Landing softly outside the massive building, Naruto looked up into the distance and saw that the blue light seemed to be shrinking gradually. Almost feeling the beast within his stomach raging about in an effort to make him hurry up, Naruto sprinted off towards the light in a large billow of dust.
Dashing through the moonlit landscape, Naruto swerved around large trees and rocks in wide arcs, trying to keep as much forward momentum up as possible. The rolling, silver hills sped past, contrasting eerily with the massive black mountains far beyond that. Blue eyes sparkled as Naruto jumped into a large tree, kicking powerfully off it and sending him sailing high into the air. From his vantage point, Naruto frowned as he saw the distance yet to be covered. With the pace he was currently running compared to how the light was shrinking, it was unlikely he'd make it in time.
Landing, Naruto didn't lose a second of time as he continued his mad dash toward his goal. Jumping a small creek, Naruto looked to the mountain that lay close to where the light shone. It still looked to be several miles away, but that could vary a considerable amount due to the low light.
Reaching the top of another mellow hill, Naruto could see a long stretch of clear ground and had an idea.
Shunshin (Body Flicker) involved the user channelling chakra to the extremities and allowing the body a great deal of speed over a distance equal to the amount of chakra used. Now, Naruto lost more chakra than most people had in the first place when performing a simple Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) so by using that logic, it meant he should be able to jump much further distances than the average Shinobi too.
So forming a half Ram seal, Naruto brought his ocean of chakra forth and unleashed it into his body. The world around him instantly blurred and stretched as the usual tunnel vision began to affect his vision. He strained his eyes to try keep up with everything, but was totally unprepared for the solid connection he made with the stone face as it rushed up to meet him.
Falling backwards from the large hole he made in the solid surface, Naruto wheezed as the air was knocked from him, blood squirting from his nose after being squashed between two very hard surfaces. Dust billowed out from around him, a loud chattering of night animals arising from the dull boom, rather startled by the impact.
Lying dazed on the ground for a moment, Naruto heard the soft screams of the Kyuubi in the back of his mind to get up. Pushing himself up, he cracked his nose back into alignment and looked up. A large hill now stood before him, a whole lot closer than he expected. Looking over his shoulder, he took a guess at how far he had jumped and raised an eyebrow.
He'd seen it but hadn't thought to avoid it as it was close to a kilometer away. Scratching to the top of it, Naruto grinned as he saw he was a great deal closer to the light. Using his newfound knowledge and a little caution in the power of his 'jumps', Naruto used Shunshin (Body Flicker) to make it to the mountains in a matter of minutes.
Landing solidly at the base, Naruto heard the dull cry from the Kyuubi inside him to climb up. Scaling the cliff face easily, Naruto reached the top as the source of the blue light spread its tendrils across his face. Looking out over the valley, Naruto's eyes widened.
The whole area was bathed in the unearthly deep blue, the shadows of trees and rocks dancing around as the light above flickered around wildly. The actual light itself seemed to be coming from a strange opening in the clouds above, a deep black hole creating a whirlpool in the milky blue clouds as they spun lazily around it. Occasional flickers of blue lightning shot out from the center of it, licking the surrounding vapours teasingly. As Naruto turned his gaze down though, he spotted a single man with his arms up stretched towards the sky, several strange looking staves embedded handle first into the ground surrounding him. From the way his hands were shaking, it looked like he was battling against the sky above.
Focusing on this person, Naruto jumped over the cliff edge and began sliding down the outside of it before jumping off and running towards the person.
"OI! You there! Hey, what is that thing?"
The man glanced at Naruto before shifting a hand out in his direction. One of his staves seemed to glow blue around the tip and suddenly Naruto was hit by a massive wave of drowsiness. Staggering, Naruto felt his eyes drooping as he saw the man turn back to look at the sky. Trying to wake his sleepy mind, Naruto frowned. "Genjutsu (Illusionary Techniques)?"
Bringing a lazy hand up in a half Ram seal, Naruto muttered under his breath, "Kai (Release)."
Instantly the spell was broken and Naruto was able to stand. Glaring at the man, Naruto raised a fist menacingly. "Oi, what'd you go and do that for? I just asked you a question!"
