A Man's Foolishness
Some time after the theatre incident, open field
Siegfried was lying on a grassy field while looking at the clouds. As he looked, he started remembering what that Nara had told him. Watching the clouds was relaxing and a good way to clear his thoughts. Even Aries appeared to be enjoying herself, but in actuality, she was roaming around a flower patch. As he looked back down, he felt some sadness as he watched.
"Are you ok Sieg?" Aries asked as she met his gaze.
Siegfried shook his head and snapped out of it, "Yeah, just a bad memory." he said.
Aries looked worried, "Big brother, I don't want to pry, but do you want to talk about it. You've been really secretive." she said.
"I'm sorry Aries, but some things are too painful to think about. Please don't take it the wrong way." Siegfried replied.
Aries quickly went in the flower patch and started working on something. A minute later, Aries walked up to Siegfried and showed him a ring made from the stems of a flower with a petal on top. Siegfried smiled at the beautiful gesture as he took the ring.
"Thank you Aries, I appreciate it." Siegfried said as Aries smiled.
"Hey Sieg, why don't you play me a song?" Aries asked.
"Alright, I'll play you a good one." Siegfried said as he pulled out his Ocarina. "I've been working on a new one, but just for you. I'll play it early." he said as Aries lied down beside him.
(Kingdom Hearts - Dearly Beloved)
Aries smiled as she closed her eyes and listened closely. Siegfried also had his eyes closed as he allowed his passion to take over. For the next couple of minutes, the Azure Knight had put aside his anguish, hate, sadness and fear aside and welcomed the peace. For as short as the moment of peace was, all he wanted to do was completely forget about the problems surrounding the world.
As he gave into the peace, for a brief moment, Siegfried felt as if he were embraced by several warm hands. Almost as if something was trying to pull him in. However, by the time he had finished with his prototype of a song. The embrace was gone and the stillness of the world had continued to move.
"Aw, is it over already?" Aries asked as she sat up and stretched.
"Sorry little sister, but all good things come to an end." Siegfried answered.
Aries pouted, "Then can you make extended songs?" she asked.
"I can try, but I'm not a talented musician. My instrument is literally just ceramic with holes in it." Siegfried answered as he never really thought anything special about his music.
Aries smiled, "I wish I knew how to make music." she said with a yawn.
"Having a skill or a hobby is always a fine thing to do." Siegfried said before looking around. "Hey Aries, I think I sense someone nearby. Almost like they're there... and not there? What is this a bad cloaking magic?" he asked as he got up and searched.
"Wait for me." Aries said as she followed him.
It wasn't a long walk before they noticed a young man with brown hair, blue shades and a green jacket looking from behind a rock. Siegfried scratched his chin as he felt that there was something familiar about him. So Siegfried did said something that would make Aries's face turn red.
"You looking for pretty girls?" Siegfried whispered behind the man.
"GAH! YOU SCARED ME!" he yelled. The man recompossed himself and adjusted his shades, "Hey you're that knight guy right? Naruto right?" he asked.
Before Siegfried could answer, Aries tackled the man down, "Leo! Leo it's really you!" she yelled as she rubbed her face on his shirt.
"Aries!?" "Leo" asked as he tried to get up.
"Aries who is this man?" Siegfried asked.
Aries continued to hugh "Leo" as she answered, "This is Leo! He's the..." she stopped as "Leo" covered her mouth.
"Haha, I don't know what she's talking about. I'm Loke, not Leo. I'm just a normal member of Fairy Tail. Haha." Loke said as he continued to laugh nervously.
Siegfried narrowed his eyes, "You're Karen's rogue spirit." he said which made Loke pale.
"Don't know what you're talking about! Bye!" Loke yelled as he ran off at a high speed.
"Leo come back!" Aries yelled as she tried to run after him.
"It's too late Aries. I doubt I could catch him myself." Siegfried told the panting celestial spirit. "By the way, was that really him? Was that Leo the Lion?" he asked.
Aries nodded, "Yes, I know it's him! He recognized me and everything!" she answered.
"Well then, I suppose we can confront him later in the guild." Siegfried suggested as she nodded.
"Hey Naruto is that you?" Siegfried turned around as Aries hid herself behind him.
Siegfried looked to see that Team Natsu was standing there looking a bit ragged, "Hey who's that girl behind you?" Lucy asked.
Siegfried looked over his shoulder, "This is Aries, she's a celestial spirit and my little sister figure outside of Levy." he answered as the pink haired girl poked her out before hiding behind him again. "She's also really shy." he added.
"Hey, that's the girl who saved me and Natsu from crashing into the ground." Lucy pointed out.
"Pretty sure we would have survived regardless." Natsu said.
Aries peaked her head out again, "Yeah, I heard Natsu needed to help someone so I sent Aries after her while I dealt with Phantom Lord. Since everyone else had to retreat." Siegfried replied.
"Oh yeah, now that I think about it. You were the guy in the armor that punched me weren't you?" Natsu asked as he was rather agitated about what happened.
"Yeah, then me, Cana and Elfman also briefly fought you." Gray added.
"You were all in the way. Gajeel was my opponent and mine alone." Siegfried replied in a stern manner leaving no room for argument... unless you were Natsu.
"It doesn't mean you get to steal fights!" Natsu argued.
"It was my fight that I started. Everyone else just invited themselves to a party they weren't welcomed to." Siegfried replied coldly.
"Then what's the point of having a party if no one is invited?" Happy asked as he was confused by the metaphor.
"Well you owe me a fight and another one for putting me in that room where Gray was stripping in front of me for three days straight!" Natsu yelled.
"For the last time flame brain, I did NOT strip in front of you!" Gray argued.
"Clothes." everyone said as Gray looked down and noticed that he was in his boxers again before panicking.
"Anyways, I see you all came back from a mission as I did. We should consider heading into to town before sundown." Siegfried said changing the subject.
Everyone nodded as they saw how late it was getting.
Balsam village, a little while later
After a long walk, Team Natsu tried to dig into more information as to why Siegfried disappeared. In which he answered with silence or ignoring them which they found rude. The whole time Aries had wrapped her arms around him like a security blanket due to her timidity. However they were able to get a few words out of him.
Mostly about his explanation that he found Levy's group unconscious and beaten badly. Which lead him to seeking out Justice in the form of fighting Gajeel. Which he won after making the iron dragon slayer plummet into the ocean. Which did kind of freak them out by the fact that the innocent friendly child they knew had become an experienced fighter, but might have gone off to the deep end.
For the rest of it, Natsu tried to pester Siegfried to fight him. Which ended in him being trapped in another illusion of being forced to watch Gray strip tease for him for three days. Then another illusion where he was trapped on a nonstop moving train for three days. So it was enough to silence the poor dragon slayer who just wanted to trade fists.
Eventually they made their way to the spa town to relax. After receiving an offer to join the girls, Aries took the offer under heavy consideration before Siegfried gave her permission to go with them. However instead of following the boys, Siegfried decided to find another method of relaxation as he didn't want to deal with their pointless fighting and arguing.
That's when he decided to give some other place a try.
"Acupuncture? I suppose I could try it." Siegfried said to himself as he saw the nice looking building before heading inside.
Inside Siegfried had taken a liking to the fine interior structure. All before heading towards the receptionist who was looking bored. They perked up before letting one of the workers know. It wasn't a long wait as there weren't any appointments scheduled at this time or many people coming for walk ins.
"They will see you now." the receptionist said as Siegfried walked into the office.
The worker was a middle aged woman with gray hair and pins in her hair that held up a bun, "Young man, please remove your armor and lie down on the table for me." she said.
Siegfried did as she requested and used his magic to remove his upper armor but left his grieves on along with a white muscle shirt, "Do I need to take off my shirt as well?" he asked.
"It's only a light treatment. Just your arms and part of your face." the woman said as she used a magic to manipulate the needles into hovering over him. "Be still, but do let me know if you feel pain or sudden loss of feeling anywhere." she said.
"Very well, I'm ready." Siegfried said as he felt the needles slowly entering his flesh.
