Yo, been a while.

Last chapter was quite intense and even I struggled to hold in the tears as Naruto lost Tyr.

I imagine quite a lot of you are curious about the turn this story has taken. Now I'm not really one to follow canon so you'll see that a lot of events that'll happen to be… intriguing.

I do hope you all will come to enjoy the direction I'll take this story of mine too.

Without further ado, let's begin.

Start:

X784

"Ackgh…" Zero choked, the air rapidly depleting from his lungs as his body was held up with a strong hand clamping on his throat with an inescapable iron grip.

Fear gripped the alternate personality of Brain as he gazed into the cold, emotionless eyes of the blonde mage who was responsible for single-handedly defeating all the members of the Oracion Seis as they laid down on the dirt, beaten, unconscious, and seemingly unable to wake up anytime soon.

"I will ask only one more time… Tell me what you know of Hades, the master of Grimoire Heart. Do that and I will consider not killing you." Naruto eased his grip on the man's throat just enough for him to talk.

Bravery overtook fear as Zero glared defiantly at the light wizard. "You… Don't possess… the balls… to kill. Why… why else… would you not… kill these… pathetic fools." He uttered through harsh gasps.

"I haven't killed them because I can tell that these pathetic fools, as you put it, are good people deep down. You on the other hand are a different story. Talk. Now."

"Even…If I… did know… I wouldn't…tell…you shit." In a last ditch effort to mock the blonde, Zero spat at him and smirked in satisfaction.

Naruto calmly pulled out a napkin from his requip space and wiped the spit in his cheek while impassively eyeing the smirking master of Oracion Seis.

Suddenly, the smirk faded away from Zero's face as the grip on his throat tightened to an unfathomable degree, wheezing and gurgling noise escaping him as he desperately tried and failed to breathe air into his lungs.

Zero tried to plead for his life and when he realized how fruitless it was to try utter even a word, resorted to clawing and punching and kicking. Anything that would help loosen the grip on his neck.

Much to his dismay, even that proved to be a hopeless endeavor.

Nearly an entire minute passed before the body of brain went limp, signifying the departure of his soul to the afterlife.

Naruto only grunted before he shifted the corpse until he was carrying it over his shoulder.

Seallessly creating five clones who immediately set out to carry the bodies of the beaten members of Oracion Seis, they headed towards the nearest headquarters of the Rune knights, a desolate wasteland left behind in what was once a lavish and beautiful forest.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Era: Magic council conference.

"This cannot be tolerated any further!"

"It can be! His actions have only made Fiore safer for its citizens!"

"His actions! My dear friend is not only undermining our authority but it is also causing the citizens to be questioning our value and competence!"

Yajima, a normally composed and well mannered old man, slammed his fist into the table as he glared heatedly at his colleagues. "And what do you value more fellow councilmen? Our reputation or the lives and safety of our people!?"

"I could not have phrased that better." Org nodded approvingly at the short old man before he narrowed his gaze dangerously in the direction of Leiji, Belno, Yuri, and Michello. "The magic council exists for the sake of ensuring the safety of Fiore and its citizens from all magical threats… Dark guilds are one such threat, have you grown ignorant to the pain of the innocent who have been subjugated to the cruelty of such twisted wizards?"

Belno scoffed. "Of course not! But there are consequences to that boy's actions! Each dark guild he hunts down only antagonizes the Balam alliance."

"And what do you suggest we do?" Ultear questioned, her soft and enticingly silky voice emanating nothing but amusement. "Continue sipping tea and reading books while leaving dark guilds to their devices? Say what you will about Naruto Uzumaki but there is no denying the fact that he's done more for Fiore in the last three years than the council has in the last decade."

'And what a fascinating young man he is.' Ultear barely managed to stop herself from sighing dreamily as she thought of the extremely handsome blonde mage strong enough to face and defeat Bluenote and that was three years ago! 'Oh I can't wait until I make you mine.'

Michello lost his patience. "And how does this bode for us!? I admit that we have been too idle when it comes to taking action against dark guilds and Zeref cultists but not only does Uzumaki invite the wrath of the Balam alliance! But as we speak his actions inspire others to follow in his footsteps! Such a consequence can cause great calamity! Something must be done about this."

"Every action ever taken has consequences, Michello. At least Naruto's action ensures that people are alive so they can deal with said consequences rather than be dead or worse." Yajima pointed out.

