The Guardian's Kitsune
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NarutoxHarem
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''Normal Speech''
Inner Thoughts, Dialogue, or reading passages from books and scrolls
(Quick Notes and Messages or Echoes…Songs you go to Youtube and play. )
(Dark over lapping echoes)
''Boss Summons, Demons, Dark beings speaking, Demonic/Angry characters Speaking as well as extremely Dark spells and Magic.''
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Story Start
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The oracle floated...for the Oracle never needed to walk to transport himself...into the circle of Knowing. This was his private observatory...a perfectly round, ornately decorated room deep within the Temple of Kandrakar.
Enormous as a country, but hidden away in the clouds of infinity, Kandarakar was, put quite simply, the place where good resided.
Its master was the Oracle, ancient but unbent and unlined. He saw all and knew all (supposedly)...all of the world's injustices and all its pain. Yet he still had faith that earth and its goodness would survive the war with Metamoor.
The Oracle had created the Veil that separated those worlds. He had also anointed the five young guardians that now protected the Veil. As he'd watched, they had begun to come into their own. They no longer feared their magic.
In fact, as the Oracle saw in his mind, they'd begun to use it in most creative ways. If only unwittingly, they'd even abused their powers. This by itself was not enough to furrow the Oracle's smooth forehead. But the brow of his adviser, Tibor, was another entirely. It had more than enough lines to make up for the ones the Oracle lacked.
As the Oracle projected his mind's images into different sectors of the Circle of Knowing, Tibor leaned over to view the scenes. In a brilliant shaft of green light, the petulant Guardian with the yellow hair was huddled at her desk over her homework.
The tiny girl, the one they called Hay Lin, was folding laundry for her mother of the silver beam of light. The keeper of the Heart was getting into bed, a stuffed frog at her elbow.
All looked normal. But the Oracle knew that to be an Illusion. Tibor, who'd been his adviser and his constant companion for centuries, sense his lord's unease.
''Talk with me, Oracle,'' he said calmly, through his long, white beard.
''Good, Tibor,'' the Oracle said quietly, glancing up from the Guardians for a moment to give the old man a small smile.
''You are aware of my gloomy thoughts. As you can see, the chosen ones have broken the laws of Kandrakar.''
''I don't understand,'' Tibor said, scowling at the images. ''They are simply living their lives.''
''Those are not really the Guardians,'' the Oracle said. ''What you see are magical creations. They call them astral drops.''
Tibor shook his shaggy head in disbelief.
''They are perfect copies,'' he marveled. ''The Guardians have become skillful with their magical powers.''
''Don't praise them,'' the Oracle admonished. He floated a hand over the image of Will, making it large and three-dimensional. She was lying back in her bed, snuggling into her pillow. Her eyes closed, a contented smile settled onto her face.
''It is their job to close the portals,'' the Oracle pointed out. ''Not cross through them. And that is what they have done...twice now!''
''Must you punish them?'' Tibor asked.
''I have yet to make up my mind,'' the Oracle said. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in front of him. Despite the immortality of his body, his shoulders felt heavy. The decision would require much meditation.
''They are traveling through the land of Prince Phobos,'' the Oracle declared somberly.
''They are risking everything!'' Tibor cried. ''For what?''
The Oracle opened his eyes. Sadly, he waved his hand over Will's image a gain. It shimmered away. In its place appeared that of a blue-eyes girl. Though she was human, she wore the long robes of Phobos...a circled edged in spikes.
Her name was Elyon.
"If only that young girl knew the truth," the Oracle thought. But truth had nothing to do with what Elyon was discussing right then.
''You ask me why they take such risks, Tibor,'' the Oracle said. He gestured at the fluttery image of Elyion. ''She will tell you.''
Lo and behold, Elyon spoke. ''Friendship!'' she declared. She seemed to be answering Tibor's query. But in fact she was addressing her prisoner...Naruto!
The spiky blond hair teen was imprisoned in a bubble that floated in the center of an endless stone turret.
''What does that mean to you?'' Elyon challenged her prisoner.
"It means to me Faith and belief but most importantly Loyalty; something which you seem to lack.''
