It was another sunny day in the Hidden Leaf Village. Rays of sunlight pierced through a window and landed on Lapis' face. The water dragon slayer let out a couple of groans as she rolled over on her futon before deciding to sit up and yawn as she stretched her arms.

It was then that she caught a pleasant scent in the air. Feeling curious, she got up and made her way to the main room, where she saw Wendy using the kitchen.

"Good morning, Lapis. I made you breakfast." said Wendy before going to the table with a pan with two pancakes, depositing one on each plate on the table.

"I told you. Just because we're in the same situation, doesn't mean we're friends." said Lapis as she sat across from the sky dragon slayer.

"I know, but until we get back to our world, we're roommates." said Wendy positively.

"Hmm. You have a point, but don't get overconfident. Once we get back to our world, we'll each go on our own, understood?" asked Lapis.

"Sounds good to me." said Wendy with a smile.

The two dragon slayers proceeded to eat their breakfast, flooding the room with awkward silence.

"So, what's your story?" asked Wendy, surprising the water dragon slayer.

"What?" asked Lapis in confusion and with a frown.

"W-Well, it's just... if we're going to be roommates, it would make sense that we'd know more about each other." said Wendy nervously.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Furthermore, how do you know I won't lie in my story? How do I even know you won't lie in your story?" asked Lapis accusingly.

"I-I would never do anything like that. And regarding your story, I don't know exactly, but the key to working together is trust, right?" asked Wendy.

"Trust, huh? Well, trust then that I won't tell you anything!" said Lapis slamming her hands on the table before getting up. "Thanks for breakfast." said Lapis before heading for the entrance.

"Where are you going?" asked Wendy with concern.

"Anywhere but here!" said Lapis before slamming the door.

Wendy was a little depressed that her first attempt to get her to open failed. If she wanted the two of them to survive in that world, they would have to work as a team, but the way things were between them, it might prove to be quite complicated.


After cleaning up a bit, Wendy decided to walk around the village to pass the time. Even though she felt bad about what happened with Lapis, Wendy kept wondering what kind of story she would have. After all, it's not every day you meet another dragon slayer, especially after what happened with Tartaros.

"Hey, Wendy."

Wendy stopped her walk and turned her head to the side to see Naruto sitting on a tree branch.

"Hello, Naruto." said Wendy before the jinchuriki jumped out of the tree and landed next to her.

"What are you doing over here?" asked Naruto.

"I was just walking around for a bit." said Wendy.

Naruto looked around for something he noticed was missing.

"Hey, where's Lapis? I thought he'd be with you." said Naruto.

That made Wendy a little depressed.

"Well, it's just... We had a little argument this morning." said Wendy.

"Really? What happened?" asked Naruto with surprise and curiosity.

"Well, I asked her about her life, but she got really angry about it and left. I'd like to be friends with her, but it's harder than I thought." said Wendy.

Suddenly, Naruto put his hand on the sky dragon slayer's head before stroking her a little, much to her surprise.

"Don't worry, I was in a similar situation myself, you know?" asked Naruto remembering when he tried to be friends with Sasuke, but the thing turned out to be very, very, very complicated. "And if I've learned anything from it, it's that friendships aren't forged in a day. I'm sure if you keep at it, she'll end up opening up to you sooner or later."

Wendy let out a smile as she felt more encouraged thanks to the jinchuriki's words. Lapis might not want to be her friend, but she was sure that someday, as long as she kept supporting her, she would end up accepting her as such.

"Thank you, Naruto. I feel better already." said Wendy with a smile.

"You're welcome." said Naruto with a smile.

"So you were here."

The two turned to see that in the tree where Naruto was standing was Kakashi standing on the branch, but face down.

"I was looking for you." said Kakashi.

"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto as the copycat ninja jumped off the branch and landed face down on the ground.

Needless to say, Wendy was amazed that he could do something like that.

"The Hokage has asked me to take you to the office. It seems she has a mission for us." said Kakashi.

"Really? Finally! I've been waiting for a mission for a long time!" exclaimed Naruto happily, something that made Wendy chuckle.

"Actually, you're in luck, Wendy. It looks like you and Lapis will be joining us on the mission." said Kakashi, to the surprise of the sky dragon slayer.

"W-what? Really? Are you sure about that?" asked Wendy surprised that they were given a mission on their second day in the village.

