Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 38: Bad Blood

Sorry for the delay. I just finished watching Buffy and Angel for the first time ever and now I'm trying to watch 24. Everybody may have already finished these shows a decade ago but they're new to me dammit! But I promise I'll try to keep up on a better schedule.

Thing about being S-Class badasses...when people underestimate you, that's pain waiting to happen.

########Hunter########

Alica blinked in shock and bewilderment as she stared at the blonde that stood up from the hard attacks that hit him.

It was silent on the street as the two hired fighters were staring at the blond that threatened to kick their asses into next week. As the threat hung in the air, the larger man scoffed at the Fairy Mage. He started cackling loudly like a hyena before pointing at the shorter man across from him, "You're a comedian! That's just hilarious!" He grinned and clenched his fists to brandish his Lacrima knuckles once more, "Do I need to crack the pavement with your head this time for you to actually learn to stay down!"

"You aren't the first to think that and you won't be the last." The blue and brown-eyed boy vacantly responded before pointing at the black cloak that covered him now, "Just so I got this straight...do either of you recognize me now?"

The taller, more well-mannered man raised an eyebrow, "Recognize?"

Shit. Well he was still wearing his brighter colors underneath so there might be some things he still has to fix with his wardrobe. Plus he never actually had a photo in Sorcerer's Magazine because that photographer guy always came really early and took so many pictures there was no film left by the end.

"I'm sorry but we don't exactly know Mages by appearance. We were hired to protect merchandise, make sure the staff don't act up, and remove any obstacles that may interfere with the business. Such as Mages that interfere in dealings they have nothing to do with." The thin man fixed his tiny glasses, "We only recognized Erza Scarlet-San because her name was mentioned. We usually don't bother learning the names of anyone that interferes with out work."

"Oh."

"Does it matter if we recognize you?"

Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Not really. Recognize me or not, this is still gonna end the same way."

"You got that right!" The boisterous man yelled as he grinned and raised his fist up in the air. He brought it down on the street beneath them and watched as a series of cracks spread under their feet. A light glowed out from between the cracks before the street exploded in a flash of debris and smoke. Naruto stood in place as the wind caused his cloak to flap behind him and the smoke shrouded his enemies from his sight. He furrowed his eyes-

*Bang*

The Fairy Mage leaned his head back as a small but devastatingly quick ball of fire shot by his face. He quickly started stepping back and out of the range of bullets before they caught him. The smoke parted as each shot chased after him and led him towards a section of the cloud.

He finally parted from the cloud before he sensed a presence directly behind him. He looked behind and up to see the muscular man pulling his fist back with the same maniacal grin on his face. He yelled, "Gotcha!"

Naruto leaned aside and felt the punch pass by his head with a gust of wind following after it. The blond clicked his teeth before grabbing the outstretched arm and throwing the goon over his shoulder and through the cloud of dust. The smoke parted and the large man harshly bounced off the ground before getting back to his feet.

*Bang*

Naruto stood there calmly as he took a step to the side to avoid the shot aimed at his head. He narrowed his eyes and focused his attention at the well-dressed man that had him aimed down the barrel of his Lacrima gun. He lowered his weapon and looked down to see his associate lifting himself back to his feet, "It seems this will not be as easy as we thought."

"What are you talking about?!" The brawler asked at the top of his lungs as he stood back up and dusted himself off. He kept his menacing smirk before he looked back and leveled his glare towards their enemy. He turned his neck with a loud crack before chuckling, "He can actually handle himself pretty well! This is gonna be fun!"

The taller man gave his rebuttal with a stiff monotone, "Well if you say so."

*Bang*

"Eep!" The girl that had found herself caught in between this match of a Mage and Lacrima users yelped when a fire ball cut off her escape root directly in front of her hand. She pulled her hand back after her attempt to crawl away was obliterated and looked up in fright at the man with the gun.

He fired without even looking back as he fixed his glasses up his nose. He gave her an uninterested look, "Don't attempt to run away. We'll be forced to hurt you even more if you try."

