Disclaimer: And so this arc has officially made its debut as a separate story! I was very pleased with the reviews that I wanted to start on this immediately, but I promised myself I'd update Flames of the Scarlet Memory. Anyway, like I said in the third chapter A dragon's Promise, this is an extended version, but I promise you won't regret re-reading it. Well, here you go.
Welcome to the land of Fiore. It is a place of magic, wonder, and many more. A world where fantasy is made reality, but this is not the Fiore you are familiar with. This not a realm of mages, but a realm of Summoners. These "Summoners", as you can guess, have the ability to summon, and what they summon are creatures. These creatures are called Guardian Beasts, great and powerful beings that holds the strength of their Summoner's soul. Summoners can only obtain one Guardian Beast in their lifetime and must promise not to abuse their power, while Guardian Beast must willingly serve their chosen Summoner in order to gain their full power. Only a chosen few have the power to become a Summoner and when one passes, a new one is selected.
A Summoner's bond is sacred, because when you bond with your chosen guardian, the two souls become one and are now a part of each other. Using it wisely, a Summoner can obtain the powers that can match a god, as the legends foretold. With that kind of power however, there will always be some who will stop at nothing in order to wield and use it for one's own nefarious purposes. If a Summoner should succumb to the dark, their bond with their Guardian Beast becomes unstable and the Guardian Beast themselves shall become chaotic monstrosities with no sense of right nor wrong, destroying anything that obstructs their path until they are too unstable and finally disappear, though this is a rare occurrence.
Today, Summoners can compete in tournaments and gain greater strengths. With each battle, Summoner can also strengthen their bond through these trials. Others choose not to fight and use their power for everyday uses like growing crops, building houses, composing music, and other various tasks that help one another. Some Summoners even choose to use their Guardian Beast to sustain law and order.
Many Summoners are famous for their tournament battle and their heroics. But the most famous of them all is Fiore's world champion Summoner, Gildarts. He was a man of great virtue and strength in and out of battle. He was also the founder of the Guardian Beasts corps, a Summoner military organization with the objective of keeping the peace and making sure no Guardian Beast's power is not abused. Many Summoners, if not all, see Gildarts as a hero, but one day he vanished. Many questions had risen up since his disappearance and Fiore slowly became unstable, however, new heroes have risen up to the plate and have begun their mission to continue where Gildarts left off. And one of our hero's journeys is where this story begins...
It was a rainy day on Magnolia Town. Very few people were out, most trying to get to their homes where there is shelter. The rain poured hard, as if purposely trying to injure someone who gets in the way.
On the outskirts of town, walked a man clad in a crimson cloak. Its length went up to the ankles of the cloaked figure's feet and a hood covered the upper part of his face; the only parts shown were his mouth and chin. He walked at a steady pace, not in a hurry to reach his destination. Though covered, a well trained eye would see that the figure seemed to release a frustrated aura.
"They're still following us." A voice said to the hooded figure.
"Yeah I know, it's really starting to get annoying," Was the only answer the voice got.
"Shall we confront them?"
"Not like we have choice, their foul stench is starting to seep into my nose. I'll take care of them first; if things get a little tight I'll call you out of Spirit Share."
"Very well master."
"I thought I told you not to call me that?" The cloaked figure said before sighing. "HEY IDIOTS IN THE BACK, I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"
After he had said that ten figures appeared, each holding a different weapons ranging from spears, axes and spiked clubs,
"Don't get cocky you runt. You might've known where we were, but that doesn't mean we're weaklings! We are members of the Phantom Beasts, the strongest dark organization there is!"
"A member of Phantom Beast? So they're starting to appear more often than they use to..That's rather stupid." The hooded figure then took a fighting stance, separating the front part of his cloak which revealed a well built body with few scars on his torso and wore slightly tattered white trousers. On the trouser's belt was a katana held inside its black sheath.
"Alright, enough talk, you've already wasted my time. If it's a fight you want then it's a fight you'll get so bring it!"
