Recappy From the Last Chappy: "Since you know what he looks like, you can keep an eye out for him. But now, go to sleep. You should be rested and well-alert for tomorrow." She closed her eyes again.
He rolled onto his back and used his arms as an extra pillow, sighing. She had sounded so distant talking even about her brother—no excitement when hearing about him, either. Perhaps making her feel closer to them would be tougher than he thought. "Night."
"Yeah. Night."
Chapter Ten: Ticket to Trouble
From the shadows of a den just outside the Coliseum's Arena, the tense Hades watched as Sora, Donald, and Goofy took out the last of the Heartless within the battleground. The three made cries of victory, excited to be going onto the next round; the crowd cheered with them. Sora twirled his Keyblade and hoisted it onto his shoulder coolly, about-facing in a complacent manner.
In the dimly lit den, what was not revealed by sunlight had a little light brought to it by Hades' hair. The blue flame burned more plainly then before, a reflection of his embarking apprehension. "That little punk is your next opponent, okay? Now, don't blow it," he demanded imperatively. His arm swept in front of himself in a no-nonsense manner. "Just take him out."
Leaning against the yellow brick wall was the young man Hikari had mistaken for Naruto; he was entered in the games under his true name of "Cloud." His left hand hung from his belt as he opened his eyes, lifting his gaze from the ground to Hades. With little expression, he looked toward Sora, unimpressed. "The great God of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? Sorry, but my contract says—"
Hades' fire spread from his scalp to along his shoulders, growing with his fury, and turned yellow against his currently red skin; he leaned back and flailed in exasperation. "I know! You don't think I know? Iwrote the contract! I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament." He pointed at Sora but glowered at Cloud; his fire calmed diminutively, and he reverted to his normal hues. "But you've gotta fight that kid to get to him. Come on."
In the Arena, Phil appeared to be giving Sora a few pointers, or lecturing him; the latter was more likely since the brunette scratched the back of his head, as if he were discomfited. Hades continued calmly, "Hey, it's like that old goat says—Rule Eleven: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" He mimed punching.
Cloud continued regarding Sora.
"I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" he chuckled.
The blonde did not respond, dropping his hand from his belt. He lifted himself away from the wall and left the den silently. Hades glanced after him, side-long. "Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home." He held his chin. "Still . . . suckers like him are hard to come by."
His snicker was nearly eclipsed by a deep, sinister growling.
The image of Cloud departing from the den and Hades still standing within was reflected in lavender-white, no-pupil byakugan eyes lent to Hikari by one of the summon gems dangling from her bracelet. Above them was a hardened brow as she watched him enter the Arena.
She was in the Coliseum seating with Akamaru on her left side, barking his support, whereas Jiminy sat on her right shoulder, cheering with the crowd. Her byakugan eyes were deactivated as she fingered her shurikon holster. I don't like this.
Far below in the Arena—a concrete area with four Greek columns in the corners—Sora stood with Donald and Goofy on the right. On the other side, Cloud held his giant, raggedly bandaged heavy sword with seemingly little effort.
"They're competing against Not-Naruto, now," she mumbled to herself. "He's tough; took out his Heartless adversaries much quicker than Sora, Donald, and Goofy." And if I'm right, and it's not just coincidence that they were in that den, then he's in cahoots with the guy who gave Sora the pass. "This is bad. They don't stand a chance."
Jiminy stopped cheering. "That's no way to talk, Hikari! Why, with the three of them together, they can do it!" He thumped his chest. "Especially if we believe with them, with all our hearts. You've gotta be more optimistic!"
Heart. Right. Rub it in. Her eyes swept over the rest of the Coliseum, checking for suspicious characters or something of the like. "Admittedly, he's doing better than I thought he would. He might come out of the rookie stage, soon, but I still don't think he's mastered all his moves yet. But, this is Round Seven, and he hardly looks tired. I'll give him that.
"Something just isn't right, with any of it. . . ." She trailed off into speculation, wondering also what motive Hades would have to harm Sora—or rather go through the trouble of paying someone to do it, if that was the case. Was that guy a Heartless, threatened by the Keyblade? That could not be, she would have sensed so. . . .
