Even in his short time in Fiore Naruto heard of the famous Phantom Lord guild. They were said to have been the most powerful guild in the country for years until a recent influx of powerful members joined Fairy Tail and skyrocketed them into the spot light. Weren't they an official guild?
When he shared his thoughts with the guilds cover girl she replied, "Tensions between the two guilds have been pretty high with us both contending for the top spot. Still, this attack is borderline Dark activity… I'm not sure what the council will do." In afterthought she mentioned, "Oh, your man slave is sneaking away."
"Its not like that!" The blond shinobi shouted, veins bulging in his forehead. His free hand gripped a piece of rubble from the destruction and sent it flying into the back of the Puppet Master's head. The man collapsed in a heap of limbs as a large lump rapidly erupted through the side of his top hat. Grumbling, Naruto brought his fingers into the cross sign and willed a copy of himself into existence, "Take that trash inside and wait for me while I get Master Makarov. Don't let him slip away."
The clone stood straight as a board and brought his hand up in a mock salute, "Right away boss!"
As the pair walked through a cleared path that twined around a few of the metallic posts Naruto couldn't help but compare the damage to Konoha. Images flashed within his mind as a painful reminder of what he had lost. He couldn't help but wonder what Sakura would think of him now. He missed her… he missed his friends who had passed. Never again.
"Naru-kun? Is everything alright?"
The gentle voice interrupted his thoughts as he shook his head and cleared his mind. There will be time to mourn later, he thought again, glancing down at the white haired girl and forcing a smile on his face. "Just surprised."
She smiled back at him, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. He could tell she didn't buy it, the questioning gaze still dominant in her eyes, but she took the hint and started walking again with him in tow. When did we stop?
They took the flight of stairs which were mostly intact down to the basement area where the rest of his guild members sat around a mass of round wooden tables in silence. His keen eye gazed around the room at the somber group of people. The usually rowdy bunch were staring into their mostly full mugs with pained expressions on their faces. He finally leveled his view to the guild master… and proceeded to sweat drop.
The pervy old man was currently spanking Lucy while lecturing Natsu and Gray. The poor blond girl had a look of indignation plastered across her face. Over the years Naruto grew to appreciate the female physique more and more, but that dude was like ninety. Gross!
He followed Mirajane's steps to the group at the end of the room before finally being brought to a halt in front of the Guild Master. "Ohayo!"
"Naruto-san! Welcome back. I hope your mission went well?" Makarov exclaimed, his eyes brimming with a look of pride.
The gaze itself was enough to bring a soft smile to his face. "Yeah. Had a run-in with a guy who said he was from some weird guild called Tartaros though."
Beer from roughly every table within spitting reach of him shot out and drenched the blond as the members gasped. "Tartaros you say? I'm glad my faith in you wasn't unfounded Naruto-san, Tartaros is a nasty bunch. That's the only Dark Guild that we have no information on at all. Their members tent to cut out any loose ends once they finish a job."
"He mentioned something about that, and a Balam Alliance as well. I figured you wanted to talk to him so I brought him with me. He's upstairs with my clone," the shinobi mentioned nonchalantly as he helped himself to a mug of ale from the tap behind Makarov.
"Impressive Naruto-san," the old man complimented as he emptied his cup and passed it over his head for Naruto to refill.
Naruto took the mug, filling it with the dark brown ale and passing it back. "It was nothing. The guy liked to talk more then he liked to fight. So what's going on? I get back and the guild is in shambles. Everyone seems to be down in the dumps except for you."
"None of my children were harmed in this attack," he stated with a grandfatherly expression on his face, "buildings can be rebuilt, all that matters is the safety of the members. Their cheap tactics of attacking the building in the middle of the night while no one else is around will only be seen as cowardice. Jose Porla was a fool to attack like this."
"Jose Porla?" Naruto questioned.
"The Guild Master of Phantom Lord. He's also one of the Ten Wizard Saints like me." When he looked into Naruto's eyes and saw no recognition he sighed, "The Ten Wizard Saints are chosen by the council as the top ten wizards in all of Fiore. Anyways, he has always been jealous of Fairy Tail ever since we began our rise to fame. Our fight at one of the Guild Masters meetings didn't help either," the diminutive man said grinning.
"You got in a fight at a meeting?" Naruto asked, enraptured in the story.
"It was after everything we needed to discuss was discussed and we got to drinking. We were all bragging about our members when Jose began to bad mouth Fairy Tail. So naturally I had to hit him mouth."
Naruto chuckled and the same warmth he had felt from old man Sarutobi whenever he spoke about Konoha. The blond shinobi could tell Makarov truly loved his guild. "Did you win?" he asked.
"Win?" he exclaimed, "I kicked his ass so bad that he hasn't shown up for another guild masters meeting in years!"
Naruto laughed with him and downed the rest of his mug and felt the warmth radiate over him. Gah, he thought, all those years of Kyuubi burning off anything deemed poisonous prevented me from building a tolerance to this stuff. One mug in and I'm already kind of buzzed.
"Anywho Naruto-san, show me this Tartaros member you brought," Makarov said, hopping off of the bar counter without any hint of old age showing in his movements.
"Yes Master," he complied, and led the small mage upstairs.
They found the clone and captive in a storeroom connected to the main hall. The Naruto clone was sitting on the small of the Puppet Master's back with its feet propped up on a mound of broken lumber with a magazine called The Weekly Sorcerer in his hands. He peered up from the magazine as the two strode into the room, "Yo boss,"
Naruto waved before dispelling the clone in a small blast of smoke. Huh, I made the paper.
He picked up the fallen magazine and flipped it to the small article towards the back as Makarov began prodding the unconscious mage with his foot and began to read.
Fairy Tail's Newest Member
Makarov Dreyar must be doing something right with his guild, because they just keep getting stronger and stronger. Eye witness reports state that a member of the famous (or infamous) guild known for its appetite for destruction took part in a dangerous rank swap mission alone.
