The Fox Scroll
Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto Or Fairy Tail
A/N: This chapter has been revised as of 5/11/2017
Naruto's mind was racing back and forth. 'Where the hell did she come from!? No, that doesn't matter anymore... Lucy's going to kill me!'
Lucy's mind was in a similar state, her heart was beating like there was no tomorrow. 'This isn't happening! This isn't happening! Please tell me this isn't happening!'
She was kissing Naruto, on the lips! It was a complete accident, but kissing was still kissing!
'Oh god... we're still kissing!' Lucy quickly got up, separating their lips, and scrambled off her fellow blond.
At the same time, Naruto immediately got onto his hands and knees. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me!" He pleaded, but Lucy didn't hear a word he was saying.
Instead, she just stared at the ground in front of her, and hand on her lips. 'I just... K-k-kissed Naruto...!'
While they were doing this, a certain white haired beauty giggled to herself. 'Oh my... That was quite unexpected.' She mused, but was pulled out of her thoughts when a flash of pink flashed past her. 'Oh? What's this?'
"NAR-U-TO~!"
Naruto was still begging for forgiveness when he heard the angered voice coming from behind Lucy, and a lot of killer intent.
Acting on instinct and activating Sage Mode, Naruto got up moved in front of Lucy defensively. The girl jolting in surprise from the sudden action. "Huh? Wha-!"
Boom!
Naruto caught the incoming fist in his own, and the ground underneath them cracked from the pressure of the blow.
'This is... Chakra!?' Naruto thought when he came face to face with a familiar set of emerald green eyes, and they were infuriated. "Sakura-Chan!?"
Naruto glanced behind the angry girl and found Kakashi waving at him lazily with a deadpanned expression on his face. "Kakashi-Sensei too!?" Next to the man, Naruto found sweat-dropping Yamato, a cheering Rock Lee, and an intrigued Tenten holding a fainted Hinata. "When did you guys get here!?"
Earlier In The Hokage's Office...
Six ninja stood in a line in front of the Hokage's desk. The person behind that desk was Tsunade Senju herself.
"Kakashi, I see you have assembled your team. Good. The toads are now going to explain how this is going to work." Tsunade said and nodded to Fukasaku, and the elder toad nodded back before speaking.
"We've been workin on a way to get ya to the same place as Naruto boy, and have come up with this." The toad said and threw a small scroll to each of the six ninja.
They each caught the scroll and began to inspect it.
"That there is what we call a temporary summoning contract. With it, we'll be able to reverse summon ya to the other world."
Sakura raised a hand. "What if we already have a contract made with another summon?"
Lee raised his hand and spoke as well. "And I cannot use Ninjutsu, how will I be able to participate?"
Fukasaku grinned at the questions, pride evident in his smile. "It's a temporary contract and we will be the ones doing the summoning. So even if ya already signed a contact with another summon, or cannot perform Ninjutsu, this will still work."
Kakashi put a hand on his chin and hummed. "I see... Very clever indeed."
Tsunade coughed into her hand to get everyone's attention. "Now then, sign the contracts and go find Naruto!"
"Yes, Tsunade-Sama!" The squad yelled and bit their thumbs hard enough to draw blood. They then wrote their names in the miniature scrolls, completing the temporary contract.
Fukasaku nodded approvingly. "We will reverse summon ya to the other world in a few moments." He said and disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
Tsunade then watched as the ninja began to disappear one by one until the room was left with only Shizune and herself. "Good grief, that brat is tiring me out all the way from a different dimension. I need a drink..."
Kakashi opened his one visible eye and looked around. They were in a town on an empty street, that much was for sure. But there wasn't a whole lot of people, if not anyone around.
"We've summoned ya a little ways from the guild called Fairy Tail, the place that Naruto boy is staying with so he should be around here. Good luck to ya." Fukasaku said and he and the other toads went back to Mt. Myōboku.
Kakashi glanced back at his squad and noticed they were all looking around the place in awe. It was to be expected, the place did look a lot different than Konoha, and the air here seemed so fresh. 'What a pleasant town.' Kakashi mused before Lee pointed off in the distance and yelled.
"There's a crowd over there! Yosh~! That must be where Naruto-Kun is!" He declared before taking off running.
"Ah, Lee wait. We should stay toge-"
"Hold it, Lee! Kakashi-Sensei hasn't given us orders yet!" Sakura yelled and ran after the boy.
