Summary: Freedom has a price; he knew that and was ready to give it all for his freedom. What he didn't expect was for the price of his freedom to bite him back in the end.

Pairing: Naruto x Mirajane

Note: This…is a challenge type of fic, I am more accommodated to the FT world and wanted to please the readers that wanted a Mira pairing in my other story. I'm also writing this new story as a way to test myself against my fellow author – namely Grumpywinter. His story will be posted as well today, or tomorrow.

Please take note, this is a different Naruto, he is already 15 when the story starts. He will not be a fire mage but something else (this will be a secret), he will meet the FT gang after the Phantom Lord arc and during the Tower arc. How? You will see. Until then there will be a lot of background and character development for this Naruto. I hope you will enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or Fairy Tail

Demon's Curse – Chapter 1

In a dim lit room stood a young boy, papers and scrolls were littered all around him as he kept on scribbling on his notebook. He stopped for a second as he thought he heard something, he scanned the area around him yet he could see nothing nor sense anyone. Slowly he turned his attention back to the notebook and sneered as he cut-off what he wrote up until now. Lines and lines of seals and notes about each seal.

The boy sighed as he looked around trying to figure out something else, he grabbed a nearby scroll that he 'borrowed' from the higher ups. They wouldn't have let him get his hands on this no matter what, it held secrets that if discovered would either bring peace to a soul or devastation to those around them.

A complicated seal is what people described it, something that only a genius like its inventor could understand and something that only his offspring would be able to crack. Yet his legacy died a long time ago, so people say. The boy learned not to trust them eventually, the world around him was shrouded in lies and mystery. Mystery itself wasn't bad, he enjoyed solving it, but the lies…he despised it.

From birth he had been lied to, with no one to look after him he grew up by himself, taking care of himself and trying to grow as a model citizen. Yet he soon came to understand that those around him would never view him as more than trash or an abomination, he learned that trying to be a simple citizen would not work.

It took a lot of convincing and a lot of pleas to get enrolled in the academy, to become one of the military's backbone in both the economy of the village and its military defense. It disgusted him as he learned the he was supposed to lie his way through with every action he took, with every step he took. Everything about him, about his comrades and about the army in general was a big lie.

They were puppets to those with power, they did as they were told and they lied as they were told. They kept him especially on a short leash, learn only what they give you, ask only what they allow you to ask, never talk unless they say so. The others…they had more freedom, they were different, special in their eyes, unlike him.

Each and every one of them came from families that either had great influence over the higher powers, held the power in their hands themselves or were just better than him. They had training from young age, they had the means to learn faster then him, they knew more then he would ever know.

There was only one person that looked after him, and he died a long time ago. They said in was an assassination, hence why they went to war against two nations. To him, it was just desire for blood to be shed, to him, it seemed like the only thing they wanted was to be on top, to show the world that they are the best. He however didn't care for petty things like that, he wanted to be free and to attain that freedom he needed to get rid of that which gave him infinite power.

After his 'guardians' funeral he learned the truth, what kept him ticking and what made him special. But at the same time, he learned from where all the anger came, why he had no parents and why no one cared for him.

His mentor, his teacher – the one that later on became his squad leader – he was supposed to be his relative, maybe not by blood, but it was stated so. Yet the man turned a blind eye when it came to him, he despised his very existence as if he had taken the most precious thing from him.

The truth was more horrible than that however, the man did not hate him for what he was, he hated his birthmother and in turn hated him, the human being. It brought a small, albeit sad, smile to the boy's face, at least someone hated him for being human. He scowled however, the man was a pitiful excuse for human, taking up space and breathing the air around him, wasting it on nothing.

He did as he was told and kept his mouth shut however, he didn't go against his will or his orders. But there were times when he wanted to do the right thing, to gut him, to feed him to the demons and let his soul be dragged into Oblivion. But…he didn't do that, he wouldn't do that, unlike them he was a human being, he had a heart.

The boy shook his head as he put out the candle and stood in silence. Footsteps echoed outside the room, in the rain.

"Did you hear about B-Company?" the voice asked, the boy didn't bother trying to figure out who it was that asked the question, there were a lot of military personnel in this ravaged city.

The city itself belonged to one of the other great nations, he didn't bother to find out which, he was never told anyway. They only told him to go to a place, kill off all resistance and hold his ground until the rest of the detachment arrived. He shivered as he remembered what they did once they arrived here, he made sure to do as he was told, they told him to keep the civilians alive and not let them leave.

