of Orochimaru's poisonous words. He, too, pushed to his feet and dashed to Naruto. He fell on his knees in front of Naruto. The boy was still hunched over and gripping his hair in apparent pain.

"Naruto…" Danny raised his hands and then hesitated as he looked at the glowing red chakra boiling over Naruto's body. Then, with conviction, Danny placed both hands firmly on Naruto's shoulders. He felt the power coursing through the child, like an unquellable tide.

"Naruto, tell me what's going on. What's happening?"

"I…don't know." Naruto shook his head in distress, his voice coming out tight and pained. "It… It hurts. I can't stop it. It's… It's angry."

"Danny…" Sam drew up next him and stared at Naruto. "That fox…"

"I know." He told Sam and looked up at the beast behind Naruto. So large now, it was almost taller than the trees, the fox thrashed and shook. It bared its teeth at the air but didn't seem to see Danny—see anything.

Sam was staring unblinkingly, as though she could see something Danny couldn't. "I think… I think they sealed that thing inside the boy. But it's angry. It wants to get out."

Danny nodded and waited for Sam to continue.

"The spell that man did. It broke the seal a little. I think I can see the break."

"You what?" Danny gawked at Sam, who was looking down at Naruto. Danny followed her gaze but couldn't see anything.

"We're different, you and I, from everyone else here." She intoned. "You must have realized it by now—it's why they all think you're dead."

"Ok… but what does that have to do with anything?" Danny wondered.

"They all have this power they can use to fight…"

"Chakra."

Sam nodded. "But back home you used a different sort of power to fight."

Danny blinked, then suddenly the answer came to him. "E… ectoplasm?"

Sam nodded again. "You were a fool to try and rip out your ghost half, Danny. It was such a gift. It could have allowed you to help this kid all on your own."

"Sam…" Danny said quietly.

"Now we'll have to build a bridge another way. We need the other boy."

"Sasuke," Danny looked over to the black haired boy who appeared lost in thought. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up at him, his eyes unreadable, face blank.

"For Godssake, Sasuke!" Danny chided. "I know what Orochimaru said messed with your head but are you seriously going to let one defeat mess you up like that? You're eight. You haven't even started training as a ninja yet. There are many people out there who could probably kick the stuffing out of you."

He saw Sasuke's gaze darken but didn't let that deter him.

"Look. If you want to seek whatever power that snake has then go for it. Go seek help from the big bad ninja who spends his time beating up kids. Go see if that will make you a better person. More powerful." Danny's lips twisted as he sneered out this word. He felt his words wrench something within himself. Power. That was a word that was poisonous not just to Sasuke but to Danny as well. "But if there was a moment, even for a second, that Naruto ever helped you—that ever gave you a moment of relief or fulfillment—then you owe it to him to stay and help."

Danny saw the indecision in Sasuke's eyes but broke eye contact and looked away back at Sam.

"You should be harder on him. I know what to do but I don't have the required power." Sam said with irritation. "We need his chakra."

"Why can't I do it?" Danny responded.

"You've said it yourself." Sam responded. "You have no chakra."

"That can't be. I'm alive, right? So I've got to have chakra."

"Unless you're less alive than you think."

Danny inhaled and was about to respond when he felt a presence at his side.

Sasuke was standing resolute, not making eye-contact, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Good." Danny acknowledged the boy and then looked at Sam.

"I'll make the bridge with him and then you'll have to cross it." Sam said.

"Hold out your hands." Danny told Sasuke. Sam reached out and placed her ghostly hands under Sasuke, who did not react.

"Tell him to give me access to his chakra. I can't do this if he's all walled off." Sam instructed.

Danny blinked, then looked at Sasuke. "My friend is here. She's going to work with you to make a… a path to Naruto… To that thing inside him that's hurting him. You saw how I was able to create ice before, right?"

Sasuke looked at Danny and nodded.

"Well, that was me and her working together. What she needs right now is to use your chakra. I don't know how chakra works but try to… open your mind. Let her guide you."

Sasuke looked unsure.

"It's not going to hurt you." Danny paused then added. "You're going to have to trust me."

Sasuke frowned, his lips tightening. Then he gave a curt nod and closed his eyes. Sasuke was not one to do things halfway and almost instantly, the boy's hands began glowing bright white.

Sam looked pleased. "It's working! Danny, it's up to you."

Danny nodded and reached out to the glowing orb above Sasuke's hands.

---

:o:

---

Danny blinked and realized he was no longer in the grassy, waterlogged clearing. Instead he was kneeling in a massive, regal hallway. Before him was a gate carved with ornate lettering. Bars of heavy metal marked the gateway as the entrance to a prison.

Danny rose off his knees and gazed into the depths of the prison. But he could see nothing at all. Beyond the bars was utter pitch-blackness.

Danny shuddered when a low, deep chuckle echoed through the room. The voice was so deep it made Danny's heart thrum, like the vibration of a low string note, or a deep drum.

"Come closer," The voice bade him.

Hesitantly, Danny obeyed and took a few steps closer to the bars.

Abruptly, Danny stopped and gasped, staring up at a huge set of red eyes that had opened before him. Then there was a glint of white and lips pulled back over a massive set of sharp white teeth.

Staggering back, Danny's eyes widened as the impressive form of the massive nine-tailed fox came into view behind the bars: long regal tails arching up and deadly claws that could effortlessly rend Danny from head to toe.

"Wh… what are you?" Danny asked.

"What you see before you is only a shadow of the splendour I am. The truth of my form is grander than any mountain, more vast than any ocean, for I am Kyuubi, demon fox of nine-tails." The spirit responded in its heart-deep voice.

Danny frowned. "If you're so great and grand, what are you doing in Naruto?"

"I was deceived. A moment of distraction and they sealed me in this imp. But now there is a crack in the seal… nothing will stop me from regaining my strength and raining destruction upon those who would dare to oppose me." The beast reared back and then threw itself at the bars, making the entire room shake.

"Whoa!" Danny wobbled as he was nearly thrown off his feet. "Wait… wait a sec, foxy. Can't we discuss this? Isn't there a less… deadly solution possible?"

