The moon illuminated the night sky as Natsu made his way towards the train station, Happy walking next to him. It didn't take him very long to pack considering he didn't own much. He only wished he could have gone to see Wendy so she could cast Troia on him. But since they were in a hurry, he figured it would be wise to just forget it, even though he really didn't want to ride the train. Bosco wasn't that far anyways, he could just walk there. Or he would if they weren't on a time limit. Natsu knew the importance of this mission and realized sealing this demon wasn't an option. He would do whatever it took to save the world, including bonding with Gray, though he still wasn't sure what that meant.
"Happy, what do you think I'll have to do with Gray? I mean, bonding means hanging out with someone, right?" He decided to ask the Exceed since he sure as hell wasn't getting any answers by himself.
"I think so. But I don't think you're allowed to fight him. Bonding usually means being nice to someone while you're with them." The blue cat replied, looking up at Natsu with his big eyes.
"Makes sense. That would explain why Master didn't want to tell us, he knows we don't get along. But it's not like I would let that get in the way of saving an entire country. Doesn't he know that?"
"Maybe he's not telling you something." Happy said, causing Natsu to pause for a moment. It wasn't unlikely that Makarov would hide something from him, but in a situation like this, he was certain the old man wouldn't do that.
"Like what though?"
"I don't know, maybe this bonding thing means something else. He did say there was a ritual for it."
"Hmm..you're right about that. I'm pretty sure there isn't a ritual for normal bonding..is there?" He asked, sharing a confused look with Happy before shrugging it off and continuing their walk. While Natsu did have a bad feeling about this, he was positive Master wouldn't keep something important from him.
And anyways, I can handle anything from that stripper!
With a confident grin, the two entered the station and immediately spotted Erza with her massive amount of luggage. As he walked closer Natsu also realized Lucy and Gray were already there, making him the last one to arrive. Hopefully Erza won't be mad!
"There you are Natsu." Erza said, a slightly irritated tone to her voice. Natsu broke out in a nervous sweat. "The train is leaving now, we need to hurry."
"A-Aye!" He squeaked, helping to load all of the luggage onto the train before collapsing in a seat, already feeling sick.
"Don't worry Natsu, it should only take a few hours to get there." Lucy said, making sure to sit a good distance from the pinkette in case he threw up. Gray took a seat next to her, watching Natsu curl up into a ball next to Erza.
"You better not puke on me sulfur breath." He said, glaring at the prone form of his rival.
"Wait..until we get off..this train!" Natsu half growled half whined, gagging as vomit threatened to erupt from his throat.
"Natsu, be quiet. Gray, don't push it." Erza said, effectively quieting the two boys. She then took out a map of Bosco that she bought specifically for this mission. "We're going to get off here," She said, pointing to a spot on the map, "And then begin walking northeast. The temple is high up so we'll be doing some hiking. We can't waste any time finding a hotel so it looks like we'll have to set up camp in the forest sometime tonight."
"Camping in a forest? I didn't pack for that!" Lucy said, not liking the idea of camping. Who knows what's out there? There could be wild animals, or monsters, or bugs!
"I packed more than enough Lucy, I'm sure you'll be fine." Erza said, watching as the blonde became more and more distraught. Lucy's face paled as she pictured what kind of things Erza had packed. Am I going to sleep in armor tonight?!
"So how long should it take us to get there?" Gray asked, wanting to get this mission over with as fast as possible. The idea of bonding with Natsu still bothered him, especially since he had no idea what kind of bonding they would have to do. He really didn't even see the point of it, why couldn't they just seal the demon without it?
"If we go as fast as we can and only rest when absolutely necessary, it should take roughly two days. I'm hoping to arrive there sometime at night, so we should only have to camp out once."
"I'm liking this less and less." Lucy sighed, knowing Erza would push them to the limit. The idea of sprinting uphill through a forest until you drop didn't exactly sound appealing to her, but she supposed they had no choice.
"It will be difficult, but we must do what we have to in order to seal this demon. Once we arrive at the temple I'm sure they'll give us a place to rest. After all, Natsu and Gray will be doing most of the work from that point on."
"Hey that's right, they need you're magic not ours. Which means we can sit back and relax while you two bond!" Lucy said, laughing as Gray made a very unamused face.
"Don't remind me." He grumbled, once again glaring at Natsu as if it were his fault. The dragon slayer merely groaned, his face an odd shade of green.
"Don't be so negative. You're magic is important, you should be honored to help. Besides, it wouldn't kill either one of you to get along for once." Erza said, giving Gray a stern look. The ice mage promptly shrunk down, gulping nervously.
"Y-yeah, you're right."
"I'm..already dying.."
"Shut up Natsu!
After arriving in Bosco, Team Natsu began walking at a fast pace towards the forest. From their view point they could see the mountain where the temple was, but it was very high. There were so many trees that they couldn't see the temple but they knew approximately where to go. Now that he wasn't on a train Natsu was back to his normal self, determined to be the first one to get there.
"Natsu, we need to stay together!" Erza yelled, watching as Natsu disappeared behind the trees. With a sigh they quickened their pace, eventually catching up to the dragon slayer.
"Natsu you idiot, you can't walk ahead like that!" Gray yelled at him, punching him straight in the face.
"Well maybe you should walk faster, ice-pop!" Natsu yelled back, quickly returning the punch with a flaming fist. Before they could start fighting Erza grabbed both of their heads and slammed them together, watching as they fell to the ground in pain.
"Both of you will be quiet and get along or I'll personally feed you to this demon!" The requip mage growled, causing the two to jump and hug each other with frightened expressions.
