Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Naruto or Zelda franchises. Comments/Criticism is fine as long as they aren't straight up hate or flaming. If you do not like, no one is forcing you to read and you can just leave.

Thank you and please enjoy

The Legend of Zelda: Interloper of Time

-Chapter 24-

-Water Temple-

Saria, Navi, and Elia watched with deadpan stares as Naruto squirmed around desperately in the assumed to be Ruto's arms. She had grown much taller, with the same pale greenish blue skin, her fins had grown longer and become thinner, more sail like, but the most noticeable change for Naruto being the large bust she had developed and was currently squishing agaisnt his chest as she hugged him fiercely.

Her happy attitude did a sudden one eighty though when she stopped hugging him in order to give him a harsh glare. "How dare you make me wait so long you idiot! I told you not to and everything!" She said in a furious tone as she shook him.

"I-I-I c-c-c-can e-explain! J-just s-s-stop s-s-s-shaking m-me!" Naruto barely managed to say over the shaking, finally managing to get the angry fish girl to let him go.

"Alright then," Ruto said, floating a little bit away with a stern look, one of her feet flipping rapidly like one who was tapping their foot impatiently. "I'm waiting."

"Well…"

-One LONG explanation later-

"…and that's what happened." Naruto concluded as he took a bite of the cooked bass in his hands. He, Ruto, Elia, Navi, and Saria were now seated around a small fire inside one of the intact rooms of the temple that hadn't been flooded, with the only entrance, a circular hole filled with water at the right corner of the floor, was currently blocked with a large piece of rubble. It had been where Ruto had been camping for the last few months while she tried to solve the numerous puzzles of the temple.

Right now, Naruto felt both extremely tired and nervous. The tiredness was from the constant swimming, fighting, and heavy lifting, while the nervousness was due to the intense stare Ruto was giving him as she idly munched on a roasted trout. She continued to do so without speaking a word until the entire fish had been consumed.

Tossing the expertly stripped bones into a moderately large pile in the corner, the fish woman's eyes never wavered from the blonde's. "That… was one of the most convoluted, crazy, and unbelievable stories I've ever heard." Ruto stated bluntly while standing up, causing Naruto to flinch slightly at the blankness of her voice.

His nervousness only grew even more as she crossed the distance between them and leaned forward until their faces were a mere inch apart. Sweat was beginning to drip down Naruto's brow as he could do but match her gaze uneasily.

"Luckily for you, I know exactly how trustworthy you are." Ruto said with a smile before closing the distance between them. Naruto was left stunned as he felt the princess's soft, warm lips gently press against his own.

The kiss was chaste, lasting barely five seconds before Ruto broke it, but in those five seconds were more than long enough to completely fry out the poor blonde's higher brain functions. The fish girl giggled lightly when she saw the dumbstruck expression that had spread across his face.

Meanwhile, Saria watched all this happen on the sidelines with a mild glare, that same bubbling anger she felt towards Malon suddenly flaring back up. She still didn't know what it was, but it gave her the VERY strong urge to pounce that fish girl and wring her little neck. Feeling something press against her cheek, the greenette's gaze lowered to see her oldest friend looking at her with clear worry in her linty green eyes.

In response to Elia's unspoken question, Saria just shook her head slightly and gave an extremely unconvincing smile that simply made the small fairy's frown deepen but didn't push it… for now.

"So Ruto, what can you tell us about the rest of the temple?" Navi asked, attempting to cut the thick tension that she could also feel building. It worked somewhat, getting Ruto to focus on her instead of Naruto. Unfortunately, instead of returning to her spot she plopped herself next to the still dazed boy and leaned against him gently.

"It's an absolute nightmare!" She stated with a groan while rubbing her forehead. "You think those little puzzles you had to deal with so far were annoying, you should have seen it when it was still intact. And that's just the entrance area!" As she spoke, Ruto reached into a small pouch attached to a belt around her waist and pulled out a thick piece of folded paper. "Just look for yourself."

After quickly unraveling it, she handed it to Saria, showing that it was in fact a detailed map of the entire temple. "You're joking, right?" Navi couldn't help but asked from Saria's shoulder, her jaw practically falling off.