"You are a brazen jester. Not only a simpleton but also a coward willingly shackled away from your own power. I can sense it in you. Halfling is what you are, no matter your attempts to flay it from yourself. If you wish to stop me why not fight me with your true teeth and claws and put conviction behind your words?"

The Kyuubi tossed itself at the bars again and this time the structure gave an ominous groan.

"I don't get why everyone keeps telling me that I still have ghost powers!" Danny yelled at the nine-tailed fox as his temper frayed. He was here for Naruto but he couldn't help it—couldn't help being baited by this creature—this monster that thought it knew him better than he knew himself. "I got rid of it! It's gone!"

The Kyuubi was apparently done talking to Danny and instead it gave a loud roar. Danny saw that a dark red energy was beginning to seep out the spaces between the bars.

Abruptly, like a key turning in his brain, Danny realized that none of his concerns mattered.

All this time he had been so concerned about what his powers meant to him. He wanted to get rid of them to absolve himself of the guilt of failing his family and friends. He thought if he didn't have them then he couldn't be blamed for bad things that happened because he didn't have the power to stop them.

…How selfish could he get?

He left Amity Park because he was too weak to face his guilt. He wanted his family to stay with him and not move on to peace because he missed them. He'd wanted Naruto and Sasuke around because they helped him recover.

The Kyuubi had made no illusions as to its goal: it fully intended to rip Naruto apart and wreak its revenge.

Danny's eyes narrowed and he made his decision.

Walking steadily, resolutely, toward the bars to Kyuubi's cage, Danny raised his hands and gripped the bars. They burned his palms—not through heat or frost but by power. Chakra. He ignored the pain and grit his teeth, delving deep into himself with intention that had once been as familiar as slipping on a shoe.

Come on! He reached within himself for the beast—that powerful core that had brought joy and ruin to his life.

Nothing happened.

Kyuubi's laugh echoed through Danny and the teen felt sweat drip down his face. His hands shook from tension. From pain.

"You've failed!" The Kyuubi crowed and a bust of powerful chakra exploded out of the cell.

Danny felt his grip falter as the chakra burned his face and arms. It stripped away skin and caused painful welts on his body. His vision started to blacken.

"I will break free! This host will be cracked open and left to burn as I set fire to Konoha! I will bring fire down from the heavens and have lightning turn the people to dust. None will survive my revenge. It is a shame—Halfling, that you will be dead and gone and unable to see the beautiful land of ash I will create."

"No…" Danny grunted and he felt a spark ignite from within him.

"You cannot stop me!"

"No!" Danny cried again and his grip tightened on the bars. 'I won't let this happen. Not while I live!'

"You are weak!"

Danny tuned out the voice of the Kyuubi. 'The power is mine. I control it! I will save the people I care about.'

Danny screamed as green light exploded from his hands and arched up the bars like a current of electricity. The Kyuubi let out a bellow of rage, but Danny didn't hear it as he was utterly taken by the power that he forced into the seal. It deafened him and drowned him and he welcomed it. He—his self—was nothing. Fear, worry, guilt was all stripped away as he focused on his singular intention to save Naruto.

The energy poured from him in waves, until finally Danny sensed that it was enough. He let go of the bars, and observed that they were now a bright green. Behind them, Kyuubi was huffing with spent energy and eying Danny with anger.

Feeling lighter than he had in a very long time, Danny backed away. He looked down at his arm and saw that it was covered in a white glove.

"Heh…" He chuckled as a true smile tugged at his lips. "Goin' Ghost."

Then the spirit world warped around him and he felt himself spiralling rapidly into unconsciousness.

---

:o:

---

Danny awoke and the first thing he realized was that he was back in the forest clearing with Sam, Sasuke and Naruto.

The second thing he realized was that he was back in his normal clothes and not in ghost form.

The third thing he realized was that it was still raining, he was on his knees and he was really tired of having soggy hair in his eyes.

The glow of the Kyuubi had faded from around Naruto and Danny reached forward to touch the boy as blue eyes opened.

"Naru—"

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened the boy reached out to Danny's shoulder. Danny gasped as he was suddenly, abruptly shoved sideways into the ground, Naruto pushing him aside like he was a ragdoll.

"NO!" Danny heard Sam scream and he quickly rose up on his elbows up to see what had happened.

He felt a cold rush of fear as he stared uncomprehendingly. Naruto was slumping against the dais as a sword protruded from his chest. Sam was hovering over the boy but glaring at someone to the side.

Following Sam's glare, Danny saw Youmu standing with a wide stance, her arm still held out in front of her from having completed the motion of throwing the sword.

"Hah," Youmu gasped. "Not the brat I was aiming for, but I guess you'll do."

Sasuke snarled wordlessly and leapt at the woman. But before he could reach her there was a puff of smoke and Youmu was stiffening as a kunai was held to her throat.

"Heard you were scampering about on the rooftops." Kakashi said conversationally, looking at Danny as he held Youmu in place. "Decided to check it out. Good thing we did."

Danny was hardly listening. Instead, he'd scrambled to get up on all fours, exhaustion weighing on all his limbs as he moved examine Naruto.

"Naruto!" He cried, hands fluttering helplessly over the sword that impaled the boy. It entered his shoulder, high above the heart but didn't exit out the other side.

Naruto was thankfully unconscious. Danny hesitated even to move the boy, knowing that jostling the weapon could do even more harm. For all his training at the hospital here he was helpless again, unable to do anything to help this boy who had wormed his way into his heart and become family.

Then another voice came loudly from his side and Danny's attention was pulled away.

"Danny, Danny, it's ok. Everything's going to be ok." Danny felt hands at his shoulders pulling him back and he turned to see Mr. Haruno looking down at him in concern.

"Sakura saw you nearly fall from the rooftops." Mr. Haruno explained his presence. "It took a while to track you down."

Danny looked back to see Gai standing next to Naruto. The man looked unusually grave.

"Please! Be careful!" Danny called, stretching out a hand as Gai leaned over to pick up Naruto.

Showing more care than Danny had expected from the normally boisterous man, Gai gathered Naruto into his arms and lifted the boy, infinitely gentle.

