Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Key Through the Heart ❯ The Forest of Death, Part 1 ( Chapter 13 )

llIVoice of Destiny/Inner Sakura

“Normal Talking”

Thoughts/Sound Effects

“Flashback dialogue/Japanese/Emphasis of words”

“Demon speak”

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

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.

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

The written test had been long, boring, and difficult… Until Naruto and his team managed to figure out the point of the exam. To gather information without being caught, what would normally be known as cheating. The final question had been a test of courage and decisiveness-You either agreed to take the question, finding out that agreeing to take it was the right answer all along, or you trudged out.

 

It was becoming very clear to Naruto that being a ninja was a lot like being a prankster. You always had to be one step ahead of those the joke was on.

 

The passing genin were startled when a purple-haired woman burst through the window, a dramatic sign reading “Mitarashi Anko” unfurling behind her. The first test proctor (Morino Ibiki, a heavily scarred and disturbing man) rolled his eyes.

 

“Anko, you're early.”

”Well, you took too long explaining things to the brats!” Anko replied cheekily, grinning out at the genin unpleasantly. “So, only twenty-six teams left? Not bad, Ibiki, but I'll cut them by half in the second part! Right, I'm Mitarashi Anko! Follow me, brats! Time for the next part!” She leapt out the window, cackling maniacally, while the entire room just kind of stared after her.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, BRATS? GET GOIN'!” Ibiki roared, and the room quickly emptied. The scarred interrogator chuckled darkly, before looking over a few of the papers. He paused by one, and picked it up, raising a hairless brow.

“'Done by Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage,'” he read aloud. The signature was below a rather decent sketch of said blond demon container, standing triumphantly over the Uchiha kid, a member of the Inuzuka clan, and that red head from the Sand. Ibiki smirked and shook his head.

 

“Keep dreaming, kid,” he grunted.

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

The genins, meanwhile, were led to the walls of Training Field 44. Anko stood before them, trenchcoat swaying in the breeze as the early afternoon sun shone down on them all.

 

“Allright, listen up brats! Each team has been given a scroll. `Heaven', or `Earth'. Your goal is to reach the tower in the center of the training area, with both of these scrolls, and all three of your teammates. You are free to employ any means to get these scrolls. This is not a game, this is actual combat, so treat it as such!”

 

“So, how long do we have? And can we quit in the middle of the test?” Shikamaru asked, hands in his pockets. Anko laughed.

 

“Five days, and no you can't quit! Can you quit in the middle of a battle? Well maybe, but you'd just get killed! They don't call this the Forest of Death for nothing!”

 

“Er, what's in the scrolls?” Asked another genin. Anko looked him over.

 

“Nothing you should be concerned about until you get to the tower. If you open it before then… Well… Let's just say it won't be pleasant,” she chuckled evilly, most of the genin looking uneasy at this.

 

Naruto rolled his eyes and grinned nearby.

 

“Ooooh, Forest of Death, I'm sooo scared,” he mocked. He comically cowered, shaking. “Oh noooo! We're all doomed!” A few genin nearby laughed at his antics. Hinata blushed and smiled, her anxiety being reduced just a bit by her crush's words.

 

THWIP!

 

FLASH!

 

A kunai had grazed Naruto's cheek, even as the Keyblade flashed into existence in his hand and he assumed a fighting stance. His blue eyes widened as he felt a warm, very female body pressing against his back, and hot breath against his ear.

 

“Now it's tough guys like you who are always the first to die,” Anko crooned into his ear, licking at his now burning red cheek. “And leave such yummy blood all over the forest floor.”

 

Th-Th-That hussy! Hinata thought angrily, fists clenching as she watched. Tenten felt kunai come into her hands as her eyes narrowed.

 

God, she's so shameless!

 

“Excuse me, test proctor, but I believe this is yours,” a long-haired grass ninja said, her long tongue wrapped around the ring of the steel kunai Anko had thrown. The special jounin took it, still smirking sexily. She patted Naruto on the shoulder and walked back to the front of the group, Naruto just gaping after her like a fool.

 

“GAH! Hey!” He yelped as the long-haired grass ninja sniffed uncomfortably near him. She smiled at him creepily.

 

“Sorry, I just love the scent of blood,” she hissed. Naruto backed off, his Keyblade out and screaming danger! At this genin's presence. Her eyes locked onto the Keyblade, and a hint of killing intent flashed over Naruto's senses before the odd ninja turned and went back to her team.

 

“God Naruto! Have you no shame?” Sakura scolded, nevertheless handing him a bandaid. Naruto accepted it gratefully, leaning the Keyblade against his shoulder. His eyes narrowed as the Keyblade's warning lessened, but not by much.

