Note: Small request, before reviewing, if you don't understand a certain part in the story I left an explanation for it at the bottom (the one I consider people would try to chew me for)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail
Demon's Curse – Chapter 10
The world was spinning, his head was spinning. He could hear people talking, arguing, he could hear laughter. Slowly, the blond tried to open his eyes, everything was blurry, his head hurt, his entire body felt like it had been shut down. He couldn't feel his arms, his legs, he couldn't feel anything. Was he actually dreaming? Was he even alive? He could remember the battle with the unknown mage, his surrender. What was he thinking?
Looking up he could see people at the opposite end of his cell, he was in a cell. There was someone else there. He tried to listen in on the conversation, he couldn't understand everything, something about a ceremony and a sacrifice. He felt his head pulsating, a voice calling out to him. Was it his captors? The voice called out again, it was darker, it wasn't demanding, it called him 'master'.
The blond looked up once more as he tried to get a clearer picture on what was going on out there. His vision was still blurred, he couldn't see anything, be it either because of the darkness or his shallow vision. He shook his head, the chains shaking as well making noise.
"Seems like our second prisoner has woken up." This time he could hear thing much clearer than before, he looked towards the source of the voice, no one had approached his cell, most likely they were talking from the other one.
"Who else did you drag into this?" that voice seemed familiar to him, he couldn't remember. The drug, the elixir, whatever he was forced to drink, it made his head hurt every time he thought of something, he felt like puking.
"Jellal wanted him…another sacrifice perhaps." The voice laughed at that as he heard footsteps approaching his cell, he looked up and saw a man looking towards him through the cells bars. "I still don't know why he would need you though…nee-chan is more than enough to revive that person."
His mind was getting fuzzy again, who was that guy talking about? Yet again the voice appeared in his head, it whispered to him, it threw an answer; 'dark mage' it said. Where these guys trying to revive a dark mage? "Where am I?" he rasped out, his throat burned with each word he spoke.
The man laughed at that. "He never told you? You're in the Tower of Heaven, this is where our 'paradise' will come! This is where we, the new rulers of the new world, will be!" he shouted, the man was clearly insane.
The Tower of Heaven, he had heard of it, in passing. He couldn't really remember what it was about. He remembered the archives of the castle, a word popped into his mind, the R-System. Naruto didn't know what it meant, he couldn't remember what it was supposed to mean.
The blond moved, the chains moving with him as well making noise. He looked up at the chain and clenched his fist, with all his might he pulled. An electric shock traversed through his body making him scream in pain, he dropped on his knees, or at least his body wanted. The chains kept him suspended in air. He heard the man laugh, it annoyed him, that laughter pissed him off. Once more the blond mage pulled the chains, once more the lighting traversed through his body.
He clenched his teeth, ignoring the pain as best as he could, the laughter stopped as his cell guard looked in shock. The wall holding the chains were cracking, the blond looked up towards him, red smoke coming out of his helmet, from his eyes. The man gulped as he took a step back in shock. Finally the blond stopped moving as the lighting ceased shocking him. He had reached his limit in this weaken state.
The man laughed, slowly at first and it continued to accentuate. "Now I know why he took you…such force, you would make sure the system works, you and nee-chan will create 'paradise' for us!" he shouted as he kept on laughing. He never noticed the person behind him, approaching him slowly. His laughter ended as he was knocked unconscious.
Naruto once again couldn't hear anything, only footsteps approaching his cell, someone gasped in pain. "Whose in there Jellal?" he heard the same familiar voice question. "To place such a spell on the cell…" the voice said once more.
With the little strength he had left Naruto looked up once again, he noticed a familiar armor and red hair. "Erza?" he questioned as the person in question bent down.
"Naruto?" she asked with surprise in her voice "Is that you? How did they capture you?" she questioned, out of all the people Erza had not expected them to go after Naruto, he didn't seem like anything special.
The blond merely laughed at that. "Was forced to surrender, they would have killed Mira if I didn't." he laughed hollowly.
Erza's eyes narrowed in disgust and anger, Jellal had gone too far, it was one thing attacking her and brainwashing her friends but he went forth and attacked her guild mates as well. She moved forward again and grabbed the bars of the cell, an electric shock traversed through her body. She grit her teeth as she tried to pry the bars open, yet no matter how much she tried it would work.
"Fine…" she spat out as she released the bars. The wind picked up as Erza's armor vanished, replaced with her 'Lightning Empress Armor', she moved forward, raising her sword and made a cutting motion towards the bars. The two connected and created an explosion throwing her back into the wall. She growled out as she noticed the bars hadn't been damaged at all.
"Don't…" she heard the blond speak, Erza walked forward towards his cell, the blond lowered his head and shook it. "…go and deal with whoever is behind this, you're only wasting time here." He told her, yet the girl narrowed her eyes and moved forward to try and break the cell one more time.
"Stop it Erza." Naruto growled as he looked up towards her, the red smoke slightly moving out of his helmet once more. "You are wasting time and energy on this."
"You should know by now Naruto that we don't leave our comrades behind." She argued back yet the blond merely laughed at that. He shook his head as he looked back down at the ground.
"Even if your comrade tells you that he could handle this?" he asked looking back up at her, the red smoke vanishing from his helmet. "The one that took me…its obvious he doesn't want me to escape just like that…the answer is finding him and the key to the cell." He argued as he stood up straight, it took all his force to do so considering the elixir still hadn't wore off.
