Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Key Through the Heart ❯ A Few Little Changes ( Chapter 6 )

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.

Author's Note: If you have questions about the fic, please refer to the reviews I answer at the end. If you have a question that I have not answered, then ask that, but I'd prefer to not have to keep repeating myself over and over. With that out of the way, enjoy!

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Yamanaka Ino sighed as she scrubbed the counter of her family shop with a cloth, resting her chin on her hand. Another long, boring shift had taken its toll and the blonde could barely stay awake. The last customer had left hours ago-She honestly wasn't sure what her mother was thinking, keeping them open this late. The sun was nearly set.

 

The front door rang, and Ino sighed.

 

“Welcome to Yamanaka Florists, can I help you?” She asked dully.

 

“Hey Ino! I didn't know this was your shop!” The blonde looked up and blinked at the grinning Naruto. She raised a single pale eye incredulously.

 

“Naruto? What are you doing here?” The blond boy held up a sickly-looking potted plant and rubbed the back of his head anxiously with his free hand.

 

“Um, Mr. Chu here is kind of sick and I was hoping you could help me?” Ino blinked awkwardly.

 

“Mr… Chu? Wait, since when do you garden?!” Naruto gave her a flat look.

 

“It's cheaper than a dog, right? Can you help me or not?” Ino sighed in irritation, but said nothing else. Naruto mentally shrugged, and walked to the counter, setting Mr. Chu down carefully. Ino gave it a cursory look over and stuck a single finger into the soil. She made a face.

 

“Great, the soil's completely saturated. You're over watering the poor thing!” Naruto scowled.

 

“I didn't mean to! It's just, in between training and missions, I'm afraid of under watering!” Ino sighed.

 

“Well, try to water it a set amount every time, okay? Otherwise you'll drown it.” Ino then smirked. “So, how is Sasuke-kun doing?” Naruto frowned.

 

“Hmph. He's a bastard, what else is new?” Ino whacked Naruto over the head.

 

“OW! Hey!” Ino scowled.

 

“Don't talk badly about Sasuke-kun!” Naruto growled in irritation.

 

“No worse than what he says about me!” Ino snorted.

 

“I'm sure you deserve it!” Naruto opened his mouth to yell at the blonde… Before he sagged, sighing.

 

“Yeah, fine, whatever,” Naruto muttered. The blond took back the pot and turned around. Ino gaped a bit, before biting her lower lip.

 

“Um, wait…” Naruto paused, and turned around, blinking curiously. Ino sighed.

 

“Look, I'm sorry about that… I've just been kind of stressed lately…” Naruto frowned, his eyes closed thoughtfully.

 

“From what? Your new team?” Ino nodded, secretly surprised that Naruto got it right.

 

“Yeah… Asuma-sensei doesn't train me at all! He just plays game with Shikamaru or has Chouji practice his family techniques,” Ino scowled. “Whenever I ask him for help, he says I should practice more with the other two, but they barely train at all!”

 

“Kind of sounds like my sensei,” Naruto commented. “All he's done this last month when we meet is have us do stupid missions. Delivering milk, painting fences… I have to train all by myself!” The two blonde ninja sighed in unison.

 

“… So, Naruto, I kind of have to ask you something,” Ino broke.

 

“Er, what?” Naruto asked, blinking. Ino frowned.

 

“It's been all over the village lately that you've got some weird weapon… And that it helped you pass the exam?” Naruto smiled slightly.

 

“Something like that… Where did you hear it from?” Ino folded her hands in front of her.

 

“Forehead was blabbing about how Sasuke-kun started bringing a sword with him to team meetings because of your weapon.” Naruto nodded a bit, and held out his hand.

 

“You mean this?” A flash later, and the Keyblade appeared in his hand. Ino jumped a bit at that, before her teal eyes took in the weapon.

 

“… What kind of a weapon is that?” Ino asked incredulously. Naruto smirked a little.

 

“A Keyblade… It's a family heirloom. Pretty cool, huh?” Ino blinked.

 

“It's a giant key,” she deadpanned. Naruto sweatdropped.

 

“Uh, well… Yeah…” Ino hopped over the counter and examined the Keyblade closely, poking it a bit with manicured fingers. Naruto fidgeted as Ino finally pulled back. She took in the whole weapon again, and shook her head with a smirk.