Alica flinched and shook in fear-

"Alica, go to the sidewalk and stay there." Naruto advised, earning strange looks from Zoback's men and a confused stare by the girl herself. He gave her a small smile, "This won't take long."

The suited man raised an eyebrow, "Didn't I just say she shouldn't move?"

"Yeah, but believe me..." Naruto turned his neck, getting a loud crack as well as a smirk of his own formed, "You're gonna wanna focus more on me than on her for the next few minutes."

"O-ho! Little man thinks he's big!" The large brawler chided as he clenched his fist and made the light from the Lacrima knuckles grow even brighter. They let out a light yellow glow before turning dark red, "Well I started pounding on you with the Boulder breaker function! But I guess if you're threatening and putting up a fight, I might as well switch to the Bone breaker setting! Much more fun!"

"I am not much of hands-on person so I will be providing you support from back here." The taller man informed, "Good luck."

"Much appreciated!" The brawler yelled as he started sprinting towards his enemy as Naruto raised his hand. His palm started to glow and a brown cleaver appeared from his Requip space. He stabbed the ground by his foot as a column of rock emerged a meter ahead of him.

"Pfft! That all you got?!" The thug punched the spire of rock and grinned as his weapon glowed and obliterated the stone into nothing but dust. Naruto held up the elemental blade and the man punched it, reducing it to scrap. He laughed, "Haha! How'd you like that kid?!"

Naruto started bouncing on his feet as he back-stepped and dodged all the jabs and crosses that aimed to cave in his head. The burlier man cackled and taunted but even with his barrage of fists he didn't make any contact. The blond Mage avoided any hit with just an inch of space between him and the fist. He leaned and turned and dodged every punch before he ducked and stepped away from the man-

*Bang*

Naruto raised his hand and blocked the blast of fire with Armor covering his palm. He gave a quick glare at the taller man with the gun before he dropped down to his knees to avoid a wide hook to his head. He planted a hand on the ground and kick upwards into the brawler's chin. He followed through with the movement and flipped through the air, creating a bubble of wind around his leg before kicking out towards the shooter. The tall man reacted in panic and stumbled aside as the blast of wind shot down the street.

The brawler rubbed his chin and growled before pushing forward and pressing the Mage. Naruto continued to just dodge the punches and move like paper in the wind. The whiskered ninja circled around the fists and then found himself backed against a wall. The larger man yelled and started throwing a flurry of jabs that Naruto effortlessly evaded as they destroyed the brick wall behind him. The larger man fumed in anger at not being able to connect and yelled, "Y-you can't evade forever you little bitch! You can keep running but the moment I hit you then you're done! Nothing can break these knuckles of mine!"

Naruto grabbed the brawler's outstretched forearm before his fist could make contact. And then grabbed the other one as it followed.

The brawler's usually mirthful look seemed to instantly be replaced by a look of shock and terror as he felt the vice grip on his arms. He jerked around and try to break free but to no avail. The blond applied some pressure and got the larger man to groan and get down on a knee. Naruto sarcastically asked as he kept his magic flowing through his hands, "Bet I could break your arms if I tried."

Strain and ire grew more and more evident on the big guy's face as he growled and yelled, "No one is stronger than me! This doesn't make any sense! W-who are you?!"

Naruto plainly answered, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki. And I'm a Mage of Fairy Tail."

For the first time since this 'fight' started, the man's cocky and annoying smugness faded and was replaced with genuine fright. He shuddered a little, "Y-y-you mean...'T-The Hunter'? Of Fairy Tail? That's you?"

A bright smile covered the blond's face, "Hey, you do know me! Cool." He smirked, "But I told you already...not gonna make a difference."

He gripped the man's forearms a little tighter before throwing them aside and leaving him wide open. Naruto gathered some Wind around his hand and struck the center of the brawler's chest. The larger man gasped and was lifted off his feet before the column of wind blasted him back and through the wall of a store. He barreled through the contents of that entire shop before slamming into another wall and getting stuck there. The larger man's head hung unconsciously before he fell out of the wall and flat on the ground.

