Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

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By Any Means

Chapter 20

The Elephant In The Room Pt 2

Opening: Ignite - Eir Aoi

0o0o0 Master's Office - Fairy Tail 0o0o0

"You!" The blond's left hand shot out, finger stabbing accusingly at the gray haired man. "You were supposed to be on my side, you were supposed to understand!" The warp in his voice sent chills down their spines. "Instead, you look at me like you don't know what it's like! Why do you get to be happy?!" The abrupt change in topic threw Kakashi for a loop.

Spinning, Naruto's finger stabbed out at Makarov next. "Your idealistic bullshit is less than worthless! People are good, and want to get along?! What world do you live in? People are filth, unrepentant, traitorous pieces of trash that don't give a damn about anything unless they get something out of it! Your family is just a bunch of lies!"

"Naruto!" Erza's shout was accompanied by a slap that threw the blond's head to the side. The only sound following that was the blond panting, as if he'd run a marathon. Suddenly, his head shot up, revealing two blue eyes full of panic.

"What...what did I?" Naruto's head snapped around, taking in the wounded looks on Kakashi and Makarov's faces, before settling on Erza's teary, worried look. Before anyone could stop him, he crashed through the window and was gone.

"Naruto!" Erza cried out as she tried to follow only to be caught by Kakashi who held her back, "Let me go! Naruto!"

"Erza, calm down!" The girl struggled in his arms as Kakashi turned to Pakkun. "Go after him, don't let him get too far."

"It's already too late. If what you've told me is true, he'll expect me to follow him. He won't leave a scent to track. The best I could do is maybe give you a direction he went in," Pakkun informed, more concerned about the struggling girl in Kakashi's arms than the foolish boy who'd run off.

"Just go!" Kakashi snapped, his anger at how everything was turning out coloring his voice.

Shaking his head, the pug jumped out the window after the blond, leaving Kakashi, Makarov and Erza alone in the room. Seeing the still struggling redhead, Makarov sighed. This was not going the way he'd hoped.

"Erza, calm down!" The guild master yelled, slamming his fist into his desk, the loud crack causing the girl to freeze. Kakashi slowly released her as she was no longer trying to follow Naruto, before slumping down into a nearby chair.

"Calm down?" Erza slowly turned, facing both Kakashi and Makarov, her eyes shadowed by her hair. The two older men felt a chill travel down their spines, memories of another redhead overlapping the current scene.

Makarov coughed into his hand before speaking up quickly, trying to avoid another outburst. "Er, yes, stay calm Erza. Pakkun will find Naruto, and I'm sure we can talk everything out and-"

He cut off as Erza looked up, tears in her eyes. She sniffled a couple of times, and wiped her eyes, missing the glances exchanged between Makarov and Kakashi.

'She's crying, Kakashi, what do we do?!'

'I don't know, you do something about it! You're the master!'

'How did you deal with Kushina?'

'Minato-sensei always dealt with her.'

"Master, Kakashi, what did Naruto mean?" Erza's question brought the two men back to their senses. "Why would he say such hurtful things?"

Kakashi sighed, leaning back in his chair. "That… is a very long and complicated bit of history. Suffice to say, Naruto has had a very hard life. Sometimes, he overreacts and says things he doesn't mean-"

"Then what about all the scars on his body? The strange tattoo on his left arm that he tries to hide?" Erza cut in. She looked down for a moment, but continued. "And when we were at the tower… Jellal called him an assassin."

Kakashi's body subtly tensed and Makarov frowned deeply. "Erza," the old man began, "did Jellal say anything else?"

After a moment, the redhead shook her head. "I can't recall him mentioning anything else pertaining to Naruto. But I know the two of them fought at the top of the tower, and I lost consciousness at one point." Looking the master straight in the eyes, Erza asked the question she was afraid to get the answer to. "Is it true?"

Before Makarov could respond, Kakashi spoke up from the side. "What do you know about Bosco, Erza?"

Confused, she turned the masked man. "What does that have to do with what I'm asking?"

"It does, trust me. Now, what do you know about Bosco?"

Thinking for a moment, the redhead placed a finger on her chin. "Well, they have an active slave trade, and I recall there was a civil war going on over there not too long...ago…" She trailed off, eyes narrowing.

Kakashi sighed, still not removing his gaze from the ceiling. "Yep, you guessed it. Naruto was part of that civil war. I'm sure you know who the Hagoromo are?"

"They were the ones who rose up against the aristocracy, right?"

"Correct again. Now, I'm not sure exactly how long Naruto was with them for, but I do know he spent several years in their care, fighting for their cause." Kakashi finally brought his gaze back down and made eye contact with Erza. "War is a bloody business, and a civil war is even worse. Naruto has probably seen, and done, many horrible things that those of you here, safe in the guild, have never had to experience. And that changes people."

Here, Makarov spoke up. "That's not to say that Naruto's a bad kid. Everyone deserves a second chance. And he's told us himself that when he left them he was no longer a member, that he was leaving all that behind him."

Erza was silent, processing everything they'd told her. What they said made sense, but even so, she still felt that there was something they weren't telling her. Before she could call them out on it though, Makarov continued speaking.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this today. I need a drink. Erza, why don't you head back to the main hall. I'm sure you need some time to think about everything, and I'm certain the others will be looking for you by now."

Hearing the dismissal for what it was, the redhead reluctantly left the office, closing the door behind her. Besides, the master was right; she needed more time to come to terms with what she had learned.

Once Erza left, the two men sat in silence, each stuck in memories of the past. Eventually, Kakashi spoke up first. "I'll talk to Sasuke, see what he can tell me. Something major happened on this trip, and Naruto was at the center of it."

