I own nothing other the OC's

"Normal speech"

"whisper"

'Thoughts'

'Kurama/bijuu thoughts'

'Jutsu/technique' (not said unless with "")

Enjoy

:: Arcadian Woodland, 5 years before the formation of team JNPR::

Naruto Uzumaki was a boy who at his age has done more in his short career as a genin of Konoha than most shinobi will ever do in their entire lives, he has liberated countries and kingdoms, come face to face with some of the deadliest shinobi of the modern era, even summoned a boss summon to defeat a bijuu, the one tail.

Was now lying on the ground unconscious and injured. His tracksuit torn and tattered with a dried blood caked near an open chest wound near his heart, his hitai-ate having a line marked right through the leaf symbol.

Slowly his eyes open as he groans he looks around "…wait …where I am?" he said while taking in his surroundings the were a forest, the grass was soft where he laid. He looked up and the trees they created a roof over him with few rays of sunlight passing through. The late afternoon sunset with a brilliant orange hue.

Standing up to lean against a tree Naruto Confused said "... Where the hell am I… where's the statues of the first Hokage and Madara-teme?... where's the valley? … where's Sasuk-" the words died in his as his confusion was replaced with anger he balled up his fist to the point of making his knuckles white. his eyes morph from the peaceful, friendly and welcoming blue to angry and violent red slits, he fell silent for a moment…

Only for him to punch the tree splintering it *CRASH* and release a monstrous roar "RRRAHHH!" animals fled as the tree fell, the roar could even beowolves and Ursas stayed away.

Naruto's anger subsided as his eyes turned back to normal and with a sad look on his face. He brought his hand to the open wound on his chest, it was still fresh so it stung like all hell. For a moment he was again silent…

He moved his hands to his hitai-ate, removing it and looking at it for a moment then to the sky as if to contemplate a higher power.

His hand traced along the head protector before putting it away in his pocket 'I should probably find some help… before I bleed out' He thought to bury all of his previous thoughts, he looks towards the setting sun.

::3 hours later::

"Uhg… why do forests have to sooo fucking big." Naruto whined as the night was upon him, unknowingly having remnant's shattered moon shining on him. The whiskered boy hadn't even noticed more preoccupied with his injuries.

"I wonder how far I am from the village?" he says aloud "How am I gonna break it to granny that I failed…" his self-doubt rising, thinking of something to change the subject "I hope Choji, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, Kiba, and Akamaru are okay." nope, made it worse.

Naruto just walked in silence for a handful of minutes until his ears twitched as he heard several monsterous growls *Rrrrr* ahead of him. Naruto being well… Naruto, checks on it to make sure no one is in any danger despite receiving two A-rank assassination techniques to the chest earlier that day.

What he saw, surprised him… he saw a large black wolf-like monster, bone-like growths covered its body like armor, but that's not what had the whiskered boy's attention.

It was that said monster was circling an unconscious blonde girl sat up against a tree with a bent baseball bat by her feet, who much like Naruto looked like she was put through hell and back, but unlike Naruto probably wouldn't survive being impaled through the chest… twice.

Not wanting to find out Naruto tossed a shuriken and yelled out "Oi!, Over Here You Poor Excuse For a Mutt!" getting the Alpha beowolf to turn its head to face the oncoming shuriken.

*Thunk*, it roars in pain as the shuriken was now embedded in its right eye blinding it there allowing naruto to close the distance between them with a kunai in his right hand, the Alpha raised it's right claw to slash at the boy only for Naruto to sidestep and stab it in its hind legs leaving the kunai there and jumping back towards to where the girl was.

The Alpha bared its teeth at the whiskered boy with rage in its eyes, expecting to see some sort fearful reaction but, instead of it saw a smirk on the boy's face and then caught a whiff of smoke coming from its leg revealing that the kunai had an explosive tag tied to it.

Naruto's smirk continued as he softly says "Boom." *Boom* the tag exploded taking the monster's leg with it. Naruto once again ran toward it forming his hands into too cross shouting out "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" *Poof* several copies of the boy appear beside him

A clone grabs its ankle as two take hold of arms pulling against each other, hoisting the Grimm upwards.

