"Why do we always end up in forests?"
"I don't know."
"Do you really like them or something, Roxas?"
"No! They're cool and all, but I'm not doing this on purpose!"
"I'm making the portal next time."
"Fine. Maybe we keep ending up in forests cause that's were I first woke up…again."
"Maybe. I still make the next portal."
Roxas shook his head and slipped his pack on. Grabbing Xion's hand, he began to make his own path through the forest floor. Xion watched birds fly above their heads, chirping at the intruders. She smiled and waved at them. A few followed the pair as they made their way to a road they could see up ahead. The trees grew closer together as they got closer to the road, as if the trees didn't want anyone to leave. Their brown and green mottled trunks watched the two teens leave the forest, covering them with leaves as revenge for leaving. Roxas and Xion shook themselves free of the branches and leaves.
"Look." Roxas pointed to the left. "People." There were five of them, all wearing long black cloaks. Xion looked at them, and felt a shiver run down her spine. She pulled on Roxas's hand as they suddenly started for the teens.
"Roxas, let's get out of here." Roxas didn't argue; he began walking fast, looking over his shoulder every so often. Xion was almost running; she wanted to get away from the people so badly. Roxas looked back again, and broke into a run. The five people were much closer, and clearly unfriendly. Their cloaks flew to the side, and the teens could see the swords and scythes the people carried. They ran faster.
"This way!" The path split and Roxas shot down the right lane, towards what looked like a walled city in the distance. A glance back told him the strange people were also running now. They would catch up very soon, even with Roxas and Xion running their fastest.
Xion looked back just as the people were upon them. "Noooo-" A squeal burst from her lips as one grabbed her. Roxas fought off another and was tackled down for his efforts. He struggled to get one arm free when a horrendous screech filled the air. The people fled without thought, leaving Roxas and Xion panting in the middle of an empty road.
"Roxas-wha…" Xion sat up and reached a hand out to Roxas. He leaned over and clasped it in his own as a dark shadow fell over the two. They looked up, and fled to the side of the road just as a giant bird came crashing down on the road. No, not a bird-a Heartless. Roxas scrambled against a trunk, trying to push Xion behind it. So that's what screamed, he thought wildly as he summoned his Keyblade. Xion summoned hers and ran out, behind the Heartless. It screamed again, sending birds flying into the sky from the forest.
Roxas heard other, bigger beasts run as well. He hoped they were headed away from this fight. He hoped they were beast and not those people waiting to capture him and Xion again. Waiting until Xion was directly across from him, on the other side of the road, he charged the Heartless. It flapped its wings, creating a dust storm. Roxas stumbled around in it, one arm covering his eyes. He swung at the Heartless every time he caught sight of it. Xion's fingers dug into his arm and pulled him out of the dust storm.
"It's no use! It'll just keep whipping up dust and rocks if we attack! We need to lure it into the forest, so it can't open its wings." Xion gestured at the forest with her Keyblade. Roxas nodded, eyes watering. He wiped them as the Heartless finally realized that its attackers were gone. The dust settled as it looked around, trying to find them that attacked it. Right as it spotted them Roxas jumped up and swung his Keyblade. The Heartless fell back with another scream, wings trying to protect its face. Xion attacked from the side, slipping under the wings and getting the tender face of the Heartless.
"Ha ha! Try beating us, Heartless! We're unbeatable!" Roxas gave one final hit. The Heartless fell into the braches and brambles of the forest. Thrashing about, its wings got caught in the trees. It screamed as it thrashed around. Xion covered her ears at the sound. Roxas shook his head and jumped onto a low branch. Using it as leverage, he flung himself up higher and gave the Heartless a good pounding. One more bounce and the Heartless fell still, defeated. Roxas landed on the branch and couldn't stop himself from bouncing again.
"Roxas, what do you think you're-" Xion watched Roxas fly up, and then fall right onto her. She squealed again and pushed the boy off of her. Said boy was rubbing the back of his head, where a lump was beginning to form. Xion stood and watched the Heartless release the hearts it had collected. Roxas just continued to lie on the ground.
