PA:So this is number one of the two Fairy Tail fanfics that I had planned. The other one is a little more difficult to make entertaining. Uh, it will make more sense when you read it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the references or material used in this work of fiction.
The sand underfoot clacked together as combat boots pressed the grains and stones tightly. He was on a request at the moment, a rather mundane one that he would normally let someone else handle, though for some strange reason, the Ace of Fairy Tail thought that he should take this one, almost as if it were calling to him. He approached the area he had been told about and let out a sound of wonder and awe, for in his entire life, Gildarts Clive, had never seen a sight quite like the one before him.
He could not believe that a mere month ago this land was barren, now though, large trees were bent away from the centre of the flower filled clearing. Their branches full of leaves as large falcons, normally solitary creatures preened their regal white feathers.
What seemed to tie this together was a strange portal in the sky, from it poured sparkling water which had allowed all of this to happen. A small river parted the clearing and trailed all the way back to the village he had come from. He mauled his options over in his head.
The village just wanted him to look at it, while they were thankful for the fresh water, they wanted to make sure that it wouldn't come back to hurt them. Thus Gildarts stood there, examining the area with a cautious eye, "Yep... I have no idea what I'm doing."
His gaze shifted over to the white falcons, each the size of a medium sized dog, they were no longer grooming themselves, instead their predatory gazes were locked onto his form. Beyond this clearing was desert, the temperature also raised a fair few degrees. Out of everything that was out of place, it was the sheer number of birds that were here that he found the most odd.
Gildarts made sure to watch the birds, he would test a theory, he took a small step towards the source of the water and watched as they leaned forward slightly, slowly he stepped back and watched as the birds all returned to just watching him intently, "So you're protecting this or something?" He rose one of his hands and scratched at his cheek, wondering why the birds wanted to protect this strange thing. Nothing though would come to mind.
A loud screech filled the air and Gildarts watched as a vulture flew down, landing near the portal, the moment its feet hit the ground the falcons took to the sky, swooping down and slamming it into the ground before ripping it to pieces, the ace took a step back in shock, "W-what the hell?!"
The falcons turned to him, as if daring him to make a move towards them. A tense moment passed before a large shadow came overhead, sparing a glance upwards he took in the visage of a cow being carried and tossed into the portal its body ripped apart and the blood from the vulture starting to rise into the air and follow its path.
Gildarts waited, the ground shifting under his feet as the large trees were quickly bent towards the portal before being uprooted and sucked into it along with the flowers, after a few more moments he watched as one by one the falcons all flew to their deaths, horror creeping over his features. Such nonsensical events happening one after another, he had made his decision, that portal was dangerous. Gathering magic into his hand he planned to destroy it.
With quick steps he closed the distance only for it to start to fracture right in front of him, pushing off of his legs he jumped backwards to gain some distance before a bright light enveloped the area, he draw his cloak up to shield his eyes and watched as an egg shape started to take form before lowering itself to the ground.
It was of the purest white he had seen, as the egg drew closer to the ground it started to shift, showing what he had thought to be the shell instead be large white wings made of many pristine feathers. Completely unfurled each wing was larger than himself, there were two of the in total and a small child, maybe thirteen years in age with blonde hair hanging between them. His eyes closed and wounds on his body slowly being healed by the blood that was crawling along his body.
His clothing that looked to have been white robes at a point were torn, looking like nothing more than rags as his mattered and copper stained blonde hair stuck to his face. Gildarts watched as the wings vanished and the child dropped to the ground, unmoving. He quickly moved forward and crouched down beside the boy, he watched the chest rise slightly before falling, he let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"Well... I guess I better take you with me then," Gildarts took a small step back as deep ocean blue eyes snapped open, they shifted about, as if adjusting to the light before snapping tightly onto his form, "You okay there champ?"
The blonde shuffled back on his hands, confusion in his eyes as he quickly looked around, "Zel grupa?"
Gildarts blinked a few times in surprise, "Zel grupa?"
"Zel grupa! Zel grupa!" The blonde repeated frantically as he leaned forward, only to lean back when he saw that the older male didn't seem to understand him, "Vezta nek zu grzapa," The young blonde muttered out as he leaned back in shock.
Gildarts rubbed at his stubble, "Well this is going to be a problem," He looked at the sand in front of him and frowned before crouching down, holding a hand out in the shape of a bowl and getting the attention of the small child, with the other he made a motion as if he were eating, "Food?"
The blonde gave him a curious glance before hovering a hand over his stomach, "F-fude?"
The elder mage internally did a little victory dance before quickly nodding his head as he rubbed his stomach, "Yes yes, food," He pointed to the two of them before making a walking motion with his fingers, "We go get food?"
"Ve go getz fude?" The blonde questioned only to see the larger man nod once again, a faint smile crossed the blonde's face, "Fude, fude!"
Gildarts gave a light chuckle and continued to nod, language barrier or not, some symbols were just easy to understand, he pointed to his chest a few times, "Gildarts, my name is Gildarts."
"Guldartz?" The blonde questioned as he pointed to the man, Gildarts gave a small nod, it was close enough for now, maybe it was just the accent, or maybe this child's language didn't have the same letters as his. Nevertheless Gildarts pointed at the child a few times.
The blonde blinked before touching his chest, "Naruto, ze gruta ezt Naruto."
Gildarts held his hand out and watched as the blonde, now named Naruto looked at it with caution for a few moments before slowly taking it and letting Gildarts help him up. Looking at the attire of the child Gildarts reluctantly tore his cloak and wrapped it over his shoulders. He pointed to the high sun above them before putting both hands above his head for a few moments before fanning himself and giving a small pant, "The sun is hot."
"Ze zun iz vot?"
It took them nearly an hour of following the trench dug out by the river that had been running only an hour prior, to reach the village. Those that lived there were frantic as they watched the last of the water run dry. The leader approached Gildarts, he appeared to be rather unnerved, "Mage-san... The water is vanishing... What happened?"
Gildarts rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, an action that Naruto took notice of, "Uh well, you see the water was a result of a rather nasty spell that had been put into place. The child behind me was to be used as a sacrifice, there was a lot of negative magic out there."
