And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 32! First chapter of the new year!
Holy crap, that review thing was a pain in the ass.
I'm back in school…Fuck. I'm worried about the update cycle for this and Embers of a Shinobi. I'm going to try to stick to a weekly update, but I make no promises.
Was going to be a shorter chapter this time, but I had some ideas as I wrote it. Although the second half may be a little bit meh. I wrote the first 5k words on my phone...that wasn't very fun.
I only had two worlds chosen, but you guys still managed to call one of them out. The other one hasn't been specifically mentioned (I think), but it has been close.
kavell Anderson: Totally missed the point there. Don't focus on the heartless, just pay attention to how awesome Sephiroth is. It can be considered as too much, yes, but I thought it was worth it.
Kairitrion Cerulean: Based on the one from the Kingdom Hearts universe, but with some modifications that I will elaborate on later.
redlox2: Is that how it came across? I was trying to make it seem like Naruto was being toyed with the entire time. That's also basically what happened with Sora in the game.
Morgan d'Arc: No problem!
jonnywolf: I'll fix it in a bit, thanks for pointing that out!
prototype gear: No it does not! :P I actually almost had him make an appearance a couple of chapters ago, but decided not to in the end. Wasn't really planning to have scenes around the world, no. And thanks! I was absolutely trying to make it seem like Naruto was being toyed with.
Zant's Minion: Sorry if you didn't like it. That actually wasn't the original plan. At this point, almost everything I put has deviated from the original plan. Hell, the original plot bunny didn't even involve other worlds, but it had a much bigger focus on the neglect. What I want to happen changes so often as I go along that some things just wind up as coming off as a little pointless. But to be fair, you are literally the only person complaining about how I did it when everyone else who reviewed said it was good. (Although that might change now that I've said it)
Exalted Demi-Soul: Meh, it all depends on how you look at it.
Weeldx: Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are characters that I'm still planning out. The drive form as well. Sorry if I'm not being helpful.
HeartlessNobody13: I already replied to you, right?
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
Cerulean and violet eyes snapped open as Naruto jolted awake. He regretted doing so however when pain assaulted him the very next moment. "Son of a…" He hissed quietly. "That really hurts."
"Yes, I imagine it would." A nearby voice said.
Naruto jumped at the unexpected response before gritting his teeth when more pain hit him at the hasty movement. With one eye closed in pain, Naruto gently turned his head so he could see the speaker, although he was already pretty sure who it was after hearing the voice. "Yoruichi?" He asked.
The black feline was indeed sitting nearby, watching him. When he saw that Naruto was looking his way, the cat nodded. "Yes. And you shouldn't make any sudden movements. Your body was heavily injured."
"Heavily...injured…" Naruto slowly repeated with a frown. "From what?" He was in a lot of pain. What the hell happened for him to end up like this?
Yoruichi looked at him curiously. "You don't remember?"
"Um…" Naruto started to think back. "I remember being in the final part of the exam...I was making good progress towards my destination...There weren't that many new heartless around...A bunch of heartless ran by me and I was curious to see what made them so scared that they would ignore me…" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Quickly sitting up, he shouted. "Sephiroth! Ow!"
"I told you to not move too much!" Yoruichi chided and immediately started checking him over. "You and Ichigo are so alike sometimes…" He muttered.
Ignoring the worry, Naruto looked around with some alarm. "Where did Sephiroth go? And how did I get here? I was sure…" He looked down. "…I was sure I wouldn't make it out of there…" The end of his sentence was little more than a whisper.
Yoruichi gazed at him. "Sephiroth? Was that the name of the person who did this to you?" He got a nod. "Who is Sephiroth?"
"I…have no clue." Naruto admitted. "But…his strength was unreal. It was like I was nothing more than a little kid with no training going up against…I don't know how to describe it. None of my attacks even fazed him, like I wasn't trying to hurt him…" His hands balled into fists as he looked away. "Dammit...I'm still not strong enough...I can't do anything like I am…"
Yoruichi remained quiet while Naruto spoke. When he was done, the two of them remained like that; Naruto frustrated with how little he could do against Sephiroth and Yoruichi watching him in silence. Eventually, a sigh escaped the cat.
"...No matter how many times I see it...it still astonishes me how dim witted you can be."
Naruto blinked in surprise before slowly turning his head to look at Yoruichi. "...Huh?"
With a shake of the head, Yoruichi elaborated. "You are missing the entire point here to focus on the fact that you lost to a stronger opponent. Do you truly not remember the end of the fight?"
A small frown slowly worked its way onto Naruto's face. "...The end of...the fight…" He muttered. It really was hazy for him. All that popped into his mind was Sephiroth's final attack.
"Take your time. Think back to the final moments of the fight."
'...What more was there?' Naruto stayed silent as he attempted to recall what happened. His eyes soon widened when he finally started to remember.
Flashback: End of the Fight
"...That's enough." With speed that easily surpassed anything that he used in the fight, the one winged man rushed at Naruto with his sword at the ready. It truly was a disappointment that this boy was unable to show anything of substantial value, but it did not matter in the end.
Naruto was yelling internally for his body to move, but it wasn't listening to him. A large wave of pain hit him, forcing Naruto down to a knee. The adrenaline was fading, causing the pain to grow. His mind vaguely registered that he was in danger, but what could he do? Naruto closed his eyes as he thought. This man outclassed him in every conceivable way, so how could he possibly get out of this?
