Chapter 15: The Healer
"What in the...?"
At the voice, Naruto's eyes opened to see the tunnels of a flooded, dimly-lit, boiler room-like sewer. Looking around at the place, what bothered Naruto was the fact that finding himself here didn't bother him at all, and in fact felt like somewhere he'd been before.
Looking at who was speaking, blue eyes met with the site of a young man. He wore a high-collared, black and tan robe with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. Had short black hair, dark eyes, and also wore a pendant.
Naruto blinked. "Uhhh...who are you and how did you get here...?"
The young man shrugged, "Honestly, no idea how I got here...I was sleeping and suddenly found myself here with you..."
Naruto frowned, that was troubling.
"Well...Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." The blond said, trying to at least be friendly. The responce he got was that the young man flinched away from him.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"...Sorry...under a curse...makes it so that I...well...can't exactly socialize..."
Naruto looked alarmed, "Under a curse?! Why didn't you say so?! I'm part of Fairytail! Maybe my guild can help free you, then! Come on! We gotta get out of here for sure, now!"
"A member of...?!" The young man looked stunned, then slapped a hand to his face, "...well, there's an irony..." his tone made it seem like he almost wanted to laugh.
Naruto frowned. Ok...what was this guy talking about? "You at least got a name, stranger?"
That caused him to look at Naruto, "...Oh...right, my apologies, been a long time since I've been able to speak with others, so..." he stopped, blinking, "...Hm? From the state of your body, looks like you'll be leaving here soon enough, Fairy."
At that, Naruto looked down and was alarmed to see his body fading, what the...?!
"Naruto, was it...?" The blond looked up to see who he was talking with, "When you get back to your guild, give Mavis my regards, and I still remember that day in August fondly..." the stranger said, looking like he was forcing himself not to smile.
Naruto woke up on a soft mattress with a thin blanket covering him. Sunlight streamed through the nearby windows. He felt horrible. His whole body ached and his right arm was the worst of it because it was flaring up in pain. He realized that he lay bare-chested and bandaged, mostly around his arm and shoulder along with his forehead.
"Good, you're awake." A feminine voice spoke. He turned his head slowly as to decrease the nauseating dizziness he was starting to feel. An elderly woman with dark gray hair emerged from a spot in the room holding a tray of a steaming bowl of porridge and a glass of water. She set the tray down on a table next to the bed and helped him sit up.
"Are you able to eat on your own, or do you require assistance?" She asked.
"I think I can manage, thank you." He croaked. His throat felt dry and hoarse.
The woman placed the bowl on his lap and he ate. She sat on a chair next to the bed, watching him eat which made Naruto slightly uncomfortable. The porridge was still hot and good. He swallowed every spoonful, grateful for something to fill his stomach. When he finished, the woman took the bowl and gave him the glass of water.
"Thank you," Naruto said after taking a few sips of water. He handed her the glass and she set it back on the tray. Now that he was fully awake and not as dizzy, he noticed that the woman looked vaguely familiar. "What's your name baa-chan?"
"You may call me Haruka," She responded. After a moment she smacked him on the back of his head and added. "And I'm not that old!"
Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry."
"How are you feeling?" She inquired.
"A bit sore and my arm hurting like hell." Naruto admitted. She nodded and once again he wondered where he might have seen her before. "Do I know you?"
Haruka gave a small chuckle. "I'm afraid not my dear boy. I have been living alone for many years now and I have never met you until last night."
Naruto frowned as he tried to recall the events of the previous hours. A new memory surfaced as he remembered most of the details.
Before Naruto faced off with the Tartaros mages, he created another clone to act as a last resort if things came to worst. The clone hung back to observe the battle, ready to jump in when the situation required it. It turned out that the original had the advantage as the fight progressed. Then that was when the dagger exploded.
The clone had been blasted backward himself despite the distance between the battle. Naruto hurried to track down his original self before he dispersed. He had been blown away to a farther part of the forest. He found himself in a crumpled heap in the ground after an hour of searching. Luckily, the clone spotted a small light source in the forest and dragged his unconscious self toward it.
Haruka spotted them as soon as they entered her garden. She didn't hesitate when she saw that he was injured and immediately helped him into the house. The clone hastily related the events to the woman as she went about preparing the things she would need to treat his injuries. As soon as the clone felt that his original self was in good hands he dispersed.
