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Thanks for reading and please enjoy

My Heart's Desire

-Chapter 5-

-Last Time-

'This certainly wasn't what I was-'

*WHA-crunch*

"AH! What the fuck!?" Aqua shouted as she cupped her face, blood pouring down her nose like a leaking faucet.

Naruto simply lowered his bloodied fist without a word as he stalked off, stomping right past Jiraiya who wisely decided to steer clear of the boy's path.

-And Now-

A deep sigh escaped Aqua's lips as she strolled through the streets of Konoha by herself with a metaphoric cloud seeming to hang over the bluenette's head. It'd been just over a day since her impromptu spar with Naruto and things hadn't gone very smoothly since.

First of all, she was still stranded in this world with no plausible way of getting out of it, as she had no access to either her Keyblade Glider or a Star Shard. Meaning that unless either of those just happened to fall out of the sky her only choice was to wait and hope someone spotted her SOS.

Then there was the confounding fact her housemate had somehow managed to manifest two of the three Weapons of Awakening. Also known as Dream Weapons, anyone who wielded a Keyblade would be able to recognize those iconic tools immediately. Although only a master like herself understood their significance of these innocuous looking yet powerful weapons.

Nobody knew how or why, but whenever a new Keyblade user was awakened they would always be faced with a mysterious test of character. Part of the test had always been a decision, a choice of what to keep and what to give up between the sword, the shield, and the rod. The ramifications of this decision was still not fully understood though it was believed to determine the kind of fighter one would be with their Keyblade.

She'd personally chosen the rod and given up the shield, which she assumed was why she was inclined for support and magic over straight up combat.

Everyone who awakened a Keyblade made this choice… yet Naruto would be the first that she knew of to wield more than one of the Dream Weapons. Not only that but he had somehow managed to actually manifest them in the real world rather than a Keyblade, something she didn't even believe was possible until now.

There had been replicas of them, cheap imitations that could wield a fraction of the real versions power, but never before had she even heard of the real deal being summoned outside the Station of Awakening. She had so many more questions that needed to be answered and at the moment only Naruto could possibly give her answers.

Which led to her biggest problem….

The blonde in question was currently VERY pissed with her and giving her the silent treatment, refusing to say anything more than the absolute bare necessity to her. Even his clones were giving her the cold shoulder as earlier that morning his clone basically ignored her existence while it was doing the daily maintenance on the plants of her apartment.

Not that Aqua could blame Naruto, seeing as she had threatened to steal something that he clearly held very dear to himself.

It didn't matter that she'd only done so to get a reaction out of the boy and to push him with no intent of actually going through with it. The fact was they had only known each other a short time, during which he'd let her, a stranger, into his home, given her food, and so much more. And how exactly did she repay him? By abusing his kindness and trust in order to satisfy her own curiosity.

No amount of reasoning, results, or logic could justify that in the Keyblade Master's eyes…

So, the otherworldly warrior was working on giving the whiskered blonde an apology, and not just some quick half assed 'I'm sorry' either. She owed him big time, especially since he was still allowing her to stay in his spare apartment despite his anger at her.

Hence why Aqua soon found herself standing outside of Yamanaka Flowers, a quaint flower shop she remembered Naruto mentioning a few times beforehand. Apparently, this was where he went for most of his gardening needs, if the many old receipts and labels she'd found lying around the apartment were to go by. Considering the whiskered boy's obvious passion for gardening the blue-haired sorceress figured that this would be a good place to start looking for a good apology gift.

Thankfully she'd managed to get some spending money by selling some Accessories she'd created from the many Synthesis materials she'd collected during her time in the Realm of Darkness. Luckily bracelets that protected you from being burned and rings that kept you from freezing would never go out of style to a seller, especially after she'd proven their effectiveness firsthand.

Don't ask…

Stepping inside, she took in the modest interior, a cozy little set up with plants placed in neat and tidy groups that showed them off while also making them look more natural than potted plants normally would.

"Hello and welcome to Yamanaka Flowers," A girl that looked about Naruto's age with light blonde hair done up in a short ponytail and wearing a purple outfit stated with a wave from behind a register. The girl had boredom written all over her face as she idly flipped through a magazine, not even bothering to look up at Aqua as she walked up. "How can we help your botanical needs today?"