He thought they would spare them, offer them a new home, protection…instead they murdered them. He watched helplessly as they killed off every one of them, as if they were animals. Young, old, it didn't matter, they all had to die…or so they said. They cursed him, they cursed him and called him a demon, a monster, for letting all that happened. He felt sick, he wanted to leave this place, he wanted to be free.

"Yea, I heard their demon massacred the entire company." The other replied, the boy heard them come to a stop right next to the window of the house he was hiding in. He looked at the collar around his neck and snarled, the device told the leader of the company he was part of if he left without telling anyone, if he ran away.

"We should send ours to battle it, maybe they will kill each other off." The first one stated and began laughing, his comrade joined him. The boy grit his teeth as he felt his eyes watering.

"True, but we still have a use for it." He replied as silence soon followed.

The boy stood, waiting for them to leave so he could resume his work. He knew they were outside, he could feel their energy. "Yea, we can kill it in the end, the Hokage has a special jutsu." The boy's head snapped up as his eyes widened in fright.

"Yea, heard it cost him quite a fortune to find that scroll, apparently it was created by the Sage to kill off demons for good." The other one stated cheerfully as the boy shivered and lowered his head.

"You two!" someone shouted as he heard the men outside scramble, probably going into a salute pose.

"Sir!" they shouted as the officer walked towards them, the boy didn't look up, from the voice he knew who it was.

"What are you doing here? Get back to your posts!" he yelled as the men began running away. The boy began to pray, hoping the officer wouldn't look in the window, that he wouldn't try to see if there was anyone in here.

He heard the man approaching and he began to shiver, the officer had enough power to make him feel pain, to make him unable to move for days if possible. The man suddenly stopped, he looked around and then left, the boy sighed in relief, that was too close for his own good.

Carefully, he leaned towards the candle and lit it back up, illuminating the area around him. He looked down on the scrolls once more and continued reading, scribbling and thinking. He had to succeed, he had to get this done today, there was no tomorrow, he would never get another chance like this.

He hated everything about this world, there was nothing here for him. Those that actually loved him are dead, those that said they believed in him that they cared for him left him in the end, betrayed him. This world was forsaken by God, left to handle itself and left to go on without His guidance. There was no reason for him to stay here and suffer at the hands of those men.

Time passed, the night slowly turned into day, the boy was getting more and more nervous. He then felt a tug from his collar, he was being summoned by the commander of the detachment, there was no more time to waste. The jutsu might be incomplete but if he was right then the tribute he would be offering to the Death God should suffice, it should be enough to let him ask the God to be sent in another world, somewhere he could actually live like a normal human being.

The boy looked out the window, he could see the sun raising and he could hear the chatter outside, people were waking up. He stood up in the pentagram and began flashing through handseals, his eyes following the scrolls as they slowly burned with each seal he made. It was a one way trip, it was a way to make sure no one would follow him, that he would be free for good.

As he reached the last seal the door was flung open, the windows shattered and ninja's appeared in the room, circling the boy. "Uzumaki!" the commander yelled in fury. The boy looked up with a glare and whispered one final word before flames consumed.

"Burn in Hell." The ninja's covered their eyes as the flames consumed the blond boy, they jumped back as the circle seemed to spew more and more fire. They ran out as a demonic laughter resonated throughout the house, the laughter echoing throughout the world. A God was pleased with today's sacrifice.

Yet, a demon was not. The mighty demon, sealed within the boy since his birth raged as the hands of Death reached out towards it. It glared towards its host, cursing him, yet the boy was unfazed, he smiled, he laughed and he taunted. Finally he was going to be free, finally his torment would end.

The fox however did not agree with that. "You fool! You believe I will let you win?" it roared as the boy continued laughing and cheering, something he hadn't done since he was a young lad. "I curse you Uzumaki! I curse you!" the demon shouted, he will not be defeated like this, he will make sure that the accursed boy would forever remember him, that he would forever be scarred for what he had done.

"You will regret this even after you die!" it shouted, the boy however looked up at it with a serene smile as his laughter died down.

"No fox…I will not regret this, I will never regret my decision. My father cursed me, I lifted my curse and left for new lands." He said as he looked up towards the hand of the Death God. "I paid the price, ten fold, I deserve happiness."

