Natsu scanned the area.
"You sure there's nothing here?" he shouted to Lucy, who was checking between trees. "Nope," she called back.
Gray said, "You sure that the job called for here?" Erza was poking around some bushes with her sword. "Positive," piped up Happy.
Lucy sighed and leaned back. "And the request said that there are some supposed assassins here…" Natsu had steam practically coming out of his ears, "I WANTED SOME BLOOD!"
Wendy shook her head. "This is strange. I don't sense any magic here… though there is a strange feeling-"
"Like there should be wizards here, but some really messed up magic?" said Gray, whose shirt was off his chest and on the grass floor.
Wendy nodded. "Yes."
Happy had a paw to his head as he complained, "But there's nothing here!"
And as if right on cue, a series of voices echoed through the supposedly-empty forest.
"Shut up, Naruto! Do us all a favor for once!" said a female voice. Erza shoved everyone down. "Get low! See who they are."
Four people emerged from the forest into the clearing- and a strange group they were.
One had pink hair not too different from Natsu's, though she was female and unlike Natsu, was sleek and pulled back.
Another had spiky white hair, mimicking Lyon's own but ten times wilder. This person seemed older, and towered over the other three. His left eye was covered up with a bandanna, and his mouth was covered as well.
Still another had a striking resemblance to Gray, with his laid-back attitude and dark blue-black hair. His eyes showed a sliver of arrogance and confidence.
And the last one had bright blonde hair, an orange jumpsuit with three slash marks on each cheek, reminding Erza of Milliana's own whisker-like marks.
And all four had strange bandannas tied around their forehead, and a metal-clad sign in the front. A carved symbol was upon each- a spiral with a strange end jutting out of it.
The blonde-haired boy made a face. "Kakashi, I think you've got the directions wrong, old man." The older person sighed. "This was where the mission was sending us. To catch a bunch of rogue assassins from the-" The corners of where his mouth should be turned down. "Actually, it didn't say. Just that there were rogue assassins."
The boy that bore a resemblance to Gray tch'ed and leaned backward. "What a waste of time."
The pink-haired girl almost literally had hearts in her eyes as she cooed, "I know, but we have to do this to please our village!"
Behind them all, Gray shuddered as he recalled Juvia and their similar nature.
The black-haired boy tensed. "Someone's here."
The things they took out- were they weapons?
Natsu sucked in a breath. They were a diamond shape, all oily-black with a sinister glare reflecting the sun. There were holes where the handles should be.
Erza hissed, "Those are kunais! Everyone be careful!"
Now, if Erza knew these weapons first-hand, their guard had better be up.
Suddenly, the bright yellow haired boy shouted and chucked his knife-like weapon into a bush. "There!"
It was heading straight for Lucy.
She yelped as she ducked down, and instinctively took out Loke's key. The weapon bounced off of the golden metal of the key.
Suddenly, the black-haired boy had somehow disappeared.
Natsu heard Wendy gasp, but he materialized right behind Lucy, the blonde- and pink- haired boy and girl following his lead.
Soon, they were all surrounded except for Happy and Natsu.
"Way to go, guys," mumbled Natsu under his breath, hugging Happy close to him.
The pink-haired girl glared straight into Lucy's eyes and pointed a new weapon-
Natsu's eyes grew to the size of jewels. It was a shuriken.
The girl held it to Lucy's throat. "Are you the assassins!" she barked. Lucy held up two hands. "Hold on! We were sent here to catch them, too!" she yelped.
The man stared straight into Wendy's eyes so hard she was close to tears. "We really mean you no harm!" she pleaded.
The dark-haired boy had a knife pointed at Erza's throat, the other hand positioned at the back of her neck. "Then tell us who you are!" he ordered.
They must have a death wish, thought Natsu.
The blonde-haired guy was studying Gray. "Why'd you have your shirt off?" he said interestedly. Then his eyes widened and he hastily said, "I mean, I don't like you. You remind me of Sasuke."
The dark-haired guy growled. "Shut up, loser." Blondie had a tick in his eye. "I am NARUTO, not LOSER!"
Natsu then chose the time to leap out of his own bush, hands aflame. "GET AWAY FROM THEM!" he roared, pleased he had made an entrance.
Under his breath, Gray mumbled, "Prince Flameboy is here."
The girl chucked her knife-thingy at Lucy, and a scream built in Natsu's throat.
Lucy cried out as the knife plunged into the side of her skirt and pinned her to the nearest tree. "And stay there!" the other girl ordered.
Then she marched up to Natsu. "Who are you?" she said roughly.
Natsu glared straight into her pale green eyes. It was almost like she was a replica of him, only as a girl. "I'm a wizard from Fairy Tail, and I need you to let go of my friends right now!"
The girl blinked.
Behind her, the guy with dark hair whistled, "Seriously?"
