Adventreader221: *Grasps head* Ugh, that is the last time I listen to Phoenixlord42 and drink that much in one go. Asshole.
Phoenixlord42: *Just brushes the insult off* and who was the one who started that party in the first place?
Adventreader221: *Points to Phoenixlord42* You did, you were the one that wanted those sexy bikini girls to come over and the you went and bought all the booze from the liquor store. I only followed along with the idea because you offered free booze.
Phoenixlord42: *Shows a video that it was indeed Adventreader221 not me who started the party*
Adventreader221: *Crosses arms* Uh huh, and what exactly does a fabricated video on Fanfiction prove?
Phoenixlord42: I don't go to parties much now let's get on with the story
Adventreader221: Agreed. Please ignore the two rambling nutcases and enjoy this chapter we wrote for your viewing pleasure.
Later that day after they returned to the guild Naruto left saying he had business he needed to take care of and left. Now in a unknown location, Naruto walked through the darkness with a look of seriousness on his face. Having come here alone he knew that if this location were revealed the world would never be the same as it was now. Reaching the end of the cavern he simply placed a hand on the earthen wall and pulsed his magic where a series of runes appeared to line the rest of the cave. Suddenly the wall begun to slide down until Naruto saw a vast white space in front of him. However, in the center of the white room was a simple pedestal with what appeared a ceremonial dagger sitting on it. Walking forward he grasped the dagger and brought it to his palm and sliced it where he then let his blood drop onto the pedestal, "Come forth, Will of the Earth." he stated.
Suddenly a swirling wind blew around Naruto ruffling his clothes where it began to take shape in the form of a beautiful woman he easily recognized where it quickly shifted to another where it repeated the process as he saw all those he cared for appeared in front of him, "Ah, my old friend it has been too long." the voice of multiple women spoke to him.
Naruto had a serious look on his face, "I have come here to make a couple of wishes." he said to the spirit of the very earth itself.
The being nodded its head, "Then you know what I require depending on the severity of your requests do you not?" it asked.
Naruto nodded, "I am fully aware of the price you demand, and I am willing to pay." he said seriously.
The entity smiled and spread its arms widely, "Then please, what is it you request?" the being asked politely.
Naruto smiled as he thought about his friends and those he held close to his heart before he looked to the being,
"I wish to see my family smile." he said.
The entity looked confused, "Uh Naruto, you know I cannot influence human emotion so why do you-he begun to ask only for Naruto to shake his head, "Not like that. I meant, I meant that... When they are upset I wish they would smile. I want them to be happy knowing that no matter what things will get better for them and smile. That is my first wish." he said to the entity.
The being nodded, "That can be done easily, but what is it you are willing to pay for this wish. The first wish you made for a new family I had to take the memory of your old life." the being said.
Naruto was serious as he spoke, "I am willing to take a curse if need be." he said.
The being was cautious when it spoke next, "Naruto, even with such a easy wish that is a bit much even for someone as eternal as I." the being stated.
Naruto nodded, "I know. Which is why my second wish is more severe." he said.
"And what is that wish?" the entity asked.
"I wish to die on my feet in the face of my enemies if the time should come for a war to break out over this world. I want to shock them so much that when I die i will stand in front of them and show my resolve to protect my loved ones. On my back shall be no scarring from running from a fight, even if forced to run, I ever get into. My back will be my way of showing that i will carry the weight of all my friends and families burden on my back as a symbol of pride." he said, "That is my second and final wish." he said.
"Let me ask something before I grant these wishes, Why would you want to die on your feet in the face of your enemy anyway. The world is currently at peace, and as of right now there is no sign of war approaching." it said.
"Honestly, it's a hunch I have, I don't know how but I know there will be a war in the future." Naruto said looking to the eternal being.
The Will of the Earth avatar nodded as it heard his, "Very well, what curse would you want?' it asked somberly. This one... he was willing to go so far for other's it actually made it feel emotions.
Naruto crossed his arms, "I already made my mind up. I want a terminal cancer, one that saps my strength little by little when I use my more destructive spells. One that if I use to many spells could literally spell my death. That is the payment for my second wish, my payment for the first is my trusted bisento." he said laying the weapon down in front of the being.
Nodding its head in acceptance it granted the mans wishes, "Thy wish be fulfilled, thy wish be granted, the will of all hears this agreement and accepts. Now go, live your life and always see the smiles of those you hold close while knowing that you die a warrior's death like no other which will place you in the realm of the gods." the Will of the Earth said.
Naruto nods and watches as his old Bisento vanished as it was accepted, though he couldn't feel anything different about himself as he wanted a curse placed on him. Shrugging he simply turned around and walked away and sealed the hidden room before he returned home. Upon entering the guildhall he smiled when he saw Lucy and Natsu arguing over something that made him quirk a brow, "Hey guy's what are you two squabbling about?" he asked walking up to them.
Lucy turned around and gave a wave, "Oh hey Naruto. It's nothing big." she said to him before she noticed something, "What happened to your spear?" she asked him curiously.
Naruto raised a brow, "Ok first off, it is a polearm, or better known as a Bisento. Second, from what it sounded like it did seem pretty serious to me." he told her.
Lucy sighed, "Oh it's nothing big." she said as she looked at him, "But I have some news that might surprise you." she said.
"Ok hit me." he said, he wasn't that easily surprised.
"Ok, are you sure because I was shocked when I learnt this." she said to him.
Naruto Crossed his arms, "Just tell me." he said starting to get irritated.
"Ok ok, sheesh no need to get all riled up." she grumbled, "Turns out that Loke was a Celestial Spirit, Leo the Lion." she exclaimed holding up the golden key.
"Yeah, he was Karen's old spirit. He killed her due to some weird complication or whatnot and he vowed to die a mortal." he said unsurprised.
"HOW'D YOU KNOW THAT?!" Lucy squealed in shock.
"I met the young lady who held his contract a couple times when we worked together on a couple jobs several years ago, he asked me to keep it a secret so he could repent. In truth I never did like her at all as she was a total bitch to her spirits. Kinda glad he offed to if you want the truth." he said to her.
Lucy gave a huff before she grinned, "Ok mister know it all, I bet you won't expect this." She said as she held up a set of golden tickets for a resort, "A free week at the most luxurious resort and spa courtesy of Loke himself." she said.
Naruto smirks and says "Actually I had Loke go pick them up for me. I won those at a raffle down in Chirnipe City." he said with a smirk before he snatched them away from her, "So I will be taking back my tickets thank you." he said as he took them out of the stunned blonde's hands.
"W-W-What, but he said he won them and gave them to me as a gift for saving him." Lucy muttered in shock.
It was then Naruto felt himself impacting a frying pan with his face, "Naruto you ass, give the girl back her tickets to the resort." Kurama said to him as he hefted the metal cooking pan onto his shoulder where Lucy saw a clear imprint of Naruto's face in the bottom of it.
Naruto sat up with a growl, "Kurama if you do that again I will not cook your favorite food ever again, and I will grill you instead." he told the exceed who yelped in fear. Naruto then looks at Lucy and says "I knew about the tickets as Loke told me, so it's not surprising he was planning to take some people on a free vacation as a gift for the founding festival. Mainly his lady friends." Naruto said to the now blushing Lucy.
"O-Oh s-sorry about that." stuttered Lucy with red cheeks.