"Aye sir!" They both said, waiting until Erza was a good distance ahead to start fighting again.
"You know, for a forest this is pretty steep." Lucy said, already feeling tired from the uphill walking. Erza merely quickened her pace, knowing it wouldn't be long before they would need a break. They needed to get as far as possible before then.
"That's because we're already on the mountain. It only gets steeper from here, so we'll need to stay strong." She replied, stopping as she noticed how quiet it had gotten. Looking behind her she realized why. "Where did they go?"
"Hm?" Lucy also spun around, noticing the lack of Natsu and Gray. Even Happy was gone. "Wha?! Where are they?!"
"Natsu! Gray! Get back here this instant!" Erza yelled, a tick mark forming on her forehead when nobody answered. At this rate they would never get there.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Lucy asked, straining her ears to make sure she wasn't going crazy. Erza did the same, eyes widening when she heard..water?
"It's coming from over there." Lucy said, pointing to her left. The two walked that way until they reached a small clearing where a hot spring was hidden. Both Natsu and Gray were already relaxing in it.
"Oh, hey guys! Look what we found!" Natsu said, oblivious to the fact that now wasn't the time to be relaxing. They had only just started walking!
"Natsu, this isn't-"
"Waah! We have to stay here!" Lucy squealed, effectively cutting Erza off. The redhead watched in dismay as Lucy began fishing through her luggage for what she assumed to be a bathing suit.
"Lucy, we need to get closer to the temple before we stop." Erza said, ignoring the small part of her that wanted to relax in the hot water like everyone else.
"But Erza, this spot is perfect! There won't be any other spots like this!" The blonde replied with a pout, wishing Erza would relax sometimes.
"I know, but we can't afford to waste any time."
"Come on Erza, you know you want to!" Natsu said from his spot beside Gray, scarf wrapped around his head so it wouldn't get wet. She was about to berate him for wandering off in the first place when she realized that for once the two were next to each other without fighting. They even looked happy.
If they need to get along for this mission, then it wouldn't hurt to start now. I suppose if this lets them do that..
"Alright, fine, but we're leaving first thing in the morning." She said with a resigned sigh, not willing to admit that she really wanted to relax too. She requiped into a bikini and made herself comfortable in the little pool of water, feeling her muscles relax instantly.
"This feels great." Lucy said, sinking lower until only her face was above water. Erza nodded her head in agreement, mind wandering back to the mission. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
"Am I the only one who feels like Master didn't tell us something?" Natsu asked, placing his scarf on a nearby rock.
"I've been thinking the same thing." Erza replied, surprised that Natsu had actually caught on. He was usually oblivious to so many things.
"Really? Like what?" Lucy asked, looking confused. She had thought Makarov was being completely honest with them. Then again, she was too focused on how creepy the demon might look like, so she might have missed it.
"It's about Natsu and I, isn't it?" Gray asked, surprised that he wasn't the only one who felt like that. Erza and Natsu both nodded in agreement.
"Natsu and I were talking about it earlier. It seems like Master didn't want us to know something." Happy said, watching as Natsu narrowed his eyes in concentration.
"It's definitely about the bonding thing, I just can't figure out what. I don't know why he would do that though. We need to know everything for this mission, it could be crucial. I just hope whatever it is, it's not serious."
"Well, I'm sure we'll find out once we get to the temple. He did say that two retired mages live there and that they went through the same experience, so I think you two should talk to them first." Lucy said, curious about the bonding herself. She liked the idea of her two friends getting along for once, but now that she thought about it, something really did seem off.
"Yeah, you're right. There's no point in worrying about it now. Right now we just need to focus on getting up this mountain." Natsu agreed, hopping out of the spring to dry off. The others followed, setting up two tents that Erza brought. For once they were glad that she over packed, since nobody else had planned on camping.
"Lucy and I will share a tent. That leaves you three boys, and I do expect you to behave. If I hear one bit of arguing you'll be sleeping out in the open." Erza said, a dark aura surrounding her body. The three nodded quickly, muttering a frightened "Aye" before scurrying into their tent. It was a little cramped, but they could manage.
"Damn, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. Climbing this mountain is a bitch." Gray said, staring up at the ceiling of the tent.
"Che, can't handle it droopy-eyes?" Natsu replied with a smirk, enjoying the angered face he got in return.
"Shut up flame-brain, we can't argue remember? You can sleep outside if you want, but I definitely don't."
"I don't really mind it. Igneel and I used to sleep outside every night. It's actually pretty nice." Natsu said with a shrug, mind wandering back to his foster father. Gray went quiet for a moment, wondering if he should ask about it before deciding it couldn't hurt.
"Do you think you'll ever find him?"
"I know I will. Igneel is still out there somewhere, just like Metalicana and Grandeeney. I won't give up until I find him." Natsu replied, a determined look in his eyes. Gray couldn't help but smile at that. Natsu never changed.
"Yeah, and we'll help you, just like we'll help Gajeel and Wendy."
"Thanks, popsicle." Natsu looked over at Gray, a genuine smile on his face. Gray returned it, ignoring the insult for now.
"No problem pyro. Now let's get some sleep, we're gonna need it."
As the two drifted off, Happy lay between them, slowly getting lulled to sleep by the comfortable temperature between the two mages. Natsu kept it from getting too cold, while Gray made sure it wasn't too hot. Being between them was the best spot to be in. He couldn't help but wonder why their magic went so well together while also being so conflicting.
In the end, he was too tired to care.
So no Gratsu yet, but it's coming. Oh, it's definitely coming.. *Cue evil laughter*
