Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or Fairy Tail

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By Any Means

Chapter 1 – A Shadow Emerges

0o0o0o0o0o0

Fiore, a neutral kingdom of 17 million, is a world filled with magic. Magic is the people's source of income, both bartering and selling and using the mystical arts to make a living. These people became known as Mages and belonged to guilds that accepted jobs sent to them.

Long ago there existed a guild that fought outside the law in order to preserve it. This guild produced numerous legends that became infamous. They dirtied their hands in blood to protect the peace of Fiore. This guild was known as Shadow Heart, a dark guild.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hargeon huh?" a lanky blond said as he stepped off the train that he'd arrived to the port city on. "Not bad. I wonder what kind of fun I can find here." The blonde took off from the station, no one noticing him as he disappeared into the shadows.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"EH! This is such a common celestial key! HOW COULD IT BE 20,000 JEWELS!?" a young blonde girl, about the age of 17, yelled at the old man behind the magic shop's counter. "THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY!"

"Highway robbery to you, making a living to me," the old mage said nonchalantly to the girl, simply waving her off.

"But surely you could lower the price for little ol' me," the girl winked and posed seductively, accentuating her womanly charm.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe he only lowered it 1,000 jewels! Is that all my charm is worth?" the girl hung her head low, disappointed that she had no bartering skills whatsoever. "He's capitalizing on the fact he's the only Magic store in the town." Sighing she looked at her newly acquired key. "At least I have a new friend now."

"KYAH!" The girl lifted her head up at the sound of multiple girls screaming and looked over the bridge she was walking on to see a big crowd forming.

"Salamander-sama is here!"

"I can't believe a famous mage like Salamander-sama has come here!"

Two girls ran passed the blonde toward the crowd. "Hoh? Salamander is said to use Magic that can't be bought! He's here?" Following suit the girl rushed to join the crowd.

"What a dreamboat!"

"He's so cool!"

"Please burn me Salamander!"

The girl's heartbeat sped up at the sight of the purple-haired mage. He was the essence of cool, with a suave hair-style, a small cross tattoo enhancing his good looks. He was wearing a white button up shirt, striped red pants, golden bracelets with two rings on his right hand, and most importantly his purple and gold cape that billowed in the wind. "Wh-why is my heart beating like this? Could… could this be what they call love at first sight?" the blonde asked as she slowly hopped on one foot to get closer to Salamander.

"You're all too kind," Salamander humbled himself as he addressed all of the girls surrounding him before looking at the blonde girl in brown knee-high boots, a blue plaid skirt with a whip at her waist, a white collared zip up blouse with blue edging, and a blue ribbon on the right making a small ponytail hop towards him. He smirked at the infatuation in her brown eyes.

"Kyah! Is it because he's famous? Is this the reason for my heart aching for him?" the girl bounced her way into the center of the crowd where Salamander was and as she made to introduce herself a voice spoke up.

"Who the hell are you?" Everyone turned to see a lanky blond wearing a black and orange jacket, black pants that were wrapped in white banding, black sandals, a black backpack, and several pouches lining his belt loops. Three long scars ran along both sides of his face making him look almost like a fox and his azure eyes almost seemed to glow. "I thought it would be Dragneel and it's just some two-bit nobody." He then turned and walked away, leaving all the girls glaring at him for calling Salamander a nobody.

"Oi! Don't you know who I am? I'M SALAMANDER!" the Mage could only stare in shock as the other man walked away.

The girl's heart slowed and realization dawned on her as her love for Salamander turned to disgust.

"How rude!" some of the girls jumped the blonde and began to pummel him into the ground.

"Salamander-sama is a great mage! Show some respect!"

"Now, now. That's enough. He mustn't have recognized me is all." Salamander played off the earlier dismissal as the girls waled on the other man.

"Hmm. Sorry, I don't recognize you," came from behind Salamander, causing everyone to turn around and stare wide-eyed to see the blond leaning against a building casually.

"B-but you were-!" Turning back to the girls that had attacked the blonde they saw nothing but a broken piece of wood beneath the girls.

"Ah… Here!" Quickly pulling out a marker and paper Salamander signed it with a flourish, walking over to the blond and handing it to him. "My autograph. Feel free to brag amongst your friends that you met me."

