AN: The original title for this chapter was "The Doors."

I'm also sorry I forogt to upload here for a while. I've been doing it weekly on Archive of Our Own, but yeah... I'll try to post all the chapters I have there on here over the next week or two.

Insert: Drawing Days by Splay (Katekyo Hitman Reborn Opening Theme #1)
Kingdom Hearts: Anime Mix
Chapter 3: Riders on the Storm (Destiny Islands, Part III)

Garments of clothing and other possessions were tossed haphazardly around the room as Sora continued to shove items into a large bag.

"Should I bring my beach toys, or should I bring extra toothpaste?"

He paused, scanning his bedroom for other items he might need to pack, trying to make last-minute decisions on what to stuff into the limited space he had left, but he could not see clearly in the dark. As he stood up to turn on a light in his room, his attention was taken by a deep rumbling sound. He turned towards the window.

"A storm?" Violent, swirling clouds, accompanied by roaring thunder, filled the sky above the islands, shaking the trees, ripping the ocean back and forth, and causing the ground to tremble below.

"Wait… the raft!"

He quivered with slight fear as he remembered the times his mother used to cradle him in her arms to protect him from loud storms. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he forced himself to open the window and was immediately met with a fierce gust of wind and spray. The raft would never survive if it was left out in the open like this.

With trepidation, he glanced at the door to his room. His mom would never let him out of the house with weather like this, but if he didn't leave…

Shizune hugged the piglet a little too close, only realizing and releasing it when it started to try to wriggle out of her arms. She clasped her hands together, palms sweating with apprehension.

"I hope Lady Tsunade is all right."

"Don't worry!" Naruto proclaimed a little too loudly. He jammed a thumb into his chest. "Me and Sasuke are going to find Granny Tsunade and the weird 'key.'"

She still looked nervous until Sakura placed a reassuring hand on Shizune's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Sakura agreed confidently. "If there's anyone who'll get the mission done, it's those two." She then placed both hands on her hips. "And I can't slack either. I'll be staying to help protect the people here."

She nodded to her teammates. Naruto grinned and gave a thumbs-up in response, while Sasuke turned the other way to hide the upturned corners of his mouth.

Kakashi crossed his arms, pleased with how far the children have come from the first time he met them, but he was broken out of his thoughts by a knock at the door.

"Sora! Dinner's ready," a voice called from downstairs. Only silence answered.

"Sora?" The door slowly opened as the woman looked carefully inside. "Are you comin-" She gasped.

A single rope made of shirts tied together hung over the side of the window and swayed limply with the wind.

Kakashi looked toward the entrance, the source of the sound.

"Right on time." Ignoring the confusion from the room's other inhabitants, he appeared next to the door and opened it to reveal a girl with bright brown eyes curiously looking back and forth, as if searching for something. Her body swayed with a slightly nervous energy, her long light reddish-brown hair (similar in colour to her eyes) moving with her, as she checked a piece of paper, then a sign next to the room, then the paper again.

Noticing the door had opened, her eyes brightened and she began walking inside, holding on to the white sun hat that sat on top of her head as she took a bold step into the room.

Only to trip over her own feet.

Even with all the explanations they had received today, Sakura felt they only kept getting new questions.

"Who's this?" Shizune asked, staring at the girl on the floor.

"Oh," Kakashi began, "this is-"

"H-HELLO!" came a high-pitched forceful shout from the floor. "THIS IS KOBATO HANATO SPEAKING." The girl picked her head up to show a pure smile to the others in the room. "I hope we can get along!"

Yep, Sakura thought, more questions.

It had taken Sora longer than he would have liked to row to the island, but the ocean had fought him every step of the way. Although his arms felt as if they would fall off at any second, he tied his boat to the dock and pushed himself to start walking.

The sight of two other boats next to his caught his attention.

Those are Riku and Kairi's. Are they here, too?

Sora was not allowed to think for too long as he felt something near his leg. He kicked his foot to brush off any unwanted insects ( Seriously, I hate mosquitos. ) that might have attached themselves to him but instead watched with horror as creatures burst from the shadows in the ground, forcing him to step back.

"W-What are these?!" He threw himself out of the way as one jumped at him, its claws barely missing him. Breathing heavily, he picked himself back up.

That thing was definitely trying to attack me.

