Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello everyone 🙂

If you're reading this for the first time or just coming back to see if it's been updated, glad to have you here. Some clarification moving forward:

I'll be straight up in saying that this fic will be my own spin on "Alternate Fairy Tail." Effectively, the road not taken by Mashima.

E very canon arc from The Battle of Fairy Tail up to Alvarez won't be happening, and we'll be moving forward with a different, more personal tale surrounding our main cast (Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Gray, Laxus, etc). Zeref and Acnologia will not be primary antagonists and will be limited to historical references. Natsu won't be Zeref's brother in this, nor will he be a demon. And certain characters will be altered accordingly.

That said, I am going to try and stay as close to the source material as humanly possible.

As always, feel free to provide feedback. I may or may not implement ideas given to me in reviews 😉

With all that said--let's get cracking!

September 1st, The Tower of Heaven

It was all over.

Smoke and dust rose from the shattered blue crystalline floor beneath his feet. All that came now was a soft, gentle breeze that had come from the sea about a mile below.

Natsu Dragneel was just about ready to tear down the whole damned tower with his own two hands. Even with the persisting ache in his muscles and bones, he was willing to do it. If only so he and his friends could wake up from this nightmare.

Laying half-dead on the floor below him was the unconscious figure of the former Wizard Saint who'd brought them here in the first place. Jellal was finally broken, bruised, and bloody. Locks of blue hair were now stained with dark red from the cuts Natsu had inflicted on his forehead. Only with Natsu's enhanced senses could he hear the faint heartbeat that flickered on the edge between life and death.

The Dragon Slayer contemplated on what he'd do next. The power that coursed through his body told him he could burn up the sea if he so wished. He didn't understand this power… these scales that now lined his arms and face. What was this? Some kind of power left by Igneel?

It wasn't his place to deal with Jellal any further, however. The former councilman was defeated. And if by some miracle he got back up, Natsu would finish what he started. Even after he'd killed Simon and hurt his friends… even after what he'd done to Erza.

Erza.

Natsu turned around, still holding Jellal up by his collar. He searched around the cavern of lacrima crystals for any sign of her. Immediately, he saw her standing on the opposite end, just by Simon's corpse.

She was watching him with those brown eyes of hers. Intently. Studying him as if he'd changed into a new person entirely.

He found himself smiling at her, and his spirits were lifted when she smiled back.

Instinctively, he let go of Jellal, letting the blue-haired man fall to the floor with a dull thud! He had started making his way over to Erza when he felt his legs give out. He fell to his knees, and a wave of nausea and exhaustion hit him. It was as if he'd taken a step outside of his own body. He knew he was leaning forward as unconsciousness washed over him.

But he never felt the hard surface of the tower floor. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him. And just before he finally gave in, he heard a distant, almost angelic voice whisper into his ear.

"You're really incredible… Natsu."

He awoke minutes later, the last of the adrenaline in his body kicking him awake.

Natsu immediately recognized the hard crystalline surface of the floor. He shot up onto his feet and looked sharply around the room. He was no longer the thinking human he once was, now he gathered his surroundings the same way an cornered animal would.

After seeing the limp body that once belonged to Simon, and the broken form of Jellal, he started looking for Erza.

He found her. She was floating, rather peacefully even, inside of the lacrima. Her scarlet hair floated above and around her as if she were underwater. Her eyes were closed, and there wasn't even a single worried line on her forehead.

He didn't even stop to ask why she was even in there. Natsu went into action and ran over to the giant lacrima, looking for any sort of way to get her out. As he touched the crystal, he saw the surface ripple like water. The outer edges were hardening, however. Shit! Could he get in there and pull her out? He'd just have to try.

Natsu plunged his hand into the lacrima. He almost grinned as it had accepted him, and sunk his forearm deeper into the crystal.

Erza was right in the middle of the damned thing! Almost a full body's length away from him. Natsu ground his teeth as he felt a dull stinging sensation begin to launch up his fully submerged arm. Now his shoulder was inside, and his torso would soon follow. He stepped inside of it as well to give him slightly more reach, but was careful so as to not place his head anywhere near it.

The lacrima greedily pulled at him the more he went inside. Natsu managed to keep his weight towards his back foot, however, countering it. "Come on…" He said to himself as he brushed his fingers against Erza's arm. If she felt it, she gave no sign of it. She looked like she was asleep.

Natsu took another step forward and got a firm grip on her arm. He pulled her towards him, but was dismayed when it had little effect. She'd only moved slightly closer to him, but was otherwise rooted to her spot.

The Dragon Slayer, now angry at the stupid lacrima that refused to give him his friend back, had taken another step forward. More than half of his body was now submerged. He coiled his right arm around Erza's waist and pulled her towards him with the last reserves of his strength. His muscles screamed at him as he fought against the stubborn resistance provided by the lacrima. He realized he was winning the exchange as Erza's waist made contact with his, and then began to shift onto his back foot.

There was one last burst of defiance from the lacrima. Natsu felt it try to drag him in as well, but with raw animal instinct, Natsu kept himself firmly planted as he brought Erza out of it.

Thhhhlop!

Natsu fell sharply onto his back, with Erza falling on top of him. They were free! He got up and rested her gently on the tower floor. "Erza? Erza?" He cradled her head in his hands. "Come on! Wake up Erza!"

There was no answer. Natsu placed his ear over her mouth and listened. A surge of relief blasted through his mind as he felt her breath softly, but slowly. She was alive!

Not wasting any time, the Dragon Slayer had looped his arms around her waist and under her knees respectively into a bridal carry. "It's alright, Erza." He told her, "Everything will be fine. I'll get us out of here." He stood up and started looking around for an exit.

He knew that the stairs that had been wrapped around the tower's exterior was not an option. No doubt it was all lacrima by now. The hole in the center of the tower would also not be particularly appealing.

How much magic did he have left in him? Could he make it to the coast? Natsu decided that he would just have to try it, as it was likely his best option. He took a step forward to the open veranda that gave him a view of the sea and the night sky above.

Below his feet, he felt the tower begin to rumble and quake. All around him, chunks of blue crystal fell from the ceiling, and the walls shook terribly. A sharp BOOM had erupted from the lower floors. Natsu realized that rather soon, this place was going to explode.

"N-N-Nat…" A voice quivered from behind him.

Natsu glanced sharply at the intrusion. He immediately narrowed his eyes at the crawling, prone figure of Jellal as he slowly made his way over to them. If looks could kill, then the blue-haired man would've been incinerated. Touch her again and I'll finish what I started, asshole.

The former councilman had looked up at him, half-alive, and with searching green eyes. Jellal coughed suddenly and spat out a large clot of fresh blood. "Natsu…" He said. "Go…"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Natsu asked rhetorically, and angrily.

Jellal didn't reply then. Instead he shifted towards the lacrima and all but dove into it as best as he could from his position on the floor. Natsu watched as the crystal accepted him as well, tugging greedily at the broken and bleeding body of the blue-haired mage. As Jellal was almost more than halfway into the lacrima, Natsu felt the quaking of the tower begin to lessen.

The Wizard Saint had looked at him once again, there was sort of tired pleading in those eyes. Natsu realized that he was no longer looking at the same man who'd tried to take his life earlier. This wasn't the man who'd coldly attempted to sacrifice Erza to appease some spirit that was haunting him. What Natsu saw was a man who knew he was about to die, but who knew that at the very least, he was going to die saving those he'd wronged. "G-Get Erza out of here. Give her a s-second chance." He said. "Give her the life she deserves…"

Natsu paused. He didn't understand what the other man had meant with that last line. As he watched Jellal give him one last nod before being fully engulfed inside the lacrima, he felt the tower stop shaking entirely. Suddenly it was completely stable, save for the soft glow that began to emit from its core.

He didn't need to be told twice. Natsu turned around and found the coastline off in the far distance. Tugging one last time at Erza so as to keep her in his grasp, he leapt off the tower and focused the remnants of his magical power into his feet, rocketing away into the night.

As he got further away from the tower, with the uneven blue structure becoming nothing more than a tall blot in the distance, Natsu felt a surge of raw magical energy spike from the tower. He ignored it however and kept going, jetting through the air.

A fantastic, almost blinding light emitted from behind them, illuminating the entire sea below him, before it had suddenly died away.

By the time Natsu had made it to the shore, the Tower of Heaven had disappeared completely.

Present: September 4th, Akane Resort

Three days later, Natsu awoke in his room back at Akane Resort.

For a few moments, he couldn't see a damned thing. It wasn't until he turned his head to the right that he saw the crack of light between the window curtains. The moon hung brightly in the night sky, beaming down through the glass and onto his face.

Groggily, Natsu had sat up from the bed of pillows and thick blankets. He felt as if someone had taken a bell hammer and had blasted him right in the face with it. His head pounded with a dull, thudding pain as each second passed by.

He felt for the pillows again and remembered their touch. Back in my room then, he surmised.

Natsu gripped his forehead again as another wave of nausea washed over him. Had he fallen unconscious after he spoke with Erza on the beach? Probably. No doubt she and the rest of their friends had brought him back here.

More questions threatened to flood his mind, but something else soon took priority over them. A lurching, queasy sensation had pulsated in his stomach, and Natsu knew right then and there what was about to happen.

Hastily, he threw the blankets off of himself and all but jumped out of bed. Half-remembering where the bathroom was, he stumbled over to the opposite wall and felt for the ridges of a doorframe. When he found it, he stepped inside and felt for the porcelain sink, hanging his head over it.

It was then that he felt everything come crashing down on him. Just barely managing to stay on his feet, he vomited up the bile that had been floating around in his stomach for the last few days. A bitter acidic taste filled his mouth, occasionally crackling with unused magical residue.

When he was done, he exhaled sharply and caught his breath. His stomach gurgled and popped in response as it calmed for the moment.

Natsu searched blindly for the small lacrima lamp that would've been next to the bathroom door just above the sink. He found it and flicked it on. He nearly held up a hand to his eyes as they readjusted to the light before letting it fall back to the porcelain railing. Unconsciously, he shut the door behind him, and then looked into the mirror on the wall opposite of himself.

He laughed with a dry croak, which then gave way into a fit of coughs. Once he was stable, he looked at himself in the mirror again.

His body was practically covered with bandages. The skin on his shoulders and his chest was mostly bare, save for the purplish yellow blotches where he'd been badly bruised. His arms and waist were almost mummified, and there was a long strip coming up over his right shoulder, and another wrapped around his neck. Though he was wearing his usual puffy white pants, he knew his legs were also bandaged as well. And finally, there was a strip of white cloth coiled diagonally around his forehead and the crown of his skull.

Shit. He chuckled again, this time without coughing. He'd really had a number done on him at the tower.

The Dragon Slayer felt his stomach begin to rumble violently, he instinctively hovered over the sink and felt the acidic bile come up. He vomited again for a moment, and watched as the greenish brown fluid tinged with blue washed down into the drain.

A foul stench permeated the bathroom now. It was far more powerful due to his sense of smell being significantly more potent. As he took a step back, a cold bead of sweat ran down his forehead, and he felt his headache lessen somewhat.

Water. The one word command had come from the depths of his mind. Natsu complied readily, feeling just how dry his throat was after having not drunk anything for the last three days, with the last thing he had had being sea water. He craned his neck down under the shiny silver faucet and flipped the tap over to the right side of the sink.

He drank his fill for what seemed like minutes. A surge of relief welled within him as he got hydrated. Once he was finished, he flipped off the tap and stood upright, his other memories coming back to him.

First he was relieved. Thankful for the fact that they'd all gotten out of it safe and sound. Grateful that they'd all woken up from this nightmare…

That feeling didn't last long, however. What followed was a small, nagging tug that began to poke at the edges of his mind. Something that ate away at the sense of security he'd felt only minutes ago.

But why did he feel this way? Why? He'd asked himself.

His mind quickly answered.

His humiliating attempt at a fight with Fukuro… Simon scolding him on the exterior of the Tower… His half-baked duel against Jellal… Eating the Etherion… Saving Erza from the lacrima… All of it came back to him in waves. Denial. Disappointment. Bitterness. Shame. And most of all… Anger.

That last emotion confused him the most. Why was he so angry when he'd won? What had brought it about?

Natsu found himself unable to look into his own eyes. He looked down into the sink and stared at the last bits of green-blue sludge washing down the drain. I won, didn't I? So why does it feel like I got my ass handed to me?

A small, sinister sliver of doubt answered his internal question. Because you did. Jellal had you beat before you ate the Etherion, remember?

He dug his closed bandaged fists into the wooden table top. Deciding to ignore that voice as best he could, he stepped away from the sink and glared at his reflection in the mirror. Two onyx eyes burned right back into him as he was reminded of something else during that battle with Jellal…

"Natsu Dragneel… the child of Igneel…

...I wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer before I destroyed you.

But this is nothing to fear at all."

Unconsciously, he'd summoned his flames into his fists. He glanced down at his hands once he realized it, and watched them burn away the bandages covering his forearms. Fuck.

He put them out. Deciding it was probably best if he went back to sleep and put it all out of his mind. Natsu found the door handle and twisted it, but not before glancing at his reflection one last time.

Nothing to fear at all.

Snarling, he practically yanked open the door and flicked off the lamp lacrima, making his way back into his room.

Just as he was about to slide back into bed, his darker thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sound of nearby snoring.

Natsu looked over to the left side of the room. Almost immediately, all of the anger, bitterness, and shameful feelings had left him right then as he finally took stock of his surroundings.

Laying outstretched on the couch in his hotel room was Lucy. She had her blonde hair bundled up into a loose bun, and was covered in a thick blanket. Resting below her, between the foot of the couch and the middle of the floor was Gray, with a pillow tucked underneath his head as he slept.

What? But…

A slight rustling sound drew his attention back towards his bed. He looked to the foot of the mattress and saw Happy curled up into a ball. He must've been dreaming of catching fish, since he was lazily swinging his paws out in the air.

It was then that he saw a pale foot out of the corner of his eyes. He followed it all the way up to the sleeping form that snoozed quietly in the chair that had been placed at the side of his bed. Locks of scarlet red hair dangled loosely from a slightly bandaged head. Erza.

She was totally passed out in the chair. Though she was wearing her pajamas, she too had a blanket to keep her warm, even if it had since fallen away from her shoulders and just above her waist.

Natsu exhaled sharply, looking at all four of them once again in realization. And… in gratitude.

Had they all come to stay with him while he recovered? They each had their own rooms, right? But why…

They don't need a reason, he told himself. His heart began to beat warmer than it had when he'd scolded himself in the bathroom. All of his bitter thoughts had quickly disappeared, replaced by a snug, homely feeling that put his mind at ease now that his friends were here, with him.

Tiredness washed over him then. He decided it was best to simply go back to sleep before his demons came back to haunt him. Natsu stepped over to the side of his bed, standing barely a few inches away from Erza. Remembering her half-fallen blanket, he took it and gently raised it up to her shoulders. The redhead seemed to snuggle more into her chair as a reaction, and seemed to clutch the blanket closer to her.

Natsu fell into his bed and lazily pulled up the covers. He stared up at the ceiling for a few moments before he finally closed his eyes and let the darkness take him away.

Two days later, they had given a final send off for Sho, Wally, and Millianna. Erza cried ugly tears while Natsu had managed to shoot off the fireworks he and Gray had prepared. They didn't do much else that evening besides having a quiet meal together before going back to their respective rooms.

Early the next morning, Natsu awoke feeling his body ache all over from just how much he'd exerted himself at the tower. The bruises that marked his chest and shoulders, as well as the various cuts had initially discouraged him from training, each came with their own pain.

The sun peeked through the curtains, and Natsu saw that there wasn't a single cloud in the crimson sky. He averted his eyes to look up at the ceiling, a newly acquired habit of his.

He heard Happy snore softly by the foot of the bed. It was looking to be a rather peaceful day today.

So why did he feel… unsatisfied? That was the right word, wasn't it?

It was certainly one way to describe how he was feeling right then and there. Dissatisfied. Uncomfortable. Restless.

Why?

Natsu had hoped that his demons might've left him permanently two days prior. Prayed that this feeling of unease would simply show itself out of his mind. Yet, much to his dismay, it hadn't gone at all. It was simply waiting for the right moment to strike.

...I wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer before I destroyed you.

But this is nothing to fear at all.

The taunt by itself was not what bothered him. The fact that Jellal was right, was what truly made him clench his fists in anger.

He replayed their fight in his head. Over and over and over again. I threw everything I had at him, and he walked out of it without a scratch.

The child of Igneel. Natsu scoffed. What would Igneel even say if he'd watched his fight against Jellal? Nothing good, he knew that for certain.

"Natsu! How could you allow yourself to be defeated by such an inferior mage? And you have the gall to call yourself the Son of Igneel?!"

I tried, dad.

"You tried? You tried?! Does it matter if you tried? Or does it matter if you LOST?"

But I won, dad. I saved Erza and I won.

"You didn't win, boy! You lost and then you resorted to luck! Do you know who relies on luck? The dead!"

But-

"Don't go and make excuses, boy! You are the Son of Igneel! Dragons do not make excuses! They win! Excuses do not affect the outcome, so they cannot affect how you do in battle! Do you understand?!"

….

"Well? Answer me, son!"

Natsu simply continued to glare up at the ceiling. His anger towards Jellal was quickly fading away, now being redirected at not only the voices in his head… but also himself.

How could he have been so careless before? They all walked into someone else's game completely unprepared. And he, the dunderhead of the team, had been the most ill-equipped of them all. Fukuro manhandled him rather easily by taking advantage of his motion sickness, and then Jellal simply moped the floor with him.

No matter how many times the others congratulated him for his victory over a Wizard Saint, there would always be that bitter aftertaste left in his mouth. The knowledge that he hadn't actually won, but that he'd simply gotten lucky. Lucky because he hadn't been killed by eating the Etherion. Lucky because Erza had fought his opponent beforehand. Lucky because Simon had sacrificed his life to save them both.

All Natsu could do was just stand there and watch.

"What the fuck was that?" He asked himself as he replayed his performance in his head. "What could I have done differently?"

No answers came to mind. Natsu balled up his fists and snarled out of frustration. He didn't know what else to do. No solutions came to mind other than to train.

Ignoring the strain and the ache in his arms, chest, and legs, he threw up the blankets and planted his feet firmly onto the floor. He got down into a push-up position and got to work. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…

Eighty reps later and his left arm seized up on him. He cursed as he fell onto the floor and rolled onto his back, feeling the first few beads of sweat on his face soak into his bandages.

If Erza were here, she'd probably scold him for being careless enough to train without having recovered. But Natsu didn't care. He wouldn't have even cared if she was here right now. All that mattered to him was getting the voices inside of his head, outside of his head. And if he had to sweat himself to the point of exhaustion in order to do so, he would.

After a few moments, the pain went away. Natsu resumed his position so as to finish the set of one hundred and got right back to it. Eight-eight, eighty-nine, ninety-

"What are you doing?"

Natsu had stopped midway through ninety-one when he looked up at the bed. Happy was sitting upright on the mattress, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes as he looked down at Natsu.

The Dragon Slayer opted to finish his set first. Ninety-one, ninety-two… "Training." He said with a low grunt as he went down towards the floor, his arms and chest screaming at him to stop.

"Why?" His friend had asked rather curiously. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Yeah." Natsu said, standing up from the floor with a few beads of sweat running down his forehead. He hated that he felt more out of breath than usual.

"So why aren't you resting?"

"Can't sleep."

Happy frowned. "Why not?"

The Dragon Slayer looked over at the blue cat. He bit his tongue as his patience was about to run out. He let out a long sigh. "Because I just can't, Happy. That's why." He said firmly, then moving into position so he could do his burpees.

Thankfully, Happy hadn't questioned him further.

Natsu got on with his burpees, hating each and every single rep he did. He absolutely despised burpees, but he was once told by Gildarts that "they get the job done!" It was especially worse now because of his condition. His whole body cried out in pain as he went rep after rep, and he had to stop more frequently simply because he hadn't been keeping up with his training in the last few days, so he needed to give his lungs more time to recover.

How could he sleep knowing what he knew anyway? He'd been singlehandedly demolished by some blue-haired punk who'd worshiped the spirit of a dead dark wizard practically his whole life. Knowing just how quickly Erza had been reduced to tears. Knowing that Simon had only died because Natsu had been too weak to stop Jellal beforehand.

"Are you coming out with us to the park later?" Happy asked as Natsu stopped momentarily to gasp for air.

"Nah." Natsu said instinctively. He didn't want to. "Not today, buddy."

"But didn't you say you wanted to get the funnel cakes there? I wanted to have some too."

"You can get them with Lucy."

Happy looked downcast at the floor. "It's not the same with her. She's so self-conscious about what she eats. I don't know why. I mean, it's not like she isn't fat already." The cat said with a straight face, almost as if he was talking about the weather.

Natsu allowed himself a small snicker. Maybe this exercise thing was working after all. "Don't let her hear you say that."

"What can she do? She can't blow up mountains like you can."

"No. But she's definitely got a temper. And it's rude to say things like that about her."

Happy nodded. "Yeah. I guess." He said. "Can we go there later then?"

The Dragon Slayer paused at that. "Don't know, buddy." How could he just go and get funnel cake after they'd all nearly died less than a week ago? He didn't know why, but the prospect of stuffing himself full so soon after making so many careless mistakes simply bothered him. He decided to deflect the question. "How about you go get some breakfast with the others? I'm not hungry, so I'll stay up here."

His friend seemed to get excited upon hearing the word 'breakfast'. Happy jumped off the bed. "Aye sir!" He said.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Happy covered for him with his comrades, thankfully. And Natsu continued to brood alone in his room until it was time for bed. He stared up at the ceiling and counted to ten over and over again until he finally fell asleep.

The next day was eerily similar to the last. Natsu awoke in the morning and went straight to training. His body had recovered some of its prior strength, but he was still in pain as he continued to do his reps.

Happy had stayed with Lucy overnight. So Natsu had the whole room to himself, and was given time to reflect. And to decide on what he'd do once they returned to Magnolia. As of right now, all he could really think to do was to train both his body and his magical abilities as much as possible. But outside of that… he came up with nothing.

As he performed his fifty-seventh push up on his sixth set, however, he heard two pairs of footsteps approach his door in the outer hallway.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Natsu shot to his feet. He listened intently with his enhanced hearing. The breathing pattern was familiar… Lucy.

What does she want?

He went over to the door and opened it. Lucy stood on the other side with her closed fist half-raised to knock again. Erza stood behind her. Both of them were wearing rather conservative looking sundresses. Erza in yellow and Lucy in white. She lowered it and smiled at him.

"Hey Natsu!"

"What's up?" He asked plainly, not realizing he was shirtless save for the bandages on his chest.

"We're heading out to the beach," Erza said, having flicked back a lock of her hair. "We wanted to know if you'd like to join us."

On any other day… sure. But now?

If I stay here, I can train some more. At least train until I can't stay awake any longer, his mind had rationalized.

What would he do at the beach besides, well… keeping to himself? He wasn't in the mood to play beach games with Happy and Lucy, or to sit and tan in the sun. Hell, he didn't even care about beating the Human Popsicle (another of his nicknames for Gray) at volleyball again.

It was then that Natsu realized his friends were still in 'vacation mode'. What happened at the tower was simply an inconvenience to them. Nothing more. He didn't know whether or not to consider them lucky, or blind.

The answer came easily to him. "I'm good." He said, already closing the door. "See you guys later."

"Wait!" Lucy's plea had made him stop momentarily. "What about dinner this evening? We're all going to go to that fancy restaurant down in the lounge. Don't you want to come with us?"

"Sure," he said with a rather dismissive wave of his hand, half-thinking about the answer. His only objective was to get the both of them out of his hair.

"Okay! We'll be heading down around 8pm. See you there!"

Natsu nodded one last time to the both of them before shutting the door and going back into the small living area in his room. He heard their footsteps echo down the hall, and their voices fade away. Knowing that they were gone, he got right back to his push ups.

He had been too focused on his training to have noticed the look of concern that Erza had worn, just before he closed the door.

Dinner had brought a small reprieve, however.

The rest of his team had been rather animated as the meal went on. Each of them were wearing business casual attire: Gray kept a sweater along with some jeans; Lucy and Erza wore gray and black pencil skirts respectively, with the latter wearing her usual white blouse, and Lucy wearing a pink one; while Natsu had tossed aside his black and gold vest in favor of a white dress shirt and fitting black pants.

It wasn't quite the fancy restaurant that Lucy had made it out to be, but Natsu figured she might've been a bit hyperbolic so as to get her point across. Her father was one of the richest men in Fiore, after all.

Natsu, for his part, had largely kept quiet. That itself was a rather normal occurrence during mealtime, since he'd stuff himself silly with whatever food he ordered. This time however he opted to simply observe his comrades as they discussed the weather, the guild, and what jobs they would take once they all returned to Magnolia.

"...and I know I'm kind of beating a dead horse here," Lucy said with a slightly embarrassed expression. "But I do have to pay my rent by the end of the month."

Oh, there was that, too.

Natsu rolled his eyes and quietly ate the tomahawk steak he ordered for himself. It was always the same with Lucy and her rent.

"We've got you handled, Lucy." Gray said. The Ice-Make mage had just wiped his mouth after finishing one of the grilled chicken breasts on his plate. "I'm sure there's loads of jobs we can take once we get back to the guild."

"Agreed." Erza nodded firmly. "You're a valued member of our team. It is our responsibility to help you make end's meet."

Lucy, however, had sweatdropped. "Is it your responsibility to also cause needless amounts of property damage?"

"Only when the situation calls for it."

"But it happens like… 99% of the time we all go out on a job! Our rewards always get cut in half!"

Happy snickered from Natsu's side. "I don't know what you're expecting, Luceee~" He said. "You're asking three of Fairy Tail's strongest mages to not do what they do best. Right, Natsu?"

He'd been caught off guard by the question. He stopped digging his knife into the steak and looked up. Everyone else looked to him to continue the conversation.

"Uh… yeah," Natsu said with a flickering smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What Happy said."

The Dragon Slayer went back to eating his steak, but that awkward lull in the conversation had stayed and festered between all five of them. A few uncomfortable moments passed until Gray coughed and asked something about Lucy's keys, so as to break the tension.

Natsu pretended not to notice anything had happened, but internally he was scolding himself for bringing down the mood. That wasn't at all his intention.

It felt wrong to take out his frustrations and sour mood on his teammates. It wasn't their fault that he'd made such careless mistakes at the tower. A part of him knew that they were expecting him to be the usual boisterous Dragon Slayer that he was. But all of that energy had left him the day they came back to Akane Beach. Now it had been replaced by guilt, anger, and shame.

And he didn't even understand why.

Thankfully, as he started listening once more, the conversation had regained its light tone.

"-what did she say?" Lucy asked.

Gray shrugged. "Said she'd head back to Magnolia. See about joining the guild."

"That's wonderful!" The blonde said. "I know she has a history with Phantom Lord, but I'm sure Juvia will be an excellent addition to the guild. I don't think I would've made it out of the tower if it wasn't for her."

"She said the same thing about you, actually."

The blonde had blushed. "Oh, whatever it was, I'm sure it was nothing."

"Nonsense, Lucy. You're a capable mage in your own right." Erza said. "And I agree. Juvia certainly made a difference in our fight against Jellal. I'm glad she's joining Fairy Tail, though I'm a little confused as to why she was even here in the first place."

Gray had scratched the back of his head, hiding his embarrassment and going back to his meal. It had gone totally unnoticed by Erza and Lucy. But it had not gone unnoticed by Happy.

"You liiiiiiiiiiiiike her~" Happy said suddenly, pointing his fork at the Ice-Make mage.

"No I don't! How the hell did you come to that conclusion?!"

As Natsu cut the last bit of meat off the tomahawk bone, he set down his fork and knife. Whatever scraps of energy he had left had seemingly been drained out of him. He downed the glass of water next to his plate and felt his head begin to pound with a dull pain. He sighed heavily, not realizing how loud he'd been as he gripped his forehead.

"Natsu? Are you alright?" Lucy asked, concerned. "You look a bit pale."

The Dragon Slayer felt a cold sensation wash over him then. "Yeah… I'm good." He said, then coming to a decision. He didn't want to bring down the mood any longer. "I'm gonna head up to my room. See you guys in the morning, yeah?" He asked without expecting an answer, having already gotten out of his seat.

"But we haven't gotten dessert yet, Natsu~" Happy said.

"Yeah, ash-for-brains." Gray lounged back in his seat. "Thought food was the love of your life or something."

"Not tonight, guys." Natsu shook his head, taking out a wad of jewel notes from his pocket and placing them on the table. "Here, that should cover dinner." He said, then turning and making his way out of the restaurant and into the main lobby.

The dull cigar scent of the private lounge was quickly replaced by a cold blast of fresh oxygen as he strode by the front desk and made for the elevators. He pressed the glowing yellow button that had an arrow facing up.

He watched the small number box above the doors light up and begin to count down. 10, 9, 8…

A firm but small hand had grasped his shoulder. Natsu immediately looked at it and then at its owner.

Erza stood behind him, and carefully removed her hand when he noticed her. "Natsu, what's wrong?" She asked, folding her arms and giving him a rather stern glare.

For the life of him, he didn't even know why he was completely unphased under the death stare she was giving him. Now he just looked at her as if she'd cracked a bad joke. "Nothing." He said. "Just a bit tired."

"I understand that you're still sick. But you've just been… reclusive these last few days."

"Yeah. I know."

Erza's gaze had softened. She pursed her lips and took a step forward. "What's wrong, Natsu? You haven't been yourself lately. It's…" She looked away. "It's worrying the rest of us."

Should he tell her? Natsu didn't know whether or not she would get it. He didn't completely understand the problem himself. All he knew is that he was angry for letting down Igneel. For letting Simon die, for letting Jellal walk all over him…

And for seeing Erza cry.

No. This wasn't her problem. He shouldn't make it her problem. As much as Natsu trusted Erza, he couldn't do that to her. She'd had more than enough emotional stuff on her plate. Right now, she needed time to herself, and he needed to get himself out of whatever this rut was. Perhaps he might tell someone one day soon, but for now, this was something he'd have to sort out on his own.

"No," He said with a gentle smile, placing his hand on Erza's arm. "Nothing's wrong, Erza. I'm just tired."

Ding!

He looked over his shoulder and at the elevator. The two doors opened revealing an empty car.

Natsu took his hand away and went inside. Erza followed him, but stopped at the threshold between the main floor and the car. As he clicked the button for the 8th floor, he gave Erza one last smile.

"Goodnight, Erza." He said.

"Goodnight, Natsu." Came her reply. He didn't notice her downcast look as the doors closed shut. Ding!

Once he arrived back in his room, he took a seat on the lone armchair at the head of the coffee table in the living area. On his throne of reflection, he looked at the wide landscape painting hanging on the opposite wall and went back to the demons that were plaguing his mind.

He stayed there until the early hours of the morning. Just watching the still-life wheat fields in the painting and never once moving.

Author's Note:

Hello everyone. The Son of Wanderer here.

Before we dive in, there are a few things I'd like to clear up. Some of these may dissuade you from reading further, if that is the case, then no harm done. However, for those of you who are interested, here's what NOT to expect:

A full retelling of Fairy Tail. That's not the point of this story. It's not happening. As a matter of fact, I'm going to ignore many of the arcs that happen after the Tower of Heaven.

Jellal ain't coming back. He's staying dead. Not because the pairing wouldn't work with him there, but because he shouldn't have come back in the first place. He was cooler as a villain anyway.

Zero MAIN OCs. Can't be bothered, so we're working with the original cast here.

No Battle of Fairy Tail. This version of Laxus isn't a dickhead (well, maybe just a little bit at the start).

That should be it, I believe. Without further ado, I look forward to sharing this adventure with you.

So long,

The Son of Wanderer

Chapter Text

September 12th, Akane Beach Railway Station

As minutes passed by on the large circular clock inside of the train station, Natsu Dragneel had calmly tapped his foot against the floor.

The Dragon Slayer sat on one of the benches on the westbound platform; they would be taking the train back to Hargeon, and from there to Magnolia. A journey that amounted to a total of six or so hours. He estimated they would arrive later in the afternoon.

He'd woken up early in the morning, far earlier than the others for that matter. After waking up Happy as he trained rather vigorously, he'd taken a shower, gotten dressed, and packed his things. He was ready to go home.

Natsu didn't really pay attention to the fact that Happy had largely kept to himself, only occasionally catching the blue cat watching him curiously, but otherwise staying quiet. It had been like that for the remainder of their stay at Akane Resort as well. And not just with Happy.

Since he'd abruptly left dinner a few days back, feigning tiredness so he could brood in private, the others had seemed to be walking on eggshells when they were around him. Well, with the exception of Gray, of course. However, Natsu had noticed the distinct lack of insults being thrown his way after he'd left them behind in the lounge. Perhaps Gray was being cautious as well, just in his own way.

Whatever the case, Natsu hadn't intended to put a damper on his friends' vacation. He just couldn't bring himself to be as lively as he once was. Not with everything that was on his mind.

After packing, he ate a rather quiet breakfast with Happy and waited in the lobby for the others to come down and check out. Together, the whole team had set out to the train station where they were currently waiting for the next ride to Hargeon.

Lucy and Gray had stood by the edge of the platform just a short distance from Natsu and Happy, and Erza was currently speaking to the woman behind the ticket booth. The general mood wasn't exactly tense, but it certainly didn't hold its usual warmth, either. At least, it didn't for Natsu. But then again, he only had himself to blame for that.

Natsu for his part simply stared a hole into the concrete platform itself, and reflected on his failed duel with Fukuro, the owl wizard from Death's Head Caucus.

The bitter taste of inner shame had washed over him as he recalled just how easily he'd been taken out by the assassin. It had been a bad matchup to be sure, especially since Fukuro had done his homework on him in the first place, actually knowing about his motion sickness and using it to his advantage. It stung even more as he already knew that Gray of all people had to step in and finish the job, effectively cleaning up Natsu's trash. Another mark to add to his recent list of failures.

What could I have done differently?

Fukuro had been fast, but not that fast on his own. He'd relied on his jetpack for the most part.

Had it been possible for him to avoid the jetpack? Of course, but Natsu hadn't anticipated the mechanical hands that the device seemed to have. What sort of jetpack has hands anyways? He wondered, mostly frustrated as he looked back on it all.

Could he have kept his distance? But then how would he attack? None of his spells, save his roar at least, were particularly long-ranged. And even then it would usually take him a few seconds to inhale the air around him to get it ready. Longer if his magic reserves were running low.

Igneel had only ever taught him spells that focused solely on melee combat. His father loved to fight after all. He could afford to get in close and personal.

That might work for a dragon… but what about for a human? Natsu had figured out the hard way that he simply had much different limitations than a dragon. He was smaller, weaker, frailer. Clearly more susceptible to pain and injury. As much as Natsu enjoyed fighting close quarters… he knew that he had to adapt from this recent loss. Something had to be done.

What if… A flash of inspiration struck him. A rough, but galvanizing idea began to take shape. What if he made a spell that could address this impediment? Could he pull it off? And if he could, then how?

Truthfully, he didn't really know how much having a longer-ranged spell would help in the long run. But it was something he could latch onto, something he could improve on. And at this point, he was willing to take whatever he could get. Natsu was determined to make it work. He'd seen the Stripper make spears and lances out of ice, and he'd seen Erza rotate between various weapons; breaking the curse on Galuna Island had immediately come to mind. Natsu had used his magic to increase the velocity of Erza's spear. Who was to say he couldn't create a spell that could mimic the spear itself, though? It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.

That said, Natsu knew that his lack of range hadn't been the core issue at hand. It was something he'd neglected to deal with over the years which had clearly come back to bite him in the ass.

His motion sickness had gotten him in the end. The weakness by itself hadn't presented any problems before, but now?

Fukuro had known about it. And if he knew, then others must as well. They'd try to take advantage of it if he gave them the chance.

Natsu did not want to end up in a situation like that ever again. The feeling of being completely helpless while others needed him only made him simmer with renewed anger. No, something had to be done about his motion sickness.

Was there a way he could get over it? And if so, how could he pull it off?

"Natsu?"

Broken out of his musings, Natsu glanced down at the blue cat who sat next to him. Happy was staring at him with a look that bordered between concern and confusion.

"Yeah buddy?"

"What's wrong with you?"

He shouldn't have been so surprised at how blunt Happy had been with his question. After all, Natsu had raised him ever since he'd hatched from his egg. The Dragon Slayer scratched the back of his head and looked away.

"Nothing." He said. "Just thinking."

Happy frowned. "Why though?" He asked. "What's going on?"

Natsu, not wanting to explain himself, gave his friend a hard look. "Happy. Leave it."

The Exceed hadn't replied, obviously getting the hint that Natsu hadn't wanted to talk about it. Happy pouted and folded his arms, looking away at the tracks.

Natsu let out a quiet breath, letting the awkward silence hang in the air. He glanced to his right, looking down the tracks that led to the smaller coastal towns and villages to the east. He squinted when he saw a small, black plume of smoke rise in the far distance. Nobody else had taken notice of it, of course. They couldn't see as well as he could.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMPHHHHH! The train roared as it applied the brakes on the tracks. People gathered on the platform had stood up from their seats.

A few minutes later, the train pulled into the station, coming to a complete halt. Natsu got up and slung his pack over his shoulders before walking over to Erza and the others. Happy followed close behind him.

They waited for the people on the train to get off before boarding. The five of them quickly found an empty car and put away their luggage on the racks above their seats before sitting down. Instinctively, Natsu felt his gut squeeze uncomfortably in anticipation for what would come next.

Gray and Lucy had sat in the two seats on the opposite side of the car, with Happy resting next to the blonde. Meanwhile Natsu found himself sitting between the window and Erza.

This was their usual seating arrangement since they'd gone out on so many jobs together. Natsu mostly slept whenever they had to ride the train, either in his seat, or with his head on Erza's lap. All so he could avoid the queasy sensation that would build up in his stomach and make the world spin around him.

BRRRRRRRRRRRMMMPHHHHH! The train blasted its horn again as it started forward and began to pick up speed. Natsu immediately heard a sharp, whistling sound that tried to penetrate his eardrums, his vision beginning to whirl into a violent vortex of sounds and colors. He broke out into a cold sweat and leaned forward, posting his elbows on his knees just to keep himself upright.

His insides lurched and gurgled, threatening to come up out of his throat like the Etherion had. His hands were clammy all of the sudden.

"Natsu, come here," He heard Erza's voice even through the loud howling sound in his ears. It didn't sound like a demand like usual, more like she was asking him politely. He felt her hand touch his shoulder and pull him closer.

A part of him was yelling for him to obey. To take the easy way out and just rest his head on Erza's lap. It wasn't like he hadn't done this before, right? Maybe he could just…

No. He told himself. Somehow, he found the strength to lift his arm and gently push Erza's hand away. He shook his head, kept himself upright, and tried to steady his breathing. You're going to get over this. You're going to get accustomed to it. You're going to adapt to it…

One way or another.

Six hours later

The ride back to Magnolia had been comfortable, but silent.

As the train came to a halt in the railway station placed along the town's southern edges, Erza Scarlet had watched the shifting clouds in the sky through the window of their car, and had unconsciously measured the position of the sun. She didn't need a clock to tell her it was early in the afternoon.

By now, plenty of the townsfolk who had their normal, every day jobs would be breaking from lunch and getting back to work. Within a few hours they'd go home and prepare for dinner, relax for the evening, and then head off to bed.

She liked the homely feeling she got from this town. The residents and shopkeepers always made her feel welcome, regardless of the changing seasons, or even if there had been some sort of tragedy that took place in recent times. Even after the battle with Phantom Lord, these people still opened their doors and smiled at her and her comrades.

Erza watched as her friends got up from their seats. As if a switch had been flicked, Natsu had been the first one on his feet. He grabbed his pack, wiped his forehead clear of sweat, and strode out of the compartment. Lucy and Happy followed. Erza followed behind Gray out into the long hallway, though her mind was currently elsewhere. She wasn't even paying attention to the ice wizard when he'd thoughtlessly taken off his shirt and left it on the floor of the train.

The Knight had breathed in the fresh afternoon air as she stepped out onto the platform, her mind wandering to the guild and what they'd been up to as of late. It had only been roughly two weeks since she and her team left for Akane Resort, but in her mind, it felt as if years had passed by.

Had they finished the new guild hall while she and the others were away? Erza hoped so, though she was willing to get to work if that hadn't been the case.

"Gray! You're not wearing a shirt!"

Erza was brought back to the present by Lucy's half-shriek as they made their way along the train platform. The blonde was practically glaring at the ice wizard.

Gray, for his part, had only now just noticed he was half-naked. "What?" he looked down, only slightly surprised. "Ah, shit."

"That's all you have to say? You were literally wearing a shirt not two minutes ago!"

"Well, it's not like I can't-"

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMPPPHHHHHHHH! The train blasted out its horn once again as passengers had finished boarding. It picked up speed, and started chugging along down the tracks once more. And with it, Gray's shirt.

"Fuck." The Ice-Make mage smoothed back his hair, giving the train a mildly frustrated glance as it began to fade away into the distance. "Well, I've got another one anyways."

The group stopped for a few moments while Gray opened up his pack and found a sweater. Then they continued on out of the station and into Magnolia Town itself, quickly finding their way to South Gate Park.

Erza found herself by the rear of the group. A rather uncommon position given that she'd been considered the de-facto leader of their team by the others. She wasn't concerned about it, however. It gave her the chance to take a step back and reflect on the last few weeks, and on how her teammates were doing.

Both Lucy and Gray had taken their excursion to the tower rather well. Erza was proud of them both for having respectively defeated two powerful assassins from a renowned dark guild. Meanwhile Happy had been up to his usual antics as always, though he seemed slightly more dejected today than days prior.

Erza would hazard a guess at what the cause had ultimately been.

Natsu silently led the group from the front. It hadn't taken a genius to know that something was off with him. Though Erza had been slightly hurt by his rejection to lay his head on her lap earlier on the train, she forced herself to look past it and focus on the problem at hand.

She knew his unusual behavior had to have been related to what happened at the tower. What she didn't know was the specifics behind his sudden change.

Was it his fight with the assassin Gray defeated? Or was it when he'd fought Jellal?

The redhead could understand the potential reasoning behind the first example. Both Natsu and Gray were highly competitive, especially when put up against one another. She wouldn't have blamed him for taking the defeat especially hard, as Gray had to come in and finish the job.

But hadn't he redeemed himself when he faced down Jellal? Natsu had won in the end. Even if Jellal seemed to be the more powerful of the two initially.

She racked her mind for any possible explanation, but nothing came up. What possible reason could Natsu have for being upset at his victory over a Wizard Saint? Wasn't fighting the thing he lived for? Wouldn't he celebrate over it?

The rest of their team had noticed it too. But Erza supposed that both Gray and Lucy were operating under the assumption that Natsu's strange behavior would eventually pass, and he'd be back to being the happy-go-lucky Dragon Slayer he usually was. They probably think he's still sick.

Erza, however, was not as optimistic. Whenever Natsu lost fights in the past, he'd always stay the same. Whether it was her he'd challenged, or Mira, or Laxus, or even Gildarts for that matter, he'd shrug it off like it was nothing and even come back for more.

But now? Him staying isolated in his hotel room was an obvious factor, but Happy had also informed them that Natsu rarely ate, slept, and that he was training when he should've been resting. None of them knew how to proceed with confronting him, since his newly stoic demeanor was enough for them to deal with.

Why change now, though? Because they'd been caught off guard in the hotel? Or because their lives had been threatened for real this time around?

Whatever the case, Erza wanted to find out what was bothering Natsu deep down. If only so she could help him. He was a member of their team after all.

And because he ate the Etherion. He was willing to die just so he could save you, a traitorous voice spoke up from within her head.

She forced it back down, however, and rationalized the ridiculous, but admittedly heroic deed as something he might've done for anyone else on their team.

South Gate Park was quickly put behind the group of five. They soon made their way into the center of town, with Kardia Cathedral being visible at the far end of the street as they came upon the next intersection.

"I don't know if it's because we almost died a few weeks ago, but everything just seems… nicer around here." Lucy said warmly.

"Maybe you just lost weight and you're finally seeing the world as healthy people see it." Happy quipped.

"Excuse me?!"

The blue cat hadn't seemed to notice the blonde's outburst. "You were fat before and because of that, everything was dark and depressing. Now that you've lost weight, everything is bright and nice."

Lucy almost growled. "I wasn't fat! Where do you get off saying things like that?!"

"Why are you mad at me? I just complimented you for slimming down."

The bickering between the two had subsequently broken out into an argument. Both Natsu and Gray seemed entirely disinterested in what was taking place, while Erza found herself slowly itching to go to her favorite cake shop in town.

It was like this often enough when they went out on jobs, but now Erza had been broken out of her musings once again, and that the two of them were beginning to draw more and more attention to themselves from the townsfolk passing by on the street, Erza figured it was time to lay down the law.

Just before she could say anything, however, Happy had bolted away from Lucy and ran up to Natsu's side.

"Natsu~! Lucy keeps insulting me even though I complimented her! She's being mean!"

The blonde pouted in response. "Well maybe if you hadn't called me fat, we wouldn't be doing this!"

Natsu came to a complete halt as they arrived at the intersection. He half-turned to face the rest of them, his face a mask of calmed anger. He narrowed his onyx eyes and first looked down at Happy, and then at Lucy.

There was a cold, silent fury behind those draconic eyes. Erza knew it all too well. It was similar to the stern, dangerous glare that Master Makarov would wear when he actually got serious about something.

"Both of you." He began, his voice firm. "Shut up!"

The simple command had completely demolished the bitter atmosphere between the blonde and the cat. And it had absolutely floored Erza.

Here was a man she'd known for the better part of her life, always playing the carefree Dragon Slayer she knew him to be. Usually he'd just ignored these occasional small-time spats between their companions, but now he'd just gone and effortlessly slipped into the role of the stern and disciplined parent.

Natsu…

"Now apologize to each other. Right now."

Both Lucy and Happy did a brief double take themselves before sheepishly looking at one another and mumbling their apologies.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you both." Natsu said, clearly playing it off as if he hadn't heard them with his enhanced hearing. Even Erza knew he heard things most others couldn't.

The two were louder as they spoke clearly to one another this time. "I'm sorry." They said at the same time.

"Good." Natsu glanced down the left road now. His expression morphed back into one of disinterest. "I'm gonna head home for the day. You guys go to the guild if you like."

Erza had finally recovered from her shock. She stepped forward, putting force into her voice. "Natsu, Master Makarov will be expecting us to report in."

It was barely a reason at all, but she had to say something to get him to stick around so she could continue observing his behavior.

However, her attempt did not quite have the effect she'd wanted. "You can tell him yourself then, Erza." The Dragon Slayer said off-handedly, then looking down at Happy. "You coming with? Or do you want to go see the guild?"

Happy seemed to contemplate what he'd say to the stranger standing in front of him. After a few moments, he'd looked up and matched Natsu's gaze. "I'll go to the guild."

"Cool." The reply was effortless, as if the voice behind it was going to say it regardless of the answer. Natsu looked at the rest of them one more time before nodding. "See you guys later." He said, and then marched off in the opposite road to the east. Erza knew that both his and Happy's house was in the eastern forest, so that clearly must've been where he was going.

The Knight, for one exceedingly rare moment, was totally dumbfounded by what had just happened. So too were her companions since they all stood there, in the middle of the street watching Natsu's back as he strode down the main road.

Gray was the first to break the tension. "To be fair, you guys were making a racket."

Lucy punched him in the arm.

With an awkward silence beginning to set in, Erza took the lead and went down the west road in the direction of Fairy Tail's guild hall.

What is going on with you, Natsu?

Tick, tick, tick, tick…

It was roughly an hour later. Erza sat with the Master's Office in the new and improved Fairy Tail guild building.

After Natsu had left them in the streets of Magnolia, none of them had spoken a word to each other until they reached the gigantic, sprawling castle-esque structure that was now their new home. It was so fantastically different from the previously demolished building that they could only marvel at it.

They were greeted quickly by Max who, for some reason, managed the souvenir shop outside of the front gates (Erza wasn't entirely sure on why Fairy Tail needed a souvenir shop to begin with). He showed them inside, where Mira was all too happy to receive them. The barmaid had waved them over and gave them a quick tour of the new guildhall. All the while a grand brawl had been raging across the main floor in the background.

Some things never change, Erza thought with a brief, guilty smile. The difference in atmosphere was a much needed reprieve to their rather perplexing morning and early afternoon.

