'I really need a nap after this.'

The stray thought entered Naruto's mind as he shot over the land of Fiore. The council building was still a while away but with the frequency he was travelling to it, he could almost make the trip in his sleep. The bulk of Erza's close friend still resting over his shoulder didn't really help with conserving energy either. All these trips were taking their toll on even his immense reserves.

He had left the Tower nearly twenty minutes ago and from the pace he was reduced to, it was still another half an hour at least till he made it there. A small amount of indecision had formed in his mind during the flight due to this. He highly doubted whoever the underling was would still be there when he arrived, so it was almost worth him staying back with Natsu and Erza to make sure they got home safely.

The cranky old bats that made up the wizard council needed to be checked on though. Naruto was also particularly keen to see if Ultear was ok. He really hoped nothing had happened to her.

Shrugging the uncertainty to the back of his mind, Naruto readjusted Simon and lowered his flight path a little closer to the ground. This would be tricky, but it should be possible.

Bringing his hands up into a messy cross, Naruto focused and a clone suddenly dropped to the ground in a puff of smoke. It rolled several times before skidding to a stop.

Ignoring it as it disappeared into the distance, Naruto waited. He needed a boost and he needed it now. It didn't take long until the familiar rush filled his system, so with his energy levels sufficiently raised, Naruto pushed down with a major part of his chakra and shot into the distance.

XxXxXxX

The blond's eyes widened as he saw the building nearing in the distance. What was once an impressive stone structure was now replaced by masses of rubble and boulders. Standing off to one side though were the council members, all looking up at the lumps of rock helplessly. Swooping in, Naruto landed heavily enough behind the mages to lift them all off the ground from the shock. As they turned, Naruto found himself targeted by the elders eyes. "Uzumaki! How did you get back here so fast? What is happening at the Tower?"

Kneeling, Naruto gently placed Simon on the ground. Standing and wiping his brow, Naruto took a breath before answering. "Everything at the Tower is under control... I think. Natsu and Erza are there and they are managing Jellal. I wasn't there too long until Jellal told me someone was destroying this place though, so I came back."

Several sets of eyebrows rose at his report. The older lady with the sandy blond hair that roared at him earlier for breaking into Etherion's room spoke up at this, a whole lot softer than he had first heard. "So, you mean to tell us that Fairy Tail is fighting Jellal?"

Naruto narrowed an eye in thought before shrugging. "Well, members are, yeah. Not the whole guild though. Just those two from what I saw."

The woman frowned. "What were they doing there?"

Naruto shrugged again. "I dunno. I didn't get to ask."

Nodding silently, the woman was then replaced by the small, strangely dressed man that had initially helped out Naruto. He walked up to the large man by the blonds' feet and sighed. Crossing his arms behind his back, he looked up at Naruto. "And who is this poor soul?"

Sucking in his lips a little, Naruto frowned. "This is Simon, one of the workers I told you about. It seems Erza knew him pretty well though. He was dead when I got there."

Shaking his head in despair, the man looked him over. "Such a waste... such a waste of a young life."

Inclining his head, Naruto stared down at the man intently. He seemed different from the rest of the mages in the council, in a good way too. Smiling slightly, Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Erza asked me to bring him with me so we could bury him proper."

Nodding, the small man looked up. "Good. He deserves that atleast." He then extended a small hand up towards Naruto. "It is a shame that I didn't have a chance to introduce myself before this, but I suppose now is as good as any. I'm Yajima."

Not really expecting a greeting right then, Naruto blinked a few times before gathering himself and stretching out a hand. "Uh, nice to meet you. Naruto."

Shaking once, they let go and the newly introduced Yajima turned to look up at the broken building. Following his gaze, Naruto stared at the remains. "So what happened here?"

While the question was more directed towards the small man by his feet, Guran answered. "We believe it was a lost magic called Arc of Time. The building decayed around us right before our eyes."

Nodding, Naruto looked over the council members. "So everyone got out unhurt?"

Though the tall man nodded, Naruto frowned as he missed seeing someone. "Hang on... where's Ultear?"

Hearing a frustrated grunt below him, Naruto looked down to see Yajima shaking. "She was with Jellal. She did this."

Eyes widening, Naruto sucked in a breath. "Wait, you mean gentle Ultear did this?"

Seeing the man nod, Naruto looked around in shock for a moment. The girl seemed so placid that it was like trying to envision Hinata back home knocking down the Hokage's monument! Shaking his head, Naruto clenched his fists. "Where'd she go?"

Sighing, the small man shrugged. "We don't know. We lost sight of her in the rubble and haven't seen her since."

Stilling himself, Naruto closed his eyes and let himself become completely immersed within the natural energies surrounding him. Feeling his internal reserve refilling, Naruto pushed his senses to their limits as he tried to find the wayward mage. As he searched though, Naruto found it astounding that she had managed to hide herself so thoroughly. Pushing further, Naruto frowned in concentration until he felt her usual spark flicker at the edges of his consciousness. Instantly focusing in that direction, Naruto spotted her faint glow leaving through the woods that surrounded the area.

Snapping his orange eyes open, he jumped into the air. "Old man! Please watch over Simon, I gotta go catch up to Ultear and find out what's going on!"

"No, wait Uzumaki!"

Ignoring the call, the air around Naruto's feet exploded and sent the ninja shooting away over the trees.

Tracking the girl, Naruto frowned as he rapidly caught up. Why did she do that? Why would she even want to help someone like Jellal? Questions like these ran through his mind at a mile a minute and only urged him to catch up faster.

Dipping in, Naruto scoured the ground for anything familiar. Seeing a flash of black, Naruto skidded to a stop and dropped to the earth before the rogue girl. It seemed she had been expecting him however as she greeted him with her ever defenceless smile. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto scrutinised her. She didn't seem to be hiding anything, so questions first.

Holding a hand out, Naruto tried smiling. "So... what did you go and do that for huh?"

Raising her eyebrows, Ultear looked at him innocently. "With the council building?"

Naruto nodded. "With the council building."

