"You were glowing last night."
"Huh?"
The unintelligent answer was a result of Naruto being caught completely off guard by the blunt statement as he and Gildarts were packing. Naruto paused to look at the older man who carried on like he was talking about the weather.
"Yeah, glowing. Pretty brightly too, right through your sheets."
Studying him for a moment, the blond slowly went back to packing, unsure of where this was going. "I thought you were asleep. Sorry to have woken you."
Gildarts chuckled. "Might as well have had the sun in the middle of the room it seemed that bright. It'd be hard to sleep through it. Though… the malice would make it a bit harder to miss again."
Both males slowed their packing, each turning an eye to the other. Though they didn't stop, the tension in the room began climbing. Finishing folding his bed sheets, Naruto gently placed them on the mattress and turned to his scroll. "Sorry? How do you mean?"
Stuffing his old shirt in his duffel bag, Gildarts shrugged. "Oh, just the feeling you wanted to attack me pretty badly. I don't usually take too well to that sort of threat. Didn't sleep very well afterwards either I'm afraid and I do like my sleep."
Slipping his scroll into his fresh pair of pants, Naruto slowly pinned his Saints badge to his chest and wrapped his forehead protector around its place. "That… was unfortunate. What is your opinion on it?"
Zipping everything up, the bag was thrown over Gildarts shoulder and the man stood up to his full height, back turned to Naruto. "I'm not too sure yet. Do I have a reason to worry?"
The blond frowned slightly and shook his head measuredly. "No, you do not. I can explain a bit more if you wish, but I'd prefer to do that away from the town."
Turning, Gildarts nodded, otherwise expressionless. "Yes, lets."
XxXxXxX
The members of Fairy Tail stood opposite of one another just outside of Clover, the greenery that was so abundant in that area shielding them from any onlookers. Gildarts was seemingly relaxed, but the sharp attention in his eyes told a different story. Naruto was equally relaxed, but his mind was on high speed, trying to make certain of the most favourable outcome.
Squaring up, he decided to go about it as bluntly as possible. "Alright, you have questions. I guess after last night you deserve some answers, but just remember I'm not able to share all details yet. That fair?"
Gildarts nodded. "Continue."
Taking a moment, Naruto quickly decided how best to approach this. "I guess I should be as straight up as possible… as much as I dislike this. That strange malice, that wasn't exactly me."
Gildarts raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Seemed a lot like it was coming from you."
"Well, yes but it goes a bit deeper than that. I… I have a demon sealed in me. And I have access to some of its abilities."
The taller mage missed no beat with the revelation. "How much control does it have over you?"
"None!" The sharp retort didn't faze the mage in the slightest. "Are you a danger to anyone around you?"
Prying questions into a very personal aspect of Naruto's life quickly agitated the blond and he responded as such. "What the hell do you think? Of course not!"
"And Fairy Tail?"
Growling dangerously, Naruto stepped up to the taller mage. "Don't even think for a second that I'd hurt them. They've shown me more acceptance in the few short months that I've been here than the majority of the people in my home town my whole life."
They then fell silent, the taller, calmer man looking down into the fiery, passionate eyes of the smaller one. The tension was palpable and each of their nerves were at the limit. Squinting slightly, Gildarts flinched and Naruto's hand flashed back.
Time slowed down as the mages hand rose up towards Naruto's head, the ninja's eyes widening to take in every detail as his hand grasped a kunai. Leaning back to miss the attack, Naruto almost jumped when a firm hand landed on his head and ruffled his hair.
Blinking in shock at the almost affectionate gesture, Naruto froze as the hand rocked back and forward across his scalp. Laughing openly, Gildarts gave him a playful punch in the stomach and completely relaxed. "Very good then! I just had to make sure that wouldn't be a problem for the guild. I can tell you have the same passion for that mouldy joint as me now so no hard feelings, yeah?"
Letting out a shaky breath, Naruto subtly pocketed the knife and rubbed his chest. "Oh come on, couldn't have you just asked me outright? I thought it was going down."
The rusty ginger gave him a cheeky wink and slapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. "Maybe, but what would have happened if the answer was less favourable? Come on though, I'm done with it so let's leave it at that. Besides, if we don't hurry we're gonna miss our train."
Sighing, Naruto scratched his head as the adrenalin eased out of his system. "Just like that huh?"
Turning to follow the mage, Naruto took one last look back.
Behind where Gildarts stood, originally out of Naruto's sight, the whole side of a tree had vanished, an almost cube like hole replacing where the majority of the trunk should have been. Eyes narrowing for a fraction of a second, the blonde's fingers twitched agitatedly before he stuffed them in his pockets and trotted out of the woods.
XxXxXxX
Naruto gave a wide yawn as the train gave a sharp whistle to announce their arrival. Rubbing an eye, the ninja rolled over onto his stomach as the doors opened and people started pouring out the doors. Deciding to wait until there was more space to breathe, the blond yawned again and patted his pockets to make everything was there.
"Naruto! You still with us or have you fallen off?" Gildarts looked to the trains' roof as a blond head poked over the guttering. "Yeah, still here."
Waiting a bit longer for the crowds to thin, Naruto stood up and stretched. Scratching an itch on his belly, the ninja stepped off the roof to land with a thump beside the mage. "So what are you doing now then boy? Off to see Yajima… san?"
Naruto nodded dopily. "Yeah, might as well. It's a good place to start, though I'm not too sure where it is."
"Did you need any help?"
Naruto glanced up at his companion. "Nah I should be ok."
"Good!" A wide grin then spread across Gildarts' face. "Because I hear the nearest bar calling my name with a good deal of grog and girls awaiting my embrace. I trust that you'll be able to find me later. So until then!"
With a solid thump to the back that had Naruto wheezing, the powerful mage wandered off, arm raised high in farewell. Swallowing his lungs, Naruto took a deep breath and stood up straight, Gildarts already out of sight. "Well that's one problem taking care of itself. Now for me."
A quick survey of the area had Naruto wandering over to the information booth and the pretty young attendant within it. Apparently the old man had gone and set up a new restaurant already and it was doing good business within the community. It wasn't too far a walk from the station either so with a quick thanks Naruto was on his way.
