Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 16: "Cry"
(Year: X782)
The group of three jinchūriki stood on a massive grassy plain. Dozens of roads stretched all around them. Various trees danced in the wind and tall mountains could be seen in the distance. This was a beautiful area. It was the type of place that could be called the perfect setting.
And, if they were being honest, the giant mansion at the center of it all didn't hurt.
"So this place…this area about the size of Magnolia…Belongs to this Heartfilia guy," Gaara actually held a look with an odd combination of shocked and impressed.
"Yep," Fu nodded, "You can see why he would need a tracker to find some trespassers. Apparently, his servants keep finding trees all scratched up, and they keep getting closer to that mansion."
"And this guy is willing to pay out the nose for quick service," Naruto reasoned.
"Pretty much," Fu shrugged, "Not like he can't afford it."
"True," Gaara stroked his chin, "Do you think Naruto and I should stay outside? I mean, neither of us are official guild members. We aren't really authorized to take official missions processed through the Magic Council."
"I think it will be fine," Fu mentioned with a smile, "It's pretty easy to see my guild mark, and even if he does start asking questions, I can just say that you're my groupies."
"Um, nah," Naruto shook his head, "We'll just stay outside. I don't want to deal with this. Just look at this place. I would bet good money this guy has a stick up his ass."
"Oh come on! He can't be that bad!" Fu waved off his concerns, "I heard he grew his company from the ground up and is a family man! How can stuck up can he be?"
"So you're the Fairy Tail mages?" A blonde man with slicked back hair and a mustache eyed them. His expensive suite and well-furnished office basically screamed that this man had money, "I was expecting something more impressive."
Fu felt Naruto and Gaara's faces turn towards her. The displeasure coming off them was intense. Fu deflated at the face of defeat, 'Damn it. Why did I have to be wrong?'
"And there's three of you? I heard that Fairy Tail was the best. Why would there be a need for three of you if you were worth anything?" Jude Heartfilia scoffed at them.
Naruto and Gaara's frowns only got worse.
"Actually," Fu puffed her chest out, "I'm the only one here for the mission. These two are just my loyal fanboys. They like to be my cheerleaders while I fight."
"No," Gaara's eye twitched in annoyance, "We are not fanboys."
"Then what are you?" Jude eyed them, "Are you even Fairy Tail mages?"
"No," Naruto noted. He looked in Jude's general direction, but his headband once again hid his eyes, "We're just allies of Fairy Tail. We were on our way to do a favor for Master Dreyar, but Fu had to complete this job first. Don't worry, though. We are mages. I'm Naruto Uzumaki and that's Sabaku no Gaara. The Sword and the Shield."
"Hmm," Jude stroked his chin, "Yes, I have heard of you two. Tell me, do I have to pay extra for you two?"
"No."
"Then this is an excellent development," Jude nodded at his logic, "Go find the beasts that have been wrecking my land. And try to keep destruction as minimal as possible…and don't get blood on my carpets when you get back. They're imported."
"Yes'n, sir!" Fu saluted the man, "We'll get this done lickety split, your richness. Come loyal fanboys! Our quest awaits!"
Gaara glared at Fu, "Call me a fanboy one more time, and I'm leaving. I swear to Kami."
"Let's just get this over with," Naruto sighed and walked with his friends towards the exit of the office. Their progress was halted when a maid rushed in from the entrance.
"Sir!" The woman was crying, "It's Lucy! She's run out down the roads!"
"What?" Jude pursed his lips.
"S-she seemed upset again!" The maid wiped her tears with a rag, "I don't know what came up with her! She just suddenly ran off down the roads in tears! With those creatures still out there! Oh! Poor Lucy-sama!"
Jude let out a sigh. He looked to the wizards, "It would appear that I will have to extend the parameters of your mission. Go bring my daughter back before she hurts herself. I'll double your pay."
Fu paused, "Well…To do that officially, we'd have to do a lot of paperwork…"
"Then do it unofficially," Gaara suggested, "Not like the Magic Council will find out."
"That's fine with me," Jude shrugged, "That girl costs me enough time and money as it is. Skipping the difficult part will make this better for all of us."
"Hmm…" Fu stroked her chin, "Well…Not like I really care. As long as Fairy Tail's name isn't hurt, I'm fine with it. But I have to go deal with the creatures. It's part of my pride as a Fairy Tail member."
