Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Fairy Tail.
Chapter 1: Fairy Tail (X774)
There was a certain sense of familiarity when he next opened his cerulean orbs. A stern frown on a wrinkled, elderly face greeted him. The woman had pink tresses that were secured in a bun by large pins with moon-shaped ends, which evoked dear memories of his first love, Haruno Sakura. Her wine-red eyes, so similar to Yūhi Kurenai's, served as another reminder of his failure. From his angle on the bed, he could only see the high collar of her crimson cloak, decorated by protuberances that resembled horns. Under the cloak, a white-collared, green shirt was tied shut by a black tie. His eyes were then drawn to her thin lips as she spoke. To his eternal surprise, he could understand the language despite the variances in dialect.
A silver lining to a cloud I wish never existed, Naruto thought morosely, as the woman ragged at him. "You fool! You only just survived by the skin of your teeth. If I hadn't found you, you'll be dead or eaten by the wild animals in this forest! Don't do something as stupid as getting out of that bed, you hear me?"
The blond man chuckled in nostalgia. She sounds so much like Sakura-chan it's uncanny. "Thank you."
The woman looked taken aback by the sudden expression of gratitude. She leaned back from her looming position above Naruto's head, huffing. "Whatever. Just don't do something stupid again."
"Where…where am I?" Naruto coughed, swivelling his neck to look at the pink-haired healer who no doubt patched him up. Rather professionally too.
"You're in the East Forest of Magnolia Town," the woman rolled her crimson eyes. "You don't even know where you collapsed with those injuries? Are you even stupider than you look? You're lucky this forest holds little danger. Were you in some fight?"
"No," Naruto replied softly. I suppose there's no harm in revealing everything. I need all the help I can get now anyway. "I'm not from this place."
"I can tell," the woman scoffed derisively. "You don't look local, that's for sure."
Naruto chuckled once more, nostalgia filling him. He had not had any human interaction for so long; it felt good to be having any form of conversation, even if all the words were barbed. A rasping cough escaped his mouth at that moment, leaving the old healer to fuss over him in her own, aggravating way. "I meant I'm not from this…dimension is the most likely probability, I think."
The woman gasped involuntarily, and the blond man fixed his steely gaze on the pink-haired healer. She was quick to gather her thoughts and fix a scowl upon her aged face, but it was not going to fool a trained ninja of Naruto's calibre. It might have escaped notice had Naruto been the young and brash child he was many years ago, but he was now far too skilled, too world weary to be deceived by that. "You know something about dimensional travel? How I can return home?"
A guilty look crossed her face at that moment, as she no doubt struggled to decide on her next words. Then, she shook her head, sighing to herself. "Yes. I too, am not from this dimension. I came from a parallel dimension called Edolas, a long time ago. Are you from Edolas as well?"
The spiky-haired man squeezed his eyes shut, a soft breath escaping his lips. The disappointment and resignation couldn't be clearer in his tired, hoarse voice. "No, I don't think so. Did they have ninjas in Edolas? The Elemental Countries? Konohagakure?"
"I'm sorry," she mumbled apologetically, understanding his plight far better than most would. "Where did you mean to go?"
Naruto smiled bitterly as he glanced at the perceptive woman. "Through time."
Her crimson eyes widened at the implications of Naruto's answer, before she patted the man on the shoulder as gently as she could manage without sending lances of pain shooting through his body. Her eyes were full of sympathy, and even the seemingly standard disgust in her tone was missing. "Make a new life here. It's peaceful enough, even if there are plenty of rowdy people I know who enjoy fighting too much."
"I…I failed everyone," Naruto whispered contritely, almost too quietly for the elderly woman to hear. "I'm not sure I deserve a new life when everyone else lost theirs."
"They don't deserve you if they think that way," the woman growled fiercely, almost maternally. "You tried your best. You nearly died in the process. There's nothing else to say. Once you're healed, I'm sending you to an old friend of mine. He runs a guild in Magnolia Town. You'll be able to find employment and settle down there."
"May I know your name?" Naruto grinned weakly, his crumbling will to survive bolstered by the finality of her exclamation. "I am Naruto."
"Porlyusica," she answered promptly, before pushing his forehead down gently. "Now go back to sleep."
"Yes, ma'am."
8888888888888888
Porlyusica was rather exasperated when she found the unconscious man right in the middle of her herb shrubs. The blood that coated his body told her that he was probably some idiot who got into a fight and lost miserably, until she saw the extent of his severe injuries. A quick diagnostic told her of internal injuries that ought to have killed a man outright, instead of leaving him barely alive. The lacerations that littered his body were not consistent with weapons or magic, and it was rude to assume he was a ruffian before he could even plead his case. Curiously, all his items, including his clothes, were completely intact. That lent credence to the idea that he had not just stumbled out of a fight and was injured for other reasons.
Treating him, even with her considerable knowledge and power, was near impossible. She focused on the internal organs that were practically liquefied first; the cuts would have to heal on their own for the time being. Given his general state of health when she found him, she was rather surprised by how fast he healed, and how strong his constitution was. It was far from normal; even the high-level mages that she knew, all of them built like tanks due to the use of magic, could not compare with his rate of recovery.
Going out to gather more herbs, she returned to see him kneeling at her open front door, unconscious. As she dragged the man into her house once more, she noticed the tear tracks that ran down his face. She reckoned he must have realised something terrible, hence the crying. What she definitely didn't expect was for him to be a self-inflicted hero on some crusade to save his world by jumping through time, and ended up jumping through space instead, landing in their dimension. She knew enough about dimensional travel to understand that he would never get home, not without a way to mark his destination. He seemed to know as much the moment she mentioned Edolas, her true origins.
So used to noisy, obstinate, never-say-die members of Fairy Tail, she was rather shocked to hear the defeatist words that tumbled out of his mouth. She didn't know what sort of calamity had befallen his world, but for him to resort to something as risky as time travel (which she firmly believed was impossible), it must have been quite the disaster. He had been tight-lipped about his past, but she didn't think to pry anymore. She didn't like anyone digging into her history herself; might as well let sleeping dogs lie.
As the man recovered in mere days, he could be found sitting outside her home, on the soft grass. He seemed at home with nature, completely still in his meditative pose. Porlyusica, while not as great a sensor as her former teammate Makarov Dreyar, was far from incompetent. The golden-haired man was gathering magic at alarming rates. It didn't seem to affect any of the flora and fauna around him, in spite of the drain he must have put on his surroundings. Birds flocked to him, and insects respectfully circled his motionless form. Even deer, usually reticent around humans, visited the man during one of his meditation sessions.
When he snapped his eyes open, she was startled to find that he had red markings around his eyes, and his pupils had morphed into what resembled a frog's eyes. He corrected her; they were toad eyes, and it was a part of his sage training. She hadn't pegged a young man like him to be a sage of all things; usually people who called themselves sages were old crones like herself and Makarov.
He informed her that the magic he had gathered was mixed with the chakra that he produced naturally within his own body, to form an even stronger energy that boosted his body to superhuman levels. Porlyusica wondered if the chakra pathways he spoke of were a parallel to Second Origin. It certainly seemed that way, given the amount of magic he had gathered just to mix with his own body's energies. And that was only one third of the total amount of energy he could store in his body!
He had tried some of his ninja techniques, as he called them. The one that supposedly summoned creatures didn't work even though it utilised space-time concepts; the azure-eyed man was pretty downtrodden by the failure of that one. The rest of them seemed to work fine; he had a huge array of abilities that even Porlyusica had to admit was impressive for a callow teen of his age. He mentioned that he had plenty more up his sleeves, but they were too destructive to try; the pink-haired healer was glad that at least he seemed to care for the environment.
She helped him along with his understanding of Earthland, explaining to him the magic that mages utilised for their various skills, the systems they had in place, and the societal customs they adhered to, amongst other things. He absorbed the information readily, and did not seem too bothered by the idea of monsters and dragons. He claimed to have never heard of such creatures existing in his world, and was more curious than afraid of the beasts that she mentioned. He was rather open-minded, though she supposed for someone to believe in time-travel, one would have to be quite willing to accept that the rules of nature could be bent. What were dragons anyway, when he could actually say he warped space-time in order to accomplish instantaneous movement?