The match below commenced. Cloud calmly took a few steps to the side, watching his three adversaries. Sora charged in straight away, eager to take him on. He was aware of the blade, keeping an eye on it, and swung his Key. The blonde hoisted his sword; his elbows were raised but the tip pointed down, guarding him and parrying the attack.
"Oh, I can't watch!" Jiminy cried as he covered his eyes. Hikari glanced at him, partially tempted to pry them open as he had broken her conjecture; however, then she would risk squishing him as he would almost surely struggle against it, and that they could not have. The temptation was put to rest when he parted his fingers and peeked through.
She looked back in time to see Cloud cry out and slide across the battleground toward Sora. The brunette rolled out of the way just in time. Almost immediately, Cloud performed the same move again; this time, Sora saved himself by falling back onto his rear. Quickly, he stood and put some distance between them.
Goofy charged at the blonde, keeping his shield poised both to offend and defend—whichever would be called for. His brow was wrinkled in a battle-ready expression as he approached. When he came near, he drew in his shield, preparing to jut it in front of him; before he did so, Cloud raised his blade and brought it directly down, striking powerfully and unbalancing the goof. A heavy, horizontal slash smashed the shield into his face and forced him to take a few steps back. Ultimately, he fell onto his bottom, seeing stars.
"Goofy!" Donald called. He waddled forth with his staff raised, intending to heal his friend, when their adversary jumped high into the air. The duck hardly caught the action out of the corner of his eye and looked up, squawking with wide eyes. Nearly brushing against him, the blade dug into the ground directly in front of him; Cloud landed behind it. "Waaaaak!!"
Hikari crossed her arms and watched Donald fall back and faint; Akamaru whimpered and put his paw over his brow, as if saying, "I can't believe he did that!" People around them also responded negatively.
An expression of panic crossed Sora's face as he watched his formidable opponent lift his hefty blade from the ground. His eyes darted from Donald to Goofy to Cloud, meeting the blonde's eyes. Swallowing, he pointed his Keyblade into the air, "—Thunder!—," and lightning bolts cascaded around the area. One of them struck Cloud, forestalling him for only a moment as the shock streamed through his system.
In the stands, Hikari uncrossed her arms and scooted to the edge of her seat. She began calculating in murmurs. "He's learning magic pretty fast. His third spell already. . . . But now he's fighting alone. . . ."
Cloud recovered from the spell quickly and faced Sora, bringing his sword in front of him. A golden energy emanated from the blade and he cried out, sliding across the field toward the brunette once more; yet again he dodged, but this time, his shorts were nicked. He ran and escaped the sliding dash that followed immediately; then again as the situation called for it.
When Cloud paused, so did he, wiping the back of his glove against his sweaty forehead. The successive matches were beginning to take their toll; his muscles were beginning to tire and hurt, and his breath came quicker. Taking this opportunity, he reached into his pocket in search of a potion, but he had none left. He glanced in the direction where he had last seen Cloud, only to see him coming up once more.
Sora cried out and raised his Keyblade to defend himself; he held it horizontally at the handle and near the weapon's protrusions, catching Cloud's vertical slash. He almost failed in holding it back. There was great stress in his upper body and in his legs as he used them to brace himself against the Arena floor. Sweat broke out on his forehead and temples whereas Cloud simply pressed down, gazing at Sora soullessly.
Soon, he relieved pressure, withdrawing his sword; then, as Sora was recovering, swept the blade across Sora's waist.
The crowd— along with Jiminy, who covered his eyes—gasped and Hikari stood up, staring down with widened eyes and clenched fists. Something within her chest stirred. "Sora . . . !"
The Keybearer lied on his side on the Arena floor, his weapon a few inches from his hand. For a few moments, he lied motionless, but Hikari noted that he was intact; Cloud had not hit him with the slicing edge of the blade, but the blunt one instead. Next, his hand reached for the hilt of the Keyblade, and he grabbed it. A few relieved sighs came from the audience.
Slowly, Sora raised his arm until the tip of the Keyblade was set on the ground at an angle with which he could use it as leverage. His other hand lied flat on the ground and he pushed himself up onto his knee, tipping the Keyblade upright as he straightened himself. Too tired was he to stand fully, so he only was able to raise one knee. He continued to use the Keyblade for support.