She was pleased to see some of the new additions; namely the open cafe where she'd imagined herself ordering tea and strawberry cake, and being able to enjoy both without interruption. The swimming pool was nice, but as for the arcade in the basement… Erza felt it was unneeded. It promoted far too much laziness, when this place was meant to be a guild for wizards to seek and acquire work. Again, however, she knew in the end she'd spend very little time in the basement area. So she quickly managed to put it out of her mind.

They were also met with a newly recovered Juvia, who was now a proud member of Fairy Tail. She joined up with them as they toured the new guildhall, occasionally remarking on Gray's clothing before giving Lucy a deadly glare.

And as a side note: Erza's confusion about why the blue-haired young woman had been in Akane Resort was swiftly answered by her clear attachment to Gray.

After the tour was over, Team Natsu (minus Natsu himself) had unanimously decided to split up. Gray and Juvia joined in the guildwide brawl, while Lucy and Happy quickly made amends for their earlier spat and went to the cafe together. Erza, meanwhile, had asked Mira as to where Master Makarov was. Having been told he was in his office, she decided to go speak to him in private.

And now, here she was, having just finished her rather thorough explanation of events during her team's raid on the Tower of Heaven. Makarov had largely kept silent as she went over everything, with him only adopting a rather serious look when she mentioned how the tower was hit with Etherion, Simon's sacrifice, and how Natsu took it upon himself to confront a Wizard Saint and save her from certain death, twice.

When she was finished, he grunted before turning his chair to face the window on the right side of the room. The old man was looking at the clouds in the sky, clearly reflecting on the story she'd told him.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick… She smiled at the intrusion of the grandfather clock that rested on the left half of the office. It made her feel like she was back in her room at Fairy Hills on a warm winter's evening, enjoying a mug of hot chocolate on the couch while she read one of her favorite adventure books as it snowed outside.

"You probably heard about the news on your way back here," The old man grumbled, having swiveled his chair back so he was facing her. "The Magic Council has been disbanded due to this whole fiasco, at least for the moment of course. Having not just one, but two infiltrators in the ranks has a nasty way of creating distrust between the other council members. I suspect they'll be back rather soon, however."

"How do you know?" Erza asked. She'd heard about its disbandment from one of the workers at the Akane Beach Train Station, but not much else.

Makarov tapped his nose playfully and grinned. "Just a hunch, my dear." He said, waving the matter aside. "But anyway. The Magic Council is hardly important. What I want to know is how you five got out of there. And how you're all holding up."

Erza smiled back at the old man. While he was still a pervert at times, she knew he cared deeply for every single soul in the guild.

She started small. "I don't quite understand it myself. I did decide to merge with the lacrima so the others could have time to escape, but Natsu… well he got me out. Gave me a good scolding for doing so, too." She said, not noticing the faint dusting of pink on her cheeks as she mentioned the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. The memory of her waking up in his arms on Akane Beach had also come to the forefront of her mind.

"Hmph. Good. Would've done the same myself." Makarov commented, waving his hand for her to go on.

She did. "As for the tower not exploding… I could only speculate. I think Jellal might've had something to do with it."

"You think he came to his senses?"

"It's possible," She shrugged. "But I don't know for certain."

Makarov nodded. "Hmmm…" He put his hands behind his head and lay back against the chair, having already kicked up his feet onto the surface of his desk. There was a slight pause before he continued. "And how are you holding up?"

Erza thought of the answer before giving it. "I'm doing well."

"And the rest of your team? How about them?"

"Lucy and Gray are fine. They came out of it with little to no physical injury. I must also commend Juvia for her aid. Her help was unexpected, but exceptional."

Makarov nodded in approval. He gestured for her to continue.

She did. "Happy is fine as well." The Knight paused as she reached the final, absent member of their team. "And Natsu…"

The old man had removed his feet from his desk after having endured her pause for long enough. He sat forward, now with both hands planted on the table facing down.

The redhead knew that look all too well. She had his undivided attention now.

"Elaborate, Erza." Makarov asked. "What's the matter?"

I… don't know, was what she wanted to say.

Erza frowned as she thought of the best way to put it. She decided to simply describe the symptoms of the problem itself since she hadn't a single clue about the cause.

"Natsu… he's been acting… odd to say the least." She said, "At first we all assumed he was simply recovering from his sickness-the after effects of eating the Etherion. But as he recovered, it became apparent that something was wrong with him."

She was quick to defend her comrade after hearing her own words. "Not wrong with him as a person, of course! Just that… well… he was being withdrawn. He didn't communicate with us unless we spoke directly to him. Happy told us that he also wasn't resting when he was supposed to, and was training at God knows when in the morning. That was all he did, apparently. Day in, day out. It was like he wanted to avoid us for some reason."

"On the way here, he even snapped at Lucy and Happy. To be fair to him, they were arguing rather loudly. But even then, it was strange to see him so…" She tried to find the right word.

"Severe," Makarov had finished her sentence.

"Yes, severe." Erza said with a nod. She leaned forward slightly as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "Master, I'm worried about him. I don't know how to speak with him about this. I…" She trailed off, not knowing where to go from there.

For all of her experience in combat and with her magic, she never really understood people in general. In the past, her answer to Natsu's antics had been primarily with force. It was one of the only things he understood. Well, besides food, naturally.

Now, however, she was entering into completely new territory. Erza wasn't a fool. She knew damn well that between the two of them, Natsu had more than evened out the playing field. Were they to fight again, even just to spar, she knew he'd hold the slightest of edges over her. Regardless of if she wore her Flame Empress Armor or not.

Force wouldn't work with him anymore. The threat of it hadn't done anything to him back at the resort, and it certainly hadn't worked before he left them in the middle of town.

So what was there for her to do? Erza hated the feeling of helplessness. For all she knew, he needed her. Perhaps he just didn't know how to put it into words, or maybe he was simply too prideful to admit it. Whatever the case, she wanted to do something about it.

Makarov had listened attentively to her the whole time. Briefly, he glanced down at the desk and opened his mouth to speak.

"Erza… what do you think the problem is?" He asked.

She pursed her lips before speaking again. "I… I don't know." She admitted.

"Hmmmm…" The old man hummed. He pivoted his seat so he was facing the window again.

More silence hung in the air. The uncomfortable air was only lessened somewhat by the ticking of the grandfather clock. Otherwise, Erza found herself staring a hole into the bare coffee table.

Had she explained everything? Yes, she had. She distinctly remembered telling Master Makarov about Natsu's exploits during their raid on the tower. He knew everything she knew now.

But what exactly would come of it?

The Knight looked up as she heard the old man swivel his chair back around, facing her once again. What would his council be?

"You've done well, Erza. I'm proud of both you and the rest of your team for how you all handled things." He then got to the meat of the problem. "As for Natsu… I suggest that he be left alone in the meantime. Attempting to force him to come back to the guild, or to socialize at all for that matter, will only result in pushing him away."

What? Erza frowned. They had to do something! "But Master, I-"

"No buts, Erza." The old man shook his head. "Natsu is in a very… delicate place right now. He'll come around on his own, but you need to have faith."

Erza was at a loss. It sounded more like an order if anything.

A part of her wanted to pound her fists against the coffee table, stand up, and go out to find Natsu herself so she could give him a piece of her mind. Where did he get off doing this to the rest of them anyway? They were meant to be a team, after all!

But… soon she began to see the wisdom given to her from her guildmaster. She could see that plan totally backfiring. Nobody would benefit from it.

Resignedly, she sighed. At the very least, she was certain Natsu would come back. He had to.

"What…" Erza began hesitantly. "What is plaguing him then?"

"I don't know for sure." Makarov admitted. "However, I'll look more into the matter myself." He sat forward then, his voice becoming stern in a grandfatherly sort of way. "For now, however, you and the rest of your team must focus on recovering your strength. Rest, rest, and more rest. I will not take 'no' for an answer, Erza."

The redhead nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Of course, Master."

"Ask Mira for some cake before you head back to Fairy Hills for the day. You've earned it." He said, giving her her queue to leave.

Erza stood up from her spot on the couch. She made for the door and gave the old man one last nod before clicking it open.

Makarov watched as the door soon gently closed shut behind her, before rotating his chair for the third time and faced the wide open rectangular window in his office. The clouds outside were parting, and sun had hung just low enough to shine its rays into his workspace.

The aging guildmaster had thought grimly on the subject at hand and let out a tired sigh. He hated lying, especially to those under his care. Yet he knew that it had to be done. He didn't want to reveal what he suspected to Erza simply because he didn't want her to worry incessantly about the matter. She certainly wasn't happy regardless, but now she could focus on recovering.

He looked out the window again, and saw the slight tinge of orange on the horizon. The sun would set in a few hours.

Internally, he was reminded of a realization he'd first had when Precht gave him responsibility over Fairy Tail: every mage had to grow up at some point. And that went especially for someone like Natsu…

My thoughts are with you, Natsu… You're certainly in for a rude awakening.

Chapter Text

September 27th, Outskirts of Magnolia

Thump! Five hundred and seventy-six.

Thump! Five hundred and seventy-seven.

Thump! Five hundred and seventy-eight.

It was early in the morning. The sun hadn't even begun to rise. The sky was as black as night, and still populated with stars.

Natsu Dragneel hadn't been able to sleep. He went to bed the evening prior and found himself simply staring up at the ceiling, even after he'd been awake for close to twenty-three hours beforehand. He felt tired, the ache in his bones and muscles had told him as much. He knew full well that he should be sleeping. But for some reason beyond his comprehension, he just couldn't manage it.

After an hour of trying to calm his restless mind, Natsu had slipped quietly out of his hammock, left a snoring Happy inside their home, and went outside to train.

And now, only six hours later after having exerted his magical abilities, but also his body to its limits, he was monotonously punching the great oak tree in the large clearing that was his backyard.

He'd recalled a rather dull technique that Igneel had taught him as a kid. His father would sit him down before a mighty stone and have him punch it one thousand times for no reason whatsoever. Whenever he'd ask his father for an explanation, the great red dragon would only rebuke him.

"Shut up, boy. Now get to work."

Years later as a young adult, Natsu still hadn't understood why Igneel made him punch a stone until his fist was bruised and bloodied. But what he did know was that it made him focus and block out all distractions in his mind. He'd rarely practiced the technique after Igneel left and had almost forgotten about it altogether. Until today, that is.

Thump! Five hundred and eighty-four.

Thump! Five hundred and eighty-five.

Natsu stopped himself momentarily as he felt an all-too familiar lurching sensation hit his gut. He posted himself up against the tree and felt it all come back up once again as he vomited out onto the grass. The acidic taste of bile mixed with crackling blue magical energy had almost sapped the last of his strength. His Etherion-sickness had gotten somewhat better in the last few weeks, but it had yet to fully go away on its own.

The queasiness had ceased almost immediately as he was done. He caught his breath while he tried to swallow down the bitter acrid aftertaste. Warm pellets of sweat ran down his face and forehead. He wiped them away and stood upright, assuming his prior position. With lightning-fast speed, even for a sick man, he launched his left fist out at the oak once again.

Thump! Five hundred and eighty-six.

Far in the distance, out of the corner of his eyes and through the trees, he saw the small sliver of orange appear on the horizon. The first cracks of dawn over a new day.

Thump! Five hundred and eighty-seven.

Soon his thoughts drifted over to something else. To the things he didn't want to think about. The demons he'd been running from.

"Interesting! Show me the dragon wizard's power!"

Natsu snarled at the oak as if it had insulted his friends. His next punch came harder than the last.

THUMP! Five hundred and eighty-eight.

"Are you being serious?"

He growled this time, and hit the wood again with far more aggression behind his strike.

THUMP! Five hundred and eighty-nine.

"Natsu Dragneel…"

The pink-haired man wasn't even aware that he'd started using his flames.

THUNK! THUNK! Five ninety, five ninety-one!

"...the child of Igneel…"

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! The oak shook violently, trembling after each strike from his closed fists. He was using both hands now, not even paying attention to the black burn marks on the trunk of the tree.

"I had wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer… but this is nothing to fear at all."

He growled, not aware of the magical pressure that was now building up from his aura.

"Natsu, take care of Erza."

"ARGH!" With one last devastating blow, Natsu had punched into the core of the tall, mighty oak tree and felt the wood fracture underneath the sheer force behind his closed fist.

Snapped out of his rage, he took a step backwards and held a hand up to protect his eyes as the trunk of the oak began to rip and tear, splintering apart completely, and sending flying shards of wood everywhere. The sound that followed was almost akin to several dozen lightning bolts striking the same spot consecutively. Crrrrrrrrracccck! Which, as the tree lurched backward and away from him, was followed by a sharp, BOOM!

Leaves rustled harshly in the clearing. It began to tone down now that the tree was lying awkwardly on the forest floor.

Natsu came back to his senses and took stock of his handiwork. He looked at his hands and let the flames coating his knuckles die away on their own. He exhaled sharply. Shit.

He hadn't meant to go that hard.

The Dragon Slayer sighed harshly, beginning to feel his head pound with a dull pain.

"Your technique doesn't work, you cranky old lizard…" He said under his breath, half-hoping Igneel had heard him somewhere out in the world. Wherever the old bastard was right now, at least.

His conscience, however, was satisfied with the brutality with which he'd taken down the oak. The voices in his head disappeared for the moment, and Natsu decided to seize the opportunity. He walked over to the fallen oak, sat down, and rested his back against the trunk.

As the darkness came to take him away, he simply watched the small slivers of orange turn into light blue. With his eyelids feeling far too heavy to keep up, Natsu finally fell asleep.

"Helloooooo! Natsu~"

It was hours later. Natsu opened his eyes, blinking once as they adjusted to the clear blue sky above him, and the gaze of the sun. He wasn't in the shade, but his positioning hadn't bothered him in the slightest. Realizing that he was laying on his side, he posted his hand on the ground and sat upright.

Sitting on the fallen tree trunk above his head was none other than Happy. He flicked the cat a brief smile as he let his head rest against the oak. "Morning, Happy."

"Morning, Natsu." His friend greeted him back. "What's up with the tree?"

"Err…" The Dragon Slayer scratched the back of his head. "Got a bit carried away with training."

"I thought we had the training dummy in the house for that, though?"

Natsu took a moment to think about a proper reply. He'd stopped using the training dummy ever since they got back from Akane Resort. He didn't use it because it simply wasn't as durable as it used to be, and also because written in red lettering on the face of the thing, was the name Erza.

"Didn't want to wake you up. I couldn't sleep again." Natsu said, not wanting to explain himself. He didn't notice the unconvinced look that Happy had given him though.

"Right," The cat shook his head. "You've been acting super weird, you know."

Natsu glanced up at him and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're never around the guild any more. I don't think you've been there since we got back. You haven't even seen the new guild hall yet. And you love the guild!" Happy exclaimed, his tail flicking angrily at Natsu's forehead. He barely noticed the impact, though. "Didn't Lucy and Gray come over to ask you out on jobs?"

The Dragon Slayer had looked down towards the ground. It was true that he'd been visited, albeit briefly, by his teammates in the last few weeks. Lucy and Gray had each taken turns making the walk to his house, and sometimes they'd even come by together. Every single time they'd ask him to come to guild or go out on some job with them, and every time he'd politely declined. Erza had been the only one to not visit him, which had only bothered him somewhat. However he quickly rationalized that she must've been busy handling something S-Class related.

Deep down, Natsu appreciated their concern for him. The fact that they made it a point to check on him and see how he was doing only made him feel rather guilty about it all. But he didn't feel comfortable enough to divulge what he was really thinking about to them.

It annoyed him that both Gray and Lucy could be so nonchalant, that they could simply go back to their normal selves and pretend that everything that took place at the Tower never even happened. Why had he been the only one who was genuinely bothered about how close they all were to dying? That they had been totally caught off guard and placed in someone else's game, to simply be used as chess pieces?

How was he supposed to just ignore it all? How could he go back to his usual, care-free self when he felt responsible for their safety, and that when the chips were down, he wasn't enough to protect them?

"I had wanted to taste the destructive power of a dragon slayer… but this is nothing to fear at all."

He couldn't prevent Simon's death. He couldn't stop Erza from bawling her eyes out. And he hated that he couldn't do anything about it until he'd eaten that stupid lacrima.

"Yeah, they did." Natsu said with no emotion. He didn't want Happy to see the guilt in his eyes. "I've been busy training. We'll go out on a job or something later."

Happy jumped down from the trunk of the oak with his wings. He sat next to Natsu now. The Dragon Slayer knew he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. "They keep asking me about you, and I'm tired of giving them the same answer. Don't you think you should at least go and say hi? Just so they don't have to worry?"

Shit.

Had he been too distant from the guild? Probably. No, he most definitely had been.

Natsu ran a hand through his hair, fighting a battle with his guilty conscience and losing terribly. It wasn't their fault, right? How could it have been? Maybe…

Maybe just a quick visit… I need to eat something that isn't cooked over a campfire anyway.

He looked over at the blue cat sitting next to him. Sometimes, Happy could give a real kick in the ass when it was needed. Natsu felt proud of him.

"I guess we could pop in and grab some food. Maybe go out on a job with the rest of the team if they're around."

"Aye sir!" Happy immediately jumped into the air and pumped his fist out of excitement.

Natsu smiled as he got to his feet and started walking back home with Happy at his side.

Little did he know that today, he would get exactly what he needed.

The peaceful walk through Magnolia had managed to lift his spirits.

Townsfolk were going about their usual business. South Gate Park was as picturesque as ever, and Natsu found himself enjoying the cool autumn breeze paired with the warming rays of the sun. It was pleasant in spite of the fact that his muscles ached incessantly thanks to his rather uninhibited training routine.

After a quick dip in the lake near his house so he could bathe, Natsu had gotten changed into a fresh set of clothes. He wore his usual black sandals and puffy white pants, but chose to forgo the black waistcoat he typically wore. Instead he took the long brown shearling coat that Mira had once bought for him as a gift and slipped it on, pleased to find that it fit him perfectly.

With that, both he and Happy set out into town. He shared the occasional wave with one of the townsfolk who passed him in the street. He was a well-known wizard from Fairy Tail after all. The sight of pink hair was unmistakable to them.

It was around noon by the time he made it to his destination. Natsu was initially surprised at just how… medieval the whole thing seemed.

Happy seemed to like it a lot. But after a few minutes of getting used to it, Natsu admitted that he preferred the smaller scaled version that he'd grown up in. It had given him a homey sort of feeling, and had reminded him of his early childhood with Igneel.

There was a long line of townspeople gathered just in front of the souvenir shop by the entrance. Max gave him a wave, "Hey Natsu! Good to see you."

"You too, Max." The Dragon Slayer said in kind, giving him a nod and letting Max get back to serving his customers.

He pushed open the twin wooden doors easily and stepped inside. Happy glided in the air above him, flying over to the bar where he took a seat.

Sure enough, the rest of the guild was already in the middle of an all-out brawl. Chairs and benches flew through the air. He saw Elfman lift up Nab by the scruff of his collar and throw him against one of the nearby pillars before being hit in the back with a chair by Alzack. The Take-Over mage had almost crumpled to the floor, and managed to turn around and grapple his attacker. It was then that he was hit in the face with a fire blast coming from Macao.

Natsu allowed himself a small, jovial smile before making his way over to the bar to join Happy. He sat down on the closest stool and continued to watch the ensuing chaos in peace.

It wasn't long before Mira had made her way over to him, casually ducking a chair that nearly split against the wall behind her. "Hi Natsu! What can I get for you?"

"Hey Mira," He smiled back at her. "Dealer's choice. I'm starving."

"Coming right up!" The barmaid took a few notes on a piece of paper and went back into the kitchens.

A few moments later she returned with a mug of what smelled like ale to him. "Food is on its way. I brought you this in the meantime."

"Thanks," He took the mug anyway, even if it was impossible for him to get drunk.

"That coat looks good on you~! Glad you finally decided to wear it." She said with a playful wiggle of her eyebrows. "Why the change in wardrobe?"

"Decided to go with something else today."

In truth, he felt he'd grown out of the black and gold vest, and had only picked the coat since he didn't really know what else to wear in the meantime.

Mira posted her elbows on the bar and leaned forward. "So, what have you been up to? You haven't been in here all that much." She said, "This is your first time seeing the new guild hall, right?"

"Uhh… yeah that's right. It looks nice." He took a moment to think before answering. "Training. Recovering. Not much else, really." He paused as he saw the barmaid's unwavering gaze on him. What did she want from him? "Uh… how's the guild doing?"

It was as if he'd flipped a switch with his question. Mira leaned away and beamed. "Oh, everyone's doing well. Jet and Droy are still pining after Levy; Elfman recently renovated our house actually. He's got a client from a merchant guild who he's doing retainer work for at the moment." She rattled off from some invisible list in her head. "Oh! We've got a few more members actually! Some of them you might know. Juvia for instance?"

Natsu was genuinely surprised by that revelation. His view of the water mage from Phantom Lord had changed ever since she'd joined them in their raid on the Tower of Heaven. He liked her, even if she was a bit strange. Then again, all of us are pretty weird. "Really? Where is she?"

"Oh she went out on a job with your team, actually." Mira said off-handedly. "I think they'll be back later today? The job wasn't that far away if I recall correctly."

Damn. He was going to ask about his team next. It sucked to hear that they were already out on a job without him, but Natsu realized that he only had himself to blame. "Well that's… good to hear."

Mira nodded in agreement. "Maybe you'll get to see them? Speaking of which," She leaned forward again. "Have they been visiting you? I assume you've been staying home these last few weeks."

The Dragon Slayer sipped at his ale. "Yeah. Lucy and Gray stopped by a few times. Erza wasn't there, but I guess she's handling S-Class stuff or something."

He noticed Mira's slight frown. "Hmmm… well maybe she'll stop by sooner than you think."

"Yeah. Maybe." He shrugged.

The distant ringing of a bell came up. Mira gave Natsu one last warm smile before heading back into the kitchens.

The pink-haired man simply took another swig of his ale. The cold brew of spices flushed down his throat, washing away the traces of acidic aftertaste left by the bile he'd thrown up earlier that morning.

Moments later, Mira came out holding several trays filled with ribeye steaks, grilled chicken breasts, and servings of fried potatoes sprinkled with salt, olive oil, and paprika. Natsu immediately forgot all about his prior troubles as she set down the plates before him. "Enjoy!"

"What do I owe you, Mira?" He asked, reaching into his pocket for the wad of jewel notes he usually kept on his person whenever he'd go out.

"Not a penny." The barmaid said as she bent forward and kissed him on the cheek. "It's good to have you back, Natsu."

Natsu paused for a moment to process what just happened. He smiled. "Good to be back," he said before tucking in.

The meal, as always, was delicious. Guild food always managed to hit the spot, and was always doused with the necessary portions of pepper and garlic that he preferred. The whole time, Happy was also silently enjoying his company while he munched on a fresh koi given to him by Mira.

In the background, the guild-wide brawl had persisted. It reached its peak when Elfman, Alzack, Jet, and Droy were the only ones left standing. The four of them battled it out until they eventually collapsed from exhaustion, each of them calling for a time out. At the same time, Natsu chatted with Happy and Mira about the town's preparation for the upcoming Harvest Festival, which most of the guild also seemed rather excited for.

By the time Natsu had finished his meal, he'd stood up from his stool and slid a few notes across the bar as a tip for Mira. At first she refused, but Natsu stood firm and said that he wouldn't accept a refusal. Reluctantly, but with a warm smile, she relented.

He turned towards the doors and was about to show himself out when another voice had stopped him cold in his tracks.

"Natsu, wait."

The Dragon Slayer complied with the familiar voice. He looked over his shoulder to see the short and squat figure of Makarov standing by the foot of the stairs leading up to the second floor.

"Gramps? What's up?"

"Would you care for a cup of coffee, my boy? There's a small matter I wish to discuss with you. In private."

Natsu tried to find an excuse to say no. But the cool stern look in the old man's eyes told him that it might've been best to accept his offer. "Okay… but not for long."

Makarov grinned. "Perfect." he gestured to the stairs. "Right this way."

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…

All was silent within the small box-like office except for the constant serene tick of the grandfather clock.

Makarov sat in the chair by his desk. On the opposite side of the room by the door was the long brown leather couch and an accompanying coffee table. A small wisp of steam floated up into the air above the table, its source being the hot cup of coffee that sat before Makarov's guest.

Sitting on the couch was Natsu. He sat upright rather confidently, though he avoided Makarov's inspecting gaze by looking calmly around the room.

The guildmaster of Fairy Tail had taken note of the boy's appearance. It was without a doubt, different compared to when he'd last seen Natsu. In fact, calling him a boy anymore might've been premature.

For starters, Natsu was clearly leaner than he'd been ever before. Erza had mentioned that he hadn't been eating much. His spiky salmon hair was several inches longer, just about neck-length. Where Natsu's features had once been almost boyish, he seemed to have aged almost half a decade in the last month alone. There were even faint traces of a small stubble along his chin and jawline.

And his eyes! Makarov could see the difference in Natsu's onyx eyes. There was that faraway, detached gaze that was looking for something. Far different from the present, energetic boy who always managed to light up people's faces around the guild, the same boy whom Makarov saw as practically his own grandson.

Time to go to work, Makarov thought.

"Natsu, my boy." He got the Dragon Slayer's attention. "A few weeks ago, just after you and your team returned from Akane Resort, Erza came to inform me of what took place there."

It was a subtle enough way of breaking the ice, but it worked. Understanding dawned in Natsu's eyes.

Makarov continued. "She spoke very highly of your efforts at the Tower of Heaven." He was somewhat dismayed when his indirect compliment had no effect on the boy. The old man decided to get to the point. "She also informed me that you kept to your room and largely avoided her and the others. Is there anything you would like to tell me regarding this matter?"

Natsu glanced at the floor for a few moments. Makarov could see the gears turning behind his eyes. After a few moments, the boy shook his head rather plainly. "No."

So you're going to be difficult about this, then? Makarov sighed. "Natsu, you can trust me. I swear that I will not divulge what you say here to anyone. Is the issue at all regarding your duel with the former councilman, Fernandez? Because-"

The guildmaster was almost shocked as he saw Natsu stand sharply from his seat on the couch and make for the door. "Sorry Gramps, busy schedule today."

Makarov knew he couldn't let that happen. Not when his suspicions had been so suddenly confirmed. "Natsu." He said with as much authority as he could muster into his voice.

It worked. The Dragon Slayer had halted his advance on the door, his hand just inches away from the handle. He turned his head and looked at Makarov.

"If you have any care at all for your friends, you will take a seat and listen very carefully to what I have to say. Do you understand?"

Silence filled the gap soon after. It seemed as if hours had passed by between the two of them.

Slowly, Natsu began to withdraw his hand from the doorknob. He made his way over to the couch again and sat down. His eyes did not meet Makarov's.

It was clear that he'd struck a nerve in the boy. Deciding to take something of a calmer tone, Makarov sighed, and leaned forward only slightly so that his elbows were posted on his desk.

"Erza told me everything that happened. But that is besides the point. What concerns me is this rather… withdrawn behavior coming from you these last few weeks. If I am not mistaken, today is the first day in almost a month that you've appeared in the guild. I do not need to tell you why this may seem out of character to your fellow guildmates." He said. "I would like to know why. If only so that I may be able to help you."

Natsu's only response was to stare a hole into the floor. Why wasn't he responding?

Perhaps he doesn't want to make it anyone else's problem?

Makarov sat back in his seat and sipped at the mug of black coffee in front of him. The immovable object that was Natsu had presented something of an unexpected challenge thus far. But the aging guildmaster was not about to give up.

A flash of inspiration came to mind right then. He was reminded of another young man from years ago who had once been in a very similar situation to Natsu. Yes… perhaps that might work. And it would also allow him to gain Natsu's trust in the same instance.

He set down the porcelain cup onto his desk, making sure it had been loud enough to get Natsu's attention. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room." His statement had the intended effect. Natsu looked up at him then and matched his gaze. "Do you understand?"

The boy was confused, but curious as to where he was going with this. He nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Makarov sighed. Don't hate me for this Gildarts. "Years ago, long before any of you brats joined the guild, Gildarts had been our only S-Class Mage. Back then, he was far more eager to prove himself-much like you are for that matter. He was a good soul, of course. Always kind to those of lesser power in the guild. I remember him being rather prone to personal insults, however. He was also rather reckless, and quick to anger."

If Natsu was being reticent before, now Makarov had his full and undivided attention. The boy bent forward and listened rather attentively.

"It was his first S-Class Mission, I believe. He was contracted by the Magic Council to find an artifact called the 'Crown of Absolution'. He was also paired up with an S-Class Mage from Lamia Scale, a young woman named Irina." Makarov explained. "She was about a year younger than him, I think. They got along rather well for the most part, especially in spite of the competitive rivalries between our guilds. It wasn't long before they found out where the Crown was being kept. A dark guild had been using it to control a great sea serpent which had been terrorizing the northern coastlines of Fiore, by the Whirlpool Sea."

"Why?" Natsu asked. Makarov might've grinned now that he was getting the young man to engage with him.

"Plunder, unfortunately." The old man had said. "The Whirlpool Sea is a rather popular trade route. The dark guild in question had known this and used the Crown and the Sea Serpent to destroy trade ships. Later they would loot the wreckage at the bottom of the sea. One of their numbers was a water mage if I remember right." He waved his hand aside, getting back on track. "Both Gildarts and Irina found the guild and the Serpent. While Gildarts was eager to fight off the Serpent, Irina had suggested they instead focus on the guildmaster. Gildarts refused and fought the beast regardless."

He continued, still remembering the defeated look on Gildarts' face after he came back from that job all those years ago. "Suffice to say… despite his best attempts to protect her, Irina was killed. Gildarts slew the beast and defeated the guild in control of it, but…" He spread his hands out. "He wasn't quite the same afterwards. He blamed himself for Irina's death, and while he was able to move on from it, I don't think he ever forgave himself for what happened to her. It was that day that he decided to change who he was at his core, so he could grow into the man he is today." Makarov said.

Natsu, for his part, only wore a deep-set frown as he stared into the coffee table.

Makarov knew. Now was his chance.

The old man looked squarely at the Dragon Slayer sitting across the room from him. "I know you blame yourself for what happened at the Tower. Just as Gildarts blamed himself for what happened to Irina. But my boy, you cannot let yourself be consumed by those feelings. They will destroy you." He said. "I am not asking you to let go of the anger you feel, I am asking you to use it, to channel it, towards a higher purpose; to become the best possible version of yourself."

And with that, the old man finally leant forward, placing both of his hands flat against the table. "Now. Tell me everything."

The floodgates had opened from there. Makarov listened attentively as Natsu told him what had happened from his point of view. Everything. His battle with the owl assassin; him interrupting Jellal's ceremony; and even when the boy had eaten the Etherion.

The young man's emotions were by far the most powerful when he'd mentioned the death of Simon, Erza's childhood friend. Natsu had coiled his hand into a fist and brought it hard onto the coffee table, ratting the porcelain cup and spilling coffee onto the wood.

"It's like I was punching air, Gramps." He said with a cold snarl. "He was fast. Too fast. And no matter what I do… I can't get his voice out of my head. I keep hearing him even when I try to sleep at night. He keeps saying, 'I wanted to taste the destructive power of a Dragon Slayer, but this is nothing to fear.'" Natsu ran a hand down his face. "There wasn't anything I could do. Felt like I was letting down Igneel just because of it."

Sounds about right… Everything that Natsu was saying completely tallied with Makarov's suspicions. The boy felt he was insufficient, even if the Dragon Slayer was easily one of the most powerful wizards in the guild. Makarov wouldn't even have been particularly surprised if Natsu was a notch above Erza by this point.

Regardless, this was a clear issue for him. Especially with his comparison to a mage who was far older than himself… Natsu needed guidance. He had the makings to transcend the level of even a Wizard Saint, but he needed to be pushed in the right direction…

"You believed that eating the Etherion… it was the only way out?" The old man asked.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah… there wasn't any fire around… so I chose the next best thing." He shook his head. "I won, gramps... but I didn't beat him."

...but didn't I beat him… the words had been said with about as much disdain as the boy could muster. Makarov knew the feeling of shame all too well. He'd been a young man once upon a time as well. For Natsu, however, it would've been amplified a thousandfold.

There were many more people for him to disappoint…

"And you feel that if you were strong enough, that the Etherion wouldn't have been needed?" The old man asked again.

"Yes." The answer was instantaneous. "If I was as strong as Gildarts, then I could've saved Simon. I could've stopped Jellal sooner. Maybe then Erza wouldn't have had to cry."

Ah… there it was.

"Natsu." Makarov started as he sat back in his chair. "You must understand that Simon made his own decisions. Simon, for his part, chose to sacrifice himself to save both you and Erza. His death is not your fault."

"But-"

Makarov cut him off with a slight wave of his hand. Time for the clincher. "I'm not finished." He said sternly. "Allow me to give you yet another example." He sat back as he collected his thoughts. "In the last few weeks alone, Erza has shown improvement with regard to how she's previously carried herself in the guild. She has been sociable, often speaking with others outside of your team, such as Levy and Macao. She has since ceased wearing armor as well, and is now taking part in regular guild activities. Not to mention, her skills as a leader have benefited greatly. All because her demons have been put to rest. All because of…" he pointed a bony finger out at the young man sitting across from him. "You."

The pink-haired man had raised his eyebrows out of surprise. Makarov continued. "Going by your logic, Natsu… Erza's growth, not simply as a mage but as a woman, is also your fault."

Natsu said nothing in reply. He sat there, almost dumbfounded by the revelation.

Makarov decided that playtime was over. He'd open this young man's eyes even if it was the last thing he'd do. "Erza was once buried in her mistakes. In her past. I remember a time when she wouldn't even dare speak to anyone else in the guild… but thanks to you, she was able to finally move past all of it." Makarov said with a warm, thankful smile. "Now, my boy, it is up to you to do the same for yourself. The anger you have been given is a gift, truly it is. But you must take care with it. Don't use it to punish yourself unnecessarily, to avoid those who cherish you… instead use it to grow stronger for their sake. And for yourself as well. Do you understand?"

It took a moment for the Dragon Slayer to respond.

On the opposite side of the room, Natsu's mind was a whirlwind of rampaging thoughts and ideas. He never truly considered the flip side of things; that even though he'd made mistakes, that he had really made a positive difference in the end.

Erza was alright. She was safe. So were the rest of his friends.

He looked down at his hands, glossing over the bruised reddened knuckles on his fists.

What the hell had he'd been doing? Staying away from them, at least?

Natsu stood up from his seat on the couch. He would be better. He had to.

That said… Natsu knew he couldn't avoid his friends forever… but something had to change. He just couldn't go back to the way things were before.

But what would that change ultimately be?

Deciding he needed time to think about it on his own, he resolved to head home. Tomorrow, he would come in early and go out on a job the first chance he got with his friends. By hook or by crook, he would make it happen. "Thanks, Gramps."

"Not at all, Natsu." The old man shook his head. "That's why I'm here."

Just as Natsu made to leave, another idea had come to Makarov then. Perhaps… would it work?

"Natsu, just a second." He said as he took a sheet of paper from the stack by the corner of his desk and scribbled a few words onto it with his pen. Once he was finished, he held it up, offering it to the boy.

The pink-haired man had come over with a confused look on his face. He took the paper and read out loud what was written on it. "'To change my life, I need…'" He looked down at Makarov. "What's this for?"

"Consider it a… test of sorts. I'd like you to finish the sentence on the page. Not now, of course. Give me your answer in a few days' time. For now, I suggest you head home and take a couple of hours to mull it over."

"But-"

"No buts, Natsu." Makarov said sharply. "Just humor an old man this one time. Answer truthfully. Search within yourself when you do. I look forward to seeing what you come up with."

After a few moments, Natsu had nodded, folding the sheet of paper and tucking it away in his coat. "A few days… Friday sound good then?"

"Friday."

For the first time in the last month alone, Makarov had seen that oh-so familiar wide, beaming grin on Natsu's face. "Alright. See you later, Gramps."

"You too, Natsu."

And with that, a rather hopeful-looking Natsu clicked open the door and shut it closed behind him.

Makarov let silence fill the room for a few moments, before he downed the rest of his coffee and found himself staring into the wide photo which had been sitting on his desk.

In the frame stood six teenagers standing in front of the old Fairy Tail guildhall. Written in the bottom left corner was the date, "X736" From left to right, there was Goldmine, Bob, himself, Rob, Yajima, and Porlyusica.

The guildmaster had found himself looking directly at the blonde-haired youth who stood with his arms crossed in the middle of the group. There was a cheshire grin on young Makarov's face. The very same one that he'd just seen on Natsu not even a few minutes ago.

"Hmph!" He chuckled mildly. Those were the days…

He was quickly brought back to reality by the ticking of the grandfather clock. Makarov resumed his frown from before and sighed heavily.

Makarov knew he wasn't getting any younger. If anything, the guild war with Phantom Lord had told him that he was reaching his limits. Perhaps it would be best to retire soon enough. Hand off the responsibility to the younger generation. Maybe not now, but… it was possible he could keep it up for another year or two before passing the torch…

The old man shook his head. He'd figure out who his successor would be later on. Right now, however, perhaps there was something he could do for Natsu. Makarov sensed that the boy was lost, and that right now, what he needed was someone to show him the path forward. If all went right with the test he'd given Natsu, then Makarov knew that the young man would be off to a fantastic start. And yet…

Makarov had been mentored by Precht back in his youth, which he supposed had been because Precht had practically been a second father to him. Ideas began to meld and form. As if something had snapped into place within his mind, Makarov reached over and snatched another sheet of paper from the corner pile, setting it down in front of him. The old man got to work, jotting down the thoughts which continued to poke and prod at him.

Before he knew it, an hour had passed by. And the single sheet before him had turned into two and then five. The longer the list had gotten, the more he thought about it, and the more optimistic Makarov felt concerning the potential for Natsu.

It was precisely an hour after Natsu's meeting with Makarov that Erza Scarlet and the rest of her team had arrived back in Magnolia Town.

The Knight had walked at the head, since she was more or less their unofficial leader. Behind her, Lucy and Gray walked on either side of her, and they were separated by a rather prim and proper-looking Juvia.

The Water Mage had been invited by Gray to join Team Natsu as a temporary member, since Natsu himself had been AWOL for the last month or so. Largely so Juvia could get accustomed to guild life within Fairy Tail. So far, she seemed to be enjoying it. Even if she occasionally sent glares directly at Lucy whenever the blonde would get a bit too close to Gray for her liking.

Erza, for her part, was simply happy to be back in town. A part of her was somewhat let down that the job they went on had gone so smoothly-a duke located just outside of Hargeon had some thieves rob him in the night. Though finding the thieves had proved to be incredibly challenging, ultimately they'd been able to find the tricksters and take them into custody, retrieving the duke's stolen collection of priceless paintings in the end as well.

It wasn't so much that everything had gone so well, just that it lacked that… chaotic flair which tended to make most of their jobs quite interesting. And fun, for that matter.

Whatever the case, at least she'd soon be back at the bar within the guildhall munching on a well-earned slice of strawberry cheesecake.

"Well, I'm quite proud of how well we handled that robbery job!" Lucy said out loud, not really paying attention as some passersby gave her odd looks when she'd said that. "Zero property damage… and our reward didn't get slashed in half this time around! I can pay my rent for the next two months!"

Gray snorted back a laugh. "Yeah well maybe now you can stop nagging us."

"Hey! I'm not a nag!"

"Juvia thinks Lucy-san has also been complaining quite frequently about her rent payments being due." The bluenette spoke up from Gray's side, getting an amused smirk out of the Ice Make Mage. "She was rather vocal about it when Erza-san and Gray-sama were speaking with the client about his stolen paintings."

"Juviaaaaaaaa!" Lucy groaned. "I told you that in confidence…"

Erza stopped listening to their ongoing conversation and focused on where she was going. She had long since accepted the small, individual quirks of her teammates. It was the least she could do, since she knew full well that she had some of her own. And having someone as boisterous and outgoing as Natsu tended to get one accustomed to the strange.

The group of four soon found themselves in front of the massive, castle-like structure of the guildhall. Just as always these days, Max had waved to them again before they walked inside.

The guild was quieter than yesterday. It was Tuesday, so Erza knew that plenty of their members were out on jobs. That and she knew that the annual S-Class Exams would be coming up in December. Perhaps some mages were even gearing up so they could get nominated.

Unlikely… She knew that was something of an optimistic view of things. Most mages only went out on so many jobs in the weeks leading up to the S-Class Exams. Which, ironically, is what kept so many of them from getting promoted in the first place.

"If you want to be a successful wizard… look at what everyone else is doing. Now do the opposite." Erza still remembered that bit of sage advice she got from Master Makarov way back when she first joined Fairy Tail. She'd taken it to heart. She worked hard and had gone above and beyond. Everyone else only took jobs when it was easy money, or when there wasn't much required of them. Erza deliberately sought out more difficult jobs, even when she wasn't busy, or when she didn't even feel like it, and had risen through the ranks because of it. Sure enough, she'd made S-Class by the time she was fifteen years old.

If you wanted to be S-Class, you had to put in the work. You had to be consistent about it, too. It wasn't simply a matter of rushing through as many jobs as you could right before the trials were about to start. When you were S-Class, you needed to set an example for other mages. That's just how it was.

"Guess everyone's kind of just hanging out today," Lucy shrugged from her side. "Tuesdays are pretty slow, I guess."

"Hey guys!"

The four of them turned to see the platinum-haired Mirajane waving them over from behind the bar. She wore a beaming smile on her face. Sitting on the bar next to her with a fully grilled haddock in his mouth, was Happy.

Happy? But if he's here, then… Erza didn't know why her heart had tingled at the prospect of seeing Natsu again, but it did. She didn't bother arguing with it. She simply waved back at Mira and walked over to the bar.

"Good afternoon, Mira." She greeted the barmaid in turn. "Has business been slow today?"

"It was a bit rowdy earlier, but thankfully everyone's gotten it out of their systems."

Erza nodded. She looked down at the blue cat who was munching happily on his grilled fish. "Happy, how are you?"

"Irmgh drrrrgth hraaaaagth!" Came the cat's muffled, enthusiastic response.

Rude… Perhaps it was time to teach Happy some basic table manners.

"You know, Happy… it's impolite to speak to someone when you're eating." She said, unconsciously giving the cat one of her sternest glares yet.

Her veiled threat had had the intended effect. Happy quickly gulped down the chunk of haddock he'd been chewing on and took the rest of the fish out of his mouth, giving a rather nervous laugh as he did so. "Heh… I-I'm s-sorry Erza!" He quickly held up his fish to her in surrender. "I'm doing great! B-but would you like some fish? Mira made it for me just now!"

"No, thank you," Erza said as she slid into the stool directly across from the barmaid. The others had followed her example and corralled around the bar.

"You know, you guys just missed Natsu," Mira said as they all got comfortable. "He was asking if you went out on a job or not, and left after he found out you guys weren't here."

Erza felt her heart tug internally. A pang of guilt seeped into her mind. Maybe if they'd waited for him? Then-

Gray had scoffed. "Classic flames-for-brains… idiot comes around when we're already out on a job."

"Is he alright?" Lucy asked. Erza could feel the worry in her voice.

"Oh, he's doing fine." Mira nodded with a smile. "I'd say he's fully recovered! He ate up a storm and then he went to go speak with Master Makarov. After that he left. Though he did say he'd come back tomorrow."

Lucy sighed. "Well, that's a relief." She said, "Every time I went to visit him, he was so distant. It's good to hear he's coming back around."

"Yeah, no kidding." Gray muttered, looking sheepishly out at the guildhall. The Ice Make Mage was secretly happy that Natsu had come out of his isolation, but he wouldn't dare admit it to anyone. No, he'd take that admission to his grave if he had to.

"What did you say, Gray-sama?" Juvia had asked from his side.

"Nothing!"

Erza for her part had only paid attention to the middle portion of Mira's explanation. "Then he went to go speak with Master Makarov…"

Does that mean…

Master Makarov had told her he'd be looking into the matter. If he and Natsu spoke… then surely he must've figured out what was going on with Natsu… right?

Erza sincerely hoped so. But another part of her knew that even trying to get answers out of the old man would've been like pulling teeth. He was notoriously tight-lipped when it came to the personal matters of others. Especially those within the guild.

"Well, I'm gonna go home. I'm tuckered out." Lucy said. "See you guys here tomorrow?"

Gray dipped his head in acknowledgment. "Yeah yeah, see you, Lucy."

"Bye, Lucy-san." Juvia said.

Erza had been too preoccupied with her thoughts to wish Lucy a good evening, but it hadn't even mattered. Happy decided to go with Lucy and stay at her place for the night. Not soon after, Gray said he wanted to go take a dip in the indoor swimming pool on the guild premises, and Juvia had offered to join him.

And then there was only one…

"So Erza…" Mira's excitable smile seemed almost devious now that they were alone. "What have you been up to?"

"Err… nothing as of late." She said, "You mentioned that Natsu came and spoke with Master Makarov?"

"Yep! They were up in his office for a good long while. Natsu came out looking like he'd just won a million jewel."

"And…" Erza looked abashedly down at the bar. "Did he… ask you about anything? Besides us being out on a job, of course." She added hastily.

Mira seemed to take her sweet time thinking of a proper answer. After a few moments, she pursed her lips and gave Erza a rather lopsided smirk. "Well… he didn't talk much… though he did mention that his team had been visiting him occasionally. Well, except for you."

Erza Scarlet felt the blood drain out of her face. She knew exactly where the Demon was going with this. Damn her! Damn her straight to hell!

In truth, Erza felt an incredible sense of guilt for not having visited Natsu in the last few weeks. Out of paranoia that she might do or say the wrong thing, and from no small amount of procrastination on her part, she simply didn't know how to best approach him. The whole time, she'd rationalized that Master Makarov had told her to leave Natsu alone in the meantime. That he'd come back when he was ready.

And he had, hadn't he? So why did she… Why did she feel so rotten about it all?

She couldn't share what was said in her private meeting with Master Makarov, could she? No, it was far too personal for Natsu. Deciding that she couldn't, Erza said the next best thing that came to mind. "I… just haven't gotten the chance to go see him."

The Knight knew it was a lame excuse. And she knew that Mira wasn't about to let her off the hook that easily. Erza could see it in the Demon's eyes right then.

"Please, Erza." Mira shook her head. "You haven't gone out on a single S-Class job since you got back from the resort. If anything, you've been more relaxed than ever."

"Know what I think?" She asked, leaning in. "I think you're just too emotionally distant to go see him and support him." Mira leaned back and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's either that, or you've got some sort of weird crush on him that I didn't know about."

Erza did not know why she'd reacted so strongly to that last line. She immediately stood to her feet, not even aware that her cheeks had taken on a pink tint. "I do not!" She said, furious that the barmaid would even suggest something so… so… so ridiculous! "Now, if you'll excuse me, Mira, I think I'll be heading back to Fairy Hills for the day."

Mira shook her head. "But don't you want to go see Natsu first?" She said with a twinkle in her eyes. "I think he would reaaaaaaally appreciate it if you went to visit him. You know… at his house?"

"He's still recovering. It wouldn't be polite for me to intrude-"

"Come on, Erza~" Mira beamed. "You could just drop in and say hi… that's all you would need to do…"

The rational, thinking part of Erza's mind tried to whirl away, attempting to concoct any sort of excuse to get out of it. The amount of internal resistance she felt towards going out to Natsu's house, all the way out in the middle of the woods, was astounding. It was probably enough to completely alter the course of the sun.

Natsu was surely trying to recover. He probably just came in today because Happy had asked him to… or something. Erza knew that the last thing he needed was to see her, the one person who'd always been there to ruin his fun whenever he picked a fight with Gray or participated in one of the classic guild-wide brawls.

And hadn't she been the reason why he was sick in the first place? He'd eaten the Etherion for her! He'd gotten involved in that whole mess with the Tower of Heaven because of her! It was her fault that he was suffering right now…

What right did she have to go visit him? What right did she have to… to…

Natsu would do the same for you, wouldn't he?

That damned traitorous voice had spoken up again. The part of her that wasn't thinking rationally, but from the heart…

Erza felt her fingers dig into her palms. Damn it all! "Fine…"

"Yay!" Mira clapped again. She had definitely pretended not to notice Erza's outburst when she prodded the redhead about having a small crush on Natsu. Mira decided she would keep that little tidbit tucked away for further teasing later down the road. And also because her matchmaker side had flared up mischievously in the back of her mind. "You need a good housewarming gift then! Maybe a bottle of firewhisky should do the trick! Natsu's always liked the stuff. Oh, or maybe some food? I don't know, something-"

"Mira…" Erza decided to interrupt the barmaid before she really started rattling off the list in her head. The Knight had come to a decision on what she would share with Natsu. She would keep it simple.