The original Naruto locked arms with a clone to spin and hammer toss himself upwards creating a single clone, Naruto held out his hand towards the clone, both focusing chakra to their hands rapidly forming a ball of blue light that looked like it was spinning "Rasengan" he yelled out as the clone dissipated from existence.

The Alpha beowolf could only look helpless as Naruto slammed into its chest. The Rasengan grinding into its chest like a drill. The clones let go, grabbing the original to toss him to safety before dispersing, leaving the Grimm now with a sizable hole in its chest to dissipate into black mist.

Naruto stood their alone contempt with his monster killing endeavors, only for his ear to twitch and he turns to look down at the girl who was groaning and stirring awake.

Naruto knelt beside her finally got a good look at her, she looked the same age as him, was a blonde with short hair, Naruto noticed the ends of her hair were jagged as if cut by a short knife in a hurry.

She was wearing a purple hoodie, dark blue ripped jeans and black biker boots. "Ow… what hit me?" she slurred, opening her eyes revealing that both were different colors her right a sapphire blue that matched naruto's eyes and left green that looked like it was cut from jade of the highest quality.

She looked around for a moment only to see the partially dissolved remains of the Alpha Beowolf that knocked her out, her baseball bat bent laying on the ground… and a short blonde kid with whiskers dressed in a worn-out orange tracksuit and damaged headband with a weird symbol on it.

They looked at each other in silence before Naruto spoke up "Um… hi?" he said awkwardly clutching his chest a bit hoping to block the sight of his wound "My name is Naruto, what's yours?" he asked with the usual warmth in his smile, though internally the events that transpired at the Valley of The End were beginning to snuff out that warmth

The girl without breaking eye contact grabbed the handle of her bat and used it to lean on. She looked past him to once again look at what was left of the Alpha

Looking back at Naruto "Leona… my name is Leona." her voice was bit raspy but uniquely her own even if a bit awkward "Did the Beowulf rough you up?" she asked hoping that she wouldn't be recognized.

Naruto looked confused "Beo-what…" she motioned with her towards the now dissolved grim "Oh, you mean the monster… no that thing didn't even touch me I was like this for hours before, I've kinda been looking for some to patch me up, ya know." he said possibly saying too much

Leona raised an eyebrow "Then what put you through ringer *Snort* Naruto" she asked letting out a laugh at the boy's name

"Hey what's so funny," Naruto asked indignantly

"Oh, nothing… fishcake *Bwahahaha* OW" she laughed a bit before groaning in pain,

"Ha, that's whatcha' get… and my name means maelstrom, ya know" Naruto blurted out, seeing that he was in more pain than she willing to show asked "Maybe we should get out of here…. Do ya know anyone that can help us or am I gonna have'ta walk around for 3 more hours?"

Leona nodded as she brought out her scroll opening the GPS app and amazing the shinobi, though Naruto would save any question about technology for later "Got it, follow me" she walked about two steps before collapsing to her knees and clutching her abdomen while leaning on her bent bat.

Naruto went to her side as he knelt in front of her with his back turned, "What are doing ya *Groan* …mook?" the striker asked the shinobi

"You're too hurt to move, I'll carry you… just tell me where we need to go." Naruto said without hesitation. Leona could only look at him.

The striker spoke "I ain't some damsel in need of saving blondie…" she strains herself getting "I'll Be Fine." she almost shouted through teeth.

Naruto equally stubborn is not going to no as an answer "Don't Be An Idiot You'll Hurt Yourself Even More, Ya Know!" he shouted out as she relented

"Fine!" she barked out "But don't tell anyone… " she whispered as she got on naruto piggyback style, her bat in between her and the shinobi. She held her scroll out so that Naruto could see the map "Just follow the way the red arrow is pointed"

Naruto looked back at her and said "Hang on" before jumping into the tree line with quick haste

"Holy Hell! Could have least warned a girl, Dumbass!" Leona exclaims as she wraps her legs tighter around Naruto's waist, thankfully they were headed with the shattered moon behind them.