Approaching, Cloud shortly towered over the brunette. On the sideline, Phil was waddling with a white towel in hand, intending to throw it in for Sora. Nearby also stood Hades, whom was recognized by Hikari instantly. He was grinning far too forebodingly.
Hikari's scowl deepened a smidgen and she lifted Jiminy off of her shoulder, tossing him on top of Akamaru. She concentrated chakra to the bottom of her feet and jumped, allowing herself to sail to the wall a number of rows behind her. She ran parallel to the rows, toward the steps; simply stepping over peoples feet down her row would have taken too long. She began taking out kunai.
Cloud raised his sword with both hands, lugging it over his right shoulder. Sora lowered his head, bracing himself to be stricken. The blonde was pausing as he heard the gates being lifted in the back of the Arena. He lowered his sword and twisted, looking in the direction of where the sound had come from—then, he was struck down by a giant, black paw.
Sora lifted his head and gasped, staring with wide eyes at the monstrosity before him. He heard the people in the stands screaming and running for the Lobby—as well as the snarls from the three-headed beast brandishing all of its long, yellowed teeth. The dog with three heads was of considerable size, taking up about a third of the Arena and had red eyes and small ears.
Flippantly, Hades commented, "Oh, right. There was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." His figure disappeared in the shadows as he left the Arena.
A beefy man with orange hair entered the Arena and faced the three-headed dog—Cerberus—head-on, using his strength to hinder the beast. He wore a Spartan outfit colored a deep, dull orange with a belt around his waist bearing a gold buckle adorned with a cloud and lightning bolt design. As if he were a superhero, a blue cape was attached to his shoulders.
Hikari was running down the steps, dodging frightened citizens. She had seen Hades leave and watched the man—whom from appearances she assumed to be the mighty Hercules—enter the scene. I knew it. That hothead had something up his sleeve, all along. . . .
Phil confirmed her suspicions of the man's identity by calling him "Herc" from the Coliseum stands. The impressive Hercules continued to hold Cerberus back as he looked over his shoulder. Sora was frozen, gawking, and Donald and Goofy were unconscious still. "Phil, get them out of here!"
The satyr nodded and hopped down the steps, heading toward the trio. Sora finally came to his senses and ran to Donald, shaking him awake. Phil did the same for Goofy. Both the knight and the magician stared at Cerberus with wide eyes before they were ushered out by Phil and Sora. They were the last to exit, thus Hercules pushed Cerberus away potently.
At least, he had thought that they were the last to leave.
Hikari appeared at his side, staring at Cerberus with a non-fearing expression. "I'll take it from here," she said, forming a string of hand seals. Dismissively, she jerked her head in Cloud's direction. "You can get him out of here." Her final seal was tiger, the sign of flames.
Hercules looked from her to Cloud to Cerberus and to her again. Her frame was too small, he thought, for her to be a formidable adversary to Cerberus, the Guardian of the Underworld. "Ma'am, I don't think you—"
Then, she reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out two kunai pre-attached to wire. Both were thrown and embedded into the three-headed dog, one each diverting to either side of the middle head. She took a deep breath—Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!—and released a torrential burst of fire that divided between the two guide wires. As the fire hit him Cerberus roared and took a few steps back; the knives were pulled out of him.
She kept her eyes on the dog as she reeled in the wire, not appearing to mind the heat it conducted. "Fluffy and I will play safe—don't worry. Take Not-Naruto and go."
Hercules seemed still to have a hesitation or two about leaving a young girl to face this monster, but obliged as he went to pick up Cloud. He slung the blonde over his shoulder and went toward the Arena entrance. "Good luck."
"Yep." Hikari finished reeling in the kunai and wire and replaced them in her kunai pouch. She leaned her head back as the snarling, salivating beast approached her. "Guess being heartless does sometimes have its perks; Fluffy doesn't scare me a bit. Aren't you so big and bad?"
