And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 49!
Enjoy this fast chapter production rate while it lasts. I really doubt that I will keep it up for an extended period. I've just been in the mood to write this story lately. It also helps that I like writing this world. Negima is one of my favorites…Not so big on the sequel, though.
I do so enjoy reading your guys' opinions on Hikari and Yami's motives, along with what you think about Misa.
I love how only one person answered my question about whether or not the review responses were better at the bottom…Thanks to that person!
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
Gummi Ship (8:25 am - Morning of the Festival's 3rd Day)
Gray whistled in appreciation at the amount of information he was given by Naruto and Kairi. "All of that happened in just the last day? Seriously?" The off-worlders were together again in the kitchen of the gummi ship, eating breakfast. Now that they were all finally present, Naruto and Kairi took the chance to catch Natsu, Gray, and Happy up on what's been happening.
Kairi giggled at the question. "It may have only been one day to you guys, but to us it's been a while!"
"This time travel stuff is confusing…" Natsu complained. "So it's been a day, but it's also been longer? That doesn't make any sense!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed around a mouthful of fish. "Are you sure you guys didn't dream of all that?"
Naruto rolled his eyes at the question. "Yes, we're sure. Trust me, I wish some of that didn't really happen."
A thought came to Gray. "Wait, then from your point of view, how long has it been?"
Both Kairi and Naruto blinked and glanced to one another in thought. "Um…I think it's been…How long?" Kairi lost track a while ago…
A small thoughtful frown formed on Naruto's face. "To the two of us, we haven't seen you guys in about two weeks." He said, much to the shock of the others. "That's how long it's been."
"Damn…" Gray slowly shook his head. "The magic in this world is weird…" He didn't think that even Ultear was capable of manipulating time in such a way. Well, the Fairy Sphere came to mind, but it was also different.
"Tell me about it." Naruto agreed. "There are so many different ways to use it, and while that isn't so hard to believe, it's applied so differently than the magic I've been taught. It holds more similarities to the magic from your world in terms of variety and use, but it still isn't the same." He paused. "And then there's the pactio…"
Natsu's eyes lit up at the reminder. "That's right!" Looking to Kairi, he grinned widely. "So you got some sort of power up? That's awesome!"
Kairi returned the grin and gave him a peace sign. "Yep! I can definitely fight with you guys now!"
"Then I challenge you to a fight!"
Immediately, Kairi's smile falter and she stared at the fire dragon slayer with wide eyes. "What…?" She must have misheard him, right? But judging by the hand that Gray just slapped to his own face, she hadn't.
"I said fight me!" Natsu repeated eagerly. "If you're strong now, then I want to see!"
Swallowing nervously, Kairi glanced away. "Uh, no…That's okay…" Strong as she may now be, she had seen the things that Natsu was capable of. Not to mention how into a fight he sometimes got…
Groaning, Naruto interjected. "Natsu, Kairi isn't going to fight you." Kairi sent him a thankful look at the help.
"But why not?!" Natsu whined.
"Because we have more important things to do than fight amongst ourselves. Don't waste your energy on something like that." He explained tiredly.
Hearing this, Gray's eyes sharpened. "So that Chao girl…You really think she won't try anything until this evening? You're not worried she wasn't telling the truth?"
Taking a moment to think, Naruto slowly shook his head. "Despite everything, I feel like we can believe her about that." He admitted. "I really don't think she will do anything until this evening. I'm not saying let your guard down completely, but I think it will be fine." Shrugging, he continued. "As for when specifically she'll make her move, I haven't got a clue."
Gray appeared to be slightly unsatisfied by that, but he knew there was little choice besides that. "Do we at least know what to expect? How she will be working?"
A frown made its way onto Naruto's face. "No…We don't know that, either." That would be a problem. If they didn't know what to expect, then they wouldn't be able to counter it. "We can get in touch with Negi and Takahata-san later to see if they know anything." He said. "According to Chamo, Negi is most likely in Evangeline's resort right about no-" Suddenly, Naruto cut himself off and snapped his head around to stare at the wall, Kairi doing the same only a second after him.
Seeing this, the Fairy Tail members grew confused. "What's wrong?" Gray asked, but his question was answered in the next moment. "The hell-?!"
Out of nowhere, the intercoms began blaring an alarm throughout the ship and the lighting turned into a dim red.
"What's happening?!" Happy shouted.
"No clue! Come on!" Naruto dashed out of the kitchen and towards the cockpit, knowing that they would follow. Reaching the control room, the off-worlders were greeted with the sight of the screen flashing warning signs. Running up to it, Naruto began to quickly type on the console.
"So what was all that about?" Gray asked. "I thought you said that Lingshen wouldn't try anything until tonight."
Naruto shook his head. "That wasn't Lingshen." He said. Growing tired of the alarms, he reached over and pressed a button that had been flashing. Once he did, the alarms finally deactivated and the lights went back to normal. "I'm pretty sure of that much, at least."
"You and Kairi looked like you saw it coming." Happy commented. "Did you?"
"Sort of. We definitely felt something." Naruto responded. "A second before it happened, there was this huge pulse of light. Whatever it was caused the alarms." He typed something else and a grid map of the world popped up on the screen. Naruto watched intently as what seemed to be a ripple spread out from somewhere in the city and quickly encompassed the entire world. "Something big happened." Naruto assessed quietly. "Whatever it was managed to create a pulse that expanded throughout the whole freakin' world." He whispered in awe.
