And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 18!

Ugh. School. I'm back in it. And to make things worse, I'm working. I even worked today...I miss the lazy days.

I doubt I will be doing more than uploading once a week now. Lazy+School+Work is not a good combination.

This was uploaded later in the day than I normally do…but whatever.

A lot of people asked me why I didn't just have Naruto use his keyblade. The answer is simple. I wanted him to reveal his twilight powers first. I also wanted to make some progress with the neglect situation. The keyblade will be revealed soon-ish. I already know when. Just wait until then.

Drakon45: For now, nope. But I might change that later to fit any future ideas.

Morgan d'Arc: I disagree. It is still one whether I use it or not. But don't worry about it, I already know when I will reveal it.

LazyAssassin24: I have how Naruto will travel from world to world already planned out. But I'm not willing to reveal it, sorry. And that possibility has crossed my mind, but we are still a long ways off from anything like that happening.

HeartlessNobody13: I haven't really considered giving Naruto any skills with seals. You are correct with every point you made, but I just never really thought about it. Naruto knows how to use a storage scroll, but so do most shinobi.

commandravage: I know, right?

Guest: Soon-ish.

FinalKingdomHearts: Please refer above to statement directly before review responses.

Shadekiller13: Thanks! And I know what you mean. There are stories on the site that have some awesome ideas, but I have so much trouble reading them because of the bad spelling and grammar. I would hate myself if I released a chapter that I found hard to read just because I had to work through the grammar. I don't even think my grammar is the best, but it is still bearable.

kavell anderson: I'm sorry. You seem to think that I plan these things out :P

Anyways, on with the Story!

I don't own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts or anything else, I'm just a broke college student...

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Biju/Diety Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Biju/Diety Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Scene Change: Insert Place Here

Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here

A Few Days Later

It has been a few days since the battle on the bridge that ended with the victory of the Konoha shinobi. Since that time, the overall mood of the village has picked up and there were constant celebrations throughout the night, every night. It was even impossible for any of the Konoha shinobi to walk down the street without at least receiving some greetings and cheerful waves from the villagers. Naruto in particular received some extra cheerful greetings due to the fact that he was seen as the one who saved them from the final threat.

If only he saw it that way as well.

Ever since that day that he lost his temper and slaughtered those people, Naruto has been plagued with doubt. He wasn't stupid. He knew what he used in that attack. There was more darkness than light in that beam, and that's what worried him. He was aware enough to know that he was trying to use an attack that had a twilight base, meaning an equal mixture of light and dark. But that attack had more dark than light. That could only mean one thing.

He had let the darkness inside his heart control him for a bit.

If that could happen once, who was to say it wouldn't happen again? And what if the next time it was even worse than slaughtering some murderers and rapists? What if he hurt someone important to him? Or someone who just happened to be nearby? That's what terrified him, the possibility of hurting someone because he couldn't control himself.

But that wasn't the only thing that has been bothering him. He has been having these weird dreams too. And not the usual ones.

He needed to talk to Yami and Hikari.

Zabuza and Haku's Graves

The group of Konoha Shinobi were gathered around two graves that were side by side as the sun set off in the distance. These two graves were a little ways off from the still unfinished bridge. The graves were in the middle of a small, grassy area that overlooked the bridge. On one grave was Haku's obi. Stabbed into the ground behind the other was Zabuza's sword.

The group was silent for a moment as they each thought back on the last few days. Eventually, the silence was broken by Narumi. "Kaa-chan…" She started.

Kushina looked over to her. "Yes?" She asked.

Narumi hesitated for a few moments. "What Zabuza said…about shinobi being tools…is it true? While we were fighting, Haku said the same thing…" She turned to Kushina along with some of the other genin. Naruto was only half listening as he stared at the grave.

Kushina looked sad as she gaze at her daughter. She then looked at each of the expressions on the genins faces. Her gaze lingered on Naruto for a few moments, but he didn't notice. She then turned back to Narumi. "What Zabuza was referring to…was the perfect shinobi."

Narumi looked down. "So he was right…"

Kushina shook her head. "But there is no such thing as the perfect shinobi."

This surprised the genin. Menma was the one to speak up. "What do you mean, kaa-chan?" That didn't make sense to him. Someone out there had to be considered the perfect shinobi, right? Maybe a kage?

Yūgao looked over to him. "She means that nobody has been able to become the perfect shinobi, although there are people out there who have tried to create one. All humans have emotions. These emotions can be suppressed to extreme levels, but they cannot be completely erased. Deep down, some of those emptions will linger, no matter what."

Unseen to all of them, Sai was shifting in place.

Kushina nodded her head. "She's right." She looked back over to the graves. "We are all human. We have our flaws. Some would say that emotions are one of them." She shook her head. "Even the kages have emotions." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But who knows? If the perfect shinobi was ever really created…how powerful would they be? They could grow to be the strongest." They stood in silence.

"That's wrong."

They all looked over to the one who had spoken. Naruto was looking down at the graves with his eyes shadowed by his hair. "That's incredibly wrong. At best, a shinobi without emotions would be able to make decisions without their emotions getting in the way." He shook his head. "But that shinobi would never be as powerful as a shinobi with emotions. True power comes from fighting for something you care deeply for. That's something the perfect shinobi would never be able to do."

