The Sage of Fairy Tail

by Arch-Daishou

With his defeat of Pein and paying his last respects to his late Sensei and Godfather. Naruto Uzumaki finds himself in Earthland by a mysterious golden light. In this new world does the young sage find what he truly looking for while protecting those he has come to love from the darkness to come? -postponed-

6. Same old song and dance

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

Action scenes done by: Godospartan the Kitsune

'And those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.'

-Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter 6: Same old song and dance

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

Not far from there, on the hills, the white fox had observed the entire valor. He had witnessed the spirit of these young warriors... as well as the evil of the demon.

"No matter the era, the world is always in danger" He turns his gaze to the stars. "I woke up for a reason, and no doubt my brethren will as well" He stands from his spot and turns, leaving only a trail of growing flowers with each step. "Awaken soon my kin, something is coming and we have slumbered for far too long... the world needs us again, and we must once more aid its people"

His return sent an echo throughout nature, so fast it nearly went unnoticed by some, but those who felt it knew that a strong change had come to Earthland, the awakening of ancient forces that would once more play a part in shaping the world like they had.

Upon an island with a giant tree. A dark haired mage smiled softly as he felt the shift in the wind, the call that resonated throughout nature. "At last..."

On fields of snow, a blue robed old man turned his attention to the sky. "Can it be?" He asked the heavens with hope in his voice. He felt joy, true joy... but also dread, for their awakening was also sure to bring very troubling times in the future.

Still, the smile could not be removed from his lips; "Now the real work begins."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Upon deciding that discretion was an important part of valor, Makarov and the Fairy Tail crew ran off before the Fiore legion threw them into prison for the destruction of the meeting building in Clover. Though both Natsu and Naruto had to avoid the angry glare from the miniature elderly man when seeing large damage done to the railroad where they fought Erigor. While the said ace of Eisenwald being nowhere in sight.

The blond Uzumaki lightly growls as they walk on the tracks; "Should have tied that bastard up."

"We were too focused on stopping Kageyama," Erza reasons. "If we don't catch him first, the council will eventually."

Naruto dryly eyes his friend; "Not holding my breath on the council. They should have had a better seal on that damn flute."

Makarov waves it off; "We can let the council worry about Erigor. I am proud of all you for stopping Eisenwald and Lullaby."

The young fairies smile proudly.

A vein soon pops into the Master's forehead. "But did you have to destroy the meeting hall?!" He shouts.

The smiles are obliterated, and they all soon hung their heads low in shame. "Sorry Master..." They mumble.

"Ugh these brats" The master muttered to himself. "Back in my day we didn't give our Masters so much trouble, we made sure not to destroy anything other than we had to destroy-"

"Oh gods" Gray sighs. "He's going to be like this the entire trip isn't he?"

As the ice mage foretold, the Master did indeed spend the trip grumbling to himself about 'brats' and their 'reckless behavior' and 'bills' among other things. All the while the Fairies had no choice but to endure their aged Master's rambling during their entire walk.

Eventually the arid landscape of clover was being left behind, and somewhat greener scenery took place. Not a lot of trees around in the empty road, and patches of pastures here and there.

"I bet the other Masters don't have to deal with crap like this-"

Naruto soon spotted something in the distance, a small town. Like a drowning man adrift in the sea, he latched to the sight like a life preserver, in this case, to save them from the master's unending rant.

"Look, a village!" He said desperately.

"Yeah..!" Natsu cheered. "About time, I'm hungry!"

"Hmm" The diminutive old man eyed the village. "I could go for a bite myself"

"At last" Lucy exhales in relief. "He stops..."

"Hey! I'm old; I'm allowed to complain all I want"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Walking into the edge of town they noticed a few things off. What should be normal crops growing brightly are now badly weeded and dry. "Well these people are having a bad harvest" The Titania comments.

"Ah man..." Happy whines in disappointment. "We're not gonna get food aren't we?"

Lucy shoots a dry look to the blue feline. "I'd be more worried about what these people are going through"

Naruto and Makarov both lift a brow when hearing a commotion further in town. Heading into the village square, it looked like everyone had gathered, and were quite angry by the sound of it. At the center of the angry mob was a long wooden pole, and tied to that pole was a cloaked figured. It was then that they noticed many of them were holding torches.

Gray's eyes slowly widen. "This... doesn't look good..."

"Burn the wizard!" A large bellied man shouts.

"They can't do this!" Lucy shouts in despair.

Makarov looks strangely calm and uninterested. He rolls his eyes and sighs. "Oh great, it's THIS kind of town..." He approaches the mob. "Alright, alright people" He calls for their attention, which he quickly gets. "What's going on here?"

A woman points at the cloaked figure. "She's a witch!" The mob roars with her words.

"...You do realize there are wizards everywhere right" He deadpans. "Hell, I can see you have a wizard among you" He points to a man wearing a large hat and a holding a staff.

The crowd, including the mage, looks uncomfortable. "Eh, yeah... But she's a bad witch!" The crowd shouts once more, raising their forks and torches.

Naruto says nothing as he simply looks at the crowd dryly.

The dragon slayer tilts his head; "She's a dark mage?" Natsu looks to Happy who shrugs. "So what did she do?"

Feeling curious, Lucy walks over to the cloaked figure, what she could see under the cloak is a red strapless front laced corset and black leather pants fitting snugly to a figure that could rival her own, with black mid-heel boots. Leaning a little further she gasps as she pulls back the hood.

Raven colored hair in a bob-cut lightly flows in the air, as her beautiful creamy color skin almost glows in the morning light, but none of those features grabs Makarov and Fairy tail crew's attention. No, it is the long pointed ears on the woman's beautiful oval face.

"She's an elf!" Lucy and the others are gawking.

"Sup?" The woman says cheerfully, as if not all bothered by the situation she was in.

Natsu and Happy gasp in shock, before pulling a confused face. "A what now..?"

"Yeeeaah" Naruto drawls. "I'm with them here, what now?"

Makarov face faults. "An elf..!" He taps both his ears. "Don't you see her pointy ears?"

"And Magnolia's mayor looks like a bobble head doll" The jinchuuriki points out. "Having pointy ears isn't the epitome of strangeness... Hell I think the other day I saw someone with pointy ears, not like hers though" The woman's ears were more delicate and small when compared to the bat-like ears he had seen on some people.

Makarov sighs. "Okay good point. But like you said, hers are different. She's an elf"

"You still haven't told us what that is..." Happy says.

"She turned our crops into nothing!" One of the townsfolk yells.

The elven woman looks dryly with her green eyes; "I just got here three days ago."

"She's right" Naruto points out. "Those crops looked to be weeks dead, I guess the soil's pH isn't exactly suitable" He notices the odd looks from his guild mates. "What?"

"Just..." Erza says delicately. "Never pegged you as a person to know this stuff... or any stuff"

"Hey!" He said indignantly. "I have hobbies!"

Gray dryly replies. "Yeah, like pulling pranks on everyone"

The blond Uzumaki glares over at the ice mage; "Next to pranks jackass I am into gardening. I have been since I was kid."

"You did mention that but I thought you were joking;" Lucy sheepishly chuckles.

The jinchuuriki only grumbles to himself. "So anyway" Makarov says, getting back on track. "This woman isn't responsible for your misfortune"

"She turned me in to a newt!" One of the villagers accuses.

Erza gives the man, for he didn't look like anything else much less a lizard, a long look. "A newt..?" She repeats in a bland tone.

"...I got better" He mumbles.

"Okay people;" Naruto raises his voice as he looks to the elven woman; "What's your name?"

"That would be Claire. And you're about the first person to even ask my name sweetie. Ever since I showed up here, all I have been getting were weird looks."

"Why do they blame you for their bad luck?"

Claire shifts her eyes awkwardly. "I was trying to impress a lass here. Got reaaally drunk, still am I think, and... Broke some stuff with magic. Next thing I know I got chained up and I guess they decided to blame everything else on me while they were at it"

"She cursed our town!" the town's people uproar.

They freeze up as Erza stares sternly at all of them; "How could she have cursed your town when she only just arrived?" Silence was their response; they soon shrink as she somehow looms over all of them. "WELL..?"

The crowd slowly backs away, shivering in terror. "O-On second thought, m-maybe we made a mistake" One of the townsfolk nervously chuckle before hurriedly going over the pole to unbind the elf. "H-Here you go dear, you're free to go" The people suddenly ran back into their homes, terrified of the red headed woman and the dark aura emanating from her.

"Cool" She tips her index and middle finger over her brow as she puts up her hood, binding them farewell. "Thanks a bunch guys, I'm outta here" She takes a step forwards, wobbles, tipped, and fell flat on her face. "...Yep, still drunk" Came her muffled response.

XxX ~ and then ~ XxX

Leaving the small town, the fairy tail group makes their trip back to Magnolia. "Well... That was different," Gray mutters.

"Got that right," Natsu says dryly getting an 'aye' from Happy.

"Some days I truly wonder about people;" Makarov sighs in exasperation with Naruto and Erza nodding in agreement.

"Hey," Lucy's eye twitches; "Can I ask something?"

"Yeah..?"

"WHY AM I CARRYING HER?!" She shouts. Clearly referring to the seemingly inebriated elf on her back.

"Well we can't just leave her in that place" Naruto points out.

"I agree, but couldn't you do it Naru?" The buxom blond looks pleadingly to her fellow blond.

The blond sage shrugs; "She said I wasn't her type."

"Oh…" Claire mumbles absently, her chin resting Lucy's shoulder. "You're cute sweetie, but I have a different preference."

He stares at her. "'Preferences' being...?"

She answers by suddenly groping Lucy's breasts. The Celestial mage stands frozen color both draining from her face and going up to her cheeks at the same time somehow.

"Hmm~" The raven haired elf smiles in appreciation. "Big and soft..."

Lucy squeaks and drops her to the ground, covering her chest with her arms. "You pervert!"

"Is admiring the beauty of the female form truly perverted?" The elf reasons with a mock serious look.

"Not at all," Makarov shakes his head smiling.

"DON"T ENCOURAGE HER!" Lucy yells at the elderly man.

"Anyway" Claire absently says. "I can't walk on my own, you know, I'm drunk and stuff"

"...You're not even trying to pretend you're drunk" The Ice mage points out.

The raven haired elf looks to Gray; "Not as bad as I was... Or is... Or was it were."

Seeing Lucy hiding behind Naruto and Erza, Makarov sighs; "Will you at least allow someone else to carry you with us back to Magnolia dear?"

"...Can it be the pretty redhead?" Claire flutters her eyelashes at Erza.

Crossing her arms the knight gives her a stern look. "I won't fall for your games you lusty fiend"

The elf proceeds to pout with a trembling lip, water gathering at the corner of her eyes and Erza suddenly felt absolutely wretched. "I-I thought you were a knight, that you helped people when they needed it" She sniffs. "I guess that armor is just for show..."