"Well, that's over with. C'mon, Roxas, let's get to that city or whatever it is before those creeps come back." Xion put away her Keyblade and ran to pick up her pack from where it had fallen. She tossed Roxas his and turned to look up and down the road they were standing on. "Hurry up. I don't like being out in the open like this when there are freaks like that loose."
"I get it Xion, but man my head hurts." Roxas sat up, still rubbing his head. He looked up, then around at the forest. "Hey, do you notice-none of the animals have returned. Maybe-" A cacophony of shrieks was the only warning the two got before the huge group of Heartless descended from the sky and ran from the forest. Roxas yelled and jumped up, already attacking the closest ones with his Keyblade. Xion cried out as well, re-summoning her own weapon to fight of the new swarm. Both fought their hardest, but there were too many Heartless. They were quickly being surrounded on all sides, with no way out of the mess.
"Xion! Forget fighting-just run!" Roxas kept slashing as he began to make his way through the swarm. He tried, but couldn't get very far. Xion was on the edge, and had a bigger chance of getting away. "Xion-forget me! Run and get help!" Even as he called out to the girl, he was overtaken by the Heartless. He cried out and flailed but to no avail. Xion screamed as she tried to fight her way to him.
"Roxas! Roxas! Don't give up! Someone, help! ROXAS!" She reached out a hand to him as the Heartless covered her as well, blocking her sight. Roxas reached out, and could barely brush his fingertips against hers. No! This couldn't the end! Not for him, not for her, not for anyone!
"NO!" The last thing he saw was a yellow flash cutting through the Heartless before the darkness swallowed him.
"Nnng…" Roxas slowly opened his eyes. Or tried to. His entire body ached. Even thinking about moving hurt. The corners of his lips quirked at that thought. What would Xion say about that…
"Xion!" He shot up, the thought of the girl enough to rekindle his energy. As soon as he tried to jump out of the bed someone else pushed him down again. The hands held him there as Roxas blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. All he could see was a halo of red in front of him.
"Boys! Don't know when it's time to rest. Stay lying down, kid, or I'll make you fall asleep again." Roxas could make out the person now. She had long red hair and bright blue eyes. When Roxas slowly nodded she let go of his shoulders.
"Where's Xion?"
"The girl? Sleeping over there, like you should be." The woman moved so Roxas could see Xion lying on the bed next to his. He smiled at the sight of her, relaxing. The woman gave him a strange look, then shrugged and walked away. "You're both lucky to be alive, you know that? If Minato hadn't been out looking for that group of rogue Mist Nin you'd be dead or worse by now."
"Thanks for rescuing us," Roxas whispered. "I'm Roxas, and she's Xion. Actually, me and her fight Heartless for a living."
"Heartless? Is that what you call them?" The woman turned, leaning on a table covered in what looked like medical supplies. "Hmm…I'll have to tell the others about that. Seems to be a good name for the things, better than anything we can come up with. I'm Uzumaki Kushina, by the way. Actually Namikaze, but only a few know that."
Roxas nodded. "Can I sit up?"
"If you do it slowly. Your head must be made of steel or better to have taken no damage from a lump like the one you had. If you think you're going to upchuck do it over the side of the bed." Roxas nodded and slowly sat up. The room spun, then settled. He looked around the room he was in. There were the two beds he and Xion were lying in, a table, three stools, cabinets up on the walls, and a window to the left of his bed.
Kushina noticed him looking. "You and your friend are in Minato's house. We couldn't take you to the hospital, but we got Tsunade to come over and heal you anyway. She's fought those things-Heartless, you say?-before, and know how bad they can hurt a person. We've had more than one Shinobi die just from coming in contact with one."
"Yeah, they steal hearts from people and turn them into Heartless as well. No one knows why, really, but Zexion says there are a few people out there who have pretty good ideas why." Roxas turned to watch Xion sleep. "Anyone can kill them, but they'll just keep coming back unless a Keyblade gets them."
"Keyblade," Kushina murmured. "That giant key you were holding onto then. That's the only way to really get rid of them, for good?"
