Sitting down, the guild was newly reformed by the time the four of them made their way from Kingdom of Caelum, south of Fiore. A lot of things had happened, and wanting a slight breather, she took a seat at one of the empty tables and ordered herself a simple strawberry cheesecake, as the rest of her team walked around the new guild; Mirajane as their somewhat tour guide to how the new guild was. She'd check it out later, but this was the first and the few times she had to herself since everything went down. First, she was reunited with all the people she was with during the times of her enslavement, met the first person she fell in love with, and just as sudden, he had tried to kill her to resurrect Zeref, had no qualms about killing one of their old friends, and watched as the rest of them set off on their own journey.
Flashes of the power he was consumed resonated as she tried to hold back the thoughts. He was choking, forcing himself to eat Etherion as a substitution for fire because he needed an extra boost to take him down. Piece after piece he continued to force himself to chew through the lacrima full of magical power. Why would he go that far? He was reckless, she understood that, but never before would she think he would go as far as to putting his whole life in danger just to take him down. Why wouldn't he stop, this wasn't his fight. It was a fight for her to face her past and push through it, so she could move on from there.
A little hazy, she could recall some of the things from the time there, up in the tower. "You made her cry,..." it was the first time she had ever seen him so angry, "You're the reason that Erza shed tears!" Jellal, the man not even she could beat was being smashed around the lacrima tower by the dragon slayer in a rampage, wrecking the tower with no problem.
It was terrifying almost, seeing such devastating power exploding out of him. And as she thought about it, it was also the first time she had seen the power of a dragon slayer up close. Granted, although Laxus was a dragonslayer as well, she had never seen him personally fight, or enter the same overflowing power Natsu had. Up until now I don't think anyone else had seen that side of him, that inner fury that was just waiting to be let out.
"Erzaa" snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up to see her teammate, Natsu walking over, with a slightly upset look on his face, his arms crossed, he sulked as he took a seat down, sprawling on the table as he just sat there brooding, "You're taking this well" slightly moody.
She was going to ask what was wrong with him, but she had an inkling of what was on his mind, "Let me guess..." taking a wild stab in the dark, "Everything's different and you don't like it?" asking him, watching him sink a little further on the table.
"Yeah" brooding a little more, he grumbled as he sulked further into his scarf, "It's different,... I don't like it, it was perfect the way it was" the way he was, was still that of a child, pouting because of something out of their control. It was slightly hard to imagine that just a few days ago he was crashing the tower, and knocking Jellal around, though that was the reason it took her by surprise. "What're you up to?" looking over at her, curious and hoping it'll take his mind off of it.
Smiling a bit, she picked up the fork, "The usual" responding, "It's just nice to be back home for a change,... thought I'd take a moment to relax" taking a bite from her cheesecake, enjoying it. It wasn't all a lie, however, after everything that had happened it felt nice for them to just relax and sit around without something going down.
The two of them just sat there. One of them was grumbling to themselves still about not liking how things were as he stretched out and laid on the seat, while she kept to herself and ate her cheesecake, enjoying the peaceful nature for now. For once, Natsu wasn't causing a ruckus or starting a fight with anyone from the guild, so it was a nice opportunity for her to enjoy the quiet nature for now until the inevitable would happen and a fight would break out. The last thing she needed right now was a mess starting and preventing her from enjoying her little treat after a long grueling time away. Though, she couldn't help but fall back to her previous thoughts.
"...is your body okay?" she had suddenly asked the pinkette, keeping her focus on her cake. However, she didn't get a response. Thinking that he was casually ignoring her, or paying mind to his own slightly 'pointless' issues, she began to grow furious, "Natsu!" slightly raising her voice, hitting the table with the bottom of her closed fist.
Startled, he rose up quickly in slight terror, "Y-Yes?!" panicked, he wasn't sure what to do, "W-What did I do?" freaking out a little bit he finally paid mind to the Titania just across the table.
"...Don't make me repeat myself" a little embarrassed, she fought a little with herself before making up her mind. "Natsu!" suddenly calling out to him again, startling him once more, "...Do you want to go on a job?" asking him. However, she saw a confused look on his face, making her feel like she had to reinforce herself, "Do you?!" slightly annoyed at the lack of response she was giving him.
A little confused, he looked over at her, "Y-Yeah... sure..." just answering her question, he wasn't sure what was going on, "Though,... it's going to be a while till Happy, Gray, and Lucy come back" a little bothered, he remembered that they told him they wanted to check out some of the new stuff the guild had to offer, and since he was being a stubborn child about it, he was just going to wait up until they were finished.
