Chapter 7

"Naruto?"

Looking up from where he was sitting on a bench outside the women's dormitory, the blond smiled as he watched Natsu approach.

"Hey there. You're looking very... um, sophisticated?"

It was certainly true that Natsu could dress well if he tried. His outfit was definitely more simple than what Naruto was wearing, as he didn't have a vest or a jacket, but the dress shirt and slacks still looked good on him.

"Thanks, I think. What are you doing here, and why are you dressed up even nicer than I am?"

Chuckling, Naruto scratched at the back of his head. "Well, it seems that even though I gave away my tickets to you, I was still asked to go to the party anyway. So here I am, waiting for my date."

If Natsu was at all surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he was looking rather excited. "Really? Who asked you to go?"

"The person you and Lisanna said I should go with. Erza."

Naruto watched as the Dragon Slayer's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "Erza? Really? Oh... I guess that's what she and Mirajane were arguing about the other day. I wasn't really paying attention, but I thought I heard your name a few times."

That was news to Naruto. He had no idea that they had gotten into another little spat, over him of all things. It had been several days since he had been asked to go to the party, so he was surprised that he hadn't heard anyone gossiping about their argument, or even that no one had told him about it. Gossip among members of Fairy Tail never seemed to cease.

"Natsu! Naruto!"

Both boys turned towards the dorm to see Lisanna walking towards them swiftly. While he hadn't the slightest bit of romantic interest in her, Naruto couldn't deny that she looked attractive... no, radiant - in her pale blue gown. He knew that he was no master at fashion sense, but there was just something that seemed... perfect... about her choice of clothes.

"Hey, Lisanna!" Natsu started waving one of his arms rapidly back and forth as he responded to her greeting. Meanwhile Naruto simply decided to offer a small wave and waited for her to get closer, smiling as he listened to Natsu shout compliments at his date as she approached.

The blond watched as Lisanna proceeded to thank Natsu for his compliments, then quickly scold him for yelling loud enough to wake up the entire town. Natsu immediately pouted and Lisanna relented in her admonishments, then told him that he looked nice, causing Naruto to chuckle.

It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to make Lisanna turn towards him in surprise, almost as if she had forgotten he was there.

"Naruto! You look... wow."

Smiling, Naruto nodded at the younger girl, "As do you. That dress looks very good on you."

Lisanna blushed cutely and bowed her head forward, and the blush only deepened when Natsu laughed and claimed that the dress not only looked good, but it was amazing.

After turning to her date and telling him to hush again, the white haired girl looked at Naruto once more.

"Erza was almost finished getting ready when I last saw her. She said that she would be out here soon. Did you want us to wait for her with you?"

Naruto shook his head, waving with his hand for them to leave. "Nah, it's okay. You two go on and have some fun. But keep it within reason, right Natsu?"

"Huh?" Natsu simply looked confused at Naruto's comment.

"I mean, I don't want to get to the mansion only to find out that it's been knocked down due to an explosion, understand?"

"Why would there be an explosion?"

Both Naruto and Lisanna simply stared at Natsu until he blushed and looked away. "Sheesh, fine... I'll be careful."

"Good!" Lisanna chirped affirmatively, then promptly grabbed Natsu's arm and started dragging him away towards the party. Looking over her shoulder, she gave Naruto a small wave with her free hand. "We'll see you there later, Naruto!"

Waving at their departing figures, Naruto let out a sigh and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the sparkling stars in the sky. This party was not something he'd ever imagine going to when he first arrived in Earthland. Not that there was anything wrong with going to a party, he'd been to several with Jiraiya, but none of them are what he would have called super high class. Jiraiya... thinking about the man brought a small smile to Naruto's face. He hadn't thought about his godfather in a while, and he still missed the man, but he had done more to show Naruto how the world worked outside of Konoha, and he would forever be appreciative of that fact.

Not to mention the Icha Icha series. Even I had to admit some parts were entertaining.

I thought you didn't like human culture.

I don't. But considering I usually sit here bored until something interesting comes along, I took the opportunity to read with you.

So you thought it was... acceptable?

It was passable, but ultimately forgettable. If you want to make more money, perhaps you should release those books here.

