A/N - Wow has it ever been a while since I worked on this one. Here's hoping you enjoy it!

I've definitely noticed a recurring thing here: you guys seem to HATE Yuna in this story. lol. I wasn't trying to make her an unlikable character, believe me. She's just going through a REALLY hard time and doesn't know how to deal with all of her emotions and the horrible thoughts going through her mind, etc. etc. Sadly, she doesn't exactly get any better in this chapter, either. Oh, there's a big change in how she treats Naruto in this chapter, but it's still not a good thing.

Also, I have introduced another cameo character from another series. You'll see when you read the chapter. Hopefully you like her addition into the story. I'm not entirely sure what to do with her, but she's in the story, so yay! lol

Anyways, I'm honestly feeling like crap. So I'll end this here and then see you at the bottom! Yay! lol

Chapter 4 – Stages of Grief

"So you're telling me that Sakura, Sasuke's number one lollipop licker, is actually taking training seriously? And on top of that, she's working with you and Pyrrha without complaining? How the hell'd that happen?" Naruto questioned his friend, Ruby Rose.

Ruby nodded excitedly as she bit into a sugar cookie and savored the taste. After swallowing, she looked at Naruto again and said, "I think it has to do with why I was chosen as Sasuke's replacement on Team 7. Apparently, Sasuke actually attacked Pyrrha!"

Anko interrupted at this point and said, "I was there during the meeting. Sasuke attacked Pyrrha because she was trying to help him and Sakura pass the Genin exam. She understood the true purpose of the test and realized that in order for them to pass, she'd have to act. When Sasuke was brought before the Hokage, he was completely unapologetic and went on a long rant. The kid was a real moron, and it was obvious something had to be done about him. So, it was decided that he would be removed from Team 7 and the shinobi corps. in its entirety. And then you were chosen as the replacement, Ruby. So, congratulations on that."

Ruby beamed at her in thanks before she began to speak again. In her hands was a chocolate chip cookie, showing that she had already devoured the rest of her sugar cookies while Anko had been talking. "Sounds like Sasuke had a few too many screws loose after what happened to his clan. Anyways!" Beaming at Naruto at this point, she said, "Sakura seems to have realized how unhinged Sasuke is and decided to get over him and that silly crush of hers. It helps that Ibiki-sensei is, um…as hard as he is. He's really been working us hard. I definitely feel like I'm getting stronger under his guidance, but at the same time, it's pretty hard."

"I see. Well, I'm glad she didn't just give up being a kunoichi because she couldn't be with her precious 'Sasuke-kun'. She definitely has the potential to be something great." Naruto said. "Just wish I could say things were going as well for our team."

Anko patted her boyfriend on the head and said, "I hear ya, Naruto-kun. I'm assuming something else happened. You did seem pretty tense earlier."

Naruto grumbled irritably to himself before nodding his head. "I went to MY compound to return some things and to take a new batch of scrolls and books and whatever else might catch my interest. Yuna…" Clenching his fists tight, he said, "She told me to get out and stay out of MY home. She doesn't want me returning there ever again. I told her she was damn lucky I don't charge her rent or kick her out on the streets for Danzo to take her. She's lucky I even bothered to chase off Kiba for her last week. I don't give a damn what she says, I'm going to continue perusing my parents' belongings and learn everything I can."

Anko scowled after hearing what had happened. "Naruto-kun, do you want to talk to Hokage-sama about this? If things continue like this, you four might NOT be entering the upcoming Chunin Exams. If you two can't work together, I can see about temporarily removing Yuna from the team or something."

Naruto frowned and shook his head. "I don't hate her, Anko-chan. I understand that she's in pain. I understand that she's going through the stages of grief, but…"

Ruby frowned sadly and took one of his hands in hers, squeezing it gently to show her support. "You can't help her if she won't let you in, right?"

"Yep. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening anytime soon." Naruto said.

Anko frowned in thought for a time before she said, "I want to try and take you out on a C-rank mission. If I see that you two can work together, despite your differences, then we might be able to salvage this broken team before the Exams roll around."

Naruto smiled at Anko and said, "That sounds wonderful, actually. I think getting out and seeing what's out there would help all of us. I'd really prefer NOT to have to chase Kiba away from the girls anymore times than I absolutely have to."

Ruby frowned and said, "He really doesn't seem to understand the meaning of 'no'. He's even tried hitting on Pyrrha and me. The guy just won't take 'no' for an answer. And being called a 'breeding bitch' by him was disgusting."

Anko facepalmed and said, "That's it. I'm talking to Hokage-sama AND Tsume-sama about the brat. Ruby, do you think you can go and get Pyrrha? Naruto-kun, I want you to go and get Yuna and the others and meet me in the Hokage's office. We're nipping this problem in the bud right now."

Naruto and Ruby both nodded affirmatively. Anko quickly paid their bill while Ruby wolfed down the rest of her chocolate chip cookies. Afterwards, they split up to go and do what needed to be done.

Hokage's Office

When Anko entered his office, Hiruzen wasn't sure what to expect. "Anko? I thought you were going on a date. What happened?"

The Snake Mistress took a seat across from the Hokage and said, "I was informed by Ruby Rose about something that has me disturbed, Hokage-sama. As I'm sure you know by now, Naruto-kun has had to chase Kiba Inuzuka away from Yuna on more than one occasion. And now I've learned that he's referred to Ruby and her teammate, Pyrrha Nikos, as 'breeding bitches'. I think it's about time he learns a VERY hard lesson."

