Chapter 11: Naruto vs Natsu
The guild had gathered in the park where the battle would be taking place. They'd taken the fight there after Naruto had suggested a need for a bigger, more clear space so there would be less collateral damage. Fairytail chattered excitedly and placed bets on the two fighters. They all knew Natsu was tough, but they knew almost nothing about Naruto except that he helped out with the Eisenwald incident. It was a pretty even chance for both combatants. Naruto took in his surroundings and took deep breaths as he flexed his fingers.
Naruto had been in plenty battles and combat situations before. He couldn't explain it, but it felt like his body had remembered what his mind had forgotten. That would explain his fast reflexes and the way he seemed to react mostly on instinct. He breathed in the cool morning air.
Standing three meters away from him was Natsu. Naruto's eyes narrowed. Although Natsu remained still, he could not conceal the small twitch in his right hand. Naruto knew he was going to attack the moment the match started. He had seen that twitch before, it showed when a predator was about to attack its prey.
Erza stepped up to the middle of the field. She raised her hand and the guild fell silent. She dropped her hand signaling the start of the match. "Begin!"
As he expected, Natsu charged immediately. He lit both of his fists on fire and came at Naruto. Naruto sidestepped his first punch and ducked the second one. In his crouched position, he made a quick hand sign and summoned a clone that appeared directly behind Natsu. The pink-haired boy pivoted and slammed his fist into the clone before it could attack, which disappeared in a puff of smoke. In doing so, Natsu lost his focus on the original Naruto for a moment. But a moment was all what the blonde needed. As soon as Natsu turned to attack him, Naruto delivered two swift punches to his gut and swept his legs from under him. Natsu fell as Naruto jumped back. All of this happened in less than a minute.
The guild cheered loudly at the display. A few were impressed with Naruto's ability to make clones. But still, the fight had only just begun.
Natsu pushed himself back on his feet and sucked in a huge breath. Naruto knew what was going to happen next so he flashed a few more hand signs, yet he could have sworn for an instant, within Naruto's mind, Natsu was replaced with that of the arrogant, black-haired boy from Naruto's visions doing the same thing...
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A huge blast of fire engulfed Naruto. A few guild members thought Natsu had gone too far. Some took steps forward to help, but the master held out a hand. Natsu ended the attack and expected to find a badly burned Naruto in front of him. What he didn't expect however, was a small charred log sitting where Naruto was. The guild members looked surprised at the development. Master Makarov just frowned thoughtfully.
Natsu's head swiveled side to side as he tried to find his opponent. He kept his fists on fire and held them at a ready position. Even some of the guild members could not see where the young blonde had gone. Natsu looked up as if expecting Naruto to drop on him from above. He was shocked, to say the least, when a hand shot from the ground and grabbed his ankle. Naruto burst from the ground and aimed a punch at the stunned dragonslayer. Natsu sailed back a couple of feet as the punch connected with his face. He landed with a grunt as Naruto dusted himself off.
"How did you do that?" Natsu asked, rubbing his face. He got back on his feet and resumed his fighting stance.
Naruto smirked. "I used a simple substitution technique. I actually failed to accomplish it on my entrance exam though."
"What?" Natsu asked in confusion.
"Never mind," Naruto responded. "I guess it's my turn now."
Naruto made a hand sign. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A huge puff of smoke consumed the whole battlefield. When it cleared, fifty clones surrounded Natsu. The pink-haired boy turned a full circle and prepared himself to strike down the first clone that attacked him. Natsu knew full well that when Naruto's clones could only take one hit before they dispersed. The problem was that there were too many of them. It also didn't matter unless he could find the real one. But he wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Naruto on the other hand, began to admire the boy's determination and heart. Stubborn kid, he thought to himself. Despite that though, Naruto smiled. He saw a lot of himself in Natsu. No matter how hard he pushed the boy down, he always got right back on his feet.