It was like someone had stabbed her in the heart with an icy dagger. All her life she struggled to uphold her beloved ideals, to fight for justice, to help the innocent like a true knight... and here she was denying someone aid when they required it.

"Your words... shame me" She speaks with raw emotion, her gauntlets clicking as she clenches her fist. "Forgive me, I was foolish. Here" She kneels down to her back turned to the elf. "I shall carry you in your time of need"

Claire couldn't mount her back faster, she was like a blur. "Thank you!"

"Played her like a fiddle," Naruto says dryly.

Gray nods; "Got that right."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Erza had to endure a lot while on the journey back to Magnolia, as the elf had, somehow, managed to slip her hands into her armor multiple times just to cop a feel. Causing Erza to angrily drop her, Claire repeat her act of the 'poor maiden in need' playing to Erza's code, so the Titania would pick her up again... until Claire once again groped her, only for them to repeat the whole charade over and over.

This was the fifteenth time by Naruto's count.

"Hmm~" The elf smiled. "You're very fit, I like that"

"That's it!" The knightess let her fall to the ground again.

She sobbed, "Where is your honor?" Erza stiffened.

Sixteen now...

By the time they reached the guild Claire was already walking on her own, her green eyes stare at the large letters sitting over the entrance with surprise. "Wait, your guild is Fairy Tail?" She breaks into a wide smile. "I've heard a lot about you from the queen"

Makarov and the others look shocked, save Erza who only glared daggers at the elven harlot. Ignoring the glare Claire chuckles as Naruto tilts his head; "You guys have a queen?"

"While my people, The Eldrin prefer the forests, we are not too much different from you humans."

"Oh you're Eldrin" The guild master says in realization. "How is lady Keishara these days?"

"Eh, wouldn't really know, I haven't been in the kingdom for some years. I heard things are alright there though"

It takes them a few seconds for the words to hit them. "Wait" Lucy nearly screeches. "You know their queen?!"

The small elderly mage waves it off; "Met her years ago. It was an honor." A vague answer even by Naruto's standards, but no one pressed. Makarov slumps at the letters; "Well, may as well get that over with." he soon looks to everyone; "why are you all standing there go inside you brats!"

'Brats, HAH..!' Claire mentally muses as she follows everyone in.

Natsu, being Natsu, kicks the doors open and greets everyone with an exuberant shout. "We're back!" followed by and 'aye sir' from Happy.

The Ice mage smirks proudly, "We came, we saw-"

"-and we kicked ass" Naruto finishes, and the two share a fist bump.

Mirajane smiles at them in joy, feeling very relieved at seeing hi... them in one piece. "Welcome home guys!"

Upon seeing his roommate and friend, Naruto pulled out Mira's necklace that still dangles around his neck as he walks to the bar. "Extra luck always helps."

Their resident bartender looks at the new arrival with curiosity. "And who's your friend?"

Before Naruto can say a word, he finds himself shoved aside to the ground by a wide smiling Claire. "Hellooo~ hotness..!"

Mira only blinks wide eyed, while Naruto glares standing back on his feet. "Um, hello... Welcome to Fairy Tail."

"If I knew so many gorgeous ladies were in this guild I would have come sooner," Claire leans in with a sultry tone. "And you are my beautiful lass?"

The elder Strauss can't help but blush as she smiles sheepishly. "I'm Mirajane Strauss. And you are?"

"Name's Claire and I knew I've seen you before! You're in all those magazines," She leans a bit closer to her. "Those swimsuit issues are my favorite"

A shiver runs down the spine of the white haired beauty as the elven woman is only a breath away from her; "Such a goddess should be treated with absolute care, and loved completely." Mira's blush went nearly atomic as their lips were inches away.

It was then that she noticed the attention the elf's act was gathering, the dropped jaws and wide eyes of pretty much every male present was unnerving her, so she quickly backed away from Claire. "A-Anyway" She started awkwardly, choosing to ignore the disappointed 'awww' she heard. "What brings you to our guild?"

A bright smile comes from Claire; "Your beautiful crimson knight and faithful companions saved me from these evil bad people."

The said crimson haired knight blushes before muttering 'harlot' under her breath. Macao lifts a brow to a twitching eye Naruto; "Her faithful companions..."

"She has a nag for chasing skirts" The jinchuuriki mutters.

The flare mage shrugs "Hey, if she joins she'll fit right in"

Cana only smiles; "I like her already, so let's treat her with some Fairy Tail charm shall we? Oi elfy..!" The card mage calls out to Claire, shaking a bottle with a smirk. "Want something to drink?"

In seconds Claire was at her side with her arms around Cana's shoulder; "Now we're talking!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After a few dozen cups later, the elf once again fell into a state of inebriation, regaling them with interesting and quite hilarious tales. "So this guy was all like 'Ar, I be the scourge is this here sea', wanted to act all tough and pirate-y but I wasn't buying it, so I kicked him in the 'nads and took his treasure"

A round of laughs came around the elven woman, Lucy sweatdrops sitting at the bar beside Naruto; "Yeah she fits right in with the nut cases around here." An 'aye' comes from Happy sitting on Naruto's shoulder eating a fish while Makarov snorts at his usual spot on the bar table.

"Say Claire?" The guild master gaining her attention.

"Yeap..?" The elf looks over to the bar smiling.

"Want to join my guild?"

"Sure, why not" Claire high fives Cana who both take drink.

Lucy's jaw is left hanging. "That was fast!"

The buxom blond freezes as Claire, somehow appears beside her, places a finger on her cheek gently stroking; "Sweetie I am five hundred years old, having nothing but time on my hands... I learn to go with just about anything."

One could hear a pin drop a thousand miles away due to the heavy silence that befell them after she said those words. Naruto cleared his throat. "Excuse me" He takes a sip from his mug before spitting it out in shock "WHAT?!"

"YOU'RE FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLD?!" The rest of the guild explodes.

"Eh" She shrugs. "Over four hundred at least. My kind doesn't keep a specific count"

As a dumbstruck Mira numbly places the official seal just under the elf's right collarbone, she gives a look to a stunned Makarov; "Considering you know the queen you're shocked about our lifespan? Especially since we can live roughly around four thousand years."

"It's the first time one of my brats it's actually older than me..." He muses. Ignoring said brats shouting 'Four thousand?!' He eventually shrugs and waves it off. "Whatever, you'll still be one of my brats regardless of your years"

Claire cups her hands; "Aww~! Thanks grandpa." Everyone soon face faults as the buxom elf hugs the small elderly man. Apparently by the large perverted smile on Makarov was enjoying his face in Claire's ample chest.

Getting back to seat, Naruto sweatdrops along with Mira who weakly smiles; "Well she is quite lively."

"I think she'll fit right in" The bartender replies cheerfully.

Claire meanwhile finishes downing another bottle, she hiccups and sways in her seat. "So I told her, 'Honey I don't care if you're a succubus, you can drain my life force all night long', hic!"

Gray rolls his eyes, "Great, another Cana..."

The elf glares at him in drunken anger. "What'cha called me?" She grabs the bottle and breaks it over the bar; she holds the remains as a weapon. "Say that to my face you asshole!" The ice mage slowly backs away.

Naruto sighs as he face palms, Mirajane just keeps smiling. "Right in..."

XxX ~ that night ~ XxX

With a deep sigh, Naruto slumps into the living room couch of his and Mira's home. Nothing like another brawl just after a big job to relax you right? Least Cana offered to take Claire in for the night till finding a place for her. Humming gently, Mira prepares supper.

Mirajane sings happily as she cuts some vegetables. "Sounds like you have quite the adventure. A demon of the Book of Zeref" She shakes her head in disbelief. "I heard stories about their power, luckily you all killed it before it could truly cause any harm"

The blond lazily tilts his head her way; "Would it be odd saying fighting Erigor was actually fun? We may use wind differently but we were dead serious even against each other."

"Honestly foxy," Mira shakes her head. She giggles looking up seeing him pout; "Well, least you had fun, and didn't break my necklace."

"... So all you were worried about was the necklace?" Naruto says dryly.

"It's an expensive necklace" She replied.

He smirked. "Then why did you give it to me in the first place" Naruto quipped.

Mira's eyes drift back to the cutting board; "Well I was worried about you... All of you. Just felt a little lucky charm would help," A faint blush dusts her cheeks.

He let out a short breath carrying a small laugh. "I think it did. Thank you Mira"

Praise the gods Naruto can be oblivious to obvious verbal slips as the white haired beauty mentally sighs; "So what next up for Team Foxy?" Finished cutting the veggies she puts them into the pot on the stove.

"...You don't mind helping looking around again," the blond rubs his chin.

"In finding a way back home," Mira said quietly with her back turned.

Counting of the guild's unofficial physician Porlyusica, only Makarov and Mirajane know the real truth of Naruto's origins. The trio respecting the blond's privacy and keeping it from the others in the Fairy Tail, both guild master and former 'S' class mage have been trying to help him find a way back to his world.

In two years, they've had no success.

"You know," She muses, trying to mask her sudden sadness with curiosity. "You never speak much of your home"

"Yeah, guess I don't" Naruto replies. "I told you I lived in a village called Konohagakure, the Village Hidden among the Leaves" He smiles nostalgically. "To me it was the most awesome place ever" His smile slowly falls; "Just... When I think about it, and everyone back home. Mom, Shizune-Neechan, Sakura-Chan, Kakashi-Sensei, The toads..."

"There is nothing wrong with being homesick," Mira says keep her back to the blond.

He sighs; "It's not just being homesick" His eyes are crestfallen and full of worry. "I... didn't tell you this before. But before I arrived here, some stuff was happening back in my world... I think we were on the brink of war" Turning swiftly, the elder Strauss's eyes widen and a soft gasp escapes through her lips. "So I keep thinking about what might have happening there, that I'm not there to protect them..."

He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder, and sees Mira looking at him with a soft gaze. "You can't think like that, you'll drive yourself crazy. And not one single person alone can take on all the world's problems. Trust in your mom and friends that they have fought whatever bad things have happened and came through it stronger," the white haired beauty smiles gently.

He nods slowly. "It's what I have to hold on to."

"Just that?" She asks with an emotion in her voice he can't quiet describe.

"Well, I have you... you guys I mean, the Guild, my friends here. It's..." He smiles. "It's good to know I have people like you in my life"

If he truly understood just how those words both filled her with joy, but also made her sad. 'I... We're just not enough to keep you with us…' Mira blinks seeing Naruto wave a hand in front of her face; "Yes sorry."

"Are you okay Mira-Chan?"

"Yeah..." She says with a half forced smile before going back to the kitchen. "But enough with the gloomy mood, why don't I continue making your ramen?"

Hearing the blond saying he was going to wash up, as he gets off the couch walking up the stairs, a deep sigh comes from the take-over mage. She quickly rubs away the droplets seeping at her eyes.

XxX ~ next morning ~ XxX

Lucy, wearing a red t-shirt, a plated skirt and boots, hums in thought, a hand cupping her chin while she browses through the job board. In a simple dark orange shirt, black jeans, his sage coat, and sandals Naruto notices her from his place in the bar. "Looking for work?"

