A/N - Okay, first thing's first. I've had a killer migraine and I've been super tired, so I don't know if this chapter is any good. x.x;; I hope you enjoy it, but I honestly couldn't think at some points.

Anywho, a lot of different things happen in this chapter. I wasn't entirely sure how to end the chapter, so I just kinda left it open-ended. Like I said, I've been having a rough time, so I don't know about the quality of this chapter.

I think I need to eat something and try to wake myself up. I was sleeping so peacefully...then I woke up having a panic attack. I get them at random without any real warning. They can be caused by stress or they can just hit me out of the blue, just like this one did. They really suck and they can be really painful too.

If it helps to make you understand a bit easier, I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, so I get panic attacks fairly frequently. I do what I can to manage them, but it can be pretty hard sometimes.

Just recently, someone told me I should stop writing period if I'm going to let things get to me so bad. I don't know if I didn't say it well enough or what, but it wasn't the comment made by whoever it was that sent me into a panic attack. It was one of the random ones that hit me sometimes. I can deal with all the flames and harassment and whatnot without having panic attacks. Suffice it to say, it was just bad timing. x.x

My point is this: I'm NOT giving up writing. I love writing and I have a lot of fun with it. Screw it if people harass me and hate my stories and whatnot. I don't give a shit. Just the act of writing chapters and stories like these makes me genuinely happy. If people like what I write, great. If they don't, it's fine.

Now that that's out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 3 – Trouble

Naruto blinked a couple of times at the strange feeling of having someone else's eye in his head. He had already practiced turning it on and off, and the weird effect of instantly memorizing things was certainly an interesting feeling. After a while of this, he looked at Anko and then the Hokage and said, "I wonder if I can cast genjutsu with this thing. I couldn't do crap about genjutsu before, so this thing will probably come in pretty handy."

Anko smiled at him and, deciding to play with him a bit, she said, "Activate your Sharingan. I want to test something."

"All right. Here goes." Naruto said as he turned the Sharingan on. When he did, Anko smirked at him before she lifted up her mesh armor and flashed Naruto her breasts. Immediately afterwards, she put everything back in place and smirked at him.

"Sooo, is that image ingrained in your head now, my darling Naru-kun?" Anko questioned, a sly smirk on her face.

Naruto's face was as red as a tomato as he tried to grasp what the hell his Anko-chan had just done. Glancing at Hiruzen, he saw the man blushing as well. It was obvious that he had seen Anko's breasts, but she didn't seem to care. The more he tried to avoid the image, the more prevalent such a vision became in his head. "A-Anko-chan? The hell?! You…you…holy crap." Starting to giggle pervertedly, he said, "Damn those are nice."

The Snake Mistress smirked and said, "Damn right they are! And yeah, I did that in front of the Hokage. Big whoop. I wanted to see your reaction and it was great. Now, we should probably go home and get some rest. Unless you've got something else you want to take care of real quick?"

The blonde shook his head and said, "No, I'm fine. Let's get home and get some rest. Today's been a long day and I'm honestly exhausted."

Nodding in understanding, Anko turned to the Hokage and asked, "Was there anything else you needed from us, Hokage-sama? Or can we go home? I'm looking forward to some Naru-Naru cuddle time! Yay cuddles!"

Hiruzen chuckled softly and shook his head. "There's nothing else. You two are free to return home and get some sleep. I expect to see your team tomorrow so you can begin taking D-rank missions. And Naruto? Good luck in your training. Anko will ensure you're more than prepared for anything."

"Of course. Thanks Gramps. C'mon Anko-chan, let's go home." Naruto said before he took Anko's hand in his and walked outside with her. They decided to just go for a casual stroll rather than go straight home.

As they walked, they couldn't help but notice the glares and hear the whispers some of the civilians were giving them. When they called Anko a 'Demon Whore', the Snake Mistress scowled before she turned to Naruto, grabbed his cheeks, and kissed him passionately right in front of everyone. After they parted, she turned to face the villagers and loudly proclaimed, "That's right! I'm in a relationship with Naruto-kun and I'm proud of it! So go ahead and say what you want you cowards! Tch, you're not even worth my time, any of you."

One of the male shinobi in the crowd stepped forward and smirked sinisterly at her. "I wonder, how would he feel if he knew just how many men you've slept with Whore? You'll spread your legs for just about anybody, won't you? What? Can't take the shame anymore, so you decided to be with the one person that has it worse off than you? Tch, how pathetic."

Anko practically snarled at this point before slamming her fist into the man's face, sending him reeling back a few feet. "I'll have you assholes know that I'm a virgin for fuck's sake! I'm sick of this! I'm sick of all of you! We're the only ones that can truly understand one another and the pain we share. Why can't you people just let us be happy? Is it really so wrong for us to be happy? Do you enjoy putting others down? I bet you assholes do it just to make yourselves feel better. Bruised egos, lousy lives, you're the pathetic ones! Not us!"

Naruto walked up to Anko and gently wiped away her tears. "Sweetheart, let's just go. You don't need to waste anymore words on the likes of them."

When Naruto turned around to begin walking with his girlfriend, he was suddenly struck in the face with a liquor bottle, its contents splashing all over his head. What made it worse was the pieces of glass now imbedded in his face. One piece was dangerously close to his normal eye while another had pierced his nose. A few pieces had cut into his left cheek. Screaming in pain, not just from the wounds but from the alcohol slipping into them, Naruto went to remove the shards of glass, only for Anko to stop him. "No, don't pull them out. We need to get you to the hospital…again."