"Don't worry." Gai nodded at Danny. "This one's light of youthfulness will not be extinguished today. I will take him straight to Shizune." And with that, Gai disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I'm sorry." Sam said, her eyes shining as she looked at Danny. Danny glanced up and noticed for the first time that she looked faded. Drained. He wondered vaguely if that was because of how much energy she's expended in their fight against Orochimaru.

He opened his mouth even as he had no words for her. Nevertheless, Sam seemed to read him better than he could himself. Apparently gathering something from his expression, a small smile lifted her lips. That expression was both sad and tolerant, patient and fondly exasperated. Forgiving and loving. It spoke more clearly than any words that could have been exchanged between them.

Voices of those around him, of the living, pulled Danny's gaze away from Sam.

"Are you ok? You look like you've been hurt." Mr. Haruno worried. Danny was still on his hands and knees and Mr. Haruno offered him a hand.

Danny gratefully took the help and pulled himself sluggishly to his feet. "I'm fine. Just a little tired." Tired was an understatement. Whatever he'd done to Kyuubi in the spirit world had wiped him out. He was also still bleeding from numerous minor injuries he'd sustained. Nothing he'd taken had been worse than Naruto though. He needed to get back to Konoha—needed to know whether Naruto was going to be ok.

Danny looked back to the dais and noticed that Sam had disappeared. He felt a sad tug at his mind but, for the first time, he also felt a release of pain around his heart—maybe now all his friends and family could move on and have peace.

And maybe he could, too.

As people with headbands and padded vests swarmed the clearing, Sasuke stood in the middle of it all, looking somewhat lost as people ignored him.

"Sasuke," Danny called and slowly made his way over to the boy.

Danny hugged himself as he looked down at the boy. "You ok?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Not hurt anywhere?"

Sasuke shook his head.

Danny gave a sigh of relief. "That's good, at least."

The boy raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked Danny up and down.

"Me? I'm not sure." Danny's voice lowered as he recalled they were not alone. "I think I managed to stop the Kyuubi but now I'm wiped. Going to need to lie down after we check on Naruto."

"Did you say Kyuubi?" A new voice asked.

Danny looked over as Anko approached him.

"What's this about the Kyuubi?" She said as she neared.

Danny hesitated, wondering for a moment how much Anko had heard, but then decided the simplest explanation was best. "You remember you guys were talking about Orochimaru when we went out for dinner? Well, turns out he was trying to unseal the Kyuubi from Naruto."

Anko stared at Danny with her mouth open and then her hands clenched into fists and she snarled.

"Orochimaru!" She hissed then looked at Danny. "How did you survive?"

Danny shrugged, not taking offense to the entirely valid question. "I think he was more interested in unsealing the Kyuubi than killing me. Also…" Danny thought about Itachi and thought about the ice and decided to leave both of those things out of the conversation. "Sasuke helped."

Danny felt the slightest touch against his leg and looked down to see that Sasuke had moved close to his side. The boy was frowning up at Anko defiantly. Danny smiled.

"What is going on here?" A familiar voice called across the clearing.

Danny turned and instantly a scowl crossed his face as he saw Danzo walking toward Youmu and Kakashi.

"He killed my partner!" Youmu suddenly cried and though she'd been restrained she jutted her chin condemningly in Danny's direction. "My partner was just a simple musician and he did nothing wrong. That white devil must have been stalking me. He came up behind us and killed my friend. Then when I tried to get my just revenge, the blond child jumped out in front of the foreigner. I did nothing wrong!"

Danny felt a wave of incredulity come over him at this audacious story. No one would believe such a story. Except… Danny saw the red glow in the woman's eyes. He felt himself blanche as a few ninja looked at him with suspicious gazes.

"Is this true?" Danzo asked as he approached Danny his gaze shrewd.

At his side, Danny felt Sasuke bristle and remembered that the boy probably had his own unpleasant memories of the man.

"It's unlikely." Kakashi intoned and, ignoring the woman's protests, he pulled aside her collar revealing the metal-plated headband tied around her neck. Unlike Konoha ninja, who had a leaf pattern on their headbands, Youmu's headband was engraved with a music note. "They're ninja. Unless they're so incompetent that they can be taken down by a civilian."

"He has strange powers." Youmu insisted with a simper. "He beguiles people into believing he's harmless."

"So says the woman who uses genjutsu to influence other people's minds?" Kakashi said conversationally and only then did a few suspicious gazes turn away from Danny and move back to Youmu.

Danny meanwhile was glaring at Danzo. Too weary to be cautious and too angry to care, Danny strode up to the ex-councilman, Sasuke on his heels. The rain was still falling, so Danny was assured some privacy as he leaned in and spoke his next words at the man in a low, cold tone.

"I know you've been gunning to get rid of me from the start. For whatever reason you want me out of Konoha." Danny accused.

Danzo smirked and did not reply.

"Well, if you want me gone you're going to have to kill me. You toss me out and who knows who I'll tell about who was really responsible for what happened here tonight…?"

Danzo's smirk fell and his expression grew dangerous.

"Careful with your words boy. There is more than one way to silence a foreign rat."

It didn't escape Danny that this was twice now in the same night that he'd been called a foreign rat. The other time the slur had come from Orochimaru's mouth.

"Perhaps. But I have my doubts that you'd want to silence the last remaining member of the illustrious Uchiha clan." Danny looked down at Sasuke who was watching and listening with keen eyes. "And given what he just heard, it'd be suspicious for me to turn up dead tomorrow, yes?"

Danzo sneered. "You are playing a dangerous game, foreigner. You'd do well to keep that long nose of yours out of other people's business."

The man walked away then and Danny relaxed. "It's no game." He promised. Then, he looked down at Sasuke, noticing that the boy was listing, looking as exhausted as he felt. He thought about telling the kid to go home, but didn't want Sasuke to be on his own tonight. Especially not at those haunted Uchiha grounds.

"You coming?" He asked Sasuke, who looked up at him. "We can crash at the hospital tonight."

Sasuke hesitated barely a moment before giving a quick nod.