Tenten and Hinata both looked at each other before chasing after the two.
Kakashi just stood there, a sweat-drop sliding down his face.
Yamato pat the man's shoulder understandingly. "Shall we go to then, senpai?"
When Lee made it to the crowd, he pushed his way through, ignoring the angry shouts and complaints. But when he made it to the front, his eyes widened in surprise from what he saw.
Sakura pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed onto Lee's vest. "Don't just go running off on your own!" She scolded while shaking the teen around, but stopped when Lee pointed at what he saw. "Wha..." Sakura gaped as the other came through the crowd, gaping at the sight as well.
There they found Naruto. But he was on the ground, under a girl with blond hair, and they were kissing.
'Naruto-Kun is... K-k-k-kissing s-someone!?' Hinata thought with a growing blush on her face before her head overheated and the girl passed out due to an emotion overload.
'So the rumors of Naruto and Sasuke being gay are lies? Interesting...' Tenten thought as she caught the now unconscious Hyūga heiress.
"The flames youth burn brighter than ever, Naruto-Kun!" Lee cheered gave the teen a thumbs up.
Kakashi and Yamato both sweat-dropped when Sakura began to shake visibly. 'Oh boy... Here it comes...'
"NAR-U-TO!"
Present...
"And here we are." Kakashi said with a shrug.
As soon as the race was ended, they had decided to talk in the guild and were now all sitting at one of the larger tables in the bar. Some of the other guild members had tried to talk with them, but Naruto shooed them away, asking if they could talk in private fist. But that didn't stop them from sitting at the nearby tables so they could hear the conversation.
Makarov had yet to show either, but he was probably busy with something and Naruto trusted the old man would show up later.
Naruto grinned as he looked at his fellow ninja. They were all finally here! But there was still bothering him. "Why didn't you tell me how you were going to get here!?"
Yamato shook his head. "Because if we told, you would constantly summon the toads thinking it would get us here faster. Am I wrong?"
The Uzumaki scratched his cheek, a goofy grin on his face. "Yeah... That's probably true."
"Naruto..." Sakura said and Naruto sent her a questioning look, causing a tick-mark to form on her forehead. "Would mind explaining something to us?"
Oblivious to what was bothering the girl, he tilted his head in confusion. "What is it Sakura-Chan?
Sakura pointed to the blue haired woman who was currently attached to Naruto's left arm. "Who is that and why is she so attached to you!?"
"Yes, Naruto-Sama. Are you going to introduce Juvia to your friends?" Juvia asked shyly, like a fiancé being introduced to her groom's family.
Sakura's eye twitching at the "Sama" part.
Noticing the medi-nin's annoyed look, Naruto laughed awkwardly and gestured to the girl next to him. "Guy's, this is Juvia. She's a really friendly person and easy to get along with. Oh, and she can do all sorts of stuff with water!"
'Friendly... He says.' Kakashi mused as Sakura fought to conceal her temper, having promised not to lash out inside the guild.
"Senpai. Should I include in the report to Tsunade-Sama that Naruto got a girlfriend... or two?"
The ex-Anbu captain shook his head. "Nah, we'll let him do it."
Naruto cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Huh, girlfriend?"
"See?" Kakashi said with an eye-smile.
"G-g-girfriend!?" Juvia let go of the blonde's arm, clasped her cheeks and began mumbling random stuff to herself.
Before Naruto could ask what they were talking about, a tiny voice spoke up from across the table.
"Um, Naruto-Kun? W-who was that other girl... At the race?" Hinata asked while poking her fingers together.
Lee suddenly stood up and slammed his arms onto the table. "Was she giving you a reward for completing the race? Yosh~! Then I will do five-hundred laps around this town and get a kiss from Sakura-San! And if I cannot do that, I will do one-thousand push-ups and sit-ups!" He declared, his eyes burning with determination.
"I don't think that was the case, Lee..." Tenten said in a tired voice as her teammate took a seat excitedly, clearly not listening.
Naruto laughed and looked over at Hinata, causing the timid girl to look down at her fingers. "You must be talking about Lucy. Yeah, she ran off after that little accident." Naruto explained while rubbing the back of his head.
'Accident?' Hinata's eyes widened a little, hope flashing in her lavender irises.
