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On Fortune's Wings

Chapter Five: Crash Landed

The last few days at Hollow Bastion seemed to pass by in a blur for Naruto and the Gullwings as they waited for their new ship to be finished; something that took a little longer than expected since they had to have a few additions added in for the blonde's sake. Nothing major, thankfully; just a bed and shower that he could fit into since most of the amenities had been intended for the Gullwings' much smaller sizes.

However, Naruto hadn't been sitting around twiddling his thumbs, as whenever he wasn't exploring the place the whiskered teen could be found hard at work with one thing or another. Most commonly he had been practicing on mastering the use of magic with his Keyblade under Merlin's tutelage, starting with the five basic elemental spells.

So far, he'd managed to get down Aero and Water and he was now able to cast both on a moment's notice if needed. However, the magic for Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder were still a work in progress. The latter of those three had proven particularly difficult to control, as Naruto just couldn't seem to get the aim down for it. It was thanks to this little issue, though, that Naruto now knew something about his fellow blonde amongst his traveling companions.

Rikku did NOT like lightning.

"Okay, focus… Focus…" Naruto muttered to himself, his eyes locked on a dancing table as he channeled magic into his Keyblade, the teeth flickering with electricity. "Keep it steady… Aim… And now, Thu-!"

"Hey Naruto, we got dinner!"

The teen was broken out of his focus by a familiar voice as Rikku and Paine flew into the room where Naruto was practicing magic, the pair working together to carry a large baggy full of food while Yuna lagged behind with the drinks.

On instinct the blonde's gaze flickered away from target, his focus wavering just a second in order to glance at the trio of fairies as they approached.

It was a second too long, and the spell that he'd been casting struck the ground right next to the trio, causing Rikku to shriek in terror before zipping to the closest hiding spot she could find. In this case, the inside of Naruto's shirt.

"NO! HIDE ME! DON'T LET IT FRY ME!" she cried hysterically, shivering against Naruto's chest while he felt the area grow slightly damp.

Knowing what it was like to be terrified of something, Naruto gently comforted the distraught faery and mentally promised himself to skip the Thunder spell. While not tactically sound, he would rather not scare his friend than have more variety in his magic.

Aside from just magic training, the blonde had also practiced a bit with using his Keyblade as an actual sword as well. Unfortunately, considering his complete lack of experience with using one, he couldn't really do much alone, which meant that he needed a teacher.

Fortunately, he managed to find one…

"So, you want me to teach you how to use a sword?" Lightning asked while sipping a cup of coffee while seated at a small coffee shop, her brow rising as Naruto bowed before her respectfully.

"If you would be willing," he said while standing back up. "When I talked to Leon and Yuffie about training, they told me that you would know how to use a sword better than almost anyone. And honestly, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing aside from hacking wildly. If I'm gonna have a Keyblade, I want to know how to use it properly, if for nothing else than to keep my friends safe. So yes, I'm asking you to train me." He bowed again and finished, "Please…"

Lightning took some time to stare at the bowing blonde before her. Understanding that he had the Keyblade, she knew that she should feel obligated to help him. It would be irresponsible to let him go gallivanting without knowing how to use a weapon properly. And that's what a Keyblade was in her eyes; a weapon, and not some mystical item that meant Naruto was some sort of chosen one.

Despite knowing that she should help, she didn't plan to just teach him without getting an understanding of how he carried himself. If he proved to be some arrogant or whiny brat who thought he was hot shit, she'd have no problem putting him in his place. But she was pleasantly surprised to hear him sounding so humble, showing more care for his friends than even himself.

He specified that he wanted to keep them safe; not himself. That told Lightning that he was a protector; someone who put the well-being of others over his own. It showed he had a good Heart, and she found herself genuinely smiling at his words.

"Hmm… Alright, since you asked so nicely," she finally replied, watching him stand straight again and give her a look of both gratitude and surprise. "But don't think I'm gonna baby you and take things slow. You've got a lot to learn before you go and face what's out there, kid."

She was pleased to see that he looked eager instead of anxious. "Great! So, when do we-? Hey!" Naruto started to ask, only to end up shouting in surprise when he was hoisted off his feet by the scruff of his shirt.

"Right now," as she answered his unfinished question, Lightning downed the rest of her coffee before literally carrying the boy to the training room, "we'll start your training with basic blocking and counters."

"…This is going to hurt a lot, isn't it?" he asked, amusing her with his deadpan tone.

"Yes. Yes, it will," she replied casually, looking forward to training her new – and first – student.

Speaking of Lightning, Naruto had also gotten to meet her sister Serah shortly after that training session.

A groan escaped Naruto's lips as he hobbled out of the training room, covered head to toe in bruises and scuffs. "Note to self: have ice packs ready next time."

"Damn, what happened to you, kid?"

