Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts

Ch 1: Dive to the Heart

Uzumaki Naruto was having a weird dream. Usually, he dreamt about the Sandaime introducing him as the new Hokage. Or his parents finding him and being happy to see him. And sometimes he dreamt about giant bowls of ramen. Those one's were the best! He didn't usually dream about being in the Academy. Well, once he dreamt that he was older and yelling at a younger Iruka because he couldn't do any Jutsu right, but that one was pretty weird in his opinion too.

Now he was at the Academy, sitting at his desk, with a few other students he knew. Shikamaru was snoozing, while Choli was digging into a bag of chips. Kiba and his dog were goofing off. Sakura and Ino were in the middle of an argument. Sasuke was brooding. That girl what's-her-name was mumbling something and poking her fingers together. All while Iruka-sensei was giving a lecture on something boring that he wasn't listening too.

Everything seemed perfectly normal. So normal he thought he was awake.

Then he suddenly found himself in a training ground, brawling with his Kage Bunshin. He threw punches and kicks, fighting multiple copies of himself at ounce. He ducked under a fist and Launched himself into the air to attack-

But it wasn't a Bunshin. Now he was fighting Sasuke.

Naruto was midair and threw a solid punch at Sasuke's face. The Uchiha managed to lean out of the way, his foot connecting painfully to the Uzumaki's face. He tasted blood. Gritting his teach, the blond made several Kage Bunshin and used them as a chain to propel himself back at Sasuke, returning the favor with a well-placed kick in his stupid face.

Sasuke collided with a stone face of some sort, landing in a heap. The blond knew it wasn't the Hokage mountain, everything looked all wrong. Especially the waterfall, one bigger than he had ever seen. The Teme stood shakily and blurred out of sight. A painful heavy blow sunk into Naruto's stomach, effectively launching him into the deep river at the base of the water.

After he hit the surface, however, everything changed. His bod went limp, and he simply drifter headfirst into pitch black. He drifted down, further and further until some force flipped him upright, his feet touching the bottom gently. Looking around, momentarily wondering why he wasn't drowning, all he saw was darkness in every direction. He took a step forward, and light flooded from the floor.

Shielded his eyes, he noted that the light expanded. When he looked up doves were coming from the edges as more of the floor was revealed. He swiveled around, gazing in surprise at all the birds as they flew around him, entranced by the sight. What seemed to be the last of them flew away into the darkness. With them gone, the blond slowly began to notice what he was standing on.

It was an enormous stain glass platform.

Where he stood, Naruto could see everything in detail. The entire platform was green, layered with repeating black shuriken, kunai, and symbols he couldn't name. To the center right was a large image of a blond man, laying with his eyes closed as if he was resting. Next to the man's face, he saw two circular images.

The first one was a redheaded woman smiling. Something about her was familiar, even though Naruto was sure he hadn't seen her before. The other image was… him as a baby? He stared at it, taking in the details, and it was definitely him. Nobody else had blonde hair with whiskers, or he'd know about it! But why was that there? Naruto turned his full attention to the other blond now, looking closely at his face.

That's… the Yondaime.He was dressed like a typical Konoha Jonin, headband and all, except he had two gold bands of some kind on his arms. He held an odd shaped sword in his left hand. It was metallic grey, and the tip if the 'blade' looked unusual.

It was sort of like half of a giant shuriken, but there was an extra shorter spike in the middle, and a crescent design connected the inside of the loop to the center. There was another spike on the underside and at the tip. The rest of the 'blade' was completely round, right down to the full circular guard with a white wrapped handle in the middle. There was also a loop at the end, connected to a chain with a shuriken attached to the end. Staring at it for a moment, he couldn't help but think it looked like an oversized key.

Behind the man's legs was an image of Konoha, a view Naruto had seen himself many times. It was from a rooftop in the middle of the village, looking over many buildings with the Hokage Mansion and the stone faces in the back, the sun setting above the Hokage monument.

Naruto looked around at the darkness surrounding him, looking for a stairway or anything really, but there was nothing. Only an empty void. Where the hell is he? How did he get here? Why was there an image of him next to the Yondaime? He wanted to ask so many questions, to run so he didn't have to think about the meaning behind what he was seeing, but he had nowhere to go.

"So much to do, so little time…"

Naruto was momentarily surprised be the sudden voice, but at the same time, its presence seemed calming. He felt all of his newfound fears and questions melt away. He had no idea why, but he didn't feel isolated or alone anymore.

There was a distinct feeling of being watched. He was used to that. He was always watched when he walked through the village, by adults who seemed to despise his very existence. Now, however, it felt different.

"Take your time. Don't be afraid."

He wasn't sure where it came from, but it was clear there was no one besides himself. It sounded like a male's voice. He glanced at the Yondaime's face and subconsciously tried to match the voice to it. It fit perfectly, but he quickly looked away not sure if he even wanted it to be true.

