A/N: Ok... third time's the charm. Yes everybody after an incredibly long wait The Celestial Maelstrom is finally completed. I know I've kept you waiting for several months on this as well as my other works. I humbly apologize for the delay. June was a busy month for me even after final exams. I had to deal with Virtual School for my gym credit. I won't bore you all with the details. I would have had this out sooner for two other reasons as well. In the middle of June when I originally planned to publish this story my computer ending up updating its software. The cost was any open files I had at the time... and this was one of them. I have a bad habit of not saving my work till the end due to my computer's horrible problem with transforming documents from pages to word. However I attempted again and had the chapter nearly ready for betaing, but my luck just wouldn't have it. A couple nights ago my battery ended up reaching it's limit on charge cycles and I hadn't known thinking it to be normal and at full charge. My mac only worked when I had it plugged into the wall because of this and if not it would automatically shut down. In my haste to save my templates for my fanfics I ended up hitting don't save on this chapter, with no way to retrieve it working. For a few hours I lost myself in anger believing that I am one really unlucky bastard. I actually swore to myself if I could not complete this chapter after failing this many times, that would be the end of this story entirely, no ifs, and, or buts about it. But I have gotten through every road block and have finally finished the chapter. I just hope you enjoy it and that this chapter does not pale in comparison to my first two attempts.
However I am afraid that because of these problems and others, I have to put The Shinobi's Curse, the Naruto x Inuyasha fic idea that many of you voted for, the victor of my last what should be my next published fanfic poll, as well as that secret project on the back burner. I know this must upset a lot of you and for that you have my deepest apologies. I promise The Shinobi's Curse will be done eventually but for now I need to maintain The Celestial Maelstrom and The Planet's Will of Fire. You all are probably asking why I don't just put off chapters for either this fic or TPWoF and write The Shinobi's Curse... well the answer to that question is simple. I must inform you that I am still ironing out the first couple of chapters for The Shinobi's Curse in my spare time, where as I already know what I am going to do for The Celestial Maelstrom and The Planet's Will of Fire, having gone over both for several months with Mzr90. Once again I am sorry if that upsets you, but a writer even a relatively minor one such as myself needs to work with the ideas he is dead set on as soon as possible and save those that still need to be worked over for a later date. I thank you all if you can understand my situation and respect it. However on that note I am going to reveal to you that this secret project is another Naruto x Fairy Tail project that Mzr90 and I thought up. The name of the fic is The Binding Sky and it will be another fic that has Naruto incorporated into the Fairy Tail world rather than Naruto being transported from his world. The pairing will be Naruto and Wendy and I am certain that once I get around to it, it will become one of my most popular fics in no time. As with TPWoF and TCM, Mzr90 will serve as my beta reader for The Binding Sky (or if you prefer TBS).
Finally as you will notice in this first chapter, there have been many changes to the beginning, and many more to come. There were several complaints about The Celestial Spirit Mage & The Maelstrom, some of which couldn't be overlooked. So going over this whole idea with my beta reader Mzr90 I believe we have fixed those problems quite nicely and added some originality to this fic. Also who knows with these changes you may just be in for a surprise at the ways this fic will go. But then again, you guys are the judges so I'll just shut up now and end with two last announcements before we begin.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima. The only rights I lay claim to are the idea of this fic and the original plots it will follow between the main arcs of Fairy Tail. Please support the original works of Kishimoto and Hiro if you do not already. Without the necessary support for Fairy Tail and Naruto Shippuden the rest of the anime episodes will not be dubbed in english. While I can watch english sub I and I assume many of you prefer to be able to hear and understand what the characters are saying. Also any music used throughout this fic belongs to the original creators and if a fandub is used an original creator will be given as well. If I owned any of these things I'd have enough money to live like a king, never work a day in my life, and write my stories every day for those of you who care.
That is everything that I needed to say... and with that out of the way we can finally begin. If you are new to my stories, welcome. If you've been with me from the beginning all I can say is... thanks. So sit back, relax, and enjoy chapter one of The Celestial Maelstrom...
Opening Theme: -Play: Snow Fairy English Fandub by shadowlink4321 (Original Song by Funkist)-
Chapter 1: The Fated Meeting
Fiore, a small peaceful nation with a population of seventeen million. To the untrained eye it is a beautiful yet ordinary land hosting many different environments. But in truth Fiore is a land of great magic. Though ninety percent of the population see magic as a common assistant in every day life there are those who see magic as an art. These people are known as the mages. Banded together throughout the land the smaller portion of the two types of people in Fiore join together in magic guilds, taking on jobs in search of fame and fortune. Some seek to develop their art while others prefer to bring out their skill in order to obtain power. However, one such guild has stood out amongst the rest and will continue to keep its name alive and stand the tests of time, living on throughout history. That guild is Fairy Tail. But before we dive into the adventures of the guild unlike any other, we must first begin our tale with two mages destined to join Fairy Tail and destined for more than anyone could ever imagine. Their story begins in Fiore's central meadows, north of Fiore's capital Crocus, on just another bright day on the smaller secondary peninsula country of Earthland.
"UGH!" A disgruntled voice could be heard for miles from a single dirt road in that very meadow, "Six months of traveling around, following rumors in search of powerful Celestial Spirit Gate Keys so that I have the best chance to join Fairy Tail, and not a single powerful key gained from it."
The voice in question belonged to a rather beautiful girl. No... girl was not right, and beautiful was too simple of a description for her. She was a gorgeous young woman with a rough guess of being around sixteen and a half years old. Her eyes a bright warm chocolate brown. Sun kissed, shoulder length, blonde hair with a small pony tail formed on the top right side of her head by a blue ribbon. Her skin a smooth creamy white but by no means pale. Her body by the simplest means was curvaceous. Large breasts and slender legs combined with other curves in all the right places was a guarantee eye catcher for practically any guy who crossed her path. Her outfit would only see to make sure her body did not go unnoticed. A white sleeveless top with a folded collar and a blue cross going down the middle containing a zipper. The top met a loose brown belt that holstered a black whip with a heart shaped end on her left side, while a set of three gold and three silver keys hung from her right side. Past the belt was a short blue skirt that matched the cross on the girl's top and ribbon and just about covered the girl's hips and upper thighs. A black wristband on her right wrist and a pair of black, knee length, high heeled boots completed her outfit. To suffice most men in Fiore would have to have a few screws loose not to fall for her.