That's... actually not a bad idea.

See? What would you do without me?

I'd probably be a lot happier.

If I cared about your happiness, I might have been upset about what you are implying.

"I see that smile... are you thinking about something good?"

Naruto's eyes snapped open - he had apparently closed them while conversing with Kyuubi. Promptly leaning forward and moving up to his feet, he turned in the direction where he heard the voice - and froze. Erza was standing in front of him in a dark green gown that sparkled in a few spots in the faint light radiating from a few nearby buildings and lanterns. She had her hair done up in a style that had some interesting pins holding it in place, while thin strands of hair were left free to frame the sides of her face. She was wearing a type of shoe that Naruto had never seen before, they lifted her heels off the ground slightly, and as a result they added a couple inches to her height since he noticed she was almost as tall as he was now.

He was trying to think of something to say to her, but his mouth just kept opening and closing with no sound coming out. He already thought she was rather attractive even just wearing her typical armor, and the occasional casual outfit he'd seen her in. But the dress she was wearing now was amazing when combined with her figure... Naruto immediately understood that he'd never really had the opportunity to appreciate it before now.

"You should close your mouth, unless you're planning on catching flies with it."

Erza gently tapped Naruto's chin with a knuckle, and his mouth immediately closed, his teeth making a light clicking noise. She had a small smile on her face, and her other hand was resting on her hip.

"I'm sorry... but yeah. Wow, you look great. Really."

The redhead's smile grew bigger. "I see you managed to find your voice. Thank you. I think you look rather dashing as well. It's a good thing I added a staff into my requip inventory, I might need to beat other girls off of you."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "I hope it doesn't come to that." Thinking back on his lessons, he swiftly turned and bent his arm at the elbow, sticking it out for Erza to loop her arm through.

"Shall we head to the party? Every second we stay here is another second Natsu has to find an excuse to blow up the mansion."

He almost missed it, but Erza looked disappointed for a second before putting a grin on her face and nodding at him. She moved up to loop her arm through his, and Naruto was going to ask if something was wrong, but much to his surprise she yanked on his arm and started dragging him forward.

"You're right, we should probably hurry. Let's go!"

The party itself was of the type that Naruto was fairly familiar with. Several of the more formal events that he went to with Jiraiya had the same atmosphere as this one, people were in small groups chatting animatedly, wandering around the various tables filled with all kinds of different foods. There was a stage that he didn't recall seeing when he had been here cleaning before in one of the larger rooms, and it looked like some kind of small orchestra was setting up to play music.

Master Ringo was greeting all the guests at the door as they came in, and was almost rolling around in happiness when Naruto and Erza entered. He continued rambling on for a good several minutes, thanking both of them profusely for their hard, splendid work, and espousing their deeds to anyone within earshot. Naruto caught several looks of approval from what appeared to be rather high-to-do men at the party, as well as several predatory looks from many of the females which sent shivers down his spine.

Once they were past the entrance, Erza excused herself to go look for Lisanna and Natsu, whom neither of them could spot in the few rooms they had been through together. She suggested that he grab some food and go find them a table to sit at, and that she would join up with him later, hopefully with Natsu and Lisanna in tow.

"Just make sure you have that staff handy when you head back to the table, I'm not liking some of the looks I'm getting from a few of the ladies here."

Erza gave him a wry grin before she wandered off. "I'm sure you can handle it. I'll be back soon."

Sighing to himself, Naruto took a quick look around before moving back to the room with the orchestra. They had finally set up and were playing a light tune for ambiance. It was still early into the evening, and they had arrived at the party early, so there were still plenty of tables that were unoccupied. Walking over towards one of the empty tables near the back of the room, Naruto pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.

This looks like it's going to be boring, so I'm going to take a nap, or something.

Right, if anything interesting happens, I'll wake you.

I have a hard time imagining that anything even mildly interesting will happen. If I do wake up and find out that you made kissy-face with that redhead without letting me know, I'm going to fry your intestines.

I... don't think you have anything to worry about, pervert.

Hrmph. I guess I'll have to sleep with one eye open, then.