The deceased Hokage had always been his Idol, but now he knew that same man also sealed the Kyubi into him at the cost of his own life. What would he say to the very person who caused so much anger to be directed at him?

"The village is still safe. Now, step forward. Easy enough, right?"

Shaking off his thoughts, Naruto took slow steps forward, completely mystified by his surroundings. He noticed a single distant light, shimmering above. He stared intently, figuring somehow that's where the voice was coming from.

A sudden noise made him jump in surprise. The young blond whipped his head to the left as a pedestal of some sort shimmered from the floor illuminated in a ray of light. With a flash, a shield appeared hovering in place. It was black with red edges, and in the middle was a red circle with… ears?

"Power sleeps within you."

His head turned sharply to the right now as another pedestal arose from the floor. With a flash, a staff appeared hovering in place. It had a green handle, with a gold cap on the bottom. The head of the staff was a blue sphere with, he was now convinced, round ears on top.

"If you give it form…"

Naruto faced forward again as a final pedestal manifested right behind the images he saw earlier. With a flash, a sword appeared hovering in place. The blade was almost the length of his arm, with a yellow guard and a blue wrapped handle. In the middle of the guard was a red circle with a black circle with ears inside it.

"It will give you strength. Choose well."

Eyes shining, the young blond went to the sword first. That had to be the best one. He climbed onto the pedestal and took the sword in his hand immediately. Before he could turn to jump down, the voice began talking again.

"The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction."

Naruto paused. He didn't like the sound of that. After learning that everyone hated him because of the Kyubi, he wasn't sure he wanted something with a that kind of label. Sure, he could use it to be a bad ass Shinobi on the missions he was sure to get. But what if that made more people afraid of him? He didn't think it would be worth it.

"Is this the power that you seek?"

Shaking his head, he let go of the sword. The wiskered blond decided to look at the other items before he made his choice. He jumped down and ran over to the staff. Quickly climbing up, he grabs onto it, fully expecting to hear the voice again. He wasn't disappointed.

"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin."

Naruto cringed a bit, this one didn't sound any better. He really didn't want to think about it, but the incident with Mizuki had just been a few days ago. Naruto badly wanted to distance himself from anything that could make him feel like a monster. Inner strength sounded good and all, but he already had that.

"Is this the power that you seek?"

Naruto shook his head and let go of the staff. That only left one option. Wasting no time, he jumped down and ran to the shield. Climbing onto the pedestal, he took it into his hands.

"The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all."

Naruto grinned wide. This one was perfect for him! He wasn't sure how to fight with a shield, but people just had to acknowledge him if he had the strength to protect them. He would still make sure he learned plenty of awesome Ninjutsu, that was sure. Being the Hokage meant that he would have to be diverse in his skills after all.

"Is this the power that you seek?"

Grinning wider, he nodded. Holding the shields handle firmly… only to be almost blinded as it disappeared from his hand in another bright flash.

"Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?"

After recovering, he turned to look at the other two items. Thinking hard as he jumped down, he wasn't quite sure. Was it better to give up destruction? Or Ruin? Tapping his foot in thought, he walked to the center slowly and weighed his options. It didn't take very long for him to make up his mind. After all, he'd rather be a little destructive than ruin stuff.

That barely made sense to even him, but he was sticking with his decision. It's not like anything else here made sense anyway. For a fleeting moment, he realized he was in way more control of himself right now compared to a typical dream. Everything here just felt so real. He ran and jumped onto the pedestal with the staff, taking hold of it again.

"You give up this power?"

Naruto nodded his head, certain he was making a good choice. With a flash he was more prepared for, the staff disappeared. He may have been expecting it, but this whole thing was still very strange to him. He couldn't help looking around again in silent awe of what was happening. It was so bizarre, in an interesting way. And whoever that voice was guiding him, as scary as the thought was, he really wanted to meet him. Even if it was partly to confirm or deny his suspicion.

"You've chosen the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you chose?"

Naruto pondered for a moment and gave a nod of confirmation. Even with these strange events, he would stand by his decision. Especially now that he was an official shinobi, he was determined to protect people that needed help. After all, that's what a Hokage was all about. He would protect everyone! And then they would have to acknowledge him-

With a sudden jolt the pedestal he was standing on sank halfway into the platform, almost throwing him to the ground. Taking a step off, he saw the other two disappearing along with the sword. As he processed this, a light flashed in his hand. Looking at it curiously, the sword appeared in his hand seemingly summoned by the mere thought of it. He could have sworn he chose the shield. He stared at it, and a moment later chalked this up as another weird thing. Despite that it looked kinda cool.

"You've gained the power to fight. Give it a try."