The man seemed to gasp and turned to look at him again. Getting a proper look at him now, Naruto raised an eyebrow. The fellow before him was of an average height, but other than that he couldn't tell a single thing about him due to him being so wrapped up in clothing. A massive black cape hung down low over his body, mostly concealing the bandaged torso and massive bulging, black pants quite well. Bandages completely covered both arms and legs, even going all the way down to his feet, a simple pair of sandals being worn under that. A deep green cloth covered his lower face while a deep blue bandana covered his hair. There was even a plate on the front of it like what Naruto had on his forehead, only it had no village markings or otherwise engraved on it.
As Naruto began cautiously approaching him, the man seemed torn between finishing his job and fleeing. He seemed more inclined towards fixing the sky though, so Naruto was able to get within a few feet before stopping.
"So... what is that?"
The man didn't answer, simply forcing his abilities to the limit in an effort to close the sky. Frowning at his lack of answer, Naruto glanced at the hole in the sky again. It was now almost completely gone.
"That thing feels like a dimensional rift. Did you create it?"
That comment finally broke the man's silence as he looked over, concern evident in his soft voice. "Who are you? How did you know that?"
Still wary about the strange man, Naruto offered him a little information. "Uzumaki Naruto. I know what it is because I know what it feels like."
"Uzumaki?"
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, now tell me, did you make that?"
He saw a tiny shake of the head. "No, I am closing it."
Naruto eyed up the sky again. "So, do you know what dimension that is? Or how to generate one?"
He waited a moment, but then grew to realise he was being ignored again. Looking down at the mysterious man, anger began burning behind his eyes. "Oi! It's not nice to ignore someone! A simple yes or no is all I want, dattebayo!"
Again he heard nothing and began bristling. Taking a step forward, Naruto looked to the sky as a deep rumble ran through the clouds. It seemed whatever had happened had stirred up the air currents upon closure and had drawn in rain. Looking back down, Naruto's eyes widened as he realised the weird man had already grabbed his stuff and started running. "OI! Wait up, dattebayo!"
Dashing after his quarry, Naruto frowned as he made ground on him. While not anything near as fast as Naruto, this guy sure had some speed. Flashing in front of him, Naruto skidded to a stop as he cut off the man's escape route. Ignoring the first few cold drops of rain, Naruto glared into the tiny strip where he could see the strange mage's eyes.
"Alright, I won't ask you again. Do you know how to make one of those dimensional things?"
Pulling a staff from behind him, Naruto growled and dropped into a defensive stance. "Oh, is that how you want to play? Fine, I'll beat the answer out of you."
Charging in, Naruto tested the waters first with some simple Taijutsu (Body Techniques), trying to break the man's guard.
His standard right punch was easily deflected by the flat of the staff, the back of the thing spinning around causing Naruto to bring up his left arm to block the blow. Dipping his head, he guided the handle away, allowing himself to lift off the ground and kick out powerfully for his opponent's kidneys. The mage seemed to realise this just in time though as he jumped, avoiding the main impact of the hit, but still getting blown back from the residual force Naruto inflicted.
Rolling back as he landed, the man then took the offensive and charged at Naruto. Thrusting his staff forward, Naruto swayed to the side, catching the wood under his arm and twisted sharply, wrenching it free from his grasp. Releasing it, Naruto let it fly away to imbed tip first into the solid ground, humming slightly before falling mute from the ever increasing rain.
The match had now turned to fists and feet only, with Naruto and the strange mage exchanging blows at a rate Naruto had yet to see in this world. With the light as dim as it was too, Naruto was forced to keep his eyes peeled as sharp, powerful blows rained down on him from all directions. Gently guiding another fist past his face, Naruto retaliated with a sharp blow of his own, only to have it smack into a hurriedly raised forearm. Frowning at the movement, Naruto reasoned that this guy was leagues above Natsu in hand to hand combat techniques. That may have been cause for a good fight, but right now Naruto needed answers.
Stepping it up by moving faster than the man could follow, Naruto caught an incoming right fist within his own left hand. Pulling the hand through, Naruto overextended the punch, bringing up a powerful fist into the bandaged stomach of his opponent. He let out a pained gasp, his legs going limp. Naruto wasn't finished however and twisted, readjusting his grip on the captured limb and swinging the mage up over his shoulder and slamming him hard into the ground behind him. A forced exhale shot from his opponent's mouth as the air was expelled from his lungs leaving him breathless and weak.
