Author's Notes: So I have been off for a couple years but I wanted to give fanfic another shot. I wanted to first ask for reviews, there is no such thing as bad reviews. Keep in mind that I won't flag flamers, I'll only troll. You have been warned. I'd like to give an idea of what I am trying to accomplish with this story. I want a real action/adventure story on Fairy Tail Fanfiction, and they are few and rare. I like romance as much as the next person but that doesn't make up the whole story. I also hate to see Natsu or any shonen character portrayed as stupid as opposed to ignorant. These are two completely different ideas. Stupid can't be fixed but ignorance can be. I also would like to see growth with side characters in fanfic as opposed to only Natsu or Lucy depending who the main in this ship is. I like reading centric stories too, but I wanna really get into it. Because of these reasons I decided to write this story. I am very lazy but will try to update weekly at the maximum, daily at the minimum. I already have the next chapters down their summaries I just need to type it up. My goal is 4,000 words per chapter. Not too long, but long enough. I like to borrow ideas from other sources (manga, anime, comics, movies, etc.) Rest assured I don't plagiarize and don't approve or endorse that dishonest practice.
Main Ship is NaLu. I may or may not do others in the story. I'll be honest and admit i will not be doing Erza or Mirajane since they are my least favorite of the Fairy Tail mains. I kinda don't care too much about Gray since he reminds me of Sasuke and that is a fate I don't wish on any manga character. I just don't want to follow the norms of this category of shipping. It's kinda sad to see everyone doing the same thing virtually. The other main hope i have for this fanfic is to bring in realism to the use of magic, more combat scenes, and more philosophical themes to process. It's nice to have a story with your favorite characters getting together or even being bad ass, but the how and why is kind of important. That, to me at least, is what gives a story its depth. Hopefully you guys like it. Have Fun!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters. I wish I did because then the series would never end.
There was screaming and tears, blood and wailing, and confusion. There were men and women alike being flayed, flogged, as they flailed and writhed in agony. There were scars on some, fresh and old that spoke of a twisted experience. In the midst of all this inhumane insanity there was a salmon-haired young man in handcuffs and chains. He was naked like the other victims being walked by guards to a room.
'If they do that to the people outside of the cells, what the hell are they going to do me inside one?!' the young mage thought to himself in a frenzied panic. 'Why the fuck did was I so stupid in doing this shit?'
He began to wiggle and try to fight but, whatever the material was that bound him, it was potent and draining his magic and vitality.
"I think he just realized the level of shit he's in." One of the guards cracked out with a cynical smile.
"Ha! This is always the funniest part" the other responded.
"Look here, boy-o, those cuffs there are wizard canceller. Strong stuff, enchanted with anti-magic and magical absorption runes. You are not going anywhere but to your new room" The first guard said with evil mirth in his face.
"What the fuck! I just wanted to fight in the arenas! This is not what I signed up for!" The young mage roared at the guards.
"Zehahaha! This kid is as stupid as they come." The guard roared to the others.
"Kid this is not a martial competition. But you'll learn that quick enough. You'll die if you don't." There was no more conversation as they arrived and launched him in a dark room.
They left him alone and as they left they said "Oenomaus looooves the fighters. Be sure to resist him as much as you can."
'The fuck is Oenomaus?! Fuck they're right these chains are tough shit. I hope Happy's okay. I need to get the fuck out of here.' The dragon mage began to chew on his shackles in the desperate attempt to undo them, only to fail. He groaned and for the first time in a long time he looked up to nothing in particular and let tears stream from his eyes. This was certainly the mad house the Rune Knights had described it to be. And he knew he should have listened to their plan.
Meanwhile, a blue cat purred in the arms of a nobleman. 'Please get bored of petting me your hands are rough.' The cat thought as he feigned affection towards what he could only view as a slob. 'Even by Natsu's standards this guy is a fucking pig' the blue feline thought to himself. As the man kept petting, the cat merely pretended to sleep as he listened in on the conversation this nobleman was having with his associates.
"Diocletian you can't be serious about getting more slaves from Fiore? That imbecile Bora loosened his lips as soon as he was caught." One of the men spoke to the nobleman that held the blue cat.
