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Chapter 30: "Armor"
(Year: X784)
"Unison Raid," Hades stroked his chin. "Fascinating. Two complete strangers achieved what the greatest of comrades have failed to obtain. Granted, they were skilled mages, but it takes far more than individual skills to achieve that level of power."
"Not only that," Bluenote tilted his head to the side. "Such a difference in elements. Sand and water. Chakra and magic. How is that possible?"
"I can't even begin to comprehend," Hades turned to his younger subordinates. "Utakata. Zancrow. Have you tried such a thing?"
"We experimented," Utakata nodded. "We couldn't get it to work, though."
"Maybe it's a survival thing," Zancrow yawned. "The sand idiot held back too much. If he went all out, then he would have won in an instant."
"That also would send the tower crashing down," Bluenote noted. "He probably didn't want to get his companions killed."
Zancrow rolled his eyes, "Ah, if they're not strong enough to survive that, then they're not good comrades."
"It also would have ended the show," Utakata stated.
"Err, good point," Zancrow shrugged. "Still not a smart. Getting yourself almost killed like that is as dumb as it can get."
"Perhaps that's part of why it worked. Or maybe there's a deeper connection than we know," Hades smirked. "Either way, I already have valuable data. I can't wait to see what they will show me next. Perhaps I might even learn something."
Jellal stared down at the chess board before him. He reached over and roughly knocked over the pieces representing Vidaldus, Shô, and Fukuro. His hand then gently placed the figures of ice, water, and sand off to the side to signal their place outside the game. Just before he moved his hand back, he stopped. He then pushed over the piece which represented Simon. That man would be out of the game soon enough.
"And then Uzumaki will come for you," Jellal spoke to the girl in the cage. "He will be here soon enough."
Wendy was silent. Her eyes danced with thought as they looked at the anti-magic shackles around her wrists. After a second of pondering, she spoke, "I don't get what your goal is. Didn't you say that the Magic Council will blow the tower up? Why do all this if you're just going to destroy everything that you've built?"
"Do you really think I will answer your dumb questions?" Jellal chuckled.
"No, but I have to ask. There has to be a method to this madness," Wendy noted. "You might not be the Jellal that I remember, but Jellal is Jellal. And Jellal is smart no matter what."
The dark wizard chuckled, "You flatter me. There is a plan, but you'll have to wait until Etherion fires to find out. The Magic Council has made their decision. It will happen soon."
Wendy's eyes narrowed. He sounded certain. She didn't know how he would know for sure, but she didn't doubt his ability to predict the Council's moves. Things were definitely about to get more complicated. They needed to get away from the Tower of Heaven as soon as possible. Her eyes darted around the throne room. Only she and Jellal were in the chamber, and her kidnapper seemed focussed on the events on the outside. Now was her opportunity to act.
Giving a quiet breath, Wendy slowly moved her hands up to her head in order to avoid rattling her chains too much. She moved her hands through her hair to obtain her objective. While Jellal had taken almost every tool on her person, he had overlooked the simplest thing for a girl with long hair to have. Her brown eyes stared at the hair pin in her hands. Smiling, she moved the pin to the keyhole on her shackles and began her work on freeing herself just like Naruto had shown her.
"Sky God's Strike," Naruto shoved his fist into Simon's stomach. The larger man spit out blood and went tumbling back. He fell to his knees in pain while clutching at his midsection. The crimson eyed mage shook his head as he eyed his injured foe. "I don't take pleasure in this, you know. I'm trying to put just enough force to knock you out, not kill you. Just stay down or get out of my way, and I'll stop."
"N-No," Simon gasped. His body ached from the bruises and small cuts which lined his body. Despite his best efforts, he could not land a single blow on the other man. "I-I've already made my stance. I-I won't let you pass."
"Kami, fine," Naruto gathered wind around his right fist once more. "I'll just up the power a bit. That should be enough."
