Naruto walked through the town with Natsu on his back. The sun beat down on the pair as they walked through the marketplace, searching for something to eat. He could easily do a quick snatch and run but that would be cheating innocent, hardworking people who just wanted to live their lives without strife. Between them, the pair didn't have a single Jewel. Naruto had some ryo but he was certain they wouldn't take his world's money. Only Jewels worked with the people in Earthland. Looked like he would have to hunt again and, while it was a challenge, it grew tiring. Add to that it took so long to skin, gut and cook the animal he caught, it wasn't really worth the trouble every single day. In the last town, they had managed to get some food for free from a kind old lady who ran a stall but he felt they wouldn't find such kindness here. This felt like the kind of place where, if you didn't pay your way, no one would go out of their way to help you. Oh, the people here were kind. But they were also not the kind to arbitrarily help any random person they saw.
They went and sat in the park, seeing the other kids playing happily, so happy and carefree, ignorant of the world. Naruto felt Natsu shift uncomfortably next to him. He wanted to join in with the other kids, to play with others, to be included. To be acknowledged.
"Go on. I know you want to Natsu. It's fine, I'll be right here. I'll wait for you."
"Thanks Naruto!" The pinkette hugged him then ran to go play with the other young children, joining in their game of tag in a few moments. He looked so happy, as he should be. Naruto felt old for the first time, was this what it was like to see the next generation, the king in life's great game of Shogi? At this point in time, he was a grown man in a boy's body. He had been 17 when he started over after the world had ended. In this life, he had lived for 12 years so far. Overall, he was 29 years old in mind despite his young body. He did feel like the previous generation, and he was watching the new one make its' way in the world, through the struggles and trials. They were so young, so full of life. Kabuto's words echoed in his ears.
"Kids think life is so easy. Their heads full of dreams."
Those words, regardless of the intent behind them, were definitely true. Then as they grew up, the hard reality of the world would hit them. Sometimes, childhood dreams were just too naive. He had realised that the hard way. A peaceful world, a kind world full of people who got along and worked together. It might seem radical but he would reach out for it. He had to, for the others who put their faith in him, who relied on him. When he forgot what he was fighting for, they would always remind him. He wouldn't die without at least accomplishing at least a better future for the Ninja World. Maybe it wouldn't be true peace but what he would leave would be an improvement from the war-torn and bitter world ninja lived in.
'Maybe I'm just losing it but this world seems closer to a true peace than the one I left. Well, at least they don't have constant war and suffering. People use magic for other's benefit in return for the means to live their own lives. I like that. Wizards serve those who can't serve themselves. I wish I could just find out what makes them so different from people in the Elemental Nations.'
'Okay, cut that right out you brat!' Guess who's back. Back again. Guess who's back, tell a friend. Okay enough of that.
'Cut what out fox?'
'Being so… deep and reflective. It's annoying! It makes it hard to hate you as I should! You're such a peace-monger!'
'I like to think I've changed for the better, it's not always the best idea go using violence but sometimes it is necessary. I swear you think everything can be solved by hitting it.'
'Hey! Sometimes you have to hit things a lot! And most of the time you have to blow crap up! Isn't that Dragon Slayer logic?'
'Not mine.'
'It seems to be that brat's logic. When in doubt, blow crap up. That's sound logic right there you wuss!'
'You did not just…'
Oh yes I did you little toothpick! What can you do about it?!'
'This!' And Naruto flooded the seal with the most disturbing memory that he had. Guy and Lee's inescapable sunset genjutsu, the red light and the sea clashing with rocks behind the two hugging, green spandex wearing freaks of nature. The howls of pain and mental torture were music to his ears.
'Damn I'm a sadist! But I love it! Kurama screaming and frustration vented.'
