"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Demon/Summon speaking"

'Demon/Summon thinking'

"Jutsu/Attack name"

By dawn the next day TenTen finally manages to see the outline of an island in the horizon. She leans over the edge of the crows nest to call down to Lisanna who was currently steering the ship. "Hey Lisanna-chan. I see an island. Off to the starboard side."

Lisanna looks up as she adjusts the direction the ships heading. "Thanks TenTen-chan. Hopefully there's someplace where you guys can buy charts, maps and other navigational equipment you will need for your voyage...As well as actual food and not this weird ramen stuff." She calls up.

With a quick giggle TenTen then responds. "We might as well. Also do you mind showing us just what we need to buy?" The burnette below smiles. "Ya I guess I can help you with that at least."

TenTen then notices that someone seems to be missing. "Umm...Lisanna-chan? Do you happen to know where Naruto-kun is?"

"Last I checked he was in his room. He said something about getting inspiration and had to do some writing." Lisanna says with a curious look on her face as she resumes looking straight ahead. "I wonder what he's writing about?"

"Writing? Inspiration?" Comes a faint voice causing Lisanna to look back up in wonder.

"Is something wrong?" Lisanna asks as she notices that TenTens face is now beet red.

"That bastard. He better not be doing what I think he is." TenTen exclaims as she leaps back down to the deck of the ship causing Lisanna to jump in surprise. TenTen opens the door and makes her way deeper into the ship, stomping all the way.

"I wonder what she's embarrassed about?" Lisanna says with a shrug.

Moments later a loud crashing noise causes Lisanna to jump once more in surprise. The distinct noise of TenTen screaming in fury echos throughout the ship.

"YOU BASTARD! I WARNED YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DID ONE MORE STUPID THING NARUTO-KUN!"

"But TenTen-chan I haven't done anything wrong! I didn't even write your name! OUCH! HEY DON'T THROW THOSE AT ME!"

Suddenly an orange blur appears out on deck, races up the steps and hides behind Lisanna. "Hey what the? What are you doing Naruto-san? AHH! Watch what your grabbing!"

TenTen then appears in front of them with a handful of kunai knives in one hand and several shuriken in the other. "Naruto how dare you use her as a shield. Just come out and take your punishment like a man!" She screams at Naruto who was currently crouching behind Lisanna with his hands on her hips.

"Come on TenTen-chan! Like I said I didn't put your name in the book. And you know I have to preserve my masters legacy." Naruto says as he peeks around Lisannas figure trying to make the best case he can.

When looking into TenTens eyes there appears to be a flames coming forth from them. "I know you have to preserve Jiraiyas legacy...but not with damn ero-books! Now listen carefully Lisanna. Don't move a muscle. I cannot guarantee not to hit you if you don't heed my warning!" As TenTen says this she crosses her arms as she prepares to throw her weapons at Naruto who was still behind the innocent Lisanna.

"Uh...TenTen-chan...please tell me your not serious?" Lisanna asks with a worried look on her face. But notices the muscles in TenTens arms are tensed up signifying that she's preparing to hurl her deadly weapons. "AHHH" she screams as the knives are thrown.

All Naruto and TenTen see is a black blur shoot from Lisannas position, towards the mast and all the way up towards the crows nest."

The pair pause as they wonder where she went. But not wanting to waste the oppertunity of an exposed Naruto TenTen quickly unleashes her barrage of weapons at him. In his moment of confusion he only manages to dodge several of them before a couple manage to pierce his arms which he used to shield himself.

Once the barrage ends with Naruto sitting on his ass and trying to pull out the few kunai that managed to pierce into him. "Damn TenTen-chan. I know I heal fast but still that doesn't mean the pain is diminished." His gaze then drifts to the crows nest. "Also. Just what the hell was that blur?"

TenTen shrugs as she picks up her leftover weapons and seals them away. "No idea. I guess we should check it out."