Ignoring the taunt, ''They left you behind and don't even seem to care.'' She said showing images of the astral drops. Doing homework, sleeping, talking with their parents. Things a normal teenager would do.
''Your petty tricks will never bend my spirit. You...how can you be manipulated so easily? Years of friendship thrown away because some guy out of nowhere shows up and tells you that your longtime friend and her friends are the enemy? We're you feeling that left out? Is that it?'' Naruto could see by the restrained annoyance in her eyes he was getting to her. ''I'm curious as to why you find it prudent to associate with me? What is it about me you find so curious?''
''I'm wondering the same thing,'' said a silky voice behind Elyon.
''Cedric,'' Elyon gasped, spinning around.
The Oracle wasn't sure what to make of the blond. His knowledge incomplete and any prying was met with resistance from an outside force. It was obvious he and someone else had crossover from a parallel dimension?
'For what purpose?' Was the question echoing in his head. Not to mention the fact that he could not locate a single hint of this other person's existence meant the power and mind of this being matched his very own or possibly exceeded it. There was nothing he could for the moment, but try and find out if this force was a threat and how to neutralize it.
Cedric glared down his aristocratic nose at little Elyon. He towered over her in his imposing cloak with its dagger-like epaulets. But his face was narrow and sharp-edged. His blue eyes sparked icily.
Elyon gazed up at the man with an expression of slightly wary adoration. Her smug smile disappeared.
As he led Elyon aware from the chasm, out of earshot of Naruto, or so he believed, Cedric said, ''Explain if you will, Elyon."
''During the guardian's flee forming our previous encounter I noticed the keeper of the heart was reluctant to leave him behind. We can use him to get to her. Without the heart the Guardians are neutralized right?''
Cedric flicked a hank of his long, blond hair over his shoulder.
''Do as you like,'' he allowed. ''But keep an eye on the boy. Remain cautious. He is an unknown.''
As Cedric swept away down the hall, Elyon stood where she was, kneading her hands in anxiety. She decided to return to her prisoner and try to break her spirit.
''Return to mock the unknown huh?'' Naruto said in an eerie cheerful tone as he cocked his head.
Elyon furrowed her brow with a heating look. ''How much did you…?''
"Hear?" He impishly teased as he brought his face to the cage. "E-ve-ry-th-ing." He enunciated. "From what I heard you are a nice person Elyon. We don't have to be enemies. I'm sure your friends will still be willing to forgive you. I highly doubt they would have given up on you so easily."
''Oh,'' Elyon said casually. ''Let's see what they're doing then."
Elyon waved her hand and, again, a bobbling mass of water appeared in the turret. This time, in roiled beneath Naruto's bubble. The Shinobi peered down into it as an image began to form.
''Will...'' He thought as a picture of a sleeping vision of Will solidified.
''Look how worried your friend is about your disappearance,'' Elyon said sarcastically. ''Look how she's crying...not even thinking of you...''
Naruto casually shrugged in response to her comment. With that he wistfully responded, ''Maybe she's dreaming of a way to save me. You, a girl who has never seen bloodshed won't break me."
Elyon, with her birdlike bones and wispy, sandy blonde hair was determined. This means of trying to break Naruto's spirit for at least five hours. Another image, astral Will's progress that day was being shown. It looked like an ordinary morning. Will arose from a warm bed, pulled on a pretty, pink shirt, and greeted a boy carrying a furry pet at the front door.
With the appearance of the boy, Elyon had fallen silent. The Oracle swooped into her thoughts.
'What's Matt doing at Will's house? Why does the lead singer of Cobalt Blue care about a little dormouse? And Will's a Sheffield newbie, to boot!' She sighed. ''...He's just as cute as he was the day I left Heatherfield...days...weeks ago? I don't even know anymore...
Elyon shook her head, as if it too clear it of fog. With a breezy nonchalance, Will planting a kiss on Matt's Lips! Next she slammed the door in his stunned face.
Naruto's face remained impassive but there was a slight twinge in his eyes. He would not betray his emotions; the most obvious answer was that the image was of a fake Will. She wouldn't toss what they had for some boy. Then if it was just a copy why did it kiss that boy? He turned to his captor and noticed she was disturbed by the sight as well.