Naruto held back a sigh, he was starting to do too much of that lately. He and Kyuubi had been talking a lot more since they arrived in this new dimension, at least several times a day. It was obvious to both of them that they didn't really like each other... much. They more or less had a sort of symbiotic relationship; the two of them working together were much, much stronger than being separate. Ever since he had learned to completely control the Kyuubi's chakra, it had agreed to work with him because it didn't want to be locked away again.

Doing things together over the long months of the war, they had found out numerous advantages to working together, and they both very reluctantly agreed to do so should the need arise. Naruto had to admit to himself that he used Kyuubi as a crutch... it had no problem causing death and destruction whenever it was necessary. He was always able to watch in his own subconscious and take back over when he felt that he had to, but the first few times Kyuubi had taken control Naruto found himself retching when confronted with the aftermath.

"E-Excuse me, sir?"

Snapped from his musings, Naruto turned his head to see who was calling him. As far as he could tell, he was still rather alone at the table near the back of the large room, and anyone who wanted to talk to him would have to make a point to go over to where he was sitting. Looking towards where he heard the voice, he saw a young woman, probably a little older than him, with light green shoulder length hair and brown eyes staring at him. She was in a nice, conservative peach-colored dress, and appeared to be holding something that resembled a notepad in her hand... which seemed to be shaking a little.

"Can I help you?"

The girl blinked for a moment, before looking panicked, then promptly bowed in his direction. "Ah, p-please excuse me! I couldn't help but overhear Master Ringo talking about you when you first arrived. Y-You're the Fire Shadow of Fairy Tail, correct?"

Naruto sat up straighter in his chair. "Yeah, that's me."

Relief momentarily passed across the girl's face before she started talking again. "I'm glad I heard correctly. Someone else was talking to me, and I was trying to listen to what Master Ringo was saying while not appearing rude to the other guest. Ah, uhm... my name is Claire Stearn, and I'm a journalist... I work for the Weekly Sorcerer. I hope you've heard of it?"

The blond gave Claire a small smile. "Yeah, actually, it was the first thing I read when I arrived in this town. There was a lot of gossip, but there were a few interesting articles that I looked at as well."

"Really?" The girl perked up instantly, giving him a big smile, and all sense of nervousness that she was giving off previously had vanished. "I've been a subscriber for years, and I love it! I was so happy when they accepted my application! Now I get to go around and conduct interviews!"

Chuckling, Naruto scratched at his chin. "I'm going to guess that you want an interview from me?"

"Can I? Really?" The girl's eyes were wide, and she looked so excited that she might burst. He wasn't exactly looking forward to doing any interviews, he'd read plenty of articles and most of the interviewees had come across as self-centered bigoted idiots. Claire didn't seem to be putting on an act for him, she appeared to be genuinely interested in conducting an interview. So, maybe this time...

"Alright. Have a seat."

"Oh! Thank you so much! You're going to be my first interview... so I'm sorry if I seem a little lost at times."

"It's alright. We all have to start somewhere."

Claire gave him a huge smile, then pulled out the chair next to him and started to get herself organized. She talked to him as she was setting up her notepad, "I'm supposed to say... oh... what was it?" Flipping through her notes, she read down several pages, moving her fingertip along the text as she read.

"Ah! I'm supposed to tell you in advance that some questions might be asked that you don't want to answer, and you're allowed to say that you have no comment, but we are allowed to say that you refused to answer. I hope that won't be a problem for you?"

Naruto shrugged. "I doubt I'll have anything that I refuse to answer, though some of my answers might be vague. I hope you don't mind."

Claire waved her hand dismissively, but was grinning. "It's my job to make you interesting so our readers want more. So if anything, vague answers would work better. Just so you're aware, over three quarters of our subscription base is female."

Chuckling, Naruto found himself shaking his head. "I'm not surprised. I typically borrow a copy from one of my guild mates, Cana. I mostly looked at it for the rumors, sometimes they have good leads and have actually led me to a few jobs."

"I'm glad we could help! So... should I get started?"

"Yeah, go for it."

Nodding, Claire grabbed her notebook and pen, and turning to a blank page, started writing. After a moment of scribbling, she looked up at Naruto, and asked the first question.