The girl looked at him and then back towards the fallen guard, she walked over to him and searched his pockets, yet there was no key inside. With a frown she turned towards the blond and gave him an apologetic look. "Alright, I'll find him and free you." She said as she started walking away.
Naruto shook his head, smiling slightly. He looked up towards his shackles; trying to find the seal that send the electric shock each time he tried to pry himself free. He sighed as he gave up trying to find the seal, he began thinking of another way to break the shackles. Things like this, he hadn't been taught how to deal with them in the Royal Guard, this was beyond him now. He began thinking of his past, back in Konoha, back then he had escaped more elaborate cells than this, even when he hadn't eaten in days.
Despite the fact that the poison still had him weakened he thought that he could find a way out of this. He looked up at his shackles once more with determination as he began moving his hand slowly, trying to free it without alerting the seal of his attempts. He worked like that for minutes, he had resorted to sending his gauntlet in the pocket dimension in hopes that it would make his job easier.
Though at soon as he sent the gauntlet the shackle tightened around his wrist and when trying to recall his gauntlet he felt another surge traverse his body. He laughed at that, these guys were no fools it seems, they had thought of that loophole. It was still funny though that Erza managed to escape, the leader of these guys was playing some sort of game, a game that the blond couldn't understand.
His wrist was bleeding after an hour of trying to pry himself free, despite the fact that everything looked hopeless the blond did his best to ignore that feeling. Slowly he was regaining his senses, his strength. There was still hope left.
Naruto stopped however, he looked in front of him as he felt he was moving. He could see the room vanishing in front of him, he could feel himself lighter. Without even realizing it he blinked, the moment he opened his eyes once again he wasn't in the cell anymore, he was in a long hallway of some sort. Upon further inspection he realized he was in some sort of throne room.
"Welcome, welcome." He heard someone speak, he felt the wall he was still strangely attached to turn around until he came face to face with the robbed mage that had attacked him on the resort. The man was smirking as he stood on the throne at the far end of the chamber.
"You." The blond growled out as the man's smirk dropped and turned into a smile. He stood up and walked towards the blond, once he was in front of him he kneeled down making the blond's eyes narrow.
As the mage stood up he looked towards the blond with the same smile. "I apologize for my rudeness earlier master, but they told me you aren't…fully awaken yet." He said as the blond looked towards him dumbfounded.
"The fuck you talking about asshole?" he growled out as the man merely chuckled at his language.
"My apologies, you have been slumbering for so long that most, if not all, of your memories have vanished." The man said with a grin as he crossed his hands over his chest. "You…are Zeref, you are the dark mage, though only a small portion of him to be honest."
Naruto growled at that, he was expecting him to believe something like that? "And what makes you so sure I am the Zeref?" he questioned, trying to pry more answers out of his captor considering he still hadn't regained all his strength to break free.
"They said so, the voice told me as well, you told me." He said in a happy tone, the blond was now confused. He knew that his powers allowed him to communicate with the undead, with demons of the depths, but this was not something he could do.
"I never spoke to you, I don't even know who you are."
The man chuckled as he moved his hands up to his hood. "Oh but you do my lord." He told him revealing his face, the blond's eyes widened in horror. "I've been watching you and helping you for quite some time you know." Siegrain stated.
"You…" Naruto said with a shaky voice. "I knew you smelled wrong, I knew I shouldn't trust you." Siegrain frowned at that and shook his head.
"It's worse than I feared…" he turned with his back to the blond as he started walking away from him. The stone to which he was attached started moving after the mage. "You know, all this time I tried to make you remember, I tried to 'awaken' you, yet nothing seemed to work." Siegrain sounded desperate; the man actually believed that Naruto was the reincarnation of Zeref. To the blond it seemed like nonsense.
It made the blond question himself however, was he really the reincarnation of the dark mage? He shook his thoughts away however, he hadn't been born in this world, this power that he had was Kyuubi's doing, he wasn't "born" with it.
"I sent you to battle the 'Beast' but those Fairy Tail bastards had gotten there before you did." The man spat out making the blond growl. "I sent you to the plagued island in hope that seeing your creation, the dagger, would awaken you…" he shook his head as he chuckled. "I even sent you to the war, hoping that the bloodshed and your creations would awaken you!" he shouted as he turned towards the blond while walking backwards. "None of it worked!" he shouted furiously turning back once again and placing his hand on his forehead. "I apologize for my outburst." He said once more, calmer this time. "Things…will change now however." He told the blond with a small smile.
"In what way? What is this tower?" he questioned trying to buy more time, he looked towards his shackles and tried to budge free once again, as slow as possible so as not to alert his captor.
"This tower…it's meant to revive you my lord. Through a powerful sacrifice I will transfer that power to you and it will revive you, it will awaken you!" he shouted in glee as he threw his hands in the air, he was mad, the blond had no doubt about it anymore.
With a growl the blond attracted the man's attention. "You think…that a sacrifice is going to resurrect the most powerful dark mage in history?" he asked incredulously "Whoever told you that shit…" Naruto started laughing towards him "…made you look like a complete moron!"
Siegrain however was unfazed by that, he only sighed and shook his head. "They already told me you'd try to stop me…you aren't in your right mind my lord. But…no worries, once the ceremony is complete you will remember everything." He told the blond with a smirk as he sat down on his throne, the wall to which the blond was attached move to the side of the throne, facing the doorway. He was expecting someone, the blond had seen enough in his time to know that the madman was expecting someone to appear through the doors.
