Author's Notes: Huzzah! Thanks for the lovely support! This chapter is going to seemed quite rushed, because it's a set up for both the Oración Seis arc and some drama for Naruto in chapter 14. They are more important in the grand scheme of things than Fighting Festival/Fantasia, which is really just Laxus throwing a tantrum, and introducing the Raijinshū. I'm using the Fantasia arc to lead into the drama, so don't expect Naruto to beat up Laxus or anything (that'll end the arc too quickly anyway).
As for Oración Seis, I refuse to believe that the legal guilds will suddenly decide to attack them based on what they deem as increased activity and somehow know their general plans (with no elaboration on how), and that Oración Seis knows to ambush the Light Team at Bob's mansion. They are a six-man guild; how the heck do they gain info like that? So I was going to expand on this, throwing in more Naruto action before the Light Team even begins their mission.
If you guys are wondering why I made Naruto a Wizard Saint, it's the set up for a concept arc post-Oración Seis, involving Tartaros, Trinity Raven and that innocuous medallion. If you can figure out the general flow of the arc, you should take over my story for me.
Just to whet your appetite: after that will be Edolas, where I plan to make Naruto fight the counterpart of a powerful mage (feel free to guess who). I'm not sure how I might do Tenrō Island, but a fight with Azuma and Rune Knights sounds about right. I can make him disappear for seven years, which is the easy way out. But if I don't, I'll have to wait for manga developments to see how it can progress. Raven Tail's legal status and Fiore royalty should all feature, and I would love to write about Meredy in Crime Sorcière. She's too kawaii!
Let's hope I can find that urge to write once more, and soon!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.
Chapter 13: On Fantasia (X784)
By now, Naruto was pretty sure Ikaruga was just pretending to be hurting. He didn't have the heart to chase her out of his abode, but it was getting pretty annoying having to deal with a lascivious, beautiful woman intent on getting into his pants every waking moment. Vidaldus and Fukurō, perhaps knowing of their leader's amorous desires, left for their guild once they've awoken. The blond man was thankful he had managed to keep his birthday hidden from the shameless pink-haired swordswoman; if she knew that he had just passed his birthday a few days ago, he would definitely have been struck by every seduction trick in the book. As in, literally, a book on seduction that Ikaruga was using for reference; Naruto had seen her unabashedly peruse the damn thing for ideas in front of him.
He had wanted to head off to the remnants of the Tower of Heaven for a few days now, to snoop around and see if he could dig out any information about Jellal and his plots. Ultear was still on the run, and Naruto wanted to nab her and grill her for information. A bit of secret research done at the ruined Magic Council library told him that the magic Org mentioned, Arc of Time, was a lost magic, like dragon slayer magic. For her to have learnt such a dangerous, powerful magic and be working for the enemy meant that she was a threat to be taken seriously. To think, the Council let in two dangerous elements into their midst without noticing until they unveiled their master plan…
Naruto knew from his Kage Bunshin surreptitiously observing the tower that Caelum's armed forces have been scouring the area for evidence. Personally, he felt that they were doing a horrible job of investigating the place, but given that the tower was attacked by the Magic Council without warning, issues about sovereignty engrossed Caelum far more than the R-System did. The destroyed tower was no longer a threat to humanity, so the investigations took a backseat to political squabbling. As a result, those sent to the tower were halfhearted soldiers who were more concerned about when they could next enjoy a hearty meal and drink at a tavern.
Hence, Naruto was forced to wait the few days before he could begin his explorations of the destroyed tower. Ikaruga, hearing his plans, offered to join him, but Naruto felt it prudent that she returned to her guild to take charge. Fukurō and Vidaldus, while powerful mages, weren't exactly the best administrators. The swordswoman was disappointed that Naruto was effectively chasing her away (which he totally was), but acquiesced with his suggestion, leaving with a promise to follow up on her attempts to draw Naruto into a life of debauchery with her. He was sure she would deliver on her promise eventually, one way or another.
Naruto tucked his Wizard Saint medallion into his shirt as he prepared to leave for the Tower of Heaven. Unsurprisingly, the now defunct Magic Council had not contacted him about anything through the communication function of the medallion. He hoped he would never get called up to join the Council in any capacity, if the organisation were to be reformed. He had experienced the freedoms of being a mage in Fiore; he would probably hang himself before he sat at that table and engaged in the petty political games the Council liked to play.