"Uh, well I've sort of upset my… friend recently and I was hoping to get something to apologize to them…" Aqua said hesitantly, unsure if 'friend' was the appropriate word but unable to think of a better term. Housemate could be misleading and felt cold while neighbor didn't really fit as both apartments were technically his.

In any case, her words got the young girl's attention as she finally looked up from her reading with a curious gleam in her eyes, which only grew once she got a good look at the bluenette. Like a switch was flipped she hopped to her feet with an excited hum and stepped out from around the table to get a closer look at her.

"Wow, you have got to tell me where you got that outfit because it looks amazing!" She exclaimed, circling around Aqua as she spoke so she could get a full look at the otherworldly lady's attire. "Bold yet surprisingly modest at the same time, and the colors match so well with your hair. Oh, and I love those straps around the chest."

"Thanks I guess, it was just something I threw together to be honest." Aqua admitted with a sheepish shrug, having never really put too much thought into how she looked. It just wasn't worth the effort seeing as most Worlds had different ideas of what was and wasn't fashionable.

"Ah, fair enough, still looks spectacular in my opinion," Calming down, the blonde cleared her throat and bowed her head. "Ahem, anyway, I'm Ino, I haven't seen you around before. I'm assuming you're here for the Chunin Exams?"

"I'm Aqua and actually no, me coming here was a bit of an unforeseen accident. The Hokage was kind enough to let me stay until I can find a way back home," The otherworldly bluenette explained, getting the now named Ino to nod in understanding, before she gestured to the plants in the store. "Speaking of which, a young man has been letting me live with him for the time being… but I overstepped on something sensitive and want to apologize. He's really into gardening so I was thinking maybe I could get him something new to add to his garden."

"Then you've come to the right place, you'll find no better variety of gardening delights in all of Konoha then right here at Yamanaka Flowers," The young Kunoichi stated proudly as she made her way to one display with the bluenette in tow. Looking at a few more vibrant arrangements, Ino held up one which had several soft purple and dark blues that matched Aqua's outfit. "Now for a good apology gift you'll want something that fits the person it's going to, so who are you staying with exactly? I know practically everyone so just give me a name and I'll know what you'll want."

"Okay, well I think he's a regular here anyway, Naruto Uzumaki." The moment that name left Aqua's lips three things happened in such rapid succession that if you blinked you would have missed it. First, Ino went stiff as a board, second, she dropped the flowers she was holding (thankfully they landed back on the shelf), and third, she sighed and palmed her face.

"Of course it had to be him…" She said with a dry giggle while shaking her head in exasperation as she leaned against the shelf.

"I take it you do know him then?" The Keyblade wielder asked rhetorically, though the blonde nodded in agreement regardless of this.

"That would be an understatement, not only did he use to come in here like every other day for years, but we actually went to the academy together," Pushing herself back up, Ino strolled to another part of the shop where several far more exotic looking plants were displayed such as flowering cacti and water lilies in small aquariums. Picking up one of the latter, the girl moved it closer to the window to get some more sunlight when she saw it was wilting. "Lady, you really could not have picked a harder guy to shop for when it comes to plants. I honestly don't think any store in Konoha will have one that he hasn't bought a dozen of already."

"I had a feeling that would be the case," Considering the state of her temporary residence and the number of receipts she'd seen Aqua couldn't say she was surprised. It had been a long shot in the first place, but that didn't mean her trip would have to be in vain as there was still one thing she could get. "You said you knew Naruto back in school, right? Would you happen to be able to point me into a better direction then?"

Information.

"Oh, uh, that's also a tricky question. I wouldn't really say I know know Naruto, I don't think anyone really does to be honest. He's… very enigmatic to put bluntly," Ino confessed with a shrug as she went back to her spot at the register, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "For years he was just this cheery goofball who was always playing pranks, goofing off, or trying to woo this other girl in our class Sakura. There wasn't much else to him than that, or at least that's what I thought until five years ago."

"What happened?" Aqua asked, taking a seat across from the blonde.

"Naruto suddenly started acting way differently is what happened," Checking that the coast was clear, Ino gestured for Aqua to get closer before continuing in a mock whisper. "It was subtle at first like he stopped doing as many pranks and focused more on class, he even asked our teacher Iruka and one of our classmates Shikamaru for help studying."

