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0
She was running, running from…whatever those tiny blue things were!
Her short blonde hair whipped around her face at the speeds she was running, her ocean blue eyes showed fear at the thought of those things getting her, her whisker birth marked cheeks went in and out as she breathed heavily at how tired she felt from running so long.
She couldn't feel her legs anymore and climbed up a tree in hopes those things wouldn't find her.
It was quiet for a few minutes and she looked out from the tree to see if the coast was clear.
She shouldn't have looked.
They had the tree surrounded and started climbing it.
"Help! Help me!" she shouted with tears coming out of her eyes as she closed them.
Her cries went unanswered and the creatures came closer till one was destroyed.
"Hey, get away from her!" a feminine voice shouted.
Naruko opened her eyes to see a woman wearing a black and blue, high-collared halter top, two pink, intersecting belts over her chest, and black shorts.
She wore an odd silver badge in the center of the belts. On her arms are white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves. She also wore a small, segmented piece of armor on each of her upper arms.
She also had on what appear to be black stockings or socks on her legs which reach to about halfway up her thighs, leaving a small area of bare skin on her upper thighs.
The final article of clothing she saw was two strips of blue cloth that drape over either side of her hips, along with a smaller, white strip of cloth tied around her waist, draped in the same manner.
For foot ware, she wore pointed, armored, silver boots with a sharp hook on the outer side of each.
She was holding an odd shaped sword that looked like a key.
"Thundaga!" the woman shouted and lightning came down on the blue things.
The woman flipped in the air and landed in the center of them and started to slash them with her weapon and aimed it at one of the things, "Firaga!" she shouted and a large fire ball shot out of her sword and incinerated the creature.
She waved her sword and pale yellow circle panels came to her sides and moved to hit the remaining creatures and got them all.
She sighed in relief and dismissed her sword and looked up the tree with a securing smile, "It's okay now, you're safe." She said softly to Naruko.
The four year old blonde looked at her and slowly climbed down the tree.
Aqua watched the blonde who was wearing a black shirt with a red swirl on the front with a pair of blue shorts and sandals jump off at the last three feet of the tree and gave her a big smile.
Aqua knelt down and looked her over, "Are you okay little one?" she asked with concern.
"I'm okay. Thanks for saving me nee-chan!" the blonde chirped.
Aqua looked the girl over for a second and felt something powerful radiating off the girl; her light was astounding, so pure and shined like the sun itself.
This made the blonde fidgety as she stared at her.
"Perhaps you are the one." The older woman said in a whisper.
"Huh?" Naruko said cluelessly.
"Your light is strong, very strong for one so young. Perhaps I can pass it to you."
"Pass what?" the blonde asked as she tilted her head to the side cutely.
"I'm Aqua by the way." Aqua said with a smile.
The blonde smiled at her, "I'm Naruko!"
"Naruko, a beautiful name." Aqua said in praise.
She then held out her hand and in a petal like pattern, her key-like sword appeared. She turned it around and pointed the handle towards the blonde.
"In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me, friend—no ocean will contain you then. No more borders around, or below, or above, so long as you champion the ones you love." Aqua said
The blonde girl was mesmerized as she looked at the blade and placed her hand on the handle and grasped it, while Aqua let go.
Nothing had happened and that confused the blonde, but Aqua just smiled and patted her head and took her weapon back, which disappeared a second later.
'You will do great things. I can feel it.' Aqua thought
"What was that about nee-chan?" Naruko asked with interest.
"You'll see in the future." Aqua said while evading the question.
Naruko pouted at her and the woman laughed slightly.
Naruko looked up to see the sun setting almost and her stomach growled.
"It's time for dinner I guess." Naruko said to herself and she looked at Aqua, "Nee Aqua-nee-chan, do you want to come over for dinner?" Naruko asked
Aqua saw the setting sun too and knew she had two options; one was leaving for a new world or make sure Naruko got home safely, also a warm meal sounded good too.
"I'd love to Naruko." She answered
Naruko pumped her tiny fists in the air, "Yeah, I hardly ever have guest and you can see my secret base too!" the blonde cheered.
Aqua had a slight frown on her face when she heard the I in that statement, shouldn't it have been a we?
They walked through the woods till they came across a crudely made tree house that was surprisingly very well hidden.
Naruko had Aqua sit down on a sanded stomp that was in the little fort and the tiny blonde pulled out some berries and nuts. Naruko turned to Aqua, "It'll take a bit since I have the fire pit down by the river a down there, also I have fresh caught fish too, so sit and wait, I got it all under control." The blonde said cheerfully as she started to head down the tree to the river that was just outside the window.
The blonde stopped mid-way and looked at Aqua, "Um, feel free to read if you want." Naruko said as she pointed to the small make shift bookshelf that had a bunch of tattered books in it.