"...could you… give me a slice of cake? To go?"

About twenty minutes later, Erza Scarlet found herself walking through the foothills in the eastern forest.

It was, by all means, a lovely autumn afternoon. The leaves and surrounding foliage had only just begun to turn red and orange. Then there was a gentle breeze blowing through the air, which had lightly brushed away the stray locks of hair in front of her eyes.

Erza unconsciously fiddled with her blue skirt with one hand while she held the boxed up strawberry cake in the other. The whole time, as she was marching up the hill, she found herself thinking back on her exchange with Mirajane.

I do not have a crush on Natsu, that would be preposterous, she thought rather angrily to herself. Where did the Demon get off making such absurd accusations like that? Maybe Mira should become a comedian.

No. Natsu was a… friend. Yes. He was a friend. A very close, very dear… friend. There were absolutely zero romantic feelings for him in the back of her mind whatsoever. None, without a doubt. Nothing. Zero. Nada.

In fact, as Natsu's house soon came into view, Erza decided that she would actually keep her intrusion on his life rather brief and cool. Anything to prove that Demon wrong. She would knock on his door, ask him how he was doing, hand him the cake, and then leave. Keep it simple stupid. That was the general rule. Yes, that's the way to do it.

Erza had only ever been to Natsu's house the one time. It had been just after he'd built it when they were younger. To see it still standing was a testament to his skills as a carpenter and as a stonemason. If he hadn't been one of the most destructive mages she'd ever known, then Erza figured that Natsu might've done well with his own construction company.

The roughly plowed dirt pathway led up to a lopsided oval-shaped wooden sign that simply read, 'Natsu & Happy' in neat cursive lettering. Erza figured that he must've gotten Levy to write it for him, since Natsu couldn't care less about his writing skills.

A few more steps later and Erza found herself standing in front of the dark oaken door. She glanced up at the top left corner of the building and sweatdropped when she saw a large tree branch sticking plainly out of the white plaster exterior. Maybe this place needs a little fixing up after all… While it certainly wasn't pretty… Even Erza had to admit that the rough shape of the building gave it a certain charm.

Remembering why she was there, Erza hesitantly raised her fist to the door. Just as she was about to knock, she heard the latch click from the other side. Sharply, the door swung open.

Natsu stood on the other side of the doorway. He glanced down at her with tired onyx eyes, seeming totally unsurprised about her being there.

"What's up, Erza?" He asked.

"Uh… I…" Erza Scarlet cursed herself right then and there.

She hadn't even seen him in a month. Internally, Erza knew it was difficult for someone to actually change their physique in such a short span of time, but Natsu seemed to have pulled it off.

He looked buffer than he did before. Leaner too. His muscles seemed to have gotten bigger during his self-imposed exile in the woods. He must have been training night and day. Then there was his hair. Erza noticed that his locks of spiky pink hair had only gotten longer. Now it looked more like a wild, untamed mane that spilled over in all directions.

It had taken her less than a second to completely forget the script. And to totally forget why she was even there in the first place.

"Uh…" She started, an idea beginning to form. "H-how did you know I was coming here?"

Natsu tapped his nose as if it had been obvious. "I could smell you and hear you about half a mile up the trail." He said easily. "You were saying something about Mira, I think?" He shrugged. "Honestly, I wasn't really listening." He looked down at the item in her hand. "Cake?"

Feeling her nerves begin to pound some sense back into her mind, and trying to ignore the fact that he'd actually scented her out on her way up here, Erza decided to get down to business. She shot out the hand holding the boxed up cake towards him. "Right. This is for you, Natsu." She said coolly, albeit unintentionally. "I didn't know what you preferred, so I got you my usual order."

He looked down at the white cardboard box and accepted it. "Err… thanks, Erza."

"Of course, Natsu." She said, remembering that it was proper for one to be polite.

Much to her chagrin, Natsu didn't even reply to her off-hand comment. He simply nodded with a shit-eating grin. Meanwhile, Erza felt herself begin to boil in the awkward silence that followed.

Minutes seemed to have passed by as the two of them stared at one another. Erza desperately tried to find something to say, something to continue the conversation perhaps. Nothing came to her rescue. Damn it! Why was she making such a big deal out of this? I'm just bringing him cake, nothing else!

Again, she felt her mouth open. "I… also wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"For not coming to visit you." She explained. "I know Lucy and Gray came to check up on you. But I didn't… it was unbecoming of me. I should have been there for you while you recovered your strength."

Natsu looked at her for a moment. The gears behind his eyes were turning, spinning, reflecting. What was he thinking about? And more importantly… What was he thinking about her?

She didn't know. Instinctually, she felt the need to flinch under his gaze. For a man who was often too loud and boisterous… Natsu had surprised her with just how intense he could really be.

Then again, it certainly wouldn't have been the first time she'd been forced to change her perspective on him.

After a moment… he smiled at her. A warm, genuine, beaming smile.

"No harm done, Erza. You brought me your favorite cake, so let's just call it even."

How? How could he just be so… carefree about it all? Erza had dreaded the possibility of him cursing her for it. She hadn't been a good teammate after all. And he was only sick because of her. Should she ask him to hit her? That would make up for it all in the end, wouldn't it?

The redhead fought the urge to do so. She'd already been told countless times by Lucy that asking to be hit for making a mistake was… well… not exactly something most people were sold on.

"Of course," She nodded, deciding to change the subject. "Mira also told us you stopped by the guild earlier today. Since we just missed you, we wanted to know if you'd like to go out on a job with us tomorrow?"

She didn't know why she'd asked, especially since she already knew he planned on coming back tomorrow regardless. And because they didn't even have a job planned. Get it together, Scarlet. Now!

"Sure," Natsu grinned warmly at her. "I gotta talk with Gramps, first… but I wouldn't mind tagging along so we can crack some skulls together."

Erza felt herself smile back at him. "Wonderful." She said, "I'm sure the others would be delighted." It was then that her instincts told her to leave. Now, and quickly. "Well… I'll be seeing you at the guild. Later, Natsu."

She stepped away from the doorframe and swiftly turned her back to him. Erza made it a point to march briskly down the path, back past the oval wooden sign and onto the dirt-gravel road once again.

Just as she was nearing the treeline, she was stopped by his voice again.

"Uh… hey, Erza!"

The Knight came to an abrupt halt. She turned sharply to look at him. "Yes?"

"You're a class act. You know that?"

She didn't know why, but she felt a slight, tingling sensation in her chest when she heard those words go in through her ears.

Her reply was instinctual. "You're welcome, Natsu." She said, before giving an awkward dip of her head and turning back around.

Erza Scarlet never heard the door close behind her. As she walked back into Magnolia Town, she felt as if there was a spring in her step.

And she wasn't even aware that she was blushing.

Chapter Text

September 29th, Fairy Hills

Erza Scarlet, with a hot cup of orange pekoe tea in her hands, sat in the sunroom inside of her apartment at Fairy Hills.

The early morning sky had been set in an almost deep shade of violet-blue as it hung over Magnolia Town like a curtain, bordered with white and then orange in the far distance as the sun began to rise in the east.

Many shopkeepers throughout Magnolia would soon get their stores up and running for the day ahead of them. It was getting close enough to the weekend, and business would soon pick up for those glorious two days as the townsfolk made their usual rounds with their time off before the cycle reset itself completely on Monday. This was the typical homely routine that each of them silently followed, though none of them paid much mind to.

Erza took herself out of her own imagination and sipped at her tea. It was light and sweet on her tongue, just the right temperature as well. She was satisfied.

She'd begun her morning like countless others before it. She'd gotten up before the sun had, and went out to do her cardio training followed by her stretching routine. Afterwards she came back, showered, changed into a white blouse and a modest pleated blue skirt, and finally prepared her breakfast consisting of a single egg pan-fried and cooked on all sides; a small bowl of raw oats; some strawberries which she'd expertly cut into slices; and a banana.

When all was said and done, Erza made herself some tea. Then she went into her pine sunroom which overlooked the entirety of Magnolia and the surrounding countryside through a wide glass window. She sat curled up on the loveseat by the wall, with her breakfast and a book she'd been reading on the coffee table before her.

She absolutely loved little mornings like this. There wasn't some threat to the guild that needed dealing with. Lives weren't at risk. Nothing was coming to kill her. She was free to do whatever.

It was a stark change compared to her earlier self. Months ago, she would've found it difficult to sit back and just… enjoy the scenery outside of eating cake in the guild, where there was usually enough noise to drown out the voices in her head.

There was always something to do, someplace to be. Whether it was an S-Class Assignment or she was just out with her team, it didn't matter. Playing a game of life chess with a psychotic madman who threatened to kill both sets of her childhood friends tended to keep one living on edge most of the time.

That whole part of her life had come to a close, however.

It had taken some time getting used to. Erza used to have nights where she'd stay awake staring up at the ceiling, worried sick about Sho, Simon, Wally, and Millianna.

But now? Now she couldn't believe how much time she had on her hands.

Outside of her training routine, or even going on jobs with her team, there was so much time in the day. She could feasibly do anything. Take up some new hobbies, maybe get a pet. A dog? She liked dogs, so why not?

Fear had been Erza's main driver for the better part of her life. And now that she didn't have to live in fear of anything…

It both unironically terrified her and excited her at the same time.

It was one of the reasons why she'd quickly taken more to reading. Before, she had her… well… her other, racier collection of novels. The mere thought of them made her blush.

To fill the time, she'd asked Levy for any recommendations. The blue-haired girl had happily given her a rather worn stack of books belonging to a series titled collectively as 'The Adventures of Randolph Callahan'

"You simply have to try them, Erza!" Levy had said, rather excitedly at the time. "They're a bit old-fashioned, but all of them are excellent reads! The fourth one might get you raising your eyebrows, but-"

The point was, that Levy had given her ringing endorsement.

So, Erza picked up the series. And very quickly, she found herself hooked.

It was focused on the titular character in question: Randolph Callahan, a rather rugged, physically unattractive, and 'supposedly brainless' adventurer who was also a secret operative for the Magic Council. Many of the books mirrored some of the real-life S-Class Missions that Erza went on occasionally, so she found most of it to be believable.

As she set down her tea next to her breakfast, she picked up the green-covered book on the right side of the coffee table. The cover depicted a cracked steel shield split halfway down the middle. It was titled, 'Aegis of the Abyss'

She quickly found where she'd left off. Callahan had just uncovered a massive organized human trafficking ring that was in circulation largely in western Fiore. Unfortunately, he'd been caught and held prisoner by the villain, a dark mage named Aegar Karkarev, who had served as Callahan's arch-nemesis for the last three novels. Aegar had killed Callahan's wife, and at this point, Erza was expecting Callahan to find some sort of way to get out of it alive while also getting his revenge.

"-All right, Sir Callahan. But I am so sure of my facts that I am now going to kill you with my own hands and dispose of your body without further ado. On reflection, I would rather do it myself than have one of my men perform the deed. You have been a thorn in my side for far too long. The account which I have to settle with you is a personal one. Have you ever heard the expression 'kirisute gomen'?"

Callahan groaned. "Spare me the history lectures, Karkarev!"

"It dates from the time of the Sunrise Warriors. It means literally 'killing and going away.' If a lowly peasant, such as yourself for instance, hindered a warrior's passage along the road or failed to show him proper respect, the warrior was within his rights to lop off the peasant's head. I regard myself as a latter-day Sunrise Warrior. My fine blade has already been bloodied as you well know, yet being able to cut its teeth on a head such as yours… Well that would be a pleasure all by itself." Karkarev turned to his mistress. "You agree, my darling?"

The squat flat face had looked up. The yellow light behind the toad-woman's eyes had glowed sadistically. "But of course, my love! What you decide is always correct. But be careful, this animal is dangerous."

"You forget, my sweet. Since nine months ago, he has ceased to be an animal. With only a simple stroke of surgery on the woman he loved, I reduced him to human dimensions."

And with that, the tall, dominant figure had strode forward, expertly drawing the long tongue of white steel on his belt.

"Allow me to demonstrate for you."

Erza glanced up from her book and found herself looking out the window.

The chapter ended there. There were about three more until the book was finished, so Erza could guess at what the ending was. Still, she knew that she'd pick it up again and read.

She gently folded the top right corner of the page she'd left off on and placed it back on the coffee table. Then she went about finishing her breakfast.

The sun had come out to play. Erza watched as it shone its light over South Gate Park while she enjoyed her oats. The energy she'd expended with her cardio came back to her swiftly.

As she sipped again at her tea, she wondered what the day would have in store for her. Admittedly, outside of Natsu rejoining society (something that Erza was immensely grateful for), life in the guild hadn't been eventful the entirety of September. Going out on jobs provided its own challenge, but Erza simply classified them as work and kept it at that.

It wasn't that she was particularly restless. If anything, Erza enjoyed the rare, calm moments that were afforded to her. However, she felt a sort of… apprehension at starting her day.

No, not apprehension… What was the word? She thought to herself. Aimlessness! That was it. Besides keeping to her usual daily routine, there was a sense of aimlessness about. Nothing for her to strive towards or anything like that.

She didn't really know what it meant. It wasn't like she'd ever felt aimless years ago.

Was it because of the Tower? Because of Jellal? Perhaps she'd been compelled deep down to become as strong as she was, so that one day, she could return to the Tower and free the rest of her friends.

But it was all over now. Sho, Wally, Milliana, Simon… They were all free in some way or another. And if she was right in her assumptions, Jellal had managed to break out of whatever hold that evil spirit had over him in the end.

It was perplexing. Erza never once had to battle with feelings of existential crisis. Yet now…

What am I supposed to do?

No answer came to her then.

The absence of something, anything to latch onto… made her unreasonably scared deep down. It shouldn't have. But it did. The little one-eyed girl who'd cried herself to sleep in her cell had come to the surface. Erza set down her cup of tea and looked at her hands and at the old scars around her wrists.

Her hands were shaking, visibly even.

She exhaled sharply and breathed in and out deeply to calm her nerves. It was barely working.

Everything felt so cold all of a sudden. She rubbed her arms so as to make them warm again. They were shaking too.

A memory came to her then, almost as if it had been a shield to ward away the darkness that seeped into her mind. It was a distant one, but something she'd kept tucked away. One that brought warmth into her being.

Natsu smiled at her after he'd beaten Jellal, hadn't he? That stupid, beaming grin he wore. She was seeing it all over again. The upturned corners of his lips, the way his teeth flashed at her, how his eyes crinkled like they usually did.

It felt like… like Erza had been the only woman to ever exist right then.

She didn't know why, but the thought of it alone made her feel whole again. Her hands stopped shaking, and her nerves relaxed. Maybe… maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

What was she thinking? This new challenge wasn't scary at all. Perhaps it would even be good for her. So that she could find something new to build towards.

It's what Natsu would do. He would've just taken it and run. Like he always did.

It was decided. Erza looked over to a nearby bookshelf. Among her collection of romance novels she spied a small leather-bound book. She stood up and went over to the shelf, pulling it out. It was an old gift given to her by Master Makarov after she aced her S-Class Exam. But she never really had a use for the thing, so she let it gather dust.

Until now, at least. She sat down again and took one of the pens she kept on the coffee table. Cracking open the old leather journal, she landed on the first page. The first step of any goal was to get it in writing. Just so she could remind herself of it on occasion.

Erza knew that she wanted to make a difference. She wanted to set a good example for other mages to follow, especially for her fellow guildmates. But outside of already being S-Class… Well, she didn't quite know what else to jot down.

Her mind was blank, except with the occasional interruption of some random thought or the other. The small argument between Lucy and Gray on their last job, or her desire for a good slice of cake at that exact moment.

Whatever came up, she batted it away, trying to think of something, anything, to write down.

She sat there for a while, not counting the minutes as they passed by. She scratched the crown of her head, wondering what she'd actually do.

Ding, ding, the soft chiming of the small clock that hung over the mantle on the opposite side of the sunroom reminded her of its existence. Erza looked up from her journal.

It was nine. Almost time for her to head off to the guild. Had she actually been staring at a blank page for the last twenty minutes?

Erza was immediately frustrated, but she resolved to have at least one thing written down before she left. After a few moments of sorting through the thoughts in her head, she decided to ask herself a question.

What difference do I want to make with my life?

And so she wrote it down on the page.

She herself didn't know the answer to that question. Not yet, anyways. But perhaps she would soon enough.

Satisfied with herself, she closed the journal and left it on the coffee table. Then she stood up, took the empty tea cup and bowl, and went into the kitchen to wash them both.

As she walked off to the guild later that morning, Erza felt rather optimistic about what her day had in store for her.

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Guildmaster's Office

Tick, tick, tick, tick…

Laxus Dreyar shot a hard glare at the tall grandfather clock.

He contemplated for only the briefest of moments whether or not he'd fire off a lightning bolt at that damned thing.

But ultimately, even in spite of the four mugs of ale he had in him already, he decided against it. He looked away and thought about how he'd explain himself this time around.

He never regretted blasting the dark mage scum unconscious. What had the fool's name been? Hako? Mato? Zatô?

Zatô. That had been the one.

What an incredible difference there had been between a body full of life and a body that had the lights knocked out of it with a single blow. Quite suddenly, nobody was home.

Well, no more insults against Fairy Tail in that case. All it took was a low-effort lightning bolt on his part. No scathing remarks left to be made, only the uncontrollable jittering of one's muscles as the body convulsed on the cold wooden floor.

His little encounter with the ape wizard from Naked Mummy had been the finishing touch on a bad S-Class Assignment. One of the worst-grimy, dangerous, and without any redeeming quality besides getting him away from the guild.

A bigshot Mayor up in Northern Fiore had found out about a cult of demon worshippers-supposedly they were a dark guild beholden to Tartaros in some form or another. They were in operation up in the mountains. Reports were coming in from towns and villages that had been dotted in the countryside below the slopes. People were disappearing from their homes in the middle of the night. Men, women, children. A few here, a few there. Townsfolk were also getting bad dreams, nightmares, and visions. They felt control over their minds begin to slip as it went on.

It all smelt pretty bad from the get-go. The Mayor had hired a few mercenaries to look into it. But they came up empty-handed in the end. He decided to issue an S-Class Request and send it to the best guild in Fiore: Fairy Tail.

Laxus had taken on the job in a heartbeat. He even took his Thunder God Tribe with him as well. It wouldn't have been the first tough assignment he'd taken them on. And although he wouldn't dare admit it to Freed, Evergreen, or Bickslow, he was fairly confident in their abilities. They'd improved a lot over the last year alone.

Getting to Yarodale Town had been a nightmare. They had to take the train initially. His motion sickness came at him in full force, though Laxus had been able to blunt its effects somewhat thanks to his grandfather's 'exercise'. After that, it took them several days to get through the autumn tundra until they reached their destination.

He'd taken rather well to the Mayor; a stolid man named Ronson who looked after the people under his care as if they were his own children, albeit in a disciplinarian sort of way. Not at all the same way his grandfather ran Fairy Tail, what with the drinking and unearned carousing that took place.

From there, it was a relatively simple matter of picking up the trail of the missing persons. Laxus was able to do so with his heightened sense of smell. About a day later in the mountains, they'd scouted out the cultists' base of operations. Freed set up his barriers while the others prepared accordingly.

The raid took place very early the next morning. The Thunder God Tribe stormed the hideout, and Laxus battled the guildmaster while the others took care of his minions, then went on to free the captives. Thankfully, the people who'd been taken had yet to be sacrificed.

When all was said and done, Laxus had to put down the cult leader once and for all. The man was just a pile of ashes now. And it was the act of killing that had managed to put him out of his mood.

Laxus hated killing in general. So much so that when he had to do it, afterward he would try his utmost to forget about it entirely.

Anyway, it had to be done. Elsewise, the cult leader simply wouldn't stop trying to make sacrifices to his demon masters.

Once they'd returned the townsfolk to their homes and collected the reward, Laxus decided to head back to the guild the long way so as to deal with the morbid thoughts in his head. He ordered Freed and the others to go back on the train. He knew they'd follow him without question otherwise.

It was at Onibus Town where he encountered Zatô.

He ordered an ale and sat at the bar, planning to keep to himself. Behind him, the door swung open sharply, banging against the wall.

The ape-like man had walked in wearing a diamond-patterned shirt over his barrel-like chest. The afro on his head swung back and forth as he strutted towards the bar. The dark mage was an absurd-looking fellow, indeed.

He'd just so happened to stop a few feet away from Laxus. And even worse (as it had disrupted Laxus' mood) he had recognized him too.

"Well, well… Look at what we got here…" Zatô grinned, flashing rows of chapped golden teeth. "Another Fairy Tail fly. Ah, but not just any fly… we got the 'great and powerful' Laxus Dreyar!" He said in a mocking tone.

Laxus just wished the fool would disappear. "Piss off. I'm drinking."

"Nah, I'll pass."

He didn't reply, not even as he saw the dark mage slide into the stool next to him out of his peripherals.

The bartender approached with a rather cautious look on his square face. "Look here-this is a place for good folk. We don't want any trouble."

"How about this? Get me something to drink and I'll consider it."

As the barman went away hurriedly, Laxus gripped his mug tighter. Unconsciously, he'd already prepared his Lightning Body just in case Zatô was going to throw the first blow, which was looking like a real possibility within the next few minutes.

Or perhaps even, if Laxus decided to do it himself.

"Say, wonder what your guild's gotten up to lately-well, besides getting rammed in the ass by Phantom Lord that is." The dark mage said, loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear.

"You don't know how to shut that mouth of yours, do you?"

"Don't need to with legal rats like you. What are you gonna do anyways? Call granddaddy about it?"

The barman came back, hesitantly placing a mug in front of the ape-man and then briskly walking away.

Laxus wasn't about to let this punk get to him. Not some dark guild trash like this fool, anyway. He slowly turned his head and looked at him.

"What's your name?"

"Zatô. What's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing. Just funny is all." Laxus smirked. "For a nobody, you talk a pretty big game."

Zatô seemed unaffected by his comment as well. "I'm not surprised. I don't go in for making a fool out of myself, unlike your old man's guild."

The Lightning Mage snorted and set his mug down on the counter. "Next time you talk about my grandfather, it's lights out." He said calmly. "Now, how about you make like a good doggy and piss off. Otherwise, I'll have to show you some manners."

It was as if he'd told the other man a hilarious joke. Zatô burst out into laughter, even going so far as to smack the bar.

"Damn that's funny." The ape-man shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm good right here." He said, then inching closer to Laxus, even tapping him with his elbow.

"Say, a little bird told me your old man was too weak to deal with Phantom Lord. Something to do with his heart. Did I hear that righ-"

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flicked, Zatô's entire body was engulfed in a storm of golden sparks and bolts. He convulsed violently in his seat and quickly fell to the painted-green wooden floor, continuing to jolt painfully until Laxus was satisfied.

When the lightning had stopped, the ape-man simply lay there unconscious, his clothes and skin letting off plums of smoke, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Laxus stood up. He downed the last of his ale and glanced down at the fallen dark mage. "Told you." He paid the bartender for his drink and left soon after.

He took the first train back to Magnolia. And after being interrupted so crudely, he managed to ignore the incessant ache in his stomach as he stewed in silence.

Once he made his way back to the guild, he was immediately reminded of why he disliked being there in the first place.

There was so much waste in the guild. The older members, like Macao and Wakaba, just sat there all day drinking. That fool, Nab, stood indecisively in front of the notice board, still rooted to the exact spot Laxus had last seen him in. If there was anything Laxus did genuinely hate, it was indecisiveness. He wanted to zap the idiot from the first day he joined the guild.

The rest of them partied and brawled like a bunch of morons. Without a care in the world. As if their guild didn't have more enemies like Phantom Lord. As if they didn't have actual competition among the other legal guilds.

Was his grandfather simply letting just anyone in these days? It seemed so. With the number of kids running around, the guild seemed more like a daycare than anything else. It simply annoyed Laxus to his core.

Fairy Tail was supposed to be number one! The best of the best! But if someone walked into the guild, they'd just see a bunch of drunken imbeciles throwing chairs and benches at one another. Old men sitting around talking about the 'glory days', a bunch of kids playing games in an arcade, or women sitting by the pool as if they were just lounging at the beach.

Where was the magic in just lazing around doing nothing? If none of them were able to actually hold their own, nor were actually contributing to the guild's success, then what was the point of them being there?

He went to the second floor to get away from it all. Cut it out. Stop being so damned pessimistic. The old man knows what he's doing. All of this is just a reaction from a bad S-Class Job. You're stale. Tired of having to be tough. You want a change. A slice of life, of something different.

Laxus took his usual seat by the front window overlooking Magnolia. He needed to do something outrageous tonight, anything to soak up the morbid atmosphere he'd been consumed in.

A good beer, followed by a world-class meal. Then in the evening he'd go out into town, lose all of his reward money at the local gambling club, and find some tart to take home with him. Yes, that was the way to play the hand. That was exactly what he'd do.

"Laxus."

He immediately recognized the stern, authoritative voice. Laxus glanced down at the short figure of his grandfather.

Was there a note of rebuke in there? Had the old man heard about him frying some nobody to a crisp in Onibus Town?

Word travels fast. Then again, his grandfather always seemed to know everything that was going on.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Would you join me in my office? There's an important matter I wish to discuss with you personally."

The Lightning Mage wasn't in the mood. He and his old man had their differences. Still, he knew better than to argue. If his grandfather thought it was important, then it was important. His lunch could wait for a bit.

A few minutes later, he was sitting on the long leather couch in the Guildmaster's Office, glaring at the clock which was resting against the wall to his left.

He decided to finally meet his grandfather's gaze. Those two black dots hadn't left him in the last few minutes.

What the hell was this about anyway? Laxus opted to break the ice. "What do you want to talk about, old man?"

Makarov had gently leaned forward, posting his elbows on his desk. "I was curious to know what you've been up to. Your friends came back without you a few days ago."

Laxus folded his arms and sat back. Your friends. Grandpa had meant the Thunder God Tribe.

"Was the job tougher than you expected?" His grandfather asked.

"No. It was fine."

"But?"

What was this supposed to be? Therapy? Laxus didn't need therapy. He didn't care about talking through his problems. Talking wasn't going to solve the fact that he'd killed a man. He'd just have to live with it. That was that.

"We dealt with the problem. Saved some people. Others died."

"I see." The old man nodded, seeming to understand what he was saying. How did his grandpa always know what he meant all of the time? "You had to take a life."

"Yeah."

Another lapse in the conversation. Laxus heard his stomach rumble. He wanted his lunch.

His grandfather shrugged, taking on a more solemn expression. "It wasn't the first difficult choice you've had to make, and it certainly won't be the last either. But I'm sure you know this well enough." He smiled kindly. "I won't say that I haven't been in your situation, I have. The best thing you can do is to make up for it. Give back in some way. And move on."

"I wasn't asking for your advice."

"And yet, you're receiving it nonetheless."

Laxus snorted and looked away.

Though he wouldn't admit it to his grandfather, he was thankful for his counsel. It was a reprieve, a bright spot in the rather morbid week he'd been having. Perhaps this evening wasn't looking so down after all. Even though Makarov was far past his prime, he still had the occasional nugget of wisdom to hand out. And Laxus hadn't suffered from listening to him from time to time.

The Lightning Mage came back to reality then. He knew all of this was a deflection. Grandpa wanted something from him. Or more accurately, wanted his help with whatever was on his mind at the moment.

He looked back at his grandfather. "You asked me to come in here for a reason. What is it?"

As if he'd been prepared for the inevitable question, Makarov had sat back in his seat and let out a slow sigh. "I need a favor from you." The old man said. "It's going to involve plenty of effort on your part. And you'll need to be on hand around the guild more often should you choose to accept."

"What is it?" Laxus repeated himself. He was genuinely surprised. His grandfather never often came to him asking for a favor. Whatever it was, must've been something important to him.

"You might call it 'babysitting'" Makarov said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "However, I believe it's a chance for you to give back. In a way."

And so, his grandfather told him what it was. In explicit detail. First the context behind it, then what he needed from Laxus.

By the end of the old man's explanation, Laxus had been sitting on the edge of his seat. It certainly was not what he was expecting when he walked into the guild, and not what he thought his grandfather wanted to talk to him about.

Years ago, Laxus would've actually considered it to be babysitting. But after hearing the whole story, he could understand the reasoning behind it.

But… Why me? He decided to voice his thoughts. "Why me?"

"In truth, you were my second choice for this task, as I understand you value your time. And because of your apprehension for being around the guild in general. However, since Gildarts is not available, and because you are by far the most powerful and seasoned mage in the guild next to him, I have decided to offer you this assignment."

Well, that was certainly a compliment to behold. "Why not give it to Erza? She knows him better than I do."

His grandfather broke away his gaze, now looking at his desk. "Erza, I'm afraid, is going through her own troubles at the moment. And although I have full confidence in her abilities, I believe that someone with your talents…" He said pointedly. "...would be better suited."

The lacrima. Laxus nodded, knowing full well what the old man had meant. His grandfather never liked talking about it, so Laxus never talked about it either. Simple as that.

"So," Makarov cleared the air. "Will you do it?"

Laxus leaned back in his seat. Every fiber of his being told him to say no. It was a complete waste of time. Zero chance of it working in the end, either.

Natsu was a complete idiot. After all these years in the guild, Laxus had never once seen him take anything seriously. The kid always lounged around eating food, talking about his dragon, or whatever. Every time he 'challenged' Laxus to a fight, Laxus always found himself smoking the kid with ease. Even then, he still wouldn't learn to respect his elders. Wouldn't face up to the fact that there were some people who were just out of his league.

The kid did have a few saving graces, of course. Natsu definitely wasn't a coward, neither was he indecisive. He was somewhat entertaining as well. It was hard to be bored when he was around. There's that, at least.

Still, he had a particularly thick skull. How he won any fights outside of the guild was a miracle, since the kid seemed intent on fighting just about anyone with a pulse.

One of these days, Natsu was bound to piss someone off. And he'd either be forced to learn his lesson the hardest way possible, or he'd end up dead.

What in the hell was Grandpa even thinking with this one? What was he even building towards with this little project of his? Didn't he know that it was completely hopeless?

Laxus caught himself. There he was being so damned pessimistic again. It was decision time.

If he said no… then what would he do? Continue on with his day, probably. Laxus fully intended to follow through with his plans for the evening; get stinking drunk (because he'd earned it, unlike those fools down in the guild hall), eat his fill of the best-cooked food in Magnolia, lose all of his money at poker, and find some woman to take home for the evening.

And what would he do when he woke up tomorrow?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He'd probably take another S-Class Job in a week or something just to get out of Magnolia. Then the cycle would repeat itself all over again.

So what if he said yes?

Well… he didn't know.

Laxus would practically be grounded in Magnolia for the foreseeable future…

…Which also meant he'd be forced to endure the foolish antics from Fairy Tail's weaker members.

And yet…

Here was that 'slice of different' he'd been asking for. Something outside of his usual routine.

The idea, and the possibility of trying something… new… simply intrigued him. At least if it didn't work out, he wouldn't be bored.

Besides, it was a favor for the old man. Family, at least in Laxus' book, came first.

He had his answer.

"Yeah, I'll do it." Laxus said decisively as he locked eyes with his grandfather. "When do you want me to start?"

"I'll be speaking with Natsu first thing tomorrow. Remember that little test I gave you a few years back? Well, I gave it to him a couple days ago. Depending on his answer, we'll move forward from there. If he gets it right, and he accepts, then will next week work for you?"

"Yeah. It does."

"Excellent! Thank you, Laxus!" His grandfather clasped his hands together, a meaningful gesture of gratitude, and one that did genuinely make Laxus feel all warm in the heart. "I greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter."

Laxus nodded, knowing that it was time to go. His lunch was long overdue. He stood up.

As Laxus clicked open the door, with one foot out and the other still in, he gave the old man one last glance. He smiled.

"Your welcome, Grandpa."

Chapter Text

September 29th, Magnolia Outskirts

Natsu Dragneel had never been more frustrated in his life.

It had been nearly three days since Master Makarov had given him his so-called 'test' and he was nowhere close to having finished it.

The single slip of white paper sat plainly on the coffee table in the middle of his living room. He'd cleared away all of the dirty pots, pans, and dishes that hadn't been cleaned for weeks and placed the sheet by itself on the table to give it more importance.

And now, the evening before he was due to report back to Gramps, he was pacing the circumference of the coffee table, expertly navigating around the various bits and bobs strewn all about the floor of his house. His stone barbells lay carelessly about, as well as the many crates and boxes that were filled untidily with his clothes and other items he'd long forgotten about.

To change my life, I need… what? What do I need?

The question hadn't seriously been on his mind til now. Until today, he was only making it a point to just get back into the flow of things. Start up with his friends again and all that.

But now? He knew he had to get it figured out. And soon. Natsu was partially thankful that Happy had decided to stay over with Lucy for the night. It would give him the space he needed to think.

"What do I need? What do I need?" He asked himself as he continued to pace the mess that was his home. It didn't help that occasionally he'd step on a loose spring that had since detached from the nearby sofa. The sharp bit of steel wire dug into the sole of his foot, not drawing blood, but being sufficiently annoying.

Natsu kicked it away and refocused on the issue at hand. What did he need?

He told Gramps everything about what happened at the Tower, and in turn, the old man had actually… helped him see everything differently. He was thankful for that, truly.

Besides some much-needed relief, however, Natsu decided he'd still find a way to become stronger. After all, the old man had told him to become 'the best possible version of yourself' or whatever that meant. Natsu supposed that meant getting more powerful, too.

But what did the question mean? To change my life?

Change his life how exactly? Financially? It wasn't like he was dying for more money. In truth, he didn't even care about having all the jewel in the world. He already kept several million or so buried underneath a tree in his backyard as a sort of failsafe. He was happy enough with his living situation, and he had his friends, so… what else was there to change?

Well, there was the matter of finding Igneel, of course. That had to happen. Finding a colossal red lizard shouldn't have been so difficult, but Natsu had been searching for over a decade and not a single solid lead had come up in that time. What if Igneel wasn't in Fiore anymore?

Guess I'll have to go looking outside of Fiore then. He shrugged mentally. That was beside the point.

S-Class? The title had long lost its flavor. At least it had for him. Yet after facing down a Wizard Saint, Natsu wondered if it was a pursuit worthy of his time. Perhaps it would be better to raise his standards. Perhaps not.

So if he was completely satisfied with the things and people in his life… then if there was something he needed to change… what would it be?

He gave you the stupid paper because you told him about your fight with Jellal. Start there.

Power. Raw power. Natsu knew that was the answer. Or at least close to it. How in the hell could Gildarts be so damned powerful? Same for Jellal. What did they do that he hadn't done?

After all, he was a fucking Dragon Slayer. The Son of Igneel, the Fire Dragon King himself. And for some reason beyond his comprehension, they could just wipe the floor with him.

Even Gajeel was a tough battle at the time. Looking back on it, Natsu hated the fact that Lucy had to step in and help him with that particular fight. It was humiliating, and it reflected poorly on him. Not that he needed somebody else's help, but that he'd gone out of his way to rescue her, and in the end, it had been Lucy who needed to rescue him.

If another threat came along, was he supposed to just hope that someone would always be there to help him?

Not a chance, Natsu thought to himself. That would be the end of him.

That was the change he needed to make then, right? Become more powerful. More capable. Able to take on whoever came along to attack him or his friends. Punching things never got old, so if he was strong like Gildarts, it would get easier.

Right?

Natsu desperately wished that was the answer. To change my life, I need to be more powerful. He wanted that to be the end of it. He was even itching to go over to the coffee table right now and finish the damn sentence.

But… there was that tiny nugget of doubt in his mind telling him otherwise. You know that's not the answer. Not even close. Try again.

"But what?" He asked nobody in particular, frustration evident in his voice. "What is the answer?"

The empty house simply yawned back at him.

"Gah!" He kicked one of the stray boxes on the floor. It flew to the other side of his living room and crashed against the wall next to his hammock.

This whole 'test' was stupid to begin with. Downright idiotic. Natsu considered burning up the scrap of paper right then and there but decided against it. He crashed down onto the sofa, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him.

Answer it in the morning, he told himself. Ignoring his guilty conscience this time around, he stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the room. He slung into the hammock and let out a sharp sigh as he glanced up at the wooden beams on the ceiling.

What the hell was the point of the test anyway? To annoy him? Gramps certainly had a sense of humor in that case. What in the hell was the point of anything he'd told him then? Even that story about Gildarts and Irina? What sort of lesson was the old man hoping he'd glean from-

Wait… the story… the lesson…

Natsu sat upright and stared a hole into the far wall. What did Gramps say at the end of it?

The nugget of doubt that plagued him earlier came back in full force, but this time as a blaring flash of inspiration.

With the last of his energy, Natsu jumped out of the hammock and strode back over to the coffee table containing the single sheet of folded paper. He blinked several times as he put himself back into the memory of his meeting with Master Makarov, trying to recall the entirety of the story he told him about Gildarts' first S-Class Mission.

Gildarts had met up with the girl from Lamia Scale, Irina. They took on a dark guild and a Sea Serpent. Gildarts wanted to fight the serpent like a hero instead of working with Irina and taking out the dark wizards in control of the beast. Irina was killed, and Gildarts slew the beast and finished the job.

So? What was the point then? Natsu knew it was meant to be a sort of comparison between what happened with him and his friends at the Tower. But what was the old man trying to tell him?

What did Gildarts do after he finished the job? Natsu paced his living room now. He was onto something, he could feel it in his bones. Pieces of the puzzle snapped cleanly together in his mind. In his very soul. What was it that Gramps said at the end of the story?

"...that he decided to change who he was at his core, so he could grow into the man he is today."

He decided to change who he was at his core.

Change who he was at his core.

Change who HE was.

Natsu smoothed his hand back through his hair and let out a slow, careful sigh in realization.

Of course! That simply had to be it! It wasn't about changing anything external… It was about changing himself!

Gildarts changed himself, and now he's… well, he's Gildarts. That's how he became so damned powerful! He looked inward and decided to change who he was so he could ultimately change his own life for the better. So he could make a much more positive impact on the lives of other people.

Pride swelled into his being. He'd figured it out! Or at least, he thought he had. There was a possibility of him being wrong… but Natsu was willing to bet everything he had on this being the correct answer.

He strode over to the coffee table and took up the pen next to the paper. Very slowly, very carefully, he finished the sentence. To change my life, I need… to first change myself.

There. He set down the pen and gazed at the four words he'd added with a certain reverence. He'd done it. And now, he can finally claim his reward. Sleep.

Deciding that he wouldn't think anymore about the test itself, he plucked up the sheet, folded it twice, and slipped it into his pocket. Then he went back over to his hammock and fell right in.

A few minutes later, Natsu was out like a light.

September 30th, Early Morning

The next morning, Natsu awoke feeling unusually well-rested.

As he got up and out of his hammock, he stretched his arms out wide and yawned. Then he looked out the window, which had begun to show the sun in all its glory.

Early morning by the looks of it, Natsu thought to himself. It would be hours before the guild opened. What would he do until then?

Train, most like. It was the obvious answer. And he had nothing better to do. Nothing except…

A very strange, very foreign feeling came over him then. Natsu had no idea what it was exactly, nor where it had sprung from within his mind. But it was there, front and center, almost making him see everything clearly for what felt like, the first time in his life.

He took a good long glance at his living room, spying over the mess of dirty dishes stained with old bits of food, the lop-sided shelf that hung over one of his sofas, and the large stone barbells that lay next to the coffee table. Even the loose springs, gears, pillows, and odd blankets that were untidily all over the main floor.

Despite the complete dump that he lived in… Natsu merely wore a calm smile.

Guess this place could do with a thorough cleaning… he thought to himself.

He had a few hours to kill, right? He could just tidy all of this up for now, go train, wash, then head off to the guild. Yeah, that sounded about right. Solid plan.

Natsu didn't waste much time. He got right to work.

The first object to go was the old training dummy that he'd stopped using for a month now. He'd set up the thing years ago, back when he still considered Erza a rival of his. Since the tower, though, he couldn't bring himself to think of her as competition. Just the thought of her name aroused a sort of protective… almost primal instinct within him that he couldn't quite place.

Nevertheless, it had to go. It was clear that he'd outgrown it. Natsu tossed the old body of straw and wood into the firepit in his backyard before heading back inside.

Everything else was fairly simple to move around. The barbells he placed next to his hammock in neat rows. The shelf he'd placed upright against the wall, shutting all of the drawers.

For the sofas, he placed one on each side of the coffee table, which he also cleaned of various dirty pots and pans. Natsu took the dishes outside and washed them in the nearby creek. Once he was finished, he took them back inside and stacked them neatly on the shelf from largest to smallest.

Two hours later, Natsu stood in the center of a very different-looking house. He placed all of Happy's toys in a chest underneath his hammock, and had swept up any remaining debris from the floor with the dusty old broom he'd kept next to the stove.

Natsu felt himself swell with pride as he looked over his handiwork. The floors were spotless. His things sorted. That hole in his hammock would need sewing, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Should be heading off to the guild soon.

He nodded in agreement with his thoughts. A quick training session ought to do the trick. Burpees and Push Ups? Followed by some cardio? Yeah. That would do it.

With the rest of his day already decided, Natsu Dragneel marched over to the front door, opened it, and gently shut it behind him.

Tick, tick, tick, tick…

Natsu was starting to grow fond of the grandfather clock that clicked away like a beating heart in the small square office.

On the opposite side of the room, Makarov had shuffled a few papers aside on his desk. He hadn't initially looked up when Natsu first entered the room a few minutes prior, though he'd greeted him politely. The old man seemed to be engrossed in whatever documents were in front of him. As he scribbled away, Natsu took his seat on the couch.

"Property damage?" Natsu opted to take the first stab at conversation.

"Worse," The old man shook his head and finally looked at him, closing the folder and tossing it into his OUT tray. "Taxes."

There was a slight tiredness in those black dots, some of the strain in the blood vessels around the iris. Makarov had woken up recently, of course, but he probably hadn't gotten much sleep in the last few days. "So!" he clapped his hands together and grinned with renewed vigor. "You finished the assignment, eh?"

"Yeah, I did." The Dragon Slayer withdrew the folded sheet from his pocket and placed it on Makarov's desk before he took his seat on the couch.

The old man tugged the slip closer to him, but he didn't open it. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Mira was called up rather quickly. In a few minutes, Natsu held a warm mug of fresh black coffee, with Makarov having gotten a refill.

"Alright then, let's see what you've got." Gramps unfolded the letter. Not even a few seconds into reading it he grinned, looking practically ten years younger. He read it out loud. "To change my life, I need to first change myself."

Natsu scratched the back of his head. His uncertainty was waging a war against his resolve. "Remembered the story you told about Gildarts… how he decided to change who he was at the end so he wouldn't let someone else die on his watch. It just kind of… clicked."

"Hmph!" The old man chuckled. "That was precisely the answer I was looking for, Natsu."

"Yeah well, I-" Wait, what? "It was?"

Makarov had smiled kindly at him. "Natsu… The point of this exercise was only meant to determine whether or not you were ready to accept personal change. Your answer shows that you've begun to understand that one's success and power come from within, not from external factors or things. And it helps me decide if I should invest my time in you. I certainly hope you were sincere with your answer. This," He said tapping the slip of paper. "...is wisdom beyond your years."

The fact that he'd gotten it right was still jarring to him. Natsu only wore a shit-eating smile as he felt himself swell with pride.

Damn right, Dragneel! Sounds like you've earned a solid victory breakfast! Especially after you spent the whole night trying to piece this one together. Natsu decided he'd sort something out after this meeting. Mira would probably jump at the chance to put together a meal for him.

Besides his self-congratulatory mood… Natsu supposed that Makarov was making some sense. He'd personally come to the conclusion that he'd needed to change himself in some way. He just didn't know what his next few steps would be.

But there was still a question on his mind. Something the old man had said in passing. "...and it helps me decide if I should invest my time into you."

What was that about? What did Makarov mean exactly?

"Thanks, Gramps. But what did you mean when you said 'investing your time'?" The Dragon Slayer scratched his cheek. "I don't understand."

It was then that the old man had sat forward. He took a long draw at his coffee and let out a deep sigh.

"Natsu," Makarov said. "I don't know if you knew this, but my father was one of the founding members of Fairy Tail. His name was Yuri. He was a very accomplished wizard in his own right, very proficient with Lightning Magic in particular. He passed away when I was a boy. Sickness of the heart, you see."

Natsu frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Things like that can happen, unfortunately. Our time together was short but precious. Before he died, he named one of his closest friends, Precht, as my godfather. Precht, as it so happens, was also my predecessor. He was Fairy Tail's second guildmaster."

"What happened to him?"

Makarov waved his hand aside. "He left the guild of his own accord years ago after making me his successor. I suspect he may have continued his studies, but I haven't heard from him since. He likely settled down, perhaps he even started a family."

The old man continued. "From a young age, I was mentored personally by Precht in the arts of magic. Thanks to his teachings, I can say wholeheartedly that I've had a very interesting career as a wizard. And since becoming Fairy Tail's third guildmaster, I have continued this tradition. I have mentored three others: Gildarts first, Laxus, and then Erza to a somewhat lesser degree. Their skills and talents speak for themselves. As it stands, I also wish to extend this offer to you, Natsu."

Natsu was astounded. He didn't quite know what to say. This wasn't exactly what he'd expected to hear when he walked into the guild this morning.

Why me? And why now? Those were the only two questions to pop into his head.

"But-"

The old man had seen his questions a mile off. He raised his hand, stopping Natsu in his tracks. "Please, Natsu. I am offering to help you. I am quite probably one of the only people who can-and because I genuinely want to see you succeed." He paused. "I have been in your situation. It's difficult being a young man who only wishes to protect those he cares about. At times it's tempting to distance yourself from them, cut them off even, if only so you can protect yourself."

It was as if the old man had… read his mind. Like he'd cracked open Natsu's skull and inspected his brain… somehow. Makarov wasn't telepathic, was he?

If he was, then Natsu shouldn't have been so surprised.

He had been tempted, in those early days after he'd woken up in his room at Akane Resort. He did cut himself off from his friends. Now, of course, he was on much better terms with them. But the fact that Master Makarov had called it out as if he were talking about the symptoms of a disease… simply spoke volumes about how knowledgable the old man truly was.

"...Your encounter with the former Councilman Fernandez was enough for me to pull the trigger and make this offer to you. It's clear that you took the matter far differently than your friends had."

"Yeah…" Natsu nodded.

He was feeling numb all of a sudden, recalling how his team had just… gone back to normal as if nothing had happened.

Like they hadn't been nearly killed in the casino alone.

Was there something wrong with him? Was he crazy?

"That's good," Makarov said, instantly cutting away his doubts. "Natsu, as capable as your friends may be, there will come a day when they will all look to you. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. They won't know what to do. On that day, your instincts will be proven right. And that's precisely when you'll need to be that rock for them. Be the light in the dark and guide them through the storm. Do you understand?"

He did. The old man was talking about a day that hadn't come yet. But somehow, Natsu knew that it would.

This was real.

"I do."

"Good." Makarov smiled kindly at him once more. He smacked the top of the table and sat forward. "But… onto the topic at hand."

The Wizard Saint took his smoking pipe out from his coat pocket and filled it. "I am perfectly willing to offer you a twelve-month mentorship. Just the same offer I made to Gildarts all those years ago. I cannot help you find Igneel. I know very little about dragons. However, I can help you grow into your own power. I can teach you how to earn the universal respect and admiration of your peers and many others. And I can show you how to become the best possible version of yourself, how to become the man who always pulls through, who can think quickly on his feet and make tactical, strategical decisions to boot. However, I must warn you…"

Natsu leaned forward.

"...the path will not be easy. In fact, it will be extremely uncomfortable for you. You will want to give up at times. It is inevitable but necessary. Pain is a part of the process of change. However, I am fully confident that you can pull it off."

"So," Makarov sat back in his seat, having lit his smoking pipe by snapping a small flame to life with his fingers. A fresh plume of smoke exited the old man's nostrils as he leveled his gaze with the Dragon Slayer.

"Care to take it on, Natsu?"

Chapter Text

October 1st, The Eastern Forest

Day 1

"So… why exactly are we out here, Gramps?"

It was early the next day. So early that the sun hadn't even begun to rise above the mountains far to the east. The inky black curtain of the midnight sky, dotted with glimmering white and blue stars, was currently clashing with the pink and pale orange morning light. Very soon, daylight would come out to play, and it would be glorious.