Suddenly, a short man jumped onto their table. "Hello ninja of Konoha! Welcome to Fairy Tail! No, that isn't right... Welcome to Earthland!" Makarov said and laughed wholeheartedly.
"Who's the little guy?" Tenten asked Naruto, and Makarov nearly face faulted at the mentioning of his height.
"That's old man Makarov, the master of Fairy Tail." Naruto said and laughed when the girl's eyes widened in surprise
Tenten quickly turned to the man and bowed. "M-my apologies!"
The others were equally surprised by the revelation. It was written in Naruto's report that the master of the guild was short, but they weren't expecting the man to be this short!
Makarov coughed into his hand before speaking. "Yes, my name is Makarov Dreyar. It must have been a long trip, dimensional travel that is."
"Not at all, I'm actually surprised how easy it was to get here." Kakashi said with a wave of his hand. "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Kakashi Hatake, a jounin of Konoha. Thank you for taking care of Naruto and I apologize for any troubles he might have caused for you. He can be quite a handful if left unsupervised."
"Hey! I resent that!" Naruto pouted, causing Makarov to laugh.
"Yes he is quite a troublesome brat, this one."
Naruto crossed his arms and looked away childishly. "No one asked you old man!"
"Would you like anything to eat or drink? Mira-Chan is a great cook." Makarov asked and gestured to the barmaid behind him, ignoring the now sulking jinchuuriki.
"Hello everyone, my name is Mirajane, but you can call me Mira! If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." She cheerfully said with a bow and the ninja were taken aback by the girl's beauty.
"Thank you, Mira-San. But I was wondering if there was a place where we could talk with a little more... privacy?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile, and the guild members looked away and started whistling.
Makarov gave them a hard look before sighing. "We can go up to my office and continue there. The kids can stay and get to know the other guild members. I'm sure they're dying to talk to you guys."
"Thank you." Kakashi said appreciatively and got up to follow the man up to his office. Yamato followed behind shortly after, feeling as if it was in his best interest, and he was right.
Not being able to contain their excitement any longer, the rest of the guild crowded around the ninjas.
"You're all from the same place as Naruto, right?"
"Does that mean you can all create clones and walk on walls and stuff?"
Before they knew it, the ninjas were scattered around the guild, talking with different members.
"So, are you Naruto's girlfriend or something?" Cana asked Sakura and the pink haired girl frantically shook her head.
"No no no, just friends! We're like brother and sister!" Sakura said frantically before looking around the guild. "Hey, what do you know about those girls that are supposedly always around Naruto? What are they to him?"
Cana grinned slyly, was she really not his girlfriend? That was certainly a question someone would ask out of jealousy "You mean Lucy and Juvia? Well, nothing has really happened. Naruto is one of the densest boys I've ever seen."
Sakura sighed, partially about Naruto being dense, and the other relief. For Hinata's sake of course. She had to look out for her friend's love, right? "Tell me about it."
"Hey, big eyebrows guy! Are you strong? Fight me!" Natsu demanded and Gray put a hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Knock it off Natsu, he just got here. Besides, if he's anything like Naruto, you'll just get your ass kicked."
Natsu shook Gray's hand off and grabbed onto his rival's collar. "What was that Gray? Are you picking a fight with me first!?"
Lee stepped between the two boys and separated them. "I understand your youthful desire to fight, but let us save that for another time." He gave them a thumbs up and his teeth sparkled, earning strange looks from the two. "I will gladly accept your challenge later!"
"You're weird." Natsu bluntly said.
"At least he's got manners." Gray scoffed and he was shoved into one of the tables by Natsu. The two then proceeded to duke it out, with Lee trying his best to stop them.
"He's trying to stop them, but I'm sure he really wants to fight as well." Tenten said with a sigh as a woman with red hair wearing armor sat in front of her.
"Hello, my name is Erza Scarlet. Welcome to Fairy Tail. It's nice to finally meet some of Naruto's friends." Erza said and extended her arm out to shake hands, which Tenten gladly accepted.
'She's really pretty…' Tenten thought as she shook the red-haired beauty's hand. "The name's Tenten, that's some nice armor. Are you a knight?" Tenten asked and the red-head nodded.
"I use Requip magic. It allows me to swap out my weapons and armor without having to carry them around with me." To show what she was talking about, Erza stood up and requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and Tenten's jaw gaped in awe. "This armor grants me the ability to fly, and summon a multitude of swords in which I can command remotely." She explained and summoned forth a couple blades and they danced around her.
