A Saber's Savior
A/N: Welcome to my newest story. My current victims for crack pairing treatment is Natsu and Minerva. This story is slightly AU because Minerva stays with Sabertooth after she lost to Erza during the GMGs.
Rating T
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail!
Chapter One
Minerva groaned as she awoke. She never ached as much as she did now. Every muscle in her body screamed as if on fire. She was still clothed or clothed in what remained of her clothing. The dark-haired girl was lying on her back on soft bedsheets in a strange room. Minerva rolled over onto her side cringing as bruised muscles were pulled and stretched. She remembered everything. She had lost miserably to Erza Scarlet, and by failing to defeat the Titania, she had been unable to gain back her guild's reputation as the strongest. She closed her eyes as hot tears of despair trailed down her face. She hated losing.
Once her tears have subsided, she rolled back over on her back, wincing as she willed herself to sit up. She didn't move an inch of the bed when that proved to be downright stupid. She hissed and gasped in pain as spasms racked across her whole body. She struggled not to cry out in pain by clenching her teeth determined to not let out a pained scream. She collapsed back onto her back and rolled into a ball waiting for the waves of pain to subside. What was causing this pain? Her eyes shot open as the door opened.
"You're awake," a familiar voice said. She tensed. Minerva felt warm breath brush across her jaw as Natsu Dragneel sniffed her. "And hurting still? You must have taken a beating from Erza."
"What do you want, Salamander?" Minerva snarled through clenched teeth. She gasped as she was lifted out of bed and pushed roughly into the wall. Grasping Natsu's wrists in an attempt to break his hold on her, Minerva struggled until Natsu jostled her rubbing her bruised back against the wall. Minerva winced, pain shooting through every nerve in her body.
Cringing, Minerva looked into Natsu's eyes and saw burning fury lying dormant. Fully aware of what Salamander was capable of, she decided that it might be prudent for her to stop struggling. Minerva went limp in his hold and dropped her eyes to Natsu's scarf. The two stood there for seemingly an eternity before Natsu broke the silence. "You harmed my friends. Why?"
"I didn't want to lose," Minerva whispered hollowly.
Natsu loosened his grasp on her, and she slumped to the floor head slightly bowed as she stared at her bare legs. Her arms were by her sides, not making any move to cover herself up.
Natsu stared at the woman sitting against the wall, limp like a rag doll. She made no move to leave. He had been against keeping Minerva in custody while the Sabertooth guild appointed a new master to lead the guild. Sabertooth, specifically Sting, Rogue, Orga, Rufus, and Yukino didn't want Minerva to leave unexpectedly. Sting had asked him and he outright refused until Erza butted in.
"Why are you letting her stay, Erza?" demanded Natsu. "She stabbed Kagura. She tortured Millianna. She brutalized Lucy! Why are you letting her stay?"
Erza stopped. Erza slowly turned around. "It was the look in her eyes."
Natsu blinked. What did Erza mean by the 'look in her eye'? Before he could voice the question, Erza had turned back around and walked away.
"If you are so against letting Minerva stay here until Sabertooth finds a new guild master, then you can go to the room where we are keeping Minerva to judge for yourself," she had declared calmly.
This version of Minerva was definitely unexpected. He had expected the sadistic, cruel woman that had appeared during the Naval Battle. Instead, he was looking at a disinterested, distant woman. He sighed as he raised a hand. Minerva slightly flinched and closed her eyes. He pulled off his scarf and dumped it on her head. Minerva pulled the scarf off her head and raised confused emerald eyes to watch Natsu as he rummaged around the drawers. She looked down at the scarf she was holding, unsure of what to do with it. "Why?"
"Wrap it around yourself," Natsu muttered, glancing down at the almost naked woman. Minerva blinked and looked down. A scarlet hue covered her cheeks as she merely placed the scarf over her breasts. Natsu sighed as he closed the last drawer frustrated that he couldn't find any clothes for the Territory mage to wear. He turned back around and lunged for Minerva who teetered to the side as she stood up. Just as he placed his hands on her to stabilize her, Natsu stumbled backward as Minerva shoved him away from her.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped angrily. Natsu watched open-mouthed as she stumbled over to the bed, his scarf clutched tightly in her hands. She all but collapsed on the bed. She shuffled, so her back was against the blackboard. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, willing the nausea to go away. "I don't need help, Fairy," she muttered. "I'll stay here."
Natsu stared at her. He opened his mouth to speak but closed his mouth when she shot him an angry glare. "Leave!" She tossed his scarf at him. "Here's your scarf. I don't need it!"
Natsu caught his scarf in his hands. Bewildered, he left the room and quietly closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs of the inn that Fairy Tail was staying. He spotted Erza eating her strawberry cake and decided to sit with Erza.
Erza looked up at him in between bites of her cake. "How did it go?"
Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "It was fine. She kicked me out."
"I am assuming you are letting her stay?"
Natsu shrugged.
"I am more worried about her escaping," Gray muttered.
"She can't." Erza said calmly. "There are magic seals all over the place, placed by Rufus. It seals her magic."
"If she tries using magic, she will feel pain," Freed added calmly, who was sitting right next to Gray. "I added my runes just for back up."
"Does Sabertooth know about this?" Erza asked sharply. "Sabertooth cares very much about her. If we do anything that the guild does not approve of, there will be issues between our guilds. Sting may have been able to smooth things over with the rest of the guilds at the Grand Magic Games Ball, but there are still tensions between certain wizards considering it was Minerva who did the most damage. It would be wise if we set a good example in dealing with Sabertooth until things settle down."
"Of course. I told Rufus who told Sting. He didn't like it but he understood. Sabertooth wants Minerva to stay with them, although I don't see why. There is not a kind bone in that woman's body." Freed said stiffly.
"Erza," Natsu said out loud. "Do you have any spare clothes for Minerva? She is practically naked."
Erza turned on him so fast; he didn't have the time to dodge the right hook to his left jaw.
"OW! What was that for?" Natsu exclaimed rubbing his jaw.
"You infringed upon Minerva's honor!?" the redhead shrieked as she grabbed the Fire Dragon Slayer by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him up. "I should cut you to pieces!"
"You may want to wait before you kill Natsu," an amused Sting said watching the scene with Lector perched on the White Dragon Slayer's shoulder.
"Ah, Sting," Erza said turning around dropping Natsu on the ground. "What are you doing here? I thought you were helping with repairing the damages the dragons caused."
"Rufus is overseeing it. I have clothes and toiletries for Minerva that Yukino gathered for her. Is she awake?"
"Yeah," Natsu answered as he pushed himself off the floor.
Natsu was surprised to see the relief on Sting's face. "That's really good to hear. Rufus was worried that the runes he placed around Minerva after she lost consciousness after her defeat might have put a strain on her considering it was restricting and draining her at the same time. Where are you keeping Minerva?"
"Upstairs, second room on the right," Erza instructed.
Sting nodded his head. He lifted Lector off his shoulder and placed him on the table. Lector scampered over to Happy who was more than happy to see him. String strolled over to the staircase, calling back over his shoulder, "Well, I'm gonna see Minerva, now."
The Fairy Tail wizards watched as the White Dragon Slayer walked up the stairs.
"Are you sure we should let Sting go up there alone, Erza?" asked Freed.
Erza shook her head. "No, Minerva won't do anything. She has nothing to gain."
"Because she lost?" Gray asked.
Erza pinned him with piercing brown eyes. "Exactly."
End Note: Alright, everyone. I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of A Saber's Savior.
Please don't forget to review, follow, and/or favorite this really unusual pairing of mine.
Have a great day!
~Lady Serai