"Tch!" Simon pushed himself up. He rushed forward and activated his darkness magic. With the entire area covered in complete blackness, he thought he might be able to sneak a blow onto the obviously much more powerful wizard.
"I have other senses, dumbass," Naruto rammed his fist into the side of Simon's jaw. The metal covering the darkness user's face shattered with the darkness magic. Simon flipped over and collapsed onto the ground in a broken heap. Sighing, Naruto stepped over the muscular man. Once he was past his foe, he started his trek down the now open hallway. Before he could move too far, he felt a hand grip his ankles. With his eyebrows raised, the Sky God Slayer turned to see Simon clutching his foot.
"N-Not yet," Simon mumbled.
"You're kidding?" Naruto scoffed. He tried to kick his leg free, but Simon's grip held strong. "Well, you got guts, I'll give you that. Without power, though, you're just punching up at a mountain. If you're not careful, you'll get yourself crushed."
"M-Maybe," Simon grunted. He tried to push himself up, but his other limbs refused to obey him. "B-But I'll always fight for what I believe in until that happens."
"I respect that, but…" Naruto raised his hands up and covered his limbs in swirling black wind. "It's not enough to stop me from getting to Wendy. Sky God's Judgement."
Naruto brought his hands down. The wind followed his commands and came down in a giant rush. Simon grunted in pain as he was crushed beneath the element. Fortunately for him, the floor gave way before his body did. The wind pushed him down to the floor beneath them. Once more, Simon laid in a pool of his own blood and rubble. This time, though, he would not be getting up.
"At least now, you won't get yourself killed," Naruto turned and continued his rescue mission. "You can thank me later."
"Jeez," Gray grunted as he lifted Juvia up into a bridal carry position. "I get a lackluster fight, and now I'm a pack mule. This adventure sucks."
"At least you get to carry around a beautiful woman," Gaara noted.
"Ah? What's with you?" Gray raised an eyebrow at the redhead. "Did you hit your head or something? You sure you don't need help?"
"No, I'll be fine. It's just exhaustion," Gaara ignored his shaking limbs. He gave a sly smile at Juvia. "Just focus on helping the lady."
"If you say so," Gray looked to the rain woman. His eyes went wide at her love-struck look. "W-Woah! W-What's with that face?!"
Juvia blinked as Gaara gestured for her to tone it down. With a deep breath, she forced her blush to minimize a bit, "J-Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama. She must be exhausted from the fight."
"Well…That's understandable," Gray admitted. "I'm surprised that an enemy could exhaust both of you like this."
"It was a complicated situation," Gaara stated. "It's over now, though. Could you accompany us back to a safer lower area? We would be in trouble if we're attacked like this."
"Alright," Gray nodded. "But I'm surprised that you're not pushing ahead with Naruto and Fu still fighting."
"I'd just be a hindrance like this. Besides, they can handle the enemies here," Gaara shrugged. "The only ones that might trouble them is the Steam Bull and Jellal."
"What about the guys in the cloaks?" Gray questioned.
"Cloaks?" Gaara's eyes widened. "Did they have red clouds?"
"Yeah," Gray frowned. "One of them said some weird stuff. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about it, but Naruto was acting like a serious jackass back there."
Cursing, Gaara weighed his options, "I can't help like this. My only option is to try to recharge enough to fight again."
"Who are those men, Gaara-sama?" Juvia questioned.
"I know that they're called Akatsuki," Gaara explained. "They're trying to capture us."
"Why?" Gray stared at his childhood friend with hardened eyes.
"It's…a long story," Gaara decided to tell some partial truths. "Naruto, Fu, and I come from a faraway nation. We didn't have the best childhood, so we all ran away. I guess that they finally figured out that they're alive. Home was really strict. People aren't just allowed to leave, so they'll try to drag us home."
"Does this have to do with the number nicknames?" Gray couldn't help but ask. "I know that you three are One, Seven, and Nine, but I heard you call other people by numbers."
