Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or anything the crossover characters (meaning every character not from Fairy Tail) are related to.
No, Sasuke is most definitely not going to try and kill Itachi when he sees him alive. He knows the truth about what happened and why he did what he did. This will have some SasuNaru, though, despite Itachi's request (not that I've read the manga or anywhere near enough of the anime to have known about that) that Naruto be a better brother to Sasuke than he was. Like Itachi could dictate what kind of relationship they have, or would've known any better.
Enjoy!
"Okay, brats." Makarov mumbled after 'his' kids had all quieted down a bit. "Macao told me that he didn't usually choose teams for the Games this early on, but you'll be able to train more this way, and those of you participating in the upcoming exhibition matches can train as well."
Natsu perked up at that, grinning at the thought of training (or more specifically, the fight he'd be training for.
"Because of the new rules, more people are allowed to participate, and since there isn't a rule about how many teams a guild can enter…" he trailed off a bit, before continuing.
Team A: Lucy Heartfilia, Jellal Fernandes, Ultear Milkovich, Toph Bei Fong, Raven Roth, Itachi Uchiha, and Charlotte Phantomhive, with Kozue Orihara and Meredy Milkovich as our reserve members."
Itachi blinked slowly, surprised. They'd been testing his powers as much as they were able, but was he really strong enough for something like this?
He was the only one really surprised to be chosen, though. The others had all either competed in the Games before or been chosen as reserve members, and Macao had mentioned that he would recommend that they be considered for the team when Makarov became guild master again.
"Team B: Erza Scarlet, Mirajane Strauss, Juvia Lockser, Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar, Gray Fullbuster, and Natsu Dragneel, with Jack Frost and Rin Okumura for reserve."
Jack scowled slightly. He'd been patrolling with Ryder during the Games for years, since Jellal's team had sensed something that they could've sworn was Zeref-related every year during the event. Would he still be able to do that if there was a possibility he'd have to go up and fight at some point?
Rin bit his lip, slightly conflicted. On one hand, he probably wouldn't need to compete. On the other, if the Exorcists did enter the Games, he didn't want to be in a position where there might be a confrontation, which there would be if he was up against senior Exorcists, Yukio included. His friends, on the other hand…
Well, it would be nice to see them again.
"Hell yeah!" Natsu shouted, pumping a fist into the air, letting Makarov finish his sentence since he didn't want to get hit by Erza again. "Now there's a fire in my belly!"
Various people shook their heads in a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
"Right…" Makarov muttered, before raising his voice. "Anyway, get to training, you brats!"
Ultear smirked vindictively as she eyed the returned mages who had been trapped on Tenrou.
Wakaba had mentioned her special technique about unlocking people's Second Origin, and while the others (since everyone in the guild with Earthland magic had already gone through it) had warned them, they had been ignored.
Not that she felt bad about it. They'd been offered a choice, after all.
Luckily for the Arc of Time mage, Jellal's girlfriend (even if they weren't technically official yet, everyone knew it was going to happen sooner or later) had unlocked her Second Origin when she first used magic while she had still been a slave in the Tower of Heaven.
Ultear had pouted a bit, but cheered up a bit when she realized that now she wouldn't have Jellal glaring at her for causing the redhead so much pain. He didn't hold her past actions towards him against her, but he wouldn't be so forgiving if Erza were hurt.
Lucy bit her lip thoughtfully, wondering what she could do to train for the competition (and the exhibition match, for that matter.)
A moment later, her eyes perked up, and she equipped a silver gate key.
"Open: Gate of the Phoenix. Nick!" she intoned calmly.
A column of flames emerged, from which a man walked out.
He looked to be a few years younger than Lucy, but of course that doesn't mean anything when it comes to Celestial Spirits. He had dark red hair, and black eyes with red pupils. He wore black pants, a long dark red coat, and no shoes or shirt. On his neck was a flame-shaped ruby pendant on a black ribbon.
"Lucy-sama." The man greeted with a polite bow. "How may I assist you?"
"Just Lucy, Nick." The blonde corrected, smiling fondly. "I am set to fight against my friend, Natsu Dragneel the Fire Dragon Slayer. I have a basic strategy in mind, but I thought that it would be easier to consult you…"
And so it began.
