And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 31!

You didn't really think that after such a late update last time, I wouldn't make up for it, did you? Also, this totally counts as a chapter released on Tuesday…Or at least, it was close enough…

My Youtube Red trial ended and now I'm having a lot of trouble readjusting to not being able to keep a video going in the background on my phone and having ads…I would pay for it, but I don't want to pay for it and Spotify. And Spotify is cheaper…

Keep the world recommendations coming, people! I also enjoy reading the reasons you give as to why I should include the ones you suggest.

Hey, just curious, but do people want me to start adding chapter titles? It is something I've been wondering for a while, but never tried. I would have done it before now, but I find that there are sometimes spoilers in the titles.

I was recently asked to stop adding sound effects when I write. Reading that guy's argument, I can see his point. I gave it a try in this chapter (Except for one part) and I realized that adding sound effects is something I'm so used to doing, that it feels weird when I don't. But whatever, I'll get over it.

I'm not sure how to feel about this chapter. I feel the events are a good set up for what I have planned, but I'm worried about the execution. Because I sped things up a bit, some changes had to be made to how I did it. This was the only part that I had a little trouble adjusting.

redlox2: I feel it would be stupid of me to wait on including the nobodies until then, but I'm not completely sure as to when I would include them.

LordGhostStriker: :P

Guest: Sora and Riku exist, yes.

prototype gear: I already said that keyholes are often found in obvious places…

Kagavamaru: Thanks! I'm hesitant to call this the best KHxNaruto story, but I'm definitely happy with how far along it has come.

rinsegaku: Lazy Afternoons was one of the final four contenders for which song I would put there. In the end, I ruled it out as an option because I felt like it was just a bit too upbeat for what I was aiming for. In my opinion, Treasured Memories just flowed better.

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/Deity Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

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

Scene Change: Insert Place Here

Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here

Urahara Shop (Two Days Later)

Boom!

Naruto ignored the small explosion and continued to calmly eat his meal. After he swallowed his current bite, he glanced back towards the door that led towards Urahara's lab. "He's been making noise for a while now…" He said offhandedly.

Soifon smirked a bit and took a bite of her own meal. "True, but he also seems to be having a lot of fun…It must be incredibly interesting for him to have something brand new to research. He's always been like that."

"Hm…" Naruto took another bite as he thought about what she told him. "Ever since that conversation two days ago, he has been holed up in there…"

"Well, I'm sure he will come out when he gets too hungry."

"Or he will be too much of an idiot to notice…" The crimson blond blinked when Soifon's smirk grew. "What are you smirking abou-"

"Naruto-kun!" Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around Naruto and a loud voice was annoyingly close to his ear. "Why are you so mean to me?!"

Naruto growled before raising his arms off to throw the man off. "Get off me-ttebayo!" He struggled for a minute, but was met with no success. "Why are you so damn annoying?!"

The hug tightened. "I'm only trying to show you how much I care!"

"Whatever! Just let go of me!"

"Okay." And just like that, Naruto was freed and Urahara was calmly sitting in his seat with a plate in front of him, as if he was there the entire time. "So, what have you two been up to since I saw you last?"

Soifon shrugged. "Nothing much for me. Just relaxing and some light sparring with Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "Besides the spars, I've been in my room gathering everything I need and mapping out the best possible routes to get to Kumo. I think I've studied the area well enough so I won't get lost." A small frown made its way onto Naruto's face when Urahara paused when he heard him. "What?"

"You've spent the last two days here?" Urahara stopped eating and turned to look at Naruto to ask that.

"Yeah…?" Naruto didn't see a problem with that. "Why? Am I starting to overstay my welcome?"

Urahara quickly shook his head. "No, you're always welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like." Naruto couldn't help the small smile that appeared when he heard that. "It's just…" Urahara shared a glance with Soifon, who seemed to understand where this was going.

"Naruto…" She began, making said genin's attention shift to her. "You are leaving for Kumo tomorrow morning, right?" Naruto nodded.

He received word earlier that day that those participating in the exam would leave tomorrow morning at eight. That left him a little more than twelve hours before he would have to go to the specified meeting point. "Yes." He didn't see a problem with that.

Urahara sighed, apparently he did see a problem with it. "I'll get straight to the point…You have spent the entirety of the training month before the invasion here and then after the invasion, you continued to stay here. I at first thought you would return home after the invasion, but it is now obvious that isn't the case. Naruto, is there a reason you aren't returning back home?" Naruto stiffened. "I know it isn't because of that argument you had over a month ago, so what is it?"

Instead of answering, Naruto looked away with a conflicted look on his face. His mind went back to a conversation he had before the invasion.

"I never stopped caring! How could you think that?!"

"Very easily."

"And you know what I realized over the years? If you don't care, then neither should I."

'I can't believe I said that…' He was both embarrassed and ashamed of himself for what he said to Kushina. But even then, a part of his mind felt vindictive pleasure at the crushed look on her face when she heard those words.

After he cooled down and got a chance to think, Naruto realized he probably could have handled that situation better. He still definitely could have handled it worse, but telling his mother that he doubted her feelings for him may not been the best course of action. Over the past few months, both Kushina and Minato seemed genuinely remorseful.

He shook his head. Acting like they regretted their actions over the past few months did not make up for years of forgetting he was there and indifference. Looking back to Urahara and Soifon for a moment, the both of them having remained silent has he thought, Naruto spoke up. "It's nothing. I just feel more comfortable here."

Urahara didn't buy it for a moment. "Naruto…" The intent was clear.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto turned back to them with a reluctant expression. "…On the day of the invasion, I…had a small argument with my mother."

Soifon's face gained an understanding and sympathetic look. "What was it about?" She asked.

"She was relieved to see that I was fine after disappearing without warning for a month…It turned into her wanting to know where I've been…One thing led to another, and I flat out questioned the genuineness of her worry. I eventually just walked away and didn't see her again until the other day."