Now that his roommate was silenced, he could think about what to do. Natsu wasn't mature enough to understand the world of ninja, he would probably think it was one big game. He couldn't take him there and he couldn't leave Natsu alone for any period of time, he would end up getting into some kind of trouble. He may have only know this kid for 2 weeks but he knew how Natsu tended to act. He had brightened up a considerable amount since Igneel had disappeared. Naruto had taught him to perform Brilliant Flame to an adequate degree without his Flames of Emotion now but he still had a long way to go. Natsu had yet to learn about the myriad of properties fire could have, he probably wouldn't for a while. Naruto couldn't teach him Secret Arts since the kid lacked the magic reserves to perform them and remain conscious. He himself had encountered much trouble learning his own. Flame Dragon Fist required much speed and coordination to perform since it was a barrage of magic-enhanced punches at a single spot. His Detonating Hell Edge had been ever harder still, taking so much time to learn to control and direct so much power and his third and final advanced spell was an absolute nightmare. The first time he had performed it, he had not only destabilised it but burned himself a massive amount. It had taken a whole week to recover from it, even with Kurama's passive healing, Ten Tails residual power and his Uzumaki life force factor. Honestly, he would get nowhere with Natsu at this point in time. He had none of the skills to teach Natsu and would undoubtedly fail to do so while they were both this young.
A scream brought him out of his thoughts. It came from the center of town. His instincts and sense of responsibility both kicked in and he grabbed Natsu, making for the source of the scream. Several buildings had been reduced to rubble by the time they made it to the scene. A large creature was wrecking the town. In the wreckage of one house, Naruto saw someone trapped under the fallen beams. He told Natsu to help people and sprinted over. The person looked to be in bad shape.
"Are you alright?"
"Get me out of here!"
Naruto grabbed the beams and wrenched up hard. His draconic strength was tested to the limits as he used all his muscle power to lift the rubble enough. The woman slipped out and he dropped it, falling on one knee. His arms burned from the strain of lifting practically a whole ceiling off the panicked woman. His eyes drifted to the other buildings. One was blazing in flames, another entirely collapsed. The monster rampaged on. Forcing himself up, he ran to the burning house. A kid his age roughly was out front, staring despairingly at the building. When he saw Naruto, he grabbed him and started to babble.
"Please! My little sister is in there! I don't want her to die! She's too young to die!"
A flash came across his vision. An image from the Fourth Great Ninja War. A building blazing with fire, the people burning inside, screaming as the flames consumed their flesh. His hands balled up into fists. 'No! Not again! Never again!'
He shrugged the boy off and ran into the blazing building, immune to the heat and the flames. He called out, ignoring the smoke. "Is anyone here?! Where are you?!"
A cry came from upstairs. It was always upstairs. For once, couldn't someone be on the bottom floor of a burning building? He kicked off the wall, up through the hole in the floor. The girl was there, across a gap of incinerated wood. Naruto cracked his neck and leapt, soaring over the gap. The little girl hugged his leg, frightened. He picked her up as the ceiling fell in. Being Naruto, he did the only thing he could think of.
"Hellfire Dragon Roar!"
As the burning rafters came down on them, his scorching flames incinerated them whole, bursting out of the roof, seen by all outside as a moderate beam. And no handed too. Pretty decent. The whole house began to collapse. No time to admire his magic. Naruto extended his sensory range and scanned the house. There were 2 other weak magic signatures. There were 2 other living kids in the building. Naruto jumped across the gap and went for them. They were in the back room on the same floor, huddled in a corner, crying over something there. As he approached, Naruto saw the body of another child. He picked them up and the body too and then he realised. He still had to get them out.
Natsu looked at the building Naruto had gone into. He'd been in there a long time now, what was he doing? An explosion echoed as a beam of hellfire blasted through the front of the house but aimed up so it wouldn't hit anything else. Naruto jumped out of the building, landing hard on the ground. He laid the children, dead and alive on the ground then turned back to the house. He closed his eyes, focused and then breathed. He breathed in the flames from the entire house, eating them up and putting it out. He swept the other buildings with his senses. No one was in any of them, no one alive anyway. The collapsed house's residents were dead then. He hadn't been able to save them. He had to stop this thing before it hurt anyone else. He stood tall, his long white hair dancing in the wind.
Then he turned to the monster. A Roar barreled into its' back, scorching its' hide and drawing its' attention. He stood in the middle of the street, all other people running away. His eyes narrowed. This creature was too dangerous to live. He punched his hands together. A flaming fist erupted into existence.
"You will hurt no one else. I will end you creature, here and now." He charged. This wasn't going to an easy fight. This thing was at least on the level of the wyverns he had encountered during the first year of his training. Naruto landed a punch and the fight began. He ducked, weaved, limboed and blocked the creature's claws and pointed tail. This thing was like a scorpion with legs. They had some weird pests in Earthland. His Wing Attack cooked the stinger-wielding monster a little more but that was it. It smacked him back with its' thick tail, sending Naruto flying into the rubble with a loud crash. Natsu moved to join in.
