A/N - Okay, hopefully this'll be the last new fic for a while. No guarantees on that, but one can only hope! lol. I blame all the damn plot bunnies breeding like crazy in Midnight Lost's discord server.

Anyways, this opening chapter is a bit on the short side, but I think it turned out rather well. And I unintentionally added a bit of humor into this chapter, buuut I hope you like it regardless!

Okay, with that, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 1 – YRP in Position

There was no happy ending. No happily ever after with the one she loved. It felt as if the Fayth had misled her, raising her hopes only to crush them once it was all over. All that work to find Tidus and bring him back…had been for nothing. It had all been Shuyin and Lenne's love story and she was just along for the ride. Oh sure, they saved Spira once again and everything was all fine and dandy for the people of Spira, but her? Yuna was crushed. At the end, all she had to look forward to were more lonely days without the one she loved.

Things looked to be changing though. After Vegnagun's defeat, the girls had left the Farplane and adventured for a little while longer before Yuna returned home to Besaid and that was to be the end of it. The ex-high summoner had to live out the rest of her days without the man she fell so hard for. But that wasn't the change she noticed. No…

Paine had gotten the girls of YRP back together for one last adventure. Things had been a bit rocky at first, but they soon fell into pace once again and had some genuine fun. It was great! Then…they found the boss at the top of the Iutycyr Tower: Major Numerus. After beating the likes of Trema and Vegnagun, this guy shouldn't have been a problem, right? Wrong!

As the girls fought this insanely strong creature, they suddenly found themselves being thrown through some kind of wormhole that the beast opened using its immense power. As they fell through it, they knew that something was very, very wrong. Life as they knew it was about to change DRASTICALLY…

Konohagakure

A 16 year-old Naruto could be seen scowling as he waited impatiently for his new Jonin sensei to arrive. The bastard was already two hours late and Naruto was sick and tired of waiting for him. Why the hell Hiruzen Sarutobi put him on a team with Broodmeister Sasuke and Sakura, Sasuke's #1 fangirl was lost on him.

Naruto had tried to be nice to both of them in the past, but Sasuke was an asshole and Sakura considered anything not related to her precious 'Sasuke-kun' an annoyance, or worse. So, she resorted to hitting Naruto whenever he tried to be kind to her. This quickly resulted in him avoiding her like the plague and generally treating her like shit if she pushed him too far. Now here he was, stuck in a room with Broody McBroodpants and Pinkyton the Triceratops. Meh, he was still working on nicknames, give him a break!

For the past two fucking hours, Naruto had been forced to listen as Sakura talked and talked and talked, trying to get Sasuke's attention and ask him on dates and so on. Sasuke ignored her or said, "Hn." usually. And because Sasuke wouldn't respond to her advances, the pink-haired bitch would turn and harass Naruto for a time, treating him like shit simply to make herself feel better. It had gotten annoying very quickly and the blonde had just about had it.

After a few more minutes passed, Naruto said, "That's it." and stood up from his seat. Making his way to the door, he opened it and prepared to walk out, only to hear Sakura's voice once again.

"Where do you think you're going baka? We're supposed to wait here for our sensei!" she yelled at him.

Naruto sighed and simply flipped Sakura the bird before leaving the classroom and the academy. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he made to enter the village proper only to blink as three women fell out of a strange rip in space and time right at his feet. Looking up at the sky, he peered around at all the clouds and even the sun once before looking back at the girls. "Nope, sky's not falling. Don't see any pigs flying around either." Reaching up, he pinched his left arm and nodded once. "Not dreaming either. Okay, I have just one question. What the fuck dammit?!"

Looking the girls over, Naruto could definitely admit that the three of them were beauties, far more so than a number of the girls he's seen, with the exception of a few. However, he also noticed that they were injured. Quickly creating a couple of Shadow Clones, he picked up the scantily-clad brunette…well, the blonde was rather scantily-clad as well, now that he got a good look at her. Shaking those thoughts from his head, he hurried with the girls to the hospital.

Upon arriving, Naruto hurried up to the receptionist and said, "I don't know who these three are, nor do I know where they're from or how they got injured. All I know is they need help NOW. Please!"

Getting a good look at the three women Naruto had brought in, the receptionist nodded in understanding before she called for some nurses to assist him in getting the three of them to a room. Once they were each lying in a hospital bed in a room on the second floor, Naruto watched as the doctors went about tending to their wounds using medical ninjutsu. "Are they going to be okay?" he asked.

