Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > River of the Night - Part 1
River of the Night - Part 1 (Chapter 6)
0 reviewsShe found him on the remains of a battlefield. Wrapped in the arms of a red haired woman as she lay on the ground struggling to hold on to the last remains of her life. He looked at her with blue e...
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Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Naruto. If I did I would find some way to get Naruto out of Konoha and into Fairy Tail. As it is I shall make do.
Author's Note: We continue with Naruto's awesome mission to the Bureau of Magical Development. It does link slightly to the canon Fairy Tail plot line, but I might not have got the time or dates perfectly. Sorry about that, but neither the manga nor the anime had been very specific about events pertaining to it. I also decided to go with the way the anime described it rather then the manga because the it's easier to see what's what in the anime.
Next up, quite a few people have commented on how they would like my chapters to be longer. Believe me I tried doing that with my last story and in the end it did more bad then good. I felt to obligated to write too much and it puts to much pressure on me thereby killing ideas and the story. So, in exchange for writing shorter chapters I just update more frequently or at least I'm more capable of it.
It was so hard to write this chapter though not for the reasons you would guess. The big reason being… my headphones broke while I was writing it! I always listen to the Fairy Tail soundtrack when I write this fic to get in the zone. I was mentally destroyed, but I have moved forth and done my best. I just think I irritated the fuck out of everyone in the house when I played my music out loud. Mwahahaha!
Moving on from my self-centred melodramatic speech we arrive at the next chapter!
'Fishing' - Normal
'Fishing' - Spells
'Fishing' - Thoughts, Flashbacks and Dreams (Use logic to differentiate!)
Chapter 6:
Everything about the night should have added up to it being a good night. After all the sun had set long ago, there wasn't a cloud in the sky leaving the full moon on clear display and the air was nice and cool just the way he liked it. Yes, all and all it should have added up to a good night. There was just one little thing preventing it from being so and that was the fact that he was running through the middle of the desert. Well, it wasn't so much a desert as it was a dry, rocky, sandy place. Still the similarities were close enough for the same problems to arise.
Even then, it wasn't so much that he was running in the middle of a desert that was the problem. No, he quite enjoyed running. Especially when he cast a light Tsuki no taijū to lighten the gravity enough so that if he changed his stride to push forward more then up and the gravity wasn't lightened too much where he'd end up flying into the sky or just plan floating off the ground. No, he quite liked that. In fact he didn't mind the desert so much either, it wasn't too bad.
What he really hated about it, what really ruined his night was the sand. It could mean he'd hate the desert, but he didn't, it was quite beautiful. He just hated the sand in the desert.
He was beginning to despise it's very existence.
Since he'd entered the desert like place it had gotten everywhere. In his clothes, in his hair, in his eyes, in his mouth and much to his irritation underneath his fingernails which was far more irritating then it sounded. It buffeted against him with the wind, stinging his skin like a consent itch that made him wish he knew fire magic so he could burn all the sand in the desert till it turned to glass.
He was determined to avoid all future missions that might lead to his return to the godforsaken place. In fact if this mission wasn't so important and classified he might have turned back, given the request back to the client, told him he failed and be on his merry way home. Yes it sounded like an absolutely brilliant plan but, he highly doubted the Council would appreciate it.
Even so, the Council's odd request was enough to keep him interested despite his newfound hatred.
Apparently contact over the last two years between the Magic Council and the Bureau of Magical Development had been spotty. Reports hadn't reached them or had been very vague in what they were requesting. Then reports had gradually decreased in frequency until they'd stopped coming all together. However, due to the infrequency of the reports it had taken them about four months to realise another report wasn't coming.
That had been about a year ago.
He wasn't entirely sure why they'd taken so long to contact someone - or even just themselves - and gone to check what was wrong. Maybe they were afraid of someone who had been there or something like that. Maybe they were scared of the place period. Which would really suck for him then. If the Council is scared of someone or something then there's generally a good reason why. If they were afraid of going there in case they lost their lives then they probably felt the same way about the Rune Knights in their service. He suspected he was correct, which meant that the only reason they'd hired him was because they had no problem with another mage losing their life.
But, he was going to do it anyway. He was never one to listen to naysayers and such things. Margidda had once told him he couldn't smash a rock using only his head. He might have walked away with his head swollen to twice the size, but he'd done it eventually. So, he wasn't about to let their fear affect his ability to do the mission. After all it was ranked A-class, not S-class. If it was ranked S-class he would have rethought his course of action. It was also classified as investigation not as an all out war against the place. That made him feel at least a little better about it.
They wanted him to investigate the reason the place had halted their communication. They suspected it had either been commandeered by someone outside the law or had been destroyed in the same manner.
He hoped it was the later.
Whilst he certainly enjoyed a good fight he wasn't exactly looking for a bunch of criminals to destroy him. They'd probably be very powerful too. The Council had given him notes about the man who'd been or possibly was still in charge of the place. If the place had been commandeered by criminals then that meant that he'd been defeated. That would mean the person who'd defeated him was S-class mage powerful. If he had full control over the dragon force then he wouldn't worry, but that was unfortunately just out of reach. Without it his power was only near S-class, but not quite there. Especially with his take-over magic issues.