A Corridor of Darkness opened in his faintly lit chamber, drawing his serpentine yellow eyes to open. He lied in a bed suitable of his size with white sheets. Perspiration had leaked from his pores, leaving some of his long, stygian locks to cling to his snake-like countenance; the rest lied across the pillow. Light purple marks shadowed his eyelids and followed the curve of his nose.
He was a sickly man, obviously exhausted and ailed with dying arms that had been affected by a forbidden sealing technique a little over three years ago. They were bandaged now, but completely useless to him. Despite this, he sat up, but with difficulty. His bangs fell in such a way that nearly the entire right side of his face was masked.
The cloaked man stepped out of the corridor, into the room. Behind his glasses, his black eyes hardened; like it was hard to watch. He removed his hood as the corridor disappeared; his silver hair was held back in a ponytail. "Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes disdainfully. His voice was raspy and had a hissing tone to it. "You still haven't found him? No sign of Sasuke yet?"
"Regrettably, no," the man named Kabuto Yakushi responded. He heard Orochimaru's snarl. "But I did find the location of someone else, another Konoha genin of the past. I'm not sure how willing she'd be to return, but from the information I gathered, she's already a shell. The process of getting rid of her heart for yours could be skipped."
While the shadows of his face darkened, his sclera became a little plainer. "I want only Sasuke! Only his body will do . . . if I am to expand my jutsu to its greatest lengths. I need the sharingan."
"My lord," Kabuto began, "it's been three years. That body won't hold out much longer, and we still have no idea of Sasuke's whereabouts. While we have bodies here, for experimentation, most of them aren't ninja, therefore would not be viable hosts. At least buy some time for yourself before it's too late!"
Orochimaru winced; his fatigued body was become difficult to keep sitting up.
Taking the silence as opportunity to continue, the silver-haired medical nin procured his ninja info cards. From the top of the deck, he pulled a card and presented the side containing information to his superior. "The Nine-tailed junchuuriki's sister, Hikari Uzumaki. Remember her?"
The serpent-like man regarded the card with a scowl, trying to remember. He knew the name, and the girl, but the physiognomy featured on that card was elusive to his memory.
"Perhaps her losing her heart affected one's remembrance of her, but her facade since we last saw her has changed greatly. In fact, her resemblance to you is very significant; didn't recognize her, at first." He withdrew his card and shuffled the deck. "But she kept her name and some of her mannerisms. I took the liberty of checking her Gummi's navigation information. I know to which world, next, she will be traveling with the Keybearer."
Orochimaru's smirk was bitter. "I want nothing from her body. . . . She was too weak to learn my techniques, she possesses nothing special for me to utilize. . . ."
"Except that she's heartless and bears your mark." Kabuto's expression now was solemn. "You've held out for Sasuke long enough. You don't have time to be picky. If not her body, then use mine—"
"You should mind your tongue when you talk to me, Kabuto," he warned. The shadows of his face had deepened with his scowling brow. The corner of his mouth curved, flashing white, viper fangs. A dark chuckle came from his throat as he spoke rhetorically. "Hikari Uzumaki . . . borrowed my appearance, now, have you?"
Hikari formed a supplementary seal and touched the gem that she had received from the old woman in Thebes the day before. The kanji reading "Guts" glowed as her chakra mingled with the chakra in it. Automatically, her body felt as if a ton of weight had been lifted from her limbs, like she was liberated from weighty chains.
One of Cerberus's heads moved to snap its jaws at her, growling fiercely, when she ducked and ran between his legs, dashing in a flash. She found herself clear on the other end of the Arena, much farther than she had anticipated; she moved astronomically faster than even if she had applied chakra to the soles of her feet.
She looked at the gem. For the sake of experimentation, she moved to one of the columns and kicked it; with very little resistance, almost none, it crumbled into small pieces. Speed and strength? Hmm. She began to form a string of seals. Guess that saves me cha— Her eyes narrowed at the seal. This gem also appeared to forestall her ability to manipulate chakra.
All three heads were lifted and leaned back as darkness gurgled within their jaws. Hikari reached into her shurikon holster and threw a few of the projectile stars at him. They planted themselves into his side, though there was only a deep whine showing that he felt them. He lowered his heads and that darkness spilled to the ground in one thick, damp cloud that appeared to be absorbed into the sand.
