I am sooooo sorry. I'm sure most of you thought I was giving up on this. Well I haven't. Although it's been almost a year, I have been working on this, off and on. I don't plan on abandoning this story, because it's fun for me to write.

Anyways, here it is, the long awaited Chapter 11.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or Kingdom Hearts. I'm not THAT creative.

A Ninja and a Keybearer

Chapter 11: Deceptions and Mysteries

Naruto stared out the window at the stars that they were passing by. To the rest of the group he looked utterly bored, but in reality, he was having a silent breakdown. He was absolutely sure that as soon as Leon saw him, he'd make sure he was kept under lock and key. Even Konoha's most surprising ninja couldn't escape the surveillance of a gun-blade wielder, a ninja (albeit, not as good as the ones from the Shinobi Nations, but a ninja none the less), and a nice lady who would keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't get in trouble, for long.

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them to find himself standing in front of the cage containing the Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Kyuubi, what am I gonna do?" he asked. The fox growled and cracked open an eye to look the disturbance. He sighed and sat to glare at Naruto. However, Kyuubi knew that for the blonde to come to him for advice meant that he was overly distraught. Maybe he could get something out of this…

"Stay out of his way," the nine-tailed bijuu replied grumpily. "He can't capture you if you're not around."

"What am I gonna tell the others when I just disappear?"Naruto was truly desperate. There was a possibility he wouldn't be able to keep his promise to his friends and that went against everything he was for. What would everyone think of him? If he didn't keep his word… that would make him just like what everyone said he was… a monster.

Kyuubi grinned. "Just give them some lame excuse. You're good at improvising. Or…" Naruto straightened up at this. If the fox was up to something, he would have to be careful. "You could just leave everything to me. I'd take really good care of your body." 'Not that you'll be needing it afterwards,' he thought to himself.

The blonde Shinobi cocked an eyebrow. "What are you proposing?" he asked warily. "I'm not stupid enough to do anything drastic and you know it."

The fox did what looked like a shrug. "Just take half of the seal off. That's all I'm asking." Naruto was fixing to yell and tell him that he was an idiot to think that he'd free the fox, but Kyuubi beat him to it. "I can't break out of it, and it's enough to let you still be in control of your body." 'However, it's just enough so that I can rip the rest of it off.' Naruto was starting to play into his claws. The little idiot just needed to grab onto the bait and he'd be just like a fish on a hook.

"What do you get out of this?"

Kyuubi smirked. Almost there. "I simply get the chance to play around. You know how bored I get in here!" Naruto still looked suspicious, so he quickly added, "Don't you want to keep you promise? It is your nindo, remember?"

Naruto's face hardened at that. He'd promised Sakura he'd save her. He'd promised Sora to help find his friends. He'd promised himself to be Hokage. It was as if Kyuubi was reading his mind. How could he trust himself if he couldn't keep his word? "You have to promise not to hurt anyone. No destroying towns, no killing, nothing."

"Of course," Kyuubi said smoothly. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Naruto reached up to peal the seal off the gate of the cage. This felt so wrong… "It's only half of the seal. No damage done!" he tried to convince himself.

"NARUTO!" someone yelled as soon as the blonde touched the paper seal. "WHAT'S GOING ON!? WAKE UP!!!"

Naruto was snapped out of his trance by someone shaking him by the shoulders and found himself staring straight into Sora's face. Looking behind the Keybearer, he saw everyone staring at him with scared and confused faces.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You tell us!" Kiba said, his voice rising almost to a yell. "One moment it was fine and the next we felt this scary chakra in the cabin!"

"It was coming from you," Shikamaru said, for once, wide awake. "And you had just passed out."

Goofy covered his mouth in worry. "When we went to wake you up, you looked so scary."

Sora nodded and explained for Goofy. "Your whisker marks were very thick and your canines were sticking out of your mouth." Naruto automatically reached up and touched his birthmarks. 'Was that the Kyuubi?' Sora thought to himself.

Naruto remained quiet, listening to the nine tailed fox curse the Keybearer in the back of his mind. If simply touching the seal made him look feral like that, then what could have happened if he had taken it off, if only just a little? The blonde suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"What happened?" Donald demanded, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

Naruto didn't want to tell them. He couldn't. "I… don't know," he lied quietly. Before anyone could ask any more questions, Naruto stiffly walked to the back room of the cabin and closed the door behind him.

