Naruto was impressed.
He stood, the Kingdom Key in his hand, and a smug look on his face as he engaged in a stare down with Sasuke, whose own Keyblade was pushing against the Kingdom Key. "Not bad, Naruto." Sasuke said, impressed that Naruto had stopped his blow.
"Well, I did learn from the best." Naruto said, pushing Sasuke backwards with a quick kick.
"No, that would be me." Sasuke said, before charging Naruto, he Keyblade raised above his head. Naruto quickly dodged to the side, using his Keyblade to block the blow.
"No, I'm pretty sure that's me." Naruto said, raising both Keyblades above Sasuke's head, and sending a punch to the boy's stomach.
Naruto's fist felt like it had hit a wall. Sasuke didn't feel much better.
Both of them suddenly backed off, nursing their hurt body.
"Man, Naruto, you know how to pack a punch."
"Man, Sasuke, what do you have under your shirt? Plate armor?"
Both boys looked at each other before laughing hysterically. "Man," Naruto said when they calmed down a bit, "if either Sora or Riku saw us they be having a contest to see whose pupil is the best, you know that, right?"
"Of course. But seriously, we should get back to our spar."
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said. They were in the Namikaze Manor's backyard/training ground. "Hey, by the way, I know you chose the shield first, but what was your second choice?"
"The sword, I figured that if you were anything like Sora that's what you would have gone for."
"What do you know, you do know me." Naruto said, as he prepared himself for a fight.
Sasuke stood at the other end of the yard, holding his Keyblade in Riku's stance, a stance where the wielder held his Keyblade next to his side at all times until either defending or attacking.
Naruto charged, swinging his Keyblade around himself to use both as an offensive and defensive move. Sasuke ducked under the blade and went underneath Naruto's defense, only for Naruto to teleport out of the way of Light in Exile.
"I see you found the niche in the attack."
"Niche? More like the gaping pit."
"Whatever, Sasuke." Naruto said, before pulling out three Larxene needles, one fitting in between each finger except the thumb. He threw them with three quick, graceful strokes, and Sasuke dodged each one, and quickly jumped away to keep from getting hit by the lightning cloud that shot from the ends of the needles.
Sasuke rolled on the ground, bringing up his Keyblade for a strike that he knew was coming. The hit didn't come. Instead, Naruto stood, finishing a series of handsigns.
"Crud." Sasuke thought, before he prepared to dodge.
"Fuuton: Reekudan!" Naruto said, taking a deep breath of air. He slapped his chest and forced the air out of his lungs. As soon as the air left his mouth, it formed a large, spherical projectile that came at Sasuke with extraordinary speed.
Sasuke barely dodged.
The giant wind ball slammed into the wall behind him, and left a gaping crater.
"Dude, are you trying to kill me?" Sasuke asked.
"No, but I thought we could step it up a notch. Unfortunately, that seems to have taken more out of me than I thought."
"Not surprising, I did use drainara* on you." Sasuke said as Light in Exile hid in his heart with a flash.
"Yeah, I don't like that one." Naruto said, panting.
Sasuke smiled, "Come on." He said, taking his friend by the shoulder, "I'm feeling a bit drained myself, besides, I can't overwork myself, I have the Chuunin exams to prepare for."
Naruto smiled. "Whatever."
Sasuke let the remark slide as he brought Naruto back into his home. It was nicely furnished with over-stuffed furniture and mahogany wood. Sasuke led Naruto to his favorite chair and let him slide into it. "Ah." Naruto groaned in relief, "Thanks, Sasuke."
"No problem." Sasuke said as he sat in another chair. There was silence for a bit, until Sasuke asked. "What do you think about Sakura?"
Naruto looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "When were you interested in your fangirls?"
"I'm not. I'm interested in people who have good hearts, and Sakura does."
"Then why do I need to say anything?" Naruto asked. "If you're interested in her, giver a chance, and maybe she'll hold your interest, maybe not, but then again, you'll never know until you ask her out."
"I was afraid you say something like that." Sasuke said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, when I was stuck in my consciousness, with Riku as my sensei, we didn't exactly touch on the subject of romance."
