Just something that has been nagging in the back of my mind ever since I've began reading stories between this two series; which brought some inspiration for the beginning chapters of this story. I must warn you, this story will not be worked as much as my other one, but still, let me know what you guys think.

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Her Pain & Loneliness

"What do you mean Ero-sennin is dead!" demanded a blonde haired teen no older than sixteen wearing an orange jacket with black extending from around the neck and shoulders, down the front and sleeves, the pants matching the orange part of the jacket, a black headband protector wrapped around his head as he slammed his hands onto the table, making the people watching the scene unfold jump from blonde's outburst. His blue eyes glaring angrily at the being in front of him, being a green toad with white hair styled in somewhat of a mohawk, very thick eyebrows and a small goatee, wearing a high-collared cape.

The toad just sighed tiredly as he closed his eyes and lowered his head;

"Naruto-chan . . . I'm afraid that that's not all I've to tell you . . ." spoke the toad as he opened his eyes and looked at whiskered teen in front of him, "Konoha . . . is no more."

A couple of feet from the two, a young red haired girl with brown eyes gasped in horror as she heard what the toad had said. Her heart quenching as she watched the blonde drop to his knees with his hands still holding onto the table while his head dropped between his arms, his shoulders shaking as he tried his best not to cry in front of the entire guild.

Then suddenly, his shoulders stopped shaking and slowly rose his head, his gaze meeting the toads, causing the amphibian to flinch as he saw the blonde's piercing gaze. A feeling of malice and hate coming off of the blonde in waves as his features got wilder;

"Who did it?" questioned/growled the blonde in a cold voice, his eyes full of anger as they turned crimson with a slit iris. But the toad didn't answer right away, causing Naruto's anger to rise even more, "WHO!"

"It was Pain, the God of Akatzuki," answered Pa.

The blonde's grasp on the table became even tighter that the table itself gave away as it shattered in his hands, causing the toad to jump off onto the ground.

"There's more grave news I'm afraid," announced the toad, "The true leader of Akatzuki has revealed himself, claiming himself to be Uchiha Madara, declaring war on the rest of the nations with already having captured seven of the nine tailed beasts!"

Silence ensued within the guild as everyone's eyes were focused on the blonde.

"What will you do now, Naruto?" questioned the master of the guild. His face was stern and he was balding on his head, despite his impressive mustache. His black eyes steeled as he faced another member of their group. He had the cloak of a Guild master over his shoulders and his aura screamed for both respect, and caring.

The blonde began to take deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down, and it seemed to work as the malice feeling began to fade away till it completely disappeared. Once Naruto had regained his composure, the blonde slowly stood up and turned towards the toad. His eyes that once shone with life and brightness were now cold and dead;

"Pa . . . take me back to our world," declared the blonde, shocking everyone, but he ignored them as he continued, "If those bastards want the Nine Tails so bad, I'll bring the battle to them."

"Naruto! Have you gone mad!" shouted Pa, "Jiraiya-chan was hard pressed against Pain, even in sage mode and ended up being killed! I will not break Jiraiya-chan's promise to protect you!"

"And while you and everyone else keeps hiding me, many people are losing their lives to these fuckers!" shouted the blonde back, "I'm sick and fucking tired of everyone treating me as if I'm weak! Tsunade thought it was best for me to hide and look what happened, Konoha is gone and I didn't do a fucking thing to stop it!" calming down once more the blonde stared at the toad elder, "Pa, I know Ero-sennin was going to start my training in senjutsu and if I'm to have a chance of stopping them, I'm going to need all the training I can get."

"We'll go with you and fight alongside you, Naruto!" shouted a teen with pink hair as he pumped his fist into the air with a blue flying taking cat hovering above him;

"AYE!"

"Anyone who messes with a member of our family, messes with the whole guild of Fairy Tail," declared a black haired teen who seem to have a problem keeping his clothes on

"It's the man's job to look out for his comrades!" followed a muscular guy with silver hair spiky hair

Then everyone in the guild shouted their support.

"I'm not bringing any of you guys with me," announced Naruto with seriousness, causing everyone to atop their cheering and look at him in disbelief. Then a girl wearing a black top with a purple mini skirt and similar hair color to the muscular guy marched forward and grabbed the blonde by the neck of his jacket;

"Are you an idiot! You'll be killed! Is that what you're looking for!" shouted the girl, but Naruto kept his gaze;

"This fight is personal Mirajane, I will not involve others in this war," emotionlessly said the blonde, causing the girl to growl in anger and was about to punch him until her master stopped her;

"Stop at once Mirajane!" ordered the master, causing the silver haired girl to look at her master;

"But Master Makarov –"

"Naruto has already made his choice and we must respect it," said the master with authority

Mirajane looked at her master with wide eyes before she shut them, refusing to shed tears in front of everyone as she shoved the blonde back and walked back to her spot, next to her brother's side.

"Are you positive about this Naruto-chan?" asked Pa, hoping that the kid would see reason, but only saw rage and determination.

