The streets of the Hidden Leaf were a bit quieter than before as Naruto led the team through them. The citizens seemed a bit wary as they were walking. It appeared that the Heartless situation made them a bit cautious. This did not go unnoticed by the group.

"The villagers seem pretty scared, huh?" Lea asked

"If this keeps up, there probably won't be any civilians in the streets during the day." Naruto sighed.

Anne then looked up and noticed a small mountain near the Hokage's office that had faces carved into it, one of them being Tsunade's.

"Hey, what's that?" she questioned, pointing at the mountain.

Naruto paused, looking where she was pointing. "Oh, that's the Hokage Monument!"

The rest of the group drew their attention to the mountain as well. "Cool!" Sora remarked.

"Each time we get a new Hokage, their face is carved on the mountainside." Naruto explained. "That way, people will know that the Hokage will always watch over the village."

"Kind of hard to do when they're- Ow!" Jason had said 'ow' because as that moment, Clair elbowed him hard. Jason held his ribs as Clair gave him a look while Naruto didn't seem to pay attention. He then leapt up and ran up the wall of a building before jumping to another one, which surprised some members of the group.

Sora simply jumped up after him. "Wait up!" he called as caught up to the blonde on top of a low roof.

"Hey!" Jason called up. "In case you didn't know, some of us don't have wobolate skills!"

Anne looked at him with a confused expression. "Hobo-say-what?"

"Wobolate. It's a sport that involves extreme jumping." Clair explained as she looked at her. "You don't have that sport where you're from?"

Anne shook her head. "Uh-uh." she replied. Clair shrugged at that.

Naruto tried narrowing his eyes to get a better look as he scanned the area from where he was standing. "I don't see any!"

"We need to be sure." Jason called up to them.

"I know that!" Naruto retorted. Sora tried looking as well, but had no such luck. "They've gotta be around here somewhere..." Naruto said before leaping down.

"What were some of the other locations again?" Clair asked.

"Well, there were the streets..." Naruto shrugged as Sora leapt down from the roof. They then resumed walking down the road.

As they passed a flower shop, Clair stopped in her tracks. The others went on without noticing her, but she couldn't bring herself to look away. There was a bouquet of pink flowers with orange markings. They weren't quite the same as the ones that grew on Harthyn, but they strongly reminded her of the wildflowers from home. Thinking about them made her long for home, and her heart pained at the memories that came to her. How she wished that she could go home, see her parents, or at least let them know she was all right.

Her face fell as she thought of them. They must be worried out of their minds. The forces were probably looking for her, Jason, and Aurora. But what if time moved differently out here than it did on Harthyn? What if they got home only to find that years had gone by and their parents were dead?

She tried to push those worries out of her mind. But the more she tried to push them, the more they stayed. She just hoped that her parents were alright...

The strain of the worry caused tears to form in her eyes.

"Clair?"

She looked up and saw Kairi was looking back, having noticed she had stopped. "Are you okay?"

Clair shook her head. "No." she replied truthfully. Kairi walked over to her and a couple other members of the group noticed, stopping in their tracks.

"What's wrong?" Kairi inquired.

"It's just... it's my parents..." Clair leaned against the window. "I miss them. I can't help but worry if they're okay. Or wonder what they're thinking about right now."

"I'm sure that your parents are okay." Kairi tried to reassure the girl.

"What brought this on?" Jason asked.

Clair gestured to the flower in the glanced over at it. "Whoa. It does look similar to what grew on Harthyn." he commented.

"I think you're homesick." Kairi said. Clair looked down at that. "I know how you feel. There are times when I miss the islands. But I know that what we're doing is the right thing to do. Wouldn't your parents want you to do that?"

Clair nodded. The red-headed teen offered her a reassuring smile. "Then let that motivate you. Keep doing what they would want you to do, and in a way, you'll still be with them. That's what I've learned."

Clair thought about what she had said, then nodded again. Kairi smiled gently. "You ready?" she inquired, earning a nod from her.

They then resumed their recon through the village. They had caught up with the rest of the group. Naruto was looking ahead and smiled. "Hey, Sakura!"

They could see a teenage girl with short, pink hair up ahead turning around and looking at them. "Naruto! There you are!" She ran up to him. "Where have you been?"