"Can you tell what it was?" Kairi asked worriedly.
The crimson blond slowly shook his head. "No…I can't. And the pulse of light died down, so I can't track where it came from beyond telling an unspecific location in the city."
Gray crossed his arms. "And you can't tell what it did, either?"
"…No." Naruto admitted. "Based on what I'm seeing now, nothing has changed. Something definitely happened, but I don't know what. I don't even think anyone realized it happened. The gummi ship's computer picked it up and interpreted it as a possible attack, so the alarms went off."
Natsu tilted his head. "But it was nothing bad?"
"Tentatively, no. Nothing bad happened." Naruto agreed, still obviously confused. "We can add that to the list of things we can ask about later. But like I said, I don't think anyone noticed it."
"So what do we do?" Happy asked.
Naruto considered the question. "…For now, nothing." He said, much to their surprise. "I mean, I'll send a message to Takahata-san and the headmaster to ask if they noticed anything, but I don't think they did. Beyond that…" He sighed. "There isn't much we can do. The situation hasn't changed. I'll leave the computer running to see if it can pick up anything more, and I'll also send a copy of the data to Urahara, but there's nothing else to work with. And I'm not too hopeful that Urahara will be able to find anything conclusive in time. What's more, I don't think that Negi will exit the resort until around noon." Hearing this, the others didn't have anything to add.
In the City (9:30 am)
"Find anything?" Naruto asked, only to get a negative shake of the head from Kairi. "Yeah, same here…" As he had said he would, Naruto forwarded the data to Urahara. He had expected that the man would be interested in it.
But what Naruto hadn't been expecting was to soon be instructed to go to the approximate origin of the pulse and use one of the devices on in the ship to record more accurate readings.
When asked for the reason, a worryingly serious Urahara responded that parts of the situation reminded him of something similar that had happened a while ago in his world, but he wouldn't be able to tell for sure until he had more information.
So here he and Kairi were, walking around the city and trying to find anything odd while Naruto held a tablet with a bunch of numbers and graphs on it. The device was sending the live data back to the gummi ship's computer, which in turn would forward it to Urahara.
Naruto may not know what was going on or what Urahara was looking for, but knew the man well enough to be able to tell that it was important to get as much data as he could. The hardest part was getting close to people to get a reading of their auras as Urahara requested.
Suddenly, a vibration from Naruto's pocket pulled his attention away from the tablet. Reaching into it, he pulled out his phone and checked it. Blinking at the sender, he spoke to a curious Kairi. "It's from Negi…He's asking me to meet him at the location in the message right away."
"Do you think it has something to do with the pulse of light?" Kairi asked.
"It might…" Naruto murmured before putting the phone away and deactivating the tablet. "Come on, let's go."
Main Plaza (1:00 pm)
From his spot at a rooftop café, Naruto looked down at the plaza with an expression that was a mixture of awe, nervousness, and amusement. "I have to admit…When Chamo first told us the plan, I was more than a bit skeptical…" He confessed, watching the crowd steadily grow. "But now, I really think that this will work." Naruto allowed a smirk on his face as Kairi nodded with visible amazement.
Flashback (Empty Library Lounge - 10:10 am)
Naruto felt as if his stomach wanted to empty itself while he listened to Chamo conclude a short summary of what had been happening on Negi's side of things. "So you're saying…we lost?" He asked. "Lingshen managed to succeed in revealing magic to the rest of the world and…" He glanced over to a visibly distressed Kairi. "…and they managed to take Kairi?"
Sighing sadly, the ermine nodded. "Yeah, that's what happened."
Hearing this confirmation, Naruto took a deep breath and tried to stave off the crushing guilt and despair. 'So in the end…I couldn't protect her…' Pushing these thoughts back, he locked eyes with Chamo. "One more time. What happened and how do you know?"
"It was nothing that was your fault, bro." Chamo consoled. "None of us could have expected what Chao plans on pulling…Here's what we've been up to…"
The two off-worlders listened as Chamo launched into a retelling of how Chao rigged Evangeline's resort so that the magic would malfunction. According to Chamo, she worked it so that instead of one hour on the outside equaling a day on the inside, a day on the outside meant a day on the inside. But Negi's group -who didn't know this- spent a week inside the resort.
The end result was that Negi's group came out a week after the festival, only to learn that Chao had managed to accomplish her goal. It was only thanks to some quick thinking and a bit of luck that they were able to use the time machine Chao gave Negi to travel back in time, despite its power source getting deactivated. But the result was Negi overexerting himself to the point of collapse, so the child teacher was now resting in the other room.
It was then that Naruto mentally put the pieces together and realized that the pulse of light from earlier was actually the result of Negi's group making a time jump that was much bigger than all the other ones. From the sound of it, the jump was made in a haphazard way, so the result was that pulse.
"And us?" Kairi asked hesitantly. "What…What happened to us in the battle?"
Unable to look her in the eye, Chamo spoke quietly. "Based on what we could learn, you guys put up a heck of a fight…But were eventually overtaken by sheer numbers. Chao had her own forces to use, and the teachers couldn't fight against them all. On top of that, there was this other girl that no one knew working with Chao…"
Naruto closed his eyes. 'Misa…'
"This other girl was the one who fought you, bro." Chamo told Naruto. "It was looking good for a while, and you were about to beat her for good, but then…" The ermine shrugged. "It's unclear, but according to some witnesses, she pulled something that caught you off guard. A power-up or something…It gave her a boost and enough of an opening to beat you while you were caught off-guard." The crimson blond frowned at that, unsure of what he meant by power-up. "Once you were defeated, the girl took sis and left, but no one knew where they went."
