Pretty Maelstrom

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Disney's Lilo & Stitch

-Chapter Start-

It was the middle of the night on the island of Kauai, and a fierce rainstorm had broken out a few hours ago. Sakura sat at the kitchen table, her third cup of sake left untouched for the better part of an hour. By now she was more interested in her teammate returning to their house soon. Hopefully with some new clue about how they could return to their friends.

It had been a little after twilight, when the green ball of light fell from the sky. And landed on the ground somewhere in the forest. Naruto, being as proactive as always, declared that he was going to check it out, and left the house. Only for the rain to come soon after.

Now, hours later, Sakura was sitting alone, wearing her comfy fuchsia robe, and waiting for Naruto to return. With nothing else to do, and wanting to avoid the thoughts that came from being alone, the pink haired girl had pulled out a bottle to keep her company. But after a couple of shots, she found herself uninterested in the liquid. Instead, she was anxiously waiting for her teammate to return to her. Wondering what he had found out in the dark, and if it would help the two of them get home.

"Home," the pinkette sighed to herself. A topic that Sakura tried to avoid thinking about, almost as much as she did her non-blond teammate.

After she and Naruto arrived on Kauai, she had desperately wanted to go home. To return to the life she once had. With loving parents and a best friend rival, who pushed her to be better. Now, she was left with a loving teammate, who was perhaps too patient with her, and a friend that reminded her of that teammate far too much.

Nani was a woman who never gave up. Even after being forced into the terrible situation that she was in, she kept moving forward. Just like Naruto always did.

Ever since they graduated from the academy, Naruto had been an ever changing constant in her life. Working himself to exhaustion so he could keep moving forward. All while still keeping that optimistic attitude.

Even in this new world he was doing the same thing. Turning from an overly energetic man of action, into a studious bookworm. All to keep her happy.

The only difference being that she was even more pathetic now, than she had ever been as a girl. Drinking away her sorrows and memories.

Violently grabbing the still full shot glass, Sakura drank the burning liquid in one gulp. Slamming the empty glass onto the table, as she hung her head in shame.

She wanted to be there for Naruto now, like he had always been for her. She'd been able to help some, mainly by reading the books Naruto brought home. But most often, everytime she thought about going home her thoughts would eventually turn to the one person who wouldn't be there. Who, like she and Naruto, was ripped away from the Elemental Nations. She didn't know where he was, but he wouldn't be at their home.

After those thoughts came to her, she wanted to drink more to push the feelings away. And then she would feel bad about drinking, and would drink some more. Eventually Naruto would show up, making Sakura feel her lowest, while the blond tended to her every need. This was how she spent her life in paradise.

Until she met Nani. The local woman had been very kind during their first meeting. Not bringing up the fact that she had been obviously hungover, instead speaking in a low voice that didn't aggravate her headache.

After that first meeting, Sakura found herself wondering if the dark-skinned beauty would come to the house again. Where the two of them could talk about anything that came to mind. Giving the pinkette's mind a much needed distraction.

The more time she spent here, the more she felt at peace. Of course she missed her parents, but Naruto did everything he could to make her feel comfortable. Nami was always fun to talk with, and would probably spend hours talking with Ino about flowers. And this whole experience, weirdly, made her feel closer to Tsunade than ever. It was probably the sake.

Suddenly a soft thump from outside drew Sakura's attention, before the door was thrown open. Letting the sound of heavy rain fill the house, as Naruto hurriedly entered.

"I can think of a hundred better things to do at night, than deal with that rainstorm," the blond growled. Trying, but failing, to wipe the water off himself.

"Would one of those things be spending time with a beautiful girl?" Sakura questioned. Walking up to her teammate with a towel.

"If it was either you or Nani, then yes," Naruto responded. Taking the dry cloth with a nod of thanks.

"And if it was both of us?" the girl continued. Taking a step back to admire all of Naruto's form.

"Then it would be twice as fun," the ninja cheered. Slightly muffled by the towel now pressed against his face.

Sakura chuckled at her teammate's naive nature. Choosing to keep quiet and enjoying the way his floral print shirt stuck to his muscular chest. With the soaked garment contoured to his physique, while his rain drenched bottoms showed off everything.

A loud gasp filled the room, as Naruto pulled the towel from his face. Now closer to being dry.

"This storm came out of nowhere," the blond growled. "I couldn't even get to the crater before it started."

"I'm surprised you didn't turn back once the rain had set it," Sakura stated. Knowing how hard headed Naruto was, but even he knew how silly it was to be out in the rain at night.

"I was worried that the rain was going to wash away any evidence of what crash landed," Naruto stated.

"So you did find something," the pinkette exclaimed.

"Sort of," her companion answered. "I found a crater with a twisted heap of metal inside it. Whatever it was, it's unrecognizable now."

"That's all you found?" the girl questioned.

"There was no one around when I arrived, but on a nearby road I saw a group of trucks parked. The drivers were all talking with each other."

