Chapter 5

Hunter re-appeared on top of the Hokage Mountain. Once he'd finally stopped laughing he looked down at the Leaf village.

"Wow. Ok I've had my fun. Back to hunting nobodies. Hmm. Better call DiZ and..." Hunter reached into his pocket and found that his phone was gone. He checked his other pocket, then patted himself down trying to locate his missing phone.

"What the...where did it..." then he remembered the fight with Naruto and his clones. One of the Naruto's had gotten close before Hunter could stop him. He must have pick pocketed him and taken his phone.

"NARUTO!"

This would be a problem. Hunter had gotten better at using the black portals but he still didn't know if he could make it back to Twilight Town on his own.

"Ah Snap. Well, nothing ventured...Ok...focus..fo-eh?"

Hunter looked up at the sky and saw something shinning. It looked like a shooting star. As he watched it got bigger and bigger.

'Wait...it's not getting bigger, it's getting closer! It's coming right at me!'

Hunter jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the star, which crashed just where he'd been standing seconds ago. Hunter got back up and, believing he was under attack, scanned the area for enemies. Finding none he turned his attention to the shooting star.

He cautiously approached the small crater it had made and looked down. He'd expected to find a small lump of rock, what he found was a blue crystal in the shape of a star the size of his hand.

Hunter slowly reached down and picked the star up. It wasn't even warm. He held it up to his ear and gave it a shake.

"Hmmm. Strange...very strange."

Hunter was about to pocket the star and try teleporting again when suddenly it started glowing with an inner light.

Hunter felt himself getting lifted off the ground "Oh..."

If anyone from the Hidden Leaf would have looked up right then they would have seen a strange ball of light rocketing upwards into the sky. And if they'd have listened closely they may have just made out someone yelling "SNAAAAAAAAP!"

After a few minutes of weightlessness and blinding white light Hunter crashed face first into a solid stone floor.

"Ouch." he moaned. Getting up off the floor Hunter took in his new surroundings. He was in a large room with several book shelves lining the walls, two great green metal doors, one behind him and one to his right. In front of him was a large wooden table with a high backed chair and behind that were three windows in the shape of stars and a crescent moon.

Lying at his feet was the crystal star. Hunter carefully avoided that, not wanting to go on another 'trip', and made his way over to the windows.

"Now, let's see where...oh...my..."

Looking out the window Hunter saw a great sea of golden clouds, interspersed with occasional green hills that looked almost luminous. Looking down Hunter found that he was on the top floor of a tower that rested on a small island that was floating amidst the endless sea of bright clouds.

"I am not in Kansas anymore."

"That, you are not." Hunter spun round and saw a man standing next to the wooden table. He was tall with a scowling face, a long gray beard, blue robes and a pointed blue hat covered in yellow stars.

"No doubt you have questions." continued the man.

Hunter didn't know where to start "Who...where...HOW!?"

The man raised up his hand for silence. "I am Yen Sid. This is my tower. And you arrived here by use of my Star Shard. I sent it to you to bring you here."

"Ok, new question. Why?"

"You are a true rarity. A Heartless that not only thinks but also feels and cares for others. I believe that we should have a chance to talk."

"Flattery will get you everywhere. Ok let's talk."

Yen Sid sat down in his chair while Hunter walked round to the other side of the table.

"Now then." began Yen Sid. "I notice that you have already unlocked many abilities including the use of magic."

"How do you know that?"

"I always keep a close watch on the tides of light and darkness. I have been observing you for some time. You have already unlocked the spells Aero, Blizzard and Stop but there are others."

"More spells? Can you teach me?" asked Hunter.

Yen Sid closed his eyes for a moment. "I will teach you two more. The rest I'm sure you can discover on your own."

Yen Sid raised his hand and a book from one of the shelves floated over and placed itself on the table before Hunter. It opened up to a page midway through the book. Hunter lent in to read what it said.

"Reflect is a defensive spell." said Yen Sid as Hunter read. "It will not only protect you from harm but it will reflect any attack in the form of a magical explosion."

Once hunter was finished the book flicked through several more of its pages. "Cure is a healing spell. It can be used on yourself or an ally, but it will use up all of you magic. Use it wisely."

