Ch 2: The Son of Igneel!

At the Fairy Tail guildhall before either of Laxus or Natsu have arrived:

"That's almost as absurd as Flame Brain actually being trained by a dragon." scoffed Gray after he and the rest of the younger generation listened to Lisanna's tale of what some of them missed out on yesterday.

"Sorry Lisanna but I also find it really hard to believe that Laxus of all people would start training Natsu. Who better show up in the next few hours Gray." said Erza as she sent the ice mage a glare that was scary enough to even stop his weird stripping habit.

"Well it's true Red, I was right there when he and Makarov made their little bet." stated Mira with a smug smirk, always happy to rub something into her rival's face whenever the chance presented itself. And just like it always did with those two, they were once again in each other's face hurling insults back and forth. The rest of their group used these next few minutes to move away from the two girls before they inevitably started to fight each other like they always did.

"Even if it's true, there is no way Ash for Breath is ever going to become S-Class before me." stated the ice mage with a confident smirk, now that he was no longer receiving a deadly glare from a redheaded demon.

"Does that mean you're going to get a mentor as well?" asked Elfman with an intrigued look on his innocent face as he looked at Gray in the eyes.

"No way in hell Elfman, I don't need a mentor to beat that Little Matchstick. Only a weakling like him would do something as pathetic as getting help from someone like Laxus." he answered, and he could have sworn that he heard the faint roar of an enraged Natsu echo out in Magnolia right after he said that.

"Gray there isn't anything wrong with asking for help when you need it." stated Levy with a shy look, since she still wasn't used to the black haired boy always being in just his boxers for most of the day.

"I know that, but Flame Brain keeps claiming to be raised by that dragon of his all of the time. And if that was true then he shouldn't need any training from a normal human after going through something like that." he argued with a smug grin spread across his face. That was then covered by his clothes being tossed in his face by Cana, who didn't look too pleased with the ice mage.

"Gray shut up for once in your life, after what happened yesterday I thought that even you would lay off of him for a little while." she said while glaring at him.

"Why should I when he's the liar? And after yesterday he now knows that I'm not the only one that knows it, so hopefully we won't have to listen to any of his lame stories anymore." he said while putting his clothes back on with a small smirk. The ice mage expected the brunette to keep scolding him since Erza was too preoccupied at the moment, but instead she was looking at the doors with a shocked expression. Gray slowly turned around to see Natsu standing there with a blank expression on his face, which by itself was more than enough to get most of the guild worried about him. But even more shocking than that was the way he entered the guildhall, which was normal when compared to how he would usually kick the doors open and announce his return.

And what he did next only raised everyone's concern for him even higher, because without saying or even acknowledging anyone there he headed straight to the bar and ordered his usual meal. After which he just stayed there and waited patiently for the barmaid to return with it in a few minutes. All of this left the whole guild, except for two girls currently trying to kill each other; in a stunned silence that none of them wanted to break in fear of what might happen. Except for a certain silver haired girl that was the only one to stick up for the dragon slayer the other day and knew she had nothing to fear from him.

"Hi Natsu!" she said in a cheery tone as she took the stool next to him.

"Hi Lisanna, sorry about taking off like that yesterday without saying goodbye." he replied in an equally cheery tone as he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed grin spread across his face.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad that you came back." she stated with a bright smile.

"Why wouldn't I come back?" he asked her with a confused expression that caused most of the guild to go back to normal since it seemed like he was still the same Natsu that they all knew.

"No reason, I just figured you might go off and train by yourself for a while is all." she answered with a brighter smile than before as the two started to talk like they usually did. Something that the two continued to do even after Natsu was given his food, which didn't stop him from talking with her while his mouth was ridiculously full with food. Usually Lisanna would have scolded him on his terrible table manners but she let it slide today since she was just glad that he seemed to be completely fine after the events of yesterday.

At least that is what everyone was thinking as they watched the two carry on like they usually did when it was just the two of them. And a certain ice mage noticed this as well and thought that it meant that he could also go back to treating the dragon slayer like he usually did. "You really shouldn't hang out with Flame Brain too much Lisanna, from what I've heard idiocy is contagious." stated Gray with a smirk, getting ready for Natsu to hurl some insults right back at him. But instead all that happened was Natsu continued to talk with Lisanna as if he hadn't heard Gray's insult at all.

