And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 46!
What the hell? Another chapter? And it hasn't been three months?!
Yes, this is happening. Did you seriously expect me to not give you anything on the one-year anniversary of the story? Of course I have something! I was going to give you this extra-long chapter, but then I remembered that I was a lazy bastard. Sucks, doesn't it?
I'll guess you'll have to settle for getting the other part tomorrow then, huh? :P
I say I'm not gonna be going through PMs or anything and then I suddenly get more…Sorry, but I didn't even bother looking through who sent them. Hell, I didn't even read the reviews for the last chapter until just now.
If you didn't know, out of my three stories, this is the one that I enjoy writing the most (Strange since it's also my least popular story, right? I write what I feel like writing). So that's why I'm more willing to get to work on this while the others haven't been updated for an even longer period of time.
animeandgamerlover2: Thanks!
animecollecter: I know, right?
guest-bat: Thanks! Good to be back.
Kairitrion Cerulean: I know…I'm terrible, aren't I? Oh, someone actually noticed that? That was on purpose! For reasons I have yet to divulge though, so sit tight (You'll be sitting there for a while). And is a little more than a week a short enough period?
V01dSw0rd: Could there be? Sure. Is there? As far as I know, there isn't. Will I make one? …This idea intrigues me. As for the profile update, I kinda/sorta/halfway did. Granted, I just said I was unmotivated and had real life problems, but that's something. You mean like straight out saying they are on hiatus? I was reluctant to do that because to me, that is too close to abandoning them for comfort. Most stories on this site don't come out of hiatus. This way, it's more of me being a lazy jackass and the chapter is really late.
redlox2: I feel like a bastard for not updating a story in 4-5 months, but over a year…? I'm definitely going to get back to the other two before that happens…Eventually!
Vongola Jinja: The vampire loli is your first choice, eh…? That says a lot about you…Ha, kidding! Anyways, Eva is pretty much the only one that could really work…As for the rule breaking, you raise valid points. And that's as much as I'm willing to say on that subject for now. :P
Lobod287: 'High quality writing'. Uh…Are you reviewing the right story? :P They're pretty much wrapped up, but I don't think it's the end of them. It's more like a lull.
rinsegaku: I wanna finish the next chapter first. I'm starting it now.
Guest: Ooohhh, there's an idea…But it contradicts what I've already established…Hm….
NatNicole: Come on, there's no way I couldn't do it like that!
rex4487: 'Greatness' is definitely not the word I would use for the crap I write, but thanks! I was reading a few One Piece fics recently, so it's really increasing my desire to put it…But will it actually happen? Who knows…
Seaman109: :P
ChronoMitsurugi: Ugh, multiple reviews…I'll be responding to the parts that stood out to me. I get what you mean on the Yūgao portrayal, but I also like what I have. To me, she can be a professional while in ANBU, but relaxed when not. For that matter, there weren't many canon references to use, so I did what I wanted. And I absolutely had Final Flash in my head when I did that! Oh, a NarutoxMisa fan! That's also one of my favorite possibilities. Sorry, but Fairy Tail is one of my favorite mangas. And I understand. Thanks for being mature about it and not calling all my decisions stupid.
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.'
Bijū/Deity Talking: "Insert witty remark here."
Bijū/Deity Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'
Scene Change: Insert Place Here.
Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here
Streets of Mahora (One Hour Later)
"I-It's alright, I'm sure we'll find him!" Negi said optimistically to an irritated Naruto. "That last booth told us that they remembered seeing a blue cat flying around earlier."
Naruto scowled at the reminder. "Yeah, but the fact remains that we still haven't found the little pest and he is apparently with a few students. It's only a matter of time before he says something that will lead to trouble."
"Oh, that would be bad…" Negi conceded.
"Yes, it would be." Naruto muttered. Shaking his head with a frustrated sigh, he continued. "Sorry, I'm just annoyed that even after I told him not to run off repeatedly, he still did it. And now we're walking around this city looking for him."
Asuna crossed her arms. "If you ask me, it sounds like he is stupid." This earned twin snorts from Naruto and Gray.
"Hey! Happy is not stupid!" Natsu glared at her. "He was hungry and went to find food, so what?"
Rising to the challenge, Asuna glared back. "So now he's lost in a city where he is risking exposing everything!"
Natsu gained a nervous look. "I trust Happy! He won't do or say anything he shouldn't." He said with finality.