A quick formation and dispelling of a Kage Bunshin sent a message along to his observation doppelgänger at the tower, asking if the coast was clear. Another mental message came through moments later, informing Naruto that the tower had been devoid of people since the last update fourteen hours ago.
Mentally searching for the Hiraishin tag of Ikaruga's he conveniently left at the tower, he then proceeded to warp to the ruins of the tower. It was a scene of devastation, with all the telltale signs that it was Fairy Tail's handiwork. After all, who else could ensure property destruction at such a high level? A smile of nostalgia was quickly banished from under his mask as he surveyed the area carefully. The Caelum soldiers weren't too careful when sifting through the rubble, but Naruto reckoned it wouldn't have affected his own investigations. Jellal, if he ever had any documentation of his work, would have hidden it far more securely. The collapse of the tower and subsequent inspection of the place by unmotivated soldiers wouldn't have led to the destruction or discovery of such information.
Kage Bunshin were formed in the dozens, and the clones fanned out to find clues. Naruto instead looked around the ground, searching for his Hiraishin kunai. In the immediate aftermath of the tower's annihilation, Naruto had sent a clone to retrieve and hide the kunai where investigators would not find it. It wouldn't have been awfully suspicious had his throwing knife been found; after all, all manners of weapons could have been used by combatants and the knife was likely another. But Naruto wanted to be safer than sorry, in case people had actually found the Hiraishin kunai and linked it to him somehow.
Finding the dented weapon, Naruto tucked it away into his weapons pouch, thus eliminating the piece of evidence that indicated his presence. The minor task complete, Naruto joined his clones in exploring the remnants of the tower. However, instead of manually combing the area like his clones, Naruto opted for a different approach. Sitting down on a flat piece of rubble, Naruto shut his eyes and concentrated. Entering Sennin Mōdo was easier as he got used to the sensation, but for him to use the sensory abilities of the mode to its full potential, razor sharp focus during meditation always helped.
Being in Sennin Mōdo meant that he could sense natural energy wafting off objects, but in this case, it was Ethernano. If there were any secrets to be found in these ruins, Naruto was certain that there would be a magical residue emanating from them. Casting his senses out, he frowned as nothing came to light. The lacrima that held all of Etherion's energy was destroyed, but the Ethernano released in the wake of the powerful spell took far longer to dissipate. A thin cloud of Ethernano hung pervasively in the air, a stark reminder of the terrible power unleashed on the tower.
Naruto sighed as the Ethernano continued to play havoc with his Sennin Mōdo, preventing him from noticing any anomalies. Giving up on that particular endeavour, Naruto was about to rise to join his clones in a manual search when the memories of a dispelled doppelgänger hit him. Naruto groaned in misery as his mind filtered through the memories, opting to cancel all of his clones in order to meet this new threat.
Why, oh why, did I have to meet Oración Seis here?
8888888888888888
Racer hated working with Midnight. The 'son' of their leader was a powerful mage, in fact, the most powerful in their small guild. Racer was glad to have such backup for even a relatively simple mission. But that didn't mean he wasn't creepy as hell, sleeping on his floating magic carpet as the thing followed him around. Racer wasn't exactly sure why Brain would want Midnight to come along for the ride, given that it was a basic search and retrieval that didn't even involve enemies. But he wasn't the mastermind, so he just let the big man work his plans.
He knew he had definitely jinxed himself with those thoughts when they encountered a strange man on the shores of the island they were seeking. He didn't fit the description of Jellal Fernandes, so Racer felt that it would be best if the man died quickly. No sense in dragging out a fight with an unknown when there were bigger things ahead. So, with all the stealth he had taught himself and a touch of Slowing Magic, he managed to sneak up behind the stranger, prepared to slit his throat.
