Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Key Through the Heart ❯ Knights and Mornings ( Chapter 4 )

llVoice of Destiny/Inner Sakura

“Normal Talking”

Thoughts/Sound Effects

“Flashback dialogue/Japanese/Emphasis of words”

“Demon speak”

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Key Through the Heart

A fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, or any of the characters or properties mentioned in this story. The story's mine, the concept is mine, but everything else is not mine. And I'm certainly not writing this for profit.

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“And then?” Kakashi prompted Naruto (who had been relating the entire story). Naruto flushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

 

“Well, um… She woke up eventually, but she was still pretty woozy, so I cut my practice short and walked her home.” The blond demon container frowned thoughtfully.

 

“Is she, you know… Anemic or something? Hinata-chan?” The silver-haired jounin easily resisted the urge to laugh, and schooled his face into its usual nonchalant expression.

 

“No, Hinata simply lacks confidence. From what I've heard, training with her on a regular basis would be beneficial to both of you.” Naruto frowned.

 

“Eh? I mean, she's nice and all, but…”

 

“As a member of the Hyuuga Clan, Hinata has been trained in Konoha's most advanced form of taijutsu, the Jyuken,” Kakashi went on. “Learning how to fight against advanced taijutsu with the Keyblade is something I would definitely encourage you to do.” Naruto nodded, smiling happily.

 

“Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!” The jounin shrugged and turned around.

 

“Don't mention it. See you tomorrow. Be early.” Naruto rolled his eyes.

 

“I saw that.” Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, before turning around and making the Ram seal.

 

“KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!” Four dozen Narutos appeared, wielding Keyblades of their own. The original smirked and swung his own weapon around by it's chain.

 

“Allright guys-Bring it on! Believe it!”

 

“YEAH!” They yelled, charging. Kakashi smirked a little, before pulling out his Icha Icha Paradise and heading for the nearby road as the sounds of violence soon followed. He paused for a moment.

 

“You could train with him again, you know,” Kakashi said casually, before resuming his casual walk… As a badly blushing Hinata peeked out from behind a tree.

 

“Er… Um…” Higher in the same tree, a black-eyed, black-haired boy dressed in blue and white snorted, before turning back to watch Naruto battle his clones. The same boy glowered as Naruto fought brilliantly with his weapon, dodging and slashing and tumbling as though he'd been fighting with the thing all his life.

 

Where did you get that weapon, loser?

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Far from the rolling forests of Konoha, in the depths of Interspace, a small, brightly-colored world slowly orbited its bright yellow sun. Green dominated the continents, blue its oceans and fluffy white clouds lazily drifted in the atmosphere. On the largest continent, there was a great kingdom. White houses of stone with red roofs surrounded a massive white and blue castle, bearing banners and blue symbols similar to the three-circle-shaped charm on the end of Naruto's Keyblade.

 

The outer walls enclosed sprawling green gardens with fountains and trimmed hedges in artistic arrangements, leading up to the main keep of the castle, a massive collection of proud towers stretching up into the night sky. Within one of these towers, gazing out a large window, a pensive-looking black mouse stood, gloved hands held behind his back. His gaze, rather on his kingdom (as judging by the crown on his head, he was in fact the king) was fixed on the star-filled sky above.

 

The room was messy study of some sort, shelves of fine wood holding books, scrolls, globes, and various other artifacts. Illuminated by a few old-fashioned lanterns, the orange light cast the chamber into eerie relief. At the entrance, large wooden door open, a female mouse in a pretty pink robe and wearing a small, matching crown stood, hands clasped before her stomach.

 

“Mickey? Mickey, are you allright?” The king blinked slightly and turned around, smiling at the pink-clad mouse.

 

“Oh, sorry Minnie… Guess I was thinkin' too hard, heh.” Minnie sighed, shaking her head.

 

“Is it the Keyblade again?” The king held out his gloved hand, and with a white flash of power a golden, key-shaped sword appeared. The mouse frowned at the weapon, experimentally swinging it a few times. He shrugged and smiled.

 

“Looks like everything's working fine… Just…” Mickey turned back to the window, black eyes narrowing in focus at a particular star. It was little different from surrounding stars in the sky, twinkling cheerfully. But the Keyblade in his hand seemed to single it out, the will behind the legendary weapon trying to express importance related to this world.

 

“Is it… Like the one before?” Minnie asked. “The one that went out?” Mickey shook his head.

 

“No… This one seems safe enough… What that means though, well golly, got me…” Minnie sighed again, and crossed the room, pulling up the edge of her robe to step over the various books, scrolls, and objects littering the stone floor. She stopped before the king, arms crossed as a stern expression appeared on her face.