The Third scowled at this and asked, "I assume the others are being brought to me now? I want to hear their accounts in regards to this matter."

Anko nodded in affirmation. "Yes, Hokage-sama. Naruto-kun is bringing the rest of my team while Ruby has run off to get Pyrrha. They should be here soon."

"Good." Hiruzen said before he returned to working on some paperwork.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. Once everyone was packed into his office, he looked into Ruby's eyes. "It has been brought to my attention that Kiba Inuzuka is sexually harassing you and your teammate. Can you attest to this?"

Ruby nodded and said, "It's true, Hokage-sama. Kiba has tried hitting on me before and he said I would make for a 'good breeding bitch'. I wanted to hurt him really bad for saying such a horrible thing to me!"

Pyrrha nodded along and said, "I have tried to be nice and respectful to him, but Kiba is honestly even wearing my patience thin. When I told him no, that I wasn't interested in him, he grabbed my wrist pretty hard and tried to demand that I give in and give him what 'we both wanted'." Shivering in disgust at this point, the beautiful redhead looked hard into the Hokage's eyes and said, "I don't like people like him touching me, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen frowned distastefully. "I see." Looking at the YRP girls, he asked, "And has he approached you, as well?"

Each of them nodded, however Paine had a rather fierce scowl on her face. "He took one look at me and said I wasn't 'woman enough' for a 'prime alpha' like him. I'm too flat and not attractive enough for his tastes. I'm more concerned for Yuna and Rikku."

Rikku rubbed her arms and shook in place. "He tried to grab my breasts. Right out there in the open, with people watching and everything! I threatened to cut his hands off if he ever tried again, but he just scoffed and tried to tell me I was 'his property'. Naruto-kun helped me out of a tight spot, there."

Yuna scowled and said, "Naruto saved me from having to deal with him as well. Twice now, actually. After Naruto beat him up, you'd think Kiba would get the message to leave us alone. Kiba blatantly told me that I'd be coming with him back to his place for 'some fun'. I think he meant to take me by force if he had to."

Hiruzen scowled and nodded his head in understanding. "I see. Anbu! Bring Tsume Inuzuka and her son, Kiba, to me immediately!" When the Anbu quickly disappeared, Hiruzen went back to his paperwork, thinking over what he should do. After a moment, he looked into Naruto's eyes and asked, "Naruto-kun, how are you acclimating to your new eye? Is everything working properly?"

The blonde nodded and said, "It's working wonderfully. I haven't experienced any problems with it. No signs of overuse, limited chakra drain…it's working like a charm."

"Glad to hear it. I expect you to make far better use of it than Kakashi ever did." Hiruzen said, looking hard into Naruto's eyes. "I believe in you, Naruto-kun. I know you'll make me proud."

"Thanks Gramps." Naruto said.

It was at this point that the Anbu reappeared with Tsume and Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba first glared at Naruto before turning his gaze on the various babes around him. Licking his lips appreciatively, he was about to say something before he felt an intense blast of killing intent wash over him. Slowly turning towards the Hokage, he saw the man glaring angrily at him. "W-W-What did I do?"

Ignoring Kiba, Hiruzen looked into Tsume's eyes and said, "Tsume, it has come to my attention that your son has been sexually harassing everyone with breasts. From what I've learned from these lovely women here, Kiba has been referring to them as 'breeding bitches' and has tried to force himself on them on numerous occasions. He has shown no respect for women in any station, and it is my concern that, if something isn't done soon to curb such behavior, he WILL end up hurting a fellow Konoha kunoichi. From what I understand, Kiba is not above raping his chosen victim. I assume you have tried to instill in him proper virtues and morals?"

Tsume's eyes were wide before she glared down at her son. "I thought I had done a good job. Kiba, what the hell is wrong with you?! Who taught you to behave like this?!"

Kiba scoffed and asked, "Is it a crime to admire such fine ladies? Besides, Uncle Tsunra doesn't seem to have any problems getting laid. If it works for him, why wouldn't it work for me? Besides, these ladies should be honored to bear my seed. I'd definitely show them a better time than this loser ever could." He said, waving dismissively at Naruto.

"Tsunra? You mean my idiot brother-in-law? Kiba, he's a TERRIBLE example to follow! I don't know what kind of bullshit he's been feeding you, but it stops NOW! From now on you WILL show respect to women, no matter what they look like or how they behave. And if a woman tells you no, then it means fucking NO! You do NOT try to force yourself on women, Kiba! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Tsume exclaimed angrily.

Kiba scoffed and said, "Yeah, Uncle Tsunra said you'd say something like that if you found out. He also said you're a terrible clan leader. And you know what? I think I agree with him."

Everyone's eyes widened before Naruto sucker punched Kiba in the face, breaking his nose and knocking a few teeth loose in the process. "You rotten asshole! That's your MOTHER you're speaking to like that! Do you really have no respect for your own family?!"

Kiba scowled angrily at Naruto before lunging towards him, ready to tear his throat out if need be. However, before he could make it more than a few steps, an Anbu appeared and pinned Kiba to the ground, his face pressing against the floor. "Don't try to get up." The Anbu said sternly.

Hiruzen scowled at Kiba and decided to pose a question to Kiba. "Kiba, if you were to leave here a free man, with no punishment given, would you try to force yourself on Hinata Hyuga and Kurenai Yuhi? Your teammates, I remind you. Answer me honestly."

