Naruto sighed as he looked around at the crestfallen guild members. He was currently sitting at a table near the back of the basement by himself, watching the listless men and women quietly talk amongst themselves. This was easily the quietest he had ever seen the mages of Fairy Tail and he couldn't blame them.
Makarov had turned up not too long after Naruto and Cana had and promptly ordered everyone downstairs. Once there, he had told the outraged mob before him to shut up, sit down and do nothing. His reasoning behind it was that any guild cowardly enough to attack them in the middle of the night wasn't worth their time. So long as everyone was ok, he was fine with that.
Now, Naruto could easily see the old man's point, but it still didn't sit very well with him. The memory of arriving in the dustbowl that was once Konoha was still fresh in his mind, so Naruto knew exactly what everyone was experiencing, only this time around they have been forbidden to fight back. It was immensely frustrating, but the guild would be repaired soon enough and the attack would fade into the past.
Hearing the tell-tale tapping of soft shoes, Naruto looked up at a distressed Mirajane as she approached him. His features softened somewhat and he sent her an encouraging smile as she struggled to meet his gaze. "Hey, what're you doing over here?"
The girl sighed and she tried to smile. It didn't work. "Well... I thought if I just keep myself busy and try keep people's minds off everything, I could help the guild still feel somewhat normal, you know? I saw you over here so I thought I'd just see if you wanted anything."
Naruto didn't really have any need for anything right now, but he saw this as the girls stress outlet. "Uh, yeah I'm actually pretty thirsty. Would you mind getting me a couple of big jugs of water?"
Looking up in mild surprise, Mirajane paused. "You... you really want that much water?"
Nodding, Naruto tapped his pocket. "Yep. I wanna store some for later when I go out training so a few jugs would do well. So, do you want a hand or are you alright?"
Shaking her head, Mirajane tried another smile. "No, I'll be ok. I'll be back shortly."
Smiling sadly as he watched her turn away, Naruto leant back into his chair and looked to the roof. He really didn't want to be stuck in here all day because all the negative emotions in the guild would drive him over the edge and he'd go break something. While taking his anger out on the nearest Phantom Lord Guild segment sounded incredibly tempting, Naruto couldn't justify it beyond revenge, and that was everything Jiraiya-sensei and Nagato had worked towards eliminating. Hearing a chair bumped, Naruto looked down and saw Mirajane expertly traversing the obstacle course of tables and chairs while holding up several litres of water with each arm. Once she made the table, she dropped it all and sighed in relief. "Well, there you are Naruto. Is there anything else you need?"
Shaking his head, Naruto looked up at Mira and gave her a warm smile. "No, that will be all. I'll be heading out now to train anyway. If you need me you know where I'll be."
Doing her best to sound happy, Mirajane nodded. "Ok. Well you have fun and I'll see you this evening yeah?"
Grinning, Naruto reached out and lifted her chin up with one finger so her eyes met his. "You sure will. And don't you worry either; everything will be fine before you know it. I promise!"
Mira then finally smiled a smile that reached her eyes. Not saying anything, she just nodded and turned to grab the empty water jugs. Happy that he had managed to lift the girl's mood for a little while at least, Naruto turned and walked to the stairs.
XxXxXxX
Standing under the midday sun, Naruto fished out his seal and released a little water to drink. He had been sparring with himself for the last few hours in an effort to calm himself down and it had been a little help. He still wanted to destroy something, but it was more directed at inanimate objects now. Sitting down for a short break, Naruto squinted up at the sky and began pondering his situation again. As much as he was trying to avoid it, the blond was becoming rather attached to all his new acquaintances.
They were all such a breath of fresh air from all the fighting and battle worn faces that he was getting used to seeing back home. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying it here, but duty came before pleasure. The lack of options however was quite a hindrance. Mystogan had proven to be a seemingly dead end (Naruto still wanted to chase him down for more information) and his original spawning ground was useless unless he suddenly developed some time/space Ninjutsu that rivalled Kakashi's technique.
Taking another sip from his seal, Naruto suddenly startled as he remembered something. His summons! They had reverse summoned him to Mount Myōboku a couple of times, so maybe his toads could reverse summon him from here! Kicking himself repeatedly for letting this gem of an idea slip his mind until now, he nipped his thumb with his teeth, breaking through enough layers to draw blood. Flicking through a short list of hand seals, Naruto slapped his palm down on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
A circle made up of small squiggles encompassed his hand while several straight lines shot out from the point of contact. A small billow of smoke went up and Naruto cheered in excitement. "YES! Gamakichi, am I glad to see you!"