Naruto looked towards him and saw he was only concentrated on the door, he looked towards his shackles and continued to work on them. He needed to free himself before he started that ceremony, before he would do something.
Several minutes later the blond felt the shackles begin to loosen, he also heard Siegrain move. The man chuckled as he walked towards a table in the middle of the room. "Goodbye Siegrain…" he whispered making the blond raise an eyebrow. The man stood in the middle of the room and moved a piece on the table, he hummed a tune as he kicked down several pieces.
"Dear me…it seems like the game is over already." He chimed to himself the blond thought.
"Is it really so entertaining playing with peoples lives?" Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Erza appearing the doorway, he looked towards her yet it seemed like she couldn't see him. The mage had placed some sort of invisible barrier.
"Erza!" he called out, the man only laughed and the girl didn't react at all. Naruto growled; Siegrain was planning something. He felt his power building up in him again, a raging torrent demanding retribution for what had happened on the resort, he started sweating as he grit his teeth in pain, his powers were going haywire again. Why? Why now of all times?
He heard an explosion and his attention was drawn back towards the two occupants in the room, they had started fighting. He started pulling on the chains once more, ignoring the electric shock flowing through his body, he pulled with all his might. He couldn't let Siegrain harm anyone anymore.
As he was busy fighting with the chains he felt a power surge from the sky, his eyes widened as he looked up at the ceiling. Something was happening. His attention was then drawn towards the two occupants, he heard Siegrain's story, he saw Erza drop her guard and embrace him.
"You fool!" the blond shouted pulling on the chains once more, if there was one thing he had learned from all his past is that people don't change in the last minute. Then he felt the immense pressure come down on the tower, he felt a massive surge flow through him, he felt pain beyond imagination, and yet, he couldn't faint from it, he stood through it all.
When it was over, he had lost all sense, he couldn't hear anymore, he could barely breathe and see. Looking up he saw Erza fighting Siegrain once again, though this time, the man felt different, he felt more power coming from him. He felt the rock move as he moved forth, from behind a crystal.
"There is one more thing Erza…" Gerard stated with a smirk as the blond appeared in her view. Her eyes widened as she saw the blond. "…your friend here…is the one and only Zeref." He finished with a sinister look on his face. The girl looked towards the blond with shock, she noticed the green aura circling him as he was trying to free himself from the shackles.
Naruto couldn't hear anything that was happening around him, his vision had returned and he froze as he saw the horrified look on the girl's face. It wasn't the look from someone seeing their friend or comrade bruised up, half-dead, it was a look of fear, the same fear he grew up with. He looked towards Siegrain, the sinister look on his face, he did it. He told Erza that lie, the lie that he was Zeref. The blond grit his teeth in fury just as Siegrain forced the red haired mage into the Lacryma crystal.
"Now you belong to me." He whispered as he turned towards the blond. He threw his arms up and shouted "Exalted Zeref! I offer you this woman's body as your sacrifice! I offer you her power to you!"
Naruto shouted in fury once more, he did not notice when Natsu appeared grabbing Erza and knocking her out. He did not notice when he started fighting Siegrain, his power had taken over him, he could hear whispers, he could hear wishes of war, of death, of carnage. He could hear the underworld, screams of pain, of death. "Make it stop!" he shouted ripping the chains and grabbing his head, his power shot out from his body, encompassing him, purple and green mixing together and forming death's face above the blond.
Slowly, the blond stood up. Both Natsu and Siegrain watched in fear as the blond released incredible amounts of magic. The man laughed, slowly, then his laughter turned into an insane one. "Zeref! He has awakened!" he shouted making Natsu look towards him questionably. He turned his gaze back to the blond who looked up, green smoke moved out of his right eye, purple from his left. The blond raised one of his hands, and the pink haired boy took a step back in shock. Naruto's hand had no flesh on it, a skeletal hand pointed towards Siegrain.
"Kill…" his voice echoed through the chamber making Siegrain stop laughing. "Maim…" the same voice echoed once more as skeletal hands shot from the ground, pulling out the bodies in mere seconds. "Eradicate…" it said once more as two red portals appeared to his sides, two demons taller than the blond by a head appeared out of the portals holding two claymores. "Kill…" the voice shouted as the undead and demons charged forward towards Siegrain.
"My lord!" the man shouted as demon jumped towards him ready to strike, his eyes narrowed as he jumped to the side. As the demon crashed with the ground he delivered a powerful kick in its ribs sending it flying towards the ceiling. The demon collided with the ceiling and fell back down on the ground. It shook its head as it slowly stood back up and roared in anger.
"Kill…" the voice echoed once more as the blond started walking forward, he extended his hands to the side and two fireballs – one purple and the other green – appeared in his palms. "Death awaits you…" the voice called out as the blond threw the fireballs towards Siegrain. The man avoided the first one, he jumped towards a demon, he kneed it in the chest and then punched it in the face. He grabbed it and threw it towards the second fireball; the fireball consumed the demon, erasing it from existence.
"Naruto!" the dragon slayer called out, the blond turned his head towards him, he didn't say anything. Once more he extended his skeletal hand, this time towards his fellow mage.
"Kill…" the voice whispered as more skeletons appeared in front of the blond, charging towards the dragon slayer. Natsu's eyes narrowed as he jumped back avoiding a sword.