An unfamiliar voice snapped the blonde out of his little pity fest, and he snapped his head to the side where a tall and fit man with messy white hair wearing an open trench coat and a young woman with familiar pink hair stood. The former, being the one who spoke, walked up to Naruto while he was still stunned and leaned in for a closer look before chuckling.

"Never mind. I'd recognize those bumps anywhere. So, what'd you do to get on Light's bad side?"

"…I asked for training," Naruto answered honestly.

"Oh, so you must be the boy that my sister was telling us about; the Keyblade user," the pinkette said with a nod, smiling brightly as she held up a hand for the blonde to shake. "Well, it's nice to meet you face to face. I'm Serah, Lightning's little sister, and this goofball is my fiancé Snow."

"Sup?" the now-named Snow greeted with a wave.

"Nice to meet you too," Naruto replied while accepting the handshake before blinking in surprise yet again when he was briefly enveloped in a soft green glow. Once it faded the teen found that all his injuries were completely gone and even the dirt on his clothes had been cleaned away. "Wow, that's a handy trick."

"I know how rough my sister can be. But she's never trained someone one-on-one before. You must have really caught her eye for her to be teaching you," Serah explained, giving him a warm smile. "Keep up the good work, and I know she'll make you into a great fighter someday."

Not used to praise from anyone outside of his family, Naruto smiled bashfully while rubbing the back of his head. "Gosh… You're making me blush, ttebayo…"

His words proved true when his cheeks became enflamed at his verbal tic, suffering under the amusement of Snow and Serah while mentally praying that they wouldn't tell Lightning about it.

Unfortunately for him, she already knew since she was leaning against the wall around the corner, smirking at his misfortune while also pleased at how well he was getting along with her sister.

And then there were his lessons on the basics of how to fly a Gummi Ship.

"So far so good," Yuna said with a proud smile as she watched Naruto carefully adjusting the controls on his console, causing their ship to move out of the way of a large asteroid that had been floating in their path. "See? It's not so hard."

"I guess so… At least most of the controls are easy to remember," the whiskered boy muttered while maneuvering around another asteroid.

"Well then, maybe we can try something a bit more…" the fairy on his shoulder started to say, only to trail off as a smidgen of dust found its way into her nose. "Ah… Ah… Ah-CHOO!"

"Huh?" Jumping at the loud sound right by his ear, Naruto accidentally slammed on the throttle, causing the ship to slam straight into the side of the space rock and everything on-screen to go dark.

"…"

"…"

[Simulation Over. Results: Failure], a mechanical voice stated as the lights came back on, and the side of the 'ship' opened to reveal a bland-faced Paine and giggling Rikku floating beside a computer console that showed a continuous replay of the 'crash'.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you do not distract the pilot," the latter said jokingly while gesturing to the scene of Yuna sneezing that played repeatedly, causing said faery to flush in embarrassment.

"…sorry."

Whenever he wasn't training though, the blonde was hitting up the town to see all that this new World had to offer. From seeing a variety of unique Gummi Ships in the Garage Port, to the hundreds of different types of people who called the place home, and the variety of shops, there just never seemed to be an end to the new discoveries for him.

One of his favorite places so far had to be the arcade that Paine had taken him too shortly after they had gotten settled.

[BZZT! Game! Player Two Wins!]

"Rematch."

[BZZT! Game! Player Two Wins!]

"Rematch."

[BZZT! Game! Player Two Wins!]

"Are you sure this is the first time you've played this?" Paine asked accusingly, glaring at Naruto as they played a racing game.

"Absolutely," the whiskered teen stated, not taking his eyes off the machine for even a second as he mashed the controls, leaving the faery in the dust yet again. "I would definitely remember something this fun."

"Grr… Let's try something else," the dark-clothed Gullwing grumbled as she once again lost.

Who knew ninja training could apply to video games?

Anyway, getting back to the present, Naruto and the Gullwings were back in Rakshata's garage for the grand unveiling of their brand new ship. The whiskered blonde had all three faeries perched atop his head as he and the ship builder stood before a huge sliding door.

"Alright then. You asked for it, I built it," the woman stated while jokingly making a few intentionally over dramatic poses before grabbing a remote. "Ladies and boy toy-!"

"OI! Who are you calling boy toy?!"

"I present you with the Celsius!"

Ignoring Naruto's indignant shout, Rakshata activated the remote causing the wall to fall away and reveal an absolutely amazing looking Gummi Ship for them all to see. Painted a deep and vibrant red with runic black stripes and having a fiery bird emblazoned across the front, the entire vessel resembled a huge high-tech hot rod with four wheel-like engines. The front pair were set on extended legs with trails of blue light drifting from the spinning gears whilst the rear wheels were stylized more like wings and several exhaust pipes stuck out the back flaring flames. (1)

"Holy sweet mother of invention," Rikku said with wide eyes while unintentionally ripping out a piece of Naruto's hair from how tight her grip got.

Not that her fellow blonde noticed due to being busy gawking at the ship as well as he muttered, "Damn…"

"Now that's a proper ship." Yuna said with stars in her eyes while Paine simply nodded her head with an approving hum.