Swinging a leg over him, Naruto sat down forcefully on the man's stomach and ripped off his head gear. Under all that clothing, Naruto saw that the man was no older than twenty. Spiky blue hair poked out at unruly angles, looking like it had never been tamed by a brush. Dark brown eyes were clenched up in pain, his right eye having a strange red tattoo above and below it. The bottom half looked much like a deformed candle holder, the top half more like a strange, simply designed vine.
Looking down at him with a hard gaze, Naruto ignored the rain falling around him, focusing on the gasping man beneath him. "Alright. Now, tell me, what's your name and can you create that thing I saw before?"
Wheezing, the man said nothing and looked away. Growling, Naruto bounced down hard on his gut, blowing the little amount of air he had regained straight back out again. "Answer me!"
Coughing painfully, the man finally looked up to him. "W-why do you want to know this?"
Calming a little now that contact had been made, Naruto settled for a frown. "Since you know about other dimensions, I guess you wouldn't be too shocked if I said I was from one."
The man frowned and looked at Naruto's whiskered face. "I don't believe you. I have never seen you in either world before."
Raising an eyebrow, Naruto pondered this. If what this guy said was true, then it meant that whatever dimension that was just closed wasn't his home, Naruto then knew for a fact that this guy had never been to the Elemental Nations before. So it seemed there was a third world floating around out there somewhere. Clearing his thoughts, Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm not from either of these worlds you're talking about. I'm from a completely different one. What I want to know is, are you able to open another portal like this, just to a completely different dimension?"
The man's eyes opened slightly as he heard Naruto's story. "So you aren't from either Earthland or Edolas?"
Naruto frowned. "I don't even know what worlds they are. I'm from a place called the Elemental Nations and I gotta find a way home as soon as I can."
The man's eyes thinned. "You're currently in Earthland. Edolas is the parallel universe that runs beside it."
Naruto shrugged. "Great. Now that I know where I am, I can totally tell my friends back home where I landed. Now, the important part. Can you generate one of those things?"
Looking up at the sky, the mage shook his head. "No, it is generated from the other side by a machine. I can only close them."
Sitting back in frustration, Naruto crossed his arms. "Well that's just perfect. Do you know if it can open up portals to other worlds?"
The man beneath him shrugged. "I don't know."
Sighing, Naruto looked to the sky. "Well, can I somehow get sent... there..."
Dropping off to the side, Naruto was asleep before he hit the ground. Struggling to sit up, the blue haired man grasped his stomach where Naruto had punched him. Wincing, he picked up the staff that was lodged in the ground only a few feet from them. Using it to pull himself up, he looked down at Naruto as he slept peacefully in the mud.
"You might be able to get there, but I cannot let you go. I cannot let them harvest any magical power from here."
Letting the heavy rain wash his clothes somewhat, the man turned and began limping away.
XxXxXxX
Groaning, Naruto began to stir and rolled over. His senses seemed dull and he was vaguely aware of rocks poking into his skin as he moved. The insides of his eyelids grew bright as light touched them, further rousing him. Finally opening them, the first thing Naruto saw was a frog sitting in front of his face. It jumped away as Naruto pulled himself up, cringing as the corks in his muscles that the rocks had produced cried out. Looking around groggily, Naruto inspected the area. It wasn't all that much to look at, a couple of trees dropped around the area with tufts of rough grasses breaking up the rocky ground.
Wondering how he got here, Naruto stood and looked to the sky. The remains of some rain clouds were drifting away, a bright blue sky being left behind. Frowning, Naruto scratched his head. Something was crying out to him in the back of his mind, trying to tell him what had happened, but it was just out of reach.
Casting another look around the area, Naruto saw some dried scuff marks, the holes rounded out by the rain that had seemingly just cleared. This started bringing back memories of a fight with some weird guy...
Looking off to his side, Naruto predicted that there would be a circular hole just beside him and was proven correct. Growling as the memories finally came back, Naruto spun around and kicked at a rock behind him. The object shattered around his foot but he paid it no heed as he berated himself.
'Damnit, I was so close to answers and I go and drop my guard! What am I, an academy student? I could have been killed! Wake up to yourself Naruto!'