If not for his Slowing Magic, he wouldn't have been able to hit the guy. The man's reflexes and senses were off the charts; Racer had never seen anyone able to respond to one of his sneak attacks before. Sure, he could only swivel around in surprise, but that was impressive enough. So Racer stabbed the man in the chest instead; expecting, almost anticipating the sight of life draining out of the blond man's azure eyes. Instead, he disappeared in a puff of smoke that irritated Racer's eyes and nose, causing him to cough. Fanning his hand in the air to wave the dissipating smoke away, he wondered if there was going to be a fight over Jellal's body. After all, why else would anyone wish to come to the remnants of the Tower of Heaven?
He wasn't disappointed when the man reappeared almost immediately, standing in an imposing posture just outside the range of his Slowing Magic. His eyes were different, however; there was now what seemed to be red eyeliner around the yellow eyes. "Racer and Midnight of Oración Seis. Of all the people I have to meet here, it had to be you two."
"Who are you? I've never seen you before, but it seems you know us quite well," Racer asked, even as he prepared to do battle.
The blond man scoffed, folding his arms imperiously. "None of your concern, Racer. What is Oración Seis's purpose here? Are you after Jellal's work?"
"Nothing so mundane. We're after his body for his knowledge, so we can achieve enlightenment," Racer smirked mischievously. "You aren't so different from us, no? Sneaking around the area to find out about Jellal. If you're planning for world domination, I suggest you join one of us. It's easier to control the world with a team of powerful mages than by your lonesome."
"No thanks, I have no plans to conquer the world. That would be quite hypocritical of me," the mage replied tersely. "You know, I'm supposed to be a good guy, so that means I'm going to have to stop you from taking Jellal's body. You know that, right?"
"Well, then I guess we have no choice but to fight," Racer flipped his knife out, twirling the small weapon in his hands expertly.
Most adversaries would laugh at his choice of equipment, as it was quite the underwhelming weapon. But his opponent seemed to know better, as he immediately slid into a defensive stance. Racer briefly wondered if the man knew of his magic, and the range it operated at. He dismissed those silly notions instantly; no one had figured out his magic before he could kill them, and it was probably just a coincidence that his fellow blond was standing right beyond the edge of his magic's range. He hollered a war cry as he charged, but to his frustration, the man dodged backwards, still out of the reach of his Slowing Magic. The man, cool as a cucumber, reached his hands out in midair.
In his left hand, a weird throwing knife appeared, while a gigantic cleaver materialised in the other. The blond mage was obviously a Requip user, as he hurled the knife at Racer. The Oración Seis member almost felt insulted as the throwing weapon flew past his head without him even needing to avoid the projectile; it was a decent throw, but nothing that could possibly trouble him. He came to regret his musings not a moment later, as the man warped from his location to right where the knife was, his massive zanbatō already in mid swing. Racer's only mode of escape was to unleash his Slowing Magic to the fullest, and ducking out of the way of the decapitating strike.
The man furrowed his brows, obviously unnerved by his sudden decrease in speed. Racer accepted his generous opening gleefully, launching into numerous slices and slashes across the man's body. Racer's joy was cut when he noticed that despite cutting his clothes to ribbons, the man seemed completely unfazed by the attacks. The lack of blood dripping from his knife clued the Oración Seis member in; his adversary had steel-like skin that his knife couldn't penetrate. Sliding away from his opponent, Racer found himself the one who was more flummoxed by his enemy.
"How are you unaffected? My momentum should have been more than enough to pierce your skin!" Racer growled.
The man shrugged nonchalantly. "You'll just have to aim for soft spots. My eyeballs or the inside of my mouth are the best targets, really. I've never tried taking a hit to my neck, but with your knife, I don't think it's going to do much."
"Are you mocking me now? With this little knife and just speed, I've ended plenty of lives, and yours won't be the last of those!" Racer shouted indignantly, as he raised his free hand to the air. "Witness my glorious motor show from hell! Dead Grand Prix!"
The sound of a dozen roaring engines filled the air, as a horde of motorcycles appeared out of nowhere, all powering towards his enemy from behind. Racer laughed maniacally as his babies surrounded the man in a blurry circle of metal and magic. Racer wasted no time mounting one of his rides, and began barraging his opponent with his vehicles darting in and out of the circle. The blond mage endured several painful hits soundlessly, slowly adjusting to the timing of his bikes as the big sword came closer and closer to scratching his motorcycles with every hit they made.