The leader took a step back and frowned, his wrinkles creasing as he looked at the child behind Gildarts, under the torn cloak he could see torn clothing, "That's terrible," The leader said in earnest, "We had thought that the water was a blessing, but if it were to come at the cost of a child's life... I do not think I could drink something so foul," He bowed his head low to Naruto who gave him a confused glance, "I can not say sorry enough, I had thought this to have been a blessing to my people!"
A solemn expression crossed Gildarts' face, "He doesn't understand our language only a few small words. I think he may be from across the ocean."
The aged eyes of the village leader widened, "That is... That is quite the trip for one so young. If need be, we can offer you two a roof for the night, tomorrow is meant to be cooler."
Gildarts gave a small shake of his head, "It might be best if we were on our way, it is quite a trip back home."
Naruto looked down at the ground before tugging on Gildarts' cloak as he rubbed his stomach, "Guldartz fude?"
The village leader gave a slight chuckle at the scene, "Is the young lad hungry?"
"I believe so, I think he understands what food is and my name, his accent is rather strange though," Gildarts reasoned, "Do you have any stores here?"
A faint nod came from the leader as he pointed to a stone building that had red cloth hung up in front for shade, "That store sells doner kebab and shawarma, they are very very good," The chief rubbed his slight belly and laughed, "My wife is not pleased that I visit so often," He continued to laugh before a small crunch was heard, he leaned forward with wide eyes, "Argk, getting old is not fun."
Naruto walked forward with a curious glance before fishing something out from his torn robes, a strange pendent hanging from a silver chain. He gripped it in his left hand and closed his eyes while holding his right out to the man, a small chant leaving his lips as he begun to glow a bright gold. Wisps of energy left his outstretched hand and flew to the elderly man's back, "Vezuta?"
The village chief looked at the boy in shock as he slowly stood back up, stretching his back out before a wide smile ran across his face, "You fixed my back?" A laugh came from his chest as the boy stopped chanting and showed a confused look, "So you understand the body but not our words eh?" With that in mind he crouched down slightly and gave a wide smile and a thumbs up to the boy, watching as the child gave a wide smile back.
Gildarts though watched the scene with critical eyes, magic that could heal people was incredibly rare, on top of that, it was normally incredibly difficult to use. It requires a lot of knowledge on the human body and very fine control over your ethernano otherwise you could very well damage the person you are trying to heal. Yet here he was, watching a young child heal someone with no problem at all. His eyes narrowed slightly, Naruto had larger reserves than normal for someone his age, though it was not something that was worth ringing alarm bells for, he could come from a long family of wizards after all. No, what caught Gildarts the most was those eyes of his, there was no childlike glimmer, no innocence inside of them.
He lightly clapped Naruto on the shoulder and nodded towards the red cloth, "You want food Naruto?"
Naruto nodded and rubbed his stomach, "Fude, fude."
Gildarts gave a small smile to the chief as he lead Naruto to get food, the chief saying that he would get the reward and bring it over to him. The older mage quickly placed an order for two lightly spiced lamb kebabs. The chief came up with their reward and made an order for himself, the three came out at the same time and the chief picked his up before making a shushing action with his hands and walking away with a small chuckle. Gildarts smiled at the action, watching Naruto from the corner of his eye, he met the gaze of the blonde for a split moment before the blue turned to look back at the chief as a smile slowly spread across his face.
It was unnerving. Naruto was not smiling because the man was laughing, Naruto was smiling because he was. Though he was judging the reactions very quickly and adapting to the situations around him. He was smart, incredibly so. He handed Naruto's kebab to him and watched as he looked at in interest.
Gildarts unwrapped his and made an example of how to eat it, watching the blonde mimic it perfectly a second later. The Ace of Fairy Tail pondered his next move very carefully, he needed more information on this little blonde mage, "Perhaps the grand library?" He eyed Naruto from the corner of his vision, "They even have books on Zeref there."
Naruto shifted his gaze to Gildarts, "Zeref ze la putra gusta felek."
The glare that Gildarts was receiving seemed to be a good lead, along with the way that the child spat the name Zeref. Naruto at the very least knew of the black mage. Gildarts pursed his lips slightly before offering a defensive wave of his hands, "Let's go to the Grand library, we might be able to find something to help break this barrier."
Gildarts filled up their water supply and waved for Naruto to follow, with the reward in hand and food in their bellies the two started their march through the sandy wasteland.
By the time night started to fall the two could see trees coming into view, they grew thankful for the fact. Even though it would only be a slight increase, being around trees and grass would make the chilly night air warmer than if they were to sit it out in the desert. Gildarts had been able to catch a deer and skinned it, now roasting it over a flame. He could feel the watchful gaze of Naruto on him for the entire day and even now it did not relent.
Almost as if he was prey being watched by an ever alert falcon, "You don't talk much do you?" His question was received with a flat stare causing him to laugh sheepishly, he placed his hands up in defence, "Sorry, sorry. It is just strange travelling with someone and not talking."
Gildarts watched as the blonde shifted his gaze from him back to the ground, he picked up a nearby stick and it looked almost as if he was drawing something. After a few moments Gildarts stole a glance, he saw a building of sorts coming to form. He pursed his lips in thought, he could not recall anything that matched its architecture. Shrugging off his rucksack he pulled out a book and some pens and pencils, he handed them over to the child, watching as confusion briefly came across his face.
Thinking on his feet Gildarts pointed to the forming building, then to Naruto before making a pillow with his hands and pretending to sleep. His black eyes watched the blue gems of the child, confusion slowly gave way to weariness, "Guta grul vez," Naruto spoke before giving a small awkward thumbs up along with a nod.
If his theory was right and Naruto understood him, the blonde was sketching out his home. Gildarts returned to dinner, he shifted the embers of the fire and the heat increased along with a crackle, "Fued?" Gildarts put his hand out in a wait motion before giving a small nod to the blonde's question, "Guztura Vel."
Like that the calm sound of the fire and strokes of a pencil filled the air, a few minutes passed and Gildarts brought over deer on a stick for the blonde, he gave it a curious look before bowing his head lightly and enjoying the meal. Gildarts in the meantime looked at what the blonde had been drawing and let his eyes widen in shock once more. The building was so clear now, faint cracks lining the corners. It appears that the blonde was not done yet, there was a faint outline of a person and what seemed to be a bucket by the crack.