However, as the smoke cloud cleared, Naruto halted in his celebration as he looked down. Instead of the spunky orange toad with a snazzy blue overcoat, there flapped around a tadpole. Kneeling down, Naruto looked at the tiny thing before it disappeared from a lack of water. Sitting back in confusion, Naruto looked at his hands. He had used the same amount of chakra as usual to summon his little buddy didn't he? Trying again, Naruto called out the technique and was rewarded with the same tadpole. It disappeared faster this time, obviously not having recovered from the last summon.
Crossing his legs under him, Naruto also crossed his arms in thought and frowned. He had only ever made the mistake of summoning a tadpole when he had first learnt the technique, and that was because his chakra had been all out of whack. The weird thing though was this tadpole was teeny-tiny, like not even a quarter the size of Naruto's first ever attempt. It was the size Naruto could have expected an average civilian to have created, had they been able.
Having a quick feel through his own power, he certainly couldn't say it wasn't a mistake of his own. His chakra was still present as always, and his control was good enough that it shouldn't have mucked up now after so many times of having performed the technique. A few other possibilities as to why it couldn't work ran through his head, but none were really concrete. Growling, Naruto pumped more chakra into the technique this time.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
Again, he got a tadpole, though marginally bigger.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
Same result.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
Growling, Naruto looked at his hand in frustration. "Why won't you work?"
Falling onto his back, Naruto looked to the clear sky and growled again. All the hard work he had put into calming himself had all but vanished and now Naruto had the overwhelming need to vent his anger by kicking someone's head in. Sitting up again, Naruto took a deep breath and willed the violent thoughts away.
Trying to focus on something else, Naruto thought back to the massive tornado he had created back when he was helping out the guild with Eisenwald. Bringing a hand up in front of him, he began circulating his chakra around it, idly noting that watching the new technique seemed to calm his nerves. The ball of rotating air then began working its way down his arm as he willed his chakra to push it down, spinning the current around his limb in a protective shroud.
Halting its movement just before the elbow, Naruto lowered his hand to the ground to see what would happen. At first all that happened was the air currents were disrupted and a few sticks and small rocks were thrown around. As he upped the amount of chakra though, the winds began to eat into the ground and pulled lumps of dirt out, absorbing them into the mini tornado in the process. The rapidly spinning twigs and rocks however bit into his skin though, so Naruto had to drop the technique before his arm was shredded.
Staring at the healing cuts thoughtfully, Naruto replayed the technique over in his mind. Keeping it that close to his skin would hurt more than anything, and unless he had the chakra control of a Hyuuga, he wouldn't be able to protect himself. It was looking like it was going to have to be a larger sized technique so he could control it enough so that it didn't cause him harm. Sighing as he dropped the technique, Naruto thought back to the most pressing problem with a clearer mind. Creating new attacks could wait.
Frowning as he considered his summoning problem, Naruto groaned and ruffled his hair. Right now, the blond guessed he'd just get angry if he kept at it. Feeling his stomach growl loudly, Naruto looked down. He'd been just as shocked as everyone else at the attack on the guild and as such, had totally forgotten about eating more. Standing, Naruto dusted himself down and looked back at the guild. It was past lunch time and if he was lucky, Natsu and the rest of the crew might have gotten home in that time. There wasn't much he could do on an empty stomach anyway, so with a jump, Naruto headed back to the guild.
XxXxXxX
Hearing a thump and a frustrated scream from within the guild, Naruto rolled his eyes and smiled. It seemed like Natsu was home. Walking down the stairs, Naruto watched a clearly drunk Makarov dashing for the toilets, hands clamped down over the front of his shorts. Turning to look at where he came from, Naruto spotted the familiar red, pink, black and blond locks of the strongest team in Fairy Tail. Wandering over as Natsu exploded in anger again; Naruto raised a hand in greeting as they noticed him.
"Howdy. Did your mission go alright?"
Frowning, Erza looked over at the other three. "Thankfully it didn't go too badly. They are extremely lucky however that the Master isn't in a state to punish them for this clear violation of the rules. I'd do it myself but he told me not to bother."
Interrupting Erza completely, Natsu bounded over and landed mere inches from Naruto's face, his volume level deafening. "Naruto! Did you see the bastards that did this to our guild? Where are they?"
Not giving Naruto a chance to respond, Erza reached out and grabbed Natsu by the collar and then threw him forcefully into the wall. She looked over at him in annoyance as he slid down the surface. "Honestly Natsu, learn some manners. I was talking first, so wait your turn. Besides, I doubt Naruto saw anything as he was asleep just like everyone else when this happened, correct?"