Kakashi had handed off Youmu to another ninja and was standing at the edge of the clearing. Danny paused as he passed the man.

"Are we free to go?" He asked, his voice dry.

"For now." Kakashi acquiesced mildly. "I would recommend staying near to the hospital. There will be questions that will need answering."

Danny gave a weary nod and he and Sasuke left the clearing.

---

:o:

---

Danny stepped into the hospital and was immediately met by Yakushi, the new medic-ninja in the hospital.

After their first meeting—the hospital tour that had cumulated in the odd, uncomfortable scene on the rooftop—Yakushi had adopted a quirky, if somewhat intense, attitude around Danny.

Danny was no stranger to eccentric behaviour and, though Yakushi sometimes unnerved him and had no concept of personal space, Danny made an effort to be friendly with the teen. Eventually, Yakushi had yielded to Danny his first name: Kabuto.

Perhaps because of their similar ages, the two had formed a quiet sort of alliance. Kabuto didn't dismiss him or dump undesirable work on Danny like most of the other staff did. And in return, Danny didn't isolate the talented medic-nin.

Kabuto was incontrovertibly skilled at his work. Many medic-ninjas gossiped that he was a shoe-in to pass the next chuunin exams. But still, the grey-haired teen was quiet and standoffish. The other hospital staff took this behaviour to mean he was aloof and conceited and so veered away from him.

Danny, for his part, also found Kabuto odd. But it wasn't because he was withdrawn.

The teen was just… odd.

"You were in the woods." Kabuto said in a whisper as he came close to Danny's shoulder.

Danny subtly shifted away and disguised the movement by bending to remove his shoes and do his best to wring out his clothes and shake out his hair over the threshold. It was a great relief to finally be indoors and out of the rain.

Danny heard a loud sneeze and he looked down to see Sasuke looking unusually sheepish. The boy avoided his gaze. Danny moved to grab a towel but found that Kabuto had already taken one and was bending down to offer it to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Kabuto suspiciously, then glanced up at Danny. Before Danny could nod in encouragement, Sasuke quickly looked away and snatched the towel from Kabuto. Without so much as a bow, Sasuke began towelling himself off.

Danny observed Sasuke's behaviour and sighed.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you?" Kabuto asked with curiosity. Sasuke pierced Kabuto with dark, distrustful eyes, but Kabuto just let out a breathless laugh and stood. He blinked at Danny. "What interesting company you keep, Danny."

Kabuto took a step closer to Danny. "You aren't cold? You're dripping wet."

Danny shook his head.

Kabuto drew even closer and then seemed to search Danny's eyes before leaning back and looking him up and down. "Interesting."

"Just… can you tell me where Naruto is?" Danny said. He didn't have time to deal with Kabuto.

"You should get checked-up first. You're bleeding."

Danny looked down at his arm, which was indeed still oozing blood from where Youmu had cut him. From the vague ache in his body, he probably had a number of other injuries that he'd discover fully at a later time when they weren't being masked by worry and lingering adrenaline.

"No need." Danny shook his head. "I'll take care of it."

"And the Uchiha?" Kabuto peered down at Sasuke.

"Same."

"You're sure?" Kabuto pushed in his quiet voice looking at Danny with an indecipherable expression. "I've heard that you resist chakra treatments. I would be happy to—"

"I'm sure." Danny stressed. When Kabuto frowned Danny softened his tone. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Naruto."

"So stubborn…" Kabuto mused. "Well, the boy is currently in surgery with Shizune."

"What's his post-op room?"

"A-12."

"Thank you." Danny offered a grateful bow. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"No."

"Huh?" Danny blinked and Kabuto looked at him seriously.

"You won't see me tomorrow. I'm being reassigned. Special assignment." Kabuto clarified.

"Oh… well… that's… is that a good thing?" Danny blinked, unsure what emotion to inject into his voice.

"Perhaps." Kabuto's mouth quirked in a self-deprecatory way. "They were only too happy to get rid of me here."

Danny rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I mean, yeah, you're a bit obsessive and totally have no concept of personal space…"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

"But you're not a bad guy. You're just good at what you do and that scares them. It makes them all look bad."

"You say that like being powerful is a bad thing." Kabuto chuckled.

"Well, it certainly makes you more enemies than being nondescript would." Danny said with a shrug.

"But it also makes you harder to kill." Kabuto responded and his eyes were suddenly sharp.

Danny considered Kabuto. "Well… regardless, you always have a friend here whenever you need it. Until they find a way to get rid of me too, I guess. Hah…"

Kabuto, far from looking amused, narrowed his eyes. "Be careful, Danny. Don't call down ill-fortune on yourself."

Then, Kabuto put a hand on Danny's shoulder leaned in close. Danny stiffened as Kabuto's mouth came close to his ear.

"I told you before I'd let you come with me. But maybe it's too soon. Know, however, that if they ever do cast you out, you will have a place with me. May we meet again. Be safe. Be Sound."

Just as quickly as he'd moved in, Kabuto had backed away from Danny, his mouth was turned up in an enigmatic smile as he turned to leave.

Danny offered his goodbyes and ignored the odd feeling that, despite the Kabuto's words, this would be the last time he saw the teen. Brushing away the premonition, he turned and, sparing a moment to make sure Sasuke was following, headed down the hospital wing toward Naruto's room.

---

:o:

---

When Shizune rolled Naruto into the room, she didn't even look surprised to see Danny and Sasuke already there.

Naruto was unconscious and his bed was moved to the center of the room. The only other furniture in the room was a table and a cushioned chair. Danny had given the chair and a spare blanket to Sasuke, who now resembled a cocooned caterpillar as he'd curled up in the seat with the blanket wrapped around himself.

Danny sat on the floor, leaning against the chair. He was too worried to even think of sleeping and when Shizune came in he immediately hopped to his feet.

"So? How is he?"

Shizune shot him a tired look of exasperation. "Danny, how do you keep getting yourself into these messes?"

"Shizune…" Danny insisted impatiently.

The medic-ninja looked down at Naruto. There was a thick bandage encompassing his torso and shoulder. "He'll be fine. Miraculously. He's a very hardy child—did most of the work for us, actually."