"When we first sent out the request we had believed the mission to be something a regular team of mages could handle and had it classified as a B-rank. We obtained additional information and sent a notice for the rank to be changed to S-Class, but at that point the man had already accepted and traveled to us," Dan Fujiko, president of Fujiko Trading Company stated.
When informed of this change apparently this man smiled and was quoted saying, "Don't worry about it."
Stanley, one of the gate guards of the encampment commented on his magic, "He could create copies of himself and move faster then my eyes could see. He took the battle deeper into the woods so we couldn't see anything else. He came back though without a scratch on him and an unconscious man slung over his shoulders that he wouldn't let anyone near."
Its obvious Fairy Tail has gained a powerful new mage, but where did he come from? What kind of person is he?
Who is this Naruto Namikaze?
By Cameron Fitz
He chuckled at the article, It seems Fujiko wrote the paper about me.
A grunt pulled his attention away from the magazine as the Puppet Master groggily woke up from his forced nap. Naruto watched in awe as golden runes stretched across the room covering every wall.
"Ugh… Wha-where am I?" the ebony skinned man forced out, attempting to cradle his injured head with his bound hands.
"You're at Fairy Tail," came the short reply from the Guild Master.
The Puppet Master groaned, and pushed himself to a seated position, "I'm guessing this is an interrogation then?"
"Your assumption is correct. Are you a member of Tartaros?" Makarov questioned, the firm expression never leaving his face.
"Yes," came the forced reply, "W-what the hell kind of runes are these?"
"Its called the Ward of Truth. Within the boundaries only the truth may be spoken."
Naruto gazed at the strange symbols coating the walls with a new found respect. Our Torture and Interrogation Department would shit a brick to get their hands on something like this
"How many members does Tartaros have?" The master questioned once more.
Naruto could see veins bulging in the Puppet Master's neck as he fought to resist the technique. He bit his lip, causing a light stream of blood to drip down his chin into the well maintained goatee before finally grounding out, "E-Eighty-seven."
"Where are you located?"
The man struggled even more. His entire body was shaking as he grit his teeth. Naruto looked down at the suitcase that contained his reward from Fujiko-san along with a few bobbles and trinkets he had picked up and saw it vibrating on the ground.
"C-cro-cus," he moaned out painfully.
"Who is your Guild Master?" Makarov fired back.
"Ungh…" the Puppet Master grunted before the suitcase flung open. Naruto watched in horror as the crystal ball lit up in a bright red light before releasing a second later. A thin vicious red beam struck the Puppet Master between his eyes and caused him to let out an unearthly scream. He thrashed violently as both the shinobi and esteemed guild master stood by helplessly and frozen in shock. Blood poured from the orifices on his face before the beam finally vanished just as quickly as it had struck.
When the smoke finally cleared around the captive they looked at his smoking remains in pity. His face was twisted in a scream of pain as blood streaked his body. The spot that the beam had struck left an inch wide hole that was charred along the edges. Naruto had to turn his head away. The smell of burning flesh was overpowering.
Makarov leaned down and closed the dead man's eyes with his right hand before mumbling, "Pity…" He looked up to Naruto with a face full of grief, "Seeing a man die is never easy, as specially when its as brutal with this. I'm sorry you had to witness it."
Naruto waved off his concern with a shaky hand, "No one could have expected this to happen. At least we now know what to expect with them though." He closed his eyes and composed himself before walking out of the room with Makarov, "Where is Crocus?"
"Crocus is the capital of Fiore, where the King rules over the land. Its curious that they would establish a base of operations there with so many rune knights and the kings own personal mages protecting the city," the old man stated as his fingers rubbed his chin. He brought his hands to one of the runes on the walls and flared his magic causing the ones surrounding them to shatter. "The runes also doubled by keeping the room silent, so no one in the guild should have heard the screams. I would advice washing up before going back down to the basement however, if only to avoid Natsu's nose and pestering questions. There is a bathroom in the guest wing that is still semi-operable. The only problem with it is that the pipe in the shower was damaged making it to where we couldn't shut it off."
"Yes Master," Naruto said wearily, his own enhanced smelling desperately making him want to leave the room.
He followed the directions into the half flooded room and shrugged his clothes off, his hand lightly tracing along the guild emblem stamped on his sternum. While no one else in this dimension might have known what it meant for him to take it, he did. Missing nin… It was a term used to describe a ninja who betrayed or abandoned their village. While the decision was an impulsive one, he knew deep down in his heart that he made the right choice. Konoha was gone. Those who accepted him for who he was… Not as the Hero who defeated Pein, not as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, but as Naruto… They were gone. They died to protect him.
With the death of the last Uchiha and Naruto's disappearance from the world the Bloodline of the Sage of the Six Paths was ended. No one else would be able to chain the tailed beasts to their wills. Those that remained would stay trapped within the statue that Akatsuki sealed them in, and when Kirabi died Naruto didn't sense the energy of the tailed beast leaving its hosts body so he assumed that the Hachibi passed on as well.
Because of his fathers seal he knew the Kyuubi would never threaten the lands again. When he split the beasts chakra in two during the original sealing process he removed the Yin chakra and sealed it within himself. The Kyuubi would be unable to sustain any semblance of form without it.
He kept telling himself these facts were the reason he wasn't searching for a way back, that him returning would only make problems worse… but deep in his heart he knew the truth. It was because he was selfish… because he was tired.
For eighteen years Naruto dealt with the stigma of being a demon host. He smiled through the tears of loneliness and neglect. He forced his way through when everyone else either sabotaged him or told him he would fail. He fought tooth and nail for just to be recognized as a person instead of a monster. In the end, all of the effort was for naught. He wasn't Naruto to the world. He was still the host of the Kyuubi. It didn't matter whether he was strong enough to take down Pein, who held the legendary Rinnegan. All that mattered was what he held in his gut.
Fairy Tail was a chance to start fresh. A chance to make a name for himself and be respected as a person for his own strengths and his own abilities. It was a place where he could end the loneliness that threatened to devour him.