Turning to look at the blond, she saw him nod. "Yeah, Cana offered me a comfier bed last night so I stayed at hers."
Overhearing the conversation, it was Lucy's turn to butt in, her cheeks flushed as her mind wandered. "C-Cana's? But I though you two had only just met!"
Nodding, Naruto grinned. "Yup. It was super soft so I had a great sleep."
Lucy then kind of drifted away as her face flushed even hotter, the girl mumbling something under her breath as she overheated. Turning his attention back to Erza, Naruto shrugged. "So yeah, I saw as much as everyone else."
She nodded knowingly and looked over to Natsu as he groaned and held his nose. "Ok, I have finished speaking now so if you have anything you want to say to Naruto, you may now."
Pulling himself to his feet, Natsu looked over at Naruto and frowned. "So did you try chase them down or did the Master stop you too?"
Naruto shook his head. "I'm still not a part of the guild, so Makarov really can't tell me not to. However, I didn't chase them for the same reason Makarov didn't."
Natsu gave him a questioning look. "Because it's forbidden by the council?"
Sweat dropping, Naruto shook his head. "Ah, no, it was because no one was hurt."
Frowning, Natsu pouted. "But what about the guild? It's completely destroyed!"
Leaning back on a table behind him, Naruto shook his head. "Here, let me ask you a question. What do you think is Fairy Tail? What makes Fairy Tail, Fairy Tail?"
Pausing at the unexpected question, Natsu thought for a second. "Uh, the guild obviously. This is the guild Fairy Tail."
Naruto leaned in a bit. "So this building is Fairy Tail? Without it, there is nothing left at all?"
Frowning at the curve ball, Natsu considered his next answer. "Well... no, we're all still here."
Leaning back, Naruto smiled. "And that's why I didn't chase them. It's not the building that's Fairy Tail; it's the mages that make it up. This whole place could be destroyed, but if everyone is perfectly ok, Fairy Tail will survive."
Eyes widening at the revelation, Natsu blinked several times. "So that's why Makarov didn't chase them down?"
Naruto shrugged. "I'd say that's a part of it, but that's definitely my reason."
"Ah..."
Now at a bit of a loss for words, Natsu looked over at his companions and frowned. "Do you guys think the same?"
Seeing Erza and Gray nod, he smiled. "Well dur, it's about time you caught on, you wet ember."
Freezing at Gray's taunt, Natsu looked over dangerously. "Care to repeat that you glorified excuse for a puddle?"
The boys were now butting heads and it didn't take long before it all degraded into a brawl and several people were dragged in. Naruto, Erza and Lucy had all taken a step back before the fight started and were watching on as it grew. Leaning into her two powerful friends, Lucy looked at the mass worriedly. "Uh, guys? Did you want to leave before we get sucked into that?"
Naruto shrugged while Erza hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be good to go for a walk. We can stop at a restaurant and get some food if you'd like?"
Naruto's stomach decided to make itself known and let out a mighty roar of neglect. "Yeah, I haven't eaten anything substantial all day. Let's go."
XxXxXxX
Wandering back into the guild an hour later, Naruto, Erza and Lucy looked around the group. It seemed that the fight Gray and Natsu had had managed to restore some form of normality to the guild and light chatter seemed to have filled the empty air. Walking over to the bar, Naruto sat down with a sigh and patted his now full stomach. "Damn that was good. What was it called again?"
Still not quite able to believe how much he had consumed, Lucy sat down carefully beside him. "So, do you mean the name of the restaurant you basically ate out of business, or the actual food?"
Burping happily, Naruto looked over at her. "The actual food."
Placing a finger to her lips, Lucy frowned. "Well, it started off with a roast meal, followed up by a steak and chips, then a flying fish, then a bowl of ice cream, and then I kinda lost count as the meals blurred into one."
Conceding her point, Naruto grinned happily. "Well, it was delicious, all of it. We'll have to go back again."
Looking down at her half empty wallet, a few tears escaped Lucy's eyes. "Next time, I won't help pay for the meal. You can get a job and pay for it all by yourself."
Nodding but not saying anything, Naruto smiled happily. She was just as soft as Iruka-sensei. She'll buy him another meal yet. Hearing a loud clap ring across the room, everyone's heads turned as they saw the Master rise to his feet on top of his table.
"Alright you bratty lot, shut up for one second. I was just discussing matters over with Mirajane and we decided that everyone should stay together for the next couple of nights. Things are still fresh in everyone's minds and as a precaution in case some rogue Phantom Lord member is still around, everyone should stick together, at least for a week."
