I finally finished writing the third chapter after all the things I had to do this week (school, basketball, etc.) So anyway, a bit of Naruto x Erza moments in this chapter. Don't worry. You'll see a lot more of those moments in chapters to come ;) Well, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and let's see what happens then. Note(s): The dark guild, Shadow Claw, is just made up so it's not an actual guild. Characters POV might change from time to time
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail
`tsuginomai
Naruto watched in astonishment when a blue cat that came from somewhere in the building started flying around in the air in circles. "A-A neko? What's a neko doing here? And the neko can fly?"
"He has a name you know," Natsu revealed.
"A name?... Then what's his name?..." The blue neko flew up to Naruto.
"Aye! I'm Happy!"
T-The neko can talk as well?
"Um... y-yeah. I see that you're happy, but that's not what I was asking so I'll just ask again. What's your name?"
"I'm Happy!"
Naruto face palmed, "Yes, I know you're Happy, but that's not what I'm asking. Again, I'm asking what your name is."
"His name is Happy for crying out loud," Natsu confirmed.
"Ohhh," Naruto sweatdropped, "So your name is Happy?"
"Good grief, you guys. What are you two doing? " Erza complained. She was already standing near the door of the guild with what Naruto guessed was all her belongings that she was going to bring along on the mission. It looked like she was bringing A LOT of things. She was pulling a whole wagon full of items. Gray and Lucy were also waiting besides the door.
"What? You guys were already set? Why didn't you say anything to me?" Natsu inquired.
"You should have figured to pack beforehand when Erza mentioned how we're going on a mission, idiot," Gray said.
In a dash, Natsu rushed out the guild to go to his home and get the stuff he needed for the mission, with Happy following right behind him. After Natsu ran out, Naruto approached over to where the others were so it wouldn't feel awkward for him standing in the middle of the guild by himself. When he came over, he noticed how Lucy was focusing her gaze at him. He looked back at her.
"Y-Yes?"
"Naruto, aren't you going to bring anything for the mission?" she asked him, "Because it seems like you're not carrying anything with you."
"Of course I'm bringing some items along on the mission. It's just that I already had them with me so there was no need for me to go out and get anything," he replied, hitting the ninja pocket that was on his behind with his hand to point out all of his necessary items was in that pocket.
Lucy's eyes widened in admiration, "You're carrying everything in that pouch? Amazing," After not very long of remaining inside the guild, Natsu finally came dashing back, carrying the stuff he wanted to bring at hand.
"I'm back! I'm back! We can head out to our mission now!" Natsu shouted.
"Alright." Erza took a good look at everyone before continuing. "It looks like everyone is set. Let's go."
"Aye!" After the whole group opened the doors and left the building, the whole guild all of a sudden began to quiet down in noise level.
"I wonder why Natsu and the others invited that blonde-haired boy to come along on their mission with them," a girl with white-colored hair wonder.
"I'm guessing it's because Wendy and Charle are not here and are off on a different mission. Usually those two are the ones who come along on their missions. They probably just wanted to invite someone else to come along to replace those two's positions."
"I don't think that's the case," the white-haired girl considered, "But master, I'm not really sure if the blonde-haired boy can be trustworthy. I mean, he doesn't look like a bad person. He actually looks like a very nice person indeed. Seems like it as well. But you know, it's not the looks that matter, but what's on the inside. The things he said earlier could've been true or could've not been true. We don't know."
"I can see what you're saying. So what you're saying is that you're worried about what might happen to Natsu and the others? Hmm… well if that's the case, we're just going to have find out who that boy truly is then. Perhaps we just might have to wait to see what happens after Natsu and the others complete their mission," The old man thought for a moment, "...Or actually, why don't we find out during the mission?" The old man looked directly at the girl. "I want you to find someone in the guild who's not busy with anything and would go follow Natsu and the rest. We need to find out who that boy really is right away."
~x~
"Ughhh. Are we there yet?" Natsu complained, beginning to feel nauseous. The group was riding inside a carriage heading in the direction of where the guild was at. It would have taken them a very long time to get there by foot since the location of the guild was somewhere near the guild, Cait Shelter, was at.