 

“C'mon deadlast, let's get to the gate,” Sasuke stated flatly. Naruto grinned and followed.

 

“Sure! Let's kick some ass guys!”

 

“Tenten? Are you allright?” Lee asked his teammate, concerned. The bunned-girl blinked and looked at the spandex-clad ninja. She smiled uneasily.

 

“I'm fine… Just, you know… Little nervous.”

 

“YOSH! Fear not, Tenten! Our burning flames of youth will outshine those of our competition, and we shall be victorious! Is that not right, Neji?”

 

The stoic Hyuuga smirked and nodded.

 

“Let's go.”

 

The green-clad ninja grinned and gave a thumbsup.

 

The other genin all made it to their starting gates. The tall wooden structures groaned as they were all opened at once, as though reluctant to let the young ninjas into its confines. Anko stood outside, and waited. A grim smile came on her face as the first screams filled the air.

 

“This should prove interesting,” she murmured to herself.

 

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

Utada Hikaru smirked darkly. Already, her team of genin from Getsugakure (Village Hidden under the Moon) had tracked down a genin team from Konoha. They had stopped for a break in a clearing. A fat boy, a weak-looking blonde girl, and some lazy-looking kid with hair down up in a spiky ponytail.

 

She caught the eye of her fellow genin, and quickly signaled. They nodded, the two young men ready to strike. Hikaru herself formed the handseals for her Kashoku no jutsu.

 

Hikaru leapt into the clearing, the jutsu activating and causing a massive burst of light that would blind the genin team. Her own goggles (and those also worn by her team) protected them.

 

“All right, hand over the scroll and no one gets hurt!” She shouted, kunai ready to be thrown. The genin did not respond, staring dumbly at her. Hikaru growled, and threw a kunai at the fat one.

 

“Fine! Then you can just-!” The fat boy poofed out of existence, and Hikaru stared.

 

“It's a-!” She froze, and found her jutsu disappearing. Hikaru gawked as her body refused to obey her commands.

 

“Well, that was helpful,” commented a lazy voice. The ponytailed-boy was standing near the edge of the clearing, smirking at her. She managed to get her eyes to look down, and saw that a shadow stretched between herself and the boy. Her teammates also had trapped shadows, and were struggling to get free.

 

“Yeah, that light jutsu of theirs boosted your shadow jutsu Shikamaru!” The fat boy added, stepping out of the bushes nearby with a grin.

 

“So, Chouji, you want to handle them, or should I?” A female voice asked behind Hikaru. She couldn't turn her head to see, but it had to be the blonde girl. Chouji looked thoughtful.

 

“Meh… It'll be faster if you do it, Ino! Besides, I'm hungry!” He whined.

 

“You're always hungry!” Ino growled. “But fine… THUNDER!”

 

A flash of light and shock later, and Hikaru was out cold, wondering just how things had gone so wrong…

 

Chouji walked over to the girl and pulled the scroll from her pouch, checking the seal and sighing.

 

“It's not the one we're looking for!”

 

Ino cursed.

 

“Damnit! We have to go through that again?!”

 

“No,” Shikamaru said. “We just have to find another team with two `Earth' scrolls, and we can trade them.”

 

“But won't that give us more competition in the final round of the exams?” Chouji asked, pulling out a bag of chips and beginning to chow down. Shikamaru sighed.

 

“Can't be helped. The more we fight, the less likely our chances of getting to the tower. It's less troublesome to just trade it. Another Konoha team's probably our best bet.”

 

Ino smiled broadly and tucked her staff back into the sling on her back. “Sounds great! Let's go!”

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

“Oi, Misumi! Kabuto's stopped!”

 

Tsurugi Misumi paused his tree hopping, looking back. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses at the grey-haired genin, who was looking up into the branches of the tree he was in.

 

“Hey, Kabuto! Get a move on!”

 

The medic ninja turned back, face artfully neutral.

 

“Head for the rendezvous point. I'll catch up.”

 

“What?” Asked Akado Yoroi, glowering beneath his face mask. “What the hell are you thinking? Orochimaru-sama-!”

 

“I said, I'll catch up,” Kabuto stated, cold and firm. His eyes became slightly red as he glared at his teammates, and both felt a chill go down their spines. Kabuto was much more powerful than them, asshole though he was.

 

“Fine,” Misumi stated contritely, turning and leaping off. Yoroi followed soon after, still looking back at Kabuto.