Hearing a murmur of approval, Makarov folded his hands behind his back. "So everyone, stay together with your team and pick one member who you will stay over with. That is all."
Sitting back down as the group began to whisper amongst themselves, Naruto looked over at Erza and Lucy. Leaning in, Lucy frowned slightly. "So who will you stay with?"
Blinking a few times, Naruto shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't even really have to, since I'm an outsider. Besides, I'm easily strong enough to handle some punk ass wannabe mage who's dumb enough to try his luck with me."
Just then, Lucy and Erza both looked up and Naruto sensed a familiar presence approach him from behind. Turning, Naruto sent Mirajane a smile. "Why hello, it's been a while!"
Rolling her eyes, Mira playfully slapped the back of his head. "Hush up will you? I'm actually coming over to ask if you would be willing to stay with Cana again. She doesn't really have a permanent team, so if you could stick with her for a bit, that would be just great."
Shrugging indifferently, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, why not? It's not like I'll be staying with anyone else."
Hearing a squeak, Mira looked over and saw Lucy blushing up a storm as she looked over at the tall woman currently sinking a barrel of strong liquor. Raising an eyebrow, she nudged Naruto. "What's wrong with Lucy?"
Naruto just grinned. "I think she thinks me and Cana shared a bed last night."
Looking down at Naruto, Mira pursed her lips slightly. "Did you?"
Looking up at the girl, Naruto smirked. "Nah, but it's funny watching her struggle."
"Oh. That could have been kinda hot if you had though."
Snorting as he choked on his own spit, Naruto spun around to glance at the departing bar maid and watched as she sauntered away, a cheeky giggle reaching his ears. Not allowing this to go unpunished, Naruto slipped from his chair and followed her. Tailing her as she wandered from table to table, Naruto eventually got within range and waited. The second he saw her bend down, he jumped and held his top out. "MIRA!"
Hearing her name so close behind her, the startled girl stood up with her head and upper body going straight up the inside of Naruto's jacket. She screamed in surprise and began beating at the fabric as Naruto peeked down his collar. Seeing his target come into view, Naruto flipped his shirt up over her head and snagged the little book on the way up. Dancing back, everyone within view burst out laughing as Mira steadied herself, looking extremely ruffled. Turning, she tried to glare at him, but her usually upright fringe fell into her face and she sneezed as it tickled her dainty nose. Laughing loudly, Naruto breezed in and ruffled her hair some more before running away with the frustrated girl crying out after him.
XxXxXxX
Finding himself sitting out the front of Cana's house, Naruto sighed and looked up at the setting sun. He really was growing fond of everyone here, despite his need to get home. Looking down at the book in his hand, Naruto flipped it open and looked through it. Blank pages stared back up at him and Naruto closed it with a snap. He was about to tuck it away when he thought back to his summoning dilemma. Raising an eyebrow, Naruto looked around. Seeing no one, he slipped the small pen from the spine and opened up to the third page. Hesitating, the pen hovered above the page for a bit before he started writing down his thoughts for the day.
Quickly finishing up, Naruto snapped it shut and tucked it away. What he wasn't expecting was the amused snort just in front of him and he jumped. "Well how about that, you gone and got yourself a diary. How cute!"
Looking up at a smirking Cana, Naruto blushed and crossed his arms. "It's not a diary! Besides, Mirajane is making me do it."
Raising an eyebrow, Cana walked forward. "Oh? Well where's Mirajane to make you write in your not-diary?"
Spluttering, Naruto stood up. "Well, she, she said that I had to or else, dattebayo!"
Looking over her shoulder, Cana let out an amused squeal. "Dattebayo? Now that is just adorable!"
Blushing harder, Naruto stomped his foot. "S-shut up!"
Laughing, Cana opened her door and walked in. "Yeah, yeah. So, you coming in?"
XxXxXxX
That night went fairly smoothly with nothing too unusual happening. They ate, conversed, watched a bit of TV, bid each other good night and went to sleep in their separate beds. Everything went smoothly until the morning, the only hiccup being when Naruto jolted awake after a dream in which he turned into a bug. By that stage though, the sun had already started peeking over the horizon, so Naruto decided that he'd crawl out and get breakfast started.
Staggering into the kitchen, his bleary mind noted that Cana was still in bed. Yawning as he got started, Naruto fished around in the cupboard and fridge for anything that resembled food. Starting up some bacon and eggs, Naruto looked over at Cana's door. She had let him stay here two nights in a row and hadn't asked for a Jewel in return. So cracking another egg into the pan, Naruto got started on her breakfast.