"Yeah, and you wouldn't vomit by the mere thought of a vehicle." Gray said sarcastically. "And Naruto's mom isn't as scary as Erza." Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about such a comparison, but he couldn't refute it either way. Gray crossed his arms. "Any other 'truths' you want to bring up?"
Naruto couldn't withhold a sigh when Natsu immediately spun around to the ice mage. "Sure, I've got one. How about the fact that you can't go ten minutes without dropping your pants?" He growled.
"That's not as true as me saying that you pick a fight with everything that can throw a punch!"
'Here we go…' Naruto stared as the two descended into another argument, ignoring all of Kairi's worried attempts to get them to stop. Glancing to the side, he noticed that Negi and Asuna were also watching them, caught off guard by how fast the fight started.
After leaving the headmaster's office, they parted ways with Kotaro and Setsuna, whose patrol duties were starting, and began looking for Happy. The six of them had spent the last hour searching the area for Happy, but they weren't able to find him. 'I can't believe we're spending our time asking around for a cat instead.' Naruto felt like an idiot every time he had to describe to people what Happy looked like!
"Say that again! I dare you!"
"Alright, if we trusted you alone, we would have split up to find him by now! But that would just end up with us looking for your dumb ass too!"
"Bastard!"
Naruto frowned as more and more people began to stop what they were doing to stare at them. His frowned deepened when he saw that some of them were whispering and pointing at the group. 'We're attracting too much attention.' Deciding to break it up before it escalated into a brawl, Naruto strode up to them. "Enough!" He barked, adding a slap to both of their heads for good measure. Immediately, they whirled around to glare at him instead, but he didn't back down, instead scowling right back. "You two want to go at it, fine. But don't do it in the middle of a crowded street when there are more important things to worry about!"
"He started it!"
"Jackass, you did!"
"I don't care who started it!" Naruto interjected. "What I do care about is that we have a missing member in a city we have never been to before and the longer it takes for us to find him, the bigger the chance of something happening!" He looked between them, daring them to argue. "So stop fighting so we can focus on the matter at hand." He ordered. "On top of that, you're drawing a crowd when we were specifically asked not to do anything that catches too much attention." He didn't need to state that they have no doubt forgotten that they weren't supposed to do magic here, and that they were probably only a moment away from either burning the area or freezing it.
Natsu and Gray grimaced at the same time, well aware of the truth in Naruto's words. They shouldn't be fighting while they didn't know where Happy was. And the hidden reminder that they couldn't do magic was received loud and clear. Throwing one last glare to one another, they grumbled out their agreement. Slowly, the small crowd began to trickle away.
Letting out a sigh, Naruto rubbed his temples for a moment. "Thank you." Turning to Negi, he spoke up. "Sorry about that. You've probably noticed by now, but we occasionally get arguments between these two."
Negi recomposed himself and smiled. "It's not a problem. Even the best of friends fight once in a while."
"We're not friends!" Two voices shouted in unison.
Blinking, Negi tilted his head. "Eh? You're not? But I assumed…" Shaking his head, he smiled again. "My apologies. It's just that Asuna-san does the same thing with another student of mine named Ayaka Yukihiro, and they are best friends…"
"Wha-?!" Asuna glared at the small teacher. "I am not friends with her!" This only served to confuse Negi further.
"B-But the two of you-"
"I said I'm not!" Asuna repeated fiercely.
Deciding to end the topic before the shouting drew another crowd, Naruto spoke again. "Anyways, shouldn't we continue? You said that you were supposed to check up on your students soon, right?"
Negi nodded. "Yes, that's right. My students decided that they would set up a haunted house for the festival, so I would like to make sure that everything is going alright." He began walking. "We are close by now, so we should arrive within the next few minutes." With that, the group continued.
They soon entered a building that had an interior that vaguely reminded Naruto of the academy back in Konoha, if not for a vastly different layout. Naruto blinked in surprise when they rounded a corner and came upon a line that was so long that it actually went up a staircase that went to the next floor.
"Wow, this line sure is long…" Negi said in surprise as he led them by the line. "I wonder what it's for?"
Asuna quickly gained an expression of slight disbelief. "Don't tell me…" Reaching the second floor, she sighed. "Yep, it's our class…"
"That's amazing!" Negi exclaimed. "They're doing so well!"
"Negi!" The group turned at the shout to see a pair of girls running up to them with big smiles on their faces. The both of them were dressed up in costumes for the occasion, but their costumes made Naruto blush lightly and quickly glance away due to the amount of skin they were showing. "Check it out! Isn't it great?!" The girl in the cat costume asked.