"No, we're not there yet," Gray returned.
"Ughhh. When will this end...!"
"Natsu, you have car sickness?" Naruto asked.
"Not just car sickness. He gets sick if he's on any mode of transportation," Lucy answered for him.
"Eh, really? That must suck for you."
"Yes... it does suck for me..." Natsu repeated, feeling like he was about to throw up any minute now.
After the carriage finally reached their destination, the five got out of the carriage, thanking the driver before they did. When they stepped out, Naruto noticed how the surrounding area they were in was vast. There was nothing but dry wasteland everywhere. There were still some piles of dirt on the ground but that was pretty much it. Not even a single building in sight. The air was slightly thin so it was becoming hard for Naruto to even breathe. Are we even in the right place? Naruto thought as he continued to looked around. When he was done, he faced towards everyone to see what their reactions were about the area. No one even seemed to even care about how they landed in the middle of nowhere so Naruto decided to ignore it.
"Yes! We finally made it!" Natsu exclaimed, taking a few steps on the ground before he fell face down on the ground, exhausted on how sick he got on the road trip.
"Natsu, are you alright?" Happy flew over to him.
"Yeah... I'm alright. Thanks buddy..."
"Do you need any help?" Naruto asked, strolling over to where Natsu fell after he noticed how he fell face down on the ground. He extended a hand out for Natsu to grab.
"No thanks. I can get up own my own," Natsu replied, quickly shooting up from the ground, "Thanks for the offer though!" Natsu's body began to shake a bit after that.
...Well alright...
"You two, stop goofing around and come over here," Erza called out, a bit pissed off at how Natsu and Naruto were always doing something else. A chill ran through Naruto's spine when Erza called out to the two of them. Erza kind of reminds me of Sakura. She's the kind of person you wouldn't want to disobey orders to. But that's actually what makes her very interesting...
"Sorry for all the trouble, Erza," Naruto apologized after he quickly went over to where Erza and the others were waiting.
"So Erza, you never told us exactly what we're suppose to do for this mission," Gray mentioned, "Care to explain?"
"Right. Our mission… is to invade, retrieve, and retreat," Erza explained.
"Excuse me?..."
Erza gave a doubtful look at Gray. "You don't know what invade, retrieve, and retreat means? I guess I have to explain in detail then," Erza cleared her throat, "Invade. We are going to invade the guild that is currently known to be the strongest dark guild in all of Fiore, Shadow Claw."
Shadow Claw? Dark Guild? Naruto thought, listening to their conversation while wondering what Erza were even talking about.
"Retrieve. Retrieve a very valuable item that one of their members has stolen. The item belongs to the client of this mission. He says the item is absolutely valuable to him so we must get it back and return it to the owner once we do. Retreat. Once we have the item in our possession, we automatically retreat from the guild."
"Why in the world do we have to retreat? We can just kick all their asses... every single one of them. Right Gray?" Natsu nudged Gray on the arm.
"Heh," Gray just laughed, "But Natsu's right Erza. Why don't we just stay there and fight them all?"
"No. It would be best if we retreat. We just shouldn't associate with that Guild."
"Then why are we doing a mission that involves barging into a guild you don't want to associate with? I don't get it..." Naruto mumbled.
Hearing what Naruto said, Erza glances towards him, "They're guild contains some of the strongest, powerful wizards in all of Fiore… but at the same time, the most dangerous. Some of the wizards in that guild use magic that's not really commonly known amongst wizards. That's why I think it would be best to not deal with them. "
"I see. I guess that makes sense," Lucy said.
"Even so, can't we just take them head on? I'm up for the challenge," Natsu made a fist and pounded it against his other hand.
"It's not as easy as it sounds," Erza told Natsu.
After they were all done discussing, the group looked at a map and decided which trail they should follow that would lead them to dark guild. After they figured that out, they followed the trail that was paved on the ground. While they were at it, Naruto looked around. There were still no sight of any buildings.
