Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail, only the changes in the story

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'Kyuubi thinking/Kyuubi talking to Naruto'

"Kyuubi talking"

"Spell"

Sorry about the long wait, I was having trouble finding the time to type up this chapter.

Without further delays, here is chapter 8!

XxX

(Time skip 3 years)

In the middle of a forest were five figures surrounding a fire.

Naruto was the only one awake and was thinking about the mission they just finished.

The job was basic, just to scare off a bandit camp that was harassing a nearby town.

Normally Naruto, Erza, and Sakuzu could have gone and done the mission by themselves, however Natsu wanted to come too.

They had decided to let him come to see how he would do on the mission.

And to stop his constant begging for a good mission.

Lisanna had also come because she was worried that Natsu would get hurt.

The mission was finished with ease since Naruto, Erza, and Sakuzu were experienced in this kind of mission and that Natsu pretty much blew everything up.

Naruto looked over at Erza and Sakuzu and noticed how different they were now from when he met them.

Sakuzu had grown a bit taller, with the top of his head reaching Naruto's nose. His hair had grown longer so it now reached the bottom of his ears with a few bangs in his face. While he was slowly starting to grow more confident, he was still the stuttering, quiet, shy boy that Naruto met about three and a half years ago.

Sakuzu looked up to Naruto as a big brother, sometimes calling him 'Hige-nii-san'

Naruto didn't mind it as he also saw him as a little brother.

Erza had changed as well.

Her hair had grown so it almost reached her waist. At the moment it was in a long braid that stopped at the small of her back. She also wore the armor she had gotten almost everywhere. However she hardly ever wore it when she was around Naruto and Sakuzu.

In regards to their training, Naruto and Erza were very skilled in their requip magic. They were now able to equip a sword in no more than 4 seconds. They could now also requip armor too.

Erza had taken the feather she had gotten from the Arashi and used it in her first armor called Heaven's Wheel. The armor allowed her to control a greater amount of swords and weapons than normal. The feather, which was placed at the spine of the armor, increased the durability of the armor as well as added the ability to levitate temporarily.

Naruto also had an armor but didn't use the Arashi feather for it.

It was called Swift Beast, it allowed Naruto to move at much higher speeds. The armor appeared to be made of separate pieces of metal that was all dark colors that allowed him to blend in with darker areas such as a forest or a dim warehouse. The armor had a tail that Naruto controlled with his telekinesis, there were smaller blades along the length of the tail with what appeared to be two scythe blades as the tips. On the back of the gauntlets were long blades that allowed the clawed hands to grab or slice.

Sakuzu had also improved greatly.

With the training with Naruto and Erza, he has many more spells in his arsenal.

He had used the Arashi feather to make a unique chain that worked with his magic.

The chain itself was hollowed out to put water inside of the links so he could control it as if it were a part of his body. There was a small blade-tipped end which was where the feather was.

Naruto was currently working on his Arashi feather weapon called Gale Slicer. The sword could use wind to strengthen attacks or to extend them. It could also conduct lightening to the blade which he accidentally found out about in a thunderstorm.

Naruto looked back at Erza.

He would be lying to himself if he said that he didn't have feelings for his fellow requip mage. He was just afraid that she did not feel the same.

He settled down next to Erza and fell asleep.

The next morning he was woken up by Sakuzu shaking his shoulder.

"Morning Sakuzu" Naruto said groggily.

"G-good morning Hige-nii-san, should we wake Erza up?" he asked in his quiet voice.

Naruto looked on his shoulder to see that sure enough, Erza was using his shoulder as her own personal pillow again.

Naruto shook Erza "Wake up Erza, we need to get going"

Erza yawned before standing and stretching "I'm up, I'm up"

Naruto turned to Sakuzu "Can you wake up Lisanna? I'll wake up Natsu"

Sakuzu nodded and walked over to the sleeping Lisanna while Naruto walked to the branch that Natsu was sleeping in. Naruto took an apple out of his bag and seemed to measure its weight then looking between Natsu and the apple.

He then proceeded to throw the apple at Natsu causing the mighty Dragon Slayer of fire to fall out of the tree with Naruto catching the apple and taking a bite.

Natsu jumped up looking for his attacker and saw Naruto and greeted in his usual loud voice "Morning Naruto, are we leaving yet?"

"Yeah, Sakuzu is getting Lisanna and Erza is packing up" Naruto answered.

Erza, Sakuzu, and Lisanna walked over to them.

"Are we ready to go?" Lisanna asked.

Naruto nodded "Yup, let's head back"

As they started walking they talked about the mission.

"I still can't believe how easy that mission was" Erza stated.

Sakuzu spoke up next "I can't believe the explosion Natsu caused"

Natsu threw his hands up "You guys wanted a distraction!"

Naruto answered "There's a difference, I asked for a diversion that would take their attention away from any captives and so we could sneak up on them. YOU made a freaking fireworks display advertising that we were there"

"But it worked!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu, my first impression to seeing the explosion was 'yup, it's on fire…again'" Naruto stated.