Flipping the bacon, Naruto looked over at the door and raised an eyebrow. He had thought Cana would have arisen by now, after all the noise he made. Shrugging, he flicked off the gas and loaded the meat and eggs onto a plate for each of them. Walking over to her door, he kicked it several times and called out. "Cana? You in there?"
Hearing a rustling of covers, her voice floated back out. "Yeah, still here. You can come in if you want."
Standing back, Naruto lifted his foot and twisted open the handle with his toes. Kicking it open, he wandered in and saw Cana tucked under her covers, lying with her hands crossed behind her head, her masses of long brown hair covering her pillow and quilt. She looked up at him through sleepy eyelashes and smiled as he walked in balancing the two plates. "Breakfast in bed? I was hoping for it but thought it to be just a dream... thanks for making my dream come true beautiful."
She winked at him and blew the blond a kiss. Naruto just smirked and sat down beside her. He placed the plate on her stomach and shrugged. "Well, what am I meant to do? You let me stay here while you pay for the place, so it's the least I can do."
Nodding, the brunette grinned up at him. "Yeah, I'd say so. You can stay here for as long as you want though if this is what I can wake up to every morning."
Snorting, Naruto picked up a piece of his meal and stuffed it into his mouth. They then fell into silence as they ate, each comfortable in the others presence. Finishing up, Cana sighed and stretched her arms above her head. "Well now, thank you very much for that, but I best put some clothes on before we head out."
Looking down at her, Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Wait, you do have underwear on under there, yeah?"
Stretching out her long, unclothed arms, she wriggled her eyebrows. "Does it look like it?"
Naruto shrugged. "I dunno; I don't have x-ray vision, though right now it's sounding like it'd be pretty awesome."
The girl simply sent him a smile and rested her hands on the top of the quilt. Looking at the smooth skin, Naruto let his gaze drift down to the curves hidden beneath the covers. Giving her a once over, he finally nodded to himself. "Yup. X-ray vision right now would be totally amazing."
Laughing, Cana handed him her plate and pushed him off the bed. "Yeah, I know a lot of people in the guild that would love to have that too, both men and women. Now scat, I gotta find my undies."
Pausing to look once more at the teasing brunette, Naruto sighed and walked through the door.
"Close it!"
Pouting, Naruto pulled the door closed with his foot as Cana chuckled from inside her sanctuary.
XxXxXxX
Standing outside as Cana pulled the door closed, Naruto looked around. Seeing less than the usual amount of people, Naruto frowned. 'Not again.'
Seeing his temporary roommate wander down, Naruto called out to her. "Cana, let's hurry. I have a feeling something else happened."
Looking around, Cana frowned. "But why? There are still people around, though not as many as usual I'll admit."
Naruto shook his head. "No, I've learnt to look out for something like this. Something is definitely up. Let's hurry."
XxXxXxX
Reaching the guild, the duo looked around as they tried to spot anything out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed to have changed though, except for a number of quietly spoken people around them, all glancing at the two. Deciding it was time to be straightforward; Naruto walked up to the nearest person and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, what's all the whispering about?"
Instantly finding it awkward to speak, the woman's eyes flicked from Naruto, to Cana and back again. "Well... actually, I'd rather not tell you, just go see for yourself. It's at Southgate Park."
Nodding, Naruto thanked the lady and walked back over to Cana. "How fast are you?"
Stalling at the direct question, Cana raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I ain't bad, but I have nothing on someone like Erza or Jet."
Scooping the surprised girl up into his arms with a squeal, she looked up at him in shock as he stared running. "Hold on tight then, I'll get us there in a minute."
She then squealed again as Naruto leapt to the roof tops.
XxXxXxX
Reaching the park, Naruto dropped a shocked Cana to her feet and marched forward. There was quite a crowd gathered around the base of the massive tree in the middle, shocked and horrified whispers surrounding him as he pushed through. Cana followed closely behind, squinting up at the strange markings on the tree.
Naruto's keen eyesight however picked up on what those 'markings' truly were. His fists clenched in anger as he desperately tried to stop images of his friend's home jumping into his mind. It wouldn't do well to go berzerk here. Reaching the front of the crowd, Naruto stopped beside Erza, Natsu, Lucy and Gray. Cana gasped as she then clearly saw what exactly was up there. "What the... who the hell did this?"
The cause for all the commotion was Levy, Jet and Droy. Or more so, the horrific positions they had been forced into. Each had been essentially crucified to the massive trunk of the tree situated in the middle of the park, several large metal bars bent around their arms, holding them up and fastened to the trunk with thick nails. Each member of Shadow Gear was also bloodied, beaten and half naked. Only a few bare scraps of clothing covered their modesty from the world as they hung there unconscious and broken.