"I'll go get her," Naruto stated, "Gaara would just scare her to death by grabbing her with sand and dragging her back. Kami knows she'll probably have a heart attack."
Gaara shrugged, "He's not wrong."
"Okay!" Fu pumped her fist, "We got a plan. Don't worry, sir, we'll have everything done in no time."
Fu and Gaara flew above the wide forest that belonged to Heartfilia. The mint haired girl had released her bugs to search through the forest to find the target. To move with the maximum efficiency, they both sat on Gaara's sand platform and waited for the bugs to return with news.
"This is such a beautiful place," Fu noted as swung her legs over the edge of the platform, "I feel so at home here."
"Meh," Gaara shrugged, "There's not enough sand."
"So you would prefer if this was beach front property?" Fu questioned.
"That would be nice," Gaara admitted, "I do enjoy the sound of the waves."
"We should go sometime," Fu grinned, "It would be fun. We could build some sandcastles, play beach volleyball, and see if you can swim."
Gaara rolled his eyes, "I can swim, Fu."
"You sure? Because I've never seen you in deep water before, and you look like you'd sink like a rock," Fu teased.
"…Maybe I'll just stay with the sand," Gaara mumbled.
Fu giggled, "That's alright. You'll have a better view of my bikini from the beach."
"Bikini?" A vision of Fu's golden skin shining around a thin green bikini passed through Gaara's mind.
Fu grinned at Gaara's distracted look, "I thought you'd like that."
Gaara snapped back into reality, "Oh, you're good."
"Yes, I am."
"Is this the real reason you were okay with Naruto going to find the girl?" Gaara questioned.
"Yeah, I just made up the rest as an excuse," Fu giggled, "But I didn't see you protest one bit, mister. So I count today as a win."
Naruto eyed the crying girl that lay on the ground. Her sunny blonde hair was pulled up into a bun. An expensive blue dress covered what Naruto had to admit was a rather well developed body for a fifteen year old girl. He quickly caught onto why she was on the ground. A broken high heel.
"That's why wearing weird shoes like that never pay off. If something goes wrong, you get a face full of dirt," Naruto mentioned as he approached the downed girl.
Lucy Heartfilia looked up at him with tear filled eyes. She was cautious of him. That was good. It meant that she wasn't an idiot, "W-who are you?"
"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto mentioned as he knelt down to look at the girl, "Your father sent me to find you."
"Naruto…Uzumaki…" Lucy's face lit up, "Oh Kami! You mean the real Naruto Uzumaki?! The Unstoppable Sword?! Number 5 on the list of 'Mages you want to have as a boyfriend'!?"
"What? Mages that you want…Boyfriend?" Naruto looked almost offended, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't you read Sorcerer Magazine?" Lucy questioned.
"No," Naruto shook his head, "But I do go by that nickname, so you must be talking about me."
"This is so cool! I never thought that I'd get to meet you in person!" Lucy squealed, "Is it true that you've taken down over a hundred dark guilds?"
"With Gaara's help, yes," Naruto nodded as he examined the foot that had the broken shoe.
"Oh! The Unbreakable Shield!? Is he here too? He's Number 8 on the list," Lucy was beaming in joy.
"No, he's doing something else right now," Naruto felt satisfaction in knowing that he beat Gaara in whatever it was she was talking about, "Hmm…I think you sprained your ankle."
"Oh…yeah," Lucy winced as her attention was brought back to the pain, "I twisted it pretty bad...What are you doing?"
Sky magic coated Naruto's hands, "Healing you."
"Healing me? How can you—Wow!" Lucy watched as the bruises and swelling around her ankle faded away, "That's amazing magic! What was it?"
"Sky magic," Naruto shrugged. He stood up and offered her a hand to the young woman. He quickly helped her up, "Now come on, I'm taking you back to your home."
"What? No!" Lucy shook her head, "I don't want to go back there! I hate it there."
"Well, you're obviously not suited for being out here, hime," Naruto shrugged, "Come on, I'll carry you."
Lucy glared at him. She removed her shoes and flung them away, "I can walk, thank you. And like I said, I'm not going home. I'm going to run away and join a mage guild."
"Uh huh, well that's not happening today," Naruto shook his head, "It's my job to take you back after all."