''You looked like you just got stabbed in the back. Funny seeing as you did the stabbing first so does this mean you were stabbed in the front?'' he taunted her, successfully gaining a reaction out of her.
''Mind our own business,'' Elyon snapped, turning sideways so Naruto wouldn't see her pale cheeks and trembling lower lip. ''You just do your own thinking! You'll have plenty of time to do it, in your bubble!''
''Those who betray their friends don't have the right to be upset. I was once told those who don't follow the rules are trash, but does who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. And you girl are worse than trash. How does it feel to know that life goes on and if you continue these choices then you'll be an outsider to both sides? Hurts! Doesn't it?''
''Shut up!'' Elyon screamed. ''No more!'' She spun around and disappeared, stomping down the hallway in anger.
Though any triumph Naruto would have felt was halted. ''For her to be that upset meant that image was real. Damnit!''
As the teen cursed, the Oracle transported his mind to Elyon, who was now stomping down a stone staircase. Cedric had appeared next to her again. His handsome countenance had disappeared, and he had taken on his snake form to hide his identity from the guardians. His green chin jutted over his broad chest. Behind a pulsing, red mask, his eyes were hardened like little pebbles. The snake-man gave the girl a mischievous look.
''So...Will has snatched a kiss,'' Cedric said to Elyon. ''The kiss you always dreamed about. Are you envious?''
Yes, Yes, Yes, the Oracle heard. Elyon screamed inside her head. My heart is breaking into a million little pieces. But what she said, wanly and without much feeling was,''N...no, not envious. I'm faithful to you, Cedric!''
''Good!"' Cedric declared smugly. He knew Elyon was lying to him. He expected it. Cedric, the Oracle knew, trusted no one.
''To reward you for your loyalty,'' Cedric declared to Elyon,''I'll let you know that she was not your real rival. The actual Will is here in Metamoor!''
Back on Earth the sound of an alarm clock was blaring rather loudly.
Beep! Beep! Beeeeeep!
Astral Will's hand disentangled itself from the blanket and groped for the source of the extremely annoying sound.
'Aargh!' She thought. This Will's bedroom is not only very messy, it's noisy. I don't understand this incessant beeping! Let's consult my little paper. Now, where did I put it?
Groggily, Astral Will...who had begun to think of herself as A.W...Sat up in bed. She looked around the room. There were stuffed frogs everywhere! Sunlight streamed into the room through tall windows flanked by pink curtains.
''Where is that list?'' She whispered.
A.W. felt the beep pounding at the back of her head. So she turned around and found herself staring at yet another frog. This one had a clock in its belly. Squeezing her fingers into a fist, she thump the frog on its head.
The beeping stopped!
Sighing with relief, A.W. slumped back onto her pillow. Then she glanced at the nightstand next to her bed.
'Oh Yeah,' she thought. There's the list Will made me. I was going to look at it, wasn't I? Let's see...
A.W. was just snuggling back under the covers when her eyes skimmed over the frog clock. Its small hand was on the seven, and its long hand was on the twelve.
'Seven o'clock, A.W. thought dully as she flop her pillow over her head.
A.W. shot upright once again and gasped, ''The list said that at seven o'clock, the real Will gets up and foes to the bathroom to brush her teeth.'' A.W. slumped to the bedroom door, rolling up the sleeves of her baggy, blue pajamas.
Wonder where the bathroom is, she thought as she walked into the hall. She padded down the corridor, passing a kitchen. Once again, A.W. got distracted. First, she spied on a table set with fresh-smelling bread, a crusty croissant, and a jar of chocolate spread. Then she noticed a slender a woman in a pink bathrobe, slumped against the refrigerator. The woman unleashed a tremendous sneeze, and then began talking into a phone with no cord.
''Yes, Amanda,'' she said in a very stuffy-sounding voice. ''I've got a bad cold, so I'm going to stay home today. Could you cancel all my appointments?''
A.W. stared at the pretty woman for a moment. She felt some stir of familiarity in her gut, but maybe that was the toast smell, making her hungry.
