a/n: Hey, so I was looking around my computer the other day and found this old pilot lying around. Don't blame me for keeping it from you guys for too long – I never would have believed that I would return to publishing here someday. This is my own attempt at a Naruto/Fairy tail crossover, and it would be a Naruto-characters-in-Earthland story; because I'm not really a big fan of dimension-travel, and it's all been overdone anyway.
Read and review please. I think you might like this.
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The Man who cried Saint
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In a land, far, far away, lies Fiore; a small, peaceful nation with a population of seventeen million, and an empire filled with magic. Found in every home, bought and sold in 'almost' every marketplace (for there are some marketplaces that would still only sell vegetables), magic is generally viewed as a tool; a mundane part of everyday life.
For some people, however, magic is an art, and they have dedicated their lives to the practice of its profession. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they apply their skills in search of fame and fortune. To be honest, a large number of these guilds exist within the country but in... er... many certain cities, lie one certain guild - a guild where a number of legends haven't yet been born from but will soon be in the days to come.
This guild is called... well, it's not Fairy tail, bitches... the guild's name is... Toadstool.
XXXXXXX
"Do you have any last requests?"
The young man raised his head, a worn look settling within his blue irises.
A rather large number of people were present today - something he should have expected, considering that this was only one of the few public executions to ever happen in the kingdom of Fiore.
Not that he cared, mind you - he'd always suspected that he would end up going out with a bang; but the witnesses… darn! They were just too many! It seemed like the entire city had abandoned their households for the singular purpose of watching him dangle by his entrails.
Well, he had already come this far; best not to keep them waiting too long.
Closing his eyes, he shook his shaggy hair out and adopted a grin that would have been sure to make his late teacher proud.
"Last requests? No, really don't think so."
If the chairman of the magic council was disappointed, he didn't show it.
"Prisoner Naruto Uzumaki", he began, "you are hereby to be publicly executed for crimes against humanity, and crimes against the magic council, regarding your role in the escape of two S-class prisoners and your attempted resurrection of the dark wizard Zeref."
At this, an audible gasp arose from the crowd below.
The chairman then added to him in an undertone, "I hope you've made your peace. This won't be easy."
Naruto didn't reply.
"Very well", the chairman backed away, signaling to his chief-of-staff, "Fire the mini-etherion."
As the executioner stepped into position, the chained prisoner attempted a look of bravery on his face. He had already prepared himself mentally for what was to come, however, now that he was here, he couldn't help thinking that maybe the council's decision had just been a teensy little bit overkill this time. Should that blast hit him, there wouldn't even be a body left to bury afterwards.
Or maybe, that was the whole point?
Either way, he'd find out now, he thought, watching the golden magic circles of the etherion materialize above his head. The magic energy in the atmosphere rose to a crescendo and before he even had a chance to sufficiently brace himself - or exclaim his catchphrase 'Believe it!' - the world was engulfed in white.
His only thought now was that he hoped he wouldn't lose his bowels.
XXXXXXXX
(One week ago. Wisteria Town; somewhere south of Fiore)
"Barkeep!", someone yelled.
"Bar keeper! Where's my beer?", yet another cry went up.
The atmosphere in the room was cozy and the chatter was kept up at a merry pace. It might have only been a little after noon in the day, but the Golden Swan beer house was already teeming with ardent customers. The portly bartender; who would have preferred being referred to as beefy rather than fat, found himself struggling to keep up with the influx, even as he single handedly tried to tend to the needs of all within his bar.
"Give me one more mug of beer, Barkeep-san!"
"We'll have three over here!"
Nonetheless, if he were to be perfectly honest, Inari wouldn't have it any other way. The residents of Wisteria town could be a tad... eccentric sometimes, but it was these eccentricities (like sitting for a beer first thing in the day) that made Wisteria the enjoyable - albeit detached - community it had come to be. The townspeople did know how to rack up a tab, after all.
Returning to his post behind the bar, the bartender took full advantage of the respite a brief lull in activity had given him and began tending to the dirty mugs beneath his work station. Of course, to the portly man, there was nothing more soothing than rubbing a dirty mug clean, and it was made even more so by the fact that it created an avenue for multi-tasking; allowing him to work and listen in on the rumor mill at the same time - not that he'd admit it to anyone if caught in the act, mind you.
The mark of good bartenders everywhere was their ability to always maintain an aloof mien even in the thick of gossip. That way, customers were encouraged to spill secrets out their guts whilst disregarding their presence as they did so. It probably also helped that alcohol had such a wondrous loosening effect on the tongue.
"I heard yesterday about this new guild called Sabretooth", an old lumberjack was belting, "Some are even saying that it might eventually become the strongest in Fiore..."
"But what about Lamia Scale? Isn't that home to Jura of the Iron rock?"
"Yeah, but I also heard that Sabretooth's got two dragon slayers! Two! That's far more than any guild now if I'm counting right."
"There's always Fairy tail..."
"Ha, that old guild hasn't been themselves in ages! Last I heard there was even suspicion that they might be forced out of their castle this year, if they still can't keep up the lease!"
Of course, any gossip that went around was almost always stale and empty. Nothing noteworthy ever occurred in Wisteria town and the townspeople had grown accustomed to recycling the same old news pawned off the few merchants who occasionally happened into the region.
"That's it, you pig, get your filthy hands off me!" SLAP!
That is, of course, until Naruto Uzumaki stepped into town.
"Hey! What the hell was that for?", a baritone voice roared, "Don't I pay you enough now?"
"Pay me?! Ugh, you bastard!"
Most people pretended to ignore the spectacle happening right outside the bar but it was easy to tell from the silence that had descended over the room that everyone was subtly drinking in the scene.
The girl; who was a plain brunette with (as was typical of most Fiorean women) a rather impressive rack, screeched some more incomprehensible words, prompting Naruto to retort with another tacky comment - earning him one final slap - before he ambled into the bar; a silly grin on his face and a mismatched set of bright handprints adorning both his cheeks.
He stilled when he noticed the silence in the room.
"Anything I can help you guys with?", he grouched, looking dangerous all of a sudden, and like clockwork, the occupants returned to their various drinks, deciding that they were better off not knowing what had triggered this midday episode in the first place. It wasn't like it was the first time, after all.
Most people could still remember Naruto's arrival to town. The fetching, golden-haired youth had simply trudged into the town square one rainy night; delirious with fever, before collapsing face-first on the muddy road right in the middle of the street. His actions had thrown the town into frenzy the next day.
However, it was quickly becoming apparent to the townspeople - after months of accommodating the enigma - that whatever had ailed the blond had probably already vanished, and that Naruto might even be less of a mystery than they'd once made him out to be. For one, he hadn't done anything even remotely magic-like despite his constant declarations of being a mage, and the other; he seemed to be a textbook simpleton, preferring to spend the majority of his time languishing on booze and the odd woman.
So long as he spent the most of his days in the beer houses and far away from their daughters and nieces, they didn't terribly mind him.
"Give me some sake - and not any of that watered down stuff, Inari - give me your best ones", the whiskered man sighed, hopping onto his favorite stool at the bar.
Inari nodded, already used to his customer's antics. He had always made sure to stock up on the expensive rice-based liquor ever since Naruto's first visit to his bar. The blond couldn't tolerate the tasteless (in his words) beer that was a part of Fiorean culture and had not the stomach for the velvety wines, bitter rums or cocktails that also littered the menu. If the barkeep thought it weird, he usually didn't mention it.