"No,... it's fine" assuring him, "It won't be too big a job" informing him, "Just something I thought of since you seemed really bothered about it" getting up, she picked up her plate and forks, "Unless... you'd rather stay here and grumble more about how 'different' it looks" passing a gentle smirk at him.
A little annoyed, he averted his gaze, knowing that he was being played with as she knew full well he didn't want to be here any longer than needed. Though, considering everyone else was busy, he figured there was no harm in doing something to pass the time and keep his mind busy, who knows, he might managed to have some fun after all. Watching, she kept an eye from the guild board as he eventually came to a decision, not that it was hard for him to think about considering the situation. All that was left was picking out a decent job that wouldn't be too difficult or too easy, just something that would be time consuming enough for the two of them.
"This should be reasonable" finally deciding on a quest, she took one, "Natsu!" calling out to him as she slowly made her way towards the dragonslayer waiting, "How does this sound?" asking, holding it out so that he could read it.
Curious, his hands were behind his head as he casually read it, "Eh...?" questioning, he began to read, "..." finishing it, his eyes dropped halfway as he focused them at her, slightly annoyed, "This is your best pick?" asking her.
However, she just had a proud smile on her face as she felt triumphant about what she had done. It wasn't the 'best' quest that was on the board, but it was what she felt was good enough for the two of them to accomplish on their own. Though, the main reason was primarily because it wasn't anything where the two of them would need entire focus or be at their full strength for. At least, that was her intention for this.
-[x]-
The two of them were in the middle of the forest, having the request from a bakery shop that there were rare ingredients they needed to find within the forest, which was lurked deep with the nests of some magical creatures. She didn't think it was that hard of a quest, considering it was only B-Rank. Though, upon seeing them leave at the last minute, Happy had joined them after slightly accusing Natsu of abandoning him. Wearing her usual Heart Kreuz armor, she made her way through the forest, keeping an eye out for what they needed. She didn't know exactly where they would be or what they looked like, but it couldn't be that hard if it was deemed like a regular request here and there. However, the real trouble was that she was waiting for the dragonslayer who was still dragging his feet lightly, a little bummed that he was on a quest to look for ingredients.
"This doesn't seem so fun,..." grumbling a little, he tiredly followed the scarlet knight further into the forest, wondering what possessed him to take her up on the offer, "What are we looking for again?" asking her, forgetting what it was they were doing.
Keeping an eye out, she carefully rifled through bushes and what she could to leave nothing unturned, "The request was to find a special colored fruits" she explained to him, "All we know is that their color is golden and that usually strong monsters guard them" informing him, "So... while I look for the treats, you should keep an eye out for-" realizing how quiet it was, she turned to face, "Natsu! Are you-" turning her attention, she realized the reason why he hasn't paid too much mind.
"Uh... Erza" standing a little still, "I think I found your 'special' fruits" saying with a bit of a dulled expression. Pointing at a direction slightly far from them there was a large hollowed tree that, at the base, was a hole where a special grove of fruits were.
Happy, who was in the air taking a look at where Natsu was pointing had just come back down, "Does special fruits mean they're all golden and shiny?" asking him.
"Yeah, it should be" Erza confirmed, "Good work Natsu, Happy" congratulating them, "Now we need to be careful getting them" advising, "We don't know whether or not there's anything here guarding them, and we can't afford to damage them neither" reminding them, "The job was for all of them to be safe, that means, Natsu" focusing this important one on him, "No fighting OR using your dragon slayer magic" reminding him.
Sighing just a little bit, he understood perfectly what the Titania wanted from him, and although it was something not really quite up his alley, considering he practically destroys everything without trying, he figured it shouldn't be a problem just carefully picking them and bringing them back to their client. Casually, he began to approach the grove where the fruits were growing, keeping a sense out just in case something was going to come. Luckily for him, despite how close he was able to make his way towards it, there didn't seem to be anything to cut between them.
"Well... that's not too bad" he said, finally at his destination, "Happy, did you bring the basket?" asking his flying friend.
Saluting, "Aye, sir!" with a cheerful expression he quickly flew off to an unknown location, and perhaps slightly longer later, he came back with a basket made of woven twigs, "I left it somewhere because it was too troublesome to keep carrying" explaining to his friend.
Smiling bright, he took the basket, "Good job" telling him, "Should be no problem" grinning, his mood perked up knowing that this job was easy done with no worry needed.
Looking over at him, she felt better that she was able to do something to make up for all that has happened lately. The two of them were able to start a mission and finish it without any conflict, plus it was a bonus with her. Of course, she was going to have to explain to Lucy and Gray about the sudden job without them, and she'd need to find a way to make it up to them as well, but she felt that because he got involved in a personal matter, well, a much more personal matter, she thought that an easy high-ranked mission would be good enough.
"Okay, Erza" calling out to her, "I picked them carefully" beginning to make this way back, "Are you sure this was the mission? It was oddly eas-" cutting himself off, he caught a scent, "Happy, ca-" realizing that it was going to be a bad idea, "Come pick these up!" he told his friend, placing them on the ground.
Alert, she wasn't sure what was happening, but as soon as he said that, the exceed flew off at high speeds and snatched the basket from the ground and got out of the way. Just at that moment, some of the forest Gorian's came rushing in, and with its immense strength, struck the dragonslayer with its powerful fists. Luckily, he had braced himself just before impact and only suffered from being shoved back a few feet, cutting through the ground. There were not one, but two, three, until realizing there was a huge horde of them rushing through the forests, surrounding them.
"Natsu" calling out to him, "Leave them to me" instructing, "We both don't know how healed your body i-" before she could finish, he was already furious, fists ablaze and fighting off the Gorians as they came jumped in. Just a second ago she was concerned that perhaps his body wasn't healed up completely before jumping straight back into fighting once again. However, standing there she was at least proven he was still in fighting shape considering he wasn't having much difficulty fending off the looming threats.
Still, that didn't change the fact that this was her little repayment for the incident not too long ago. Requiping her blade, she gripped the hilt tightly and threw herself forward, cutting down the Gorians with just a few strikes and little effort. Beside her, the dragonslayer was still fending off a couple at a time. Even though it took him a little longer to put one down, she felt relieved he was able enough to do this much, thinking he was able enough to keep up during the fight, even if she was already ahead.
-[x]-
As the day came to an end, the two of them made their way back to the guild, one was feeling prim and proud of completing their job, while the other one was a little worn out and tired from the day, dragging his feet lightly behind the Titania along with the blue exceed floating alongside him in the air. Although it started out decent, the minor incident with the Gorian's set them back a little, but it was a relief to see that he was back in fighting shape. Though, it felt longer before the two had managed to somewhat make their way to a point of rest, considering neither of them had expected the mission to go as it did. After delivering the said fruits to the bakery, they were awarded 100,000 jewels, to which they split even between the both of them while they made their way to a bench to relax. Tired, the dragonslayer was almost ready to pass out, while the scarlet knight beside him seemed perfectly fine.
"Haaaa..." sighing, the pinkette managed to relax, "For a bunch of fruit, 100,000 jewels really isn't that bad" saying, the exceed exhausted himself and resting beside his friend, "Was it really okay not to have asked Gray or Lucy?" leaning up to face her, "I mean Lucy's rent and all...-"
A little worn out herself, she couldn't really blame him for not understanding the intent of the mission, "Natsu,..." calling out to him, "To be completely honest, I had intended this just as a little make up for what had happened back at the Tower of Heaven" admitting to him, "I was hoping that something like this would be enough to repent for what happened..."
"Hmm...?" it had then caught his attention, causing him to rise forward to digest all that she had said, "There wasn't need to do any of that" telling her with an earnest curious look, "Besides,... if anything happens to any one person on our team, it happens to all of us" smiling bright at her.
Taken back a little, "But!...the thing with Jellal,... Etherion,... all of it had to do with something I star-"
"Erza..." looking at her a little serious, his eyes half closed, "They picked a fight with Fairy Tail" telling her, "Even if it was a personal thing, no one messes with anyone from Fairy Tail and expects to get away from it unharmed. Even if it did involve your past,... what matters now is that you're with Fairy Tail, right?" grinning largely.
Looking at his face, she began to understand slightly, perhaps the full extent behind why he was who he was, and why he did what he did. The smile he beamed at her reflected the words he had spoken to her at the aftermath when she had thought she passed, when in reality he had saved her from a fate she set herself. The crying and devastated dragonslayer, alongside her friends and family, they were always there and ready to open their hand whenever someone needed it.