"Perhaps they saw something?"

"That's what I thought," Naruto responded as he began to unbutton his shirt. "I got closer and heard them talking about calling an animal shelter, but that was it."

"How strange," Sakura added. Watching as her teammate peeled his shirt off his soaked form, leaving him topless. "Was there anything else?"

"No," the blond answered, now towling his body dry. "I left a clone behind to watch the crash site. If someone was there, hopefully they'll come back."

"So we're back to waiting."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Sakura insisted, walking behind the blond. "You're already doing everything you can for us."

With a quick tug, the pinkette pulled the towel from Naruto's hand, and began to press the cloth against his back.

*break*

Experiment 626 slowly returned to consciousness. After having escaped from the United Galactic Federation, he had made a jump to some remote part of the galaxy. Hopefully where he could either hide, or plan an ambush against his eventual pursuers.

His landing had been far from perfect, but nothing he couldn't walk away from. Unfortunately he was knocked unconscious soon after leaving his ship, by three other large vehicles.

Whatever happened after that was a mystery. Now, he needed to know where he was, and what he had. Putting his supercomputer brain to work.

His prisoner jumpsuit had been removed, leaving him naked. This was a good thing, since the clothing had been designed to restrict his movement. The plasma blasters that he had stolen were missing. Definitely a problem, but one that could be worked around.

The area he was in was a concrete cell, with a flimsy metal gate. That would offer less resistance than the concrete.

His fellow prisoners were huddled together in a corner far away from him, which was wise of them. They all seemed to be common dogs, which was proven as they only whimpered in fear at his questions.

With no reason to stay, and nothing that could keep him there, the experiment made his exit. Using his claws to stick to the ceiling, the alien followed the sound of chatter. Crawling into a room where two female mammals were talking with each other across a counter. While a smaller mammal was close by.

With silent movements, he followed the ceiling to the door on the far wall. Where a pair of windows showed the world outside the building, and his escape.

Crawling out through the not fully closed door, the creature landed safely on the porch. Taking a look around the area he found himself in, the experiment liked how pristine and unguarded the area looked. A perfect place to destroy and ruin.

However he did not like the laser dot that was lining up with his body. With a quick jump the genetic monster dodged a plasma blast that left a scorched mark where he had stood. Leading to some annoyed shouts from his attackers, and more plasma blasts.

Evidently Jumba, his creator, had been sent to put an end to any rampages before they started. It would explain why he hadn't seen any United Galactic Federation forces trying to stop him. But if they wanted to be sneaky, so could he.

Returning back into the safety of the building, and taking to the ceiling again, Experiment 626 decided to return to the room he had woken up in. Taking time to slam shut the door to the outside, not just to vent his frustration at his escape being thwarted, but also to draw the attention of the mammals. Allowing him to stick to the ceiling and return to the backroom unnoticed.

Where he began banging his head against the brick wall. Slowly knocking one of the blocks out of alignment with his tougher skull.

While the genetic experiment could be sneaky, Jumba was the worst opponent that he could be paired against. The mad scientist would probably go for a straight forward, almost barbaric, approach. Which meant there would be less opportunities to take advantage of.

The Federation and all its technology hadn't been able to stop him, because their systems were overly complicated. The simpler the idea, the harder it would be to fight against. And Jumba with a plasma rifle was simple, but effective.

Suddenly, a new noise was heard over the sound of his head breaking a brick. The smallest mammal from the other room, had walked into the backroom with him. The girl, he believed based on her resemblance to one of the other more obvious females, was wandering around, calling out on occasion. If she was looking for the other animals, that were still hiding from his mere presence, she wasn't very good at it.

But this had potential.

Somebody, probably from the Federation, had been with Jumba. Meaning that the mad scientist was on a chain, and couldn't attack him directly.

There was the weakness in Jumba's plan. If he could get one of the earthling natives to be around him, he was safe from attack.

The Federation wouldn't allow an innocent species, from some primitive planted, to be killed. Having a living shield around himself meant that Jumba wouldn't be able to openly attack him. And if the girl was looking for a pet, he could act like a dog long enough to get away from any pursuers.

He partially resembled a dog, due to Jumba's genetic tinkering. If he could disguise his more alien features he would be a perfect match. Retracting his extra arms into his body, along with his antenna and spines. Now he only needed to make a good first impression.

Quickly sneaking up behind the girl, he made a quick barking sound to get her attention, and then the genetic experiment waited.

"Hi," the girl said, as she turned around.

"H-hi…" the experiment rasped out.

-Chapter End-

This chapter was odd. It's hard to put into words, so I'm going to keep these notes short.

Originally Sakura's portion in this chapter was a lot shorter. Thankfully I wanted to add more to her part, so I got to dive deeper into her character. Which was a lot of fun, if a bit of a downer. It was also fun to write out Stitch's supercomputer brain, and being completely logical.

Next chapter: Stitch and Naruto finally meet. And then the real fun begins.