'Am I…really not going to keep my promise?' That fact, more than anything, hurt Naruto. He had promised that he would return. He and Misa both promised on that night.
And now he was breaking that promise.
That single thought brought a new surge of emotions into Naruto. The world around him slowed down, as if time was being stretched out, but Naruto didn't notice.
'I…promised I would come back…' His eyes opened back up and looked to Sephiroth, still not noticing the change in his perception.
This man was making him break his promise.
It was his fault he wouldn't be able to help when Xehanort returned.
The worlds would be plunged into ruin, and he would not be able to fight it.
All because of this man, the people he cared about would suffer.
'No.'
Sephiroth, drawing ever closer to Naruto, immediately noticed when the glow in Naruto's eyes returned, but there was something different about them. The glow before was that of light and darkness, separated in each eye where the cerulean eye glowed with light and the violet eye glowed with darkness. Both were contributing to Naruto's performance, but it was nothing too great. That wasn't the case anymore.
Both of Naruto's eyes were now bathed in an aura that was a perfect mix of light and darkness. No longer were they separated.
'No matter.' Sephiroth was now within striking distance of Naruto. With speed that most could never hope to match, he moved his blade in a graceful arc. That was when Sephiroth, for the first time in years, was slightly surprised.
Impossibly, Naruto's eyes tracked the blade.
'I won't let it end here!'
Naruto's mind cleared of all thoughts. Only the need to keep his promise remained. Unnoticed to Naruto, his keyblade began to emit a soft glow.
'I won't fail!'
The glow became brighter, completely covering his keyblade in a twilight aura.
'Stop his attack!'
With no further thought or worry, Naruto's keyblade shot up with speeds that instilled more surprise in Sephiroth.
Clang!
Sephiroth's blade was parried towards the sky, leaving the man completely open.
'I will hit him!'
Naruto never noticed that his keyblade began to shift in shape, becoming longer and more blade like. Because it was still glowing brightly, it was impossible to discern any specific details. Seeing that the man was open, Naruto summoned all of his remaining strength and stood back up.
'I will keep that promise!'
The keyblade streaked towards Sephiroth's chest and slashed diagonally across it.
"Gah!" Naruto was about to bring it back for a second strike, but was unable to due to the blast of darkness that impacted his chest and sent him shooting back. His back impacted harshly on the trunk of a tree, expelling both all of the air Naruto had in his body and some blood. Naruto lost his grip on the still glowing keyblade to the point that it flew out of his hand and was stabbed into the ground. The owner of the keyblade fell limply to the ground a moment later. The entire sequence of events was so fast, it was as if it all happened in a flash.
The pain that Naruto now felt eclipsed what he was feeling just minutes before. Even breathing was now an extreme difficulty as opposed to the work that it was.
"...You…"
'Move!' Naruto ignored all of his protesting muscles and slowly moved his head until he could see Sephiroth. The man was standing there will his usual apathetic look, but his eyes held a sense of intrigue and…
Respect?
Sephiroth looked down to his chest in silence. Without even thinking about it, Naruto found his eyes following, and that was when Naruto saw it.
A cut, no bigger than an inch or two, but it was visible. There was a small cut going across the center of Sephiroth's chest with a small trickle of blood escaping from it.
"Naruto!" Another person appeared in between Naruto and Sephiroth. Because of his body starting to shut down again, it took Naruto a moment to register who it was.
"...Soi...fon…" He said weakly. The dark skinned woman turned her head back to him and took in his condition. After she finished looking him over from where she stood, she smiled softly and nodded.
"You've done wonderfully, Naruto. You can rest now." She turned back to Sephiroth and glared. Sliding into a battle stance, she spoke to him. "You're the one who did this to him? Why? And who are you?"
Instead of answering the newcomer, Sephiroth dismissed her completely and continued to look at his wound. "...I had…" He began. "...Previously believed that there was only one person out there who was capable of eliminating me…" Sephiroth slowly looked back up to Naruto, still not acknowledging Soifon. "I now see that belief was incorrect...Although you appear not yet ready to." He turned his head to the fallen keyblade.
Soifon and Naruto followed his example, but Soifon was careful to keep the man in her sights. Both of them were surprised to see the glowing keyblade. But while the glow was surprising, it was the new shape that shocked Naruto.
He definitely recognized that shape.
"...You said your name was Naruto, correct?" They turned back to Sephiroth, but his eyes were still on the keyblade. "I will remember that name." Sephiroth looked back to Naruto, staring directly into his eyes. "Your powers are still immature…You have yet to reach your true potential. This feat was merely a glimpse of what you are capable of."
'My true...potential?'
"Or perhaps 'true potential' is a misleading way to phrase it?" Instead of elaborating on that, Sephiroth changed the subject. "We will meet again. Until then, grow stronger. Strong enough to defeat me." Sephiroth became silent as he looked at Naruto. "...You remind me a great deal of him. You both prefer the light, but still have inescapable ties to the dark." He turned his back to them and began walking away. "I look forward to witnessing how you grow. Will you truly accept your darkness? Or will it consume you?"
'Him? How...I grow? Accept…my...darkness?' Naruto's vision was growing darker again.
Soifon's glare deepened. "Wait! You aren't going anywhere until you answer my questions!" She moved to cut him off.
"Farewell, Naruto. Until the next time that our fates cross." In a flash of darkness, Sephiroth disappeared.