This once again caused most of the guild to quiet down and start watching the dragon slayer with concern. "Oh is our Little Matchstick still upset after what happened yesterday?" he asked with a big grin, completely ignoring the glares that were being sent his way for bringing up yesterday already. And just like his last comment, Natsu completely ignored it and continued to talk with a really happy Lisanna. Who just like most of the members watching was impressed with him not blowing up like he usually did with the slightest insult tossed his way.

"Stop ignoring me Ash Breath!" he shouted while forcing Natsu to spin around on his stool and now be face to face with him.

"Then stop saying stupid things." replied Natsu as he turned away from Gray and tried to resume his conversation with Lisanna. But his rival had different plans for him as he spun him back around and was now glaring at him.

"Do you now think you're better than me for some reason Pinky?" Gray asked loudly, knowing that calling him that usually upset him more than the other ones for some reason.

"I don't think; I know I'm better than you Gray and if you wouldn't mind I'd like to go back to talking with Lisanna." he growled out, having a really hard time holding back from punching the annoying ice mage right then and there. The only reason he didn't was because he knew that would mean Laxus wouldn't help him become a better mage like they talked about last night and this morning.

Needless to say this caused most of the members at the guild to have all sorts of shocked expressions. None more so than Gray, who just heard that his rival pretty much didn't see him as one anymore and thought that he was beneath him now. "ICE MAKE: FIST!" shouted Gray as ice formed over his right fist that he then threw at Natsu's back hoping to change the dragon slayer's mind with a quick fight.

The only problem with his little plan was that he needed to start a fight with him, which seemed to be something that the dragon slayer didn't intend to do. Instead of taking the hit like he usually would have done, Natsu spun out of the way and was now looking at Gray with a bored expression that really irked the boy. So much so that Gray charged at Natsu again who only kept dodging his attacks just barely as the ice mage destroyed whatever was behind his target.

"I'm not going to fight you unless you challenge me to a duel Gray." stated Natsu after Gray pulled back to catch his breath.

"What the hell is wrong with you Flame Brain? That never stopped you before." he shouted back, upset that he couldn't land a hit on him.

"I've just realized that our fights were pointless since I never actually tried to win." responded Natsu, actually getting a shocked gasp from a few of the people that were watching Gray trying to attack him as he only continued to dodge them all.

"There you go again, lying through your damn teeth just like you did about that fake dragon of yours." he spat out, knowing that he was told by Erza earlier this morning that he couldn't bring that up again around Natsu. And for a few seconds he and everyone else thought the fire dragon slayer was going to lose it and start fighting Gray right then and there as his face contorted to one of absolute anger. But to everyone's surprise it faded away as quickly as it formed and Natsu once again had a blank expression that still seemed so wrong on the usually smiling boy.

"The only way for you to find out if you're correct about that first one Gray is to do an official duel with me." stated Natsu as he turned away from him and started heading back to a completely stunned Lisanna.

"Fine!" he shouted out, and was happy to see Natsu stop in his tracks and slowly turn back to him with a small grin spread across his lips.

"Well we should definitely take this outside so I don't accidentally take down the whole guildhall." replied Natsu, causing those that weren't interested in the two's unusual spat before this point to now have their full attention.

"Just keep psyching yourself up with those lies of yours you Flaming Moron." he said as the two headed towards the back exit. Unfortunately for the two a certain two girls just so happened to have a lull in their fight just as Gray agreed to have a duel like Natsu wanted.

"You two aren't going to be fighting each other are you?" asked Erza as she glared at the two of them, instantly causing Gray to start thinking of some way to get out of this as he shook in fear. While Natsu on the other hand didn't even flinch from her glare or start cowering like he usually would in situations like this one.

"Yes we are Erza, Gray decided to challenge me to a duel and were heading outside so we don't accidentally destroy any more of the guild than you and Mira already have." he replied as he walked past the now completely stunned knight, as Mira broke into laughter after witnessing all of this.

"What was that Natsu?" she asked in a menacing tone as an equally menacing aura started to surround her.

"I said we're having a fight like you just asked us, which is perfectly fine since it's in the guild's rule book or something. Or are you going to break the rules Erza, and stop the two of us from having a friendly duel?" he asked while opening the back door and stopping in it to look back at her. All eyes were on Erza, waiting to see how she would respond to someone actually standing up to her besides Mira and Laxus. Not only that but also going so far as to tell her why she couldn't force them to do as she wanted them to.

