Namikaze Minato - 003

[wind_upon_waves]

Who: Namikaze Minato
Where: Espoir, field
Style: First
Status: VERY OPEN! COME AND BOTHER MINATO!

[Minato had found a spot in a field, and was starting to go through basic taijutsu maneuvers. It felt good to be outside in the crisp, spring air.

And it had been a while since he'd been able to just relax like this, letting his body go through the

Comments

[wind_upon_waves]

"Martial arts is something almost anyone can learn. I'm sure you'd do well," Minato answers. But the shinobi arts

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Minato might have corrected Danny's assumptions about attending the academy if he knew what "highschool" was, but then again, he probably wouldn't have on second thought, since telling the boy that the youngest to graduate the academy and become a shinobi at five years old would probably only reignite Danny's interest in becoming a shinobi.

"I see. Your world sounds very interesting. In my world, it would be unwise not to have some kind of militia -- even if not shinobi -- in each town to protect civilians against bandits, if not other shinobi. And we do have civilian doctors and teachers, but shinobi require different lesson, I'm sure you understand." He pauses and curiosity gets the better of him.

"What sort of weird things happen in your town?"

[phantomfenton]

Oh, it denitely would have. The idea of such a young person being handed a knife and told to kill would have probably made him a little nauseous, but knowing that such a thing was possible would snap his attention back over full speed.

Danny nods, eyebrows raising a little at the part about 'bandits'. Sure, there are more thieves and murderers where he's from than anyone would want, but the days of bandits waylaying travelers are mostly over.

Danny looks a little reluctant to answer. After all, newcomers to Amity Park always had trouble believing him until they saw an actual attack for themselves...
Then again, this is Somarium, with a floating castle in the sky. Right over their heads. "Ghosts," Danny say simply, trying not to sound like he's daring Minato to contradict him.

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Minato resists the urge to quirk a brow as it probably won't be received well by Danny -- he seems to be used to and expects some kind of rebuke or skeptical response.

But the Yondaime is someone who can travel between space/time, summon the Shinigami, and has seen proof of souls and the dead coming back to life -- ghosts don't seem too far-fetched.

So he carefully doesn't make any expression that would seem like he's doubting. Instead, he simple asks, "And there's no one who can deal with the ghosts? I take it their presence among the living is unusual is your world?"

[phantomfenton]

Danny shifts uncomfortably, and his expression turning to one of boredom. Minato can probably pick up that the expression is well practiced--rehearsed, even.

"Well... My parents have always been interested in ghosts, so now they're kind of ghost hunters. There's some lady on a hoverboard called the Red Huntress flying around now, too, but she doesn't seem very interested actually deffending people, if you ask me."

[wind_upon_waves]

Aaa, I'm starting to get a better picture of Danny's desire to get stronger.

If his parents were interested, it meant that the boy was probably exposed to ghosts on a regular basis, and Minato got the impression that they weren't the friendly sort from Danny's expression. And if there was a person, this Red Huntress that was capable of dealing with the ghosts but unwilling to protect innocents, Danny might feel endangered and resentful.

Even so, the Yondaime has the impression that Danny is a lot more involved with these ghosts than just through his parents. He must have had more than few personal encounters of the bad sort.

"I see. And how does one 'hunt' ghosts? Is there some way to capture and send them back to the afterlife? How do they come to the mortal realm in the first place? In my world, they have to be summoned."

[phantomfenton]

Danny rubs the back of his neck. He's lied to his teachers, schoolmates, and family so many times that it's almost a knee-jerk reaction when around them. Here with Minato, though, he's finding it inexplicably difficult to string a web of lies to someone who never knew the wimpy Danny from before--especially since if Minato sees anything unusual, he won't have any preconceived notions for Danny to rely on explaining things away with

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From what Danny is saying, Minato infers that his parents are at the forefront of stopping this ghost invasion, but it's proving ineffective. And a portal? Specifically for ghosts?

Danny seems rather reluctant to continue on that topic, so the Yondaime decides he might as well answer the boy's question before going back to it; he's interested, so it's not going to be easy to get the blond sidetracked.