"The turnout is even better than we were expecting!" The girl in the devil costume added. It was then that she noticed the people with Negi for the first time. "Hm? Who are you guys? Friends of Negi-kun?"
Realizing that he should introduce them, Negi nodded. "Yes, these are guests that the headmaster requested that I show around Mahora." Gesturing to them, he continued. "These are Naruto-san, Kairi-san, Natsu-san, and Gray-san."
The girl in the cat outfit grinned. "Hey there, I'm Yuna Akashi. Welcome to the city!"
"And I'm Sakurako Shiina. Nice to meet you!"
Naruto nodded, still having a little trouble looking directly at them. "Same to you." 'What is with these outfits? Aren't these girls like fifteen or something?'
Noticing the tint to his cheeks, Yuna's grin became devious. Cooing, she grabbed Naruto in a hug and purposefully pulled him into her chest in the guise of a hug. "Those whiskers are so cute! Are they some kind of face paint?"
Now beat red, Naruto hastily pulled away. "B-Birthmarks." He responded, inwardly cursing at himself for the stutter. Taking a deep breath to get control of himself, he continued. "They're birthmarks, not face paint."
Both girls gasped, only to immediately squeal. "No way! That is so cute!" Sakurako proclaimed.
Desperately seeking a means of escape from the attention, Naruto looked to Negi. "Anyways, Negi-san said you guys were doing a haunted house? How is that going?"
Negi quickly became excited at the reminder. "That's right! We came to check up on you girls." Naruto let out a sigh of relief when the girls latched onto Negi and started to pull him towards the entrance.
"Come see for yourself!" Yuna insisted. She glanced back to the rest of the group. "Do you guys want to have a go, too?"
It only took one quick look to confirm with the others before Kairi shook her head. "No, we're fine, thanks. We'll just wait by the exit."
"Sure thing. It's right over there." Taking a moment to point in the right direction, they continued dragging him away.
Once they were out of earshot, Gray sent a smirk at Naruto. "So…"
"Not. A. Word." Naruto hissed back. If anything, that only served to make his smirk widen.
"If you say so." Dropping the subject, he took in their surroundings. "But I gotta say, your class seems to know what they're doing, don't they? This line is insanely long." He commented to Asuna.
Asuna allowed a smirk to cross her face. "If there is anything class 3-A knows how to do, it's how to do things in the flashiest and most attention grabbing way possible." Turning to the exit, she walked closer to it. "Come on, he shouldn't be in there for more than a couple of minutes." They each took up spots by the exit, content to wait it out.
Putting his arms behind his head, Natsu looked out the window. "I wonder how long it will take us to find Happy…" This made Asuna frown.
"No clue. This place is pretty big, like we've said before. So he could be anywhere by now. You'd think it would be easy to find a blue cat that can fly and talk, but then it wouldn't be our luck if it was that simple." She finished dejectedly.
Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the sound of screaming. All eyes went to the exit as the source grew closer. Naruto blinked as he recognized the voice. "Isn't that Negi-san?" He asked hesitantly.
Asuna sighed. "Yeah, it is…" Shaking her head, she made her way towards the exit. "I knew they would go overboard when they realized it was him in there." She reached a hand out to open the door, but she never got the chance to when a crying Negi flew out and into her. "Wha-?"
Naruto gaped at the sight. "Where the hell did his pants go?"
"Asuna-san!" Negi cried. "I-It was terrible! There were all h-hands! And then headmaster was d-dead! And the worst part was the flying s-sk-skull!" He balled, clutching her desperately.
Ever so slowly, red crept into Asuna's cheeks as she realized just where Negi was grabbing her. "You…" She began darkly, raising a shaky fist as she did so.
A light blush made its way onto Naruto and Kairi's cheeks as they registered that when Negi grabbed Asuna, his hands landed on her chest. Gray snorted at the scene in disbelief while Natsu shivered at the look on Asuna's face.
"…You say that you're terrified of a skull…?" Asuna said quietly. "I'll show you something to be terrified of!" Her hand began glowing.
'Hey, hey, weren't you guys the ones who said not to use any magic?' Naruto wondered, but stayed quiet in order to not turn her anger onto himself.
"You stupid brat!" Asuna reared her fist back in preparation of a strike, but was cut off by the sound of laughter.