A match like this might be meaningless to most people, probably just a training exercise or a way to blow off steam. But he knew why Natsu always seemed eager to pick a fight. Naruto and Natsu knew that the only way to get stronger was to challenge the strongest opponents that there was. Natsu wanted to fight Erza because he knew that if he defeated her that would mean he was one step closer to becoming the strongest. Naruto felt the same way. That's why he and Natsu were giving this fight their one hundred percent.
The clones converged on Natsu. Natsu threw flaming punches at the nearest clones and the first five dispersed. The clones' memory came rushing back to Naruto. He tried to adjust his strategy. Naruto tried to blend in with his clones so that Natsu wouldn't be the wiser. Natsu kept destroying his clones. Natsu breathed a blast of fire again and twenty clones dispersed. As Natsu continued to defeat his clones, Naruto was beginning to have a clear sense of how Natsu fought. He began to formulate a plan.
Natsu fought brashly and wild. He doesn't think before he attacked and Naruto planed to use that to his advantage. Natsu had raw power and strength, he'd give him that; and while he admitted he liked the fearless, head-on attack method the pinkette used, the Uzumaki also felt it might be his shortcoming, all Naruto just had to figure out how to exploit it.
Natsu had already defeated most of his clones and that left four Narutos on the field. Natsu panted and prepared to advance again. Naruto created four more clones and prepared to attack as well.
"Hey, guys," The clones turned to the original. Naruto flashed a few hand signals and the clones nodded.
By now, Natsu had already spotted the original one. He saw one of them giving some sort of silent command. They were eight blondes standing in front of him, but that didn't matter. He'd burn all of them to a crisp.
Then Naruto shouted: "Now!"
The clones sprang into action. Natsu readied himself as the clones closed in on him. Two clones attacked him on either side, but he was ready this time. Natsu thrust out both of his flaming fists on both sides and slammed it into the clones. The next clone came at him with a kunai. The clone thrust the knife out toward Natsu's face. Natsu dodged it and rammed his knee into the clone. Natsu heard a shout from above and saw two clones coming at him from the air. Natsu leaped to meet them.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
The clones dispersed as the fire engulfed them. Natsu landed in a crouched position when he heard a whistling sound. He looked up and saw a giant shuriken flying toward him. He fell backwards, barely dodging the weapon. When Natsu got back on his feet he saw Naruto and a clone forming a small glowing sphere in his hand. The clone dispersed and Naruto dashed toward Natsu. He only managed to take in a deep breath before he felt like time slowed down.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Rasengan!"
Naruto slammed his sphere into the pillar of fire that was shot toward him. The attacks collided and Naruto continued forward, holding out the blue sphere in front of him to avoid getting hit by Natsu's fire. Naruto could feel the intense heat of Natsu's flames but he continued to push forward. He struggled to keep his hand level with the fire.
Natsu could tell that Naruto was advancing, using his blue sphere as a shield. Natsu extinguished his fire suddenly, throwing the blonde off balance. Natsu lit his hand on fire and slammed it into Naruto's chest. The blonde fell back hard and landed on his back.
"The match is over!" Natsu heard Erza announce. Natsu smiled triumphantly. He turned to look at Naruto on the ground and saw that the blonde was also smiling. Natsu frowned and wondered why Naruto was grinning when he felt it. Something sharp gently touched the back of his head and along the front of his neck. Naruto stood.
"The winner of this match is Naruto!" Erza announced with a slight grin on her face, and the guild cheered loudly.
Natsu turned around to find another Naruto pointing a pair of kunai at him. The clone winked at Natsu before dispersing in a puff of smoke.
"How?" The pink-haired boy asked.
"You miscounted." Naruto replied. "Remember the shuriken?"
Natsu frowned in thought. He remembered eight clones moving to attack him. He defeated the ones coming from above before that shuriken …
Natsu palmed his face. "I forgot you could transform!"