Noticing an odd shape in the distance he pushed such wonderings from his mind to try and get a better look at it. From what he could estimate given his directions and location it was probably the place that he was looking for. Not that he could see much from this distance. Even if being a dragon slayer increased his senses his eyesight still wasn't enough to get a good look.
Feeling slightly irritated by his inability to see it he dared to speed up ever so slightly. Careful to adjust his stride so as to not send himself tripping face first into the dirt. And with the speed he was going at it would be a face grinding painful trip indeed.
With his increased speed he was soon close enough to get a better look at it, his eyes widening slightly at the odd shape. It was definitely tall, that much was clear. Most of the building seemed to be glowing a bright white colour under the moon, though he could see hints of twisting red pipes that seemed to stand out from the building. What was really something to marvel at though was the odd shape of the building - the almost shell like structure on the left hand side curving up into a quarter moon shape or at least that was the shape it had taken previously it looked misshapen now. That in itself made him want to like the place, but there was a sinister feel about the building that prevented any feeling of fondness or familiarity.
Instead he felt a shiver crawl up his spine and his steps slowing down the closer he got. The magic felt so cold and empty. It wasn't dark for he'd always claimed a closeness to darkness, it was just such… if he'd had to put it into words he'd say that the magic felt angry. Like an icy cold rage that crawled under your skin. Thousands of little bugs that scratched and bit at your very insides. He'd never known magic could feel like that. He'd obviously been taught about it, but to feel it was another thing. What made it worse was his increased sensitivity to not only other mage's magic, but to the actual Eternano in the environment. While usually a useful ability, it now set his teeth on edge and had his magic swirling inside him. Instinctively it wanted to react to the threat the magic presented.
Dragon Slayer magic by nature felt wilder then most and as he'd just learned it acted wilder too. Even so, he could feel his Take-Over magic acting up too, though he supposed given it's nature it was in itself was also quite wild magic. Now, he was paying the price on both fronts.
The magic felt as if it had been violated. Bent against its nature.
He nearly threw up at the feeling.
Desperately swallowing back the bile that had risen in his throat he pushed the feeling aside. Now wasn't the time to get into a hurling fit until he was lying in a pile of his own vomit. One because he had a mission to do and two because he had no way to clean himself afterwards.
Up close now he noticed several things he hadn't recognised from afar. Like the fact that it looked like the building had been snapped almost in half which explained his earlier thought on it's misshapen appearance. Parts of it blackened and lying in ruins on the floor. It didn't really matter though, because he'd been given a second set of orders beyond just investigation. Should the place still be standing, then he was to destroy it. That they'd actually said was more important then even finding out what happened. He was to destroy all evidence of the place and basically eradicate it's very existence.
It was clear to him that the Council had definitely been involved in some sort of unscrupulous activity with this place. Why else would they not send the Rune Knights? Clearly they wanted to keep what had gone on here a secret and the vow they'd had him take would assure that. That aside, he had a mission to do.
So, putting all thoughts to rest he observed the building hoping it would give him some kind of idea on what was the best entry point.
The most conventional and obvious route would be to go from the bottom and work his way up. But, that honestly seemed like it would be more pain then it was worth. There was also the fact that the building may extend underground, which meant he would have to go down first, then back up the way he'd gone previously to continue going up. He could start from the top and work his way down, but in the end that would take just as much time because he'd have to travel the same distance to get back out anyway. However, it seemed like a less obvious entry point and there was therefore less chance that the place would be guarded for entry at the top then the bottom.
Yes, going through the top seemed best. He'd look into destroying it later.
Lessening the gravity on his body he jumped up. Launched himself high into the air until he landed lightly - looking far to much like a ballerina for his own taste - on the tip of building. Steadying his footing he stepped off the edge and slowly floated down onto a more flat surface where he released the spell. Settling himself after the weight increase he took a moment to search his surrounds for a roof entrance. However, he quickly noted that the people who'd previously stayed here hadn't been kind enough to make one.
Shaking his head he muttered a quick spell under his breathe, "Yoru no tsume."
He immediately felt the effects of the spell as he worked with his magic to mould night outside his body. A magical pressure speared through the bones of his fingers like an almost pleasant chill until it was forced out. Protruding from the tips of his fingers as swirling dark mass only to condense and seemingly hardening into claws that protruded about three inches from the tips of his fingers. Grinning toothily at his handwork he set to work cutting a hole for an entrance. He was well aware he could've just blasted his way in, but it would have been a waste of magic as well as alert everyone - if anyone was around - to his presence.