Maybe five minutes later the blond was standing at the entrance to the quaint cafe. It was a pleasant cream with a welcoming doorway set back under a recently cleaned awning. A flower box sat at the base of each of the lower floor windows, the upper floor possibly having them too from the smell of things but the balcony hid any trace of that.
A well slanted, wooden roof topped everything off with a single chimney poking up out of the middle of it. Somewhat disguising that was the large shop name attached to it, a knife and fork either end of the sign with a chefs cap sitting on top of it. "8Island hey? Let's see what he's done."
Pushing the door open, the blond managed all of five steps inside before he was blind sided by three bodies slamming into him and driving him to the floor. Blinking in surprise at the three bountiful chests pressed into his face, Naruto made do with the squealing as he tried to work out who it was and why they wanted to hug him to death. The voices were familiar though and it didn't take long for it to click.
"Oh! Kelly, Shelly and Sally?" The muffled voice from beneath the girl had them giggling as they cuddled into him more. "Yup! You guessed us! How have you been?"
Pulling himself into an upright position, the girls simply changed their position to remain attached. Now able to see them, Naruto was pleasantly pleased with the waitress style clothes the three had. It was a single strapless dress piece in the most wonderful orange he'd ever laid eyes on. Gorgeous really. That was the most important feature to the blond but the smaller details still helped with the overall look. The top and bottom of the dresses had small triangular tassels running around them from front to back and the large store name '8Island' printed across their busts. A clean white apron was tied around their waists with an overly exaggerated bow at the back. Shoulder-less sleeves clasped their upper arms, the material hanging down to their wrists, finished off with the same small white, triangular tassels their dresses had. Finishing off the rather appealing look were a pair of white, thigh high stockings and a pair of simple brown shoes.
Nodding approvingly to himself, Naruto patted each of them on the head in turn. "I've been good! Pretty busy with stuff though so I'm exhausted. How have you been?"
The sister with the scar under her right eye, Kelly, grinned. "We've been busy too. As you can see we've picked up this waitressing job. Apparently the owner only likes employing mages since he cooks with magic. Says it helps bring out the flavour." She then tucked her head into his chest and cuddled him some more. "We've missed you though!"
Her sisters whined in agreement and the blond sighed. "It's been like, three days since you've seen me?"
Glistening eyes met his and he nearly melted under the power. "But that feels like a lifetime when it comes to counting time away from you!"
Coughing to reclaim composure, the blond looked around. He began sweating a bit when he realised how large a number of very dangerous glares he was receiving from the patrons. He wasn't here to create a scene so he tapped the girls on the head. "Um, this is lovely and all, but shouldn't you be working still? I wouldn't want you to lose your jobs because of me."
Gushing audibly, the girls stood up and sighed. "You are so perfect!"
"Thinking of us even now."
"What a gentleman!"
"You're the best, please take a seat and we'll be right with you!"
"You two can serve others, I'LL serve Naruto now."
"What, that's totally unfair!"
"Yeah! I should be!"
Sweat dropping as the conversation took a nosedive, Naruto held his hands up and shouted to be heard over the argument. "Girls! I'm not here for food, not yet at least. I actually came to see Yajima-san if you can let him know?"
They all paused in their noise as they looked at him. It took a moment before they all dashed off in a flurry of limbs, skirts, order slips and hair, each shouting at the other that they'd be the one to get the boss. Sighing as they disappeared, the teen slumped to a table and rubbed his temples. He hadn't been expecting this and while certainly not unpleasant, he was still feeling somewhat fatigued from everything and so wasn't quite up to handling them.
Not long later the girls emerged, much more reserved and looking a bit sheepish. They passed Naruto with a soft sorry and continued taking orders as they were originally employed to do. Chuckling to himself, Naruto guessed they'd just been told off. "Naruto!"
Hearing his name, the blond turned to see the old man poking his head out of the doorway to the kitchen. "Yajima-san! Good to see you!"
Nodding, the little man motioned for him to walk over and guided him outside to the back alley. Settling himself down on a wooden crate, Naruto grinned and motioned to the building. "How's things? You really got it all set up quickly."
"You say that like you've forgotten what mages of your strength can do. I just hired a bit of help and had it finished in half a day."
The blond chuckled. "Yeah, right. So business is good?"
"Extremely." The crafty old man grinned and gave Naruto a slow wink. "I know what draws the customers. Though that's the first time a customer has drawn the waitresses…"
"Heh…" Naruto scratched his head. "I have a bit of history with those three."
Yajima snorted. "With the way they jumped on you I'd have called them crazy if you hadn't. So what brings you down this way anyway? Find anything of any use?"
The blond frowned and rested his arms on his knees. "Yeah, about that, I had a few things I wanted to talk with you about. But first -" Naruto brought his hands up and created several clones. They all dashed off to secure the area. "- just had to take care of that. So, it was more to do with what I didn't find more than anything."
The old man said nothing, simply electing to stand and listen.
"Well, when you said a dark guild could be after my power, I went and found Grimoire Heart and started snooping through them." The blond intentionally left out information on Ultear in case the poor old man had a heart attack. It seemed that him taking on the dark guild did the job though.
"You did WHAT? Of all the guilds you chose to snoop through, you chose that one? Why pray tell?"
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Well, they found me to be exact. I got dragged into their business after one of their mages attacked me. Ended up bring insightful enough and I did get some answers from them, if not the ones I wanted."
Shaking his head and holding his heart, Yajima sighed. "You youth are far too eager to lose your lives. What's done is done though. What did you learn?"
Frowning, the blond pursed his lips. "This is where it gets confusing. So apparently no one is trying to attack the demon in me. They at least didn't even know it existed. So that's a good and bad thing –"
"– In that you now know it's not someone out to get you, but that leaves with you even less of an idea of what's going on. Correct?"
Naruto nodded, not really surprised at the astuteness of the former council mage. "However, there have been some odd changes within the cloak I showed you. It's gone from red to gold and the demon itself has changed colour."
"You can see it?" Yajima raised an eyebrow as this piece of information was revealed.
"Yeah, I can even speak with it too." This caused both grey eyebrows to raise, but nothing was said. "So yeah, from what it told me, a factor of this weird happening is actually the Eternano in the air. It wouldn't tell me any more though so now I'm struggling for clues."
Humming in thought, the man cupped his chin. "Strange, that it should only be happening now after so long."
