And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 47!
I managed to stick to my promise for once! Hell yeah!
Or at least, I was close enough...Being off by an hour still counts!
The Sith'ari: Shh…You speak of things that have yet to pass…
Kairitrion Cerulean: Hey, once upon a time, I uploaded a new chapter for this thing every day. Granted, I stopped doing that after the tenth chapter or so, but the point still stands that I can work fast. It is one of the longer worlds, but that is because I'm putting more into it. That spacing thing is an interesting new glitch that pops up occasionally when uploading a Word Doc. I proofread the chapters while they are still in Microsoft Word, so when things like that happen during the upload, I don't really notice them. Thanks for pointing them out!
shadowmwape: Do they though? Every time they get involved with something, it's only because heartless or something similar have already started making a mess of things in that world. That isn't the case here, and I would think that causing worldwide chaos is bit bigger than helping out a person they weren't supposed to or exposing the existence of other worlds to a person or two.
ChronoMitsurugi: Meh, I can't exactly fault you for personal preference, can I? You don't like Fairy Tail, and that's fine with me. What I will agree with you on is the tempo of the story. I did notice a little while back that the tempo of things did change a bit, and I wasn't even aware of it until then. I still like what I have, but you're right…It's one of the things I would like to fix at some point if I go back to do revisions.
Eaglezaruma: Perhaps they will. :P
Draxien Oblivion: Sorry, but everything you just said went right over my head!
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 (A Few Hours Later)
Naruto grimaced and shook his head in an attempt of ridding himself of the sudden feeling of vertigo he was hit with. Bracing himself against a wall, he took a deep breath. "…Okay…What the hell was that?" He asked.
Next to him, Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder with a worried expression on her face. "I don't know…Out of nowhere, the amount of light in the area skyrocketed until it felt like it was trying to drown us…Are you alright?"
The two of them had spent the last few hours touring the festival and having a good time together. They were just talking about maybe meeting up with the others soon when both of their senses were assaulted by light. While Kairi simply shivered from the feeling, Naruto's entire world was knocked off balance.
After a few minutes, Naruto pushed away from the wall and nodded at Kairi. "I'm fine, don't worry." Noticing that she was didn't seem sure, he smiled in an attempt to convince her. "Really, I am. I was just not expecting it, that's all." After she slowly retracted her hand, Naruto turned his attention to the world tree. "Whatever that was, I'm sure it had something to do with the world tree." He narrowed his eyes as he observed it from where they were. "…Hey, does it look like it's glowing slightly to you?"
Kairi blinked and followed his line of sight to the tree. Once she saw it, her eyes widened. "Yeah…It does." She agreed. "Do you think something happened to the keyhole?"
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment and reached out with his senses to get a better feel of the light from the tree. "I don't know how to check for that, but I don't think so. Whatever that was, it only lasted for a moment. The energy from that power spike is already fading back to normal levels. I bet that the tree's glow will also go away in a minute." Not even a full minute later, the residual glow surrounding the tree faded away completely. "It's lucky that it wasn't noticeable unless you were watching closely. I can't imagine that Negi-san and the others enjoyed whatever happened…"
"I wonder what happened." Kairi pondered curiously.
Shrugging, Naruto took out the phone Takahata gave him. "No clue. But I bet someone does." He was about to open the contacts to find Negi's number, but he never got the chance when the phone started to vibrate as a message popped up on the screen. At the same time, Kairi took out her phone to see that she also received a message. "Oh, this might tell us something…" He opened the message. Reading through it, he quirked an eyebrow. "Hm…I guess it's nothing to worry about, after all."
His companion nodded thoughtfully, reading through the identical message she got. "Takahata-san says that whatever caused it is already being resolved by some of the magically aware students."
"Yep. So there's no point to us getting involved. If it had something to do with the keyhole, then he would have told us." Naruto commented. He was going to put the phone away, but was distracted when it vibrated when it received another message. "Now what?" He muttered. Reading this new message, he sighed. "Well, it looks like it's time for us to meet up for the tournament."
Kairi smiled slightly. "Looks like it…Are you going to enter this one?"
He shook his head. "I wasn't even planning on getting into the last one. It was something that only happened because Cloud asked me to. I'm definitely not doing anything this time." Naruto grinned. "I'll leave it to Natsu."
This answer received a hum of understanding. "I get it." Checking the location Negi sent them, Kairi continued. "According to this, sign ups are soon, so Natsu is probably running there now."
"Probably." They both smiled, knowing that the dragon slayer would never pass up a fight. If he had to cross the city in less than ten minutes to get there in time, he probably would by sheer determination. "Come on, let's get going."
Tournament Venue (A Little Later)
Kairi perked up when she spotted a head of red hair ahead of them. Smiling, she called out to the person and waved. "Negi-san!"
Said child teacher blinked and turned around to the source, prompting his two companions to do the same. Upon seeing them, he smiled as well. "Naruto-san, Kairi-san! I'm glad that you were able to make it here so quickly."
Naruto tilted his head. "Why? Would it have been bad to get here later?"
In response, Negi gestured to the sign that he was standing next to. "The tournament has been moved to a shrine in another part of the city. There's enough time to get there and sign up, but only if we leave now."
"Oh, I get you." Naruto replied before shrugging. "Neither of us are entering though. We're only here to watch."
From his spot next to Negi, Kotaro spoke up. "Eh, you're not? That sucks, you guys are pretty strong…" He glanced around. "But what about Natsu? I thought for sure that he would be entering."