"Damn!" Soifon's cursed. Who the hell was that? Her eyes soon widened when she heard a weak and pained cough behind her. "Naruto!"
Flashback End
Yoruichi seemed to smirk when Naruto's eyes widened. "So you remember?" Slowly, Naruto nodded. "Good. Then you realize that you did manage to harm Sephiroth."
"But…" Naruto couldn't completely suppress the scowl forming on his face. "That was just a scratch. I…couldn't do anything more than a freaking scratch." Yoruichi was silent for a moment before calmly walking up to Naruto. Noticing the cat's approach, Naruto tilted his head. "What?" He was a little weirded out by the blank look on the cat…and was completely unprepared for what happened next.
"Ow! Son of a bit-!" Naruto's hand shot up to his eye.
"You deserved that!" Yoruichi cut him off.
"What the hell did I do to deserve a freakin' head butt to the eye-ttebayo?!"
"Did you listen to a single word I said? You're still missing the entire point!"
"And what the hell is the point?!"
Yoruichi's tail flicked in an agitated manner. "The point is what Sephiroth said. Yes, you were unable to do anything more than give him a scratch, but that doesn't mean that is all you will ever be able to do."
Naruto's eyes widened, although one was unable to widen as much as the other due to the pain. "My true potential." He said quietly, earning a nod from Yoruichi.
"Exactly. You are still young. I don't know anything about that man, but it was obvious that he was at a level few can ever dream of reaching. It is understandable that you were unable to pose any real threat to him. And even then, does it really matter if you are unable to defeat Sephiroth?"
This question confused him. "What?"
"What does it matter if Sephiroth is stronger than you? Or if anyone is stronger than you? That doesn't matter in the slightest. And not only that, but no matter how strong you become, there will always be someone capable of defeating you. But returning to the point, what is important is that you are able to defeat Xehanort, not Sephiroth."
Naruto's mind blanked for a moment. "But…"
"But nothing." Yoruichi said. "Xehanort is the one who poses a threat to the worlds…to your loved ones."
"...Right…"
"And let's just consider that you weren't strong enough to defeat Xehanort, that he overpowered you to the point that you were defeated." That was not something Naruto liked to consider. "Do you know how to fix that? Besides getting stronger?" Naruto silently shook his head, making Yoruichi fight the urge to head butt his other eye.
"The solution is to have people who will fight by your side."
Naruto's mind came to a stop. That's right. He had people he could count on. People he trusted with his life. Urahara and Soifon instantly came to mind. His friends soon entered his thoughts as well. A small smile formed on his lips.
"I see you understand now." Yoruichi nodded. "Good. I had thought that was a lesson you already learned, but you apparently needed a reminder."
"Yeah...Sorry about that…" Naruto said quietly. "Don't worry, I won't forget it again."
"See that you don't." Yoruichi looked him over again. "Back to the matter at hand, you were heavily injured from your fight with Sephiroth and have been unconscious since then. I have done my best to heal you, but that was never my specialty."
Naruto blinked. 'A healing cat?' Although it was a weird thought, he could ask about it later. "How long have I been out?" He looked around again. "And where are we?" It looked like they were in some room…
"You have been unconscious for little more than twenty-four hours, meaning that it is now the middle of the night."
"So it is the end of the third day of the exam…" He could still make it to his destination, but he would need to be quick while incredibly injured. "And the location?"
"You are in a safe house that Kisuke and I had set up. It isn't too far from where you fought Sephiroth, but it isn't in the immediate area."
"A safe house…" Naruto paused when a thought came to him. "How did I get here?"
Yoruichi looked at him with a look that made him feel slightly stupid, but he had no idea why he should. "I carried you here of course."
"Uh...you did?" That didn't make sense to him. "I mean, thanks, but it's surprising to me that you were able to carry me with your small body...I would have thought that Soifon-san was the one to bring me here…" He looked around. "Come to think of it, where is she? She got there at the end of the fight, but I passed out soon after." When no answer was given, Naruto turned back to Yoruichi with a confused expression, not prepared for the look he was going to get. Now he felt stupid.
Although he still didn't know why.
Yoruichi was giving him a look that was an odd mix between exasperation, irritation, confusion, and amusement. Overall, it successfully made Naruto fidget in place.
"...What?" What was wrong with what he said?
"...You…" Yoruichi began before shaking his head. "I cannot believe that you haven't figured it out yet." Naruto was by no means dumb, but Yoruichi would have figured Naruto would catch on by now.
"Figured...what out, exactly?"
Yoruichi considered his options. This situation reminded the cat greatly of a similar one with Ichigo in Soul Society. The memory of Ichigo's reaction brought around a smirk. "Instead of answering that question, wouldn't you like me to tell you how I was able to carry you here?"
"Um...I guess?"
"Well, it wasn't that hard, really. Once I changed back into my true form, it was pretty simple."
"Oh…" Naruto was silent as his mind processed what he just heard. "Wait, what the hell do you mean by that-ttebayo?!"
"I only mean that I changed back into my true form to carry you here. It was pretty easy to carry you like that."
"Wha...You…" Naruto was unable to form any coherent thought beyond this.
"Sound it out."
Ignoring the jab, Naruto finally collected himself. "You're a cat."
"Oh, are we having this conversation again? It was so much fun the last time."
"So…you're not a cat?"
"Well I currently am, yes, but I was not born as a cat if that's what you're getting at."
"Then…"
"Then?"
"Then...what are you?"
