A/N : This is the actual start of the story, in a different time. The previous chapter can be considered as a prologue of sorts, or an extra.


frozen souls amongst strangers

letting their control slip

until none is left


X?

(Unknown Location - ?)

A pound of grogginess fell upon him as he woke. Shaking his head with heavy movements, he reached for his consciousness, or any form of alertness that would pull him out of this situation. Cold ice was seeping through his system and the feeling of something soft, yet wet against his skin made him shiver. Numbness ran through his body.

After gaining some of his senses, Menma pulled himself up forcefully, opening his eyes and groaning at the horribly blinding light invading his vision. Trembling, he noted the presence of snow all around him. Snow?

'Damn!'

Pulling his fingers to his face, he cursed when he saw that they were turning a hideous shade of pale, indistinct blue. As he tried to stand, he felt his legs crumbling beneath him, like the glaciers of ice falling to the ground. With an insane amount of will, he dragged himself up from the innocently white snow. He frowned at the sudden turn of events. Where was he? No, now was not the time. He needed to find shelter from the freezing blizzard he was currently in.

Steadying himself, Menma, who was only dressed in a black shirt worn over a mesh undershirt and some simple black standard ninja pants, experienced the frozen temperatures at full force against his bare skin. Inside, he thanked himself for wearing his fingerless opera-length gloves.

'The only place with snow is the Land of Iron and the Land of Snow...' He thought, muttering under his breath. Small puffs of white floated up from his mouth. The cold temperature was getting to him. His limbs were getting stiff and numb. What jutsu could he use to get him out of this?

Frozen winds whipped against his shivering form, threatening to topple him over. He quickly scanned his surroundings and when he saw a small gathering of trees, he maneuvered towards them. They were bare and leafless, but they would serve their purpose well.

At this point, he was quite desperate, so he urgently formed several hand seals.

"Katon : Gokakyuu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release : Great Fireball Technique)

As the large ball of fire rushed towards the swaying trees, it faced the harsh cold winds and ultimately, hit the poor trees. They caught fire easily and the blaze swept through their forms, emanating a comforting orange light. Menma moved forward, enjoying the warmth coming from the burning trees.

He might have revised his idea, seeing the clouds of black smoke drift upwards. It smelt like ashes, but Menma was pretty used to that already so he didn't mind.

The ice surrounding the trees melted, creating puddles of smoke and ash ridden water.

Menma noticed that the fire was already calming down, due to the lack of any fuel near it, and also the constant snowing. Now, a slow and coaxing flame was burning, about three times the size of Menma himself. Some trees had fallen, but he was in no danger of being knocked down. It was time to figure out where the hell he was, and what he was doing.

There was no noticeable landmarks anywhere and the mountains towering over his form gave him no clue of his own location. Grumbling, he fished out a seal from his pouch. Sure, he wasn't wearing his vest, but a good shinobi still kept weapons on him. Unsealing it, he grinned when a large fur coat appeared and eagerly wrapped it around his form.

'Love this coat,' Even if it reminded him of his horrifying deeds (it had seen many people die, tortured and burnt to death), it still was warm. There was no way he would wear it in the Fire Nation though. It had been sweltering when he had worn it and he swore he nearly died wearing it. Fashion, his foot.

He turned back to the fire. It was doing nicely even as it's fuel slowly turned to ashes. The strong wind had blown most of the smoke towards the mountains, easily spreading throughout the air.

'Where the hell am I?' He searched his memory, sifting through all the past events thoroughly. If he was in a place with snow, how did he get here? Why was he here? Menma bit his lip as he attempted to find out why he was in this mountainous region. Konohagakure wasn't anywhere near the Land of Iron or the Land of Snow and Menma himself wasn't allowed outside of the village.

He had just been on his way to Ichiraku's to get some good ramen, but he didn't remember eating any. 'Right, first thing, search the area.'

Tugging his coat, he trudged through the thick snow.

'Tch, what'cha doing in this horrible climate?' A low growl echoed in his mind. Ah. It was the fox.

'Hello to you too, Kurama,' Menma responded, shrugging at the fox's question. Kurama was more mild-tempered these days. After their capture, he was rather angry and upset but that had passed with time. 'Know where we are? I'm pretty lost.'

Tossing Menma a harsh glare, Kurama closed his eyes, as if searching for something. 'What have you done this time? We're not in Konoha anymore.'