Clicking that Yajima didn't know Naruto's background, the teen waved it away. "Oh, that's not the issue. It's more, why does it keep leaking? What's actually causing it? Because as much as I'm thankful it's not some external thing, I still need to know what's happening. I mean, what if I randomly sparked up now? I don't want to scare everyone."
"Mmm." The old man thumbed his chin as he pondered the issue. "Have you gained any more control over it as time has passed? Or has anything else changed?"
This drew a grin from the young ninja. "Yeah actually I have! Got more control that is. Like, I can still feel the anger and stuff, but it's nowhere near as intense as before."
Nodding as a smile slid onto his face, Yajima crossed his arms with finality. "Brilliant. I can't say I'd be able to help you out with any more than what you've already found out but the fact you're gaining control over this entity is certainly reassuring. As for if it happens in public, I think I can trust you with taking care of that."
The blond nodded. "Yeah, for sure. While still a pressing issue, at least it isn't so much of a negative one now."
"Exactly." The small mage nodded once. "This, while unexpected, could prove to be a good thing in the long run. Count yourself lucky."
"Definitely." Naruto stood up as he said this, Yajima turning back to his restaurant and leading him inside.
"If you do happen to discover anymore information please keep me updated. It is quite the curious case that I've taken a bit of an interest in. At my age a little excitement is needed to keep things ticking." He held the door open as Naruto walked through. "Now, how about a meal for you? On the house for the good news."
Naruto's eyes lit up at this. He hadn't had a proper meal in days. "Yeah, of course! But I still have to pay you back for scaring you though don't I? Two bowls of ramen with twelve pieces of pork in each."
"You can repay me later, this calls for a celebration of your first time in my shop and for the good news!" Suddenly picking up in energy, the short man's eyes suddenly opened wide, startling Naruto with the intensity of the gaze. "Run in and find yourself a seat quickly now! Send the girls in and I'll have your meal ready soon!"
Suddenly calming down, the mage then turned and made his way over to a stool in front of the stove. He jumped up on it and then began preparing all sorts of meats and vegetables. Unsure what to make of the random and extremely sudden outburst, Naruto quietly ducked out into the shop front. He wasn't even sitting fully when Shelly suddenly stood before him, eyes upturned in glee and notebook held tightly to her chest. "So how did it go? I hope all is well?"
Not bothering with details, the teen nodded. "Yeah, it was good. He didn't say much, more just encouraged me."
"Nawww!" The girl squealed shrilly, hugging herself tightly. "If you needed encouraging I would have happily helped you though, I hope you know that!"
Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I could have guessed. Yajima-san did say that he was preparing something for me though. Would you be able to get it for me?"
Instantly alert to his needs, the girl nodded once before dashing off into the kitchen. Sighing quietly, the teen shook his head, unable to comprehend the girl. Relaxing into the chair, he had a look around.
The interior matched the exterior nicely, the walls a pleasant cream with all the trimmings a matching contrast of green. It was fairly open too with a wide walkway down the middle for guests and workers, the abundant pot plants and other greenery not imposing on traffic in the slightest. There were also copious numbers of pictures hanging from the wall, each depicting a different scene from different eras in Earthland's history. The customer number had dropped too with only a few plain looking patrons in the chairs. The heads of the other two sisters stuck out amongst everything as well, drawing the attention to the bright pink hair of the attractive triplets as they waited. Hearing the clatter of plates, the blond stopped gazing about and sat upright.
Several plates were dropped in front of him and a beaming face behind them smiled down on him. "Here's the food! I do hope you enjoy."
Licking his lips as the delectable smell reached his nose, the ninja eyes the food hungrily as he slapped his hands together. "Oh you bet. Itadakimasu!"
"Ita… what?"
The girl's question went unanswered as Naruto instantly began tucking in with gusto, blotting out any external distraction in favour of devouring what was presented to him. He didn't register the cushion depress as a body sat beside him. Shelly had her head resting on knitted fingers, half lidded eyes dazedly watching the teen scoop through the meal. A small smile pulled at her lips as he burped, the girl sighing and enjoying the feeling of being close to him. That spell was broken pretty quickly as a plate pushed under her nose make her blink.
"More please! That was absolutely delicious, whatever it was." The upturned eyes, coupled with the cute whisker marks and the infectiously wide grin was enough to make her knees weak. That wasn't to do though as her saviour needed more!
"Right away cutie!" Grabbing the plates she dashed back into the kitchen, eager to fill her crush's tummy.
XxXxXxX
A half hour later Naruto sat well and truly stuffed fat, his food baby bulging widely and his pants unfastened to allow for extra space. Sighing happily, Naruto looked up at the pretty waitress and smiled apologetically. "Sorry for making you run so much. It was just too good to stop!"
She may have been exhausted but that face was more than worth it. "Not to worry! I needed to run a bit anyway… I haven't really been keeping up with my exercises."
Picking at his teeth, the blond grunted. "Huh, could have fooled me. Alright, time to move."
Pulling himself up, he caught his pants just as they were about to drop and did them up. He couldn't help but sweat drop when he noticed the disappointed look Shelly was giving him. Nice confidence boost though.
Stretching, the teen nodded at his waitress. "Well, best go see the old man and then I'll be off."
"Wh-where are you going?"
Blinking, Naruto pondered the question for a moment before scratching his cheek in confusion. "To be honest, I'm not sure! I need to go find my buddy Gildarts but I have no idea where he'd be. Somewhere drunk I'd imagine."
The girl smiled. "You go talk with Yajima while I clean this up. I'm just about finished my shift now anyway and I know a few places that would be good to look. I'll show you around!"
Grinning, the ninja waved at her thankfully as he turned. "Oh, that'd be a big help! I'll meet you outside."
"For sure cutie!" Blowing the back of his head a kiss, Shelly turned and easily dodged the knife launched at her head.
"How dare you do that to us! We deserve his presence just as much as you!"
Grinning at her fuming sisters, the pink haired triplet just giggled and patted both her sisters as she sauntered past. "First in, best dressed or so they say. Besides, I really am about to finish my shift and you two aren't. I'll just have to fill in for you both while you work."
Her cheeky grin as she dodged a fork only served to infuriate her sisters further. "KELLY. SALLY! WHERE ARE YOU?"
The abnormally loud, impatient cry of their boss had anything they were going to say choked up in their throats as they dashed back to the kitchen to fill the waiting orders.
