Naruto the Storm King

by KenzoXShuyita

There are no 'what ifs'. Naruto sealed all of Kyuubi's chakra into himself, enabling him to defeat Madara. However, Madara sends Naruto to a different dimension as a final action of revenge. "Only Dragonslayers can kill dragons? Ignorance. Only Godslayers can kill gods? Arrogance. Heh, I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" Earthland had better prepare, because an unpredictable maelstrom has arisen.

10. Chapter 9: I was never meant to Exist

Chapter 9: I was never meant to exist…

A/N: Did you guys miss me? Eh? Eh? Okay…maybe not. Fine, then. I'm going to cry to myself.

Okay…so there were a lot of mixed reviews but…I guess that's because I haven't put a lot of explanations…hehe or none at all…hehe. But NOW! I WILL EXPLAIN STUFF…SOME STUFF! YAY! Cheers!

Let me explain why I kept asking for criticisms instead of flames. When you flame, you're just giving your opinion that generally lowers the morale of the writer. Simple. Criticisms, on the other hand, will help the writer to improve in their writings, which I obviously need since I only have two stories that have both been out for only a while. Saying something along the lines of "this chapter sucks" won't help me improve. What sucked about it? Anyways, it's not like I was expecting a perfect record or anything; I knew introducing Oni Teuchi and chakra hybrids was almost going over the edge, but you haven't even read the reasoning behind my actions. Whatever, this is becoming a rant. I'm just saying I prefer criticisms over flames, just like any other author who dislikes to read stuff like "this is trash". If you do like to read that…well…you're some kind of masochist.

Also, no one is forcing you to read it. If you like it, I'm happy. If you don't like it…well, I would like for you to like it, but I'm not going to change something. Well…unless it's absolutely mandatory or would make the story like…epic.

You guys didn't like the Mira/Naruto interactions, I know. But Naruto isn't interested in her like a girl, but more as simply a friend. She needed help, he'll help.

Woah…over a thousand follows? Umm…wow…uhh…thanks! I'll try my best to keep up your expectations…especially higher than last chapter. Sorry about that…haha.

Information on the Story: Nothing. Too damn lazy and tired right now. Actually, here's information on the chapter: no action. BOOM! Okay, now read the chapter.

Disclaimer: I haven't done this in a while...I own nothing. Kami, I'm tired. I'm even saying Kami now instead of God...wow I'm tired.

Chapter 9 START

There is light…and there is darkness. But the world isn't white and black; there are lots of gray and blemishes. Just like the gray, I choose a path of shadows and twilight. That is the road I take. – Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze

Time paradoxes. Stupid, for Kami's sake, time paradoxes.

Naruto was in bed under the sheets, staring up at the ceiling with a analytical gaze. Although there wasn't much about time paradoxes in his father's notes of space/time jutsus, Naruto wasn't so stupid as to not understand what was happening here. Because of his arrival, the world of Fiore, the future of the Elemental Nations, could have possibly become an alternate universe. Because of his arrival into the future, things that were never meant to be came to exist. Because of him…there were time paradoxes.

With every action, there is a certain reaction. Because of Naruto's arrival, it could be possible that the three other people that could use chakra were the reactions. Although he wasn't certain, Naruto was almost certain that his assumptions were somewhat correct. However, there was no way to prove that the three people other than him who could use chakra were the reactions to his arrival. And what, would he kill himself or disappear to prove it? Not only that, but there were at least three people that could use chakra…meaning that there could be more.

"Damn it," Naruto said as he gripped his bed sheets in irritation. This was something Shikamaru would be much better at; deducing and analytical things were never the blond's forte. Naruto sat up in bed and leaned against the wall next to his bed, still tilting his head up towards the ceiling, pressing his back and his head against the wall.

"But…how did that Teuchi guy know how to do the Edo Tensei?" Getting the DNA or the body parts shouldn't be too hard. A corpse or dead person would have their DNA for centuries, even thousands of years, and if they were preserved correctly, even more so. With healing techniques and other jutsus, especially forbidden jutsus, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if Oni Teuchi had recovered the DNA of the Second Hokage. As long as someone tried hard enough to find something, they would most likely find it. For Teuchi, that probably wasn't the case. The silver-haired young man, or elder teen, it was interchangeable, had probably been exposed to chakra at a young age and had also been given parts of the Second Hokage's remaining or things of some sorts from an ancestor. Or getting even something so measly as a single live cell of the deceased Hokage would be more than enough; cell replication sped up with medical jutsus would perform the job quite quickly.

A troubling thought entered the blond's mind. What if the other two or more people also knew how to use the Edo Tensei, an absolutely forbidden technique? Then what? Naruto gave a low growl in anticipation and anger; if he didn't lie to himself, he was slightly anxious. There were so many variables and unknowns about time traveling. Would he eventually disappear, or would this world change even more from his very existence? How much did everyone in Fairy Tail change because of his simple existence, his friendship with the guild members, his interactions with his team and the other mages his age?

"What about Cana? How would she be different if I never came to Fairy Tail and wasn't caught by Madara's Kamui?" For a moment, the blond stared blankly up at the ceiling before chuckling. "Heh, she would probably be drinking without reserve if I was never here." But he soon stopped laughing quietly to himself, thinking about all of the others: Mira, Erza, Gray, Natsu…heck, even Happy and Makarov. Honestly, he had no idea; their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses, their attitudes, their friendships…he had no concrete thoughts at all.

