Poisoned by Choice

Chapter 1: Picking the Poison

Disclaimer: I own neither Fairy Tail nor Naruto they belong to Mashima Hiro and Kishimoto Masashi respectively

A/N: Another Naruto and Fairy Tail crossover for my second story. This is a challenge issued to me by mellra, who will also be the beta. This fic will be updated sporadically and will take second priority to my other fic, Hidden Guild: Silent Leaf. Now let's get this started.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon/Dragon Talking"

'Demon/Dragon Thinking'

'Flashback'

Magic/Magic Item

Location/Time Change

Hidden Forest in Fiore, X768

In a cave located deep in a barren forest one large yellow eye opened at an unfamiliar sound that echoed through the forest. The owner of the eye got up from his nap and exited the cave. Its form was then revealed to be that of a giant purple scaled dragon. The dragon's large dark red wings flexed to their full length as it let out a massive yawn. Along the dragon's back was a series of sharp spines connected by a webbing, similar to its wings, which traveled down its back all the way to the base of its long tail. The dragon had short horns growing from the back of its head and five fingers on its hands and feet that ended in sharp claws, and on the elbows were two sharp protrusions. The dragon then tilted its head to find the source of the sound that it could now identify as crying, and started to make its way towards it.

The dragon came across the source of the crying and was shocked at what it had found. While it had smelled blood and humans on its way it never imagined the scene before it. A woman with long red hair that was wearing a sleeveless blouse under a green dress was lying next to a newborn child with yellow hair and a set of three whisker marks on his cheeks. As surprising as this, was the most shocking thing was that the woman had a giant hole in her stomach that she was bleeding out from and the baby was in a cradle surround by candles and had a spiral shaped tattoo on his stomach. The dragon wanted to know what was going on, and why it appeared as if someone had the gall to perform a magical ritual in its forest.

"Woman." The dragon called out in a gruff voice. "What the hell do you think you are doing in my forest?"

The woman looked up in desperation to the dragon as she could feel her life ebbing away. "Please… look after… my son… his name is… Naruto." With that the mother passed away before the dragon could even learn her name.

The dragon let out a snort at her words. "Unfortunately for you, woman, I am the Poison Dragon, Veleno. Nothing other than another dragon is able to withstand the toxins in my breath released just by breathing, let alone the amount that would be put out in the time spent raising a child." The newly named Veleno told the corpse. "You should already have met your son in the afterlife." The dragon paused as he could still hear the baby crying. 'Impossible. There's no way a human could still be alive, especially a mere baby.' But when Veleno turned around he saw that the baby was still alive and was apparently suffering no ill effects from the toxic air it was breathing. He raised a clawed hand and placed it on his chin. He looked from the baby back to the woman's body. 'Maybe I can take up your request, woman. Maybe I can.'

Veleno quickly dug a grave for the woman and placed her body in it. He then filled the grave and carved the year into a rock he used as a tombstone. Veleno picked up the still crying Naruto with his hand and headed back to his cave. As he left the clearing, Naruto stopped crying and fell asleep clinging to Veleno's thumb. Veleno looked down and a small smile crept over his face. Maybe he wouldn't be so alone anymore.

X773

A five year old Naruto looked up from the book he was reading at the napping dragon in front of him. Naruto's hair had grown to stand up in golden yellow spikes and he was dressed only in a pair of blue shorts that were originally too large and had obviously been cut down to fit his smaller frame. He slowly set the book down and started to stealthily make his way out of the clearing. As he was about to leave a voice called out from behind him.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Naruto turned around and met Veleno's half opened eye with a guilty look. "Uh… I'm going to the bathroom?" Naruto hesitantly lied.

"Of course you are. And you were just going to take the scenic route I suppose." Veleno sarcastically asked. "After all, why else would you head in the opposite direction of the bathroom?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head, at Veleno's point. He had been heading for the practice clearing to try and get his Poison Dragon's Roar to work. "You know that you have to learn this stuff, gaki."

"But, Dad, it's so boring." Naruto whined out. "Why do I have to learn to read, write, and count?"

"Because you can't live in this forest forever, and I don't want you to be ignorant of the outside world." Veleno reminded him again.

"No way. I'm going to stay here with you forever, dattebayo." Naruto declared with his verbal tic showing, making Veleno gain a sad look.

'I wish you could, Naruto.' The ancient dragon silently thought to himself as he watched Naruto go back to his book.

X775

"Poison Dragon's Roar!" An older Naruto called out as he let out a large breathe of a dark red poison that hit a tree and went through it. The remaining pieces started to dissolve from the toxins left over from his attack. "There goes another tree." Naruto muttered with a sweatdrop going down the back of his head. He had already turned most of his usual training ground into a barren wasteland from all of the poison he had used.

