Self-Defense
Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
*Author's Note #1 – WARNING: The moves described in this fic CAN hurt others. Do NOT use these moves unless it is for SELF-DEFENSE. If you are interested in learning/practicing SELF-DEFENSE, please CONSULT a PARENT/GUARDIAN and/or sign up for a CLASS on SELF-DEFENSE.
*Author's Note #2 – I do not claim to be an expert, but I have had the privilege of taking a full semester of Self-Defense for Women class instructed by a wonderfully strong and powerful woman. She also assists at a Rape Crisis Center, so in a way, what you'll learn from this fic might also aid you in rape prevention as well as defending yourself. Each chapter will go over—in detail—a different self-defense move. You'll learn the name of the move, what weapon from your person you'll be using to perform it (e.g. hand, leg, etc.), and where you are targeting on your attacker. I hope you will benefit from this fic.
Summary: Physical Education has taken a drastic turn at Fairy Tail Academy. Now they have to take Self-Defense. However, the P.E. teacher is too lazy to teach it. In fact, Natsu ends up teaching it! And what will Gray think, especially when Natsu makes him his assistant?
Chapter 1 - Introducing Self-Defense (Rated M)
"I'm getting worried. We haven't seen Natsu all morning," Lucy exclaimed, hands clenching her school-issued uniform. "Where could he be?"
"I don't know," replied Erza. "But I have to say that I'm getting worried, too. It's not like him to miss the first day back to school."
Lucy, Erza, and Wendy stopped walking and just stood there, wondering what they should do. They still had a few minutes before they needed to get to class. And besides, it was Physical Education (P.E.). They could be late.
But it was the first day back after Spring Break and Natsu was nowhere to be seen. And to make matters worse, he didn't even have a cell phone, so they couldn't contact him even if they wanted to.
"Hey, Lucy. Still no sign of Natsu?" Loke asked as he approached them.
"No. And I'm getting really worried, Loke! What if he's hurt or something?" Lucy exclaimed once more.
Loke placed his hands on Lucy's shoulders, trying to get her to calm down. "Lucy, let's just go to P.E. After class, it'll be lunch, and we'll figure out what to do about Natsu then. All right?"
"Fine."
"I hate P.E. It's boring."
The four students groaned as Gajeel arrived with Levy, who was currently rolling her eyes.
"Hello, everyone," announced Levy. "Where's Natsu?"
"We don't know where he is," said Wendy.
"You need to keep better tabs on that idiot," Gray stated as he pushed passed them into the locker room.
"Gray! Now is not the time to let your rivalry get the better of you. Natsu is missing," Erza yelled, making Gray cower slightly as he fled into the locker room.
"Hey. What's gotten her so angry?" asked Sting as he arrived with Rogue. They had recently transferred to the academy.
"Geez, does everyone have P.E. this period?" questioned Lucy.
"Well, fourth period P.E. only has seniors, so I guess everyone we know is in this class," answered Wendy. Even though she was younger than the rest of them, she was still a senior. She'd skipped a couple grades back in elementary school.
Suddenly, they heard the warning bell ring.
"I'm late!" Jellal cried as he ran past them. "Are you coming or what?"
Everyone sprinted for the locker rooms and got changed, making it just in time before heading to the gym. But their teacher wasn't even there!
"You mean we could have been late?" Gajeel said, feeling cheated.
"Morning class," announced Gildarts Clive, their P.E. teacher; however, mostly everyone called him Gildarts—or old man—instead. The students turned to see him enter the gym looking…scruffy…and drunk?
"Oh, my gosh! Are you okay, Gildarts?" Lucy gasped, taking in his appearance. They all did.
"I'm…hic fine," he replied as he cleared his throat. "Um…so the school decided to add…hic a new unit to your Physical Education requirement, seeing that you're old shits and all. But I…hic I don't qualify to teach the course since I drink…hic so the school hired an assistant for me!" he cried. And then he literally started crying. Seriously, what kind of drunk was he? Why was he even allowed to remain at this school as a teacher?
Lucy, who seemed to be the only bold one at the time, approached Gildarts cautiously and placed a trembling hand on his arm. "It's okay, Gildarts." What else was she supposed to say?
"It's not okay!" Gildarts roared. "I told the principal that I could do it and that I didn't need an assistant! So this morning…hic I challenged the assistant they hired and I…hic I lost!" he wailed.
Probably because you were drunk, Lucy thought sourly. Seriously, this school needed help. Or a new principal. She was betting on a new principal. "And what did you lose in?" she continued.