But…there was one thing he was absolutely certain of: he was never meant to be in this time period. For all he knew, he was dead…gone…a passing of an existence. But he was here, still alive.

Naruto's gaze hardened, his eyes focusing. Gildarts was leaving tomorrow for his SS-class mission, the hundred year mission. There was a going-away party for him tonight. For a few moments, Naruto argued with himself, deciding whether or not he should do it. For a few moments, his thoughts warred against their battle bitterly before he sighed and relented; he didn't have enough information. He needed information before he could do anything of significance, so the most he could do was reconnaissance, which was something he could do on his missions against dark guilds. But when the time came, he would have to steel his resolve; regardless of what other people thought of his decision, of what his team thought, he would do it.

"What about Cana…what would she do if I left? Would she drink? And Mira…would she become aggressive again?" Naruto dropped his gaze from the ceiling to the clock, ticking away the seconds, continuing its ticks throughout every second of the day, every minute, every hour, without a care in the world. It had only one purpose, and it was time.

Unlike most ninjas, Naruto usually portrayed his feeling during missions and did what he felt was right. He created his own nindo, his own way as a ninja. He fought to protect, and he fought to save. But when the time came, he would be a true ninja, one with only one purpose, and it was to complete his mission. He had something to take care of…and he wouldn't care for the others. He would leave the guild when no one was focusing on him; he would disappear from Fairy Tail until he completed his mission.

"Oni Teuchi…and the other two or more…I'm coming for you…and I will…kill you."

"Naruto! Come on, open the door and let's go!" The blond was broken out of his thoughts when Natsu shouted from outside his apartment and knocked on the door quite harshly. Naruto sighed and forced himself out of bed, quickly grabbing a random change of clothes from his closet and changing into them as he walked to the door.

"What is it?" Naruto asked when he opened the door, the door creaking silently. Natsu's excited face was seen from the small crack through the door.

"Hey, don't be like that! Open the door all the way!" Naruto yawned and completely opened the door, letting Natsu walk in along with the rest of his team. The blond widened his eyes slightly when he saw Mira waiting out in the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the hallway wall. The two stayed silent for a moment, neither speaking as they stared at each other.

"Well, are you going to invite me in?"

"Do you want to come in?"

The two asked as the same time. Naruto cracked a small, tired smile and waved Mira in to his apartment as he turned around and walked into the living room. Happy, Natsu, Gray, and Cana had all already made themselves comfortable on the couches; Naruto had bought more furniture since they visited at least twice every week.

"Seriously, how much did you pay for these couches?" Natsu asked with a voice full of bliss when Naruto entered the living room and sat in a chair.

"Couple ten thousand jewels each," Naruto said nonchalantly. Everyone widened their eyes in surprise except for Happy, was who already eating the sushi Naruto placed in front of the Exceed just a few seconds before.

"What!" They all exclaimed as one, again except for Happy. Naruto grunted in annoyance as he leaned back against the chair, pressing against the sparse amount of cushion.

"Speak quieter, please. I just woke up," the blond said as he yawned, his hand over his mouth. "You guys remember how much S-class mission pay, right?" All the others seemed to give an expression of realization, making the blond sweatdrop. How could they forget something so simple to remember?

Mira suddenly remembered a question she had wanted to ask the blond ever since the mission had ended; how had the other person blocked Naruto's punch. However, she felt that it was better to ask at a different time, or at least when she was alone with Naruto. She knew that the blond had erected a silencing seal on top of the barrier, so she presumed that everything that happened in there was meant to remain secretive. Although she would normally ignore all precaution and just ask, this was Naruto, who seemed to have so many questions revolving around him.

Naruto was an enigma. There was no puzzle to complete because there were barely any pieces to place. The blond had an open personality and was fun to hang out with, but in reality, he was also very secretive. His origins were under a rock? Obviously, that wasn't true. Most people would just assume the blond was joking, but Natsu was literally living under a rock for years; well, he was in a cave, so it counts as under a rock, doesn't it? Either way, the point was that Mira wasn't completely oblivious to Naruto's lack of background or information. She had her own suspicions, but none of them were even close to the blond's actual past or background. Not even close.

Naruto noticed the look in Mira's eyes and put that in a storage folder in his head; he'll have a talk with her later.

"So, are we going to go or not?" Natsu asked. Naruto glanced over at the pink-haired dragonslayer and sighed.

"You're talking about the going away party for Gildarts, right?" Natsu nodded his head excitedly.

"Yeah! Can you believe he's going on an SS-class mission! That's so awesome!" Naruto disagreed inwardly. S-class mission in the time of Elemental Nations were dangerous, ridiculously so. SS-class mission were pretty much suicide missions that were almost impossible to succeed. Only a very select few would be able to succeed individually: the Kages and extremely high S-rank ninjas. His father would have also been in that handful of ninjas capable of completing SS-class missions; after all, he was the first person ever to achieve a SS-rank and a Flee on Sight order in the Bingo Book. Naruto had gotten close, reaching Engage with Extreme Caution and Numbers or Flee on Sight.