"Just to confirm, you are the Fire Shadow of the guild Fairy Tail, correct?"

"Correct."

"I'm guessing that Fire Shadow is a code name, members of guilds commonly use them. Can we know your real name?"

Naruto thought about that for a moment. Right now the only ones who knew his name was a dragon and other members of Fairy Tail. It was actually rather convenient if the public only recognized him as Fire Shadow.

"Unfortunately, my real name only exists in private, with other members of Fairy Tail and those that I'm teamed with. Besides, if my real name isn't known I think it adds to my intrigue, don't you?"

Claire chuckled as she wrote, but shook her head. "I'll admit, I'm curious. But you're right, it will definitely add to the mystery." After writing for a few more seconds, she looked up to ask the next question.

"What made you decide to join Fairy Tail?"

"I actually joined based on a recommendation from a friend of mine who lives far to the east. I come from across the mountains to the east, and I wanted to do some traveling when I got older. I was told by my peers that I was a very capable mage and should be able to get in anywhere, and my friend told me he'd been out to Fiore before. He knew of Fairy Tail as one of the best, if not the best guild in Fiore. So I followed his advice, Fairy Tail accepted me, and here I am."

That was actually a cover story that Makarov had helped him to come up with. They both knew that a question like that would be asked eventually, and it was a lot easier to lie and say he came from the east than to tell the truth and say he was from another dimension. That would likely take a lot more time than he'd ever have time to explain.

"I see. So... what exactly is your mage talent? Fairy Tail is widely known in Fiore as being one of the more exclusive guilds, and not just everyone gets in. They typically take in younger applicants, to help train and mold them into strong mages, but to accept one who has obviously grown up is an unusual step... no offense."

"None taken. When I showed my talent to the Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, he had no problem letting me join. I guess I have two abilities that I'm known for within the guild."

"Is it possible to have a small demonstration?"

"Why would you want a demonstration?"

Claire let out a yelp as she whirled around in her chair, only to see another copy of Naruto giving her a small grin as he stood back up. It had startled her, she didn't see the Naruto sitting across from her do anything, and the other Naruto had spoken directly into her ear. She didn't even hear footsteps or anything.

"H-How? Is this... your twin, or something?"

Chuckling, both of the Naruto's laughed at that, but the first one chose to respond to her. "No, actually, that's just my clone. One of my abilities is to make solid clones of myself to help me do various tasks."

Claire looked breathless. "I... I see. That's definitely a unique skill."

"That's not the only thing. Should I show her the other thing, boss?"

The journalist looked surprised for a moment at the way the clone addressed the original, but it quickly morphed into curiosity as what it asked caught her attention. Before she could say anything, however, the original Naruto nodded, and the clone promptly blurred from her vision and disappeared.

"W-What? Where did he go?"

"Yo! Claire! Behind you!"

Quickly turning completely around in her seat, the green haired journalist noted with surprise that the Naruto clone had moved several tables away, and was casually leaning back in a chair. Before she could say anything, the clone disappeared from her sight yet again. Moving her head left and right, she tried to see if she could notice any kind of movement, but saw nothing.

"Behind you again, Claire!"

Whirling around in her chair once again, she now saw the clone leaning casually against the wall not too far behind the original Naruto. It gave her a cheeky grin before it disappeared once again, however this time it left a small cloud of smoke behind. She started looking around again to see where he would appear this time, until Naruto chuckled and gently grabbed her arm, stopping her movement.

"It's okay, he dispelled this time."

"I... I see. What was that?"

"Teleportation. I can do it, and so can my clones. We can move short distances almost instantaneously."

Claire was staring at him in awe, and almost as an afterthought she started reaching for her notebook that she had set on the table. Finally laying her hand on it, she shook her head and immediately started writing once again.

"Hey, Naruto! Who's she?"

Craning his neck to look behind him slightly, Naruto managed to catch a glimpse of a mop of pink hair before facing forward once again. "This is Claire. She stopped by and asked if she could interview me. I wasn't doing anything else, so I figured why not?"

"Ohhhh, you're so lucky. I've been with Fairy Tail forever and I haven't been interviewed yet."