"I wish I was." The map showed a numerous amounts of twisting tunnels, dozens of separate rooms, and if the little marking on the map were any indication literally hundreds upon hundreds of traps, puzzles, and the goddesses know what else.

"And the best part, see this splotchy part there?" Ruto asked rhetorically while gesturing to the right half of the map. It appeared to have had some writing on it originally but due to water damage was now nothing more than an unintelligible mess. "Guess what that is supposed to be."

"Knowing our luck, the instructions on how to get past the temples defenses." Navi stated blankly.

"Exactly! Turns out that my ancestors in their infinite wisdom, not only forgot to make the fucking thing water-proof until after this happened, they didn't even bother rewriting the instructions afterwards! I've been stuck down here for months trying to figure this goddess damn place out myself!" The princess ranted, slamming her fist onto the ground in anger as small amounts of water started swirling around her, surprising the others in room and snapping Naruto out of his daze.

"And if that wasn't bad enough, one of that stupid bastard Ganondorf's top minions has been holed up in here the entire time! Ran into the bitch last month and she's been trashing the place ever since!" At this point a miniature cyclone had formed around Ruto as she continued to swear like a sailor. After several minutes of angry yelling, screaming, and even more cussing she finally seemed to settle down, her breathing slightly heavy as the water gently splashed to the ground.

Noticing the complete silence around her, Ruto glanced around to see the stunned looks on Naruto and Saria's faces and the embarrassed glows of Navi and Elia. "I…I'm sorry about that… it's just been very stressful." She said tiredly, seeming to shrink into herself a bit. It was thanks to the sudden shift of lighting that her four new companions were finally able to notice the bags under her eyes and the light bruising and half healed scratches on various parts of her body.

Not knowing exactly what to do, but being the closest one to her, Naruto gingerly placed a hand on Ruto's shoulder, making her perk up slightly. "Umm… there, there, it'll be alright." He said awkwardly while giving what he hoped was a comforting smile. Judging by the sudden tackle glomp and tight hug, it worked.

"Oh, you're so sweet! I knew I chose well when I decided to marry you!"

"…Choking! …Not breathing! …Choking! …Not breathing!"

"Back to the subject!" Saria cut in as she quickly crossed the room and pulled Ruto off of Naruto, much to the fish girl's displeasure and the relief of the blonde's air deprived lungs. "Who or what are we dealing with exactly? You said you know what caused all that damage out there."

"Oh yeah, her," Ruto said venomously while reluctantly going back to her original spot. "That would be Queen Octorok, the one maintaining the curse on my people and one huge damn bitch. Had to be at least five or six times bigger than a giant Octorok. She's covered in thick plates of shelled armor, and dozens of sharp bony protrusions that can be launched at will."

She reached behind herself and hefted up a three-foot long, barbed, blood-covered bone spear with bits of flesh still attacked to the base. "Got this little trinket here when that bitch first revealed herself. Almost got me right in the chest with this thing, it was only thanks to pure luck I was able to react in time to dodge. Guess I can't be too mad about that though since I repaid in full by using it to stab that fucker in the eye."

"Must you swear so much?" Navi asked in a deadpan, the expression deepening when she got a middle finger in response.

"I'll speak however the shell I feel like," Ruto snarked before standing up again. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get some sleep." She said while meandering over to a pile of old fabrics piled up into a rough bed. As she laid down in it and pulled one of the blankets over herself, the Zora princess glanced over at them one last time in order to give Naruto a quick wink. "Feel free to join me anytime sweetheart."

To his credit, Naruto only gained a mild blush on his face from the invitation.

He didn't even have a chance to respond though as Saria suddenly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the other side of the room. "Come on Naruto, we have to set everything up." She said with a clenched jaw, making Naruto look at her with confusion.

'What's got her in such a bad mood?'

The poor, poor naïve boy…

-Next Day, Naruto and Navi (insert montage music of your choice)-

"I hate this place so much right now." Naruto grumbled as he swam as quickly as he could through the submerged corridor while hundreds of moss-coated javelins zipped through the water all around him.