"Yeah, need to get rent money by the end of the week along with some shopping money," the buxom blond shifts her eyes to her fellow blond; "Want to come along?"

He shrugs, "Sure why not?" He stands up and looks over the board. "So what are you thinking?"

Cerulean and Brown scan the board before the celestial mage beams; "How about a treasure hunt near Peace Village." She pulls off the paper, looking to Naruto who takes the job request.

"Ancient treasures up for the taking," the blond Uzumaki mumbles as Claire stops beside him.

"Did you say Peace Village?" She asks.

"Yeah" He replies with a nod. "Why, you've been there before?"

She lets out a laugh. "Oh yeah. Trust me, the name is highly ironic" Letting out a small breath, the elf smirks; "Well I'll lend a hand. Need to get my feet wet in this guild business and all."

Before realizing it Mira was beside him looking at the job request; "Sounds like fun. Think I'll go to. Levy-Chan can take over for me."

Naruto looks at her worriedly. "You sure about that Mira? Claire said it's dangerous"

"You know I'm just going to follow you regardless right?"

He stares at her for a moment before sighing. "Alright..." Mirajane beams at him.

"Tch" The sound of displeasure coming from a corner of the guild didn't go unnoticed by them. They a tall young man, somewhat taller than Naruto, he had a muscular build and was dressed in dark pants, a purple shot with a fur-lined coat over his shoulders. He smirks at the ninja. "Going on a job with the new charity job of the Guild? Man, could you get any lower Naruto?"

Naruto glares over the master's grandson. "You better watch your words Laxus or I'll make you eat them"

Mirajane joins him in glaring at Laxus. "Claire is now a member of our guild Laxus. You should treat her as such"

"As another one of these morons? Yeah, I can do that"

A snort escapes from the elf's lips. "That was a good one" That earns her a few looks.

"Aren't you" Naruto stared. "Bothered by his attitude?"

"Should I?" She shrugs nonchalantly. "Meh, I've been called worse. I have heard quite few choice words by much more interesting people through my long years," Claire says lazily. "Youngsters do like to bark when they have things they think they have to prove."

The elf and leader of the Thunder Tribe only eye each other before Laxus snorts; "Least she has spunk."

"Now!" The raven haired elf claps her hands. "Let's go on an adventure!" She promptly grabs a large mug filled with beer. "One for the road!" And swiftly empties its contents. She swipes her lips clean before serving herself another mug. "Well it's a long road so..." She begins downing mug after mug.

Lucy rolls her eyes, while Mira just giggles at the elf's antic. Meanwhile, Naruto and Laxus keep their eyes on each other. Thankfully a fight didn't break between them, mostly due to Mira's prevention, though it did not stopped either one from giving the other a verbal tongue lashing.

Although Naruto had to shake his head at Cana taking bets on when the two blonds would duke it out.

XxX ~ Era ~ XxX

A deep sigh escapes a few of the council members as they go over the incident with the dark guild Eisenwald and Fairy Tail. "Do we have any idea how the hell a dark mage got through our barrier and retrieved Lullaby?" and elder man with cat shaped ears rubs his eyes.

Councilman Yajima shakes his head; "It's under investigation. But so far nothing… A lot of lives would have been in great danger if not for fairy Tail stopping them." And image shows Naruto throwing his dual elemental Rasenshuriken and the demon flute in Clover.

"Well" The blue haired councilman, Siegrain, chuckles softly. "Once more they show what they are capable of."

Belno rubs her temples. "Just wish they haven't destroyed the Guild meetings building. Makarov's brood is always making a mess while solving another..."

With a one close eye, councilman Org looks at the destroyed remnants of the demonic flute in a sealed case; "What kind of attack was that from Uzumaki anyways?"

The others shrugged as Ultear only smiles watching the scenes, "It was powerful enough to destroy a demon of Zeref. No easy feat. Of course the combined efforts of Titania, Salamander, Gray Fullbuster, and Uzumaki have weakened it for that move to be able to finish it off."

Crawford Seam strokes his beard with a thoughtful frown, "They are getting reckless again..." He raises his voice for the whole council to hear him. "We need to show we are still in charge. On charges of destruction on Council's, as well as Clover's property, send for two of their members to be arrested and detain them for a day. Scarlet and the Uzumaki will do"

"Should we send in Selene?" Leiji asked.

Crawford dismissed him. "No need, Makarov will know what this will be about"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the group of four embarked on their journey, Lucy, Mirajane and Naruto couldn't help but think about their newest member's capabilities.

Sure, she claimed to be over four hundred years, but she acted so... aloof most of the time, hardly with a care in the world. Case in point, the village which tried to execute her and she didn't even bat an eye. She also acted very, very differently for an elf, at least, to Mirajane and Lucy who had heard stories about the mysterious elven kind.

Naruto wondered what type of magics of she wielded, realizing they had never bothered to ask her what type of magic she did... One would think that'd be the first thing Master would ask before inviting someone to join Fairy Tail, but at this point he really couldn't tell with the old man anymore.

A scowl crosses Lucy's lips; "Geez did that guy have to be so rude. Who was he anyways?"

"That glorious example of a proper douchebag was Laxus Dreyar. Jiji's grandson," the buxom blond gawks as the young sage nods; "Yeah, my thoughts exactly when first I learned... I'm surprised Natsu did not try to fight him.

Mira spoke up in that; "Natsu is with Happy out fishing. Erza is cleaning her weapons and armor at the dorm, while I think Gray went on a mission outside town."

The Celestial mage nods before turning to the elf. "So why do you say this village has an ironic name?"

"Oh between the occasional raiders, the nests of monsters surrounding the village, and the fact that it's built upon the ruins of an old civilization which gathers a lot of attention from evil spirits, Peace Village gathers quite a bit of trouble" She explains. "We should go somewhere nicer next time, like Slaughter Valley or Despair Town, those are lovely place this time of the year"

The three humans around the elf sweatdrop as Lucy shakes; "And here I thought this be a simple look for hidden treasures and gain some huge fortune."

At that Claire laughs; "silly girl, you had to say it."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

They eventually arrived at a village surrounded by tall wooden walls, its gate sealed shut. "Hello" Naruto calls. "Is anyone there?"

They are greeted by the sight of dozens of angry looking villagers armed to the teeth, be it with bows, crossbows, rifles and other vintage weapons. Lucy squeaked at the sight, immediately rising her arms in surrender.

"Yeah..." Claire drawled. "I should have mentioned these people are a bit paranoid and overprotective of their town"

Instead of saying a word Naruto lifts the job request paper in hand. Looking at it a lady with a crossbow snorts; "You're looking for Old Man Ben, Will let you in but no funny stuff you hear?"

"Excuse me," Mira ask politely. "Where is Mr. Ben's house?"

A man with a large club grumbles; "At the end of the village, trust me you won't miss it."

Soon as they stepped inside they received nothing but glares filled with suspicion, Claire hadn't been lying when she said these people were wary of strangers. Nearing the end of the village they saw a rather worn down log house, suspecting that to be their client's abode, Naruto knocked on the door.

The door partially opens, revealing half the visage of a short old man with a balding head and long white beard. "What do you want?"

"Are perhaps mister Old Man Ben?" Naruto asks, and Mirajane slaps his arm.

"Don't be rude"

The man looks at them for a moment. "Yes that's me, Old Man Ben"

Mirajane blinks in confusion. "Wait, that's your name?"

"Yep. Sixty years ago I was Young Man Ben"

The Fairies share a look among themselves.

"It's a family tradition"

"Riiiight" Lucy says slowly. "So, we're here for a job you posted"

Old man Ben's eyes widen; "Really?" He opens the door fully, the four gawk seeing the man wearing a fully body furry bear pajamas. "I never thought anyone would even try for that. Come in, come in! Makes yourselves at home"

At his invitation they step inside... and immediately regret it, the place smelled like something had exploded inside. It was filled with very old and poorly keep furniture.

"Sorry for the mess. I don't a lot of visits these days"

'Clearly' was the collective thought of all four of them. Naruto hearing the old fox snort.

The elder Strauss clears her throat and asks. "What is this job about? The add said it was about finding a treasure, but after that it was very vague"

"Ah yes" The old man begins looking through a drawer. "Back in my youth, my partner Creston and I went exploring some ruins a couple of miles from here. We followed old stories about a gem with the power to keep monsters at bay" He lets out an irritated grunt as he apparently doesn't find what he was looking for. He steps over a chair and begins looking over a cabinet. "Peace has the misfortune of being right in between nests of various monsters. Giant spiders, man-eating lizards, flying squirrels that shoot beams out of their eyes..."

Naruto stares at that. "Woah for real..?"

"Hmph, yes, and nasty little bastards" He steps down of the chair and begins looking under his bed. "So, Creston and I figured we could do something to protect the village so we decided to go after the gem" He sighs. "But the place was filled with monsters, Creston died and I barely got away with my life" He finally stands up, holding a box he had found under the bed. "We had this crystal that would shine if one were to point it in the direction of the gem, but neither I nor anyone on this village can brave that place, that's why I posted the job"

"So that crystal is in that box?" Lucy reasons.

"Kinda" He replies, much to their confusion. "You see, one of the monsters we found in the ruins could spit acid, poor Creston was holding the crystal in his hand when he tried to shield his face, for all the good that it did to him..."

Mirajane slowly connects the dots and begins to pale. "So... inside that box…"

Old Man Ben promptly opens it, revealing a skull with a misshapen crystal attached to the forehead. "This is my old friend Creston, I'm sure he'd be delighted to meet you were he not, you know, dead and all..."

Claire was thankfully fast enough to catch Lucy as she fainted, prompting old man Ben to tilt his head; "It's only a severed head girl. Don't see the whole fuss in it."

Both Naruto and Mira sweatdrop; 'of course you wouldn't'

"So..." Naruto starts. "Who's going to carry-Not it!"

"Not it!" Mira followed suit.

"Not it!" Claire shouted. All eyes fall on the unconscious Lucy. "Well, you snooze you lose pal"

XxX ~ outside the village ~ XxX

"Come on guys... Why do I have to carry it?!"

"Because you snoozed and lost" Claire explains. "Come on, that's an universal law, even older than my people"

The blonde was inconsolable as she continued to hold at a distance a bag in which carried the skull they needed. "Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god, I'm carrying a skull..." She wailed.

On a random thought, Naruto wanted to mention he's seen people haul corpses back to his village for examining. But he had a feeling that would just make it worse for his fellow blond. "Look on the bright side..."

"WHAT BRIGHT SIDE?!"

"We're here"

They reached a cave with an arch door made of stone at the entrance, the cut of the stone showed clear signs of being weathered by the passage of time. Along the arch there was an in scripture in an old language they couldn't understand.

Claire whistles. "This place must be older than me" She leans closer to the stone to read the worn down letters. "Hmm..."

"Can you understand what it says?" Naruto asks.