He smiled as he felt the warm water run down his neck… It was a place he could call home.
Naruto shook his still damp hair like a dog as he walked down the steps to the basement level with a peaceful look on his face. He looked at the large number of mages still sitting at the tables talking lowly to each other and smiled. This is my new family now.
Nearly every member was crowded into the ground level with the exception of a small few. It was hot and humid, but it didn't deter anyone. They were all willing to forgo a small bit of comfort to be there for those who had become their closest friends, brothers and sisters in all but blood.
Naruto strode up to the bar where Makarov and Erza were quietly talking, "Ohayo!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
"Naruto-san! You seem refreshed," the guild master stated as he finished the last drop of his mug, a cherry flush coloring his cheeks, "Sit down and have a drink! Mira-chan, Naruto-sans round is on me!"
"Naruto-san," Erza nodded respectfully.
Naruto graciously accepted the ice cold draft from the beautiful bartender and slid comfortably onto the stool next to the two powerful mages. "Y'all look serious. What's the topic?"
"Phantom Lord," Erza stated with a grim expression on her face, "They wouldn't just attack our guild hall for no reason. There will be a follow up attack."
"Erza-chan, don't be absurd. Jose is many things, but even he isn't that dumb. Since none of our members were attacked, the most that will happen to Phantom Lord is a hefty fine from the council, but if they begin assaulting our members then they run the risk of being ordered to disband," Makarov answered.
Naruto closed his eyes in thought before replying to the two, "Master, I agree with Erza. An attack like this wasn't just a spur of the moment decision. Its not worth the risk if this was all there was to it. This first attack was bait. We should be prepared for the worst when he realizes it didn't work."
Makarov hopped down from the high stool and down to the floor, stumbling slightly at the dismount. "I guess a bit of preparation couldn't hurt. Enforce a buddy system. Make sure none of our members leaves this room tonight without at least one other person with them. Safety in numbers, eh?"
"Very well Master, are you leaving?" Erza asked.
"Yes, Erza-chan. You and Naruto-san seem to have everything in order here. If you need me just use the lacrima to communicate with me. I had it brought down and put in the storeroom behind the bar," the old man said as he walked out of the room.
Erza stood up as Makarov left the room, "Everyone listen up! Effective immediately all members will be required to stick with one or more other guild members when you leave this hall. This includes sleeping arrangements. If you have a team, just pick whichever one has the biggest places. Those of you who don't have teams talk to other members. Someone will be happy to take you in until everything calms down."
If Naruto hadn't been already introduced to the level of crazy this guild offered, he would have been shocked instead of amused when a massive brawl broke out on who would stay with who even with current events.
Erza looked over at him with a questioning look, "Naruto-san, where will you be staying?"
Before he had the chance to answer, Mirajane leaned over the counter between the two, "He's going to stay with me and Elfman! We have a spare room that he can use."
"It will be such a manly occasion Naruto-san!" came a yell from the other side of the room where Elfman was standing with one leg propped on a chair and a balled fist raised high above his head.
"Its settled then!" the ivory girl said, her smile infectious and her eyes closed in glee.
"I-uh-okay?" came the reply from Naruto, still reeling from the blind side.
"It's the least I can do to repay you for helping me that one day," she said, looking down slightly in embarrassment.
"Thank you, but I was just doing what anyone else would have done." Naruto said.
"Naruto, I'm still not exactly sure where you're from but there aren't that many people in Fiore willing to risk their lives for someone they had never met before," Mirajane said honestly, placing a hand on Naruto's forearm.
"Mira-chan, you've already bought me an entire set of clothes. Honestly just seeing you safe and happy is a reward enough for me," he said, itching the back of his neck. It was rare when he was praised for anything and it still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Well, then with you staying with us you can help Elfman protect me!" Mira exclaimed with a victorious grin on his face.
"Ha, I guess I walked in to that one," he said chuckling. He looked into her big blue eyes and found that the last thing he could ever do was say no to them, "Fine, fine. I'll stay with you two tonight."
Mirajane winked at him and beamed, "I knew you'd come around Naru-kun. We usually leave after everyone else does. Elfman helps me clean the bar up when we close up everything. Get out there and mingle with your guild mates though, I'm sure they're all wanting to know more about you after making the Weekly Sorcerer while only being in a guild for two weeks," she said, nudging him out of his safety net and into the crowd.
Naruto took a chug of his drink before walking over to a table where Macao and Wakaba sat, "Hey guys, is this seat taken?"
Macao gestured to one of the chairs with his free hand while Wakaba lifted his feet off and slid it out towards him, "Sure, have a seat Naruto."
"Thanks Macao-san, Wakaba-san," he said as he sat down in the offered seat.
"Drop the formalities Naruto, we're guild mates. That makes you family. Its Macao and Wakaba," the blue haired man stated with a wave.
"Thanks guys," Naruto said with a grin, relaxing a bit into his seat.
"Don't mention it. So we hear you pulled off one hell of a job down south. B-Class turned S and completed solo is pretty damn impressive for a rookie member," Wakaba said as he took a deep drag of his pipe, blowing smoke rings over his shoulder.
"Yeah, good one on that. Missions like that help the guild's recognition more then anything else. So what was that magic you were using against Natsu? I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it," Macao asked.
"Uh I'm actually still trying to figure it out myself. I have a technique that lets me absorb the Eternano in the land and use it with my moves. I just started calling it Eternano Make for simplicity I guess, and it just kind of feels right," he stated sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"So you absorb the energy from outside instead of using your own? That's pretty scary. Pretty versatile too," said the smoker.
"Yeah, I'm still fairly new with it though. I figured out the technique not too long ago and haven't had too much time to experiment. I figure that with this money I got from the last mission I should have plenty to keep me tided over where I can get some training and try out some ideas," Naruto replied, pondering on the different techniques that had been running through his mind.