A pool of dark magic came to be underneath her, rippling with blues and a white-hot center. At the same time as she noticed it, the core suddenly burst and sent a burning pain on Hikari's legs, thighs, and parts of her arms. She ignored the pain, especially seeing as there was no visible injury, and dashed across the sand a few feet.
The magic seemed to be of the sensory kind, for another pool came up beneath her; subsequently she continued moving and watched out of the corner of her eye as the magic trailed behind her and shot up like small geysers. Cerberus paraded around the Arena, allowing the magic to do its work when he began breathing giant, spherical energy projectiles.
Hikari dodged these projectiles, discovering that while they homed in on her direction, they would in due course fall into the ground and diffuse. Eventually, Hikari jumped up high, above the beast's back, and somersaulted; she stuck out her right leg in a high arc and dropped her heel on Cerberus's back. Taijutsu: Bruising Sky Leg! He barked and collapsed, stomach hitting the ground, and turned his heads, trying to snap at her.
"You aren't playing very nicely," she stated while reaching into her kunai pouch. The kunai she withdrew were wired like before, only now, she held four. "You've turned me into a liar. Guess I won't play nice, either."
She threw two of the kunai in-between the necks once more and the other two in his back, near her feet. Cerberus began prancing around, howling in pain, while she waited for him to stop long enough for her plan to be carried out. He stopped jumping near the opposite wall of the entrance.
The kunoichi vaulted near the wall and dismissed the power lent to her by the summon gem, intending to use chakra in order to take root on the wall. However, something went terribly wrong. Every muscle below her neck screamed in exorbitant agony and were all of a sudden useless, completely immobilized. Her body felt totally limp, as if she were under some sort of paralysis. She collided with the wall and dropped toward the ground; the wire of the kunai slipped from her grasp until she thumped onto the sand.
While Cerberus was still preoccupied with the kunai in his back, Hikari turned her head and tried lifting her arm; it trembled, but remained in place. The aches made her wince. She rolled her head and tucked in her chin, gazing at her chest.
This is bad . . . I just might have to use that, she thought. Her eyes then followed Cerberus as he regained his composure and squinted at her with a snarl. She narrowed her own eyes, feeling the sweat dew on her temples, when he reared on his hind legs. She shut her eyes and grunted, trying to move in spite of her muscles' protestations. Any moment, she knew one of those paws would land on her and squish her flat, that her pain would be significantly worse if she did not die.
Suddenly, she was scooped up in someone's arms, brought closely to them, and was carried away from the danger in one swift movement. She opened her eyes, staring into sapphire blue orbs, and winced as her savior nearly dropped her during the tremor of impact from Cerberus's landing. Her muscles, though still ailing, released some of their tension. "Not-Naruto. . . ."
Cloud stared at her emotionlessly, only minutely confused by the way she seemed to like referring to him. Sans comment, he turned and began heading toward the Lobby entrance as Sora, Donald, and Goofy were entering the Arena. They appeared to be nigh rejuvenated, fresh; Hikari assumed that they had taken potions.
She looked back at Cloud. "If he dies . . . I will blame you, and your fire-haired friend."
He stared silently and nodded.
A room connected to the Lobby had a few rows of beds and medical supplies; an infirmary for immediate medical care that could not be salvaged by a simple Cure spell or less simple, but not too complex, Curaga. Hikari had been laid on one of the beds whereas Cloud sat on one next to her.
Akamaru jumped onto the bed and walked up her torso to her face. Jiminy was on his back, gazing at her with concern as the dog nudged her cheek with his nose. She cringed and rolled her face away. "Stop that, dumb dog. I'm fine." Shutting her eyes, she raised a shaky limb with a grunt of effort, and placed her hand on his brow, pushing him away a little. Her brow quivered and sweat matted her hair by her temples.
"Are you sure, Hikari? You look like you're hurtin' a lot," Jiminy said.