This beauty was none other than Lucy Heartfilia. Heiress to the Heartfilia Konzern and raised with the comforts that only one of Fiore's richest families could afford, a person who didn't know better would wonder why she was traveling the country instead of enjoying the luxuries of home. One would also wonder why an heiress to one of the most influential wealthiest families in Fiore would be traveling alone and unsupervised. The answer was simple, in that Lucy had left home without so much as a goodbye to her workaholic father Jude and slipped off the land owned by her family as if she hadn't existed to begin with. Of course she hadn't left without saying at least one goodbye. Her one goodbye to her late mother Layla, at her grave. But the story of how Layla Heartfilia died, and how Lucy came to the decision to leave home is a story for another day.
For now all that mattered was that Lucy had set out on her own six months ago, to broaden her horizons as an independent mage. Her plan was to develop her skills and experience what the country of Fiore had to offer, before trying to realize her dream of joining Fiore's number one magic guild... Fairy Tail. While most would see this as nearly impossible for someone of her experience as a mage, Lucy held firm that she had at the very least the slightest of chances in joining the guild of her dreams and becoming a mage as famous as the likes of the Salamander and the Titania.
Of course people would also think it is a common goal for all independent mages wanting to join a legal guild would seek to join Fairy Tail due to its status as being number one. But for Lucy, Fairy Tail was her choice for more than just that. While the major details are once again part of a story for another day, the important fact was that when Lucy was a little girl her life had been saved from a falling carriage by one mage. And while she could not see his face, one physical trait stood out. An orange guild mark going over his collar bone just above his right pectoral, which she later found out to be the symbol of Fairy Tail after her savior had disappeared without so much as waiting for her to thank him. If that event hadn't left an impression on Lucy back then, than nothing ever would.
So now here she was, independent and free of the expectations of her workaholic father whose only love after Layla had passed was his company, Lucy had been traveling the country with just one suitcase full of essentials and a map of Fiore, no longer seen as the lucky heiress of Heartfilia, but as just another girl. Although one thing was certain at this time, on her walk down a simple dirt road during midday. Lucy Heartfilia was one blonde Celestial Spirit mage who had had become severely fed up with all the false rumors on locations of powerful celestial spirit gate keys.
"Heh..." Lucy sighed, "I probably shouldn't be so hung up on it. It's not like screaming about it is going to drop any good silver keys or a rare gold key at my feet."
Lucy's eyes fell to the map in her free hand a single finger tracing past a red X that marked her final destination... Magnolia Town. Lucy smiled as thoughts of being accepted into the guild crossed her mind, but reaching that town on foot would take her a few months and in all honesty Lucy didn't believe at the moment she had enough skill or power to join a guild like Fairy Tail. Her eyes and finger leaving Magnolia soon found the path she was currently on and smiled as she noticed a small point on the map. As she was about to read out the name a gust of wind blew through the field, not only providing a much needed cooling breeze but also blowing the map down from Lucy's face revealing she wasn't that far off from her next stop.
A short way down the path was perhaps one of the most beautiful sights that the mostly untouched countryside of Fiore had to offer. A medium sized village could be seen at the bottom of the hill. A small lake off to the right, gleaming brightly as the midday sun shined down. However the one thing that stood out above all else among the scenery surrounding the simple village was the millions upon millions of budded Roses all seeming to be on the verge of blooming at any moment.
This was Rosaceae Village, a small central town of sorts separated from all other civilizations by meadows and plains to the north, east, and west, a small forest to the south east, and finally the mountains that acted as Crocus's northern border to the south. While it wasn't a large and bustling city or the home of a magic guild, Rosaceae was famous for one thing, its magnificent flowers with one type blessing the village with its name. The wild, white roses of Rosaceae were absolutely marvelous to anyone within Fiore who happened to see them. However their true beauty came from the midnight blooming, where under the moonlight the white roses showed off their radiance and proof of each individual flower deserving the title the Celestial Rose.
"Great! No sleeping in a tent tonight!" Lucy said, while a smile couldn't help but grace her face at seeing the village in the distance.
Putting away the map, Lucy started running down the hill at a faster pace, her movements matched by the sound of spinning wheels from her suitcase and the clinks of her assorted gate keys. Passing through the entrance gates Lucy was greeted with smiles from passing villagers that happened to notice her, while others were busy with other things. As her pace returned to normal Lucy noticed everywhere she looked the people were in a festive mood. All around people were smiling and chatting the day away. Some were hanging up paper lanterns, others setting up various flowers throughout the town. However what stood out above all else, was a couple of people grilling foods and preparing treats alongside others moving crates of fireworks and other shops and stalls closing up. It didn't take Lucy any thought to tell that the village was preparing for a festival.
'An actual bed, a warm bath, and a festival can't ask for better after a major disappointment.' Lucy thought as she came to a stop in front of a fairly small building. The only thing that stood out was the small wood sign hanging from a pole with a blue rose and a crescent moon that read...
The Midnight Rose Inn
Looking to be as good a place as any Lucy entered, enjoying the soft ring of wind chimes as she stepped through the door. The inside was much more luxurious than the plain outer brick would lead one to believe. The plaster walls were coated in a magnificent midnight blue paint that only accentuated the cherry wood floor panels and support beams. The blues combined with deep purple carpets and curtains added to the appeal, and true to the inn's name roses were decorated all around the furniture and walls. So many roses of blue, purple, and white it would be hard to believe that they actually existed. Then again it wasn't that impossible to believe for a village called Rosaceae.
The lobby furniture looked comfortable enough and Lucy could only bet that the beds would be just as if not more comfortable, especially after a nice long soak in a hot bath. Her eyes drifted over to the check in counter and her smile dared to grow to the point of splitting her face in half, seeing it to be a short old man cleaning the lenses of his glasses.