"You seemed pretty damn practiced in it when you took on the brat, that's for sure. If you need any help with it you can always ask either one of us. We're usually around the guild," Macao flashed him a grin, and Wakaba gave him a thumbs up.
"Thanks guys, so what kind of magics do y'all use?" the shinobi asked in curiosity.
"Wakaba here," Macao said, pointing over to the man with the protruding hair, "Is a Smoke Magic user. That pipe he's got isn't just for relaxing. I'm a Purple Flare user, I can manipulate a purple colored fire for all sorts of different attacks."
"Cool, we'll have to spar one day so I can see them," Naruto said with a grin, "So Mirajane mentioned you two have been around here longer then almost everyone else except Master Makarov, can you tell me a bit about the guild?"
And that's how Naruto spent his time while waiting for the Take-Over siblings, laughing at the outrageous stories told by the two elder mages and drinking to his hearts delight. When they realized they were the last group remaining both Macao and Wakaba mentioned having to leave and check on their families before playing a match of rock-paper-scissors to see who's place they would be staying at. Wakaba won, much to his dismay.
Naruto waived farewell to the two before walking back in the direction of Mira and Elfman. "Need any help with the clean-up?"
"Sure Naru-kun. Elfman is going to take care of the dishes. Would you mind helping me clean the tables and floors?" she asked kindly.
"Okay," he brought his hands up in the cross patterned seal and gathered the Eternano before shouting, "Eternano Make: Mass Shadow Clones!"
The two ivory haired members watched in astonishment as thirty solid replicas of Naruto stepped through the blue diagrams, "Such a powerful magic! Naruto you truly are manly!" Elfman exclaimed as he rushed into the kitchen and began cleaning the dirty mugs.
Naruto sweat dropped. Good god, replace manly with youthful and its like another Rock lee... Lets just pray he never learns how to do illusions, because if I have to see another one of those damn sunsets I'll snap, he thought before ordering his small army of clones to work. What would have taken well over an hour with just the three of them had been drastically shortened to fifteen minutes.
"I knew you could make copies of yourself, but I didn't think you could make that many," Mirajane praised as she reached into her ample bosom and pulled out the guild hall key.
Naruto quickly turned his head to hide his blush, "I can do more then that, but the more I make the fewer commands they can follow."
When he turned her saw her knowing grin which caused him to blush even deeper. He was thankful that she made no comment in front of her sibling, "How much can you make at one time then?"
"I'm not sure actually, I've never really tried to push the limit with them." he said. I can't make as many as I could with chakra, that's for sure… I'll have to test it later.
"I'll take you out to one of the training grounds behind the guild hall one day then where you'll have more room then the basement, lets get going though… Being outside after the attack is kind of creepy," Mirajane said as she looped her arm through his and guided him through the cobblestone roads pointing out land marks that she didn't get to show him after they were finished shopping.
Their house wasn't far away from the guild, just a little over a mile and a half that the trio spent in a comfortable silence with the occasional mention of a place from Mirajane. It was a decent sized townhouse with three bedrooms and two baths nestled between two other identical townhouses. What little lawn each place had was well maintained with neatly trimmed bushes lining the walls.
Elfman unlocked the door with a click and beckoned the two in before shutting it and locking the door behind them with a bolt. "The bedrooms are all upstairs along with one of the bathrooms, down here is the kitchen, living room and dining room. Oh, the other bathroom is just across the hall from the kitchen. You can hang up your jacket in the closet over here," the tall man said as he made his way up the stairs.
"Don't mind him, he's just exhausted. Its been a long day for everyone," Mira said to him as he slipped his jacket onto one of the hangers inside the small closet before sliding the door shut, "Now come on," the ivory haired girl grinned, "I'll show you to your room."
Naruto followed the girl up the stairs. He didn't know whether to blame the alcohol or the hypnotizing sway of her hips, but his eyes remained glued on the backside of the beautiful girl in front of him.
The knowing smile on her face when they reached the top made him gulp. She let him to a room on the right and opened the door to reveal a traditional room with a full size bed, a chest of drawers and a night stand with an alarm clock showing the time at 1:23 AM. "It usually takes me a lot longer to clean up so I'm not usually home until around 3, so I'm going to get changed and go down stairs for a snack if you'd like to keep me company."
Naruto nodded towards her and sat down on the spring mattress. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it beat a hastily dug hole after a long night of battle any day. As he went to untie the black cloth band around his forehead Elfman poked his head inside the door and tossed him a soft pair of pants, "Here's a pair of pajamas that I grew out of a long time ago. They should fit you. Good night Naruto, have manly dreams!"
"Ehh thank you and good night?" Elfman shut the door behind him and Naruto began unraveling the cloth bandages around his shins. He changed out of the cargo pants and into the blue and green striped pajamas before making his way down stairs. Mira must still be changing, he thought as he began to explore the lower portion of the house. Hanging on the wall was a picture of what looked like Mirajane and Elfman when they were much younger, along with a girl who bore a striking resemblance to them with a gentle smile between the two.
He was slightly shocked to see the very revealing an gothic style of clothing she was wearing. It was like a young Ino, but with black instead of purple. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned to see Mira in a light pink nightgown. He chuckled when he noticed that even without her hair tie her bangs still remained in their upright position.
"Want a sandwich?" she asked as she ran her fingers through her hair absent-mindedly.
"I'll have one of whatever you are. I'm not picky," he said with a grin.
She smiled softly at him and walked into the kitchen, "Have a seat at the table and I'll have it right out."
Naruto sat down and waited patiently for a few minutes before the she came back out with two plates balanced on her left arm and two glasses of ice water in her right. She sat down and placed the plates on the table, sliding Naruto his cup and sandwich before taking a dainty bite out of the corner, "Mmm… I love turkey and cheese."
"Thanks Mira-chan, for the food and the place to stay," Naruto said, taking a bite out of the sandwich. Damn, not bad.