"Ahahaha! Where you going?! I thought we were having fun?!" A voice asked from inside the haunted house. Recognizing this new voice, Naruto scowled.
"Found him…" Out of nowhere, a small object flew out of the exit and towards Negi, who yelped and ducked behind Asuna. Taking a closer look, Naruto noted with annoyance that it was a flying cat wearing a skull mask.
Happy laughed some more as he chased Negi in circles around Asuna. "Wow, you're a big coward!" He never noticed the angry boy walking up to him. "You're as big of a scaredy-cat as Lucy!"
"Happy." Said Exceed froze in place and slowly turned towards the source. A cold sweat broke out when he saw the dark look on Naruto's face.
"O-Oh. Hey there, Naruto." Gulping, he raised a paw in greeting. "How you doing?" A smile that sent chills down his spine was given.
"We looked all over for you when you vanished -after you were warned not to- and you're here having fun scaring people in a haunted house-ttebayo?!"
"I'm sorry!"
A Few Minutes Later
Happy and a now fully clothed Negi sported twin lumps on their heads as the group spoke to a couple of Negi's students.
"I apologize for any trouble Happy gave you…" Naruto said, but was waved off with smiles from the girls.
"It was nothing, really." Yuna insisted. "We just took him to get some fish before coming back here. He even helped us out with the haunted house, so we should be thanking you guys!"
The girl who said her name was Makie nodded. "Yep, yep. It was fun having him around!"
Happy flew up to Naruto and poked him repeatedly in the cheek. "You see? I've been good."
Waving him off, Naruto frowned. "The point is that you shouldn't have just disappeared like that in the first place. We came here for a reason. We can have fun and tour the festival after that."
"But Naruto~" Happy whined.
The tallest girl, Akira, blinked. "Naruto?" She repeated, prompting Naruto to turn his eyes to her. "Is there any chance that you are Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze?"
Not expecting this, Naruto was put slightly on guard, but nodded anyways. "Yeah, that's me…" He tilted his head. "How did you know my full name?" He asked warily. There shouldn't be anyone in this world that knew him.
Akira smiled and pulled an envelope out of her pocket. "This was given to me this morning. I was asked to give it to you when you came by the haunted house."
Now fully alert, Naruto took the envelope and took out the letter inside it. Reading over the first part, his eyes widened in surprise.
Dear Naruto-kun,
I hope this letter finds you easily (Although I know it will). By now, I'm sure you're wondering just who would leave a letter specifically for you.
Or more specifically, who could leave a letter meant for a keyblade wielder who only got to this world today.
Have I caught your interest? Good. Let there be no mistake…I know who you are. I know why you're here. I even know a little about your true destiny~
But back to the matter at hand…The reason that I'm leaving this letter for you is because I wish to provide you with some crucial information…
The keyhole of this world is located at the main plaza in front of world tree.
A juicy secret, isn't it? Aren't you glad that I told you? You're welcome~
However, this good news does come with a bit of bad news as well…
You can't lock the keyhole until the conclusion of the festival's third day.
Why, you ask? The reason is simple!
If you lock it early, a forced recognition spell tied to it will activate, revealing the existence of magic to everyone in the country.
While I would prefer it to be done to the entire world, there isn't enough power for that yet, so the country will have to do for now. No doubt that if such a thing happened, the truth will slowly spread anyways, eventually reaching the rest of the world.
An event like that would no doubt throw the entire world into disarray, wouldn't it? And for that to be the result of your actions would be unacceptable…Isn't that right, Mr. Keyblade Wielder? You can't help be the cause of chaos like that, can you?
Well, I've said my piece! Do what you will with this information. Lock the keyhole up and reveal magic or wait until the conclusion of the festival, the choice is up to you!
Say hi to Kairi, Natsu, Gray, and Happy for me!
-The Friendly Neighborhood Martian
Naruto's eyes were narrowed as he quickly read over the letter again. Glancing to either side of him, he saw that his companions were all reading over his shoulders. Kairi's eyes were wide while she processed the words that were written, Gray had a frown similar to his own, and Natsu had his head tilted in thought, which Happy was mirroring.
"This changes things." Kairi said quietly. "We know where it is now, but we can't lock it yet…"
"That's only if these words are to be believed." Gray pointed out. "They could be a lie."
The crimson blond folded the letter back up and nodded. "Gray's right, but we should still check it out." He looked to Negi's group, who appeared to be slightly unsettled by their reactions. "Akira-san, where did you get this letter?" He asked.
