Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 9: "Sword and Shield"

(Year: X779)

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, that's what the map says."

"Are you sure? Last time you said that, we ended up in a strip club."

"No, that was the place. We just showed up on the day that they hired strippers." Gaara mumbled as he looked at the map in his hands.

"Is that what happened?" Naruto tilted his head to the side. "I just thought it was a coincidence that the dark mages were there. How come I don't remember that?"

"They were serving ramen. You instantly want to the bar to order some, but you pissed some of the guys off and starting fighting with them." Gaara mentioned. "I never said anything because you seemed happy that you got all that ramen for yourself."

"That does sound like me…" Naruto paused. "But if it wasn't a strip club…What happened to those strippers?"

"I think they offered to give us lap dances. I'm not too sure. I was kind of taking a nap, and you were eating ramen." Gaara shrugged. "When that happens, we both tend to overlook the small things."

The two jinchūriki known as Naruto and Gaara had been traveling together for two years at this point. The now fifteen year old independent mages were far taller than when they first met and now had more muscular frames. Besides that, though, neither jinchūriki really did anything to change their appearances.

"Either way, you should trust my directions." Gaara crossed his arms. "But if you still doubt me, why don't you knock and find out?"

"Okay. Why not?"

Looking calm as ever, Naruto went up and knocked on the door of the guild hall. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a man with slicked back hair and a toothpick in his mouth. "EH?! What do you want, brat?"

"Excuse, but I was just being polite this time." Naruto mentioned. "Is this the guild hall of the dark guild Grease Monkeys?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya?"

Instead of answering, Naruto brought his foot up and kicked the man in the groin. The response was instant. The man crumbled to the ground while screaming in agony. This caught the attention of the rest of the people in the building. They reacted too slowly, though. Gaara's sand flooded into the room. And smashed several of them into the walls.

The remaining mages were now on their feet. They sent various shots of magic at the door, but they were all stopped. A cyclone of black wind came out and hit the attacks dead on. The force of the God Slayer magic canceled out the other magical attacks and caused dust to spread across the room.

"Hello." Naruto bowed to the mages in the guild. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but my name is Naruto and this is Gaara. Today, we'll be your ass kickers. Can we start you off with some horderves, or would you like to skip to the main course?"

The mages in the room were silent as their eyes widened in surprise and fear. They recognized those names. Most of them would have thought that it was a coincidence, but the black wind and sand attacks proved that what the teen was saying was the truth. These two boys were the ones responsible for the takedown of dozens of dark guilds.

"Before we do that, though, I have one question for you." Naruto's head turned across the room. "Who here knows where the Steam Bull Han is? The person that tells me the location of this man gets to leave without getting hurt. Right, Gaara?"

"Zzz…"

"Damn it, Gaara." Naruto sighed and sent a small blast of wind at Gaara. "Stay awake during fights."

"Ack…Hmmm…" Gaara's eyes snapped open. "I'm awake."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto shook his head. "Whatever you say…"

"I can't believe this…" One of the men was pale. "You…You can't be them! Why would they come here!? We're small fries in the big picture!"

"That doesn't matter to us." Naruto shrugged. "I heard that you had some connections to the Steam Bull. I want you to tell me everything you know about him."

"Han?" Another man stood up. "We…we saw him once. He came by demanding that we pay tribute so that he wouldn't crush us. We accepted, of course. The Steam Bull is said to be unstoppable."

"Damn…" Naruto groaned. "Another one…"

"Sorry. I thought that maybe they would be higher up the totem pole." Gaara closed his eyes.

"I did too…" Naruto popped his neck. "Just another group of wimps that live under Han's thumb."

"Shut up!" One of the mages snapped. "You have no idea what you're talking about! Han's a monster! No one can beat him!"

"A monster, eh?" Naruto lifted up his headband to reveal his red demonic eyes. "Well, that's something we know about, right Gaara?"

"Yeah…" Gaara gained a small blood thirsty grin. "In fact, we've been called monsters before. Among other things."

The guild members were trembling in fear. "W-wait!"

