Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. Anything I write in this story is purely from my thoughts

Chapter 14

In a town called Clover, a small group of wizards merrily celebrated their victory. That was until…

"Kekeke…" An eerie voice came from the flute that they left lying on the ground. "Fine! I'll devour you all myself!"

Smoke bellowed from the glutes mouth as it spewed the words out of its mouth.

"AH! THE FLUTE TALKED!" Lucy panicked.

"AND THE SMOKE IS TAKING FORM!" Happy followed.

All of the wizards, including all the guild masters inside the building, mouths hung open and stared in horror as the flute grew into an extremely tall humanoid creature with three eyes easily dwarfing the size of the guild building.

"What is going on, Kageyama?" Naruto demanded for an explanation from the Eisenwald wizard.

"How should I know?" He protested. "Erigor didn't mention anything about this."

"I'VE BEEN STARVING TO DEATH AFTER ALL THESE YEARS," Lullaby's deep voice droned on. "NOW, I WILL HAVE A FEAST ON ALL THESE SOULS!"

"Whaaaat? Souls are edible?" was all Natsu got from the situation. "Do they taste good?"

"How should I know?!" Gray answered.

"You see now, my boy?" Makarov went on. "This is why we don't dabble in magic that we don't even understand, especially The black wizard's magic."

"Black Wizard?" Naruto asked like he was supposed to know that name.

"You mean exactly the same one form ancient times?" Lucy asked.

Master Goldmine came out of the shadows. "That was nice to watch until it ended, but yes, young lady, the very same."

"Although, I would never have imagined that his magic would still live today," Master Bob followed suit.

"I'VE DECIDED!" Lullaby turned his attention to the group of Fairy Tail Wizards firing a beam of energy towards them. "I WOULD DEVOUR YOU ALL FIRST!"

They shielded themselves with their bodies bracing for an attack. They stayed that way for a while until they were sure that the attack died down.

Once they were sure everyone opened their eyes and saw a large rectangular cuboid of earth in the direction easily the size of Lullaby, himself. Naruto stood from his kneeling position lifting his palm from the dirt. With that, the large structure of earth retracted back down into the ground without a scar on it, like it wasn't there at all.

"Earth Magic?" Lucy asked. "I thought you used Wind Magic?"

"Uhh…I'm a jack of all trades?" Naruto answered somewhat unconvincingly.

Lucy still bought this explanation despite the nature.

"YOU!" Lullaby focused his eyes on the blonde in front of the group. "WHO ARE YOU? WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE OTHERS?"

"Others? What do you mean?" Erza raised an eyebrow.

"THE OTHER DEMONS OF ZEREF, WHO ELSE?" Lullaby explained.

"What is he talking about, man?" Gray asked.

Naruto didn't answer. He clenched his fist in anger. He knew it was the Biju that this demon could sense, and he couldn't stand at them being called demons especially with the childhood he had.

"Master," Naruto began. "Let me finish this one off."

"Are you sure, my boy?" He asked.

"I got this," Naruto said with pure determination.

"You heard the boy," Makarov said. "Do not interfere, but be on guard!"

Naruto started with a slow walk forward which turned into a full sprint.

"YOU ARE A COCKY HUMAN, AREN'T YOU?" Lullaby said as he raised his arm to squash the blonde like a bug.

But the next thing he knew, his opponent had disappeared. The next second later, a shockwave appeared on the demon's chest knocking him up into the air.

"ACK! WHERE ARE YOU?" He said as he tried to right himself in the air.

"Hey there he is!" Natsu spotted the blonde with his keen eyesight.

Everyone followed Natsu's line of sight. Without the enhanced senses, they weren't able to make out the blonde's exact location, but a blue shuriken sprouted out of nowhere and continued to expand to massive proportions.

Then Naruto yelled, "Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" and flung his attack at the demon.

"OH NO YOU DON'T," Another beam of energy was fired towards the blonde.