XxXxXxX
"Aw come on, how many pubs are there in this town?"
"Plenty!"
Sighing irritably, Naruto scratched his head and looked down at the girl attached to his arm. He had a sneaking suspicion she knew a faster way around but was dawdling. They had still yet to find Gildarts, but at some of the bigger pubs there had been evidence of his presence, whether it be a wall blown out or cubes of wood on the floor that was formally tables and chairs. During all this Shelly had remained fastened to his arm, grinning incessantly. While he did enjoy the company of a pretty thing like her, he did wish to find Gildarts first and see what their next move was.
The girl had changed quickly enough though so he had to give it to her. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the red scrunchie a nice clash to the pink hair. Her top was just a simple beige blouse with frilled ended and a set of jeans to finish off her lowers. Nothing extravagant but she still scrubbed up ok even when pushed for time.
It was almost music to his ears then when a measured explosion reached them from a street away. Grinning widely, Naruto grabbed the girl and took the shortest possible route to the sound, that being straight over the roofs of the houses in a chakra infused leap.
Landing, he let the girl down. The poor thing shakily latched onto his sleeve to support her weak legs as she regained her feet, her pupils dilated and her raspy breath coming out in shaky pants, one hand clutching the fabric above her heart as she tried to still the rapid beating from the shock of the jump.
Ignoring this Naruto walked straight into the mess of wood and people and looked around. Seeing the tall mage he'd been looking for hunched over the bar, he wandered up and tapped him on the shoulder. Turning, Gildarts took a moment to remember him before jumping up and wrapping the smaller male up in a bone crushing hug. The violent whipping action knocked Shelly clear into the air and into the mess behind them with a squeal. "Naruto! I didn't know where you'd been! I'm so happy to see you!"
Letting him go, Gildarts pushed him back by the shoulders so he could look into the icy blue eyes of the teen. "I didn't wanna have to fight you you know? I didn't… and I'm sorry for having to!"
Tears began pooling at the gingers' eyes as he began to break down. "I'm sorry!"
Caught completely off his feet by this unexpected turn of events, all the blond could do was nod uncertainly. Three years away on this job and Gildarts had come home to hit the bottle hard. It didn't help he seemed like an emotional drunk.
"But since that part of our life is over, I pra – preh – prepors – propose a toast to our continuing friendship and stuff! BARTENDER!"
Slamming Naruto into his chest in a hug that would make Elfman proud, Gildarts dropped several large notes on the bench. They were quickly exchanged for drinks and Naruto couldn't help but blink as the glasses lined up beside one another. Looking up at the mage, Naruto cleared his throat to gain his attention. "Uh, so how much have you drunk?"
Gildarts swept his prosthetic arm across the glasses proudly. "I'd say this is the fifth round. I think."
"In this bar, at least." Naruto couldn't help but sweat drop when he heard the bartender mumble that under his breath.
"Shouldn't we get you to a room for the night then? I mean, you're lucky you can stand up. I did want to talk with you about what we were going to do too…"
A sharp blow to the top of Naruto's head ended anything else he was going to say. Mouth opening in pain, a shot glass was stuffed into his throat and nose pinched, resulting in him having to swallow. Coughing openly as the toxic mixture slid down his throat, Gildarts laughed deeply and necked one himself before slapping Naruto's back. "Oh come off it you old fart. I'm drunk as a skunk and having fun. It's been three years since I could relax so join me! Where'd that lady go that you brought in with you?"
Leaving Naruto to try and rub the taste off his tongue, Gildarts went sifting through the wood and unconscious bodies until a groan and shock of pink caught his eye. Grabbing the girl, he picked her up as if she weighed as much as a feather and grinned. "So who are you and what are ya doing with Naruto?"
Swallowing nervously, Shelly looked around uncomfortably before answering. "M-my name's Shelly and I –"
She couldn't finish her sentence as a glass was stuffed in her mouth too, courtesy of Gildarts again. Walking back over to Naruto, he kicked a stool to its feet and dropped the girl on it. "Very good! Come, let's drink, the night is young and we have so very much more time to get wasted! It's on me so get shotting!"
A cry of joy from voices all over the destroyed pub filled the halls and Gildarts let out a mighty laugh as men and women from everywhere came scrambling in to capitalise on the free alcohol.
XxXxXxX
The rest of the night turned into a blur from there, Naruto's fantastic regenerative abilities thoroughly pushed to their limits with the amount of fermented beverages forcefully tipped down his throat by a very merry Gildarts. Somewhere within the night the other two thirds of the triplet trio arrived and they too were dragged into the mess, kicking and screaming if the blond remembered correctly. The only downtime he had was in between bars and sadly by the time he'd sobered up there was already another shot glass being massaged down his throat.
Noise, colour, light and the occasional bare backside littered his memory as bleary eyes struggled to pull themselves open the next morning as thankfully soft morning light broke through the curtains of an unknown room. Groaning deeply, Naruto slapped a palm to his forehead and coughed, his pungent breath still laced with alcohol. Thankfully he didn't have a hangover like when Cana made him drink her poison, however the sluggish reboot of his brain was still evidence enough to show that whatever Gildarts had put him through last night had been nothing short of inhuman.
A snort beside him turned his attention to the underwear clad backside of a girl who was sleeping upside down on the bed. Unfocused eyes blinked as he traced up her form to see bright pink hair flowing all across the bed sheets. Her simple beige blouse was all scrunched up around her chest with most of her back showing. "Oh… Shelly."
Yawning as the slowly progressing sunlight hit his eyes, Naruto rubbed a palm into his lids as he sat up. As he woke up, heavy breathing off to his side drew his attention as two other identical girl in various states of dress were draped across one another. The half removed clothes and half applied nightgown showed at least a feeble attempt to get ready for bed before unconsciousness consumed them. If Naruto had the effort he would have chuckled as their hair was all levels of messy. That was going to take hours to set straight.