"Its my pleasure Naru-kun. I have a question though, when we first met you mentioned a lot of places I've never heard of. I checked the books in the library and asked Levi but I couldn't find a mention of them anywhere. You also mentioned some kind of battle?"
Naruto hesitated, something Mirajane instantly picked up on, "Its okay if you don't want to tell me now, everyone has their secrets."
Naruto gulped down a mouthful of water to rinse the bite of sandwich down and stared at the swirling cubes of ice, "No its alright, you seem like a person I can trust. You just have to promise not to tell anyone though," he said shooting her a pleading look.
"I promise."
"I don't believe I'm from Earthland at all," he said as he gauged her reaction. She showed no signs of shock so he guessed she had figured that out after her research, "Konohagakure was my home, and I was a registered Jounin ranked shinobi. The shinobi nations were at war with a very powerful terrorist organization called Akatsuki, and the battle I mentioned was the final battle of the war, or so I presume. I defeated their leader by mixing two very potent energy sources. After my final attack I lost control and the energies in me imploded. I believe they are what sent me here."
He watched as she slowly chewed the bite in her mouth before swallowing it and washing it down with a sip of water, "We're lucky here to have not seen true war in so long. It must have been awful. I know you probably don't want to talk in detail about it, but when you are I'll be here for you,"
It was one of the nicest things anyone had ever told him. It was this that solidified his stance even more on staying, "Thank you Mira-chan, I really mean it. Some of the things though, I'm just not ready to talk about."
"That's all right Naru-kun. How about you tell me stories about your home before the war," she said as she placed a comforting hand on his wrist.
"Well lets see… When I was in the Academy I was the best prankster Konoha had ever known…"
Mirajane chuckled softly at the stories of Naruto's youth. They had been passing them back and forth for almost two hours, "and I painted the entire monument in broad day light. No one could catch me except Iruka-sensei, who made me scrub it clean… but I got free ramen out if it so I still consider it a win."
His laugh was infectious, and she couldn't help but follow with one of her own. He's still hiding so much pain though, she thought as she frowned behind her drink, One of these days I'll get him to open up and tell me his full story. Just have to be patient thought. "I think its time for bed though," she said as she yawned, causing a chain reaction in the blond as well, "Its past 3, I'll see you in the morning Naru-kun, sleep tight," she said as she walked up and gave him a quick gentle hug.
She felt him stiffen up before wrapping his arms around her tenderly. It was obvious to her from his stories and actions that he hadn't grown up with much affection at all. "Good night Mira-chan."
The pair walked up stairs and split off to their respective rooms before enjoying a blissful night of sleep.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"
Naruto was jolted awake by the loud sound.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"
"Mirajane, Elfman wake up! There's been an attack!" yelled a voice. Naruto needed no more coaxing then that, and in seconds he had swapped his sleeping attire for his new clothing bandages and all and ran down the stairs. He opened the door to see the skimpily clad drunk female he had usually seen at the bar.
"Naruto! Get Elfman and Mirajane and come to the park at once!" She exclaimed before taking off and heading down the block.
He looked up the stairs to see the two already dressed and making their way down. "We heard Naruto. It must be Phantom Lord! This is so unmanly of them!" Elfman exclaimed as he ran out the door. Naruto grabbed his coat from the closet and followed after him with Mirajane hot on his heels.
When they arrived at the park they noticed a good bit of the other members standing around with looks of outrage. It didn't take them long to figure out why. Three members were were crucified to the tree with large iron cuffs that were bolted into the thick trunk, unconscious by the gentle rise of their chests. They were covered in welts and bruises and their clothes were shredded in multiple places. The girl in the middle seemed to have garnered the most attention from the assailant, as her blue shirt was torn open although her modesty was preserved by her still intact bra. On her battered abdomen was the sign of the guild Phantom Lord emblazoned in black. Team Shadow gear, he remembered from the introductions.
His hands shook in fury as he walked up to the tree and stepped up it, ignoring the gasps as he scaled the vertical surface with just his feet. He grasped onto one of the metal plates and ripped it off, before moving to the next one. By the time he had removed the last restraint from the girl he gently cradled her to his chest and looked down, finally noticing the presence of the Guild Master. His hands were clenched and knuckles white, "I could handle them attacking my building, but Phantom Lord has now gone too far! No one attacks my children! I declare war on Phantom Lord!" the Master yelled, shattering the force of the staff in his hands with his furious grip. "Naruto, Natsu and Gray, get those three down and get them to the hospital then meet us at the guild hall!"
"Yes Master!" the three said in tandem. Naruto gently passed the injured girl off to the Ice Mage before removing the other two from the tree. The man in the top hat he handed to Natsu.
"Come, they need medical attention quickly," he announced as he made a bee-line straight towards the hospital, thankfully one of the places Mirajane had pointed out to him last night.
Once they checked the three into the intensive care unit and were informed that the vitals were stable they rushed back to the guild.
As they pushed down the stairs they found everyone's eyes on them, "How are they?" Makarov called out, his voice stern as he tried to contain the unbridled fury.
"Sedated now. The doctors said they should make a full recovery though." Naruto replied
"Good. Gather your things, we're leaving immediately!" he ordered
Nodding, Naruto made his way over to Mirajane. She stood alone looking a little lost with unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. Naruto gently pulled her into a hug that immediately broke the dam, "why would anyone do something like this?" she cried.
The blond shinobi didn't know what to possibly say, so her just held her tighter and rubbed her back. "Be careful Naru-kun… Don't let them hurt any more of my family," she said as she looked into his eyes with a shaky gaze.
"I'll look after them Mira-chan, stay safe," he said before giving her one final squeeze and letting go. By that time most of the guild had already made it outside where most of the guild members had already gathered, with the exception of a few key note mages who were chosen to stay behind and look after the remnants of the guild and their injured comrades.
Naruto walked somberly over towards Erza Scarlet and Master Makarov who stood off away from the mass with strained faces, "Master, I'll run ahead of the group and do some recon if you can show me where on a map their guild headquarters are."