"Then again, if I had just a few more years…I'm moping now." Naruto slapped himself mentally and refocused on Natsu.

"Sure, it's great that he's strong enough to take an SS-class mission, but it's extremely dangerous," the blond said calmly in response to Natsu's excited remark.

"Come on, we already take S-class mission, Naruto. How bad could adding another S to the mission be?" Naruto sighed and closed his eyes in frustration. Cana, Mira, and Gray somewhat understood where Naruto was coming from; he had explained multiple times to Natsu that they were taking the lower tier S-class missions.

"It's the difference between a low A-class mission to a difficult S-class mission. Without any sugarcoating, it's a suicide mission for most S-class mages; even Gildarts will have difficulty to succeed, but there's still a chance." That wasn't something that the five were expecting. This information made Natsu sober up a little, the dragonslayer leaning back against his chair. Gray, Happy, and Mira remained silent, brooding quietly over what the blond had just said.

Cana seemed to take this information the hardest for some reason. Naruto glanced at her before straight out staring at her with a small amount of concern etched on his face. Her face looked full of trouble and worry.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. The atmosphere in the room was tense, a complete contrast from only moments before. This question only seemed to bring it down even more. Cana looked up quickly and shook her head.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about what you said," the brunette replied. Then, she laughed quietly, but it seemed hollow. "But you're so far ahead of us that you might be able to take SS-class missions soon, right?" Naruto remained silent, as did the rest of the teens and the one Exceed around the table.

"I'm certain that was a compliment, but I just said that SS-class missions were basically suicide missions for most mages." The six in the room stared quietly around the room, even Natsu and Happy, who were normally full of energy and talking incessantly. All of them were thinking about a certain ace of Fairy Tail that would be leaving Fairy Tail the next morning…possibly for the last time.

"Meh…Naruto, you're such a party pooper," Natsu pouted childishly. "Such a pessimist." Naruto turned over to Natsu and glared blankly.

"I'm a realist, not a pessimist. By the way, since when did you actually start using somewhat complex words in sentences?" Naruto asked, making a barb at Natsu's intelligence. The young dragonslayer ignored it and smiled happily.

"It's kind of hard not to when I'm around you for almost two years." Instead of smiling back, however, Naruto's face hardened slightly, his expression clouding over.

"Another thing I changed in this world because I'm here. Natsu's becoming smarter…well, that's a good thing, at the least. But if I didn't come, I can only imagine how stupid he would have been." Naruto shuddered for a moment, thinking about his younger self; he wasn't exactly the smartest when it came to battle plans, but he was a genius of in-battle split second decisions. Now, he could say with certainty…that he was not stupid. Let the world know that Naruto was not an idiot anymore. Well, the reason why most people thought that Naruto was stupid in his earlier years, up until he was sixteen, was masinly due to the fact that at the academy, his education was an absolute failure. Everywhere in the academy, teachers would try to screw up in education so that he would die as soon as possible in the field with the wrong information in his head. Everything the teachers taught Naruto were wrong, and if the blond ever asked questions, he was ignored. It's not hard to understand why Naruto began to prank; it was a result of the lack of attention towards him. It hurt him to have no family, and it hurt even more back then when everyone hated him for something he didn't know, something that he was completely blind and deaf to.

Naruto blinked his eyes rapidly, bringing himself back to his surroundings; he had lost himself in his thoughts for a moment, immersing himself to his past. The teens were again happily talking to each other, the heavy atmosphere in the room having been swiped away with ease. Mira and Gray were next to Cana as the cards mistress set the cards on the table and read their fortunes for the day. Natsu and Happy were pleading Cana to read their fortunes as well, kneeling on the floor.

Naruto held in a small smile as he stood up and walked to the wall window and opened the sliding door to walk outside to the veranda. A moment later, Mira was standing right next to him. Naruto leaned against the railing and felt the breeze play with his spikes of hair as he glanced at the large town before him.

"Peaceful." That thought was ruined when Natsu and the rest of the party rushed out to the veranda and began to play outside. The blond sighed, closing his eyes in exasperation. "Can't I have at least a week of peace?"

Mira stood next to him, leaning forwards against the railing, staring straight forwards at the town. The two remained silent, content to let the silence speak about the comfortable air for them.

"Naruto?" The blond made a humming sound in response, indicating that he was listening. "I want to know what happened back at the mission. You haven't taken an S-class mission since then and have been acting strange ever since." The blond remained silent, instead continuing to stare at the town, now looking at the guild building.

"I don't think you had to state that I was acting strange, you know?" Mira didn't laugh at Naruto's small crack at a joke, instead keeping her serious expression. "Fine, fine. What do you want to know about the mission? Any specifics you want to know?" Naruto asked, but he wouldn't answer every question if he could help it.

"First of all, why did you create a silencing barrier; I know you made one since I saw your lips moving but I couldn't hear anything. Secondly, how did the guy block your punch? You said you were going all out, so how could he block it so easily? Thirdly, what was that power you had back then? It was almost…suffocating." Mira asked, listing off things from her mental checklist. Naruto waved his hand and turned to Mira for a moment, then looked past her to see that the other four were still entertaining themselves, not at all bothered or noticing that Mira and he were talking.

