To quote the words of the famous and magnificent Captain Jack Sparrow, 'Up is down.'
Hello lads, I hope you all are doing well.
Now I want you to remember this quote.
Because this line will be your salvation, our salvation, when our world flips in a way that we could not comprehend.
And when it does flip upside down, remember that 'up is down', that way you're constantly being positive.
…
Now that I'm done imparting my wisdom upon you all, let us begin!
Start:
Through his emotion sensing ability, it was easy to discern that beyond damaged pride, there was no animosity or any kind of ill will that Gajeel harbored against him.
Loyalty, an admirable trait, was one that both combatants shared, the difference between the shinobi and the dragon slayer lies in who that loyalty was tied to.
Naruto wanted to believe the battle was over, but that depended on Gajeel.
Muscles remained tense, guard up as blue eyes gazed upon a set of crimson ones.
…
"Why am I loyal to Jose Parla, Huh?" A frown crossed the dragon slayer's features. "I don't see why that is relevant to you."
"You remind me of someone, that someone, like you, was also loyal to a fault to a man that viewed him as a weapon and nothing more."
"…And why was that?"
Pocketing his kunai back into his sleeve, Naruto raised an inquisitive brow, prompting Gajeel to elaborate. "Why was that someone that you speak of, was loyal to that man?"
"His name was Haku. And the name of the man who viewed him as a weapon was Zabuza."
"Never heard of them."
The shinobi chuckled. "That I already knew. To answer your question, Haku lived in a village that highly discriminated him and those who were gifted with extraordinary abilities." That was one way to describe the wonders of Kekkai Genkai. "And at some point in his life when he was at rock bottom, was then saved by Zabuza."
"Grateful for his actions and kindness, Haku had sworn loyalty to him."
Gajeel slowly got up while cautiously eying the blonde. "Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because though Zabuza came off as a cold-hearted killer, he did genuinely care for Haku, he just had difficulty expressing that care and I know that Haku had realized that fact long ago. But Jose on the other hand… I can't see why you would willingly follow his orders and be loyal to him."
The Phantom mage grunted. "Because the thing you fail to acknowledge is that I am a dragon-slayer. The values and thought processes of dragons have been imprinted onto us slayers, the dragon who taught me, Metalicana, hammered the concept of loyalty and giving it my all, into my brain until that was all I knew in terms of dragon culture."
"Unlike your friend, I'm simply loyal because I am a part of the Phantom Lord guild. Master Jose didn't save me or anything remotely of that like." He added.
Naruto remained silent, taking a good couple of seconds to muse before asking one question that rocketed the dragon slayer's beliefs. "Tell me this… This Metalicana, would he agree to what you're allowing yourself to be subjected to because of loyalty?"
"I… h-he…" Gajeel was rendered speechless as he truly considered the question.
Not done with his point, the blonde hammered the raven-haired mage with another hard-pressed question.
"Loyalty is a two-way street and while you're loyal to Jose, he most certainly isn't to you if the way he commanded you to come after me despite knowing who I am is any indication. Not only did he give you orders that if known, would turn you into a dark mage, but on top of that, he disregarded the fact that you could be hurt or killed and still had you come after me anyway."
"Is that a man who deserves loyalty?"
Phrased like that, it was easy to comprehend why Gajeel was painstakingly silent. It wasn't everyday that someone was confronted with an uncomfortable truth.
Thinking more of it, Gajeel questioned if Metalicana would have approved of the fact that he was dutiful to Jose.
But more than that, he questioned if he himself approved of allowing himself to be loyal to Jose any further.
Even without the blonde's relentless bombardment about his guild master's personality, Gajeel knew that the wizard saint he followed possessed a dark side, hell, he had bore witness to it multiple times.
No man was without faults, but Jose… words failed to describe some of the malicious actions Gajeel had seen him take.
…
"No." Gajeel eyed the blonde evenly. "The answer's no to either of your questions."
While pleased with the response, Naruto still wasn't willing to drop his guard until he received an answer to one final question. "Do you plan on carrying out his orders regardless? Or are you now no longer a Phantom Lord mage?"
Preferring to let his actions speak for him, Gajeel pointed at the tattoo on his shoulder that signified his status as a member of Jose's guilt and the shinobi watched mutely as said tattoo began to dissolve before disappearing altogether.
