Disclaimer: See first chapter
Chapter 2:
"I'm sorry but no matter how much I try to rationalize it all, it sounds like the basis of a crazy story novel." Lucy quipped dryly as she waited for Naruto to catch up to her with the rest of her bags. Having just spent around three hours confined to a train car, the pair of yellow-haired teens wound up needing a way to entertain each other for the time being. Naruto decided to explain a bit about her new teammates...which devolved into a basic grasp (from the blond's point of view) of life within the Elemental Nations.
Naturally the Celestial Spirit mage was in disbelief, especially over a war of all things when the biggest conflicts around here were against roving beasts or a random demon, but her companion vehemently swore by these 'true' facts. Another dimension? Please. Until Lucy saw proof with her own two eyes she'd begrudgingly accept the fact Naruto believed he was a shinobi from somewhere else. Everyone had their quirks and it would be rude to write off the boy's conviction when he was going out of his way to accommodate her and let her into his guild.
So after that fantastical bit of 'fiction' the curvaceous girl asked what his magic was.
She could summon different spirits. There wasn't much else to say, other than she also had gymnast abilities and skill in controlling a whip. Naruto crabbily answered his ability was in Clone Magic despite also claiming to be able to do a bunch of other things which he would not do because they were all too destructive for a flimsy train. It also wasn't magic but jutsu. Others could label it all they wanted but he'd continue calling it by the proper title. The jinchuriki did show off a bit though by crossing his fingers and creating two perfect copies of himself which popped out of the sudden influx of smoke. The one who took the seat next to the buxom blonde even gave her cheek a gentle tug to show it was solid before vanishing in a second cloud.
Bee's magic, according to the Magic Council and deduced by Lucy's sharp mind after Naruto griped about it...was lightning and some sort of Caster Magic involving octopi. The only other member (surprisingly Lucy with their tiny number of mages) and the single one she had yet to meet was supposedly a master of Sand Make. Before they could continue the time-waster/team-builder the train whistled and chugged to a halt, eventually leading right up to where they were now.
Magnolia's market district.
"I guess you could say that." Naruto answered to Lucy's original sentence. "But if you told me one day I'd visit a world full of magic then I would've told you you've either lost your mind or have one hell of an imagination." The Heartfilia heiress rolled her eyes with a small grin but otherwise didn't reply. Besides his whole 'other world' aspect her friend still seemed like a well adjusted individual. "Hey, you think they have any ramen here?"
"The ingredients, sure, but I don't see any restaurants to buy some already made. By the looks of it you're only going to find small cafes to purchase a sandwich and something to drink."
"Damn. I'm starving.'
"I'm sure you can find some in Balsam." Speaking of which, the gal could have used some food herself. Not ramen though. Something more fulfilling to her palette, instead of cheap noodles.
"Yeah I guess." Naruto said before sidestepping around a squat old woman who didn't seem to give a fuck who was in her way. Staring in irritation at her hunched back the shinobi twirled around to see Lucy waiting for him to stop glaring at the senior in wry amusement. Now that he was done being shown up by the elderly she too twisted to start walking again in their travel to the city's western gate only to squeak softly when something bumped right into her. Or more specifically...her large breasts.
And it was two something's actually, as the person was just around the blonde's height and an equal to her voluptuous figure.
Pretty pale skin partially hidden underneath a shoulder-less ballroom gown held up by the woman's amazing bust and the lacy strap looped over her neck, colored a deep maroon with pink bows and frills adorning it while tightly hugging her from the waist up. She was just as curvy, if not somehow more so, than Lucy along with casual open heels which gave her a few inches in lift and a small azure stone on a thin necklace. With long wavy silver hair (also of note: her bangs were tied together in a gravity-defying pigtail) and wide blue eyes, the newcomer actually only seemed mildly astonished she had walked boob-first into someone else. As it was the pair of women looked down at their conjoined racks as the surprise and momentum brought them together; Naruto could have sworn he heard an audible 'boing' as their mounds caused them to safely bounce apart.
"Oh gosh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"
Lucy made to refute the other girl's claims because it was partly her own fault as well for acting like the street wasn't packed before that train of thought was swiftly shut down and the mage stiffened. Stiffened...and then proceeded to go starry-eyed and gasp in pure delight followed by the female hopping giddily in place as she realized just who she went breast-to-breast with:
Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail.
If the sight of the resident guild's hottest gravure model/barmaid touching tits with another beauty wasn't enough, then the loud noise followed by the spectacle of the stranger bouncing up and down sure garnered the attention.
"O-ohmygodOHMYGOD! MIRAJANE?!"
"Hello." The silvernette responded quite kindly, giving a small wave while her other arm rested a bag of groceries against her hip. Lucy seemed to flip out as she hastily dug into her own purse hooked over her shoulder before shoving both a magazine and marker forward.
"My name's Lucy! Would you please sign this for me?!"
Mira's happy smile brightened while she took the proffered items, Naruto politely accepting the sack of ingredients when he finally stepped up to the brown-eyed girl's side so Lucy could get her autograph despite already having several parcels hanging off his forearms. "Of course! I always love to meet my fans!" Mirajane's voice was higher pitched yet everything she said came out sounding pleasant to the ears, easily matching her innocent features.
Scribbling across the front of the latest edition of Sorcerer Magazine, the blonde was positively star struck when the buxom associate of FT handed it back to her and hugged it to her chest in joy. "Thank you!"
"It's no problem at all..." The girl suddenly tapped her lips in thought with a manicured nail after taking back her purchases. "Why, I'm being so rude. Would your boyfriend care for an autograph too?"
The summoner's mood fell just like her face, Naruto's amused look dropping into a stunned expression. "B-b-boyfriend?!" Both blonds stuttered that out, blue meeting brown as the pair flushed a bit. The insinuation was for more embarrassing than it should have been simply because the Strauss said it so earnestly. Then again, the pair was all smiles while traveling together and he was carrying her things like a gentleman.
"Naruto i-isn't my- we're not d-dating."
"Right! Er...We're heading to Balsam Village so Lucy can join my guild!"