'Sweet! Not only will I get a decent room for a change but with this old guy behind the counter I can easily get a big discount on my room if necessary.' Lucy thought as stars filled her eyes at the thought of saving money for the possible magic shops she would come across on her journey. As the old man placed his glasses back on Lucy was quick in sliding her zipper down a bit to show off some of her ample cleavage.
"Why hello Miss." the inn keeper said adjusting his glasses, "How may I help you today?"
"I would like to rent a room for the night." Lucy's response keeping a cute demeanor for the most part, but containing a hint of seduction in case the blonde mage had to move to plan b.
"You're in luck I happen to have a few rooms left over." the old man said taking out a key, "That will be 50,000 jewel."
'50,000 jewel! That will leave me broke!' Lucy's eyes would have bugged out of her head if she wasn't reminding herself that she still had the trump card that is her sex appeal to play on the old codger.
"Are you sure you couldn't... lower the price?" Lucy said sitting herself up on the counter crossing her legs as she did, a hand going through her hair with a small sway of her breasts, her lips forming a seductive pout and her chocolate eyes blinking as though bringing up tears, "For me?"
"No Miss I cannot lower the price." the innkeeper said bluntly leading Lucy to fall back as her eyes widened that her plan for a discount had backfired.
"What!" Lucy yelled as she rose from the ground with a small amount of fire in her eyes.
'That should have worked... I mean look at me!' Was the first thought that came to Lucy's mind as she leaned over the counter with a small glare in her eyes, 'How could he not fall for my looks?!'
"Now now Miss I can understand that the price is steep." the innkeeper sighed, "But during the Rose Blooming Festival tourists flock from all over to watch the Celestial Roses emerge from their buds at midnight. There is a high demand for rooms at inns during the festival and I have to get my money's worth."
"I see..." Lucy said her rage of having her appeal overlooked, "I guess I'll just have to look for another place to stay."
Hearing that the old innkeeper was quick to throw his hands up and try to amend this situation as soon as possible, "Now hold on Miss don't go. I may have a steep price but my inn is most definitely the one with the best quality rooms for the cheapest price. Any other inn you go to will have higher prices... and would be less likely than me to give you a discount on your room."
"Oh..." Lucy said her eyes falling to the ground as the thought of paying out all her traveling and shopping funds was becoming more likely to become reality.
"Don't get upset Miss." the innkeeper's voice held an air of understanding, "I can see that despite your questionable behavior during business transactions you have a good heart and can't afford the inn prices during this festival... so I am willing to make a deal with you."
At the mentioning of the deal Lucy perked up willing to do almost anything if she could avoid cleaning herself out.
"What type of deal did you have in mind sir?"
"As I have mentioned the Rose Blooming Festival is tonight and while everyone is preparing for a grand time, our mayor seems uneasy due something involving the local wildlife." the innkeeper explained, "Now most would say he is being paranoid over wanting nothing to go wrong tonight... but I believe that the mayor is right in that we have something to worry about."
"Ok but what does that have to do with this deal?" Lucy questioned.
"How it pertains to our deal is that the mayor is looking for a mage to discuss a job with and by those keys on your belt I can guess that you are an independent mage." the innkeeper said, "If you can offer your services to the mayor I will give you the room for free."
'Alright!' Lucy mentally shouted, 'This really is my luckiest day ever!'
"So do we have a deal then Miss?" the old man asked.
"Definitely!" Lucy's voice showed her enthusiasm if the stars in her eyes didn't already.
"Great." the innkeeper said with a smile on his face, "You'll find the mayor at the meeting hall in the center of the village... and don't worry about you bag I'll take it to your room. Here is the key."
Grinning, Lucy took the key and turned out of the inn before running off toward the village center ready to earn her free lodging for the night and if she was lucky a few extra jewel for her journey. All in all things were only looking up in Lucy's opinion, and if there was anyone else trying to take the job, Lucy didn't believe she had anything to worry about. With her looks there would be no possible way she couldn't convince the mayor to give her the job above anyone else... unless some famous mage happened to show up which was rather unlikely in and of itself.
As she continued towards the village square the signs of the fast approaching festival were becoming more and more obvious. All around there were villagers setting up stalls, unpacking merchandise and whistling as they worked. The whistling was followed closely by the sizzling of grilling food and the sounds of various musicians practicing for when the festival began. To Lucy this would definitely be a great source of relaxation after walking down that road for a few days.
Catching sight of the village meeting hall Lucy could definitely tell how much simple roses mattered to the townspeople. A large yet simple red and white building stood at the town square flanked on both sides by an assortment of red, white, and black roses. The beautiful flowers could only bring a smile to Lucy's face that only brightened at seeing a middle-aged man whom Lucy could only assume was the mayor based on his fancy rose themed attire. All in all he would seem like the type that would give her the job with or without her using her sex appeal. However that smile of hers fell slightly when she noticed he was in the middle of conversation with a boy with a strange hollowed out rusted sword on his back with chains intertwining throughout the hollowed blade, and by the sword on his back she could only assume the worst in that he was about to weasel that job from the mayor's grasp before she even had a chance to try and get the job.
"Hey!" Lucy shouted as she ran over to the duo, the mayor taking notice as soon as her voice had called out, "Are you the mayor?"
"Why yes I am." the man answered, "Is there something I can help you with?"
"I'm here to talk to you about that job your offering." Lucy was quick with her response earning a pointed look from the boy.
"You're too late here I'm already taking that job." The boy said with a somewhat smug grin on his face.
The boy in question was rather handsome in Lucy's opinion. Spiky yet short blond hair going in ever direction was paired with deep cerulean blue eyes and fair skin. His body was a lean and muscular with his outfit stressing his biceps, that were obviously built from practicing with the sword on his back. His outfit was interesting to say the least. An orange V-neck shirt that revealed much of his collarbone, which was covered by a black trench coat with orange lining on both the interior and exterior made up his torso and stressed agains his toned muscles. His orange shirt met with a black belt and continued into formfitting black pants and boots. A few metal guards could be seen on his shins and arms to add some minor amount of defense to the rather frail looking coat. The final articles of clothing that could be noted was a pair of orange fingerless gloves. Frankly if Lucy wasn't in the middle of competing for a job with him she would consider trying to get to know him better and possibly lead to her first boyfriend.