"Nice day, Naruto-sama?", he asked, laying the bottle and saucer in front of his client. The print marks still hadn't faded from either of his cheeks.
Naruto grinned, "Getting better! I can't wait to finally find some work around here!"
The barkeep nodded in response, having heard that line only five times yesterday. Naruto never failed to vocally express his desire on finding a job to fill in the bulk of his monotonous days. The only problem, however, was that he never seemed particularly eager on the matter.
"If you wish, Naruto-sama, there might be a few open slots down at the mining docks. I can send a few messages?"
"Is there now?", came the disinterested reply; the blond already pouring his first shot of the liquor, "I might just look into it."
Inari took that to mean that he wouldn't be bothered.
Returning to his work beneath the bar station, he took the time to subtly study the young man before him. The blond still looked exactly like he had the day he first wandered into town. He was wearing the same black T-shirt and orange shorts, with a battered red cloak thrown over - as if he were expecting to leave anytime soon. There was no jewelry on his person except for a single green gem which hung on his neck from a worn rope. There was also something missing from their usual interactions, a suspicion that was assuaged later when the blond conspiratorially leaned towards the barkeep.
"So... er... Nari" - the bartender barely twitched his moustache at the new nickname (Naruto seemed to have a penchant to come up with a new one each visit) - "Have any... er, you know... packages arrived for me, yet? Anything at all?"
And just like the last thirty-three times the youth had asked him that, he replied succinctly, "No, Naruto-sama."
Usually, the young man would just grin at his reply, make a joke and fall back to his drink. This time around though, he seemed immensely troubled, as if there should be no reason whatsoever on earth for the correspondence he was awaiting to not have reached him by now.
Inari didn't pry into the matter as it was his business not to. It wasn't unusual for townsfolk to use his mailbox for personal reasons and if Naruto had expected to be contacted via the Swan bar, the old bartender would just have to curb his curiosity until something eventful finally happened.
SLAP!
"You lecher!"
Not of that kind though.
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Two cloaked figures were perched atop the rooftop, silently observing the last rays of sunlight stream upon the peaceful town below. A soft wind rustled through their brown cloaks giving the picture a rather cinematic effect. It stayed that way for quite a few minutes before the scene would be destroyed by one of the figures scratching the back of its head and letting out an audible yawn.
"So... how the hell do you propose we break the news to him?", he began.
His companion didn't reply.
"Hey... are you even listening?"
When his partner remained mute, the speaker eventually sighed, "It's not that I'm scared or anything, you know, and I don't want to worry you off either. I'm just saying; half the time, boss can be pretty -", he made a swirly motion with his hand, "- intense. I'm not sure he's gonna like the kinda news we have to deliver - who would anyway? But you know boss. With him, it has always been results, results, results..."
"Is that why you had to keep me grounded for over two months; waiting in vain for information that never seemed to come?", a voice shot out of nowhere.
The two figures turned at the same time, a cry of 'Naruto-sama!' escaping their lips.
"So, what's the big deal?", Naruto growled, his blond hair falling into his eyes and an uncharacteristically serious look clouding his roguish features, "Whose dumb idea was it to send me out to the middle of a town-called-nowhere and have me waiting forever for news I never seemed to get?" He waved a fist at the man who had been speaking earlier, "Kyo?"
"It was mine, Naruto-sama", the other advocated, "We were... worried... about you."
"Worried?", the blond wrinkled his nose at the woman, "Why?"
"Well, ever since your teacher disappeared", Kyo interjected, counting on his fingertips, "You've been acting even more bipolar than usual. Your formerly non-existent whore-mongering has risen to untamed levels. You drink up a storm. It's been ages since you last took a job, and don't even get me started on the smell..."
The blond sniffed his own armpits, "Hey!"
"What we are saying is that we wanted to make sure you were okay, Naruto-sama", the woman completed, "A two month holiday with proper townsfolk couldn't have hurt."
"... Not to mention we were suspecting that something went seriously wrong with you upstairs during the whole Caelum fias... ow!", Kyo had been interrupted by a swift elbow to the rib from his partner.
Naruto didn't seem impressed.
"Report", he ordered them.
The two glanced at each other.
"Naruto-sama..."
"So, you see, Naruto..."
"Jiraiya-sama..."
"Your teacher..."
The blond looked at them expectantly.
"... We don't exactly know what caused his death."
The air was still for all of two seconds before Naruto exploded with comical fury.
"What?! What do you mean by that? What have you been up to these past few months?!"
"Hey, hold on, boss", Kyo replied placatingly, "I've infiltrated almost every dark guild in existence and I still didn't manage to find anything…"
"... and I hacked into the council's systems", the woman muttered, "They know nothing about it either."
The whiskered man raked a hand through his hair frustratedly and growled beneath his breath. Things weren't going according to plan. Despite a lot of people (namely the toads) advising him to give it up, the blond was still hell-bent on uncovering the reason behind his mentor's sudden disappearance. It was like Jiraiya didn't even exist anymore. His life-force had simply vanished from all of Earthland.
"However, we still managed to uncover some news, Naruto-sama", the woman informed him.
"Yeah, we know what your teacher was up to before his sudden death...", Kyo nodded.
"We've confirmed it - before he disappeared, Jiraiya-sama was investigating the R-system."
Naruto let that little piece of information sink in.
The R-system. He'd heard of that somewhere. Something to do with slaves and dark guilds and...
"The resurrection of Zeref?", he asked.
His two acquaintances nodded.
Yeah, that's somewhat believable, Naruto decided, it would take something of that caliber to do someone as great as his sensei in.
"What do we know about the R-system?", he asked
The lone female in their midst supplied, "A dark construct created for the purpose of resurrecting the dead. It requires a large amount of energy to activate and a large amount of lacrima to utilize it."
"I see", Naruto responded gravely, "The answer to Jiraiya's disappearance might very well lie within this. Do we know anybody that has ever been linked with this matter?"
The woman looked unsure for a moment before finally speaking, "There is one. Jellal Fernandes."
Immediately, stars popped within Naruto's eyes, "Hey, I know him! He used to be one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"
His two accomplices rolled their eyes.
"So where is he now?", Naruto asked, once he'd calmed down enough.
Kyo shrugged, "Last I heard, he was being held in the council's maximum security prison - you know, the one on Yoshino Island."
"Why? Is he a fugitive of some sort?"
"Yes. Two years ago, Jellal tried to resurrect Zeref himself actually."
Naruto frowned, calmly mulling over this piece of information. He loathed black magic and anyone associated with it. He also doubted that whatever Jellal had been up to two years ago could have had any direct connection to his sensei's recent disappearance. However, if nothing else, he could at least gain some useful insight on the R-system and find out what had piqued the interest of the sage. And then, there was always...
"Er... boss, what are you thinking about?", Kyo asked warily, not liking the new expression on the youth's face.
The blond turned his back to them, a lopsided grin curvinh its way across his face.
"Get three tickets ready, Kyo. We leave by train."
"Leave to where?"
Naruto's grin widened. In the light of the setting sun, it looked something terrible.
"Yoshino. I need to have a talk with Jellal."
XXXX
Inari the bartender pretended not to notice the blond as he ambled into his bar later that night. In perfect Naruto form, he had arrived in style; mistakenly groping a woman on the way and getting beat up in the process.
Uzumaki looked exactly like he always had - black shirt, orange shorts, red cloak and trademark clogs - but despite having not packed any luggage, the aged bartender could still perceive what the blond had successfully managed to hide from the rest of town.
