Chapter 9: New Member

Naruto stood on the opposite end of the enormous waterfall. Two gigantic statues faced each other. He stood one and the raven-haired boy stood on the other. The other boy took no notice of him and continued to walk in the opposite direction.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out. The Uchiha ignored him and continued walking. This enraged Naruto. In a massive leap, he closed the gap between them. He ran up to Sasuke, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. But the boy in front of him was not the one he knew. Black marks covered a small portion of his face and his left eye was black. This wasn't what made him different though, it was his expression. His face was blank. Emotionless.

Naruto clenched his fists. A wave of great sadness overcame him. "Why, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's face remained blank. "That's none of your business. My childish games with you are over. I have my own path to follow now."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything they had been through, had been nothing but worthless to Sasuke. Childish games? Their comrades risked their lives for him. "Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, and Bushy Brows. They all sacrificed themselves to save you!"

Sasuke didn't even react. His lack of emotion is what enraged Naruto. He tackled Sasuke to the ground. Naruto sat on top of his chest and punched him in the face. Sasuke didn't event grunt in pain. Sasuke spat blood. Naruto grabbed the collar of Sasuke's shirt and pulled him close. They glared at each other.

"I'm going to Orochimaru." Sasuke said. The thought of losing Sasuke to that snake left a cold feeling in Naruto's chest.

"Orochimaru!? He's the one who destroyed the village and killed the Third. Do you think he'll give you more power for free?!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke met his gaze evenly. "I don't care."

This frustrated Naruto even more. He tightened his grip on Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke spoke again. "All I care about is accomplishing my goal."

Naruto gazed into the eyes of his teammate. He could see nothing but anger and hatred, but it wasn't for him. Revenge has utterly consumed his friend. But Naruto was not going to let that happen.

Naruto had finally come to the inevitable conclusion. They both knew that there was only one way to get what they both want.

The two boys glared at each other. "In that case, I'll take you back to the village myself, even if I have to beat you senseless."

Naruto gasped and sat bolt upright. A fine layer of sweat had formed on his forehead. He dug his hands into the soft ground to create a firm hold on reality. A dream. But Naruto knew it was more than that, it was a memory. He looked around the campsite. Natsu and the others were still fast asleep. The sky was tinged with gray, meaning the sun would rise in a few moments. He wiped his face with his hands and stretched. He stood and decided to take a short walk. He made his way around the others, careful not to wake them.

He sat on a fallen log a short distance away. He needed to get his thoughts together. His memories were resurfacing somewhat. Naruto still couldn't make heads or tales of anything though. Naruto was still experiencing a small bit of sadness from his recent dream. His friend had turned his back on him. If only he had stopped him, like Makarov did to Kageyama. He could have set him on the right path again. But revenge had clouded Sasuke's reasoning. Naruto had failed.

He heard soft footsteps approaching and Erza took a seat next to him.

"Are you okay?" Erza asked. She looked at him with concern.

Naruto decided to answer honestly, "...No..."

She reached out and placed her had on his cheek, noting he was trembling. Gently, she turned his head to look at her. Naruto met her intense brown eyes that were focused on him. Her eyebrows were knit in a frown of worry.

"Can you tell me why?" Erza said softly.

Naruto decided to tell her about his recent dream. Erza listened intently and did not interrupt until he finished. He was grateful that he had someone to confide in. Naruto felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. Erza didn't say anything afterwards. Naruto knew that the important thing about life was to keep looking forward. Erza must know this as well because she didn't press him for more.

The first few streaks of dawn were starting to illuminate the forest. Naruto stood suddenly and surprised Erza. He looked toward the now rising sun. Smiling, Naruto grabbed Erza's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on," Naruto said, "this is the best part!"

Without waiting for her answer he picked her up and began to dash up the nearest tree. She yelped in surprise. Naruto kept running vertically up the trunk with Erza on his back. He stopped at the tallest branch and set Erza down carefully. The view was amazing. They could see the whole landscape spread out before them. The sun was now slowly rising, bathing everything in a subtle orange light.

"It's beautiful," Erza breathed.

"Heh...yeah...love the sunrise. Just something that you can tell about yourself...feel it, ya know? Feels comforting when you have things like that."