"Well, I'll answer to the best of my ability then, Mira." Naruto gave a small smile while Mira scowled. "For the first one, he was saying things that I'd rather keep secret to that people no one could hear it. I didn't just create a silencing barrier on top of the guild, but made it around me and him only. For the second one…the guy knew seals." Mira's eyes shot open.

"Wait, don't you only know how to use seals? I thought it was ridiculously hard to learn." Naruto nodded slowly.

"It is hard to learn. He created a physical defense seal that could block against anything physical, no matter how powerful or large it is. This also means that I could've punched him lightly or even tapped him, and then socked him as hard as I could, which would have resulted in a severely injured idiot." Mira contemplated Naruto's assessment of the silver-haired mage before another question popped into her head.

"Then why was he uninjured when he crashed against the barrier?"

"Another seal that surrounded his body. I would place him at Level 5 at most though. The seal was only able to block once. Also, it stopped working almost instantly after I began to use Pure Magic Manipulation to break through his guard. I could probably make it work five or more times, and anything less than an A-class attack wouldn't count as an attack."

"That many?" Mira asked in a silent, surprised tone. Naruto smirked.

"Seals can do anything. You just need to know how to use them." Naruto said in a somewhat prideful tone. Mira scowled again but acknowledged some truth in his statement. There was no doubt that Naruto's seals were extremely versatile…ridiculously so. Naruto turned away from Mira and stared at the mountains beyond the scenery of the town, staring at the far expanse. "Anyways, for the last question…you said what that power was? That was simply me going all out."

"Well, all out without using any of my modes." But Mira didn't have to know that. The girl's eyes widened again in surprise.

"That was just pure power?" Mira asked incredulously. The level of power was tremendous. There was a purity about it that brought peace to her when the Strauss felt it, but there was an underlying…demonic feeling to it. It was as if the purity was the surface, the demonic energy having converted to a purer version. Inside the pure power was…and absolutely demonic, even more so than her Satan Soul, power.

Naruto didn't respond, staring out at nothing, his mind going blank as he took a trip to the past in his mind. If he had Kurama, he would definitely be much stronger right now. However, his currently fourteen year old self would certainly stomp all over his other fourteen year old self with Kurama. The reason why? Back then, Naruto had no idea how to work with Kurama or even Sage Mode, and his chakra control was absolute crap. Now, the blond had reached the point of almost perfect chakra control over his affinities, allowing him to use jutsus without even making handseals except for the most difficult and chakra intensive abilities.

"Hey Naruto! Can we get lunch, because I'm starving?" Natsu asked from the railing, his feet on top of the metal rails as he balanced himself as he stood straight. Naruto broke out of his thoughts and smiled at the dragonslayer.

"Sure. Let's eat out," the blond said with an agreeing tone. Natsu cheered as he fist pumped into the air, Happy copying the motion. Cana and Gray smiled happily while Mira dropped her hard expression for a moment.

"I might as well…since this will be my last day here for a while, won't it." Naruto's smile dropped from his face as soon as Cana, Gray, Natsu, and Happy walked out into the living room and to the front door. However, he plastered a fake smile to his face when he turned to Mira.

"You coming or what?" Naruto asked in a jovial tone, a wide smile on his face. Mira stared at the blond, and then walked right past him without saying a word, her shoes tapping on the wooden floor in his apartment. The blond dropped his happy expression and sighed. "Wow…way to ignore me, Mira." Naruto straightened himself and walked outside, only a few seconds behind the rest of the group that was already walking on the streets.

"Where are we going to eat?" Cana asked from the front in a somewhat excited tone. Whenever Naruto took the group out to eat, it was always a generous treat in a fancy restaurant of some sorts. He had enough jewels to pay anyway from the abundance of S-class missions he had taken. Naruto held in his laughter. Here was a fifteen year old girl who would most likely become an S-class mage by next year that was extremely enthusiastic about a single meal.

"Then again, if it was me in the past, I would've been happy for any kind of meal. Probably why I was so happy whenever Iruka-sensei bought me ramen from Icharaku's…" Naruto broke out of his thoughts when a strange thought popped into his head. He was technically almost twenty-one. When he disappeared from the Elemental Nations, he was eighteen, and it had been a bit over two years since he had crashed into Earthland and created a time paradox.

"Hey Naruto, what about here?" The blond looked forwards to find the group, including Mira, waiting in front of a familiar restaurant. It was where Natsu had his first drink of alcohol, although the dragonslayer found it not so appetizing.

"Sure, let's eat here," Naruto replied after a moment. Natsu cheered and barged into the restaurant, kicking open the doors. The blond sighed; some kids just never learn tact.

XShuyaX

(Time Skip: Six Hours)

Naruto's eyes twitched in annoyance.

It wasn't because of the party. No, the going away party was actually quite fun for the blond. There was a tug of war, a few random games, and a few other fun little events that, of course, eventually led to an all-out guild fight. This time, however, Gildarts was included. Naruto wisely decided to stay back next to Makarov, and watched with a smirk as many of the Fairy Tail members charged at Gildarts only to be blown back, including Natsu.

Interestingly, Laxus had joined into the fray, going straight for Gildarts. Naruto and the Master watched in interest…for ten seconds. The thunder make blond mage was taken out within about a minute; Gildarts was toying with the S-class mage before completely taking him out.

