Chapter 3 is here, and this is where the heart of the story truly begins. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Magic: The Gathering.

Chandra dodged and darted through the crowded streets of Ghirapur, trying to maintain hold of her satchel, the sleek, silver canister of Æther resting within. She did this while at the same time attempting to adjust the school tunic she was using as a disguise. The glaring son above glinted on several thopters motoring overhead, forcing Chandra to duck low, using the crowds below to conceal herself. Looking up, she was tempted to take to the rooftops, but a phantom pain in her ankle told her it would likely be a bad idea. She honestly needed to struggle to push through the people though, as the mid-day crowds began to thicken and grow larger. She was losing time, and she could not afford that on her first delivery.

Deciding on a different route, she made a detour, heading towards the canal. As she approached, the city, ever a moving puzzle of pieces which adapted and morphed to fit the needs of the citizens, began to form a bridge over the waterway, which she dashed across. It wasn't a great shortcut, but it would definitely shave time off from her delivery. This took her through the Akhara, a massive arena, within the city, created to house venues ranging from trade shows to public executions. The very idea of such a thing was sickening, but luckily, the red-headed young girl wasn't old enough to have gone to witness such events. Darting through a small group of Ætherologists, who seemed to be in the middle of a lecture, she continued to make a few more turns, stopping at a large wall, its entirety created to be a great mosaic. A monument dedicated to the great inventors of the past, their portraits inlaid in the wall. Using her limited, yet somewhat effective training from Naruto, she located a few notches and cracks that she used to scale the wall. Flipping over the top, she dropped into the alley below.

As she landed, she realized with a sick sense of dread, that she had taken a definite wrong turn. Her face paled as the small group of Consul soldiers blocking the path, armed with snapblades and Æther-charged dart throwers, turned and took note of her. "And just where do you think you're going, child?" one of them half-asked, half-demanded. She for a moment thought he might have been the soldier that had stopped her and Naruto the other day. Of course, many of them looked the same to Chandra. And if it was, she really hoped he didn't recognize her. "This corridor is off limits to civilians. Especially ones as young as you." Chandra's disguise - a replica of the uniforms some kids wore to the Builder's Institute, the academy for young metalworkers and artisans - then caught his eye, rousing suspicion even further. "Speaking of, why aren't you in school?"

"I'm late, and kind of in a hurry," replied Chandra, trying to sound confident in her lies. "And my examiner will eat me alive if I'm late again…come on, can't we please just let this slide?" Rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly, she became increasingly aware that her ruse was not working as well as she had assumed it was going to.

"As I'm sure you're aware, miss, this is a restricted corridor," announced a second soldier, rather gruffly. The snapblade unsheathed from its forearm mount, and he brandished it for intimidation. "The thoroughfare for pedestrians is back on the other side of the courtyard."

Prickly heat crossed Chandra's brow. She couldn't dodge past them, and she couldn't exactly make a run for it. By this point, the soldiers were ready to search her bag, already on to the idea that she was smuggling contraband. "If I get another demerit, I'm done," she said, glancing from the soldier's gleaming blade up into his eyes. "Not to mention my Mother and Father will absolutely kill me. Can't you just let me go?" she pleaded once more as the soldiers began to move closer, arms outstretched to claim her bag.

One of them nodded to the other one. "Get out the Æther detector." Chandra nearly flinched, and her breathing hitched as she was grabbed.

The red-head jerked away from the one who'd seized her, breaking away from his grip as she proceeded to elbow another of the soldiers in the gut. Rebounding and slamming her fist into the chest of the first, it immediately occurred to her that this was a horrible idea. She was an eleven-year old picking a fight with numerous, well trained soldiers. But, hindsight was twenty-twenty, and Chandra never was one to lament her past decisions, preferring the here and now.

Indeed, the idea was definitely a bad one, and the battalion proved it by proceeding to dogpile upon the child, holding her down against the ground. Chandra kicked and flailed, managing to knock a few back, but they still managed to keep her restrained. Poking her head up, she struggled harder as a new figure approached.

"Captain Baral," one of the soldiers greeted. Leaping to attention, one of the men saluted.

Chandra, yanked to her feet, now got her first look at the named Captain. Baral was a rather large man, strong in stature and possessing a cocky demeanor that clearly informed all around that he believed himself superior to any and all who would oppose his authority.