First things first though. He sent out his magical senses to the area below his feet in order to sense if anyone was around. It actually made him wince when he felt the cold magic brush against his senses. Putting a foul taste in his mouth and setting his teeth on edge. Still, he moved past that and searched the room for any magical signatures. Unfortunately his aversion to the magic in the air made it harder to sense anyone, especially since he was sure there magic would feel similar to the Eternano here.
Still, from what he could gather there wasn't anyone close by.
Squatting down his quickly carved his claws through the white metal surface, being careful to be as silent as possible.
Peeling back the metal like an old tin can he jumped down, landing lightly on his feet. Quickly spinning in a smooth circle he checked to be sure he hadn't missed anyone. Not wanted to be taken out just because he was too lazy to be cautious. Seeing no one, though he relaxed his stance and released the spell that had created his claws. Now that he'd checked the area for enemies he took better look around at where he'd landed in the first place.
From what he could see he'd landed in some sort of office, though the design was something he was unfamiliar with. There was also the fact that given the buildings half collapse he was using a wall as a floor. It made it harder discern where he was because of the way some of the objects had been thrown about. But, the way the room and objects were designed seemed to be all curved and rounded at the edges. The cold colours and feel of the room. That combined with the violated Eternano in the air really gave him the creeps. However, there did seem to be an upside to where he'd landed.
If what he could guess about all people in charge was correct then there was a strong possibility he was standing in the office of the man who'd been in charge. He supposed there were pluses to coming in from the top rather then having to work his way up there. This was definitely the place he wanted to be if he wanted information on what was going on here.
Stalking to towards the most obvious place to keep things - in his opinion - he jumped over the desk and landed lightly on the other side. With nothing on the surface, but a few burn marks he assumed the guy had kept his things in the desk drawers. Nodding to himself he quickly gripped the handle on one, only to suddenly find himself being electrocuted. Volts of electricity sparking through his entire frame as his back arched and his eyes bulged out while he stood frozen in absolute agony. It lasted for a full ten seconds before stopping briefly, though he guessed it was to quickly recharge because he could already feel the magic building again.
Letting go quickly he stumbled back, gasping for breathe as phantom shocks of pain still wracked through his body. Faint sparks of blue still crackling up occasionally.
Come on Naruto focus, he mentally chastised himself.
He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough not to check the desk for traps, especially runic ones. Margidda had warned him about falling into traps like that, knowing they were hard to escape. He was just lucky this set required a charging time. The only thing that indicated to him was that whoever had set the runes wasn't at a master level yet. It was also quite clearly not the creators innate magic, rather being one they'd learned in their own time. It did not however, elevate any of the pain and stupidity he was feeling at that time. He was disappointed with himself.
But, his mother had said he'd need experience to better himself and learn.
This was obviously one of those things he needed to learn about, mistakes as she'd said were what taught you not to do. She wouldn't have been too angry at him. If he made the same mistake twice though he'd find himself on the receiving end of one powerful swat that would send him flying into the distance. He didn't even want to think about what had happened the one time he'd made the same mistake three times, it was an event better left alone. It may have been an odd thing to remember in the middle of a mission, but doing so had restored part of his faith in himself.
Nodding grimly to himself he stood up from where he'd fallen a determined look on his face.
He wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Walking back over to the desk he made sure not to touch anything incase he set another trap or even the same one off.
He didn't know a lot about runes. Just enough to get by, which meant he would be able to make or break anything simple or if he knew the person's magic well enough. Even knowing the basics was beyond a lot of people, but Margidda wanted him to know the basics of the more commonly known and used magics. Especially magics that couldn't just be overcome with power. Apparently she didn't want him to die just because he didn't know something, which could have just happened.
Get over it, he scolded.
Muttering to himself he knelt down in front of the desk and sent out his magic, this time searching for hidden runes. That was the unfortunate - or fortunate depending on who you were - thing about them. If you weren't searching for them specifically then they would be completely over looked until activated. You had to be aware of their existence to find them.
Feeling out the runes around the desk he detected two other traps plus the one he'd already set off on the desk drawers. Like the one he'd just been electrocuted by. The were both activated by placing your hand on any surface of the drawer or the area surrounding it. What surprised him was that they were actually made strong enough to kill someone without magic in their system. Being a mage strengthened your body beyond a normal human capacity and as far as he knew being a dragon slayer had effects on your body that stretched that effect even further. He suspected they had originally been made strong enough to kill another mage, but had weakened over time. Unless runes were designed a specific way then they deteriorated over time.
It was an indication to him that clearly the man who'd been in charge had either not put much effort into making them or had had someone weaker do it for him. From what he'd read on the man's profile he was very capable with runes and should have been able to make them that way quite easily. He was grateful that the man had been lax. He wasn't good enough to free himself from something like that.
Other then that though the magic seemed within his capabilities to break.
It just depended on how he decided to go about it.
He could take the easy, but more magically intensive route which involved simply overpowering and overloading the runes until they collapsed. It was only an option because the runes had weakened, otherwise he'd never even consider trying that. The other route which was generally the one he'd chose would be to find the key point in the runes that would allow him to deactivate them. It would take more time, but was more practical and less likely to leave him with a shortage of magical power.