Sora looked at his friends and sighed. He needed to talk to the kid. Opening the door, Sora found Naruto curled up on the couch with his back facing him and shaking softly. The keybearer closed the door behind him and walked over. "What's up?" he asked casually, trying to lift the mood.

The shinobi mumbled something incoherent. "What was that?" the keybearer pressed.

"I thought I locked the door," came the half hearted reply.

Sora laughed. "That's what's so great about being a Keyblade Master. I can unlock anything!" When Naruto didn't move, Sora frowned. "Was that the Kyuubi?" he asked quietly, in case anyone was listening at the door.

Naruto's head moved in what looked like a nod. He rolled over to get a better look at Sora. "I… I almost did something horrible." Sora remained quiet and waited for the blonde. "The stupid fox almost got me to tear off the seal. I wasn't going to do it all the way, only half! But he probably would have tried to take complete control. I wouldn't put it past him."

Sora was shocked. "Why would you even consider that!?" he exclaimed.

Naruto looked away guiltily. "Because I have to keep my promises. Leon's gonna make sure I don't go anywhere as soon as he sees me and you know it! I-I don't know what to do."

Sora was quiet for a long time. He remembered the promise he'd made before they'd left Traverse Town. He'd help Naruto. "Maybe I can talk to Leon," he suggested. "But, just in case, I think you should be on guard." It was quiet for quite a few minutes before Sora leapt up and exclaimed, "I got it!"

Startled, Naruto quickly sat up straight. "Got what?" he asked dumbly.

"A plan."


Sora walked through the gates of Traverse Town followed by his friends. Akamaru barked. Kiba translated for the group. "So where do we go now?"

"Hey look! It's Yuffie!" Naruto yelled, and sure enough, there she was standing by the mailbox with her back facing the group.

"Yuffie!!" Sora cried out. The kunoichi turned around and smiled when she saw who had called her name out.

"Sora! Goofy! Donald! Hey guys!! Oh there you are Naruto! Leon suspected that you snuck on board. Who are they?"

Naruto grinned. "These are some of my friends. Shikamaru, Kiba, and the dog is Akamaru. They're shinobi just like me!"

"We actually come from the same village," Kiba informed her. The dog boy looked at Naruto with a mischievous glint in his eye. "And actually, he shouldn't be a shinobi in the first place. He failed the Genin test."

Naruto bristled and turned on the Inuzuka. "You wanna say that again?!"

Kiba smirked. "You. Failed. The. Genin. Test," he repeated, emphasizing each word.

"I DIDN'T FAIL!!! I MADE A HUNDRED KAGE BUNSHINS FOR YOUR INFORMATION!!!!! DANGIT!! LET GO OF ME SORA!!!! I'M GONNA KILL HIM DATTEBAYO!!!!!!"

Goofy, totally oblivious to what was going on, started chatting with Yuffie. "So do ya know where we could find Leon? Ahyuck! We gotta tell 'im about what we found."

Yuffie, a bit flustered from the scene, had to take a moment to reply. "Uh… um… Oh! I... think he's in the underground cave."

"OW!! QUIT BITING ME, NARUTO!!! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU GO!!!"

Goofy smiled. "Hey, uh, where's the underground cave?"

"It's… um… in the back alley. Are you gonna do anything about that?"

"Do 'bout what?"

"NARUTO!! IF YOU DON'T CALM DOWN I'M GONNA FREEZE YOU SO BAD YOUR GRANDCHILDREN WILL HAVE FROSTBITE!!"

"SHUT UP, DONALD!!!"

"Geeze, this is so troublesome."

Yuffie pointed. "That."

Goofy turned around to look and turned back to Yuffie. "Oh they're just playin'."


Sasuke looked up at the tall gate. "It's open," he said, stating the obvious. "She's here."

Riku smiled. "So just who is this Sakura girl anyways?" Maybe he could rough up the younger boy. Sasuke also seemed so… calm. "Do you like her?"

Sasuke, suddenly flustered, quickly replied, "No. She's just my teammate and she's a constant bother and an annoying fan girl."

"Uh huh. Suuure," Riku said. He chuckled, finished with his moment of entertainment. "C'mon, let's go find the girls."

Unsurprisingly, the great oaken doors to the mansion were unlocked, but once they stepped foot inside, the place was completely empty. "Where is everyone? Normally you'd see a bunch of servants around."

Sasuke smirked. "Then let's go find them." The next moment, Sasuke brought down his elbow on the table in front of them, smashing it in half.

Riku stared at it bug eyed. "Watcha do that for?!"