"So he wanted to get better in class, that doesn't sound so unusual. Maybe he wanted to impress this Sakura girl you mentioned."

"That's what I thought too, especially when he asked me for advice on a birthday gift he wanted to buy for her a few months later," The young kunoichi said with a nod before frowning. "Or so I thought until her birthday came around and Naruto just told her happy birthday, which only happened because I reminded him what day it was mind you. But then a few weeks later he's telling me thanks because his 'friend' loved the gift he got them. That's when I realized he'd never actually said who the gift was for, though admittedly my first hint should've been that he was looking at poetry books when Sakura didn't even like poetry then."

"Who was it for then?" The Keyblade Master asked with a mix of curiosity and interest, as perhaps this person might know of a better way to apologize to the whiskered blonde. Okay and maybe she wanted to try gossiping a little bit, sue her for enjoying some social interaction after who knows how long in isolation.

Sadly, her hopes were quickly dashed when the younger girl shook her head with a shrug.

"I've been trying to figure that out for years, but Naruto's been super tight lipped about it, and his attitude just kept changing ever since," Ino explained. "That was about when he started getting into gardening, he went from just studying harder to being practically obsessing over learning, to the point Iruka-sensei had to start telling him to take it easy. Then he apparently went missing for two weeks during a school break."

"Apparently went missing?" Aqua repeated with a raised brow, getting Ino to shrug again.

"Yeah, not sure what happened exactly just that the Hokage got really freaked out and kept asking if anyone had seen Naruto for the whole break. I was starting to think he was kidnapped or something, but then he just showed back up to class at the end of the break like nothing happened. Not only that but he seemed to be super happy, like in love happy," The blonde stated, wiggling her eyebrows playfully before crossing her arms over her chest with a sigh. "I'll admit that was when I really started trying to find out more about him, except he would only say that he was 'visiting a friend' when I or anyone else asked. But I'm not a master gossip for nothing as I managed to glean some useful info through deductive reasoning and master… okay, screw it, I just went through his stuff while he was in the bathroom and stole a half-written letter he had been working on in class."

'A letter?' Aqua immediately thought back to the letter she had found on her first day living with Naruto, the one covered in what she had eventually realized was tears. She also recalled that the whiskered boy had NOT been happy about her reading it without his permission. "You gave it back, right?"

"…I don't remember actually, one sec," Ino looked around again before reaching into her outfit and pulling out a small palm sized journal with 'Property of Ino Yamanaka: Don't Touch' on the front. She quickly flipped through the pages until she found a folded-up piece of paper set in a makeshift pocket. "Nope, looks like I still have it. Oh well, not like it matters now, he probably already rewrote it a long time ago."

"Sure, that totally makes it fine…" The bluenette muttered sarcastically with a deadpan, before holding her hand out as the paper shot from the book into her grasp by itself. "Just like it wont matter if I take it from you without asking."

Without another word, Aqua stood up and marched out of the store, leaving Ino alone behind the counter once more.

"…Yeah, I walked right into that one." The young mind reader conceded while quickly tucking the rest of her notebook away into the safety of her pocket. 'She's obviously not Naruto's mystery friend… so who is she?'

Normally she'd never have divulged so much information to a complete stranger, but she'd been admittedly intrigued. The girl had heard a few rumors that her fellow blonde had gotten a strange roommate recently and part of her had been hoping it was his 'friend'. So she gave just enough of what she knew to see if she could get a reaction from the blue haired warrior.

Unfortunately this Aqua clearly didn't know anything so it seemed that mystery would remain just that, a mystery, for a while longer.

'Oh well, maybe one day I'll finally figure out who you are-'

-XxXxX-

"Sakido?" Aqua's brow rose curiously as she read that name aloud while going over the letter she'd taken from Ino. She knew it was wrong, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her again and she just couldn't help but take a peek.

There wasn't much to it though, just a paragraph and a half at the top while the rest of the page was covered in erasure marks.

Dear Sakido

The last two weeks with you were amazing, it was awesome being able to finally talk to you in person. My only regret is that I couldn't stay longer but I had to get back or Iruka would've been mad at me skipping classes. Speaking of, when I got back everyone was freaking out for some reason, demanding to know where I was and why I 'disappeared'. It was really annoying because I told Iruka and the Ichiraku's that'd I'd be gone for the break and I even left a note on my apartment door like you suggested.