A grin formed on Lucy's face as she leaned closer to the mayor making sure to amplify the bounce of her bust which earned a glance from both the mayor and a look of longing from the boy. "What do you say Mr. Mayor won't you give me that job?"
'Ninety one centimeters - fifty nine centimeters - eighty eight centimeters... nice.' was the thought that went through the boy's mind before he shook his head to get out of his trance, 'No I am not like that old perv.'
"What do you say?" Lucy asked her seductive pout from earlier returning and having quite the effect on the old mayor.
"Hey I said he was already giving me the job!" the boy shouted getting closer causing Lucy to back away slightly but hold her ground as her eyes hardened on him.
"And what makes you so sure the mayor won't choose me over you to take the job?" Lucy said with a prideful smirk that soon turned to a bit of a condescending frown, "I mean look at what we've got. I have three gold Celestial Spirit Gate Keys... and all you have is some rusted piece of junk."
Lucy quickly came to regret that insult as her fellow blond was quick to level her with a heated glare. There were no words to really describe the anger in his eyes over calling that rusted sword on his back a piece of junk. Whatever history he had with it must have been pretty deep because the glaring stare that those once normal cerulean pools had was intense. It felt like to him that insult would have been as bad as Lucy spitting on a family member's grave. Sensing an argument was inevitable, one that Lucy was sure she would have lost she was glad that the mayor chose then to interrupt.
"Now just hold on a minute you two." the mayor said getting between the two blond mages, "I do indeed have a job that requires a mage's expertise to handle and I can see that you both want the job for varying reasons. So please before you start yelling at each other let me tell you that it would put me at ease if both of you took the job and take care of my problem together."
Lucy and the boy looked at each waiting to see if the other would back away at the thought of having to split the reward that the mayor would offer, but both remained adamant in sticking with the job. With a sigh the boy was quick to shrug his shoulders and grin.
"I'm alright with it." the boy said, "It's not like company isn't appreciated."
"Grand..." the mayor's face was graced with a smile, "I'm sorry I never got your name."
"Naruto..." the blond answered, "My name is Naruto."
"Well good..." the mayor responded, "And how about you Miss?"
The way he had said that had Lucy wanting to furrow her brows and slap him, but there was something about that grin that kept her from doing so. So with a sigh Lucy shook her head, "I suppose I can work with him... My name is Lucy by the way."
Naruto grinned at Lucy and offered his hand which Lucy somewhat grudgingly took after a few minutes. She couldn't put her finger on it but this blond who for some reason had annoyed her so much by just glaring at her seemed so familiar and yet so strange. His face looked familiar but for the life of her she couldn't think of why, eventually just choosing to stop pestering over it and pay attention to what the mayor had to say next.
"Well now that both of you are signed on to perform this job I can tell you about what has me worried about this years festival."
"Well don't leave us in suspense." Naruto said a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "What's been troubling you?"
"As you were both probably told before you sought me out, I have been growing uneasy about the surrounding wildlife, one species in particular that you may be familiar with." the mayor said, "You both know what Hodras are yes?"
"The giant stampeding pigs?" Naruto was quick to voice his confusion since most Hodras were not very intelligent with brains barely bigger than one of their pupils despite being related to the normally intelligent pigs that most farmers kept.
"No offense sir but Hodras aren't that intelligent." Lucy voiced the fact that was going through Naruto's head, "I don't see how they would be a problem during this festival."
"Under normal circumstances I would agree with you." The mayor sighed, "But recently the local Hodras have been focusing on migrating closer and closer towards the village."
"So your worried that they're eventually going to run through the fields that surround the village and destroy all the Celestial Roses that are going to bloom tonight." Naruto said matter of factly.
"Precisely." the mayor added, "After all there would be no festival if the roses are destroyed, and on top of ruining the people's good time it would severely hurt the profits of our floral sales. Celestial Roses while beautiful and plentiful are very high price flowers. Losing even a dozen of our usual pickings would leave a couple of our business in bad shape."
"So you just want someone to send the Hodras in another direction?" Lucy questioned.
"While that would be a temporary solution that would work for the time being I am afraid that I must ask that you do more than scare them off for this year." The mayor explained, "You see I can't afford to hire a guild to take care of this problem on a regular basis and independent mages like you only pass through every now and again. So would it be too much trouble if I ask you to scare them away for good by killing the dominant male who leads the stampedes?"
"You want us to kill their leader?" Naruto's question sounded more like a statement at this point.
"Why yes." the mayor said, "Killing the lead brute should send a strong message to the rest of the herd that they are not welcome in this territory and will be less likely to come stampede the blooming fields."
"I guess we could handle that." Lucy said rather unsure if between the two of them that they could manage to kill a humongous stampeding pig.
"Oh excellent, just marvelous." The mayor cheered, "Thank you both... And I'll tell you what. If you bring back the leader's body for some extra festival food I'll up the original reward of 10,000 jewel to 15,000 jewel and make sure that you get good spots to watch the midnight blooming."
At the man's unending amounts of enthusiasm over them having taken the job, Naruto and Lucy couldn't help but smile. Even after they left and had been traveling through the meadow for quite a while the smiles hadn't left there faces. Of course as soon as they had noticed how far the sun had moved from the middle of the sky and the two blonds had begun to pick up the pace to find the wild herd of Hodras. The duo kept the pace in a rather silent fashion not really knowing if there was really anything to say to one another, or if a conversation should happen due to how things had started between them earlier. Of course the two of them didn't think it mattered all that much since they'd only be together for as long as the job took. Oh if only they could realize how wrong they were.
