Jellal didn't know how much time has passed — nor did he know where he was.

All he knows is what he can see. And all he can see are trees; Tall enough to reach to the skies and dark enough to hide the moonlight. They invaded everything in his sight. Add in an ever-moving mist that seemed to pick and choose where it loops —as if it has a living consciousness— and someone could say Jellal was confused... weary even, for his safety and those of his friends.

He tried to lift himself up, but something held him down — pinning him to the ground with frigid slithering limbs that curled and twisted, but held no rigid edge. No spine one could say. And the more he tried, the more pressure and restraint he began to feel.

Whatever it was, it certainly didn't want him to go anywhere.

"Jellal." The boy's eyes shifted to the left, but all he could see were trees. He tried to move his head again, but the struggle was futile.

Something grasped his hand. It was warm, comforting even... in stark contrast to the cold crawling that made his spine shiver. But teasingly, a fluff of blonde hair entered his vision, and soon the smiling visage of his older family member made itself known.

"Relax kid." He said, and Jellal did. In response, Jellal smiled, hopefully conveying his answer because the sandpaper-like texture of his inner throat meant all of his words would be guttural and unintelligible.

When the blond nodded, he knew Naruto understood.

"Operation complete Naruto-sama."

Naruto looked up, and Jellal tried to follow his vision, only to find whatever the blond was staring at right outside his sight.

"Thank you Katsuyu."

Jellal could feel his restrains loosen and writhe away, freeing his body from its restraints. In response, he wiggled his fingers, then wiggled his toes. He made sure he had ten of each, relishing the response before pushing himself up into a seated position. With a tinge of nausea and Naruto's balancing hand, he managed to sit upright.

"What...?" He asked with a cracked voice, causing his theory to be proven reality. But even without the words, Naruto could see those analytical eyes calculating away.

"Oi." Naruto said while offering a bottle of water, one Jellal took eagerly. "Relax. You're going to throw up."

And Jellal could feel the bile rising. "...I've always hated throwing up."

"And that's why you should take it easy Jellal."

The boy headed the advice with vigor and laid himself back down, simply allowing himself to absorb his surroundings. Whatever was here before disappeared. Surely not far— but far enough to give them some privacy.

"Where-" He began to ask before Naruto cut him off.

"A magical place known as Shikkotsu Forest. The home to Katsuyu."

Jellal stayed silent, but the intensity in his gaze remained, and Naruto already knew the boy wasn't satisfied. "The slug." He continued. "The one that healed you. This is her home."

Jellal nodded and accepted the man's word at face value before looking up to the sky. Those trees still obscured his view, but he could begin to see some stars through the cracks in the leaves. The moonlight was spotty, but it persevered to the forest floor, illuminating very little, but enough for him to remember the nights he would look up and wonder what life had in store.

Slowly, as he continued to stare, his eyes began to grow lax, no matter the struggle he put up.

"It's okay Jellal." Naruto said as he squeezed his hand again. "We'll talk all about this later, just relax, go to sleep, okay?"

"...Yes..." The boy said. And in mere moments, they closed for good. With Jellal's consciousness fully drifted away, Katsuyu emerged from the trees.

"Thank you, again, Katsuyu."

"Your welcome Naruto-sama." She said in a pleasant tone, "The terms of our deal still stands, and I can get everything prepared when you're ready."

"I'm ready." He said with firmness, "...whenever you are."

x.X.x.

When Jellal woke again, he wasn't in the forest anymore; No, he was in a small hut.

Fresh air, no ventilation, bugs flying everywhere —no doubt partially due to his immense body odor that even his own nose picks up— and the chirping of wildlife hit his body all at once. It was disorienting to go from the bland tower to the center of life in a forest. Was he still in the same forest as before? Is he somewhere else? Where's Naruto?

Foolishly he tried to lift himself up, only to have a hand push him down to the bed.

"Stop." A stern voice stated, and Jellal turned his head to find a pink-haired woman holding him down, "Overexertion of unhealed injuries can cause those injuries to resurface." She said as she placed a hand on the boy's forehead.

"Who are you?" He asked in concern. "Are you Katsuyu the slug?"

"I'm Porlyusica." She said with a straight face, "Your... human caretaker, I guess."

Jellal didn't feel too comforted by those words. "Naruto has left you in my hands for the time being."

Again, stubbornly, the boy began to lift himself up, only to be pushed down once again. "When will he be back?" He asked.

"Soon." She answered, "You will feel your stomach injury for weeks to come, it might even leave a scar, but you should be able to walk..." She trailed off before retrieving a walking cane that hung by the door, "...Now you definitely will be able to walk. But I'm sure you would like to see Rob? Or maybe that red-headed girl and her motley crew that stop by?"

Jellal smiled and nodded, still weary but excited. He felt the rush, her rush, almost as if the woman didn't want him there, never did.

Ignoring the sharp pain in his stomach, he lifted himself up and grabbed the walking cane. Who was he to stay where he wasn't wanted? His feet wobbled when he put them on the ground, nothing too unexpected, but his necessary reliance on the cane is what caught him off guard.