"He's telling the truth," said the white-haired man. Naruto- the blonde-haired guy- frowned. "You sure? 'Cause it sounds like a bunch of trash he just made up to me."
Natsu glowered at Blondie. "Here's a deal. Fight me, and if I win, you let go of my friends and we have a little talk."
Naruto glared right back. "And if I win?"
Natsu could hear himself saying, "You get to do anything you want with me and the rest of our team."
Gray was now handed over to the other guy that looked like him, Erza now in the captivity to the white-haired man.
Blondie cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna win. Believe it!" Natsu cocked his head. "Before we start, I need your name. Prince I'm-Gonna-Believe just doesn't cut it."
The guy scowled, "Naruto. And yours?"
"Natsu Dragneel."
Suddenly, Naruto was right in front of him. "Nice name." Before he knew it, Naruto had kicked him, sending him sprawling into the nearest tree.
"I WASN'T READY!" yelled Natsu as he landed on his feet sideways. Naruto shrugged. "A good ninja is always ready for any source of action. Even I know that." Behind him, the white-haired man nodded approvingly.
Natsu's blood had frozen. "Ninja?" he echoed, flames temporarily going out. Naruto scowled. "Yeah, ninja. If you aren't one, I'll just warn you that if I cause any serious damage, it's not my fault. Believe it!"
Natsu barely heard him. Not a wizard… a ninja?
Naruto was charging again. "Shadow clone jutsu!"
Before Natsu could register what had happened, the air was full of Narutos… all solid, all annoying.
One jumped in front of Natsu, squealing, "Am I the real one?"
There was a vein ticking in Natsu's forehead, and he ignited his hands. "OUTTA MY WAY!" he roared, sweeping his hands back and forth, a lot of Narutos popping into dust.
Natsu knew firsthand what it felt like to be turned into a thousand of- well, him. And he knew the way to get out of it. If this so-called 'cloning' thing was the same… he was in serious trouble.
He didn't know what kind of magic this ninja-wizard-opponent used. So he had to fight force with force.
"FIRE DRAGON ROAAAR!" A torrent of flames exploded from his mouth as he blasted a clear way through even more Narutos.
He ran down the little road he paved with his roar, occasionally punching a Naruto and kicking another without any power.
Then more jumped into his path. "COWARD!" he bellowed, slamming a fist in one of their jaw. "FIGHT ME YOURSELF!"
"Am I the real one?" one asked another. "No, I am!"
"I am!"
"I am!"
"We are all real!" chorused the Narutos.
Natsu glared daggers. "And you all are about to feel my FIRE DRAGON ROAAAAR!" He swept his mouth in an arc, obliterating all of the Narutos, one more flying through the air. He was scorched and blistered.
"Give up!" shouted Natsu, hands still aflame. Naruto stumbled a bit, then stood up again. "W-what jutsu was that?" he said weakly. Natsu probably showed them his 'I didn't pay attention in class' face. "Juicy?"
"Jutsu. What technique was that? Not even Sasuke could get flames that hot or maintain them for so long." Natsu was even more confused. "What?"
Naruto was moving closer, Natsu not seeing where he was going. "I should ask you something, for once. What kind of stupid magic is that?" he said, trying to unbalance him.
It did.
"What do you mean, magic? These are jutsus! Duh," said Naruto, eyes rolled. Natsu blinked. "And what kind of magic are jutsus? What are you, a wizard wannabe?"
Naruto disappeared and materialized in front of him. "I don't know about wizards. All I am is a ninja from the Village Hidden In The Leaves." His fingers moved faster than anything Natsu had seen before, and before he knew it Naruto shouted out, "Rasengan!"
Natsu was hit straight-on.
He heard the girl cry out, "Are you trying to kill him?!"
Natsu leapt up on his feet and growled. "You took my friends hostage. I'll try to be nice and just knock you out, alright?"
His aura flickered with power. "Fire dragon secret art: CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING FLAME BLADE!"
A torrent of sparkling flames erupted out of his body like water from a dispenser, and it was all headed towards one target-
Naruto.
His face reflected fear. "Hold on. Stop! Wait!" he said, but it was too late.
The forest glowed as flames washed over the ninja.
XXXXXXXXXX
Natsu stood next to Naruto. "Did I overdo this again?"
Naruto groaned and barely managed to stand up. "You… you're.." he mumbled. Natsu crossed his arms. "Yeah, what?"
"You're gonna be my rival."
Then he fell like a bag of rocks.
Something materialized behind him, and it was the dark-haired 'ninja'. He caught Naruto in his arms, and materialized next to Gray. "Loser," he muttered.
Natsu stretched. "Our deal? Let my friends go and we'll have a chat."
Hey!
So that was my first time writing, and uh... I haven't been far in the Naruto series yet, but heh I'm doing research ^-^;
Please leave a review! Was that good enough?