In any case things are finally settling down. Classes are boring like usual but thanks to Shikamaru I can at least understand what Iruka is trying to teach us. That guy might be a lazy ass but he's really smart just like you. Anyway, I was-

That was all there was, as everything past that was erased several times over by the looks of the overlapping impressions on the paper. There wasn't much aside from that, so Aqua tucked the letter away in her pouch until she could give it back to Naruto later.

For now though, she was back to square one on apologizing to Naruto, seeing as she wasn't going to find a plant he didn't have in the area.

'Hey… wait a second!' Abruptly stopping midstride, Aqua grabbed her supply pouch and stuck her arm almost all the way into the tiny bag. She dug around inside for several moments before her face lit up and she pulled out… a rotten piece of fruit?

It was twice as big as her palm and shaped like a star, being mostly a mottled brown with patches of yellow while wilted green leaves were on three of the five points.

'Oops… forgot to put a preservation spell on it…' The Keyblade user thought with a wince upon seeing the expired state the star fruit was in, obviously being in no state for consumption.

Fortunately eating it wasn't what Aqua had in mind as she took the star in both hands and tore it in half. Biting back a gag as the rotten flesh and juice of the fruit squished between her fingers, not to mention the smell, the otherworldly lady buried her thumbs inside the foul mess. Thankfully she didn't have to keep them in there long as she swiftly found what she was looking for and they popped out with a seed wedged between them. "I doubt he has one of you in his collection."

-Meanwhile-

A loud crash rang out as a massive oak tree came toppling to the ground in Training Ground 27.

The cause of this was due to none other than Naruto, who stood at the stump that used to be the tree's base with his new sword and shield in hand. Twirling the former in his grasp, the teen jumped high into the air as several of his clones lifted up the tree he'd just cut down and hurled it at him like a javelin.

Watching the impromptu projectile rushing towards him, Naruto frowned before holding up the shield at the last second. The deafening clang of wood crashing into metal filled his ears as the top of the tree slammed into the middle of the red and black metal plate. A visible shockwave rippled through the air while the wood crumpled on impact, sending splinters flying off in all directions.

More interesting though was that despite all logic saying he should have been sent flying back from such an impact, or at the very least knocked back a bit, Naruto remained exactly where he was. Instead, he grit his teeth and flung his shielded arm outwards, actually launching the half smashed tree right back down at his clones at blinding speeds.

The poor duplicates had no chance to react before they were crushed into nothingness by fifty tons of oak.

Meanwhile their creator nimbly landed atop the stump where the tree once stood and silently observed the carnage he'd wrought.

"Hmm…" Both of Naruto's weapons vanished in sparkles of light as he sat down, resting his chin in the palm of his hand while his face scrunched up in deep thought, specifically of a certain housemate of his.

The blonde was still quite upset with Aqua though it'd gone down from a boiling hot fury to more a mild simmering irritation. He understood why she'd done what she did… well mostly, he was still a little lost at what exactly she'd been trying to achieve seeing as he wasn't talking to her.

In any case he wasn't a stranger to being thrown into unexpected and deceptive situations for the sake of training. His team sensei Kakashi had hit him with the bell test, which tricked teams into breaking up when the answer was actually working together, there was the first round of the Chunin Exam, which was a double fake out test. Then of course there was how he'd met Aqua in the first place, by his current sensei throwing him into a chasm without warning in a literal do or die situation to summon.

The scar on his cheek ached a little just thinking about that incident…

So all in all he was used to having random bullshit happening for the sake of training, and if the bluenette had taken literally anything other than his necklace he probably would have already forgiven her.

"This necklace? It was a gift from… someone very important to me. It's irreplaceable." Naruto swore he could almost hear Sakido's voice as he held a hand over the pendant that was tucked safely under his shirt. His shoulders trembled as he-

The Shield reappeared on his arm as he swiveled around and held it up just in time to block an incoming punch that'd been aimed at the back of his head. A shrill high-pitched shriek tore through the air on impact as a faint ripple shot out, causing any nearby animals to flee to escape the piercing noise.

"Hm, your shield actually blocked my sound waves somehow, interesting." A dreadfully familiar voice said as Naruto found himself facing a hunched back man dressed in baggy clothes and with all of his face aside from one of his eyes wrapped in bandages.