"You will get nothing!" the demon shouted as its tails lashed out, they ripped through the seal and moved towards the boy whose serene face turned into a look of horror. He tried to turn and run but the tails were faster. They grabbed him and threw him to the ground, he screamed as the fox began laughing for its victory.

"I will make sure…you remember me." It whispered as its power began flowing through its tails. "I will make sure that the people of the world you are going in will hate you!" it roared as the blond screamed in pain.

The boy felt like his flesh was being torn from inside out, he howled as he felt like his head would explode. "I will make you feared!" the fox roared before all its power surged through the boy's body rendering him unconscious.

The fox slowly took its tails away and began laughing, slowly each tail began to vanish and despite the pain it was feeling from death it still laughed, it still grinned. In the end, it had won.

"I curse you boy…" its voice echoed as it vanished from the seal "…I curse you for all eternity."

xXx

The boy grumbled as he felt the familiar smell of antiseptics invade his nostrils. He inwardly groaned and cried thinking his jutsu had failed, slowly however he opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital room, but, he was sure this wasn't one of the make-shift emergency rooms from the battlefield or Konoha's hospital. The machinery here was different, very different. To him it looked much more advanced then what they had back home.

The door suddenly slid open drawing his attention; he tensed as he saw a young woman enter the room. The woman looked at the blond and her face turned into a big smile, something that caught the boy off guard. "You're awake!" he said with glee evident in her voice, like he had been asleep for years. "The doctor was afraid you'd never wake up." She continued as she hurried over to his side and began checking him.

Naruto didn't know what to make of this, everything was beyond what he had expected as a reaction from a nurse. She seemed happy that he was awake, back home they would have wanted him to never wake up, they would have wanted him to sleep for all eternity. "How long…was I gone?" he asked with a ruff voice, the nurse looked towards him and frowned a little.

"You were out cold for about three weeks…" she said as she shook her head and took the clipboard from the bed. "…I have no idea how you survived in that freezing water." She continued making the blond raise an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked as the nurse looked at him and then back at the clipboard. She wrote something on it and then took a seat next to the blond's bed. She looked at him with a small smile as she began to explain.

"The commander of the Royal Guard found you floating in the river next to his home, up in the mountains." She explained, at the word 'commander' the blond held his breath a little, but as he heard the term 'Royal Guard' he pondered, this was a new term to him and he was more than sure no one in the elemental countries ever had something like that. "Something wrong?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

The blond slowly shook his head, his training coming back to him; he didn't need the woman to suspect something. The nurse looked at him for a few more seconds before lifting the clipboard. "I know this is a bit sudden, but I'd like to ask you some questions." She stated as the blond nodded.

"First thing, what is your name?" she inquired as the blond pondered if he should use a fake name or if he should give her his real name. After all, if the jutsu was a success then he was in another world now.

After thinking for a few seconds the blond looked towards her and replied. "Uzumaki Naruto." He stated as the woman smiled and nodded, she began writing down his name on the clipboard.

"Date of birth?" she asked as the blond pondered over the question one more time. Instead of answering the question he decided to find out where he was, to get some idea before giving away a time that would seem too strange.

"Where am I?" he asked slowly, looking out the window.

The nurse frowned a bit as she looked at the window and then back at the boy. "You are in Fiore Naruto-san." She replied. "In the town of Tatcha at the base of Mount Juma."

The blond nodded slowly as he looked back at the nurse, he had never heard of the town, the country or the mountain. "Now, if you could tell me your date of birth…" she said as the blond looked around with the corner of his eyes, trying to find a calendar or something to see the current date. Yet he couldn't see anything, he decided to improvise.

"I … don't know …" he replied, his voice low as he looked down at the sheets. "I only know my birthday is on October 10th." He stated as the woman frowned slightly.

"Alright, lets try this then, how old are you?" she asked as the blond immediately replied, telling her that he was fifteen years old. "Place of birth?" she then asked as the blond stood silent and looked back down at the sheets in deep thought.

The boy sighed as he looked out the window, still in deep thought. The woman shook her head "Oh my…" she said silently "…amnesia." The blond inwardly smirked, maybe the army did thought him something, maybe they weren't that bad – at least when it came to his own survival.

"Relatives?" she asked hoping for something, yet the blond looked down sadly and shook his head.

"Not that I know of…grandfather died a long time ago, never met my mom or dad." He replied as the woman nodded sadly. With a sigh she stood up and looked at him.

"If you need anything push that button there…" she told him pointing towards a strange circle like device in the wall. The blond nodded dumbly as the woman giggled a little, she turned around and walked out of the room, probably to find the doctor.