The pair slowly walk up the mast to find a surprising sight curled up in a little black ball. "Is that you Lisanna?" They both asked at the same time. The ball stirs a little before it unfurls itself to be a young lady that looks a lot like Lisanna. That is if Lisanna had short black fur covering her entire body except for her chest and stomach which had a lighter colour, little black cat ears perched on her head as well as a long black tail sticking out of her shorts. On her face there seemed to be long whiskers.

The figure suddenly leaps up and proceeds to scratch six cross shaped lines across both Naruto and TenTens faces before landing on the opposite side of the crows nest in a crouching position. "JUST WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" The pair yell as they cover their faces in pain.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT THAT WAS FOR JERKS! NARUTO-SAN JUST WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU USE ME AS A SHIELD. AND TENTEN-CHAN HOW DARE YOU THROW THOSE KNIFE THINGS AT ME!" The cat-girl yells out before a long drawn-out and threatening hiss.

Naruto finally moves his hands away from his face so he can get a better look at Lisanna and is quite surprised to say the least. After a short pause he points at her. "Wow your an actual cat-girl!" He states with an incredible look on his face.

Lisanna sweat drops as she stares at Naruto. At that moment TenTen finally removes her hands from her face. "Naruto-kun what are you going on abou-" She starts to saw before getting a good look at Lisannas form. "Whoa. You were right Naruto-kun. She is a cat-girl."

After short pause the two suddenly wonder just why she has that form. TenTen is the first to speak up. "Ok stupid question. But um...how are you a cat-girl Lisanna?"

Lisanna lowers her head but keeps eye contact with TenTen. "You remember when you asked about devil fruit?" The pair nods signifying they remember. "Ok and unless your stupid, you must have figured out I ate one as well. The one I ate is a Zoan type. The Cat-Cat fruit model: Panther."

Naruto cocks his head to the side in confusion. "Whats a zoan type?"

Before Lisanna can reply, TenTen raises a hand. "Umm...Why don't we resume this conversation inside the ship? I'd actually like to treat this wound as soon as I can." She says as she points at the scratches across her face.

Everyone else nods in agreement. Naruto and TenTen choose to just jump straight down to the deck of the ship. Lisanna on the other hand chooses to jump from separate parts of the ship to make her way down. The three then make their way back into the kitchen.

By the time they're all seated with Lisanna insisting on sitting across from them. "Ok. There are three different types of devils fruit. 1. Logia which can turn a person into an element such as fire but also allows them to control that specific element. 2. Paramecia which mostly just give the person superhuman physical abilities or powers. There's too many different types of this to go into much detail. And finally the type I have. 3. Zoan. This kind can turn a person into an animal like in my case, a panther. For Zoans we have three forms. Our original human form, our animal form, and a hybrid form which is what I'm currently in." She explains as slowly as possiable so that she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

TenTen nods in understanding however it looks like Naruto was still a little confused but luckily managed to get the gist of what she meant. "These devil fruit seem quite interesting." Naruto says with obvious interest. "Oh that reminds me. Is the reason that after I pulled you out of the water the other day you were quick to climb onto my head and shoulders. Is that because your literally a cat? Since they seem to hate water?"

Lisanna growls a little at the comment but still nods. "Ya..."

"Thought so!" Naruto states before he bursts out laughing. TenTen rolls her eyes at Naruto then smiles at Lisanna in a friendly manner. But after a short while of this Lisanna slams her hand on the table. "Ok seriously what the hell?" She asks is an angry tone.

"What's the matter Lisanna-chan?" TenTen asks. "Did we do something wrong?"

"Yes somethings the matter! Why the hell aren't you guys freaked out by this? Just about everyone else I've met were freaked out and some even tried to attack me! All just because I'm...different." She states as her voice takes on a deeper sadness.

Once she says this TenTens gaze drifts over to Naruto who completely stops laughing and looks at Lisanna with understanding. She notices this and is quite confused by their reactions. "What? What's with those looks? I can understand if you think I'm a freak and once we reach the island I have no problem leaving you guys alone. I never wanted this. I NEVER WANTED TO BE A MONSTER!" She gasps for breath after her short rant. Lisanna then stands up and makes her way for the door only to be stopped when a pair of arms envelope her.