 

“Sadly enough, it actually fits you. Everything else is out of place on you after all,” the blonde laughed. Naruto scowled.

 

“Hey! What do you mean by that?”

 

“Naruto, you wear bright orange. And you have yellow hair, and a tanned complexion. If that's not a crime against fashion, I don't know what is!” Ino giggled. Naruto blushed a little, but still scowled at the chuckling kunoichi.

 

“I like orange!”

 

“I can tell,” Ino laughed, “but you have to admit, it's not the most flattering color on you. I mean, can you imagine me wearing orange?” Naruto grinned.

 

“I think you'd look great in orange, actually,” the blond ninja responded honestly, to which both he and Ino blushed a little. Ino shook her head and cleared her throat.

 

“Yeah, well… You should probably wear more black. You'd look better in it,” the kunoichi countered. Naruto groaned.

 

“Aw, but black is so… So… So emo!” Ino scowled.

 

“It is not emo! And besides, what kind of ninja wears bright orange and blue anyway?”

 

“What kind of ninja has purple fingernail paint?” Naruto shot back. Ino blinked and looked at her violet nails. She then brushed her pale hair back over her shoulder and smirked.

 

“The most beautiful ones, of course!” Naruto smirked.

 

“Well, can't argue with that, dattebayo!” Naruto teased. Ino blushed and glared.

 

“W-What do you mean by that?!”

 

“It's fun to make you blush. You're cute like that. I'll have to do it more,” Naruto explained laughing, as he headed out. “See you later, Ino-chan!”

 

Ino scowled after the blond idiot, and sighed before shaking her head.

 

Looks like Forehead may be on to something… Naruto's… different. Not that it's a bad thing, all things considered…

 

Ino smiled, almost fondly. It's nice to be noticed once in a while…

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

As he headed for home, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what had possessed him to tease Ino. Sure, she was pretty cute (nothing on Sakura-chan!), and had talked to him pretty kindly (compared to how she usually treated him), but still…

Geez, everyone wants to see my Keyblade, Naruto thought irritably. He regarded the weapon mentally (as it had vanished again, as though waiting to be summoned once more) with a scowl.

Just what is it about you that changes things around here?

Sure, the majority of the villagers still glared and spat at him, and a fair number of ninja too, but lately… The kids at the birthday party, the mom who Naruto recalled had often shooed her daughter Asuka away when he came walking by… They had enjoyed his performance.

Hell, he'd enjoyed his performance! Getting attention for making people smile or laugh sure felt a lot better than making people scream or glare… Or in Iruka-sensei's case freak out.

Revenge on people who made his life hell was fun, no doubt about it, but making people have fun… Naruto wasn't sure which he liked better.

The stars had begun to come out, and Naruto sighed, shifting Mr. Chu to his other arm. He regarded his red hands and sighed.

“Man, I do need gloves,” he thought aloud. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't develop calluses as he trained. He just rubbed his palms raw with his sword hilt and they healed back up-As soft as they were before. Probably something to do with the fox, he decided.

Naruto paused his walking to find himself in front of a nin clothing store. Naruto frowned thoughtfully. It was a new one, definitely not like the others which had thrown him out when he took a single step in the door. Naruto then looked back at his hands. For some reason, Ino's opinion on his clothing stuck in his head…

Hey wait! I know! Naruto grinned. If Ino thinks I would look better in darker clothes… Then maybe Sakura would too! It wasn't as if he didn't have the money. D-Rank missions may have been boring, but they did provide extra funds. And what better way to put them to use than this?

Grinning at this stroke of brilliance, Naruto entered the store. He then blinked at the familiar-looking girl behind the counter.

“Eh? Tenten-chan?” The bunned girl looked up and smiled.

“Naruto! Hey! What brings you around here?” Naruto smiled.

“Um, I was in the neighborhood… This is your shop?” Tenten shook her head.

“No, it's my parent's. We recently moved our old shop to this location.” Naruto's face fell, at Tenten's words, and the sign at the back of the shop. Tsume Shinobi Supply. Oh man… Knew it was too good to be true…

“Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?” Tenten asked. Naruto frowned.

“Um, are you parents in?” Tenten blinked, confused.

“No?”

“When will they be back?” Naruto pressed. Tenten blinked again, but indulged the blond.

“Not for an hour at least… They went to the old shop for some last minute arrangements-“

Naruto moved forward, almost nose to nose with Tenten. The bunned girl's eyes widened at the almost maniacal look in Naruto's eyes.