"That's because Master doesn't want the younger members doing interviews, Lisanna."

Naruto recognized all three voices immediately, which meant that they found where he was sitting so he wouldn't have to go hunting for anyone. Looking at Claire, he grinned in amusement, as she had stopped writing and was currently looking over his shoulder with stars in her eyes.

"W-Wait, aren't they..."

"Yep, they are." Naruto was having a hard time keeping his grin muted. This woman was obviously having a hard time keeping her composure now that other members of Fairy Tail had appeared. If she was an avid reader of Weekly Sorcerer like she claimed, then he wasn't really surprised. Many of their articles featured third-party interviews based on what members of Fairy Tail had accomplished, so perhaps seeing some of her idols in the flesh was a bit of a thrill.

"T-That's... she's... Erza the Titania! I saw you arrive at the party with her! Does... does that mean?"

"What does what mean?" Erza came up and stood next to Naruto, and he was surprised to feel her hand rest on his shoulder and grip it slightly. The blond turned his head a little to glance at her out of the corner of his eye, but she was simply staring straight ahead at the journalist. Claire, meanwhile, had wide eyes and her mouth was slightly agape. It didn't take long for her to snap from whatever had made her brain stop working, however, and she immediately started writing furiously in her notebook.

It left Naruto with a small sense of foreboding, but with the other members of Fairy Tail here now, especially Erza, he wasn't going to say anything that he might come to regret later.

Unbelievable, you're already whipped.

Choosing to ignore the Kyuubi's comment, Naruto blinked as Claire's notebook was loudly closed, then the woman jumped to her feet and promptly bowed to him.

"I thank you very much for the interview, even if it was rather short, but I don't want to disturb your... date any further. It was a pleasure to meet you. I should probably go now-"

Naruto stalled her speech by holding up a hand, and she looked at him curiously. Even though he wasn't looking at her, he could feel Erza's eyes on him now as well. "Do you have a... what did they call it... oh yeah! Do you have a business card?"

Claire promptly blushed, and he felt Erza grab his shoulder a little tighter than she was before, so he immediately thought that he did something wrong by asking. To his surprise, however, Claire bowed again and apologized.

"I'm sorry. Like I said when we started, I just got this job, so I don't have one yet."

"Ah, I see." Naruto scratched at his cheek absentmindedly as he continued, "I just thought it might be a good idea to have a contact in your industry, you know? I'd rather do future interviews with someone I know so I don't have to repeat things all the time."

"Y-You mean exclusives? You'd let me have your exclusive interviews?"

Naruto couldn't say for sure, but the woman looked like she was going to burst into tears. "Well, it would be easier for both of us to deal with someone we already know, right? Besides, having contacts always helps."

"Of course! As soon as I get one, I can stop by Fairy Tail and drop it off, if that's okay?"

Naruto nodded. "Sounds good. Thanks."

Claire quickly bowed for a third time, espousing her own thanks before clutching her notebook to her chest and quickly scrambling off, nearly stumbling as she did so.

"Was there a point to all that?"

Naruto stopped watching Claire move away, and looked up at Erza. She had released his shoulder, but had crossed her arms over her chest and was staring at him. While her lips weren't frowning, her eyes obviously were. Feeling slightly uncomfortable under her gaze, Naruto shrugged and looked away, towards where Natsu and Lisanna were laughing with each other as they pointed at various other guests.

"We didn't really have magazines or newspapers where I come from, not like you have here. We had newsletters and journals, but the people who wrote those were commonly bought and paid for by various nobles and politicians, so they were only written for a purpose, and it was usually slander against someone else. I just figured it might be a good idea to have someone on the inside, and since I was her first interview, I doubt anyone else has affected her yet."

"Hrm. I guess that makes sense, but I doubt it's necessary."

Her response was unusually curt, so Naruto looked in her direction, watching as she shifted the chair Claire was sitting in and moved it back to the table. "Is something wrong?"

He noticed as she looked at him briefly, then frowned and shook her head. "No, nothing is wrong."

Before Naruto could say anything else, Natsu's voice overwhelmed his thoughts. "What? You want me to dance? I can't dance!"