"Of course. She told me that this mission isn't too dangerous for you and in case it was too far, you have Naruto, Sakura and me to protect you both." Kakashi said.

"That's great, Wendy. You're going to have your first mission as a Leaf ninja. Isn't that exciting?" asked Naruto.

On one hand, Wendy was a little nervous about having her first ninja mission, but on the other hand, she was also excited about it.

"Yes, it is." said Wendy with a smile.


Later, Wendy, Naruto and Kakashi gathered in the Hokage's office, waiting to get the information of the mission they were going to perform. Soon after, the door opened and Sakura and Lapis walked in.

Wendy sent a smiling greeting to the water dragon slayer, who looked away, signaling that she was still upset about that morning, much to Wendy's sadness.

"Well, I see you're all here already. Recently, we got a request to deal with some bandits roaming around a village." said Tsunade.

"Bandits, huh? Sounds interesting. I'm in." said Naruto excited to go on a mission.

"Wendy, Lapis, this will be your first mission as Leaf ninja's. Does it pose any problems?" asked Tsunade.

"N-No, Miss Tsunade. In my world, I used to do missions like this with my friends." said Wendy.

"And it wouldn't be the first time for me to be sent to take care of some bandits." said Lapis.

"I see. Anyway, remember that Naruto and the others will be with you in case you get into trouble. You may go." said Tsunade receiving a nod from the others before leaving.

Once they exited the building, Kakashi turned his gaze to the quartet of young people.

"Alright. It's going to be a long trip, so get ready. We'll meet at the village gate in half an hour." said Kakashi before disappearing.

"Is that village that far away?" asked Lapis.

"That's right. Most missions take us traveling beyond the village, so we end up spending the night in a hotel, camping outside, or, in a hurry, not sleeping." said Sakura.

"That's really hard." said Wendy.

"That's the life of a ninja. You'll get used to it." said Naruto.

After that, the four of them split up to gather the materials needed for the trip.

Since the length of the mission was going to be longer than they expected, the two dragon slayers packed into a small bag (provided by Tsunade) some materials they would need on their journey. Such as food, emergency kit, among other things.

Wendy knew she couldn't be incautious, as this was going to be her first mission in a world totally different from her own and she didn't know what she might find on the way.


Half an hour passed and the two dragon slayers arrived at the door, only to find Naruto and Sakura.

"Hello, girls." said Naruto greeting them.

"Have you gathered what you need?" asked Sakura.

Wendy nodded her head in response.

"Yes, we have enough food and medicine for the duration of the trip." said Wendy.

"Speaking of which. Where that weird, masked guy?" asked Lapis.

"You mean Kakashi-sensei? He'll probably be late, as usual." said Naruto.

"Well, then we just have to wait. I don't think he'll be long." said Wendy.

30 MINUTES LATER

"What were you saying about him not being long?" asked Lapis scowling at the dragon slayer in the sky who was laughing nervously.

That's when suddenly Kakashi landed in front of them.

"Sorry I'm late, I got a little sidetracked." said Kakashi.

"A little? A LITTLE?! You kept us waiting for a long time, stupid turtle!" exclaimed Lapis angrily.

"Lapis, don't say that. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei will have his reasons for being late." said Wendy trying to calm down the water dragon slayer.

"And he always has them, but despite that, he's never there when he should be." said Sakura.

"I feel like I'm losing respect." thought Kakashi with a bead of sweat. "Anyway, we're all here, we'd better get going."

"It's about time." commented Naruto.

"Out of curiosity, how far is it to the place we're going?" asked Wendy.

"On foot, almost two days, but at ninja pace, it should take a day to get there." said Kakashi.

"Ninja pace?" asked Wendy curiously.

"We ninja wrap the ground of our feet with chakra to give us more speed, not to mention it allows us to easily stick to tree branches." said Sakura.

"When we go on a mission, we usually go jumping from branch to branch quickly." said Naruto.

"In case you forgot, we don't have chakra and we don't know how to do that thing you do." said Lapis.

"Mmm. She's right. I guess that means we'll have to go on foot." said Kakashi.

"No need to delay for us. You go at your own pace and we'll catch up." said Wendy trying for a solution to the question.

"No way. We're a team now and we won't leave any member behind." said Naruto with determination.

"So, I guess you'll have another solution then, right?" asked Lapis crossing her arms.

"What if we piggyback you?" said Naruto suggesting a new idea.

"Piggyback?" asked Lapis arching an eyebrow.