"For good, yeah. I've never seen a world with such a big Heartless problem before. One had a lot of them, but nowhere near as bad as you people have it."
"World?"
"Kushina, are they awake?" A man with blond hair stood in the doorway. Roxas spared the blond a glance before returning to his vigilance on the sleeping girl. "That's a bit creepy kid. You just don't watch people sleep."
"Normal people, maybe. According to Zexion and King Mickey me and Xion have only half a heart each. Does that make us normal people like you then?" Roxas looked up again and tilted his head to one side. The blond man stared at him in confusion.
"Half a…Kushina, put that needle down. I'm pretty sure he isn't crazy."
"Minato, like you'd know who's crazy and who's not." Kushina stood up and walked over to the side of Roxas's bed. "Now young man I think you'd best explain everything. Start with the Heartless thing again and then move onto the world part. And then about the half a heart thing."
"Okay." Roxas looked up as Minato came to sit next to him. "Alright. The Heartless occupy almost every world. They are beings of darkness that absorb and steal other people's hearts. As to why, there are several theories but no actual answer. Um, worlds. There are a ton of them. I've been to a few to hunt Heartless. Xion and I, plus Sora and King Mickey, are the only ones who can actually kill, if you want to call it that, a Heartless. It's because we wield the Keyblade. Only a few people can summon and use it. Like Riku, he can use a Keyblade but he can't summon one on his own. Axel told me once that Heartless don't actually die, they just disappear. Like us Nobodies. Anyway, there are only a few people who know that there are other worlds out there, and even fewer have the ability to travel to them. I was taught how to, along with Xion, during my time as an Organization XIII member." Roxas stopped and took a deep breath.
"A person can lose their heart several ways: give it up, have it stolen, or join the darkness. When a person loses their heart for whatever reason, they create two things: a Heartless and a Nobody. Heartless I already explained; Nobodies are, well, Xion and I are basically Nobodies. We were born without hearts, and up until a little while ago everyone thought we couldn't get hearts because of Xenohart and Xemnas. They were trying to create Kingdom Hearts, which Xemnas said could give us Nobodies hearts and make us real people. I'm not sure what Kingdom Hearts really was, but Ansem destroyed it. He died doing so. Um…" Roxas blinked and thought for a moment.
Minato and Kushina exchanged a look. "Oh yeah, Organization XIII. Has anyone in this world ever seen people dressed in long black cloaks and gloves? Well, the Organization dressed us like that and sent us out on missions to get rid of Heartless. That's where I spent my first year of…being alive, I guess. Xemnas gave me a name too; he took Sora's name-that's my Somebody, the person I once was-and mixed it up with an 'x' in it. I forget what that's called…"
"Anagram," Minato filled in for the boy. He nodded.
"Yeah. Most Nobodies look kinda like Heartless but sometimes a person with a strong heart loses it and so the Nobody that is created has a human form and the memories of the person they once were. Everyone in the Organization was like that. Xion and I were the only exceptions to that rule; me I'm not sure why, and Xion because she isn't really a Nobody but a Replica made from Sora's memories of another person."
"So…basically you were born because someone lost his heart," Minato tried to clarify. Kushina just sat staring at the boy.
"Uh, yeah. You think that's confusing? Try about a month ago, my time. Xion had…disappeared and when a Replica is gone no one is supposed to remember them. But for some reason I did, and made other people remember her, and that created a huge mess. Really confusing because I'm still not too sure how she's still here." Roxas gave the sleeping girl another smile. "But I'm glad she's here, don't get me wrong."
Minato gave Kushina another look. The red head was staring off into space. "Kushina…Roxas, is it?" The boy nodded. "Alright, I think I pretty much get everything you said. So now why are you and…Xion here?"
"We're hunting Heartless and searching for the world containing all the other Nobodies. Xemnas said when a Nobody dies it just goes away forever because we don't have hearts but I'm a Nobody with a heart. And I've seen my friends in dreams that King Mickey said were real. So we are searching for that world cause I have a ton of questions to ask some of the other members. Like why they didn't trust me and why they would always be so mean to Xion. Oh, and one of my old friends deserves a punch in the face for never telling me anything about Xion and Sora when he knew about them."