Naruto waved it off, "Meh, it was just a joke. The thing about the tickets being mine, not the Loke and his lady friends part." he clarified to the beet red blonde that now has steam coming out of her ears.
Natsu turned to Lucy, "Well, with that out of the way-who ya taking?" he asked excitedly.
-The next day-
The beach outside of Akane Resort was brimming with happy people and loungers resting on the sands. Lucy stood up in her bright white swimsuit and gave a big smile as she held up the inflatable ball she had brought to play with her friends. She asked, "Hey guys, wanna play a little volleyball?" she asked them.
"Yeah!" Natsu cheered as he jumped to his feet, "That sounds awesome!" he cheered.
Happy flew up with a shower cap on his head "Aye!"
Kurama shrugged his shoulders and said "Sure why not."
Lucy stepped back before hitting the soft ball into the air "Ready!" she called out.
Happy flew over and knocked it higher into the air "Set!"
"And!" Natsu leapt up with his hands engulfed in flames. He pulled back with a massive grin before slamming it down "SPIKE!" he yelled. The ball flew down at high speeds and Lucy yelled in surprise as she ducked to avoid the speeding ball. It blew through half of a sandcastle and nearly took Gray's head off from where he was resting on a towel... in his underwear. The inflatable ball popped from the stress after a moment and the busty blonde glared at her friend, "Natsu! That was the only ball I brought!" she said to him.
"Dammit you idiot!" Gray yelled furiously as he stomped forward and knocked over the other half of the sandcastle that had been destroyed. The Ice Mage flared his teeth at the Dragon Slayer and yelled accusingly "You nearly took my head off with that freakin' ball, dumbass!" he said to Natsu.
Natsu looked aside "Well you don't have a brain in there anyway so it's not like you would be losing anything." he replied.
"Huh?" Gray grabbed Natsu's shoulder and yelled directly in his face "What was that Charcoal Breath?" he asked with a growl.
"You heard me Icicle Brain!" Natsu threatened back as he raised his fist "I said your head is totally empty and you can't get brain damage when you're missing a brain in the first place!" he said to Gray.
"Oh you're one to talk! You got so much space in your head you could rent it for free space it's laughable!" Gray said. Lucy sighed as her teammates once again did their usual yelling game.
She palmed her face "Again? Seriously guys it was just a ball no need to get so upset." she told them. Natsu and Gray growled threateningly at each other before separating.
Gray cracked his neck, "Looks like I'm gonna need to kick your sorry ass a little to get my point across, huh?" he asked Natsu.
Natsu scowled and cracked his knuckles "You're welcome to try. But I'm gonna smack you around just for saying it." Natsu taunted back.
The two boys showed their teeth and got ready to beat the living shit out of one another- "Gray. Natsu." Their skin went white as the two boisterous males looked over in absolute horror as they stared at the redhead that had returned from grabbing a snow cone from a vendor at the edge of the beach. As the two men shook in fear, Erza slowly turned her head to look over at the sandcastle she had been working on for the last hour. She closed her eyes and remained quiet…
She held the treat out behind her "Hold this." she said.
Naruto sighed before taking her snack and placed it with the tray holding the other ones they bought. He gave his own snow cone a quick lick before nodding, "At least make it quick. I do want to go back to our room to get a shower before the night begins." Naruto sighed.
Erza nodded as she slowly walked towards them, "Absolutely." she told the blond slayer. Yay shower sex for the win!
"E-Erza w-w-w-wait-" Natsu stuttered out.
"I'm sure that we can work this-" Gray tried to say.
"No more talking!" Erza said to the two problematic wizards as she summoned a sword.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" the two screamed as Erza beat them up.
Naruto just walked over to where Lucy, Kurama, and Happy were standing off to the side and offered them a cone from the tray. Lucy picked up a cone and licked the delicious treat before she sighed "Do those two ever stop fighting?" she asked her fellow blond.
Naruto answered the busty blonde with a shake of his head no, "Well considering I've known them for about seven years and it's been nothing but yelling and punches between them so... nope." he answered her.
"Don't be so surprised Lucy you've been with the guild for a few months now so this shouldn't surprise you anymore." Kurama said to her.
"Well watching those two fight is one of the first memories I have. Yelling insults and being angry and punching each other and blood. It brings back a ton of fun times!" Happy's morbid nostalgic trip was interrupted when he licked his cone and frowned. He looked up at the whiskered male, "Couldn't you have gotten me some trout-flavored ice instead you know that right?" he asked Naruto.
Naruto and Lucy shared a quick look before he glared at the blue cat, "Y'know what...next time we get snow cones, you can check with them yourself." he told the cat.
"Don't be so down Happy just be grateful it's something to snack on. Personally I like this Pina~Colada flavored snow cone Naruto got for me." Kurama said as he took a lick from his own snow cone. Lucy just looked at the Orange cat with a raised eyebrow but said nothing about it.
Erza finally stopped beating up Natsu and Gray and walked over and gave a relieved sigh "Well, I think I've resolved that little problem. They shouldn't be acting up anymore from now on." she said with a small smile.
Naruto, Kurama, Lucy, and Happy leaned over and saw other people around the beach stare quietly and avoid the spot where two lower bodies stuck out of the sand while twitching. Erza didn't seem to notice as she plucked her snow cone out of the tray and went back to enjoying her sweet treat.
Lucy took a moment while eating her snack and looked around at her team. Erza ditching her usually composed and stern attitude in favor of sitting in the sand and feeling the soft sand under her feet. Naruto happily worked with both Kurama and Happy to raise a sandcastle out of the beach. It was a big difference compared to the other outings and missions they had gone out on together recently... like really big.
When was the last time she had gone to the beach? Well technically she was at the beach in Hargeon when she first met Natsu, and Naruto more than a month ago. Okay, when was the last time she went to the beach for fun? No recent thought came to mind. But she remembered a time just like this. The warm sun bearing down and enveloping her. The shifting and subtle softness of the sand beneath her feet.
And the fuzzy warmth of playing with people she treasured and felt comfortable with. The blonde beauty smiled lightly while looking around at her friends before asking "Hey guys, why don't we play something?"
Erza looked up from where she was lounging before she too asked "Well what did you have in mind?"
"Hmmmm." Lucy looked up in thought before she snapped her fingers triumphantly "How about we see who can make the best sandcastle." she said to them.
"Yeah! The biggest and best sandcastle wins!" Naruto declared loud enough for all of them to hear with Kurama nodding his head in agreement. He kneeled back down around the sandcastle he was already making, "This one's mine and Kurama's! Ready set GO!" he said as he and Kurama began building it up more. Clapping his hands together he surged his magic causing the sand to shift and soon it took the form of a large castle that was big enough for people to walk around in, Kurama flew around and begun to carve in windows and place flags the gods only knew he got from who knows where.
Lucy pointed to her fellow blonde, who had actually felt like not wearing his bandanna to the beach which surprised Lucy with his hair color as she didn't think he was blonde, and screamed at him-"Hey that's cheating!" she cried out.
"Earth Dragon Slayer, this is like clockwork for me." he told her.
"So, we weren't supposed to use magic." she said.
Naruto looked to Kurama as the exceed looked to him before they burst into laughter, "That was never in the rules." he laughed out. Unfortunately he was right, there were no rules about them using magic. However, before they could celebrate their victory-the sandcastle suddenly vanished shocking Naruto and Kurama, "AHH, WHERE'D IT GO!" Naruto cried out in shock. It was just there a second ago.