The part of him that really just wanted to know what was inside the drawers said fuck taking your time and just blast the things open. It also meant he wouldn't have to feel the horrible magic as long as he would if he went the other route. The other half, the more logical side of himself that Margidda had cultivated insisted he be cautious. He didn't know what might pop up later on so while it may take more time he should find the key and save his magic.
Staring at the runes a few moments longer his shoulders slumped as he finally caved to logic. Damn you kaa-san, he thought with a vengeance.
Sending out his magic he let gently let it enter the runic construct, slithering between the holes in the man's defence. While his creation was powerful for sure it only used basic runes and therefore had several holes in defence he could break through.
Scowling as he felt his magic search through the runes he felt a mild irritation sweep through him. It wasn't a particularly powerful emotion, more a feeling of irritation about his lack of ability to handle to runes in the best way possible. If he knew enough about them then he would simply be able to rewrite the runes and slip through quite easily. If they were just a little bit better Naruto wouldn't even be able to use this method. Even if the man who had made the runes hadn't been to good he was still above Naruto's level of competence with runes and therefore out his range. It was somethin he had to fix… eventually. There just constantly seemed like a never ending list of things he had to fix and do. He wondered if he would ever get round to it all.
He felt as if he always had so much to fix and never enough to time to do it. It was why people didn't focus on too many different types of magic.
Shaking his head he gave his full attention back to his magic. Letting the small tendrils seep through and do their work.
When his muscles felt like they were starting to cramp and he was a about to shift positions he froze as he finally found what he'd been looking for. Grinning slightly he felt the magic slowly shift and change that stupid key point. Letting the runes shine briefly before fading.
Heading back to the desk he'd originally been electrocuted by he pulled it open. Excited by what he might find only to see… nothing. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. It was infuriating at a level beyond infuriating. Moving to the next drawer he pulled it open only to once again find nothing.
"There better be soothing in this next drawer," he muttered as he yanked it open.
He nearly jumped into the air shouting 'Yatta!' when he realised there was something there. It wasn't much, just what looked like a forgotten slip of paper, but it was still enough for all that time and effort to mean something. He almost reached out to grab the paper, but resisted with the utmost restraint to check if there was some sort of spell on it first. Finding none he finally gave into his urge and quickly picked up the page and flicked it over.
The first thing he noticed was the picture tacked onto the top right hand corner of the page with a paperclip. An image of a young girl looked back at him sadly. Her brown eyes filled with tears as she looked into the camera. Her dark purple hair cut short around her face. He felt something in his heart… tighten as he looked a the image. The girl didn't look well, sickly even with dark rings under her eyes. He wondered if she was alive. If she was still here, if she alive.
He hoped so because he felt like a part of him wouldn't be right if she wasn't.
He pulled the image off and placed it on the desk to get a better look at the rest of the page.
Quickly scanning it over and frowned at the lack of information, not even her name was given. It said she'd been admitted here for having to much magic in her body. It wasn't a condition he'd heard of before, but it didn't sound like a pleasant experience. Apparently it had practically overloaded her body and came close to killing her. What shocked him though was how the Bureau of Magical Development had dealt with it. They'd decided to increase her magical power further by using… he nearly chocked when his scanned over the words. Having to go back and read them again to make sure he hadn't read them wrong. He couldn't believe they would… on a child no less.
His jaw clenched and the paper disintegrated as his magic flared around him, a swirl of black and glowing white silver with the occasional flicker of blue and purple.
They'd used an experimental electric shock treatment on her.
They'd used that on a child, just to get her magical container to expand. He understood the need for progress and experimentation to attain it but that… they had just taken it way to far. Growling out loud he did his best to calm his magic and force it back down. Letting it settle beneath his skin before he looked back at the image on the desk.
Picking it up he slid the image into his pocket.
He'd never wished more in his life to take back his actions. To take back his vow of silence about the place so he could expose the Council for what they'd done here. If they were responsible. There was a chance the man had been honest in stating that communication had been sparse. Which meant it hadn't been their fault it had happened. Even if that was the truth, they hadn't stepped in to stop it.
Either way, it would be a long time before he ever took a mission for them again.
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Author's Note: Brain/Zero can use archive magic, which means he wouldn't have to keep too many records of what was going on. If he wanted to know he would just have to call up his archive. That's why Naruto couldn't find to much information. Less dialogue then I usually do, but given that he was all alone I couldn't just have him muttering out loud to himself all the time, though they certainly do that in quite a lot in anime. Still, I think it was a good chapter, quite a bit more slow moving then I expected but I quite liked it. Next time though will continue with the mission. There will probably be more action next time. This chapter was slower because it was his thoughts on his orders as well as the mission.
As for his pairing I'm still thinking about it though I'm leaning towards Ultear or Mirajane. Thought I would let you know because one of my reviewers seemed to have already thought I'd picked harem when I haven't. Will let you know more next chapter.