The day prior, after Makarov had queried his offer to Natsu, the young man didn't even hesitate for a second before accepting. The old guildmaster was of course pleased with this, and managed to stave off the ensuing barrage of questions of when they'd begin sparring. Naturally, this alone had helped pinpoint what exactly Makarov needed to make clear to Natsu before they officially got started with the program.

The sparring would come later. Makarov had already enlisted Laxus for that side of things. First, however, they would need to establish the essentials: Natsu needed to find out what sort of man he wanted to become, and more importantly… how he'd get there.

And so, Makarov decided to send Natsu home for the rest of the day, telling him that they would be getting up early and meeting in the Eastern Forest, just outside of Natsu's home. From there, he would outline how he planned to help Natsu.

Now, as they both stood opposite of one another in a small clandestine clearing about half a kilometer away from Natsu's home, Makarov decided to breathe in the fresh morning air scented with dew and took a seat on the arched stone towards the middle of the clearing. Once he was comfortable, he withdrew his smoking pipe and tobacco pouch from the pocket of his orange jacket and got busy.

Natsu, not even peeved that his question had been swiftly dodged, had also taken a seat on the slightly damp green grass just below the stone. He was wearing his usual get-up; the puffy white trousers and sandals, but now with the shearling coat he seemed to sport these days. It suited him, though Makarov certainly wouldn't put the young man in any sort of high-end establishment.

But that sort of thing didn't matter at the moment. Right now, they needed to get down to business.

"This place is beautiful, isn't it?" Makarov asked though the downward tone of his voice made it out to be more of a statement of fact. "Have you ever been out this far from Magnolia, Natsu? On this side of the town, I mean."

"I've gone a lot further than this place."

"So you've never been here before, then? In this exact clearing?"

Natsu looked rather uncertain. Not that he seemed insecure, but rather that he just didn't think this line of questioning particularly mattered. "Well, no. Not in this place. But I know there's a ravine just a few kilometers northeast. Happy and I used to play hide-and-seek there with Lisanna."

The ravine was of no consequence to Makarov. But the point was still there. "Natsu, much like this clearing, which was recently undiscovered by you-there are many parts within your mind that you've yet to discover. Many things that you didn't know about yourself, which are laying dormant, waiting to be found."

Now the young man gave him a confused glance. "Umm… okay." He said, unsure of what to reply with. "What do you mean?"

"The human mind is much like a map. There are different continents and regions-parts of the brain in this instance have stark differences. Size, climate, population, natural resources, the list goes on. The point is, is that most people barely if ever decide to fully explore what is out there. They instead keep themselves regulated to a very small portion of that map. Their hometown, or the place they grew up. This makes them stay comfortable with where they are, and they never get to experience what goes on in the outside world. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just that it greatly limits their growth, and their options for what they want to do with their lives."

"Okay… so what's this got to do with my mind, then?"

Makarov gave a sharp smile. "Everything, quite honestly. When we arrive at the human part of this analogy, people often become too comfortable with who they are. Never once do they experience personal growth, nor do they seek to change themselves, even if their lives are horrible, or if they're not quite getting the results they want. Take a look at yourself. You've stayed the same person for about nineteen years, and you've done precious little to change who you are. You might as well be some country bumpkin who's lived in a small village his whole life. You are perfectly comfortable with where you are, and even the results you've gotten in your life thus far."

The young man's expression had morphed into a deep frown. "But I'm not comfortable with where I am. That's why I'm here, right? That's what I told you with this whole Jellal thing."

"Ah," Makarov grinned. He was presented with yet another opportunity to poke the young man's ego. Good. "But you are comfortable. You, Natsu Dragneel, have everything you want in life. You're perfectly happy, so happy that you're fine with allowing yourself to get steamrolled in your battles, or to be known as the "stupid" member of your team. You simply love being the village idiot, don't you?"

Natsu had soon folded his arms but didn't lose his nerve. Good. Natsu seemed to have gotten better at controlling his emotions. He'd need that.

His words, however, still affected the young man. Those onyx eyes had twitched irritably and narrowed. "No. Why would I?"

It was then that Makarov bellowed out a harsh laugh, letting a lungful of tobacco smoke escape from his parted lips. Very deliberately, he leaned forward.

"Because Natsu… if you genuinely weren't comfortable with all of those things, and with the results you've gotten in your life thus far… you would've done something about it earlier, and certainly far before you ever set foot in that Tower."

The single, efficient answer had floored the Dragon Slayer into silence. Very quickly, Natsu broke his gaze away and stared into the grass. Was Gramps doing this just to irritate him? Probably. He was succeeding, and even worse, it was a genuine point.

Makarov continued. "Think of all the times you've attempted to challenge Gildarts, Laxus, and even Erza to various duels. For the last decade alone that you've been in this guild, you've made zero progress towards beating any of them." The old guildmaster knew that an argument could be made for a pitched battle against Erza. It was likely that Natsu outmatched her by now. However, he'd keep that to himself. The point needed to be hammered home. "If you genuinely were uncomfortable with laying beaten, broken, and humiliated after challenging any of them for the first time, you would've worked and trained like an animal to eventually close the gap in power between yourself and them. You would have smartened up, carried yourself differently, and thought more strategically, perhaps you might've even learned other forms of magic to compliment your Fire Dragon Slaying Magic. And you know what would have happened?"

Natsu looked up at him then, still listening attentively.

"You would have succeeded. There's no doubt in my mind that you could have potentially even gotten close to Gildarts' level by now. You just weren't serious about it."

The young man opened his mouth to protest, but no reply came. He just stayed silent and accepted the verbal lashing.

"All those times you claimed, promised even, that you would beat Laxus, or Gildarts, or Erza the next time you challenged them… and every single time you failed to deliver," Makarov said plainly, relighting the bowl of his pipe. "Is that what you want to be known for? Is that the example you want to set for your future children? Is that the type of man you want to be for the rest of your life?"

No. The answer was instantaneous within Natsu's mind. "No," he said firmly, with conviction.

Makarov smirked. "So… what are you going to do about it, hmmm? What sort of man do you want to be? What is the life that you want to live?"

And… that was where his mind left him.

Nothing came to Natsu then. Nothing. Not a single thought entered his head. He just sat there, looking down at the grass as the sun finally climbed over the mountains in the east, with daylight grazing the right side of his face.

I… don't know.

What else could he do but voice that same line? "I don't know." He said coldly.

Inside he was angry. How in the hell was this all supposed to help him get stronger? To amp his magical power? What was this supposed to be, some sort of self-improvement nonsense that the old man was pushing on him? What a bloody laugh!

And yet, Makarov was right. If he, Natsu Dragneel had taken his training more seriously, had taken himself more seriously… perhaps he would be just as powerful as Gildarts by now. He might even be S-Class. Hell, perhaps he'd even have eaten Jellal for breakfast instead of almost getting killed by the blue-haired prick.

The cold silence that had been set between them was broken by Makarov, who, after having relit his pipe twice more, let out a satisfied gust of smoke. "Face it, kid. In some alternate universe, there's another version of you who's already at Gildart's level of strength. Same age, same history, same look as you. But that Natsu decided to get his act together earlier on. Maybe it was after his first defeat, maybe it was after his twentieth, doesn't matter. He didn't make the cut by complete accident, or by waiting around with his thumb up his ass. He figured out who he wanted to be, where he wanted to go, what he wanted to do, and got right to work."

Finally, Natsu leveled his gaze with Makarov's. "So… that's what I've got to do then? Figure out who I want to be in life?"

"Beats letting life take you for a ride." The old man quipped. "Life'll take you for all you've got, kid… but only if you let it. Instead, if you squeeze what you want out of life, and work-and I mean really work… you'll get it. Nothing simpler. Do you understand, Natsu?"

"Yeah," The young man said firmly, sitting up a little straighter than before. "I do."

"Good." Makarov was pleased. It seemed that now, Natsu's mind was open, malleable, and willing to change after he'd had the truth dumped on him. That would go a long way, certainly. "Well, my morning tirade aside… let's move on to today's docket."

The old man sat forward, slipping his hand into his lower coat pocket and withdrawing a small, folded sheet of crisp paper that he'd written on the night prior. He held it in his right hand as he continued. "The point of our little meeting today, Natsu, is to establish what exactly you and I will be doing to facilitate your personal growth. From there, we will work towards changing your life, ideally, for the better." Makarov said. "My role between the two of us is that of the Mentor. I am not a teacher who sits you down and teaches you a particular subject for several hours on end, nor am I a coach who will teach you the mechanics of what it means to be an SS-Class Wizard. That is something you'll, hopefully, figure out on your own. My purpose here is to ask you bold, profound questions, and your responsibility, as the Mentee, or Student, is to find the answers to those questions and rapidly implement them into your life. This is basic cause and effect, and this is how change happens. Are you following along?"

"I think so…" Natsu said, scratching his head. He was privately satisfied that the old man wouldn't sit him down and teach him how to read and write like Erza had when they were kids. That method of teaching felt stifling to him. "What do you mean about you not being a coach or something like that?"

"A Coach and a Mentor play two different roles. A Coach focuses more on the mechanics of a profession, the tactics, and the basic know-how-you would learn from a coach how to professionally speak with clients in person after answering their job requests." Makarov elaborated. "A Mentor, on the other hand, is more of a trusted advisor who offers guidance, and as I've already mentioned, asks incredibly profound questions of his or her students. Say you decide that you want to become a Wizard Saint, or that you'd like to get into politics, I will ask you pointed questions, guide you in the right direction, and from there, you will facilitate your own learning."

The title of Wizard Saint looked rather attractive to Natsu-but the thought of getting into politics didn't seem all that appealing. That aside, he understood what the old man was saying. He nodded along to show that he was listening closely.

The guildmaster continued. "Moreover, just as I was accountable to Gildarts, I will be called to account concerning my investment in you. Be assured that I will be committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for you during our time together. Therefore, our relationship from this point on must be based on trust, honesty, and profoundly confronting questions. If I say something you don't agree with, simply tell me you don't agree, if you do not. If two people agree all the time then one of them is redundant. Get the picture?"

"Yeah, Gramps."

"Excellent." Makarov refilled the bowl of his pipe, satisfied. He flicked the folded sheet of paper over to Natsu, who caught easily with his left hand. "Take a gander at that and tell me what you think."

Natsu only raised an eyebrow in response but unfolded the sheet in a matter of seconds. When he saw what was written on it, he frowned.

There was a list of questions on the paper. Natsu decided to read them out in his head;

This is the most hyper-competent, ideal version of Natsu…

1) What would he do with his time today? What things would he do?

2) What advantages would he create for himself?

3) What things are you afraid of doing right now? What things have you been putting off, that he would do even though he is just as scared as you are?

4) What baggage would he cut out of his life to make room for new opportunities, relationships, or growth?

5) What habits does he have?

6) How would he track and measure his progress and success?

7) How would he use his Guild, and his teammates more effectively?

8) What beliefs would he focus on this week?

9) What would he not tolerate about your current life? What key objectives is he obsessed with achieving? Why?

10) What sorts of problems does Future Natsu have that you don't? Why are these problems important to him?

11) What did Future Natsu change about himself to become the most powerful, competent, and intelligent version of himself?

12) How does Future Natsu dress? How does he carry himself? What do others think of him when they see him walking through the streets?

13) What sort of skillsets has Future Natsu developed along the way to perfecting himself? Has he learned other branches of magic? Which ones? And why?

14) How does Future Natsu use the resources at his disposal to improve both his life and the lives of those around him?

15) What sort of man IS Future Natsu? How does he act and think? How sharp is his mind?

16) What sort of hardships has Future Natsu gone through to become who he is?

17) What objectives do you have? What do you need to do to improve?

18) What weaknesses do you have? How did Future Natsu overcome them? What did he do?

What the… Natsu gulped as he read over the questions again. What in the hell was he supposed to make with all of this?

"It's a list of questions," he muttered.

"I said to tell me what you think of it, not what it is, kid." Makarov snorted as he relit his pipe for the fourth time that morning. "Go on! Go on!"

Natsu scratched the back of his head. The old man had asked him to be honest, right? Might as well go with that, then. "Well… I'm still not sure how this is going to help me."

Makarov sucked in yet another lungful of smoke. "Questions… are extraordinary. For the simple reason that the human mind has an insatiable curiosity. And if we ask it the right questions, it'll deliberately go search out the answers. Answers that, once applied, could make a drastic impact on our lives." He said as he tapped his temples with the stem of his pipe. "You told me that you'd like to grow stronger. Well, I'm showing you how. The reason you weren't strong enough to take down Councilman Fernandez is that you weren't as prepared as he was didn't put in the same work that he did, you weren't as driven as he was. You weren't the version of yourself that was more powerful than him from the get-go. Plain and simple. These questions I have given you, will help you figure out how you can become that ideal version of yourself, the Natsu Dragneel who is an SS-Class Wizard, a total monster on par with even Gildarts."

"But can't you just show me what you did for Gildarts?"

"Doesn't work that way, kid." Makarov said sternly. "What worked for him won't necessarily work for you. Your answers to these questions will without a doubt be different to Gildarts. I can offer you guidance-but figuring out what sort of man you are at your absolute best? That's on you."

Natsu Dragneel broke his gaze away and continued staring at the grass, the sheet of questions resting gently on his knee.

Makarov felt he should throw the young man a bone. "Think on this next statement, Natsu… 'Outstanding results comes from thinking and acting differently.'"

Outstanding results comes from thinking and acting differently… The Dragon Slayer did a double take.

Alright… thinking and acting differently? Compared to what? How he'd been doing everything in his whole life up until this point? That was what made the most sense, at least. How strange… the statement immediately clicked in his mind, and yet, Natsu had no earthly clue on how to implement it. At least, not yet.

The Dragon Slayer calmly looked down at the sheet once more and scrolled through the questions before him.

What would the most hyper-competent, best possible version of himself do today?

And, just as quickly, he was surprised when it finally came to him.

He'd train early in the morning, for about three hours. First his Magic, then his body. After that, he'd go to the guild, eat breakfast, and hit the library to see what other types of magic he should learn.

Natsu went wide-eyed as he poured over the answer. Across from him, Makarov had grinned knowingly.

"Figured it out, hmmm?" The old man chuckled.

"Yeah," Natsu couldn't help but share the guildmaster's elation. He smiled. "I think I did."

"I'd say it's almost like magic, but that would be quite the cliche," Makarov said. "However, this is just the first step in your education. Within the next few weeks, and months, I'd like you to frequently ask yourself all of these questions. Find out the answers and put them into effect. Application may seem a little scary at times, however, keep in mind that the version of you who is on the same level as Gildarts was also scared-and that version of Natsu did it anyway despite his fear. Understand?"

"I do." The young man nodded.

"Wonderful. Now, would you kindly read out that last question at the bottom of the list, Natsu?"

The Dragon Slayer did so, "What weaknesses do you have? How did Future Natsu overcome them? What did he do?"

It was fairly obvious, at least to him, what this question was aimed at. His motion sickness. Of course!

His motion sickness was absolutely a hazard. He didn't know much about how it worked, except that it simply messed with his draconic senses. It was a critical weakness, frailty if anything, something that even his worst enemies knew about. If he and his team ended up in a situation like that of the Tower ever again, the knowledge that someone could shut him off like a light switch just by placing him on a moving railcar was simply unbearable. No, Natsu wouldn't let that happen again.

He'd spent the majority of his life avoiding moving vehicles, often preferring to walk, or even to use his flames to propel him in the air. At the very least, he wasn't affected when Happy carried him. But still, it wasn't something to rely on.

So how could he apply this statement? How could acting, or even thinking differently, help him get rid of his motion sickness? Or at least mitigate it so that he could still fight at capacity while it affected him?

Future Natsu would've gotten better at enduring his motion sickness and would have adapted to the point that he could barely feel it if he got into a boat, or onto a moving train.

So that would mean he'd have to…

Oh no… Natsu paled at the thought.

It seemed like Makarov could read his thoughts, "Aha!" he snapped his fingers. "You're onto something, aren't you? Well, don't leave an old man hanging! What is it?"

Deciding to follow through with his mentor's request for honesty, Natsu glanced up at him. "I was thinking about how to get rid of my motion sickness… the idea I came up with was to adapt to it. But to do that, I'd have to…"

"...Get used to it the old-fashioned way."

"Yeah."

A wicked grin soon adorned the older man's face. There was something… sinister about it that made Natsu's blood run cold.

"Oh, I believe there's something we can do about that…" Makarov said, clearly amused. "Just one thing…"

Natsu gulped and leaned forward.

"What do you think of boats?"

Chapter Text

October 2nd, The Eastern Forest

Day 2

As it turned out, Natsu Dragneel did not have a good relationship with boats.

It was much the same with practically any other vehicle as well. Erza with her magical carriage; ships; trains; that one time when he'd landed in a railway cart when he was fighting a golem outside of a mine near Crocus. Even the mere thought of stepping into one of those moving contraptions… simply made his stomach turn upside down. And yet…

…He did sign up for this. Completely. Of his own free will.

Are you trying to get yourself killed, Dragneel? Got some sort of death wish?

Natsu could only bitterly ignore the obvious question floating in his head as he kept his walking pace beneath the trees around him, navigating his way effortlessly through the darkened brush and bushes. He could see in the dark, after all.

Walking just a few feet ahead of him was none other than the Old Man himself. Makarov had kept surprisingly quiet as soon as they'd linked up by the east gate near the edge of town. But that could probably be chalked up to the guildmaster being awake earlier in the morning than he'd usually like.

Both of them had backed some bags to bring along with them-in Natsu's case, he'd only packed a few days worth of clothes and food. He didn't rightly know why, but when he asked Makarov what the purpose was, he'd only gotten a knowing smirk as an answer. And nothing else.

Natsu wondered what was going to happen… was Makarov going to put him on the train? If so, then they'd been heading in the wrong direction this whole time.

Were they going to get on a ship? Or some other moving vehicle which could very well result in Natsu's premature demise? How exactly was the old man going to help him get rid of his motion sickness? And moreover… why exactly was Gramps so confident that he could?

It certainly didn't seem like Makarov had any personal experience dealing with motion sickness. From what Natsu knew, the old man definitely was not a Dragon Slayer.

So… what was it then? How was this camping trip supposed to help him?

And when was the sparring going to start? The old man had told him that he'd secured a suitable sparring partner to help Natsu get stronger and 'surpass' his limits when it came to his own training and power.

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

In any case, who was this mysterious training partner, then? An S-Class Wizard? Was it someone Natsu knew? And if so, then who?

There were so many questions that boiled in his mind as he kept following Makarov through the forest-too many to keep track of all at once. As soon as his head started to hurt, Natsu decided to forget about them for the moment, and focus on the present.

He was good at that, at least.

All around him, his senses had picked up so many familiar scents and sounds. The silent whisper of tall grass as it shuffled along with the early morning breeze; twigs falling from tree branches and snapping against the forest floor; somewhere to his left, perhaps… seventy or so feet away from him, an elk was cautious sniffing the air-trying to anticipate whether or not the new scents coming from their direction meant that it would have to outrun a predator.

And then there was… the flowing of water.

No! It wasn't flowing. More like it was lapping against something. A shore, more than anything. Not a stream, but a lake.

So Gramps is actually gonna put me in a boat, then… Natsu felt his stomach grumble uncomfortably.

He shouldn't have been so surprised that the old man's question hadn't been rhetorical.

Sure enough, they'd gotten past the long line of trees. Makarov led the way out onto a small beach that stretched on for almost half a mile ahead of them both. And out beyond the expanse of sand lay the beginning of Natsu's worst nightmare.

A boat-a canoe-lay upturned about halfway down the beach. As Natsu felt the cold sand crunch and shift under his sandaled feet, only then did the urge to run away come back to him.

Man, just looking at that thing makes me nauseous.

Makarov stopped sharply at the canoe. The old man had taken a left turn, going up the hill and then finding a spot in the grass to sit. "Now, before we begin, there is something I'd like to speak with you about." Makarov smiled. "In approximately a month and a half, I will make an official announcement in front of the entire guild. This will be for our annual S-Class Trials, of course. And… if by that time you have already achieved significant growth not only in magical power, but also as an individual, then I will guarantee your position as a candidate for the Exams."

At another time in his life, Natsu might've started dancing maniacally at the news.

But now? Now he managed a sort of half-grin. A part of him was excited, of course. Yet, after what he'd gone through at the Tower of Heaven, the position of S-Class simply didn't quite do it for him anymore. It seemed to him now, that he had bigger priorities to worry about rather than some title that he'd pretty much already qualified for.

At least in his estimation.

Makarov continued. "The title of 'S-Class Wizard' is completely meaningless, Natsu. What truly matters is the character behind the one who holds it, and in how Wizards of that skill level conduct themselves professionally. Others will look up to you, aspire to be like you. This is a great responsibility, Natsu, but one you cannot take up if you remain as you are now. You, my friend, have the next month-and-a-half to become a more competent version of yourself… the version of Natsu who is worthy for such a role. What do you say? Are you up for the challenge?"

Natsu didn't even think of the answer. It came naturally to him. "I'm ready, Gramps."

"Excellent!" The old man said warmly, setting down the bundles of food and now standing up. "Now, onto today's docket… You see, Natsu, there's a little-known technique for dealing with one's motion sickness. It's not necessarily the easiest thing to learn for one in your position, but with a little practice… it can be used to great effect. Go ahead and turn that boat over, would you?"

Natsu simply grunted. As he went, he felt his stomach begin to lurch as he'd approached the canoe and easily turned it onto its hull. "So what exactly are we supposed to do here, Gramps?"

"Well…" The old man snapped his fingers, summoning a small flame on his index finger. He took his time lightning his smoking pipe as he shrugged off his pack. When Makarov was finished, he'd taken a short puff, and then another, before resuming. "I'm going to get started on making a fire. I'm in the mood for some bacon and eggs for breakfast as it so happens. I brought along some cheese, so perhaps I'll make an omelet while I'm at it. Hmmm, sounds good. And from there I'll also get started on making some coffee. I brought some beans with me, and this lake is just fresh water, so that won't be much of a problem. And then-"

Natsu took advantage of the brief lull in conversation, "What about me, Gramps?"

"You?" Makarov seemed almost confused by the question. "Why, you'll be getting in the canoe, of course."

"But how am I supposed to get back to shore? With my hands?"

"There should be a paddle there too," The guildmaster had batted his concern aside effortlessly. "But if you need to use your hands, so be it."

Shit.

Natsu might've protested if he hadn't knowingly walked into this. The Dragon Slayer simply pursed his lips before, reluctantly, looping his pack off his shoulders and throwing it over to the rock that Makarov was sitting next to. He knew that he had to adapt to his motion sickness, but he still didn't quite know how sitting in a boat out on the water was going to help him do it.

As Natsu was coming to terms with his fate, Makarov had already gotten out some of his camping supplies; a small bundle of birch bark; and some food wrapped in thick cloth. The wafting scents of cheddar cheese and fresh bread came to him then.

Meanwhile, the old man had spoken up again, this time with his pipe in his mouth. "Now my boy… this exercise, hopefully, will never need to be repeated again after…"

"Today?"

"No. More like… these next few days." Makarov clarified. "Adapting to this exercise is going to take some time. You, Natsu, are going to want to give up. But if you can get through this, and learn to control your motion sickness, you'll be one step closer to becoming that ideal version of yourself. It won't be a weakness that you'll have to fear… merely a passing annoyance that you won't even need to give the time of day."

"And… I'll be fine regardless of the vehicle I'm on if I do get this right?," Natsu asked, still skeptical.

"Exactly."

Thankfully, there actually was a paddle lodged underneath the thwart on the inside of the canoe hull. At least I'll be able to make some distance back to shore before my stomach jumps out of my-

The old man continued. "From my understanding, your motion sickness is the result of your… draconic senses and your human senses clashing with one another. They effectively disagree with what's happening around you while you're 'in motion'" Makarov suddenly appeared at his side. "I believe this conflict can be put to rest, however… provided you give your senses something to focus on once you're in a moving vehicle."

"Something to… focus on?" Natus frowned, partially shocked at the old man's knowledge of how his motion sickness worked. He'd never once thought of it like that in a more scientific sense. "What do you mean?"

"You've got to use your eyes, boy. Pick something to focus on in the distance. "

What? That was… astoundingly silly.

Natsu almost laughed. "That sounds… a bit dumb honestly."

Makarov smirked, "Well, your crippling inability to deal with moving vehicles sounds rather nonsensical in the first place, son. But-" He spread his hands energetically. "Here we are."

"How do I know this will work, Gramps?"

"Right now, you don't. But you really have nothing to lose by trying, do you?" Makarov nodded to the canoe. "Get in the boat. I'm rather practiced with Wind Magic, so don't you worry about getting out to the middle of the lake. From there you can make your own way back."

That was it then. No more discussion. Just get in and get to work.

Well… Natsu Dragneel certainly didn't have any desire to jump in the canoe. Nor was he completely sure about the vague hint of a technique that Makarov had given him.

Natsu didn't waste any more time. Hesitantly, he approached the canoe and rested his hands on the stern. It took him only a small push to get the thing off the sand and out onto the water.

And not even a second after he'd planted both of his feet within the hull as the boat began to rock gently in the water, had his stomach lurched violently underneath his abdomen. The nerves underneath his skin and all over his body had simultaneously shocked him, almost as if he'd been hit with one of Laxus' lightning bolts. His legs shook, and beads of sweat started to form along the crown of his skull.

It was, somehow, way worse than when he and the others sailed to that stupid Tower to go rescue Erza.

"N-n-no… Not again! Oomph!" He made to cover his mouth as the world started to spin in circles around him. Natsu fell to his hands and knees. "Shit! I'm gonna hurl!"

"Well, good luck son!" Makarov shouted behind him, probably with a smirk, as he'd summoned a sharp gale of wind to push the canoe out into the lake. "Seems like you'll need it."

As the sun began to break out among the clear blue sky above, and dawn was in full swing… Natsu Dragneel lay face first against the hull of the canoe completely petrified, with his right hand splayed up along the starboard, and his left foot planted on the stern seat. A long line of drool had begun slipping out of his mouth, and all of the limbs on his body were totally, seemingly, paralyzed.

"Knew… this… was… a bad idea…"

Erza Scarlet was having an excellent morning.

She'd risen from her bed at dawn feeling extra chipper, though the exact reason as to why had escaped her. Her morning run and breakfast had gone by just as it usually did, before she settled into her sunroom and continued reading her adventure novels. And at nine, she had gone to the guild.

Magnolia was always a peaceful town to walk through, and she couldn't imagine herself living anywhere else, much less a big city like Crocus. She had spent the better part of her childhood here, and as the rest of her friends were here, Erza also knew that she'd grow old and eventually pass away in this town. Perhaps surrounded by both her guildmates and her children, when she eventually decided to have children, that was.

Such a line of thought might usually be considered morbid and wistful, but Erza didn't mind it. She liked Magnolia and had no qualms about wanting to settle down here.

Instead, she thought that today, since her team was no doubt recovered from their escapade to the Tower of Heaven, that she would offer to take everyone out for an S-Class Job. It was the least she could do, and Natsu and Gray were always up for a challenge.

It'll be good for them, and for me, she thought to herself as she was perhaps thirty paces away from the new and improved guildhall.

Erza approached the tall twin green wooden doors to the guildhall and pushed them open. Much to her surprise, the hall was somewhat full of her fellow guildmates. Most usually showed up later in the morning, or around noon.

Well, the S-Class Trials are coming up in December, she reasoned. That must be why guild activity was higher than usual.

After last year's trial, where none of the selected candidates had succeeded in passing all the challenges (and therefore nobody attained S-Class), it was no surprise that everyone was more eager to prove themselves this time around. Those who'd failed previously wanted another go at it, and those who were just powerful enough to be accepted as a candidate were greedy for the position.

That said… Erza knew well enough that simply completing more jobs than everyone else meant little to Master Makarov.

What truly mattered was how practiced one was with their magic, their strength of character, and how capable they would be when it came to protecting others.

To be both strong and kind.

When one became powerful-they often showed their true colors, who they are underneath it all. Many such individuals were cruel; they took pleasure in the fact that they could push others around, make them do things they didn't want to, and take what they wanted.

The overwhelming number of Dark Guilds that existed in Fiore only served to confirm her conclusion. It was a fact. Nothing more, nothing less.

Setting a good example for what a wizard should be, was the end goal.

Erza watched as her guildmates rushed over to the notice board, smiling as she saw Nab and Alzack bickering over one of the slips of paper, that being a job.

"Morning, Erza," Macao greeted from his table, holding up his mug to her as she passed by.

She gave the older man a light smile, "Good morning, Macao," then approaching the bar, taking a seat.

Who would be selected for the S-Class Trials this year? Erza knew that Master Makarov always kept a close eye on the potential of each guild member… somehow. He was almost omniscient like that.

Immediately, more than a few answers had come to mind as she scanned the guild hall.

Cana, for sure, she thought as she spied at the brunette who was currently chugging down yet another beer barrel. Cana had been selected as candidate in the last four S-Class Trials alone and she still hadn't passed. There was no doubt that the card wizard was powerful in her own right, Erza had seen her in action during the raid from Phantom Lord. Maybe she was holding out hope still?

Maybe not… Cana seemed to be drinking more and more as the years got on. Why was that? Was it because of her consistent failures to succeed in the Trials? Erza figured that it wasn't really her business to know, though she would always be there to support Cana given the chance, and moved on.

Another glance out in the guild hall gave her another candidate idea. Elfman.

The takeover mage had just picked up both Jet and Droy and clobbered their heads together, probably over some perceived slight.

He'll be picked, Erza knew. Elfman, while something of a quirk with regard to his manhood, embodied many of the traits and qualities of an ideal S-Class Wizard. Perhaps he would follow in his older sister's footsteps in that sense.

And what of her own team? Of course! How could she not consider them as well?

Lucy would not make it as a candidate, as Erza did not believe she had the temperament to be an S-Class Wizard. But that did not lower the affection and immense respect Erza held for her. Nonetheless, Lucy was a strong mage.

What of Gray? He would certainly be considered by Master Makarov. Gray was, at least most of the time, a very mature and considerate man. He'd be picked, and the fact that he'd been growing in power would not have escaped Makarov's notice. Gray would undoubtably make a good S-Class Wizard. The Ice Wizard would certainly surpass his old master, Ur, within a few years' time.

And Natsu?

Natsu… Erza paused her train of thought. Natsu recently had been something of a puzzle, and on some level, she was both uncomfortable and relieved with his demeanor. Usually, he was simple to understand, to the point that Erza could accurately predict his movements and swings in attitude.

But now?

Now she didn't know what to think of him. Natsu certainly had the power to back up his claim to S-Class, without a doubt. And perhaps before their trip to Akane Resort, she would've shaken her head at his chances at becoming an S-Class Trial candidate-he was simply not mature enough to take on that responsibility. Natsu certainly used to be more of a wildcard if anything.

It was much different nowadays. She remembered the calm, collected Natsu that she'd seen standing in the door frame of his own house. And she certainly could recall his cold fury as he scolded both Lucy and Happy in the middle of town when they returned to Magnolia.

The sudden change in him was… well… it was shocking to her.

Not to mention, Natsu spent far less time around the guild these days too. What was up with that?

Sure, he'd come out every few days to spend time with her and the rest of their team… but the rest of the week? He was gone. Nowhere to be seen.

Almost like he'd disappeared from the face of Earthland.

What was he doing? And how could she-

"Morning, Erza!"

The Knight had glanced up.

Mira, naturally, was standing behind the bar looking expectantly at Erza. Today the barmaid was wearing a conservative mahogany gown that went down to her shins, and covered both her shoulders as opposed to the regular maroon-colored dresses she wore. And with her spotless flowing blonde-white hair now assembled into a loose ponytail, she still managed to glow radiantly-even with the dirty dishtowel that hung just from the light-brown leather belt across her midsection.

It was a look that was somewhat reminiscent of Mira's get-up when they were younger, and when both she and Erza would quarrel much the same way that both Gray and Natsu did now. Except it seemed far more feminine in tone.

"Good morning, Mira," Erza greeted back in kind. Something about this exact situation felt outstandingly familiar to her. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well," The barmaid said cheerfully. "In fact, I just picked up this dress yesterday! I've been waiting for it to get finished for a few weeks now, but I think it looks pretty good! What do you think?"

"It matches well with your hair."

The barmaid grinned. "That's exactly what I thought, too when I picked out the color! I'm glad you think so," It was then, however, that Mira had leaned on the bar facing Erza. "But what about you?"

Erza paused briefly. "Well… the usual, I suppose."

"The usual? Seems like something's eating you. Not anything to do with Natsu again, I hope?"

"No, no!" Erza shook her head immediately. "No, Natsu and I are fine. It's just…" She sighed impatiently, her mind scrambling to find the right words and…

…coming up with nothing to say.

"Hmmm…" Mira hummed, nodding along as she'd occasionally kept and broke eye contact with Erza. "What are you thinking about then?"

"I was considering taking the rest of my team out for an S-Class Assignment."

Mira frowned, "Oh… I don't know about that... Lucy and Gray left on a job with Juvia last night. Pretty sure they'll be getting back after the long weekend. Something to do with a stolen painting, I think?"

Well, there goes that idea.

Alright… so what exactly was she going to do then? With her day? With the weekend ahead of her?

It wasn't like she had any other pressing responsibilities outside of being the guild's disciplinarian. All Erza had on her hands were her books and her training. And that was about it. Nothing else to strive towards.

And what about Natsu?

"What about Natsu?" She asked, putting her thoughts into words. "He's taken to arriving early these days-what about him? Is he around?"

"Don't think he'll be here for the next few days either, I'm afraid," Mira said apologetically. "He came in before we opened up and asked for some supplies. Looked like he was packing for some kind of trip."

Damn!

Had everyone just gone ahead and made plans for the weekend without telling her? It was surely nothing personal-but the fact that she was now on her lonesome did hurt a bit.

"So you'll be on your own for a few days… so what?" The barmaid had suddenly reignited the conversation, making Erza almost jolt in her seat again. "Don't you have any hobbies? Things that you do outside of guild time? It sounds to me like you need to spice up your life a bit. Do something interesting."

Hobbies? Well, of course, she did! "Well, I do read quite a bit at home and-"

"Pfft!" Mira shook her head dismissively. "I'm not talking about reading. I'm talking about a passion, Erza. Something you feel drawn to. Something that's… that's…" The blonde snapped her fingers energetically. "Something that's almost an act of creation! You get what I mean?"

"Not really, no," Erza said with a frown.

"Come on! Surely there's something you like to do? Baking; dancing; singing; writing." Mira said, then leaning closer. "Did you know I play the guitar? Discovered it years ago! Now I can't stop playing it! Every time I play a new song, I go to my happy place. It's one of the best things I ever did, swear on my life."

Mira… playing the guitar? Erza let her imagination wander a bit with that one. The image of the goth-looking blonde from her youth strumming a guitar was almost laughable, if in an enjoyable sort of way.

But if Mira was this energetic about a musical instrument… maybe she had a point after all.

Playing any sort of musical instrument didn't exactly appeal to her, though. "I'm not so sure I'd like to play the guitar." She said evenly.

"I never said you had to," Mira shot back instantly. "But I know for a fact there's something out there you haven't tried yet. And once you do try it, it's all you'll want to do for the rest of your life. Say, how about you and I take a girl's trip into town this weekend? We can get some cake and go shopping in the market, and maybe we'll even find something that catches your eye. Could be an instrument, or something else you can put your time towards. How does that sound, Erza?"

Well… it was a better plan than none. Erza did hold the barmaid in rather high regard. With a reluctant sigh, she nodded. "I… of course, Mira. I accept."

As Mira perked up in her usual, energetic fashion, the Knight had come to terms with her decision. "Oh! It'll be so much fun! And once we go see the farmer's market, they simply have the best strawberries! You'll love it, Erza! And…"

The Knight continued listening with rapt attention, and a smile as Mira went on and on.

Maybe, just maybe… a change like this might do her some good.

Chapter Text

Early October 3rd, The Eastern Forest

Day 3

The world was still spinning.

Time had lost all meaning at the bottom of that little red canoe out on the lake.

After the first hour of hell, Natsu immediately stopped counting the minutes that passed by. He was far more preoccupied with not throwing up his guts.

As he lay face-down against the hull with a small puddle of drool swishing back and forth along his left cheek, he felt the passage of the sun wash over him. The warmth on his back came and went by as the previous day brightened and darkened. And just as the moon came out to play in the blooming night sky above… Natsu finally gathered the strength in his legs and abdomen to shuffle onto his back.

"Grrrrrrrraaagh," The Dragon Slayer had felt his joints crack and pop-the main cause being the awkward position he'd been laying in for a good long while now. Lack of proper hydration was also part of it.

And as soon as Natsu peered up into the sky above, he immediately regretted doing it.

The void above him swirled and spun into a vortex of gray clouds and a blossoming flower of light. Patterns and letters shifted up there-arranging themselves into words and shapes. He could see the wind almost, the light breeze that brushed against his now sweating face. It all simply made him even more nauseous than before…

Natsu weakly clasped a hand over his mouth, almost as a sort of message to his stomach when it drove against his ribcage like a battering ram for the umpteenth time that…

…day? Or had he only been here for half a day?

Honestly, he couldn't rightly tell the difference in his current predicament.

"Why… do… you… hate me?" He asked his stomach.

Naturally, no response came back to him except for a strong gurgle. Brrrrrrrrrrrrn.

The night sky was supposed to be something to be marveled at. Those rings of pure starlight shooting across the black, going to places unknown out in the universe.

It was a frontier. A symbol that they weren't alone. That the universe didn't revolve around them.

And that was perfectly alright.

"Do you ever wonder what the stars think about, Natsu?" Lisanna had asked him once.

How long ago had that been? Had to have been… what… three years back by this point? She'd come over to his house about once a month to help him clean up the place. He didn't care about cleanliness at the time, but Lisanna certainly did, and regarded his poor hygiene habits as unbecoming.

He didn't know why she'd made a monthly pilgrimage to his house out on the edges of town. Especially since he'd always find some new creative way to make yet another mess of his things all over again every time she came over. And, once they'd finished cleaning up his house, Lisanna would cook them a small meal from whatever Natsu had caught earlier in the day. Then she'd put Happy to sleep, and they'd go outside and watch the stars together and talk until it was time for him to walk her back to her house.

At the time, Natsu figured the question was silly. He didn't know better.

"Nah," He'd said to her, somehow recalling a stray piece of information he'd picked up from Macao back then. "They're just balls of light, aren't they? Pretty sure they don't get up to any 'thinking' at all."

"So you could say they're a bit like you, then?"

"Hey! You're lucky, you know! I would've hit you for that one if you weren't a girl."

And then Lisanna would smirk. "Ah, but I'm your wife, aren't I? So I get a free pass. That's the rule."

Why did he feel all warm in the face then?

"Rule? What rule?"

Lisanna had giggled at that. "Well, of being married, silly! You've got to treat your wife like a lady. And that's that."

"Says who?"

"Says… well… nobody really. But it's common courtesy."

"Hmmm," Natsu grumbled at the time. He still had zero clue as to what she was talking about back then. "I guess…"

The blonde laughed again. Then, she stood up and dusted off her long maroon skirt. And… she held out her hand to him. "For instance… Surely a dashing knight such as yourself would be able to walk a lady home?"

Why did she keep calling him a Knight? He was a Dragon, wasn't he?

That black curtain above… the one he'd look up at with Lisanna by his side… now it was only replaced by a void. The beyond.

How hadn't he fallen up into that great gaping hole yet?

Natsu almost snickered. Gravity was slacking on the job, it seemed.

In response to his amusement, his stomach had practically jackknifed beneath his ribcage. His nerves pulsed violently, almost like he'd been shocked to his system. Natsu felt the bile sludging its way up his throat, and he knew he had to move. With strength that he shouldn't have given his present condition, he'd managed to grip a tight hold onto the starboard rail of the canoe and pull himself upwards. Natsu placed his chin up on the wood rail and let it all come right up.

And so it did! As he hadn't eaten, all there was was the usual yellow-green acrid spew that was now mixing with the cool water below him. "Rraallgh!" he groaned as a familiar acidic, and bitter taste filled his mouth again.

When there was nothing left, Natsu fell backward into the hull again, feeling as if someone had blasted him right in the middle of his forehead with a sucker punch.

What had the old man said? My dragon senses and my human senses disagree or something? Seems like a pretty lousy time to pick an argument-I can't even move my arms and legs!

How in the blazes was this so hard for him?

Natsu simmered angrily. As the canoe rocked and wobbled in the calm water, he felt another shockwave to his system-he covered his mouth again, and rested a hand over his abdomen, if only to make sure his stomach didn't actually jump out of his body.

It was confirmed now. Gramps had it out for him. All those years of collateral property damage had finally caught up with him. It's not like I'm trying to destroy everything around me, he rationalized, maybe people should just stop fighting me outside of random buildings and we could all be happy.

This was a certified tax write-off. A method of execution. This was how he, Natsu Dragneel, would go out. Drooling his guts out at the bottom of a canoe. Not at all in a blaze of glory like he imagined.

Unless…

…unless he… what… picked something out in the distance to focus on?

How am I supposed to do that when everything is spinning?

"This is bullshit…" he managed to ground out one last enraged murmur… before he finally lost consciousness.

Hmmmm.

So many choices, and yet so many things to look out for.

Just what was one supposed to do when faced with so many different variants of cake? And especially when one was always perspicacious of their waistline?

The hustle and bustle of Magnolia Town Square, at least during the autumn season, was something to behold. Merchants and tradesmen and craftsmen of all stripes and collars had arrived over the course of the last few weeks alone. It was a time-honored tradition that those living outside the city, or in nearby towns would come to visit and ply their trade for the entire city. This was also, of course, because of the upcoming Fantasia Parade. After a long and hard year, and because of the many battles which shook this town in the past-a good celebration was needed.

And on this one gorgeous Friday afternoon, Erza found herself standing outside the pastry stalls which were lined up and down Central Path, the long horizontal road where most of the city's events and parades would be held. Here was she, Erza Scarlet, standing on the west side of the most crowded street in Magnolia, wearing a conservative pale yellow sundress she'd once bought for herself a few years ago, but previously had never found the time, nor the occasion to wear it.

It was certainly a surprising change of pace. This little shopping trip.

Sure, she'd gone shopping before. But usually these outings involved some sort of purpose behind them; she'd need (or want) a new set of clothes, or armor and weapons from the local Heart Kreuz outlet here in Magnolia. She might treat herself to a few… spicy romance novels, or her preferred and beloved strawberry cake. Then of course, there was her personal blacksmith-a man by the name of Riordan. He lived just a few hours outside the city, but there wasn't a soul in Fiore who could match him in the craft. He was one of the only smiths in the kingdom who could work with enchantments on armor. She visited him about twice a month to get repairs on her gear, and perhaps have something new made for her.

But today's trip wasn't like any of that… no, not in the least.

As per Erza's aimlessness… she was currently inspecting the various baked goods which were out on display in this corner of the Farmer's Market.

There were slices of red velvet cake topped with sliced strawberries and cream cheese icing; strawberry tarts; strawberry-stuffed cupcakes; strawberry shortcake grill skewers (she still wasn't entirely sure on that last one).

And best of all?

Erza narrowed her eyes on the small bowl containing the most delicious-looking chocolate covered strawberries imaginable. It was placed out as an offering to passersby-a free sample to bring in new customers, no doubt.

Her stomach groaned slightly, grrrrrrrrr. Thankfully not loud enough to make her look desperate.

It wouldn't do to gorge herself on everything here. That would not be appropriate for a woman in her position-not to mention it would be highly impolite. Surely there were other people who wanted…

She'd had her usual conservative breakfast of oats and an egg. Plenty of calories to use up before she hit her limit for the day.

Maybe just a few then, she thought to herself as she reached for the bowl containing samples of her number one favorite food coated in her number three favorite food.

Erza took two of the chocolate-engulfed delights and plucked them into her mouth at the same time.

A swirl of clashing flavours came to her then; the combination of the sweetened glazed strawberry mixed with milk chocolate was all that she asked for-Erza considered herself to be a fairly talented chef on her own, but whoever came up with that particular food combination must've been a downright genius.

Directly behind the stall of baked goods was, unsurprisingly, a bakery. The rectangular white sign over the doorway contained stylized ornate light blue lettering reading out, 'Baking At Its Best' with a small chef standing next to the last word, holding up a cake. It was charming. Quaint, even.

The bell above the door jingled open, and a short elderly woman stepped outside. The woman wore a neat and tidy dress with only a slight bit of fray at the hem, and her long gray hair was slightly thin, though still retained some of the curl from her youth. She'd looked up and down the crowded street before laying eyes on Erza. And when she did, she gave Erza a warm, grandmotherly smile.

"Why hello, Erza!" The old woman clapped her hands and approached.. "How are you, dear? And-oh, you simply look lovely today!"

"Hello, Anja. And thank you," She smiled back, but couldn't help but blush at the old woman's praise. She'd straightened her dress again. "I'm out here with a friend today, and I thought I'd pick up something to eat and say hello."

Anja had been born in Magnolia. She'd married young and ran the bakery with her husband, Fredrik. To Erza's knowledge, they'd had around nine children, and about twice that number in grandchildren. It was very clear to Erza that the old woman had had no regrets, and was outstandingly proud of the life she'd lived. A feeling that Erza very much admired and, on occasion, felt partially envious of.

Still, that did not stop her from loving the old woman almost as her own grandmother-this was reciprocated in kind, as Anja very much treated Erza like a surrogate granddaughter.

"Well, I'm happy you stopped by!" Anja gave her that toothy, energetic grin. "In fact, Fredrik and I baked up a few of those classic strawberry cakes you love so much. We'd kept one in reserve just for you, darling! But-" she leaned across the stall slightly, and gently tapped her nose, as if she were revealing a critical trade secret, "-don't tell anyone else."

Erza couldn't help but adopt the old woman's infectious positive energy. "I won't tell a soul, I promise. Could I pick it up later today? My friend and I should be back in a bit."

"Of course you can, dear. We'll always be happy to open our doors for you. Who's your friend, by the way?"

"Well," Erza started, "You know Mirajane Strauss?"

Anja's face lit up again in recognition. "Oh, indeed I do! My other granddaughter, Tiana, can't stop talking about that young lady. Always has her eyes glued on an edition of Sorceror Weekly Magazine whenever I see her. She's a really big fan, I hear. Of both Miss Strauss and that ice-wizard friend of yours-what was his name again…"

"Oh, you must mean Gray."

"Ah, yes, Gray!" The old woman nodded. "But I don't suppose you and your guild have a little something planned for the Fantasia Parade? We absolutely loved last year's show, you know."

The Knight nodded, "We do as a matter of fact. I can't reveal everything, but I can say that…"

The sun was bearing down on him.

Natsu always liked that great shining orb in the sky. He could see it better than most others, could withstand its heat without being drained of energy as the day went by. Didn't need to shy away after a perfect tan had been achieved.

Hadn't Lucy complained about something along those lines once?

Whatever, its not like it mattered now.

What irked Natsu was that the sun had gone ahead and did a complete one-eighty on him. Now as he tried to contain the stormy ocean of bile in his digestive track, the sun's everpresent gaze was just making it worse. He now knew what it meant to be 'seared' from the inside out, as he shivered violently in the hull of the canoe-same spot he'd been in for the last… what? Thirty hours? Thirty days?

Thirty years?

In any case, the most immediate concern that came to mind was the dryness of his throat.

In addition to slaking his thirst normally with water, Natsu could also do so with fire. It was, of course, an ability only he could do as a Fire Dragon Slayer. Eating fire was often a lot like chugging down a barrel of beef broth mixed with about two tons of black pepper. A very satisfying meal, as it not only refueled his magical tank, but also satiated his body with all the nutrients and calories it needed.

Unfortunately, Natsu didn't have access to any fire at the moment besides his own. And summoning up the willpower to create some simply wasn't an option when all he could do was shake and sweat uncontrollably on the floor and wait for his stomach to kill him.

As for water… well, if Natsu could move and jump out of the boat, he would.

If he could that was.

"It all… hurts…" he croaked.

As if in response, the wind had suddenly picked up again. It didn't sound calm like it usually would on a fine autumn day.

No, now it was practically howling in his ears. Almost like that blizzard had up on Mount Hakobe.

Noooooooooooooo!

The boat rocked from side to side again, Natsu couldn't stop himself from having yet another spasm. He jittered and shook and weakly wrapped his own fist against his chest. "No, no, no, no, no!"

Blast that old man! Makarov was trying to kill him now, wasn't he? Him and his stupid Wind Magic!