"There is one more thing." said Yen Sid The book flicked back through its own pages until it was almost back at the beginning. "Each spell has three tiers to it. I can give you the knowledge of Stopra, Blizzara and Aerora. The rest you will learn in time."

The book closed then returned to its shelf.

"Ok." now Hunter was paying attention "So...how come every time I use magic I feel...drained. Some spells make me feel more tired than others."

Yen Sid nodded. "Yes, your spells require draw on the magic within you to power them. You can only cast a limited number of spells before you need to regenerate this energy."

"What about Darkness?"

"That is not the same as casting magic spells. It draws on your own inner darkness and therefore it is far more powerful. A normal human would be taking a great risk by using such power but as a Heartless, you will not be affected."

Hunters face lit up. "Cool!"

"A word of warning." said Yen Sid, seriously. "While you may look human now you are still a Hunter of the Dark underneath. Your Heartless instinct to consume the hearts of others will be ever present. Remember what happened with Naruto in the woods."

Hunter shivered slightly. He hadn't even realised what he was doing until it was almost too late.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Hunter.

"The worlds are in great danger, not just the Elemental Nations. I believe that you can help save them."

"Well...thanks...I guess. Hey I don't suppose you could send me back to Twilight Town. I need to get back to DiZ."

Yen Sid nodded. "Ah yes. Tell me Hunter, do you trust DiZ, Riku and Naminé?"

Hunter rubbed his chin "Hmm. Riku and Naminé, yes. DiZ, no. There's just something about him that...He wants to destroy Organisation Thirteen. I don't think anything matters more to him than that."

"A wise answer. I wish you luck in you quest. And should you find yourself lost and unsure where to turn, trust what your Heart tells you."

Yen Sid raised his arms and Hunter disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"*Cough**cough* What the heck was that Yen...Sid?" As the smoke cleared Hunter found that he was now back in Twilight Town. More specifically he was in the main hall of the old mansion. It still looked as dilapidated as ever.

"Hello! DiZ!...Riku!?" when no one answered his calls Hunter decided to search the place. He started by going up the stairs to the second floor balcony and round to the left. At the far end of the balcony was a simple wooden door, just like any other in the mansion.

When Hunter opened it he found the room beyond was very different. For a start it was completely white with an almost shinny quality. The floor was made of black and white squares like a chess board. Stuck to the walls were several simple drawings that all showed a boy with spiky blond hair.

"Hello Hunter."

Hunter looked to his right and saw Naminé sitting in an ornate white chair. She finished her drawing and put her sketch book down.

"Hey Naminé. Any sign of Riku and DiZ?"

The girl shock her head. "No. DiZ doesn't tell me what's going on most of the time. I'm sure he's here somewhere though."

"Right." Hunter looked back at the drawings. "So, you drew all these?"

Naminé's mood seemed to brighten. "Yes. Each one is a memory from-"

"That's quite enough Naminé." A black portal appeared to Hunters left and DiZ appeared from it.

"Hello to you too DiZ." said Hunter. "Listen, there's been a ...hicup. You see my-"

"Yes Hunter I already know?"

Hunter looked puzzled "How?"

DiZ held out his hand, in which was his phone. He pressed the button to turn it back on.

"Was this all he had on him?" Hunter recognise Kakashi's voice instantly.

"I don't know I didn't have time to check all his pockets!" that was Naruto, no doubt.

"It looks like a piece of junk to me." and there was Sakura.

Hunter was suddenly struck by inspiration. He picked up the phone and took a deep breath.

Back in the Elemental nations

After Hunter's disappearing act the Hokage had sent his Anbu guards to search for him but he didn't expect them to. Fortunately Naruto had retrieved a...something from Hunters person that might shed some light on his intentions.

The Hokage was currently in one of the upper levels of the forest of death's tower, along with Anko, Kabuto, and the other Hidden leaf genin along with their sensei's. The only ones not present were the Sand Siblings, their sensei and Dosu, who'd gone back to the Hidden Leaf already and Hinata, Rock Lee and Sasuke who were hospitalised.

"Hello...hello?" Naruto was trying to talk to the box again.

"It's not going to answer you back idiot." said Sakura.