Kiba growled for a moment as he struggled against his Anbu oppressor. It was a futile effort, but he refused to just lie down and take it. "Hinata's my bitch! Why she still shows interest in Naruto is beyond me. As for Kurenai, she's lucky I don't just take her on the spot like the bitch in heat she is. She doesn't realize yet what it means to be with a true alpha."

Naruto facepalmed and shook his head in mild disbelief. "How the hell did they ever let someone like you pass the true Genin test?"

Before Kiba could say anything more, Hiruzen stood up and stepped up to his downed form. Motioning for his Anbu to step back, the Hokage looked into Kiba's eyes. "I am highly disappointed in you, Kiba Inuzuka. In order to protect your teammates from you, I am removing you from Team 8 effective immediately. You are being put in house arrest for the time being. It is my hope that Tsume can beat some sense into you if need be. I will also inform Inoichi to see you twice a week for therapy sessions. If the two of them tell me that you are a lost cause, your chakra will be sealed, and you will be forced to live out the rest of your days as a civilian. You're damn lucky I don't just throw you in prison now and be done with it."

Kiba's eyes were wide as he looked into the Hokage's eyes fearfully. "What?! But…but you can't do this to me! I passed and everything! I was finally going to make Hinata my woman!"

Hiruzen scowled and said, "If I hear you've set foot outside of your clan's compound, you WILL regret it, Kiba Inuzuka. Tsume, take your son home and stress upon him the seriousness of the situation. You know exactly what will happen to him should he step out of your compound."

Tsume nodded and said, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage waved it off with a friendly smile. "Don't apologize, Tsume. You did nothing wrong. Now go." Tsume nodded in response and quickly took off with her son.

Once they were gone, Hiruzen turned to Yuna for a moment before settling his eyes on Naruto. "Naruto-kun, it's not hard to tell that something else has you frustrated. Would you mind sharing?"

Naruto chanced a glance at Yuna before looking straight into the Hokage's eyes. "As you know, I gave my rightful home to my teammates so they'd be safe from Danzo and whoever else might want them. I understood why Yuna didn't want to live with me, so I moved in with Anko-chan instead. Earlier, when I went to peruse my parents' library again, Yuna snapped at me and told me to stay out of 'her' home. As I said to her before, she's damn lucky I don't charge her rent for living in MY home. Believe me, I understand that Yuna is grieving, but even still, there's a limit to how much I can take."

Looking into Yuna's eyes, the blonde offered her a small smile and said, "I don't hate you, Yuna. In fact, I want to be friends. I would never try to take Tidus' place and I would never hurt you like whoever hurt you before. You just need to let me in and trust in me a little. We're teammates now, and, as I said, I'm here if you need me to be. Can we please put aside our differences and start over as friends?"

Yuna looked at her cousin for a moment before staring back into Naruto's eyes. Closing her eyes, she said, "I'm sorry, Naruto. I don't know. But…" Looking at the Hokage at this point, she said, "We should probably reveal more about what happened in our pasts, huh?"

Hiruzen nodded and said, "If you feel up to sharing it with us now, then please do so. If you come clean with us, I'm sure we can answer some questions you might have as well."

Taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk, Yuna tried to gather her thoughts. After a time, she decided to just come clean. "I had just become a summoner when I met Tidus for the first time. He had been washed ashore on the Isle of Besaid after an encounter with Sin. I felt an instant attraction to him, and we became quick friends, despite the fact he was a bit…awkward in regard to our world. I enjoyed his company. Then we met Seymour Guado."

Walking up beside her cousin, Rikku placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Yunie. Take your time."

"No, I need to get this off my chest before I explode at anyone again. Not…not like I did to Naruto." Here, she looked back at Naruto and bowed her head. "I'm truly sorry for earlier, Naruto. I shouldn't have said what I did."

Naruto simply waved it off and smiled at her in response. "It's fine, Yuna. Believe me, I can understand."

"Thank you." Turning back to the Hokage, the ex-summoner continued with her tale. "Seymour was…hmm, how to put it? Something about him was just…disturbing. Creepy, in a way. There was always something off about him. It wasn't until later that we came to understand why."

"Anyways, Seymour tried to convince me to be his bride. He said that there was more than one way to inspire the people of Spira without having to give up my life stopping Sin. But…" Yuna said, pausing after a time. "A sphere from Lord Jyscal explained a great deal about Seymour. He had become dark and twisted, and he had killed his own father. He was going to try and use me, as well. Everyone was a tool to be used in his sick, twisted mind."

"We proceeded to kill Seymour, but before I could perform the sending to usher him along into the Farplane, the place where our dead go, he was carried away and we were treated as criminals. We later found out that Seymour had become an Unsent. A being that was dead, but had such strong desires to remain in the world of the living that they continued to exist as normal."

"After I was taken away from Home…I decided that I would try and perform the sending on Seymour at our…" Yuna paused here and shivered in disgust. When she felt Rikku give her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, she smiled at her cousin in thanks. Turning back to face the Hokage, she said, "I planned to use our 'wedding' as a means of getting close enough to send him. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. Tidus and the others tried to come to my rescue…but things didn't work out how we had hoped. Seymour…stole my first kiss. I felt so disgusted and dirty. I wanted to kill him all over again and wash myself clean of his filth."