This gave the blond time to think, it was too soon to decide if he was really in another world, he could have been sent to the other continents, beyond the Veil. But he couldn't know for sure…yet. If he was beyond the Veil he was safe, he was more than sure about that. No one, not even the great Sage could leave the islands, he couldn't traverse the Veil.

But, he felt like he wasn't in his world, not even beyond the Veil, if there was one thing certain that was the fact that the Death God never goes against His word. If you strike a deal with Him and pay accordingly he will keep His end of the bargain. A small smile appeared on his face, it seemed like things were looking up to him now, it seemed like everything was going accordingly to plan.

Carefully, he brought his hands out from under the covers and looked at them, he looked at all the scars he had and frowned a bit. Signs that he wielded a weapon, signs that he did hard labor. While hard labor would prove good in this world to start over, from scratch, if people would know the truth they would ask questions and he didn't know what to tell them, he had no story. Or at least not one that was plausible in his mind.

He was cut out of his musings as the door suddenly slid open, he calmly let his hands drop on the covers and looked at the door. An old man with white coat entered followed by a man in a strange metal armor. The blond knew that the first one was the doctor, the second, he had no idea who he was. He studied the man with great interest, the armor was that of a knight from stories he read when he was little, the design of a wolves head was present on the chest. He was carrying his helmet in his arms.

The blond looked at the man's face, he wasn't old, nor young, a man in his forties if he was right. Brown eyes, black hair and a 5 o'clock shave. There was one distinctive characteristic above the knight and that was the scar over his right eye and the fact that his right eye didn't seem…natural. To the blond it seemed like a fake, he wondered if he could see with that eye.

"Mister Uzumaki…" the doctor started drawing the blond's attention. "My name is Yusuke Abunaga, doctor of St. Klaus Hospital." He stated as the blond listened carefully. "The man next to me is Knight-Commander Ronda, the man that found you." The blond looked towards Ronda who bowed slightly, a sign of respect? Or his way to say hello? That he didn't know.

"It's…nice to meet you." The blond replied as the doctor smiled slightly and walked next to the blond's bed, the knight followed suit stopping at the end of the bed, his eyes constantly locked with the blond's form as if the blond would try anything.

"The nurse gave me the clipboard, she says you might have amnesia…" he stated slowly as if not believing a word. "…tell me, are you a mage?" he asked as the blond looked at him like he was stupid.

"Mage? What is that?" he asked genuinely curious, the man looked up in shock before shaking his head and then looking down at the clipboard again.

"Hmm…yes…" he mumbled to himself yet he did not reply to the question. "What year are we in?" he inquired further as the blond blinked. He didn't give the boy time to reply as he turned back to scribbling on the clipboard and mumbling to himself.

"Well doctor?" the knight asked in a ruff voice as the man scratched his chin mumbling to himself, it reminded the blond of some sort of man doctor, at least the way he was acting did.

"Unfortunately we do not have any equipment here to scan him, nor do we have mages in our staff. So for now I will go with amnesia." The doctor stated stressing the word out as if not believing the blond and thinking that he was bluffing everything.

The knight however didn't seem fazed to the underlined meaning of the word and looked towards the blond with interest. He told the doctor he wished to speak with the boy alone, the doctor left not having a choice in the matter, there was no way he was going to say no to the Knight-Commander.

As the doctor left the room the knight turned his attention back to the blond, he walked closer and took a seat next to the bed. Naruto gulped a little not knowing what the man would do.

"I believe…" he started as he pulled out his sword, this made the blond's eyes narrow, his eyes then widened as he recognized the sword. "…this is yours…" the man finished holding up the dent Katana. The blond fidgeted a little as the knight placed the sword on the ground and turned his attention back to the blond.

"When I found you, you were wearing a slave collar." He stated as the blond looked up in wonder, how did the man know what it was? "Or so we believe…care to clarify?" he inquired as the blond looked away, trying to make it look like he didn't remember or know.

The man sighed as he stood up. "You have two choices, come clean and tell us your story…or we assume you are a dark mage and we lock you up…" he then turned around and began walking towards the door.

Naruto didn't know what to do now, he didn't know what a dark mage was but from the fact that the knight said they would lock him up it could only mean that they were something like bandits or thieves…or worse.