"That's..." Tenten began to say, but it didn't stop there.
The S-Class mage swapped armors again, this time to her Lightning Empress Armor. "This armor grants me great resistance to electricity-" She started but stopped when Tenten began to inspect her, or more specifically, her equipment.
"These weapons and armors are amazing! Not only are you able to change them to your advantage in the middle of a battle with no penalties, but you also look stylish! Is this what magic is?" Noticing the knight's amused look, Tenten took a step back and blushed. "Sorry, I tend to get a little overexcited when it comes to these kinds of things... I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to weapons."
Erza smiled, she was glad to meet another person that appreciated weapons and armors as much as she did. "If you like weapons so much, maybe I can show you my collection sometime." She offered and Tenten beamed in excitement.
"Really?! That would be great!" Tenten had a feeling she was really going to get along with this woman.
"Eh!? Naruto-San is from another dimension!?" Wendy's eyes were like saucers. "That's so cool!"
Naruto laughed at how easily the little girl believed him. "Yeah, sorry I forgot to tell you earlier. Everyone else already knew so it kinda just slipped my mind."
Wendy shook her head. "It's okay, I just can't believe how many interesting people this guild has! Fairy Tail sure is amazing!"
"Fairy Tail is a man!" Elfman roared out, causing Naruto to laugh even harder.
'I'm glad to see you're having fun, Naruto-Kun.' Hinata thought to herself and smiled fondly.
Mirajane giggled at the two before noticing the way Hinata was looking at Naruto. A devious look dawned the barmaid's features for a split second. 'Oh my... This could be interesting.'
Lee suddenly came out of nowhere and bumped into Elfman. "Huh? If you wanna fight me, face me like a man!" Elfman demanded as Lee picked himself off the floor.
"That is an honorable way of looking at things. Very well, I will accept your youthful challenge!" Lee said before the two went silent.
"...Youth?"
"...Men?"
They said and stared at each other for moment. Then, something clicked in their brains.
"Youthful men!" Lee and Elfman yelled out in unison with an arm slung around the others shoulder, a new friendship having been formed.
"The name's Elfman, what is your name new comrade?"
"I am Konoha's handsome devil, Rock Lee! Pleasure to have your acquaintance, Elfman-Kun!"
Naruto was laughing at their interactions when he felt a tug on his shoulder. "Hm? Oh, Hinata? What's up?"
"Um, Naruto-Kun? About that... a-accident you mentioned earlier. H-how did it happen?" Hinata asked nervously, and all the girls stared at the whiskered teen intensely. In fact, the whole guild hall went silent so they could hear him speak.
Growing uncomfortable from the sudden attention, Naruto put his hands up in defense. "I was just finishing the race, and I turn around and Lucy crashed into me out of nowhere. Our lips just happened to touch. It was an accident, I swear!" He rushed the last part when he noticed Sakura's face becoming red with anger.
When he wasn't beaten to a pulp, Naruto looked up and found the girl crossing her arms. "Well, if you say it was just an accident, then I'll believe you."
Sakura-Chan...!' Naruto beamed, she actually believed him and didn't beat the crap out of him! 'I Guess there really was a first to everything.' Naruto thought and let out a breath he had been holding. "Lucy's probably back at our apartment, I'll have to go and apologize to her later." He said and instantly regretted it.
Makarov's Office...
"YOU LIVE TOGETHER!?" The three men heard, followed by a not so manly scream and a series of light tremors.
"Such a lively bunch, those kids are." Makarov mused and took a swig from a drink he had brought with him from the bar. He felt he was gonna need it.
"Sorry..." Both Kakashi and Yamato both said at the same time, causing the guild master to chuckle.
"No need to apologize, you ninja seem to fit in here quite well if you ask me." After another drink, Makarov placed his empty mug down and became a little more serious. "Well then, I assume this is about that demon fox sealed inside the boy?"
When the two shinobi nodded, Makarov waved them off. "Feh, everyone in this guild already knows about it. It doesn't really matter."
The two blinked at the old man's dismissal. "The Kyuubi is a powerful demon with power that could level a town this size in a matter of minutes."
Makarov shook his head. "The boy is strong, he wouldn't let such a thing happen. But if such a time came, his family would stop him."