Seeing that, Naruto allowed himself to unwind and relax.
"Listen, there's something you should know." The dragon slayer stated with grave seriousness, causing the blonde to tense in preparation. "You weren't Jose's only target tonight."
"What!?"
"One of my former guildmates, Juvia, is supposed to find and kidnap Lucy Heartfilla."
"Then we're leaving. Now!"
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Fortunately, as it turned out once the duo of Naruto and Gajeel arrived by Lucy's home, nothing seemed destroyed from the outside but that didn't stop them from bargaining into the place.
Only to be greeted by three pairs of eyes, two confused and radiating incredulousness while the last set were widened like dinner plates due to the horror.
"Why did you destroy the door!?" Lucy screeched. "Now I'm gonna have to pay so much money to fix it along with the monthly rent."
…
Wincing, Naruto bowed his head in apology, his sheepishness only increasing as he was then confronted by a pair of beautiful and large brown eyes that were becoming more watery with each passing second. "Sorry Lucy, I rushed in thinking that you were in danger… I'll pay for the door so don't worry."
Seeing the tide of water just increasing, Naruto fretfully attempted once more to salvage the situation, not knowing that the Heartfilla heir was simply relieved to learn that her wallet would survive.
Problem was, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "I'll also take you out to a fancy dinner, my expense!"
…
Realizing what he had just uttered, Naruto's complexion turned pale.
Everyone else, minus all the blondes in the room, could only watch and listen in muted shock, too taken aback to say or feel anything.
It was like watching a soap opera but doing so while trying to win the emotionless challenge.
Lucy turned super pink and shyly looked away. "You don't have to do that. And don't worry about the door, I was… joking."
Obviously not. Lucy's money trouble was famous around the guild, as famous as Elfman's tendency to roar 'man' after every sentence. Meaning, everyone in the guild including the whiskered shinobi knew of her financial situation.
It was touching that she'd refuse his offer to pay even when it was his fault, but surprising as it was, it was also somehow predictable as the celestial mage was kind-hearted to such a degree that hardly any came to his mind that he'd know would be able to contest her in just being kind.
Possibly Hinata, but he unfortunately wouldn't know as he hadn't had the pleasure to get to know her intimately.
Shoving the sad thought away for now before it could affect him, Naruto chose to focus on the here and present. For the umpteenth time since he had met her, he had to marvel at how compassionate and generous Lucy was.
He definitely was not going to let her suffer from his mistakes! "No, no. I insist. I will pay for the door, I will take you out to a fancy place… if you'd like. And for how kind and gentle you've been with me. I will also pay the next three following month's rent."
Naturally, Lucy was part horrified, part excited to hear that. To summarize, she was quite conflicted hearing that.
"Nar-" "Can you both do the lovey dovey thing later?" Gajeel interjected firmly with a look before pointing to himself, Gray, and Juvia. "Because the rest of us would rather not be watching this."
The blondes adopted sheepish expressions.
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Wiping the dust from his left eye, Naruto contemplated everything that he had been told and informed of in the past fifteen minutes.
They sat at a round table, the five of them.
Lucy on his left with Gajeel seated to his right. On the right of Gajeel was Juvia who was nestled between the dragon slayer and her favorite ice wizard who she was a moment away from fawning over.
"So, just to summarize everything. Juvia, the lovely blue-haired lady over here." Naruto looked over to the blunette who promptly stopped making love to Gray with her eyes to wave shyly once she was in the face of his attention. "Was ordered to kidnap you, Lucy, but couldn't bring herself to do it."
"And then you." He shifted his attention to Gray. "Arrived at the scene because you were suspicious of Jose's interest in Lucy's last name, prompting you to come to protect her just in case."
"That's right." Gray nodded, smiling softly as Lucy sent him a thankful look only to then sweatdrop as Juvia turned murderous not a second later towards the female blonde.
"And from there, you and Juvia sort of battled, though it was not really a battle since Juvia didn't want to hurt or capture either Lucy or you, which made you not want to hurt her or so." Naruto then sweatdropped. "And then you made a comment about the rain and how it was kind and beautiful, and that made her… fall in love with you in the process. Did I get that right?"