Erza then pointed up at a strange drawing on Levy's bruised stomach. It was a symbol that looked like the bottom two thirds of an eye with two identical eyelashes sticking out from the bottom of it at about a forty-five degree angle. From the very bottom of the curve, right under the single dot in the middle of the semicircle, swirled out an odd tail, rather reminiscent of a pig's tail. "Phantom Lord did this, that's who."
Hearing the crowd parting in quiet murmurs, Naruto looked over to see Makarov walking up towards the tree. The old man took one look up at the bashed bodies of his mages and instantly crushed the staff he was walking with in his hand. "Being reduced to a rundown beer lounge I could deal with... but no parent can remain silent after seeing their children's blood. THIS MEANS WAR."
Turning, the old man looked up at the blond beside him. "Naruto! Get them down for us. We must take them to the hospital."
Nodding quietly in well controlled anger, Naruto closed his eyes and willed three clones into existence. They ran from the clouds, up the face of the tree and all grabbed one of the beaten mages and lifted them up, taking the strain from their airways. They then reached out and effortlessly pulled the iron bars from the tree. Unwinding them from each member's arms, they dropped the iron to the ground and gently cradled each of their precious cargo as they descended.
Reaching the ground, Naruto nodded to them and looked over to the mages with him. "Who can take me to the hospital?"
Hesitantly raising her arm, a grief stricken Lucy looked over through tear filled eyes. "I can..."
Crossing his fingers, Naruto created another clone and it knelt down before Lucy. She sniffed and climbed on before pointing out over the city. "It's that way."
The four Naruto's and their passengers then shot off into the sky as they leapt towards the hospital. Watching them leave, Makarov looked at the mages around him. "Assemble the guild. We march out in thirty minutes."
XxXxXxX
Barely twenty minutes later, Naruto found himself at the back of a massive number of mages from Fairy Tail heading out to do battle. Erza dropped back to walk beside him. Looking over, the blond raised an eyebrow. "You ok?"
Erza nodded. "I am as well as I could be. How about you? You seemed to have a bit of a closer friendship with Levy."
Naruto just blinked. "I see everyone here as my friend, whether I'm a part of the guild or not. When that happens to one of my friends, the person who did it better watch out."
Humming softly, Erza pondered her next question. "So... will you be seeking death for those who did this?"
Naruto shook his head. "No. That wouldn't give them the chance to change their ways. I am not above kicking that error into them in the form of broken bones though."
Happy with the response, Erza's face hardened. "Very well. Just make sure you leave some for me."
Cracking his knuckles, Naruto glared ahead at the town that appeared over the sweeping hill. "Can't promise that sorry."
XxXxXxX
The mages inside of the Phantom Lord guild were all laughing and talking loudly amongst themselves, obviously pleased with the destruction of Fairy Tail's headquarters. The fact that their star member had also roughed up a couple of those flies only added more fuel to their joy. Booze was freely passed around and guild mates swung from one another's arms as they continued the celebration.
Their party however was dramatically interrupted when a dark rumbling echoed from the other side of the guild's entrance. Most only had the chance to look over before an explosion blew the massive wooden doors from their very hinges, the heavy doors being thrown backwards by the power thrown into them from outside. They collected several Phantom Lord guild members as they flew across the room, smashing into the far walls and reducing them to nothing but rubble, leaving the unfortunate mages caught in their path unconsious.
Looking back at the doors, the guild saw a single pink haired mage with the fires of hell burning within his eyes staring down at them all. Standing up from his shoulder charge, he stepped in as the rest of the guild began filing in through the front of the building. Suddenly, a thunderous voice filled the area and all looked over to see Makarov literally bristling with unbridled fury and power. "WE ARE FAIRY TAIL! COME AT US NOW!"
Instantly, the massive room exploded into action as mages began flying at one another, powerful spells being conjured up and thrown across the area with loud booms. However, despite the mayhem there was a single, unimpressive blond kid walking forward from the back of the Fairy Tail group, an eerie calm on his face as he looked over the battlefield. Eyeing up one of the closest men, Naruto raised a hand and pointed at him. "You. Who was it that attacked the mages?"
Snorting, the man leered at him. "You honestly think I'll tell you losers who just dared to blow off our doors?"
Before he could even flinch, Naruto was suddenly in his face, cold blue eyes boring down on him. "Wrong answer."
A thunderous crack sounded out and the man shot backwards like a bullet, slamming through the solid stone walls with a sickening crunch. Looking around, Naruto gazed upon the next closest mage as all those around him looked on in shock. He walked over calmly, seemingly sliding around the various localised fights around him. Upon reaching the woman, Naruto looked into her eyes and repeated his question.