"Kakashi, should we really be accusing the boy of something right now? He needs help," Makarov asked, thinking of the blond's strange reaction. "And besides, all the children came back, we should be happy for them."

"Master, you're too forgiving. Naruto isn't like the others his age. He wasn't brought out into the light like I managed to do for Sasuke." Kakashi slumped further into his chair, eyes hard. "We need to keep him in line with a strong hand, otherwise he'll run amok like earlier, dredging up specters of the past."

"I thought he was like a little brother to you, Kakashi, and yet you're treating him like a dangerous animal," the old man said, slightly perturbed.

"It's because he's my little brother that I have to be hard on him." Kakashi stood up, back to Makarov. "He may not realize it, but I'm doing it for his own good. The world doesn't need anymore of us."

0o0o0 The Next Day - Fairy Tail Guild Hall 0o0o0

Sasuke's head rested on the bar, the chatter of the guild soothing his exhaustion somewhat. Ever since their return, Mira had been all over him. Probably trying to make up for having her plans ruined on his birthday. Not that he wasn't happy, but she was insatiable. He couldn't take much more before his body gave out. Especially since she started pulling out her "surprises." Chains, whips, cuffs… His body involuntarily shivered at the thoughts of what she had planned next.

An insistent poking of his shoulder drew his thoughts back to his surroundings. Opening his eyes, he saw Kakashi giving him a teasing look. "Not a word," he growled out before the older man could say something.

Shaking his head, the silver haired man let his amusement fade. "We need to talk, Sasuke."

Hearing the undercurrent of tension in his pseudo-father's voice, the mage stood up, expression hardening. He had wondered how long it was going to be before Kakashi came to him. The question was, was he ready for the questioning to come? One wrong step and the fledgling alliance formed with Naruto would damn the both of them. As he followed the older man to a secluded room, he shook his head. "No time to worry about it now."

He shut the door behind him, before taking the seat across the small table from Kakashi. For a minute or two, they just sat there, staring at each other. Sasuke wasn't sure what Kakashi was looking for but was resolved not to give anything away.

Finally the older man slouched in his chair, his eyes crinkling in that infuriating way they always did when he was smiling behind his mask. "So, I hear quite a bit happened on the trip you guys took. I thought it was just supposed to be a vacation."

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally. "Something like that," he answered after a moment. "The trip to the Akane Resort was uneventful for the most part. We stopped at a hot spring the day before arriving. It was...nice." Sasuke was silent for a few moments more, before looking Kakashi dead in the eye. "We saw that mark on his arm."

The silver haired man met the younger's gaze easily. "So you know he was a soldier. Not that hard to imagine, eh?" Kakashi sat up a bit, resting his arms on the table. "And what about the others? Did they recognize it?"

"No," Sasuke shook his head. "But I mentioned it out loud in front of them. The subject was then changed and no one said anything about it later."

"Hmm." The former shinobi blinked slowly. "So you made it to the resort the next day then?"

Sasuke nodded.

"And what about the fight you had with Naruto that night at the hot spring?"

"One of our normal sparring matches, tuned down a bit so as not to damage the hot spring," the dark haired mage replied immediately, the picture of calm. Meanwhile, his thoughts were running a mile a minute. "Shit. So he knows about the fight. But what else does he know?"

The two lapsed back into silence for another minute. Kakashi keeping eye contact the entire time. Sasuke could feel the urge to activate his Sharingan rising, but managed to reign it in. There was no need to let Kakashi know just how nervous he was.

"So you made it to the resort then," the older man spoke up, their impromptu staring contest over. "Did you have fun?"

"Hn."

"Yes, I suppose I deserve that. Of course you didn't have fun, what with Mira being stuck back here at the guild." Kakashi sighed theatrically. "So?"

Sasuke reached into his jacket and removed a small paper covered package, passing it across the table. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Honestly, I had better things to do than babysit that dobe and Erza."

"What, did watching the two of them getting closer remind you of when you and Mira started going out?" Sasuke's glare would've caused Kakashi to spontaneously combust had there been any chakra behind it. "So what time did Naruto leave the resort?"

Slightly thrown off track, the Uchiha took a second to recompose himself. "It was around midnight, I believe. I noticed him sneaking out over the wall into the forest and decided to follow him." Looking down, Sasuke clenched his fists below the table. "I… lost him almost immediately, and spent most of the next several hours trying to pick up his trail." Looking up, he continued. "By the time I finally managed to regain his trail and track him down, he was in the middle of assaulting a complex."

Kakashi's posture didn't change, but his eyes hardened. "Oh?"

Feeling the tension exuding from the older man, Sasuke chose his next words very carefully. "When I tracked him down in the middle of the mess, I saw him finishing off the last of the mercenaries guarding the complex. When I confronted him…" Sasuke's mind flashed back to the sight of all those people locked up, helpless. "It was the base of a slaving operation."

Kakashi immediately sat up, eyes widening. "What?"

"Somehow the dobe had gotten wind of a slave ring operating not too far from the resort, and had decided to remove it." Here the young man's Sharingan activated. "They deserved everything done to them."

The former shinobi's gaze softened, as he reached out to his charge, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke looked away, not wanting to let Kakashi see the emotions playing across his face. Shaking the older man's hand off, he quickly finished up. "While we were trying to find some clue as to where the people were from, we found mention of the Tower of Heaven, where the slaves were to be shipped. And you know the rest."

Standing abruptly, Sasuke turned and made for the door. He paused as he grabbed the handle. "Are we done here?" he asked, voice tight as he suppressed his emotions.

