Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This story is for entertainment purposes only.
"Human Speaking"
'Human Thinking'
"Demon/Summon Speaking"
'Demon Thinking'
When Naruto came to, he was immediately forced to close his eyes at the blinding white colour of the ceiling. He groaned loudly, instantly moving a hand over his eyes. He opened them slowly, allowing them to adjust to the bright colour.
He glanced around the room. It was completely white, and the curtains were drawn back, allowing bright sunlight to flood the room. He had a table at his bedside, a vase of flowers upon it.
'I must be at a hospital,' He thought.
He pushed himself up, only to fall straight back down as his muscles screamed in protest.
"I wouldn't recommend doing that," An amused voice said. Naruto turned his head at the sound, and noticed an short old man standing there, smiling kindly.
Naruto blinked. '...He's shorter than Makarov...' He thought, but chose not to comment.
"Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital, at Era."
"Where the Magic Council is located?"
"Yes." The old man answered simply.
Naruto shook his head slightly. "How'd I get here?"
"Our Rune Knights found you half-dead from fighting those mages. We are still not sure who they are, however, in case you were wondering."
"Your Rune Knights? Are you a member of the Council or something, old man?"
He let out a chuckle. "You certainly are one of Makarov's mages. And to answer your question, yes, I am. My name is Yajima."
Naruto nodded, slightly suspicious. "What does a member of the Magic Council want with me?" He asked.
Yajima maintained his kindly smile. "Makarov personally requested that I be with you when you wake. Our Lacrima indicated that you would awake sometime today, so I hurried on over."
"I see."
Naruto remained silent for a moment, before asking, "How long have I been out?"
"About 3 days," Was Yajima's reply. "You heal rather fast, young man. Shocked all the doctors at your recovery."
Naruto chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess." He blinked suddenly.
"Does the rest of the Guild know where I am?"
"Yup. A lot of your friends wanted to rush over. Particularly these two lovely young ladies named Katsumi and Mirajane. Quite the player you are," Yajima told him, teasing him a bit.
Naruto blushed slightly. "We're just friends dammit! Why doesn't anyone understand that?!"
Yajima smiled knowingly, as if to say that he had heard the same many times before.
"So, what do I do now?"
"Well, the Council wishes to meet with you to recount your most recent battle. You certainly lived up to the Fairy Tail reputation of causing mass destruction. If I recall, we also had another appointment scheduled, so we'll do that one as well for convenience. However, that is not until tomorrow, so you may do as you wish, as long as you stay in the grounds. Recover some more, and eat some ramen as well."
"Alright." Naruto said, then paused. "How do you know I like ramen?"
"I don't. But I do, and ramen is the food of the gods, and also the answer to solving worldly problems." Yajima replied, his eyes gaining a slight twinkle.
"...I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?"
Yajima did, causing Naruto to cry anime tears of happiness. "Finally! Someone other than me has seen the truth of life!"
"The brotherhood had indeed been entrusted to good hands. The name of ramen shall be spread across the world!"
A knock was heard on the door, and Yajima sighed, his mood shifting suddenly. "Well, it would seem I must leave. I will see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun."
'I don't recall giving him my name. Must've been Makarov who told him.'
Naruto wandered around the beautiful gardens of Era, now fully clothed and feeling much better, albeit a little stiff. His mind replayed the battle over and over again in his head.
'I messed up. I forgot that the girl would probably intervene, no matter if he told her not to. I should have stopped my Rasengan the second I saw that mark appear,' He thought, looking down at his wrist.
'Indeed you did mess up.'
'Kyuubi?'
'Once again, who else?'
Naruto stayed silent.
'You are also quite lucky that she thought you would die on your own, or else she would've killed you.'
Naruto finally thought back after minutes of contemplation. 'What can I do?'
'Get stronger, kit. That's all I can say. If you want specifics, I'd suggest going on a training trip, living off the land, and growing stronger.'
'That's...actually not a bad idea. But the others...'
'You're not leaving forever. Only about a year, probably less. Besides, you can only get stronger from this. Enough to keep your new, and old friends safe.'