'Well of course,' Menma replied, rolling his eyes. 'See all the snow? No way Land of Fire could be like that. I'm beginning to think that your mind is getting slow, Kurama.'

'You are in no position to taunt me like that, fool! I have lived for centuries and I ought to snap your neck for your insolence,' The fox thundered angrily. His tails waved threateningly behind him, tempted to slam onto the ground. Growling impatiently, he said, 'Give me a moment, I'm going to check the chakra here.'

Strong waves of power coalesced in the hands of the nine-tails, sweeping throughout Menma's mind scape. The tingling sensation on his skin stopped when the fox separated his hands. This time, Kurama looked slightly miffed, if not distressed. He snarled, baring his sharp canines. 'Really now, what have you done? We're not even in the Elemental Nations anymore. The energy here doesn't feel like chakra. It's much weaker.'

Menma snorted. 'What do you mean we're not in the Elemental Nations? That's impossible.'

'Exactly what I mean!' The fox snapped at Menma, sharp claret eyes displaying annoyance. 'We might be in an entirely different place. Possibly an entirely different dimension. I'm warning you now, kit, but we're in an extremely dangerous situation.'

'But... how? How can we be in a different dimension?' Menma spluttered, staring wide-eyed at Kurama. 'Hold up, if this is your form of joke I am not playing along, old coot.'

'Brat, if I was joking, I would have started laughing by now. I'm being a hundred-percent, old man sage serious,' Kurama snarled. 'You. Are. In. A. Different. Dimension.'

Menma remained silent, panic clouding his features. Surely being an S-Rank international criminal would have prepared him for unexpected situations, but he had never experienced something like this. Being in a different dimension... It went unsaid that he desperately wanted to go back to the Elemental Nations. What would he do now?

'Okay. Got it. Different dimension...' He trailed off, voice softening with a rush of fear that hit him hard. A small voice reminded him that he wasn't alone in this situation and had dragged the fox unwillingly into this. A snicker left his mouth at that thought. However, there were some advantages to being in a different dimension. He didn't have to face the ugly glares waiting for him back in Konoha. News of his defection and return had made him infamous, especially outside of the village.

'Right kit, better start moving. The storm is going to start up again if you don't keep walking,' Kurama warned, staring at Menma's fur coat. 'You would have less chances of survival in this horrible snow.'

'Yeah, I know,' Menma grumbled, listening to the crunch of snow underneath his shinobi sandals.

'Damn, open-toed shoes are totally not helping in this situation.'


Menma had been dragging himself through the thick snow and soaring winds for the past hour or so. He was finally beginning to feel slightly warmer, as the climate gradually became more inviting. While he did have the ability to fly, it wouldn't be very smart to throw himself twenty meters above, into the raging gusts. He would most likely get whipped around like a toothpick.

Throughout the period of cold winter harshness, he pondered about his current predicament. How in the world could he be in a different dimension? It just seemed slightly surreal and odd to him. Sure, he accepted it for now, but he did want to go back. In a land of foreign practices, who knew what could happen?

Shrugging his coat off, Menma realised that it was not snowing anymore and the temperatures had risen to a comfortably cool air. He re-sealed his coat, tucking the scroll back into his pouch.

There was more vegetation in this area than on the mountains and it was much easier to breathe down here. As he continued down his delegated path, he started to feel aware of the different energies around him. It felt different from chakra, still powerful, but not as potent or threatening. He current task was to search for signs of civilisation so as to get a better grasp on his situation.

When he emerged from the side of a rock wall, he saw a dirt path reaching into a forest. Checking it again, he decided to follow the path, hoping that it would lead him to some place where he could at least find out something. It seemed used, due to the fresh markings and downtrodden soil.

The sky was still bright, thankfully, and Menma checked the location of the sun. Sighing in relief, he noted that it was centered in the middle of the sky. He made a few mental calculations. If it was noon now, that would have meant that he had arrived at roughly ten in the morning if he estimated the time of his exploration to be an hour or so.

That didn't really help much.

He knew he had been on his way to Ichiraku's at around eleven in the morning. Had a day passed since then? How would he have gotten into another universe? He had already ruled out the possibility of the situation being a genjutsu. Kurama would have known if it was. Maybe an enemy shinobi? Nah, who would be that strong?

Or was it the masked man that had caused his demise?

That was certainly possible.