Most of the women could only stare in awe at Salamander's generosity.

"No thanks." The blond gave a foxy smile and ignored Salamander's outstretched hand and began to walk away once more.

The girls growled at his retreating form only looking back at Salamander when he decided to break the awkward silence. "Well, I have business at the port, and must be on my way."

"Aww! You're leaving already?"

"Don't leave us because of that jealous guy!"

Smirking Salamander closed his eyes before snapping his fingers and invoking a spell, "Red Carpet!" A ring of light purple fire rose around the Mage before rushing beneath him and lifting him up.

The women were once more awestruck by Salamander's abilities.

"I'm having a party on my private yacht later tonight! All of you are, of course, invited!" he exclaimed as flew off toward the port.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Excuse me!" the blonde girl had finally caught up to the mysterious blond from before, bowing slightly in apology for bothering him.

"Don't worry about it," the blond bowed back. "What can I do for you?"

She bowed once more. "I wanted to thank you for earlier." As she rose, she could tell that he was confused.

"You saved me from that creep's love charm. Please let me repay you," the blonde pleaded, bowing once more the girl to show her appreciation.

"Creep?" The blond cocked his head to the side before realization struck him. "Oh! You mean that fake Salamander guy!"

"Yes. He was using a love charm on all those girls earlier." The girl let out an annoyed growl.

"It's pathetic at how far some people will go to be popular. Anyway, let me treat you to lunch or something."

"Well I haven't eaten yet… sure why not. My name's Naruto by the way," the male blond said as he stuck his hand out for the girl to shake.

Lucy smiled brightly as she shook the other blonde's hand. "Lucy. It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto."

0o0o0o0o0o0

Lucy couldn't help the blush on her face.

As soon as they had sat down, Lucy had finally taken the time to study Naruto's appearance in better detail.

Bright golden locks that flew in a wild manner, a lean, sharp face, and oceanic irises with an intense look to them painted a modern day Adonis. As he scanned the menu to discover what he would devour, his scarred cheeks scrunched, causing him to look almost like a fox. His black and orange jacket seemed to reinforce his fox-like appearance. He seemed to be around 19 or 20, but Lucy couldn't tell for sure.

"Hmm… it all looks so good. I wish they had ramen though. Ah I guess I'll have to try one of everything!" Naruto decided. He turned toward the blushing waitress who had been standing there waiting patiently as she quickly jotted down his order.

Lucy felt a glare come her way when the waitress left and could only glare back. Realization struck as Lucy's brain finally decided to function once more and deciphered Naruto's order.

"O-one of everything?!"

"Well, I couldn't decide. Besides, the food here isn't that expensive." Naruto smiled at her and Lucy could feel heat rise in her cheeks.

"R-right. So anyway, that Salamander guy was using a love charm spell to infatuate all those girls. I think it's despicable that he would stoop so low even though he's already famous," Lucy explained. "The sale of those kind of charms was banned years ago." She could feel nothing but disgust at the thought.

"Well, that's what happens when someone pretends to be who they're not," Naruto replied, leaning back against his booth and stretching his arms out.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, unsure of Naruto's reply.

"Salamander is a Fairy Tail mage and his real name is Natsu Dragneel. Though I've never met him, the rumors say that Natsu has rose-pink hair and a scale-like scarf that he wears at all times. Not to mention a destructive fire magic that can't be bought anywhere." Naruto yawned slightly before perking up at the sight of the waitress bringing his food.

"So you mean to tell me that creep wasn't even the real Salamander?" Lucy asked, as she watched Naruto prepare to dig in to the food.

"Itadakimasu!" He took a few bites of steak, before looking back at Lucy. "No and that concerns me. Why would he pretend to be someone well known if all he's looking for is popularity without looking like the person he's pretending to be? What's more suspicious is his use of an illegal contraband. My guess is that he's using it to make sure everyone around him can't think properly. It makes you wonder what he's really up too."

"I… never thought about it like that. You don't think he's going to do anything bad do you? I mean he didn't seem like a bad guy. A creep for sure, but not a criminal," Lucy said, not believing what was being insinuated.