"Me too." Navi said from within his mask. When they had all woke up today, said fairy, Saria, and Ruto had quickly put together a simple but effective plan to traverse the remaining areas of the temple and find Queen Octorok's den. Naruto, Saria, and Ruto would take turns scouting ahead while the other two trailed behind slightly.

Guess who got the 'lucky' chance to go up first.

-Day Two, Saria and Ruto-

"HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!?" Saria screamed, cowering behind a large boulder with Ruto just outside. The reason for her panic was the large stream of FIRE that was scorching the other side of the rock they were hidden behind… WHILE UNDERWATER!

"HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I KNOW?!" The Zora princess yelled back.

-Day two, Naruto, and Saria-

"Why… do I… *huff* always have to… the heavy lifting?" Naruto asked between wheezes as he pushed several massive stone blocks across the floor and onto the various switches all over.

"Because you're the only one that can get the leverage to do so." Saria and Elia said at the same time. It was the truth, thanks to his ability to stick to surfaces, Naruto was the only one able to actually move the blocks whilst under the water.

"Fine… but if we find any of these puzzles without water, then you're doing the pushing!"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Like that would happen any time soon.

-Day two, Naruto and Saria-

"Hehe, Karma is both kind and cruel." Naruto said with a smirk as he watched a sweating Saria struggle to move a single stone block across the chamber.

"Oh hardy har… *Wheeze* laugh it up… *Huff* while you can." Saria said, giving the chuckling blond a quick glare before focusing back on her current task.

-Day Three, Everyone-

Inside a massive arena-like chamber, Naruto grunted in pain as a large rock collided with his shoulder blade as he smashed several blue Tektites into paste with his hammer. To his side, Saria was slicing her way through dozens of Tektites, Chu-chu Jellies (Twilight Princess version), and Octoroks with ease.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room Ruto was using her powerful water magic to obliterate her opponents with complete ease. As the last of the monsters fell though, three pools of pure darkness suddenly formed on the floor. These pools then rose off the floor and condensed into three different humanoid figures that were all too familiar.

"Why do I have an odd feeling of déjà vu?" Naruto thought aloud while looking upon his dark doppelganger. "Navi, any idea what these things are?" He asked while Saria, Ruto, and himself prepared themselves.

"Shadow Clones(lol), beings made entirely of dark energy that can duplicate a single person's appearance and their abilities perfectly." The fairy said as she fluttered around Naruto's head. "Whatever you do, don't bother fighting your own copy, they'll be able to predict and counter you almost perfectly."

"Fine then," Ruto interjected as she built up a large amount of magic and used it to blast Dark Saria. "I got dibs on this bitch!" She yelled while charging after her flying foe. Saria felt her eyebrow twitch rapidly at that before she attacked Dark Ruto.

"…So much for not facing myself." Naruto said dully as he and Dark Naruto stared at each-other. "You wouldn't happen to be willing to calmly talk about this over a bowl of ramen, would you?"

-Day Three, Naruto (Record scratch noise)-

Naruto sighed tiredly as he settled down on top of his sleeping bag, grumbling a little as his bandaged chest twinged a bit. Turned out evil clones didn't like ramen. Thankfully, he was able to 'dispose' of his duplicate by himself but not before taking a direct blow to the chest from the clone's hammer. Even with his natural healing factor and a little fairy assistance his ribcage was still pretty messed up.

Right now, he would like nothing more than to catch some Z's so that he could recover a bit faster (having learned he healed quicker while sleeping), but Ruto and Saria were out catching something for dinner and had taken Navi and Elia with them in case of injury. This left him in charge of guarding their 'base' until they got back.

Stretching his sore limbs, the blonde groaned as his joints popped loudly before settling back into a comfortable position. After their arrival, Saria and he had set up their beds on the opposite side of the room from Ruto's 'to give her space' according to his green-haired friend.

Speaking of which, Naruto perked up as he heard splashing coming from the entrance. Quickly sitting up while reaching for his hammer, he calmed down seconds later when he saw Ruto climbing out of the water with a net full of fish over her shoulder. 'Wow, that was fast,' Naruto thought, drooling a bit when he saw the size of some of those fish.

His desire for food though was quickly replaced by concern and confusion though when his other three friends didn't emerge with the fish-girl. "Uh, Ruto-chan… where's Saria-chan, Elia-chan, and Navi-chan?" Naruto asked her while she set her catches down by her side of the room.