The Uchiha smirked again, satisfied for the moment. "Might as well get some training in. Besides, it's not like anyone will be living here long enough to complain. And as a bonus, it will keep me from getting bored."

As the genin destroyed a chair, Riku shuddered and couldn't help but wonder if all shinobi were this blood thirsty.


Sakura walked down the halls followed by her friends. The eerie sound of silence echoed around them, making each too afraid to utter a noise. "What is this place?" Hayner asked as quietly as he could, voicing the thought on everyone's mind.

"I don't know," the pink haired kunoichi whispered back. She didn't remember this area of the mansion, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she'd been here before. She was right. After a couple of minutes of walking down the hallway, Sakura instantly recognized the different holding cells. She had been behind these bars not too long ago after all, only now she knew where they were.

"Hey look there's someone here," Pence whispered. The boy pointed at a young girl lying in one of the cells.

"She isn't moving," Hayner said, pointing out the obvious.

Olette's hands flew to her mouth in worry. "Is she okay?"

"Her name's Kairi," a dark voice call out, making the four friends jump. "And she's coming with me." Only a dark silhouette could be seen at the far end of the hallway.

"Who are you?" Sakura growled. "What are you doing in the mansion? Get out!"

"Relax, Sakura." The kunoichi froze at the sound of a new voice. "He's with me." A new silhouette appeared beside the first one.

"Sa-Sasuke?"

"Sakura! What is it?" Hayner yelled, completely confused. Suddenly a swift gust of air blew by the group and the first figure was left alone in the front of the hallway.

Sasuke appeared behind his teammate. "Sakura," he said in her ear, "what are you doing here?" Too shocked for words, the female genin simply turned and stared at him in shock.

"Sakura!" A new voice boomed. Ansem turned into the hallway and walked swiftly by the first silhouette, not even glancing at him, and continued until he was standing directly in front of the girl. "What are you doing?"

Momentarily forgetting her shock, Sakura stood straighter in defiance to her caretaker. "I'm trying to find out what you're hiding from me."

"I told you not to bring anyone here," the professor said in a dangerous tone. Ansem turned his attention to Sasuke. "And you. Why are you here?"

Sasuke simply glowered at him. "Weren't you the one that said 'travel the worlds'?"

The old man chuckled, although there was no merriment in it. "But I also told you not to be tempted by the darkness and what it promises, didn't I? And look at yourself now."

"Some advice is not meant to be taken," the Uchiha countered.

-Flashback-

Sasuke slung his pack over his shoulder walked out of the Uchiha Compound, oblivious to the pouring rain. Maybe he could get Sakura and Naruto to come with him. As long as they stayed out of his way and let him train alone, they might be able take on Orochimaru together, if it came to that. Unlike last time, they were all a lot stronger.

"Where are you going, Uchiha Sasuke?"

Sasuke whipped around at a sound of a deep voice. He scowled into the shadows in the corners of the Compound wall. "Who's there?" he growled.

A deep laugh emitted from the darkness, as if the boy had said something quite funny, and a cloaked figure walked out. A hood was pulled far over his head to keep the rain out of his face, but also to hide his identity as well. "I am simply an old philosopher trying to help the worlds," he said.

"How do you know my name?" Sasuke lowered a hand near the kunai holster on his thigh and glared suspiciously at the figure.

The cloaked man ignored his question. "You wouldn't happen to be following Riku's advice and submitting yourself to the darkness would you?" Another chuckle came; however, this one had no mirth to it. "That would be very foolish indeed."

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked. "What village are you from?"

The man lifted his hood slightly so the Uchiha could catch a glimpse of an older looking man with shoulder length blonde hair and beard. "I do not come from any village. Nor do I come from this world. I have actually come to make a proposal." Sasuke didn't reply, but made no move to leave either. "I am looking for someone who is willing to help me. As I understand, someone gave you a visit earlier. Yes, I know all about it," the man said when the genin's face showed a hint of surprise. "I suggest you go on with his plan. Go see the worlds and you may gain some knowledge as well. However, I need a spy. For years, Maleficent has been commanding the Heartless. For my own reasons, I wish to detain her and obliterate her control, however, I have never been able to get close enough to do so."

"So you want me to go to Hollow Bastion to see if I can find any weaknesses for you so you may continue with your plan," Sasuke said simply.

The man chuckled yet again. "You are a quick one."

"So they tell me." Sasuke smirked. "And what's in it for me?"

