Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, FFX, or FFX-2. If I did, this would happen in the t.v series.

This is just my luck. Naruto thought when he heard the voice behind him. As soon as I let my guard down, someone with probably no ninja training manages to sneak up on me! I am definitely going to get berated for this one... The blond resisted the urge to turn around, hoping beyond hope that the girl (because the voice confirmed it was) wasn't talking to him. Of course, like always, Naruto only has luck in lotteries, not anything else.

"Didn't you hear me? Who in the world are you? And how did you manage to get up here! Answer me bonehead!" The girl said.

Naruto was starting to sweat now. He had just arrived in the middle of a new world, smack dab in the middle of a desert, and this happens? For all he knows he could have broken a law or something.

"Alright, that's it! Don't ignore me! Turn around! You're coming with me to see Cid right now!" The girl said, as she reached over and turned him around by his shoulder. She was shocked.

"You're that boy! The one who we found in the desert! Are you alright? Are you hungry? Where are you from? What's your name? How did you get up here? My name is Rikku!" The girl yelled as her attitude seemed to do a complete 180. She went straight from mad and curious to excited and curious.

The blond then noticed that it was that same girl he saw with that boy! How long was he up here anyway? It seemed as though she just left!

"Hey! I said don't ignore me! Why don't you answer me? Do you not like me? You hate me don't you?" She said as tearsstarted to come to her eyes.

"Oh shit! What did I do now? I'm sorry! Don't cry! I can't understand what you are saying! Just please don't cry! I can't stand seeing girls cry!" The ninja yelled out, starting to panic as he couldn't find out what was wrong with the girl.

"What did you say? I don't understand." The blonde girl said as she started to understand what is going on. "You don't speak Al Bhed do you? Awww, that sucks! That means I can't talk to you!" Rikku said as she began to stomp every now and then on the floor.

"Hey, now what's wrong! Geez, what is with girls and constant mood swings! I can't keep up..." Naruto sighed, defeated.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? I see our guest is wide awake now." A tall man said as he came in through the same door he guessed the girl came through. The man was bald, but he didn't seem to be very old or anything. He looked like a very capable person. If a bit shady when he looked like he was evaluating the blond boy.

"Cid! It's not fair! I waited all this time to talk to someone new and he can't speak Al Bhed! What are we going to do with him now!" The girl said to the man, even though it seemed like she didn't understand what he just said.

"Calm down Rikku. I have a great idea. Please go and wait in my office. Me and the boy will be there in a second."The man said in a stern voice.

Oh, the man is bilingual. At least now this means... there are people who can talk to me! Yes! I'm not totally screwed now! The shinobi thought with joy.

The girl seemed ready to protest with whatever the man said, but then looked like she decided against it. The childish girl walked back through the same door slowly, as if hoping something would happen to give her an excuse to get excited again. When she finally left, the man turned towards the blond, as if debating something in his head.

"Hey kid, What's your name? And do you speak English well?" The man said at last.

Naruto thought for a moment. No one here knew him, so he didn't need a fake name. Also, the man probably heard him speak so the second answer didn't matter. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and yes, I speak English very well. Why do you ask?" Naruto said, with a bit of suspicion. The man appeared to be thinking hard for a moment, before talking again.

"Fine then. Come with me to my office. We need to talk." The man said while walking towards the same door the girl went down. The ninja followed him cautiously. Although he didn't look particularly dangerous, you could never be too careful. After about a two minute walk the two came to a large door with the word 'CID' on it. So this man is probably Cid, and that girl is in here because this is his office. Naruto thought with a smile, very pleased with how well he is observing things. Cid opened the door and told him to go inside. The blond obeyed, knowing that this was most likely his only chance at getting any information. Besides, if he escaped, where would he go?

When Naruto entered the room he was a bit surprised. He expected the room to be extremely fancy with things on the walls and plush carpet, stuff like that. However the room was incredibly bare, even for an office. It was just a normal sized room with a desk, a small two-seat sofa in the corner, and a single chair. Excluding his of course. There were no pictures, documents, drawers, or even a plush carpet! Naruto was slightly disappointed. He thought that with how big the tower was that these people were rich. However he was clearly far off. The shinobi let a small scowl cross his face, now clearly disappointed with his observational skills.

The girl was lying down on the sofa, looking bored out of her mind. She had a look on her face that seemed to scream, 'I wish I were anywhere else but here!' However she brightened up a bit when the two entered, clearly happy that there was no more waiting. Cid went behind the desk and sat at his chair, while he gestured for Naruto to take a seat on the other. Everything was quiet for some time as the two stared at each other, while it looked like Rikku was making faces in the background, hoping to make someone break the silence. At last, Cid decided to speak.