"Excuse me…" All eyes went to the girl with Negi and Kotaro. "Sorry to interrupt, but we should really be leaving now if you want to sign up in time." She paused. "And by the way, I'm Yue Ayase. Nice to meet you." She took another sip from the box of juice she was holding.
Negi smiled. "Ah, forgive me. Naruto-san, Kairi-san, I should have done introductions. Yue-san is another one of my students." Both off-worlders returned the greeting. "But she is correct, it would be wise to leave now." Seeing agreement all around, he made to walk away, but stopped when they heard a shout from nearby.
"Are we too late?!" Skidding to a stop, Natsu frantically looked around while panting. "Negi, you should have sent that message earlier!"
Kotaro smirked at him. "Relax. We still have some time. On top of that, this isn't even the right place anymore. The tournament has been moved."
Hearing this, Natsu's shoulders slumped. "Seriously? Then what was I running for?"
"Because you're stupid!" Happy swooped down and gently landed on Natsu's head. "I told you that you shouldn't worry!" He said cheerfully.
"No you didn't! You're the one that told me that I wouldn't get here on time!"
"Are you sure that's what happened?"
"Yes!"
Rolling his eyes at the byplay, Naruto spoke up. "Come on. You really will be late if we don't leave now." This served as enough incentive for Natsu to stop bickering with Happy.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" And just like that, all signs of fatigue disappeared, only to be replaced by boundless energy.
Giggling at his antics, Kairi took out her phone. "I'll send a message to Gray for him to meet us there."
"That's a good idea." Negi smiled. Spotting his student's confusion, Negi introduced the newcomers. "These are Natsu-san and Happy-san. They came with Naruto-san and Kairi-san as guests to the city."
Yue eyed Happy blankly. "Are they…?"
Understanding the question, Negi nodded. "Yes, they are aware." Turning to the others, he continued. "Now then, shall we be off?"
New Tournament Venue
Naruto whistled appreciatively as he looked around. "Wow, this is some turnout." The entire area was filled with people of all shapes and sizes. But while many people were here, most of them sported some type of athletic attire, the most common of which being a gi. As Negi said, they were now at a shrine, but Naruto wasn't expecting an extravagant pagoda to be the location of the tournament. There were multiple stages set up in the large courtyard, which Naruto assumed were for the fights.
Kotaro was practically bouncing as they walked. "This is way better than what I was expecting."
"No doubt because of the prize money." Naruto could practically see Chamo's eyes turn to gold coins as the ermine spoke. "Ten million? Hell yeah! Go for it, Aniki!"
Natsu punched a fist into his palm. "Who cares about the money? I just want a good fight!"
"Aye!"
"Hey, you guys!" The group turned to see Asuna, Setsuna, and a third girl in a witch costume approaching them. "You're here for the tournament?"
Negi nodded. "Yes. We only just got here a minute ago. Are you here for that as well?"
Asuna shrugged. "Meh. I don't really see the point."
"You don't see the point?!" Chamo exclaimed. "Lady, have you not seen the prize they're dishing out?!" He demanded.
"Eh?" Asuna titled her head. "What're you talking about?"
Leaping onto her shoulder, Chamo pointed her over to a nearby poster. "Check it out!"
The bell wearing girl gaped at the number she was seeing for a moment before a line of drool slipped from the corner of her mouth. "T-Ten million?" She could finally pay off her fees with that much!
While this was happening, the girl dressed as a witch skipped over to Naruto with a wide smile. "Hi~ You're Naruto-kun, right? I'm so happy to finally meet you! I heard about you from Negi-kun and Asuna!" She chirped. "I'm Konoka Konoe~!"
Naruto smiled at the girl's cheerful personality. "Nice to meet you as well, Konoka-san." He paused. "…Are you related to the headmaster?"
She nodded happily. "That's my grandpa!" She confirmed. Turning to the others, she spoke again. "And you guys are Kairi-chan, Natsu-san, and Happy-kun, right?"
"That's us." Kairi smiled. Their attention was then grabbed by an announcement over the speakers set up throughout the area.
"Attention, please. Spectators and those who wish to compete, you may now enter."
Natsu immediately spun around and ran over to Negi and Kotaro. "Come on! Where do we go to sign up?!"
Kotaro grinned at him and motioned for the pink haired teen to follow. "We sign up over there! Follow me!" With that, the two rushed off.
Negi allowed a smile to cross his face. "They certainly are excited."
"I told you that the flame brain couldn't resist a fight."
Glancing behind them, Naruto nodded in greeting to Gray. "Hey, there you are." Naruto paused. "Are you getting in on this?"
Scoffing, Gray shook his head. "Not this time. I had enough in the last place we were at. I'll just sit back and enjoy the show." He said.
"Sounds good." It was then that the crowd of started to file into the courtyard, allowing the group to enter. "So how does this work? There are multiple stages, but with this many people, it will probably take forever if all fights are one on one."
Negi opened his mouth to say that he wasn't sure, but the chance was taken by the loudspeakers blaring to life again.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Students of Mahora and visitors alike! Welcome!" All eyes went to the entrance of the pagoda, where a teen with red hair holding a mic stood. "Welcome to the return of the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament! Thank you for gathering here on such short notice. I know it was sudden for the venue to change like that!"
Asuna sweat dropped at the sight. "Why is Kazumi hosting this?" Negi guessed by the fact that Negi's group knew her, she was another student of their class.
'Are all of his students teenage girls…?' Naruto thought incredulously. Who the hell would put a ten-year-old in charge of that?
"Chamo-kun!" Negi glanced over as a slightly panicked looking Setsuna hurried over to the ermine, who was now on top of Yue's head. "We have a problem!"