"Um, it was handed to me by someone wearing a Mahora Rangers costume. I couldn't see their face because of the costume's mask, but I didn't think much of it." She answered. "They just told me that you would be coming by with Negi-sensei later and they would appreciate it if I handed it to you."
Negi had a serious expression on his face, no doubt also grasping the improbability of someone from this world expecting the off-worlders showing up to the point of knowing where they would go. "What did the letter say?" He asked.
Naruto gestured towards the staircase. "Come on, I'll show you in a bit." They couldn't discuss this openly with the present audience.
Nodding in understanding, Negi sent a smile at his students. "Sorry, but it looks like something has come up."
Makie opened her mouth to ask what was going on, but Akira cut her off. Bowing politely, she spoke up. "We understand. We hope that whatever situation arose is resolved easily."
Sighing in defeat, Makie quickly bounced back to her usual cheerful attitude. "Yeah, what she said. We'll see you guys later!" Saying their farewells, the students walked off.
Once they were gone, Naruto looked to Negi. "Is there an empty classroom or something we can use to talk?"
"Yes, follow me." Negi responded before walking down the hall. The group soon came upon an empty part of the school. Taking a quick scan inside one of the rooms, Negi gestured for them to go inside. Once they were all inside, Negi frowned. "Now, what was in that letter? And for that matter, how did whoever sent it know you would be there?"
"No idea how they knew I would be there." Naruto said, handing the letter over. "But you should know what it says. I'm sure the headmaster will want to know about what's inside it." Accepting the letter, Negi and Asuna began to read it. Their eyes slowly grew wider and wider, while their faces paled. "T-This is-!"
"This is bad, Aniki!" Naruto blinked when he remembered the ermine on Naruto's shoulder. "A spell that will make everyone in the country recognize magic as reality? That's an emergency!" The ermine, Chamo, said.
"No, duh!" Asuna agreed. "Is there even a spell that does that, Negi?!"
Negi swallowed nervously. "There are a few forced recognition spells out there, but one of this scale? I've never heard of such a thing! The power it would need would be-" Suddenly, the young teacher trialed off as his eyes grew distant. "…The power it would need would be incredible…" He muttered.
Crossing his arms, Naruto snapped him out of it by talking. "Judging by the look on your face, you thought of a way that it could work?"
The young teacher's mind rapidly put all the pieces together. "I need to see it to make sure, but…it's possible that whoever put that spell up tied it to the world tree." Negi reasoned. "Based on what I've been told, that would be enough power for something like this."
"The world tree?" Naruto repeated, glancing out the window at it. After a moment, his eyes widened. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I've gotten used to constantly sensing it, but there is a lot of power coming from the tree. I was able to sense it while we were entering the world."
"Now just hold on a minute!" Asuna interjected. "The world tree? How would a giant tree be able to power a spell? And how would it have as much as you're making it sound?" A beat passed. "And why do you know about it but I don't?! Where the hell was I?!" She demanded.
Frowning in thought, Negi answered. "Yesterday, the headmaster called the officially magically aware staff and students to the plaza to brief us on the world tree's power. It's actually a sacred tree that is constantly building up magical power. That's fine, but every twenty-two years, that power starts to overflow. It was meant to happen next year, but special circumstances made it happen a year early. I suppose if done right, then it would be possible to use that power in such a way…"
"But that doesn't explain how this person knew about the keyhole." Kairi added. "Or how they were able to tie the spell to it."
Negi nodded. "You're right, it doesn't." He folded the letter back up. "This needs to be reported to the headmaster. Are you alright with me giving him this letter?"
Naruto shrugged. "Go ahead. He needs to know and I've already read it. But we should go make sure that what it says is true."
"Agreed." Negi turned to Asuna. "Asuna-san, can you please deliver this to the headmaster? I know that you would rather come with us, but this needs to be given right away."
Scowling, Asuna checked her phone for the time. "You're just lucky that I need to meet with my club soon and don't have time to investigate this, or else I would say no and hit you for even suggesting that I don't go with you." She took the letter. "Leave it to me." She swiftly left the room.
Once she was gone, Negi spoke once more. "I'll guide you to the plaza. Follow me."
Streets of Mahora (A Little Later)
The group made their way towards the world tree, and the closer they got to their destination, the more power Naruto was able to feel in the air. 'This power is insane…I feel like I can almost touch it.' He thought to himself. Looking to the side, he frowned when he noticed the expression on Kairi's face. "…Kairi."