"Is there some sort of problem?" he asked his subordinate, his voice harsh and low, his eyes never leaving the young girl before him.

"Uncooperative, sir. A possible truant."

"We told her this was a restricted corridor."

Baral chuckled smugly, ruffling Chandra's hair in the manner one would a dog. "You have to use small words with these street children," he replied. "Simple commands. 'Sit.' 'Stay.'"

Chandra grit her teeth, fingers flexing in and out of fists as she tried to reign in her the anger that was threatening to burst out. It spread through her fast, erupting from the pit of her stomach like an inferno. The burning spread through her, traveling down her arms, centering in her palms, which were still being forcibly restrained behind her back.

"I know you're not a student," Baral announced, leaning in close to her face, smirking. "This charade is somewhat cute, but ultimately pointless. If you hand me the bag, perhaps I can be persuaded to be lenient. If this is your first offense, of course."

Chandra was released from the grip of the other soldiers at Baral's nod, hoping she would comply, and trusting he and his men could handle one little girl if she did not. The red-head merely clutched her satchel closely, glaring at the Captain as she uttered a single, solitary, "No." She expected Baral to get angry, but instead, he just laughed. He placed his hand on her shoulder. The contact made her shake in anger once more. It was a firm squeeze, a gentle, yet somewhat threatening gesture. Jerking away with a grunt, she was desperate to yell at this man. To scream in his face and release all of her rage on the men around her.

"I don't think you understand, child. You're already in violation of the law in a half-dozen ways. Comply, or I will make you comply." That did it. Her rage boiled over, and unseen to them all, her palms began to glow red-hot. The shock of a new arrival brought the rage down once more, as a cloaked figure dropped in and slammed his heel into the back of Baral's head, sending him face first into the ground. It took her a moment to recognize Naruto's cloak as he sprung back from his landing, flipping and twisting in the air, taking out the two soldiers still holding her.

Landing, the blonde gripped her hand, before leaping over the slightly dazed, but recovering Captain Baral. As her feet once more touched ground, she was practically thrown forward, Naruto turning to face the soldiers, who were once more on their feet. Turning to face her, their eyes met, being the only part of Naruto's face that was visible. "Run, kid!" he shouted, not wanting to use her real name, for risk of blowing the entire Nalaar operation. When she didn't move, he yelled once again, this time almost angrily. "Run! I've got this!" Chandra was hesitant to leave him alone with the Consuls' forces, but nodded after a second, high-tailing it and dashing away.

Too busy watching Chandra, Naruto was caught off guard by the Haymaker hook to his jaw, dazing him for a moment, but ultimately giving him enough time to recover, as such a blow was powerful, but generally was wild and slow, and was easily telegraphed in a fight. Ducking beneath another fist, he sent a few jabs into the man's floater ribs, looking for points their light armor did not cover. He may have gotten rusty the past few months, but he still recalled enough of his training to completely outmatch the soldier, so long as he was actually playing attention. Gently redirecting another haymaker, Naruto pulled his opponent in and slammed his knee into his gut. The soldiers gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, before the blonde genin through him to the ground. Baral watched in mild interest, as his subordinate once more leapt to his feet.

Mustering what blue mana he could, he proceeded with his first attempt at an actual combat spell. By the time the next punch was thrown, the soldier practically erupted with brilliant blue light. Naruto and the other soldiers shielded their eyes until it died down, and when it did, the Consul forces, save Baral, took a step back in shock as Naruto smirked beneath his mask. Where their comrade had once stood, now only a tiny frog remained, hopping out of the man's armor. "Huh," Naruto thought. "That spell was easy. And it may not be a toad, but I can live with this. Too bad it's only supposed to last a few minutes."

Baral signaled and the two able soldiers rushed Naruto, who threw his arms forward, releasing an eerie fog billowing out from his sleeves. The fog spread quickly, engulfing the entire area, concealing the cloaked blonde from sight as he leapt to the roof, alighting just on the edge and looking down into the thick mist. "Well, now I know why Zabuza favored the hidden mist jutsu," he muttered. Turning, he began taking off in the direction he had watched Chandra run off in. The Thopters would be on their tails soon enough.