"Sky God's Bellow."

It was then that the two jinchūriki went to work. The duo began to beat down the mages of Grease Monkey. Naruto charged forward while Gaara stayed back. Naruto used his taijustu skills and Sky God Slayer magic to beat down on the dark mages. None of them could keep up with him. That didn't stop them from attack him, though. Naruto paid them no mind, though. He was perfectly safe.

Gaara's sand would pop up and stop every attack that was sent at the blond. None of the attacks even came close to hitting Naruto. At the same time, the sand walls would turn into fists and punch the mages way. Many of the dark guild members took not that they couldn't get to the blonde while the red haired teen was blocking their attacks. They tried to turn their attention to him, but the god slayed made them pay from taking their eyes off him. He cut them down instantly.

This was why Naruto and Gaara were so dangerous. Naruto was the unstoppable force. He constantly moved forward and mowed down his enemies. Gaara was the unmovable object. Nothing could hurt him or his allies while the red head was still standing. Separated, these two were dangerous. Together, they were unstoppable.

Try to focus on Naruto, and the mages' attacks would all be stopped by Gaara. If they turned their attention to Gaara, they would be unprepared to defend against Naruto. It was a no win situation. This was what the two were famous for. These jinchūriki were known as the two mages whose abilities complicated each other perfectly.

They were the greatest offense and the greatest defense. They were the unstoppable duo. They were the perfect combination that has yet to be beaten. It was for all these reasons that they were given a nickname that perfectly suited them.

The Sword and the Shield.

"Well, that's done." Naruto dusted off his shoulders and lowered his headband.

"It was boring." Gaara drawled. "This is getting too easy. The fights only last a few seconds, and I didn't even get a chance to use my magic."

"Sorry, I meant to let you lead this time." Naruto apologized. "But maybe that's a good thing. My far to mid-range attacks are pretty devastating. I don't think it would complement your Armor magic very well."

"True. But we might as well work on it with these small fries." Gaara shrugged. "Too late now, though, I suppose. We'll just have to work on it next time."

"Right, next time." Naruto nodded.

"Gah…" One of the larger men of the guild was trying to crawl to the exit. Naruto and Gaara ignored him as they passed him and walked towards the exit themselves.

"So, what should we get to eat when we get back to the town?" Naruto questioned.

"Anything but ramen."

"What? Why?"

"We have ramen all the time. I'm getting sick of it."

"But ramen is the food of the gods. Trust me, I'm a god slayer, so I should know."

The remaining member of pushed himself up to his feet. With blood running down his face, the man glared at the duo who was acting like taking down his guild was nothing. Anger surging through him, the man lunged forward and tried to attack the jinchūriki's unprotected backs.

"Sky God's Strike."

"Sand Fist."

The two fists hit the man and sent him flying through several walls. They continued to ignore that, though, and kept walking like nothing had happened. Of course, to them this was just an average day. Thus, their reaction was understandable.


"We took down the dark guild you suggested, Master Dreyar." Naruto spoke to the round Communication Lacrima Crystal in his hands. The blond sat in his hotel room. The lights were turned off, so the only light coming into the room was from the crystal and the window.

"Thank you, Naruto." Makarov smiled at the teen. "Here's hoping that taking out his associates hurts Ivan's plans just a little bit."

"I'm sure it will." Naruto nodded. "But no one seems to know what he's up to. I left clones to search the guild for letters or paperwork from Ivan, but they didn't find anything. The only thing we've even caught wind of up until now is that he's planning to make guild called Raven Tail."

"Foolish obsessive child." Makarov sighed and rubbed his temples. "He's mocking us."

"Most likely, yes."

"Well, I doubt he'll get the Magic Council's approval on his guild." Makarov paused for a second. "Speaking of those senile old goats, I'm sorry that all my requests have gotten their attention on you. Thought maybe the fact that you're far more subtle than my brats would help you, but that's a bust. Perhaps I shouldn't have gotten you involved, but I thought it would be easier for you to move around without Ivan's notice."