"Nero I've told you before the women there are my favorites. They struggle the hardest, fight back with the most ferocity, they are the only ones that satiate me." Diocletian responded.
"I'm with Nero on this, there is no way the Magic Council will not respond to knowing we are the main purchasers of slave products." Another man seated at the round table responded.
"Caligula! Not you too, come on, remember all those harlots we trained?" Diocletian insisted.
"He's right Caligula, those were fun times. Besides, how many of their charities do we fund? We even cover a quarter of their military spending on those pesky knights. We simply retire our investments if they do not accommodate our 'privileges" another man said.
"Aurelius is right. We cover too many of their expenses and they don't have jurisdiction over us here in Bosco." The last of the men seated reasoned.
"You see Caligula? Nero? Aurelius and Commodus understand. We are untouchable as long as we do not step foot in Fiore. They've yet to freeze our assets there. So let's contract another mage to get us more women. Plus the arena could use more gladiators since the weekly tournaments are thinning our brutish herd." Diocletian attempted to persuade his associates.
"Alright Diocletian, as long as we stick together we can buy whatever we want. Who needs magic anyways, when its money that makes the world go round" Nero laughed haughtily as he accepted Diocletian's proposal.
The entire time blue cat pretended to sleep silently and was stiff as a board. He was in utter shock at what he was hearing. These noblemen were not human, and they certainly weren't animals. They were lower than that. 'I need to warn Natsu. These people are evil'
"By the way Diocletian, I know you like cats and all but get rid of that cat my allergies are acting up" Nero quipped at his associate.
"Then get tissue and walk around, cats like this one are rare you know. I mean he is blue for crying out loud!" Diocletian retorted grumpily.
"Whatever."
Natsu was blinded when the door suddenly opened and the light penetrated his irises. He had heard the man on his sick and twisted trot to his cell. The man in question had to be Oenomaus. The things he heard, the assumptions he could only make based off the sounds. This was a grade-A psychopath on a war route to find his new toy.
"So you are the new 'voluntary warrior' for the arena" Oenomaus stated rather than asked.
"Yeah and as soon as your bosses find out you kidnapped me you and all the guards are in for it!" Natsu yelled defiantly.
"You really are stupid, boy. They already know. After all it's not every day that free property, comes voluntarily, and let's itself get chained."
"I thought this place was for warriors not slaves!"
"You thought wrong boy. Warriors are nothing more than ideals held in other countries. Here everyone and everything belong to the big five."
"What?!"
"Ahahhaaah! I really thought you were an infiltrating agent of the Magic Council. Who the hell 'volunteers' to become a gladiator? Ahahahaha! But now I see you are just a naïve brute that really thought you could fight to your heart's content here. Well your wish will be granted. Get up."
Natsu was shocked. This was so far from what had been described to him by the Rune Knights. Did they even know? Or was it that he ignored what they said and now he understood. His eyes wide he looked absently at the floor not noticing the approaching assailant.
WHAM! Oenomaus delivered a short, but powerful, compact hook into Natsu's temple and sent him flying to the other side of the room, chains and all.
"Are you deaf? I said get up. I have to break you and then mold you for the weekly tournament. You look to be in physical form so I have no doubt that you will at least entertain the undefeated gladiator."
Natsu clicked his teeth as his head began to spin. Whoever that guy was, he packed a mean punch. It was like a perfectly aimed lucky punch zinged him in just the right spot. He felt that one all the way to his legs.
"Oh? You look surprised by that punch. Well I can promise you that is only the beginning."
He grabbed Natsu by the hair and proceeded to drag him out the room. In his blurry vision Natsu saw many dead corpses with afflicted faces. A permanent portrait to remember them by. He could hear the cries of women from his cell. But back outside he could smell burnt flesh and semen. Apparently, he missed the branding of people on his way to the cell. But, the violation of those same people was an unwelcome, bile summoning substitute.
"The women are broken and re-programmed to obey every command given so as to please our betting guests. The useless ones are depleted of their magic and then incinerated. The men…" Oenomaus stopped when Natsu began to empty the contents of his stomach.