"Then I'll fight you!" Lucy gained a determined look.
"You? Fight me?" Naruto grinned in amusement.
"Y-yeah!" Lucy clumsily reached down to her belt and pulled out a golden key, "I'll use—Hey, wait! Give me that back!"
Naruto had easily grabbed the key from her before she could even react. He held the key just below the gap of his headband to see the strange object, "A Zodiac Key? You must be a Celestial Spirit Mage. Guess that explains why you're so weak physically."
"What? I'm not weak physically!" Lucy's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"You tripped over yourself, got your key stolen without even trying to stop me, and you look like you can't even do a single pushup," Naruto snorted, "Yeah, you're pretty weak."
Lucy looked down in shame, "I…I guess. I just…I never…"
"You never thought that you'd have to fight when you have spirits with you? That's dumb and selfish," Naruto tossed the key back to her, "Summoning is a viable battle strategy, but it means nothing if the summoner can't fight herself. You'll be an unmoving target for every enemy you face."
Lucy looked at him in shame as she pocketed her keep, "I…I know. But how am I supposed to get stronger? No one at home knows how to fight. I tried to get one of my spirits to help but…The only ones that are any good at fighting are kind of easily distracted."
"That's too bad," Naruto stated as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder, despite her protests, "Guess you're out of luck."
As Naruto began his walk back where he came, Lucy once again began to cry. Her dreams had been crushed in an instant, "Gah…Wah…H-how will I ever b-be a Fairy Tail m-mage now?"
Naruto paused, "Fairy Tail mage?"
"Sniff…Y-yeah…That's the guild I want to join," Lucy continued to wipe the tears that flowed down her face. She was surprised when Naruto placed her back down and got up close to her face.
"Why do you want to join Fairy Tail? Is it because they're popular?" Naruto demanded.
"N-no. T-they look like fun. E-every picture I see is them smiling. It's like one big family. I always wanted that. A place that I could be accepted as Lucy instead of Lady Heartfilia," Lucy looked away, "They seem so free…"
This hit Naruto in his core, "I see…"
"But how can I make that dream come true?!" Lucy wept into her hands, "Every day, I'm told that I have to be this perfect lady. That I have to do what's best for the family, and I have no way to change that. I'm so weak! And I don't have any way to change that!"
Naruto stared at the girl, "This dream of yours. What are you willing to give up for it? You have all this land, the best food in the world, the most expensive clothes money can buy. If you stay, you'll forever live a life of luxury. Being a mage is hard. Most never become successful."
"I don't care about any of that! I just want to be free! Away from all this! I want to choose who I am instead of letting other decide it for me," Lucy shook her head viciously.
"If you're that sure…then I might have a way to help you," Naruto stated.
"W-what? Really? Buy…why would you help me?"
"We have similar dreams, and you want to be a part of my teacher's beloved guild. So, I'm willing to give you the keys to freedom, but you'll have to be the one to open the door. And trust me when I say, this is going to be the worst experience of your life."
Fu stood in the middle of a small clearing. Her insect wings fluttered behind her. Her bugs crawled across her body. Her eyes darted around the area. Seven wolves with large spike coming out of their backs snarled at her. They circled her like predators, but Fu knew better.
"I'd give you a chance to run away, but…" Fu smirked, "I don't think you're smart enough to understand how much danger you're in."
With a roar, two of the beasts lunged at her. Their teeth were bared, ready to bite into the girl. With a shake of her head, Fu kicked the animas away. Even with their allies being dismissed liked annoying flies, the other creatures did not seemed afraid yet. The remaining creatures all went in for the attack.
With a flap of her wings, Fu rocketed herself into the air just as the creatures were on her. The down flow of air caused the remaining beasts to be pushed down. They quickly recovered and tried to jump after Fu. The jinchūriki was far out of their range, though. She far above the monsters and looked down at them.
"Sorry about this, but it's my job," Fu mentioned. It was at that moment that the bugs she planted on all the creatures during her attacks began to glow. The monsters took notice and began to examine the bug bombs that covered their bodies, "And boom goes the dynamite!"
In a great blaze of fire, the monsters disintegrated and disappeared in burst. In an instant all that was left of the monsters was a smoking crater. Fu looked down in satisfaction at a job well done.
