Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Fairy Tail or any other anime/manga that appears in this fanfic I'm working on. Trust me, if I owned them, I wouldn't be written these damn IGCSEs.

Chapter 10: S-Class Exams!

Naruto hummed to himself as he made his way back towards the Guild, cradling an unconscious Erza Scarlet within his arms. He was carrying her bridal style, her head rested against his biceps and supported by his right hand whilst his left arm wrapped themselves securely underneath her legs, allowing them to sway with every move he made. The young redhead was breathing evenly, a bit of drool escaping from her parted lips and running down her jaw line, and was pressed firmly against his body.

Beside him, watching Erza in his arms with an odd expression of amusement, surprise and evilness was Cana, his new friend. The brunette was walking by his left side, content to travel in silence but occasionally letting out a giggle or two. She was amused with the situation; not only did her newest friend beat Natsu, who was an extremely stubborn and relentless fighter, but he also beat the 'Disciplinarian of Fairy Tail'. If that wasn't impressive enough, he beat her alongside the 'Demon' Mirajane. Rather easily too, if she was honest with herself. While she hadn't managed to see everything that occurred in the fight, she had seen enough to realize that Naruto wasn't fighting as hard as he could have. She didn't know why he would choose to do that (boys always loved to show off) but she wasn't about to go poking her nose into other people's businesses.

She was also surprised at how peaceful Erza looked in her sleeping state. Each time she had seen Erza, the girl had an aura that warned others to be on their best behavior. She rarely smiled; sure she smirked a lot, especially on the rare occasions she beat Mirajane, but she never gave a true smile. Ever since she joined Fairy Tail, the only expression Cana had seen on Erza's face were anger, indifference, smugness, disapproval and that slightly teasing glint most girls had at that age. It was a pleasant change from the armored girl, though Cana did ponder why Erza seemed so comfortable in Naruto's arms.

She heard a slight growl reverberate towards her right and hid the smile that wanted to make its appearance by pretending to cough. Walking with them was Mirajane, who was in an understandably bad mood. Not only had she lost against Naruto, but her rival was the one who got to be carried by him. He hadn't even used those eyes of his to beat both of them; he had simply engaged the unknown variable(Erza, or, in Mira's words, the redhead whore) in the equation, gleaned some information from her whilst fending the known variable(Her) before dealing with them like they were little children.

Looking at the redhead once more, Mirajane grimaced. 'The reason we lost was because we didn't take him on as a team…I let Erza do most of the fighting and struck only when an opportunity presented itself. Naruto has a greater knowledge about my skills than hers, so I guess it's only natural that he would attack her first.' She eyed the blond out of the corner of her eyes as he started a conversation with Cana. 'Still, that bitch should've something a little different…' she grumbled.

Flashback:

"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; though Naruto still had his arm around Mirajane's shoulders.

Flashback End

The memory that played in her mind was sudden and not entirely welcome. The prospect of lowering herself to ask Erza to work together was mollified by her newfound desire to get stronger to protect her family. After all, years of constant fighting couldn't possibly be stopped after just one spar, no matter how much of an eye-opener it was. Mira bit her lip in frustration. She would have to think upon it later in the day.

Mirajane continued to let her thoughts drift; Elfman would be discharged from the hospital in the afternoon, probably around three o'clock. That meant she had a little over eight hours to go on a quick request, buy a few groceries and whip up Elfman's favorite meal as a special 'welcome home' gift. 'I hope nothing was wrong with him…Lisanna could barely sleep, with all her worrying. Any more bad news and she might lose it.' A gentle tap derailed her thoughts and she blinked.

She found herself standing in front of the Guild, Naruto looking at her with amusement dancing in his crimson eyes. "Jewel for your thoughts?"

She shook her head, her mind still going over what she could do to surprise her little brother. "It's nothing, really. Elfman is getting discharged and I want to throw him a surprise party, or something along those lines."

Naruto perked up at the news. "That's great; I wanted to ask him something so do you mind if I tag along?"

Cana, having heard enough of the conversation to find her interest peaked, joined the conversation. "What exactly are you two talking about?" She asked as she held open the door for Naruto to enter. Muttering a quick thanks, the blond slipped past with his unconscious passenger and began heading towards the Guild infirmary.