“Okay, Tenten-chan? I need new clothes. Black please.”

“Er, sure,” Tenten replied, blushing a bit at their proximity. She moved away and hopped over the counter, leading the blond to their selection of jackets. A particular one caught Naruto's eye, and he eagerly pulled the short-sleeved, black and orange jacket off the rack. Quickly he tried it on, as Tenten gave him a bemused look.

“How do I look?” Naruto asked. Tenten giggled.

“It suits you, I think,” the brunette responded with a smile. Naruto smiled back, enjoying how the jacket fit him.

“Hey, if you want you can also get new shoes,” Tenten went on, bending over a stack of shoeboxes. Naruto blushed a bit as his eyes traced her backside, but quickly averted his gaze.

Damnit… Don't be a pervert! He scolded himself, as the girl came back with a box in particular.

“These are becoming pretty popular,” Tenten said with a smile, opening the box and showing off what appeared to be normal ninja sandals… Only the openings were covered in white fabric. Naruto tapped the toe of one of the sandals, and was surprised to feel metal underneath. Tenten grinned.

“Some new company is making these new ninja sandals with leather-coverings over steel plates for a very low price. The Hokage is apparently buying up whole wagon loads for the ANBU.” Naruto grinned, and nodded.

“Allright, how much?”

A few recommendations from Tenten, some more clothing, and purchasing the whole thing later, Naruto exited the shop with his new clothes in a bag, and Mr. Chu in his free hand. He headed for his home, looking forward to the next day.

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

The morning sun had just begun to rise… But Sasuke was wide awake and alert.

 

Standing in the training field Team 7 met near, Sasuke took a deep breath, centering himself. He raised the sword in his hands straight up, knees bent, body balanced, eyes closed. The Uchiha swung down quickly, moving forward with the strike, before pulling back fluidly and repeating the move.

 

He began to expand the forms, swinging the straight, steel, double-edged blade around in his hand as though to deflect a kunai. Falling into a crouch and jabbing into an imaginary opponent's legs. Leaping and backflipping to bring a swift axe blow onto his target.

 

The Houou Kishou, or Rising Phoenix, style of taijutsu, was created by the Uchiha Clan. As such, it relied heavily on pushing or luring an opponent into a trap or killing blow, as the Sharingan granted an enormous defensive advantage. Since Sasuke lacked the Sharingan (at the moment, he told himself), he'd adjusted the style to compensate, confident that when his bloodline finally became active he'd master it entirely.

 

However, his fight with Naruto had revealed a key flaw in Sasuke's approach-Without the Sharingan, Sasuke could not anticipate Naruto's random, almost inefficient but effective fighting style. The constant changes, the chaotic but directed nature of his movements-Naruto was practically the perfect counter to Rising Phoenix.

 

Which meant that, with some considerable refinement, it could be adapted for use against Sharingan users.

 

Sasuke began adjusting his movements, trying to incorporate Naruto's fast, chaotic movements with Rising Phoenix's graceful, fluid foot and air work. Spinning his sword around, Sasuke grimaced-It felt so unnatural…

 

Landing easily from a mid-air combo, Sasuke wiped his brow. He scowled a bit as he picked up a familiar, weak chakra signature moving towards him.

 

“Good morning, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura waved cheerfully at him. The Uchiha ignored the gesture, going to his canteen and taking a refreshing drink of water. Sakura smiled happily at him, her hands held behind her back.

 

“I was watching you,” she began, to which Sasuke grunted. Sakura took this as progress and continued.

 

“What kind of sword is that, Sasuke-kun? I don't think I've seen one before…”

 

“It's a chokuto,” he said simply, walking back to the bridge. He slid the blade into it's sheath strapped across his back, then leaned against the railing of the bridge, arms crossed and head down.

 

“Oh, really? I haven't seen one of those outside of the textbooks! It's very nice,” Sakura complimented. Sasuke snorted slightly, before turning his eyes up to see Naruto groggily walking up. The blond immediately brightened at seeing Sakura.

 

“Good morning, Sakura-chan! And you too, bastard,” Naruto grinned. Sasuke snorted, but did make eye contact with the blond.

