Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Fairy Tail and any other anime or manga that appears in each and every one of my works.

Chapter 8: The Aftermath

The trip back to Everlue Mansion was quiet. The three Fairy Tail mages were all silent, each lost in their own thoughts in the aftermath of Naruto's revelation. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

Elfman was back in his human form, seemingly fine but still willing to seek medical assurance before heading back to the Guild. His clothes were ripped and littered with blood, dust as well as a bit of foliage. He and Mirajane had drifted away from their blond companion, who was ahead of them by a few feet, trying to sort out their thoughts. Elfman's eyes strayed over to Naruto's back, questions burning in his mind. 'Such a frightening magic…however, it could help in my own ambitions.' He tightly clenched his fists as he recalled the strength of the beast's instincts that brief moment he had lost control.

The creature, even when unconscious and Taken-Over by Elfman, had been a force to be reckoned with. Had Naruto not suppressed it's consciousness at the time he did...Elfman shuddered to imagine the outcome. 'If Naruto could help me control my magic, this wouldn't happen again. I refuse to be weak…I have to get stronger,' His clear blue eyes hardened with immense determination and resolve, 'In order to protect my sisters.'

Mirajane was also deep in thought; she was recalling the first time she met Naruto. That dragon had been ready to attack anything and everything in its sight, yet the minute Naruto lay his eyes on its, it became as frightening as a statue. 'So that was how he subdued it,' she realized. She wasn't as well versed in the different types of magic in the world as the Master or Erza, but she could recall a kind of Eye Magic that allowed one to project images into the minds of others. Naruto's own, something he admitted was largely unknown to him, was just as deadly as Master's Light Magic. 'If it's so dangerous, yet still in its infant stages,' her eyes narrowed as a thought took shape, 'his magic could be a 'Lost Magic' like Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic.'

Ahead of them, Naruto continued to make his way towards the Mansion to receive the payment for the job request. Revealing the Sharingan to Elfman and Mirajane was a gamble, but he had managed to impress the importance of its secrecy to them. He hadn't told them everything about it; the only things he mentioned were its ability to predict moves, cast illusions and copy attacks-the general abilities each Sharingan user had at their disposal when in the two tomoe stage. Thankfully, he could use Kamui using his normal Sharingan, something that Obito had managed to do in his former life, since he had no intention of revealing any secrets pertaining to the evolved stages of his Dojutsu.

His eyes snapped to attention as Everlue Mansion loomed in the distance. 'Let's see…there was a note about being paid for the number of monsters we put down.' He cocked his head in thought. 'I definitely killed eight Gorians in the forest, another two Lizardmen before Mirajane appeared and…that's about it, I guess. So that means I should be paid two million, two hundred thousand jewels. Not bad for my first job request.'

Approaching the gates, Naruto's good mood at the prospect of earning his money increased when he saw Duke Everlue's profile through a window. 'That guy must be seriously loaded to afford all that! Now I'm definitely gonna steal everything of value he has; even better, I get to kill him without anyone having leads towards me!' Let it not be said that Naruto didn't find the use of the Rinnegan extremely satisfying.

With a new spring in his step, Naruto headed through the gates of the mansion and continued through it until he reached the library. He paused, waiting for his teammates to catch-up to him before entering. They were only a minute behind him, giving him enough time for Naruto to create a Kage Bunshin and transform it into a spider. The clone's Rinnegan eyes connected its eyes with Naruto's and it quickly crawled under the door and across the carpet, getting into a good position to kill Everlue without any problems.

Footsteps made their way towards Naruto and he gave the siblings an amused look. "What took you guys so long? Weren't you the one who complained about me being late?"

Mirajane frowned. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. When I'm back to 100%, I'll make you pay for that remark." However, both she and Naruto knew she wasn't going to do anything to him. It was more of a reflex than anything; from what he had observed of her, Mira had a reputation she wanted to uphold and from the whispers he had heard the Guild members make earlier in the day, it was one heck of a reputation.

He shrugged and twisted the door handle. "Whatever."

Entering the library, the group got right in Everlue's face. He was still seated in that comfortable looking sofa of his and was reading a large book with a picture of an incredibly ugly woman as the cover. If that wasn't bad enough, the woman was nude.

Sweat-drops formed on each of them as Everlue let out a perverted chuckle. 'The fuck?'

Coughing loudly, Naruto clicked his tongue as Everlue finally noticed he wasn't alone. He quickly hid his book and gave them a look. "Yes? I suppose you're here to admit your failure to deal with them. That doesn't surprise me, Fairy Tail was said to be the most unreliable Guild in Magnolia."