"...Yes, we're done," Kakashi sighed out. "I'll see you back in the guild in a few minutes." The closing door received the last of Kakashi's words, Sasuke not waiting to him to finish.

0o0o0 Masterful Melodies 0o0o0

"Oh! Naruto-sama it's-" The receptionist was cut off as the blond glared at her and continued stomping on through to the room permanently set aside for him. Sighing, the receptionist pulled out a communication lacrima and turned it on. "Tayuya-sama, are you there?"

"...What?" the redhead grouched out irritably, having been getting some much needed beauty sleep.

"Naruto-sama just arrived. In quite a foul mood, I might add," the receptionist replied, sighing to herself. "I wonder what happened this time…"

"I don't pay you to worry about that jackass. Just leave him be, I'll deal with him," Tayuya replied, ruffling her hair angrily as the receptionist hung up with a smile. "Fuck, he couldn't have shown up a few hours later?" Yawning, she walked to her closet, looking for something decent to wear.

A few minutes later saw the redhead in front of the blond's door. Knocking once, she tried the handle, only to find it locked. "Alright shithead, you've got 5 seconds to unlock this door, otherwise I'm busting it down and charging you to fix it. I don't have time to deal with your moody ass." When no response came, Tayuya began counting. "5...4...3...2...1-"

Just before she finished counting, a muted *click* sounded. Sighing angrily, she turned the handle and gave the door a shove, only to find the door still stuck in place. "Oh, you sulking son of a bitch," she growled out, before throwing a chakra charged punch at the door, sending wooden shards scattering into Naruto's room. "For fucks sake blondie," she began, only to pause as she was hit with a wave of killing intent.

The blond was sitting on the bed, arms around his legs while his head was resting on his knees. He had turned slightly, a single eye visible, flickering between red and blue every few seconds. "What happened to shake him up this much?" the redhead wondered, debating whether it was safe to get any closer.

"...Naruto," she began, voice deadly serious. "What happened? You went dark for 2 weeks before Shikamaru got you in touch with me."

The man was silent for a moment, before turning his head, hiding his eye. "What happened?" He let out a hollow laugh that sent chills down Tayuya's spine. "Haven't you already heard from Shikamaru?"

"The basics, yes… But that doesn't explain… this," the redhead said slowly, picking her words carefully. This Naruto was acting like a wounded animal, ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

Naruto remained silent. Sensing that he wasn't going to talk about it, Tayuya shifted in place, a plan slowly forming.

"Look," she began, "if you don't want to talk about it, fine. But there are several things you - I mean we - need to deal with." Pulling a notepad from a pouch on her belt, she flipped through a few pages, all while keeping an eye on the blond. "So far, I've managed to get everyone you sent me treated. Most, thankfully, weren't suffering from any serious injuries. Mainly malnutrition and bruising, although several were suffering from infections from the sloppy way they were branded. I've been slowly sending them out, trying to get them back to their homes, but it's a lengthy and slow process. Several of them are from out of the country." Tayuya shook her head, pitying those who had been kept in captivity for such a long time.

"Shino, on the other hand, will be out of comission for a while." She flipped to a new page. "Unfortunately, the loss of so many of his Kikaichu… Yeah, early estimates put him out for a month or so, at best." Shrugging, she looked up to see Naruto's head turned, a blue eye watching her. "He'll live though, and with no permanent damage."

"Now as for that pink haired bitch you brought in…" she cocked her hips and levelled a measured glance at the blond. "I swear, you must have a fetish for girls with reddish hair. Right now I've set her up in a room on the third floor, toward the back. She's been relatively quiet, but she's refusing to talk to me. Maybe you can get something out of her."

Flipping through a few more pages, Tayuya regained her serious demeanor. "Recently, I've been receiving some reports from the few agents we had left in Bosco…" That got Naruto's attention, fully turning to face her for the first time she she entered. "Several people who had been under watch have up and disappeared. No clue as to the hows or the whys, but there is one thing that ties them together." She made eye contact with blond. "They all are related to someone killed by the Hitokiri." There was no hiding the flinch he made at that. "So, it's something to do with that, as I thought…" The redhead sighed, knowing this was going to be an uphill battle. Her right hand tousled her hair. "Fuck it, I'm not working through this minefield right now."

"Look, neither one of us seem to be in the mood to deal with this, so why don't you get some sleep." She planted a hand on her hip and looked around at the remains of the door. "I'll get someone up here to fix the door, so why don't you use that troublesome bastard's room next door in the meantime. He's out right now, so it's fine," she said to forestall any complaints. Seeing his slow nod, Tayuya walked out the room and over to the room she reserved for Shikamaru. As soon as she unlocked it, the blond breezed past her and shut the door, the lock making a soft *click* as it engaged.

"Ungrateful ass," she thought as she turned around. She paused, her eyes drawn to the floor right in front of her. There was a small, pink elephant plush sitting there, a note taped to its head. 'Thanks' it read. Tayuya could only shake her head. "What the fuck happened over these last two weeks?"

0o0o0 One Week Later - Fairy Tail Guild Hall 0o0o0

"The heck happened to you guys?" Tenten asked as team Natsu/Lucy/Gray/Erza/Happy drudged in, the majority of whom were covered in dirt and grime, crawled their way through the guild. Save of course for Erza who barged right in and started berating everyone over the smallest of things.

Natsu and Lucy shivered at the thought of what they had just been put through by Erza, Happy cried, and Gray groaned in agony. All four continue to crawl to separate parts of the guild in hopes of hiding from the irate redhead.

