KrossoverXKing presents the fourth chapter of:

Protecting River

A Naruto and Serenity/Firefly crossover

neither of which are owned by me

Jeez-us! Has it really been over a year? I am so sorry about that everyone. As I've said in my other stories, all I can do is promise it won't happen again and move on. Member Ricky12440 asked for more Naruto/River moments, so I chose Bushwhacked to do it in. With how long this chapter is getting, I'll have to break it up a little, but after this episode is done, there will be another movie moment. JSYK.

-X-

Mal was back on his feet by the next day, and the group decided on a ball game in the cargo hold to pass the time.

Above them, Naruto and River followed the six players intently with their eyes, while Simon watched the two of them with a critical eye. Ever since yesterday, he wasn't openly hostile to the blonde when said boy was with River, though he still kept a watch on the pair.

A loud bang reverberated through the cargo hold as Mal impacted an empty metal crate with his back, sending it toppling off the one it had been perched on.

'Zaogao! Container clamps are failin',' he thought despondently, adding it to his mental checklist of everything Serenity needed. Ever since their own Operative had been the only reason Mal was still alive and his ship was kicking, he decided to be more proactive in managing the ship's expenses.

"Nancy! Container clamps!" He called out to the blonde far above them before getting back into the game. He was likely to forget it all, so had a back-up just in case. He knew the blonde heard him; didn't need acknowledgment.

"We're dead," he told Zoe once she was close enough. She had apparently called a time-out.

"I imagine we still have a shot, sir," she responded as she pulled him back to join the group in a rough half-circle around the ring.

"And I distinctly remember your imagination was tian di wu yowng," Mal rebutted.

"We've got 'em on the run now!" Book, the third member of their team, replied, not privy to their conversation.

"I'm glad our cunning strategy of getting our asses whooped has finally started confoundin' them," Mal replied to the holy man dryly, eying their opponents. Though it was only Jayne, Kaylee, and Wash, the fact of the matter was that his weapons expert and mechanic had impressive teamwork.

"Somebody cover my wife!" Wash, who currently had the ball, shouted.

"Every time you ain't lookin'," Jayne called out, just loud enough for his teammate to hear. It was enough for the pilot to lose the ball. Though Zoe made a valiant effort to get the ball for her team, Kaylee was quicker, if not closer.

Seeing Simon now paying attention after Wash's shout, Kaylee dodged Mal, causing him to sprawl on the floor. She jumped, the ball arcing through the air and going straight in.

"Don't s'pose I could threaten to put her off the boat, she does that again?" Mal inquired of his second-in-command.

"You could, sir," she replied dryly, "but she's the only one who knows how anything works."

"Fair 'nough," Mal sighed, intent on taking the ball from the girl instead.

The game began pouring onto the stairway, the captain chasing the mechanic.

Up above the hustle and bustle, Inara emerged from her shuttle, smiling at the family dynamics as Kaylee got on Jayne's shoulders to both get away from Mal and score a consecutive goal. She stands next to Simon, the game below a welcome background noise.

The greetings they give each other are short, but cordial. Neither knows the other very well, but there is no animosity between them.

"Who's winning?" Inara asked to keep the conversation flowing. Due in part to her nature as a companion, but also because of her nature in general, she couldn't just not talk to someone she knew and was on non-hostile terms with.

Simon shook his head, He had been watching for about twenty minutes on and off, but the rules they outlined in the beginning were rarely – if ever – followed. If you were trying to get away from someone, it was perfectly fine to go out of bounds. Holding the ball close to your chest was almost the only way they carried it. Wash would hand the ball over to his wife if she demanded it of him, while Shepard Book gave it to Kaylee if she asked nice enough.

There was also the fact that one person would spontaneously switch teams without telling the others, while the other team had apparently done the same. There were no visual or verbal clues that he could tell, either, but everyone down there seem to know who was on what team at all times.

"I...can't really tell. They don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules, if there even are any."

Next to him, River giggled as Naruto spoke something in that foreign foreign dialect that only those two apparently knew, causing him to glance over at the pair.

They seemed focused on the game, however, so he turned his attention back to Inara.

"There are," she promised, "but this far out, you usually don't play by them."