A cold feeling squeezed Naruto's heart at the reminder that he hadn't been able to protect Kairi.
"Natsu and Gray tried to step in, but they couldn't do it in time." Chamo continued. "After that, Chao cast the spell to make everyone in the world realize magic was real and then she disappeared." He cast Naruto a small frown. "She stuck around long enough to say something to you, but whatever it was only made you even angrier than you already were." He sighed. "We were told that you guys locked the keyhole and left the world soon after."
The room was sent into a depressed silence, none of them sure what to say. 'I failed…' Naruto thought to himself. 'I actually failed…I wasn't strong enough.'
Eventually, it was Kairi who broke the quiet. "But…But now we can do something about it." Naruto's eyes snapped to her, and he was met with a small smile. "Now that we know what will happen, we can prepare." Naruto blinked at her.
Knowing what she was doing, Chamo immediately spoke up. "Yeah! Don't sweat it, bro! Things may have gotten bad when we weren't ready, but now we have a chance to counter Chao!"
Nodding, Kairi took a step closer to Naruto and her smile became warmer. "Don't focus on what could happen. Focus on what you won't let happen." She said quietly, causing Naruto's mind to think back to when he first unlocked his Keyblade.
"You're too scared. You have too much fear."
"When you block you think 'I'm afraid to get cut.'"
"When you attack, you think 'I'm afraid of hurting someone.' And when you protect someone, you're thinking 'I'm afraid to let them die.' You're thinking with too much fear."
"That kind of thinking will never cut it. When you dodge, think 'I won't let them hit me!' When you protect someone, think 'I won't let them die!' And when you attack…'I will cut them!'"
Naruto smirked minutely. If he doubted himself, then that would be the same as if he already admitted defeat. That had been one of the first lessons Hikari and Yami taught him, and it was one that Urahara frequently reinforced.
He shook his head. "You're right, you're right. I shouldn't think like that." He smiled softly at her. "Thanks for reminding me of that."
Kairi giggled. "Well if I didn't, then you would think about it until you defeated yourself." He rolled his eyes at this.
"Do you two need some privacy, or…?" In a flash, a Keyblade was pointing at Chamo's face, wiping the smirk clean off. "Alright! Alright! I was just joking!" He yelped.
Taking another moment to glare, Naruto dismissed his Keyblade. "Back to the matter at hand…You said that Lingshen had forces of her own? And enough so that the numbers were overwhelming?"
Regaining a serious countenance, Chamo nodded. "Yeah, here's how it is." He brought a paper out and jumped onto a table. "At 7:00 pm this evening, Chao is planning on taking over the six points in the city where the magic of the world tree gathers. You remember that part of the explanation of the world tree's power?" Naruto nodded. Negi had mentioned that on the way to the keyhole, with the plaza containing the keyhole being one of them. "Chao plans on using approximately twenty-five hundred robots to do this." Naruto and Kairi couldn't help but gape at this.
"…What…?" Kairi whispered.
"I'm serious. She has two and half thousand freakin' robots." Chamo said. "And those are just the humanoid ones. She also has hundreds of other ones that vaguely resemble a crab in shape, but are a couple of times bigger than a person. On top of that, there are smaller ones that are capable of flight, but aren't much bigger than your torso. Rounding that up are six giant demons that have been modified for Chao's use. This army will march on the six points and use them to access the world tree's power. And from there, there will be enough power to cast the forced recognition spell on the entire world using a huge magic circle."
Naruto wanted to believe that this entire thing was one huge prank. "…How the hell are we supposed to fight that?" Even with all of the magically aware teachers and students helping, Naruto didn't think that their side had more than fifty people, at most. Maybe Naruto would be able to make a couple hundred clones, but nothing of that size. And even then, the clones wouldn't be as durable as the robots. To make things worse, even if they did fight back -which they would, no matter what- there wouldn't be a way to hide an army of that size, let alone a battle.
Impossibly, Chamo smirked. "Ah, and that's where Aniki proves just how much of a genius he is!" The ermine snickered. "As soon as we're done here, I'm on my way to go talk to the headmaster. I'm planning on getting him to provide some special magical equipment. If they hurry and use the right magic, then the goods will get here before this afternoon!"
Somewhat skeptical that they could get something that would allow them to fight an entire army, Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "And this will even the odds to the point that around fifty people will fight off what sounds like an army that numbers more than three thousand?"
Chamo cackled gleefully at the question. "Fifty? What the hell are you talking about?" He asked, adding to Naruto and Kairi's confusion. "If we're gonna fight an army, then we're gonna need an army!" The two off-worlders traded a confused glance.
"And where do we get an army?"
End Flashback (1:00 pm)
Naruto's eyes moved to the flyer he was holding in his hand. On the front of the flyer were a bunch of pictures of magic wands and people casting spells, but it was the words going across the top of the flyer that made his smirk widen.
Mars Attack vs. Mahora Mage Order
"Clearly, you haven't been paying attention to the type of people that make up this city!" Chamo's laughing voice echoed.
Shifting his gaze down into the plaza, Naruto watched as some of Negi's students worked on passing out identical flyers and directing people. Unable to help himself, Naruto shook his head and laughed quietly. "I can't deny that this is as brilliant as it is insane."