Mirajane actually looked saddened by the reveal, as if the romantic in her was let down by the truth. "Oh...I'm sorry for the assumption, it's just that the two of you were either siblings or lovers and I...hold on. A guild? In Balsam Village?" The sharply dressed female swiftly changed gears by clapping her hands together (mindful of the groceries) and gracing her newest acquaintances with one of the sweetest smiles they'd ever seen. The Uzumaki was actually forced to look away from its sheer innocent joy, lest he be turned into one of the surrounding suckers struck by Mira's looks and turned into a mindless blushing mess. Not paying attention to the other market-goers she leaned in and...almost seemed to glow with eagerness. "We've always been a bit isolated due to Magnolia's location in the south, so Fairy Tail never had any nearby guild neighbors! And Balsam is so close too! Much closer than Lamia Scale or Phantom Lord! What's the guild's name?"
"Kage Beast." Naruto said while flashing the stamp on his palm. Brushing past Lucy she grabbed the ninja's wrist with a surprising show of strength and began examining the mark. Satisfied, the ample white-haired girl gently pat the top of Naruto's hand but otherwise didn't let go.
"I'm unfamiliar with that name so I'm guessing you're new?"
"Yup. It's been over a month now. We've been getting the hand-me-down quests, but we still finish every single one."
Her smile toned down to a more serene look. "That's good to hear. I'm so excited to know of another guild close to ours. Ooo I'm so happy!"
Even as Mirajane began to gush, the sage had turned his head towards Lucy who was watching in both awe and optimism at meeting one of her idols. "So who is this exactly?" he whispered quietly so as not to destroy the model's mood; Lucy's good mood took a hit over the very idea that he had to ask.
"Are...are you joking?" she responded tightly, mouth agape over his ignorance as the second woman stopped her cheery mumbling to listen in. "This is Mirajane. She's like the greatest model ever for Sorcerer Magazine! Constantly posing for the centerfold! And a long time member of Fiore's greatest guild! There's nobody around who hasn't at least heard her name!"
Naruto sighed and finally removed his hand from the supermodel's gentle but firm grip. "I'm new to Fiore remember? There's a lot of stuff I still don't know." But it was impressive if she had gained such renown so easily...when he only just recently earned that cornerstone himself after it remained his goal for years...and in an entirely different dimension.
"Well if you ever need any help or have questions, I'm more than willing to lend a hand to any upcoming organizations. Especially someone who's new to the continent. Do you have a communication lacrima yet? It's a staple of running any guild properly and if not then I recommend getting one for your headquarters as soon as possible."
"Uhhhh...maybe?"
"Then here." At this Mirajane reached into the flowery bracelet hanging off her right wrist and removed from the band a small thin slip of paper with one side covered in magical script. A dim glow appeared at the tip of her finger as she dragged it across the sigils before the mage nodded to herself at a job well done and set the object in the blond's palm, curling the fingers around it to make sure it didn't float away from any sudden breezes. "I usually carry a lacrima strip in case of emergency. All you have to do is place that against your communication unit and it will memorize the magical signature. From then on we can open a link between yours and ours at any time."
"Huh. Cool."
The beautiful barmaid suddenly sighed and pressed a petite hand softly against her cheek. "I wish we could talk more but I need to get back to work. It was really nice meeting you Lucy, Naruto. I hope you two won't be strangers, and don't be afraid to call for any questions or just for the heck of it. The next time you're in Magnolia I'd love if you both came to visit Fairy Tail for a bit as well." Taking a few steps forward she turned and gave her new friends a hearty parting wave. "Goodbye!"
The set of blonds returned the gesture and watched as her back was swallowed up by the rest of the people buying their own food. Hearfilia's lone daughter released a small noise, still unable to believe who she just talked so nonchalantly with, before nudging Naruto in the side with her elbow and looking at him with lidded eyes and a coy smirk. "You know, for a guy who essentially just got a celebrity's personal number you're acting surprisingly calm."
"Well she was really pretty, yeah. But other than that she seemed normal enough. You're not freaking out anymore either."
"That's because I got all my fan-girling out at the beginning." For emphasis she brandished the autographed journal. "Besides, didn't you hear? We can call her at any time no problem. Mirajane wants me to chat with her! It's like she sees me as her peer!"
"Us."
"Details. Don't act like you're not impressed by what you learned."
"I just don't see the big deal about it."
Even as they resumed their journey Lucy continued to smile in triumph over the way he kept occasionally glancing at the small sheet of parchment in his possession. Pretend all you want, but now that Naruto knew just how famous the model was, he'd become self-conscious over just how big an event it was to meet with the pin-up. He even muttered at her to be quiet when he stopped at a kiosk and bought his own copy of Sorcerer Magazine which, despite showing the logo of some group called Blue Pegasus on the cover, proudly announced Mirajane and another famous model named Jenny as their centerfolds. 'No big deal', her sexy butt!
It didn't stop her from grinning all the way to the border of Magnolia though.
Balsam Village was truly beautiful, Lucy believed. Its architecture was so retro, based off the styles of Fiore's more eastern neighbors, and with everything aglow due to the place's nightlife her view was enhanced to the point it nearly left the busty blonde breathless.
With all the pagodas and bamboo structures and tatami mats settled on nearly every floor, to Naruto it reminded him of home. They even had kanji although it wasn't this country's native writing style; imported from other lands along with the bronze ornaments and flair. There was even a major river running through the center of the town with the village building up around it and acting as yet another draw to the tourism aspect of the area, with people milling about and going along with their lives.
At first sight Lucy was in love.
Especially from the view she was getting from atop this hill...and from her perch on the other blond's back. The distance was far greater than Lucy actually thought and about three-fourths of the way between Magnolia and Balsam it started to grow quite dark. Unlike Mr. Stamina over here, the mage was growing tired and annoyed by the lack of transportation between the cities. Eventually she finally gave in; the promise of finally taking a bath took priority over Lucy being shy about having a man carry her and possibly get a handful of her bits.
Naruto was able to show off one of his other skills since his new friend suddenly did an about face and asked if he was still willing to hold her so they could just get to the damn destination already. Well, more like complained some and eventually demanded it in a roundabout way, cursing the span of land between the landmarks before waving her perky breasts in his face and bashfully asking if the ninja would assist the 'weakened damsel'. Swallowing her pride and flipping her personal opinion about a prior decision wasn't too hard when physical comfort was on the line. She was a delicate lady, not some sort of muscled stamina freak.