"Dosu," The blonde scowled the instant he saw who his assailant was before quickly jumping back and putting a decent distance between himself and this Dosu. "The hell do you want bastard? Didn't get enough of your ass kicked the last time?"

"You only prevailed last time because I made the mistake of underestimating you," As he spoke, the bandaged young man swung his arm back, moving the sleeve to reveal a porous metal gauntlet on his arm.

-Flashback, Weeks Ago-

Naruto and Sakura stood side by side in a dense forest as Dosu and two other Sound Nin, a boy with holes in his palms called Zaku and a girl wielding senbon named Kin, approached. The whiskered teen looked like he'd seen better days as he was ragged with acid burns from being swallowed by a snake and a half-healed slash on his arm while Sakura was in somewhat better shape, though she was trembling nervously.

"Move aside and we may let you live, we only want the Uchiha." Dosu stated in a calm matter of fact tone while his teammates started snickering loudly.

"Or don't and we'll definitely have some fun killing you, I hope you choose the latter." The girl admitted as she held up her Senbon so they glinted menacingly in the light that managed to pierce through the foliage.

"Then what're you waiting for?" Naruto asked, cracking his neck and knuckles before holding up his fists. "Come and get it you ass-faced glory hole handed skanks."

Naruto swore he could see tic marks popping up all over Dosu's teammates heads at his words as they scowled and got ready to charge. However, they didn't even get a step when the bandaged genin held up his hand, silently ordering them to stay put while he crouched.

"This soil is a different color than its surroundings and this kind of grass wouldn't grow in a spot like this," Grabbing onto a seemingly innocuous patch of grass, Dosu ripped it aside to reveal a buried trigger for a trap. "You know a trap is useless unless it remains undetected."

"…" Naruto deadpanned as he looked at Sakura. "What was it you said? Oh right, 'It's all just grass, nobody will ever notice the difference'."

All the pink haired girl could do was shrink in on herself with an awkward shrug, making the whiskered teen frown as he snapped his attention back to their opponents. With the trap exposed, Dosu and his teammates confidently strolled around it as they-

*Stk*

"Hm! Move!" The one-eyed genin shouted as he jumped backwards abruptly along with Kin just as dozens of sticks wrapped in kunai, shuriken, and sharpened wooden spikes burst out of the ground all around where they'd just been standing.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?" Unfortunately for Zaku, he was just a second too slow and was impaled in his legs and waist in dozens of places. The sound genin screamed at the top of his lungs and immediately tried to remove the offending objects. The only problem was that whenever he grabbed one and started to pull it that would cause others to dig in deeper, all thanks to the thin threads of ninja wire spread amongst the spikes.

Meanwhile, Dosu and Kin had lost all their prior arrogance as they saw their companion struggling and the now veritable barricade of blades between them and Team 7.

"You like handing out advice so much, well here's some for you, asshole," Naruto pulled out several shuriken and flung them at the pair that escaped, forcing them to dodge. However, they soon discovered that they were not the intended target as the telltale sound of strings being cut reached their ears. "Never assume that we only set up one trap."

Once more Dosu was on the move, this time dodging out of the way of several dozen massive logs that swung down from or dropped out of the canopy above. He managed to dodge most of them but there were just so many coming in at once that he soon found himself trapped with a hunk of wood twenty times his size bearing down on him.

"Not bad," Pulling back his sleeve to reveal a gauntlet full of holes, the one-eyed genin swung his arm at the log… and somehow blew it pieces. "But not good enough, Kin, free Zaku and-"

The Sound Genin cut himself off mid-sentence when he looked to his teammate, only to find that the girl would not be of any assistance anytime soon. She hadn't been as lucky avoiding the logs as him and…

Well, let's just say it wouldn't be an open casket funeral to put nicely.

Dosu didn't have long to mull on this as his attention was taken by the sound of footsteps and he turned to see Naruto jump over the spikes and charge at him with his arm cocked back. 'Fool.'

He didn't have enough time to dodge, so he didn't bother, instead bracing himself just as the whiskered blonde nailed him right in the jaw, making his head snap to the side.

"Pathetic." Dosu couldn't help but chuckle when he barely felt a thing from the blow before looking at Naruto with mocking amusement in his eye. "Let me show you real power."