Lucy giggled to herself. Score one for Lucy Heartfilia, thank you Virgo. Naruto then thrusts his arm into the ground and pulls up the leg of Virgo "Yeah I thought I smelt you hiding there, trying to dig a pit under me only to run into a wall of steel from the sand I converted into the metal for the foundation. Naughty Virgo." he said to her.
"Is it time for punishment Master?" she asked him.
Naruto smirks and says "Oh yes and your punishment." He makes some steel and wraps it around her so she can't dig anymore "Is to stay in that for about, oh five hours." he said.
"Oh, the Iron Dagger. Master you sure do know how to please a woman." she said with a blush on her cheeks as he smelt the smell of arousal from her.
Lucy is shocked with her mouth wide open, betrayed by her own spirit, "Virgo, you traitor!" she squealed out.
"Sorry princess, but I am busy right now." she said brushing Lucy off.
"Fine, we'll do it by hand. But don't expect us to do it all with our hands." Kurama said, this was getting them nowhere. With that he about to scoop up sand, "This one is mine and Naruto's." he said.
Happy looked up at his brethren in shock "What?! I was making this one too guys! You're just stealing it from me?!" He cried a little and dramatically ran away "Traitor's the both of you!" he said as he cried.
"All you did was put a twig on the top mound! Learn to contribute more if you want credit you little freeloader!" Kurama yelled at his fellow feline.
"Traitor!" Happy ran over to the legs planted in the sand and nudged them softly "Natsu! We're making sandcastles and I need your help!" he said to the now apparent Natsu. Natsu's legs started to bend before he popped out of the sand with an eager pounce.
He didn't seem the least bit taxed by the beating and planting he had gone through as he looked down at his best friend, "Got it Happy! Let's make the most kick ass sandcastle ever!" Natsu said.
"Aye sir!" Happy said.
Gray followed up and popped out of the sand next. He rubbed some of it out of his hair before he scoffed "You think you could make a good sandcastle Natsu? Somehow I can just see you wrecking that just like everything else you touch." he said to the pinkette.
Natsu looked back and scowled at the ebony-haired wizard "Yeah well we'll see about that." Natsu looked down again before grimacing and looking away "By the way, this isn't a nude beach Gray." he said.
"Nude beach?" Gray looked down, "The hell are you-OH COME ON!" Gray covered his nudity in an effort to shield it from the prying eyes of anyone on the beach... mainly the women. He immediately turned back to the hole he was planted in and started digging it up to find his trunks. Unbeknownst to him, there was a shrill gasp and moan from a woman as she passed out from embarrassment from what she saw.
Naruto was quickly patting the sand down to make it more compact and tougher to fall apart. There was no way he was gonna lose out to any of his friends in a challenge like this! He pulled and pressed down on the mound of sand to try and make a tower out of it. After taking a moment to make a few crude towers, he looked around to see the others were steadily making progress.
The blond haired man grumbled a little at the fact he was losing his advantage before an idea popped into his head. He jumped to his feet and away from his masterpiece and smiled "If you wanna make a bigger castle, you just need more material to build with!"he said.
"Good idea Naruto" Kurama said. Naruto then lifted up his foot and covered it in magic until it gave off a glow. He smiled and kicked the ground, "HAH!" he yelled out as a and cloud exploded from beneath and Naruto found himself in a massive empty hole he had created. With this, a ton of sand was displaced above on the beach and he could use that to fortify his castle! He climbed his way out of the ditch... And found that there was no pile of sand anywhere in sight. Naruto looked around in surprise and shock,
"W-wait what the hell? Where's our sand?! Where'd it-" he started to say. He then got his answer when he saw Kurama pointing over his shoulder and saw two large piles of sand now resting beside Natsu and Gray's attempts at castles.
His eyes twitched with annoyance before he growled out "Did you guys steal our sand?" he asked them.
Gray didn't look at him "I have no idea what you're talking about." he said.
Natsu smirked and added more sand to his pile, "First come first serve, Naruto! Sorry man!" he told his fellow dragonslayer.
Happy stood atop the pile of sand and pointed a paw at the blond mockingly "All's fair in sandcastle building and war! Guess you're just gonna have to pick up the slack and hurry up!" he teased and giggled, no doubt finding joy in teasing the man that had kicked him off the original team. Naruto furrowed his eyes in displeasure as he knelt down to his feet and looked around for something in the sand. Happy perched himself on the top of the growing castle as Natsu worked on its foundation. He looked down at his partner, "Hey Natsu, once we're done beating everyone else with our sandcastle, you wanna go get some fish and go to the amusement park?" he asked his friend.
Natsu looked up and grinned "Totally!" He started laughing with his best friend, "We're gonna wanna celebrate how we win!" he told the blue cat.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed.
*Swish*
Natsu and Happy's jovial expressions disappeared when they heard a swift piercing sound in the air before deafening silence. Suddenly, the castle crumbled entirely on the spot and Happy was smothered by the sand. Natsu looked down in shock at all his hard and stolen work turned to ruin in the blink of an eye. He noticed a little bump in the sand and pulled out a seashell, "W-who-" he began.
"Awwwww~, what's wrong guys?" Kurama's voice called out as Natsu looked over and saw Naruto and the red cat bouncing some seashells in their hands as the blond smirked, "Did things not go too well for you two? Guess things aren't always fair in sandcastle building and war, huh?" he teased the pink haired mage. Natsu snarled and showed his teeth at the whiskered blond that was pressing him to react.
But before the pink-haired boy charged to attack, he just smirked and covered his hand in fire. With a quick flick of the wrist he tossed the seashell as hard as he could and destroyed Naruto's sandcastle as well "AHHH! DAMMIT NATSU, WHAT THE FUCK?" the blond whined.
"HOW ABOUT I ASK YOU WHAT THE FUCK?!" Natsu yelled back with equal ferocity "DON'T GO BREAKING MY SANDCASTLE JERK!" he yelled at Naruto.
"WELL DON'T STEAL MY SAND YOU IDIOT!" Naruto yelled back as he started pulling on Natsu's cheeks and stretched them out. Natsu retaliated and pulled on Naruto's cheek and hair.
The two boys kept struggling and arguing while getting looks of surprise from the other patrons around the beach. Gray spared them a look while making his castle and sighed, "Geez you two. Can you not cause a scene while the rest of us are-WOAH!" He jumped to his feet and created a shield of ice to block the seashell propelled towards him with extra speed from some wind. He yelled beyond the shield "What the hell?!" he exclaimed.
"You wanna criticize us, you're pulling yourself into a losing battle Gray! Now suffer!" Naruto said as he started to pelt the shield with a barrage of seashells at blistering speeds as they left small cracks on the surface of the shield. Despite the force and speed Naruto threw the shells, they weren't making any progress in piercing through any part of the sturdy ice shield.
Gray smirked from behind his defense "Sorry Naruto, but you're gonna need a lot more force to break through this baby than some seashells!" he said. However it didn't last when he heard Natsu Laugh from above him.
"Well how 'bout a bomb then?" Natsu's voice called out.
Gray's eyes widened and he looked up just in time to see Natsu floating over him with Happy's help.
The blue cat dropped him directly above Gray and announced, "Bomb's away!" Happy said as he dropped Natsu.