They stood in silence for a few moments. Eventually, Yūgao called attention back to herself. "Okay, it has been a long day. You guys are all able to go back and spend the rest of it how you like." She smiled at the small cheers that broke out between a couple of them. "Tazuna-san said he still needs a little bit to finish the bridge. So until then, we are staying here. Dismissed."

Menma quickly bound over to Naruto with a wide grin. "Hey Aniki, spar with me!"

Naruto gave him a small smile. "Sorry, no can do." He interrupted himself with a wide yawned. "I'm tired. I'm going to turn in early." He started walking off in the direction of Tazuna's home.

"What? Come on, Aniki! I want to spar with you! I want to see how I do against those cool attacks you have-ttebasa!"

Narumi giggled as she followed after her brothers. The other genins soon followed after them as well. Yūgao shook her head in amusement before looking over to Kushina. "I'm going to head back as well. What about you?"

Kushina shook her head. "I'm going to stay out here for a bit and watch the sunset."

Yūgao nodded her head with a smile, but it soon turned teasing. "Wow, never would have guessed you of all people would enjoy something relaxing like that…Have you actually matured?"

"Shut up-ttebane! Even I enjoy things like this once in a while!" Yūgao laughed as she followed after the genins.

All was silent in the clearing. Kushina just stood there, gazing at the sunset. 'Those abilities that Naruto showed…why didn't I know about them?' That has been plaguing her mind ever since the battle at the bridge. But whenever she thought about it, a massive headache would appear, and then she would drop the topic quickly, figuring she was tired. But she never forgot about it.

'And now that I think about it, he also used some jutsus that didn't need hand seals when we first got here…why didn't I think about it then?' She grunted as the pain came. But she didn't stop thinking about it this time. 'It doesn't make sense! How does he have those abilities? We never taught him those!' The headache multiplied as she froze. 'Wait…what did we teach him?' Why couldn't she remember what she taught Naruto? There must have been something! And this stupid headache was so annoying!

She clutched the side of her head as the pain grew. Unseen to anyone, her eyes were glowing a purplish-black. 'What is up with this headache, I mea-' She shook her head from side to side. 'Focus, Kushina! Worry about the pain later, your son comes now! Why didn't you know he could do those things?' Now her entire form was starting to glow purplish-black and the headache kept on getting worse, but she wouldn't let it distract her.

'The skill with a sword, those fire and wind jutsus, the strange glow and beam of energy. I know that neither Minato nor I taught him those! So what did we teach him? What did we spend our time together doing?' Why couldn't she remember any of the times she spent with her son? She could feel her focus fading again, but she was staring intently at the sunset. The transition of light to dark sort of reminded her of that beam of energy Naruto used, so it helped her focus.

'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why can't I remember anything I did with Naruto? I must have done something with him! Some training, some advice, something!' But no matter what she did, she couldn't remember anything. The pain stagnated as she glowed some more.

'Did I…not spend any time with him?'

And then, all at once, the glow exploded outwards and dispelled from her body. The pain soon subsided as tears came to her eyes. She slowly looked back in the direction of Tazuna's home and spoke one quiet word.

"…Naruto…"

"What the hell?! Who are you?!"

"Do you…have someone who is important to you?"

"When a person has something important to protect…that's when they truly become strong."

"You don't know how hard life can be!"

"It's alright to cry when you're happy!"

"Why?"

"How should I know?"

"Kill me."

"Say something! Weren't you friends?!"

"…You don't…Need to say anymore…"

"Don't look away. The end of a man who lived a difficult life."

"A hero shows up at the last second, right?"

"He was born in a snowy village."

"I'm going to be a ninja in my own way!"

Station of Awakening

Naruto jolted into awareness as the last scene played out in his head. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. 'Another one of those dreams…' He sighed before looking around. "Hikari? Yami? You there?"

"We're right here, moron."

"Tch." Naruto turned around and sent a light glare towards Yami. "Well, sorry for not being able to spot you through the back of my head. I still have yet to master that technique." He responded.

Yami smirked at him. "Well, you should get on that then."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Hikari. "Enough, both of you. We have more important things to discuss." She leveled a look at Naruto. "This is about the end of the battle on the bridge, right?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "You saw?" He asked quietly.

Yami snorted. "Hell yeah we did." She shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't that surprising, really."

This response stunned Naruto greatly. "What? What do you mean it wasn't that surprising? I lost my temper and killed all those people! And not only that, I also let the darkness influence me for a bit!"

Yami shrugged. "So? Not like those men were worth anything. They were just a bunch of rapists and murderers."

Hikari nodded her head. "As sad as I am to admit it, she's right. The world is a much better place without them in it." She paused as she tilted her head in thought. "In fact…it might even be a good idea for you to kill all of the people that are like that you come across. Or hunt them down yourself."

Yami's smirk grew. "Oh, maybe you could even threaten them a bit as you do it. Make them piss themselves in fear." She waved a dismissive hand. "You know, give them a taste of their own medici-"

"SHUT UP!"