Please review! You guys have been really awesome about it and I really appreciate it.
Sorry for the long Author's Notes.
Translation:
Yoru no tsume - Night Claws
Author's Note: We continue with Naruto's awesome mission to the Bureau of Magical Development. It does link slightly to the canon Fairy Tail plot line, but I might not have got the time or dates perfectly. Sorry about that, but neither the manga nor the anime had been very specific about events pertaining to it. I also decided to go with the way the anime described it rather then the manga because the it's easier to see what's what in the anime.
Next up, quite a few people have commented on how they would like my chapters to be longer. Believe me I tried doing that with my last story and in the end it did more bad then good. I felt to obligated to write too much and it puts to much pressure on me thereby killing ideas and the story. So, in exchange for writing shorter chapters I just update more frequently or at least I'm more capable of it.
It was so hard to write this chapter though not for the reasons you would guess. The big reason being… my headphones broke while I was writing it! I always listen to the Fairy Tail soundtrack when I write this fic to get in the zone. I was mentally destroyed, but I have moved forth and done my best. I just think I irritated the fuck out of everyone in the house when I played my music out loud. Mwahahaha!
Moving on from my self-centred melodramatic speech we arrive at the next chapter!
'Fishing' - Normal
'Fishing' - Spells
'Fishing' - Thoughts, Flashbacks and Dreams (Use logic to differentiate!)
Chapter 6:
Everything about the night should have added up to it being a good night. After all the sun had set long ago, there wasn't a cloud in the sky leaving the full moon on clear display and the air was nice and cool just the way he liked it. Yes, all and all it should have added up to a good night. There was just one little thing preventing it from being so and that was the fact that he was running through the middle of the desert. Well, it wasn't so much a desert as it was a dry, rocky, sandy place. Still the similarities were close enough for the same problems to arise.
Even then, it wasn't so much that he was running in the middle of a desert that was the problem. No, he quite enjoyed running. Especially when he cast a light Tsuki no taijū to lighten the gravity enough so that if he changed his stride to push forward more then up and the gravity wasn't lightened too much where he'd end up flying into the sky or just plan floating off the ground. No, he quite liked that. In fact he didn't mind the desert so much either, it wasn't too bad.
What he really hated about it, what really ruined his night was the sand. It could mean he'd hate the desert, but he didn't, it was quite beautiful. He just hated the sand in the desert.
He was beginning to despise it's very existence.
Since he'd entered the desert like place it had gotten everywhere. In his clothes, in his hair, in his eyes, in his mouth and much to his irritation underneath his fingernails which was far more irritating then it sounded. It buffeted against him with the wind, stinging his skin like a consent itch that made him wish he knew fire magic so he could burn all the sand in the desert till it turned to glass.
He was determined to avoid all future missions that might lead to his return to the godforsaken place. In fact if this mission wasn't so important and classified he might have turned back, given the request back to the client, told him he failed and be on his merry way home. Yes it sounded like an absolutely brilliant plan but, he highly doubted the Council would appreciate it.
Even so, the Council's odd request was enough to keep him interested despite his newfound hatred.
Apparently contact over the last two years between the Magic Council and the Bureau of Magical Development had been spotty. Reports hadn't reached them or had been very vague in what they were requesting. Then reports had gradually decreased in frequency until they'd stopped coming all together. However, due to the infrequency of the reports it had taken them about four months to realise another report wasn't coming.
That had been about a year ago.
He wasn't entirely sure why they'd taken so long to contact someone - or even just themselves - and gone to check what was wrong. Maybe they were afraid of someone who had been there or something like that. Maybe they were scared of the place period. Which would really suck for him then. If the Council is scared of someone or something then there's generally a good reason why. If they were afraid of going there in case they lost their lives then they probably felt the same way about the Rune Knights in their service. He suspected he was correct, which meant that the only reason they'd hired him was because they had no problem with another mage losing their life.
But, he was going to do it anyway. He was never one to listen to naysayers and such things. Margidda had once told him he couldn't smash a rock using only his head. He might have walked away with his head swollen to twice the size, but he'd done it eventually. So, he wasn't about to let their fear affect his ability to do the mission. After all it was ranked A-class, not S-class. If it was ranked S-class he would have rethought his course of action. It was also classified as investigation not as an all out war against the place. That made him feel at least a little better about it.
They wanted him to investigate the reason the place had halted their communication. They suspected it had either been commandeered by someone outside the law or had been destroyed in the same manner.
He hoped it was the later.
Whilst he certainly enjoyed a good fight he wasn't exactly looking for a bunch of criminals to destroy him. They'd probably be very powerful too. The Council had given him notes about the man who'd been or possibly was still in charge of the place. If the place had been commandeered by criminals then that meant that he'd been defeated. That would mean the person who'd defeated him was S-class mage powerful. If he had full control over the dragon force then he wouldn't worry, but that was unfortunately just out of reach. Without it his power was only near S-class, but not quite there. Especially with his take-over magic issues.