A thought ran through the mind of Gildarts, the blonde was drawing a scene, not a mere picture of his home, but a moment that he was capturing against time. He looked to the blonde who seemed to be entranced by the deer he was eating. The child had really sharp eyes and what appeared to be a strong memory.
Perhaps once all of this was done, he could speak to the child, maybe he would be able to try and understand how this young boy saw the world, was it different from his height? Was blue still blue?
Naruto finished his deer and returned to his drawing while Gildarts watched, the calm intensity that was running through the child. Gildarts turned to his own meal before turning in for the night. As a light sleeper and with spreading his senses out wide, he would wake up if anything came near them.
With that, his lids slowly fell, taking in the scene of the child drawing by the fire's light, a faint smile crossing his face, despite all the strangeness around Naruto, it was hard to see him as anything other than a child in this moment, "Goodnight Gaki."
Naruto looked up at the man he had been travelling with, he could run, try to escape and figure out what was happening by himself. The thought had been alongside his breathing since he had first seen this strange man. Though there was also a faint whisper, though he could not understand the words this monkey-like man said, he could feel that this 'Gildarts' was trying his best to help him.
He took the chain out from his torn robes, hanging from the end of it was a crescent moon, one side had strange symbols etched into it, when Naruto flipped it over, the moon turned into a sun. He spun it around in his fingers for a moment, fumbling the object that his parents had put on him earlier that day.
(Sun I go.)
(Moon I stay.)
A way home, he needed to find a way home, rolling the pendent around to his thumb he looked at it for a moment before tossing it lightly up into the air a crack rang through the air and Naruto watched in horror as his pendent was destroyed by something that moved faster than an arrow. He rolled backwards and spared a glance to the neanderthal that had been showing him around, 'Figures you would have slept through such a thing' With a quick flick of his wrist he sent the pencil he had been using through the air and into the man's arm.
Gildarts jolted awake, eyes wide in shock, he snapped his gaze to Naruto, his arm still outstretched and eyes narrow. He followed the blonde's gaze and saw a bullet hole in the tree just to his right, "What the hell?" He looked at Naruto and saw the silver chain from earlier on the ground, whatever it was holding onto now fragmented. Stretching his senses to their limit Gildarts could feel the direction that they were in.
He looked over to Naruto and watched as the blonde stood up, he tilted his head to the side as another bullet flew past where it had been before lifting his hand and letting out a large blast of blinding light in the direction it came from.
Gildarts was forced to shield his eyes at the sudden bright light, he heard screaming a moment latter before two bodies were dropped down from the sky in front of him. Not high enough to kill them, but high enough to break their legs. He rubbed at his eyes trying to speed up how they would adjust. When they did he found two scraggly looking men, no, he had seen them in the village earlier, "What the hell is going o-" His words died in his throat as he looked up at the blonde child he had been with all day.
The long white wings which Gildarts had thought may have been part of a spell were stretched out behind him. Long elegant flaps kept the child afloat as metal dropped from his hand to the ground, Gildarts could make out the shape of rifle parts, though they had been distorted by a vice-like grip.
Naruto lifted his hand out to the side, his body remaining motionless, kept in such a state by his slow flapping wings. In his right hand a burst of light appeared and took the shape of a spear, with a flick of his wrist he sent it down to the ground, not far from the two that had shot at him but not too close their. An explosion shook the ground as Naruto slowly descended, a glare firmly in place, "Grezehlik Furuke Kur."
The thugly men scampered together in shook as Naruto slowly approached them, another spear made out of light forming in his hand. Gildarts quickly moved forward, standing between the two groups and watching as Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously on him, "You two idiots should get out of here or the kid will curse you and all those in your family line."
They quickly nodded their heads and ran as fast as they could away, Naruto's eyes linger on their retreating forms before he clenched the spear tightly causing it to vanish in a small flicker, "Gruzhek," Naruto started evenly before taking off into the sky.
Gildarts watched him fly away and gave a tired sigh, rubbing at the nape of his neck, "Yeah... Gruzhek to you too Naruto..." It didn't sit right with him leaving a child alone in the woods. Then again, he had seen that this child was not like others his age, he rubbed at the wound he got from the blonde in order to wake him up, just deep enough to inflict enough pain to instantly wake him up, still shallow enough that it would heal very quickly. Considering the boy had distorted steel so quickly, he figured Naruto could throw a pencil much harder than he had.
With heavy steps he walked up to the shinning silver chain, he bent down with a small grunt and took his rucksack from his shoulders, rummaging through it for a moment Gildarts pulled out a small container and quickly put all the broken pieces inside along with the chain. Closing the container he put it back into his rucksack before kicking some dirt onto the fire, he didn't really feel like sleeping now anyway, lips pursed into a thin line he glanced around before finding the paper Naruto had been using earlier. He picked it up and rolled it into a small tube before continuing on his trip to the Grand Library. He didn't know what would happen to the kid, but he should at least be able to understand him next time they meet.
Letting out a tired sigh he pulled out a viewing lacrima, and connected to the guild hall, he was a fair distance away so it would be earlier there, not only that but the master seemed to live there. There was a small crackle as it adjusted and got rid of the static showing the rose tinted cheeks of a short man, wrinkles already married to his face as hair had become something of nostalgia, the two stared at one another for a few moments, "...I'm not sending you more money Gildarts..."
Gildarts chuckled sheepishly at the accusation of his master, "N-no, I don't need money Jiji," The crash mage got out a little quicker than his normal pacing.
Makarov, the master of Fairy Tail narrowed his eyes at the man, seemingly former drunken state gone for now, "What do you need Gildarts? I thought this would be an easy mission for you?"
"It was... There was a problem though, turns out I may have picked up a tag along...A kid..."
A brow was risen on the guild master, "Fairy Tail can offer them a roof if they need it, heavens knows that the child may be suffering right now."
"Yes, and there lays the problem... He doesn't understand me," Gildarts watched as his words caused Makarov to widen his eyes.
Sighing to himself the master rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Normally the parents at least teach them to speak before... well..."