Kairi giggled. "With Negi's plan, we're turning what was going to be a war into a war game." She added. "But this does sound like a lot of fun!" Natsu and Happy definitely agreed if the way they began running around in excitement upon being told meant anything. Even Gray had a grin on when he heard.
The two of them observed as the occupants of the plaza crowded around a stage that had been set up for their needs. Soon, one of Negi's students stepped up, dressed completely in an outfit that looked like it came straight out of a fantasy game.
"Welcome!" She called through the speakers set up throughout the area. "As I'm sure you all know, there has been a change in the final day's ending event! As the flyers say, we have recently learned of an impending attack on the city! And we need your help to fight back!" The crowd cheered. "The flyers and pamphlets give you details, but if you have any questions, please refer to one of the designated mages!" She gestured to some of the other people in costume, all of whom were in Negi's class. "Now then, please allow us to demonstrate what you will be using to combat the enemy army!"
It was then that another person stepped up unto the stage. Naruto vaguely remembered the girl to be Makie, Negi's pink haired student with a perpetually cheerful attitude. Like the others, she was wearing a costume, but hers was a robe with a witch's hat. In her hand was a small wand with a star on the end.
"So that small thing is the equipment that Chamo was talking about?" Kairi asked curiously.
"Guess so." Naruto said. "I don't want to doubt him, but I wonder how much that thing can really help…"
As if hearing him, the speaker on stage continued. "Don't underestimate it just because it's cute! With a single incantation, you'll cast a powerful spell!" She nodded to Makie, who took that as the signal to step to the front of the stage.
Taking a moment to clear her throat, Makie grinned and pointed the wand up into the air. "Strike the Enemy!" Naruto's eyes widened and Kairi gasped quietly as bright light shot out of the wand and blasted into the air, only to explode, much to the awe of everyone watching.
"This light does not affect the human body! Furthermore…" Yuna joined Makie, but instead of wearing a mage robe, she had on an outfit that was better suited for mobility. Naruto sweat dropped at the sight of the schoolgirl holding up a bazooka. "There are other types of weapons!" With that, Yuna grinned wickedly and pulled the trigger, resulting in a much larger blast. "Each weapon has its own advantage and disadvantage, so choose wisely!"
Naruto laughed incredulously at the sheer enthusiasm the crowd was showing. "You know…If I wasn't in on the real situation, I would definitely agree that this sounded like a lot of fun." He commented. Although he didn't know what to think about the fact that no one was questioning how these 'magical weapons' worked.
Kairi nodded in agreement. "Absolutely." She looked over the people already lined up to get some equipment. "To all of them, this just sounds like a huge game. And to make things better, if Chamo was right, then no one will get hurt." According to what they learned, Chao made it a point to be sure that no one was ever harmed. And to prevent accidental injury, the mage outfits that were being handed out were enchanted to prevent common injuries. "I'm actually a little jealous of how relaxed they can be about it…We have the truth hanging over our heads…"
The crimson blond glanced over to her. "Hey, where did all of that confidence go?" He asked, gaining a surprised look from Kairi. "Things will be fine. You said it yourself. We know what's going to happen now and we are ready for it. So relax, would you? You may even have fun with this." His smirked at her. "I thought the depressing thinking was my thing? Don't steal my thunder."
After blinking several times, Kairi smiled back at him. Huffing playfully, she turned her head away. "It shouldn't be a thing for anyone! So don't act like it's okay for you to do it!"
"Yeah, yeah…"
"Don't 'yeah, yeah' me!"
Park in the City (5:20 pm)
"So you guys understand the plan?" Naruto asked. The off-worlders regrouped in a park in the city. They chose that spot because it was located between three of the target locations, which would in turn let them go to whichever one needed the most help.
Grinning widely, Natsu punched a fist into his other hand. "Of course! All we have to do is destroy the robots, right?"
Sighing, Gray shook his head. "And make sure to not to hurt other people." He reminded.
Natsu gained a sheepish look. "Oh, right…That too…" Seeing their faces, he hastily continued. "I just didn't think I needed to say anything! It was obvious!" He defended himself.
Plopping down on Kairi's head, Happy shrugged. "Yeah, of course you remembered."
"Hey! What's with that tone?!"
"Nothing…"
"Don't say that while rolling your eyes!"
'I don't care who, but someone please give me strength…' Naruto lamented silently.
"The enemy's target is the symbol of the city, the world tree!" They heard over the intercom. "Participants are asked to split into six groups and select one of the six defense points indicated!"
Gray smirked. "This is pretty elaborate, isn't it? They even managed to work in a way to get people to defend the right spots."
"Man, if only the others were here. They would have a blast with this…" Natsu said.
Naruto scoffed. "I'm not so sure about that idea. Based on the things I've heard, things would end with a blast if your entire guild got involved." All three of the Fairy Tail members swiftly averted their eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought…" It was then Naruto noticed how quiet Kairi was being. Glancing over, he tilted his head upon spotting the small frown she had. "Kairi." He said, gaining her attention. "Is something wrong?" Was she getting nervous about her first big battle?
"Hm…" Kairi glanced towards the clock tower. "It's just…Our side hasn't exactly been discreet on how we plan to counter Chao-san…Is that a good idea?" Naruto and Gray's eyes widened, seeing her point right away.
"Eh? What's the problem?" Natsu asked. "We know what she is going to do because of what Negi said, right? So it doesn't matter if we're out in the open!"