The room was silent for a moment. Urahara sighed again. "What were your exact words? What exactly did you say when you walked out?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "'If you don't care, then neither should I.'" He opened his eyes back up, revealing a determined glint in them. "And it's true, I shouldn't care. They never cared, so I see no reason as to why I should."

Soifon gazed into his eyes. "You should care because she is your mother and she loves you."

"Ha…I wonder about that…"

"I can't defend the actions of your parents over the past years." She shook her head. "In fact, I don't even want to. I hate what they did…But it's clear that they are trying to make up for it now. Wouldn't it be best to try and open up a bit to them?"

Naruto glared. "I don't see why I should."

"I find your choice of words very interesting." They both looked over to Urahara, who had remained silent for the last minute while looking down in thought. Naruto tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

Urahara looked back to him. "Your choice of words. 'If you don't care, then neither should I.'" Naruto's eyes widened. "'And it's true, I shouldn't care.' All of your words point to you feeling like you shouldn't care." He leaned forward. "But in reality, you actually do care, don't you?" Naruto looked away, avoiding all eye contact. "You do care, and it's tearing you up inside, isn't it?"

Dead silence.

All three of them sat in silence as they waited for someone to speak. Urahara was waiting for Naruto to answer his question, Soifon was waiting for the same, while Naruto was hoping he wouldn't have to. Eventually, Naruto grit his teeth and looked back up.

"Yes, I care. I care that they chose to let me sit on the sidelines and watch them be there for Narumi and Menma as they grew up. I care that they, along with the others, never gave me the time of day. I care that that never showed any interest in what I did or how well I did it. I care about how they chose to leave me behind!" He ended with a shout. "…I care, I really do. I wish I didn't…but I can't help it." His voice lessened in volume until it was nothing but a whisper.

Soifon got up and moved to the spot next to Naruto before slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Then you should do something about it." She said quietly.

He glanced to her. "What should I do? And why should I do it? They pushed me away first, I'm only acting how I have in the past…Why should I give them another chance?"

"You should do it because they are your parents and it is very obvious they regret what happened." She took her arm back. "I'm not saying that you should just throw your heart out there, but maybe a small chance…"

Urahara nodded. "Spend some time around them. Maybe after a while, you can decide for yourself if you would like to forgive them."

Naruto thought about what they said. "Honestly, I'm still unsure. Part of me wants to just turn away from them and never look back…Actually, a lot of me wants that…"

"But…" Soifon began.

"But, I trust your judgements…" Naruto looked between them. "I'll talk to them for a bit tomorrow before I leave." He got two smiles and nods in return. Wanting to change the subject, Naruto asked something that had been on his mind for a while. "Hey, where's Yoruichi? I haven't seen him in a while…" Come to think of it, he hasn't seen him since before the invasion…

Soifon and Urahara traded looks. A smirk formed on Urahara's face, but it was quickly covered by his fan. Soifon was the one to turn back and answer the question. "You already know that Yoruichi is a cat that likes to disappear every now and then…" Naruto nodded. "This time, Yoruichi actually decided to explore the Elemental Nations for a little while."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What about the heartless? What if he's attacked?"

For some reason, Naruto voicing this concern made Urahara chuckle. "Don't you worry, Naruto-kun." He said. "Yoruichi can handle himself in a fight. I'm positive that any heartless that attacked him would be quickly defeated."

Although reluctant to accept such an answer, Naruto eventually nodded.

Uzumaki-Namikaze Household (The Next Morning)

Naruto took a deep breath as he stood in front of the front door of his house. He was technically just returning home, but he still felt hesitant. That morning, Naruto had gotten up early and packed the things he would need before saying his goodbyes to both Soifon and Urahara. On his way out, they had both given him sentiments of good luck and the request to be careful. Even Urahara was able to remain serious throughout the exchange.

They both were well aware of what was likely to happen during this exam.

Bringing his mind back to the present, Naruto shook his head before raising a hand towards the doorknob. All it took was a small pump of his chakra before the seal matrix on the house identified him and unlocked the door. He walked into the house and took a look around. No one in sight so fa-

"Nii-chan!" He was immediately bowled over by a speeding Narumi.

'Why does that always happen?' Was he jinxing himself? It seemed like every other time he thought about how he had expected something to happen, it would then immediately happen. Mostly when people appearing out of nowhere was concerned.

Naruto turned his head around to see the grinning face of his sister laying on his back. Her grin grew in size when she saw that she had his attention. "You haven't been back in forever-ttebane! It was weird not having you around!"

"Narumi…Please get off of me…" Naruto requested.

Without her smile faltering for even a second, Narumi jumped off of her brother before tugging him to his feet. "Come on! Everyone else is in the living room. Kaa-chan and Tou-chan were just about to talk to us." He didn't fight her as she semi-forced him to follow. "Hey, everyone! I told you Nii-chan would come!"

Entering the room, Naruto and Narumi was greeted with the sight of Menma sitting on the couch with a small smile on his face and a surprised looking Kushina and Minato standing nearby. Kushina looked to be even more surprised than Minato that Naruto had showed up. After a moment of silent staring, Naruto nodded his head to them in greeting.

Seeing that, Minato gained a smile that could have lit the entire room. "Naruto! You're back!" Kushina seemed extremely pleased as well, but there was also some hesitation present. "We were just about to talk to Narumi and Menma. We were planning on trying to talk with you once we met up with you, but you being here is even better!" He motioned towards the couch. "Could you two please take a seat on the couch?" Narumi nodded to him with a grin. Not letting Naruto go for a moment, she walked over to the couch before pushing him down into the middle of it. Menma was sitting on his left while Narumi took a seat on his right.