They both stopped talking and turned to Naruto. He was shaking from rage as he glared at the two of them. His eyes were even starting to glow a bit as a wind picked up around him.

"Shut up, both of you! I cannot believe I'm actually hearing you say that! I. Killed. Those. People. They are dead-ttebayo! I used my abilities to do it after I heard them threaten the people I care about! Yes, they were terrible people, but I still took human lives! And here you are saying that I should simply move on and even hunt down more people to kill! I could never do such a thing and be able to keep moving forward so easily! To make it all worse, the darkness influenced me a bit when I did it! I gave into my rage and let it control me! What if I do it again? What if the darkness takes advantage of my emotions again and makes me hurt someone I care about or someone who isn't involved at all. I would…never be able…to…forgive…" He trailed off as he got a look at their expressions.

Hikari had a big smile on her face while Yami was covering her mouth to hide her sniggers. Comprehension soon came to Naruto. "It was another test…" He said quietly.

Hikari's smile grew even wider. "Yes, it was. We apologize for deceiving you in such a way, but we had to do it."

Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes. He responded as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I really hate it when you guys pull a mind game on me like that-ttebayo." He said tiredly.

Yami only smirked as usual. "Well, what did you expect? It was necessary."

Naruto looked over to her. "Oh? And why is that? For what possible reason would you two try and convince me that it is okay to massacre people as long as they are bad people? And that being influenced by the darkness isn't a problem."

Hikari looked at him with an apologetic gaze. "We needed to make sure you felt remorse for those kills. That you were aware of what it meant to take a human life. You have been trying to act normal for the last few days, despite what happened. Not only that, you have also been telling the others you were fine."

Yami picked the conversation when Hikari stopped talking. "We also needed to make sure that you were aware of the danger the darkness poses to you. That you aren't immune to its influence. The darkness is the most dangerous when you do not realize the danger. Never let your guard down."

Hikari started to speak once more. "If you had agreed with us and decided that you didn't need to feel any remorse and that the darkness influencing you was okay, then we would have had a problem." She smiled at him. "But you didn't agree. You outright told us to shut up and that what you did was terrible. That, more than anything, proves you are still a good person."

Naruto was silent for a few moments. After some thought, he sagged his shoulders and looked away. "Thank you."

The two of them smiled at him. Yami shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. We're here to help." That damn smirk reappeared. "I mean, you obviously need all the help you can get."

As Naruto glared at her, Hikari interrupted before another fight could break out. "But anyways, we have an idea we would like you to consider."

Naruto tilted his head. "What is it?" He asked.

Yami's smirk turned mischievous. "You should ask that candy shop owner about a place called Karakura Town."

Naruto frowned slightly. "Karakura Town? I've never heard of it."

Even Hikari smirked this time. "We would have been shocked if you have heard of it. You should ask him about it. Depending on what he says, you could consider being more honest about your abilities with him."

This shocked Naruto. "What? You would actually have me tell him about my twilight abilities? And my magic?"

Yami nodded. "Yep. Just ask him about Karakura Town, if he tells you about it, then you will see why."

Naruto looked conflicted. "Why? Why should I tell him about my abilities?"

Hikari tilted her head. "Why not? Do you not trust him?"

Naruto shook his head rapidly from side to side. "That's not it! I trust him…"

"That's why."

Naruto's face contorted into a confused expression. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Yami rolled her eyes. "It's because you trust him that you should tell him." She sighed. "It would be a good idea for you to tell someone bout your abilities. You shouldn't keep it all bottled up. Yeah, you have Hikari and me, but you should tell someone else. Plus, he knows how to fight. He may be able to help you further implement your twilight abilities and magic in your battle style in ways that we cannot."

Naruto frowned as he thought about it. After a minute, he slowly nodded. "Alright…I'll ask him about Karakura Town and go from there."

Hikari smiled at him. "Thank you for considering this." She tilted her head again. "Was there something else you wanted to talk to us about?"

Naruto frowned a bit before his eyes widened. He had almost forgotten. He looked at the two of them suspiciously. "Be honest with me. Have you two been giving me weird dreams again?"

They frowned at him. Yami shook her head. "Not me." She glanced at Hikari. "You?"

Hikari shook her head as well. "I haven't been sending any dreams to you."

Naruto was growing increasingly confused. "What? If it wasn't you two…could they be natural? But they seem like such weird dreams…"

Hikari was quickly growing curious. "May I ask what it is that you have been dreaming about?"

Naruto frowned some more as he looked at the ground as he thought about how best to explain it. "I've been dreaming about…well…myself. But at the same time, it seems like it is someone else."

Naruto didn't notice, but their eyes widened when he said that. Yami was the first to respond. "What does that even mean?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I've been having these dreams where I have been living this other life. I am an orphan, I look a bit different, and I am an only child. I am still a shinobi of Konoha, but I am a part of team seven with Uchiha, Haruno, and Kakashi. In the dream, we take similar missions to the ones I have done, all the way up to and including the Wave mission. But instead of two teams, it is just us that go. We take the mission, it starts up the same way, and relatively ends the same way. The biggest difference is that we only went up against Zabuza and Haku. Not only that, I didn't have a sword in the dream. And it looked like the only technique I knew was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The dream me even became friends with Haku! Another difference was that the mob of thugs ran when they saw the villagers, so I don't know if the dream me also had twilight abilities." He tilted his head in thought. After a moment, he pulled a disgusted face. "I was also wearing that horrible orange jumpsuit from when I painted the monument!"