"Aww, come on! It will be fun, I promise. I'll teach you, so you don't have anything to worry about."

Watching the other two, Naruto grinned as he saw Lisanna forcefully drag Natsu by the hand into the growing throng of people on the dance floor. Thinking briefly, he looked back to Erza, who was still staring at where Natsu and Lisanna were disappearing.

"Do you want to go dance?"

Erza's eyes went wide and she seemed to be happy that he asked for a second, until her features promptly softened and a small frown tugged at the corner of her lips. She didn't start talking until she broke eye contact with him, and looked down towards the table.

"I would like to... but I remembered that I have some things I need to do. Parties are a good time to gather information, so Master asked me to find out anything I could while here. I was going to go mingle and see what people are talking about for a little while. But perhaps after..."

The end of her talk wasn't really spoken as a question, it was more as if she was talking out loud to herself. Naruto tried to hide the small wince that he knew passed over his face, he was lucky that she wasn't looking at him. Even if it wasn't really intended as a rejection, it still was one, and it stung. Perhaps it was some kind of payback for talking with Claire earlier.

Trying not to think to much on it, Naruto nodded, more to himself than to Erza, and started getting up from the table. That was enough to snap Erza out of her thoughts as she looked at him curiously.

"Where are you going?"

"Huh? I was just going to wander around a bit, perhaps go get a breath of fresh air outside. I don't do well in crowds of people when I'm alone, and it's starting to get really crowded in here since they started playing music."

Erza took a second to look around, likely noting that it was in fact getting rather crowded in this room compared to before. Her attention was drawn back to Naruto as he started pushing his chair back up against the table.

"I'm sorry... I don't mean to leave you alone, but I wanted to get my responsibilities out of the way first before I-"

"Hey, hey, it's alright, really." Naruto was waving his hand dismissively. "You still have a lot of responsibilities, I won't hold it against you. Just come find me when you're done. I'll leave a clone hovering around to watch out for Natsu and Lisanna so you can concentrate on doing what you need to."

The redhead gave Naruto a small smile as she began to stand up."Thank you, Naruto. I'm sorry."

"Bah, I already said it's fine. I'll see you in a bit. Good luck."

Naruto turned to walk away, waving a hand over his shoulder. As a result, he missed the sad frown that crossed Erza's face.

I wonder if she was upset with me.

Ugh, not this again! We've been up here for over an hour, and you go back to thinking about her every ten minutes! You really are whipped.

I am not, I just feel bad. For some reason she really didn't look happy that I was talking to Claire.

I've noticed over the centuries that the females of your species tend to get jealous at the smallest hint of someone who looks like they are trying to move in on their territory. Not that the males don't act that way too, but the females are a lot more subtle about it.

Territory? What the hell are you talking about? Why would Erza see me as her territory?

I've seen her type plenty of times. She won't be obvious about it in front of you, but she'll likely do her best to keep other females away from you. Kushina was the same way about Minato.

My mother?

The very same. Though she had her nickname for a reason, so most of her competition didn't last very long anyway. It actually got a little boring after a while, she didn't make anyone bleed for a long period of time.

That isn't something that I want to be thinking about right now.

The Kyuubi didn't bother to reply, obviously becoming disinterested in their conversation. They had been talking off and on for over the past hour, probably longer, but he had lost track of time after arriving outside on one of the third floor balconies. It was a large balcony, there were small tables and chairs, and a bar that was nearby just inside the door that led to where he currently was. He was alone out here, though there were a few others when he had arrived. However, as the night dragged on and it started to get a little chilly, most of them moved back inside.

At the moment he was sitting back in his chair, his feet propped up on an empty flower pot that was nearby and had been turned upside down. He had been reviewing his memories from the party when the Kyuubi had started talking to him with its colorful commentary. Apparently someone had jostled his clone a little too hard in the crowd downstairs and caused it to dispel. He had immediately made another to take its place, and since he hadn't received any new memories yet, it was likely still intact.

That had been about twenty minutes ago, and he had since finished going through the memories of the previous clone. There wasn't anything of note in them, it had observed Natsu and Lisanna most of the time, and they looked like they were having a blast chatting with other guests and dancing. Natsu had even performed some magic tricks with his flames and managed to pull them off without destroying anything, much to his relief and to the crowds obvious delight.