"Are you coming or not Gray?" asked Natsu with an impatient look on his face, Gray decided that he might as well go and fight him since Erza seemed to be stuck in her current location. And if she did recover from her shock he along with the rest of the guild knew that her anger would be focused on a certain pink haired boy that embarrassed her in front of the whole guild just now.

"Damn Tin Can, who would've thought that Pinky could put you in your place so easily." laughed Mira as she walked past Erza to go watch the duel just like the rest of the guild. This left Erza all by herself at least that was what she thought, until Makarov came up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's just going to be a friendly fight Erza, there's nothing for you to worry about." he said before actually leaving her all to herself.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt." she mumbled to herself before also heading out to watch the fight with everyone else.

Outside in a large clearing behind the guild:

"So I want to once again stress that there will be no killing blows." stated Makarov as he gave the two participants stern glares. "And the fight will only end when one of you can no longer keep fighting or if one of you admits defeat." something that he and everyone else knew wasn't going to happen with these two fighting each other in an actual dual as everyone else was watching.

"We've got it Gramps, I just can't wait to finally cut loose for once." replied Natsu with his usual toothy grin, which would have usually made Makarov confident that nothing bad would happen. But unfortunately what he just heard from the dragon slayer made him actually concerned for Gray since Natsu easily had more raw magic power than anyone around his age. All the boy really needed to do was learn how to control it properly and Makarov had no doubt that he would become a great mage, which he hoped Laxus could help him with.

"I've got it too Master." replied Gray with a confident smirk. Something that Makarov had a really strong feeling the boy wouldn't have for very long if Natsu was in fact serious about cutting loose in this fight. But that was just something that Gray would have to deal with, because right now Makarov was wondering what Laxus was up to with all of this. Since he knew for a matter of fact that Natsu would have never done any of this on his own since he always let his emotions control his actions.

"If that's the case then, Fight!" he declared while bringing his arm down to signal the start of their duel. And who knows what number it was over the last two days, but Natsu once again shocked them all by not charging straight at Gray like he usually did in all of their previous fights.

"Are you sure you really want to see me go all out Gray?" asked Natsu still grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course I do Flame Brain, so when I mop the floor with you I can enjoy…" Gray started to reply only for him to cough up some spit as he was sent flying back five feet from a punch to his chest.

"We'll see about that Gray." he said no longer grinning and glaring intensely at Gray as his whole body was now covered in his orange flames. And before Gray could even think of anything else to say back he had to roll away from another attack sent his way, which was one of Natsu's Fire Dragon's Iron Fist. A move that Gray was quite familiar with, but looking back at the place he used to be standing at he was shocked to see a small crater appear after the dust settled.

And he wasn't the only one shocked by this display of power from their resident pink haired fire mage, who was standing in it and still glaring at Gray. "This would have been easier on you if you had just let me finish you off with that move." he stated while getting out of the crater he just made and heading towards his stunned opponent.

"What the hell was that?" asked a slightly terrified Gray.

"Me going at half power, FIRE DRAGON'S SWORD HORN!" shouted Natsu before launching at the still stunned Gray with fire shooting from his feet that propelled him faster than anyone expected. The rest of the guild watched as a flame covered Natsu head butted Gray straight in the chest and sent him tumbling back a few yards, making all of them think that a hit like that meant the end of the fight.

"Just stay down Gray, I'm out of your league when I don't have to hold back." stated Natsu as Gray got back up on his feet with a few coughs. It was also at this point that a few of the members, Gray included, noticed that Natsu was actually calling him by his real name.

"Like hell I will Charcoal Breath, I'm only getting started. ICE MAKE: LANCE!" he shouted back as a barrage of five spears composed of ice were sent flying at the dragon slayer. Who dodged the first three and parried the last two as he made his way towards the person responsible for sending them at him.

"The same can be said for me, FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" shouted Natsu as he jumped in the air at Gray with a flaming fist cocked back. "ICE MAKE: HAMMER!" countered Gray as a large hammer formed in his hands that he swung upwards at the flaming fist heading his way. This caused a large cloud of steam to instantly form and obstruct the view of the two fighters from the cheering spectators, who could tell that this fight was going to be a good one.

They all quieted down to try and hear what was possibly going on just past the steam where none of them could see at the moment. They could make out a few grunts and the distinctive sounds of someone getting hit, which was followed by more grunts and other noises of someone in pain. "FIRE DRAGON'S GRIP STRIKE!" bellowed Natsu as a large explosion of fire blasted out of his hand and blew away the steam to reveal the two of them. And most of the spectators were shocked to see Natsu looking completely fine while Gray on the other hand had a few more wounds and other injuries, but what worried them the most was that he was currently in the grasp of Natsu's hand that just unleashed all of those flames.

