A/N: Unfortunately, I can't reveal who the mysterious girl in the prologue is quite yet. I want to but it's supposed to remain a mystery for a while.

Anyways, I left the pairing open because it's going to be open ended at first. He's lost his memories so I'm going to use that to give him an excuse to get to know a bunch of different girls before he meets the one in the prologue.


Chapter One - The Stranger

The soft wind caressing his face was what brought him out of sleep. He briefly wondered if he had left the window open last night. He couldn't remember exactly how long he had been out. It mustn't have been long because he still felt fatigued and his body was inexplicably stiff and sore all over. Not helping matters was how his bed felt hard and uncomfortable. He might as well had been sleeping on a rock.

After a moment, he blinked open his eyes, squinting when the bright sunlight coming in through his window threatened to momentarily blind him. At the same time, he stirred and inhaled deeply through his nose, taking in the crisp morning air filled with the scent of flowers. Flowers and something else. Something rich and aromatic. It made him hungry.

'Wait a minute, sunlight? Flowers? Windows? Did my room even have windows?' He was too groggy to remember... or care. But he soon figured that he probably wasn't at home. In fact, now that his mind and vision was finally beginning to clear up a little, he realized that he wasn't even indoors. And also that something didn't feel right.

A cursory glance at his surroundings confirmed his suspicions. It looked like he was in some ancient courtyard of some sort. Ancient because everything looked decrepit and covered in moss and vine. There seemed to be some kind of large mansion or villa in the distance and he quickly realized that he actually had been sleeping on a rock - a giant slab of it that lay in the middle of a rose garden.

Still, he managed to sit up. But as soon as he did, his body froze. There was somebody else there with him, only a few paces away. A strange looking young man staring wide-eyed right back at him. He was tall, lean and athletic, dressed in an orange and black hooded cloak. His short blonde hair was unkempt, unruly even, but otherwise his features were sharp. He looked dangerous. Yet strangely enough, startled as well.

"You're awake," he said, relief clearly spreading across his face. "Thank Kami. I was beginning to think..." He shook his head as if to clear it. "Never mind that, how are you feeling? Can you move?"

'Can I move?' The question seemed more odd than alarming, but he looked down to check his limbs anyways, testing them. They all worked. Some parts of him were a little stiffer than others but that seemed normal enough for having slept on a rock all night. 'Wait a minute, why was I sleeping out here? And who is this guy? I don't think I know him...' He opened his mouth to ask the first question bubbling on his mind but was interrupted.

"Good," said the young the man. His body seemed to go limp with relief. "Great. It doesn't look like there's any permanent damage... well, to your body at least." Then he sighed. Loudly. "But now for the hard part. Err... Let's see... How should I put this... First of all, do you... can you recognize me?"

His face became a mask of confusion and he squinted his eyes, as if such a thing would allow him to suddenly recognize this blonde stranger asking him all these weird questions. It was futile, though, and in the end, he shook his head. Negative.

"Shit," cursed the blonde. "Damn it. So it is worse than I thought. That stupid bitch. Gah. Do you even know who you are?"

Now that seemed like a stupid question. Of course he knew who he was. "I'm Naruto," he said, easily. But something felt immediately off as soon as it rolled off his tongue. It felt strange. Familiar but empty. Maybe he was saying it wrong. "I'm Naru...to. Na...ru...to? Na... ruto..." It still felt off. Maybe it was wrong. Was it wrong? It couldn't be wrong. But the blonde man across from him looked ecstatic.

"Yes! YES! So you do know who you are!" He cheered. Then his brow quirked up. "But you don't know who I am? Hmm... that's pretty messed up."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but couldn't really think of anything to say. He felt oddly guilty for not knowing this person who seemed so sure that they were acquaintances.

"Ah, whatever, don't worry about it," said the stranger. "Look, I can't stick around much longer so don't try speak, just listen. I'll explain as much as I can. But before that..." He reached back and grabbed something, tossing it over to Naruto.

Naruto caught it, though somewhat clumsily and took a look. It was a waterskin.

"Water," said the stranger. "You're probably thirsty, right?"

It was only then that Naruto realized just how thirsty he really was. His lips were cracked and the entire inside of his mouth and throat felt like dry paper. So hastily, Naruto tore the cap off the waterskin and pressed it against his lips, feeling near instantaneous relief as the cold liquid filled his mouth and gushed down his throat.

"Slowly now," warned the man. "Take it easy or you'll-"

The warning came a little too late. Some of the liquid made it into Naruto's lungs when he hungrily chugged down the water. He coughed, hard, his entire chest disagreeing with him and making their arguments known through intense pain. 'Why the hell did it hurt so much?'