When the boat settled again, so had he stopped jerking about. Natsu lay flat on his back looking up at the sky.

You know what you need to do, Dragneel.

If you want out of this, you've got to focus on something in the distance.

Pfft. Easier said than done.

The great void of clear blue sky still hadn't stopped whirling all over the place. What if he lost focus of it?

Then you try again until you get it right.

But what about-

"Get. To. Work."

Had that been… Igneel's voice on the wind? Natsu gasped and swallowed down a shaky breath. As if in response to his father's voice, he'd nodded wordlessly and cracked open his eyes some more.

There… were some clouds up there. Except the moment he'd looked at one, he saw it instantly duplicate itself and watched as the twin clouds now folded into eachother, and then finally as it split apart into eight swirling tendrils of mist in the sky connected to a large moving body.

A giant squid in the sky is all kinds of wrong, he thought.

The taste of acid only got worse, Natsu tried to keep his focus on the flying calamari, yet to no avail. His stomach simply burgened against his abdomen even harder than before and he couldn't stop the bile that then came up his throat and nostrils.

"Raaaglff!" He vomited again, but this time inside the boat. And then the darkness took him away again.

Back to square one.

…They are calling,

From across the distant shore.

Why do you weep?

What are these tears upon your face?

Soon you will see,

All of your fears will pass away.

Safe in my arms,

You're only sleeping.

What can you see,

On the horizon?

Why do the white gulls call?

Across the sea,

A pale moon rises.

The ships have come to carry you home.

And all will turn,

To silver glass.

A light on the water.

All souls pass.

Hope fades,

Into the world of night.

Through shadows falling,

Out of memory and time.

Don't say,

We've come now to the end.

White shores are calling,

You and I will meet again,

And you'll be here in my arms,

Just sleeping.

And all will turn,

To silver glass.

A light on the water,

Grey Ships will pass,

Into The West.

Not even a moment after Mira finished strumming the final note on her guitar, had the entire restaurant erupted into an elated frenzy of clapping and overeager cheering.

There were even a few loud whistles amongst those seated by their own tables in the hall.

Erza couldn't help but smile and clap her hands as well. She'd been sitting directly across from Mira when the Take-Over Mage had, after being approached and receiving plenty of well-wishers and fans, decided to open up her guitar case and take up the instrument to play a tune for everyone there.

And once she got started? That was precisely when Erza figured out what the barmaid had been talking about the other day regarding passion.

Mira had always been a kind individual-even when she went through her goth phase. She always seemed to make peoples' days brighter just by giving them a lopsided grin. She seemed to have a knack for it. So when she'd taken up the guitar right infront of everyone, it appeared to Erza as if Mira's natural charm and the calming, positive aura around her had been amplified a hundredfold.

Joy and happiness quickly spread to the other guests. Other women were shedding tears as they listened to Mira sing, and the men had sat back calmly and respectfully, obviously taken in by the white-haired beauty who was performing only a few tables away.

It was almost like everyone had been taken in by a charm spell all in one effortless stroke.

Charm Magic was, of course, illegal. Yet the fact that this positive intoxication was clearly not magical in nature… that was what stunned Erza the most.

Mira stood up from her seat and gave two deep bows to everyone else in attendance. "Thank you so much!" She said with a beaming grin. She started putting her guitar away into the case she'd brought along and took her seat again, returning to her plate of grilled, seasoned chicken breasts paired with salad.

The clapping and whistling finally began to die down after a few moments, and order returned to their fellow restaurateurs. Erza remembered her grilled salmon doused with lemon juice, and got back to eating her meal.

"That was a lovely performance, Mira."

"Thank you, Erza! I spent a long time practicing that song. It's one of my favorites. I read about it from this book series actually…"

Erza cut into her fillet easily, almost gripping the knife as if it were another of her swords.

What did she have to show for herself then? Erza Scarlet knew for a fact she had no desire, no skill or even the urge to play an instrument like Mira could. The old compulsion to compete with the Take-Over Mage flared up within her again. Yet, it was an unfair feeling.

She was proud that Mira could command the attention of an entire crowd like that. That she could play so well so as to hypnotize everyone around her-if only for a few minutes.

To bring light and joy into their lives like that…

…how can I do that?

Erza had usually seen herself as the one who stole joy away from others. Wasn't that what she did every time she broke up a guild-wide brawl? And yet the guild needed discipline after all.

What was there for her to do?

"-and then… Erza? Erza, are you alright?"

The Knight realized she'd been staring at her salmon. She looked up and met Mira's soft gaze. "Hmmm? Yes, yes… I'm fine."

"Well, you seemed distracted. It wasn't from the song I hope?"

"No, not at all." That was the last thing she wanted Mira to think. That she had, even in a small way, brought down someone's day. "I was…" Perhaps it would be best to change the subject. So she could collect her thoughts. "Why the guitar? I don't recall you ever playing it when we were little."

The Take-Over Mage seemed to fall silent at that, but not despondent. She carefully set down both her knife and fork and sat back in her chair.

Those full lips had pursed for a moment, before taking on a small wistful smile as she glanced out the window next to them. "It was a few years ago. After Lis-" Mira paused. "After Lisanna passed away. Weeks after that job… I couldn't even bring myself to get out of bed in the morning. Elfman… he managed to pull himself together. I don't even know how he did it, but… he did…" Erza could see it in Mira's eyes. Those dark blue orbs betrayed the awe and respect and admiration she held for her younger brother.

Now that was a feeling that Erza could understand. An emotion that she'd even felt fairly recently even. One that still pulsed whenever she recalled what happened at the Tower.

Natsu standing over Jellal, his knuckles encrusted with dried blood.

Mira continued, "I should've been there for him. I'm the oldest sibling, and it was my responsibility to take care of him. But I… I just couldn't," she admitted, looking rather ashamed. "He took Lisanna's passing far worse than I did, but he knew that we couldn't stay in the house and do nothing. We had payments to make and food needed to be put on the table, so he went and took on some more jobs. He got up every single day and went out to the guild to find work. He took care of the house; repaired the roof; he even learned how to cook for us even though Lisanna and I would usually do it. It got so bad that he also had to bring me meals because I couldn't bring myself to get up and go downstairs to eat."

In the battle that I should've been the most prepared for… that I was too weak to fight…

…he came to save me.

"One day, Elfman came home with that-" Mira looked at her now, and she jutted her chin slightly down to the guitar case by her feet, "He claimed he got it as a bonus from a client. He didn't know what to do with it though, so he gave it to me."

"And you started playing it?" Erza asked, assuming what happened next.

Mira, of course, nodded. "Yes, but not right away. I remember staring at it for days while I lay in bed. But eventually, I woke up one afternoon and… just picked it up and started fiddling with the strings." She said with a wide grin as she wiggled her fingers about. "It was just me and that guitar for hours and hours and hours. I knew I was so terrible back then. But I kept at it until I fell asleep."

"The next day I woke up, and… I don't know why, but everything felt… clear. Like a massive weight had been lifted from me. For the first time in weeks, I left my room. I went outside for a walk, took a bath, did the dishes, cleaned up the house. Elfman came home and-" Mira laughed delightedly. "Oh, he was so happy that I'd gotten out of bed. You should've seen his face. Smiled like he used to do when we were kids. From there… well… I guess you could say we started putting our lives back together."

Outstanding… So the guitar had been some kind of… therapy for Mira?

Lisanna's death had been a difficult blow for everyone in the guild, and especially for the Strauss siblings. But Erza didn't know the depths to which it had impacted both Mira and Elfman personally.

Not until now at least.

"And that's why you still play it?" Erza asked, her respect for the barmaid had risen even more. "The guitar, I mean."

"Yep!" Mira's chipper tone had returned just as soon as it had left. "It's not something I need to do anymore. Now it's something I want to do. And if it could help me recover and make my life better, then I think pursuing some kind of passion can do the same for anyone else. Which brings me to you."

Erza was suddenly caught off guard, "I'm not looking to recover from something, Mira."

The blonde had shaken her head. "That's not the point, though. You don't need to be recovering from anything. It's all about learning a skill that you want to be good at, and the fact that there's a learning curve just makes it better. We're supposed to struggle to learn new things, Erza. It's just a part of being human, after all. When things are easy-to-do, or are handed to us on a silver platter, we simply don't appreciate them as much. Haven't you ever noticed that we're a lot more satisfied with our accomplishments when we have to earn them through hard work?"

Yes, Erza thought to herself, she had felt that way pretty much about her whole career as a Wizard. Hell, she'd been the youngest mage to ever attain S-Class, and at the age of 15, no less.

Still… it wasn't something Erza had ever consciously thought about. And as Mira spoke, it… did make some sense to her.

"We're able to lead more fulfilling lives when we go out of our way to master a skill, or practice a passion, or just to do something we care about. Sure, it'll be difficult, but that's kind of the point at the end of the day. And when we do that, we're able to leave behind all of the doubts and fears that we once had, and embrace each new day with purpose and light," Mira said, now holding up her fork so as to make a point. "You're too uptight, Erza. Too rigid. I see it every time you walk into the guild hall. You're not wearing your armor constantly anymore, and that's great-it's just that you don't seem to be doing anything else either. You're doing the same old things day after day. I mean, look at your team. Lucy's writing a book and she's making good progress on it; Gray doesn't talk about it much, but he likes learning about history and even discussing it at times if you ask him; and Natsu?" Mira shrugged. "Well, he loves to fight-I'd say he's probably one of the best hand-to-hand fighters we have in the guild, right up there with Gildarts."

"See what I mean, Erza?" Mira asked as she'd finished off her chicken and salad. "When you genuinely pursue something you want to do, you really begin to find out what it means to live."

Erza was astounded.

Was she too rigid? Too… uptight? Too used to doing the same things day-in and day-out?
She didn't even know what she wanted to do, outside of being a good example for her guildmates to follow.

But, by that same token, Erza knew that Mira was right.

And it was time to do something about it.

The wind was howling.

Water lapped gently against the fiery red hull of the canoe.

Afternoon came and went, and the clear blue sky had transitioned into gold, and then orange as the sun began to set in the West.

Birds were chirping, acorns were falling from trees, wood crackled and split apart in a distant campfire.

Natsu awoke once again, first feeling the thick sheen of sweat covering his face and neck.

Next came the pungent stench of acid and bile, coming from the small dried pool of vomit beneath him. And oddly enough, the sharp pain he felt in his abdomen had come third. It was almost like someone had plunged a dagger into his chest, and then proceeded to stab him over and over and over and over again…

…why was he out here?

Why did his stomach hate him so much?

Why was he going through all this punishment?

Why was he doing this?

Why couldn't he just loop his body over the rails and into the lake so he could sink to the bottom?

Why couldn't he just swim his way back?

Why?

Why?

Why?

"You're really incredible… Natsu."

Natsu shot open his eyes for the first time in days. He swallowed down the venom in his gut and took in his surroundings.

His stomach and whole body still wracked with nearly nerve-damaging pain, but just barely, he was able to see… a… tree?

The foggy darkened shape sat above the railing of the canoe's hull. The spine of the long trunk had reached up and up and up. Even though his vision was blurry at best, Natsu could imagine branches and red leaves protruding from the tree. Almost… almost like…

…And then suddenly he did see it.

Natsu felt his belly protest and gurgle and stab him again, but he fought through every inch of throbbing agony, every excruciating signal that was sent to his brain. He was emboldened as his sight began to clear, he'd kept his focus on that tree, the one that sat there on the shoreline, waiting for him to return.

Small bursts of energy came back to him. The unending pressure on his ribcage and abdomen started to lessen and shrink down… and Natsu found the strength to sit up.

He let out a shaky breath as he now saw the entire oak tree in all its glory. Standing upright and proud. An old beast planted close to a hundred years ago. And the world around it had stopped spinning! Had ceased to fold in on itself dozens of times just as it always did when he got into a boat or stepped onto a train. Natsu's peripheral vision steadied itself then… and he knew he'd done it!

The Dragon Slayer glanced down and patted his bare chest. He looked down and was… surprised.

Now instead of feeling like someone had shoved a hot lump of lead down his throat… now his stomach merely pinched at him. Squeezing the same way someone would squeeze a dishtowel. But it was manageable.

No! It was more than manageable, now.

Natsu didn't waste any more time. He looked again at the great oak tree by the beach and reached for the paddle next to him in the canoe. And he got right to work.

Almost as if to fight back-the wind had picked up again. Stronger this time. Stronger than any natural wind ought to be! Gramps was trying to push him back out into the lake again!

Not today! Natsu thought, now putting more force into each stroke with the wooden paddle, he scythed through the crystal waters below him, his strength more than a match for whatever gust that Makarov could throw at him. The narrowed bow of the canoe was almost like the tip of a spear, breaking through the blasted wall of wind like cutting through paper!

Natsu plunged the blade of the paddle in the water again and kept going.

Again.

Again.

AGAIN.

AGAIN!

AGAIN!

Mmmph! The canoe landed against the wet sandy shore.

Natsu threw aside the paddle and jumped out onto the beach. Nothing else mattered to him, now, not even the oak. He'd landed onto the wet sand and grasped at it, even taking up clumps of it in his hands.

Gratitude overwhelmed his entire being. For the first time in over a month, Natsu Dragneel laughed uproariously, almost like a madman. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! WOOOO!" He grinned ear-to-ear as he kissed the sand in his palms over and over, and began to jerk his arms and legs about, making sand angels on the beach. "Yes! I'm back! Thank you! Oh, thank you! I'll never take you for granted ever again!"

Moments later, when the last of his energy had left him, and he turned over on the beach so he could look up into the blooming night sky above, he smiled thankfully, and genuinely.

It was set in stone now.

His final conclusion was obvious.

If I can beat my motion sickness…

…then what else could I do?

Chapter Text

October 8th, Fairy Tail Guild

Day 8

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick…

The old grandfather clock had certainly grown on Natsu by now. Something about it made him feel… what was the word?

Present, a very very old stray memory had answered the internal question. In the moment.

Who had taught him that word, as well as its meaning? Had it been Igneel or Erza? Natsu decided it wasn't important, and promptly scratched the back of his head before sipping on his coffee.

Opposite of him behind the large brown maple desk was Makarov. The old man was scribbling away at some papers with his pen. He seemed to be doing that a lot more these days, though for what reason exactly, Natsu didn't know. Gramps certainly didn't too look happy dealing with paperwork again, though it seemed their little trip out into the Eastern Forest had done wonders for his health. Compared to the old man's shape from a few weeks ago, his pale face was flush with color and vitality. Makarov was spry and in ship-shape, probably from having gotten more sleep in the last six days than the entire month before.

Natsu could sympathize. He'd skipped sleep as much as he could once he and his team returned from Akane Resort after all. It wasn't a fun time.

Hums and voices started to pick up again. Commotion coming from the other side of the tall door to the Guildmaster's Office. Natsu glanced at it as if he could see through it, remembering the long catwalk on the second floor of the Guild Hall which then led down into the main floor. The place would get busy within the hour, probably.

"Ahem,"

Natsu looked back at Makarov now. The old man was staring at him now, and had aside the black pen.

"You brought along that list of questions I gave you?"

"Of course."

"Well go ahead and take it out. As encouraging as it is to know we've gotten past your motion sickness, there's still more work to do. As a matter of fact," Makarov quickled donned a rather sinister-looking smirk. "You're to begin sparring tomorrow morning."

Natsu carefully set down his mug and unfolded the sheet of paper, laying it flat on the coffee table. "With who, exactly? You've been pretty… err…"

"Reticent?"

"Eh… What?"

The old man ignored Natsu's noticeable confusion. "I suppose you're referring to the fact that I haven't told you who your sparring partner is, nor why they have been chosen to work with you?"

Natsu nodded firmly, also deciding to ignore his own slip up with regard to not understanding certain words. I oughta brush up on that dictionary back at the house one of these days. "Yeah-yeah, that's what I meant."

"Natsu…" Makarov started, folding his hands on his desk. "Rest assured that I've selected someone who is more than qualified to work with you. And I mean qualified. This particular individual has considerable knowledge and… experience… dealing with Dragon Slayer Magic."

Natsu frowned. What the blazes is was that supposed to mean? Someone who knows about Dragon Slayer Magic? Or an actual Dragon Slayer like me?

Dragon Slayer Magic was a Lost Magic, and an exceedingly rare one at that. Natsu didn't know of anyone else in the guild-much less Fiore-who practised some form of Dragon Slayer Arts except for that punk, Gajeel. And when it came to that degenerate… well… the less Natsu thought of him, the better. He sincerely hoped his sparring partner wasn't that iron-faced scumbag.

Add to that, Natsu had already beaten him-even if the fight was a little dirty what with Lucy's intervention. Surely Gramps wouldn't have paired him up with someone who'd been a former enemy of the guild, too.

"Is it Gildarts?"

"No. If Gildarts were back from his Century Quest, he'd be here."

"Is-"

Makarov sharply raised his hand in a stopping motion. "Natsu, rest assured that you will be left in capable hands. Now," It was time to change the subject. "We have addressed one of your weaknesses in the last few weeks. We've made some notable progress, if I do say so myself. Now it's time that we set our sights on other targets."

The Fire Dragon Slayer kept a straight face and nodded. His motion sickness was permanent. Yet the fact that he could now control it and even mitigate its effects… that was more than worth all the harrowing hours he spent laying in his own spit and vomit at the bottom of that bloody canoe. He'd gotten back into that boat approximately nineteen more times in the days following his initial victory, until eventually he was able to row himself back to shore in under a minute without getting sick. Now it was like… like he could flip a switch in his brain and all he would feel was a minor stomach ache.

It worked. The fact that Natsu Dragneel had actually begun to make progress by conquering what would have been considered a critical weakness of his… that was more inspiring than anything.

But progress towards what exactly?

What was the end goal here? The ultimate vision?

"This is all in service of the man you want to be, Natsu. In order to have the things this ideal version of yourself has, you must first become that man in more ways than one. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." Makarov gave him a crooked grin. "Now for today, we'll be taking a look at questions thirteen and fifteen. Go ahead and read them out loud, will you."

Natsu glanced down at the sheet once more. Scrolling down the numbered list, he quickly found what he was looking for. "What skillsets has Future Natsu developed along the way to perfecting himself? Has he learned other branches of magic? Which ones? And why?" Then came the next. "What sort of man IS Future Natsu? How does he act and think? How sharp is his mind?"

Skillsets? Other branches of magic?

It was something he'd considered before, back when he'd gotten this list initially. But should he actually go ahead and learn more types of magic? Natsu didn't know, and neither was he really motivated to do so. It wasn't a task that greatly appealed to him.

Wasn't it enough being a Dragon Slayer? To supplement the magic taught to him by Igneel with… what? Wind Magic?

Ridiculous. He almost scoffed at the thought.

But the old man sitting across the room from him had naturally read his expression. Somehow, not for the first time in the last few weeks, Makarov knew exactly what he was thinking. "These are valid questions, Natsu. Reliance on a single form of magic would result in you becoming what we in the trade call a 'one trick pony'. This applies to learning new skills as well. Strategy, tactics, critical thinking. All of these are necessary skills for SS-Class Wizards. These are things you will have to learn as well."

"What's the point of this going over this today though?" Natsu asked, dumbfounded. "It's not like I can learn a new form of magic within the next twenty-four hours."

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why can't you learn a different form of magic today?" Came the reiterated question.

Natsu opened his mouth to respond, but quickly found that he didn't actually have a worthy reply. He kept his teeth together and pondered the question again. Why not?

Why not, indeed.

Gramps didn't wait for him to reply, either, "Something to keep in mind, Natsu; life is a marathon, not a sprint." He paused for a moment before locking eyes with the Dragon Slayer. "Imagine for a moment that you are building a house. Every day, you place a brick. Progress may be slow in the beginning, and it might take a while before you reach your goal, but as each day passes, you start to see the fruits of your labor."

"Why not just build the house in one or two days? It's clearly faster than building it brick by brick."

"That's… not the point, Natsu. The house is just a metaphor. The point is that most things in life which are desirable, are often difficult to achieve. Great magical power and capability is one of those things. And in order to reach true mastery, you must work towards it every single day. Some days you make more progress than others, but the main idea is that you must show up every day all the same. With regards to learning about new magics, while it may take you anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to reach effective practice, you can still lay the groundwork for yourself today." The old man continued on. "It must come as no surprise to you, that the best mages we have to offer in this guild are in fact the ones who showed up every day to practice and master their respective forms of magic. Natural talent alone will get you far, but getting yourself the rest of the way? Now that will require dedication and consistency."

That… actually made sense the more Natsu began to think about it.

Everyone else in the guild just kinda… don't do anything. Never seen any of them train or practice unless it was for work.

But for the actual S-Class Mages in the guild? Natsu rarely saw any of them in the guild hall, doing what every other member usually does. Gildarts hadn't been seen for the last three years alone. Laxus was occasionally having a drink up on the second floor, but was otherwise not around. Mystogan came in probably about once a month. Erza, if anything, proved Makarov's point. Though she was in the guild more often than the other S-Class Mages, she would maintain her civility - eating her cake while the rest of the guild descended into chaos all around her.

Natsu frowned as he recalled something Gildarts had told him once,

'Watch what everyone else is doing. Now do the opposite.'

He'd only been a kid when he heard that, so Natsu hadn't actually taken Gildarts all that seriously. But now? Now it made more and more sense. What a curveball!

Makarov wasn't even finished. "The fact that you claimed you could not learn a new form of magic today… that is more concerning to me than anything else we've covered so far," he said, "All the things you want to do, Natsu… you can do them, you just need to start today. And you need to carry that momentum forward if you want to see any real progress or results. This also plays into how you'll change from who you are now, into the sort of man you want to be. Remember what I said about thinking differently?"

Natsu did remember. The saying had been ingrained in his head by now. "Outstanding results come from thinking and acting differently."

"Precisely. You have a lot of natural talent, Natsu. Now you need to apply yourself consistently, and you'll be able to take your talent to new heights. You need to think differently. Think the same way that ideal version of yourself would, for example."

Think the way my ideal self thinks? How do I do that? The task wasn't exactly as easy as it sounded-how was he supposed to start thinking differently on the flip of a jewel? It was a puzzle that Natsu simply couldn't seem to wrap his head around. At least, it was for the moment.

Natsu wanted to figure this out though. He opted to speak his mind. "How do I do that?"

"It's not easy to accomplish in one go… in fact it'll be fairly uncomfortable for you. All the same, it's relatively simple," Makarov sat back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "Look at the results you want in life and then consider what sort of man you'd need to be in order to get those results."

Okay… "So think about the outcomes I want and who I'll need to be to achieve them… and then consistently work towards those outcomes every day?"

"Exactly. Now you're beginning to see how it all comes together, yes?"

"Yeah," Natsu sat back, still a bit unsure about his understanding of the concept. "I think,"

It was all simple, really. But the fact that it was a new concept to him was what made it feel confusing.

You'll get it, Dragneel.

That's right. He was good at adapting. He just… needed to put this into practice then.

Natsu felt he should ask more questions concerning the topic at hand, but before he opened his mouth to speak, Makarov had already glanced over at the grandfather clock.

"Looks like our time's up. I've got a meeting with a representative from the Magic Council in a few minutes." The old man sat forward and clapped his hands together, now refocusing his gaze back on Natsu. "I want you to continue thinking about these concepts throughout the rest of your day, Natsu. And for the rest of your week for the matter. These are very important principles that will serve you well in life."

Natsu stood up, folding the sheet of paper and tucking it into his pocket, and picking up his half-full mug of still warm black coffee. "I'll keep it in mind, Gramps."

"Good. And before you go, I also have something that will help you with regards to mastering your Dragon Slayer magic - and even learning other types of magic."

Makarov had hopped off his chair and gone over to a nearby bookshelf, withdrawing an old dusty tome from the bottom shelf. Right then and there, Natsu felt dread begin to form in his gut.

"This aided me greatly when I was your age," the old man turned to face him now, and threw the book to him. "Very simple and practical, I should add."

Natsu caught the book effortlessly with his left hand, and flipped it over onto its front. The title read, 'Understanding Magic & Spellcraft' written by one Commander Jon Fleming.

He glanced back at the old man. "You want me to read this?"

"No, I want you to use it to start a fire-of course you're supposed to read it!" Makarov shook his head impatiently. "I'm aware that your reading skills are not what they should be given your naturally high level of intelligence. Consider this to be another challenge for you in that area of your life."

"Err… alright I'll give it a go."

"No, Natsu. You will have to have read and finished this book by next week. We'll be going over some of the concepts in the book itself."

Natsu went wide-eyed. "What? You want me to make a book report?!"

"Yes." Came the simple answer.

The last time he had to do one of those was with Erza when she was schooling him… and back then it wasn't as he could've smacked her over the head for it. Shit…

But then again… Natsu reminded himself that, much like the process in handling his motion sickness, he did sign up for this. I'll figure it out, he thought to himself. Complaining wouldn't help him now. All that was left was to get to work.

"I'll get it done by next week then." He said, this time with conviction.

Makarov seemed pleased at that. "Excellent. Now off you go."

Without saying another word, Natsu Dragneel nodded to the Guildmaster once more and turned on his feet, pocketing the book and opening the door to the office, and gently closed it shut behind him.

'Stop to consider that every last one of us are born with more or less similar settings in our own brains. Meaning that we are all born with the same potential for mastery.

How is it that, despite us all being born with the same advantage, that only a limited number of people across the annals of time have ever been able to actually truly shine and realize their full potential? Is it not outlandish that more and more Wizards refuse to acknowledge the both literal and metaphorical fortune that is at their disposal? After all, those born with magic make up a mere ten percent of the total human population. And only a startling one percent of all Wizards ever achieve their truest potential.

How is it that each of us are born with no true limit for sheer excellence, and yet, so few of us ever reach such heights of personal ability and mastery?

Exceptional skill and natural talent are far more common than you might be led to believe, my dear reader. Countless people all over the world display talents in their own respective fields, yet so few of them ever amount to anything. It only goes to show that while talent and skill can get you far, it cannot take you all the way.

Some of the most masterful and impactful mages I have had the pleasure of knowing were not even the most talented, nor the most skillful.

As a matter of stern fact, they were rather ordinary.

None of them were the smartest, the most intelligent, the most wise. Not even the most powerful, nor strongest. Quite a few of them were even socially inept, completely incapable of handling a single conversation. Some of them were even left behind in the dust of their more popular peers.

And yet, somehow, they were able to rise far to the top and  excel . Not simply as Wizards… but as Humans. Men and Women both driven by youthful predilections and passions to practice and practice and practice, all because of their intense desire to learn and a burning want to fully understand their branch of Magic. Fighting through the pain of the process of mastery; the long, neverending hours of practice; the self-doubts; jealousy and ridicule from the resentful onlookers; the unavoidable setbacks. In this… they have learned true resilience and have earned their own confidence.

To become an individual of sheer exceptional quality-'

"Hey, Natsu!"

Nonchalantly, the Fire Dragon Slayer had torn his gaze away from the rather worn book which was cradled in his right palm. Almost as if the entire world had flooded back into his senses, he'd suddenly remembered where he'd been sitting in the guild hall; at a table near the bar on the western side of the hall. The booming noise comprising of so many jeering and cajoling voices depicting yet another busy day in the guild playing out around him.

Lucy was standing there across from him, with Happy floating in the air beside her. More than a few emotions passed over her expression all within a handful of seconds. Her usual cheerfulness was there, naturally. Next came curiosity, and then, her head turned almost in perplexion as she set her large brown eyes on the object in Natsu's hands.

"Is that… are you actually reading a book?"

"Yeah," Natsu said, seeing that Lucy was very obviously bewildered. "What else does it look like?"

"I thought you hated reading. Since… you know, Erza kind of forced you to learn how to read and write when you were kids."

Well… that was a fair enough point. While Natsu often preferred to take a simpler approach to life (he found he enjoyed himself a lot more that way), he also was fully willing to do things he didn't like in order to get work done.

"Never said I hated reading. And Igneel taught me to read and write. Erza just 'finished' my education… in her own way." He folded the page he'd left off on before closing the book. "Reading's inconvenient most of the time."

Lucy sweatdropped. "That's just a nicer way to say that you don't like to read." Now she took a seat on the bench across from him. "I think you're kind of missing the whole point of literature."

"Whatever," Natsu pushed the book off to the side. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing really, I'm just surprised to see you in here at this time of day. Usually you'd be off doing something else. So I thought we could catch up. Oh!" The blonde slid onto the bench across from him. She raised her hands up. "See anything different?" She asked as she, rather excitedly, wiggled her fingers.

"No."

Lucy let out a sharp sigh. "Come on, Natsu! I got my nails done this morning! How couldn't you tell?"

Natsu wasn't ever one to pay attention to those sorts of details. When it came to girls and their grisly female habits, he generally kept to himself. It was a methodology that hadn't let him down yet.

Besides. Lucy's nails didn't appear any different than when he'd seen her last.

He decided to take the honest approach. "I don't really pay attention to your nails, Lucy."

"Told you, Lucee." Happy said in a muffled tone, having spoken with a trout in his mouth. "Natsu doesn't care about those sorts of things."

"Spot on, buddy."

Lucy let out another dejected huff and finally placed her hands back down on the table. She pursed her lips and gave him a small glare. "Just wait until you get a girlfriend, Natsu. That's exactly when you'll need to care."

Natsu chuckled. "Why?"

The blonde had raised a finger, as if she were now a sophisticated professor giving some sort of educated response. "Because, Natsu, a woman is always right."

"How so?" He asked again, actually curious now. "You've wrong about loads of things since we teamed up."

"Because… err..."

Natsu looked to his best friend. "Does that make sense to you, buddy?"

Happy shook his head. "Nope."

Natsu had once heard such a common saying before. But it really didn't make sense at the time. Neither did it really matter. Natsu was just wondering whether or not he should keep messing with Lucy, or just change the subject.

Lucy folded her arms and glanced away. "I'm starting to regret coming over here."

"Maybe you should have thought before we sat down at the table," Happy quipped.

"Shut up, cat!"

Well, it was about time. Natsu smirked and opened up his book again, easily tuning out all the voices around him, and continuing from where he left off.

'To become an individual of sheer exceptional quality, one must also go through a similar process. Especially if you yourself do possess raw natural talent with your innate form of magic.

It is the prodigies who are often the laziest of the bunch. They feel that they have nothing to prove as most of their capability has come naturally, almost without effort to them. And yet at the end of the day, they are constantly outclassed by those who are far more practiced and seasoned than them. If you, my dear reader, fall into the former category, then it is of the utmost importance that you apply yourself to the fullest extent imaginable. Mastering your magical abilities will take time and an extraordinary amount of effort - but it is very possible. Discovering the learning process is what will clarify this for you.

The simplest way to gain access to this insight is to learn other forms of magic. Doing so will enable you to understand what it is like to take on a new challenge, and to approach it from the perspective of an ordinary Wizard. You may not see it now, but taking this path will make you open to new ideas and help form new connections in your mind and ultimately instilling in you a hungering drive to master what has already come to you innately.

From there, you should-'

"What's it about?"

Natsu glanced up again and met Lucy's eyes. "Hm?"

"Your book. What's it about?"

He paused. What should he tell her? He couldn't very well say that Master Makarov had given it to him. Neither could he say why the old man had given him the book either. The mentorship was strictly between himself and Makarov, so telling anyone else about it was out of the question.

Natsu wasn't even halfway through the introduction. Though the book was only an inch thick, it seemed almost deceptively longer. Might as well tell her about what he'd gotten through so far, then.

Can't believe I still gotta write a book report about this…

"It's more of a practical guide on how to master magic in general."

Unfortunately, Lucy had perked up at his reply. She seemed almost unusually energetic now. "Really? What's the name of the book? Who wrote it?"

Natsu simply folded the page again, closed the book, and then showed Lucy the cover. That's probably all it would take for her to lose the scent, and then he could get right back to reading. Even he was willing to admit that he was interested in the concepts the old tome was going over, and Natsu was pretty keen to get back to it.

What he wasn't expecting, was for the blonde to go completely wide-eyed upon seeing both the title and the name of the man who wrote the book itself.

"Oh. My. God!" The blonde had flushed, almost fusing her hands to her face out of shock at what she was seeing. "Is that what I think it is?!"

Oh no… not again.

Natsu knew what that look meant. He'd seen it before, when both he and Lucy had taken on that Daybreak Job. The fascination. The eager greed in those twinkling brown eyes. He slowly pulled the tome back towards him. He didn't want to lose a finger. She's totally gonna nerd out over this thing, isn't she?

His instincts were proven right. Lucy looked at him then, and Natsu knew that what was coming.

"Where did you get that, Natsu?!"

"I-"

"Don't you know what that is?"

"Err, I just-"

Lucy planted both her hands down sharply onto the table. "Oh my! I've only ever heard stories about Understanding Magic & Spellcraft! It's so rare that collectors pay over forty million jewel just for a few pages alone! It was the only book that Commander Jon Fleming ever wrote in his whole military career and he was such a great wizard that he was personally knighted by King Hora - he was King Toma's father in case you didn't know - for all of his successful campaigns defending against invading forces from Bosco and Minstrel and he only published just over a thousand copies of it and-"

"I get it Lucy," Natsu cut in. "Sounds like he was a great guy."

But the blonde just kept rambling on. "And he-"

Natsu decided to tune her out. He shared a knowing look with Happy. No words needed to be said between the two.

I go ahead and show her the book for only a moment and then this happens.

Happy shrugged. Total geek, right? Can't be helped.

He brought his attention back to Lucy, who was still going on a full-blown monologue. Natsu figured she knew what she was talking about, but he still wasn't entirely sure. After all, this was just some dusty old book that Gramps had taken off the small bookshelf in his office. Chances are, Lucy was just blowing a fuse.

Unexpectedly, his savior from this hell came in the form of his worst enemy.

Gray had appeared amidst the hurricane of loud voices and cheering in the guild hall. The Ice Wizard seemed to have spotted them from the twin main doors to the building and slowly weaved his way through the crowd and over to their table.

Great, thought Natsu. Now Mr. Droopy Eyes was gonna lord this one over him next time they go out on a job together.

Still, he was willing to take that loss instead of listening to Lucy's bookworm speech.

Too soon had Gray made over, he stopped just by the short side of the table, and his arrival was just curt enough to make Lucy close her mouth. "Hey guys, how's it hangin'?"

Natsu capitalized on the opening. "I was just showing Lucy this book I've got until she started nerding out about it." he said sharply, now showing the cover to Gray.

Before the blonde could even let out a reply, Gray had beaten her to it. "You? Reading a book? Yeah right." He shook his head. Still he glanced down at the tome and raised his eyebrows a little in recognition. "Commander Jon Fleming, huh?"

"Yeah," Natsu paused. How had Gray known the name? Was he going to geek out over this book too?

Ah shit… now there's gonna be two of them.

"Don't know much about the book, but the guy who wrote it was a certified badass," Gray said casually. "About ninety or so years back, Fiore and Minstrel quarreled over some trade routes by sea and a small war broke out between us and them. Since Minstrel is like five times larger than Fiore, they didn't really take us seriously. But this guy Fleming takes a fleet over to their mainland and busts up their biggest coastal city. Place called Enkara. He takes over it over and holds it hostage, meanwhile the Minstrel Royal Corps tries to take it back with their forces of roughly around three hundred thousand, while he's only got around twenty thousand men. Not only does Fleming hold the city for almost a year, but he actually pushes back Minstrel's army into the countryside since they hadn't planned for a prolonged siege on their own city and didn't have the food and supplies to sustain all their troops for that long. Fleming also goes ahead and has his fleet raid all of the smaller towns and settlements along the coast. Since Enkara was their capital for maritime trade, all of this resulted in their economy taking a big hit. Plus, Minstrel had pretty bad relations with both Caelum and Stella at the time, and it looked like both of those kingdoms would also jump onto Minstrel after seeing how quickly we took over one of their cities. Situation got so bad that Minstrel's Queen went ahead and opened negotiations for a peace treaty with old King Hora. That's why they don't mess with our maritime trade routes anymore, and the reason why we've got such strong tariffs on them. They underestimated Fiore, didn't expect that we'd hit them right in the jugular."

…

The whole table had been stunned into absolute silence.

Natsu was actually… mildly interested in the unexpected history lesson, and somewhat relieved that that was what Gray spoke about rather than yet another rant about the book in his possession. Might do me some good to learn more about the world. He'd save that for later, though.

As for Lucy and Happy, they both appeared to be completely dumbfounded at the sheer dump of information they'd just received. The latter of whom simply sat on his side of the table with his mouth gaping open.

The Ice-Make Wizard raised an eyebrow at the lack of reactions. "What? None of you ever read a history book?"

Natsu looked down at the tome once again. The plain leather covering with the simple black title seemed to be cast in a whole new light. So the guy who wrote this was some sort of military genius?

Did Gramps give this to him on a whim? Or was this all part of the old man's master plan… or something? After all, the old man said this was some sort of practical guide. Very hands-on, or at least that was Natsu's understanding of the statement.

And based on the title alone, it was fairly easy to figure out how this would work. If he, Natsu, could feasibly learn other forms of magic with this thing…

…then what should he learn?

Chapter Text

October 9th, Fairy Tail

Day 9

At approximately ten o'clock in the morning, Erza Scarlet had walked right into Fairy Tail.

The morning had taken on a slight autumn chill, and Erza had felt it when she'd left her apartment to go out on her usual morning run. Because of this, after she'd showered off all the sweat she'd accumulated from the intensive cardio session, she'd elected to put on black jeans, grey knee-high leather boots, and a cream-colored blouse with a matching thick woolen cardigan, topped off with a maroon red wool scarf. Perhaps the cold would taper off before the upcoming Harvest Festival.

She'd spent most of the previous day pondering what to do with her time outside of her morning routine. With the lack of work this last week alone, she could hardly believe that there was so much time in the day to begin with, and since her conversation with Mira, the Knight was itching to find something to do.

There wasn't necessarily anything that Erza felt drawn to. Painting? Writing? Dancing? None of it appealed to her upfront. Erza knew that she was stumped.

Still, she was determined to get this part of her life figured out. If only so she could make it a little more interesting.

"Hey Erza!"

She'd been swiftly brought back to the present. Mira waved her over from behind the bar.

"Good morning, Mira," Erza approached and stopped at the bar, placing her hands on the warm wooden counter. She took a quick glance around the unusually sparse atmosphere in the guild hall. "Less busy than usual?"

"Kinda," The barmaid leaned closer, almost as if she were divulging some kind of dirty secret. "I think it might have something to do with the representative from the Magic Council who came in yesterday."

"They've reformed already?" Master Makarov hadn't been kidding.

"Yep! It's been left unsaid, but I think a lot of the members are laying low for a bit. Not much of a reason for it but it would be nice if we didn't end up in the papers again causing another scandal."

Erza nodded. "Ideally we'd all be contributing to generating some goodwill with the Council for a change."

"There'll be less paperwork for Master Makarov, for sure." Mira commented. "Oh! How's the search going, by the way?"

"Err… nothing's come up just yet," Erza said plainly. "I was thinking of trying out gardening, but it's autumn and winter won't be far behind."

Mira shrugged. "You'll find it, Erza. You just gotta keep looking. Hey we can always go check out the local music store later if you're up for it. Maybe we can even form a band?"

The Knight knew that Mira was only teasing with that last line. Still, "I don't see why not. By the way, are Gray and Lucy around?"

"I haven't seen those two come in yet…" Mira hummed. It was then however that her blue eyes had twinkled. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. I think Natsu is somewhere upstairs on the second floor?"

"Really?" Erza widened her eyes in response. She hadn't seen Natsu in quite some time. It was strange to hear that he'd gotten in earlier than the others. It would be good to catch up with him.

"Mmhmm! He should still be up there if you want to go talk to him or something."

Or something.

Erza's relief upon hearing about Natsu gave way to another, more curious line of thought. She narrowed her eyes at the barmaid, but only slightly. What was that almost playful lilt in Mira's voice. I've heard that tone from her before… but when? And for what?

What was she up to?

"Thank you for letting me know, Mira." Erza gave her a smile anyway and made for the stairs.

"No problem Erza. And hey-" The barmaid subtly, almost devilishly, raised her white eyebrows in a question. "Will you two be needing anything? Coffee? Tea? The breakfast menu?"

Will you two be needing anything?

Erza couldn't help but feel like something was… off. Yet there clearly wasn't any instagative intentions like there were when they were children. Still. That mischievous glint in those deep blue eyes. Now that was unsettling. But only slightly.

No. She must be imagining things. Mira was just being… polite. That was all. It was her job to offer items on the menu to guild members and visitors alike.

"No, I think we'll be fine. Thank you though." With that, Erza turned her back and made her way to the stairs leading up to the second floor.

As it turned out, Erza Scarlet was correct in her initial calculations. Mira was up to something.

And if Erza had taken the time to simply glance back at the barmaid as she made her way to the stairs up to the second floor, she would've seen that Mirajane Strauss was grinning ear-to-ear.

Once Erza had reached the top of the stairs and laid eyes on Natsu, she'd stopped in her tracks.

Natsu hadn't appeared to have noticed her. At least not immediately. Perhaps he'd heard, or sniffed her out like he had done so weeks ago, but right now he was fully engrossed in a rather thin book with a plain light brown leather cover. It looked aged and worn, but serviceable.

When was the last time she'd ever seen Natsu willingly read a book? It had been close to a decade, if Erza recalled correctly. Until now, she'd only ever seen him read off job flyers from the Request Board. Even still… what was Natsu doing with a dusty old tome? Erza took stock of the other items on the table infront of Natsu. A clear, crisp sheet of white paper lay directly before him, along with a pencil just off to his right. Finally there was a porcelain mug containing fresh coffee, black.

What was she supposed to make of this? She'd been half-expecting him to be chewing on an overcooked steak doused with too much black pepper and salt. Instead he was patiently combing through a book like he was at the library.

The Knight had quickly regained her wits. She'd continued her approach, and calmly slid into the seat directly across from Natsu.

"Hey Erza," He greeted, still with his onyx eyes fixed on the page before him.

"Good morning Natsu."

The Dragon Slayer nodded and carefully folded the top right corner of the page he was on. He then closed the book, but took up the pencil and scribbled a few sentences onto the sheet of paper. Finally, Natsu met her eyes. Erza couldn't help but watch his full expression. There was a firm, but polite smile on those thin lips. He was still… different.

"How you've been?"

At least there's that. She couldn't help but smile warmly at the familiar slang, the misuse of proper grammar. Now that was more like the Natsu she knew.

She still struggled to find something to say in reply, however. Despite being the unofficial leader of their team, Erza didn't consider herself even nearly on the same level of extroversion as Natsu or Lucy. The latter was far more at home in any social setting, while Natsu seemed to just not care most of the time.

Erza, for her part, was content to be on her own, and to spend her days in solitude. Yet she couldn't deny that she also occasionally yearned for a more social connection every now and then. It was a human need, after all.

Come on, Scarlet… back to the matter at hand.

Right.

Erza shrugged, and suddenly found the tabletop more interesting to look at. "Nothing much lately. I've been less focused on work actually."

"Really?"

The immediate one-word response was discouraging. Natsu's almost bored tone of voice also added to her doubt. And it told Erza that she'd need to be the one to continue carrying the conversation.

It all just felt… out of place. Where was the man who'd prioritize food over everything? The boy who'd brashly challenge her to a midday duel, claiming he'd gotten stronger all of the sudden? What of the silly, rambunctious Natsu who'd fearlessly barged into her show trial attempting to pose as her?

Or… or had he gone away? Had he changed? Grown up?

That seemed to be the case. The slight stubble on his jawline; the longer spiky salmon hair that was growing out into something akin to a lion's mane; the straight posture of the shoulders; the long brown shearling coat paired with his white trousers and black sandals, along with the trademark white scarf made of scales. All of it was different. "Of course. Mira and I had a bit of a girl's trip the other day. We went out to lunch and visited Cedar Spa over on Central Path."

"Hmmm…" Natsu almost frowned as he sat back in his seat. "Hope you're not going to show me your nails or something."

Erza felt the tension within herself (and between them) lessen significantly at his comment. Though it was certainly odd hearing such a thing from him. "What? Why would I show you my nails?"

"Lucy showed me hers yesterday. Said they looked a different color or… whatever."

Well… that was just Lucy being Lucy then. Social etiquette had demanded that Natsu pay her a compliment, yet he seemed to outright ignore it. Erza found herself smiling.

"Don't know why," Natsu continued with a shake of his head. "It's not like anyone else noticed."

"Well that's the point, Natsu. Lucy spent some time getting her nails done and wants someone to notice how they look."

He laughed. "Why? Does she need me to tell her she's pretty?"

That… was not what Erza was expecting hear from Natsu. She didn't think that Natsu paid attention to those sorts of things. Still, she kept her composure. "No, but a woman does like to be complimented."

"And do you?"

Erza paused. "Excuse me?"

Natsu took up his mug and raised it to his mouth. "Do you like to be complimented?"

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

She crossed her arms. "Well of course. I'm not an unfeeling automaton, Natsu." She said, breaking away her gaze briefly. "Compliments are always nice. So long as they're genuine."

Natsu set down his mug on the table. He didn't say anything immediately, and seemed to be… reflecting on something. Was it what she said?

Those onyx orbs met her again. Natsu seemed to altogether ignore the silence that sat between them.

"You're not wearing your armor today."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not." She decided to take a gamble, and gave him a mirthful smile. "A very astute observation coming from you."

"Oho! Now you're calling me dumb? Not very nice of you, Erza."

"I'm simply marveling at your impressive powers of deduction, Natsu."

Natsu smirked, clearly unfazed by her probing. "Dunno Erza… if you keep this up, I think you might get another visit from the Tickle Monster."

The redhead felt herself laugh delightedly as she spontaneously recalled the brief joy she'd found in the Tower when Natsu had ignored the complete and total danger facing them just so he could tickle her mercilessly. Something about it simply… brought a smile to her face.

This brief back-and-forth with Natsu had been unexpectedly… what was the word? Refreshing. It had been so long since she'd felt able to… cut loose, so to speak. Everyone expected her to be the indomitable Erza Scarlet. The Knight who'd single-handedly taken a full blast from Phantom Lord's Jupiter Cannon; the S-Class Wizard who'd taken on not just one, but two different Wizard Saints. Even her close friends had seen her this way when they first set out for Eisenwald, not that she'd done much to change their minds. Not to mention that everyone else in the guild held her up on the same pedestal, save Mira and Master Makarov.

But that wasn't the case with Natsu anymore. With his newly earned, more mature confidence, he seemed to make her feel as if she wasn't that perfect idol anymore… Now she'd been brought back down to Earth. And she loved it.

She managed to stop herself from laughing again. Two could play at that game. "Well, if you-"

"You know…" Natsu interrupted her. "I've been off doing my own thing these last few weeks… But I'm really happy to see you again."

And that was when Erza's brain had shut down.

A sudden heat had begun to fill into her cheeks and face. She swore that she had once seen a line almost exactly like the one Natsu had just said, in one of her… romance novels.

It was one thing to read it off a page, but it was another to actually hear somebody else saying it to her… and meaning it.

"And…" Her brain rebooted sharply, and she managed to just squeeze out something to say. "What about the others?"

"Them too. Already told you that I saw them yesterday." Natsu said easily. He picked up his mug and downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp. "Between you and me, I think Lucy's a total nerd."

"She certainly has her moments," Erza agreed. The blonde was easily the most bookish out of everyone on their team. "But I think that's a very handy skill of hers. She's helped us fill in several knowledge gaps while out on jobs before. She's cleverer than she knows."

Despite his earlier comment, Natsu nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he said, now glancing at the clock on the wall to Erza's right. "Oh shit."

"What is it?"

Natsu met her eyes again. "I gotta go," he stood up and moved his chair back under the table. He quickly pocketed the book along with the sheet of paper and the pencil.

Erza couldn't help herself. They had just started catching up after all. "Is it urgent?"

"Big time," Natsu said. He withdrew a few jewel notes from his pocket and placed them in front of her. "Left you a few thousand jewel, get whatever you want with it. I've got to bounce."

She watched as Natsu gave her one last flickering smile before making his way towards the stairs to the first floor. His shearling coat flapping behind him.

"Talk to you later, Natsu."

"You too, Erza." The man said, waving without even turning back to face her.

The autumn chill had begun to subside as morning passed into midday.

Grey clouds rolled away into the West with a gentle breeze, leaving only the bright blue curtain of the sky above, and the warming sun.

Shade gave way to sunlight, and the shadows pouring over an abandoned quarry that was approximately five miles southwest of Magnolia Town, just off the railway leading to Hargeon. It wasn't exactly a difficult place to find, but it was seldom visited by others.