"We fought Seymour again…but we were excommunicated from Yevon and its teachings. That is when Tidus and I shared our first and only kiss." Closing her eyes, she took a breath and continued speaking. "We learned that Seymour wanted to ascend to godhood, in a sense. He wanted my help in becoming the new Sin. He killed so many Ronso on Mt. Gagazet." Sighing softly, she shook her head and said, "We did eventually manage to defeat him and perform the sending on him so he would pass on to the Farplane."

"Then there's Wakka. Wakka was a dear friend, but he was so set in his own ways and beliefs that something outside of the norm would confound him and make him frustrated. Wakka was such a stout believer in everything Yevon and lived his life according to the teachings. This meant he was racist against the Al Bhed, like Rikku here."

Rikku nodded and said, "When it came time for us to fight Seymour at Macalania Temple, Wakka was more concerned with the fact that Seymour was a maester of Yevon and that we shouldn't do anything rash that could get us in trouble. It didn't matter to him that Seymour was an evil baddie!"

Yuna scowled for a moment before saying, "Wakka wasn't happy when he found out Rikku was an Al Bhed. Even after being helped by them, he was still kind of racist towards them. And when we were excommunicated from Yevon, he was in shock and didn't take it well. That's the thing he was most worried about. Not the fact that the maesters of Yevon were Unsent monsters."

"Then, two years later, we found a sphere that showed us an image of someone strongly resembling Tidus. It was during this time that Brother became obsessed with me to the point he would try to win me over constantly. I tried to be nice to him and treat him civilly, but I really wished he would have respected my feelings instead of constantly pining after me like he did. I tried to let him down easy, but he was so insistent." Yuna explained with a deep frown on her face.

Paine spoke up at this point. "As for that sphere with the Tidus lookalike? We found out it was a guy named Shuyin. The Fayth managed to rope us in to helping save the world again, this time from Shuyin and Vegnagun. At the end of it all, the Fayth were supposed to return Tidus to us…but they lied. You see, Tidus was a dream of the Fayth. He never truly existed outside of their dreams. So when Sin was finally defeated once and for all, Tidus ceased to be."

Rikku nodded and said, "The Fayth got Yunie's hopes up for nothing! They just used us again and gave nothing back. So unfair!"

Hiruzen frowned deeply and said, "I am sorry you have had to experience such trying circumstances. As promised, if you have any questions you want answered, ask them now."

Paine decided to be the one to speak up. "You told us that Naruto is a jinchuriki. You never really explained to us what that entailed. All we really know is that he has this thing called the Kyuubi no Yoko sealed inside of him. We're not even sure what that is or why this makes the people hate Naruto so much. Will you please tell us now?"

The Hokage nodded and said, "There are a total of nine bijuu. They are massive chakra constructs that take the form of differing animals. For instance, the Kyuubi no Yoko is essentially a giant fox with nine tails. The stronger the bijuu, the more tails they possess. Naturally, this makes the Kyuubi the strongest of the nine. However, the bijuu are feared throughout the Elemental Nations. I don't know why Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, felt it was a bright idea to seal away all the bijuu and give them to the other villages the way he did." Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook it off. "Anyways…"

"On the night of Naruto-kun's birth, the Kyuubi was released from its second host. It terrorized the village and killed a LOT of people. Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, had to seal the might beast inside of his son, Naruto Uzumaki. It was his hope that the village would see him as their hero and treat him with the respect he deserved. But…"

Naruto took over at this point. "The people make us into jinchuriki. They seal the creatures inside of us and then…then they treat us like we aren't even human anymore. They mistreat us. They hurt us. Hell, some people even treat us like we're weapons of mass destruction to be used by our village and then thrown away when we break. They can just create more jinchuriki as they please." Looking around at the various girls in the room, he shrugged and said, "To the people of Konoha, I'm a demon. Always have been. Probably always will be, as well. Jinchuriki don't lead easy lives."

Rikku frowned and said, "But…that doesn't make any sense! If they make you guys jinchuriki, why do they treat you so horribly? I don't get it!"

Hiruzen shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense. Sadly, it's just how things are. Jinchuriki are less than human and treated as if they don't belong. Oh, it's convenient that they make for good weapons in times of war, but otherwise? They would prefer it if the jinchuriki would stay out of sight and out of mind."

Yuna frowned sadly and said, "Naruto…I am so sorry. You've already got it bad enough without me adding onto your stress. I'm still not sure how to feel about you, and I know I still have problems, but…but I'll try. I want to be your friend. I really do. I'm just…"

Placing a hand atop Yuna's head, Naruto petted her hair for a moment before saying, "Don't worry about it, Yuna. Yes, I'm still upset…but I don't want to hold a grudge against you. Thank you for opening up to us finally."

Yuna blushed slightly at the affectionate gesture, but didn't speak out against it. Instead, she decided to ask a question. "Hokage-sama? Do you have someone in mind to replace Kiba on Team 8?"

"That is a very good question." Hiruzen said, tapping his finger against his chin in thought. "Hmm…" The others watched as Hiruzen began to flip through file after file until he seemingly found what he was looking for. "Ah, here we go! Asuna Yuuki. She is skilled with the sword and quite fluent in her kenjutsu style. She was benched after her teammates were killed on a B-rank mission. She should make a wonderful addition to Team 8."

Naruto blinked and said, "Asuna-chan? I was wondering what happened to her. I haven't seen her for at least two months now. I didn't realize she lost her team like that. Wasn't she in a relationship with one of her teammates?"