Chamo frowned. "What's the matter?"
Setsuna held a paper out to him. "The reason the tournament was suddenly moved is because it was bought by someone else. And look who the person who bought it was!"
"Now let's give a hand for the sponsor of the tournament, Chao Lingshen!" Kazumi walked to the side as the pagoda's entrance opened, allowing another girl to step up.
This new girl black hair done into two buns with small pigtails that were braided and dark eyes. She was wearing a red Chinese qipao with white flowers on it.
Upon her introduction, Negi, Setsuna, and Chamo all tensed, catching Naruto's attention. 'Okay, so she's an enemy?' He observed.
"I…" Chao began. "I'm here for one reason. No matter if it is something from the inner world or outer world, I want to see the strongest person is capable of." The magically aware group twitched at the mention.
Hearing this, Naruto frowned. 'Yeah, she's definitely has some kind of agenda going…" For those in the know, that was a blatant reference to the magical community.
"But more than that," Chao smiled, eyes roving the crowd. "I would also like to see what people from other worlds can do." Her eyes landed on Naruto, and her smile grew as the crimson blond tensed.
'She's-!'
"Years ago, this event allowed people from any world to compete against one another. But because of small video cameras being developed and the variety of styles being used, this event has drastically shrunk from what it once was." She paused as confused whispers rushed through the crowd. "With this, I intend to revive the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament! It is forbidden to use projectiles and blades! Curses are also forbidden! But besides that, anything goes!" The crowd roared in approval.
"Hey, what the hell is she saying in front of all these people?!" Asuna demanded.
Chao's smile shrunk until it was nothing more than a small smirk. "No matter if you win or lose, I want everyone to put their entire heart into it. Only the strongest heart will be able to prevail." Her eyes never left Naruto's. "While that is something that a few people already know, many are still unaware of this." She paused for a moment before finally breaking eye contact to smile at the crowd. "There is no need to worry! Nowadays, no one will believe anything that is recorded. During this event, the Tatsumiya shrine will completely jam all recording equipment, including camera phones."
"This is getting really dangerous…" Chamo said to the group.
"So go all out! People from the inner world can use their full power! People from other worlds can put their all into the fights! People from the outer world will be able to see this real power with their own eyes and learn what it is!" She waited for the cheers to die down. "I will now let Kazumi explain some of the details."
Naruto tuned her out and turned to his companions, seeing that they had frowns similar to his own. "I'm not the only one who heard those hidden meanings, right?" Gray asked.
Kairi nodded. "She definitely knows about other worlds. And on top of that, she at least knows about the power of the heart too…"
"But who the heck is she?" Naruto wondered. "She knows who I am, if the way she kept eye contact with me while she talked about other worlds and hearts." He stilled and glanced back at Chao. "You think she's the one who sent that letter?"
Gray considered it. "It's a definite possibility." He nodded towards Negi, who was now speaking to several other people with a nervous expression. "Negi probably knows more about her. Hell, she's probably another one of his students."
It was then that Chao spoke once more. "There are two things I forgot to mention…The first is that before this tournament lost popularity, the winner of last tournament twenty-five years ago was a ten-year-old boy named Nagi Springfield." Naruto noticed that Negi's eyes went wide at the mention. "If you have heard of him, then be sure to work hard to live up to his name~"
'Well, now she at least is sure that Negi is going to compete…'
"The other thing is an annoying technical detail that can't be worked around…" She smiled sheepishly. "This is a little embarrassing to admit after that grand speech, but if you can't provide some sort of identification, then you can't enter the tournament…Sorry-ne."
Immediately, a depressed expression appeared on Natsu's face. In contrast to this, Naruto sighed in relief. Now that this entire tournament was turning into what looked like a big mess, he wasn't as relaxed with the idea of Natsu getting in on it. Not to mention that if it got out of hand and he used fire, it would be insane to try and explain that away. On the other hand, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if she specifically meant Natsu just then.
"Now if that's all, I wish you all good luck!" With that final announcement, Chao reentered the pagoda. Once she was gone, Kazumi retook center stage and began instructing the participants to the designated spots to draw lots. Seeing that Negi and Setsuna both left to enter, Naruto walked over to Chamo, who was still hitching a ride on Yue.
"Chamo-san…" He said quietly, getting them to turn to him. "You mind if we ask you something?" He glanced around. "In a preferably less crowded spot?" Nodding, the ermine leapt off of Yue and onto his shoulder.
"Sure thing."
Naruto smiled at Yue. "We'll be back in a bit." Turning around, he went over to Natsu and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're sad about the tournament, but something more important has come up."
"But I wanted to fight!" Natsu whined. "I've been looking forward to it ever since Negi told us about it!"
Sighing in annoyance, Naruto offered a compromise. "How about this? I promise that we will head back to Olympus Coliseum at some point to enter another tournament there. At least there we don't run the risk of playing along to a possible enemy's plan."
Natsu grinned widely. "Really?! You promise?"
The crimson blond rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, I promise. Now come on, there's something I need to ask Chamo-san." Natsu nodded and followed Naruto as he walked over to a more secluded spot, Kairi and Gray joining them. Once he was sure that there wasn't anyone in the immediate vicinity, Naruto turned to Chamo. "You mind telling me who heck that girl was? She knows about me and other worlds, even going so far as blatantly saying so."
Chamo gasped. "That's right, you weren't there!" He frantically pointed back at the pagoda. "It was her! She's the one who sent it!"
Naruto's mind connected the dots in a second. "She sent the letter? You're sure?"