Instinctively, he grabbed the wooden sword he always had attached to his belt and defended a second attack that came straight for his face this time. The creature hopped back as its attack rebounded.

"That's what you though-!"

Sora lunged and brought the sword down on another of the unsuspecting creatures, only for it to phase straight through it, not doing any damage at all. Not expecting this, the boy fell forward into the sand as the attack seemingly hit nothing, losing his balance.

"What the…?"

One of the creatures immediately took advantage and scratched at his back, creating a tear through his jacket and clothes, straight to his skin.

Yelping in pain, he reflexively rolled out of the way to retreat from the creatures that had now surrounded him, and he darted to the small shack and rapidly shut the door, knowing he could not hide here forever. Despairingly, he looked through a crack in the wood at the creatures that seemed to be momentarily confused with his quick escape.

"I can't… hit those things?" He let himself fall to the sandy ground, curling himself into a corner, hugging his knees tightly to his chest. "What am I supposed to do? Am I going to… die?" He whispered the last word, as if it was something he could not let himself believe.

He flinched and breathed in sharply as the searing pain in his back began to register in his mind again, now that his initial adrenaline rush had faded.

A fleeting image flashed through his mind as he remembered a red-haired girl pleading for help… a door… picking up a bottle out of a chest…

Reaching into his pocket, he felt an unfamiliar weight and slowly took out a small bottle with liquid inside. He opened the bottle, and the sickeningly sweet scent of medicine reached his nose.

His mom had told him to not eat Halloween candy until he knew it was safe to eat. Kairi had told him not to just eat or drink any random thing he saw lying around. Riku had told him numerous time that he could not drink the seawater just because he was thirsty.

Now was as good a time as any to continue his trend of not heeding smart-sounding advice, he decided, and downed the bottle.

At once the feeling of pain subsided. He reached for the spot on his back where he had been attacked, only to find nothing there.

Well, he thought to himself, that takes care of one thing. But still…

"Am I just going to die in here…?" He looked dejected at his feet, but he only let himself feel upset for a few more seconds before he remembered his friends were still on the island, instantly shooting up from the ground.

"Riku! Kairi!" He could not imagine what they were going through right now and repressed his own fear.

I gotta do something! Where are they?

He flew up the stairs in the shack to the upper level, slamming open the door, with his only thoughts being of his friends.

The girl gratefully accepted the hand that Kakashi offered to help her up. As she dusted off bottom half of her flowery dress, the sounds of scuffling could be heard from inside the bag slung over her shoulders.

"As I was saying," Kakashi addressed the rest of the room, "This is Miss Kobato Hanato. She will be joining Naruto and Sasuke."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Won't that just be a liability? Why exactly is she coming?" He narrowed his eyes at the apparently ditzy girl, and when she finally felt his gaze and looked at him, she returned the look with a bright smile. "We've never even met this girl before today. Why is she going, while Sakura's staying?"

Rolling his eyes, albeit appreciating the fact that Sasuke was not naïvely trusting, Kakashi motioned to the new topic of the conversation. "Think of this as 'Part B' of the mission. In addition to finding this 'key,' you will also be escorting this young lady."

The girl – "Kobato" – puffed out her chest and saluted.

"Kobato Hanato reporting for duty! I am here to be escorted! I have to collect broken hearts! In exchange, I will make sure to help out as much as I can!" Her smile widened, seeming pleased with herself.

" 'Broken hearts?' " Shizune inquired.

"Yes! I must get enough candy to fill-" the girl answered, much to the confusion of everyone in the room, while fiddling around in her bag.

"Dobato!"

The room seemed to quake slightly causing Kobato to instantaneously retract her hand, jolting into an upright position and standing as straight as possible with her arms glued to her sides, as a deafening roar sounded from… her bag?

Although Kobato stood shakily, looking directly ahead with eyes the size of saucers, everyone else in the room turned their attention to the small blue furry object attempting to exit the girl's bag. Astonishment was apparent on their faces (except for Kakashi who kept a nonchalant air about him) as a stuffed animal removed itself and hopped out onto the floor, cute button eyes looking at them for a moment, before spreading its tiny paws out and spinning around to face Kobato. It was quiet for a few seconds, and then…

"Dobato! What are you doing?!" The stuffed animal's face contorted from adorable to monstrous, directing all anger at the girl in front of him who only smiled stupidly in return.

"Ioryogi-san! H-Hello! I was introducing myself to our new friends!"