"Don't worry about it, Master Dreyar. It was inevitable that the Council would turn their eyes on me eventually no matter what, especially considering that I'm a god slayer mage." Naruto's face scrunched up in thought. "They probably will think that I'm too dangerous to be independent like I am."

"There are no laws against what you're doing." Makarov noted. "But I have no doubt that they'll put pressure on you soon. Luckily, my old friend Yajima will be on your side."

"Thank you, Master Dreyar." Naruto bowed his head.

"No thanks necessary, my boy." Makarov's eyes twinkled. "Now tell me, how are your own investigations going?"

"It's been mixed really." Naruto sighed. He lifted up his headband to reveal his eyes to the master. "For the jinchūriki, Number three is still out of the country as far as I know. I heard Number four is at a church of all places, so he's fine. Number five leads a dark guild that takes on assassination missions, but he hasn't been seen in years, so tracking him down has been hard. As for Number Six…I think he's in Grimoire Heart."

"Oh no."

"Yep. That's bad." Naruto frowned deeply. "A guy in that guild uses abilities that would fit what Number Six could do. The only reason I know about that, though, is because of my investigation into Zeref's followers. Grimoire Heart is really into the Zeref worship."

"Naruto, you can't fight that guild. Not right now at least. You lack the power and allies to win." Makarov warned with a serious face.

"I know." Naruto sighed and looked away. "And I don't plan to right now. In a few years, I'm going to take those bastards down, though. Until then, though, I think I should be concerned about two other dark guilds, though."

"Oh?"

"Oración Seis, that small guild with six extremely powerful members. They don't seem to have an extreme interest in Zeref, so I don't really care about them. Problem is, I think they might have gained an interest in the jinchūriki." Naruto looked troubled. "The only way they could know about us is though the three missing numbers."

"That's…very bad." Makarov looked just as troubled as Naruto. "Do you think they will come after you?"

"Not right now? No. From the documents I found and the information I beat out of some dark mages, the leader is just intrigued by us. It's like fire. You can watch it, but trying to reach out for it is stupid." Naruto explained.

"I see."

"There's another problem, though. There's a third guild called Tartarus. They've only recently started up." Naruto eyes narrowed. "One of the top people there, a woman, has mentioned me by name. She said that I was the one to hold her and free her two years ago."

"Oh Naruto! I never knew you were such a dog!" Makarov laughed and barked out some perverted laughter.

"Not like that, dattebyo." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Are you flustered? You rarely use that verbal tick." Makarov teased.

"Look, this is serious." Naruto glared at the man. "I think the woman is a demon of Zeref. From what she said, it almost sounds like that demon book I destroyed two years ago. That's the only thing I can think of that could possibly relate to it. So, either she's making it up, or this Tartarus has a way to revive demons that are destroyed."

"Hmm…" Makarov stroked his chin. "Perhaps, but we have no proof. I have my own intel on those dark guilds. All three of those guilds are very secretive and very powerful. Almost nothing is really know about them or their members. All anyone can get are tidbits. But, there is talk that three guilds are forming some kind of non-aggressive pact. The Balm Alliance."

"That's going to be a problem in the future." Naruto sighed and closed his eyes in thought.

"It will be, but there's nothing we can do about it now." Makarov then used that moment to let out a big yawn. "Well, it's late. I'm going to hit the hay. Keep Gaara under control, yeah? If he goes back to his old ways, you know what I'll be forced to do."

"I know, Master Dreyar. Don't worry, though, Gaara's changed."

"I do hope so. I like to believe the best in the next generation, and I do believe in multiple chances; but there is a point where someone's sins can't be forgiven." Makarov stated. "Just look at Ivan. He wasted every chance I ever gave him. He gave me no choice…"

"I know."

"Anyway, I'll trust your judgment on the matter. I do believe Gaara's a good person deep down, and it's hard not to pity him after all he went through." Makarov gave Naruto a smile. "Come visit the guild soon, won't you, son? I'm sure everyone would love to see you again. Especially Levy-chan. She misses her Naruto-niisan."