The visual Lucy presented was nice but Naruto didn't exactly have enough room to transport everything by himself without completely swimming in excess luggage. So with a quick drawing of blood (disturbing the girl for a moment) Lucy watched as he did something with his hands before slapping it against the ground. In a puff of smoke a small toad appeared to which the shinobi asked for sealing supplies. The animal croaked and gave a salute with its tiny arm before vanishing, soon reappearing with a scroll, ink, and a brush. Right there in the middle of the barely deserted road Naruto quickly sealed away everything Lucy owned before slipping it right into his item pouch. The girl was stunned, and a part of her mind was drooling at the shopping possibilities.
So he could create clones, and now call for possibly sentient amphibians and make things vanish inside of paper. Lucy hadn't exactly heard of any sort of magics like those before so it lent possible credence to his otherworldly claims.
Naruto just wondered why he didn't think to create a sealing scroll at the very beginning and save himself some hassle.
The war had directly sapped his common sense. He forgot basic things learned over the course of his career that would have helped, such as the lone truth he was a summoner, but it had taken an extra bit of chakra just to get the same results as usual. After calling Pa and bringing the older toad up to speed on everything that happened in the short amount of time since they entered Fiore, the animal tried to reverse summon the boy back to Mount Myouboku.
It failed spectacularly. The Uzumaki simply had far too much chakra now to the point it was above even Fukasaku's level of summoning. Unless they could find a new tear between the two realms the misplaced shinobi was stuck.
Shaking his head to clear it of reminiscing about the past, Naruto dropped to a knee and looked over his shoulder. In a burst of energy she could have used to continue walking, Lucy wasted no time scrambling up his back despite bemoaning about exhaustion, before sighing in relief at finally getting some weight off her sore feet.
Then she screamed when Naruto stood up and promptly began to run. Payback for waiting until the last moment was a bitch, huh?
He was right though...however he did it, the blond got them there just as the last fading rays of dusk vanished and night descended upon the land. Had they continued walking at the normal pace the duo wouldn't have arrived until much later when the danger of traveling in the dark grew exponentially. Even a mage took precautions over bandits and monsters when in the woods, and the road between the two towns was rather straightforward with huge copses of trees bordering it. Plenty of coverage for someone or something looking to blindside the unwary and take advantage of them.
The boy with whiskers destroyed any fear of being jumped from the shadows when he suddenly became a human carriage and jockeyed her so quickly they'd never catch up.
So now the pair of teenagers were walking through the hustle and bustle of Balsam's nightlife after the journey; Lucy looking around in bewilderment while Naruto ignored how soft her chest was against his spine. How was he not tired after all that exhausting exercise? There was so much to the boy she had yet to learn. "So where's the guild at?" she eventually asked, her awe having prolonged the relaxed atmosphere between the two.
"Up the hill." Naruto responded while pointing his chin at a distant incline rising over the edge of the village, grunting lightly as he was forced to readjust the Heartfilia's weight. "It's a darn good view but no one's used the building for years. The mayor said it's a prime piece of real estate and even he was surprised no one before us asked for it. I guess it was just too out of the way from other businesses. He was still reluctant to sell it to us, but we lucked out."
"Yeah, lucky." the developed girl parroted while memorizing the location of a beauty salon. The male blond stopped moving and the slight momentum caused Lucy to gently rock into his back. She could at least pay attention while he gave an answer.
"Do you want to get down now?"
Alongside the deadpan delivery, the ninja took one of his hands away from supporting the flesh just underneath her posterior, only to feel as the passenger grabbed his jacket to stay anchored. The mage graced him with a playful grin when Naruto twisted his neck to get a look at the buxom teenager still hitching a ride. "Nope! Now that you're not moving at inhuman speeds anymore this spot isn't so bad."
His responding look was so dull Lucy had to place a palm over her mouth when the giggles started.
It was true though, the whiskered shinobi could easily lift the other blonde with little effort. He also had broad shoulders to lean against, and if she truly wanted to it was possible Lucy could have drifted off from how smoothly he carried her. She wouldn't though. But it was a possibility. "Are you really complaining about carrying around a pretty girl? I should be the indignant one with how close you are to touching my butt."
Naruto was actually closer to the crook of her knees but he sputtered reflexively at her exclamation and turned back around, completely missing the female's fist pump in triumph. The jinchuriki did however feel as she shifted forward and let her arms dangle over his shoulders and the short sigh as Lucy made herself more comfortable. Moments drifted by in silence as she let her body be swept along; sometimes Naruto felt her move again when another store caught her eye. As he reached a staircase carved underneath multiple torii arches his passenger yawned, prompting the warrior to come up with an idea.
"Lucy. We'll get you set up with the guild tomorrow. It's getting late and we've covered a lot of ground today."
"O-okay." she agreed, her words punctuated by another yawn. "Where's the cheapest hotel?"
"Don't worry about that. You can stay in the guild. It's what we do and it's a lot easier than spending money."
"...is that really okay?"
Naruto shrugged as the pair continued up the hill. "Why not? Kage Beast owns it now. Currently there's just a few beds but now that I think about it, we could add on a few additions in the future for guests."
Lucy didn't share the enthusiasm of just bunking in a random spot they apparently set up but...the gal did like saving Jewels whenever she could. As the pair of blonds finally broke over the rise of the hill and through an open, big metal gate Lucy felt excitement bubble up within her chest...only to be completely disappointed by the non-grandiose and somewhat rundown construct. Two stories and rather large, and modeled like the others in town with a sweeping thatched roof and sliding doors, but the girl was expecting more out of what appeared to be an old forgotten temple.
"Oh."
"Kind of a bummer, huh? We only just saved up enough to start renovating."
"Yeah. I was imagining a big eye-catching place."
"That'll change soon. If there's one thing I'm good at it's getting attention." Letting Lucy's boots touched the stone pathway, Naruto reached out and grabbed the large wooden entrance before them and pushed it open. The oaken constructs creaked at being displaced inward, with the lady allowing in first. Lucy walked in and was met with...total darkness. "Whoops. Sorry. Looks like we're the only here at the moment. Gotta save on bills, ya know?"
Flicking on a light switch the mage was treated to the sight of a wide open room left completely bare. A banner hung from the ceiling though with a bigger version of the guild symbol's three-tailed face but that was about it. The clear lack of anything was a surprise although the Uzumaki's sheepish expression told wonders. Upstairs, however, was a different story. The second floor was divided into small rooms along a hallway with only old stools in the corner. The last few had futons on the floor though. It wasn't much to look at until you reached the makeshift office; the most furnished and made to look exactly like functioning quarters where one would expect the guild master to stay. It had ledgers, and a desk, and stacks of paper placed in strategic spots but like everything else still appeared spartan.