"As I said before, you will have a chance to see different worlds and gain experience. Perhaps even enough strength to defeat that brother of yours. Yes I know about him as well. What do you say?"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. "Alright."

As Sasuke started walk off, the man stopped him once again. Calling after him, he said "A word of warning. Do not fall into the darkness. It is a powerful force capable of taking over your heart completely. It will promise you things that sound very pleasing, but believe me when I say it is not worth it. Do not let it capture you in its icy claws."

Sasuke held up a hand to say that he had heard the warning and continued on without a word.

-End Flashback-

"Let's just say, this seemed more promising," Sasuke said. Riku walked up then to Kairi's cell. His keyblade suddenly appeared in his hand, spooking the Twilight Town children, and he sliced through the bars like they were butter.

"I'll be taking her," he said in a smug voice, picking her up and holding her over his shoulder.

Ansem's face suddenly turned red in anger. "You can't do this! I need her to motivate-"

The old philosopher was cut short when Riku punched him in the stomach. "I just did," he said.

Sakura stared aghast as Ansem doubled over. Rude and smart-alecky he may be, he didn't deserve to be brought so low. She glared at Riku's retreating back and clenched her fist. "Hey!" she yelled at him. The silver haired boy half turned to look at her.

"Are you going to yell at me, too?" he asked in a bored tone. Sakura didn't say a word. She didn't have to. Her fist did all the talking as she sent it sailing for Riku's cheek. The boy was sent flying backwards by the blow; however, Sakura caught Kairi before she fell to ground.

Racing back to her group of friends, she handed the sleeping girl to Hayner. "Take her and Ansem somewhere safe," she instructed them. "I'll try to catch up." Pence nodded and between him and Olette, they dragged Ansem along with them as they ran down the hall and out of the mansion.

Riku stood up and glared at the pink haired girl. She glared back. The island boy went to raise his hand to summon his keyblade when Sasuke stopped him.

"Sasuke," Sakura just about yelled, "get this jerk out of here!" The Uchiha smiled.

"I need your help," he said simply.


"So, you found the keyhole." As Yuffie had predicted, the gang had found Leon in the underground cave training with his gunblade. As soon as they saw him, Sora had gone into a whole narrative about what had happened on Wonderland and the Deep Jungle, with some minor interruptions from Donald. Goofy had introduced Kiba and Shikamaru. What no really seemed to notice during all of this was Naruto slowly shifting to the back of the group. He had no intention of reminding Leon that he was to stay put.

"Yeah, the Keyblade locked it automatically," Sora said with a grin.

"Good."

"So what exactly are these keyholes anyways?" Kiba asked, not able to hold the question in any longer.

Leon nodded to him and explained. "You wouldn't know of course. Every world among the stars has a keyhole. And each leads to the heart of that world." Leon paused for a moment, thinking. "There must be one in this town as well."

"What do you mean?" Donald asked.

"It was in Ansem's report," came a new voice. Everyone turned to see Aerith walking up to the group with a tray of beverages, which all of the boys quickly indulged themselves on. "Ansem was our leader back at our old world," she explained to the new comers. "He studied the heartless for a long time."

Leon nodded again. "The heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core."

"What happens to the core," Shikamaru asked in a bored tone.

Leon stared at him for a moment, deciding if he really wanted to know or not. "In the end it disappears."

There was a collective gasp and Naruto couldn't help shout. "What!"

Leon looked at him, mentally noting that he needed to get a hold of the blonde as soon as possible. "That's why your key is so important," he said, addressing Sora.

Aerith smiled sweetly at him, but a deep sadness glimmered in her eyes. "Please lock the keyholes. You're the only one who can."

Sora frowned. This was too much for him. The fate of the world had been placed in his hands. Literally. "I don't know…"

"I'd go man!" Kiba said, grinning his feral smile. "Even if only to see the worlds. This is all so new!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Donald.

Goofy grinned at him. "We gotta find your friends and King Mickey."

A smile slowly spread across Sora's face until he finally spoke. "I guess you're right. Okay! Let's do it!"

Shikamaru yawned. "So what are we gonna do while you all run off?" The lazy boy stretched and leaned against the cave wall. "It's not like there's enough room for all of us if you keep on finding people."

"He's right," Donald said. "You'll probably have to stay here for a bit."

"No way!! If Naruto gets to go, then I wanna go!" Kiba shouted.

Leon's eyes flickered towards the blonde shinobi. "He's not going with them."

"Really? Why not?"

The man held his gaze with the boy. "He knows why. If he gets captured, he'll be more a danger to his comrades than his enemies."