Now that they were seated, Minato nodded. "Great, now I will get started. Today all three of you are going to go out and travel towards Kumo, you know that." His grin dimmed before their eyes. "I just want you to understand how serious this situation is. You will all be departing alone. No teammates, no one to point out the way, and no one to cover your back." His grin recovered. "Despite this, I want you to understand how proud we are of you three…" Naruto suppressed a flinch. "But we still worry." He sighed. "I want you to never let your guards down. Always be aware of your surroundings and don't jump into things that you are unsure that you can handle…"

Kushina took over for him. "This is only an exam. We have allies from both Konoha and Kumo posted at various locations in between here and there. If you run into trouble, help won't be far. A good shinobi knows when the risks are too great."

'They're telling us to get out of there when things get serious.'

Minato sighed again and wrapped an arm around Kushina. "I know we just sound like a couple of worrywarts, but please, bear with us." His smile returned. "I know all of you will do fantastic." A similar bloomed on Kushina's face. Glancing at the clock, he spoke up. "We should get going soon." He looked over the three of them briefly. "I can tell Naruto is already prepped and ready to go, but you two should go finish gathering your gear." Narumi nodded with a grin while Menma saluted. The two of them then got to their feet and left the room, leaving the other three behind. A slightly awkward silence descended.

Naruto opted to watch the far wall in silence to pass the time. Minato and Kushina watched him for a minute before trading silent looks. It seemed like an entire conversation was being conducted with no words.

"Hey…" At the sound of his voice, Minato and Kushina turned back to Naruto. "Can I ask you two something?" He was still looking away.

Minato smiled and nodded. "Of course."

"First, please put a silencing seal up." This request greatly confused the other two in the room.

"How come?" Minato asked, but Naruto only shook his head.

"You'll understand after I ask my question." Although still confused, Minato eventually nodded and walked over to a wall before activating a privacy seal.

"It's up."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto prepared himself for what he was about to ask. "Why did you leave me behind?"

Play Naruto Shippuden OST - Loneliness Extended

That wasn't exactly what he wanted to ask, or even how he wanted to ask it, but it was the biggest question in his mind.

Kushina and Minato were stunned at the question. "W-What do you mean?" Minato asked. "We never left you behind." Kushina stayed silent.

"You did. The two of you, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, you all left me behind. You all put me on the sidelines and focused on Menma and Narumi…You pretty much forgot about me." He looked back to them. "I want to know why." He would decide here and now if he wanted to forgive them or not.

It all just depended on what they said to answer.

"We…" Minato began. "We never did! There's no way…" He trailed off. Minato would love nothing more than to deny what Naruto was saying, but he knew that he couldn't. "…We did…"

Naruto nodded, a glare forming. "Yes, you did. You both started acting like I didn't exist when I was four. I was forced to start doing things on my own. I ate by myself. I went places by myself. I trained by myself. I grew up by myself." They looked extremely ashamed at what he was saying. "I know you've been wondering where I learned everything I know. When I learned and from who?" He got a hesitant nod from the both of them.

"I started learning how to use a sword when I was six." Heterochromatic eyes shifted to Kushina. "I went out and found someone willing to teach me after you told me you were too busy teaching Menma and Narumi."

Kushina looked shocked to hear that. "I-I did that?" She got a nod in return.

"Yes, you did. The first thing I did when I wanted to learn how to use a sword was come to you in the hopes that you would teach me." Naruto's glare deepened. "But I was immediately shot down and forced to look for other options." His glare was slowly replaced by a fond smile and he looked away. "In hindsight, that might have been a good thing." Yoruichi only brought him to Urahara because he mentioned that he needed to learn how to use a sword.

He returned to the moment and his smile disappeared. "I found someone willing to teach me, willing to talk to me, willing to spend time with me. I started leaving the house more and more to train and spend time in other places." Naruto complained about Urahara a lot, but he knew for a fact that he would never regret walking into that shop while following a cat.

"Time passed, things didn't change, and I started to lose interest." Naruto sighed before looking back to Kushina. "Then out of nowhere, years later, you started acting strange while in the Land of Waves."

Kushina knew exactly what he was talking about. She remembered the moment when she sat and watched the sunset as she thought about just how little she knew about Naruto. It was the realization that she didn't know that much that spurred her to start paying more attention to him.

"And then you start doing the same." Naruto added as he looked to Minato. "It was as if the two of you suddenly remembered that I was your child as well. You both tried to include me in things, but I didn't know what had changed, so I stayed away…It got to the point where I was reluctant to come home…I eventually just didn't." His glare returned. "And you both tried acting like nothing had changed! Like the past eight years hadn't happened! It isn't that easy!" Kushina felt her eyes start to water and Minato was having trouble maintaining eye contact.

Naruto forced a neutral look onto his face and sat back with his arms crossed. "So please, for once and for all, tell me why you left me behind and what changed to abruptly make you start caring."

The room was completely silent. After a minute, Kushina spoke up. "Naruto…We are so, so sorry…We have been terrible parents…" She was starting to lose the fight against her tears.

Naruto shook his head. "I already know that, just tell me why."

"We…" Minato and Kushina looked to each other. "We have nothing to say for ourselves…" Minato said. That answer sparked some anger in Naruto. "There is no excuse for what we've done."

"Nothing?" Naruto repeated quietly. "Nothing to say at all?" A scowl formed. "Then why the hell should I bother opening myself up to you? Why expose myself like that?!" He didn't even realize he had gotten to his feet.

"Please…" Kushina choked.

"It was stupid of me to come here!" Unnoticed by anyone due to the events unfolding in the room, a soft glow was present in Naruto's eyes. He turned towards the door. "Just forget I said anything!" He began walking away.

"No!" A pair of arms wrapped around his body, holding him in place. "Please, Naruto! Don't go! Just listen to us!"

"Why should I?!" He struggled to free himself. Minato quickly rushed over, but didn't know who to help. "I was right back in the stadium! I should just forget about it!"

"No!" Kushina poured all her emotions into that word, doing nothing but trying to convey how much she cared for Naruto.