"Erza's been running them ragged ever since Naruto disappeared and getting on everyone's case for even breathing in her general direction," Cana supplied, knowing her girlfriend's team had been gone ever since they had managed to pry Mirajane off of Sasuke's hips so they could go do missions. "I swear that girl is trying to get pregnant."

"Oh." Tenten replied lamely as she watched Erza yell at Macao for not being a better influence on Romeo and drinking all day instead of going on missions.

"That's Erza's doing I assume?" Sakura asked as she came up to the two, pointing to Lucy and Natsu who were struggling to get into chairs at a table so they could eat lunch together. The two nodded their confirmation, as Sakura sighed. "Geez, it's like dealing with Tsunade-sama when she lost a bet."

"Rumor is that Master and Kakashi tried to force Naruto to join the guild and divulge some kind of secret information and were using Erza to make him compliant. Basically, it didn't go as they planned and now Naruto's missing, which you knew, and Erza's been taking her frustration out on everything living. That or it's her time of the month. Or worse, both," Cana explained, filling the two in on what had been going on since they had left over a week ago.

"So it's exactly like dealing with Tsunade-sama when she loses a bet. Great," Sakura complained as she decided to bring up a different topic. "Have you two noticed how Mira has basically been attached to Sasuke's hips?"

"Now that you bring it up, yeah? Normally she's more reserved than that. Do you think she's been cursed to bump uglies with a duck's butt?" Tenten joked as the other two groaned at the lame comparison to Sasuke's hair.

Meanwhile, Anko was glaring at her husband who was feeding their children at their home, the twins being extra rowdy today throwing their schedules off.

"Is that your only expression now?" Kakashi asked, having reached his tolerance for being glared at endlessly by his wife, and nearing his wit's end with his son's refusal to eat the goop that was supposedly for toddlers.

"I'm pissed," was all she said as she managed to get Rinka to take another bite of the baby food.

"I know that," Kakashi replied doing his best to not start a fight in front of the kids.

"Twice, twice you have driven him away, both you and Makarov. You even had the gall to try and use Erza in your little scheme. Sage you should've just enlisted the Rune Knights to help you! At least then you could've gotten him to kill someone to prove your worst fears right!"

"I'm not trying to prove anything Anko, I'm trying to save my brother from the goddamn noose he's hellbent to get wrapped around his neck!" Kakashi yelled slamming his fist down on their kitchen table startling the twins into crying at their father's outrage. "And what's worse is that he's trying to wrap it around all of our necks as well! He can't even see the danger he's putting us all in! The Council is not going to give a damn about anyone that doesn't know about us! They're just going to hang us all! Everything we've sacrificed for is at stake all because he doesn't want to sit down and listen to reason! He's trapped in the past and is making shadows out to be real threats!"

Anko stood up and slapped him as hard as she could.

Silence reigned in the small town home.

"I don't know who you are, but when you find my husband you can let him know his wife and kids are staying at Fairy Hills until he gets back. I don't remember marrying a coward." Anko then picked up her two children, both of whom were now silently crying, and left deciding to return later for their things.

0o0o0 Fairy Hills - That Night 0o0o0

Erza sat on her bed, her knees drawn up into her chest.

It had been over a week since Naruto had left and she couldn't help the ache in her heart. Just as they were getting close, just as she had finally managed to put her past behind her, Kakashi and Master had to ruin it. Naruto had ruined it.

Nothing was as it was supposed to be. She shouldn't be alone right now. She and Naruto should be painting the town red on numerous dates, going to fancy restaurants, declarations of love, the sharing of delicate desserts, kissing, and possibly… Her face lit up as her thoughts became more perverted. Despite her tough exterior, she considered herself a romantic at heart. Not that she would ever let anyone know that and live. But even the fearsome S-class mage "Titania" of Fairy Tail imagined being courted and even being rescued by a handsome prince from an evil dragon that had locked her away in high tower. Not that she couldn't save herself of course. She was Erza fucking Scarlet, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail. Men were the ones to squeal in terror when she charged into battle. She just couldn't help the hopeless romantic that was her heart.

And she had found her prince charming.

She couldn't help the buckle in her knees when he said her name or the fluttering in her stomach when he smiled at her. He could light up a room with his mere presence alone. He attracted everyone's attention as if they were moths and he the flame.

"And now he's gone."

It was a terrifying thought. That she may never see him again. But that was his choice. He was the one he ran away, who refused to join the guild, to lie about everything. Had any of it been true? Was it all a big joke to him? Did she even mean anything to him?

She hated feeling like this.

Like there was nothing she could do to stop the pain welling inside her.

This teenage girl angst wasn't who she was. She didn't cry and mope around. She took action and made everyone do as she wanted. Not the other way around. But there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly her door burst open and Anko came marching in with Rinka and Kamui in both her arms, slamming the door closed behind her with her foot. Before Erza could even respond she found the small silver-haired girl thrust into her arms as Anko sat next to her on the bed, smiling at the gurgling Kamui who was still in his mother's arms, finding his mother's actions entertaining.

"W-what?... Anko what are… Get out! I want to be-" Erza was cut off as Anko pulled the girl into a hug, the twins making it impossible for Erza to fight the older woman off without harming them. All she could do was allow the purple-haired woman to pull her ever tighter into the hug and… and it felt good. Was this what it was like to be comforted by a mother? As if a dam breaking, Erza couldn't help the tears that began to flow, pulling the young girl in her lap into a hug of her own.

A while later Anko finally pulled back once Erza no longer had any tears to shed and smiled at the red-head, "Better?"

"Y-yeah. A little."