"Tell me young man, what ails you? Physically or mentally?" the woman asked as she adjusted the needles.
"I doubt you could fix the scars you could see." Siegfried answered.
"Ah, so it must be what comes from the inside. Now relax, and think back to where it came from." she said.
Siegfried closed his eyes as he took several breaths, 'It started... with that sword didn't it?' he internally asked.
Flashback, 3 years ago
Siegfried, only 15 years old at the time, had managed to overcome the misfortunes and hardships that came from seeking out the cursed sword. Along with facing many powerful enemies who have all proven worthy of facing the sword itself. Putting aside his pride, he faced a pirate named Cervantes and if the rumors were true. He's supposedly hundreds of years old and the first one to hold the cursed sword, Soul Edge.
Cervantes was a strong foe indeed and used Soul Edge as dual blades to further prove the sword's capabilities. After a difficult battle, Siegfried managed to defeat the pirate and was ready to take the sword for himself when Cervantes was suddenly engulfed in red lightning. The body lifted itself into the air before turning into some kind of skeleton covered in fire.
"You, victor of the swords. Tell me your name." the beast demanded.
"My name is Siegfried Naruto and you must be the spirit of Soul Edge." Siegfried answered as he aimed his sword, Requiem, at the beast.
"There hasn't been anyone to challenge me since... Madara." the beast said.
"What? Who's Madara?" Siegfried asked as the world around him changed. "Well whoever he is, I bet I'm better than he was." he boasted as he charged at the spirit of Soul Edge.
Once again it was a hard fight that was won. However it was likely the strongest foe he had faced and little did Siegfried know. The beast was holding back as it wasn't at full power as it would have annihilated him. It seems as if fate was on this knight's side today as the beast was defeated and thus returned Siegfried to reality.
"I never had such an easy victory." Siegfried boasted once more before collapsing on his knees. "I take it back, it wasn't remotely easy at all." he said as he started to pant before looking up at the sword.
Siegfried excitedly went up to the sword and grabbed it by the handle, "Finally, I can prove myself to everyone back home. I bet Erza-chan will be excited to know I'm a swordsmen too." he said before lifting it into the air.
However, his celebration was over when the blade extended a claw like feature and held onto his hand. Siegfried was so startled by the action that he immediately worked on trying to forcefully remove the blade from his hand. Even with all his effort and strength, he was unable to remove the blade and started to scream in fear.
There was no one in the vicinity to help him out let alone hear his pleads for help. He was alone again. He was being harmed by his own actions. There was nothing left for him but a dark abyss. It was truly a nightmare that he could never awaken from.
End of flashback
Siegfried started to pant heavily as he gripped the table he was on. The woman nodded as she started to see that whatever it was that stressed her patient. It was quite painful.
"Young man, this may hurt and I can not guarantee that I can cure you. But I will guarantee that the pain will never subside should you refuse to accept what happened. Look deeper and find what ails you." she said as Siegfried struggled with the treatment.
Flashback, 10 months after Evil Seed
It's been a long time since Siegfried was freed by the evil sword's control. It was thanks to the help of a former nobleman named Raphael that he was freed. Ironically both were on the run seeing as the evil seed had caused Raphael to kill a fellow noble who supported his family as they were under the influence of the sword.
At some point, they split away hoping to run from the guards that were warned by Raphael's treacherous nephew. Siegfried had later found the man again later with a little girl named Amy. To keep it short, after a few arguments and fights about the cause of the Evil Seed, Siegfried felt obliged to at least help the man escape assassins and bandits as Raphael and Amy needed to leave the country.
After going their separate ways, Siegfried found himself in a new country, Switzerland. Now armed with Soul Edge's counterpart, Soul Calibur, Siegfried continued to roam Europe seeking a way to rid himself of Soul Edge.
Now, it was raining and it was pouring hard on him. Siegfried was making his way across the countryside in hopes of finding some shelter for the night. At some point, he found a large mansion or some sort of castle, he couldn't tell as it was very dark. As he hurried towards the structure, he saw a figure slowly making their way to the structure with something in hand.
Siegfried smiled as he waved his hand as he ran, "Excuse me? Over here!" he tried calling out but the rain was too loud for them to hear. As he continued to run over there, he saw another figure coming out, "Hello there! Would it be too much to ask for shelter for the rain!?" he asked.
Siegfried sighed as neither one of them heard him. However his slight disappointed demeanor was changed as he saw the figure that came out attacking the other. Siegfried put more energy into his run as his vision was becoming much more clear as he could see an older man beating down a woman on the ground with his fists.
"Monster! You are nothing more than a monster!" the man yelled as he continued to attack the woman.
Siegfried had enough of the sight and proceeded to punch the man on the side of the head, "YOU are the monster if you think attacking a defenseless woman." he said.
"That thing is no woman. It is an abomination. A failure of my design." the man said as he pointed at the woman.
Siegfried turned to the woman and saw something that may not have been completely human. However it wasn't something dangerous. Instead he saw a fearful young girl who was knocking on death's door. Regardless, all Siegfried saw in the end was a madman beating down someone incapable of fighting back.
"I see the monster real well." Siegfried said as his armored fist met with the man's face leaving him unconscious. Turning back to the woman, Siegfried could hear her faint breaths and grunts, "My field of medicine is nonexistent, but it doesn't mean I can't try to help you." he said as he summoned two clones to drag the man away as he picked up the injured woman.
The woman kept one eye wide open, "Hmm... erm..." she grunted.
"I won't hurt you. Everything is going to be fine now." Siegfried told her as they went inside the structure. "Hopefully this man isn't some rich noble with an army inside." he said to himself.
End of flashback
Back to reality, Siegfried continued to grip the table he was on as sweat rolled down his body, "Franny..." he muttered.
The woman took note of the subject, 'Whoever this boy is. He's been through more than anyone his age normally would.' she thought.
"Franny... I won't leave you..." Siegfried muttered some more.
At the same time, with the girls
As Gray, Natsu and Happy were on their own sides of the baths. The girls decided to take the time to relax by enjoying the warm water rather than fighting each other. However Erza made it weird by revealing that she was still in her armor.
'I think she has issues.' Aries thought.
"So Aries, what were you and Naruto doing back there in the field? We didn't expect to see him so far from the guild." Lucy asked.
"Oh that? Sieg was given a message to deal with a big bandit settlement. He said it wasn't too difficult so he wanted to relax and summoned me to keep him company." Aries answered.
"Hey were on a bandit elimination mission too. I guess it was just irony that we missed him or something." Lucy said cheerfully.
Aries nodded, "I even got to hear him play the ocarina again. So that was nice too." she added.
"Wait, so does that mean Naruto was the one who played the song when we all fell asleep?" Lucy asked only to earn a confused look from the celestial spirit.
"Lucy what are you talking about?" Erza asked as this was news to her.
"Well just before Phantom attacked. Someone played a song loud enough for the entire guild to hear. Which turned out to be a sleeping spell, but Master Makarov said it wasn't Mystogan and he didn't really say anything else either." Lucy explained.
"That does sound like Naruto. By chance did it sound like this? Du du du, du du du, du du dudu." Erza asked as she sung a few bars.
"That's it!" Lucy said.
"I know that song! That's the one Sieg plays the most." Aries answered.
Erza smiled at the thought that Siegfried didn't completely change, "Aries, by any chance was Naruto different when you met him?" she asked.
Aries shook her head, "No, but I can tell he's pretty stern with people he doesn't know well or only knows professionally. But he's a really nice guy when he wants to be." she answered.
"Was he different before Erza?" Lucy asked curiously.
Erza sighed, "Yes, in fact Naruto was always energetic and trying to make everyone's day better. Always at the guild first early in the morning to greet everyone. Even trying to help if he's up to it, but he never really had the strength or will to fight." she explained.
"Really? Are you sure you're not talking about Mirajane?" Lucy asked with a bead of sweat coming from the back of her head.
Erza actually registered that response, 'It could be a factor as to why Mirajane is different than how she was two years ago.' she thought.