"Family?"
The old man nodded. "Here in Fairy Tail, we treat our members like family. Naturally, as the master of this guild, I treat each and every member like they are my own child."
Kakashi's eye widened, for a second he could have sworn he was listening to the third Hokage.
"But enough about that, I'm assuming you're all going to be staying here for a while. You're welcome to stay at the guild until you find a place to stay. We have a dormitory where some of the guild members stay, but it's for girls only..."
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Makarov-Dono." Kakashi was taken aback from the old man's generosity. If Naruto told Makarov anything about their world, he obviously knew what Konoha ninja did for a profession. To not only allow a group of highly trained assassins into his home, but offer them a place to stay without hesitation? It was bewildering to the jonin. "Actually, Makarov-Dono, there was another thing that we need to discuss before anything else."
Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Hm? What would that be?"
"There is a terrorist organization in the Elemental Nations called the Akatsuki. Their goal is to capture all nine tailed beasts, which means..."
"Naruto." Makarov finished with a frown, a look of sorrow adorning his old features.
Kakashi nodded and pulled out a book from his leg pouch. He then placed it onto the desk, and Makarov picked it up and began to look it over. "That there is the knowledge we have on the Akatsuki and its members."
"Make-out Tactics? Quite an odd name for a book that contains such crucial information..." Makarov mused as he flipped through some of the pages. 'Huh... Not bad...'
Kakashi blinked before realizing his mistake. "Oh, sorry about that. That's mine actually... Here, this is the journal I was actually talking about."
Yamato sweatdropped as his superior swapped books with Makarov. 'Senpai...'
The copy ninja put his most valuable possession away and cleared his throat. "Well then, I guess that's enough talking for now. But there are some things that I need to discuss with Naruto."
As the three adults walked down the stairs, Makarov used his magic to get to Kakashi's height so that he could whisper into the tall man's ear, much to their mild surprise. "If it's not too much to ask... I'd like to borrow that other book of yours later, if you don't mind."
"I don't see a problem, I'll lend it to you as soon as I'm finished with it. I just got to the best part of the book you see." Kakashi said and the two let out a couple perverted giggles, causing the wood style user to shake his head.
'Well those two seem to be getting along...'
Their giggling was short lived when they heard a shout and the sound of wood breaking. Makarov's jaw dropped to the floor as he witnessed the state of the bar hall. "My guild!" He sobbed as anime tears began to fall from his eyes.
'Guess she finally snapped...' Kakashi thought as he consoled his new friend. Though he had to wonder, why was everyone else in the building acting like nothing was wrong? There was a fight in the guild and they didn't seem to care. Just how lax were the people here?
Sakura chased Naruto around the place, destroying anything, or anyone, that got in her way.
"So while we were all worried sick about you back in Konoha, you're here playing around with that Juvia girl and some busty blond!?" Sakura yelled angrily as she lounged and tried to grab Naruto, who dodged and cringed as another table was obliterated in his stead.
"Wait Sakura-Chan! It's a misunderstanding!" Naruto pleaded as he continued to avoid the pink haired girl's clutches. 'She's really going to kill me this time!'
"Who are you calling some busty blond!?"
Sakura stopped chasing the fleeting Uzumaki and snapped her view towards the source of the voice. The girl that was with Naruto at the end of the race was standing at the guild's entrance.
"Ah..." Lucy muttered meekly as she now had the entire guild's attention.
'How peculiar... So fights must be a normal occurrence here. But as soon as something dramatic happens, all eyes are on that. What an odd bunch.' Kakashi mused to himself as Lucy walked over to the Konoha group.
"Um, I'm sorry I just ran off without saying anything earlier. I was just a little surprised is all..." Lucy said to them and bowed, stealing a quick glance at Naruto. "My name is Lucy, it's nice to finally meet you all! Naruto has told me so much about you all and how excited he was to see you... Um, is something wrong?" She asked nervously as the Sakura stared at her.
'This girl is... surprisingly normal.' Sakura thought as she stared at the now fidgeting mage. Compared to what she'd seen from the other people she'd met here, this Lucy person was polite, spoke normally, and didn't have an odd quirk that completely stood out.
Realizing that she was staring, Sakura shook her head and smiled. "Sorry about that, I'm Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you too Lucy."