End Music

Naruto froze in his tracks when she felt something in Kushina reach out to him. A hopeful look lit her face when she saw him stop. His eyes were wide with surprise as he tried to comprehend what he just felt. 'That was…' He quickly tried to turn around, but found himself still trapped in her hold. "Let go!"

The hopeful look turned into a crushed one when Kushina heard that. "No, please let us speak!"

"I'm not going to leave, just let go of me!" Naruto shouted. Both Kushina and Minato were greatly surprised by his words.

"You…Mean it?" Kushina asked with some doubt, but hope was still present.

"Yes! Now let go-ttebayo!" With a great amount of reluctance, Kushina let go of him.

A smile reappeared on her face. "So you are going to give us a chance?"

Naruto frowned at her. "Give me a second." He mind was focused completely on what he felt in her when she yelled a moment ago. It was brief and very buried, but he was sure of what he felt.

Darkness.

When Kushina's emotions grew out of control, it made her unconsciously call upon her aura. 'That shouldn't be possible…That should only happen to someone who has had their aura active in the past…' Naruto didn't understand how Kushina could have possibly had her aura awakened. It lies dormant in people's hearts until something acts as a catalyst and interacts with it. Whether it be the will of the heart or an outside force. The fact that Kushina's heart was able to call upon it meant that it had awakened at some point in the past.

'But…The darkness felt strange, weak…Foreign…' A wild theory was starting to come into being in his head as he thought over their dramatic change in actions. From the point where they suddenly stopped paying attention to him to the point when they did. He then thought about some peculiar things he was told. 'That…can't be…' "I have another request for you two…It may completely change everything…"

Kushina nodded, eager to prove to Naruto that they were genuine in their feelings. "What is it?" Minato quickly joined her side.

Naruto's mind went back to eight years ago in an attempt to figure out what caused the problem, but he couldn't remember much due to his young age at the time. "When you two remembered that I existed," They both looked pained when he said that. "Were you two having problems concentrating? Maybe some headaches?"

Their eyes widening in surprise was all the answer he needed. Minato nodded. "I don't know about Kushina, but right before I realized that…that we weren't the best of parents to you, I was suffering from a headache much stronger than usual…"

His wife turned to him with a surprised look. "You too? I had a huge headache for a while!"

Naruto grit his teeth as another surge of anger came through him. Their answers gave credit to the crazy idea he was making. 'It couldn't be…But how to check?' He then remembered the surprising interaction he had with Killer B over a month ago. '…I wonder if that could work…' He raised a fist to the two of them, gaining a pair of confused looks. "This may sound weird, but I need the both of you to trust me. Place your fists against mine."

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Kushina stepped forward and met his fist with her own. Her lack of hesitation surprised Naruto greatly, and it must have shown because she gave him a smile. The moment she made contact, Naruto felt a pull on his mind, but resisted. He was only able to do so because he was expecting it this time. Minato was only a step behind her in bringing forward a fist.

Now that the two of them had done as he asked, Naruto took a breath and closed his eyes. "Just give me a minute." He focused on the two of them and extended his senses in order to get a feel of their auras. Because they were in contact, he was able to find them almost immediately.

Minato's aura was a normal mixture of light and darkness, albeit more light than darkness, and Kushina's was of a similar state. Naruto dug deeper and tried to get a feel of their hearts.

On the outside, a soft light flashed over each of their chests, greatly surprising the adults. "Whoa!" Minato exclaimed, but was careful to not pull away.

"What was that?" Kushina asked.

Naruto ignored both of them to continue his search. 'Almost…There!' He found what he was looking for near the very core of their hearts. Most of their heart was flooded with their auras, but buried deep down was darkness…Darkness that didn't originate from them.

After inspecting the darkness, Naruto would guess that the darkness was injected into them a long time ago, years even. It was obvious that it used to be more prevalent, but was weakening over time.

"You were both being controlled…" Naruto whispered to himself, but Minato and Kushina still heard it.

"What?" Minato asked, a small edge of alarm present in his voice. Kushina was of a similar mind as she wrapped her head around what she was just told.

'This darkness was deeply ingrained into their hearts, controlling them. They broke free of the control a while back…But because of how ingrained it was and how long it was here, there are still trace amounts of the foreign darkness in their hearts…' Naruto looked to meet Minato's eyes. "You both weren't aware of your actions because someone was controlling you."

Rage flooded Minato's body. Someone would dare make him and Kushina ignore their son? "How do you know?" Minato asked quietly. He didn't want to doubt Naruto, but it was hard to swallow that someone had managed to trap them in some sort of genjutsu that lasted for years.

Naruto gained a conflicted look before averting his gaze. "I…" Should he tell them? The discovery of someone forcing them to forget about him changed everything, but was he ready to just spill everything he knew about light, darkness, hearts, and everything else to them? "…I"

"Don't say anything." Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before his head whirled around to Kushina. She was looking at him with a small smile. "You don't have to tell us. It is obvious you are reluctant to, so we will wait until you feel like you can trust us." An incredible wave of relief flooded her when she learned that she may not have become such a horrible mother by her own choice. She was still extremely regretful, but it helped to know that she did not have complete say in the matter.

Naruto nodded in gratitude. Turning his thoughts back to the darkness, he tried to identify it. 'There's something familiar about it…Like I've felt it before, but I'm not completely sure…' With a sigh, he lowered his fists and took a step back before looking at Minato and Kushina.

It was at that point that a surge of thoughts and emotions hit him, both good and bad. The knowledge that his parents did not have complete control of their actions really made him question everything. If they had been controlled, what about the others? Were Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi also being controlled? He opened his mouth.

"I…"

"I'm all ready to go-ttebane!" The three of them turned to see Narumi dash back into the room with a wide grin on her face. She froze when she noticed the atmosphere and saw the tears in her mother's eyes. "Um…I…Sorry, this was a bad time, wasn't it?" Menma walked in after her, looking at the scene in curiosity.