Her features smoothed over and she smiled. "It was all for Master Jellal. He wanted to create peace and his dream is nearly fulfilled! I have done my part and I am now off to meet up with him."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto shook his head. "You seriously got sucked in by him? I thought you were smarter than that!"

The girl shrugged indifferently. "Whether you believe me or not is inconsequential. He believes in a world of peace and is actually doing something to bring about his dream! That is a man worth following, even to my death."

Naruto gave her a flat look. "He was mad. I saw it. You aren't and you KNOW some dead mage wouldn't fix everything."

Something seemed to change in Ultear's eyes but her external demeanour didn't move. "Ah, but that's where you are wrong. Zeref is capable of anything. He is the greatest mage to ever have lived. He can make the impossible possible."

Naruto sighed. "Don't say that. Even if it was possible to bring him back, why use him as a crutch? All you people keep looking into the past! Forget him and make peace with your own strength."

Smiling, Ultear shook her head. "No, there are some things that we can't achieve on our own."

Groaning, Naruto threw both hands out in front of him. "That's what friends are for! By yourself you mightn't be able to accomplish something, but with a team anything could be done!"

Chuckling gently, Ultear looked down on him as one would look down on a confused child. "That is why I have teamed up with Master Jellal. Together, we can achieve this!"

Slapping a hand to his face, Naruto shook his head. "You really believe that don't you?"

The woman nodded. Frowning, Naruto then pointed off behind him. "Would you then mind telling me why you are heading in the opposite direction to where the tower is?"

Frowning slightly, the mage studied him. "Not that it matters, but we have a separate rendezvous point." Her frown then turned to a grin and she slowly began walking towards him. "Actually... why don't you come with us? You could help us immensely in our pursuit of the perfect world!"

Naruto watched carefully as she approached, muscles tensed as she entered his personal bubble. "Your strength, your perception, you unique abilities... you could come with us, with me, and be together in a world just for us. What do you say?"

The gorgeous woman reached out both hands and dropped them gently onto Naruto's shoulders, her piercing eyes boring into his own. Standing firm, Naruto met her gaze. "You wish for a perfect world for us?" She nodded. "Even though the man you are following is clearly insane?"

Ultear raised an eyebrow. "All a matter of perspective."

Naruto shook his head. "If you saw what I did, you'd know he is well off the deep end."

A smirk graced the lady's face as she moved in closer. "Suppose he is. Would you come with me anyway? Just the two of us. No one else."

Naruto didn't budge. "But what about everyone else? How would they survive?"

The temptress shrugged. "I'm sure most would manage. What does it matter though? You would have me, and I would have you."

Leaning in, Naruto's eyes widened as she reached out with her tongue and actually licked his cheek, purposefully dragging the slick muscle over his whiskers. Feeling more than seeing her grin, Naruto stifled a shiver and looked down at the side of her head as she started speaking. "I am absolutely infatuated with you, Uzumaki. I cannot seem to understand you, try though as I might. So come with me because I do so wish to get to know you better. Of course... I'll let you get to know me better... much better."

The red blooded male within him was screaming at him to accept, but the logical side of the teen well overruled the impulse. Grasping her shoulders, Naruto pulled Ultear back until he could look her in the eye. "If you come back with me, I'll tell you as much as I can about myself."

The woman smirked. "And if I refuse?"

Naruto's eyes hardened. "Then I drag you back to the council and stop you meeting up with your real alliance."

Freezing, Ultear narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Don't try to lie to me Ultear-chan. I know just as well as you are that you aren't meeting up with Jellal. He's probably already fallen to Natsu, and I have no doubt that you know of this. I don't think you care about this perfect world either, just this Zeref guy for some reason."

Throwing her head back, Ultear laughed as she intertwined her fingers behind Naruto's neck. Her voice seemed to take on a harsher edge to it now though, sounding much more dominant than before. "This is why I am so obsessed with you! Those fools back at the council never realised anything, yet you come along and somehow understand the situation better than they ever had."

Grinning at him in a rather unnerving manner, Ultear cocked an eyebrow. "No, Jellal was never my Master. I may have lied about that, but I never lied when I said just how much you interest me. You have the potential to be great; the greatest! You and Zeref together could achieve things that even legends claim impossible. I'll ask again, come with me!"

Shaking his head, Naruto tried to pull back. "No, come back with me! I'll help you build this future paradise you want."

Shaking her head, Ultear wrinkled her nose. "Future? No, I want something else. I want my past to be paradise."

That threw Naruto for a loop. Furrowing his eyebrows, he looked at the woman. "What is that meant to mean?"

She smirked. "Will you come with me?"

Naruto shook his head. Sighing, the woman then leaned back, only her hands around Naruto's neck supporting her from falling over. "I guess there's no point telling you then. It has been fun, but I suppose this is where we part."

Suddenly, an orb shot out from somewhere behind Naruto, cracking him solidly in the back of the head. Letting go, Ultear smirked as she watched him fall. What she didn't expect was for him to suddenly go up in a puff of smoke and have a log appear his position. A strong hand then grabbed her wrists from behind and drew them up behind her back. A knife found itself placed against her neck but instead of fear, the woman began to feel a strange, hot sensation welling up in her chest. Looking over her shoulder, her eye met the ice blue ones of her captor. "I don't want to fight you but if it comes to it, I will force you to come with me."

Licking her lips, Ultear's eyes twinkled as the heat within her chest began travelling south. "I think I rather like the sound of that!"

Snapping her arms from his grasp with a strength Naruto did not expect, Ultear spun around with an outstretched hand, the strange orb that had smacked Naruto earlier following the path of her hand through the air. Ducking, the blond then had to push himself backwards as the orb rapidly changed direction and aimed for his kidneys. Flipping back to a safe distance, Naruto eyed the orb wearily as it floated above Ultear's outstretched hand.