He hastily maneuvered from rooftop to rooftop, and within moments, he was running the edge of one of the buildings, paralleling Chandra herself. Knowing speed was of the essence, he leapt down into the alley, causing Chandra to shriek as Naruto swept her off her feet, carrying her bridal style as he leaped back to the rooftops. Already his ears could pick up the sound of the whirlers, and as Chandra's grip around his neck tightened, he increased his speed. "Chandra," he said, deadly serious. "I don't know if I can outrun the thopters if they know where we are. If they catch us, I can distract them, you take the Æther and you run. And if you don't think you can make it to your contact, ditch the canister, and you bail, do you understand?"

"Naruto, you can't be serious!" Chandra argued. "I can help, I can-"

"No buts," Naruto shot back, looking over his shoulder, spying the thopters drawing closer and closer, the incessant beating of their mechanical wings giving him a headache already. "I am not going back home to tell your parents that the Consuls got you because I let you be in harms way." Unbeknownst to Naruto, Chandra's hands were once more beginning to glow from within. Realizing that the fliers were gaining ground faster than he could put it between them, Naruto stopped, placing the red-head on the ground, before getting between her and the whirlers. Whipping around, Naruto tried to glare at Chandra. Tried to yell at her once more to run. But he finally saw her hands. Even through her dark gloves, he could see her skin glowing a fiery red, the light piercing even her leather hand-covers. Shaking off his shock, he decided it was not the time nor the place.

"Chandra, I'm not going to tell you again!"

"NO!" she shouted, throwing her hands down as she stomped her foot. "I am not leaving you by yourself!" It finally became too much for the red-head, and with a fiery burst, her hands became engulfed in flame. Naruto was rendered speechless once more. This wasn't jutsu, it couldn't be. One didn't just accidentally perform a jutsu. This was magic. That could happen by accident. It was, after all, how he came to be in the Nalaar family's employ. He supposed he should be glad that she just conjured fire, instead of popping out of existence.

If Naruto was in shock, Chandra was panicking. She'd never used magic before, and in fact, Naruto was the only one she'd ever seen use it. "Whoa!" she shouted, flailing her arms. A ball of fire shot from her hand, licking her fingertips like a playful pup as it rocketed past Naruto. The ball of flame continued to soar, before colliding with one of the thopters, creating a rather impressive explosion. Chandra continued trying to put out the fire, sending gouts of flame out from her hands. She froze as Naruto gripped her wrists, and the fire instantly extinguished, seemingly unwilling to harm the blond.

Throwing his scarf around Chandra's lower face as the rest of the thopters arrived, although the Soldiers already saw her face, Naruto and the red-head went back-to-back. Naruto reached into a pouch on his belt, pulling out two specially kunai, crafted by Kiran's own hands. A bit more ornate than the Kunai back home, but one of the best he could say he'd ever had the pleasure of holding. "Think you can do that fire thing again?" Chandra bit her bottom lip.

"I don't know how I did it the first time..." she stammered, still a little put off by the fact that her hands were on fire moments before.

"Right...Hang on..." Casting his fog spell once more, he used the moment to tear into one of the hovering machines. The rest of the last three thopters, unable to see through the magical mist, began to fly in circles, using their speed and their rotary wings to thin the fog, allowing their lenses to be able to make out the two humans. While two began to tag team Naruto, recognizing him as holding a weapon, the remaining trained itself on Chandra, who put her hands in a basic defensive position as she began to back away.

As the thopter shot at Chandra, the red-head leapt to the side, barely dodging the flying hunk of metal and gears. As it swooped down again, Chandra leapt to an adjacent rooftop. Following a piece of advice from Naruto, she managed to tuck into a roll, which helped shake the shock a bit as she scrambled to her feet once more. "Come on, Fire, work with me here," she uttered, half panicked, as she threw her arms forward. Tucking into another roll to avoid yet another sweep, she through both palms forward once again. They glowed a bit, but not much else. Between her lack of control over her new powers and having to dance with a thopter, the child in Chandra bubbled to the surface.

"Oh, COME ON!" she shouted, stomping her foot. "You start on fire for no reason before and now when I need you, nothing?!"

"Chandra!" Naruto shouted, swiping with his kunai, but hitting nothing but air. "You need to focus your mana!"