"Holy crap, he's actually beating the crap out of Gray like he said he would." said Wakaba with a shocked expression.

"Yeah he is, while also not taking any damage." pointed out Macao as Natsu tossed Gray to the other side of the clearing.

"Does that mean he really has been holding back all this time?" asked a random member as the rest of the members started to discuss this while not taking their eyes off of the ongoing fight. There were two girls that found this revelation more disturbing than the rest since they had both gotten into fights with the dragon slayer before. And every time they did they beat him without any problems, but after seeing him right now and the magic coming off of him at the moment they were starting to wonder if they actually would have won if he took it seriously like he currently is with Gray.

"You should just give up Gray." stated Natsu as he started to walk towards the downed ice mage.

"Fat chance, you'll have to knock me out because I'll never admit that you're stronger than me." declared Gray as he got into a kneeling position.

"I guess that just means I'll have to hurt you more than I already have." he replied with a smirk as the flames on his arms grew in intensity. Upon hearing this Erza looked around and could tell that most of the members were concerned for Gray, but none of them were going to do anything to help him out at the moment. She could only think of two options for this situation, one that she knew both of the boys would be completely against. While the other one wasn't much better, but neither of them would argue against Makarov if he called off the fight like she hoped he would.

"ICE MAKE: FLOOR!" shouted Gray just as Natsu started to pick up his pace, meaning he wasn't ready for all of his traction to be lost in that split second. Resulting in the dragon slayer to fall flat on his back and slide past a now smirking Gray as he shakily got to his feet.

"I'm far from out just yet Flame Brain." he said while getting into his maker stance. Glad to have finally at least done something to his rival that was attacking him like he had never done before, but it was soon gone as he watched in shocked amazement as all of his ice started disappearing rapidly around Natsu.

"Using a stupid move like that just pisses me off Gray." stated Natsu now completely covered in his orange flames as he got back up to his feet. "And I won't let something as embarrassing as that ever happen to me again, FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FISTS!" he shouted as both of his fist were now covered flames that were a darker orange than before.

"ICE MAKE: WALL!" shouted the ice mage as a wall of ice sprung up between them, hoping to buy himself some more time to figure out exactly what he was supposed to do to even stand a chance against Natsu right now. But those hopes were dashed to bits as his wall of ice exploded sending shards of ice blasting away from a pink haired boy that still looked pissed.

"Master you need to call this fight." said Erza as she came up to the elderly titan mage.

"Sorry Erza but I can't do that right now, both of them are still willing to fight." he stated as Gray shouted "ICE MAKE: SHIELD!" to try and block a punch thrown at him. But the shout of pain that followed after it let Erza know without even looking that Natsu broke straight through it, just like he did with Gray's wall before.

"Why not, if we wait any longer Gray's going to get seriously hurt." she argued while giving him a stern look.

"So you're saying that Natsu is going to win this?" asked Makarov while finally looking away from the fight and at the red head in front of him. And he was shocked to see the usually calm knight have a look of distress on her face as she stared back at him.

"Yes I do, anyone can see that Gray doesn't stand a chance anymore. Natsu looks like he's just warming up and has been messing with him up until now." she answered while quickly glancing over her shoulder to witness Natsu land a series of Fire Dragon's Iron Fists on Gray. Each one causing the ice mage more damage than the last one, and weakening his guard that Natsu wasn't really having much of a problem getting through.

Makarov was actually thinking the same thing from what he saw so far, and if that was indeed true. Then it meant that Natsu had more magic than he originally gave him credit for, or possibly the pink haired brat was doing a lot more training on his own than he thought. Either way, it just meant that Natsu was only going to get stronger as he grew up and it wouldn't surprise Makarov if the boy eventually became a Wizard Saint like himself one day.

"FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" shouted Natsu, causing Makarov to look up from Erza and watch a slightly burnt Gray hit the ground hard. Most mages after receiving a beat down like Gray currently is would have definitely stayed down after a hit like that, but not Gray. He once again started to get back to his feet, which made Makarov proud to have a mage like him, that wouldn't give up even if the odds were against him.

"Do you see that Erza?" he asked while looking back to her, knowing that she was also watching exactly what he did.

"Yes, but all I'm seeing right now is two friends pointlessly fighting and hurting each other." she replied with a displeased look on her face.