Makarov pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocked and opened it up showing a map of Fiore, "I'll key your signature into it," he said as his face adopted a look of concentration. A small chibi verison of himself appeared by a preexisting dot that Naruto had assumed was a mark for the guild hall, "you'll be traveling here," he said pointing at a small dot to the north, "the other figure on the map will be me, so you'll know where the main body of our attack will be. Be careful Naruto-san"
The shinobi took the map in his hands and mock saluted the elder before bringing then into the ram sign and gathering waves of magical energy into his body, "Leave it up to me Master, I won't let you down."
In a swirl of leaves he was gone.
What would normally take a days traveling took only two hours for the swift shinobi. He traversed over the flat lands with huge leaps. To the untrained eye all that could be seen was a streak of yellow and white. When the shinobi finally reached the guild headquarters of Phantom Lord, he looked at it in awe. The large castle structure towered over the land in medieval splendor, overlooking the town it was nestled against. He stood on a hill admiring it from a distance, Man, how come they get the badass building and all we have is a two story pub? We've definitely got to upscale the renovations when we rebuild, be cause this place is just awesome.
It was lucky for him that the castle structure was located on the very outskirts of town. It seemed that unlike Fairy Tail who had become rather close to the citizens of Magnolia, Phantom Lord remained slightly aloof of its neighbors. With a burst of energy Naruto willed five magical diagrams into existence in front of him, where an equal number of shadow clones stepped out. "Pick a citizen that you see in the town to henge into then do some recon of that castle. I want to know everything about it by the time the rest of the guild makes it here so split up to cover more area."
"Yes boss!" they yelled in unison, mock saluting before each disappeared simultaneously in a swirl of leaves.
Naruto sighed in aggravation as he waved the floating leaves out of his face. There has got to be a less annoying way of using the shunshin.
Filing it off on his rapidly growing list of things to experiment with the newfound Eternano he sat cross legged on the ground and brought his hands up into the ram seal to focus his magic. His awareness spread through the land as nature guided his thoughts to his destination. The magical signatures inside the building numbered so high and were so close together it was almost hard to distinguish anything but a blob. He sharpened his senses and hyper focused the energy in the direction of the area. The blob became shapes, although hardly any seemed to be of any real note magical reserve wise.
He picked up two spikes that rivaled those of Erza's, one high up in the tallest tower, and the other about ten feet above the main body of members. Is he flying? He shrugged and created another clone with the new information before dispelling it, alerting his five sets of eyes of the two sources for a closer look.
It was confusing to him, because from the discussion with Macao and Wakaba Phantom Lord supposedly had nearly triple the members of Fairy Tail, which was a fairly large guild itself numbering upwards to ninety people. Where is everyone? Something isn't right.
He sighed as he took out the map of Fiore. The arrow that signified the main body of Fairy Tail was slowly moving his way, although he suspected a few key note hot headed members like the rose haired dragon slayer and his team would pull ahead and reach him first. He focused on the city, trying to discover another location or other hidden members, and also scanned the surrounding area.
Hours seemed to pass as minutes in his meditative trance as he surveyed the scene, and before long he felt the approaching vanguard of mages at the edges of his sensory range. With a small burst of energy he forced his clones to dispel, and began sifting through the memories sent to him. He was astounded by the careless nature of the guild. Even though Naruto boasted a high skill in stealth, the closeness that his clones had managed to get to the other members was just ridiculous.
He saw that his original observation was right on target. It seemed as if the only S-Class mages they had in the guild hall at the moment was Gajeel Redfox, who had become well known as being Phantom Lord's ace member, and one of their illustrious Element 4 team members, although he didn't know enough about them to guess the identity. Strange. I thought that team did all of their missions together… Why was one left behind? And why is he just waiting up in the top of that tower?
Without the bolstering strength of the rest of their S-Class team, or even their guild master who seemed to be no where in sight, Naruto was very confident in the upcoming attack. With the missing members he knew that the conflict couldn't be solved today, but it would be enough to deal a significant blow to their opponent. He stood up and pinched the bridge of his nose to relieve the small headache that blossomed from the influx of information and walked in an intercepting path towards his incoming guild mates, "Ohayo!" he called with a carefree smile.
He chuckled when the group went instantly on guard at the sound before recognizing him, "Naruto! How'd you get here so fast?" Natsu called out as he ran up to the shinobi.
"Eh, magic?" he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, eliciting sweat drops from the other members of the advanced party. "I've spent the last couple hours doing recon of the place and it almost seems like they have only a token force here. They have about sixty members total inside and I only noticed two of their S-Class mages. We should wait for Master Makarov before attacking in case he has a plan."
It took the combined efforts of Gray ad Elfman to hold the struggling dragon slayer down until the rest of the party arrived an hour later at a more sedated pace then the previous group, "Naruto-san! What were you able to find out?" the Master asked. He looked to be trying every possible stress relieving technique to calm himself. Naruto noticed the small drops of blood dripping down his fingers from where his nails dug deep into his skin.
Naruto relayed his information to the group along with a small replica of the structure that he drew in the dirt. Makarov looked at the drawing intently, before looking up to Naruto with a serious expression, "I have a plan."
The shinobi looked into his eyes and waited, before the Master finally raised an angry finger at the building and screamed, "CHARGE!"
Naruto face vaulted. So my recon was pointless…
He should have known better in hindsight. Fairy Tail was known for many things. It was incredibly destructive, hot headed, rowdy, and boisterous. What it was not known for was strategy. As he watched the group of mages charge recklessly towards the building he could only sigh.
Before launching himself into the group with a look of glee on his face.
He looked on as Natsu charged ahead and launched his right foot into the doors with a large amount of force, "Phantom Lord!" he yelled tauntingly, standing in a way where his guild stamp stood out, "We are Fairy Tail!"
Whatever they were expecting from the boys charge was replaced with shock as the rest of the guild poured in. Naruto could only describe it as a colorful chaos. Magical diagrams of all shapes and hues glittered around the main hall. Master Makarov arrived and traveled straight to the second floor, radiating a golden aura that promised only one thing. Pain.