The Rasenshuriken was faster though, as it detonated right in front of his face. The attack expanded into a huge vortex of microscopic wind blades slicing through the demon at a cutting at the demon at even the cellular level.

Everyone watched in awe at the unexpected lights show that was occurring. Even those inside the guild building crowded the windows to watch the fight.

Once the whole fiasco died down, nothing was left. Naruto dropped down in what you people would call a 'superhero' landing, and walked back to his team mates who were all smiles at the show of strength. Well, most of them were…Natsu was moping about not getting to join the fight.

"You never cease to amaze me, Naruto," Lucy said. "I thought I've seen everything back in the first job, but damn…"

"Hehe, thanks," Naruto answered scratching the back of his head sheepishly

"Hmph, show off," Natsu scoffed.

"Sheesh Natsu," Naruto said noticing Natsu's different demeanor. "You already got to fight Erigor…"

Natsu didn't get to get a word in as Makarov started bragging, "That's my boy right there. Yes, the latest member of Fairy Tail. What do you think? Isn't great?"

"You lucky bastard," Master Goldmine said.

"Why do you always get the cute and strong wizards?" Master Bob added.

"And to add to all that, he did it without any damage to property!" Makarov said. "This boy's going to save me tons of money!"

"Are you sure you're a rookie wizard?" Erza asked just to make sure.

"Well, I've never done this stuff before where I came from, so in that sense, yes!" Naruto explained.

Erza seemed skeptical, but she bought it nonetheless. Although, there was still much mystery to where this particular wizard came from, but in the end, who was she to question the guild master's decision to accept this unknown into the ranks of the guild.

"Which reminds me…" Makarov continued. "Naruto, my boy, I wasn't able to wait for you to return to tell you this, but how would you like a promotion when we get back?"

"EHHHH?!"

MAGNOLIA TOWN

It was just another day in the lives of the Fairy Tail Wizards. The fallout of the earlier events was beginning to buzz around town. Word spread of how one team of five wizards had defeated a whole guild by themselves. The part that Lucy played had even been exaggerated even though she felt that she didn't do much of anything.

Speaking of Lucy, she was busy writing letters to her mother. I don't know what that is about. Naruto told me she just keeps it in a box in her room. (Don't ask how Naruto found that one out. Lucy will kill him!) Anyway, she finished off another one of those letters where she presumably wrote what she had been through in the past days. She was just dropping the envelope in her box when she noticed the reminder on the wall in front of her.

Lucy sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to make my share of rent this month."

Then, a knock came from her door. "Hey, Lucy!" It was her roommate. "Breakfast is ready."

"Just a sec," Lucy called back. "I guess we have to go on a job today."

She went downstairs to join her fellow blonde for breakfast. They had agreed to take turns to make their meal. Lucy had made it clear that she did not want to have ramen for breakfast, so Naruto had to cook something up. The first time, Lucy didn't know whether to laugh or to facepalm as Naruto burnt the eggs he was trying to fry. Personally, she used to hang out with her house helpers since her dad didn't have time for her, so she has some experience, but this boy… It was like he never tried to cook in his life. That is why she gave him impromptu cooking lessons.

Anyway, enough of that side story. Lucy joined Naruto at the dining table. The former shinobi was wearing his signature color, orange. At the moment, he was currently scratching those whisker marks on his cheek trying to make out the words on the magazine.

"Are you still having a hard time reading, Naruto?" Lucy asked.

"Y-yeah," Naruto let out a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "I understand the speaking part just fine, but it's just the writing that gives me trouble..."

"Oh, come on," Lucy shook her head. "You should be picking it up already."

"Ano, could you help me it?" Naruto put his hands together in a pleading gesture.

Lucy sighed. "Alright, alright..."