"It's really worn" She muses. "But... I think this is dwarven" She immediately scowls. "A dwarven ruin, great" Her voice drips with sarcasm. The others lift a brow at the elf that looks at them dryly; "I am amazed he actually made it out of this place. Those bearded blowhards love putting all kinds of traps and what not in their places. Everyone keep on your toes, senses sharp!"

Without further ado, they entered the ruin, unknowingly being followed a white furred fox with golden markings around its body.

As soon as they stepped inside, they began descending down a staircase partially buried by earth and stone. By Naruto's estimate they must have descended at least twenty meters in a narrow path until they finally entered into the main chamber, where they were left in awe.

It was almost like an entire underground city, large stone buildings of detailed geometrical design, great statues of stout bearded warriors carrying different types of weapon, some of them crumbling or buried beneath the earth. Right ahead of them they could see a large number of small stone structures placed around an obelisk-like structure in a circular motion.

"That's a market" Claire said in realization before taking a good look around her surroundings. "Hmm, this is an old lost dwarven settlement. The gem Ben described sounds like it could be something the dwarves could have made to stop underground creatures from entering their city"

"This place is so beautiful," Mira says breathlessly. Lucy nods in pure awe with Plue hanging on her shoulder.

Claire shrugs; "Well they are master builders and smiths, I have to give them that. When they make something, it lasts for a loooong time."

"I know a dwarf who does some business in Magnolia." Naruto says absently looking around. "He's an old grouch but the best at making weapons," He had an overall good opinion of their craft, despite getting into a brawl all over town with short bearded man calling his kunai pansy toothpicks.

"Why is this place abandoned?" Lucy asks.

"Why are there so many ruins around Ishgar?" Claire retorts. "Because something big and dangerous happened long ago. It's the same for all kinds of people, some lived here, some lived there, someone perhaps did something stupid and it bit them in the ass, or something bad and angry came their way and decided 'Hey, let's wreck their stuff, that'll be fun'"

A little on the cynical side, but no one pressed. Mira did remember something bad happened a really long time ago, but not much, history was Levy's department. Walking through the market, their resident elf speaks up; "If you happen to find anything like jewelry, gems, or gold take it. Dwarven antiques bring in a lot of money."

A glow suddenly caught their attention, it was coming the bag which carried the skull with the crystal on it. Testing it, Lucy moved it from side to sight, the light dimmed and finally died out when it went too far to the right, and re-ignited when she moved it left again.

Naruto looked to the left where the bag was pointing, and saw a large staircase leading up to complex of buildings. "Guess that's where we need to go"

As the four enter a corridor, the white fox watches them curiously on a broken arch above them. The darken passage is illuminated by small ball of light from Claire's hand. The ball of light soon floats above all of them as they make their way through.

Mira looks to the orb; "Light magic?"

"Hehe" She chuckles. "Elven light magic. You see-" She stops and her expression shifts completely, turning serious. Her ears twitch a few times.

Naruto looks at her; "What's wron-"

"Shhh" He is quickly shushed by the elf. "Something's coming"

Lucy looks all around her. "I don't hear-"

Suddenly, the echo of heavy footsteps fills the underground chambers. They were numerous and fast, indicative of a force superior in number. The growl stronger the closer they get, Naruto prepares to fight, while Mirajane proceeds to stand next to Lucy.

Claire's gaze shots up. "There!" They raise their heads to the rocky ceiling, and pale at the sight of a gigantic centipede, its baleful red eyes stare at them hungrily.

The creature roars, shaking the entire cave, it twists its long body, leaving the ceiling but still connected to it, it was so long it could probably touch both the top and the floor at the same time. Naruto swiftly went through some hand seals, but Claire had already backflipped, gathered the blue light in her hand and shaped it into the form of a bow, readying an arrow of energy on its shimmering string.

She let loose the bolt, this one flying true towards the gaping fanged maw of the great centipede, it pierced perfectly perpendicular to its stretching body, cleaving through flesh and organs with burning energy. Green ichor spilled in torrents from its body, which soon helplessly to the stone floor before them, shaking the ground all around them.

Naruto whistled in appreciation. "Nice"

Lucy stared at the elf amazed. "What kind of light magic was that?" The light magic she knew was golden in color, but the one that Claire had casted was a pure azure.

The elf smirks. "This is the magic of the elves, Starlight Magic. In the most basic sense its caster and maker magic for whom the user can create anything we want," Claire winks.

Mira taps her chin as Naruto speaks; "Like Gray's ice magic."

"Well, Ice Make can make a greater variety of things as its solid matter. But with starlight we can cast more ritualistic spells" She giggles seeing her new human friends looking fascinated; "I will gladly show everyone back at the guild. Let's go."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

At the dwarven market, the white fox narrows his eyes seeing ten people coming inside. He stays hidden at the top of a building as they converse quietly. "Did you see that guy, three hotties with him and he brought them here."

One of the men snorts; "Let them do the work. When they take care of 'it' we kill the guy and take the ladies and the treasure."

The fox decides to sit back and wait, he needed to further assess the youngsters.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Claire looks left and right as she pass through a wide corridor. "Well, so far we haven't activated any kind of mechanisms designed to kill intruders. Which means something big must be awaiting us at the end."

The jinchuuriki narrows his eyes. "Just because we've made it this far without many difficulties or setting off traps doesn't mean there is-Oh gods there is something big waiting for us at the end isn't it?"

"Most likely"

He sighs as he palms his face. "I should just get used to expecting crap like this..."

Mirajane looks at the elf with curiosity. "What do you think is guarding the gem?"

"Knowing dwarves, something far too big for it to have been created by people so short. My guess is a Sentinel"

"A what now?"

"Giant dwarven statue-robot thingy, a big thing animated by magic and machinery" The elf shivers; "Faced a few from time to time. And they are a royal pain."

The blond Uzumaki slumps; "Oh joy..."

"Well," Mira hums. "Look at it as extra training Foxy. Besides, you can brag to Natsu you beat up a giant dwarven sentinel."

Naruto gives her a dry look. "You know that will only motivate him to be even more reckless right?"

"That's part of what makes him Natsu" Mirajane just gives him a cheery smile.

Peaking her interesting Claire tilts her head to the two; "The rosette haired boy right?" everyone nods. "What's his magic anyways?"

"Fire dragon slayer," Mira says casually.

The elf, much to their confusion, promptly makes a choking sound. "Wait, he's a what?!" She sputters with eyes wide open. "I mean- How?! The dragons are practically extinct!"

Mira shrugs as Naruto takes over; "All we know is Natsu's dad, Igneel vanished around X777. He was the one who found him as a baby and raised him, Natsu's been looking for him ever since."

"That scarf was a gift from Igneel," Lucy speaks up quietly while holding Plue.

"Igneel?" Claire repeats incredulously. "The Flame Dragon King?"

The three others look among themselves. "You've heard of him?" Lucy asks.

Claire shortly raises her arms before letting them fall again. "Among dragons he was a very renowned figure, even the elves knew of him"

"Did you ever meet him?" the white haired asks as they keep walking.

The elf shakes her head; "I only ever heard stories. Back then things were in chaos during the Dragon Wars."

Naruto nods slowly before the full meaning of her words hit him and the others, who then proceeded to stare at her in shock. "Wait, Dragon Wars?!" He exclaimed loudly. "What do you mean by 'Dragon Wars'?"

Both Lucy and Claire lifts a brow at him; "You never heard Naru?" The buxom blond sounding surprised.

"Someone wasn't paying attention during history class;" Claire smirks jokingly.

Only Mira could see that the embarrassment in Naruto's face he rubs the back of his head was fake; "Was probably asleep. So care to fill me in?"

"I heard stories about how dragons once roamed the lands" Lucy explained. "But something happened that caused them to fight among themselves. Most scholars believed they drove themselves to extinction during that conflict"

Naruto stared at her. "Yet Natsu was raised by one, who later disappeared"

A sad grim smile crosses Claire's lips; "I really don't like remembering that time. Too many bad things happened that left Earthland into such a mess..."

"Hehehe" He hears rather cruel laugh in his head. "And here you thought Earthland was such as a peaceful place"

'Shut it furball'

"It may present a nicer visage, but underneath it all lies a broken and sundered world besieged by war and tragedy, just like ours..." The old fox paused for a moment before turning serious; "Dragons were deeply feared even in our world. Even I avoided them, until it was unavoidable. There was a reason a few well known islands became lost in our world's history brat."

'That's another world fox'

"Look kit, some things are constant enough, universal truths you could say, that even I know of them. Humans? They spread like vermin in every corner of creation apparently. And dragons? Few races or beings can embody raw power as well as dragons can"

Naruto let those words sink in as a question came through; 'Can you beat a dragon?'

At hearing the question the Bijuu king snorts. "Well I can, because I'm a huge mass of magnificent primordial power" The jinchuuriki had to roll his eyes at that. "But even then, dragons vary in power just like all other beings, there were a few back in the day who could teach me a lesson or two in a fight" Naruto knew the fox wasn't being prideful, he truly meant he had known dragons of unbelievable power who had in fact trashed even him. "For all other beings, dragons are a tad more difficult... and by that I mean facing one is suicidal if you don't know what you're doing or if you don't have the right tools"

Feeling a tiny palm on his cheek, Naruto blinks seeing Plue on his shoulder tapping at him. He also notices Mira, Lucy, and Claire looking at him with concern; "Are you alright Naru? You fell behind and looked like you zoned out on us," the buxom celestial mage asks gently.

"Yeah, I'm okay" He said bluffing. "Just trying to wrap my mind about what happened to the dragons and Natsu's dad"

Lifting a brow, Claire shrugs it off as she starts walking again. Lucy smiles as she takes back Plue from her fellow blond who pets the little spirit catching up their elven friend. Only Mira remains as she looks at Naruto quietly.

"Are you sure okay?" Mirajane asks with a concern tone. "Now that I think about it, this is not the first time you've zoned out like that"

Sighing, the blond Uzumaki places his hands on Mira's shoulders rubbing them gently; "I'm okay Mira-chan, really. I just get lost in thought once in a while."

It felt like a knife twisting in his insides. Lying to someone like Mirajane, who's been at his side at the beginning of coming to Earthland. But he was just not comfortable in explaining how he has a mountain sized all powerful demonic kitsune stuck in his gut.

"But it's for the best isn't it?" He heard the fox's voice once more, feeling nothing but vile glee in it. "The less they know, the easier for you to fit in, to better forget about that place you used to call home"

Naruto promptly ignored the fox who only chuckled at his container's internal discomfort. The boy could speak all the bravado he wanted, his so called 'determination' in wanting to going home. The Kyuubi truly knew what the boy wanted deep in his heart.

"...Let's get going Mira-chan" Was the only thing he said before carrying forward. Mirajane looks at him for a second before following suit.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The elf surveys the path ahead. "We're nearing a big chamber" She announces before turning to look at the glow in Lucy's bag, it was glowing far more intensely than before. "And I'd say that's where the gem is"

"There really weren't a lot of active traps here" Naruto mused. They had run into one or two but hardly anything threatening for them.