 

The grey-haired ninja waited for a moment. A small black bird dropped down from it's hidden perch overhead. It cawed, yellow eyes blinking, as it released a small scroll into Kabuto's hands. The ninja nodded, and Diablo flew off into the shadows of the forest.

 

Kabuto opened the scroll and read it through, the only betrayal of his thoughts another red flash through his eyes. He then smiled softly, tucking the scroll away in his kunai pouch before taking off on a northwesterly path through the trees.

 

The tower that was the genin's goal was to the north-east.

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

“Look, can I help it if I want to get to the tower and out of this forest as quickly as possible?” Sakura asked, not expecting an answer. It was rhetorical, after all.

 

“No,” Sasuke grunted, maintaining his pace through the trees. Inner Sakura sighed and swooned at his acknowledgement. She was interrupted by Naruto's snort.

 

“Yeah well, we're not exactly going to be welcome there without a scroll!” The blond kicked off another tree as the trio kept up their furious pace through the upper levels of the forest canopy.

 

“If we get near the tower today, we can set up traps and ambushes for other teams, who will be tired from days of fighting it out,” Sasuke reasoned.

 

“Brilliant, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura complimented.

 

“The less fighting we do, the better shape we'll be when we get to the third part of the exam,” the Uchiha continued. Naruto frowned thoughtfully.

 

“Who made you leader anyway?”

 

“Oh, like you have a better plan deadlast?” Sasuke snorted. Naruto rolled his eyes.

 

“No, I'm just surprised you're thinking things through, for once.”

 

“I'm not the one who was dead last in my class, moron!” Sasuke growled.

 

“I'm not the idiot who announced the genjutsu and got us all that extra competition!” Naruto returned.

 

“So what, you're afraid you're too weak to fight any of them?” Sasuke shot back with a superior smirk. Naruto growled back, Keyblade flashing into his hand.

 

“Naruto, Sasuke-kun, this isn't helping!” Sakura interjected. “And besides, Sasuke-kun's plan will work just fine.”

 

Loathe as he was to admit it, Naruto knew Sakura had a point. And Sasuke may have been a bastard, but he did know his stuff. The plan made sense to him, at least. And while he did love a good fight, it was wiser to save your strength for the important ones.

 

Feh, and they said I never learned, Naruto mentally scoffed, thinking of the Academy instructors who had snubbed or ignored him entirely. Not to mention how they taught him incorrectly when it was one on one, and insulted him, and mistreated Iruka-sensei for befriending him, and…

 

He felt a flickering of red chakra on the edge of his senses, and he doused his anger. Naruto mentally groaned. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Get angry, and the Kyuubi's power takes him?

 

“Naruto, watch out!” Sakura's warning alerted Naruto back to reality just in time, and he lifted his feet up to land on the tree he would have otherwise rammed his head against. His teammates paused.

 

“Naruto, pay attention!” Sakura added roughly, though he was pleased to see that her eyes were concerned.

 

“Sorry, I just… I have to go,” the blond said, shifting uncomfortably. He had barely noticed his discomfort until Sakura had brought him out of his brooding.

 

“Well, go then,” Sakura stated flatly. Naruto nodded and began to hop down the tree to the ground, before he paused and looked back up.

 

“Hey, wait! Shouldn't we come up with a password or something? Just in case one of us gets captured and replaced?”

 

“Just summon the Keyblade, idiot,” Sasuke replied flatly. “No one else in this exam has one.”

 

“Hey! Don't call me an idiot, emo boy!” Naruto shot back, and dashed off out of sight. He smirked at finally getting the last word.

 

Coming to a secluded clearing, he unzipped his pants and was about to relieve himself, when the Keyblade flashed into his hand. He felt a huge killing intent behind him, and an equally large mass as a shadow fell over his.

 

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, leaping to the side while holding his shorts up with one hand. A split second later a massive brown and green, reptilian head smashed down, long fangs digging into the earth.

 

Naruto quickly rezipped his pants and got into a fighting position, as the giant snake turned back and focused on him with glowing yellow eyes.

 

“Okay, I don't really think you can understand me, but I'd just like to say that attacking a guy while he's peeing is definitely not cool,” Naruto stated flatly. The killing intent of the snake increased, but the Keybearer just smirked defiantly back. This thing didn't scare him!

 

“So bring it on, ugly! I'll kick your tail back to wherever you came from!” Naruto shouted. The snake hissed and screeched in challenge, before lunging.

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

A few miles away, in the heart of Konoha, a lone ramen stand was at work. The lunch crowd was coming in and Ichiraku Teuchi was handling the orders with his usual professionalism. He glared slightly at the increased patronage-Whenever Naruto didn't eat here, more people came. He'd remembered Naruto, on one occasion, noticing this, and offering to leave if he got too bad for business. The six year old had said this with such uncharacteristic conviction and seriousness in his voice that it'd given him a start.

