I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Master said as Naruto entered the guild.

"Morning, gramps. Where did everyone go?" he asked, looking around in surprise.

"They all went out on some jobs. Speaking of jobs, why don't you take a look at the request board?" he suggested, pointing out the board to Naruto before walking away. Naruto's stomach rumbled loudly and he grimaced.

"I guess if I want to eat I'll need to go on a job," he groaned. "But I was really looking forward to some delicious ramen!" A bowl of steaming ramen appeared at his elbow. He looked up in surprise to see Erza standing in front of him.

"Eat up," she said, taking a seat beside him.

"But I don't have any money!" he protested. She pushed the bowl towards him insistently.

"Master told me to take you out on a job so you can see how it's done and I don't want you working on an empty stomach, so eat. You can pay me back later," she commanded. Naruto nodded and quickly wolfed down the ramen. Once he was done, they headed out, taking the train to Oshibana.

"An S-class mage like you wouldn't normally take beginners out on jobs," Naruto commented shrewdly. "Gramps wants to know how powerful I am, right?" Erza looked surprised by his intuition and smiled.

"Correct. Don't worry though; we won't be taking a very difficult job. We're supposed to clear out the bandit hideout in the Waas Forest for a reward of 200 000 jewels. And speaking of money, have you rented a place yet?" Naruto shook his head and she frowned. "Where have you been sleeping these past two days then?"

"I found a really comfortable tree just outside the town," he said casually. She did a double-take before realizing he wasn't joking.

"In that case, I'll help you look for a place once we get back from this job," she said decisively. She glanced out the window as the train screeched to a stop. "This is our stop, let's go." They quickly got off the train and entered the town. Naruto was so absorbed by his surroundings, he bumped into her with a resounding clang. She ignored his sheepish apologies and turned around to give him a critical once-over.

"The Waas Forest is two days' journey away from here by foot and half a day by four-wheeler. Would you rather walk or take the four-wheeler?"

"Well, seeing as I just recently recovered and haven't had much time to do some exercise, I say we walk. But are you fine with dragging all that luggage for such a long distance?" Naruto replied, glancing at her pile of luggage. She shrugged noncommittally and he sighed. He sat down on the ground and pulled out a blank scroll and an ink set from his pouch. He quickly began inscribing the formula for a storage seal while Erza watched in confusion. Once he was done, he ran through the usual seals and the luggage vanished with a poof, the word for 'luggage' appearing on the center of the scroll.

"What kind of magic is that?" Erza asked in surprise. "It looks like a mixture of my requip magic and runes magic." Naruto shrugged as he stowed away his equipment.

"The magic I use is different from your typical everyday magic," he said cryptically. "At any rate, we can travel easier now. Let's go!" With that, he raced off, leaving Erza standing alone in the street. Several streets away he skidded to a stop and came back.

"Uh….which way is it again?" he asked, sheepishly scratching his head. Erza smiled at his childishness, inwardly surprised at the change in herself. If it had been Natsu, she probably would have smacked him for his stupidity and continued walking, but with Naruto it was different. Perhaps it was the strong and warm magical presence he had that felt like it could melt even her armoured heart.

It was getting dark by the time Erza called a halt and suggested they set up camp. Naruto readily agreed; his stomach had been growling for the past half hour and he was getting tired. He unsealed Erza's luggage and they quickly whipped up a meal (unfortunately not ramen) and set up a tent.

"Say Naruto, why don't you tell me about yourself? What with the busyness of the past few days, we haven't really gotten to know each other," Erza said, gazing into the fire. Naruto looked up from his spot by the fire where he was carefully rearranging his stash of gear.

"Hm…. Well, what do you want to know?"

"Do you have any goals or dreams? And where do you come from?"

"My dream is to be the greatest Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning widely.

"Hokage? What's that?" Erza asked curiously. He paused, suddenly confused.

"Oh, it's….I don't remember…." he realized. "I can't remember! I remember always shouting that, but I don't know what it means…..And I remember my friends and my family, but the details are all gone…." He clenched his fists, tears rolling down his cheeks as he tried frantically to remember. A hand touched him on the shoulder and he looked up.

"It's okay, we'll figure something out," Erza smiled. He nodded and wiped away his tears, suddenly embarrassed by his emotional outburst. "So how far back do you remember before it gets blurred?" Erza asked gently. Naruto thought for a moment before replying.

"Just before the Tower of Heaven and Jellal," he said, frustrated. Erza tensed at the mention of Jellal's name, a troubled expression on her face. Naruto glanced at her and, understanding what she was going through, got up and excused himself.

"I'm going to sleep, see you in the morning."

Silence pervaded the camp as the fire dimmed and the night enveloped them in its shroud of darkness. Two hurt and broken hearts lay in the night, weeping and suffering from the weight of their sorrows. If only they could open up to each other, they would find comfort and healing. If only….