Natsu just pouted after that.

They got back to the guild at around noon.

Natsu pretty much ran inside to most likely look for Gray to fight with Lisanna following.

Naruto, Erza, and Sakuzu put the mission complete form in a box, which pretty much went to an incinerator.

"So now what?" Erza asked.

They all thought about it until Naruto offered "Wanna go to that clearing and relax?"

Sakuzu and Erza agreed and they left.

The clearing was just a large open area with a few trees and a forest surrounding it. They had found it a while back and used it to relax and to train.

They all walked over to the large tree in the center and sat under it.

After a little while Sakuzu spoke up "Naruto, i-if you don't mind m-me asking, do you miss a-anyone in your old v-village?"

Naruto got a faraway look in his eyes for a moment before answering "Yeah, there are a few people"

"There were the Ichirakus, they ran a ramen shop that I went to often. They were the only shop owners that would let me eat for free if I had trouble paying. There was also this girl at the orphanage named Tenten. She was a year older than me and was like a big sister. After I got kicked out, I barely saw her. There were a few classmates that weren't so bad" he turned to Sakuzu "You remind me a little of one, a girl named Hinata. She was a bit shy but she didn't seem to mind me. There's Shino, who is probably the quietest person I have ever met. Then there's Shikamaru and Chouji. Shikamaru was the laziest kid I knew, but it was fun playing shogi with him. Chouji loved food and would go to Ichiraku's with me sometimes"

"What about the other classmates?" Erza asked, interested in Naruto's life.

"Either fangirls or jerks. This one boy, Sasuke Uchiha, thought he was practically a god. He was the last of his clan because his brother killed the rest. The council and every single villager kissed up to him. His two biggest fangirls were Ino and Sakura" Naruto seemed to cringe at remembering them "Every time he rejected them, they would blame me and hit me or something. I could tell that Ino seemed to regret it though. Then there's Kiba, he thought that he was the 'alpha' in the academy. I didn't know someone could be so perverted at that age"

"You've t-talked about c-classmates, but w-was there anybody else who w-was nice to you?" Sakuzu asked. Erza looked like she was about to maul something.

"There were a few older shinobi, Kakashi was one of them. At first he was an ANBU who watched me while I was younger. I met a chunin named Kurenai, I only really talked to her when she brought Hinata to the academy. The Hokage was nice to me, he would visit me in the hospital when I got hurt" Erza nearly drew blood from her own palms at this "I also met his son Asuma, I never really talked to him but he didn't seem to mind me much"

"What a-about your p-parents?" Sakuzu asked.

Naruto looked down "I never knew them, I don't know who they were. Kyuubi is a mother to me"

Erza seemed to calm down a bit.

"I still remember that whenever I got hurt or upset, I would appear in my mindscape and Kyuubi would comfort me. She actually taught me to talk, walk, and to read"

Through the entire time Naruto was talking, Erza wanted nothing more than to go to Konoha and personally beat anyone who harmed Naruto into a coma. She then heard Sakuzu ask the question that she was afraid to ask.

"Do you wish you could go back?"

Erza and Sakuzu held their breath for the answer. They didn't have to wait long.

"While I do have friends there, this place is much better. They will understand why I chose to leave. But to answer your question, no I do not want to go back"

Erza felt herself smile at hearing his answer "Well it's their lose, if they couldn't see your potential then they didn't deserve you Naruto"

Sakuzu also voiced his opinion "They a-also don't d-deserve someone as nice as you"

Naruto was almost crying tears of joy at hearing that.

They heard a small poof sound and Kyuubi appeared.

"You know they are right Naruto. They treated you, a person with so much potential and kindness, like a monster"

Naruto looked at them wiping his arm across his eyes "Thanks guys"

Sakuzu got up "Why don't we get something to eat?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"You two go on ahead, if you don't mind I would like to talk to Erza about something"

Erza nodded "Go on ahead guys, I'll catch up"

Naruto and Sakuzu nodded and left.

Kyuubi turned toward Erza "I couldn't help but notice your reactions to Naruto's life in Konoha"

Erza nodded "I just can't believe the people in that village. They kicked a five year old out into the streets, wouldn't sell him food, sabotaged his education, and nearly beat him to death on multiple occasions!"

"Trust me, I would love nothing more than to have killed every last person who hurt Naruto"

Erza sighed "At least there were a few good people"

"If not for some of them, Naruto might be dead"

Erza's eyes widened in shock "What!"

"When he was born, some villagers tried to kill him but the ANBU Kakashi stopped them. A few times when a group of villagers was chasing him, the chunin Kurenai would make an illusion to confuse the mob. The girl Tenten prevented the head lady at the orphanage from strangling Naruto in his sleep. Naruto almost starved to death a few times, the Ichirakus fed him for free WITHOUT trying to poison him"

If Erza looked mad before, she was absolutely royally pissed off now. She was shaking in rage "If I ever meet anyone who did anything to Naruto, I'll make sure that they feel how he did"

Kyuubi jumped onto her shoulder "I'll be right behind you"

After that they left to catch up to Naruto and Sakuzu.