Crossing his legs, the teen looked down and saw he was only in his boxers. Slowly looking across the room he saw his poor pants in two separate pieces lying opposite sides of the apartment. Damn girls. That must have been their fault. Thankfully what was still on him was perfectly intact so nothing too X rated had gone on. 'Ero-sennin might not have been so happy about that though…'
Dragging himself to the edge of the bed, the teen tousled his hair with one hand while he yawned widely. Pulling himself to his feet, a wobbly journey was made to the bathroom for the usual order of service after a heavy night out. Ten minutes later that was topped off with a weak fire technique to dispel the smell, Naruto was washing his mouth out in the sink when a moan of hell from the room made the blond wince in sympathy. Not a moment later the door was kicked open as a streak of pink rushed to the toilet and an almighty heave made Naruto's stomach turn.
"Ohhh… please kill me now great merciful one, for I have sinned."
"Uh…" Not sure how to reply to that, Naruto just backed out and closed the door. Another moan had the blond considering plugging the door to make it sound proof. First things first though and that was clothes.
Stepping over various discarded items, Naruto got to the first half of his pants and fished through the pockets. Grasping the scroll, the scrap pants were thrown over shoulder as a fresh set appeared in his hands. Stepping into one leg, Naruto pulled it up when another moan from the bed made him look over.
One very groggy pink head was up and looking around blearily, smudged makeup and bloodshot eyes making for one messy looking girl. Eventually focusing on the male halfway through putting on his pants, the girl blinked, looked down at her mostly naked self, looked back up and mumbled, "Nice" before dropping her face back into the mattress to pass out again.
Continuing dressing, Naruto found his shirt in the corner and shrugged that on. Hearing another retch from the bathroom and then a weak, "Help?" the teen sighed and crossed his fingers. A fresh clone grimaced at the sound of another heave but dutifully pinched its nose before entering to hold her hair back out of the way. With that sorted, a barefoot, half-drunk teen then staggered out into the hallway and promptly introduced his face to the carpet as he tripped over another fallen body.
"What now."
Looking down, a rusty head under his foot solved that mystery with a mighty snore. The instigator of this entire mess had seemingly not even made it into the room. Either that or had been kicked out at some point. Leaving him where he lay, Naruto wandered to a staircase and stomped down it. Reaching the ground floor, an inn servant greeted him with a smile far too sweet for that early in the morning. "Ah, you are awake! I do hope you slept well."
"Eh, wasn't too bad." The grunt of a reply didn't dim the smile in the slightest.
"Very good. Well then, since you are a guest of the triplets you are welcome to a complimentary breakfast if you desired? Though if you're not feeling up to it this morning I can completely understand."
An eye cracked open to look over the man. He was way too happy. Naruto's stomach though was in fine condition for breakfast and after that mass evacuation earlier his bowls were ready. "Nope, bring me whatever you guys do for breakfast, but triple."
Bowing slightly, the man backed away, that irritating smile still holding strong. "Right away sir! The tables are just around that corner to your left so please pick any you desire and I will be back in five… no, please allow ten minutes for the volume ordered."
"Mmph. Thanks." Ignoring the abnormally happy man stride away, Naruto followed the instructions and plopped himself down at a long bench table. Resting his back, the blond must have dozed off since a moment later a finger tapped his shoulder and a waft of eggs, toast and other fine things made him crack a smile.
"I hope everything is to your liking. If you need anything at all do just ring this bell." Following the finger, Naruto nodded as he saw the brass bell. "Now if there is anything else…?"
Naruto shook his head. "This is fine thanks. When it's running low though more would be great."
Nodding cheerfully as Naruto clapped his hands together in thanks, the waiter backed off as he tucked in. A cautious eye trailed the man though as Naruto tried to see if there was anything funny with the food he ate. Not that poison would actually do anything to him but Naruto just wasn't sure about that guy. He seemed too exaggerated.
Halfway through the meal the first of his surprise room mates staggered down into the dining hall. Squinty eyes spotted the blond and with an elastic flop only managed through the lack of muscle control achieved by excessive drinking, the pink haired girl oozed into the chair and dumped her head onto the table with a thump.
Swallowing, Naruto grunted a good morning to her as the next fork full zoomed in.
A pitiful moan from the girl made the teen chuckle as her head lolled to the side. "How are you functioning after last night? I swear that man with you made you drink twice as much as all of us!"
Burping quietly, the cheeky blond shrugged and grinned at his hapless partner. "Just got a good metabolism. Pretty lucky."
Tears began running down the girl's cheeks as her head gave a mighty throb. "Please share some of that with me, just even for a few minutes? I swear I'm dying here! I've never felt so sick in my life!"
A thump and moan from the next girl to arrive duplicated her sister as she hiccupped and wept. "Why am I not dead yet? What did I do to deserve this level of pain?"
Naruto pondered them with a fork sticking out of his lips. Swallowing, he pointed the utensil at them. "So who's who again?"
The one on the left muttered, "Kelly" while the other moaned, "Sally."
"Right." Gasping the afore mentioned bell, Naruto summoned his eccentric waiter with a crisp chime and pointed at the incapacitated girls. "Got any miracle cure?"
Chuckling to himself, the man nodded. "For their hangover or chronic bed hair?" He muffled a laugh at his own joke, oblivious to the flat look Naruto gave him. "Yes, we have something perfect for this. Though I'm surprised you don't need it too."
Dashing away, the third girl and Gildarts finally staggered in. Shelly slumped onto her sisters and mewed weakly while the tall male found a pot plant and emptied his guts into it. For all that though when he was done he was looking perfectly ok. Dropping down with the group, he grinned widely and slapped Naruto on the back. "Well I'll be damned my boy. Triplets! Who knew!"
Snorting, Naruto shook his head. "I dunno what you're thinking but all we did was sleep."
"Oh." Though slightly deflated, the rusty man still grinned widely in pride. "Still! What an achievement." He then left briefly to unleash a pungent burp. Wiping his mouth as he sat back down, he grabbed all the glasses off the surprised waiter's plate and sank whatever it was straight down.
"S-Sir! This was for the ladies suffering a hangover!"
Ignoring the flustered man, Gildarts slapped the mugs down and shooed him away. "Best get another one for them then because I'm just as drunk as them and needed that."
Unable to reply, the man blinked several times before leaving as commanded.
Relative silence then settled over the table, only the occasional slurp from Naruto, moan from the girls or burp from Gildarts breaking the quiet. That pretty much set the standard for the rest of the meal too with neither Gildarts nor the girls wanting any food, them content to just endure the nausea.