"I made sure to go all out with this sweet child of mine, giving it the whole package of both comfort and functionality," Rakshata continued while leading the quartet inside via elevator which took them to the engine room. "Quad Firaga-G engines and Haste-G boosters, full Shell-G armor with Dispel-G reinforcements, and of course the latest in Gummi Block shielding and warp tech."

Whistling lowly, Rikku was practically drooling as she marveled at the complex machinery that whirled about all around them. "That is some gorgeous machinery."

"I do my best," Rakshata replied with a proud smirk before pressing another button, which took the group up to the bridge next. "All the console displays are touch holograph compatible for convenience, the weapons systems are fully loaded and armed with a compliment of Thundara-G and Meteor-Gs."

Leading them over to one of the nearest chairs, the mechanic gently shoved Naruto into it.

"And for those long trips I've included fully padded memory foam with adjustable firmness and electric cupholders that can be set to cold or hot, so your drink is always just the right temperature."

"I don't even know what half of that means, but holy shit this is the best chair I've ever sat in…" the teen sighed blissfully as he sank into the seat, with the girls leaning against it too.

However, they didn't get to enjoy it for long as Rakshata pulled Naruto off and led the group back into the elevator. A quick descent later, and they found themselves in a modest cabin area with a single regular bed and three small ones tucked into alcoves in the wall. It also had a few basic amenities like a desk, TV, and a couch while a sliding door off to one side was opened to reveal the bathroom. Another opened door on the opposite side was shown to be a cozy kitchenette.

"And lastly the living quarters, which I'm sure needs no further explanation and thus concluding our tour." Rakshata rounded off. Stepping into the elevator alone this time, she watched with an amused smirk as the quartet split apart to explore. Rikku was zipping all over the place in the kitchenette and fiddling with the new appliances while Naruto went to check the bathroom, Yuna flitted around the bedroom, and Paine floated over to the beds. "I'll just leave you guys to get settled in. Have fun, but not too much fun~"

She waited briefly to see if they'd react, and she pouted when they didn't. With nothing else to say, she left.

"Man, this is kinda trippy," Naruto said as he looked from the normal half of the bathroom he'd be using, complete with walk in shower and bathtub, to the miniature version for the girls. "But uh… Isn't this a little open? How are we supposed to have any privacy?"

Peeking his head into the smaller side as he spoke, he noticed a button that when he pushed it caused a semi-transparent divider to drop down, clonking his head.

"Never mind… I figured it out."

"Rakshata wasn't kidding about going all out. She even put in a soft serve machine!" Rikku exclaimed happily while floating back in from the kitchen with an ice cream cone almost as big as she was tall.

"Duh… I asked her to put one in, and she better have remembered the black raspberry," Paine stated from her new bed, earning a few surprised looks from everyone else. "What? You have your comfort foods; I have soft serve. Is that a problem?"

"Nope!" they all said quickly, making a tiny smirk appear on the gothic faery's lips.

"Good, then enough goofing around, let's give this ship a proper shakedown."

Back in the Hidden Leaf, Sakura could be found in a popular, cook-it-yourself barbeque restaurant. She had a dull and tired look in her eyes as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand and gave a half-hearted thanks when a waitress set down a tray loaded with various lean meats and veggies; foods that Kakashi had told her to start eating for their future physical conditioning.

She would've complained about being on a diet if he didn't cut her off by saying he'd have no issue dropping her as a Genin.

Sighing softly, the pinkette placed a few pieces on the grill to cook and watched them sizzle away into well-cooked delight. It was obvious that her mind was elsewhere though, her gaze blank and unfocused as she moved in a stiff and almost robotic manner, not even noticing when a few pieces got a bit overcooked.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a surprise!"

Nor did she notice as one Ino Yamanaka, a pretty blonde girl and Sakura's biggest rival over Sasuke's attention, walked into the joint. Smiling smugly when she saw the other girl, the new arrival wasted no time taking the opposing seat across from her after placing an order of her own.

"What are you doing here Forehead? Hoping some fattier foods will add a few pounds to your chest instead of your waistline?"

"Hmm…" Sakura replied lowly, her unfocused mind acting on a pseudo autopilot.

"Well, you might as well give up now because we both know you'll never top these girls." As she spoke, Ino crossed her arms across her chest to emphasize her own budding breasts.

"Hmm…"

"It's only a matter of time until Sasuke-kun chooses me to be his girlfriend," the blonde added haughtily, albeit with an edge of confusion bleeding in at Sakura's lack of words. "I mean, considering the only real competition left is you, it's all but guaranteed."

"Hmm…"

"…Are you okay?" Ino asked, all pretense of mocking vanishing when she once again got only a listless and noncommitted mumble in response from her rival. Looking closer, she finally noticed the complete lack of… Well, lack of any emotion on Sakura's face as she mindlessly flipped her food. "Hello? Forehead? Anyone home in there?"