As he continued to talk, the eyes of Hikari and Yami grew wider and wider. The two of them were soon holding a quiet conversation. They looked back when Naruto finished speaking. Hikari was the first to respond. "Is that the entire dream?" She asked quietly.

Naruto tilted his head. "Just about, yeah. You know what it is?"

Hikari and Yami looked at each other again. After a moment, Yami answered. "It's probably nothing much. Maybe you have just been having an active imagination or something."

Naruto frowned. "Really? I don't think so, but I guess that could be it…But I just thought…"

Hikari shook her head. "Like we said, we haven't been sending you any dreams or visions. So that must be it."

Naruto tilted his head in thought. After a minute, he slowly nodded. "I guess so…"

Yami interrupted his train of thought. "They will probably go away soon, so don't worry too much about it." She said.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure."

"After releasing all those built up emotions like that, you must be drained. You can go ahead and rest up with actual sleep if you want." Hikari told him. Why did she sound slightly hurried?

Naruto smiled gratefully. "That sounds awesome. I'll do that." He waved at them. "See you two next time."

Yami smirked at him, but something felt off about it. "Try and stay out of trouble. Although knowing you, you might not be able to."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but didn't respond He closed his eyes in preparation to return to his body. After a moment, he woke up as he returned to his body.

"…That was…"

"I know…"

"But it is too soon!"

"I know! It probably doesn't mean much, for now. It shouldn't become anything substantial for a long time. So we will worry about it then."

A sigh was heard. "I suppose…We shouldn't be too surprised, really."

A snort was given in response. "But it still caught us off guard with the abruptness."

"Yes it did…"

"…NGC, huh?"

The Bridge (One Week Later)

A week has passed since Naruto had spoken to Hikari and Yami and in that time, those weird dreams he had been getting had stopped. In addition to this, Naruto has also noticed something odd about Kushina. Half the time when he saw her, he could have sworn she was looking at him before quickly averting her gaze. But he could never catch her doing it. To be honest, it was slightly unsettling to him. He had done his best to ignore it, but he would be relieved when the mission finally ended.

The Konoha shinobi were now standing at the entrance to the completed bridge while being bombarded with farewells and well wishes from the villagers. Most of them were being bashful about the entire thing, but Menma was soaking up the attention.

Naruto tuned back into the world as Tazuna started speaking. "I want to thank you all again for everything you have done for me and my people. With your help, we have managed to complete my super bridge."

Yūgao smiled in return. "And thank you for allowing us to stay in your home."

Tsunami smiled from her spot next to her father. "For everything you have done, it was the least that we could do."

Menma grinned as he put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I guess we are kind of heroes, aren't we?"

He was immediately hit upside the head by his sister. "Shut up. Don't get a bloated head."

Naruto rolled his eyes at this. But his attention was soon drawn to Inari as the younger boy approached. He looked really hesitant as he stared at the ground and opened his mouth a few times. When it was clear that a little push was needed, Naruto decided to give it. "What's up?"

Inari swallowed. "I just wanted to say…" He started quietly, but quickly gathered his determination and looked Naruto in the eyes. "Thank you for everything! I swear that I won't give in anymore! I will keep fighting for what I believe in with everything I have!"

Naruto smirked at him. "You better. It would suck for me to have to come here and kick your butt into gear again because you were moping about the situation."

Inari grinned in return. "No need to worry about that! It will never happen!"

Naruto nodded. "Good."

"Nii-chan, come on!"

He looked over as he heard his sister call out to him. The rest of the Konoha shinobi were standing a little ways away and were waiting for him so they could begin heading home. Naruto turned back to Inari. "I gotta go. Remember what you just swore, alright?"

Inari nodded. "Of course!" Naruto grinned again before walking away with a wave. But after a few steps, he froze. Everybody looked curiously at him. But before anybody could speak up, Naruto slowly turned around.

He looked at Inari with a look that no one could identify. "Hey, Inari. Could you do something for me? This will also be helpful to you…"

Inari nodded resolutely. "I will help however I can."

Naruto shifted from foot to foot as he glanced around nervously. "Cool…Um…could you…please…" He took a deep breath. "Burn your stupid hat."

Inari was stunned into silence. "Wha-burn my hat?" He must have misheard that, right?

"Yes. Your bucket hat. Please burn it. To ashes."

"But…Why?"

"Trust me on this."

"But I like that hat…"

"It is for the best."

"Are you sur-"

"Yes."

"…Fine. I don't know what is going on in your head, but I will do as you ask."

Naruto gave a relieved sigh. He smiled at Inari. "Thank you." He turned around again. "See you later." And with that, he continued on his way.