Gray scowled and took another scan of their surroundings. "No, flame brain, that isn't how it works. We had information on what she was going to do, yes, but there isn't anything saying she can't change plans when she sees that we somehow figured out the first one!"
Quickly taking out his phone, Naruto pulled up Takahata's contact and pressed the call button, but he was met with nothing but a dial tone. Cursing under his breath, he spoke up. "My phone isn't working." Hearing this, his companions tried their own phones, but none of them worked.
"Same here."
"I can't call anyone."
"My phone isn't working, either."
"I'm a cat, I don't have a phone."
Coming to the obvious conclusion, Naruto frowned. "It looks like things are going to get started sooner than we thought…" The moment he said this, there was the sound of an explosion in the distance.
Happy looked at Naruto in amazement. "Are you psychic?!"
"No! Don't ask stupid questions!" Turning towards the exit of the park, Naruto saw that people were running around.
It was then that a voice that Naruto recognized as the girl who worked as the tournament announcer blared to life. "It seems that the enemy's Martian robot army has decided to launch a surprise attack! The battle is already underway at the Mahora lakeside! With that, it's time for the game to officially…" The clock tower's bell rung. "Start!"
Nodding, Naruto looked back to his companions and smirked. "It's almost time for us to step in."
Natsu grinned and ignited a fist, but then immediately put it out with wide eyes, much to the confusion of the others. "Wait! If we can't use our magic in this world, then how are we gonna fight?!" He asked worriedly, getting four sighs in return. "…What?"
Sighing, Naruto spoke up. "So you really weren't listening…" He concluded. "Listen, as long as you don't hurt anyone, you can fight however you want. With the way things are, the normal people will think it's all part of the game. In fact, they were told that people with 'special powers' will be moving in to help them a little while into the game." Naruto grimaced. "…If anyone asks, we're members of the «Hero Unit». Get it?"
Grin returning at full force, Natsu's entire body burst into flames. "Hell yeah! That sounds awesome!"
"Aye!"
Naruto rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Now then, if we all understand…" Raising his hand, he summoned Two Become One. "This is the perfect chance to test this out…" Ignoring the questioning looks the others were giving him, he reached into his pouch. A moment later, he retracted his hand to show that he was holding the keychain Happy said he found back in «Aincrad». "Well…Here goes." He lifted it up to his Keyblade to the spot where his current keychain was attached. The moment it made contact, there was a flash of Twilight and his Keyblade took on a new form.
"Whoa…" Happy said in awe. "It transformed!"
Gray hummed in thought as Naruto held it up to get a better look at it. "You said that each keychain enhances a Keyblade and the wielder in different ways…But how are you supposed to know what this one can do?"
"This is Midnight Roar…" All eyes went to Naruto upon hearing the distracted words. "…It grants me quicker recovery time after finishing an attack and a smaller boost in my normal reaction time…"
The Keyblade in his hands had a silver handle and a black, circular guard with rough edges. The shaft was a smooth, white rod that ended in a black spike. The teeth of the Keyblade formed a black, sideways fleur-de-lis.
"Okay…" Happy said slowly. "…Are you sure you're not psychic?"
That served as enough to snap Naruto out of his daze. Glaring at the exceed, he responded. "Yes, Happy…I'm sure."
"Then how did you know all that?" Kairi asked curiously, getting a shrug in return.
"I just knew it." He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I mean…I didn't know it before, but the moment I held this Keyblade, it was like the information was already there…You know?"
"Nope."
"I think you're just crazy."
'Bastards!' Naruto thought while scowling at Natsu and Happy. But Gray and Kairi appeared to understand it was a Keyblade wielder thing.
"The enemy forces are making their way into the city! Hold your ground and defend those checkpoints!"
"Hm, it's getting close to our entrance." Grinning, Naruto turned to Kairi. "Aren't you going to get ready?" He asked lightly.
Blinking for a moment, Kairi grinned back with a nod. "You know it! You think you're so cool with your new Keyblade, but you've got nothing on me!" Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a card. The Fairy Tail members had just enough time to see a picture of what appeared to be Kairi on the front. "Here goes nothing." She held the card up. "Adeat!" There was a flash of light and the next second, the Fairy Tail members were all gaping at the object in Kairi's hand. Twirling it around in her hand, Kairi beamed at them. "So? What do you think?"
"Kairi…" Natsu began. "That's…"
"You're…" Happy continued.
Flashback (Evangeline's Resort - Directly After the Pactio)
Naruto stared at the object in Kairi's hand, unable to process what he was seeing. Kairi and Chamo were doing the same from their positions. "…You're joking…" He eventually said.
"Now there's something I wasn't expecting…" Evangeline commented, tone revealing nothing of her thoughts.
"But…But that's a…" Naruto began, unsure where he was going with it.
"What? Did the picture on the card not tip you off?"
"I thought it was because of who I am-ttebayo!"
Evangeline simply waved him off. "Oh, relax. I doubt it holds the power of the real thing. Maybe it can do some of the things a real one can, but everything?" She scoffed. "That can't be replicated."
Gathering her thoughts, Kairi hesitantly held the object up. "Do does this mean I'm not a-"
"Of course you're not, girl." Evangeline interrupted in irritation. Not seeing anything worth sticking around for, she began walking towards the building. "Now that you have that, be sure to at least be somewhat useful with it. I'm sure the boy can teach you something…"
Flashback End (5:35 pm)
"When the hell did you become a Keyblade wielder?!" Gray finished, making Kairi and Naruto burst into laughter.