His lack of muscle memory astounded him when he tried to fully rely on his own weight.

In haste and in learning, Jellal hobbled after the pink-haired hermit, putting the majority of his weight in the cane. She closed the door behind them and started off walking, Jellal doing his best to keep pace with the woman.

The sun was still high in the sky, the heat was bearing down, and Jellal had trouble keeping his eyes open as his retina were unaccustomed to sunlight. Navigating a forest while hobbling around on a third leg left him tripping often, stumbling somewhat, and falling over more times than he would care to admit.

Yet, each time his legs hit the dirt, it reminded him that is wasn't concrete. And he wasn't grasping at metal poles anymore either, just the rough bark of the trees. The sunlight was causing his body to sweat, his stomach ached, and his eyes burned, but he loved every moment of it.

It's amazing how much you miss things like this when locked away.

And as the duo continued, both kept silent during Jellal's embarrassing escapade. The blue-haired boy was getting the feeling that the woman didn't want to talk, and personally being unsure of how to start a conversation with the adult, Jellal didn't want to break the silence.

Yet, the farther they walked, the more the silence began to dissipate. Jellal could hear chatter off in the distance, infused with the noise and explosiveness of everyday life that exponentially grew the closer they got.

Soon enough, they were overwhelmed by the commotion and engulfed by the sounds of everyday life. People, a lot of them —many more than Jellal was used to— were going about their daily business: eating, working, relaxing. Many of them watched the duo, allowing a wide berth leaving Jellal wondering if it was due to the smell —he could see the wrinkling noses— or due to the woman he is with —he could also see the stares everyone was giving her.

Jellal's eyes found the one person who wasn't staring them down; a small girl with brown hair and wearing a orange sundress. Maybe it was the color of the dress that caught his eye, or that she was a child, just like him. But as she walked out of a store and glanced around the street, her eyes met his and she froze.

"You..." She stumbled out, "You're..."

Jellal stared at the girl, who unflinchingly stared back, "Is she staring at me?" He asked Porlyusica, who watched the scene unfold.

"Yes." She said, "It seems as if you have grown quite the reputation within Fairy Tail."

So they made it then, Jellal mused, all the way to Magnolia

"Cana." A voice said from behind, "Hasn't anyone ever told you it's rude to stare?"

Jellal and Porlyusica turned at the voice, but not before a pair of hands scooped Jellal up and placed him on his shoulders. Jellal grabbed onto the blond locks to balance himself but beamed down a smile when he recognized the color.

"Glad to see you're finally awake Jellal." Naruto said with a smile, " I didn't think you to be a 'sleep-in' type of kid."

The indistinguishable noise of a throat clearing brought Naruto's attention to the hermit that helped. "And thank you for taking care of him Porlyusica baa-chan."

"I'll let you take it from here." She said before walking away back toward the forest, but not before turning and speaking over her shoulder, "But this doesn't mean you can stop by whenever you want, you hear?"

Naruto nodded at the glare, happy to give the woman the privacy she deserves.

"Now, you two haven't officially met, but Cana this is Jellal, and Jellal, this is Cana."

Cana raised her hand in greeting and flashed the biggest smile she could muster, one that stretched her cheeks and showed her gums. Naruto chuckled silently to himself, something he'll have to talk to her about at a later point in time.

Naruto gently took Jellal off of his shoulders and placed him on the ground. The blue-haired boy reached out and shook the hand. "Nice to meet you Cana."

"And nice to finally meet you Jellal." They turned and the trio took off to the guild, still noticing the wide berth that gave way wherever they went.

But analyzing that is for another time, for now Jellal will relish that he made his first new friend in years.

It was the beginning of his new life...

And the beginning of Naruto's end...

x.X.x.

Man, it has been a long time. A year and a half I believe? If I remember correctly at least, but I made a promise that I wouldn't give up on the story, and I haven't.

The funny thing is, I have actually redone this chapter three times. My first rendition was Naruto going on a great escapade to Konoha to get Ino to come with him to heal Jellal, forcing the duo to enter Jellal's consciousness to uncover why he has trapped himself there and what was causing it. Upon helping him, he then has to fight against a version of himself, Siegran.

Another one was Jellal trapped himself in his own illusion where he slowly uncovers that this is not his life, and that everything he thought he knew was an elaborate rouse, forcing himself to accept his emotions for what they are, and combining his analytical with emotional sides.

Then I came to the realization that this was all too much. I was making something like a coma into much more than it needed it to be, so I just decided to do him waking up and his beginning experiences around that.

But remember, everything has a cost. Naruto realizes this, and he has made a few deals to ensure he gets what he wants, but at what price?

Anyways, hope everyone enjoys this short transition chapter into the final chapter of this arc. Future updates will be erratic for sure, but I won't give up and the chapters will more than likely be much shorter than the original two. Hopefully around 5,000-8,000 words a chapter ideally.