The stuffed animal responded by jumping higher than should have been possible for its size and chopping its soft fist down on her head. Although it looked like it should not have hurt, the girl grasped her head in pain, tears appearing in her eyes.

"Ioryogi-san, why?"

'Ioryogi-san' simply turned to face the other stunned individuals in the room, crossing its arms.

"Hey. The name's Iorogi ," he growled, emphasizing the correct pronunciation for his name. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be showing myself like this, but well," he glanced at Kobato, "these aren't normal circumstances, are they?"

Kobato regained her composure, standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes, yet she now held a forlorn expression, looking down and gripping the straps of her bag tightly.

"Yes, as Ioryogi-san said, these aren't normal circumstances." She paused, as if she did not know what to say next.

"Kobato has lost her world to the darkness. However, she cannot stay here." Kakashi explained, breaking the initial shock from their group. "From what I understand, she has a mission, correct?"

A few days earlier, Tsunade had brought the girl to him, only saying that she had lost her home. He was to look after her while Tsunade looked into a rising issue.

With the new situation, Kakashi could easily guess what had actually happened to Kobato, and during his short absence following the revelation of Tsunade's note, he left to visit and question the girl, learning of the stuffed animal Iorogi and of Kobato's true situation (well, as much as they were allowed to tell him). With that, he made the executive decision to have the two accompany Naruto.

Presently, Iorogi nodded, giving a serious look to the others.

"Kobato has a wish, and to grant this wish, she has to complete a certain mission within four seasons. With the loss of her world, though…," he bared his teeth and then took a breath to calm himself down. "After losing her world and being brought here by your 'Hokage' and speaking with Kakashi, I realized she'll never get her wish if she stays here and waits."

"So!" Kakashi interjected cheerfully, ignoring the atmosphere in the room. "I thought, what if she goes, too? She'll be able to work towards her goal along the way."

Naruto gawked at the idea. "Wha-"

"Of course, we don't take things for free." The dog smirked. "We'll help you guys out, in return."

Kobato piped up, "I can take very good notes!"

"And I've got a few tricks up my own… paws." Iorogi made a displeased face at the way he had to phrase that but shook himself out of it. He put out his paw. "So, whattaya say?"

It took a few seconds to register, but Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and shrugged.

Naruto bent down and shook the offered "hand."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage." He grinned. "I'm waiting to see what you can do."

"Welcome aboard, I guess," Sasuke added in a nonplussed tone.

Kobato eyes brightened as she gazed at her new companions. "Thank you! This will be so exciting!" she cheered, beaming, and then saluted again. "Kobato Hanato will do her best!"

Kakashi led the group (minus Shizune, who decided to stay and wait in the office) to an abnormally large shed, about the size of a large house, on the outskirts of the village. A complicated-looking lock system consisting of chains and pin pads covered the door.

"Where's this go to, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto inquired, not knowing what to think of the door.

"Nowhere in particular," he replied, kicking the door in. "Tsunade just told me this would probably help one day."

Kobato half-skipped inside after him, humming, while Sasuke strode in to follow. Naruto and Sakura were frozen for a few seconds after watching their teacher simply ignore the security system.

"Are you guys coming?" Kakashi called back.

"Y-Yeah…"

As the two walked inside, the first thing they saw was a life-size… toy spaceship? The ship was built out of red, orange, and yellow polygonal blocks with a clear blue-ish hub port on top.

"Hm." Kakashi crossed his arms, considering the ship before them. Iorogi hopped onto his shoulder.

"Is this what we're taking?"

The silver-haired man shrugged. "Yup, I guess so."

Sakura's inner-self was shaking with frustration. He's not taking any of this seriously!

"Oh! Our guests are here early, Professor."

The group turned to face the doorway which now held a girl of average height and every-day clothing with short, straight dark hair carrying what looked like grocery bags. Next to her stood a small, very young girl with unkempt, long reddish hair, wearing a lab coat that looked to be at least seven sizes too big for her as it trailed behind her. Her large blue eyes widened with excitement.

"They're here! They're here! Hooray!" She jumped, waving her arms up and down, causing the long sleeves to sway back and forth. "Nano, let's have snacks!"

"That sounds delicious," Kobato agreed but was promptly kicked in the leg by Iorogi.

"Dobato, we don't have time for that."

