Makarov lead the way back down to the guild hall. Naruto had denied the need for big introductions, but the old master all but insisted. Begrudgingly, he trudged behind. At the balcony overlooking the hall the master bellowed, "Listen up runts! I'd like you all to meet someone. This man is Naruto Uzumaki, an important guest with Fairy Tail! He'll be working with us for the time being so I expect you all to treat him as one of the family. Let's all give him a warm Fairy Tail welcome!"

"Oi!" The hall cheered in synchronized unison, slowly erupting into a chaotic amalgam of cheers. Somewhat taken aback by the mass greeting, he gave an awkwardly sincere smile and a wave. Turning to the master he shot him a look, receiving only a knowing smile in return. The cheers soon died down and returned to a mess of brawls and booze. Walking down to the guild floor, Naruto wondered what awaited him. Konoha had been engulfed by a state of total war and saw every level of society involved in one way or another toward bolstering its defenses. Here, things were calmer, and although he enjoyed the mostly welcoming atmosphere, he found it difficult to adjust. Deciding he needed something to ease his nerves, he headed over to the bar, once again weaving past belligerent guild members and flying mugs. Seeing Mirajane behind the counter, he gave a smile and a wave, taking a seat at the far end. "Mira."

With a cheerful smile back she exclaimed, "Naruto! How did you like your official welcome?"

"It's a lot to take in but I can't complain. Reminds me a bit of home." Or how it used to be.

"Oh? Where's home? Can I get you an ale?"

Not in the mood to explain more than he had to, he dodged the first question and focused on the latter. "Mm, quite far from here. Got anything stiffer?"

Nodding, Mirajane turned grabbing one of the more obscure bottles off the shelf. She knew every guild member had something they'd rather not speak of. "How was your talk with the master?"

"Well enough I think. It looks like I'll be around to stay for a while."

She chuckled, "So it does," setting the drink down in front of him.

Naruto held the glass, spinning the honey hued liquid a few times then took a sip. Delicious. "What is this? It's been a while since I've had something this good."

"It's guild made, some of the best." Mirajane winked, "Consider it my welcoming gift to you."

A voice suddenly popped up behind him, "Jesus, Mira, heading right to the good stuff for the newbie?" Naruto turned in the direction of a voice and had to catch himself from falling off his seat. A slightly intoxicated, young and large-chested woman, clad in little more than a bikini and baring her midriff, stood brazenly in front of him with a hand on her hip. Minus the dark hair, Naruto felt some serious Tsunade-like agressiveness from the girl. She continued, "How am I supposed keep this buzz going if you keep dishing out freebies?"

"Last I checked you've been running up some pretty long unpaid tabs yourself," Mirajane shot back with an eye smile.

Faltering and nervously laughing it off, she turned to Naruto giving him a nonchalant gaze. "So new guy, huh?" At that, Mirajane just sighed shaking her head.

"Yup. Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," he greeted.

"Cana. Anyone who can stomach the hard stuff is alright with me, I suppose," she grinned. "Welcome aboard this merry band of misfits. Hope you're not a lightweight like most of these chumps."

Naruto gave her remark a light laugh. "Is that a challenge?"

"With an attitude like that I think you'll fit in just fine. Better prepare yourself too, I'm willing to bet more than a few will want to gauge your strengths."

Naruto wasn't really surprised. There had been a similar sort of ritual when he first joined ANBU, though he was willing to bet that initiation was a bit more thorough. It was the closest that a 'friendly spar' had come to a deathmatch for him. As if on cue, a pink haired teen strode right up to him with a fiery confidence and a flying cat in tow. Naruto contained his surprise at the flying feline, but quickly shrugged it off. He'd seen stranger things among the various summoning contracts. The boy stared at Naruto, standing invasively in the blond's personal space, before finally breaking out into a cheeky grin.

"You seem strong. Fight me!"

"Aye!" The cat yelled in affirmation.

"Natsu, Happy! Don't be rude!" Mirajane frowned. "Is that really any way to greet someone?"

Holding his hand out, he stopped her, "It's alright Mira." He turned back to the pink haired boy now identified as Natsu, giving him a calculating look. Truthfully, he was in desperate need of a sparring partner to help him gauge his current strength. Makarov had brought up the notion of a prosthetic, but he didn't know when he'd get the chance for one and would rather not be caught off guard. Finally deciding, he let loose a grunt and shrugged, "Sure I'll take you on." Kicking back the rest of the liquor in a swift gulp, he shook his head once, warding off the burn. "Just don't cry too much when I kick your ass." Naruto's jab was enough to rile the teen's spirits.

Letting out a growl, Natsu declared, "Don't underestimate me! I'm gonna take you down!"


Natsu led the two of them over to a nearby clearing where most of the guild mages trained. A good number of guild members came as well, both curious about the newcomer and excited to see an assumed non-S-class mage fearlessly challenge Natsu. Mirajane and Cana had come along, wine barrel in tow, and Happy had snugly situated himself in a blond girl's lap. Naruto and Natsu distanced themselves on the field and faced each other.

"Go Natsu!" Happy cheered.