"Good. Maybe now you'll let up on everyone at the guild ne?" Anko winked making the redhead blush at her dismal behavior toward her fellow guildmates over how she was feeling.

"I can't promise anything," Erza joked, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"That's all I ask," Anko smiled looking down at her now sleeping children, running a hand through Kamui's silky hair that somehow managed to defy gravity.

"If you don't mind me asking, but what are you doing here?" Erza asked knowing Anko had her own home in Magnolia. Even if she had come to cheer her up, she wouldn't have brought both twins. One would've been enough to prevent her from retaliating at being comforted.

"You're not the only one dealing with a stupid, prideful, moronic, idiot male that can't see what's right in front of him." Anko did her best to keep her voice down not wanting to wake the sleeping children. They'd been through enough already today.

"You and Kakashi fought?" Erza's eyes widened.

"More like we've been fighting for the last few weeks. A difference of opinion is all."

"About what?"

Anko took a moment to consider the question. She knew it was one she shouldn't answer, that she should leave the heartbroken girl next to her in the dark, but if the girl truly wished to be with Whiskers she would have to be told anyway, consequences be damned.

"About many things that have been kept secret for too long. Secrets that could get us all killed if anyone were to find out."

"What are you talking about?" Erza's brow furrowed. Anko was making no sense. Secrets that could get them all killed? Just what was the older woman going on about?

"I'm talking about the fact that Naruto is a shinobi."

Erza's eyes widened as the revelation sunk in. "But that's impossible Anko. There's no way he could be a shinobi. They're all dead."

"That's what the Magic Council and royal court would like you to believe, but that's far from the truth. After all you're speaking to one," Anko smiled mischievously giving the younger girl a peace sign.

"You're… prove it. Prove you're-" Erza had no time to react as Anko struck out her arm in front of Erza's face and a snake came flying out of Anko's sleeve wrapping itself around her mouth to prevent her from screaming. After struggling to no avail Erza turned her attention from the snake wrapped around her head back to Anko and felt fear as she looked directly into the eyes of someone who was ready to kill her. "She's going to kill me," was the only thought Erza could manage and then her fear was suddenly gone and the snake disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"And yes, I really could kill you if I wanted to," Anko spoke up with a serious tone but softening her features to let the frightened red-head that she wasn't going to do anything to her. "What you just experienced is known as a killing intent. Something high level chuunin and all jounin are taught. Very handy when dealing with weak willed opponents and the unprepared. A lot of the rumors of us being agents of death are because of this one ability." Anko looked down to her sleeping children, and found them both still sound asleep, used to their mother's killing intent, usually directed at their father.

Erza could only stare at the other woman unable to find the words to voice her shock.

"The snake, Shiro is his name, is a summon that I can call upon. Before the fall, I was known as Hebi-sama Mitarashior the Snake Mistress Mitarashi. My specialty was in political assassinations using snake venom as well as summoning snakes to fight alongside me. But that was a long time ago. Now all I want to be called is mom by these two," Anko smiled endearingly at her sleeping children and ran a hand through Rinka's hair.

"Th-the fall?" Erza finally managed to speak, finding her voice rasping against her vocal chords.

Anko, using magic, summoned a glass of water and handed it over to Erza, "You really are amazing you know that Red? Most people don't even remain conscious after being exposed to killing intent. I suppose that's why he's so enamored with you. You're resilient, and stronger than most." Anko smirked as Erza choked on her water.

"En-enamored!? Naruto isn't enamored with me! He's well… he isn't enamored with me." Erza lowered her gaze, as she remembered her love strife with the blond.

"Red, Whiskers is head over heels for you. I think he's more in love with you than he is ramen, and that's saying something." Erza blushed at the mention of love before pulling her legs to her chest in depression.

"If that were true then he would be here still. He would tell me what's going on and explain why he lied to me."

Anko smiled sadly at the depressed red-head. "That's the unfortunate part of falling in love with a shinobi. They always have to be in control of the situation and damn the world if things don't go their way. It's something you'll have to get used to I'm afraid."

"What do you mean?"

"Being the wife of a shinobi is no easy task Red. There's the late nights of wondering whether or not he'll come back alive, the wounds that need to be stitched, the PTSD, the hair trigger reactions that nearly get you killed because it's kill first and question never, the incessant need to sit in the corner of restaurants to have a view of every single patron, waiter, cook in the damn place because they have to be able to calculate how to kill everyone and never getting the best seats in the place despite having more than enough money because they've been trained to do so since they were five, the-"

"Anko!"

"Huh? Oh sorry, just got into a zone ya know?"

"Right… so… why are you telling me all of this?" Erza questioned

"I'm telling you this because the stupid morons we both know as Naruto, Kakashi, and Makarov are pig headed, overprotective, and far too stubborn to realize you more than capable to handle the truth and responsibilities of being the wife of a shinobi. And as the only one of them to have any balls it falls on me to prepare you for the weight of being in love with a shinobi."

"Prepare me? Prepare me for what exactly?"

"Prepare you in being able to lie to everyone. Erza, why do you think Naruto hasn't told you he's a shinobi? Why Kakashi and I have hidden the fact that Sasuke and Tenten are the children of shinobi? It's because all of us, me, Kakashi, Sasuke, Tenten, Sakura, and Naruto, are all enemies of the state just for being who we are. By law, we are traitors of Fiore and the whole of Ishgar."

Erza remained quiet as the reality of what Anko said sunk in.

Anko sighed as she continued, "I need to know Red. Do you love him?"