"Physical form, but a weak stomach. I will definitely have to correct that" Oenomaus smirked and launched a one-handed flurry of compact blows to Natsu's face and torso.
They arrived to a training field in the arena, but empty of the crowds of Lords, Nobles, and other invited guests. Oenomaus clicked his teeth and it was as if Natsu was on the train all over again minus the nausea. Everything was slow. That was the only way to really describe it. There was a pull on Natsu's body, like a force of nature that pulled and weighed him down. No matter how much he fought, between the wizard canceller, and the vomiting, his strength was at an all-time low.
"Struggling to stay up? Of course you are it's my magic. This magic is the combination of snippets of any time dilating magic the masters could find. In this realm, yes realm, time moves differently. It is slower, for one purpose, and one purpose only. To make our gladiatorial fights entertaining."
Natsu, speechless, stood there sweat on his brow, mouth agape. 'This bastard, these people, they're fucking insane!'
"I love that face! When you realize how futile resistance is. But trust me; you don't believe that, not yet. I will break your body, and then I will break your spirit."
Natsu silently swore an oath to himself 'I'm not going to give this bastard the satisfaction.' As the torture began Natsu remained mute, resolute, and defiant with glares and murder in his eyes directed to Oenomaus.
Happy was at his wit's end. This Diocletian guy was not letting him out of his sight. There were no opportunities or venues of escape. This guy had an unhealthy obsession with cats and women from Fiore. He was nothing short of a macabre monster. The worst had been what he heard and witnessed. The abuse of women he could do nothing for or risk blowing his and Natsu's cover; the meeting of the big five which was their mission objective in the first place, and the cruelty with which they dealt with any non-free person in their empire. These animals lived and breathed cruelty, inhumanity, and evil.
The opportunity of escape finally presented itself at nightfall when the man fell asleep. Happy knew he needed to get out and warn Natsu. The problem was finding him. From what he understood there was definitely no way that Natsu was in a safe lodging. He had to be in the cells. The only difficult part would be finding him in the middle of the night. He never thanked the deity upstairs more than this very night for a cat's night vision.
He snuck out and made his way to the arena to see if there were any unguarded routes that led inside. Much to his chagrin there weren't any. So he had to ninja his way in. Only this was not a lame pretend game he and Natsu were playing, and any cats trying to go in would just be sent back to the sleeping pig. Happy shivered at the thought. 'Be strong, Natsu needs me'
Happy, not used to using his feline balance and stealth, darted through his best estimates of the guard's peripherals. To his luck they did not even notice. Or care to notice. He slowed his sprint to a walking pace and searched with eyes and ears for a sign of his best friend. The problem was the smell that assaulted his nose. The smell was similar to that of the big five pigs upstairs in the mansion but different in that it was much worse. It reeked of death, tears, blood, and misery. If that was even possible.
He looked from cell to cell expecting to see sleeping people. What he found would scar him for the next few nights. None of the slaves/gladiators were asleep. All of them were wide awake. Some were trembling, some holding themselves rocking back and forth, and some chanting quiet incoherent mantras that bordered on utterings from insanity. Happy was in fear for Natsu more than ever. Some of these people where from the outskirts where he and Natsu had arrived. They definitely did not look weak and yet they were hardly recognizable. This place was turning out to be hell in layers and levels and Happy had the feeling that he was merely at the surface level.
He reached the last cell in the first level. Judging from the recognizable faces on this level all newly acquired gladiators had to be in this level. So number 47 was the charm. This door was different not having bars to see the prisoner. Happy had to actively open the door. Lucky for him the door was not locked. 'Weird, don't they want to prevent breakouts?' Happy thought until he remembered the condition of the other prisoners. 'The people here are afraid to escape? But they just got here? The consequences must be worse than what's happened to them thus far.'
He opened the door and wish he hadn't. On the other side the sight he held broke his heart. Natsu was in a physically broken state. Cuts, bruises, blood, broken bones, the entire spectrum of pain seemed to have been turned into a collage on Natsu's body. The worst part was that Natsu was staring wide-eyed at his visitor.
"H-h-happy?" Natsu croaked in pain.
"Natsu! What happened?"
"This place is worse than what the Magic Council and the Rune Knights made it out to be." Natsu said in between labored breaths.