"I guess I should point this out now since no one seemed to care about it before but... where exactly are we? From what it seems, we're like in the middle in nowhere," Naruto mentioned.
"We're in an area of where the guild, Cait Shelter, used to be located. After the guild disappeared, the land surrounding it turned to a dry deserted area. The guild is located in this area because it's somewhat located farther away from the main city since it's a dark guild," Erza explained, "The location of this guild was already known, it's just no one wanted to take even one step in this area." Later, after what it seemed like hours of heading in the same direction, the guild was still nowhere to be in sight.
"Mannn are we there yet?" Natsu complained.
"No, not yet. We still have a long way to go," Erza said.
"What are you complaining about Natsu? We've been on longer walking trips before so this shouldn't even be a problem," Lucy said.
"...It's just that I'm really hungry," Natsu confessed.
"Me too," Happy confessed as well.
This probably would've been a much faster journey if we jumped on trees. Problem is, there isn't even a single tree and there probably would never be. Plus, I don't even know if these guys are ninjas. PLUS, if they aren't ninjas, I can't let any of them know that I'm a ninja, Naruto thought, I wonder what kind of people are they though. Are they samurai? No, they can't be. None of them seem to be carrying any swords with them. Ninjas? ...If they were ninjas, I would've known. Seriously, who are these people?...
"What might you be thinking about?" Erza asked when she perceived how Naruto looked as if he was thinking hard about something.
"Oh... uh, nothing. I wasn't thinking about anything. Just gazing over there that's all," he replied, pointing his finger to who knows where.
"Well, I just wanted to say sorry. You really didn't have to come along on the mission with us."
"Why are you saying sorry? I did say that I would like to come along on this mission with you guys so there's no need for you to feel sorry," he replied.
"Well, I'm not sure if this is your first time going on a mission... but if it is, it must be hard for you to bear with all this. I can understand why you would feel that way..."
"Again, there is no need to apologize. To tell you the truth, I'm actually glad you invited me along on this mission."
When Naruto saw how Erza gave a small smile at him in reply, he couldn't help but give a small smile back. After what it seemed like even more hours of traveling through the vast wasteland, the group finally reached a bright colored, sort of tall-looking building. The building looked like it was still newly built. When all of them saw how the building didn't have a name on the front, some were confused if this was the dark guild they've been looking for.
"Yes, we're here!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as well.
"No, this is not the guild," Erza said, "This is just a motel."
"What?"
"A motel? How do you know it's a motel? ...And in the middle of nowhere?" Gray wondered.
"Someone told me that there would be a motel along the way if you follow the path that leads you to the dark guild so I was hoping we can stop by it. I guess this must be it. And yes."
"...What exactly are we doing here then? Did you bring us here for a reason?"
Erza just nodded.
"What other reason is there for leading us to a motel. Don't tell me..."
"Yup. All of us are going to stay here for the night," Erza advised, "It will take another few hours for us to reach the dark guild. If we continue traveling, the sun will go down and there's no way we're completing our mission during the night. For now, we should just go rest up here then continue with our mission tomorrow."
"Sounds good to me. I don't mind resting up a bit," Lucy said. The group then headed inside the motel. After checking in, the boys and the girls got separate rooms on the upstairs floor. When Natsu, Gray, and Naruto walked into their room, Naruto saw how the room was very tidy and it looked like no one has even used it before. He also noticed how there were only two beds available.
"I call this bed!" Natsu announced, jumping over to the bed that was farther away from where they were standing.
"Well okay. Hey Naruto, would you like to have the other bed? I don't mind sleeping on the floor," Gray offered.
"Nah, it's alright. I'll just sleep on the floor. You can sleep on the bed," Naruto declined, leaving the motel room afterwards.
"What was that about?" Gray wondered.
"I don't know. All I know is -yawn- I should get some rest," Natsu told him, falling asleep on the bed afterwards.
"Goodnight Natsu," Happy said as he watched Natsu fall asleep. He ended up falling asleep right beside him after that.