As Inari watched the Konoha shinobi leave, Tazuna and Tsunami walked up to him. After a few moments of silence, Tazuna spoke up. "Oh, wait. We still have to name the bridge."

Tsunami gave him an exasperated look. "You haven't done that yet?"

Tazuna grinned in an unapologetic manner. "Nope!"

Inari interjected before they could bicker too much. "I have an idea…" They looked at him. "Remember that attack that Naruto-nii used in the end? The one with the mixed colors? It was kind of like a mixture of light and dark. What if we call it The Great Twilight Bridge?"

Tazuna grinned. "The Great Twilight Bridge, huh? I like it! It's a super name!"

Hokage Office (Few Days Later)

The group of Konoha shinobi was able to reach Konoha much faster now that they did not have any civilians with them. Once they reach the village, Kushina and Yūgao immediately requested an audience with the Hokage. When a mission is bumped unexpectedly, that's a problem. When a C-rank mission assigned to a bunch of genin is bumped to an A-ranked mission, that's a big problem. That kind of thing needs to be reported to the Hokage.

Once they were ushered into the office, Minato requested that they report. He listened silently as Kushina and Yūgao recounted what happened on the mission. Although his eyes widened more and more as they kept talking, he did not interrupt. Once they had finished, he simply sat there in silence for a minute. Eventually, the silence was broken when Minato spoke up.

"Are you telling me…that on a simple C-rank escort mission…you encountered not only one of the seven swordsman, but also his two underlings, a traitor, and three bloodline users?" He asked in a quiet voice.

The two jōnin nodded. "Yes, sir."

Minato sighed. "Genin team 11 and genin team 12, you have done well. This mission will be classified as an A-rank mission and you will be paid as such. Genins are now dismissed. The jōnins and I will be talking about this further." The five genins nodded and started to head for the door. But Naruto paused after a moment.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He turned around and walked over to Minato's desk. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out some sort of handle and placed it on the desk."

Minato's eyes widened. "This is the…"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. This is the Sword of the Thunder God. I retrieved it from traitor Aoi Rokushō."

Minato looked at him. "Nicely done. You will receive a bonus in your pay."

Naruto nodded and quickly followed the others out the door. He never noticed the violet eyes that were following him. Once they were gone, Minato turned to the two jōnins. "You gave me the abbreviated version, I now want all the details. Start from the beginning." He instructed.

Hokage's Office (Later)

Minato and Kushina were now the only two that were left in the office. After finishing the report and getting dismissed, Yūgao had left. Now that they were alone, Minato sent a concerned look at his wife after signalling for the hidden guards to leave. "Kushina-chan, what's wrong? You seemed distracted earlier. Was it what happened on mission?"

Kushina bit her bottom lip. "Well, yeah. It's…about Naruto."

Minato frowned in confusion. "Naruto? He seemed fine." He gave her an amused look. "Are you sure you're not just worrying too much?"

Kushina frowned and shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. Minato…did you know he could use jutsus without hand seals?"

Minato's eyes widened in surprise. "What? He can?" They had said in the report that he had defeated his opponent, but they didn't go into every single detail.

Kushina nodded. "Yeah, along with his sword, that's how he fought against the enemies. He was shooting fireballs and blasts of air at them. He was even able to create a whirlwind around himself that damaged his opponent when he got close." She gained a slightly distressed look. "I never taught him that. I can't even do that! Do you know how he learned them?"

Minato shook his head with a thoughtful frown. "No, I don't. This is the first time I'm hearing about such a thing. I had no idea he was able to do that."

Kushina was growing increasingly frantic. "That's another thing! What do we know he can do? I…" Her voice grew quiet. "I don't remember what he is good at. I don't even remember teaching him anything…" Tears were forming in her eyes again.

Minato got up and hugged her. "Hey, don't worry about it. You are probably just having a hard time remembering because of how busy you have been. Remember, you've been running all over the place for a while now. What with the suppression seals for the Kyūbi we've been working on, keeping up with your own training, and making sure everyone else in the house doesn't accidently kill ourselves."

Kushina shook her head and pushed him away. "No! I'm sure of it-ttebane! We haven't taught him anything, have we?! We didn't spend any time with him, we didn't help him train, and we weren't even there for him! Tell me I'm wrong, tell me right now something we did with Naruto. Something we taught him. Somewhere we went with him. Anything!"

Minato opened his mouth to do just that, but stopped. The reason for this was simple.

He couldn't.

He couldn't remember anything that he had done with Naruto. Not a jutsu he had taught him. Not a conversation they had around the house. Not even the last time that he had seen him use any techniques.

He thought about it more and more, but nothing came to mind. He was even gaining a headache from how hard he was thinking.

Kushina gave a sad smile. "You see? You can't either, can you?" She shook her head and headed towards the door. Before she opened it, she spoke quietly. "I'm sacred, Minato-kun. I'm scared that we messed up when it comes to Naruto. That we were horrible to him and never even realized…" She opened the door and walked out. The door closed behind her.

Minato gripped the side of his head as the pain grew. It was so great it was even starting to distract him! He shook his head. He needed to focus!