He looked up and just as the knight was about to open the door and leave the boy called out for him. "Wait!" the knight halted, a smile appeared on his lips, he turned around and his smile dropped his face turning into a passive expression once more. "I...yes…that is a slave collar…" he replied with his head downcast, he didn't know what they would do now that he told them that.

It wasn't quite the truth, it wasn't a slave collar, more like an obedience collar, something to make sure that if he ran away they would be able to weaken him and stop him in his tracks before he could get too far away.

"You don't need to worry." The commanders voice was soft, the blond's head snapped up as he looked towards the man "Slavery is banned in Fiore, you will not be sent back to the one that owned you." The man spat out as if it would burn him by just saying that word. "If you can however tell us the name of the one that did this to you…we will make sure he is sent behind bars."

The blond felt his heart skip a beat, he felt his eyes watering because of the sudden information, it made him happy knowing this, for a second he was afraid that he would be held by a leash in this world as well just because he had been held by one in the previous world.

He thanked the commander and at the same time apologized, he couldn't remember the names, he told him that he barely remembered anything from before waking up. It was a lie, but he just couldn't tell the man that he came from another world where he had been used as a tool to fight for someone.

After the blond calmed down the knight resumed his questioning. "I'd like to know how you got ... away, if you remember that." He said as the blond looked at the katana.

"I fought my way out…" he told the man in an emotionless voice "…I killed my way out." He continued. The boy then looked back up at the knight, he didn't seemed fazed by that, like killing was an everyday occurrence in this world – the blond hoped not however.

"I see…you did struck me as a warrior." The man mumbled to himself, something that the blond had heard. "What do you plan on doing after you are discharged from the hospital?" Ronda asked curiously.

Naruto looked at the man in the eyes, then he looked down at his hands and wondered. He didn't know what to do, he had no idea and he didn't plan for something like this. The knight saw the boy's distress and his eyes softened a little, he remembered that the nurse told them he was an orphan with no living relatives alive. He might be an old but he had an idea, if he was really a strong warrior he had a plan.

"How about this…you can live at my place until you figure out what to do…and if you still don't know I could offer you a place in the Royal Guard." The knight said making the blond look up in wonder "We are always looking for new recruits." He said with a small smile as the blond looked down in thought.

"Can I…think about it?" he asked as the knight nodded and stood up.

"You do that…and when you have an answer let me know, I will return in the morning." He said as he walked towards the door. Before he left he heard a barely audible 'thank you', he grinned as he left the room.

xXx

A week had passed before the blond was let to leave. The first thing the blond did when he got out of bed was look at himself in the mirror, at first he screamed when he saw himself alerting the nurse that ran in to check what happened. He excused himself saying that he was startled by something he imagined, the nurse laughed at that and left him alone. The blond was surprised when he saw himself in the mirror, he was still his old self – the blond boy with blue eyes – but there was on thing missing…he had no more whiskers. He pinched himself and rubbed his cheeks, but in the end he was sure he wasn't imagining it…he had no more whiskers.

Over the course of the week he had gotten to know the Knight-Commander better. Ronda lived at the outskirts of a small village, in the mountain. Bandits were a very rare sight there due to the strong presence of the Royal Guard in the nearby castle, just a few kilometers away from Ronda's house. The man lived with his wife and from what he understood they had no offspring. The man dodged questions about that, it made the blond think that something bad had happened if they did have an offspring – he didn't press forward on the subject.

Ronda brought the blond up to date with the new world – the knight believed he was telling an amnesiac something he would know if he remembered. The boy was amazed at what he heard, he began to wonder if his chakra was anything like magic. But when he tried to do simple tricks like Henge or Kawarimi, nothing worked. He could still feel his energy flowing through his body, he could still access it to walk on walls and use it to disrupt machinery, but other than that, he couldn't do anything else.

At first he was worried, though he did not show it. When the knight told him that mages can live on even if they run out of magic he felt jealous. He had limited supplies that needed to be refilled and if he were to exhaust them all he would die. He was completely different, unlike the mages here. But the fact that he could not use any jutsu's now, it opened up new doors for him.

He tried to keep a positive outlook on everything, if he couldn't use chakra to fight anymore then maybe there was no point in fighting. He had a bit of training in the art of smithy, he knew how to forge basic weapons such as daggers, if he could learn more he could start a shop and live a normal life.