"Then let's get out of here and report them to the Magic Council. But I can't watch you like this. Natsu they're evil people behind all this. The Big Five? I've heard what they do. I'm scared Natsu."
Natsu stared at his partner and smiled. "At least you are okay. I wanna get out too. But I can't turn my back on the people stuck here. And I ain't gonna leave til I pay Oenomaus back for all the shit he put me through. I promised myself I was going to survive him. And now, I'm gonna kill him."
This was not the same Natsu that came in earlier this day. "Natsu what did he do to you in the last 24 hours that makes you want to kill him?"
"24 hours? That might be what you felt pass by Happy, but from what he said and from how it felt, he called it 'time dilation'. It felt like a month passed by for me."
Happy was shocked at that statement. It was no wonder he saw the faces of the prisoners in the state that they were in. They must have had a similar experience and were completely unaware of how much time had passed. He was right; these people had not been weak. They had simply been broken over time.
"How the hell do you plan to finish the mission and escape this mad house?"
"I don't know Happy, but I do need you to do something for me."
"What?"
"I need you to find runes, of any kind, to cancel the anti-magic and magical absorption. If I can fight this guy with my magic I know I can win. While you do that I will look to see if the gladiators are willing to help for the sake of their freedom. And don't worry about me buddy. As long as you're safe I can take anything these guys throw at me."
"But N-n-natsu" Happy cried.
"No buts Happy. We are Fairy Tail mages and we won't fail."
"Aye sir" Happy cried again and left closing the door.
As Happy neared the entrance he dried his tears and assumed the cat role again. He felt disgusted as he pretended to be a stray cat looking for someone to purr with. The guards noticed a blue cat purring at their feet. A soft kick let Happy know to run along that the guards didn't want his company. He walked around the mansion and made it back to Diocletian's bed chamber and found a pillow and slept.
Meanwhile, Natsu sat there in contemplation. He should have listened to the master when he was warned to not take Rune Knight missions, just to clear debts to society. He should of listened when Erza warned him that those same missions did not always follow the mage ranking system and were voluntary because of the high risk and low reward. He should have listened when Lucy asked him to pick another mission with her instead. As if Galuna Island had not taught him to be so impetuous, this mission certainly would if he survived it. But thus far the only people he came into contact with had been the guards who brought him, Oenomaus, and Happy.
The gladiators did not train together. Clearly Oenomaus placed them in separate cells and trained at different parts of the day. No revolts could happen after all if you had no allies and thought you were alone in you imprisonment. Natsu honestly did not know why, but his rage and pride would not let Oenomaus have the satisfaction of having broken him. Thankfully, the room acted as a healing chamber and from what the slave driver had said, by morning his wounds heal and have him at top form for the next session of re-programming.
'I miss you Lucy' what he would give to be with her at her house sleeping on her bed, and eating her food. Riling her up, making her laugh or smile, and even testing her patience to its breaking points. There were many of his comrades at Fairy Tail that he missed dearly. That magic of Oenomaus had made it seem like so long ago when he saw them, even though, he knew to them it had only been a day on this weeklong mission. But in all this he had to admit, she was the one he thought of the most. Especially how glad he was that she refused to go with him. Hell he even missed Gray. That's how nasty and vile this place was to him. He decided to try to force himself to sleep by counting sheep. By the time he reached 13 he fell into the deepest slumber due to his wounds and stress.
'The people screamed and cheered around the battle circle. There was a tall man of a toned muscular build. He was in the center basking in their cheers. At his feet was yet another opponent. Natsu looked and saw this man, and was filled with joy and pride? The niggling feeling that this man was familiar to him bothered Natsu greatly. Natsu realized he was being carried and switched between two people.
One was a black haired boy dressed in antiquated robes. The other was a black haired woman that to Natsu seemed so beautiful and so familiar he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
"Sweetie can you hold Natsu for a moment, my arms are getting tired. It looks like your father won't be beaten anytime soon. You know he won't want to leave until that happens."
"Okay mom." The boy smiled and held Natsu. Natsu realized he was a child and that he had no control of his current actions. He only felt joy and suddenly as if trying to reach out to the salmon-haired man that was center stage he yelled out "Da!"