"Because of the Kyuubi in him?"

Shizune glanced sideways at Danny then looked back down. "You really shouldn't advertise that you know these secrets to just anyone."

"You're not just anyone."

Shizune sighed, "It could have been the Kyuubi." She conceded. "There was an incredible amount of chakra that surged from Naruto to help my treatment. It's almost all subsided now—hard to believe it was ever even there. As for the wound, he'll be a bit sore but if he rests properly for the next few days, we'll probably be able to let him out as early as next week."

She looked at Danny, then back down at Naruto. "You're not leaving this room tonight, are you?"

Danny shook his head.

Shizune sighed again. "Fine. I'll get a nurse to wheel in another bed. Only one though. Two won't fit."

Danny nodded. "That's fine. Thank you, Shizune." Mentally he was already assigning Sasuke to the spare bed. He could crash on the chair.

"Thank me by keeping yourself out of trouble from now on." Shizune said and waved at Danny over her shoulder as she turned away. "I'm also going to call a medic-nin to come in and check you over. No complaints," were her parting words as she left the room, closing the door behind herself.

Danny offered the closed door a tired, rueful smile. "Thanks, Shizune." He turned then, and for a long time he stood a silent vigil over Naruto's bed, watching the child sleep. His thoughts were a messy jumble, but one did clear its way through after a time.

'He's going to be ok.'

Danny sniffed and scrubbed at his nose and eyes.

He felt something soft brush against his side and looked down to see a mop of black hair and a small body still wrapped in the thick blanket standing next to him. Putting his arm around Sasuke he hugged the boy close and was happy when Sasuke didn't pull away.

"Hey…"He squeezed Sasuke's shoulder and the boy looked up at him. "So… that little trick you did there where your lips moved and sound came out… Don't suppose there's any chance of that repeating?"

Sasuke shot him a dry, narrow glare that just made Danny grin.

"Oh c'mon! I'd even be happy to get the giant flaming fireball if it means you're speaking."

"Ehem." A cough sounded at the door and Danny and Sasuke whirled around. Sasuke immediately broke free of Danny's hold and shuffled a few steps away. He shirked the blanket from his shoulders and laid it on the chair, gently folded.

Danny blinked as he saw the Third Hokage standing in the doorway of the hospital room, dressed formally in his robes and hat.

"Hokage…" Danny acknowledged.

"Fenton Danny and Uchiha Sasuke." The man offered a benign smile to both of them. "We always seem to meet in times of trouble."

"Does this have to do with Naruto?" Danny asked. "Or have you and the council come to a decision about me?"

The Hokage chuckled. "It is as you say; I have come to tell you the decision the council and I have come to regarding your continued stay in Konohagakure."

Danny braced himself. "So… should I start packing my bags?"

Sasuke stiffened at Danny's words and took a single, obvious step closer to Danny, as to protect the teen. This move earned an amused look from the Hokage.

"Now, there's no need to be hasty. Ah, the young are always so hasty…" The man paused and smiled. "You will be pleased to know that you are not under any investigation by the village."

"No?" Danny couldn't help but be surprised.

The Hokage chuckled. "No. The kunoichi, Youmu, confessed to carrying out a plot to… bring harm to Naruto. It seems she was unfortunately working in collusion with three Konoha ninja who held a grudge against Naruto and paid her for her aid. She further confessed to causing, with the aid of her deceased partner, the deaths of said three Konoha ninja. She admitted to attacking you first, thus justifying you protecting yourselves against her partner."

Danny's eyes lowered. "So… Hibiki is dead then?"

"Her partner? Yes."

Danny pondered how convenient it was that the entire story seemed to have neatly fell into place like pieces of a puzzle. Also, how convenient it was that there was no mention of Orochimaru or Danzo or the Kyuubi. Danny hadn't needed to lift a finger in his own defense and wasn't that… convenient.

"Her confession did raise certain… questions about you, however." The Hokage continued.

'There it is.' Danny looked up and met the man's eyes. "Me?"

The Hokage smiled and the wrinkles around his eyes deepened. "Well, I think we can afford to let some things lie—on both our parts."

'Secrets. Always with the secrets.' So the Hokage himself didn't want Danny telling anyone about Orochimaru, or that Naruto was host to the Kyuubi. In return the Hokage wouldn't ask questions about Danny's… abilities.

Danny did wonder though, if the Hokage was aware of the hand Danzo had played in orchestrating this entire plot.

Danny didn't think he particularly cared if anyone found out about his so-called 'powers'. He brought a hand up and pressed fingertips against his sternum as he thought. Whatever power he'd drawn on to change into his ghost-half in Naruto's subconscious had faded away the moment he'd awoken. He couldn't go ghost and, without Sam, there was no way to prove he had any ability to control ice. The only thing left was that his ability to see ghosts. So far, only Naruto and Sasuke knew he could do that—Kakashi too, maybe. But still… Kurenai had seen his ghost-half. And if his story was to come to light… His story, if told, was so unreal, so unbelievable, that he half-feared these ninja would kill him on the spot for spouting such a ludicrous tale.

That or they'd find a way to use his ability to speak with the dead.

So Danny swallowed and nodded his acceptance.

"Very good." The Hokage praised. "Then, on to the last matter."

Danny raised his eyebrows.

"There were still a number of councilmembers who were wary of leaving you to your own devices, given the… knowledge… you've acquired and the company you keep. So, I have suggested that you be put under the watchful eye of an old, distinguished clan. The head of the clan is quite young, but if he will permit it, you will become a ward of the house of Uchiha."

The Hokage looked down at Sasuke who stared back with wide eyes. Danny didn't blame the boy. He was goggling as well.

"What say you, Uchiha Sasuke? Do you agree?" The Hokage asked with a smile.

A minute passed, then two.

Then, Sasuke raised his chin and in a voice clear as a bell, he spoke.

"I accept."

The Hokage looked exceedingly pleased and Danny just stared at the back of Sasuke's head.

"Well! Then that is arranged. You, Fenton Danny, may stay in Konoha as long as you like with the freedoms and benefits of any other citizen. You now also have the freedom to leave Konoha, but be aware that the Uchiha house now bears direct responsibility for your actions."