"Wow, I didn't even see you place the bugs on them," Gaara noted as he floated over to her, "How long have you been working on that?"
"Fighting against Naruto so much made me want to control my bugs through big gusts of wind," Fu smirked over to her fellow jinchūriki, "Pretty cool, huh? I bet I could even get the blowhard himself with that one."
"You would definitely get a hit in," Gaara admitted as he eyed the smoking craters, "You could have saved some for me. It's boring just watching."
"You snooze, you lose," Fu stated, "You should have jumped in when you had the chance."
"And get caught in that?" Gaara rolled his eyes, "No thank you. Besides, I knew you could handle it."
"Damn right I could," Fu turned off to the horizon to look at the sun, "Wow, it took me longer than I expected to track these guys down. The sun should be setting soon. Guess we should head back, huh?"
Gaara eyed the horizon. The valley looked truly beautiful with the sun shining down on it, "Can we wait a few minutes? I'd like to see the sunset. I bet the valley would look beautiful in the light of the sunset."
"Oh really?" Fu grinned at him as she landed on his sand platform, "You want to watch the sunset with little ol' me?"
"Yes," Gaara stated without missing a beat.
Smiling, Fu took a seat on the edge of the platform, "You're a strange one, you know that? One moment, you say you don't want to be with me, the next you want to watch the sunset with me."
"That's where you're wrong," Gaara noted as he sat by the girl. He was at a far enough distance as to not imply intimacy yet close enough to suggest something.
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I never said that I didn't want to be with you."
"Gah…" Lucy groaned in agony. Her arms trembled in weakness, and her face was flushed from overheating, "I…can't…"
"Keep doing your pushups," Naruto ordered, "You're only allowed to stop when your arms give out."
"Why…am…I…doing…this?" Lucy asked as she struggled to push herself up again. Her dress was torn and had the skirt ripped off mostly. Naruto had compensated for her modesty by giving him a spare pair of pants that were too tight at the hips and too loose everywhere else, but they got the job done.
"You have three big problems as a fighter," Naruto spoke as he sat on a fallen tree. He was holding a pad of paper and was writing on it with a simple pencil, "First, your stamina. It's terrible. Both physically and magically. Every other day, you're going to have to push yourself to the limit. I'm writing a list of exercises you have to do. Then, when you can't move anymore, you're going to meditate. Get control over you magic power. Push it. Expel it. Master it."
Lucy struggled not to fall on her face, "Every…other…day?"
"Unlike me and most of the people I've helped train, you heal normally. You need to take a day of rest to heal," Naruto noted, "That's why every day you train is extremely important. This leads to your second problem, your lack of fighting experience and indirect form of magic. Your spirits are essential to your fighting style. You need to know everything about them to fight with them. On your off days, you need to spend time with them. Learn about them. Become inseparable. And when your stamina finally gets up to par, you need to train with them."
"What…do…you…mean?"
"Have them teach you. Learn their fighting styles, and get a weapon to compliment that," Naruto explained as he stood up, "Come up with training drills and battle plans. Be able to predict their movements before they even know what they're going to do."
Lucy's arms finally gave out and she landed on face. With a groan, she rolled over onto her back, "And what's the third thing?"
"Know pain," Naruto stepped on Lucy's unprotected toes causing her to cry out in pain. Tears began to stream down her face, "You cry too much. This is the third time you've done it in front of me. It makes you weak, impairs your vision. You need to learn to overcome pain and keep a clear mind. Now, sit ups. Go."
Lucy weakly began to do the exercises, "I…I know I cry a bit much, but…I just…"
"Excuses are for the weak. Tears are for the weak," Naruto noted, "To be strong, you must endure. Letting your emotions overcome you will get you killed. Save it all for when your work is done."
"You…You act like you never cry," Lucy groaned as her stomach burned from the crunches.
"I can count the number of times I cried since I was six on one hand," Naruto held up two fingers, "And that was because someone died and because of someone else's pain. The day I cry for my own pain…the day I cry for myself is the day I give up."
"W-why? What made you think this way?"
Naruto paused in thought.
He sat on the cold ground cradling his shattered arm. Unashamed tears streamed down his face. The blonde haired boy quietly sobbed in the darkness. His crying quickly came to a halt when a foot smashed against his face, and he was sent sprawling across the ground. Blood trickled out of his now shattered nose.