The pink haired girl started to mumble something again, but this time Ino wasn't having any of it and reached over the table to give her a light smack on the cheek. Blinking a few times as she snapped back to reality, Sakura shook her head before doing a double take when she finally noticed the other girl.

"Ino? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that, considering you definitely don't seem like you're in the mood to eat," the Yamanaka heiress stated while pointing at the food on the grill, which had been completely charred black and started to smoke a lot.

"Oh crap!" Sakura exclaimed as she tried to salvage her meal, but sadly the pieces simply crumbled apart after she grabbed them. Grumbling in annoyance, she shoved aside the ashen remains and placed fresh pieces on the grill. "So, what do you want, Ino? I'm already in a bad enough mood."

"I can tell. What the hell happened? You look like you just found out Sasuke is gay or something," Ino said, before freezing with a horrified look. "Oh god, he isn't right?"

"…That's not even… Look, I just have a lot on my mind right now," Sakura muttered while tossing a piece of fried chicken in her mouth. "Mostly about Naruto."

"Ah, I should have figured it had something to do with that idiot," Ino said while swiping a piece of pork to nibble on. "What happened this time? Did he get you guys in trouble? Pull another of his dumb pranks?"

"He's gone," Sakura stated bluntly, causing the blonde to drop her food in surprise.

"Wait, what?"

"He's gone," the pinkette repeated, sinking in her seat with a tired groan. "He turned in his headband and left. I don't even know where he went. No one does, except the Ichiraku Family; but they're keeping quiet about it."

"…Oh. Well, that's…" That was not what Ino had been expecting, not even in the slightest. After a second though, her brain caught up with what was said, and one particular detail pounded its way to the forefront of her mind. "Wait, why are you upset about that? You hate Naruto, right?"

"I… it's just… it's complicated Ino," Sakura replied with what had to be the umpteenth sigh that day. She finished off what was left of her food before continuing, "Look I really don't want to talk about this anymore, okay?"

"Whoa, hold up! You can't just drop a gossip bomb like that and not elaborate-!"

"Watch me," the pinkette cut off, pulling out her wallet as she stood up. She then set a few bills on the table before heading for the door. However, as she reached the door, she stopped for a moment and glanced back at the blonde. "And Ino… About Sasuke? He's all yours… I'm done."

Her piece said she left, a completely baffled Ino was left frozen in her seat, not even noticing when the waitress came back with her order and took the cash.

In another part of the village, specifically the entrance to the old Uchiha Compound, Sasuke was seen standing with Kakashi. It had been so long since he had stepped foot past the entrance, having been living in an apartment since the night Itachi killed their family and clansmen.

"…thanks for coming with me, sensei," Sasuke said quietly, anxious about walking into the place where he had seen his own personal brand of Hell.

"Of course," Kakashi replied, his book nowhere in sight and his tone one of total support and understanding. "We all could use some help at some point or another in our lives."

"Right… I just wanted to grab a few things from my old home… Some mementos of my parents…"

"Alright, then," the Jonin said calmly, waiting for Sasuke to take the first step. When his student didn't move for a few minutes, he decided to give him some encouragement. "You know, you're already stronger than I was when I lost nearly everyone I loved."

Intrigued, Sasuke turned to his sensei and asked, "How so?"

"Well, for starters, you're facing the ghosts of your pasts instead of hiding from them. And you're strong enough to admit that you aren't strong enough to face those ghosts by yourself. You willingly reached out for help… I still haven't done that…"

The somber expression and ashamed tone from the Jonin made Sasuke realize that this was probably the first time he had seen the real Kakashi, and not the aloof man he publicly portrayed himself as. Feeling sympathetic, the young Uchiha patted the man on his arm in hopes of giving him some support before finally taking his first steps into the lifeless Uchiha Compound.

He didn't dare to look around, not wanting to lose himself to visions of the past. He kept a laser focus on the path leading to his old home, and the duo reached it in a few minutes of walking. They didn't enter for a few moments, for Sasuke needed to gather his nerve before passing through the doors.

It was in here that he saw his parents slain by his older brother. It was in here that Sasuke truly understood that his family was gone, and that his brother was a kin slayer. It was in here…that Itachi showed him exactly what he was truly capable of.

After some time, Sasuke barely managed to steel himself and stepped up to the front door. Slowly opening it, he took a shuddering breath before walking inside. Just like when he walked through the compound, Sasuke resisted the urge to look around and headed for his parents' bedroom.

Once inside, he was unable to stop seeing the image of his parents' dead bodies on the floor and Itachi standing over them with a cold and apathetic stare. He furiously shook away the visage, opening his eyes to a room devoid of anyone but himself while Kakashi waited for him by the front door.

Focusing on the task he had given himself, Sasuke grabbed some of his father's old cloaks that had the Uchiha Fan emblazoned on the back. There was sadly nothing else he could think of taking to remember the man. As for his mother, he took an old scrapbook of hers as well as a family photo before deciding he had grabbed enough mementos.