"Yes," Gaara sighed. "It's a very complicated system. It has to do with our births. I can explain more, but let's get to a safer spot so I can focus on recharging."
"Fair enough," Gray gently held the swooning Juvia tight. "Let's go then, but you explain as we move."
"Okay, but I'm surprised that you're so adamant about this," Gaara noted. "Usually, you're a lot more laid back than this."
"True," Gray bit his lips. "I don't know. Something just feels off in my gut right now, like something bad's going to happen. You'd feel that way too if you say the shorter guy's eyes. No way some blood isn't going to get spilled with someone looking so murderous."
Erza quickly learned that Han was far faster than his size would suggest. He skillfully dodged each swipe of her swords with expert precision. His heavy armor rattled with each heavy step. The extra noise made keeping track of his movements a lot easier. Han had yet to land a blow, either, but the steam emitting from his body could cause damage on its own. She had felt her skin begin to bubble just by being close to the man, and her endurance to heat was high from years of being near Natsu.
In order to counter the steam, she had Requiped her Flame Empress Armor. The red, orange, and black gave the steel the feel of burning fire. Her torso was covered in what could be described as a plated one-piece swimsuit. A portion of her thighs were open to the air before running into her long boots. Her shoulders and a sliver of her cleavage was also visible leading to her forearm protectors. Despite having significant portions of her skin exposed, the fire armor protected her from the heat of the steam. It also provided her with fire manipulation magic. Her flamers were nothing compared to Natsu, but it would be enough to try to force her foe to overheat in his own armor.
Suddenly, Han jumped back. Erza thought that maybe her plan had worked, but he tilted his head in amusement, "I have to ask…does that really qualify as armor? I've seen strippers with more protection than that. Is it designed to distract your opponents?"
Erza's face flushed, "I don't get to choose the designs of every one of my armor."
"Huh," Han chuckled. "I think that your blacksmith might be a pervert."
Erza frowned as she rushed forward with her flame sword raised high, "I won't let you distract me!"
With a battle cry, Erza swung her sword down. This time, Han didn't get a chance to dodge. His entire body was covered in burning flames. Her face twisted in satisfaction upon seeing her enemy covered in a cloak of fire, but the sense of victory quickly faded as Han just stood in the inferno and ignored the flames. His beady eyes stared at her in boredom.
Hissing, Erza swung her sword several more times. Each time, the burning halo around the giant intensified. Shaking his head, Han clenched his right fist. Magic and steam gathered around his hand. He punched at the smaller woman. As soon as his knuckles made contact, the energy burst from his hand. Erza gasped as her sword and armor shattered. She was sent flying back like a comet of steam. After skipping across the ground a few times, she flipped over and landed in a kneeling position.
Steam burst from Han's form. The fire around him was smothered by the jinchūriki's natural heat, "Sorry, but it takes a hell of a lot more heat than that to hurt me."
"Tsk!" Erza's mind raced with ideas with how to fight the foe in front of her. She knew that this was an enemy which beat Laxus multiple times. His power and endurance were extremely high, but his speed was only above average. "Requip: Flight Armor!"
Han blinked as the woman was covered in an even more revealing outfit. The little bit of clothing which covered her form was cheetah print. Even the cat ears on her head were shaped to fit a cheetah. Duel blades shaped like rapiers stood in either of her hands. Before he could comment on the cosplay, Erza rushed forward in a blur. In the space of a blink of an eye, she sprinted around him and covered her foe's armor in tiny chinks.
Scoffing, Han released steam once more, which forced Erza to retreat once more. Having predicted that the steam would come, Erza Requiped her armor once more to cover herself in her Heaven's Wheel Armor. She wore plated armor which covered her chest with a large metal flower and had a large billowing skirt that was covered in steel plating. Her stomach and neck were uncovered, and she had large metal wings that appeared to be made of individual blades, as well as a winged headpiece.
Keeping her distance from Han, she summoned dozens of floating swords and ordered them to fly at the titan. Han finally reacted to her attacks. He blocked several of the blades. Each sword that he made contact with shattered. Those that he couldn't block managed to cut into his armor just like Erza's previous attack before they were pulled back.