Yuri crossed his arms. "Not everyone is alive are they? Or have you forgotten that the Dark Leviathan has killed numerous mages. Doesn't matter if they're dark wizards. If people come to rationalize killing then it would only sow more discord and chaos on our world."

"Don't make it sound like he kills every dark mage he sees. There are just as many dark mages that are alive and in our custody thanks to his efforts."

Leiji sighed tiredly. "Perhaps but the fact is, he is a wizard belonging to the guild Fairy Tail. A light guild. He is violating the rules we have put in place. We have placed those rules there for a reason. One could even say that Naruto Uzumaki's boldness to do as he pleases is what prompted Jose Parla to ignore our rules and attack Fairy Tail a week ago… The rules put in place must be upheld."

"And pray tell what our next action should be councilmen Leiji?" Org inquired sharply. "Arrest Naruto Uzumaki? Hold him in our custody for freeing countless towns and cities of the horror of dark guilds? No."

"The way I see it. There is a powerful mage on par with our wizard saints who goes out of his way to hunt down twisted individuals and bring them to justice. He barely causes any property damage, has saved countless innocent people in the past three years. Even the leader of the church has praised his actions. Those four facts makes him exceedingly popular to the citizens. To detain him would only cause our people to further question our values." Org added.

"Hmm…" Crawford stroked his beard before tossing his gaze to his blue-haired colleague. "Siegrain. You have been unusually silent today. What are your thoughts on the subject? Org, Yajima, and Ultear are right in that Naruto 'The Dark Leviathan' Uzumaki has accomplished much for the people of Fiore but there is also no disputing the arguments made by the others."

Siegrain grunted. "While I am none too fond of Uzumaki, there is no denying that he's a powerful wizard. That said, he needs to learn some obedience instead of thinking he can do whatever he wants Scott free. I suggest that we remind both him and the world that we are the ruling body of magic."

'Oh Jellal' Ultear discreetly rolled her eyes at the man, aware that her pawn intensely disliked or perhaps even hated the mage touted as The Dark Leviathan just because he had Titania's admiration.

So obsessed with defeating and humiliating Naruto Uzumaki, Jellal even forsook his tower of heaven plan in order to scheme something more dangerous for the blonde God-Slayer. Not that Ultear was too concerned. Naruto was far stronger than her pawn ever was.

Though Ultear did find herself intrigued and even a tad bit excited for what Jellal had planned.

"Elaborate."

"What I ha-" "URGENT NEWS FOR THE COUNCIL!" A rune knight captain barged into the highly classified meeting room, earning him irked glares from more than half the members inside.

Crawford frowned heavily as he pinned the soldier with a soul-crushing stare. "And what is so urgent that you would barge into a meeting that I made clear to all of you was not to be disturbed? Speak."

The rune knight captain gulped before he shakily steeled himself. "Esteemed council! One of my subordinates has just notified me that The Dark Leviathan has just faced and defeated Oracion Seis single-handedly."

Such a statement garnered wide-eyed reaction from every single person present in the room.

Suddenly, chaos ensued as fellow council members thundered at each other. Completely shaken and caught off guard by the staggering reveal.

"ORDER! ORDER!" Crawford bellowed.

Ultear giggled as she witnessed the chairman slump in defeat from his orders getting effectively ignored before her thoughts shifted to her heart's current desires. 'Defeating Oracion Seis all on your own…' Ultear bit her lips, arousal suddenly flooding her senses as her nipples hardened from beneath her yukata.

Seeing as though the pandemonium in the council room wouldn't end anytime soon, the arc of time wizard stealthily left the meeting, more concerned with satisfying her lust than listening to the sea of wrinkles yell at one another.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Magnolia

Though it had been a week ago that the Fairy Tail guild hall was destroyed thanks to one former wizard saint Jose Parla, the members of Fairy tail were motivated and hard at work to rebuild the guildhall bigger and better than ever.

One week later after the incident and the mages of Fairy tail could not help themselves from crying out in happiness as they accomplished their goal and finally allowed themselves to relax and unwind.

Of course, relaxing and unwinding in Fairy tail's perspective meant celebrating and partying relentlessly.

That was the reason for why the past three hours were spent for the fairy tail members doing nothing but laughing, drinking and partying, some of the more eccentric members like Natsu and Gray actually getting along and grinning at one another while the more sane members such as Lucy and Mirajane just giggled and conversed with the other sane girls.

Almost everyone was having a good time. Almost being the key term.