"Kazuto Kirigaya, known by his nickname of Kirito. Yes, she was in a relationship with him. It would seem he and their sensei fought to buy her time to get away from their assailants. I've had Inoichi visit her twice a week for regular therapy sessions. Thankfully, she seems to be doing better than she was two months ago." Hiruzen explained.

"Poor Asuna-chan. I've missed her. I really hope she's okay to take missions again." Naruto said.

"She'll be fine. If Inoichi says she's made stellar progress, then I believe him. Besides, I think she'd be happy to see you again, Naruto-kun. You always were close to one another."

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Yeah. Anyways, are we done here Gramps? I'm feeling absolutely exhausted right now."

"Of course. You're all dismissed. Go home and get some rest. I have a few people I need to make aware of their new teammates." Hiruzen said with a chuckle.

"Thanks Gramps." Naruto said before he left the room with the others.

As they left the Hokage tower, Naruto was stopped by Yuna suddenly grabbing his hand. Looking back into her eyes, he asked, "What's up, Yuna?"

"I'm sorry. If you want to move into your parents' home…I won't stop you. It might be uncomfortable for a while, but I don't want to be unnecessarily cruel to you." Yuna said.

Shaking his head, Naruto said, "I'm not moving in until you're comfortable with that idea, Yuna. Just, don't try to kick me out again, okay?"

Yuna giggled sadly for a moment before she said, "Thank you. It honestly feels good to get all of that off my chest finally."

"It usually does." Naruto said. "We've all got our burdens to bear and demons in our past to deal with. There's no shame in admitting that you're having a hard time dealing with it all. That's what friends are there for, after all."

Yuna smiled thankfully at him before she looked back at Rikku and Paine. "Let's go home, girls. Anko-sensei, we'll be seeing you and Naruto tomorrow for training, right?"

Anko nodded before she quirked a brow at her. "You're acting awfully calm now, considering you've been going through the stages of grief lately. Are you sure you're okay now?"

The brunette shook her head and said, "Right now I feel fine. Better than I have lately, at least. I don't feel angry anymore. I felt really bad about what I did to Naruto. I wanted to apologize, but I just…didn't know how to. I want to get better…but anything could happen. So, I'm just going to take this period of tranquility and think things over for a while."

Anko looked her in the eyes for a time before saying, "Go home and get some rest. We'll see how you're doing come tomorrow morning. The next step is Bargaining, so I hope you're prepared for that one. After that comes Depression. In the state you've been lately, I'm most worried about that stage in particular. After all you've been through, I worry about what you might do in that state."

Naruto nodded and said, "I'm scared for you when you get to that stage, Yuna. I want you to remember that I'm here for you if and when you need me. You have Rikku-chan and Paine-chan as well. Can you make me a promise, Yuna?"

Yuna looked him calmly in the eyes and asked, "What's the promise?"

"When you get to that stage, promise me that you won't shut us out. No matter what, don't shut us out when you need us the most. Even if all we can offer is a hug or a few kind words and gestures, don't shut us out." Naruto requested.

Yuna frowned slightly and shook her head. "I'm not sure if I can make that promise. I don't know what to expect when I hit that stage. It's…frightening to think about. But," looking into Naruto's eyes, she nodded determinedly and said, "I'll do my best. I promise."

"Glad to hear it." Naruto said before he stepped up to Yuna and slowly pulled her into a hug, trying to test the waters a bit. When she didn't struggle to get away and didn't complain, he gently patted her back and said, "You'll be okay, Yuna. That's my promise to you. No matter what you might go through, I'll be there to help you through it."

Yuna blushed a bit and hugged him back tentatively. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Of course." Naruto said before he released her. Afterwards, he bade Ruby and Pyrrha a good night before returning home with Anko.

Once they were out of sight, Anko smirked at her boyfriend and poked his cheek. "Are you getting flirty with Yuna now, too? How cuuute."

Naruto sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "You know that's not it, Anko-chan. Yuna's been through a really hard time, and I just want to ensure she recovers from her trauma. She deserves better than the hand she was dealt. I'm just really worried about her. What if she tries to kill herself?"

Anko frowned and shook her head. "We'll have to keep a close eye on her during that stage. We should NEVER leave her alone. No matter what, we'll take care of her. We won't let her suffer alone."

"Right. It's not going to be easy, but we'll pull through somehow." Naruto said in agreement. With no more words needing to be said, the couple returned home and settled in for the night. They could only hope that everything would be okay.

The Next Day

When only Paine showed up at the training ground, Naruto and Anko immediately knew something was wrong. Before either of them could speak, the silver-haired woman raised a hand and said, "Yuna is okay. Throughout the night, we could hear her trying to convince the Fayth that she'd do whatever they wanted if they'd just let her see Tidus one more time. She offered to do so many different things before she finally gave up. As you said before, she got through the Bargaining stage rather quickly. I'm afraid that none of us got a lot of sleep last night."

Sighing softly, Paine shook her head and said, "Rikku is with Yuna now, trying to help her however she can. We're afraid to leave Yuna alone, however, which is why I came alone. Is there any chance we can put aside training for now until Yuna's better?"

Naruto frowned and said, "I know it's hard, but she needs to get out and do things to focus her mind on something other than her woes. In order to keep my thoughts away from suicide, I had to make sure I stayed active and distract myself from those thoughts. Believe me, with all that I've been through growing up, I did contemplate suicide. The longer you stew in your depression and anxiety, the worse you'll feel. So whether she likes it or not, we're going to drag her out and do something. What do you think Anko-chan?"

