How are things with you, everyone? Williamgbirkin here to bring you the first chapter of my new story, The Fire Brothers! This is also my first Fairy Tail story, so forgive me if I'm a little off. And yes, before you say anything, Zancrow is Ooc. That's the entire point.
In this story, none of the three knows their actual age, they only have a general sense of it. Zancrow's the oldest, My Oc's the middle child, and Natsu is the youngest. Zancrow will be twenty when cannon starts, Natsu will be nineteen, and my Oc will be somewhere in the middle. They're all abandoned on July 7, X777.
I'm gonna try to update A Taste Of The Desert, but I've kinda lost my muse for that story. I know what I want to happen, I just don't know how I want to phrase it. Not to mention; at this point, I don't really want to write it. It's kinda funny when you think about it, considering that I said that I was gonna focus on it, but I've updated every other one of my stories instead.
Poll still up.
Happy Late Valentines Day Everybody!
Enjoy!
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"Magic": Human Speech
'Magic': Human Thought
"Magic": Demon Speech
'Magic': Demon Thought
"Magic": Magic
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"Today is the day, boy." Growled what appeared to be a knight made of fire. The Flame Autarch, one of the few remaining demons not created by Zeref.
The one he was speaking to, a young boy with straight orange hair, nothing but what appeared to be an old blanket wrapped around his waist, simply nodded to the one who had raised him.
Staring around him, the boy couldn't help but remember all he'd been through in the rock quarry that he'd called home since before he could remember. Every day of every week of every year, he had trained in his body, magic, and mind. Through snow, sun, rain, extreme heat and cold, he had trained, ignoring discomfort, hunger, sickness, and injury. He had been taught to hunt as well, forced to feed the both of them, and punished when he failed.
Along the way, The Flame Autarch had taught the child the ways of the demon. That strength was everything, that you don't stop until the opponent is defeated. Whether or not that opponent died, however, was entirely up to the victor. After all, they were demons, not savages (unlike those bastardizations created by Zeref). That if you lost, and you survived, then you were eternally shamed.
The Flame Autarch had spent the last ten years teaching and raising the child into what he was today. Do not mistake his 'kindness' for love however. It was more of a mixture between master/slave and sensei/student, than that of father/son. The Flame Autarch could have just as easily killed the boy, and on more than one occasion had almost done exactly that. The reason he didn't? He wanted to prove that Zeref's pale imitations were no match for the real thing, and what better way to show that than to teach someone to kill them? Though his entire life, the boy had been told that Zeref's demons were nothing but perversions of true demons, that the only reason they were so well known was their numbers and their creator, that they were to be exterminated whenever possible, that a live demon was a mistake.
And today? Today was the day that either the boy proved his right to exist, or the Autarch started searching for a new student. Yes, they could simply defeat the other and leave them, but this was a matter of pride. Pride of the highest magnitude.
Today, one of them would die.
Standing across one another within the quarry, they suddenly blurred into action, the heat coming off of them beginning to melt the stones around them.
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"Tou-san, I'm hungry! Tou-san? That's funny Tou-san, you can come out now...Tou-san? T-tou-san? TOU-SAN!" Screamed a young boy as he searched the cave he had called his home the entirety of his life. Never before had he not seen his father within thirty seconds of his waking, but then again it's a little hard to miss a winged fire-breathing lizard the size of a building.
The boy himself was nothing really visually spectacular, unless you counted his bright pink hair. He had a pointed chin, slanted eyes, Finally, he was wearing nothing but a torn pair of what used to be white breeches, and a white scaled scarf.
Running outside of the cave, the young boy, whose name was Natsu, frantically ran through the forest surrounding the clearing outside the cave, always staying in areas that he knew.
Not seeing the massive dragon, his adolescent mind automatically skipped to his father having left for some important task and that he would be back soon, so, he waited...and waited...and waited. For a full three days Natsu sat at the entrance of the cave, hoping that the dragon would come back, that he hadn't left. However, at that point, even his almost disturbing optimism couldn't cope with the truth. His father had left.
"TOU-SAN! TOU-SAN! DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG? WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME?" Demanded the pinkette of the empty air.
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"If you cannot do even this simple task, then you are useless to me." Drawled an old man with long straight grey hair and a long white beard. For clothing he had grey pants with dark high-top combat boots. an armored torso with gauntleted hands, as well as a cape with a strange symbol on the back, and an eye-patch over his right eye.
At his feet was a young boy named Zancrow, with long unkempt blond hair, wearing white breeches, and a long yellow tunic that only went over one shoulder, with a multi-colored belt.
"But Hades-sama-!" Shouted the boy, attempting to defend himself from his master's wrath.
"BUT NOTHING! If you will not do this, then I have wasted my time with you, and will not be making that mistake again." Said Hades chillingly, as several dozen men kneeled a few feet away, bound and hooded in the middle of a forest clearing.
"But why, why do I have to do this?"
"Because I demand it of you!" retorted Hades, tired of this little game he was sure that the boy was playing.
"No! I refuse!" Shouted Zancrow defiantly, before he started walking away in the direction from which they came.
"And where do you think you're going?" came the chilling voice of his master, in a tone that he had never heard before, a tone that sent the fear of death tearing up his spine.
"B-back to the airship?" Stuttered Zancrow, not sure of where this was going.
"Oh? And why would I allow you back aboard? Like I said earlier, if you can't even follow this simple order, then you are useless to me." Said Hades, before the entire forest clearing they were in was flooded with magical power and screams.