She turned to look at Naruto and she took the blonde's hand, holding it in her own.

"You don't have to do everything alone, Naruto." She told him. "You may not remember the people from your past, at least not yet; but at least you're making new friends now. We are your friends."

Naruto squeezed her hand. She was right. He may not recall any of his memories, but that wouldn't stop him from creating new bonds. And Naruto would protect those bonds. He nodded. "Thank you, Erza-chan,"

A few hours later, they found themselves on the road again, heading back toward Magnolia. The group traveled in silence. Naruto considered his current situation. He was an amnesiac with no memory of his past. Looking around, he saw the faces of Natsu, Erza, Gray, Lucy, and even Happy. 'New bonds...' Naruto thought, remembering his conversation with Makarov last night.

"Hey, I just had a great idea!" Natsu announced. The teen ran in front of Naruto and held up a clenched fist. "I've noticed that you're pretty strong, Naruto."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, he knew where this was going.

Natsu smirked. "I want to fight you when we get back to Fairytail."

Lucy shook her head in exasperation. "Oh Natsu, we've just finished one harrowing mission and now you want to fight?"

Natsu ignored her. But the master spoke up. "Don't worry Lucy, there will be no fight."

Natsu gaped at Makarov. "What?! But why?!"

"Because," Makarov glanced at Naruto, "Naruto is not a legitimate member of our guild. You cannot engage in combat with a civilian."

"Aw, come on," Natsu complained. The master was right of course, the other mages were starting to realize this as well. They had been too busy with the whole Lullaby incident that they had overlooked that detail. Naruto, on the other hand, realized that the master was throwing him another silent invitation.

"That is a shame." Naruto said, sounding disappointed. He pretended to look deep in thought. He snapped his fingers dramatically as if he had an idea. "Well, we'll just have to fix that problem, won't we?"

"Yes we will." Makarov smiled. Erza and the others perked up as they heard this.

"You mean you're going to join Fairytail?" Natsu asked hopefully.

Naruto smiled. "Of course, I am. I heard that it's the best guild there is."

"You bet it is." Makarov affirmed.

Naruto turned to Erza. "What about you Erza-chan, Is it okay if I join Fairytail?"

Erza tried to hold a straight face. "We would be lucky to have you." She nodded with a small, happy smile forming on her face. Natsu gave a whoop. With that the Fairytail members headed back home.

It turned out that the hardest part was the application form. Naruto could not answer the simplest questions with his amnesia other than his name. Makarov assured him though that he would take care of those small details. As of today, He was an official member of Fairytail.

The guild was in a riot as usual. Naruto had to dodge a flying mug as he made his way to the bar where Erza and Mirajane were talking. Natsu and Gray were in the thick of the mob as small fights broke out. Naruto felt that it was going to take a while to get used to his new home.

"Oh Naruto, there you are." Mira greeted him as he approached. She took out a stamp and held it up. "Where would you like your mark?"

"Mark?" Naruto asked.

"It's the symbol of our guild. All of our members have them." Mira explained. Now that she mentioned it, Naruto recalled that Natsu had the Fairytail brand on his right arm. Lucy had it on the back of her hand.

"Where's yours then?" Naruto asked Mirajane.

Mirajane gave him a playful smile. "I can show you, but it's really private."

Naruto blushed as he realized what she meant. He thought about it for a minute. He wanted it to be somewhere meaningful. Then his eyes widened and he smiled, having thought of the perfect place. Naruto unzipped his jacket and pointed to the spot where his heart was located, "Right here."

Mirajane and Erza couldn't help but admire his well muscled body.

"What color would you like?"

"Orange" Naruto said automatically. Mira pressed the stamp over the designated spot, and when it was pulled away, an orange brand of the guild could be seen imprinted on his chest.

Just then Natsu came up to them and pointed at Erza. "Hey, we still have some unfinished business."

"Oh yes, well let us get to it then." Erza stood and the two combatants walked outside. Naruto and the rest followed.

"Um, Naruto?" Mira said. She was blushing slightly. "You might want to zip up your jacket."

Naruto realized that he left his jacket unzipped.

"Why, you don't like what you see?" He said playfully. Mira blushed even harder. Naruto laughed and zipped up his clothing and followed the rest outside to watch the fight. This was going to be interesting.