During one of his meditation sessions, a small red fox came by, seemingly attracted by the rapport her patient was demonstrating with local animals. The canine snuggled into the teen's lap without a sound, and dozed off instantly. When the blond slipped out of meditation, he seemed rather pensive about gaining a new companion. Nostalgia crossed his face as he stroked the soft crimson fur of the fox, which only nuzzled further into the warmth of his lap.
Porlyusica briefly wondered if he had a fox for a companion previously, before shoving the unnecessary musing out of her mind. He seemed pleased enough with the fox anyway, which was all Porlyusica needed to gruffly tell him that he ought to keep it with him. Sometimes, pets were good for psychological healing, even if they reminded him of his past.
8888888888888888
Naruto absentmindedly stroked the deep crimson fur of the fox he named Kurama, after the bijū who was his only friend and ally left before he voluntarily tore himself from his own dimension. He briefly wondered how the original Kurama was doing, wherever he had landed. There had been no known records of attempts of time travel they could find; he didn't even consider what would happen to the demon in his gut when he activated the seal array. It was a very easy assumption to make; Kurama would just end up following him through the time stream. His presence might even act as an anchor, to ensure they didn't jump into some other dimension because of messed-up space-time coordinates. After all, the bijū was intrinsically tied to the planet they lived upon.
Given that he ended up alone in Earthland, Kurama must have been left behind in their home dimension. At least, that was the conjecture that Naruto came to and wanted desperately to believe. There were no links back to the Elemental Countries, and since Kuchiyose no Jutsu didn't work, it meant that the gap between the two dimensions was too great to breach with his chakra and the space-time technique. As a result, there was no way to check back on the status of his homeland, and no way for him to return to give his failed rescue attempt a second try. It was a very sobering thought.
He prayed Madara did not capture Kurama any time soon. Even if the world had succumbed to the madman's schemes, the strength of Mugen Tsukuyomi was waning, albeit very slowly. The desperation of Naruto's gambit was due to his lack of knowledge on the time span for the weakening illusion. It could last for decades for all Naruto knew; there was no guarantee he would be alive and able to defeat the technique by the time it had deteriorated enough for Naruto to do something about it. It was the main reason why Kurama, and him by extension, were still being actively hunted by the ancient Uchiha. He needed the true Kyūbi's chakra to ensure that Mugen Tsukuyomi would last for eternity. Kinkaku and Ginkaku's modicum of bijū chakra just didn't cut it as Kyūbi stand-ins.
It was the most depressed he had ever been in his short life. Usually, any upset about his situation was overridden by his optimism and strength of will. He fought and fought, and never gave up. That was his nindō. But for him to work so hard in the most difficult of conditions, and end up abandoning everyone to their doomed fates inadvertently…it was the straw that broke the camel's back. He had lost all will to fight. There was nothing left for him, and nothing he could do for his loved ones. In his career, there was always a villain to beat up, a target to aim for, a mission to accomplish. Now, he was left bereft of his dreams, his goals, his ambitions. He was no better than Haku on the bridge that fateful day; he despised the Hyōton user the moment he had given up on life, and he was the very same kind of person now.
He considered ending it all as well. There were no ties left for him to sever. No one in Earthland would miss him. But the thought of Porlyusica spending her time and energies healing him back to fitness made him reconsider. He put himself in her shoes, and realised how infuriated she would be if he just wasted all of her efforts by slitting his throat. He could just wait for the end of his days, meandering about without a purpose. Survival would be a cinch in a world without war. It just wouldn't be meaningful when he didn't have anything to live for.
The guilds that the pink-haired healer spoke of with such exasperated fondness seemed intriguing, but Naruto was not too interested. While the idea of having an entire surrogate family working, laughing and growing together was somewhat tantalising, Naruto was not sure he ought to join such a group. He was an outsider, with little knowledge of their ways and customs. He was a killer while the legal guilds abhorred even the least dirty of jobs. As a ninja, he wouldn't fit. And joining a guild, finding his own patch of happiness; it felt like he was betraying everyone back in the Elemental Countries. Instead of saving them, or even dying in one last glorious battle with Uchiha Madara, he opted to jump into a peaceful world and enjoy the rest of his days.