"You're correct, but you're missing Gray's determination to prove that he is still Natsu's rival." he pointed out as Gray was once again hit to the other side of the clearing by Natsu.

"Well that's just stupid, if he keeps it up he'll get seriously hurt or worse." she stated while giving the two boys currently fighting a glare that neither of them saw. And if they had it wouldn't have stopped either of them from finishing what they were currently doing.

"You need to have more faith in both of them Erza, especially Natsu since he's been able to hold back this whole time, ever since he joined the guild." he said with a grin, thinking that his plan was definitely work at making Natsu into a better mage. All he had to do was see if Natsu was already having a positive effect on his grandson like he hoped he would.

"Okay Master, but why was he holding back until now?" she asked while giving him a questioning look with an eyebrow raised.

"Because I asked him to, just look at what he is capable of doing when he isn't." he answered while giving a little wave to the battlefield thatalready had craters all over it now. And if there had been any sort of building where the two were currently fighting there wouldn't have been one for much longer.

"Give up Gray, I felt your arm break on that last hit of mine you tried to block." stated Natsu as Gray once again miraculously got back up to his feet while clutching one of his arms with the other.

"Never Pinky!" coughed out Gray as he swayed a little bit and looked ready to fall over any second.

"Have it your way then Gray." he replied as he started to build up a large amount of his magic catching the attention of the two that were just discussing the possibility of calling the fight.

"With a flame on the right hand…" he said as those deeper shade of orange flames formed on his right hand. "And a flame on the left hand…" he continued as the same thing happened to his left hand. "When you combine the flames together…" he said in a louder voice as he brought his hands together. "FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" he shouted as the two flames became a significantly larger one that he proceeded to hurl at Gray, who could only stare at the move heading straight at him.

A large fiery explosion erupted from the origin of Gray with enough force to cause most of the on lookers to stagger backwards and almost fall over. None of them being able to comprehend what they just witnessed from their usually overly hyperactive and goofy pink haired fire mage. But once they finally snapped out of the shock they all started to grow concerned for Gray who was on the receiving end of such a strong spell while already extremely injured.

"The fight is over." stated Makarov from inside the cloud of dust and smoke that resulted from Natsu's last attack. This of course surprised everyone but a select few that saw the elderly guild Master dash in at the last second and block Gray from receiving that last attack thrown his way. As the smoke and dust finally settled down they saw Gray sitting on the ground with Makarov standing in front of him giving Natsu a stern look. But the most shocking part of all this for everyone and mostly Laxus were the small trenches that Makarov made with his feet while blocking that last spell from the pink haired boy in front of him.

"NATSU!" shouted Erza, being one of the first to recover from her shock and charged at the boy in rage with a sword already drawn.

"What?" he snapped back as he turned just in time to lean backwards and only receive a horizontal cut along his left cheek. This was more than enough to get him into the correct mindset as he had to dodge three more slashes from the enraged red head glaring at him.

"Erza!" shouted Makarov, hoping to stop her before Natsu started to fight back. But unfortunately it fell on deaf ears as she continued to savagely attack Natsu for a few reasons. The main reason for her being how close he came to seriously hurting Gray, if not killing him with that last attack of his. And the other ones being his complete disregard when she told them not to fight, which then also turned into him embarrassing her in front of the rest of the guild.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM!" she shouted while still relentlessly attacking him. And she was only ever able to land a punch or kick after that first attack of hers, with all of her other slashes only just barely cutting the occasional hole in his outfit.

"He wouldn't stay down." growled out Natsu as he continued to dodge her attacks, waiting for her to finally stop so that he could distance himself from her like he and Laxus planned.

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" she shouted back.

"Than what's yours?" he asked while jumping back and giving her an intense glare. He was slightly caught off guard when she stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a blank expression.

"My what?" she finally asked still ready to charge at him in a moment's notice and start fighting again.

"Your reason for almost killing me?" he asked her again while pointing to the cut on his cheek.

"I wasn't trying to kill you." she shouted back, upset that he thought she was.

"And I wasn't trying to kill Gray either!" he shouted as his magic started to flare up in his anger at the woman getting upset with him when she was doing the exact same thing as him.

"We all saw that last attack of yours Natsu." she stated while gesturing behind her to where Makarov and Gray were still at.

"Your point?" he asked with a confused yet angry expression.

"If Master hadn't stepped in like he did than Gray would have died!" she shouted as her eye started to twitch because of how dense he was being in her opinion at the moment.