Naruto, seeing the shinobi from before moving in for a kill strike against Anko, slipped past her and into the man's guard. Quickly grabbing the man's hand that was clenched tight around his kunai, Naruto overpowered him and proceeded to make the man stab himself in the throat over and over again until he fell to the ground dead.

Eyes widening in horror at what he just did, Naruto began to shake violently before he fell to his knees and vomited his dinner onto the ground. When he had stopped vomiting, he looked at his hands and said quietly, "I…I…I just killed somebody. I'm a monster…I'm what they said I am…I'm…"

Anko kneeled down and hugged her beloved tight. "You're not a monster, sweetheart. You protected me from harm. Everyone here saw what he was about to do to me. You did what you did to save me. A monster wouldn't do that. A demon wouldn't do that. You're a wonderful person and I love you for it. Now let's get you to the hospital. Okay?"

Before they could take more than a few steps, they were approached by a familiar woman with silver hair. "I saw what happened. Are you two okay?" Paine questioned. She kept glancing around at the crowd to make sure nobody attempted anything else. "Just what the hell is wrong with these people?"

Before either Anko or Naruto could reply, a man shouted, "The demon murdered someone in cold blood! Hurry! We need to inform the council!" And with that, the crowd dispersed, likely to go and tell their side of things to the council, rather than talk to the Hokage about it.

Anko clenched her fists tight and said, "Son-of-a-bitch! Paine, can you take Naruto-kun to the hospital? I need to tell Hokage-sama what happened."

It was at this point that Anbu Cat appeared before them and shook her head. "We will inform him of what transpired here. Hokage-sama was concerned and sent a few of us to find you. I saw everything. I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner." Sighing, she said, "Stay with your boyfriend, Anko. Get him to the hospital and guard him. Hokage-sama will be there as soon as he is able."

They watched as Cat disappeared to go and talk to the Hokage. Once he was gone, Anko placed one hand on each of their shoulders before vanishing with the two of them to the hospital.

Upon arrival, Anko hurried inside with Naruto and hurried up to one of the nurses. "Please, Naruto-kun's been hurt. We were attacked and, well, see for yourself."

The nurse looked at Naruto and her eyes widened in horror. "Naruto?! We'll get you to a room and get a doctor to see you immediately. Just don't attempt to remove the glass on your own, no matter how much it hurts."

Naruto simply thanked her as he followed the nurse to a room. As he waited, he looked at Anko and Paine. After a moment to think on it, he said, "You might want to get Yuna and Rikku-chan. I'm sure they're wondering what happened to you, Paine-chan."

Paine nodded and said, "I'll go. Be careful."

As Paine hurried off to fetch Yuna and Rikku, Anko looked sadly at her boyfriend and said, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Naruto-kun. We just got out of the damn hospital, only for this to happen. What the hell is wrong with these people?! No, they're not people. They're monsters."

Naruto sighed and shook his head sadly. "I'm not making excuses for them, but I believe that seeing the two most hated people in the village being happy together was just too much for them to bear. They're scum. Lower than trash. I don't know why we can't just be happy together."

"Because people are assholes, that's why. I hope Hokage-sama puts those assholes in their place." Anko said, clenching her fists tight.

It was at this point that Naruto's personal doctor entered the room and approached him. "I certainly hope so as well. Tell me exactly what happened." he said as he began to examine Naruto's injuries and gauge how bad the damage was.

"Well…"

Hokage's Office

The Hokage scowled as he heard the report from his Anbu. Slamming his fist down onto his desk, he said, "Those blasted cowards! How dare they attack one of my shinobi?! They WILL be made an example of. And this might just be the best time to deal with that rotten council, should they dare to try and protect those monsters."

It was at this point that Hiruzen's secretary entered the room with a frown on her face. "Hokage-sama, the council, namely the elders, have called for a council meeting. You might want to get there before they try anything stupid."

The aged Hokage grumbled irritably and said, "Those blasted fools haven't the authority to call together the council. They're abusing their positions, thinking they have more power than they do. This calls for a little house cleaning."

Council Meeting Room

The civilian council was in an uproar, furious at what the 'demon' had done to one of their own. Danzo was simply smirking as he contemplated how to spin this in his favor. The other two elders simply scowled, not liking the fact that Naruto had killed a fellow shinobi. The clan heads, on the other hand?

"Would you assholes shut the hell up already?!" roared Tsume Inuzuka. "All you have is one side of the story, a biased side. You don't know the full truth of the situation yet, so stop making snap judgments and decisions on the word of a bigot! Besides, Hokage-sama isn't even here yet. You have no right to be deciding things without him being here!"

One of the civilians scoffed and said, "Sure we do. We hold more power than that feeble old man. He's clearly gone senile with how much he protects that rotten demon. Besides, without us…"

The man never got to finish that statement as an Anbu ran him through, ending his life. Afterwards, Hiruzen stepped into the room and glared at the elders before turning his attention to the civilian council. "Last I recall, only the Hokage has the power to call the council together. You three have overstepped your bounds." Hiruzen said as he glared harshly at the three elders. "Anbu, end them. I won't have them tainting my village a moment longer."

Homura's eyes widened and he shouted, "Y-You can't do that! You need us! Besides, we hold power over you, Hiruzen!"