Sitting by his lonesome in the bar counter, Makarov sighed tiredly as he contemplated the recent and not so recent events that bombarded the people he cared about.

Watching three of his children get crucified by iron poles had sent him over the edge, so gripped by rage, he had charged into Phantom Lord, ready to teach Jose a painful lesson only to have one thrust onto him instead.

Knowing that his children had to fight all on their own while he lied on the bed, his body utterly drained and depleted of energy… it didn't do his conscious well, especially not when he learned that Jose had aimed and fired a Jupiter cannon at his children.

It was nothing short of miraculous that Erza had managed to defend them from such a devastating onslaught. Makarov prayed to God in both gratitude and relief that his children were alive and well.

But it was he who was supposed to protect and shield them, as both the guildmaster and the father figure to many bright mages in fairy tail, it was his responsibility and duty to have prevented Levy, Jet, and Droy from getting crucified, his responsibility and duty to take Erza's place and shield everyone from the Jupiter canon.

All ended well, yes, but that didn't stop Makarov from feeling the guilt surge within him as he felt like he had failed in his role of protecting his kids from danger.

'And if only my mistakes ended there…' Makarov clenched his fists as he thought of the numerous other times he had failed in life. Failing in instilling good values and morals in Ivan, the strained relationship between him and Laxus. Not getting there in time to save Tyr, Naruto consumed with vengeance, and now the Phantom lord incident…

Makarov let out another weary sigh before he looked from the corner of his eyes at Gajeel and Juvia, two former members of the now disbanded Phantom lord with the former being the one who crucified three of his brats.

His decision to bring them in here four days was met with outrage… Naturally, but Makarov felt that he needed to be there for those two souls just as he had been for the most part with everyone else.

Turning a blind eye to those who lived through unfortunate circumstances, even if they had a hand in destroying the guild and hurting his family, it didn't sit right with him and that was why he went out of his way to bring them in even when some of his mages looked on disapprovingly.

Makarov didn't know if he had truly made the right decision but he hoped that would be the case, not wanting to disappoint and let down Fairy Tail anymore than he already had, even if everyone else thought otherwise.

He felt weak, powerless… Incapable.

Incapable of being the guiding hand that would usher the younger generation to a brighter future.

If only he was younger could he have prevented at least half the unfortunate circumstances from ever happening.

The issue was… 'There is currently no one available to take my place.' Makarov ruefully thought.

'Laxus with his current mindset is unsuited to being Fairy Tail's guild master, Erza, Fuu, and Mira are a bit too young for the task. Though that itself could be argued and debated against considering that promising wizard Gaara is a guildmaster himself and leads quite a capable guild. Mystogan is too mysterious and a large wall is still in place between Naruto and the rest of the guild.'

'There is Gildarts but he's still away on that century quest and only God knows when he'll return, not mentioning that I just can't see him being interested in the position.'

Makarov exhaled tiredly. 'I just need to keep enduring unt-' A giggle pierced his thoughts and Makarov looked up just to spot Lisanna giggling with Lucy, Cana, and Fuu about something.

The elderly wizard saint felt his eyes soften as he continued gazing at the youngest of the Strauss siblings, remembering a time all too well when he learned of how she had almost lost her life but was saved by a timely intervention courtesy of Naruto.

The fear that welled within him in knowing that he had almost lost one of his kids… Never did he ever want to go through such terror ever again, and more than that…

He made a vow that day that he would protect his brats within the best of his abilities and he will do exactly that.

Determination gripped the short guildmaster as he unconsciously relaxed his posture. 'I am old, I am tired, and I am not as strong as I once was, but damn it to hell if I won't keep persevering for these annoying and loveable brats. I don't care if I have to be guildmaster for another forty years. I made a vow to be strong for them and I will be strong for them.'

Now feeling inspired. Makarov turned and faced the cover model of the guild. "Mira! Get me a large mug of beer!"

Mira giggled and did as instructed. "You got it master."

She returned not a minute later and handed him his favorite drink. Flashing her a thankful grin, Makarov wasted no time in chugging the contents of his mug down his throat before he slammed it on his stool.

Makarov paused just as he was about to order another filling for his mug, turning towards the entrance of the guildhall as he sensed the massive energy signature of Tyr's student approaching the building.

He wasn't the only one to sense the sudden influx of energy just a few meters away from the building.

Fuu paused her conversation with the girls, turning an expectant and happy look to the door much to Lucy's confusion who turned a questioning gaze to Cana only to be perplexed further by the grin on her face.