"And how do I-WHOA!...Do that?!" She shrieked, between ducking one of the thopters. Naruto just groaned nervously.

"Sorry...Fire is a red-mana thing, according to my scroll," he shouted back. "And as far as I know, I don't have that kind of alignment!"

"So, you can't use mana that isn't your color?" she shouted, her eye beginning to twitch.

"Well, you can, but it's supposedly really hard," replied the Blonde, finally managing to slice into one of the two swarming thopters.

"Well, aren't you a big help!" she shouted, leaping back to the first building, nabbing the wreckage of the thopter that Naruto had just forced to crash, using a few gears to try and throw like Naruto did with his shuriken.

"I told you to run!" Naruto countered.

"And I told you, no way!" Chandra shouted, once more stomping her foot. Feeling that surge of heat once more, her hands burst into flames once again, lighting up like two great torches on that rooftop. "Finally!" she shouted, winding up and throwing a gear, which was now alight from the oil. It smashed into the thopter on her tail, causing it to erupt in an explosion. Turning, she released another fiery blast, this time aimed at the whirler that was still taking shots at Naruto.

"Whoa!" Naruto yelled, ducking low as the heat of the flames tickled his cheek. Standing back up once his thopter opponent was smoldering on the floor. "Warn a guy next time." Chandra cringed a bit.

"Sorry..." she announced, having gotten carried away. She almost shrieked again as Naruto once more scooped her up, bridal style.

"Come on, Matchstick," he said, flatly. "You still got the shipment?" At Chandra's nod, he continued. "We need to finish this delivery, and then you'll need to lay low. Most of their search should focus on me, but when they don't find me, they'll follow up on you, and they've seen your face."

"What are we going to do?" Chandra asked, ashamed at herself. She let Naruto down. She let her parents down. Not only had she once again turned out a failure, but she had jeopardized the Nalaar's entire operation. But the fire. How was it she did what she did...and could that be her true calling?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Running. They were just running away under cover of darkness, and Naruto hated it. Protecting those that you care about was one thing, but he HAD a plan. He had suggested turning himself in, along with a clone disguised as Chandra. Naruto was certain that he could escape captivity, but Pia and Kiran wouldn't hear of it. And that said nothing for Chandra, who lit up like one of Sasuke's fireballs at the mere mention of him 'surrendering' to Baral. So now, the family, as well as the genin under their employ, were fleeing. New names had to be selected, new life details memorized. To their credit, Kiran had managed to set these new identities up years prior, a failsafe in the event that the Consul forces had caught onto them.

Pia, in an attempt to lighten the mood - or at least snap Chandra out of her stupor - jokingly suggested that they would tell anyone who asked that the two children were betrothed to one another. It got the expected rise out of them both, though to Naruto's credit, at least he didn't nearly incinerate their wagon at the joke.

And of course, Chandra had come to realize through her mother as well as Naruto's scroll, that she was a Pyromancer. A magic user with a natural affinity toward summoning and manipulating fire. With her emotions and adrenaline running high, she had unknowingly tapped into her magic. But that brought up something else in Naruto's mind. When Chandra had first used her magic, she had summoned fire. Used fire. She didn't disappear. She wasn't ripped from her home. So what was the difference? Was she also capable of this ability, or was it only Naruto? Did it have to do with the level of need? Naruto was seconds from death, Chandra was merely having a freakout. It was all so confusing for Naruto. Hopefully, as he continued to learn the intricacies of mana and its uses, he could figure out how to get back home. He looked on at his so-called 'betrothed,' as she and her mother slept, Kiran driving the wagon. Naruto couldn't sleep. His dreams were getting more and more outlandish, almost purposefully cryptic. He was certain the answer was in there somewhere. He was also sure that the Kyuubi, who had been strangely quiet since he'd arrived in Kaladesh, had some hand in distorting his dreams. The fox didn't want him to return to Konoha, Naruto just knew it. But why? What could he have here that he couldn't have in the Nations?