 

Finally, Ichiraku just smiled, patted the blond's head, and told him that he didn't need the business of people like that. The honest, joyful smile on the boy's face was payment enough to him.

 

“Oi, Old Man! Two beef bowls please!”

 

“Coming right up!” Teuchi replied, looking down at the pots and basins for the noodles. He noted that they were out of beef flavoring and grimaced.

 

“Ayame, we're out of beef… Ayame?” He frowned, and turned back to his customers.

 

“Just a moment, please,” he said, and walked to the backroom of the stand. Ayame was leaning against a wall, eyes dull and unfocused. Teuchi frowned and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

 

“Ayame? Are you all right? What's wrong?”

 

She looked up at him, face strained. He grimaced.

 

Not now… Damnit Naruto, what are you doing?!

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

“It's been ten minutes,” Sasuke said. He got up from the branch he and Sakura had been resting on, waiting for Naruto to come back. Sakura frowned and followed, pulling on her gloves.

 

“Something's coming…” He muttered to her, and she discretely put one hand on her kunai pouch.

 

They spotted a familiar orange and black-clad figure, with blond hair held up by a hitai-ate. Naruto smiled and waved as he approached.

 

“Hey guys, I'm back! Let's get going and-HEY!” Naruto dodged a thrown kunai. He glared indignantly as Sasuke whipped out his sword and held it in a fighting stance, while Sakura gathered more kunai from her pouch and held them between her fingers, ready to throw them at a moment's notice.

 

“What's the big idea, you jerk?!” Naruto shouted.

 

“Drop the henge, we know you're not Naruto,” Sasuke growled. “For one, he wears his hitai-ate on his arm now, not his head.”

 

“And where's the bandage on your cheek?” Sakura added defiantly.

 

Great, if this is an imposter, where's the real Naruto? Could he have been…? Inner Sakura trailed off, but the implication made Sakura feel cold.

 

“Well well, you're much better than I thought,” `Naruto' said, a silky smirk on his face. With a poof, that strange grass ninja with the long tongue appeared.

 

“What did you do with Naruto?” Sasuke demanded, Sharingan eyes spinning. The girl's smile grew a little more, long tongue licking the corner of her mouth.

 

“Why, I had one of my pets deal with him,” she simpered. “But I suggest you worry about yourself now, Sasuke-kun.” With a drawn kunai she attacked, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Sasuke parried the surprisingly strong blow as Sakura leapt and aimed a kick at the enemy's head. As though swatting away a fly, the grass ninja blocked the kick with her hand and shoved back, sending Sakura flying.

 

“Gah!” She shouted, twisting in mid-air and landing on a far trunk. Sakura gawked at the distance she'd been thrown. Just what the hell is she?!

 

Sasuke had leapt back, leading the grass ninja away from Sakura. He landed feet-first on a tree and leapt forward, slashing at his enemy three times while flipping over her. The grass ninja laughed, blocking each hit and grinning as Sasuke landed some distance away, putting his sword in his other hand before briefly shaking out his right.

 

“A bit too hard for you, Sasuke-kun?” The ninja teased, leaping for Sasuke again, kunai crashing against the Uchiha's blade. Sasuke spun away from the blow, swinging for his enemy's back. Quick as lightening she blocked, but this was what Sasuke intended. He slipped under the strike and kicked the enemy's legs out from under her, sending her falling off the branch. Before she could react Sasuke jumped off after her, diving like a falcon to catch up, and locking her in a tight hold as they went down headfirst.

 

They fell, faster and faster, and even as the grass ninja struggled with incredible strength Sasuke held on. He gritted his teeth and directed more chakra to his limbs.

 

Just a little more…!

 

WHAM! They reached the ground, the grass ninja crying out in pain. Sasuke heard a satisfying crack, and pulled off his foe, pulling his sword back to plunge it through the ninja's back. But the grass ninja leapt up and kicked Sasuke away, sending him flying into a tree with an “Oof!”

 

“Ku ku ku… I will admit, Sasuke-kun, that was better than I expected… But still not enough to stop me!” She cackled. She moved towards Sasuke, but jumped back at several kunai imbedding themselves in the forest floor before her. Sakura leapt in, darting forward with a feint kick to the head. The grass ninja countered the rabbit punch that followed, and soon pulled Sakura's stomach into her knee.

 

“AUGH!” Sakura wheezed, green eyes wide as her breath was stolen.