"Honestly that doesn't really sound like big brother. Sure he greets people but he always minds his business. He also doesn't like to talk about what he was up to in the past. But I think it's because something hurt him a few years ago." Aries explained as she thought that description was contradicting.
This made the girls get suspicious, "But you sound very close to him. Did Naruto mention what caused his pain?" Lucy asked.
Aries shook her head, "No, I remember that when my previous master left. I sensed Sieg's mana signature and after getting over my fear I came out to meet him. I think I scared him more than he scared me." she answered.
Lucy giggled, "I bet he didn't know what a celestial spirit was at the time." she said.
"No he didn't, but that wasn't the problem. He was panting and kept asking how I came back from the dead. Almost as if I reminded him of someone." Aries answered.
"Do you know who?" Erza asked.
"No, Sieg apologized for the confusion before I explained out contract. He said he knew my last master and said some... colorful things about her." Aries answered with a blush.
Lucy laughed nervously, "Who was your old master Aries?" she asked.
Aries looked nervous when she heard that question, "I don't like to talk about it. Besides, I prefer Sieg even though he's not a traditional celestial spirit mage." she said.
"Ok, no worries. I was just curious is all." Lucy said hoping to make her less uncomfortable.
"It's fine, I just don't like thinking about the past. I guess that's why I don't want Sieg to hate me if I do the same to him." Aries replied.
However with that said, both Lucy and Erza were wondering what was so dramatic that Siegfried changed. Erza was still guilt ridden with what she had done and believed her own actions were enough. Lucy however was starting to wonder if Siegfried could have just been another Natsu with Mira's current personality.
Back with Siegfried
The blond swordsman was sweating and panting as he woke up from the dreams. All the while the woman was grabbing some treatments for the man to cope.
"Here young man, this comes with the basic package. It will help with anxiety, but as for your overall stress. That is something you have to come to terms with." the woman said.
"Is there anything you would like to suggest?" Siegfried asked.
"You could try the old gypsy woman." the woman said.
"I think I'll try my luck somewhere else. Thank you anyways." Siegfried said as he left with his armor attached.
Later
After a long bath and some time to clear his mind. Siegfried changed into a new set of clothes of went off to look for Aries. It was no problem considering her energy source wasn't that difficult to spot with his basic sensory skills.
'But why are there three?' Siegfried wondered as he approached the sources of energy.
As he marched over there, Siegfried subconsciously activated his dojutsu as he saw two creeps hypnotizing Aries and Lucy. Siegfried knew their type and only had time to pull out his largest sword, Requiem, before someone beat him to the punch. Well it was more than a punch as Loke appeared and beat up the thugs.
"That oughta teach them." Loke said before being hugged by Aries again.
"Leo you saved me and Lucy!" Aries said.
Loke freaked out again,"I... I don't know who you are lady! I've never seen you before in my life!" he lied.
"Loke do you know Aries?" Lucy asked after snapping out of her daze.
Loke started to sweat as he covered Aries's mouth, "You got me Lucy. I used to date a celestial spirit!" Aries turned red when she heard the lie. "But you know me, I'm a womanizer so I was afraid I would run into the other spirits since they're all so close and all." that was also a lie.
"Why do I get a feeling that most of that is true?" Lucy asked with an annoyed look on her face.
"Because I'm that kind of guy! See ya!" Loke said before smacking into Siegfried who had a build that felt like a brick wall.
Siegfried looked down at Loke with fire in his eyes, "I know what you said is a lie, but if you even consider doing something like that. To anyone. Especially MY little sister figure, then we're going to have problems." he said.
"Mercy." Loke pleaded.
"Big brother don't hurt him. Leo maybe an actual womanizer, but he would never do anything to hurt me." Aries said as she used herself as a shield.
"Cover up little sister." Siegfried said as Aries blushed as she looked down at her chest.
"She's just like Hinata ya know. Big chest and shy personality." Naruto said in his mind.
'I know Lady Hinata had confidence issues in the past, but I never knew she had a big chest. How do you know?' Siegfried asked.
"...I'm turning into pervy sage. NOOOOOOOO!" Naruto screamed which gave Siegfried a headache.
"Hey Naruto are you ok?" Lucy asked as she felt worried about Siegfried who was no gripping his head.
"Sometimes I just hate the old me so much that it gives me a headache." Siegfried answered.
"I take offense to that." Naruto said.
'And you're making me wish I had Kurama in there instead.' Siegfried thought.
"How about I explain things over a drink and a meal or two? My treat." Loke said.
Super Express Restaurant
Happy and Plue passed out after eating so much. Which left Lucy, Loke, Aries and Siegfried still awake with the chef who was mute and had an oversized forehead. Siegfried wondered if that man had issues entering other buildings.
"So that explains why I felt more than one signature similar to Aries." Siegfried said as he saw Plue.
Loke managed to pull a trick that Siegfried used, although it didn't work as well. He basically said it was a painful and complex past that he had involving Aries. Siegfried picked up on it and noticed that he didn't lie about the painful part. For now Lucy had to accept it, but still wanted to learn about what is his problem with celestial spirits.
"Anyways, I hope you understand that I'm not comfortable with talking about the past." Loke said with a sad look that tugged on the hearts of the women.
Siegfried rolled his eyes, "Then face your problems head on." he said.
Loke shot a glare at him, "You're one to talk Mr. Azure Knight." he said.
"I am, I ran away and came back to face the music." Siegfried said before shaking his head at the chef who suggested playing one of his vinyl records.
"Well then Mr. Tough Guy, how about you let us into your life then?" Loke asked expecting the same results.
Siegfried turned to him with a blank face, "You know that Juvia woman? The one that's been stocking Gray lately?" he asked.
Lucy sweat dropped as she thought she saw some blue curled hair earlier, "What about her?" she asked.
"I'm the reason that she's the last member of the Element 4. If I were a sadistic man, I would find it funny since 4 means Shi." Siegfried said before turning back to his drink.
Loke looked like he was ready to piss himself, "Sorry I asked." he said.
Aries laughed nervously, "You have to try harder than that Leo. Big brother doesn't like talking about his past." she said.
Loke scratched the back of his head as he heard that. Meanwhile Lucy took this as an opportunity to dismiss herself.
"Well, this was interesting and all, but I should head back. Thanks again for the meal and for saving us back there Loke." Lucy said only for him to grab her hand.
"Wait Lucy, there's something I need to say." Loke said before getting up and hugging her. "I don't have long to live." he said which made Lucy look scared.
Siegfried's senses went haywire as he could find sorrow and truth within those words. However he sensed another emotion forcing itself over this one.
"Loke..." Lucy was sad hearing those words as she believed him.
"Haha, I can't believe you fell for it." Loke said before being slapped hard enough to make his glasses fall on the ground.
"You really are a womanizer!" Lucy said before marching away.
Naruto's reincarnation finished his drink, "She was a lovely lady too Loke. It shouldn't be that hard to fail miserably. Especially with a wild lie like that one." he said.
"Leo you're a jerk!" Aries said as she also slapped him.
Loke tried to laugh it off, "I guess women can't take a joke." he said.
"It's not the fact you made them think you what you told was a lie. But the fact that you lied about telling the truth." Siegfried said making Loke's eyes go wide. "Let's go Aries. I think your old friend needs to sort out his personal issues." he said.
Aries nodded as they both left leaving Loke to think about what he said.
A couple days later, Fairy Tail guild
At the guild, Siegfried was sitting on one of the stools at the makeshift bar from having helped once again. Once again, the Azure Knight was just sighing and trying to stay under the radar so he could keep to himself. Ever since he went to that lousy acupuncture, his past keeps returning to haunt his dreams.
"I already have to deal with Inferno-teme and the sword taking over your mind Sieg. I'm no psychologist. But if we were still Sasuke's rival, I think you just have him beat for the saddest story. Except he would still win with the emo outlook." Naruto said.
'The last thing I need is to become more dark than what I am now.' Siegfried said to his counterpart.
"Dragon Slayer, six o'clock Sieg." Naruto warned.
"Needle Hell." Siegfried said as his hair started to grow and turn sharp like senbon before firing it off behind him.