The blond girl looked curiously at the dragonslayer and the still enigmatic Naruto. Directing her gaze and Mirajane, she asked, "You've talked to him the most Mira, did you find out what kind of wizard he is?"

Shaking her head, Mirajane replied, "No, he didn't mention a thing."

Giving his legs a few good low stretches and a few jumps, Naruto removed his cloak, wanting to offer Natsu the sentiment that he took this seriously. Instead, he gave most of the guild members a bit of a shock at his missing arm. Natsu especially gave a wide eyed stare and started to speak, "Your arm! Are you okay with-"

"Natsu." Naruto interrupted, settling into an unflinching stance and steel gaze. "You asked me not to underestimate you. I suggest you do the same."

Seeing the blond's confident resolve, Natsu grinned and took his own stance. "I'm gettin' fired up!" He yelled, lighting his fists ablaze.

Fire, huh? Quickly swiping most of the basic wind ninjutsu off the table, Naruto did a quick threat analysis. Natsu's personality and unabashedness were remarkably like his own in his youth. And if he knew himself… Frontal charge. Naruto settled into a taijutsu stance Lee had taught him, rapidly performing a few mental kata.

As he anticipated, Natsu roared and dashed quickly at him. He yelled, "Karyuu no Tekken! (Fire Dragon's Iron Fist)," bringing his fist down at a vertical angle. At the last second and not wasting any movement, Naruto pivoted, sidestepping the blow. Raising his knee, he struck Natsu in the stomach, effectively forcing him to recoil. Naruto capitalized on the now off balance Natsu and stepped forward, delivering a swift overhand strike to the jaw and forcing him backwards.

Natsu's head snapped back, but he rapidly recovered, this time igniting his feet and propelling himself at twice the speed at Naruto. Compensating for the quickness, Naruto moved on the defensive. Taking advantage of his superior footwork, he seemingly danced in and out of Natsu's flurry of flaming fists and kicks. Preparing his counter attack, he concentrated chakra into his hand, creating a blue aura. He waited for a sloppy move and parried Natsu's fist away. Spinning low to maximize his speed, he delivered a blindingly fast kick at Natsu's head. Natsu barely avoided the attack allowing the move to lightly graze his skin as he fell slightly backward. Before he could regain his footing, Naruto used his forward momentum to again close the distance. Getting into his guard, Naruto planted his foot behind Natsu's leg, grabbed his arm, and used his greater body weight to throw Natsu to the ground with enough force to leave cracks in the dirt.

Natsu gasped for air having the wind literally knocked out of his lungs. Getting up to one knee, he tried desperately to catch his breath and gazed at Naruto with one eye shut in a grimace. He was growing frustrated. Very few opponents he had faced fought with as much skill as the new guild member, let alone kept up with him with nothing more than a few physical attacks. Most of his opponents least allowed a little opening for him to showcase his moves, but this Naruto gave none. Growling in frustration as he lifted himself, Natsu clapped his hands together. An almost fluorescent stream of fire began circling wildly around his clasped hands into a sphere. The sphere continued to grow until it was about twice the size of Natsu. Impressed, Naruto cracked a small smirk, reminded of his own oodama rasengan. What he hadn't expected, however, was for Natsu to throw the damn thing.

"Catch!"

Widening his eyes at the sudden attack, Naruto quickly performed a series of shunshin, hopping and flickering back just in time to avoid being engulfed by the explosion of flames. On the sidelines, Cana was the first to speak, "What the hell. Did any of you see him move?"

The others could only shake their heads, unable to form a response. The blond was absurd.

Happy nervously bit his lower lip, "Come on Natsu don't give up!"

Naruto studied the heavily panting Natsu for a moment. He mentally scolded himself for assuming the sphere of fire couldn't be thrown, frustrated that he made such a rookie mistake. Calming himself down, he was reminded just how similar his old self had been to Natsu: loud, strong, and sloppy. As it stood, Naruto had way too many opportunities to deliver a finishing strike. With training and some fine tuning, he could be a serious adversary to deal with. Satisfied with his understanding of his own capabilities and seeing he had Natsu outmatched, he decided to start wrapping the spar up.

Natsu on his knee for the second time looked warily at the blond. He had to ask, "How did you get so strong? I haven't even seen any magic yet besides that blue thing on your arm!"

"Years of training and resolve. Come on, are you out of moves?"

Gritting his teeth, Natsu determinedly stood, preparing for his signature attack. Gathering an immense amount of magical energy, he boldly declared, "Dodge this one! Karyuu no Houko (Fire Dragon's Roar)!"

The jet of fire moved much more quickly than Naruto anticipated, giving him a brief instant to evade, the attack still singing his sleeves. Natsu increased the strength of his magical energy, and blanketed the area in his flames, forcing Naruto onto the outer perimeter. Both surprised and pleased at Natsu's strength, he decided to up the ante. Reaching into his belt pouch, he fished out a kunai with his father's legendary seal, throwing it behind Natsu. He then gathered wind chakra into his palm, forming a significantly weakened rasengan. Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)! Teleporting instantly behind Natsu, he thrust his palm forward, delivering the wind energy directly into Natsu and sending him careening several meters across the field.