"Alright, Ina! Give me -", the bottle was placed in front of the mage before he could even finish his bellow. Grunting in response, the blond sat and poured himself a saucer of his favored drink.
"Here", he whispered, slipping some money to the portly man once he was done with his bottle, "This should cover my tab so far."
"All the best, Naruto-sama", Inari replied, not even bothering to count the money which he expertly slid off the bar top. He could recognize a healthy tip when he saw one, after all.
If Naruto was surprised by Inari's knowledge of his plans to leave, he hid it behind a perfect grin.
"Yep! Wish you the same too, Inari!"
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(Yoshino Island; Many kilometers off port Hargeon)
A small bluish frog emerged from the depths of the sea, causing nary a ripple on the surface of the water. It hopped a great deal inland, narrowly avoiding the squads of patrolling knights - and being largely ignored by the endlessly roving searchlights, before it reached its destination; a suitable rock outcrop positioned at the base of a large hill.
It stopped its hopping and croaked twice, seeming for the while like any other typical amphibian before - in an extremely horrid manner - a large hand burst out of its open buccal cavity, grabbing a hold onto the stony ground. The next second, its entire body was thrown open to release the incredible contents of its gut - which were humanoid shapes several times its size.
"Dammit", the first of the three spoke, wiping invisible stomach matter off his cloak, "No matter how many times we've done it, I would never ever get used to that form of travel."
His hooded cloak had been lowered to reveal that he was a young man; tall and wiry, with a shock of unruly black hair and soft brown orbs. He didn't appear distinctive, except maybe for the bandages - which were wound tightly around his upper body, and left only his face, ears and hands exposed.
"I mean, I'm not trying to gross anyone out or anything, you know", he continued, "but it always kinda feels like we'd be digested at any moment, and I'm pretty sure that's not a good sign at any point – at any point at all."
His companion, though sharing his sentiments, sharply rebuked him for his words.
She was a slim woman of average height, with creamy complexion and blond hair that had been cut in the style of a bob. Her blue eyes and facial expression seemed cold, however, situated on her chest were the incredibly massive breasts, which were renowned for the strain they constantly put on her lower back. Even as she strode away from the frog, she couldn't resist making an effort to set her neck, causing her assets to juggle and unconsciously garner the consideration of her male colleagues.
"We're here", Naruto announced, once he had stopped ogling the woman, as if it wasn't obvious enough already.
Yoshino Island. The entire land mass was a prison facility built solely for the purpose of containing dark mages... and they had just bypassed its defenses like it was nothing.
"Naruto, where are you going?"
The blond had tucked his arms behind his head and had already begun marching up the hill; towards the summit where the facility itself was located, "Er... what do you mean, Samui-chan? Didn't we come here to speak with Jellal?"
Kyo sniggered, "Yeah, that's gonna work. We'd just waltz up to the warden and demand a meeting with a prisoner on death row. Nothing to it, right?"
Samui glared at the both of them, an action which made them both feel stupid even without the use of words.
"We'd need a plan", she stated, "We don't want to get caught before we even get a chance to speak with the target."
Naruto frowned impatiently, "Yeah, but we can't hang around here too long. A patrol of rune knights could be by any minute."
Samui didn't speak, taking his statement into consideration. Yoshino Island was a flat, desolate, rocky slab of land whose only distinctive landmark was the hill upon which the prison stood. It was easy to realize one thing – expect for conventionally skilled mages like Naruto whose spells were far too un-orthodox to be even remotely considered normal – it would be impossible for anyone to sneak unto the island, much less escape from the prison within, at least, not without raising an alarm.
Feeling a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, she turned to find her companions staring expectantly at her.
"What?", she spat coldly.
"Well, duh, the plan, dammit."
"You haven't told us the plan yet, Samui-chan."
The blond woman gaped at them incredulously. They hadn't even given her one minute!
"What I'm saying is that it's gonna be a pain attempting to penetrate those walls", Kyo continued, "This is an S-class prison facility for a reason."
"Don't sweat it", Naruto replied, already scaling the rocks, "Buildings like these are made for the purposes of keeping wizards in. They never said anything about keeping them out." He turned to look at his fellow blond, "Are you coming or not, Samui? We can figure something out when we get to the top of this hill."
Eventually, the woman let out a sigh and followed after them; although Naruto could have sworn he heard her grumble something that sounded suspiciously like an insult to their intellects.
Huh. Go figure.
The climb was grueling business and a few times they were almost spotted by the restless searchlights that scanned the entire premises. Nevertheless, they finally made it topside no trouble and it was with a relief that they ended up perching in some brushes just outside of the crest.
The entire time Naruto had been so focused - a solemn look settling over his mien; that Samui had briefly wondered if perhaps the man hadn't been entertaining second thoughts about their endeavor after all. Naruto wasn't exactly one to be called rational (she and Kyo had been witness to his devil-may-cry attitude on more than one occasion) but this... this was on a wholly different level. Should they infiltrate Yoshino and get caught, there would be no take backs. They would become the first ever wizards to attempt a break-in into the Island, and Samui wasn't entirely sure she would fancy the idea of giving up their shadowy dispositions for such a place in the spotlight.
Such were her thoughts when she began reaching a reassuring hand for the man's shoulder only to be stopped by Kyo's near-silent whistle.
"Now, that is one big wall."
Of course, there was also the prison itself, Samui recalled, returning her eyes to their prior objective. The entire building was hidden from sight by a concentric wall of plain, white stone. It had to have been about forty meters high and ten meters across!
"Who are those weirdoes?"
Samui followed Kyo's line of sight to the massive portcullis where a troop of six men stood guard. They weren't dressed like the typical rune knights; their costumes seemingly more befitting of jesters than actual wardens.
"Those are the Prison court mages", she replied frostily, "They serve the council and each of them are probably low S-class level in strength."
There were other guards patrolling atop the walls too; these ones, your run-of-the-mill garrison troops. They didn't seem particularly interested in monitoring the premises; a tell-tale sign of just exactly how sturdy they thought the defenses of Yoshino to be.
"I think I've come up with a plan", Samui began in a rushed whisper, "I can use my psychic magic to..." she felt an odd draft blow her side, "Naruto-sama?"
The blond wasn't next to her anymore.
"You idiot, Naruto!"
XXXX
The prison court mages had been hunched over a fire, enjoying a game of lots, when the alarm sounded, and they heard a shout from one of the knights stationed above them.
"There's someone out there!"
Quickly gathering their magic staves, they fell into formation and watched as a rather unfamiliar man approached. He seemed rather unconcerned with the shrill blare of the alarm or the magic lights now trained on him - despite all the commotion it was causing.
The leader of the Prison court mages; a huge balding man with deep-set eyes and a moustache that extended exaggeratedly towards his ears, stepped forward, leveling his stave at the intruder, "Who the hell are you? Identify yourself!"
Surely, no one in their right senses would even think of breaching Yoshino Island. The impenetrable wall was reinforced against magic, and the court mages were the strongest unit under the magic council! Even the knights atop the prison walls were specialized - each one wielding a unique type of lacrima gun magic commissioned them by the council. There was a reason, after all, why this was the strongest containment facility in all of Fiore.
The intruder; who was a blond man of average height, in a rather unconventional get-up (his clogs certainly didn't make for excellent battle footwear, did they?), didn't even bat an eyelid at the question - rather he stopped short, choosing to adopt a pensive look on his face.
