Author's note: Hello there. It's been a while since the last time. This story is a sequel to The Dragon and the Senshi in case it's not obvious. Have fun!
Disclaimer:
Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha Comics
Fairy Tail is the property of Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flashback
The Dragon and the Senshi: A mysterious world
Prologue
The year is 780. In Crocus City, the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, a certain merchant who has recently gathered influence and connections decided to hold a charity event, with a masquerade as a theme. Many prominent members of the merchant guild and nobles were invited, including Princess Hisui herself. The guests, who up until that point were merrily chatting and enjoying the amenities of the ball, turned to the stage, where a tall, middle aged man with combed short grey hair and a thin moustache cleared his throat.
"If I could get your attention please. On behalf of our guild, I would like to thank you all for attending this event today. We know all of you have busy schedules, and it warms my heart to see that so many took the time to come and assist in this endeavour to better the lives of our fellow countrymen. As her highness knows…"
The man went on, clearly having prepared his speech beforehand. Meanwhile, a certain young man with spiky dark hair observed the affluent man. He's one of the guests who opted to wear a mask, and his simple black tuxedo gave the impression that he's one of the upstarts of the guild. As he stood apart from the crowd, a beautiful woman approached him, smiling under her own butterfly mask.
"You must be new in the world of business." She noted, giving the young man a not so subtle look over. "Standing alone, without a drink and not even bothering to hide your contempt for our esteemed host. You are in your early twenties, most likely in the first party without your benefactor. Am I wrong?"
The dark haired man turned to his sudden companion, noticing the red low cut dress that hugged her curvy figure, as well as her luscious, wavy blond hair, and allowed a slight smirk to form on his lips.
"Is people watching one of your hobbies, milady Rochefort?" He asked in return.
"My my. You may be more informed than I realized." Lady Rochefort said, sauntering closer. "A word of advice; you might think our host, lord Ruthford, to be a benevolent merchant. The truth is, he is quite cunning and has surrounded himself with powerful allies. It's even said that he has gained the favour of King Touma. And his sharp dressed men in black are not joking. So it might be in your best interest to pretend to be interested in this gathering."
"Won't you get in trouble for telling me this?" The young man wondered, his cocked eyebrow visible above the mask. The woman chuckled in response.
"Let's just say I've taken an interest in you." She admitted before she placed her hand on the man's shoulder. "But seeing as neither of us want to listen to dear old Ruthford, what say we continue this discussion to your room?"
"I suppose I don't need to ask why your room isn't available, milady." The dark haired man mused, and the blonde showed annoyance for the first time.
"I'll be grateful if you don't make me talk about that boorish man." She said.
"My apologies if I have soured your good mood." The dark haired man said while taking the woman's hand in his own. "But I'm afraid there's a matter which requires my immediate attention. Should that get taken care of, I will look for you, milady Rochefort."
"I shall hold you to that, my mysterious stranger. But before you go, won't you at least offer me your name?" The blonde enquired, causing the young man to offer her a mischievous smile.
"I would answer, but where's the fun in spilling secrets?" He joked before he planted a kiss on Lady Rochefort's hand and made his escape. Heading to the exit, he spared one last glance to the host, who's still giving his speech, and snuck out of the room. The dark haired man let out a breath and loosened his tie before he took out a small lacrima that was glowing. Activating it, he heard a woman's voice coming from it.
"Having fun at the party?" She asked, earning a groan from the young man.
"Yeah, talking like I have a stick up my ass was so much fun. Those rich ladies can be pretty nosy." He snarked while walking down the hallway.
"You have too much charm to blend in." The woman noted, clearly amused, as the masked man reached a staircase.
"And you would know about my charm." He deadpanned before he grew serious. "From this point there are guards. Have our friends the rune knights on standby."
"I know you can do it. Good luck, Gray." The woman said before shutting down the lacrima, and Gray moved to the upper floor.
'Mercenaries, but no signs of mages among them.' The dark haired man thought, inspecting the armour of the guards before he opened a window. His plan was to scale the building from the outside with his magic, and the lack of mages worked to his advantage. It wasn't long before Gray reached the room he was looking for. This time he deliberately made sure that the sharp dressed guard would see the window being opened, and he knocked him out when the guard got closer. The mage hid the unconscious mercenary and entered the room.