"Never cry. You are Konoha's sword. Our weapon," The masked man above the crying child growled down at the jinchūriki, "Weapons do not cry. They are emotionless. Empty. They do not regret or feel because their actions are dictated by their masters."
"B-but it hurts," Naruto whimpered out, "My arm…It—AAAAAHHHH!"
The masked man grabbed Naruto's other arm and broke it at the elbow. He then shoved the boy back to the floor, "Yes, it's broken. And now the other one is too. Get over it. Forget the pain. Make it so you don't feel anything. And stop your goddamn crying. It's shameful."
Naruto trembled in agony. Tears continued to roll down his face.
"Fine. Every minute you keep crying, I break another bone. That will show you what crying does for you."
"Crying was beaten out of me. Pain was beaten out of me. Hell, feeling was basically beaten out of me," Naruto noted, "Later, I learned that sadness and emotions do have their places, but I still don't cry. Haven't in five years, and probably won't as long as my three most precious people are still alive."
"What about when something is sad? What about when stress it too much? What if someone needs you to be there for them, to cry with them?" Lucy paused in her sit ups and stared at the other blonde.
Naruto turned his head to look towards the setting sun, "Then they're looking towards the wrong person."
"Why the sudden interest?" Gaara questioned as he watched the sun slowly setting across the valley.
"Just curious," Fu admitted, "It's a funny thing to think about. So, does he?"
"Not that I know of," Gaara shrugged, "I'm not his babysitter."
"But you two are always together," Fu noted as she leaned back and allowed the red and orange light to warm her form, "If anyone would know, it would be you."
"Fair enough," Gaara nodded, "But I don't know if Naruto ever had a girlfriend."
Fu snorted, "Of course you wouldn't. What about that Marissa chick? He and her seem to get along pretty well."
"Well, even I can see the tension there," Gaara admitted, "But I've been around both of them for the most part whenever she had info for us. I didn't see anything happen."
"What about with other women? Hookups?" Fu questioned.
Gaara closed his eyes, "Now that's something entirely different. I can't answer that. After all, there are times where Naruto goes off on his own for a night. It could be to train, but you never know."
"Hmm…Well, that's alright. Erza will be happy anyway," Fu giggled.
"So you're spying for her?" Gaara questioned.
"Nah, but I'm her friend too. I'd have to tell her if her crush was unavailable," Fu explained, "Hell, I think a lot of people would be disappointed. A lot of people in the guild ship the two of them."
"Ship?"
"Yeah, you know…They think the two of them should be in a relationship," Fu shrugged.
Gaara's eyes snapped to her, "People actually think about that?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Fu smiled gently at him.
Gaara's eyes widened as he watched the orange and red light dance across the girl. Her golden skin seemed to reflect the light perfectly. A gentle with drifted around them and caused her hair to gently dance around her.
"Anyway, sorry for bring that up. Thought I should ask before we meet up with Naruto again," Sighing Fu leaned forward and looked back to the horizon, "I'm glad we stayed for a bit, though. Such a beautiful sight."
Gaara didn't look away from her, "Yeah…completely agree…I, uh, Fu. There's something I should—"
"Excuse me!" A calm voice called from below. This instantly caught the jinchūrikis' attention. They looked down to see a man dressed in mostly black looking up at them.
"Hello!" Fu waved back happily.
"I'm glad I met some friendly faces out here. I got a bit lost," Zeref smiled gently, "Could I bother the two of you for directions?"
Naruto gently laid Lucy down in her bed. After her training session was over, he healed her wounds and minimized her pain with his sky magic. He couldn't fill her stamina back up, but that was fine. The day was over anyway, and that Jude guy was probably pissed that it took so long for him to bring her back.
"If you keep up with the training regime I created, you'll become strong," Naruto noted as he placed his notes on the desk by her massive bookshelves. He also placed a weapons kit by the notes, "Take a look at these later. Get a feel for them and see what suits you."
"Okay…"
"Also, look into strategy," Naruto ordered as he placed on more scroll on her desk, "You'll never be an unstoppable powerhouse, but you're smart. Incredibly so. Use that. Out think your enemies. That's your greatest weapon."