Gildarts nodded a few times, "Well he can speak, just not our language. Also he is sharp, he might not know what we are saying, but going off of the reactions of those around him he is able to seemingly fit in without a problem..." Gildarts gave a level gaze to Makarov, "Can you get me access to the Grand Library, maybe I will be able to find out where he is from in all those books?"
"T-that is a big ask..." Makarov rubbed at his forehead tiredly before giving a small nod, "I will pull some strings, so just you?"
Gildarts pursed his lips in thought, "I think he is angry with me at the moment, but he might follow me... Blonde haired young boy with blue eyes called Naruto... I think..."
"What did you do to make him angry with you ya idiot?!"
The line went quiet for a few moments, "I think I stopped him from killing some bandits that took a shot at us... Actually, Makarov, does the term 'Zel grupa' mean anything to you? He said that the first time he saw me..."
"It means 'Where am I?' When he speaks does it sound like he is using lots of 'G' and 'Z' sounds?" Makarov pressed. Gildarts gave a small nod, his expression oddly serious despite his regular demeanour, "Bring him back to the guild, if you can. I have enough tomes here to be able to translate... Gildarts... Is there anything off about this child?"
"Apart from the fact that he came out of a portal after a bunch of animals sacrificed themselves to it?" Gildarts offered, "He can heal and use offensive magic... Oh, he has wings kinda like an angel. They sort of just appear, but they don't feel like magic, more like they increase what he already has."
"Deva?" Makarov questioned, more to himself than anyone else. Though Gildarts heard the sound of wings behind him and turned to see Naruto coming down to the ground, his eyes locked onto the orb in Gildarts' hands, "Naruto I presume?"
"Devavi guztra vuzeppa?" The blonde child questioned.
Makarov leaned back a little in surprise, "Ah... um, Vel zuppra gu rel?"
Naruto through his hands up in the air before walking forward a little, "Vezetta gurppa gul vezklar vu ra?"
A faint laugh came from Makarov as he shook his head from side to side, "Gildarts zel vupra nu ra geztua voz... Doka?"
The large wings of Naruto gave another strong flap before furling into his back once more, "...Doka, doka duka voz," With that Naruto walked back towards the fire and grabbed two rocks, much like Gildarts had earlier and struck them a few times before creating a spark. He grumbled a little before clapping his hands together and starting a small fire.
Gildarts looked back at Makarov, "Okay... What did you say to him?"
The elderly man rubbed the bridge of his nose again, "That you would be able to bring him back to me, also that he should avoid killing anyone for the moment... He said that he understood and would leave things to and I quote 'the man soaked in woman's nectar'. That is if my Devaian is right."
The orange-haired mage gave a small laugh, "Well I guess that is a nice way of putting it?" He spared a glance to the blonde, "So... he speaks Devaian? I've never heard of that before..."
"I'll explain more in person. Don't know who could be listening out here," Makarov let out a small sigh, "Hurry back Gildarts."
"Yeah, we will be there soon Jiji," With that Gildarts put the communication Lacrima away. His gaze turned to Naruto and he sat down near the blonde, who looked towards him. Gildarts slapped his legs and quickly stood up, jolting his head to the right, "Let's get moving."
Move they did. By morning they had reached the next town, thankful that it was connected by the railroad to Magnolia, though the trip would take them to the end of the day. Gildarts did his best miming to try and get this point across to the blonde, that they should use this time to rest up a touch before they reach Fairy Tail.
He had hoped that his message got across. Though looking at the gaze that Naruto had sent the train it seemed as though the young child had never seen one before, much less trusted it.
They reached their compartment and Gildarts got them some food before locking it tight. He turned his gaze towards Naruto, "So... A Deva?"
Naruto looked at him for a few moments before Gildarts repeated what he said and pointed at the young child. Naruto gave a small nod before grabbing some paper and drawing wings and a single strike on the page, "Wing one? Maybe winged one..."
Naruto made a shrugging motion, showing that Gildarts might be right but he couldn't understand. The two lulled into a sense of quietness as they ate and in the blonde's case drew.
They stayed like that for the majority of the time, only having a small bathroom break halfway through the trip. The sun had just started to hide behind the horizon when they finally stepped off the train, both males standing up and cracking their bodies into place before Gildarts gathered their things and started to walk through the town, alarm bells ringing as the buildings moved to form a straight path to a building.
Gildarts gave a small chuckle at the confusion that briefly passed through the gaze of Naruto, said confusion gave way to a small glare being sent at the older man for his laughter. Gildarts though just pointed towards the building in front of them before walking ahead, a moment later he head the faint sound of Naruto's steps behind him. The elder mage hoped that the boy fit in with everyone, well to do that he would need to be able to talk to the others.
"Vezeta Gul beztera," Naruto yawned out.
Well in a language that others could understand at least. Gildarts ran a hand through his hair and let out a tired sigh as he lightly pushed the large doors of the guild open. The rustic smell of beer and tobacco filling his nose, "Smells like home," He gave a light chuckle before waving at those that greeted him. He peered over his shoulder and was about to motion that they enter only to see that Naruto wasn't there.
(You're short... Why are you so short?) The strange language he had gotten used to hearing came from the bar where a floating Naruto was looking at Makarov in confusion, seemingly stupefied by the height of the man if his gestures were anything to go by. That along with the growing irritation of the master.
Makarov gave a small grumble, (Is my height really what you want to ask me about Naruto?)
The blonde gave pause as his wings flapped lightly, keeping him hovering in the air, he leaned forward, his irises flaring as bright blue lines ran through them showing a strange runic symbol, (How does a gnome know Devaian?)
(I am not a gnome...) Makarov got out a little snappily.
(Your height is not the only thing that is short.)
A heavy breath left Makarov. With strained movements Makarov pushed a small book forward, (Take this, but we shouldn't have you read it here.)
Naruto took the book and looked over it a few times before vaguely paying attention as he followed Makarov into the back room, (Is the neanderthal coming with us?)
(No. Not for the moment,) Makarov turned to look at Gildarts who had started moving towards them, "Can you give us some time?" He got a small nod from the man and continued forward with Naruto right on his tail. Makarov tightly closed the door behind him, (Go ahead Naruto, you should be safe to read it now.)