 

“Now Mickey, staying up all night… Again… Is not going to help.”

 

“Aw, I know, I know,” the king pouted. “It's just hard, you know? Something's calling the Keyblade… And I don't know what.”

 

“Depriving yourself of sleep won't help you figure it out, now will it?” Minnie pointed out reasonably, and the king sighed.

 

“When you're right, you're right.” Mickey grinned. “Knew I married you for a reason.”

 

“Besides not being able to do this king job on your own?” Minnie replied with a smirk and wink. Mickey chuckled, taking her in his arms.

 

“That, and many other reasons,” he said. Minnie sighed and leaned in his embrace, shaking her head with a gentle smile.

 

“Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” CRASH! Mickey and Minnie blinked in surprise.

 

“What was that?” Mickey asked, pulling away from the queen, Keyblade at the ready.

 

“It came from inside,” Minnie stated, and the King nodded before running out the door. Minnie followed, Mickey rushing through various corridors and down staircases, until finally arriving at the massive doors to the throne room. Cautiously, he entered, looking about the vast chamber. His eyes found a blue-clad duck, grumbling and rubbing his feathered bottom, sitting before one of the huge stone pillars lining the room.

 

“Donald? What are you doing?” Mickey groaned. “Don't tell me you've been at this new exercise of Merlin's since you started!” Donald's bad mood abruptly vanished, and he smiled cheerfully at the king. Which, the king decided, was quite a feat, considering the magician had to have been at this for hours.

 

“Your Majesty! Um, well… Yes! But, just take a look at this!” With that, Donald turned back around, holding his staff out before him. Blue energy came into existence, and traveled down to the duck's yellow feet. Determined, he put a webbed foot onto the pillar, before putting his other foot on the pillar. He pulled himself into a standing position on the stone, and began to walk up, slowly up surely. Mickey blinked in shock, as Minnie gasped.

 

“Huh? What's all the ruckus about, ayuck?” A tall, dog-like creature in armor asked, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he walked into the throne room.

 

“Hey, Goofy! Look!” Donald called out. The knight blinked at Donald, waving at him while standing on the pillar. He rubbed his eyes again.

 

“Hey, you're doing it!” Donald nodded proudly, crossing his arms over his chest. Mickey smiled.

 

“Well whadda ya know. It works, huh? But uh… Aren't you afraid of running out of magic and falling?” Mickey asked. Donald shook his head.

 

“Well yes, your Majesty, eventually you will, but this exercise lets you increase how much magic you have at any one time. It's like exercising your magic muscles.” Mickey grinned, and Minnie frowned. She'd seen that look before.

 

“Oh no, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?”

 

“Aw, c'mon Minnie! Looks like Merlin's come up with an exercise we could all use. Nothing wrong with some extra magic, right? Or sticking to surfaces.” Mickey turned to Goofy.

 

“Goofy, I'd like you to start training our knights in this exercise.” Goofy saluted smartly.

 

“Yessir, your Majesty!”

 

“But for now, it's late, and we should all be getting to bed,” Minnie reminded them, crossing her arms over her chest. Mickey smirked at her.

 

“I know, Minnie, I know. We'll try it tomorrow. Good work Donald!” Mickey complimented the duck. Donald puffed himself up a little more and grinned.

 

“Heh, I can't wait to show Daisy this when she gets back! She'll-!” Donald blinked, and abruptly realized that his magic was running out. The blue glow vanished from his feet. He gulped.

 

“Uh oh,” the duck got out, just before slipping back into gravity's embrace. “WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

 

THUD! Minnie sighed, and walked towards the downed duck, healing spell at the ready. Mickey winced sympathetically, while Goofy just chuckled a bit.

 

“Well, least it ain't as bad as when he was tryin' to magic up fireworks, huh?” The knight stage whispered to the king. Mickey smirked.

 

“Indeed…”

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Naruto slurped up the last of his cup of chicken ramen, licking his lips in satisfaction at his breakfast, before standing up from the kitchen table and walking back to his bedroom. He pulled on a set of his new clothes (over a long-sleeved black shirt he'd managed to dig up), and headed out the window, nimbly descending the four stories of his apartment to the road below. Cheerfully he smiled at a pair of old ladies chatting on the steps of another apartment. They glared back and spat as he passed, but he paid that no mind.

 

I'm a ninja now! A real ninja! So screw ya, old hags! The blond thought happily, following the road to the training ground. He'd gotten up earlier than usual, so he'd decided to take it easy and walk. Naruto grinned, hands behind his head as he leisurely strolled. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, it was a beautiful, peaceful day.