It didn't seem to be anything special, just a flawless crystal ball of a pale green colour. Naruto was then forced to duck again as the ball shot in. Feeling it shoot through his hair, he looked up only to catch another ball straight to the middle of his face. Slapping a hand to his nose, Naruto groaned as blood began seeping from his sensory organ, the insides of his lips also proving to be cut. Spitting out a small wad of blood, Naruto looked up in confusion only to have to start performing more acrobatics as more and more of Ultear's balls seemed to materialise out of nowhere.

Sliding to the ground, Naruto held his hands out as a pair of tornado's sprung to life around his arms. Lashing out, he diced up the nearest balls before focusing on the remainder that assailed him. Keen eyes tracked the balls and smooth movements precisely destroyed them as Naruto weaved his way through the objects.

Lashing out with one last crunch, Naruto watched as the crystal dropped to the ground in fragments. Releasing the tightly swirling air from his arms, Naruto wiped up his nose before gazing upon Ultear. "If that is all you have you might as well just come with me now."

The smirk on the woman's face told Naruto otherwise as she raised an amused eyebrow. "I may be young, but I was not in the council just to break up the sea of wrinkles. Don't underestimate me."

It was then Naruto's noticed all the balls he previously crushed rising from the ground, the tiny fragments piecing themselves back together as they reformed. Staring at them in concealed surprise, Naruto resisted the urge to protect his nose. "This sucks."

Sweeping her hand out, Ultear laughed as they surrounded Naruto, completely trapping him in. "For you it would. Try this, Flash Forward!"

The balls all suddenly rushed at him, all drawn toward the blond the way metal would to a powerful magnet. Having no real option at the moment, Naruto braced himself and crossed his arms over his face as the balls hammered in on him, each smashing into his form with considerable power.

Grunting as each hit, Naruto weathered the storm as best he could. It seemed to take a while but eventually the blows drew to a stop and Naruto lowered his arms. Peeking out at Ultear, he saw her grinning at him. "My, you are incredibly durable!"

Letting out a slow breath, Naruto pulled himself up straight and ignored the stinging bruises that were springing to life over his body. "Just a little trick I worked out."

Narrowing her eyes curiously, Ultear pointed at the blond. "Would it have to do something with your eyes having changed? They are incredibly captivating!"

Naruto shrugged. "It helps.

Eyes shining, Ultear raised her hand again. "Wonderful! I can't wait to see what else you can do!"

Diving forward just before she dropped her arm, Naruto managed to avoid the majority of the balls streaking in again. The few that did near him were batted away until Naruto managed to catch one. Gripping it firmly, he zeroed in on the woman and with a cry, launched the projectile at her.

Barely having the time to widen her eyes, Ultear collected the ball straight to her unprotected stomach, knocking her clean off her feet and sending her flying back to hit a large tree behind her. Coughing involuntarily, a few flecks of blood accompanied the burst of air as it left her.

Slumping slightly, her gingerly wrapped an arm around her middle as she heard Naruto making his way over. Taking a few steps off to the left, she looked up at him with a pained smile. "Not bad."

Naruto didn't acknowledge the compliment, instead holding his hand out. "Come back with me."

Her smile widened and the woman pushed herself up. "It'll take more than that to convince me."

Frowning, Naruto reached out to grab her but had to jump back as a tree suddenly exploded from the earth right underneath the woman. Blinking up at her in surprise, Naruto could hardly believe that she was now sitting in the bough of a tree some fifty feet up. Taking another step backwards, he heard her lilting laughter float down to him. "Oh, don't be so surprised! There was a sapling under me, so I just brought it to its future!"

Blinking in confusion, Naruto stared up at her owlishly. "All I got out of that was you just grew a tree somehow."

Rolling her eyes, Ultear sighed dramatically. "Really? That's a shame, I thought you could have comprehended it."

Shaking his head, Naruto began to rise off the ground. "All I understand is you coming back with me."

Ultear grinned again as she watched him rise, though this time her smile held a bit more malice. "You are a persistent little boy aren't you? Come on then, make me want to go back."

Glaring up at her, Naruto clenched his fists. "Gladly."

The air around the blonds' feet seemed to warp before he shot up at the woman. Rearing back a fist, Naruto watched as yet another round of orbs came rocketing in towards him. Headless of them, Naruto lashed out at Ultear. Laughing as he missed by a fair distance, Ultear failed to notice a number of balls exploding around his hand as it tracked through the air before she was suddenly flung from the tree with a mighty 'THWACK'.

Flying backwards, she barely had time to regain her bearings before Naruto was upon her. Lashing out, the girl proved to have considerable reflexes as she managed to palm a fist wide. Unfortunately for her, the invisible attack hit her again, sending her shooting towards the ground, her mouth open wide in shock and pain.

Landing heavily, she pulled in a breath to reinflate her lungs before rolling out of the way of a drop knee. Kicking out with her legs, Ultear felt her heels connect solidly with her attacker. While not sending him flying as desired, Naruto was still sent skidding back across the ground, giving Ultear enough time to recover herself.

Flipping back up to her feet, she spun around with her arm outstretched to increase its velocity before flinging an orb directly at Naruto. The blond jumped in an attempt to dodge but the ball suddenly shimmered in the air before separating into hundreds of identical orbs, all intending to smack into Naruto.

'Two can play that game.'

Dropping Senjutsu (Sage Techniques), Naruto crossed his fingers and cried out. With an area encompassing explosion of smoke, he was suddenly lost in over a hundred identical replicas of himself. The group let out a deafening shout as they all dived in at Ultear.

The mage herself had her eyes wide in shock and was rapidly throwing as many balls into the fray as possible. Clones exploded everywhere as the balls ripped through their numbers, but not quickly enough. Seeing the wall of orange approach, Ultear slapped a fist into her palm before pushing it to the earth. "Ice Make: Wall!"

The ground before the mage gave way as an enormous slab of ice rose into the sky, successfully protecting her from the onslaught of clones. She watched through the translucent window as clone after clone dashed itself against the thick wall. Despite being so solid, the object still rattling under the forces it was being subjected to.