She picked up her chair and placed it right beside Naruto and took the magazine. She briefly scanned the page the article that the reading material was opened to. There was no picture but she got the gist of it. 'Wait! This is—'

One part of the article struck her:

Interviews with the locals revealed nothing but positive comments for the two Fairy Tail Wizards. They have been singing praises for them in the time that they stayed in the town. This is where it gets juicy tidbit starts, folks. An interview with the local builder states that things have heated up between them inside the walls of their hotel room. Is this a blossoming relationship coming to the fold or is it a one-time event? Stay tuned as we watch their story unfold.

Lucy's face turned into a dark shade of red as she finished reading the article, especially when she read the title.

Fairy Tail's Rising Stars also their Newest Couple?

Fortunately for her, the blonde had not read the article due to his literacy problems. It was a close call. It was a good thing too. It would embarrass her to no end if the boy were to find out about it.

The blonde seemed to notice this and placed a hand on the Celestial Wizard's forehead. "Are you okay, Lucy? Is something the matter? You seem to be a running a fever."

"N-n-no, I'm fine," Lucy snapped feigning a smile. "See?" She gobbled up her food so fast that she barely chewing it putting Naruto to shame when he was eating ramen. (Okay, that was exaggerating. No one beats Naruto at gobbling up food. He's a slob!)

(Naruto in the Narrator's background: HEY! I resent that!)

Don't mind him. Anyway. Lucy ran out the door leaving the shinobi to make sense of the situation. Naruto just shrugged finished the last slurp of the ramen in the cup. He sighed in relief as he brought down the cup. There was nothing like a good cup of ramen in the morning.

He opened his eyes, after that, only to notice a familiar white bow peaking from the corner of his eyes. It seemed to have a life of its own.

"I know you're there!" Naruto said aloud.

"Is she gone?" The small girl's bow twitched as she asked the question.

"Yeah, Mavis-chan," Naruto nodded. "She left."

Mavis squealed in delight when she saw the coast was clear. She dove for the blonde, knocking him to the ground, and cuddled him like her life depends on it.

"I missed you soooo much," The First Master pouted. "Why do have to leave home so often? And when you're here, you're always with Lucy…"

"Well, we do have to go on jobs so Lucy and I can pay rent," Naruto stroked her head. "Not to mention the food."

"You do have a point…" Mavis considered this for a moment, then she gained a knowing look and nudged the blonde. "Speaking of Lucy, you're really close with her. So, when are you making your move on her?"

"Lucy? Of course! She's my partner after all," Naruto tilted his head. "And move? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," Mavis continued nudging.

"What?" Naruto still didn't know what she was talking about. "It's not we're in a game or something?"

Mavis pouted again. "Hmph, I think leaving you alone in your childhood was a bad idea..."

"What did you say?" Naruto asked hearing the girl's muttering.

"No, no, it's nothing..." Mavis shook her head.

Naruto decided to leave that topic be. "Anyway, wanna go to the guild now?"

"Actually, I can't today," Mavis shook her head.

"Why? Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

"As much as I love staying here with you… I miss Tenrou Island…" Mavis had a melancholic look on her face. "I kind of miss the place. I did stay there for my whole life… and afterlife…"

"But you'll be lonely there," Naruto said.

"It will only be for a few days," Mavis said then her sly look returned. "Besides… You and Lucy can have some alone time."

FAIRY TAIL GUILD

"Are you seriously planning on promoting him, Master?" Erza asked the Old Man as they sat in his office.

"You did see what he was capable of in Clover Town," Makarov explained. "It would be a mistake to have him be held back by a mere rank."

"I get what Erza is getting at, Master," Mira chimed in. "It would be unfair to the others who have been working hard for the next trails if he would be promoted just like that."

"We have rules for a reason, Master," Erza said.

"That was what I was thinking too," Makarov said. 'But it was what Mavis-sama wanted...'

"But for now, I want to test his skills myself," The S-class wizard declared.

"Are you sure?" The master tried to make sure. "Surely you have seen his strength against the Lullaby."

"I have seen his brute force against a massive opponent," Erza explained. "But I want to test what he can do against someone who can counter his moves."