"Gaki, you have to remember what I told you about our Poison Magic." Veleno told Naruto.

"I know, I know. Poison isn't as strong or powerful as other magics. It's a precise art that can finish a fight without having to fight." Naruto repeat the words Veleno had told him time after time. "But why do I have to know so much in order to use it? Won't I kill anyone I fight because they can't handle the poison like us?" He asked.

"Correct. Poison is more of a support magic that's been looked down upon for being either too weak to actually decisively win a fight or too deadly to be used by most mages. But poison is actually quite versatile. I make you read those books and learn so much because of this. Imagine if you want to defeat your enemy, but don't want to kill them. What would you do?" Veleno asked.

"Punch him without magic?" Naruto answered.

"That wouldn't be as effective as poisoning him, though." Veleno pointed out. "My breath is enough to kill anything, but a dragon and you, if they are exposed to it for an extended period of time. But that isn't all that I can do with poison. In my fights I've used poison to paralyze foes, cause them to hallucinate, and even bring them to their knees with pain." The dragon bragged. "As long as you know what you are doing you can beat someone with poison without killing them."

"When will you teach me how to do that, Dad?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.

"I told you; I've already started, that's what all the reading has been for. You can use the basics of Dragon Slayer Magic already, so it is time that I elaborate on the finer points of using poison." Veleno told Naruto.

"Yes!" He cheered. Naruto couldn't wait to learn more about his magic from his dad. Unfortunately for him, Naruto didn't comprehend what this would mean.

Veleno brought out a large book that he placed in front of Naruto. His jaw dropped at the size of the book. "Now you have to read this book." Veleno said with a smirk. Naruto let out a groan, but sat down and started to read.

A Few Days Later

Naruto walked up to the sleeping Veleno and dropped the book by his head. The dragon opened his eye and stared at the grinning Naruto. "I read the book cover to cover. Now, will you teach me the finer points of poison?" He asked.

"Very well. Gather poison around your fists." Veleno instructed. Naruto complied and formed Poison Dragon's Claws. The dark red poison looked like a pair of demonic claws and would corrode anything they touched. "Right now you aren't doing anything other than letting your magic flow naturally. This means that the natural amount of poison you can produce is being used. As a Poison Dragon Slayer, your poison levels are naturally very high and deadly. If you want to be able to fight in a legal guild then you have to focus on lowering the toxicity of your attacks." Veleno explained.

"So I just have to concentrate on not dissolving a tree?" Naruto asked. "No problem, dattebayo!" He stepped up to a new tree and furrowed his brow in concentration. After several seconds he gave out a cry and swiped at the tree. His attack went right through it and the tree collapsed with a thud.

Veleno gave off a chuckle. "Not as easy as you thought, huh, gaki?"

"But I concentrated and everything. What went wrong?" A confused Naruto questioned.

"A dragon's poison is extremely potent. Even a very weak attack is still stronger than a high powered human Poison Magic attack. You're going to have to lower the levels a lot before you can perform nonlethal attacks" He informed him. "And you won't be able to work on paralysis or hallucinations until you can definitely not kill someone."

"How much should I lower it by?" Naruto asked.

"You know the normal levels you use?" Veleno replied.

"Yeah."

"You need to make it go a hell of a lot lower."

Naruto formed Poison Dragon's Claws again and lowered the toxicity below what he had just used. "Like this?"

"Lower." The dragon told him.

Naruto tried again. "This low?"

"Lower." Veleno said as he settled down for a nap.

Naruto brought the toxicity down even more. "Now?"

"Keep going."

"This good?"

"No."

"You aren't even looking, dattebayo!"

"I can sense it and you could take out a fully grown Vulcan in under ten seconds with that much poison."

"What's a Vulcan?"

Veleno let out a sigh. This was going to be a long process.

Several Weeks Later

"Yes, I finally did it!" Naruto cheered as he looked at his latest target. The tree was still standing and the poison on it was not eating through it. It had taken him days of nonstop training to lower the toxicity of his magic and then even more days to gain the ability to keep it that low, but it was worth it. He quickly ran up to where Veleno was sleeping to tell him about his latest success. "Dad, Dad, I did it. I can prevent my poison from killing people."

"Show me." The dragon told him. Naruto complied and swiped at a nearby tree. Veleno examined his attack and found the results satisfactory. Naruto had managed to only leave claw marks in the tree and the leftover poison wouldn't be able to dissolve anymore of the tree. If used on a human it would make them feel as if the affected area was on fire and they would start to lose control of their motor skills. "That's good, gaki. Now you can start with paralysis." Veleno told him.