The Third Hokage simply raised a brow before chuckling evilly. "You're mere advisors with absolutely NO power over me or the village itself. Now die."

The elders were shocked when three Anbu appeared and ended the lives of Homura, Koharu, and Danzo. Or at least, they thought they had killed Danzo. He reappeared a short moment later off to the side, looking completely unscathed. Narrowing his eyes, Hiruzen said, "Remove your bandages Danzo. I want to see what you're hiding."

As the other two elders dropped dead, Danzo scowled at Hiruzen and said, "So you've decided to grow a spine, I see. I think I'd rather be going now than risk exposing myself to you fools. Root, to me!"

When four Anbu lookalikes appeared around Danzo before vanishing with him, Hiruzen scowled and slammed his fist down on the table. "That rotten BASTARD! I ordered him to disband Root goddammit!" Glaring at the civilian council, he said, "As for you, I'm tired of you thinking you can control my shinobi and use them for your own personal errands. We are not here to serve you. We are not your slaves. This is a shinobi village run by shinobi. You just live here. If you don't want to meet the same fate as these two, you'd best run on home with your tails between your legs. From now on, the civilian council is no more. I don't care how you feel about it, I'm tired of listening to you pompous assholes." When a female council member looked about ready to protest, Hiruzen snapped his fingers and her head began to roll along the ground seconds later. "Did I fucking stutter? I said get out of here!"

After the civilians fled from the room, Tsume looked at Hiruzen with astonishment. "Okay, I don't think I've ever seen you this pissed off before. What the hell really happened out there, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen scowled and said, "Naruto-kun and Anko-chan were walking home together when a number of the villagers began to harass them, calling Anko names such as 'Demon Whore'. After Anko kissed her boyfriend," seeing their confused looks, Hiruzen nodded once, "Yes, Anko and Naruto are in a relationship now. Anyways, they were both upset by how they were being treated. One of our shinobi approached them and decided to taunt the two of them, talking about how Anko-chan spreads her legs for any man willing to have her, among other degrading comments. She slugged him pretty hard for that."

Sighing heavily, the aged Hokage shook his head again and said, "When Naruto turned to walk off with his girlfriend, a villager nailed him in the face with a liquor bottle full of alcohol. Naruto-kun is currently in the hospital to get the glass removed carefully so he can heal properly. Anko began to look over her boyfriend and told him not to try and remove the glass on his own. However, the shinobi she had struck attempted to murder her for daring to strike him. Naruto acted in defense of Anko-chan and killed the man. This…was his first kill and he's not taking it well."

Hiashi scowled at this and asked, "Please tell me you're going to make an example of whomever it was that attacked Naruto? The civilians can't get away with this behavior! They attacked a shinobi of the village!"

Hiruzen nodded and said, "My Anbu have already started interrogating the civilians that were in the area at the time. If they are unable to find who threw the bottle, they have orders to start killing them one by one until the perpetrator comes forward. If he/she never does, then they'll all be killed. It's as simple as that. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior, especially not when they attack one of my shinobi. Besides, Naruto-kun and Anko-chan have been through quite enough."

Shikaku sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "So troublesome. You know that whomever it was, they're going to be cowardly and refuse to show themselves. They're all selfish and only seem to think of themselves. If the Anbu follow said orders, we're going to have a lot of dead civilians on our hands."

The aged Hokage sighed and shook his head sadly. "I know. But I need to take action this time. I can't just let them think they can get away with this. From what I heard, Naruto got extremely lucky. One of the shards of glass nearly took out an eye."

Choza's eyes widened and he said, "Damn them! I don't think even Naruto could heal from such an injury. What is wrong with the people of this village?!"

Hiruzen shook his head again and said, "I wish I knew. Anyways, I need to go and check on Naruto-kun. And we need to figure out how to deal with Danzo as well. It's obvious he's hiding far more than the fact he kept Root active beneath my nose."

Shikaku nodded and said, "It's troublesome, but I'll do what I can to come up with a workable strategy. We'll first need to find him before we can do anything. I doubt he's fled the village yet. Besides, he craves your position, so he won't run. At least not if he doesn't have to. No, he'll wait and plot in the shadows. At least he knows now that he can't move freely anymore, so those girls and Naruto should be safe from him now, for the time being, at least."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at Shikaku and asked, "So you know? Of course you do." Sighing softly, the old man chuckled and said, "Yes, those three girls are special. I'll explain everything to you all later. For now, I need to go see Naruto-kun. You're all dismissed." And with that, he left the room.

Hospital

Yuna and Rikku frowned as they looked at the sight before them. When Paine had told them what happened, they weren't sure exactly what to think at first. And now that they were seeing it with their own eyes, they both couldn't help but feel revolted at how horrible the people of the village could be to two of their own.

Walking up to them, Yuna looked Naruto in the eyes sadly before she bowed at the waist to him. "I'm so sorry, Naruto. I truly didn't realize just how badly you have it here. W-Why do you stay here if things are this bad?"

Naruto grimaced as the doctor began to slowly remove some of the glass. "I have nowhere else to go. Besides that, I have people I love here. I'm not just going to leave them behind and run away."

Anko frowned sadly and shook her head. "Besides that…Naruto-kun's…"

"Naruto-kun is the village's jinchuriki. He houses the Kyuubi no Yoko within himself." Hiruzen said as he stepped into the room. "I will explain all of that to you later. The short and simple truth is that he's a deterrent for war. I do not view him as such, but some people do. Sadly, we can't just let Naruto-kun leave, even though I'd gladly let him if it meant he could be happy somewhere else."