Mirajane and Elfman bristled while Naruto just tuned him out. The guy wasn't going to live for much longer, so why allow himself to be baited by his words? "Actually, we've dealt with them and ready to receive our pay. Since you added that each monster was worth twenty-two hundred thousand jewels, my bill will be two million, two hundred thousand jewels. Elfman," he gestured towards the tall white-haired boy, "He took down seven monsters, so his pay should be one million, five hundred and forty hundred thousand jewels. Mirajane…"

He paused and turned to face her. "How many did you take care of?"

She shrugged. "About two dozen or so."

Naruto nodded and turned back to the rapidly paling Duke. "Yeah, so you have to pay her five million, two hundred and eighty hundred thousand jewels. That is, if you actually have that amount of money." He finished. "After all, if you don't pay us, people are gonna start gossiping about the richest man in the town not having enough money to pay for the incentive he placed in his own job request. Mages won't accept your requests because you would be known as someone who didn't give a crap about settling his dues…but hey, no pressure."

Everlue felt like slamming his head into a wall. Why had he put that notice inside his request again?

-Shirotsume Town-

The trio walked away from Everlue Mansion with their pockets considerably heavier. Elfman had gotten a change of clothes; he now wore a large striped shirt, which had alternating colours, and an exact copy of his pants along with brand new sandals. The group stepped into the Shirotsume station and booked a train to Magnolia.

When he felt they were a suitable distance away from the Mansion, Naruto's clone crept towards Everlue. The bastard was asleep at the moment, with his bodyguards on their lunch break and his servants away in town. The clone dispelled the transformation and quickly activated his Rinnegan. Grabbing the man's dangling arm, the clone pulled Duke Everlue's soul using the abilities of the Human Path. Assimilating the soul took a while, but the clone was able to successfully extract all information regarding his riches and merchandise. Unfortunately, he would have to pose as Everlue for a while before he 'died' of natural causes.

Transforming into Everlue, Naruto's clone let out a perverted chuckle as thoughts of the Duke's more…normal maids being under his control appeared.

Hey, it wasn't like the boss would mind…

-Magnolia-

Naruto sighed dramatically as he and Mirajane walked through the streets of Magnolia. Elfman had been admitted into a magical hospital, i.e. a hospital specially designed to treat mages. They still needed the go-ahead from the doctors if Elfman was going to be alright; after all, they weren't even sure what a Demon Lacrima was in the first place. Naruto had his own suspicions of what the Demon Lacrima could do; it was similar to the Curse Seal Orochimaru slapped unto his desired vassal in the sense that it gave the user a boost in strength and a darker shade to their energy. Anything else was nothing more than bits of ideas that were more than likely wrong. 'Makarov might know about this Demon Lacrima…it would be best to know more about it now than later.' His eyes narrowed imperceptibly as he recalled Naraku's smirking visage. 'I'll also need to find more information on that guy. Someone with such a reputation can't be underestimated.'

Mirajane bumped Naruto's side using her hip. "Don't act like such a drama queen. You should be proud of yourself; most newbies don't ever get over two million jewels on their first few jobs."

"Well, I still haven't found a place to stay for Setsuna and I so excuse me for being a little dramatic." He dryly said. Avoiding Mirajane's half-hearted swipe, he grabbed her and made a twirl with his hands kept firmly on her waist.

The blush that lighted her face instigated a bout of merry chuckles from him. Mirajane swatted his arm, which was looped around her shoulders, and shot him a look. "What was that for?"

"What? I can't tease my new friend like that?"

"No, you can't."

"Bummer." Mirajane shook her head at his antics, ignoring the fact that she was smiling. 'I haven't been this comfortable with any guy I know…' Thinking back to her male friends, the one she was closest to would probably be Laxus and even he had his moments of stupidity. From what she had seen, Naruto was much more laid-back and fun than Laxus, but could also get serious when the situation called for it. 'Naruto's not a bad guy to hang out with. Maybe I'll go on another request with him.' She thought.

"Say, Naruto," He lazily shifted his eyes to her, the only indication that he was paying attention. There was something in her voice, a hidden emotion that piqued his interest. Mirajane was loud, rude, condescending, and usually expressive regarding what she had to say…so what could possibly make her sound so quiet? "Would you…I mean…I just wanted to say…" She took in a deep breath and grabbed him into a hug.

Now that wasn't enough to surprise Naruto, but he was pretty difficult to surprise. "Any reason why I'm being rewarded?" His voice was low and questioning as his hands reciprocated her action.

Mirajane lightly slapped his arm even as she felt her face heat up. "B-Baka. I'm just thanking you-you know, for helping Elfman back there." She murmured out, still leaning into his embrace. She could see quite a number of civilian folk going wide-eyed at her situation but she was too content to make a scene. 'They must know about me…if I didn't know any better, I would say they look like we were being naughty in public.'

