Thank you for the reviews~! I loved reading them! Just to let you guys know, this will be a weekly update. I will do my best to have this posted by Monday - Tuesday! My only two days off... Ha ha.

Disclaimers: I don't own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.

Warnings: Nothing bad yet, but I'll let you know chapter by chapter what's in it, so you could either read it or skip it. This chapter does have violence.

This story is now being Beta'd by Aiyoku Saotome!

The Blade You Wield

"This feeling…"

"Yeah… I'm getting that feeling, too." Gray didn't dare look behind him. "We're being watched…"

Natsu stared out the window as he held the ice pack against his forehead. As long as he had this on, he felt fine to the point where he didn't have the sensation to vomit. Gray could be a nice guy… only sometimes.

About three hours had passed. Both of the male mages still had that uneasy feeling of being watched. Then again, they were on a public train. Plus, it didn't help that they were famous, especially after the Grand Magic Games; one of their shining moments. Now that Fairy Tail was back at the top, the mission request board was flooded. It was wonderful, but now everyone was too busy to see each other.

'At least Lucy will have plenty of missions to choose from,' Natsu chuckled, thinking of the blonde and how she always used to complain that there either weren't enough missions to choose from, or not enough good paying ones, so she could pay her rent.

"What are you laughing about, Lizard breath?" The ice mage piped up as his eyes slowly opened. It was nice to take a nap without the dragon slayer making strange noises. He took advantage of the situation.

"Tch, you could do without the name calling for once!" Natsu spat before reverting his mood. "I was just thinking about how well our guild is doing after the Games. I'm happy that Fairy Tail is back in business. Everyone is way too busy, now. To think, not even two months ago, we were such a sad guild just looking to survive." He glanced over to the raven. "I'm glad we won."

"Me too… but the down fall… I'm now forced into a bunch of solo missions with a loser that slows me down!" Gray teased as a soft smirk tugged at his lips.

"Hey! If anything, you slow me down! You don't even allow me to go all out most of the time!"

"If you did, you would destroy everything in the surrounding area."

Natsu grumbled and forced his eyes off Gray so he could stare back out the window. Sometimes, just sometimes, he wished he could do just one mission with Happy and no one else, like he used to a while back. Ever since the team had been formed, those days disappeared. Though it was, in some ways, for the better.

"Are you still having that strange feeling…?" Gray reluctantly asked.

"Yeah… even after three hours from the station. I figured it could just be strangers glancing over now and then… but this is more of a constant uneasy feeling. I can't even tell if this is an innocent bystander or a dark presence." Natsu's emerald orbs watched as the land outside pass by. He could never really get to enjoy this view. "What about you?"

"Well, my senses aren't heightened like yours are, so that's why I asked." He paused before going back into the conversation. "I figured you were feeling it more than I was, but I do agree with you. I can't make it out, either. I'm not sure if it's 'Good or Evil'. Although, I was kind of hoping you could have answered that for me…"

Natsu felt bad. The one time his senses could have helped. The situation became uneasy for the two as the questions lingered in their minds. Was there someone following them? If so, who and why?

The sky grew darker as storm clouds covered the bright blue above. The dragon's emerald orbs glance up in awe. Flashing lights in the distance indicated lightning threatening the ground below. Natsu rolled down the window just enough for him to take in the scent that the storm let off. The storm season soothed his mind and calmed him. He wasn't sure why, but he did enjoy storms.

Gray just watched the slayer as he looked at ease. To him, it was annoying how quiet it was between them. Not only that, but how stupid Natsu looked when he sniffed the air like a dog. The ice mage just shrugged it off as his mind reverted to food. His arm waved out of their booth so he could flag down the food trolley. As the woman caught a glimpse of Gray waving her down, she gladly pushed the trolley towards the ice mage.

"Natsu, food," Gray said as the food was wheeled over to them. Once the dragon slayer caught a whiff of the delicious food, his attention automatically reverted towards the trolley. His stomach moaned loudly, giving himself and everyone within hearing range the indication he was starving. His mouth watered at the beautiful sight.

"It was like you knew!"

"Are you kidding me? Everyone knows you have an intimate relationship with food, ya idiot!" The raven groaned softly to himself as he paid the woman generously. "Go ahead, flame-brain. Get whatever you would like. I'm paying since you're obviously 'poor'." He air quoted in a joking manor.

Natsu would have made a come back, but right now there was food to choose from, and that was an even bigger problem. Soon enough he grabbed what he wanted, thanked the lady graciously for her hard work, and apologized for taking his time. What? He can't be polite? The woman chuckled and waited for Gray to take his share. After, she bowed and left with a now almost empty food trolley.

"Ya know if you eat too much, you'll become too fat to move. Not to mention going on any more missions." Gray stated as he slowly ate his small portion of food. Well, small compared to Natsu's pile.

"I can do what I want! Plus, I barely gain anything. Remember… 'Fire Dragon Slayer'. I can burn off the fat and carbs easily!" The slayer said in between bites of food, not even slowing down. Yes, he was still on the train, but that ice pack upon his forehead had surprisingly helped to the point where he couldn't feel any more motion sickness, at least for now. If anything, he was enjoying the train ride. Wait… enjoying? He was with Gray Fullbuster, his number one rival. He wasn't supposed to be enjoying this!

Grunting at the thought, Natsu just kept on eating the food that was in front of him. Gray on the other hand, just watched as his facial expressions switch between annoyed and content. The two of them on a mission together, it was basically deemed impossible, but lately he was getting used to it. A soft smile tugged at his lips, maybe it was meant to be.

"Hey, Nats-!"