"I know there's not much yet but like I said we've been putting everything into repairs. You should've seen what it was like before we moved in."
"No...no, it's fine. Like you said, everyone has to start somewhere right?"
The male with whiskers grinned as his newest friend looked around in mild interest. "Sweet. So anyways you can use that bed-" He pointed towards a small adjacent room where the light from the office exposed the edge of a mattress. "-since its owner hasn't used it once. I'll be in the closest bedroom if you need me for anything."
Lucy was torn. On one hand she didn't want to take any more advantage of his hospitality and put the jinchuriki on some lumpy bedroll while she was given the one that appeared completely clean and untouched. On the other hand...the busty Heartfilia did enjoy her privacy and Naruto was being polite. After he left Lucy quickly retrieved her supplies from her bags and went into the small bathroom off of the bedroom to make quick work of cleaning off the grime accumulated by her days of travel that all pretty girls shouldn't ever have to suffer under. A bath would have been heavenly but now just wasn't the time.
Throwing on her fluffy pink pajamas the female turned off the light and settled down on the firm, crisp sheets. Strange that, what, they'd been in action around a month now? That's what Naruto said right? And yet no one had seen fit to use this bedding. While Lucy turned to find a more comfortable spot her bright brown eyes were drawn towards the door. Now that everything was calm and quiet, the blonde ironically found herself feeling nervous and excited. Tomorrow would be the day she became an honest mage with all the ensuing responsibilities and repercussions. The thought created a slight tremor in her nerves but Lucy told herself to remain strong. As long as she did her best then everything would work out fine.
That...and having people like Naruto and to a lesser extent Bee watching her back. While she had yet to know the buff man anymore than in slight passing, if the other blond trusted him to start a guild with then he must have been a great guy. It would be tough but who said anything about the life of a guild member being easy? Lucy would work her butt off and be a Celestial Spirit mage that made her mother proud.
With a gentle smile on her face the teenager rolled over and eventually drifted off to sleep.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The redhead stared impassively as Lucy continued to scream like a banshee, arms folded over her impressive bust in an act of protectiveness as she continued to freak out. When she fell asleep last night there had been no one else in the locked room! So it was a heart stopping surprise to wake up, yawn, stretch her arms above her head, and blink away the tiredness only to see a strange man standing in the doorway with a complete lack of emotion on his face. She shrieked. He stood there unblinkingly. She continued to shriek and scrambled to the far side of the mattress where she began grabbing and throwing anything she could get her hands on.
Naruto took a pillow to the face as he burst into the room still half asleep, tripping over himself in his haste to meet whatever was causing the girl to wail. After much fumbling and yelling, embarrassment and explanations, the two yellow-haired teens eventually wound up sitting in the guest chairs placed in front of the office desk.
Naruto was back in his orange ensemble, nursing a bruised nose when Lucy's fist hit a little too hard when he first tried to calm the belligerent babe. The girl in question was noticeably more peaceful but sat stiffly with an air of frustration surrounding her. Now dressed in a tight yellow t-shirt and brown pleated skirt, she sat with both her arms and legs crossed with a magnificent pout on her lips. A matching green ribbon now sat in her hair.
Seated at the desk was both the invader and, as Lucy just recently discovered, the final member of Kage Beast's starting trio. A man who claimed Naruto was his best friend and a person he trusted with his life; mastery over the sands and a monotone voice.
In Lucy's opinion he deserved more of a good tongue lashing on how not to be a creep.
Sabuku no Gaara wore a dark maroon shirt and pants tapped at the ankles by bandages, and black sandals. Over the torso he had on a thick tan vest with elongated shoulder pads and padded straps, and over that was a second thinner grey vest with a single strap over the left shoulder, belted twice at the waist. He was quite pale with heavy black rings around his light green pupil-less eyes and medium-length choppy hair a shade of red that was just a bit brighter than his outfit. But the most outstanding feature on the odd boy was the bright crimson tattoo on the left side of his forehead, written in the same lettering the woman saw about town the other day.
He scared her a bit...but then again she'd never met him before and Gaara just had that sort of aura.
Bright green eyes ringed by shadow stared at the buxom newcomer before sliding over to the perfectly composed Konoha shinobi. "So...this is Lucy. She wants to join." Said emerald orbs closed as the Kazekage reached into the desk and removed a few official-looking documents before sliding them across the table in front of the irritated blonde.
"Fill these out." Gaara remarked in a bored tone before turning to his buddy. "While I am happy to know you found a recruit, what I wish to know is why I returned from my own mission to find my sleeping quarters with someone else in it."
"Your room's the cleanest. You still don't sleep properly and never use it anyways."
"That isn't the point. Inform me next time you're going to rent out my chambers so I do not return to any surprises."
"It was one night." Naruto grumbled before holding out his hand. "Where's the stamp?"
A breath of air slowly and quietly exhaled its way out from between the Suna ninja's lips in what passed for him as a sigh. A second foray into the drawers brought out an oversized rubber stamp which the blue-eyed boy snatched up just as the summoning mage finished writing down her information. She'd been skeptical on including her full name due to her family's prestige (and wanting to get away from it) but...if Naruto didn't even know about Mirajane of all people then the Heartfilia business would totally be off his radar. Handing it over, the redhead began perusing the papers as Kurama's jinchuriki lifted the item into her vision.
Moments later Lucy was memorizing the sight of the pink mark now tattooed against the skin on the back of her right hand. This was it. She was fully, truly, a registered witch of a legal guild. Lucy felt her eyes tear up slightly before the young beauty clenched her fist and smiled. The grin dropped into a look of confusion when the orange-lover seated next to her suddenly took her petite limb in hand and cleared his throat loudly in a way that reminded the girl of how accountants and other people her father ever worked with did to try and sound important.
"Now how did that go? Oh right, let's see. Welcome Lucy..." He took a quick look at the documents, "...Heartfilia, to Kage Beast. As a new member to our slowly growing group, do not hesitate to ask for help with anything you need. While individual skills should be trained, teamwork is the true concept that drives us. Um...yeah. Oh! And let the Will of Fire always burn brightly within your heart!"