Naruto chuckled good-naturedly. "Better luck next time."
"I want a rematch!" The Dragon Slayer demanded.
By that time the whole guild had encircled them. A few gave Naruto pats on the back, congratulating him for the victory. Money was exchanged as people won and lost their respective bets.
Happy tried to console Natsu. "It's okay Natsu, you'll win next time."
"I know I will! Let's go again, you and me, Naruto!"
Naruto sweat-dropped at the boy's challenge. "Haven't you had enough for one day?"
"That was quite a fight. You obviously have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, don't you boy?" The Master commented.
Naruto grinned. The Master cleared his throat and called for everyone's attention. "Well now after an exciting match, there's only one thing left to do. LET'S CELEBRATE EVERYONE, BACK TO THE GUILD HALL!"
Naruto sat at one table a little while later. Joining him were Lucy, Erza, Gray, Elfman, Happy, and a grumpy Natsu. The guild was in full party mode. Mirajane went from table to table serving everyone their food. Numerous voices shouting, laughing, arguing, and joking could be heard throughout the room. The people around the table stared at Naruto in amusement and awe. He had just finished his seventeenth bowl of ramen in less than twenty minutes. Finally, he set down the bowl after gulping down the soup and sighed.
"Man, that was good!" Naruto exclaimed. He looked over to where Mira was serving and called out. "You make the best ramen, Mirajane!"
The silver-haired woman smiled at him. "Why thank you, Naruto."
Elfman nodded in approval. "Yes, you have an appetite of a real man."
That's when a strange calm entered the room. Naruto felt himself getting drowsy all of a sudden. He looked around to see everyone falling asleep for no reason. Naruto's eyelids felt very heavy.
Gray groaned. "Oh no, not him, I hate it when he does…" Gray's head hit the table, unconscious. Naruto's mind felt blurry. Who was Gray talking about? He could feel himself drifting off, but he slapped himself awake. The effect was only temporary, he was drifting off again. His brain was ringing alarm bells in his head. Wake up you idiot, he told himself.
The rest of the guild was asleep now. His companions rested their heads on the table as they slept. He seemed to have an idea. Concentrating (kind of hard when you're sleepy), he ceased the flow of energy in his body. After a moment he released his hold and jumped to his feet. He felt wide awake.
Naruto saw that the Master was awake too. He sat at the bar, straining to keep his eyes open. He was moderately surprised when he saw Naruto standing.
A man walked in the guild hall. He wore a dark blue bandanna and cloth that covered his face, revealing only his eyes. His matching dark cape rustled as he walked up to the board where the guild members took jobs. He took down a piece of paper with a job description and approached the master. He carried along wooden staff.
"I would like this job." He said. Naruto had a strange feeling that he had heard that voice before. He didn't know why but it sounded recently familiar.
"Very well, take care of yourself," was the master's only reply. He turned to leave, but Naruto blocked his path.
"What are you doing?" Naruto questioned.
"Taking a job request," The man replied evenly.
"Yes, I can see that." Naruto said a bit irritated. "I meant, why are you putting the rest of our guild to sleep?"
"Naruto," Makarov spoke. "This is Mystogan, one of our S-rank mages here in the guild. What he is doing is completely harmless and understandable, all in an effort to keep his identity hidden."
"Why?"
Mystogan and Makarov shared a glance. "That's a private matter."
Mystogan stepped around Naruto and stopped beside him. He looked Naruto up and down.
"You are a very interesting mage." Mystogan concluded. "Only few have been able to withstand my sleep spell. I look forward to meeting you again, Naruto." He started for the door. Naruto heard him start to countdown.
"Three…Two…One…" Mystogan had left and the guild snapped awake again.
Naruto heard groans from people who fell asleep in very uncomfortable positions. Erza blinked multiple times to wash away the effects of drowsiness. The little celebration in the guild seems to have subsided thanks to Mystogan.
Lucy groaned. "What happened?"