Anko plucked the device from Naruto's grip. "Whatever it is I don't think a genin should-"

"THIS IS THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS!"

Anko dropped the box and jumped back. Several ninjas drew their weapons, Ino screamed, Shikamaru, who had been ready to fall asleep, fell over backwards. Naruto leapt into Sakura's arms, only to be dropped seconds later.

"WE KNOW YOU CAN HEAR US EARTH MEN!"

Back in the white room

Hunter switched off the phone and handed it back to DiZ. "Ha! That'll teach 'em!"

DiZ rolled his visible eye while Naminé let out a giggle.

"Don't suppose I can get another-"

"No." said DiZ adamantly "You'll have to retrieve you old phone from the villagers."

"Great." muttered Hunter. "You were right by the way. There are nobodies in that world but I don't know what they're up to yet. Got a little...side tracked."

"Then I suggest you find out, and quickly. Every minute you waist with your attempts at humour is one more that the Organisation has to prepare."

"I know that. But If I didn't laugh, all I'd do is cry." Hunter made an exaggerated sad face. "Hey, can you portal me back?."

DiZ rolled his eye again, then he raised his hand and a new black portal appeared before Hunter.

He looked back at Naminé and said "Later!" before he walked through the portal.

Stepping out from the portal Hunter found that he was back in the Hidden Leaf, in a rather dirty back alley lined with several foul smelling dumpsters.

"Alright, no more fooling around. No more distractions!" said Hunter as he walked out of the alley. "First I'm getting my phone back, then-Oof!"

No sooner than he'd left the alley Hunter walked straight into someone. That someone was a woman with wild, spiky brown hair, purple lipstick and the same red fang marks on her cheeks as Kiba. Hunter couldn't decide if she was strangely beautiful or drop dead terrifying. Next to her was a large wolf with black fur on the top and white underneath. It was missing its left ear and had an eye patch over its right eye.

"Hey, watch it kid!" said the woman.

"Sorry mister." Hunter couldn't resist poking fun.

"I'm a woman." she snarled.

Hunter cringed "Ouch!"

"You should show respect to your elders boy." It took Hunter a moment to realised that it was the dog that was talking.

"You're a talking dog."

The dog gave an amused snort "Noticed that, did you."

Hunter looked back at the woman "He's a talking dog."

She rolled her eyes "Yes, Kuromaru can talk."

"You're a talking dog!" said Hunter, again.

Kuromaru looked up at the woman "Not very bright is he Tsume."

Hunter finally recovered from the 'talking dog' surprise "Hey, are you related to a kid called Kiba?"

Tsume nodded "Yep. He's my son. I'm guessing your one of his friends?"

"Well...not exactly. I just saw him in the Chunin exams."

Tsume's grin widened "Ah, so your here to take the exams are you?"

"Erm..yes, yes. The exams. Say, do you know where Kiba, Naruto and the rest o them are? Only they have something of mine and I need it...what?"

Tsume had started giving Hunter a strange look."You seem familiar." she turned her head to look at her dog, who was also examining him carefully.

"Hmm. Wait, I think he's the one who broke into the Hokage's Tower!" said Kuromaru.

"What? No, no. That's not me."

"It's him! He matches the description. Black hair, red symbol, annoying attitude." continued the dog.

Hunter looked from the now snarling dog to Tsume. "Can I have some last words?"

Tsume cracked her knuckles "Go ahead."

Hunter took a deep breath and yelled "YOU ARE ONE WEIRD LOOKING LADY!"

Then he turned and bolted back into the alley. Tsume and Kuromaru followed but the instant they rounded the corner they were hit by a wave of garbage. To a normal human this would have been revolting enough but the ninja and her dog both had an extremely heightened sense of smell which made it all the worse.

Hunter was standing just ahead of them, holding a empty trash can, the contents of which he'd just thrown over the pair.

"Nice try lady, but as the road runner said to the coyote. MEEP MEEP!" Hunter dropped the can and ran off, with a garbage covered Tsume and Kuromaru following close behind.

They chased Hunter out of the alley, across the street and into another back street where Hunter disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" asked Tsume.

"I don't know! All I can smell is garbage." replied Kuromaru.

"Let's split up and search the place. He can't have gone far."

