Author's Note: Ok, really long chapter warning XD I swear, this chapter just about wrote itself... Which made me very happy X3 Also, I felt the need to let you know that while this takes place towards the beginning of the Naruto series, it also takes place towards the end of the Fairy Tail series... Just thought you should know that, since I may mention things that you haven't yet seen if you haven't gotten far into Fairy Tail :)
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When Erza awoke, she was kind of confused to find herself in a strange living room; a bright path of sunlight streaming in from the opposite window. Once she recalled the previous day, however, she wished she could simply go back to sleep. Unfortunately for her, she actually needed to find a way back to her friends at the guild.
After returning her back-up sword to the dimension where she stored her other requips, Erza quickly put on the ninja clothes that Kakashi had given her, feeling very open to attack once she did. Unlike her armor, the clothes she wore now were simple pieces of fabric with various pieces of netting to hold them together.
Peering into a mirror, she noted its bright red color; the fabric stopping halfway down her abdomen before starting back up as the red skirt. She had black shorts underneath it and a pair of ninja sandals to match, but she couldn't bring herself to appreciate the outfit. Why couldn't she just wear her own clothes?
With a resigned sigh, she put her red hair up into a ponytail before noticing a small slip of paper sitting on the table that was in front of the couch. It was a note saying that Kakashi had taken his students to a training field in the area, and that he had put someone in charge of watching the door who could lead her to the place he was talking about.
Stuffing the note into her pocket, she decided to see if what he said was true and headed for the door. Upon opening it, she was hardly surprised to see a dark haired man standing there, a strange scar formed across his nose.
He looked over from watching the various people in the street to greet her with a grin, "Oh, good morning. Kakashi said you would be up soon. It appears that you're already dressed as well, so I take it you're ready to go?" He asked, his tone cheerful and polite as he looked at her questioningly.
Erza nodded, still looking at the man with a wary expression as she tried to figure out who he was to this village. Seeing her look, he quickly went about explaining himself, "I'm sorry, I'm not used to having to tell people who I am. My names Iruka, I teach the children the skills they need to become Genin, or the lowest tier of ninja."
She nodded, much more satisfied after knowing who he was, and gestured for him to lead the way as she closed the door. "After you."
Iruka nodded with a smile before leading her off, taking her in a direction that she hadn't seen when coming into town. As she watched everything with careful eyes, she noticed that a lot of people seemed to give her strange looks, even with the ninja garb on. She supposed they were a tight-knit community, since they all seemed to know who everyone was.
Holding her head high as she squared her shoulders, she made it a point to show them that she wasn't weakened by this strange place; made sure they knew that she could still destroy this village they called home. It would have been easier done with Natsu there, of course, but all Fairy Tail wizards were relatively talented when it came to destroying things.
In a matter of minutes a small training ground came into Erza's view, a flurry of movement coming from the area. As they neared it, she could see Kakashi standing in the middle of the field as he read a book, two bells dangling from his waist. The apprentices continually tried to take it, but he seemed to deflect them all with ease.
Iruka laughed, grinning at the spectacle as his eyes followed Naruto's half-witted attempts to take the bells, "You'd think they would have learned to work together by this point, it's already been a few months. You can see that they've all gotten relatively stronger, of course, but they still haven't caught on to the basic principle. Not that I expected Naruto to get it anytime soon, but I figured it would have hit the other two." He mused, mostly to himself.
Erza looked over at him with only a little curiosity before turning back towards Kakashi and making her way forwards, "Thank you for leading me here, Iruka." She said with a brief turn of her head before turning back around to focus on the white-haired ninja.
He easily spotted her approach, appreciating her new outfit as he smiled with his eyes, "Ah, you've finally made it. I figured you would. How do you like the clothes?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.
She pursed her lips, watching as the other three stopped to see her arrival. Sakura smiled and waved, greeting her as cheerfully as the day before, "Hi Erza! You should train with us, you look like you could take on Kakashi-sensei." She beamed, and Erza couldn't help but smile in return at the pink ninja.
"You're right, I could probably take Kakashi on in a fight. I'd probably win too. So I think I'll just watch you guys, that way I won't have to embarrass you're teacher." She said with a sly smirk, merely glancing at Kakashi from the corner of her eye.
Naruto laughed, clutching his stomach as he did, "I like this lady! I kinda wanna see what her fight now." He grinned, looking at her hopefully. Sasuke remained quiet through this exchange, but she could see that even his interest was piqued.
Kakashi walked over, looking almost as if he was pouting beneath his mask as he stopped a little ways away, "Even though you just met me, you think you can beat me? That was your first mistake." He said with what seemed like a smirk, gesturing to the bells tied at his waist. "If you can take one of these bells from me, I'll admit that you're stronger." He offered, looking at her with a confident expression.
She shrugged, approaching him by a few feet before stopping, "I could easily take both, but I suppose I could settle for one." As she spoke, her hand began to shine with light as a thin blade appeared in her hand, the make similar to a samurai's sword.
Without even waiting for a signal to start, Erza rushed Kakashi with her blade raised; feigning to the right before slicing towards the bells. He leaped out of the way quickly; with a speed she couldn't believe, causing her to narrow her eyes at him. So what if he was quick? She could be quicker.