"Mystogan," Gray responded, rubbing his sore neck.
Erza seemed to notice Naruto standing near the bar. "Naruto, how did you get over there?"
Naruto was about to answer when a loud voice spoke. "Impressive, you didn't fall for Mystogan's cheap trick like everybody else."
Naruto looked up to the second floor where a tall blonde man stood. An arrogant smirk was plastered on his face as he regarded Naruto. He had a lightning shaped scar over his right eye. He wore a pair of spiky headphones and a big coat with fur that lined the edges over his long sleeved polo. Naruto wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
The master tried to keep his irritation from showing. "Laxus, this is Naruto, our newest member."
"I see." Laxus' smile turned into a sneer. "Another weakling has joined our guild."
At those words, some of the guild members flinched. Naruto clenched his fists to keep himself from lashing out at Laxus. How could he say such things to his own guild mates? Naruto wanted to tell the arrogant jerk to come down here and beat some sense into him, but Natsu beat him to the punch.
"Laxus," Natsu said angrily, "Fight me!"
Laxus only grunted. "Please, you're not worth my time."
He turned to leave when Naruto's voice stopped him. "What's the matter, afraid to get your ass kicked?"
Naruto heard his guild mates gasp. Apparently no one has ever talked back to the blonde man before. Naruto saw Erza shaking her head when he caught her gaze. Other people couldn't decide whether Naruto was brave or insane. His taunt seems to have struck a nerve because what Laxus did next caught him completely off guard.
A bolt of lightning struck the floor in front of Naruto. When the light subsided, Laxus stood there glowering at him. It happened so fast that Naruto didn't have time to blink. Naruto met his angry glare and they had a silent face off for a while.
The guild was so quiet Naruto swore he could hear everyone's pounding heartbeats.
"What did you say?" Laxus said angrily.
"You heard me, you spark plug-sucking prick."
Laxus' hands threw sparks as his anger peaked. Naruto drew his kunai.
"Laxus!" Makarov warned. The master trained his stern gaze on him.
Laxus hesitated for a moment before his smirk returned. He turned to leave. Naruto heard him mutter under his breath: "… Not worth my time anyway." With that he disappeared in a flash of lightning.
The guild members released a breath they didn't realize they were holding. Makarov shook his head in disappointment.
"Forgive my grandson, Naruto, he has a bit of an attitude problem that needs fixing."
Naruto was quite surprised at the revelation. Not much resemblance, he thought. Maybe in regards to the hair though. Still, the guy was obviously seriously lacking in regards to the kind of heart the Master had.
"Making new friends everywhere I turn." Naruto muttered.
That evening, Naruto decided to explore the rest of Magnolia. He wandered aimlessly, having no particular destination in mind anyway. The town really glowed with life at night. The streets were lit with street lamps and by the many stores and retailers that sold an assortment of items. Naruto caught a whiff of mouthwatering dishes as he passed by some restaurants. A lot of people roamed around too. Naruto saw a group of friends heading to eat out, a small kid hanging on her smiling mother's arm, a young couple walking arm in arm, and other joyful looking people. It all felt really familiar and yet different at the same time.
His memories were a bit foggy, but resurfacing somewhat. He closed his eyes and tried to recall from his currently few memories. He remembered a huge village surrounded by a thick forest. He saw a big mountain with five great stone faces carved into it. He could remember the smell of ramen coming from his favorite food stall. He could see a man with a horizontal scar on his face. Naruto felt happy when he saw the man. It was his first teacher, the man who made him a…
"Naruto!"
Naruto's eyes opened and he found himself back in Magnolia. Natsu and Happy were running to approach him.
"Hey Natsu, Happy; what's up?" Naruto greeted casually.
"Want to come with us to Lucy's house?" Natsu asked.
Naruto didn't have any other plans tonight so he agreed. "Sure, lead the way."
There was something odd about the pink-haired teen tonight. He wore a mischievous grin that Naruto knew all too well.