"Patrolling the area for those things, just like Granny asked." Naruto explained, shrugging lightly. "Just got back, actually."

Sakura then noticed the group behind him. "Who are they?"

"Hm? Oh, I found them in the woods with those things attacking them. They looked like they were having trouble, so I helped them out." Naruto informed her. Sakura glanced over at them with an eyebrow raised.

Sora waved. "Hello." he greeted with a friendly smile.

"This is my teammate, Sakura." Naruto informed him with a smile.

"My name's Sora. This is Riku, Kairi, Lea, Jason, Clair, and Anne." Sora told the pink haired teen.

"Nice to meet you." Sakura nodded.

"Another ninja in not-so-incognito clothes." Jason muttered to his team.

Anne glared at him. "That probably is incognito here."

Sakura frowned a bit at what she heard Jason say, but shook her head. "Naruto, did you find any outside the vi!lage?"

"Yeah. Those things were kicking their butts, so I helped them out." the orange clad ninja grinned.

"He said the Heartless had been spotted around the village." Riku said. "We're looking into it."

The pink haired ninja rose an eyebrow. "Heartless? Is that what those creatures are called?"

Naruto nodded. "Granny said Sora and his friends could help us out."

"But first we need to see each location where the Heartless have been located." Riku added.

"This could take a while..." Lea noted as he crossed his arms.

"There!" Kairi suddebly gasped as she pointed up ahead.

Sora whirled around and saw the same kind of Heartless that had attacked them in the woods in the distance. "A Heartless!"

Naruto charged forward past the group with Sora hot on his heels. "What the... Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed as they passed her.

The Heartless noticed them before running down another street. Sora summoned his Keyblade and ran even faster. "Oh, no ya don't!"

The rest of the group was running after the two as they ran to catch the Heartless.

Jason then stopped. "Wait a minute."

"What are you doing? We have to go after that!" Anne told him as she skidded to a halt.

"Something doesn't seem right." Jason replied. "Why would a Heartless run away from us?"

Sora and Naruto caught up with the Heartless. "Caught ya!" Naruto declared triumphantly. However, a few more materialized around the two.

"It's a trap!" Sora exclaimed.

One lunged at the two, but Sora blocked the blow. "We can still take them!" he declared, just as more showed up.

Jason glared at him as they reached Sora and Naruto. "Way to jinx it."

Once they had caught up to them, they drew their weapons. The Heartless surrounding them attacked first. Anne got hit by one, staggering back from it. She managed to duck down when it swung at her again and retaliated with a swing from her Keyblade, landing a blow on it.

One leapt at Clair, but she managed to avoid the swipe. She then concentrated and fired a Plasma Bolt at Heartless was knocked back by the attack. Another one charged towards Naruto.

The ninja put some of his fingers together. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, two clones of himself appeared, taking some of the group by surprise. Anne noticed the way his fingers had been put together had made some sort of sign or symbol, but she didn't know what it meant.

Sora recognized it as the move he had used in the forest.

"Gri's Beak!" Clair gasped, still surprised by the orange-wearing ninja's ability.

"What the-" Jason began.

Naruto and his clones charged forward. "Bring it!" the three yelled in unison at the Heartless.

The three of them began to attack the ninja-like Heartless with punches.

Sora snapped out of his awe and attacked a nearby Heartless, which vanished as the heart was released.

Riku then leapt up and brought his Keyblade down on a nearby Heartless, dealing some damage to it. Kairi dodged a swipe from another one of the ninja-like Heartless, then blocked a blow with Destiny's Embrace.

She remembered her training she did during her stay at the Mysterious Tower and prepared some magic, jumping back before concentrating, thinking about what Master Yen Sid had told her during her training.

"Light!" she yelled as she pointed her Keyblade up at the sky. A pillar of light appeared and hit one of the Heartless, destroying it.

"Wow! Nice one, Kairi!" Sora praised with a grin. Riku nodded in agreement before ducking down from a swing the creature of darkness threw at him. Anne clutched the grip of her Keyblade with both hands and brought it down on one of the ninja-like Heartless, dealing a bit of damage. The creature retaliated with a swing of its own, knocking Anne off balance for a moment. She managed to recover from it and prepared to attack again.