"Mira-nee!" Lisanna suddenly called out, startling Lucy. "Naruto-Aniki is back."

Immediately, Lucy watched on curiously as the largest blush she had ever seen in her entire life douse Mira's face.

Mira was not the only one who had heard Lisanna's proclamation, pretty much everyone in the guildhall had and if possible, the mages of Fairy Tail only became rowdier at the knowledge that one of their strongest S-class mages had returned.

Unknown to everyone but Makarov who chuckled good heartedly at the sight, A panicked look crisscrossed Erza's visage as she fretfully debated what outfit she could requip to, wanting to look her best for her crush.

"Hey Lisanna?" Lucy softly called out.

The youngest of the Strauss siblings hummed curiously.

"Who is Naruto?"

"Who is!?" Lisanna threw a disbelieving look at the curvy stellar mage before realization crossed her features. "Oh right, I completely forgot that you've only been here for a couple of weeks, feels like you've been here since the start you know? You just belong here."

Lucy smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."

Lisanna smiled back. "You're welcome. To answer your question, he's one of our stronger S-class mages, you probably know him by his title. The Dark Leviathan."

The daughter of the Heartfilla fortune felt her eyes widened in both surprise and excitement. "The Dark Leviathan!? He's here?"

"He is." Fuu affirmed, attention still locked on the large door.

Many questions bustled into Lucy's head as she patiently eyed the door, wondering why was Fuu so excited to see another member even if said member is very famous? Why had Lisanna called him Aniki? And perhaps most important of all was knowing why the blush to end all blushes was and still is on Mira's face? Though Lucy did have a pretty good idea on what that reason was.

Before she could ponder further on the theories, the sound of boots hitting the pavement reached her (and everyone else's) ears and it didn't take long before the doors to the guildhall was pushed wide open.

Emerging from the doors, A tall blonde haired man walked in, confidence evidently portrayed in his every step as he walked closer and closer to the bar while the Fairy tail wizards celebrated his return.

Lucy blushed as her eyes scanned the features of the man's visage, noting down the texture, the sharp lines and curves that came to form a face so beautiful that she had to wonder if she was actually dreaming.

To say nothing less of his body which was perfectly sculpted with extremely broad shoulders narrowing into a thin waist, full and protruding pecs being supported by a muscular and thick back. Eighteen inch biceps that showed even from his attire. And strong legs that looked like it could easily snap a tree.

The blonde mage was well outfitted, wearing a simple long sleeve black shirt that hugged his beefy and muscular frame along with casual dark gray sweatpants. (For those wondering, Naruto's physique resembles Jin Kazama from Tekken 8, an amazing physique if I may say so myself.)

It was simple clothing, nothing extravagant, but when worn by Naruto… more than half the female members in the guild blushed as they laid eyes on him.

"Naruto!" Fuu suddenly and cheerfully called out, waving excitedly when the blonde mage turned towards them.

Naruto sent Fuu a small smile, flashing a small nod at the girls around the mint-haired jinchuriki before he continued marching forward. Confusion tinting his gaze as he internally wondered about the complete reconstruction of the guild.

As was the usual for whenever he walked in, Naruto had to sidestep as Natsu appeared from thin air just to throw a violent kick in the spot the shinobi formerly stood in.

"DON'T DESTROY THE GUILDHALL NATSU!" Everyone minus Naruto and a few others yelled at the idiotic fire mage.

"Naruto! Fight me." Natsu bumped his fists together, staring excitedly into Naruto's bored gaze.

"No."

Pretending to have not heard him, Natsu leapt at the shinobi only to be stopped dead in his tracks as a soft but powerful hand gripped his shoulder in place.

Natsu shuddered as he looked over his shoulder and met Erza's terrifying gaze. "This is not how we welcome back family Natsu. Behave."

"A-Aye."

Off in the background, all the men excluding Naruto, Natsu and a blushing Makarov who closed his eyes fainted as their nostrils spewed so much blood that they couldn't possibly remain awake, happy and perverted grins decorating their faces from noticing Erza in her new attire.

A satisfied look overcame Erza's features as she sent Natsu away before a pink hue colored her cheeks much to Lucy's astonishment. "It's good to see you again, Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "It's good to see you too, Erza." He replied politely, oceanic blue eyes discreetly admiring the queen of the fairies features.

True to his predication three years ago, Erza had only further blossomed into a woman with beauty unimaginable to even the most talented and creative of artists.