"I don't get it. Didn't you say you were hungry before?..."
~x~
Naruto went to one side of the hallway then leaned himself against the wall. The hallway was really big so it felt there was a lot of empty space around him. I wonder when we're going to start the mission. I almost forgot about the reason why I came along on this mission with them. I need to head back to Konoha as soon as possible...
"What are you doing out here by yourself?" Erza asked. Naruto didn't even notice her come out from her room and stand by next to him.
"Nothing really. Just hanging out in the hallway. ...Ummm, when exactly are we going to do our mission?"
"Impatient one are you?" she joked. She leaned herself against the wall next to Naruto. "We'll head out on our mission soon. So, is this your first time going on a mission?"
Naruto thought for a moment before he replied, "No, this isn't. I've been on a mission once before but that's pretty much it."
"I see." There was a long moment of silence before someone spoke up again.
"So I believe I've asked this before but I don't think you answered. What guild are you from?"
Think... what should I say? I can't expose who I am. "Guild? Well you see... I'm from a guild... that's very far away from where your guild is. Yup," he nodded. Phew...
"Okay... What kind of magic do you use?"
"M-Magic?" Magic? Before Naruto could even reply, a loud banging came from the boy's room. Surprised, Erza jumped, wrapping her arms around one of Naruto's arm. Realizing what just happened, Naruto began to chuckle. "Heh. Don't tell me you were afraid of that loud noise."
"N-No. I-I was just startled that's all," she stammered. Naruto couldn't help but blush a bit at how Erza was still clinging onto his arm even after the noise was completely gone. Finally noticing, Erza let go of him. "S-Sorry about that," she dusted off her skirt, "I think it would be best if you go and check what happened in the room." Just nodding, Naruto left Erza in the hallway and went back inside the boy's room. When he stepped back in, he saw Gray on the other side of the bed that was claimed by Natsu, looking like he was trying to pull something or someone up from the ground.
"Thanks goodness. Naruto, help me bring Natsu back up," Gray asked as he continued to struggle to pull Natsu back up.
"Natsu fell off the bed? Was that the cause of the loud banging noise came from this room?"
"Heh, yeah."
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. I can't believe someone like Erza got scared about something like that.
~x~
The day after yesterday finally arrived which meant that it was time for the group to head out and oficially start their mission. After gathering all their belongings and checking out of the motel, the group waited in front of the doors of the motel. The only person they were still waiting for to come out was Erza.
"So today's the day we finally start on our mission," Lucy stated.
"Why does it feel like there's a big bump on my head?" Natsu questioned, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.
"...Because you sleep like an idiot," Gray answered, "You fell off the bed last night. It took both me and Naruto to help bring you back up."
"Really? Ahhh... No wonder in my dream, I began falling into a deep hole and..."
"Are you all ready for the mission?" Erza intervened when she came out the door of the motel and went over to where the group was. No one even noticed her approaching. Everyone just nodded. She then met eyes with Naruto. "How about you? Are you ready?"
Naruto nodded, "Of course I'm ready! You?" Erza just smiled and nodded back.
"Well alright. Seems like everyone's ready to go. Let's head out." After that, the group finally left and set off back in the direction to where the dark guild was at. They still followed the same trail that they followed yesterday. A few hours of traveling passed and they finally reached a tall, very dark-colored looking building. The guild really stood out since it was in the middle of an area where there was only dirt, sand, and dry plants everywhere. But not just that. The name 'Shadow Claw' was written on the front of the guild with a scary looking font. You can sense the aura that was coming from the building was very frightening. It seemed like this building was the only spot in the desert that was surrounded by dark shadows. At first sight, you can say the place seemed purely terrifying... but we really can't say that unless we see what the inside of the building looks like.
"We're here..." Naruto uttered to himself when the whole group stopped in front of the guild. Now let's see what's going to happen now...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter (Like I always say) :c Continue to stay tuned to see what happens next for Team Natsu and Naruto. For now, adios!
`tsuginomai