"Hmm…" Lucy struggled to stay awake as she relaxed on her soft bed, "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Naruto shrugged as he stepped away from the table, "The rest is up to you. I can't stay and help you, so you have to decide how far you take what I've given me."
"Yeah…" Lucy's half opened eyes peered at the other blonde, "You know what. You're a cold, unfeeling bastard…"
Naruto nodded, "I am."
"But not a bad one," Lucy noted as she closed her eyes, "After all…you helped me more in one day than anyone else has helped me my whole life."
"I get things done," Naruto agreed.
"But…" Lucy's voice became slurred as she, "I feel…bad for you…"
Naruto looked to her in surprise, "Why?"
"Cause…You have such a sad look on your face…But you won't cry to let it out…" Lucy mumbled as she drifted into unconsciousness, "That must be terrible…"
Naruto watched as her breathing evened out. She didn't have any energy left. The girl probably won't even remember those last words to him. Still, they made Naruto clench his fists. In the quiet room with no one around, Naruto allowed himself a moment to reflect on her words before leaving, "Yeah…It kind of is."
Gaara lowered the platform so that he and F were at a close enough distance to avoid shouting, "Directions to where?"
"I'm looking for someone. Perhaps you've heard of him," Zeref held up a picture, "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. Have you seen him?"
Fu and Gaara shared a look. They quickly stood up on the sand platform. Fu stared at the man and said, "What do you want with him?"
"I just wish to talk with him," Zeref answered calmly.
"What about?" Gaara glared at him.
"I see…You two must be friends of his," Zeref looked at the sand, "The Unbreakable Shield uses sand. You must be him."
"I am. Now tell me, what exactly do you want to talk to my friend about?" Gaara held a hand out. Sand began to swirl around Zeref's feet.
"So defensive…" Zeref tilted his head, "You're a good friend. I'm jealous."
The sand began to roll up Zeref's legs. Gaara snarled at dark mage, "I don't like you. Looking at you causes a chill to roll up my spine. Who are you, and what do you want from Naruto?"
'Gaara! Move now!' Shukaku roared in his mind.
Gaara felt hands grab the back of his shirt. With a rush of wind, Fu dragged him up just a black energy blasted off of Zeref in a massive wave. The plants around him instantly died. The sand turned into nothing. The very air around him seemed to get heavier with the hint of death.
"Oh Kami…" Fu noted as she looked down at the dark haired man, "That magic…"
"Death magic," Gaara's wide were wide, "But…only one person…"
"To answer your questions," Zeref's kind smile never dropped, "My name is Zeref, and I'm here to see how good of a God Slayer your friend is. But you know what…Talking to a person's friends often gives me a better insight. Tell me, what is your friend like?"
"Like we would tell you—AH!" Fu cried out as gravity increased all around her. She and Gaara hit the ground with a loud crash. They struggled to get up, but the force was too strong. All they could do was lie at the edge of death that had formed around Zeref.
"If I take one more step to you, you'll be in my range," Zeref held out a hand to continue the force of the gravity magic, "If you want to live, tell me about your friend."
Gaara glanced up to Fu. He didn't want to get her killed, "He…He's the strongest person I know."
"Oh?" Zeref raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. He saved me from myself," Gaara stated, 'Shukaku! I need some help here!'
Zeref felt the energy around the two began to change, "Oh, please don't change into your Biju. That would definitely force me to kill you mid transformation."
"How do you…" Fu blinked at the man.
"I am very familiar with how your world works…or at least the origins of your demons," Zeref spoke, "Now, about the God Slayer. I know of his abilities. Sky God Slayer magic. Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. Shinobi. I've learned that much over the years. I also know that he has some kind of vendetta about me. Why?"
Gaara shared a look with Fu, "Your cult worshippers…They killed his adopted mother."
Zeref's eyes became unfocused, "I see…He misses his loved one. The unfairness of her demise haunts him. That, I can understand…"
"Gah!" Gaara desperately tried to push himself up. Gathering sand around his limbs for extra support, he managed to slowly push himself up. Fu was carefully held on his back. As quickly as he could, he tried to back up, but this was only a small movement.
"You can actually fight against my magic?" Zeref gave him a surprised look, "I am deeply impressed. You are incredibly strong. But not strong enough. And I doubt your friend is too much stronger than you. That means that he isn't ready…"
"Stay away from Naruto and Fu!" Gaara snarled. The ground around slowly began to dissolve into sand, leaving them in a small quicksand pit, "If you try anything to hurt them, I'll kill you!"