The Snake Mistress nodded and said, "Naruto-kun's right. The best way to help Yuna through this is by forcing her to focus her mind on other things. In this case, doing some simple missions will help. On our off time, we need to find something for Yuna to do that would help her to focus her mind away from her suicidal thoughts."

Paine frowned for a moment as she thought it over. After a time, she nodded her head and said, "If it works, it works. If not, we'll have to come up with another plan." And with that, she walked with them towards Naruto's rightful home.

As they entered the village proper and began making their way towards the clan district where the Uzumaki compound resided, Naruto soon caught sight of someone he hadn't seen in months. "Asuna-chan?" Naruto wondered aloud. "I wonder if she's met her new team yet?"

Anko looked ahead and the orange-haired girl and said, "She might have. Do you want to stop and ask her?"

Naruto frowned for a moment and shook his head. "Later. Right now, our concern should be on Yuna. Let's…"

Before Naruto could finish what he was about to say, Asuna took notice of them. Hurrying up to them, Asuna gave Naruto a small smile and said, "Naruto. It's been a while. How have you been?"

Paine looked between them for a moment before she looked at Anko and nodded. "We'll see you later Naruto. Spend some time with your friend." Anko patted Naruto on the head gently before she walked off with Paine.

Left alone, Naruto smiled sadly at Asuna and said, "Things have been up and down for me, I suppose. I don't think it's anything when compared to what you've been through, though. But, maybe we should go somewhere and catch up a bit. I'm sure we both have a lot of questions. Right?"

The orangette nodded and said, "Right. But, are you sure you're not busy? You looked like you were in the middle of something."

Naruto glanced in the direction the others had left in and said, "They've got it handled for right now. I'll explain everything in a bit. For now, you and I need to talk, too." Taking his friend by the hand, he began to walk with her towards one of his favorite locations in the village: the Hokage Monument.

As they walked, Asuna peered into Naruto's eyes for a brief moment before turning her gaze forward. "I assume you're wondering where I've been. I…"

Naruto smiled at Asuna and said, "Shush. We're almost there. It's best to talk about these kinds of things away from prying eyes and ears."

Asuna smiled at her friend and nodded in understanding. "Of course, Naruto."

Shortly after arriving at their destination, the top of the Fourth's head, they sat down beside one another. After a period of silence, Naruto turned and looked at Asuna. "Gramps told me about what happened to you and your team. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me to be. If I had known…"

Asuna smiled at her friend and said, "You couldn't have known, Naruto. And I never talked to you about it, either. I barely left my apartment to do anything other than get groceries so I wouldn't starve to death. And you've been busy, so you couldn't possibly have known what was going on with me."

Naruto frowned sadly at her and said, "I'm here for you now, Asuna-chan. I'll listen if you want to talk about what happened."

Asuna shook her head and said, "Thank you, Naruto. I appreciate it. I really do. But I get the feeling you're dealing with something almost exactly like what I've been through recently. If you really want to know, though, I'll tell you."

Chuckling softly, Naruto looked out over the village of Konoha and said, "You could say that. One of my new teammates recently suffered a tragic loss of her own before coming here to Konoha. She's been going through the stages of grief, or DABDA, and she's currently trying to get through the fourth stage: Depression. I get the feeling you went through them as well, didn't you? I assume you've come to accept what has happened? There's no way to go back and change the outcome. What's done is done and, no matter how much you might wish it was different…"

Sighing softly, Naruto said, "Yuna has experienced a lot. Before she ended up here in Konoha, she was in another world entirely. To summarize it as best I can: it was a giant clusterfuck. She was traumatized by a number of men in her life." Seeing the look Asuna was giving him, Naruto quickly waved it off and said, "Not like that! One of them was a serious creepazoid that stole her first kiss and tried to use her to get what he wanted. Another was her cousin, who was pining after her for a long time and didn't understand the meaning of the world 'no'. Wakka was a racist douchebag for the majority of her first adventure. Then there was Tidus…"

Lying back on the stone, he stared up into the sky and said, "She loved Tidus with all her being. He became the light of her life and helped stop this monster called Sin. However…Tidus never truly existed. He was a dream of the Fayth that they simply used to end their infinite suffering. They took Tidus away from Yuna. And then, they used Tidus against Yuna to get her to help them save her world again. But, at the very end, they didn't give Tidus back to her. They dangled the bait right there in front of her, luring her in with false promises…and never gave him back. She lost the most important person in her life not just once, but twice. When she arrived here in Konoha, that's when it all truly hit her that Tidus was never coming back."

Looking over at Asuna, he said, "Because of how screwed up the men were in her life, she's been wary around me and hasn't really let me in. I want to help her, I truly do, but it's been tough. For right now, she's got exactly who she needs there with her: Rikku, Paine, and Anko-sensei. As I said, she's reached the Depression stage. We're going to try and help her through this stage as best we can. The main goal right now is to keep her busy and keep her active. The less time she has to think about Tidus and everything else, the better."

"I'm not sure if you remember or not, but I didn't exactly have it easy growing up. I contemplated suicide more often than I'd like to admit. One thing that helped me through that stage of my life was keeping active. Pranks were a great way to keep my mind occupied. Same with training and studying at the library. Just so long as I didn't stop to think those depressing thoughts, I was fine. It certainly wasn't easy, but I pulled through. So, I hope the same will hold true for Yuna. Just like I would have been there for you if I had known." Naruto said, offering his friend an apologetic smile.