Paine frowned at this and said, "You have a lot of explaining to do if we're going to be on the same team together."

Naruto frowned at her and the other members of the YRP team. "Like you've all been entirely honest with us? There's more to Yuna's problems than just some lost love. I don't know who this Tidus guy is and I don't care. I don't know the full story, and again I don't care. It's obvious he was important to you, so I won't badmouth the guy. However, you're taking your frustrations and depression out on me and I'm honestly kind of sick of it. I'm not going to bend over backwards to try and please you and keep you happy. I've given you my house, I'd treated you with respect, I've tried to be supportive. So you can't just demand answers from us when you aren't willing to give them yourselves."

The doctor lightly patted Naruto atop his head and said, "Be still, Naruto. I don't want you causing more harm to yourself."

Yuna and the other members of YRP flinched at the sheer amount of venom in Naruto's speech. The brunette looked down and clenched her fists tight for a moment before she calmed herself. "I'm…not ready yet."

Naruto scoffed at that. However, he couldn't speak just yet as he had to close his eye when the doctor began to remove the glass from above his eye. "Shit doc, that hurts!"

The doctor sighed and said, "Of course it does. It's wedged in deep. I'm doing what I can to make this as easy on you as possible, Naruto, but you need to bear with me for a little while longer."

"Of course." Naruto said before he looked at Yuna with his new eye. "Anyways, until you feel like you're 'ready' to tell us everything, I'm not going to tell you jack squat." Glancing to Rikku and Paine, Naruto sighed and said, "Sorry Rikku-chan, Paine-chan, but trust is a two-way street. I've placed my trust in you three…but Yuna isn't willing to place her trust in me. I'm not just going to spill all my secrets or explain everything when she can't be bothered to put some damn faith in me."

Rikku and Paine both nodded in understanding, but didn't say anything. Instead, they watched as Yuna glared at Naruto and shouted, "Why should I trust you?! You're probably just like all the other guys I've met! Wakka was a racist jerk for the longest time and even when he was my guardian he kept up with that nonsense. Seymour was…was…" Shuddering in disgust at the memories, she soon glared at Naruto again and said, "Brother was obnoxious and wouldn't leave me alone. He didn't respect my feelings! And the Fayth…they…they stole him from me! You don't know what it's like!"

Naruto unconsciously activated his Sharingan as he glared right back at her, causing her to shiver in fear. "So you'd compare me to the men from your past without taking the time to get to know me first? Figures it'd be something like that. You're right. I don't know what it's like to have something like that happen. I know pain and suffering though. I know it all too well. I also know what it feels like to be betrayed. How about I tell you a little story?"

"And what if I don't want to hear it?" Yuna asked petulantly.

Naruto simply smirked cruelly at her and said, "Tough shit, because I'm going to tell it to you and everyone else here anyways."

Taking a moment to just rest his eyes, Naruto said, "I'm an orphan. Lived in an orphanage for a while until I was kicked out and forced to live on the streets at the age of four. Nobody in this room knows this, but there were a few people that wanted to adopt me. They were officially approved by the civilian council, whose jurisdiction I fell under at the time."

"These people would take me away from the orphanage or my apartment and act like they were giving me a new home. All so I could finally be happy. Only…it was all a trick" Naruto continued, his hands clenched into fists. "These people decided to teach their kids the best way to torture the 'demon'. They laughed as they beat me and tortured me for hours on end. Then, they'd toss me out on the street for the Anbu to find."

"The first time, I wondered what I did wrong. The second time, I was so hopeful…only for it to happen to me again. The third time, I decided that I wouldn't fall for it ever again. Then they started to kidnap me and drag me before their families so they could torture me all over again." Naruto explained before opening his Sharingan eye and looking into Yuna's eyes. "Their kids learned from their example. I was a prime target for bullying throughout the academy by these very kids."

Sighing softly, he closed his eye again and said, "So you're right. I don't know your pain. But I know suffering. I know loneliness. I know pain." And with that, he went silent while the doctor removed the last piece of glass.

While the doctor began to use medical ninjutsu to speed up Naruto's recovery, Anko had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why the hell didn't you tell me about this?! I could've done something! I would've done something to make them all pay for hurting you!"

Naruto frowned and said, "It wouldn't have made a difference. They'd just find new ways to torture me. Yuna, just…leave. Go back to my home and get some rest. I don't want you here anymore."

Yuna just stared in shock, not sure what to make of everything Naruto had just told her. When he told her to leave, the brunette flinched again before she turned and left the room without a word. Rikku frowned sadly at Naruto before she turned and left with Yuna. Paine, on the other hand, stayed behind. "Why do these things to you? I highly doubt you did anything to warrant such behavior."

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "I trust you, Paine-chan, truly I do. But I don't want to talk about it right now. You should go get some rest too. Hopefully I can join you girls for training and missions tomorrow. What do you think doc?"

The doctor frowned for a time as he thought it over. After a time, he said, "With how quickly you heal, it shouldn't be a problem. However, I want you to take it easy. No strenuous exercise for at least a couple of days, and try not to use your right eye too much. The glass came dangerously close to severing the optic nerve. You're going to be tender for a few days until you've fully healed. Anko, I'm trusting you to take good care of him. Don't push him too hard, and make sure he doesn't try to go past his limitations right now. Do you understand me?"