For his part, Naruto was able to keep his cool when the topic of Elfman came up. True, he was feeling some guilt at how he allowed Elfman's condition to happen, but he had committed even worse acts to the extent that Elfman's plight would be seen as something insignificant. Before he met Setsuna, it had been a habit of his to practice his espionage and manipulation skills on various people; daimyos, simple merchants, the remaining samurai in Tetsu no Kuni, the other minor Hidden Villages and many others had their lives worsened or brighter because of his actions towards them. Having a large amount of Obito's personality, it wasn't hard for him to gain an obsession with collecting various powerful items.

The brains and chakra of the Five Kage-he had taken them as soon as he was able to get a handle on his his new body. The 'Rikudō Sennin no Hōgu (Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths) from Kumo were also stolen by him. The Forbidden Scroll of Konoha, the Raijin no Ken, the Dragon summoning scroll of Uzushiogakure…the list went on. "Yeah, I'm glad I could help…but we need to get stronger. This mission just showed me how lucky we were against that guy…if something like that happens again, we might not make it out alive." He softly spoke, slowly rubbing circles on Mira's back. It was something he had developed when Setsuna came into his life. "Right now, though, we should enjoy ourselves for surviving. Then, we train until we're strong enough to protect our precious people."

"Precious…people?" Mirajane asked, drawing back to look at Naruto in the face.

Naruto nodded. "It's something a friend taught me before he died." An understanding light appeared in Mirajane's eyes and Naruto continued. "He believed that when a person has something important they want to protect, that's when they become truly strong."

Mirajane immediately thought of her siblings as she took in his words. Other images began to form behind them; Makarov, Cana, Laxus, Macao, Natsu, Wakaba, Gray, even Erza was amongst her list. "Do you have a precious person?"

"Once. She died a few years ago." No more was said as they withdrew from their embrace, thought Naruto still had his arm around Mirajane's shoulders.

The gates of Fairy Tail came into view, a welcome sight for both mages (well, mage and shinobi) and Mirajane slid out of Naruto's hold. "Come on. Lisanna must be pretty worried about us and I'm sure that redhead bitch is back." She mock-snarled.

A raised brow was all she received. "Just why do you hate each other so much? Whenever you two meet, it's like you're on opposite sides of a war." A thought struck him. "Are you guys in-denial lesbians?"

To see Mirajane stumble in surprise was something that Naruto would come to appreciate. She caught her footing and whirled around with a horror-struck face. "Wh-What the fuck are you talking about?! I'm straight, damnit!" She raised her fist at him, scowling heavily at the insinuation that she and Erza were into each other. 'Even if I was, there's no way I'd go after that hussy even if I was paid to do so!'

Naruto raised his hands in surrender. "It was just a thought, no need to bite my head off." He muttered as they entered the Guild.

-Makarov's Office-

Makarov was happy. The more troublesome members (Cough…Gray…Cough…Natsu) were away on a job request, meaning the Guild was much quieter than it normally was. The Magic Council hadn't bothered him ever since he handed in his report and his beer sponsor had been kind enough to even give them twice as much beer as they ordered! Laxus was still in his attitude phase though, the only thing that marred his day. 'Well, that and Naruto's earlier stunt.' He admitted. No matter how many times he remembered it, he still found it a mouthful to digest.

'It's hard to believe that the day isn't over just yet…' Makarov was shaken out of his thinking by the raps on his door. Grumbling incoherently, he gave himself a one-over before shouting. "Come in, its open!"

Naruto entered the office just as a shriek sounded off in the Guild Bar. He paid no attention to it whilst Makarov groaned and slapped his palm unto his face. "Of all the times, why now? It was so nice and peaceful without those two fighting."

"I take it that they've been like this since they met?" Naruto asked as he settled into the seat opposite Makarov.

Makarov frowned as he picked himself up. "Unfortunately. I wonder if they ran afoul of each other before they ended up here; that would certainly explain their complicated relationship."

"Well, I'm not here to talk about Erza-san and Mira-chan's rivalry." He leaned forward to peer into Makarov's eyes. "Something happened during our job request that left me worried. Tell me, what do you know of Naraku and the Devil Lacrima?"

Makarov whitened. "You run into Naraku? And you're still alive? Remarkable." He blew 0ut harshly as he gripped his hands. "Were you in any danger?" His voice was controlled, but Naruto could detect the worry and concern for his children in it. Then again, Naruto had inadvertedly made his fears more justified. After all, he had depicted himself as a seasoned Chunin during their first talk.