"Fire!" she exclaimed as a fireball shot out from the tip of her Keyblade.

The fireball managed to hit the ninja-like Heartless and finished it off.

Lea leapt back to avoid another swipe from the dark creature, then slammed his Keyblade into it. "Feel the burn!" the pyro declared as he finished the Heartless off with a fireball.

Nearby, Aurora managed to freeze one with Blizzard, allowing her to attack it several times. Before she could deal the final blow, Jason beat her to it as he slammed his own Keyblade into it. The ice shattered and the Heartless faded into darkness as another heart floated away from where the Heartless once was.

Naruto and his clones charged at another one before he slid on the ground and kicked it up into the air. One by one, his clones joined in on the kicking, kicking the Heartless higher, each of them exclaiming, "Na! Ru! To!"

The real Naruto used one of his clones as a springboard and jumped up to the Heartless, preparing to kick it.

"Uzumaki Barrage!" the blonde roared before slamming his foot down on it, sending the ninja-like monster straight to the ground. Jason's jaw dropped low upon seeing this happen. Aurora seemed to be slightly impressed, but she masked it with a scoff.

Sora moved to the side and attacked a Heartless from behind, managing to destroy it and release the heart. Clair slashed at one as well, catching it off guard. The Heartless staggered backwards from the blow as Clair cast a Thunder spell, zapping it and releasing the heart. The creature faded away in wisps of darkness as Riku made a count of how many were remaining. He could see that there were two more left.

The last two Rogue Ninjas, as Sora decided to dub them, charged towards the group. Jason nearly got knocked over by one of them. The teen growled before attacking it with a swing of his Keyblade, hitting it in the side. The Rogue Ninja was knocked off balance, but avoided another swing from the weapon and landed a hit on Jason. He grunted from the attack, but retaliated and finished it off, releasing the heart.

Kairi leapt back as the last Rogue Ninja tried to ram into her. The Heartless then attempted to kick her, but its foot met her Keyblade as she blocked it. The red-headed girl then spun around, hitting the Rogue Ninja and forcing it back. She then zapped it with a Thunder spell, destroying the last Heartless in the area.

Sora sighed once the area was cleared and dismissed his Keyblade. Riku casted Cure on those injured during the battle as Naruto's clones vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sora questioned.

Naruto dusted off his jacket. "Yeah?"

"What was that move you used back there?"

"Oh, that was-"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"Huh?"

Before Sora or anybody else could react, a fist shot out and slammed straight into Naruto's face, sending him flying back at least fifteen feet with him tumbling upon landing on the dirt road.

The group yelled in surprise and were flabbergasted to see that the fist had belonged to Sakura, who had an annoyed and angry expression. She stormed past them and towards Naruto as he landed on his back, groaning as he held his bruised face. Anne had hidden behind Lea at this point, comically shaking, obviously unnerved by the punch. Lea ignored her, but couldn't believe the sight he had just seen, making a mental note not to get her angry. Clair could only stare with a dropped jaw as Riku, Kairi, and Sora took a couple steps back, just in case. Jason was shocked, but secretly impressed by her punch. Aurora, however, simply stared, shaking her head.

Naruto winced as he sat up. "What was that for?!"

"What in the world were you thinking?! How could you be so reckless, rushing in like that?!" Sakura scolded, placing her hands on her hips.

"B-But the Heartless appeared-" Naruto protested, but Sakura cut him off.

"We don't know what else these things can do! You could have been seriously injured!"

"I wasn't! See?" Naruto told her as he stumbled upon to his feet, ignoring his throbbing cheek.

"And you!" Sakura whirled around to face the group, which caused a couple of them to jump. "You shouldn't have rushed in like that either!"

"To be fair, we didn't know that the Heartless would ambush us... Naruto didn't, either." Sora spoke up, hoping not to anger Sakura any further.

The pinkette crossed her arms as she frowned. "Then maybe next time when you face those things, make sure you don't fall into a trap." she told him. She then sighed as she shook her head. "I have to go back on patrol. You guys get back to taking those things down."

She prepared to leave, but then Naruto said, "Hey, Sakura...? Sorry for worrying you."