Breathing deeply, her wide eyes looked on in shock as the first dredges of fear began entering her mind. No wonder he defeated Jose, this kind of relentless attack was incredible. Her internal musings were cut short however as the ground beneath her feet began rumbling. Diving backwards into a crouch, she narrowly avoided Naruto as he exploded from the earth directly beneath her. Flinging out one of her endless orbs, she smirked when he let out a cry as the ball hit. Her eyes widened however when he suddenly exploded. Feeling the ground beneath her rumble again, she tried to dive clear but the orange sleeved arms that shot up from the earth proved too fast.

Grasping her arms solidly, they dragged her back down, a number of more hands sprouting from the earth around her, all latching onto her body and anchoring her to the ground. Groaning as she was pulled flat against the ground, the mage looked down past her feet as her opponent walked towards her. He had an unimpressed look on his face, clearly not enjoying hold her down like that. Stopping a few feet away from her, he crossed his arms and sighed. "Are you finished yet?"

While her breathing was slightly laboured, she still didn't look too bad from all the blows. Managing a smile, she quirked her top lip. "Well, this is exactly the kind of strength I was hoping you would have. I'm extremely impressed."

Frowning, Naruto cast a quick glance at the ice wall behind him. "I'm more surprised you have two such different magic's."

The girl laughed despite her position. "Really? After what you just demonstrated? Please, you are by far more fascinating than me."

Really beginning to wonder if he had a potential stalker on his hands, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "So, you gonna come with me yet or..."

Leaving the sentence hanging, Naruto looked down at the woman. She merely chuckled and wriggled her eyebrows. "Or what? You have me tied up pretty good here. There wouldn't be a lot stopping you taking me for your own right now would there?"

With every word she spoke, the Ultear Naruto thought he knew faded further and further from view. Frowning, Naruto looked down at her despairingly. "You should know that I'm not like that. Come on, let's take you back."

Despite being held captive, the woman smirked. "You still think that's enough to beat me?"

Her eyes flashed in a display of power as what looked like jagged ice dug into the earth from her back, the clones under her letting out muffled cries as they were impaled before they exploded. Now free, the woman rolled backwards into a kneeling position, her hands held out from her sides. Her grin was positively dark now, her dilated pupils focused intently on the blond teen before her. "If you want me to come back peacefully means you will have to kill me!"

Seeing the orbs rallying around her, Naruto frowned as he tried to count them. They were separating into more and more by the second, the air filling with the crystal balls. Their number didn't stop growing however and Naruto began to realise he could be in some trouble. Tree's surrounding the pair started letting out cracks as balls began to run into them, chips of bark falling to the ground from the injuries. Crossing his fingers, Naruto forced his chakra through the seal and was once again surrounded by a hundred or so copies of himself.

The group kneeled and then charged the woman before she could create any more of those things. As they ran, the arms of all the blonds disappeared under a shroud of tightly wrapped air as Ultear grinned and flung her arm towards the group. Raising his weapons, Naruto's arms became nothing but blurs as they began countering the attack.

A staccato of cracks and pops filled the air as hundreds of the balls were pounded to dust. Several slipped through the onslaught though and were enough to deal a deadly blow to the clone they came in contact with. Despite this, the group was still steadily moving towards the ex council mage at a steady pace.

Ultear's face was a picture of focus, yet her eyes were twinkling in excitement. While one hand remained held out, the other began manipulating time and the destroyed balls behind Naruto began to reform. Smirking as a large number of balls began rising behind the oblivious group, the mage crooked a 'come hither' finger and the orbs charged straight in towards the group.

The blonds didn't stand a chance.

Surprised by the sneak attack from behind, their focus was lost and within moments they were completely overrun. Laughing loudly, Ultear held a hand over her mouth as cries of agony filled the air, the voices accompanied by an almost deafeningly loud number of pops as the group was destroyed. Smoke filled the air and Ultear unleashed another mocking laugh as the voices began to fade.

As the cloud began to disperse, Ultear stood up with a smug smile of victory on her face and began walking towards the hazy form of her opponent. Waving away a few stray whisps, she eventually came upon the bloodied form of Naruto lying face down in the dirt. Smirking, she stood by his side and toed him over onto his back. He let out a loud cough and a plume of blood shot from his mouth. Opening one pained eye, he looked up at the woman as she stared down at him, her unrelenting orbs all floating around her tauntingly.

Allowing another chuckle to leave her lips, Ultear crossed her arms under her ample bosom. "Well, I must admit, you impressed me. There aren't too many people who can last that long against my Arc of Time."

Coughing again, Naruto welled up some more red in his mouth before spitting it off to the side. Taking a laboured breath, he looked up at her. "It was... a spam attack."

Laughing in his reference to the frequency she used her orbs, she held a hand over her face and looked down at him condescendingly. "You say that, yet you nearly matched me orb for orb with those imitations of you. Like you can talk."

Naruto chuckled painfully. "Yeah... I guess so."

Taking that as the end of their conversation, Ultear flicked her hair with her hand. "Well, it was fun my intriguing blond. I'd take you with me but I know you'd just fight me the whole way and that is effort I just couldn't be bothered to muster. Be thankful that I find you interesting enough to leave you alive. Ta-ta for now, hero."

Turning, she began sashaying away. The second she presented her back though, a wide grin spread across Naruto's face. Looking up, Naruto's grin widened further and he mouthed, "Now!"

The next few moments for Ultear suddenly decomposed into chaotic mayhem as all hell broke loose. One moment she was walking away from her victory, the next she was suddenly knocked to her knees by one of her beloved orbs. Staring up at it in shock, the mage only had time to say, "What?" before she was set upon by hundreds more of her precious crystals.

Blow after blow rained down on her body and she let out an involuntary scream of pain as her form was subjected to the ruthless beating. Trying to clench her muscles, Ultear weathered the thrashing as best she could, desperately trying to think up a reason as to why her own crystals were attacking her. Eventually the pounding stopped and Ultear let out a relieved gasp as she flopped to her side. Her body spasmed in pain as she saw Naruto walk up to her. He was still totally destroyed from her previous attack but for some reason seemed completely unaware of his injuries.

