Crystal Style Revealed

The dirt and mud swirled liked water in a whirlpool. Swallowing everything. Except for Kairi, Kakashi, and team eight, that were sitting safely on a rock.

"We would had been flattened if Akamaru hadn't sniffed out that escape route."

Kiba chuckled, "Good boy Akamaru. So, they did lay a trap after all."

"Not for us," Shino said, "I doubt the enemy knows we're in the vicinity. I think the trap was to destroy the evidence, to destroy the hideout itself."

"That horrible," Kairi said. If this world had people like Orochimaru, it was some kind of miracle they hadn't attracted the Heartless up till now.

"All those people," Hinata added with sympathy.

"Yeah, pretty ruthless alright," Kakashi agreed.

"Orochimaru, he's going to pay for that," Kiba growled.

"Truer words haven't been spoken," Kairi agreed. If she hadn't stopped Kabuto that time, the people from the landslide could have just as easily ended up in that prison. Being swallowed up by the cave in.

They waited for the Earth to calm down. The mud finally stopped churning like water and started to set.

"Well, in locating Orochimaru's hideout, we've achieved our mission," Kakashi said.

"This is an achievement?" Kairi asked skeptically. They didn't find Orochimaru or Sasuke, and they couldn't save the unfortunate victims who died in the cave in.

"She's right, we can't say it's been a success, can we?" Shino asked, "We can't return to the Leaf without the enemies current whereabouts and plans."

"Naruto will never let me hear the end of it if we did," Kairi muttered.

"There is one bit of information that we've learned," Hinata piped up, "Well, that was a timed explosion, whoever set the timer had to be here recently."

"That's right," Kairi realized, "If we can find them and capture them, we may get the location to the hideout Orochimaru is at," Kairi was determined to do that. She wanted to make whoever kill these people pay.

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"Then it's decided," Kiba said.

"Leave everything to me," Shino raised his arms. A huge cloud of insects flew up into the air, "My parasitic insects are masters in picking up an enemies trail."

"Hey, if anyone's a master at tracking an enemy, it's Akamaru here," Kiba said, Akamaru barked in agreement."

"Yes, and don't forget me," Hinata said.

"Hey," Kairi didn't want to get left out, "I'm a sensory type too, ya know!"

After the insects found the enemy, the team went after them. Kairi still felt horrible. She could save any of those poor prisoners. Only Kingdom Hearts knew what nightmares they lived through and now they were dead.

"Um…" Kairi got near Kakashi, "Is it possible to have their bodies retrieved?"

Kakashi looked at Kairi confused.

"The prisoners," Kairi clarified, "They deserve a burial, a proper burial," If nothing else, they deserved that respect.

"We'll send word back to the Leaf to have them retrieved," Kakashi said.

"Thank you," Kairi said.

The sun was starting to rise, when they reached a clearing. The team stopped when they saw what the found.

Several men, were encased in giant pink crystals.

"A jutsu that encases their victims in crystal," Hinata observed.

"Earth style?" Kiba asked.

"I've never seen anything like it," Hinata said.

"I have," Kairi said, "But it was done with ice, not crystal," this scene reminded Kairi of all the times she used blizzard on the Heartless. The crystal started to sparkle with the first light of the new day. If it weren't holding dead bodies, Kairi would have thought it was beautiful.

"My insects suffered the same fate," Shino was holding one of his bejeweled bugs. Then suddenly, every crystal shattered, along with the unfortunate victims inside.

Kairi placed a hand on her mouth at the horror. She noticed Kakashi's lone shown eye was wide with realization. What was he so worried about? Did he recognize this power?

%%%%%

Riku listened to the humming of the engines as the gummiship sailed through space. Despite how he made it look Riku hated waiting. Sora always voiced his impatience, so that made Riku look patient in comparison, but Riku hated waiting.

He hated not knowing what was happening to his friends. Where was Sora? Was Namine okay in her training? Where the ninjas taking care of Kairi?

The only thing Riku knew was that Kairi was fighting Heartless with people he didn't know, and wasn't sure he could trust.

Currently he was below deck, in the kitchen. He was getting coffee, maybe this would keep him focused.

"You alright, Riku?" Riku looked to see everyone's favorite crickett standing on the counter.