(1)
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The rocky canyon was strewn with fire, the two combatants having gone at it tooth and nail in order to kill the other one, neither giving nor accepting mercy. However, there could only be one victor, and that victor stood over his fallen father, massive scars riddled his body, cauterized almost instantly by the heat pouring off the fire-demon's claws. One arm hanging limply by his side, an eye closed from the crusted blood. The boy, the nameless child, had been victorious. He had won the right to live. And now, it was time to see the world.
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Taking one last sad look at the cave he had called home for as long as he could remember, Natsu left, nothing to his name but a pair of extremely torn pants, a scarf seemingly made of scales, and one of the most powerful magics known to man.
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All across the clearing, there were signs of a massacre, and in the center, a pile of corpses, almost entirely red from the blood pouring down it. Suddenly, however, part of the pile started to stir, until a yellow topped figure stood up. Zancrow was alive. Beaten to within an inch of his life, riddled with open wounds, and left for dead, yes. Barely able to stand, vision blurring more and more every second, yes. But he was alive
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July 20, X777
"Oi, Jiji, have you seen Igneel?" Questioned/screamed Natsu of a man running a stand in a village he was passing through.
And what a festive town it was! Several pennants were strung between buildings, and above everything a Ferris Wheel could be seen over some distant roof-tops. All throughout the air, different heavenly smells could be detected; Karumeyaki, cinnamon, Yakisoba, dango, Okonomiyaki, fresh cakes and fruit, chocolate, takoyaki, Yakitori, and even more! After that were the stalls; those with games like ring-toss and goldfish-scooping, and vendors, selling little paper lanterns, and lucky waving cats, each person behind the stall yelling at the top of their lungs to sell their wares. Finally, the performers, some people doing magic, others sleight of hand, and still more singing.
Natsu himself now had clean white trousers, a long-sleeved blue shirt, black sandals, along with his white scarf.
"Oh, is Igneel your Tou-tan? What does he look like?" Questioned the man, thinking that if he helped, the boy or this 'Igneel' would buy something.
"Hai, Tou-san is really big! He has red scales, really big wings, he breaths fire-" Started Natsu, before he was interrupted.
"What is he, a dragon?" Asked the incredulous and annoyed stand owner.
"Hai!" Shouted Natsu, happy that someone understood.
"Damn brat, get lost! I don't have time for your games!" Shouted the man, making an annoyed shooing gesture with his hand.
"Game? I'm not playing, I want to find Tou-san!"
"I said get lost!" He shouted a man, before grumbling about the idiocy of youth as he watched Natsu walk away.
"Why does everyone think I'm playing?" He asked, not understanding why being raised by a dragon was such an unconceivable notion to people since it was normally a literal daily happening for him to see a dragon.
BOOM
Startled by the explosion breaking through his thoughts, Natsu was unable to do anything except for stare at the pillar of smoke that rose from the other side of the village.
"What was that?" Shouted one of the people nearby, as several people started running in their direction, screaming about demons.
"What's going on?" Shouted Natsu to the passing people, a woman stopping to answer.
"RUN! The demons of the forest are attacking!" She screamed, before running away again.
"What? The demons were supposed to have been destroyed years ago!" Shouted a man standing outside a shop with a guitar.
Natsu heard none of the following conversation however, as he had started booking it towards the sounds of battle, dodging people, jumping stands, and bursting through fences as he went, hoping to help as much as possible.
When he got there, it was chaos. There were several bodies, some still alive, with demons tearing into them. Seeing Natsu, one of the creatures gave what could only be a demon version of a grin, before it hurled a ball of fire at him. Seeing this, Natsu's started grinning, about to eat the flames.
However, before he could do so, the flames were being drawn somewhere else, and a chewing noise could be heard.
Turning towards where the fire had been drawn, Natsu, the demon, and several of it's fellows, interrupted from their meals, could only stare in shock as an orange haired boy was eating the flames.
Upon closer inspection, the other boy's hair was short, only around an inch long. He had a scar above his left eye which was a dark pink, as though it weren't completely healed yet. The boy had strong features, a square chin, a rather crooked and flat nose (Natsu briefly wondered if someone had a grudge against this boy, for his nose to look like that), with rather sharp green eyes. His left arm was almost completely wrapped in heavy bandages, and the outline of a stick, or some kind of splint could be seen underneath. His chest was completely bare, showing off a several very deep scars, all of which looked similar to the one above his eye, as well as a physic slightly more pronounced than Natsu's. Below the waist, he was wearing a startling amount of fabric, in what appeared to be a bright red skirt, held up with a white rope. Other than that, he was barefoot.
'Was he raised by Tou-san too?' Asked Natsu of himself, before drawing the, to him, obvious conclusion that this person was his brother.
"ANIKI?" Shouted Natsu, causing the feasting boy to choke momentarily, before finishing the last of his meal. Ignoring the pinkette for the moment, he narrowed his eyes as he stared at the demons.
"Greetings, oh harbingers of death, I am here to prove that you are nothing." He stated, his deep voice sounding like he was gargling rock, before launching himself at his, now, foes.