From the clone's memories and from where he was lying in bed, Naruto realized that her house is a gigantic oak tree. The interior was an imperfect circle with a kitchen on one area, a shelf of books and different kinds of dried leaves and herbs on another, and finally the area where he was sitting in bed. It was not small but not that large either.
"You must have been put through the ringer." Haruka noted as she began to feel his temperature by placing her hand on his forehead. It was then that she frowned.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Strange," Haruka muttered. "My boy, you have been infected by a very dark and potent magical energy. It is not my first time encountering this as I have been a healer all of my life and treating magical ailments is what I do best but by this time the foreign magical energy has already entered your veins and should be circulating through your entire body. Strangely, something is suppressing it."
Within the recesses of his mind, Naruto heard a somewhat amused chuckle.
"I kind of have really strong immune system and I heal fast." Naruto told her.
Haruka raised her eyebrows skeptically, not sure if the boy was telling the truth or simply boasting. "Well, your quick healing abilities aside, it won't be enough to expel the poison completely. It will eventually spread and cause a complete organ failure if it is not treated immediately."
Naruto gulped. "Is there something you can do about it?"
Haruka smiled. "Like I said before, I'm an expert when it comes to healing magical ailments."
Naruto let out a relieved sigh.
"But be warned, the process will be extremely painful."
It was his turn to grin. "I've experienced worse, baa-chan. Oh, and the name's Naruto by the way."
He extended his good arm and she shook it. She stood from the chair and collected the tray before she got a tick mark on her forehead. She slapped the blonde across the cheek.
"I told you to stop calling me that! I'm not that old!"
Naruto rubbed his throbbing cheek. "Ouch."
Meanwhile back in Lupinus, Alexa was doing the early morning laundry. She hung her family's clothes on the clothesline by their backyard to dry. She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw her younger brother Lance chase their dog Toby around the house. A sudden wave of sadness washed over her as she heard Lance shouting for Toby to sit still so he could give him a proper bath.
If only their mother was still here, she thought.
It has been seven months since she died and Alexa still couldn't accept the fact that she was gone. She replayed that horrible night when they took her mother away from her.
"Mom please, don't go, someone else could volunteer!" She said as she gripped her mother desperately. Lance was crying and he too clung to their mother, willing her to stay. Their mother pulled both of them into a deep hug. Tears streamed down Alexa's face as she wrapped her arms around her mother tightly, not wanting to let go.
"She's right honey, I should go instead." Saburo said trying to convince his wife. "You stay here and watch over the kids."
Her mother pulled away from her children's embrace and wrapped her arms around her husband. After a moment she pulled away and held each other at arms length.
"You can't go. You're the town's leader and it's your job to protect these people." She put on a brave smile. "Take care of our children. Goodbye my darling."
She broke apart from her husbands grasp and turned to face Alexa.
The girl fell into her mother's open arms and sobbed. Why did she have to go? Couldn't someone else take her place?
Her mother lifted her chin to face her. Using her fingers, her mother wiped away Alexa's tears. "I need you to be strong now. I wish I could spend more time with you and watch you mature into the fine young woman I know you'll become. Watch over your brother for me."
Alexa could do nothing except nod. Her mother pulled both Lance and her into another embrace.
"I love you both, always and forever."
And now, seven months later, there were still so many things Alexa was not able to say. She began to feel resentful and spiteful to those no good mages. Where were they when they needed them most? After seven months and then they finally show up. She knew it was already too late. Her mother was gone. What could Naruto possibly do to change things as they were now?
Yet despite all this, a small inkling of doubt resided in her mind. She couldn't explain it. Last night, during the choosing, the blonde willingly volunteered and put on the same confident smile her mother wore. He hasn't returned yet so she speculated that he already met the same fate her mother had. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something…different about the blonde.
Naruto had his arm clamped on the table as Haruka prepared all of the essential antidotes needed to inject into him. Now that his right arm wasn't covered in bandages anymore, he could see the sickening effects of the poison. His skin took on a pale green color, while his veins protruded and colored purple.
On another table, Haruka carefully coated several needles in a herbal mixture that he knew was the antidote. She explained that they would have to pierce him in several veins to apply the antidote. She had his arm strapped to the table saying that patients have a tendency to involuntary jerk in pain.
Haruka held the first needle and pressed down on his arm with her other hand to hold him steady. Naruto nodded and she plunged the needle into his fore arm.