"BANZAI!" Natsu said as enveloped himself in fire and roared as he landed and blasted away the sandcastle. Gray stood there in shock as the cloud of sand settled and he was covered head-to-toe in sand.
The Ice Mage looked over himself and shook with anger before he yelled at the Dragon Slayer "DAMMIT HOTHEAD! NOW ALL OUR CASTLES ARE RUINED!" in fury.
Natsu yelled back and pointed at the blond "BLAME NARUTO AND KURAMA FOR BREAKING MINE FIRST! I WAS JUST EVENING THE FIELD!" he yelled back.
Naruto yelled back "WELL YOU GUYS SHOULDN'T HAVE STOLEN FROM ME AND KURAMA!" to the two.
"YEAH DON'T STEAL FROM US!" Kurama said heatedly.
"SHUT UP!" Natsu yelled as he punched Naruto across the face. The blond man reacted and punched Gray across the face in return.
Gray kicked Natsu in the stomach and the three boys turned into a pile of punches and kicks towards each other to shut them up. "Guys, can you please stop fighting? And Naruto why are you acting so childish?" Lucy asked. The three men stopped their fun and looked over at Lucy and her sandcastle. But it wasn't so much a crude sandcastle as a wonderful masterpiece of architecture constructed from sand. She focused on patting down the detailed tower "You might mess up my castle!" she told them.
The three men stopped their brawling and shared a look with each other. A star twinkled soon formed in their eyes before they pounced towards Lucy's castle to ruin it, "BANZ-AHHHHHHH!" But before they reached Lucy's castle the ground beneath them fell out and they were dropped into a deep series of hidden pits. Lucy stuck her tongue out playfully as Virgo popped out of the sand beside her.
Wait, how'd she get out of Naruto's punishment?
The maid spirit bowed her head respectfully, "Princess, the defenses for your kingdom worked exactly as you predicted them to. Congratulations." she told Lucy.
Lucy smiled victoriously "Thanks Virgo! And nice job on the castle too! It's beautiful!" she told her spirit.
"Will you punish me now like Master Naruto did, Princess?" Virgo questioned Lucy.
"No, still not gonna do that." Lucy said as she looked around at the state of her victory. A hole containing her most dangerous enemies, three mad wizards two of which were slayers. A stunned orange and blue cat that could only gape at the fact that her stupid trap ditch plan actually worked.
And finally- "And... done." Erza said proudly as she finished one small tower of her castle as a childlike expression came over her face. She piled up some more sand to use. "And next, the main structure." the redhead said.
Lucy didn't know whether to consider her a threat in the game or just someone playing around. Probably the latter. Virgo looked up at her Key holder "Princess." she said to the blond.
"What's up?" Lucy asked the spirit.
"I should probably inform you that there is a rumbling occurring beneath the ground." the spirit told Lucy.
"What?" she exclaimed as realization finally dawned over Lucy's face as she groaned, "U-uh oh." she said.
"WRAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Eruptions of fire, ice, and a a few rocks exploded from beneath the sand and caused the beach around them to shudder.
The large sandcastle tumbled over and fell on top of Lucy as she was completely smothered. She popped out and spat up some sand before yelling, "Guys, you ruined it!" the buxom blond burst out of the ground said.
"AHHHH, I DON'T CARE ABOUT CASTLES ANYMORE! THIS IS WAR!" Naruto yelled out as Karuma flew over and hovered next to him, "I'm ready to kick some ass." the cat said brandishing a knife. Then Virgo found herself back in the Iron Dagger and she is in it TIGHTER! She moans with a blush.
Gray popped out as well and was already molding his magic to attack, "SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!" he yelled out.
Natsu blasted the ground away from him in a pillar of fire as he cheered, "ALRIGHT! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" the pinkette yelled out as Happy flew over to him, "Let's beat these bitches into the ground." the cat said.
People watched in amazement as the small group of young adults started releasing waves of elemental attacks in all directions. One moment fire erupted and engulfed the air above them. Then it immediately turned cold as ice suddenly popped up in its place. Then waves of earth, nonlethal ones, spread over the entire beachfront. And the strange people suddenly appeared from thin air and yelled while attacking one another while two cats whacked one another with buckets.
Erza blissfully worked away on her sandcastle as the pandemonium occurred beside her with no worry. She happily finished with her crude but cute castle until... "WRAH!" Only for an explosion to shake and topple her hard work. The redhead looked down in horror at the result of her efforts before she grit her teeth in anger. She stood up, shoulders shaking with fury and eyes hidden by her scarlet hair. She raised a fist-
"YOU IDIOTS!" the redhead roared at them.
"OH MY GOODNESS!" the two yelled out as the cats were suddenly nowhere in sight.
Naruto vanished as well and they are looking around for him not knowing that he suddenly burrowed into the ground and away from the danger leaving Gray and Natsu to suffer her wrath.
"Please don't cause any more trouble while you're at the beach." A lifeguard told the group sternly, "There are other people trying to relax here too you know." he told them.
"We're sorry." The five young adults and two cat's bowed their head apologetically to the lifeguard after causing a big scene. The lifeguard nodded and went back to his post. The group of Fairy Mages looked around at the effects their arguing and fighting had caused. Pillars of ice with spots of foliage either being toppled over from the wind or burning from the fire with sand turned to glass from from overheating.
Erza lowered her head in shame, "We went too far... again." she muttered.
Lucy sweated a little, "Maybe we should try to do something a little easier?" She scratched her cheek, "Any suggestions guys?" she asked them.
"Oh! Oh!" Natsu started waving his arms with eagerness as he pointed back towards the resort and grinned, "I say we go try some of the rides! I wanna ride the coaster around the resort! I hear you'll feel like your face is sliding off your head right away!" he said.
Lucy went pale "That just sounds terrifying. Wait what about your motion sickness?" she asked him.
"It doesn't matter we gotta try it out!" He reached over and grabbed Lucy's wrist "C'mon Luce! It's gonna be so much fun!" Natsu said.
"Idiot." Naruto muttered. Naruto, Kurama and Erza were now the stragglers as they stood at the edge of the beach.
The redhead crossed her arms and gave them a stern glare at their carefree attitude even after their misbehaving.
She shook her head, "I know they're trying to relax, but we can't just ignore these moments when we are being told about our errors. They shouldn't just..." She looked up to see Naruto with a conflicted look on his face as he stared at the amusement park entrance. She asked, "What is it now?" she asked him.
He bit his lip before bouncing on his toes "Well... I really wanna try out the bumper cars." he said to her.
Erza's eyebrows rose in surprise "They have bumper cars?" she asked him.
"Yes!" Kurama said.
Erza looked back at the beach and struggled with her moral compass before coughing into her fist "I uh I suppose... us being told off is nothing new exactly. We could remember this as a learning experience and-"she was interrupted by Naruto.
"Well c'mon! We're gonna be last in line red!" the blonde exclaimed grabbing his friend's hand.
"Wait what about your own motion sickness?" Kurama said.
"I'll be fine bud remember." he told the cat. Erza abandoned her train of thought as she and the blonde quickly sprinted towards the entrance to play in the park.
"If you puke just remember it's your own fault." Erza said smiling.
"Yeah but it'll be worth it." Naruto replied to the redhead.
"WAIT A SECOND, YOUR TOO BIG!" Kurama called out.