"Well, she didn't say it out loud, but she pretty much did!" Chamo told him. "Here, let me tell you about the day we had…"
One Explanation Later
Naruto had an expression of disbelief on as he stared at the ermine, Gray mirroring his expression perfectly. While it was clear that neither of them believed it, Kairi's eyes were wide with amazement and Natsu was gaping in awe with Happy. Once he processed what he just heard, Naruto hesitantly spoke.
"…A time machine…? Seriously?" Naruto repeated.
"I'm not joking, bro! Chao gave Aniki a time machine designed a little like a pocket watch! It's some weird mix of technology and magic!" Chamo insisted. "The Aniki entering the tournament right now has lived through today nearly three times now!"
"That's awesome!" Natsu said excitedly. "I want to try that!"
Taking a deep breath, Naruto rubbed his temples. "Okay, but why does that mean she was the one who sent the letter?"
"I was getting to that." Chamo said. "Once Aniki, Setsuna-neechan, I went back in time the first time, we went looking for Chao. We eventually found her on a blimp ride. When we questioned who she really was and what she was up to, she said her real identity was a Martian! We didn't think of it at the time, but that's what the sender of the letter signed their name as!"
The off-worlders traded glances. "Yeah, that's pretty incriminating…" Kairi agreed. "Do you know what she wants?"
Chamo sighed dejectedly. "Sorry, but we don't have a clue. She wouldn't answer that question, and we couldn't exactly do much in the middle of a crowded area…"
Naruto was quiet for a few minutes. "…The time travel could explain how she knew I would be at the haunted house, I guess. She would only need to see where I went before travelling back in time to get a letter there…" He frowned. "But how does she know about me in the first place? Or about other worlds? That secret shouldn't have been revealed at any point, no matter what."
Natsu shrugged. "Dunno, but maybe it's because of time travel too?"
"I suppose…" Naruto admitted. But if he went with that, then that meant that Chao had traveled back from further in the future than just an hour or two. Naruto's frown slowly deepened. 'There's something wrong here…I'm missing something.'
"…Hey, you guys?" All eyes turned to Kairi as she slowly spoke up. "If Chao-san was the one who sent the letter, then that means she's also the one who tied that spell to the keyhole, right?"
Gray nodded. "Seems like it."
Kairi gained a confused expression. "Okay…But if she was the one to do that, then that means she was of course able to access it. She could have known where it was from future knowledge, but…"
Naruto's eyes widened as the implications set in. "The heartless aren't able to access the city because of the barrier, and I only got to this world today. So how did she get to the keyhole if she needed a keyblade or something similar to get it to show up?" Naruto asked quietly. Unless Chao herself had more abilities than he was comfortable with, she shouldn't have been able to do that. Once he realized this, Naruto scowled. "We aren't the only people here who are from another world." Naruto said. "She's getting help from someone."
"F-From who?" Chamo asked fearfully, not liking how this conversation was going. The crimson blond's hands slowly balled into fists at the possibilities. Out of the people he knew were working for the other side, there was only one person he knew had the ability to make the keyhole appear.
"Sorry, Naruto. It looks like that promise is going to be unfulfilled after all…"
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Naruto took out his phone and began composing a message. "I'm going to tell the headmaster that things might be worse than we thought. If you guys confront Chao-san, then I want to be there."
Swallowing nervously, Chamo nodded. "Sure thing, I understand."
"What do we do now?" Gray asked.
Sending the message, Naruto put the phone away and sighed. "Nothing much we can do now." He nodded back towards the shrine. "We might as well go watch the preliminaries."
Outskirts of Mahora (Early Morning of the Next Day)
Kairi yawned as she followed Naruto down a path that led into a wooded area on the outskirts of the city. "So remind me again why we're up this early?"
Naruto smiled apologetically. "Sorry about this. Negi requested last night that I come out here at this time."
"But why this early…?" She asked. "The sun isn't even out yet…"
"I'm as clueless as you are." Naruto admitted. "But based on the way he was acting when he brought it up, I'm guessing it was important." Or at least, Negi had a slightly terrified and shaken expression on his face when he requested it. "Sorry that you couldn't stay in the ship to get some more sleep like the others."
She shook her head. "Not your fault. I'm just a bit tired still." She smiled slightly. "That was a fun party last night."
The crimson blond laughed a bit. "More like insane. All of Negi's students are crazy."
Following the end of the preliminaries, Negi guided the off-worlders back to his class, where they were introduced to the rest of his students. At first, Naruto attempted to stick with the honorifics, but quickly realized that had the result getting them to gush over how cute he was for being so polite...And those girl's weren't shy in showing their feelings with hugs or something similar. This pushed Naruto into discarding honorifics when it came to 3-A. After getting many enthusiastic greetings, the class then stayed up late into the night simply having fun. Naturally, their lively personalities meant that Natsu and Happy had a blast with them. It got to the point that they were having a competition to see who could win the most prizes from booths that were hosting carnival games. The only reason the majority of them called it quits was because the booth operators finally called it a night and closed. Once everyone began heading to the dorms, Negi pulled Naruto aside and stuttered out a request to meet him early in the morning.
The result of the request being the current trek into the woods.
Sighing, Naruto pulled out his phone and double checked the location. "We're close. We should be able to spot wherever we're going any moment now." He said. And just as he said, the trees thinned until they came upon a clearing. All that stood in the clearing was a wooden cabin in the center. "That must be it."
The two of them walked up to the cabin and knocked on the door. Once that was done, Kairi glanced around curiously. "I wonder who lives here. It can't be a student, right? They live in the dorms."
Naruto shrugged. "Maybe a teacher? This could be where Negi lives." He guessed.