Naruto rotated his wrist before stepping away from the wall and into the street, keeping his stare at the man he had sent flying.

*Bang*

Naruto turned and lowered to his knees before glaring over to see the shooter aiming at him while he used Alica as a human shield. She thrashed around and struggled in his grasp, getting a much better result from him than the burly guy that had her before. She yelled, "L-let go asshole! Let-Naruto!"

The shooter pulled back and pressed the barrel of his special weapon against the younger woman's temple. He threatened, "Do not come any closer, or I shall execute Shi-San right here and now."

"Jackass!" Alica shimmied around but still did not escape her captive's grasp, "You're gonna pay for this you bastards!"

"Quiet please." He pressed the barrel further against her head and she shut her lips out of fear that he'd follow through with the threat. He started stepping backwards and forcing her along, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take Shi-San back to Zoback-sama and report this to him. So if you don't mind..."

Naruto turned and stepped towards them-

"Don't." He demanded as Alica gasped in his grip, "I was not kidding when I said I would do it."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow, "Weren't you asked to come here in the first place to capture her? By your boss, right?" Naruto spared the girl a look before leveling a glare at the tall man, "Am I suppose to believe you would go against your orders and kill your target?"

The tall man furrowed his eyes before lowly stating, "He will understand."

"You sure?" Naruto asked, "People in power like that don't like having their orders disobeyed. Especially from their underlings." Naruto shrugged, "Believe me, I've seen it."

"She is merely just one in many. We have more than a hundred people that can do a job just like her. And after we are done convincing her sister, we'll have someone better for the job." The Lacrima in the gun started to glow and he was prepared to shoot, "One girl will not make a difference."

"Really?" Naruto seemed to abandon his serious state and looked up in thought, "Because in my experience one person makes a lot of difference. Miss someone and you can't hold up all the heavy crap. Have someone throw a wrench and all the shit can be screwed up fast. Yep..." He looked over and his eyes caught Alica's, "One person can cause a lot of pain."

"No more of this." The gunman said as he aimed his gun up and at Naruto, "I will not waste my time being delayed but an uncouth man like-"

Alica yelled and stomped her foot down as hard as she could on his toes. The usually composed man yelped in pain and Alica took this chance to pry her way out of his grip and escape. But he grabbed her wrist and smacked her with his gun, making her tumble to the ground as he growled, "You filthy little-"

*THWACK*

Naruto came over in a dash and planted his fist directly into the tall man's face, slamming him into the ground instantly and keeping him there. The whiskered Mage looked down at the unconscious man planted in the ground before nodding, "Yeah, one person can cause a whole lotta pain." He heard some soft groaning and looked over to see Alica sitting on the ground while rubbing the bruise on her face. He moved over to her side, "Alica, you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." The young teenager gently touched her cheek and felt the stinging sensation spread through her face. She flinched before shaking her head grumpily, "Stupid jackass just hit me pretty hard."

He crouched beside her, "Let me take a look."

"No, I'm fine." Alica tried to wave off his concern, "Just make sure they're-"

Naruto caught her wrist gently and caused the brunette girl to look at him in shock. He slowly reached out to grab the wrappings around her hand as she flinched. He gave her a reassuring look before looking at the rough, chaffed texture of the bandages before making a small tear. He undid a corner of the wrapping to see her hand was bruised and cut and red with sensitive skin.

He stared down at her hand intensely before looking up at her to see the teenager looking away in shame. Before he even asked she answered, "Just...the recent 'reconditioning'...it's taking longer to heal from than it usually does."

"What reconditioning?" Naruto asked with a shake of his head, "What's happening in this town with these people?" He saw the younger girl still staying hesitant and frightful before she cast a gaze at the two imposing men he had defeated. He pulled her from her thoughts, "Alica...we can help. Whatever is going on here, whatever they're doing, we can stop it. You just need to tell me please."

The young brunette seemed to struggle to find the words as her shoulders shook. She looked up at him, her green eyes starting to water as her firm voice turned into a whimper...

"How can people do something like this?"