"No! I won't let you be hurt too Natsu! This is my fight."
The walking scorpion rammed into him like a bull, a shockwave echoing all around. But Naruto held it back barely, using all of his Jinchuriki and dragon strength. A growl rose in his throat.
"You are being VERY annoying and are putting innocents at risk. I can't allow that so just DIE!"
He slipped out of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, leaving the scorpion thing there. Standing on its' shoulders, Naruto punched his fists together, a dark red magic circle opening and raised both hand above his head, clasping them together. He brought them down, charged with roaring flames and cried,
"Hellfire Dragon Jaw!"
The blunt impact of the hellfire and brute strength cracked the shell of the monster, making it screech and writhe in agony and annoyance. It tried to shake Naruto off but he was already gone. He was already behind it, yards away. It turned around and screeched at him. Naruto's legs slid apart into a stance, his hands ablaze as he held them behind him at his right side. A fiery silhouette of a dragon appeared behind him as he launched the attack right at it as the walking scorpion charged at him.
"Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge!"
The dragon made of flames transformed bore down on the scorpion thing, a pair of spiralling torrents. Each strike created a searing explosion that continually smashed into the form of his target, breaking through the tough shell, piercing the raw flesh and burning it apart. It emerged frozen in motion, burnt and blackened. It fell on its' front, slain by the powerful force that was Dragon Slayer Magic.
"Don't underestimate a Dragon Slayer."
A middle aged man pointed at him.
"Did you see that?! The kid killed the demon on his own!"
"He's amazing!"
"That kid is a hero!"
The praise slowly built up until he was now surrounded by people wanting to shake his hand, thank him for saving them, congratulate him. It felt nice, to be acknowledged, to be admired. To have protected these innocent people had been a privilege. But he had also failed them, he hadn't saved those who died. Natsu ran over to him a few minutes later as he leaned tiredly against the wall of a house, untouched by the destruction. He had a 1,000,000 watt smile on his face and words just tumbled out of his mouth.
"That was awesome! Can you teach me that?!" There's Natsu for you. Getting way too ahead of himself.
"Maybe some day. You don't have enough magic." The kid's face fell a little. "Tell you what, when I get the chance I'll help you learn them when you're ready." That perked him up.
A moderate height, fair haired man in a suit came up to him. His face was solemn but warm. "Young man. You have saved many lives today. The people of Lily Village owe you a great debt. What can we do for you to repay you and show our thanks?"
Naruto thought long and hard. On one hand, he and Natsu could get whatever they needed right now. But on the other, that would be exploiting these hardworking and kind people.
"Please, it was my honour to have help you folks today. But myself and my little cousin are simply trying to find our way in search of our paths. If it's not too much trouble however, may we have a little food for our journey?"
"Absolutely young man. If I may, are the two of you not wizards?"
"We are, but a special kind. A kind that is very rare."
"What kind, if I may be so bold?"
"We are Dragon Slayers, chosen by our dragons to be the ones honoured with their teachings. I am sorry if this is a ridiculous claim, but we have great pride in what we are." Natsu nodded frantically at this.
"I see. If you are searching for a way to keep yourselves in work, a guild is always a good idea."
"Thank you. I'm sorry sir, I didn't catch your name."
"My bad, I didn't introduce myself. I am Mayor Yagami. Nate Yagami to be specific."
"Excuse my asking Mr Yagami, but which guild, in your honest opinion, is the best?"
"I would say Fairy Tail. Despite their destructive tendencies, they are the most loyal, compassionate people you will find. I think you and your cousin would fit right in there." In the background, people were speaking about their hero and his companion.
"He's a great kid. So brave to have taken on that demon. I hear it was one of the worse ones."
"Damn right, the kid's a hero. What should we call him?"
A young child spoke up. "Oh, I know! The Blazing Dragon!" Doragon o bureijingu
"That's a fine name." Naruto smiled when he heard the child's idea with his ultrasensitive hearing. Blazing Dragon. A great moniker if he said so himself.