"Well, in my world, it's actually souls that are summoned back, and they can't function by themselves without being anchored to something, like a body or an object. The actual summoning is done by means that I cannot reveal, but it involves human sacrifice, an equivalent exchange of sorts."

"This 'Ghost Portal' of yours...do only malevolent ghosts come through? No ordinary ones, like relatives or well-meaning ones?"

[phantomfenton]

Danny frowns at hearing how the ghosts are summoned, looking disturbed. If he thinks too carefully about it, he might start wondering if there was any sort of human sacrifice involved in the ghost portal's activation. And won't that be pleasant food for late night thought. Best not to dwell on it at all. "That sounds kind of wierd. So, are they anything like living people?"

Danny shifts uncomfortably, his frown deepening in thought. Let's see, there's the Box Ghost, Poindexter, Dora, Skulker, Technus, and... He's trying hard to remember, but out of all of those he can only think of one that has even lived in the area before. That ghost had been sort of benevolent--if Danny's feeling charitable. "I haven't seen any family members," he hedges, not wanting to set things up to look as though the ghosts are a neverending barrage of hostiles. (Which they more or less are.) He grins a little flippantly, saying, "And I've, uh, never seen ghosts going around and doing community service, if that's what you mean."

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Minato grins at Danny's attempt at humor. But everything the boy is careful not to mention more or less answers the blond's question anyways. No good came of the portal it seems.

"No, souls by themselves aren't like living people. They don't even have form by themselves. They can't interact with humans unless they possess them, but that's a very rare occurrence, as souls cannot stay in the mortal realm without some intervention -- which is almost universally bad."

The Yondaime is curious, however, why it's Danny's parents who are fighting ghosts. Are they government officials? If not, why is something so delicate as dealing with lost souls being handled by civilians?

He's curious, but he decides it's better not to ask. It's not like he can do anything about it when he's stuck here in Somarium.

[phantomfenton]

Danny listens carefully, frowning as Minato describes the limitations of ghosts in his world. "It's not like that where I'm from. Unless, of course, there's some mass conspiracy group bringing and keeping ghosts over, and if that were the case then I'm pretty sure we'd have heard of it by now." Pause. "My parents are some of the few paranormal researchers around, so the community grapevine's pretty small," he explains, oblivious to the fact that he's answering Minato's unspoken questions. All he wants is to do is clarify any questions of who 'we' might be and why 'they'd' be the ones to know.

[wind_upon_waves]

The Yondaime makes a noncommittal sound at Danny's elaboration.

"I see." From what Danny says, the paranormal isn't something widely accepted, or at least, considered important to the majority of the population of his world since there are so few people that are knowledgeable in it.

He can see why the boy might have faced so much skepticism from the people of his own world then.

"Well, there aren't ghost plaguing Somarium, that I know of, though there are ghosts. I think there's even a being who is a shinigami, too."

[phantomfenton]

Danny nods slowly, though he doesn't seem convinced by Minato's assurance that the ghosts are nonagressive. Until he meets them and decides for himself, all ghosts are a potential hazard at the very least.

But Danny Fenton shouldn't be thinking things like that, so after a moment he raises his eyebrows and asks curiously, "What's a Shinigawmi?"

[wind_upon_waves]

Minato sees that Danny doesn't really put much credence to the friendliness of ghosts here. But really, they only appear from time to time...and supposedly inhabit the floating castle. He almost snorts at the boy's mispronunciation.

"It's Shini-ga-mi. It means 'god of death.'"

[phantomfenton]

Hey, he's too busy fighting crime to be language-savy!

He nods attentively, but raises one eyebrow higher than the other. "A god of death?" he repeats, looking defenitely skeptical. Hey, ghosts are believable, but who said anything about Shinigamis? "I think I heard someone else mention something about that, but..." He shrugs a little. "What do they do?"

[wind_upon_waves]

The blond mulls over how to explain it. There are many legends concerning Shinigami, after all.

"Well, the Shinigami that I summoned in my world was capable of taking souls, whether from the dead or living, and sending them to the world beyond or sealing them into a state of eternal torment. It wasn't a benevolent being by any means; completely inhuman. But mostly, I would guess that any 'god of death' would be responsible for the gathering and passage of souls. Soul reapers, I guess you could say."