"I'm fine, Jiminy," Riku lied. But Jiminy had a knack for catching lies. He had a concerned look on his face.

"You're worried about Kairi aren't you?" Jiminy asked.

Riku sighed, no getting past a certified conscious, "Maybe."

"She's seems to be doing fine, according to her messages," Jiminy reminded, "Her brother and new friends seem to be taking good care of her."

Riku sighed again, "I know, but…"

"Riku, you know Kairi is stronger than she looks, right?"

"I do, but," Riku sat down on the table, Jiminy hopped on top of it to listen better, "Growing up, Kairi was a girl that needed to be watched over. She wasn't the new girl on the island, she was the girl who lost her home and family, and the shock was so horrible it wiped her memory. Sora was the first to be her friend, because he was Sora. At the beginning a lot of people were afraid of Kairi because she was a stranger, it didn't matter to them that she was a kid. Sora introduced her to me, and I was a little guarded at first, but we became friends. I saw she was just another nice kid, so I helped Sora show the whole island that she was just a nice, normal girl," Riku recalled, "Kairi never liked fighting. She would watch me and Sora in our matches. The most involved she'd get was referee. I didn't think she was weak, because of that, I thought she was nice. She just had other interests. I always figured I was the strongest in our group. I thought I would be strong enough for all of us. Then the Heartless came and…"

"You weren't at your best back then."

Riku knew that. Hell, it was a miracle Jiminy didn't hate him for endangering Pinocchio. When the Heartless came everything fell apart. Riku wasn't the strong one, nor the protector he always thought he'd be. Kairi lost her heart and fell asleep, and Sora became a hero with a powerful weapon. And Maleficent took advantage of his weakness and used him.

"I know, I just… I didn't know what to do, everything wasn't how it supposed to be and when it didn't turn out… I guess the best pitiful excuse I had was, I wanted to be in control again. But I know that there some things we just can't control. But it's still so hard. I'm still worried about Kairi. She's on a strange world, full of strange powers, and strange enemies. Not to mention Xigbar and the Heartless."

"I understand," Jiminy said, "You're right Riku, there are some things we just can't control. But Kairi's come a long way since then, and we're on our way to help her. So far, she's safe with her new friends."

"I know Kairi likes them, and so far they haven't hurt her, but… Kairi didn't give a very reassuring description of how some things are run there," Riku reminded.

"That's true, but Kairi's making the best of it," Jiminy reminded, "Right now, if nothing else, we have to trust Kairi, if nothing else. Our part isn't to stop her, but support her, and if things go wrong, we'll pick her back up."

"What if there's nothing left to pick up?" Riku was still haunted by the Keyblade War. He couldn't save Kairi when she was right in front of him. Sora once again saved her, but this time it cost him too much. Riku failed both of his best friends.

"Riku," Jiminy said, "I'm worried too. I'm afraid… we'll never see Sora again. But I won't let that fear stop me from trying to find Sora. Don't let yours keep you from helping Kairi. We have to believe in them both and hope for the best."

Riku took in a breath, he wasn't good with emotional talk, so all he could say was, "I'll try."

%%%%%%

After Pakkun was sent back to the Leaf, with on of Shino's crystallized insects. The team took shelter, under a giant stump.

Night had fallen once again, and there was no sign of the enemy.

Kairi was taking watch. She was using her sensory ability, looking for strange chakra. While she kept watch, she couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen. Those poor people died. They were experimented on and thrown away when they were no longer useful.

Kairi went over everything she heard about Orochimaru. He used snakes, he could regurgitate snakes and a sword from his mouth (Ew!). He also conducted horrible experiments on innocent people, and he was extending his life by stealing the bodies of others… That sounded like a certain Keyblade Master Kairi didn't want to think about.

Did Xehanort have a long-lost son, they didn't know about?

"Kairi," Hinata approached Kairi at the entrance of the stump, "I can take over for you now."

"Thanks," Kairi said, relaxing her chakra. Hinata stood next to her and activated her Byakugan. The veins on the side of her face bulged out.

Kairi frowned at the sight, "I've been meaning to ask. Does it hurt using the Byakugan? Every time you use it. The chakra causes veins to form. It doesn't look comfortable."

"It doesn't," Hinata assured, "I'm fine. Go rest Kairi."