Anko nodded and walked over to Naruto, gently petting his hair. "Of course. I'll take real good care of him. Will he need to wear an eyepatch or anything?"

The doctor frowned slightly and shook his head. "So long as he doesn't use that eye until he's fully healed, he should be fine. For now, do as Kakashi did and use your headband to cover your eye. After a couple of days have passed, I want you to come see me again so I can determine if you're fully recovered or not. Got it Naruto?"

The blonde nodded his head slightly and said, "Got it doc. Thanks for taking care of me."

"Of course. You should go home and get some rest now. You've had a long day. Hokage-sama, I suggest assigning a personal guard to Naruto for the time being. There's no telling when the villagers might try something again."

Hiruzen nodded as he looked at Naruto and then at Anko. "Anko, take him home. Cuddling is fine, but nothing strenuous, got it? Paine, you should get on home as well. Give our apologies to Rikku and Yuna as well, please. When she is ready to open up to us, we'll open up to all of you."

Paine nodded in understanding. "It's fine. I don't blame any of you. Yuna's…having a hard time. But that doesn't excuse her behavior or the things she says. Take care Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow. You as well Anko-sensei." she said before leaving the room.

Naruto thanked the doctor one last time before he and Anko left the room as well. Once they were alone in the room, Hiruzen looked at the doctor and said, "Thank you for taking care of him. But you're concerned about something. What's on your mind?"

The doctor frowned and folded his arms across his chest before saying, "The story he told us. I believe his scars may lie deeper than simply in the physical sense, Hokage-sama. I think he needs to start seeing Inoichi Yamanaka for therapy. He needs someone to vent to, at the very least. I truly believe that Inoichi can help heal Naruto's emotional and mental scars. In fact, I think he's the only one that truly can."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement with that statement. "Very well. I'll start him off with a session once a week. Inoichi will tell me if he wants to see Naruto-kun more often or if he's okay to do certain missions and whatnot. I had no idea things were that bad."

"Neither did I, Hokage-sama. This is very concerning. I remember what Minato preached: love is what is needed to counter the hatred of the demons jinchuriki hold. You felt it the same as I did: Naruto bears a deep hatred for the people of this village. He is not surrounded by love like Kushina-sama and Mito-sama."

The Hokage scowled and clenched his fists at his side. "Dammit. Minato, you stupid fool. You've doomed your son to a life of misery and pain. I hope Kushina's kicking your ass in the afterlife for this."

"You and me both, Hokage-sama." the doctor said.

The Next Morning

As Naruto came to, he noticed a certain something immediately upon awakening. Anko was wrapped around him, using him as a body pillow of sorts. The only problem, if you can even call it that, was the fact that she was naked and he had a certain problem that young men have in the morning, especially with such a beautiful woman clinging to them in such a provocative way.

When he tried to free himself, Anko cracked open one of her eyes and smirked devilishly at him. "And where do you think you're going Handsome?"

Naruto blushed deeply and said, "I…I, um…I need a shower? We need to get ready to meet with the team, too. D-rank missions and all that."

"Uh-huh. A certain friend of yours sure is active for this time of day." Anko said before she flicked his penis. Smirking at him as she got an idea, she slid underneath the covers until her face was hovering over his crotch. "I know just how to deal with this problem of yours, Naruto-kun. Just leave this to your loveable Anko-chan."

Naruto blushed as his girlfriend began to use her mouth to pleasure him. Oh man, if I get to wake up to this every day, I'll be one happy man.

A few hours later

When Naruto and Anko reached Training Ground #44, Naruto was a blushing mess while Anko was simply grinning to herself and whistling a jaunty tune. The blonde's girlfriend had insisted on showering together, and she had proceeded to clean him in a very intimate way. She was being awfully affectionate, but he wasn't about to complain. Not when she was willing to pleasure him in such wonderful ways. They hadn't gone all the way, as they wanted to heed the doctor's warning, but damn were they tempted.

When they reached the YRP girls, Rikku raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's up Naru? You're awfully red. Don't tell me you were up to something naughty?" When Naruto simply blushed in embarrassment, her eyes widened before she began to giggle conspiratorially. "Oooh, how scandalous. You've gotta give me the details! What were you dooooing?" she questioned.

Yuna blushed and shouted, "Rikku! You can't just ask for personal information like that! What…what if it's something embarrassing? Or private?"

"Oh details, details. He's cute so of course I'm curious!" Rikku said before looking at Naruto again. "Sooo, what were you up to, huh?"

Naruto, deciding to humor her, said, "I was spending time with my girlfriend. We didn't do too much, but we woke up in a rather…awkward position. That's all."

"Uh-huuuuh. I see. Well alrighty then! Whatcha got planned for us today, Anko-sensei-wensei?!" Rikku questioned, turning her attention to Anko.

Anko looked the girls over for a moment before shrugging. "For you three? I'm not entirely sure how to go about training you. You can't use chakra the way we do, so I can't exactly train you in tree climbing, water walking, things like that. So we're going to focus on what you girls can do. You're going to take turns sparring with me and I'll give you tips where I can." Looking at the three girls, one by one, she said, "We're going to start with your Thief dresspheres. None of those tricks such as pilfering money or anything like that. We're going straight up combat. Regular attacks only. I need to get a real feel for what you can do without all those special abilities at your disposal."

Paine smirked and said, "I like the sound of that. All right, I can agree to that. What about Naruto?"