"W-we don't want to be a burden. Really. You don't need to do this for us." said Wendy.

"It wouldn't be a problem. We are strong enough to carry you and go very fast without any problems." said Sakura.

"You better take the offer. Because once Naruto's decided on something, he won't back down." said Kakashi.

"That's me." said Naruto with a wink and a toothy grin.

The two dragon slayers looked at each other in a visual debate. Wendy might not like the fact that she might be a burden and Lapis didn't like the fact that she was carried like a sack of potatoes, but they had a mission to accomplish and they couldn't waste much time, so they decided to use the fastest way.

"All right. We accept." said Wendy.

After that, Wendy climbed on Naruto's back while Lapis climbed on Sakura's back.

"Hold on tight, girls. It's going to be a bumpy ride." said Naruto with a toothy grin.

With everything ready, the three ninjas began jumping from branch to branch quickly. Wendy and Lapis were a little shocked at how fast they were going, especially Wendy who, to her, felt like she was flying and it would be a lie if she wasn't now thinking about how much fun it was.


It was already noon the next day when the group of five were continuing their journey. As the sun began to set, because they were far from lodging, they had to make camp in the middle of the forest.

There was a small debate about Wendy doing part of the patrolling, but the three ninjas assured her that she could rest all night. The sky dragon slayer would have been more insistent had it not been for Lapis sending her to sleep.

Waking up at sunrise, the five continued their journey.

Suddenly, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Wendy in confusion.

"Shh." expressed Sakura commanding her to shut up.

"We're not too far from the location where the bandits were spotted. They're most likely around here, so we'd better keep the volume low." said Kakashi.

The three ninjas jumped off the branch and after landing on the ground, the dragon slayers got off the ninjas carrying them.

"Stay close to us." said Naruto before the five of them positioned themselves in case of a possible attack.

"Wendy, Lapis, how many can you detect with your sense of smell?" asked Kakashi.

Immediately, Wendy and Lapis took to sniffing the air.

"I'd say about thirty bandits." said Wendy.

"And they surrounded us." said Lapis.

"I guessed as much. Whatever happens, don't lose your focus." said Kakashi.

Just at that moment, the bandits came out from the bushes to assault them. The five of them were quick to react by launching themselves into the attack as well.

Naruto started by gesturing with his hands.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" shouted Naruto before several clones of him formed around him through smoke explosions.

Naruto and his clones proceeded to fight the bandits with their fists and kicks. One bandit stabbed a clone with his dagger, but the clone disappeared in an explosion of smoke and before the bandit could react, another clone knocked him down with a punch to the face.

Sakura blocked dagger attacks with her kunai before delivering a punch to the stomach of a bandit, sending him flying backwards, causing him to crash into other bandits who were pushed until they slammed into a tree that was knocked down by the force of the blow.

Kakashi dodged a few bandit attacks before hitting them with his fists. A couple of bandits tried to assault him head-on, but then, the copycat ninja began to perform a series of gestures quickly.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" shouted Kakashi shooting a huge fireball that hit the bandits, knocking them down in the process.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" shouted Wendy shooting a tornado from her mouth that hit a small group of bandits.

"Water Dragon's Bullets!" shouted Lapis shooting drops of water from her fingers that hit the bandits with the same force as a real bullet.

Suddenly, one of the bandits threw his knife. Lapis dodged to the side to dodge it, but the knife was going so fast that it ended up making a cut on her shoulder, something that made her whimper a little.

"Lapis!" shouted Wendy just as a bandit took advantage of the water dragon slayer's situation to dart towards her and Wendy didn't hesitate to run towards it as her leg was wrapped in wind. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" shouted Wendy kicking the bandit with her wind wrapped leg and sending him backwards until he impacted a tree. "Are you okay?" she asked Lapis with concern.

"I'm fine! I didn't need your help! I could have handled it on my own!" said Lapis with annoyance.

"B-But I thought that..." began Wendy.

"Stop meddling in my life!" exclaimed Lapis as she wrapped her leg with water, which worried the dragon slayer in the sky.

"L-Lapis?" asked Wendy fearing what she was thinking would happen.

"Water Dragon's Tail!" shouted Lapis directing her water wrapped leg at a bandit who was about to attack Wendy from behind and sending him crashing into the same tree that the bandit Wendy hit earlier crashed into.

Wendy's eyes widened as she saw that he had saved her.