"No, boya doesn't live here. I do." Kairi and Naruto blinked in surprise when the door opened to reveal Evangeline, who was smirking at the both of them. "You're here. Good." Without any chance for them to say anything, she turned and walked into the cabin. "Follow me. Now."
Quirking an eyebrow, Naruto did as he was instructed and trailed after the girl, Kairi a step behind him. "So you asked Negi to get me here?"
"Obviously."
The crimson blond twitched. "…Can I get the reason?"
Evangeline glanced back for a moment before looking back to where she was going. "You'll find out once we get to our destination."
Naruto frowned. "…This cabin isn't it?"
The smirk on the blond's face widened. "Like I said…You'll find out." As she said this, the three of them entered a room that was empty except for a pedestal with a large sphere resting on top. As they drew closer, Naruto noted that sphere contained what appeared to be some kind of model tower inside it.
"This is…"
"Don't be afraid. Step up to it." Evangeline told them. Trading wary glances, Kairi and Naruto stepped up to the sphere, standing next to Evangeline. "Now then, give it a moment to do its magic…"
A frown crept onto Naruto's face. "What magi-?"
He never got the chance to answer when a magic circle formed under each of them, cutting him off. Then next thing Naruto knew, he had the distinct feeling of the ground disappearing from under him. But as soon as he registered this, it was back.
Nearly stumbling on nothing, Naruto glared at Evangeline. "Alright, so what just happened?"
A full blown grin was now on Evangeline's face. Instead of answering directly, she gestured around them. "Take a look. I'm sure you can figure it out."
Taking another second to glare, Naruto reluctantly did so. The glare fell off his face as his eyes widened in shock. Instead of the small room they were in a moment ago, the three of them were now standing on the tower that had been inside the sphere.
"What…?" Scanning the area, Naruto saw that everything was exactly as he saw a minute ago, only life-sized.
"Do you comprehend what's going on, boy?" Evangeline's question pulled him from his thoughts.
Naruto frowned. "We're inside the sphere. That magic circle transported us here. I'm guessing you use this place as a getaway or something?"
"Bingo~" Evangeline started walking again, not even bothering to make sure they were following. "This is my personal villa. It even has its own spa and beach."
"Okay…" Kairi was amazed that this world's magic was capable of such things. "But why have you brought us here?"
Evangeline threw an annoyed look back at her. "I didn't ask for you to come, girl, but you came anyways. I only wanted the boy." She shrugged. "But whatever. It doesn't really matter." She pointed off to the side, where a platform with a large magic circle was. "It isn't set up right now, but that circle serves as transportation between the different environments here. From icy mountains to barren deserts, this place has it all. Do you see what such things could be used for?"
While Kairi didn't grasp the uses of such places, Naruto did, having used similar places while in his Station of Awakening. "Training. You can learn to fight in different environments with them."
"Right again, boy."
"But that still doesn't explain why we're here." Naruto insisted. "Why did you get Negi to ask me to come here?"
"The reason is simple." Evangeline said, finally coming to a stop in the center of the courtyard. Now that they were here, Naruto noted that there was the closest building to them was a good distance away. Turning to face them, Evangeline shot Kairi a dismissive wave. "Go enjoy the beach or something, girl. You're in the way here."
Kairi simply stared blankly. "…Huh?"
"I said leave us." Evangeline said. "If you head over to that building, you'll find bedrooms. The third room on the right has clothes that should fit you. Pick out a bathing suit and go relax. Or sleep. Or eat. I don't care, just go away."
"Uh…"
Seeing that Kairi still wasn't leaving, Evangeline glared at her. "What part of 'go away' are you unable to comprehend? Is it the 'go' or the 'away'?"
"Wait, hold on a second." Naruto interrupted. "What's going on?" He was starting to understand what Evangeline wanted, but he didn't want to believe it.
"Ugh, must I explain the simplest of things to you?" Evangeline huffed. "You and I are going to fight, boy." She crossed her arms. "So naturally, the girl needs to get out of the way."
Naruto slumped his shoulders, wishing his guess hadn't been correct. "I see a couple of problems with this."
Evangeline quirked an eyebrow. "And they are? I certainly don't see any problems."
"The first is that your powers are sealed, aren't they? You can't fight me in your condition."
A smirk that just screamed malice formed on the blond's face. "Oh, you seem to be misunderstanding something, boy."
Suddenly, the sclerae of Evangeline's eyes turned black as darkness poured from her body. Naruto broke into a cold sweat at the feeling as Kairi fell to her knees. A purplish-black aura covered Evangeline's body as she watched their reactions with sadistic pleasure.
'T-This is-!' If the sudden surge of power from the tree yesterday was the equivalent of drowning in light, then this was what drowning in darkness felt like. All of Naruto's instincts were telling him to grab Kairi and get the hell out of there, but he was frozen in place. 'Wait-Kairi!' Naruto's eyes snapped to the girl who was gasping for breath with glazed over eyes. Seeing this, Naruto gritted his teeth and summoned as much light as he could.
At first, nothing happened. But ever so slowly, warmth spread from Naruto's chest, allowing himself to breath more easily. A moment later, he took a deep breath and pushed the darkness back. A pulse of light shot out of Naruto's body and towards Evangeline, impacting her darkness. Smirking even more, Evangeline let up on the darkness, allowing the aura coating her body to fade and her eyes return to normal.
The moment it was gone, Naruto used his knees to brace himself as he panted for breath. "…That…Y-You…"
"Make no mistake, boy. I may be weakened, but I have centuries of experience with darkness. I am powerful no matter what. On top of that, I regain some power at this time of year due to the world tree. And that is amplified even more while we are here in my resort. I am more than a match for you, understand?"