"I told her not to call me that." Naruto grumbled as the Communication Crystal turned off. With Makarov no longer on call, Naruto Requiped the crystal way and laid back onto the bed. "Calling me Nii-san…Makes me think of home and Sora." Naruto grunted. "Damn it, dattebyo."


Some habits die hard. That was a fact Gaara learned to accept a long time ago. While sleeping came far easier now, the red head still enjoyed staying out and watching the moon and night sky. It was one of the few peaceful things that Gaara ever got to experience as a child. The moon always made him feel more at peace.

Gazing at the sky was one of the multiple hobbies that Naruto and Gaara shared. Both loved looking up at the sky and just think about different things in their life. Each jinchūriki had different reasons, though. The Inhibit container enjoyed the silence and peace of night while the Kyūbi peered above him with a look of desire and longing. In fact, one of the biggest difference between the two jinchūriki was their tastes about the sky. Gaara knew that deep down, Naruto favored the bright and sunny day time.

It wasn't obvious to most people, but Gaara had been Naruto's friend for a while. They spent every day of the past two years with each other. Thus, the Ichibi jinchūriki could read the blonde more than others could. Naruto enjoyed the light far more than the darkness. Even if he was trained in the darkness, light was in the whiskered teen's nature. Gaara could see it. Naruto was a born optimist. Unfortunately, all that was crushed long ago during his training, more like torture, as a child. The optimism was crushed under a wave of darkness and cynicism, and that was unlikely to change.

'Oi! Brat! Why the hell are you still up, you dumbass?' Shukaku's voice rang through Naruto's mind.

'Good evening, Shukaku, how are you?' Gaara was completely polite to his Bijū.

'Stop that politeness crap! I hate it! I hate it! I haaaaaaaaaaaaaate it!' Shukaku whined.

'And I hate your bitching.' Gaara sighed mentally. 'It's all you seem to do.'

'I'm just making up for you. You once were on fire for five minutes and you didn't even blink, you freak!' Skukaku shouted.

'It was only four and a half minutes.' Gaara shrugged. 'Besides, Naruto put me through far worse than that.'

'Uck, Kurama's brat is such a sadist…But he did make you stronger, so I won't complain about that.' In Gaara's mental space that was shaped like a large desert with a starry sky above, Shukaku glared down at his container. 'But I will nag you until you go to sleep.'

'What are you, my mother?'

'Was that a joke!? Because that's hilarious!? Gahahahahahahaha!'

'So you'll leave me alone now?'

'Hell no, go to sleep. I won't take over your body, I promise.'

'I know, Shukaku. You don't have to have to say it every night.'

'Moron, I have to say it cause every night I have to convince you to go to sleep!' Shukaku exclaimed. 'And then you won't listen, and then you'll fall asleep randomly like a complete dumbass! It's embarrassing!'

'Whatever…'

Out of all the changes that Gaara went through over the past two years, his relationship with his Bijū was by far one of the biggest. Through Naruto and Kurama's coaching, the two being managed to slowly exit the strange relationship that they had to begin with. Each day, the murderous and bloody relationship between the two changed into more of a friendship. Gaara no longer thought of Shukaku as 'Mother,' and Shukaku stopped whispering murderous words into Gaara's ear. The Bijū even allowed Gaara to sleep without the threat of losing control.

Even with all the change that the red head went through, Gaara still kept some of his old tendencies. While no longer basing his existence on bloodshed and killing, the jinchūriki often had to stop himself from going for the kill out of habit. There was also the problem of his distaste of most people getting close to him and touching him. He didn't like, and his sand responded accordingly.

Despite this, though, Gaara was finally happy with his life. Counting Shukaku and Kurama, he now had three close friends. Now, there were people in his life to give him the medicine he needed to heal the heart that had been bleeding for years. Finally stable and with a sound mind, Gaara could now focus on his own goals and dreams in life. Of course, right now he was completely content with his life. All that mattered to Gaara at this moment was staying close to his friends, and he would do anything to make sure it stayed that way.