No, Naruto wasn't even annoyed that Master had thrown him into the fray. The blond had easily escaped harm by smoothly evading all incoming attacks. The guild fight had gone for nearly an hour.

The reason why Naruto's eyes were twitching in irritation and annoyance was the person in front of him. Cana was drunk, but not like a light drunk, but so drunk that her cheeks were flushed. It was almost as bad as Rock Lee with a single drop of sake.

"Cana, what did I say about drinking?" The blond said in a firm tone. Cana, in her drunken stupor, ignored the tone and leaned towards the blond who was currently sitting in a stool at the bar counter. When she leaned close enough so that their faces were only inches apart, the brunette pouted when Naruto didn't make a single change in expression.

"But I'm fifteen, so it's legal for me to drink now," she replied in an extremely slurred response. Naruto stared passively as her alcoholic breath went over his face.

"At moments like these…I really wish that my nose wasn't so sensitive."

"I still don't think you should drink, Cana. It isn't healthy and you're acting strange." Cana leaned forwards even more so that now, she was basically sitting on Naruto's lap as she stared at him, her face completely red.

"Hey, Naruto. What do you think of me?" The blond raised his eyebrows for a split second before he immediately tensed up.

"Oh shit…I'm in this situation. Ero-sennin…I wish you could help me now." For some reason, Naruto could see the perverted toad sage sitting somewhere in the guild building drinking a beer with tons of hot women at his side as he laughed uproariously. Then, the pervert turned to Naruto and gave him a grin before fading away.

Suddenly, Cana slapped both of her hands on to each of Naruto's cheeks, forcing him to look up at her.

"Hey, answer my question. What do you think of me?" The two stared at each other for a moment, one in anticipation and the other in an apathetic stare, although Naruto's apathy was belying his confusion inside.

"Maybe I can wave off the question? Kami, why do I have to have no experience on this stuff?" Naruto shut his eyes and sighed.

"Cana, you definitely had too much to drink. Let's get you home." For some strange reason, or not so strange if the blond had any tact when it came to relationships, Cana glared heatedly at the blond. Suddenly, she leaned closer to his face, releasing her hold on his cheeks and pressing her finger against his chest harshly.

"You like Mira, don't you? I saw you two act all close to each other. You-" Cana loud voice and accusations were silenced when Naruto clamped his hand over her mouth quickly. He took a furtive glance around the area, and was somewhat surprised to notice that not that many people heard what Cana said…not that many people as in half of the guild. How the guild can hear some random crap from all the way across the guild hall when there was a bar fight would never make sense to Naruto. Well, unless they had some ridiculous hearing.

"Er…you guys saw and heard nothing," he said in a somewhat embarrassed tone. The drunken and sober faces of the guild just stared at Naruto and Cana. The blond just stared back at them, his cheeks turning a deeper shade of red by the second.

"MMMPH!" Cana screamed, although the sound was still muffled. Naruto turned his attention to the girl on his lap and grabbed her shoulder before the two disappeared in a flash of orange light

"What the hell? Naruto, teach me that!" Natsu said from across the guild hall. The dragonslayer turned to Gray and Mira with a confused expression on his face. "Do you know where they went?" Gray shook his head.

"He has to teleport to a mark, and the only areas I know where he marked are the guild hall, your house, his house, the training clearing, and some random areas around town and in other towns."

"So where could he be right now?" While the two boys, and the rest of the guild, talked to each other, Mira stared at the spot Naruto and Cana were beforehand before flashing away.

"She liiiiikes him," Happy said in Mira's ear, the Exceed flying in the air. Mira broke out a small blush and swiped her hand at Happy.

"Who taught you about relationships?" Mira asked. Happy pointed at Natsu. She turned to the dragonslayer with a glare, who involuntarily gulped in fear as he took a few steps backwards. "And who taught you?"

"Ehehe…Naruto?" Mira widened her eyes in surprise; what could someone almost a whole year younger teach someone older?

"What? Then what did he teach you?" Natsu stayed silent, so Happy spoke up for him in an excited and happy tone.

"When a man and woman love each other, they go to bed and they have se-"

"Stop!" Mira shouted at the Exceed, a heavy blush on her face. Happy continued to smile as he dropped onto Natsu's head.

"What the hell is Naruto teaching them?"

XShuyaX

(Location: Training Clearing)

The two remained silent, the two leaning against a large tree trunk as the cold penetrated through their layers of clothing. The cold seemed to freshen up Cana's mind; her drunken stupor seemly to be slowly disappearing.

"You like…Mira don't you, Naruto?" Cana said in a drunken tone, her head drooping from side to side.

"Or not…she's still drunk as hell." Naruto sighed as he leaned his head backwards until it was comfortably pressing against the wooden bark. Then again, maybe he could use her drunken state to his advantage, even though he didn't like the thought of it. He was still wondering what could be troubling her from nearly a year ago.

"No, I don't like her." Cana tilted her head toward the blond and gave him a glare with drooping eyelids.

"Liiiiar. You're telling meee a lieee," she said, drawling out the words. Cana pointed her finger at Naruto's face before leaning closer and poking his forehead as she continued. "You two are almost alwaaaays together. And then, you alwaaaays help her, giving heeer faaavors and more."