Danny thought that was a pretty ridiculous loophole to allow him to stay unfettered in Konoha. But if it worked…

No matter the ridiculousness of the deal, the Hokage had apparently, once again, gone out of his way to help Danny. For that, the teen was grateful.

"Thank you," He bowed.

"It is my pleasure." The Hokage gave a slight inclination of his head.

When Danny raised his head, he saw the brim of the Hokage's hat and suddenly his mind flashed back to the graveyard when Naruto's father had protected him from the ghosts.

"That symbol…" Danny murmured.

The Hokage hummed in acknowledgement.

"The symbol on your hat, what does it mean?" Danny wondered.

"Fire." The Hokage supplied, "You look confused. Perhaps it makes more sense in context. Here." The man swept over to the desk and pulled a pen and paper closer to himself. He drew out the symbol for 'fire' then underneath it made another, more complex symbol. "This is the symbol for Fire. Below it is the symbol for Shadow. Together they form the Kanji for the word 'Hokage'."

Danny was thunderstruck.

The first three symbols on Naruto's father's back had meant 'fourth'. And then the last two were 'Hokage'?

But the man standing before Danny was the Third Hokage.

But there were Four faces on the Hokage Monument. How had he never noticed that before?

"Is something the matter?" The Hokage asked Danny with mild concern.

Secrets. There were so many secrets in Konoha.

'Do people in this village even know who Naruto's Father was?' Danny wanted to ask, but didn't.

Instead he plastered a smile on his face and shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm… just tired. Thank you… for everything."

When the Hokage left, Danny sat heavily on the edge of Naruto's bed. Sasuke was eying him.

Then, a small groan came from under the blankets and Danny was up and standing at Naruto's side.

"Urrrgh…" Naruto groaned.

"Hey kiddo." Danny grinned and brushed Naruto's hair back from his face with gentle fingers. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"What happened?" Naruto asked and his voice was already gaining strength. The boy made to sit up.

"Whoa there, just… relax a bit for sec ok? You went through some pretty tough things tonight." Danny hurried to say and his eyebrows scrunched in worry as he saw Naruto's eyes flash in pain. The kid slumped and Danny carefully guided him back down into a lying position. He didn't remove his hands afterward—feeling a little possessive, a little scared—he needed the contact to ensure himself that Naruto was back with him. Safe.

"I saw…" Naruto's eyes widened. "Are you ok? And Sasuke—" Naruto's eyes flicked back and forth between them. "Are you guys ok?"

"We're fine. It's you we were worried about." Danny, smiled, eyes fond.

"What happened?"

"Well…" Danny stalled, his hand hesitating in its quest to smoothing out Naruto's unruly hair. He thought about all the information that had been withheld from Naruto: did the boy even know who his parents were? Did he know about the Kyuubi? And then there was Sasuke: whose very much alive brother had saved both their lives earlier that evening. Then Danny thought of the information he had withheld from both kids: How he'd met both their parents but kept it a secret.

He took a deep breath and made a decision.

Konoha had secrets. Many, many secrets. Danny had spent so much time in Amity Park keeping secrets from his family. Those secrets had cost him everything he had and more. Now, he had Naruto and Sasuke. They had become closer than friends. They were his family now and Danny was done keeping secrets from his family.

"I need to tell you both some things…"

---

:o:

---

One Month Later

Sasuke liked high places. Danny didn't know if it was a new habit that had only developed after the loss of his family, but the boy had a thing for sitting high above the line of sight and staring down at the masses—removed from people enough to avoid interaction but close enough to watch and feel some level of attachment. Danny, whose ghost-hunting-trained instincts had him glancing up and not to the sides in response to the hair prickling sensation of being watched, had often spotted the little figure in blue and white sitting atop buildings or high in trees.

It was good, Danny thought, that Sasuke had not resorted to the complete social isolation Orochimaru had almost driven him to. Sure, the child's integration back into society was slow, and it wasn't helped at all by the way people would shy away from the boy and whisper about him behind his back, but at least he was integrating. Still moving forward.

The sadder Sasuke was, the closer he would get to the haunted areas of the Uchiha compound to brood and the happier he was, the higher he would go to gloat.

So, despite the fact that he still hadn't completely warmed to the idea of a kiddie-ninja-training school, Danny was nevertheless pleased that, post the qualification examination, he found Sasuke sitting on top of Hokage Hill, feet dangling audaciously over The Second's stone headband, a piece of paper clutched between his fingers.

"So, you got in?" Danny asked as he approached Sasuke's back.

Sasuke was silent for a long time, but Danny was patient. He waited, walking up to stand next to the seated boy and gazed down at the prominent drop that cut away before his toes. Danny was satisfied to notice that the spectacular height instilled no fear in him. He gazed down at the dizzying drop calmly. Oddly serene in the face of potential death.

Danny hadn't tried to reach for his ghost half since that rainy night weeks ago when he'd reinforced Kyuubi's cage. Since that night though, he felt different—lighter, less constrained. It was as though he'd been wearing restraints for months and they had finally been cut off.

He smiled.

"Of course." Came the Sasuke's eventual response and Danny smirked at the cocky smugness in the boy's tone. It was amazing how quickly Sasuke was building up his confidence. Danny would let the boy have his moment.

A sudden shout made Danny nearly hop off the edge of the cliff.

"OIE! DANNY! DANNY!"

Sasuke cringed and shot Danny a pleading look that was completely ignored as the teen's smirk widened into a grin at the voice of the third member of their family. Turning and taking a few steps away from the cliff edge—the kid was going to be the death of him with his antics, honestly!—Danny grinned widely and spread his arms. A moment later a small orange figure collided with him, tossing small arms around his waist and hugging the breath out of him.

Naruto's shoulder had healed well—more that well. Not two weeks after having been skewered by a sword, Naruto had full mobility. A month later and the wound had faded completely, leaving only a thin white line as a reminder of what he'd suffered.

There hadn't appeared to be any lasting scars on his soul either, for which Danny was endlessly grateful.