"Eh, I can put my legs on the hood of it or something." Naruto said as he dragged Erza away.
Naruto sighed as he rolled off Erza, who was now filled once again with Naruto's semen, sighed in orgasmic bliss, "You sure Mira won't mind us having sex?" she asked him.
Naruto chuckled, "Of course. She was the one who brought in Bisca and Evergreen when she got too tired to have sex." he said.
Erza nods and says "It seems that they're not your only secret girlfriend huh?"
Naruto chuckles and says "Last I checked, I'm looking at one of them." rather cheekily. Rolling over to peck her on the cheek he recoiled and held his nose, "While I would love to kiss you, ya need a shower red." he said with a snicker.
Erza rolled her eyes at him as she climbed out of the bed and sauntered to the bathroom, "Like your one to talk." she said before stopping at the door, "Well, you coming?" she asked him. Naruto couldn't get out of his bed fast enough.
Nearly a hour would pass before either of them decided to get out and shower individually.
Naruto walked out of the shower and was drying off his face and hair. He took a moment to make sure there was no remaining smell of sand or salt water over his body before he gave a satisfied nod and walked out into his room. He walk out with his towel around his waist as he wore a pair of black underpants for modesty underneath just in case the towel fell, not that it mattered anyways as the scarlet haired beauty was a closet pervert. "Erza the showers free." He said as he headed towards the closet and looked around for his shirt and pants before he realized he hadn't received a reply from the woman "Erza?" he questioned.
He looked around the room to see that she wasn't sitting in the chair or on the beds, unlike a sleeping Kurama who was resting on a pillow. He stepped around and finally noticed her resting back in a lounge chair on the balcony of the hotel room in her bikini. The long day of playing with the others on the beach, riding thrill rides for hours, and bathing in the warm setting sun had caused her fatigue to win and sleep to settle over her.
He smiled warmly at the sight of the sleeping redhead, resting contently after a long day of fun. There was a lot he liked about Erza but one of his favorite things was when she relaxed, abandoned all the troubles that bothered her, and took the time to enjoy herself. She tried to shoulder so much of the guild's problems and responsibilities by herself because she was the only one that could really handle it. And he knew how much she needed this time to unwind. Probably even more than him or Kurama.
Naruto decided to let her sleep and grabbed a pair of pants for their evening out with the others and he pulled them up over his legs- "Mmmmm. Mmm! Mmm!" he heard. He heard a soft moan of fear and discomfort as he looked back at the balcony. Erza's feet started kicking out on reflex and she started jerking around on the chair like she pushing something away. His eyes widened in shock as he immediately ran to her side and grabbed her arms forcefully, "Erza! Erza wake up!" he said to the redhead shaking her to wake her up.
Erza's brown eyes shot open in terror as she panted and looked around to confirm where she was. When she saw Naruto kneeling over her with his hands around her arms, she immediately figured out what had happened. She took a moment to catch her breath before she nodded, "I'm...I'm okay." she said. Naruto waited before gently letting go and allowing her to sit up in her chair.
As she seemed to calm herself down with a deep breath and placed her feet back onto the balcony he finally broke the awkward silence "It was a nightmare, wasn't it? About the tower." he questioned her.
Erza was silent for a moment before giving a small nod. She sighed in disappointment before running her hand along her face, "It's been awhile since the last one." She muttered before shook her head, "There must have been a trigger and I..." she muttered again before Naruto gently squeezed her shoulder to comfort her as she needed a minute to collect herself. Sometimes, not very often but enough, she would have a dream reliving moments from their time in the Tower of Heaven. The work. The torment. The torture. The fear. The hopelessness. Eight years later and those things still stick.
"I'm sorry." Erza's voice permeated the silence that was hanging between them, "I didn't mean to ruin the evening like this." she said to her friend.
"Don't ever apologize for that red. Nightmares are a normal thing for all of us." Naruto responded while squeezing her shoulder again.
"But it never happened to you when you're trying to relax." Erza said as stood out of the chair and took a moment to take a deep breath of the fresh air as the gleeful screams of the park patrons filled the background.
Erza looked out towards the beach in silence before she looked down at Naruto "I arrived a few miles down the beach when I came from a place called the Tower of Heaven." she said to him. Naruto looked up at her in surprise before standing up and looking out in the same direction she was.
He shook his head, "I didn't know that." he said. "So where is it anyways?" he asked her.
"I forgot myself. Akane Resort wasn't as big a place as it is now back then. It was just a hotel." Erza said.
She then turned back around and held her arms together like she was hugging herself "A lot has changed in that time. And some things not at all. And I'd rather not say as it brings up to many bad memories." she said. Erza stepped in front of the mirror inside the wall of their room and stared at herself for a moment. She rubbed her arm before looking down at her wrist and ankles to see a pattern of faded scar skin that had come from years of wearing shackles. She shook her head "I still need to hide behind armor after all these years. It feels like I haven't changed at all since I was a kid." she muttered.
She suddenly felt a pair of arms encircle her and hold her closely. She leaned back a little as Naruto hugged her tightly from behind. He whispered "You're become one of the strongest people I've ever met. You're certainly brave for sure. Braver than me. It doesn't matter that you need to hide your fear sometimes. We all hide sometimes red." he muttered.
A small smile came over her face and she brushed her hair behind her ear. "Then how come you don't wear armor?" she asked the blond.
"Who says I don't?" Naruto said as he rested his head on a wall "My armor just appears when I need it." he replied.
She is curious by the comment, "That's strange. Usually you are an open book. Why would someone as open and powerful as you need armor?" she asked him.
Naruto looked at her, "Everyone needs some form of strength to help them carry on." he told her.
Erza nodded her head, "No argument there." she stated in agreement. Naruto chuckled as he grabbed her and brought her into a hug where she gave a girlish squawk from his unseen embrace.
*Knock*Knock*Knock* "Erza, you in there?" Lucy's voice came from behind the door as she entered with excitement "The guys already went down to the casino and we wanted to..." Lucy blinked in confusion and hesitated to ask, "What-uh-what are you doing?" she asked as she saw the two embracing.
"I'm comforting a friend." the dragon slayer said to the blond.
"Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to tell you that we were going to the casino. Oh and you can bring Kurama if he wants to come." Lucy said.
"Oh don't worry about him he'll sleep for the rest of the night." Naruto said.
"Yeah-uh-good idea." Lucy was about to step away before she asked "You coming?"
Naruto and Erza nodded. "Yeah I'll leave a note for Kurama that'll tell him we're going down." he said as he started to look for a piece of paper and something to write with.
"Got it. Come on Erza." Lucy cheerfully said and closed the door as she left with the redhead.
"And the lady has a royal flush!" the dealer said.
"Woah!"
"That's her fifth hand in a row!"
"Who is she?"
Lucy clapped excitedly and hugged the woman around her shoulders, "Wow Erza, you're so cool!" the blonde said to her.
"It's not much. I guess I'm just being lucky." Erza modestly boasted while she was the center of attention for all the people watching her play poker. The others players on the table could do nothing but stare in shock at this amateur that walked up in such a colorful blue rose dress. She perked up, ready for the next hand "Let's continue this little game. I'd love to see what plays next." she said.
Further down the casino strip, Natsu and Happy watched eagerly as a roulette wheel spun at quick speeds with the ball bouncing around. The wheel finally started to slow down before coming to a complete stop, "14 Black. The house wins." the dealer said.