The Snake Mistress smiled at her boyfriend and said, "I plan to do exactly as I stated yesterday. Tree climbing and water walking to start off with. Like I said before though, you're going to have your Shadow Clones get to work on that. I'm going to create a Shadow Clone for you that will begin teaching you my taijutsu style. Sound good?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Of course Anko-sensei! I'm looking forward to it."

"Good to hear. My Shadow Clone will show you how to do both exercises. It'll be up to you to figure out the trick behind each of them. Now let's do this!" Anko exclaimed.

Later that day

"So…these are basically chores people are too lazy to do? How do these possibly qualify as 'missions'?" Paine questioned as they plucked weeds from somebody's garden.

Anko sighed and said, "I wouldn't subject you to this hell known as D-ranks, but we need to build up your teamwork. That, and you three still need to familiarize yourselves with not just the village, but our history and stuff as well. So while you're busy studying all that good stuff, we're stuck doing these missions for what little pay is being offered for them."

Yuna frowned as she plucked another weed. After a while, she asked, "It's because of me…isn't it?"

The Snake Mistress frowned and said, "I'm not going to lie to you, nor am I going to sugarcoat it. However, you should know that it's not entirely your fault. You really do need to study up on our world and we do need to work on teamwork, especially between you girls and Naruto. However, one of the problems this team currently faces is the tension between you and Naruto-kun. If you can't learn to work together and trust one another, then this team is doomed to failure. You've pissed Naruto-kun off, and he's hurt you with some of his actions and words. There's no denying that. Naruto-kun was right, however, when he said what he did yesterday. Trust is a two-way street and, if you're unable to bring yourselves to trust one another…this team could end up disbanded and each of you will be put in the reserves. I'd rather not let that happen. Especially when Naruto-kun is finally going to get a chance to show his stuff."

The brunette frowned deeply and said, "I understand. But it's not that easy. At least not as easy as you make it sound."

"And this is why this team will fail. You're stuck in the past and wallowing in your misery. Follow our example and push through it. Toughen up and realize a few things. One, you're not going to find a way back home. Even if you did somehow get back to your home, this 'Tidus' won't be there waiting for you. From the sounds of it, these 'Fayth' as you called them screwed you over and now you're taking your frustrations and your depression out on Naruto-kun. After all, it's so much easier to lash out at somebody that doesn't deserve it when you'd rather deny the facts. So here's my suggestion to you, Yuna: get over yourself. You're not the only one who's suffered like you have. A lot of people have lost the one they fell in love with. Hell, Tsunade of the Sannin? She lost both her brother and her lover. She never got to have the children she always wanted with Dan. And you want to know what I think happened? I think Jiraiya, a fellow Sannin, got jealous and planned for Dan's murder. Is there proof of such a thing? No. Does it sound like something he'd do? Definitely. The point is, you need to shape up before Hokage-sama benches us. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and make something of yourself here, in your new life. You can always fall in love again and start that family you so obviously wanted." Anko said, or rather ranted on about.

Yuna clenched her fists tightly in anger. With every word Anko said, she started to feel angrier and angrier until finally… "You don't know anything! Those…those tricksters stole him from me unfairly! Then they had the nerve to use me AGAIN! Fooled me into thinking Tidus would be coming back…" Glaring at Anko, she continued saying, "So shut the hell up and mind your own business! Those blasted Fayth…they…dammit!"

As Yuna ran off, leaving the others to do the rest of the work, Anko scowled and said, "She's not going to receive her payment for this mission. I hope you know that."

Paine shook her head and said, "I doubt she cares. For what it's worth, I apologize for her behavior. I hope she'll get through this."

Naruto waved it off and said, "It's fine. I understand she's in pain, truly I do. However…"

"Yunie's…stubborn. Not sure if that's the best way to put it right now, but…" Rikku started, only to pause.

Anko sighed and said, "DABDA. The stages of grief. Denial she's already experienced. Anger is happening now, even if she doesn't realize it yet. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts trying to bargain soon to hopefully get home and see Tidus. But from what you've told us and from what we can gather, Tidus won't be there waiting for her. The Fayth were cruel, playing with her heart in such a way."

"After that comes depression. That one's going to be rough for her. It will definitely affect her performance in the field. Then finally comes acceptance. Once she gets through the remaining stages of grief…she should be okay." Naruto said, frowning slightly.

Rikku sighed sadly and said, "One of us should go after her, just in case."

Naruto nodded and looked to Anko. "Anko-sensei, do you mind if I look for her? I won't bother her or anything, but I'd like to keep an eye on her and make sure people leave her alone."

Anko nodded and said, "Go. I'll take over here and help get this done."

The spiky-haired teen nodded and decided to leave a few Shadow Clones to help finish the job faster. Afterwards, he took off in search of Yuna. He had a feeling she was going to have a tough time soon, but he hoped he was wrong.

Yuna

Yuna scowled as she walked through the village, not entirely sure where she was going or even what she was going to do. All she knew is that she wanted to be as far away from her 'team' as possible. Sadly, she wasn't going to get the time to be alone like she would have preferred.

"Well hello there hottie. I don't think I've seen you around before." a young man's voice could be heard saying. Looking to the side, she saw a teenager with red markings on his cheeks and a somewhat feral appearance approaching her. She wrapped her arms around herself as she saw him looking her over, licking his lips as he appreciated her fine form. "How's about you and I go out for a nice little stroll, hm? I could definitely show you a good time."