Once she had finished patching up the silver-haired teenager, the head doctor turned to Naruto and smiled kindly at him. "They'll each be just fine. But…"

Naruto frowned. But was almost never a good thing to hear. "But what?"

"Well, it's the strangest thing. None of them appear to have any chakra. And I mean that there's not even the little amount that regular civilians have to get by day to day. They've got some kind of other energy source to pull from, but it doesn't seem to be like anything we shinobi would use. It's quite strange." She explained.

Frowning slightly, Naruto took a moment to think on it before a figurative lightbulb went off in his head. "That wormhole! If I had to bet on it, I'd say these three are from another world or something! Somewhere where chakra doesn't exist. I think Gramps needs to hear about this." He said seriously.

The doctor nodded and looked to one of the nurses tending to the blonde girl. "Go and get Hokage-sama. Hurry!" The nurse nodded and quickly disappeared to go and fetch the Hokage. Meanwhile, the doctor turned back to Naruto and said, "If you're right about this, then there's no telling how many worlds are out there like this one. Each of them different and unique in their own ways. I just hope we don't have to deal with too many of those strange wormholes you mentioned."

The silver-haired girl slowly opened her eyes and said, "I wouldn't worry about that. We were fighting something and lost. Its power was just too much for us…"

The doctor immediately looked at the girl and said, "How do you feel now? Better I hope."

The black-clad teen nodded and slowly sat up. "Better. Thanks. You…" she said, pointing at Naruto. "Were you the one to find us?"

Naruto nodded and said, "You kind of fell out of that wormhole thing right in front of me. I wasn't about to just leave you three there. Name's Naruto Uzumaki by the way."

The girl nodded and said, "Paine. And thanks."

Naruto simply smiled at her before looking to the others as they began to wake up as well. "I'm glad you're all okay."

"As am I." an aged man said as he entered the room. "What can you tell me about this creature you encountered? Do you think it could find its way here? And could more people like you come here?"

Paine looked at the old man critically for a moment before shaking her head. "No. It seemed like it just wanted to be left alone. It's powerful, but I doubt it will come here to your world."

The Third Hokage nodded in thought and said, "I'm afraid that we have no way to return you three to your home. Fuinjutsu might work, as the only true limit to what seals can do is how one's imagination can work. However, we only have one true fuinjutsu master, and he's busy with his own duties. He can't really spare the time to work on a seal to send you three home. Worse yet is that he's more inclined to follow his vices instead of trying to send the three of you home. You see, he's a self-proclaimed super pervert. Chances are, he'd rather peep on you in the hot springs than do anything to help you." Facepalming himself, Hiruzen let out a groan and shook his head in exasperation. "In other words, you're stuck here."

Naruto frowned as he looked into the Hokage's eyes. "Then I'll study fuinjutsu. And before you say anything Gramps, I know my dad was the Fourth Hokage. I mean, it's kind of obvious. Don't know who my mother is, or was, but I'm sure I can figure something out if you'd let me study fuinjutsu for a while."

Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly in surprise before he let out a chuckle and nodded his head. "I should have known you'd figure at least that much out. You're more intelligent than you let on, which is a good thing in my opinion. Come to my office after we're done here and we can discuss your parents and your inheritance. I think you'll be happy with what they left for you."

The blonde simply smirked and said, "Sounds like a plan to me Gramps. For now though, what do we do about them? They'll need a home if they're stuck here. I'd say they could room with me, but…"

The aged Hokage smiled at his surrogate grandson and said, "That won't be a problem. You see, something your parents left for you is their estate. There's more than enough room there for the girls to live as well. It will be safest for them too, as once Danzo learns about their existence and their unique genetic makeup, he'll definitely make a move to nab them for himself. So it will be in everyone's best interest if they were to live safely in your new home."

Yuna blushed a bit and said, "Wait! L-Live with him? But…"

Paine sighed and shook her head. "Yuna, it sounds like it might be for the best. I'm sure he won't try to peep on us or anything. Right, Naruto?" she asked him with a pointed glare.

Naruto looked her dead in the eyes without flinching. "I'm not a pervert like so many people are. Do I appreciate a woman's beauty? Yes, I do. But I DON'T condone peeping on a woman in their most vulnerable moments. Just make me the promise that you three won't walk around the house in your unmentionables and we'll be good."