"I help her because I can. She asked, so I help. Besides, I've help all four of you equally; I just used different ways since your styles are different." Naruto paused for a moment. The silence seemed to become suffocating between the two, so Naruto continued. "I help you because I want to, not just because I can. So…it's different." The blond turned away from the brunette with a small dust of pink across his cheeks, but the darkness hid it well. Cana, completely oblivious to Naruto's embarrassment and inexperience with women, pushed him further as she leaned closer to his side until they were right next each other.

"I don't seeeeee the difference. Besiiides, youuu still haven't answered my firsss question." She stated. Naruto sighed; why did this have to happen the night that he would leave? He couldn't leave a clone behind in the guild; obviously, it would disperse quickly; at most, it would last a month. Creating a clone that could survive like a normal human by the use of a seal was absolutely taboo; the reason why the Uzumakis never did so even though they knew they could was because it created a small paradox...or not that small really. The creation of a living clone of the person, not a normal clone, but a living clone that could live as long as the original and was as powerful as the original, would result in the death of someone in the world of the same age. The world knew there were a certain number of people, so suddenly adding another one would result in the death of another. Normal clones don't count as a human because they disperse quite quickly. Naruto cursed internally to himself; these stupid complicated topics were screwing with him.

"Damn it, there are paradoxes everywhere! Kami, why are there so many stupid paradoxes? It's ridiculous!" Naruto knew he was thinking too much, especially now when he was next to Cana, but he couldn't help it. There was too much running through his mind at the moment.

"Naarrrruto?" The blond broke out of his thoughts and sighed. If he was honest to himself…he was unsure whether he actually liked Cana or not. He might, he might not, but the feelings inside were questionable.

"But what the hell am I hesitating for? If I was still in the Elemental Nations, I wouldn't wait because there was always the possibility I would die the next day. Here, it's not so possible but…there's still a possibility. Hell, I might disappear. And if I do, what happens then? Would she remember me? Or would I just be an ephemeral memory that disappears from her memory when I disappear from this alternate universe?" Naruto continued to remain silent, his thoughts warring back and forth in his mind. Cana grabbed onto Naruto's face by the sides and forced him to look at her. He broke out of his musings and stared in slight surprise at the straightforward girl. Cana looked straight up at him with a drunken expression, her face completely red, visible despite the darkness.

"Talk, you blond idiot." Naruto stared down at Cana with two raised eyebrows, his cheeks squished between her hands.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't press so hard, Cana. Even better would be if you would let go of my face," Naruto said in a surprisingly clear tone since his face was squished. The brunette shook her head repeatedly, her long wavy hair whipping back and forth from the motion.

"I don't wanna. Besides-" Cana began to rub her thumbs over the blond's whiskers. Naruto barely held in his feral instinct to purr. "-I wanted to touch your whiskers." The blond's cheeks twitched as he forced down his instinct to purr, but he couldn't prevent the dust to pink to spread across his cheeks.

"Cana, what do you want?" Naruto asked softly. He raised his hands to pull hers from his face, but she only squeezed his cheeks closer together and even harder when he gripped her wrists.

"You," she said bluntly. Naruto froze, his hands releasing their grip on Cana's wrists. Cana did the same, now only gently cupping his cheeks, her thumbs still rubbing over his whiskers. They stayed still for a few seconds, the silence starting to suffocate the two.

"Wh-what?" Naruto stuttered out. Cana's face became completely red, almost glowing in the darkness.

"It means I like you!" She suddenly shouted, her voice echoing in the clearing. Cana then dropped her head, her eyes glancing around the ground. "I like you…a lot."

"Kami…are you screwing with me right now? Why the hell would this happen NOW?"

"Cana, I don't-" That was as far as the blond got before Cana quickly lifted her head and forced Naruto's face to move towards hers. True, could have replaced himself with a log…but what the hell would that achieve? Naruto didn't exactly like playing with the idea of Cana making out with an inanimate object.

"I hate you right now, Kami. My luck and timing is shit right now."

Right before the two's lips met, Cana faltered and went to the right, her head dropping on the blond's left shoulder.

"Um, Cana?" Silence was the response. Naruto stayed still for a moment before shaking Cana lightly, and then moving her in front of him. Cana's head was still down, but Naruto was able to see her expression. She was drooling, and her face was still red from drunkenness and embarrassment, but she was asleep. Naruto let out a sigh of relief before thanking Kami, taking back his previous curse.

"It's not fair…" Cana suddenly said, but Naruto knew it was sleep talking. He sighed and carefully placed Cana on his back, throwing her arms over his shoulder and her legs over his arms so that she wouldn't fall off.

Instead of flashing to the guild hall, he decided to walk back, taking his time along the streets of the city; he enjoyed the party, but he was never a party person. No matter how much he had changed since his coming to Fiore, that was something that has not changed. It was night time, so there were a decent amount of people outdoors, which meant that all of them were able to see Naruto carrying Cana on his back in a piggy-back ride. Ignoring all of the surprised looks and glares, Naruto began to talk to himself.

"I…I don't really know how it really feels to like someone." Naruto wasn't really lying when he said this. He thought he liked Sakura, but that was a childish crush. After that, he didn't really like…anybody really. He was forced to train, train, and train some more until he became an efficient ninja, capable of killing and shutting off his emotions when the time required it, despite the fact he preferred keep his emotions, even during missions.