That was the only warning the blonde got before a nearly invisible pulse fired from the bandaged genin's gauntlet, sending the whiskered teen flying back into a tree hard enough to knock it down. Slumping to the ground, Naruto groaned in pain as he tried to stand up, only to throw up as his vision swam and blood leaked from his ears.

Hearing laughter, he managed to raise his head to see triples of Dosu as the sound genin approached him.

"I'll admit, you almost had me there for a second, but this ends he-gah!?" He started to say tauntingly, only to suddenly recoil with a pained shout before clutching his face. At the same time a huge puff of smoke erupted around him which cleared to reveal dozens of Naruto's clones surrounding him.

"Heh… gotcha." The real Naruto said with a smirk despite his nausea as his clones mobbed the stunned sound user, beating the guy absolutely senseless.

-Flashback End-

"I will not be making that mistake a second time." Dosu stated before he seemed to just appear at Naruto's unarmed side in the blink of an eye and threw a punch.

He was obviously going for a quick win, but sadly for him Naruto's shield vanished and reappeared on his other arm which he used to deflect both the blow and the sound attack that followed. Naruto then tried to counter with a punch of his own, but Dosu effortlessly dodged and jumped back.

Skidding to a stop, the bandaged genin tilted his head in an almost curious way while he kept a keen eye on the whiskered teen's fist.

"That is quite a clever trick you have there, delaying the pain response of your punches to throw your opponent off guard," He said as he started walking a circle around the orange clad boy, keeping his distance but not getting too far away at the same time. "And I'll admit, I was quite stumped at how you pull it off. Some kind of poison? A nerve strike?"

"And what, you expect me to just tell you? Fat chance!" Tired of standing around, Naruto went on the offensive, the Dream blade appearing in his free hand before he charged. The hum of its blade slicing through the air rang out as he slashed and stabbed at Dosu with blinding speed.

"You don't need too," Dodging the first few strikes, the sound genin sidestepped a sweeping strike that effortlessly cleaved through another oak behind him. Then, while Naruto was overextended, Dosu took another swing with his Sound Gauntlet at the blonde's exposed back. However, he quickly aborted his attack when a familiar puff of smoke filled his vision and just missed getting uppercut by a clone. "Your last punch left a very interesting smell behind."

""Stop talking and just fight already!"" Both Narutos yelled as the copy kept the heat.

"Distinctively crisp and metallic, the scent of Ozone, which only happens…"

Blasting the clone with a sound burst that caused it to dispel, Dosu fired another at the real Naruto charging at him once more. The attack was blocked as expected but briefly obscured Naruto's vision, allowing the bandaged genin to get up close and personal with a follow up punch that slammed into the blonde's shield. An intense of burst of sound, the strongest he'd ever made, rocked the area as a barely visible shockwave shot outwards in all directions.

At the same time, Naruto's left arm suddenly lit up with sparks, tiny arcs of electricity jumping from his hand all the way up to his elbow.

"When lightning is involved." Dosu finished with a smirk while grabbing the rim of the shield and kicking the blonde in the chest, sending him flying back.

Naruto tumbled almost a hundred yards across the training ground before shaking off the blow and flipping back to his feet. Skidding to a stop just before a stream, the whiskered teen looked at his now empty hand then at Dosu who was walking up with his shield.

"A minor electric shock that briefly paralyzes the nerves on impact, creating the illusion of a weak blow. You truly are smarter than you appear," The sound genin stated, looking over the shield curiously. "And this shield, such a simple design and yet somehow able to deflect even my strongest sound wave attacks."

"Yeah, I'm just full of surprises apparently." Naruto muttered sarcastically as he made a cross hand sign to create clones… only to double over vomiting instead.

"It also seemed to protect you from the low frequency waves I've been releasing this entire time from just holding it, simply fascinating," Strolling up to the blonde, the one-eyed ninja watched him sway and stumble while tossing the shield aside. "I'm certain that my master will be quite interested in studying it thoroughly once you're dead."

"Oh will you just shut up… and fight…" Shaking his head, Naruto held his sword in both hands and charged ahead with a powerful stab, but hit nothing but thin air as 'Dosu' vanished and reappeared a few feet to the side. Not one to be deterred, Naruto tried again and again and again, each time only getting an illusion as the real Dosu effortlessly dodged the disoriented blonde's strikes.