"Absolutely." Juvia answered suddenly and courageously, a bout of confidence surging within whenever the topic shifted to her beloved Gray. "Since I'm madly in love with Gray and seeing as I didn't want to capture Lucy, I surrendered and chose to leave Phantom Lord."
"We were actually about to leave since Juvia told us about Gajeel and Jose wanting you dead." Lucy spoke up. "And then you popped in."
"While we're on the subject of you, Naruto…" Gray looked annoyed. "You need to get a communication lacrima, that way we can actually communicate."
Naruto sent him the ice wizard a sarcastic thumbs up. "I'll do that."
Quitting her fawning momentarily, Juvia looked over to Gajeel and sent him a soft smile. "I'm glad that you're okay Gajeel, and I'm happy to learn that you left mast… Jose."
"Yes well… I too had to consider the direction that I wanted to take my life in, staying with Jose would take it in a path I would not be proud or happy of." Gajeel answered in a matter of factual tone before his gruff look eased a bit and he looked at the water mage kindly. "That said, I'm glad you're okay too, Juvia."
His words rewarded him with a positive beam from Juvia.
While the two of them had never interacted strongly in the past, there still existed a kinship among them, not unlike those who had survived or went through a horrendous experience that allowed people to bond together.
As such, Gajeel held something of a soft spot for Juvia just as Juvia held one for him.
"While I'm glad we're all getting along, we all still need to be fully up to date on the foe we're very possibly facing soon." Naruto had to unfortunately return the tension to the room. "Gajeel, Juvia, I think it's fair to say that it's no longer just me, Lucy, or anyone from Fairy Tail that Jose is only targeting."
"Naruto makes a good point." Gray fully concurred in agreement, his gaze sharpening at the thought of the wizard saint he had the displeasure of coming across. "Jose will target the both of you in addition to us all."
"Which means." Lucy interjected with a frown. "That we need to come up with a game plan that protects us all. And I need to figure out how to deal with… him." She exhaled tiredly and plastered a fake smile. "Now he chooses to find me. After a whole fucking year of ignoring my existence." Lucy swore.
The room was engulfed in uncomfortable silence before Gray cleared his throat. "Well, whatever issue or issues we're facing, we can overcome them if we rely on one another and rely on everyone in fairy tail."
"No." Lucy drawled out firmly much to everyone's surprise. "All of this is my fault for running away from home. I won't drag you or anyone else into this situation more than I already have. I will leave first thing in the morning and go back." Though an unconscious thing, Lucy's head drooped in sadness. "I'm sorry for causing this mess everyone."
"Don't be stupid." Naruto sharply replied, stunning and slightly hurting the celestial mage who turned her attention to him. "You are not responsible for the actions undertaken by your father, what he does is what he does, what you do is what you do. Do not blame yourself when the situation isn't your fault. Because it definitely is not."
"Jose wanted to hurt Fairy Tail for years." Juvia spoke up. "Whether you were around or back in the Heartfilla mansion, it wouldn't have mattered as he was going to try instigate a fight with Fairy Tail regardless."
"Precisely. A wizard saint he may be, but our former master is a man who seemingly has no limits or qualms in getting what he wants." Gajeel joined in. "It's either his way or the highway. We already have an example of his cruelty and lack of moral restraint with how I was ordered to kill him." He pointed at a neutral Naruto. "Just because he refused to leave Fairy Tail to join Phantom lord."
"Besides." A small smile tugged at the edge of Gray's lips as he looked over to the downtrodden celestial wizard. "You should already know that everyone from Fairy Tail is ready to go to war for one of our own. We wouldn't leave you behind Lucy, no matter what."
"I know." A few tears made their way to Lucy's eyes. "But I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me."
"Lucy." Naruto called out quietly. "I understand what you're feeling, as unlikely as it may seem, I really do, but despite that, I also know that you also need to rely on your friends when you're placed in an extremely tough situation. No one can win or overcome against impossible odds alone. We'll help you, and we'll do so happily even."
"Thank you, everyone." Lucy whispered.
Everyone in the room heard it and had their own positive reaction.
Suppressing the smile that curved his lips, Naruto looked over to the former pair of Phantom mages. "We still need to figure out how to keep the two of you safe from Jose's reach."