Naruto quickly shook his head. "No, it's fine. You two ready to go?" He got two hesitant nods in return. "Then we should get going, it's about time for us to show up. The three of us can start heading over." He quickly walked past them. Narumi and Menma shared hesitant looks before following after him.

Once the kids were gone, Minato turned to Kushina. "Kushina…You alright?" He grew worried when more tears leaked from her eyes. He was about to speak again, but found himself wrapped in a tight hug. "Kushina?" Soft sniffles were heard from the redhead, increasing his sense of panic.

"Minato…Just give me a minute, okay?" He nodded and wrapped her up in a hug. The two of them stood like that for a minute before Kushina eventually let go and stepped back. "Thanks…I just needed a minute…" She wiped away her tears.

Minato had a soft smile on his face. "It's fine." He glanced at the door the kids left through. "We should get going too." She nodded. The two of them were about to walk out of the room, but stopped when someone suddenly walked back through the door. Minato stared at the person in surprise. "Narut-"

His words were cut off when Naruto walked up to them and wrapped his arms around them. Kushina and Minato were both too surprised to say anything, but were able to recover quickly enough to return the gesture with smiles. They stayed like that for a minute before Naruto stepped back with a small blush on his cheeks.

"Sorry about that…" He said quietly.

Kushina shook her head rapidly with a wide smile on her face. "Don't worry about it-ttebane!" Having Naruto be the one to initiate a hug was one of the best feelings she could imagine.

Naruto nodded. "We can talk more after the exam. That's also when we can start thinking about who put you guys under their influence. Just wait for me to get back." Minato smiled at him.

"Right, we can talk all about that after the exam…But I'm more looking forward to the chance to just talk with you." Naruto grinned when he heard that, but it faltered when he saw Minato's face become more serious. "Naruto, I'm sure you've realized the real reason why we are doing this exam…" He got a nod in return. Sighing, Minato continued. "Good…The promise me to be careful…Orochimaru is the biggest threat to you and Sasuke."

The request was a slight surprise, but mostly expected. Naruto smiled before giving his reply. "Yeah, of course. I promise to make it back." Minato relaxed a bit and his smile returned. He glanced back to the clock. "Come on, we really will be late if we don't hurry…Kaa-san, Tou-san." He quickly turned and left the room, not looking at the surprised faces of Kushina and Minato.

Those surprised looks soon turned into wide grins.

Konoha Gates

Play Naruto Shippuden OST - Departure to the Front Lines Extended

"You are all about to embark on the final test to prove yourselves as chūnin." The ten genin were lined up in front of Minato and A. Each of them had a serious countenance in place as they received last minute instructions. There was even a small crowd gathered that watched from a distance. "As you are aware, each of you will be heading towards Kumo. You will all have a week starting from tomorrow morning at eight to reach the destination given."

A continued the instructions at that point. "You will have to document as many species of heartless as you can with a side objective of describing how to kill them. Organization and clarity are a must." He gestured to the large gate behind him. "You will follow your selected guide to the specified starting point before being told of where in the land of lightning you will travel to."

"Once you reach your starting point, your guide will hand you a scroll. This scroll will contain a notebook in which you will be document the heartless and cameras." Minato said. "Nothing more will be provided. It will be up to you to head to the destination and survive. Remember that there are allies throughout the region." He traded a look with A. "Anything else?" The Raikage shook his head. "Then we will get started. When I call your name, step forward to be paired with the guide who will take you to your starting point."

Naruto glanced to the side and made eye contact with Shikamaru. When he saw the reluctant look on the Nara's face, a small smirk formed. Looking the other way, Naruto then met Misa's eyes. She seemed just as amused with Shikamaru's attitude.

"Genin Misa of Konoha." Her smirk was immediately wiped from her face. She nodded to Naruto, who returned the gesture, before walking towards the guide she was assigned. Narumi was called after her.

"Genin Naruto of Konoha." Upon hearing his name, Naruto schooled his features and walked towards the indicated guide.

His assigned guide was a man with dark, spiky hair and red-framed sunglasses. He wore a standard Konoha shinobi outfit, but his forehead protector was tilted slightly.

The man nodded to Naruto with a small smile. "Hey there, name's Aoba." He held out a hand.

Accepting the hand and shaking it, Naruto smiled. "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."

Aoba nodded and replaced his smile with a grin. "I knew that. I'm sure you've already heard it, but I wanted to thank you for saving Hayate. He's a good friend of mine and I would hate to have lost him."

With a sheepish smile and small blush, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It wasn't a problem. I had to do something." Aoba nodded and left the conversation alone. After looking over to Minato, he spoke up again. "We are going to head out soon. Your starting point is Inn Town. We will leave, get there in a couple hours, stay the night, and then you will head on your way tomorrow. Understood?"

Naruto nodded. "I got it."

"Good." Aoba looked over to Minato and nodded his head. Seeing the gesture, Minato nodded back before looking to the other guides. Soon, all of the guides had given confirmation that they were ready to head out.

Once the last guide had given the signal, Minato shared a look with A before looking back to the assorted shinobi. "Alright." A began, getting everyone's attention. "We're all ready to start now, so you may leave whenever you wish! I would like to wish all of you the best of luck."

Minato nodded in agreement. "Yes, and the same from me. Please be careful during your travels and I will see you all on the other side." The crowd cheered when the go ahead was given.

Aoba turned and smirked at Naruto. "Well, Naruto…You ready to go?"

Returning the smirk, Naruto nodded his head. "Ready whenever." With one last wave to the others, Naruto and Aoba turned and left the village.

End Music

Edge of Inn Town (The Next Morning)

Naruto checked over his gear one last time before nodding to Aoba. "I'm ready to go." It was the next morning and the final exam was about to begin. Naruto was taking the chance to make one last check of his supplies.

"Alright." Aoba checked his watch. "It is now 9:00 in the morning. I'm going to hand over the scroll containing the notebook and camera." He reached into his pack and pulled out a small storage scroll before handing it over to Naruto. "Your destination is the Thunder Dragon Inn in the Land of Lightning. Will you be able to navigate there?"