"I did it! I did it!" Naruto cried, hopping up and down he brought a crumpled piece of paper up and waved it in Danny's face. "I did it! I passed! Look!"

Taking the paper gently from Naruto, Danny did his best to smooth out the wrinkles before examining the page. Looking at the test was like looking back in time at one of his own tests and Danny couldn't help the nostalgic smile that grew on his face. How Jazz must've felt, Danny now knew, as he looked at the barely passing grade hard won through difficulties untold.

'Jazz… Mom, Dad… Tucker… Sam… Lancer… I hope you're at peace now.'

"Are you okay, Danny?" Naruto, sensitive as he was to pain, was looking up at Danny worriedly. "Is it something I—?"

"No." Danny stopped the boy's self-deprecation. His expression was fierce as he gripped Naruto's shoulder tight. "This is amazing. I am proud of you, Naruto."

The boy practically glowed under the praise and Danny saw the ghostly manifestation of the nine-tailed fox move. The fox raised its head, gracing Danny with a brief, stern expression. Danny felt Naruto's arms wrap around his middle again and returned the hug, even as he matched stares with the Kyuubi. Somehow, he doubted this was the last time the nine-tails was going to be causing trouble.

"Ehem." A quiet cough drew Danny's attention downward and he cocked an eyebrow as a second sheet of paper was thrust up toward him.

Drawing the page carefully out of the proffered hand, Danny glanced down and saw the row of near-perfect scores that he'd already anticipated.

Transferring the sheet over to his other hand—carefully, since, unlike Naruto's report, Sasuke's was pristine and white as unwrapped printer paper—Danny smiled and placed his free hand on top of Sasuke's head.

"Well done, Sasuke." He said softly and was rewarded, not with a smile, but with a certain relieved gratefulness in Sasuke's eyes.

For a moment, the three of them were quiet and Danny couldn't express the utter peacefulness that came over him in those few moments.

Suddenly, Naruto broke out of Danny's hold and the teen looked down at the child in confusion.

"But you're prouder of me than you are of Sasuke, right Danny? You're my big brother after all." Naruto puffed out his chest and nodded in self-satisfaction. "You have to be prouder of me!"

Then, before Danny could reply, both he and Naruto were startled by another voice that suddenly piped up.

"Only because simply passing for you is a task so monumental that it strains the imagination." Sasuke's quip came fast and sharp and it wasn't until it was out that the boy truly realized that he'd spoken, eyes widening in shock.

Danny, too, was looking at Sasuke in astonishment, not just for stringing more words together than he'd yet to hear the boy utter in total, but also because he was quite happily surprised to discover that the boy had such a mouth on him.

"Ha! I knew you were sarcastic!" Danny exclaimed as he pointed a finger in Sasuke's face and grinned. "I was right!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he sent Danny a very familiar, withering glare.

Naruto, on the other hand, was becoming flush with righteous indignation.

"W-well! You… You're ugly!" Naruto blustered.

"Right, because that's a mature comeback that has absolutely nothing to do with the conversation." Sasuke retorted and rolled his eyes.

"Ugly!"

"Loser."

Both boys were glaring at each other so harshly that the very air between their eyes crackled with energy.

And Danny could only laugh.

Things were not perfect. Far from it. But for these precious few moments, life was worth living. Danny was glad to be alive and that realization made his head spin.

'Are you proud of me?' He asked his family, his friends… even Mr. Lancer. 'I think I'm happy.'

---

:o:

---

Someplace Far Away

"He'll come back, won't he? He'll come back? He has to come back!"

"Tell us Clockwork, Danny will come back won't he?"

Deep in the ghost zone, within a tall clock tower, giant gears and cogs shifted and turned with a constant, haunting sound. Far below these gears, near the floor of the clock tower, a group of ghosts huddled in a mass. At their centre was a bowed, withered, cloaked figure. The hood of the figure was raised but did not hide the prominent beard that spilled forth toward the ground. In one gnarled hand was a tall sceptre dotted with many clocks.

"Amity Park will not survive without him. He has to come back!" One ghost, that of a teenaged girl with long translucent hair that had been a vibrant red in life, said passionately. Jazz Fenton.

"He's Danny Phantom! He's a hero… We can't just let him run away! He's the only one who can stop this from happening!" Another ghost, this one a girl with short hair and a petite frame, threw a hand out wide and gestured to a tall mirror as she spoke. Sam Manson.

The face of the mirror bore no reflection. Instead, the mirror revealed a city—or what had one been a city and now only resembled it in only the most basic sense. What had once been tall buildings were craters blasted into the earth. The very ground smoked as though it had recently been on fire, not a single speck of green life could be seen in the mass of brown, grey dust. A charred sign read "Amity Park: A Nice Place to—" and some morbid personality had blacked out the word 'Live' and replaced it with 'Die'.

The only sign of life in the image was a figure dressed in red riding a sleek hover board. Valerie Grey, the Red Huntress. Valerie sped over the scenery and the mirror followed her as she tracked across the ruined city. Eventually she arrived at her destination: the damaged remains of Casper High. Windows had been broken, and the building looked bruised and beaten as though a wrecking ball had taken a few passes at its walls. But miraculously the building was still standing sturdily. The Red Huntress landed gracefully and jogged into Casper High. Moments later a green, glowing dome grew to envelop the entire building. The image in the mirror shivered.

"Could he really stop all this? One teenager?" An overweight, balding man mused. Mr. Lancer.

"He can! You haven't seen what Danny can do!" A young ghost wearing a beret and glasses nodded emphatically. Tucker Foley.

"My son…" A woman with tearstained cheeks clasped her hands before her mouth and looked at Clockwork. Maddie Fenton. "You said he no longer has his…powers." She choked over the word. "If he doesn't have any powers how can he do anything? Danny… Danny is… You said he's safe where he is now. I don't want him to be in danger again."

"Mom…" The ghost of Jazz Fenton put a hand consolingly on her mother's shoulder.

The only ghost who hadn't spoken yet—a man with large proportions and a jaw as hard and angled as the expression on his face—stared at the mirror. Jack Fenton.

Abruptly, the image in the mirror changed.