It didn't take long for the blond duo to come upon the Hodras herd only a short ways away from the blooming fields. Now Lucy had expected a couple of giant pigs probably only about ten that were the size of a small building. What she ended up looking at were around twenty to twenty five huge brown and pink pigs grazing in the meadow with one even larger black pig off in the distance eating his fill. It was definitely a sight to shake Lucy's confidence in her and Naruto being able to handle the job alone, even if the targets themselves had brains the size of walnuts.
"Look at how many there are." Lucy said a small hint of worry in her tone, "I don't know if the two of us is enough to handle them."
"Well you I don't know about." Naruto's face was instantly covered in a prideful grin, "But I've got this."
"There's no way you can take them on all by yourself!" Lucy blurted out.
"Yeah... yeah like I haven't heard that one before." Naruto smirked before stepping forward.
-Play: Battle Theme (Final Fantasy X) by Nobou Uematsu-
Before Lucy could even attempt to try and talk him out of it, Naruto had disappeared in a yellow flash of light and was only a couple feet away from the herd. Rushing down from the spot he had left her at, Lucy's brain was racked with thoughts of how Naruto got down there in the blink of an eye. It shouldn't have been possible even with some form of High Speed magic. Well whatever he had done it had confused Lucy to no end and had caught the attention of the Hodras, who wasted no time in recklessly rushing at the intruder on their territory.
Naruto smirked as he saw Lucy's confused face out of the corner of his eye while raising a hand to the approaching Hodras. Those unfamiliar with that magic always had the same expression when first seeing it, and he couldn't help but laugh at Lucy's confused yet rather cute look. However he soon shook away the thought of her looking cute and watched as several Hodras were charging towards him, thinking him to be a threat that they could easily trample over. Well if Lucy was surprised by his first magic she was gonna be in for the same amount of shock as the Hodras were about to be in.
"Rasenkyozetsu (Spiral Repulse)."
It only took a moment after Naruto had said that, that Lucy had ended up only a few feet away from him stopping in her tracks and her eyes widening at what happened. Just as Naruto was going to be run over by the stampeding pigs the one leading the charge had been blasted back by a sudden explosion of sky blue energy from Naruto's hand, and sent flying into it's followers who then crashed into the Hodras were still grazing, and ended up in a heap at the dominant male's hooves. To say that Lucy's jaw literally dropped to the ground would be an understatement. First moving in front of the herd in the blink of an eye and now blasting away several of those giant pigs with just a palm sized energy blast. Who exactly was Naruto and what magic did he posses that could allow him to do that?
"H-h-how?!" Lucy questioned clearly freaked out by what she had just seen.
Naruto casted a grin her way, "Told you I had this."
"What was that?!" Lucy shouted.
"My magic..." Naruto stated bluntly.
"I knew that!" Lucy's shout contained incredulous anger this time, "I mean what type of magic was that?! Seriously! First you disappear from my side in the blink of an eye and now you blasted away a group of giant pigs with just a blast from one of your hands!"
"So..." Naruto drawled.
"So! What type of magic allows you to do that?!" Lucy's anger showing just as much as her curiosity.
"Well now that you've really asked I'll explain." Naruto said, "Firstly my so called disappearing from your side was my displaying Hiraishin Magic. A magic that allows me-"
Naruto disappeared from sight again in another flash of yellow. Lucy wondered where he was until she felt an arm go around her shoulder, "to travel anywhere anytime under certain circumstances.
Lucy freaking out was quick to throw a punch at the blond for invading her personal space just to grow miffed when he flashed away back to where he had been standing before the hit could connect. "The other magic you saw me use was Spiral Magic."
"Spiral Magic?" Lucy said her confusion replacing the anger she had just seconds ago.
"Yeah... Spiral Magic... A unique magic that allows me to spin and mutate pure magic into various forms as I see fit." Naruto explained before putting his hand out towards her and a small sky blue sphere of spiraling energy the size of his palm formed, "Like so..."
Normally Lucy would have called him out, saying that the utilization of pure magic was absolutely impossible. But with Naruto showing her that sphere she couldn't deny that she was looking at pure magic in the palm of his hand. It was almost mesmerizing at how peaceful the sphere looked despite the wild spinning that was going on. It almost looked like a magic that was just for show and couldn't hurt a fly, but based on what Naruto had used it for just a moment ago that magic was clearly very powerful and had the potential to be very destructive between the power, compression, and varying rotations. Naruto seeing that Lucy had accepted his explanations cut the flow of magic to the sphere, letting the rotations come to a stop and the sphere blowing away in the wind without any resistance.
However Naruto's victory and explanation of his magic was cut rather short as the Hodras were quick to recover and now ready for a full on attack. Lucy was quick to notice and in any other circumstance would have freaked out, if not for the familiar feel of her gate keys. Quick to draw one from her belt Lucy drew it through the air.
"Open gate of the-"
"Don't get your pony tail in a bunch Lucy." Naruto cut the celestial spirit mage off in her tracks, "I said I've got this."
At first Lucy wanted to yell at him. She could pull her own weight and actually help him with these pigs. But after seeing the enraged Hodras snorting out steam with fury in there eyes, and the power Naruto had in that last attack she opted to just sigh and step back. After all she was still going to get a reward from the job and if he wanted to handle all the danger than who was she to argue. Besides she was too cute to be harmed.
Without a rest the Hodras let out a fury filled combination of deep squeals before once again recklessly charging at the blond mage. Naruto merely smirked at their response. Then again they were rather simple minded beasts who ran on the first instinct their attention spans started with but he had to admire them for not running off after they were batted away by a simple magic spell. With a smirk on his face Naruto drew his sword off his back, the chains that wrapped around his chest falling and intertwining into the blade as he did, something Lucy noticed almost immediately.
"Well let's just see what this rusted piece of junk..." Naruto paused and Lucy found the ground rather interesting at that moment regretting her insult, "can really do."
Naruto drew his sword arm back and seemed extremely focused. Lucy noticed that aside from his calm exterior and the charging Hodras, his magic energy seemed to be rising. Her proof only became more evident as his blade began to be surrounded in a glowing blue aura. There was only a few feet separating Naruto from the Hodras before he swung the blade.