"Heh, now you're talkin'!" As the man finished, he dashed towards the hooded figure, swinging his axe with his right hand like a madman. The hooded man smiled and waited until he was near enough. When the man swung his axe downward, intending to slice the hooded man's head in half, the hooded man sidestepped to the left and then punched the his enemy directly in his stomach. Soon after, the man fell unconscious.
"That all you got? That was extremely lame... so who's next?"
"Y-you bastard! Men, take this runt down!" With that said, the all of them ran towards the hooded man.
"Hehe...this is nothing." When they got near enough, the hooded man stood upright and took a deep breath.
"Release..." The hooded man sent a powerful wave in all directions and pushed back all of his attackers, knocking them out.
"Seriously that's it? Something's not right about this." He looked around the area and sniffed the air. "I CAN SMELL YOU IDIOTS TOO SO MIGHT AS WELL COME OUT! YOU MAY HAVE PISSED ME OFF BUT I PROMISE I WON'T KILL YOU!"
Eight more of them suddenly appeared, with angered expressions on their faces.
"You just got lucky you bastard! If you're not gonna kill us then it'll only be easier for us to kill you!" They charged at him with unabated vigor, but then the hooded figure grabbed his sword with his right hand and without unsheathing it, used it to fight.
The first man to reach him was a tall lanky man holding a long spear, but before he could even come near to his opponent and pierce him through the chest, the figure jumped into the air. Reaching the highest point of the jump he positioned his body so that he was falling head first. Using his left hand to land on the handle of the spear, he then used his right holding the sword and whacked the spear wielder on the head.
Not done fighting, he then proceeded to spin the staff using his fingers to keep him in the air and using the other end of the staff with no blade to hit three nearby enemies. Finishing his attack, he let go of the staff and landed on his feet. The remaining four had already stopped, intimidated by what they know now as man not to be trifled with.
"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're going to run away now cuz I'm just getting started." The hooded man said smirking at his foes. This seemed to anger them as they now went back to charging toward him.
The man sighed before saying, "They never learn."
In a flash, He dashed in their direction and suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind them. Before they could even react, they felt an immense pain on multiple parts of their body before falling unconscious.
"And that takes care of th- oh you've got to be kidding! Will you guys quit showing up out of nowhere!?" He said in a frustrating manor as more thugs appeared in his sights.
"Shall I take care of this, master?" The voice inside his head returned from wherever it left
"I keep telling you not to call me that!.. Fine I'll let you take it from here. This is getting too tedious." The hooded man then closed his eyes, focusing his magic to his center. "Summon!"
A magic circle appeared and began to glow a vibrant red. The enemy stopped running and stared at the orb with a gaze that held fear in them.
"H-he's a Summoner!?" One of the men cried. Many of them took a step back, while a few others just stood in silence.
When the circle stopped glowing and disappeared, it revealed a small white orb with butterfly wings. The self proclaimed Phantom Beast members stood there baffled, and then began laughing.
"That's it?!"
"What a pathetic Guardian Beast!"
"Is that a Fairy!? I heard they're almost completely extinct because their weak! Now I see why!"
They continued to laugh, unknown to them that the hooded figure now sported a smirk. "Big mistake." The glowing fairy suddenly disappeared in a flash and in the next second most of them lay on the ground, leaving only one who was cowering.
"What the hell?! How are you that strong?! W-wait a minute, I know you! Y-y-you're that guy with that powerful Guardian Beast everyone's been talking about! You're Oberon!"
"Yeah, yeah now will you shut up already?" The hooded man said as he put his sheathed sword back on to his belt. He then walked up to him and gave him a powerful flick to the forehead, rendering him unconscious. He then faced his Guardian Beast with a look of slight frustration.
"... Erza what am I going to do with you? You kinda overdid it...again." After he had said that, Erza changed form from the small glowing orb, to a beautiful woman with red hair who was slightly shorter than the hooded figure. She wore armor over her her upper body and a blue skirt with black boots.
"Not again! I'm sorry master I've failed you! Please punish me!" Erza said bowing down to him.