Transfixed, Natsu could only stare as the other boy made short work of the demons, calling out spells that he couldn't hear, noticing that the spells he used were pretty much the exact same as the ones Natsu himself used, only...darker. While Natsu's fire changed color, red, orange and yellow, depending on the temperature, this boy's remained the same uniform dark red. Not to mention the feel of this boy's magic was almost enough to make even Natsu shiver, something he had never, as far as he knew, done even once. He also found it interesting that even minor injuries inflicted by these flames left the demons in pain, almost like it were made of anti-demon poison. But that couldn't be it, could it? They were flames, not poison, you can't poison someone with fire.
Watching him however, Natsu couldn't help but also notice that while he was more than likely physically weaker than the other boy, he was also much faster.
Though when he pulled off a split kick, it revealed that what Natsu had originally thought to be a skirt, was actually a pair of bright red hakama pants, they were simply extremely loose, making it look like they were a skirt.
Having finished his battle, the other boy started walking towards Natsu, who was trying to think of what to say. But before he could, the topless boy simply walked past him without uttering a word, stopping in front of the still burning houses. He then began to breath in heavily, the fire once again going into his mouth, where it was eaten.
His meal complete, the hakama clad boy once again started walking, this time out of the village.
It wasn't until around thirty seconds had gone by that Natsu snapped out of his haze, before bolting after the orangette.
"Aniki!" Shouted Natsu, finally catching up to the taller mage.
"I think you have mistaken me for someone else." He responded in his gravely voice, not even bothering to stop.
"You were taught by Igneel, right? You know Fire Dragon Slayer magic, don't you?" Asked Natsu, as he lit his arms on fire.
Surprised by this, the orange haired boy stopped, staring at the pinkette's hands, before continuing.
"Sorry, but I was raised by The Flame Autarch. I am a Fire Devil Slayer." He responded, copying Natsu by lighting up his right arm. Being this close, Natsu could actually feel the darkness surrounding the fire, as if it wanted to spread darkness rather than light. Shaking that feeling off, Natsu simply grinned and told him,
"Maybe, but you're still a fire slayer, and that's enough for me!" He shouted, getting an actual sweat-drop from his new companion.
"I told you, I'm a Devil Slayer." He reiterated, slightly annoyed by his new travel buddy.
"So Aniki, where we going?" Asked Natsu, completely ignoring the orange haired boy's protests.
Sighing, and not really caring one way or another as to whether or not Natsu chose to follow him, he simply shrugged, before turning his gaze to the road ahead, content to simply pass the hours away in silence.
However, with Natsu, silence was a rarely given pleasure.
"Why's your arm all wrapped up?"
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November 3, X777
"Why are you following me, Natsu-san?" Asked the orange haired boy, still wearing nothing but the bright red hakama pants, as the two of them walked down a country road to a place called Nashi, a small village famous for their orchards, where someone with powerful fire magic had reportedly been spotted. The was slightly raised, to minimize puddles on the road. To their left was some grassland, with non-fruit-bearing trees around a dozen or so yards away. To their right was a series of low cliffs, only about twenty or so feet tall.
By this point, his scars had healed up pretty much completely, fading to that 'slightly-pinker-than-your-skin' shade they stay for the rest of time, as well as having burned off the bandages on his left arm, giving him full, if occasionally painful, use of it.
"Why wouldn't I, Aniki?" Responded the pinkette, who still called the orange haired boy his brother even after over a month of being together.
Natsu hadn't really changed much, only having gotten slightly smarter at the hands of his 'Aniki', who stated that he wouldn't travel with someone who didn't even know the meaning of the word element meant, and had brought it upon himself to teach him.
"Because I'm not your Aniki." Responded the devil-slayer, wondering why he even bothered anymore, and why, after a certain point, he had actually stopped wanting Natsu to not call him Aniki.
"Well I said you're my Aniki, so you're my Aniki (2)."
"That logic doesn't make sense." remarked Natsu's pseudo big brother, earning him an annoyed glare.
"Yeah it does!" shot back Natsu.
"So you're the source of that magic I felt!" Shouted a voice, causing both Natsu and his heavily scarred companion to look up and to the right, towards a low cliff.
Standing upon that cliff was a young man with bright yellow hair, red eyes, and a pointed chin. He was just as well muscled as the two of them and a kimono to that didn't cover his right arm or pectoral, which went down to mid-shin in a skirt-like fashion, with dull red breeches below that and straw sandals. The two below couldn't help but notice that the blonde had scars as well, and while they weren't as deep as the demon slayer's, they were far more numerous.
"And who might you be?" Questioned 'Aniki', as he gathered magic for a conflict.
"The name's Zancrow, I'm going to be beating you today!" Shouted the blonde boy, as black fire appeared around his hands and he jumped off the cliff.
Dodging, the two slayers faced off against the third, each having their respective fire surrounding their hands.
"Oh? This should be interesting." Remarked Zancrow.
"Were you raised by Igneel too?" Questioned Natsu, his mind blown that there were two other people in the world that could use magic similar to his.
"Igneel? Who the hell is that? I was taught my God Slayer magic by Hades-sama." Stated Zancrow, before he charged to two of them, aiming a kick at the demon slayer, judging him to be the bigger threat.
Blocking the kick with his forearms, he then used Zancrow's leg to throw him at Natsu, who was flying towards them both with his right fist cocked back. Seeing this, Zancrow blocked Natsu's punch with one of his own. Getting thrown back a little, Natsu charged in once more, this time with a flame covered axe kick, aiming for Zancrow's head, as he was currently bent backwards in order to dodge a round-house kick from Natsu's 'Aniki'. Seeing this, Zancrow placed both hands on the ground, and flipped over Natsu, putting the pinkette between him and the demon slayer.