Naruto didn't say a word. He just stood there looking down at the ground. His hands slowly clenched into fists and his jaw tensed up. He hated this.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and calculated his fellow genin's reaction before closing his eyes, supposedly falling asleep. Naruto was a puzzle that he couldn't help but keep wondering about.

"Fine," Naruto said through tightly clenched teeth. "There's no point in me going anyways."

Goofy frowned. "But what about yer friends Sasuk-" the knight was cut off by Sora covering his mouth.

"Shhhh. It will work out," the keybearer whispered in his ear.

The blonde stared down at the ground, complete anger plastered to his face. It took everything he had not to let the Kyuubi's power out. Leon closed his eyes in frustration. He had better things to do than look after an angry kid.

Aerith sensed the sudden tension in the air and decided to break it. "Come on," she said to the Konoha genin, "I'll show you where you can stay while you're here."


As, Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into the First District, the magician couldn't help but voice his thoughts. "Do you really think that Cid will know what this is?"

Sora looked back at the duck who held the gummi block they had found in the Deep Jungle between his fingers. The Keyblade bearer shrugged his shoulders. "That's what Leon said."

As the group walked, the brunette teenager fiddled with the strange green stone that Leon had given to him. "I've been carrying it for luck. I want you to have it now." Sora frowned. "This stone holds some mysterious power." However, Leon had no idea how to use it. The keybearer shrugged. He had more important things to think about at the moment anyways. Hopefully Naruto and his plan was working.

"Hey guys!!" a loud voice yelled out. Donald quacked in surprise when a certain blonde ninja appeared in front of the group.

Goofy scratched his head. "Weren't you with Aerith and the rest of your friends?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment. "I was?" Sora cleared his throat. "Oh yeah! Um… Aerith said I could go with you."
Donald didn't look convinced. "Leon said you couldn't come," he said suspiciously, tapping his foot all the while.

Naruto's cerulean orbs showed the slight worry that his face did not. "Well they said I could stay with you guys until you leave." He smiled his trademark grin, trying to be convincing.

"Alright." Sora smiled. "We were just gonna see Cid, remember?" Naruto nodded eagerly.

They found the old spacer in his accessory shop. "Well hey there," he said smiling when walked in. "What's up wit' you?"

"We found a gummi block in the Deep Jungle!" Sora exclaimed.

"Well now, so you did. Let me see that thing?" Cid took the strange little block from Goofy's outstretched hand and look closely at it, chewing his toothpick in thought.

"Do you know what it does?" Naruto asked.

Cid's eyes widened in shock. Turning sharply on the boys, he exclaimed, "You're kidding me! You're flyin' a gummi ship and don't know nothin' about navigation gummis? Bunch of pinheads."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled.

Cid ignored him. "Interspace ain't no playground!"

Donald's face reddened drastically and steam practically came out of his ears. Naruto similarly was angry. "There's a lot we don't know! So what!" the blonde shinobi yelled.

Donald continued his rave. "We're not stupid! We have to use the gummi ship to go to other worlds! We don't have a choice!!"

"Whoa, easy!" the shopkeeper said, holding up his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture. "I didn't know. No hard feelings, all right?"

"Do you know how to use it?" Goofy asked.

Cid snickered. "Use it? I know how to install it! These little navigation gummis basically help you reach out farther than you would with a normally gummi ship."

"Could you install it for us?" Sora requested.

"Hmm. I guess I could. After I deliver a package."

"What do you need delivered? Maybe we can do it for you!" Sora suggested. If it meant getting into space faster, he'd help with anything.

"It's just his book," Cid answered, holding up a square package. "It's really old. When the guy brought it in, it was so beat up, it was practically falling apart. Too beat up to fix it completely, but I did a pretty good if I do say so myself." The older man rubbed his fingernails on his shirt in a self-accomplished way.

"What a bragger," Naruto whispered to Donald, who, for once, absolutely agreed with him.

"Anyways, Could you deliver this book for me?"

Sora smiled. "Sure."

And with that, the four friends set off with a map and the package to deliver while Cid started on his work on their gummi ship.


Alright. Now I have time for an ending description!

Upon meeting an old wizard, learning to rein their skills, and finding Traverse Town's keyhole, Sora and the gang are just about ready for another adventure. However, what is Sora fool proof plan? How will Naruto stow away again? And what does Sasuke have to say to Sakura? It will all be revealedNEXT TIME:Plans, Schemes, and Lessons