Day One: Pride

The tension in the Guild was palpable. Natsu had recklessly run off to challenge Zeref, and everyone was rallying to go and back him up. Well. Mostly everyone.

"Tch… That brat…!" Laxus muttered in annoyance. Next to him, Gray punched his palm in anticipation.

"Change of strategy it is, then! Let's go!" The Ice Make Wizard grinned, and stopped in his tracks when a certain scarlet knight spread her arms out in front of him.

"Wait." Erza interjected. "We'll move according to the First's plan. Let's leave Zeref to Natsu."

The entire Guild went still at Erza's words. For them, this was extraordinarily out of character for Erza Scarlet. She was always looking out for them, and the members of Team Natsu were no exception. Erza was especially close with Gray and Natsu, so it was even more outlandish for her to say such a thing in this instance. It was one thing to believe in your friends against overwhelming odds, but this was the Black Wizard Zeref they were talking about here. An immortal man who created Demons, the Eclipse Gate, and who knows what else. This wasn't a member of the Balam Alliance; Zeref was a frightening legend, and Erza was telling them to let Natsu go in alone against such a monster?!

"Are you serious?" Gray exploded, speaking for the entirety of the Guild. "We're talking about Zeref here! He has the Book of END, y'know?!"

Rather than be angry at Gray for speaking out, the scarlet knight remained calm as she explained her reasoning. Her face was carefully kept blank, and her posture was relaxed.

"Natsu said he's got a secret technique to defeat Zeref, so… he'll be alright." Erza promised. She couldn't help but picture him and the confidence he exuded when he boasted about this technique. In the past, she would have easily written that off as boyish arrogance. However, they had come a long way since the days of fighting Eisenwald and Phantom Lord. One by one, he steadily added to the list of his accomplishments – taking down Jellal, Zero, Zancrow, Hades, Future Rogue, Jackal, Franmalth, Mard Geer, and who knows how many others. There were times when he saved her – from Jellal and from Kyouka – and he had saved a lot more people than just her. At times, he did require help to take the enemy down – the threat was too great for one man to handle it alone.

And yet… this was one such time she felt she could trust him to handle it on his own. Maybe it was because of recent events with Avatar, and saving her from falling from Ajeel's ship, but Natsu had grown amazingly strong. If he said that he could defeat Zeref… then he would make it happen, somehow, some way. They were beyond the days of when he was training to surpass her. He'd long since reached that point of equaling her in strength, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was stronger than her now. How much stronger remained to be seen, but that was trivial at this point.

Gray heaved a sigh of frustration as he got up into the scarlet knight's face.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?! You've got too much faith in him, Erza!" Gray hated doubting Natsu like this, but now wasn't the time for mere 'belief'. There was a very real chance Natsu could die here, and Erza was so damn calm!

The air became uncomfortable in the Guildhall as Erza and Gray had their standoff. It was stifling, and they could use one of Erza's buster swords to slice the tension. Carla seemed unsure of what to say, but in her mind, she knew Gray had a point about placing too much faith in the Fire Dragon Slayer, even with all of his past accomplishments. If it had been any other enemy, she would have sided with Erza. Wendy, on the other hand, took stock in Erza's words, but she was too nervous to say anything. And Juvia was shocked at how forceful the object of her affections was being about this. She'd never seen her Beloved speak out against Erza with such ferocity. Never. Even when the stakes were high, Gray could keep calm and composed, but this time was different. Juvia could tell.

"Gray-sama…" The Water mage murmured.

It seemed like an eternity before Erza responded. She never once broke eye contact, and she managed to keep her body relaxed, but there was a biting edge to her tone. A tone that conveyed disappointment and bitterness.

"So you're telling me, you don't believe in him?" The knight accused, her face now marred with a frown and hard eyes. Erza loathed coming down hard like this, but it was important to her that Gray understood. Out of everyone, he should have been the first to support her, and Natsu by proxy; and yet here he was, worrying over the Dragon Slayer. Natsu had always supported them in their own fights; he had left Gray to fight Lyon back on Galuna, and he listened when she said she could handle Kyouka of the Nine Demon Gates.