"If I was a pompous ass, where would I hide the switch?" Gray mused as his eyes fell on a rather large portrait of merchant Ruthford. Removing it, he found the lever. "Bingo."
The wall gave way, revealing a hidden room, and at the centre of it the object that Gray was looking for. However, the moment the mage removed it from its place, the wall behind him shut down.
'Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Sneaking isn't my thing anyway.' Gray thought, grinning as he faced the wall. "I suggest you move away from the wall."
On the other side, the mercenaries laughed in response to Gray's advice.
"This wall is enhanced by magic. What are you going to do, tear it down?" One mercenary asked, while another said, "Just stay put, you little thief. You were in over your head, trying to steal from a place we, the Azure Wolves, are guarding!"
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Gray simply said before the entire room shook, causing the laughter to die down. Another shaking, and the wall that separated them blew up, revealing the mage with only his pants.
"That tattoo on his chest! He's Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail!" One of the guards exclaimed.
"Why would an S Class Mage steal from lord Ruthford?" Another wondered and Gray smirked.
"You should choose your employees more carefully, though I really can't blame you in this case." The dark haired mage noted.
"It doesn't matter who he is. Our job is to stop anyone from stealing from lord Ruthford!" A tall bearded man declared as he stepped up and took out his sword. He let out a war cry as he charged at Gray, who sidestepped out of the attack and struck at the mercenary's gut with a punch, taking him out. The rest of the mercenaries were disheartened, but they attacked anyway, resulting in Gray fighting his way out of the room. He still had the merchant to collect.
'They're definitely professionals. Looks like Ruthford was suspicious that someone was on to him.' Gray thought, having run into more of the security on his way to the ballroom. Force opening the large door, he came face to face with the merchant, who was surrounded by the men in black, while the guests looked uneasy.
"You- you're a member of Fairy Tail! Why would you attack me, someone who is favoured by the king?" Ruthford stuttered, and Gray took out the item he got from the vault in response, causing the merchant to pale further.
"You are in possession of an illegal artefact. No amount of favour will save you from that, milord." The mage declared as he started walking towards the older man. "I suggest you come quietly."
"What are you looking at, you fools? Shoot him, shoot him now!" Ruthford ordered, and Gray noticed that to their credit, the mercenaries hesitated before unloading their weapons on him. The mage simply froze the bullets before he dashed past them, punching Ruthford in the gut and carrying him on his shoulder. The mercenaries moved to reload their weapons, but a glare from Gray stopped them. The dark haired man then jumped from a window, landing on his feet as a small group of men dressed in light blue priestly robes approached him. A bespectacled man with a dark ponytail who looked to be the leader glanced at the unconscious Ruthford before he turned to Gray.
"I trust you have more than this man?"
"You think I like carrying people on my shoulders?" Gray snarked as he handed the merchant to the rune knights, then took out the artefact and showed it to the council official.
"It looks exactly as we were informed." Lahar noted as a knight handed him a special case to place it. "Very well, then. We'll interrogate Ruthford to find out how he got his hands on the artefact. As for you, Gray-san, you have done well on another retrieval mission. I suggest you take a break."
"Will do, but we need to strike at the source. Tell me if you get anything from this guy." Gray said before he turned and walked away. It wasn't long before he found his partner leaning on a lamp post, smiling at him. Though her long scarlet hair covered one of her chocolate brown eyes, Gray could tell that Erza was amused.
"I still can't get used to you carrying out proper talks with council officials. It really brings a tear to my eye." Erza joked and Gray chuckled in response.
"I guess this is what happens when they stop getting into our hair all the time." The dark haired man mused as they started walking together.
"True. And you started breaking stuff after you found the artefact too." The scarlet haired woman added as she brought a shirt from her requip space and gave it to Gray.
"You think you break less stuff?" Gray countered, though his expression was amused rather than annoyed. "Besides, there was a lot of cake at the buffet. I'd have to get inside to remind you of the mission."
"I always put the mission above cake." Erza muttered, pouting.
"Remember that time you almost pummelled the client who hated sweet stuff?" Gray reminded his partner, whose cheeks matched the colour of her hair at the mention of that time.