Going over a map of the region in his head, Naruto nodded. The Thunder Dragon Inn was one of Kumo's more famous inns. It was actually somewhat of a tourist attraction. "Yeah, I know the place."

"Good." Aoba smiled. "Then this is where we part ways. I wish you the best of luck." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto quirked an eyebrow at the quick exit before shrugging and turning towards the correct direction.

"Well, I guess I better get going…" He dashed down the road that led north. He would need to travel on the road for a bit before he hit a forest. Because of the close vicinity of Konoha and its patrols, he shouldn't run into too many heartless until he gained some more distance.

"That looks like the brat. Should we go meet him?"

"…No."

An annoyed grunt was heard. "Why the hell not? Is he not one of the targets?"

"We shouldn't because there are too many enemies in the area. I have no doubt that there are still many eyes on him."

"Tch…I suppose you're right…So what then?"

"…We wait. If a chance arises, we take it. If not, then it is of no harm done."

"…I hate waiting."

Forest of the Land of Fire (One Day Later)

"Fire!" The fireball hit its mark and destroyed the shadow heartless. Naruto let out a sigh before lowering his keyblade. "I already have enough information on those…"

A day has passed since Naruto started travelling towards Kumo and he was making steady progress towards the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. In just a day, Naruto has taken data on shadows, soldiers, hook bats, and even an armored knight. Unfortunately, these were all heartless that participated in the invasion, so it wouldn't be that impressive.

As he traveled, Naruto was sure to keep an eye on his surroundings. He was well aware of the risk that Orochimaru posed and he would be happy if he could make the entire journey without running into trouble.

Naruto glanced to the sky and noted that the sun was starting to set. 'I should find a secure location to make camp soon…' While making camp in the middle of nowhere would normally be a terrible idea because he was on his own, Naruto was able to make some Shadow Clones that would be able to keep watch while he slept. Even if one was killed silently, the rush of memories would wake him up.

A rustling of leaves made him fall back into a battle stance and prepare himself for any surprises with his eyes were glued to the direction the sound came from. After a moment, the rustling sound continued, but it sounded closer than it did before.

Suddenly, a speeding figure shot out of the trees. Seeing that it was a hook bat, Naruto quickly raised his keyblade, but stopped when it ignored him and kept moving. It soon left Naruto's sight. 'What?' Another rustle drew his attention back to where the hook bat had come from, and Naruto was surprised to see that there was now a powerwild running in the same direction.

Acting quickly, Naruto snapped a picture of the powerwild before it left his sight as well. A third rustle made Naruto look over again. Expecting another strange heartless, his eyes widened in shock when a group of soldier heartless ran by. 'What the hell?' Naruto noticed that they all seemed to be running from the same direction. Deciding to let his curiosity get the better of him, Naruto started walking that way.

He didn't have to walk far because he soon came upon a clearing in the forest. Naruto wasn't sure what he was expecting to see, but he was curious as to what could make the heartless flee. Cerulean and violet eyes widened in surprise when he saw the source of the commotion. In the middle of the clearing were three large heartless.

The first heartless was a massive creature with black skin. The body of the heartless was wrapped in teal thorns, both of its wrists and ankles had manacles on them, and it had a heart shaped hole in its chest. While the chain on its arms were broken, the one connecting its feet was not. The maw of the heartless was large and toothy whereas the eyes were small and beady. Each limb sported three digits with red claws. Completing the look of the heartless was a large orange mane and two massive orange horns.

The next heartless resembled the first somewhat, but still had obvious differences. The body was a purplish-black and had dark magenta spikes running down the back, as well as a mane of dark magenta spikes. Like the other, this heartless had a jagged mouth and beady yellow eyes. Each leg of the heartless had a purple claw. Naruto noticed that this heartless also had chains on its forelegs.

The last heartless was of a similar size to the other two, but had a different build. Its body was majorly lilac in color, but its back and all four of its legs were violet. Each leg ended with two toes with black claws. Coming out of the lower jaw were two large, curved tusks that were colored white on the upper half while the other half was lilac. On the forehead of the heartless was a conical, black horn. Like the first two, this heartless had the signature jagged maw and yellow eyes. Finishing the look was the heartless emblem on its chest.

'What the hell are these things doing here?!' Naruto did not want to fight all three of them at once. It was then that he noticed that the three heartless were completely focused on something else.

All three of the heartless were surrounding something in the center of the clearing. Taking a look at what it was, Naruto was shocked and alarmed to see a man standing there. Before he could fully take in the man's appearance or do anything to help, all three of the heartless pounced on him.

"No!" Naruto moved to help the man, but he knew that there was no way he could make it in time. He could do nothing but watch as the heartless neared the man. With wide eyes, Naruto watched as the claws shot to pierce the man's body.

A bright flash momentarily blinded Naruto. Skidding to a halt, he shielded his eyes as he waited for his vision to return. When it finally did a minute later, he hesitantly opened his eyes, expecting to see a gruesome scene before him.

His eyes promptly snapped opened fully in shock when he saw that the man was standing there, completely intact, while the heartless were dissolving into darkness.

"Wha…What?" Naruto muttered. He turned his eyes back to the man, who had his back to Naruto. 'How did he do that?'

"You there." Naruto wasn't ashamed to admit he flinched when the man suddenly addressed him. "Who are you?"

"…Name's Naruto." He said slowly. "…And you?"

The man was silent for a moment. "Me?" He turned to face Naruto. "I am known as Sephiroth."

He had had long, silver hair with long bangs that framed his face, cold, blue eyes, and dressed in a tattered black leather coat with red-violet lining that had a large collar which reached his ears. Around his waist was a black belt with a silver buckle. The sleeves of his coat ended in metal rings instead of normal cuffs, and he had on black leather gloves. His chest was exposed, showing that he had on a grey strap around his abdomen with two black belts over it. His pants and knee-high boots were also black. On each shoulder was silver armor. The strangest thing about the man's appearance was the large, navy blue wing sprouting from his right shoulder.