The blonde looked at the binding on the book, he ran his index finger down vertically before touching each corner of the book. The leather binding flipping open and the pages turning by themselves, going past the title and the contents to the first page.
(I write this as our final days approach, we can feel it on the horizon, the skies have become bathed in blood,) Naruto read aloud, his eyes narrowed on the page, (The Deva race has met its match, now abandoned by those we worshipped we seek to make our own Angelus. We have called him 'Naruto' in the tongue of the servers it means 'Maelstrom'. He shall be our saviour.)
Naruto gripped the book a little tighter, (The project is going as planned, though it appears that we need more magnus and priestesses connected to 'Naruto' or he won't wake.)
Makarov was quiet, watching how Naruto was taking this new information. He had read over it briefly before the child's arrival, but now he was worried for how he would take it, (You can have a break you know?)
There was a moment of pause before Naruto continued, it seemed as though he didn't hear Makarov, at least that made the Master of Fairy Tail feel a little better rather than consider the fact that he was being ignored by a child, (Our bright Maelstrom has been connected to the moon gate. My wife and I gave him the pendent that will allow travel through the gate. Now we just need to draw the demons towards him... We pray for your safety Naruto.)
The pages flipped through quickly on their own, Naruto's fast eyes able to pick out some of the messy scrawls, he was being cursed at, his eyes turned down a little as he avoided the rest of the words before the pages stopped, (That damned brat! He just left, in the middle of the plan he left! Most of the demons were sealed inside of 'Heaven's Gate'. Though it wasn't enough, most of our magnus fell to the demons, now as the last of my life seeps from me, as this building burns to the ground around me, I curse you, I curse you Naruto you left us all to die!)
Naruto closed the book and looked at Makarov, (I remember fires, people screaming... My mother said that they didn't deserve to be saved... She said that she would send me away so that they wouldn't use me. So that they could atone for what they had done.)
A deep sigh came from Makarov's mouth, (It sounds like a heavy weight was put on your shoulders. For one so young to be a saviour...)
(I did not feel the weight. My mother was kind, during my lessons and my training she held my hand...How long have you had this book?)
Makarov looked down as Naruto slowly turned his eyes towards him, (The first master of this guild found that book in a series of old ruins when she was delving deeper into the origins of magic. Her search stopped after she discovered what the Deva were doing.)
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, (You seek to judge me then? You wish to-) He was cut off as Makarov wrapped his arms around him, (L-let go, let me go you gnome!)
Makarov did not say a word, he just held the child tightly as Naruto slowly stopped fighting against him, (I... I don't know what to do...I have nothing...) Gentle sobs started to slip from the blonde as he slid to the floor, the book in his hands dropped and forgotten, (I want my mum!)
The master tightened his grip a little further holding the child as close as possible, (W-we can not replace your mother... But perhaps we can give you a family again if you will let us Naruto?) Makarov leaned back, tears falling from his eyes as snot ran from his nose.
Naruto leaned back and rubbed at his eyes, (I don't really have a choice, plus I think you'll crush me if I say no,) Naruto stated calmly, he felt Makarov tighten his grip a little more and laughed, (Fine fine! I'll join this guild thing just stop that tickles!)
Makarov nodded his head and let go of Naruto. He leaned back and grabbed another book from nearby, (I found this, it should have you to roughly get a grasp on the language everyone uses... I mean you want to be able to call Gildarts a neanderthal and have him understand right?)
Small hands reached out and grabbed the book, he flipped it open and looked through the book quickly, his eyes lighting up again, "Z-Tan-Thank you?"
Aged eyes widened in shock, "You are a very fast learner aren't you?"
Naruto quickly flicked through the book again, "Only know little amount. Will take full week complete translation."
"Even still," Makarov gave a slight shake of his head, "Either way, let's show you to the others, it would be good to introduce yourself."
A light nod came from Naruto as Makarov unlocked the door and they walked back through, Gildarts had already taken to sitting at the bar while a few of the other mages had come up to him to chat. Makarov quickly ducked behind the bar and pulled out a stamp, "I need to press this against you, it will mark you as one of us... Where do you want it and in what colour?"
The sound of pages turning filled the ears of those around them before Naruto parted his cloak and lifted up his torn robes showing his right up, he pointed to the bicep, "Here, red, mother, red hair."
Makarov gave a short nod before giving the young boy his mark, Naruto eyed it for a few moments before giving a faint smile, "Thank you."
"No problem, now I heard that you are a pretty strong mage, do you think you can show me some of your moves?" Makarov put his fists up and made a small boxing motion.
Naruto flicked his hand out to the side, "Gather," he called, his eyes widening slightly as light started to pour into his hand, "Server language, able use chant..." He fiddled his fingers for a few moments before nodding, "Not here, don't think could fight well in such small place."
"Hold up, I have been travelling with you for nearly two days now and not a word came from you that I could understand. You spend a few minutes with the master and are able to speak pretty darn well!" Gildarts nearly yelled.
The book in Naruto's hand was raised slightly, "Language similar to sever language. Know most Devaian to Sever, translation easier than appeared, Neanderthal never explained."
"Okay why the hell are you calling me a Neanderthal?"
"Grunt, point often," Naruto gave a small shrug before turning to face the master, "Gnome, we go?"
Makarov gave a small grumble before leading Naruto into the back of the guild, the training ground that they had prepared to teach the younger mages of the guild. The master quickly moved over to one side and grew a little in height, "Give me your best."
Golden streams of energy started to flow from the ground into Naruto's body, "I shall," He tucked the book away into his torn robes and held his right hand out, "Gather," A spear of light forming between his fingers which he deftly twirled before spreading his wings wide. He quickly stepped through before pushing off the ground with his back leg, this allowed him to gain speed much faster than if he had just done a standing take off.
Makarov widened his eyes a little, the boy was fast, of course he had faster mages, but they were also much, much more experienced than the one in front of him. The master took a step back, channelling his energy to his hand and creating a small defensive barrier around his hand which he used to guide the rushing spear from his chest. He was quite surprised to feel the weight of the spear vanish so much so that hear nearly stumbled forward.