Zeref smiled one more time, "I see. Naruto is lucky to have such a good friend. I am satisfied with today."
The gravity around Gaara returned to normal. The change almost caused Gaara to stumble, but he forced himself to stay upright.
"Perhaps the day with come where your friend will be ready," Zeref noted, "I do hope that he becomes strong enough. But I won't be surprised if he's just another God Slayer to fail in these past 400 hundred years. In the end, I suppose only the E.N.D. will ever be able to kill me."
Gaara quickly began to move back, carrying Fu away from the crazy man, "What are you talking about?"
"No matter what though, I will meet him eventually. Not today, though. No, if that happens, I would be forced to kill him. That would be a waste," Zeref turned and began to walk away, "Be sure to tell him what happened. He'll need to be motivated if he ever wants to get strong enough."
The two jinchūriki watched as Zeref retreated into the darkness of the forest. When the dark presence over them faded, they both let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Fu refused to release her hold around Gaara's neck and shoulders, "Gaara?"
Gaara reached up and gently squeezed her arms, "You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. How about you?"
"I'll live."
The three jinchūriki were in a somber mood as they slowly walked away from the Heartfilia land. The darkness of the night hung heavily over their shoulders, but none of them felt like stopping. Their mission here was complete, and they just wanted to leave.
"He's strong. Unbelievably so," Gaara noted to Naruto, "Zeref is in another reality of strength. All our training amounted to nothing in the grand scheme."
"No, we're as strong as we could possibly get right now," Naruto argued, "This is nothing having to do with us. It's Zeref. He's just a freak of nature."
"How do you plan to deal with him?" Fu questioned honestly, "We could train for years and never be able to kill that guy."
Naruto stopped his walk. His pause caused his companions to stop and turned to him. In a flair of magic, Naruto pulled April's book on Sky magic out of his Requip space, "To have a prayer of fighting Zeref, I need to learn the secrets of God Slayers hidden in this book, but to do that, I have to get to someone."
"Who?" Gaara questioned.
"It doesn't matter right now. He's in a guild that I can't get to," Naruto stared down at the book in his hands, "Going against a legal guild would get me into a lot of trouble, and we all know that the Magic Council would be overjoyed to have some leverage over me."
"Then what are you going to do?" Fu questioned.
Naruto smirked, "Tell me, if someone wanted to retrieve something from Fairy Tail, what would they do?"
Gaara shrugged, "Hire a dark guild to do it."
"What if they didn't want to get in trouble by breaking the law like that?"
Fu frowned, "They would have to hire a legal guild to do it, but no guild would be stupid enough to do that. Fairy Tail's the strongest guild in Fiore by far."
"True, but…" Naruto smiled and looked back to the Heartfilia mansion, "I can think of one guild that would be crazy enough to try it for the right reasons."
Omake: Cheater, Cheater
(Year: X780)
"Nice try there, Natsu," Naruto admitted while he sat on Natsu's back, "Your attacks are getting better, but you need to stop announcing it."
"Gah," Natsu groaned from his position on the ground, "How would it be fair if I didn't give you a heads up."
"True, but you can't win a fair fight against me," Naruto noted as he got up and helped the Fire Dragon Slayer off the ground.
"One day I'll beat you! Just you watch!" Natsu announced with a finger pointed at Naruto.
"And I'll be waiting for that day," Naruto let out a chuckle, "If you want, we can do some training before I leave. I'm staying overnight."
"Really! Awesome!" Natsu grinned and fist pumped, "I'll show you just how strong my fire can be when I don't hold back."
"I'm sure," Naruto patted Natsu on the back and made his way to the bar, "Hey, there, Master Dreyar. Fu said you wanted to meet with me."
"Yes…" Makarov glared at the blonde teen, "I have heard some disturbing things."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at Makarov's anger, "Disturbing things?"
Makarov had a look of absolute anger, "For a year now, you've been lying to me. How dare you! I just can't believe it!"
"Um…What are you talking about?"
"You! You've been cheating on Fairy Tail!"
Naruto blinked, "Huh?"
"I've heard that you've been spending a lot of time at Cait Shelter!" Tears began to roll down the old master's face, "How could you!? Aren't we good enough for you?"