"Told you," chided the stranger, shaking his head. "Be careful, alright? Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. You'll need a bit more rest before you can move around normally again. Anyways, here, I brought this too. You should get some food into your system. It'll help you recover faster..." The stranger produced a large bowl of noodles and placed it on the rock beside where Naruto sat. It was the source of the aromatic smell that made him hungry when he had first awoken. Ramen. "Now, take it easy this time," warned the man again, giving Naruto a pointed look before reluctantly handing over a pair of chopsticks.

Naruto nodded, compliant. Slowly and methodically digging in. The soup was cold but it tasted absolutely delicious. Quite possibly the most delicious thing he had ever tasted in his life, though a part of it might have been because he was deathly hungry.

The stranger remained quiet a while, letting Naruto take in his food. It wasn't until a few minutes later that the blonde stranger began to speak again.

"Now listen," he began. "I'm not sure of the best way to get this out to you, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it. You've got amnesia."

'Amnesia?' Naruto nearly choked on his ramen when he heard it.

"It was inflicted on you through magic. Memory-make or something. Some kind of lost magic, I think. Whatever it is, I don't think it's permanent, but... that might be hopeful thinking on my part. Still, you'll want to at least try to recover your memories. I'd start by asking someone from the Magic Council or maybe some of the masters of the bigger mage guilds. They'll probably know a thing or two; maybe even find something or someone who can help. They'll point you in the right direction. At least I hope so." Somehow, the stranger didn't sound too sure of himself.

But upon hearing this, Naruto could not contain his thoughts any longer. And now that most of his voice was back, he let it out. "Amnesia? You're crazy. I can't have amnesia. I-"

"Do you remember what happened yesterday?" shot off the stranger, crassly. "Or how about last week? Last year? Can you remember when you joined the guild? Or about how you got to Earth Land in the first place? And what about the elemental nations? Remember that? How about your childhood? Your Ninja Academy years? No? Nothing?"

"I... I-" Naruto tried hard to think, racking his brain for his memories. He didn't want to believe it. He tried so hard to come up with something to prove this stranger wrong. But the stranger was right. When he tried to recollect the events of the previous night, his mind just drew a blank. Same as when he kept going back. Further and further back. His memories seemed like a blank slate. It somehow felt like he shouldn't even exist. Even his name felt wrong...

"Like I said... amnesia. As far as I know, all you remember are basic things. How to talk, how to eat, maybe how to fight? Ugh, I'm not too sure about that last one. And your magic... well, you're going to have to find those out on your own."

Naruto's head began to ache, hard.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such an ass, but you've got to realize the situation you're in. Your number one priority should be getting your memories back. If you can't, you'll have no hope of stopping her before it's too late."

Naruto looked up slowly, confusion evident on his face. "Stopping who?"

The blonde man looked him in the eye. "Ah, right, of course you wouldn't remember. She's the one you fought with last night. The one who gave you your amnesia in the first place. Her name is *****"

The moment the last word hit Naruto's ear, his head exploded. At least, that's what it felt like. He winced, and shot up to his feet, toppling what was left of the ramen that had been resting on his lap. He clawed at his head, trying to make the pain go away. It didn't. Not until he felt himself struggle for at least an eternity. A five-second long eternity.

"Whoa, you okay?" asked the blonde man as he rushed over to support Naruto. "What happened?"

"I... I don't know. As soon as you said it... her name, I think... my head started to hurt."

"Eh? You sure? Hmm... *****"

Again, the pain screamed through Naruto's head, like a thousand banshees trying to tear his mind apart. "S-stop... Stop saying it!"

"Damn, sorry," said the blonde man. "Must be some kind of residual magic. I'm pretty sure it'll fade eventually but..."

Naruto cringed. "...hopeful thinking?"

"Like I said before, I'm sure someone out there can help you."

"How do you even know all of this anyways? Who are you?"

The blonde man opened his mouth, then stopped himself. It was an awkward moment before he continued. "You'll find out soon enough," he said. "I'm not sure how you'll react so... let me just fill you in on as many other things as I can before that."

Naruto blinked stupidly. 'What the hell kind of explanation was that?'

The man ignored Naruto's expression of outrage and continued. "Your name is Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," he said. "The girl you're after, let's call her...uh..." he paused, struggling with himself.

"Pain?" Naruto offered, helpfully.

"Huh?"

"Let's just call her Pain since it hurts my head just thinking about her."

The blonde man looked baffled, but nodded. "Good one. So Pain, then. Right. Anyways, so this Pain girl is the one you're trying to stop. She-"

"Why am I trying to stop her, again?" interrupted Naruto.

"Okay, look, I really don't have much time left so just let me do the talking, okay?" said the blonde stranger, apologetically. "No interruptions from now on."

Naruto conceded and nodded.

"Great. So you're trying to stop Pain because she's gone rogue. Well, not exactly, but she's definitely taken to darker things now. It has something to do with her past. I'm not gonna go into much detail because frankly, it's not important, and you'll probably find out eventually anyways. Just know that you have to stop her before she gets out of hand."