"What are you doing you retard?" he shouted as he threw a fireball towards a group of skeletons. The blond however didn't answer his question, instead he turned towards Gerard and threw his arm towards his direction. Green skulls appeared from behind him, they moved with great speed towards the mage who narrowed his eyes and activated his Meteor Spell.
He vanished from his spot and appeared several feet away, the skulls turned away from their initial direction and continued moving towards the target they were ordered. Gerard's eyes widened at that, he should not have expected anything less from the blond. He fired his light beams towards the blond's attack, the two collided creating small explosions and canceling each other out.
Gerard turned towards the pink haired mage and noticed he was busy fighting off and endless horde of skeletons. He looked towards the red haired girl who was stirring up.
Erza shook her head as she looked up, she heard Natsu cursing like there was no tomorrow and looked towards the source of the noise. Her eyes widened as she saw her friend fighting an endless horde of skeletons, each time one fell another one rose from the ground to take its place. She then felt an immense power from her left, she looked towards the source and she stood there, in shock and fear at what she was seeing. "Naruto?" she asked incredulously.
The blond turned towards her, he moved his hand towards the downed girl. A green sphere appeared in his palm. Just as he was about to shoot it he turned towards Gerard and fired the projectile, the man moved away before the sphere hit. Instead of him the sphere hit a pylon, as it hit the sphere grew bigger and began ripping the pylon into pieces in a slow process, it was like it was eating it away.
"What's happening?" Erza called out as she got back on her feet.
The mage growled with distain. "You ruined the awakening, he's attacking everyone he sees." Her eyes widened as she looked towards the blond, he was focusing on Gerard. "Die…" the voice echoed once more sending a shiver down her spine, it wasn't the knight's voice, it felt like Death itself was talking through him.
The blond raised his hands up above his head and looked towards the ceiling, a massive sphere formed in his hands making Gerard's eyes widen. He cursed as he prepared to call for his own attack, a massive black sphere forming above his head as well. The two launched their attacks at the same time, as they collided in the middle of the room electricity started moving out of two spheres, moments later both of them exploded sending a shockwave in the entire room and ripping the floor, making a massive hole in it. Natsu sighed as the skeletons were blown away by the force of the explosion, he had grabbed the nearest pylon to keep himself from being blown away.
"Naruto! You need to stop this!" Erza called out, she could see the blond bleeding through his armor, the massive output of power was most likely destroying his body, if he still had one considering the skeletal hands. The blond however turned towards her and slowly made his way in her direction.
Gerard laughed at that, the girl had taken the blond's attention from him without even realizing it. "Hey you!" Natsu shouted as he appeared in front of the blond delivering a powerful flaming punch. "Wake up jackass!" he shouted as his first collided with the blond's head which turned to the opposite direction. The blond slowly turned his head back towards Natsu, unfazed by the attack it seems. He grabbed the boy by the throat and proceeded to choke him.
The dragon slayer growled as he used all his strength to punch the blond once more in the face. Yet once again the blond seemed unfazed by the attack, he threw the mage away who landed behind Erza. He moved his hands to the side again as two fireballs appeared in his palms, both purple. Then he moved his palms closer creating a larger one which he threw towards Natsu and Erza, a skeletal face appeared on the fireball as it raced towards the two.
"Erza, move out of the way!" Natsu shouted yet the girl stood up on her feet ready to take the attack head on.
"Don't worry…" she said with a smile "…I'll protect you." At the last second however someone else jumped in front of her taking the attack head on. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw who it was. "Shimon!" she called in despair as the man merely gave her a weak smile. She brought her hands up to her mouth, covering it as she saw her friends face eroding away, she could see his skeleton appearing.
"Stop it!" she shouted towards the blond who threw a green leash at his pray, sucking the life force out of his target. "I beg you! Stop!" she shouted yet the blond didn't react, he sucked the life out of prey until all that was left were his clothes and bones. Erza dropped on her knees as she saw the remains of her friend.
Natsu watched in shock at what happened, the malicious laughter of Siegrain drew his attention towards him. "Such power! Such foolishness!" he shouted maniacally. "The situation hasn't changed one bit! No one is leaving this tower alive!" he shouted only to have Natsu appear in front of him, delivering a punch to his face.
"Shut yer trap!" he howled as he kicked the mage in the ribs sending him away. "As for you!" he growled turning towards the blond and grabbing a piece of the Aetherion, eating it in one go. "I'll beat some sense into you bastard!" he shouted as a massive spike of power blasted from him. He fell on his knees and took another bite from the Aetherion, he shouted to the heavens as the form of a dragon appeared around him.
With great speed the boy charged towards the blond and delivered a punch in his face, the blond staggered back. As he looked back up a kick connected with his head sending him flying in a rotating manner towards the crystals, shattering a good portion of it. Slowly, the blond stood back up, just in time as Natsu appeared in front of him for the third time ready to punch him. This time the blond caught the punch with his hand, the force pushing him back several feet.
Natsu grit his teeth as he added more pressure to his fist. "You made her cry! You fucking bastard!" he shouted as he grabbed his arm and threw him in the middle of the room. "I made a promise!" he cried out rushing towards him and delivering a flaming punch making the blond fly into one of the pylons, shattering it.