'I guess. Alright, I'll do it.'
"Why such a long face?" An alluring voice asked from his right. He stood up, turning his head, and noticed a beautiful, black haired woman wearing a white kimono that stopped at her knees. Her face was smooth, and slight hints of a smirk played at her full lips.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked calmly.
"Oh? A question for a question? My name is Ultear Milkovich."
"I see. What do you want?"
"Nothing. You seemed very sad, so I thought that I," She paused, stepping forward and behind him, and whispered hotly into his ear, her soft breath tickling his neck, "Might be able to cheer you up."
Naruto shivered at her voice. It just sounded so se-
'No! Bad Naruto! This isn't you! Get the hell out of my head, Ero-Sennin!'
'Hmm, you have to admit kit, she is rather voluptuous,' Kyuubi told him, enjoying the chance to make his host uncomfortable.
'Shut up, fuzzball.'
Naruto schooled his features. "What do you really want?"
She let out a giggle. "I merely wanted to check up on the man that I'll be interviewing tomorrow."
"You're the one that's supposed to interview me? I thought that Magic Council would be doing that?"
"They are," She replied, a small smirk on her face.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, before it clicked. "Eh?! You're on the Magic Council?!"
"Of course." What she didn't tell him was that she was also a member of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, and wanted to see for herself who had defeated Azuma.
"Oh well, that's cool," Naruto said nonchalantly, not really caring that she was a Council member.
Ultear looked at him oddly. "You certainly are very...eccentric. Most mages would be bowing before me at this point."
"Do you want to be bowed to?" Naruto asked curiously.
"No, I suppose not. A change of pace is nice," She replied with a light laugh.
They sat for a moment before Ultear turned to him. "Since we are out here, why don't I buy you something to eat, and you can tell me more about yourself."
"Is there ramen?"
"Yes."
"Alright! Let's go," He beamed, motioning for Ultear to lead.
As they walked, Naruto couldn't help but have suspicions about the beautiful mage beside him. 'She wants something. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure a member of the Magic Council wouldn't just invite someone to eat. Maybe I'm thinking about it too hard, but I have this gut feeling...'
Ultear's thoughts, while not suspicious, were far from pure. 'He must certainly be a strong mage to defeat Azuma, especially at such a young age. If Meredy had not been there, then we definitely would've been exposed. But he is still a man. I will make him spill all of his secrets to me.'
They arrived at the restaurant after a short walk. Staring up at it, Naruto couldn't help but notice how fancy it was.
"Pretty impressive place," He commented.
"Ah yes. Yajima-Sama had this built due to his own passion for cooking. He proclaims that it makes the greatest ramen in the world," Ultear replied, causing Naruto's eyes to light up, excited.
"Is that so?"
They sat down, and Ultear made her move.
"So, tell me more about yourself," She beckoned.
Naruto looked thoughtful, pretending to be thinking, when in actuality, he was talking with Kyuubi.
'So, should I make up some random bullshit, or should I do something similar to the time when we met Kakashi-Sensei the first time?'
'I would go with the Kakashi thing. It will be telling her about yourself, but nothing too important.'
'Okay.'
"Well, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I am 16 years old. My likes are ramen, my friends and training. I dislike traitors, people who harm others for their own gain, and also those who make fun of people for something they can't control." Saying this, he subconsciously touched his stomach, an action that did not go unnoticed by Ultear.
'Now I wonder what that has to do with his last dislike? Probably some out of control magic, but this could warrant some investigation.'
"I also dislike the three minutes it takes to cook ramen! My hobbies are training, hanging out with friends, and eating ramen. My dreams for the future..."
Naruto took a pause. He had planned on becoming Hokage, but now it might not be possible. He hadn't really had a really good dream in mind.
"Well?" Came Ultear's voice, pulling Naruto from his mind, prompting him to continue. Thinking quickly, he smiled at what he had thought of.
"My dream is to bring peace to the world. To make a world where there are no wars, and where everyone lives in happiness," He told her, his smile present.