"Self-Defense! I'm supposed to teach you idiots Self-Defense! But now this hotshot kid is going to be running the show!"
"Um, hotshot kid?" Lucy ventured.
"Yeah! Hotshot…hic kid! Actually, now that I think of it, he's a friend of yours, isn't he?
"Friend?" But all of Lucy's friends were here. Well, all except—
"Natsu?!" Gajeel cried. And then he paled. It was actually kind of scary to see him go from tan to such a pale white. "Oh, no! Nonononononono!" Now Gajeel was getting frantic. He'd overheard what Gildarts said to Lucy. And, shit! Natsu was going to be teaching them Self-Defense!
Lucy and the others were momentarily confused. Gajeel had cried out Natsu's name and then just started rambling. What was wrong with him?
"Old man, would you stop crying already?"
Lucy's eyes widened. "Natsu? I was so worried about y—why are you holding a clipboard?"
"It's your roster," Natsu replied, waving it in front of Lucy's face. "I need everyone to make a line on the far side of the gym."
When nobody moved, Natsu glared at them heatedly. "I'm the old man's assistant hired by the principal to aid in this Self-Defense course. I'm actually a Certified Self-Defense Trainer. I work at a youth sports center where I assist teaching Self-Defense classes and I volunteer at the Magnolia Rape Crisis Center. Now that you have my credentials, make a line on the far side of the gym!" he spat.
The students—save Erza, she walked—scattered like mice. They'd only ever seen the goofball side of Natsu, not the serious and assertive one.
Gray had to admit, he was kind of intrigued by this new side of Natsu. It was an attractive quality. Gray suddenly blanched at where his thoughts had led him. The idiot? Attractive? Was he insane?!
Natsu scanned his roster, and when everyone was accounted for, he asked everyone to sit down.
It looks like the moron is going to give us a lecture. This should be interesting, Gray thought to himself.
"For the few of you who don't know me, I'm Natsu Dragneel, and I will be your acting instructor for the next few weeks," he began, glaring at Gildarts when he started drunkenly crying again. "Over the next few weeks, you'll learn the art of Self-Defense.
"Now, Self-Defense allows the person being attacked to use reasonable force in their own defense and the defense of others. A person may use physical force to prevent impending physical injury. But a person may not use deadly force unless that person is in, again, reasonable fear of either serious physical injury or death.
"Deadly physical force, however, may only be used if the person acting in Self-Defense is unable to retreat safely, meaning the person is unable to safely escape their attacker and get help. Are there any questions so far?"
When Natsu received none, he continued. "You'll be learning various moves in this course and will have to work in partners. I've paired you off already, but we'll get to that in a bit. If you find that you're uncomfortable with your partner, come see me right away. Some of these moves you'll be learning will put you into each other's personal space, so when learning these moves, it's best to start practicing with someone you're comfortable with. Got it?"
Lucy, being the good student that she was, raised her hand. When Natsu called on her, she asked, "Are we learning any moves today? Do we need to dress out for this course?"
"As for dressing out, you won't have to. In times of defending yourself, you would be dressed as you normally would, so I strongly suggest coming to class that way. But today, we'll be working on yelling."
"Yelling?" Jellal blurted. "Just how is yelling going to help us defend ourselves?"
"I'm gonna be giving you some key phrases to use and show you how to say them. But first, let's pair everyone off. Lucy and Loke, Rogue and Sting, Erza and Jellal, Levy and Gajeel..."
With that, Gajeel seemed to be getting some of his color back.
When Natsu had finished his list, Gray became confused. The idiot hadn't called his name. Now, come to think of it, that moron hadn't called Wendy's name either.
"Wnedy and Gray? You two will be working with me. Okay," Natsu started, putting his clipboard down. "We're gonna start with a very easy one. This is so you can get a feel for how to sound assertive. I want everyone to say the word 'no.' Now, when you say it, you need to sound forceful. You'll be using your thoracic diaphragm to help you. It's a tissue of internal muscle separating the thorax and abdomen. You'll be using that to help produce a louder and stronger sound."
Natsu then started pointing out on his body where that was. When everyone got the idea, he continued.
"I want everyone to copy what I do…NO!" Natsu said forcefully, making everyone jump. His voice seemed to resonate throughout the gym. "You see how that surprised all of you? That's what you wanna do. Something as simple as that might be enough to startle your attacker and give you the advantage. Now it's your turn."