''Uh-huh, yes,'' the lady continued. ''Tell Spencer to check the printouts and...'' Suddenly, the woman's big, brown eyes fell upon A.W. she gasped at her. ''Will, why are you still in your pajamas?'' She demanded.
''Uh, are you my mother?'' A.W. responded.
Susan rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the phone.
''No, Amanda, I wasn't saying that to you,'' she said. ''That was my daughter, who apparently has amnesia. Uh-huh. I know...teenagers. So moody.''
'Uh,' A.W. thought with a twinge, better keep moving. At least I know that she's Will's mother. I'm supposed to call her Mom. Now what was I doing? Oh, yes...the bathroom.
After scrubbing at her teeth and running a comb through her red hair, A.W. went back to Will's bedroom.
'Now what?' She thought wearily. 'Time to look at my directions.'' A.W. scanned the room.
'Where was that paper? '
She walked over to the bed and peeked under the pillow. Then she pulled back the blankets. Then she looked under the bed. Then she searched under the desk, inside the closet, and in the toes of her bedroom slippers!
''I've lost it!'' A.W. whispered in horror. She collapsed onto the bed and put a trembling finger to her chin. This was not good. 'Okay,' she told herself. 'Just try to remember what it said. At seven, wake up. Quarter past seven, brush my teeth and wash up. . At seven-thirty, get dressed. At ten to eight, kiss...kiss...Who am I supposed to kiss?
As she racked her brain, A.W. pulled a silky camisole out of a drawer and slipped it over her head. Then she shimmied into a pink shirt she found hanging in the closet. She was just fiddling with the pesky buttons when another noise filled the loft.
Dingdong.
That chime was much less irritating that the beeping, but still, it seemed to annoy the lady in the kitchen.
''Will,'' the lady called out.
'Not the lady,' A.W. reminded herself. 'Mom.'
''Yes, Mom!'' A.W. answered.
''Please answer the door,'' Susan yelled from the kitchen.
''Yes, yes,'' A.W. said. She padded back out of her bedroom. As she struggled with the buttons on her shirt, she noticed her bare legs.
'My legs sure are skinny,' she thought. And brr, they're cold. Maybe I should have put on some pants before answering the door. Oh, well. Now how do you get these buttons closed?
A.W. reached the front door and pulled it open. Standing in front of her was a boy who was holding a scampery little dormouse. The boy had shaggy, brown hair and big, brown eyes and just the right amount of scruff on his chin.
''Uh...'' the boy stammered,''Will?''
''More or less,'' A.W. declared, ''What do you want?''
The boy's startled gaze traveled from A.W.'s bare shoulder to her bare knees and back to her bare shoulder. Then he said, ''Uh, I know you wanted me to watch your dormouse. But he kept my parents up all night. So I had to bring him back to you, ASAP.''
The boy glanced apologetically at his watch. 'I realize it's only ten to eight,'' he said. ''...and you're not quite read...''
''What time?'' A.W. cried. Ten to eight! That was on the list! Right now, she was supposed to...oh, right!
''Thanks for the reminder,'' A.W. said. She took a step forward and put her hands on the boy's shoulders. She pulled him toward her and planted a firm kiss upon his lips.
A.W. was dimly aware of the fact that the boy's eyes were growing wide and googly. His arms fell to his sides, leaving the dormouse with nowhere to go but into A.W.'s arms. It leaped over to her, then scampered up to her shoulder.
''Thanks for the dormouse, too!'' A.W. said, cooing to the little critter and grinning. Then she stepped back into the loft and shut the door in the flummoxed boy's face. ''Whoever you are,'' she added as she walked back to Will's bedroom. ''Now, what was next? Oh, yes, pants!''
A.W. hurried to Will's closet and pulled out a pair of jeans. As she was stepping into them, Mom poked her head through the bedroom door. ''Yesterday, when I came home, you were Miss Sulky,'' she declared. ''Well today I'm staying home. Are you happy?''
''Uh...no, Mom,'' A.W. ventured.
''What?'' Mom said,''Is this the same Will who's always complaining that I work too much?''