With a smooth milky complexion that drew the eyes to Erza's mesmerizing scarlet locks, a small nose that scrunched up cutely whenever she grew annoyed, her lips, so naturally full and temptingly plump, the kind that caused many men, married or not to have ill-appropriate fantasies of staying lip-locked with the Titania for hours.

And with the almond-shaped eyes that peeked out from underneath fluttering eye-lashes. Eyes so brown and seemingly exuding nothing but warmth and kindness when the woman in question was not in a disciplinary mood… Erza truly was a sparkling gem among gems.

She was so unbelievably gorgeous that she could turn an entire platoon of gay men straight and a platoon of straight women into die-hard lesbians.

And all that was just her face.

Her body when not adorned by her signature armor was the stuff that could easily ruin marriage, invoking desires and lusts that could not be quelled by any normal means.

Now dressed in a low cut white tank top with tight black leggings, none of the men including Naruto himself could stop themselves from taking an appreciative glance. (Though the shinobi admired much more stealthily than the others.)

Erza was a physically powerful woman, it was to be expected considering the strain she usually put her body through with her taxing and demanding workout. But despite that, if one were to peer at her body, they'd find no muscle definition, all the muscle definition in her body hidden by pleasing softness.

Two large mounds of flesh poked from Erza's chest, a vast canyon of soft creamy cleavage exposed to the shinobi's eyes. Letting his drift down after getting an eyeful of Titania's fat breasts, he caught sight of a delicate and tiny waist that curved into eye-poppingly wide hips, the kind that made Naruto inwardly wish he could see Erza's backside.

Gaze lowering down further, meaty and exceedingly girthy thick thighs came into view before they shrunk down into sizeable and enticing calves.

There was no two ways about it. Erza was hot as fuck.

"Thank you for dealing with Natsu." He nodded stoically.

The pink hue on Erza's visage darkened a shade as she fidgeted shyly. "I-it's no problem."

"I have much that I need to discuss with master Makarov so I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me." He politely stated before moving past her, leaving a disappointed but understanding red-head in his wake.

Making his way to the elderly wizard saint, it didn't take long before Naruto reached the older mage, throwing an acknowledging nod towards a softly smiling Mira before he bowed to the short guildmaster. "Hello Master."

"Naruto my boy, it's good to see you in good health." Makarov remarked kindly, bringing a small smile on the shinobi's visage that he struggled to wipe away.

"Thank you. Out of curiosity what's up with the new look for the guild."

Makarov sighed before he got off the stool. "It's a long story. Come. Let's talk in my office, I'm sure you and I have much that we need to discuss."

The shinobi nodded before following the short master upstairs.

Waiting until they were well out of sight, Lucy tossed an extremely inquisitive gaze at the girls. "Okay! I am on the edge of my seat here, someone please fill me in on all the details."

"Like what?" Fuu feigned ignorance, giggling alongside Cana and Lisanna when the curvy celestial wizard deadpanned.

Lucy sent her a menacing glare. "Everything! How did you know he was here before all of us?" She then turned to the take-over mage. "Why did you call him Aniki?" Lisanna blushed as Cana laughed out loud "And does Mira like him like him? And what was up with Erza!? She definitely likes him!"

"Honestly it's kind of a long story." Lisanna scratched her cheek off handedly.

"I'll start." Fuu declared cheerfully. "The reason why I knew he was here is because Chomei told me."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Wait, so is he…?" her voice hushed down considerably.

"Like me? Yes." Fuu nodded before her voice quieted down too. "Keep this between us and don't tell anyone. I only told you because I really trust you Lucy."

Lucy flashed a grateful smile before a determined glint entered her gaze. "I won't tell anyone."

"As for why I called him Aniki…" Lisanna spoke up. "It's because he saved me two years ago from Elfman-nii-chan when he was on a rampage."

"Wait what?"

Lisanna sighed, smiling thankfully at Cana when the card wizard laid a comforting palm on her shoulder. "As I said, it's a long story."

A gentle look morphed into Lucy's visage. "You don't have to tell me anything if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, no. I don't mind, it's just… been awhile since I thought about that day." Lisanna spoke reminiscing before she shook her head. "When we all had first met Naruto, he came in with his teacher who was an old friend of Makarov and who we also found out was the former fifth-ranked wizard saint before he retired."

No one really knows the details of why he had decided to join or why he had Naruto join but they did and we were naturally happy about having more members to the family."