Then, the man dropped his weapon, and moved his hands in several weird motions. To Racer, those fingers were twisting through the convoluted patterns quite quickly, which meant that the man must be blindingly fast if he weren't under the throes of his Slowing Magic. The blond man's hair grew uncontrollably into a spiky cocoon that wrapped around him, shielding him fully from the outside world. Undeterred by the defensive technique, Racer ordered his motorcycles to fire upon the man with all their magical guns. The hail of magic bullets converged on his enemy, peppering him and churning up a cloud of dirt and dust. Racer grinned, relaxed after his victory. There was no way someone could survive a volley of magic bullets from all sides.
As the dust cleared, Racer's smile dropped, a slack-jaw expression taking over his features. The shield of hair of all things remained pristine, undamaged by his attack. Racer ground his teeth in exasperation, but didn't have any more time to think of another attack as the hair sprayed needles in all directions, a retaliation that seemed to mock his use of bike-mounted guns and bullets. Racer hopped off his bike, ducking behind the vehicle for protection as the hair needles punctured everything in their way, sinking an inch deep into the steel of his motorcycles. Racer paled at the sight of all his bikes falling to the ground, thick coats of needles covering their sides like a hedgehog's back. He continued to hide behind the bike he was riding; it was the only cover he had while he tried to think of a strategy to beat the guy.
Deciding that survival was more important than his pride or his fear of Midnight, he ran as fast as he could towards his sleeping comrade. His adversary was already emerging from his cocoon, but Racer was faster, giving the black-haired mage a furious shake of the shoulders and a quick shout to the ear. He only succeeded in touching Midnight because there was no intent to harm behind his motions; if he had deigned to attack the raven-haired mage in his sleep, his attack would have been diverted for sure.
Midnight snarled as he burst into wakefulness, smashing a fist into Racer's jaw. The blond speedster tasted the metallic tint of blood as he bit the inside of his cheek, his metal chin guard cracking from the devastating impact. Racer spat out a globule of blood, wiping his chin as he remained where he fell, sitting on his bum. Midnight clambered off his carpet, his eyes glaring holes into his comrade sprawled out on the ground.
"What the hell did you wake me for? I don't even know why father asked me to come along for such an easy mission. What, you can't handle finding a corpse?" Midnight scorned irritably, before noticing the blood flowing from Racer's lips. "What the hell happened to you?"
"You hit me," Racer grumbled under his breath, but quickly prioritised briefing Midnight about his enemy over quarrelling about friendly fire. "There's a guy interfering with our mission. He's countering everything I have without a sweat! I can't beat him like this. I need your help."
"I didn't think Oración Seis members could discard their pride to ask for assistance," his blond enemy approached slowly, horse-cleaving sword in hand. "Good to see some people don't overestimate themselves around here, Racer."
"You're just lucky you have the exact abilities that can counter my speed," Racer retorted resentfully. "I may not be able to beat you, but I still hold the title of the fastest man alive!"
"Sure you do. You're just a fraud. You don't have speed, you just slow down my perception of time," the golden-eyed man shot back, to Racer's alarm. "How did you know?!"
"Everything you did was lightning fast, and everything I did seemed unable to counter that speed," the mage admitted, before tapping the corner of his weird amphibian eyes. "But these eyes can do more than just see. They can sense magic. I noticed a field of magic that you have spread around you, but I didn't know what it was for at first. Then, as we fought, I realised that there was a huge discrepancy between how fast you moved before and after I entered that field of yours. If you have a field that speeds up your own movements, shouldn't you be fast all the time? Also, you panicked when I attacked you with Kubikiribōchō, yet was able to avoid me with abrupt speed. It clearly wasn't a reflexive dodge."
"You seem like a smart guy, so you ought to know that Midnight is far stronger than me," Racer boasted. "You'll be crushed if you face the both of us!"
"You go ahead and complete the mission, Racer," Midnight yawned, before flashing a vicious grin at the blond man. "I thank you for waking me up to face this guy. I love crushing strong mages under my feet."