 

“Sakura!” Sasuke shouted, bracing against his tree and leaping forward, slashing with his sword. The grass nin leapt back, leaving Sakura to fall to the ground, trying to breathe desperately as her face burned red.

 

“Oh, such concern for your teammate! How touching,” the ninja sneered. “But really… Such attachments only make you weak. I believe your brother proved as much.” Hate flared inside Sasuke, as the grass ninja continued her taunt.

 

“What a disappointment you turned out to be. Your ancestors weep...the Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Foolish little worm…”

 

“Foolishlittlebrother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life…”

 

“No,” Sasuke whispered, angrily. He felt his chakra roar inside him.

 

I am not weak… I am not a disappointment… Never again… For I am… AN AVENGER!

“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” The massive fireball erupted from Sasuke's mouth, surprising the grass ninja and causing her to leapt away. This however was shown to Sasuke in the Sharingan, and despite his foe's superior speed and agility he had prepared the trap.

“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!”

Again a fireball flew from Sasuke's mouth, hands discretely moving to his weapons pouch. The grass ninja leapt away once more, and Sasuke leapt with her, matching altitude as he made another set of handseals.

“Katon: HÅsenka no Jutsu!”

The grass ninja smirked as the firebirds flew for her.

“FÅ«ton: Daitoppa!” A massive blast of wind erupted from the grass ninja, and Sasuke cursed as his firebirds (and the kunai concealed within) were blown back. The wind caught him too and sent him flying into a tree trunk with a thud.

“SASUKE-KUN!” Sakura screeched, trying to get back on her feet but still apparently out for the count. Sasuke cursed under his breath.

Damnit, just how strong is this guy?!

“Such a disappointment,” the ninja cooed, landing near Sakura. Sasuke tried to move as the pink-haired girl was picked up, but he found he didn't have to-The grass ninja threw Sakura to him. He managed to catch her, rolling along a very large branch to kill momentum.

“S-Sasuke-kun,” she murmured, shaking. Sasuke felt the breath in his lungs freeze as a massive, horrifying killer intent came over him. He struggled against it, setting Sakura down as gently as he could before getting to his feet. The grass ninja was facing them from another nearby bough, deadly smirk in place.

“So, you can stand against my killer intent? A bit better, but still nothing compared to your brother. It seems all the power of the Uchiha clan went to him when it fell… And you are a poor, poor replacement,” the ninja cackled. Sasuke snarled, Sharingan eyes at full power. His vision seemed to clear a bit more, and despite his injuries he felt revitalized, strengthened.

He saw what he had to do. He leapt up, throwing several kunai at the enemy ninja. She laughed, dodging easily. Sasuke threw two windmill shuriken after, and the grass ninja leapt above them… Eyes widening slightly at the second shuriken that emerged from their shadows, spinning after her. She leapt away again, senses perceiving Sasuke's strike too late.

“YAH!” He cried, kicking his foe as hard as he could and directing her aerial path to another tree. The Sharingan showed his plan, and mentally a clock ticked.

Almost there… Almost there…

The grass ninja landed on the tree bough, right in front of the trunk. Sasuke threw a kunai with a wire attached up and swung around another massive tree, gaining altitude, until he was directly ahead and above the enemy. She stared curiously… And gaped as the light of the sun got through the forest canopy just enough to reveal more wires.

Sasuke yanked the wires as hard as he could, and like a closing net whipped around the grass ninja and slammed her up against the trunk of the tree she stood on. Sasuke made an elaborate set of hand seals, taking a deep breath as he tucked the ends of the wires into his mouth.

“Katon: RyÅ«ka no Jutsu!” Flames roared along the wires, highlighting their paths of steel wire. They were wrapped around the kunai and shuriken Sasuke had thrown, guiding the fire in a vast network that raced around the forest, all of them finally slamming into the captive ninja at once.

“YEEEEEAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!” The grass ninja screamed, the flames edging near the blue color of the temperature spectrum. Sasuke let the wires fall from his mouth and spun up his sword, imbuing it with chakra before throwing it with all his might, sticking the wire trailing his chokuto to his mouth and directing what was left of his chakra to the final blow.

“KATON: KAKIRI NO JUTSU!” Sasuke roared, his flung sword turning into a fiery rocket that slammed into the grass ninja, causing a massive explosion.

KABOOM! Sasuke shielded his eyes from the flash, letting the wind from the blast wash over him before he looked again.

A large section of the tree-trunk had been gouged out, burnt into black charcoal. The smoke was heavy as Sasuke tugged on his wire and yanked his sword (blackened but otherwise unharmed) back to his hand. As the smoke cleared, Sasuke could see the enemy ninja bow her head… Then look up, face seemingly melted, but otherwise unharmed. Sasuke gawked, and felt the killing intent fall upon him even harder.