########Hunter########

Erza sat patiently at the end of the table after her host had excused himself to handle some other business. One moment they were having a terse conversation about his control over these people, and then the next he needed to contact a few of his people in another room.

Now she was keeping the company of a dozen men and women that blocked the entrance and didn't meet her eyes. The redhead beauty looked down at the plate she had cleaned and fiddled with her fork in boredom. No more food...no more conversation...

God she wished Naruto was here to talk to.

Her eyes panned around the room as she looked out the large window that encompassed most of one wall. Her eyes wandered across the huge property and the factory attached to the mansion that connected to the side. But before she could keep looking around she spotted something in the farthest window of the factory. A light flickered on and off at rapid speeds and spread a shadow over the window for a moment before disappearing.

Well that was odd.

Without any other clues of what was happening here and no one to talk with, Erza finally succumbed to boredom and curiosity. She pushed her seat out and looked over to the hall before several men and women stepped in front of it. The Requip Mage blinked in surprise at their reaction they gave before she even stood up. One man stepped forward, "Sorry ma'am but Zoback-sama has informed us that we can not let you leave this room until he returns."

Erza wasn't surprised by that order as she sat back in her comfy chair and crossed her legs. She turned in her seat a little before asking, "And what if I need to head back home now?"

"Then you'll have to wait until he returns."

"What if I need to visit the bathroom?"

He responded in a much less accommodating tone, "Then hold it."

Erza didn't appreciate the hostile edge in his voice, "So if I want to leave-"

"Wait until he gets back."

Erza stayed silent. She turned around and touched the plate-

"No thank you."

She grabbed the plate and threw it across the room as it broke in the center of the front man's face. His large body tumbled over and the other guards and servants were caught off-guard by the sudden reaction. They were too surprised to stop Erza from sprinting out of her seat and leaping over the surprised guards blocking off the way further into the mansion.

Erza flipped and landed in a crouch as the guards all over the room reached for their weapons. The Fairy Queen changed out of her beautiful dress and into her base armor as the guards pulled out elemental Lacrima and Lacrima guns. They aimed down the narrow hallway and unleashed waves of fire, lightning bolts, and concentrated air that decimated the surrounding area. But they couldn't catch up to the quick knight as she sprinted as quickly as possible away from the various magic attacks and rounded a corner.

The dual-eyed woman stopped immediately in place and looked up at the dead-end she had cornered herself in. She sighed and gave a discouraged grumble before turning around to face the hoard coming after her. She held out her hand and reached into her Requip space.

Several men and women came around the corner and held up their weapons, "Don't mo-"

*Swish*

They were blasted back as Erza dashed forward and knocked them down with the blunt side of her sword. The guards were stunned by the move that was nearly impossible to follow before turning around and seeing Erza on the other side of their barricade. They turned back to her, "Fire!"

Erza continued down the hall and away from the guards that gave chase. Even with the greater numbers, Erza's experience and instinct kicked into gear as she dodged the attacks without looking at where they came from. She noticed another group of guards cut off her route and changed herself into the Black Wing Armor. She didn't give them a chance to defend before she gripped two swords and knocked all of them back.

The Calmen security were hopeless as their attacks did nothing more than prove just how outclassed they were in hoping to beat the S-Class Mage by themselves. Erza disarmed and knocked out all the guards in her way with extreme precision as they were helpless against her. She finally made one last dash and arrived in a large room with doors that reached up to the ceiling. The large iron doorway was in vast difference to the pleasant color and decor of the mansion around her. Erza stood up straight and looked over the door...

Erza looked over to a side corridor, "This leads to the factory, correct?"

"Yes, that is right." The sound of sharp heels clicking against the marble echoed through the hall and room as Erza turned to face it. A beautiful woman with blonde hair and wearing a pretty dress suit walked towards the Mage with a sword and sheathe on her hip. The secretary fixed her collar before addressing their guest/attacker, "Zoback-sama decided that it would be easier to move merchandise and supplies from a spot that already receives massive amounts of power and supplies. Technology. Industrial coolers and mechanical assistance. It all comes through here to us."