After around a half hour of tree hopping both found themselves in an open field about a half mile from the location Leona put into her scroll, Naruto could see light, a lot of it actually just above the treeline

The striker spoke up "Hey Ramen boy do mind if we slow down a bit so we can talk for a bit" Naruto landed on the ground as gently as an injured shinobi with a hole in the chest could (it was a little rough) and continued towards the light in the distance.

"So… what do wanna talk about?" Naruto asked bluntly

"I kinda want to know… what are you?" she asked equally as bluntly

Naruto scrunched his face for a bit "Well I'm a shinobi of the hidden leaf, that's what the symbol on my hitai-ate means, ya know." he said calmly, more tired than anything else.

Leona "Um… sure" 'What… I meant to ask if you were human of Faunus' she thought as Naruto continues to carry her 'Wait… did he just say he was a ninja then why is he wearing orange and what the hell is the hidden leaf, is like the Branwen tribe that mom and dad talk about' Leona continued thinking, leaving nothing but silence.

So Naruto asked a question "What about your family?"

"Huh?"the question caught the girl off guard "Well… um, I have one… hehe, there's me, my mom and dad… fours sisters" she said casually

"What's it like?" Naruto questioned, wanting to know.

Leona not really thinking tells the truth "Well my dad is ok… he's kinda of a dork *snort*, my second oldest sister Inka and little sister Nicolette are always there for me." she remained silent for a moment "though my mom is kinda overbearing and… um my, oldest sister Angela and twin sister Odelia are kinda a pain, but I know they care… even if they get on nerves" she chuckles at the last bit.

"It must be nice" Naruto said offhandedly, not really knowing what family life felt like

"Yeah… until they get on your nerves" she explains before asking "What about you Ninja boy? got any family that annoys you?"

Naruto flatly says "No" trying to avoid the question, only for it to be followed up by another question.

"What, are you an only child…" she asked without thinking

"No, I mean that I'ma an orphan…" Naruto explained as Leona felt slapping herself for bringing it up "Both my parents died when I was young so I don't really have memories of what they were like, ya know." he said sadly

She sighs "Naruto I sorry I brought it up… did they leave ya anything?" she asked contradicting herself

Naruto sighs "No, I don't even know their names, or… or even if they wanted me… I know the old man told me they were shinobi but other than that, nothing" he turns his head back to his passenger "hehe, I sorry Leona-chan I didn't bring the mood down like that, ya know"

Leona looks at him "Don't apologize, I'm the one who brought it up" she says feeling like an asshole 'What does -chan mean… I'll ask him when we back to the castle' she thought

Naruto smiles "Don't worry about, ya know?" he said kindly "It felt kinda good talking to someone about it." he said as his ears twitched, he tensed hearing the familiar slither of a large snake.

Leona felt naruto tense up "hey ramen-boy what's wrong," she asked worriedly

"We have company, whatever ya do, don't look back you'll giveaway that we know," he said inadvertently drawing from the sealed Bijuu, his eyes turning to slits as he waited for whatever was hiding in the bush. "When it strikes, run… I'll take care of it, you should be able to run and get help, that is not a question" he whispered his voice almost echoing despite it

Leona would've argued but the tone his voice left little room to negotiate, so they continued walking forward in silence as they waited. To the point that the slithering sound could be heard by the girl, then it stopped… and so did Naruto.

There was silence as area tensed up, until…

A deafening roar broke it *RRRAHHH* as what was behind them broke through the tree line, Leona looks back seeing the blur of inky black scales coming towards her.

Naruto jumps in the air and turns his body looking down at the large black snake-like creature that slammed into the ground where he was standing… that's when something in the corner caught his attention, he looked up and saw it…

Time slowed, his eyes widen, he swore to Kami that his heart stopped…. The shattered moon shining upon him 'WHAT' he thought panicked, still in the air he heard Leona shout "NARUTO!" he's pulled back to reality as the King Taiijitu's white head was about to strike 'SHIT!, Can't Dodge It' he thought turning his body to make sure Leona won't get hurt *WHAM* they both blacked out…