"So wait…" Naruto said, holding his hand up to stop him from making further comments, "You don't know how to talk to girls do you?"
Sasuke hesitated "…no…"
Naruto began to laugh. "Ahahaha! Ohohohoho! Oh, oh that's rich! Konoha's number one Genin heartthrob doesn't know how to talk to girls! Bwahahaha!"
"Shut up," Sasuke said.
"And he's asking me for dating advice! This is just too good!" Naruto said, laughing harder.
"If you didn't have memories of Sora and Kiari's love life we wouldn't even be having this conversation."
Naruto kept laughing.
"Naruto." Sasuke said, serious.
"Alright, alright." Naruto said, still chuckling. "Ok, first of all, to get things off the ground, you need to always go out of your way to complement her."
"On what?"
"Everything. Clothes, hair, jewelry, overall beauty, just don't mention anything that can be taken in a perverted way. That means no comments about her boobs, back, butt, bra or panties. Don't even go there. Just keep the complements to her face and clothes, as long as they aren't revealing. Second. Don't act like you know about something when you have no clue about it, because if you do, you'll make yourself look like a fool. Third. Be courteous, always think of her first always pull out her chair for her, ask where she would like to go for dinner, whatever. Fourth. Be funny. Girls like funny guys. Fifth. Always be willing to try new things. Sixth. If you make yourself vulnerable, than she will make herself vulnerable, it's human nature. Seventh, and this is the most important. Don't mess up."
Sasuke smiled nervously and fidgeted in his chair. "Are you sure that's it?"
"No, what I gave you was the abridged version, but I'm currently working on a book about the other twenty-some-odd points."
Sasuke looked up at him and blinked.
Naruto smiled. "Relax, I'm just kidding. I gave you all you need to know."
"Thanks." Sasuke said.
Naruto checked the time with the clock that hung on the wall.
Then he suddenly remembered something.
He jumped out of the chair. "Oh crud." He said before running into his bedroom.
"Where's the fire?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.
"There isn't one yet, but if I'm late there will be one." Naruto yelled from the bedroom.
"What are you talking about?"
"I have a date with Hinata, and that stupid spar made me forget!"
Sasuke smiled. "Sounds like you need to get organized better." Sasuke laughed.
A kunai came flying at his head, and embedded itself in the wall next to Sasuke's head. "Shut up! This is your fault."
"My fault?" Sasuke asked Naruto as the boy ran out of his room dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a tee-shirt with an orange swirl on the front. The headband belt hung around his waist.
"Yeah, your fault! If you hadn't come over here looking for a fight I wouldn't be in this mess right now!"
"You were the one who told me about Xehanort! You were the one who said we had to be at our best!"
"Shut up!" Naruto yelled as he jumped out of his front door. In mid air, he was already using the handsigns. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"
Suddenly, a large eagle appeared beneath him. "Fusenmei get me to Ichiraku's Ramen bar!"
"Yes sir!" The bird said, before jumping into the air.
Sasuke stood out the door and watched the boy and his bird go. He smiled. Before heading back to his own home, he had some preparations to make.
Hinata stood at Ichiraku's Ramen bar, waiting patiently. Time slowly ticked by. She was dressed in a light blue skirt, matching shoes, blue hair clips, and her headband hanging around her neck. She was waiting for Naruto to show up.
She had been waiting for ten minutes, and already she noticed that she had caught the attention of several people, mostly men, and sent them looking at her in an envious way. The man who had that girl around his arm was the luckiest man alive.
A few of them tried to be that man.
Hinata gave them a look before kicking them away.
Finally, she heard an eagle call. She looked up into the sky and saw a man riding a large bird. She smiled.
The bird dived, and pulled up before it hit the ground.
It suddenly poofed out of existence, and Naruto fell to the ground, looking very cool as he landed next to Hinata. "Sorry I'm late." Naruto said as he stood up.
"I guess I can forgive you." Hinata said in a mock glare. She smiled before hugging him.
Naruto held her there, and kissed her forehead. "My angel, I'm sorry I had to make you wait."
"I forgive you, my knight, and keeper of my Heart." Hinata said.
Naruto smiled as he led her inside the bar, the memory of when he first realized she loved him replaying through his mind.