"Y-Yes, Ioryogi-san…"

The young girl held her sleeve up to her face, her eyes showing disappointment. "No snacks?"

The other girl, Nano, placed a kind hand on the girl's head and ruffled her hair a bit. "We'll have snacks afterwards, all right, Professor?"

Taking a few seconds to think about it, she smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

Kakashi, for the first time that day, actually looked slightly surprised. "This girl is the Professor?"

The dark-haired girl nodded, and the small girl put her arm up.

"Yes! I'm the Professor! Hello! Would you like to see our talking cat-"

"-Catastrophe!" The girl worriedly interrupted. "Professor, I think you mean talking catastrophe. I don't even know what that means! Hahaha…" The girl distractedly rubbed the back of her head.

The Professor blinked owlishly, not understanding. "No, talking cat. His name is Sakamoto. Here he is." The girl pulled out a black cat with a red scarf out of seemingly nowhere. "Say hello, Sakamoto."

"Hello."

"Hello," Kakashi greeted.

The rest of the group stood frozen in shock, except for Kobato who just looked excited at the sight of the cat.

The girl sighed in defeat. "Anyway, my name is Nano Shinonome. I'm sorry about all this, I really just wanted to seem like a normal girl…"

Naruto looked confused. "You can't be that normal. You've got a giant key in your back."

He was immediately sent to the ground by Sakura's fist, as the girl Nano curled up dejectedly.

"Professor," Kakashi started, getting the girl's eager attention, "You built this ship, right?"

"Yup! This is it! I would have named it, but Sakamoto said it would be nicer to leave it to you."

Naruto raised his hand from his place on the floor. "I think we should name it Super Ultra Turbo-"

He was interrupted by Sakura's foot in his face. "Denied."

Sasuke sighed. "We can think about that later."

Kobato gazed in awe at the ship. "Professor, this ship is amazing!"

Humbly, the girl placed her hand behind her head. "Aw, it's nothing. I did add some cool functions, though!"

Hearing this, Nano looked up with slight horror as a gun-looking object popped out of the ship, only to shoot out rubber ducks. No one in the group had words for this, except the robot girl who scolded the young genius, saying she could not just add those sorts of things onto the ship.

"Don't worry, Nano, I added one for you, too!"

As the group talked, no one noticed the black cat Sakamoto as he sidled up to a person in the shadows, far from the lively gathering.

"Shouldn't you go introduce yourself, too?"

The boy glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the cat and slurped the rest of the noodles out of the bowl he held.

"Too much of a hassle. Can't be bothered." The boy tossed the plastic bowl to the side and adjusted the furry hood that sat atop his bluish-silver hair. He pulled out a bell, tied around his neck, from inside his shirt and grasped the small object, gazing at it with no emotion in his half-lidded, red eyes. He sighed and replaced it.

"You're lucky, cat. Your world wasn't destroyed, right? You all are just here out of the goodness of your hearts." A rare sign of anger flashed across the boy's shadowed face, but the deadpan expression quickly returned, enhanced by the tired-looking bags under his eyes, as he let his head roll back, looking up at nothing, absently touching the bell through his clothes. "He just had to be a pain."

Nodding, the cat hopped onto his shoulder. "I didn't hear much of your story. The Professor was called here just to help with devising transportation. You, on the other hand…"

At first the boy seemed annoyed to have another living being touching him, but he soon forgot about it. "You're lucky you're a cat. Cats are naturally cute." He sighed again. "That woman, Tsunade, she said she could help." His eye twitched. "But this is way too much. Ugh…" A pause.

"I'm here for reassurance," he admitted. "I was asked to keep an eye on things."

"In return, I know you'll find someone on their journey who can help you," the woman had told him as she explained her proposition.

I'll save you, Ma-

He carefully picked up the cat and placed him on the floor.

"It's time to go."

Sakamato tilted his head. "You know, you never did tell us who you are, despite the short time we've spent together. Isn't that a little rude?"

Some semblance of a smirk appeared on the boy's face as he began walking out of the shadows. The instant he reached the sunlight spilling through the windows, his form was replaced by a small, fluffy black cat, bell hanging around his neck. He looked back at the now-intrigued Sakamoto.

"Just your friendly neighborhood vampire."

With that, he hopped away towards the ship (most likely to find the best spot to play video games and sleep in peace).