In Kairi's hand was a Keyblade with a hilt that formed a breaking ocean wave on one side, and formed vines of sand that wrapped around the shaft on the other. The shaft itself was colored in a way that resembled a sunset, and the vines ended in a bouquet of flowers, which in turn made up the teeth of the blade. The keychain was a strange star shaped object that Kairi happily called a Paopu Fruit.
Getting control of her laughter, Kairi shook her head. "I'm not a Keyblade wielder!"
"But you have a Keyblade!" Happy protested.
Understanding came to Gray. "…So your artifact takes the form of a Keyblade?"
"Exactly!" Kairi chirped. "According to Evangeline, my Keyblade isn't a true Keyblade, so it isn't as powerful as one. We even tested it a bit. I can use it to cast spells like Naruto's and it can lock and unlock most things, but it can't undo a lock done by Naruto's Keyblade. I also doubt that it can lock the keyhole of a world." Her grin widened. "But who cares? It's still cool~!"
Natsu crossed his arms and looked over the Keyblade again. After a minute, he shrugged. "It's cool, but I still like my magic better than a Keyblade."
"Hmph. Don't ruin this for me!" Kairi shot back. Grinning again, Kairi twirled the Keyblade again. "Its name is Destiny's Embrace. Naruto used the chance in Evangeline's resort to give me some pointers on using it. We even sparred a bit."
"Oh, the enemy is getting closer to the shrine defensive point!" This announcement reminded them all of what was going on. "You guys are supposed to be the heroes! What's wrong?!"
Naruto hummed. "That's our cue. It's time for us to get involved." The others grinned back at him. Turning his eyes to Kairi, Naruto spoke up. "I'll activate the contract now. I'll be able to keep it going for now, but I will need to cut it off if I start getting too tired or Misa shows up. From there, you'll be fighting without the boost, but you should still be able to do well enough."
It was fortunate that Kairi had the effect of amplifying the power of his light. That way, he could feed her the absolute minimum, but it would still end up being turned into a decent amount.
Seeing her nod, Naruto reached into the holster for his dream eater cards and pulled out the one at the top of the deck. Holding it up, he recited the command he had been taught. "I invoke the contract!" Kairi twitched as light covered her body, but didn't react any further. Replacing the card, Naruto smirked. "Well then…" He turned to face the direction with the most noise.
"…Let's move!"
Battle in the City (5:50 pm)
Class 3-A's Ako squeaked when another one of the human looking robots suddenly jumped in front of her. Looking around, she was terrified to see that there were a few more surrounding her. "Uh, you guys? A little help here!" She called to her classmates.
Yuna yelped and leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding another robot that shot a laser at her. "Sorry! Kinda busy right now!" She shouted back. The other students were all occupied by similar situations.
"B-But-!" She was cut off by the robot in front of her suddenly opening its mouth, showing a bright light. Ako's eyes widened in panic at the sight. She's heard what those lasers do to people! And while they wouldn't physically harm her, she did not want to get hit by one! Ducking down just as it fired, Ako hurriedly pointed her gun at it and shot. To her joy, it was a direct hit and the robot went down.
It was only the sound of movement behind her that reminded Ako that there were more nearby. Whirling around, Ako fired off another shot, but the second robot didn't go down right away. Throwing herself to the side to dodge another laser, Ako fired some more, but saw that they were steadily getting closer. Then at the time, they opened their mouths and charged their shots.
Growing more alarmed, Ako looked to see something to use as a shield but was met with no results. 'No!'
"Sonic Blade!" Ako was momentarily blinded by a flash of light. "They're gone now." When she cracked an eye open, the shock of the scene before her made both of her eyes snap open.
"Whoa…" Ako whispered. Standing in the center of a group of destroyed robots was Naruto, who was now scanning his surroundings for the next target. Before she could say anything, a shout made her snap her attention back to her classmates. Gasping, she saw that Akira was about to be overwhelmed, but before she could do anything, Naruto stopped her.
"Relax." He smiled at her when she looked his way. "She'll be fine."
Confused, Ako turned back to Akira just in time to see something red speed in. Ako's jaw dropped as she watched Kairi dash between the robots and not waste any time on destroying them.
"Hmph." An amused huff from Naruto snapped her out of her stupor. "She can't get enough of the boost she got…" She heard him say quietly. Not sure what he meant, Ako was about to ask, but never got the chance when another robot suddenly decided to swoop down at Naruto. "Whoops!" Jumping back, Naruto raised his weapon -"A giant key?"- and sliced at the robot.
"Don't let your guard down!" Kairi called over teasingly.
"I know what I'm doing!" Naruto threw back. "You're the newbie here!"
"Says the guy who nearly got hit!"
Rolling his eyes, Naruto ran over to Ako and offered her a hand. "You okay?" He asked with a smile.
Because she still wasn't sure what was happening, Ako could do little more than stare at the hand. With a start, she realized that she was still on the ground from her imperfect dodge. Smiling back hesitantly, she nodded and accepted the hand. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine…"
"Great." The crimson blond glanced around again. "You guys are holding this position fairly well." He commented. A loud crash from nearby drew their attention. "But that could be a problem…" An even larger group of robots had just appeared, but this one included a few of the big crab ones. "Here we go…" He tightened the grip on his Keyblade in preparation.
"I call dibs!" A gleeful voice shouted from above. The next second, something flaming dropped from the sky. While Ako gaped, Naruto simply sighed.