Laxus Dreyar sat on a large flat stone sitting curiously next to the wall of an old mining shack, leaning back against the old wall of wooden planks while he puffed away at a half finished cigar (his second one of the day).

He let out another puff of smoke and took a glance at the watch over his left wrist. The short hand of the clock was placed just before eleven.

Where is that kid?

His grandfather had told him to get here about an hour early, and so Laxus had, arriving just before ten. Apparently he was supposed to be expecting Natsu to arrive around eleven in the morning. But the one hour wait alone felt like an eternity, and Laxus wondered whether or not he should've brought a book. So all he was left to do was to smoke to his hearts' content and scan the perimeter of the quarry, particularly the encircling line of trees that were about seven hundred feet away up the long hill in front of him.

Well. It wasn't like he'd be here for much longer anyway. After this, he'd have the rest of the day to himself. And from there, he'd be home free.

Laxus hadn't yet had anything to eat. Unless he was traveling, he almost never ate anything until the late afternoon or the evening. Most of the morning or early afternoon he'd simply drink water, coffee, or if he was in a particular mood, alcohol. Cigars were always prevalent in his daily consumption as well.

Ah well… once he was done here, perhaps he'd go back home. He'd done his training in the morning, but he had no qualms about going back for another round. He had to keep himself busy here in Magnolia one way or another. Especially since he'd been grounded in town as of late.

But what else was there for him to do?

There was always the local private card club, an exclusive little joint called Rooks. It was located on Carburry Street just off Central Path towards the northern side of town, and it featured games such as Chess, Whist, Bridge, Poker, Pontoon, Cribbage, and Picket. Laxus didn't mind getting dressed up for the evening in that case. He enjoyed cards more than most things, and he had so much money that he was perfectly willing to lose it all playing poker against the regulars at the club. He didn't really know what else to do with his money anyway.

His stomach grumbled on its own. Food had now come to mind. A large grilled ribeye, doused in salt and pepper. Add some lamb cutlets and maybe even a marrow bone. Top it all off with some vodka. Go home, figure out what he'd do tomorrow, and go to bed early.

Besides, if his assumptions regarding Natsu would prove correct… it wouldn't hurt to also check out the newest S-Class Requests up on the second floor.

Laxus knew full well that Natsu wasn't going to stick it out. Plain and simple. Kid would perhaps get all pissed off for a few days, and then he'd slip up, make a few mistakes, and then taper off. That's pretty much how it was for most Wizards, or for most people as a matter of fact. They didn't have the guts to run the marathon. They'd only ever do sprints when it was necessary.

Sprints were easy though. Summoning up the willpower to put in a great burst of effort was a vice of the herd. Just enough to survive.

But marathons? Those were tough. Even lesser efforts, practiced consistently over the long-term, were the key to power. That was how his grandfather got to Wizard Saint. That was how Gildarts became the Ace of Fairy Tail. And that was how he, Laxus, had made it to S-Class.

Still, a favor was a favor. He'd do this one for his grandfather. It would probably take a few more days out of his week, but he didn't really see it going any further than that.

And-

Ah… Natsu was nearby.

Draconic Senses had come with the lacrima. And even though he'd been young when his father had implanted it in him, Laxus still remembered the handful of years he'd had without it. Human senses; touch; smell; sight; taste; hearing… all of them were amplified a hundredfold once he'd gotten the lacrima. It was so… distressing when he was a kid, hearing all of those voices of the townsfolk of the Magnolia all at once. All day, every day. He'd since learned to tune all of them out. But still, he couldn't imagine anyone else having to go through the same process without going mad.

Not to mention that he didn't even need to sniff anything just to know what it smelt like. It was annoying at times. All he'd really do was breathe in the air, and suddenly a whole slew of fresh scents and smells and stenches would waft into his nose. Learning to shut that sense off was also a pain, but doable.

And just as he could scent out anything within a mile, so too had he scented out Natsu. The kid was making his way through the forest and down to the quarry.

If Natsu's sense of smell was anything like his own, which it probably was, then he also probably knew that Laxus was here too.

Even now Laxus could hear the soft crunching of grass underneath a pair of sandaled feet. He almost smiled when he heard the pace stop, albeit briefly, before it resumed again. Then came the sharp exhale, as Natsu realized who exactly was waiting for him.

Moments later, the head of long spiky salmon hair appeared up on the top of the long hill above and across from him, right at the edge of the treeline.

Natsu obviously wasn't in much of a hurry. There were several distinct differences in his attire from when he'd last seen the kid. The hair was longer, and he even appeared more brawny than he had before. That shearling leather coat was new, much different than his usual sleeveless jacket. Much less childish too. Still the same trousers and sandals. Some stubble on the kid's jaw, too. Hmmm, likely from a more frequent training regiment. And from living out in the woods for weeks at a time.

Admittedly, Laxus thought that Natsu looked more like a mountain-man than the bratty teen who'd he'd always regarded as an amateur. There were clear changes in Natsu's demeanor, and that, at the very least, meant something was going on in that empty head of his.

That said… looks could be deceiving.

Laxus still didn't move from his spot. The Lightning Wizard simply kept on puffing at his cigar. He hadn't been impressed, not that he was expecting Natsu to impress him in the first place. Today's 'training session' would end the same way that all of the kid's past challenges had gone. That was that.

Natsu had finally crossed the quarry and stopped just twenty meters short of the mining shack. Laxus could see the conflict in those onyx eyes.

"So… Gramps set me up with you?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Why you? That was clearly what Natsu meant.

"'Cause he asked nicely," Laxus said with an amused smirk. He was genuinely surprised that the kid actually took the time to speak with him, rather than just come out swinging. "Got me curious, so here I am."

"But you don't even like me."

Laxus shook his head minutely. "That would imply that I care about you at all."

Silence hung in the air between them. Natsu had frowned at that, and Laxus continued to be indifferent. The thought of food had come to mind again. Steak and eggs would be good tonight. Maybe even a tomahawk or two.

It was Natsu who broke the tension, "So… how's this gonna work then, Laxus? Aren't we supposed to spar?"

"Well… just show me what you've got. Then we'll go from there."

"What?"

Laxus almost chuckled. "You heard me," he said, dropping the cigar and mashing it out with his foot, then standing up to his full height. "I'll let you throw the first one for free."

The kid was positively stunned now, "But-"

"Shut up, Natsu. Let's wrap up the foreplay, I've got other things to do."

If Laxus had been any more callous, he might've relished seeing the burning disdain that now appeared in those onyx orbs. He didn't care as it stood, and simply kept himself stone-cold.

As if by clockwork, fiery orange and gold flames exploded to life around Natsu's hands.

Laxus let out a bored sigh and rolled his eyes. Here we go again. He'd already picked out exactly where he'd land after Natsu made his attack.

Sure enough, Natsu's feet had left the ground, flames also encasing his legs in a brilliant flashing blaze, scorching the ground black as he blitzed forth damn near as fast as a meteor sailing over the earth. Were Laxus any other wizard, he would've been hit. Ten times out of ten.

Three…

Fourteen meters away.

Two…

Three meters away.

One…

Laxus felt a supercharging sensation pass through him as he clicked his internal switch. The indescribable feeling that came with being hyped up on endless electrical power… was simply intoxicating at times. He allowed the current to flow through him and became one with it, disappearing completely into a golden flash. Just as quickly, he directed himself right over Natsu's head and just about ten feet away from where he'd been sitting prior.

By the time Laxus had felt his feet touch the stone floor of the quarry again, had Natsu stopped himself just before he crashed into the mining shack. He'd already turned around to face Laxus, and was preparing to lunge again.

Kid's outclassed, he just doesn't see it yet, Laxus thought. Or maybe… maybe he just doesn't want to see it.

Either way, Laxus had kept to his word. He'd let Natsu swing first.

Laxus decided to be flashy this time around. He snapped his fingers even before Natsu had begun to jet towards him again. Summoning up his basic Lightning Magic was instinctual by this point. An unconscious habit that occurred whenever he wanted it to.

His 'student' was quickly shrouded in a bright haze of gold-white bolts.

Those fiery orange flames had instantly gone out, and all Laxus could hear were rounds of uncontrolled gasping and gurgling as Natsu screamed violently. "GAAAAHHHHHAAAAGGHH!"

Laxus kept watching as Natsu then fell to the ground and kept convulsing and twitching, even after the lightning dissipated completely. Sparks danced around the shaking body, almost like a ballet.

And then… Natsu finally stopped spasming and fell unconscious.

It wasn't even funny now. This was just sad. Genuinely sad.

Even though Laxus knew how this little session of theirs would turn out… even though he knew exactly what Natsu would do… he was still… disappointed.

In what, though?

Grandpa had high hopes for Natsu, didn't he? And Natsu somehow had the brains to pass the old man's test… The fact that his grandfather had chosen Natsu as his next pet project alone was a great endorsement. One that spoke volumes about the kid.

But Laxus knew…

He knew that the old man hadn't seen all the times Natsu was simply lazing about in the guild hall doing nothing with his life. He hadn't seen what Laxus had.

Wasted potential. Those were the two words he was looking for.

Those were the exact two words he'd have used to describe the smoking heap of 'Dragon Slayer' laying at his feet. How could this kid have been trained by a dragon, and still not be able to take a hit from such a low-tier elemental spell?

Well… time to go.

Effortlessly, Laxus had hauled Natsu up onto his left shoulder and carried him out towards the foot of the long hill leading up to the treeline.

We're supposed to do this again every day for the rest of the week? Laxus shook his head with an amused smirk. Natsu wouldn't show up again. Not a chance.

Looks like you backed the wrong horse, Grandpa.

Chapter Text

FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!

As soon as his knuckles made contact with the tall stone, had Natsu felt all of the raw nerves and muscle under his arm light up in a sharp, spasming pain. His closed fist thumped off the stone, and he fell forward onto the forest floor.

"Owwwwwwww!"

"Get up, boy!"

Natsu clutched at his arm and held it close against his chest. It really did feel like he broke something this time. Somehow, he found the strength to obey the commanding voice and stand up again.

The stone, that stupid dumb rock, still stood there. Imposing. Goading him. Natsu glared up at the thing, knowing damn well that it was mocking him just by existing.

He'd been punching the damn thing for the last six hours and he still hadn't managed to break it. At this point, he wondered if he could even break it at all.

Why was dad making him do this? Didn't he know that the stone was too big for him?

Natsu kicked the grass beneath his feet out of sheer frustration. He turned back, "Can't we do this tomorrow, dad? I'm tired! I haven't eaten anything all day!"

What a curious sight it was… a small human child looking up unafraid at the gargantuan thing made of red scales. Two gigantic red wings sprouted from the back of the creature, then came the four muscle-bound legs and arms, as well as the impressively long red tail. The whole mass of the dragon, might've been enough to make up a small mountain in size alone.

Igneel, The Fire Dragon King, had slowly crossed his arms and leaned forward only slightly. Two enormous golden eyes had stared down at the miniscule salmon-haired boy standing before him, clearly unimpressed.

The dragon hadn't even needed to say a word to get his point across.

Natsu pouted and looked away. He continued to take out his anger on the grass and kicked away some of the loose blades with his toes. "Then how many times am I supposed to do this, dad? We've been at this for hours!"

There was an almost metallic drumming sound that emitted from the neck of the great red dragon.  "You stop when I tell you to stop, boy. Now! Hit the stone again!"

"But I can't do anymore today! I've given it all I've got and it still won't break!"

"Stop whining!"  Igneel thundered,  "You haven't nearly given it your all. If you had, then you would've shattered that stone into pieces by now."

"But-"

"Silence!"  The dragon had let out a sharp sigh.  "Raise your hand as high as you can."

Reluctantly, Natsu did so. He raised his hand way up above his head.

What was the point of this, though?

"Higher."

"But I've-"

"Higher, boy!"

Natsu didn't understand what his father was trying to make him do, but nonetheless, he complied with the demand. Somehow, he found it in him to raise his right hand just a few inches higher than before.

"Good. Now raise your hand further. Just a few inches more."

The boy frowned, but did as he was told. Already he'd begun to feel the strain on the muscles in his shoulder. In combination with the drumming leeching lightning bolts that were spreading through his right arm, it was pretty excruciating.

Yet still… Natsu just managed to raise his right hand even higher. With the breaking point of his middle finger acting almost as the spear that would rip through the sky if he were to go any further.

"Excellent. Put your hand down."

Natsu let out a sigh of relief as his muscles stopped screaming. He rubbed his arm again, so as to soothe it. "What was that about, dad?"

The Fire Dragon King had smirked now.  "Did it escape you? That each time you thought you'd went as high as you could go, you still manage to reach higher and higher than before?"

Realization hit him like… well… like a rock. "Woah…"

"Woah, indeed."

"But…" Natsu scratched the back of his head as he continued to think it over. "What's that supposed to mean? How does that help me break the stone?"

"Don't you get it, boy? Every time you thought you'd reached your limit, you managed to surpass it. Each time you thought you were done, you kept going."

Natsu still didn't understand the cause-and-effect application, though. How did this help him break the stone?

Or…

Or did it mean that even though he felt he was done… he really could still keep going?

"So like… when I feel tired and stuff… I shouldn't trust my feelings?"

His father smiled.  "That is a very simplified understanding of it, but not the whole."  Igneel said,  "There is always a time to rest, Natsu. And your feelings are important. Yet listening to and obeying them blindly will only end with you becoming a slave to those who can manipulate your emotions. What you perceive your limits to be, and what they really are, are two completely different things."

That was it? "So I don't have limits?"

"You do have limits, Natsu, just not the ones you might think. So do I. We're all meant to be bound by limitations, in one form or another,"  Igneel leaned in even closer than before, so as to drive the point home.  "You do not have wings like mine, you cannot fly like a dragon can, and so you are bound to the earth. Likewise myself and other dragons will never be able to experience your endless capacity for adaptation and self-growth. When it comes to the things you can do, the only limitations you will have are the ones you impose on yourself. You humans will ALWAYS be able to surpass what you believe yourselves to be capable of. THAT belongs solely to you, son. THAT is your gift. Do you understand?"

Woah.

Natsu looked down. The sheer blistering pain he'd felt lance through his arm earlier seemed to subside, fade away almost.

Maybe he could keep going. Maybe if he hit that stupid rock a few more times… it might actually break!

He looked up at his father now. "I… I think so, dad." He said sheepishly, now scratching the back of his head. "Sorry for whining so much."

It was almost imperceptable how his father's tone had softened,  "You are forgiven, Natsu,"  and then the moment was gone. The Fire Dragon King's voice had hardened again.  "Now… If you wish to eat tonight, then that stone must be split in half before dusk."

Now THAT had gotten Natsu's attention. "What?!" he cried. It was already late in the afternoon. "But dad, that's not fair!"

"Hah! Cry me a river, boy! You can stomach a day without a meal. If you fail, so be it. Failure is only a minor setback. Nothing more. Nothing less. The best and only choice you should make when confronted with it, is to get back up and try again. Now…"  Igneel then flashed an almost psychotic-looking grin as he pointed sharply at the stone again.

"Get. To. Work."

Late October 9th, Fairy Tail

Day 9

Everything was dark.

In the constricting grip of the black void, Natsu felt like he was floating.

Not in the same way that he could propel himself through the air using his magic, but how one might float along in a body of water facing upwards as they drifted along with the current. Allowing a stream to carry them away as they glanced up at the pale blue morning sky.

It might've been lovely, were it not for the slight stinging sensation that shortly began to course throughout his body.

As if a curse suddenly fell upon him, Natsu felt that same prickling feeling that had leeched its way throughout the nerves in his body instantaneously sear his arms and legs.

"Gah!" He gasped sharply, and it was then that light flooded back into his blurry line of vision. Yet-

Yet for some reason as he opened his eyes, he could only see through his right eye…

Why was that? How had he gotten here?

The darkness surrounded him, yet when he looked to his right, he could only feel the cool gaze of a piercing white light. Very quickly the blurriness had faded away, and so had the fog in his mind.

The surrounding room was empty. There were no lights save a small burning candle placed on a bedside table to his right, and the moon that showered through the window next to his bed. He was back in the guild hall. The infirmary. Cream-colored plastered walls and rows of tidy white single beds made that plain enough. And-

"Grrrrrrrgghhh!" Natsu ground his teeth together as he felt yet another jolting pain shock his entire body. For a good few moments he felt every muscle and limb contort and contract violently. A sharp, almost dagger-like throb had pounded over and over and over and over against his forehead. His ears were ringing to an almost unbearable degree, and Natsu could not stop himself from gurgling what little saliva there was in his dry mouth.

…And then, as his body had ceased spasming uncontrollably, Natsu felt himself sink deeper into the soft mattress below. Yellow spots flew in and out of his half-vision. A wave of exhaustion quickly fell over him then. Now he was tired. So very tired…

With the last of his energy, Natsu managed to lift his right arm. Somehow he felt the deadened nerves react to the signals sent from his brain. And with the light afforded to him by the moon, as he raised his arm he could see very plainly the rows upon rows of white linen coiled around it like a long pale snake.

As he moved his arm, he felt the muscles contract again. "Hrgh!" Yet he fought through the pain, bringing it up to where his left eye should have been. His fingernails had raked across fabric as opposed to flesh. Relief, however brief and small it was, had washed over him then.

How was it that everything felt so numb, yet tensed up? Almost like his muscles and limbs and organs were still vibrating and squeezing repeatedly as the seconds passed by. Breathing in wasn't so bad. But breathing out? Each exhale was an unhinged, animalistic wheeze, a sharp knife plunged into his lungs, a stabbing sensation causing him to shake uncontrollably again. And it was then, as he found himself having to mentally prepare each time he breathed out, that his memories had flooded back to him.

Somehow, the hit to his ego was worse than the physical torture he was enduring right now.

Some sparring partner… what a load of crap.

Laxus hadn't even been trying. To him, it was just another day out in the woods. All it had taken was a mere… snap of his fingers.

Natsu glared angrily up at the ceiling and balled his fists as his recollection of his first sparring session played out in his mind. Even though he was still numb, he could feel his fingernails digging into his palms.

Back to square one.

"Hey there Natsu…"

He craned his neck in the direction the sweet, familiar voice. Each inch he turned his head felt as if his muscles were being ground beneath a stone mill like flour.

Recognition. A pale figure stood next to his bed. There was a bright orange light beyond them, by the angular open doorway at the far end of the room. White-blonde hair… and deep blue eyes…

Mira.

"You've had a real number done on you this time, Natsu."

Natsu almost hacked up the dry flem in his throat as he tried to speak. "How did I get here?"

"Oh… Laxus brought you in earlier. Carried you in through the back entrance of the guild actually."

Really now? How kind of him.

"He said that you tried to fight him again… is that right?"

Natsu mentally reminded himself of who he was talking to and looked away, narrowing his eyes again at the innocent ceiling above. "Yeah."

It was more or less the truth. Talking about the mentorship wouldn't do. That was supposed to be private. Moreover, it was believable, since practically everyone else in the guild had seen him try to take on Laxus or Gildarts at one point or another. Natsu swallowed down his pride, and knew it would be best to stick to the story Laxus had foisted upon him.

"Well," Mira continued, "He made me promise not to tell your team about it. Or anyone else for that matter."

Natsu hid his relief. Another pressing need was on his mind. "Water."

"Oh right!" The barmaid quickly circled around his bed and to his bedside table. She poured him a tall glass of water before placing the jug down on the table as well. Mira then took the glass and gingerly placed it against his lips.

It was as if he'd come back to life at that exact moment. The first glass had gone down the hatch, then the second, and the third. As soon as Mira made to pour out the fourth glass, Natsu decided otherwise. Ignoring the jolts and convulsing shocks that leeched throughout his arm, he reached over and snatched the half-full pitcher out Mira's hands. And in just a few large, almost inhuman gulps had he guzzled down nearly two liters of water in one sitting.

When he'd set the pitcher back on his bedside table, he felt his blood flow more vibrantly than before. The sharp electrocuting pains all over his body had dulled, and his sight had cleared. Feeling returned to his limbs.

"Better now?"

"Yeah," Natsu nodded. "A lot better."

She gave him yet another of her motherly smiles. "Well, I'll go ahead and get you some more before I lock up. You can stay here the night, too."

"Thanks Mira."

The barmaid had beamed. "Not a problem!" Mira said as she took the pitcher and walked around the edges of his bed again. She stopped just a few feet towards the entrance to the infirmary. "There's a few things to clean up in the kitchen so I'll be a few minutes, alright?

Natsu nodded again and watched her go. The door closed softly behind her, and then Natsu was all on his own again.

Well enough that he was.

Regardless… he had more important demons to conquer.

It was the next day, and Natsu Dragneel found himself sitting inside of a tree.

Literally.

Wrinkly cold fingers had brushed against the charred skin on his backside, rubbing down his right shoulder blade with a foul-smelling sticky greenish paste that seemed to sting his skin even more than being electrocuted. The whole time, Natsu had forced back a growl. He instead ground his teeth together so that-

Crack!

A firm white palm had lanced outwards and snapped him over the crown of his skull, almost as fast as an actual lightning bolt.

Natsu didn't even bother holding back his glare. He looked over his shoulder and set eyes on the frail, pink-haired lady standing behind him. A flowing crimson cloak hung from her narrow shoulders, and adorning her heart-shaped face was an everpresent scowl.

"What was that for?!"

The old woman didn't even bother meeting his eyes. "Stop moving so much, or you'll be leaving here earlier than anticipated."

The Dragon Slayer growled and looked forward, opting to make himself busy by doing yet another survey of his immediate surroundings.

It was a rather atypical practice to instead turn a tree into a house, as opposed to cutting down a tree in order to build a house with the wood from it. Yet, Natsu could not deny the strange setting he'd found himself in. The tree itself was only housing a single room. There was only a single bed, along with a few shelves with fresh clothes, a table, a rocking chair, and a kitchen set. Additionally, there was a tall cabinet containing various other… medical-based supplies. The place itself wasn't all that large, though it was certainly tall.

It was a whole load of weirdness. More weird than Lucy's obsession with books.

Gramps was sitting in front of him on the arm chair. Very gently, the seat swayed back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. The old man was completely and totally relaxed. Natsu wouldn't have been surprised if the old man was sleeping.

Figures.

The skin on his exposed back had pulsed again with yet another round of scalding pain. Natsu winced, though not without a sneer. What was the bloody point of doing it all at a snail's pace? It was practically the same as tearing off a band-aid slowly.

And it was almost as if Porlyusica was deliberately trying to cause him as much pain as possible.

The gooey-greenish sludge had almost completely covered both his arms, as well as the scars and burns all over his chest and neck, and now half of his back. The other half was coming up next, as Porlyusica had moved carefully onto his left side.

"Hmmmm… ah…" Makarov had finally groused awake. "Still at it, eh?" He asked as he rubbed at his eyes, and glanced up at the clock hanging above the large ornately carved wooden door. "Was hoping you'd be able to wrap this up before lunch! Haven't had anything to eat all day, you know."

"You should take your leave then. I'd be happy to see the back of you."

If the old man had been bothered by the biting retort, he didn't show it. Gramps simply looked at Natsu and shrugged, almost as if to wordlessly say, 'Women, am I right?'

Natsu couldn't help himself. "Is she always this cranky? Or-"

Crrck!

The sharp pounding in his skull had begun all over again. Was this how people got brain damaged?

But, of course, Gramps hadn't appeared to have notice. He continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. "Hah! She's been like this ever since we were kids! Can't say I remember a time where she wasn't grumpy and…"

The hand rubbing the healing balm along Natsu's back had stopped suddenly. Even though he couldn't see her, it was fairly obvious that the old woman standing close behind him was now glaring openly at Makarov.

Makarov had grinned. "Short-tempered, I mean. After all, it is often the most beautiful of women who are the most… err… tempestuous."

There was another pause. More tension filled the entire space in the mishaped cabin. Natsu wished, not for the first time since he entered the place, that he wasn't there.

And then-

"Hmph!" An… oddly satisfied-sounding huff came from behind him. Then, as if by magic, the hand had continued its course down Natsu's backside.

At the very least, this treatment had given him time.

It's just a setback, nothing more.

How should he go about this? What should he do the next time he faced down Laxus? Yeah, he was hurting all over as if he'd been hit by a train, but Natsu knew that if he could still walk and move around, then he was just fine.

Winning fights were always about getting into your opponents' head. Making them think. Getting them to slip up and make a mistake. Controlling the space between you and them. Natsu always prided himself on his ability to get up close and personal. It was how Igneel had taught him after all. His father loved to fight.

Yet against someone who was clearly faster than him, as Laxus was?

It was difficult enough dealing with the pain of his current setback. Natsu realized now in retrospect that this was a bad matchup. Laxus had every advantage on him and Natsu had nothing. Speed, durability, skill, raw power. Laxus probably had loads of it and more.

Hand-to-hand, at least initially, wouldn't do the trick.

Laxus had seen what he was going to do last time, right? Knew that Natsu was going to get up close. And then he'd turned into a lightning bolt and gotten out of the way. So-

Find out where he's going to land… before he lands?

Natsu frowned on his throne of reflection. How do you track where a lightning bolt will land?

Maybe… maybe it would be simpler if he forced Laxus to move.

Yeah… yeah! The pieces of a plan begun to snap together in his mind. The Lightning Mage clearly wasn't ready to throw down right away. Not at all like Gildarts, who for all intents and purposes, probably would've just stood there waiting to blow off an attack like the one Natsu had tried on Laxus.

If he made Laxus give ground naturally with one of his spells beforehand… and THEN closed the distance just before the blond bastard had landed…

That might actually work. At the very least, it would help him get a hit in.

Still… since Laxus was faster, it would be really hard to know where exactly he would go. Moreover, there was also a good chance that Laxus would just dodge his follow-up attack as well. A lot of variables outside of his control here.

Natsu bit his tongue. He'd just have to go with it. Uncertainty be damned.

It was at that moment that Porlyusica had pulled away from his back. She quickly wiped her hands with a towel on the table next to her, and retrieved something else from behind him. Not a moment later, Natsu had looked over his shoulder to see her unrolling a thick bundle of white linen.

She peeled off a long strip of cloth from the roll and glared down at him. "Hold up your arms."

Natsu did as he was told, even though he could feel the damaged nerves underneath his forearms and shoulders scream as he did so.

It took the old woman only a few minutes to deftly and expertly bandage him up. First his arms and shoulders, and then finally his upper torso and his neck.

Finally, Porlyusica had stepped away to the washbasin next to her bed, almost as if she were waiting to do so the whole time. "Rest for the next four days and the burns should heal quickly. Stay away from any overly-strenuous activity involving lifting or running or swimming. Especially do not look for work."

Natsu nodded, and stood up. He stretched and was satisfied upon feeling the compression of the tightly wound linen all over his arms and chest. "Any other recommendations?"

"Yes! Get out of my home!" The old woman sneered back at him. She then directed her glare at Makarov. "And you!"

"Me? What did I do this time?"

"You interrupted my knitting! The next time you consider bringing yet another of your brats here, it would be in the best interest of your personal health to notify me in advance!"

"If I let you know sooner, I'm sure you would've found some strategic reason to not be here," Gramps had held up his hands in an almost placating fashion, probably to prevent the bomb from going off. Thankfully, the old man had already made his way over to Natsu, and gently prodded him towards the door. "Regardless, I believe you did a wonderful job patching up Natsu here. I should think that he'll heal much faster now. I know I did when I was his age."

Porlyusica growled, but she didn't even bother denying the old man's compliment, nor his prior comment. "Not if he comes back in here day after day covered in lightning burns."

Natsu, however, was already part-way out the door, with Makarov close behind him. Gramps had waved back to Porlyusica, "Whatever you say, dearest."

Only an angry huff could be heard before the door clicked shut behind them. BAM!

The thunderclap of door snapping against frame had immediately ceased. And soon he was met with a slightly cool autumn breeze, and the chirping of birds in nearby trees. Not to mention the various scuttling and shuffling of the squirrels, deer, and other critters that called the forest their home. Natsu heard everything.

The sight overlooking the mass of the southern orchard beyond Magnolia Town was mesmerizing, and it was exactly what he'd seen as soon as he left the overgrown tree the crankly lady had made her nest. Natsu walked up to the edge of the steep hill and looked out over the tops of trees and meadows, out at the fertile land full of green and orange and red and brown. In a way, it had provided a smaller good moment in an otherwise shitty day.

Gramps had walked up beside him and let out a sharp yawn. "Ah… she seemed to be in a particularly good mood today."

Natsu glanced sharply at the old man. "That was her good mood?"

"Well… yes. In her own spirited sort of way."

"She smacked me over the head. Twice."

"Bah! You turned out fine. Almost as good as new."

"You enjoy watching us all suffer, don't you?"

"Natsu… Nothing brings me greater pleasure."

Yeah. Figures. Natsu reminded himself to cause as much destruction and mayhem as possible when out on his next job. That way the property damage bill sent back to the guild would reach an all time high.

Makarov coughed loudly then, as if to change the subject. He turned towards the path leading down into the meadows and back towards Magnolia. Natsu caught up with him and walked beside him.

"So. How was your first sparring session with Laxus?" The old man asked in earnest.

"Peachy. We're practically best friends."

"Really now? I bet you two have one of those 'secret handshakes' don't you? I hear it's popular with the cool kids these days."

The blow to his ego dished out by Laxus somehow stung even more as Makarov had handily deflected his scathing remark. "How do you think it went? He knocked me out cold just by wiggling his fingers."

"Well, I heard it was more like a snap-"

Natsu glared at the old man.

Makarov threw up his hands in mock surrender and smiled. "No matter. Regardless, I think you're making good progress so far."

Making good progress… yeah right.

Natsu sincerely began to doubt whether or not all of the old man's faculties were in order. After a turnout like yesterday, Natsu knew that he was severely outmatched. Plain and simple.

Laxus was too fast. Only a single spell had been needed to make sure Natsu was extra deep-fried. And to rub salt in the wound, Laxus hadn't even been trying. The distinct lack of care had only added to that. And the chances that he'd actually gone ahead and told Gramps that Natsu had done well?

The kiddy-glove treatment was too much for him now. It burned more than anything. He wanted to break free from it, to totally let loose and destroy this forest with his bare hands, to bring everything down in flames!

And yet… and yet…

Would that even fix the problem? The hot lead that now sat in his stomach, the desire put that blond bastard out on his ass?

No.

Complaining about it or taking out his anger on the forest, on the animals, on the people… simply wouldn't do it.

Natsu refused to feel sorry for himself. Ever. So this… this was something he'd just have to take.

"Just a setback." The Son of Igneel managed to force calm into his voice as he said it. "That's all it is. Nothing I can't overcome."

Makarov had glanced up at him again. When Natsu met the old man's eyes, he saw… respect within those small black marbles. And then there was a nod, paired with an amused chuckle.

"That's exactly what I was thinking, Natsu."

Chapter Text

October 10th, Magnolia Town

Day 10

Erza Scarlet felt like she was a kid who'd been locked in a tool shed.

"Ooooh! Look at this one, Erza!" Mira had practically glided past her towards the long oaken shelf containing rows upon rows of various types of acoustic guitars. "See this?"

The Knight tugged gently at her woolen sweater and set eyes on the sleek, yet slightly smaller instrument which Mira nicked off the section of wall containing similarly shaped instruments. It was guitar-shaped, yet was clearly too small to actually be a guitar. Unlike Mira's guitar which had six strings, this one seemed to have four rows of strings, with two adorning each course.

Erza had seen it before. She recalled a distant, yet distinct memory of a musical band hailing from Caellum. The band itself had been playing in the streets of Crocus around the same time she'd visited the city to speak with a client for an S-Class Request.

"It's a gittern!" Mira said with sparkling eyes, clearly overexcited as she held it up to Erza. "Well? What do you think? Does it call to you?"

"Not really, no."

"Hmm…" The barmaid had given a brief frown before placing the instrument back on the rack. "We'll keep looking then. I'm sure there's something in here that'll catch your eye."

Erza was not as optimistic. She'd been skeptical of their second girl's trip into town, mostly because she still wasn't entirely sure she'd immediately click with a musical instrument of all things. Yet she'd accepted Mira's invitation, and was determined at the very least to make sure the blonde was satisfied.

And so, the red-head had the decency to awkwardly follow Mira around the admittedly quaint music store.

It was by all means a professional establishment. The cozy soft-shaded lighting, along with the cream-colored walls and wooden mahogany flooring had all come together to make a comfortable atmosphere that was pleasing both to the eye and to the mind. Paired up with the seemingly endless rows and sections of various instruments, accessories, booklets, and so on… Erza was sure that the owner of this place knew exactly what they were doing. Competence was key.

Despite Mira's assurances, Erza had simply nodded along and moved on down the aisle, going by the section allotted for guitars and any other variants. It was more aimless wandering, but Erza really didn't have a clue what to do in here. She was, for all intents and purposes, out of her depth.

She came upon the woodwinds section and continued to make an attempt at being interested. The wall to her immediate right showcased a large collection of clarinets, bassoons, and saxophones. Then there were flutes and oboes, even a few bagpipes were out on display.

Mira seemed to have followed her. The blonde was idly looking at the vast selection as well, though she was clearly far more animated. She even started inspecting one of the yellow brass saxophones.

What am I even doing here? The lone question seemed to be rooted in Erza's head. Shouldn't she be out somewhere with her team? On a job maybe?

Then again, they hadn't spoken about taking up any jobs lately. Gray seemed to be spending more and more time with Juvia, while Lucy had been more focused on writing and decorating her apartment. Happy also was somewhere in the mix. And Natsu had gone AWOL more or less.

She didn't mind it. Erza was fine being on her own. But she liked being with her team more.

"So…" Mira suddenly piped up, bringing Erza back to the present. "What's up with you and Natsu?"

What? Erza had felt a slight chill enter her veins then. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well… I did see you two yesterday. Laughing and flirting and having a good time together. Y'know… couple stuff."

"We-" The Knight then suddenly felt blood rush to her face. "F-flirting?"

"Mmhmm!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mira. Natsu and I were just… catching up. Not to mention we're both part of a team. It's expected that we're able to get along."

Mira had finally looked at her with that trademarked sinister grin of hers. And Erza suddenly felt like she'd fallen right into an ambush.

Oh no…

It was then that the barmaid had crossed her arms, mimicking Erza's current pose. With a hand, she flicked her hair back and smiled. "Hahaha! Oh my gosh Natsu, you are so funny!" She said in a sing-song sort of voice.

Erza caught on. She frowned, "That's not what I said."

"Well that's what I heard. Are you really that ticklish? Or are you only like that for Natsu when you two are alone?"

This is ridiculous. Erza huffed and sharply turned away from the blonde. The drums in the percussion section across the store were beginning to look far more interesting. And not because she actually wanted to play them.

Much to her growing frustration however, Mira had followed her. "Come on, Erza!" She said as she wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's natural. Haven't you ever had a crush before?"

"I-I… don't like Natsu in that way, Mira."

"Please. I heard everything… when he left early, you totally wanted him to stick around and keep talking to you."

She did want Natsu to stay. "No I didn't!"

Erza immediately realized her mistake, and cursed herself for it. To Mira, an outburst was as good as an admission. Get it together, Scarlet! Now!

Those deep blue eyes, which usually were filled with a motherly sort of kindness, were now filled with an ominous light. "Oh really now…"

"Stop it, Mira."

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are! I thought Natsu and Lucy might be a thing later down the line, but-"

"Just. Stop."

"-now he's got this whole suave mountain man thing going on and you're just laughing and blushing and eating it all up-"

"One more word and I swear…"

"-and what's the whole Tickle Monster thing about? Ohhhh, were you two sharing a room at the resort and-"

"Shut up Mira!"

Her blow-up had had the intended effect. Mira took a sharp step back. held up her hands in reluctant surrender. However, the other customers whom had been quietly roaming the store naturally glanced over in Erza's direction. She could feel about ten pairs of eyes all focused on her as if she were a freak.

"Fine, fine…" Mira said evenly. The barmaid couldn't help but wear a compressed, but rather eager smile. She came closer. "If a cute guy did all that for me, I'd like him too ."

The Knight huffed again before moving away again. She continued along the extended racks and shelves containing clarinets and saxophones. There were various booklets containing printed music beneath them, as well as polishing cloths and mouthpiece brushes. Without even thinking, Erza picked up one of the clarinet books and began to flip through it.

Still… she couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to the demon's words… and to her conversation with Natsu yesterday.

Were it anything else, Erza would've simply ignored Mira's poking and prodding. She'd gotten used to it when they were kids, back when Mira was absolutely intolerable. But Erza couldn't contain her annoyance at the blonde today.

Of what she'd read about in her… romance novels… the language those books used were always so vibrant and colorful when it came to depicting love. The two protagonists destined to fall in love were almost immediately infatuated with one another after only a single meeting. From what Erza had seen of legitimate romance, like that of Anja and Frederik, it didn't seem to be all that… cheesy.

Had she ever had a crush before? Perhaps. When she was little, she might've felt something similar with Jellal.

Yet what would a child know of the love and intimacy between a man and a woman? Even then, whatever admiration she felt for Jellal had quickly given way to fear and guilt after he'd been possessed. And everything had gone downhill from there.

Yet this… this was different. Natsu was different.

No matter how much she tried to think of him as the mischievous boy from her childhood… she still could not erase the image of him eating the Etherion for her, choking down every last chunk of magical sludge as he roared and commanded the raw and seemingly limitless power of the Dragon… and then later to him standing victorious over the broken husk that had been Jellal…

…and then… she'd woken up in his arms on the beach. His, admittedly, muscular, dense biceps and thick forearms wrapped around her legs and her waist…

"I'm really happy to see you again."

In spite of her prior denial, she really did feel a sudden heat flow into her cheeks and her neck, all because of the clash of memories that were now melding together in her head. She couldn't help but wear a beaming smile.

She stood there for a few moments, just stewing in her daydream. And then, she suddenly remembered where she was and what she was doing.

Erza shook her head. That damned demon was working her evil magic again, her capability for instilling fiendishly portentous words into one's brain. Erza almost wondered if the punk-goth girl from her youth was still there deep down, carefully hiding behind some sort of fabricated gentle persona…

Yes, that must've been it. Mirajane Strauss was still at large, and still a great threat to society. Still the everwaking nightmare that she had been when they were kids. She was simply using another method of attack these days, one meant to confuse and squeeze her victims from the inside out. And it was up to Erza to stop her once and for all. Mira's allegations were simply that. Allegations. Baseless claims. Groundless. Unsubstantiated. Speculation at most. Mira was probably also getting stir-crazy. After all, she'd been cooped up in the guild for so long. She was starting to hear things, see things that weren't there. Was it possible for young people to be prematurely senile?

All that there was left to do was to prove her wrong. That was easy. The next time she saw Natsu, she would be cordial, but nothing more. Simply polite as they usually were together. Friendly. And Erza would make sure that Mira was in the same room as well, all so that stupid demon could see just how friendly they were.

"That would show her," Erza said quietly to herself. The reasoning was iron-clad, and it was now a shield against the suggestions leftover from the barmaid-demon hybrid that accompanied her now.

She'd now moved onto the section containing the brass instruments. A long line of vertically hanging trumpets were at the top, while below them there was a row of trombones. She didn't bother reading the price tags, since she knew she could more than cover the cost with her savings.

Erza briefly rested her hand on one. Something about the polished, yellowish copper gleam had… put something off in her. Even if the bell tube had felt smooth to the touch.

She inched away from it and turned away, looking over the entirety of the shop itself.

If she, in another life, had played an instrument… then what would it be? And why?

Erza's mind then set to work.

She deeply appreciated the more sophisticated aspects of society and life. She greatly enjoyed her morning tea, her sunroom, and preferred to eat in a far more dignified manner compared with her teammates, much less the rest of the guild. It was proper after all, and Erza would never dream of lowering her own standards for herself.

So… perhaps her choice would reflect that?

She stopped. And for a few moments, she flipped the fresh idea up and down and over in her head. And as if by chance, the sounds of classical music suddenly poured in through the store.

That was it. That was what she was here for.

The clarinets, and the flutes, and the saxophones didn't appeal to her. None of them 'spoke' to her in the way that Mira described. Neither did any of the trumpets or the brass tubas stood out to her. They just weren't… interesting.

Erza pursed her lips. The pianos were fine enough, and she had seen them be played before. But again, she didn't really take to it.

And then she'd found herself looking back towards the string section once more. She'd only really paused to look at the guitars and such, but only really because of Mira's preference towards them. Yet even now-

What was that?

She was surprised that she hadn't seen it before, but then again, it seemed it had been hidden behind the rows of tamburas and harps. It was in the string section after all. But now… now it stood out to her like a rampaging bull at a dinner party. But… in a good way.

The maple brown body of the violin was so elegantly shaped. It was similar to Mira's guitar in that sense, but obviously not in the exact same way. Even now she could see the coursing tiger strips along the backside of the instrument.

She grinned. So that was what she was here for.

It was simply perfect.

"-and as fundamental as the sciences are to one's education, it is the fool who takes them at face value.

In a world of infinite limitations, the purpose of any scientific theory first and foremost is to provide us with explanations of our own observations, along with reliable predictions.

Keep in mind that we still do not rightly understand the ultimate cause of phenomena such as magic, nor who or what created it in the first place. As you begin to delve further and further down the rabbit hole of hypotheses and theories, you will eventually find a vast number of questions posed by the scientific community which have yet to be answered. In this sense, science is not an end point. It is a process.

And this is precisely why you should take a similar approach with your magic.

Consider this:

Far too many wizards rely on books or a simple catalogue of spells taught to them by their mentors. This alone defies Man's true nature, and is an insult to the magical community.

Man has been put on this earth to prove himself. He is born with nothing to his name, and is limited in an infinite number of ways. His only possession is raw potential.

In order to achieve that potential, however, he must be willing to fail. And so should you.

This is the process of spellcraft and mastery. Experimentation. Constantly testing new ideas. Constructing alternative ways or solutions that your magic can be used, and then immediately putting them into practice.

I will not lie to you, the process of creating your own spells and attaining mastery over your magic will be far more difficult. You will fail. You will fail far too many times to count. However, so long as you keep going, you will gradually begin to see progress. The power and payoff alone will be overwhelming. Not only will you become more flexible with your magic, but also far more connected to it, yielding you greater and greater power.

Your connection with your magic is what fuels it, what makes it so potent. Magic is more than a tool. It is a part of you. Something to be nurtured.

Keep this in mind as we move forward, my dear reader.

In the next chapter, we will go over the process of creating your own spells. While it is not impossible, it will be quite taxing on both yourself and your abilities.

Do not give in to the pressure. The majority do. But the bold few push forward."

Once more, Natsu flipped over to the next page, folded the top left corner, and then closed the book, carelessly tossing it onto his coffee table.

"Honestly…" Happy had flown over to him then. The cat had landed on the left arm of the sofa, with a fresh trout in his hands. "I think this place looks waaaaaaaaaaay better when it's all cleaned up. Nice and tidy!"

Happy had had a fit upon seeing just how neat and sorted everything had been once he'd gotten home from Lucy's place. At first he'd thought that Natsu had thrown away all of his toys, and even after finding out they'd just been stored in the chest underneath the hammock, he'd still groaned that they weren't as easily accessible as before.

Yet, just as always, Happy had slowly gotten used to it. Even if Natsu had to remind him a few times to not leave dirty plates on the coffee table after dinner anymore.

"Yeah," Natsu said, still half-thinking on what the text in the book was implying. "So do I, buddy."

His best friend nodded and happily started munching on the trout.

Admittedly, Natsu was partially exhausted at having to learn all these new concepts and ideas presented by the book. Natsu wasn't unfamiliar with the idea of testing, nor with the knowledge that he'd likely fail a lot on his way up. That was fine. Setbacks were necessary.

It's just… why couldn't everything be so simple? Why did he now need to get all sciency and nerdy just so he could protect his friends and family? It just didn't add up.

And what did that last bit supposed to mean? Nurture his magic? How was he meant to do that?

He ran a hand down his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. All this musing was making him hungry.

"...what's wrong, Natsu? Didn't you see the medicine lady or something?"

"A grumpy old bat, more like."

"Okay, so she was a grumpy old medicine lady. So what?"

Natsu shook his head and glanced at his friend. "Nothing's wrong, buddy. Just… figuring a few things out." He said as he let himself sink deeper into the sofa. Probably best to change the subject, otherwise Happy wouldn't stop asking him about it. "What did you get up to with Lucy?"

Sure enough. "I can't stay there anymore, Natsu. She keeps throwing things at me and yelling at me. She gets mad at me for no reason. I mean… sure I might've eaten some of her scones the other day… and I might've also torn a hole in her armchair… and maybe kinda clogged the drain in her sink which then led to it overflowing… but none of that means she should be throwing chairs at me!"

"I'm sure she's not that bad."

"She keeps her toilet paper facing the wall, Natsu! Even when I'm not there!"

Natsu shook his head, this time with a smile. Leave it to Happy to exaggerate. Natsu liked breaking into Lucy's house just as much as the next guy (because it was ridiculously easy to get her riled up), never once had he'd been bothered by her the same way Happy was. Then again he only really stayed around for one or two hours at most, and never stayed there for days at a time like Happy would. Still, it probably wasn't as bad as Happy was making it out to be.

Probably.

Not that this was something he was wholly concerned about right now.

Natsu quickly circled back to that last page. Gramps had given him the book for a reason, right? So he might as well find a way to make use of it.

And with that next chapter supposedly going over spellcraft… it might just come sooner rather than later.

He was shortly brought back to the present by a now angry Happy, who had outright thrown his half-eaten trout against the cushion. Meanwhile, the cat started pacing around it. "And don't get me started on that thing with the waffle maker. It wasn't my fault that it melted!"

"Woah, buddy. It's alright, I believe you." The Dragon Slayer was starting to regret the direction he'd taken the conversation in. He glanced at the clock hanging above the cabinet. It was almost time to get going.

Natsu stood up. "You're gonna have to bury the hatchet with her, Happy. She's on our team you know."

"Yeah… but why does she have to be so annoying?"

"Lucy's weird, but she's also nice. You just have a unique talent for pissing her off."

"But-"

Natsu raised his hand sharply. Happy shut himself up quickly.

"Whatever it is," The Dragon Slayer said sternly, "I want you to go and apologize to her. Can you do that?"

Happy looked down and kicked at the trout, giving it a small thump. Very much like a scolded child. "Yeah, I guess…"

"Good. Now, I've got to head out. I'll probably be gone for the evening."

His best friend looked up at him now with a frown. "Where you going?"

Natsu didn't skip a beat. He made his way over to the front of the house. "Errand. Don't forget to lock the door this time. Later, buddy."

"Alright. Bye Natsu."

Natsu easily pushed open the door and shut it firmly behind him.

An hour later, he found himself wandering down the same beaten path that led him to the quarry yesterday.

He'd made his way through the southern orchard, passing by the railway tracks which lead further South to Hargeon.

From there, it hadn't taken him long to find the trail leading down to the old mining quarry. And as soon as he'd sniffed out the trademark scent of cigar smoke, Natsu knew the blond bastard was down there waiting for him.

Natsu couldn't help but flex his fingers so as to get ready for what would come next. He was still covered head-to-toe in bandages, but that didn't change anything. Even as banged up as he was now, Natsu was determined to actually stick it out a lot longer than he had last time.

As much as he disliked Porlyusica, she was damn good at what she did, and Natsu could respect that. Where he'd felt like he'd been punctured by dozens of knives all over his body last night, now he only felt a slight tingling sensation matched with the occasional flaring pain. But nothing more.

Likely won't be the last time I'll be seeing her though.

It was more of a prediction than an assumption. Even if Laxus was a jerk, he was still leagues ahead of him. Natsu knew he was probably going to lose this next match. No, he definitely was.

All the more reason to, at the very least, clock Laxus right in the face before he hit the dirt.

"Let's do this." He said to himself, almost like it was a prayer.

The canvas of trees had quickly opened up into the familiar cavernous ravine. Natsu stopped on the steep slope leading down to the floor of the quarry, taking his time in looking around.

The old wooden mining shacks still lay dilapidated, worn, and aged from lack of maintenance. There were likely loads of cobwebs and old mining equipment within them. And dust, too. Then there was the actual mine itself, the entrance laying beyond the mouth of the ravine and into the side of the deep cliff. Even from half a mile away, Natsu could see that it was boarded off with nine wooden panels and a sign that read, 'Keep Out!'

Whatever. It wasn't the mine that was his mine priority right now.