Just as the boy-cat-vampire jumped into the ship, the others, unaware of their stowaway, began to prepare for the journey.

The Professor headed with Nano into a control room area, leaving Team Seven alone, as Kobato had already bounded onto the ship, admiring the various flashing buttons and inner-workings of the vehicle. A few moments of silence passed. None of the children really knew what to say, and Kakashi decided he had talked enough for one day. The three teammates knew they wouldn't see each other for a long time.

Awkwardly, Naruto began turning to head into the ship. "Well, uh, I guess we'll see ya."

"N-Naruto?"

The boy stopped short and turned as a girl's pale, nervous face peeked into the shed.

"Hinata?" He back-peddled to meet her. "What are you doing here?"

Blushing, she looked away, wringing her fingers. "I-I, um, well, well, I, you know…"

"I told the other teams that you and Sasuke were leaving on a very important mission," Kakashi answered for her. "Hinata asked if she could come say goodbye."

"Oh!" Naruto nodded in understanding and then grinned, taking Hinata's hand and causing the girl's blush to only become redder.

"N-Na-Naruto, I'm, I'm, um, I'm going to mi…," her voice started quivering, which only made her stutter more, so she took a deep breath and calmed herself. She followed by taking and object from the pocket in her jacket and placed it in the other's hand, gently closing his fingers around it.

"I've… I've heard st-stories about a star-shaped fruit."

Hinata brought her hands back to herself, again wringing them with anxiety, while Naruto opened his own hand gazing at the wood-crafted star with a small chain hanging off of it. The Konoha symbol was engraved in the center. He ran his fingers over the engraving, feeling wood dust and realizing that she must have made this by hand.

"The, the fruit is supposed to represent an unb-breakable connection. The stories say that, um, if you, if you carry something like it, y-you'll always find a way back. So, um…" She forced herself to look up at his face. "So please make sure you make it back home."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit with incredulity, as he thought this was the most he has ever heard Hinata speak, but he soon replied with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Hinata." He clipped the chain onto his right pant-leg pocket and slipped the charm inside to ensure it would not be lost. "I'm glad that you're the type of person that people can count on. Make sure to take care of the village while I'm gone."

The boy did not seem to realize the blushing, stuttering mess in which he had left his friend as he turned to board the vessel, Sasuke acknowledging him with a small nod.

"Took you long enough. Are we going or not?"

"What?! I was waiting on you!" Naruto retorted with feigned sarcasm.

"Hey, you two."

Naruto and Sasuke turned to face Sakura but were promptly met with a strong hug as she wrapped them both tightly in her arms, Naruto's own arms flailing and Sasuke's eyes widening for a second out of shock but both soon accepting the embrace.

"Geez, Sakura, I don't usually like to be close enough to catch Sasuke's emo, but I guess I'll allow it this one time."

"What was that?"

She smiled but did not respond to their banter. She just hugged them tighter. "Please," she whispered her request, "please come back safely."

"We can't leave Team Seven broken up forever," Sasuke answered.

"Getting emotional, huh?" Naruto snickered.

"Shut up!"

Sakura laughed and released the others. She would have to get used to not having this for a while.

Both the boys felt soft taps on their heads, and all three turned to see Kakashi smiling at them.

"You know, I couldn't ask for a better team."

The boys boarded the ship, taking their seats and starting up the navigation, listening to Nano and the Professor's directions over the radio.

Just before the engine started, as the ceiling began to part, Sakura shouted, trying to be louder than the mechanical sounds around them.

"You guys better not die, or I'll kill you myself!"

Naruto grinned and gave a thumbs-up through the window, and Sasuke gave a small smile and nod in her direction, while Kobato was too busy gushing over the "very cool spaceship!"

The engine of the ship started, and soon it began lifting off the ground. The boys gave one final wave from the window, and then the ship was gone almost instantly as it seemed to warp into the atmosphere.

Back on the ground, Hinata finally forced herself to stop shaking with nervous energy, ceasing to wring her hands and simply hold them together, as if praying. She smiled at the spot in the sky where the ship had disappeared.

Naruto, I'll get stronger, I promise. I'll protect the village, so you'll always have a home to come back to.

A warm light emanated beneath her hands.

Insert: Gomen ne, Iiko ja Irarenai by Miku Sawai (Kill la Kill Ending Theme 1)

AN: It took me a long time to decide who to make the "Chip and Dale" for this series.