"Idiot…"
Natsu laughed as he tore through the enemies. "I am so glad we came here! This place is awesome!" A citywide party and a citywide fight? Hell yeah! "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He shouted, followed by another small explosion.
The crimson blond shook his head and turned away. "Forget about him." He advised. "Focus on the enemies around us."
"Enemies around us…?" Ako repeated, only to jump when another group of humanoid robots landed in formation around them.
Naruto smirked and dropped into a battle stance. "Ready?"
"No!" Ako shrieked.
"Relax! Just stick close and avoid any lasers!" Naruto instructed. "They're coming!" The robots lunged at them. Leaping to the side, Naruto slashed the first one clean apart before spinning around and kicking the next one in the stomach. The force of the blow served as enough to hurl it into one of the other robots. The temporary duo made quick work of the new robots, but Naruto had to intervene a couple of times when Ako was about to be hit. A minute later, only a grinning Naruto and a lightly panting Ako remained.
"You're pretty good." Naruto praised. "Most people would be way more fatigued than you are after all that jumping."
Blushing lightly as she wasn't used to praise, Ako hesitantly smiled back. "Thanks. I'm actually the manager of the soccer team…" It was then that she finally processed the entire situation. Immediately, her eyes widened and she began to rapidly look between Naruto and Natsu, who was still on fire. "W-Wait! How did you do all that? And why do you have that weapon instead of the ones we have?"
"That's what I want to know, too…" The both of them turned to see a confused Yuna walking up to them, even as she double checked that there weren't any more robots in the immediate area. "Thanks for the help, Naruto-kun, but what was up with all of that?"
Naruto blinked at her. "You didn't read the pamphlet?"
Yuna tilted her head to the side. "Pamphlet?" She repeated.
"We're members of the «Hero Unit»!" A bright voice answered, and they all saw a widely grinning Kairi skip over to them with Akira. "We're here to help out!"
"Well, aren't you having fun?" Naruto remarked, getting happy nod in response. "To answer your question, the «Hero Units» are the special support in the game."
"It's true!" A childish voice piped up. Another student named Fuka was holding up a pamphlet. "'A short while into the game, powerful helper characters known as «Hero Units» will appear. Cooperate with them!'" She read.
Yuna gaped at this. "What? But that's so cheap! Why should you guys be that strong?! You'll hog all the prize money!"
"Don't worry, we're not going to get any of the reward." Setsuna assured as she and Asuna landed from a nearby rooftop. "As part of the performance that makes things more exciting, we don't get any part of the prize money." Naruto stared blankly at her maid-catgirl outfit, but didn't say anything.
At least Asuna was dressed as some kind of knight…
"I get it…" Akira murmured. "I guess it would be somewhat difficult to defeat this many robots without some sort of help, even with the number of people participating in the game."
"Oh…" Yuna's previous outrage deflated completely.
"Hey! More are coming from the south side!" A shout from somewhere nearby prompted the group to return to the matter at hand. Three of the large robots were making steady progress down the street in their direction.
Smirking, Asuna hefted the large sword she was holding. "Leave this one to us! Setsuna!"
"Right behind you!" Blurring forward, the two of them sped at the robots.
Seeing the physical feats being performed, the normal members of 3-A could only gawk. "I get that you're supposed to be these super strong guys, but how is that possible?!" Yuna demanded.
Smirking, Naruto shrugged. "Don't think too hard about it. Enjoy it for what it is."
"And what the hell is it?!"
"A lot of fun!" Natsu shouted back as he destroyed the third robot.
Giggling, Kairi spoke up. "What he said!" Naruto watched in amusement as the redhead actually bounced in place. "Now come on, Naruto! I want to keep moving!"
Huffing, Naruto glanced over to Natsu. "Natsu! You good here?!" The only reply he got was laughter and an explosion. "Yeah, he's good here." His gaze turned skyward and locked onto a floating cat. "Happy! If anything happens, come find me!"
Happy snapped a salute. "Aye sir!"
Taking one quick scan, Naruto didn't see Gray anywhere. "Gray must have already gone ahead." He nodded to Kairi. "Let's go." Waving to the students, the pair jumped onto a nearby café before leaping onto a higher rooftop.
"…That's so cool…"
Unknown Location (6:03 pm)
Chao had a smile on her face as she watched the multiple screens in front of her. "Wow, even with time travel, I never saw this coming. Negi-kun really is a genius-ne!" Footsteps approaching from behind wiped the smile off her face as she looked over her shoulder at the person.
"Your plan is falling apart and you're amused by it?" Misa asked curiously. "At this rate, there is a good chance that you will fail."
Shrugging lightly, Chao shifted her attention back to the screen. "It wouldn't be any fun if my plan to send Negi-kun a week into the future had worked. And this adds even more excitement to things." The biggest screen changed to show Naruto and Kairi talking to some students of 3-A. "Not to mention that this way, you can move around more easily in the chaos."
Misa hummed thoughtfully. "You realize that while your army is making progress, it is also losing momentum, right? At this rate, the 'Knight Brigade' will destroy them before all the targeted locations have been acquired."
"I still have a couple of trump cards up my sleeve." Chao responded easily. She turned and pinned Misa with a frigid glare. "Do I have your word that you will keep them out of the city?"