"I'll tell you later, Cana. I've gotta make sure Benihime-chan gets a good rest." He called out, navigating his way through the crowd that had gathered at his appearance. He hardly paid attention to their words, opting to run through what he was going to train the Strauss siblings in.

During his walk, he had been going over what he had seen of Mirajane's skills and came to the conclusion that she and her siblings had the same problem he had years ago: they didn't have any official instruction in combat. Elfman fought with nothing but brute strength and good reflexes; he never made a plan of attack, just charged in with fists flying and hoping everything worked out. Naruto frowned as solutions began whispering in his mind. 'Goken might work for him; he doesn't have the flexibility needed to take up the Jyuuken or the other shinobi taijutsu styles and his strength would make it really effective on his opponents. I'll have to build up his speed as well, can't have his be all strength. Meditation and mental exercises are a must if he wants to master the Full-Body Take Over.'

He managed to make his way across the Guild Hall before he stopped and hung his head. "Great job idiot, volunteer to drop someone at the infirmary when you have no idea where it is." Quickly making a clone and sending it to Makarov for the information, Naruto continued his pondering whilst stroking Erza's red locks. He had settled into a squat, laying Erza's legs on the floor and her head in the crook of his left arm. 'Lisanna is currently the weak link of those three. Since she's a support Mage, she would be the first to be picked off. I'll have to watch her in action to determine her overall strength but the best thing to do would be to teach her as much as I can about healing. I doubt she'll be able to reverse-engineer medical jutsu, but she'll have to be able to help them with more than just first-aid. Now, how do I make her a medical badass?'

The answer soon came to him and Naruto was actually surprised at what his mind was offering to him. 'I'll need to make more comparisons between chakra and magic to be sure, but I think that would be the best way to make her strong quickly. After the base has been set, I can increase her speed and strength phenomenally in half a year.' A stray thought brought about a twitch of his lips. 'Natsu would have to watch himself around Lisanna when I'm through with her.'

Within his arms, Erza shifted slightly as she became more aware of herself. She tried to open her eyes, but the effort was immense and she was forced to abandon her attempts in no time at all. Still a bit dazed, she opted to snuggle closer to the warmth she felt carrying her. The innate strength of the hand that supported her back suggested that she was being carried by a male and the scent that she inhaled smelled faintly of nature. Curiousity engulfing her, Erza lifted her heavy eye-lids to see a large blurry shape. Blinking several times to clear her vision, Erza found herself gazing into the eyes of Naruto and froze. The strange sensation originating from her head was Naruto's fingers as he caressed her hair almost lovingly.

"Awake already, Erza?" He questioned as he stood up from his squatting and headed towards the infirmary, thankful for the wonders of Kage Bunshin. He was slightly amused at how quickly the girl's face went from pale to a furious red, easily matching the shade of her hair in under two seconds. "Just relax and I'll explain when we get to the infirmary."

She wordlessly nodded, not trusting herself to speak, and allowed herself to be carried away by the blond.

-Fairy Tail Guild Hall-

Cana watched Naruto leave with Erza in tow, silently amused at the situation. 'He hasn't been here for a week and he's already making a name for himself in the Guild.' However, as she thought about his rapid achievements, she felt herself frown whilst thoughts began whispering. 'If he continues at this rate, he'll become an S-Class mage before I do. If that happens, my own chances of achieving S-Class will be much smaller.' Her heart clenched at that. 'With monsters like Laxus and Naruto in the picture…'

A huff from her nearby companion snapped Cana out of her thoughts. Mirajane had her arms crossed and watched Naruto's form disappear with narrowed eyes. "Stupid lucky bitch." She muttered, though Cana could make out what had been said.

An impish grin slithered unto Cana's face and she looped an arm around the sullen mage, startling Mirajane. She leered at Mira's annoyed and nervous expression. "So, Mira…why so interested in Naruto-san? I thought Laxus was your boy-toy."