What Tsume and Kuramaru didn't know was that Hunter was still close by. As soon as he'd made it to the back street he'd dived into an open door, closing it behind him. He listened to their exchange and quietly giggled to himself.

"Hello."

Hunter nearly jumped out of his skin. Turning round he saw a young woman with light brown hair dressed in a white robe with a dark blue apron.

"You must be the new assistant." she continued.

"Assist-wha-" before Hunter could argue the woman put a blue apron around his waist and dragged him through to the front of the restaurant. There was a area for cooking and in front of that a bar with stools where the customers would sit and eat.

"We're going to have a lot of customers today so that means you'll have a lot of orders to fill. Utensils are here, ingredients here and don't forget to wash your hands. Oh, I almost forgot. Welcome to Ichraku's Ramen."

"Wait. I'm not-"

"Get ready you two." said an older, jovial man over by the front of the restaurant. "It's lunch time and everyone's on their way."

"Lunch time! Wait I-"

"Just remember what you learned in cooking school and you'll do fine." said the girl.

"But...but..." Hunter stammered 'Oh, this couldn't get any worse!'

That was when the customers arrived. And each and every one was a ninja. To start with they were all chatting and only interested in the menu. Then they spotted Hunter. At first they just though that he was the new hired help. Then they started to recognise him.

"Oh snap."

"Is...is there a problem?" asked the older man as he nervously looked at his customers.

"You have insurance on this place right?" asked Hunter.

"Well, yes."

"Good, no worries then."

That was when two new customers arrived, still covered in bits of garbage.

"We've been chasing him long enough. I could really use some-YOU!" Hunter winced at Tsume's voice.

"Erm. Hi guys. Bye guys! Blizzara!" several ninjas that were close to Hunter were frozen solid.

He jumped over the ninja-sickles, weaved through the rest of them and ran out into the street, taking off the apron as he went.

Looking over his shoulder he could see the other ninjas right behind him, Tsume and Kuromaru at the head of the group.

"Snap, snap, snap SNAP!"

The ninjas lost sight of Hunter for a moment as he rounded a corner. When they arrived they found that Hunter had disappeared again. The only person there was Sakura.

"Sakura. Did you see Hunter run by just now?" asked Kuromaru.

The girl nodded "Yes, he went that way." she pointed at an ally to the left of the street.

Tsume grinned "We have him now. Sakura, go and tell Lord Hokage that Hunter is back and we'll be bringing him in very soon."

The ninja mob continued their pursuit while Sakura stayed were she was.

"Keep dreaming dog lady." she said in Hunters voice.

Hunter had know that he couldn't out run them all or fight them all so he'd opted to fool them instead.

Looking to his left he saw that he was standing next to a shop that primarily sold kimonos. Suddenly struck by an idea Hunter went inside.

Seconds later he emerged in a new disguise. This new image was basically a female version of himself with long black hair, golden-yellow eyes and red lipstick. He'd also changed his outfit to a white kimono with blue wave patterns, which he'd copied from one of the outfits in the shop.

He took a moment to admire his new look. "Dam, I look good like this. Now, Operation find Naruto and get my phone back is a go!"

As it turned out Naruto wasn't that hard to find. He was in an alley next to a spa where several women were bathing in the hot springs. With him were two other ninjas that Hunter hadn't seen before. One was on the ground, unconscious, the other was an older man with shoulder length white hair, red lines that ran down from his eyes and a wart on the left side of his nose.

Hunter had no idea what was going on between the three of them, nor did he want to know.

"Excuse me? Are you Naruto?" he asked in a sugary, female voice.

The two ninjas instantly stopped arguing and looked at 'her'.

Naruto blushed slightly "Well, yeah...yeah I'm Naruto." he said in a goofy voice.

"Heeello my dear lady!" Hunter looked over at the older man. "I am Jiraiya."

"Yeah, whatever. So Naruto-"

"Jiraiya the Sanin. Legendary ninja, author, sage and lover." continued the man.

"Good for you." said Hunter, dismissively.

Jiraiya looked deflated.

"So Naruto, I heard you fought that Hunter guy all by yourself." Hunter advanced on Naruto, who was still as clueless as ever.

"Well, I wasn't...erm..."