Turning around he saw Natsu covered in needles made from his blond hair, "Hey what's the big idea? I wasn't even going to say anything this time!" Natsu said angrily.
"Because you always ask for a fight and I always come prepared. Oddly enough, you're not as annoying as a certain ice mage." Siegfried said.
"Gray challenges you to fights too?" Natsu asked with a raised brow.
"No not Gray, but this guy does use maker magic. He was pretty annoying and claimed that I was his rival. That he would surpass and an Urn or something. Then he would defeat me." Siegfried explained.
This information reached Gray's ears, "You mean Ur? Did this guy have silver hair by chance?" he asked.
"That sounds like him. Forgot his name, but he travelled with some dog guy, a pink haired girl and some other guy with the biggest pair of eyebrows I've ever seen." Siegfried answered.
"Yeah, I think that guy just narrowly beat bushy brow and super bushy brow sensei." Naruto added.
"He wasn't worth my time since I beat him and his friends with ease. One of them thought I was psychic before he stabbed himself with his paralysis magic." Siegfried said finishing his story.
Gray only had one thing to say when he heard that, "Fight me." he said.
Before Natsu could complain, Siegfried hit Gray with the back of his fist, "Ok there, I win." he said before going back to his drink.
"That's it Naruto, what's it going to take for you to fight me?" Natsu asked as if he was ready to negotiate.
Siegfried raised a brow, "Oh, so we're civil now? If that's the case, then I'll fight you." he said. Natsu was about to get excited when Siegfried interrupted him, "Tomorrow." he said.
"Are you serious?" Natsu asked with a gobsmacked expression.
"Yup, early in the morning." Siegfried added as Natsu decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth and left.
After that Mirajane came running towards him, "Naruto, I found something you might... WOAH!" she tried to say only to trip over Gray's unconscious body.
Siegfried quickly got up and made a clone to catch whatever she was holding. While the real Siegfried tried to catch her only for Mira to hold onto him for dear life. Meanwhile that stumbling was enough to wake up Gray and boy was he in for a show. As Mira used Siegfried as a life preserver, the Azure Knight lost his balance and started to spin around until he fell on his back and Mira fell forward.
This noise got Erza's attention, "What is going on!?" she demanded only for her and many of the ladies around the guild to blush at the sight.
Even Makarov who just left his makeshift office came out to see the commotion, "Two for two!" he said before laughing.
Gray also had the decency to blush as it was just a foot away from him, "Did... something happen?" he asked.
(Naruto OST - Fooling Mode)
What appeared before them, was Mirajane Strauss locking lips with none other than Siegfried Naruto. It was safe to say that a lot of fanboys were going to be crushed by their favorite poster girl being taken by another man. Especially someone who was infamous outside of the Fairy Tail guild. The kiss was about thirty seconds and yet both were wide eyed.
After the long silence, Siegfried gently pushed Mirajane away to end the kiss. Mirajane was bright red and started to laugh nervously before looking at the other Siegfried.
"Sorry my bad, I didn't mean to kiss your clone Naruto." she said.
The clone put the items on the counter before disappearing, "Wait if that's the clone then..." Lucy stopped herself.
The red coloring on Mirajane's face never left, "Um Naruto I... I..."
"Ok now I'm getting flashbacks to Hinata again." Original Naruto said.
Siegfried got up and helped her up, "It was an accident, don't worry about it. I'm not going to call you a pervert or hurt you for something out of your hands." he said which made Mira and Erza wince.
"They're in love!" Happy said who was without Natsu for some reason.
Elfman also decided to try to be a man, "Hey Naruto, don't think just because my big sister kissed you that I automatically approve." he said.
"Elfman, I promise you that I am in no way trying to "put the moves" on your sister." Siegfried replied calmly.
"Well you better, because neither of us are the same wimps from back in the day. Because we would have to take it outside and fight like real men!" Elfman proclaimed.
"If it is a matter of honor, then I accept your challenge." Siegfried said as Mirajane only felt more embarrassed now that her brother is involved.
(End of Song)
A short while later
After things were calmed down, Siegfried decided to take a look over what Mirajane wanted to show him. Apparently she found a couple things that survived Phantom Lord's attack. An old photo album that went missing years ago and some cracked ocarina. The album itself was in fine condition aside from the dirt and scratches, but the ocarina looked like its been years since it was used.
"I know it looks bad, but after all these years we found your mom's photos and your old ocarina." Mirajane said happily.
"It's not mine." Siegfried said surprising her.
"What do you mean? It's the only one here." Mira said as she presented it to him.
"There's a librarian seal, I made it so grandfather or someone else could receive help to find whatever they're looking for in the archives. I used to update every couple of months." Siegfried explained as he dusted it off.
"Oh." Mira said sounding a bit disappointed.
"I expected you to find that old blanket rather than some directory board." Siegfried said.
"Blanket?" Mira asked with confusion.
"The old one from back in the day. I don't know what it was doing there, but it was there when you needed it the most." Siegfried said as he read the album. "Thinking back to it, you weren't as stubborn back then." he said as Mira started to get a flashback from a long time ago.
Flashback, X777
(A/N: Timeline will be shifted slightly to fit this AU.)
(Parasyte The Maxim OST - Next To You)
Little Siegfried was making his way down to the archive room to fetch a couple of books for his grandpa. Being a good boy, he hurried down there and to look for them. Instead he heard a lot of sniffling and hiccupping. Siegfried carefully made his way down to see who was crying inside.
When he entered, he found a girl who was slightly older than him. She had long white hair tied in a ponytail, a short black tank top, short shorts and black knee long socks. From the looks of it, her face was buried in her knees.
"Mira?" Siegfried called out.
The girl in question started to shake and made a sound of surprise, but she didn't turn her attention to him.
"It's okay, it's just me." Siegfried said as he gently placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.
The white haired girl just flinched and buried her head deeper into her knees as she felt his touch.
"Are you ok?" Siegfried asked with concern in his voice.
Mirajane answered by merely shrugging.
"Oh... do you want me to leave?" Siegfried asked.
Mirajane paused for a moment and shook her head.
"Ok." Siegfried said as he sat with her.
What was merely minutes, felt like an hour. Mirajane refused to move and Siegfried just stared at the lights hanging from the ceiling. Neither had said a single word to each other but remained silent and allowed the peaceful silence envelop them. At least until Siegfried started to notice that Mirajane had started to shiver.
"Are you cold Mira?" Siegfried asked.
Mirajane continued to shiver before giving a weak "yes" to his question. Siegfried got up and looked around for something to wrap his friend in. Like a tarp or maybe some misplaced coat. Instead, he found an old blanket that Makarov must have forgotten to put back into storage. Luckily it appeared to be clean and didn't have any signs of dust or cobwebs building up.
"Here you go Mira!" Siegfried said as he surprised the girl by wrapping her up in the warm blanket.
Mira blinked twice as she looked up a bit to see the blanket around her body. Before she realized it, Siegfried had wrapped his little arms around the older girl. Mira blushed to the point her pale skin had turned bright red at the sign of contact.
"Is this better?" Siegfried asked.
Mirajane lightened up as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Thanks Naruto." she said barely above a whisper.
Those two words were enough for Siegfried to smile.
Time passed and Makarov made his way down to the archives wondering where his adopted grandson was. He didn't want to think too little of the boy, but Siegfried wasn't as capable a mage as everyone else in his generation. The elderly guild master still believed that the boy would grow strong and would reach as high as the stars like his parents before him.
Now the one question he had was, what is taking him so long? His answer, he was sleeping next to one of his friends. Makarov couldn't help but to smile as he saw Mirajane and Siegfried sleeping on the floor and covered by some old blanket. Makarov quickly looked around for what he needed and quietly went back to his office not to disturb the children.
End of flashback
(End of Song)
"Mirajane?" Siegfried called out as the young woman snapped out of her daze. Mira just giggled at the memory of happier times, "You remember something funny?" he asked.
"No, I remember it was the first time we slept together." Mira said daringly.