Finally finishing up, Naruto patted his stomach and sighed contentedly. Whatever the concoction was that was fed to the girls must have worked since they were looking a bit more human and actually holding their heads up. Gildarts meanwhile pushed himself to his feet and nibbled a strand of hair from his beard. "Well, I'm about ready to get started back to Fairy Tail, what do you say?"
"So that's what we're doing then huh?" As he patted Naruto on the back, the blond looked over at the girls. "What are you three doing then? Coming back?"
Sally slowly shook her head as she massaged her temples. "Sadly… we have to stay here for a bit longer. Our contract with 8Island ends in a week and could be extended." She sighed and a sob broke through. "I have to start work in two hours too. Oh I am so not looking forward to this."
"Well, that'll teach you for drinking so much next time!"
"It's all your fault we're hungover in the first place!" The chorus of pained cries did nothing to wipe the cheery grin off Gildarts face as he rubbed his tummy. "Thanks too for letting us crash in your room. Saved us from sleeping on the streets."
Shelly glared up at him dangerously as her sisters returned their heads to the table. "We were bringing Naruto home, you just happened to follow. If we hadn't we'd probably be still out there being dragged around after you."
"Hmm, that explains why I woke up outside."
"No, you passed out there. Though yes, you would have been kicked out, you were way too rowdy."
"No harm done then!" Striding around and slapping the girl's shoulder, she cried out in pain as the oblivious man trundled off to get his things. "I'll meet you at the train station about midday Naruto. Don't get lost!"
Not bothering to reply, the blond turned back to the triplets and shrugged. "Ignore him, he's been away on a mission for three years. Socially awkward."
They each let out a groan and sighed. "Whatever, he's gone, we're happy."
"Yeah, I mean, we half slept with you so that's a pretty good night by our books."
"Just a shame we all passed out before anything else could be done."
The blond looked at them quietly as he processed the statements. "…At the same time?"
They all made a funny face and the middle one, Sally, quickly answered, "Yuck, no, those are my sisters you're talking about. We might be triplets but we're not that close."
Kelly's mouth filled with bile at the thought (plus hangover) and she dashed off to the toilet. Shelly meanwhile nodded in hearty agreement and chipped in, "I have no idea what you were thinking but ew. Besides, you can do that Thought Projection trick, we'd all be happy with one each."
"Ah." They caught him out there. Maybe he could leave them something? It wasn't like he was actively trying to avoid them either, he was just busy. Hearing a shuffle from behind him, Naruto looked over to see Kelly returning, her long hair looking limp and thin and her green eyes pinched and lined. The blond seriously wondered if they were ok to work. "Come on, let's get you three back to bed. Get some more sleep before work."
XxXxXxX
The group arrived over an hour late to 8Island, but all it took was one look from Yajima to swing the girls around and send them straight back home. There was no way he was risking a nasty morning after surprise in his lovely restaurant.
Tucking the sickly girls in again, Naruto stood up and stretched. "Well, I gotta be heading off. I have to report back to the Old Man."
A hand reached out from under the covers and weakly grasped his own. "Do you really have to be going?"
"Yeah, can't leave Gildarts waiting." His gaze softened though as the three whimpered sickly. Taking his hand back, he crossed his fingers and a puff of smoke briefly obscured the room. Once clear, each girl let out a happy little cry when they saw three teens all moving around to sit with each of them. "That should help. They'll stay until you feel better. Ok?"
"Yes, thank you! Thank you so much!"
Each clone was then dragged onto each bed and their lap put to good use as a pillow. Chuckling, the blond flicked the light off and closed the door. Looking up at the clock on the wall, his eyes then widened as he realised the time. Forgoing the stairs, Naruto jumped the railing and landed with a thump. The last person he wanted to see though was standing before him, hands clasped in joy and his smile as wide as ever. "I know you're in a hurry to leave but can I please just ask one more thing of you?"
"Argh, so long as it's quick."
The waiter beamed at him before quickly pulling out an edition of the Sorcerer magazine. "Can I please get your signature? I apologise for not asking sooner but I know you've been busy."
Blinking in surprise, Naruto nodded. He hadn't really been expecting the reason for the man's overly accommodating attitude was because he was a fan. "Uh, sure I can do that. Who do I make it out to?"
"Richard, at your service!"
Quickly scratching down his signature and a small note, Naruto passed the book back. The excited squeal from Richard made the blond wince slightly as he gave him a wave. "Well, best be off then. Maybe see you around!"
Dashing out the door, an excited voice followed him exclaiming, "I'd have never expected I'd get the opportunity to serve the Orange Rocket of all people!"
There was a solid thump and curse from Naruto as he tripped over his feet in disgust.
XxXxXxX
The two men sat quietly in the train, trying to be as small and unnoticeable as possible. The reason for this was a long line of destruction caused by Gildarts on the way to the station, the careless man consistently forgetting his power and walking through pretty much anything that got in his way. He even had to reconstruct a few people that unintentionally stepped in front of him. He was given a very wide berth after that.
The law enforcement were quick to jump on him though and arrest him angrily. Eventually they let him go though because every time they put bindings on his wrist he'd snap them within a minute or two. There was a harsh warning on him with scouts to watch him leave and a letter sent back to his guild invoicing them for all the damage.
Finally reaching the train, they sat down and tried their best not to make eye contact with anyone. Finally Naruto broke the silence and muttered, "I take it this happens a lot?"
The rusty man nodded and dipped his head slightly. "Yeah. Normally it's not an issue because Fairy Tail had an account set up for this. I'm not sure how much is left in it though after 3 years of me being away." He dipped his head into his hands. "I don't have enough funds to cover that if the Master decides I should pay for it as punishment!"
Naruto blinked. The Master would make him do something like that? The Master could make him do something like that? Swallowing, Naruto wondered just how powerful that old midget really was.
"Ah well! It'll sort itself out, not worth worrying myself over." Easily pulling himself from the depressive state, Gildarts leant back and sighed. "I wonder what the guild is like now. I bet there are tons of new people to meet too. What's it like?"
Naruto opened his mouth but a hand quickly clamped it shut. "No wait don't tell me! It should be a surprise. Hmmm, I'm so excited! Hey, are there any new babes there?"
Naruto angrily muffled something under the hand as he tried to wrench it away. "Ahhh I bet there are some absolute stunners hanging around now. Big tits, tight body's, that's the Fairy Law, if you catch my drift."