"No he wouldn't have, it just would have knocked him out for probably a week. Something that can't be said about that first attack of yours, which you did without any warning Erza!" he shouted back, now really upset with her and no longer having a problem with hurting her like he did yesterday.

"I knew you would dodge like you did." she replied in not so confident tone.

"Just like I knew Gray would also be fine if he had gotten hit by my last attack." he stated, thinking that she might actually realize they were arguing the same point.

"But you couldn't have known that." she stated once again having an angry expression coming over her face as she looked him dead in the eyes.

"And neither could you, man you're being such a hypocrite right now." said Natsu as he shook his head. Not knowing that he was actually using the word correctly in that last sentence, what he meant when he said that to her was that it was stupid of her to not see how they were doing the same thing right now. This of course wasn't known by anyone other than Laxus, who was too busy enjoying all of it at the moment to let anyone else know what Natsu thought that word meant.

So for about the umpteenth time today alone, most of the members of Fairy Tail were left speechless at something that Natsu did. Not only did he somehow not get pummeled by Erza just now, but he also actually pointed out how they were doing the same thing and used a word correctly that some of the other younger members like Gray and the younger Strauss siblings didn't even know yet.

"He's got you there Red." giggled Mira, who just like Laxus was enjoying all of this at the moment. Unfortunately this pushed Erza past her point of reason; she could handle being proven wrong if she was in fact wrong like she was right now. But what she couldn't handle was Mira rubbing it in her face like she knew the white haired demon would do and also enjoy constantly bringing it up since it was Natsu of all people doing it to her.

"You'll pay for that Natsu!" she screamed while charging him in a blind rage. Natsu was extremely confused at what he did to all of a sudden cause Erza to charge at him like she was since it looked like she might have been starting to see reason there for a few seconds. But just like flipping a switch she was charging at him with the intent of pummeling him into the ground like there was no tomorrow, something that he decided yesterday he was done with. Especially by one of his fellow guild members, who would just minutes later go and get into a fight which was what she claimed her reason for beating him and Gray up was.

So as she charged at him, Natsu got into a stance that caused Makarov's eyes to widen in surprise and was about to once again stop Natsu from landing one of his stronger attacks. But before he could, Laxus appeared in front of him in a bolt of lightning that threw the elderly guild Master off guard just long enough for Natsu to complete his move on the unsuspecting Erza.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" he bellowed as a huge amount of flames gushed from his mouth and straight at Erza, who was just a step away from being able to hit Natsu with the flat side of her sword. Since she couldn't deny that if he hadn't dodged that first attack of hers, he definitely would at least be in a critical state right now. But little did she know that he had no intentions of ever letting her get that close to him ever again, especially after they now had some distance between them.

They all watched in awe as Erza was just able to bring her arms and sword up in a protective stance before she was completely engulfed in a torrent of orange flames that seemed to have no end in sight. When in all actuality they only lasted for a few seconds since Natsu wasn't trying to kill her or anything like that. He was just fed up with her always attacking him after doing something that no one but her considered wrong, and she even did the exact same thing with Mira all of the time. Halfway through his roar Erza let out a scream of pain and the rest of the guild was shocked to watch her come flying backwards out of the flames and come tumbling to a stop.

"NATSU!" shouted Makarov as Erza was struggling to get back up thanks to that last attack of his.

"What Gramps, she's the one that attacked me for no reason." he said back in a terrified tone, because if it looked like Makarov was upset with him before after what he did to Gray, then that was nothing compared to the look he was currently receiving from the elderly guild Master.

This response actually caught Makarov off guard, since it was in fact true that Natsu didn't start the fight with Erza and he actually didn't even attack back until just then. He was about to ask the fire dragon slayer what in the world was he thinking attacking Erza with a move like that, but before he could he noticed the smile that Laxus was sending Natsu's way. And just like that he realized that this all most likely went according to his grandson's plan, a plan where Natsu never actually did anything wrong and was only protecting himself from Erza and having a sanctioned fight with Gray that was officially approved.

So letting out a sigh, Makarov recomposed himself to make sure that he had a clear head so that things didn't start going sideways from here on out. "Yes you're right, but that doesn't mean you should have used such a strong move on her." he stated with a concerned expression while quickly looking over at Erza who was being helped up by Cana. Letting all of them see that the armor she always wore was completely destroyed and she was lucky that Natsu stopped when he did, otherwise she would have been toasted.