“Ku ku kuuu…” The ninja laughed, shrugging off the wires and grinning through her/his/it's ruined face. “I was wrong… You have great potential… Potential to grow far beyond Itachi. Your Sharingan is keener than his…” The ninja leapt for Sakura, and Sasuke, exhausted as he was, managed to get in front of her protectively, sword held out as he panted. The ninja looked amused, before leaning her/his/it's head back and making a gagging noise.

“What… Who the hell are you?!” Sasuke demanded, shaking from the killer intent and disgust, as the grass ninja yanked a long, straight blade from it's throat. It held it out in a ready stance.

“Come, let us continue! You can't let your guard down for even a second. Prey need to strain their minds all the time and run around... in the presence of a predator,” the ninja finished with a smirk. Sasuke charged.

“DIE!” He bellowed.

SHING! Sasuke gawked. His sword had been broken in two by a single slash from the enemy's blade. He backed away, still holding what was left of his chokuto out in challenge.

“Fool… Hand over the scroll and I'll let you live,” the ninja cooed mockingly. Sasuke, still shaking from the killer intent, felt his hand reach for his pouch.

“Not so fast, gay pirate!” Shouted a familiar voice. Sakura looked up and smiled.

“Naruto!”

The blond looked rather worse for wear, but was grinning all the same. The grass ninja scowled.

“You… How did you escape my summon?”

“That was your snake? Oh, I'm sorry, but I had to gut it,” Naruto smirked. “Woulda made a kick ass slide with it, but it went `poof' on me. By the way, it's rude to not identify yourself to other people. Right Sasuke?

Sasuke had no idea how Naruto could be so cheerful in the midst of this killing intent. It made Zabusa's feel like a mild breeze! But still, he somehow managed an annoyed glare.

“Shut up, you idiot.”

“Hey! Show some gratitude! I'm here to save your ass, again I might add, from another girl!”

Sasuke snarled, as the grass ninja blinked. Here he was putting out enough killing intent to bring an ANBU to their knees, and this boy wasn't affected?

Of course not, he thought, he contains the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and wields the Keyblade. One would make him immune to demon level ki, and the other magnifies the power of his heart.

“I am Orochimaru… And I know all about you, Uzumaki Naruto,” he hissed. Naruto smirked and flipped down in front of his teammates, Keyblade at the ready.

“I'm flattered, Oro… Whatever. “ Naruto paused. “Since you already know my name, I'll just skip to the important part of my introduction. I'm here to kick your ass!”

Naruto leapt forward, Keyblade singing as he swung for Orochimaru's head. The older ninja blocked the strike with his own blade, but his eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of his sword, the legendary Kusanagi, being chipped by the Keyblade.

“Impressive,” he got out, as Naruto spun away from the strike in midair and swung for his waist. Orochimaru parried that as well but Naruto simply spun away again, kicking off the tree branch and kicking back to him from another. Orochimaru continued blocking the blows, which began to increase in speed.

“HIYAH! YAH! TAKE THAT!” Naruto shouted, eyes completely on the fight. He ducked under a retaliatory blow from Orochimaru, and swung his chakra-enhanced blade into the bough underneath him, breaking the branch and sending his enemy stumbling backwards.

“DIE!” Naruto roared, leaping as he pushed off the Keyblade and summoned it back within Orochimaru's guard as they fell. The snake summoner twisted away and kicked Naruto in the stomach, sending him flying up into another tree. Orochimaru landed with a grimace, noting that the Kyuubi brat had managed to scratch him.

“You'll pay for your insolence, little fool,” he hissed, unleashing some of his full speed as he leapt after Naruto. The blond was sticking to the side of a vast tree trunk, and leapt off, twisting in mid air to meet Orochimaru's blow.

SKRASH! Sparks flew off the weapons as Keyblade and Kusanagi met, Naruto flipping over Orochimaru and spinning his weapon up with chakra imbuement.

“I was saving this for the bastard, but guess I'll have to test it on you!” The blond shouted. He threw the Keyblade, burning blue with chakra, as hard as he could at Orochimaru. The snake summoner blocked the strike, noting that the Kusanagi, again, had been chipped from the force of the blow. The Keyblade flashed and vanished, reappearing in Naruto's hand, as he threw the Keyblade again, burning with chakra still.

CLANG! FLASH! CLANG! FLASH!