 

“Dead last,” Sasuke returned, to which Naruto smirked as usual. The Uchiha blinked and raised an eyebrow. Something seemed off…

 

“Naruto! Don't call Sasuke-kun that or I'll-! Uh… Naruto?” Naruto grinned, leaning back against the railing on the opposite side of the bridge.

 

“Yeah, Sakura-chan?” The pink-haired girl blinked.

 

“What's… With the new clothes?” Naruto looked down at his black and orange jacket, orange T-shirt, black and orange pants, and new sandals. He still had his new, blue weapon's pouch tied to his thigh. Naruto shrugged.

 

“You know, I wanted to try something new,” Naruto replied. “How does it look?”

 

“It's… Uh…” Sakura began, blinking. Sasuke snorted.

 

“At least you're finally wearing some darker clothes, dead last. Now you're only screaming `kill me' quietly,” the Uchiha snorted. Naruto glowered back.

 

“Oh yeah, your baby blue shirt and white pants are way less noticeable, bastard!” The two scowled at eachother. Naruto stuck his tongue out. Sasuke resisted the urge to make a similar face back, before someone clearing their throat was heard.

 

“Well, I see the routine's remained the same,” Kakashi observed from a tree near the bridge.

 

“YOU'RE LATE!” Sakura yelled, as Naruto and Sasuke switched their glares to the silver-haired jounin. Kakashi landed on the ground and rubbed the back of his head, single visible eye closed.

 

“Well, I happened to spot a bunch of mice riding around on a rollerskate-“

 

“LIAR!” Sakura bellowed. Kakashi sighed.

 

“Fine, fine… Allright. The Hokage has given us two missions early. One is to locate the Daimyo's wife's cat… Again.” The genins groaned.

 

“The other is to deliver mail along a block for a woman who broke her foot recently,” Kakashi went on. He smirked under his mask.

 

“Being the kind, understanding sensei I am, I've decided to let you guys do both. Whoever wants the mail mission-?” Kakashi smirked as Naruto leapt forward.

 

“Me! Me! I call it! Dibs! Mine!” Kakashi sighed, and handed Naruto the mission details.

 

“Of course, there was a third option… Special training with me,” Kakashi added.

 

Naruto's face fell, as Sasuke smirked.

 

“I call the training,” Sasuke said. Kakashi nodded, and handed the envelope with the mission details for the Daimyo's cat to a depressed-looking Sakura. Naruto glared at Kakashi, before turning and grumbling, looking over the information in the envelope.

 

The blond paused, and looked to his left, a frown on his whiskered face. Kakashi blinked.

 

“Naruto? What are you looking at?”

 

“Um, nothing… I just… Saw something in the shadows…” Naruto explained, almost nervously. The blond headed off soon after.

 

Sakura left as well, casting a longing look back at Sasuke before heading away. Sasuke smirked and looked at Kakashi. The jounin was still smiling.

 

“So… Training?” Sasuke stated flatly. Kakashi reached into his pouch. Sasuke drew his sword in an instant, and had it leveled at his teacher… Only to facefault as a familiar orange book appeared in Kakashi's hand.

 

“Tell me Sasuke, what do you know about sex?” Kakashi asked. “It seems to me that you'll need to know how to do it if you're going to revive your clan…”

 

Sasuke managed to suppress a groan out of sheer willpower, as his `lesson' began. Itachi, you may yet have some competition on the `People I Need to Kill' list…

Kakashi paused for only a moment, looking over his shoulder at the place Naruto was staring at before. He could have sworn he heard something move… The jounin shrugged mentally. He couldn't pick up any chakra signatures…

 

“Sasuke, trying to escape will not work,” Kakashi said.

 

Sasuke growled, and turned back, sitting on the ground with a glare at his sensei. The jounin resumed his lesson… But could not shake the feeling of something being very wrong…

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

Yes, Naruto's outfit is basically like his Post-Timeskip outfit-Only cut like Sora's get up.

 

The shoes were a recommendation from my beta reader. Why should Naruto get the new look? ^__^ Plus, those ninja sandals just bugged me. Say hello to ninja sneakers!

 

“Rising Phoenix” is the name given to Sasuke's fighting style in several other fanfics. It seemed appropriate so I borrowed it. Sasuke's sword is essentially like the one he gets in the post-time-skip era as well, but obviously shorter.

 

Kakashi is basically at the point now where he's waiting for his genin to snap and demand a better-ranked mission. Whoever correctly guesses the reference made in Kakashi's excuse gets to choose what anime character will make a cameo in a future chapter.

