"Naruto" Normal Speech

'Zeref' People's thoughts

"Acnologia" Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other being's speech

'Kurama' Summons/Gods/Monsters/Other being's thoughts

"Rasengan" Techniques/Spells/Jutsus/Terms

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Fairy Tail or any other franchise in any source of way; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Hiro Mashima, Atlus and whoever else is getting actual money out of it.

Chapter 33

From Here On I Will

"Feeling better?" He recognized that taunting voice as immediately as he heard it. No, he knew that the guy was standing behind him from even before he spoke.

"A little bit…" He grunted out as ragged breaths left his mouth while electricity still danced around him in the form of small sparks.

He was far from actually being alright, but if he had to choose between how lost he felt before to just how utterly infuriated he was feeling right now he would most definitely pick the latter.

He turned around the scorched land that his magic had turned this particular part of the forest, his blue eyes meeting sick yellow as he saw his look-alike simply grinning at him with his arms crossed over his chest, with said look-alike then roaming the area with his eyes as he left a small whistle of appreciation.

"You sure did a number here" And Naruto couldn't help but to agree with him, after all everything in a small radius around the two was now nothing short of destroyed, and remains of what at one point had been trees and maybe a bit of the wildlife.

Not like he had intended to blow up everything, he just wasn't able to hold himself from doing it at this point.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not judging you" The Shadow said while raising his hands in a pacific posture "I definitely prefer seeing you angry like this than like a depressive brooder or something"

The mage wasn't able to contain the snort that left him at hearing that. He didn't know if getting so angry to the point that he wasn't able to control his magic was a good thing, but damn did it felt good.

His gaze then fell onto his hands in which what could only be described as ashes remained there. At one point it had been a scroll mind you, and just thinking of what he had read there was enough to make his blood burn once more.

"You know, the saddest part is that we're not even wondering if it was fake or not" The Shadow continued as he also looked at the burned remains "I guess that just shows how much we trust daddy dearest"

He had a point, the blonde had to admit. Itachi had just told him that he had found this thing in the Hokage's office, meaning that it had been under Minato's possession, but as soon as he had read what was inside of it he had just accepted everything as the truth.

He probably should be wondering if it wasn't a trick of Itachi, or even Zeref, but the thing was that he just wouldn't be surprised if it was actually the truth.

It would make sense too. Minato was probably using his family to get into his good grace before actually dropping the bomb on him. Heck it even explained why he was put in the Academy, or to be more precise in the same class as that Hyuga girl.

"So… Assuming that it is true…" The Shadow spoke once more "What are you going to do about it?"

That was the key question, wasn't it?

"You'll have to be more specific…" The blonde responded back with a scowl, knowing that the question could easily refer to more than one thing.

"Oh don't worry; I'm sure one answer can be used for everything" The golden-eyed being easily responded with a smirk.

The question ringed in his mind once more. What was he to do from now on? Wasn't that what he should have been thinking every since Zeref left? And yet he had been to busy drowning on everything he had learned the past week.

Good to know it only took turning all of that into blistering anger to get his head to work better than before, or at least to actually just work.

He closed his eyes as he did his best to think of that question, and even if his Shadow didn't just decide to appear he knew it would be something that would have taken over his thoughts unless he decided properly.

He breathed deeply as he did his best to make his mind clear, after all he would need that much if he wanted to answer such a question. The smell of burned remains stuck deep on his nostrils but it did little to distract him.

What did he want to do?

And a part of him thought that the answer to that would be harder to find out, but as soon as it had passed through his head the words that Zeref had told him also overlapped.

For what was he fighting for?

Was it for Konoha? No, he just couldn't say that at this point he was willing to give his life for this village. He had become a Shinobi and fought for it simply because he knew no better, because he had just decided to go with the motions in a vain attempt to prove the village wrong, but even after all of that he still couldn't say that his loyalty was inside the walls of Konohagakure.

For Zeref? How could he just fight for that man? He knew that doing it so was just going back to how things were before where he was on the blind about everything and simply accepted whatever Zeref threw on his way.

He couldn't do that anymore, there was just no way he could trust the dark mage like he had done so before, not after everything he had learned.

Then what remained? The Gods? Those that apparently only thought of people like him as toys to use during their struggles? Just the thought of being so powerless that they could control your life before you were even born was enough to both scare and anger him.

No one should have that power. It was simply too much if they really could mess with everything they wanted, and yet one of them now wanted for him to fight a damn war against another one?

But the worst thing was how he just didn't have a choice on the matter. What else was he supposed to do after all? Just ignore the fact that the whole world was apparently a battle zone among supernatural beings? He didn't have any intentions of just dying, and for that he would have to fight whether he liked it or not. He had no other choice if he wanted to survive, that much he understood by now.

But maybe that was the problem in the first place, the fact that this whole mess was brought upon not only him but onto everyone and they just could do nothing but accept it. He hated it; he hated how powerless he was in front of things, of just how out of control he was of his very own existence.