Smiling, Gaara gazed up at the moon and stars with satisfaction. "Five more minute, then I'll go to bed."

'That's what you said an hour ago!'


The next day, Naruto looked at Gaara and said, "I have a place I need to visit."

Gaara responded, "Okay, let's go."

Such was the regular routine of the drifters. Gaara never had any real plan. All the Ichibi jinchūriki cared about was staying by his friend's side. This was fine with Naruto. The blonde always had somewhere he needed to be and soothing he had to do. There was always a dark mage that needed a swift punch to the face.

This time was different, though. Naruto usually told Gaara immediately where they were going. Oddly enough, Naruto was pretty tight lipped this time. In fact, the red head teen thought that the blonde even looked a little nervous. This immediately put Gaara on edge. If something could make Naruto nervous, then it had to be bad.

He was both right and wrong at the same time.

"Trafalgar…" Gaara peered at the sign at the entrance of the medium sized town.

"Yep." Naruto nodded and continued walking.

"Isn't this place you lived those first couple of years we got to Earthland?" Gaara followed the blonde.

"Yes, it is." Naruto stopped once they entered the town. "And it's different to say the least."

Trafalgar was a rather small town in the middle of nowhere originally. Now, though, it was more than double the original size. There even seemed to be travelers and tourists all around the city. This was extremely odd considering that about two and a half years ago, the entire town was in ruins. It seemed to recover rather well.

Of course, it wasn't exactly the most crowded place Naruto had ever been. There were still plenty of room to move down the streets, but there were still a lot more people than before. Not only that, there seemed to be a lot more shops and houses around the area. Things were certainly different, and Naruto didn't know whether to admire the people's resilience or to be displease that things were so strange.

"I wonder…" Naruto mumbled and began to walk again. He navigated the streets with practiced ease despite his long time away from the town. Gaara was right on his heels. Neither jinchūriki said anything. They were silent in their mission to get to their destination.

"Thank you for coming!" And elderly woman with squinted eyes, many wrinkles, and grey hair tied up into a bun. She seemed to be hunched over a little, so she appeared rather short. Her dark pink dress stuck out at the fruit stand that she stood behind.

"Come again!" An eleven year old called out. She was rather thin and this was show by the white sundress that hung to her frame. Her light brown hair was pulled up into a pony tail, and her wide green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

"Thanks." The man leaving the stand said. He was walking the other from Gaara and Naruto, so the two females at the stand didn't see the jinchūriki approaching until they were right by their stand.

"Oh, hello-" The old woman froze when she saw the duo.

"N-Naruto-nii?" The girl's eyes were wide in surprise.

"Yo." Naruto raised a hand in greeting. "What's up-"

"NARUTO-NII!" The girl leapt from the stand and encircled her arms around Naruto's neck in a hug. Naruto didn't react at all. He just stood there as the girl hung from him like a necklace. His red eyes stared down at her from the little opening that he could see from at the bottom of hid headband.

"Hello, Sora." Naruto stated.

The shout seemed to draw the attention of everyone in the street. All eyes turned their way. Many of the faces were happy, but all of them were shocked.

"Naruto Uzumaki?!"

"He's back!?"

"Hey! Naruto's back!"

The jinchūriki was instantly surrounded by people. They were all moving around the blonde. Many of them were trying to pat him on the back or shake his hand. Gaara went to react, but a subtle message from Naruto said that it was fine.

"It's good to see you, Naruto-nii!" Sora let go of him and dropped to her feet. She beamed up to the teen. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah, I guess it has." Naruto shrugged uncaringly.

"Welcome back." The elderly woman Sofia smiled at the teen. "We missed you."

"Oh?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.

He was met with sounds of agreement all around him.

"It's great to have you back!"

"We should throw a party to celebrate!"

"Yeah! But you have to stay for it! We know how you are, always sneaking off when people aren't looking."

Naruto paused for a moment and put a smile on his face. "Sure. That sounds nice. I need to go home first and deal with some things first."

Everyone seemed to agree to that.

"I'll come with you!" Sora stated with a giant smile. "Can I, Obaa-chan?"