Blinking, she turned to him. "Y-Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" This prompted the others to turn to her.
Not liking the sudden attention, she offered a shaky smile. "Of course! Never better! Why would anything be wrong?"
Naruto didn't believe it for a second. "It's the light, isn't it?" Kairi's eyes went wide. Seeing this, Naruto smiled at her. "I feel it too…It's weird isn't it?"
Sighing, Kairi bit her lip and looked around. "…Sorry, it's just…There is so much of it. It's not bad, but…"
Nodding in understanding, Naruto finished for her. "It's uncomfortable."
"Yeah, that's it." Kairi paused. "And it's strangely…energizing, too. The more of it I feel, the stronger I feel…" Naruto quirked an eyebrow at that. If he had to guess, then it would be because of her status as one of the princesses that she was having such a reaction. Despite sensing it as well, Naruto wouldn't say it was giving him more energy…
"Excuse me." They turned to Negi, who had a curious expression on his face. "Did you two say that you can sense the magic of the tree? From here?" If he concentrated, Negi could detect some high concentration of magic in the air, but to do it to the extent that they're implying?
Naruto hummed in confirmation. "Yeah, we can. The tree has a lot of it stored up, like you said. But the thing that makes it easily detected by us is the amount of light that's infused with it. I don't think I've ever sensed so much light in one spot before."
"Fascinating…" Negi said quietly. "If you don't mind, would you be alright with explaining the workings of light to me? And darkness?" He requested.
Shrugging, Naruto responded. "If we get the chance, sure. But based on what I felt back in the office, I think that Evangeline-san knows her fair share about darkness…Maybe even more than I do, if what was implied about her is true. I wouldn't be surprised if she knows about light as well…You could also ask the headmaster or Takahata-san."
Negi smiled. "True, but you're a keyblade wielder. Your entire job revolves around light and darkness, so I'm interested in what input you can provide."
"Oh, I get it. Well, like I said, if we get the chance, sure." He looked ahead of them. "But based on huge amount of power I'm feeling just ahead of us, I think that we've arrived, right?"
Hearing this, Negi followed his line of sight and nodded, his expression turning more serious. "Yes, we have. This is the main plaza of the city, as well as the one of the six points where most of the tree's magic gets compiled." They were now walking up a grand staircase that ended by opening up to a large plaza. Naruto grimaced when he saw how many people were there.
'This could be a problem…'
"Negi-kun!" The group turned to see three people rushing up to them. While Naruto recognized Takahata, the other two were unfamiliar to him. Although judging by how they were both wearing suits, he guessed that they were also teachers.
Once the teachers reached them, Takahata spoke quietly. "We received a message from the headmaster that told us a bit about the situation. So you found the keyhole, but there is something preventing you from locking it?"
Negi nodded. "I'll explain to you in a moment. But first, can you help us clear the plaza? We won't be able to do anything with this many people here."
The teacher on Takahata's right grimaced lightly and scanned the area. "We can set up a barrier, sure, but it won't last for long. This is a high traffic area, so it makes it harder to keep everyone away. It worked yesterday, but we won't be able to keep this many people out for more than a few minutes."
"We probably won't need more than that." Naruto said, prompting them to look at him. "Just give us an opening, and we can take a quick look."
The female teacher frowned at him. "And who are you? You weren't at the meeting yesterday, so you shouldn't be authorized to be here."
Takahata smiled and raised a hand in a placating manner. "Now, now. I can promise you that Naruto-kun is supposed to be here. In fact, it's important that he is. I'm sure the headmaster will brief at least the rest of the magical staff later on." Takahata glanced over the group. "Ah, I see you found your missing companion."
"Aye! I'm Happy!"
The smile on Takahata's face grew at the greeting. "Hello there, I'm Takamichi Takahata. Next to me are Seruhiko-sensei and Kuzunoha-sensei. The three of us are some of the magically aware teachers in the city." He turned to his colleagues. "These kids are guests in the city that arrived today. They're magically aware, so don't worry about that." The woman, Kuzunoha, frowned but nodded.
"Back to the matter at hand, you need a barrier? We can do that. Just give us a minute." The other teacher, Seruhiko, said.