"T-that was a one-time thing!" She stammered in response. Gray's expression softened and he didn't tease Erza further; instead he gently patted her on the head. Erza dropped the pout, but she remained flustered.
"I wonder if the others are at the bar already…" Gray started in order to change the subject, but he cut himself when he felt someone watching him. The dark haired man stopped walking and looked back.
"What's wrong?" Erza asked, confused, as Gray turned back to her.
"Nothing, probably just being more tired than I thought. I did hunt that trail for weeks." Gray tried to reassure his partner, but Erza looked sceptical.
"Has it happened before? Do you feel someone… calling you?" She hesitantly asked. Gray looked at the sky, realising where Erza was getting at.
"It's been almost three years…" He mused, lost in thought for a while before looking at the scarlet haired woman. "No, it's not like how Lucy described it. I told you, I've been on the trail for the artefact for some time, so I'm probably still a bit on edge."
"It better be that." Erza said as she lightly punched her partner in the arm. "If you disappear on me, I'll find you and kick your ass."
"And I wouldn't want that to happen." Gray noted, and the duo laughed before they went back on their way. Unknown to them, a masked spectre observed them from afar.
"Here you go!" Natsu said with a grin as he handed a bowl of ramen to excited little boy. The rose haired man turned to go back to the kitchen, smiling to the other customers on the way. While he got past the counter, his ears picked up his boss doing his antics as usual and he turned to observe the scene.
"Master, what's this?" A customer asked, staring incredulously at a large, steaming hot bowl in front of him that was dominated by a red sauce.
"Hmm? Mapo tofu. What else?" The boss answered naturally.
"But I ordered tonkotsu ramen!" The customer exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer presence of the dish.
"Rejoice, young man. This mapo tofu has all the nutrition you need for a busy day." The boss explained before he went back to preparing another serving.
"Better drop it and go with the flow, lad. Manager Jouji's mapo tofu is a special dish." An older customer grinned at the young man. "You might find it too spicy to handle at first, but overcome the hotness and you'll find one of the best meals you've eaten in your life."
Other customers, most of them on the old side, encouraged the young customer in similar ways, so he gave it a shot.
"H-How is this possible? This mapo tofu is so hot, like entering the hot springs while still dressed, but it's so sweet and… comforting?" He exclaimed to himself before he blinked, realising that he already finished the serving. Bolting up, the young customer raised the bowl and shouted, "Master, seconds!". Manager Jouji, already expecting this response, smiled smugly and set a second serving.
'That guy, he did it again!' Natsu mused while preparing a different order. The rest of the shift went by quietly, so the rose haired man had time to contemplate on stuff.
'Manager Jouji is odd, randomly making mapo tofu when people haven't asked for it or bringing strange things from his trips, but he always means well. He took me in for work with no questions asked, taught me the dishes, and is lenient on the work hours since he knows both Michiru and I are busy. Though I get the feeling he used to be an assassin.' Natsu thought, glancing at the older man. Not only was he too ripped for a middle aged cook, he twirled his knives in dangerous ways from time to time. 'Like right now.' The rose haired man added inwardly, sweatdropping. There was also that time a yakuza group tried to make him pay protection money, only for them to run away in fear of the cook's deadly aura.
Just as he finished the order, Natsu noticed a small crowd gathering around a table. He approached the table and noticed a little girl who had become very dear to him over the past years. He might have met Hotaru late during the battle with the Death Busters, but her plight and her strong will, despite her frail body, drew the dragon slayer to her and gave him another drive to defeat their otherworldly enemies. And even though he initially failed to save her, the miracle that was brought forth by the powers of the Silver Crystal and the Holy Grail revived the girl and Natsu resolved to one of the things he least expected to do when he accepted Pluto's request; become a father figure to the girl. Then again, he didn't expect to fall in love either, but he had no idea he would meet the most wonderful woman in the world.
"She's been waiting for some time, so I made the kid some mapo tofu. Not to worry, it's mild." Manager Jouji said as he walked next to Natsu and smiled. "She grew up from the last time I saw her. You and your girl must have your hands full raising her."