'Jackpot.' Yoruichi did his best to prevent his excitement from showing. Instead, he chose to lean in closer with a serious look. "Do you really want to know?" He asked quietly.
Slightly unnerved by the not-really-cat's attitude, Naruto nodded. "Yeah…"
"I don't mind showing you, but you must promise me something." Yoruichi told him.
"What is it?"
"You must promise me to never tell anyone what you are about to witness." A light blue aura formed around Yoruichi and his eyes glowed with power. Naruto suddenly found it harder to breathe and the air around him felt a lot heavier. After training with both Urahara and Soifon, Naruto was easily able to tell that this was spiritual pressure. "Do you swear this, Naruto? Do you swear to keep my true appearance a secret to your very grave? Whether it be your own will or that of another, you will never tell anyone of it." Sweat was starting to drop down the side of Naruto's head. "Is that perfectly understood?"
Naruto shakily nodded his head. "Y-yeah, I promise." If Yoruichi was this serious about it, then it must be really important that people didn't know.
Yoruichi nodded. "Good." The oppressive aura feeling died down, allowing Naruto to relax his body, noting that he wasn't even sure when he had tensed. Yoruichi turned around and began to put some distance between them. "I hope you are ready, Naruto. Merely witnessing me revert to my true form is something that has the power to draw the blood of men."
'Just seeing him transform does that?' What exactly was about to happen?
"I believe you are one of the ones who are capable of withstanding it, but be careful regardless. Just stay focused and you should be fine." Yoruichi stopped and turned around to face him again before crouching in preparation. "This is your last chance to back out. Are you ready?"
Was he? A big part of him was screaming that this was a bad idea, but he wasn't going to back out now. Steeling himself for whatever may happen, Naruto nodded.
"Very well." The spiritual pressure returned, but it was not suffocating him like it had been. "Behold, my true form!"
Out of nowhere, smoke started coming from Yoruichi's body, startling Naruto slightly. In front of his eyes, Yoruichi began to grow in size and change shape. The black fur on the body receded while the portion on the top turned into a shade of purple.
A familiar shade of purple.
Naruto gaped as he watched the black feline he had known for about seven years morph into one of his mentors. Yoruichi/Soifon took great pleasure in his reaction.
She smirked and made a pose. "So, what do you think?"
"Y…Yo…I…Cat…"
Her smirk grew. "Wow, your reaction this time is even better than finding out that a cat could talk." She walked back over to his side and sat down. "So now you know. Soifon and Yoruichi are in fact the same person. Did you really never think about how you never saw them the two together?"
"You…"
"I know, I'm awesome, aren't I?" She leaned forward. "So? You never told me what you think." Her smirk had long turned into a full grin.
"I…" All of Naruto's mental facilities were in the process of rebooting. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it sure wasn't this. After staring at her in silence for a minute, his eyes slowly started to trail down. Naruto's face immediately glowed so bright, that Yoruichi was sure that it was brighter than anything one of his abilities could produce.
"What's the matter?" She asked in a concerned tone. Reaching up and pulling his head so she could put her forehead against his, she continued. "You didn't catch a fever, did you?" Naruto jumped back as if burned. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing even remotely intelligible came out anymore. "Come on, use your words."
"P…Pu…"
"Hm?"
"PUT SOME FREAKING CLOTHES ON-TTEBAYO!"
The sounds of female laughter rang throughout the safe house.
A now fully dressed Yoruichi laughed as she sat across from an irritated and blushing Naruto. "I was right! You and Ichigo really are alike. The both of you have the best reactions!" Her grin widened. "I just transformed back into this and carried you here. Did you know that you like to cuddle in your sleep? Pretty grabby, too…"
"Shut up…" Naruto couldn't look at Yoruichi for more than two seconds before his blush returned. "So everything you said was a load of crap then."
"Not really." Yoruichi grinned at him. "I was telling the truth when I said that just seeing me change back had the power to make men bleed. It just doesn't happen to be in the way you thought."
Naruto considered her words for a moment and scowled. "Stupid pervs…" He muttered. Yoruichi hummed in agreement.
"I don't mean to sound self-centered, but you can't exactly blame them. I like to think of myself as an attractive woman."
"Uh…" That sounded like a trap. How should he respond to that? "So what name do I call you by?"
Changing the subject seemed to be the safest option.
If Yoruichi caught onto his thoughts, she decided to be merciful. "Soifon is a name that I borrowed from someone I know. My actual name is Yoruichi Shihōin"
"Got it." He turned back to face her, withholding a sigh of relief that they had moved on.
Yoruichi lifted up her top. "So do you want another peak?" Scratch that.
Naruto jerked around to look away. "No-ttebayo!" He regretted this action the very next second when burning pain shot through him again. "Gah!"
"Naruto!" Yoruichi abandoned her playful attitude and adopted a concerned one. She rushed to check over his wounds again. "Sorry, I shouldn't tease you while your injured."
"It's...fine…" Naruto replied through clenched teeth. "How long do you think until I'm ready to move?"
She shot him a sharp look. "Not for a while. At least a couple of days."
"A couple of days?!" His protests died upon seeing the look she gave him.
"Yes, a couple of days. You are in no condition to continue the exam."
"But…"
"Get over it." She cut him off. "This exam isn't worth it anyways."
Naruto was silent for a minute. "Honestly, I agree with you. I would love to do nothing else but stay here and recover…" He stared her in the eyes. "But I can't. Not while there is the chance of that freak being out there with the people I care about."