And it was only once that thought swarmed his mind that he finally understood what he wanted to do, for what he wanted to fight and live and the reason he just couldn't follow Konoha, Zeref or a God.

Because if he did he would be nothing but their slaves, nothing but their pawn or toy and he was just sick of being that. He wanted more; he wanted to be able to decide for himself and knowing that it was his decision and not just the whims of others.

What he wanted was control of himself. Control of his life and what he did with it.

What he wanted was freedom.

And what he desired was the strength to obtain that freedom.

From Konoha, from Zeref, from the Gods and whoever they sent in his way he would find a way to get rid of the hold they believed they had on him, even if it took his entire life.

"Heh, that's a good answer!" He opened his eyes as soon as he heard his Shadow talk once more, his blue eyes shining with resolution as they matched the golden stare of the white-themed being "We'll finally do something besides kissing the ground Zeref walks on" He honestly didn't know how to feel about the proud stare he was receiving from those yellow eyes "So my dear, less cooler version of myself, what are we doing first?"

"We're leaving this village" The dragon slayer said with conviction, earning an exited nod and smile from the Shadow "And going with Zeref"

And just like that the smile was gone from the look-alike's face, instead replaced by a frown and a look that told Naruto just how stupid he was for saying such a thing.

"We need to do this" He said before the Shadow even got time to complain "Zeref knows more about this situation than we do, and if we want to become stronger he's the quickest way for that"

The decision sounded impulsive and even he himself recognized that as soon as the words left his mouth, but the fact remained that time just wasn't on his side.

He simply had no time to lose doubting like he had done so before.

The Shadow still looked less than convinced but after a few seconds of their gazed locked he ended up just clicking his tongue and growling.

"Fine, but I better see us dead on the ground before going back to following Zeref like a sick puppy" Those were the last words that the Shadow said before simply disappearing without even a sound, to the point that Naruto had to question if he had imagined the whole thing or not.

Those were questions for later though, after all he now had things to plan and think if he wanted this to actually work.

He felt a presence behind him soon after, which made him turn around to once again lock gaze with Itachi, who was simply looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"It seems you've found your answer" The ANBU said as he easily recognized the glint in the blonde's eyes.

"I guess I did" The mage responded while turning around to properly face the Uchiha "What about you though?"

The slight move of the head of the older man told Naruto that he would have to be more specific if he was to get an answer for him.

"Why are you following Zeref?" He asked without missing a beat, wanting to understand just what did the dark mage had on someone like Itachi to earn his loyalty.

It had to be something big if he really spied on the village for Zeref, and as far as he knew no one should know about the Gods besides Zeref, him and Zancrow so that certainly couldn't be it.

And it looked like the Uchiha wouldn't answer at first with the way he simply stood there, looking down at Naruto for what felt like an eternity almost as if trying to find something inside those pair of blue eyes.

And going by what he said next he seemingly found it.

"I have something that I wish to protect" That was the ANBU's simple answer which easily caught the mage by surprise "For that I needed strength, I needed an ally, someone that could prepare me for what was to come after he showed me what the future held. I needed Zeref"

The man then turned around almost as if he was finished with this conversation, but there was one more question that Naruto had to ask him.

"Was it worth it?" He asked softly, making the Uchiha stop in his tracks before he turned his head slightly.

And for just that on moment an image made itself present on the Uchiha's mind, one that almost had him smiling softly. His answer would always be the same to that question.

"I have never regretted it" Even if he had to side with the devil himself he would gladly do so in a heartbeat for the future that he yearned.

No more words were said between the duo as they went their separate ways, with the blonde not even having to ask the Uchiha if what was in that scroll was true or not, or Itachi telling him that it was only a copy of the original that was still inside the Hokage's office.

They both knew what they had to do, and mere words would do nothing to stop them at that one moment.

NoCNoCNoCNoCNoCNoCNoC

It was mere hours later that he woke up slowly on his bed, his eyes opening begrudgingly as he felt a small weight on his chest which he knew was from the black book that he had studied almost religiously as soon as he had gotten back to his apartment.

It had taken a while before he could actually read the thing without trembling in anger but he knew that being upset at a book of all things would do little to help him, especially when said object had key information that he needed.

He raised his body, making the book fall into his lap. He then shook his head before picking the object and opening it right at the page he had left it yesterday.

This page was different from the rest though, because although each other page was written in with Zeref's handwrite, this one had entirely his own letters marked on it, or rather one big number on it.

The fact that he felt slightly better after writing such a thing on the book might be a bit petty on his mind, but once again it definitely beat fearing an inanimate object of all things.

It was only a date mind you, or to be more precise the day that he would be leaving the village if he was to go with Zeref. Even if following the man left more than a sour taste in his mouth he still understood that if he wanted to be able to do anything he would have to go with him, not only in matters related to everything that was happening behind his back but also when it came to actually becoming stronger.