As they were eating at the guild Naruto asked "Should we look for a house tomorrow?"

"Sure, we have been putting it off for a while" Erza stated.

Mira was nearby "Awwww, the love birds are looking for a family home"

Erza turned to face Mirajane "Shut up Mira!"

Mire just smirked "Or is it that you and Naruto want some 'alone time'?" she teased emphasizing the last part.

Erza and Naruto blushed tomato red.

Mira was about to continue but she suddenly became drenched in water.

Everyone looked at Sakuzu who was eating as if nothing happened.

Mira fumed for a moment and then left.

Naruto and Erza turned toward their quiet friend "Thank Sakuzu"

Sakuzu smiled at them "Anytime"

Lisanna walked over to their table "Sorry about Mira, again"

"No problem, it's not your fault" Naruto stated.

Changing the subject Sakuzu asked "So where s-should we l-look for a house?"

All three of them thought about it for a few moments.

"W-what about near t-the shore?" Sakuzu offered

Erza thought about it "That way we could have a great view"

"Plus we could easily get to the beach or to the guild" Naruto added.

"Alright, so we'll look for a house near the shore tomorrow.

(The Next Day)

They woke up at around ten in the morning to leave. After they walked outside Lisanna, Natsu, and Gray ran over to them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Naruto asked.

"We wanted to help you guys find a house" Lisanna answered.

Naruto turned to Natsu and Gray "So she forced you two to come?"

Both boys nodded.

Naruto sighed "Just don't break anything. We're heading toward the beach area to try and find one"

Lisanna nodded and they all headed there.

They were currently looking at a small single story house.

"It seems kind of small" Erza stated while standing in one of the larger rooms. Which was only about seven feet by eight feet.

Naruto nodded "I would rather have a more spacious house"

Two seconds later, Natsu and Gray came through a wall.

Naruto looked at them "I thought I told you two NOT to break anything"

Erza walked over to the hole in the wall "Looks like it was already broken"

Naruto walked over to see that she was right.

"It looks like someone broke it then put the bricks back without new cement" Naruto observed.

The next house wasn't much better.

"Why are t-there no d-doors?" Sakuzu asked.

"Why are there no windows?" Naruto asked.

The third was even worse.

"Why is half of the house just gone?" Erza asked.

The house looked like it was just cut clean in half and one half was taken.

"….I don't know what to say about that" Naruto said.

Naruto, Erza, and Sakuzu were eating at a restaurant after many more failed attempts.

"There is always something wrong with the house" Naruto stated.

Erza twitched "Or have really bad neighbors"

She was referring to the sixth house.

It seemed decent. But the neighbor, a fat hairy man, came over and started eyeing Erza.

He wasn't walking anytime soon

They were about to call it quits when Lisanna ran up to them.

"Guys, I think I found a house for you!"

The three of them got up and followed her.

When they got there they saw a slightly run-down, large, two story house. They went around the back and saw that the back porch connected to a pier.

When they went inside they were amazed. The house had plenty of room with many rooms. They went upstairs and saw that there was a small observatory that they guessed use to have a telescope. Naruto found a chain and pulled, finding that it opens the observatory windows.

"W-wow, this p-place is a-amazing!" Sakuzu stated.

Naruto was also impressed "We would need to fix it up, but when we do it will look great"

Erza stated "At least it has doors, windows, is in one piece, and has no creepy neighbors"

After going through the whole house they found that it had 8 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an observatory, a large living room, a fairly big kitchen, a front and back porch, a pier connecting to the back porch, a balcony in the back, and a basement that was one large room.

"I think we found our house" Naruto stated.

Sakuzu and Erza nodded in agreement.

They went to the realtor to sign and pay for it then went to go furniture shopping.

With the money that they saved through staying and eating at the guild they got most of the furniture that they needed. Naruto used a few storage scrolls that Kyuubi taught him to make and put their furniture into it.

When they got to their new home they unsealed their purchases to put into place.

"Hey Naruto, I think that Master said that in a year or two we could try for S-rank" Erza stated.

"W-why not s-sooner?" Sakuzu asked.

"Because to become an S-rank mage you have to go on an S-rank mission with someone of that rank. I don't think Laxus would care enough to help. Gildarts is S-rank also, but he's never at the guild" Naruto explained.

Erza thought about that "Maybe Gildarts is coming back to the guild and Master will have him test us"

S-so we just w-wait for him t-to get back?" Sakuzu asked.

Naruto nodded "We train till we drop, S-rank missions are no joke"

"Agreed" Erza responded.

The three of them went to bed in their new house so they could train to become the best S-rank mages the next day.

XxX

What did you guys think?

As hinted in the chapter, the next will start their S-rank mission test. It will be another time skip.

Be sure to leave reviews, I love to know what people think of my stories.