Looking at the sun, Naruto guessed it was getting close to noon. The fight had been around about midnight last night so that meant that weird mage had a good twelve hour head start. Cursing, he kicked another rock before calming himself. Getting cranky now wouldn't do any good. Feeling an unwanted tug at his mind though, Naruto groaned. From the way the sentences seemed to be flowing, the beast within seemed to have been shouting for a while now too.
"...pathetic excuse for a lumbering pile of rotting flesh! I mean, how can one being actually be so completely brainless? To be caught off guard like that while winning; I'd slit my own throat afterwards in shame – oh, you can hear me finally you useless meat bag?"
Naruto sighed. "Yes Kyuubi, I can hear you."
The voice of massive fox growled. "Good, let me tell you now then that you have to be the most incompetent creature I have ever had the displeasure of not being able to squash between my toes."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Thanks. I love you too."
The Kyuubi snorted. "Don't try to attach an emotion you creatures created to a being of my status. Now, while you were dreaming of soft toys and cuddles, I tried to think of any other way to get your useless form back home. This rift your fellow meat bag spoke of seems like it's the most promising way of getting us home so you have to find him. Do you think you can manage this or will you just screw it up again?"
Naruto sighed again as the ever flowing barrage of insults continued. "Yes, I've got this. You just keep doing your thing and I'll keep doing mine."
Hearing a satisfied grunt within the regions of his mind, Naruto realised he said something right for a change. "Good. Now go hunt him down and don't talk to me again until you find him. So get moving!"
The Kyuubi then shut off communications with a near audible snap. Sighing, Naruto ran a hand through his hair and had another quick look around, but saw no tracks remaining of the mystery man. The rain hadn't helped preserve any either. Biting his inner lip, Naruto considered his options. Try chase the guy down, go back to Erza, or head back and look for clues at Fairy Tail.
Chasing him down was all but impossible unless he was a specialist scouter, which he wasn't. Erza still had his clone so it looked like he was homeward bound. Checking the sun for directions, Naruto turned and ran for the exit to the valley, cursing one more time as he left.
XxXxXxX
"Naruto? What are you doing outside? I thought you came back with Erza?"
Skidding to a stop outside the gates, Naruto looked over to see Cana relaxing in the sun, barrel of booze ever-present by her side. Shaking his head, Naruto walked over.
"Nah, that was a clone. I had to go check something out. Would you know where old man Makarov is? I gotta ask him a question."
Cana shrugged and lifted her barrel to her lips. "Probably inside sitting on the counter like usual."
Nodding his thanks, Naruto jogged inside, only to be sent flying by an airborne Gray, sans clothes. Smacking into a pillar, they both slid to the ground before Naruto kicked Gray into the roof with a growl. "What the hell are you doing? Watch out for people!"
Hearing an annoying laugh, Naruto looked over to see Natsu pointing at Gray as he hung over a truss. "Ha! That's what you get for trying to badmouth my flames, blue balls!"
Turning to face the teen, Naruto levelled a gaze at him. "Oi, does that mean you threw him at me?"
Looking at Naruto, Natsu grinned. "Yeah, we tag teamed him real good!"
Faster than most people could see, Naruto replaced Natsu's position and Natsu replaced part of the wall's position. Lowering his elbow, Naruto snorted at Natsu's twitching form embedded into the wall. "Next time involve me at the beginning of the fight, not halfway through."
Hearing a squeak of acceptance, Naruto turned and stomped towards the front, ignoring the chuckles from other guild members. Seeing the hideous blue and orange antenna hat, Naruto made his way over. Upon seeing him, the little man raised a hand in greeting. "Yo, Naruto, you decided to come back?"
Slipping into a stool beside the Master, Naruto grumbled to himself before speaking up. "Yeah, I would have been home sooner if I hadn't slept for so long." Rolling a shoulder painfully at the memory of the hard ground, he continued. "I actually want to ask you a question about someone. I fought this guy last night and the bastard put me to sleep with some magic thing. I thought you might know who he was."
Raising an eyebrow, Makarov inclined his head slightly. "Oh really? What did he look like?"
Frowning, Naruto recalled the memory. "Well, when I first saw him, he was completely covered in bandages from his neck to his toes. Big baggy pants, weird head getup, big black cape, a bunch of big staff things. After I ripped that off though, he had this dull blue –"
"That'll be enough Naruto, I know who you're looking for."