A wink and elbow to the ribs didn't really amuse the blond who was still trying to release himself from the tight hold on his face as Gildarts laughed loudly. Finally having enough, he charged his forearm with chakra and chopped down on the hand holding him. It broke the grip but didn't seem to hurt the older man who continued to guffaw openly. Growling, Naruto swung a kick into Gildarts shins. That got a reaction.
"Ouch! Mind those toes of yours, they're hard!"
"Yeah well so are your fingers! Be careful dattebayo!"
"What the hell does that mean?" Pain forgotten, Gildarts cocked his head at Naruto's odd speech quirk.
"Oh… um, it's just something in a different language." The boy looked away evasively, unsure of how to properly explain his trademark oddity.
That was the wrong thing to say though as Gildarts eyes lit up and he leant in. "Oh wow, really? What language is it? I've never heard anything like it before!"
"Uh, well it's not from around here. Not anywhere within a good thousand kilometres."
"I'd say, what do you call it?"
Raising an eyebrow, Naruto pondered the question. Come to think of it, there wasn't really a name to it! "Well, I can't tell you since everyone where I come from just speaks it. Huh."
Grinning widely, Gildarts slapped his knee. "Well tell me more about your hometown! I bet it's super different to what we have here in the way of culture and stuff."
'You have no idea.' Chuckling awkwardly, the blond tried to wave the question away. "Oh, I could but it's a long story."
Gildarts checked his non-existent watch and shrugged. "We still have a few hours on this ride, what better time than now?"
A faint frown tugged at Naruto's features. He didn't really feel like telling someone he only met a few days ago more about everything that had happened. Gildarts was a Fairy Tail member though so someone would probably tell him about it and he'd rather it come from the horse's mouth than a second hand story. He shuddered at the thought of what sort of story Natsu could concoct. Sighing, the blond nodded and leaned back into his seat. He didn't have to tell the older male everything just yet but he may as well fill him in. "Fine, settle yourself down then, this will take a while."
XxXxXxX
"So you're the most powerful Genin who's ever been produced from your home village? And you single handedly saved the entire world there?"
"Yup!"
Gildarts let out a breath of awe at his younger companions exploits in his home world of the Elemental Nations. Sure, Naruto may have exaggerated a little but that's what makes a good story better, right? The pair were currently walking through the trees on the outskirts of the town on Gildarts request once he realised the story wouldn't be finished before they arrived home. The air was fresh and the trees alive with bird song so it was a rather pleasant way to end the journey.
A hand thumped down on the top of his blond head and roughly tussled the locks as Gildarts openly. "Well I'll be! Who would ever expect such an outlandish story! You could be the strongest person in the whole guild if that's the case. Ah Fairy Tail, you only ever draw the finest of mages!"
"Ninja." Naruto corrected.
"Right, ninja." Nodding in confirmation, Gildarts then lifted his head as a soft chime started in the distance.
Hearing it too, Naruto cocked his ear and placed a hand around it. "What is that? Bells?"
The taller man grinned and hoisted his bags position over his shoulder. "Yeah, that's Magnolia. I only ever hear those bells as I'm coming home. It's pretty nostalgic to be honest."
"Only when you're coming home?"
The mage shrugged. "Yeah, can't work out for the life of me why though. Maybe they just do it because I'm always away so long so they like to welcome me home?"
Eyes twinkling, Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that has to be it! Damn, I'll have to set something up like that for myself when I become Hokage back home."
Gildarts puzzled for a moment before snapping his fingers. "That meant Fire Shadow, right?"
"Sure did and I'll be the next one for sure!" The teens iron will glinted in his eyes, his tight fist raised up to his face. "They won't ever have another one as freaking awesome as me. I swear on it."
XxXxXxX
Striding into the town, Naruto looked around in confusion as he tried to work out what had happened. The usual town of Magnolia had been completely rearranged somehow, everything having been lifted up on these massive stone walls. It almost appeared like they were now walking though a drainage spillway, but how it was built so damn quickly was far beyond the ninja.
The difference though was that instead of just a regular stone floor, it was paved professionally with a prime cut of sandstone; decorative black stones right in the middle of the path every twenty feet or so with a pink arrow elaborately crafted into it pointing directly at the Fairy Tail guild.
Looking about in surprise, Naruto gawked up at Gildarts, unable to work out why the mage was so calm with this. "What is going on? What happened to everything?"
The rusty man just shrugged and scratched his head. "Dunno. It's always like this when I come home. Maybe it's some festival that I don't know about or celebration? This place is always coming up with any reason possible to party."
"Hmmm…" Naruto nodded awkwardly as he thought about the town. They certainly did like to get down but something this immense?
"Meh, whatever, I'm just happy to be home."
Laughing, Gildarts nodded as they reached the impressive entrance to their home guild. "You can say that again!"
Striding in, Naruto was surprised to be facing the entire family, all beaming widely at the man beside him. Unsure as to what was going on, Naruto looked up at his partner. He on the other hand was looking around in confusion, frustration setting in as he tried to recognise the place.
"GILDARTS! FIGHT ME!"
Resisting the urge to slap the boy, Naruto instead dropped his head into his palm. 'There's Natsu.'
A sigh drew Naruto's head up though and Gildarts stomped into the hall. Coming up to Mirajane, the mage cocked an eyebrow. "Hey there little miss, I'm looking for a guild that goes by Fairy Tail… it should be around here somewhere."
Giggling the way she usually did, the white haired girl swept an arm about in a warm gesture. "Gildarts, this is Fairy Tail. You're standing in it. And it's me, Mirajane!"
The mage looked at her blankly as her face sunk in. His eyes widened rapidly though as he recognised her and he let out a surprised shout. "No way! You're that little hellion? Damn, you look nothing like I remember!" His head then whipped around excitedly as he observed the massive stone room. "And you guys rebuilt the whole place? What have you been up to while I've been gone?"
Blinking, Naruto jogged outside and looked up. Yup, the massive sign that clearly read 'Fairy Tail' was still stuck firmly in place. Not sure how Gildarts managed to miss it, the teen jogged back inside to see the auburn haired man catch Natsu mid-flight and launch him into the ceiling with absolutely no effort. "I'll fight you later ok? I'm just tired at the moment."
Despite having just been embedded into solid stone, Natsu grinned widely and let out a relieved sigh. "That's our Guildarts! It's good to have you home!"