His main target was sitting at the same mining shack nearest to the entrance of the mine itself.

Natsu almost growled as he set eyes on Laxus.

He was wearing a tan-brown fur-lined jacket today. Still wore the headphones, but Natsu couldn't hear any music playing out of them. What's the point of those things?

The pompous bastard was also reading a book.

The Dragon Slayer swallowed down his pride and began marching down the long hill. Even as he approached, Laxus still hadn't even so much as glanced up at him. Could've set me up with someone who at least cares a little bit, Gramps.

Too true. If Laxus actually didn't want to be there, he was definitely selling it. Was it really that hard to somehow contact Gildarts? Get him to head back to Magnolia for a few months so Natsu could ditch Laxus and spar with the old man?

Why was Natsu stuck with this jackass? What was so special about him that Gramps decided to pair them up together?

Natsu felt his sandaled feet scrape against the dry stone floor of the ravine. He remembered what he was supposed to do. Stick to the plan. Make him move first, then close the distance.

He was about fifty or so meters away from Laxus when he stopped.

The blond still hadn't glanced up from his book, seemingly fully enraptured in whatever he was reading.

"Came back for more, then." It wasn't even a question.

Natsu didn't bother to say anything back. Just mental preparation to take yet another lightning bolt.

Those small gray eyes looked up from the rows of text they'd been reading, and landed curiously on him. Laxus seemed to be studying him now.

"Shouldn't you be recovering?"

"Probably."

"And you still chose to come back?"

Had there been a brief twinkle of respect in the older man's eyes? Natsu swore he saw something there. Whatever. The moment was gone. "Yeah."

Thwap! The older man's right hand had snapped the book shut. Laxus pocketed it and rose slowly to his feet.

"Alright then," The blond said evenly. "Ready whenever you are."

And that was that.

On any other day, Natsu might've rushed him head on. It was a valid strategy, and one that has worked for him before. But Laxus was faster than him. A slight tweak in his approach should work.

Stick to the plan. Make him move. Track where he's going. Close the distance.

Easier said that done, but doable. Laxus was probably expecting him to dive in with his fists ablazing. Natsu would have to fake him out.

Natsu didn't hesitate in unleashing his magical aura, coating his arms and legs with fire. He dug his feet into the stone floor of the quarry before sharply kicking his feet off the ground, and making a b-line for the lone blond standing casually just fifty feet ahead of him.

He went ahead and raised his arms as if to strike, so as to further sell the deception.

Not even a second later had he reached the halfway point between him and Laxus, and the blond hadn't even bothered to move, had Natsu put his plan into action.

Quickly, Natsu had puffed out his chest and inhaled his magical aura, and then-

FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!

Within a split second he'd let loose the great vortex of yellow and red flames from his mouth. The colossal firestorm had lanced forth, consuming anything and everything in its path and were he anyone else, it would've engulfed his entire vision.

Not even a second later, Natsu watched vigilantly as one jagged golden bolt had shot upwards and out of the way of the roar, traveling to his immediate right and arcing downwards just a few yards away.

Got you!

Natsu kicked his feet towards the right, focusing his flames into both his feet and into his right fist. At the same time, the ensuing explosion of stone and rubble from his roar came as well. BOOM! He kept going though, and jetted over to the careening lightning bolt like a meteor, and as Laxus began to materialize-

FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!

And that was when it all went tits up.

His closed fist pass through solid air as Laxus deftly sidestepped to the left. And too soon, had the Lightning Wizard quickly countered with a scarring left hook.

Natsu's head was blown back from the force of the blow alone, and somehow he managed to keep himself rooted to the ground. The delayed pain had reverberated in his skull, more than enough to make him nauseated. He'd ignored the hundreds of yellow-black spots swimming around him, and swung his fist at Laxus again.

Again, his knuckles had only kissed the air. Laxus dodged it and stepped back, his legs been coated in crackling golden-white sparks.

It was too late. Natsu felt his feet leave the ground as an intense pressure exploded in the center of his chest, his whole body jolting in agony, "ARRRRRRRRGGHH!"

He roared out in pain as he was launched backwards by Laxus' kick. He managed to land on his feet, and felt his sandals grind and shred against the rough stone floor below. When he finally came to a stop, he nearly fell to the ground, managing to keep himself posted up with his arms and knees.

The force of the kick hadn't even been the worst of it though. Once again, his body lurched and squeezed, sparks dancing all over his arms and chest. Natsu forced himself to exhale as his lungs seemed to have stopped working. As he hyperventilated, he sharply glanced up to see Laxus standing across from him, now waiting patiently with his arms crossed.

"What do you know? Solid maneuver, Natsu. Maybe there's something going on in that head of yours after all."

Natsu felt the nerves in his arms and legs tremble and wobble. It took everything to stand back up, but he managed it. "Shut up."

"Hey, at least we can say that you're doing better than last time. Right?"

He chewed down his anger and spat out a clot of blood and saliva.

So heavier strikes wouldn't do after getting close. If Laxus' first instinct was to dodge and then counter…

Then hit him before he counters.

Hit fast. Roll with the blows. Keep him moving. If Natsu could track where Laxus was going, then he knew he could hit him. If Laxus had to slow down even minutely just to counter, that was all Natsu needed to get an opening.

Go time.

Natsu leapt forward and lanced across the quarry in the blink of an eye.

This time however, Laxus hadn't bothered morphing into a lightning bolt to move out of the way. Natsu didn't care, he just went for it.

FIRE DRAG-

Natsu felt a large fist firmly plant itself in his gut.

Instead of bolting away like before, Laxus had actually lunged at him.

The world had begun to spin like a whirlwind. Whatever air he'd had left in his lungs had been snapped away. He'd been launched backwards again, skittering along the rocky floor of the ravine until he finally came to a halt scarcely ten feet away from his foe.

It took gargantuan effort to simply rise to his hands knees. His muscles and nerves twitched and shuddered. Desperately he tried to breathe in and out, in and out, in and out. Those black and yellow spots seemed to dance and bloom into flowers. Slowly, irritatingly, Natsu shook and struggled, managing to push himself off the ground.

Laxus was still standing there across the quarry from him. There wasn't a smirk this time. Just an analytical, almost curious expression. As if the older man waiting to see what he'd do next. Cold.

Cold. That's all he felt right about now.

Natsu shook his left leg free, posting himself up onto his foot and reached a hand down to control his ascent.

His hand went to meet the cold stone, missed it, with the rest of his body diving after it, down towards the ground.

Down, down, down…

Chapter Text

October 11th, Fairy Tail

Day 11

Only a handful of hours had passed since the guild opened for the day…

…and already Laxus was annoyed.

BOOM!

A storm of flying splinters and wooden shards had exploded out from somewhere on the first floor below him. Someone had thrown one of the benches, missed their target, and watched on as it shattered against one of the structural pillars in the main hall.

He rolled his eyes and sipped at his coffee. Yet another of the 'world-famous' Fairy Tail guild brawls was playing itself out downstairs.

"Have those fools no care for their surroundings?"

The riled comment had come from the opposite side of the table. Despite being mildly vexed at having to be in the guild as well, Freed hadn't so much as glanced up from his work. A gleaming blade of white-steel lay before him, along with a glass bottle of oil off to the side. In Freed's right hand was a sheet of sandpaper.

Laxus didn't bother answering the off-handed remark. He didn't need to either.

He had already begun to regret his promise to his grandfather nearly two weeks ago. Knowing that the guild was on a decline was bad enough, but coming into the guild and seeing what it was becoming in real time...

Now that was just painful.

Laxus had a job to do. Had a purpose in being here at this time. It wasn't his idea to report in after every sparring session he'd done with Natsu so far, but it was part of his obligation to do so. Grandpa would want to know how things were going. And as Laxus didn't give his report yesterday, he needed to meet with the old man today.

Unfortunately, he'd arrived at the guild just after a representative from the reformed Magic Council arrived. And so he ended up here, waiting for that particular meeting to be over and done with.

It hadn't turned out to be all that bad. He'd notified his team that he'd be in Magnolia for a week or two, particularly around the guild, and they'd shown up shortly after just to keep him company and make his time here tolerable.

Next to him, Bickslow had snickered. "Why would they? It's not like they've got anything better to do."

"At the very least, they could not cause a racket," Freed muttered as he wiped down his rapier with a sheet of sandpaper. "Many people here could stand to be more professional. And more dignified in their manner."

Too true.

"Yes, yes," Evergreen chimed in from his side. She had been holding up a silver handheld mirror and fixing her hair in her reflection. She'd probably only been half-listening to Freed. "I do look rather dignified, don't I? A sort of majestic glow, I should think."

Freed and Bickslow both shared a knowing look. The latter had shrugged, going back to painting a face on one of his dolls.

The former, however, had slowly glanced over at his friend. "You are aware that I was not talking about you… right?"

"Hmmm? Oh no, I've had enough tea, thank you. I'll pass."

Freed sighed and got back to his work.

It was usually like this while they'd been out on jobs. Despite their differing personalities and opinions, the three of them really did work well together. Laxus never joined in on their bickering, but it was occasionally fun to tease each of them.

Laxus had been idly listening along… all the while regularly looking at the door to his grandfather's office. Waiting for it to open. Even with all the noise coming from the first floor, he could still hear the dull pace of the conversation Grandpa and the representative were having.

He rolled his eyes and found himself looking out towards the floor below.

The unidentifiable mass of closed fists, stools, benches, and flailing legs was the most immediate sight. Curiously enough, the chaos had stayed away from the bar, which was being run by some brunette who Laxus had never seen before. Cana was there drinking, too. As usual.

In truth, he didn't really mind the brawling. He himself enjoyed that type of back-and-forth with Gildarts whenever the old bastard rolled into town. Insulting Gildarts and being insulted back by him in kind was entertaining all on its own.

Yet the fact that these fools did nothing every day, non-stop… that it was all unearned…

Had any of them gone out on any jobs this week? Doubtful. If anything, those who did work only did enough to stay comfortable. Just enough to pay the bills and their taxes.

And then there were idiots like-

Nab. He narrowed his eyes on that witless buffoon. Nab seemed to ignore all of the thrown hands and chairs behind him as he continued to stare dumbly at the massive request board. Taking his time. Pondering.

For fucks sakes' pick something already! Laxus felt almost compelled to strike down the moron with a lightning bolt.

At the very least, with Macao and Wakaba, as useless as those two were these days, they had earned their tenure and place in the guild. They'd done plenty of work when Laxus had been growing up. Now, both of them were well into their fifties, had made pretty solid financial investments at that. They even still took on the occasional job now and then. That alone was a lot more than he could say for Nab…

Laxus realized he'd been frowning, and quickly schooled his face. It was better to ignore the indecisive loser; otherwise, he'd further sour his mood over someone who wasn't even worth the brain calories.

Yet his temper had not improved. Especially not as he kept scanning the unbridled chaos that was the first floor.

Those who were sitting out the guild-wide brawl had been slouching in their seats, with dozens of empty mugs all around them. Some were playing cards, others were reading books or menus given to them by the kitchen staff. It was more surprising than anything to see that those very same people were also young and in their prime.

How was it that the seemingly countless number of younger people, most of whom were probably a lot more gifted when it came to magic than those two, who were just… sitting around the guild all day? Or even taking part in the regular guild-wide brawls?

Arrogance. Laziness. Cowardice. Those were the likely reasons.

Why would they ever need to work when they'd simply walked into the guild and gotten the guild mark after a simple conversation?

No litmus test. No recruitment trials. Not even a fucking math quiz to see if they were smart enough to count out payment money.

What was the point of them? Why were they still here?

Was there something his grandfather knew that he did not? If so, then what was it?

BOOM!

There was yet another explosion coming from downstairs; this time, a table had been flipped and broken in half. Laxus forced down his annoyance, took another swig from his coffee, and returned his attention to his team.

"Ugh! Haven't I told you to keep that thing away from me?" Evergreen let out a disgusted huff as she pushed away Freed's rapier. "Didn't you poke at some man's… ergh… bits with it?"

Freed rolled his eyes. "Perhaps it would do you some good to educate yourself on human anatomy as opposed to spending all of your time in a mirror," he said. "If you must know, I had cut his femoral artery. Not any of his more vital organs."

"And how exactly does that make it better?"

"The femoral artery is located within the thigh, not around it. Once severed, it is not a mortal wound, and it can be repaired."

Evergreen frowned disparagingly. "That's not what I meant. That sword had been used to cut open another man."

Freed allowed himself a grim smile. "Admittedly, I suppose that's part of the fun in our line of work," he said as he picked up the blade and inspected it. "As gruesome and tiring as our last job was… poking holes into our enemies is, at times, quite satisfying."

"So that's why you're always smiling after a job, eh?" Bickslow laughed. He mimicked his friend as he seemed to pick up an imaginary blade, thrusting it multiple times into thin air before descending into a fit of giggling.

"It is not nearly as sadistic as you describe, my friend…" The green-haired man drawled. "We are crusaders whom roam across the land, rooting out evil wherever we go."

Now it was Evergreen's turn to share a knowing look with Bickslow.

"-never knowing which day will be our last, never once wavering in our duty-nay, our responsibility to dispel injustice!" Freed rose from his seat with a clenched fist. "It does not matter which form these evils choose to take. For we are the purging light that casts away the darkness, that which banishes those who would take advantage of good folk for their misguided purposes. We are the rock in a stormy sea upon which our enemies will crash. We are the spear that lances forth to uproot these monsters and dark wizards from their holes of contempt. We are the sword that puts an end to their tyranny over those too powerless to stop it. For we-"

It was then that Freed paused and glanced at the various faces around the table. Evergreen was entirely unimpressed. Bickslow had been grinning knowingly. And Laxus had only been half-listening and half-focused on the shimmering dark brown pool that was his coffee.

"Ahem," Freed slightly reddened before coughing into his hand and sat back down. "Apologies."

"What is it with you and your monologues?" Evergreen asked pointedly, somehow managing to sound both motherly and condescending. "It's not like our foes ever stop to listen while you go on and on about justice and whatnot."

"It's just… something I felt needed to be said. In the moment, of course."

"Don't listen to her, buddy…" Bickslow said. "I think it's pretty cool. And besides…" He slowly glanced over at the brunette sitting directly across from him. "It's not like you're squeaky clean either."

Evergreen scoffed, totally unconcerned with the veiled threat of revealed information. She simply went back to looking into her mirror and fixing up her hair.

"Freed…" The puppet wizard began with much amusement. "Did you know that whenever we happen to be in the guild hall at the same time as Strauss, Ever here stares at him."

Laxus pulled his gaze away from the shimmering black pool that was his coffee and looked up.

Evergreen had frozen. She'd stopped fixing her hair and instead sharply narrowed her eyes on the armored man sitting across from her. A rather dark aura started to surround her.

Freed had seemed surprised and… rather amused now. "Really?"

Clink!

The sound of the silver mirror slamming against wood was audible enough for everyone, even for those at nearby tables on the second floor. But Bickslow pretended not to hear it.

"Yeah. Can't keep her eyes off him. Just gazes at him whenever he flexes his-"

BAM!

"That's enough!" Evergreen was practically snarling now, having completely thrown out her prior prim and proper demeanor. Even a blind man could tell that she was blushing furiously just from the tone of her voice. "Mind your own business! You will shut your mouth this instant, or I'll… I'll…"

Rrrrrrrrret! The creaking of wood and steel hinges brought Laxus back to attention. He'd glanced up to see the door to his grandfather's office open - albeit slightly ajar.

Go time.

Laxus downed his coffee in two swift gulps and rose to his feet. He set the empty mug down and looked back at his team, all of whom had now switched their attention to him.

He smiled. "How about you three head out on another job? I've got some more business to take care of around here."

The three of them looked to one another uncertainly before looking back up at him. It was Freed who broke the silence.

"Is it this… assignment from Master Makarov that's keeping you in town?" Freed asked.

"Yeah." Laxus didn't elaborate further.

Bickslow had frowned then, more of a novelty than anything. "But I thought you said this thing was only gonna take a week or something."

Laxus nodded. "So did I," he said, glancing back at the door to his grandfather's office. The frog lady was exchanging a few final words with Grandpa, who'd been standing at the door as well. He didn't bother listening in. "But it turns out there might be more to it than I thought."

It was Evergreen who spoke up now. "When… when will you be back?"

"Don't know. Not yet, at least. That said, I don't want to keep you guys in the guild if you don't want to be here," he looked to Freed then. "Freed, you're in charge. Look after these two."

The others didn't protest. Freed had always been in charge in situations like this, and neither Bickslow nor Evergreen had the desire to lead the team in Laxus' absence. Still, it didn't help that the three of them weren't happy with Laxus leaving them again for the time being.

The Thunder God Tribe all stood to attention, albeit reluctantly. Evergreen kissed him on the cheek. Both Freed and Bickslow gave him a salute. The former nodded. "I'll do my best, Laxus."

"I know you will," Laxus said as he gave them all one last encouraging smile before taking his leave and making his way to his grandfather's office.

He strode down the catwalk just in time to see the frog creature waddling down the stairs to the first floor. She'd seemed to be nimble, though, as a chair sailed by her head and she narrowly dodged it by a few inches.

Not so incompetent as you look, then…

That realization seemed to have been a rising trend this week.

Just as he'd brushed by the infirmary and made a right turn towards the Guildmaster's Office, he'd heard a distinct… clicking sound.

A woman judging by the lightweight behind the sound. Wearing heels.

Mira.

Sure enough, the door to the infirmary opened, and out stepped the white-blond herself. An empty jug in her right hand and a glass lodged between her elbow and her waist. As she closed the door behind her and turned around, she stopped when she saw that Laxus was standing in front of her.

"Well, well, well…" The barmaid said. Something dark swirled around in those deep blue eyes. Laxus knew it. Had seen it before. He wasn't scared, but he was certainly annoyed knowing what would come next.

Almost to make a point, Mira opened the infirmary door again, and Laxus got a full sweeping view of the interior. Most of the beds were empty, with those closest to the entrance being filled up with guild members who'd just recently come back from bad jobs, or had their heads cracked over with a chair downstairs. And then, far at the back of the recovery ward, there was a corner bed on the right that had been walled off from the others with thick, woolen privacy screens.

Didn't take a genius to know who Mira was pointing out.

She was glaring at him now. In that stern motherly fashion, she usually donned. It was the same death stare that she'd given him when he'd once teased Lisanna when they were kids.

"What is it, Mira?"

"Oh, I don't know, Laxus… " His name was said with quite a bit of disdain. "Why is it that whenever you bring Natsu back here, he always seems to be covered in scars and blisters?"

Laxus snorted. "He'll be fine. Knowing him, he'll be up tonight or tomorrow morning anyway."

"That's not the point! I don't know what's going on between you two, but if it doesn't stop, so help me-"

"Or what?"

The barmaid hadn't been ready for someone to call her bluff. "Uh… errrm…"

Laxus folded his arms. "Well?"

Not knowing what to do… Mira him one last scathing glance before angrily stomping over to the first-floor staircase.

Situation diffused.

Laxus rolled his eyes again, "Yeah, thought so."

"How'd it go?"

"He did alright compared to his performance last time."

Laxus was met with another of his grandfather's stern glances. That curiously raised bushy eyebrow brought back memories from his youth.

Elaborate. That's what the old man seemed to be saying.

He shrugged and looked away. "What can I say? The kid pulled off a decent maneuver. He figured out I'd use my Lightning Body to move, kept track of me, and went for it."

The old man twirled his mustache. "And that's surprising to you?"

"Doubt anyone else could've pulled it off," Laxus admitted reluctantly. "Natsu's got the reflexes to do it. I just didn't think he had the brains."

His grandfather didn't reply to that particular comment. The old man simply lounged back in his chair, kicking his feet up onto the abnormally large desk before him and staring up at the ceiling.

Laxus shrugged and allowed himself to sink back into his own chair. He ignored the impulse to blow up that stupid clock off to his left.

In truth, he'd been a lot more surprised than he let on during his second duel with Natsu. Granted, he'd been able to hide his incredulity rather effectively, yet by that same token he hadn't really expected much to begin with.

Being shocked that Natsu was using his brain… was like being amazed that a lazy employee was actually doing their job for once.

A certain feeling of dissatisfaction would follow quickly after.

"Well," His grandfather spoke up suddenly, snatching back Laxus' attention. "He's still in the infirmary. Mira has been looking after him between her shifts at the bar. I should think a longer spell of recovery will do the trick after taking two consecutive lashings like the ones you've given him so far."

"How long?"

"Tomorrow. Perhaps Thursday."

"He's stubborn. Doubt he'll stay down for 'til Thursday."

The old man seemed pleased with that assessment. "Good," he said firmly. Grandpa then took on a mischievous smile. "Say… perhaps there's more to him than you once thought, eh?"

"Doing the bare minimum isn't as compelling as you make it out to be, old man."

The kid turning out a half-decent tactic wasn't exactly a good indicator of his potential, nor his intelligence for that matter. A world-class fighter could get beaten by an amateur on any given Sunday. It still didn't mean the amateur was better overall. Natsu wasn't suddenly a paragon of intelligence. The kid was just clever.

And unexpectedly clever at that… albeit in a creative sort of way.

Admittedly… that was far more than Laxus could say for anyone else in the guild who wasn't S-Class. Natsu at the very least had switched on his brain for the first time in his life. But the rest of them?

Everyone else kept plodding along and drinking and fighting and needlessly damaging property. No training. No discipline within the ranks. No innovation.

How was it that Fairy Tail still managed to retain its number one spot as the top Wizard Guild in all of Fiore?

It was a dilemma he pondered over when he was younger. Even before he reached S-Class.

Now, Laxus was fairly confident that he knew the answer. The only logical conclusion.

All of it had just boiled down to the rest of the guild being dragged up to the top by his grandfather's reputation. And by Laxus himself and the other S-Class wizards in the guild. Mystogan, Mira at one point in time, even Erza to a degree.

Then there was Gildarts.

Occasionally, Laxus would hear whispers and rumors here and there about 'Gildarts of the West' and how strong he was. Almost like the older man was a crusader who would go out into the world to make things right. Various S-Class requests had come to the guild over the years specifically asking for Gildarts and Gildarts alone - there were even a few on the S-Class request board just outside the door behind him. The fact that there were people explicitly asking for him to this day highlighted just how capable he really was.

Gildarts was a myth, a legend to a lot of people all over Ishgar. And Laxus knew from first-hand experience that Gildarts could actually deliver on it too.

So why couldn't the rest of Fairy Tail follow their example?

It wasn't a matter of having ambitions, at least not in Laxus' mind. He knew that not everyone could be S-Class, nor had the potential to be S-Class. Moreover, he was fully aware that there were genuinely capable wizards downstairs who had families and loved ones to protect and provide for. And that was something he was more than willing to accept.

But for those who just lounged around all day doing nothing? Just taking up space? Only acting as a member of Fairy Tail so they could leech off the prestige and social cred?

That was just unbearable.

"Perhaps we'll table the matter for now," His grandfather said suddenly, bringing Laxus back to reality. "Seems like you have something else on your mind."

Laxus considered airing out his frustrations… he and his grandfather never really talked about the state of the guild much. Their arguments over it when he was younger had never been productive.

Grandpa knew more or less where he stood. And that was enough.

Would the old man understand? Maybe. Probably. But would he do anything about it? Implement any of the changes Laxus suggested?

Not likely.

Nothing to be gained from that conversation. That was that.

"No," Laxus shook his head. "Just thinking about what my team might get up to."

Going by the sharp twinkle in the old man's eyes, Grandpa knew he hadn't spoken his mind. But he didn't press the matter.

"Well then…" his grandfather clapped his hands together. "I don't think I'll need you today. Likely tomorrow morning. But stay nearby just in case."

Laxus nodded and stood up. "Fine with me."

Voices.

Ten thousand voices. Ten thousand sounds. All of them speaking and yelling and cajoling and whispering all at once.

A man tapping a spoon against a glass before he gives a toast.

A woman whispers sweetly to her lover as she rests her head against a pillow.

A child giggled as she played with her food.

A chair being broken over someone's head. Wood splinters crackling onto the floor.

A pot is being set onto a stovetop. Steel rattling against iron.

A showerhead is turned on. Water hissing and spewing out onto porcelain.

And then… it all of it had stopped. Muted.

The great black void opened. Everything was blurry. Everything was stinging again. Why was it all stinging again? Why couldn't it all just stop?

The small pinpoint of light in the void had gotten closer and closer and closer still. Natsu could see the golden orange haze just a bit further beyond. If only he could get closer to it! It just… felt so warm. So warm, indeed.

He'd gotten more than enough shells this time, hadn't he? Lisanna would want them, no doubt. She was always eager to decorate their home as much as she could, though he wasn't entirely sure how she'd hang them up in a house made of straw. At the very least they would be adequate toys for Happy to play with.

Natsu raised his hands slowly so as to give them to her. "Lisanna…" he mumbled, "Lisanna, I found the shells! I found them, Lisanna! We can be happy now!"

The pinpoint expanded further, yet the stinging pain that electrified his whole body never stopped. He fought through it, and made to place the shells in Lisanna's outstretched hands and…

Consciousness flooded back… the mass of reddish golden light exploded before him as he opened his eyes.

Cream-coloured walls. White curtains. Bandages. The window to his right. The smell of stale beer and rubbing alcohol paired with something foul, something that reeked of pure sulfur.

He'd seen these before? Smelt them too, hadn't he? When he-

And then it all came back to him.

Trees. A dirt path leads to stone. Rocks. Cobwebs. The quarry! Laxus!

Moving his arm had gone well enough. It felt raw and numb. Even as he lifted his elbow off the bed, his muscles jolted slightly. Natsu shook his head again. It was less excruciating to move than the last time he wound up here.

A wall of white curtains had formed around him on each side like a box. Except the screen on his right, where it had been drawn back just enough to show the window and the picture behind it.

It might've been a pretty picture. The blue sky had begun to tinge purple, and while the clouds closest to him were darkening as well. The buildings further out towards the East were illuminated by the sun, and so they shimmered in the last light of day.

Natsu supposed it was a nice enough thing to wake up to, even making him forget why he was even there for a moment.

"Awake at last, I see…"

He recognized the intruding voice. It was familiar. Grandfatherly even. Natsu turned to face its owner.

"How-" he tried to speak, but only managed a dry cough. "Ack!"

Gramps nodded to his immediate left. Natsu reached for the bedside table next to him, fumbling around until he found the blessing that was the jug of clear, fresh water waiting for him. It didn't take him long. He'd quickly chugged down what had been nearly two liters of water in a handful of deep gulps.

"Ahh…" Natsu sighed as he sat back against the wall, letting the jug rest between his legs. "How long?"

"Nearly two days now," Gramps had smiled his infuriating smile. "Had Porlyusica come in to treat you. There weren't as many lesions this time around, however. You did well, all things considered."

No, I didn't. "Thanks."

Makarov continued. "It's not often anyone can get the drop on someone like Laxus. He was impressed."

Natsu didn't believe him. "Doesn't change anything. I didn't hit him."

Makarov also sat back in the armchair that was far too large for him. Then again, so was the old man's office chair. "You're going to fail more often than you think, Natsu. Of that, I have no doubt. What does matter is that you adapted. You showed up with a plan, and you executed on it."

"A plan that still failed."

"And no plan survives first contact with the enemy."

The Dragon Slayer didn't quite know how to reply to that. Instead, he simply rested his head against the wall and looked up at the cream-colored ceiling. As much as Natsu was frustrated, he couldn't help but admit that Gramps had a point. And a very good one at that.

The plan had worked. Partially. He knew that Laxus had been fast, but he hadn't accounted for Laxus being that fast in general - no doubt half of that came as a result of his Lightning Magic.

What about the other half? Not even Jellal had been that fast. The former Wizard Saint might've been able to dart around with his Heavenly Body Magic, but it wasn't like he was able to anticipate Natsu's strikes within a split second.

Jellal had human senses and reflexes, though. The same that Erza or Lucy, or Gray were gifted with. Natsu wasn't like them. He was far more potent in general. He could see greater distances than the others, could hear or scent people out from a mile away. When the rest of his team felt the train rumbling before it went down the tracks, he felt the rails and the earth shake beneath it, too.

Something… just wasn't right here.

"Well!" Makarov had slapped his knees, bringing Natsu back to reality. The old man slipped off the armchair and gave him a grin. "You seem to be in good shape. Shall I organize your next sparring match tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm ready."

"Of course you are," The old man chuckled. He turned to leave, with his hand on one of the curtains walling them off from the rest of the infirmary, but he stopped briefly. "Oh, and I assume you'll be wanting an extension on that book report?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Uh… yeah." It definitely wouldn't hurt. This wouldn't be his last time in the infirmary. "Sounds good."

"You'll have an extra two weeks then."

Makarov turned to leave. But once again, Natsu couldn't help himself.

"Gramps?"

"Hmmm?"

The Dragon Slayer paused briefly before deciding what to say. "Does it get easier?"

The old man gave him that trademark grandfatherly smile. "No," He admitted. "However, the real question you must ask yourself is: if it was easy, then would it be worth doing?"

Not for the first time that week, Natsu had been stunned into silence.

Makarov hadn't waited for him to answer. He tapped his nose knowingly, drew back the curtain, and walked out of Natsu's fortress of recovery. The old man's boots clicked sharply against the wood flooring as he left.

Natsu drew his gaze over to the window and watched on as the moon began to rise above the glistening white line of the horizon.

He grinned. Feeling… relieved. For the first time in weeks.

No. No, it wouldn't.

October 12th, Magnolia

Day 12

Jumping out the window hadn't been his first choice.

With the front doors to the guild locked, along with the more compact back entrance… Natsu opted to go for the next best thing. Two liters of water and a thousand push-ups later… he'd opened up the window next to his bed in the infirmary and leapt out.

Landing on the stone walkway outside the hall was easy enough. A twenty-five foot drop was peanuts to him. The only drawback was that the movement of his arms and legs stung terribly for the next few minutes.

Whatever, he thought.

The sun was bearing down on him now. It was rising steadily in the East. Was probably around six or seven in the morning going by its position in the sky. Wouldn't be long before Mira arrived and opened the guild for the day. She'd probably freak out after deducing that he'd jumped out a window and left the guild early.

But none of that mattered right now. He'd make it up to her later.

Natsu had a problem. A big one. Something that he couldn't just brute force his way out of like he had with Gajeel or Jellal.

His previous plan against Laxus had partially worked, but how would he proceed from here? His initial assessment had been wrong in so many ways. Laxus clearly was comfortable with throwing hands.

Even if he could get up close again… then how could he actually land a hit on Laxus?

Natsu continued to ponder the matter as he opened the thin metal gates out in the front of the guild and made his way down the stone steps leading out onto Central Path. Even now, Natsu could hear the early risers in the homes and shops closest to him. Could even see some of them come outside and organize their wares at their stalls for the upcoming day. His ears twitched and he glanced at one of the tall buildings to his immediate right.

As he inspected it, almost by instinct he began to pick up the faint scent of roses and tulips. Above the pale glass window out front there was a huge bright pink sign which read, "Wild South Flowers."

Even more curious was that Natsu also picked up what sounded like a handful of people pulling chairs out from under a table to sit down. Another sniff at something… rancid… and he knew that it was probably breakfast.

"Alright everyone!" A girl's voice came from the second floor of the building. "I know it's my first time making breakfast, so that's why I played it safe with today's meal!"

Next came the sound of a lid being lifted from an iron pot. And that was precisely when Natsu smelled it.

It was a nauseating mix of burnt onions, spoiled eggs, fish broth, and an unsettling overdose of cinnamon, syrup, vinegar, and salt. It was exactly the kind of smell that would make you instinctively step back.

And Natsu did just that. "What the fuck is that!" He took a step backward as he swore, pinching his nose out of reflex.

"Well then, eat up everyone! Tuck in!"

"Wow… ack!" Someone else, an older brother perhaps, seemed to be gagging at that same moment. Poor bastard. "Evelyn… how much salt did you put into this?"

There was a slight pause, "Well, I just used the whole jar actually. And the cinnamon too. That's what you're supposed to do, right?"

"Err… No, it's not. Didn't you follow the recipe?"

"Right, about that… I might've… accidentally… set it on fire over the stove last night."

A scoff immediately followed, "Hell and damnation, girl!" It was the voice of an older man. "Your mother goes off to visit your grandfather for two days and you've gone and placed this atrocity at my table?"

"Oh come on, Dad! It can't be that terrible."

"There's eggshells swimming at the top. Why are there eggshells in my stew?"

"Yeah," Evelyn's brother piped up now after another fit of coughing. "And why in the blazes does it stink of fish? What happened to the beef broth I got for you?"

The girl laughed nervously. "Right… well you see…"

Her father gave a final, disappointed sigh. "Let's have another child, she said… It'll be fun, she said…"

That was more than enough for Natsu to pull the plug. Someone had just committed a crime against the culinary arts, and he wasn't going to wait around for his nose to fall off because of it.

Very quickly, he turned and briskly walked in the opposite direction of the florist shop. Blessedly, the overwhelming acidic stench that just felt… wrong… started to fade away. He'd quickly tuned out the ensuing bickering and whining that came from the second floor as well and moved along.

At the very least, he was more thankful than ever for Mira's cooking.

It was well into the morning now. An hour and a half had gone by during Natsu's trek through Magnolia's southern forest.

The oh so familiar dirt pathway leading down into the nearby ravine… the open autumn air had almost yawned at him as he'd walked down the wide beaten road free from overgrowth.

It might've been chilly… if he'd been able to feel the cold in the first place.

The scent of soil and grass gave way to the smoky and spicy aroma of burnt tobacco, though not as overpowering as it had been days ago. Stone appeared beneath his sandaled feet, and he carefully made his way down the steep, winding slope.

Even before he'd reached the ravine, Natsu knew that Laxus wasn't here. Not yet, at least. The older man would be arriving soon. Maybe even within the hour.

Natsu took a seat on the stone Laxus had taken before. He wasn't even angry anymore. Wasn't even scared of the potential outcomes. All that mattered was that he prove Laxus wrong. Once and for all.

In their last match, Laxus had been fast enough to counter his strikes even after Natsu had closed the distance. Natsu knew he hadn't been punching as fast as he could. He'd been focusing more on raw power rather than speed.

There was just… something about the problem that irked him, though. Even if Laxus was as fast as lightning, that still didn't explain his inhumanly swift reflexes.

It almost reminded him of his fight with Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer had the same reflexes that he did. Had been able to perceive his strikes quicker than anyone else could. Just like Laxus had…

…could he be…

No… Natsu shook his head. It's gotta be his Lightning Magic. Probably amplifies his reflexes or something.

That was the only plausible explanation… yet Natsu didn't feel entirely convinced by it.

Whatever it was, it was an obstacle. But not an insurmountable one. So instead of going for power… what if he focused on speed?

He'd miss a lot. But there was the chance that he'd land a hit.

It just might work. Closing the distance again would be the hard part, unless Laxus chose to do so himself. Regardless… Natsu knew that whatever came his way, whether it was magical or physical blows… he'd just have to take it.

No easy way out.

The scent of burning tobacco seemed to be getting more… potent now. A pair of heavy footsteps made themselves known to him.

"You're here early," Natsu said off the cuff.

Unexpectedly however… Those same footsteps had stopped for a moment. Just a moment. And then they continued towards the quarry. Towards Natsu.

It was enough to make him frown. Why had Laxus stopped walking? It was impossible to have heard him speaking…

Right?

Natsu scoffed. It was nothing. Laxus probably… stopped to look at the sun or something.

Minutes passed by as Natsu continued to stare at the ground. Listening. Waiting. When the pair of feet finally came down the winding path from the forest to the bottom of the ravine and stopped before him, he glanced up.

Laxus was standing there across the quarry. Arms crossed. Headphones on. Cigar in his mouth. "I'm still waiting to see whatever it is about you that's got the old man so excited. Guess that punk at the Tower wasn't so tough after all - what was his name? Jelnan? Jellar? No - Jellal! That's the one."

Natsu stood up.

"Yeah," Laxus didn't seem to care, though. "The old man told me all about that. It's pretty hilarious how bad you managed to fuck things up at the Tower." The older man laughed now, "Let his goonies almost kill your team. Let them kidnap Erza. Let him mop the floor with you."

"You think this is funny?" Natsu growled.

"No." Laxus locked eyes with him now. "But you do."

What?

The older man went on. "If you valued the lives of your friends, then none of that would've happened. You wouldn't have needed to chug down some lacrima to power up. You would've trained harder, would've used that brain of yours to plan and strategize. You already would've been powerful enough to squash your enemies before they even touched your friends. Hell, you'd be S-Class by now if you took things seriously."

"You don't know shit!"

"Don't I?" Laxus chuckled, "Face it, Natsu… You're a fuck-up. A loser. Just another bitch-made wannabe who thinks he's got balls of steel, but can't back it up. You've never won a battle on your own. You always need to get bailed out by something or someone else. Need someone to give you a pep talk, almost like you need permission to win. And you know I'm right."

He was.

Natsu balled his fists. The fury, the sheer rage at knowing that Laxus was right… that never went away. He wasn't going to keep listening to this. It was time to throw down.

He let loose his magical aura and quickly inhaled it. At the same time, he summoned his flames into his legs and blitzed forward like a meteor.

FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!

The massive vortex of purging flames had completely engulfed the cliff-face in front of him, as well as several of the other old mining shacks behind Laxus. BOOM! Loose stones and wooden splinters exploded past him as he lanced towards his opponent.

A distinct golden-yellow jagged bolt shot out of the way, however, this time towards him. Laxus was going for him!

The bolt landed not two meters away from him, and the Lightning Wizard materialized instantly.

FIRE DRAGON'S-

A familiar jolt of searing pain shot up his arm, and then quickly spread throughout the rest of his body. Natsu snarled, grunting through the pain even as small bolts of electricity danced over his arms and hands.

Then he'd nearly been thrown off his feet as a large fist planted itself in his gut.

This time, Natsu could not contain his exertion. "Grrragh!" He roared. He'd stumbled back and rooted himself firmly in place.

Another fist came for him then. It would've hit anyone else, but Natsu raised his arms just in time to deflect the blow. The hard knuckles pounded against his forearms and glanced off them as he narrowly shifted to the left.

Natsu took his chance and closed the distance. He swung a mean right hook at the unimpressed face…

…and missed.

Not even a second sooner, he followed up with a quick left jab and-

His fist met air again, and he'd almost fallen over as another, larger fist crashed right into his temples. BOOM!

Natsu ground his teeth through it all. That's good. The pain means that you're still alive! Stick to the plan! Keep going! He dug his heels into the stone beneath him, even as his ears started ringing. He swiveled back and threw a countercross. Faster!

This one Laxus didn't dodge. Natsu felt his knuckles glance off the older man's wrist. He made to follow up with another-

Crack! Another lightning-coated hand struck at his chest. More of those terrible agonizing jolts that lanced through his bones and muscles made him lose all sense of feeling.

This wasn't it. This wasn't how he'd go out again. Not this time!

FASTER!

Natsu growled and returned the favor, redirecting his right arm into an uppercut that would've caught Laxus' jaw, and when the blond managed to deftly sidestep, Natsu threw another left jab. His opponent had moved out of the way again, but this time Natsu felt the contact, the slight brush of skin against skin as his knuckles barely grazed the older man's nose and-

A crashing backhanded fist had caught him in the cheek, and this time, Natsu fell back in a daze, tumbling and rolling onto the ground.

Everything was spinning round and round. The distinct humming drumbeat blasted into his ears and throughout the rest of his head. It pounded and stabbed at his brain and jaw. The sun might've gone out completely for all he knew.

Home. This was home now.

But not now. Not today. Not today!

Natsu growled, planting both his fists into the ground, shooting up. His rage from only moments before had died away. All intrusive thoughts and feelings of inadequacy had vanished.

All that mattered here and now… was the moment.

Everything was still blurry, still spinning as he got back on his feet. But he could at least see the hazy outline of his opponent. That was more than enough. He lanced forth.

Another right cross from Laxus - BOOM! The lights nearly went out again, but Natsu stayed rooted to the ground.

He threw a jab. Meeting the air again.

FASTER!

Natsu blitzed out a combination. Hook. Jab. Cross. Uppercut. All in quick, immediate succession. Too fast for anyone else.

All of them met the air. But no counter came. The world started to clear, to focus.

He kept going, throwing out another combination. Cross. Jab. Cross. Left Hook. This time, he felt the latter two blows hit the other man's shoulder. He made to strike again and-

A lightning-coated fist met his jaw. Sparks crackled and swam in front of Natsu as he reeled backwards from the impact. Keep going!

Another combination. Double Jab, Cross! He grazed Laxus' right cheek while the older man stepped to the side.

Natsu scanned his opponent's face. Laxus wasn't amused now. But that didn't matter.

FASTER!

Jab, Cross, miss.

Jab, Laxus raised his right arm to block it. Natsu caught his wrist and grappled it! He didn't bother reading the look of surprise on his opponent's face, Natsu quickly drew back his right arm into a hook and-

CRRRRRCK! Natsu's right fist connected easily with skin and hard cheekbone.

Laxus immediately stumbled backward from the sheer impact alone. When he settled, the older man brought his hand up to his left cheek and massaged it briefly. When he drew his hand away, Natsu saw the dark red smear across the left side of his face.

Blood.

He caught his breath, just now realizing that he'd been sweating and shaking slightly. But despite it all, he was ready to go again.

"Well… how about that?" Laxus wasn't even angry. He seemed to be entranced as he gazed down at the blood on his hand, quickly followed by him spitting out a brownish red clot from his mouth.

It was then that he looked at Natsu. And for the first time that they'd ever known each other, Laxus had given him a genuine smile.

"Maybe you're not so hopeless after all, Natsu."

An Unknown Location

Hades admired nature.

Simply could not get enough of it.

Sailing the sea and watching the dark blue waves crash against one's vessel. The brush of the cool air on a winter's morning. The crunching of soft snow under one's feet. Even the fond childhood memories of him running out into the woods when he was a boy, were enough to put a smile on his face.

All of nature was beautiful to him, even the parts that most would consider ugly.

The rotting carcass of a dead elk left in the woods to fester, might've been a detestable sight for most to look at. Yet Hades knew that the remains would ultimately enrich the ecosystem of the forest with high concentrations of nutrients and energy. Everything was recycled back into the environment, allowing it to continue as it had before.

And then there was the view before him! What an inspiring sight! The black curtain of night sky above him, with the stars raining down and into the void. The moon was blazing coolly opposite of him, illuminating the observation deck with its white light. All of it was simply magnificent.

Nature had confidence in its simplicity. And that was simply fascinating to him.

Hades sipped at his coffee. It was then that he realized it had become lukewarm.

With a wave of his right index finger, the full pool of black liquid was suddenly steaming hot again. And with his mind, he willed the spoon next to it to dip into the small jar of golden honey placed on the tea table to his immediate right. A quick swirl later, and he could smell the clashing aromas.

Eating or drinking was not something he needed to do anymore, of course. With the creation of the Devil's Heart, he'd set himself free of base human limitations. Even the need for sleep.

Yet Hades still enjoyed his earthly pleasures. He liked his coffee with a spoonful of honey in it. And on occasion, he did like to smoke tobacco with his pipe. A good, well-cooked meal was also welcome on certain occasions.

Hades placed the mug against his lips, feeling the steam emanating from his preferred beverage. He looked out into the night again and enjoyed the bitter taste of strong coffee and the sweet lick of honey that followed afterwards.

He was only human after all.

Click, click, click, click…

A woman's heels. Determined stride. Footsteps inching closer and closer.

Ultear.

The wide twin steel doors of the observation deck opened behind him, and the click of the young woman's heels followed. Hades made no move to outwardly acknowledge her presence. He didn't need to.

The doors ground on their hinges and closed shut soon after. It was then that Ultear had shuffled forward. She knelt before him.

Well. Hades liked his privacy. But he knew that if Ultear were coming to him at this hour, then she surely had something for him.

"Speak."

"Several reports have come in over the last thirty-six hours," She said hastily. "Our operatives in Minstrel, Midi, and Isenberg have made progress."

Ah, of course. It was about time.

Gently, he placed down his mug of coffee on the tea table once more and stood from his throne. Already, he felt Ultear's brown eyes watching him. "And the others?"

"Those in Stella, Bosco, and Pergrande have not yet reported in. I shall inquire immediately."

"There is no need," Hades held up a calming hand. "Rise."

Ultear obeyed. She got to her feet and smiled at him.

He smiled back, albeit briefly. Yet another small reward for her devotion to him.

Though Hades would never openly admit it, he was rather proud of his second-in-command. Ultear was practically the closest thing he had to a daughter. She was keen, intelligent, and had a strategic mind. And knowing her history, he was not at all ashamed to take advantage of the fatherly bond he'd gradually forged with her over the last decade to make her work in his favor.

Ultear had turned out to be more than a worthy investment. One day, when he would retire to his studies full-time, he would have her take his place as Guildmaster of Grimoire Heart.

"Midi first," he said decisively. "The excavation. How fares it?"

His second-in-command nodded. "Our undercover agents claim that the mining crew has found an entry point into the Stygian Tower. Accessing it has proven difficult, however. There are magical wards in place keeping them out. The team of archaeologists leading the excavation have not suspected our agents of anything, and now they are too busy to notice us."

Hades allowed himself a half-grin. The Stygian Tower had once been a place of old magic, and quite possibly still was to this day if his suspicions proved correct.

"Excellent," he said. "What of Minstrel?"

In response, Ultear shifted her gaze to the ground as her expression morphed into something of a disgusted sneer. It was not directed at him, but towards the subject at hand.

Southern Minstrel had once been the site of an ancient city known only as Darzamar. Supposedly, according to the language of its time… Darzamar had meant "Gate of the Gods."

It was not surprising to Hades why Ultear seemed rather put out. Darzamar had been their objective in Minstrel and its discovery was one that Hades considered to be of the greatest importance. Far more important than their other leads in Isenberg and in Enca to be sure.

Ultear had, at one point, expressed great interest in personally leading the Darzamar Project, likely borne out of a desire to please him personally and of personal ambition. However, at the time of her request, she had been assigned to her undercover position within the Magic Council and had been, to a limited degree, overseeing the Tower of Heaven Project. And due to the imminence and importance of seeing the R-System back then, she had not been reassigned.

What a loss… Hades was a man who rigidly controlled his weaknesses, yet he did allow himself but a moment to lament the failure of the R-System.

The outcome of the whole affair, while not a true setback in the grand scheme of things, had still been quite regrettable.

Jellal, while ultimately expendable, had been a worthwhile asset. Ultear had kept in occasional contact with the former Councilman, receiving updates while also posing as Jellal's servant. It was an efficient, hands-off machine that Hades had, at the time, been confident in. Had Zeref been resurrected, then perhaps the Dark Wizard himself would have rewarded Hades with the answers that he sought. Yet now…

…Now he had understood that he'd been too lax in his judgement of Jellal. Instead of simply snatching away a wizard of capable power needed to activate the R-System, Jellal had given in to theatrics and elected to play some sort of game with a group of wizards, allowing them to lay siege to the Tower and damage it beyond repair. Years of work wasted in the blink of an eye, all because of one man's vanity. Even if the Tower was reconstructed again, its intended purpose would never be achieved. Whatever remnants there had been of Zeref's spirit had been destroyed along with the Tower itself.

It was most unfortunate that Ultear had not been able to uncover the identities of the wizards behind the Tower's premature destruction. Jellal had not deigned to tell her who exactly he'd lured to the Tower, only revealing that it was a woman who was similar in power to that of a Wizard Saint. And based on how quickly the reformed Magic Council covered up the aftermath, it was unlikely they'd ever find out.

Not that they mattered, however… Whoever those wizards may be, Hades was not concerned with finding them. He had far more enlightening pursuits on his mind than mere retribution.

The result of the R-System Incident had certainly bothered Ultear. So much so that Hades decided to make her feeling of dejection into an opportunity. He decided to pawn off the Darzamar Project to Azuma instead, and grounded her for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't exactly a punishment. But if she perceived it as one… then all the better. She'd work leaps and bounds to prove herself to him again.

Hades did not worry himself with Ultear's feelings however. "Well?"

The young woman met his gaze again. "Apologies, Master. I was… distracted," she said firmly, "Azuma has discovered the gateway into the city. From what he says, it appears to lead into a necropolis deeper underground."

Interesting… Hades had anticipated such an outcome. Darzamar had been a great southern beacon of a city over two thousand years ago. Historical references were close to none, save a few texts which Ultear had located within the Magic Council archives. It was either sinking under the surface over time, or being located underground was a distinct possibility.

At the very least, it would all pay off in the end.