Naruto shakily nodded. "Message received, loud and clear." Steadying his breathing, he walked over to Kairi and knelt down next to her. "Kairi?" No response. "Hey, Kairi, come on." Still nothing. Sighing, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. Slowly, he began to push some light into her. This served as enough to jump start her mind back into awareness. Naruto watched as her eyes lost the glazed look and focused on him. "Can you hear me?"
Slowly, Kairi nodded. "Y-Yeah, I can." She shivered. "I'm sorry about that."
He shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it." He stood up and helped her to her feet. Once he was sure that Kairi was steady, Naruto glared at Evangeline. "Don't do that again. At least not with Kairi nearby."
The blond girl scoffed. He was actually ordering her around? Ha! "I'll do what I please, boy." She eyed Kairi for a moment. "But I will admit that that was an extreme reaction. For someone who is travelling with a keyblade wielder, you sure do have a low tolerance for darkness."
"Kairi hasn't been travelling with us for too long." Naruto responded. "On top of that, this world was the first time she was directly exposed to it…To be exact, you were the first time yesterday."
Evangeline frowned. "But even then, she shouldn't be that weak to it. Her heart should defend her for at least a bit. What I just saw implied her heart is extremely weak." Kairi and Naruto traded glances. Seeing this, Evangeline's eyes narrowed. "What do those looks mean? Care to share?"
Naruto grimaced internally before looking to Kairi again. "This is your call."
Kairi bit her lip for a moment and glanced between Evangeline and Naruto. After some thought, she spoke up. "Before we say anything more, can you tell us why you wanted Naruto to come here? Why do you want to fight him?"
Although visibly displeased that she didn't immediately get the information she wanted, Evangeline answered the question. "I want to see for myself exactly where the boy stands in terms of strength. And after that, I may even want to test his aptitude for darkness."
Hearing this, Naruto frowned. "My aptitude for darkness?" He repeated.
"Yes. I don't know who your keyblade master is, but I wouldn't be surprised if they warned you of the dangers of darkness. Following this line of thought, it is easy to conclude that you don't know many -if any- darkness techniques. I find this to be a waste because I can tell at a quick glance that you at least have some measure of resistance to darkness. So why not use that to your advantage?"
Finally fully understanding the reason he was called here, Naruto's eyes widened. "You want to teach me." He said. "You want to teach me how to use darkness in combat."
Evangeline smirked. "Exactly."
Naruto sighed. Couldn't she have said this from the beginning? "Well, it would be appreciated, but you're only partially right in your assessment of me." Evangeline blinked in surprise.
"Oh? How so?"
"I'm already aware of my resistance to darkness. And my master isn't opposed to me using it. In fact, I was taught to use it just as much as light." He explained.
"Truly? Well, I'm impressed." Evangeline admitted. "How good are you, then?" She asked.
He shrugged. "I'm not terrible. But it wasn't until not too long ago that I stopped preventing myself from using it freely. As it is, I am more advanced with light than with darkness, despite being taught both."
The immortal vampire nodded in understanding. "I see." Her smirk returned. "Well in that case, I'll help you refine your darkness." She declared. "Be grateful, boy. It's not every day that I so graciously accept a student." Her eyes went back to Kairi. "Now then, why exactly are you so weak to darkness? I've explained my intentions, so now you keep your end of the deal."
Kairi gained a nervous expression on her face at the return of the question. "I…" Sighing, she decided to just get it over with. "I don't have my heart. I'm only functioning right now by siphoning off some of Naruto's light."
Evangeline stared at the redhead in silence for a full minute before saying a single word.
"Explain."
"Um, I'm not sure what exactly it means for me, but I'm apparently one of the seven pr-"
"You're one of the Princesses of Heart?" Evangeline demanded incredulously. "You?" Slightly offended by the obvious disbelief, Kairi nodded with a frown. Seeing this, Evangeline's eyes went back to Naruto. "You're sure?"
Naruto grimaced. "As sure as we can be under the circumstances. Do you know another way for her to still have a body, despite losing her heart?"
"No…I don't…" Evangeline reluctantly admitted. "One more time…How are you functioning?"
"She's using some of my light." Naruto said. "A small stream is constantly leaving my heart and going to her. Because she's one of the princesses, that's all she needs. But if she gets too far away, then she goes into a state similar to a coma. The only way for her to wake back up is through physical contact with me."
"Impossible." Evangeline said instantly.
Blinking in surprise at the certainty in her tone, Naruto and Kairi glanced at one another. "But…That's what happening." Kairi hesitantly pointed out. "Because I'm one of the princesses, it works for me-"
"No, you don't understand." Evangeline's firm voice cut her off. "What you are saying is impossible. I don't care who you are. Whether you are one of the princesses or not, you can't just accept another person's light into your body and use it as a replacement for your heart, even if the other person is a keyblade wielder. It doesn't work like that."
Naruto frowned. "Of course it does. That's how she's awake right now."
Sighing in frustration, Evangeline rubbed her temples. "Which is why I'm so shocked right now." Shaking her head, she continued. "Listen to me, when one person injects another with light or darkness, it can't be used as a heart. Do you know why that is?"
After a moment of thought, Naruto hesitantly spoke up. "…Because every heart is unique to the person." He said.
"Correct. And because every heart is unique, so is the light and darkness generated by each heart. In normal circumstances, people need both to function."
Already knowing this, Naruto nodded. "Yes, and one of the few exceptions are the princesses, who only have light in their hearts."