Sakura paused in mid-step, then let out a sigh as she glanced back at the knucklehead ninja. "It's alright... Just be more careful next time, okay?"

With that, she walked away from the group with none of them daring to say a word as she passed by, leaving them in silence.

After a moment, Lea finally spoke up, commenting, "She's kind of scary when she's angry..."

"You have no idea." Naruto told the pyro as he dusted himself off. "Trust me, she can sure pack a punch."

Anne had stepped out from behind Lea now that Sakura was gone. "I can tell..." she muttered. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something glint on the dirt road. As the group began to converse with one another, she walked over to it, knelt down, and picked it up in order to get a closer look. "Hey, guys?"

Some of the group turned to her at her call. "What is it, Anne?" Clair inquired.

The brown haired girl walked back to them and held out her gloved hand, showing them the item she had found. "I think that one of those Heartless dropped this..."

The group could now get a better look at what it was. It was orange in color and about the size of a rock.

"Hey, that's a Gummi block!" Sora recognized.

"Didn't you say you guys needed those?" Naruto questioned, earning a nod from Riku. The silver haired teen then began to ponder. Maybe more of these kinds of Heartless were carrying Gummi blocks as well?

He then turned to look at his teammates. "Guys, if one of them dropped a Gummi block, then maybe we should keep an eye out for more." he suggested.

Sora nodded in agreement. "Good plan, Riku."

"Let's go." Naruto announced before resuming to lead them throughout the village. However, none of them had noticed a mysterious, cloaked figure watching from the rooftops...

"... so, Naruto? What exactly was that move you used back there?" Sora questioned as they walked down a set of stairs that led to a park.

"Oh, that? That was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's a technique I use when fighting. It lets me make shadow clones of myself to help me in battle." Naruto explained to the Keyblade wielder with a smile. "And with my clones, I can use sweet Jutsus like Uzumaki Barrage."

"Sounds very useful." Kairi remarked.

"But what exactly is a 'jutsu'?" Clair questioned. Naruto had an incredulous look.

"You seriously don't know?" he asked. Clair shook her head. "Well, justus are techniques ninjas use in battle by using their chakra. They have to weave hand signs to make it work."

Clair and Anne became interested upon hearing the explanation. "So that's what those weird motions you made with your hands were?" Anne inquired, earning a nod of confirmation from the blonde.

Jason, however, didn't appear to be listening.

"Hey, Naruto!" a voice called out, gaining the attention of some of the Keyblade wielders. A teenage boy that looked to be Naruto's age was walking towards them. He had messy brown hair and red, fang like facial markings. He wore a type of zipped up black leather jacket over a mesh shirt with black pants and sandals. Like Naruto, he also had a headband tied around his forehead.

"Hey, Kiba, what's up?" Naruto greeted as he approached them.

The black clad teen shrugged. "I'm kind of patrolling the place with Akamaru. We've been given orders to make sure no more of those freaky things show up."

He then saw the team standing behind Naruto. "Who are those guys?"

"This is Sora and his friends Riku, Kairi, Lea, Anne, Jason, Aurora, and Clair. They're helping us out with those monsters that keep popping up." Naruto then glanced back at the group. "Everyone, this guy's Kiba Inuzuka."

It was then the Keyblade wielders noticed the huge, white dog with brown patches on its ears standing next to Kiba.

"That's one big dog..." Kairi commented.

Kiba smirked. "This is Akamaru. He and I fight battles together." he said proudly as he scratched Akamaru behind the ears. Anne stared at the dog for a moment, reminded of her own dog, Boomer. She cracked a smile at that, but it fell upon remembering that she didn't know if he or her parents were okay.

She was then snapped out of it by Akamaru trotting around the group sniffing them. "Uh... hi?"

Akamaru barked a couple times, causing Kiba to raise an eyebrow. "They're not from around here?"

Sora tilted his head in confusion. "Huh...? He understood that?"

"Kiba is the only one who understands what that mutt is saying." Naruto answered. "I think it's cause he's from the Inuzuka clan..."

Just then, Akamaru's ears perked up before he trotted a few feet forward sniffing the ground. Suddenly, he stopped as the fur on the back of his neck bristled up as he crouched down, growling.