Shaking his head to clear his morbid thoughts, he focused on the curious issue of magic. As Porlyusica gruffly explained to him, it was the spirit of nature and the spirit of the soul combining to form magical power. Ethernano in the air was absorbed subconsciously into a magic container within each mage. It sounded awfully like chakra that was just floating all around them. Meditation brought him closer to nature, and he realised that the energy named Ethernano was more like natural energy than chakra, even if they had their nuances.
When he successfully merged that with his own abundant well of chakra, he found it to be somewhat lacking compared to natural energy. He supposed it was due to the density of the energy; Ethernano was less concentrated than natural energy. He also found out he could gather Ethernano while moving, another property that differed from natural energy; he didn't need to concentrate so much to mix sage chakra given that Ethernano was less dense than natural energy, and it was far easier without the possibility of turning into a toad.
His chakra, being both an Uzumaki and the Kyūbi jinchūriki for the better part of sixteen years, was exceedingly strong and dense. Porlyusica theorised that his chakra was the equivalent of Second Origin within mages, a separate part of the magic container each person possessed. It was difficult to access for all but the strongest of mages, and provided a great boost in power when opened up. It still used Ethernano, but for the pink-haired healer, any similarity would soothe her unease. Naruto had a superhuman constitution, with an anatomy that had enough differences with Earthland mages to be classified as a humanoid alien already. Porlyusica claimed she hated humans, but she definitely hated the unknown even more.
Being distantly related to the Senju, his chakra leaned heavily towards Yang. Coupled with the Kyūbi's Yang chakra sealed within him, he was effectively nature's fertiliser. Even as he sucked up Ethernano to enter Sennin Mōdo, he was encouraging the growth of wildlife with the enriching chakra he was exuding from his pores. Kurama came to his side due to his integration with nature through senjutsu, and given he stuck around for nearly a month; the fox had passively absorbed plenty of Yang chakra. He was not very surprised by the first words that tumbled out of the crimson fox's mouth; he had seen more than enough of talking animals in his lifetime. He was, however, shocked when it managed to gather Ethernano until it was overflowing into a visible aura. He resolved to teach the little critter some tricks in the future.
Training was kept to just replicating his entire jutsu repertoire. He didn't want to risk destroying the beautiful habitat where Porlyusica had made her home in. Naruto expected she would be fairly cross if he went about destroying peaceful glades and serene streams. It wasn't long before he could pull off most of his moves, with the exception of the Rasengan variants he could execute in his Kyūbi Chakura Mōdo and Bijū Mōdo. He was infinitely glad that he had gleaned plenty of techniques from Jiraiya's notes before his arrival in Earthland; it made him more versatile, and allowed him to create even more varied identities. Replicating his mother's chakra chains was quite invigorating; he was glad to have unique techniques of both parents in his hands.
Given she had seen many of his myriad jutsu, Porlyusica had no qualms stating he was potentially at the level of the Ten Wizard Saints. Naruto was skeptical about her rather blasé judgement, but accepted the praise. He figured she was trying to give him a goal to aim for. While becoming a guild master sounded somewhat like becoming Hokage, Naruto had long forgone that dream of his. Becoming Hokage quickly took the backseat when the fate of the entire world was at stake. He wasn't sure about his true leadership capabilities anyway. For all his talk about becoming the greatest Hokage ever, Naruto had all his faults cruelly exposed by the war. He knew enough about himself to recognise that he was far from Hokage material. He had the power, but not the brains.