As things finally returned to normal again, Naruto sighed in relief. He was glad Lucy was okay and Sakura wasn't trying to kill him anymore. He then looked around the state of the guild hall and sweat-dropped. 'I see Sakura-Chan hasn't changed...'
Kakashi was still trying to stop Makarov from crying. "I'm sorry about Sakura, she's got a bit of a short temper..."
Finally settling down a bit, the elder man pointed at the wood splinters on the ground while wiping his tear stained face. "Those were brand new tables too..." He sobbed as Yamato walked forward and placed his hands onto the floor. To Makarov's surprise, a new set of wooden chairs and a table sprouted from the ground and and replaced the broken ones. "Wha...!"
"I'm a wood style user..." The anbu captain said as he made another set of wooden furniture. "This is the least I can do for your generosity." He was surprised to find the guild master bubbling with joy.
"You lot can stay for as long as you want! Let's party!" The guild master gleefully yelled and the everyone cheered.
Later That Night...
Most of the guild members had left for the night, it really had been a long day. First the twenty-four-hour race, then the ninjas from Naruto's home world. Most of them were just about ready to pass out from all the excitement.
"Where are you guys going to be staying?" Naruto asked as he helped Mirajane clean the place up. "I'd offer to let you stay at our place, but it'd be kind of cramped..."
Kakashi shook his head. "No need to worry about us, we'll manage something." They had originally planned on having Yamato create a house for them via wood style, but the man had used so much chakra patching the guild and its furniture. Kakashi didn't want Naruto to worry about that and figured they would figure something out.
"I see... If you have nowhere to go for the night, I don't wouldn't mind if you stayed at my place for the night." Erza walked over to Tenten and grabbed the girl's arm, then proceeded to drag her out of the guild.
"Ah, okay then. See you guys tomorrow!" Tenten said, growing excited to see the knight's collection.
"Heh, I guess Erza took a liking to Tenten. It makes sense though, with them both liking weapons so much and all." Naruto said with a chuckle before turning back to the others. "So what about you guys?"
"I wouldn't mind taking Hinata and Sakura with me to our house, I'm sure Elfman wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch." Mirajane offered as she finished wiping one of the tables Yamato had made. "Though I don't think there is enough room for the rest of you. I'm sorry..."
"Of course I wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch, Nee-San. In fact, I'll sleep outside like a man!" Elfman declared and Lee buzzed with excitement.
"Your youthful decision has inspired me, Elfman-Kun! I too, shall sleep in the wilderness!"
"Like youthful men!" The two shouted and ran out the door.
"There's no need for you to go that far..." Mirajane tried, but the two boys were already gone. "I'm glad to see those two getting along so well, but I can't help but worry they're going to go overboard and catch a cold."
"Are they going to be okay?" Lucy asked worriedly. Sleeping outside was just...
"Yeah, Lee does this sort of thing all of the time. But we better make sure they at least have blankets." Sakura said and the three girls waved the rest goodnight before leaving.
Hinata wanted to talk with Naruto a little more, but it was too late now that they were leaving for the night. But it was okay, there was always tomorrow.
"Kakashi-Sensei, here." Naruto said and handed the silver haired man a scroll. "This should be enough money for you and Yamato-Taichou to find a place for the night."
"No no no, what kind of teacher would I be accepting money from his student." Kakashi said and tried to give the scroll back, but Naruto just smirked.
"What, you think I'm giving you the money for free?" He said and began to leave, waving a hand behind him as he walked. "Don't worry, you guys can each treat me to Ichiraku ramen when we find a way to get me home."
As the two men stared at the jinchuuriki in a mixture of surprise and amusement, Lucy frowned as Naruto's last few words floated around in her head. 'When you find a way home... huh?' She shook the thoughts out of her head and bid the two teachers goodnight before catching up with her partner.
"He's sure grown a lot since we've last seen him... huh Senpai?" Yamato said as they watched Naruto walk down the street.
Kakashi nodded, an almost sad look in his eye. "Yeah, he sure has..."
"Man, today was crazy! I can't believe they're finally here!" Naruto said as he and Lucy walked towards their apartment, holding his arms behind his head in a casual way.
"Yeah, I'm so tired I feel like I could just fall asleep right now." Lucy said as she stiffed a yawn, this had definitely been one of the longest days ever.
"Want me to carry you?" Naruto joked and laughed to himself before feeling Lucy press herself onto his back.