"NOOO!" Natsu cried out as he grabbed the wheel and jerked it around, "The ball was in 7 Red for a moment! This thing is rigged! The wheel's knocking the ball around!" he said shaking the wheel.
"S-sir please stop! We need that wheel to play the game!" the dealer stuttered out.
Happy flew up and landed on Natsu's shoulder "Natsu, it's okay! Just trust my judgement and we can still make a killing in this game! Just put it all on 39 Black!" the cat told his friend.
Natsu grinned and nodded, "Good idea Happy!" The Dragon Slayer slammed the wheel back down on the table
"All on 39!" he said to the man.
"S-sir, the board only goes up to-" the dealer started to say.
"I said 39 dammit!" Natsu yelled at the man. Meanwhile Gray shook his head at the echoing scream that reached their end of the casino.
The Ice Mage pulled on the slot machine lever and sighed tiredly "Doesn't that idiot ever shut his mouth? You'd think his brain would die out with all that lack of oxygen." he said as he looked at Naruto.
Naruto shrugged while playing the slot beside him,"I don't know, maybe Natsu's learned to live without oxygen. Somehow it feels like he'd figure out someway to do that by accident. But you shouldn't be focusing too much on him. If you do..." Naruto pulled down his lever and immediately got a jackpot, "You're gonna get left behind! Woohoo!" he cheered.
"What the hell?" Gray yelled in exasperation while coins fell out of the coin slot in a massive wave of winnings. Naruto laughed cheerfully as the black-haired man shook his head "How do you keep hitting the good slots?! That should be impossible!" Gray said looking at the dragonslayer.
"Don't really know. But it's fun getting all these coins." Naruto said before he grinned as Kurama picked up another coin before sliding it into the slot to play again, "You wanna just sit there staring at my awesome skills or do you wanna win back some money?" Naruto questioned as Gray's eye twitched and he scowled.
"My machine's rigged. It's gotta be." he grumbled out.
"U-Um...e-excuse me, Naruto-sama?" a shy voice said.
Naruto heard somebody quietly whisper his name from behind. He turned around to see a lovely young lady with pretty pale skin and wearing a flattering blue dress that complimented her curvy figure. Her long blue hair was rolled into three stacked curls on each side of her head. Despite only meeting once, he immediately recognized her from the recent conflict with Phantom. She shyly nodded her head, "I-it's good to see you again." she said with a small wave.
"Oh" jumped out of his seat, "It's you!" he said pointing to her. Gray leaned back to see who had scared Naruto like that and saw the pretty young lady.
He raised an eyebrow, "Someone you know?" he asked the blond.
"She's a Mage from Phantom Lord! One of the Elemental Four!" Gray looked back at her in surprise, "We fought against each other when their guild came and attacked ours. She's a Water Mage and she's tough." Gray stood up prepared for a fight, "If you came here for a fight-" he started to say but she shook her head no real quick.
"N-no no not at all!" Juvia said as she waved her arms at a rapid speed to stop any fighting breaking out between them "Juvia isn't here to fight! And she doesn't want to fight about Phantom Lord anymore! She swears!" she told them. Gray blinked in confusion before sharing a baffled look with Naruto.
The blond shrugged his shoulders before Gray turned back to the woman, "Well if you're not here to fight then why are you here?" he asked.
Juvia blushed with embarrassment and timidly spoke, "J-Juvia would like to talk with you about something, i-if you don't mind N-Naruto-sama." she said looking at Naruto.
Gray tilted his head, "Sama?" he asked her.
"Well, if you wanna talk about something..." Naruto scratched the back of his head before casually nodding, "I guess if you aren't mad then it'll be cool." he said as Juvia brightened up in joy as he looked back at Gray, "You gonna be okay by yourself?" he asked the Ice Wizard.
"Yeah." Gray pulled on the lever again and got good spin, "I'll just be hanging out here, winning back my losses." he said.
Naruto scowled, "Don't know why I bothered." he grumbled.
Juvia wrapped her arms around his bicep and pulled him along "This way Naruto-sama! This way!" she said walking away. Gray watched them walk off before focusing back on his slot. He pulled the lever again and watched as another good spin came to his favor as coins filled the deposit. He grinned and started collecting his winnings.
When they were a few feet away Naruto pried the young brunette off his arms. "Ok what is it you want to talk about?" he asked her.
"N-Naruto-sama Juvia was wondering if it were possible..." she started to mumble.
"I'm sorry I didn't catch the last of that could you repeat yourself?" he asked her.
"Juvia would like to know if I could join Fairy Tail." she said with a bit more courage. This surprised the blond dragon slayer as he didn't expect that.
Naruto blinked at this "You...you want to join Fairy Tail?" he asked her.
"Yes! Very much so!" Juvia responded with a twinkle in her eye, "Since Phantom Lord was disbanded, Juvia has become an independent Mage. And in that time, Juvia has been looking around and she believes that Fairy Tail would be the best place to join. She knows how close you all are to each other. How much fun you have. How often you sleep without shirts on in your hotels." she mumbled the last part out.
"What was that?" Naruto asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing." Juvia looked at her crush with a hopeful optimism, "What do you think Naruto-sama? Do you think Juvia has a chance of joining?" she asked him. Naruto was stumped and stayed silent for a moment in deep thought.
He scratched his head, "Uhh...I'm not sure. I mean I guess I don't have a problem with it. And if you really aren't angry at us for causing Phantom to disband." he said.
"Not at all." Juvia shook her head "She understands why you chose to fight." she replied.
Naruto shrugged and grabbed his Pina~Colada "Then I guess it's really up to the guild if you can join. When we come back from the trip I can introduce you to Master and then-" he was interrupted before he could finish.
"Woah!" a voice yelled out. gaining his attention. Naruto and Juvia stopped talking when they heard the excited and girly voice interrupt their dialogue. They looked over to Naruto's other side as a young teenage girl was closely examining Naruto's drink with a mesmerized gaze.
The younger girl was wearing a bright yellow jacket with a pink shirt underneath with a bow. Her brown hair was tied up into two small ponytails on either side with the top of her hair looking similar to cat ears. She had red tattles on both cheeks that resembled whiskers and her cat-like eyes sparkled at the strange drink, "Oooooooooooooo~, I've never seen water like this before. It's got little crystals around it and everything." she said.
Naruto blinked in confusion about this girl's strange fascination with his drink. He deadpanned, "Uh, that's because it's not water. It's a Pina~Colada, you know-a form of alcohol." he told her.
"Pina~Colada?" The girl looked at the drink in wonder before looking up at the dragon slayer "Hey hey, can I try some of it please? I've never had one before! Please!" she begged him.
Naruto just shrugged and offered it up, "Sure, knock yourself out." he told her.
The stranger took the drink and had a quick sip before her eyes widened and she gagged. She grimaced from the sudden and strong taste as she struggled to swallow the drink. She finally forced it down before shaking her head, "Ew. That tastes really bad. And I don't feel as spiffy as I did before." she said.
Naruto nodded, "It's a required taste." he told her.