 

Until two green blurs zoomed past Naruto, spinning the blond around like a top before he fell, dizzily, to the ground.

 

“Ugh… Wha… Huh?”

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Naruto blinked, trying to make his eyes focus. A person-shaped blob, with pink and brown mixed among other colors, slowly transformed into a concerned-looking girl with brown hair in twin buns, a pink, Chinese-style shirt, and black silk pants.

 

“Huh?” The girl sighed and extended a hand to Naruto, which he took. She pulled him up to his feet, though he still wobbled a bit.

 

“I'm sorry about that. My sensei and Lee like to run around the village a couple times every morning. This path is part of their route…” The girl went on, as Naruto's head still spun a little.

 

“Uh, um, I see,” Naruto managed, holding his head. The girl giggled a little. Naruto blinked and frowned into the girl's face thoughtfully.

 

“Er… Have we… Met? Um… Tem, no… Tenten?” The girl blinked, and nodded.

 

“Yeah, that's me. Who're you?”

 

“Uzumaki Naruto! Um, we were in class together!” Naruto replied. Tenten narrowed her eyes in thought, before nodding as the memory came to her.

 

“Right! You were the one who got Iruka-sensei with a whoopee cushion!” Tenten laughed a little at the memory. “That was hilarious!” Naruto grinned sheepishly.

 

“Er, well, I was having an off-day,” Naruto confessed. Tenten smiled happily at him.

 

“So, what brings you out here this early?”

 

“Team meeting, my first,” Naruto replied with a grin. Tenten nodded, then frowned.

 

“Hey wait… If you were in my class, then how-?”

 

“I uh, failed the exam. Three times,” Naruto confessed, a bit awkwardly. He quickly grinned at Tenten's apologetic look.

 

“But hey! No worries, believe it! One little hurdle to becoming Hokage!” Tenten laughed a little at that, and Naruto with her… Until he noticed that she was still holding his hand. The girl's eyes drifted down to their joined hands as well, and she quickly withdrew with a mild blush.

 

“Um, so… Who did you get as your sensei?” Tenten asked. Naruto smiled.

 

“Hatake Kakashi. He's a little lazy, but still-“

 

“What is this? My eternal rival has taken on a genin team?” Naruto jumped a little at the large, green-clad, grinning man who suddenly appeared. He wore a jounin vest over his skintight, bright green spandex. Naruto's eyes widened just a little bit more as Tenten put a hand to her head with an exasperated smile.

 

“Yosh! At last, Gai-sensei! I too may have an eternal rival!” A boy also clad in green, and seemingly a miniature version of the large man down to their eyebrows and black, bowl-cut hair, appeared next to him. Gai began to cry rivers of tears.

 

“At last! My adorable student has a suitable rival! For only one instructed by MY OWN rival could hope to match the burning pillar of youth that is Rock Lee!”

 

“Oh Gai-sensei!” Lee sobbed, almost comically, as he leapt up and hugged Gai happily. Gai returned it warmly, sniffling as though in great emotional distress. Tenten sighed, and checked her watch, as Naruto continued to watch in confusion.

 

“Lee!”

 

“Gai-sensei!”

 

“Lee!”

 

“Gai-sensei!”

 

“Lee!”

 

“Uh, excuse me?” Naruto asked, raising a hand as though in class. Tenten shot him a grateful look as the two green-clad ninjas parted.

 

We were almost to the sunset, and by then it would be too late, she thought.

 

“Yes, Uzumaki Naruto?” Gai asked grandly. Naruto blinked.

 

“Er, how do you know my name?” Gai grinned, teeth flashing in the sun, as he gave Naruto a thumbs up.

 

“All know of the burning youth you possess, Naruto! Your determination in the face of adversity such as yours is worthy of praise! Only could a ninja, possessed of such fire could hope to surmount such odds!” Naruto couldn't help but smile back at this. So, someone thinks I'm a hero for the Kyuubi, and not a demon…

 

“Yosh! Gai-sensei, may I ask what this burden of Naruto's is?” Lee inquired. Gai shook his head solemnly.

 

“You can ask, but alas, I cannot divulge that information! Be rest assured, however, that his is a spirit that is a worthy one!” Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

 

“Er, thank you, Gai… Sensei,” Naruto replied. Tenten frowned and looked at Naruto quizzically. Gai cleared his throat, and Naruto blinked.

 

“Oh! Er, I have to get going. I'm meeting my team at seven and-“

 

“No need, Naruto! Alas, my eternal rival Kakashi is never on time! So, feel free to take this time to appreciate your all too fleeting fires of youth!” Gai grinned and gave Naruto a thumbs up once more.