"That should pass in a few days. Even though it hurts a lot, I can move my arm on my own." She glanced at the bracelet on the wrist of the hand on Akamaru's head. After some speculation, she deduced that the gem's power had strained her body passed normal limits; her own body could not move so quickly on its own, even with the aide of chakra, therefore it pulled nearly all of her muscles—more in her legs and possibly abdominals than her arms, as she had applied the speed more than power. "Soon, I'll probably be able to sit up by myself. Actually, if Akamaru would get off of me, I'd hurt less right now."
Akamaru whimpered and withdrew, reversing from beneath her hand until he was on the bed, at her feet. Hikari closed her mouth and slowly slid her hand to lie at her side. Silent, she rolled her head and stared at Cloud.
He stared back just as quietly, facing her with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands hanging in the center. The lack of emotion in his expression kept his gaze ambiguous, for she could not be sure if he was staring at her or into space. Finally, she asked, "Why were you going to kill Sora, yet later saved me? Change of heart?"
His mind appeared to be more present, for he looked her in the eye more directly. Leaning forward a little more, he brought his hands up and laid one over the other in front of his mouth. He closed his eyes. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help." There was a pregnant pause as he separated and lowered his hands. "I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired."
The yellow-eyed teen averted her gaze, absorbing his words. She looked at him once again when he stood and lifted his head. From his profile, she saw that his eyes were directed at one of the urns filled with fire acting as a light fixture. "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."
Another long stillness commenced. Hikari dropped her stare from the man's profile when she caught a glimpse of his back. Fair flesh and long, shallow gashes were visible through slits in his clothing and cape; the injury must have been sustained when Cerberus had knocked him down.
There was a mild tremor, bringing both of them to glance in the direction of the doorway, toward the Arena. To their knowledge, Sora, Donald, and Goofy were in the midst of fighting, still.
"Hey," she said to him," there should be some ointment in the cupboards, or disinfectant. Get that and help me sit up. Your wounds should be tended to."
Cloud stared at her with a blank expression for a fleeting moment, as if he had not realized he was hurt. Then, he reacted to small breeze hitting his bare skin. After a small pause, he went to find what she had requested, and brought it back with some cotton balls. Awkwardly, he helped her to sit up. She grunted a few times and bit back a yell. She had to use her hands to bring her legs over the edge, and moved toward the head of the bed.
She looked up at him. "Don't be shy. If I'm going to tend your wounds, then I'll need you to take your shirt off."
A light reddish hue came to his cheeks, hidden mostly by the cape's neck. "Not shy," he muttered quietly, much like a young, embarrassed child would. With that, he pulled off the cape and began undressing the upper-half of his body. Hikari looked away, allowing him some sense of modesty (though she was not very interested in what he looked like half-naked in the first place.)
Shirtless, he sat in front of her with his posterior facing her direction. The scratches were three in number and as shallow as she had observed. They cut across his tone back almost completely. After a moment of examining them, noticing they would not require stitches, she went to work cleaning them.
They sat in the quiet for a few moments; Hikari was gentle as she applied the disinfectant, considerate despite her own pains. He appeared to take the sting well, regardless.
"Me too."
Cloud twisted a little, glancing over his shoulder. She continued looking at his back and pushed him weakly in a way of telling him to face forward again. He waited for her to say more.
She closed her eyes and hit her forehead against his back, wincing with the agony in her stomach muscles from leaning forward. His body felt warmer against her forehead than it did her fingertips. "Somehow, you take one bite of that forbidden fruit, and it never leaves you. The taste lingers on your tongue; the scent stains your nostrils; the power that fills you . . . so much, that it makes you sick. You can never use darkness to find the light . . . only search blindly until you find its glimmer. Or douse someone else's so yours shines brighter. . . . I'm searching, too."
He turned his head to the side, toward her. "For your light?"
She nodded against his back. "Mm."
"Don't lose sight of it."
There was yet another pause. She lifted her hand and placed it on his back, slowly taking another cotton ball to his wound, absently. The shine had left her eyes. "But . . . what if I don't know, who or what, my light is?"
". . . ." He seemed to search for an answer, thinking it over for a moment. His eyes stared ahead blankly, glancing over Akamaru and Jiminy without really seeing them. He cringed a little when the swab found a deeper portion of an uneven wound. Finally, he opened his mouth. "When you find it, you'll know. You just . . . will."