Makarov sighed. "Alright, do what you see fit. All I ask is you keep the damage to minimum."

"Yes, master," Erza nodded. "I understand…"

After that, Makarov and Erza exited the room to join the others in the guild's main hall. Naruto entered the guild with a frown on his face. He was alone at the moment, and Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, it's Naruto!" A random wizard yelled.

"I heard you defeated Lullaby in one shot," Macao asked. "That's kind of hard to believe? Is that true?"

"That's exaggerated," Naruto answered sheepishly.

"You're being modest," Wakaba said.

"I'm not," Naruto said. "I'm sure you guys could do the same."

"Anyway," Loki walked up to the blonde and patted him on the shoulder. "I heard you and Lucy—Ack!"

Loki didn't get to finish his statement as a rogue shoe flew into his face knocking him out, the heel exactly in his mouth. Everyone turned to see where the shoe came from. It was Lucy standing on the doorway of the guild panting heavily like she ran to the place. She had her hand forward indicating that it was her who flung the shoe at his face.

'That was close,' Lucy thought. She was right to run to the guild. Her inner radar was going haywire as she strolled through town.

"There you are!" Naruto said. "I was worried about you. You left so suddenly…"

"I-I'm fine, thanks for worrying," Lucy smiled.

Erza observed the interaction from the guild's second floor. After looking for an opening, she decided to walk towards them.

"Oh, hey Erza," Lucy greeted. "Good morning!"

"Good morning everyone. Pardon me for bothering you this early morning, Naruto," Erza began. "But I must challenge you to a duel…"

"WHAAAT?" The whole guild erupted in surprise.

Whispers began among the rest of the wizards in the group. It's not that they didn't believe in Naruto or anything like that. It's just that Erza is Erza, one of the strongest wizards in the guild against a relative nobody.

Naruto smirked. "Hmph, I was wondering how strong you were."

FAIRY TAIL TRAINING FIELD

In the fields that the guild wizards use for training far from the outskirts of town, the two wizards stood across from each other, one of them already getting impatient. Everyone in the whole guild followed them to the clearing eager to watch the fight, but right now, they were not fighting.

"How much longer before we fight?" Naruto said tapping his foot on the ground.

"Just a sec! Don't get your panties in a twist," Cana waved him off then turned back to the crowd. "Come on! Place your bets!"

Cana held a couple of buckets in both hands, each with a chibi version of the fighters plastered on the front. The bucket with Erza's picture on it had a whole lot of money in it, while Naruto's was completely empty. Tons and tons of cash continued to fill the bets for Erza's bucket, while Mira walked forward and placed a couple of bills on the blonde's bucket.

"Does this always happen whenever there's a fight?" Lucy asked.

"Oh yes," Levy answered her. "Cana's basically turned it into a business. So…are you betting on Naruto?"

"Ah, th-that-s—" Lucy turned to a shade of crimson at the petite girl's question.

"Come on, Lu-chan," Levy giggled. "Everyone knows about it already if all the rumors are true."

"Ah, right, the rumors," Lucy let out a nervous laugh and turned to the two combatants standing in the middle of the crowd. 'I have to make sure he doesn't find out about it. I'll die of embarrassment if he does…'

Erza sent her opponent an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about this Naruto, but don't worry about the betting. This is not a popularity contest."

"It's fine. It's not my first rodeo," Naruto said. "I just wish they would hurry it up."

"Okay that's the last of 'em," Cana said as the last vote came in; it was Lucy placing her bet on Naruto's basically empty bucket. "Master! You're up!"

"Alright, listen up you two!" The small old man coughed into his closed fist silencing the crowd. "First one to render their opponent unable to battle is the winner! BEGIN!"

With the master's signal, Erza summoned a regular sword and charged. "Here I come, Naruto!" She yelled as she charged.

Naruto unfurled a scroll and, with a puff of smoke, he summoned a sword reminiscent of his late friend's sword. He switched to a reverse grip and met the attack head-on.