Racer wasn't stupid enough to protest against Midnight when the man wanted to have some fun. He had seen the brutality of Midnight, and he was not going to let himself be the target of the dark-haired mage's ire by objecting to his orders. Nodding once, Racer dashed off, summoning another motorcycle underneath him to speed up his search. Midnight groaned as he cricked his back, before standing in a loose stance. "Well, come on then. Show me the power that you beat Racer with!"
The blond did so gladly, bursting forwards faster than anyone Midnight had ever seen move. But his defence was impregnable as his opponent found out, his heavy zanbatō changing directions abruptly. If his amphibian-eyed enemy were any less strong, the sudden change in motion for such a huge blade would have twisted and torn a few tendons in his arm. Instead, all that showed was a slight crinkling at the edge of the man's eyes as he jumped back, silently assessing the situation. Midnight smiled sardonically as he brushed some of his unruly hair from his forehead.
"You cannot penetrate my defences with that sort of offence, stranger," Midnight explained his powers. "My magic ability Reflector has the power to control and distort everything."
A wave of Midnight's hand had the cuirass around his opponent's body squeeze down with crushing force. The man winced as he fell to a knee, fingers desperately trying to hook under his armour to rip it off. Midnight laughed malevolently as he imploded the body armour, eliciting a choked scream and a baleful glare from the blond mage. The man snarled, Requip-ing half a dozen throwing knives to his hand, throwing them with deadly accuracy. Midnight sneered at the weak attack, not even bothering to deflect the puny weapons back at the owner. He allowed the weapons to fall to the ground at his feet in a clatter.
"Is that all you can-"
Before he could deliver his taunt, he was suddenly forced to deflect his opponent's zanbatō falling from the sky like a guillotine. As the massive weapon slid aside to stab into the ground, he wasn't prepared for the blond man to let go of his sword and unleash a double-fisted hammer blow to his skull. His brain rattled inside his cranium, the concussive strike leaving him woozy and unable to defend against a succession of heavy punches, elbows and knees to his body. Midnight growled under the barrage, utilising his magic to grab a hold of the man with his coat, and hurl him away like a rag-doll. The raven-haired Oración Seis member gulped in deep breaths of air as he tried to get rid of the dizziness. The aching from those body blows weren't helping him recover his composure either.
His opponent looked thoughtful as he stood across a panting Midnight. His monstrous weapon disappeared from view, vanishing into an alternate dimension and away from Midnight's control. "You say you can control and distort everything. Clearly you can't do it against my flesh, since I managed to hit you with my fists. So you can only manipulate non-sentient matter, or you could have blown me aside instead of using my coat to grab me and tug me away. You can also deflect reflexively; otherwise Kubikiribōchō would have split you in half before you even had time to blink. That's awfully useful, but I'm afraid I have a trump card that you can't beat."
Midnight watched in trepidation as his opponent crouched, slamming his palm to the ground. A small, crimson fox materialised out of thin air, looking awfully annoyed at being summoned to the battle. "You! You bloody idiot! I thought I said we aren't partners anymore!"
"I need your help against a member of Oración Seis," his adversary shrugged helplessly, to the fox's indignation.
"You need my help, oh mighty one? Aren't you the omniscient and omnipotent Maelstrom? Why would you need this lowly fox's help? You went and made everyone sad and angry, you dickwad! You can handle this fight on your own!"
"You just want to snuggle in Mira's boobs. No one said you had to follow me in leaving the guild," the blond man named Maelstrom retorted mildly. Maelstrom was a title that meant nothing to Midnight, though it rang a bell. Dismissing the thought, the raven-haired Reflector mage continued listening in to the heated, albeit curious argument. He had never seen a talking animal before, and it intrigued him.
The fox was momentarily flummoxed by his supposed partner's suggestion, adopting a thinking pose as it tiled its head to the side. "You are right. Why didn't I think of that? I can be Mira-chan's pet fox instead of yours!"
"Great thinking," the man rolled his eyes. "Now can we fight? This guy is all yours."
Midnight had to laugh at the notion of the minuscule fox beating him. "So what if you figured out my powers? So what if I can't control the fox just because it's sentient and doesn't have any clothing for me to manipulate? Do you think I'm restricted to just that?! My Reflector is far more powerful than what your tiny brains can comprehend!"
"Tiny?" the talking canine growled, hackles rising. "I'll show you tiny!"