Mirajane extracted herself from Cana's grip but didn't stomp off. "First of all, Laxus is a friend only. I have no idea why you people think we're a couple." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Sure Laxus had his good points, but he was way to clingy for Mira's tastes and he constantly went out of his way to get requests that included her. "Naruto-kun is a nice guy who I would enjoy spending time with. He's also the first newbie to beat Red and I, something that I believe no one expected. Plus he's hot! Have you felt that hardcore bod of his?" Mirajane licked her lips.

Cana sweat-dropped at the girl's character. She had truly never met someone as eccentric as Mirajane; the girl could be calm and quiet one minute, raging demon the next and so foul-mouthed that Cana believed she was born screaming obscenities. "Well, only you would be weird enough to grope someone within the first few minutes of meeting them."

Mira nodded, paying no mind to the weird comment. "You should try it sometime, maybe then you'll find someone good enough for you. On another note, do you know where Laxus is at the moment? I haven't seen that bastard for two weeks and he owes me bet money."

"Mira-nee?" Both girls turned to see Lisanna standing a ways behind them with her hands on her hips and a stern expression on her face. Beside her were Natsu and Gray, the latter looking bored and the former feeding Happy fish. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the surprise? We only have a few hours to prepare, you know."

Cana, Gray and Natsu grew interested at the surprise bit while Mirajane tapped her head in consternation. "Damn, thanks for reminding me Lisanna. Do you mind telling Naruto-kun that I have to get going? He wanted to speak to Elfman, so you can let him know when he'll be discharged. Bye!" With that said, she took off out of the Guild with great speed, ignoring those that she pushed and knocked aside.

-Infirmary, Fairy Tail-

Naruto sat on a nearby stool watching over Erza as she recovered. He had just recounted the events of the battle to her and was currently waiting for the redhead to digest all that he had said. It wasn't long for the redhead to sigh. "So I lost, huh? I shouldn't have undermined your strength."

Naruto stood from his seat and strolled over to Erza, who lay on one of the infirmary beds. "To be honest with you, you really do deserve the reputation you have. I've heard about Requip Magic and how difficult it is to requip various different objects; not only can you requip complete sets of armor, the speed at which you do makes it deadly and versatile in combat." He paused to take a breath and forged on. "However, you do have some glaring weaknesses. First of all, you leave yourself exposed each time you prepare to requip as well as just after you requip. Not many people are fast enough to capitalize on that, but it's still a weakness. Secondly, your focus is too narrowed to swordsmanship which makes you susceptible to experienced hand-to-hand combatants. I believe you already realize that, don't you?"

Erza grimaced at the memory of that beating. "Yes. What would you propose that I do?" It was weird, in Erza's opinion, that she was asking someone who just joined the Guild on how to improve herself when she would have normally just practiced on training dummies or sparred with Mirajane to help fix her mistakes.

Naruto tapped his chin. "Do you mind if I sit beside you?" She shuffled away mutely, providing some space for him to sit on. Slumping down on the comfortable bed, Naruto resumed his train of thought. "What I would suggest would be to ask the best hand-to hand mage in the Guild to teach you a few things and spar every now and then. You could stick to your swords, but incorporate whatever you learn into your fighting style to keep your skills well rounded."

Erza blinked several times, running his advice through her head. "How do you know so much about fighting when you're only…" She trailed off as she realized that she had no clue how old Naruto was. "Pardon my manners, but how old exactly are you?"

Naruto didn't bat an eye at her curiousity. "I'm thirteen, about the same age as Mira-chan if I should hazard a guess. My Godfather raised me to be the best in combat, be it close quarters combat, mid-ranged, long-ranged or magical. He was very demanding and kept pushing me to my limits, making sure I understood everything that I needed to know about fighting." 'Lying on the spot is so troublesome. I'll have to contact Jiraiya and create a cover story for when he returns.'

Erza nodded, accepting his story. "So you beat Mira and I because you were stronger and more experienced that us?"

"Yes and no. Whilst my skills were indeed above yours in terms of control and power, your lack of teamwork was what truly caused your downfall."

Erza started at that. The idea of working together hadn't even crossed her mind at that point, all she had wanted to do was fight him and see how she fared against him. "Team…work?"