"I…" Erza repeated the question to herself. "Do I love him?" She closed her eyes and tried to imagine a world where she had never met the goof ball that had stolen her first kiss and even copped a feel of her breast. Of never being told about the greatness of ramen. Of the horrified expression he gave as she sacrificed herself to the tower. Of the promise he made to her.

"We're the same, you know." His fatigue began to show as his knees gave out from under him and the two collapsed into the water. "We feel the same exact way." He began to cough harshly, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. Erza's eyes widened at the sight of blood flowing between his fingers. "If I can save you, even at the cost of this body, I would do so without hesitation." His breathing was labored as he fell on top of her.

She opened her eyes and looked Anko straight in the eye. "I love him."

Anko smiled. "Good. I was afraid I was going to have to kill you there for a second." Erza sweatdropped but was scared that Anko wasn't joking.

"You're joking. Right?"

"Professional humor Red." Anko waved her off.

"So what now?"

"Now that we know you love Whiskers I prepare you. There's a lot that you don't know about shinobi or our culture. And there's a lot that we don't know about Naruto. As much as I hate to say it, but we were telling the truth when Kakashi said we haven't seen him since our village was destroyed. What he's had to do to survive all these years… it's probably not a pretty story. And yes Red, Naruto is a shinobi. A cold blooded killer, that if he had to, would kill whoever he was ordered to, men, women, and even children. The Naruto you know, the man you've fallen in love with… I doubt that he's shown us all the sides there are to show. But that's the funny thing about shinobi; no matter how much they try to hide who they are, the real person always breaks through."

Once more Erza was reminded about how little she knew of Naruto. How much he hadn't told her.

"It's also possible that you are the one thing keeping his world together." Anko shrugged at Erza's look. "What? I'm not a mind reader. You'll have to ask him if you want to know."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Erza digesting what she'd heard so far while Anko busied herself with getting her kids situated in a crib she'd brought with her. That done, the older woman took a seat next to the redhead, a devious gleam in her eye. "Now that that's out of the way..." Anko began, rubbing her hands together, "...let's get to the blackmail material."

Erza's eye went wide, her eyebrows gradually disappearing into her hairline as Anko began to recount the various stories she and Kakashi had about Naruto.

0o0o0 Masterful Melodies Roof - Midnight 0o0o0

Naruto took another swig of mead from the bottle he was currently drinking from, numerous bottles glinting in the moonlight around him. He sighed as he removed the alcoholic beverage from his lips, closing his eyes as the screams inside his head raged once more.

No matter what he did, he couldn't get them to stop. He couldn't sleep nor rest, not since he left Fairy Tail, since he left Erza standing in the Master's office, tears streaming down her face. What made things worse was that the screams weren't of the dead for once. They were of the living.

"Man, Tayuya said your drinking was bad, but this is… eep!" Karin ducked as an empty bottle came flying at her, "Hey! Watch where you throw those, you could've hurt me jerk!"

"Oh, Karin… whatever," Naruto staggered a bit as he attempted to turn back around and gaze back up at the moon.

"Jerk!" Karin harrumphed crossing her arms over her chest before sighing at the sight of the numerous empty bottles. "He's drunk Karin, just let it go. You came up here to help him not castrate him. Just remain calm and-"

"What are you still doing up here?" Naruto asked rudely, doing his best not to slur.

"He's drunk. He. Is. Drunk." Karin closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself before every ounce of her Uzumaki genes forced her to hurt her only living cousin. Opening her eyes she strode over to stand next to him. "So you want to tell me what's wrong or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"Tch, get lost," Naruto took one last drink before dropping the bottle and making his way to the rooftop entrance.

"Oh no, you are not leaving until you tell me why you're being a colossal dick and I give you advice on how NOT to be a colossal dick! That's how this works Naruto," Karin yelled, doing her best to imitate her late Kushina-oba.

Naruto scowled, turning to glare at his cousin but was met with a bottle to his nose. "Gah!" His hands flew up to cover the now profusely bleeding nose. "Wha da fuck?!"

"And that's for earlier. Now," Karin's expression softened as she approached him and pulled him into a hug, "Tell me what's wrong. You aren't alone anymore Naruto. I promise, dattebane." His eyes widened as she was replaced with a different red-haired woman with violet eyes.

The words were like a wrecking ball as nearly fourteen years of suppressed pain finally came to a head. Naruto's legs gave out, his weight bearing the two to the ground as he began to sob in his cousin's arms. As he continued to let the tears flow, Karin herself couldn't help the tears welling in her red eyes. "Shhh, I've got you. You don't have to bear it all by yourself anymore. Let it all out. You don't have to hold it in anymore." She rubbed his back in a soothing motion.

The last two Uzumaki remained huddled together, one healing, the other comforting. After a few minutes, they separated, both lightly blushing as they realized their actions.

"We speak of this to no one," the blond muttered, nudging a beer bottle with his foot and wiping the blood from his face, his nose healed..

"Agreed," Karin swiftly replied looking away from her cousin, before she remembered something Shikamaru had said in passing. "So, who's this girlfriend of yours I've been hearing about?"

Immediately, Naruto dropped to the ground, his depression causing a physical aura to appear around him. "Erza," he moaned out. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry…"

"Wow, you've got it that bad for her, huh?" Karin sweatdropped at seeing his overreaction.

The blond just rolled over so that his face was pressed against the roof. "She probably hates me now." The muffled words were accompanied by another moan of despair.

"And this is supposed to be the most feared terrorist in Bosco…" The redhead wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't happening right in front of her. Her cousin was acting like a total wimp. "It can't be that bad, can it?" she asked, trying to cheer him up. "It's not like you insulted everything her grandfather worked for in front of her and called her dreams a bunch of lies, right?" She offered, trying to come up with an outlandish situation that couldn't have possibly happened.

