AN: Many people have brought up an excellent point that modern technologies such as the biplane and tank and machine guns are in the past... when in the future very few technologies are just past post-industrial revolution (i.e. the train, the magical four wheeler, and boats). Another point brought up was that Nirvana was a magical weapon made out of stone.

All I will say in response, is that it will all make sense as the story progresses. Enjoy!

Chapter Start

-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-

"The eastern front of the war has been holding steady, though we've lost contact with our affiliate stations in Vacuo, as well as the southern tip of Atlas. We can only assume the worst at this time. Rumors of... Rumors of the authorized use of weapons of mass destruction have begun to circulate the remaining nations. Again, we will try to keep you informed to the best of our ability as more information arrives.

In other news, last Saturday's magic civil rights protest turned dark when a fireball spell struck a police officer. Seventeen police and twenty mages were hospitalized, with over two dozen mages placed under arrest for assault and other felonies.

Well that's it for this week's new, enjoy your weekends. This is channel seven news, January 21st, X393, signing off-"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he listened to the news broadcast, pausing as he contemplated the revelations...

Mages, humans or otherwise non-humans, were individuals who had the ability to wield 'Magic'. Their existence had been revealed to the world over forty years ago, and not in the best way possible either...

Crocus was still recovering from the assault, and bodies were still being unearthed from the rubble to this day.

And the Dragon Civil War... Though most people simply called it 'the Dragon War', if only because there has yet to be a sighting of a dragon fighting against another dragon.

It began nearly three years ago, when dragons after centuries of peace began to massacre humans on the continent of Alakitasia, ignoring every other creature and focusing solely on humans. Word of these mass killings took two months to reach Ishgar, another ten to inform and prepare the public for war, and another three to send out the troops...

The death toll had reached a quarter of a million within three months, a million in the following six months before they decided to pull out of Alakitasia to secure their own continental borders...

And now the problem was right at their front and back doorsteps.

...

Naruto shook his head, expelling all thoughts of the war in favor of the ancient leatherbound book in front of him.

"Γενναίος ήρωας... Brave hero... αφήστε το σπαθί σας να μανδύα... let your sword be sheathed..." Naruto mumbled, his left hand keeping his place in The Enchiridion and his right transcribing the ancient language onto paper. "-για το γεγονός ότι είναι καλύτερο και πιο έμπιστος σας εργαλείο... for though it be your best and... most trusty tool..."

"Naruto-ku - sensei?" Anna called out, breaking the red haired professor from his stupor.

"Ah, Anna-san. Come on in." Naruto said, motioning with his right hand to the blond woman.

"N-Naruto-sensei-" "Please, 'sensei' makes me feel like an old man. And besides, we're not officially in class right now."

"R-Right, Naruto-kun..." Anna said, her gaze falling upon the book that he was reading. "I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"Not at all. I was just transcribing." Naruto replied, placing his pen down and moving the red bookmarker bound to the book to hold his place before closing the ancient text. "What can I do for you?"

"I..." Anna began, her face turning red as she spoke, imagining a chibified Emma and Natasha holding up a banners that said 'Go for it!' and 'You can do it!' in encouragement.

...

"Uhh... Anna-san? Are you okay?" Naruto questioned, standing up in front of the frozen blond woman and waving his hand in front of her face.

"PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME-!" Anna exclaimed, quickly snapping her hands over her mouth after her exclamation, steam coming out of her ears from embarrassment.

"... Okay." She blinked in confusion, staring at the red haired professor as if he had grown a second head.

"'Okay'? You're not going to try to lecture me about student-teacher ethics?" Anna questioned.

"You are of legal age, and despite my professional status I am still a twenty-year-old, hot-blooded male. I'd be lying to myself if I said I did not find you attractive in any way." Naruto stated, adjusting his glasses to conceal his eyes as a tinge of red spread across his cheeks. "S-So... yeah..."

"W-Well... there's this new restaurant that opened up on 14th Street that I wanted to try out." Anna suggested. "Meet me there at eight tonight?"

"Sure! I-I mean... sure..." Naruto said, attempting to recover from his quick outburst and regain his calm and collected appearance, which caused Anna to giggle a little.
"See you then~!" Anna exclaimed, sauntering out of the lecture hall with a small, yet noticeable sway in her hips.

"..." Naruto was left mouth agape, his face red and his brain momentarily shut down. He quickly shook his head, allowing his mind to restart, take in the information of what just happened...

And then promptly freak out.

'... I have to get ready for a date!'

-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-

"-And then Phoebe lit the paper on fire! Marvin and I covered for her, but I'm pretty sure the headmasters knew it was us either way..." a young man with black hair and black eyes finished, laughing a little at the end.

A warm, wet stream of tears began to fall from his eyes, despite his lighthearted laughter, which slowly diminished until it was no more.

"... We all miss you, you know?" he said, quickly wiping away the tears in his eyes, only for fresh ones to take their place. "Phoebe, Marvin, heck even Sting and Rogue and some of the headmasters miss you..."

He stared up at the setting sun, watching the last rays of light vanishing in the horizon, almost as if he was expecting a response to his statements.

"Most of the older students and even a few from our grade were drafted voluntarily. Knowing you, you'd probably charge in headstrong in the hopes that you'd get to see a dragon up close." he mumbled, casting his gaze downward once more, the cheerfulness of his expression having been replaced with a determined, borderline psychotic look. "But don't worry. I promise that you'll get to see dragons one day... Otouto."

And with that, he turned and began to walk away from the headstone, knowing fully well what he had to do...