The three teachers spread out to different parts of the plaza. Naruto watched the three of them for a moment before he felt it. Slowly, the same feeling he got when they were confronted by Negi's group while searching for Happy crept up on them. Skimming the plaza, Naruto noticed that it was quickly voiding itself of people as the crowd left. Soon, they were the only ones remaining.
Once that was done, the teachers rejoined them. "Whatever you need to do, better get it done now." Kuzunoha advised. Nodding in understanding, Naruto walked up to center of the plaza, where a large obelisk stood.
Frowning, Naruto glanced around. "That letter said it was here…" He said quietly. When nothing happened, Naruto sighed and prepared to go back to the others, but he suddenly got the reaction he was waiting for.
A bright light lit up above the obelisk, forming into the shape of a keyhole. Naruto's frown deepened at the sight. While the keyhole was expected, the magic circle above it wasn't. To top it off, going from the keyhole to the circle was a single thread of what felt like light.
Hearing multiple footsteps approach him, Naruto spoke. "Well, the letter was right. The keyhole is here…But judging by the fact that there's a magic circle attached to it, I'm guessing that whoever sent it wasn't bluffing about the other part." He sighed in frustration. "And I'm not familiar with your brand of magic, so I don't understand the magic circle."
Sporting a frown of his own, Negi took a step closer. "I can understand it…Or at least, I can understand some of it at a glance…"
The crimson blond hummed. "And?"
"Whoever put this here is some kind of genius." Takahata said seriously, getting an agreeing nod from Negi. "This array is complex in ways that I can't even begin to describe. It's way above my level of understanding."
"One thing is for certain…" Negi began. "It is definitely a spell that will have a wide area impact, and it is designed to imprint something upon the minds of everyone within range. If the rest of the letter is to be believed -and I think it is- then it really will forcefully make the entire country acknowledge the existence of magic."
Seruhiko's face was grave. "I think I'm starting to see what the all the urgency from the headmaster's message was about." He said. "I don't get what that keyhole is, but a spell that will reveal the existence to the country? I understand that much." He scanned the area again. "The barrier won't last much longer. Can you make them disappear?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I just need to give it a little space." He took several steps back, and in response, the keyhole faded away, taking the magic circle with it. Once they were gone, his eyes went to Negi and Takahata. "Can you do something about the magic circle? Or do we really need to wait for the festival to end?"
Takahata took a long drag of his cigarette as he thought. "Sorry, but like I said, that was beyond me…Which says a lot for the expertise of whoever did this."
Instead of answering right away, Negi took a moment to think. Naruto felt his hopes rise, but they died when the young teacher shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about it, either. I could decipher some parts of it, but much of it was still a mystery to me. Perhaps I could do something given enough time to research it, but by that point, the festival would have already ended anyways."
"You also don't have the time for that, Aniki!" Chamo added. "You have a busy schedule as it is. Adding in deciphering that magic circle? It'll never happen!"
Kuzunoha cleared her throat. "While none of us are able to do anything, perhaps the headmaster can? I took a picture of the circle, so we can give it to him." She suggested.
"That's probably the best course of action for us right now." Takahata agreed.
"Hey, Naruto…" Said keyblade wielder quirked an eyebrow at Natsu to show that he was listening. "Couldn't you use your keyblade? Isn't that supposed to be able to undo any lock?"
Naruto titled his head as he considered it. "…Not this time. While it can be used to undo any lock or seal, we aren't dealing with one. That was a magic circle, and on top of that, it was one that is from a branch of magic that's different from mine. There isn't anything for a key to work with, whether it be unlocking or locking, so I can't do anything." What really worried him was the fact that whoever did it was able to connect it to the keyhole. That showed that they had enough knowledge of how the hearts of worlds worked to do such a thing.
"Oh…"
Sighing, Naruto noticed that the plaza was slowly starting to fill up with people again. "Anyways, there is no point to sticking around here if we can't lock the keyhole or undo the magic circle, so we should leave." The others nodded.
"If you can't complete your task of locking the keyhole until the end of the festival, what do you plan on doing?" Negi asked curiously, bringing about another frown from Naruto.
It was then that the smile returned to Takahata's face. "If I may make a suggestion?" He began. "As long as you're here, you might as well enjoy the festival. I'm sure that you can find more than enough things to do."
"Really?!"
"That sounds great!"
A reluctant smile broke across Naruto's face at the excitement in Natsu and Happy's voices. Glancing back, he noticed that even Gray had a smirk on his face while Kairi was smiling at the idea. Shrugging, Naruto nodded. "It's not like we have anything else to do, so sure."