"So, Hinata," King Mickey said, leaning on the Inverse Kigdom Key, which he used like a staff to prop himself up, "I'm guessing Kairi led you through the dream?"
"Um…a-actually she wanted Naruto to lead me through it."
Mickey stood up, surprised. "She did?"
Hinata nodded, as she sat on a rock, still wearing her large sweatshirt.
"Really?" Naruto asked, standing next to the King.
"Well that strange." Mickey said, before shrugging. "But not altogether unheard of." He said, turning to the robed boy next to him, "Go ahead Naruto, lead her through it."
"Yes, your Majesty." Naruto said, before walking up to Hinata and touching her forehead.
Suddenly, Naruto found himself in a large, grassy field, wildflowers were scattered across the land, a blue sky hung above. Naruto smiled. He liked it here. He then looked for Hinata, and he found her standing behind him in the middle of the field. She was blushing a very deep shade of red.
Then Naruto noticed that the wild flowers spelled in color the words "Hinata + Naruto= Love."
Naruto looked up at the clouds, they too, spelled the same message. A flock of birds flew overhead, the flew in a Heart formation with the message "N + H" spelled in the center of it.
Naruto blinked.
Hinata blushed furiously.
Naruto looked at her. "I guess now would be a good time to say I love you, huh?"
Hinata wondered if she heard right. "What?"
Naruto smiled. "Let's just say I agree with the birds."
"Those were good times."
Sasuke stood by the door to a very high-end restaurant.
He was waiting for someone.
He stood wearing one of his Uchiha shirts, the ones with the large red-and-white fan on the back, and a pair of white shorts, like he used to wear in the good-ole-days.
So far she hadn't shown up yet, but he knew she was there.
It was her shampoo.
She really needed to learn to stop using scented shampoo.
But he waited.
If there was thing Riku taught him, it was patience.
Sakura watched him, wondering if she should believe her eyes.
He actually came.
He had been serious.
She blinked as she watched him from around the corner. To anyone else she looked like she was checking herself in her mirror, which she used to look behind her.
She couldn't believe it.
It was a childhood fantasy come true.
She took a deep breath, before going around the corner. "Hey Sasuke!" She said, waving to him.
Sasuke looked over at her and smiled. "About time." He thought. "Hey Sakura, I was afraid you wouldn't show."
"Well, I'm here now, shall we begin?"
"Shall we begin?" Sasuke asked, "You've been around Kurenai too much."
"Well, she is my sensei."
"Wait." Sasuke said, "She is?" Sasuke made a face that screamed mock surprise.
Sakura laughed. "Sasuke…" She mock scolded.
Sasuke chuckled before changing the subject. "So have you ever been here before?" He asked her, motioning to the restaurant.
"No, I can't say that I have."
"Oh well then you're going to love it."
"How do you know? You don't even know what foods I like."
Sasuke smiled at her, "I know because it has a little bit of every food in all of Konoha. It has Ramen, Dango, Barbeque, you name it."
"Then why have I never heard of it?" Sakura asked.
"Because it's rather expensive." Sasuke said. "And that's a bit of an understatement. But it is one of the better ones I know."
Sakura was a little surprised. He was taking her to an expensive, high-end restaurant.
She discreetly pinched herself.
Not a dream.
Sasuke led them to the sign that read "please wait to be seated". They did not need to wait long before a waiter came out. "Two please." Sasuke said. The waiter nodded and led them to a table. He handed them two menus and then walked away.
Sakura watched him go, "He's not even going to take our drink orders?"
"No, not for twenty minutes."
"Twenty minutes?!" Sakura asked, trying to keep her voice down.
Sasuke looked at her, "No, you see, this restaurant encourages couples to come here, so they give the couples a long time to talk without having to worry about food or drink or whatever. This is a restaurant where you talk first, eat later."
Sakura blinked. "…Oh…"
"So what do you want to talk about?" Sasuke asked.
About three hours later, Sakura and Sasuke walked out of the restaurant, and began heading towards the park.
Sasuke had learned that Sakura was incredibly book smart with a lot of potential to be quick on her feet and a fast thinker. He also learned that they shared some common interests, namely, food, training, and finding ways to get revenge on people.