"I never did ask, why were you there? You were alone and crying by yourself." Siegfried asked as Mira's demeanor lowered.
"I was just stressed back then. It wasn't easy taking care of Elfman and Lisanna." Mirajane admitted.
"You shouldn't bottle it up. By the time it's too late, you can't control what you become." Siegfried said.
Mirajane couldn't help but to feel strange when she heard those words. Come to think about, there was something odd about Siegfried and it wasn't his new attitude. The barmaid wouldn't go far as to say that something is manipulating him or forcing him this way. But almost like something very... dark... endless... and unstable is within him.
"And she's on another planet again." Siegfried said as he snapped her out of her daze again.
"I'm sorry did you need something Naruto?" she asked.
Siegfried sighed, "Nothing Mirajane, I'll be taking my leave." he said as he collected his photo album and placed some money on the counter for some drinks he had earlier. "Take care of yourself Mirajane." he said.
"Wait Naruto!" Mira called out.
"Yes?" Siegfred asked as he looked at her.
"I forgot to ask you about that one ability you have." Mira answered.
"Which one?" Siegfried asked.
"The one from Phantom. The take over magic you used." Mira said before Siegfried's Sharingan started blazing.
"Mirajane Strauss... you are to never... and I mean ever... tell anyone about that ability." he told her in a low voice before his eyes returned to normal.
"But Naruto..." she was stopped as he gently grabbed her hand.
"Please." Siegfried said as he almost lost his stoic demeanor.
Mira gave his hand a small squeeze, "Ok, I won't tell anyone." she said as she somehow felt the heat in his body combatting the cold.
"Thank you, I'll be taking my leave now." Siegfried said as he returned to his old demeanor before heading out.
Mira could only watch with worry as she wanted to know what Siegfried was hiding. It's not that she wanted to stick her nose into someone else's business, but it felt like Siegfried was hiding something. As if he was hurting and he refused to let anyone know.
"Mira!" a high pitched voice called out.
Mira snapped out of her thoughts again as she saw Happy flying towards her, "Hi Happy, what do you need?" she asked.
"I saw you going through all that junk in that library. So I saw you get excited with that book you carried. So I decided to look too and I found this!" he said he revealed a girly looking binder. "It's Lisanna's!" he said.
"Aw Happy, you miss your mom that badly?" Mira cooed.
Happy sweat dropped, "Mira you're weird, but anyways, I found this." he said as he took out a hand drawn document from the binder. "It's my birth certificate and look what it says." he said as Mira read the crude crayon writing.
It was safe to say that Lisanna had some decent penmanship at age 10.
(Note: Her grave says she was born in X768, but her wiki said X767.)
Certificate of birth
Happy (the dragon) X778
was born to
Natsu Dragneel and Lisanna Strauss
"That's cute." Mira said.
"Yeah, but look at the next part." Happy said.
Next of Kin (whatever that means)
Mira sweat dropped as Lisanna wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer back then.
Auntie: Mirajane Strauss
Uncle: Elfman Strauss
Grandfather: Master Makarov
Godfather: S. Naruto
"You know what this means Mira?" Happy asked with an intense gaze.
"That I'm your favorite aunt?" Mira asked with a smile.
"No, not remotely." Mira's heart suddenly shattered when she heard that. "It means that Naruto is my godfather. So he wasn't there to give me six birthdays worth of fish!" Happy exclaimed as Mira face faulted.
"Are you serious?" Mira asked with a dazed look.
"Aye and now that I think about it, you and Elfman owe also owe me fish! Now pay up!" Happy said as he extended his paw out.
"I'll pay you back later." Mira said.
"Ok, but I'm gonna tell Naruto when I see him next time." Happy said.
The next day
Siegfried merely stared at the document for a mere second, "Interesting, although I would suggest you visit Elfman if you need any parental guidance." he told the cat.
"That's not the point! I want my fish!" Happy demanded.
"Oh so you're a debt collector now?" Siegfried asked before being tuned out by the sounds of a lot of women bothering Mira and Lucy.
From the looks of it, the group of women were asking about Loke. All before turning their attention to Lucy who was said to have seen Loke last night. It was a bad sight for the blonde girl. So Siegfried ended up stepping beside Lucy who didn't look like she wanted the bad attention.
"I'll ask you kindly to step away from Lucy." Siegfried as the girls stopped for a moment and looked at him.
The girls started to blush before one of them spoke up, "What is she to you?" she asked nervously.
Siegfried briefly glanced at Lucy before looking at them, "She's my little sister." he answered.
"Eh?" Lucy asked with her mouth agape.
"So I prefer it if my family isn't being harassed. I'm sure Loke is just being a jerk and playing hard to get." Siegfried said as Loke's fangirls nodded and left while still red faced.
"Oh so you'll adopt Lucy, but not give me my fish?" Happy asked.
"I'm not adopting anyone." Siegfried replied.
"Thanks for save anyways Naruto." Lucy said as she ignored whatever Happy was talking about.
"Your welcome, what is the situation with Loke anyways?" he asked.
"I don't really know. He's being weird lately and last night he told me something about a shooting start not returning to heaven." Lucy answered.
Siegfried nodded, "Like a fairy, it can no longer fly without its wings." he said.
"Why are all you guys being cryptic and mysterious?" Lucy asked with her hands on her hips.
Siegfried smiled, "Because deep down we have no real self confidence in ourselves. So we use ridiculous gimmicks in the form of stupid personalities. This is common in a tsundere to the point that they become bipolar." he explained.
Lucy giggled at that one, "Are you a good example?" she asked.
Siegfried frowned, "No." he replied blankly.
"Come on Naruto, you can be honest with me." Lucy said hoping to make the man come out of his shell.
"No." Siegfried said.
"Are you always like this?" Lucy asked.
"No." Siegfried answered.
"Can you say something other than no?" Lucy asked with an eye twitch.
"No." Siegfried said as he and his old self internally laughed.
"Stop saying no!" Lucy said.
"Know." Siegfried replied which only made the younger girl feel annoyed.
Levy, who was watching from the distance, decided to whisper into her friend's ear, "Lu-chan, tell my brother this..."
Siegfried stood there wondering what Levy was plotting. He then noticed Lucy smiling as Levy finished.
"Ok Naruto, can you play your ocarina for your little sisters?" Lucy asked teasingly.
Siegfried reluctantly revealed his instrument, "Suggestions?" he asked.
"So you can say something else." Lucy teased.
"Just play whatever your comfortable with Naruto." Levy told him.
Siegfried sighed as he grabbed a seat. After he cleared his throat and kept his lips from going dry. He blew into the ocarina and began his melody.
(Song of Healing - Majora's Mask)
And once again, everyone in the guild felt entranced but at least they remained conscious this time. For new members, it was like a breath of fresh air while the older members felt nostalgia. It was one of those short lived moments where everyone had completely forgotten their own troubles. When it was over, everyone that was present had clapped for him.
Siegfried nodded at the clapping before putting his ocarina away. None clapped louder than Levy... and Jet and Droy who were just hoping to get on Levy's good side since they knew she was sensitive about her relationship with Siegfried. It's also a good reason they never mocked him as a child.
"Isn't that the song that made everyone pass out?" Lucy asked Levy.
Levy frowned for a moment, "It was, but I think Naruto already explained it to me. He just didn't want anyone to see him at the time." she said trying to explain her understanding of what Naruto explained to her about the day before Phantom's attack.
"Oh? I guess I should respect that." Lucy replied as she didn't want to stick her nose into someone else's business.
"It's fine Lu-chan, I'm sure Naruto will open up when he's ready. Besides, as his little sister he owes me a lot of favors." Levy said with a smirk while Lucy just looked at him in confusion.
Later that night
Awkwardly enough, Levy convinced Siegfried to help set up a security system for Lucy's apartment. It wasn't necessarily the fear of burglars or kidnappers that bothered his fellow blond. It was the fact that Natsu, Gray and even Erza would often break into Lucy's apartment. It didn't help that they would go through her stuff such as her panty drawers.