"This is gonna be fun." Stated Zancrow, as he took a combat stance, followed by Natsu and his companion.
One Hour Later
(3)
It was at this point, seeing that the rather large explosions had stopped, that the people of Nashi felt safe enough to leave their homes. They then sent a messenger to see if a squad of Rune Knights, the military force dedicated to keeping order among mages, and protecting civilians from magical attacks, would be able to investigate.
Back at the cliffs nearby, the whole scene was like a war zone, the cliffs had been largely destroyed, leaving huge piles of rocks. The grass growing all around, as well as some of the trees, were completely burned, some still on fire, large craters pockmarked the area, and the fell of magic could still be felt in the air.
Through that, three beaten and bloody figures could be seen, two on the ground, and one crawling towards another. Natsu and Zancrow were both flat out, with Natsu face down, one arm underneath him, the other at his side, and one leg crossing the other, and Zancrow face up, his limbs splayed out.
Reaching Zancrow, the Devil Slayer stood up, looming over Zancrow, before he asked, "Why did you attack us?"
Contemplating whether or not to answer, the blonde quickly reasoned that he had no real reason not to, and so told the victor, "I was abandoned. My master, the one who taught me everything, my magic, how to read, how to speak, everything, and he abandoned me. Master Hades wanted me to do one simple task, and I disappointed him. So, I thought that if I could win against everyone I met, then he'd notice, and I'd be welcomed back. But it's been more than two months, and he hasn't come."
"I was raised by The Flame Autarch. One of the few remaining demons that wasn't created by Zeref. On July 7, He told me that it was time. On that day, we fought to the death, and I won." Responded the orangette, shocking both Natsu and Zancrow, Natsu having assumed that he was just looking for his parent, not having actually asked what happened.
"I was raised by Igneel, a dragon. He taught me everything. I don't know how to read or right, or anything like that, said I could learn it later, but Igneel said that some of the things he told me, only the two of us knew, or remembered. One morning, I woke up, and he was gone. I waited for three days for him to come back, but he never did. So, I'm searching to see if I can find him, to ask why he left."
"So we're all rejects...well, except for Mr Devil Slayer here. What's your name anyways?" Questioned the blonde, a blush appearing on Natsu's face, as he realized that even he didn't know that after more than a month of being in each other's company.
"My name? Hmm... I've never had a name. But if I did, I guess it'd be...Kaen." He answered, that being the first thing that came to mind.
"Interesting. So what now?" Asked Zancrow, who after losing was completely lost.
"Why don't you come with us, Aniki?" Asked Natsu as he rolled over so that he was on his back, getting a look of exasperation from the newly named Kaen, and a confused look from Zancrow.
"Aniki?" questioned the blonde, dragging himself over to sit upright against a tree.
"Don't bother, he thinks that since we're all fire slayers, we're related." Explained Kaen, who sat down, leaning against a tree as well.
"Aniki, eh? How old are you guys?" Asked Zancrow, getting shrugs from both of the others. "In that case, I'm the oldest."
"How do you know that?" Wondered Natsu, getting a 'because I said so', from Zancrow.
"We should probably leave before someone comes to wonder what happened here." stated Kaen, as he looked around the burnt and burning area surrounding them.
"Sorry, Aniki, but I can't move." Stated Natsu, as he struggled to get up, only to barely wiggle, it having taken all his energy to roll onto his back earlier. Picking him up, Kaen then limped over to Zancrow, offering his hand for the blonde to grab.
Taking it, he was hauled up, only to have one of Natsu's arms wrap around his shoulder, the other wrapping around the demon slayers.
"Come on, let's get going." Stated Kaen, before the three of them sucked up all the fire they could, before walking away.
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December 21
It had been an interesting two months for Natsu, Kaen, and Zancrow. Having fully healed from their fight by that time, the three slayers had decided to simply wander the country. Through it all, they followed every possible sighting of a dragon at the behest of Natsu, much to the chagrin of Zancrow and the indifference of Kaen. Every day they would do their morning exercises, then simply take off, with Kaen and a bullied Zancrow teaching Natsu what he needed to know about the world. After they settled down for the night, they would spar, never having a clear winner, before they went to sleep to start again the next day. They would sometimes take jobs at the behest of Kaen, who said that the money would come in handy, even if they each hunted for their food, and they carried everything they needed.
Currently, they were accompanying a merchant caravan, as the reward was, instead of money, a book which Kaen wanted, though Natsu and Zancrow were extremely annoyed by this.
"Why are we trying to get a musty old book?" Whined Natsu, as the three of them stood atop the wagon in the very middle, hoping that if they were high up they'd see any threats better.
"We go chasing off after every rumor of a geko sighting, so why can't we go searching for stuff we like?" Retorted Zancrow, though he was just as annoyed.
"Because that's important, what's so great about some book?" Natsu shot back, once again showing his penchant for logic.
"What's so important about a damn lizard?" Shot back Zancrow, butting heads with Natsu.
"You wanna go, Sun-For-Brains?" screamed the dragon slayer, making fun of the god slayer's bright yellow hair, as he covered his hands in fire.
"Bring it, Strawberry!" shouted Zancrow, referencing the color of Natsu's hair, as he too lit his hands.