Ultear outwardly smiled in response, though in the recesses of her mind, she was smirking.
'Don't worry, Uzumaki. With Zeref-Sama, I will bring peace."
The next day, Naruto awoke later than his usual training time, his exhaustion still weighing heavily upon him. Yesterday had been quite boring after the meal with Ultear. After she left, there was not much to do, so he sat and meditated in Sage Mode for the most part.
He had noticed that in Era, the concentration of natural energy was ridiculous, and he was able to achieve Sage Mode much faster. The air, the animals, nature itself- Everything he sensed was at peace with it's environment, synced in perfect harmony. Naruto resolved to check up on it later, after his meeting with the Council.
Returning to the topic of Ultear, Naruto couldn't understand what her angle was. She seemed to be genuine, if a little teasing at times. But Naruto couldn't help but get the feeling she was not who she portrayed herself to be. Something seemed off whenever she smiled, when she spoke, as if it was not her, as if she was wearing a mask of sorts.
'I'll do my own investigation about it later.'
By the time he was done his inner musing, he had finished washing and was about to get dressed. Eyeing the outfit, he debated on whether he should wear it or not. He had picked it up from the clothing store a week ago, along with a special custom order, but had yet to find a special occasion to wear it.
'But then again, meeting with the most powerful mages in the land is a pretty special occasion, so why the hell not?'
With those thoughts in mind, Naruto grabbed the clothes and put them on.
When he was finished, he appraised himself in the mirror. He was dressed in black pants, with a rust orange long sleeve t-shirt. On top of the t-shirt, he wore his Sage coat, with kanji for 'Sage' emblazed on the back. Around his waist, he wore a belt to hold his equipment pouches on the right, and Sandai Kitetsu proudly being displayed on his left, sheathed inside a stylized white scabbard, with red flames running on its side.
He nodded approvingly. "I look so badass. That clothing store did an awesome job!"
"Uzumaki Naruto. Occupation: Mage. Affiliation: Fairy Tail. Rank: Under Evaluation."
Naruto nodded at the silent question, confirming that yes, that was him. He currently stood in front of the Mage Council, his face in a small grin. The members were no pushovers, though he decided they liked showing their power, judging from the unnecessary amounts of energy flowing from most of them, except for the kind old man, Yajima, who was grinning at him, the ever mysterious Urtear, who wore a light smirk, and a young blue-haired man with an intricate tattoo over his right eye, who was staring at him with interest.
"You have two appointments needing to be fulfilled, so why don't we start with the earlier one first- the defeat of Enceladus by your hands." This was said by a tall old man with a long grey beard and an intimidating stare, who appeared to be in charge.
"Now, if you would recount the battle." It was a statement worded to be like a common request, yet Naruto could tell from his eyes that it was a clear order, one he expected to be followed. Naruto shrugged, and began,
"Well, it all started when we got a mission to save this town..."
For the next hour, Naruto launched into a mostly detailed account of the mission, skirting around the parts that involved his own world. By the end of it, the bearded man was thoughtful, but his eyes were hard.
"To think that the retched creations of Zeref still exist. Moving on-"
"If I may, Gran Doma-Sama," Interrupted Urtear. At his prompt, she continued.
"I would like to know how exactly Uzumaki-kun defeated Enceladus," She said, her face emotionless. She had purposely brought this up. Naruto had told them that he defeated Enceladus, but had glanced over his fight, not allowing much details to escape. If she could find out more, under the pretense of a curious Council Member, she might be able to determine exactly how strong this mysterious mage was, and possible ways of defeating him.
Gran Doma narrowed his eyes. "Yes, Uzumaki, why don't you enlighten us."
Naruto grinned nervously.
'Shit. Now what should I do?'
'Why not just tell them your fight, barring the whole other dimension shit. It's not like they're not going to bat an eye about your magic, because I'm pretty sure new magics pop up frequently, or at least ones that are uncommon,' Kyuubi suggested helpfully, getting Naruto to nod thoughtfully.
'Huh. Why didn't I think of that?'
'Because you're a freaking dumbass of epic proportions?'