"Yes please..." She said tiredly and Naruto blushed from the sudden contact.
"O-okay."
Naruto carried Lucy piggyback style as they shared a couple moments of silence. "You feeling okay Lucy?" The flustered teen asked, his blush growing deeper when his passenger straightened herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just used up all of my magic during the race, then your friends showed up... It's just been a long day."
The shinobi hummed and they shared another moment of silence.
"Hey, about the race..." Naruto said, breaking the silence again. "I wanna apologize for what happened at the end."
Lucy didn't answer for a moment, and he guessed that maybe she had fallen asleep. That is until she let out a few laughs. "Why are you always like that? You always apologize, even if you're not the one at fault. Unless you're pranking someone that is."
Naruto laughed.
"...That was my first kiss you know, you better take responsibility." Lucy joked the last part as they got to the front of the apartment building. She could have sworn she felt him tense up a bit, but it quickly faded. "Naruto?"
"Hey, do you think you can make to the room? I just remembered I had something to do." Naruto suddenly asked and gently put her down.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Is something wrong?" She asked, hearing the slight urgency in his voice.
"Yeah everything's fine, I'll just be a few minutes." Naruto said casually and Lucy frowned.
"Well, okay then. I'll stay up till you get back." Whatever it was he was hiding, she'd make him tell her later.
"Okay." Naruto said and waited for his friend to be inside before jumping to the rooftops. "You can come out now, I know you're there."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a person jumped onto the top of the building just across from him. The person's appearance was covered by the shadows of the night.
Seeing as they weren't going to say anything, Naruto spoke first. "Who are you and what do you want with me?"
The clouds above them moved and the moonlight shined down on the top of the building the mysterious person was standing on, revealing their appearance.
He was a tall man, standing at about six-foot maybe six-foot one, and looked to be in his mid to late forties. He wore black traditional samurai armor that had metal plates on his chest, shoulders, and waist. He had medium length red hair that went just to his shoulders and a headband on his forehead with the same symbol as the swirl on Naruto's jacket. The man had two noticeable weapons on him. A sword, which was strapped to his belt on his right side like a samurai, and a rather large halberd on his back.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. That symbol was just like the one on his jacket, what did that mean? Was he from the Elemental Nations?
"My name is Gale, and I have been watching over you from the shadows." He said and the blond frowned.
"Watching me? For how long?"
"For a very long time." Gale answered and Naruto was about to ask another question when the strange man cut him off. "We have a lot to discuss, but not now. It is not safe."
"Not safe, what do you mean? Just who are you?" Naruto asked but was not answered and Gale peered past him. "He is watching us."
Naruto turned around and almost missed the tiniest of movements on one of the nearby buildings. It looked like a rat, but it had a creepy smiled on its face. It was almost like the creature he had seen when he was confronted by Ivan. "Wait, you mean Ivan is spying-" Naruto started but stopped mid-sentence, for the man was now gone. "Well that's just great..."
A/N: Spirit here coming in with a quick(ish) update! There really is a first for everything, isn't there? :p
The Konoha group is finally here! Let me know what you thought of the interactions!
I've always thought that if Elfman and Lee ever met, they'd get along pretty well. XD
I'm sure you're all probably wondering: "Who the heck is Gale!?" Well, Gale is an OC created by Lockdownoo who gave me permission to use his character in this story! You have my thanks for letting me add this interesting character to my story Lockdownoo! ^^
As always, if you have any questions/comments/concerns, review or P.M. me to let me know!
Okay, I'm done. I hope to see you all in the next chapter of The Fox Scroll!
Omake…
"Your teacher was a writer?" Lucy asked, looking back at her partner from her desk. She was currently working her 'secret project'. She and Naruto were hanging out in their apartment with Erza and Tenten, the latter wanting to see what their shared room looked like.
Naruto nodded and took out his late sensei's greatest piece of work, placing it on the small table he was sitting at with Erza and Tenten. No, not Icha Icha Paradise… But Jiraiya's first book: "Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja". "Yeah, this one is my favorite. Though it didn't sell as good as this crap…" He said, poking a copy of the infamous love novel distastefully.
"Calling your master's novel 'crap' is disrespectful, Naruto." Erza said, picking up the little green book and flipping through a couple of the pages.