The crowd watched as the blonde was able to keep up with the S-class wizard. Each slash was blocked and every stab was knocked away from himself. Naruto jumped over a slice to his midsection and rolled over Erza to deliver another stab of his own. With experience in Erza's backfoot, she was able to block the attack. They once again traded blows trying to get a good hit

"I have to hand it to Naruto," Gray said from beside Lucy. "He fought well, but no one stands up to Erza when it comes to sword fighting."

Somewhere along the line, Erza had requipped another sword doubling the assault of the blade storm. Naruto was able to defend just fine, but his senses were working overtime now that the blades to guard against were doubled.

A few seconds later, Erza was able to find Naruto's defense pattern and found a flaw in his guard. She immediately dove for the opening she found and her attack hit true stabbing the blonde in the shoulder. Naruto roared in pain and fell to his knees. The crowd erupted in cheers thinking the S-class wizard had gotten the upper hand. That was until…

POOF!

Naruto was engulfed by white smoke. When the smoke died down, a log lay on the ground in his place pierced by the S-class wizard's blade.

"That's—" Lucy said recognizing the familiar technique.

"Where'd he go?" Natsu wondered aloud as he watched where the blonde might appear.

Erza once again was on guard trying to anticipate the blonde's next move. She was looking around trying to predict where he would come from, when a rumbling sound came from under her foot as the ground beneath her broke revealing the blonde ready to send a punch on her chin.

The S-class Wizard jumped back to avoid the attack, but Naruto twisted in the air to send a kick to her side. Erza was able to raise her arms to block, but the force of the kick sent her flying. Not letting up, Naruto quickly formed a clone to fling him towards the direction she went.

Seeing the blonde flying in her direction with no way to defend against her next attack, she was engulfed by another golden light, changing her armor. "Requip: Heaven's Wheel!"

She was engulfed in a golden light that changed her armor. She was now wearing an almost completely silver aromor. The upper part of this armor only consists of a small, revealing breastplate that extends along her hips, composed of feather-shaped plates pointing upwards with a large metal flower on the front, leaving the tops of her breasts exposed, as well as her stomach. Her biceps are covered by metal straps and her very large plated gauntlets sported feather-shaped plates at the edges.

Her waist was circled by large, decorated plates reminiscent of feathers that lie on a long skirt. She wore a pair of plated boots which are partially hidden under her skirt, each sporting metal ornaments shaped like wings. Erza also wore a neck guard made of feather-like plates and a tiara with prominent metal wings. Completing the look were two pairs of large metal wings that adorned her back, composed of metal feathers that get longer and larger at the edges.

She raised her arms to the air causing magic circles to form over Naruto following his trajectory.

"He's toast," was the sentiment of most of the guild dozens of swords appeared over the blonde's form.

"There's no getting out of this one, kit," Kurama said from his mindscape.

"I can help him with this unlike you, ya dumb fox!" Shukaku cackled. "Use my sand, Naruto!"

"I got this," Naruto smirked clasping his hands together.

"Blumenblatt!" Erza screamed as the swords converged on Naruto kicking up dust.

"Is it over?"

"That was it?"

"How anticlimactic…"

Those were only some of the murmurs that erupted from the crowd as they watched the aftermath of the battle. Everyone was giddy waiting for a chance to get their prize money.

"I think you went overboard, Erza…"

"Hey, Cana! Pay up!" Natsu demanded seeing as there was no way for Naruto to get out of this one.

"It's not over yet!" Erza said as the dust was forcibly dispersed by a massive wall of wind that suddenly erupted all around both combatants.

Naruto revealed himself to be standing completely unharmed. All the swords that should have hit him scattered around him and there was not a scratch on him. The blades never even pierced him! He was standing there his arms outstretched.

"I've been dying to try this move," Naruto yelled. "Take this!"

Naruto twisted his body, and by command, the wind contracted inwards forming a cylindrical beam of concentrated wind that was fired at the S-class Wizard.