"Ha!" Erza smirked at him. "My armor is stronger than yours!"
"Armor? You…think that my armor is designed to make me stronger?" Han reeled his head back. "Hahahahaha!"
"What's funny?" Erza's eyes narrowed.
"You may use armor to get stronger, but not me," Han reached up behind his neck. "My armor is my limiter. I use it so that I don't accidentally destroy everything around me."
A small clink sounded out through the Tower. It was followed by the sound of metal bouncing off the floor. Mere seconds after the armor fell, the entire room was covered in steam. Erza immediately broke out into a violent sweat as the walls began to dissolve. Her eyes widened as she realized just why Han was called the Steam Bull.
Itachi flipped backwards to avoid a roundhouse kick covered in flames. He pulled out some shuriken and tossed them at his foe. Surprisingly, the pink haired man managed to catch them out of the air. Natsu coated the metal in fire and dramatically pulled them over his shoulder.
"Fire Dragon's Ninja Stars!"
The Uchiha readied himself for a skilled attack. To his surprise, though, Natsu's ability to throw the shuriken was far lower than his ability to catch them. His spinning red eyes watched as the blades moved around him without any effort on his part. As soon as the weapons were stabbed into the walls, the flames dancing across the steel slowly died off.
"Damn!" Natsu snapped his fingers. "I wish that Naruto helped me how to throw those better!"
Happy scoffed from down the hall, "You kept losing your patience after the first five minutes, Natsu."
"Hey! It's harder than it looks!" Natsu cried.
Happy smirked. He reached into his bag to pull out a shuriken of his own. The cat skillfully tossed the star into the wall.
"Shut up!" Natsu literally seethed. "Naruto just likes you more!"
"Aye sir!"
"You seem to know Uzumaki," Itachi drew Natsu's attention back to him. "You look up to him. He has fooled you."
"Eh?" Natsu frowned. "You kidding me? Trying to get me to doubt my friend? Dude, I've known him most of my life. You're just some random guy in my way."
"You may not believe me, but you will see soon," Itachi's eyes began to spin as he made eye contact with the Dragon Slayer. "He left destruction in his wake when he abandoned his home. The suffering he's created is far bigger than you can imagine."
"Left home? I heard Naruto, Gaara, and Fu mention their home before," Natsu mentioned. "Didn't sound much like a home to me. Besides, if your place falls apart just because some kids left, then it probably wasn't pretty stable."
Itachi was silent.
"Ha!" Natsu rushed forward with his fists covered in flames. "Can't argue with my logic?!"
Itachi dodged the blows. He moved a hand up to rub his eyes. The world had become a blur to him long ago, but his eyes should still be good enough to cast genjustu. It seemed like his theories were correct. People in Earthland lacked chakra coils. That made casting basic illusions on them impossible. Plus, a fight with taijustu would probably not end well for Itachi with his eyesight deteriorated from years of using the Mangekyō, especially against a man with flames able to appear on every inch of his skin. His element of fire ninjustu was out as well considering that this Natsu seemed to be able to eat fire.
A deep scowl appeared across his features. This man was a bad opponent for him. If he wasn't careful, he would spend all of his chakra trying to beat the mage. Talking down the Dragon Slayer would be impossible as well. Itachi could almost feel the stubbornness oozing off the other man. His barely functioning eyes flickered over to the cat. Perhaps a hostage would help him avoid wasting time and energy.
After dodging one of Natsu's latest strike, Itachi rushed to Happy. The blue cat tilted his head upon seeing the Uchiha pull out a kunai. Before the raven-haired shinobi could reach the feline, wings sprouted out of Happy's back. The cat flew up and away from Itachi's reach before he could get captured.