"Enough you two! If you can't play nice, then go to opposite sides of the playground." Admonished the oragette, Natsu and Zancrow huffing and walking off, Zancrow to the front of the caravan, and Natsu to the back.
"It's not nice for brothers to fight." Came a rather feeble voice from below Kaen, revealed to be an old woman with long silver hair tied in a bun, a heavily wrinkled face, causing her to squint, obscuring her eye color, and some very old fashioned clothes, wearing a petticoat and frock under a burnoose.
"My apologies for any distress, Obaa-sama. We are not actually brothers, but Natsu likes to think that way. We each have similar magic, so it would only be natural." Explained the demon-slayer, getting a reluctant nod from the old woman.
"I suppose. It is rather nice of the two of you to allow such a thing though, most people wouldn't you know." She responded, taking out some knitting needles and yarn.
"Perhaps, but it's not like the two of us really had any other choice. Natsu simply calls us his Anikis because he wants to, not because we allow him. Even if we opposed it, he would probably still do so.
"Oh." whispered the old woman quietly, a little disappointed.
"Karyu no HOKO (Fire dragon's roar)!" Came the shout from the back of the caravan, before an explosion sounded from the front.
"Well it looks like it's time for me to do my job." Murmured Kaen to himself, as he jumped off the wagon and ran to intercept some more bandits.
Natsu
"Karyu no HOKO!" Shouted Natsu, as several men wearing rather worn down armor, leather with metal rivets at the best, wielding a variety of rusty weapons charged the rear of the caravan. This caused almost all of the bandits to become knocked out, the pain from the burns being too much. Those that managed to dodge, or weren't in the way of the attack continued to advance, one quickly swinging a sword at the pinkette. Natsu, ducking under the swing, ignited his hands, and brought his right fist up into the man's chin in a vicious uppercut, only to quickly dodge as a large ball of silver liquid splashed over the bandit, having missed Natsu.
Watching in horror as the man was...dissolved, until the liquid started floating away towards one of the others, a rather tall and rotund bald man with what appeared to be an orange rat growing on his upper lip. He had a black, button up shirt with a palm tree print, with black boots and blue jeans. He was around seven feet tall, and looked to be about that wide as well.
"Well that's unfortunate, I was hoping that he would have at least distracted you long enough to get hit." Said the man morosely as the silver liquid formed a sphere three feet in diameter about two feet above and behind his head, ignoring the half melted man's pleas for help, his entire left arm completely gone, as was everything below his right knee, every bit of skin on his back and legs, exposing his spin, with a few of his organs showing and having ruptured.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Shouted Natsu, as he watched the dying man writhe on the ground, still begging and crying. "Wasn't he your friend? Why would you attack him?"
"Friend? Don't make me laugh brat, he was a lackey at best, someone who carries out my orders no matter what they may be. What do I care if he dies? That just means more loot for the rest of us, RIGHT BOYS!" He asked the men around him, still ignoring the man, who at this point was barely moving, moaning as the light left his eyes.
"YEAH!" Screamed the ones still conscious.
"We're bandits boy, no matter what anyone says. We kill, rape, pillage, anything that catches our fancy, until we either die or are brought to 'justice'. It's our way of life, and I wouldn't give it up for ANYTHING!" Screamed the man, his eyes gaining a glint of insanity.
"Well then I'm gonna be the one to bring you to justice!" Shouted Natsu back, as the flames around his fists grew brighter and hotter.
"Oh!" Exclaimed the bald mage suddenly, as though he just figured something out. "I do believe I've failed to introduce myself, haven't I?" He enquired, suddenly gaining a rather posh accent as his voice climbed an octave. "My name is Kenta, I am also known by my moniker of 'The Acid Mage'. A bit of a misnomer that, but you'll have to forgive that slight oversight."
"What's with the funny accent?" Asked Natsu, weirded out over the sudden shift in the man's personality.
"That's not very nice, now is it? Ridiculing the way I express my vernacular. What if I ridiculed the fact that your hair is pink? I'm afraid that I am going to have to kill you now. So sorry." Kenta told Natsu, before the silver liquid once again shot towards Natsu.
Zancrow
"Give it up you blonde shit, we've got you surrounded, outmatched, and outgunned. Surrender, and we'll kill you quickly." Said one of the bandits as he licked a stiletto, the men around him chuckling darkly.
"Hm, you say something?" Asked Zancrow, snapping out of his thoughts of pain towards Natsu.
BOOM
Pissed off at his nonchalant attitude, one of the enemy mages had fired off a spherical spell at Zancrow, it exploding upon contact (4).
"That's what you get for arrogance! C'mon boys! Let's get that loot!" Shouted the mage who fired the spell, only to be met with silence as everyone else stared at the spot where Zancrow was in fear, as standing there without so much as a scratch, was the blonde.
"What was that? You just attacked me, didn't you? You aimed for my head...You gotta know a hit like that could kill a guy, right? Which means you were intentionally trying to kill me, right? Which means that whatever happens next...IS WHAT YOU DESERVE, RIGHT (5)!?" Screamed the God-Slayer, his screaming and the way his eyes were opened wide making him look terrifyingly insane.
"AAAAHHHH! Kill him, KILL HIM!" Shouted the mage who had hit Zancrow with the fire attack
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you too bad, Natsu tends to get annoying when I do anything permanent." Stated Zancrow, as he walked forwards with his black flames surrounding his hands.
Kaen
"Well that's unfortunate, looks like you drew the short end of the stick brat, my name is Jidanda, also known as the 'Tsuchi Kyo' (6), leader of this band of merry men." Stated a man who was around five feet tall, had long spikey black hair down to his waist. He had a rather chisled face with a square jaw and brown eyes. His clothing consisted of a traditional men's grey kimono with a black haori atop it.
"My name is Kaen, I am the Fire Devil Slayer." Responded Kaen politely, bowing slightly to the man, before rushing towards him to do battle.
Natsu
'Man, this is the most fun I've had since I met Zancrow-Aniki.' Thought Natsu to himself, as he dodged Kenta's attacks, all the other bandits around them unconscious from Natsu's attacks, or dead from the fat man's.
"Wha' you doin'? Ya canno' win a ba'el wifout attackhin', now can ya'?" Questioned Kenta, who's mannerisms, voice, accent, general personality, and attack patterns had switched twice more since the battle begun, this version of him seeming to take a liking to a more defensive and taunting strategy, not to mention an almost unintelligible accent combined with a hilariously deep voice.
"I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Screamed Natsu, as he stopped for a second, shooting a stream of fire, and holding his hands up in the air.
"Wha' ya talkin' boot?" Questioned the bald man, as he continued making about a fourth of the liquid chase after Natsu, while the rest floated around him, ready to defend it's master.
Not bothering to answer, Natsu started running towards the man, intent of finishing the fight as soon as possible, not wanting the man to hit anymore of the bandits. Seeing this, Kenta quickly arranged the liquid around him to form a wall in front of him, a small hole allowing him to see the pinkette.
'Come on brat, you attack me, and my Nano magic (7) will devour you.'
"Karyu no tekken (Fire dragon's iron fist)!" Shouted Natsu, as his ignited hand was engulfed by the silver substance, stopping his fist about an inch from the bad man's face.
For around three seconds, nothing happened, until suddenly, Natsu started screaming in pain as some of the silver substance fell to the ground, the fire destroying making it useless for the magic.
"What! How is that possible?" Wondered the Nano mage to himself, as he jumped away.
"Ha! I guess that silver shit of yours isn't all that awesome after all, is it?" Questioned Natsu, as he cradled his right hand.
'Man that hurts!'
"Don't try to be hardcore brat, I can tell that your hand is in serious fucking pain right now. Now how about you just stay still so I can put you down little gecko." Questioned Kenta as the silver substance once again hung around him.
Angered at the slur towards his father, Natsu quickly gathered Magic into his lungs and brought his hands in front of his face, forming a funnel with them, before a veritable storm of fire blew out of his mouth, Kenta's nano magic once again forming a shield in front of him.
When Natsu's spell hit, it created a large explosion, the resulting smoke cloud shading the fat man for a few seconds, before the silver cloud once again rushed towards him from within the smoke.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Screamed Kenta, the smoke clearing to reveal the now heavily burnt man. His skin was a bright shity red, and his clothes above his waist were gone, his the remnants of his shirt on the ground at his feet, along with a rather large amount of the silver substance. He then crossed his hands over his chest, flat, fingers together, with his palms facing out and level with his face.
"Musabori-gui no seisei (Generation of the devourer)!" He shouted, as a silver magic circle appears in front of him, before even more of the liquid he'd been using the whole time spewed forth, giving him about five times the original amount to work with withn it was over.
"Congradulations, brat. You've pissed me off enough to use this many of my little friends to attack you."
"This many of my little friends? Don't you mean this much of my magic?" Questioned the extremely confused Natsu, before dodging another splash of the substance.
"Oh, no. You see, the magic I use is Nano magic, meaning that this 'liquid' is actually trillions and trillions of little creatures made and controlled by my magic. While many people think it dissolves people and things, my tiny friends actually devour them, which is probably why everyone thinks it's acid. Now, prepare to die."
Zancrow
"Damn it, I knew I shoulda gone towards the back of this stupid caravan instead of the front." Grumbled Zancrow to himself, as he sat on top of a pile of unconscious, and heavily burned, bandits, eating an apple that had been hanging from one of the trees nearby.
Finishing his apple, he quickly went over to where the most action seemed to be happening, wondering if he was going to be allowed to fight an actual opponent.
Kaen
"Nezumitori (Mousetrap)" Shouted Jidanda, as he slammed both hands onto the ground, a six foot tall, six foot wide, and one foot thick section of earth coming up in front of the orangette, swinging out of the ground like a half ton page turning, only this page was lethal.
Dodging to the side, Kaen quickly started running towards the man, hoping to end this quickly, remembering that the Flame Autarch said that earth magic was mostly area of affect, meaning that combining that with his fire magic, and the caravan might not make it.
Rearing back his fist, he took a moment to wonder why the bandit leader hadn't so much as moved from his spot, before lighting his hand, and punching him in the stomach, only to immediately regret the decision as he felt at least one of the bones in his hand break.
"Not bad, brat, I actually felt that. Too bad for you that I activated my Tetsu no hada (Iron skin). If you don't have anything better, then I'm afraid that you're not even going to hurt me." Taunted Kenta, his skin pure black due to his use of the spell, before it turned back to it's usual light tone.
Ignoring the small-talk, Kaen jumped back several feet, and held his unbroken right hand up to his mouth, creating a funnel. Breathing in until his stomach was almost comically bloated, a magic circle appeared in front of him, a horned skull in the middle.
"Hioni no DONARU! (Fire devil's screech)!"