Erza looked back at the doors, "That seems useful."

"Indeed. He has become a powerful man, with powerful allies and equipment for us to use in need. Like...when his generosity is taken advantage of by his guests." She gripped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out quickly, creating a bolt of lightning that pierced straight forward and at the redhead Mage. Erza had to jump aside as the electrical strike passed by and caused a jolt of static to run through the metal around her.

"Grr!" Erza groaned in pain from the sensations of needles dancing over her skin. She immediately changed out of her combat armor and into her base clothes without her armor. She couldn't risk the static distracting her during the fight and gripped her blade tightly. She raised the blade up and blocked the sword made of Lightning Lacrima. The secretary pressed her in an attempt to gain ground but Erza's superior strength and skill did not falter under the pressure. The secretary groaned as she activated the sword and unleashed bolt of lightning in every direction.

Erza parried the sword to the side and forced the older woman to move towards the center of the room. The two faced off with Erza backed into the large iron door and leaving the Calmen secretary with the space to move. She grabbed the hilt and pulled it out quickly, creating another blast of electricity that shot towards the Fairy Mage.

The business woman continued to unleash wave after wave of lightning at the scarlet-haired woman who turned and dodged with an elegant grace. The blonde woman continued to unleash a blinding field of attacks as she yelled over the noise, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to manage a system like this?! Like a living, breathing body that can crush us at any moment! And we help this entire nation with the resources they need! We can't afford to waste time with brats that intrude and ungratefully indulge themselves in our work! Can you understand?! Can you possibly comprehend how hard we work to do our jobs?!"

The secretary stopped attacking and the arcing electricity disappeared from sight. The blonde businesswoman looked in shock at the fact that not only did Erza dodge every attack without damage but the lightning had destroyed part of the iron door behind her. The Fairy Mage looked behind her before a pleased smile covered her face and she nodded at the blonde woman, "Thank you for your hard work. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"No!" The blonde woman dashed to grab her, "Don't you-"

Erza disappeared in front of her by flipping over the secretary's head. The Requip Mage glowed in the air and changed into her Flight Armor before hitting the ground. The Fairy Mage dashed forward at incredible speed, slamming into the Clamen employee's back and sending them across the room in a blur. Erza came to an abrupt stop and the secretary flew off and crashed into a crate. The woman groaned groggily before she fell unconscious with her Lacrima sword shattered to the side.

It was a very impressive and powerful weapon...but in the hands of someone inexperienced, it did her no good.

Erza ignored her unconscious adversary and looked around at the empty factory. Massive pieces of machinery and technology covered the entire factory. There were conveyor belts and large supplies of Lacrima crystals stored around in different containers to separate them into different magical processes. It was much more complex and difficult than she expected creating Lacrima to be.

But there was something happening here even when everything else was turned off. And that secretary didn't want her to get in here to see it.

The scarlet-haired woman walked around the facility to observe and try to find some sort of clue. She found nothing until she came across a metallic door on the farthest wall of the factory. Erza just examined the door for a moment before looking aside to see the last row of windows ended just a few feet back. That was where the flickering light shined thru. But if this was the end of the windows...

Why was there still more factory space beyond this point?

The door was sturdy and thick. It was reinforced to make sure no one got in without some sort of private access. Erza stepped forward and started reaching out for the handle...

"D-don't move, Scarlet-San."

She stopped and looked back to see the short philanthropist standing behind her with a squad of guards with their weapons fixed on her back. She spared them a look and they flinched in fright, concerned that they would have to try and apprehend this woman that singlehandedly defeated the other staff without difficulty. She looked back and addressed the short man, "Is this what you have been trying to keep under the radar since we arrived? What are you so worried about people finding out?"

Zoback stayed tense and worried before an audible gulp came from his throat. He answered, "In the interest of helping expand the business of Lacrima production to accommodate the constant rise in demand, some actions need to be taken. To help people get the products they need to do their job."

Erza looked at the door again, "What's behind this door?"

"A necessary step in assuring we can meet that demand. Now stand down."