His statement aroused some surprise within Gajeel and Juvia, yet before could question or exclaim a thing, Gray butted in. "Taking them to Fairy Tail is the obvious solution. Master Makarov is a wizard saint just like Jose, but he's even more capable." The ice wizard's gaze darted to meet and alternate between the surprised pair. "He can most definitely protect the two of you."
"Why are you all being so nice to us?" Gajeel couldn't help but question the three of them.
"Juvia, I could understand as she couldn't bring herself to harm a fly." Gajeel's words summoned a blush from the blunette who smacked his chest in retaliation. "It doesn't surprise me that she couldn't convince herself to kidnap Lucy. So yes, her, I can understand. But why also me? I was trying to kill you."
"And you conveniently left out the part of how you were trying to spare me several times." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why wouldn't I show kindness to a man who was ordered to kill me and was loyal to his master but despite that, still tried to repeatedly show me mercy and kindness in his own way? You're a good man, Gajeel, don't think otherwise."
Rendered speechless by Naruto's thoughtfulness, Gajeel closed his eyes in an attempt to block the stinging tears from appearing, bowing his head in gratitude before he hurriedly looked away to wipe any existence of his 'weakness'.
Grateful for the show of kindness she had just witnessed happen to someone she cared about, Juvia sent a thankful smile to the blonde who smiled back in turn.
Comfortable silence reigned for a long moment before Gray stood up, prompting all the attention to land on him. "There isn't much we can do as of now. Better to get some sleep before we finalize things in the morning. Juvia, Gajeel, come with me. I have two spare mattresses and a spare room back in my place."
"Thanks for the hospitality."
"Oh my beloved Gray is so kind."
The former phantom mages replied simultaneously.
Exchanging farewells, a nod, and a first bump with Juvia, Gray, and Gajeel respectively, Naruto watched them leave before he turned over to Lucy. "I'll leave in a bit so you can get your beauty sleep. Just wanted to talk to you about earlier."
Confused on what exactly, the Heartfilla heir's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, prompting the shinobi to elaborate. "About the rent and money and stuff."
Recognition dawned upon her before Lucy's eyes widened in panic. "You don't have to pay for anything! It's okay. Don't worry about the door even. I'm sure I can get it all handled with a few job requests here and there."
"You could." He affirmed his faith in her abilities. "But just as you're always kind and generous to me, I want to be like that to you. Please Lucy. It would be my pleasure to help out the lovely lady who was kind enough to offer me a stay in her home when I had nowhere to go."
She blushed at his kind words. "I couldn't just… I don't know! I just couldn't leave you alone when I know what it was like to start from scratch. It's hard and exhausting and can just be so overwhelming, and in my case, I didn't actually start from scratch as I still had some money and possessions before I left."
"I could only imagine how it would have been even harder for you and I… I didn't want you to go through all that alone." Her voice began to quiet down. "Especially when I saw just how much in pain you were in."
A genuine smile crossed Naruto's features. "Thank you Lucy. Truly. But please let me be kind to you like you've always been with me." Seeing her still seem so unsure, he added. "If it helps, I'm actually really loaded thanks to a super successful project I released a week ago."
Icha Icha Make-out tactics was a massive hit across all of Fiore in just a few days and was already the number one seller. Practically everyone was searching for the mysterious author Jiraiya.
"I have so much money that I don't even know what to do with it beyond donation to charities and what's not. We don't have to do the dinner thing. Just as long as I can help out with easing your money troubles, then I'm happy."
…
"Okay." Lucy finally agreed before her cheeks tinted pink. "But if you're going to basically spoil me rotten, then I want the fancy dinner too."
Naruto grinned charmingly as he stood up, the curvaceous stellar mage following his motion. "All we need is a time and place."
Giggling, she shook her head as she escorted him to the door. "Once we're done with this entire mess, we'll make that our first priority."
"Sounds good to me."
Lunging forward, Lucy wrapped her arms around him in a strong hug, her face buried within his upper chest.
Sensing the inner turmoil within her, Naruto immediately returned her embrace and allowed her to take her time, simply content to provide her with the warmth that she seeked and needed.
They tuned out the world, time itself losing significance as they hugged for what seemed like forever.
A sad smile filtered its way to Naruto's visage as he eyed the trembling blonde in his arms.
It was a crime.
It was an honest and genuine crime that someone like Lucy, someone so stunningly sweet and thoughtful, had to go through even more hardships when it was clear that she had already been through her fair share.