Aqua gave a nod and smile and the blonde skipped away with a cheery tone.
Aqua looked around the place and saw some child-like drawings that looked like Naruko with two people without faces.
Most likely her parents.
She saw on her way down to land that there was a village nearby, why didn't she live there?
About 20 minutes later, Naruko came back with a big plate of cooked fish with roosted nuts and berry juice.
"Dinner is served~" the blonde sung cheerfully with a bit of a dance in her step.
Aqua couldn't keep the smile off her face at the little bundle of energy.
She placed the plate on the small wooden table and started to eat with her fingers.
Aqua shrugged and joined in, but in a more lady-like manner.
"Why do live out here when there's a village nearby?" Aqua asked
Naruko blinked at her and scrunched her nose a bit, "I do have a place there, but it always gets broken into and wrecked, so I live out here. I find it safer then there." She spat out with resentment.
"Doesn't anyone take care of you?" Aqua asked further in concern.
Naruko looked thoughtful for a second and nodded slightly, "One person is at least nice to me, the Hokage, the village leader, he comes to see me like once a month, and so he isn't really there all the time. Usually he asks me questions, tells me stories, and asks me what I want to be when I grow up. I usually say I wanna be Hokage and he likes that, but I don't want to do that." She said wistfully as she stared out the window and looked at all the stars.
"What do you want to do?" Aqua asked with interest.
"Hey, what do you think all those stars mean?" Naruko asked with curiosity.
Aqua raised an eyebrow at the familiarity of the question.
"What do you think they are?" Aqua asked back.
"I think each star is its own world…and I wanna see them all." She said with a megawatt smile.
"I think that too." Aqua said and Naruko snapped her head to look at Aqua.
"You do? Everyone I ever said that to called me a weirdo." The blonde said with relief that her new friend didn't think she was weird.
Aqua frowned in her mind at that, "If you could travel to other worlds, what would you do there?"
Naruko just continued to smile, "I would make lots of friends and have lots of fun." She said with a giggle.
They finished their meal and Naruko changed into a big white shirt that went down to her knees.
"You can sleep with me if you want?" Naruko offered as she scooted over on her big mattress and patted the open spot.
Aqua looked with a smile and sat down and took off her boots and her waist clothes and laid down.
When was the last time she just stopped and actually got some sleep anyway?
"Night Aqua-nee-chan." Naruko murmured as she snuggled under the battered blanket with some holes in it.
"Good night." Aqua said as she was about to close her eyes, but felt Naruko snuggle up to her. She heard the blonde say she was warm and let the blonde sleep on her. Her own eyes felt heavy and she closed them with a peaceful expression on her face.
0 Dream 0
Naruko was walking on an endless path of light panels and all she could see was darkness around her.
She continued till she saw a large platform in the distance and ran to it and saw three pedestals and a voice in her head to pick one of the three items, there was a sword, a shield, and a wand.
Her instincts were telling her to pick the wand and she did (1).
The power of the mystic.
Inner strength.
A staff of wonder and ruin.
She held it tight and her vision was blinded by a powerful light.
The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.
-But don't be afraid.
You hold the mightiest weapon of all.
So don't forget: You will be the one to set things right.
0 End of dream 0
Naruko woke up hyperventilating.
That dream or maybe some kind of vision was telling her something, but what was it?
She looked next to her to see that Aqua was gone.
Her head looked downwards, that's right, who would want to be with her, that's what all the adults say anyway.
"Well someone's awake." The voice of Aqua said.
Naruko looked in the direction of the voice and saw Aqua, "You're…still here." Naruko said in surprise.
Aqua raised an eyebrow, "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked
"It's nothing." The blonde said shaking her head.
"I really want to thank you for your hospitality Naruko, truly." Aqua said with a smile.
"No problem." The blonde said with a blush as she stared at her feet.
Aqua just patted her head.
The blonde suddenly remembered something.
"Hey, I had a really weird dream." Naruko said
Aqua blinked, weird dream, no, no way it would happen so quickly…could it?
"What was it about?" Aqua asked with authority.
Naruko told her about the dream and Aqua looked stunned.
The Dive, she had taken the Dive to the Heart so soon, but she just had the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony!
Her light must truly be strong if her heart was ready for the Dive.
Aqua knelt down and placed her hands on Naruko's shoulders, "Naruko, listen carefully, do you remember how I summoned my Keyblade?" she asked
Naruko nodded, "Yeah, you held out your hand like this and it just-whoa!" she said as she summoned a Keyblade in her left hand.
It had a grey colored blade with crown-like teeth at the end. The handle was gold with a square shape and had a weird shaped thing that looked like one big circle and two smaller circles on the top of it attached to chain hanging from the bottle of the handle guard.
"Key…blade." Naruko murmured in awe.