Naruto sat down and crossed his legs. Whenever his dad was going to teach him something he had learned to be quiet and listen. Veleno rarely repeated himself and expected Naruto to be able to understand most of what he said on the first try, which is why he had him learn and read so much.

"In order to use your poison for paralysis you must first change the basic chemical makeup of the poison that naturally flows through you." Veleno began. "This is easier with Poison Dragon Slayer Magic than with lowering the toxicity as the poison is already there. You just have to feel it out. It should feel like this." Veleno held up his hand and showed Naruto the yellow poison that surrounded it. "Take a bite."

Naruto grabbed the poison and started to eat it. After he finished a yellow aura surrounded him. "Whoa, I feel weird." He said.

"That's because it's your first time using a different kind of poison. You didn't notice it when you were trying to lower your toxicity as it was a gradual process." Veleno explained. "Try using your new magic on one of the animals in the forest. It works the same way as your normal attacks." Veleno ordered. "Come back here after you're done and I'll show you how to draw it out yourself.

Naruto nodded and headed off into the forest. He had spent his whole life growing up among the trees and had learned how to travel on the branches. As he jumped through the canopy he used his enhanced sight to search for prey. Eventually he came across a squirrel that was out gathering nuts. He stopped above it and froze. When he confirmed that the squirrel hadn't noticed him he gathered the magic around his elbow. "Poison Dragon's Spine." He muttered as a slim, yellow colored spine made of Poison Magic, similar to Veleno's, grew out of his elbow. He pulled on the spine and it came out to form a spear-like shape. Naruto quickly threw the spear, before it could dissipate, and hit the squirrel. The animal froze in place and collapsed. Naruto jumped down and checked the squirrel for a pulse. Finding none he frowned in confusion and decided to bring the squirrel back to his dad to see if he knew what he had done wrong. Naruto climbed back up the tree and returned to the clearing. "Dad, I did what you told me, but still killed it." He told the dragon.

"Hm?" Veleno raised a nonexistent eyebrow in confusion. He hadn't given Naruto that much poison so he shouldn't have been able to paralyze an animal's entire system and killed it. When he saw the squirrel he was holding the dragon face palmed. He should have been more specific and told the kid to start with something large like a deer. "When I said to try it on an animal, I meant something more along the lines of a deer. With such a small animal the poison paralyzed its heart and killed it." He told Naruto. "Never mind that, come here." Naruto set the squirrel aside to eat later and walked up to Veleno. "Do you remember the different feeling of the paralysis poison?" Seeing Naruto nod he continued. "Seek out that same feeling inside of you. As you focus the poison should react to your desire and change accordingly."

"Got it." Naruto told him and then closed his eyes in concentration. He searched inside to find the poison he wanted. As he searched he felt his poison changing. Soon it went from his normal deadly, corrosive poison to a less lethal variant that felt like what Veleno had given him earlier. Naruto opened his eyes and formed his Poison Dragon's Claws. He saw that instead of his normal dark red poison he now had yellow like earlier. "I got it, and on the first try, dattebayo."

"Yes, but you know what comes next, right?" Veleno asked while interrupting his cheering.

"More training?" Naruto asked in resignation.

"More training." Veleno nodded in confirmation.

"That's fine. I already did this when I made my poison nonlethal. How much harder could it be?" Naruto declared with confidence. He soon lost it at the giant smirk on Veleno's face. 'Shit.'

One Week Later

Naruto walked up to Veleno again covered in sweat and panting heavily. He poked the sleeping dragon in the face to get him to wake up. "Dad, I got the hang of the paralysis poison. What's next?" He asked.

"You do the same thing with the hallucinogen poison." Veleno told him without opening his eyes. He held up his hand again, only this time it was covered in a green poison. "It will be easier to use this kind as hallucinogens are nonlethal.

Naruto gave out a groan. "Fuck. Okay, I'll do it." As he went to eat the poison Veleno shot out a claw and tapped him on the forehead. Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto his back.

'Foolish boy. You don't have to push yourself so hard.' Veleno thought as he used his tail to bring Naruto to his side. He had mastered the paralysis poison faster than expected. Veleno shifted around to make the exhausted boy comfortable before placing his tail over him like a blanket. The sleeping Naruto grabbed onto the tail and cuddled up to it like a stuffed animal, making the dragon give off a small smile. "I'm glad that you came into my life, Naruto." The ancient dragon told the sleeping child.

Several Days Later

"Done." Naruto said as he watched the squirrel he had been practicing on recover from his poison and run away. He had gotten the hang of the last type of poison he had been taught. It had been significantly easier to control as he could watch the duration in its entirety and he already had a lot of practice on the other kinds of poison.