"It's possible. All too much do criminals pretend to be innocent to avoid getting the attention of the proper authorities." Naruto went back to devouring his free meal.

Silence fell between the two before Lucy decided to ask Naruto the question that had been burning in her mind since she first met him. "Um… Naruto, are you a mage?"

"I am," was the short answer she got.

"Really!? Are you perhaps part of a guild? I'm a mage myself and have yet to join one. Although I would love to join Fairy Tail, I imagine getting into such a famous guild would be very difficult and I'm not sure I could pass any kind of interview or test that they would give me, but just the thought of being a Fairy Tail mage makes me pretty happy!" Lucy let a content smile grace her face as she clasped her cheeks at her dream guild. Realizing she was being stared at, Lucy apologized. "Sorry… I must seem silly for having such a big dream."

"Not at all. It's good to have dreams and goals. I was once a part of a guild but it disbanded long ago. However, there was a motto that it followed..." Naruto paused for a moment making sure he had Lucy's attention. "Live by the 'Will of Fire' and do everything by any means."

"The 'Will of Fire'?" Lucy repeated back to Naruto.

"Yeah. The founders of the guild came from another continent called the Elemental Nations where each land is divided by an element. Theirs was the Land of Fire. Fire is the most important of all the elements. Without fire we wouldn't have light to guide us, to keep us warm on the coldest of nights, or to heat our food. Even the smallest of embers can have the will to become a raging fire. The 'Will of Fire' means to never give up no matter what. My parents told me that every night when I was just a kid." Naruto closed his eyes at the memories.

"It sounds like it was an amazing guild." Lucy smiled at the thought of what a guild like would be like. "What happened?" Realizing that she may have brought up bad memories, Lucy quickly waved her question. "You don't have to tell me of course."

After an awkward silence for Lucy, Naruto spoke up. "13 years ago we were attacked. We put up a good fight but in the end we were utterly crushed. As far as I know only my Master and I survived."

"I-I am so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have asked," Lucy said as she lowered her head in shame.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't know. Besides it happened a long time ago. Plus as long as I breathe, my guild will never die." Naruto smiled to reassure Lucy that she didn't need to apologize. "You know, I think you should make your dream come true."

"But I'm not anything special. I mean Salamander isn't even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to famous Mages from Fairy Tail. There's Titania, Queen of the Fairies, Mirajane, Laxus, Gildarts, Loke who was voted 'Mage who you most want as a boyfriend,' and so many more! And I'm nobody," Lucy admitted, much to her own dismay.

"You just need some confidence is all. All of these famous mages you're telling me about weren't always well known. They had to work hard and build up a reputation. They never gave up no matter what they faced. Believe in yourself Lucy-san and you'll be amazed with what you can do. Anyway I need to get going. Thanks for the meal." Naruto got up from the booth and left the restaurant.

"Is it really that simple? To just believe in my own abilities?" Lucy sat at the booth for a while longer before she too left.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ah. So this is where you ran off too!"

Lucy jumped at the sudden voice coming from behind the park bench she was sitting on, thinking about what Naruto said.

"S-Salamander!" Lucy went rigid at the sight of the pretender.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I wanted to personally invite you to the party on my yacht tonight." Salamander gazed at her with his self-confident smirk as he activated his love charm.

Glaring, Lucy pointed at him, "Tch. That spell's weakness is awareness! It doesn't affect anyone that knows what's going on. You're the absolute worst!"

Playing off her accusation, Salamander pretended to be impressed, "It's as I thought. When I first laid eyes on you, I knew that you were a Mage. So please, come to my party tonight. Perhaps we can exchange some spells and possibly even have you join my guild, Fairy Tail."

"Please, I know you're a fake. If you're going to pretend to be someone you're not, at least have the decency to look somewhat like them." Lucy turned her back and crossed her arms. "Besides I'd never go to some creep's party."

"I'm a creep?" Salamander's confidence fell down the drain for a brief moment.

"Lying to people about who you are and using a charm to prevent anyone from questioning you? Just how low are willing to stoop for fame?" Lucy asked, completely sickened by the sight of the man.

Salamander waggled his finger. "It's nothing more than a formality. I simply want to feel like a celebrity during my parties. No real harm, you see?"