As he turned to leave, he heard the floor on his mother's side of the room give an odd creak. Crouching down, he found a loose floorboard and pulled it up enough to see a weathered old book. Curious, he removed it from where it was hidden and opened it to see journal entries with his mother's handwriting.

For the first time since stepping into the gravesite of his lost clan, Sasuke smiled faintly. This was better than anything he could've hoped to grab to remember his mother, and he carefully tucked the journal under his arm as he rejoined Kakashi at the entrance and left with the man.

He would read the journal later. He had done enough emotional exercise for the day.

Everyone stumbled as an explosion suddenly rocked the ship, knocking the quartet off their feet and tumbling across the deck like rag dolls. At the same time, part of the back caved from the blast and sparks flew everywhere, igniting fires all over and gradually filling the air with smoke.

The Gullwings happened to find themselves in this unfortunate situation after Rakshata had informed them of an SOS sent out to Hollow Bastion from the survivors of the RLS Legacy, who were left adrift in the Oceans Between – which was the name everyone called the seemingly endless space that surrounded the various Worlds – after escaping a star that had gone supernova and imploded as a black hole.

While this put their plans for their next treasure hunt on hold, Naruto was more than happy to go help the crew of the ship he had watched take off the day he had first landed in Hollow Bastion. This was why he wanted to become a ninja back home; so that he could help people. So, the Gullwings took the job of delivering supplies and resources to assist in repairs to the Legacy.

However, their mission was halted in its tracks by a surprise attack from an unseen source as the Celsius was passing by a world that looked like an odd mix of tropical islands and technologic castles.

"Ugh… What the hell was that?" Naruto shouted over the blaring alarms while slowly pushing himself back up, grabbing his head with a groan as his vision swam.

"We're taking fire, that's what!" Recovering her bearing the quickest, Paine flew back to the controls and started typing in commands at a rapid pace. Several readouts quickly projected on screen, each showing various parts of the ship highlighted in a bright red. "Shields are down! Main thrusters are at-!"

*BOOM*

"They're also down! Yuna, try the backups!"

"It's no good! We're already caught in the World's gravity field! The backup thrusters don't have enough power to pull us loose!" the brunette fairy exclaimed worriedly, zipping across another station in a panic as more and more warnings popped up each second.

"Shit! I'll try to reroute more power!" Paine shouted back before flinching as another blast struck their ship. "And can somebody shoot back already!? We're getting killed out here!"

"On it!" Naruto replied as he clambered over to the weapon controls and grabbed the joystick, the HUD flaring to life around him as he took a seat. Swiveling around in his chair, his eyes scoured the space around their ship for any signs of their attackers…only to find absolutely nothing. "The hell? There's nobody out there!"

"I'm getting nothing on radar either!" Rikku yelled as she hovered over the pulsing screen, frantically fiddling with the settings to no avail. Another blast hit, causing the power to flicker and more fires to form from loose sparks until a deluge of suppression foam poured down from the ceiling to them.

"Well that nothing just took out our forward stabilizers!" Paine grit her teeth as she pulled on the controls, fighting to keep the ship on course as it descended into the world's atmosphere.

"Easy… Easy…" Following where the shot had come from, Naruto carefully aimed with squinted eyes before he fired into the seemingly empty space. Most of his shots flew off into the inky blackness of the Oceans Between forever, however a few suddenly detonated in mid-air making the blonde smirk. "There you are, you bastard!"

Refocusing his aim, the whiskered blonde unleashed bullet hell on the spot his rounds had exploded upon, causing another detonation that revealed a massive ship. Shaped like a hollow disk with a small gap in front and a spherical dome attached in the middle, the vessel dwarfed the Celsius at least six or seven times over.

"…We might want to make a tactical retreat, girls" the sole male on the ship muttered with a nervous smile at the absolutely huge ship as it charged up another shot while their weapons barely even did any noteworthy damage. Before any of the girls could respond, the ship fired again, getting another direct hit that blew off one of the front engines completely.

"Back up thrusters are down to forty percent capacity! We're losing altitude too fast!" Yuna cried out, her screens now nothing but alert messages, before shrieking when her console blacked out completely. "Navigation is down!"

"Dammit! Weapons are out too!" Naruto called when his HUD went dark next.

Groaning when her controls died out as well, Paine punched her console before floating away. "Looks like we've got no choice then. Everyone, bail out! Now!"

"Don't have to tell me twice."

"Already going!"

Meanwhile, on the ship firing upon the Celsius, several skinny and vaguely humanoid robots with long thin faces and tan coloration were working diligently at their stations, moving in perfect sync as they typed and imputed commands.

[Unknown ship has been successfully disabled], one of them said in a high-pitch synthetic voice.

[It has been caught in gravitational pull of nearby planetoid], another said before turning to a third that was standing by a raised console above them, its higher rank denoted by the yellow strip on its head. [Current course calculations indicate only a five percent chance of surviving reentry. Shall we continue assault?]