"What's wrong, Akamaru?" Kiba questioned his dog. This drew the attention of the group as they looked in the direction that the dog was looking at.

Before anyone could ask anything else, wisps of gray and black appeared and to their surprise, a pair of light purple and gray humanoid beings materialized. They both donned scarves that covered their mouths, white vests, and purple trousers. On their heads was a symbol that Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Lea easily recognized.

"Nobodies!" they gasped. Some of the newer members of the team took a step back upon seeing them. Naruto and Kiba, however, were confused hearing the term.

"Wait, those aren't Heartless?" Naruto asked.

Kiba frowned. "What, now? Heartless? Nobodies? What are you talking about?"

Riku summoned Way to Dawn. "Save the questions for later. We've got company."

Those who had a Keyblade called it forth and prepared for battle as Naruto got ready.

The Inuzuka shook his head before joining them with Akamaru at his side. "Alright, someone better tell me what's going on here!" he demanded before the Nobodies charged towards them.

Sora reacted first and casted Reflect, causing one that was about to attack him to bounce off a barrier. It slithered away as its fellow Nobody zipped towards Jason.

"Bring it, you dumb-" Jason swung his Keyblade at it, only to miss as the Nobody avoided it. He was then knocked down by the pale creature, but got back to his feet quickly. Naruto zoomed towards the other one as it prepared to attack, only for him to flip out of the way as the bandages on its arms unravelled and lunged forward, attempting to latch onto him.

"What kind are these?!" Clair asked, barely avoiding a swipe from one of them.

"I don't know! These are a kind I haven't seen before!" Lea answered. Clair focused and casted Fire, knocking back one of the Nobodies. Akamaru crouched down before ramming into a Nobody, sinking his teeth into one of its arms. The Nobody attempted to get loose as the ninja hound shook his head and tossed it to the side after releasing it. Kiba charged forward and slammed his foot into its face, knocking it back.

"Nice, Akamaru!" he praised his dog, who wagged his tail in response.

Aurora frowned as the other charged towards her. She threw up her Keyblade and blocked one of its kicks. She then slashed at it, landing a blow, then slammed her Keyblade down on it again. Sora dodge-rolled to avoid a swipe from one of the Nobodies and got back to his feet quickly. He gripped Kingdom Key tightly before focusing his energy, shouting, "Blizzard!"

The spell shot forward and encased the Nobody within a block of ice. With the Nobody frozen in place, Sora charged forward and attacked, hitting it with his Keyblade with the chance he was given. Naruto threw a set of sharp, star-like objects at it just as the creature broke free. It ended up getting hit by the sharp weapons and staggered back from the surprise blow.

Lea then summoned a fireball and shot it at the other Nobody as it zipped towards his direction. It recoiled from the intense heat and slithered away from him.

Anne placed the palm of her hand on the flat part of her Keyblade to help block an attack from one of the dark creatures. She dug her feet into the ground to keep from being knocked back by the force of the attack and pushed it back, causing it to lose its balance. Anne used this to her advantage and slammed her Keyblade into the monster, landing a bit of damage on it.

Suddenly, the bandages on its arms unravelled and shot forward. Anne's eyes widened in surprise before she quickly dove to the side with the wrappings just barely missing her. She rolled on the ground before getting back on her feet. Kairi ran at it while the Nobody was distracted and slammed her Keyblade into its side, knocking it off balance. "Anne!"

Anne nodded before she quickly charged at it, slashing at it a couple times. Then she held up her Keyblade and concentrated. "Thunder!"

Lightning bolts came down, crackling as they hit the purple and gray Nobody. Kairi shot a fireball from the tip of her Keyblade, which made the Nobody catch aflame. Anne and Kairi high-fived each other as the creature stumbled back. "Alright!"

"Let's go, Akamaru!" Kiba called to his dog, who ran to his side, barking in agreement. A puff of smoke surrounded the large dog and when the smoke vanished, a copy of Kiba stood in his place. Jason did a double take upon seeing it. Kiba crouched down before charging at one with Akamaru. Together, the duo leapt up into the air and began spinning rapidly until they both looked like tornadoes.

"Fang over Fang!" Kiba roared as they landed several hits on it. The Nobody was left barely standing afterwards.

Jason couldn't believe it. Dogs that could turn into people? What next?