Her eyebrows furrowed deeply as Naruto looked down at her pityingly and she managed to bite out a pained, "How?"

The blond seemed to relax a moment and Ultear's eyes widened in shock as his bloodied form simply disappeared. Blinking, the mage started up at the now otherwise unharmed teen. He had a couple of large bruises on his arms and face but they seemed to be fading rapidly. Despite herself, Ultear then began chuckling painfully, the fits of laughter beginning to rock her body. Not quite sure what to make of it, Naruto frowned at the unusual behaviour.

Taking a deep breath, Ultear managed to collect herself enough to look up at Naruto. "A transformation? A simple transformation? Genius!"

Her voice then broke and she was overcome with a great coughing fit. While wanting to see if she was alright, Naruto knew if he offered her any sympathy now, she'd only use it against him. Still, he couldn't help but ask. "Can you breathe?"

The coughing continued a moment more and the woman delicately spat out a mouthful of blood. "As fine as I could be after taking a beating from my own orbs. How did you though..."

Not really seeing any need to hide it any longer, Naruto crossed his fingers and the orbs all around them exploded into smoke, briefly returning to their original, orange clothed form before dispersing into a cloud.

Staring up at the now empty air, Ultear shook her head. "Unbelievable."

Struggling to push herself up, Ultear managed to get her feet under herself and draw herself up. Shakily standing on badly corked legs, Ultear winced. "You... are one magnificent specimen of a man Uzumaki."

Taking a step towards him, her legs gave way under her and she felt herself begin to fall towards the ground. Clenching her eyes, she expected the solid contact of ground but instead found a set of strong arms wrapped around her. Opening her eyes in surprise, she looked up at the teen as he frowned at her. "Stop pushing yourself. You've done enough."

For some reason, Ultear didn't try to struggle and instead looked up into his worried eyes. Something within the girl seemed to clench and she found looking up into his face almost painful. Turning her gaze away, she nodded. "Alright, I concede. I'll come back with you."

Grinning widely, Naruto helped her stand up straight. "That's the way! I knew you'd come around."

Suddenly, Ultear squinted her eyes as a burst of light shocked her eyes. Dipping her head, Naruto chuckled and looked over his shoulder. "Ha, what a good time for the sun ri–"

His voice was cut off as Ultear's hand pressed against his chest and completely froze him solid. Pulling her hand away, Ultear frowned slightly. "You should never take your eyes off your opponent Uzumaki. I thought you would have known that."

Taking a step back, she winced and clasped a hand to her side. Looking up at the now ice man, the woman's face smoothed slightly and a smile tugged her lips. "Still though... I do hope that in my next chance around in life, we get to meet under different circumstances. Until then, Naruto."

Turning, the mage began limping away from the steaming block. Trying her best to ignore the guilt building up in her chest, the mage placed a hand over her heart and took a breath. "It's ok... next time it will all be ok. I know it will."

Stumbling along, she slouched against a tree for a moment. Breathing deeply, her ears pricked as she heard a thump from behind her. Pausing, she turned to look at the iced blond. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she waited and was soon rewarded with the massive block jumping again. Turning to face it fully, shock began spreading across her face as splinters of ice began breaking off from the main body; enormous cracks beginning to shoot across its perfectly smooth surface.

Loud creaks and groans began sounding out from the solid object as Naruto apparently fought from within his imprisonment. In one final heave, the block screeched as Naruto exploded from within, the massive halves floating in the air for a moment before Naruto thrust his hands outwards, twin jets of extremely powerful air blowing them far into the distance.

He then vanished from Ultear's sight to reappear a fraction of a second later right in front of her face, a tightly spinning ball of softly glowing blue energy packed into his hand. Angry orange eyes met with black ones for a split second before Naruto lashed out. "Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)!"

Crying out in intense pain, Ultear felt the vast strength of the attack rip through her clothes and into her stomach. Clenching her abs made little difference as she felt the ball bore into her. Within moments, the thing exploded and sent her spinning away to crunch into a solid tree, her body having enough inertia to embed itself deeply into the bark.

Eyes dropping as her beaten body began to shut down, the mages last thought before her mind slipped into unconsciousness was, "Uzumaki... you survived..."

Breathing deeply, Naruto walked over to the girl. That had been a very close call. He hadn't managed to get a full breath before he was frozen so another twenty seconds or so and he'd have been a goner.

Realising the fight was now officially over, the blond dropped Senjutsu. In doing so, a wave of exhaustion washed over him and rivulets of sweat suddenly rushed down his face. Staggering slightly, Naruto placed a hand to a small tree to regain his balance while his other hand came to his forehead. Chuckling tiredly, Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. Flying from one side of the country to the other repeatedly seemed to drain a massive amount of energy.

Taking a breath, Naruto pushed off and walked up to the tree that held Ultear. Smiling slightly, Naruto preferred that this be how he remembered her. Her face smooth and calm (minus the scratches, swellings and little flicks of blood and bruising), not twisted into an ugly grin. Gripping an arm, the blond gently pulled her from the tree and placed her over his shoulder.

The girl never knew what she was in for because Naruto wasn't about to let another friend go AWOL. No matter how warped her beliefs, she was Naruto's friend and that was that. It was up to him to try and fix her slightly skewed view, that's all.

Turning to start the trek back to the council, Naruto looked up to the early morning sun. Smiling wearily, Naruto let the morning rays bathe him in the beautiful red and gold's as the light began creeping across the landscape.

XxXxXxX

Several cautious sets of eyes watched as Naruto staggered back up towards the council members, his face dirty and weary but yet wearing a happy grin. Dropping to his knees, Naruto pulled Ultear from his shoulder as gently as possible before laying her out on the ground. Grinning up at the council members, Naruto coughed and grinned again as his eyelids began dropping. "Wow... that is a lot further to walk than I expected."

Yajima walked forward as Naruto coughed again, his eyebrows bunched in concern. "Uzumaki, will you be ok?"