[Negative. We have received a call from Count Dooku for reinforcements. All units, mobilize for immediate warp.]

[Roger, roger!], was the conjoined response of the other droids.

Back on the Celsius, it was a mad scramble as the quartet rushed across the cabin towards the back of the ship, weaving through the lingering fire and loose wires to a solitary heavy-duty doorway.

Grabbing a switch hidden in a crevice beside it, Rikku pulled it down with a grunt, causing the door to slide open with a hiss to reveal an escape pod. However, upon its reveal, there was a small, little, tiny problem that they all noticed right away.

"Uh, I think this might be a bit tight of a squeeze," Naruto muttered while staring at the tiny pod that was barely the size of his torso with three little chairs inside.

"Oh crap! Rakshata must have forgot to make the pod bigger!" Rikku groaned, unable to help but palm her face at such a major oversight. "What are we gonna do?! There's no way we'll all fit in there!"

"Okay, let's not panic, we can work this out somehow," Yuna said while grabbing the panicking faery's shoulder, although the slight tremor in her voice belied her own calm. "Maybe if we- HUH?!"

"WHAT THE-!?"

"HEY!"

Whatever else she was gonna say would be left unknown though as she, Rikku, and Paine were forcefully shoved into the pod in a heap. As they struggled to untangle themselves, the sound of the door slamming shut caused them to freeze before snapping their gazes to see Naruto smiling sadly through the port window, his hand held over the manual eject.

Yuna's eyes widened in horror as she tried to yell, "Naruto, don't you dare-!"

But her words were meaningless as he pushed it, ejecting the three faeries away from the rapidly plummeting ship.

On the outskirts of a large jungle island, we find an anthropomorphic girl wandering along the sandy shores of a beautiful beach at sunset with a large empty wagon in tow. Appearing to be in her early to mid-teens, she had long fluffy blonde hair done up in a ponytail with a single orange flower nestled by her forehead and short orange and cream-colored fur across her entire body. Her outfit consisted of old blue overalls that had the buckle broken on one side with a pink belt hanging loosely around her hips while a plain white t-shirt hugged her frame and a pair of goggles rest atop her head.

This was Coco Bandicoot, genius little sister of Crash Bandicoot, and one of the self-designated defenders of the Wumpa Islands (and sometimes the World) against the villainous Dr. Neo Cortex. Thankfully, things had been quite peaceful since the last time she and her brother had given the wannabe world dictator a butt whooping, though for how long that would last was anyone's guess.

"I will never understand just how that guy always manages to come back," she muttered to herself with a bemused sigh, resting her arms behind her head as she stared up at the sky. "I mean seriously, we've thrown him in prison, dropped a castle on him, shot him into space, trapped him in another dimension, and even turned him into a baby. Yet sooner or later, he somehow always comes back to cause trouble again."

While she didn't like the egotistic scientist one bit, the young bandicoot did have to give credit where it was due: Cortex just did not know the meaning of calling it quits.

However, that was a thought for another time as she looked ahead, smiling upon spotting a pair of hand painted signs that hung from a palm tree that stretched over the sand at a funny angle. While age had faded them a bit, Coco could still make out the silly doodle of a certain bandicoot tripping over something sticking out of the ground on the first sign while the latter read Salvager's Beach: Mind Your Step.

A nostalgic smile spread across the blonde bandicoot's lips, the memory of a younger version of herself sitting on her big brother's shoulders as she anchored up those very signs playing through her mind. "Hehe… Still feels like yesterday."

Passing them by, her smile turned into an excited grin at the sight of heaps upon heaps of scrap and junk that littered the shoreline. Most might wonder why she was so excited to see a bunch of garbage, considering it was polluting up such a lovely beach. However, for a mutant genius bandicoot who loved to invent but had an extremely limited (read: nonexistent) budget this was best place she could go to get materials for her work.

Not wasting any time, she eagerly headed for the closest junk heap and started rifling around for anything that could be useful.

"Ah sweet, an E-Phone!" she cheered, pulling out a small communicator that looked like a handheld phone with a fractured screen. Lady Luck seemed to be favoring her today. Pulling a multitool out of her belt, Coco flicked out the flat head screwdriver and proceeded to strip apart the device with ease.

All that was left by the time the young inventor finished was the case and screen, both of which were thrown into another heap that sat next to a sign with a big red X on it. After sorting out the pieces she'd kept into a neat orderly stack in her cart, she went straight back to rifling through the trash once more, eyes peeled for any more good finds.

*BOOM*

"Huh?"

Before she could get far though, the sound of a distant explosion jarred Coco from her dumpster diving fun as she jerked her head towards the source. Her jaw dropped in shock as a large craft unlike any she had ever seen before streaked across the sky in a flurry of smoke and fire, chunks flying off at random in all directions.

More importantly though was the fact it was HEADING STRAIGHT FOR HER!