Naruto kept throwing the Keyblade, darting all around Orochimaru and keeping up his attack. He felt himself reach the limits of his speed, and made several Kage Bunshin, who all began the same attack. Orochimaru moved faster, but whether it was his own instincts or those of the Keyblade, Naruto knew that something had to give.

WHAM! Right in the shoulder, the Keyblade finally got through Orochimaru's guard, knocking him off the branch he'd been standing on and spinning him away. Naruto re-summoned the Keyblade and spun it up once more, ready to deliver a death blow.

“STRIKE RAID!” Naruto bellowed, throwing the Keyblade.

“KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!” Orochimaru shouted, and the Keyblade met instead a giant snake, emerging from a great burst of smoke. The weapon bounced off it's leathery hide as the serpent lunged, mouth open, for the blond ninja.

“OH SHI-!” Naruto screamed as the snake's jaws caught him, swallowing him whole. His shocked clones were quickly dispatched by the snake as well. Sakura screamed in horror, as Orochimaru landed easily on the branch Sasuke and Sakura had retreated to. He smirked darkly.

“Now, where were we?” He hissed.

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

Ayame had calmed down a little, and was able to resume preparing and serving ramen to the hungry customers. Teuchi smiled, hoping that it was simply a false alarm…

“Hey, are you okay?” A customer asked, eyes concerned. Teuchi turned and frowned as Ayame wobbled. The ramen cook's daughter managed a small smile.

“I'm… I'm… Oh, no,” she whispered, before she fell forward. Teuchi was barely able to save her from falling face first into the noodle fryers, and pulled Ayame back up. He shook her, noting her vacant eyes.

“Ayame? AYAME!” He turned to a ninja who was watching, bowl of pork ramen steaming before him. “Get a medic! A doctor! Someone!”

Damnit, not now! Not so soon! Naruto! You'd better be all right! Because I want to be the one to kick your ass when you return!

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

Naruto blinked. The interior of the snake was, for a time, slimy, warm and smelled disgusting. Then, he found himself in a black abyss, a familiar red-haired, whiskered woman before him.

“What did I tell you, simple fool?” The Kyuubi laughed. “You need my power, again. You weakling.”

“Screw you, fox bitch! I don't need your help!” Naruto shouted, struggling to get free and back into the Real World. The Kyuubi smirked.

“Idiot… Now that you're in my grasp, you have no choice in the matter…” Naruto felt red hot fire engulf his feet, and he looked down to see that familiar, hated red chakra oozing up his legs. He cursed and tried to yank himself out, but the grip tightened relentlessly, the red chakra continued to flow upwards. Naruto saw the Keyblade begin to shift into it's curved, cruel, red form, and he struggled even harder, yelling and cursing as the chakra went past his waist and began to reach his chest.

A warm, comforting hand took his free one, and Naruto felt himself calm down. The Kyuubi glared in disgust to someone at his right.

“You… How did you get in here?!” She snarled. A commanding yet soothing female voice answered her.

“I am called by his heart,” she responded, and the abyss began to lighten. Naruto still couldn't turn his head to see his savior, but he couldn't help but smile. Especially as the red chakra was gathered up into the Keyblade, isolated from his body.

“Don't be afraid, Naruto,” the woman spoke again. “Do not give in to the darkness.You have defeated her once already.She may be in a different guise, but your resolution has notfailed. Trust in yourself…”

Naruto focused, the blue light from the mysterious woman filling him, as though recharging his chakra. She let go of his right hand, and he felt the reassuring weight of his true Keyblade fill it. Both weapons, Keyblade and Kyuubi-blade, glowed brightly.

“You bitch! How dare you defy me!” The Kyuubi roared, forced back into her giant fox form. The mysterious woman said nothing, only placing a comforting hand on Naruto's back.

“I… Um…” Naruto tried to say, and still found he couldn't turn to face her. He grimaced and tried harder, but still stayed firmly rooted forward.

“Why can't I see you?”

Laughter, like the tinkling of bells.

“You will… But for now, you have work to do, Naruto-kun.”

And then he was back in the snake's belly, the sick smell of acid filling his nostrils, and both Keyblades flashing into existence in his hands. He focused, the chakra shaping itself within him.

“TAJUU KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!”

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

Sakura sat over a downed Sasuke, sobbing as she held him. He was whimpering in pain, the bite marks on his neck changing form into a tattoo-like bruise, black with three small tadpoles swimming in a circle within it.

“Come to me when you want power, Sasuke-kun,” Orochimaru cooed, licking his lips as his neck shrank back into his body. He turned to go and dispel his summon… Before a massive spike of chakra flowed over his senses.