Lucy stared at him incredulously. "Are you actually disappointed?"

"Little bit..."

"They must have been triggered by old raiders or monsters" The elf reasons. She soon grins as they enter the chamber.

They stare in awe at the room which was at least as large as a five story building, murals depicting geometrical carvings of the dwarven people, their creations, and their lifestyle, filled the place. Behind them was a giant statue of stone and metal, dressed as a warrior and armed with great axe, a horned helmet covered its features, but the carvings of a thick beard were visible over the collarbone.

At the center of the chamber was a broken section of stone stands, atop them was a single shining blue gem.

"...Okay... This is awesome," Naruto smirks as Mira absently nods in awe.

Taking out the skull from the bag, the jewel resonates brightly. They notice the gem was also beginning glow uniquely, sort of like a pulse.

"I'm gonna go on a hunch here" The elf starts with a smile. "And say that is what we're looking for"

Lucy nods enthusiastically as she approaches it. Naruto immediately pales, "Lucy wait!"

His fellow blonde just stares at him in confusion. "Huh? What is it?"

"Don't you ever see the movies?! When you take the treasure something bad happens!"

Lucy sweatdrops. "I don't think that really happens..."

"Yeah it does" Claire nods in agreement. "Like the big Sentinel in the room suddenly activating for example"

The other three remain silent for a few seconds. "You mean to tell us that THING" The Celestial mage points at the great statue in the chamber. "Is the Sentinel?"

A nonchalant nod from the elf only made both blonds gawk, "If we are really careful it won't activate."

Mira only looks wide eyed at the giant stone figure; "and if we're not careful?"

"Get ready for a fight, or end up like that thing," pointing to her right, the other follow the elf's finger seeing a monster's skeleton. The skull shattered into pieces only made the three humans gulp unconsciously.

"W-What can we expect if it does activate?" Naruto asks, eyes still on the dormant automaton.

"Depends on the type" The elf shrugs before giving the construct a good look. "This one appears to be a simple warrior type construct, but still incredibly deadly. Tch" She snorts. "Typical dwarves, 'we small, let's make things big. Let's give big thing a bigger kill-y thing. That make us big, we smash'" The sardonic tone so filled with contempt had them raise an eyebrow at her.

"You don't like dwarves do you?" Lucy asks dryly.

"Dwarves and elves, news flash we don't get along. Long story, don't ask"

The three sweatdrop as Lucy looks to Naruto who shrugs. Lifting the skull above her head, it lifts from her grasp. The jewel soon floats close to the gem as it pulses brighter.

The four cover their eyes as beam of light hits the jewel. The sheer brightness illuminates the room till in a flash it vanishes. Lowering their arms, they see the jewel, glowing with an ethereal white light, float back into Lucy's hands.

All release a large collected breathes of relief, Lucy soon smiles to the others; "Well mission com..." they froze as the entire room shook. They look to see the gem beginning to crack, and then shatters. Claire sneers with a growl; "Oh those ale swilling shits..."

"Claire," Naruto says, keeping his gaze of the sentinel.

The said elf only snarls; "It's a dwarven trail. Taking the energy from the gem starts it up!" She looks back to the door where a magic seal appears. "It won't let us out till we beat that thing!"

Slowly the fingers of the sentinel begin to move, Naruto narrows his eyes; "Lucy," The buxom blond looks fearfully at her friend; "Summon Taurus, he'd be a big help. Then you and Mira find a good hiding place."

Open: Gate of the golden bull! Taurus!

Erupting from the ground the giant cow man flexes his muscles. Without saying a word, Mira grabs Lucy's wrist as they run off to find cover over a crumbled section of a wall.

Seeing the large metal construct, Taurus only flares his nostrils, steam blowing from them as he gets ready for battle. Looking over to see Naruto, he knew what to expect. However, what really got to him was seeing an elven woman right beside him. "Well helloo~, who's this lovely sight? Care to introduce us there blondie?"

In their hidden area watching, Lucy only facepalms while Mira giggles. The blond Uzumaki looks dryly at the large spirit who has hearts in his eyes; "That is Claire Bull-man, and before you start she's into girls only."

Taurus only froze in place looking wide eyed as the elven woman nods with a prideful grin. Both human and elf however soon sweatdrop seeing a dribble of blood from the celestial spirit's nose. "I could guess what you're thinking, but I'm afraid to know the specifics…" Naruto mutters.

Through their short talk, the Sentinel did not stop, and was already raising its axe up to strike. As the hiss of the steam screams, the team looked in time to dodge. Jumping away, Naruto and Claire separate as the axe smashes into the ground, causing the floor to quake.

Quickly rising up, Naruto leaps for the Sentinel, grabbing onto its arm as it lifts up. "Clair, need a distraction!"

"On it," Using her Starlight magic like, the elf creates her bow firing several arrows at the massive machine. Turning its head, the dwarven construct took the bait as Claire ducks and weaves, and fires arrows. She leaps away to evade the swung of its axe.

Having used the swinging momentum of the mechanical arm, Naruto launches himself into the air and creates an Odama Rasengan, not fooling around as he falls upon the large battle robot's back with grinding efficiency. Taking the blunt of the attack without flinching, the Sentinel turned and swung hard at Naruto, narrowly missing as Naruto jumped away. Seeing the shine he put on the thing's back, the blond sighs. "If fighting things doesn't work out, I can be a polisher of dwarven items."

Under them, the Celestial Bull swings with all his might at the thing's leg, though his giant axe couldn't not cut the metal, his power was enough to trip the thing. Seeing this, Naruto leaps from the robotic construct and latches onto the nearby wall. Claire stepped back a bit, huffing. "Those damn dwarves could craft, but there is always a way to beat these things…Wait!" And idea hit her. "It's power core! If we can find its power core we can take it out!"

"Where is it usually?" Mira yells out.

"At the center. Shatter the Lacrima charging this thing and its dust," Claire skids to one knee firing an arrow.

Taking a good look at the front of the giant construct Naruto sweatdrops; "Uh in case you haven't noticed there is a shit ton of metal on the chest."

Claire's eye twitches; "Did I say it was easy you smart ass!?"

Point taken, Naruto tries to think of a way through. As the arrows hit the metal, he noticed a small energy discharge flowing through the metal. "Wait... Claire, can you use Starlight to enhance a weapon?!"

At that the elf lifts a brow; "Yeah why?"

"Got an idea, hang on!" The blond goes through rapid hand seals before extending his right arm with his palm open, and left hand holding his wrist.

Raiton: Museifu!

Four arches of lightning explode from the young sage's hand hitting the sentinel dead on. The construct staggers back a few steps, the electrical current messing with its mechanism, they could hear the grind of gears malfunctioning as the automaton's back crashed against the wall, its limb twitching erratically.

Swiftly unrolling a scroll, Naruto unseals the handle of blade-less weapons. With enough application of his chakra, a shimmering blade of lightning comes forth into existence. "Quickly, enhance this!"

"On it!" Light shines on the tips of her index and middle fingers; she quickly traces a form of lettering in the air, making vanishing patterns of light.

A blue magic circle spawns right underneath the Uzumaki, channeling power to the blade. Tendrils of magic surround the lightning, wrapping around its shimmering form changing from yellow to blue. "Nice!" Naruto jumps over the Sentinel's chest, and pierces right through the plating, slowly bringing the blade down to create an opening.

Unfortunately the automaton was beginning to shrug off the effects of his previous attack, a giant metallic rose ready to squash him like a bug. Naruto stared in panic as the hand quickly got closer to him, but a bolt of blue light threw the arm away, hitting the wall, followed by stakes of azure energy burying themselves on the wall around the arm. Threads of shimmering light weaved over the mechanical limb from the stakes' end, trapping it in a net of energy.

"Got your back!" The elf shouted. Naruto nodded in thanks before continuing opening the chest piece.

That was when the other arm came up, holding the axe closely by the shoulder. "Ah hell," Naruto lightly mutters.

"NARUTO MOVE!" Mira screams out as her eyes widen.

The blond growls before Taurus's axe blocks the Sentinel's. Veins were visible as the bull man strains gashing his teeth, holding the back the massive weapon with all his might. "Thank you big guy!"

Steam burst from bull spirit's nostrils. "For Miss Lucy's boobs, I shall protect you!"

Said blushing buxom blonde shouts in outrage. "What does that have to do with anything?!"

Having no time to deal with the lunacy, Naruto carried on his task. The blade managed to make a large enough opening for him to fit his entire arm, taking a peek inside, he saw the partially melted plates and gears underneath, behind all the metal he found a glimmer of light coming out of a shining spherical crystal.

"There!" He took positioned his swords and prepared himself to plunge deeply into the opening.

"Watch out!" Claire shouted.

The energy bindings holding the arm against the wall fizzled out as the mechanical limb tore them apart, swatting Naruto and Taurus away like flies.

Skidding along the ground on both feet, Naruto stares as the construct pulled itself back up. The hole was wide enough for his arm, but the core was off to the side, a direct shot by an arrow wasn't possible. They would have to do so some more work to pry that thing open. "Shit... I managed to cut it, but that metal is still too tough."

Bounding behind him, Claire just grunts in frustration. "It's both a blessing and a curse, how they made these things to last. Great craftsmanship, but why do they have to make them traps?"

Naruto frowns as he forms a rasengan in his hand, "I'm gonna make that hole wider, get ready to take the shot"

The elf nods in reply, forming another arrow of light in her bow before taking aim and readying herself. "Get on it"

Having to duck out of the way, the trio watch as the thing clanks, steam pouring out of its orifices and its turning becoming faster, striking unbelievably swift for Naruto. Rolling out of the way between the Sentinels legs, Naruto jumps up and starts climbing the things back. As it tries to shake him off, he clings on. "Yo, How about some help here Bull-man?"

Racing for the legs, the Celestial Spirit rammed into the leg, trying to tackle the thing once more, only for the leg to snap back, and then kicks like. With a stunned look, it almost got too close but Taurus had managed to block the kick with his axe, allowing him to safely survive the strike but it blew him away, he embedded the weapon to ground as to anchor him. "He's not going down without a fight!"

From her hiding place, Lucy had a sudden idea. "Claire, enchant Taurus' axe! He might cut into the metal and pry the thing's chest open!" With a quick wave of her hand, the elf's enchantment made large battle axe's glow blue; "Get him Taurus!" Lucy yells out.

"Yoo~u got it!"

The large bull man charges and the Sentinel raises its own axe to strike him down. The great weapon is brought swiftly upon the Celestial spirit, but is evenly met by the power of Taurus's enhanced axe. At the same moment, Naruto smashed the full powered Rasengan he had been charging upon the things back, staggering it. The clash of both attacks produces a flash of blue light, tearing the axe off from the Sentinel's grasp.

Suddenly, two shining red eyes beam from behind the helmet, steam escapes from various places on its body, and its Lacrima core begins glowing stronger by the second, the violent sound of gears grinding becomes nearly deafening.