"You forgot to mention the part of Mira kissing him after he had flung her to the wall to protect Erza." Cana spoke up.

Fuu laughed as Lucy looked on wide-eyed. "Mira did what?"

Lisanna sighed before throwing an annoyed look at the brunette. "Mira-nee before that day was very different from how she is now. Back then Mira-nee was the kind of person who enjoyed tormenting everyone and causing fights in the guild. She was even Erza and Fuu's rival."

"Don't I know it." Fuu spoke annoyedly. "Back then Mira was a full on bitch!" She declared before throwing an apologetic look to the youngest Strauss. "No offense Lisanna."

"None taken."

"But yeah, Mira enjoyed doing things that would just absolutely stun someone. One time she even cut Cana's barrel in half just as she was drinking from the thing." Fuu gestured to the now fuming brunette.

Cana scowled. "Don't remind me."

"Anyway..." Lisanna interjected. "Later that day when they joined three years ago, Naruto and his teacher had left in order to go retrieve their belongings in another town and then an hour or two later our own master suddenly left in a blitz much to our confusion, we tried following him but he was too far gone."

Dread grew in the pits of Lucy's stomach as she continued listening.

"Our master eventually returned and Naruto was with him but he was in a really bad state, we later learned that Naruto and his teacher Tyr were attacked by the dark guild Grimoire Heart.

"G-G-Grimoire Heart!? Aren't they?" "One of the three leaders of the Balam alliance? Yes." Lisanna interrupted softly, a solemn air suffusing the area around them.

Cana sighed before deciding to take over. "Naruto wasn't the same after that, mind you he wasn't exactly the friendliest person before Grimoire heart attacked but he was at least kind enough to acknowledge and talk to us.

"For a full year." Lisanna spoke up, shifting the Heartfilla's attention back to her. "Naruto spoke to hardly anyone, any attempt to comfort or befriend him was coldly ignored as he busied himself by either training, going on long solo missions, or destroying dark guilds. The only people he spoke or interacted with was just with master or Fuu."

"You remember how I told you about some of the hardships that come with being a jinchuriki?" at Lucy's solemn nod, Fuu continued. "It allowed me and Naruto to relate to one another quite easily. In his eyes we were family because we went through the kind of hardships that were vastly different from what people were accustomed to experiencing."

Lucy's heart broke. "Poor guy, he's been through a lot."

Fuu smiled sadly. "Yeah…But despite that he's a very kind person, it's because of him that I have a life and family here in Earthland."

"Wait, he brought you here?"

"Sort of. It's hard to explain and it's not really my secret to tell but it effectively came down to him making a hard choice and said choice could either bring all of us here with him, the jinchuriki I mean, or we'd stay back in the elemental nation. He made the choice to bring us here after he saw how much I wanted a second chance at life."

"I know you said it's not your secret to tell but what made the choice hard for him?" Lucy inquisitively asked, Lisanna and Cana leaning forward in intrigue as well.

Fuu shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know, all I can say is that he was making an important deal and from what little he told me, it has something to do with him fulfilling an extremely hard task that could kill him… He only accepted the deal instantly when he learned that choosing to not take the deal meant that me and my fellow jinchuriki would not be able to live away from the suffering back in our original world.

Lucy looked awed. "That's… really nice of him."

"As I said." Fuu grinned brightly. "He's a very kind person, he just doesn't show it much. I consider him as my big brother because he's super kind. Back on topic though. Lisanna, the stage is yours."

Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Eventually, Mira-nee had decided to take me and Elfman-nii-chan with her on a S-class quest and it was basically about defeating a monster called 'The Beast'. The monster was really powerful and I was assigned to help evacuate and protect the citizens while Mira-nee and Elfman-nii-chan fought the monster. Unfortunately, it was way too strong and Elfman-nii-chan, seeing no other option, had to resort to using his take-over magic."

"By then I had finished evacuating the citizens and I had arrived just in time to see him perform his magic."

An uncomfortable expression marred Lisanna's face as she recalled that dreadful day. "Elfman-nii-chan had always been a strong willed individual so I had simply believed that he successfully took over without much trouble, not once at all thinking that the Beast too possessed a strong will of its own. I went up to him to embrace him even against Mira-nee's warning who was too injured to stand on her own."

"The beast who, unknown to me at the time, had been in control and would have killed me had Naruto not arrived just in time to stop the killing blow...From there Naruto defeated the Beast and it later reverted back to Elfman-nii."