Sakura, in turn, learned a lot about Sasuke. She learned about some of his history, she also learned that he liked to work out, but not the 'bodybuilder's workout' that makes you so large you can't touch your face anymore because your biceps are so large. He mostly worked out for endurance. She also found out that he believed that having friends was a shinobi's greatest strength.
She found that she could respect that.
Sasuke walked her home, staring up at the moon the whole time. "So, Sakura…" Sasuke said, looking at her. "Want to do this again?"
She smiled. "Sure, but this time, I get to choose were we go."
Sasuke smiled at her. "Sure."
The Dark man sat on his black throne. The newbies have just proven themselves.
"We have caught the Rokubi." The redhead said.
The Dark man sat on his throne. "Good. Very good."
The silver-haired, sword wielder stood up. "We also have found the whereabouts of the Gobi."
"Excellent." The Dark man said. "Go and capture him. When you have, come back, I will have a much more…challenging mission for you."
"Yes sir." The three said as the bowed and left.
The giant oak doors closed, and the redhead and sword wielder both breathed a sigh of relief. "Man," The silver-haired boy said, "That guy is just way too creepy."
"Shut up, Suigetsu! He may hear us." The redhead said.
"Oh, you worry too much, Karin." Suigetsu said, "Isn't she, Juugo?"
The large man with orange hair remained silent. He only looked at the two of them and gave an exasperated sigh. "Come on. Let's go catch the Gobi."
Inside the oak Doors, the Dark man laughed. Soon very soon, everything will fall into place, and Darkness would become his tool, nothing would stand in his way, not even the accursed light.
It was only a matter of time.
I have made a grave mistake. My study of the "darkness of the heart" began with a simple psychological test and quickly snowballed.
Spurred on by my youngest apprentice, Ienzo, I constructed a massive laboratory in the basement of my castle.
Unbeknownst to me, my six apprentices then began collecting a large number of subjects on which to perform dangerous experiments into the "darkness of the heart." …
Yes — the first subject in my foolish experiments.
–Secret Ansem Report 2
"Yes…It is only a matter of time."
Naruto felt something. Something evil, something Dark.
"So the Darkness comes."
Chaos affects not only this world, but many other worlds besides.
In the "Ansem Reports" my apprentice Xehanort had written under my name, I found the records of his hideous experiments along with his hypothesis about the door that had appeared out of the darkness in my basement. …
What is Xehanort hoping to gain with my pilfered existence?
Will my people cease to smile?
If the light of hope has been extinguished, I shall henceforth walk with darkness as a friend.
Here, in the realm of nothingness to which I have been relegated.
Darkness in the midst of nothing. …
–Secret Ansem Report 3
Hinata felt it. It was a darkness that pricked at her, causing the hair on her neck to stand on end.
She gulped.
It sent shivers down her spine. Her heart felt heavy.
Then it passed.
She sighed, "So much for goofing off this month." She thought, as she headed out the door, Star Seeker shining in her hand.
The distant days spent in that beautiful paradise are an illusion to me now.
How long have I been here, banished to the realm of nothingness?
It is only by relying upon my anger and hatred that I have been able to retain my sense of self here where all existence is nullified.
My heart is being overcome with hatred toward my apprentices, possessed by the darkness, and with the anger I feel for stupidly allowing myself to be betrayed.
Is this darkness, eating away at my heart? …
Where have they come from, and where are they going?
Three elements combine to create a life: a heart, a soul, and a body.
But what of the soul and body left behind when the heart is lost?
When the soul leaves the body, its vessel, life gives way to death, but what about when the heart leaves?
A being does not perish when its heart leaves its body. The heart alone disappears into the darkness.
There is little time.
If I remain in this realm much longer, I will certainly learn these answers the hard way.
My heart is already a captive of the darkness.
–Secret Ansem Report 4
Sasuke may have had the power of twilight, but that did not make him invincible to the Darkness.
He felt the wave of evil like one feels the wind wash over them.
It was an dark wave, racking his bones and ripping at his soul. When it had passed, Sasuke stood up. "So the cowards have finally let themselves be known.