"Is that right?" Yoruichi crossed her arms. "I understand your intentions, Naruto. I know perfectly well where you're coming from. But what can you possibly do in your condition. If anything, you would be nothing but a burden and an easy target." Naruto looked away. "I know you aren't yet good enough in healing magic to heal from all of this. So how are you going to recover?"
While he would love to argue, Naruto knew that what Yoruichi was right. He wouldn't be any help in his current condition. It was also true that he wasn't proficient enough in healing spells to recover from this in a reasonable amount of time without over exerting himself. On his own, he could never do it.
His eyes widened.
On his own, Naruto could never heal himself quickly and not exhaust himself. But he didn't have to do it on his own. The grin forming on his face caught Yoruichi's interest.
"What?" She asked. "Did you think of something?" Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, I did." After glancing around, Naruto spotted his target on a nearby table with the rest of his tools. "Can you please hand me my dream eater deck?"
Comprehension soon came to Yoruichi followed by a smirk. "I see where this is going, Sure." She got up and retrieved the case. Handing it to Naruto, she spoke up. "Can one of them help you?"
Naruto nodded with a grin. "Yeah. I might not be good enough to heal myself, but I know who is." He took out the deck and began to look through the cards. It wasn't that big of a deck, so he should be able to find the card he wanted easily enough. "Some dream eaters are more skilled in certain areas than others. For example, Ryu is good in a fight, but support techniques aren't his thing." His grin grew when he found the card he was looking for. "But I know who is good at them." He held the card up and poured some twilight into it.
"Summon: Wheeflower!" In a flash, the card disappeared and in its place was a dream eater.
As the name suggested, this dream eater bore many similarities to a flower. It had a yellow head with a purple swirl on the top, light pink antennas with purple tops, and a pink and yellow butterfly shaped flower behind its head. The body of the heartless consisted of green petal-like appendages and a body that was shaped like a pink heart with lighter coloring on the top. On the front of the body was the dream eater emblem.
The dream eater did a twirl and a flip in the air while gently floating down to the ground. It was sure to pose as it landed, as if it was on stage during some sort of show. "Whewee!" It bowed.
Although Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at the behavior, Naruto grinned. "That one was even better than the last one, flower." The dream eater cheered at the praise, but the joy on her face soon died down when she saw the condition that Naruto was in.
"Whee!" She rushed up to Naruto with obvious concern.
Naruto smiled down at her. "I'm completely fine, really."
"Whee?"
"Well, not completely. I'm actually in a lot of pain right now…That's actually why I called you here." He gestured to his battered body. "I was hoping you could help me take care of this. The sooner I can get up and moving, the better."
Wheeflower looked over his wounds with a critical eye. After a minute of assessing the damage, she looked back to Naruto and nodded with a determined smile. "Whee."
"Great, thank you so much. Do you think I can be up by the time morning comes around?"
"Whee!" Another nod.
"Awesome. I would be screwed without you." The dream eater started to act bashful at his words.
"Whee…" Without any further words, Wheeflower began to raise her petals towards Naruto, prompting a soft green light to form. Naruto sighed in relief when he felt the soothing sensation wash over him.
"So you'll be ready to go by the morning?" Yoruichi asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I should be. Wheeflower is able to heal many wounds quickly, but this many would need some time."
"Alright. We'll head out once your recovered and it gets brighter." This declaration caused some confusion in Naruto.
"'We'll?'" Naruto repeated, making Yoruichi roll her eyes.
"Yes, we'll. Did you really think that Kisuke and I would just let you waltz out here where it was likely you would be attacked by Orochimaru? Nope. Kisuke is busy with his project, but I was free to come out to travel with you."
"But…This is an exam. We aren't supposed to have outside help."
"I think the idea of keeping the rules going in the exam went out the window the moment Orochimaru became involved." Was the dry reply. "Don't worry about it. It isn't like I will be helping in the exam itself. I'll just be there for when things get really bad. People won't question it too much."
Naruto's confusion grew. "How will they not question it?" He was waved off.
"I said not to worry about it. Just focus on resting and healing."
"…Right…" With great care, Naruto settled back down to rest. Regardless of whether it was allowed or not, it was nice to know that he had someone to help out. Yoruichi's words about how he would be fighting with people he can count on in the future came back to mind.
He was stupid to forget that he wouldn't be fighting alone. Xehanort was a threat to not just his world, but all the worlds. There would of course be others who would wish to fight against him. Hell, he already knew there would be others. Hikari and Yami themselves had told him that there were others out there that would be fighting. Naruto idly wondered what the other keyblade wielders would be like.
Naruto froze at that reminder. 'The keyblade!' Without thinking, Naruto bolted upright, startling Wheeflower. He was instantly reminded why that was a bad idea when more pain crashed through him.
"Whewee!"
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Yoruichi glared at him, but the concern she held was still obvious. "Why would you move like that?"
Instead of answering, Naruto lifted up a hand and summoned his keyblade. A feeling of mixed apprehension and excitement was pooling in him. Like it always did, the keyblade appeared in a flash of light and darkness.
And like always, Two Become One was in his hand.
"What?" Naruto felt slightly disappointed and confused when he saw the unaltered keyblade. Yoruichi and Wheeflower looked on in curiosity.