"Great. Then enjoy your time here…Oh, and please take these." Naruto blinked when Takahata handed him a cell phone. "I was asked by the headmaster to pass these along to you when I got the chance. It will be helpful if you need to contact someone in a hurry. My number, Negi-kun's, the headmaster's, along with several magically aware staff and students are already in the contacts."
"Um…Sure, thanks." Naruto hesitantly took the device, suddenly very grateful for the fact that some of Urahara's inventions were designed like this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have a clue how to work it. The Elemental Nations didn't have anything like it. Naruto watched as Takahata gave one to the rest of the group as well.
"And these." He handed out five cards. "These cards are passes from the headmaster to have full access to the entire festival. Whether it be food, rides, attractions, or anything else, just show this pass and it will be free." Takahata instructed.
Natsu grinned widely as he accepted his. "Thanks!"
Nodding one last time, Takahata and the other teachers began to walk away. "If that's all, we'll be on our way now."
After a few moments, Negi checked the time and let out a startled yelp. "Sorry, but I need to get going too!" He said. "I'm supposed to meet up with Setsuna-san soon!"
Naruto smiled at him. "No problem. Thanks again for all the help you've given us."
Blushing lightly, Negi scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't a problem, really. I was happy to help…" He said quietly before bowing. "I'll be on my way as wel-"
"Wait!" Negi jumped when Natsu abruptly shot an arm out and latched onto his collar with a grin. "Before you go, tell me if there is somewhere in this city where I can fight some strong people!"
Hearing this, Naruto glared and opened his mouth to reprimand Natsu, but Negi spoke first. "F-Fight people?" Negi repeated. A second later, his face lit up. "Well, yes! There is a martial arts tournament that is holding its preliminaries tonight. I'll send the location to the phones Takamichi gave you all."
Throwing his arms up in glee, Natsu whooped. "Yes, I am so there! I'm all fired up!"
Hearing this, Naruto groaned and tiredly rubbed his face. "Another tournament?" He asked.
"Yes! I didn't get enough in the last one because you decided to hog all the fun for yourself!" Natsu accused. "So I'm getting in on this one!"
Negi paled at this declaration, but he still smiled. "I look forward to it, Natsu-san. Now, I'm sorry but really do need to get going." With that, he left.
Now left on their own, the off-worlders traded glances. "So…What now?" Gray asked.
"Now we have fun!" Happy exclaimed, but he suddenly froze and sent a cautious look at Naruto. "…Right?"
Smirking, Naruto spoke. "Glad to see that you're learning." Maybe now the stupid cat won't fly off on his own anymore. "To answer your question, yes. Now we have fun. You can go do whatever, but be sure to not draw attention to yourselves, okay?" Natsu and Happy gave him twin salutes.
"Aye sir!" They answered.
Rolling his eyes, Naruto continued. "Make sure to pick up the phone if someone calls. Besides that, have fun." The next second, the exceed and dragon slayer were running off." Shaking his head in exasperation, Naruto turned to Gray. "And you?"
"I'm gonna take a look around myself, if you don't mind." Gray said. "See if I can find something interesting, you know?"
Nodding in understanding, Naruto waved. "Sure thing. See you later." Once he was gone, Naruto smiled at Kairi. "Well, seeing as we're stuck together for obvious reasons, I guess we'll be touring the place together then."
Kairi smiled back. "Looks like it."
Naruto took a quick look around. "I don't mind one way or another, so is there anything you want to do?" He paused when he spotted the glint in Kairi's eye.
The next thing Naruto knew, he was being pulled down the street by his excited companion.
"Come on, I saw this awesome looking ride on the way here! I want to check it out!"
Grinning, Naruto allowed himself to be pulled along.
There we go! All done with Chapter 46!
I feel like working on this in the manner I did before I went AWOL (That manner being sitting my ass down and having one big writing session) helped me start to get back in the swing of things a bit…
Negima is known to have…suggestive themes and situations. I'm hesitant to put them in.
Let's think for a moment, alright? Where the hell could I have put the keyhole of this world? Of course it would be the world tree. And because it was so freakin' obvious, and it was the obvious place to check first, I needed a way to put off locking it. I think what I have is a pretty good idea. If you know Negima, then I would like to think that you also agree with how I did it.
If I can actually manage to keep my word this time, then the next chapter will be up tomorrow (It was meant to be one big chapter).
Until next time,
Kog6943