"But you're still riding off someone else's accomplishments. Using their hard work just to have a good time, despicable!" Lucy could no longer look at him.

"You're really going to make me do this the hard way aren't you?" Salamander's voice became dangerously low.

"What do you mean!?" Lucy turned around to face Salamander once more but as soon as she did she felt her eyelids become heavy and begin to droop.

"My love charm isn't the only charm I use. Sweet dreams, slave." With that, Lucy's world became black.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Knight-Captain! There've been rumors that Bora of the Prominence has been spotted in the town and around the port. At the same time, Salamander of Fairy Tail has also been rumored to have been in townl," a Sgt. Knight reported to the head of security of Hargeon.

"Salamander isn't a problem as long as he doesn't cause any trouble. Ignore him for now. Bora on the other hand is a wanted criminal. If he's here than that only means he's up to no good. There's been rumors about him lately getting involved in slavery. We must apprehend him immediately!" The Knight-Captain spoke passionately as he slammed his fists down onto his desk. "I want every road blocked and the entire port shut down. Bora must not escape!"

"Sir! There's one more thing."

"Speak."

"Some of the townsfolk spoke about a mysterious young man, wearing a black coat with red clouds on it. The same kind that the dark guild, Shadow Heart, used to wear." The Knight-Captain's eyes widened.

"Impossible! Every member of Shadow Heart was killed 13 years ago and their guild was completely annihilated. Tell every Knight on duty that if they see this boy to bring him in for questioning. However, keep the focus on Bora. We don't need to cause a panic about a dark guild being present!"

"Sir!" The Sgt. left to deliver his orders.

"Shadow Heart. You swore yourselves to be protectors of Fiore and yet you were merely ensuring no one else could get in your way." The Knight-Captain sighed as he remembered a time he would be glad to see the infamous black coats with red clouds and didn't notice the shadow dismiss itself from his office.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Slowly Lucy's vision returned to her and she wished it hadn't.

Looking around, Lucy found that she was chained to a couch along with several other girls who had been dressed in ballroom dresses, their hair done up and make-up applied accenting all of their natural beauty.

"I see that you've awakened, my pretty. I do hope your current state of attire pleases you. Your dress is one of my best." Lucy couldn't help the shudder rolling down her spine at the sound of Salamander's voice.

Looking down, she took in her own appearance and hated to agree with Salamander when he said that her dress was beautiful. It was slim with a blood red rose color to it and a simple slit on the side to show off the wearer's right leg.

Getting mad, Lucy looked at Salamander with nothing but hate. "Naruto was right! You're using your magic to lure in unsuspecting women and then kidnapping them! You're the worst kind of mage out there!"

"Perhaps. After all slavers aren't normally called nice things now are they?" Salamander chuckled to himself.

"Y-you're a slaver?" Lucy's eyes widened as she realized just what kind of position she was in.

"That's right. All of you stupid women are going to be sold at the highest price as love slaves. You'll know nothing but the torturous pleasure of being fucked and beaten by your soon to be masters. I do admit that parting with you without breaking you in myself brings me sorrow but virgins do go for high prices and you're just too innocent to be anything but," Salamander had grabbed another girl that had awoken and began to knead one of her breasts despite her pleas for him to stop. "It's been quite a while since a woman has given me so much trouble."

"I-I'm going to…" Lucy didn't want to believe that this was real, "No. Nonononono! This isn't happening. This can't be how the rest of the world thinks! I left home to escape being a slave and now… now I'm going to become a real one!"

"The 'Will of Fire' means to never give up, no matter what. Believe in yourself and you'll be amazed by what you can do."

Naruto's words came back to Lucy and confidence filled her as she reached for her celestial keys only to realize that they were most likely taken away from her. "Damn it. I need to think of something else."

"Looking for these?" Lucy turned her attention back to Salamander as he dangled her key ring and all of her keys in front of her. "You won't be needing them so I'll dispose of them for you." Salamander threw the keys out an open port window and could only feel glee as he watched Lucy's hope drain from her face. "I just love that look on a woman. All women should have that look. The look of despair as they realize their place and role is to only ever serve men. Allow me to demonstrate," Salamander turned his attention back to the girl struggling in his arms and began to knead her breast harder eliciting cries of pain from her mouth before kissing her to make her silent.