Naruto's aura of despair doubled in size and intensity as Karin's words pierced him like arrows. "Ugh, Erza, forgive meee," the blond moaned out, tears silently falling.

Karin sweatdropped. "Apparently I hit the nail on the head." Sighing, the redhead leaned down and grabbed her cousin by the arms, pulling him up into a sitting position. "Seriously Naruto, you need to man up. Getting wasted up here and crying isn't going to fix anything." She planted her hands on her hips. "Now, you really care for her, right?"

Hesitantly, the blond nodded.

"Then the answer is simple." Karin struck a pose, pointing at her cousin dramatically. "You just need to go and apologize to her!"

Naruto's flat look caused a vein to twitch in her forehead. "If it was that simple, I would've done it before…" he explained slowly, like Karin was a 5 year old.

The redhead gave into her urge and slapped the blond. "You idiot! Stop being such a pussy!" SLAP* If she returns your feelings even a little bit, she's probably waiting for you! *SLAP* "Don't leave her waiting!" *SLAP*

As he endured the blows, Naruto had a thought. "Tayuya is a bad influence on people."

0o0o0 A Few Days Later - Magnolia Town 0o0o0

"Sigh…"

Karin had had enough. "Naruto, I swear by the sage if you don't stop that…"

"Hai, hai," the blond replied as he dragged himself along behind his cousin. "But what if-"

"No," Karin cut him off as she spun around and jabbed a finger into his chest. "No buts. You're taking me to the guild, and you're going to man up and apologize to your girlfriend."

"But-"

"What. Did. I. Say." Karin bit out, jabbing him with each word for emphasis.

Naruto hung his head. "Okay, fine. I'll stop."

Karin stepped back and crossed her arms, a smug look on her face. "Good. Now, I thought you were supposed to be escorting me to the guild, but so far you've just been leading me in circles around the town."

"Tch," the blond clicked his tongue, his misdirection revealed. "Fine, hold on," he said, grabbing her arm suddenly with an impish smile.

"Wait, what're you-" Karin managed to get out before Naruto swung her up into his arms and leapt to the roofs before making his way to the over the top building by the lake. "Dammit Naruto, I can run myself!" she yelled, having grabbed onto him when he made the initial jump.

"Yeah, but you're not as fast as me!" He replied, becoming a blur as he sped up.

Seeing the building rapidly coming closer, Karin began to worry as Naruto wasn't slowing down. She turned, a shiver running down her spine as Naruto's smile only widened. "You wouldn't dare…" she half threatened, beginning to panic.

"Better brace for impact!" the blond said, smirking as he suddenly jumped even higher.

"NARUTOOOO-!" Karin's scream echoed, before abruptly cutting off as he landed in front of the guild with a massive boom, the ground cratering and a cloud of dust forming.

The mages inside the Fairy Tail guild hall were all clamoring over each other, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Is it an enemy attack?"

"Who would attack us now?"

"Didn't that sound like they were yelling Naruto's name?"

Before any more speculation could go on, the guild doors were slammed open as a blond missile flew through the air before crashing into a table. Eyes went from the smashed table to the female now stomping her way into the guild in pursuit of the blond, and a single thought echoed in many of their minds.

"Is that another Erza?"

"Ow, dammit Karin," a very familiar voice came from the wreck of the table, its owner shoving his way out of the debris. Naruto shook himself, dislodging the remaining splinters and dust from his clothing. "There was no need to hit me that hard."

"No need?" The redhead replied, getting right up in Naruto's face. "I think it's entirely appropriate since you decided to pull that little stunt!"

The blond just waved her off, looking around and noticing that they were the center of attention. "Hey everyone, how's it going?"

Before the stunned mages could fully recover and bombard him with questions, a door on the second level slammed open, revealing an elderly woman with pink hair and the guild master, Makarov.

"What is all that racket out here?" the woman growled out, directing a scathing glance at first the crowd, and then Makarov. "This is why I hate humans!"

"Now, now, Porlyusica, they're just kids. Don't let their antics bother you," Makarov tried to placate her, not wanting to deal with one of her tantrums/lectures.

"KYA! Is that Porlyusica-sama?!" Naruto's ears were ringing from the sudden shout. Turning to look at his cousin, he was baffled at the sight of her star-eyed look. "Uh, yeah, that's her." By the time he finished speaking, Karin had disappeared, practically teleporting up to where the older woman was if the surprised shouting from the second level was any guess.

"Why is everyone I know so weird?" Naruto wondered, before shrugging and turning back to the mages who had surrounded him and began throwing question after question at him. "Look, one at a time, I can't understand all of you," he said as he raised a hand. "But first things first, has anyone seen Erza?"

0o0o0 Magnolia Forest 0o0o0

0o0 God Knows - AmaLee 0o0

Erza walked through the Magnolia forest in silence. The last few days had seen the mage off on her own a lot, even taking missions solo rather than with her team. After everything she'd heard from Anko, Erza's mind was a whirlpool of confusion. To think that Naruto would be so complicated… She sighed as once again the blond dominated her thoughts. Thinking about someone this much couldn't possibly be healthy, but she couldn't help it. "Naruto, where are you…"

A rustling in the bushes caused the redhead to look up. Her brown eyes widened as they met the blue eyes of the man she couldn't stop thinking about. "...Not good, I'm so far gone I'm hallucinating that Naruto's right in front of me," she mumbled, shoulders slumping.