"Who did it?"
Whipping out a hand, Naruto caught the incoming fist and glared at the woman. "Well?"
She sneered up at Naruto and laughed. "That would be our number one mage, Gajeel. Best of luck with beating him, assuming you even find him!"
"Thank you." Gripping the fist tight, Naruto spun and slung the screaming woman across the room. "ERZA!"
Hearing his voice above the noise, the powerful woman saw the Phantom Lord mage flying towards her. Spinning around with a rising back heel, she connected to the hapless woman's face and sent her spinning over to the far wall with a crash. Turning to look back at Naruto, she saw he had disappeared. She didn't have time to wonder where though when several men jumped her with a battle cry. Her eyes flashed and within seconds, all attackers were sent flying backwards, blood shooting out from many deep slices all over their bodies.
XxXxXxX
High above the room, a strange man sat looking down at the chaos with a slightly maniacal glint in his red eyes. Spiky black hair was slicked back over his shoulder blades revealing a wide forehead and hairless brows. In the eyebrow's place however were three small studs that ran down to his sharp nose. Again, three studs lined each side of his nose, another one located just under his bottom lip and then yet another further down in the middle of his chin. A tight, gunmetal gray vest covered his chest, its lack of sleeves revealing a pair of powerful arms that were casually draped over his knees. Four studs lined each forearm, his right one covered in multiple scars from battles past. His hands were covered in fingerless maroon gloves, the backs and bottoms covered with studded metal plates. The bottom of the vest then flared out like the bottom of a trench coat from under his pale belt, revealing from the front a pair of baggy beige, full length pants, tucked into knee high boots. Finishing off the strange attire was an odd wing-like piece, attached to his right shoulder with a massive stud.
Chuckling to himself, he didn't even move when Naruto flickered into view beside him. Casually turning his head, he looked up at the blond. "Well now, I wasn't expecting someone to find me so quickly."
Naruto said nothing and just kept staring at the strange man. Eventually though, Naruto spoke up. "You are Gajeel I assume?"
Grinning, he nodded. "That be I. And who might you be?"
Naruto shook his head. "A nobody. You do realise though, that those people you attacked were friends of mine?"
Standing, the tall man looked down at the blond. "Yeah, 'course I did. That's the only way to get your pathetic guild into action."
Naruto relaxed a bit, readying himself for the attack. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. I have no formal attachment to that guild. At best I am friends with the members."
Throwing his head back in a sharp bark of laughter, Gajeel looked down at him with piercing eyes. "That ain't what I read this morning blondie."
Frowning, Naruto looked up at him sceptically. "Where did you hear that?"
Grinning, Gajeel then exploded forward, fist raised high. "Why don't you just beat the answer out of me?"
Swinging forward, the massive man laughed cruelly as his fist buried itself deeply into the blond's stomach. Naruto's eyes widened in pain and his mouth flew open as droplets of spit shot from his mouth. No droplets landed on Gajeel though as suddenly, the resistance around his fist seemed to explode, leaving him staring at the dissipating cloud in surprise. Behind that however stood Naruto, an angry glint in his eyes. "I thought you'd never ask."
Flashing out in a display of blinding speed, Naruto's foot buried itself deep into the massive man's stomach and blew him backwards. A shockwave exploded out from the point of contact and Naruto watched on impassively as the man blew a huge hole through the stone wall, his body flying away into the distance. Flashing to the hole, Naruto created a clone and jumped into the sky. The clone rolled over onto its back and Naruto placed his feet on the others, and then both kicked off, the clone dispelling under the force while Naruto was sent rocketing after Gajeel.
XxXxXxX
Grunting as he hit the mountain face, Gajeel silently thanked his ability to turn himself to metal as he was buried deep into the ground. That midget packed a solid hit. Digging his way out, the raven haired man shook himself free of dirt and was unsurprised to see the blond standing before him, as calm and collected as ever.
Letting out a laugh, Gajeel pointed at Naruto. "I gotta hand it to you, there ain't been many people who have hit me that hard before."
Naruto just started walking towards his opponent. "I assure you, before the fight finishes, you'll know that there is no one in this world who could match how hard I'll hit you."
Cackling, Gajeel sneered at him and crooked a finger at him. "That's a big call there. Come to papa and show me what you got."
His eyes then widened as Naruto suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Wha-"
Not even given a chance to finish his question, a punch nailed the man in the middle of his back and sent him spiralling away into a large rock. Jumping to his feet, Gajeel's eyes flicked around in hopes that he could spot the illusive blond. "Come out and play like a real man! Stop hiding behind your little puppets!"