Yuna shivered in disgust and took a few steps backwards, trying to put some distance between herself and this teenager. "No thank you. I'm not interested." she said before turning to walk off. She was stopped however when the younger man grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "Let go."

"Oh, don't be like that baby. I doubt you've got anything better to do than spend time with an alpha like me. Let's go out for some grub, and perhaps a little something special back at my place." the young man said, grinning at her.

Before Yuna could make the punk pay, Naruto dropped down from above and kicked the young man in the side of the head, sending him flying away from Yuna. As Kiba skidded along the ground, Naruto stood there staring at Kiba's downed form. "No means no, Dog Breath. Leave her alone or things will definitely get nasty for you."

Kiba stood up, wiping some dirt off his face and some blood from his mouth. "Dammit Naruto, get the hell away from my bitch! I don't care if you've called dibs on her, she's mine now!"

"She's not some possession you can claim ownership of, Kiba. Yuna's a person, a beautiful one at that, that deserves some damn respect. She doesn't need you sexually harassing her. Now I suggest you apologize and run off with your tail between your legs. I won't warn you again." Naruto said, glaring at Kiba.

Kiba scoffed and said, "You couldn't beat me in a hundred years, Naruto! You're just a pathetic piece of shit that couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Now hand over my bitch and I'll let you off with a warning. You don't want to cross your betters, Naruto."

Holding up a single hand seal, Naruto summoned forth a veritable army of clones and motioned for them to go on the attack. Kiba snarled and began fighting them with Akamaru, taking down a lot of the clones. Sadly for the Inuzuka male, he was simply too outnumbered to make much of a dent in the clones' numbers. When they began to beat the shit out of him, Kiba screamed in outrage. "Damn you Naruto!"

Sighing in disappointment, Naruto took Yuna's hand in his and walked off with her, leaving Kiba to get quite the beating. Once they were safely away, Naruto released Yuna's hand and walked away from her. "I know, you don't want me around. Just…be careful. Kiba's not the only one that thinks with the wrong head in this village." Sighing again, he shook his head and glanced over his shoulder at the high summoner. "The biggest offender is Jiraiya of the Sannin. I'd be careful when going to the hot springs. Chances are that if he's in the village, he'll be there peeping on women. He's tried that with Anko-chan and her friends before. I'm waiting for the day somebody kills the asshole."

Yuna frowned at him and asked, "Why did you help me? I've been cruel to you…"

The blonde simply shrugged before saying, "Figure it out for yourself. If you need any help, just call for me and I'll show up. For now, enjoy your walk."

As he disappeared from view, the brunette frowned and looked down at her hand. His hand was warm… Why is he being nice to me? I don't understand… Deciding she wouldn't figure it out anytime soon, she began walking again, not quite sure what to think anymore.

One week later

Hiruzen frowned as he listened to Anko's report on the progress of her team. When she had finished, he sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "So they're still not on the best of terms, hm? Do you think they'll shape up before the Chunin Exams roll around?"

Anko shook her head and said, "I'm not sure, Hokage-sama. Yuna is…difficult to work with. Sure, she takes her training seriously and refuses to take any crap from anyone, but when it comes to working with Naruto? It's still awkward. I'm starting to wonder if a C-rank mission might force them to start working together."

Hiruzen shook his head and said, "Not just yet. We'll reserve that for a last resort effort. For now, they still need to finish their studies. How is Naruto progressing?"

Anko smiled and said, "Wonderfully, now that he's fully healed. He's making good use of that Sharingan to memorize my taijutsu style. He's not really using it as a cheat code or anything, though. Naruto's simply using it to better memorize the katas and my movements during our spars. Other than that, he works hard at trying to master my style, as well as everything else I've been teaching him. I highly doubt he'll become overly dependent on it like Kakashi had become."

"I'm glad to hear it." Hiruzen said with a smile. "Have you managed to get anymore information out of Yuna and the others?"

Anko shook her head and said, "Not really. From what I've been able to gather, her experiences with this man named Seymour Guado were…negative, in nature. I think he tried to force himself on her or something. Whatever he did, it seems to have left quite the negative impression upon her. I sincerely hope the guy is dead after whatever it was he did to her."

"I see. Continue working with them and try to get them to open up some more. If not Yuna, then the others. If need be, we'll inform them about the jinchuriki, the bijuu, and whatever else they have questions about. Extend the olive branch, so to speak. It might make them open up to us a little more." Hiruzen said as he scratched his beard in thought.

"Or it could backfire and cause more problems than solve them." Anko said. "Either way, we have to do something, or else they're going to have problems in the Chunin Exams. You are going to let me enter them when that time rolls around, aren't you?"

"It depends. I want Naruto-kun to be able to trust the three of them before I even think of putting them through something like that. For now, just keep an eye on them and do what you can to mend the relationship between the two of them. He gets along well enough with Rikku and Paine, but Yuna's another matter entirely." Hiruzen said.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. If that's all, I'd like to go invite Naruto-kun out for some dinner." Anko said, a smile on her face.

"Of course, Anko. Enjoy your date."

"Thanks, Hokage-sama." she said before she left his office.

Once he was alone, Hiruzen sighed and shook his head. "I wish I knew what to do for you, Naruto-kun. This is incredibly frustrating for all of us, I'm sure."