Noticing an odd shape in the distance he pushed such wonderings from his mind to try and get a better look at it. From what he could estimate given his directions and location it was probably the place that he was looking for. Not that he could see much from this distance. Even if being a dragon slayer increased his senses his eyesight still wasn't enough to get a good look.
Feeling slightly irritated by his inability to see it he dared to speed up ever so slightly. Careful to adjust his stride so as to not send himself tripping face first into the dirt. And with the speed he was going at it would be a face grinding painful trip indeed.
With his increased speed he was soon close enough to get a better look at it, his eyes widening slightly at the odd shape. It was definitely tall, that much was clear. Most of the building seemed to be glowing a bright white colour under the moon, though he could see hints of twisting red pipes that seemed to stand out from the building. What was really something to marvel at though was the odd shape of the building - the almost shell like structure on the left hand side curving up into a quarter moon shape or at least that was the shape it had taken previously it looked misshapen now. That in itself made him want to like the place, but there was a sinister feel about the building that prevented any feeling of fondness or familiarity.
Instead he felt a shiver crawl up his spine and his steps slowing down the closer he got. The magic felt so cold and empty. It wasn't dark for he'd always claimed a closeness to darkness, it was just such… if he'd had to put it into words he'd say that the magic felt angry. Like an icy cold rage that crawled under your skin. Thousands of little bugs that scratched and bit at your very insides. He'd never known magic could feel like that. He'd obviously been taught about it, but to feel it was another thing. What made it worse was his increased sensitivity to not only other mage's magic, but to the actual Eternano in the environment. While usually a useful ability, it now set his teeth on edge and had his magic swirling inside him. Instinctively it wanted to react to the threat the magic presented.
Dragon Slayer magic by nature felt wilder then most and as he'd just learned it acted wilder too. Even so, he could feel his Take-Over magic acting up too, though he supposed given it's nature it was in itself was also quite wild magic. Now, he was paying the price on both fronts.
The magic felt as if it had been violated. Bent against its nature.
He nearly threw up at the feeling.
Desperately swallowing back the bile that had risen in his throat he pushed the feeling aside. Now wasn't the time to get into a hurling fit until he was lying in a pile of his own vomit. One because he had a mission to do and two because he had no way to clean himself afterwards.
Up close now he noticed several things he hadn't recognised from afar. Like the fact that it looked like the building had been snapped almost in half which explained his earlier thought on it's misshapen appearance. Parts of it blackened and lying in ruins on the floor. It didn't really matter though, because he'd been given a second set of orders beyond just investigation. Should the place still be standing, then he was to destroy it. That they'd actually said was more important then even finding out what happened. He was to destroy all evidence of the place and basically eradicate it's very existence.
It was clear to him that the Council had definitely been involved in some sort of unscrupulous activity with this place. Why else would they not send the Rune Knights? Clearly they wanted to keep what had gone on here a secret and the vow they'd had him take would assure that. That aside, he had a mission to do.
So, putting all thoughts to rest he observed the building hoping it would give him some kind of idea on what was the best entry point.
The most conventional and obvious route would be to go from the bottom and work his way up. But, that honestly seemed like it would be more pain then it was worth. There was also the fact that the building may extend underground, which meant he would have to go down first, then back up the way he'd gone previously to continue going up. He could start from the top and work his way down, but in the end that would take just as much time because he'd have to travel the same distance to get back out anyway. However, it seemed like a less obvious entry point and there was therefore less chance that the place would be guarded for entry at the top then the bottom.
Yes, going through the top seemed best. He'd look into destroying it later.
Lessening the gravity on his body he jumped up. Launched himself high into the air until he landed lightly - looking far to much like a ballerina for his own taste - on the tip of building. Steadying his footing he stepped off the edge and slowly floated down onto a more flat surface where he released the spell. Settling himself after the weight increase he took a moment to search his surrounds for a roof entrance. However, he quickly noted that the people who'd previously stayed here hadn't been kind enough to make one.
Shaking his head he muttered a quick spell under his breathe, "Yoru no tsume."
He immediately felt the effects of the spell as he worked with his magic to mould night outside his body. A magical pressure speared through the bones of his fingers like an almost pleasant chill until it was forced out. Protruding from the tips of his fingers as swirling dark mass only to condense and seemingly hardening into claws that protruded about three inches from the tips of his fingers. Grinning toothily at his handwork he set to work cutting a hole for an entrance. He was well aware he could've just blasted his way in, but it would have been a waste of magic as well as alert everyone - if anyone was around - to his presence.
First things first though. He sent out his magical senses to the area below his feet in order to sense if anyone was around. It actually made him wince when he felt the cold magic brush against his senses. Putting a foul taste in his mouth and setting his teeth on edge. Still, he moved past that and searched the room for any magical signatures. Unfortunately his aversion to the magic in the air made it harder to sense anyone, especially since he was sure there magic would feel similar to the Eternano here.
