Exchange of Fate (NarutoxFairyTail)
Disclaimer: This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.
"Talking"- 'Thoughts' – MemoryLane or Names – Kurama's Speeches - (Thought Scenario) - Important
You could say this story was inspired by Hi! I'm Zeref! By LordDeuce, which got deleted now, but this is a completely original story altogether. A Short Story? Maybe. A Serious Story? Could be. This is Fourth Shinobi War's Naruto so you can guess the level of his power without me telling you.
=[Prologue]=
Part 1
Haziness filled his eyes as he lay completely still by the destroyed cliff-side. The latest battle was devastating, and he was dying… again. How many times was it now? Naruto didn't keep a record. From the numerous gashes inflicted upon his person, it must have been in the hundreds. Did he even succeed in his task? He assumed so. It wasn't what he expected, and he felt disgusted by the whole ordeal.
The strange feeling gnawed the lining of his gut. He knew he was a Shinobi; a trained assassin; a bred killer. Or so it seemed.
His mind replayed the live he lived. For the sixteen years of his life thus far, he hadn't really killed anyone. There wasn't a desperate situation where he truly wanted to end someone until now.
Sasuke was his first true kill. It was kind of poetic if he was to consider everything started with the raven-haired boy. The uchiha, his first friend and rival, was no more.
He knew he wasn't Asura and Sasuke wasn't Indra, but he wanted to end the brother's feud that had gone on for far too long. It'd claimed far too many lives in the pointless cycle that should have been broken centuries ago. In the end, Naruto had no choice in the matter as they – and those before them – were destined to fight to the bitter end. Perhaps, when killing Sasuke, he also killed a part of himself, and in returned, Sasuke likely had done him in as well.
Was this his end? Naruto didn't want this kind of ending. He was exhausted from the battle, but his body trying to heal. However, it could never make him whole again and was only prolonging his agonizing suffering.
"Entrusting just one of them with power resulted in Indra and Asura in the past and entrusting both of them with it yield the same results," Hagoromo muttered remorsefully. The old sage appeared to the blond's side without a single sound prior.
Naruto turned his head with great difficulty, all so he could see the elderly man, who was sitting cross-legged now.
"Hey, old man… you can fix this right?" Naruto asked. Hopefulness laced in his tone while lifeblood constantly was seeping through the numerous wounds on his body. There were still many things he wanted to do considering his current age. Sadly to his shock, Hagoromo gave his answer with a headshake.
"Eh? Stop joking around! You're the Sage of Six Paths! You can do anything. Healing me wouldn't be that difficult!"
"That is true. I could do something like that with little effort, Naruto, but I won't," Hagoromo replied flatly as Naruto's eyes widened.
'What the hell does that mean? You could save me but you won't?' was one of the grim thoughts that ran through the young blond hero's mind.
"Hey old man, what did you mean by that?" Naruto asked, swallowing the curses that almost escaped his throat even if it was filled with blood.
"Do you know? It's like an irremovable curse, Naruto. With the death of the last Uchiha, Indra's line is broken. But unfortunately, it doesn't end there. It never does. That line will be revived through you, if not in months, then in years. Your children would repeat the same mistake that plagued this place again and again. I am truly sorry for how this has turned out, Naruto. Do you understand me?"
"I don't… and I don't want to know…" Naruto muttered lowly. What had he achieved with his life thus far? It was one battle after another; never slowing down to see what he actually wanted to do, rather than being forced to do. He knew long ago that he didn't want to be dragged in battle every time some happened and really had thought that if peace was achieved, he would be allowed to enjoy it as a hero.
Heroes only truly acknowledged if they died heroically. That was the painful truth, he realized.
"There's no other way. I will stay with you until the very end, Naruto," Hagoromo promised, putting his hands over the blond's shoulder and using his power to numb the agonizing pain. It was the least he could do for the brave young man, who had given so much. The Uchiha was now extinct and the Senju will be as well since their last descendant had passed her prime. Uzumaki clan, who retained strong connection to Senju through blood lineage, will also end with Naruto. The other clans' bloodlines were too weak to inherit their wills.
Naruto closed his eyes, taking in deep breath as he accepted his fate. No, fuck that. He didn't, but there was nothing he could do so he resigned to it bitterly. Several minutes passed before he flashed open his blue eyes again.
"Will I see my father and mother after I sleep?" Naruto asked, but Hagoromo played a mute. Naruto asked the same question again and again, but no response came each time he tried. Only the guilty expression plastered on the weary old man's face. The blond mustered all his strength to grip Hagoromo's robe, pulling and tugging it while combating his consciousness. Each time he did, the effort sapped much of his diminishing physical and mental strength. He wanted to know the single truth from the man so desperately.
The Sage looked down at the boy to his side, seeing the painstakingly endeavor before exhaling deeply.
"No," Hagoromo finally answered truthfully. A simple word, but it was like a resounding knife slicing through the listener's heart. Naruto's blue eyes lost its shine in that instant. For a fraction of a second, he felt overwhelming hatred infesting his being. It cursed the world he was born into. He had given everything for its sake, and willing to die for that peace, but in the end, salvation was denied to him.
His strength eventually failed him, he finally passed away, but his strong grip had never left the Sage's robe go. Hagoromo carried out his promise and never left that spot until the day he faded away into obscured history and memory. Like he'd said, he would accompany the boy until the very end.
The Will of Fire along with Curse of Hatred was forever sealed within Naruto's soul, and his essence was stranded in limbo; unable to move on until another successor to Indra and Asura could be found. They would never be found as Hagoromo'd made sure of it. It was for the safety of the world.