Naruto nodded. "Why do you think I kept switching from you to Mira-chan and back each time either of you came near? I wanted to keep you separated from each other, making it easier to defeat both of you. If the two of you had concentrated on fighting me as a team, with you keeping me occupied with long-ranged attacks and Mira-chan coming in close to finish me of, the outcome of our spar would have been different."

Erza pouted cutely. "Mirajane would rather eat dung than work together with me."

Naruto quirked a brow. "If you don't mind me asking, just why are you and Mira-chan so competitive? Sure, you two are rivals so some trash talk is expected but you two go at it all the time and its pretty intense to watch." If anything, their rivalry seemed like a downgraded version of Madara and Hashirama's in terms of destruction and a watered down version of his and Sasuke's in regards to intensity.

Erza shrugged vaguely and averted her gaze from him. "It's just something that we've been doing for as long as we've known each other. There isn't a particular reason for it; Mirajane keeps challenging me and I continuously accept." For some reason, opening up to Naruto was very easy for her to do. He just had this aura which beckoned you to trust in him.

"I see." Naruto stood up, turning to Erza with an eye-smile. "Sorry to leave you by yourself, but I have some things that require my attention. Hope to see you up and about soon, Benihime-chan." He walked towards the door and opened it but didn't leave just yet. "Hiding your heart behind that armor isn't the best of solutions," he stated, still facing away from her. "Acknowledging the darkness within ourselves is necessary for personal growth; keeping it all bottled within is detrimental to you and your family."

He turned to face her shocked visage with a gentle look. "You may have fooled the others, but you can't fool someone who has been wearing a mask for all his life. You want to be strong so that you never get hurt again, be it physical or emotional. That armor of yours gives you strength, but you're only showing off your crutch. Accept your negative aspects and your heart will begin its journey of healing." He gave her another eye-smile. "As a Guildmate and a friend, I offer my help and support in your personal growth. Good day." With an inclination of his head, he walked off.

Erza just sat there, staring at the space Naruto's form had occupied, a whirlwind of emotions robbing her of any movement. She run his words through her head once again, remembering the heartfelt look in his eyes. Her face heated up slightly as she recalled his new nickname for her. 'Benihime-chan…friend…'

-Time skip: Six hours later-

"Hey Elfman! Where the heck have you been?" Macao called out as the Strauss family arrived with Elfman from the Mage Hospital. Elfman didn't look any different, barring the bandages that could be seen covering his chest.

Elfman gave a shaky laugh in response, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, but I was indisposed. Mira-nee and Lisanna just picked me up from the hospital."

Macao just waved his apology off. "Glad to hear you're okay. Naruto's been waiting for you, said something about training."

Elfman paused and swept his gaze over the Hall, looking for the blond. Soon enough, he found Naruto sitting towards the center with Cana in serious conversation. Turning to Macao and Lisanna, he waved before taking off.

Mirajane had gone on a job request some time ago after they had celebrated with a special lunch, so she wouldn't be back for a while. Lisanna just went off in search of Natsu and Happy to play with.

Naruto looked up from his drink to see Elfman ambling towards him. He sighed and rose to meet him, bidding Cana goodbye. He approached his new friend and inclined his head slightly. "Yo. You feeling better?"

"Yeah…" Elfman's throat dried up as the seconds passed and he resisted the urge to swallow. "So," he began, steadfastly looking at Naruto. "You said you wanted to speak to me?"

A nod was his answer. "I want to help you deal with that problem of yours. At the moment, anyone who takes a request with you will be at risk of fighting for their lives should that beast take control of your body."

Elfman felt the words stab into him and grimaced. He knew what Naruto meant; had he not been there at the time…Mirajane would've been hurt. Badly. Knowing that inflamed his guilt and determination; he would not be a harm to his family. "I accept."

Naruto blinked. "You didn't hear me out."

"There's no need to. Without you, Mira-nee would've been in the hospital right now and I would be nothing but a prisoner in my own body." Elfman shivered as he recalled the sheer might of the beasts' will. It was like a raging tidal wave that broke through everything in its path, smashing through his mental defenses like they were nonexistent.

It scared him.