Guilt swamped and took a hold of Lucy as she winced. "I'm so sorry for bringing up bad memories."

Lisanna waved off the apology. "It's alright Lucy, it was a long time ago… As you can imagine, me and my siblings were traumatized by the experience, more my siblings than me. Mira-nee had almost completely quit being a mage from fear that she would either put me or Elfman-nii in harm's place and Elfman-nii…"

She sighed morosely. "He felt so much shame that he couldn't be around me for a little over an entire month. No matter what I did, nothing allowed him to be rid of the guilt of knowing that he almost killed me… That's where Aniki comes in."

Noticing the smile that now tugged at their faces, Lucy allowed herself to relax as she listened attentively to her short-haired friend.

"Aniki who had only interacted with Master and Fuu after the… y'know… He saw the pain that Elfman-nii was going through and spoke some sense into him. It was later around at night that Elfman entered home and hugged me before he broke down crying."

"Awww." Lucy felt a bit of moisture build up in the corner of her eyes as Lisanna recounted the events. A glance to her left and right revealed that Fuu and Cana suffered from the same water work predicament she was going through.

Lisanna nodded, bringing a hand to wipe away the faint tears as she smiled brightly. "It was the happiest I had ever been in over a month, hugging and talking to my big brother again. Mira naturally joined in on the hug and I felt complete, having my family with me."

"Of course, you'd think that the story ends there but not quite." Fuu happily interjected, drawing an annoyed glare from Lisanna who shushed the mint haired mage before looking back over at Lucy.

"We learned later that night that Naruto-Aniki also offered to help train Elfman-nii until he was confident again that he could protect us. It was…very sweet. Especially when you consider the fact that until then, Naruto had only ever interacted with Fuu and master and no one else."

"I'm glad to hear that everything turned out well." Lucy remarked genuinely before a questioning glint entered her gaze. "What about Mira though, how'd she get rid of her guilt?"

"Naruto-Aniki also helped in that regard." The youngest Strauss sibling answered.

"Mira-nee couldn't stomach leaving us or worse taking me and Elfman-nee on missions and so her magic kept on dwindling until it almost got to the point where she'd have to quit being a mage. Aniki heard about it from Elfman-nii and showed up to our house the next morning to kidnap Mira-nee and force her to train alongside him and Elfman-nii." Lisanna chuckled at the memory.

The girls couldn't help but join in and giggle, finding the idea to be quite humorous.

"I naturally joined in and it continued like that for three to four weeks until both Elfman-nii and Mira-nee felt ready again to go on missions."

"And that's why Lisanna calls him Aniki!" Cana spoke teasingly. "Because not only did Naruto save her life, but because he also helped Elfman and Mira when they both were going through a rough time."

"And I take it, he's cool with it?" Lucy asked curiously.

Lisanna nodded. "Yeah, he slowly started opening up to us and then to everyone else in the guild, mind you he's still not super friendly but if you were to go up to him, he'd acknowledge and talk to you but he would keep it short."

"And that's also how Mira developed the biggest crush ever on my brother." Fuu stated before she adopted a thinking pose. "Though that could be debated considering that Erza has a massive crush on Naruto too."

Lucy looked over curiously in Erza's direction, spotting the woman in question talking to Mirajane about something. "And Erza has a crush on Naruto because…?"

Fuu shrugged. "Who knows, I'm one of her best friends and she's too embarrassed to tell me."

"All I do know is that it's pretty funny that their rivalry started again because of their shared feelings for our whiskered blonde warrior." Cana snickered.

End.

Finally, this chapter took a lot longer to write because it was taking me a while to decide where I should start. Glad that that is finally sorted.

Seeing as you've reached the end of the chapter, it's no doubt obvious that the story does not follow canon, it only reached until the end of phantom arc plus Loke being welcomed back into the celestial world but that's it.

The tower of heaven arc and beyond that won't happen since Naruto and the other jinchurikis have made various changes to the timeline by being here. I might do a canon arc or two but most of it will be original. Or that's the plan anyway.

I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter and various twists and turns. I enjoyed writing this even if it was a head-scratcher.

Chapter 9, 10, and 11 are posted on my p.a.t.r.e.o.n Feel free to check it out lads, here's the link

www.#patr#eon.#com/Demon_Knight939 (Just remove all the hashtags)

Anyway take care lads.

See you on the next update!

Peace.