"And you!" he growled out towards Gerard who was trembling seeing how Natsu defeated his 'lord' so easily. "Who do you think you are taking people's freedom away?" he shouted as he disappeared from his spot only to appear in front of him, with a punch in his stomach. Gerard gasped for air as the pressure from the punch seemed to shatter his insides. With one last move the dragon slayer punched him as hard as he could; the body of Gerard flew into the Aetherion creating an explosion. The boy fell down on the ground, on his knees as Erza rushed towards him and grabbed him before he hit the ground.
She looked around and noticed the entire place coming down, she looked towards the location Naruto fell yet she couldn't see his body. Gulping she took Natsu and flung him over her shoulder, she looked towards the skeletal remains of her friend and let a tear drop as she started running away, jumping from one platform to the other. Yet no matter how much she moved it seemed like the entire building would consume them both in the end.
She looked desperately around for a way out and noticed the crystal in which Gerard wanted to push her to 'revive' Zeref. Erza slowly placed the boy down on the ground and moved forward, towards the liquidized crystal mirror. She moved her hand inside the mirror as another grabbed her, she looked towards Natsu with shock.
"I need to do this." She said as she "it's the only way to save you all…" she told the boy as she pushed herself away and inside the liquidized crystal, vanishing from his eyes.
"Erza!" the dragon slayer shouted banging on the crystal. A huff reached his ears as he turned around, his eyes narrowed as he saw the blond behind him, holding a massive platform over his head, his power raging around him like a hurricane.
The blond looked towards him, and for the first time he saw his eyes, he had regained his sanity. "They told me…" he huffed, the pressure from the platform taking its tow. "…you can still save her…" he rasped out. "…go!" he shouted as the boy nodded and jumped inside the mirror after her comrade.
Naruto laughed as he saw the boy vanish, at least one person would be saved he thought as another platform crashed down on top of the one he was holding, both of them crashing down on him taking more and more after them like pieces of domino.
xXx
She saw her death, she saw her funeral and the honors received by the council. She was one of the Ten Holy Wizards, in death. Yet, she saw her friend, Natsu, declaring she was not dead, she saw him fight the rest of the guild, trying to tell them she was not dead. She cried, she didn't want to see them fight, she didn't want to see them suffer.
As she slowly vanished away, she saw something else. She saw the blond standing on a fiery platform; she saw nine massive figures and a massive number of demons surrounding him. She heard one of them speak. "You belong to us; your soul belongs to us." She saw the blond charge forward, sword in hand as the massive figures laughed, as they taunted him and threw their minions to fight him.
Her eyes snapped open and she could see the clear sky above her, she felt someone holding her and looked to her side. She saw Natsu there, she saw people calling out for her and saw her friends and comrades rushing towards her. She looked back towards Natsu dumbfounded. "How?" she whispered.
The boy looked towards her and explained to her, that they were the same, that they were all a family and no one should be left alone, that no one should sacrifice themselves for others as long as hope was there for everyone. She smiled as tears dropped from her eyes, she cried of happiness as everyone rushed towards her.
They celebrated, Natsu, relieved that it was all over allowed himself to succumb to the darkness, falling asleep. Gray laughed as he picked him up and placed him in the boat with which they came.
"Wait…" Erza suddenly called as she turned towards the fallen tower. "…where is…Naruto?" she asked, her question barely below a whisper. Despite the fact that he had killed her friend and what she had learned of him, she just couldn't leave him like that.
"I don't know, I didn't see him come out of the tower." Gray muttered as he moved next to her. Erza stood up and took a step towards the tower. She stopped, she hesitated. She placed her hand over her chest, over her heart. Why was she hesitating? Erza trembled and she didn't know why, her comrade was there and yet she felt fear?
She saw Gray moving forward, heading towards the tower to look for the blond, she wanted to move as well, but she couldn't. "Look!" she heard Lucy shout as she turned towards the direction the girl was pointing towards. She saw the blond walking out from the water, tripping from time to time.
"Naruto! You're alright!" Gray shouted in happiness "How did you end up in the water?" he asked as he grabbed the blond and helped him walk towards the boat.
"Managed to use a platform to my advantage and throw myself out of the tower." He replied coughing. "I got lucky."
"Really lucky, if those platforms would have crashed on you I doubt you'd still be alive." Gray remarked. As they both passed by Erza the girl looked at the blond, she couldn't feel any more trances of the malicious power she felt in the tower, she couldn't see his power raging around him anymore. He looked like the normal Naruto that had joined them a month ago.
"Erza, lets go." She heard Juvia shout from the boat, she noticed that everyone was already on the boat, even her old friends. She nodded, not realizing that she had been spacing out and got on the boat, standing at the opposite end of the blond.
Naruto looked towards her, their eyes meeting, she looked away moments later. The trip back to the mainland was spent in awkward silence between the two; in fact, none of them spoke the entire journey. Half way on their trip Natsu woke up, upon laying eyes on the blond he cheered that he was back to his old self, yet he made no contact as the blond would have expected him to do.
As they reached the shore Natsu was the first to jump off the boat and cheer that they were no longer in a moving object. The blond was the last to get off the boat, he waited until Erza's old friends were out of hearing distance and walked up to her. He grabbed her arm making the girl stiffen slightly and turn her head towards him.
"Can we talk?" he asked slowly, the girl looked towards her friends and comrades and then towards the blond. She nodded as she freed her arm and turned towards the blond.
"What would you like to talk about?" she asked, no emotion on her face.
The blond looked straight in her eyes as he replied. "About what happened in the tower." He told her.