SCREECH…

Gray and Natsu stopped what they were doing and looked up in shock. The train had come to a screeching halt. The pile of food was thrown about, but the slayer couldn't care about that right now. Why did the train suddenly stop? They at least had another hour or two until reaching their destination. The two looked at each other and then abruptly stood. They were on alert, now.

"What the hell was that?!"

"I'm not sure, but let's go and check it out." Gray tried to stay calm. Stepping out of the booth, he looked back to the slayer. "Go towards the front and I'll check the back. We'll meet at this spot in ten minutes, ok?"

Natsu nodded and then took a hard right to do exactly what he was told. There was no time to question Gray's orders. Their number one objective now was to find out the issue. For some reason, deep down they both knew that this wasn't any normal train stop or malfunction. Maybe this was the weird feeling Natsu was having before he stepped onto this train.

While rushing to the front of the train, there was one thing that he had noticed that was way off. There was no one on the train. No bags and no passengers. What happened to the trolley lady? He couldn't find her either. The slayer gulped harshly as he rushed a bit faster. Closing one door from one train car and opening another, that's when he ran into a tall figure.

"What the hell?!" Natsu shouted as he landed on his butt.

While reaching a hand around to rub at the sore cheek, he looked up at the stranger he had bumped into. A man in his early twenties stood about three inches taller than him. The man had black hair darker than Gray's that hung a bit passed his chin. He wore a black trench coat that almost touched the ground and a skintight black shirt and pants. A cross necklace was placed around his neck; the style was completely different from the ice mage's. To top it off, this strange man that was looking down at Natsu, had a long black hilted sword.

The dragon slayer stood back up and glared down the black covered stranger. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Gnash Tempest, your worst nightmare… Rage-blade Drain Cremator!"

Before Natsu could even think about defending himself, the blade of the sword he once saw next to this man, Gnash, was now pierced through his chest. His emerald orbs stare down at the sword. He couldn't understand. There was no pain. No blood. What was going on? With his eyes wide and shaken, he slowly looked back up at the dark haired man. There it was. That evil grin said everything. There was something more to this.

"What… d-did you do?" Natsu pushed out the question, but some how, deep down, he already knew. His legs grew weak as he fell to his knees. Cold sweat dripped down his face. Natsu felt like throwing up. Something was definitely wrong. His magical power was depleting fast.

"I would tell you, but it looks like you have already realized." Gnash pulled the blade out as it now glowed a vibrant red. "Boy, that was tasty. Such a pity, though; thought you would have put up a much more entertaining fight. I guess I was too fast for you. Shame… and you call yourself a powerful wizard from the infamous Fairy Tail guild, Natsu Dragneel. Yet here you are, powerless and on your knees. I should kill you now!"

He knew who he was? Not a surprise. Natsu was famous, but the way this man was talking about him and his guild made it sound like he was out to kill him from the start. The slayer wasn't going to have any of that. His life was not ending here. Slowly, the pinkette got onto his feet, though not without struggle. This surprised Gnash a little.

"Don't you dare talk like you know me! You know n-nothing about me!" One of his hand cups over the open wound and the other clenched up into a ball in anger. "Gnash, right? You might have taken my magic away, but I still have my courage and determination! I just met you and I already want to kill you!" His one fist slammed into a near by metal wall. As it made contact, it vibrated making a harsh sound, but also vibrated throughout his body as well. "You took my magic! Not my strength! You're going to regret what you have done!"

"You'll regret fighting back. The breaking will only become that much harder, young dragon." Gnash chuckled deeply as he held his sword out, with the vibrant red light to emitting from it, ready to fight. "Sadly for you, this will end quicker than you think."

Natsu took his fighting stance, his fists now in front. He was the first to strike, but missed as Gnash dodged the incoming blow. The slayer threw a few more punches as the swordsman let him strike freely. As he saw it, this would be an easy win. All it would take was one swing.

The dragon threw one of his last pitiful swings at the swords man, missing once again. Now he has his back to Gnash. Though as if he was watching the horror in slow motion, the dark haired man grabbed a hold of Natsu's scarf from behind and harshly pulled him in close in the process of choking the dragon. Gnash's flaming blade found its way through Natsu's body once again except this time there was blood. He hit the right kidney.

The flaming light from the sword scattered as if on a rampage within Natsu's body. That's when he knew, it was his own power, but it was against him. His scream became ear screeching. Everything hurt within. His vision blurred and soon he could only see flames.

He could feel his scarf being let go, causing him to fall upon his hands and knees. He leaned down so his face was hidden in his arms. Natsu couldn't stop screaming. Was this really happening to him? Did he really fail? Where was Gray? He needed the ice mage even if it was to cool him off from these flames that engulfed him from the inside.

"Since I took your magic, your body became like any normal humans. Receiving your own power back is ten times more painful for you rather than if you were anyone else." Gnash explained as he was enjoying the sight in front of him.

"Gahhhh-! Please make it stop! I-it hurts so much…" Natsu found himself whimpering like a small child. He couldn't help himself. He had never felt this kind of pain before in his life. "Gray! Help please… Gahhh…!"

"That Fullbuster kid? Ha, he's not coming for you. You're both in the same predicament. You think we'd let you two get away that easily when we're trying to kidnap you?" He walked close to the dragon slayer and leant down so his mouth was close enough to the other's ear. "We were sent to capture the both of you. You and that pretty ice mage will now be our Master's toys. So, please make this easy for me and pass out already."

After saying this, Gnash took the hilt of his sword and hit the back of Natsu's neck hard. The next thing the slayer knew, his eyes closed and his mind went blank. Everything that Gnash had told him faded away into nothing as his world became black.

R&R please! It really does help me get motivated! Also, let me know if you want this to be a Gratsu or not. I'm planning on it, especially the turn I'm taking. I just want to hear from you guys and what you think on it! ~ A/N