If Naruto could help him prevent the beast from taking over, he would do whatever it took. He had his family to protect. "I don't care if it is difficult. I don't care if it's a danger to me. Please," his knees bent in permission. "Help me become strong."

Naruto arched a brow.

They had a lot of work to do.

-Time skip: Six months-

Naruto entered the Guild with Setsuna in tow, his arm wrapped around her shoulders once again. Half a year had passed since Naruto offered Elfman a chance to master his magic and Naruto couldn't be more proud of his friend. His progression was of average speed, but that didn't mean anything to Naruto. People developed at different rates because they were all unique; Elfman was the kind of person who learned through repeated exercises with increasing difficulty. He wasn't brilliant per say, but he was smart in using what he learned and what was available to him to his advantage.

However, if Naruto had to be honest with himself, Elfman's weaknesses were still prominent. Having grown up with a rowdy bunch in Fairy Tail, he was impatient, prone to bouts of idiocy and rarely accepted aid from anyone. No matter how many times Naruto stressed the importance of teamwork, Elfman remained stubborn and refused to do so.

Oh well. He didn't know that Naruto had him beat in stubbornness; it would be a wake-up call for him when Naruto used more drastic means.

Anyway, besides training Elfman, Naruto and Setsuna had been making names for themselves, though the former did so unwillingly. Various clients that had their job requests taken by Naruto sung praises of his fighting skills as well as the fact that he did not destroy anything else like the other Fairy Tail mages. The women had also come to know him for his 'magical hands'; several masseuse requests arrived in Fairy Tail requesting the blond specifically after his first client, a wealthy woman of great political influence, made mention of him during one of her social gatherings.

From that day on, the older males looked up to him as though he was their God.

Setsuna was also praised for her strength and had been crowned the 'Lightning Queen' due to her beyond Kage control over her primary element. Unlike Naruto, she was very picky in her job requests and treated her clients with nothing more than cold politeness, earning her the nickname 'Demon King's Raven'.

Her friendship with Cana had grown stronger throughout the period as well. She was incapable of connecting with Gray and Natsu, seeing them as too annoying to be more than just Guild mates. Of course, there was also the fact that she could kick their asses several shades to the wind with one arm only. Her relationship with Erza had progressed to friendship, providing the redhead with a training partner who would help her progress at a much faster rate than before. Mirajane, on the other hand, had declared Setsuna her eternal rival after she witnessed Erza's defeat at Setsuna's hands during one of their spars.

Setsuna thought it was cute of Mirajane to think she was strong enough to call herself Setsuna's rival.

"Good morning Naruto. You look great, as usual." Cana grumbled. The brunette had grown an extra inch in height and puberty had started producing signs of its progress, resulting in an increase of male attention. At the moment, she was slumped on the table with frazzled hair and eyes lined with dark circles that blatantly suggested her current state of mind. "Seriously, how do you look so refreshed every damn time? Even your hair looks better than mine on my best morning."

Disengaging himself from Setsuna, who pouted demurely at the loss of contact, Naruto sat down with a bored look. "To be honest, I don't really know how my hair looks so well-kept; I guess it's just naturally awesome." Amusement flickered in his eyes as Cana gave his hair a glare, as though blaming it for her current state. "Also, I wake up early to make a few jogs around Magnolia to get my blood pumping. You should try it sometime."

Cana just shriveled further. "Do I look like I have your crazy stamina? I don't even have the energy to get out of bed in the mornings, let alone go jogging." She groaned.

Setsuna sat down as well, entering the conversation at last. "Will you be going on a job request later today?"

"Naruto! Fight me!" A voice roared out. Naruto sighed in exasperation as Natsu's flame coated fists neared his face with average speed. 'You'd think he would have learned by now…' Nonchalantly tilting his head to avoid Natsu's punch, his right arm stretched out and grabbed the falling boy by his hair. With a not so gently flick of his wrist, Naruto sent poor Natsu flying into the wall on the second floor. The sound of flesh hitting stone brought some satisfaction to him.

Cana lifted her head and gave her a look. "No, I'm not really up for a request today. Besides," her face twisted into an odd expression, "Gildarts will be coming today."