Porlyusica's stories of Fairy Tail, a guild she obviously loved dearly and missed terribly, were full of people exactly like that. If Naruto had been a year younger, fresh into the war, he might have enjoyed his new life in Earthland, fitting into Fairy Tail like a glove. As it was, he had a year to turn cynical and jaded about world affairs, and wasn't too sure if he could even pretend to enjoy being the Naruto of old anymore. His mind, when not emptied during meditation, was busy crafting aliases and false identities, obsessively inventorying his large cache of equipment, and pondering the merits of becoming a hermit. He was pretty sure joining a dark guild would suit a ninja like him far better. Only the threat of being hunted (again) kept him from doing so.
But joining a guild meant he could stop taking advantage of Porlyusica's grudging hospitality. He could find work, make money, and research dimensional travel further. Maybe one day he'll find some method to get back to his homeland; or maybe he'll just pull the original time-travel array he designed and keep trying and trying until he made it back to the Elemental Countries. Maybe he could even become a Magic Council member, and access their archives to look for research in the field. It was the most vague of plans, and Naruto feared he might one day grow too comfortable in Earthland, but it was worth a shot.
As similar as Porlyusica was to an older Sakura, even he would get tired of the constant nagging.
8888888888888888
It was a full month before Naruto deemed himself ready to face the wider world. Taking his time to recover his body and enrich his mind, he was a mage in all but name. Porlyusica privately thought the sapphire-eyed man was good to leave her abode two weeks earlier, but she couldn't find the heart to chase the blond out. While he had regained some cheer, he was still very prone to bouts of melancholy. She wasn't sure if he was mentally fit to assume the role of a mage, but he wasn't displaying any signs of severe mental instability. If he had coped with the weight of the world on his shoulders for as long as he claimed he had, Porlyusica was sure he could handle all the standards that a legal mage abided by.
As he was packing his belongings into a series of scrolls (a branch of skills Porlyusica found to be quite similar to Requip Magic), she offered to cut his blond hair like she had done for Makarov many times before. The spiky locks had reached the nape of his neck, and his fringe covered his forehead and shadowed his brilliant blue orbs. Two long bangs framed his tanned face, and got into his face just about every time there was a breeze. He declined the offer politely, citing something about using his hair as a weapon. She chalked that up as another one of his abilities, and pointed him in the direction of Magnolia Town.
Naruto thanked her profusely for her impeccable aid, but Porlyusica waved them away brusquely, her hand subconsciously edging towards her broom. Sensing that her anti-human sentiments were going to make themselves known before long, the blond man bade her a hasty goodbye. The travel to Magnolia Town was slow; Naruto was in no rush, and rather enjoyed taking his time for once. Ninjas usually led a hectic lifestyle, and never really gave themselves time to kick back and relax.
The forest gave way to a beautiful town, arranged roughly in a grid-like pattern. Naruto walked up a tree to get a better view, Kurama cradled snugly in his arms. There was a giant lake that stretched beyond even his enhanced eyesight to Naruto's right, and from his precarious perch on top of a tree, he could identify several landmarks. According to Porlyusica's instructions, Fairy Tail's guild headquarters was situated on the reclaimed patch of land that sat above the shores of the lake. His keen eyes spotted the tall building easily; after all, it was one of the biggest buildings in the small town.
8888888888888888
Makarov Dreyar yawned as he entered his chambers to rest for the night. Shutting the door behind his diminutive frame, he walked to his closet, ready to shed his regular clothing for his pyjamas. Opening the closet doors with a little magical stretching of his arms (for he was too short to reach the closet door handles like he could before), he stared thoughtfully at the neat stack of pyjamas that sat within. "You know, you're quite the scary guest. Might I suggest approaching us in the day next time?"
A muffled snort filled his ears. Heedless of the potential danger, he changed his clothes right there. He didn't even care if the person was watching him. The intruder could look at his wrinkled old butt for all he cared. There was a creaking noise, as the trespasser no doubt filled his wooden seat. Makarov was pretty certain the man had meant to make the sound; possibly as an indication that he was no threat. For someone to slip pass his runic wards with such ease pointed to skills that would preclude mistakes such as making wooden chairs creak.
"I'm sorry to approach you this way, but I'm not too fond of large groups at present moment," a man's voice replied quietly.