Erza turned back towards him and stared him down with a piercing gaze, "I won't."

The short man narrowed his eyes before raising his hand while his guards aimed their weapons at her. Erza prepared to summon her sword-

*Boom*

The factory trembled as a section of its wall exploded and sent chunks of brick in every direction. The occupants of the factory looked back in shock as a blond man with whiskers walked through the hole he created and glared down towards where they stood. A shorter girl with brown hair ran up beside him and pointed at the farthest wall, "There's the door."

Naruto didn't respond as he immediately started marching towards the door without giving any notice to the men who stood in his way. Zoback started to sweat and panic when he saw the Mage start moving towards their position without even regarding them. He looked between his guards, "S-stop him! Shoot him!"

The guards prepared to aim their weapons but Naruto crated a gust of Wind around his hand and swiped towards them, blowing them back and out of his way. Naruto just kept moving like he was on a set rail towards the door as Erza stepped aside and watched his strange behavior, "Naruto?"

The blond finally approached the door and grabbed the handle, pulling it as hard as he could but not getting it to budge at all. He yelled in frustration before stepping back and looking over the metallic doorframe that imbedded itself in the wall. He summoned Kokuryū from his Requip space and sliced off one of the hinges. "No don't!" He corrupt man yelled desperately as Naruto sliced the second hinge before grabbing the door with Armor over his arms and pulling it off completely.

And lightning lit up the interior of the room.

"AAAAHH!" Men and women screamed as volts of pure electricity ran through their bodies from the collars on their necks. The surge stopped and they fell back, writhing in pain as the sensation of needles piercing their skin lingered.

Another man in a suit stood over the suffering people with a trigger in his hand and questioned them, "You will not try to attack the guards! You will not ignore the schedules you have been provided! When you receive an order, you will follow it thru! No talking! No arguments!" He raised the trigger again, "When we tell you to do something, you do-GAH!"

The guard was knocked out by a swift chop to the neck as the trigger slipped from his fingers and into Naruto's other hand. He looked at it before looking at the people that were being tortured by the guards so they would be obedient. Naruto didn't know what would happen if he broke the trigger so he put it aside and just stared at the people that looked up at him in fright.

"Onee-chan!"

Alica came running in and kneeled down by her older sister's side as she hugged her. The older woman looked at her in surprise, "A-Alica? What are you-"

"It's okay! It's okay!" The younger girl reassured with tears going down her face, "You did it! You got someone here to stop them!" The teenager embraced her sister tighter as some of the other people scrambled to the unconscious man to grab the keys to their collars.

Erza looked at what had happened from outside the room as she shook her head in horror. Hers eyes were trembling at the sight as she whispered out, "They were slaves."

"N-no. They're our employees!" Zoback said as he stepped forward after his company's secret had been revealed as he pleaded to the redhead woman, "W-we pay each one of our employees and we provide a much needed service! But sometimes, o-our people just can't work fast enough! O-or they try to quit and leave! So we need to train them and teach them how to work properly! B-but it's all for a good reason! Our Lacrima production help a million people with their jobs! The Council and Rune Knights benefit from the products we made! This is all just a necessary stop for us to-"

Naruto dashed out of the room and grabbed the businessman's neck before he could say anything else. Naruto quickly lifted him off his feet and let him dangle in the air as he gasped and struggled for air. The Fairy Mage narrowed his eyes in anger as his grip grew tighter and tighter around Zoback's neck.

The corrupt man scratched the hand that was choking him as he barely whimpered out, "P-please stop! I-I can't breathe!"

Naruto didn't answer. He didn't say or do anything. He just kept choking the shorter man as his eyes started going bloodshot and tears filled the corners. Naruto just furrowed his eyes and focused on choking the life out of him.

He was just like them.

Considered doing things like this as a necessary action.

Nothing else registered. Nothing else mattered. Just a little bit more and-

An armored hand rested on his forearm and Naruto looked aside to see Erza looking at him. He didn't even notice her change back into her basic armor. She gripped his arm a little tighter and shook her head without meeting eyes, "Don't."