WIth that, Kaen released a massive breath of fire, the heat of which the people cowering in the caravans behind him could feel. After around five seconds, the orangette cut off the magic supplying the spell, allowing his flames to die down.
When he could see again, he was shocked to find that another stone wall had been erected. It was completely molten though, with Kenta still standing there, his skin black once again from the Tetsu no hada, his left sleeve burned off, as well as some of his hair.
"Now do you see? You can't win."
"Enjin no shinken (Fire god's divine fist)!" Came the voice from above, before a yellow and black blur slammed into the ground where Jidanda was, creating a dust cloud. Upon clearing, it revealed Zancrow, crouched over with his fist still embedded in the ground, Jidanda having dodged at the last second.
"GO HELP NATSU! YOU CAN HELP ME AFTER YOU FINISH UP WITH WHATEVER HE'S DOING!" Shouted Kaen to his comrade, causing Zancrow to narrow his eyes at the apparent order, before he scoffed an ran off to do as bid.
Natsu
"Karyu no TEKKEN!" Shouted Natsu, as he once again tried to punch the nano mage, only to be driven off again.
'My only effective attack is my Karyu no hoko, but I can't move and use it at the same time. Damn, I'm gonna have to kick up my training with Kaen-Aniki and Zancrow-Aniki.' Thought Natsu to himself, as the silver mass continued to chase after him.
"Come on brat, is that the best you can do?"
'Strange, he hasn't changed for a while. I wonder why that is.'
"Enjin no dogo (Flame god's bellow)" Came the shout from the direction of the caravan, the battle having taken them a fair bit away. Soon after tha shout was heard, a large amount of black fire erupted from a gap in the trees, hitting the fat man who disappeared into the black mass, and resulting dust cloud.
"Did I get him?" Questioned Zancrow, as he appeared on Natsu's right, who was fuming that his brother didn't seem to think he could handle this.
"OI, ANIKI! Why did you do that? I could have beat him!" Shouted Natsu, Zancrow simply standing there for a few seconds leaning away from Natsu, before he started cleaning his left ear with his pinky, before responding.
"I beat all the enemies at the front of the caravan, so I decided to help one of you two, and Kaen told me to help you." The blonde informed the pinkette, before grumbling about taking orders from someone younger than he was.
"Kaen-aniki asked you to help me? Aw man! Alright fine, I'M ALL FIRED UP!" Shouted Natsu, as he lit up his hands once more, accidentally searing the wounds on his right hand shut.
"Well that's nice, I suppose the little blonde fucker is the reason that I'm all fucked up, isn't he?" Came the voice from the dust, revealded to be Kenta when it cleared, only this time, he hadn't been able to block the attack, not expecting it. He was trembling from the pain, several major burns lining his body, parts of his flesh even being burned black, his hair almost completely gone, fat leaking out of a few areas in his stomach, his left arm burned almost to the bone.
"This hurts, this hurts so very much. I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna force open your mouths, then I'm gonna put a teeny tiny little amount of my friends down your throat, then I'm gonna put a little more on each of your extremities, so that you're eaten from the inside out, and from your hands and feet to your torso at the same time, and every time you beg for mercy, I'm just gonna slow them down, so the pain lasts longer. Heh, heh, ha, ha, HA, HA, HA ,HA ,HA ,HA ,HA, HAAAA!" The man was mumbling to himself, even his voice trembling from the pain, before he started laughing insanely.
"Um...Aniki?"
"Yeah, strawberry?"
"Is that normal?"
"No clue, but I've got a bad feeling about it."
"We...might be screwed, huh?"
"Maybe."
"MUGEN KIGA NO KIGEN (Genesis of the endless hunger)!" Came the insane scream, before a gigantic version of Kenta's magic circle appeared above him, massive amounts of the silvery substance pouring out, enough to completely blot out the sun.
"Oh, fuck me!" Shouted Zancrow, as he gathered as much magic as he could, preparing to unleash another Enjin no dogo. He was interrupted however, by two voices that seemed to belong to two people around his age.
"Īnoriko no Funsui (Prayer fountain)!"
"Kōru (Freeze)!"
With these two voices, a massive amount of water shot into the air from behind Kenta, engulfing the silver substance, before it all began to freeze, trapping it within a dome of ice.
"Nice work you two, I'll take care of this now. Kemuri tokimeki (Smoke crush)." Came the calm voice soon afterwards, before a stream of pink smoke streaked out of the same place in the woods, hitting Kenta over the head and knocking him unconscious.
"Well that was interesting. You two okay?" asked the adult voice, revealed to be a man with brown hair in a pompadour style, sunglasses, and smoking a cigarette. He had an orange shirt, a beige trench coat, with simple pants and shoes. For some reason, he had a small child on each of his shoulders, one a near naked boy with black hair and a silver necklace, the other a young girl with brown hair in a ponytail, wearing an orange dress with a square pattern on it. For some reason, both children seemed to be unconscious, breathing heavily, and drenched in sweat.
"Us?" Questioned Natsu, not really sure if the man was talking to the two slayers, or the children on his shoulders.
"Yeah, can't really ask these two since their unconscious from magical exhaustion. So, you two alright?" He asked again, Zancrow huffing in annoyance before answering in his usual brash manner.
"What's it to you, oyaji?" Asked the blonde, getting an annoyed twitch from the smoker.
"I'M NOT OLD!" He shouted, before calming himself down. "I'm just wondering since this guy is a highly wanted mage, and by the looks of things, that cloud of his wasn't a good thing."
"So, who are you, and what are you doing here, Oji-san?" Asked Natsu with way too much innocence for the man to believe he wasn't being messed with.
"Well, brat, the names Wakaba Mine. I'm a mage of the guild Fairy Tail, and me an my partner, Macao Conbolt, and I have been pursuing this gang of thugs for a while. We brought along these two so they could get a little experience doing some of the higher level missions. This is Grey Fullbuster, and Cana Alberona." He answered, Natsu and Zancrow sharing a look before nodding to one another.
"I'm Natsu."
"Name's Zancrow."
"Nice to meet you both. Would you mind watching these two while I check in on my partner?" Asked the smoker, getting a shrug from Natsu, but a shake of the head from Zancrow.
"Sorry oyaji, I gotta meet back up with our friend Kaen, and check on the rest of the caravan. We are supposed to be guarding it after all." Stated the blonde, before he took off to check on everyone.
"Then I guess I leave this to you, Natsu." Stated Wakaba, as he set down the two on his shoulders.
Kaen
"Why do you continue to fight? You cannot win when you cannot hurt me." Stated Jidanda, as he continually manipulated the earth around the orangette, forming spears, sink holes, and even those 'mouse traps', forcing the boy to continuously dodge, his broken hand severely hampering his combat ability.
"Everyone has a weakness, I just have to find yours." Retorted Kaen, who was wondering just where the hell Natsu and Zancrow were.
"Nicely said, gaki. Murasakiiro no netto (Purple net)." Came a voice next to Kaen, it being a man with spiked up blue hair, with a shirt the exact same color, with white pants and black shoes, before a mass of purple fire shot towards the tall man, tying him up like a rope. "One doesn't have to beat their opponent unconscious to win, just make it so they can't move." Stated the blunette, as the leader of the bandits struggled against his bonds.
"I thank you for your assistance. My name is Kaen, what is yours?" Questioned the orangette with a slight bow, surprising the blunette enough that he stumbled a little upon answering, both of them ignoring the struggling earth mage on the ground.
"M-Macao Conbolt, mage of Fairy Tail, here on a mission to apprehend these bandits." He informed the devil slayer, getting a nod in return.
"Will you need assistance in tying them up?" Questioned Kaen, his response being a shake of the head.
"No, me and my partner will be fore than enough to take care of this. Thank you for you offer though. You're probably going to want that taken care of, stated Macao, indicating the broken and swollen hand of the orangette.
"Thank you for your concern, but-" Started Kaen, before he was interrupted by Zancrow and a man with his hair in a ridiculously large pompadour.
"Oi, Kaen! Natsu is fine, and all of the bandits in the area are down. I think we should take off, complete the job. Those caravan assholes aren't very patient, and that's annoying." Stated Zancrow, Kaen nodding before turning towards Macao and Wakaba.
"I trust that you won't mind us leaving now? Both our groups have a job to do, and I am eager to complete ours." Kaen informed the two adults, both of whom nodded.
"Of course, gaki. We just need to tie these suckers up, and march them to the nearest town. You three are pretty strong though, if you beat almost all of them. You ever consider joining a guild?" Questioned Wakaba, missing Zancrow's flinch upon hearing the word.
"Not really, but we might have to visit some time." Pondered Kaen, more to himself than anyone, before he turned to Zancrow. "Would you mind getting Natsu? I need to inform the caravan head that we are all clear, before anyone begins to panic."
"Eh...sure, why the hell not?" Questioned the blonde, before he started walking away to the back of the group, Wakaba going with him to secure the rest of the bandits and to see if Cana and Grey were alright.
"Remember to visit us in Fairy Tail. We're based in Magnolia town. I'd love to see you guys there at some point." Makao told Kaen, who was walking towards the middle wagon.
Five minutes later, the caravan was on the move once more.
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And that's the end of the chapter!
For those wondering why a Fire Devil slayer isn't evil, I'd say that just because you can use something seemingly evil, doesn't make you evil. It's how you use it. Like Zeref. He's Earthland's greatest antagonist, but he cherishes every life, he doesn't want to kill, he was cursed! Sure, he stated that he was going to end all life, but that's beside the point.
If you're wondering who's the strongest, when Cannon starts, Zancrow will be able to beat Natsu, Kaen will be able to beat Zancrow, and Natsu beats Kaen.
As for why the spells are in Japanese and not the actual name of the magic, I don't really have an answer for that.
I know that I didn't cover a whole lot, but trust me, I'm going to use more than a few flashbacks to tell their stories.
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1: Just in case you were wondering, Hades wants Zancrow to kill the bound men, and he's refusing. Again, I know that's Ooc, but that's the whole point.
2: That's some Luffy level logic right there!
3: I'm not that good with fight scenes,
4: Nothing special, just a ball made of magic that explodes on contact.
5: Shizuo Heiwajima is one of the most badass characters to ever appear in an anime, and I based the premise of Scales And Fur, on his abilities.
6: Means 'earth lord'.
7: Nano magic is exactly what it sounds like. It consists of nano sized organisms created and controlled by Kenta's magic.
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Guess the Quote (The hi-fucking-larious quote):
There are two things in this world I cannot stand! Lies, and evil, and lies, and...BELL PEPPERS!
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Stay tuned for the next chapter of The Fire Brothers: The Guild
This concludes experiment log no. 3215