''Okay, so, yes, Mom,'' A.W. declared. ''Is that better? Jeez!''
Before Susan could reply, the dormouse skittered across. A.W.'s shoulders and jumped onto the bed.
''Wait!'' A.W. cried, chasing the little thing as it scrambled under the blankets. A.W. burrowed into the bed after it. She found herself blinking at both the dormouse...and her list!
''Ah, here is is!'' A.W. exclaimed. When she emerged from the covers, her mother had left the room. A.W. sighed with relief and scanned Will's instructions.
''Oops,'' she whispered. ''At ten to eight, I was supposed to kiss Mom, not that boy.
And...uh-oh! Number one on the list of Don't was Don't kiss any boys!''
A.W. stared blankly at the wall. She'd done something wrong. But she didn't know what to do about it! There was nothing on Will's list about remedying big, fat mistakes.
A.W. thought for a moment. Or rather, she got as close to thinking as her astral drop mind would allow. Then she snapped her fingers.
Wait a minute; Mom just said she's saying home. For me! And what else do moms do? They provide guidance. They tell you what to do. Perfect!
A.W. walked back down the hall, zipping her jeans as she went. She peeked into the kitchen, where the real Will's mother was pulling a thermometer from her mouth and examining it.
''Mom?'' she queried. ''Have you ever been kissed by mistake?''
''What a question,'' Susan said. ''No. But if I had been, that kind of mistake would have been paid back with a slap!''
''Uh-huh,'' A.W. replied. She frowned for a moment in thought. Then she nodded and looked at her watch.
Uh-oh!
She was going to be late for class at the Sheffield Institute! She dashed to the front door and slipped her feet into some lug-soled leather shoes. Then she pulled her gray coat from its hook.
''Will,'' Susan said. ''Can you slow down for a minute? I want to tell you something.''
''Not now, Mom,'' A.W. replied. ''I have to make sure I stay on schedule!''
''You have a schedule?'' Susan asked with a bemused smile. ''Yet it takes a cannon shot to get you up in the morning.''
''Ah, that beep-beep-beep,'' A.W. said with a nod. ''So that was a cannon shot! I'll have to make a note of that.''
Susan got a funny look on her face. Then she noticed that A.W. was struggling with the zipper on her jacket. She zipped it up. She zipped it down. She zipped it up. She zipped it down. But the damned thing just stayed open!
''Let me do that,'' Susan said, walking over to A.W. She hooked the end of the jacket's zipper into a little slot. This time, the jacket zipped up and stayed closed.
''Cool,'' A.W. breathed.
''So, when you get home tonight,'' Susan said,''...there'll be a dinner guest here.''
''Uh-huh,'' A.W. said absently. Her eyes had just fallen upon the fragrant spread on the table. ''Hey, is that croissant for me?''
A.W. dashed over to the table and took a quick bite of the flaky, crescent roll.
'Yuuuum!'
''The thing is...our guest is going to be Kuiinshi.''
A.W. looked at Susan quizzically.
''So?'' she asked, a few crumbs spraying from her mouth as she did.
''Are you ok? I mean the last time we've all got together you didn't have the best reaction.''
''Is he nice? Does he make you happy?''
Susan was startled at the question. ''Well...'' She thought about it. A smile forming on her lips. ''Yeah...in his own crazy way he does.''
''Good!'' A.W. answered as she shuffled the last morsel of croissant into her mouth, she nodded with satisfaction.
''Have fun!'' A.W. added, giving Will's mom a thumbs-up.
''Have...fun?'' Susan sputtered back. She gave A.W. another strange look.
I wonder what the means? Perhaps I've done the wrong thing again?
But before she had a chance to ponder that idea, or check Will's list one more time, she glanced down at her watch. 'Oooh, only ten minutes to ride Will's red bike to school, she thought. Must dash!'
With that, A.W. put a big smile on her face and grabbed the bike out of the foyer of the loft. She flung open the front door and plunged further into Will Vandom's day. After the morning's adventures, she was sure everything would be a piece of cake. She still didn't know why Will had been so uptight. But, she wondered as she pedaled to school, I do hope I'm going in the right direction.