"Your keyblade?" Yoruichi asked. Her eyes soon widened as she understood what made him act like that. "Come to think of it, your keyblade was acting strangely back then…"
Naruto didn't look away from his keyblade as he answered, too focused on attempting to find some abnormality. Something that would prove what he thought he saw really happened. "I'm…not sure what happened…I don't even know when it started doing that. I never noticed until Sephiroth directed our attention towards it. But…I need to talk to Hikari and Yami. Now."
She looked away from the keyblade and to him. "No." Her sudden denial made Naruto blink and turn to her.
"What?"
"I said no. You are not going to go into the Station of Awakening just to end up talking to them until morning. You are going to rest both your body and your mind. You've said it yourself on multiple occasions, the station only allows your body to rest. Every time you went in there, you always came out mentally fatigued, and it showed in your training. It's even the reason you started to like sleeping so much."
"But…This is-" He had to understand what happened.
"No." Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry, but this has to wait. If we are going to confronting someone like Orochimaru, you need to be in your best condition, both mentally and physically. You can ask about it after the exam."
"…" Naruto was silent as he considered her words. She was right on every point. The Station of Awakening always allowed his body to rest, but allowing the mind to rest was just as important. He could wait to ask about the transformation the keyblade underwent. "…Fine…" He relented.
"Thanks." Yoruichi gained a stern look. "Now seriously, go to sleep."
"Whee!" Wheeflower was quick to voice her agreement. She even went so far as to gently push Naruto back down.
"Fine, fine." Naruto had a small smile at the dream eater's fussy behavior. "What a pair of mother hens…" He muttered.
"What was that?" Now wasn't that a dangerous tone?
"Nothing! I'm asleep-ttebayo!"
"Well?" A cold voice asked.
"They are in place and awaiting your signal." Replied another.
"Good. And where are the targets?"
"The Uchiha has just recently crossed the border of the Land of Hot Water."
"And what about the other?"
"…Unknown."
"What was that?" Hissed the first voice.
"Kidōmaru had last reported him to be nearing the border as well, but…" It was obvious that the second voice was hesitant to continue.
"But what?"
"But…he stopped reporting in a little over twenty-four hours ago. He was discovered and eliminated."
"Are you telling me that the boy found and killed a member of the Sound Four who was supposed to remain hidden?" Rage was bubbling under those words.
"Sir…I'm not sure what to tell you. The wounds on the body were done by a blade of some sort, one that was not a kunai. Perhaps it was the strange blade?"
"…Perhaps…"
"Trouble in paradise?" A new voice asked.
"You will do well to not forget your place!" Snapped the first.
"My place is no lower than your own, snake. If your men are unable to do the job, perhaps mine will."
"Just give me the word, ma'am! I'll take care of the brat!" A fourth voice joined the conversation.
"Silence, fool!" The third voice ordered. "So, what say you? The boy will be taken care of, allowing the plan can continue."
"…Do not get in my way. Anger me, and you will die." Said the first voice. "Go ahead and send your buffoon."
"Hey!" The fourth voice shouted. "I ain't no-"
"If you do not silence yourself in the next second, you will personally see just how painful some of my research can be!"
"…"
"Good. Now head to this location. If he hasn't strayed too far, the boy should be passing through it soon. You will meet allies there."
The Next Morning
Naruto stretched out his body with a wide yawn. "Good night of sleep and a healed body. I feel great!" He turned with a wide grin to Wheeflower. "Thanks for the help."
The tired dream eater nodded. "Whee…"
"I'm sorry for having you work for that long. You definitely earned some rest." With a nod, Wheeflower bowed to him before disappearing in a flash of twilight, leaving a card in her place. Yoruichi spoke up just as Naruto was putting the card back into the deck.
"We should get going soon. Daylight is starting to reach us."
Naruto nodded. "Right." He quickly walked over to the table and grabbed his gear. "I'm healed and ready to go whenever you are."
"Sure, sure. I just gotta get out of my clothes." Naruto blinked.
"What?" He turned to her, but snapped his head back around as soon as he saw she had already taken off her pants. "Why are you taking your clothes off?!"
"Why do you think?" She asked sarcastically.
"I have no idea-ttebayo!" Unseen to Naruto because he was looking away, Yoruichi took a small scroll out of her pants pocket, unrolled it, and placed her clothes on it. With a flare of her spiritual pressure, the clothes were concealed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, only the scroll remained.
Yoruichi grinned widely. "This is one of the best things that Kisuke has ever made." She said.
"What, a pair of pants?"
"No. A sealing scroll that works with spiritual pressure instead of chakra. Now it's easier for me to carry around my clothes!"
Naruto frowned at this. "Easier than simply wearing them?" He voiced.
The Shihōin rolled her eyes. "Were you always this much of a smartass?" Not waiting for an answer, she continued. "I can't exactly wear them when I'm a cat."
"When you're a…" Smoke started to spread from behind him, but Naruto didn't turn around. A moment later, a weight settled across his shoulders, prompting him to look. "Oh…"
"Indeed." Yoruichi had returned to her cat form and was now riding on Naruto's shoulders. In her mouth was the scroll, which she handed to Naruto. "This is why I said people wouldn't have a problem with me sticking with you. Do you get it now?"
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, now it makes sense. I didn't even think of that…Probably because I'm still not used to the idea of you being able to transform like that."
"Well, get used to it. It was such a hassle not being able to change between my forms with you around." She said. Naruto frowned and opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. "Anyways, get moving! I want to be half way through the Land of Hot Water by the end of the day!"