It was a good thing that his arm was strapped on the table because it flared in agony. Naruto grit his teeth and gave a grunt of pain as another needle pierced him. This was insane. A needle shouldn't be able to cause this much pain but then again it was probably the effects of the poison negating the antidote. He willed himself to stay put as Haruka proceeded to apply thirty more needles.
Finally, after thirty minutes of torture, the treatment was finished. He had to admit, the antidote was working quite nicely. The pain in his arm has already subsided and a little bit of color was returning. He let out a contented sigh as the antidote had the desired effect.
"There, now that that's over with we just have to wait for the antidote to do its job." Haruka said as she started to go about and clean up the utensils she used.
"Bet you loved that," Naruto mumbled.
Hearing this, Haruka smirked. "That's what you get for calling me baa-chan all the time. I'm barely fifty two!"
"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Naruto said defensively.
He was currently sitting in a chair with his arm still strapped on the table. He was told to stay put for a while for the medicine to work. The needles were still inserted into his arm, making it look like a pin cushion.
While Haruka began to set aside her remaining ingredients, he thought about something she told him earlier.
"Hey um, Haruka-san can I ask you something?" Naruto said hesitantly.
"Go ahead."
Naruto took in a deep breath. "You deal with magical ailments…"
Haruka nodded, not seeing where this was headed.
"Is it possible that you have a cure for…memory loss?" Naruto asked.
Haruka frowned in thought. Truth be told, she did have a potion that could cure amnesia and lost memories but something held her back. It wasn't the first time that she'd been duped. She had been taken advantage of many times before because of her skill in healing. People with fake smiles and false words made her abandon her old town. She never openly trusted anyone since she left. Instead, she chose to live in the seclusion of the forest.
Now looking at the young man in front of her gave her second thoughts. He had an honest face and from what she could tell a good character. What really caught her attention were his eyes. They not only showed confusion and sadness, but also pain.
She hated herself for it but she said. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I cannot help you with that."
Naruto hung his head and clenched his fist. He knew it was too good to be true. Of course things were not that simple, nothing ever is. Despite all this, Naruto looked up and smiled.
"Well, I guess I just have to keep looking, don't I?" He said. "I mean, if I give up now, then I'll never succeed."
Haruka saw a newfound determination in the boy's eyes that surprised her. Instead of wallowing in doubts, he chooses to smile and move forward. She had never met anyone with this kind of resolve.
Maybe, just maybe, she thought.
Later that evening, Alexa's father held an emergency town meeting in the square. Saburo has been growing anxious since the previous evening. Naruto had yet to return and they still don't know if he succeeded in his endeavor to defeat the three wizards. The townspeople grew restless as they gathered in the center of town, the lingering fear of undead corpses showing up still present in their minds.
Saburo stood on a raised wooden platform in front of the small crowd. Alexa could hear him trying to get the attention of the people as he thought of something to say. Lance stood next to her, holding Toby who was also looking nervous.
"Please, everyone just calm down!" Saburo spoke to the assembly. The murmuring voices subsided somewhat and they all turned toward Saburo. "I know that we are all on edge lately and for good reasons. I only ask of you to hold on just a little longer while we wait for Naruto-san to-."
"He's probably dead!" A voice interrupted Saburo. "He hasn't returned since yesterday so that means that the wizards overpowered him!"
The crowd began to murmur in agreement and Saburo tried to reign them in. "We don't know that yet."
"Then where is he?" Another speaker challenged. "If he wasn't defeated then why hasn't he returned to report his victory?"
Saburo gritted his teeth as he tried to think of a plausible comeback. He couldn't. They have presented possible scenarios that were not unlikely to happen. If Naruto had been defeated then they were already condemned to death.
No. He refused to believe that.
"Please," He pleaded. "We just have to have faith in Naruto-san!"
Suddenly a loud and cold laughter boomed like thunder across the gathered members of Lupinus. They suddenly tensed as they felt an evil presence loom over them. Saburo paled and made his way over to his children who were clinging to each other. Toby whimpered in Lance's arms.
A demonic figure landed on the platform where Saburo stood only moments ago. People backed away as they sighted the monstrous form of the unknown creature.
The creature was humanoid and was covered in dark reddish hide. The demon stood roughly eight feet tall and had a pair of huge leathery bat wings on its back. Ram's horns sprouted on its forehead and in between them was a human eye. The creature's long white hair reached its shoulders. The demon bared it's fangs towards the gathered townspeople which made them cower.