Her body began to shine with the same light as her armor requipped, and a new outfit graced her features. Cheetah print was the first thing you could see, and as the light disappeared you could make out the ears on her head and the strange blades in her hands.
Kakashi looked shocked, his mind obviously trying to figure out how she did it as he barely dodged her next attack, rubble flying everywhere as her swords hit the ground. "Careful! I thought you were trying to get the bells?!" he inquired, a bead of sweat running down his forehead as his eyes widened.
Erza smirked at his reaction, "I win by whatever means necessary." She assured him, rushing him once again as she managed to make a tiny cut on the leg where the bells were located, the white haired ninja narrowing his eyes at her.
"Alright then, I can see that I'm going to have to use this." He sighed, pulling up his headband to reveal his other eye, completely closed. As Erza's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she almost gasped when it opened to reveal an entirely red iris staring back at her, the scar making it look even more menacing.
"What is the meaning of this?!" She demanded, instantly closing her real eye as she watched him, afraid he had a power similar to the Thunder God Tribes.
Kakashi smiled, though he did seem a bit confused as to why she only closed one of her eyes, "This is called a sharingan, it allows me to sense your chakra, see everyone movement almost before you make it, and generally allows me to copy techniques. Though, I can see that what you do is not something that can be copied."
As she grimaced at this news, Erza could tell her had left something out as he gazed directly at her open eye, almost expectantly. Smiling to herself as she suspected he was trying to use some kind of eye magic, she nearly laughed at his attempts, "Whatever you're trying isn't going to work." She smirked, pointing to her open eye. "This eye is a fake, just to let you know."
Kakashi seemed to curse as he continued to watch her, anticipating when she would attack. Not moving her eye, out of nowhere she leaped at him, aiming for the bells with her swords again only to find the spot empty when she reached it. A noise sounded behind her and she only had a second to look behind her before a foot slammed into her back, sending her flying.
Groaning quietly, she quickly forced herself to stand up, grimacing at him. "Lucky hit." She muttered, wincing at the pain her back as she requipped into her usual set of armor, her usual sword in hand. As she tried to figure out her next move, she saw Kakashi begin to make a series of hand signs as he looked at her, stopping after only a few minutes.
"Fire Style-Fireball Jutsu!" He yelled, placing his hand at his mouth before blowing through them, a blast of fire coming towards her.
Shielding herself with her arms as she quickly moved to requip, the flames surrounded her, earning a gasp from the students who had been watching, completely awe-struck at the battle.
Straightening up, Kakashi was almost worried as he looked at the fire, silently hoping that she had managed to dodge. Had she used chakra at all, he could've seen her in the fire. Unfortunately, whatever she did didn't involve chakra at all, from what he could see.
All of a sudden, a noise came from the fire as Erza burst out, instantly swiping for the bells with her blood red sword; large wings attached to the gold, red, and black colored armor. Had he been prepared, he could have easily dodged the attack she made. Too bad he wasn't, and just as he was moving he saw a single bell drop from his waist as he moved away, the object falling into Erza's hand as she smiled at him, both eyes finally opening.
"I think I win." She boasted, holding it high as she looked at him with a smirk. "You did say I only had to get one, remember?"
Kakashi frowned at her, panting as he stared glumly at the bell in her hands, "Yes…" he sighed, ignoring the shouts of adulation that came from the apprentices.
"Wow, Erza! That was incredible! I've never seen anyone fight like you!" Sakura gushed, hands clasped together as she smiled up at the wizard.
Naruto was gaping at her, inspecting the armor as he did, "How did you even do that?! You have to teach me! If I could change clothes at will, there's no way they wouldn't let me be Hokage!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes as he peered up at Erza, obviously trying to figure it out himself, "Shut up, idiot. You're pretty good though, I have to admit. For an outsider, that is." He said before looking away, a shocked expression settled on Sakura's face as she peered between the two of them. Obviously, Sasuke didn't give praise very often.
Changing back into the ninja garb she had worn when she first arrived, she glanced over at Kakashi before tossing him the bell. "You were a good opponent. I haven't face many who are as skilled in battle as you are." She complimented, and she noticed a glint of what seemed to be admiratioin as he nodded in return.
"Same here. We should fight together again sometime, though next time we should probably try not destroying the surrounding areas." He added, glancing around at the grass that was still on fire and the random breaks in the ground.
Erza blinked as she also assessed the damage, looking relatively surprised, "That's all we destroyed? I'd say that's pretty good." She said with a small laugh, "Usually we destroy whole cities." She added with a giggle, smiling up at Kakashi as she silently thanked him. This was the first time she had managed to feel happy in this strange place.
He nodded in response, smiling back as he covered his eye once more. She almost wished he wouldn't, but quietly resigned herself to the mask of mystery he wore.
Naruto piped up, grinning as he spoke, "We should go get ramen as a celebratory meal! Kakashi-sensei's treat since he's the one who lost!" He cheered, and Erza grinned at him.
"Sounds good to me." She responded, chuckling at his excited response to her agreement.
A little way's off, settled high into the leaves of a tall tree, sat an amused face as he watched the exchange. "Well, would you look at that." The man spoke, a grin spreading across his face as he zeroed in on Erza.