Laughing wearily, Naruto found himself falling face first into the ground amidst a startled cry from the mages around him. "Yeah... I'll be fine after a sleep."

Smiling up at the small man, Naruto managed to muster up enough strength to point at the girl by his side. "Take care of her... she's my friend..."

His hand then dropped to the ground as his eyelids slid shut in blissful respite.

XxXxXxX

An annoying beep began breaking through Naruto's pleasant, dreamless sleep, the sound harshly bringing him back to consciousness. Groaning in annoyance, Naruto reached out in an effort to stop the horrible noise. The limb flailed around a moment before coming in solid contact with something. There was a loud crash as whatever it was hit the ground, but thankfully the beeping stopped.

Sighing pleasantly, Naruto began to pull his eyelids up slowly, the blurry room making itself known. Blinking away the moisture that smeared his vision, Naruto looked around. He was in a small, single bed room with nothing but white walls. There was a table pushed to one corner with a window above it; a door looking across at it from the opposite wall. A few of Naruto's items lay on the table, a couple of kunai, wire rope, his scroll and underneath those, his clothes.

Taking a breath in through his nose, Naruto's eyes watered as he picked up the overpowering sent of antiseptic. Rubbing away the tears, Naruto looked over the bed edge and saw an expensive looking piece of equipment lying face down on the floor. Blinking, Naruto just rolled back over to look at the ceiling. That was already like that when he woke up, no matter what anyone said.

Taking another breath, Naruto raised his arms and gave them a bit of a shake to see how they felt. Other than a bit stiff, they seemed fine. Crossing them behind his head, Naruto let out a sigh and began the wait for someone to come in. Normally he'd have been up and out the window before anyone could touch him but today he was feeling pretty lazy. He'd just spent an entire night flying all over the country and then faced off a super tough opponent. He damn well deserved a bit of a rest.

Closing his eyes, Naruto sighed contentedly before his stomach let out a gurgle. Looking down, the blond groaned as the familiar pain of hunger clenched his stomach. Sitting up, Naruto looked around and saw a green button behind him. It had a little nurse picture drawn on it, so reaching out, Naruto gave it a poke.

Not a second later, the door opened and a pretty little nurse walked in, clipboard in hand. Looking back at the button, Naruto grinned. "Wow, now that's what I call service!"

"Oh, I was just coming in to check you vitals... what happened here?" Turning back, Naruto saw the nurse standing over the collapsed machine worriedly. Pursing his lips, the blond looked at it dumbly. "I dunno, I woke up and it was lying there."

Fretting slightly, the woman flitted around the equipment as she tried her best to pick it up. Smirking, Naruto pulled the sheets off and stood up. "Here, let me get that."

Hearing her squeak, Naruto chuckled and pulled it upright. A piece fell off it, but overall it seemed ok. It was lucky it didn't recieve the same damage Naruto's alarm clock usually did. Looking up at the nurse, Naruto then frowned as he saw her holding the clipboard over her face. "Uh... what's wrong?"

She simply pointed down, never uncovering her face. "You may want to get back into bed. We had the doctors make sure you were completely unharmed after we were informed of the number of injuries you sustained."

Glancing down, it was then Naruto realised he was clothed in the usual hospital gown, but the back wasn't tied and as such had fallen open. Chuckling, the blond jumping back into bed and pulled the covers up. He wasn't too worried about it but the nurse seemed a bit flustered. Atleast it hadn't been a guy looking at him. "Alright, I'm back in bed."

Lowering the clipboard slightly, the nurse confirmed the statement before dropping it completely. A light flush adorned her cheeks as she walked over and checked Naruto's vitals, his cheeky grin not helping things in the least. Once that was done, the blond rested back on his arms again and looked up as the nurse filled in her papers. "So when's breakfast? I am so hungry."

She didn't stop writing as she answered. "Soon, very soon. You'll probably have a visitor join you too if that's alright?"

Nodding, Naruto grinned happily. "I don't care who it is, just so long as I got food."

Smiling slightly at his cheery outlook, the nurse nodded her head. "Well, you seem perfectly ok... somehow... so I'd imagine you'll be released today once the doctors check you over."

Grinning wider, Naruto looked out the small window to his left. He could see the blue sky with a couple of leaves from an unidentified tree dancing in the gentle breeze outside. "Yeah... I wanna go lay in the sun. Seems like a nice day."

Just then, the door was pushed open and a trolley bearing food was wheeled into the room. Spinning to face it eagerly, Naruto ran his tongue around his mouth and clapped his hands twice as he readied himself for the meal. Laughing pleasantly at his actions, the nurse bowed. "Well, I'll leave you be now. Take care now."

Nodding absently, Naruto's trained eyes didn't leave the plate nearing him. Grinning as it finally reached his lap, he grabbed it thankfully, casting the attendant a happy smile. He then proceeded to practically tip the plate on its side and swallow whatever it held in one massive gulp. Passing it back to the stunned man, Naruto grinned and looked over at the cart greedily. "More please!"

"I think you can wait a moment my boy."

"Eh?"

Looking down, Naruto saw the three blades walking along beside his bed. They then jumped and revealed themselves to actually be Yajima's hat as the little man landed on Naruto's bed. "Oh, old man! How ya going?"

Smiling, the mage crossed his hands behind his back. "Not too bad I suppose. A little sad the council building is gone, but unhurt otherwise."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that sucks I suppose, but atleast another one can be built."

Nodding, Yajima remained silent and simply took to staring at the blond. Not usually used to such scrutiny, Naruto's face twitched and he tried to start up another conversation. "So, uh, how's Ultear doing?"

The mage looked up in recollection. "She's doing ok I believe. I'm surprised she's as well as she is after whatever it was you did to her. You really put her through the ringer. I'd imagine she will be asleep for another few days to come."

Chuckling, Naruto scratched her head. "Yeah, my bad. She sure packed some power herself though."

Yajima nodded. "Indeed. She wasn't on the council for nothing."