"Oh crap!" Ditching her wagon, the young bandicoot sprinted away as fast as her legs could carry her. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum as the ship got closer and closer every second, being the only thing that she could hear over the roaring wind.

By some miracle the ship just missed her as it slammed into the ground with a deafening crash, scraping across the sandy shores and into the briny water of the ocean for several hundred yards before finally grinding to a stop.

"Hah… Hah… So much…for a peaceful day…" Coco mumbled between gasps as she doubled over breathlessly and wiped off the sweat practically pouring from her brow. Once she managed to catch her breath, her attention turned back to the half sunk and still burning wreckage that nearly turned her into a bandicoot pancake. "Oh man, that looks really bad… I hope nobody was in there."

Of course, there probably was since someone or something had to be flying the ship after all. But the odds of them surviving that kind of crash if there were…

Well, they weren't good to say the least.

However, she'd seen and even personally survived worse herself, so it wasn't impossible. And if so, then someone would definitely be in need of a rescue right about now.

"Sometimes, it really sucks being the good guy…" Coco sighed in resignation before making her way towards the wreckage.

Taking a couple slow breaths to calm herself as she waded further and further into the salty water, she eventually took one last deep breath before diving under the waves. Her eyes almost immediately scrunched up from the burn of the salty water, briefly blurring her vision until she adjusted to the feeling.

Unfortunately, that brief blindness was just long enough for her not to see the small rocky outcropping near her side until she bumped into it, scratching her arm a little on the rough surface. Ignoring it as she dived deeper, Coco soon came upon the submerged vessel, her eyes widening a bit in awe at its appearance now that she could see it properly.

She didn't stop to admire the view for long however, as her eyes focused on a large hole in the hull near what she assumed was the cockpit. She swam towards it while keeping a look out for any signs of trouble. Once she got closer, her suspicions were proven correct at seeing the various consoles that would have been used to steer the ship and such, but no signs of anyone who may have been manning them.

She was met with an odd surprise, though, when she grabbed onto part of the outer hull for support during her look and found her fingers sink slightly into the surface.

'What the-? This isn't metal,' she thought with a raised brow, giving the substance a few test squeezes. 'Feels almost like rubber… But that's impossible. The heat from the crash would have charred it to a crisp.'

Snapping out of her thoughts when her lungs starting to ache, Coco was about to head back up for the surface to catch her breath when she noticed a pocket of air inside the back half of the ship. So instead, she opted to keep going forward, carefully weaving around the debris and loose wires floating around just in case they were still live as she swam deeper inside.

Popping up with a gasp, the bandicoot pulled herself to her feet on the slanted floor and took stock of her surroundings. It was dark but thankfully some of the lights were still functioning, albeit just barely as they flickered on and off ominously, giving her just enough light to see with.

Yet once again she found nothing but broken machinery, making her start to wonder if anyone had even been flying this thing in the first place.

'Would explain why it crashed,' she thought with an eyeroll before cupping her hands to her mouth. "Hello? Is there anyone in here? I'm here to help!"

She didn't get a response for a few moments, she almost called out again before her ears picked up a weak voice.

"…over…*cough, cough*…over here…" a muffled voice called back before a nearby pile of rubble shifted a bit, revealing a leg that feebly kicked around blindly.

"Hold on!" Rushing over, Coco started digging through the debris, hefting off large chunks of that strange rubbery material. After lifting off a particularly large panel off, she found that the mystery person was a young human boy about her age with blonde hair and whisker-like tattoos on his cheeks. "Found you," she said softly, a relieved smile on her face at finding a survivor.

"Thanks… I was starting to…*cough*…feel a bit cramped under there," he muttered with another cough while slowly sitting up, grabbing his head with a groan as some blood dripping between his fingers. He looked unsteady on his feet, no doubt from the crash he suffered.

"Happy to help," Coco knelt by the boy's side and checked him over as she spoke, keeping an eye out for any serious injuries. Fortunately, aside from the possible concussion, a couple lumps, cuts, and bruises, he seemed unharmed. It was likely thanks to the rubber-like material of the ship cushioning him during the crash; though, it didn't absorb all of the impact he had gone through. "Are you okay? Do you think you can move?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… It takes more than a few bruises to keep me down," he replied with a strained smile. To prove his point, the blonde pushed himself up and stood on his own…for all of five seconds before tipping over with a yelp. Catching him mid-fall, Coco slipped the whiskered boy's arm over her shoulders as she held him up. "Sorry… Stupid ship won't stop shaking…" he tried defending, though he sounded a bit slurred.

"Yeah… Shaking…" She decided not to mention that the ship was in fact completely still while mentally confirming that he had a concussion. Speaking of, after doing a quick double check that there wasn't anyone else around, Coco tightened her grip as she carried her fellow blonde away. "Let's get out of here. I hope you don't mind getting wet, because we'll need to go for a swim."