"Yes, Natsu that is our dad. It's too bad no one is going to beat him though. Dad never loses a fight. This means we will be here all day." The black-haired boy said to Natsu.
Natsu fought for control of his body, wondering what the hell was going on. He had never met these people and yet they looked so familiar. They seemed to be related to him or vice-versa. He didn't know them but they looked like what could pass as his mom, dad, and a brother. Realizing there was nothing he could do but watch he did just that. Mesmerized by the older man's style Natsu observed how it was an aggressive style. It was composed of flurries of powerful blows, connecting combinations that were clearly thought of at the moment. From the center of balance, to the pivot fought, to the setup of the handset, everything screamed unbridled aggression. It was a pace no opponent could match.
"That's dad special style Natsu," the black-haired brother that claimed to be his brother said, "It's called the Red Dragon Style. Pay close attention Natsu so that when we get home you can use more of his katas this time"
Natsu felt his concentration go up. That style was different to anything Natsu had seen or fought against. The zig-zag stepping that tripped up the opponent, the powerful horse stance that delivered great inner power strikes and counters, and even the kicks that came from perfect balance. The style made it seem as if the man would dominate no matter where he fought; land, air, or even the sea. But its most impressive trait was its sheer force. The cringe-worthy blows that landed from odd angles left every opponent counting the stars that orbited their heads. No matter how much endurance or resistance the opponents gave there was none that made it past 10 punches landed.
Natsu wondered why he was seeing this. Was this the magic of that bastard? Is this how he broke people? Or was this a memory? He never did remember his time before meeting Igneel and he seemed to be younger in this place than when he met the dragon. As he wondered the scene before him shattered to pieces.'
Natsu awoke in sweat and company of the slave enforcer himself: Oenomaus. To say that the dream had not been pleasant was a lie. It was very pleasant. But the face of this man simply told Natsu that he would regret not hiding that fact from his countenance.
"How is it I cannot break you already? I have never met someone that took more than a month to break!" Oenomaus asked rhetorically. "What is it that drives you so that you resist me?"
"The hope of a lifetime…your mother's snatch" Natsu spat knowing he would regret making the man any more upset.
"And there it is! The insubordination, the disrespect, but above all the thing that I hate the most! The hope of survival! What makes you think you have the right to have that of all things? How do you even keep it alive?"
"Fuck you, that's how!" The slave enforcer lost his patience and immediately took Natsu into his magic. "I'll make sure you rue the day you were born."
The man dragged Natsu again to the arena. A long and painful walk, with blows raining down on him every so often. The man whipped out a knife and immediately began to carve symbols on the deeper layers of Natsu's skin. Natsu to his credit did not scream, he remained mute, but his body convulsed making the knife hurt all the more.
"You stupid boy! Break already! I am done wasting time with you. I have a schedule to keep and you are keeping from it. We still haven't done your complete re-programming let alone you first day in the arena tourney." The impatient enforcer raged as he reached into his pocket. Natsu remained silent, vision blurry from the shock.
"Those symbols will make you feel all the pain of a few seconds spread out over the next few hours. And this vial will increase your sensitivity a thousand fold." Oenomaus grinned sadistically. He grabbed a weakened Natsu's jaw forcing it open along with emptying the vial's contents and forcing Natsu to swallow. Natsu choked and could already feel some differences in his body. Excruciatingly painful differences.
"Unfortunately I do not have time to play. We are all business today. Today will be your first tournament. The rules are simple enough: fight or die. Anything is allowed, except for magic of course. And as my special surprise for you, your first opponent will be exceptional, well fed, well trained, and in perfect form whilst you will fight him in your current state."
'This guy just wants to see me dead! Well bring it on tough guy!' Natsu thought to himself while the man smiled at his silence.
"Not to worry, your only advantage will be taking in training from me. Many gladiators think they know the martial arts but predominantly they are dumb mages at best. Brute strength is all that you may have. But we have spectators, bet placing, and the big five to entertain, so under no circumstance will I send any untrained gladiator to make a mockery of my arena."