Juvia watched from the side as this stranger not only interrupted their conversation, but she also got to drink from his glass! "SHE GOT AN INDIRECT KISS SO EASILY!" She stood out of her seat and walked around her 'date' to face the stranger with a menacing glare, "Juvia is sorry, but this is unacceptable. It is very rude to just come over here next to strangers and drink from one of their glasses like that! Even Juvia hasn't gotten the chance to drink from the same glass as Naruto-sama yet!" she told the cat girl.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Why does that matter?" he asked Juvia.
The girl smiled and stood out of her seat before shaking her head, "Oh that's not a problem." She gave a cute smile "I'm exactly with who I need to be here with." she said.
"What are you-IYA!" Juvia was caught off guard when a strange stretchy tube wrapped around her body and locked her arms into an uncomfortable position. Gray jumped out of his seat in surprise as Juvia tried to escape but stood there in shock, "M-my body, Juvia can't escape!" Juvia said shocked.
Naruto brought his fist into his palm "Why you-" he began but before he could do anything…
"Catch." she said. The girl pushed the tangled Juvia forward and Naruto had to catch her before she fell over. A second elongated tube appeared around them and tied itself around Naruto and the already ensnared Juvia.
They were trapped together as Naruto and the Water Mage stuttered "What the hell?" he asked the other woman.
"See ya." she told them.
The girl got in their blind spot and slammed her palm into Juvia's stomach, sending them flying back into the bar's main structure and frightening the other people around the bar. Juvia moaned in pain as Naruto lifted them both up and groggily shook his head, "Who is this girl?" he asked. Another tube stretched into the corner of his eye and he watched it circle around a support pillar of the bar.
She pulled it and the pillar broke instantly, sending the entire ceiling of the bar and its drinks crumbling down on top of the two trapped Mages. The cat girl winked at her crushed enemies and waved goodbye "Sorry but it's just because you guys are so spiffy." she said before she disappeared from their sight.
"I don't know about you but something isn't right." Naruto said as Juvia nodded.
"Let me help you Naruto-sama." she said to him.
"Seriously you need to stop with the 'Sama' crap." he told the blunette.
Juvia shook her head, "I can't Naruto-sama. Naruto-sama is Naruto-sama." she said to him.
Natsu slammed his head down on the table in defeat,
"Dammit! I! Can't! Win!" he yelled.
Happy patted his back sympathetically, "It's okay Natsu! We can still pull a win out of this! Just put it all on B-8!" he told Natsu.
"That's the eighth time I've had to put it all down!" Natsu cried a little "I have nothing left to give Happy!" he cried.
"Sir if you're done playing can you please step aside.
There are still other people trying to participate!" the dealer said to him.
Natsu groaned and slammed his face down in despair, "Dammit! Dammit! Da-a-a-ammit!" he balled anime tears.
"I've never seen a man act so pathetic and small before." a voice said behind him.
Natsu's anguish was completely abandoned as he jumped up to his feet and growled out threateningly, "Okay, who said that! You wanna start something!" he said. The man chuckled a little at Natsu before he shook his head.
"I don't feel like starting a fight with a brat." The man who said it was dressed in a pristine blue suit with a scarf around his neck and hat on his head. He had a pair of sleek sunglasses and a small cigarette releasing a plume of smoke to complete his dandy image. However the whole look was completely ignored due to the fact that its wearer looked remarkably like his entire body was made of blocks, with jointed limbs and a strangely shaped chin as he glowered at the pink-haired wizard "Men should stay tough and act dandy, not whining and complaining. Ain't you got any self-respect kid?" he questioned Natsu.
Natsu had completely forgotten about the argument he was having because he was too mesmerized by the man's strange appearance. Happy was entranced by the look as well as they pointed at the man, "Block man." the cat said.
The oddly shaped man took a deep drag of his cigarette before just shaking his head again "Can't believe I gotta waste my time with an un-dandy guy like this." he complained.
Natsu recovered from his shock and yelled at the man "Hey, who the hell do you think you are! You wanna come over here and say that to my face!" he yelled at the block like man.
In an instant, the well dressed man jumped through the air and kicked Natsu's arms to the table, his feet becoming strange glowing blocks that pinned the dragon slayer to the roulette table. The dandy block man stood up over the surprised Fairy Mage before he looked aside towards all the frightened people "You better run. You don't wanna get between a man and his mission." he told them.
The people all started retreating backwards and running away as Happy yelled, "Natsu!" in fear for his friend.
The dandy man pulled out a six-shooter before kneeling down and forcing the barrel of the gun into Natsu's mouth.
The blue cat froze in fear as Natsu narrowed his eyes at the man holding the gun over him. The well-dressed man shook his head, "Nothin' personal kid. Maybe if you weren't so tough we coulda worked this out some other way. But unfortunately you are...and we ain't leavin' until we get our friend back." he told Natsu.
Lucy and Erza looked up from the game of poker they had finished and back towards the large casino area after hearing a strange commotion. Erza tilted her head, "Is something going on over there?" the redhead asked.
Lucy just sighed and shook her head, "Natsu and the others better not be causing a scene." Someone came up to the dealer behind the table and motioned over to the side.
"Dealer change. It's my turn now." The man said as the former dealer stepped aside as the new dealer stepped into the back of the table as everyone turned back towards him. He grabbed a deck of cards and started shuffling and cutting it at fast speeds. He then started flicking cards out at a swift speed until only five cards laid face down in front of Erza.
Other players at the table complained, "Hey buddy, we're still in this game too!"a man said looking at the new dealer. "And this is poker! There's only supposed to be two cards for each player!" the man continued to yell.
The new dealer shook his head and motioned to the cards in front of the redhead, "Sorry gentlemen but this next game is only for the pretty lady in front of me." he told them. Erza looked down at the cards laid out before her before she took them and flipped them over one by one to reveal the letters- D-E-A-T-H to her.
"You really are pretty." The dealer looked up at the redheaded Mage and gave her a knowing smirk. The dealer was a young man in his late teens, with dark skin yet bright blond shaggy hair. He had a tattoo of the number five on his lower left chin and a cross-shaped earring on his left ear. He smiled at the redhead once more with an eager look in his eyes "You've gotten so pretty since I last saw you... Nee-san." he said to her.
Lucy stepped back away from the strange man worryingly, "What are you talking about? Erza, what is he..." Lucy stopped when she saw a strange look over Erza's face, "Erza?" she asked the redhead.
Erza was looking at the young man with constricted eyes as her whole body seemed to tremble in shock. She struggled to find the words before they finally passed between her lips, "S-Shō?" she asked him quietly.
He nodded, "That's right Nee-san. It's me." he told her.
Her shoulders seemed to shake a little less as a tear formed in her left eye, "Y-you're alive." she said happily.
He shook his head, "Not just me." he told her. Suddenly, the lights for the whole casino floor turned off and the room was engulfed in darkness.
"AH!"
"The lights!"
"Where is everybody?!"
"Erza what happened?" Lucy asked the redhead.
*Bang*
"Was that a gun?" Lucy asked.
The lights finally came back on and Lucy and Erza were the only people left standing around the table. They looked around in shock, "Where did everyone go?!" Lucy asked.
"They're right here." Shō showed them a deck of cards with each one containing one of the civilians that crowded the table just a moment ago moving inside them. He tossed the cards up in the air before he walked around the table and started stalking towards the terrified girls "Don't worry they'll be released soon enough. I just didn't need any of them interrupting our reunion." he told the two women.
Erza stood out of her seat and could only stare at the young man she had not seen in years.