'She'll need training.' Aqua thought, 'But I'm on a mission, so the best thing to do would be to take her back to the Land of Departure and let Master Eraqus look after her till I can take over.' She thought
"Naruko what if I told you I was from another world?" Aqua questioned
Naruko's eyes grew wide, "That would be so cool! What's it like there? Do you guys have lots of fun? Do you have really good food? Do you-" the tiny blonde was stopped as Aqua covered her mouth with her hand.
'I can definitely see Master Eraqus losing his patience with her.' Aqua thought, but that didn't stop her lips twitching into a small smile.
"You have a great gift and you need someone to train you on how to use it." Aqua said sternly.
"So does that mean you're going to teach me?" the blonde beamed.
"Well, I'm in the middle of a mission, but you will be learning from my Master though." Aqua reassured
"Well if he taught you he has to be amazing!" the blonde chirped.
Aqua laughed, "Yes, yes he is."
"Let's go then." Naruko stated with glee, she'll finally see what's out there!
"But don't you want to say good bye to your village leader?" Aqua asked
That stopped Naruko for a second, while she cared for the old man, he was only there for her once in a while, and don't even get her on the rest of the village in general.
She walked over to her small table and started writing. She finished and smiled at her message.
Jiji,
I'm going to see all those other worlds out there. Don't know if I'll be back, but thanks for looking out for me.
Uzumaki Naruko
She did a cute little drawing of her face that was smiling and it was giving a peace sign with a little drawn hand.
Yep, perfect.
She packed her stuff and pulled the drawing she made off the wall, the one of her and the two people without faces, she folded into her pocket.
She turned to Aqua, "Let's go." She whispered
Aqua nodded and transformed into her Armor and casted a bubble-like spell around Naruko and picked her up as her Keyblade transformed into her glider.
They mounted the glider and head for…home.
0 Land of Departure 0
They landed in the courtyard and Naruko looked around in awe.
"So beautiful." The blonde muttered.
Aqua heard her and smiled, to think she was going to teach her. A sense of joy filled her heart.
'I wonder if this is how the Master felt when he was training us?' she thought as she looked back to the times when Eraqus trained both her and Terra.
"Aqua, you're back?" the voice of an elderly man said.
Both turned to see a man wearing a white, red lined haori that has a hood, along with slightly shorter than normal, light-colored hakama. Underneath his haori, he wore a navy blue shirt with a large white X pattern on the front.
He had pieces of armor; the first was in gold and black armored boots and a dull blue-green section that covers his abdomen. The second piece of armor sports the same symbol Aqua had near the top of it.
He had black hair tied into a short, high topknot, with one bang falling off to the right side of his face. He also had a short, triangular soul patch and a mustache. On his face, he had jagged scars over his right eye and left cheek.
"Master Eraqus." Aqua said with a slight bow and smile.
"Any news on Ventus? And who is this?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he saw a small blonde girl hide behind Aqua's leg.
Aqua knelt down and placed Naruko in front of her as she placed her hands on the blondes' shoulders.
"Master Eraqus, I would like you to meet my Inheritor, Naruko." The bluenette said.
Eraqus's eye went wide, "Aqua, I know you have just become a Master, but to choose an Inheritor so quickly and one so young." He started with a stern face.
"She already went through the Dive." Aqua said with a smirk.
That stopped Eraqus from continuing.
"The Dive…already?" he questioned in a low voice and Aqua nodded.
"I see…" he trailed off as he looked Naruko over, "Can she…?" he trailed off again and Aqua nodded, knowing he was asking if she could summon her Keyblade.
"Amazing." Eraqus said, "But you do realize you have a mission, correct?" he stated
"Yes, you see, I was wondering if you could look after her for the time being?" Aqua asked pleadingly.
Eraqus was quiet for a few moments and nodded, "It would be my pleasure, but do you have any news?" he asked
"Yes, I ran into both Terra and Ven, but both ran off before I could either ask more questions or get a hold of Ven." Aqua said sadly.
"It is alright Aqua, just continue looking." He said with a look of understanding.
Naruko had no idea what they were talking about except for the fact that the older person was going to train her.
"Aqua you may return to your duties, I'll will give young Naruko a small tour and show her to her room." Eraqus said
Aqua nodded and looked at Naruko, "I'll be back soon, okay? With both my friends too, I know you'll love them." She said to the blonde.
"Okay, be careful." Naruko said as she gave Aqua a hug which the older girl returned.
Aqua stood up and summoned her Keyblade and threw it in the air and it transformed into her glider. She hit the button on her shoulder and transformed into her armor and jumped on the glider heading for a new world to get some clues on Terra and Ventus.
Naruko waved good bye and felt a little sad to see her go so soon.
"Come; let's show you to your room." Eraqus said as he started to walk up the staircase and Naruko was hot on his heels.