"Oh crap!" The elf curses. "It's gonna blow! We gotta destroy it before it's too late!"

Without hesitation, Taurus turns to give a winking smirk and thumbs up. "Got it honey! Just watch these muscles show you what they can do!" Jumping up onto the giant metallic machine turned bomb, the axe swiftly cut into the chest place. Using his raw power, Taurus roars with a mooing grunt of strength, pulling his blade to the side.

Seeing this, the Sentinel moves it's working arm up to try and crush the bull, only for Naruto, using Sage jutsu, slamming a downward kick into it, forcing the arm to fly down and swing back, the chest free of obstruction. This was the best time for Claire to fire, as Taurus finally pulls his axe out, along with a chunk of the front plate, the core glaring red and without anything in the way, gears flying around and crunching up in stress.

Seeing her chance, and having built up the energy with her arrow since after she enchanted the spirits axe, she fired the largest bolt of energy directly into the core, shattering the crystal with blinding power escaping like an open gas tank "GET BACK EVERYONE!"

The Sentinel twitches erratically, the metal groaning as it did so, a small explosion tore apart a section of its torso, shrapnel and pieces of stone flew everywhere. The others hid behind the walls at the entrance, from where the seal suddenly deactivated, to avoid getting caught in their path. Another blast caused its arm to fall off, its knees no longer worked properly as the power no longer flowed through its body, the metal began collapsing under its own weight, twisting and breaking.

It finally plummeted to the ground face first, where it remained a few seconds before finally an explosion erupted from its back, tearing whatever remained of its body to pieces. Wisps of energy rose from its destroyed form, gathering like smoke and solidifying into a single object. The gem had been rebuilt.

The three combatants slumped on the ground, exhaustion hitting them just Naruto's Senjutsu wore off. He was glad he had enough left over to use against that damn thing. The blond Uzumaki looks to a tired Taurus; "I owe you big guy. And Uzumaki's always repay their debts."

The visibly exhausted bull man just gave the thumbs up; "Was all about protecting Miss Lucy's smoking hot body. All the thanks I need." He gives a two finger salute before fading back to the celestial world.

Before the blond could look to Claire he is soon tackled into a hug by Mirajane. "I'm glad you're okay" She breathes in relief.

Naruto at first doesn't know how to react, his own arms apart unsure of what to do, but he finally decides for placing his arms around her.

Claire and Lucy stare at them. "Um" The elf whispers at the blonde. "Are they...?"

Lucy only shrugs. "I-I honestly don't know..."

Seeing Mira was not about to let go, Naruto looks over to Claire and Lucy; "We'll take a break."

Groaning as she gets to her feet, their elven friend goes to inspect the room as Lucy looks at the fallen automaton; "What about the gem?"

"If you can defeat the sentinel you earned the right to a few things," Claire speaks up as she looks around. Walking to where that damn statue of death once stood, she smirks as she found what was looking for. "Naruto!"

Hearing footsteps, Claire sees her three human friends coming over. She lifts a triangular white gem for him to see. "Mission complete. Time to celebrate" She suddenly pulls a mug of beer seemingly out of nowhere and proceeds to drink it thirstily.

"You and Cana might have a problem..." Lucy muses dryly.

"It's only a problem when I ran out"

XxX ~ 10 minutes later ~ XxX

After taking a small break, the group head through the long corridor; "So how much can that gem bring in, in jewels?" Naruto asks absently.

"At right buyer?" Claire says. "Tens of thousands alone"

Lucy's eyes suddenly turn into the jewel symbol, and the sound of a cashing machine suddenly opening could nearly be heard.

"But we have to give it back to the old man in town"

The Celestial's mage shoulders slump.

"How much was the money for the job anyway?" Mirajane asks.

Naruto hums in thought as he pulls the paper from his clothes. "About... 2000 jewels..."

That really wasn't much...

"...We should really have paid more attention to the add before taking the job"

"The job request said ancient treasures up for the taking" The jinchuuriki grumbles. "But nope, the only treasure we have is the one we have to give to our employer"

Claire snorts; "Old coot knew how say the right words. Sly for a guy who dresses up as a teddy bear."

Lucy stares at the gem. "Well, he did say the gem had the power to keep monsters at bay. And from what we heard, his village really needs it"

Nobody really said a word as they slump, a lot of work for spare change. Least it was for a good deed. Having good karma never hurts, right? Nearing the market square, the blond Uzumaki's eyes narrow as his danger senses kick in.

"Not so fast children!" A boisterous voice exclaimed from the ruined market.

They tensed up and readied for a fight as they saw... honestly, they had no idea what they were seeing. It was a group of men, all had enormous afros, and all were wearing something Ichiya from Blue Pegasus would wear. In short, they looked ready to hit up a disco instead raiding a centuries old ruin.

Claire gave them a long, long look. "And... you guys are?"

The leader, they supposed, smirked, reflecting the light (from somewhere in the old dark ruin) on a tooth. "Why silly girl, we are the famous Dy-no-mite Brothers!" They all struck a dancing move pose.

The Fairies could only gawk at them.

"...I have never seen something so bizarre in my life" The fox decided to comment. "Well, there were those weird green things in spandex back in Konoha"

'For once I agree with you furball,' Naruto mentally mutters.

Striking another a weird pose, the leader point's finger at the dumbstruck fairies; "Not that you got rid not so groovy giant, we will gladly take the treasure... And those smoking babes."

"Buddy" Claire says dryly. "Not only you are not my type, I am one hundred percent certain you yourself are confused to what your own type is"

One of the brothers shook his head; "Honey, we know brick houses when we see them sister. And you three light a fire under us like no other."

Sticking her tongue out in disgust, Claire only shivers at their antics. "Yeah, I'd rather heat a girl's brick house, thank you very much. Definitely need to find out what kind of bricks you want to heat up there fella."

The leader made another pose. "Come on, everyone, get these fools! Take that treasure and capture the girls!" With a resounding cheer, the thugs jump into the fray upon command and seek their prize.

Grabbing her whip, Lucy snapped it against one, only for him to duck under it and get up close, managing to grab a hold of her shoulder. "Hah, i knew one of you would be kinky! Here, let me tie you up with that-UGH!" Only for her to snap kick him in the groin, making him hit the ground.

Shaking, Lucy rubbed wherever she touched like a disease off her. "Ick, just gross you perverted freaks! Why does there have to be so many of you!"

The leader went straight for Naruto who only looks at the man dryly, the man laughs loudly; "I got you sucka!"

Grabbing the man's large tuff of hair, Naruto spun the man backwards, torpedo style into the wall. His afro, however, was more than enough cushion him as the leader bounced off and turned, jumping up and going for a wild kick at the blonde. "Hah! Take this." Grabbing the leg, Naruto forced the leader to slam into the ground before twisting him and using him as a bat to smack two of his henchmen away, both flying over some of the crumbled buildings.

Looking at his handiwork, Naruto hummed. "Ah, I prefer a nine iron." With that, he swung again and tossed the leader to Claire, who grabbed him by the arm and twirls him around in lace she found on some of them, tying him up before making him spin and landing with the rest of their team. "Nice."

Shaking off the dizziness as he stands, the leader blinks in confusion seeing two, or was it three Narutos. "Okay... We do this the hard way..."

He adjusted his collar snapped his fingers, his men forming a line at his side. "Let's give them a taste of our rhyme boys" They spun on their feet on an elaborate dance move, finishing on a pose with sparkles flowing all around them. "Hope you like our Sparkle Magic!"

Claire could only stare. "...That's just sad"

Suddenly, they thrusted their palms forward, shooting blasts of shimmering light which whistled like fireworks. Naruto and the elf jumped out of the way as the blasts exploded on collision.

"AH HAH..! You cats can't handle our power," the leader exclaims snapping his fingers. They fire off another blast which Naruto picks up under each arm Mira and Lucy before it hits.

Mirajane seem to pay no mind to the events happening around her, opting to keep a dry look on her face even as Naruto carries both her and Lucy out of reach of their attacks. "This has to be the lamest battle I've seen..."

Letting go of the ladies, Naruto turns back with a dry look before going through some hand seals; "least they believe in a team effort if nothing else." he finishes the seal on the snake before extending his hand at the weirdos.

Futon: Daitoppa!

A might gust of wind escapes his lips, hitting at the thugs with the full strength of a vortex, they shouted as they were blown away into a wall, piling on top of the other as they fell.

Claire rolled her neck and scowled in annoyance. "Ok and I so done for today... So how about if we put an end for today?" She formed a starlight bow in her hands once more, readying a shot which shimmered like lightning; a magic circle appeared before her. "Star-Chaser..!" Shooting the projectile through the circle, this one multiplied and they flew in different direction, before guiding themselves at a single objective, the pile of goons which were beginning to recover and saw the homing bolts of light with terror.

XxX ~ Peace Village ~ XxX

Standing at the open gate, Naruto points lazily to his side; "You know these asshats?"

A wide-belly man scowls at the pile of beaten men with now frizzled afros and nods. "These bastards have been trying to steal from us for a long time. Thank you for bringing them in"

Mira gives a warm smile; "We have the gem for Old Man Ben." A woman nods as she goes to fetch the elderly man.

"You guys actually fought that sentinel thing and beat it? Man, after what happened with old man Ben and his buddy we gave that place a wide berth." A villager rubs the back of his head.

"You got it?" They see the old man... still in his bear suit, smiling widely and walking towards them with a hop in his step. "Ahahaha..! I knew you'd do it!" He takes his friend's skull from the group. "And you said they wouldn't survive past the entrance, well mister pessimist you were wrong once more!"

Lucy stares at him disturbed once more. "...Is he talking to the skull?"

A villager dryly leans in beside Naruto and Mira; "He's been talking to that skull for a long~ time." he whispers quietly.

Claire lifts up the blue triangle jewel in her hand; "You'll need this." She hands it over to Ben who fishes out a medium size bag.

"I know the job said 2000 jewels. But defeating the sentinel, getting the gems, and taking care of the Dy-no-mite brothers, you earned this." old man Ben hands the bag to Mirajane who opens it.

The others lean in and gawk seeing nothing but dwarven gold coins. At least three hundred pieces; "I really don't need that. All I ever cared about was protecting my village."

Claire smirks widely as she secures the bag. "We humbly accept"

The Fairies bide their goodbyes to the villagers who waved them farewell much more warmly than when they first arrived. Old Man Ben looked at the gems in his hand. "Now to see if this thing works or if I heard the story wrong and it actually attracts more monsters..."

XxX ~ Magnolia ~ XxX

"So three hundred dwarven gold is roughly…" Naruto rubs his chin. The four just arriving back in the outskirts of town.

"Around fifty thousand jewels" Claire explains with a smirk. "We split it in four and we have twelve thousand five hundred for each"

The blond sage lets out a low whistle; "Now that is a good haul for a job." Mira nods in agreement as Claire beams.

Holding Plue in her arms, Lucy smiles; "Getting to see those ruins was amazing."