That was enough to shock the onlookers. Naruto had practically dismantled Natsu without a scratch using techniques they'd never even seen before. Only the S-class guild members had managed that, which could only mean the blond man was at least on a similar level. At this point, Happy was bawling pitifully and flew over to Natsu. The pink haired teenager slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, still in a pained daze.

"That last move of yours was pretty impressive." Naruto's comment brought Natsu back to reality.

Looking away, Natsu responded dejectedly, "Sure, but I didn't lay a scratch on you."

"True, but I've been training for a long time. Where I come from a mistake could mean your life. Tell you what, anytime you want to train or spar just come see me. I bet you could learn a thing or two."

His frown turning into a smile, Natsu's mood completely turned around, excitement about training replacing his thoughts of defeat. "You're on!"


Naruto found himself at the blacksmith's shop to replace most of the damaged and missing supplies he'd lost before the whole dimensions debacle. In theme with his high speed combat style, he now donned a lightweight armored vest with a brown steel reinforced pauldron. For sentiments sake he kept his tattered and stained dark cloak, giving him the look of a ronin. Fingering his throwing knives, he holstered them in the various discrete locations beneath his cloak. While they weren't kunai, they'd get the job done. He'd even requested a prosthetic arm, though it wouldn't be ready for some time. Finally feeling at ease with his new equipment, he started his trek back to the guild.

A week had passed since his spar with Natsu and things had been turbulent Naruto. The guild members were kind enough, but the endless questions about his fight, skills, and homeland tired him more than he cared to admit. He was thankful that his usual bar company, Mira and Cana, offered him some respite and refrained from prodding about his past. He'd become acquainted with a few others, namely his fellow blond and newcomer, Lucy, and Mirajane's younger brother, Elfman, the latter of whom had developed a sort of obsession with Naruto's apparent manliness. He'd also met the ice mage, Gray, though Naruto was hesitant to call his encounter a meeting and more of an unrequested and unwanted striptease.

Walking through the large double doors of the guild, he was greeted by a few of the members who he casually waved back to. He situated himself next to Lucy at the bar and started on the drink Mirajane passed his way. Turning around to face the floor area, he amusedly watched Natsu and Gray bicker over trivial matters, smiling at how similar their rivalry was to his and Sasuke's. He never quite learned what had happened to his dear friend. During the war, Sasuke embarked on numerous deep infiltration and long term missions, so often so that he rarely reported back to the village unless absolutely necessary. Eventually, however, the reports just stopped entirely after a stint in lightning country. Naruto half suspected and half hoped Sasuke was just being cautious, but if even the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki could be bested so too could the last Uchiha. Shaking his head at his worries, he turned to Lucy, "Are those two always like this?"

She rolled her eyes, "Literally all the time. Although it usually ends once Gray starts stripping."

Mirajane interjected, "Aren't they such good friends? Don't worry though, this won't be for much longer. I heard Erza is coming back anytime now."

The name piqued his interest. Naruto recalled the name as one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages they had to offer. Just then, Fairy Tail's resident flirt, Loke, came running in. He yelled, "Oh crap! Natsu! Gray! Erza's back!"

Naruto received a little confirmation about Erza's strength, as Natsu and Gray both stiffened and shrieked in panic. As if to add to the dramatic response and Naruto's incredulity, a young red haired woman marched into the hall carrying an enormous and elaborate horn. "I'm back," she simply declared. Naruto almost laughed at the excessive nature of Erza's return as the guild members inquired about the horn. This woman was bold and comically stiff, a stark change of pace from the usually chaotic guild. He audibly chuckled at the timeliness of his thoughts, as Erza proceeded to reprimand nearly everyone. Letting out a tired sigh, her expression turned serious towards Natsu and Gray. "I need a favor from you two. While I was away I overhead some disturbing rumors. I need a your help. You'll come with me, right?" Without even waiting for a response, she turned on her heel, "We leave tomorrow. Prepare yourself." Unceremoniously, Erza walked out of the guild, leaving a stunned duo in her wake.

Naruto let out an impressed whistle. "She's a real firebrand, huh?"

Mirajane let out her own surprise, "Erza, Natsu, and Gray… This may be the strongest team in Fairy Tail."

"You can't be serious. That's amazing!" Lucy gasped.

"You know, it'd be great if they form a team but I'm worried since they don't get along that well." Mirajane paused thoughtfully before smiling and gesturing at the two blonds. "I have an idea, why don't you two go along with them to keep the peace?"

Naruto and Lucy shared a glance. Playing mediator huh? Lucy was less than enthused to walk into a hostile situation with a bunch of hotheaded mages. Naruto on the other hand thought differently. This might be a good chance to see this guild in action. Naruto smiled, "Sure."

"Eeeh!? You're actually up for this?" Lucy asked bemusedly.

"Yeah, it's about time I started some jobs for the old man. Besides, how hard can watching after a couple of kids be?"


And that's two full fledged chapters done. Life has been a little hectic lately, so updates may be sparse in the upcoming future. I will be working on this in my free time, though.