"May you also be as unstoppable and free as the wind itself." Gaara droned as an afterthought. If Naruto was bringing his homeland into it then the redhead believed it wouldn't hurt to put a little of Sunagakure's genin introduction speech in their as well.
"Something about clouds too I bet, but Bee's not here to say it."
As she listened to their welcomes Lucy's smile quickly returned. "Thanks, really. I'll do with best." she said, beaming at the pair of boys before Naruto clapped his hands together and stood up.
"Now that that's done you can do what you want. Explore the town maybe. If you want to then you could pick out one of the rooms here for yourself or go search for a place to live. They've got places all over but they're sorta pricey since it's a resort town. I'd say look at the jobs too but we finished the last of the ones we had...but some new ones should be coming soon."
Lucy nodded at the suggestions but looked expectantly towards Gaara. The misplaced Wind Shadow blinked and looked between the pile of papers to his right and the lone female new to their organization. "May I help you?" he asked after setting his pen down; the mage inwardly withered at his dry tone. But they were allies now and even as daunting as he looked Gaara was Naruto's friend, She had no reason to fear him and honestly besides the snafu this morning he'd been perfectly fine so far. Creeped out? Yes. But fear him? No.
"I, well, I just thought the guild master would have more to say."
"I'm not the master."
Lucy was dumbstruck. "Huh?" A quick jab of the finger drew her brown irises towards the fellow on her right, waving at the silenced woman with a big ol' grin. "Really? But Gaara has the office, and paperwork, and he...simply seems the most...mature of all three of you."
"I am the only one with any background in administration and politics. Therefore I get the workspace to run the guild."
"But I called dibs on the position." Naruto stated proudly. Since the Hokage was currently far, far out of reach then he'd go with this one. Bee didn't mind and Gaara saw it as an opportunity to help his friend.
"Yes...I've no problem with allowing Naruto the opportunity to lead Kage Beast. I have seen his leadership in action. However, I still expect you to be here to learn what I and the other Kages were made to do everyday."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. You've already showed me a bunch." The Kyuubi's container waved a hand dismissively before stretching out his back. "If anyone needs me I'll be working on the upgrades until Bee gets back with the extra Jewels."
"I will be here." Gaara didn't look that thrilled at being cooped up in the room, before he grabbed the first manuscript on top of the pile and began the arduous work. Feeling like she'd be in the way for now, the Fiore native gathered her things and dropped them in an empty bedroom for the time being before scampering out the door. Soon finding herself back down the hill Lucy was amazed at the plentiful sight of people in kimonos and straw sandals walking around, proceeding with their lives. In a miniskirt and chest-hugging top...the mage who enjoyed showing off some skin felt rather exposed for once.
Oh well. No one really seemed to mind. She was earning some appreciative looks, and with a spring in her step the Heartfilia decided it was time explore.
"You have got to be kidding me. Nearly one hundred-thousand Jewels for a single room apartment?...I get it's a busy city and everything's pricier, but COME ON!"
The confidence from this morning was no longer present, the search for living quarters lowering Lucy's belief in finding a place lowering more and more with every failure. Out of all the ones she toured, the cheapest and most enjoyable in her opinion was a second story condo perfect for a single young woman. It overlooked the river and had just a perfect view of both the horizon and the guild building's sloped roof in the distance.
The problem was cost.
The buxom blonde could afford it, especially with Naruto helping save her a bit of cash, but with rent that high she'd immediately need to start taking plenty of jobs to replenish her savings. Hanging her head the girl with depressed brown eyes took a bite of the taiyaki she'd purchased as a snack and savored the sweet filling. It was actually shaped somewhat similar to the symbol proudly exposed on her hand. The middle-aged owner behind the counter actually gave Lucy a discount when small talk (and notice of the stamp) revealed her to be the newest member of Balsam's guild. Her organization seemed to have a bit of a reputation going already, and since one could not falsify a guild mark without dire consequences, the male immediately lumped her in positively with Gaara, Naruto, and Bee without question.
It raised Lucy's spirits a little bit.
Scaling the steps back to her temporary abode she vowed that soon she'd take a job and get started on creating her own personal status. Pushing open the big door, the slight hum of the city's sounds were swiftly drowned out by a cacophony of voices and construction. Copies of Naruto filled the expanse of the room, talking and yelling and barking orders over the din of tools. Some carried equipment. Others didn't. All were doing something as Lucy continued to stare in complete surprise. He'd mentioned the Clone Magic or Kage Bunshin or whatever the hell it was properly called...but seeing an entire legion of copies numbering far greater than the pair of Uzumaki he created back on the train was staggering.
"Hey Lucy!" Naruto(s) said in perfect stereo, waving and greeting her before returning to the toils of their work. One suddenly dropped from somewhere above her right in front of the spirit mage making her leap back in fright. The boy simply laughed but threw his arm out to motion towards the extensive area. "Whatcha think? Finished the bar and a new room over there at the far end to act as a kitchen since I heard that guilds can make extra cash with meals and stuff. This whole place will be for visiting non-guild members, and as a place we can hang around too when not on a job. Upstairs is for business and anyone who wants to live here."
Looking at the lengthy construct which would eventually serve as a bar, and the new addition for cooking, Lucy could only nod in awe. Doing all of this so quickly in around a day was impressive, especially adding in the smaller projects Naruto had yet to speak of.
"It looks great. Good job."
"So how was your day?" Naruto asked, Lucy guessed this was the original, as the two started for the ornate stairway leading up to the next floor. Mid-step the woman sighed dramatically and scuffed her boot against the floor.
"Everything's so expensive! I found the perfect place but the rent is ninety-five thousand Jewels a month! Unless I go on high ranking missions all the time it's just too much for me right now!"
"Give it some time then." the whiskered ninja stated as he lead the way back to Gaara's room. The door closed but he walked in anyways, finding the other man still at his desk overlooking a new stack of papers. Lucy winced in sympathy at how bored the redhead must have been. But as Gaara looked up at the pair of blonds he simply waved the small pile before placing it at the far end of the table and sitting back in his chair.
"You were busy with repairs but we've received some new requests by delivery bird. Peruse them on your own time."
The lone female immediately perked up and quickly moved over to start looking through them while Naruto approached at a slower pace. Hunting Bora had been the final mission left of their last shipment; when it was three shinobi in desperate need of proper cash, they blew through the pile pretty darn quickly. Deciding to let Lucy take her pick the container of the Nine-tails started looking around instead as he remembered something. "Hey Gaara. Do we have one of those guild lacrima things?"