Asuna smiled sadly at him and reached over, gently taking his hand in hers. "It's okay, Naruto. I'm the one that chose to seclude myself. And you're right. I've finally accepted that things are the way that they are, whether I like it or not. But it would be nice to talk about what happened. If you're still willing to listen, that is."

Naruto offered her a smile and said, "Of course, Asuna-chan. You're one of my best friends. I'll always be here when you need me."

"Thank you, Naruto." Asuna said.

Yuna

Yuna clung to Rikku as she sobbed against her cousin's chest. "He's…he's never coming back. The Fayth, they…they…"

Rikku nodded and held her best friend close. "Tidus is gone, Yunie. The Fayth lied to us. They lied to you. It's not fair and it was really, really cruel of them. I'm sorry."

Yuna wrapped her arms around Rikku and hugged her tight. "We'll never get to go home again, will we? It probably wouldn't matter anyways, would it?"

It was at this point that Paine and Anko walked into the room and sat near them. "How're you holding up, Yuna? Think you're up for a little light exercise?"

Rikku frowned in confusion, but before she could ask, Yuna spoke up. "Where's Naruto? He didn't want to see me again, did he? I've been so mean and now he hates me."

Anko sweatdropped and said, "Um, not quite. Naruto-kun would be here, but that Asuna girl wanted to catch up with him. I told him to go on ahead. So that leaves you three with me. And I'm not taking no for an answer. You three are coming with me and we're going to handle some simple D-rank missions throughout the village. I'm not about to let you stay here and be all mopey. We're going to fight through the depression and you're going to come out stronger at the end of it. That's my guarantee to you, Yuna. So, let's get up, you go get dressed, and we'll get going."

Yuna shook her head and said, "I don't want to go anywhere without Naruto. He promised he'd be here for me. I don't want to do any training or missions unless he's there with me."

The others blinked in confusion before Anko asked, "Okay, so you've gone from being unable to be around him to suddenly wanting him here? I'm lost."

"Ditto." Rikku said. "Yunie, are you sure you're okay?"

Yuna closed her eyes and said, "Naruto's been so nice to me, even though I've been horrible to him. And he promised he'd help me through this. I want his help. I want to be friends. I don't want him to hate me."

"I see. Well, why don't we go out and look for him? I know of a few places he and Asuna could have gone. Besides, taking a walk around the village will be good for you." Anko said before she turned and motioned for them to follow her.

At hearing Asuna's name, Yuna frowned deeply and thought, He's with another girl? I thought he cared about me… Realizing what she was thinking, the brunette's eyes widened slightly and she thought, Why does that bother me so much? Sure, he's the first guy besides Tidus to treat me like I really matter and like I'm my own person. But…

Shaking it off, Yuna stood up with Rikku and Paine and proceeded to follow Anko. I'll figure it out later. Right now, I just want to find him.

Naruto

"…they wanted to rape me and turn me into what they referred to as a 'cum dumpster'. They had already killed Hizashi, before Kazuto and Ritoshi-sensei broke free and fought them to buy me time to escape. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, but I knew that I didn't want to live that kind of life, if you can even call it that." Asuna explained.

Naruto squeezed her hand gently for support. "Nobody can or will blame you for what happened. It wasn't your fault. Besides that, things went bad quickly and you were in a state of panic. Running was all you could do at that point."

Asuna nodded sadly and said, "Sadly, I didn't exactly get very far. One of those monsters got past Kazuto and Ritoshi-sensei and began to attack me. When he finally got me pinned down, I thought it was all over for me. That's when Kazuto arrived and began to fight him off. But…that's when Kazuto died. That man, I think his name was Kakuzu? He took Kazuto's heart. It was strange, though. Kakuzu didn't seem interested in what the other three wanted. When he got Kazuto's heart, he just left. It was shortly after this that reinforcements finally arrived…but it didn't matter. My teammates were all dead and I was all that was left."

"I was in such a state of shock after it was all over. I nearly quit being a kunoichi entirely. I wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't bring myself to even say hi to you. Besides, the final exams were coming up for you and I didn't want to disturb you when you were so close to graduating. So, I went through the stages of grief on my own. Denial didn't last long. Anger? I wanted nothing more than to chase down Kakuzu and kill him. Sadly, without knowing how he was still alive, I knew there was nothing I could do to him. Bargaining went by quickly as well. Depression lasted far longer than I would have liked. But, I've finally come to accept things as they are. There was nothing I could have done that would have made a difference. So I want to get stronger to protect my few remaining loved ones." Asuna explained.

Naruto nodded, but before he could say anything, he was suddenly wrapped up in a hug from behind. Blinking in shock, he glanced over his shoulder to see Yuna clinging to him. Reaching up, he began to gently pet her head. "Not that I'm complaining, but this is kind of weird coming from you, Yuna. Are you okay?"

Yuna frowned as she looked into his eyes. "You promised you'd be there for me. I'm not about to do any training or do more of those boring missions without you. I…I can't deal with this on my own."

Asuna frowned as she watched Yuna's interaction with Naruto. I'm not sure if she's noticed it herself, but she sure seems jealous of me. From the looks of it, I'm guessing she's going to use Naruto to help her feel better. She's going to use him like those Fayth used her. Naruto's too good for her anyways.

Naruto hugged Yuna closer and said, "Sorry, Yuna. I was going to catch up with you girls later. I wanted to catch up with my friend and talk about certain things. I didn't forget about you or anything, though."