"But that isn't simply any light!" Evangeline said. "The hearts of the seven princesses generate some of the purest light in existence, which means the light a princess uses to function is even rarer. You're up against two impossibilities to do what you're doing…The first impossibility is possessing light that's as pure as a princess's despite having darkness in your heart as well, and the other is injecting it into another person in replacement of a heart. Like I said, what you're doing is impossible."
Thinking hard on what was being said, Naruto slowly began to frown harder and harder. Knowing about his connection to Kingdom Hearts and the χ-blade, he was prepared to silently disagree with her, but something Evangeline said caught his attention. Now that he thought about it more, it didn't make complete sense that he was able to keep Kairi awake simply because he had a special connection to Kingdom Hearts. Sure, he had the potential to wield the χ-blade, but he wasn't at that point yet. Naruto knew that his light wasn't as pure as the light created by a Princess of Heart. If it was, then that would mean that he was able to perfectly control and separate the light and darkness in his heart. And if he could control it to such an extent, then he would be able to summon the χ-blade at will…Which he couldn't.
So why was he able to use his light as a pseudo-heart for Kairi? Was it really as simple as having the potential to use the χ-blade? Was that all that was needed for it to work? What was he missing?
Once again, Naruto wished that he hadn't lost contact with Hikari and Yami for whatever reason.
Pulling himself from his thoughts, he looked at Evangeline. "I don't know what to tell you. You're right, it shouldn't be possible, and yet it is still happening."
"Tch. It's frustrating that I'm aware of this and yet I can't figure out the reason…" Evangeline admitted. Sighing, she shook her head. "Well, I suppose we can dwell on it another time." She shifted her attention to Kairi once more. "So you can't move away from him without going into some type of trance?"
Kairi nodded. "Yes, that's right." She shifted uneasily. "Sorry about that."
Naruto tensed when Evangeline regained her usual smirk. "No matter." Suddenly, Naruto was blasted back through the air, away from the two of them.
"Gah!"
"Naruto!" Kairi yelled in surprise before rounding on Evangeline. "What was that…for…huh…?" Kairi's eyes grew distant as her body collapsed.
Naruto rolled for several seconds before finally regaining his bearings. Hastily pushing himself to his feet, Naruto glared at the blond. His glare turned glacial when he saw the limp form of Kairi on the ground next to her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He shouted across the new distance between them.
This only served to amuse Evangeline. "What does it look like I'm doing, boy? I'm getting her out of the way." Evangeline picked Kairi up with one hand and slung the redhead over a shoulder. "What, did you think that just because she would collapse that I wouldn't make her leave? You clearly aren't thinking." Naruto took a step towards them, but Evangeline quickly dismissed the idea. "Stay there." She ordered. "She's perfectly fine, as you already know. You'll wake her up when we're done. I'm simply going to leave her on the bed in the room I told her to go to."
"And when are we going to be done?" Naruto growled, displeasure with the situation obvious.
"I'll explain the training exercise in a minute." Evangeline disappeared into the villa, only to come back out shortly after without Kairi. Once she was standing across from Naruto she spoke up. "Here's what's going to happen. For the next forty-eight hours, you and I will be fighting nonstop."
Naruto looked at her as if she was crazy. "What about the things going on outside of here? Aren't people going to wonder where we are? And you're also in the tournament later today."
"Heh, I suppose you wouldn't know about my villa's other feature." Evangeline said with obvious amusement. "Time moves faster in here than on the outside. One day in here is the equivalent of one hour outside. Understand?"
Blinking in surprise, Naruto's anger slowly left him, only to be replaced by disbelief. "You're serious?"
"Of course. Rather impressive, isn't it?" Evangeline asked haughtily.
Reluctantly, Naruto found himself agreeing with her. It was impressive. "Okay…And what exactly will my goal in this fight be?"
Naruto did not like the expression that Evangeline gained. "Oh, your goal? That's rather simple…" And suddenly the darkness was back…
"All you need to do is survive."
Streets of Mahora (Later That Day)
"I really don't like her." Kairi muttered. "Who the heck knocks one person away just to knock another person out?"
Grimacing, Naruto nodded. "I'm right there with you. That entire thing was brutal…" He's had some sadistic teachers, but Evangeline was something else…
The two of them were now walking through the city, only having just gotten away from the villa. Evangeline had left several hours -or was it days?- before them, but Naruto needed some time to recover. Despite it being a form of training, Evangeline wasn't above drawing blood and inflicting other forms of injury. Which only made it worse because even on the occasional attack from Naruto that landed, she would instantly heal from it and return the favor.
Groaning, Naruto moved his arm around in an attempt to alleviate some of the discomfort. "Using magic to heal or not, that still sucked." He said quietly.
Kairi shot him a worried glance. "Are you sure you're alright? I didn't see the fight because the little witch went and knocked me out, but you looked really beat up after it."
Naruto offered a small smile in return. "I won't lie, I don't feel great, but I'll be fine by tomorrow. I'm an Uzumaki, after all. I don't have any physical injuries anymore, it's just fatigue."
"If you say so…" Shaking her head, Kairi took out her phone. Man, was she loving the thing. "Gray says that Natsu and Happy went to check out the tournament first thing in the morning while he decided to sleep in. He only went to watch the semi-finals and finals, which just ended. According to him, it got pretty chaotic. He also is curious as to where we've been and why we haven't been answering any calls or messages." She typed something on the phone. "I told him that we will explain in person later."