...

"GUAH!" Zoback gasped for air as he fell down after Naruto released his grasp. The short man's false hair became disheveled and he looked up at the blond in horror, "Y-you we're going to kill me! H-how could you?! You have no right to-"

*THWACK*

Erza punched Zoback across the room and sent him flying into a conveyor belt. Calmen slumped to the ground with a broken nose and some shattered teeth, his toupee slipping off his head as he sat there unconscious.

Erza pulled back her outstretched fist and stood beside a silent Naruto. The two Mages were quiet as the victims started undoing their restraints and the sound of people coming to the mansion rung thru their ears. Erza looked down at her feet and mumbled...

"We have every right."

########Hunter########

The Rune Knights were filing the guards away in their wagons while the civilians were gathering around and watching. The victims that were being electrocuted were hugged by their friends and debriefed by some Rune Knights.

A Rune Knight was talking with the two Mages that had resolved this issue, "So we've apprehended Calmen and are taking him and his subordinates in for questioning. The people that were being...'trained' by them are receiving any and all medical attention that we can provide at this moment. And after we're done gathering all these guys up, we'll be debriefing all of the people in town that were being forced to work for these guys."

The Knight saw that nothing he said was affecting the Fairy Tail Mages as they stood by a wall and watched everything resolve itself. He tried to get their attention, "Um, Zoback Calmen will probably need some medical attention for his injuries but besides that you guys got through this rather clean. These people were going thru a really bad experience and you both helped them. So you should be proud that-"

"Hey." The Rune Knight was interrupted as The Hunter spoke up and motioned back to the center of the events, "You should really get over there and help them out. They need your help more than we do."

The Knight looked back at where they were processing everything before he gave a small nod, "Y-yeah, right. I'll...go do that." He hesitated for a moment before walking away to help his companions with their jobs.

Naruto and Erza stood at the sidelines and just stared forward while the Knights helped the people.

...

"Are you okay?"

Naruto looked over at his partner after she had broken the silence with her question. He looked forward again before sighing, "I really don't know how to answer that."

"Okay. Then I guess we're sharing that mindset then."

...

"I've seen some people do a lot of bad things." Naruto said, "Dark Mages trying to kill people. People trying to hurt people. A lot of shit. But...this..." He shook his head, "I always thought...I don't know-"

"That real people couldn't do stuff like this." Erza finished his thought, "That only those people could do something so horrid like this to other humans."

"Yeah." Naruto leaned back into the wall, "I guess that was just wishful thinking, huh?"

"It's not wishful thinking. There are so many people doing so many things to help others around the world. And sometimes...there are just people like this who do horrible things to others. We can't stop that."

Naruto looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly, "You stopped me before I killed him, didn't you?"

"You wouldn't have killed him." Erza reassured Naruto before any dark thoughts could fill his head, "You were just...it's difficult to see something like that again after so long."

"But I wasn't thinking. One moment he was talking and the next I had his throat in my hand." He looked down at his left hand, "If we came here a few weeks earlier then I might have killed him like that."

"But you didn't. And that's all that matters."

...

Naruto closed his eyes before looking over at his girlfriend and asking, "Do you..." His throat felt dry trying to continue but he went on, "Do you...still think about what happened back there...in the tower?"

Erza looked at him and stayed silent before she nodded, "Of course I do. I can never forget it." She stepped closer to bridge the gap between them and she looked down at the ground, "Sometimes I wish I can but I never could. It was most of my life." Her hand gripped her other arm tightly, "And after everything we lost we have no right to forget it."

...

Naruto pushed off the wall, "The Rune Knights probably want to talk with us."

Erza nodded, "Probably."

Alica moved thru the crowd and looked around for Naruto and his partner. She felt like she needed to thank them for their help in putting an end to this personal hell of theirs. She looked around before asking a Knight, "Hey, what happened to the two Mages that were here before? Naruto and his friend?"

"The Fairy Mages?" The Knight looked around and couldn't spot them anywhere. He scratched his head, "They were here a second ago. Um...I'm sorry but I don't know where they went."