 

“Um, thanks Gai-sensei, but I want to get some training done while I'm waiting.” Gai grinned and nodded.

 

“I understand, Naruto! Very well! I will see you later then!”

 

“Uh, wait Gai-sensei!” Lee spoke. Gai turned and raised a single bushy brow.

 

“Gai-sensei, I have heard a rumor regarding Naruto, and I was wondering if I could inquire about it,” the green-clad boy spoke. Gai nodded, and smiled.

 

“If it's all right with you, Naruto?”

 

“Er, sure?” Naruto said nervously.

 

“Naruto, I have heard a rumor that you wield a most unique weapon! May I see it if such rumors are true?” Lee asked. Naruto scratched his head while Tenten raised an eyebrow at Lee.

 

“Lee, exactly where did you hear these rumors anyway?”

 

“I heard it only as a rumor,” Lee replied, to which Naruto and Tenten sweatdropped. Gai shook his head, adopting a dramatic pose.

 

“Lee, one should not believe rumors! They are stirred up by unyouthful people with no fire of youth to stoke!” Lee struck his own dramatic pose.

 

“But Gai-sensei, I only wish to confirm it-“

 

“Er, it's okay,” Naruto said, holding up his hand. “I'm allright with showing it.” The decision was pretty easy for Naruto-One, eventually everyone would find out that he wielded the Keyblade. And two, the melodramatics were creeping him out a little.

 

So, without ceremony, Naruto held out his hand and focused.

 

Keyblade…

 

A flash of white light, and the weapon appeared in his grip, shining in the early-morning sun. Tenten gawked, Lee's eyebrows leapt up, and Gai-sensei nodded. He was aware of Naruto's burdens, as were all the jounin. And it appeared that this was one Naruto had no problem divulging.

 

“What is it?” Asked Lee, fascinated. Naruto opened his mouth to speak-

 

“A Keyblade… I thought it was just a legend,” Tenten spoke quietly, gazing in awe at the weapon in the blond's hand. Naruto blinked a bit at her and smiled sheepishly.

 

“Uh, it's not the real Keyblade, heh, just a family heirloom. Really.” Naruto's face turned a bit solemn. “It's all they left me…” Tenten frowned sympathetically. Lee and Gai, however…

 

“YOSH! NARUTO, THIS KEYBLADE MAY NOT BE OF LEGEND, BUT IT IS EVIDENT IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF THE GREATNESS OF YOUR FAMILY! NO DOUBT THEIR FIRES OF YOUTH BURNED BRIGHT!” Gai bellowed, making Naruto jump back in shock. The green-clad jounin was sobbing a river of tears.

“YOSH! NARUTO, YOUR WEAPON IS THE EPITOME OF THE EXPRESSION OF YOUTHFULNESS! BEATEN ONLY BY GAI-SENSEI! Surely your family shared the same values!” Lee added, also crying rivers and reaching for the heavens dramatically. Naruto blinked.

“Uh… Yeah… Sure…” Tenten shook her head in fond exasperation.

“Relax, there's no way you're related. Look at the eyebrows…” She whispered with a small chuckle.

“That's… Not what I was afraid of,” Naruto laughed in response. He leaned the Keyblade back against his shoulder and smiled brightly at them all.

“Well, see you guys later! Gai-sensei, Lee, Tenten!” With that, Naruto leapt away, deciding to just take a shortcut to the bridge. Tenten watched him leave. Gai blinked and waved his hand in front of her face.

“Oh, uh, er-!”

“It is allright, Tenten! No doubt Naruto's shining youth rendered you dazed!” Gai announced grandly. Tenten blushed.

“W-W-WHAT?!”

“YOSH! Indeed, now I know Naruto is worthy as my eternal rival! His youth captures the hearts of ALL!” Lee yelled. Tenten groaned.

“No, he didn't!”

“We must celebrate our teammate's burning youth!”

“Indeed, Gai-sensei!”

“No, no, no, I mean-Oh God, not the hug!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

“LEE!”

Tenten sighed. This has long day written all over it…

For some reason though, when she thought of Naruto, it didn't seem as bad…

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Update 4/5/07: Due to my beta-reader, I've changed most of the Japanese dialogue in this fic to the English translation. From now on, only honorifics, jutsus, names, and a few catchphrases will be in Japanese.

Mwahahahahaaa! Fear the first sign of Disney activity in the fic! This'll help me stay on track!

And no, Sasuke is not stalking Naruto out of sexual attraction. So don't get any ideas, yaoi fangirls. I know who you are…

Hope I did Gai and Lee justice, I always have trouble writing them as dramatically as I'd like without making it cheesy. And hope I did well with Tenten too.