Looking up at the old man as he quickly cut him off, Naruto widened his eyes. "Really? Who is he?"
The Master smirked. "That would be Mystogan, a mage of this guild. You missed him by a couple of hours."
Eyes widening further, Naruto stood up and slapped his palms to the desk. "Really? He belongs to Fairy Tail? How much did I miss him by? Where did he go?"
Turning to look at the blond leering over him, Makarov's eyes hardened. "Why should I tell you anything about him?"
Leaning back, Naruto frowned. "While in jail, I sensed a dimensional thing like what I came through. You can even ask Erza, she saw it. This guy – Mystogan – was there, closing it up for some reason. I tried asking him what it was but he wouldn't answer me. He tried running but I caught him. Long story short, we fought, I beat him, he answered one or two questions, then knocked me out with some stupid sleeping thing."
Leaning back in, Naruto looked into the Master's eyes. "I must find him and work out what he's doing. Whatever that was may be my only hope of getting home."
Hearing a laugh above him, Naruto looked up while Makarov let out a sigh. "Another weakling butting around in Mystogan's business? Didn't I already tell the guild to keep their noses away from where it's not wanted?"
A sneering blond man hung over the railings from above, staring down at Naruto. A jagged, lightning bolt like scar ran down over his right eye, splitting his eyebrow in two. A pair of weird plastic ear muffs covered the sides of his head, seemingly stuck on by suction. A single metal spike stuck out from the center of each muff too. A dark overcoat covered his shoulders, trimmed with what looked like feathers of some kind. Beneath that, he wore a dirty green, long sleeved button up top with darker, moss green coloured patches dotting the material.
Taking a step back, Naruto frowned. "Who are you? And why would you care?"
His grin widened as he stared down at the defiant ninja. "Oh–ho, we have ourselves a feisty noob? You picked up an interesting one this time around gramps."
"Gramps?" Looking over at Makarov, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That guy up there is your grandkid?"
Ignoring Naruto, Makarov looked up at the man. "Shut up Laxus. He's not a part of the guild. Not my problem."
Eyes widening, the newly named Laxus turned his attention back to Naruto. "Not even a part of the guild hey? What gives you the right to barge in and ask these questions then?"
Naruto glared up at the obnoxious man. "Why would you care? You're obviously feeling way too good about yourself up there to even come down and ask me face to face."
Flicking an eye to Makarov, Laxus smirked. "Maybe you just don't have the guts to come up?"
Now, this completely chewed at Naruto the wrong way, but the glance the infuriating man shot at his grandfather hadn't eluded him. Neither had Makarov's eye now tracking his movements. Something was obviously wrong about that, and jumping up there could result in a serious fight. So taking a breath, Naruto calmed himself as much as possible and looked away from the man. His indignant snort did wonders for Naruto's peace of mind however and allowed him to get on with asking Makarov his questions.
"So, Makarov, can you tell me where Mystogan has gone? I need to find out if he has a way home for me."
Staring at the boy for a while, the old man seemed to run the request around in his mind. Seeing this, Naruto laid on a little pressure. "If he does, that just means I can go home sooner and that I'm out of your hair faster."
The Master never had a chance to answer though as a loud boom sounded out behind Naruto. Not even giving him the chance to move, a heavy blow caught the back of Naruto's neck and sent him rocketing across the bar, slamming into the wall behind with a massive crash. Laxus stood with his fist outstretched, an angry smile on his face.
"Didn't I tell you not to ask questions? You'd do well not to ignore me next time."
A kunai however found itself against his throat from behind. Looking over at the mess in the wall, Laxus found it to somehow be the remains of a bar stool. Standing up on his tip toes, Naruto spoke into his ear. "I don't care for what you want. Grandkid of Makarov or not, I will beat you down if you try that again."
If anything, the crazy man's grin widened.
"ENOUGH!"
Looking over, the duo saw Makarov glaring at them. "I will not stand for this kind of fighting in my guild."
Snorting, Laxus broke free of Naruto's hold and in a burst of what looked like lightning, shot back up to the balcony above. Ignoring his ability, Naruto twirled the kunai around, slipping it back into its pouch smoothly.