Naruto weaved in and out of combat, putting his incredible dexterity to use as he landed powerful strikes against the enemy, launching people into walls. His senses were screaming as he ducked and weaved under stray spells and employed his substitution technique multiple times to prevent a fellow guild member from being struck. The variety of the magical techniques were astounding. Re-equip magic, to elemental magic, to gun magic… the list just kept on going on and on. Some of the attacks he stored in the recesses of his mind to try out when they made it out.
They were decimating the Phantom Lord members systematically. Through the sheer force of will Fairy Tail was pushing them farther and farther back in the main hall, cornering the group. Naruto looked on in pride as his guild stood before them in an intimidating manner with himself and Erza at the head of the group. He could hear the fighting of Natsu and the man Gajeel in the rafters above. I wasn't expecting this to be so… easy, he thought as he scanned the battered group before him.
He should have knocked on wood.
A crash in between the two forces attracted the focus of everyone present. He even heard the pause of fighting between two dragon slayers. As the dust cleared the members of Fairy Tail surrounding him gasped in horror as Makarov lay crumpled on the ground, a sickly green hue.
The effect was instantaneous to the rest of the guild. Their iron will it seemed was derived directly from Makarov, and seeing him in this state had shaken it hard. The morale of the Fairy Tail mages was depleted to next to nothing, and the Phantom Lord mages got what looked like a second wind and started a furious counter attack. Naruto struggled to protect the members.
"Retreat!" yelled Erza, who had seemingly taken up the reigns of leadership while the guild master was indisposed.
The guild didn't need to be told twice as they surged back towards the entrance. During the retreat many members were hit by attacks that Naruto could to nothing to stop. He watched as Natsu, on his way out from the guild hall twitched his ear at the two S-Class mages standing on the top of the stairs before mumbling, "Lucy-chan?" An angry look stretched over his features as he bared his elongated canine teeth. He snatched one of the lesser members of the guild who was by the door and sprinted out of the exit.
Naruto looked over at Erza who was doing her best to usher the demoralized guild out the exit without sustaining anymore injuries then they already had. "Erza! Get them out of here! I'll hold Phantom Lord off!"
He saw her open her mouth to stop him before closing it shut and looking at the retreating members of her family. She looked into his eyes and he heard the unspoken statement. Come back to us.
He nodded and used a quick burst of magic to appear in front of the revitalized force of Phantom Lord before gathering as much magic as he could into his frame and releasing it in front of him.
Mirajane stood in front of the destroyed guild hall with her fingers clasped tightly in front of her. The rest of the guild was recuperating in the basement from their failed assault, while Alzack and Bisca took the unresponsive guild master to his old teammate Porlyusica for treatment. It was a relief to the guild that he would eventually make a full recovery.
Even Natsu had returned carrying an exhausted Lucy on his shoulders who had been nearly inconsolable in belief that she was the reason everything had happened to her. Everyone had been shocked to hear that Lucy's father, the patriarch of the wealthy Heartfilia had placed a job request that Phantom Lord accepted for "rescuing" his daughter.
There was only one person still missing. The one person who had stayed behind to give Fairy Tail a chance to escape. Naru-kun…
The thought of him not coming back had created a pain in her chest she hadn't felt in years. Not since she had been an active mage with the guild. Not since they buried Lisanna. She didn't understand it, how one man she had only known a few weeks could weasel his way into her life so much. There was just this charisma about him… a bright light in a dark night. Her knight in shining armor.
She shook her head to clear the thoughts. No, he'll come back, she thought, I believe in him. Naruto Namikaze was strong. He had proven it when he decimated Erigor and Natsu. He had proven it again with his victory over one of the top members of Tartaros. From the stories of the other mages, he had even proven himself in the battle. Come back Naru-kun.
Mira watched the horizon in silence, occasionally shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She had already been outside for hours, ignoring her fellow guild mates requests for her to come back inside. She honestly couldn't tell how much time had passed. She sat down on a piece of lumber to make herself more comfortable before feeling a presence to her side. She looked over to see her red headed friend and former rival, "Erza…"
Erza smiled at her but didn't say a word. Mirajane knew the woman beside her wasn't good with her emotions. She was supporting her the only way she knew how, by being there for her. The two turned their heads back to the horizon and waited in silence.
The civilians seemed to have been avoiding the guild hall after the attack, as they didn't see a soul. The only noises being the birds flying in the trees above chirping cheerful songs, almost mocking the atmosphere.
They sat still for even more hours, but it went unnoticed by Mira. She sat zoned and in thought until she was finally brought back to reality by Erza standing and placing a gauntleted hand on her shoulder, "Mirajane, its getting la-"
"Naru-kun!" Mira exclaimed, leaping up from the ground. A white coated figure rounded the corner. The bartender took off at a run, startling the Re-equip mage beside her. She plowed into the stone like body of the blond haired shinobi and buried her head in his chest, "Don't you know its impolite to keep a lady waiting?" she said as she forced a grin and wiped a tear away using his white coat.
"S-sorry Mira-chan, I kind of got lost. One of Natsu's stray flames burned my map," he said as he wrapped his arms over her shoulders. An embarrassed blush lit up his cheeks with a rosy red tint.
"Lost?" she said as she playfully slapped his arm. "You had me worried to death thinking something bad might have happened to you, when you were only lost?"
"Uhh, sorry?"
"Naruto-san, its good to see you back. The others in the basement will be thrilled to hear of your return," Erza stated, making her presence known to him. She bent at the waisit in a formal bow, "I wish to apologize for leaving you behind during the retreat! Please, hit me!"
"Eh? Thats not... really necessary..." he said nervously, confused at the S-Class mage's actions, "I was the one who told you to go on ahead, right?"
"Yes," Erza stated while straightening, "that is so. How did you manage to escape them though?"