Yuna blushed fiercely at the mention of doing such a thing and shook her head frantically. "I would never do such a thing! My goodness!"

Rikku giggled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "I probably would. But I getcha! No walkie naked throughout the house."

Paine deadpanned at Rikku and asked, "Seriously? You do that?"

The perky blonde giggled a little more and smiled awkwardly at her friend. "Only sometimes!"

Naruto facepalmed and shook his head in exasperation. "If I see something like that, I blame you Miss."

Rikku blinked at being called miss by someone her age. At least he looked to be her age. Maybe a year younger? Shaking those thoughts off, she said, "Rikku. And that's my cousin and bestest friend ever: Yuna the cutest darn summoner you've ever seen! Smile Yunie, you're on camera!"

Naruto blinked as he stared from Rikku to Yuna and then back again. "Are you hyper?"

Giggling again, Rikku said, "Probably a little."

"Uh-huh." Naruto said as he simply stared at her for a moment. Turning his attention to Yuna, he asked, "Will you be okay living with me in my new home? If not, I'll give the estate to you three and I'll continue living in that…horrible apartment." Sighing sadly, he shook his head and said, "It's the right thing to do, after all."

Rikku frowned at this as she looked towards Yuna, waiting for her response. When the brunette simply stayed silent, the perky blonde frowned and said, "Oh, come on Yunie! Naruto seems like a nice guy. I don't think there's anything to worry about. Besides, it is his parents' home."

Paine frowned and said, "If it helps any Yuna, I don't have any objections to it. So long as he keeps his word, I don't see a problem."

Yuna sighed and closed her eyes as she thought it over. She had dreamt of sharing a home like this with her Tidus, but that just wasn't possible anymore. Now, here she was, about to rob this kind young man of his rightful home because she was unable to stomach the idea of sharing a home with another man. Could she really go through with such a thing? It was his rightful home, after all. Despite how sad he looked at the idea of not being able to live in his parents' estate, she was having a truly hard time accepting the idea of living with another man. Tidus…what should I do?

After a while, Yuna opened her eyes slightly and everyone could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "I…I wanted to spend time and live with Tidus-kun… I can't even imagine sharing a home with another man. I just…I can't do it."

"Yunie…" Rikku said, sounds somewhat disappointed with her. However, she understood where her cousin was coming from, so she didn't say anything more.

Naruto sighed sadly and nodded his head. "I understand. Gramps…I assume my parents' placed a seal on the gate and on their doors?"

Hiruzen nodded and said, "Of course, Naruto-kun. If you want them to live there, you'll have to key them into the seals."

The spiky-haired teen nodded in understanding. "That's easy enough to do. I can at least do that much." He said before sighing again. "I'll key them in and visit every now and again so I can peruse my parents' library and learn what I can. For the time being, I guess I'm stuck in that apartment."

The occupants of the room watched as Naruto left the room, a sad frown on his face. Paine turned to Yuna and said, "That was cold of you, Yuna."

Yuna flinched, but remained quiet. She couldn't find it in her to say anything after what she had just done.

Hiruzen frowned in disappointment before staring hard at Yuna. "I hope you understand that he only wants to help you. He's giving up what's his by right so you three can be safe and happy. For now, I'll have my Anbu keep an eye on you to ensure nothing happens. I need to speak with Naruto-kun." He said before leaving the room, shaking his head in disappointment.

Rikku frowned sadly at her cousin and simply muttered her name. She had no idea what else to do…

Naruto

Almost as soon as Naruto left the hospital, he was approached by a silver-haired man who was looking at him in a strange mixture of anger, resentment, and disappointment. "And just where the hell have you been? We've been waiting for a few hours now."

Naruto simply stared into the man's lone eye apathetically. "So you must be our supposed sensei. Listen, if you had simply bothered to show up on time, I might have respected you enough to participate. But no, you decided to make us wait for two hours, probably even longer. I've got better things to do than wait for some asshole that can't bother to give two shits about his team. I'm not in the mood to deal with this shit, so get out of my way and leave me alone."