Naruto smiled gently before it slowly turned into a frown. Looking down at his hands for a moment, he then looked up at the man. "So what will happen to her?"

Sighing unhappily, Yajima shook his head. "I'd imagine she will be tried for treason and then sentenced to prison for a long while."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Naruto crossed his arms. "But... what if she was only doing it because she was ordered to? Or hypnotised? Or... or mislead, like everyone else in the council?"

The man shrugged. "I do not know. That is up to the judge to decide."

Nodding sadly, Naruto realised that was probably the best she could get. Still, he managed a grin. "Well, I'll make sure to visit her atleast once a week to help keep her spirits up! She'll be able to make it through that, she's a strong girl."

Chuckling, the old man nodded. "I like your outlook Uzumaki, very positive. Yes, I'm sure she'll do fine."

Grinning, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you can't keep looking at the negatives ya know?"

He then lowered his arm and he let out a sigh as his features became more sombre. "So, what happened with Simon?"

Thinking for a moment, the old man's eyes lit up as he remembered. "Oh yes, Simon. Poor fellow. He was sent back to Fairy Tail via convoy to be given to Erza Scarlett. She will bury him as she deems necessary I'd imagine."

Nodding, Naruto then looked up in confusion. "Hang on, how long have I been asleep?"

Smiling, the man looked out the window. "A lot shorter than many of us predicted. It has only been one day."

Raising his eyebrows, Naruto repeated him. "A whole day? That's like, ages!"

Chuckling, the man turned back to Naruto. "Ah, to have the energy of youth again. Yes, a day."

Pulling himself straighter, Naruto frowned. "I wanna get back to Fairy Tail so I can be there with Erza."

Yajima studied Naruto's face for a moment before smiling softly. "You are a good friend Naruto. The convoy was sent yesterday afternoon so if you hurry, you could probably make it back in time to catch her."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I was already planning that. I just need to get dressed and I'll head out."

Yajima raised an eyebrow. "And the doctors?"

Naruto laughed. "I'm fine. This just frees up a bed for someone who actually needs it."

Laughing alongside the blond, Yajima nodded. "You remind me of Makarov when he was younger."

Pausing, Naruto looked at the mage. "The old man? Really?"

Yajima nodded. "Yes, I was close friends with him when we were younger. Anyway, enough talking. I'll take my leave now that I know you are ok."

Grinning, Naruto gave him thumbs up. "Thanks for that old man. I'll come see you later too!"

Nodding, the man dropped down from the bed and walked out the door. Waiting until it was closed, Naruto jumped up and quickly discarded his garment and redressed in his favourite jacket and pants set. They had been washed to his delight and whatever cleaning agent they used seemed to bring out the orange's inner glory. Turning to face the window, Naruto heard the door open one more time. "Oh and Naruto, here is your payment."

Turning back to face Yajima, Naruto saw him holding out a small slip of paper. Taking it, Naruto studied the amount before shaking his head. "No, this isn't right, the amount's wrong. Get it back to me later."

Smiling, the mage shook his head. "No, that's right. Jellal and Ultear had an account with us as we all do, and seeming they deserted us, the money became collateral. After everything you did for us, I believe that should cover you for your efforts."

Looking back down at the cheque for Five Million Jewels, Naruto shrugged and tucked it away safely. "Well, thank you heaps for that! I definitely owe you a meal."

Yajima nodded. "Please put twelve slices of roast pork in my ramen then."

Naruto sucked in a deep breath as he openly gaped down at the man in new found wonder. "You... you like ramen?"

Yajima nodded once. Eyes glistening in abundant joy, Naruto ran a forearm across his eyes as he struggled to contain his happiness. "I think we are gonna get on perfectly, dattebayo!"

Nodding again, the small man turned and looked out the door. "You best leave now. The doctor's are on their way."

Allowing one manly tear of camaraderie to slide down his cheek, Naruto nodded before pushing the window open and slipping out.

XxXxXxX

A/N – and that's the end (more or less) of the Tower arc. There's more to be tied up back at the guild once Naruto makes it back, but that's pretty much it.

On another note, Mashima is a freakin boss. How far ahead can a dude plan a story? I bow to a far greater talent than my own.

Anyway, you can now thank Tellemicus Sundance for this omake as it was his idea.

Omake

Creeping along the hallways of the Everlue mansion, Natsu, Happy and Lucy were currently searching as quietly as they could for a book their client had commissioned to be destroyed. Lucy had her back pressed as closely to the wall as she could manage, her light footsteps barely making a noise. Casting a glance around the room, Lucy turned back to see Natsu leaning over the barrier of the second floor railing as if searching for something. Sucking in a breath, the girl grabbed the boy and pulled him back against the wall. Glaring at him furiously, she started whispering as harshly as she could. "Just what the HELL are you doing?"

A finger absently disappeared into the mages nose as he looked away in boredom. "This suck. We have like a billion rooms to check. It'd just be faster to find someone and make them tell us where it is."

Happy looked up at the girl, still wearing a skull mask that he had found in one of the previous rooms. Lucy heart was still pumping in overdrive from when he jumped out at her. "Yeah Lucy, why are you so boring? Natsu's way is so much faster and smarter than yours."

Grinding her teeth together, the blond girl struggled to compose herself. "You keep talking like that cat and you'll find your whiskers cut off in your sleep." Taking a breath, she continued. "No, we must remained undetected. We don't want Everlue to call the authorities on us. We gotta be like ninjas! Cool, huh?"

Instantly Natsu zoned out as extravagant images of him performing incredible ninja abilities flowed through his mind. Sweat dropping as she watched the mage fade away, Lucy sighed. "Atleast he's quiet I guess..."

"What you guys playing?"

Letting out a piercing shriek, Lucy slumped against the wall, her hand over her pounding heart as Natsu looked up. His eyes widened massively as he saw Naruto sitting sideways on the wall, the teen looking down at them curiously. "WAH, HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?"