Luckily Siegfried Naruto was a gentleman and was taught to respect women. So he often asked where it was okay to leave a security seal.
"Lucy-san, don't take this the wrong way, but do you want a seal on the drawers for your... "extremities?"" he asked.
Lucy sweat dropped, "If they can't make it past the seals. Hopefully they can't make it to my underwear." she answered.
"Big brother, are you trying to perv on Lucy?" Aries asked in a teasing manner.
Aries was also brought here since Siegfried thought his celestial spirit needed more confidence around others. Luckily she quickly trusted Lucy and saw her as a kind and gentle master unlike the woman who came before Siegfried.
"Do not even ask that question Aries." Siegfried said as he tested out a seal by the chimney.
"So Aries, in the celestial spirit world, is there a community where you interact with the other spirits?" Lucy asked.
Aries nodded, "Yeah, Leo used to go on dates there all the time. I know about the golden key spirits, but I don't talk to all of them." she answered.
"Even Aquarius?" Lucy asked only to see her shiver.
"Me and Aquarius aren't close friends." Aries replied.
"Aquarius and I." Siegfried said correcting her.
"So Loke is actually a celestial spirit?" Lucy asked with amazement.
"Yup, Leo the Lion, but I heard his contract was broken before I sensed that Sieg took my key." Aries answered.
"You wouldn't happen to know why Loke er, Leo is trapped here would you?" Lucy asked.
"I think I do, but it's a bit extreme." Aries answered.
"How about I ask one of the other spirits. Maybe they know." Lucy said with Aries nodded. "Ok let's go. Open! Gate of the Water..."
"Um Lucy, let's not ask her of all people." Aries said before Lucy realize her mistake
In their minds
Aquarius had a giant tick mark on her head as she scowled at the two girls, "You summoned me to ask about that womanizing idiot!?" she asked as she prepared to whip Lucy. "And you! I already have a headache from hearing you talk about your master! It's always Sieg Sieg Sieg Sieg!" she yelled.
In reality
"Yeah nevermind." Lucy said as she switched keys. "Maybe someone with more patience." she said as Aries panicked at the sight of her next choice.
"Lucy no!" Aries said.
"Open! Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" she said as the pink haired maid appeared.
(Naruto OST - Gai's theme)
"Hello princess. Aries, it's interesting to see you here. Is your master nearby?" Virgo asked curiously as her fellow pinkette panicked.
"Virgo hide your head!" Aries said as she shoved her fellow celestial spirit under Lucy's covers.
"Is that another celestial spirit? I've always wanted to meet the people of Aries's world." Siegfried said as he took his head out of the chimney to look.
Only to find Aries on top of Virgo whose head was covered by Lucy's bed sheets, "She's kind of shy Sieg. You don't even want to look. Virgo here just woke and her hair and face is a mess." she said as her fellow spirit was trying to get out.
Siegfried sweat dropped, "Aren't you suffocating her?" he asked.
Eventually Virgo managed to knock Aries down and presented herself, "Hello, you must be Aries's master. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please, feel free to punish me." she said.
"He's not going to do that." Lucy said.
For a brief second Siegfried just stared before a disgusting looking scowl appeared on his face, "Hello Virgo and goodbye." he said before looking back into the chimney.
(A/N: Imagine Yumeko Jibami's angry face)
"Aries, your master is not very kind as you said in your stories." Virgo said.
Aries blushed, "He doesn't like pink haired girls." she said making Lucy and Virgo sweat drop.
"I fail to see the logic in your statement. You have pink hair as well Aries. Should your presence not alienate him as well?" Virgo asked in confusion.
"I'm an exception." Aries replied as she poked her fingers together.
Before Aries said anything else, Virgo appeared in front of Siegfried's face, "Hello Master Naruto, if you feel offended by seeing the color of my hair. You are free to punish me." she said before he fell and hit his head.
"No thank you." Siegfried said as his scowl reappeared. He then returned to his work only for Virgo to pull him out and shove her face in front of him, "Does my hair color bother? If so, why does Aries get an exception?" she asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Siegfried lied as he pushed her away.
Virgo turned back to the other girls, "Aries, your master is not as kind and courteous as you said." she said.
Siegfried sighed, he came out with his eyes closed, "Forgive me, I just had a troubling past. Please accept my apology in the form of this hooded sweater." he said as he pulled out a gray sweater and forced onto her.
Virgo did very little if not, nothing, as this stranger just forced her to where something else. Virgo was no ordinary girl and normally this would earn Siegfried a kick in the balls. However by the time he finished, Siegfried put her hood down as he opened his eyes.
"See? You look very lovely this way." Siegfried said as Virgo looked up in confusion.
"Thank you very much for the gift that I did not ask for nor desired." Virgo said in her usual monotone voice.
"That reminds me, Aries I also have one for you." Siegfried said as he presented another hoodie.
"No thank you." Aries said.
(End of Song)
Lucy sweat dropped as the conversation went on. However it was over by the time Gray attempted to get into Lucy's apartment. Sadly the ice mage ended up crashing into a barrier that launched him back into the ground.
"Are you ok Gray?" Siegfried asked.
"Yeah I'm fine and... wait what the hell are you doing up there with Lucy?" Gray asked.
"I'm helping her build a security system. People keep breaking in and going through her stuff." Siegfried answered.
"Then just worry about Natsu and Happy! Those guys are the ones cutting up her curtains and going through her panties!" Gray said getting narrow eyes.
"I think I'll keep it up for everyone." Siegfried replied as he didn't trust Gray.
"Forget it! I'm here to tell you guys that Loke's quit the guild and gone missing!" Gray said surprising them.
"Leo!" Aries said in shock.
"Hey Naruto! How many clones can you make?" Gray asked.
"About over a couple thousand, but that's enough to drain my reserves." Siegfried answered.
"Then you have a better chance at finding him!" Gray said before running out to help the rest of the guild in their search efforts.
Aries turned to Siegfried with sad eyes, "Big brother you have to help find him!" she pleaded.
Siegfried nodded as he jumped through Lucy's window and started forming a large battalion of clones. Each one of them huddled up into columns and rows as if they were in the military before saluting. It was kind of strange to see one man yell at his doppelgangers about a simple search mission.
"So I expect none of you to screw up." Siegfried said as each clone nodded and took off.
"Well then, you'll have to saddle up for two more cowgirls." Lucy said as she and Virgo arrived with them.
Siegfried sighed as he made two more clones, "Grab on." he said as both girls grabbed onto the backs of his clones.
As the group took off to look for the lost celestial spirit. Lucy was still wondering more about Loke's past and why he isn't a part of the celestial spirit world like Aries and Virgo are. That would all change as Virgo explained what she knew followed by Aries finally opening up about what happened nearly two years ago.
With Loke, a while later
Loke was standing at the edge of a cliff in front of a waterfall. Standing right before him, was the grave of his former master. Karen Lilica, despite her abusive tendencies, he blamed himself for her death. Aside from that, he was also dying and he was accepting it as his punishment for her death.
"Loke!" the man in question turned to see Lucy arriving along with Virgo and Aries who were on Siegfried's back.
"Lucy? Aries? Virgo?" Loke asked in surprise while ignoring Siegfried.
Virgo blinked twice in surprise, "I never expected you to be out of the celestial spirit world for so long Leo." she said.
"Well, it won't be much longer." Loke replied as he started fading in and out of existence as he turned to a grave.
"Your name, its Leo the Lion and you had a contract with Karen Lilica." Lucy said slightly surprising Loke.
"That's right, it's been a couple years since my contract has been broken." Loke said while turning to Karen's grave. "I broke a fundamental law and as a result, I was banished from my world for eternity." he added.
Siegfried turned to Aries who looked sad and hugged him. Then for some reason Virgo hugged him as if he were a public security blanket.
"Is there any way to overturn this?" he asked the girls.
"The word of our king cannot be broken." Virgo said as Aries whimpered.
From there, Loke repeated the story of abuse that Aries explained on the way here. From there Loke explained that Aries was used to entertain Karen's debt collectors as well as using her as a shield for her missions. At some point Loke stood up to Karen and demanded that Karen relinquish both him and Aries.