Simon rolled his eyes at the meta conversation, while the Companion glanced over at the two Alliance experiments. River was now speaking to the blonde, who nodded occasionally, tapping a seemingly random pattern on the railing.

"How are they?"

Simon didn't even pretend to know the blonde's mental state as his speech focused solely on his little sister. "She's...good. Better, at the very least. She has her days, though, like the day before." The day when River found the boy covered in blood, he didn't have to say. Albeit it was Mal's, and only because the blonde had carried him throughout the ship to fix it.

At the same time (and it loathed Simon to know this), her best days were the ones where they hid from the crew together in the ship's many ducts. At those times, Kaylee usually went in after them for dinner if they weren't there already.

"Don't we all," Inara said, smiling softly in regards to his diagnosis of the younger Tam sibling.

"There are even moments where she seems like the little sister I used to know." He didn't need to tell her it was when she was with the former Operative. "But then it passes." When any other member of the crew – Simon included – get too close. "And she still won't talk about what they did to her at the Academy, so I don't even know where to begin looking for the problem aside from 'brain'." There were a few more specific terms than that, but he didn't want to bore her with technicality, and it was possible that all the areas had some sort of damage or tampering done to them.

"Perhaps she's not sure about it, herself," Inara suggested softly, now staring at the Doctor, and not the patients. Many emotions passed across his face that she had seen on married men. Regret, self-loathing, self-pity, anger... She had no context for it, but planned to ask the other two ladies on the ship about it.

"She dreams about it," Simon admitted. "Well, nightmares... I know that much. I can't even begin to imagine what the government..." He cut himself off, staring the woman next to him in the face for a mite longer than she was comfortable with before he spoke. "Did you know I supported Unification?"

"So did I," Inara admitted, surprising even herself with how easily she trusted the young man. Not even Mal or Zoe knew that about her, and she planned to keep it from the former Browncoats as long as possible. Granted, back then, she was more driven by selfish, carnal reasons.

Those who supported Unification were usually poor Outworlders who 'hit it and quit it' as quickly as possible. The politicians and nobles that usually kept her calendar – and bed – full were like that as well, granted, but there more often than not was a son or aide who finished what their superior couldn't...and most spectacularly as well.

"I believed everything they told us," Simon stated wistfully. If she had to guess, he was no more than ten when the Unification War – or War for Independence should you believe you lost – ended. Having been born and raised on a Core World, it was likely he was brainwashed by propaganda. "How the Alliance would solve everyone's problems. Right the wrongs... I wanted to be a part of that."

He shook his head sadly at his younger self's naivete.

"Things are better for a greater many than they would have otherwise," Inara told him quietly. She shuddered to think what the 'Verse would be like if everywhere was like the Outworlds.

Simon agreed. "Three years ago, I couldn't have imagined being on a ship like this, with people like that." A bunch of fugitives with cargo that was either smuggled, stolen, or scavenged? Before River's coded messages, he never planned on going past the Halo unless he was on Persephone at the time.

"They're good people," Inara assured him. Some of them could be a bit abrasive, but they were all good people underneath it all.

Even Jayne could be relied on in a pinch with the assault rifle he affectionately called "Vera", should one of the crew be in danger.

Simon sighed, running his fingers through his hair and disturbing the perfectly combed look. "Yeah, I know. I didn't mean for it to sound like that." He smiled at the Companion. "And I'm truly grateful...to all of you. For Captain Reynolds for allowing us to stay on board, despite our bounties and the trouble we cause... for just being there. You're all not what I imagined when I imagined 'space pirates' in my younger years." He paused before jokingly adding, "Well, Jayne is."

Inara simply smiled at the accurate description of the weapons nut, but immediately frowned when his smile dropped and he continued talking. "I just... I don't know if I'll be able to help her here. And I need to help her."

"Simon," she began softly, startling him by placing a soft hand on his cheek, "you are. I think, deep down, your sister understands what you risked to rescue her from that place...rescue them from that place."

Simon opened his mouth, more than likely to refute risking anything for the blonde, but Inara shushed him.

"You and I know, better than most, how the Alliance works. Everything they do or create has more than one function, and they all are equally important in different circumstances. River and Naruto are, no doubt, no exception."

This time Simon stayed silent as his face was cupped by her delicate fingers, her thumbs massaging his temple in order to reduce stress. This normally cost in the range of tens of thousands of credits had she done this for a client, but Simon was something more than a job.