Lucy refused to look as the poor girl was about to be raped in front of her. "None of this is right. Please, somebody save me!"

"RASENGAN!"

Crashing through the ceiling above was one of Salamander's men and a black shadow which immediately leapt and struck all of Salamander's men with a flurry of oddly shaped knives, some even having three prongs on them before the shadow turned into a yellow flash making short work of the remaining men.

"What the hell!" Salamander exclaimed as all of his best men were killed in the blink of an eye.

Slowly a shadow rose out of the ground and took the form of a hooded man. Red clouds decorated the black coat that surrounded the man's body. Glowing, cobalt eyes froze any that were foolish enough to look into them.

"What the hell are you?!" Salamander glared at the monster before him.

Lucy couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed. In a matter of seconds Bora's men, who had seemed so strong, had been reduced to gory messes on the ground. "Who is that? What is that? I don't understand."

"Bora of the Prominence, current slaver and former mage of Titan Nose, you're actions have deemed you a threat to Fiore, and as such you must be eliminated by any means." The voice carried with it no emotion, no humanity, and no mercy.

Lucy felt afraid. Never before had she seen someone die before. More and more everything around her was becoming nothing but a horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake from. This was all so wrong.

"Eliminate me!? Who the fuck do you think you're kidding boy! You think you can just show up and play hero? There are over 100 men on this ship, all skilled mages that even the Rune Knights fear to take on! What makes you think you have a chance against them? Let alone me?" Bora asked, allowing his pride to get the better of him.

"Hn. I don't think the Rune Knights need to fear them any longer then." Again the words held nothing behind them.

"Oh and why is that?"

"Because I already killed them," Bora's, Lucy's and all the girls that had awakened felt their eyes widen as the curtain separating the rest of the ballroom and part of the deck fell to reveal a massacre of blood and gore.

"This isn't possible. How? How did you kill them without raising the alarm? No one could do such a thing, not even a Mage!" Bora stiffened as a cold blade rested against his neck, the cloaked figure in front of him dissolving into thin air.

"Because I'm not a mage." The shadow pushed the blade into the slavers throat and cut it open, a spray of blood gushing everywhere and even on some of the women. "I'm a shinobi."

"Wh-what are you?" Lucy couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed

"These belong to you." The monster, for that was the only description Lucy could give the man before her, reached into his coat and pulled out her celestial keys and tossed them to her, which landed at her feet with a clang. "The Rune Knights should be here soon." That said the monster once again dissolved into nothing, leaving Lucy and the other girls trembling amidst the gore and carnage on the ship.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The Rune Knights eventually found the ship and all 37 girls that had been captured were freed. All had been taken to the local hospital for extreme trauma and analysis.

Several of the girls were in the process of being raped when their rapists had been killed.

Lucy's official statement was that Bora of the Prominence had targeted her in a park, trying to make her believe that he was Fairy Tail's Salamander to get her on his yacht. When that failed, he used a sleeping charm and kidnapped her. Upon waking, Lucy learned Bora planned on selling her as a sex-slave at the highest bid. At an unknown time, a lone assailant attacked the ship and promptly killed Bora and all of his men before disappearing just as fast as he appeared.

Officially it was determined that a copycat of Shadow Heart was at large and deemed to be armed and dangerous with an unknown set of spells at his disposal. Some of Bora's men had been reduced to nothing more than a puddle of blood and bones and others had their insides completely torn apart without the skin being broken.

On the morning when Lucy was finally going to be released from the hospital and allowed to leave Hargeon as the inspection finalized, she found a vase of flowers on the bedside table with a get well soon card attached to it.

I'm sorry I didn't get to see you when you were awake but I have places to go. Don't let your experience here discourage you. Remember the 'Will of Fire' and you'll be amazed at what you can do. Don't be afraid to pursue your dreams because you never know what you may come to regret.

Your Friend,

Naruto

Later that day Lucy, began her journey to the far-east town of Magnolia, home of Fairy Tail.

00000 To Be Continued 000000

Edited: 08/18/2013 by The Revolutionary Ronin & Lord of the Morning