"Natsu, what are you up to?" Naruto asked. Natsu just shook his head and kept smiling. Naruto asked Happy the same thing but the blue cat just held his paws to his mouth and shook his head. Naruto had a bad feeling about this.
They arrived at Lucy's house twenty minutes later. Naruto was about to knock on the front door when he noticed Natsu and Happy flying up to the window. He guessed Lucy was in for a shock when she got home. Sighing, Naruto planted his foot on the wall and started to walk vertically on it with chakra until he reached Lucy's window. For some reason Natsu and Happy were both doing push-ups.
Naruto entered the cozy little apartment and walked around. It had a simple design. A desk, a table, and a bed occupied the larger room. Naruto saw a small kitchen and a bathroom at the far end. Well, at least she had an apartment. Naruto had to make arrangements with Makarov to sleep in Fairytail's wine cellar until he could earn some money and get his own place.
Natsu had changed into one handed push-ups when Lucy arrived.
"What are you doing in my house?!" Lucy shrieked.
Naruto shrugged innocently. "Natsu invited me."
Said boy was still doing push-ups on the floor. He looked up to face Lucy.
"Glad you're here." Natsu said. "We have to keep ourselves fit for our next job."
The Celestial mage frowned. "What job?"
Happy brought out a piece of paper and handed it to Lucy with a knowing look.
Naruto looked over Lucy's shoulder as she read the job description. He only caught one glance when Lucy shrieked again: "Eight million jewel to lift a curse on an island?! That could set me up for months!"
Naruto took the paper from her hands. His jaw dropped when he saw the reward money. Boy, there was a lot of zeros. But there was no way a job with this kind of reward money would be posted on the request board.
Then he noticed the ranking and his eyes widened."Tell me you didn't..." the Uzumaki said. Erza had explained to him earlier that she, Laxus, and Mystogan were S-class mages. The second floor of the guild hall was off-limits to those who are not S-class. Erza explained that S-rank jobs were extremely difficult and very dangerous to accomplish. Naruto understood that Natsu wanted to prove himself, but maybe he'd gone a bit too far with this one.
"I snatched it from the second floor when everyone wasn't looking." Happy said proudly.
"S-class!"
Naruto sighed. He turned to Lucy. "Are you okay with this?"
Lucy fidgeted. "Well it sounds pretty dangerous, but the reward…"
Natsu pushed himself into a standing position. He turned to Naruto. "What about you, you want to come?"
Naruto had to admit the reward was tempting. Even if they split the money among themselves, that was still a lot. Then again, this was an S-rank mission. Erza and Mystogan were strong. If that was an S-rank mage, then their set of missions must be extra hard. Besides, Naruto felt that it would be better if he undertook a job of his own. He wanted to earn his own living expenses, not just taking a cut from someone else.
"No thanks," Naruto said. He looked Natsu and Lucy dead serious in the eye. "Look, you guys, this could get you expelled from the guild! If you can live with that and are seriously going to go through with this, you three need to be really careful. This isn't like the time with Eisenwald. It's going to be a lot harder than that. If you feel as if you can't handle it or you start having doubts, abandon the mission, alright?"
"But-," Natsu tried to protest.
"Promise me you will." Naruto urged them both. The two looked at each other and back to Naruto. They both nodded.
The two saw Naruto's shoulders fall in relief. Lucy felt touched by Naruto's concern for their well being. In the short time they spent together, Lucy could see that Naruto was brave, thoughtful and kind. She had only known him for a short time but she began to look to him as an older brother that she never had. She was determined to keep her promise.
Naruto placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "You should leave before the sun rises. That should give you a head start. But it won't take long before gramps knows you're gone."
Naruto turned to leave but stopped near the window and looked over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't tell. Just make sure you don't fail and come back alive."
With that being said, Naruto leaped out of the window and started to dash among the rooftops.