"She wasn't going to stop Gramps, she would have been just like Gray and kept getting back up and coming for my head." he replied, no longer having a slight tremble in his voice thanks to Makarov no longer looking at him with that disapproving look he had before.

"He's got a point there, we both know Erza is just as stubborn as him if not more." chimed in Laxus with a smug grin as Erza glared at him from the sidelines. "Also I find it odd that you didn't rush in to save Natsu from Erza as she went for his head there at the beginning." he said, causing Natsu's eyes to go wide in surprise while Makarov gave him a deadly glare.

"That's because I knew Natsu was fine and not in a weakened state like Gray was." stated Makarov, not liking what it seemed like his grandson was trying to do.

"But what if I didn't notice her Gramps?" asked Natsu who was now glaring at Makarov, something that the pink haired boy had never done to him after their first meeting that resulted with him eventually joining Fairy Tail.

"Yeah Grandpa!" added Laxus as he walked over to Natsu's side and smiled at his grandpa smugly.

"If that had happened I would have noticed you not responding to her presence and stepped in. But given your enhanced senses I was fairly sure that wasn't going to be the case." he replied with a serious face, since if Laxus got what he wanted then this could very easily be how he and Natsu would start drifting apart.

"Okay, that makes sense I guess." replied Natsu with a grin after a few seconds of thinking it over with himself. This caused Makarov to let out a small sigh of relief as a small sneer formed on Laxus's lips as he watched Makarov grin along with Natsu like a pair of idiots.

"Now back to you no longer using such strong moves on your own guild members." he stated as his face once again became serious as he looked into the fire dragon slayer's onyx eyes.

"And why in the world would he do that? I don't think you've ever told any other member of the guild to hold back like you are trying to do once again with Natsu." questioned Laxus, which caused Makarov's eyebrow to twitch in frustration. Not because Laxus was raising a valid point, but because the main reason he told Natsu to hold back was due to the boy's rash nature which he knew could easily lead to countless bills being sent their way.

"So that he can learn how to control all of that power." argued Makarov, who Natsu was waiting for to hear his response. After which he quickly turned to Laxus to see if that was an okay reason for him to keep holding back.

"And the only real way for him to actually learn that is for him to actually use it. Otherwise if he ever needs to go all out, something terrible might happen because of it. Let's say possibly hurting other guild members that he was actually trying to protect." he replied with a smug grin, which was not shared by his younger dragon slayer who now had a look of horror on his face as he pictured Lisanna being the person hurt by him.

"I'm not holding back anymore!" Natsu suddenly shouted out while looking at Makarov with a determined look. "I don't want to hurt anyone from the guild, even if it's by accident." he stated.

"That's awful funny coming from you after what you just did to Gray and Red." said Mira with a sly grin, which she lost when Natsu turned to look at her with a glare that none of them have ever really seen on him before.

"Gray got that hurt because he was too stupid to admit that I was stronger than him. And Erza only got hurt because she was trying to hurt me for no good reason, which I'll do to anyone else after today if they try to attack me like she did today." he said while mainly looking at her, letting her know that she wouldn't be treated any differently than Erza was.

"Natsu that isn't how we treat each other at Fairy Tail." stated Makarov in a kind tone as he came up to the teen.

"Why are you saying that to me Gramps, I'm only going to be doing what they were trying to do to me." he asked with slightly confused look.

"I'm saying this to you because you made it sound like you were going to go all out like you just did if someone starts a fight with you." replied Makarov, wanting to make sure that he and Natsu completely understood each other on this.

"Like in one of the guild brawls?" he asked, getting a nod of confirmation from his Master. "Of course I won't go all out in those Gramps, those are supposed to just be for fun. But I won't hold back if Erza or Mira tries to punish me over fighting in the guild hall like they do with each other every day. Or because I did something they think was stupid and want to teach me a lesson, in situations like those I won't be pushed around anymore." he declared, while giving a glare to the three people that would most likely do something like that to him. Well two actually, he really didn't think Gray would do anything like that to him, but after today he suspected that the ice mage would probably challenge him to another official duel after he did some intensive training on his own.

This caused Makarov to let out another long sigh, but he really couldn't blame the boy for no longer putting up with any of that stuff anymore. And it was actually amazing that he put up with it for almost a year already, just like Laxus pointed out the other day. "I guess if those are the only times you're going at full power against your fellow guild members I don't have a problem with it. But if you start using it against them during a different time then we're going to have to have a long discussion Natsu." said Makarov as another confused expression came over Natsu's face.