Erza merely raised an eyebrow as she turned around to leave. "There is nothing to talk about Naruto."
The blond however grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Yes there is Erza, don't hide it." He said, his tone raising a notch. Erza turned her head towards him and raised an eyebrow once more. "You fear me."
The girl narrowed her eyes at him and his proclamation. "What's gotten in your head Naruto?" she asked; her voice barely above a whisper. "You are my comrade, why would I fear you?"
Naruto however gritted his teeth at the answer he received. "Don't play dumb with me Erza." He growled out shocking her as her eyes widened. "I saw the look on your face, I saw the fear in your eyes, do you think I'm a stranger to fear?" he questioned.
Erza gave no reply however, she steeled herself and glared towards the blond. "If that's the case…then answer me this." She started as the blond never broke eye contact with her. "What's your connection with Zeref?" she asked making the blond's eyes narrow dangerously.
"None…" he nearly spat out in anger. "…I am not connected in any shape or form with him, or has your dear old friend managed to convince you?" he asked tilting his head to the side.
Erza growled towards him as well as she moved closed. "Old friend?" she asked with malice. "I asked you a question, it does not matter what that man told me." She spat out.
"But it does, doesn't it?" the blond countered as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You wouldn't have asked if you didn't doubt it."
There was a pause after that in which Erza sighed. "Maybe; but after seeing you lose it…" she shook her head as she laughed slightly. "…and then, you never told us of your power."
"It was hard enough to tell Lisanna and Elfman, hard enough to see the look of fear in their eyes…having the entire guild know?" he asked incredulously as the girl glared towards him.
"So you told someone but you never bothered to tell others? How are we a family if we don't know what the other suffers from?" she yelled at his drawing Natsu's attention.
"You are the one to talk?" he questioned "Have you told them of your past? Have you told them who that bastard was?" he questioned further as Erza grabbed him by the collar.
"That is different Naruto, it did not involve Zeref's dark magic." She growled out.
The blond merely narrowed his eyes. "Is it now? What if he had succeed even if I wasn't there? What then?" he questioned.
"It's different Naruto! This is unrelated to what I asked you!" she snapped at him, yet the blond didn't seem to give in.
"Different?" he asked pushing himself away. "What's so different?" he asked slowly. "Is it because he doesn't carry Zeref's power? Is it because he wasn't cursed as I was?" he questioned as he looked towards the ocean. "Or is it because he wasn't the one that killed your friend?" he questioned further as he turned to face her.
The look of anger and fear in her eyes made the blond realize that he had hit a nerve at that point. Erza trembled as she thought back of the event. "Why?" she questioned looking back up at the blond "Why didn't you stop then?"
Naruto's eyes softened at that. "I couldn't…I was 'awake' during the whole thing, yet I had no control over my entire body. It felt like my power had a mind of its own, it felt like something was controlling me from somewhere else." He told her, the girl merely looked away from him. "I didn't…"
"So you are saying..." she interrupted the blond, her voice but a whisper. "…that something took control over you…that this magic can take control over you at any given point?" she questioned with narrowed eyes, she just couldn't let someone close to her friends and family if they would lose control of themselves just like that.
"No, it's not like that, I work to try and control it, I work to not let it loose anymore." She looked up at him, her eyes trembling as the blond closed his mouth.
"It happened before…" she whispered, reading in between the blond's words. Naruto stood quiet however, his posture gave no answer whatsoever. "It happened in the past did it not?" she questioned "Why didn't you let us know? We could have thought of something, we could have found a solution to stop you! He…" he shouted at him, by now the rest of the team was standing in the background, speechless as to what they were hearing.
"He wouldn't have died?" the blond finished for her making the girl look away as she closed her eyes in anger. "Is it really different Erza?" he asked her.
"Yes." She growled out looking towards the blond. "If we had known, none of it would have happened!" she shouted.
"So it's better to live a second time with people looking at my back in fear right?" he shouted back towards her. "You think I enjoyed seeing what I did? You think I enjoyed killing a guild member's friend?" he asked once more as he started laughing.
The blond shook his head and turned his back at her, looking towards the ocean once more. "You know…I told them that I was raised in slavery…" he started drawing her attention "…while part of it is true…what I didn't tell them is that I was raised to be a weapon." He spat out turning towards her, Erza took a step back from the look the blond was giving through his helmet. "I was forced to kill at a young age, they told me 'kill or starve to death'. I would have starved to death if the one thing that always kept me alive would just let me die." He growled out.
Erza moved towards the blond, she raised her hand shakily towards him. "Naruto…I…" she started yet the blond only shook his head as he glared towards her.
"You know what you and father both have in common?" he suddenly questioned making her stop. "The fear in your eyes…when father found out I could see the fear in his eyes, he feared me despite the fact that I had been his son for so many years. If my own father fears me like that, how could I even tell strangers of my secret?" he questioned "You! You are the proof of that, if you all knew you would have feared me, you would have turned your backs at me! Everything that I've been running away from for all these years you would have given it to me ten fold!"
A dead silence fell on them both as the blond rubbed his head. "I had a roof over my head, food on my table, a mother and a father…a fiancée…and I lost them all." He growled looking at his hands. "I lost them all because of this damn curse!" he shouted towards Erza who took a step back in fright. "She died because of me, my father almost died because of me."