"Believe me when I tell you...leaving your world behind, that of an accomplished Core World doctor who graduated from the University of Osiris, all to risk your life to rescue her from that place. It is an incredibly selfless act."

"We're wanted fugitives, and we're putting you at risk."

"We're all running from something, Simon," she replied ambiguously, snapping him out of his blissful haze enough to where he stared at her curiously.

It wasn't enough for her to explain, but her soft smile let him know that, in a sense, she had been where he was, and had made it out fine.

It was enough for him to smile back.

Suddenly, a red light flashed as an alarm blares from further inside the ship, breaking up Mal and Wash's tussle for the ball. It also breaks the moment between the two Core Worlders as they begin making their way to the floor.

"Proximity alert," Zoe said, recognizing the tone. "Someone must've crossed our path." Mal had so many things on his mind, it was hard for him to keep track of all the nuances of the alarms. There was a different one for every little thing that could go wrong with his baby.

And a catalyzer sensor was one of the first things he was going to buy when they docked. The piece of feiwu was such a nothing part that the sensor that checked if it was working was an optional purchase. Not even Allied Spacecraft Corporation made the gorram thing. Firefly Ship Works designed their own, but due to a bunch of legal jargon, couldn't install them when they fitted the ships, and instead had to sell them as aftermarket parts.

They also gave you one if you got at least one upgrade, though Mal never got that option since he bought his old Series 3 from a salvage yard after the War.

"Oh my god," Wash said, faintly alarmed. "Who or what could it be?" he asked with a faint amount of emergency and fear in his voice. "We're all dooomed!" he cried, dragging out the word unnecessarily. "WHO'S FLYING THIS THING!?"

At that last outburst, everyone gave the pilot an incredulous stare. He tossed the ball through the hoop one last time before turning away from the unappreciative crowd. "Oh, right. That would be me," he deadpanned.

"I guess we're a man short now," Kaylee replied, though she didn't seem too broken up about it.

Jayne, who had went to retrieve the ball, was quick-witted – and dirty – enough to retort, "Little Kaylee's always a man short," earning him a good-natured punch in the arm as the smiling redhead turned to the object of her affection.

"Whaddya say, Doc? Want to play for our side? Inara won't mind."

The black-haired woman gave the mechanic a curious look at that statement, but neither she nor Simon could answer as Shepard Book spoke up.

"Actually, I think I'll take a break as well. I'm not as young as I once was."

"You're even now," Simon replied helpfully, missing the hurt look on Kaylee's face as the blonde and brunette – who had had been sitting on a catwalk forty feet in the air – dropped down in the center of the group.

"We know how to play now," River said with a serious look, Naruto nodding decisively next to her.

"Do you know how to play?" Mal asked his XO.

"No idea, sir," Zoe replied to her CO. They had been winging it the whole time, just repeating what they heard when they caught snippets of Mid-World games at the beginning. They had no idea what it all actually meant.

-X-

Firefly Serenity – Bridge

-X-

Wash absently shut off the proximity alarm as he slid into the comfortable seat he had installed. In fact, it was the second selfish purchase he bought with his cut of Serenity's pay, the first being the ring he proposed to Zoe with.

A Peregrine light transport vessel seemed almost devoid of power as it spun in place. Resolving to extend the sensor range on the particular alarm it triggered, he proceeded to lean forward in order to get a look at the name of the ship the Reavers had attacked.

Because there was no doubt it was a Reaver attack. Bandits and pirates either destroyed the ships – along with any evidence of them being there – or took them then and there. Ships one planned to return to were supposed to have their emergency lights on, but this one was nearly completely dark.

If the Reavers left a ship, however, it was for one of two reasons.

They were either coming back for it to add to their grotesque fleet, or they had left people there so they had a readily available source of either sexual relief, food, or clothing, depending on their level of depravity that particular day. Of course, such scenarios usually only happened when one crossed paths with a raiding party with a specific destination in mind.

A body smacked the window with a muted thump as it slowly slid along the viewport's visual range. Wash, horrified at the eyeless sockets, purple face, mutilated skin, and frozen look of terror watch him, he jerks the Serenity out of reflex.