In his hand was the largest sword that Naruto has ever seen.

Sephiroth's eyes travelled to the keyblade that was in Naruto's hand. "Well…That's an interesting sword you're carrying."

Naruto swallowed and glanced down to his keyblade. "I guess…" He looked back to Sephiroth. "It's obvious that you don't need any help, so I'm just going to leave." He turned.

"Wait." Naruto wasn't even able to take a full step before Sephiroth said that. "I sense a great amount of power within you. Both that of light…and of darkness…" Naruto's eyes widened. "I am curious as to how you are able to achieve such balance."

Slowly, Naruto turned back around. "You know about light and darkness?" He wasn't sure if he should be surprised or not.

"Obviously…I came to this world after I felt a large expulsion of darkness here. I was beginning to think that it was a wasted venture…But now I see that may not be true."

Alarms were blaring through Naruto's head and growing louder by the second. "And?"

Sephiroth was silent for a moment. "Your sword is clearly a special one…is it the catalyst to your abilities?"

Naruto shakily shook his head. "It helps, but I don't need the keyblade to-" He cut himself off when he realized what he was saying. Just being in the presence of this man struck a sense of fear in Naruto, and it was making it hard for him to think clearly.

"I see…So that's a keyblade." Sephiroth said softly. "And I suppose you must be its chosen wielder." Naruto didn't reply, but it seemed like Sephiroth didn't need him to.

Play Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix - One Winged Angel Extended

"I wonder if it won't change its mind…" Sephiroth raised his blade. By now, the alarms going off in Naruto's head were near deafening. "…Once I defeat you." Sephiroth slid into a battle stance.

'Oh Kami, no.' Naruto hastily got into a battle stance of his own. 'Gotta get out of here!'

"Show me your strength."

Sephiroth dashed at Naruto and lowered his sword in a swift strike. Acting on pure instinct, Naruto raised his keyblade and blocked the slash, creating a shower of sparks. Having his blow blocked bounced Sephiroth's sword back into the air and Naruto used this chance to jump back. "Fira!" A large fireball shot out of his hand and impacted Sephiroth. Making his way towards the trees, only escape was on Naruto's mind. He would gain some distance before concentrating and creating a Corridor of Darkness to leave the area.

Completely shrugging off the attack like it was nothing, Sephiroth dashed after Naruto. In a flash, Naruto was cut off when he appeared in front of him. "There is no escape." Sephiroth said before bringing his sword forward again.

Because there was no time for his keyblade to get into position, Naruto dove to the side, barely avoiding the earth splitting slice. "You won't get away. Stand and fight."

Naruto cursed loud and long in his head. Standing up, he glared at the man. "Why are you doing this? I don't want to fight you."

Sephiroth readied his blade again. "Why? Because your power interests me. If I have to attempt to kill you for you to bring it out, then so be it." He flew at Naruto again. Keyblade met sword as Naruto blocked the attack again. 'This man is fast.' Naruto was having a lot of trouble blocking and avoiding the strikes.

The scariest part was that Naruto had a feeling that Sephiroth could still go faster.

A scowl made its way onto Naruto's face. "Fine then…" Gathering his resolve Naruto pushed back. Sephiroth quickly jumped away.

"So you have found the will to fight." He got back into a battle stance. "Then come, prove yourself." He dashed back at Naruto.

Naruto blocked the strike and parried Sephiroth's sword towards the air. Acting quickly, Naruto launched into a fast combo on his torso. After a few slashes, Naruto brought his keyblade back in preparation for a stronger strike. Using all of his strength, he directed it towards the center of Sephiroth's chest, but missed the mark when Sephiroth disappeared in a flash of darkness.

Eyes widening in shock, Naruto was about to jump away, but was stopped after he heard the sound of Sephiroth reappearing directly behind him. "Gah!" Naruto shouted in pain when Sephiroth's next attack landed and launched him high into the air. Sephiroth tracked him for a moment before jumping after him.

Naruto grit his teeth and cracked an eye open to see his opponent nearing him at high speeds. The keyblade was able to intercept the sword an inch before it cut into his body. Spinning around in midair, Naruto used the chance to land more strikes on Sephiroth.

As they fell, Naruto was able to get many hits in, but none of them seemed to do any visible damage. "Ha!" Naruto swore when his downward slash missed its target because Sephiroth disappeared in another flash of darkness. Landing in a crouch, Naruto quickly took in his surroundings as he thought about what he saw.

'Is he using a Corridor of Darkness to teleport around like that?'

"Give into the dark." Suddenly, Naruto was surrounded by multiple orbs of darkness. Eyes widening in alarm, Naruto was barely able to get his keyblade up in time when they shot at him.

"Guh!" He was quick enough to deflect some of them, but a couple still slipped by his defenses. 'Note to self. Learn more defensive techniques…'

Naruto's breathing was extremely labored and he had sweat dripping down his face. They hadn't even been fighting that long, but Naruto was already greatly injured. 'No choice.' He placed a hand over his chest. "Cura." The warmth and soothing feeling was a welcome one compared to the aches and pains wracking his body prior to the spell. Within seconds, most of Naruto's injuries had healed, but he was feeling fatigued. A soft glow of light and darkness was present in his eyes.

Hearing a rustle behind him, Naruto whirled around with his keyblade raised. He was just in time to block the surprise attack from the oversized sword. Before Naruto could react any further, Sephiroth jumps back and raises his sword into the air. "Perish, now." Without any warning, blinding pillars of fire shot up around him, casting a blazing heat over the area and setting fire to the grass.

"What?!" The most surprising thing was that Naruto felt himself get pulled towards the flames. Acting quickly, Naruto turned and stabbed his keyblade into the ground to stop his movement. He was able to stop before he was completely devoured by the flames, but he was still extremely close. Naruto hissed in pain when the flames licked his back.