His clone had also caught sight of Erza several times as it was observing the party, and it had made eye contact with her a few times, though she always looked away immediately after doing so. For some reason it was bugging him, and the only thing he could think of was that she really was upset.

"So this is where you are."

Placing his feet on the ground and turning in his chair, Naruto turned to look at the doorway. Erza was standing there, both hands on her hips, giving him an exasperated look.

"Oh, hey Erza! How's the party?" He tried to give her one of his big smiles, but apparently she wasn't having any of it, as she didn't smile back, but settled for walking over to where he was sitting and staring down at him.

"The party is fine, if a little boring right now. I've been looking for you for a while now, I tried to get close to your clone on more than one occasion but it always seemed to be moving away from where I was after we made eye contact. Then it dispelled, and I started to get worried that you had gotten bored and canceled it, or moved out of range, or some other reason. Eventually I settled down when I noticed another of you entering the dance hall, only to find out that it was another clone and you were still outside!"

Naruto wasn't sure where she was trying to go with this, but he sat up straighter and gave her his full attention. "Is... there something wrong with me being outside?"

Erza looked genuinely conflicted, which was something he was definitely not accustomed to seeing from the redhead. "No... well... yes, but..."

"But?" She had paused, and Naruto was hoping to prod her into continuing.

"I feel bad. I asked you to come to this party with me, and I got stuck doing an assignment while you're sitting out here, alone. My original plan was for us to chaperone Natsu, but you're doing that on your own as a clone..."

"If the assignment was something that the old man asked you to do, then it's fine. Anything he asks is usually important. As for monitoring Natsu, Lisanna has been making sure he's been well behaved, so I don't think I really even need to watch him anymore."

Erza folded her arms over her chest and finally looked away from him. "I'm relieved to hear about Natsu... and as far as doing what Master asked, I was doing it but I couldn't really concentrate very well."

"Why not?"

She looked at him again, and opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes went wide and her jaw snapped shut, then she turned away from him completely.

"Erza?"

"N-Nothing! It's nothing! T-There was just a lot going on, that's all!"

Naruto couldn't help but feel curious about her antics, but decided to let it pass since he was unlikely to get anything out of her even if he pushed. He was going to ask if they should go back inside until she whirled back around, this time her face was completely composed and serious.

"Naruto."

"Huh?"

"I have a question for you."

The Erza that was talking was back to the strong-willed one, the fighter. Any weakness she had shown before when she first arrived would not reappear anytime soon. This one was all business.

"Go ahead."

The redhead looked out over the balcony towards the other candle illuminated buildings of Magnolia Town before talking. "I already mentioned that I talked to Master before the party, and he asked me to gather information. That wasn't the only thing we talked about. You're aware that I'm going to be able to start taking S-Ranked missions soon, correct?"

Naruto's eyebrow arched upward as he watched Erza talk, immediately wondering where this was going. "Yes."

Erza nodded. "Tomorrow I'll be going with Laxus and his new Team Raijinshuu to take on an S-Ranked mission. It will be the one with my peers, where they decide if I'm capable or not."

"I'm sure you'll do great!"

Erza looked at Naruto in surprise, briefly, before adopting a small smile and looking away once again. "I hope so. If I do pass, then I'll be able to initiate S-Ranked missions on my own. When that time comes..."

The blond looked at Erza curiously as she paused mid-speech, taking in a deep breath. Turning towards him once again, she stared at him seriously as she continued, "I'd like it if you would partner with me to do S-Ranked missions."

Blinking for a moment, Naruto couldn't help but be stunned. They had never really worked together on any mission before now, other than ones where she had tagged along to watch him do what felt like menial chores. Even if he was very confident in his own abilities and how they compared to other mages, Erza was obviously going on her beliefs of his capabilities and was putting a lot of faith in him. Not only that, but they'd barely even known each other for a full month.

"W-Well... I'm flattered... but are you sure? We haven't really worked together before."

