True Memories: Flurry of the Dancing Flames Prologue

Disclaimer: I neither own Naruto, who is copyrighted by Masashi Kishimoto, or Kingdom Hearts, which is copyrighted by Square Enix and Disney.

'Dark…so dark…am I going to die?'

In the middle of darkness, Axel floated. Eyes closed and thoughts drifting as how he spent his life as a Nobody, seeking his true self and his dear old friend, Roxas.

'Haaaah…I only regret not having seen Roxas…one last time. At least…the kid is safe.'

In the distance of Axel's Mind's eye, he saw a light.

'Huh? Wha…What is this?'

The light grew larger and began to engulf him.

'So…warm…I guess this is where I finally die…'

"I'm afraid this is not your place to die, Axel"

Axel's eyes flew open as soon as he heard the voice only to have them shut again to block out the bright light. The voice began to chuckle.

"You need not worry, He of the Flurry of Dancing Flames. Open your eyes and accept the light."

Axel was quite unsure what was going on but slowly opened them anyway, his eyes slowly adjusting themselves. The first thing his eyes saw was a woman standing over him with a smile like that of angels.

"Feeling better, Axel?"

"Yeah…I guess…where the heck am I though?"

Axel looked at the surrounding area. It was nothing like Castle Oblivion or like The World That Never Was. As far as the eye can see, there were stars that shone brightly with Axel and the woman standing on a platform that seemed to be made up of the stars around them. Floating a short distance away from Axel was a magnificent castle. This particular castle had one insignia that stood out the most: a heart with a keyhole in the middle. Axel could only stare in awe. The woman next to him giggled.

"This, Axel, is Kingdom Hearts."

Axel immediately turned his head away from the sight and focused his vision on the woman before him, looking more surprised than he was just a few seconds ago. The woman giggled again.

"I can see why you're confused but believe me, this is Kingdom Hearts. If you want proof, just follow me."

The woman then walked towards the edge of the platform.

"Whoa! Wait a minute! I thought you were going to show me proof, not just jump off!"

Just as Axel said this, stars around them immediately zoomed under the woman's feet to form a similar platform, which was connected to the first. As she walked, the platform slowly began to become a path towards the castle. Axel, once again, found himself awe-struck. The woman turned towards him, smiling.

"Come one, silly. I said I was going to show you proof and it's at the castle."

Axel continued staring for a minute before deciding that he was getting nowhere just sitting and staring and followed her. After some time of traveling, Axel pondering about the credibility of this area being Kingdom Hearts and the girl humming happily, they stopped at the castle's gates. The girl turned towards him.

"I should probably warn you. Don't ever open the doors in this castle unless it has your name on it."

Axel just looked confused.

"Doors? What're you talking about?"

The woman shoved open the doors, which revealed an endless hall filled with doors. As the woman said, each door had a name on it. To his right though, one door drew his attention, the door that would reveal to him his true self and memories. The woman walked towards it with Axel following behind her, eyes focused on the door.

"This can't be possible…you mean…?

The woman nodded her head, already knowing the question and the answer to the question. Axel turned back towards the door, still looking at it with disbelief.

'I can actually become…normal?'

The thought began to echo in his head repeating it over and over. The thought finally convinced him to go and open the door, the door that will make him whole. As he opened it, another bright light flashed be fore his eyes. Memories then began to bombard his mind, revealing who he was and where he belonged.

'I remember…my name…my true name was…'

RIINNNNGGG-RIINNNNNGGGG!