The Power of Bonds

"I'm glad that you're safe. Laxus will be too." Wendy smiled at her old friend, and they caught up, with Makarov giving Naruto special permission to make his stew, which the four of them ate, everyone loved it. Makarov left with Mira, telling Wendy to lock up the guild after their done. He held back the need to joke about the Dragon Slayer and Darkness user being alone together until they next meet. Mira just gave Wendy a mischievous wink, which made the blue-haired girl blush.

"And I'm glad that you're safe and made some good friends. Met one of them earlier, though we didn't end up becoming friends." Naruto told Wendy, remembering how he fought her.

"What!? But Erza has always been nice to me. I'm sure that it is a misunderstanding. You'll like Erza once you get to know her better!" Wendy remained positive and wanted her role model and older sister figure to get along with Naruto.

"Well, that's the problem. She's the one who doesn't like me, but I kind of get that." Naruto replied, he knew it wasn't going to be easy and personally he didn't care if Erza liked him.

"Oh….." Wendy realised what was happening. "She's very overprotective of me and considers me her little sister. Not just her, Natsu is also very overprotective of me too and Carla." She gave a small smile. "So, please don't hate Erza."

"I don't hate her. In fact, I'm glad that you made good friends, better friends than me." Naruto whispered the last part, but Wendy heard it.

"Don't say that!" Wendy slammed her hands on the table. She had an angered look on her face, which surprised Naruto. "I'm glad to have met you and I'm glad we're friends!" Wendy did not back down, which Naruto respected, and he was glad to be her friend.

"I don't regret it either. But a lot of stuff happened Wendy. While I'm no longer part of it, the guild I used to be a part of is a Dark Guild." Naruto told her with a heavy heart and whilst Wendy was shocked at this, several thoughts going through her head until she spoke her next words carefully.

"Did you hurt anyone? I mean did you attack innocent people?" She asked the blonde, wanting to believe in her friend.

"I mostly fought monsters, demons and other dark wizards. I did beat up jerks and other people who pissed me off just because, but never innocent people." Naruto was honest, but he thought that Wendy would not believe him.

"And is that why you never visited me?" She asked, her eyes shadowed by her hair and Naruto knew that she was angry.

"Yes. I wanted to, but I felt that I would put you in danger. I knew that you couldn't follow me because you would get into trouble. And I understand if you're angry with me." Naruto looked away in shame for a moment before returning to face her.

"So, you did it to protect me?" She looked at him, her innocent eyes staring into his guilty ones.

"Yes." Naruto simply replied, which was met with Wendy slapping him in the face. Naruto rubbed his right cheek, a red mark formed because of Wendy's slap.

"You're an idiot!" Wendy had a stray tear which she wiped away from her left eye. "But it shows that you're still the same caring person that you are. Even though we only spend a short time with each other, you helped me and believed in me. You were my first friend and you helped me realise that there are other kinds of strengths. And if you were ever to lose your way, I would save you from yourself." Wendy then smiled and reached out for Naruto's hand that was on the table. He felt the warmth radiating from her touch, he then gently gripped her hand and returned her smile.

"Then it's a promise. I'll be counting on you, Wendy. But, I warn you, even without being a dark wizard, I can be very destructive." Naruto joked around, not realising that Wendy is a part of a guild that specializes in destruction.

"Actually, Fairy Tail is known for causing a lot of property damage and a lot of my friends here beat up people they don't like…..Especially Natsu." She laughed nervously, having a mental image of Natsu looking nearly demonic and laughing madly.

"S-Seriously!" 'Wait! Come to think of it, somebody did mention that before. Fairy Tail does have a rep for being a destructive guild. That and the fact that their ace is a monster.' Naruto's initial shock subsided for another thought.

"But, more importantly, since you have left that dark guild, would you like to join Fairy Tail?" Wendy gave him a hopeful look, with eyes so innocent that even the coldest of hearts could melt at their site.

"N-No…..I mean I just came to visit you and Laxus." He replied, coughing into his hand. He saw Wendy look downcast and then sighed. "But I'll consider it, no promises though." This was enough to bring back the smile on Wendy's face.

"Then I will be waiting for that day." She then noticed that it got late. "Oh no! It's 2am! I told Carla that I would be back home before 1!" Wendy shot back up and looked nervous.

"Wait, who's Carla?" Naruto asked, which made Wendy realise that she never mentioned one of her best friends to him.

"She's one of my best friends when I joined Fairy Tail. She's very stern but she cares about me a lot. I'm sure she'd love to meet you. In fact, tomorrow I'll introduce you to my friends in the guild." Wendy sounded like an excitable child, which made Naruto chuckle.

"I see you made good friends. I'm glad." Naruto got up. "I promise to meet them, but first I want to meet Laxus again." Naruto wanted to see the older blonde again and possibly spar with him.