He looked at the picture on his desk. It was an old one from when the kids were only four. It was of the five of them. The three kids had been playing outside when Menma had tripped and fallen into a shallow pond. Both Naruto and Narumi had quickly doubled over in laughter at the sight of a soaking wet and sputtering Menma. They were so involved in their laughter that they never noticed Menma get up and walk over to them. They only noticed he was there when he pushed the two of them in as well. Kushina and Minato had soon come over to see what all the noise was about only to find the three of them wrestling in the water. Kushina had instantly cooed over the cuteness and demanded that Kakashi come over from the tree he was in and take a picture. The situation wasn't the best what with the three kids soaking wet and shivering, but Minato didn't care in the least as he wrapped his entire family in a hug as the photo was taken.

Looking at the bright smile on Naruto's face in the picture, Minato tried to recall the last time he saw that smile, but he couldn't. Unnoticed by anyone, Minato's blue eyes had started to glow a purplish-black.

'We were all so happy back then. What happened? I used to love getting out of the office early and going home to play with the kids.' Naruto was often the first to notice him and come rushing over. 'Oh no. I never did get around to training him! Even though I promised I would! And he stopped asking around the time he started the academy.'

The pain was growing but Minato hardly noticed as he was thinking about his family. A purplish-black glow started to emanate from his body. Soon, the pain stopped growing. 'Come to think of it, I never really questioned where he kept on going after the academy began…I never even questioned how he learned to use a sword… What did I teach him? I can't remember…' It all led to one conclusion.

'Did…Did I never bother to spend time with him at all?'

All at once, the glow around his body exploded out and disappeared from his body. The pain from his headache also disappeared. He gazed at the grinning face of Naruto in the picture.

"Oh no…What have I done…?"

Urahara Shop (Same Time)

After getting dismissed, Naruto had quickly separated from the others and headed towards the Urahara shop. He wanted to ask Urahara about Karakura Town as soon as possible. He was extremely curious as to what he could possibly say that would convince Naruto to tell the annoying candy store owner about his abilities.

Reaching the shop, Naruto entered and looked around. There was nobody around. 'Guess that means that he is in the back…' Heading towards the door, Naruto entered it and walked through the building towards the tea room. Once he entered, he saw that Urahara was sitting at the table again with Yoruichi next to him.

Urahara looked up when he entered and smiled when he saw him. In the blink of an eye, the man was attached to Naruto again. "Ah, Naruto-kun! It is wonderful to see you again! I missed you so much!"

Naruto growled. "Get off me, you moron!" Naruto roughly shoved him to the floor. "I swear, I will kill you one day."

Urahara smiled behind his fan and opened his mouth to respond, but paused. After a moment, he frowned at Naruto. "What happened?" He asked in a serious tone.

Naruto was surprised by the question. After a moment, he gave a rueful smile. "You noticed? I'm not sure if I should be surprised…" Yoruichi had come up to him and settled in his lap after Naruto sat down.

Urahara's frown deepened. "You are obviously fatigued and something is on your mind. You didn't even have all of the normal annoyance in your tone just now." Urahara looked him in the eyes. "I will ask again. What happened?"

Naruto sighed sadly as he absently pet Yoruichi. "The mission went terribly. It was bumped to A-rank partway through. You were right about Gatō. It ended with needless deaths and me losing my cool." He grew quieter. "I wound up killing some people…"

Urahara was silent for a few moments. "Start from the beginning."

Tea Room (One Retelling Later)

"After that, the bridge was finished, we said our goodbyes, and we came home." Naruto was looking down at the table as he finished his story.

Urahara was silent as he thought about what he was just told. But after a minute, he said something that Naruto wasn't expecting.

"Do not dwell on the deaths."

Naruto's head snapped up. "What?! I killed those people! I killed them in something as petty as a fit of rage! And you're telling me to forget about it?!"

Urahara shook his head. "No. I'm not." He held up his hand to stop Naruto from speaking when he opened his mouth. "I am telling you not to dwell on it. I am not telling you to simply forget about it. You said it yourself, they were rapists and murderers. And while I am not saying that means it is a good thing you went and killed them, you still saved those people. You cannot ignore that fact."

Naruto looked down again. "But…"

"Naruto, look at me." Naruto looked up. Urahara had put down his fan and placed his hat on the table. "You are not a bad person. You are a terrific person who is protective of the people you care about. You only responded how any person who cares would. Do not forget that. You aren't some monster for killing them. You would only be a monster if you didn't care that you killed." He gave Naruto a sad smile. "Those tears in your eyes show me that you know the severity of what you've done and are taking it seriously. That's how I know. So again, please do not dwell on the deaths."

Naruto was stunned. After a minute, a smile crept onto his face. He bowed his head. "Thank you…" He said so quietly that Urahara almost missed it. In return, Urahara nodded.

"Well of course! I'm here to pick up after your faults, after all! You obviously can't do it on your own!" And the moment was instantly ruined by the same man who created it.

"Gah! Why do you have to be so freaking stupid! I was actually starting to respect you a bit there-ttebayo!" When had he put that stupid hat back on?

"Oh? Whatever do you mean, Naruto-kun? I was simply imparting more words of wisdom on my young pupil…"

The response to this was another growl. "You are the most infuriating person I have ever met. I cannot believe that someone with your personality actually exists."