Looking right at him, Ruto smiled brightly while walking over. "We split up since it would be harder to fish in a group." She said while plopping down next to him, her body already dry thanks to her natural biology and magic.

"What?! But it's too dangerous to go by yourself out there! What of one of you got hurt?" Naruto asked, his voice filled with concern as he started to get up. "We should go make sure she-"

"Naruto. Relax," Ruto told him while shoving him back into his bedroll. "I spent months in this damn place on my own just fine. Even then, Saria isn't alone, she does have Navi and Elia with her in case something happens. Besides, you're not going anywhere in that condition." She stated, emphasizing her point by pushing lightly against his still injured front.

While he knew what she was saying was true, Naruto still didn't feel right just leaving his closest friends out there all on their own and tried to get up again. The results were the same though as Ruto simply used her water magic to form several tendrils to hold him down.

After a minute or so of more useless struggling, Naruto finally gave up and allowed himself to fall back into his bed as the water limbs holding him dispersed. "Are you done yet?" Ruto asked, getting a slow nod in return.

"Good," She said as a large grin suddenly crossed her lips, making Naruto feel nervous for some reason. That reason quickly became known though as he felt the hand on his chest start to drift lower and lower while Ruto brought her face right up to his. "Because I know just the way to make you forget all about your worries."

-One Hour Later-

*Splash* "Hey Naruto, we're back!" Saria called out as she climbed out of the water with a half full net over one shoulder while Navi and Elia sat on the other.

"It's about time you got back," Instead of the person she was expecting to greet her though, Saria was met with the sight of Ruto carefully roasting the fishes she'd caught earlier. "I was starting to wonder what was taking you gals so long, I'm almost done with dinner." She said cheerily.

Saria snorted at that while she shook the remaining water off herself as best she could. "Well, maybe it wouldn't have been so long if you hadn't ditched me right after we left." The greenette snarked back as she marched towards the fire. As they got closer though, Saria and her two passengers couldn't help but notice something off.

Ruto was humming happily as she turned the spits at an even pace, a bright smile on her lips and an almost visible 'glow' around her. This was odd since other than when she was talking to Naruto, the Zora princess had been crass, defensive, and slightly depressed since they had teamed up with her. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Navi asked with her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"And what happened to Naruto?" Elia asked while pointing to said boy who laid motionlessly on his sleeping bag with an odd mixture of dazed, pleased, tired, and confused written all over his face as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

*Giggle* "Oh he's just a little tuckered out from earlier, he'll be juuuuust fine." Ruto said, her grin somehow getting even wider. Saria had a feeling she was going to be very pissed when she found out what happened.

-Day Four, Everyone-

Pissed was a severe understatement.

It took a night's rest and several hours of coaxing before Naruto finally opened up to her exactly what happened between him and Ruto while they were by themselves. The only thing preventing her from strangling the fish-girl for 'taking advantage' of Naruto was the fact they were currently descending a steep, narrow tunnel into what was very likely to be Queen Octorok's den.

But even as they emerged into a massive, roughly hewn chamber and the sleeping form of the dreaded beast came into view, there was only one though going through the ex-kokiri's mind. 'I'm going to kill her when we are done here!'

-End Chapter-

AN: As promised, after two months break I'm back with LoZ:IoT. I do hope you like the newest chapter. For those wondering why I changed the temple boss, well to be honest I always thought Morpha would be way too easy a boss for Naruto and Saria to deal with. As for skipping the Dark version fights, mostly cause they would be pretty stale, since the duplicates are pretty much useless against anyone except the person they copied according to the official lore.

As for why Ruto is so foul-mouthed, it is just her way of coping through her people and home being in their current state and the stress of dealing with Queen Octorok and the Temples traps. Her going after Naruto like she did is the easiest to explain, She's a teenage tomboyish girl who would be in the middle to end of puberty (assuming she ages mostly the same as a human) who's been alone for months, and just spent the a lot of time in an enclosed space with the boy she likes. And for those upset that I didn't add a lemon, well sorry but I absolutely suck at them. Thank you for reading and please review.