He then had to resist the urge to fidget as Makarov started talking. "Naruto, I do not want to see any more fights of that type here or else I'll be forced to ban you from the guild. However, I have considered your request and it seems like a very possible way for you to get home. Mystogan took a job over at Magic Mountain. Good luck catching him though."
Turning, Naruto nodded his thanks before dashing out of the guild. He didn't even notice the complete absence of noise as he left, the ever rowdy members shocked into a rare silence. Mirajane then poked her head around from behind the corner of the bar, having come back from the little girls room.
Looking at the hole in the wall, then at the silent guild, and then at the clearly agitated guild master, the woman pursed her lips. "Uh, what happened?"
The Master just grumbled something before grabbing his half full cup beside him and downing the entire lot in a single mouthful. He then jumped off the bench top and walked away, muttering something about 'hotheaded youths these today'.
Hearing a thump beside her, the girl looked across and found Gray had dropped to the bench, sporting a nice shiner. "That was Naruto. Him and Laxus had a disagreement."
Mirajane's eyes widened. "Oh no! No one was hurt I hope?"
Gray shrugged. "It didn't look like it, but they moved too fast for us to really make anything out. First Laxus appears out of nowhere and punches Naruto into the wall," he motioned to the destroyed timber, "but then Naruto is standing behind him with a knife to his throat."
Mirajane frowned as she heard this. "So they were serious about it I take it?"
Gray nodded. "Sure looked like it. Naruto might be strong, but I dunno how he'd fair against Laxus. I mean, he is one of the top three strongest in the guild."
Looking around, Mirajane tried to see the blond. "So where is he?"
Gray pointed at the door. "He asked Master a few questions about Mystogan before chasing after him for some reason."
Gasping, Mirajane held her hands to her chest. "But he might miss his daily diary entry if he stays out too long! Oh, I hope he catches him quickly."
Turning to face away from Mira, Gray stifled a snort. "Weak."
XxXxXxX
Running across the roofs, Naruto pushed himself to make up time. The unfortunate encounter with that blond excuse for a static shock had wasted valuable time. He had to catch up to Mystogan and try head him off at Magic Mountain. There was one small problem though.
Slowing to a stop, Naruto brought a hand to his chin. He actually had no idea where this place was. He could turn back and ask for directions but his pride probably couldn't take a blow like that. Running to the edge of the roof, Naruto looked down for any shops that may be able to help. There was a door chime beneath him however and Naruto looked down to see a familiar shock of bright blue. What perfect timing. Jumping down, Naruto smirked as Levy let out a small squeal.
"Levy-chan! How are you? Can I ask you something?"
"Naruto!"
Jumping him before he was ready, Levy gave him a quick hug before standing back. "I'm so happy you're safe! When Erza told me you left her with a clone, I was worried about you."
Laughing awkwardly, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Uh, sorry about that then. I'll make it up to you later. Can I ask you this question now?"
"Oi, who are you?"
Resisting the mounting urge to facepalm, Naruto looked up at the latest interruption.
"Oh, forgive me, this is Naruto! You haven't met yet have you?"
"No, not as of yet, though we have heard a whole lot about him."
Either ignoring the barb or not even realising it, Levy turned back to Naruto and motioned at the two men behind her.
"Naruto! Please meet Jet and Droy. They are my teammates on Shadow Gear!"
The first one, Jet, was a thin, slightly taller than average guy who had the most wonderfully orange hair Naruto had ever seen. There wasn't much to show of it though as most of his head was covered by this massive brown top hat, the unusual headpiece covered with fuzzy beige stripes running its length. A matching brown, elbow length overcoat hung from his shoulders, the trimming of it being the same fuzzy beige material as his hat. Under that was a purple button-up shirt with a high popped collar, the top two buttons being undone to improve his swag, or so Naruto guessed. His pants were these strange bunched up things that kind of blended into these knee high black boots. An odd get up, but overall not too bad to look at.
On Levy's other side stood Droy. He had a build comparable to his friend, his height much the same too. His hair however was a deep black and the back of it was flicked up and over his head, much like the tail of a scorpion. His clothing was much plainer than his teammate's too, simply wearing a long, white sleeved shirt and a set of dark green, checkered pants. The only items of any interest were these two hooped, yellow belts that hung from each shoulder down and around the opposite hip, crossing over his chest.