"No, those books actually are crap Erza-San…" Tenten said with a wave of her hand. In all honesty, the Icha Icha Paradise series was an enemy to all women. Ninety-nine percent of the people who bought the books were men. But Tenten was surprised when Erza began to nod her head as she continued to read.
"Hm… This is actually not that bad. I assume they sold well?"
While Tenten fell out of her chair in surprise, Naruto chuckled at the red-head's reaction. "The books did so well I'm surprised they never made a movie out of them, ya know?"
Erza's eyes widened. '…Movie?'
Tenten snorted. "Probably because those scenes are impossible to act out."
"Nonsense! We shall act some of these scenes out to prove it!" Erza declared with a gleam in her eyes, causing Tenten to fall out of her chair once more.
Lucy sweatdropped. 'Erza's getting fired up… Is it because she wants to act again?'
"Is she always like this?" Tenten whispered to Naruto, who nodded while laughing awkwardly.
"It's best just to go along with her…"
As much as Tenten wanted to decline, her instincts were screaming at her not to in fear of angering the knight.
After few moments later, Naruto and Lucy stood on one side of the room while Erza and Tenten stood on the other side, each with a copy of the Icha Icha Paradise to read from.
Erza thrust a hand forward to initiate the scene and pointed a shaky finger at the two blondes in front her. "H-how could you betray m-me like this… Olivia!"
Lucy almost face-faulted. 'She has stage fright in front of just us!?' But she quickly recovered and began to read out her lines. "Because I'm the one who belongs with Chad! His heart already belongs to me!" She said while clutching onto Naruto's free arm. Despite it being an act, this was extremely embarrassing for Lucy. 'But telling Erza no while she's like this would be even worse!'
"Racheal gasped. Her best friend had just admitted to stealing her lover!" Tenten read out in a dramatic voice, and Erza acted out the scene with stiff movements. 'Why am I doing this…?'
"I'm sorryNaruto said before his eyes widened, he recognized this scene. 'Wait… This next scene is…!'
But before he could stop the scene, Lee burst into the room out of nowhere. "Naruto-Kun, my youthful rival! I challenge you to a spar-Pugh-!"
Rock Lee was immediately smashed in the face and launched out the way he came.
Tenten unconsciously backed away from the red-headed girl, dropping the book in her hands. 'S-she's just like Tsunade-Sama! Beautiful, yet overwhelmingly powerful!'
'Poor Lee-San…' Lucy thought, before she blushed and pulled away from Naruto when she realized she was still holding his arm so closely.
Naruto sighed, relieved that the scene was miraculously stopped by Lee. 'Sorry bushy-brows, but thanks-'
"Wah!"
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and both he and Tenten gawked when Lucy was hurled out the window.
Luckily the window had been left open, but Lucy flew out of the apartment and into the canal in front of the apartment with a splash.
"Luc-er… Olivia~!" Naruto shouted, before he began to sweat bullets when Erza began to walk towards him. 'Erza's taking this WAY too seriously!' He looked to Tenten for help, but the girl had gone out the window after Lucy to ensure the girl's safety.
Naruto took a step back and fell back into a chair. There was no escape.
"If words aren't enough to sway you…" Erza said in a low, sultry voice as she requiped into a night gown and straddled the blonde on the chair. "Then I'll have to use… other methods."
Naruto blushed furiously as Erza began to unzip his jacket, his mind racing in too many directions for him to say anything. 'W-w-w-what do I do!? Erza's gone crazy!'
Erza leaned forward, to the point where her lips were almost brushing against his ear. "Could you fall for me?"
'Guh!'
By the time Lucy and Tenten made it back up the room, they found Naruto slouching in the couch, his head steaming. While Erza was sitting at the table, casually sipping on some tea with her leg crossed over the other.
"I think that was a success, don't you think?" Erza said with a glint in her eyes.
"Naruto!? Are you okay?" Lucy said, rushing to her partner's side. But the teen was completely out of it.
"Sh-she's too powerful…!" Naruto said before passing out to a severe nosebleed.
Tenten looked at Naruto and Erza back and forth before settling her gaze on the S-Class mage in bewilderment. 'Erza-San… What did you do?' She began to flip through the book to find what the scene was, but found nothing that could have knocked out Naruto.
Unknown to the two girls, Naruto, creator of the Sexy Jutsu, had just been taken out by his own technique.