"Oi!" Natsu's stomach extended. "Leave Happy alone! Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Itachi cursed as the hallway was filled with flames. He once again flipped back to avoid getting hit. It seemed that trying to subdue the cat would be too difficult with the Dragon Slayer still active. The Akatsuki didn't have a whole lot of options left to deal with the Fairy Tail mage quickly. Most of his ninjustu was limited in the tower. That left only one option…
"Gah!" Itachi suddenly went into a coughing fit. Once he was done, he looked down to see blood covering his palms. He was running out of time. Using the Mangekyō Sharingan here would only weaken him too much to kill Uzumaki. His best option was to get out of his fight.
Nodding, Itachi dropped smoke pellets. As the hall filled with smoke, he turned to silently flee. The Kyūbi had to have gotten far up the tower at this point. If he hurried, he might be able to catch up just in time to go all out and kill him.
"Hey, asshole!" Natsu's voice sounded behind Itachi. "I can smell you! Don't think that you're getting away!"
"Goddamn it," Itachi hissed. What was this strange man?
Han was predictably pale. His entire torso was muscular to the point that even Laxus would think that it was too much. The man looked like he was carved out of stone. His head was completely shaved. The only bit of color on his body was his dark eyes. Erza had a difficult time discerning his features through the immense amounts of steam bursting from his pores. She would have squinted to get a better look if his form didn't suddenly start rushing to her.
Eyes widening, Erza commanded the swords to fly towards him. Some of the blades didn't get close to him. They melted before they could even get close. Those that remained because of the extra magic pumped into them were batted away by the Steam Bull. Cursing, the Titania tried to attack the giant of a man before he could get to her. What happened next was a blur to her as her armor suddenly shattered, and she went flying through the far wall.
Once more flipping over, she Requiped her Flight Armor once more. With her speed boosted, she managed to dodge Han's follow up charge. She tried to move in to attack once more but found that the steam and heat was far too intense for her to get close with such minimal protection. Sweat pouring from her skin, she rushed around him to try to confuse him before retreating to gain some distance.
When she was satisfied with the distance she gained, Erza Requiped into a far more powerful armor. She was covered in black steel lined with spikes. Her eyes gained a red glow as Han turned to her. Pointing her spiked mace at the giant, Erza growled, "This is my Purgatory Armor! No one has faced it and lived to speak of it!"
Laughing, Han charged once more. Erza screamed as she swung her weapon at the man. Once again, life blurred around her. Han shattered her weaponry with a single punch. She was sent flying through another wall. The force of blow was so great that her entire body went numb for a few seconds. Unlike the last few times that she was thrown around like a ragdoll, she couldn't right herself as she skipped across the ground. After a few seconds of rolling, she came to a halt.
The sound of a charging Han forced life back into her buzzing body. Hissing, she forced herself up and Requiped an armor that she was sure would hold back the Steam Bull. Her Adamantine Armor appeared around her body. She had managed to get it fixed after Naruto had assisted her in stopping the Jupiter Cannon blast. As Han drew close, Erza brought the two parts of her shield up to protect her. This time, she did not get sent flying by Han's attack.
Erza grinned as her armor held against the blow, even if a dent appeared from Han's punch. Her grinned vanished as Han followed up with another punch of equal strength. A third blow followed its brothers. Soon, a barrage of attacks hammered against her shield. Each hit added a new dent to her armor. She swiftly lost count of the attacks. In seconds, the armor which could stop a burst from a Jupiter Cannon became a dented mess.
After a lighter punch from his left hand, Han gathered as much magic and steam into his right fist as possible. He then sent once last punch forward and shattered the armor in a spray of metal. Once again, Erza was sent flying back. Just like before, she landed into a roll down the hall before she came to a stop. This time, though, she did not get up quickly.
Han watched as Erza tried to push herself up to her hands and knees. Her trembling limbs gave out on her before she could get up, though, and she tumbled to her face, "Relying on armor is not a smart strategy. It's a crutch. Guaranteed protection in exchange of power and self. I was forced into armor at a young age. My handlers didn't give me a choice. It was all to control me. Now, I wear it so I don't crush everything around me. That's my choice. You choose to cover yourself, though. That's the sign of a coward. There's no way someone so insecure and afraid of themselves could hope to hurt me."