Blinking for a moment, Misa smiled slightly. "You know that such precise control is impossible. And the current state of affairs will only make it that much more difficult." Seeing that Chao's eyes were narrowing, she raised her hands in defeat and continued. "But I'll do my best to keep them out, yes." The self-proclaimed Martian took another moment to stare at her before nodding. 'Unless otherwise needed.'
"Hakase? Chachamaru?" Working at a pair of consoles nearby, the indicated girls spoke up.
"All readings are clear. Ready to activate."
"We await your command."
Smirking, Chao nodded. "Do it."
Rooftops of Mahora (6:05 pm)
Landing on the rooftop, Naruto used the chance to take in the area on a wider scale. Hearing shouting and explosions from pretty much every direction, he smirked. "Chamo was right. The people in this city are insane."
Humming in thought, Kairi looked around. "If they're all like this, then doesn't that mean that Negi's class is actually normal?"
"…They're a special kind of insane…"
"Backup is here!" Kazumi's voice echoed. "The «Hero Units» have arrived! Aim for a higher score by working in tandem with these powerful allies to protect the world tree!" A resounding shout seemed to echo from every direction.
"They're really getting into this." Naruto said. "And Asakura is playing the announcer role perfectly. Practically everything she says boosts their morale."
Kairi giggled. "I really like this world. Natsu was right about it being a lot of fun."
"It's crazy in almost every possible way…But I've had a good time, for the most part." Naruto allowed. Shaking his head, he continued. "We can't forget the real reason that this battle is happening. We should start looking for Lingshen and Misa."
"You really think it will be easy to find them?" Kairi asked. "Chao-san at the very least will try to avoid being found so she can focus on building the magic circle, and Misa…" She trailed off, but Naruto knew what she meant.
"Misa probably won't be found until she comes to us." Naruto concluded. Frowning, he thought over the situation. "At this point, there isn't much we can do but help keep back the robots. They aren't that tough, so we won't expend that much energy to do it, but there are a lot…"
Nodding in understanding, Kairi spoke up. "Then where do we head first?"
"I'm not sure…" Naruto muttered, but his and Kairi's eyes then snapped to the world tree as it began to glow.
"What's happening?" Kairi questioned worriedly. The two of them watched as the glow around the world tree faded, only for something else to change on their senses.
Paling, Naruto's head jerked up and he stared at the sky in horror. "The barrier…" He whispered, much to Kairi's confusion. "The city's barrier is failing."
And just as he said, a transparent dome came into existence over the city, but particles of light were coming off of it.
There we go! All done with Chapter 49!
This part of the Negima plot has always been one of the parts I enjoyed the most.
I dunno if anyone managed to figure out that the keychain Naruto equipped was the Midnight Roar Keyblade just from the description a few chapters ago, but props to you if you did.
Kairi's Keyblade is the same one she got in Kingdom Hearts 2. Think of that as you wish.
Review Responses!
The Sith'ari: Do I think I could? Absolutely. Is that what's happening, though?
Zero: Hm, if you're talking about the technique that I think you're talking about, then I will admit that such a thing has crossed my mind…But too soon. And would Undertale work?
redlox2: Meh. I might've broken a rule or two there, but I don't mind. I don't think I will focus heavily on him, but I have been entertaining plans of having Riku in a couple of scenes.
rinsegaku: Interesting thoughts…She knows of a version of the game timeline with Naruto in it.
Dark Natsu Dragneel: Orochimaru and Ansem? …Maybe. And reading the chapter again (Along with other recent ones), I do feel like Naruto's personality shifted at some point, but I didn't notice until recently.
Cormin12: Excellent points, in their own way.
Mugetsu Yoru: There is truth in what you say, but what if the information was dangerous? What if they didn't think Naruto was ready for it?
Exiled Soul Nomad: Hm, or maybe you're just reading into it too much? :P
Kairitrion Cerulean: Oh, hell no. That was a mistake that I don't want to make again…Ever. I finish a chapter and then release it (The most I have ever waited to do so after finishing is a day). If I upload a chapter, more often than not it was finished in the last 24 hours. It was a lucky guess, that's it! It's closer to the Harry Potter thing. In the manga, there were like 4 or 5 copies of Negi running around at one point.
rex4487: I never denied it. That's my favorite pairing choice.
NatNicole: Do you now? If you really think you know what they're hiding, don't spoil it for others! And thanks for the input on the review location!
prototype gear: Logical way to think, given the circumstances.
shadowmwape: You think so? Riku was manipulated into doing what he did to the point that his body was controlled. You don't know what reasons Misa has for what she's been doing.
Jebest4781: There's a reason I'm drilling that point repeatedly. I'll get to it eventually.
Rio Skyron: I'll take the request into consideration, but no promises! As for Negima, I enjoyed reading it. Just a warning though: In my opinion, things don't really pick up until around chapter 60 or so. The early ones aren't bad, but I don't enjoy them as much.
Bulba Fett: A newcomer! Welcome! Thanks for your praise, I really appreciate it. And don't blame me for your mistakes!
Professor Mist: I wanted to get the Naruto canon stuff out of the way first. You happy now? :P
Avalonforged: Welcome to the story! And you bring up a point that I've been thinking about more and more recently. While long stories are good, I have to agree that it is a little…off-putting to see such a long story that isn't broken up. If the story is bad, then I feel like I wasted a lot of time on it (Because I would want to get close to the end to make a final decision). But I'm glad to see you've enjoyed it!
I plan to finally wrap up the world in the next chapter. This one has been going on for too long. I just hope my estimations aren't off again...
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!
Until next time,
Kog6943