Hades reached a decision. "Inform him that he shall have any resources he requires at his disposal. I trust him to keep himself and his men in good condition and safe conduct. Have him establish an encampment within the city gates before he continues his excavation."

"Yes, Master."

Again, he did not miss the bitter tone within the young woman standing before him. She wanted to be in Minstrel personally, no doubt.

Yet there were more important subjects on his mind. "And what of Isenberg? The civil war still rages on, I presume?"

Ultear nodded. "It does, Master. Our followers have successfully established their cover as the mercenary guild Totem Legion. In the last six months, they have provided several services for the nobles within the royal court. Contact has been made with the Crown Prince Nathaniel, and the topic of a potential contract has been broached."

"But not confirmed," Hades said.

"N-no, Master Hades." Ultear bowed her head again. She was quick to renew her courage. "However, Prince Nathaniel appears to be most willing to do business, so long as he sees results firsthand. He does not seem to care whether he has legal or illegal guilds working for him. He simply wishes to see what we can do."

That was obvious enough. In war, all bets were off. So long as the war was won… the legitimacy of the parties involved did not matter. Such details could be done away with in the aftermath.

History was written by the victor after all.

That said, it would be best for them to remain under the alias of 'Totem Legion' for the time being. Hades did not wish to attract the trigger-happy attention of the newly reformed Magic Council. Not out of concern, but that it would be simpler to conduct their business.

The civil war needed to keep going.

Isenberg had been home to a great and powerful wizard named Theodan. The man himself had perished over two hundred years ago, but the impact he'd had on the magical community in the East had been exceptional. Not as influential as Zeref had been in Western Ishgar, but close nonetheless.

The fabled Archwizard Theodan had kept a sanctum where he stored all of his magical artifacts and arcane knowledge. While again not as important as Darzamar, the discovery of Theodan's vault would be incredibly useful in furthering Hades' research.

But how best to keep the civil war going?

There were three contenders to the throne of Isenberg. To prolong the civil war, all of them would need to secure victories and suffer losses. That much was obvious.

Push and pull.

Ah… an outside party. One separate from their cell in 'Totem Legion', but one that would remain in contact with them.

This new cell would ravage the land. Burning crops, villages, and holdfasts. Meanwhile, they would dress in the armor of the forces belonging to each prince to sell the deception. At the same time, those within 'Totem Legion' would curry favor with Crown Prince Nathaniel and search for leads on the whereabouts of Archwizard Theodan's private sanctum.

Yes… Yes, that could work quite well.

But who to send? Who should he trust with this? Who would excel best with it?

Hades smiled. Zancrow.

"If I may, Master Hades…"

Hades smirked. He'd already devised a solution to the Isenberg problem, but he was curious to hear his second's suggestion. "Yes, Ultear?"

"I have noticed Zancrow is rather… restless as of late." The boy's personal tastes and mental faculties did not need to be mentioned. "Knowing his talents and abilities, I think sending him to Isenberg would be in our best interest."

"How so?"

Ultear dipped her head. "If our goal is to prolong the civil war so we can freely search for the Archwizard's sanctum, then we will need someone who can distract the forces of the princes and the nobility. Someone who can cause mayhem."

Pride. Something he felt often when it came to only his Seven Kin of Purgatory. Even then, he felt a distinct fondness for Ultear, having raised her himself. If she'd seen such details as he, then she would certainly make for an excellent replacement when he retired to his studies full-time.

Hades could feel the young woman's eyes on him. Waiting eagerly for his decision. He did not disappoint her. "I agree. An excellent assessment from you, my dear."

"T-thank you, Master," her voice was shaky. She was basking in the validation given to her..

"Order Zancrow to assemble a crew of his choice. He will set out for Isenberg on the morrow."

Ultear smiled. "Of course, Master," she said, giving him one final bow. She knew better than to outstay her welcome. She turned and made for the doors, her heels clicking against the floor as she went.

As the doors to the observation deck closed behind her, Hades turned to face the observation glass.

Another few moves had been made on the chessboard. And yet there was so much to be done. So many other operations. So many tasks to complete. So many problems to solve.

Regardless, he would play the game eagerly.

Hades grinned. He returned to his throne, took his seat, and gazed out at the night sky beyond.

A star was falling in the north. How pretty.

Author's Note:

Another chapter will be posted here sometime next week. No date has been decided yet.

This one clocked in at EXACTLY 10,000 words when I checked. Not bad.

Stay hydrated, people. It'll save your life :)

Chapter Text

Author's Note:

This story is still being updated. Just letting y'all know :)

October 19th, Fairy Tail

Day 19

It was a week later, and Laxus Dreyar found himself standing in front of the S-Class request board.

THE UNWANTED ENCORE

To whoever dares to take this on,

My name is Divina Belrose, and I'm the singer of the Crocus Royal Opera, or at least I was—until my ex-husband, the charming Wilfred Wyrmstone, decided to curse me upon our... separation.

Now, whenever I open my mouth to sing, the curse forces me to perform a ridiculous stunt—an involuntary jig, a flap of my arms like I've sprouted wings, or—worst of all—my voice occasionally sounds like a duck quacking on a loop. I cannot, for the life of me, sing a single note without some absurdity occurring.

I've had to cancel three performances in a row, and the last time I accidentally quacked through a heartfelt aria, the crowd thought it was avant-garde. AVANT-GARDE, I say! The shame...

I need this curse broken. The last thing I want is to have Wilfred's voice mocking me with every breath I take, forcing me to waddle on stage or making my beloved audience think I'm part bird.

I'm offering a reward of 6,000,000 Jewel and front row tickets for life—without the duck sounds, of course.

Yours in exasperation,

Divina Belrose.

Laxus wasn't exactly a stranger to odd requests. He'd seen them often enough. Had even handled a few in his time so far.

But an Opera singer with a curse? Hard pass, he thought. Some dramatic bird with an indignant ex-husband, no less.

Blue Pegasus could handle that one. They were a poncy sort of cast, after all.

He quietly looked over the other sheets that had been pinned to the request board. While S-Class jobs weren't handed out as often as intermediate work, they were more than viable. A good, talented wizard could earn a fortune just by taking a few S-Class jobs here and there. Retire early. Be set up for life.

Though most S-Class Wizards wouldn't go that route unless they had families.

There were only around seven S-Class requests on the board at the moment-more requests than Fairy Tail's total number of S-Class Wizards on hand.

To his knowledge, Erza hadn't taken up any recently. Not since she came back before that whole Eisenwald affair. Mystogan came in every once in a while, maybe once every two months at the most. And Gildarts, naturally, only came back to the guild after spending three or four years abroad, and even then, the mad bastard only took on SS-Class jobs.

It was largely down to Laxus to clean out the S-Class request board. Something he was completely fine with. That said, he often wondered just how satisfying it would be to see it be entirely spotless.

He stopped as he glanced at another.

THE HAUNTED HELMSMAN

Greetings,

I am Captain Eldric Ironwave, master of the Vanguard's Pride, and I require your assistance with an urgent matter.

There is a ghost-—a very persistent ghost—who haunts my ship's helm. Every time we set sail, this apparition, once the ship's helmsman, appears on the wheel. And it doesn't stop there: it controls the ship's course.

It's an eerie sight, watching the helm wheel turn on its own. The ghost doesn't speak, but its presence is enough to unsettle even my most seasoned sailors. And it's not just the crew. The very presence of the ghost has been wreaking havoc on our business. Merchants refuse to charter our ship, traders are missing shipments, and I'm bleeding contracts. Nobody wants to sail with a ship that's haunted by a phantom.

The ghost has also begun to curse our journey, leading us to dead currents, fogbanks, and storms that have no business existing. If this continues, the Vanguard's Pride will be grounded indefinitely.

I need this ghost gone, or else the ship—and all my business—will be lost.

For your help, I offer 7,200,000 Jewel and unlimited access to the ship's legendary treasure hold.

– Captain Eldric Ironwave.

Nah. It was an immediate decline.

Though Laxus could handle his motion sickness, thanks to his grandpa's technique, he still wasn't exactly keen on boats or vehicles in general. Staying on a ship for a few weeks on account of some ghost? Another pass.

Not to mention, he knew Natsu certainly wouldn't like it, either.

He shifted away from that one and moved onto another request towards the bottom of the small board.

Now… how about that?

HOLLOW LABYRINTH BENEATH MINING TOWN

My name is Gerwan Trast, CEO of  Blacksteel Excavation —yes, that Blacksteel.

There's a matter that I want handled quietly and professionally. Two weeks ago, one of my crews broke into something buried beneath the lowest shaft of a mine that we're operating out of Darshel, a small border town just along Fiore's eastern frontier next to Bosco. Beneath the shaft, there's some kind of ancient structure, older than any records I can get my hands on at the moment.

Since then? Whispers. Hallucinations. Strange dreams. More than that, one of my men cut his own eyes out.

Locals are on edge. The mayor's playing dumb. Bosco's started sending "cultural liaisons" to snoop around. If this spirals into an international mess, it'll cost me more than coin—it'll cost lives.

I need someone neutral, powerful, and not afraid to handle something weird. You'll be paid well. I heard that Fairy Tail's got a reputation for getting the job done, even if there's some destruction along the way. The mine can collapse for all I care, I just want my people out of there and this whole matter put to rest.

Meet me in Crocus— Silvergate District, 12th Ward, Office 4-A . I'll give you everything: maps, witness accounts, what little we've managed to decipher, and I'll answer any questions you have.

Reward : 10,000,000 Jewel first claim on all relics and magical materials retrieved from the site (excluding those of historical or religious value).

Slowly, his grandfather pulled his feet off his desk and leaned forward. Putting on his reading glasses in the same careful manner that all elderly folk did before they were about to read something.

Laxus watched on as Makarov carefully read over the block of text beneath the main headline of the request.

After a few moments, Grandpa looked up at him. "You want to take this on?"

The Lightning Wizard gave a small grunt. "With Natsu."

His grandfather raised a curious eyebrow and slid the request back to Laxus' side of the long table. The old man pursed his lips in what seemed like contemplation. "And… you believe he's ready for this sort of work?"

"More than he was before he took on that Galuna Island job," Laxus said with a shrug. "Kid knocked out a Wizard Saint, too. If you're right about him, then he should be fine."

"Forgive me if I seem a little apprehensive on approving this, Laxus. I was under the impression that you thought mentoring him-much less training him-was a complete waste of time?"

"I never said that."

"Your expression at the time did."

Leave it to Grandpa to read people like a book. "Well… maybe I changed my mind."

I'm not as stubborn as you think I am, Grandpa.

"Hmmm…" His grandfather hummed. "I don't suppose you've told Natsu about this?"

"No."

"Is there a purpose for this particular… exercise?"

Laxus nodded. "Yeah. I want to see what he can do in the field. Training is one thing, and he's doing alright on that front. But experience is what counts the most."

His grandfather seemed to nod in agreement with him. Then the old man broke away from the conversation, leaned back in his seat with his hands placed behind his head, and looked up at the ceiling.

Laxus wasn't lying. Natsu had improved. Drastically. It only took a week's worth of sparring for the kid to get into shape. Granted, he'd taken some punishment within the first couple of days, but over time, Natsu had gotten more agile, and he'd certainly landed a lot more punches and kicks on Laxus in the last few days alone.

The Lightning Wizard briefly soothed the light bruise on his ribs.

The kid was a boxer. Good fighter. Just like Gildarts. And he was fast, too. Even for a Fire Mage. Great at adapting in a fight. He'd go far… but only if he kept taking this thing seriously.

If there was anything Laxus appreciated and respected… it was consistency.

"Alright," His grandfather spoke up again, gesturing to the request with a simple hand wave. "Hand that in to Mira. Tell her I approve. Show Natsu the ropes, too, while you're at it. Proper presentation and all that."

Laxus stood up. He took the request and folded it neatly before stuffing it into his pocket. "Already on the list," He said with a smirk, then downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and made to leave. Just as he was about to reach the door to his grandfather's office-

"Oh, and good luck."

There was that warm feeling again in his chest. Laxus turned back and nodded with a small smile. "Sure thing, Grandpa."

The old man shared his smile.

"What do you mean we can't come along?!"

Laxus stopped himself from sighing. The reaction wasn't entirely unexpected.

The Thunder God Tribe sat before him at their now usual table up on the second floor. The three of them looked visibly shocked upon hearing his decree. Bearing some sort of… what was it?

Righteous indignation, he thought to himself. A term he'd heard his grandfather use at one point.

He shrugged. "You heard what I said."

"But with… Dragneel of all people?" Bickslow slowly shook his head, like he was still trying to fathom it. "What for, boss?"

"Call it another assignment." Had anyone else asked, he would've brushed them off without an explanation. But the three wizards sitting in front of him happened to fit into the small category of people he liked. "You three will be on your own for the next few weeks. Understood?"

The three of them exchanged apprehensive glances. They all wanted to speak up about it. Evergreen herself was unusually pensive. And Freed looked ready to sink into the floor.

And still, "Understood." They all said in unison.

"Good," Laxus said. He pointed to Freed. "Hold down the fort while I'm out."

"Of course, Laxus."

He made to turn away, then stopped as he'd remembered another detail. "And make sure the guild doesn't blow itself up."

The three of them shared another round of looks with each other. Then they all nodded once again.

With that, Laxus took his leave.

Time to get this show on the road.

"-that we can take the images and visions in our minds and make them a reality.

Moreover, we can do so in a near-infinite number of ways.

An artist will create a masterpiece in his mind before putting it onto canvas. A writer will think of the scene she wishes to depict before typing it out onto a page. An architect will draw up an outline of a building before working with a contractor to construct it.

What makes this superpower compelling is that we can use it to make a direct (or indirect) impact on the world around us. We can further technology, knowledge, and physicality, all through our mind's eye. Progress. Innovation. Everything we enjoy today initially came from someone somewhere asking themselves a question…

What if?

Likewise, we can mold it according to our imagination when it comes to an all-encompassing tool such as Magic.

A good, if on-the-nose, example of this are wizards who utilize Molding Magic.

If you are not currently educated on Molding Magic, I shall provide a brief rundown.

Molding Magic is a type of Caster-based magic that allows any user to manifest and shape objects, constructs, and even landscapes or animals out of a specific element. Its main strength is its versatility in combat, excelling in both offense and defense. It can also be used in everyday life to an extent. One's effectiveness with this type of magic depends on the caster's creativity and imagination, as well as their ability to maintain concentration when casting. They can create objects in real-time, but those objects adopt the limitations of the specific element used to cast them. Those who've attained a certain degree of mastery with Molding Magic can even create more intricate or even multifunctional objects.

All exceptional wizards who use Molding Magic will take the time to refine their thought process. A clear, precise vision is required to create complex constructs quickly.

But this is not the only type of magic we have.

The vast majority of Caster Magic falls under the category of abstract, elemental, or fundamental manipulation. These magics, unlike Molding Magic, do not manifest as tangible creations or constructs but instead focus on the control, manipulation, or enhancement of magical forces in a more direct, yet flexible, way.

While Molding Magic deals with the creation of physical objects and shapes, Caster Magic, in general, deals with invoking magical forces. Though there's a wide array of different types of Caster Magic, the spell creation process tends to follow similar principles. Below are the steps you should follow when constructing a spell from scratch in this category of magic:

Clarify Your Intent.

Before anything, define exactly what you want your spell to achieve. Whether it's a basic elemental attack, a supportive healing spell, or an effect that alters the physical world, you need a clear vision of the result. For instance, if you want a fireball, you must think about what effect it will have when it reaches its target. Will it burn upon contact, explode, or simply singe the area? Being specific at this stage is critical.

Understand the Elements Involved.

While some spells may seem to simply evoke a magical force, many of them—particularly elemental ones—are deeply rooted in physical laws and natural elements. You should ask yourself how the element will interact with the world.
For example, with a fire spell, you need to understand how fire behaves. Fire consumes, spreads, and can change form depending on the environment. The caster must think about air currents, the fuel source, and the intensity of the fire. Fire, being a volatile element, also demands more focus to maintain its consistency and avoid uncontrollable escalation.
If you're casting a water-based spell, you'll need to think about fluid dynamics. Water can be a gentle stream, but it can also be destructive when funneled into a forceful torrent. How will the spell behave when it meets resistance? Will it spread like a flood, or will it turn to ice if it encounters cold air?
For earth spells, consider the type of earth or material you're manipulating. Soil, stone, and metals all have different qualities and are resistant to various degrees of magical manipulation. A stone shield will behave much differently from a sand barrier; one is rigid, while the other is more malleable.

Formulate the Mechanics.

Here's where the abstract nature of most Caster Magic comes in. You're not shaping physical material in the same way that a Molding Magic caster would. Instead, you are directing energy to manipulate an element or force.
Take a Lightning spell, for instance: You need to visualize not only the direction in which it will travel but the force behind it. How will the magic arc, or how will it cascade, in a straight line? This requires a clear image, not just the end result. The mechanics of how the energy will interact with the target (whether it shocks, stuns, or destroys) must be clear in your mind.
Unlike Molding Magic, where physical constraints matter, Caster Magic deals with understanding how the magic flows, channels, and disperses across the environment.

Refine Your Visualization.

The clearer the mental image, the more stable the spell. As you visualize your spell, think about the following:

Size and intensity: How large or small will the effect be? A Fireball and a Fire Jet may look similar, but the intensity and scope of the spell vary based on how much magical energy you put into it.

Duration: Will your spell last for a few moments, or is it a sustained effect, such as an invisibility spell or slow-moving frost? Will it fizzle out quickly, or will it persist until you cancel it?

Control: Consider whether you want to direct the spell (such as shooting a bolt of lightning) or whether it will happen passively (e.g., a healing aura that continuously restores health to those within range).

Test and Revise.

Casting is trial and error. Your first attempts will often fail or have unexpected results. Magic, like any art, involves repeated experimentation. The key is to remain flexible and adjust based on the outcomes of each attempt.

For instance, if you're trying to create an earthquake spell, and your first attempt only causes minor shaking, think about whether you focused enough energy into the right areas of the earth to cause more significant disruption. Did you channel the energy beneath the Earth's crust, or was your magic dissipating too quickly in the atmosphere?

Sustain and Maintain.

Some spells are instantaneous, while others require sustained energy. You must decide whether your spell needs to be maintained through concentration. If your spell has a lingering effect, such as illusion magic, you'll need to continually fuel it with your energy and willpower.

More powerful spells, like elemental summons, may even require careful management of magical energy over a longer period to prevent burnout.

It is important to recognize that Caster Magic isn't just about raw power. While it's tempting to think of magic as simply a form of destructive energy, it's much more nuanced. Mastering Caster Magic involves understanding the underlying principles of the forces you're manipulating.

Each type of Caster Magic (whether fire, light, ice, or sound) has its own set of principles that govern how it interacts with the world. The key to success lies in knowing how to apply these principles to achieve the desired effects.

With practice, creativity, and a strong foundation in the theory of Caster Magic, you'll be able to create unique and powerful spells of your own. But always remember: the more precise your imagination, the more powerful your magic."

Natsu paused as he drank down his morning coffee.

Seemed like an awful lot of steps…

"Why's it all gotta be so damned complicated?" He muttered as he set down the hot mug on the table. Why can't this book just go fuck itself with all it's convoluted nonsense?

Was it necessary to do all that crap in the first place? It's not like Igneel had taught him any of this stuff. Magic wasn't exactly hard for him to do. He just… did it.

Natsu shook his head and turned to the next page. He made to fold the top left corner, but paused as he saw the sub-headline below his fingers. Instead of seeing the beginning of the next chapter…

"A Brief Aside On Slayer Magic

I hadn't originally intended to cover this topic, largely due to the sparse knowledge I was able to dig up on it. However, my editor (bless you, Marlynne), persuaded me to include it in this book.

Unfortunately, at the time of my writing this, precious little has been uncovered on the branch of Lost Magic pertaining to those who wield what is called 'God Slayer Magic', 'Dragon Slayer Magic', or 'Devil Slayer Magic'.

God Slayers are the rarest of the bunch, supposedly. Any information on them made available to me seems to indicate that they originated in the Far East. Likely Pergrande or further inland, but this would be speculative at best.

As for Dragon Slayers, ever since the end of the Dragon Civil War over three hundred years ago, most of the Dragons and legitimate Dragon Slayers had been killed off by the self-proclaimed 'Dragon King' Acnologia. Those who managed to remain after Acnologia's inexplicable death likely perished from extreme old age or by injury. There may still be a few roaming Ishgar to this day, but they would undoubtedly obtain their powers through the use of lacrima and not through actual tutelage from a live Dragon.

Finally, we arrive at the youngest sub-sect in this branch, the Devil Slayers. Through many connections, I've made contact with an operative of the Magic Council. A Wind Devil Slayer, in particular, and a man whose personal information I won't reveal in this passage. All of the speculative information I have managed to glean on Slayer Magic has come as a result of his, albeit reluctant, involvement.

According to my contact, a Devil Slayer uses their elemental magic the same way you or I would flex a muscle or breathe in oxygen. As opposed to consciously casting a spell from memory and drawing their energy from Ethernano, like most other wizards do. I'm willing to bet that both Dragon Slayers and God Slayers also share this trait, though likely with minute biological differences in how each of them converts their magical energy into power. For a practitioner, it's not a matter of them 'borrowing' their element (as is the case for most other wizards), but more like they have a degree of ownership over their element.

Based on this, it's quite possible that the Conceptualization Phase for Slayer Wizards would be far simpler, and would instead need some sort of physical repetition, a repeated action that will help them visualize the spell they wish to craft. Similar to the physical act of throwing a spear, for instance.

None of this is to say that creating new spells for a Devil Slayer would be any easier than the process for normal wizards-just that the process may be far more streamlined. Likely born out of the instinctual grasp that a Slayer Wizard would have over their particular element.

Further testing is required, of course. Nonetheless, should this book fall into the hands of another Devil Slayer, or on the off-chance that a Dragon Slayer or a God Slayer pick up this tome, I encourage you to put these observations to the test."

Wait… what?

Natsu frowned as he stared down at the passage regarding Dragons and Dragon Slayers. Reading it over and over and over again. Just to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong.

"As for Dragon Slayers, ever since the end of the Dragon Civil War over three hundred years ago, most of the Dragons and legitimate Dragon Slayers had been killed off by the self-proclaimed 'Dragon King' Acnologia. Those who managed to remain after Acnologia's inexplicable death likely perished from extreme old age or by injury."

So the Dragons had been dead. Wiped out for close to four hundred years…

…but Natsu had seen Igneel only nine years ago. How did that make sense? The math didn't add up.

And just who in the blazes was Acnologia?

Why didn't Igneel tell him any of this? The knowledge that he was, potentially, one of the last of his kind only made him feel unnaturally cold in the moment. It was only amplified by the fact that Natsu was just finding out about this now.

It… couldn't be true. It wasn't like he was the only Dragon Slayer roaming the continent. Gajeel had been raised by a Dragon, too. Probably there were a whole bunch of Dragon Slayers roaming all over Ishgar as well…

…right?

The pit in his stomach only grew. Natsu was almost tempted to set the damn book on fire right then and there, but his desire to do so was tempered by the fact that he needed it.

"Damn book report," he grumbled to himself. All this history around the Dragons was something he'd need to look into. Maybe Levy could help him? She always had her nose in a book.

Natsu folded the top left corner of the page and closed the book, casually tossing it onto the table.

The mental switch he often used to tune out the rest of the world around him was flipped as soon as he did so. He was now back in the guild, listening to the mass of voices that blared from downstairs. Hearing as wood clattered against the floor, ale sloshing in mugs, water splashing in the pool outside.

Familiar scents all around flushed in once more. A look at the guildmaster's office told him that both Laxus and Gramps were inside talking about something. He couldn't hear exactly what it was- Gramps must've had some sort of enchantment or whatever placed on his office walls. Natsu didn't care. He knew he'd probably find out what it was later today or some other time this week.

"Mmph-done reading?" Happy asked from his spot on the other side of the table. A koi lodged in his mouth.

"For now, yeah…"

His friend gulped down a chunk of fish. "What's wrong?"

Natsu shook his head. "Nothing."

"What was it?"

"Just… nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing if it got to you, Natsu."

The Dragon Slayer shrugged. "I'll sort it out," he looked to the stairs again and saw Lucy and Gray making their way up. Once they were at the top, they made their way towards him.

A flash of recognition came as he set eyes on the Ice Wizard. Gray uses Molding Magic, he thought.

If the book suggested that the process of spellcraft was similar enough to how Maker Wizards did their thing… Natsu supposed it wouldn't hurt to know their process, as loath as he was to take notes from Gray of all people.

Only thing that bastard is cruising for is a knuckle sandwich.

The two of them finally arrived at his table. Gray slid easily onto the bench directly across from Natsu, while Lucy stayed standing.

"Heya, Natsu!" She greeted him with an easy smile. "How have you been?"

"Well enough."

Gray nodded to his covered forearms, to the strips of white linen that were wrapped around lean muscle and bone. "What's with the bandages?"

"Training," It wasn't far off. But it wouldn't do to reveal that he'd gotten injured courtesy of Laxus. "You two… doing alright?"

"Yep!" The blonde nodded. "I haven't had anything to eat this morning, and I'm starving. I'm gonna go and order something downstairs. Do you guys want anything?"

Natsu shook his head. So did Gray.

Lucy turned and made her way back to the stairs. Happy went with her, leaving Gray with Natsu.

The salmon-haired man glanced at his once-childhood rival. Dull black eyes met him.

Now was a better time than any.

"Gray…" Natsu began. "I got a question. About your magic."

"What about it?"

"How do you do it?"

The Ice Wizard raised a curious eyebrow and dipped his head, gesturing for Natsu to go on.

He did so. "Like, what's your thought process when you create something out of ice? Do you think about the object you want to make? Do you pull spells from your memory or something?"

Gray seemed to be genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to hear such… in-depth questions from him. "Well, uh..." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I guess there's some memory involved, sure. Ur actually taught me a technique for that. It's called a Memory Palace."

"Memory Palace?"

The Ice Wizard nodded. "Yeah, it's sort of like a… a huge place in your mind that you can explore. It's supposed to be easy to navigate in your head. Ur taught me how to make one so I could remember all of the Ice-Make spells she taught me."

Natsu frowned. "How does that work?"

It seemed the last thing Gray was expecting today was for Natsu to question him on… well… anything. He might as well have been ambushed. "Well, your palace is supposed to be a place you know well, like the guild, for instance- once you're inside, you visualize a path through it and you store memories in specific locations." Gray looked around haphazardly and pointed his thumb down to the first floor. "Say you used the guild as your Memory Palace, you could store a memory at the bar."

So it was, what? A sort of mental map? "When you go down this path, it'll be easier to remember things?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Along the path, you would pair a memory with a strong image. Could be anything. Like… if you went to the bar downstairs, maybe you'd have Mira tap-dancing on the counter while she's juggling some beer mugs."

Natsu smirked. That would be quite funny to see.

"The clearer the image, the easier it is to remember stuff." Gray went on. "Even better if it's a weird image, too."

As… interesting… as it was, Natsu didn't know whether or not a Memory Palace would help him when it came to making spells.

What about the actual thinking part?

"When you're coming up with a new spell…" Natsu paused briefly. How best to say it? "What's the thought process behind it?"

Gray glanced up at the ceiling for a few moments in contemplation. His initial confusion seemed to have passed. "If I'm making something new? I guess it depends on what I want the spell to do." He said with a shrug. "Kind of depends on what I need in the moment, though. Most of the time, I just pull from the spells Ur taught me."

It was Natsu's turn to pause.

That did tally with what the book said. 'Clarify Your Intent' was step one, after all.

But how was it supposed to work with his magic?

Turns out that Gray had the answer. "I guess if I was making something new, I'd think about what I'd want it to do. If I'm making a shield, I'm probably thinking about using it to protect myself or someone else. Whenever I use my lance spell, I'm usually using it to break through or pierce a barrier of some kind, if that makes sense."

That's it.

Everything finally began to click into place. Natsu took on a calm smile.

"Makes perfect sense to me."

Chapter Text

October 23rd, Crocus Outskirts

Day 23

Natsu leaned slightly to the right as a lightning-coated fist shot directly at his forehead. Though the fist grazed his left cheek, he still went stiff from the crackling yellow sparks that jolted his muscles and skin.

He didn't waste any time. He launched his counterattack.

Jab. Cross. Hook. Jab.

Uppercut. Jab. Hook. Jab. Jab.

Only four out of nine strikes landed. Laxus was a whirlwind, but one that he could, at the very least, perceive. And-

A fist landed in his gut. Natsu forced himself to stay rooted to the ground and not keel over. Bile shot up from his gut, threatening to come spewing out, but he managed to keep it down for now, barely.

Another round. Jab. Jab. Cross. He hit Laxus in the shoulder. The older man grunted from the pain.

Natsu readied himself to press forward, but his opponent jumped backward. The sparks dancing along Laxus' arms disappeared completely. "Time!"

It was then, at that moment, that Natsu let out the deep breath that had been holding everything back up until that exact moment. Almost immediately, a dizzying chill swept over him, and he let himself fall back onto the grass, now sitting upright.

"Shit," he said with a low chuckle. "You got me good with that last one."

"Same to you," Laxus grunted as he massaged the knuckle-imprinted scorch mark on his left shoulder. "You're doing better. Especially with that last slip."

Natsu just nodded. He didn't initially appreciate the feedback Laxus had been giving him daily over the last few days of them sparring, but he'd come to accept it.

It had only been four days. Four days of traveling on foot to Crocus. Four days since Laxus interrupted an ongoing conversation with Gray and Lucy, told him to pack his bags, and said that they were heading out for several weeks on an S-Class job. That alone had shocked all of them.

No Happy coming along. No taking the train. Laxus had been firm on both of those details. Natsu was a little let down with the former (and so was Happy), but he was more than fine with disregarding transportation, even if he could competently manage his motion sickness by now.

So he went home and packed his things. In addition, Laxus had made a rather strange request, that being for Natsu to bring some jewel along for when they arrived in Crocus.

Natsu had no idea why, but he didn't bother questioning it. Laxus probably wouldn't have given him a straight answer, anyway. He just went ahead and dug up the emergency stash he kept buried beneath the oak tree outside his house and took out a stack of one million jewel. Just in case he needed more, of course.

But that was by the way. Right now, his only focus was keeping up with Laxus.

The clearing they'd been sparring in had since been ruined. The surrounding treeline was untouched, but the grass on the forest floor had been burned badly, showing patches of blackened dirt. By the trees ahead of him lay their packs. Laxus went ahead and took out two water bottles he'd kept aside. From across the clearing, he threw one to Natsu, who caught it effortlessly.

They would hit Crocus in a few hours. Go see the client. Then, probably head out of town as soon as possible. Easy as pie.

Pie. His stomach gurgled quietly.

A nice round apple pie would do nicely now. Filled with nearly a hundred Honeycrisp apple slices doused in cinnamon, with a buttery, flaky crust wrapped carefully around it. Just waiting to be split apart into perfect triangular slices…

Brrrm. His stomach gurgled quietly. If only he weren't so damned exhausted.

"Take fifteen," Laxus said from the other side of camp, putting his water bottle down by his feet. "Round four coming up."

Natsu chugged down the rest of his water and nodded. His joints and muscles were numb and aching. "Yeah…"

Day was still young.

Palm facing the wall.

Thumb on the stick.

First finger down.

Pinky finger down.

Middle fingers curved down.

Rotate.

Erza did so, slowly and carefully turning her right hand over. Left to right. Back and forth. The window wiper exercise was fairly straightforward in her estimation.

She repeated the motion several times. More so out of habit than need. Consistently practicing the fundamentals was a lesson that had long since been ingrained into her-a remnant practice left over from her days of learning swordplay.

Yet holding the violin bow felt… off. It was a little too easy to lift, especially compared to her usual weaponry. Something to get used to if she was going to learn this particular instrument.

Another ten minutes passed by with her patiently performing the same wiping motion with the bow. All the while, morning light peeked through the windows of her sunroom. Then, once she was satisfied, Erza gently took up the violin perched on the coffee table at her side and placed it on her left shoulder.

What did the book say? Don't bend the neck. Look straight ahead.

She did so. When she was satisfied with her hold on the instrument (as she seemed to match the imagery from the booklet), she went ahead and lifted the bow parallel to the bridge of the violin itself.

Alright. Three. Two. One.

She'd regretted it as soon as she'd brought the bow down.

Skraaaawk! What followed was an eerily loud shrieking hiss, almost exactly like the harsh wail of a developmentally challenged crow.

Erza tried again, this time performing an upbow and-

Crreeeetch!

Once more. She hoped against hope that- Skrrreeatch!

Erza cringed as the sound continued to echo in her ears. Immediately, she'd set down the bow and the violin and stood up, opening the windows next to her.

She let out a heavy sigh. Not necessarily in the instrument, but in her lack of being able to pick it up. It hadn't exactly been the first time that week in which she'd botched playing it. The last few days alone had been filled with loud screeches and wild hissing sounds. By now, Erza wouldn't have been surprised if her ears started to bleed.

Should I just hire a teacher?

Maybe. Probably. She'd asked the owner of the music store she'd visited with Mira. Supposedly, the nearest professional violin instructor was based out of Hargeon. Meaning that she'd need to go back and forth on the train just to make her lessons.

It was an idea, and not something she was adverse to. The trip to Hargeon would take maybe two hours at most, and it wasn't like she had much going on at the moment…

Erza huffed at the idea, walked back over to her loveseat by the wall, and allowed herself to fall onto it, sinking into the cushions. She was more than comfortable lounging in her apartment as of late.

And besides, this violin thing was more of a light hobby. Not something she was seriously invested in at the moment. She didn't feel for it the same way Mira felt for her guitar.

Perhaps in a few days, she'd reconsider-

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Hmm?" Frustration gone, she lifted her head, having recognized the sound of a closed fist knocking on wood. Someone was at her door. Though for what reason and at this hour in the morning, she couldn't tell.

She stood up, brushed off any wrinkles she had on her blouse and skirt, and made her way through her apartment, passing through the kitchen and entry hall. The tall mahogany panel greeted her plainly, and Erza easily unlatched the accompanying lock before opening the door.

On the other side of the threshold stood none other than a rather stiff Levy McGarden, who occupied the apartment on the opposite side of the hall. Blue hair in a messy wet bun from having just showered, and wearing an orange skirt. No shoes, as the shorter girl was often seen to do in Fairy Hills.

"Hi Erza," She said merrily, though there was a small, awkward light in her eyes. "How's your morning?"

"Well enough," The redhead said with renewed energy. "And you?"

"Well… it's just been… errr… loud mostly."

Ah.

Erza felt a sudden heat in her cheeks and also the urge to look up at the ceiling. Anywhere else, really. But she managed to keep herself grounded.

Levy continued, "I… uhh… know you've probably got a lot going on. Just… I've been hearing some weird sounds coming from your side of the hall these last few days. Is everything alright?"

"Uh… yes. Yes! Everything is fine, Levy."

"Really? Because it sounds a lot like someone's strangling a cat over here."

Erza felt her blush deepen at that. I must be pressing the bow too hard into the strings, she thought. "I'm just testing… something out. I didn't know it was loud enough for you to hear, however."

"Oh no, it's fine! Just…" Levy paused briefly. "I've got some studying to do for one of my research jobs, and I usually get my best work done in the morning. Could you possibly keep it down?"

"I'll... see what I can do."

That seemed to satisfy Levy. She beamed now. "Thank you, Erza! Appreciate it!"

With that, they both turned away from one another, and Erza gently shut the door.

When she'd latched the lock again, Erza sank back against the mahogany door and let out a deep sigh.

I really am going to need that instructor…

"Man… this place is weird."

Laxus resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

To pretty much anyone else, both he and Natsu would look incredibly out of place in what appeared to be a crisp, high-end reception hall.

Dark wood paneling on white painted walls with an eggshell finish. Marble flooring. Across the room from them, there was a seating area containing six upholstered leather armchairs laid neatly out in two rows. Between the chairs was a wooden coffee table featuring a flower pot holding recently-picked chrysanthemums, as well as a nickel platter with an array of fresh scones.

Natsu had already been hungrily eying the scones. Admittedly, the wafting buttery scent coming from the nickel plate was quite prevalent, so it was something that Laxus didn't blame him for. The drastic increase in appetite had come with the lacrima, after all. When he was a kid, it had been difficult to manage at times.

Must be a Dragon Slayer thing, he thought idly.

Only a few people had come in and out of the reception hall in the last ten minutes alone. The men in tailored suits with perfect haircuts. The women wearing fitting dresses and blouses, looking immaculate. Some of them holding thick folders in their arms or leather suitcases. The odd glance was spared to both him and Natsu-looks that Laxus knew meant that they were probably out of place.

Well… one of them was, at least. Natsu wasn't exactly doing them any favors.

Laxus always maintained good hygiene and style. After training, he'd washed up in the nearby creek. Then he'd donned a crisp white button-down shirt, navy blue trousers, and dress shoes, while keeping on his fur-lined jacket. Not as formal, but still quite professional.

But Natsu? He'd still been wearing those puffy white pants of his and those black sandals. That new leather jacket he'd taken to was fine since it fit him, and so too was that same old scaly scarf, but he was still shirtless underneath. The whole get-up just made him look like he walked out of the bush.

Which he had. Not even an hour ago.

"There a reason we can't wait over there?" Natsu asked, nodding to the scones.

"Nope. We're leaving after we schedule a meeting with the client."

Natsu shot him a glance, now with a raised eyebrow. "We're not meeting him now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We're not meeting the client while you're dressed like that."

If Natsu was insulted, he didn't show it. He simply looked himself up and down, analyzing his appearance for a moment. Then he looked back at Laxus. "What do you mean? I look fine."

Laxus didn't even bother replying. He simply kept his gaze focused on the couple ahead of him. A man and a woman, the former in a black suit and the latter in a white dress. They were chatting to the secretary sitting behind the front desk about a dinner party happening later that evening. And they'd been doing so for the last ten minutes.

Shouldn't take long to talk about smoked salmon and champagne.

Thankfully, "Well, let us know in advance when Mr. Trast will be returning. We'd be delighted to have him at the ball."

Returning? What did that mean?

With that, both the man and the woman turned and made their way towards the front doors. Though not without sparing a pair of peculiar glances at Natsu as they went.

He approached the front desk, then leaned against the marble wall between himself and the short brunette secretary. She seemingly hadn't taken notice of the impatient Fire Mage standing behind him. "Hello!"

"Hi," Laxus greeted back. "My associate and I are wizards from Fairy Tail. We're here to speak to Mr. Gerwan Trast about the request he sent to our guild just over a week ago. Is he fine with meeting us tomorrow?"

She positively beamed once he'd mentioned Fairy Tail. A good sign. "Of course! Mr. Trast asked me to keep an eye out for any messages from your guild. He'll be glad to meet you as soon as he gets back."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Once he gets back?"

"Unfortunately, Mr. Trast left for Arborgrove just a few days ago. There was an unrelated family emergency he needed to handle."

"That's fine. Do you know when he'll be back in town?"

"Let me see…" She hummed as she dug through a small stack of papers on her side of the wall. After a moment, she fished a small card out and read it over. "He should be back here Monday morning."

Today and tomorrow. A small delay, but it might just prove to be a blessing in disguise. "Alright… in that case, my associate and I will be staying at the Grand Wyvern. Any chance you can let us know once Mr. Trast returns?"

"Of course!" The woman beamed. "I'll have a notice sent over on the day of. Who should I address it to?"

"Laxus Dreyar and Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail."

"So… err… You two come here often?"

Not even an hour later, Natsu Dragneel found himself sitting stark naked in a bath-house on the other side of the Silvergate District.

The slow-paced walk from the Grand Wyvern had been uneventful (save for more than a few judgmental stares), but his being led into this place had been disarming. Even more so after he'd been quickly separated from Laxus, shown to a wide, rectangular-shaped room featuring a large bathtub made of stone, and then stripped of all his clothes by two half-naked women. One a brunette, and the other a natural blonde. Both of them were petite, slim women. Both of them were quite well-endowed.

And both of them were wearing nothing except their underwear and a bra.

Each.

Now, Natsu was sitting half-submerged in the tub. The brunette, Illia, had taken a wooden pail full of hot water and poured it onto his backside. Meanwhile, the blonde, Izumi, had already begun scrubbing down his chest with a soap-filled sponge.

It was quite strange just how toned and firm their fingers felt pressing down on his skin and muscles.

Natsu's question was only met with a pair of polite, yet sensual smiles.

"We work here, Natsu-sama," Izumi said, a brief twinkle in her blue eyes. She flicked back a lock of blonde hair and kept scrubbing away at his abs. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah, yeah… right." He'd slapped himself mentally for the comment.

It was rather hard to focus at the moment.

Now it was Illia's turn to giggle. "You look flushed, Natsu-sama," she hummed. "I hope the bath is not too hot for you?"

It's not the bath that's the issue.

Natsu had been surrounded by beautiful women for most of his life. This wasn't exactly new to him. It was more the notion that each time a wayward breast had grazed his biceps or backside, either by Izumi or Illia, he'd felt a hot burning instinctual urge to pick up the instigator in question, pin her to the wall, and…

…well…

A simple downwards glance and they'd see just how excited he was.

Naturally, he had enough self-control to keep himself reined in. Still, Natsu knew he was blushing by now, and did nothing to hide it.

Both women had giggled girlishly at his continued silence and kept on with their work. No doubt they'd seen this type of reaction from other customers before, and Natsu was simply next in line.

They continued to wash his back and chest for five more minutes. Then they did his arms and legs, then finally, his head. A wave of soapy water flushed over him as Illia rinsed his hair. Long loose strands of spiky salmon hair blocked his eyes.

Izumi immediately pushed away the locks of hair covering his eyes, however. "You're so strong, Natsu-sama," she commented. With her kneeling to his right and with her scrubbing away at his scalp, Natsu felt his shoulder slip briefly between the valley of her breasts. "Is it true you defeated the demon Lullaby single-handed?"

Is she fucking teasing me on purpose now?

He barely managed to contain his growl. "No. I had some help from my friends, Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster. I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Oh!" Illia hummed excitedly. "You mean Titania? Oh, I've heard so many stories about her from Sorcerer Weekly! Does she really have over fifty different sets of armor? Where does she store them all?"

"Probably a lot more than that, to be honest," he said. Thankfully, her questions were beginning to take his mind off his more frisky thoughts. "Think she's got a whole room to keep them in."

It wasn't long before they'd finished washing him. From there, he'd risen from the tub, and the two girls dried him off thoroughly. Once done, they'd given him a long white towel, which Natsu wrapped around his waist. Then he was led past a tall wooden door into the next adjoining room by Izumi.

Waiting for him was none other than Laxus, who was also half-naked, along with two other girls who'd probably also washed him as well. Already, the blond Lightning Wizard had been sitting on a stool in front of a great circular fire pit. A mug of coffee in one hand, while the two girls behind him had been massaging his shoulders and backside.

A massage? What would come next? A-

Shit! Really hope they don't paint my nails.

Izumi took his hand and led him over to another stool just a few feet next to Laxus, who hadn't appeared to have noticed him. The Lightning Wizard was simply enjoying his coffee while looking at the crackling orange flames in the fire pit dug into the floor below them. Reluctantly, Natsu took his seat and waited for the inevitable.

"Coffee, Natsu-sama?" Illia asked as she suddenly reappeared at his side.

"Yeah, sure."

In a matter of moments, a mug of coffee was poured for him and then placed in his hand. It was steaming hot, though it wasn't like he'd notice the heat.

Admittedly, he was starting to feel far more relaxed now that he was sitting in front of a fire. The crackling of recently cut wood was lending to the rustic ambience of this place. So did the fresh coffee.

It was an odd turn of events. Just this morning, he'd been collecting scars and bruises courtesy of the man sitting to his right. Now he was living it up like a prince.

The fuck was going on?

What was the point of them even being here?

Didn't they have a job to do? Why didn't they just go to find the client up at Arborgrove? Or just head off to Darshel and deal with this mystery labyrinth?

As both Izumi and Illia began pressing their firm palms and fingers into his neck and shoulders, he decided that now was a good time to break the silence.

"So… this is how S-Class jobs usually turn out?" Natsu asked. "You wait around for the client to show up?"

Laxus gave him a knowing glance. "Happens more often than you think. Most of the time, people who send us S-Class requests are either in politics, nobility, or business. Usually, those sorts of people have connections in the Magic Council, maybe even a few guild masters here and there. Meaning that they've got their own shit to do outside of meeting us."

"The Galuna Island job wasn't like this. We just showed up and got to work."

"Not every S-Class job will be like the Galuna one. Most of the time, it's a lot more complicated than rowing to an island and breaking a curse," Laxus said, then draining the rest of his coffee and setting down the mug on a nearby tray. Then he looked Natsu right in the eyes. "Take a moment to think about Trast's request. What did he say the situation was like up in Darshel?"

Natsu raided his memory. He'd read over the job request several times. Had to.

"Two weeks ago, one of my crews broke into something buried beneath the lowest shaft of a mine that we're operating out of Darshel, a small border town just along Fiore's eastern frontier next to Bosco. Beneath the shaft, there's some kind of ancient structure, older than any records I can get my hands on at the moment.

Since then? Whispers. Hallucinations. Strange dreams. More than that, one of my men cut his own eyes out.

Locals are on edge. The mayor's playing dumb. Bosco's started sending "cultural liaisons" to snoop around. If this spirals into an international mess, it'll cost me more than coin—it'll cost lives."

What exactly was Laxus getting at?

The Lightning Wizard pressed on. "His secretary told us that he's gone out for a family emergency. So not only is he dealing with a family issue," Laxus held up his hand to provide emphasis, counting up with his fingers. "But he's running a huge mining company, has other job sites to look after, dealing with competitors, while probably also trying to maintain his position in the company. No doubt the other higher-ups want this thing handled quickly and quietly; if he can't deliver on that, then he'll be out on his ass. And on top of that, he's playing politics with Bosco and trying to keep his workers safe while they suffer the brunt of it all."

Damn… well, that certainly put things into perspective. "Oh."

"Yeah," Laxus nodded. "Might not seem like it upfront, but this thing is a big deal. And as unfortunate as our timing is, waiting a few days for Trast to handle his family business and then get back to us is more than fair. Shit happens, Natsu."

Shit happens.

He supposed that made sense. He usually just cared about the day-to-day stuff. Getting food, training, and hanging out with his team. But Laxus had forced him to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Was it like this all the time? In Magnolia? In other parts of the world?

Natsu didn't know what to think.

Alright, so the situation in Darshel was bad. Still didn't explain why they were sitting in a bath-house. Nor why they'd needed to check into some overly extravagant hotel just up the street from here. Couldn't they just head up to Darshel now and handle the problem?

It was by far the simplest and most direct solution.

"Why don't we just go to Darshel then? Get this thing solved now."

"'Cause we don't know the specifics," Laxus said while one of the women who'd been massaging him had refilled his mug with fresh coffee, which the older man graciously accepted. "You think a doctor would just walk into a surgery without knowing what his patient is going through first?"

"No."

"Exactly. If we just went straight to Darshel, we'd be two random wizards who'd know absolutely nothing about the problem. We'd probably end up making a mess, too. Maybe even causing some blowback on the guild. The best thing we can do now is handle this like professionals."

Maybe even causing some blowback on the guild. Natsu glared at the fire pit as he heard that.

He didn't know what 'blowback' would entail exactly, but the absolute last thing he wanted to do was to bring trouble down on the guild. And definitely not on Lucy, Gray, Happy, or Erza.

That wasn't an option.

What's a few days, Dragneel? You got time to finish that book report.

He was almost finished writing it, too. Natsu didn't consider himself the best when it came to literary skills, but he was fairly proud of what he'd gotten down so far. Still didn't know what the point of it was, though. Maybe Gramps could tell him once they got back.

"So what are we gonna do, then?" He asked with resigned curiosity.

"We keep ourselves busy. Besides, there's a lot you gotta learn while we're here anyway."

"About what?"

Laxus set down his now-empty mug on a nearby tray. "To start, how to carry yourself more professionally."

Natsu scoffed. Somehow, Izumi's nimble fingers digging into the muscles below his neck had helped deal away with his annoyance. "I'm professional."

The older man shook his head with a snicker. "Sure," he said, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "You brought that list of questions that Gramps gave you?"

The list? How did Laxus know about that? Nevermind.

"Uh, yeah. Left it in my bag back at the hotel."

The satirical look Laxus had given him soon vanished completely. In its place, grew a genuine smile.

"Good. That's where we'll start."