The flames soon died down and the gravitational pull left as well. The very second they did, Naruto pulled his keyblade out of the ground and rushed at Sephiroth, who still had his blade in the air. Naruto took vindictive pleasure in the grunts that escaped Sephiroth whenever his keyblade made contact. This attack soon came to an abrupt end when Sephiroth teleported away to the other side of the clearing.

Now that he had some more room to breathe, Naruto quickly came up with his next plan of attack. He stuck his hand into the case on his leg and took out a dream eater card before calling upon his twilight. Because he had no time to be picky, he would need to use the card on top of the deck, which happened to be the last card he used.

"Summon: Ryu Dragon!" Ryu appeared in a flash. The dragon looked ready to greet Naruto, but was interrupted. "No time for hellos, Ryu!" He raised his keyblade when he saw Sephiroth charge again. "Here he comes!"

Naruto ducked under the newest slash to come at him and raised his keyblade to counterattack. Sephiroth jumped back out of the way, but was placed directly in the path of Ryu when the dream eater charged him. The charge met its mark and sent Sephiroth flying to the side, directly at Naruto.

"ShadowBreaker!" Both slashes made contact with Sephiroth. Just as he was about to continue his assault, Sephiroth flipped up and into the air before hovering.

"The time has come." Fear crept into Naruto when small meteors formed around Sephiroth. Unlike when Naruto made them, there were more than just a few.

"Ryu!"

"Kyu!" Naruto leapt onto Ryu's back as the meteor's streaked towards them. He was forced to hold on tight as Ryu took sharp turns and dives to outmaneuver all of the attacks. "Kyu!" Ryu was hit by a meteor that came from the side while dodging another. Naruto could feel the heat from each meteor as they flew by him, and the light from the explosions were blinding, but he kept his eyes on the main threat.

"Just a little more! We're almost through!" Naruto shouted. Soon, the onslaught ended and Naruto looked back to the still floating form of Sephiroth. 'We need to end this now!' "Take us in close!" As Ryu complied with the order, Naruto began to call upon as much twilight as he could to strengthen himself. "Now!" He jumped off of Ryu with his keyblade at the ready.

"Decussation!" Naruto and Ryu teleported out of sight and reappeared on either side of Sephiroth. Both of them struck at the same time and landed attacks before disappearing again. Naruto reappeared behind Sephiroth and slashed at his exposed back, but teleported out of sight when Sephiroth spun around and slashed at him. Ryu chose that moment to attack from above. The two of them continued this pattern for a few moments, determined to take down their opponent.

"I grow tired of this." A blast of darkness exploded from Sephiroth and crashed right into Naruto and Ryu, catching them so off guard that they were unable to react in any way. The force of the blast sent them both hurtling back to the ground. It took Naruto a moment to regain his bearings and shake off the feeling of pain wracking his damaged body. Naruto snapped his head back up just in time to see Sephiroth disappear again.

He reappeared a foot in front of Naruto with his blade ready to strike, and Naruto only just rolled out of the way. Naruto would have retaliated, but Sephiroth disappeared before he could do anything. The silver haired man reappeared to Naruto's side with another strike at the ready. This time, Naruto was able to get his keyblade up in time to block it. The moment he saw that his attack failed, Sephiroth teleported away again.

'I hate that so much…' Naruto scanned the surroundings in search of his opponent.

"Kyu…" Ryu flew down next to Naruto and did the same.

'How can anyone be this strong?' Naruto's mind went back to his fight with Orochimaru. 'How many monsters are there?'

"Give into the dark." More orbs of darkness formed in a ring around them. Naruto flew into action when they flew at him, but just like last time, a couple made it through.

"Gah!" Spittle and blood flew from Naruto's mouth when an orb smashed into his chest. His body was launched back and crashed harshly into the ground. Naruto coughed as he attempted to get to his feet, but his body wasn't responding to him properly.

"Kyu!" While feeling as if he was made of lead, Naruto forced his head to turn towards Ryu. The dragon had been struck and impacted the earth with just as much strength. From where he was, Naruto could see the flash which indicated that Ryu had returned to card form.

Naruto's eyes slid over to Sephiroth. He could tell that his body was starting to shut down. 'No…' He grit his teeth. 'No…I promised…' Misa's smiling face emerged in his mind. 'I promised I would come back!' Ignoring his protesting muscles, Naruto forced an arm under his body and pushed. A new wave of fiery pain raced through him, but he ignored it and pushed harder.

"You are still conscious?" Naruto looked over to Sephiroth, standing there as if nothing happened. "That is impressive. Most of my opponents would have fallen for good by now."

"Shut…up." Naruto muttered. Blood, sweat and dirt coated his body, but he didn't care. He just had to get back up. He took a deep breath and dismissed the pain it brought. With one final push, he got back to his feet.

"And you're able to stand? You truly surprise me."

Naruto didn't respond. 'How…Do I get out of this…?' Every breath burned, every creak of his muscles made it feel like he was being ground up, and his vision kept getting darker.

Sephiroth crouched. "But you should know when to quit."

"Heh." For some reason, Naruto couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped him or the smile that quirked his lips. "…You're…right…" He panted. "…I probably…should…" He sluggishly got into a battle stance. "But…I never will…"

"…" Sephiroth remained silent for a minute. "…That's enough."

And in a flash, it was over.

There we go! All done with Chapter 31!

I have a great song that would have fit perfectly for this chapter, but I've been saving it for a later one. Oh well.

Things are starting to pick up!

Fun fact: I have consciously had Naruto refrain from calling Minato and Kushina "Tou-san" and "Kaa-san," always rewording sentences so that people knew what he meant without him verbally -or even mentally- referring to them as such.

The three boss heartless Sephiroth was fighting were Dark Thorn, Dark Hide, and Behemoth.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!

Until next time,

Kog6943