"I think you'll be fine." She offered him a reserved smile. "From what I've seen you do, even if they were relatively simple missions, you're very capable. I talked briefly with Lisanna, and she agreed with me based on your performance during the mission she did with you and Natsu. If you want, I'll do all the thinking, so all you need to do is flex some muscle."

She was grinning, though Naruto couldn't really tell if she was joking or being serious. "Sure, why not? I only have a few days left before I can start being tested, and was planning to take the tests as soon as I could anyway. So this is what you were distracted about?"

Erza blinked at him before smiling a little, nodding affirmatively. "I'm... interested in getting to know you better... I-I mean your skills better!" She quickly tried to correct herself, though she still blushed as Naruto started laughing.

"So that was your plan to find out about what I can do. I understand. But if we start working together you'll get to know me better anyway, and that works in your favor, correct?"

"Oh hush." Erza lightly swatted at his arm before frowning and looking away once again. He was fairly certain she was just pretending to be embarrassed, as her lip was twitching slightly and she still looked faintly amused.

Looking at her arms, he noticed that she had started rubbing them. It clicked in his mind that it had started getting cold outside a little while ago, and her arms were bare. Judging from the noises he heard from inside, the party was still in full swing, for now.

"Well, oh future partner of mine, if I remember correctly you still owe me at least one dance."

Erza turned to look at him once again, one eyebrow arched. She looked down at his hand, which he had offered to her, then back up to his face and grinned. "Just one?"

"At least one. Perhaps more, depending on how much longer the party goes on for."

The redhead hummed for a second before giving Naruto one of the most brilliant smiles he'd ever seen from her as she placed her hand in his.

"Lead the way, partner."

A/N: As some of you have mentioned in the past, and will likely think about mentioning again after reading this chapter, Erza might seem slightly OOC in places. This is intentional. Remember, it's four years before the start of canon Fairy Tail, and she's still in her mid-teens (16), and not the 20 that she is in canon. She has moments of the Erza you know, but she also still has bouts of insecurity, as most teenagers do. But there is no doubt that she is stronger emotionally than many others her age. Also understand that in the future of this fic, when it gets closer and during canon, Erza's personality might be slightly different from what you know as a result of being with/around Naruto for all those years. He does change people, even unintentionally. I'll try to keep her close to canon, but I strongly doubt she'll be one hundred percent identical to her canon counterpart.

Erza and Kushina - Yes, there are some similarities, but looks is about all there is. Other than this, it has been scientifically proven in real life that men tend to be more attracted to (or focus on) women that resemble their mothers, the same goes for women going after men that resemble their fathers. If you don't believe it, check Google, there are several articles that go into depth on the topic. Admittedly, that research is quite a bit beyond the scope of this work of fanfiction, but nevertheless I found it amusing that it's being commented on.

Zombies - Other than disagreement about the rank of the mission, everyone is entitled to their opinion, naturally. Though, hmm... ninja zombies. I didn't think about that. Jinkies, Scoob, I think we have a winner.

Ikaruga - No reason he can't meet people prior to canon, even if it is behind the scenes, you know? Naruto is going to be rather well traveled, after all.

ANBU Uniform - Since he actually has a uniform now, there is no reason why he can't find a tailor to get more copies of it made. Besides that, he still needs to visit a blacksmith for some of the armored parts, and a craftsman for some extra masks.

Hiraishin - (teaser) Expect some invisible adjustments, somewhere, by the time canon Fairy Tail hits.

Dialogue 'Issues' - I understand the criticism, and appreciate it in the spirit in which it is given. Even if it's claimed to be a minor problem I know there are moments where I try to force dialogue where it doesn't really need to happen - or can be done differently. It usually occurs when there is a point or issue that I want to get across but I don't want to dwell on it forever and pull my hair out trying to figure out how to tell the reader. It's likely one of the reasons why it takes me so long to get out chapters of my other stories, I can be really picky. I'm trying to be more carefree with this story, hence why the chapters are coming fast because it's simply flowing. As the negative result of that, however, sometimes dialogue and even sentence flow suffers. For most, it's not an issue, but some of the more, uh... how to put this politely... cultured?/well-read? readers will easily pick up on it.