Makarov turned around calmly to gaze upon the person who stepped into his room. He had a mop of tousled, spiky blond hair; the third guild master of Fairy Tail couldn't help but feel jealous of the man's luscious locks. He had the most intense azure eyes Makarov had ever seen, their warmth and friendliness tempered by a sense of weariness. He was dressed in a dark long-sleeved t-shirt and pants, a cloth mask that covered his face from neck to eyes, and sandals that exposed his toes and heels. A short-sleeved scarlet coat, emblazoned with black fire motifs along the bottom edge, gave him a regal aura. Black fingerless gloves covered his hands; the gloves had metal plates sewn in on the back of the hand. A black stripe of cloth was tied loosely around his neck, with another metal plate affixed to it. There was an engraving on the slate, a stylised leaf design with a spiral motif that Makarov didn't recognise as any guild's symbol.
"Who sent you?" Makarov queried curiously. They were not a big guild even with the powerful mages that have made it their home past and present, and Makarov didn't recall making any enemies. The man's eyes crinkled in what the elderly mage assumed was a smile. "Porlyusica-san recommended your guild to me."
"Porlyusica?" Makarov scratched his chin. "If you want to join our guild, there's no need to be sneaky about it you know."
"I know, but I have a proposition for you," the man declared, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the chair. "You can speak with Porlyusica-san to corroborate my words. I am from another dimension that is not parallel to this one. I have a past I'd rather not reveal too much of, and I hope you won't pester Porlyusica-san about the few details I've let leak. But in my world, I'm a ninja. From the descriptions of mages Porlyusica-san gave me, I'm guessing espionage, subterfuge, sabotage and assassinations are not welcome here."
"You can choose not to do those things anymore," Makarov shrugged easily, trotting over to his large bed. He had no reason to distrust the man's words; the fact that he snuck into his room spoke volumes. Hopping on the soft surface of his mattress, he silently assessed the man's strength. While he didn't seem to have any magical powers, Makarov was reasonably sure the man was just suppressing his presence to a ridiculous degree. "You are strong. You can easily be S-class. There's no need for you to worry about work or money."
"Thank you for your offer, but I have a better one," the man leaned forwards, placing his elbows on his knees. He gazed deep into Makarov's obsidian eyes, and the Wizard Saint was taken aback by the seriousness that the man exuded. "I can do all that dirty work for you anonymously. You know as well as I do that there is no true peace, and there will always be a need for the dirtier things to be done."
Makarov shook his head despondently. "You are a rather depressing man, to think in such pessimistic terms."
"I was in a war that involved the whole world, and I ended up being the last man standing. I brainstormed for a year to find a way to change things around, while being incessantly hunted by the strongest man alive," the blond said matter-of-factly. "I think I'm entitled to such thought processes."
"Fairy Tail doesn't engage in such seedy matters," Makarov declared staunchly, his lips twisted in a childish pout. "If you want to join, then do so in the open."
The intruder sighed in exasperation, running a hand though his gloriously thick hair. Makarov grumbled under his breath at the unfairness of the world as the man took a minute to formulate his words. "I can join the guild in a guise, while doing your spying in another form. I'll like to think I am fairly proficient at infiltration and impersonation."
"Why do you have to hide your true form in Fairy Tail?" Makarov grunted, crossing his arms stoutly. "Once you join Fairy Tail, this is your home. It's a place to let your hair down."
The man's eyes widened at the mention of home, watering slightly. Makarov hid a small smile at the man's obvious desire for acceptance. To be the 'last man standing' and hunted for a year must have taken a toll on him. He looks like he barely got out of his diapers too. "So? Do you accept my terms? I will only need you to do a bit of…recon here and there for me. Porlyusica might have left this out, but we really are at peace. There's fairly little conflict that cannot be solved with diplomacy around here. Don't let the war in your world consume you. This is your new home now."
"You really know how to talk, old man," the cerulean-eyed man teased, standing up. "I see why Porlyusica-san loves you. You have a good heart, old man."
"Bah, like that old bat will have feelings for me," Makarov snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "Now shoo, boy, this old man needs his rest."
"See you tomorrow then," the man bowed grandiosely, before he vanished from view instantly.