Midnight gaped as the fox exploded in size, towering above everything. Monstrous teeth half his body size were bared as drool dripped from the edges of the mansion-sized fox's dark lips. The raven-haired man snarled in response as he pointed at the canine, initiating Spiral Pain. Wind swirled around the humongous animal and its companion, but before Midnight could batter and crush them with a vortex of distorted air, he lost control over his spell. His Spiral Pain died out with a whimper, disturbing only a minute circumference of dust on the ground around the two. The man chuckled indulgently at Midnight's gobsmacked look, clearly no longer seeing Midnight as a threat.
"You can use the air around you to attack, which is something I didn't figure you had the creativity for," the blond man complimented, before wagging his finger tauntingly. "But unfortunately for you, I'm a Wind Magic user, so all your attacks are useless! How about another go, eh? Maybe use the earth around us? Or call Racer back and tag-team me? I think that'll be a better option, no?"
Before Midnight could throw back a response, the man frowned deeply, his brow furrowed in concentration. "What the fuck is happening back in town?"
Shaking his head, the man stared at Midnight with a superior look even as he turned his back on the dark mage. "Sorry, but something just cropped up back home. It might be important to stop Oración Seis, but I didn't think to track Racer, so he might have completed your mission already. I know we'll meet again, and when we do, I'll make sure we finish our fight, and foil whatever world domination plot your master has."
The fox unleashed a brilliant white flame from its mouth, the ball of fire looming over Midnight. By the time he squashed the flames with his Reflector, the blond man and his companion were nowhere to be found.
8888888888888888
Mirajane shut her eyes as she fell from the sky, exhausted from the use of her Satan Soul. The demonic wings and tail vanished as the last dregs of her power left her body, unaccustomed to the use of magic after two years of inactivity. As the wind rustled her dress and caused her hair to flutter madly, Mirajane wondered if Freed would feel anything, even sympathy, at her death. Her downward momentum was gently halted, however, as she found two strong arms supporting her weight underneath her, making sure to prevent her from jerking to a sudden stop. A warm, firm torso was pressed against her side, sending waves of relief and comfort flooding through her veins.
Her big blue orbs snapped open, her lips parting in a soft gasp as she recognised the man holding on to her. He gingerly descended down to the ground, beside Elfman, Juvia and Cana, who were being guarded by a huge fox that stood menacingly over their unconscious forms. It was not facing them however; the canine's head was tilted skywards, eyes trained on Freed floating in the air. She was softly lowered to the floor, but before the blond man could move away, she grabbed his arm in a vice grip. "Ráfaga…Naruto. What are you doing back here?"
"Saving you," the blond man replied succinctly. His cuirass was curiously missing, and he looked awfully scuffed up. Before Mirajane could continue her line of questioning, his arm slithered out of her hold, allowing him to stretch to his full height. "Kurama. You wanted to leave my side for Mirajane's right? Then you best damn well keep her safe until I'm done with that punk in the sky."
"Give him hell," the fox identified as Kurama growled deeply.
Mirajane squeaked in astonishment. "When did you learn how to speak?! Or use Titan Magic?!"
"Since I joined the guild," Kurama answered flippantly, his eyes never leaving the tiny figure floating in the air. "I figured I would appear cuter if you couldn't hear my deep, rumbling and manly voice, or knew I could transform into a big-ass fox."
Mirajane's eyes were forced to look away from the massive crimson animal as a torrent of wind erupted from the man standing beside her, the gale flapping her dress and blowing her hair back. Naruto blasted off the ground, the jet of air from his feet propelling him sky high. Moderating the speed of his ascent, the blond man slowed down as he reached the height that Freed was loitering at. He glared murderously at the bemused Freed, who was obviously unaware of the recent events that Fairy Tail was swept up in. Freed noted the weird eyes Naruto seemed to possess instead of his usual deep cerulean orbs, but dismissed it as nothing more than some cosmetic modifications.
"Ráfaga. I didn't know you knew any teleportation spells. Or Wind Magic, seeing as you're flying right now. It seems you get to play hero for Mirajane. Isn't that wonderful, seeing an old man trying to win the heart of a young maiden? Or should I call her a failure of a demon?" Freed goaded.
