Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. If I did, you would all bow before my awesomeness! MWAHAHAHAHA! (Cough) Anyway, enjoy.
Rikku awoke feeling much better than she did in, well, a very long time. Probably because of the soft bed. She slowly sat up and stretched before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and rubbing her eyes. The blond girl walked slowly over to the fridge Naruto had used last night, although she had no memory of the little 'chat' if it could even be called that. She did remember that she had a roommate after about a minute or so of rummaging around in the fridge looking for something to eat. She eventually settled on just a slice of bread and some milk, since she knew that they had to conserve the food. They lived in a desert after all. Everyone had to do their part. The Al Bhed walked over to the boy sleeping happily on his bed, and almost felt guilty for having to wake him. Almost. Instead she raised her leg and kicked him straight off the bed onto the floor. Where he muttered several words that even though she didn't understand them, knew they were curses. When he looked at her as if saying, 'what the hell was that for?' she merely raised the food in her hands and went back to the table. After all, they had to eat quickly and then get started on the languages. The both of them had neglected their studies last night. Also, it would probably be slightly harder for her to learn than he would, since later on when he learns enough she could give him a book to read. However she sincerely doubted he had any books on him.
Naruto watched her sitting at the table, eating away innocently while he sat on the floor after the fall he just took. Perhaps he had slept in and that was why she kicked him? Oh well. It didn't really matter if he did or not. He was used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning. Naruto went to the fridge and decided to simply have what he did last night. After all, he had been eating ramen for his whole life, so he could easily stand eating the same thing several times in a row. Besides, a sandwich was easy to make, tasty, and filling. It was perfect. At least this was what Naruto thought. You can easily tell he has been eating nothing but ramen if he believes a sandwich is amazing and perfect.
When the two were done with breakfast they cleaned out the dishes (just the glasses, no plates or anything. It was only bread after all) with the sink in the bathroom and placed them back in the cupboard for use. Honestly, Naruto hoped that they would start learning the languages as soon as possible. He hated this constant silence.
After they both got dressed, Rikku in her everyday outfit and Naruto in a black sweatshirt and blue jeans, the two blondes continued to the beds and sat down on the one that belonged to them, facing each other. They both knew that they had to do this some time, however neither knew what to do in order to teach. Naruto however had a small amount of experience being friends with Iruka, so he began. First, he pointed to himself and said "Naruto". He then pointed to the girl across from him and said "Rikku." Naruto believed that they should learn what their own names in the two languages was first. Rikku then tried. However she did the opposite. She pointed to herself and said "Naruto." Then she pointed to him and said "Rikku." The girl did this with a smile on her face, clearly pleased with herself. Naruto however just slapped his hand onto his forehead. How could he help her understand these words. The ninja got an idea, and grabbed Rikku's hand that she still had held out. The girl blushed a few shades, and seemed to stammer for a few moments. When she calmed down he pointed to her with her own hand and said once again, "Rikku." He then placed her hand on his chest, which caused her to blush a few more shades. The shinobi then said "Naruto." Then he let her have her hand back. Being oblivious to what he had just done, because of him just being concerned with teaching for the moment. When Rikku stopped blushing, she copied him, completely this time. Naruto smiled, and hoped she knew the meaning of those words. However things were going to become a lot more difficult.
It had been an interesting two weeks. The two had progressed very quickly in learning the two languages. They were lucky that Cid was right when he said they were both a lot alike. The only real difference between the two was that the letters were put into different positions. Both Naruto and Rikku could speak both languages quite fluently. (Of course, they each knew one to begin with.) Although they usually preferred speaking to each other in English. This was so Rikku could get practice, and so nobody could eavesdrop. They wouldn't know what the words meant even if they did. The two had become good friends. Even when Cid told them they no longer had to spend every minute with each other, they continued to live in the same room (Mainly because Naruto still had to be watched often) and they were seen with each other around 'Home' frequently. (No one had a definite answer for this, although there were rumors...) Even after the shinobi accidentally walked in the bathroom while Rikku was showering, the two just avoided each other for the day, and the next morning it was as if it never happened. Naruto was now trusted more, and he was scheduled for his first dig that very day. Naruto was very pleased with this, and also with how things were going for him. He now had a real home, and friends. Even if many didn't trust him, he knew that they too, would change with time. The blonde was slightly disappointed, however, that he hadn't been able to squeeze any training into his new regimen. Him and Kyuubi simply decided to finish all of his studying first, and continue to train later. Naruto had also shown Rikku how he could walk up walls, she said that it was cool and that she wanted to learn. Both the shinobi and the Kyuubi agreed to show her the way to walk up walls eventually, but decided to refrain from teaching her jutsus or anything like that. For now anyways.