He snapped out of it just in time to see bandages coming towards him. Before he could duck, they wrapped around his body, forcing his arms to his sides. "Gah!"

He struggled to break free from them, but the bandages were rather strong and tight. However, he slowly felt his strength leaving him as he began to feel weaker. His knees felt ready to give out as his vision started to blur. "Let... me... go..." he growled, trying to escape from the bindings, only to fall to his knees as his energy was being sapped.

Riku's eyes widened upon realizing what the Nobody was doing and leapt forward, chopping through the bandages to free Jason. The teen nearly fell on the ground, panting as he tried to catch his breath while the bandages vanished.

"Heal!" Riku called, casting Cure on Jason to help him. Clair rushed to help her cousin up to his feet.

"I-I'm good..." Jason muttered, holding his hand up and getting up on his own. Riku looked towards the Nobody, which recoiled from the bandages being chopped off.

"That Nobody... it drains your energy if it catches you..." he realized, then got his Keyblade ready again. "Guys! Don't let it catch you with the bandages!"

"Gotcha!" Lea called as he managed to avoid the bandages of one of the Nobodies. The pyro then smirked. "Say, Drainers sounds like a good name for these things, huh?"

"Not the time!" Riku replied before charging at one of the newly dubbed 'Drainers'. He flipped into the air before bringing down his Keyblade on the Drainer. He then shot a Dark Firaga at it, which dealt quite a bit of damage. He then finished it off with a blow from his Keyblade. The Nobody collasped and faded into nothingness, leaving only one left.

The last Drainer slithered towards Sora, who reacted quickly and blocked a blow from it, then shoved it back. As the Drainer was knocked balance, Sora whacked it a couple times with his Keyblade. Naruto joined the spiky haired teen and launched a flurry of kicks. Sora leapt backwards and threw his Keyblade, which twirled in the air as it slammed into the Drainer, then reappeared in Sora's hand a moment later.

Naruto kicked the Drainer on the head one more time before flipping backwards.

Anne charged at it from the side and brought her Keyblade down on it twice. She ducked down to avoid a swing from its arms, then casted Fire, burning it. The Drainer looked to be on its last legs from the damage it took. As it slithered away to try and avoid them, Kairi charged towards it and slashed at it one final time, which destroyed it.

The creature of nothingness vanished upon being defeated. Akamaru turned back to normal as those who were hurt in the fight were healed. Kiba then approached the group. "Okay, mind telling me what that was back there?"

"Those things, they're called Nobodies, creatures made from what's left of those who have lost their heart. And the other monsters that have been showing up are Heartless, creatures of darkness made from the darkness in people's hearts." Sora explained.

"Did you guys face these things before?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms. All this information was confusing to him...

"Yeah, just not this kind before." Riku replied. "But if more of these keep showing up, then its best you be on your guard."

Kiba nodded, then reached into his pocket. "Earlier, I found this weird thing after fighting those, uh, Heartless. Didn't know what to do with it."

He pulled out a small object and tossed it to Riku, who caught it in his hand. It was revealed to be a Gummi block. "Thanks. We need this." he nodded, pocketing the piece.

Kiba shrugged. "Anyway, Akamaru and I need to get back to patrolling."

"You be careful. These things are tougher than they look. Tell the others to watch out for them." Naruto advised, earning a nod from the Inuzuka before he and his ninja hound ran off. Naruto then turned back to the group, who had managed to recover. "Okay, so now we got things called Nobodies here?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are." Sora replied. "Have you seen any like that around here?"

Naruto paused, trying to remember if he did or not. "Hm... I don't think so... maybe one outside the village..."

"Then we definitely need to keep an eye out for them." Riku said. Looks like the situation in the village had gotten worse...

"We better get a move on. More of them are bound to be around." Lea told them, earning nods of agreement. Naruto then led the group through the park, each of them keeping an eye out for any sign of danger.

Unknown to them, the same cloaked figure from before was hiding in a tree, observing them as they left the area. The person smirked under their hood.

"Well, lookie here. The Keyblade wielders are back in action. The newbies aren't too shabby." they remarked in a casual, male voice. Then, he chuckled to himself. "This'll be good... bet they'll be surprised to see me..."