"Don't let me ask again!", the court leader roared, "Who are you? What is your business here? And how the hell did you sneak unto this Island un-noticed?!"
"This wall...", Naruto muttered, placing a finger beneath his chin. It was obvious he would have to find a way to get around it if he needed to speak with Jellal.
"You bastard, don't ignore me!"
"Kyo", Naruto silently ordered.
The black-haired man materialized beside his leader, easily understanding the un-worded command. Forming an open palm with his left hand, he smashed his right fist into it and closed four fingers around the knuckles - leaving only his index pointing to the sky.
"Mag x100", he commanded.
A strange looking magic circle appeared beneath Naruto's feet.
"Take him down!", the leader of the court mages ordered his fellows, prepared to fire a potent spell at the blond.
Naruto didn't falter. In one smooth motion, he placed both palms on the ground and whispered; "Summoning magic!", pulling three fine stone statues out of the earth with him. They looked like large, waist-level toads with gaping maws from which ridiculously huge cannons poked out of.
The blond then clasped his palms together - forming a great magic circle - and bellowed, "Toad magic: Oil flame cannon!", about the same time the court mages fired their respective spells.
What followed next could be described in three sentences.
A huge supernova of flame and oil erupted from the mouths of Naruto and his toads.
Kyo found himself thrown backwards from the force of the spell.
Finally, the incredible blast surged forward - negating the spells of the enemy - before proceeding to knock the court mages away; taking a huge chunk out of the outer wall with it.
"What the hell?!", cried the rune knights, struggling to retain their balance upon the now treacherous wall, "Who is this guy?!"
"He took out the court mages in one hit!"
Even Samui, all the way from her position in the bushes, could feel the intense heat of the flame. She shook her head exasperatedly.
Naruto, meanwhile, looked on at the spectacle before deflating with a heavy sigh. Turning to Kyo, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Oops. That was a bit over-kill. Think those mages would be alright?"
"You think?", his companion drawled sarcastically, checking his eyebrows to make sure that they were still attached to his face. The ground in front of them had been scorched black, and grey smoke billowed upwards from the sizable hole blown into the portcullis. Already, they could hear the sounds of rune knights from below the hill mobilizing to scour their position. The alarms blared even louder. In a few minutes, they would be surrounded.
"We better get moving", Kyo noted, even as a plethora of magic shots were fired down at them. Naruto nodded and together they sprinted across the hole.
Beyond them; about a hundred meters away from the walls, stood the main facility itself. It was a single jutting tower constructed with fused piers of rock; black and almost lifeless. The numerous windows on the sides of the great stone were hard and void of light, and Kyo felt a shiver run down his spone simply by glancing up at its impressive sixty meter height. At the base of the slim tower was another portcullis; and the piers of stone eventually opened up into two lone pinnacles at the summit. Looking at it now, Kyo could understand why the prison was sometimes simply known as The Black.
They had only just reached the areas beyond the tarnished wall when a second barrier sprung up behind them. This one; like the outer wall, surrounded the entire facility concentrically, trapping them within.
"Dammit! Rune magic", Kyo cursed, looking around, "I hate this shit!"
Naruto squinted at the enchantments written on the barrier, "Can you read what it says?"
"Er... All mages who step within this field are trapped... permanently... and would become unable to use magic. At least, that's the short version, I think..."
"What kind of rules are those?"
The bandage-ridden man sighed, "You said it yourself, boss. Can't keep mages out but would definitely keep them in. I think we're about to find just how potent these defenses really are."
They were soon surrounded by the garrison troops who flooded out the tower.
"You must have been pretty stupid breaking into Yoshino", one jeered, waving his spear at them, "So what are you going to do now? Within the inner walls, your magic is gone; you're exactly on the same level as the rest of..."
THWACK!
He didn't get to finish his statement for at the same moment, a bone-shattering punch collided with his stomach, embedding him firmly into a distant rock.
Kyo could only stare on in pity. These men had no idea what they were dealing with. Naruto was a monster. No, seriously, he was. Mages like the boss (who would have been S-class had he ever belonged to a guild) were built like tanks. In other words, they could beat the living crap out of you with just their fists, magic ability or no.
"Tell me!", Naruto hollered, pointing a finger at the other shocked guards, "Where can I find the man called Jellal?"
There was silence for all of two minutes before the knights burst into anger.
"Are you serious?! Do you actually think we'd tell you that?"
"Like hell, you stupid bastard! Get 'em!"
And here we go again, Kyo sighed.
Like a well-oiled unit, the two intruders slipped into attack, weaving in and out of the advancing knights. The black-haired man was efficient in his strikes, ruining collar bones, joints and eye-sockets with a fluidity seen only in high-class assassins. There were no wasted movements in his style, and he danced out and under the range of weapons, felling men left and right with simple blows.
Naruto, on the other hand, was a berserker. The blond had never really needed a particular form, what with his large amounts of stamina. Within seconds, he had decimated over half of the opposing forces and the survivors were forced to flee to within the tower, which they proceeded to promptly barricade behind them.
"Call for reinforcements!", the garrison commander shouted, "Inform the Council immediately!"
A few of the men slumped behind the portcullis, taking a much needed rest. However, if they thought the doors could protect them from the monster outside, they were to be gravelly disappointed. The concrete was blown apart by a maddened Naruto, who latched onto the head of their screaming commander and dragged him across the length of the room, slamming him forcefully against the opposite wall.
"The heck! Just tell me where Jellal is!", Naruto yelled at the knights, his voice echoing throughout the floors.
Kyo simply followed subduedly after his leader, glancing warily at the darkness that loomed before them. This was going to be a long night.
XXXXXXXXX
"Captain Lahar! Captain Lahar!"
The be-spectacled man let out a small sigh in irritation as one of those anthropomorphous amphibians - the council's attendants - ran up to him.
"You are being summoned by the magic council, Captain Lahar! Immediately!"
"I know!", the man grit in response, exasperation causing the bangs at the sides of his face to shimmer threateningly. "It is the reason why I am in front of the council chamber right now, isn't it?"
Ignoring the attendant's muttered apologies, he pushed the huge double doors open and stepped into the threshold within… only to be met with the somber faces of the council's mages. Had he not always been so eternally stoic and morally upright, he would have wondered whose grandmother had died.
"Captain Lahar, I trust you are aware of the situation?", Org sat stiffly in his chair, taking charge of the council in lieu of the Chairman's absence.
"I think I might have an idea, sir", he replied truthfully.
"An idea? You think you might have an idea?!", Gronkjaer; one of the newer members of the council, and Lahar's least favorite, bellowed. He was an imposing, gaunt man with graying hair, beard, and a suspicious lack of eyebrows. His knightly attire shone in the gleam of the hall but even more so; his anger, which was evidently apparent on his face.
Lahar remained silent respectfully.
"There has been a commotion at Yoshino", Org continued, and Lahar couldn't help but gasp aloud despite having already heard the news, "Communication reports have it that an unconfirmed man and his cohort have attacked the Island and defeated the court mages."
"Defeated the court mages?", the captain parroted.
Org nodded grimly, "I take it then that you understand the severity of this situation? That you realize just exactly what those walls are to be guarding?"
Lahar paused thoughtfully, diverting his gaze to the chess-patterned floor. No mage; dark or otherwise, would be stupid enough to lay siege on The Black. The worst of scum resided within those walls and it would be a near suicide mission to even try. However, there was one... one criminal who was feared the most amongst all the others. One who had only just been moved there recently…
"Jellal", he whispered.