"Sounds good." Naruto said. Updating them on the situation with Kairi would be too annoying over the phone, so it would be better to wait until they all met up. Glancing at the sky, he spoke up. "It's about noon right now. What do you want to do?"
This question got a grin in response. "We only saw a bit of the festival yesterday. You up for more today?" She paused and gave him a concerned look. "On second thought, maybe we should head back to the ship…"
Naruto smiled at her and shook his head. "No, it's fine. If that's what you want to do, then let's do it. It isn't fair to you to keep you bound to the ship because I'm stiff." His smile widened. "So let's go-ttebayo!" He was about to lead her off towards a different street, but a vibration from his pocket stopped him. Blinking, he took out his phone, noting that Kairi's didn't go off. "Hold on…I've got a message from Takahata-san." Kairi watched as his eyes widened before narrowing.
"What's it say?" She asked. Instead of answering, Naruto grabbed her hand and pulled her down a more deserted street. "What's with the hurry?!" Turning another corner, Naruto led them into a backstreet with no one on it. Spinning around, he scooped her off her feet and picked her up bridal style. "W-What are you doing?!"
"Sorry, but we need to hurry!" Naruto said, leaping up onto the nearest rooftop. "Takahata-san sent me a message saying that they're confronting Chao-san now. I wanted to be there, remember?" Picking up the pace, the two sped across the buildings.
Area Behind Tournament Venue
"To expose the existence of magic…That's an outrageous thing to do!" A dark skinned teacher exclaimed as he glared at a smiling Chao. "That's something that can never be allowed to happen!"
Coming upon the location indicated in the message, Naruto and Kairi were greeted with the sight of six teachers surrounding Chao from all sides. Among them, Naruto was able to spot Takahata and Seruhiko. Despite being outnumbered by so many, Chao's calm smile never wavered. Landing silently, Naruto put Kairi down and listened to the conversation.
Facing the teacher who spoke, Chao responded. "Throughout history and the world, the imaginations of people have created numerous stories that talk about the existence of a hidden magical world…All of them were unaware that such a thing was actually reality. Isn't that humorous-ne?" She watched as the teacher shifted uneasily. "Allow me to ask you a question instead." Chao continued. "Why are you hiding the existence of mages from the world? What purpose does it serve? You saw the kinds of power displayed in the tournament today. Isn't keeping such a secret dangerous?" Suddenly, her eyes left the teacher and landed on Naruto and Kairi. "And for that matter, why hide the existence of other worlds?" She asked. "The reasons for both are the same…It's to 'prevent needless misunderstanding and problems' or something, right? You want to keep the communities hidden in order to prevent merging."
Naruto frowned at her. "I can't speak for the magical community of this world, but the existence of other worlds is kept secret in order to preserve the balance. If the worlds openly interacted with one another, problems would arise and endanger them all." He explained. Narrowing his eyes, he continued. "In fact, such a problem is happening right now. Do you even know what you're messing with? Do you actually understand?"
Chao hummed in thought. "Well, at least you have a better argument and evidence than the magical community in this world…And I'm not arrogant enough to say that I'm the foremost expert when it comes to the heart of a world, but I would like to think I know enough." She smiled at him. "Anyways, I must say that I am happy to finally meet you in person, Naruto-kun. I've been looking forward to getting the chance to speak with you."
The crimson blond stared at her silently for a moment. "You knew where the keyhole was." Most of the teachers were confused by the conversation, but a signal from Takahata had them remain quiet.
"…I did." Chao confirmed. "Although I'm sure that's not what's bothering you."
"It isn't." Naruto agreed. "That could be explained by some time travelling. But what can't be explained by time travel is how you made it appear in the first place. Or how you came across all the needed knowledge to tamper with it the way you did…I've spent a lot of time second guessing myself, but there are only two possible situations I can think of."
The smile on Chao's face slowly widened. "And? What are they?"
Naruto took a deep breath. "The first is that you either have a keyblade, which would in turn mean that you have someone who taught you how to use it…" He grew quiet. "And the second possibility is that you had help from someone from another world…Someone who does have a keyblade."
The two of them stared at one another in silence for a minute before Chao suddenly broke out into quiet laughter. "Well, I'm impressed Naruto-kun. You managed to figure it out just from what information you had."
The crimson blond tensed. "…So? Which is it?" He asked. "Which conclusion was the right one?"
The smile Chao had was nearly face splitting at this point. "Hm…I guess I don't really need to keep it a secret anymore, do I-ne~" Ever so slowly, she raised a hand, making everyone tense. Naruto watched as she leveled the hand perfectly horizontal.
Taking another moment to stare into Naruto's eyes, Chao pointed.
Immediately, Naruto's gaze snapped to the side, where a construct of darkness suddenly appeared. Violet and cerulean eyes widened when the corridor gave way to a person.
Misa smiled at him.
"Hey there, Naruto…It's been a while."
There we go! All done with Chapter 47!
Do you know how much of a pain in the ass it is to make sure that I have my order of events correct in this world? There is way too much time travel and time distortion going on!
Yes, I'm fully aware of how many chapters have gone into this world. Sorry about that, but there's a lot going on. And I'm not just talking about the Negima canon stuff. If I knew that every one of you were knowledgeable with Negima's story, then I wouldn't need to. But alas, many of you have never read this manga, so I need to do all this to make sure you understand what's happening…That, and I don't like skimming over things too much.
So, a couple of people wanted to see a date kind of thing between Naruto and Kairi?
…I guess I could do that…In fact, I probably should…I'll put it in next chapter…Probably.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review! (I just realized that I was so out of it the last couple of chapters that I didn't even put this)
Until next time,
Kog6943