He knew he couldn't trust strangers.

Lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed the first hints of a town. The forest around him was slowly fading away, leaving only gravel and dirt, and some occasional bushes. Buildings were starting to take form, silhouettes casting shadows on the tiled ground. Menma let out a breath and allowed a small tilt of his lips.

It had taken a while, but he had found a town.

Now for the slightly irritating and tiring thing. Finding information about where he was and if he could possibly get back to Konoha. He walked with more confidence into the town. There were people milling around, speaking with each other and they looked reasonably happy. It seemed that this was a normal city, with simple people and ordinary shops.

As Menma ambled through the various streets, he frowned at the distinctly unfamiliar architectural style. The shops and houses were unlike the ones in Konoha. They had nicely bricked structures with shingled roofs and a certain sense of flair to them. Back in his village, most of the houses were made of wood and they had a much simpler design. More minimalistic than the flaunting air of the buildings that currently surrounded him.

In the far distance, he saw a tall structure, rather striking. It looked very magnificent, with elegant stained glass windows and rising columns of what seemed to be white marble.

People stared at him when he walked by, along with some whispers from excited women and blatant gazes of admiration. Menma registered them all with slight irritation. The looks of amazement were strange to him, after being taunted by villagers for a long time. Though his clothes might have been rather foreign, his looks attracted more attention. He ignored the gawking.

It was time to search for information. He was aware of the conversations fluttering across the street, enveloping him in a world of various noises. At least they spoke the same language which he did.

"Did you hear see Mirajane's new cover shoot from Sorcerer Weekly? She looked so hot! I mean like seriously, she posed in a bikini!"

"Hey, have you heard that Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet was arrested by the Magic Council?"

"You're looking up old news, she's already been released."

Menma digested the new snippets of conversation, grimacing when he heard many terms which he was foreign to. 'Magic Council', 'Sorcerer Weekly', 'Fairy Tail'? What were those? The terms Magic Council and Sorcerer struck him hard. Did this place employ magic as a source of power? Since there was a council formed for that, what kind of place was this?

Running an exasperated hand through his dark hair, he shook his head. He could not gather information like this. He needed to either ask someone, or do some research on this land. It was an easy choice, since Menma particularly disliked interacting with people. Naturally pessimistic, he hid under the guise of fake sunshine and happiness, fooling all his friends and family. That was why he bonded so well with Kurama. They both shared an inexplicably intense hatred for everything under the sun.

Well, Menma had been freed of his anger and hate, but it could not be banished forever.

'Thinking about it again? I'm terribly upset that you got past that stage, but I guess I still can get along with your pathetic nature,' Kurama sniped, jokingly whipping a tail out at Menma. 'Stop your ridiculous thinking. If you need material on this world, then you're probably blind. Can't you see that there's a bookstore nearby? Called Book Land or something.'

'Seems like your aged eyes are good for something after all,' Menma retorted, growling with indignation. He looked around and saw what the old fox had pointed out. Book Land, huh? It boasted a refined exterior, yellow bricks with pretty pink walls and arched windows along with an interesting green door. A sign in a shape of a book hung on a pole. 'Looks somewhat nice.'

'A little too manly for you, isn't it?' Kurama gave a snide bark of laughter as Menma walked into the store, wishing fervidly that the fox would just shut up for a moment.

A bell at the door chimed, notifying the clerk at the counter of Menma's entry. The wayward shinobi nearly whipped out his kunai at the sudden sound, but stilled his hand when he realised it was just the bell. The clerk smiled brightly at him, running her eyes over his body and nodding in approval. She was about to say something but Menma focused his attention on the green bookshelves, skimming over a few titles. He moved forward, examining the shelves with deep concentration.

An amazing variety of books and titles assaulted his vision, each presenting itself in different characters. Some in big, bold lettering and occasional meek ones, small font with simplistic designs. He wasn't particularly interested in the assortment of romance novels and completely avoided their designated area on the shelf.

A title caught his attention. 'The Great History of a Continent : Fiore'

He plucked it out, reading the summary at the back of the hardcover book and grazing his fingers against the solid surface. Turning it over to look at the front, he saw a picture of a large map, with a mass of land named 'Fiore'. The title of the book hovered over it proudly, in a classy font. The book was rather heavy in his hands.

Mussing up his hair once more, he opened the book. It would be dumb to read through the whole book from start to end, so Menma stopped at the page of contents, choosing various topics which would indulge his need for information.