"But liking means not just acceptance, but the complete acceptance of a person as a whole. Not just their good qualities, but their idiosyncrasies, their bad parts, their greed, their avarice, their soft nature…everything…even secrets." The blond paused in his mumblings as he continued to walk along the streets.

"Heh, listen to me, talking as if I was an expert at this. Why am I even remotely interested in a relationship?" Naruto raised his eyes and head when he heard the tell-tale signs of a loud bar fight some distance away. The lights of the building were a bright contrast to the darkness of the night, something he wanted to be for the guild. If they were ever in darkness, he would be their light. His resolves from last year had not changed; it had only changed from his small group of trusted precious people to the whole guild. Even the whole town. And if Oni or any of the chakra users, any dark mages, or any kind of mage came to attack his new "home", they would suffer the consequences.

Naruto wasn't old like the Sandaime, so he couldn't call the guild and the towns people his children. He wasn't Master, so he couldn't see them from the top. But mentally, by age and by strength, he saw the guild as he saw a growing flower. It had strong, deep roots, and needed nurturing and outside influences to help it to grow even stronger and beautiful. The outside influence did not have to be him; in fact, it could be even a detrimental force to make the mages to realize that the world was gray-scaled.

Naruto pushed Cana higher on his back when he felt her sliding down slightly into an uncomfortable position for the blond to carry. He looked over his shoulder to see Cana's sleeping face. She was still extremely flushed, her face literally glowing a crimson red color as she breathed slowly, her alcoholic breath invading his sense of smell. Take away the alcohol influence and the slightly disheveled hair on the left side of her face, and he saw that she was still the innocent girl he remembered that he met two years ago…and he would prefer to keep it that way for her, and for everyone else. He had kept his pain hidden from his eyes from fighting in one of the most devastating wars in the history of the Elemental Nations; a ninja had to know deception.

Naruto suddenly jumped into the air, carefully keeping Cana against his back when he landed on the side of the guild building next to a window. Opening it quickly, he jumped inside the infirmary room and immediately went next to the bed and placed Cana on it.

"Haven't I done this before?" Naruto said to himself, trying to remember. But for some reason, he couldn't. Probably was due to the extremely loud noise downstairs. Kami, he didn't like parties.

XShuyaX

(Location: Fairy Tail Guild Hall)

"Are you sure? Are you really~ sure?" Natsu asked interrogatively. Mira closed her eyes and sighed for the tenth time before responding again to Natsu's question.

"I don't even know why I've put up with you so far and responded civilly instead of kicking your ass. Yes, Naruto is more like the caring little brother I don't have. I don't like him like that." Natsu pulled out an inspector's eyeglasses from nowhere before placing it on his eyes and staring at Mira, circling the girl multiple times before humming to himself.

"The glasses of inspections states that…you are LYING!"

"Natsu, you sound like an idiot," Naruto said from the door to the stairs that lead to the infirmary on the second floor. Mira, who was just about to blow up in irritation, took a deep breath before turning around to give Naruto a glare. He was the one that was making him go through all of this trouble right now. Naruto walked over to the group and smiled at Mira, laughing inwardly at her ire directed at him.

Natsu jumped excitedly in front of the blond and pointed at Mira.

"It's true. Me thinks she likes you!" Happy saluted from the dragonslayer's head and repeated Natsu's statement. Naruto sighed in response and looked over at Mira, who was somehow sporting a large sweatdrop, a deadpan stare, and a heavy glare with an air of death surrounding the girl.

"I don't like her." Naruto said quickly, but not in an annoyed or angry voice. Mira involuntarily flinched. It wasn't because she wasn't expecting that or that she liked him; it was just unexpected how forward and bluntly he stated his feelings. "She's more like an older sister…an extremely conceited and uncaring older sister. But then again, this whole family called Fairy Tail has their quirks." Natsu smiled before throwing his arm around Naruto's neck and pulling him towards the middle of the guild…where another bar fight had just started. Mira watched the two boys go off; Gray was somewhere else in the guild, fighting against Erza…and getting his ass kicked.

"So, that makes me your older brother, right?" Naruto thought about it for a second before responding.

"A very stupid older brother, yes." Natsu took the insult in stride, knowing that Naruto was joking.

"Oh yea? Then how do I act smart, then?" Without missing a beat, Naruto responded.

"Simple. Don't be stupid." The two turned to each other and smiled cheekily before Naruto jumped away from a flaming fist from Natsu. Naruto rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation and pointed at Natsu from across the guild. "Oh boy, the flaming idiot is insulted. Ready for round seven-hundred and thirty-eight?"

Natsu glared at Naruto with a wide smile on his face, who was calmly staring back with a smirk.

"Bring it on!" Needless to say, another bar fight began. Gildarts didn't have much time to enjoy his fourth casket of beer since it was destroyed by Naruto, resulting in a very irritated and drunk S-class mage joining in the fight. Good times, good times.

XShuyaX

(Location: Borders of Magnolia Town)

Play: This Is Why I Was Born

It was the dead of night. The party had ended nearly an hour ago, and everyone in the guild was either knocked out or drunk out of their minds. Naruto had made sure to do two things before going back to his home. First, he made a Hiraishin seal on Gildarts just in case the man's mission went straight to shit. Second, Naruto copied all of the details of the S-class missions on the board from the second floor so that he could analyze it later on for future use.