He did not find a chance for reprieve though as a wave of golden energy was sent at him from the resulting motion of the spin kick that his newest mage had used. He blocked the wave of energy by flaring his own magical power, though this just earned him narrow eyes from Naruto who backed up for a moment, "Angelus magic, not effective on humans..." The young blonde landed on the ground he clenched his fists tightly and let out a primal roar as his energy soared.
The trees around them bending towards Naruto as large chunks of earth hovered into the air and floated around him. A golden form clawed its way from the ground and draped itself over Naruto, silver armour clamping down tightly around his body, another two sets of wings set into place alongside his pair, the six flapped in tandem causing a screen of dust to flare up. Makarov narrowed his eyes catching the runic symbols that would sometimes light up in Naruto's eyes locked onto his form, "Guardian... Guardian unstable, push limits."
The dust fell and Makarov saw metal fuse itself to the ridge of Naruto's wings, his aged lips pursing in thought, "Come, show me what you can do."
A thundering drum was heard as the young children saw Naruto vanish and appear again in front of the master. The master had blocked his attack again but they could see that he was straining himself a little while Naruto hovered in the air, continuing to push, rock still hovering into the air around him, though they also took notice of how the ground around the two had dropped significantly.
Makarov increased his size, now standing at the same height as two Gildarts standing atop one another. He gripped Naruto's fist though the blonde didn't seem bothered at all. He wrapped his legs around the arm and bent his body back, his wings moving with him as he gave a few very quick flaps before flipping them both over, "Gnome changes height, weary."
A loud laugh came from Makarov as he lifted them both up from the ground, "Haha, you're really strong for your size chibi."
"Feel insulted," Naruto deadpanned before narrowing his eyes, his power fluctuating, "Can fly Gnome?"
Makarov widened his eyes as he felt his body continue upwards, peering down he saw that he was leaving the ground far below him. He pushed his body more and continued to grow in size, watching as the blonde slowed. Still a drop from this height would do quite a substantial amount of damage to both himself and the guild below him. Thus he increased his size again, now nearly fifty times his normal height and mass. Makarov smirked as he felt Naruto slowly start to be pulled down to the ground, "Chop arm off..." Naruto muttered, a sword made out of light appearing in his free arm as he started moving it towards the one Makarov was holding.
"Hey, that is enough, just take us to the ground. I will just increase my size again and again before we hit the ground allowing the fall to do nothing. You will only hurt yourself!" Makarov stared at the blonde, watching as his eyes lingered on him for a few moments, "Here, I'll make myself lighter for you," Makarov quickly reduced his size and weight, the two simply hovering there in the air.
Naruto though looked towards the setting sun, "The sky burns."
"That is called a 'sunset' it is where the sun drop behind the horizon and the moon takes to the sky. Have you never seen one before?"
Naruto shook his head, "Only see burning sky, day, night, always burning sky."
A deep sigh came from the ageing master, "Why did you stop drawing on that power of yours?"
"Without pendent, chance losing control," Naruto replied calmly, "Risk town destruction. Pendent destroyed, Gildarts stopped revenge," Naruto slowly lowered the two down to the ground, it only took a moment before his wings stopped, their pristine white hovering ever so close before vanishing and dropping the two the final step.
Naruto gave his arm a light shake and Makarov let go with a chuckle before dusting himself off, "I am pretty sure we can stop a rampage or two," His words caused Naruto to frown, "What did I say something wrong? I mean you don't actually want to destroy this town right?"
"Deva were arrogant as well. Made me because arrogance," Naruto looked at his hands, "... Without my pendent, without that, I am no use. A weapon that is dull."
Makarov stretched his hand out and slapped the back of Naruto's head. The blonde stumbled forward in surprise before glaring at the small master. Makarov though just chuckled, "Forget about that... Fairy Tail is a place of new beginnings."
The young blonde seemed to throw those words around in his head a few times. Though they too got jumbled as he found himself flush against the scruffy cheek of Gildarts, the two of them looking at the master together, "So what did I tell you? He is pretty strong right?!" A belly laugh came from the elder mage, "I got a pretty good eye don't I?"
"You literally the first human met," Naruto rebuked.
Makarov though just laughed them both off with a small wave, "Naruto is indeed strong, though he needs to refine that strength, his skills are a little rusty... He can quickly adapt to the situation at hand though. For now why don't you try talking to some of the other kids here Naruto? I need to speak to Gildarts for a few moments."
Naruto looked towards the children in question, a short boy and girl, with black and brown hair respectively. They seemed to be in shock of what he had done. Naruto looked at them for another moment before spreading his wings and taking to the sky, "I going bed," With that he took off into the forest surrounding the town.
Gildarts tapped his chin a few times, "A child that doesn't like children?"
"More like he doesn't know what to do around them... From what I understand, he has never spoken to another child. That is something we can talk about at another time... Naruto mentioned a pendent?" Pressed Makarov lightly.
At the mention of the object Gildarts took out the small container he had and presented it to Makarov, "I got it all, though I don't know of anyone who could fix this..."
Makarov took the container into his hand and opened it, staring at the material inside, he saw the pieces very, very slowly move towards one another, "It seems as though it is slowly repairing itself," he closed the lid gently and held it by his side, "I will keep this safe until it is done."
"Uh, should we tell Naruto we have it, I mean he seemed to get really worked up when it was broken?"
To answer Gildarts' question Makarov gave a slight shake of his head, "No, not for the moment. It will be our little surprise to him."
A small distance away from the two older mages were two much younger ones, "Cana... are we weak?" The male questioned, his childish face scrunched up in thought. He had just seen someone who did not appear to be all that much older than them fight at a level much, much higher than they were capable of.
Cana frowned as she reached down and picked up her puppy, "I don't think so? He is different from us... Plus he was speaking a strange language earlier, mage he is from across the ocean? Also your clothes Gray..." She deadpanned. It was something she had gotten used to the past couple of days, but still, how could someone get into a habit of just randomly stripping. She stiffened though as Gildarts started walking towards them.
Not far from the two he dropped down into a crouch, "Sorry about that, Naruto is just a little shy is all. If you give him some time I am sure he will open up to you guys."
The two young ones slowly nodded, "Uh, does he already have a house here?" Gray questioned which caused Gildarts to go blank.