Her physical training didn't pick up that much, actually, but she worked through quite a few puzzles and mind exercises to keep her mind sharp, while also working on her tactical skills.
After all, even the strongest of opponents could be brought down if they were outsmarted.
Raven's idea of training was more enjoyable for her than it would be for most.
Countless of hours of meditation, to calm her mind and keep a firm grip on her more destructive side, and even more hours going through her 'creepy-looking' spell-books and practicing anything that might be of use.
And it did actually help, she wasn't just being lazy.
Considering her favorite hobbies were reading, meditating, and drinking tea…
Well, two out of three wasn't bad.
Though her team had managed to talk her into training her hand-to-hand combat skills, which she hadn't practiced as much as she should've without Robin there to nag her.
That part wasn't so enjoyable.
Jellal frowned thoughtfully as he removed a long, flat trunk from beneath his bed.
'Should I?' he wondered, unlocking it and opening it to see the various staves, which had been found in Mystogan's (it was less strange than referring to him as Edo-Jellal) safe house.
He removed the stave with what looked like a fan at the end, waving it around experimentally and cringing when the weapon released a wave of magic that broke his lamp.
'I'm going to need some practice.' He thought, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, before perking up. 'Maybe Erza can help me…after all, they are weapons, and that's her specialty!'
He was only slightly disappointed that he had to share the beautiful redhead with Kozue, who had already asked her to spar with her so she could try and improve her sword skills. Erza's weapons were quite a bit more powerful, but the telepath's reality-bending powers definitely made it a challenge even when you considered Erza's fake eye, which could see through illusions.
Luckily, the blonde was also training with Meredy, so she wasn't always monopolizing Erza's time.
Erza's knowing smile when she noticed his not-jealous pout was worth it, though.
Toph, like Jellal, had also enlisted some help.
She had plenty of experience against the basic elements (fire, water, air, and especially earth), but the sub-elements, not so much.
As such, she had Laki and Max attack her with their earth-based Wood and Sand magic, and Droy created some plants that would try to restrain her that she had to avoid, which was difficult considering her senses were muddled with the more water-based magic.
She'd even managed to talk Wendy (Toph would've loved to give her a semi-insulting nickname like she did most people, but the girl was just too likable and self-conscious for her to do it) into attacking her, to give her some practice fighting against something that she couldn't 'see' coming.
That was a challenge, but at least the Sky Dragon Slayer's own skills improved during the training.
Still, that prudish cat, or 'Exceed', was still annoying.
Always telling not only Wendy but Toph to act more 'ladylike' and 'appropriate'!
Damn cat.
Just wait. Toph would corrupt Wendy with her tomboy-ish ways in no time.
'I am not Toph, I am Melon Lord! MWAHAHAHAHA!' Toph thought, cackling, before she froze. 'Damn, not that again.'
She'd gotten way too into character when she was acting the part of the villain while training with the Gaang back before she joined Fairy Tail.
Charlotte's eyes glinted happily as she destroyed the training dummy with her dual swords.
Her mother might be pushy and act like a ditz (which frustrated her because she knew that she wasn't!), but the lessons Elizabeth Midford-Phantomhive had given her had made her one of the best swordsman in England.
She blinked as she realized that there wasn't really anything to hit anymore, before shrugging and going off to the gun range Alzack and Bisca had opened up, having liked the idea so much after the Arts Festival that they decided to make it an actual business.
Maybe her mother and Mei-Rin (her mentor who happened to be a badass former-assassin who was the best sniper in England) would come watch her in the Games.
She hoped so.
Not only did she want to make them proud, but she wanted her mother to see that she was more than capable of taking care of herself and didn't need a man by her side.
Ugh, if Charlotte ever met her great-aunt Angela, who had told her mother that men didn't like it when women were smart, strong, and independent, and that she would need a man in her life, she would stab her.
Then again, the woman was probably in Hell, having been a serial killer and all.
Well, hopefully she wouldn't end up there too, but if she did...
She had more than a few bones to pick with the woman.
Itachi took a deep breath, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth as he delved into a meditative state.
The guild had eventually realized what the source of his powers was.
Chakra.
They had managed to get their hands on a few scrolls detailing exercises and techniques, but Itachi had been able to do every single one of them without effort. The problem was that although his techniques were very powerful, he didn't seem to have a very large reserve to fall back on, so he would need to end a confrontation quickly for fear of his opponent(s) outlasting him.