"Right..."

"Pain is a mage of Fairy Tail, ring any bells?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Figured as much. It's a mage guild, based in Magnolia Town."

That name didn't sound familiar either but Naruto just noted them in his head and nodded.

"Don't go there. In fact, don't even go near there. Not until you're ready. She's still a member of the guild and if she sees you again, she'll probably just repeat the whole memory wipe thing and you'd be back where you started, only you wouldn't have your trump card this time."

"Trump card?"

"Me," said the blonde, simply. Naruto didn't question it further, though it didn't make much sense. "Luckily, you have a bit of time. She can't make her move until she's completed that S-rank 100-year mission. From what I know, she's searching for some kind of artifact and the 100-year mission has some clues to it's whereabouts. I don't know how long it'll take her to complete the mission but... my guess... probably less than a year. She's strong. Insanely strong."

"And you want me to stop her?" demanded Naruto.

"You're insanely strong too," admitted the stranger. "At least you were. But your problem is that you're stupid. When the two of you fought, your attachment to her got in the way. You held back, understand? Maybe you did subconsciously, I can't really know for sure, but it doesn't even matter because the result was still the same. You got your ass beat. Thankfully, you don't have that weakness anymore now that you've forgotten who she is. But... you'll still need to recover your full strength before you go after her."

"Riiight..."

"So... you'll need to train once your body recovers. Like I said, I don't know how much you remember about your own fighting skills and magic, but you'll need to get them back to even stand a chance against her. Your best bet is to try to get your memories restored first. If that's not possible, then you'll have to train somehow. Heck, join another mage guild. I sure that would help. Your body will remember how to fight if you give it a chance, even if your mind doesn't. Just remember, whatever you do, avoid anyone from Fairy Tail. If they find out you're still alive... well, she'll find out too and it's..."

"...back to square one," finished Naruto, understanding. His head began to hurt again. "Great, so I just need to get my memories back, train till I'm all really strong again, then find and stop this monster-girl, Pain, from doing whatever it is she's planning to do. Oh, and I'm supposed to do all of this in less than a year. Anything else?"

The stranger seemed to ponder a bit, then shook his head. "I think that about covers it. Any questions?"

"You're insane."

"Hey, that's not a question," frowned the stranger. "But I know how you feel. Trust me. Shit, I'm running out of time, I can feel it. But here, let me get you started before I go."

Naruto was too tired to argue at this point and simply nodded, wondering why this guy was in such a hurry. Where the hell did he have to go? Whatever, it didn't matter. Naruto had his own worries now, especially about getting his memories back. That was definitely a priority. Being a blank slate like he was... it gave him a perpetual headache just thinking about it.

"There's a town near here," said the stranger, pointing in the direction opposite the mansion in the distance. "Gilia Town. It's a pretty big town with it's own growing mage guild. The guild is named Sabertooth, I think. I'd go check them out first."

Naruto rubbed his forehead. "Right. Gilia Town. Sabertooth. Got it."

"Oh, and another thing," said the stranger as his hands went up in a flurry of strange movements. Moments later, something popped in a cloud of smoke and scroll materialized out of nowhere. Naruto was shocked. Was this magic? The stranger grabbed the scroll, unfurled it, wrote something in it, then motioned for Naruto to come closer to him. "Here, take this scroll and hold out your arm," he said.

Naruto reluctantly obeyed. "What are you trying to do?" The stranger ignored Naruto's question and again, performed a series strange hand movements. This time, the scroll he gave to Naruto suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and strange markings burned onto Naruto's skin at the forearm. Naruto flinched back. "What the hell was that?"

"Her name," said the stranger. "Pain's real name, I mean. When you're ready to see it, I left it on that scroll. All you need to do is summon it."

Naruto's face contorted into a frown. "And just how am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll find out," he said. "Shit, now I really have to go. Remember, head to Gilia Town. Seek out the master of Sabertooth. I think his name was Jienma or something. It'll at least get you started. Good luck. You'll need it." Then he turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait," Naruto called out, "You're just gonna leave? Weren't you going to tell me who you are?"

The blonde man turned around and simply grinned. "Oh yeah," he said. "Almost forgot. I'm you, Boss."

And with that, he disappered in a puff of smoke, flooding Naruto's head with enough memories to make him black out, once again.


A/N: So Naruto will get some of his memories back. Not the type of memories you're probably thinking of, but it'll help get this story moving in the right direction. Sabertooth will play a pretty big part. I like that guild, for some reason, and it's is why I wrote this story in the first place.

As for when this story takes place, you'll find out in the upcoming chapter along with hints as to why I named the story the way I did. (Naruto is not Acnologia's dragon slayer. That's been done to death in this crossover already.)