Karen was by definition, a villain, so she refused and was too prideful. However Loke rebelled against her and kept Karen from summoning Aries and sending him back to the celestial spirit world. So for a few months, Loke had to endure living in the human world until Master Bob of Blue Pegasus announced that Karen died during a quest. So Loke was banished and now he's had to live with the guild for years.
Now he's facing the final punishment for his rebellious act.
"I just want to say one more thing Lucy. I want to thank you for restoring my faith in celestial wizards." Loke said as he fades away.
"NO! I can still save you!" Lucy says as she grabbed onto him.
"What are you doing!?" Loke asked.
"Open Gate of the Lion! Take Leo back to the celestial world!" Lucy said out loud.
"Princess I highly discourage that action!" Virgo said as she knew Lucy couldn't handle something that reckless let alone handle two celestial spirits.
"Big brother." Aries asked as she looked Siegfried who activated his dojutsu.
'It doesn't look like anything, but her magic is spiking. If she had circuits like myself, she'd likely be burned to a crisp.' Siegfried thought as he didn't want to worry both spirits.
"Stop your going to use up all your magical energy like this! Don't let me kill you like I did to Karen!" Loke pleaded.
"You didn't kill her! Whoever decided that was wrong!" Lucy said as she continued her attempts to send Loke back.
That's when the whole world had suddenly gone still. Siegfried kept his arms around the girls as he prepared for the worst. Lucy magical energy spike had died down as the world had stood still. Things had only become stranger, when a titan sized man had appeared before Lucy and Loke.
"That's impossible, it's him. The celestial spirit king." Loke said with surprise in his voice.
"That's him? The ruler of the celestial spirit world?" Lucy asked as she stared at the titan with fearful eyes.
"That's your leader?" Siegfried asked Aries who nodded and shoved her face in his chest in fear of facing her king.
"Old friend, human girl. I made my judgement and my word is law." the king stated which only further infuriated Siegfried and Lucy.
Lucy stepped up as she stared down the celestial spirit king, "Loke has been suffering in the human world for so many years. He didn't kill Karen but he did stand up for Aries!" she exclaimed.
"I admit it, it does pain me to see my old friend suffering." the celestial spirit king replied.
"If he's your old friend then why do you let him suffer!?" Lucy demanded to know as Siegfried removed himself the two other spirits.
"That's what I want to know as well." Siegfried said as he stood beside Lucy.
"Lucy, Naruto just stop! It doesn't matter if the verdict has changed! I'm not seeking forgiveness!" Loke proclaimed.
Before Lucy could further defend him, Siegfried spoke up, "Loke shut up! This is no longer about you!" he said shocking everyone minus the king who raised an eyebrow. "Those who break rules are scum, that's true, but those who abandon comrades are worse than scum." he added.
The celestial spirit king didn't show it, but he felt as if the knight standing before him was taunting him or at least mocking him in some way. Loke only felt like Siegfried was digging his own grave. Meanwhile Virgo was wondering what was motivating him and Aries was getting scared at the fact that her surrogate brother was offending her ruler.
"As Lucy was going to state, Karen's death was not Loke's fault." Siegfried said.
Lucy nodded as this encouraged her own resolve as well, "Karen died because she took on a job that she couldn't handle. Loke had nothing to do with it. The verdict itself is unfair!" she said.
"Lucy I said I'm not looking for forgiveness. I want to disappear and finally be free from this guilt." Loke said as he started to feel weaker by the second.
"I won't let you!" Lucy said as she held onto him. "You disappearing won't solve anything. It won't bring Karen back, but it will hurt everyone else instead." she said as her power started to radiate at a dangerous level.
In a matter of moments, Lucy subconsciously summoned all of her celestial spirits at once. Even Virgo was forced into reappearing beside her fellow spirits. As impressive as it looked for a novice mage to summon multiple celestial spirits at once. Siegfried quickly caught Lucy and started transferring his own mana into her to prevent a severe case of exhaustion.
"It wasn't your fault." Lucy said weakly.
"Lucy... don't you know how reckless it is to summon everyone at once!? I almost got you..."
"Loke for once in your life stop blaming yourself for someone else's actions!" Siegfried yelled.
"What are you talking about I-" Loke was cut off.
"I killed Karen!" Siegfried said interrupting her and making everyone go silent.
(Persona 2 OST - Maya's Death Theme)
"Impossible..." Loke muttered. "You couldn't..."
"How would you know? You weren't there." Siegfried said as this caught the celestial spirit king's attention.
"Explain yourself." the celestial king practically ordered.
"I killed Karen Lilica, you used Leo as a martyr. Instead of protecting them, you blamed them for something out of their power." Siegfried accused.
Lucy was shocked at the proclamation as were the other spirits minus Aries who looked ready to cry. Loke and the celestial spirit king both took the time to register what he said as the truth. Their main evidence being the fact that Aries can only be summoned by Siegfried since she originally belonged to Karen.
"Explain yourself." the king told him.
"A couple years ago or so, I was on my own mission. At some point I crossed paths with Karen." Siegfried starts to explain. "We were both at a lodge and I needed some rest after a long night of travelling. The next day, she approached me and claimed she recognized me as I made a name for myself outside of Fiore. Of course, she was surprised at the fact that someone of my age caused a lot of attention to be drawn to me." he continued.
"And the events leading to her death?" the king asked.
"Karen Lilica proved to be rather prideful and arrogant. At some point she tried threatening me into handing over my cursed blades as she heard they had much value. She explained her high status as a celestial spirit mage, but all her threats were talk and no bite. Eventually, I found a Aries's key and felt the magic within it. However I wasn't sure what it was and kept it close until I was sure of where to leave it. That's when Aries popped her head out and after a long explanation, she mentioned how the contract between you spirits work." he continued to explain.
No one else had to know where this was going. Although Virgo was one of the few with an exception of cancelling her previous contract. There was only one real way for a celestial spirit and their master to have their contract revoked without concession of both parties.
"With that in mind, I ran out and searched every nook and cranny for Karen. In a matter of hours, I found her corpse being pillaged by a white haired woman wearing some kind of revealing outfit and a man with purple snake. I ran and stopped the pillaging only to engage two celestial spirits in the shape of blue men that took on my appearance and a man with a scorpion's tail. I managed to overcome them and forced the two individuals into retreating." he explained before closing his eyes. "In the end, Aries identified the body and I had it returned to her guild at Blue Pegasus." he finished.
The king was silent, he took in the time to register everything and felt no lie. Then again, why would a human need to stand up for another spirit? Putting that aside, he saw Aries ready to cry.
"Aries, is this man's story true? If so, did he leave anything out?" the celestial spirit king asked.
Aries shook her head, "No, everything Sieg said is true. I was there with him to find Karen's body but... but..."
"Please speak child." the king told ehr.
"But I didn't want to go back to her!" Aries yelled surprising her fellow spirits. They all looked gobsmacked at her outburst, to thing that the shyest spirit among them had the gull to yell at their ruler. "Karen was mean and abusive and at the time... *hiccup* if it... if it meant she died for me to be free... then I'm glad Sieg took me away from her!" Aries cried out as tears stained her face.
Hearing this, the celestial spirit king had decided to think things over. Perhaps he did overlook things especially with a secondary testimony from Aries and her new master. However there was one question that was still spinning in his head before he could even think back to Leo's punishment.
"You said you killed Karen Lilica, yet even with the confirmation from Aries. You did not state your involvement in Karen Lilica's death." the king said.
(Doctor Who OST - Always the Doctor)
"I took away Aries and robbed Karen's only defense. By my appearance and actions, Karen was killed with no way to combat her aggressors." Siegfried replied. "And with that, if you are willing to punish anyone. Punish me instead." he said as he gently passed Lucy to Taurus and Cancer.
"NO!" Aries yelled as she grabbed onto him. "Please big brother... I don't want you to go away." she said with teary eyes.