"They must be destroyed at once!", another councilor - a wild, one-eyed man this time - piped up, "We cannot allow them to run the risk of setting that man free!"
"But surely, there is to be no escape from Yoshino", yet another spoke, "Those runes must be a hundred years old -"
"Fools!", Gronkjaer bellowed again, "Accursed wrong-doers! Anyone who tries to usurp the council and go against its principles must only be in possession of a death wish! They would be punished immensely!"
"Lahar", Org spoke, returning the attention back to young knight who stood ramrod straight in response, "You are to take a fleet and depart via the fastest route for Yoshino at once. We want the culprits apprehended and brought to justice."
"By your wish", he bowed respectfully, wondering if he shouldn't have said anything more - and that was how he found himself on a boat heading for the Island, his garrison left behind him, and his thought projection at Era now dispelled.
He had to admit. Whoever the intruders were, they sure packed a lot of guts. No one had ever made an attempt to breach the Island in the hundred years since its inception, including the worst of dark guilds themselves.
And to think that he'd thought the excitement in the magic world would die with the disappearance of Fairy tail…
"Captain Lahar, we are in sight. Contact should be in approximately fifteen minutes."
"Good. Prepare to engage", he replied, speaking to the soldier who had just approached him. He tightened his grip on the large tome he carried, a grim smile on his face. There would be no holding back. Not today.
The island of Yoshino loomed before him.
XXXXXXXXX
"Erza..."
The name was constantly on his lips, a telltale sign of the grief he constantly wallowed in. He could remember most of it now: The pain he had caused her. The tears she had shed. And then, there was her hair too - those long, flowing locks that he himself had aptly named her after.
"Why?", he croaked out to no one in particular. Why?
Erza was lost, along with Natsu Dragneel and the rest of her Fairy tail guild mates. Gone; just like that... before he even had a chance to properly apologize for sins he could now remember.
In a way, he should have known this would happen. Karma had always found a way to play him a bad hand in life despite everything he'd been through. When he was lost without his memories, Erza had been his light in the darkness. He would have ended it all just then, but she had urged him forward. She had convinced him to keep living... and he had done so. Only for his life to be taken away from him again, the moment he had been arrested shortly after.
Even in his small cell, where darkness swallowed him whole, and the days seemed to blend as one; he could still feel her presence – still perceive her unique aura from so many miles away. He had felt fear when she had been on the verge of defeat back then, and he had smiled again the moment she'd prevailed.
And then, she had to be destroyed. The only source of happiness he had ever known to exist.
Erza – gone.
Right after he had made his peace with life and the fate awaiting him.
Yep, he had to agree, a hoarse laugh escaping his throat, Karma was most definitely a bi -
He felt the small explosion before he even heard it.
Quick as he could manage, he was seated upright, eyes dancing furtively across his dark cell. He was deep down in the dungeons - the areas reserved for solitary confinement - and his guards were nowhere to be seen (probably off to torment another poor soul), but there was no mistaking it. That blast had come from somewhere above. That blast had come from here.
The man bit his lip in thought. Had Ultear and Meredy already come for him?
Granted, they had concluded to take action sometime in the next week - and Ultear was anything if not meticulous in her deeds - but could something have made them change their plans? Had they moved up his execution date? If so, that would be enough reason to take drastic action without having the opportunity to contact him in hindsight.
Sighing, he took in some air and fought himself to calm. The style was definitely unlike Ultear, whose upbringing had taught her the finer aspects of stealth and subtlety. Maybe something had simply gone wrong somewhere…?
Nevertheless, true to his title as a Wizard saint, he remained ready, the muscles in his stomach coiled to spring into action at any moment.
The explosions that followed the first were smaller and fewer in-between, and soon, he could hear almost nothing altogether. Waiting patiently, he strained his ears to pick up on the slightest noises, but nothing came. Nothing else happened.
After some nerve-wracking moments, he finally decided that there was no point to it. Obviously, whatever had gone on at the top tiers had ended and was already being quelled by the wardens.
Maybe some prisoners had attempted a revolt?
Growling in frustration, he swung his legs back onto the bed and had already begun re-withdrawing into his thoughts, when - with a force reminiscent to a pissed Erza - the steel door was blown full off its hinges (portions of the wall coming with it), and dark shapes were thrown forcefully across the length of the room. In his shock, he ended up falling out of his bed!
What followed next was a man he couldn't recognize, and was very sure he had never met, even with his memory being what it was in recent times. The intruder strolled through the hole like he hadn't just blown a six-inch mass of reinforced steel off the wall. Jellal couldn't make out his features clearly in the darkness, but he was reasonably stunned when he noticed the man's eyes. Even in the darkness, he could tell they were an electric blue.
The intruder looked around at the damage he had caused; those blue eyes blinking owlishly in the gloom, and then turned to the still slack-jawed Jellal.
"You Jellal?"
Jellal could only nod dumbly; earning what he assumed was a grin from the man.
"I've found him!", he called out to no one in particular, but it was soon obvious that he did when another presence made itself known in the room. This one was clad in black.
"Finally", the newcomer grunted, obviously more than a bit unhappy with the situation.
Jellal - who had only just regained his cool by this point - was just about to speak, when the hackles tensed on the back of his neck. Acting on instinct, he raised his arms in order to block a lightning-quick attack from the first man. It still hurt pretty badly, and the kick jarred him down to the bone... but he was able to deflect it successfully - even though he was pushed a good distance back in the process.
"Who are you?", he grunted with the strain, "Do you come to assassinate me?"
His blue-eyed attacker grinned again (a trait the bluenet was now coming to use to define him) before replying, "Not bad, not bad at all. But I would have expected better - from a former wizard saint, that is."
"What the hell, boss?", his partner chastised, "We came here to interrogate the man, not kill him!"
The two men remained locked in their stare down however, and just when Jellal got the foreboding that the man would go on to attack him anyway, reasons be damned; the intruder suddenly wiggled funnily as if an electric current had just been passed through him.
"Woah, what was that?"
"You're just noticing it?", his partner sounded, a faint lilt in his voice, "There's some strange power in these walls. Stay in here too long and we're gonna lose a good portion of whatever energy we have left."
The offending appendage poised at Jellal's face dropped reluctantly.
"Kyo, get the light."
'Kyo' rustled for something in his clothes, and Jellal was almost unprepared for the brilliant beam of light that almost blinded him as a torch sparked to life. He struggled to adjust to the change. It had been so long…
All three men appraised each other in the new lighting.
"Well, you look like fuck", the one called Kyo whistled genially; and Jellal was suddenly reminded of the scraggly year-old beard dangling from his own jaw. The man named Kyo was a tall, gangly fellow with windswept black hair and a face that would have been boyish had it not been for the life of past hardship that was evidently written all over it. However, what struck Jellal as odd was the rolls of bandages the man was tightly swaddled in.
"Woah, hold on. Is that tattoo permanent?"
Jellal frowned, his eyes stinging painfully due to the intensity of the light, "Wha-?"
"You're blinding the man", Blue-eyes sighed, "Reduce the wavelength by a few notches."
The light in the room dimmed down some and the pain behind Jellal's eyeballs lessened. He glanced at his attacker once more. He was a strange one; with whiskered cheeks, golden blond hair and those intensive blue eyes. However, the fists which lay at his sides were mangled (possibly fractured) and bleeding profusely. Jellal didn't need to guess to know what had caused that. Out of the corner of his eye, he could already see the knocked out guards resting alongside the door on a now pulverized WC.