Luckily, mages had their own ways of strengthening their magic and enlarging their magic capacity.
Maybe those would help…
The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint the group of people who had been so kind to him, despite the fact that all signs pointed towards him being a dangerous criminal.
Now he knew how Jellal, Ultear, and (to a lesser extent) Erik felt.
It wasn't a nice feeling, but at the same time, it felt nice to be accepted.
Ultear grunted as she was thrown into the lake from the backlash of her last attack during training.
*Sigh*
The training was slightly more intense than in the past few years. Of course, some of their team (mainly Jellal and Lucy) were hoping to show off a bit to the Tenrou group during the Grand Magic Games, so there was that.
Then of course there was the fact that they wanted to put up an even better showing than usual since there would be groups from all around the world competing.
Hopefully Lucy's plan would work, and Itachi would find out more about his past.
Unfortunately, Ultear wasn't sure it would be so easy. She would love for the man to remember happy things and be welcomed back with open arms by any family or friends he might have had, but the sad vibes he gave off when he tried to remember his life put her on edge.
For some reason, he kind of reminded her of herself, or what she had gone through, which wasn't really a good thing.
Had he repressed his memories because they were too painful?
She shook her head with a sigh, determined not to think about it too much.
She liked Itachi, he was a good man, but he wouldn't appreciate the pity and she needed to focus on getting stronger so that if things didn't go well, she could step up and help defend him if need be.
As she tried to stand back up, she hissed slightly as she put some of her weight on her ankle.
Had she sprained it when she landed?
Just as she wondered that, she felt the strangest sensation, kind of like...
When she had tried to commit suicide by stabbing herself with a sword and falling into the ocean around Tenrou Island, right before she saw Ur's memories and found out that her mother had most certainly NOT abandoned and forgotten her.
'Mom?' she thought, shocked and wide-eyed as she stared at the water.
She suddenly had the strangest feeling of her hair being ruffled.
Her heart clenched painfully.
She had made so many mistakes during the years, and the only thing that she didn't regret during her time with Grimoure Heart was her decision to bring Meredy with them instead of killing her as Zancrow was urging her to do.
But now?
In Fairy Tail, she had the opportunity to do things that would help to make up for what she had done, though she knew that her past crimes could never be erased.
She could make her mother proud.
At that realization, Ultear stood up and walked out of the water, not noticing that her ankle no longer gave her any pain.
Deep down in the water, a vague image of a young woman with short hair smiled, eyes closed, as she was able to 'hug' her daughter for the first time in a long time.
Please review!
That Ultear and Ur moment was for you, darkworkangel!
I gave Meredy Ultear's last name because we don't know hers, and according to the wikipedia her relationship with Ultear is that of a foster-daughter as opposed to a sister or whatever.
I wanted to make Natsu a reserve member like in the original version, but I also wanted more people to be allowed on the teams so I could include Itachi on Team A, and why wouldn't Makarov choose Natsu to participate in Team B with the others? So, seven main members and two reserves per team.
Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji spoiler: 'great aunt Angela' is Madame Red, who was indeed responsible for Lizzy acting like an idiot airhead when she's actually fairly capable. Charlotte's mom never knew about the Jack the Ripper thing, so didn't know to ignore anything the woman told her, but Mei-Rin, having worked for Ciel and having been privy to more information via eavesdropping, told Charlotte.
Had I mentioned Kozue's secondary power, i.e. reality-bending? I'm not sure. The anime she's from, Chaos;Head, (spoiler) kind of reminds me of the Matrix in a way. Her and a few people are able to manipulate the (fake) world around them, using their swords.
Hehe, the 'Melon Lord' thing is an actual Toph quote. Yeah…that was an odd scene. Avatar: The Last Airbender was full of those. That being said, I love the series.
Meh. I feel like I rushed the last couple of chapters. Honestly, I'm just ready to write the Games, but I have to get there first. So sorry if recent and upcoming chapters seem a bit half-hearted. Doesn't help that I keep having ideas as I go along, like the whole 'non-mages and foreigners allowed to participate in the Games' (which I decided when I was writing the last chapter), and…I'm just trying to keep track of it all.