'Fiore, a continent'

'Magic and it's History'

'The Guild System'

'The Magic Council'

'Wondrous Creatures'

'Jewels : Currency and it's origins'

Other chapters, such as 'Relations with other Continents' and 'Cultural Formations', he ignored. Sighing at the amount of pages, he quickly read each one, not wanting to spend too much time in this small bookstore. There were some details which he missed out, though he got the gist of it. While he didn't know specifically where he was, it was safe to say that he was in Fiore, or possibly Magnolia in Fiore. Fairy Tail was located in Magnolia. He remembered several passer-by's mentioning the guild's name and the book listed it as the attraction of Magnolia.

Menma sighed. There were a few questions answered, but a whole lot more raised. Along with more questions, there were more issues. Menma didn't have any of their currency, as stated, Jewels. He only had some ryo but he was pretty sure that they didn't do foreign exchange here.

Without any money, how was he going to live? He could get a job, or join a guild. Those two options didn't sit well with him. He didn't really want to work as a salesman or cashier. On the other hand, he wasn't fond of settling down so soon with a guild.

Frowning in distaste, he returned the book to it's original position on the shelf. As he was turning away from the array of books, he felt something soft hit his arm. A feminine yelp was heard and the loud thumping of books slamming into the floor was audible. Alarmed by the sudden contact, his reflexes activated and he whipped out a kunai, crossing it in front of his chest in defense.

"Oww," A whining female voice sounded out and Menma stowed away his kunai when he realised that he just knocked into someone. He hoped she hadn't seen his weapon. He looked down to find a blue-haired girl on the floor with books surrounding her body. She was rubbing the arm which Menma had bumped his shoulder against.

He stared at her for a short moment and with instinct, he apologised. "Sorry about that." Kushina didn't beat the manners into him for nothing. Holding out a hand for the female to take, he studied her form. She was short, pixie-like, with matching blue hair that brushed her shoulders.

"It's alright," She replied cheerfully, glancing up at Menma's outstretched hand and grasping it, lifting herself off the floor. Dusting off the skirt of her dress, she faced Menma and flushed lightly at his appearance. "I'm fine."

Exhaling slowly, he crouched down and picked up all her fallen books and handed them back to her. With a grin, she thanked him. "It's nice of you to help me." Menma stared at her blankly, regarding her expression with a stiff nod. People being nice to him was still a little too strange. He had not gotten used to the absence of loathing stares and whispers of 'traitor'.

He nodded again for reassurance and she smiled back. He turned away from her and departed from the bookstore just as she was about to say something, leaving her with her mouth wide open. The bell that was hung on the door chimed once more and the clerk at the counter shouted to him, excitement evident in her voice. "Please come back again soon!"

Those words didn't reach Menma's ears. He was mulling over the problems he would have to face for the day (or night, it seemed). He didn't have any where to stay (not a problem, he wasn't a trained shinobi for nothing), but the wilderness was less inviting than a night at an inn. He was sure that they had inns in this town, but he didn't have enough (or any) money. For some reason, a calm sense of panic washed over him. It was as if nothing was wrong. Like this was a strange dream that never happened.

It wasn't reality, was it?

Menma would have to survive the night to find out.


A/N : I am absolutely stunned at the amount of feedback for the past chapter. I would have never imagined to get such a response from all of you. Really, thank you so much.

I decided to start from a proper point and since some of you felt that having Menma play a mentor role in the story wasn't very appealing. I liked both ideas, but I did want to try my hand at something new. I haven't written anything like this before, so it's very exciting. By the way, there will be no pairings in this.

I'm not too fond of romance in an adventure story and I'm very afraid to sidetrack from the original plot. Also, I just couldn't see Menma in a romantic relationship with the ladies of Fairy Tail, so it would be difficult if I don't have the passion for the ship.

I will try to make the next few chapters longer, so that all of you can enjoy the story better. Please do point out any mistakes or inconsistencies in this chapter. Also, I have edited the first chapter so that Menma has black hair and blue eyes, instead of the previous black hair and red eyes. You can consider this as a Christmas present from me, of sorts. If you'd like, leave a review.

Merry Christmas and have a happy holiday, everyone! I was very glad to have put this up before my birthday. Sort of a present to myself as well. I do hope that all of you have a wonderful new year.