Naruto scowled. 'Screw you, fuzz-face.'
Naruto cut off their link quickly, not allowing Kyuubi to respond.
"Stupid ass fox," Naruto muttered quietly under his breath.
"So, this is how it went," Naruto began.
"This is most worrisome. To think that Zeref created such a powerful demon," Gran Doma.
Naruto looked confused. "Huh? Didn't you already know about him, and all that?"
"We knew of him, but there were very few records on what his magic was. It was recorded that he was a user of multiple elemental magics- nothing too uncommon, so Enceladus was listed off as being weaker in comparison to the other demons," Gran Doma said, irritated that the Magic Council had disregarded something as important as Enceladus.
'Mortals never fail to surprise me with their stupidity at times.'
"Now, enough about this!" Gran Doma boomed, not allowing any more talk on the topic. "I believe that we have another matter at hand. Uzumaki, continue onto your most recent battle."
"Well, I went on a job from the old man to deliver some message to Scarlet Light. When I got there, all the members were dead, except for one who told me what happened. I was pissed, so I went after them."
Naruto paused, recalling the events. "I caught up, and ambushed them, but the two were not harmed. And the guy, told the girl- Meredy I think was her name- to stay out of the fight. And then we fought."
"That guy... He was super tough. I hit him with one of my strongest attacks, and he still got up. He even managed to avoid my strongest one altogether. At the end, I trapped him, and beat him. Somehow, I felt this burning pain in my stomach, and my arms and legs went all numb for some reason. I don't know how, but the pink-haired girl managed to beat me."
Naruto recalled what had happened. He had seen the pink heart, but he thought nothing of it. He was so focused on taking Azuma out, that he completely ignored the girl, thinking that she would be easy pickings once he defeated Azuma. After all, Azuma had been the one fighting, not the girl. Oh, how wrong he had been.
"I got lucky. She thought that I would bleed out, and left me alive. But I underestimated her, and I payed the price."
'Some ninja I am,' Naruto though bitterly. He had once again underestimated mages. He had been getting cocky, thinking that none of them would pose a big a risk as Nagato. So, unconsciously, he had powered down his Sage Mode. Ninja's were supposed to be prepared for anything, and adapt.
But he hadn't been. But no more, he vowed to himself. No more would be careless, no matter who his opponent. He would grow strong, and defeat Madara, and protect those that he cared for.
That was a promise of lifetime.
"I don't know what to make of that boy."
"He is rather arrogant to me. Proudly proclaiming himself a sage," Org said, recalling the back of the blonde-haired youth's jacket.
"Org-San, I don't believe you need to be an old man to be a sage," Seigrain commented offhandedly, smirking.
Org saw red. The sheer arrogance of the young blue-haired Council member simply infuriated him. "You insolent little brat!"
He would have continued, had he not been interrupted by Gran Doma.
"Enough! Org, control yourself. Seigrain, refrain from making such comments."
Both nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly.
"Good. Now, we will move onto deciding his ranking. As of yet, he was unranked, or believed to be about around B-class to A-class level. However, defeating Enceladus, and also that Dark Guild Mage, has changed that. I have reports from the Rune Knights stating that the area was heavily scarred from their battle, giving me reason to believe that his opponent was of S-class level."
"As such, I am thinking of make him a S-class mage. Your thoughts?"
Org spoke first, being the second seat. "Giving a mage of Fairy Tail more freedom for causing destruction? I cannot say I am in favour of this idea, especially after he has proven that he is very capable of living up to his Guilds name and reputation."
Gran Doma nodded, gesturing for Seigrain. " If I may ask, why bother? Why not let him go through Fairy Tail's S-class exam whenever it comes around?"
Gran Doma looked at Seigrain sharply. "I have a plan. He seems to have a strong sense of justice from how he immediately wished to avenge the members of Scarlet Light. That being said, making him S-class will allow him to undertake S-class missions, clearing up some of the harsher problems around Fiore that we don't have the raw manpower to deal with."