"Yeah" The elf nods. "There are many awesome places to see around the world if you know where to look, I should take you to see old elven ruins one day, or those left behind by the ancestors of the Fiore people"

"You have a sense for adventures don't you?" Mirajane says with a smile.

"I'd say so. Most of my people are comfortable remaining in one place for their long lives" She sighs. "My people have grown really reclusive the last centuries"

"Is it bad?" Lucy asks.

"Put it to you this way" Claire says in a dry tone. "There used to be many elven kingdoms in Ishgar, but now in Fiore alone there is three, one single large city for each, that's very few compared to the old days. And we barely speak to one another. The same goes for the dwarves, and many of the other races"

By her tone, they could tell their elven friend was not too keen on seclusion like the rest of her people. As Mira was about to ask something they overhear someone running by; "Erza and Natsu are going at it again!"

Naruto groans as he suddenly remembers. "Right... I promised him we would fight with Erza"

"Guess he got impatient" The elder Strauss points out.

The buxom celestial mage looks dryly at the two "Are you surprised?"

Racing through town, the four sees a large crowd in front of the guild. Naruto sighs as he slumps seeing Natsu going full force against Erza, who wears her fire empress armor. She side steps a flaming fist, her eyes remain calm and focused.

"In that armor it cuts flame attacks down by 50%," Mira speaks up gaining people's attention.

Gray walks over to them; "Where the hell you guys been?"

"We took a job" Lucy explains.

Natsu stops in his attack, looking at them incredulously. "And you didn't take me?!" He points an angry finger at the male blonde. "Did you forget about our fight?!"

Naruto shakes his head. "No, no, no, no, no... Ok yes"

The elder Strauss sibling gives a dry look to a now gawking dragon slayer; "Natsu you were out somewhere fishing with Happy."

"Never lose focus Natsu!" Turning back around with small 'huh', Natsu narrowly avoids a downward slash from the scarlet haired knight's sword.

"Alright, guess I'll join" the blond Uzumaki sighs before him suddenly noticing Claire wasn't at his side anymore. "Huh?"

The elf suddenly found herself at Erza's side, having snaked an arm over her shoulder and staring at her with the most lewd of gazes. "Why hello Erza" The Scarlet shivered at her tone. "Didn't you know had nice revealing armor like that" Her eyes fall to her generously exposed cleavage.

The knightess immediately draws some distance between them. "A-Away from me you lewd fiend"

Claire bites the tip a nail as she continues to stare in appreciation at the Titania. "Hmm, I wonder what other types of armor you have"

The Card mage of Fairy Tail, taking a swing of a bottle while observing the whole thing, calls; "She has a Seduction Armor"

"CANA!"

Lucy blushes as her imagination ran on 'seduction armor', "Why would Erza have something like seduction armor?"

"Ohhhh I knew you had a dark side Erza" The elf chuckles mischievously. "I have some seduction attire myself, want to see it? It involves me taking off everything but my underwear"

Several males in the crowd hold their noses, while those less fortunate are sent flying with a geyser of crimson shooting from their nostrils. Mira lifts a brow seeing Naruto holding his nose while Lucy just glares at him dryly.

"Hot is hot damn it," he weakly mutters looking at both ladies.

Cana shrugs while taking another swing. "Saw more than her underwear last night..."

The area froze as blushes nearly went atomic while Natsu just tilts his head; "Why were you looking at her underwear?"

Naruto, along with everyone else, can only gawk. "...I'm not explaining that to him" He said with finality

"That's quite enough!" A voice makes everyone stop as they turn.

They all blink seeing frog man in full robes with several rune knights behind him. Narrowing his eyes from his spot, Makarov speaks up; "Can we help the council with something?"

The humanoid amphibian clears his throat "We are under orders to arrest Erza Scarlet and Naruto Uzumaki for destruction of Council property at Clover"

Gray stares at them in shock. "You're kidding me... We destroyed Lullaby and the council wants to PUNISH them for it?!"

Though outwardly not showing it, Naruto mentally sneers. Erza narrows her eyes shifting back into her Heart's Cruz armor. Inside his container the old fox only snorts; "Cowards can't admit their own shortcomings, so use scapegoats for their own incompetence. And you wonder why I hate humans?"

Natsu smacks his flaming fists together. "If you think for a moment we're just gonna let you-"

"It's okay Natsu" Erza cuts in, shocking everyone. "We'll go"

A few were about to protest till Naruto lifts up his hand, he said nothing as he shakes his head to his friends. Nodding to Erza he starts to walk till a pair of demure hands gently grabs his wrist. Upon the blond looking to his side, he sees Mira with her bangs shadowing her eyes.

"Hey" Naruto puts on a smile. "Don't make that face" He was certain Mirajane knew what it was truly about, but she still played her part well.

"...You said we'd eat somewhere tonight" She mutters.

He blinks. "Eh?" The hold on his wrist tightens, beginning to hurt.

She looks at him with an angry frown and a puffed cheek. It was as frightening as it was adorable. "Are you telling me you're going back on your word?"

Oh crap.

Quite a few guild members sweatdrop as a man beside the master with brown hair, in bowl style cut, wearing a simple shirt and pants shakes his head; "You know if they ever notice how they act like a couple they might actually 'BE' a real couple right now," the young man mutters dryly.

Makarov only snorts while Cana shrugs; "That might take a while Max... Like eternity by the way it's looking."

Another guild member with a prominent nose and hair done in an undercut like fashion looked to his guild mates. "I don't even need to read their minds to tell what they think of each other"

Makarov mutters. "Well Warren, I'm afraid those two are so dense that even if they could read each other's mind they'd still have no idea..."

XxX ~ Naruto and Erza ~ XxX

"Does Mira-Chan seriously not know how strong she is," Erza dryly looks at her blond carriage companion as he massages his wrist.

After half the guild had to dog pile Natsu from beating the living crap out of the rune knights, both the knight and the sage of Fairy Tail were taken away.

The Scarlet beauty, glad to be safe from the elf's clutches, was feeling rather positive. "She won't remain mad for long" She said. "You know we'll be back shortly"

Naruto grunts; "Oh yes, us playing patsy with the ancient fossils who can't find their old wrinkle asses even if they had a map and flashlight."

"I don't like the council any more than you do" Erza informs him. "But despite some of their actions, they do ensure stability and provide for peace to be maintained. Things were much worse before their laws were enforced"

"Trust me I know, necessary evil and all that. I just hate the politics," Naruto mutters dryly. He still wonders most days why he even wants to be Hokage... Oh yeah, the awesome hat.

Sighing, the redhead leans back; "So where were you, Mira, Claire, and Lucy this morning?"

XxX ~ Fairy Tail ~ XxX

The resident Ice Mage paced angrily before the bar before glowering at the master. "What the hell gramps? How could you just let them take Naruto and Erza?" He asked angrily.

Makarov shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Sitting at a table, Levy rubs her arms with her eyes downcast; "This just does not feel right. You stopped guys a dark guild and a demon, and Naruto and Erza get arrested for it." The petite beauty sighs. "It's just wrong."

"DAMN RIGHT IT'S WRONG!" A squeaky voice roars. Cleaning a glass at the bar, Mira looks to a tiny lizard stuck under a glass. "LET ME OUT JIJI!"

"Natsu you're not going to the Fiore council branch and set it of fire," Makarov mutter dryly.

"...Not even a tiny bit?"

"NO!"

Claire looks around in confusion. "Hey has anyone seen Lucy?" She could have sworn she was right here a second ago.

Levy looks around, "Where could she be...?" She muses.

Natsu freezes as the old guild master soon eyes him; "Where indeed eh, 'Natsu'?!" He blasts the glass with magic.

The glass explodes surprising everyone. In a puff of smoke, Macao, not Natsu hits the floor smiling nervously; "Well, crap..."

A large man with a tribal look sighs. "Why did you help him Macao?"

The purple haired man rubs his head sheepishly. "I owed him one Nab"

"Well, now he's going to burn down the Council and get the guild to be disbanded" Cana pointed out with a deadpanning voice. "But at least your personal debt is paid."

"...Well, shit. I did not think this through"

XxX ~ Naruto and Erza ~ XxX

After Naruto filled in Erza the events of his morning, the carriage had stopped as they were asked to exit. The blond Uzumaki had to whistle at the massive size of the Fiore council building. A strange structure with another building floating above it, but then again this world even weirder than home.

Going through a long hall, the frog man explains the do's and don'ts when facing the council. Honestly, Naruto wanted to yawn at it all, but his scarlet haired friend would have hit him if he did.

"Been a while Erza," the knight of Fairy Tail freezing up upon hearing 'his' voice.

The young woman stares with wide eyes down the hallway, a young man with blue hair and an intricate marking over his right eye. He was wearing elegant yet simple white robes with a standing collar. Despite his easygoing smile, Naruto couldn't help but feel unnerved by his presence.

Erza only narrowed his eyes at him. "Siegrain..."

He extends his arms as he walks towards them. "My I can't remember the last time we talked" He said amicably before turning to the blonde. "And you must be Naruto Uzumaki, I heard so much about you. Truly it's a pleasure to meet you, heh, just wish the circumstances could be better" The jinchuuriki cordially nodded but kept himself from saying anything, Erza didn't seem overly fond of this guy, and he trusted her judgement in these matters. "I promise I'll stand up for you both before the Council"

That had the blonde blinking in surprise. "You're a councilman?" But he couldn't be older than they were...

A soft giggle caught their ears; "Let me guess, you thought everyone in the council were a bunch of old fossils." A sultry voice makes Naruto lean to right looking past Siegrain. A light blush dusts his cheeks at the sight.

Wearing an elegant one sleeved white kimono, that stops above her knees, a beautiful raven haired woman. Roughly about Lucy's height and Mira's figure now stands beside her fellow councilman. "Not all of us I am afraid, Councilwoman Ultear Milkovich, a pleasure in meeting you... Both"

'Can ANYONE get this job?' Naruto thinks dryly. Seriously, one person about his age on the Council he could buy, but two? Oh well, he knew better than to judge someone because of age. "Nice to meet you" He finally says, Erza greets her with a nod.

Ultear joins her hands and smiles pleasantly. "We owe you Fairy Tail a lot for destroying Lullaby. Our agents capable of dealing with that demon were far away unfortunately" She turns to the blue haired young man. "Which reminds me, Michael reported in, the demon in the Beor Mountains has been slayed"

"Hmph" Siegrain comments. "It took him some time to track that one down" He rubs his chin in a thoughtful fashion. "With all that happened with Lullaby we could have used his help"

"You know since Titus was transferred to serve under the Fiore crown Selene's and Michael's jobs have been piling up" She replies with a wave of her hand before smiling sultrily at Naruto. "But fortunately can count on the support of such strong Guilds like Fairy Tail right?"

The blond sennin chuckles rubbing the back of his head; "I hardly did much, it was a team effort to take that walking toothpick down. Just glad no one got really too hurt." Naruto soon blinks; "You guys find Erigor yet?"