Naruto chuckled at her, "With my super awesome ninja skills, duh."
Erza sweat dropped, "Once your done in here head inside, its getting late." The armored mage swiftly turned heel and disappeared into the wreckage.
Mirajane laughed, looping her arm through Naruto's and relishing the warmth the blond gave off. "Come on Naru-kun, I'm sure you're starving. Lets go inside and I'll get you something to eat."
Before a reply could even be made, a loud growl from the shinobi's stomach echoed in the empty street. With a flush he allowed her to guide him inside to a meal.
Naruto didn't know what to expect when he walked down the steps of the guild, but being rushed by every member wasn't it. He was patted on the back, his shoulders and arms clapped, his free hand shook, hell… Cana even slapped his ass. After an entire life of neglect, he didn't truly know how to handle the amount of gratitude being directed at him. Waived most of the people off with, "It was nothing," but there was still a small group that wouldn't buy it, particularly Macao and Wakaba, who he had begun to build a good friendship with a couple nights ago.
"C'mon Naruto, at least tell us what that crazy attack you used was to get them off our tails," the smoke magic user prodded.
"I really don't know, I just kind of gathered as much magic as I could at one time and uh… launched it at them," he replied lamely.
"Oho! A new attack then? We should name it!" Macao said with a grin, as he and Wakaba began listing off different names, ranging from silly to serious to out right ridiculous.
It caused him to chuckle. It seemed as if the news that their Master would make a full recovery and that everyone had managed to make it out of the battle had brightened everyone's spirits, although the threat of Phantom Lord still hung over their shoulders. Mira came and sat a bowl of beef stew in front of him along with a mug of what was quickly becoming his favorite ale before saying, "How about Fairy Glitter? You know like after the guild? I think it would be cute!"
"Uh, Mira-chan… that's a bit girly." Naruto replied
"Eternano Make: Ether Explosion," Macao bounced back with.
"Huh, that one actually sounds pretty badass. I like it," said the ninja. Before any other comments could be made though, they felt the ground quake roughly, spilling drinks and knocking over tables. Naruto practically inhaled the bowl of stew in front of him to keep it from making it on the floor.
"What was that?" A sandy haired mage named Max yelled.
The mages evacuated the basement and onto the guild grounds. Gray pointed out over the lake and got everyone's attention, "What the hell is that?" he yelled.
"Where the hell are your clothes?" the guild yelled back, before looking in the direction his hand was pointing.
A large castle was moving their way, twice the size of the one that they had fought Phantom Lord at. Unlike the structure in Oak Town this one had a large golden dome in the center structure with towers surrounding its perimeter topped with pointed golden cone roofs. It looked like a palace. So this must be Phantom Lord's main headquarters… The unusual thing about the building however wasn't the fact that it had beautifully made golden roofs.
It was the legs.
All six of them.
What the hell is with this? Two castles? How unfair... he mentally whined.
And it was moving to them, large spider-like appendages moving it forward before finally coming to a halt in the middle of the water. The middle of the building opened up and a large cannon protruded from it. "Fairy Tail! Hand over Lucy Heartfilia or we will fire!" a loud voice echoed across the ocean, enhanced by a lacrima.
Just as Lucy was about to step forward, Natsu stopped her with an outstretched hand, "Lucy is a Fairy Tail mage, and that makes her family. Every one of us will die for her!" he yelled.
The roar of approval shocked Naruto to his core. Not including himself, Lucy was the newest member of the guild. That every member would stand up to protect one of their comrades in such a way even after barely knowing them was incredible. He found himself nodding subconsciously with the group as well.
"Very well. We'll do it the fun way. Fire the Jupiter Cannon!"
Purple energy began to swirl around the barrel of the weapon before condensing into a smaller ball. Erza re-equipped into a bulky silver armor and ordered everyone in the guild to stay back, against the pleas of her allies.
"Erza! Not even your Adamantine Armor can stand up to an attack such as that!" Alzack called out.
There wasn't time for anyone else to say anything. The condensed orb shot out in a beam of purple fury and struck the red head in the shoulder. He watched as she dug her heels into the ground and hunched over, trying to push back against it. Seconds passed like hours as he watched helplessly as she struggled in a stale mate against the powerful weapon until the first chink appeared on her pauldren. Her back leg began to slide back, digging into the dirt but failing to maintain any sort of traction as it began to overpower her.
Then finally her armor snapped and sent her flying back in a grunt of pain. Naruto burst into movement and caught her before she landed and brought her gently to the ground, "Heh, that wasn't so bad," the red head grunted out as the rest of the cannon's attack dissipated into the attack."
"Impressive as ever Titania," the voice called back out over the water. "It was futile however. In fifteen minutes the cannon will attack again, and you have no one else who can stop it. Enjoy the time before your doom Fairies. I think you'll find your new guests to be very entertaining."
Dark purple shades soared out from the building and towards the mages, "Naruto-san," Erza grunted as she tried to push herself up to no avail, "help Natsu, Gray and Elfman destroy that weapon or we will have no hopes. It took all of my magical energy just to stop one attack. The next time we wont be so lucky."
Naruto looked over to see the aforementioned guild members making their way across the water through various ways, Happy flying Natsu over, while Gray created a bridge of ice for himself and the large white haired mage.
"You can count on me Erza. Phantom Lord won't know what hit them," he promised as he took off in a Eternano propelled leap.
Author's Notes - Whew, sorry to end with a bit of a cliff hanger, but if I didn't cut that one off soon then it would have kept going to the end of the arc. I hope this one is a little bit more up to par then my previously written chapters were. Thanks for all the reviews y'all, each and every one of them brightens my day.
A special thanks goes out to Lanky Nathan and Hmm for their constructive criticism of the previous chapter.
Again, I appreciate all constructive advice no matter how blunt it is. Please review and let me know what you think.
Revised 6/3/2012 - Managed to fix a few grammar issues and added actual breaks instead of my lazy OOOOO's. Hope you enjoy it!