"That won't be necessary Erza, and would you please stop calling me master? We've been friends since we were kids and yet you still call me master."
"Sorry, old habits die hard. Natsu, did you notice that…"
"Yeah, these guys are fakes; even Phantom Beast's regular goons were more difficult. Plus, it looks like they don't have any Dark Beast."
"Just hearing the name of those disgusting monstrosities makes my blood boil."
"Agreed. The things humanity can do just to gain power… creating these monsters out of other creatures, even other human beings, and using them for evil, it's simply unforgivable." Erza nodded in agreement before turning her head to look at the fallen self proclaimed Phantom Beast members.
"Just what were their motives in showing up and attacking us?" Erza asked in wonder.
"Don't know, either they're just some bad guy wannabes or they're just plain stupid."
"No, that's not it…"
"Whatever, let's just go home, we've been out searching for almost two months now and we still couldn't find a lead. It's about time to take a small break, and we'd better hurry; I completely forgot about the rain and now we're soaking wet."
He waited, as if expecting Erza to do something, but got no response. He sighed before saying, "C'mon Erza, get back in Spirit Share, you know you'll heal faster. You're still not fully recovered from that face off with that strange guy while we were on our mission."
"Natsu I'm fine, please stop worrying over me, and you know Spirit Share weakens your abilities."
"And the rain?"
"A little rain never stopped me."
"Alright, alright, just don't catch a cold or something." He said as he held out his right hand.
"As you wish Natsu." With a small blush on her cheek, she grabbed his hand, intertwined their fingers, and began walking.
"Natsu should we tell the others about the strange man we faced? He seems too dangerous to ignore."
"We will, but for now we'll just take a break, we seriously need one."
"As you wish Ma-I mean Natsu." Natsu merely sweat dropped as Erza put on an innocent smile.
"... Hey Erza, do you think we're closer to finding my Dad?"
"I'm not sure, but I promise you we'll find him. We will find Gildarts."
"Yeah..."
The rain finally died down as they made their way through the streets of Magnolia. Because they were raised there, many of its residence knew who they were and greeted them as they walked by. Both responded with greetings of their own, glad to see many familiar faces.
"Man, it's good to be home!" Natsu said as he stretched his arms.
"Indeed, it is very refreshing."
"What do you think we should do today, go home and relax or stay out and do something?" Natsu asked as he looked at Erza.
"Might I suggest the café?"
"Let me guess, strawberry shortcake?" After what he had said Erza gave him one of his greatest weaknesses: the sad puppy face.
"…"
"…"
"…Please?"
"…"
"…"
"Fine, just try not to empty my wallet this time." Natsu said in a defeated tone.
"Yes!" She said as she gave him a hug. Natsu looked away and blushed, returning the hug. Few female bystanders noticed the two, and started whispering and giggling to each other.
"Aaaww, they're so cute together," one of them whispered.
"I wish my boyfriend and I were that close," another girl whispered.
"But, you don't have one remember?"
"Oh yeah…" The rest of the girls sweat dropped.
An old woman passed by and noticed the still hugging partners. "My my, to be young and in love again," She said as she walked by.
Erza, finally noticing the position they were in, let go of Natsu, blushing in the process.
"Sh-shall we go then?" She asked as she looked at the ground.
"Y-yeah, let's go."
They walked towards the café in silence, unable to speak due to previous events. From time to time, one of them would look back at the other, sometimes both staring into each other and blush before turning away again. Entering the café, Natsu said, "I'll order for us, that alright with you?"
Erza nodded, still not making eye contact. Natsu sighed and walked to the counter.
"Welcome to Celestial Star Café! How may I take yo- Natsu, it's you! I'm so sorry I almost didn't recognize you!" The cashier said, with an odd combination of happiness and nervousness in her voice.
"Hello to you too Aries. It's alright, no apology needed. It's great to see you again, how's it been?" He asked with a grin.