After all yesterday had worked as another confirmation that we was actually stronger than Mito and Menma, and with that he simply couldn't deny Zeref's training over the one available in Konoha. That and the dark mage was his only way of actually growing when it came to magic.

Lesser of two evils he guessed, and at least Zeref wasn't marrying him off to the first one that asked so he at least had that going on for him.

He stood up and went straight to the bathroom with the objective of getting himself ready for the day. What had happened yesterday didn't really alter his daily routine after all, since right now if he wanted any chance of actually leaving the village he knew he had to play it nicely.

Act as the perfect little Shinobi for Minato, that was his best bet for now. The last thing he needed was anyone getting suspicious after all.

He had barely slept yesterday thinking about what to do from today on, but the first thing he had accepted was that, as far as anyone in this village was concerned, he was a loyal Konoha nin that would gladly die for his village.

A snort left him at that thought. It would be hard getting free time with everything that he had to do daily but he knew he would be able to manage. His first mission was to try and convince his leader that he didn't need therapy. It was probably the only thing he would be able to get rid off if he played his cards right, that much he knew.

It was after a small shower that he was more than ready to go on with his day. He still had a little bit more than three weeks to plan everything. He knew that there was no turning back for him, and that the moment he decided to put a foot outside of the village he would be branded as a traitor and promptly hunted.

But this was the decision that he had made and leaving this place was only a stepping stone for him. It wouldn't be easy but he refused to just do nothing from now own.

He would fight.

With everything done he checked himself on the mirror of the bathroom one last time. His outfit was the same as always, mostly because of his lack of different clothes so in theory he should just be looking at the same reflection he saw every morning.

Even his headband was firmly wrapped around his forehead, and while he had never really felt that proud about it, it now just made him remember that his days inside here were counted for.

And yet his expression turned into one of surprise once he saw his hair. He remember that the tips of it had turned black a long time ago, but when had that black extended to the point that he wasn't sure if his hair was now more blonde or black?

A sigh left his lips at seeing that. Great, it was another excuse he would have to give once someone asked, and knowing his luck it would be Natsumi in front of the rest of her family. Heck he could even imagine Inoichi asking him why he had decided to die his hair even more.

'Good way to start the day' He thought as he simply decided to go with it since there wasn't really a point in complaining, and dyeing it back to yellow would just be worse in his opinion.

He grabbed the book from his bed and put it on his pocket now refusing to leave the small object alone. It had too many secrets after all, and more that he would be adding in the near future. He also needed to learn everything there was inside of it by memory. Information was power as they say, and when you were trying to somehow survive a war between the supernatural you had to use everything at your disposal.

He could only describe the information inside as a curse, one that he would gladly use to the best of his abilities.

Then again if someone were to actually find the thing they would probably think everything that was written there were the ramblings of someone that had gone insane. He knew he would if Zeref himself hadn't given it to him personally.

And it was with fire in his eyes that Naruto opened the door of the apartment, counting the days that he had left inside the village and knowing that by now nothing could sway him to not go with his plan.

Zeref had asked him for a resolution after all, and it was only now that he could proudly respond the man back.

But it was as soon as that door was opened that one small factor that the blonde hadn't taken into consideration finally made itself present in his life once more.

He stopped dead on his tracks as he gave an incredulous stare to the person standing in front of him. He knew he hadn't been on his best yesterday, but how in the devil's name had he managed to forget about her.

What the hell was wrong with him?!

That was the only thing that went through his mind as his dark blue eyes met a pair of black ones very similar to those of the Uchiha that he had seen yesterday, only that instead of impassive calmness these ones were filled with impatient angriness.

Then again said angriness then became surprise not even a couple of seconds later, and she definitely made the reason for that quite obvious.

"What the hell happened to your hair?!"

Yep, Uchiha Sasuki was back and he could tell that she was not happy.

NoCNoCNoCNoCNoCNoCNoC

Oh a short one, and to be honest I could have probably just glued this segment to the previous chapter but I just thought 10k was enough for one. That and I'm just very picky as to where I end my chapters for some reason.

And I just know that this chapter is going to make people leave. I know Naruto deciding to leave is as cliché as it can get and that a lot will probably not like and I completely understand that but I don't want to just not do something because it is considered cliché. I assure you it won't end in a 1v1 on the Valley of The End though.

Of course I didn't forget about Sasuki, but Naruto did and next chapter is all about that. With this one Naruto's resolution is set, but can he maintain his posture now that he has Sasuki back? That's for next chapter (and yes my favorite part of writing this fic is the moments between those two sue me)

Can't say when next update will be but let's hope it won't be next year.

Thank you all for supporting this story and for reading this mess up to this point. You guys are keeping this thing living after all.

Also I was really sick while checking on this chapter so it probably butchers the language even more than usual. Sorry for that

Next Chapters: Wavering Heart.