"Rasensokon (Spiral Slash)!"
The results were devastating, as the horizontal slash of Naruto's sword sent off a crescent shaped blast at the Hodras which exploded with a bright flash of light on contact. Lucy couldn't believe the devastating power she had just witnessed. When the light of the explosion died down, Lucy's jaw dropped once again at the sight of the Hodras all lying on the ground each with bleeding cuts in their heads and weakly trying to get as far away from Naruto as possible. This had officially marked Naruto in Lucy's opinion as a mage powerful enough to join Fairy Tail if not act as its master all together.
"Well that takes care of the followers." Naruto said with a smile on his face as he rested his blade on his shoulder, "I guess that leaves you with their leader, Lucy."
-End: Battle Theme (Final Fantasy X) by Nobou Uematsu-
Indeed the humongous black pig was the only one left and from the feral yet calculating look on his face, Lucy could tell that watching its family get taken down had only enraged it. While Lucy was sure she could handle a single Hodras on her own, she could easily tell that Naruto was still good on magic energy, and based off of what he had just done would be more than capable of defeating the pig and allow the both of them to get the bonus money. To Lucy it was at least worth a try to see if her charms could work after failing twice today and get her what she wanted.
"Wow Naruto you're really strong and that magic was really impressive." Lucy said closing the distance between herself and her fellow blond, "I bet you could do anything. You could easily take care of that dominant male without much effort."
"Would you do me a favor Na-ru-to." Lucy's voice extenuated each syllable of his name as she took hold of his free arm tucking it close within her impressive bust, a flutter of her eyelashes and a succubus like smile coming to her face, "Could you finish off that last Hodras for me?"
Lucy started tracing small circles on Naruto's chest and she couldn't help but blush. She had always tried using her appeal with sight alone to get what she wanted. It was new territory actually using her body's touch to get what she wanted and she could only feel nervous at this close contact. That lean build felt firm under her finger tip and the developed muscle in the arm she was hugging was making blood rush to her face and her heart pound hard against her chest. Lucy however chose to blame the feeling on her own nerves and due to how admittedly handsome Naruto was to her, as well as to the fact of Naruto having been assertive in taking care of most of the Hodras.
Naruto's mind was processing what was going on at a mile a minute, as his own heart was beating just as fast if not faster than Lucy's own. His cerulean eyes were set on Lucy's chocolate brown and couldn't help but gaze down at his lucky arm which he could swear was going numb and heating up.
"Well- I uh..." Naruto stammered out as he gained his own blush. He certainly wasn't going to last much longer under these conditions. If it wasn't for his sword shaking on his shoulder he definitely would have given in and said yes and have been the first guy today to give in to her appeal. A grin returned to Naruto's face as the color returned to normal, "What would I get from you if I did?"
At that question Lucy's smile fell flat at her mind started to process what he just said. Of course it didn't take long for the light dust of red on Lucy's cheeks to be morphed into a angry red fire in her eyes. She immediately let go of his arm and a fist went flying like a softball sized bullet towards Naruto's head. Her anger was only fueled like a fire when Naruto merely craned his neck out of the way and took a few steps back, taking the time to place his sword back on his back, the chains reconnecting as if it knew it wasn't being used.
"Pervert!" Lucy shouted indignantly.
"What do you expect me to think when you're trying to seduce me?" Naruto's reply came calmly, "If you keep on trying to use your appeal to get what you want eventually there is going to be a guy who asks that question... and unlike me they aren't going to just wait for an answer. They will take your flaunting as a sign to do what they want."
Lucy wanted to argue. She wanted to yell that they'd be too lost in fantasies, would agree to what she wanted and then she could get out before they were any the wiser. But the more she thought about what Naruto just said and how much sense he made. Not every guy was some perverted old man who would spend minutes thinking on what they could do with her fantastic body. Most would be like Naruto, smart enough to know what they wanted, hormonal enough to go after any girl as beautiful as her, and in shape enough to catch her and do what they wanted. As much as she would hate to admit it but Naruto was right.
"You have a point..." Lucy said defeatedly.
"I'm sorry for being blunt." Naruto's voice was rather sincere as his eyes softened.
"No... don't apologize..." Lucy said waving her hands up, "I needed to hear that. I'll take care of this."
Thrusting the golden key she had drawn from her belt before Lucy's magic power rose, "Open gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!"
In a flash of golden light a tall, muscular, anthropomorphic bull with long horns, a golden nose ring, and a giant double bladed axe, dressed in only a black speedo, a belt with a golden buckle, a gold cowbell, and a pair of black boots emerged from the ground. All in all he seemed to be a more than capable Celestial Spirit to handle the Hodras leader. Naruto had a rather strong feeling of confidence seeing him.
"Moooooo! Oh Lucy your body is absolutely perfect" The giant bull bellowed with hearts in his eyes as he stared at Lucy with hearts in his eyes causing the blonde mage to face palm.
And like that Naruto's confidence was drained away, "Well... I can see your appeal isn't only used on human guys to get what you want."
"It's not like that!" Lucy shouted, "Taurus is just a powerful spirit who happens to be as perverted as he is powerful. The only benefit of his perversion is that he is free to be summoned almost every day."
"Soooo Lucy... What do I have to protect your marvelous boobs from today?" Taurus asked with a perverted grin on his face causing Naruto to sweat drop even more.
"Taurus I need you to just go kill that Hodras over there." Lucy said with a sigh.
"Will dooooo!" The giant bull echoed as he ran toward the giant pig with a fire in his eyes and axe drawn. The dominant pig followed charging rapidly toward the bovine Celestial Spirit.
Naruto smiled as he watched the bull get to work on battling the giant pig. He was thankful that he hadn't hurt Lucy in trying to get rid of a bad habit for someone like her to have. Though to say there wasn't some level of him wanting to be the last guy to try and use with her appeal would be a lie. It would also be a lie to say he wasn't attracted to her. Although they're meeting had started off a little shaky he could feel that after getting passed that bit of vanity and that insult she wasn't that bad of a person, and the way she was joining her spirit in felling the Hodras now showed how she saw her spirits as equals rather than tools. Of course he was drawn out of his thoughts by his sword vibrating on his back.