"oh... well... speaking of it" getting up, "Can you uh... wait here?" asking her, a little nervous and probably awkward saying something like that, "I swear I'm not going to just leave, but I just thought of something" informing her, "Happy!" calling his blue friend, "Let's go, we forgot something" ushering his friend, "We'll be back, Erza! Don't move!"
Watching, she noticed that the dragonslayer and his companion had hastily backtracked, leaving her to wait. She didn't know why she complied without arguing or questioning his motives, but at the moment, she knew that even Natsu wasn't as stupid to do something this cruel to her while they were both having a sentimental moment. However, it did allow her to let everything that was said sink in, reassuring her that after all that had happened in the former Kingdom of Caelum. It was a hard moment for her to have to relive, hoping that she was able to discard everything she left and move forward with her life. Unfortunately, she quickly began to realize that it wasn't that easy when she saw everything she had left quickly began to surface and ensnare her in the nightmare she thought she had left behind.
-[x]-
An hour had passed, and although she was having faith in the dragonslayer, it was quickly and easily wearing thin. She could feel her eye twitch having been left like this, especially due to the careless nature of the pinkette she had gone slightly out of her way to help atone for, just for the situation to have ended like this. Tapping her foot against the ground, her leg crossed on top of the other, she was ready to go out on her own to find him and punish him for this situation. It was then, she began to think about all the horrible things she was going to do to punish him once she found him, until,...
"Erza!" calling out her name was the sound of the dragonslayer that had left probably an hour ago. Furious, her arms were crossed, and she was already annoyed, ready to snap out at him.
Glaring at him, "What took you so long?!" slightly irritated at his carelessness, "You're lucky you just got here, I was just about to go find you,... and-" cut off, she had realized that as he made his way and was lightly catching his breath, she noticed that he was carrying a plastic back with a case inside, "Whats,..."
"Here" handing her the package, "I kind of felt bad we went through all that,... and I know how much you like strawberry cake..."
Following along was Happy, who was able to rest as well beside his friend, "Well, Natsu,... I think everyone knows" correcting him.
"Yeah, that" pondering slightly, "Well,... remember the strawberries we picked for the mission?" asking her slightly, "I asked him if he could make me a strawberry cheesecake using that,... cost me almost all the reward money though,..." feeling a little dread knowing he had already spent all that money like that, "But he managed to sell me one of his cakes" informing her, "Anyways... point is" realizing that he had lost track of his original intent, "I thought since you were bringing up what had just happened,... and well..." a little dulled, he admitted, "I just thought you could use something to cheer you up" grinning sheepish at her, he scratched the side of his cheek.
Again, that unpredictable nature of his, made it hard for her to figure out other than to simply label him as a reckless person. She wasn't sure herself, but his gesture made her smile, feeling a small warmth inside, at least that's what she took it as, "Thank you,... Natsu"
Instinctively, she held onto him and quickly pulled him into a hug, slightly forgetting that she was still wearing her armor and thus, had accidentally done slight damage to him. Even though it had only lasted a fleeting moment, and the slight complain of how much it hurt just after she let go, she was very lucky to have someone like Natsu be there when she needed someone the most. He was unpredictable, reckless, and undoubtedly destructive, but despite all of that was a layer of kindness he wasn't afraid to show to his fellow guild mates. And as the two of them, alongside the little exceed, made their way back to the guild, she began to feel that she was able to take the first step forward and release herself from the bonds of her past, and if there was any doubt or hesitation, she knew she could count on,... to pull her through it.
A/N: And here we go a brand new NatZa story! (yaaaay... yaaaaaay) I still do plan to do one-shots here and there,...but I REALLLY WANTED TO DO A STORY LIKE THIS. Well, depends. Probably one-shots are better,... but I have a dumb thing about trying to develop things -w-. Well, I'm hoping this to kind of separate from my last one (or a prequel) so either way it all depends on what you, the readers, would see. UNLESS (Darky wants to make the Darky dark fanfic universe :O) But I'm not sure. I'd actually love to do one-shots... but I like writing stuff too... I mean it'd be less worry and pain. Eehh... build up vs one-shots. -w-. Also, I know I know... (really people, Darky knows) Tower of Heaven is such an OVERUSED START. But Personally I just feel its the best opportunity. Also, I hope I adjusted the character's powers, I based Gorian's relative strength on Natsu's when he was a kid, so yeah. Well that's it for now. I really hope you look forward to this new story, and if you're just on the ride for sweet NatZa fluffs, i'll do my best to accommodate :3. Darky Dark Darkness sends love :heart : :heart: :heart: ~~~~~