"Alright," Kairi said, "If you see anything tell us immediately, I'll put up a barrier."

Kairi found a nice corner to curl up next to and started to think. Earlier, Kakashi was worried about the crystal jutsu. Kairi was worried to.

The best reference Kairi had was ice magic. For Keyblade wielders to defend against ice magic, they needed to have a strong internal magic source. That way while the ice encased them, it wouldn't freeze them to their core. It gave them a chance to survive. Ven told them how Xehanort tried to freeze him. He managed to freeze his joints, but Ven was able to thaw out a few minutes later.

That didn't look the case for this crystal jutsu. The prisoners had strong chakra and they still didn't survive the crystal jutsu.

"What are you thinking Kairi?" Kakashi asked, seemingly appearing next to Kairi.

"Who says I'm thinking about anything?" Kairi asked snidely.

"Your father made that face when he was deep in thought," Kakashi whispered.

Kairi blushed a little, "I'm trying to figure out how to counter the crystal jutsu," Kairi admitted. It wasn't like she was going to keep it a secret.

"What are your thoughts?" Kakashi asked.

"Well," Kairi whispered, "I tried thinking about our ice magic. It looked and acted similar to that, but for us, to protect against that we need a strong internal magic. It doesn't work for this, because those prisoners already had strong chakra. Having strong chakra isn't the defense here."

"No, it isn't, but we should think about defending against the crystal jutsu," Kakashi reassured, "That's why we sent Pakkun."

Kairi then thought about something Ven told them, "Do you think they were conscious, when they got encased?"

"I don't know," Kakashi said, "Why do you want to know?"

"I was remembering something Ven told us," Kairi said, "Xehanort froze him once. It was pretty bad, but he was able to thaw himself out by circulating his magic through him fast. He was able to move again in a few minutes."

"Problem is, crystals are more permanent than ice," Kakashi said.

"I know," Kairi conceded, "The best thing I can think of is dodging, but we don't know who cast that jutsu or what they look like."

"Yes, we'll have to figure something out when we come into contact with them."

Kairi sighed.

I wish Sora was here. This would be less scary if he were here.

%%%%%%

"What do you mean you can't use water style?" Naruto shouted after the two toads told them they couldn't use water style, "You mean to tell me that sons of the chief toad can't use water style? How does that make work? His use of the water style is out of this world?"

After Pervy-Sage left him at the hot springs, Naruto went back to the village to work on his training with the toads. He was trying to do a collaboration jutsu with them, to combine water and wind style. It would help Naruto create stronger jutsu with the toads, and Kairi when she finally got down her water style. However, he hit a bit of a snag.

"Give it a rest will ya, if we can't do it we can't do it," Gamakichi snapped, "You whine a lot don't ya?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright," Konohamaru got between them. He ran into Naruto in the village and followed him to the training fields, "You'll just have to try Gamatatsu's way of training."

"I don't have time for horsing around," Naruto grunted.

"Well if you don't want nothin' to do with me, I want nothin' to do with you. Gamariki can take over, because I quit."

Naruto shivered at the thought of Gamariki. No way was he training with that guy again!

"Okay fine," Naruto surrendered, "So how does water style work anyway?"

Both toads looked confused, "Uh, wasn't expecting the third degree here."

Naruto felt annoyed. They needed to get this down. Wait.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto conjured another clone, "Go get Kairi."

"Alright," the clone then ran off to find Kairi.

"What are you bothering your sister for?"

"Kairi's been training with water style, she'll probably have a clue, but for right now," Naruto thought, "We can try this. Since it's water style, we should try drinking a bunch of it!"

%%%%%

Kairi landed on the ground when she felt strange, "I don't know why, but I'm feeling very annoyed with Naruto."

Kairi suddenly noticed there was a fog, "Where'd this fog come from?"

Kairi quickly took a defensive position. The rest of the team had scattered. Some of Shino's insects survived the crystal jutsu, so he went to breed more with that immunity. They others weren't too far away, but they split up to cover more ground. Kiba believed that they were using bats to watch them. That would make sense, since they hadn't found anything.

Kairi sensed an unfamiliar a head of her. Slowly she eased ahead, until she saw the figure of a child. Kairi checked to make sure it really was a kid and not an enemy using a jutsu.