Aries was a young woman with pink hair, brown eyes and a well endowed body. She wore the café's uniform which consisted of a light blue shirt with a shooting star on the sleeves, dark blue pants, and a blue apron. Although she was still nervous, Aries had a genuine smile.
"Things have been alright and nothing out of the ordinary so far. Loke is out hitting on some girls, Aquarius is on a date with Scorpio, Gemi and Mini ditched work to goof off, and it's my turn to work at the register."
"Wow, you're right; I thought that at least one thing happened while I was gone."
"Umm… I'm sorry if I'm rushing things but can you please order now? You're holding back the line," She said as she stared at the suddenly large line behind Natsu.
"Oh right, my bad. I'd like the usual," he said as he handed her the money.
"Coming right up.
He then made his way to where Erza was currently sitting. Noticing that she was still not making eye contact, he sighed and thought, "Hope this awkward silence won't last long."
After twelve minutes of waiting, their orders were finally brought to them: a mocha frappuccino for Natsu and strawberry shortcake for Erza. As if never even feeling nervous, Erza quickly started on her cake with a noticeable smile. Natsu couldn't help but watch his partner lose herself in her shortcake and smile as well. However, just when she was about to eat the last piece, Natsu suddenly burst in laughter after what he just witnessed. She stared him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Did I do something funny?"
Natsu, still laughing, replied, "You have some icing on your nose!"
"Huh?" She then tried to see the icing on the tip of her nose, making Natsu laugh even harder. Finally ceasing his laughter, he grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped the icing off.
"There, all better now?" she responded with a pout, making him laugh once again.
"You know, I never told you this before, but you've probably known of this from the beginning."
"Know what? I don't understand what you mean."
"Well… I'm glad. Glad to have met you all those years ago. I wouldn't know what I'd be without you around. And I'm glad you stuck by my side all this time."
Erza blushed and looked down, but soon returned her gaze back to him with a smile.
"I'm glad to have met you as well. After all, I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for you. I am forever in your debt."
"I keep telling you its fine. You've said my life a couple of times too remember?"Natsu's smile grew; glad to see that Eza was back to normal.
"So you two were hiding here all along."
The two turned around, staring at the owner of the voice. In their gaze stood a woman with dark brown hair styled in the traditional Japanese "princess style" and a ribbon tied with the bow pointing upward. She wore a white blazer with sleeves tucked under her gloves and a pair of black tights tucked into thigh-high boots that sat under a short frilled skirt. Her black eyes stared at the two with a stoic face as Erza and Natsu felt a little embarrassed.
"You were supposed to head back to headquarters an hour ago," she spoke again, her voice showing no signs of emotion."
"Sorry Kagura, we got a little sidetracked, "Erza said.
"Yeah, sorry about that boss, we had a little problem on the way here and it's thanks to that that we got hungry." Natsu said as he scratched the back of his neck. He then continued, "But if there's someone to blame it should be me. I was the one that suggested we eat here so I take full responsibility."
The reason for saying this was because Kagura was a stickler when it came to being on time. She never tolerated tardiness and will sometimes even punish those who keep her waiting. Erza, who knew what he was trying to do was about to protest, but then something shocking completely took the both off them off guard.
"It is quite alright, I came here to discuss a different matter that needs to be dealt with." This shocked the two; only something serious can make Kagura completely ignore her pet peeve.
"I need you two to give full detail of the events that happened during you're mission," Kagura said as she took a seat next to Natsu.
"Isn't it too risky to be talking about this out in public?" Natsu questioned, but looking around he noticed that the inside of the café was only occupied by them. Even Aries didn't seem to be around.
"Huh… never mind then…"
"I had kindly asked Aries to close up early."
"I see… so you really are serious boss. Well to be honest it was after the mission that a problem suddenly shown itself…"
Here's a cliffhanger for you guys. I was supposed to post this up hours ago, but I fell asleep. This story has actually got me more hyped. I found it difficult trying to make up the fight scene; in fact I'm trying to think another for the next chapter. That aside I do hope you liked reading this.
Please review!