"Your not alone Lisanna-chan. And your not a monster either." Naruto says in a low voice. Lisanna just stands there and begins to shake as tears start running down her face. She then breaks out of Narutos grip and races outside.

"Lisanna-chan..."

TenTen walks up to Naruto and places a hand on his shoulder to try and reasure him. "Naruto-kun...its ok. Let me talk to her. And don't worry. I won't say anything about Kurama. I'll leave that talk to you when the time comes." Naruto nods in understanding and watches as she walks out of the room to follow after Lisanna.

"TenTen-chan...thanks. I'm going back to my room for a bit. Let me know when we get there or if you need any help." Naruto quietly says. TenTen pauses at the door just long enough to give him a quick nod and a glare that promised pain if he continued his writing, before leaving the room.

XxX

Back on deck TenTen walks out and begins looking for the elusive cat-girl. After spending a few minutes looking around she eventually finds Lisanna sitting back in the crows nest with her arms wrapped around her legs as she cries.

With slow and careful movements TenTen slowly sits down beside Lisanna and gently rubs her back with one hand. After a minute or so Lisanna eventually leans over and rests her head on TenTens shoulder. "Why? Why do you guys act as if you care?" She says in between sobs.

"I don't know how other people have treated you and I can't say I've ever known the feeling of being hated for no reason. Although...Naruto-kun does. He knows it better than anyone." TenTen says as she wraps her arm around Lisanna and pulls her in closer.

"How so?"

"Its because back in our hometown. Our village...for a reason he never knew. He was hated and despised just for being alive. Ever since the day he was born." TenTen quietly explains.

Hearing that Lisanna pulls away a little and looks into TenTens eyes in an attempt to see if she's telling the truth. "How can that be? How can people hate someone ever since the day of their birth?"

"Sadly that's not for me to say. You'll have to ask Naruto-kun the details about that. But trust me he's suffered many hardships over the years, yet I've hardly ever seen him cry about it." TenTen says as she looks at Lisanna. "Also, you don't have to tell us your past if you don't want to. We can wait till you feel comfortable with telling us. There's no rush."

Lisanna looks down at her knees again as she thinks about what TenTen just told her. "So...your telling me he understands my pain?"

"Yes, and if he get his way he will probably try to take on your pain as well as shouldering his own. Its an unfortunate habit he picked up during the last war."

Lisannas ears perk up in wonder at the mention of war. "War? What war?"

TenTen shakes her head. "Its a war that happened back in our country a few years back. By the end of it Naruto-kun was considered a hero to everyone across the nation." With that being said TenTen helps Lisanna stand up and uses a cloth to dry her tears. "There you go. Now lets go back down and finish bringing the ship into port."

She cat-girl nods as she proceeds to make her way back down to the deck. TenTen quickly joins her. "I'll be right back with Naruto-kun. You don't have to worry about treating him different. If possiable just act how you normally would." She says with quick smile before disappearing into the depths of the ship.

'So he was also treated like a monster? But unlike me he suffered his entire life...I wonder why his parents didn't help him?' Lisanna thinks to herself as she makes her way to the helm to resume steering the ship.

A minute or so later both Naruto and TenTen come back onto the deck and take up various positions around the ship. TenTen turns to Naruto with a grin. "Well Captain. Why don't you show Lisanna your special skill?"

"Good idea TenTen-chan. It'll help us travel faster as well. Naruto says as he grins first at TenTen then to Lisanna.

'Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!'

Two dozen exact clones on Naruto appear in different locations of the deck causing Lisannas jaw to drop in disbelief. "What the hell?"

The original Naruto stands at the centre of the deck and makes an announcement to his clones. "Ok everyone now listen up! I want you all to listen to whatever Lisanna-chan has to say since she's the expert when it comes to sailing the seas!" With that being said every single clone salutes the original as well as Lisanna and say. "Got it Boss!"

TenTen looks down from the crows nest and smiles. 'This should be an interesting trip. Especially if Lisanna-chan chooses to stay with us. Honestly, I really hope she does.'