Again he shook his head as he tried to calm himself. "Even now that fear is still present in your eyes, I can see it in Natsu as well even though he hides it so much better." He whispered loud enough only for Erza to hear. "The one thing that is different between you and father…is that in his eyes I saw regret as well." Naruto laughed as he said that, his laughter bordering insane. "Regret! Regret for taking me in? I'll never know that's for sure…" he growled out as he moved towards Erza and then walked passed her, not touching her or making eye contact.
As he passed by her she heard him whisper. "Was it even worth coming here to see all the things I ran from?" he questioned.
"Wait!" Erza shouted towards his retreating form. "Where are you going?"
The blond never turned back as he replied. "Home."
With that last word he left them there, he vanished in the resort. Natsu turned towards Erza who stood rooted in place. "Erza?" he questioned drawing her attention. She shook her head towards him and walked away, he could see the pain on her face, the regret for ever agreeing to start the conversation in the first place.
xXx
Naruto looked at the terrain as it moved in great speed, his mind was completely empty. The blond had taken the first train he found, it didn't matter to him where it went, his feet were now in control, his eyes relayed no information to the brain. He was on autopilot.
The fight came back to him as he watched the landscape, the voices he heard. And then the picture of Erza crying over her dead friend's body. As much as he wanted to get rid of that image he just couldn't. The argument he had with Erza, was he right? Or was he wrong? He didn't know, but the fear in her eyes, he just couldn't stand watching it, he had seen those eyes all his childhood. In his allies, in his enemies.
The blond looked down at his hand, he didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know why he was even trying. Maybe he was indeed afraid of death, considering the number of lives he had taken the only road for him would be Hell itself. Maybe he was afraid of eternal suffering.
As the train came to a halt he sat up and got off the train. He looked up at the signpost, he was back in Tatcha. The blond looked back at the train and then towards the exit, he decided to walk out of the train yard. Despite the fact that he had been excommunicated from the castle and from the city as well, he felt no fear walking these streets anymore.
Yet, with each step he took he felt something different, there were no guards patrolling the streets, no knights at the taverns. The people were all dressed in black, they were all mourning. Without even realizing it he looked up and he froze, the castle was gone, only piece of it still stood, smoldering, smoke rising in the air from the ruins. How did he not see that?
He walked down the road he used to walk when returning to the castle, the roads were empty, the air was filled with the stench of death and fire however. Did a battle take place here? Did his powers leave something behind? He tried not to think about it.
As the castle's remains came into view he noticed the massive gate was missing its other half. He placed his hand on the large metal door; slowly he moved away from it and stepped inside what used to be the courtyard. Instead, what stood before him now was a massive cemetery, graves scattered all over the place.
Few people were present, placing flowers on the graves, mourning. He walked through the graves, half of the names he read he used to know them, he used to work with. He saw at the far end a grave that looked more regal than the rest, he saw the castle's standard there. The blond walked towards it and stopped in front of it, the name made his heart stop beating for a second. 'Knight Commander Ronda'.
He wanted to let his body fall on the ground, he wanted to mourn, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Naruto didn't understand why, but he just stood there, looking at the name, not knowing what to actually do.
"A visitor?" he heard someone ask. He spared a glance towards the sound of the voice and noticed a knight standing beside him, the banner of Kimos proudly presented on his shoulder pad. Yet, he saw the man's eyes, his face was mostly covered in bandages and his eyes were hollow. He was blind. "Came to visit the commander?" he asked as he placed his hands up in front of him and began praying.
The blond looked down towards the grave once more. "What happened here?" he questioned, the knight didn't recognize his voice it seemed, that or they had never worked before as he made no comment regarding him.
He sighed as he answered the blond's question. "A dragon happened."
The blond looked towards him with wide eyes, dragon's rarely meddled with humans and for the past few years they had vanished from the surface of the earth. "But that's impossible." He whispered in surprise.
The man chuckled dryly. "Just because they have been gone for almost a decade doesn't mean they are gone for good." He said as silence fell on both of them.
"What kind of dragon attacked?" he questioned. Naruto felt the man stiffen yet his posture never changed one bit.
"I still see it in my nightmares…" he said, his voice low and scared. "…it came from the East, from the dark mountains. A black dragon, bigger than anything I could ever imagine…" he whispered as he looked towards the blond, it unlevered him, the look the man was giving him, the hollow eyes staring at him. "…some say it was just a dragon…but I believe it was the Black Dragon itself." He whispered as he looked back at the grave.
Naruto said nothing, he looked for a few moments at the man and then back down at the grave. "We had no time to react…" he heard the man start again. "…it appeared above the keep, spewing flames and devouring all those that stood in its way. The commander…he tried to fight it, he rallied us, we fought as much as we could…but we failed. I survived by sheer luck…or maybe through the God's sick joke. The dragon…it flew back from where it came from what people told me." He rasped as he shook his head.
"What happened to the villages?" the blond questioned. "To the commander's wife?"
The man looked towards him. "You know his wife?" he questioned as the blond answered immediately.
"She is a friend." He stated as the man nodded and sighed.
"The villages were abandoned, without guardsmen to protect them bandits started overrunning them, the town's garrison is too small to cover them all." He told the blond, that much he had expected for an answer. "The council…they didn't even send the rune knights, even now we have no answer from them." The man stated as he moved his hands away from praying. "As for his wife, last I heard she left town…where to…that I do not know." He replied sadly.