 

Heartless make their first appearance next chapter! Will our orange-clad, Key-wielding hero survive? Probably, but don't let that keep you from reading.

 

And now, my favorite part: Answering reviews.

 

GundamChief: Thanks! That's part of the reason I began to write this fic-A lack of good KH/Naruto fusions. On Sasuke's Sharingan: I've decided to have him get it during the Zabuza saga, but maybe not precisely where he did before…

 

I hate One Piece. Sorry, but I'm keeping the worlds Disney and Square Enix ones-Period. Though characters from other animes will make cameo appearances certainly. Relax, it'll be interesting even without crossing over into those other worlds. However, I still welcome suggestions.

 

Soul of the Silver Phoenix: Thanks! I like making little homages like that. Expect more in the future!

 

BlackRoseFire: Little more background? I'm not sure what you mean…

 

Sokka's fan/lawyer: I'm not out to bash Sasuke or Sakura. I'm just going to toy with them a little. Not sure if most Naruto fics are serious-The yaoi fics mostly read as farces, heh. Don't sue me, I'll update again!

 

Gnosismaster: Sakura is not in the harem for sure-Ino may be a part of it, but we'll have to see where that goes. Well, this fic will have two parts-First part will take place mainly on the Naruto World, while the second will occur out among the various worlds. And the sequel to this story will follow the story of KHII.

 

Khellan Rafe: Thanks!

 

KarinUzumaki: Well, Gaara will play a big role in the second part of this story, just you wait! And I like going outside the box as well.

 

Soul Teller: (sigh) Okay, people? I really don't like to repeat myself, so this is the last time I'll say these things:

 

1: YES, Naruto will got to other worlds. It wouldn't be Kingdom Heart if he didn't now would it?

 

2: I haven't figured out the name for Naruto's world. I wouldn't mind suggestions on it.

 

3: There will be NO OTHER ANIME WORLDS (Aside from Miyazaki ones) in this fic. I'm staying more true to the game, and besides-There are more than enough anime crossovers anyway. Disney/Anime crossovers are rare, and rarer still well done.

 

bounder7985: I sucked at the ball game. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu would have made it a LOT easier, heh. And yep! It's a Heartless!

 

Zero_Nanashi: Well, on the Kyuubi: I can't give everything away now can I? Suffice it to say everything will become clear in the coming chapters… Or more mysterious. Heh.

 

Haku will be a girl in this story, but not part of the harem. She will play an important role though.

 

Dreads: Sasuke will develop the Sharingan in the Zabuza saga, but not in the same way. And he's quite powerful without it. And on Naruto's Nobody's Keyblades… You'll have to wait and see.

 

LordofVermillion: I sucked at it, but it was still fun.

 

Epsilon: The Organization won't show up for a WHILE, heh. Sorry. And Naruto will get his first keychain in the Zabuza saga.

 

Unknown: Well, I changed my mind. Sasuke's arrogant enough without the Sharingan anyway…

 

The Violent Tomboy: I'm torturing Sasuke a little more here, but I'm trying to keep him in character.

 

Super Hurricane: While Heartless will show up in Konoha, Naruto's world's Keyhole is sealed, so it's safe. And I'm tired of Kingdom Hearts fics that crossover with anime-They always ignore the Disney parts. So I'm sticking with the worlds in the game as well as a few from some other Disney media. Nice to see you again though man, how have you been?

 

Yamimaru: Heh, I liked it too. Yes, I have seen the ending, and no, it won't be relevant to this fic. Yet, heh. Yeah, why do girls go for those guys anyway?

 

HolyKnight5: Thanks! I appreciate it!

 

Nexis: Look, I can't give away everything! I can say that Sasuke will eventually get a Keyblade. You'll have to wait and see which one though.

 

FallenRaindrops: I certainly hope so…

 

Spedclass: Thanks! I will!

 

Endermon: I changed it back. “Dattebayo!” is better anyway. Yes, an homage to Eva. There will be more homages! Just you wait and see!

 

Revanant Dragoon: Still a little torn on the Princess of Heart issue, but it'll be resolved soon. Thanks for the review and compliments!

 

Preview for Chapter Seven:

 

They were all around him, twitching, jerking, hungry yellow eyes glowing in the shade…