The man obviously didn't care about his own condition because he began abruptly, "I need to ask you something" – but the bluenet was having none of it.
"What the hell? Who are you people? Did Ultear send you?"
Blue eyes looked at him strangely, "Ultear? No, I don't know anything about ultears."
Jellal felt his heart drop, "Then what do you want?"
"I told you. I need you to answer a question for me... about the R-system."
Jellal stared at him incredulously.
"W-wait. What? You broke in… in here just to ask me a question?"
The blond frowned, "Wow, you're pretty bright, aren't ya? Just tell us everything you know about it and we'd leave you alone."
Jellal didn't need to think it over.
"No."
"No?", the man cocked an eyebrow, "Why?"
"B-because it's black magic. I'm not letting that information fall into the wrong hands."
"... Says the guy who built it himself", Kyo muttered, but a commotion from outside the cell caused his boss to turn to him.
"You mind holding them off for a while?"
Kyo nodded, leaving as silently as he'd appeared, and throwing the room into darkness once again.
Jellal kept his guard up, tensing when he sensed the man raise a bloodied hand to run through his fingers through his hair. The intruder sighed, "Look man, I'm not really a fan of black magic either - but a dear friend of mine went missing investigating that dirt. I need to know everything you do about it."
His eyes - which were wide and truthful, were locked with Jellal's, but the one thing the prisoner had learned recently was that he couldn't afford to trust anyone. Especially strange blonde men who had apparently broken into a maximum security prison for no legitimate reason.
However, this was also a different ball game entirely. Jellal still hadn't grasped the absurdity of his current predicament, but one thing he knew for certain was that irrespective of whether he had a hand in this or not, sooner or later, they were sure to be rounded up by the rune knights and then, they would both be in serious trouble.
That being said, he took a giant plunge and prayed to whatever deities existed above that he had made the right decision.
"Yes, it is true that I built the R-system two years ago in the hopes of resurrecting Zeref, but I will only tell you more if you manage to break me out of here."
There, he thought to himself. He had managed to say all that with a straight face. He hoped he hadn't sounded too desperate.
He had no idea who the man was or whether he could even be trusted, but one thing was certain - if he didn't escape today, he could kiss all further chances of doing so goodbye. The Council would be sure to tighten their defenses after this (Yoshino had never been breached before!) and then there was the remote possibility that he could be moved to an even more secure location - probably in the Council's headquarters once again. Ultear would be too powerless to help then – and didn't he have every right to make demands of the man? After all, the idiot had obliquely made his life more complicated than it already was…
"Fine", the man said without thought, turning on his heels and walking away.
"Fine?", Jellal squawked.
"You want to get out, right? We want to get out too. And we could probably use the help a former wizard saint could offer. So, let's go."
Jellal blanched, "So you mean to tell me that you broke in here without having an escape plan in the first place?!"
The blond gave him a deadpan look, "Yeah, so?"
Jellal wondered again just who exactly this idiot was.
"Just lead on", he finally sighed.
XXXXXXXXX
They'd stepped through the hole in the wall and wandered down the corridor only to find Kyo struggling against a small squad of garrison troops, his right hand wielding the staffed torch as a weapon.
"You know, when you guys are finally done with your game of twenty questions, I wouldn't mind getting a little bit of help over here", he grunted, even as he got wounded in the side with a spear.
Naruto and Jellal immediately leapt into action, and between the three of them (Jellal doing much less than the others), they managed to drive the knights back.
"It's Jellal!", the soldiers cried, "Jellal!"
"Oh no, It's him!"
"The intruders are down here! They've freed Jellal!"
Naruto grumbled at their cries, a bit irritated that the prisoner he'd rescued seemed to be getting more recognition than he was.
He turned to Kyo. "You alright?", he asked - even as he socked another knight in the face, totally ignoring his ruined hand.
"I've lived through worse", the man replied, not bothering to comment on his boss' own injuries. He nodded to the tattoo-faced man in their midst, "He coming with us?"
"Yeah", Naruto replied, "We'd need him."
Once they were done with the knights, they tore down the narrow passageway, the lacrima illuminating the walls on both sides.
"Watch out for traps", Naruto warned, "Kyo already found out the hard way when he fell into one."
"It was full of alligators!", the man yelled back from his position in the front, "And you didn't help me!"
"You were lucky it wasn't venomous snakes or something", Naruto shrugged, "You got off easy."
As soon as he said this, he disappeared through a chasm in the ground, only to reappear again moments later with a perfectly executed wall bounding maneuver.
Kyo chuckled.
"Don't say a word", Naruto warned, his eyes narrowing to slits as they continued their sprint, "Although, I guess I just found out where the venomous snakes ended up."
He noticed Jellal's face turn a shade of green that couldn't possibly have been healthy.
They rounded a corner and climbed up a stairwell only to be stopped by another wall of knights obstructing their path.
"There they are!", they yelled, waving their spears and flaming torches.
"Intruders! Don't let them get through!"
"They still have the criminal!"
And just as easily as before, they decimated all of them.
"Do you know anything about runes?", Naruto asked the prisoner off-handedly, as they made another random turn and passed through a line of empty cells.
Seriously, this place was freaking huge. How the hell were they going to get out of here?
Jellal panted; quite unused to the exertion. A bruise colored his face from where a knight had gotten a lucky hit in, "Not enough - but I know a spell that can be used to destroy them. Unfortunately though, it would require magic. Do you even know where we're going?"
"Not really", Naruto shrugged.
"Why am I not surprised?"
The three men had just barged into another passageway when Naruto suddenly felt an odd tingling sensation crawl down his spine. Quick as thought, he swiveled sharply on his heels and planted his feet on both his comrades' chests - knocking them well back from him. A glyph barrier immediately rose to separate them.
"Boss!", Kyo called out, the moment he realized what had just transpired.
"Find another way out", Naruto calmly instructed, thoughtfully laying a hand against the barrier. The glyph wall had perfectly dissected both ends of the corridor, leaving Naruto trapped in an area approximately the size of a large bathroom. Something about the runes seemed familiar though…
"Boss!", Kyo cried again, anime-style tears coursing down the length of his face. He gave a cheesy salute, "I'll never forget your sacrifice, Naruto-sama! Your name shall go down in history!"
Naruto sweat-dropped, "Yeah, whatever."
Kyo nodded once, and before Jellal could protest - picked the other man and forced him down the opposite passageway. Naruto watched the light fade away in the distance, and once he was sure that they had successfully escaped the area, he turned, his eyebrows furrowed in a glare.
"There's no point in hiding. You can come out now."
"If you insist", a voice responded, and from the pitch black, a bespectacled man appeared, dressed in robes befitting a high official of the consulate. The only light source Naruto had now was the subtle glow reflected off the glyphs.
"He who writes the rules, dictates the battle", he smiled nonetheless, "Are you the rune master behind all this?"
Lahar did not speak immediately, choosing instead to throw his spell book open. A bright flash blinded the corridor and the tome was transformed into a glowing blade right in his very hands. It was a fine piece really; shaped like a short sword, a queer tassel fitted with an ankhish symbol hanging from its hilt.