"Well, Laxus does miss you too." Wendy smiled but it did not reach her eyes. 'Except for me and a select few, Laxus doesn't get on with most people in the guild. Maybe your reunion with him will help him calm down.' Wendy hoped that would be the case. "I must ask, what was the name of the guild you were a part of. You never told me the name."

"Grimoire Heart." Naruto replied, making Wendy's eyes widen.

"But that guild is considered one of the strongest Dark Guilds in Ishgar!" Wendy exclaimed at him and grabbed his arms, shaking him before realising what she was doing and then apologised.

"It's all good. And I joined it before it became prominent, but then it did. Luckily that old bastard made us hide the fact that we were a part of the guild on missions, though that doesn't guarantee that my identity is safe." Naruto told Wendy, still feeling a little guilty about being part of Grimoire Heart, but it was necessary to him, at least at the time.

"Well, please be careful from now on. The Magic Council is relentless when they decide to pursue those who they deem a threat. I should know, Fairy Tail caused so much destruction that we get a letter demanding an apology every week." Wendy recalled Natsu destroying a whole town because he battled a monster who tried to destroy the same town he tried to protect. Luckily no one was hurt because they evacuated, but Natsu had to run away from an angry mob.

"No need to worry. I've been careful and plus I talked to one of them with your guild master." Naruto told her with confidence, but it did not alleviate Wendy at all. Wendy left it at that as they tidied up before heading out. They still talked on the way home. If they stayed a little longer, they would have met Laxus and Happy, the blue cat who took a flyer from their S-Class section.

"Sorry about that slap. I-I hope it didn't hurt." Wendy looked away bashfully from the blonde who only chuckled.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad to know you stand up for yourself and your friends" Naruto reassured her, with Wendy easing up after hearing his reply.

"So, do you have a place to stay?" Wendy asked the blonde, who was being nonchalant about it.

"Well, I planned on staying at an inn, but I doubt one's open. I should be fine for the night. I mean there are some nice trees in the forest." Naruto winked, making Wendy laugh. She remembered their first encounter and understood Naruto's reference, reminding them of the time they took shelter from the rain by sleeping inside a tree.

"Are you sure? I mean I can't offer you to stay at my place since men aren't allowed, but I can try to ask some of male friends." Wendy offered, though she did not want to be inconsiderate to her friends in Fairy Tail since they may dislike the idea of inviting a stranger to stay at their place.

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, I like my personal space." Naruto joked around. They arrived at Fairy Hills, a dormitory for some of the female Fairy Tail wizards. This includes Erza Scarlet. Said person was standing in front of the doors with her arms folded, making Wendy run behind Naruto.

"E-Erza!" Wendy stuttered and did not like the look on her face.

"Nice jammies." Naruto commented at Erza's current attire, saying it jokingly. She only glared at him, with Wendy looking more nervous.

"So, this is the rude boy you were with. I must say, I am disappointed with you, Wendy." Another voice called out. Unlike Erza's voice, this one sounded more sophisticated. Naruto was surprised to see a white cat wearing a dress and floating beside Erza.

"And you're a talking cat with wings. That's a first." Naruto had seen some weird things in his young life, and he's seen weirder that a talking winged cat.

"I bet a ruffian like you hasn't seen a majestic creature like. Wendy say goodbye to your friend and get inside. We will talk tomorrow." The cat basically ordered Wendy, who thought about introducing them to each other first.

"R-Right. It is late anyway. But first let me introduce you to each other. Naruto, this is Carla and Carla this is Naruto." Wendy gestured towards Naruto and then to Carla.

"Nice to meet you." Naruto casually greeted.

"Charmed." Carla sarcastically replied. "Now, off to bed." Wendy said her goodbye with Naruto returning her farewell with his own and waved at her. Erza noticed this and saw how happy Wendy appeared to her.

'Her smile and her eyes. She really is happy….I guess I should apologise for the way I acted.' Erza still felt Naruto may endanger the guild, but after realising why he kept his distance from Wendy, she knew that she was wrong to antagonize him to a large degree. "I assume you two did not engage in anything inappropriate. You and I will have a talk tomorrow, but I have one thing I must to say to you."

"And what's that?" Naruto was annoyed by Erza's attitude towards him but remained composed in front of her.

"I apologise for my previous actions and for antagonizing you earlier." Erza bowed, surprising Naruto.

"Y-Yeah, sure. I'm sorry too, I was being a jerk to you at the restaurant and I know that I get under people's skins very easily." Naruto extended his hand which Erza accepted and shook it. This signified that both would try to at least be civil with each and possibly in the future become good friends.

(Unknown Tavern)

"I-I'll talk!" A large man was on one knee, all bloody and bruised. He was staring at none other than Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi was a little taller and a few years older now. He wore a blue bodysuit, with a flak jacket, a belt with several pouches attached to it and blue fingerless gloves with a metal plate on the backhand for each glove. Right now, Kakashi held a kunai in his left hand and pointed it on the large man's neck. He moved it away and smiled beneath his mask.