"Now we're even." said Lapis before continuing the fight against the bandits.

Wendy stood processing what had just happened for a few seconds before remembering the situation they were in and proceeding to continue the fight.

Minutes later, the five of them arrived to take down all the bandits present,

"Well, this would be the last one." said Naruto as he tossed another unconscious bandit onto a pile of unconscious bandits.

"So, have we completed the mission yet?" asked Wendy.

"That's right and I must say you did better than I expected." said Kakashi.

"And that was your first mission in our world." said Sakura.

"Hmm. Of course. Such weak bandits weren't going to be a problem for me." said Lapis crossing her arms and raising her head with her eye closed.

"Still, you are pretty good. At this rate, you'll go far." said Naruto with a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Naruto. So, I guess now it's back to..." started Wendy, but then suddenly a bandit jumped out from the bushes with a dagger at the ready and aimed directly at the dragon slayer in the sky.

"Wendy!" shouted Naruto as the aforementioned turned her head to see the bandit about to stab her.

Wendy froze, her eyes wide as the dagger came closer and closer to her, but before it could reach her...

Kakashi stepped in front of her and impaled the bandit with a hand covered in electricity.

Once the hand stopped emitting electricity, Kakashi pulled his arm out of the bandit's body, who fell dead to the ground.

"It was a close call." said Kakashi.

"I thought we were done with everyone. How come you didn't detect it earlier?" asked Sakura to Lapis.

"He most likely hid his scent in such a way that even a dragon couldn't detect it." said Lapis.

"Wendy, are you okay?" asked Naruto with concern.

Wendy stood completely transfixed, her eyes wide with horror as she stared at the corpse of the bandit who tried to kill her.

"I-I..." began Wendy in horror before kneeling down next to the corpse. "I-I have to heal him." said Wendy preparing to use her healing magic.

"It's no use, Wendy. He's already dead." said Kakashi.

"B-But... I... I didn't want it to end like this." said Wendy with teardrops peeking in her eyes.

"Just accept it at once. Believe me, it'll be a lot easier if you do." said Lapis with a lowered gaze.

Wendy was petrified as she still stared at the bandit's corpse. Naruto knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.


After taking care of the bandits that were still alive, the five proceeded to return to the village. Due to Wendy's condition, they decided to make the journey on foot for the remainder of the day.

Right now, they were all in the middle of the forest, around a campfire.

While the others acted normally, Wendy kept quiet as she watched the fire.

"Wendy, don't torture yourself anymore. It's too late to change it." said Naruto in an effort to cheer her up.

"I know, but still... Take a life away just like that." said Wendy.

"That's how the ninja world works. We had to learn it on our first mission out of the village." said Sakura remembering what they had to go through during their confrontation against Zabuza and Haku.

"Every mission can become life to death. For a ninja, it's a matter of kill or be killed." said Kakashi.

"Besides, if I hadn't killed him, you'd be the one who would be dead." said Lapis.

"How come you're handling it better than me?" asked Wendy curiously.

Lapis turned her gaze to the fire.

"Let's just say I'm used to it, that's all." said Lapis.

Wendy fell silent, surprised by the water dragon slayer's response before thinking about what the ninjas said.

She was now in a world different from her own and she had become a ninja. That mission proved that sooner or later she would go on some other mission where the situation could get to the point where she would die on the spot and if that happened, she would never see her friends, her guild, her family again.

She clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly as she trembled slightly, something that worried the three ninjas a little.

"I won't do it." said Wendy, to the confusion of the others, before giving them a look of determination. "I'm not going to kill anyone, nor do I plan to die. I have friends waiting for me in my world. If I die here, I won't be able to see them. So, until I find my way back, I don't plan to die!"

The others were shocked by the sky dragon slayer's words.

"Way to go, Wendy!" said Naruto with a toothy grin as he stroked the sky dragon slayer's head. "You better not back out, got it?"

"I won't." said Wendy with a smile.

"Just by saying that I can tell you'll get by in this world." thought Sakura with a smile.

"So much confidence. No doubt she must have gone through a lot in her world. There's a lot more to this girl than meets the eye." thought Kakashi.

"Friends waiting for you, huh? That's one thing that sets us apart." thought Lapis before returning her gaze to the fire.

Wendy might have to go through hard and difficult things in that world, but she's willing to go through anything if it means she can go back to her world and reunite with her own again.