"Impressive, you shouldn't even be able to stand right now," Catching a blow that almost managed to nick his shoulder, the bandaged genin punched the whiskered teen right in the stomach before throwing him clear across the stream. Yet even as blood poured from his ears Naruto still managed to get back up, albeit even more wobbly than before, while his shield reappeared on his arm. "You are either stubborn or a masochist."

"Seriously… shut up…" Naruto groaned with a glare, his gaze flickering between the many different Dosu that was swarming his vision. Focusing on the one he was most certain was the real deal as best he could, he slashed again, only to once more hit nothing but an afterimage.

"This is almost a shame," The sound genin said as he kicked Naruto in the back, making him fall face first into the muddy shore. "You certainly had potential," Another kick knocked the blond back down as he struggled to get to his feet. "Maybe your corpse will prove useful at least."

"I… said…" His vision swarming with doubles so badly he could barely make anything out, Naruto grit his teeth as a flash of light filled his vision. "Silence!"

"…" Dosu froze before holding a hand up to his mouth, feeling around the wrapped part of his face in apparent confusion. He then looked down at his gauntlet as he waved his arm around, only for absolutely no sound to come out.

Meanwhile, Naruto blinked as his vision started to clear up, with everything gradually coming back into focus while his nausea faded away.

Thanks to this, the blonde saw that his sword had been replaced with the magic staff from his weird dream. The blue top was glowing softly with an etheric aura that filled Naruto's mind with soothing calm.

His annoyance, pain, frustration, all of it just seemed to fade away, his body moving on its own as he pushed himself back up to his feet once more.

"Aero." He didn't even look behind him to see Dosu about to strike before a tornado burst into life around Naruto. At first glance the vortex of wind didn't seem that dangerous, appearing as nothing more than a light breeze.

However, as Dosu soon learned, that 'light breeze' was anything but harmless as the bandaged genin went into it and was instantly reduced to a fine red mist that swiftly dispersed across the area.

"…What? What just happened?" And like that the calm was gone, the rod vanishing from Naruto's grasp as he stumbled, grabbing the side of his head as everything came slamming back all at once. Holding onto a tree to keep himself steady, the teen massaged his temple to push back the massive headache that stabbed through his thoughts. "What did I…?"

He did… something? He could remember it all clearly yet at the same time nothing made sense. It was like trying to assemble a puzzle but the picture on the pieces kept changing and the more he tried to make sense of it the more his head hurt.

'What is happening to me?' Naruto wondered, bringing his hand down as he stared at his empty palm.

So caught up in his own thoughts, the blonde never noticed that he was being watched from above.

"He's obviously not Aqua, let's go."

"Hold up, he might know if she's here."

"Yeah, He could have Intel."

"And what exactly makes you two say that?"

"Well for one, he's the only one we've seen using magic and not that chakra stuff the locals were using."

"…Fair enough, then let's take this smart and-"

"She's already going down there."

"Of course…"

Back on the ground, Naruto managed to shake off the last few bits of exhaustion and stand back up on his own. Sighing deeply, the orange clad teen reached under his shirt and pulled out his necklace, rubbing his thumb over the smooth surface before flipping it over to look at the picture on the back. 'I wish I could talk to you about this…'

"Oh, she's a cutie."

"GAH!?" Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when an unknown female voice rang right in his ear. Snapping his head towards the source on reflex, the blonde was just about to summon his weapons again…

"Hello~." Only to be left dumbfounded when he saw a foot tall girl with messy blonde hair and scarf wings. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen a friend of mine around here, would you?"

-End Chapter-

Obtained 📜Half Written Letter

A letter Naruto was writing to someone named Sakido before it was stolen by Ino

Obtained ✨Dream Rod

A mysterious weapon from Naruto's dreams, said to hold great mystical power

Learned 💬Silence

A spell that mutes noise and interrupts casting

Learned 💨Aero

A powerful defensive and offensive wind spell

AN: More of Naruto's illusive pen pal is revealed yet more questions are left unanswered. To help with a few, Aqua got her Paopu Fruit during her brief stint at Destiny Island and was planning to share with her friends. The Dream Shield is specifically described as 'A Shield to Repel All', hence its ability to block even Dosu's sound blasts. Naruto's delayed shock punch is NOT related to the Chidori. Thanks for reading and please review