"Shut up, Freed. Today is the day of the Fantasia Parade. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Naruto questioned, his tone conveying nothing of the cheer Freed was used to hearing.
Freed scoffed at the man's lack of knowledge. "Have you been dreaming all this while, old man? Did you not notice the Jutsu Shiki I planted all over town? Did you not hear Laxus's challenge to everyone? Do you not see the Thunder Palace that Laxus has activated to test this weak guild's mettle?"
"So this is all some sort of petty game? To eliminate the weak? To foster the strong?" Naruto asked darkly, a slow, spiralling breeze coming to life around the blond mage. "And you decided that because the only dick you want to suck is Laxus's, you must follow his orders to the bitter end, and do this to your fellow guild members?"
"Don't you dare insult Laxus! He became an S-class mage before you could even dream of reaching such dizzying heights!" Freed roared furiously, soaring towards Naruto. "I'll crush you!"
Freed threw a punch at lightning speed, confident it would blow Naruto out of the sky. There was no way a pathetic B-class mage could handle his power, when even the infamous Demon Mirajane could only match him blow for blow. The triumphant laugh died prematurely on his lips as Naruto's hand caught Freed's right fist without effort, before powerful fingers clamped down securely on the fist. Freed's dark eyes widened as he tried to pull away, but the vice grip on his hand was absolute. Naruto chuckled darkly as the winds around him grew stronger, ruffling both his and Freed's hair madly.
"You…you hurt Cana and Mira. I wanted to intervene so bad when they were beaten up by Phantom, but I held back for the sake of my deceit," Naruto murmured, just loud enough to befuddle the increasingly panicky Freed. "But now, you attacked me first…you and your little gang leader declared war on your own guild…and that gives me a licence to hurt you like you hurt them…and return the pain a hundredfold."
Even as the green-haired member of the Thunder God Tribe tried to draw his rapier with his non-dominant left hand, he was forced to endure a series of rapid, jarring blows to his head. Naruto yelled incoherently as he took the two of them down from the skies, his free hand continuously landing blows on Freed's increasingly bruised face. A broken nose spurted blood furiously, as did his torn lips. His head was rattling with the earth-shattering strikes, tasting blood in his mouth as a few teeth loosened and cut his gums open. Then, Naruto grabbed his other arm, reeling him in and planted both knees into his chest, driving the remaining breath out of the half-conscious man. Naruto roared as they hit the ground like a crashing meteor, collapsing the entire bridge they landed upon.
Freed's head lolled limply as his body was seemingly transformed into one giant bruise. If not for his Dark Écriture: Darkness, he was sure the superhuman blows would have caved his face in. Even with his demonic body, he was still bloodied to an unrecognisable state. His chest was on fire, his organs seemed to have turned to liquid, and his brain was mush, unable to register anything but pain and nausea. His Darkness form dissipated as his injured body couldn't handle the strain anymore, leaving him even more vulnerable. He was just conscious enough to feel the large hand grabbing his neck, raising his body off the rubble that once constituted a bridge. His boneless body was dragged closer to the other mage, and his face was brought inches before Naruto's murderous eyes that judged him and deemed him unworthy of his life.
"Punk. You're just a sorry little punk who got yourself into the deepest shit you can find," Naruto sneered viciously, his frog-like eyes burning with unbridled wrath. "You picked on the wrong girls, the two girls you absolutely could not afford to harm even a single hair of. I had to abandon a fight against Oración Seis, just so I could come back and save their asses from you little piece of shit. I'm pissed that they probably got what they wanted, and that they are now one step closer to whatever the fuck their leader wants to do. I'm all out of fucking mercy right now, and unfortunately, you're the only shit-stain here for me to vent my frustrations out on."
With those words, Freed found himself smashed back into the ruins of the bridge, his neck nearly broken from the whiplash. He gurgled noisily as the powerful grip never relented, exerting crushing pressure on his neck. His eyes bulged as a powerful fist smashed against his sternum, cracking the bone and driving the oxygen out of his body. The hand on his neck ensured no air could reenter his lungs, as blow after blow rained down on his broken body. His face turned progressively purple as he was deprived of oxygen. Darkness crept in from the edges of his blurry eyesight as his opponent broke his body with the savagery of a beast.