Natsu was starting to feel thundering migraines, even his senses were affected by the sensitivity. The man spoke and it hurt him. The air whipped around him and it hurt, the searing pain of the knives was piling and becoming hard to resist screaming. Labored breath, panting, wheezing, and even standing hurt beyond comprehension. For the first time in his life Natsu felt the temptation to just lie down and never wake up. This was too much to bear. But then an image flashed to head of Happy. He grit his teeth. Of Erza and Gray, he clenched his hands. An image of Gildarts and Macao, his uncle figures, and he took a deep breath. Of Old Man Makarov, Natsu did his best to steady his erratic heartbeat. Of the various members of Fairy Tail, and he moved his right hand to form the insignia of his guild to himself. Finally, the final image was that of Lucy, with resolve overriding the pain he was feeling, and anger released inside of him, he looked at Oenomaus.
"Bring on the training, bring on the gladiators. I ain't losing to you or them!" Natsu roared at the height of his resolve.
"You will definitely be my favorite when I break you. But for now we will spar."
That was the only warning Natsu had when the man launched himself. A fluid motion then led to an overhand right hitting dead on to his target, Natsu's sternum. Natsu took the punch and steeled himself making the man miss slightly to the right, but taking damage nonetheless. He attempted a left hook that was dodged, into a sweeping kick. Oenomaus caught the kick and stood up kicking Natsu's other foot. Natsu was thrown like a rag doll.
"Fast for your condition, but your form is amateur at best. You would never stand a chance against the gladiators. Now get up and learn from your mistakes. After all, we have a month together" Oenomaus cackled.
The only thing that went through Natsu's mind, 'This guy is good. It's like he can read me like a book.' No matter how many flurries Natsu launched at him, no matter how many combinations he used from the assorted set Igneel taught him, no matter how many kicks and grapples he attempted, Oenomaus seemed to be a step ahead every time. 'Why? Why? Why? At this rate I won't even make it to the arena. This guy will kill me long before that.'
"By the Gods, I knew you were a brute but it seems despite all your instincts you lack a brain!" Natsu looked absentmindedly at the slave enforcer whom was clearly even more irritated than he was.
"Pay attention you brat, at least try to conceal your movements from me. Think about what direction your stance will take when you strike. Where do you end up? You have literally been wholly in luck to have won any fight in your past by pure luck or power, but certainly not by skill or brains." Oenomaus reproached at Natsu.
"Huh?" was all Natsu got out before the man went berserk onto him. Natsu had no breathing room. He had no space, no comfort, or even range to himself. This man had invaded his space and was dominating him.
"Think you moron! I am in your space and still you cannot counter? What kind of a warrior, even by Fiore's low standards, are you?!"
At this Natsu was enraged. Who the hell was this man to insult the warriors of Fiore, or anyone for that matter? This man was only winning because of the wizard canceller and its runes. Without it Natsu knew for certain that he'd destroy this guy. And yet deep down, he realized something. This man is more of a fighter than he was. And considering Natsu's magic almost required hand to hand combat knowledge, he opened up his mind and concentration as best as he could despite the pain. 'Maybe if I try a different style I can get him?' He threw his next punch, and molded his arc to that of what Erza would do when she sparred with him. More compact, it seemed as if he was going to land his punch first when his opponent's punch was suddenly pulled and his foot appeared out of nowhere striking Natsu in the jaw. He crumpled onto floor trembling from the overload of the pain reception poison and magic he'd been subjected to.
"Not only are you dumb, you're also deaf. I told you to conceal your strikes not alter their rhythm. What good is it to use a move you are not accustomed to against a more skilled opponent? You will not embarrass the big five. Either you start performing or I just do us both the favor and kill you now."
Natsu was at a loss. Changing the style didn't work, and Natsu in too much pain to truly be able to strategize, knew he needed a breakthrough now before Oenomaus decided he was useless. How could he conceal movements? Or was it something else? Oenomaus deciding to stop giving Natsu any leeway attacked. He was swift and violent. Natsu began to notice something in the midst of the beating he was receiving. Despite the fact that this man wanted to kill him for his uselessness he could not truly tell how or where his attacks were coming from. Not only that but there wasn't a shred of bloodlust which was odd. Natsu realized in that moment, 'that's how he does it? He shuts off his emotions until the point of attack, and postures his body so that it is always loose? How's that different from what I do?' But Natsu knew, he wasn't exactly calm or composed. He was also trying to cleave the man's head with every attack he launched.