Giving the sword a couple of test swings, both hands clasped around the handle. he couldn't help but wonder what he was supposed to fight. Or how, even. The weapon was light, but then again, the rookie Genin had never help a sword before in his life. He swung it once or twice more with just his right hand, deciding it was too light to use both hands like he saw in a samurai move that one time. He clenched it tight, felling more confident.

"All right! You've got it. Use this power to protect yourself and those in need."

Naruto couldn't help but grin again. Yondaime or not, the person behind that voice seemed to think he was doing good. He would master this in no time. He had never had formal training, he didn't have a big family like his classmates, and the Academy was only teaching the very basics, but he would find a way. He never gave up, that was just how he rolled.

His train of thought was lost as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. For a moment he thought he was seeing things. Whatever it was, it looked like a shadow on the ground, but there was nobody to cast one. Then it apparently grew legs and stood. It was hunched low, a midnight black figures with wide pointed feet, little clawed arms, crooked antenna, and beady yellow eyes.

Naruto gripped his sword tight, ready to take on this strange creature. It was small, and almost cute, but something about those eyes sent chills through his body. Somehow, he wasn't sure why, but he knew it was a threat.

Charging and swiped his blade at it, he secured a couple decent hits with wild swings. More appeared around him, and he had to carefully avoid two of them now as he continued to attack. Landing an overhead strike, one of them exploded into a black mist. The rest of them immediately sunk into the platform and disappeared. He wasn't sure what they were, but they were freaky looking. The young blond took some calming breaths. He wasn't tired, not even a little, but his heart was racing.

"Behind you!"

Jumping away quickly, Naruto saw one standing right behind where he was only a moment ago. He charged and the fight had begun again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw five more appear. Alternating between slashing and dodging, he attacked until one by one they all burst into black mist like the first one.

The blond sighed, relieved that he was unharmed. Those… things looked like they could do some serious damage. He had to be careful if more appeared. He took a few cautious steps, and seemingly confirming his fears, more of those dark creatures rose from the floor. There was more of them than before, they had him surrounded.

Not one to be discourage by a challenge, Naruto slashed and hacked away. He took extra care to dodge, it was pretty easy actually. They were slow. Either that or all those times he had to outrun Jonin after some of his better pranks was finally paying off.

He weaved in and out, until one by one they all disappeared. He waited, expecting more to appear, but after a few minutes it was clear that for now it was over. The young blond noticed the dim light illuminating the area had seemingly grown brighter at the center of the platform. Naruto took slow steps forward, entranced once again. It wasn't until he was under the light that he heard that voice again.

"Be cautious. The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes."

Curious, he looked around some more. He fully expecting more creatures to appear.

What he didn't expect was to see his own shadow, stretched out and darker than before. Nor did he consider that it would start to come alive and stand up.

"But don't be afraid."

His shadow morphed into a large, muscular… thing with wispy black tendrils wrapped around its head. It had the same yellow eyes as those smaller things he was fighting earlier. It also had a person side whole from its chest to its stomach in the shape of a heart.

Naruto considered trying to run, but there was nowhere to go. He had to stand his ground and fight. The giant pulled back its fist, and Naruto jumped out of the way as it slammed into the floor. The young blond half expected the stained glass to crack or shatter.

Instead, its large fist literally sunk into the floor in a black swirl. More of those smaller creatures appeared, but he ignored them for the bigger threat. Naruto jumped onto its arm, using the opportunity to slash at its face and arms. It didn't seem to notice.

This bigger thing was not only big; it was also much more durable than the smaller ones. Luckily for him, this one was also pretty slow. Even as it stood upright, he did not slow his assault. He slashed at its legs and arms, taking every chance he had to do as much damage as possible. It was not reacting to his attacks, but when it kneeled down, and crossed it arms he was hopeful that meant he won.

Then it flexed, threw its arms back and dark orbs shot out of the giant hole in its body. Those block masses were definitely harder to dodge, but he tumbled out of the way just in time. This went on for a while, and he attack relentlessly until he landed a final slash to its head.

It slouched forward, seemingly defeated. Naruto jumped back and to his surprise, his weapon disappeared in a flash. Now unarmed, all he could do was back away as it slumped over him. Those yellow eyes stare at him, and darkness surrounded him. The darkness was thick and wrapped around his limbs. He tried to struggle, to move as far away as possible, but he was trapped.

"But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of them all."

Darkness consumed everything, until his sight faded out.

Then a blinding light cut through the darkness, bathing him in warmth. For a fleeting moment, it almost felt like someone was holding him in their arms. He had never been held before, and he never wanted this feeling to end.

/*/

Naruto sat up with a jolt, in his bed now. Rubbing his face, he looked around for a moment and realizing he was back in his room. "That was a really weird dream, ttebayo" He mumbled sleepily, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

The whiskered blond stretched yawning, then climbed out of bed. He momentarily wondered what it would be like to have a sword of his own, but quickly forgot about it as he started his day. It's not every day one graduated from the Academy, and he was gonna be early this time!