Seigrain nodded. "So, essentially, you're planning to make him the broom that will sweep away Fiore's dirt. At least, until the broom breaks that is."
It was a harsh analogy, but it was true. Gran Doma nodded. "In essence, that is what it is."
"Cast your votes."
"You worried quite a few people brat," Makarov said, looking at Naruto who was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, a good-natured grin on his face.
"Ehehehe. Sorry about that."
It had been 3 days since Naruto's meeting with the Magic Council, and he had long since returned to Fairy Tail. It was quite overwhelming, what with the amount of people congratulating him on a job well done, and also asking if he was alright. Not to mention the harsh beating at Katsumi's hands, who was pissed at him for almost dying.
'I promise, I will never piss her off again,' Naruto vowed.
'Don't be such a pussy brat. I doubt it was that bad,' Kyuubi said in his mind, sneering.
Naruto's face gained a haunted look. 'If you were in my place, you wouldn't be saying that. No, you really, really wouldn't.'
"Oh well. All that matters is that you're safe now," Makarov paused, face turning serious. "By the way, the Magic Council sent a letter for you."
"About what?" Naruto asked curiously. He wondered exactly what the Magic Council wanted with him now.
"Apparently, they are promoting you to S-class mage status."
"Eh? Why?"
Now that was unexpected. He didn't expect to be promoted to S-class status, something that, while sounding awesome, was rather suspicious.
"Honestly? They're most likely promoting you to help deal with the traffic of S-class jobs. There is plenty of them, and not enough S-class mages to deal with them. Because of this, there is a lot of unsolved problems around Fiore, which can affect the overall economy."
"That can't be too bad," Naruto decided. S-class jobs would further increase his skills, and also allow him to help protect people.
"No, I suppose it could be worse. Just remember to keep your head, and you'll do fine. Now scram, go have fun," Makarov told him lightly, grabbing a bottle of sake.
"One more thing. I was hoping if you would let me do something, lasting about maybe about a year or so."
Makarov took a sip of his bottle, and glanced at him, gesturing that he go on.
"So, you're leaving?" A figure asked the one beside it.
"Yeah," Came the simple reply.
"For how long?" The figure said, now distinguishable as female.
"Dunno. About a year," Was his reply.
"Do you have to go?"
The other figure, a male, gave a firm nod. "I have to get stronger Katsumi. I can't slack off. The last fight proved that."
The woman, Katsumi, gave a sigh. "I understand. Just...be safe, alright Naruto?"
Naruto grinned at her. "Of course. I'll be back before you know it."
With that, Naruto jumped off, beginning his training trip.
'I'm gonna get so strong on this trip. I won't slack off, I swear. When I get back, Madara better show up early, or else I'm not gonna leave him with any hope of beating me.'
'I eagerly await the look on the bastards face after I- I mean you tear him a new one.'
'...Really? I? You suck.'
-End-
So, it's up, and Naruto's gone on a training trip. Took a long time, and I have no explanation. I remember stating last chapter this one would be up next week. As you can see, that didn't really work out. Kind of lost motivation I guess.
Next chapter will be back to canon. There were some pretty mixed feelings about last chapter. Oh well, underpowered Sage Mode and all. Eh, whatever. I tried to explain it somewhat, but oh well. Hopefully this one was slightly more decent. The fight scene was too long, and I kind of lost it in terms of detail and all that. Can't be helped.
So, he meets Urtear (Ultear? If you notice me using the two versions of her name interchangeably, it's probably because I forgot, and was too lazy to change them). But anyway, meets her, and gets promoted to S-class status. Not because he was really awesome, but more because the Magic Council needs people because their own Rune Knights are too damn weak. Tell me what you think of that.
I'm not quite sure if Gran Doma headed the Council back then or no, so let me know.
Also, I tried to be detailed about describing Naruto's clothing. I wonder why, but I really hope some kindred soul would draw it. I repeat: I REALLY HOPE SOME KINDRED SOUL WOULD DRAW IT. If that's not a hint, I really dunno what is.
And review. Why? Cause I know you want to.
HokagenoNaruto, out.