"Why would I go all out against one of them if they weren't trying to do something like that to me?" he asked, honestly not being able to come up with any other reason to go all out against a fellow guild member.

"Possibly during another duel." suggested Laxus, who thought it would be a good idea for Natsu to possibly spar with some of the stronger members like Mira and Erza occasionally. Just so that he wouldn't get used to only going up against him when they started to train together after this was all wrapped up.

"Oh yeah, can I go at max power then Gramps?" he asked with an excited look that brought a smile to Makarov's face. Makarov really should have known that Natsu wasn't the kind of person to start misusing his power now that he no longer had to hold back.

"As long as they are okay with it as well." answered Makarov still smiling at the pink haired teen that was rejoicing at being given the go ahead.

"Well now that we've got all of that out of the way, let's get started on that training of yours Natsu." said Laxus since it seemed to him at least that his grandfather didn't have anything else to say about what just transpired with Natsu and the two that he easily took out.

"Hell yeah!" cheered Natsu while jumping around excitedly. Making some of the older members wonder if this was still the same kid that just moments ago beat Gray mercilessly, and took Erza out of commission with just a single one of his moves.

"Wait just one minute you two." said Makarov before the two could even start to leave.

"What is it grandpa?" asked Laxus in irritated tone, as Natsu just looked at him waiting for Makarov to continue.

"Where are you two going to be training at, and for how long will you be gone for?" he asked with a slightly concerned look on his as he looked at the two of them.

"All over the place gramps, and it will probably just be for a month this time at least." answered Laxus with a grin as a look of shock spread over Natsu's face since this was the first he had heard of this.

"That should be okay as long as you two keep in contact with us, but before you two go Natsu should have that new cut of his looked at." he said while gesturing at the still open cut on the dragon slayer's left cheek. Something that apparently the teen completely forgot about with everything else that was going on with him over the last few minutes.

"I could just seal it with my fire." offered Natsu as he lit his left hand on fire and started to do as he suggest until he was hit in the hand by a small spark of lightning.

"Just go to the infirmary and have it checked out properly." said Laxus as he shook his head at him, surprised that he was so ready to seal it up like that. Something the boy was probably taught by his dragon to do if he was all on his own and didn't know if anyone would be able to help him quickly.

Both of the Dreyars watched Natsu race into the guild and disappear from sight along with most of the other guild members. "If you're only doing this because you're bored and only want to prove me wrong then I should stop it now before you get tired of him. Or god forbid something bad happens while the two of you are off training who knows where." stated Makarov as he looked at his grandson with a deadly serious look on his wrinkled face.

"I'll admit that it might have just started out for those reasons, but after what he showed me today I honestly think he could possibly become one of the guild's strongest members in a few years. He's also already starting to grow on me after interacting with him since yesterday, but if you tell him or anyone else that I'll deny it." replied Laxus with a faint smile that turned to a glare towards the end. And he was really starting to regret saying that last part thanks to the huge grin he was now getting from his grandfather.

"That secret is safe with me Laxus, just make sure that both of you come back in one piece." he said while heading to the guild still grinning like an enormous idiot.

"Stupid meddling old fool." mumbled Laxus as he went into the guild to grab his gear and new protégée that should be patched up any second now.

End of chapter

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! So I also wanted to say I'm shocked that this story already has over a hundred favorites and followers each, which is at least impressive for me since I only had just one chapter up for it until now. And along with that I got over fifty reviews as well, kind of makes me concerned that I might disappoint you later on which is something that I really don't want to do. Well now that I've got my shock over how much support this story has already gotten let's move onto what I usually have in these notes of mine, which are questions that I like hearing all of your opinions on. So my first question is how long do you want me to spend on Laxus and Natsu training together if at all? Also how long do you want me to come up with my own things, or would you rather I get to the events in canon as quick as I can? Since this story as you should all be able to tell by now will be quite different for some pretty obvious reasons. Oh and my final question is something that a reviewer suggested and I actually thought might not be too bad of an idea. And that is, should I even have a definite pairing in this story? Of course that could be interpreted a few different ways, so rather than going into great detail on here I'll just let you ask me in a review or PM and I'll be more than happy to explain more. As always don't hesitate to leave a review or PM.

Oh and if you would like me to update faster or possibly start a new story I have information about my page that I set up on my profile page.

Until the next Chapter

Digem Out!