Uzumaki Compound

Naruto whistled to himself as he stepped up to the front door of his parents' home. Knocking on the door, just to be polite, he opened it a moment later and stepped inside. He was here to put some books and scrolls back in their proper locations. Afterwards, he planned to borrow a few more books on fuinjutsu. However, as he entered the home, he couldn't help but notice the look Yuna was giving him. Frowning to himself, he asked, "What?"

Yuna stood up and walked up to him, glaring into his eyes. "Why can't you just stop coming here already?! I'm tired of seeing you in my home! Get out and stop coming here already!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and said, "In case you forgot, this is my house, not yours. You're living here because of my generosity. You're damn lucky I don't charge you rent! But fine, y'know what? I don't fucking care anymore. I'm going to grab a few books and get the hell out of your hair. I'm sick of dealing with you and your damn attitude."

As he walked off to go and do what he needed, Yuna clenched her fists tight and waited. When he returned, she said, "Get out! Just…just stop coming here already! I still don't trust you. I'm tired of having to deal with you."

"Funny. I could say the same about you. I don't care how much you're suffering, you're pushing the bounds of my hospitality. But fine, I'll stay away for a while. However, we're going to need to work together on missions, unless you'd rather I stay away from you then too?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.

Before she could reply in any way, Naruto flipped her off and left his rightful home. Once he was gone, she glared at the door and said, "I hate you. I hate you so much. I want nothing to do with you!"

Rikku frowned sadly at her, but didn't say a word. Paine, on the other hand, walked up to Yuna and slapped her. "You need to stop this Yuna! Yes, I get that you're angry and frustrated right now. But taking it out on Naruto is wrong. You have to know that?"

"I…I don't care. I just can't deal with him. I can't." Yuna said before walking off to get some sleep. She didn't feel like eating anything right now.

Once she was gone, Rikku looked at Paine and asked, "What are we supposed to do? Things are only getting worse…"

The silver-haired woman shook her head and said, "I don't know Rikku. I really don't know." Sadly, they wouldn't be able to find any answers on this night, nor the upcoming nights. Chances were, things were going to get worse before they had a chance to get better. Dammit. What the hell are we supposed to do?

Naruto

As Naruto walked the streets towards his girlfriend's apartment complex, he clenched and unclenched his fists, trying so hard to rein in his temper. "Damn that woman." he said angrily. "How dare she?!"

"Naaaaarutoooooo!" a girl called out, getting his attention. Looking over to see who it was, he saw one Ruby Rose dashing towards him. When she stopped in front of him, she said, "Hiya! We haven't really had much time to talk lately. Whatcha up to?"

Naruto smiled at her and said, "Hey Ruby-chan. I…I don't really know anymore. I'm frustrated right now. How have you been? Are you enjoying being with your team?"

Ruby grinned and said, "Yep! We're getting along really well and things are pretty awesome right now! How about you? And are you okay? You really do seem to be pretty upset."

The blonde shrugged and said, "I'll be fine. I'm just not getting along with one of my teammates is all. I'm glad you're having such a good time with your team though, Ruby-chan."

Hugging her friend tight, Ruby said, "It'll be okay Naruto-kun. I know what we can do to cheer you up! Why don't we go get some dinner and talk for a while? Might be fuuun."

Before Naruto could reply, Anko appeared and slung an arm around her boyfriend. "Oh? Is little Ruby-chan asking Naru-kun out on a date? How cute." she said with a giggle.

The black-haired girl blushed deeply and shook her head. "No! I-I mean, of course not. I just figured, you know, he might like some c-company? Besides, I think he needs someone to talk to. I totally wasn't thinking of it like a date. Nope! Nuh-uh! Umm, I know! Let's all go out to eat together! Doesn't that sound good?"

Anko simply smirked at Ruby before she leaned in and whispered to her boyfriend, "I think someone's got a crush."

Naruto blushed a bit and chuckled nervously. "Sure seems that way, huh? Oh well. Going out to eat together should be fun. Let's go!"

Anko nodded and looked into Ruby's eyes. "Well, lead the way Rosey. I think we've got a lot to talk about."

Ruby nodded and turned around, beginning to lead them to her favorite place to eat. "Sounds good to me! I want to hear all about what you've been up to!"

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Thanks Ruby-chan. I appreciate it." As they walked, he couldn't help but frown to himself as he thought on Yuna and their 'conversation'. I feel for you Yuna, really I do. But…I really don't know how much more of this I can take. If I could, I'd make those Fayth pay for hurting you so much. I'd make all those men that hurt you suffer too. You're…you're a beautiful person, but… I just don't know what to do. What should I do? This sucks.

Sure enough, Naruto only had more questions than answers. Please Yuna…talk to me. Tell me what's troubling you. I only want to help. Sadly, he wasn't sure if things would ever get better. He sincerely hoped they did, because he didn't want to miss his shot at participating in the Chunin Exams and taking on some good missions outside of the village. Things were rough enough as they were without having to add these troubles to his list of worries. Please let me help you…

A/N - And that's the chapter! Like I said before, a LOT happened in this chapter. I hope it turned out okay, but I was having such a hard time thinking clearly thanks to being tired, this damn migraine, and of course, panic attacks. x.x Oh well.

Also, not sure if anyone has noticed this or not, but once again I cannot reply to reviews. The newer reviews aren't showing up AGAIN. So I have to wait for the admins to fix that crap so I CAN start replying to reviews. x.x Fucking hell.

Anywho, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you didn't, oh well. I'll figure out what to work on next laterish.