Naruto nodded and thanked the man. Several minutes later the man left, leaving the blond alone to his thoughts. He kneeled down in front of his father's grave. "I'm sorry I returned, I must be disappointing you." He started "I don't even have your sword…nor mine…" he chuckled slightly at that. "…I guess I wasn't fit for knighthood…or being a mage…I'm sorry for what I did, though it matters little now." He told himself as he stood up. He looked towards the east, towards the location the dragon flew. He clenched his fists, one thing was for certain, he would have to pay a dept to someone.
xXx
Mirajane walked though the guild, she couldn't sit still, she was worried about her friends, about Naruto. She looked at the doors praying that they would open and he'd step in, or that Natsu would step in shouting 'mission accomplished'. She moved around, trying to keep her mind off any bad thoughts, she kept looking at the door but nothing happened.
She sighed, it was how she spent her days yesterday and a good portion of today, she didn't know what to do. Mirajane looked around, she was alone, everyone was running errands, Makarov had ran to the council to get their help once he heard of the Tower, he forbid anyone to go there. She didn't know why, but the look on his face, she didn't need an explanation after seeing that look.
Suddenly the doors opened and Mirajane turned around with a smile on her face. Her smile however dropped as she saw team Natsu walking in with dejected looks on their faces while looking around for something, or someone. She walked towards them and they looked up at her. Erza moved forward.
"Erza, you're alright!" she cheered grabbing her in a hug. She pulled away and looked behind her, her smile dropped. "Did…you find Naruto?" she asked.
"Yes…but, didn't he return?" Natsu asked curiously. The girl looked at him strangely.
"I've been here all day, he hasn't appeared." She said as Erza moved back a bit and looked around.
"Are you sure?" she asked as Mirajane glared towards her.
"Of course I'm sure, do you think I'm blind? I've been so worried that I couldn't even go home and sleep, I spent the night here." She argued as Erza bit her lip. "Erza? Did something happen?" she questioned.
"We argued, he said he's going home…but…" Mirajane looked at her with narrowed eyes, trying to understand what she said. She then gasped as she took a step back.
"Home?" she questioned as all of them nodded, including Happy. Mirajane moved back and sat down on a chair. "What happened?" she questioned looking towards Erza.
The red haired then proceeded to tell her in detail everything, from the fight in the tower to the argument they had on the resort's beach. With each word she said Mirajane felt her heart sink more, she now knew the what 'home' the blond had been referring to. The girl looked away from her friend as she bit her lip.
Suddenly she stood up and walked passed Erza who called out for her. "I'm going after him." She said with determination.
"But we don't even know where he is." Lucy stated not understanding what Mirajane was saying.
"I do…" she whispered towards the blond girl. "…his 'home' is most likely his hometown, the castle." She told them "I need to find him and stop him."
"We should wait for the master, maybe you are wrong and maybe Naruto is still on his way back, he did seem upset. He might need time for himself, to think." Gray tried to reason, Mirajane only smiled as she turned to look at him.
"Master is at the council right now…everyone else is running errands. And you are wrong, Naruto is heading back to the castle and if he gets there they will arrest him and most likely lock him up or hand him to the council." She told them as Erza looked down, grabbing her arm.
"Excommunication." She stated making the team look at her. "If the one excommunicated returns he is locked away, if said someone did something horrible to have him sent away in the first place, they might even hand him over to the council." She said as she looked towards the white haired mage. "And if the council knows of his magic…"
"…they will kill him." Mirajane finished for Erza with a small glare. The red head looked down and then back towards her friend with determination in her eyes.
"Then I'll come with you, his departure is part of a misunderstanding with me, I need to set this right." She told her as she walked forward. Mirajane however stopped her and shook her head.
"You need to think of this and I need someone to be in charge here until master returns. He left me, but now that I am leaving you will have to be the one in charge. Please Erza." She begged her.
The red head looked at her friend and then down at the ground. She looked back up and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, a small smile appearing on her lips. "Bring him back Mira…tell him I'm sorry."
The girl smiled and nodded as she turned around, she walked towards the entrance where a sword in a scabbard lay. She grabbed it and walked out the guild, heading for the blond's hometown and hoping that she would reach it before she does.
Note: First and foremost, before most of you misinterpret what the argument was about please read my explanation – my view of it all. I've been thinking of it for 3 months, yes 3 months. This was meant to be a turning point in opening one of my own arcs to get Mira and Naruto close and also reveal a few things. The argument had to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do…it did take me 3 months to think of something plausible. And if you think about it, its like this:
Erza – her character is that of a person that would do anything to defend his or her friends and family, even kill herself if it meant their safety.
Naruto – the one I built in this story, he seeks acceptance, he wants to be of use and at the same time tries to keep his curse a secret.
When these two clash, ideals clash. Naruto is the new guy, she doesn't know him as much as she knows the rest in the guild, its only obvious for her to be suspicious, to ask questions, to pressure. Naruto on the other hand knows how to read a person, for him seeing someone is afraid of him, someone he wanted to befriend, to help, is enough answer to tell him – in his mind – that he doesn't belong there. Konoha hated him and used him as a weapon, his father feared his magic – not him – and now two of the guild members he wanted to work with fear his magic as well. He can't live with fear, this is the kind of disadvantage Naruto has and in folklore from my country a sort of test he needs to pass to enter adulthood. Maybe I like folklore too much, maybe I don't, but some pivotal points in my stories have influence from this type of folklore.
Thank you for understanding and I do hope, that despite it all, you enjoyed the chapter.