Naruto raised his hand up high up into the air for one last time, prepared to crash it against Freed's broken ribs and drive the bones into his organs. Before he could bring down his hand, pair of far softer and smaller ones grabbed it. His entire arm was then smothered in a gentle hug, a hug he knew only one conscious person in the vicinity was brave enough to try. "Stupid fox. I thought I told him to keep you safe."
"He's now my fox, so he listens to me, not you," Mirajane whispered, tightening her embrace. "Stop this, Rá- Naruto. This isn't you. Freed's defeated already."
"You don't know me, Mirajane," Naruto replied softly as he stood up, letting go of the green-haired mage. Freed gasped for air gratefully, but was unable to do any more than just breathe. "The Ráfaga you knew was an act. He never existed. I created him to fit in at Fairy Tail. This, what you see here…this is the real me. Violent. Cruel. Vindictive. Unscrupulous."
"But you came and saved me," Mirajane argued, as she released his arm to hold him by the waist, pressing her head to his broad back. "You left the guild, but you came back in my time of need and you saved my life. You still care for me, for us. Don't deny that."
"I told you, I never had feelings for you. All of you, from Makarov to Gildarts to Cana to you, all of you…you've been hoodwinked by me," Naruto murmured, gazing into the sky. "I never cared for any of you. Ráfaga did, but he's a guise, an alter ego, a fake. I'm here not because I have lingering feelings for anyone, but because I gave my word to Makarov to protect all of you. I honour my words, nothing more."
"So that's it then? You are just going to waltz out of my life again, pretending you don't care?" the ivory-haired girl huffed, her once infamous temper resurfacing. "Why? Why do you have to go? Is it because you're afraid that I'll be targeted? Are we not strong enough to overcome the challenges you face, together? I can re-access my Satan Soul now! I can fight! I just need to train! So why? Why do you keep running away?"
"Like I told Makarov, I never belonged. This isn't my world. This isn't my way of life. Your sentimentality would have gotten you killed in an instant back in my lands," Naruto answered harshly, pulling Mirajane's arms away from his body as he walked away. "My departure from the guild was an eventuality, not a possibility. I only needed for my work for Fairy Tail to be done. Or have you forgotten about how I lied to everyone about Lisanna's fate? About my identity? About Aria?"
"If this is who you claim you are, then why did you create Ráfaga? Why take Cana in as your sister? Why befriend Macao and Wakaba? Why take Mystogan as an apprentice?" Mirajane cried out, reaching out to grab his swinging hand. "Why did you care for me at all?"
The blond man paused briefly, and for a moment, Mirajane thought she had finally reached him with her heartfelt words. Instead, he pulled his hand out of hers, and continued walking away. "To satisfy Makarov, so he'll get off my back about fitting in and adopting Fairy Tail as my new home. That's all."
As the man vanished into thin air, Mirajane found herself collapsing to her knees, unbidden tears flowing from her aquamarine orbs.
She never saw the wetness in his eyes.
8888888888888888
"Are you sure he's called Maelstrom?" Brain addressed his son.
Midnight nodded, cringing as he aggravated his wounds. While the internal damage wasn't too injurious, he would be aching and bruised for a good while yet. "That's what the fox called him. I didn't know the name, but I thought it was somewhat familiar, father."
"Indeed, it is. He's the mage that's been taking down dark guilds for the past decade. He secluded himself after a while, and dropped off the radar as a result, but it seems he's back," Brain mused aloud. "It's safe to assume that he knows what our ultimate aim is, even though he's unsure of our means. We'll have to hurry with our preparations, as well as prepare a counterattack if the legal mages come after us."
"I'm sorry, father! I should have taken his head for you! I promise, I won't make the mistake of letting him go again!" Midnight exclaimed desperately, his eyes watering as he imagined his surrogate father abandoning him for the disappointing outcome of his fight with Maelstrom.
His father stroked his hair gently, comforting the distraught man. "Don't worry, you're still important to me. Next time, cut him down with extreme prejudice. And then I'll forgive you."
"Yes, father!" Midnight beamed gratefully, glad that he still had a chance to redeem himself.
Next time, I won't fail!