0
Naruko woke up in her new room and started getting dressed.
Her room had yellow painted walls with wooden flooring and furniture. Her bed was amazingly soft and BIG, can't forget about it being big. There was a book case with basic books on magic and history about Keyblades, Wielders, laws, and customs. They were big words for her, but she would read them when she got older. Then there was the big window just next to the bed.
She wore a black short-sleeve shirt with red shorts along with her blue sandals.
She grabbed the bokken she was given yesterday, since she had been instructed that was what she had to start with, and headed for morning practice.
After that, she would have breakfast, mid-morning practice, lunch, afternoon practice, and finally dinner, studies, a bath, and sleep.
That was the schedule Master Eraqus had told her she would follow.
She walked to the courtyard to already see Eraqus waiting while meditating.
"Right on time." Eraqus said and opened his eyes.
Naruko jumped a bit, "How did you know I was there?" Naruko said, since she was a total master of being sneaky.
Being hated by a lot of people tends for one to learn the art of stealth very fast.
"You pick up a few things when you get to be around my age." Eraqus said with a crooked smile.
Naruko pouted a bit, "I'll get the jump on you sooner or later." She said with certainty.
"By all means young Apprentice, by all means." Eraqus said with a small smile as he stood up and pulled out a bokken, "Let us start on your stances then work our way up to some sword-play before breakfast." The Master said.
Naruko nodded and held out a smaller bokken and got into some kind of stance she figured was okay.
Eraqus walked over to her and adjusted her stance somewhat till he was satisfied, "I want 100 vertical strikes, both from top to bottom and from bottom to top, 100 horizontal strikes from left to right and right to left. You may get started." He said to the blonde.
After some time, Naruko worked up a sweat and finished her orders. She was breathing a bit heavily, but her excitement made her ignore tiredness.
"Master Eraqus, I finished!" Naruko chirped as she walked to him with bubbly excitement.
Eraqus looked at her for a second and saw a younger Aqua smiling, eager to learn more. He shook his head from those memories; his Apprentice was a Master now, the best thing to do would be to help guide her in teaching the next generation.
"Very well, assume your stance and let us practice." He said as he stood still and held his bokken up in a one-handed stance.
Naruko got into a wide stance with both her hands on her wooden sword.
"Begin!" Eraqus said.
Naruko charged at him, but with a simple twist of his sword, he knocked her bokken out of her hands and tapped her head, "You rushed in, you need to think, your grip was too loose as well." He stated.
Naruko looked down in disappointment and he saw this, "That is why you are learning young one, now retrieve your bokken so we may continue." He said with a smile.
Naruko cheered up and went for her bokken. They continued this for the rest of the day.
0 One month later 0
Naruko was swinging her legs off the cliff as she watched the clouds float by. She was learning a lot from Master Eraqus, she was even allowed her to learn a little magic too! So far all she knew was the Fire spell, but she would learn lots more since the older Master said Aqua was really good at magic.
She was also allowed to use her Kingdom Key a few times in practice to get used to handling a Keyblade.
Her stomach growled, she was hungry.
Multiple times she had tried to raid the kitchen for a midnight snack, but Eraqus caught her every time.
Seriously, how did he do it!
'Must be some kind of magic sensor or something.' She thought with a pout and started heading back for lunch.
She walked in the courtyard and saw a boy with spiky blonde hair that was a darker shade then hers and with blue eyes just like hers.
He wore a white and black jacket that had a red pleated collar. Underneath this, he wore what appeared to be a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns on it. He wore a third layer under this, in the form of a plain, high-necked, black shirt.
He also had a chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder. His pants were colored with shades of white, grey, and black and it balloon outward slightly before closing up about halfway down his legs, similar to caprice pants.
He also wore an ornate, dull green and grey piece of armor on his upper-left arm, along with a black and white checkered wristband. Like Aqua, he wore two criss-crossing straps on his chest, on which he wore a silver Keyblade Master emblem. His boots were rather odd as they resemble an armored version of normal street shoes in shades of dull green and grey.
Naruko walked up to him, "Hi!" she said cheerfully and he turned around startled by her.
"Who are you?" he asked in surprise.
Naruko pouted at him, "You know, if you're asking for someone's name, you should introduce yourself first." The tiny blonde said.
She may be four, but she was stickler for manners…since Eraqus pounded them into her.
…That was a painful day of training indeed.
"Oh, I'm ah Ventus, but you can call me Ven." Ventus said as he thumbed his chest.
"Well, I'm Uzumaki Naruko a new Apprentice," she said with a bow, "I'm still new to this, so please look after me Ven-Sempai." She said politely.
Ventus got a little flushed; he wasn't at the bottom of the totem pole now…it was a refreshing feeling. Just then a question entered his mind, "How did you get here?" he asked
"Oh, Aqua-nee-chan choose me as her Inheritor." Naruko said with a beaming smile.