Naruto sat still as the night went on, a dead set expression shadowing his face in the darkness. He was standing on top of a tree, staring at the town from above, the height giving him a perfect view of the town in complete darkness. Almost everyone had gone to sleep; there were a few stray lights on throughout the town.

The blond kept his serious blue eyes gazing at the town he had come to love. Maybe it wasn't as much as he loved Konoha, but he nonetheless loved the people and the town regardless. He had made new precious people and had changed his goals to reflect the new world. Naruto knew that there were consequences from his arrival, and he was more than willing to take care of them. After all, he was a ninja.

Starting tomorrow, he would begin his reconnaissance missions. He needed information, something he lacked in dreadful amounts. If there was something the old pervert had taught him in life other than ninja techniques, something completely useful to any single person in the world, was that a person needed information. Information, something that could save a person or end up in their death, was necessary because of the reason stated beforehand. A person with information was dangerous…deadly even because they could spread the information. Luckily, there was a counter to a person with information: don't show them everything, which is what Naruto had done. It was obvious he knew way more than what he told them master. His S-class status completely belied the true strength of the blond. But he would hide his strength until the moment was right; he knew now that there were people out in the world that were strong enough possibly to make him use all of his strength…currently. And maybe for a few more years. But he would hide it as well as he could until then. After all, he was a ninja.

There were many things that the blond had to do before he would be allowed to take a mission that would allow him to leave Fairy Tail for months, even years at a time. The first thing he had to do was become stronger, which he was doing everyday by training. The second thing he had to do was make his team into S-class mages so that they wouldn't have to rely on him for everything; if they relied on him all of the time, they wouldn't become individuals. They wouldn't become the best they could become. And when they had become the mage they wanted to become, then maybe by that time, Makarov would allow Naruto to leave for his personal mission.

Of course, the blond wouldn't tell Makarov the real reason why he wanted to take a long mission; he would make a lie, something that he could do easily. After all, he was a ninja…and deception was key.

Yes, many things changed about the blond, whether they were goals, dreams, ideas, attitudes, friends…but there was one thing that would forever stay the same. Well, there were many things, but to Naruto right now, the thing going through his mind was that he would always be a ninja. Not a mage. Two completely different, yet similar terms. They both fought, but one fought in the shadows, while the other fought head to head. One fought to kill, and the other fought to protect. True, Naruto fought to protect, and he believed that when a person had something very precious to protect, that he or she would become truly powerful. But he also understood…that killing was a necessity until true peace arrived…until everyone understood each other. But it seemed that the day that true peace arrived would be a long time coming; it had been a long time since his days of the Elemental Nations, and it was much better, but it wasn't perfect. Not yet.

But he hadn't given up on his dream…Ero-sennin's dream. That one day, peace would rule the land, and not discord. That every person would understand the other. Naruto turned away from the town to face the large expanse of land and mountains before him, but he didn't stare at the physical aspects in front of him. Rather, it was to face the whole world. Somewhere out there, was an obstacle to his dream. There were many steps to reach that aspiration, but when had the blond ever given up on something he truly desired? Madara couldn't even stop him when the blond was in front of Death's door. He would barrel through all of the impeding barriers standing in his way toward his dream.

And then maybe…just maybe…Naruto would finally be able to rest. To stop all of the meaningless fighting. To end everything once and for all. But until then, the blond would wait patiently. After all, he was a ninja. And ninjas needed patience. Not all results came immediately, but in fact came slowly.

Naruto turned around once more, facing the town, before raising his head to the sky. Somewhere up there, there was where he had fallen out of the past and had come into the future. But time was all relative. Now was the present and the future. And to someone later on, it would be a past.

Naruto raised his hand above his head, focusing a small amount of energy above his palm. Slowly, negative and positive matter appeared in small droplets, the red and blue energies converging and creating a small ball of ridiculous mass and power. Then, wind and water came together, at first a trickle and a drift, and then it slowly grew, but no larger than to create a slightly disturbance. He began to add fire, and the flames joined the wind and grew hot and wild. While adding a fourth element, his lightning affinity, however, the technique suddenly shut down.

Naruto dropped his hand to his side. but continued to stare up at the moon, his golden eyes turning back to his normal ocean blue eyes. His mind emptied of his former thoughts as it became a void of nothingness. It would take maybe another few years to perfect and become combat ready…but he had time. Time to train and time to prepare and plan. Time to gain information. Time to become stronger and understand his current situation. Time was something that was on his side…not on the side of the fake chakra users of this time. But he would remain patient. And when the time came to strike, he would take advantage of it to its fullest and more.

After all…he was a ninja.

Chapter End.

A/N: So…I'm sleepy. Bye.

Oh, I have a question. If I did another crossover story, which anime or whatever story would you like me to write? Naruto has to be the first choice, sorry. Fairy Tail is allowed.

Secondly, if I did another Fairy Tail crossover, who do you want me to pair Naruto with?

Thirdly, I might take a slight break from this story. Reason? Fricking school. The bane of my existence currently. Worst…year…ever. After this year…FREEDOM! Key word: might.