Siegrain sighs; "Sadly not yet. However our trackers have reported they have finally got onto his trail. It's only a matter of time."

A sigh of relief escapes Naruto's lips, however before he speaks he notices Ultear at his side, wrapping her arm around his; "Why don't you let me escort you?" The blond really had no say as he is dragged off by the young councilwoman.

The blue haired councilman chuckles; "She actually came all the way to the Fiore branch just to see Uzumaki. She's quite fascinated about him. Will admit I am a touch curious as well…"

The Scarlet says nothing, opting to keep a narrowed gaze at the young man. "Now, now" He says in a placating tone. "There's no need to worry. We can just proceed with this whole charade and then you two can go back to your Guild before you know it"

Erza knew not to judge someone on appearances, but even she could not help but feel unnerved by the face that reminded her so much of another. Yet it wasn't looks alone what put her on edge, it was his voice, the way he smiled, the subtle gleam in his eyes. Siegrain wasn't a person to be trusted, of that she was sure.

"Oh, and another things" She freezes when he tenderly holds her chin, bringing her lips close to him. "It would be beneficial for both of us if you do not mention 'that' to the Council"

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Walking through a corridor, he could not stop blushing having Ultear still having her arms wrapped around his. "Is it alright for you to be... so close to me?" He said delicately.

"Oh I'm just escorting you personally" She replied with mirth. "There's nothing wrong in that"

It wasn't that he was complaining. No sir, Jiraiya would jump out of his grave and whip his ass six ways to Sunday if he did. More to the point, the blond was just not completely used to physical contact to the opposite sex.

Ultear gave him a sultry look. "Also, I'm hoping we can get to know each other better after this whole mess is done with"

"Uh... Sure," Naruto gives a cheerful grin. He was all for making new friends. "So what do you do for fun, or have time for that while working here?"

The young councilwoman shrugs; "More business than pleasure sadly, it gets very boring since we do meetings most days." As soon as they were about to reach the doors to the trial chamber, she stopped. "But I always manage to do something fun" She winked at him before vanishing like a ghost, leaving him startled.

"She was an astral projection" Erza's voice says as she approaches him. "So was Siegrain, the Council awaiting for us are projections as well"

"Huh" He mutters. "Could have sworn I could feel her?"

"Some people are just that good with them"

Rubbing the back of his head, the blond sighs before opening the door; "Ladies first." Erza only give a brief smile before turning stony as they enter the courtroom.

The room is massive in size; both see a dozen empty pews on either side. At the end of the room stood a large masterfully carved stand with a dozen people seated on it, among them Naruto could see Siegrain and Ultear. At the top of the stand stood a singled figure, a large bellied man with a long beard and big hat with a staff in hand, who the jinchuuriki suspected was the chairman of the Magic Council he had heard about; Crawford Seam.

One of the amphibian assistant introduced them. "Defendants Erza Scarlet and Naruto Uzumaki… Please take the witness to the stand" They were escorted by a pair of guards to wooden railing before the stand.

With both standing tall, Crawford got this started; "Erza scarlet, Naruto Uzumaki. You were brought here today for the destruction of the annual Meeting Hall in Clover, and the damage down to the town's train station. Do you recognize this accusation?"

"We were fighting a dark guild and a giant demon" Naruto drawled. "At least no one got hurt"

"Regardless" The Chairman continued. "Witnesses report a redheaded woman in armor and blonde man in a coat, we-"

Suddenly, the door explodes in a blaze of fire, startling everyone. An exuberant voice shouts. "It was us! We are the woman in armor and the blonde man!"

A meek voice says with desperation. "H-How did you manage to drag me into this?"

Naruto doesn't look back, he refuses to, and for the sake of his sanity he won't. He merely glances at Erza at his side and says. "Tell me he didn't..."

All he sees is utter disbelief in the redhead's almond eyes as the scene before her is Natsu, wearing pieces of metal and the worst red wig she seen on his head. However she gawks at the sight beside Natsu.

It was Lucy. It used to be Lucy rather, her hair was a mess of uneven spikes, and there was a dirty rag around her shoulders trying to pass for a cloak. She looked so miserable and embarrassed Erza couldn't help but pity her. She tried to wrap around her mind Natsu's logic of him being the one dressed as her and have Lucy try to pass for Naruto, but honestly, it just wasn't worth the headache.

Naruto felt his entire body froze in place. He literally could not move as the images of Lucy and Natsu's state of dress as they are burned into his retinas. Erza absently sees a terrified Happy partially hiding at the doorway, deeply ashamed.

"What is this madness?" Org yells out while the other council members only gawk at the scene. Ultear covers her mouth, trying not to giggle at the sheer stupidity of it. Siegrain only chuckles.

"We're the ones you want!" Natsu proudly shouts.

"I know how it looks like" Lucy quickly interjects. "But this wasn't my idea; in fact, I was dragged against my will. Whatever he does, whatever he says, I DO NOT support him"

The chairman merely smacks his face in exasperation. "Oh for the love of... Just put them all in jail"

XxX ~ nightfall ~ XxX

Sitting quietly in one the many cells of the Fiore chapter, Lucy only feels like shrinking into a ball as Naruto and Erza simply glare at them. Neither saying a single word since being dragged into the holding cell. Natsu only glares back defiance while Happy wisely hides behind the buxom blond.

Naruto let's out an explosive breath. "You know... you two are morons"

"Hey!" Natsu cries out in indignation.

"I mean, I should be surprised of you Natsu. But I thought you knock some sense into that thick skull of his Lucy"

"I TRIED" She seethed. "But it's like talking to a wall. No wait its worst. A wall wouldn't do any of the stuff he did!"

The blond sennin only dryly squints as Erza huffs; "This was a mock trial Natsu. All we were originally going to get was a slap on the wrist..." The redhead lets those words sink in, as Natsu eyes widen as he soon pales.

Happy leans out from behind Lucy; "sorry guys, we just wanted to help..."

"Meh" The male blonde shrugged. "It's okay. We'll only be here for the night anyway"

Lucy, being the most logical person in the room, pointed out the obvious in a depressed muffle. "Unless they plan on charging us for the damages to the building..."

Three heads, one blonde, one red, and one pink thought about it for a moment before slumping with a dark aura of depression hanging over them.

"Still..." A warm smile crosses Erza's lips. "It's nice you came for us..."

Naruto only smirks, while Natsu gives a large toothy smile. Lucy only grins while Happy flies around. The white fox looks to them through the window cell; a vulpine smirk slowly forms on its face.

XxX ~ Ultear ~ XxX

The Time Mage stretched her limbs as she entered her room, glad to have all of today's nonsense be done with. Those Fairies were a bunch of buffoons but at least they provided for a good laugh. She hummed to herself as she stepped into the bedroom and changed into her nightgown.

The sound of stone rasping against metal immediately sent her on alert. She turned around, magic gathering at both hands ready to strike, but stop after seeing the source of the sound. She rolled her eyes and lowered her hands, dismissing the energy gathering in them. "You still know how to sneak into places, I'll give you that"

Sitting by the open window was a tall man with long untamed gray hair. He was dressed in a black long coat with a grey shirt underneath and brown pants, on his feet were long leather boots with various straps at the side. His brown eyes focused on his task of sharpening the katana in his hand with a whetstone.

He has the blade a twirl, hearing the edge cut through the air. He didn't even look at her as he spoke. "You got too close to that man" His voice is strong, calm yet filled with displeasure.

She rests her hands on her hips. "Please, he's not even that handsome. I was only having fun with our prey, gives the whole game more spice" She smirks teasingly at him. "Are you perhaps jealous by any chance Weiss?"

The man now known as Weiss says nothing which only makes Ultear roll her eyes scoffing; "You are such an unbelievable man I swear."

Sheathing his katana and setting on the table, Weiss looks directly to the young councilwoman; "You think this new pet of yours will provide anything?"

"Remember Master Hades is a bit curious about him" The time mage points out. "He doesn't have magic, yet has energy that is more biologically tied to his body. It's an oddity, something we need to uncover. Let's also not overlook he is powerful enough to destroy a demon of Zeref, even if it was one the weakest."

The man's face remains blank; "So that's your only reason for clinging to his arm?"

Walking over, Ultear stands directly in front of Weiss as she leans forward placing her hands on the chair rests. Their faces inches away from one another; "Well if wanted to have fun with him I would have needed some privacy."

She only gasps as she finds herself on her bed. Weiss on top of her, holding her wrists. His face blank, emotionless, but the time mage being the only person, next to her daughter, who could actually read his face, and she saw rage in his cold, stony eyes. "You belong to me," he voice calm and slow.

"So possessive..." She whispers huskily. "Not really a trait women find attractive in a man"

He inches his face closer to hers. "Trait or not, it is a fact" She can feel his hot breath on her neck, making her shudder. "You are mine; you yourself said so, many, many times..." A soft kiss upon the bare skin on the crook of her makes her entire body go warm, he softly follows by tracing a path of more kisses from the base to her neck to her ear. "Don't you remember? Those times on a bed like this. 'Don't stop' you say... 'Make me yours' those are your words" He captures a sensitive lobe between his lips and Ultear can't suppresses a happy purr.

He eventually let's go of her wrists, his hands slowly, torturing slow, seek entrance into her nightgown, tracing her bare skin. A hand reaches down her leg, softly caressing her thigh, sending a shiver through her spine. "Say it" He commands huskily.

"You..." She moans as his lips arrive on her collarbone. "You won't win so easy..."

"Say it" He repeats. A hand comes dangerously close to her bosom, making her gasp.

Well... no use in fighting a losing battle.

"Take me..." She breathes out with desperation. "Make me yours" She does not request, Ultear doesn't make requests, and she demands him to pleasure her. If she was his, then he was hers as well.

Weiss brings his lips upon hers, softly at first, tender, but soon after their tempo increases, and their tongues explore each other's mouth. Ultear grasps his coat, eagerly trying to pry it off him. It's not fair how much clothing he has compared to her-

Suddenly Weiss pulls his lips from her, staring at her for a moment with those browns eyes before softly nodding to himself. "I have to go"

And with that, he steps off from the bed, leaving Ultear stunned and confused. "W-Wait, what?"

He stretches his clothes and picks up his sword. "Hades has a mission for me, I need to go now"

Her mouth opens and clothes a few times, her eyes are wide and the heat still hasn't left her cheeks, or any other part of her body. "WHAT?!" She finally shouts. "B-But you just-"

"I was only having fun with the prey" He uses her own words against her; a small, very subtle smile graces the corner of his lips. "Gives the whole game more spice" He waved her goodbye before jumping out the window, disappearing into the night.

Ultear just stood on the bed, gawking at the window from where Weiss just left, feeling tricked, incredibly angry, but more than anything still so very aroused.

"Y-Y-YOU FUCKING TEAAAAASE!" Her screams echoed throughout the night sky.

The silver haired swordsman chuckled. Ahhh, music to his ears.