Still, from what he could gather there wasn't anyone close by.
Squatting down his quickly carved his claws through the white metal surface, being careful to be as silent as possible.
Peeling back the metal like an old tin can he jumped down, landing lightly on his feet. Quickly spinning in a smooth circle he checked to be sure he hadn't missed anyone. Not wanted to be taken out just because he was too lazy to be cautious. Seeing no one, though he relaxed his stance and released the spell that had created his claws. Now that he'd checked the area for enemies he took better look around at where he'd landed in the first place.
From what he could see he'd landed in some sort of office, though the design was something he was unfamiliar with. There was also the fact that given the buildings half collapse he was using a wall as a floor. It made it harder discern where he was because of the way some of the objects had been thrown about. But, the way the room and objects were designed seemed to be all curved and rounded at the edges. The cold colours and feel of the room. That combined with the violated Eternano in the air really gave him the creeps. However, there did seem to be an upside to where he'd landed.
If what he could guess about all people in charge was correct then there was a strong possibility he was standing in the office of the man who'd been in charge. He supposed there were pluses to coming in from the top rather then having to work his way up there. This was definitely the place he wanted to be if he wanted information on what was going on here.
Stalking to towards the most obvious place to keep things - in his opinion - he jumped over the desk and landed lightly on the other side. With nothing on the surface, but a few burn marks he assumed the guy had kept his things in the desk drawers. Nodding to himself he quickly gripped the handle on one, only to suddenly find himself being electrocuted. Volts of electricity sparking through his entire frame as his back arched and his eyes bulged out while he stood frozen in absolute agony. It lasted for a full ten seconds before stopping briefly, though he guessed it was to quickly recharge because he could already feel the magic building again.
Letting go quickly he stumbled back, gasping for breathe as phantom shocks of pain still wracked through his body. Faint sparks of blue still crackling up occasionally.
Come on Naruto focus, he mentally chastised himself.
He couldn't believe he'd been stupid enough not to check the desk for traps, especially runic ones. Margidda had warned him about falling into traps like that, knowing they were hard to escape. He was just lucky this set required a charging time. The only thing that indicated to him was that whoever had set the runes wasn't at a master level yet. It was also quite clearly not the creators innate magic, rather being one they'd learned in their own time. It did not however, elevate any of the pain and stupidity he was feeling at that time. He was disappointed with himself.
But, his mother had said he'd need experience to better himself and learn.
This was obviously one of those things he needed to learn about, mistakes as she'd said were what taught you not to do. She wouldn't have been too angry at him. If he made the same mistake twice though he'd find himself on the receiving end of one powerful swat that would send him flying into the distance. He didn't even want to think about what had happened the one time he'd made the same mistake three times, it was an event better left alone. It may have been an odd thing to remember in the middle of a mission, but doing so had restored part of his faith in himself.
Nodding grimly to himself he stood up from where he'd fallen a determined look on his face.
He wouldn't make the same mistake again.
Walking back over to the desk he made sure not to touch anything incase he set another trap or even the same one off.
He didn't know a lot about runes. Just enough to get by, which meant he would be able to make or break anything simple or if he knew the person's magic well enough. Even knowing the basics was beyond a lot of people, but Margidda wanted him to know the basics of the more commonly known and used magics. Especially magics that couldn't just be overcome with power. Apparently she didn't want him to die just because he didn't know something, which could have just happened.
Get over it, he scolded.
Muttering to himself he knelt down in front of the desk and sent out his magic, this time searching for hidden runes. That was the unfortunate - or fortunate depending on who you were - thing about them. If you weren't searching for them specifically then they would be completely over looked until activated. You had to be aware of their existence to find them.
Feeling out the runes around the desk he detected two other traps plus the one he'd already set off on the desk drawers. Like the one he'd just been electrocuted by. The were both activated by placing your hand on any surface of the drawer or the area surrounding it. What surprised him was that they were actually made strong enough to kill someone without magic in their system. Being a mage strengthened your body beyond a normal human capacity and as far as he knew being a dragon slayer had effects on your body that stretched that effect even further. He suspected they had originally been made strong enough to kill another mage, but had weakened over time. Unless runes were designed a specific way then they deteriorated over time.
It was an indication to him that clearly the man who'd been in charge had either not put much effort into making them or had had someone weaker do it for him. From what he'd read on the man's profile he was very capable with runes and should have been able to make them that way quite easily. He was grateful that the man had been lax. He wasn't good enough to free himself from something like that.
Other then that though the magic seemed within his capabilities to break.
It just depended on how he decided to go about it.
He could take the easy, but more magically intensive route which involved simply overpowering and overloading the runes until they collapsed. It was only an option because the runes had weakened, otherwise he'd never even consider trying that. The other route which was generally the one he'd chose would be to find the key point in the runes that would allow him to deactivate them. It would take more time, but was more practical and less likely to leave him with a shortage of magical power.