Ventus looked at the little girl in awe, 'Aqua already choose an Inheritor, wow.' "You must be pretty special." He said with a small smile.
The tiny blonde blushed brightly, "I-I'm not that special." She said with a small stutter.
Ventus just smiled at her, she was so young too, and maybe he could help her sometime. Maybe when he became a Master his Apprentice and her could be just like Terra, Aqua, and him were like.
He gained a small frown remember their little falling out at Radiant Garden.
He just hoped things could go back to how it was back then.
Eraqus walked down to the courtyard to fetch Naruko for lunch and saw her with Ventus.
"Ventus, you're alone? I thought Aqua would-," he trailed off in surprise as he approached the boy and knelt down as he placed his hands on his shoulders, "Well, what matters is that you're home. You don't belong outside this world yet." Eraqus said, "You need to stay here where you can learn-" he continued, but was cut off.
"In your prison?" Ventus interrupted with a bit of venom.
"What?" Eraqus said in surprise.
"That's your excuse…for keeping me imprisoned here, isn't it?" Ventus shouted
Eraqus stood up and turned to Naruko, "Naruko, retire to your room, Ventus and I have something's to discuss." He ordered
"But…" she trailed off, wondering what was going on.
"No buts, to your room." He said sternly and she heeded his words as she started walking inside.
But she was like most kids her age and didn't listen. She stopped after she closed the door and opened it a crack to see what was going on.
"What did you hear?" Eraqus asked Ventus sternly.
"That I'm supposed to be some weapon…some kind of…'X-blade'!" Ventus shouted
"I knew it. Xehanort, he could never let it go." Eraqus muttered as he traced his scared face with a hint of sadness.
"I had the chance to stop him and couldn't do it. But I will not fail again." He said as he summoned his Key of the Master Keyblade.
Ventus gasped in shock and Naruko did too.
"Master! What are you…" Ventus trailed off in fear.
"The X-blade has no place in this or any world. Xehanort has made his purpose clear…and I am left with no choice. Forgive me…but you must exist no more." Eraqus said as his Keyblade created a ball of light, he pointed it at the boy and chains of light flew from it, heading towards Ventus.
"Ven!" a male voice shouted and the chains were destroyed.
"What?" Eraqus said in surprise.
"Master, have you gone mad?" an armored man said.
"Terra! I command you- step aside!" Eraqus ordered.
"No!" Terra shouted as his armor dissolved.
Terra was a tall young man with brown hair that reaches to the base of his neck in the back and is styled into rather messy, vertical spikes and bangs that frame his face. He had blue eyes and slightly tanned skin.
Like the others, Terra wore two intersecting straps over his chest, though his red ones are rather different, dropping much lower down and almost resembling criss-crossed suspenders. Also unlike Aqua and Ventus, Terra didn't wear his badge (Which was gold) on these straps. Instead, he wore it on his belt. He wore a skintight, black, high-collared shirt, showing that he is rather muscular.
Terra's pants were hakama with an obi tied around his waist. His hakama were dark grey near the top, with several loops for his belt and two buttons, both of which are undone. The rest of the pants were tan with a small, lighter stripe of tan on the bottom hem. Terra wore a plain black wristband on his right arm, while his left arm is significantly more armored.
Like Aqua and Ven, Terra wore armor on one arm, with his bearing similarities to both Aqua and Ventus. Terra's armor shared the large, ornate crest (colored gold) with Ventus and the long, segmented section with Aqua, though Terra's was much longer, reaching all the way to the bottom of his hand. He also wore a black, fingerless glove on his hand and what appears to be a black gauntlet on his forearm, over the segmented armor, which also has small pieces of dark red armor on it. Finally, his armored boots were dark brown and gold.
"You will not heed your Master?" Eraqus asked with anger.
"I won't!" Terra said definitely.
"Why do all my attempts to reach you fail? If you don't have it in your heart to obey…then you will have to share Ventus's fate." Eraqus said in sadness.
Eraqus charged at Terra and started to attacking him while the young adult guarded Ventus.
"Enough, Terra! He's right…" Ven started.
"Quiet!" Terra said interrupting him.
"Terra…" Ven muttered.
Eraqus jumped back and charged a ball of light to the end of his Keyblade and sent it at the two boys.
Ventus went flying back while Terra managed to land on his feet next to Ventus.
Terra picked Ventus up and looked up to see Eraqus charging another attack.
Terra closed his eyes and took a deep breath, once he opened them and start to have wisps of darkness surrounding him, "You may be my Master. But I will not…let you hurt my friend!" he exclaimed as he raised his earth-themed Keyblade in the air.
"Has the darkness taken you Terra?" Eraqus questioned in anger.
Terra pointed his Keyblade behind him and opened a portal as he threw Ventus to it.