"Sure, sure." Sofia waved them off. "I may be old, but I can handle this stand by myself."

"Alright!" Sora grabbed Naruto's hand and began to teen. "Come on, Naruto-nii!"

"Sora, I know the way to my own home…" Naruto grumbled.

He was ignored.


"That was interesting." Gaara mentioned as he followed Naruto and Sora up the dirt path to Naruto's old home. "I had no idea you were so popular here."

"I didn't either." Naruto tried to free himself from Sora's grab, but she kept grabbing his arm again, so he decided that it would just be easier to let her hold his arm.

"Of course Naruto-nii's popular!" Sora puffed out her cheeks and looked back to the red head. "And who are you anyway?"

"My name is Gaara. I'm Naruto's friend." Gaara stated in a bored manner. He stuck his hands in his pockets as they continued to walk.

"Friend!?" Sora turned to Naruto. "Since when do you make friends?"

"I don't. This guy just follows me around and says that." Naruto shrugged.

"You wound me, Naruto."

"Wait…" Sora paused in her walk and looked up to Gaara in wonder. "You're the Unbreakable Shield! You're the one that travels with Nii-san!"

"I didn't realize that we were so well known." Gaara stroked his chin.

"Of course! That's the reason the town managed to recover like this." Sora beamed. "We're the hometown of the Unstoppable Sword after all. When we started advertising that, people started coming in and we flourished."

"I did know that Trafalgar was using me as a way to draw tourists." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't know it actually worked, though."

"Of course it did!" Sora held his arm tightly to her chest. "You're super popular, Naruto-nii."

"Now that I doubt." Naruto began to pull Sora forward. "Come on, I want to get home."

"Hai," Sora nodded and followed him.

Soon, the group of three managed to get to Naruto and April's old home. The blonde was surprised by the fact that the building was still looking good. A new coat of white paint covered the house. The gardens were well kept. Everything looked nice. Just like it had been years ago.

"April gave Obaa-san a key remember?" Sora answered his unspoken question. "We took care of your house while you were gone."

"I see…" Naruto nodded slowly. "Domo arigato. I appreciate it."

Sora beamed. "Don't worry about it!"

"Okay…" Naruto knelt down. "Sora, could you go ahead and go inside. I want to introduce Gaara to Kaa-san."

"Kaa-san?" Sora paused. "Oh! April!"

"Yes. Can the two of us have fifteen minutes alone at her grave?"

"Hai! Hai! Of course! Take all the time you need!" Sora let go of Naruto's arm and bowed several time. "I'll just head inside. I can make lunch. We kind of used your house for emergency storage of food, so there will be plenty.

"I see…Arigato." Naruto gave a small smile as Sora ran into the building. As soon as she was gone, he let the smile drop. "Come on, Gaara. Let's head to the back."

"Alright…" Gaara followed Naruto around the house to a small well-kept grave. As soon as he got there, Naruto instantly fell to his knees and began to pray before the grave. "Huh, I've never seen you pray before. Who are you praying to?"

"Anyone that will listen." Naruto raised his head and lifted his headband. "Hi, Kaa-san. I'm back. I'm sorry I didn't visit earlier, but I've been busy. I tried to do all the tasks you asked me to do, but I'm still working on them. I'll take care of my responsibilities, and I'll find him."

"Him?" Gaara blinked.

"Sorry I didn't join Fairy Tail. I know you wanted me to, but I couldn't do it yet. I promise I'll join that guild before I die, though." Naruto mentioned. "But I did make a friend. This is Gaara."

"Um…Hello." Gaara nodded towards the grave. "It's nice to meet you."

"He's a lot like me. I think you would have gotten along." Naruto bowed his head in prayer again.

Gaara eyed Naruto as the red head crossed his arms. "Naruto, why are we here in this town?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I was homesick?"

"No."

"Would you believe me if I said that I wanted to talk to Kaa-san?"

"Maybe, but not completely." Gaara shrugged. "I guess it doesn't really matter, but it's just strange I suppose."