Asuna offered a disarming smile and said, "I needed to open up to somebody and just talk about everything that's happened recently. I needed to talk to Naruto and tell him how I felt. That's all."

Yuna frowned deeply and asked, "How you 'felt'? What does that mean?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "Asuna-chan's been through a tough time, just like you. Like you, she's lost people very dear to her, including Kirito, the guy she was in love with ever since they were kids. While your true love was taken from you by the Fayth, Asuna-chan's boyfriend was killed by a very powerful missing nin. There's no way to get either of them back. So I brought Asuna-chan here so we could talk and so she could vent to me for a while."

Asuna nodded and said, "He's right. But, why do you care if somebody shows interest in him? I thought you were still getting over this Tidus guy."

"What are you implying?" Yuna questioned somewhat sourly.

Smirking at the ex-summoner, Asuna said, "You're acting like Naruto is your possession. Like he's supposed to focus all of his attention on you. You're acting like a jealous, petty girlfriend."

Before a fight could start, Naruto said, "Okay, both of you, that's enough. I'm not really sure what the heck's going on here, but I don't want you fighting with each other. Asuna-chan, I trust Yuna. Even if she's behaving like you say she is, I want to be here for her. Yuna, Asuna-chan is one of my dearest friends. We haven't had the opportunity to talk in a couple of months. Besides that, like I said before, Asuna-chan has suffered as well. I was hoping you two could get along and be there for one another. Not be at each other's throats."

Before either of the girls could say anything, Paine walked up and helped Naruto to his feet with Yuna still clutching his shirt. Afterwards, she helped Asuna up before saying, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. Yuna can be a bit hard to deal with right now."

Asuna simply smiled and said pleasantly, "Oh, I can tell. I just hope she understands that she isn't going to keep me from spending time with Naruto. Now, I'm actually running a little late to a team meeting. It was nice to meet all of you. And Naruto? Thanks again."

Smirking at Yuna, Asuna stepped up to Naruto and leaned in, pressing her lips to his cheek. Afterwards, she turned and walked off, leaving a stunned Naruto and a furious Yuna.

Anko smirked at Asuna as she walked by. "I like you, girl. Doing that just to screw with them a bit. That's a fun little mind game for sure."

The orangette giggled and said, "Naruto knows I don't mean anything by it. I just wanted to screw with Yuna."

"Of course. Well, you'd best hurry up and get to your team. Don't want to keep Kurenai waiting." Anko said. Nodding in response, Asuna left to go and visit with her new team.

Meanwhile, Yuna glared at the retreating figure of Asuna. Once she was gone, the brunette looked up into Naruto's eyes and said, "Come on, Naruto. Let's go."

As Yuna tugged on his arm, Naruto snapped out of his daze and walked with her to their teammates. Seeing the state Yuna was in, Naruto said, "Trust me, Yuna; Asuna didn't mean anything by that kiss. I think she was just trying to get under your skin."

"Well, it's certainly working." Yuna said before she stopped and stared at the ground. "I don't want to think about the Fayth or Tidus or…or anything. The more I think about them, about Tidus, the worse I feel. You're right. I need to keep moving and stay active. I can't just curl up and cry. I need to get out there and eat, drink, work, etc. But it's hard. I know I'm being unfair, but you remind me of him so much in some ways. I don't want to make you hate me, and I don't want to just use you for my own benefit. But…"

"Yunie." Rikku said, getting her attention. "We're all here for you. But you have to know that what you're doing is still wrong. You're starting to treat Naruto-kun like he's some kind of replacement for Tidus. You can't have the real thing, so you're desperately trying to find someone to fill that void in your heart. You can't do this to Naruto-kun."

Naruto shook his head and said, "It's okay, Rikku-chan. Believe me, I understand what's going on. If this is what Yuna needs to help get her through this rough time, then I'll be here to support her no matter what. Trust me, I won't try to take advantage of her in this state. But I won't just leave her alone, either. Besides, so long as she knows what's going on and is surrounded by people who care about her, I'm positive she'll come out of this in a better state than she's ever been before. What she's doing right now isn't hurting me. I know the boundaries and I know she doesn't really mean any of what she says or what she does. So I won't get my hopes up or anything."

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto smiled at Yuna and said, "You'll be okay, Yuna. I made you a promise and I intend to see it through. I won't hurt you."

Nodding in thanks, Yuna buried her face in the crook of his neck and began to sob. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

All Naruto could do was hug her close. You'll be okay, Yuna. Nobody will ever hurt you again.

A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'd love some opinions on how things went in the chapter and what you think of Asuna's inclusion into the story and Yuna's sudden change in attitude and so on and so on. So throw 'em at me! XD

Anyways, I got my booster shot on Saturday (for Covid) and I've been feeling like shit ever since. Been running a damn near constant fever. I've been extremely sick to my stomach. I can barely eat anything. It's been rough. So trying to write this chapter was a real bitch.

I don't know what I'll work on next. Since so many of my friends want me to work on a new chapter for When you Wish Upon a Star, I might work on that. Who knows?

Also! I'm part of Midnight Lost's discord server. If you want to chat with me in real time about my stories or just to chat with other fanfic authors so you can toss ideas back and forth, that's cool. Send a PM to Midnight Lost here and let him know you're interested. I'm also in a number of other discord servers, but that's the one where I'm most active. lol

Alrighty, not much else to say. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to whatever comes next!