"…Fine." He didn't like how he was being ordered around, but Naruto knew that they probably should get moving. He was already behind schedule by a day, so he needed to pick up the pace. "I'm not stopping for you if you fall!"
Later
"Hm…It is getting warmer…And more humid…" Yoruichi noted. The two of them had recently left the heavily forested area and were now travelling through slightly mountainous terrain. At the moment, Naruto was travelling through a small mountain pass.
Naruto paused for a moment before speaking up. "Yeah, we made it a good amount into the Land of Hot Water now. If I'm right…" He broke into a light jog. The further he travelled, the warmer it got. He soon came upon the end of the pass. "There we go."
The scene they came upon was a cliff overlooking a flooded valley, forming a lake. The incredible thing was that there was steam rising off of the lake. Yoruichi's eyes narrowed in thought at the sight. "Is that…a hot spring?" She asked.
"Yeah, it is. The Land of Hot Water is known for its hot springs. This one is one of the largest natural ones they have…" Naruto answered while scanning the nearby shore. "We need to get across…I would just water walk, but this particular spring is also known for its abnormal heat. I don't want to get that close to the water…" A grin formed when he spotted what he was looking for. "There we go." He turned and jogged towards the thing that caught his attention.
"Oh, I see." Yoruichi muttered. "You're going to use this bridge…" A bridge was made across the diameter of the hot spring, granting access to anyone who wanted to cross.
"Exactly. They made this a while back." He nearing the bridge, but was surprised when he got closer. "Misa?"
Said girl blinked in surprise before looking up from her map and turning around. When she saw who had said her name, she grinned. "Naruto! You're still alive!"
Naruto's grin instantly died down. "Yeah, surprising right?" He muttered. "What are you doing here? I would have thought that I was behind everyone else." A blush spread across her cheeks and she looked away, making Naruto raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"I sorta…lost track of time…" She admitted.
Even if he had wanted to, Naruto would not have been able to prevent the laugh that escaped him. "You lost track of time?"
Her blush darkened. "Shut up! It could happen to anyone!"
"Right, right. Anyone could have lost track of time in the middle of a chūnin exam…"
"That…That…That isn't the point!" She rounded on him. "And what about you? What are you doing back here?"
Naruto didn't even miss a beat. "I'm so behind because I was finding so many types of heartless that I needed more time in this area."
"Tch…" Misa opened her mouth again, but paused when she noticed his passenger. "Why do you have a cat with you?"
"This is…" Naruto glanced to Yoruichi, who glanced back. "This is Yoruichi. She wanted to come along so bad that she followed me from the village. Because of all the heartless, I didn't want to leave her alone, so I just kept her with me."
"Oh…Make sense…I guess…" She quickly shook her head. "Wait, wait, wait! I don't have time for this. I need to get moving!" She turned away and started walking towards the bridge. "Later, Naruto! See you in Kumo!"
Naruto frowned. "Wait!" She did so. "Where in the Land of Lightning are you going? I'm heading to a point that's a little west of Kumo."
She turned back to him. "Same here. My destination is a little north west." Naruto grinned at the answer.
"Then we should travel together for a bit." Misa wasn't expecting that abrupt proposal.
"What? Is that even allowed?"
He shrugged. "I don't see why not. It was never explicitly stated that we had to travel alone. They only really told us to leave on our own and arrive on our own. Nothing about the in between." He held out a hand. "So? What do you say?"
Misa looked at his hand for a moment before smirking and shaking it. "Sure, why not? I would feel safer if heartless suddenly started popping out of nowhere if someone had my back."
No sooner had the words left her mouth than pools of darkness formed in a ring around them, giving rise to heartless. Snapping to high alert, Misa pulled out a kunai and whirled around while Naruto summoned his keyblade and turned around as well. The two of them stood back to back and prepared themselves for a fight.
"…Misa…You absolutely jinxed us."
"…I'm really sorry." She took in the types of heartless that appeared. "I don't need to document any of these, you?"
After taking a moment to look around, Naruto shook his head. "Nope. I've got them all as well."
Misa's smirk returned when he said this. "The one to kill more heartless doesn't have to help set up camp and food?"
"Deal." Without any further words, they both dashed towards the closest heartless.
"So, how many you get?" Naruto asked.
"You first."
Naruto scowled at her. "I asked first."
"…Same time?" Her question was met with a nod.
"On three. One. Two. Three!"
"Nineteen!"
"Twenty!"
"Dammit!" Misa cursed. "You must have cheated."
"Nope." Naruto grinned. "All skill, I'm afraid. No need to be a sore loser, it happens to the best of us."
"Whatever. If we just had two more opponents, then I would have totally won." She said.
"Oh? And how about us?" A new voice said. Immediately, Naruto and Misa whirled around to face the owner of the voice, weapons at the ready.
Standing there was a man with dark grey hair that had a bang covering an eye. His outfit was a brown tunic with long black wristbands, black skin-tight shorts, and a purple rope tied around his waist. Around his neck was a dark red beaded necklace.
The man smirked. "How about it? Didn't you say you wanted to fight more? I can easily provide you with the chance." He raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Heartless appeared around him in response to his call. "Courtesy of Orochimaru-sama." That named made Naruto and Misa tense.
'Orochimaru? Damn it!'
"What? Don't want to talk?" The man taunted. "No matter. Kill them!" The heartless eagerly obeyed the order and jumped at them.