"Yes...it was a prerequisite of starting our association. I believe we just paid off the last of the Jewels we owed." He looked over towards the corner where both his large gourd and what seemed similar to a crystal ball rested on a small table. "Why is it you ask?"
"Lucy and I bumped into a girl named Mirajane yesterday from Fairy Tail. She gave us something that lets us connect to the one at their guild. She was really excited that we were so close by, and told us to call anytime."
"And you're going to call them now?"
"I think Naruto has a bit of a crush on Mirajane." Lucy spoke up in a teasing tone, a few of the papers in her lap as she smirked at the other blond. It was so nice to see someone else be the butt of a joke for once, and not herself after striking out with her feminine charm. Sapphire eyes glared at her from over his shoulder before Naruto scoffed away the embarrassment of being called out like that and started lugging the basketball-sized sphere back to the Kazekage's desk. Gaara merely raised a hairless brow in question.
"I do not." he replied quietly (even though the Strauss was reeeeally pretty)before setting the object down in the middle of the desk on its golden claw-foot base and pointing an accusing finger at the mocking lass. "And you're the one who lost it in the middle of the street when she said hello!"
Lucy pouted heavily but, seeing as she did indeed freak out upon meeting the celebrity, backed down and returned to scanning the low level missions. Everything was so...bland. Assist in collecting herbs for an apothecary, 5000 Jewels. Landscaping a house's front yard (plant/earth mages highly sought after), 10,000 Jewels. Part-time waitress, 1200 Jewel/hour. The girl with brown eyes took another look at the hosting job and set it aside; the wages were low but it was right here in Balsam and actually paid a bit higher than other restaurants. Probably due to the whole tourism aspect of the place.
But since they were receiving what was essentially akin to ninja D-ranks, it still wasn't a whole lot, none of them even breaking 10,000 Jewels.
For a regular eight hour shift she'd make a lesser amount of money than messing around with someone's courtyard and getting super dirty in the process. Being a waitress was a lot easier...but at the moment it looked like it was the best she'd get for now and hey, Lucy wouldn't have to travel or do physically taxing work. Seeing her possibly decide on something Gaara removed a discarded paperweight from atop a large book and dusted off the golden embossing revealing the words 'Kage Beast: Jobs Log'.
All guilds were sent the same job opportunities and said guilds possessed an enchanted book, of which they marked off a mission if someone chose to pursue it. The magic involved automatically voided the postings in the other ledgers so mishaps and double bookings wouldn't happen between guilds. But that was in the case of the assignment being released nationwide. More often than not, regional missions were approved and then sent from the Council to the job's closest guild or even guilds if boundaries came into play. But that was going off the basic guidelines; there were plenty of other factors which ultimately decided whether missions stayed locally or not, such as deadlines, priority, risk, etc...
The restaurant posting would have originally wound up at Fairy Tail but with a new guild on the block, Balsam Village's Kage Beast got first pick.
"Anyways I figured since we have some time, why not set up the link?"
The redhead gently rubbed his chin before nodding. "Establishing and maintaining good relations with other guilds would be good for our own in the long run." It had been a staple of running an entire hidden village. Gaara didn't see why it would be any different here in Fiore. Especially since they now actually had interactions with another guild in a neighboring (albeit still far) city.
"Too bad Bee's not back yet. Then we'd have the whole gang here." Naruto said before taking out a small piece of paper from his pocket and touching it to the side of the glass orb. With the dormant magical energy stored within, the orb immediately began to glow as Mirajane's calling card transferred from object to object and locked it into its 'memory'. Scratching his cheek as nothing else happened for a few seconds the blond sage wondered what he was supposed to do now.
When he looked at Gaara the former jinchuriki shrugged lightly.
"Communications lacrima are based off will, or desire if you prefer." Lucy stood up and moved close to Naruto, placing her hand against the round crystal while she leaned in close. She turned to look at the boy, idly noting they rather close again but considering how lacrima worked, its field of vision would require proximity if more than one person was using it. Pushing that out of mind for now the blonde woman narrowed her eyes. "Just wanting to talk with Mirajane now, or just Fairy Tail, will open the channel and notify her that someone's on the line. I suppose you didn't know this because of your whole 'other world' excuse, huh?"
"You told her about that?" the sand-user questioned, rising to his feet and approaching Naruto's other side with his arms folded in his preferred pose. The whiskered Uzumaki grinned awkwardly but otherwise didn't deny it. Gaara wasn't mad, just curious that his friend would actually reveal such information.
"What? Why keep it a secret?"
"I am not saying it was the wrong choice. Only that others will not accept it so...easily."
The curvaceous Heartfilia looked down as the messaging device took on a light glow and she removed her palm from its surface. "I still haven't exactly accepted it myself." she mumbled under her breath before elation filled her and Lucy smiled rather prettily at the image now projecting within the lacrima.
"Lucy!"
"Hi Mirajane!"
"Ah, and Naruto as well! I'm so glad you decided to call!" The busty barmaid's large blue eyes blinked suddenly as they zeroed in on the stoic third of their group. "Oh. And who's this?"
"This is my friend Gaara, another of the founders of Kage Beast alongside myself and a third, Killer Bee, who's not here right now." Placing an arm around the formerly unhinged ninja's shoulders, said ninja gave a curt but still affable nod at the silvernette's greeting as she gave him a pleasant wave.
"Three founding members eh? And Lucy's your first recruit...that's so exciting!~" The Fairy Tail mage quickly turned her full attention to her female counterpart and the pair devolved into girl talk, recounting the first day in a proper guild after Lucy excitedly brandished the stamp on her hand, Balsam itself, and the very first mission she'd chosen and was going to undertake tomorrow. Feeling left out Naruto picked up the rest of the jobs to overlook while the youngest Sabaku looked away for a moment before walking towards his most iconic adornment. Pulling on the strap of his gourd that had the Allied Shinobi's headband tied to it, Gaara spared a glance at the biju container who met his eyes and nodded slightly before the redhead moved to the open window and vanished in a swirl of sand.
Lucy stopped speaking long enough to notice his departure and the lull gave Mira a reason to disappear for a moment from the projection so she could fulfill a few requests for something from the bar. When the ample blonde looked towards Naruto for an explanation, the male looked torn on whether or not he should do the same before shaking his head and gracing his friend with a small smile.