Kakashi glared at the boy and prepared to put a hand on him, only to feel a massive amount of killing intent wash over him. Turning to look at whoever it was that was making him feel so weak, he saw the Third Hokage approaching them. "Kakashi, I am disappointed in you. When I agreed to assign Naruto-kun and the others to your team, I expected you to be punctual and treat them with the respect they'd give you as a man of your position. You promised me you'd look after your team and train them well. I see now that I was wrong to place my trust in you. Come along Naruto-kun, we should talk in my office. Kakashi, I expect you to explain to your other two Genin why you will no longer be accepting the role of their Jonin sensei."

The cycloptic Jonin frowned as he said, "You can't do this to me! I'm the only one who can train Sasuke in the use of his Sharingan!"

Hiruzen shook his head in disappointment. "Is that all you care about? What about Sakura? What about your sensei's son?"

"Sakura is a hopeless fangirl that would be cannon fodder at best. Naruto isn't ready to be a shinobi of Konoha. At best, he'd be a good motivator for Sasuke to get better and improve." Kakashi said dismissively.

Naruto glared fiercely at Kakashi, but refrained from saying anything. Hiruzen shook his head in disappointment again and said, "And that's exactly why I can't let you be the sensei of a team. I had high hopes for you, Kakashi. Such a shame." Looking at Naruto, the aged Hokage patted him on the shoulder before saying, "Come along Naruto. I think I've got an idea for a new team that I think you might like." And with that, the duo walked off, leaving Kakashi to glare at Naruto's retreating back.

Hokage's Office – A while later

As Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were guided into the office, Hiruzen looked from them to Naruto and nodded his head. "Now that you three are here, it's time I show you to your new home. We have much to discuss, and I don't feel this is the place to do it. I suspect that there's unwelcome visitors in my office…" he said, glancing towards one particular spot in the room in a knowing manner.

After a while, Hiruzen shook his head before he rose from his chair and motioned for them to follow him. As they walked, he looked down at Naruto and said, "I want you to be careful, Naruto-kun. I wouldn't put it past Danzo to try something soon to get at what's rightfully yours. He's done some horrible things to satisfy his desires."

Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head for a moment. "Yeah, I get that. Sounds like a real scumbag. Oh well, just another thing I gotta watch out for. Anyways, you said something before about a new team? I don't really care, but I'm curious about something. What's going to happen to Sasuke and Sakura?"

The aged Third Hokage stroked his beard for a moment and said, "Chances are, Sakura will be sent back to the academy. As for Sasuke? If the councils have their way, they'd have Kakashi take him on as an apprentice. As Kakashi said, he's the only one who can really teach Sasuke about the Sharingan. However, I don't plan to let them have their way. I think I have just the person to beat Sasuke into shape AND snap Sakura out of her fangirl ways. I just hate to pull him away from his duties…"

Naruto deadpanned at the Hokage and asked, "You're talking about assigning Ibiki to them, aren't you?"

Hiruzen smirked at his surrogate grandson and said, "You're correct. You have to admit, he'd be an effective instructor for those two, plus whoever I choose to be their third team member. You, on the other hand, will be forming a different team with a good friend of yours as your Jonin sensei. I think she'll enjoy teaching you."

The blonde's eyes practically sparkled at this point as he realized who the Hokage was talking about. "Anko-chan?! That'll be awesome! But wait, who will be my team members?"

Paine sighed as she realized what was happening. "He means to put the three of us on a team with you, Naruto."

Smiling at the young woman, Hiruzen nodded once in confirmation. "Paine is correct, Naruto-kun. I just hope there won't be any tension between you and them, especially considering…"

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes as they neared his parents' home. "I'm fine with it. But…" Opening his eyes again, he looked at Yuna and asked, "Are you okay with such an arrangement?"

Yuna looked from Naruto to the Hokage and asked, "Why exactly do you want us to be on a team together, Hokage-sama? We know nothing about this world…"

Hiruzen simply smiled at her and said, "That's precisely why. You three need to learn more about the world you're in and see the sights so you know what to expect. Of course, I wouldn't send you on missions outside of the village for a while, preferably at least a month. I plan to give you three a number of books to read that will reveal to you all the history of our world and information on the other nations so you'll hopefully know what to expect. But…" Looking at Naruto, the Hokage sighed and said, "I want Naruto-kun to have some friends around his age. He's been ostracized enough and deserves to have some kind of positive interaction with at least somebody. The Ichiraku's are kind enough, but that's partly because Naruto is a good source of revenue for them with how often he eats there. No, he needs you three, just as I'm sure you three need him. So please look after one another."