"Honestly, sometimes we don't know what we would do if not for Hotaru." Natsu admitted with a chuckle. He'd been working for nearly two years at the restaurant, and Hotaru grew up by six years in that time. When the manager noticed that, he just gave Natsu a knowing look and said that kids grow up too fast these days. As for Hotaru's growth, Setsuna had theorised that the girl would rapidly reach the age before her reincarnation and then grow up normally, which is what seemed to happen so far. "Anyway, you are free to go for the day."
The cook then walked back to the kitchen, leaving Natsu to approach his adopted daughter, who noticed him and smiled.
"You should've told me you came." Natsu said, matching Hotaru's smile.
"But you were busy, Papa. I didn't want to bother you while you were working." The young girl explained, and Natsu laughed goodheartedly as he ruffled her hair.
"Well, I'm done for today so we can go." The rose haired man said and the duo bid farewell to everyone before they went to get Natsu's new scooter. He had recently gotten a licence since he finally managed to get rid of his motion sickness, though Natsu wouldn't risk boat travelling just yet.
"Not that I mind, but you came earlier than I expected. Wasn't Setsuna with you?" Natsu asked curiously.
"Something came up, so Setsuna-nee brought me here and then left." Hotaru answered as they stopped at a red light.
'Did something happen? Nah, it can't be that, there are no battles since we fought them… right?' Natsu thought, unconsciously placing his hand on the communicator that he hardly used these days. Suddenly he felt a chill, and the world blackened momentarily as a disjoined voice echoed in his head.
The time has come. Are you ready for the reunion?
Natsu remained stunned long after the world went back to normal, causing Hotaru to stare at him in worry.
"Papa, are you alright?" The purple haired girl asked, hugging her dad to snap him back, and Natsu noticed that the light had turned green.
"Everything's fine, Hotaru. I just remember an errant." He tried to reassure the young girl with a smile. Hotaru wasn't convinced by his poor excuse, but she smiled back at Natsu anyway and they continued their way back.
'I have a bad feeling about this. When we get home, I'll call Setsuna.' Natsu thought, but the communicator went off immediately. The rose haired man eyed it with suspicion before he pulled over to answer.
"Natsu, have you seen Setsuna today?" Haruka's voice was heard from the other side.
"She dropped Hotaru at the restaurant and left immediately. Did something happen?" Natsu asked, noticing the urgency in the blonde's voice.
"Nothing serious. And she probably got stuck in traffic now that I think about it, so don't worry." Haruka vaguely answered, further confirming Natsu's suspicions. Her next line didn't help either.
"Just, be careful." The tall blonde cautioned Natsu and shut off the communication.
'I didn't even get to tell her about the voice. And Setsuna disappearing like that, are they trying to keep us out of trouble? I should call Mitsuru…' The rose haired man pondered before Hotaru pulled his jacket to get his attention.
"Can we go? That weird person is staring at us." The purple haired girl said and Natsu followed her gaze. His instincts screamed as he laid eyes on a masked person with long, black hair, clad in a cloak that looked out of place in this part of the city, so Natsu jumped off the scooter, grabbed a street sign and ripped it off the ground.
"Stand back, Hotaru!" The dragon slayer growled as he launched the sign at the strange person like a spear, then bolted forward to get the jump on him. The masked figure simply raised a hand in response, causing the pole to disintegrate into nothing. They followed by raising the other hand, creating a dark sphere that prompted Natsu to stop and gather fire in his mouth.
"KARYU NO HOKO!" The dragon slayer yelled, launching a breath attack that completely engulfed the masked person.
'That's Earthland magic. How is this possible?' He wondered, realising that his attack was ineffective.
"Did you notice the extend of what I was about to unleash? Or did you realise that the little one would be out of your reach? Either way, stopping your advance was the right call, Natsu Dragneel." The masked figure mused with a short chuckle. Their voice sounded male.
"You're not from this planet. Who are you?" The dragon slayer demanded, glaring at the man whose chuckle turned into a full blown laughter.
"You will know when the time is right." He simply said before he took out a glowing orb, prompting Natsu to dash back to Hotaru in order to cover her while the light engulfed them.
Gray had trouble sleeping. He glanced to his side, where Erza slept peacefully, and smiled softly as he pushed a stray strand of scarlet hair behind her ear. The scarlet haired woman hummed in contentment and Gray stared at her for a while.