"Interesting. Now that I think about it, one of my friends also is in need of a good punch." Minato ran a hand through his blond hair. "This is what I get: those things are Heartless that collect hearts and turn other people into Heartless. You and a few others can wield a Keyblade, which is the only thing that can get rid of Heartless for good. Now you and your friend are going around the worlds getting rid of Heartless. Plus you two both have half a heart…how?"
"Oh, sorry. Apparently a Nobody can gain a heart of their own if, like me and Xion, they have no memories of their past, or give up the memories of who they once were. Either way sounds horrible because for a Nobody, memories are the only thing we can hold onto. Axel said that I was like a zombie the first week he knew me. Xion was like that too; we didn't have any clue what we were doing or why. I can barely remember that first week, too…" Roxas trailed off. He eyes were unfocused, watching something only he could see.
Kushina snapped her fingers in front of Roxas. He jumped. "I get all of that. Now tell me why you took on a horde of Heartless right outside Konoha's gates."
"The city? Konoha. Well, we were going towards the city when a bunch of weird people grabbed us. They ran away when this giant Heartless flew in from the sky. Xion and I beat it easy and were about to run to the city when that giant swarm of Heartless appeared. We didn't have any time to react or do anything but try and fight our way away from them. Honest; I've been attacked by swarms of Heartless before, and it's not fun fighting your way out of them."
"Nnng…"
"Xion!" Roxas would have shot out of his bed had Minato not been sitting next to him. The blond slung an arm around Roxas's chest to keep him from flying off the bed. The younger boy fought him, of course, as Xion stirred. Kushina smacked the blond as she passed them and kneeled by the other bed. She rested her hand on Xion's forehead as the girl opened her eyes.
"Minato, let the boy go. You're just the same as him; the second you woke up after a battle you'd fly around checking your friends and seeing if they're alright. Hey, how are you feeling?" The red-head's voice changed as she tended to the now-conscious Xion.
"I don't…where are…I'm…fine?" Xion looked around, confused. Roxas nearly fell out of his bed trying to reach a hand out to her.
"Let me go! Xion you're awake!"
"Kid, calm down! You'll pull us both-"
Xion looked over at the pair just as they fell to the floor with a thump. She quickly sat up and peered over the edge of the bed. "Roxas...? What are you doing?"
"Hi Xion." Roxas grinned up at the girl. "Trying to see if you're all right but someone won't let go of me."
"I thought I told you to let the boy go."
"I was about to! Then he decided to visit the floor and I got pulled along."
"Oh grow up. You've faced way worse than eating the floor." Kushina stooped down and pulled the blond up. She then grabbed Roxas's shirt and hauled him onto Xion's bed and practically into the girl's lap. "There. Now calm down a bit, would you? I have to deal with enough idiots as it is already."
"Uh, yes Kushina." Roxas turned pink. "Xion, are you alright?"
"Fine, I guess. What happened to the Heartless?" Xion asked. She picked at the shirt she was wearing. "And what happened to our clothes?"
Kushina paused long enough in her glaring match with Minato to answer. "We took them off because they were ripped to shreds, almost, and covered in grime. The Heartless are gone, hidden in the forest. They don't dare come into the village."
"Oh, okay. Thanks." Xion smiled brightly at the pair. They both gave the young teens a weird look. Neither noticed, too busy talking to each other.
"I need to tell the council everything Roxas told us," Minato murmured. His blue eyes swept over the two sitting on the bed, chatting animatedly.
"Just about the Heartless. No one needs to know about them. We can just say they came from far away and know how to fight the Heartless. Nothing more, nothing less." Kushina shook her head. The blond smiled at her.
"You would know best, Waterfall ambassador." He ran his hand over her cheek and kissed it softly. "Watch over them and let no one see them, not even Jiraiya. Be safe," he whispered. After one last glance at the teens, now completely silent, he disappeared in a yellow flash.
Well," Kushina announced, turning to the two watching her with wide eyes, "how about getting some lunch?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor its characters
Claimer: I do own any OCs I might make in this world or other worlds