-X-

Firefly Serenity – Cargo Bay

-X-

Everyone but the two Alliance experiments nearly fall, with Naruto and River merely shifting their feet at the sudden lurch the floor made.

It was enough for them to rush to the front of the ship, Mal leading.

"You have a stroke or somethin' Wash?" Mal half-joked.

"Near enough," he muttered, rubbing his chest. To be honest, it felt like he had a heart attack.

"What happ-" Zoe began, but cut herself off after following her husband's line of sight.

"Wu de ma," Jayne breathed. Everyone had looked up as Zoe did, and saw the ghost ship, too.

"I have to agree," Shepard Book replied, horrifyingly mesmerized at the silent ship.

"Any survivors?" Mal asked, trying to figure out what type of Reaver attack it was.

Wash shrugged. "Hailed once. But if whoever's there's as healthy as the guy we ran over, can't imagine staying on the line to find out."

"Got a name?" Zoe asked this time.

"I was trying," her husband muttered, squinting. "It's too far...too dark."

"Get us closer, then," Mal ordered. "I'll keep hailing."

"What is it?" Simon asked either of the females next to him as Wash began carrying out his order. The doctor was too far back, not to mention behind Jayne.

But it was River's faint whisper from just outside the door that both answers and terrifies him.

Not the least of which was because of how she couldn't see the ship from her position facing away from it behind a wall, and Naruto was growling at the inanimate object, teeth bared and normally blue eyes slitted crimson.

"Ghosts..." whispered his sister.

It took Wash five minutes to close the distance and match Serenity with the Waybach, as they learned it was called. They were facing the side of the ship, just far enough away that they could see the entire derelict ship, while they spun the same way as it did, albeit slower. This gave them longer to see each part of the ship.

They match its speed and spin, they'd watch the same small part the whole time.

They spin in the direction opposite it, the speed at which something would go by would be the total speed for both ships. If the Waybach was going 40 rpm and Serenity was going 20 rpm in the opposite direction, any area would pass by the window at 60 rpm.

By spinning the same way, however, with the Waybach going 40 rpm and Serenity going 20 rpm, any area would pass by at 20 rpm, the difference between the two ships' speed.

Those numbers were an exaggeration, of course, though the math was right. The Waybach was spinning at about 6 rpm, Serenity half that. The derelict ship did a full rotation in front of them every twenty seconds.

"What's it say?" Mal asked when a message appeared on the screen in front of Wash, who proceeded to open it. It was from the ship itself, courtesy of an outdated piece of Alliance tech that was basically an expensive IFF combined with flight data reader, including all ship recordings.

"Waybach... Converted Peregrine light transport ship offering one-way ticket from Meadow to New Kasmir... Apparently the Alliance sent people there before it was finished terraforming, and this was one of the ships to answer the call to get them off-world since the Alliance went dark on them. They used the same method we did; edging on Reaver space so the DSS's couldn't figure out that all their settlers were leaving."

"Port thrust is gone, 's why she's spinning," Kaylee muttered. "She don't wanna be parked like that."

"Tell you what I think," Jayne said, crossing his arms. "I think that fellow hid from the Reavers, then came out and saw what they did to his old lady. Now he's probably some bleedin' heart who can't live without her, to cowardly ta take a gun or blade to himself, so he decides to just press a button and take a swim through space, see how how fast his blood'd boil out his ears so they can see each other again."

"You're a very up person," Wash commented sarcastically after that morbid tirade.

"Shouldn't we report this?" Book asked, always the moral compass of the group.

Mal snorted. "To who? Alliance? Right, 'cuz they're gonna run right out to the edge here lickety-split to make sure these tax-payers they left to die on a rock are okay."

There were many ways one could die on a non-terraformed planet, depending on how close to completion it was. A slow suffocation if the atmosphere wasn't finished, starvation or dehydration if weather patterns hadn't formed, freezing if the ozone layer hadn't took hold...and those were just the threats the machines fixed. There was also the threat of carnivorous indigenous lifeforms that they could get rid of, which were taken care of near the end.

"Then we have to," Book said decisively.

"Rudderless boat this far out, anyone make it past Reavers probably canned fish by now," Jayne imagined.

"You can't know that," Kaylee, ever the optimist, declared heatedly.