For the purposes of this story, chakra and magic are pretty much the same energy, that can be manipulated in different ways.

Wow, lot of reviews to answer to this time around:

Gullwhacker: Heh, guess I'm not as subtle as I'd like to be. BTW, you were supposed to listen to “Simple and Clean” for the dream part, LOL. On Gaara: The Heartless will definitely take an interest in him, but how far is something you'll have to wait on, heh.

On Naruto's Nobody? Wait until he sequel to the fic… Provided I get that far.

Gundam Chief: This is a Kingdom Hearts/Naruto crossover. Of course there will be Disney characters! Plenty from the game, plenty from other Disney projects, and a few cameos by Square Enix characters not seen in KH. You'll have to wait and see.

Dreads: Yeah, I didn't want the Keyblade to make Naruto invincible, since it doesn't for Sora. It does help him focus his chakra better, he can jump a lot higher with it, and he is more agile, but this only brings him up to around Sasuke's level. Naruto is more thoughtful than he was, but Sasuke's not the top of his the class for nothing.

DG Friendly: Hinata is definitely in the running as a Princess of Heart, but I'm putting a unique twist on the concept. Sakura and Ino are not though, I agree with you there. And yes, I am the same Andrew Joshua Talon who debated Darth Wong. Despite what his site says, I called him out and he didn't defeat me-I just got sick of the debate and quit. It was cutting into my real life too much, and besides it's his site-Even if I had gone all the way and crushed him in the debate, he would have claimed victory anyway and left us in the same situation we have now. Thank you very much for the review.

Lily: Okay, its official: This is a NARUHAREM fic! I repeat, NARUHAREM fic! However, it's going to develop very slowly, and I have not finalized which girls will be in it for sure. Rest assured though that Hinata will be in it.

Rubel: Well, changing the title now would be too troublesome, so I'll leave it as is. And yes, it's going to be Naruharem (though I'm not neglecting the other male characters. However, I'm writing this realistically, so it's not going to be “instant love” or anything as asinine as that).

Sasuke fits Riku in many ways, and in this story he'll fulfill some parts of Riku's role. But not so in others. You'll have to wait and see on that score.

I am going to include some cameos from the Square Enix side of things, but most of the action will take place on Disney worlds. And a Miyazaki one will be included.

Spedclass: Yep, it's a Naruharem.

bounder7985: Alas, I can't give up all my secrets now can I? I made the dream easily interpreted in many ways, so I guess you'll have to wait and see.

Zerodragon: Most of the Keyblades will be from the game, but there will be a number of original ones.

Centurious The Azure: Thanks! On other keybearers: There will be more, but alas I can't reveal who they'll be… Yet.

 

Sorry, but I'm not a fan of Neji/Ten. Rest assured though, the Naruharem here will be anything but shallow.

 

What does “Tovarisch” mean anyway, if you don't mind me asking?

 

Kwangmablade: The Wave Arc's going to be fun and different.

 

MingShun: Yes ma'am! I hope my Hinata portrayal is to your liking so far. As for this chapter, Hinata didn't interact with Naruto because Kakashi flustered her. She'll see him more though, heh.

 

MuhiTatsu: I do remember you! Sorry I haven't reviewed the latest chapters of your fic. Anyway: Yes, Donald and Goofy will be Naruto's companions when he starts world hopping. I liked them too. And yes, there will be at least one Miyazaki world.

 

Sokka's fan/lawyer: Well… Yes, that title sucks. But that's okay. Pirates of the Caribbean will be reserved for the sequel to this fic (provided I get that far). Pairing's Naruharem. And please, don't sue! I'm just a poor college student!

 

Ninfan: Heh, you'll just have to wait and see. Sorry.

 

Unknown: I'll certainly try to keep that from happening. Reviews keep me going more than anything else, as well as good constructive criticism. We'll see the Keyblade first change form in the Wave Country Arc.

 

Yamimaru: Ironically enough, I see Tenten as a good fit with either Neji or Naruto. So, hope that doesn't make you stop reading? LOL, your muse sounds about as random as mine. I've found my inspiration while listening to commercials for toothpaste. This story was born after I read your fic and a crappy Naruto/KH crossover.

 

chm01: Sorry, no Kairi here. Hinata, as I said, is in the running for a Princess of Heart. Tenten is another possibility… You'll have to wait and see, heh. Sorry.

 

Preview for Chapter Five:

 

“Dobe… Fight me.”

 

“Eh? Why?”

 

“Yeah, why Sasuke-kun? You'll just slaughter him and-!”

 

“Loser takes Sakura on a date.”

 

“WHAT?!”