Naruto was a sacrifice; one person for the sake of the world's future. Was there even a choice in that?
"I wanted to live," Naruto muttered again and again in the endless abyss of darkness like a broken record. He wanted to see the light of a new day, but no one had heard him in this hollowed place.
"I wanted to die to atone for all the sins I committed, but neither of us could get what we wanted. It's unfair."
Naruto thought he must have been hearing things as the darkness had never responded to his calling. It sounded like a voice; a human voice. A faint hope glimmered inside him.
"Who are you?" Naruto decided to ask. He'd been trapped here for an incalculable amount of time, but this was the first time he heard another person's voice. He hoped it wasn't insanity setting in. How he wished it would then maybe he would happier and contended with his forever torturous existence.
"Me? I'm known as Zeref. And who might you be? The one who seemed to be stuck between life and death."
"Stuck… yes… I am, or am I? ahahahha… I don't know anymore. I'm Naruto by the way," the blue eyes boy replied. "Where are you? Is there a way out of here?"
"I am not here. My mastery between living and death magic allowed me to enter this place. It was my place of solace, but maybe it can be no longer," Zeref answered and gave a short pause. Thinking to himself, he asked: "Do you want to get out of here, Naruto?"
"Yes! Of course I do! You can do that?" A prolonged silence appeared, prompting a question from the blond: "Hello?"
"Yes, I can, but you might live a more terrible life than the one you already have. A cursed and hated life that no one wants," Zeref stated flatly. The sadness and yearning in his voice was apparent.
"But it's not worse than being stuck in here, is it?" Naruto asked almost immediately, not thinking at all on it. He didn't believe there was a worse fate than this. A pregnant silence reigned again between them, but much shorter this time.
"Very well, Naruto. You will only have one chance at this," Zeref said as his essence materialized in the place. "Follow the sound of my voice."
Naruto complied in the unbounded blackness as a hand eventually came in contact with his. The first time in so longer, he had felt another person's touch.
"Zeref?" Naruto asked blindly.
"Yes. Thank you for this, Naruto. I will give you a new body. It might feel strange and odd at first, but it will adjust to your essence in due time," Zeref said with a hint of remorse. "And if you wanted it all to end, a Fire Dragon will one day do that for you. I didn't want to wait that long."
Naruto was about to ask what Zeref meant, but he lost consciousness as the darkness around him was expunged by a blinding white light.
Zeref smiled as the blond vanished, leaving him alone in the abyss. He felt his essence was no anchored to his immortal body as someone else took his place. He was finally able to move on as whatever keeping the blond here did not affect him the slightest. "I hope you have a different fate than mine, Naruto."
Naruto opened his eyes as the soothing sunlight invaded his vision. He used one of his hands to block the incoming rays before the dirt and grass was felt beneath the other one. Pulling himself upright, fresh air entered his lungs as the cooling breeze pressed itself against his skin playfully. A drop of liquid escaped their dark pool down his cheek before more joined it in a disjointed stream. He was alive again and free from that cursed existence.
"Thank you, Zeref," Naruto thanked as he stood up and checked his attire. He wore high-collared red and tan robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. That was strange as he examined his hands carefully. It was different. Quickly, Naruto checked his reflection by the pond nearby, realizing he had short pitched-black hair. However, there were a few blond strands within its midst.
This wasn't his body, but Zeref did say that he would have a new one, and it would adjust to him eventually. Naruto stepped on the pond's watery surface, feeling the familiar energy propagating throughout his new body and into his lower limbs. It came from deep within his spirit, but he staggered and fell below the surface, drenching himself. Climbing back out of the lake, Naruto coughed out a mouthful of water, shaking his head to clear the soaking liquids away. It seemed that he would need more time for his ability to adapt to a new container. He also felt something unfamiliar from within.
Regardless, he was alive now so he couldn't complain. Naruto wondered where he was and had a look around with mild curiosity. A small bird glided downward from the sky and landed onto his shoulder before pecking the fabric below its feet. Naruto leered at it and smiled.
Life. He appreciated it.
Naruto touched the creature gently, feeling the sensation of feathers upon his fingers before something sickening filled his inner being. His body glowed darkly, and that untamed aura condensed quickly and erupted outwards in a burst, washing over everything in sight. Naruto's widened his eyes, seeing the world around him shifted grayish. Tree began to die; numerous birds fell from the sky; the grass turned brown and rotted.
[ ]
Shocked.
"A cursed life," Naruto recited the same words that Zeref had told him. He looked around the destruction he caused with sad eyes. The dead bird fell off his shoulder in the maneuver, making him to crouch down at it. He held the creature up both hands, caressing it with his thumbs. He felt guilty for killing it on accident, but the bird's body decayed like years had gone by in mere blink of an eye. Its feathers broke off and its flesh turned to dust and grain. The ashen remained slipped through the gaps between his fingers, joining the soil of the land as everything one day would.
Naruto dropped to his knees, placing both hands flatly to the ground. Everything around him died. It was not his intention. And soon enough, the ground rumbled as the world turned even more grayish. Dead tree became to compose at an alarming speed along with everything degradable around him.
Author Notes:
Zeref's Death Magic activated whenever he appreciated life. Naruto had an amplified version of that due to his Cursed of Hatred (Indra) and Will of Fire (Asura). He could turn a forest into a death desert in an instant. What's the pairing? Don't know.