Rikku was also happy with how things were going, but was slightly nervous. While she was teaching him about Sin, he had asked her what Sin was. She was shocked, of course. How could anybody in Spira not know what Sin was? So she began to ask him what he did know about Spira. He sheepishly replied that he didn't know anything, and that was why he needed a teacher. The girl concluded that he had memory loss from Sin's toxins, and since he didn't know of Sin, she decided that it was better if he didn't know. She also thought that an attack by Sin was how he had gotten to Bikanel Island. Rikku taught him everything she knew about Spira itself, although when he asked about something involving Sin, she made an excuse that she didn't know.
However, overall both were very happy. They had both found a new friend, Naruto found someone who cared for him, and Rikku had found someone who understood her and listened to her problems. He even helped her with them sometimes. A prime example could be the blonde girl's extreme fear of thunder and lightning. But mostly lightning. The girl had enough sense to know that thunder was just noise. The shinobi found out, and solved this problem in the same night. It happened around the middle of the second week...
Flashback
Naruto woke up in the middle of the night to hear thunder, and see flashes outside the window. He was worried for a second because the tower was made of metal and was high up, he wondered if it would be like a giant lightning rod. However he then remembered that the Al Bhed had set up extremely high pieces of metal to act as lightning rods throughout the desert. Naruto had always thought that it never rains in the desert. However he was slightly off. It rarely rains, but when it does it comes down hard. The shinobi was about to go back to sleep when he heard a slight sob. He listened for a few seconds, then hearing nothing decided to try and sleep again. Then the boy heard it again. This time he was sure that someone was crying. Turning over in his bed, the ninja noticed that Rikku was gone. Now worried for his friend, Naruto rose from his bed and went to the source of the sobs, which he knew had to be Rikku. He came to a corner of the room, farthest from the window. Rikku laid there, still with her nightgown on and curled into a tight ball, crying her heart out. The shinobi knelt down next to his friend and began to shake her a bit to show her that he was there. When the girl finally did notice, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him all the way to the floor, where she proceeded to cry into his chest.
In most circumstances, Naruto would have been extremely embarrassed in this sort of situation, however he knew that Rikku was honestly and truly scared. So he sat up against the wall to get into a better position. He then crossed his legs in front of him and gathered Rikku into his arms and set her on his lap, facing him. The girl then continued to cry into his shoulder with no signs of stopping. Naruto knew that he would never be able to calm her down enough for him to help her or even find out what's wrong. So the shinobi just sat there, rubbing her back to comfort her and show her that he was there, and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Hoping to calm her down faster so that he could help.
When the Al Bhed finally began to stop crying, she looked him in the eyes and he saw that new tears were forming, but she looked less scared and... thankful? Naruto was glad he could help. Rikku then buried her head in the crook of his neck again, although the sobs were much less and she could speak now.
"Thank you for this Naruto. I'm sorry for waking you. And I'm also sorry for getting your shirt wet." She mumbled into his neck, although he still heard her clear as day with his Kyuubi-enhanced senses and ninja training.
"Hey, no need to apologize. Anything for a friend. I just want to help. So... can you tell me what's wrong?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well, I guess I was sort of traumatized when I was little. So I'm really afraid of lightning now. When I was small, I was swimming at the beach when I was attacked by a fiend." She started.