"Said prolly," Jayne defended. "'Sides, if someone's needin' help, why ain't they beaming no distress call?"

Wash looked at the specs for that particular vessel as he thought aloud. "Probably fit fifteen, twenty families on a boat that size, you pack 'em tight enough."

"Families," Inara gasped out, clutching the hand of the person next to her.

"Jayne's not wrong," Zoe said, immediately feeling wrong, herself, for saying such. "There's no distress beacon. And since they're obviously in distress, that means no one can turn it on."

"Like a settler who doesn't know how," Book retorted. "That simply gives us more incentive to do the right thing."

Jayne patted the shepherd on the shoulder. "How 'bout you just say a prayer while we slide on by. That oughta do it."

Book was not swayed, and very nearly swatted Jayne's hand away. "Need I remind you the story of the Good Samaritan?"

"Rather you didn't," Mal muttered, before letting Book hear. "We'll check it out."

"So we search and rescue now?" Jayne asked the captain sarcastically with a hint of anger. They were low on funds, and having a bunch of refugees would tear through their food supply like a pack of varren.

"No," Mal said firmly, shutting down Jayne's temper. "but the Shepherd's not wrong. Could be a few survivors. Not many, but maybe two or three. And if not, well... Let's just say no one's gonna mind if we take a look around, see there's not something of value they might've left behind.

Jayne...honestly hadn't thought about that. Had it been Reavers or something else, the people wouldn't have had time to grab everything. Small items like jewelery were usually lost in the hustle and bustle of dying, and it was ripe for the picking for whoever stumbled upon it next.

But he had to save face. "Right. Yeah. No. Uh, someone could be hurt."

Another light punch let him know Kaylee was still next to him, and saw through his obvious lie.

"Wash, hook us up," Mal declared as he left the bridge, back down to the Cargo Bay.

-X-

It took no time at all for Wash to complete the maneuver. He simply had to wait for the airlock, match speed, and get close. He also sent a few cables to latch onto the other ship, some of them for stability, one to hack further into the computer, and another to give it more power for lights and anything else they may need.

Simon entered the Cargo Bay with his portable med-kit, the red box filled with his own collection of items he figured someone stuck on a ship for a long period of time would need, as well as some general purpose items in case there were any slip-ups with the crew.

Ahead, Mal and Zoe were suiting up as River and Naruto watched the two with an unwavering stare. It's eerie how similar the two teens sometimes were, given how different their conditioning was.

"Where you think you're headed?" The voice, coupled by the metallic ka-chink as a weapon was loaded let Simon know that the speaker was Jayne before he even turned to face the rugged man.

"I thought I'd offer my services, in case anyone on board required medical attention," Simon replied cordially. He held up his med-kit for emphasis, to let Jayne know he came prepared.

"Yeah, well, Cap and Zoe are going in first. They'll holler if they need you."

"But-"

"That's how it's done," Jayne hissed darkly. "Are you deaf? It's likelier than not that Reavers attacked, which means ain't no one aboard'll be needing that kinda help."

"What abou-"

But Jayne wasn't done. "You always tryin' to be in the wrong place at the wrong gorram time. You're on this ship, got the Alliance lookin' for Fireflies. We're venting out the fire, you try to open the door like some moonbrained chwen. Now you're here, running somewhere we don't know what's what... Eventually, you're gonna get hurt from all that stupid and I ain't gonna help you."

"Chiu se," Simon spat, glaring at the taller man before stalking off.

"Gohn shi," Jayne said to the retreating doctor, taking back everything he just said. Not that he'd admit it, of course.

-X-

Peregrine Waybach – Airlock

-X-

The airlock shuts with a resounding THUNK as Mal and Zoe sweep the hallway with their weapons, having taped flashlights to them.

BANG!

The shot both of them fired at the wraith-like figure that brushed past them impacts the floor, a tanned hand having aimed the muzzles down.

River continues to sway like a ghost down the hallway. Naruto suddenly unlatches their helmets as he walks past, catching up to his counterpart. He begins walking backwards with her, tapping her forehead insistently. The odd action seems to not do what he intended.

Or, at least, they hoped he didn't intend for her to headbutt him on the nose.