"Well boy, as you may have already guessed by the sign on my door, my name is Cid. That girl over there is named Rikku." When he turned his head to indicate Rikku she stopped making faces, probably acting like this is a game. "Me and my men found you in the desert nearly dead. We decided to take you back with us, however now we have a slight problem. You obviously know what an Al Bhed is don't you?" Naruto nodded, although he had no clue as to what an Al Bhed was. Cid continued. "You see Uzumaki..."

"Naruto." The blonde said, cutting him off.

"Excuse me?" The man said, clearly not understanding.

"Where I come from we say our last names first." Naruto said, but then cursed inside his head afterward. That little bit of information should have been kept secret. It may not have been very important, but he doesn't know anything about these people.

"Very well Naruto, as I was saying, this is the 'Home' of the Al Bhed." So that explains it... Al Bhed is the name of their race. "The Al Bhed have mostly been in hiding for quite some time now. Many of us move around to other places, but almost all of us live here. No one, and I mean no one, besides Al Bhed know where Home is. This is because most of the outside world hates us, and we are in constant danger." They sound so much like me... "If anybody besides an Al Bhed knew where Home was, it is likely we would have to move again to avoid being wiped out. Let me sum it up for you. You, Naruto Uzumaki, are not an Al Bhed. You know where Home is. I just explained what would happen if anyone discovered Home. So, Naruto, what do you propose I do with you? I obviously can't let you leave. However I don't want to kill you but I will if it will save the Al Bhed."

By this time Naruto was getting rather nervous. This was pretty big, and all he was doing was walking in the desert. What should he do!

"Ask them to let you stay kit."

Kyuubi? You're finally awake! And do you think they would let me stay?

"I'm not sure kit, but this place is perfect. You could learn their language, discover knowledge about this world, and this is the perfect place to train!"

I understand what you're saying. I will try to get them to listen.

"Understood. I'm going back to sleep. I've been feeling more tired lately. Probably from using all the chakra combined with you passing out." And with that, Kyuubi's presence disappeared from Naruto's mind.

"Actually Cid, I was wondering if I could stay here." Naruto said with as much calmness as he could muster. While on the inside he was wondering if he was going to die so soon here.

Cid seemed very shocked that he would even ask suck a thing. Obviously Cid thought that the shinobi would either hate them or be scared to death of them. "Why would you wish to stay here? This is a desert. I don't believe anyone would stay here by choice." The bald man said with suspicion evident in his voice.

"Well sir, I don't really have anywhere else to go. Also, I need a teacher. I don't mind living in a desert if I can get that." Naruto said.

Cid seemed to seriously consider this while looking over at Rikku every few moments. After about an hour to Naruto (which was actually only about 10 seconds) Cid spoke up. "Very well then. You will stay here. However you can't be dead weight. You need to do something."

"Well, I'm going to be training and learning from anyone I can find, but I can do manual labor easily. How about that?"

"That will be fine. Although I am afraid that finding a teacher will be very difficult. What would you like to be taught in?"

"Well, I definitely want to learn your language...and I guess everything else the person knows."

"Hmm...I believe I have a way to benefit us both from this. You see Rikku over there?" Naruto turned to see Rikku sitting upside down on the sofa with her legs up on the wall. She was also playing with a piece of her hair. When the blonde girl noticed that the two of them were talking about her, she left her hair alone and smiled up at both of them.

"Yes, what about her? Does your arrangement have something do to with her?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

"As a matter of fact, it does. You see, I can't have you waltzing around unsupervised when I just met you. And you need a teacher. So listen to this, I have been meaning to teach Rikku how to speak English, but being as busy as I am I can't find time. You will teach her English, she will teach you Al Bhed and everything else she knows. While you do work for us, and even after, she will watch you at all times. You keep your mouth shut about Home, you get to stay here. Is that alright with you Naruto?"

Naruto was actually quite pleased with the results. He just solved most of his big problems of this world in one fell swoop. He was a bit nervous about spending so much time with Rikku though. She acted very nice, but... spending every moment with her? That would get... awkward.

"Alright, I accept. But does Rikku have to watch me constantly? Wouldn't that be strange?" The blond asked.

"Perhaps, but there is nothing to be done. Besides, she is already watching you most of the day because of her teaching you. A while longer shouldn't hurt. You will still get some privacy, although you may have to sleep in the same room." Cid said seriously.

"W-w-what? Shouldn't you have a guy do that?" Naruto asked with a deep blush on his face.

"I'm afraid not. We have no one left to spare at the moment due to a certain... project we are working on." Cid told him.

Although Naruto was curious about the 'project,' he decided not to push it. "Shouldn't you tell Rikku about this little... arrangement? After all much of it has to do with her."

"You are correct. I probably should have told her sooner." Both of them turned once again to see Rikku lying along the sofa like the first time. She was humming something quite nice under her breath. Cid then began to tell her something in Al Bhed, which he presumed to be the little arrangement they were just talking about. At first Rikku appeared to be very excited. But as time went on she got paler, and paler, and then she suddenly burst into several different shades of red.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"