"This is bad…" Erza muttered as she moved to get away from the attack. "Shit! When did he—"

Erza couldn't move. Somewhere along the lines, the earth under her rose to bind her feet, when she was distracted. This boy was crafty, thinking ahead like that. But, so did she…

Once, again the golden light returned, indicating her switching of wardrobe. She was now wearing an armor that was made of a singular, blue chest plate with a lighter blue belt-like contraption around the waist. Three spikes line the top of the chest plate which gives way to a white neck brace split in the center to allow room for her chin. The shoulders are sectioned with a large spike dividing each section, the middle spike being the largest of the three. The gauntlets have only a few sections. Attaching to the elbows are two large white shields. A blue jewel lines the back of the hand. Attached to the bottom of the chest plate is a two-layer metallic skirt with small spikes hanging on the ends of each layer. A larger spike hangs inward on the bottom layer. Her legs are covered in a sectioned armor to match the rest of the armor with a pair of greaves starting at the knees. The greaves bear a blue design shaped like the large spike that hangs off the skirt. Several curving spikes attach just below the knee of the greaves. She wears a large spiked headdress atop her head with a reflective piece in the middle

She put the two shields together, creating a light green magic barrier that took the attack head-on. The attack was so powerful that she was skidding backward from the sheer force. A few seconds in a cracking sound could be heard. Eventually, her barrier broke along with her shield, at the same time Naruto's attack died down.

Erza lowered what remained of her shields panting from the strain of defending against a powerful attack.

"Wow! I heard you were strong, but to see it for myself..." Naruto complemented the red-head. "Well, I guess it's time to finish this…"

"Thank you, but I won't go down without a fight," Erza said as she prepared for her last armor. 'I have to hit with all I've got...'

She now took on the appearance of a metallic dress. It was an armor with a dark slate color with a lighter gray trim. The shoulder guards are a light gray color with a large spike protruding off of them. The arm guards bear a simple weaving pattern with three spikes jutting out, each smaller than the last. The leg greaves start just below her hips with three progressively smaller spikes protruding starting at the knees. Around her neck is a small necklace of black, diamond-shaped jewels. A single horn works its way out from underneath her hair atop her head. She exuded a glowing reddish aura.

Naruto raised his hand in a come motion.

Erza gladly took the challenge and charged. She placed all her remaining magic energy on one final blow.

The blonde stood there grinning. He didn't meet the Erza in the middle, this time. He just waited, until Erza was close, then he just threw a familiar three-pronged kunai aimed at the S-class wizard's head.

'He's mocking me...' Erza thought as she just cocked her head to the side to dodge and readied hefted her mace to deal the finishing blow.

But then, Naruto vanished. He suddenly disappeared. The audience saw appear behind Erza with a swirling blue orb in his hand. He slammed the orb on Erza's back grinding her armor to dust and slamming Erza to the ground kicking up dust once again.

When the dust settled, Naruto had the kunai pointed at Erza's head. Had this been a life or death battle, she would have been a goner.

"The winner is Naruto!" Makarov announced, but no cheers erupted.

It was to be expected though. One of their strongest wizards was just bested, not to mention they had bet on the fight. Naruto shrugged and put away his blade and offered a hand to the downed wizard.

"That was a great fight, Erza," Naruto smiled. "Thanks!"

Erza turned and accepted the blonde's hand. "I have not had a fight like that since Mira. Thank you as well."

She offered her hand to the blonde, a sign of sportsmanship. Naruto returned the smile with his trademark grin and accepted it.

"Ahem!" A high-pitched voice cleared its throat getting everyone's attention. "That was a nice fight and all, but I need these people to come with me."

A/N: Wow! I don't know how long I took, but I hope it wasn't too long. Thanks for reading. Bye!

Sorry about that I posted the chapter in the wrong story. Thanks for pointing that out people from the other story. Rookie mistake