Before Yuna could reply, Rikku threw her fist into the air and cheered. "Of course we'll do it! Isn't that right girls?"

Paine simply smirked and nodded her head. When they looked at Yuna, they saw she looked a bit hesitant. After a while though, she nodded her head and said, "I accept. We'll work together with Naruto and do what we can to help. But…"

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I know. No living together. Just let me come here and look through my parents' things and study what I can. I'll leave you alone otherwise."

Rikku frowned at this, but she kept quiet, choosing to simply follow Yuna's lead on this. Yuna, on the other hand, reached up and rubbed her left arm for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, but I just can't…"

"It's fine. Let's just get in there and see what it's like." Naruto said as he walked up to the gate and smeared some of his blood on it. The girls were initially confused before they saw the gate swing open, allowing them entrance into the compound.

"Okay, what was that? That was nifty!" Rikku exclaimed excitedly.

Hiruzen chuckled softly as he followed after Naruto, withdrawing a key from his pocket and presenting it to Naruto so he could open the door. "That's what is known as a blood seal. Using such a thing can provide quite the powerful locking mechanism. Blood seals are attuned in such a way that they will only recognize the blood of those keyed into the seal to begin with. In this case, Naruto-kun's parents ensured that the blood seals on the gate and the doors and windows would only recognize their blood and that of their son's, once they learned Kushina was pregnant. Blood seals have multiple purposes like that. Now, let's get inside so we can discuss things."

The girls nodded and followed Hiruzen and Naruto inside the large house. Once inside, they went to the living room and each of them took a seat so they could speak about matters that were best not talked about in front of others. "I want to know a few things from you three. You do not possess chakra. Rather, you possess a different kind of energy. I want to know whatever you can tell me about where you're from, what your people could do with this energy source, and whatever other information you can give me. I understand if there's certain things you would rather not talk about, but I'm willing to put my trust in you, so I hope you can show me the same kind of trust and confide in me."

Yuna frowned for a moment as she thought over what they should tell the old man. After a while, she nodded and began to explain everything to the aged Hokage. She told him about summoners, Sin, Shuyin, Vegnagun, the Iutycyr Tower, everything. When she finished, she looked at Rikku and Paine and asked, "Did I leave anything out?"

"Besides the fact you failed to mention Tidus and how the Fayth totally fooled you? Nah, you got pretty much everything." Rikku said cheerily.

"This Tidus, he was special to you?" Hiruzen asked as he looked into Yuna's eyes. "You barely made any mention of him throughout your story. From the sounds of it, this Tidus played a key role in everything. What aren't you telling me?"

The ex-high summoner shook her head and said sadly, "I…really don't want to talk about him right now. Suffice it to say, he was special to me. And he was ripped away from me unfairly. That's all I'll say right now."

"Fair enough." Naruto said. "I don't see any point in pressuring her about it. Do you, Gramps?"

Hiruzen shook his head and simply offered a grandfatherly smile to the brunette. "I'll keep your secret. Thank you for confiding in me as much as you have. For the time being, all I'll ask of you is that you don't try to keep Naruto-kun from accessing his family's scrolls, notes, books, everything they left for him. You may be staying in this house now, but that doesn't give you the right to keep Naruto-kun from what is rightfully his. Do we have an understanding?"

Yuna and the other members of YRP nodded before she said, "I had never planned to keep him from what's rightfully his. I just can't…not after what happened…"

"Yunie…" Rikku said sadly.

Naruto nodded in understanding before he stood up. "I'll just grab a few things to study and then I'll be out of your hair. Enjoy your stay." He said before walking off to pick out what he'd study so he could get out of the house.

"I hope you know that this decision hurts him. I hope that, with enough time, you'll come to accept the idea of allowing him to live in this house with you." Hiruzen said before he stood up and made for the door. "Naruto-kun will get you girls keyed into the gates, so all you'll need to do is swipe a bit of blood across the gate and door so you can come and go as you please. I'll send someone in the morning to guide you to your team's designated training ground. Your sensei may be eccentric, but she's one of the most talented kunoichi in the village."

The girls watched as Hiruzen left the house before turning when they saw Naruto enter the room again. When he looked at them, Yuna found herself flinching at the dead gaze in his eyes. "Hokage-sama said you could key us into the seals?" Paine asked, trying to avert Naruto's attention.