Alica deflated a little and looked around. They were still nowhere in sight.

"Alica!" The teenager looked back to see Dala waving her over, "The Knights are asking for us. Come on."

"Coming." The brunette looked around once more before sighing disheartened.

She never got to thank them properly.

########Hunter########

Naruto and Erza walked through the streets of Magnolia on their way back to the guild. They had stayed rather silent and affected by the horrible actions they had seen that town go through. And the bad memories they started to bring up again.

Erza pulled her luggage around and tried to put her unnecessary thoughts aside, "Once we get back to the guild we should probably go home and rest. Get some sleep. We need some time off right now."

...

"We need a vacation."

Erza looked at him oddly, "Huh?"

"I've been feeling way too stressed out lately and I could use some time off. Especially after all this crap." Naruto grumbled and stretched out his arms, "Plus I'm tired and got a headache. Not a good combination." A small smile finally returned to his face as he gave her a look that said he didn't need to convince her anymore, "How about it? Wanna go relax for a few days?"

Erza stopped walking and thought about the idea for a moment. She mulled the prospect over before smiling and moving some hair out of her eyes, "I think that's a good idea. Some proper time off might be fun." A little frown came over her face again, "Unfortunately Mahiro and Koyuki already left for their trip so we'd have to catch up with them if we wanted to."

"Yeah." Naruto scratched his head, "Maybe we can go find somewhere nice to stay for a few days. We'd need to look over some places and-"

"Erza~! Naruto~!"

The couple looked up to see Lucy, Natsu, Happy, and Gray wave to them as they approached from down the street. Happy was heading towards them first with a big smile on his face, "We were wondering where you guys went! We were worried we'd miss you!"

Erza faced the flying cat, "What is it Happy?"

Lucy caught up with them as Natsu and Gray followed behind at a leisurely pace, "I'm glad you guys got back from your job because we got some exciting news." She smiled and seemed giddy with excitement, "How would you guys like to go on a trip to the beach?"

...

Erza and Naruto looked between each other before nodding, "You read our minds."

"Tada!" Lucy held out several brightly colored tickets for them to see, "We got deluxe passes to Akane Resort!"

"Wait seriously?!" Naruto gaped at the sight of the tickets and picked one out before examining it closely, "Holy crap they're real! This is awesome!"

Erza plucked one out as well with a glitter in her eye, "Ooohhhh~! T-this is amazing! Lucy how did you get these?"

Lucy chuckled nervously and scratched her cheek, "Well...Loke gave them to me as a gift. It's...sort of a long story."

"How's it long?" Natsu looked at her oddly before he grinned, "Turns out Loke was actually one of those Celestial Spirits Lucy uses and she saved him so we got free tickets to an amusement park! It's just that easy!"

"No. No that's not easy at all." Lucy deadpanned, "In fact it's a really big deal and it's complicated."

"This is for a full experience too!" Naruto cheered while looking the tickets over and beaming a big smile, "Oh this is so cool!"

Gray nodded, "Yeah, and we got tickets for all of us too so we can go whenever we want."

"Um...did you guys even hear the thing about Loke?"

"When should we go?"

Lucy resigned herself to telling them Loke's story when they weren't so hyper and sighed, "Uh...they're good for any time this week so we can go whenever-"

"Tomorrow."

They looked over at Erza, somehow already changed into a short t-shirt and swimming trunks with a floatie around her waist. She had the look in her eyes that said there was no room for argument on this.

...

"Well alright then."

Gray, Happy, and Natsu all took their tickets as the pink-haired man grinned, "All right guys! Tomorrow we're goin' to Akane Resort!"

"YEAH!"

########Hunter########

Done

I'm sorry this chapter didn't deliver much on the fighting scale with those mooks and their weapons. But I just couldn't imagine Naruto and Erza really having much difficulty facing off with bureaucrats with some nice gear.

But don't worry...this was just a lead-in.

This is a nibble on a lettuce leaf and some salad dressing compared to the main course that's being prepared. Just gotta wait a little longer.

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