"That's hurts, Erza-chan," the blond said, clutching a hand to his chest.

"Sigh… and now it's talking to me."

Naruto frowned, before he marched right up to Erza and pinched her cheek.

"Ow!" The redhead's hand flew up to her cheek as the blond let go. Her eyes widened as the pain made it very clear that Naruto in front of her was real.

"Now do you believe I'm real?" the blond asked with a smile. It quickly vanished as Naruto adopted a serious countenance, the redhead mirroring him. "Erza… I'm sorry about before." He glanced to the side, frowning, before he looked back up at her. "I… We have to talk. Will you come with me?"

Erza stared at the blond, her expression blank, before she slowly nodded.

The two walked in silence, letting the ambient wildlife fill the void between them. It wasn't until they came around a bend that Erza realized where Naruto had been leading her, "Your camp…" Stopping just at the perimeter, she took a moment to take in it's now dismal state. His tent had become worn from weathering and leaves covered the once pristine clearing that Naruto used to train.

Naruto continued on making it to just the center before he raised a hand, forming a seal, "Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Erza immediately raised her arms to shield her face as a surprisingly strong gust burst out from where Naruto was standing. Dust and leaves blew away and just as quickly as it all began the wind died down and Erza was amazed when she lowered her arms to see the clearing almost exactly the way she remembered the first time she stumbled upon it. Looking back to where she'd last seen Naruto he was now sitting on a chair by his fire pit, a second one beside him. Realizing he wanted her to sit next to him, she quickly strode over and sat beside him.

They sat in uncomfortable silence, neither sure of what to say.

Naruto stared into the empty space of his fire pit, doing his best to figure out what exactly he wanted to tell her. He wanted to apologize, he knew that, but how? And what for exactly? Just how much did Makarov and Kakashi tell her?

Erza stared intently at him. She could see the turmoil raging within as he struggled to start. Not that she was prepared herself. Was she really ready for Naruto to confirm all that the Master, Kakashi and Anko had told her? Of course, he had already confirmed it was true. He had just used a jutsu, the signature magic of a shinobi. But the use of a magic was far different from the use of his own words. To hear from his own mouth that he had lied to her was something else entirely.

Naruto finally sighed, closing his eyes. "I… I really have no idea as to where to start."

"The beginning is always a good place," Erza offered.

Naruto snorted as he opened his eyes, still staring deep into the depths of the fire pit. "That's just it, I don't know what that is anymore. Is the beginning when I was born? Is it the first time I killed someone? Is it when I watched as my childhood home burned? Or was it when the man I thought of as a brother left me to fight a war to give me combat experience?"

It was at that moment, that Erza realized she truly didn't know the man she was sitting next to. That the laid back happy idiot she had fallen for was nothing more than a mask to hide a lifetime of pain and sorrow.

"...that's the funny thing about shinobi; no matter how much they try to hide who they are, the real person always breaks through."

Anko's words floated through her mind as Erza realized Naruto's past didn't matter. Not really. Not to her. Is it probable he'd done horrible things over the years? Yes, it was highly probable. But none of it mattered because he came back. He came back for her.

Gently, Erza reached over and placed a hand over his right, forcing him to look down as she intertwined her fingers with her own. He carefully moved his eyes from their entwined hands to her face and saw a gentle smile and caring eyes staring back at him.

"Then we'll figure it out together."

Together.

Fear ran through his entire being. A fear he'd felt only a few times before. A fear he last felt when he watched as the lacrima of the Tower of Heaven pulled Erza into it's depths and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The same fear felt as he watched Kurotsuchi sacrifice herself for him.

Then he felt a warmth in his hand. It was small and faint, but it was there. For the first time in a very long time, he felt his fears fade. Did he dare accept the happiness offered to him, after all he'd done? As if sensing his confusion, Erza tightened her grip on his hand. He looked back at the redhead and saw her still smiling at him as if nothing had happened.

"Naruto… whatever it is you've done, whoever you used to be, it doesn't matter to me. You've become someone important to me and I won't let you suffer alone."

Naruto closed his eyes as he made his decision.

Squeezing her hand back, Naruto pulled Erza out of her chair and into his lap, wrapping his arms around her. She blushed at the affectionate action, before relaxing as he began to speak.

"I was born in a shinobi village called Konohagakure no Sato..."

00000000000

Ending: Styx Helix - Myth & Roid

0o0o0o0o0o0

Now this is how you start a month. A brand new chapter that marks the beginning of a new era for By Any Means. We did it guys. We got there.

Now only a shit ton of story left to go.

Once again I apologize for how long this took to get out, we were hoping to have had this out much sooner but if you've read the previous author note health issues happened and moving and so much happened over the last month and a half it's crazy. But I'm still here, Lord of the Morning is still here, and we plan on one day getting this story done. And thanks to all of you that wished me well and are glad I'm still around it means a lot, thank you all so much. Again I'm so grateful to all of you that has stuck around for this long and been supportive of this story it's kept me writing, without all of you this story wouldn't even be here right now.

We are also looking at my old One Piece story and have begun to write for that. Completely uprooting it and starting from scratch and hopefully in the months to come will have the first wave of chapters out for those that are fans of One Piece. We're going back to its roots when it was called The Revolutionary Son and will be released in a set of chapters that cover multiple arcs and/or an arc all at once. So not something that will be updated regularly like By Any Means a chapter at a time but whole arcs 100% done all in one collection. We're not going to let interfere with By Any Means this is still our priority. By Any Means will still be updated as much as possible as soon as possible. So keep an eye out for it, I'll be updating my profile with the story summary for The Revolutionary Son soon.