"Now, was that so difficult?" Kakashi sounded a lot more jovial. "Do not worry, I'll pay for the damages to the tavern after you give me the information I need." Kakashi then felt incoming danger, jumping out of the way, but the large man he threatened before was not lucky. His skull was pierced by a beam.

(Play Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep OST-Enter the Darkness)

"And you are?" Kakashi looked up to see a helmet wearing individual sticking to the ceiling. This individual jumped down and Kakashi felt unnerved. This individual is a male wearing light-weight silver armour, with silver gauntlets and leggings that reached to his knees. He wore a black bodysuit underneath. His chest plate has a large black insignia on it, the insignia of Grimoire Heart. His helmet is also silver but also had a blade-like horn on each side with a visor that blocked the view of his eyes. He had a brown strap around his waist which had the familiar handle attached to it, with a very small blade. he took the weapon out and it changed the to the Kubikiribocho.

"You can sense my presence. Colour me impressed." He sounded jovial, but Kakashi could feel maliciousness in his tone.

"You're from Grimoire Heart! And that weapon…..Where did you get it!?" Kakashi took a battle stance and had blue electricity channelled through his body.

"Oh, you're familiar with this weapon. It belonged to a former member of our guild, until he was…excommunicated. And where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Roxatun and I would appreciate it if you stop snooping around." Roxatun created a puddle of darkness and went into, avoiding Kakashi's lightning covered left arm. "Lights out!" Roxatun jumped back out and landed a darkness-enhanced kick, which forced Kakashi to use his lightning-enhanced arms to block the attack. However, Kakashi was sent flying out the tavern by the attack.

'He used Darkness!' Kakashi rebounded and saw Roxatun rush towards him, swinging Kubikiribocho. Kakashi ducked, then channelled lightning into his right hand, forming a small blade. It collided with Roxatun's weapon and caused a shockwave which shattered every single piece of glass in the area.

"Show me what you got!" Roxatun released a shockwave from his own body and sent Kakashi sliding back, though the latter was still on his feet.

"That's enough Roxatun!" A voice called out, stopping Roxatun in his tracks. He shortened his weapon and stopped using his magic.

(OST End)

"What are you doing here, Azuma?" Roxatun sounded annoyed as the tall man appeared from the ground next to him.

"I was told to bring you back by Master. It seems we have some rats that need exterminating." Azuma replied to the youth and then turned to Kakashi. "I myself wish to fight you, but unfortunately, we have other things to attend to." Azuma surrounded himself and Roxatun with branches until they covered the duo, submerging into the ground which looked like a large lump to Kakashi. Kakashi tried to hit them with a lightning bolt, only for them to escape quickly.

'Roxatun…. You made me feel uneasy. I'll end it quickly next time we meet.' Kakashi could only sigh to himself and look up at the sky. Suddenly, he heard ringing and took out a hand-sized crystal ball Lacrima. "What is it, Obito?"

"You're not going to believe what's happening Kakashi." Obito spoke from the other side of the Lacrima.

(With Roxatun and Azuma, moments later)

"The fact that you challenged a Wizard Saint and one as dangerous as Kakashi Hatake was foolish." Ultear was waiting for the two.

"So, what? I could've taken him. Don't forget that I was trained by old man Hades himself and he himself is stronger than that weakling." Roxatun was a lot more arrogant than Naruto and it annoyed the two members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory.

"You really need a lesson in manners. Even Naruto held some respect for Master Hades. And he at least knew not to underestimate his opponents. Well at least not all of them." Ultear said the last part in a whisper, and a look of sadness briefly appeared on her face until her look of annoyance returned.

"There you go mentioning that Naruto guy again. I'm not Naruto! I'm not your friend, he is your friend. I'm sorry, was your friend." Roxatun mocked Ultear, only fuelling her anger but Azuma stood between them.

"Enough! We must rendezvous with Master Hades and the others. It seems that Orochimaru has found something of great importance, however, Master Hades suspects that Orochimaru will betray us." Azuma could sense that Roxatun was smirking behind his helmet.

"Then that means we must exterminate him." Roxatun was covered in crimson dark aura. "I've been itching to fight him for a long time."

'I'm starting to think we should have kept Naruto. Roxatun is too aggressive and even Master cannot control him completely.' Ultear felt that a storm was coming, and Grimoire Heart would not survive it.

(Fairy Tail Guild Hall, the next morning)

"Master! Someone took an S-Class Request from the top floor!" Mira looked worried, with Makarov drinking a cup of tea until he spat it back out, hitting Naruto, who was sitting next to him.

"Next time, tell him after I move out of the way." Naruto took one of Mira's cloths and used it to dry himself off.

Sorry for the long delay. I am dealing with a lot of stuff recently and some writer's block. I will write at least one or two more chapters for this story before moving back to Bonds.

It has not been easy lately, so please bear with me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

P.S. If you haven't, watch Deadpool & Wolverine.