When she sensed the light, of young innocent child, Kairi relaxed. It really was a kid. He was standing next to a camellia tree. Kairi approached him carefully, "Hello?"

The boy looked up, with an empty smile, "Do you like white camellia's or red?"

Kairi squatted down to get to his eye level, "I think they're both pretty."

"I guess, but I prefer the white camellia's," he picked up a white one and spun it in his fingers.

"That's fine, you're free to like whatever you want," Kairi said. She looked at him, where did he come from? Was he lost? If Orochimaru or his minions were nearby, this kid was in danger, "Where is your home? My team and I can take you back if you're lost."

"But back to where?" The boy asked not looking up from the flower.

Kairi looked at him confused.

The boy then looked back at her, "Oh, it's where there's someone thinking of me, right?"

Kairi smiled, "That's right. I'm sure there's someone worried about you. They're probably thinking about you right now. I'll take you back to them."

"Wherever someone is thinking of you. That's where you call home."

"That's right," Kairi nodded, "Home can be more than a place. It can be the friends or the family that love and support you. As long as you keep them in your thoughts and in your heart, they can find their way back to you. You become the light that leads them home," Kairi smiled and closed her eyes as she thought about Sora, "Just like how I'll guide him home."

"A light that takes you home," the boy said, "That sounds nice."

"It is," Kairi opened her eyes, "So, where's-…" Kairi trailed off when she realized the boy was gone, "Huh?" he was just there a second ago.

%%%%

Naruto stopped when his clone finally dispersed, "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" Gamakichi asked.

"Kairi's… not in the village," Naruto recalled his clones memories. His clone looked everywhere for Kairi. She wasn't in the training area, she wasn't at home, she wasn't at the market. She wasn't anywhere in the village.

"Really, that's weird."

Naruto decided to put his training on hold. Every time Kairi wasn't in village, it meant something was up. As he walked through the village, he spotted Sai walking out of a store.

"Sai," Naruto ran up to him, "What'cha doing around here?"

"I just want to refill my ninja tool ink supply," Sai looked back at the store, "This store ink works well for infusing my chakra."

"Oh," Naruto said, "Hey, have you seen Kairi around, I tried looking for her earlier but couldn't find her."

Sai went silent as he tried to retain his smile. He knew where Kairi was. He, Sakura, and Yamato were dispatched to help her team. But that was supposed to be a secret from Naruto. Sai heard when someone lies, they avert their eyes, so…

Sai leaned in, making fierce eye contact with Naruto, "I don't know where Kairi is, and she certainly isn't on a mission. You have nothing to worry about just continue with your training."

"Wait, what mission?" Naruto asked, "Is that why you're buying more ink? Is this to help Kairi?" Naruto got suspicious, "Hold on, are you hiding something from me?"

Sai averted his gaze, "Hiding? No."

"Oh really?" Naruto asked with a sly grin, "Are you sure about that Sai?" This time it was Naruto's turn to advance.

"It's nothing, really," Sai's bag suddenly dropped, revealing not only his ink, but his new book, which Naruto read the cover out loud.

"The right time to lie?"

%%%%%

"It looks like the chakra of, Shinobi," Hinata spotted them with their Byakugan.

"Yeah," Kairi sensed them, "They're too strong to be normal."

After she lost sight of the boy, Kairi met back up with the group. She told them about the boy, but they couldn't find them no matter where they looked. Kairi still wanted to find him, but at the moment they were about to come across the enemy. Kairi shot up.

"Kakashi!"

One of them erupted from the ground, behind Kakashi, "So, you must be their leader," his fist grew larger than his head. To attack the Jonin.

Kairi quickly appeared in front of Kakashi and activated a barrier. His fist collided with her barrier, but didn't break. It still forced the enemy back.

"Kairi, let's go," Kakashi raced towards him.

"On it!" Kairi ran after him, Keyblade drawn.

*Disco music plays*

300 followers! You guys rock!

I just want to say I love Jiminy. I've been meaning to bring him in sooner, but I couldn't find the right time.

I love that cricket. He's polite, lovable, you can't help but love Jiminy. Know this, if you try to take Jiminy from me, for any reason, I will hunt you down, and slit your in your sleep.

Oh, I'm going to keep the poll about Kairi's hair length open for another week. If you have cast your vote. Get it in now.