The part of him that really just wanted to know what was inside the drawers said fuck taking your time and just blast the things open. It also meant he wouldn't have to feel the horrible magic as long as he would if he went the other route. The other half, the more logical side of himself that Margidda had cultivated insisted he be cautious. He didn't know what might pop up later on so while it may take more time he should find the key and save his magic.
Staring at the runes a few moments longer his shoulders slumped as he finally caved to logic. Damn you kaa-san, he thought with a vengeance.
Sending out his magic he let gently let it enter the runic construct, slithering between the holes in the man's defence. While his creation was powerful for sure it only used basic runes and therefore had several holes in defence he could break through.
Scowling as he felt his magic search through the runes he felt a mild irritation sweep through him. It wasn't a particularly powerful emotion, more a feeling of irritation about his lack of ability to handle to runes in the best way possible. If he knew enough about them then he would simply be able to rewrite the runes and slip through quite easily. If they were just a little bit better Naruto wouldn't even be able to use this method. Even if the man who had made the runes hadn't been to good he was still above Naruto's level of competence with runes and therefore out his range. It was somethin he had to fix… eventually. There just constantly seemed like a never ending list of things he had to fix and do. He wondered if he would ever get round to it all.
He felt as if he always had so much to fix and never enough to time to do it. It was why people didn't focus on too many different types of magic.
Shaking his head he gave his full attention back to his magic. Letting the small tendrils seep through and do their work.
When his muscles felt like they were starting to cramp and he was a about to shift positions he froze as he finally found what he'd been looking for. Grinning slightly he felt the magic slowly shift and change that stupid key point. Letting the runes shine briefly before fading.
Heading back to the desk he'd originally been electrocuted by he pulled it open. Excited by what he might find only to see… nothing. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. It was infuriating at a level beyond infuriating. Moving to the next drawer he pulled it open only to once again find nothing.
"There better be soothing in this next drawer," he muttered as he yanked it open.
He nearly jumped into the air shouting 'Yatta!' when he realised there was something there. It wasn't much, just what looked like a forgotten slip of paper, but it was still enough for all that time and effort to mean something. He almost reached out to grab the paper, but resisted with the utmost restraint to check if there was some sort of spell on it first. Finding none he finally gave into his urge and quickly picked up the page and flicked it over.
The first thing he noticed was the picture tacked onto the top right hand corner of the page with a paperclip. An image of a young girl looked back at him sadly. Her brown eyes filled with tears as she looked into the camera. Her dark purple hair cut short around her face. He felt something in his heart… tighten as he looked a the image. The girl didn't look well, sickly even with dark rings under her eyes. He wondered if she was alive. If she was still here, if she alive.
He hoped so because he felt like a part of him wouldn't be right if she wasn't.
He pulled the image off and placed it on the desk to get a better look at the rest of the page.
Quickly scanning it over and frowned at the lack of information, not even her name was given. It said she'd been admitted here for having to much magic in her body. It wasn't a condition he'd heard of before, but it didn't sound like a pleasant experience. Apparently it had practically overloaded her body and came close to killing her. What shocked him though was how the Bureau of Magical Development had dealt with it. They'd decided to increase her magical power further by using… he nearly chocked when his scanned over the words. Having to go back and read them again to make sure he hadn't read them wrong. He couldn't believe they would… on a child no less.
His jaw clenched and the paper disintegrated as his magic flared around him, a swirl of black and glowing white silver with the occasional flicker of blue and purple.
They'd used an experimental electric shock treatment on her.
They'd used that on a child, just to get her magical container to expand. He understood the need for progress and experimentation to attain it but that… they had just taken it way to far. Growling out loud he did his best to calm his magic and force it back down. Letting it settle beneath his skin before he looked back at the image on the desk.
Picking it up he slid the image into his pocket.
He'd never wished more in his life to take back his actions. To take back his vow of silence about the place so he could expose the Council for what they'd done here. If they were responsible. There was a chance the man had been honest in stating that communication had been sparse. Which meant it hadn't been their fault it had happened. Even if that was the truth, they hadn't stepped in to stop it.
Either way, it would be a long time before he ever took a mission for them again.
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Author's Note: Brain/Zero can use archive magic, which means he wouldn't have to keep too many records of what was going on. If he wanted to know he would just have to call up his archive. That's why Naruto couldn't find to much information. Less dialogue then I usually do, but given that he was all alone I couldn't just have him muttering out loud to himself all the time, though they certainly do that in quite a lot in anime. Still, I think it was a good chapter, quite a bit more slow moving then I expected but I quite liked it. Next time though will continue with the mission. There will probably be more action next time. This chapter was slower because it was his thoughts on his orders as well as the mission.
As for his pairing I'm still thinking about it though I'm leaning towards Ultear or Mirajane. Thought I would let you know because one of my reviewers seemed to have already thought I'd picked harem when I haven't. Will let you know more next chapter.
Please review! You guys have been really awesome about it and I really appreciate it.
Sorry for the long Author's Notes.
Translation:
Yoru no tsume - Night Claws
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