"Fiends? What are those?" Naruto asked, having no idea what a 'fiend' was. Although some people called him that before he became a ninja, he never knew what it meant and didn't think he wanted to know.
"Oh yeah, I only told you about the actual Spira didn't I? Not about who or what lived in it. Well, fiends are monsters ('of course,' Naruto thought) that roam Spira. There are hundreds of different ones, although almost all are dangerous in some way. You usually have to fight them everywhere so almost everyone who travels carries some type of weapon. Do you want me to continue?" She said, although there were still small sniffles in between and when there was a lightning bolt she would bury her head in his neck again. Naruto nodded confirming that he wanted her to continue.
"Like I said before I was swimming at the beach when a fiend attacked me. However my brother was there as well and he tried to kill it with a spell. Do you know what those are?" She asked.
"Yeah, I read a bit about them in a book. I'll need my teacher to go into more depth later." Naruto said while looking pointedly at Rikku. She giggled a little, and the ninja congratulated himself for this.
"Very well. When the fiend came and my brother used a spell on it, he missed and he hit me instead. And because I was in the water it was extra painful since it was a spell called thunder. He managed to kill the fiend as well because it was in the water too when it hit, but I've been scared of lightning ever since." Rikku finished with a small frown. She had never completely forgiven her brother for that, although it had gotten better with time.
"I see...so you're afraid of lightning because it hurt you when you were small? I might be able to help a little, but you need to trust me, okay?" Naruto said while trying to hide a small grin.
"Okay Naruto, I trust you. What exactly are you going to do?"
"Something. You won't like it at first, but I promise it will get better. Now get ready to put your legs around my waist." The blond said. It was at this time that Rikku probably noticed that she was still seated in his lap, and she blushed at this. However she still did as he told her and wrapped her legs around his waist when he stood up so she didn't fall down. He then put his arms around her, one on her back and the other under her legs, for support. He then carried her over to the window but not before grabbing another shirt from his bedside. The ninja then opened the window and prepared to jump outside.
"N-Naruto? What are you doing!" She half whimpered half screamed as he grabbed the windowsill and crawled outside. The ninja then stuck to the outside of Home with chakra, and proceeded to run up the tower with Rikku clinging on to him for dear life. The two eventually reached the top of the tower, which, as Naruto correctly assumed, was very safe. The lightning towers were absorbing all the electricity. The roof of Home was perfectly safe. Rikku, however, didn't know this.
"Naruto! Bring me back! I don't want to be here! Bring me back to the room..." She once again made that strange half whimper half scream as he sat back down again on the roof. However when he did he pulled away from Rikku long enough to put the spare shirt on her. The rain was still coming down hard. He didn't need to worry about getting sick himself, the Kyuubi took care of that. However he did have to think about the girl in his arms. He might make her sick if he's not careful. Naruto then moved into the same position he was in down in the room, with Rikku sitting in his lap and crying into his shoulder. He knew that he made her worse, but if she didn't face her problem it would never get better. Naruto held her tight, knowing that they had to stay out here but not wanting her to get sick. After about twenty minutes Rikku began to calm down once more. After that the demon vessel turned her around so that she was facing the sky and she thought it was beautiful. All the rain coming down was perfectly outlining the lightning, which she only just know realized was nowhere close to Home. And for the first time... she wasn't scared of it. She was intrigued by it. By how it constantly lit up the sky, making it seem like it sparkled. Rikku then turned back around to Naruto, and hugged him close. She was glad that he did what he did. If not, she would still be crying in the corner of the room. He could have easily left her there, everyone else did, saying that she 'needed more time.'
"Naruto... thank you. You have been nicer than anyone else has, including Gippal. Goodnight..." And with that, she fell asleep in his arms.
"No problem Rikku, anything for a friend. Goodnight." He whispered with a smile on his face, before he started to gently carry her back down to the room.
End Flashback
That was the first time anyone had payed so much attention to her, just because they cared. Gippal would have left her alone, saying that she needed to be strong. Everyone else cared only because she was the daughter of an important Al Bhed, one of the most important, actually. That was the start of when Rikku began to see Naruto in a different light...