The sun began to pierce the horizon, catching Naruto's attention as it illuminated the land, glaring at the massive city that was Ghirapur as it receded into the distance. He remembered his first time outside the gates of Konoha, and how he felt then. He felt powerful. Felt alive. How must this family feel? It wasn't just Kyuubi that was affecting his sleep. He had been trapped in his thoughts all night, the guilt of it all threatening to crush the budding mage beneath its weight. Had he just stepped in sooner...He had been trailing Chandra since she had left on her delivery. He knew she was coming close to the soldiers, but he had gotten distracted by a passing thopter patrol. He could have distracted them. He could have made a clone to get Chandra while he himself hid. There had to have been something he could have done, and he didn't do it. He didn't think, and now this family was uprooting their lives, not even letting him give himself up.

Naruto blinked a few times as the sun began to hurt his tired eyes. Feeling a weight on his chest, the blonde looked down to find Chandra had rolled over in her sleep, and now slept soundly using the genin as a pillow. Placing his hand in her hair, he simply let it flow through his fingers, as his eyes became trained on her ankle, something he had mended with his own mana. Chandra wasn't much for putting thought into her own decisions either. She was impulsive, reckless, hot-headed. Much like himself. He actually smiled a bit at the irony of Chandra being a literal hot-head. The signs were all there.

"Naruto?" said boy raised his head to look at Kiran, who fixed him with a rather serious gaze. When Naruto pulled his hand away from Chandra, the eleven-year-old girl unconsciously pouting in her sleep, Kiran just chuckled. "Don't worry, that wasn't what I wanted. Besides, you are supposed to be engaged, right?"

"I thought that was a joke?!" Naruto hissed, trying not to wake the sleeping ladies. Kiran just waved him off, not bothering to inform Naruto if he was joking or not.

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor," he continued. "For the foreseeable future, our home is going to be the road. But when we do find a place to settle - whether it be for a few hours, or a few months - I have a job for you."

"Name it," Naruto whispered, now even further indebted to the man. He wasn't sure he could ever make this one up to him, so whatever he asked for, the blonde would do it to the best of his ability.

"I want you to teach Chandra how to fight. No doubt the Consul forces will come looking for us. Especially when they realize what you and Chandra are," he said, rather solemnly. "Give my daughter a fighting chance should they find us. Keep her safe should anything happen. Can you do that for me?"

Naruto nodded in a heartbeat. Kiran didn't need to ask that. Chandra was Naruto's friend, and he'd protect her with his life if he had to. "I give you my word," he said. "And I never break my promises.:

Kiran seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding as he turned back to the road.

As images of his battle with Sasuke began to flash in his head, the idea that he had failed to bring him back...failed to keep his promise to Sakura, he repeated sorrowfully, under his breath. "Never again..."

Chapter end.

So, Chandra has unlocked her Pyromancy, and Naruto has learned two of the greatest troll spells in mtg history. Fog, and Turn to Frog.

It was brought to my attention by missing-nin class-S that some of you might be wondering the reason behind Naruto's color identity leaning toward Bant (Blue/Green/White) instead of Naya (Red/Green/White). This was my response.

"Mana theory in terms of color-to-personality matches isn't exactly an exact science. I had thought about Naya, but decided on Bant because of what the plane of Bant consists of. Knights. Soldiers. Noble warriors who fight for justice, and glorious angels. It is the chosen home of Gideon Jura, and the one time choosen home of Elspeth Tirel. As for exalted, as an ability, it exemplifies everything Naruto is, ie, deriving strength from those who cannot fight for themselves. The strength of armies joined into one warrior who fights for all.

As for the colors as individuals, green is the color of the untamed nature, and is derived from the trees and forests. Not only does this scream 'Leaf Ninja' and 'Sage', but it also embodies the unbending will the blonde ninja possesses.

White is the color of law, order, justice, and life. That should be self explanatory. What our major difference is, is that I went with Blue as his third alignment, while Naya uses red. Both are fitting choices for differing reasons. Red mana exemplifies freedom, fire, individualism. While once again, that would be quite fitting, I decided on Blue for two reasons. Reason one, what is the defining trait of a blue mage? Cunning. Craftiness. What is Naruto's most surprising trait? He's a genius in combat, coming up with ridiculous (but often successful) strategies on the fly. Besides that it also allows for illusion spells, covering his ineptitude with Genjutsu, in a small way. Reason two is that we already have a ridiculously powerful red-mage not just in this story, but slated to be paired with Naruto. Chandra is very special, and making Naruto a fire-and-lightning spewer merely takes away from her as a character."

Hopefully that cleared some things up for you guys!

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics.