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 16

Magic power shook the guild hall as the two wizards confronted each other in the middle of the guild hall. The guild members didn't know if they should start a betting pool or stop the potential fight. Fighting of two wizards inside the building, in the middle of town, would be entail a lot of carnage in their wake. Certainly, it wouldn't be a pretty sight. The bills alone would give you a heart attack.

Fortunately…

BONK

BONK

"Ow!" Naruto screamed as he nursed his head.

"Tch," Laxus looked away as the disapproving glare bore into his being.

"That's enough out of the two of you," Makarov scolded the two wizards facing off.

"But he started it!" Naruto whined like a child pointing an accusing finger at his fellow blonde.

"Whatever," Laxus spat and turned to leave.

"Just let it go, Naruto," Lucy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder calming the whiskered blonde down.

"Alright, alright, if you say so…" Naruto asked scratching the area that the guild master bonked. "What was that guy's problem anyway?"

"I hope you could forgive Laxus," Mira said replacing the ramen Laxus knocked over. "He wasn't the same ever since his father was kicked out of the guild."

"What's the story behind that?" Lucy pondered aloud.

"Well, you see, the story—" Mirajane began.

"—will have to be told another time," Makarov interjected. "Sorry to cut this conversation short, but I must speak to Naruto."

"What's it about, master?" Naruto asked.

"There are reports saying that a massive monster was seen harassing a remote village in the forests not far from Magnolia," Makarov explained. "I want you to subdue this monster and rescue any survivors left."

"Does it have to be specifically Naruto?" Mirajane asked.

"That's right," Makarov nodded. "The mayor has asked for you directly."

"But why me?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Well, words of your completion of jobs with minimal damage had started to spread across Fiore," He said. "I suspect the mayor wants you to save the village without causing further damage."

"Ohhh, someone's becoming popular," Lucy teased the whiskered blonde.

The said wizard scratched the back of his head and shrugged off the teasing. "So, Lucy wanna come?"

"I'd rather not," Lucy shook her head. "I've had enough of monster hunts for a while."

"I'LL GO!" Natsu presented himself rather enthusiastically.

"I don't think so, little Mr!" Makarov rejected his offer. "That would be defeating the purpose of asking Naruto to go."

"But, but—" Natsu tried to reason out, only to be shot down by the master himself.

"Learn to reel in your destruction, and I might let you join in next time," the master said with finality.

Natsu moped on the floor like a child that was refused to buy his favorite toy. The others continued their conversation causing them to miss the dragon slayer's mischievous gaze eying the second floor.

"I'll leave as soon as possible," Naruto told the miniature old man.

"You didn't have to be shy," Cana slung Naruto under her arm. "I'll go with you on your little job."

"Uhh, that won't be necessary," Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Oh, don't be silly," The drunk wizard waved him off. "Do you even know how to get to the town?"

"…"

"I thought so," Cana laughed at the clueless blonde. "Come on, I'll show you where it is."

"Don't go overboard, okay Cana?" Makarov called out.

"Yeah, yeah, gramps," Cana waved goodbye. "I got it."

"And don't drink all their booze supply," Makarov added.

"Uhh, yeah got it!"

ONE TRAIN RIDE LATER

The two wizards decided to go home and pack supplies for their trip. They didn't know how long this job would take, but it didn't hurt to be ready in case they needed to stay overnight.

Naruto had been in the guild for quite a while now, and he still couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Cana down another flask of ale. He half-expected her to bring a barrel with her to the train, but apparently, she found it troublesome to be lugging a barrel of ale on their mission. Well, he still was convinced that this drunk could outdrink even Tsunade no baachan.

Currently, they were walking to the town that was detailed in the request form. Man, this girl can hold in her liquor. She was already tipsy in the train and she was still downing drinks. Now, she was still walking straight like she never drank liquor ever that day.

"So, what kind of monster are we going to fight?" Cana asked.

"I—uh actually don't know…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Couldn't you just read it off the request form?" Cana looked at the blonde oddly.

"Don't tell me you don't know how to read?" The realization struck her.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "No, no I don't…"

"Man, how stupid can you be?" Cana joked.

"Oi, oi, aren't you forgetting that I'm new here?" Naruto defended himself.

"Okay, okay, geez, I'm only kidding," Cana laughed. "Isn't your girlfriend teaching you how to read?"

"Girlfriend?" Naruto asked.

'Geez, how stupid can this guy be,' The female wizard thought to herself. "Who else, genius? Lucy! Everyone can see how close you two are getting."

"Lucy? Of course, we're partners after all!" Naruto explained.

Cana inwardly facepalmed, "Then, what about those—"

ROAAAAAR

WITH LUCY

"Are you kidding?" A boatman straight up refused at the mention of the cursed island. "No way! I'm not risking my life going there! No matter how much you pay me!"

"Okay. Thanks anyway," Natsu thanked the man.

"Another dud, huh?" Lucy sighed. "Is that island really that bad?"

"Well, I wouldn't blame them," Happy stated. "It is a cursed island after all."

So, the three of them strolled through the port of Hargeon looking for anyone that would give them a ride to get them to their job's location. Just then, similar to what happened in Magnolia when she ran from Naruto, her inner radar was going haywire. She felt that the secret she was trying hard to keep was about to be divulged.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" Natsu asked the wizard.

"I-I'm fine," she tried for a smile.

"Are you sure?" Happy chimed in. "You look pale."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Lucy nodded.

Then, as fast as the bells started ringing in her head, they stopped causing her to breathe a sigh of relief. 'Whatever that was that stopped it, thank you…I'd die of embarrassment if he ever found out what was in that magazine.'

"Come on you two!" Lucy ordered. "Onward! Galuna Island's problem won't solve itself."

Natsu and Happy looked at each other and shrugged at the blonde's change in behavior. It was certainly weird.

"Lucy must have hit her head or something," Natsu told his partner.

"Aye," The blue cat agreed.

While they watched the girl talk to herself and go through different kinds of emotions on the spot, a voice called out to them saying, "Finally caught up with you guys. You are in so much trouble."

ABANDONED VILLAGE

CRASH

"Hey! Watch it you overgrown skunk!" Cana complained as she narrowly saved her booze from the massive beast's attack.

The beast was several stories tall. It was a sandy-brown-colored raccoon. There were dark curse markings all its face, body, and tail that reminded Naruto of the ones that were on one of his tenant's body. Also similar to Shukaku, its eyes were black with yellow irides and pupils that shape of a black four-pointed star with four black dots around it. It also had one massive tail that swung through the air knocking down trees and kicking up sand.

"Bet you're regretting coming on this job now, huh?" Naruto snickered at the drunk brunette's predicament.

"Shut it, blondie!" Cana squealed as she ran away. "Don't just stand there, and come help me~~"

"Grrrr," Shukaku growled from within Naruto's mindscape.

"What's wrong, Shukaku?" Naruto asked aloud which went unnoticed by his partner for the job.

"This fake feels too much like me," Shukaku answered.

"It's even the same species as you," Naruto answered in his mindscape.

"Are you stupid?" Shukaku berated the blonde. "That pathetic excuse for a Tailed Beast is a Raccoon! I'm a Tanuki, a raccoon dog, you idiot! I'm closer in species to that stupid fox than that sorry excuse."

"Tch, don't flatter yourself. You and I are nothing alike," Kurama said miffed that the Tanuki compared himself to the fox. "This thing is clearly an upgrade from what you've turned out to be."

"What did you say?!" Shukaku screamed, clearly not pleased with the comment.

"I know you heard me," The fox said with an uncaring voice.

"Why I ought to—"

Naruto sighed and turned to his other tenants, "Could you guys take care of this?"

"We got this Naruto," Isobu said. "We'll break up their fight. Finish this wannabe-tailed beast."

"Hey, Naruto!" Cana screamed from the top of her lungs as she was slowly enclosed in a cocoon of sand. "Anytime no—"

That was the last thing she was able to say as the sand covered the last of their exposed skin.

"Oh shit!" Naruto cursed with wide eyes seeing what was happening. He had enough fights against Gaara/Shukaku to know what was coming next. He had to act fast.

Racing through the hand signs, he cast his jutsu in order to save the brunette. "Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha!"

As he yelled that, a massive torrent of water was produced out of nowhere that easily dwarfed the massive demon's size. On the demon's command, sand rose around itself to defend itself from the blonde's attack, but it was all for naught. The waves crashed into the shield causing it to crumble down like a sandcastle in the beach.

Subsequently, the cocoon that held the Card Wizard broke apart revealing an unconscious Cana. Naruto swooped in to catch her bridal style. As she landed in the blonde's arms, the brunette's eyes slowly stirred awake. She stared at the blonde who was dodging the massive skunk's attacks.

Naruto noticed that his teammate was awake.

"Glad I made it in time," Naruto said with a toothy grin.

Cana's cheeks burnt up when she noticed how the blonde was carrying him. She surprisingly wanted to stay longer in his arms like this. It felt ri—Oh, never mind. A tick mark formed on her forehead. She remembered how the blonde left her to her own devices as she was chased all around by the crazy monster.

BLAM

Cana slugged the blonde in the face causing him to slip on a wet branch and crash down to the ground. Naruto grabbed the brunette closer to himself as they fell off the tree and rolled a couple of times.

"Ow! What was that for?" Naruto yelled as he nursed his cheek.

"Serves you right!" Cana countered. "Why were you spacing out like that? In the middle of a fight even!"

"S-sorry," Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I-I was analyzing the situation."

"You're lucky you got to me just in time," She said finally calming down. "Th-thanks…"

"No problem," Naruto grinned.

"What's that things deal anyway?" Cana said peeking out of the side of a tree watching the demon who has lost track of them. "I can't hit it! That pesky sand it always protecting it!"

Naruto got into a thinking pose, "Let me try something. Stay here."

Cana wasn't able to argue since the blonde was already out of sight before he could get a word in. She just sighed. "Boys…"

Meanwhile, the blonde stood up on the treetops eyeing the demon. Being out in the open, the beast finally took notice and roared at the blonde.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto waved him off as he rolled up his sleeve revealing a seal similar to what his old friend had up his sleeve (literally).

With a puff of smoke, a massive shuriken. He flung the lone shuriken at the massive beast who had spotted him.

"Ninpou: Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he raised his hands in his favorite hand seal.

The one shuriken multiplied and multiplied until there were too many to count.

Sand swirled around the demon and even before the army of shuriken could hit him, the sand protected it. As he watched, Naruto smirked seeing just how to defeat it.

He jumped down to meet his companion.

"See, I told you!" Cana berated the blonde. "You can't hit it! It will just protect against anything you try!"

"Not necessarily," Naruto said.

"What are you going on about?!" Cana pressed. "We have to think of something fast. I want to get back at it for spilling my booze."

"That's what you get for drinking on the job…" Naruto muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Cana demanded as she heard snippets from what the brunette said.

"Nothing," Naruto chuckled nervously. "I want you to hit it with your strongest attack!"

Cana frowned. "Are you stupid? It will just block it!"

"Just trust me!" Naruto said as he leaped to the trees to get into position.

"Wait—" Cana tried to stop the blonde, but he was already leaping through the trees to get to where he had to be. "He could have taken me there."

A few seconds later, the drunk made it to the clearing that the demon made with his body.

"Hooo, I'm kinda regretting coming on this quest," She huffed drawing her cards. "But enough moping around. Time for some payback!"

Throwing cards in the air, she yelled her attack, "Take this! Thunderbolt's Fate!"

The cards swirled in a circle in the air for a few seconds getting the beast's attention. The demon roared controlling some more sand sending it at the drunk. But then, her cards levitated in the air and levitated sending a blot of lighting disrupting the stream of sand heading towards her.

Cana expected something different, like her attack hitting or something like that, but the results were the same as before. The sand rushed to protect the beast's body from the attack. Here is where the difference came though.

As soon as her attack collided with the shield, she heard the wind swirling somewhere which quickly turned into a loud screeching sound. This was followed by the blonde calling out his attack's name. "Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

What happened next, she didn't expect at all. She thought the beast would be able to block the attack, but she was proven wrong. The shuriken-shaped attack sliced through the air spinning towards the beast screeching as it flew. No sand came to its protection, so the attack hit true.

Upon making contact with the skunk, the attack exploded and expanded into a giant dome shredding through the demon.

"I knew it!" Naruto cheered as he went to meet his partner for this quest.

"Why did that work?" Cana inquired.

"When I threw those shurikens, I noticed that it couldn't block the whole way through," Naruto explained. "So I figured if it was blocking against one attack, it won't be able to defend against another."

"Th-that sounds surprisingly profound for you," Cana had a shocked expression on her face, but not from what you were expecting.

"Hey! I have my moments of brilliance," Naruto protested.

"Alright, alright," Cana waved him off. "Just so you know, you owe me some booze."

"What?! But—"

Naruto didn't get to finish what he was saying as the sound of a gasp behind him. Both of them turned to see a middle-aged man looking at them in disbelief. "A-are you perhaps, the Naruto Uzumaki?"

"The very same," Naruto beamed his trademark thousand-watt smile.

"Oh, thank you for coming," The middle-aged man sighed. "And did you perhaps defeat the demon already?"

"You got it!" Naruto said.

"We're saved!" The middle-aged man cheered. "That demon just arrived a day ago out of nowhere, so we had to evacuate the citizens to safety and abandon our homes. And fortunately for us, word spread of your defeat of Lullaby, without damaging anything no less!"

"Well, I know what it's like to lose a home, so I try to keep the damage to a minimum," Naruto explained.

"So…is the beast gone for good?" The man asked hopefully.

"The job's done!" It was Cana who answered.

"Brilliant!" The man cheered. "Oh, where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the mayor of this town. My name is Lucas."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor," Naruto greeted. "Well, you know me already, and this is Cana. She showed me the way here, and helped me defeat the monster."

"Nice to meet you, though I have to admit, we don't have much booze for you," Lucas apologized.

"Really? Is that how you people see me?" Cana asked.

"Well, that is the reputation you built up in Sorcerer Weekly," Naruto said.

Cana opened her mouth to argue, but she couldn't think of a witty comeback. "Right, right, I get it."

"Now, one last thing before I give you your reward," Lucas said. "Could I ask for your help in gathering the rest."

BACK IN MAGNOLIA

The last part of the job wasn't that hard. They just had to look for the hiding citizens somewhere in the forest in order to evade the monster. Cana had to hang back and sip her booze to get the noise of her head, because as soon as they found them, one of them recognized the blonde from the articles and immediately crowded them. Needless to say, Naruto understood his best friend's irritation against fangirls. I could just shudder at the lengths they were willing to go.

After what seemed like forever, Cana grew tired of waiting for her companion to finish his impromptu meet and greet….Nah, it's more like she ran out of the booze she brought for the trip, and of course, she wanted to go back to the guild to drink in peace. Well…as peaceful as things could get there

The train ride back was uneventful. Cana asked Naruto what the council wanted with him. Naruto explained that he explained that the council made him register as a citizen of Fiore since he wasn't exactly from around here, and they also reminded him to stay out of trouble. Honestly, I think they were relieved to know that he was now a member of a guild so they could regulate him.

So, here they were walking back to the guild. It was nighttime. They left in the morning and were now back home not even a day later. That was pretty quick. Well, I guess the closeness of the town to Magnolia helped with that, but you get the picture.

The two wizards walked through the streets of Magnolia each holding a piece of paper in their hands. Both of them had similar thoughts in their minds although a little bit different.

"Think of all the ramen I can buy with this kind of money!" Naruto thought aloud with stars in his eyes.

"Think of all the booze I can buy," Cana declared at the same time, but she remembered something. "Wait, this is just enough to pay off my tab."

"Bet you're glad you came with me now huh?" Naruto teased.

"Hey, I was the one who offered to go with you," Cana countered. "Do you think you would get all that ramen money without me?"

"Well, you wouldn't get that booze money if I didn't allow you to tag along," Naruto countered.

As the two wizards argue back and forth, they found ran into Erza who was also heading back to the guild.

"Yo, Erza!" Naruto greeted upon seeing the S-class Wizard.

"Oh, Naruto, Cana, I see you have already finished your quest," She greeted back. "Everyone is expecting you back tomorrow at the earliest."

"Well, that monster turned out easier than expected," Cana said smugly like she single-handedly carried the job. "All in a day's work."

"Hey! I was the one who dealt the finishing blow!" Naruto protested.

"You stole my kill!" Cana argued back. "You spent most of the fight spaced out!"

"I told you I was sorry!" Naruto reminded her.

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Ezra broke up the argument before it could escalate further. "What's important is you got back safe and sound."

Seeing as both wizards were finally calming down, she offered. "So, what do you say we go back to the guild?"

Both of them nodded.

At the guildhall, the group was surprised to see that everyone in the guild was silent which was odd. Naruto was expecting that there would be pure chaos happening even at this time of day.

"Hey, everyone! We're back!" Naruto greeted as he entered the guildhall.

"Hmmm, as much as I like this behavior, I can't help but feel like something happened," Erza commented.

"Oh, hey guys," Mira greeted them at the door after delivering a drink to one of the wizards. "You're back! That was fast!"

"The monster was not a problem at all," Naruto boasted. "We took it out quickly!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Mira giggled.

"Say, what's wrong with everyone?" Cana questioned.

"Oh, everyone's cautious about destroying something or making too much noise," Mira explained. "Master is currently in a bad mood."

"Really?" Cana raised an eyebrow. The old man was rarely in a bad mood. Sure, he does get pissed when they get a little too destructive when they were out on a job, but he usually bounces back pretty quickly with a mug or two of booze.

"What happened this time?" Erza asked the blonde.

"Hmm…I can't seem to find Natsu, Happy, and Lucy," Naruto wondered aloud at the same time Mira was about to answer.

"Yeah, that's the problem," Mira chuckled nervously. "They stole an S-class Quest and took off without telling anyone?"

"They did what?!" Erza raised her voice upon hearing Mira's answer. "Those idiots!"

Upon hearing the redhead's voice Makarov hollered for her. "Oh Erza, I was about to call for you. Come here."

With that, the trio followed Mirajane to the bar where the short, old man was sitting. True to the barmaid's words, Makarov was in a bad mood. He wasn't even drinking his problems away as he usually did. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his finger was tapping rapidly.

"What did you need master?" Erza answered the Master's summons.

"Well, as you already heard, those three dunderheads stole an S-class quest and took off without telling anyone," Makarov repeated. "I sent Grey to go and bring them back, but even he hasn't returned yet."

"As I said, there isn't a single wizard in this guild that can't take care of his own stuff," Laxus chuckled loudly from the second floor. He was leaning on a chair with both of his feet propped up on the table.

With the blonde S-class's words, massive killer intent could be felt coming from the unlikeliest people, Mirajane, "I told you Laxus, if you're not going to be helpful on this problem, I suggest you keep your mouth shut."

"Ooh, I'm so scared," He said in mock fear.

"Don't mind him," Naruto said calming Mira down. "He's just all talk."

"What did you say?" Laxus wasn't happy about the remark.

"Shut up, we've got an actual problem here," Naruto blew him off. He turned back to the Master and asked. "So, what are we going to do, Ojisan?"

"As I said earlier," Makarov cleared his throat after glaring at his grandson, so he wouldn't start anything. "I called for Erza specifically to send her to get those three back here to the guild, so they can face the repercussions for their actions."

"Then, I shall be on my way then," Erza bowed and went on her way.

"Wait! Can I come?" Naruto asked as she was leaving. "Technically, this isn't an S-class quest, right?"

Erza looked at Naruto. He had a look of determination on his face. "If you're so eager to come with me, then who am I to deny you?"

"Alright!" Naruto pumped his fists in the air. He turned to Cana and said, "Wanna come?"

"Please, I'm not Lucy. I won't go with you everywhere," Cana scoffed. "Besides, I'm tired from all that traveling and lack of booze."

"Suit yourself," Naruto said. "You don't know what you're missing."

"Oh, I know what I'm missing," Cana said eyeing the barrels of booze hungrily. "And it's all behind the counter. See ya! You owe me a drink when you get back!"

"If that's all, then, shall we?" Erza asked.

He held a finger up in the air, "One more thing."

Digging a kunai from his pouch, he hurled it towards an unsuspecting blonde on the second floor.

Laxus didn't have to open his eyes to defend himself. He simply raised a hand to catch the flying projectile.

"You're going to have to do better than that, blondie," Laxus said not giving him the time of day.

"Look again," Naruto smirked pointing at the kunai.

TSSSSS

"Is a piece of paper supposed to scare me?" Laxus said uninterested.

"I don't know, you tell me…" Naruto shrugged.

Laxus narrowed his eyes at the sizzling piece of paper. It almost sounded like, a—

"A bomb!" Makarov yelled. "Naruto! You idiot!"

It was too late for regrets. The paper spark finally consumed the paper. A moment of silence enveloped the whole guild as everyone braced themselves for the inevitable.

A/N: Welcome back! Uh... Hi? I'm saving Laxus and Naruto's fight for the battle of Fairy Tail, so sorry to those who are expecting a brawl. So instead, here's another confrontation between the two.

Uh...I was supposed to upload this earlier, but one thing led to another and I kinda forgot. Sorry about that.

So, see you next time!