But then again, he felt like the normal life wasn't all that grand, he would miss the excitement. When he was young there was excitement in being part of the army – that is when the old man was still alive – so he thought of taking up Ronda's offer. On the last day before leaving he had a light spar with the commander. The man was impressed with the blond's skill – with a wooden stick – and the blond was glad he still knew how to wield a weapon.

Ronda told the blond that he would instruct him at home how to fight like a Royal Guard as his stance was no good when fighting arm to arm with brothers. The blond knew that, his swordsmanship relied on one versus one, or one versus an entire army. He always fought alone in the past, he always looked after his back alone in the past, but now, it was going to change.

The trip to the knight's place was uneventful – at least in some points. The commander had been amused by the blond the whole way, he acted like a small child that was seeing something new for the first time in his life. They stopped numerous times on their way so that the blond could look at things that in his eyes he deemed incredible and exciting.

Ronda was surprised that Naruto had been lured away by simple magic tricks, even though the man performing them was a real mage the tricks usually only appealed to young kids, the boy was a teen already and yet when he laid his eyes on the simple illusion he was drawn in.

Even while walking through the forest the man was forced to walk at a more subdued pace as the blond went on the explore everything he came across. While the boy did stick to the road and didn't venture in the forest he would take his time in looking at everything, amazed by what he was seeing. The knight felt sad for the boy, if life for a slave was this harsh then he dreaded to imagine what would have happened if the blond never had the courage to fight back and remained a slave forever.

By the time they reached Ronda's house it was already dark outside, the village was quiet and apart from two guards that were patrolling on the streets there was no one else outside. When they reached the knights place they were greeted by his wife, a woman in her late thirties with long blond hair and green eyes. She scolded her husband for being late, something that brought a smile to the blond's lips – though he did not know why.

As the two were busy – the wife scolding the husband who was trying to explain why he was late – the blond looked around the place, he could see a river a few feet away. The knight told him he 'fished' the blond out of that river, he chuckled a little at that imagining the knight with a fishing rod, fishing him like he was some sort of fish. He then looked at the house, it was a small house but welcoming, a nice garden in front of it with flowers and a fence. Not far from the house he could see a small stable, most likely where the knight's horse was.

"Naruto…" he heard the knight call out, he turned around and saw the knight with his arm around his wife's waist, she was looking at him with a kind smile. "…I'd like you to meet my wife." He said as he looked towards her, the woman giggled as she gave a small bow.

"Its nice to meet you, my name is Aleandra." She said as the blond blushed from her act, she didn't need to bow before him.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto…" he replied with a small stutter as the woman giggled at his reaction.

"Come on in." she beckoned moving away from her husband and walking towards the house. "I'm sure your famished." She said with a smile as the blond nodded, his stomach growling in agreement.

As he stepped in the house he felt something he had never felt before, warmness and security. The house wasn't anything the blond hadn't seen before – considering how many houses he invaded in the other world – but it felt different than all the other.

As he sat at the table in the kitchen and waited for Aleandra to prepare the food he inspected the world around him taking account of everything that was in the kitchen. He saw photos and paintings on the walls, pots with flowers.

The blond's attention snapped to the table as the woman placed a dish with food in front of him. He looked at the dish and smiled slightly, he thanked her and began eating slowly enjoying the taste and savoring it fully.

"I see you like it." Aleandra said with a smile as Ronda sat down in front of the blond, she moved behind her husband and placed her hands on his shoulder.

The blond nodded happily and thanked her again making the woman giggle. "I prepared a room for you, my husband told me you will be staying with us for quite some time." She said as the blond looked up at her "If there is anything you need feel free to ask, we'll gladly help you." The knight nodded in agreement as the blond smiled widely and nodded vigorously.

"I will!" he exclaimed "Thank you! I promise I'll repay you one day!" he said once more with a big grin making Ronda laugh.

"No Naruto…there is no need for you to repay us…" he said kindly as his wife nodded.

"Yes, no one should live a life of slavery, we're happy to help those in need." She said as the blond looked down with a sad smile, he nodded and proceeded to eat his food in silence, he had no more doubts that he was in a new world now.

After he was done with his food the knight and his wife guided him to his new room. They left him alone so that he could accommodate, the blond was happy with his new life, even if it just started. He crashed on the bed and looked up at the ceiling with a large smile on his face. While the demons last words scared him, he didn't think about them too much now, not anymore.

He was already planning for the next day, making a schedule. The blond was planning to explore the village, to get to know the people, maybe he would live here in the end, settle down here. Naruto blushed slightly, he never thought about this but in this world he would be able to get that special someone, fall in love with a girl that is not a bitch, for one that would not betray him.