Urahara shrugged with a grin as he started to fan himself. "I can't help it if people are simply too boring to handle someone of my caliber."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his temples. After the headache started to go away, he looked back up. "There was something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it? Urahara-sama will do his best to answer any and all questions you have."

"Can you please tell me about a place called Karakura Town?"

Dead silence.

Urahara stopped fanning himself as he froze. Naruto was actually a bit worried about him. He had never seen Urahara react to anything like this. But before he could speak, Urahara responded. "What was that?"

Naruto frowned a bit. He never noticed that Yoruichi was also staring at him. "I asked about a place called Karakura Town. I've never heard of it."

Urahara leaned back a bit. "May I ask where you heard that name?"

Naruto smirked a bit. "That would depend on your answer."

Urahara frowned at him. But Naruto ignored the look and stared back at him. Eventually, the silence was broken by Urahara. "Very well. I will tell you. Karakura Town is the town that I resided in prior to coming here."

Naruto tilted his head. That was interesting. "Oh? Why did you come here then?"

"Because Yoruichi and I were forced to."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

Urahara sighed. "It was swarmed by these strange creatures. It was like there was no end to them. No matter how many we killed, more would appear. And we couldn't even identify what they were made of. They didn't seem to be organic as they were made up of this strange energy. Despite the many forms we encountered, that was always true. They were always made up of some purplish-black substance."

Naruto's eyes widened. That sounded like…

Urahara kept talking. "Eventually, we were overrun by them and the entire place seemed to be consumed by the same substance. I don't really know what happened, not completely. All I know is that one moment I was fighting off the creatures, and the next Yoruichi and I are waking up in Konoha. But I've come to one conclusion. I believe that we are-" He was cut off by Naruto.

"You are from another world."

Urahara instantly pinned Naruto with an intense gaze. "Yes. That's exactly it. How did you come to the same conclusion?"

Naruto leaned back as well and stared at the ceiling. He was having trouble processing what he just heard. Urahara and Yoruichi were from another world? And that would mean Soifon was as well! And he never knew? He mulled over the information he was just given. After reviewing it all, he sighed. "This is what she meant by hear what he has to say…" He muttered.

"May I ask you to please clarify on that?"

Naruto looked back at Urahara. "You're from another world. By the sound of it, your world was attacked by the heartless and swallowed by darkness."

Urahara frowned at him behind his fan. "Heartless? Is that what they are called? And what do you mean my world was swallowed by darkness?"

Naruto sighed. This was going to take a bit. He needed to explain the concept of light, darkness, and other worlds too. "Okay, here's how it is…

Tea Room (One Explanation Later)

Urahara was silent as he reviewed all of the information he was just given. While he knew by now there were other worlds, to hear that such things as light and darkness played a huge role took some thought. After he felt he understood everything, he looked back up at Naruto.

"Okay, I get what you're saying. The heartless came to my world and found the heart of the world, thus allowing the world to be swallowed by darkness. Do you know what happened to the world from there? And the people on it? Were we all scattered throughout other worlds?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sorry, can't say for sure. I know it is possible for someone else to have made it off the world as well, but I can't say who or where they would have gone. Even you winding up here was chance."

Urahara sighed. "That's fine. And the world? What happened to it?" He gained a sad look. "It happened years ago, is it completely gone by now?

Naruto frowned. "Can't say for sure. I know that once a world is swallowed by darkness, then the world and its inhabitants are placed in some sort of stasis. Time simply stops there. I have no idea what happens after that." He adopted an apologetic look. "Sorry, I don't know any more than that."

Urahara shook his head. "Don't worry about it. This is already a lot more information than what I had before." He looked Naruto in the eyes again. "And? What else?"

Naruto was confused. "What? What do you mean? I don't know anything more than that." He had already explained about light, darkness, and about other worlds.

Urahara smirked. "How do you know about all of this? I'm not doubting your information, it actually makes sense considering what happened, but how did you get it? You aren't just a shinobi of this world, are you? What role do you play?" His expression quickly turned serious. "Does it have something to do with how you can use light and darkness?"

Naruto jumped a bit in surprise. "How do you know about that?!"

Urahara's smirk quickly returned to his face. "The spar." When a confused look was given, he elaborated. "You don't remember it, but you used some strange ability at the end of the spar you had with Yo…Soifon. You were beaten quite badly when you used it, and actually managed to get a hit in. But it was so sudden that Soifon acted on instinct and sent you flying. You hit your head. That was how you lost your memories of the end of the fight." Urahara leaned forward. "So? Want to share?"

Naruto smiled tiredly. "So that's it…Yes, I can use both light and darkness. Together, they are called twilight. And my ability to use twilight is directly related to the reason that I know all of this."

Urahara grinned. "Oh? Do I get to hear another story?"

Naruto smirked bitterly. "Yeah, this time it's about someone named Xehanort and his quest to reach something called Kingdom Hearts…"

He still didn't like this story.