She marveled, "You know how to use magic?" she asked him.
Lucy yelled, "Erza, who is the guy! How do you-EEK!" she shrieked out. Erza looked back to see Lucy had been tied up and restrained by an orange tube. Lucy fell to her knees with hers arms being pulled back behind her head as a teenage girl stood beside her and pawed the air, "Heya Er-chan! You look so spiffy in that outfit!" the girl that had surprised Naruto and Juvia said.
Erza couldn't believe the sight in front of her as she turned towards the younger girl, "Millianna?" she said surprised.
The girl gave a warm smile and nodded, "Yep." she told the redhead.
"I know a dandy man should always be composed in front of pretty ladies." a man said as they looked aside as a blocky man in a suit walked up and put out his cigarette before tipping his hat towards Erza, "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to see you again Erza. And not just because of the beautiful lady you turned into." he told her with a wink.
"Wally?" Erza shook her head in disbelief, "You...you all...you're alive." she said as she looked over them.
Millianna nodded cheerfully "Yep. We all learned how to use magic since we last saw ya Er-chan! Now we're super strong too!" she said to Erza.
"Many of us have changed a lot over the years Erza, but we are still the same people from back then." A portal of Darkness formed at the ground and a massive man with a turban and iron jaw grew out from it. He aimed his one eye at Erza, "Even if we may not look like it." he told the redhead.
Erza's left eye started welling up again as a tear ran down her cheek, "Simon. You're all here." she gasped out looking at the group.
Shō stepped forward, "That's right Nee-San. The old gang's back together." he said.
"Erza!" Lucy looked up from her constrained position on the floor, "Who-who are these guys? How do they know you?" she asked the looked around solemnly and answered in a small voice.
"They're... they're my family." Erza said.
"Family?" Lucy questioned, "I-I don't, I don't get it! What are you-AH!" She tried sitting up but the rope around her tightened her arms and legs together and pulled her in closer to her back. She screamed in pain, "AH!"
Erza sees this and calls out "Lucy!" she then panicked and looked around at her friends, "What are you doing?" she asked them.
"It's my Nekōsoku Tube." Millianna proudly boasted "My magic creates spiffy tubes that can bind just about anybody and lock away they're magic too. And the more they fight it, the tighter it gets. So soon enough she's gonna bend so far back her body snaps in half from the force." Millianna explained.
Erza's eyes widened in horror at the cheerful way Millianna said she was slowly killing someone. She whispered out, "W-what?" more as a question than a exclamation.
"Sealing away and scaring the civilians was an easy task when we found out you were coming here, Nee-san. But when we found out your new friends were coming here too, we had to be prepared." Shō answered, "We heard about how strong they were and how far they would go to help you if they thought something went bad...so we had to prepare ways to eliminate them as effectively as possible." he told her.
Erza and Lucy both felt a cold pit fill their stomachs when they realized Gray, Natsu, Happy, and Naruto hadn't shown up yet to hear what the commotion was about, and Kurama was asleep in the room once again. Erza gulped, "You didn't-" she said.
"We did what we had to do to meet you like this." Simon stated before looking around at the others, "There shouldn't be any type of problems anymore." he told the others.
When Simon said that, Shō, Millianna, and Wally suddenly seemed more calm and collected then they were before. Shō closed his eyes and collected himself before nodding at his tall friend, "Thanks Simon." he told his friend.
"I understand." Shō said.
"What are you talking about?" A sense of dread started filling Erza up as she looked around at her old comrades "Where's Naruto? What did you-" she started to say.
"It's okay now Nee-San. It'll all be okay now." Shō said. Erza went quiet when Shō said that.
She looked at him, "What do you mean?" she asked him.
Wally nodded, "We know how hard it's been for you since you left. And what you've been living with since you've been gone." he told the redhead.
Millianna gave a warm smile, "But it's okay now Er-chan. You don't need to keep that burden with you any longer." she told the redhead.
"What are you talking about?" Erza asked them.
"He did it Nee-San." Shō said as he gave a big, hopeful smile "Jellal figured it out. He knows how to fix everything. How to set it all right again. We can bring everyone and everything back." he told her.
Erza looked at him in confusion "What are you talking about?" she asked him in confusion.
"We just need your help Nee-San." He offered her his hand, "We need you..." he said softly. "We need you to come back to the Tower."
Erza's eyes then widened and she processed what Shō was asking her. She seemed to take a step back and shake her head, "You can't-" she started to say before-
*Bang*
She felt a bullet impact her side before her eyelids became heavy and she passed out.
"ERZA!" Lucy cried out. He just shot her without hesitation.
Wally holstered his gun again "I needed to bring the sleeping rounds. Just in case she couldn't answer." Lucy watched as the strange group of people started walking away as the large man gently picked Erza up in a bridal carry.
They started walking away as she yelled after them "Hey! Where do you think you're taking her?! Give her-AH!" The rope tightened and Lucy felt her body scream in pain but she persisted, "Give her back!" Lucy yelled at the group.
Millianna waved the busty beauty goodbye, "Be careful~. Anymore more tension and you might snap." she told the blond.
"Hey Milliana." Wally walked up to the cat girl and held out his hand as an unconscious blue cat appeared in his hand "I got you a present." he told her as she looked at Happy.
Milliana's eyes twinkled in joy as she grabbed the kitten and hugged it tightly, "Yay! Kitty!" the girl cheered clutching Happy... uh happily.
"Happy! Give him back!" Natsu yelled in rage.
Shō led the group out the side exit and he looked back at his old friend resting in Simon's arms. Tears seemed to fill his eyes as he smiled, "It's okay Nee-San. It'll all be better once we go home."
Lucy watched with futile effort as they walked out the door and left her behind. She struggled to move and screamed out in panic-"ERZA!" the celestial wizard yelled out.
Adventreader221: CUE CLIFFHANGER NO JUTSU *Suddenly starts hanging off a cliff*
Phoenixlord42: I am not hanging like you.
Adventreader221: *Peeks over the edge* Party-pooper *Jumps back up and sits down* So now what, Erza's been taken. Naruto is all tied up, and everyone else is doing their own thing, what the hell are we going to do?
Phoenixlord42:Good question but will Naruto get free is the big question.
Adventreader221: Well obviously he does as he is the main character. Now comes the Dragon's Wrath.
Phoenixlord42: Two words come to mind "OH SHIT!"
Adventreader221: I'll do you one better, and with one word only.
Phoenixlord42: Go ahead
Adventreader221 "DAMN!"
Phoenixlord42: Ok well Later everyone
Adventreader221: We ain't done yet bitch.
Phoenixlord42: Do I look like a fucking female DOG to you?
Adentreader221: *Nods head a bit* A little bit, to be honest you look like Uzumaki-Khan off youtube when he ate the ghost pepper. I laughed my ass off.
Phoenixlord42: I can't have spice man or is it Bastard
Adventreader221: Then you ain't living. *Looks to Audience* If you haven't watched Uzumaki-Khan do his ghost pepper challenge then you don't know shit.
Phoenixlord42: Acid-reflux. Jackass
Adventreader221: We'll continue this discussion later, we're annoying the reader.
Phoenixlord42: *pulls out a contract and looks through it* It is right here in black and white that we are allowed to.
Adventreader221: *Snatches the contract away and reads it* FFFFFAAAAUUUUUUKKKK
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