"Eh, I needed to take a bath anyway…" the boy said jokingly, getting the bandicoot to giggle softly as she carried him to the water. Trying not to jostle him too much along the way, she felt some building relief at the home stretch of getting him to safety. However, unnoticed by the young bandicoot, a light tremor rumbled across the ship, causing a large and damaged power cable above them to start slipping loose.

Slowly sliding further and further until it suddenly dropped loose completely just as they reached the edge of the water it, the exposed wiring sparkling ominously as it plummeted straight for her head. "Alright, on three we'll-"

"Look out!" However, while Coco didn't see it coming, her fellow blonde certainly did and before the bandicoot knew what was happening, she was shoved out of the way. Landing on her back in a daze, she could do nothing but watch as the cord landed on the boy's shoulders instead, causing him to be engulfed by electricity.

Foam frothed out his mouth, his entire body went rigid before spasming wildly, and a strangled mix of choking and a scream rang out. Then just as quickly as it started it was over, the damaged cable slid off while the blonde collapsed, plunging face first into the water with a splash and vanishing under the murky waves. To Coco's horror, he had suffered extreme electrical burns and was unconscious.

And to make matters worse, the still sparking wiring just so happened to land right next to a leaking fuel line which promptly caught fire, causing the color to drain from Coco's face.

"Oh crap!"

An ominous rumbling filled the air before an explosion tore through the wreckage of the sunken craft, engulfing the unsubmerged sections in flames. Black smoke billowed into the air, leaving a dark stream across the once clear skies as the sun continued to descend bellow the horizon in a tragically tranquil silence.

"HAAAAH!"

A silence that was promptly shattered to a million pieces as Coco burst out of the water near the beach with a mighty gasp for breath as she struggled to stay afloat with the unconscious boy dangling limply in her arms. Upon reaching the shore, she dragged her fellow blonde along until they were far from the water before falling to her knees beside him and putting an ear to his chest.

Her eyes widening when she couldn't hear a pulse or breathing, the bandicoot didn't hesitate to give him CPR.

"Come on… Come on…!" she mumbled while compressing his chest before pressing her lips against his to blow air into his lungs then going back to compressions. This went on for what felt like hours – though, in reality, only a few minutes – with each second dragging by at a snail's pace. "Come on… Please breathe… Please!"

Panic almost settled in, and tears formed in her eyes as she kept going. All the while, she prayed that each breath she blew into his mouth would resuscitate him.

Her actions were mercifully rewarded as the whiskered boy's eyes suddenly snapped open and he started coughing, hacking up several mouthfuls of sea water in the process. Once he was done his head fell limply against the sandy ground as a groan escaped his lips. "Ugh…*cough, cough*…am I dead…?"

Tears falling in relief, Coco carefully laid his head across her lap, not wanting to aggravate his burned and weakened body. "No… You're very much alive," she whispered, sniffling at nearly seeing someone die in front of her.

This first meeting between them was a rollercoaster of emotion, and Coco was thankful he was alive while still worried about him making a full recovery.

"Well, that's good… Being dead kinda sucks, ttebayo…" he muttered with a weak chuckle that caused him to cough more, before nestling into the girl's fluffy thighs tiredly. "…I'm so tired…"

"No, don't fall asleep," she urged him, gently resting her hand on his cheek and making him look up at her in the eyes. "You gotta stay awake… Please…"

Despite his injuries and the temptation to pass out blissfully, Naruto couldn't find it in him to deny her plea. She looked ready to break down in front of him, her tears falling down on his cheeks.

Weakly smiling, he replied, "…okay…"

Seeing her smile, despite her tears, eased his heart. But it was a trio of familiar voices that had relief flood through him.

"NARUTO!"

1~ The Celsius from Final Fantasy X2

So, quite a few things were introduced in this chapter. We have Naruto meeting Snow and Serah from Final Fantasy XIII, getting Lightning to train him, learning how to help the girls with the Gummi Ship, the droids from Star Wars, and Coco from the Crash Bandicoot series.

Since Kingdom Hearts allows for a great deal of crossover potential, and since my friend Curious Kitsune654 and I love the Crash series, we decided to have Naruto and the Gulls become involved in their World.

And before you all ask, we have decided to add Coco to the pairing. In fact, let me tell y'all the current pairing for our boy Naruto:

Gullwings (Yuna, Rikku, and Paine)

Naminé

Lightning

Coco

That's a grand total of six ladies. We may add ONE more, and I'm open to suggestions. However, I ask that you give me a SOLID reason/explanation for why you chose your suggestion. Next chapter will reveal whether we add one more or not.

Before I sign off, I want everyone to know that the list of stories I have given up on are on my profile page. If you wish to take it, send me a PM and we'll go from there.

Even if the story has been adopted by someone else doesn't mean you cannot adopt it as well! I want to see how each person takes my old works and makes them into their own stories!

Until next time!

Stay safe, healthy, and positive!

Dreaming of the Future

pain17ification