"I have a reason." Naruto stated with his head still bowed.

'Then tell us, you dumb brat!' Shukaku's voice rang through both the teen's minds. After years of working on it, the jinchūriki figured out how to use the Bijū's natural connection to hear both Shukaku and Kurama. Thus, they had an indirect way to communicate telepathically.

'No, don't tell him.' Kurama grinned. 'I want to see him squirm. Cause he's too dumb to ever think of what you have planned.'

'Shut it, you arrogant bastard!' Shukaku yelled as his elder brother. 'I'm not dumb! Your weird container's brain is just too freaky to figure out!'

"Naruto, Shukaku will keep complaining about it until you tell him." Gaara sighed.

"Fine." Naruto raised his head and turned around. "Here's the real reason I wanted to come home..."


"I have to say…" Naruto mentioned as he watched the people party in the streets. The town quickly set up some decorations, some food, and some music by the time that night fell. It seemed that had been hoping for him to return for some time. "I'm surprised that you're still here after all that happened.

Sofia looked up to the blonde. She was resting her feet on a bench while the blonde was leaning against the wall. "Some people did. Others, though, were too stubborn to leave their homes. This is our town, and we won't let other people take it from us. So, we rebuilt and started anew."

"I see, and what about me?" Naruto turned his head to the older woman. His headband now covered his eyes once more. "I thought everyone would be scared of me after what I did to those cultists."

"People hated and feared the cultists far more than a boy that lost his closest person." Sofia sighed. "Granted, it's a hard sight to forget. You murdered that man in cold blood. Many of us were pleased by it, though. Those men killed and raped our loved ones. Besides, you saved our lives. It would be ungrateful to hold fear against our hero."

"I'm no hero." Naruto chuckled. "I didn't kill those men because I wanted to save you. You were saved because I wanted to kill them."

"You always were a blunt child." Sofia eyed the boy. "Your intentions were clear, Naruto. But emotions aren't things that we can rationalize. You saved our lives, and your fame gave us a second chance. We're grateful no matter what."

"If you say so." Naruto shrugged.

"Naruto-nii!" Sora rushed over to the blond. "Dance with me!"

"I don't think-Whoa!" Naruto was actually surprised by Sora's strength.

"You can't say no, Naruto-nii!" Sora grinned as she pulled him out onto the dance floor. "I've been training! I'm going to be a mage like you. I wanted to use sky magic, but I thought it would copying you, so I decided to train in gravity magic."

"Gravity magic." Naruto frowned. He reluctantly began to dance. "That explains the strength. Why gravity magic, though."

"I want to be able to fly!" Sora smiled. "I figured that I could use gravity magic to make it so I don't fall…Nii-san? Is something wrong?"

Images of Bluenote flashed through Naruto's mind. "No…It's nothing…"

"Okay." Sora nodded slowly.


Gaara sat on the rooftops looking down at the celebrating town. He had been down there for a while. Everyone seemed interested in the other half of the Sword and the Shield team. They were all friendly and smiling, but Gaara was uncomfortable with the situation. He had very little experience with so many people, so he retreated to the rooftops.

Peering down at Naruto being forced to dance with Sora, Gaara couldn't help but shake his head. The blonde was a lot better at faking these kind of things. Gaara was often far too blunt and easy to read when he was uncomfortable. Naruto, however, taught himself to fake a smile and pretend like he gave a damn. It was a skill Gaara was slightly envious of.

"Cunning like a fox…" Gaara mentioned. A bit of motion to the side caught his attention. A large group of people were approaching the party. "It looks like your plan worked."

With that, Gaara disappeared in a flash of sand and ended up down on the streets close to Naruto's location.

"Halt! By the authority of the Magic Council, I command you all to halt!"

The party instantly stopped. All the people froze, and the music automatically stopped. Everyone turned to see dozens of different men dressed in blue and white uniforms which appeared close to what a priest would wear. A white hat stood on all their head, and a magical staff was held in each of their hands.