Happy suddenly slapped into Natsu's face in an effort to muffle the rowdy boy. Turning to look up at Naruto, Happy grinned through his mask. "We're playing ninjas! We gotta find some musty old book, so we decided it'd be more fun to sneak around."

Naruto's face lit up in delight and he dropped to the floor, barely missing Lucy's comatose form by inches. "No way! I'm a ninja! That was my job back home!"

Ripping Happy from his face, Natsu stared at the boy in wonder. "Seriously? That is so cool!"

Rubbing a finger under his nose, Naruto grinned. "I know right? Did you wanna learn how a real ninja does things?"

Nodding excitedly, Natsu and Happy fell into line, eager to hear anything Naruto had to say. Adopting a teacher's pose, Naruto raised a finger. "Ninja business is all about being as quiet as you can while taking out the target as swiftly and cleanly as possible. To do this, you must disguise yourself as your surroundings. Blend in with what you see. Watch."

Raising his fingers, Naruto held the Ram seal and suddenly popped into an identical replica of a pot plant they just passed. Yahooing loudly, Happy and Natsu looked Naruto's new form all over in awe. "That is so cool! Man, I never even thought of that! You're the best! Way better than Lucy. I bet she doesn't even know what a ninja is meant to look like."

Coming back from her world of fright, Lucy jumped up to defend herself. "I do so know what a ninja's meant to look like!"

She suddenly disappeared into a room, reappearing a second later in a tight, black, super revealing latex suit. Posing proudly, Lucy winked at them. "A ninja must be unseen, therefore the best colour to choose would be black! ... why is the pot plant bleeding?"

"Huh?"

Turning to look at the plant, the two males did indeed see the pot plant bleeding from the terracotta. It suddenly went up in a puff of smoke to reveal Naruto sitting cross-legged, a dopy smile on his face as he gazed at Lucy. "You sure make that ninja suit look good Lucy. It really moulds to your shape."

Winking provocatively, Lucy nodded and smirked. "I know right? I bet YOU couldn't pull off something like this, Mr. Ninja!"

Shaking his head, Naruto stood up and stared Lucy down challengingly. The small trickle of blood running down his upper lip kinda detracted from the overall look however. "Would that be a challenge?"

The girl didn't get a chance to answer as the ground beneath them rumbled. Turning to look over their shoulders, the males had to dive forward as the floor suddenly exploded beneath them to reveal possibly the four ugliest... females (if you could call them that) Naruto had ever seen. If anything, the blond would have expected to see something like that in a zoo.

Each had a long metal pole in hand and were gazing down at the group menacingly. "Intruders detected!"

Flying in for the attack, Naruto freaked out and lashed out at them. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

A resounding smack filled the room as the maids were sent flying off the balcony and down to the lower floors. Panting heavily, Naruto looked over as another boom echoed out and his eyes widened as an absolute bear of a woman burst forth from the ground. "EXTERMINATE!"

Diving forward in a perfect arc, the woman held her arms out before body slamming the nearest person flat into the ground. Thankfully for Naruto, it had been Natsu. Unfortunately for Natsu, it hadn't been Naruto.

Gasping as she heard the muffled cried from under the behemoth of a maid, Lucy cupped her hands over her mouth as she watched her friend literally get the life squashed out of him. "Natsu!"

Her worry was unfounded however as an effort filled cry sounded out from under the woman as Natsu actually pushed the maid off him. "Why are you so FAT?"

Throwing her high into the air, flames exploded from Natsu's feet and he jumped after her before proceeding to kick the woman clear across the wide room. Landing lightly, he wrapped his ever present scarf around his face protectively and then held his hands up the way he saw Naruto do. "We can't afford to be detected, nin-nin!"

Hearing a clap, the mage turned to see Naruto beaming at him. "That was awesome!"

While the mage basked in the glory, Lucy looked off to the side in confusion. "I thought being a ninja was about stealth..."

Ignoring her, Happy flew past the group, his little paws held up in an attempt at the Ram seal. "Onward mighty ninja, to the next room, nin-nin!"

"AYE!"

With twin calls, Natsu and Naruto charged after the cat, leaving Lucy to wonder just when everyone switched places. Eventually realising she was being left behind, she cried out indignantly and chased after them.

XxXxXxX

Entering a large room, the group now found themselves looking up at an absolutely enormous book case. Easily stretching thirty feet to the roof, the enormous thing looked to contain well over five thousand books.

Groaning, Lucy looked it over. "Man, that is huge! Still, I guess it's the best chance of finding this book." Slapping a fist to her bicep, she cheered happily. "Alright guys, let's get searching!"

"Nin-nin!"

Running to the book shelf, the girl ignored Happy and Natsu crawling across the ground on their bellies. Spying a ladder, the blond scaled it quickly and began scanning the titles.

"So what we looking for?"

Screaming in surprise, Lucy's arms flailed around for a moment before managing to catch a hold of the ladder again. Glaring at Naruto as he stuck to the book case like a spider, the girl let out an annoyed breath. "We're searching for a book called Daybreak. Make yourself useful and start looking."

Nodding, Naruto began climbing across the shelves, books falling out from the shelves all around him. Growling, Lucy pointed an agitated finger at her fellow blond. "Carefully damnit!"

"Woo! A dirty novel!"

Turning to look down at the floor, Lucy saw that Natsu was holding up a book happily.

"Lemme see!"

Hearing a thump and the rustling of a number of pages, the girl turned to see Naruto drop to the floor amongst a rain of books and rush over to study the novel Natsu had found. After a moment, the self proclaimed ninja snorted in disgust. "Bah, that's crap. It doesn't even have illustrations."

Sighing, Lucy ignored the group and continued to look. Trailing her finger over the spines, Lucy frowned when she saw a tacky orange cover that seemed to stand out to her. Checking it out, her mouth pulled into a wide smile as she removed the book triumphantly. "I found it!"

XxXxXxX

A/N – and that can stop there for the moment. I'll finish it next chapter.

Again, the omake has absolutely NO impact on the main story whatsoever.

Until next time.

Lanky Nathan