"Pathetic humans," Kentaro spoke in a deep and cold voice. "Your faith will do you no good as it is none existent."
"What do you mean?" A random person from the crowd asked.
Kentaro gave an ugly grin. "Your mage is as good as dead and in a few moments so will you."
Everyone felt a cold shiver run down their spines as the meaning sunk in. Naruto has failed.
"Wait, I know you." Saburo pointed at the demon. "You're one of the three mages that attacked us."
"I was, but not anymore." Kentaro responded. "Your troublesome wizard did not go down easily. He destroyed my two comrades and destroyed a most sacred artifact. However, I would have never been freed from the cursed seal from where I was locked away if it weren't for him."
Kentaro released a wave of dark magic and it washed over the crowd in a gust of wind. "Now, I am free. My power is no longer contained and I shall bathe in the blood of thousands, starting with you."
Kentaro roared and the people began to panic as they scrambled to get away from the demon. Kentaro spotted one person trying to get away and he thrust out one of his hands releasing a bolt of dark energy. Luckily the attack missed and landed on the ground ahead of him. Even so he was forced to run back or risk getting blasted again.
"No one leaves," Kentaro stated and left the people to huddle in fear.
Alexa was so frightened that he didn't notice Lance slip away from her grasp and head towards the demon.
Kentaro noticed the small boy standing in front of him, looking defiant while holding a small dog. He gave an amused chuckle as the boy glared at him while trembling with fear. Pathetic.
Oh well, Kentaro thought. I guess you shall be who I devour first.
Naruto's eyes flashed awake and he sat bolt upright. He felt it. A strong dark magical energy was fluctuating wildly somewhere in the distance. He knew that energy. He fought against it only last night.
"Haruka-san, I have to go," He said urgently as he got up from the bed.
The woman herself was startled as he struggled to put on his black and orange jacket.
"And where do you think you're headed at this time of the night? Your body has not fully healed yet since it hasn't completely expelled the poison from your system. If you move too much, you might go into a relapse, now go lie down!"
Haruka tried to get him back on the bed but he refused to do so. "I have to go!"
"Where are you even headed and why?" Haruka asked exasperatedly.
Naruto took a deep breath as he explained. "Back to Lupinus, because they're in trouble."
"And how may I ask, do you know this?"
Naruto hesitated. "I can't explain it. Call it instinct I guess, but that's not important. All I know is that they need me."
Haruka sighed. "Still you will not be able to do much for them as you are in no condition to fight."
"I'll find a way." He said, completely ignoring her warning. "Besides…"
Naruto tore away his newly applied bandages. Haruka was utterly shocked by what she saw. His infected arm was completely normal. Normally the antidote took days to expel the poison. Now here was this boy, who was only given treatment a few hours ago, was perfectly healthy.
"I heal fast."
Lance struggled to keep his knees from shaking too much as he faced the demon. He didn't know what propelled him into such an act of courage, but he knew that someone had to stand up to the creature. As for the demon he just stood watching the boy, amused by his profound and pointless determination.
Nevertheless, he spoke the next few words in outmost certainty. Lance was tired of having to live in fear every night. He was tired of people being taken away and never coming back, just like his mother. He remembered the words of the blonde mage spoken to him only yesterday. He was definitely scared but…
"What's the matter boy?" Kentaro asked. "So frightened that you can't stop shaking?"
Lance gritted his teeth. "I am afraid, but not of you!"
The crowd gasped and the demon looked slightly annoyed by that statement.
"Well then," Kentaro raised his hand that cackled with dark energy and pointed it towards Lance. "I'll have to make you fear me."
That was the last straw. Alexa rushed forward and placed herself in front of her brother. She was not going to lose another family member. She promised her mother that she would look out for Lance and she was going to keep that vow. She stood firmly in place with her arms outstretched as she waited for the blast.
"Lance! Alexa!" Her father shouted.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
Suddenly, she felt herself being picked up and carried away as she heard an explosion only a moment later. She opened her eyes only to find her self in the arms of a handsome young man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Naruto gave her a confident smile as he set her down gently on the ground. Alexa turned to find another Naruto do the same and placed Lance and Toby next to her.
She immediately rushed over and wrapped her arms around her brother. Only moments ago, she was prepared to die to save her brother and now here they were, safe and unharmed. Saburo reached them and embraced both of his children.