'I can't blame her for remembering Natsu's disappearance earlier, my reaction was not the best.' The dark haired man thought, frowning at the memory of their lost friend. 'Even after all this time, there's no sign of him. It's like he just disappeared. Not even Happy realised he was gone. Where did that idiot go off to?'
Getting pissed at his former teammate, Gray gave up on sleep and decided that a walk would help clear his mind. He tried to get up without waking his partner, but Erza proved too formidable even in her sleep.
"Where are you going?" The scarlet haired woman wondered drowsily as Gray was wearing his boots.
"Just for a walk." He told her before leaning and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Go back to sleep. I won't be long." He reassured her with a smile and left the room. Under the quiet, starlit sky of Crocus, Gray tried to sort his thoughts.
'Around the time Natsu disappeared, strange monsters started appearing in the country. The Baram Alliance became more active as well despite losing Oracion Seis, but the most important thing is the Black Mage Zeref's appearance on Tenrou Island during our S Class exam. A legendary dark mage from the past appearing on the guild's holy ground, and he seemed to know about Natsu. It's been so long since the exam and we still haven't found him.' The dark haired man clenched his fist, glaring at no one in particular. One of the reasons he agreed to help the council with the artefacts was so that he could get to Zeref and find a clue on what really happened with the dragon slayer, but the lack of progress was getting grating. Without realising, his feet brought him in front of the building that housed the artefacts they had retrieved in this part of the country.
'Strange, something's going on here.' The ice mage thought, noticing a shadow by a first floor window. He crouched behind a wall just as a nearby window was flung open, and a cloaked figure used a rope to make their escape. Gray narrowed his eyes while placing his hands on the ground, focusing while the thief walked away.
"Ice Make: Floor!" The ice mage whispered, sending a more concentrated version of his move that made a beeline for the cloaked figure, tripping them. He then used the line to slide towards his target, jumping above them with his hands in his signature pose.
"ICE MAKE: PRISON!" Gray yelled while trapping the thief, whose hood fell off and revealed unruly brown hair and a fair amount of stubble, then wordlessly forming a sword which he aimed at him. "Don't try anything funny.
"Tsk, they told me that nobody would be here." The brown haired man muttered before he threw two vials that shattered, releasing a liquid that melted the sword and part of the prison bars. Gray clicked his tongue, jumping to avoid the venom before he aimed his hands behind him and closed off the path with an ice wall.
"You really don't want to make your situation worse." The ice mage threatened the thief, who backed away momentarily before launching forward.
"My situation is bad enough if I don't get the artefact!" The brown haired man shouted while taking out a knife from his sleeve. In response, Gray shifted his stance and grabbed his foe by his extended arm, pulling him up and slamming him to the ground. The ice mage then moulded two pairs of cuffs and bound the unconscious thief.
"What was that about?" The dark haired mage wondered before his eyes fell on a wrapped item on the ground. The moment he picked it up, the feeling of being watched returned, and Gray realised they weren't alone. Suddenly, he felt a throbbing pain rising in his chest, and while his vision blurred considerably, he managed to notice a spectre in heavy priest looking garb before him.
"Who are you?" Gray grunted, but the priest seemingly floated towards him and removed the leather wrap, revealing a glowing orb.
"It is time for the lost lambs to gather! Do you have the resolve to survive, Gray Fullbuster?" The priest declared with an unnatural voice as the orb's glow intensified, surrounding the area.
'Sorry, Erza. I messed up…' Were Gray's last thoughts before he, too, was engulfed.
Author's Note 2: It crossed my mind from time to time these past years. While I was more or less satisfied with how the first story ended up, the whole 'Fairy Tail never finding out what happened to Natsu' thing didn't sit well (as some of the people who read the story pointed out). That, and I also remembered how fun it was writing the Senshi in fighting scenes, something that was rather simplified in the manga and anime for the obvious reason that it wasn't that kind of series. So I thought on scenarios to work with and this is the result. I'm still rusty since I haven't written a story in quite some time, but I hope you'll enjoy this new project regardless. New chapters will probably be released every week. As always, reviews will be appreciated so you know what to do. Until next time.