A few days later, and Naruto and Natsu were in Clover Town. A large commotion came from a large building just outside the town.
"I swear, if it's another wannabe gang that tries to mug us Natsu, I'm going to hang them from a building via a wedgie." They walked over to the building and saw a purple haired man buried headfirst in the ground. The window a few floors above was open. A voice came down, slurred and clearly very drunk.
"Thash why dou don't badmoush Fairy Tail Jose! I'll sock ya again if ya start whinin!"
A short man with spiky grey hair was leaning out the window. He seemed very giddy and held a large mug of alcohol in his hand. He noticed the pair, Natsu on Naruto's back and their less than proper amount of clothing in Naruto's case. His voice rang out, cheerful and friendly. He seemed like a great person and Naruto sensed no negative emotions from him.
"Why don't you kids come on up, it's cold out. 'Sides, you two look like you've been living in the wilds." Naruto and Natsu exchanged looks. Well, that statement wasn't toofar from the truth, hey sure, it wasn't the most elegant way to say it but it quite close. The pair entered the building via Naruto jumping right up onto the window ledge with a big leap. He put Natsu down on the floor and moved so the old man could close the window. Everyone inside was laughing at what had happened to the man called Jose. He seemed to be quite the object of mockery. Everyone in the room was cheerful, holding mugs and engaged in conversation.
"I'm Makarov Dreyar. So kiddos, what's your names?"
"I'm Naruto Flame."
"Hi mister! I'm Natsu Dragneel!"
"Well you two look a bit ragged. You two been on the road long?" Makarov asked kindly. Naruto decided to do the talking, Natsu wasn't really much of a smooth talker.
"A few weeks. In the last town we were in, the mayor recommended Fairy Tail as a guild for us."
The midget master raised an eyebrow over his mug.
"So you two know magic then?" Natsu nodded eagerly. "Care to demonstrate?"
"Sure."
The old man turned around and shouted to to the other people in the room. "Oi! The kids are gonna demo their magic! Let's have a look!"
Natsu ignited his fist, fire roaring lowly as he punched the air.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"
Naruto decided to be a bit more of a show off. Hey, if it was flashy, go big or go home, rule of life. He raised his hands, looked down at them and focused. His whole body ignited with darker flames, his hair lifting up with them, waving upwards. The aura twisted and warped, rising up. A fairly small version of Atlas spread its wings around him and let out a screech, shocking the audience.
"Hellfire Dragon Mantle."
It went out after that. To show off more, he built up some magic in his lungs and eyed the mug in the hand of a man with straw colored hair and a hat atop it. Using the built up magic, he spat a small fireball and blasted the mug out of his hand, his head jerking back from the recoil. Precision, suckers. Who said dragons couldn't hit mugs from an odd 13 feet away? 'Cause they were wrong.
Everyone started laughing and clapping, impressed by their display. Makarov was roaring with laughter, rolling over on the table uncontrollably.
"He got you there Goldmine! A spit shot of fire and you lost your beer! You oughta be ashamed, you had it done did it to ya' by a kid! And you're the master of Quatro Cerberus!"
"Yep, they're some wild kids! And speaking of my beer…" Goldmine turned to Naruto who shrugged.
"It's just a prank bro."
He face faulted. Everyone laughed again, even Natsu and Naruto. Then he fell on his face. Naruto laughed his head off. Who knew a serious sentence could do that.
"Oh my God, dude you just got pranked! It's just a prank bro! I'm immortal! Bow to the Lord of Pranks!"
And then there was one. Jose quivered with rage. He had been knocked out a window, mocked and now these bratswere stealing the show. He'd show them! He would prove Phantom Lord was the greatest and Fairy Tail was trash under their feet! Makarov would rue this day!
AN: And Naruto gains a title and finally puts his magic to use. Sorry for not updating sooner but I've had a lot of stress lately and didn't have time to finish the chapter. Please enjoy and review.
Spells:
Fire Dragon Iron Fist-Karyū no Tekken
Hellfire Dragon Roar-Gōkaryū no Hoko
Hellfire Dragon Jaw-Gōkaryū no Agito
Hellfire Dragon Mantle- Gōkaryū no Manto
Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Flame Lotus: Detonating Hell Edge-Metsuryū Ōgi: Guren: Baku Jigoku Ejji