Path of Flowers

Life isn't always easy. It has its ups, and of course downs. And let's not forget the complete and utter all-time-lows. Being attacked by tiny dark creatures then being saved and nearly killed by a pink-haired man with a massive scythe is one of the later. But then again, I'm not complaining… Who would, I get a cool sensei!

Part I- Incomplete

Darkness…

It felt like being born again. As my heart was clouded by darkness and my very essence of being came into affect. But this time there was no Xigbar or Xaldin to find me.

Sora.

He'd probably have killed them by now. Like how he killed me. Now I think about it, maybe he even killed Xemnas. Rather ironic. He will be destroyed by the one thing he sought to obtain; the Keyblade.

I never had enough strength to defeat Xemnas. Was I really so blind and vain to misread Axel's trust? He was betraying me the moment he killed Vexen.

Will I be in this everlasting darkness forever? Though I cannot see… Nor feel… Nor even imagine my surroundings… I am… At peace…?

Slowly, the fuchsia haired man opened one amber eye. Sun shone down on him, filtered by the evergreen trees.

Blinking, he opened both eyes. He strained to move his arm, managing to old it above his face. It was the same as it had been back in Castle Oblivion. He wore the same black coat, and the same gloves.

He was… Alive…?

He quickly sat up, and surveyed his surroundings. He sat in a small clearing in the middle of a wood, reminding him of the woods in Twilight town, where he had first guided Roxas.

He winced. Roxas. It should have been obvious that he was Sora's Nobody. He held the Kingdom Key, just like Sora, and used it in the same reckless fighting style, relying on instinct alone.

Pondering for a moment, he held out his arm, and then pushed as much energy as he could muster into his hand. At once, pink light surrounded his hand, stretching out into a long thin handle, then curving into a fine sharp blade, rose petals falling from the vibrant scythe's form. The Graceful Dahlia. His weapon. A slow smile curved on his lips.

As he withdrew energy, he watched the scythe change into its various forms; Fickle Erica, Jilted Anemone, Poor Melissa, Pseudo Silene, Grim Muscari, Vindictive Thistle, Hallowed Lotus, and so on.

Getting to his feet, he quickly brushed the dust off his coat, and ran his fingers through his vibrant hair. Though it seemed impossible beyond belief, though he remembered clearly falling into the darkness, he was most certainly alive.

'You are wrong, Graceful Assassin…' murmured a soft voice.

Marluxia froze. He made a motion as if to turn, to see who spoke, but instantly felt his muscles clench, preventing movement.

'Don't turn… My appearance is not what it used to be…'

A slight smile appeared on Marluxia's face. "Oh? And why should that bother you?"

'You may joke, Graceful Assassin, but you are undoubtedly dead…'

Marluxia laughed. "Dead? You surely joke! Nobodies disappear when they die, that is commonly known! If I am dead, who can I be in this forest? You are a fool!"

The voice laughed. 'Tread carefully, Marluxia… You are in the realm of the Soulless…'

He raised a feathery eyebrow. "Soulless?"

'Heartless mindlessly collect hearts for the purpose of constructing the ultimate goal; Kingdom Hearts… The Organisation sought to create Kingdom Hearts for the purpose of becoming whole. You wished for a heart… But the power of Kingdom Hearts remains unexplained to you all…' the voice paused. 'Unknown to the Organisation, a breed of heartless began to form at the farthest reaches of the universe, unreachable even by the Corridors of Darkness… This is where you now stand…'

Marluxia's eyes widened. "I… I am further than the Corridors of Darkness? How is that possible?!"

'Though it took me many years, I managed to recover your soul from the depths of nothingness… With my power I constructed your body, and gave you part of what you wished to obtain…'

Like a sudden shot from a gun, Marluxia fell to his knees, clutching his chest, pain contorting his face. He felt it. The continuous beat of the organ which Nobodies sought to obtain; a heart.

'It is incomplete… If you succeed, you shall gain a full heart…'

A grin appeared on his face. "What do I have to do?"

The voice allowed itself another pause. 'Protect the boy. If you bond with him, the 13 elements which all Nobodies control will unfold around him. You will be his guardian, thus part of his soul. Though his soul is clouded by another. A force which even Xemnas could not hope to destroy. The Soulless.'

Marluxia grit his teeth. "What are these soulless…"

'…You have no time…' cut in the voice. 'You must go. Do not let the Beast break the door… Though it is locked, the key is in misguided hands… If the beast is awoken, the Grand Soulless will return…'

Marluxia spun round, only to see an empty clearing.

'Your task is hard… But do not be afraid. In the past your judgement was wrong. Do the right thing. And don't forget… Protect… The boy…'

Silence flooded the clearing. The man was perplexed; Soulless? Beasts? This was all too confusing. And yet this thing had recovered him from nothingness? How was that possible?

He touched his chest, and again felt the slow beat of his heart. He had a heart. He had finally beaten Xemnas. But of course, the voice had told him that he was not complete. He still needed to protect this 'boy'.