"Oh thank goodness!" Saburo said. He looked to the man who had just saved his two kids. "Thank you, Naruto."
The blonde man just nodded and focused his attention to the snarling demon on the platform.
"So, you survived." Kentaro said in disgust. "I should have known you were still alive, how bothersome."
"People say I'm pretty stubborn sometimes." Naruto said. He settled into a fighting stance. "But I'll take that as a compliment."
"Let's end this then, shall we?" Kentaro spread his massive wings and shot into the air. Naruto never took his eyes off the now transformed mage as he circled around the air.
"Saburo, get everyone to safety," Naruto told the man. "I can't fight if I'm constantly checking if everyone is okay."
Saburo nodded. "Let's go kids."
"Wait!" Alexa said as she turned to look back at the blonde. "Will you be alright?"
Naruto gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry about me. I can handle myself."
With that being said, Naruto turned his attention back to the demon circling overhead. Alexa followed her father as he lead the people away from the square. All the while she never took her eyes off of the man who saved her. She never lost sight of him until they rounded a corner and the structure of a house obscured her view.
Naruto waited until the townspeople were distanced far from the area and once he was satisfied that they were far from the soon to be battlefield, he created two shadow clones. He knew that this was going to be much more difficult than his previous battle with the transformed mage. The dark magical energies from the dagger must have turned him into this demon.
Not to mention that Haruka-san was right. He wasn't fully healed yet. He could still feel traces of the same evil energy flowing through his bloodstream. It was too late to change his mind now.
Naruto formed a glowing blue sphere in his hand and the two clones gripped his arms. Taking a few steps back, they took off with a running start and the clones tossed Naruto into the air. Naruto sailed toward Kentaro, ready to ram his palm into the demon's face.
Kentaro on the other hand was simply waiting for the blonde to make his move. When he saw him shooting into the air to intercept him, Kentaro made no move to dodge the attack. Instead, he decided to face the blonde head on.
Naruto could see Kentaro flying toward him. When he was within striking distance, Naruto thrust his glowing blue sphere toward the demon. He would have taken a direct hit, but Kentaro was unimaginably fast.
Kentaro grabbed his wrist and drove his fist into Naruto's gut. Not only was he faster, he was stronger too. The punch made Naruto cough up spits of blood. With his concentration broken, the Rasengan vanished. Kentaro held tightly him by his throat. He struggled in the demon's grip but to no avail. It was becoming difficult to breath.
"What a waste of effort." Kentaro taunted. "Thanks to you, I have gained more power than I could have ever imagined. Sadly, now you are going to pay for what you did to my guild members!"
Kentaro flew upwards and rapidly gained altitude. Then, when he reached the desirable height he began to plunge toward the ground. He held Naruto by the throat and positioned him below him so that he would impact the ground first. Naruto couldn't do a thing. It dawned on him what was going to happen: A very hard fall.
He tried to think of a way out of this when he had a sudden idea. He retreated into his psyche and stood in front of the powerful gigantic fox. The bijuu looked curiously at the blonde.
"In trouble, again, Naruto?" the Kyuubi demanded.
"Lend me some power," Naruto said. "I need to defeat this man."
The Kyuubi pondered on this for a moment. "Very well; but as strange as it is telling YOU this, curse your memory loss: my chakra's pretty...volatile..."
"So be it."
Kentaro slammed the blonde into the pavement and the impact was so powerful that it created a small crater. Kentaro released his hold on Naruto and left him in a crumpled heap. Kentaro could see the broken form of his enemy and he smiled. He had his revenge. Now he would kill the rest of the pathetic citizens of this town.
He turned to leave, but something stopped him. Kentaro felt a spike of demonic energy besides his own, another presence that was full of rage and anger. He looked back to see that Naruto was slowly rising from the ruble. The blonde looked possessed.
Naruto got back on his feet and a coat of bubbling orange chakra started to form around his whole body. The strange coating took the form of a fox with three tails gently swaying from side to side. The blonde's physical features also morphed into a demon fox as his teeth became fangs and his nails turned into claws. Naruto opened his eyes to reveal blood red irises with feral slits.
Kentaro could not do anything but watch in fear as he felt waves of rage and power wash over the entire area.
"What are you?!" Kentaro demanded.
Instead of answering, Naruto let loose a loud roar that sent powerful gusts of wind in every direction.