"Good." Veleno rumbled from behind Naruto, making the human jump. He would never understand how something so big was able to move around so quietly. "Now you can finally learn the secrets of Poison Dragon Slaying Magic." He told him.

"Secrets?" Naruto said in confusion. "I thought the different types of poison were the secrets."

Veleno gave out a long, booming laugh. "No, those were only a little beyond the basics. You didn't think that the spells I taught you were all there was to learn about fighting with Dragon Slaying Magic, did you? There is so much more, stronger magic that you can learn, including the pinnacle of all Dragon Slaying Magic: Dragon Force." He told Naruto, who looked up with stars in his eyes. He didn't know what Dragon Force was, but it sounded super cool to him.

"What are you going to teach me first, Dad?" He asked.

"First you will learn the advanced spells, which are known as Toxic Overflow. After which I will attempt to teach you Dragon Force." Veleno outlined his teaching plan to Naruto. "If you get good enough at the advanced spells, eventually, you will be able to make up your own spells.

"When do we start?" Naruto asked in excitement.

A smile spread across Veleno's face as he set himself into a crouch. Wisps of poisonous gases started to trickle out of his mouth that made Naruto's eyes widen as he reflexively slipped into his fighting stance. "Right now." Veleno roared as he shot poison at Naruto. He had discovered early into Naruto's training that he learned faster and better if he sparred with Veleno compared to when he was just told what to do, and if he didn't get it then he would never give up and keep trying until he did.

Naruto knew the rules of his spars with his dad and dodged the stream of poison instead of eating it. Like Veleno always said: 'You won't always face a Poison Magic user, so you have to learn how to dodge.' Naruto took that to heart and never tried to eat his dad's poison. In reality Veleno had an ulterior motive. He didn't want Naruto to accidently trigger Dragon's Force or die from eating too much potent poison too early in his training. If he activated Dragon's Force unknowingly the rage he would be driven into could end up killing him by pushing his body past its limits.

"Activate your full Poison Dragon's Spines." Veleno instructed as Naruto flitted around the clearing. Naruto complied and purple spines grew on his back and elbows. Feeling the spell activate, Veleno continued with his instructions. "Now cross your arms and spin forwards while focusing your magic to the spins. If you can do this fast enough you will be able to move around like a wheel." Veleno then "encouraged" Naruto by slamming his tail at where he had been running.

'Cross my arms and spin, cross my arms and spin. Then focus my magic to the spines. Got it.' Naruto thought to himself. He jumped forwards to start a somersault and used his momentum and spines to grab hold of the ground and start spinning like a demented wheel. Unfortunately he lacked the control needed to turn and ended up plowing into a tree and getting stuck in the trunk.

'This might take a while.' Veleno thought as he watched Naruto's poison dissolve the trunk and the mage fall onto his head.

January X777

It had taken years of hard training and Naruto's sweat, blood, and tears, (literally) but Veleno had finally deemed Naruto ready to learn Dragon Force. "Alright, Naruto, in order to use Dragon Force you must look inside of yourself and search for the hidden power that needs to be unlocked. Nearly all of the Dragon Slayers in history have been unable to use this power at will. Most have to eat an extremely powerful magic of their specific element in order to activate it, so don't be discouraged if you can't get it on your first try." Veleno told the mage as he sat in a meditating position.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be the first mage to get it on their first try, dattebayo! After all, I was trained by you." Naruto confidently told him. He then closed his eyes and started to concentrate.

Inside Naruto's Mind

Naruto stood up in a hallway lined with pipes that was filled with water that reached up to his shins. He looked around in confusion. 'What is this, a sewer? I guess I should look around and see if I can find the "inner power" Dad was talking about.' Naruto decided and walked down the hall. The farther he got the more he could feel a dark presence. He eventually came to a large barred gate that had a small tag with a strange symbol on it. Confused, Naruto walked closer to the bar assuming that his power was lock behind the gate. When he got within a foot of the bars a giant clawed hand with red-orange fur tried to impale him around the bars. Naruto fell onto his back in the water and backed away from the claws. From the darkness a large fox head with matching fur, black markings around its giant slitted red eyes, whisker marks on its cheeks, and black lips pulled back in a snarl to revel giant, white, razor sharp teeth twice the size of Naruto. A deep, malicious voice echoed around the sewer. "I've been waiting for you, human."

A/N: And first chapter done. Now this story will be shorter and I will only work on it after my monthly chapter for Silent Leaf has been posted so there might be significant time between chapters. I've warned you so I do NOT want to get PMs or reviews about the time it takes me to update. Naruto's poisons are: dark red for lethal (like Cobra), purple for nonlethal, yellow for paralysis, and green for hallucinogen. If you have questions about the story leave a review. Later.