He quickly turned on his feet before storming away, "That little shit, he is just going to go crash in the woods!"
A red-haired child pushed open the large doors in front of her, her lone undamaged eye widened a little as she saw people running about. Pushing her thoughts down she stormed up to the counter and looked at the man sitting on the counter, "Are you Master Makarov of Fairy Tail?"
Makarov creaked open an eye and took in the girl in front of him, his guild seemed to be gathering children in rags today. "I am."
"Rob-san said that if I was ever lost and didn't know where to go I should just follow my steps," The girl looked down at her feet, "I ended up here."
Aged eyes were wide at the mention of Rob, he had been missing for years now, "D-did this Rob come with you?" He frowned as the girl didn't look up and answer, "What is your name child?"
"E-Erza, Scarlet Erza," She looked up briefly and touched at her eyes before giving a stony face, "I... I am sorry that I could not help Rob-san."
Makarov shook his head from side to side, "I am sure you tried your best. Now, young Erza-chan, let us get someone to have a look at that eye of yours. I happen to know a pretty good doctor," Makarov dropped down from the counter and extended his hand out to Erza, "Come on, I am sure that you would be much more beautiful without those bandages."
Erza nervously reached out and took his hand causing the gnome of a master to smile. The two separated shortly after that before walking through town together, nearly half an hour later they appeared at a house built into a tree. The lights were on and a small amount of smoke drifting from the chimney, "Oh she might already have a kettle on for us," Makarov remarked as they continued to approach, he knocked lightly on the door and heard a faint grumble.
"I am not someone you can just drop by uninvited for!" The door flung open and another aged face appeared, long pink hair pinned back by a golden bone, slender figure cloaked by red cloth with bone tips, "Oh it's the gnome."
"It is nice to see you as well Porlyusica, I have a request, now I normally don't ask you for favours, you made it pretty clear... But I want you to take a look at this child's eye. It would be a shame for her to go through life without it," He tried to appear to her humanity.
The narrowed eyes of Porlyusica softened a fraction, "Whatever, get in get in, you would just barge in anyway," She stormed back into her house causing Makarov to chuckle while Erza looked at him in confusion. The confusion turned quickly to shock though as she was gently pulled inside.
As they made it to the main serving room Makarov felt his jaw drop as he lifted a finger to point at the person on the couch, "Oh it's the gnome."
"N-Naruto?! Why are you here?!" Makarov shouted out in shock.
He quickly found himself slapped across the back of his head though, "If I've told you once I've told you a hundred times, no yelling in my house! Or are your ears going bad with your age?!"
"Wood Witch, you are yelling as well," Naruto pointed out as he sipped at the tea in front of him, "You humans don't make much sense..."
"How disrespectful can you lot be?!"
Naruto gave a blank look to Porlyusica, "You live in woods and are witch right?"
The pink-haired woman gave a tired sigh and looked away from the blonde before narrowing her gaze on Erza, "Now girl, take the bandage off, I can't do anything if I can't see what I am working with!"
Erza nervously lifted her hand up to the bandages around her eye, sparing a glance at Naruto, "It might be bad for you to look at..."
Naruto though rose his brows at the girl, "You do not worry that. I seen worse than can dream little chi;d."
The two paused at that, "I find that doubtful..." Erza muttered before inwardly pushing it down, she had tried to warn him. She undid the bandages and watched as the boy didn't flinch at all.
"Oh... festering. Did not clean properly?" Naruto put his tea down and walked forward, "Removal method... brutish, brutish, effective, have been large pain... One young you, did squeal, tell them everything?" He gave a small shake of his head, "No, abnormal amount bruising around eye... Must have done best to keep everything inside... applaud. Hope that Woods Witch can help... I can not heal anything if nothing to heal..."
Porlyusica rose a brow at his words, "You seem to have an understanding of medicine young one."
"Something that mother teach, ability to heal, sort through lots wounds," Naruto gave his hand a small wave as it crackled with golden energy before fading, "Without pendent guess would not be able heal anyway... Control lacking without..." Naruto pursed his lips slightly before walking back to his tea, "Not business though, they here for Woods Witch."
Porlyusica gave a faint smile, "Understanding that it is better not to attempt to heal her when you have doubts in your abilities, is good," She carefully examined Erza, "The infection and the scaring will be a problem..." She turned her gaze to Naruto, "You could fix that if you had your pendent?" She received a faint nod from the boy as he continued to sip at his tea, "Do you know where it is?"
"Gildarts has broken one, could repair the damage a few minutes, take me minutes maybe completely heal damage done on socket? Had make new pendent though... Would take week create, along with time required gather the materials..." Naruto brought a finger up to his chin in thought, "Would need the blood of dragon, feather of angel, wood from ageless tree, demon sweat, hair twenty different humans... Or eight hundred human sacrifices, both contain same amount energy that needed for one pendent."
"Sounds like you would be in a tough spot if that brat Gildarts did not have it," Porlyusica reasoned with a small hum.
Naruto gave a shoulder shrug, "Not really, Gnome has it now, I always able find my pendent because it bound to me," He spared a glance to Erza and saw her glaring at him with her one good eye, "You against sacrifices?"
Makarov put a hand on his shoulder, "That kind of thing is classed as Black Magic now Naruto, its practise done away with by law."
The blonde rose his brow a little, "Necromancy, Blood Magic, Valqurez and Curse are all 'Black magic' then?" Naruto tilted his head from side to side as Makarov gave him a firm nod, "Well Deva race would all be Dark Mages right?" Makarov choked on that before looking at Naruto's outstretched hand, "Mother made that pendent. May I have it back?"
Makarov took the container out of his jacket and handed it to Naruto, the blonde quickly opening it, he lifted his hand up and the golden energy crackled again before the pendent started to rise and quickly zipped back together, "I thought you said it would take a few minutes?" Erza pressed in slight confusion.
"Fixed appearance only. Mending runic symbols that deeply intertwined fibres the pendent what take time," Naruto narrowed his brows on the pendent, "Also focus."
The others seemed to get the message and quietly sat down as Porlyusica prepared some fresh bandages for Erza, "Now, can you let me have a good look at your eye child, I may be able to make another, though it will be no easy task."