Sophia stood from her spot and looked to the Rune Knights. "What is it? Can't you see that we're celebrating the return of one of our own?"

"That is why we are here." One of the Rune Knights stepped forward. "By the authority of the Magic Council, we're here to escort Naruto Uzumaki and Sabaku no Gaara, the Sword and the Shield, to Era for an audience with the Magic Council."

"What?!"

"Why?!"

"They didn't do anything?"

Naruto stepped forward and addressed the Rune Knights. "Are we under arrest?"

"No, the Magic Council just wants to speak with you immediately." The Rune Knight stated. "As such, we will no subdue you, but we can't leave without you."

"I see…" Naruto nodded slowly. "Alright. Come on, Gaara, we're heading to Era."

"No! You just back!"

"You can't leave already!"

"What about the party?!"

"Gomen." Naruto bowed to the people. "But I'd rather not make the Magic Council angry with me. Having them as an enemy would be counterproductive."

"Smart kid…" One of the Rune Knights mumbled.

"But Nii-san…" Sora's eyes began to tear up.

"Don't worry, Sora." Naruto patted the girl's head. "I'll be back. Come on, Gaara. Let's go."

"Right," Gaara followed without question.

The duo was quickly led out of the town. The Rune Knight surrounded them at all sides, but they didn't care. Both of the jinchūriki knew that they could escape with ease if they wanted to leave. They didn't care to, though. After all, this was all part of Naruto's plan…


"The Magic Council is interested in us. They're going to want to establish their authority soon enough." Naruto looked over to his friend. "They'll have the Army come after us and order us to go to Era. It will be a show of power over us."

"We can easily avoid them." Gaara shrugged. "We do it all the time. We always get away from the dark guilds by the time the Rune Knights show up. No big deal."

"It's not really, but that's the problem. They know that we're at least a little intelligent." Naruto sighed. "They know that we always leave the scene before any of their people can get close. That means they'll probably start setting up traps, ambushes, maybe even bounties to get us to them."

"Then why don't we just wait for them the next time we fight a dark guild?" Gaara questioned.

"That will be too out of character for us. It will be obvious that we know their plans, and they'll know that we can out think them." Naruto stated. "We have to make it seem like they're smarter than us. It will boost their egos and make them underestimate us. No matter what happens, they'll view us as less of a threat, and that makes it more likely that they won't interfere in our plans."

"I see…so we have to act like stupid teenagers…" Gaara paused. "We have to let them capture us in a place that we're likely to go without thinking. I see…this town advertises that you come from here. It's your home. They're going to set up a trap here thinking that you'd come home for a visit."

"Maybe they already did, and the Rune Knights are waiting for us." Naruto shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough."


Gaara eyed his friend as they were led away from the town by the Rune Knights. He whispered, "Tell me, Naruto. Do you really care about those people in the town, or was it all an act? Does this place have any value to you whatsoever, or was it merely the means to an end?"

"Does it matter?" Naruto whispered back.

"Maybe not, but I'm pretty good at reading you." Gaara mentioned. "You actually seemed a little happy back there. Did you come back because you actually missed this place a bit, or did you just use this place for your own agenda because it was convenient and logical?"

"You already know the answer to that." Naruto gave a gentle smile. It was completely fake. He had gotten good at acting over the past two years.

"I suppose I do, you devious bastard." Gaara muttered.

"Hey! Stop whispering like that!" One of the Rune Knights glared. "It makes it look like you're planning something."

"Sorry, Rune Knight-san." Naruto gave a bright grin. "We were just talking about how it was nice to be home. We didn't mean to sound suspicious. Do you just want us to talk louder so you can hear us, or do you want us to stop talking altogether?"

"Eh…Well, It's not like you're under arrest, so I guess you can talk…"

"Arigato, Rune Knight-san."

Hiding a scoff, Gaara let a grin grace his lips. At least Naruto kept things interesting. It would fun to see how Naruto handled the Magic Council. The old politicians wouldn't know what hit them. After all, like Gaara said earlier…

Naruto was cunning like a fox.


Thank you all for reading and please remember to...

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