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A/N: Whew... This has been a rather dramatic week for me, so pardon me if my writing isn't what it usually is. However, personal developments have left me feeling more carefree than usual, so barring getting grounded for my terrible grades this six weeks, I should be getting better. Just so you guys know, if I do get grounded, one of two things will happen. A) Neko logs on for me and gushes effusive apologies. B) I handwrite the next chapter, Neko types it up and posts it for me. Either way, I will not mysteriously vanish until week after next, so you won't have to worry about it for at least one more chapter. sweatdrop I wish this one didn't feel like it was toppling over itself to get somewhere, but there you go... By the way, shoutout to the wonderful people at the Naruto wikia! They have wonderful jutsu references.

Chapter 23: Fight With a Devil

“DEMON FANG!”

Kyuubi shot forward with this cry, a keyblade appearing in his hand. It was a soft red-orange, in the shape of a fox, tail in the air to form the blade’s tip. The fox was looking to the side, eyes closed and a smug smile on its face. Bright turquoise flames licked at its feet and jetted outward, making a wrist guard. The handle itself looked exactly like a katana’s, while the keychain was a turquoise ball of flame.

The boy blew through the heartless swarm. They exploded in black puffs on both sides of him without him even seeming to touch them.

The girls looked at one another, nodded, and sprinted after him, killing any Heartless he missed, Neko sprinting ahead to join Kyuubi as the front line. With those two tanking through the waves of Shadow and Mia and Halo playing support, they eventually made it to the elevator.

The doors shut behind them, allowing them to catch their breath as the machine moved downwards.

“You know, the funny thing is,” Neko said to Kyuubi, panting, “you look REALLY familiar for some reason.”

Kyuubi looked at her and cocked his head.

“Have you met him before?” Mia asked.

“I think we should be asking you that!” Halo said, looking at Mia. “How’d you talk to him like that?”

Mia shrugged and wiped her sweating brow. “I had a friend who was like that,” she explained, thinking fondly of Fuu.

Neko stared a little longer at Kyuubi. “Oh well… I forget… I know I haven’t met you, just someone who looked like you…”

Kyuubi jumped and looked over. “Big brother?” he asked.

“Huh? Do you mean… have I met your brother?”

He nodded vigorously.

“Well, maybe,” said Neko, frowning. “But I don’t remember where or when I saw him… Or even if it was your brother I saw… Sorry…”

The grey-haired boy hung his head, seeming disappointed. But before anything further could be said, there was a ding and a flood of Heartless fell in. A flash of Pearl cleared them out quickly, however, and the four returned to their two-by-two formation.

They did alright, however, until they got to the lobby.

Hovering in the middle of it was a new, demon-like Heartless. It looked almost human, with pure black skin and glowing yellow eyes. It had a pair of blue-purple horns growing from its forehead, demonic wings on its back, angelic wings growing from its forearms, a blue sword in its right hand, and feet that ended in hoof like points. Its long tail swished and cracked like a whip, the bladelike formation at the end of it waving dangerously. Right through the center of its chest was a heart-shaped hole. It floated in the exact center of the wide room, staring in their direction, several feet above the floor.

“Be careful,” Halo said quietly, “that big guy doesn’t look friendly at all!”

“Invisible,” Kyuubi snarled.

“No, I can see him just fine,” Neko said with a confused frown.

Suddenly, the demon threw its blade into the air, vanishing. The sword hovered for a moment, then flung itself at the Keyblade masters.

All four ducked just in time. The sword whizzed over their heads.

“That explains it,” Mia squeaked.

The Invisible’s sword pulled up fast, turned, and came at them again, whirling like a dervish. The kids scrambled in every direction (some--like Kyuubi--more gracefully than others--like Mia), trying to get out of the way of the possessed sword. It barely missed Halo’s long hair and returned to the spot where the Invisible itself had been. The beast reappeared and held its sword aloft. The blade glowed blue.

“Run!” Kyuubi shouted. “Shockwave!!”

But the warning came too late. The Invisible stabbed downward. There was a huge bang and a sphere of blue light shot outward from the ground where the blade had pierced. All four kids were in inopportune positions on the floor. There was no way any of them could move in time. Mia closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact.

Something sharply grabbed the back of her uniform’s collar and yanked her into the air, pulling her out of the attack’s range and nearly strangling her. The world temporarily turned into a blur of color and light as she tumbled head over heels, something holding onto her shirt.