"Aries, I won't stand by and watch as your so called king punishes your companions for crimes they did not commit. All living things, human, animal and spirit, are equal regardless of ability or thought." Siegfried said before cradling her. "Therefore, all of you deserve a fair trial as Lucy said. What good are masters if we can't protect those who are precious to us?" he asked before kissing her head.
Lucy and her spirits were taken aback by Siegfried's words. They couldn't sense any malicious intent or any lies as he said these things. The celestial spirit king also had his final verdict in mind as he saw Siegfried approaching him and taking a knee.
"Young man who summons Aries, tell me your name." the king told him.
"I am Siegfried Naruto." Siegfried answered.
"Hearing your female friend speak highly of my old friend and you to put your life on the line for him as well as not only protecting Aries, but honoring the dead. It has led me to think maybe it's not Leo's actions, but the law itself that should be put into question." the king said.
"He's the one that made the law!" Naruto yelled.
'Shut up!' Siegfried berated to his old self.
"Leo was forced to commit a crime to protect Aries, his brethren. Both humans put their lives on the line to protect him. I am so moved by your loyalties to your respective spirits, that I shall make an exception in this case. Leo the Lion, you are hereby granted return passage to the celestial world." the king decreed shocking the group.
(End of Song)
"You're awesome stache face!" Lucy said earning grin a from the king.
"You are exonerated. Be grateful, to the stars." the celestial spirit king said before he and the other spirits disappeared.
"I have to make it up to her. Please sir." Loke pleaded.
"Very well, then. If you insist on atoning for your actions in the past, then I hereby order you to live your life in the service of your friend. The Holy Maiden and you are lucky to find such a loyal friend. So I suggest you protect her with all your life just as she fought to save yours." the king said before he and the other spirits left the human world.
"You heard him." Lucy said as Loke shed a tear.
"Thank you Lucy." Loke said as he briefly held her hand before disappearing.
Lucy looked into her palm and saw a brand new key. Lucy smiled as she was happy to know that Loke or rather Leo, wouldn't leave the guild. Technically speaking. However, she knew that she couldn't take all the credit. Turning around, Lucy saw Siegfried consoling a still crying Aries before she hugged him and disappeared.
"She's gonna make me pay her back for scaring her like that." Siegfried muttered.
"Like Master Makarov won't when he hears you put your life on the line?" Lucy asked.
Siegfried shrugged, "It's not the first life or death situation I've been in Lucy. Although, it is a rare sight to see someone risk their lives for someone else." he said giving her a bright smile. "Levy made a great judgement in befriending you." he said as he started to walk away into the sun rise. "Crap, that's going to ruin my eyesight." he said.
Lucy just giggled at the last minute comment.
The next day
Siegfried was at the bar area overlooking a couple of documents that carried the sigil of the kingdom of Fiore. All the while Natsu could be heard asking Leo about the fact that he looks like a human. Then there was some rude comment about Virgo looking like a gorilla or something. With that in mind, Siegfried preferred not to be anywhere near Virgo unless she's wearing the hoodie he gave her.
'Damn, I forgot to give Aries one.' he thought before sensing Leo approaching him.
"Hey Naruto, I never really got the chance to say thanks for earlier." he said.
"Don't worry about it." Siegfried said as he put the documents into his jacket.
"Yeah, well anyways. I thought I might pay you back with this." Leo said as he handed him a ticket to Akane Resort.
Siegfried heard of the resort, they say it's quite lovely and expensive too. Sadly, he had to reject the lion spirit's offer. Some things just had to come first, with that in mind. Siegfried handed the ticket back.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I already have a mission." Siegfried said.
"Aw come on man, I already gave a ticket to Lucy and her team." Leo said as Erza appeared dressed up and carrying a literal ton of luggage that would definitely put her on a "no fly" list if Fiore manages to create the first airport in the world.
"As much as I would enjoy seeing two people fight and listening to my debt collector..."
"I want my fish Naruto!" Happy called out.
"This mission is something I can't push away." Siegfried said making Leo realize that his mind can't be changed.
"Seriously? Well I'll see if I can get a refund or something." Leo said as he scratched the back of his head before disappearing.
Siegfried got up and adjusted his suit jacket and tie, "Time to head out." he told himself only to feel a tug on his hand.
"Hey Naruto, are you heading out for a mission?" Levy asked.
Siegfried smiled, "Sure am, I'll be back in a few days. A couple weeks at most." he told her.
"Promise to come back safe ok?" Levy asked as her face turned serious.
Siegfried took a knee and hugged her, "I will, I'm not leaving for good." he whispered. Levy felt a tear fall down her eye, "Promise me, you'll be a good girl and wait for your big brother?" he asked before breaking the hug.
Levy wiped a tear away, "I'm not a little kid. I don't need you telling me to behave." she said as she gave him a confident smile. "I'll wait for you." she said.
"Good, if I have time. I'll bring you back a gift." Siegfried said before walking away. He looked back one more time, "Goodbye little sister." he said before continuing.
Up high on the scaffolding, you could see Makarov with tears in his eyes as he watched his adopted grandson leave the guild. Despite the man he was now, the elderly guild master couldn't help but to feel worried about his surrogate daughter's child.
'You're a grown man now Siegfried Naruto.' he thought before looking up at the sky. "Are you watching your child Sieg, Mordred?" he asked.
In the distance, Siegfried saw Kurama running around the rooftops before jumping beside him, "You think you need me for this one?" the bijuu asked.
"I know I will. I might need to use that and if I use him. I need you to follow up on our deal." Siegfried told him.
Kurama nodded as the two left proceeded to leave Magnolia town.
In the mindscape
*Drip drip*
Naruto opened his eyes and found himself in the mindscape. For some reason, he was pulled out of his counterparts point of view. The hero of the last shinobi world war looked around to see that he was in the old sewer or whatever this place was. Which was weird considering Siegfried's mindscape was the Valley of the End but covered in lush greenery.
The only thing that made it weird was the fact that there was some cavern entrance in the corner. Believing it might be Inferno messing with his mind. Naruto proceeded to enter the cave and prepared for the worst. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of an armored individual with long white hair and a glowing scar on his chest.
"Hey who the heck are you, dattebayo?" Naruto asked.
The man chuckled, "The first dragon slayer." the man said as he stood up.
"That didn't really answer anything." Naruto said.
"I would give you my name, but I think my successor has already taken up the mantle as he did yours." the man said as a black dragon's head appeared behind him.
"No way are you..." Naruto was caught off by the dragon roaring.
"Pardon him, he's just excited. After all, I think it's time I stepped in and passed on my own teachings." the man said.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Mage Profile
Name: Lucy Heartfilia
Family: Layla Heartfilia (deceased), Jude Heartfilia
Teammates: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Happy
Birthday: X767
Status: Active Mage
Notes: Born of a wealthy family, Lucy inherited her celestial spirit keys from her late mother, Layla. Having been raised by a neglectful father for the past six years, Lucy left to join the guild, Fairy Tail after meeting someone in the past who carried the guild's mark. Lucy is known for carrying 5 of the 12 golden zodiac keys and is rumored to have fought several vulcans with her bare hands.
The last statement is yet to be investigated.
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Mage Profile
Name: Laxus Dreyar
Parents: Ivan Dreyar (father), unknown mother, Mordred (adoptive mother)
Family: Makarov Dreyar (grandfather), Siegfried Naruto (adoptive younger brother)
Birthday: X761
Status: Active Mage
Notes: Born with a weak body like his adoptive brother. Ivan Dreyar attempted to strengthen him by forcing a dragon lacrima onto his own son and lost parental rights, banishment from his father's guild and almost thrown into prison. Since birth and after the lacrima incident, Laxus was put into the care of his grandfather and Mordred who became his surrogate mother.
Laxus loved his mother dearly and was heartbroken after she passed away from birthing her biological son. For several years, Laxus attempted to help raise Siegfried and loved him like a real sibling for a while. Eventually Laxus became selfish and saw his adoptive brother as a little weakling that caused his mother's death and took up his grandfather's attention.
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A/N: There's a new poll. You guys should check it out before I start making meat pies with my chainsaw.