"You're so brave and strong." said Hunter while thinking 'I can't believe that he's falling for this.'

"I heard that you took something from him after your victory. A black rectangle. Where is it now?"

Naruto shuddered at the thought of that thing. "Oh, that. It's with the Hokage. That thing was creepy, there was a voice that came out of it that was just-"

"DO YOU MEAN THE VOICE OF THE MYSTERONS?"

Naruto and Jiraiya both jumped several feet into the air at the sound of the deep, otherworldly voice emanating from this girl.

"Hahaha! Oh man you should see the looks on your faces!" Hunter changed back into his male form.

Naruto stared at him wide eyed "Wha- Hunter! B-but you...you were...arrgh!"

"And just who are you?" demanded Jiraiya, once he'd recovered from the shock.

"Name's Hunter. Thanks for the info knuckle heads. I'm off to have a chat with the Hokage. And as for you two." Hunter gave them both his most evil grin. "I have ways of ensuring silence."

Hunter changed back into his female disguise and leapt over the wooden fence into the hot springs.

Naruto and Jiraiya both heard him say "Hey girls! There's two guys out the back there spying on you!"

Then there were several angry screams of "WHAT!" followed by someone yelling "GET THEM!"

"Now would be a good time for us to run kid!" said Jiraiya.

"Wait, what about Hunter and my training!" insisted Naruto.

"If we survive then maybe-"

"THERE THEY ARE!" Naruto looked round and saw a large group of angry women heading straight for them.

"Run!" yelled Jiraiya. Naruto didn't need any further encouragement.

Hunter, still in his female disguise, was standing back and laughing his head off as he watched them go.

"Ok, next stop. Hokage Tower."

Getting in the tower was easier than last time. Hunter looked like a normal woman going about her business, no one challenged him although he did attract some unwanted attention from some of the male ninjas. Hunter couldn't decide if this whole experience was funny or disturbing.

When he arrived at the Hokage's office on the top floor he found that it was guarded by two ANBU operatives and inside he could see the Hokage, Kakashi, Anko, Asuma, Guy and Kurenai.

"No time to be subtle. Oh well..."

Inside the Hokage's office.

The Hokage was seated at his desk with some of the top level ninja's in the village assembled in his office. They were all looking down at the small black rectangle lying inert on the desk.

"So who are these 'Mysterons'?" asked Asuma. "And how are they connected to Hunter?"

"I have no idea." said Kakashi. "But I think this device is how he was receiving his orders."

"So, the question becomes 'what are his orders?'" said Guy.

"Maybe he's here to annoy us all to death." remarked Anko.

"Yes, Hunter is certainly not a typical shinobi." said Sarutobi. "However, the more I think on what he's said and done-"

The Hokage was interupted when he heard two loud metallic clangs from outside. Everyone else had heard the same thing and they all turned to face the door.

The door was suddenly kicked in and Hunter barged into the room. He'd changed his outfit slightly so that he now wore a thick leather duster and a large rimed hat. He had his head tilted so the rim covered his eyes.

"Mr Sarutobi." said Hunter in an impression of a western gunslinger's voice. He raised in head slowly, letting everyone see his glowing yellow eyes. "Ya'll got somethin' that belongs to me."

For a few seconds no one moved, they just stared at Hunter. Then the jōnin drew their weapons.

"STOPRA!" Everyone except Hunter was frozen in place. Hunter could feel the drain on his magic reserves. That spell used up almost all of his power. He made a mental note to use that one sparingly.

He walked past the frozen ninjas and picked up his phone from the desk.

"Pleasure doing business with ya'll." Hunter was about to get out his pen and apply more of his 'art' to their faces when he spotted something out the window. He walked up to the glass and looked down at the street below. Casually walking down the street were to two nobodies from before. At least he thought they were the same ones. Without hearts it was hard to tell.

Hunter had no time to waist. He retrieved Kakashi's book, tore out another page and placed it in the man's hand. Then he opened the window and leapt out onto the rooftops, changing his cloths back to normal as he went.

"You're not getting away this time. The hunt is on!"


And that's chapter five done.

Next chapter will include a fight with main villain, Thorn, and a surprise guest character. I won't say who but it's sure to be 'shocking'.

TTFN