In this realm, where all existence has been disintegrated, I have just barely managed to preserve my sense of self by continuing to think and to write.
It is a place where even time has lost all meaning. Eternity is as but a moment here.
I must make haste. Certainly their plans are already underway.
The Heartless must be the key to unraveling this mystery.
The six traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows.
Not only did they generate "pureblood" Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well. …
A human's commands would be ineffective: the Heartless would easily steal the human's heart and use it to increase their own ranks.
But what if an even stronger Heartless was giving the orders?
If he cast aside his own soul and body and became a Heartless, wouldn't he able to control the otherwise intractable Heartless?
Furthermore, wouldn't he be planning to make use of the creatures' instincts? If the heart-seeking Heartless have their sights set on a larger, more powerful heart, their ultimate goal is crystal-clear.
The largest heart in existence—the heart of the world.
This is all conjecture, but it would seem he is utilizing the Heartless in his search for a path leading to the heart of the world.
–Secret Ansem Report 5
Konoha was in chaos. They have never felt something so evil since -. They have never felt something so evil. Old men in nursing homes died of heart attacks, civilians ran panicking through the streets.
Even the ninjas, anywhere from Genin to Jounin ran and hid from this evil.
Tsunade felt it, and she instantly knew what it meant.
The Keyblades were the only thing standing in between them and destruction.
My choice to befriend darkness here in the midst of nothingness was a sound one.
The moment I stared straight ahead with a calm heart, neither rejecting darkness nor fearing it, I gained a newfound power.
A superhuman power—the power of darkness.
It is likely Xehanort and the others were enraptured by this power, eventually becoming its prisoners.
I do not intend to allow my heart to be devoured by the darkness, as they did, of course.
With this new power, I uncovered a "corridor of darkness" that connects the realm of nothingness to the outside world. While it is still difficult to come and go as I please, my banishment is now a thing of the past. …
At the center of the heart Xehanort has stolen was "Kingdom Hearts," which attracts tremendous darkness itself and attempts to send any and all matter back into its depths.
The other five have disappeared. Have they become Heartless, like Xehanort?
Or did they vanish after Xehanort exploited them?
I became familiar with an unusual "entity" while pursuing the truth.
It is the soul and body that remain when a being loses its heart.
When a Heartless is born, these entities disappear from the realm of light, to be reborn as entirely new beings in a completely different realm.
–Secret Ansem Report 6
Sora, Kairi, and Riku stood, in Disney Castle. Next to them stood the immortal natives of the world, and the thirteen members of the New Organization.
They stood on a balcony, overlooking the courtyard and then a large field.
Above the field hung a dark cloud, which smothered the land beneath it like a blanket.
Sora watched it, when suddenly, a young boy, with large blue eyes came up to him. "Grandpa…? What's that?"
Sora looked down at the boy. "I hope you never find out."
While beings born of darkness and those lacking hearts may find them convenient, it is dangerous for others to make much use of the corridors of darkness. Darkness erodes the heart.
In search of a place to proceed with my research and planning away from prying eyes, I found myself in "Twilight Town." It is a quiet village, forgotten in the chasm between light and darkness. I situated myself in the basement of an abandoned mansion standing beyond the woods. …
This new threat...they have given themselves a fitting name, I suppose.
These non-beings: "Nobodies."
A great number of Nobodies have lost human form, as have the Heartless. Yet the Nobody born of someone with a strong heart retains its shape, with but the faintest visible changes.
It appears my betrayers have retained their human forms as Nobodies, and are gathering more followers in hopes of furthering a new scheme.
"Organization XIII," formed of 13 Nobodies with my betrayers at its core, has divided into two; they are said to be carrying out some sort of research.
Seeking to uncover the plans of this Organization, I have decided to head for where six of its members have gathered. Towering over the outer limits of the realm between darkness and light: Castle Oblivion.
–Secret Ansem Report 7
The Dark man smiled. Soon, every power of darkness will be at his feet.
It was only a matter of time.
End Chapter!
*Drain, Drainara, Drainaga: Twilight magic that uses shadow energy to suck away at one's strength, stamina, chakra, and Magic abilities.