Kisame grunted in annoyance as he blocked Ikaruga's most recent attack. Before he could finish his counter attack though, the swordswoman rushed away in a blur. Normal people would instantly lose track of someone moving at such speeds. His eyes, however, easily followed after his pink haired foe. Just like before, she tried to rush in towards his blind side. He blocked her blade with a single swing of Samehada and continued his swipe in order to try to tear the annoyance into dozens of bloody pieces.
Ikaruga's speed allowed her to dodge the attack right as sharp scales jumped out from beneath the bandages wrapped around the blade. Once again, Kisame let out a noise of annoyance. Fighting magic users sucked. They didn't have chakra to absorb. He couldn't just wear them down and absorb their energy. While that was only a single tool which he could use, Kisame found that it would make this fight much faster.
'Calling it a fight is too kind,' Kisame mentally noted. 'She knows that she doesn't stand a chance in a sword fight. Trying to buy time and stall me. Such a boring strategy. Smart, but boring.'
Growling in frustration at the situation, Kisame jumped away from the woman's latest strike. As he moved, Samehada expanded with a loud hiss. Stabbing the chakra sword into the ground, Kisame rushed forward before Ikaruga could get behind him, timing his swing perfectly to meet the woman as she ran to get around him. Knowing that she was close to getting murdered, Ikaruga pumped as much magic as she could into her blade without shattering it.
The swords of two conflicting energies met. Their surroundings groaned at the backlash of the meeting. A few parts of the wall crumbled around them. They struggled in their clash for a brief second. Ultimately, Kisame's far superior strength gave him the edge, sending the woman flying back. She landed off balance and exposed, perfect for a predator to take advantage of.
He grinned widely to show his sharp teeth. Just as he was about to rush forward and take out the woman with a single swing of his sword though, Samehada suddenly moaned and turned away from mage assassin. Intrigued, Kisame followed his swords direction to peak through one of the now broken walls. The shark didn't see anything, but he recognized the blade's reaction. It only reacted like that to extreme amounts of chakra.
Grinning, he swung Samehada to destroy the crumbling wall. As the rubble fell, he caught sight of two women that had been spying on him. While the shinobi didn't recognize the busty blonde, his eyes sparked with recognition upon seeing the other girl. His grin grew. Looks like one of his targets found him. How kind of her.
Han blinked as magic surged around his downed enemy. Her once broken armor transformed into a rather strange outfit. While her lower half was covered by pants imprinted with orange and red flames, her upper body only hand simple white bandages to hold back her breasts. The rest of the skin above her waist was exposed to the steaming air. Her long crimson hair got pulled back into a pony tail during her transformation. Oddly enough, the new outfit lacked the magical enhanced which seemed to seep out of her other armor.
Grunting, Erza stabbed her summoned katana into the ground and forced herself up. Her entire body was covered in deep bruises and steaming burns. She forced herself up despite her pain, "I know. I've always been a coward. I surround myself in steel to protect myself. This Tower…it haunts me. Every second that I feel exposed brings back memories of this hell."
Han silently watched as the woman got to her feet. She pulled her sword free and gripped it tightly in both hands. Her eyes glared at him.
"I don't know you, but I get the feeling that you're haunted too. Like so many. Like my friends. I'm jealous that they can move past it," Erza hissed. "So I'll make the vow now. I won't hold myself back by hiding anymore. I'll beat you here and now. Then, I'll conquer this tower. Not just for me but for my friends too."
"Beat me?" Han shook his head. "Girl, it's impossible for you to even wound me as you are now."
"Maybe, but I won't go back," Erza rushed forward with her sword raised. "Prepare yourself! This is my resolve!"