Naruto dodged the swipe of a soldier heartless and retaliated with a swift slash that killed it, but the first heartless was soon replaced with another two. Because they were such a low class type of heartless, neither he nor Misa had trouble dispatching them.
The difficulty came in the numbers.
For every heartless they killed, another two would appear. If they killed those two, then another four would appear. The grey haired man watched with a wide grin as more and more heartless joined the fight.
Misa growled when she kicked a heartless away for the twelfth time. "Where do they keep coming from?"
"No idea…" Naruto stopped talking to attack another heartless. "But they don't seem to be slowing down." Between him and Misa, at least forty of them must have already been killed. Heartless didn't normally travel in such large groups. The fact that they kept coming meant… "We need to take the guy out!"
"Easier said than done!" Other types of heartless were starting to join the fight, making it more difficult for them to maneuver.
"Figured it out, did you?" The man called. He had yet to join the battle because he was spending all his time calling upon more and more heartless to the area. "Then go ahead, try to 'take me out!' You won't even get close!"
"Meow!"
"Argh! What the hell?!" The man's attention snapped to the black cat that just dug its claws into the back of his neck. "You stupid cat!" He swiped at Yoruichi, but she just jumped to the side and retaliated with another slash. "Gah! Fuck you!"
"He's fighting the cat…" Misa muttered.
Naruto smirked. "Did I not mention that I also didn't mind Yoruichi because she is good in a fight?"
"You left that part out."
"Whoops, my bad." He crouched. "We should get rid of these guys while he's distracted. Ars Acanum!" Naruto disappeared in a blur of speed, quick destroying another portion of the heartless.
"Sit still, you flea bag!" Naruto smirked when the man turned his back to him in order to get at Yoruichi. Taking the chance, Naruto sped towards the exposed back with his keyblade at the ready.
'Goodbye!'
Naruto was completely unprepared for the arm that suddenly shot out of the man's back and embedded a fist in the crimson blond's stomach. "Gah!" Yoruichi jumped back and out of reach with wide eyes at the sight, Naruto soon doing the same.
"Hehehe…Did you really think that would work?" The man asked. Turning around, he revealed to Naruto that a wide smirk was present on his face. "You really are stupid."
"What the hell are you?" Naruto bit out.
"Ah, that isn't the right way to say it…" Naruto's eyes widened in shock when another head grew out of the man's neck. "You should say, 'What the hell are we.'" The two heads finished together. "From the very beginning, I asked if you would like to fight us. Did you think I was talking about the heartless?" The left head asked. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. I am Sakon."
"And I am Ukon." The right head finished.
"We are the leaders of the Sound Four, the elite body guards of Orochimaru-sama." They said together.
Naruto scowled and slid back into a battle stance. "You can call yourselves whatever you want, but you're nothing more than tools for the freak."
"Maybe to you." Ukon said.
"But to us, there is no greater honor." Sakon finished. Their smirks grew. "Who knows, you may come around to our way of thinking."
"Like hell I will!"
"Hm…We'll see…" Ukon said. "But anyways, you sure are focused on the two of us, aren't you?"
Naruto looked at them suspiciously. "What does that mean?" Their smirks grew even more.
"It means…" Ukon began.
"That maybe you should pay some attention to your friend." Naruto's eyes widened.
"Gah!"
"Misa!" He snapped around when he heard the shout, but it was too late. To top it off, he wasn't even sure what he was looking at.
Standing there was a large, black, bipedal animal that vaguely resembled a cat. It was wearing armor that was colored blue and purple over a red, short-sleeved shirt with a vertical pink stripe descending from the neck. Its pants were navy blue, with light blue lining, purple power legs, two pouches on either side, and an oversized zipper going down the front and wrapping around to the backside. The thing also had two suspenders that intersected across his chest, blue sneakers, and a pair of fingerless gauntlets.
The cat-thing grinned maliciously at Naruto before speaking in a male voice. "Well, look what I have here…" Under his arm was a knocked out Misa.
Naruto growled. "I don't know who or what you are, but let. Her. Go."
"No can do, I got specific instructions to take her. And now that I have her, I don't see any reason for good ol' Pete to stick around anymore…" He snapped his fingers.
The air next to him shimmered until a large, yellow and green heartless became visible. In the back of his mind, Naruto vaguely noted that the heartless looked a lot like a chameleon, but he was more preoccupied with the mutated cat holding his friend.
Without wasting a moment, Pete jumped onto the back of the newly appeared heartless. "I'll see you around! Try not to miss me too much!" He broke into loud laughter after he said this and kicked the sides of the heartless. "Get movin'!"
"No!" Naruto moved to stop him, but found his path blocked by the appearance of more heartless. "Get out of the way!"
"Sorry, but if you want to help your friend…"
"Then you have to get by us."
Naruto whirled around and got into a battle stance. His cerulean eye was glowing a silvery-white while the violet one glowed a purplish-black. "You won't stop me from saving her."
There we go! All done with Chapter 32!
You get one guess as to what happened in that flashback.
Changing the gender of Yoruichi in cat form from a male to female now that Naruto knows.
Surprisingly enough (at least to me), that stuff about getting a nosebleed when excited is real. I have a friend who actually got a nosebleed while he was with his girlfriend. 100% true story.
Do dream eaters have genders? I don't think they do (too lazy to check beyond a brief glance on the wiki), but should I just give them ones anyways?
The heartless Pete used to get away was a Stealth Sneak
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943