But how would he know who this 'boy' was, even if he did see him?

He looked up at the filtered sky, staring at the small clouds drifting over head. It seemed as though today would be very peaceful…

A scream echoed around the forest, breaking the illusion. Marluxia's amber eyes stared in the direction of the sound. Pulling his hood up, he began a slow run towards the sound.

XXX

I always believed that one day I would gain the respect I deserved. Of course, being an orphaned kid with the reputation of a sewer rat didn't help.

Sure, I would try to make friends, but most of them pushed me away. Except for the old man of course. And even Iruka-sensei! Both of them are my friends! But apart from them, who else in the village likes me?

If I wanted to become the greatest Hokage ever, I'd need strength and respect. The latter was the hardest part, so I thought I'd work on the strength first.

Sneaking out of the village was no problem for a master trickster like me, and training in the woods was the perfect location to build up my strength. My dream would come true. I would become the greatest Hokage ever.

For three months after joining the Konoha Ninja Academy, I trained in secret in Konoha woods, simply practicing my aim, my stamina and my taijutsu. In stamina, I am unrivalled! But I need lots of work on the other two…

I knew I was worthless at most ninja skills, and brainless in the classroom, but I did believe, deep down, that one day a special something would just hit me. That day was closer than I thought…

It happened all of a sudden, when I was impaling a training dummy with blunt kunai. My accuracy was still rather low, and I only managed to hit 4 vital spots on the dummy, the other kunai hitting the arms, legs, or even falling pointlessly to the ground.

Letting out a deep sigh, I crumpled to the ground, and stared up at the sky. I was feeling really peaceful, and of course tired after training for hours, so I wondered if I deserved a nap. What followed would prevent me from having such a luxury.

My ninja trained senses tingling, I sat up immediately. I stared wildly around. Though I may have just been paranoid, I was sure something had just been staring right at me. I shrugged it off. Perhaps it was just a deer or a rabbit.

But nevertheless, the unease remained, so I leapt up to my feet, retrieved my training kunai and began to walk back in the direction of the village. As I walked, whispers seemed to follow.

'Key…'

'Heart…'

'Heartless…'

'Soulless…'

'Nobodies…'

'Keyblade…'

'Xemnas…'

'Ansem…'

'Roxas…'

'Sora…'

As the whispers continued, I got more confused. Xemnas? Roxas? Sora?! Who were these people? They were obviously names, but why were they in my head.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice the hole in the path. And of course, I tripped. As I fell, my knee slammed into a sharp rock, leaving a sharp cut. I yelled in pain, then clutched my limb, gritting my teeth in pain.

In the trees, a twig snapped. I looked up from my bleeding limb, as leaves fell down from the trees. Now I was scared. Someone, or something, was following me. Ignoring my pain, I stood up, and began to limp back along the path. As I walked, the sound of leaves rustling, and creatures clicking filled my ears, drowning out all other sound.

Then it fell upon me. I was knocked off my feet, and pushed onto my back. A tiny little creature stared at me with bulbous yellow eyes, its antenna prodding my chest on which it sat. Its sharp claws dug into my chest. Yet it was hard to make the creature out, as its dark, ebony complexion made it out to be some sort of moving shadow.

I yelled, and tried to swat the shadow away, only for my hand to pass right through its body. I screamed, terrified, my eyes darting wildly around, looking, longing for help.

What I saw filled my heart with dread. More of the shadows were appearing, crawling towards me like grotesque spiders, there bulbous eyes locked on me.

I was helpless! I couldn't move! I felt their tiny clawed hands scraping against my arms and my legs, digging into my flesh. Was I going to drown amongst the bodies of these tiny beings?

"Aero."

A blast of what seemed to be wind slammed into me, causing all the creatures to fly up into the air, then fall down at a slow pace, as though immune to the affects of gravity. Before I could move, a tall figure appeared, wearing a long black coat with a deep hood covering his face. A silver necklace hung around the coat's neck, with some king of emblem attached. In his hands was a massive scythe, green and pink in colour, with touches of gold.

"I'm guessing you're that boy…" he muttered, with a hint of distaste. He held out his free hand towards the living shadows in the air. "Bloom."

Thorns shot out all the creature's bodies, tearing their dark skin apart, before they faded to dust.

From their remains, rose petals fell from the sky.

I stared, amazed at my saviour's power. He looked down at me, his face obscured by the hood. He took my hand, then pulled me to my feet. "What's your name boy?" he muttered.

"N-Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki…"

He pulled back the hood letting his vibrant pink hair flow. His amber eyes locked with my cerulean blue ones. "It's nice to meet you, Naruto… I am Marluxia."

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DONE! My first Kingdom Hearts-Naruto story chapter! Wow… It's rather long for a prologue… Maybe I should cut it… Nah, can't be bothered. Hope ya'll like it!

Hangman1