In order to survive the onslaught, Natsu waited and surprised himself when he caught the next punch. He grabbed Oenomaus and flipped him towards the floor. Natsu immediately went for a soccer kick to the face, but Oenomaus quickly moved. Jumping up Oenomaus launched an uppercut which forced Natsu to back off or fall back into the previous pace of his beat down. Oenomaus grinned savagely.
"Good, so you aren't completely useless. Aggressive fighters tend to exude an aura or pressure that is intimidating to their opponents. But that does not excuse them from mindlessly wasting stamina, or not being able to keep their composure. Like a predator or even a hunter they hold it in and strike. Now come at me boy and I'll stop leaving opening for you to exploit."
True to his word, the man really had been going easy on Natsu. But at least Natsu was able to control his space again. The pain by this point was merely something to be used to. Natsu felt numb because of it. Not even registering some of the more dangerous strikes. His body begged for him to cease and desist, but him mind burned with barely contained rage and vengeance. The problem now had been how the man had been able to out-style him. Natsu's style consisted of balancing defense and offense, constantly switching between the two. Sure he went aerial, but that was because of his magic. Without it there was no real reason to take those leaps of faith. And this was capitalizing on that weakness.
"It's a damn shame, I really spoke too soon. You were definitely an arcane mage. You depend on your magic to supplement your weaknesses in your style. But a weakling like you is only fit to be fed to the big five for the Weekly Banquet."
"To be what?!" Natsu half panted half screamed.
"You didn't know? The masters have a taste for gladiator meat. They can't eat the champion because that is a financial asset so they instead eat the losers, and the weaklings such as you."
"Fuck you! I'm not food for those pigs!"
WHAM! Oenomaus slapped Natsu. "You will not disrespect the Big Five in my presence. And yes you will be food unless you can show me you are gladiator material. You have composed yourself but harsh reality is that you style as a result of your magic has weakened you. I on the other hand use a style that complements my magic but is not hindered when I do or don't use my magic."
'Shit. This guy is going to cook me unless I can prove I'm gladiator material. I can't really use anyone else's style cuz they also use magic. Wait! The dream I had, whether or not this guy gave me that dream I don't really know, but I did see a style that didn't use magic and should be able to let me smack this guy around. Here goes…' Natsu immediately widened his horse stance. He raised his handset mimicking the one from his dreams. And to add the finishing touches he contained his rage and concentrated on a single target. He looked in the man's eyes ready to pounce but he waited. It was as if he was inviting Oenomaus into his space. Oenomaus, however, looked confused and a bit concerned. One minute he was fighting a spoiled brat throwing tantrums at best, mixed in with some lucky punches. The next minute this child closed his defenses, contained his bloodlust, and was exuding the aura of what strangely felt like a wild predator the likes he'd never witnessed.
Natsu relaxed his battered body, and felt loose. This style he'd seen it in the dream but it felt so natural and so familiar, it was as if he really had practiced it before. Oenomaus launched a fist, but Natsu used his guard to redirect the punch outwards while simultaneously striking Oenomaus in the teeth. WHAM! The satisfying crunch certainly let Natsu know this style was the way to go. Blood trickled from Oenomaus lips and nose.
"Well, well, well you've holding out on me boy. If that was a style you had before why waste both our time in bringing it out? No matter. You are ready for the next phase. Karakuri Summoning!" He flared his magic and multiple automatons donning gladiatorial garbs were coming up from the earth.
"The rest of this month will be spent surviving and honing that style. Personally, I hope you die brat, but you aren't completely useless so either way you 'will' serve the Big Five." He left through what looked like a tear in the realm leaving Natsu with the drones. As he left, he noticed the runes of pain had lost their magic and the scars were now healing his wounds. Natsu felt his vitality returned and realized he would need it for this next part of conditioning.
"Alright you creepy sand dolls come and get some, cuz Daddy needs to vent!" Natsu roared as they attacked.