Now it showed a thin man. Though this man was only in his early fifties, he was grizzled and aged, his face bearing the expression of a beaten dog. Vlad Masters.

Vlad was clothed in rags and was huddled in the corner of a large, charcoal-stained room. What had once been a pristine laboratory was utterly devastated. The caved in walls, shredded furniture and glass shards strewn across the floor gave the impression that a bomb had gone off in the room. Vlad himself did not look much better: his once fine custom suit was dusty and frayed. It looked like he hadn't washed or changed in days.

Vlad was seated on the floor in a corner. He held his head in his hands and bowed forward in prostration. The force of his emotion drove him forward and back in incessant rocking. The words that fell from his mouth repeated with an edge of mania and the look in his eyes was not that of a sane man.

The mirror did not transmit sound so they could not hear what he was saying, but his lips were easy to read and so they all knew:

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Daniel. Daniel, please forgive me. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Daniel…"

"Vladdi—… Vlad was at least half of that monster. And he was the one who created the weapon that made it in the first place. If he can't fight it… then what makes you think Danny can?" Jack Fenton eventually spoke.

"Danny beat Pariah Dark." Sam said with conviction.

"Only with the help of the Ecto Suit." Maddie reminded them.

"He's stopped an invasion before." Jazz defended softly and both Maddie and Jack's eyes snapped to her. Maddie's face showed alarm and worry while Jack was astounded. "More than once." There was a fierceness to Jazz's expression. Pride and protectiveness.

"He can fight this one too… he can." Tucker said as though trying to convince himself.

"He's a Fenton. And Fentons are fighters." Jack agreed with conviction. Then, his expression faltered. "But—"

"None of that takes away from the fact that Danny doesn't have ghost powers anymore. Whatever he was doing before—whatever risks he was taking—he can't anymore. And you can't ask him to." Maddie said with a shake of her head.

"But you weren't there. I saw him, Mrs. Fenton! Danny isn't human. Not completely. He still has powers." Sam insisted.

"We can't stop this thing." Tucker said lowly and the truth of those words was undisputed. "We need Danny. He has to come back to Amity Park… right?"

And as one, all the ghosts turned to Clockwork, their eyes desperate and beseeching an answer.

At length, the time master spoke.

"Young Daniel… will return to Amity Park." He said, receiving mixed reactions from those around him. "It might be in one year, or three, or ten, but the hands of destiny will once again play a part in pushing Danny in the right direction. The path will be strife with difficulty and pain, for these are the tools Fate must use to forge her best heroes… and, in time, Danny Phantom will be one of the greatest."

---

:o:

END

:o:

---

And there we have it! So concludes Ectoplasm and Chakra.

For everyone who has read this far and—most especially—to Everyone who has left a review: Thank You. The response to this fic was above and beyond what I expected. It was a lot of fun taking this journey with you all. I hope you, too, enjoyed the story and its conclusion.

I aim to make my writing self-explanatory but I realize things might not have always been clear. And so, since it is indeed the end of EaC, I figure I should take time to answer a few questions that have been tossed about since the fic began:

So does Danny have ghost powers or doesn't he? Whaaa? Explain! Right. So… I left hints here and there about the nature of Danny's powers but I deliberately left it vague for a couple of reasons: 1) There was simply no character conveniently hanging around who could act as an authority and explain what was going on: Danny barely understood his powers when he had them and pretty much no one we met in Konoha even knew what ectoplasm was; and 2) It wasn't really the focus of the story… So I felt like delving too deep into that tangent would take away from the human interactions and development in the story. BUT for those of you who really really REALLY want to know what I was thinking, I'll give the condensed version here. So… we all know Vlad separated Danny from his ghost-half in a physically violent and potentially deadly manner. Yet, in TUE human Vlad seemed relatively stable while full-ghost Phantom clearly was not. This suggests that maybe the split wasn't equal: maybe Human Danny was left with enough of himself to remain stable, while Phantom was not. The accident that made Danny half-ghost in the first place caused ectoplasm to bond to and change half of Danny's DNA. Vlad couldn't possibly tear out half of Danny's DNA without killing the kid, and yet he did pull out the power that formed Phantom. Therefore, while Danny lost the "battery power" to turn into Phantom, he retained his "empty of charge" ghostly core. What does this mean? Well, simply put, Danny is able to manifest some ghostly powers by being near and unconsciously siphoning off power from other ghosts (he can also draw on ambient ectoplasmic energy the same way ninjas draw on Chakra. He just can't really retain it like he used to when he was in Amity Park because his core was fried by Vlad). Danny has showed off this ability a few times: remember Lancer was around when Danny used ice to keep Choji's concussion from getting worse? Also… this whole chapter. Yep.

What was up with no one in Konoha being able to sense Danny? Here's another point that was difficult to outright explain in the fic. I tried hinting at it but I'm not sure how clear I was. Basically, the way I thought of it was: if Chakra is the energy of the living, then Ectoplasm is the energy of the dead. Danny was fundamentally changed by the accident that made him half-ghost. Not even Vlad's Long Nails of Doom could change that. After the accident made him half-ghost, Danny stopped channelling life-energy and started channelling… for lack of a better term… "death-energy". Chakra and Ectoplasm exist like two sides of a coin: always together but never quite able to see one another. Danny himself exists on the balance of the coin: he draws on ectoplasm for energy, which is why ninjas can't see him, but he is alive, which is why "he" can see chakra.

Sequel? As much as the thought of Konoha!Danny returning to Amity Park sparks mini-movies behind my eyes, I don't think a sequel is likely at this time. I know some of you were probably hoping or anticipating that this fic would bleed over into the Naruto Timeline but for me this was always intended to be a prequel to Naruto. The focus in this story was always meant to be Danny overcoming the loss of his loved ones and finding a new home in Konoha. In addition... I unfortunately simply don't have time to invest in that much writing… even if I did find time, I'd like to work on other projects first. But hey! If any of you want to take a shot at some sort of sequel, please do feel free! I ask only that you would kindly give credit to this story and also please let me know so I can read it too!

If you've made it this far please do drop a review and let me know what you thought. Good or bad, I welcome any feedback.

Thank you for reading,

Sholay