Natsu pointed at the students and they said 'no' as assertively as they could.
"You guys can be louder than that. We want the whole school to know that you mean it. Again!"
"NO!"
Somehow, that one little word made them feel empowered.
"Good. All right. Our next one is…BACK OFF!" Natsu said it in the same way he'd said 'no.' "With this one, make sure you emphasize each word. You need to mean it."
Natsu pointed at them.
"Back off!" they shouted.
"Again. And louder this time."
"BACK OFF!"
"Excellent. Now the last phrase I'm giving you today is…LEAVE ME ALONE!"
He pointed at them again.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
And again. And again. When they got the hang of it, he let them do whatever they wanted for the rest of the period.
"Hey, Natsu? Why don't I have a partner?" asked Wendy, running up to him. Gray did the same, although, he didn't run.
"You and Gray will be assisting me when I give the demonstrations," answered Natsu.
"And that means what, pinky?"
Natsu frowned at the nickname. "It means that when I show them how to execute a move, you'll be the one I'm using it on. Don't worry, you'll have protection. And after that, Wendy will then use the move on me so the girls can see…well, a girl doing it. After the demonstrations, they'll practice and the two of you can help me perfect their technique."
"Okay," said Wendy. "Oh, and we have a lot to talk about at lunch. We were worried when we didn't see you this morning."
"We'll talk at lunch," Natsu nodded in agreement, and when Wnedy went back over to their friends, gray rounded on him.
"If you're doing this just to try and embarrass me, you have another thing coming," Gray snapped. "You could have easily paired me with someone. Why didn't you?"
"I tried matching people up with who I know they're comfortable with. You and Wendy were the ones left over. And let's just say that I've taught Wendy a thing or two in this area and she's mature enough to assist me. I picked you because…well, I didn't think you'd enjoy being accosted by Juvia or your other fangirls and fanboys."
"That's your reason?"
"Most of them won't take what I'm teaching them seriously. They'll laugh and think a lot of this stuff is stupid or silly. Both you and Wendy are mature and it'll be easier to get them to take things seriously if you two assist me."
Gray was actually surprised by his reasoning; it made sense. "Is that all you need from me? To assist you?"
"Um, do you mind meeting me here before school every day? I would like to make sure that we've got the moves down before I teach them to the class. We wouldn't want to have any mistakes made during that time."
Gray stared at him for what seemed like forever. "Fine. I'll be here tomorrow at seven sharp."
And then he just walked away. That had been a lot easier than Natsu had anticipated. Strange.
"Natsu! Where were you this morning?" Lucy exclaimed at their lunch table. "You had me worried sick!"
"And why didn't you tell us about you teaching us Self-Defense beforehand?" added Jellal.
"And why did Gajeel pale when he heard you were going to teach us?" put in Loke.
Natsu just smirked. "I was notified yesterday that I'd be assisting the old man for this. And this morning I was in the principal's office discussing the terms of this assistant thing. Gajeel paled because he probably thought I was gonna be using him for my Self-Defense demonstrations. Isn't that right, Gajeel?"
"Shut up," his friend retorted. "You're murder when it comes to stuff like this."
"Only with you," Natsu replied, finishing up the rest of his food. "I'm not putting you guys through boot camp or anything, just one Self-Defense move a day."
"And why did you want Gray's help, Natsu?" inquired Wendy, aware of the bitter rivalry between the two.
"I'll tell you what I told him. I need everyone in the class to take this stuff seriously. You and Gray are both mature enough to show the others that," he replied.
"And Gray agreed?" Erza exclaimed.
"Yeah. And he also said he'd meet me before school so that we can go over what I'll be teaching each day."
"This is gonna be good," said Gajeel. "I can't wait to see you put Gray in his place during class tomorrow."
Natsu frowned and got up. "I'll see you guys later. I need to walk around some."
Hurrying out of the cafeteria, Natsu leaned against the wall just outside with his back pressed against it. They just didn't get it. He didn't pick Gray just to put him in his place. That wasn't what this class was about. He wanted to actually teach them to defend themselves…if the time to use it ever came.
The only reason he'd picked Gray—although he was afraid to admit it—was because…he wanted to spend some time alone with him…to get to know him better…and to maybe…break past that wall Gray always had up.
Because, to be honest, he really liked Gray. And he wanted Gray to feel the same way about him. But more than anyone else might think.
Natsu didn't just want to be friends with Gray. Oh, no. He wanted something much more than that.
End Chapter