The main thing Naruto noticed after he had taken in their appearance was the expression on their faces. Their eyes seemed to be glowing red and they had a dark aura surrounding them, their angry gaze being directed right at the blond. Taking a step back, Naruto looked at them in confusion.
"Uh, hey, how are you? What's going on?"
They leaned in slightly over Levy and each placed a hand on her shoulders, the oblivious girl smiling happily as her team mates introduced themselves. "Oh, not much. Our team was just in stocking up after a mission. It was tough, so Levy suggested we treat ourselves to a special something, much like a date you could say. With Levy. Alone."
Naruto switched his gaze back and forth between the two of them as they continued to leer at him. They clearly had a crush on the girl, but for some reason she seemed completely oblivious to it. Snorting, Naruto shook his head. If that was him, he'd never miss something as blatant as that. It seemed the hug she had given him had riled them up, so Naruto thought it best to get past this obstruction and get on with finding Mystogan.
"Uh, that's nice, I wouldn't want to intrude then so I'll make it quick. Levy, do you know where I could find Magic Mountain?"
The girl's eyes widened as both men behind her continued to grumble to themselves. "Why would you want to go there?"
Naruto wondered if he should tell them. Seeing no reason not to, he shrugged. "I was chasing down Mystogan. I think he might have a way to get me home."
Levy's eyes widened and she clasped her hands to her chest. "Really? Oh, that's great! I hope you find something."
Her voice then dropped an octave and Naruto noticed a hint of red grace her cheeks. "Uh, but before you go, you will come back and say goodbye to me - uh - us, yeah?"
Feeling the men behind her lean in annoyingly, Naruto rolled his eyes at them. Placing a hand on her head, he gave her a wide smile. "Of course! So, can you tell me where this place is?"
Nodding from under his hand, Levy stuttered out the directions. "Uh, it's actually an abandoned amusement park, west of Hargeon Town. It was deserted after reports of it being haunted though."
A shiver ran through Naruto's spine when he heard that. "H-haunted, you say?"
Levy nodded. "Yeah, but I think it's just a stupid myth to cover up why they went broke. The town itself is south of here, so head in that direction till you hit it then get directions from there. It'll be easy for you to find. You could even take the train if you wanted."
Naruto nodded. "Maybe on the way back, I gotta get there fast so I'll just run."
Hearing a snort behind Levy, Naruto looked up at Jet. "You? Faster than a train? I'm the only mage in Fairy Tail who's that fast!"
Naruto dropped an eyebrow. "Huh?"
Jet dropped his hand to his hips and began his boasting. "Yeah, you heard right. My magic is all about speed. I can run faster than anyone I have ever met!"
Not quite sure what to make of that, Naruto stared at him for a few moments. "Um, cool? Anyway, I gotta be going. Catch you later Levy!"
Turning, Naruto took off down the street. The speed in which he did it too took the air from Jet's chest as he watched the blond speed away. Droy leaned in after he had disappeared and whispered into his friend's ear, "Dude, he really might be telling the truth."
Frowning, Jet shook his head. "No, he can't be! I'll challenge him to a race when he gets back. That'll set things straight."
"You guys coming or not?"
Turning, the men saw Levy wandering away, waving at them as she walked. Casting one more glance in the direction Naruto disappeared, they ran over to the petite girl.
XxXxXxX
Heading south, Naruto aimed for the train station. 'Mystogan probably caught the train there, so I should be able to make up the lost time on foot. All I gotta do is follow the tracks.'
Seeing the rails, Naruto dashed around the building and then accelerated to full speed. He could make out a faint puff of smoke in the distance and guessed it to be the most recent train to have left the station. So sticking close to the tracks, Naruto dipped his head and pushed.
After about ten minutes, Naruto caught up with the train and drew alongside the first carriage he came to. He looked in through the windows to try spot Mystogan but saw no one. Dashing forward, he checked the next few carriages but still found them absent of the robed man. The shocked look of the passengers somewhat amused him though as they saw him run level with the train. Reaching the last carriage, Naruto noticed a few people had actually moved up from the last few so they could continue to watch him. Doing his best to look around them, Naruto sighed. No Mystogan.