Naruto raised a brow. 'Gildarts, the Ace of Fairy Tail, eh? Must be time for the S-Class trials.' Sneaking around in Makarov's office was something that he rarely did, but he was glad he had taken that chance. The S-Class Mage Promotion Trial was something that he found himself interested in. At the moment, he was well financed thanks to the Everlue fortune and letting his name grow in Fiore would be beneficial towards him. Not only would it deter other Guild from picking a fight with Fairy Tail, but it would also bait Naraku into coming after him. Also, he would get to fight the mysterious Gildarts Clive and finally get to see what made him so special.

"Listen up, you no-good brats!" All activities ceased as Makarov's voice was heard over the noise. The diminutive old man was standing on the stair railing of the second floor, radiating an aura of seriousness and excitement. "I'm sure most of you are aware of what this announcement is about. For the new ones, it's time for an event that marks the advancement of rank for the truly exceptional: The S-Class Exams!"

A mighty cheer reverberated in the hall, each member showing eagerness and excitement on their faces. "As you are aware, S-Class Mage Promotion Trials are an annual tradition which we partake in to give any Mage the chance to become an S-Class elite. This year, we have three trials and a battle royal; each of these trials will test you on the following qualities: leadership, intelligence and battle prowess. These trials will evaluate where you stand in regards to the mentioned traits whilst the battle royal gives Mages with lower marks an opportunity to strut their stuff and wow the judges with their skills."

Natsu let out a cheer, sparking another round of applause. "The trials start at the end of the month; those interested should come sign their names in my office." Seeing the younger ones turning to dash towards his office, Makarov called out once more. "Oh, I just remembered! Those under the age of thirteen will not be permitted! That especially goes to you, Natsu!"

"Whaaat?!"

"How come Naruto and the girls get to have all the fun?!"

"Real men need to shine too!"

"SILENCE!" Makarov's head grew to demonic proportions as he loomed over the terrified boys, a terrible aura surrounding him. "WHEN I SAY SOMETHING, YOU'D BETTER LISTEN! GOT IT?!"

"H-hai!"

Cana sighed heavily as the noise continued. Why was life so damn troublesome?

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. It was almost time; soon, his true skills would be displayed. The council wanted a taste of his power? He would show it to them.

He would show them all just how dangerous he could be.

-Tenrou Island-

A sleeping figure twitched in his sleep, a frown creasing his face. "Uzumaki…Naruto…" The figure mumbled in his sleep, a black aura beginning to seep out from his slumbering body. "Friend…"

A/N: FREEDOM HAS NEVER TASTED SO SWEET! I'm done with IGCSEs! Can someone give me a shout-out or what?!

Now, I know I was going to wrap this up soon and head over to the start of canon, but I wanna flesh out Naruto's S-Class trials a bit…well, a lot but that's not the point. They always seem to have Naruto becoming an S-Class by fighting Gildarts. Now, while I like it and plan on doing so as well, I believe that it takes more than that for a mage to become S-Class. If the mage is not qualified to lead a group, why should they be able to accompany other mages on S-Class quests? Also, S-Class means they are the elite; in my opinion, that means you have to be smart as well as strong. Intelligence, analytic skills and strategies should factor into the evaluations. Hopefully, you guys will love it.

Laxus hasn't made his debut yet, so Mira will get to be closer to Naruto than he would like by the time he gets back. Next chapter will have the debut of Laxus, the Thunder Legion, the Magic Council, Siegrain (Jellal) and Ultear. The battles I'm planning are gonna be awesome!

I'll be updating all my other stories before I consider bringing in my Naruto/Bleach new story. Next on the list will be Primordial Transcendent.

Naruto 631: When I heard Sasuke's new goal, I honestly expected a 'believe it' to appear. I don't really know why. (o.O) My thoughts about it? WTF!? Multiplied several times. Naruto saying that Sakura is his girlfriend without a second thought towards Hinata's feelings? Sakura being compared to the sexy and awesome Uzumaki Kushina? Kishimoto might as well hand Naruto over to some of the more creative and awesome fanfiction authors on the site.

MaelstromBankai.