Seeing Naruto walk up from behind the rock, the man grinned. "So, you decided to listen aye?"
Naruto said nothing and continued to walk towards him. Gajeel just laughed however and spun around as Naruto flew in from behind. "You think you could get the drop on me twice hey? HA, don't think so!"
Lashing out, Gajeel's arm suddenly turned into a thick metal beam and shot out towards the blond. The iron smacked Naruto solidly in the gut and blew him backwards. The iron man let out a victorious laugh, but it was cut short when that Naruto suddenly exploded. "Yes, I did listen. Best watch where you're looking."
Growling, Gajeel spun around and slammed his metal arm into the ground, rock and dirt exploding out from the point of contact. Naruto's eyes had easily tracked the sweeping movement however, and had sidestepped at the last minute. Sweeping a foot under Gajeel's legs, the man found himself airborne for a split second before Naruto dropped a heavy elbow deep into his gut. Spit and a little bit of blood shot from the man's mouth as the blow ruptured some blood vessels within his stomach. Not a moment later, a loud crunch sounded out as Gajeel found himself buried deep in the ground again. Looking up with rage filled eyes, Gajeel focused on the calm blond above him. "Finished?"
The ground around the iron man exploded as he lashed out with powerful arms, propelling him from his hole and up into the air. "Oh you just done it boy. Iron Dragon's Roar!"
Inhaling an inhuman amount of air, Gajeel brought his fists to his mouth as a bright chrome, magic circle exploded out from around his face. Screaming out in effort, a deep gray tornado suddenly howled out and shot down towards Naruto. Jumping backwards, Naruto noted how the powerful wind obliterated the ground where it made contact, tiny blades of razor-sharp metal within the screaming attack shredding anything they came in contact with.
Frowning as Gajeel directed the attack to follow Naruto, the blond danced sideways as the tornado quickly caught up to him. 'No time!'
Letting out a massive laugh, Gajeel threw his head to the heavens as he watched his attack catch up to and completely strip the boy of his flesh. Falling to the ground, the man walked over to the hole and looked in expectantly. What he saw however was a mass of rubble from a destroyed boulder. Spinning around just in time to catch a fist aimed at his face, Gajeel smirked at the blond. "Got a few tricks up your sleeve, eh? Try this then!"
Clamping his powerful grip down on Naruto's fist, he reared back and readied a punch. "Iron Dragon's Club!"
His arm turned into a pillar again and Gajeel lashed out, sinking the arm deep into Naruto's belly. Not happy with that though, he extended the attack, extending his arm out as he pushed Naruto away from him, slamming him deep into the far side of the mountain. Retracting his arm, the pillar returned to normal and Gajeel flexed his fingers happily. "Well, looks like you can be hit after all. Got anything to show after that?"
He wasn't disappointed when the blond dragged himself from the hole and looked back at him defiantly. Sneering, Gajeel lowered his body into an offensive stance. "Good. I didn't want this to end too soon."
Suddenly though, Naruto looked over towards Phantom Lord. Realising that his opponent must have had exceptional hearing as well, Gajeel looked over and saw the entire guild of Fairy Tail retreating from their assult. Letting out a bark of mocking laughter, Gajeel pointed at the fleeing mages. "HA! You see that? That is your guild being completely decimated by our guild! Awesome, isn't it?"
Frowning as he watched the mages run from a distance, Naruto only half paid attention to the annoying man behind him. Something bad must have happened, so it would be best to finish up here quickly. Turning to level a glare at Gajeel, Naruto flexed his fingers. "Looks like I'll have to end this then."
Generating a clone, Naruto held his hand out as the chakra construct began swiping its hands over it. A bright blue ball quickly came to life in his palm and once it was completed, the clone disappeared. Holding the attack out, Naruto stared at Gajeel. "Here's a little something for you to remember me by. My name is Naruto, and if you ever so much as touch one of my friends again, I will come for you, I will find you and then I will break you."
He then suddenly flashed forward so fast that Gajeel didn't even have time to mock him. "Rasengan (Spiralling Sphere)!"
The blue ball suck deep into the man's stomach and he let out an agonised yell as he was fired backwards into a large boulder. Crunching deep into it, Gajeel's eyes flickered in pain before he passed out. Looking at the man in distaste, Naruto turned his back on him. "Be thankful that attack wasn't full power. Learn from this and don't come near us again."
Running along the cliff face, Naruto then jumped out and fell down towards the members of Fairy Tail.