"You are a noble man", Lahar noted quietly; the light off his blade playing tag on a corner of his face, "You forced your comrades to safety the moment you noticed my trap. However, they would not get very far. Reinforcements from other garrisons have arrived and I have set up numerous barriers around the place."
Naruto's smile widened, "So, you are the rune master then?"
The captain of the Knights didn't waver; instead, he raised his sword impassively.
"I would ask what you want with the prisoner; Jellal", he spoke, "however, that is a matter I can leave to the able hands of the Council. You, on the other hand, are advised to stand -"
Lahar almost missed the fist that would have taken off his head. Had he been any slower, the battle would have already been lost. However, his late dodge saved him, allowing the assault to graze near-harmlessly past the bridge of his nose. His spectacles clattered to the floor.
Naruto pressed forward, pivoting on his heels then launching a clogged foot at the man. This time though, Lahar was prepared, and being the swifter, he easily sidestepped the blow, scoring a vicious wound across the blond's chest in retaliation.
"You waste your time", the captain berated, "You are not fast enough to harm me - at least, not without your magic."
Naruto didn't care about that, and as he attacked once more, Lahar stuck his sword straight out and pierced him in the left shoulder. However, in a totally unexpected move, the whiskered blond managed to grab the weapon mid-strike; drawing more blood from his already damaged hands, and trapping his opponent right where he wanted him to be.
"You're so full of it", Naruto declared, before promptly proceeding to kick the captain in the face and into the adjacent wall.
XXXX
Jellal gasped for breath, having already given up on the ability of his body to continue moving. Without the powerhouse that was Naruto, both men had been forced to take subtler routes in order to avoid unnecessary battles with the knights. Right now, they were hiding out in a small utility room, temporarily safe from the guards who kept mobilizing outside, and at a total loss of just what exactly to do next.
"We should -", Jellal panted, crumbling to a heap on the floor, "We should go back for him. He'd need our help."
He still felt dismayed by the manner in which his new partner had abandoned their blonde-haired comrade. However, if Kyo was disturbed by his own actions, he showed no indication of it, apart from the way his brown eyes looked thoughtful in his angular face. He toyed with the now dimmed lacrima staff in his hands.
"Boss will catch up."
"Catch up?", Jellal repeated in a hiss, lest anyone else hear them, "How? We've been running for ages and we still aren't any closer to escaping this place!"
"Hey, you know what?", Kyo retorted jovially, "I think you're right! We can't defeat the knights. We're wounded, powerless, and they've seemed to even triple in number! Not to mention that they're bound to be waiting for us on the surface. It will be suicide!"
"Thank you for pointing that out", Jellal muttered darkly, wondering how in the world the man could even attempt to make light of their current situation. He fingered his temples and briefly pondered what the Fairy tail guild would have done in their stead. Natsu would have probably kept fighting to the very end...
... Much like he was sure to have done on Tenrou Island.
"Damn. What I wouldn't give for a drink right about now", Kyo sighed heavily beside him, interrupting his current train of thought. The dark-haired man leaned his head against the near wall, groaning, "I hate taking charge, you know? Makes me feel all funny inside... like the fate of the whole world's resting on my shoulders..."
Jellal himself was starting to feel pretty miserable too. If they got caught here, everything would be over. There would be no hope left - none at all. Staying put in his cell was suddenly beginning to seem like the more sensible option now. Maybe, if he were lucky, Ultear could have still managed to pull something off.
Looking down at his hands, he grimaced slightly. If only he had his magic...
Pita. Pata. Pita. Pata.
The two men immediately stilled as the sound of approaching footsteps made its way to their ears; and it was only now they realized that it had been quiet outside the room for quite some time. Kyo switched off the lacrima completely, and straightened his back against the wall, that sharp look returning once again to his usually blithe face.
Jellal followed suit, falling into alert on opposite side of the only exit in the room. He heard the knob on the wooden door turn, apprehension coiling horribly in the pits of his gut. He wouldn't give the intruder a chance to sound the alarm...
The door swung open.
Jellal leapt up, only to be sent reeling by a powerful foot to the chest.
Kyo; who hadn't even moved an inch, just smiled up at the newcomer, "About damn time."
XXXXXXX
Lahar frowned, glaring incredulously at the monster of a man he was going up against. The blond had been able to hold his own perfectly, despite still being unable to use magic.
"You are certainly powerful", he finally conceded, even as the bruise on his face throbbed, "If you weren't an enemy, I would have put in a good word for you with the Council. Unfortunately, it all ends here."
Taking his short sword, he stabbed it into the glyph wall and created an intricate design.
"Another rune?", Naruto wrinkled his nose, "Answer something for me. How do you keep using magic here? Shouldn't you too have been powerless, the moment you stepped into this prison?"
"That is a silly notion", Lahar scoffed, "The enchantments here might be aged and incredibly potent, but there are seal masters working with the Council who've learned to bend it to their will."
"So… you're not the original designer of these runes?"
"How the hell can I be?!", the captain retorted comically, "Those things must be a hundred years old! Do I look a hundred years old to you?!"
"Darn", Naruto sighed, squatting to sit on his haunches, "And I thought that when I defeat you, I could finally release the enchantments on this place."
The knight-captain noticed the man's use of 'when' not 'if', however, there was something else he realized.
"You allowed yourself fall into my trap?"
Naruto shrugged, "Well, yeah. Defeating the caster of these irksome runes will normally result in the enchantments being dispelled, right?"
Lahar nodded slowly. The man had a highly unconventional process of thought; although that was to be expected from someone who'd been mad enough to assault Yoshino in the first place. Maybe it was time he wrapped things up.
"I have taken too long. The council will not be pleased as it is - Hiraishin!"
"Hiraishin?", Naruto rose in surprise, but was then forced to a knee when a line of blood erupted from his back. Turning in anger, it took him a second to realize that Lahar now stood behind him. A second too late.
"Too slow."
"What?"
Another spray of blood lined the walls.
"I hope you realize now", the captain spoke lowly, "I hope you can comprehend just how futile the situation became for you the moment you walked into this trap."
"Bastard", Naruto spat, his entire body lined now with numerous shallow cuts which would have been grievous had it not been for the incredible durability his magic imbued body possessed. "Hiraishin - whoever casts the runes gains the ability to move with speed like a god of flying thunder... heh... I knew your runes looked familiar..."
"You know this technique?", Lahar squawked, hating himself for sounding too surprised.
His blond adversary looked him in the eye, "Yes, I do. Ironic, isn't it? - but the hiraishin you use; it was created by my own father."
Lahar's eyes bulged at the news.
"Lies", he growled.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Why would I want to lie about that?"
"The Hiraishin technique was created by Captain Minato Namikaze."
"Yeah, and I am his son; Naruto Uzumaki, although, you might understand why I choose to go by my mother's name."
"Then why?"
"Why what?", Naruto replied, genuinely perplexed.
"Why...", Lahar struggled. "Why do you taint the name of your father by doing something so reckless?!", he finally exploded, "You are the last remnant of teacher's line on earth! Why are you trying to go against the rules he fought so hard to defend?"
When Naruto didn't respond, Lahar sneered, picking his spectacles and replacing them on the bridge of his nose, "It doesn't matter. If you are truly that man's son, then I will do him the honor he dearly deserves."
He raised his sword, and an uncharacteristic dark look that would have been unrecognizable to all those who knew him fell over his face, "Rather than allow you to continue bringing disgrace to him, I will kill you here to stop you from tainting that name any further. The rest of your friends can be handed over to the Council, but you, Namikaze – you will pay for your crime! Hiraishin!"