"Wait, Terra!" Ventus exclaimed as he reached out to his friend, but the portal took him away.
The Master and Apprentice started to fight and Naruko watched in both awe and fear.
Awe of their skills and slight fear from the Darkness that Terra seemed to be using.
She wanted them to stop, they were Master and Apprentice. They shouldn't be fighting like this!
But her tiny legs just wouldn't move.
"Quite the show, is it not?" Questioned an elderly voice.
Naruko turned around to see an old man, seemingly older then Eraqus standing behind her and watching the battle.
He was bald except for thin eyebrows and a curled, silver goatee. His ears were pointed and his eyes were yellow. He had broad, hunched shoulders and a crooked back.
For clothing, he wore a white and black coat with a red inner lining, over a white shirt with two thin black belts, as well as white gloves and calf-high black boots.
"Who are you?" Naruko asked, she didn't even know he was there.
"I am Master Xehanort child, may I ask your name?" as he turned his yellow eyes to her for a moment.
"I-I'm Uzumaki Naruko, a new Apprentice. It is a pleasure to meet you Master Xehanort." She said with a slight bow.
She felt a bit embarrassed at being caught peeking at the exchange that was going on outside.
An idea popped into her head, "Are you here to stop Master Eraqus and Terra from fighting?" she asked hopefully.
Xehanort studied the girl and noticed that her light was quite powerful…but if you looked past that…truly passed that, you could see a deep and powerful Darkness in her, one filled with malice and hatred, but it seemed that it was not her own.
'How interesting.' He thought with mild curiosity.
He decided to humor her, "Yes I am child; you have nothing to worry for." He said as he turned back to the fight, he could wonder about the girls' condition at a later date.
The fight came to an end and Terra was the victor.
Terra slowly walked towards his Master, "What have I done…Master…I just…wanted to keep Ven safe." He said in shock at what he had done.
"It seems their little squabble as ended child; I will tend to the aftermath." Xehanort said as he started walk up to them.
Naruko watched him walk up behind them while the Master and Apprentice were having a heart to heart conversation.
Xehanort drew his Keyblade.
'Why is he summoning his Keyblade, the fight is over?' she thought as the elderly man approached Eraqus silently.
Naruko's eyes widened, 'No…nonono!' she chorused in her mind. She came from a ninja world, she heard about this before. There had been a few attempts on her life, she had seen it.
On instinct she drew her Keyblade and shouted the one spell she knew, "FIRE!"
A fireball the size of a basketball shot out from the tip of her Keyblade and Xehanort turned around and deflected it.
The spell had gotten the attention of the other Master and Apprentice.
Eraqus turned to see Xehanort with his Keyblade drawn and snarled.
"Xehanort." The Master said as he stood up shakily and drew his Keyblade.
"Master Xehanort?" Terra said in slight confusion, but realized that the older man had just planned to kill his own Master.
Was that his plan? Have him weaken his Master so the old man could go for the killing blow?
And who was the kid?
"Terra, take Naruko away from here." Eraqus said as he got into his stance.
"But Master-" he tried to reason.
"Please Terra; take Aqua's Inheritor to safety. Bring her to Yen Sid." Eraqus ordered pleadingly.
'Aqua choose an Inheritor too?!' he thought in shock since he had just chosen one just before coming here.
Terra nodded and dashed to the child, but Xehanort tried to intercept him, luckily with what little strength he had, Eraqus managed to hold off Xehanort long enough for Terra to get the girl.
Terra scooped up the girl and transformed into his armor and casted a small bubble-like spell, while he may not be as good as Aqua in magic, he knew the spell too, and transformed his Keyblade into his speeder.
"No we have to help!" the blonde said pleadingly as she squirmed in his hold.
Terra tightened his grip, he messed up, he messed up big time, but he would follow his Master's last order. He thought with slight tears.
He would save Aqua's Inheritor, no matter what.
The flew through the portal to The Lanes Between and headed straight for Yen Sid's Tower.
The last thing Naruko saw of her new home was Eraqus being struck down my Xehanort who had a maddening smile on his face.
The blonde started to cry as they flew through the lanes.
0 Mysterious Tower 0
Terra had carried the young girl, who fell asleep from all the crying she had done, and entered Yen Sid's study.
"I see that Eraqus has fallen." Yen Sid said quietly, not to wake the child up.
Yen Sid was a rather severe-looking old man with long, grey hair, bushy eyebrows, and a long, grey beard that parts down the middle. He wore a conical sorcerer's hat on his head. The hat is blue and decorated with several yellow stars and a yellow crescent moon.
He wore long, billowing blue robes with sky blue lining. The insides of his robes were dark red. The whites of his eyes are quite large in comparison to his small pupils.
"Yes Master Yen Sid." Terra said as he held back a sob from his part in his Masters' demise.