Nodding his head, the toad silently jumped onto his shoulder and got ready to perform a reverse summon, until a voice stopped them;

"So that's it, you're just going to leave us like that," stated the red-headed girl as she approached the blonde with a face devoid of any emotion, "Did anything we did together mean anything to you!" but Naruto kept his silence and got slapped hard across the face, "Answer me damn it!" by now, tears had begun to fall from her left eye.

Naruto didn't say anything, but suddenly, he quickly enveloped her in a tight hug, causing her tears to shed even more as she hugged him with all her strength.

"I promise to come back, even if I have to crawl out of hell to do so," whispered the blonde into her ear, "Take care Erza-chan."

She let out a gasp before she felt a hit on her neck and everything turned black.

- ) \ / ( -

Erza suddenly woke up with a startle gasp.

Ruffling her sheets, Erza pushed them away slightly as she tried to gain control of her trembling hands. Sitting up straight in her bed, she looked around her darkened room, only to realize how empty it felt. Or rather, how empty she was feeling. Then she looked at her calendar and recognized what day it was;

"It's that time of the year," sighed the red-head depressingly

For the past three years the same thing had occurred around this time, each and every day of the week before, during, and after October 10 she would have that dream. The dream of when HE left everyone, left her, in order to go fight a war and avenge those he cared for. Not realizing that the people he left behind cared for him as well, that she car – longed for him.

Soon, tears began to develop on her left eye, but she quickly wiped them away as she refused to cry for him. Seeing as she wasn't going to get much sleep, she got out of her bed and got dressed. Wearing a white blouse, blue skirt and black boots before she re-quipped her armor. She was about to walk out of her form till she saw a pendant resting on top of her cabinet. A green crystal attached with a black string rested there, a reminder of the promise that it was made to her three years ago. Shaking her head, she went towards her cabinet and grabbed the necklace, carefully putting it on as it rested on top of her armor.

She looked in the mirror for a couple of minutes before she walked out of her dorm.

~ ' ~

For the whole day, Erza had avoided the guild, not wanting to step in and be reminded of that night. Even after three years, the pain it caused never went away. Although she was thankful that her family knew to leave her alone on this day, for she had taken it the hardest, but like her, everyone hated this time of year, for it took away everyone's spirit.

Arriving upon the beach, Erza took off her boots and walked along the sandy road, her sight never leaving the setting sun, reflecting its light over the ocean, mesmerizing her as unconsciously came to a stop. She didn't know how long she had been watching, for she couldn't sense the person approaching her;

"Erza-chan."

The red-head turned around to find her former rival turned best friend. After he left, the two had become close, comforting one another.

"Mirajane, what are you doing here?"

Mirajane had changed over the three years, not just in attire, but in looks as well. Her long, white hair, which gets slightly curly at the ends, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her ample chest, and whose most distinctive trait is a short, upward ponytail obtained by gathering and tying the hair covering her forehead. The attire consisted of a long, sleeveless maroon dress. The chest is adorned by a large, pink bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. The pleated skirt of the dress reaches down to her ankles while wearing high-heeled shoes that match her dress, has a small chain necklace with a blue oval gem attached to it circling her neck, and sports a bracelet made of white flowers circling her right wrist.

Giving her friend a soft smile, she replied;

"Like you, I didn't want to be around the guild today, it just brings a bad memory around this time of year."

Erza didn't say a word as she just turned back to watch the sunset, but if one were to look closely, you could see her shoulders beginning to shake a little.

Concern growing inside her, Mirajane approached her friend and gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder;

"Erza-chan, are you alright?"

Erza just nodded her head without turning around;

"Of course I'm alright! It's not like I care if that bastard left all of us to persue revenge," answered the red head loudly, "He chose to leave us so why should I care of where he is or if he's injured or if he's even still alive! Why should I care if ever comes back! WHY SHOULD I CARE!"

Then slowly, Erza turned towards Mirajane, her left eye was red and puffy from the tears that kept rolling down her cheek. Mirajane wasn't faring well either as her eyes were shedding tears as well and without a word, the silver-haired girl pull Erza in a tight hug, which she gladly returned as she cried her heart out - all the anger, the pain, the loneliness, and the love she felt – letting it all out as she held onto her friend;

"Why Mirajane? Why I can't forget him if he caused me so much pain!" her cries were muffled as she buried her face in Mira's dress. Mira just held her tighter as she cried along her friend;

"It's because you love him Erza," she answered back through her tears, "You still love him."

Unknown to them, Master Makarov watched helplessly as his children cried. He let out a sigh as he looked towards the stars that began to appear above;

"Naruto, my boy, wherever you are, know that everyone here misses you and Erza still loves you with all her heart," said the master as he turned around and headed back towards the guild, leaving the two girls by themselves the sun began to disappear in the horizon.

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Again, this a story that has been bothering for quite some time, and I'm already working on the second chapter, but after that, I have to think on how this story will flow while I continue to work on the chapter for Four Dragons.

Until then. Take care.