"Uh, hello?"
A bored voice, more mature than the one she was expecting, wafted out from lacrima and drew Lucy's eye back to the item in question. "Hi?" she responded evenly while getting an eyeful of the newcomer taking up most of the rounded screen. It was another woman showing a lot of skin, with nothing more than a strained blue bikini top keeping her highly developed chest from spilling out, and two black bands with silver trim clinging to her biceps. Her skin was tanned like Naruto's, with lazy brown eyes and matching hair which fell in thick curls down her back alongside the two long strands framing her face. Her black Fairy Tail mark could barely be seen at the bottom of the frame stenciled onto her lower left abdomen. With the angle and lack of covering, leaning into the frame exposed a vast amount of her cleavage.
Also of note: she held a bottle of booze protectively cuddled against her bust like it was a child.
"...who're you?"
"Lucy...who are you?"
"Cana." Pausing to take a hearty pull from her drink, the brunette sighed in contentment and rubbed the back of her hand along her lips before giving a sniff. "You a friend of Mira's?"
"Well...not exactly. We just met yesterday."
"And she gave you our lacrima signal?"
"We're a new guild in Balsam. She was really excited." Naruto said, sliding into view and causing Cana to blink at the pair. Running her eyes up and down his Halloween-esque clothing before resting on his face the other girl merely shrugged her thin shoulders.
"New guild, huh? Interesting. And Balsam's pretty close." The buxom mage grinned suddenly at a thought. "Does it live up to its name as the 'spa city'?"
"Oh gosh, totally! I can't wait to test them out myself."
"Ugh, lucky!"
Naruto quietly slipped away again as the two girls swiftly found common ground in treating themselves, with Mirajane soon returning and adding her own opinions into the mix. As the jovial sounds of talking continued in the background the jinchuriki wondered if in the meantime he should join Gaara. Not because he felt out of place while the members of the fairer gender gossiped but because he wasn't the only one to feel the disturbance off in the distance. The redhead, with little to do at the moment, took it upon himself to check up on the sudden increase in familiar and potent chakra.
"Naruto, come here a moment! Could you explain a bit more about Kage Beast? I mean, you are the guild master and all."
"What? Really?!"
As Cana followed up on the Strauss' exhilaration with a low whistle, it essentially brought him back into the conversation and he slowly walked back over into view with a neutral smile that only grew under the light of Mirajane and Lucy's enthusiasm. Out of the entire guild, the only one they'd have to watch out for was Lucy since she was essentially a genin with her entire world still ahead of her. The three ninja were battle-hardened warriors who, after filling out the paperwork, were all pending S-rank mages in the eyes of the Magic Council. They found it highly improper that these three unknowns barely registered for a month believed they were already at that high a level and for now kept them at bay. But in a way it didn't really matter. Naruto, Bee, and Gaara knew what they could and couldn't handle.
Lucy was raw. Had it been her currently out in the field and in distress, you'd bet your ass Naruto would have followed.
Deciding not to worry about the problem he resigned to give the trio of busty women a reason behind their guild's odd name while Gaara took it upon himself to snoop.
Rushing through the treetops far outside Balsam, Bee dodged a sudden wave of razor sharp compressed air which neatly severed the uppermost portion of a trunk followed by ducking underneath a small trio of super fast projectiles that slammed into another tree, ripping thick chunks out of the bark. Ever since he started the return journey from Freesia and a teary, thankful husband, the jinchuriki had used a little biju-enhancing power to cut down the travel time significantly. But someone or something had been lying in wait and, Bee was uncertain just how or why he was under attack, yet he still saw no reason to take it seriously.
Whoever was chasing him had barely any proper power in their attacks, and it simply wasn't enough to cause real damage to the man. They had enough endurance to stay constantly on the heels of the almighty Killer Bee after he stopped using Gyuki's chakra and slowed down considerably to give them a chance...but that was by civilian standards. He was actually going far slower than before to test whoever was tailing him; he was losing speed because he could, not because he needed to.
Another volley of objects impacted near his feet making him leap high above the tree line and into the open air before deftly deflecting a barrage of metal shards, knocking them away from his body with ease or actually splitting them right down the middle before collision. Spinning end over end like an acrobat Bee began his descent and landed in a conveniently nearby clearing only to start bouncing on the balls of his feet as he swayed to a silent beat in lieu of waiting for the others. Moments passed before multiple bodies staggered their way into the opening, gasping and wheezing for air with discernible weapons clutched in their grips and even a few strange metal pieces with elongated cylinders. Each and every one of them wore a similar type of messy school uniform that made them look like delinquents. Both the men and women alike had portions of their hair slicked forward into the style of a long horn.
And each and every one of them was also glaring at the dark-skinned man with murder in their eyes.
Lips split in eagerness as Bee slipped his sword back into its sheathe next to Samehada and posed his arms, spinning on a heel while grinning like a happy fool. "Yo, it's a mistake to raise ya fist against the Killa Bee, ya see, most definitely! WHEEEEEEE!" At the end of his rhymes the male threw a fist in the air with his fingers resembling ox horns and waited for a response. Still gasping for breath the odd pursuers ignored him in favor of continuing to catch their breath; the damn rapper had led them on a merry chase without stopping and the constant exertion (plus occasionally throwing out a cheap shot at him by those who had magic) had drained their energy.
Those who had recovered the most focused their vision on the headband the cloud shinobi wore, now knowing for a fact this was indeed one of the targets they had outstanding orders to learn more about. The up and coming light guild Kage Beast...they were growing far too rapidly and already had the notice of a few dark guilds. But speaking of that...
Dark Unicorn was a low level dark guild with barely any sworn mages and was more like a hangout for people with issues. They caused trouble, shoplifted, broke property, ya know...criminal stuff. But despite their diminutive status on the social order the people of Dark Unicorn believed they'd found their 'in' when they were picked up by a dark guild that, cognizant of this fact or not, essentially dominated the unicorns into being their grunts. Being at the bottom of the totem...Dark Unicorn was happy to have the opportunity regardless. Not all guilds were about magic, with such types as treasure hunters or mercenaries dotting the land, but since nearly all their members were regular humans with misdemeanor charges it meant they barely had any status anywhere.