The strikes came swiftly and studiously. Naruto tried protecting himself to the best of his ability, but without his magic, it was of no use. As long as he remained trapped within the barrier, he was sitting duck to the mighty power of the Flying thunder god technique.
Losing what little strength he had left, he succumbed to the floor, sword wounds littering the length of his body. He felt the sting of cold steel on his neck.
"You can say your prayers now", Lahar advised solemnly, a maddened look in his eye, "Maybe it was the fates that decreed we would meet here, but I believe there is a reason you were delivered into m…"
"Naruto-sama!"
Naruto looked up to see his two most recent accomplices running towards him. In the lead was Samui, whose breasts were bouncing about in such a manner that drew a leer from him despite his current predicament.
"The magic is back on!", Samui was saying, "You can use your magic now, Naruto-sama!"
"W-what?!", Lahar faltered, but his opponent was much swifter. Leaping up with a sudden boost of energy, the blond placed both his palms on the ground, summoning a tight circle of toad statues around him.
"Try and flash away from this now", he grinned deviously, "Toad magic: All-direction oil flame cannon!"
The small glyph barrier erupted in a wash of flame.
"Naruto, are you okay?", Samui asked as worriedly as she could manage (which wasn't very much) and as worriedly as he would allow (which wasn't very much either), the moment their blond leader stepped through the dispelled barrier.
He quickly enveloped her in a tight hug, "You are a lifesaver, Samui-chan! What did you do?"
The blond woman frowned up at him, looking none too pleased, "Well, while you guys ran on ahead like a couple of mad oxen, I stayed behind to figure out some kind of plan", she shook her head derisively, "I noticed the custody division arrive some time later and used my magic on their captain there to extract vital information on the runes. I've been modifying it ever since." She then sighed in defeat, "Sadly, it's only the magic part I've been able to re-write."
Naruto grinned at her once more, then frowned, then cleared his throat with a gentle cough, "Well then, you've done the best you could. I didn't expect much from you, so you've only managed to meet my expectations really."
Samui's jaw dropped, "Are you serious?"
"We better get moving", Naruto ignored her, gesturing to the other men.
"Y-you… idiots", a thoroughly toasted Lahar groaned, glaring up at them from his position on the ground, "Do you know what will happen if you alter the enchantments on this place?"
As if to answer his question, a series of explosions were heard from the floors below. The entire building trembled with the aftershocks.
"Err... no", Kyo replied sagely.
"There are powerful criminals in here", Jellal mumbled tiredly, "Extremely deadly wizards who have been locked away for a reason. If everybody suddenly regains the ability to use magic..."
"Ah, I see", Kyo nodded, "But they still wouldn't be able to escape, would they?"
"It would become hell on earth!", Lahar spat painfully, "We'd consider ourselves lucky to even be alive by the time the Council decides to take action!"
"What sort of action could the council take?", Naruto snorted.
Samui shrugged, "They might possibly decide to fire the satellite square: etherion…"
"No, not the etherion", Lahar gritted out, un-phased by the unnerving stare Samui was now leveling at him, "It would make sense that you wouldn't know of it seeing as it is only a lesser known measure."
"What measure?", Naruto asked curiously.
"I am talking about the three Wizard saints of War."
"The three wizard… what?"
"They are the last of all the last resorts", the knight-captain replied irritably, "A specialized force meant to deal with forces just like you." He gasped briefly in pain, "They might not be as powerful as the gods of Ishgal, but they are always amongst the strongest in the Saints. They bring destruction wherever they go, and collectively, are said to rival the strength of even the black mage Zeref himself."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Why are you telling us of this now? Seeing as it seems to be a rather hush affair."
Lahar snorted, "Whether you know or not won't save you. Besides…" he turned to Jellal, "You would know this, wouldn't you? Seeing as you were one of them up until only a little while ago."
Kyo and Samui glanced sharply at the tattoo-faced man.
"I…I have no recollection of this", Jellal muttered sheepishly.
The shuffle of feet brought their attention back to their leader, who had already begun leaving the hallway.
"Naruto-sama?"
"I don't care about the prisoners, the etherion, or these three Wizard Saints of warts", Naruto yawned comically, stretching out a kink in his neck, "We've gotten what we came for. It's time we left."
"But we'll be up against the rune knights, along with various other super powered mass murderers", Samui reminded him.
"Well, they can't be much worse than Jellal here, can they?", Kyo joked.
"Thanks for the endorsement", the former wizard saint muttered.
"You know", Naruto interrupted, furrowing his brows the way he usually did when he was confused or had come up with some half-assed plan, "We might actually be able to use all this commotion to our advantage."
"A battalion of soldiers are positioned just beyond the walls", Samui supplied, "They are waiting to gun down anyone who manages to emerge from the barrier."
Naruto glanced at her, "Have you discovered a way to deactivate them yet?"
She shook her head, "No. Even the captain over there has no idea. However… there is another route; a tunnel below this facility that could allow us reach the surface without having to go through the main exit. We'd avoid a lot of unnecessary run-ins with knights and other prisoners that way."
"Lead the way", he commanded.
He then turned quickly towards Jellal, obstructing the man's path, "You've gotten your magic back. You have no true reason to follow us anymore."
The bluenet met his gaze, "I have already given my word. I plan on seeing this through to the end."
"Good", Naruto grinned, "'Coz I would have broken both your legs if you hadn't."
Despite the grin, Jellal could tell that the man was being extremely serious.
"I suggest you get out of here as quickly as you can", Naruto spoke over his shoulder to Lahar, "If the prisoners here are anything like you make them out to be, then they probably wouldn't take lightly to the sight of a high-ranking council officer lying around. Just a warning."
And then, they were off once again; Samui in the lead this time around.
Lahar watched them go, a great sense of foreboding overtaking him. This man... this Naruto...
Who was he? And how the heck had the Council not gotten word of him up until now?
He could sense the end of the magic world in sight and Naruto very much could be right in the middle of it all.
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a/n: For those who may have not realized, this story is set after the Tenrou Island incident, probably sometime around X786. In the original timeline, Lucy joined Fairy tail around X784; the same year in which Fairy tail's core members disappeared.
Unfortunately, this is not the original timeline.
I am not a fan of the One-piece-syndrome where characters remain the same age over the course of an entire plotline. Therefore, in this story, Lucy joined Fairy tail in the year X784 but disappeared around X785, bringing her age here to canonical plus one, upon her re-appearance. The same adjustments should be noted for other members of the Tenrou Island team. Due to these changes, earlier canon adventures (such as the Tower of Heaven arc) would be tagged X784, while the latter adventures (from the Oracion seis arc downwards) all occurred in X785 in my timeline. The core Fairy tail members would still return in X791, which is still seven years later if I'm counting right.
That apart, the original plan for this story was to follow canon somewhat strictly up until just shortly after the Grand magic games. Naruto's introduction into the Fairy tail world wouldn't have any major impacts on canonical storyline, since I'd be devising an original plotline for his adventures that would correlate but not interfere (too much hopefully) with that of the existing plot. I just hope I didn't spoil it too much or bore it all for you already.
Oh yeah, Kyo is an OC of mine. A story like this needed at least one original character after all. The Naruto characters I choose to use will appear somewhat randomly, seeing as I really don't have much planned out for this story beyond the original two-shot. Can anyone spot the inspiration behind Yoshino Island?
Constructive criticism will be very much appreciated.