Naruto nodded and motioned for them to hold out their hands. When they did, he used three different kunai to prick one finger each. Afterwards, he wandered around to each of the seals, using his limited knowledge on seals to key each of the girls into them. Finally, he went to the gate and finished setting everything up for them. "It's done. If that's all, I'll be going now." He said, and without waiting, he turned and walked off to return to his apartment. It was frustrating and he was upset, but he was trying to deal with it as best he could.

Once Naruto was gone, Yuna and the others reentered their new home. Without a word said to Yuna, Paine walked off to go and get some rest. Rikku simply stared at Yunie for a time before she, too, decided to go and get some rest. However, as she turned to leave, Yuna spoke up. "I've really hurt him, haven't I?"

Rikku turned to face her dearest friend and said, "Yeah. But I doubt he hates you or anything, Yunie. I…no, never mind. Good night Yunie." Then, without another word, Rikku walked away, going off to pick her own room to sleep in.

Yuna frowned sadly and shook her head. "Tidus…"

The Next Day

"All right kiddos, err…" Anko started to say, only to blink as she realized that the team of four people before her weren't exactly 'kids'. She knew Naruto was 16 years-old, making her 8 years older than he was. However, the other three looked like they might be a bit older, maybe even nearing her age. "You know, now that I think on it, how old are you three exactly?"

Yuna blushed in embarrassment, Rikku giggled, and Paine simply smirked. Deciding she would answer for the group, Rikku threw her hand up into the air and said, "I'm 17! Yunie's 19, and Paine's 18. Though it is getting close to Yunie's birthday, which means she'll be 20 in a few months!"

The brunette blushed more and exclaimed, "Rikku! You don't need to tell them that!"

Naruto blinked a couple of times before saying, "I'm the youngest on the team…"

Anko barked out a laugh before she said, "Dang. I'm only 24. You girls aren't that much younger than me, are ya? This should be fun. Anyways, I got the gist of things from Hokage-sama. Told me what I needed to know as well as the usual spiel. I've already decided I'll pass all of you, so there's no need to worry about some stupid test. That crap's pretty much all a formality anyways. So congrats, we're a team! Now, I want to see what you all can do, so let's head into my private training ground and have some fun!"

Naruto blinked again and then again as he tried to process what had just happened. After a few moments, he asked, "What? That's it? No test or anything? I was prepared for some huge exam you'd have us do! I know the other teams are probably going through a test as well, but…" Taking a moment to think on it, Naruto's eyes widened in realization and he asked, "Wait! Formality?! The clan heirs and heiresses, they were going to be passed anyways, weren't they?"

The Snake Mistress turned to Naruto and looked him over with an appraising eye. "You're pretty smart Naruto. A lot smarter than I was led to believe by people. Been hiding your true skills or something?"

The spiky-haired teen nodded once and said, "Kind of had to. Didn't want to upstage the Uchiha 'prodigy' and get the crap kicked out of me because the 'Demon' was getting too strong or something."

Anko nodded and smiled sadly at him. "Makes sense. Anyways, yeah, you're right. The councils would never have let Sasuke fail, so they chose to have a certain Jonin in their pocket, convincing him to pass his team no matter what. Konoha prides itself on its teamwork above all else. We stick with teams to get the job done and watch each other's backs. That Uchiha runt doesn't get the concept of teamwork though and would sooner sacrifice his comrades to save himself than he would save somebody else at the risk of his own life. The people have pampered him so much that he thinks the world of himself. That fangirl and you would've just been along for the ride."

"Then there's the other teams. Kurenai would have passed her team anyways, if only to keep that Hyuga girl close. Asuma, on the other hand, is almost as lazy as the Nara clan and would have easily passed his team without a care in the world. You four though? There's something special about you and I'm looking forward to bringing that potential forth and showing the world what you can do. That and I want to brag about how awesome my team is when you all kick butt in the upcoming Chunin Exams! This is gonna be fun!" Anko proclaimed, laughing boisterously afterwards as she led them into the Forest of Death.

As they followed her, Yuna looked at Naruto and whispered, "Is she always like this? She's a little…strange."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Oh, you have no idea. Anko-chan's awesome. I think you'll enjoy getting to know her."

Paine smirked and said, "I already like her. She seems…interesting."

The whiskered teen chuckled and said, "I knew I was going to like you."