Oración Seis wanted information (or more) on Kage Beast and so sent out their cannon fodder to do the deed.
Originally pointed in the right direction after confirming one of the members was out of town, it simply became a waiting game for the showy raiton-user. With his amount of (what everyone believed to be) magical power it took no effort at all to eventually track Bee and direct their positions for an ambush. When it became abundantly clear he was heading in a straight line through the forests around town they all jumped at the chance of bringing him down. The problem was they did not know Bee besides his basic appearance and morality. They didn't know of his true skills or abilities. They most definitely did not know what he was capable of. And that was why the Eight-tails' host stood calmly in front of the gang of antisocial toughs without any sign of nervousness.
"You-" one of them began, drawing in a deep breath. "You can't escape us!"
"Escape? Nah, just leadin' ya'll through the trees like a bunch of apes!"
"And stop that crappy rhyming, it's not even good!"
Behind his sunglasses Bee's eyes narrowed. These fools had no taste, and the older male decided they needed a little incentive on why his verses were far above anything they could ever produce. Since he now knew the ones putting on a spirited chase were simple grunts and posed no threat, and he was really hungry and looking for a nice shower, the second of the A-B tag team decided a show of force would change their minds on wasting his time any longer. Giving a light jump while simultaneously twirling around, Bee reached into the second pool of energy situated within his body and let it flow. The moment his sandals touched back down a heavy, bubbling orangey-red aura with one acidic tail came into being around his figure as the tattooed ninja entered the first stage of Gyuki's chakra cloak.
Suffice to say, the pressure bearing down on the much weaker Dark Unicorn members caused them to think twice about engaging.
Even the few carrying firearms found themselves too intimidated to shoot. Seconds ticked by in relative silence before he smirked and took a step forward; they scattered like a herd of deer...only to run smack dab into an encroaching wall of sand that wasn't there previously. The thick, gritty grains cut off escape and pushed the screaming masses together while thick fingers of sand sealed them shut within a wide cocoon of minerals. The sand wiggled before flattening towards the ground to the point each and every Dark Unicorn member present was lined up in a row with only their heads free to allow unhindered breathing. It was a procession of pointy-horned men and women coughing and yelling...but ultimately making no leeway in freeing themselves.
Like a spirit, Gaara appeared in the clearing in a small spire of sand with arms crossed and his usual neutral expression. Bee flashed him a thumbs up while powering down, allowing the grass underfoot a reprieve from burning under the strong chakra. The pair of dissimilar ninja moved to stand before the flailing guild members and the raccoon-eyed boy raised his hand; each and every one of his opponents stopped struggling in an instant as the barrier keeping them contained tightened around their limbs like a vice.
"Naruto and I noticed your presence, so I came to assist." Gaara said to Bee while looking towards the fearful Unicorns.
"It's all good, Number One."
Even though it was clear he hadn't possessed Shukaku in months the rapper still alluded to his former standing. Taking it in stride, Gaara motion towards his most recent creation and the terrified prisoners. "What did you do to warrant their interest?"
"Nothing. Started chasing me for miles but I led them along to see their resolve. They're stubborn alright. Once I got close enough to Balsam and they hadn't given up, I decided to scare 'em off."
"Odd." A single mass of sand and human broke free and floated in front of Gaara until they were looking into each other's eyes. "Who are you and why did you attack my comrade?"
The shell tightened again and the man failed to stutter out a single syllable before outright foaming at the mouth and fainting dead away. A look thereafter to the rest of the hostages showed the exact same lack of determination under duress. Seeing as they weren't going to get anything viable from these weak-willed people, the Kazekage clumped them all back together as the Raikage's adopted brother pulled his trusted notebook from the depths of his vest to write something new before the duo began their trek back to the city.
For light guilds, killing wasn't exactly illegal but was highly frowned upon unless it was self-defense of themselves or others and there were no other options left to choose. The old Gaara would have simply crushed them and moved on, while maturity and responsibility over an entire nation helped temper his old impulses. Instead, the guard would deal with these people. It was much less of a headache.
But he would be there during the interrogation.
Far above on an airship high in the clouds, a beautiful young woman watched the proceedings through a crystal ball held in the palm of her hand. As expected, the two associates of Kage Beast had shown interesting or advanced abilities. Ever since his surprise run in with one that called himself a shinobi, Master Hades had his eye on learning more about these interesting people. But he wasn't the only one after recounting the experience to his subordinates.
There had been absolutely no information to follow...except to search for a metal-plated headband and a large red swirl symbol that was noticed during the brief scuffle. Ultimately word was spread between the allied dark guilds for these certain characteristics. It took some time but fortune favors the diligent after all; who else but three people with similar headbands (and one with a red spiral) would eventually come straight to Era and onto the radar of Ultear Milkovich? Hades had rewarded his mole in the Council well for bringing forth their interest in creating Kage Beast as well as any other information they forked over to create the guild.
As of now the leader of Grimoire Heart was mysteriously indisposed and expressly ordered he was not to be disturbed no matter what...which left Ultear to follow up on reconnaissance.
The redhead down there had adept control over sand but as of yet that coincided with what she already knew. The more muscular of the two harnessed a dangerous energy that melted the ground in proximity to his feet so easily and felt rather vile. That...hadn't been on his registration form. Too bad the young blond hadn't joined because he had the least intel so far. But there would be opportunities in the future to learn.
Allowing the sphere to vanish out of her grip, the dark mage wondered what sort of interesting things would happen in the future. Oración Seis would not like the fact one of their underlings had been taken out. But should she tell them of the problem or let the lesser guild discover it on their own and allow the resentment to fester? She had, after all, been the one to make Dark Unicorn go 'Beast hunting' without first affirming the commands with the other guild. It had been a simple task to impersonate one of Seis' members and give the order. Perhaps they would band together to search for the phony, or even turn on themselves like the destructive people they were. So many possibilities...
Ah, manipulating others was always so interesting.
Was able to finish the last few thousand words in lieu of searching for info on my school paper. Some more stuff happened eh? A bit boring...but it is the beginning after all.
On another note...less than a month until Naruto ends. Wow. I was eight when that shit started. Besides Bleach (which is near the end as well) and Fairy Tail (which seems like it might be growing close to its end), I won't have any weekly manga to read anymore. Reborn already ended long ago and that was sad...and now another is soon following.
Anyways, read and review please. Let me know what you think.