"I was not trying to impress her." Naruto said receiving another shake from his blade, "I was showing her that you are not some piece of junk"
His sword just shook again in response, "Fine so I showed off my magic a little at first but then I showed how you are a badass sword so give me a break."
Naruto's sword didn't respond at that and it rather irritated Naruto. Wether it had been that way when he received it or not, Naruto's sword had had some measure of sentience and always seemed to start "chatting" away at any random moment. Most of the time Naruto didn't mind since he traveled alone, but on some occasions his sword just liked to bother him over simple things like what he ate, what jobs he took, and most recently him showing off for a girl.
Putting the thoughts of his sentient sword in the back of his mind, Naruto continued to watch as Lucy and Taurus proceeded to cut and whip the dominant male into submission. All the while Naruto couldn't look away from Lucy. There was just something about the way she moved while fighting in tandem with her spirit that had Naruto mesmerized, and her rather tight and revealing outfit only made it that much harder to look away. Of course with her back turned to him Naruto was focus was solely on one part of the blonde mage.
'Fifty nine centimeter waist and eighty eight centimeter hips... with that skirt.' Naruto thought as he gulped and mouthed a curse at a certain old mage who he just knew was in the middle of pervert's paradise somewhere in Fiore... Naruto's best guess being Balsam Town due to its famous hot springs. As if on cue though his sword started vibrating once again.
"I was not staring at her ass!" Naruto hissed as he glared at his blade's handle.
The sword shook again in a manner that clearly showed it has being sarcastic causing Naruto to sigh.
"Fine... I was checking her out but can you blame me?" Naruto admitted and received another vibration response, "Hey you and I both know I'm not going to try anything. What do you think I'm like that pervert?"
The sword responded with a short, simple shake causing Naruto to groan, "At least I'm not as bad as that cow she summoned."
Once again the blade vibrated with another short response, "Thank you."
With the end of his conversation Naruto noticed that Taurus had returned to the Celestial Spirit World and Lucy had felled the Hodras with relative ease. The blonde was smiling proudly as she walked up to Naruto holstering her whip back on her belt.
"How was that Naruto?" Lucy's smile only seemed to brighten despite having left most of the work to Taurus, and Naruto could only feel his heartbeat picking up again. It was strange that something as simple as her smile could bring up this feeling of happiness in him and it was even stranger that he felt like her smile was familiar.
"That was great Lucy." Naruto grinned as his sincere compliment came across, believing it to have been utterly ridiculous that they had been antagonistic a few hours ago, "Celestial Spirit Magic is really impressive."
"Thanks..." Lucy said her smile lessening a bit as her voice drifted off, "But you did most of the work. To be fair I believe you should take some of my half of the reward money."
At that Naruto could only shake his head, "No Lucy we're both partners on this job and I'm saying we divide the reward equally."
"No I can't let you-" Lucy was cut off mid-sentence when Naruto put a finger to her lips.
"I've already made my decision." Naruto said with a smirk, "We're splitting the reward fifty-fifty, no ifs, ands, or buts about it."
At his insistence on the equal split of the reward despite her not having done much other than assist Taurus in taking out the lead Hodras, Lucy couldn't help but pout at Naruto. Naruto himself on the other hand found her pouting at him over excluding her from the final decision rather cute and couldn't help but chuckle, "I'll tell you what Lucy, help me haul this pig back to Rosaceae and that would definitely make us even on earning the reward."
At his assertive decision Lucy could only frown for a few seconds before smiling at him with a few thoughts of how she rather liked Naruto's being so adamant, "Sure."
"So you got back just in the nick of time and brought our festival chefs the larger male to cook." the mayor said listing off the blond duo's accomplishments, "I must say you've really earned your money's worth."
"Thank you sir." Naruto and Lucy said both having a grin on their faces.
"Oh no thank the both of you." The mayor said, "Without the two of you I fear that those stampeding beasts would have trampled over our blooming fields and ruined the festival. As promised here is the reward of 10,000 jewel for eliminating the Hodras plus an extra 5,000 for bringing back the leader. The people of Rosaceae will most certainly enjoy the grilled ham treats under the moonlight and later firework show."
Naruto and Lucy each took hold of the bagged reward deciding to split it between them later that night after they had partied at the festival.
"Oh would you look at the time." The mayor pointed out looking to the setting sun, "We'd best get to the blooming fields right away if I am to keep my promise of the good viewing spots I promised both of you."
Without waiting for any reply from either blond mage, the mayor quickly made his way down the street towards the entrance gate with a skip in his step that neither had noticed when he came to greet them. With a shrug both Naruto and Lucy followed right behind just as many others of the village were.
-Play: Flow ~Solo Piano Version~ by tOkyO-
Only a five more minutes. That was how long the village had left till the strike of midnight. When all the Celestial Roses in the fields would bloom in all their radiant glory, under the light of the full moon. Like the locals of Rosaceae, Naruto and Lucy were on a blanket waiting in anticipation for the flowers to start blooming. In a way it could be seen as strange for the two blonds seeing as they were just barely at each others throats hours ago in competition for a job, and now here they were in a romantic date like setting hanging out as if they had been friends or something more for years. To say their hearts were beating faster was an understatement, but both played it off as the other being good looking and sitting under the moonlight amongst the roses.
"So Lucy?" Naruto said deciding that talking would kill enough time for the blooming to start.
"Yes Naruto?" Lucy asked.
"I have been meaning to ask..." Naruto's voice coming out somewhat soft, "How many gate keys do you have and what made you want to become a mage."
"I can get why you want to know how many keys I have but why are you asking why I decided to become a mage?" Lucy questioned.
"I'm just interested in the reasons of why other mages I meet chose to become one and see how common my motivation is to theirs." Naruto explained causing Lucy to smile.
"Well to answer your first question, I have three gold gate keys and three silver gate keys." Lucy said, "And the reason I became a mage is... Because I wanted to join Fairy Tail."