There were certain magical arts that were considered taboo at the academy, but for the sake of his brother... he would delve into those dark arts...

For the sake of Natsu Dragneel.

-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-

"I see..." Ivan stood in front of his town's elder, a woman who looked like she would disintegrate into dust just from even the slightest movement or gesture.

"Rachel-sama... I came to you for guidance on this crown." Ivan stated, gesturing to the object that the ancient woman held within her grasps. "It gives off an evil aura. I-I can't explain it, but-"

He suddenly was silenced when the elder held her bony hand up, her nearly blind eyes meeting his own gaze.

"Ivan-chan..." Rachel began. "This crown is from a time not of our own. Cursed with its creation and seeking its next host."

"Does... does this mean-" Ivan started.

"No." Rachel interrupted. "The crown has deemed neither of us worthy."
"So... It is sentient? It can speak?" Ivan questioned.
"Yes and no. Yes, the crown is sentient, but it cannot speak with us, at least not in any language we can comprehend." Rachel replied. "Though in my time, I have come to understand what is said even without words."

"Then what should I do? What does the crown want?"

Rachel remained silent, closing her eyes as she placed both her hands on the icy-cold crown. Ivan shifted around nervously for a minute until the elder woman spoke again.

"... Go to the west. Beyond the ice and snow of this land..." Rachel whispered, though Ivan heard her words clear and precisely. "Four blue eyes will be the sign of its forfeit from your ownership."

...

"I understand. Thank you, Rachel-sama." Ivan said, bowing to the elder woman before taking the crown and leaving.

Had he glanced back, he would have seen the elder's eyes open, revealing a glowing stark white color that quickly reverted to their milky white color.

-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-

"I have to get ready for a date!" Anna panicked, running around in circles comically, much to the ire of the two people that accompanied her.

"So you finally asked out Naruto-sensei?" Emma questioned.

"Yes and I'm freaking out! What if I do something stupid or something happens?!" Anna questioned.

"Calm down, Anna-sama. Isn't that why you summoned me, ebi?" the third person present questioned, a strange man that stood at 6'0" with black hair that was braided in red cornrows that ended in a shape that resembled crab's pincers. He had thick lips, and wore a blue striped shirt and dark trousers with two aquamarine stripes on each side, also wearing dark boots. In his pants there was a ring chain in the right pocket and a hairdresser tools' bag in the left side of his belt. He donned a golden necklace, held a pair of scissors in each hand, and sunglasses with green lens. He also had six crab legs that protruded from his back.

"Cancer-san is right, Anna-sama. You just need to calm down and prepare yourself." Emma stated.

"But I-" "*SLAP*!" "OW!"

...

"You calm now, Anna-sama?"
"... Yeah... Yeah I think I am. Thanks Emma-chan."
"Anytime, Anna-sama. Anytime. Now... Cancer-san, do your thing."

"With pleasure, ebi."

-The Path Paved With Good Intentions-

The day quickly turned into night, and Anna found herself walking along 14th Street sporting new clothing and a new haircut.

And while she felt a bit more confident than earlier on, she still held a bit of fear in her mind.

'Oh kami! 8:04! I'm late, I'm late!' she mentally exclaimed, a dark scenario forming in her mind. 'What if he thinks that I was playing a cruel joke on him! His heart broken and my chances with him no longer because he thinks I'm just a bitch who likes to pull on other peoples' heartstrings?! Oh kami-'

"Anna-chan?" Naruto called out, causing the blond woman to jump in surprise.

"Oh hey, Naruto-kun-" Anna began, only to stop as she took in Naruto's new attire.

Naruto had donned a new outfit, much like herself. He still wore his blue Teashades, but other than that his attire was completely different. The weather outside was still cold, so he wore three layers: a red long-sleeved shirt, with a grey sweater on top, and finally a tan open trenchcoat, as well as dark pants, brown oxford shoes, and a lime green scarf.

Anna, on the other hand, now had shoulder-length blond hair with a small ponytail to the right of her head tied by a light green ribbon. She wore a light brown long-sleeved sweater, on top of which she had a light green infinity scarf, blue jeans that hugged her curves, tan boots with red legwarmers, and a white-and-red pair of earmuffs.

They both blushed, though neither of them realized that the other was as well.

"You look... breathtaking." Naruto stated, his face still flush red, though more so due to the cold.

"Well aren't you Prince Charming." Anna quipped, grinning despite the blush on her face.

"I guess that makes you the princess in this fairy tale." Naruto retorted.

"I guess it does..." Anna said.

"Well then..." Naruto said, extending his hand to the blond woman. "Shall we, my princess?"
"But of course, my prince." Anna replied, taking Naruto's hand into her own, her fears and doubts expelled from her mind as she felt the warmth of Naruto's hand.

For the first time in a while, she didn't have to worry about the stigma that came with being a mage hiding in plain sight, or the pressures and ire that came from her family and clan because she chose to go to college first rather than become head of the clan immediately, or about the impending war that she knew she would eventually have to participate in...

No, all she needed to pay attention to at the moment, was the man who held her hand, and their upcoming date.

Chapter End

Post AN: You guys wanna know the number one reason why I chose to start the story so far in the past from Fairy Tail canon (X784 is when the episodes start). What? You don't? Well too bad I'll tell you anyways.

It's because it's a vague period, a blank canvas for me. Though don't get me wrong, this story will eventually reach the point that it catches up with Fairy Tail canon.

But until then, enjoy the magical events that will unfold...

Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! Ja mata!

-CrimsonKyuubiSage out!