“What?!” He seethed, as the snake that had swallowed Naruto began to expand. It's yellow eyes widened as the bulge in it's throat grew to a giant size, the leathery flesh breaking and cracking until-

BOOM! A flood of Narutos emerged, the snake broken in two. It fell, poofing out of existence, as the kage bunshins, as one, leapt for Orochimaru, each wielding two Keyblades, each with murder in their eyes.

“FÅ«ton: Daitoppa!” Orochimaru shouted, and the wind jutsu blew away the clones, all of them poofing into smoke. But the real Naruto's location was soon determined. Orochimaru looked up and saw him diving down, both Keyblades blazing with chakra flames. The snake summoner leapt up as well, Kusanagi at the ready. Time seemed to slow down, as Naruto swung both Keyblades together, their unstable auras interacting, red and blue burning to white.

The words for the attack left Naruto's lips, even though he had never heard them before.

“BRAVE SHOT!” He roared, as the Kyuubi Keyblade was converted entirely by the blue chakra of the original into burning white energy, which exploded out like a sun being born. Sakura dragged Sasuke behind the tree trunk and held him for dear life as the shockwave of the blast roared around them, a blinding light shining around them.

The tree nearest the release had its sap superheated to the point it exploded, a massive fireball ascending above the forest as wooden shrapnel and debris flew everywhere. For miles around, if the flash was not seen then the boom certainly was, the wind from the explosion carrying the scent of fire and burnt flesh.

In the middle of the maelstrom, lying near a felled tree, a badly beaten, exhausted Naruto lay, the original Keyblade lying at his side. He wheezed, blue eyes staring dazedly out at the small clearing he'd created, small fires still burning everywhere.

His enemy emerged from the smoke, yellow eyes narrowed. Naruto gritted his teeth as he saw that Orochimaru, while appearing burnt alive, was unharmed beneath the blackened extra layer of skin.

“You have amused me, Kyuubi brat,” he spat. He was on Naruto in a second, Naruto's neck held in his merciless grasp. The blond choked, but still glared defiantly into the monster's eyes. He screamed in agony as Orochimaru slammed his fingers into his bare stomach, the seal reacting with the feeling of a fire in his belly.

“Consider yourself blessed that I cannot kill you now,” the snake summoner hissed, carelessly flinging Naruto aside. He then vanished, a grudging smirk on his face.

If not for the fact that the Kyuubi would destroy his soul, if the Keyblade didn't get to him first, he'd have marked Uzumaki as his next host.

However, when Sasuke-kun comes to me… He laughed maniacally, as he sped through the forest.

Sakura had managed to drag the unconscious Sasuke to the ground, and carrying him piggy back (which, despite the circumstances, made Sakura blush bright red) she made her way to the scene of the fight, limping from the injuries Orochimaru had inflicted on her.

“Na… Naruto-kun!” She called out. Tearfully she spotted him, lying limp on the ground. She shuffled over, falling to her knees and checking his pulse.

“Oh God… Naruto,” she whispered, seeing his sorry state. She was exhausted from the fight, and hauling Sasuke around was difficult, even with her enhanced strength. But, she steeled herself to get both of her teammates somewhere hidden, before other teams arrived, drawn by the explosion.

She dragged them both away, unaware of the grey-haired ninja watching her, and smiling ever so slightly as the sunlight glinted off his glasses.

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

Well, I hope that met everyone's approval! And that the dialogue was not too cheesy.

Don't ask me about Ayame, the woman, or how Naruto could wield two Keyblades, if only for a moment. You'll find out in time, I promise.

Speaking of which, hope that wasn't too cliché. I have a method to my madness, but just hang with me folks in order to find out what it is.

Sokka's lawyer: I stopped replying to reviews because Fanfiction . net warned me not to in my stories. I can however reply to general questions and so forth.

The Real Get Over It: I hope this modified dialogue worked for you. If not, I can safely say that most of the dialogue in future chapters will not be word for word in the least, heh.

If you spotted the reference to the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack I made, kudos. You rock.

Unless you just used Wiki to look it up. In which case, hmph. Cheaters.

Just so you all know, the only real damage Naruto did to Orochimaru was leave a scratch. Brave Shot is also not the best attack to use because it literally blows up a Keyblade. Which would probably kill nearly anyone else attempting the move. Yes, I know it's not like that in the game. This is my interpretation.

And don't expect him to either wield two Keyblades a lot more in the future, or use that attack again, except maybe as a last resort.

Allright, enough author notes. Review, be honest, tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc. See you next time!

Preview for Chapter Fourteen:

“Who hurt you, Sakura? Who did that to you?”

“Me!”

“Then die…”