The girl's eyes glanced up, lifting with her head until she was staring at the back of his; she had drawn her forehead from his back. The wrinkles around her eyes, evident from the narrowing around them, made her appear to be in pain; had one not known better, they would have probably attributed the hurt to the conversation, not movement.
But the curve of her mouth appeared simply too pitiful.
The sky was darkened with the sun's setting hours before, making it appear to be a dark, sinister purple or black. Hades stood near the Coliseum Gates after his plans had failed; a Hercules action figure was in the palm of his hand. The doll posed in his palm, seemingly of his own will, like a revered hero accepting applause.
"He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect." Embers sparked for a blue fire lit in his hand, growing to consume the doll. His skin became red, and once again his hair burned brightly like magnesium. "Per-fect-ly infuriating!" Fire shot high into the sky, brightening the area momentarily.
Hades cooled, returning to his normal hue as an aura of black smoke breathed through his pores and rose to the sky. He was taking in deep breaths and releasing them quickly, letting some tension go. "Wait a minute. What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax.
"Whoa whoa whoa. Here's what you do." He spoke persuasively to himself. "Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both." When he made a fist, he realized a presence behind him, but did not turn to regard it. Instead, he glanced. "Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show."
The man stared forward soullessly with unusual eyes. Around grey irises, his sclera was marked with many ripples. Above those eyes was a shinobi hitaiate with a scratch across four lines; he was one formerly of the Rain Village. Black hoop earrings ran up along the lobes and tops of either ear; plugs pierced horizontally through his nose; and two pikes also pierced through his bottom lip. He wore a black robe with a wide, high collar and artistic red clouds. Bright, spiky orange hair rested on his head.
He was unfazed by Hades' statement. "Taking this path will lead to great pain, and great suffering . . . proceed."
End of Chapter Ten
Next Time in When Darkness Turns to Light!! Chapter Eleven: Breaking Through
Sora clenched his jaw and turned his hands to fists. He was blinking wide eyes rapidly, stepping back. With more conviction, he said, "Well, if that's how you feel—!"
"It is what I know. We're just allies, on the same side. Not—friends."
He clicked his tongue and snapped, "—Fine! Then we aren't!—," before he about-faced and left. His teeth grit against one another as his chest seemed to ache twice-fold, more than it should have. There was a crack, but it did not feel like it was his heart. A breaching of some sort, a feeling that was not his, it stayed with him anyway. His feelings of anger brushed those intruding aside.
Hee hee. Chapter ten, everybody!! This is definitely my favorite thus far—and not solely because I'm a Cloud fangirl. . . . Okay, that may play into it a little, but I also think this chapter turned out well overall! The mysterious man at the end and Orochimaru were a pain in the butt to write—that's what I get for paying so little attention to Naruto villains XD—but I hope they came out okay. As you may've noticed, I took another liberty with the time—I know that Orochimaru's arms seem to rot after the Third Hokage sealed them away, and he had to recycle his soul much sooner than three years, buuuuut I decided he didn't. (That's the beauty of fanfiction!)
I'm quite proud of myself in regard to the fight scenes, as well :D I tried to keep them as true to the game as possible, sometimes using the strategy guide for a few tips and jutsu info came from leafninja dot com. (Oh, and since I've thought about it, I am not Nomura, Kishimoto, or Disney---subsequently, I do not own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, or any Disney shiz.)
Another thing: for awhile, I've had a poll on here asking whom you all would like Hikari to end up with in the series (it's currently on my profile.) Purely for fun, as I have decided who her beau is, I encourage you to take it---the results are moderately predictable, though on Quizilla someone actually did choose Oogie Boogie O.o Anyway, it includes Kingdom Hearts and Naruto boys, and on this site you can choose up to three, if my memory doesn't fail me. Have fun!
Thanks for reading everybody, God bless :D! I'll try getting out chapter eleven as soon as possible (though I've actually got to finish that and twelve, first; I broke my rule again by posting before the next is complete XD I felt guilty 'cause part of the reason why it's late is that I got a PSP for Christmas and I played video games my entire Winter Break; no writing got done. Hehe ^^')