"So, I looked at the giant clawed feet, black as the night around me, indistinguishable if not for the shine of my torch light. They were so heavy he sank into the dry ground as if it were mud. And then I heard a low growl, deeper and louder than any dog, wolf or bear. And so I looked up, and there he was, looming over me like Death itself, red eyes glowing in the darkness. And then the dragon spoke."
"What did he say?" A little girl asked, snapping Minato out of his trance.
The shinobi had been enthralled by Amahiko's stories, the green eyed man more charasmic than any bard he had ever heard before.
"The mighty dragon god leaned in close, so close I could see the fire flickering from his nose, each nostril the size of the well outside the village. And then he said, in a voice so deep the earth trembled and I felt my very bones shake. 'Do you have any fried tomatoes?'"
Amahiko paused, letting the words sink in before Gin laughed, breaking the silence.
"What did you do!?"
"What did I do?" Amahiko asked.
"Yes!" Several kids shouted.
"Well, I tightened my headband, I strengthened my resolve and I replied. "'You are in luck, Sharingon-sama. I just got some fresh tomatoes. I can fry them up in a jiffy.' But Sharingon-sama shook his head and he spoke once again, throat glowing with his eternal flame. He said 'do not bother, Merchant-san, for when I eat tomatoes, they are all fried.'"
A few of the kids laughed and Minato cracked a smile.
"And so, I pulled from my cart two giant bags of tomatoes, and Sharringon-Sama got closer, so close I heard the rustling of the grass on his scales. His head was bigger than Kuro, Shiro and the cart combined, and when the smell hit me, like metal polish, lightning and ashes on the wind, I feared they would bolt. Luckily, Shiro and Kuro are both very good horses, and also I blindfolded them and tied them to a tree."
More laughter.
"And so, the Great Night Dragon, he who raises and lowers the moon, opened his maw and into it I dumped both bags of Tomatoes, one after the other. I could smell them frying, just as the dragon had promised, fire rising from the back of his throat and curling over his tongue like a massive, living yakiniku grill."
"When I was done and had stepped back, he closed his jaws with an almighty snap and I fell backwards in fright. He made a strange noise then, like the grinding together of dull swords, and I'm pretty sure he was laughing at me. And then he spoke for the last time. "My thanks, Merchant-San." And he reached up with one clawed talon, each longer than me, and used it to pluck a loose scale from his chest, and dropped it at my feet. And then he did something more amazing than anything else that cold, summer night."
"What?" Gin called and the other kids followed.
"Well, that was when the wind picked up, swirling faster and faster, so fast that my fire went out and I felt I would be pulled into the sky. I covered my eyes with my arm and heard a sound like Thunder rumbling but far closer and when I opened my eyes, Sharringon-Sama was gone, replaced by a boy no older than Minato-kun here, with hair dark as night and glowing, red, red eyes."
"Sharingon-sama turned into a person!?" Aimi asked.
"He must have, for how else could that youth have appeared so suddenly. It makes me wonder if the other dragon's can turn into people too. Perhaps you've met them, coming to buy tomatoes and sweets."
The kids giggled and the Merchant resumed his story. "The dragon now man gave me a small bow, and vanished into the night. When morning came…" Amahiko paused so he could pull a burlap sack from his cart, which he was leaning against. "The only sign he had been there, was the smell of fried tomatoes and this."
Amahiko removed a shining plate from the bag, about the size of a wagon wheel, and darker than any stone or metal Minato had ever seen.
"Whoa!" Gin said, and the kids all ran up to inspect the dragon scale themselves.
"What's it made of?"
"Who knows?" Amahiko shrugged. "Only Oji-sama was there when Sharringon-Sama was born, so you'll have to ask him."
Minato was curious now but when the kids cleared out, he found it was nothing he had ever seen before.
"What is it really?" He asked.
"A dragon scale." Amahiko grinned. "What do you want it to be?"
Minato had been expecting the deflection at this point so he didn't push.
"Want to see something cool?" Amahiko winked. "Hand me one of your knives. Preferably one you are not fond of."
Minato obliged and Amahiko struck the scale as hard as he could.
The kunai shattered, the shards ringing as they fell to the ground.
"No damage." Amahiko said, letting Minato see.
"Who are you?" Minato breathed. "Really? Who are you when you don't feel like any one name?"
Amahiko winked. "That would be telling. Now. Get some sleep, there is work to do come morning and your time here grows short."
YOU ARE READING
The Sleeping God
FanfictionPercy had never thought Zeus could hate him this much. Luckily, Athena had a plan. He should have remembered where Annabeth gotten her planning skills from.