"Take the child to the next room so she may rest. We will talk about what has happened." Yen Sid said as he turned his chair to face Terra.
Terra nodded and laid the girl down in the next room so she could rest comfortably and returned to Yen Sid.
"Now, please tell me what has occurred." The retired Master said.
Terra informed him of his side of the story and started to leave.
"It is not your fault Terra." Yen Sid said reassuringly.
"I still had a part in it." The brunette said with self loathing.
"From what I can see, Xehanort is most likely at the Keyblade Graveyard." Yen Sid surmised.
"Keyblade…Graveyard?" Terra asked in confusion.
"A land littered with Keyblades where a fierce war was once fought between Keyblade Wielders." Yen Sid answered with his ever present frown.
"I see." Terra said as he continued to leave, now knowing where to go.
0 Later 0
Aqua arrived with Mickey Mouse, who she found floating in The Lanes Between, and brought him back to Yen Sid's Tower. The mouse was being attended by his Court Wizard, Donald Duck and the Knight Captain, Goofy.
"Aqua, I bring grave news. Master Eraqus's star has blinked out. He has been stricken down." The wizard said in sadness.
Aqua's eyed widened with sadness and fear, sadness for her Master and fear for her Apprentice.
"The Master? But-Who is responsible…and what about Naruko?!" Aqua said as she slammed her fists on the old wizards' desk.
Yen Sid raised his hand in a calming manner, "Rest assured Aqua, your Apprentice is safe and she is in this very Tower thanks to Terra." He said
"Can I see her?" Aqua asked pleadingly.
"Of course, she is in the next room. I also wish to ask her some things after you two have reconnected." Yen Sid stated.
Aqua nodded and head to the next room. She opened the door to see Naruko sleeping and knelt down at her bedside. Aqua brushed a few strains of her golden locks out of her heart shaped face and released a small tear of happiness that her Apprentice was alright.
Naruko stirred under her touch and her blue eyes opened. She saw Aqua and moved quickly to hug her, "Aqua-nee-chan." she said as she started to cry again, "Ma-Master Eraqus, he, he…" she trailed off in sobs and Aqua held her tightly and whispered sweet nothings in her ear.
Naruko eventually stopped crying and Yen Sid entered the room.
"Naruko, this is Master Yen Sid." Aqua said introducing him.
"He has a funny hat." She pointed out the first thing that came to mind when she saw the wizard.
Aqua gasped at her, "Naruko!" she said scandalized.
Yen Sid gave a light chuckle, "It is alright." He said with a slight smile as he looked at the child, "Young one, may you tell us what had happened in the Land of Departure?" he asked and Naruko nodded and started to tell her side of the story and how Xehanort had taken Eraqus's life.
Once Yen Sid had heard the term X-blade, he paled, "This is grave news, it seems as both Ventus and Terra were manipulated by Xehanort." He spoke gravely.
"How?" Aqua asked.
"If what young Naruko said is true, Ventus is only one half of the puzzle, you had said there is a mysterious boy who wields both a Keyblade and Darkness correct?" he asked the young Master and Aqua nodded.
"Then it is most likely that the boy is Ventus's darker half." Yen Sid said solemnly.
"His darker half?" Aqua said in confusion.
"Xehanort must have split Ventus's light side and dark side before he was given to Eraqus. He plans for Ventus and his dark half to clash and form the X-blade."
"What is the X-blade Master Yen Sid?" Aqua asked with worry as she held Naruko.
"A physical manifestation of Kingdom Hearts itself that co-exists with it and allows one to materializes the true Kingdom Hearts, a perfect union of all hearts and worlds." The old wizard answered.
Aqua gasped in terror and she let go of Naruko as she stood up.
"Where do I have to go, I need to stop this." Aqua said
"To the ancient Keyblade Graveyard, were wielders of those weapons once waged war. That is where Terra is heading as well." Yen Sid answered.
"All right." Aqua nodded and she turned back to Naruko, "I'll be back soon."
"You said that last time." Naruko said with a teary look.
Aqua winced slightly, it was true, the little girl had seen Eraqus struck down and she wasn't there to help. Guilt filled her somewhat, "I know I did, but I have a responsibility to see this to the end, can you trust me?" she said to the little girl wholeheartedly.
Naruko nodded slightly, but she didn't want the older girl to go.
Aqua turned to Yen Sid; "Master Yen Sid could you…" she trailed off.
Yen Sid raised his hand to stop her, "Rest easy child, I will watch over her."
"Thank you." Aqua said as she gave Naruko one final hug and left.
"What if she doesn't make it back?" Naruko asked with fear as she looked at Yen Sid.
Yen Sid looked down to her, "Believe in your Master young one, that is all you can do right now." He said
Naruko just nodded, hating the fact that she was useless at such an important time.