"The Fairy Tail?" Naruto asked making sure that he heard her right.
"Yes Fairy Tail. I want to join and become a great mage." Lucy explained, "But for all honesty I'd have to say the main reason I wanted to become a mage was because my mom was one."
"Your mom was a mage?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah... She was a Celestial Spirit mage like me." Lucy said with a smile, "She even gave me two of my gold keys."
"Wow..." Naruto said, "That sounds like one of the better reasons that I've heard for someone wanting to be a mage."
At that Lucy could only flush slightly while fidgeting in place before speaking, "Naruto I have a few questions for you."
"Ask away Lucy." Naruto replied.
"First off what is with that strange sword you have. I saw you talking to it while I was fighting and wondered why you have it and why you seemed to be having a conversation with it... and what was your reason for becoming a mage?"
"Well to answer your first question this sword is something very special to me." Naruto started, "It's called The Ties That Bind and has always proven to be a formidable weapon. As for my talking to it... well ever since I got it, it has had some minute form of sentience and always vibrates as if it is talking to me."
At first Lucy wanted to laugh at the thought of a sword being sentient and talking to a person through vibration, but as she had seen with the thought of utilizing pure magic being impossible her disbelief had been suspended, "So who gave it to you?"
At that question Naruto's eyes drifted toward the ground, as if he had just found out he only had twenty four hours to live, "My mother gave it to me."
"Your mother?" Lucy said sounding confused as to how that would make him look so sad.
"Yeah my mother..." Naruto said, "She gave it to me the day she died."
Hearing that instantly made Lucy feel like she swallowed a ten pound weight earlier, based on how she insulted it for its rusted appearance, "I'm sorry Naruto..."
"You don't have to apologize Lucy... it happened a long time ago." Naruto said, the sorrow showing in the cerulean pools that Lucy thought could only contain joy or pride.
"My mom is dead too." Lucy's voice was almost inaudible but Naruto heard it and he saw just as much sorrow in those once bright chocolate brown eyes.
"I'm sorry Lucy..."
"You don't need to apologize... it happened a long time ago." Lucy said her feet looking very interesting at the moment.
"I guess you could say she was my reason for becoming a mage myself." Naruto said his tone lightening up, "Her and my dad. They were both great mages. They taught me how to use my magic. I want to make them proud by becoming a great mage."
"That's a great reason." Lucy said trying to move past her depression just as Naruto had.
"Thanks Lucy."
Just then the village clock tower chimed twelve times and the moonlight began to shine brighter with the passing of any interfering clouds. One by one each and every one of the white roses in the field began to bloom each one releasing dazzling lights that radiated like the stars themselves. Set against the moonlight it truly was a spectacular sight. Naruto and Lucy instantly smiled as they watched the shine of the Celestial Roses thinking on how bright they were, just like the smiles of the blonde/blond next to him/her. The viewing of the roses continued for hours before the fireworks started and food began to be served. It was a festival to remember and it easily had Naruto and Lucy temporarily forgetting the depression regarding their mothers.
"Happy Rose Blooming Festival Lucy."
"Happy Rose Blooming Festival Naruto."
-End: Flow ~Solo Piano Version~ by tOkyO-
The festival had continued on into the night but after the fireworks had ended Naruto and Lucy had turned in for the night. Surprisingly the both of them had taken the job from the mayor to earn their rooms for the night. The two blonds had laughed over the coincidence and even left Rosaceae together. However the time eventually came for the two to go their separate ways, and it was somewhat difficult for them to do so despite not being friends for that long. But when they eventually did reach branching paths the two promised to remain friends even if the other was far away and they wished each other luck in their journeys. If only they knew that fate had destined their paths to cross again in the near future, and unlike this time they wouldn't be going separate ways again.
Ending Theme: -Play: Aoi Tori by Fumika-
A/N:
*Rosaceae is the first half of the scientific name of the white rose
Ok before the closing announcements I have a few notes that you should read before you write a good, constructive review:
1. Naruto's sword. My best description of it would be for you guys to think of it as a rusted version of the Brave Sword from Fire Emblem: Awakening with chains wrapping around it. Fire Emblem wiki should have the image of Awakening's version up when this is published.
2. Lucy's measurements. Yes I know the wiki says that her bust was later revealed to be two centimeters less and her hips and waist one centimeter less. At the time I was just focused on getting the details needed for her and getting this third attempt done. On one hand this is a minor detail, but still I'd rather not have to put up with people mentioning that I got it wrong in the reviews (Learned that lesson after chapter four of The Planet's Will of Fire).
3. Naruto's attacks are translated. Yes yes they are. I didn't want to make Naruto's spiral magic attacks into something like maker magic so I decided to just use japanese to create the move names and will provide the english translation whenever they are used.
4. Naruto and Lucy have met before. Yes they have but as clearly shown neither Naruto or Lucy quite remember yet, and I will get to that first meeting when we get around to showing that portion of Naruto's past (Yes you guys have spoken and I am fixing that train wreck up).
Well that is the end of chapter one. I hope that you guys enjoyed it after I made you wait so long. I don't know if it's better or worse than my previous two attempts but I hope that regardless of what has happened that you guys are able to be constructive and positive about it. Up next The Planet's Will of Fire gets a major update, one I'm sure all who have favorited and followed it will enjoy. After that I'll be working on this fic solely for a while so as to make up for not getting it online sooner. After that I don't know how things will go but in this moment I can say that I highly doubt my luck is going to be so terrible as to keep me from putting up chapters for my fics until several months pass. I'll be trying to get more out soon now that the recovering from my wisdom teeth extraction is coming to a close.
A special thanks to Mzr90 for acting as my beta reader for this and my other active project. I doubt I'd be able to have done this without him.
As always read, review (No flames or trolling as the burn and beat away at my hard work. Also just for one last note on reviews that I can't help but stress. Please don't correct me about tiny facts. In a fanfic the author can twist every aspect to how they wish to form the story, characters, etc.), check out my other works, and visit my profile. Until next time... Stay Gold...