Various other cries of welcome began raining down on him and the man started laughing. "Wow, what a reception! There are a lot of new faces here too, I'll have to meet you all later."
Standing off to the side as Gildarts was swamped by everyone, Naruto felt someone wander up beside him and nudge him with their hip. "So what are you doing returning with the strongest member of Fairy Tail huh?"
Naruto blinked before turning to face a softly smiling Erza. "He's the strongest?" Looking back over at Gildarts, he had to admit that he sure hadn't seen anyone tougher than him so far. As for the scarlet's question though, "Ah-ha, that's a bit of a long story probably saved for the Master's ears ya know? Safest thing I can say is that I bumped into him on the way home and we joined forces."
Nodding knowingly, the woman grabbed the blonde's head and smashed it into her breastplate with a solid clang. "It's good to have you home in any case. I'm glad you're not hurt."
Letting go, Naruto recoiled slightly and held his throbbing temple, willing the pain to subside. That wasn't something he was ever going to get used to.
"Master! Long-time no see!"
"Gildarts my boy, how are you? How'd the quest go?"
As the room hushed rapidly to hear his answer, Naruto wondered how they would react to the truth. It was quiet for a few seconds before Gildarts broke out into awkward laughter and messed up his hair. "Ah, no good! I got absolutely destroyed."
A collective gasp of shock and horror whispered through the mages as they struggled to comprehend how the strongest mage in the entire guild had managed to be so convincingly beaten. Murmurs of disbelief washed around as the man in question continued. "Yeah, sorry about that, I wrecked the guild's good name."
Sighing, the Master shook his head. "No, no, it's good that you've returned. If anything you've boosted out name. From what I understand you're the first person ever to actually come back alive from this thing."
A smug grin crept onto the mages face. "Well that's ok then." He then yawned widely and turned. "Well, I think I'm gonna go home. Haven't been there in three years and I'm dog tired. Oi Natsu, come see me a bit later. Got a souvenir for you." Looking over at Naruto, he gave him a wave. "Well my friend, it has been a pleasure meeting you. I'll catch up with you later. Until then!"
The mage then proceeded to walk into a wall. It was the wall however that gave way, the stone structure bowing greatly under the power of the man before it exploded into small cube shaped chunks and was blown away. Suddenly Naruto realised it may have been a different reason than a celebration for that town shift whenever Gildarts returned home.
As relative normality returned to the guild Naruto found himself face to face with a few of the members, their keen eyes all staring at him in question and wonder. "So how did you manage to team up with a guy like him? He's the toughest guy in the whole guild! Probably the world!"
Taking the chance for some well-deserved bragging, Naruto just grinned and shrugged. "Hey, what can I say, they best are drawn to me because I'm simply better. Perfection is a position everyone strives for right?"
A loud snort of disbelief answered that with Wakaba pointing a finger at him. "We highly doubt that. You're good but not Gildarts good."
Naruto wasn't given a chance to reply though as his head was pulled into another hug, this time into something much softer than before. "Welcome home Naruto! I do hope you kept yourself safe!"
The blond peeked open an eye and surveyed the various states of jealousy from the men before him as Mirajane hugged him close. Grinning cruelly, the blond wriggled in closer. "Oh, I got a few cuts and bruises, but nothing that wont heal up in a few days."
This was obviously false since his healing factor was mighty fine, but Mirajane began dotting over him regardless, much to the frustration of Naruto's crowd. Eventually they all began to turn away, knowing they wouldn't get much more information out of him with the resident beauty all over him. Chuckling to himself as they stomped away, his face was captured between a pair of soft hands and his eyes tilted down to look into a cross face. "What are you laughing about? And what did you mean, cuts and bruises? You're perfectly fine!"
Removing the hands from his face, Naruto patted the pouting girl and grinned widely. "Would you believe me if I said I just said it to get a bit of attention?"
Frowning, the girl looked away slightly as the light dusting of a blush crossed her nose. "Well you could have just asked you know…"
"Naruto! Come here my boy!"
Looking over, the old Master of the guild was waving at him, a mug of beer in one hand and another beside him. Ruffling Mira's hair to her disgust, Naruto chuckled and let her go before she could smack him. "Sorry about that, we'll have to catch up later."
Sighing as she futilely tried to fix her hair, the girl shook her head. "You're lucky this time mister. You better make it up to me."
Nodding cheerily, Naruto waved over his shoulder as he wandered over to the old man.
XxXxXxX
A/N – so here I am again after a fairly long wait. As an apology, I give you an extra meaty serving of one of your most favourite stories =D
I haven't really got much in the way of personal updates either, just been busy with life lifing and stuff. I do have a couple of announcements though if you'd care to read.
The first is that myself and Egyption God Phoenix are possibly looking at doing a collaborative NxFT oneshot that could potentially be extremely cool. There's no set date or anything for this coming out but we've had a chat already and fleshed out a few ideas.
Next is a shout out for an extremely talented author who is struggling to gain the reviews they deserve in a tricky category. If any of you know the Light Novel 'Mondaiji-taichi' or, 'Problem Children From Another World', you'd be delighted to know that one author by the name of Starlight AT has written 3 fantastic stories that I strongly recommend reading. They are all related to each other and the first one is called 'A Game of Memory'. Do do her a favour and check them out as they are really quite good.
Finally, I need to announce that I will have a side project starting after this chapter. It is in the Pokemon category and it's a decision I've come to make for an old friend of mine who goes by the pen name Twilight Equinox. I first joined this site back in 2006 (Holy crap, 9 years stuck on here. Damn) and he was one of the first authors I ever read anything from. He had this fantastic story called Hybrids: Outbreak going on that was just absolutely enthralling. He was writing at a fantastic pace right up until the last chapter and then… nothing. Not a word, not a peep, not anything. At the very last chapter of his amazing story he vanished. I have absolutely no idea what happened to him but still to this day I'm extremely sad that he was never given the chance to finish his masterpiece. With that in mind, I've decided to tackle his final chapter and hopefully give it its final send off the way it deserved. So keep an eye out for it in the future because that will be happening at some point.
Anyway, I apologise for the delay once again and I hope you all enjoyed!
Do leave me a note if the chapter moved you to do so.
Thanks,
Lanky Nathan