She tended to forget that she was only four, but hey, who's counting?
0 Later 0
Aqua stirred awake, she had just fought Ventus/ Venitas and that incomplete X-blade. The power from it must have knocked her out.
"Aqua-nee-chan, Aqua-nee-chan get up." She heard the pleading voice of her Apprentice.
"Naruko…" she mumbled as she felt her breath leave her as the tiny blonde tackle hugged her tightly.
"Your awake, your awake~!" she cheered happily.
'I guess I'm back at the tower.' She thought since she left Naruko there.
"Aqua, you had lost consciousness. Fortunately, Mickey found you and Ventus drifting in The Lanes Between," he said as Aqua turned her head to see Ventus sleeping against the wall nearby with Mickey standing nearby, "and brought you back to me to receive proper care." The old wizard finished.
"I am sorry, but there was no sign of Terra." He said solemnly.
"I see." Aqua said in sadness.
They had talked briefly about what had happened in the Land of Departure and thanked him for helping Naruko. Both had wanted Xehanort to pay for what he did to their Master.
Aqua placed Naruko down and leaned to Ventus and started to shack his shoulder, "Ven!" she said loudly, "Ventus!" she said louder, but he wouldn't wake up.
"The boy's heart is sleeping." Yen Sid said.
"When will he wake?" Aqua asked in sadness seeing her friend like this.
"I could not say. It is almost as his heart has left. Should it return, he may very well wake. Should it not, then he may sleep like this for all eternity." Yen Sid answered.
Naruko walked up to Ventus and patted his shoulder to try and wake him, "Ven-sempai." She said in sadness.
"No…" Aqua mumbled to herself. Her eyes lit with determination, "I'll keep him safe-until he wakes." She said as she looked at Ventus, "Forever if I have to." She declared.
"Me too!" Naruko said and Aqua gave her a small smile and patted her head.
"I will tell you what your friend needs right now. It is not your protection. He needs you to believe, just as your young Apprentice believes in you." Yen Sid said as he turned his back to them, "You see, Ventus's heart hangs in the balance. It sleeps in the place between light and darkness. From all I can perceive, that means he will be looking for a friend-one who believes in him, to show him the way home. Just as long as you love him…then Ventus will be able to find you when he wakes. He can follow that love back to where he belongs-the realm of light." He said as he sat in his chair and turned his head to them.
Mickey gained a look of understanding, "Don't you worry, Aqua. I believe in Ven, too. Gosh, he's been as good a friend to me as anybody. And if you, Naruko, and I believe in him with all our hearts…then he'll have three lights to follow instead of two." He said cheerfully.
Aqua cheered up hearing this, "Four lights." She said, "Terra."
Mickey gained a saddening look, "But…Terra's gone. Maybe for good." He said
Aqua shook her head, "I think I know how to find him." she said as she pulled out her Wayfinder and grasped it tightly.
"What's that Aqua-nee-chan?" Naruko asked as she looked at it with awe.
"It's a Wayfinder, a star-shaped lucky charm that is used to provide luck to travelers. In the case of me, Ven, and Terra, it connects us to each other." Aqua answered
"Can I have one?" Naruko asked meekly, wanting to be connected to her Master too.
Aqua blinked at the questioned, she still had something's to do, but it would give her a connection to her Apprentice. Aqua nodded and summoned her Keyblade, she mumbled some words with her Keyblade pointed at her Wayfinder and an orange colored duplicate was made.
She handed it to Naruko, "No matter where I am, you and I will always have a connection to each other that I promise." Aqua said with a smile as Naruko placed it around her neck.
"Yeah, I know." Naruko said with a smile.
Aqua hefted up Ventus on her back, "I'll be back as soon as I can." She said as she left with Ventus in tow.
0 Later 0
Yen Sid sighed as he saw Aqua's star dim and he could not locate her.
"It seems that Aqua has disappeared, I am sorry young one." He said to Naruko who was waiting for Aqua to return.
Naruko shook her head, "She'll come back. I just have to give her time." She said in a small voice.
"What will you do now?" Yen Sid asked, but he already knew the answer.
Naruko walked up to him and bowed, "Will you please train me Master Yen Sid?" she asked in determination.
"My training is most rigorous young one, are you up for the challenge?" he asked with a slight smile.
"Yes." She said with a fierce fire in her eyes, a Will of Fire one could call it.
0
(1)- I decided to do a mix of KH and KH2 for the class choosing. Basically, like her Master, Naruko will be a spell caster with melee skills to boot. But more of a shinobi speed type, like her father. So a mix up of Aqua and Ventus.
Done! Chapter one and BBS is done! All hail KH, hail it I say!
Next will be a time skip to after Naruko's training and there will be a few surprises too that no one will see coming XD
R&R, no flames, peace off!