When he had learned and more importantly had seen with his own eyes, the devastation that had been wrought to Konoha, Naruto had been assaulted with relentless shame and a sense of unbridled guilt that held the same weight as that of the world.
Sure everyone cheered his name and assured him that he wasn't responsible, but witnessing as even the elderly put their back into fixing their homes wrecked the former jinchuriki with such remorse that it caused him to want to throw himself at every available s-rank mission around at the time.
While nowhere near that scale, Naruto knew that it was still very frustrating regardless that others had to suffer due to association.
He felt his shirt get a bit wet and stroked her back comfortingly.
Words didn't hold much depth when it came to this kind of agony, only presence, physical assurance, and warmth, helped sooth the pains of the heart.
Naruto couldn't say he knew exactly what was going on, there was still much of the world that he was ignorant of despite his intense shadow clone studying.
But what he did know was this.
He wasn't going to turn his back to kind people like Lucy who needed no reason to be compassionate.
That much, he most certainly knew.
Eventually, Lucy pulled back and though Naruto knew what to expect, it was still disheartening to find red-rimmed eyes gazing back at him.
"Hey, do you want me to stay a bit longer?" He asked softly.
She shook her head. "It's okay, I'll be alright so don't worry." To assuage his concern, Lucy sent him a brilliant smile. "Thank you for being a sweetheart."
Naruto returned her smile, feeling a bit sheepish. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow, good night Lucy."
"Goodnight." She uttered softly.
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Taking the long and scenic route that led to the forest, Naruto couldn't help but glance at every part of the town that was illuminated by the soft and ethereal glow of the moonlight. The beauty of this city, its land, was worlds apart compared to the elemental nation.
Both figuratively and literally.
The view above was also otherworldly.
An endless expanse of sky shaded a royal dark blue with millions of stars lighting the night.
A full glowing moon gazed back at him, showering him with its holy radiance but despite it all, Naruto felt only two things as he looked up at the heavens above.
Sadness and regret.
The mesmerizing color of the night sky reminded him of her alluring dark blue hair. The countless white stars that decorated the atmosphere above reminded him of her flawless and pale complexion. And the shining round moon reminded him of the shape and aesthetics of her unique pupil-less eyes.
Hinata Hyuuga.
A gentle woman who's every encounter with him was always gentle and kind.
Separated from his world, it was natural that Naruto would harbor a few regrets that would not go away any time soon.
Yes, the world was free from the infinite Tsukuyomi.
Yes, Kurama and his siblings were free.
And yes, everyone in the world could finally exist in harmony with one another, to now live in peace with no more wars.
But it didn't mean that Naruto was without regrets.
So many comrades and friends, he was forever separated from. His dream to become Hokage, no longer attainable.
And Hinata… If there was one person he wanted to see for one last time, it would be her.
To thank her for always being sweet to him. To thank her for throwing herself at Pain when no one else would. (Not that he wanted anyone to do so). To thank her for telling him that she loved him when he had never heard such beautiful words aimed at him prior to that time.
He wanted to wait until the mess with the Akatsuki was over. He certainly hadn't expected for it to spiral in such a way that it would end up with him in a different universe altogether.
If he was back in the elemental nation and everything worked out as he had hoped, and if she stood before his eyes, more than anything, and that included the sheer gratitude he felt towards her for everything she had done for him, Naruto wanted to tell one Hinata Hyuuga this.
"I would like to give it a try." He quietly whispered, his voice carried over by the winds as the world alighted him with their attention.
Allowing his gaze to tip back down after a long while, Naruto trekked forward, his form gradually sinking into the darkness of the forest as he came to terms with the fact that he had lost out on knowing the love of a compassionate woman.
End.
And that ends this chapter lads.
I know it's a bit short but I wanted the chapter to have an appropriate ending since the chapter onwards is where things will get spiced up.
Doing it this way too, I felt that Naruto could also come to terms with the fact that he couldn't answer Hinata's feelings like he wanted to after the war had ended.
Naturally, it will take a while before Naruto truly gets over everything.
Problem with writing at times is that you feel what your character feels and ending it this way, I too feel bittersweet with this kind of conclusion.
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter regardless, it was fun to write but also bittersweet because of what I explained above.
More Chapters 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.
Peace.