Tea Room (One More Retelling Later)

The tea room was silent as Naruto gave Urahara a chance to think over everything. By now, Naruto had also told him about Xehanort, Kingdom Hearts, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Hikari, Yami, Keyblades, and about how he was the chosen wielder of twilight. To be honest, Naruto was a little nervous. While he trusted Urahara greatly, this was still the first time he has ever told anyone all of this. He didn't know how Urahara would react. He tensed when Urahara opened his mouth.

"Wow! You sure are special, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto was dumbfounded. "…What?"

Urahara had a huge grin on his face as he fanned himself. "I mean, come on! You were actually chosen by what is arguably a deity to become her champion! You get these cool powers, an awesome weapon, and the chance to travel to different worlds. I sure do know how to pick my students, don't I?" He started laughing.

Naruto just stared at him. After everything he was just told…this was Urahara's reaction. "That's it? Just laugh and accept it?"

Urahara grinned even more. "That's it." His smile grew more sincere. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this. I understand why you have been so secretive with it all, but I'm glad you decided you could tell me."

Naruto blushed and looked away. "You're an idiot…but you're still a good guy. I've put up with you enough to know that."

Urahara nodded. "So? After hearing all that, what do you think?"

Naruto blinked. What? That didn't sound like it was directed towards him…

"That was all very interesting. And it clears up quite a bit."

Naruto jumped at the deep male voice. He nearly gave himself whiplash in his haste to look down. He just stared dumbly at the black cat in his lap. Was he finally going insane from spending too much time with Urahara?

Yoruichi stared back at him. "Yes? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"…You can talk…"

"Yes, I can. Very observant of you to notice."

"No. I don't think you understand. You are talking."

"Once again, I agree."

"You're a cat."

"Nice to know your eyes still work."

Naruto's brain finally caught up to what was happening. "What the hell?! You could talk?! This entire time?!" He ignored the laughter coming from across the table. He would hurt the bastard later.

Yoruichi nodded. "Yes, I could. The entire time."

Naruto gaped. Then an angry expression came to his face. "I knew I wasn't crazy! You really were laughing at me! All those times I fell out of a tree or had to put up with Urahara, I always thought your expression was one that looked like you found what was going on funny! You really did find it all funny!"

Yoruichi smirked. So that wasn't his imagination either! "Yes. I do find some of the things you do humorous." The cat then turned serious. "But back on topic, thank you for sharing this."

Naruto stared for a bit. He was telling Urahara, but this should be okay. Technically, he has known Yoruichi for even longer. Naruto numbly nodded his head. "It's fine. I'm glad I did it."

Yoruichi nodded. "About what you said when it comes to using darkness…how good are you at resisting it?"

Naruto looked away. "I thought I was doing well. But then I went and got influenced in Wave. It pushed me towards killing those people…"

Yoruichi shook his head. "All the more reason you shouldn't dwell too much on what happened. While it doesn't excuse killing indiscriminately, you weren't in the right state of mind at the time." Naruto didn't respond to that and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

Urahara drew the attention back to himself with a clap. He quickly stood up. "Alright! The time has come for you and me to spar, Naruto-kun! I would like to see everything you are able to do. From your kenjutsu to your magic to your twilight abilities!" He turned towards the door with his fan pointed in front of him. "To the training grounds!" Yoruichi quickly followed after him.

Naruto shook his head. "He's still an idiot…"

Underground Training Ground

Naruto and Urahara were now standing across from each other in the training ground. Urahara drew his blade. "I'm ready whenever, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto nodded and reached for the sword on his back. "Wait!" He paused and turned towards Yoruichi. "Do not use your sword. Use your keyblade." The cat said.

Urahara nodded. "Oh, I forgot to mention that. Please use your keyblade. I would like to see you in action using it."

Naruto smirked and held out his hand. Two Become One soon appeared in his hand in a flash of light and darkness.

Urahara peered at it from where he stood. "Oh? That looks very interesting…"

Naruto's smirk grew as he got into a battle stance. "It gets a whole lot better…"

Urahara smirked in return. "Is that so? I look forward to seeing it."

"Don't worry, you're gonna get a full blast of it!" And with that, Naruto rushed at Urahara.

There we go! All done with chapter 18!

Wave arc, complete! Finally, I really didn't expect it to be that long…

Okay, this is something I have been wondering for a while. What is the plural of genin? Is it just genin? Or is it genins? The same for chūnin, jōnin, and jutsu.

The NGC is an idea I had a while ago. There is a very good chance that I won't be touching upon that in forever and a half, but I wanted to plant the idea now.

Progress with Kushina and Minato! The people who have been pestering me about that can finally back off a bit!

Naruto knows about Urahara and Yoruichi's origin. Finally! And he even knows Yoruichi can talk.

I'm actually not 100% sure what happens to the worlds that are swallowed by darkness. But judging by the fact that Simba's world was swallowed by it in Kingdom Hearts 1, but was perfectly fine in Kingdom Hearts 2 with everybody still there and not even talking about it, I'm going with this. In this story, the worlds that are swallowed enter a stasis where time stops in the world. This has the bonus of letting me have Urahara and Yoruichi be away from their world for the past six years but not break the timeline there.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!

Until next time,

Kog6943