Despite the blood flowing, the blonde simply stops, but River flows around him like her namesake, miffing the boy. When he grabs her arm to stop her, he is overbalanced as she continued walking, not slowed at all by his interference. He let out a strangled cry of frustration, the first sound they had ever heard out of his mouth.

Visibly upset, but not willing to allow River on the ship alone, Naruto had no choice but to follow her further in the derelict vessel.

Mal and Zoe watched the interaction with bemusement, setting their helmets and gloves on a table in the mess hall as they followed them, but not before seeing the state of that room.

"Whatever happened...happened in a hurry," Mal observed, noting the set tables and food complete with ladles ready to be consumed.

Zoe nodded with his assessment as they caught back up with the two teens. They weren't exactly being cautious, but nor were they rushing recklessly.

Did they know exactly how fast they could go while still being able to search for threats, or did they know if or where the threats were and simply weren't rushing because they didn't want to?

Even as the two disappear around a corner, Mal and Zoe enter the bridge, intent on getting more answers. They had a very good guess, but it was just that: a guess, no matter how educated it may be.

There was more inclination that whatever happened was more than likely blitzed on the crew. As the ship was still habitable, that left Reavers as the only reason which would leave the ship behind.

There was a half-drunk mug of coffee on the arm of the pilot's chair, an open book where the co-pilot would sit. On the holo-table in the center, a board game was in mid-play before it was left to gather dust.

"Everything was left on," Zoe observed, brushing dust away and seeing the dim screens respond. "Ship's in power-saver." She spun in place, noting how nothing was knocked over or out of place. "No sign of a struggle, either. Just-"

"Gone," Mal concluded, pressing play on an incomplete log. Nothing but static met their ears, even as they struggled to listen past the white noise. It was in vain.

As with the Waybach, there was nothing there.

-X-

He is glancing worriedly at her shaking, sweaty frame. The cold metal floor on her bare feet seem to not bother as she stares at something through the walls.

There is a fixed point she stares at, no matter which way she is going. He can only assume it is whatever – or whoever – has her in this state. The only reason she is not screaming aloud is because she is screaming in his head, as are others.

It is a side-effect of their relationship. In order for her mind to carry less strain, most of what she feels goes to him, while she takes care of what she sees. It was yet another thing the drugs had inhibited, this connection.

But he hates how they made him weaker than her, though that wasn't really the case. If River didn't want him to stop her, she released a pheromone which made the limit on his strength much more strict, so much so that he literally had just enough strength to grip something, though that grip was easily broken.

"Screaming... too much screaming. No sleep, only screaming..."

It prevented him from stopping her from going further in the ship.

He couldn't see what happened, but the emotions were as clear as they were primal. There was no doubt that Reavers attacked.

He stopped behind River, who was frozen in front of a door, staring at what would be the room's ceiling if a wall wasn't in the way.

He didn't want to...but he had no choice. She wasn't going to leave until she saw whatever it was that she was looking at.

It was then that Mal and Zoe appeared, as the first burst of chakra left the tenketsu on his hand. A steady stream followed afterwords, his control over it causing it to create a marble-sized metaphysical construct that grew exponentially, the whine turning to a screech as four small blades of condensed wind formed like rings on a planet.

Naruto glanced one more time at the nearly catatonic brunette before plunging the attack right next to the electronic lock, completely destroying any form of technology or barrier in a foot-wide circle.

-X-

"Zoe," Mal said, roughly getting the attention of the dark-skinned woman.

"Yes, sir?" Zoe asked absently, still staring at the two stow-aways.

"Why am I still surprised at stuff like this?" he asked, completely serious. Sure, he had seen the boy toss around a Land Stalker and run alongside the Mule, but those were just extreme instances of what Humans could already do. People were strong and threw stuff. People could also run fast. Nora just took it to the extreme.

But that plasma sphere was a whole 'nother ball game. Humans couldn't do anything like that.

"I can only imagine, sir," Zoe deadpanned, the both of them walking forward once the door was open.

It was a testament to the horrors of the War for Independence that neither of them immediately lost their lunch.

It also drove home the atrocities the Alliance had performed on the two teens that the same didn't happen to either of them.

Though at the same time, the blonde was an Operative, so he had more than likely performed some atrocities as well.

Best to not think about that too much.

He pressed the comm in his ear.