Erza nodded and let the strange woman look intently at her before she started making some notes, this continued on until they heard a heavy sigh come from where Naruto was, "Fixing completely take years, I did not think would be this bad... Sorry misjudged how much damage it taken," He gave a light chuckle as he tried to play it off, "Good news that I fix healing aspect of pendent."
The others seemed dubious so Naruto quickly pulled out a scalpel from nearby and cut deep into his arm causing them to quickly rush towards him, only to watch as a fine golden powder formed from his other hand, which was holding the pendent, and rushed to the wound, closing it up in moments, "See I heal fine, it just going take little more energy normally would. That course if she willing let me fix her?"
Erza looked between everyone in the room, a small frown on her face before it slowly relaxed, "If you can help... I will not turn it away."
Naruto rolled his neck around before tightly taking hold of his pendent, "Ash drawn up from the earth, twirl and dance, flicker and crackle, once dead, now breath back onto life," Golden particles drifted up from the ground and swirled around Naruto before moving over to Erza and quickly wrapping around the right side of her face, she gave a light hiss and went to rub at it, "I would not touch... Magic use energy of earth, without training in Deva form magic... or 'Black Magic' you would call... Well energy incredibly volatile, it might kill you if try to get in its way."
The two adults narrowed their eyes while Erza gulped, Naruto though gave a small chuckle, "Was not taught at your academy?"
"Academy?" Makarov mimicked.
Naruto though rose his brow in confusion, "Do you not have schools that teach children about magic?"
"No... The idea was thought of, though because only around ten percent of people can use magic it was thought not to be important," Makarov stroked his chin a few times in thought, "The Deva did?"
The blonde nodded slowly, "Mother was Head Mistress of academy where I born," Naruto tilted his head lightly to the side, "Not that matters now... But when end was coming students gave lives one after other, poured magic, knowledge into me... I Naruto from Uzumaki Academy of Advanced Mechanical Magic. At least is what name roughly translates to."
Makarov gave a light hum, "Advanced Mechanical Magic... That name is quite broad... What was the primary focus of study there?"
Naruto let his smile stretch wide and give off a warm and cold feeling at the same time, "Creation of life."
The two adults stumbled back a little as the gold energy stopped swirling around Erza, "All done. Are going want keep very clean, risk of infection large," Naruto helped to wrap Erza's bandages before looking at the adults and seeing the shock on their faces, "You piece together now did you?"
"T-thats..." Makarov stuttered out before falling to the seat across from Naruto, "That's too cruel..." Porlyusica looked at the blonde with narrow eyes, "H...How?" Makarov thought back to what the blonde had read out to him before from the book, his throat running dry, Naruto had said he was a weapon.
He had been made for the soul purpose of fighting the demons, though his 'mother' the headmistress had taken 'Naruto' the collective of her students experiences and sent them away so that they wouldn't need to fight. Makarov swallowed drily, "H-how many?" He did not want to be specific, if Erza were to find something out like this it could scar the young child.
"Four thousand," A cold chill ran down the spines of the adults, a yawn left the lips of Naruto, "I tired... I heard I be able start taking jobs at Guild... I use these jobs for money? Money that allow me acquire a place my own?"
Makarov slowly nodded, "You can, though you may need a guide for the first few. Fiore is a little different to where you are from after all Naruto-kun."
Erza looked between the two before seeing the mark on the blonde's shoulder, "That is the mark that was on the building earlier isn't it?"
"Oh? You are not mage Fairy Tail?" Naruto turned his gaze towards Makarov, "Was wrong that healed her? No you brought her to be healed... Never mind. I think Woods Witch wants both leave now," Porlyusica nodded her head in agreement with Naruto's words.
Sighing to himself Makarov put a hand on Erza's shoulder, "It must have been pretty tiring for Naruto to heal you like that... We should let him rest," Makarov sent a gaze to Naruto who gave him a somewhat aloof look in return, "Thank you for your help Naruto, though it was unexpected, I will make sure you receive some kind of payment for this."
"The return of pendent is enough," Naruto stated calmly as he closed his eyes.
"Good, now get out, get out! You humans are always so dirty!" Porlyusica seemed to have finally cracked and started to chase them out of her home with a broom. Makarov quickly picked up Erza and carried her far away from the crazy witch.
Porlyusica watched them leave with narrowed eyes. Huffing to herself she gently swept up the tracks they had made both on their way in and out, "Filthy creatures," She near sneered before letting out another huff and walking back into her home, "You can't fool me with something as simple as that," Her words did not receive a response, "Was it difficult?"
"Hmmm?" Naruto questioned with a small hum, though it could have also been a moan as he shifted in his sleep.
"A child made from the lives of so many other children... It would make sense that you were afraid to interact with the children at the guild. What made the little child from before different? That is something that I wonder..." She looked over to the child and saw him shift.
"Uzumaki Kushina... She looked like pictures mother had when she younger..." Naruto rolled over and faced her, the runic symbols in his eyes lighting up brightly.
"When your eyes do that... What does that mean?"
Naruto let out a slow breath, "I do not know... The project breathed life in me only completed three weeks ago. Then I was overloaded, made to fight demons, but I weak so put the children in me to boost my power... I think Kushina sent me away, protect the children... Or she could not stand look at what become of them. Human's difficult for me to understand, so I learn tones, mimic actions..." Naruto let out a tired sigh as he rolled back over, "I prefer if you did not tell anyone that... Woods Witch."
Porlyusica let out a faint laugh, "I doubt anyone would listen to the rattling of an old woman like me anyhow."
"They should," Naruto muttered out with tired voice. He drew the blanket up to his chin and buried his head into the pillow, "With age comes wisdom, wisdom equal to experience, with experience you be able to turn around events that happen... The Elderly dangerous. But they also be incredibly stubborn."
Porlyusica smiled as the child fell asleep. She had agreed to let him stay for a few days, though that was after she found out that he wasn't human. Though it was before she found out that he was a life that was created by the humans of his time. His words though were true to an extent, while the elderly normally had a great deal of experience, it was this very same experience which could make them so incredibly stubborn.
PA: And that's the end of the chapter. I feel like this is a little different from what I am written before, but I am hoping that you guys will enjoy it.