Was this fight important? Of course it was. This was an uphill battle they were facing – surrounded on all sides by powerfulfoes that even Master was wary of. How could this not be a monumental struggle for them? Natsu was just taking the initiative and gunning for the enemy's leader. Defeating Zeref would be a major boon for them. It would raise everyone's morale. Erza was not insinuating Natsu should fight the entirety of the war for them – she was saying Zeref was his fight, because he said that he could do it. Their fight would be with Zeref's armies. Natsu would not be able to tackle both Zeref and the forces of Alvarez, so they needed to focus and make his task easier.

Couldn't Gray see that?

If his eyes softening were any indication, he was at least beginning to.

"Okay, okay! Stop this already…" Lucy begged as she got between them. Her eyes and nose scrunched together nervously.

Erza knew the Celestial mage didn't like them fighting with each other, but this time it had been unavoidable. Because despite everything he had done up to this point, it appeared everyone was quick to doubt Natsu. She could not let that stand. Doubt your own abilities, and you've already lost the war. Natsu was trying to tell them this by volunteering for the hardest battle of the war, because no one else would, not without significant backup. And they just didn't have the option of doing that, surrounded as they were.

"What do we do now, First?" Mira asked with a light nervousness to her tone. Mavis frowned in thought before nodding her head at Erza.

"Well, let's place our hopes on Natsu, then." The blonde decided. "His moves might seem reckless, but I'm sure there's a reason behind them. We're cornered from all sides… He must've thought that the fastest way to end it all was to take the enemy's leader down, and I must agree, that is the most effective way."

Erza couldn't help shooting the First Master a grateful look. If their tactician could understand Natsu's motivations, then the others would be convinced as well. Words could not describe her relief, as even Gray backed off.

"Let's just believe in him, shall we, Gray?" Mavis prompted the Ice Wizard. Gray rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, well… it's not like I don't…" The raven-haired man sighed. "It's just… y'know, him going out there all alone… and stuff…"

No one was buying the tough guy act. Even though they were rivals, Gray did care for Natsu. Even Juvia could see it.

"Well, he's not really alone, now is he…?" Carla asked with a kind smile. "Happy's there with him…"

Erza could only nod with a tiny smile tugging at her lips. Not only was Happy there with him, they all were, in spirit. It didn't matter if there were battlefields between them; Erza would fight off the entire world to keep Natsu alive. Because he already did the same for her, for all of them, with every war they faced as a Guild.

Although, her reasons for fighting could be said to be… slightly different from everyone else's. Gray, Lucy, Mira, they all fought for a valuable, irreplaceable friend. Erza did as well. But for her, Natsu was more than "just" a precious member of her nakama. The funny thing about feelings is that they can change over time – grow into something you never imagined. Erza could now admit to herself that she loved Natsu Dragneel. His warrior's pride was a part of his charm, and you could be sure that he kept his promises.

And after this war was over, she would tell him exactly how she feels.

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Author's Note: So, I'm not dead. But I've been busy with school, and there're a number of stories I've been wanting to get to – The Tale of Nagato Uzumaki, Fervent Crimson Flame, Natsu's Choice, I've been wanting to get to them all, but finding the time to write has been… fun. I probably won't get to that "tenth anniversary" celebration I wanted to get to, at least not on time. Hard to believe a week from now, I'll have been writing on here for ten years, eh?

… I feel old.

An explanation of the "Natza Week 2017" thing. Technically, no one's stepped up to organize anything, so make of this what you will. However, I wanted to celebrate the Natza ship, and the first week of October last year was the last time we had a Natza week, hence the reason I decided to initiate one this year. Because no one else was stepping up to do it, and it was a bummer, especially with how ambiguously the manga ended with some ships.

From today, October 1, to Saturday, October 7, you can consider this "Natza Week 2017". Tempest35 threw an idea out there for prompts, so we went with the Seven Deadly Sins. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth – that's the order of the prompts, so if anyone wants to chip in, there ya go. I dunno about you all, but I'm looking forward to Day Four. Hehe.

Hope you all have a wonderful week~.