"Wash, get Jayne and Doc over here ASAP. Air's breathable."

"You got it," came the voice of their pilot. "Uhh... What should I tell them?"

Mal knew that was his way of trying to get information, but wasn't having any of it. "That I want them over here ASAP and that the air's breathable."

"Yessir," Wash replied obediently.

As they waited for the two men, they saw River was still transfixed, her expression neutral as she stared straight up. Her protector was doing the same, but his expression was anything but neutral.

There was fear and anger in equal measure, even as his glowing red eyes failed to tear away from the scene above them.

And no one could fault him for that.

-X-

Almost 5.4k, not including AN's. And the episode isn't even a quarter done. I'm seeing anywhere between three and five parts, depending on how it changes due to Naruto's presence and how much explanation everything needs.

For those confused, Naruto is her protector in two instances. He protects her mind from undue stress due to her own power by taking it on himself, and he also protects her blind spot when she is fighting. He was not meant to be stronger than her, though he is most of the time.

Next chapter I'm writing is, of course, T'ZvY, but before that, here's some stats as of 10/30/16, 5:53PM!

Reviews: 20. And such positivity! I'm glad you all like it so much, and I'm sorry it took so long to update.

Follows/Faves: 92/75. Noice. I can only assume there's some crossover. Does anyone know if it will still alert you if you just favorite something, or do you have to follow it?

Communities: 2. Also pretty awesome.

Views: 2,654. The fact that anybody found this is astounding. It's the only Naruto/Serenity crossover, while there is also only one Naruto/Firefly one. I can only assume you found another story and then went to my profile and saw this one.

It's because of you all that this is my second most popular story.

But now I have to talk to you about something very important/personal. If you read this in Chapter 8 of T'ZvY, it's the same, and I encourage you to vote on the poll on my profile page.

Ok, here goes.

I was thinking about creating a . I know, I know, I never wanted to do it either. Coeur Al'Aran has one so he can quit his job. He also offers writing advice and skype calls if you give him $100 a month.

And three people have done it.

I...am not that greedy. Nor am I that talented to offer advice.

I'm a pretty good grammar beta. Y'know, spelling, punctuation, and all that stuff. I do my own beta work, and when I read back, I see maybe one mistake every other chapter, so if there's two of us, it'll be perfect.

I have LibreOffice and Microsoft Word if that matters.

The point is...I need money. I've been searching for a job for almost two months now, but my car was totaled near the end of July 'cuz some idiot ran a red light and t-boned me, and I lost my job the first week of September, limiting my search area to about 5 miles since I have a rickety little bike with a pedal that won't stay on. I live with my mom, and she provides me with a room, utilities, and dinner.

Breakfast and lunch are not a constant promise. Internet is not promised. My mom barely uses it.

What I'm saying is...if I opened one, would you pledge at least a dollar? I think it's a monthly thing, but at the same time, if you do that, I will beta read for you. I'm not a good muse, but I can help with that if you want as well.

I'm supposed to be paying my mom $100 a week for the above-mentioned perks. At the same time, she told me that until I get a job, I can pay her $50 a week.

So my first goal would be $250 a month, and if I reach that, I could rest easy knowing I'd have internet to keep writing, as well as more time to search for a job. I could also increase the chapter length by a thousand words, making them 6-7k word chapters.

At the same time, if it seems like you are really into it, I could up it to $500 a week, and focus full time on writing, meaning the chapters could actually come out two a week. This is just to show I can write this fast. I've been laser-focused on this and spending an hour searching for jobs. But if that happens, I can make this my main focus.

There's a poll on my profile if you think I should open one. I won't if you think it's a bad idea.

Sorry for the long AN, but this is important, and I want your opinion.

As I said, next chapter is Tali'Zorah vas Yoko, then Hart of Gold, a novelization of Pokemon HeartGold. I plan on doing one for each generation, even the 7th(which I paid off Moon earlier today). Orange is Gen 1, Amber is Gen 2, Zircon is Gen 3, Iridium is Gen 4, Ember for Gen 5.1, Cinder for Gen 5.2, Epsilon for Gen 6, and Chrys for Gen 7.

Check it out if you like Pokemon.

Anywho, enough plugging my own story. I'll see you Wednesday with chapter 9.

Ja Ne!