Glancing back into the carriage, Naruto just managed to register a large camera being pointed at his face before a blinding light went off in his eyes. Instantly the world turned to dots and a rock he'd have easily dodged took advantage of his lack of sight and tripped him over. Slamming into the ground, Naruto began flipping, sliding and rolling along the coarse ground as his momentum left him. Finally sliding to a stop, Naruto let out a cry of anger and pain as he looked down at himself.
Blood seeped through his glorious jacket and pants, the tough material shielding him from much of the extra damage but unable to prevent everything. Many small cuts and grazes covered him, but those small things didn't bother him as they were already healing. What bothered him was that his only set of clothes were now completely covered in dust and growing patches of blood. Standing up, he dusted himself down as best he could before sighing and looking at the receding train. This day was just going from bad to worse with every hour that passed. Beginning the chase again, Naruto only hoped that didn't mean the rest of the day was going to become hell.
XxXxXxX
Reaching Hargeon Town well ahead of the train, Naruto ran around to the front of the station and looked around. He was standing amongst a bunch of quaint houses, tightly packed and rather difficult to see through. Looking over, Naruto saw a tall mountain towards the back of the town with what appeared to be a walkway and lookout about halfway up it. Jumping to the roofs, Naruto easily made his way over before running up the rendered side of it and vaulting over the railing. Now with a reasonable view, Naruto took everything in. It appeared to be a large town based around the ocean and business done with it if the large port was anything to go by. Houses ran away from the lookout, reaching right out to meet the water. A tall light house stuck out proudly at point, currently asleep as it waited for dark.
Leaning over the railing, Naruto tried to see if there were any useful shops around. He frowned as the sun reflected off the roofs making it hard to see clearly. Hearing a couple of voices behind him though, Naruto turned to see three mid-teen girls walking his way, chatting merrily about something, music if the occasional humming was any indication. Raising a hand, Naruto ran over to them.
"Uh, hey, excuse me! I was just wondering if any of you girls would know where Magic Mountain is?"
Taking in his dusty and bloodied appearance, the girls took a step back, not quite sure what to make of the dirty blond boy. "Um... no?"
Frowning, Naruto clicked his tongue. "Well, would you know any shops you could point me at that would know?"
Looking at each other nervously, the tallest of the three spoke up. "You might be able to find something out from the magic shop... he knows where most things are in this area. It's in the center of the town."
Smiling, Naruto nodded his thanks. "Oh, that's great! Catch ya later then!"
Turning, he then ran towards the cliff edge and heard a startled scream from behind him as he leapt to the rail. "NO DON'T DO IT!"
Sticking firmly to it, Naruto looked over his shoulder. "Don't what?"
Seeing the girls and a few other onlookers gathering around, Naruto frowned as the tall girl that spoke stretch out her hand to him. "N-no need to jump! Whatever it is, it's not worth it."
"Huh?" Turning, Naruto gave them a confused look. "What do you mean?"
The group gave him an exasperated gaze before one of the three girls spoke up. "Jump to your death of course!"
"Oh!" Looking over his shoulder to the large drop behind him, Naruto laughed. "Nothing to worry about there, that wouldn't kill me. Thanks for the concern though!"
And before any of the gathered crowd could say anything, Naruto tipped over the edge backwards and disappeared from view. The collective cry of disbelief followed him as a staccato of footsteps rushed to the edge as everyone looked over to see the fate of the young man. Their eyes all widened in disbelief though as they saw him charging down the vertical wall before jumping from that to land on a roof and jumping away into town. Sharing a collective look, the group shook their heads in amazement. "I've never seen a mage like that before. He must be from Fairy Tail or some big guild like that."
Finally back on track, Naruto jumped through the town before landing in the grass plains behind the city and taking off at a good pace. The owner of the magic store had been immensely helpful, having even cleaned his clothes with a special spell he had for sale. He gave Naruto an accurate description of where Magic Mountain was and even confirmed that he saw a strange man covered in clothes from head to toe walking through the streets earlier on. His demeanour changed though when Naruto told him he had no money to buy anything with. Naruto quickly found himself outside with a solid push to the back and the door closing behind him with a cheerful tinkle of the bell. He had shrugged, assuming the man must have forgotten to do something important and closed shop early.
Jumping a rock shaped like a set of boobs, Naruto marked off his first check point. Grinning, Naruto picked up his pace. Mystogan was well within his sights now and hopefully, home was too.