Naruto face palmed, "Master, it's not like that…"
"What?!" Mirajane glared at the blonde and she slammed her hand onto the table, "You're flirting with other guilds now? I never knew you were such a whore, blondie."
"Real men never cheat!" Elfman exclaimed.
"Wait!" Lisanna tried to calm her siblings down, "Maybe it's not what it looks like. We should let Naruto-san explain."
Naruto let out a sigh, "Thank you, Lisanna. I'm not really spending time there as pleasure. It's about training. I took on an apprentice in fact. She's a sky user like me."
"She?" Levy stood up from her bench, "So you're teaching a younger woman, Nii-san!? That's not fair! I'm supposed to be your younger sister!"
"I never agreed to that," Naruto mumbled, "I just dropped you off here, and you've been calling me that ever since."
"Naruto," Erza walked up to the blonde, "I'll forgive you for you unfaithfulness. It is a terrible sin, but we can move past it. Because I l-l…Because I l-li…I l-liiiii…liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—"
Erza's face suddenly froze up. Her cheeks burned a deep crimson. Her eyebrows twitched as her vocal cords suddenly got stuck on repeat.
"I got this," Cana stepped up and began to push Erza away, "She just needs some booze in her. She'll either snap out of it and finish the sentence, or pass out. Either way, it'll be fun to see."
Naruto suddenly an arm wrap around his shoulders, "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…" Gildarts shook his head each time he said the name, "I understand what you're going through. You're a young man. Vibrant. Full of life. Not wanting to be tied down. But when you find a good thing, you have to stick to the commitments you make."
Naruto pushed Gildarts away, "Oh, shut it, Ero-ace. You're just talking out of your ass now."
"Wait, guys," Gray spoke out to the distressed guild, "Naruto isn't even part of the guild. We need to respect that he's a free agent. Fairy Tail doesn't have ownership of him."
The blonde God Slayer rolled his eyes, "Gray, thank you for defending me, but I can't accept help from a man with no pants. That's just not how I roll."
"What?" Gray looked down to see his boxers, "Damn it! Every time I try to do shit!"
"Cheater, cheater!" Natsu roared as he lunged at Naruto, "I'll beat some sense into you!"
Naruto grabbed Natsu from midair and flung him out the window, "I already dealt with you today!" The blonde then turned to see Fu sitting on the bar. A giant smirk was on her face as she playfully kicked her legs off the edge of the bar, "You! Why would you do this?!"
"I thought it would be funny," Fu admitted, "And I was right! It is!"
Naruto groaned, "Damn it. Gaara, give me some help here…Gaara?"
"He left as soon as Master mentioned cheating," Fu noted.
"Damn it!" Naruto pointed at Fu, "You spend almost as much time at Cait Shelter as I do! Dattebayo!"
"That may be true, but there's a difference between you and me," Fu winked at Naruto, "My eyes my stray but I always come back home at the end of the day. My heart belongs to Fairy Tail, and I don't spread my legs for just any guild like you do."
Naruto hung his head down low. He only had one option left. It was time to pull off a Gaara. The blonde turned and walked out the door without a word having learned an important life lesson. Cheaters always get found out.
Yes, I break my word once again. Another chapter before I said I would return, but Christmas...it just gets to me, you know. The time of giving and all that jazz, so I decided to give everyone a new chapter of my two big stories. This one and Conviction (which you should read, just saying). I hope you enjoyed this. Next chapter will probably be out at the end of January/beginning of February. Probably the latter, so I can make fun of Single Awareness Day (Valentine's Day). Until then, stay safe and enjoy whatever holiday you're celebrating.
Oh, and before anyone asks, no I don't hate Lucy. Do I think she could be done better? Hell yes, but I don't hate her. I like her general character and the idea of this normal person trying to deal with the wildness of Fairy Tail while growing to be one of their best fighters. It's just that this version of Naruto would be pissed off by her, and I want to make her the bad ass she could be in canon. You know, without all the fanservice (which as a straight man, I'm not totally against, but with her it's done too much) and crying every damn fight. She'll still be the same character, just with a better understanding of how to fight smart to compensate for being totally outclassed in power. And good God will she be outclassed in power in a lot of the fights I have planned for her...
Thank you all for reading and please remember to...
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