Rikku smirked at the two of them before saying, "Enough flirting you two, it looks like Anko-sensei wants our attention."

Naruto blushed a bit and glanced away. "Wasn't flirting." He said indignantly.

Anko simply smirked at him and said, "Yeah you were. Now, enough of that. Here's what we're gonna do. There's a bunch of huge beasties of all sorts roaming this forest. What I want you to do is get in there and fight a bunch of 'em. I want to see what you're all capable of, so hold nothing back. And don't worry about killing them, they breed like rabbits in here. No idea why, but whatever. So cut loose and have some fun! I'll be watching, so make sure to put on a good show ladies and gent. Have fun!"

Naruto chuckled a bit before he looked at the girls and said, "Follow me. I've been in here before, so I know a few good places to start us off. I think you'll enjoy Dr. Grizzly. He's a big guy and fun to play with. Let's try not to kill him though, okay? I like him."

The girls simply nodded and followed Naruto deeper into the Forest of Death. When they reached the home of Dr. Grizzly, the girls were a bit surprised to see just how big the bear was. It towered over them and, judging from the scars on its body and face, they knew it had seen its fair share of battle. In fact, it was missing its left eye, a deep scar going diagonally through where its eye had been.

Looking at it, Paine frowned and asked, "Why's it called Dr. Grizzly?"

Naruto shrugged and said, "I dunno. That's just the name that's been given to him. He doesn't seem to mind it."

The bear looked down at Naruto and seemed to let out a tired sigh, much to the girls' shock. Naruto simply grinned at him and waved up at Dr. Grizzly. "Hey there again big guy. You're not still sore about last time, are you?"

"Last time?" Rikku questioned unsurely as she and the other girls just watched the interaction between Naruto and the bear.

The bear looked down at Naruto again and let out a weak growl before waving its right paw in a so-so motion. Seeing this, the blonde frowned and said, "Look, I'm sorry about what happened. How was I supposed to know that she'd do that to you? I thought I was hooking you up with a nice Mrs. Bear, but nooo. You just had to go and upset her. It's your own damn fault that she did that to you. Now, man up and let's have a friendly spar, for old time's sake. The girls and I need to show our stuff to our new sensei, and I was hoping you'd cooperate with us and give us a good fight. Buuut, if you don't want to, we can always go to Spider-Man, does whatever a Spider-Man can. Or we could always go and look for Toucan Sam. No idea why a giant wasp is called that, but we make do with what we've got."

The YRP girls could only blink dumbly as they listened to the conversation Naruto was having with Dr. Grizzly. "Are you girls just as confused as I am?" Yuna asked. When they both said, "Yep." Yuna was glad to know she wasn't alone.

After a while, Dr. Grizzly turned his attention to the three girls almost as if he was assessing their threat level. When the bear finally turned its gaze back to Naruto and nodded, Naruto cheered and looked at the three young women. "All right! He says he'll spar with us for a while. So let's give Anko-sensei a good show!"

Rikku walked up to Naruto and looked up at the giant bear. "I have no idea what that was all about, but you seem to get along well with these animals. It's neat-o!"

Paine walked up with a smirk on her face as she spherechanged into her Gunner dressphere. "This should be fun."

Yuna stepped up next to Naruto and spherechanged into the White Mage dressphere. "Ready when you are."

As they all got ready for battle, Anko couldn't help but snicker to herself from her position high above them. Naruto-kun, you will never be boring, I swear.

A/N - And that's the chapter! The girls of YRP are in the Elemental Nations and things are already kind of chaotic. There's tension brewing between Naruto and Yuna, and that will be a recurring thing for a little while, I'm sure. If it looks like I'm bashing her, then you should know I'm not. She's having a hard time after the Fayth pretty much played her for a fool. They got her hopes up and crushed them underfoot.

Anyways, some of the names I used for the animals are easily recognizable. I was feeling VERY random, so I just went with whatever made me giggle. XD Dr. Grizzly is a friend of mine on another discord server I'm a part of. Nice guy. Even asked him if it was okay to use his username like this. The answer was: yes. So Dr. Grizzly is a grizzled bear with a grizzly brain and boom woom woomie!

Erm...I'm totally not hyper right now. I prooooomise. . I need to go play a game or something. I've got too much energy right now. XD

k, not sure what else to say, soooo...hope you're looking forward to whatever's next! Yay bunnies!