"Elfman had a shard of the Demon Lacrima embedded within him, but Samehada managed to consume all the tainted magic before it could seriously affect him. Unfortunately, his Take-Over magic might be even more difficult to control." Naruto stated.

Makarov closed his eyes. "Elfman must have been hit pretty badly by that news. Spending so much time trying to catch-up to his sisters only to have his hard work destroyed in an instant…it makes my heart ache in sympathy."

Naruto scratched his cheek as he mentally reviewed all he wanted to say. "I didn't say that my analysis was accurate. I may have made a mistake in my diagnostics. Regardless, I was wondering if Elfman's problem was more to do with him than the difficulty of the Take-Over spell." Naruto made a hand-sign and Makarov's wooden desk began to strain, as though something was trying to come out of it.

Makarov literally tumbled over in shock as a branch quickly grew out from his desk. Wood Make Magic was something he had seen in his life, so he wasn't surprised at what just happened. What did shock him, was the calming feel the wooden construction gave off. It felt so nice and peaceful that he even took an unconscious step forward to get closer to the branch.

"I see that you've felt the effects of my 'Mokuton (Wood Release)'." Naruto's voice broke the spell that Makarov found himself under and drew his attention. "I was planning on helping Elfman train his Take-Over by acting as a control in case he loses himself to the spell." With a quick pulse of chakra, the branch disintegrated just as quickly as it was created. "But first, please enlighten me on the Demon Lacrima Naraku made mention of."

Makarov nodded, idly stroking his beard. "Alright. I'll tell you about that cursed item. Physically, it is a sphere that appears to be made of some crystalline material that changes colour according to the wishes of those that use it. Much of the Demon Lacrima's origins are shrouded in mystery; I can only warn you of its abilities." He warned.

Naruto shrugged. "I didn't expect anything more than that. Still, any knowledge is worth more than gold at the moment."

"Anyway, the Demon Lacrima has the power to grant immense power unto whoever wields it. Even a shard of it is enough to boost a being's power twofold. With enough shards, even the weakest mage would have more than enough power to use Lost Magic without the issue of any health risks. Not only is it capable of giving power, but it can also bestow one wish to whoever manages to find it." His eyes locked unto Naruto's. "If Naraku is searching for the pieces of the Demon Lacrima, then we must make preparations. Naraku is a very deadly enemy, Naruto; even my former master was unable to emerge victorious in their bouts."

Naruto nodded and stood up. Turning towards the door, he gave a small wave. "I'd like to spend more time talking, but I still need to find a place for Setsuna and I to sleep. I'll talk to you later, Jii-san."

-Magnolia-

Setsuna and Naruto followed the short and stout man that had claimed to own one of the best, if not the best, apartment in Magnolia. The journey took about five minutes from the Guild and was located in the heart of the town, allowing easy access to and from the Guild as well as the various stores of Magnolia.

As soon as the man finished showing them around, Naruto cast a Genjutsu to make him think they had paid the initial payment as well as that for the next three months. Making sure that the man was long gone, Naruto turned to Setsuna. "Why don't we rest today and work on what needs to be done to the apartment tomorrow?"

She nodded minutely. "Hai. It would be best for us to rest while we still can."

Naruto nodded as well. "Before that," he made the seals for the Summoning Jutsu and slammed his hands on the floor. A large cloud of smoke appeared as Naruto stood tall once again. "I need to start setting up a new spy system in this world. Thankfully, we have the best person for the job." He smiled as the smoke disappeared, revealing Naruto's Human Path.

"It's been a while…Ero Sennin."

A/N: Ugh…I'm pretty tired, so I'll make this quick. The Demon Lacrima is something I'm still fine-tuning, mainly its background. Any ideas you feel will be necessary are always appreciated. I know I said Saiyan Vizard would be updated, but I guess even I can't tell what I'm going to do next. Unfortunately, school is starting again…so please pray for me/ wish me luck.

Next chapter will be the last of the pre-canon arc. It's gonna be pretty good: Naruto's S-Class Trial and the first clash between Laxus and Naruto. (I've been reading Bleach fervently recently, so please don'tbe mad is I make Naruto seem Aizen-like. That guy is the King of Trolls!)

I'm not revealing his Paths like I usually would. I'm offering you guys to suggest who the other four should be. For now, Mei is the Animal Path and Jiraiya is the Human Path. Next chapter should reveal insight on how Naruto managed to find Jiraiya when Kabuto couldn't.

P.S. Can somebody direct me to where I can find any Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai (So I can't play H?) fanfiction? I just finished watching the anime and an idea is stirring in my head. Thanks.

Ja Ne

MaelstromBankai.