And just as suddenly she was seated comfortably on something very large and very furry clinging to the waist of somebody wearing a black jacket, a young man with messy brown hair.

On looking around, she found that the other keyblade masters were in positions much stranger than hers. While she was on this furry thing, close to the floor near the Invisible, the other three had been perched on a convenient ledge that ran around the circumference of the lobby. Next to each was a person that Mia supposed was a ninja.

Steadying Neko was a man with grey hair and a mask that covered the lower half of his face--the tip of his nose and everything below it. His headband was tilted at an angle that completely covered his left eye. He wore a green vest and a black vest under it and the sort of heavily-built sandals Mia had seen most other ninja--as she assumed the people with the headbands were--were wearing.

Sakura crouched next to Kyuubi, green eyes focused and watchful.

A girl with long, black hair wearing an oversized purple and white hoodie and the ninja headband around her neck, stood next to Halo (who was seated more gracefully and comfortably than the others). The girl had incredibly pale eyes--from the distance she was at, Mia could have sworn that her eyes were nothing but whites.

“You okay back there?” the young man she was sitting behind (on what she imagined--judging by their height off the ground--was probably a very furry white horse) asked, turning a little to face her, revealing he had large red triangular marks under his dark eyes. He too wore a ninja headband.

Mia nodded. “Thanks. You saved our butts.”

“We’re not finished yet!” the grey-haired man shouted. “It’s coming again!”

The Invisible shot forward at Mia, the boy, and his animal. The animal leaped surprisingly gracefully to the side, jerking Mia, who had not been expecting it, but evading the attack.

“Hang on!” the brown-haired boy shouted. Mia obeyed, grabbing the back of his coat so hard it made her palms hurt. “Let’s go, Akamaru!”

To Mia’s complete shock, the thing they were sitting on let out a huge, booming bark that rumbled deep within her. The furry thing was a gigantic dog.

Again the dog moved so suddenly that, had Mia not been holding to the boy’s coat for dear life, she would have been thrown backwards. The young man, however, did not seem as surprised by the sudden changes, even riding without holding on. The dog snapped at the creature, but the latter moved, shooting into the air again.

Sakura leaped off the ledge with a war cry, pulling back her arm for a punch. Her fist shone bright white for a moment, then blasted forward. The Invisible vanished, and she sailed on past, smashing a wall into rubble with the force of her fist’s impact.

A streak of blue came spinning through the air towards where Sakura was sorting herself out from the wreck that had been a wall. A green blur shot past it, rematerializing as the grey haired man.

With each hand he made a different sign before putting the signs together and shouting, “Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!” and slamming his hands to the ground.

There was a huge puff of smoke and a giant wall appeared from nowhere--a giant wall with the heads of dogs sticking out. The sword hit the wall and stuck in it, shivering ominously.

The Invisible reappeared again and summoned its blade to it. It extended its hand, which glowed brightly and then--

“Hold it right there!!!” shouted a thousand youthful voices from the entrance.

“Oh, good grief,” said the brown-haired boy even as he looked over to see who it was. “It’s himself…”’

About half the room had suddenly and inexplicably become crammed with hundreds of young guys with spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and black and orange jumpsuits. All of them wore ninja headbands, and all of them looked exactly the same, which made the situation even more surreal.

“You and your flunkies think you can trash my village?!” the hundreds of clones--Mia had no other idea how to describe them--shouted in unison. “You’ve got another thing coming--BELIEVE IT!!”

And with that, about a fourth of the clones charged at the Invisible.

It was almost sad, sitting by and watching as the clones preceded to pummel the poor Heartless into oblivion. It put up a good fight, slashing through a good many of the clones--which simply vanished in a puff of smoke with a corresponding sound effect as the sword passed through them. But one managed to get through, slamming the heel of his sandaled foot into the Invisible’s face. “NA!” they all shouted triumphantly.

Another kicked it from behind with a cry of “RU!”

“TO!” another screamed as it drop-kicked the Heartless.

From the midst of the black-and-orange Halloween-y mass leapt another clone which slammed his foot straight through the hole in the Heartless’ chest. “UZUMAKI BARRAGE!!”

The Invisible roared, but vanished all the same, as did all the clones but the one that had taken out the demonic thing. This boy landed, pumped his fists in the air and shouted, “TAKE THAT!!!” in the midst of laughter.

“Please,” the brown-haired boy snorted in an undertone, “we could have done that.”

If these people were anything but ninja, Mia would have thought that this was jealousy talking, but as it was, she had no doubt.