The blond smile turned into a sad one for a moment as he thought back, he quickly shook his head dismissing the thoughts. The past was nothing but that and should stay like that, he would never think about it, he learned all he needed from the past, it was time to look towards the future. And he would make sure to do so.

That night, for the first time in many years, he fell asleep with a smile on his face and with hopes for a better tomorrow.

xXx

"Naruto." Ronda called out, the blond looked up at the man, the bread hanging from his mouth. He quickly grabbed it and placed in on the plate in front of him before it fell on the floor from his mouth. "I need to report to the castle, can I ask you for a favor?" he asked as the blond nodded vigorously.

"Anything!" he said with a cheerful smile.

The man smiled back. "Could you help my wife with the shopping today?" he asked as the blond nodded, it wouldn't be a problem to do that.

Ronda bit his farewell to the blond and let the kitchen in search of his wife, the boy looked down at the plate and continued munching on the bread and ham happily. He felt like a little child, he acted like one – he knew that – and he didn't care. For a little while he wanted to have fun, to get back those years he lost.

Once he was done he cleaned the table and walked outside towards the river. He couched down and looked in the river at his reflection; he had to admit that he looked much better without the whiskers. He moved his hand through the cold water and shivered a little, he then smiled and stood up. The boy took a deep breath and looked around, he could see a watermill in the distance, uphill, there were several windmills not far away from it and from what the blond assumed, some grain farms.

"Ah there you are!" he heard Aleandra call out, he turned towards the house and saw her locking it up, she then walked towards him and smiled. "Ready to go?" she asked as the blond nodded and followed her into the village.

The boy looked around as they were greeted by everyone when they stepped in the village, he saw old and young, the old ones sitting under the shade or working on their farms with the adults, while the young were running around and having fun. He blushed a little as he saw a few girls looking at him and winking in his direction, it didn't help that the knight's wife laughed at his reaction.

"You're quite popular…and you only just arrived." She said with a grin as the blond looked away with a blush.

"Not my fault…" he mumbled as the woman giggled.

The two walked through the village buying from the farmers goods, Naruto took care of carrying the bags. Aleandra introduced him to the townsfolk each time they met someone new, he didn't complain, he was happy to meet new people and considering that he would stay here for quite some time it was best to get to know everyone.

After a few hours of walking and shopping from various farmers they stopped at the village square, Aleandra wanted the blond to rest a bit and even though he told her that he could still go on – that he wasn't tired yet – she insisted that they took a break. The blond sat on the bench and looked around as people passed by doing their daily business. He looked up at the sun and covered his eyes slightly, it was hot, but he liked it.

"Don't you want to sit in the shade?" he heard the woman ask, he turned to face her, she was sitting under a trees shade and eating an apple.

The boy shook his head as he looked back up at the sky and leaned on the bench. "I'm used to the heat…it's quite…relaxing once you get used to it." He told her, the woman smiled a bit as she moved her hand through her hair.

"Was it harsh?" she asked making the blond look at her strangely. "I mean…how they treat people…I only read in the papers and I never met one that got to be free." She said in a low voice, the blond sighed and looked at the sky as he replied to her question.

"Do this, do that, sleep little, eat lesser…" he said with a frown on his face. "…there were times I wished I could end my life…" he confessed as the woman looked at him sadly. "…but I didn't, I wanted freedom more than anything and I knew I could attain it if only I tried." He said as he smiled cheerfully and extended his hands to the sky. "And I did it…didn't I?" he asked with a grin as the woman nodded smiling.

"You are pretty brave, to take up arms and fight your way to freedom." She told him as she looked towards the sky as well. "It frightens me a little to be honest."

The boy looked towards her curiously. "I always worry when my husband leaves, I worry that one day he will not return." She said in a low voice as the blond looked away understanding what she meant.

"It scares me sometimes as well…" he confessed. "One wrong step…and it's over…" he sighed as he shook his head and smiled. "…but let's not talk about this, alright?" he asked with a grin, Aleandra looked at him and smiled softly as she nodded.

The woman stood up and arranged her dress before looking at the blond. "Lets go, we still got shopping to do." She said giggling slightly as the blond sighed softly, six hours and she still needed to get more stuff, he smiled however, he enjoyed this, it was different from what he did up until now and it felt much better.

He hoped that his life would only get better from now on.