Han began his charge. He gathered his steam and magic to his fist. Erza's katana glowed with her own power. Two roars sound through the hallway as they swung their attacks at each other. The backlash of the collision caused a shockwave to spread out and forced the surrounding walls and floors to crack. As the burst of energy died down, the two fighters stopped their charge while facing away from each other.
Blood splashed down onto the floor as a massive gash appeared from Han's right shoulder and to his left ribs. Looking back to her enemy, Erza smirked upon seeing that her attack proved successful. The smile fell as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She collapsed into an unconscious heap with her sword clattering on the ground.
Raising his hand to his chest, Han examined the blood pouring from his wound. He actually smiled upon seeing the liquid of life. Chuckling, the jinchūriki turned to eye the downed woman, "Erza Scarlet. You're the first person in Earthland to wound me like this. The conviction behind that attack was truly impressive. It might not mean much, but you earned my respect. Don't worry, I won't let Jellal kill you. It would be a waste to let a fighter like you get snuffed out in such a stupid place."
During their flight through the halls, Lucy and Fu heard the sounds of fighting. They investigated to find Kisame and Ikaruga trading blows with their swords. Fu immediately recognized the pink haired assassin. The blue skinned man was new, though. The cloak with red clouds set off alarm bells in her head. Memories of a comatose Gaara popped into her head. For some reason, Akatsuki members were in the Tower of Heaven.
The mint haired woman whispered hushed warnings to Lucy that the shark man was dangerous. Lucy nodded. Even she could feel the strength of the strange man. Despite Fu's caution, the jinchūriki refused to just flee, though. She knew that the Akatsuki member could cause unprecedented chaos if left unchecked. As such, Fu and Lucy decided to just observe the man to find a possible weakness. That was their plan, at least, until Kisame noticed and exposed them.
Upon seeing Fu, Kisame gained a wild look. He charged towards them at full speed. He stabbed his strange sword at Fu. Cursing, the bug girl pushed Lucy out of the way and flew back to avoid getting stabbed. Her eyes darted to the grounded Lucy. She wanted to stick with the other Fairy Tail mage, but she doubted that her friend would be able to keep up in this fight. With no other option, she continued to fly back in order to avoid the bloodthirsty Kisame. As she moved away from the blonde, Fu silently hoped that Lucy would be okay on her own.
"Fu!" Lucy pushed herself back up. She reached for one of her keys but paused when she felt cold steel pressed against her neck.
"What do I have here?" Ikaruga whispered. "An innocent soul wandering around the darkness which is the Tower of Heaven."
"W-Wait!" Lucy shook in fear. "Y-You were just fighting that guy. Don't you want to beat him? If we help Fu, we could take him down."
"That's impossible," Ikaruga shook her head. "That man is too strong. My job was to distract him as long as I could. That's what I did. Now, it's the Bug Bomb's turn. And I get the feeling that trying to get in between that fight would be suicide."
"I-I…" Lucy's fingers twitched to her keys.
"Han-sama gave me a list of people who I couldn't kill, you know," Ikaruga purred seductively in her ear. "You weren't on it, so could you do something for me, little girl? Don't die too quickly. I like for my victims bleed out slowly."
Sorry for the extended delay, but...it exists. Amazon made it hard, but it is real.
*ahem*
Hey there! Do you enjoy my stories even mildly? No? Well, then why are you so far into this madness? Why not go further into the rabbit hole? Caged Demons: Entrapment is a thing that exists. I'm very proud of its development...considering the many sleepless nights that went into it. If you think that attempts at original work are worthy of trying, then please consider purchasing it. Thank you.
Search "Caged Demons: Entrapment" on Amazon or...
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*cough*
For those confused by Itachi's problems with Natsu, it's pretty simple. First, Itachi's illness from canon has had years to get worse. Second, Fire ninjustu doesn't doesn't work. Third, theoretically, normal genjustu should not work on people without chakra coils. More advanced genjustu is a different story.
Big thanks to Nightimes for continuing with great work as this story's Beta.
Thank you all for reading and please remember to...
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