Black Soul: the Black Fire, the Eclipse, the Sin

by Kalameet the Black Dragon

Past, something that no one can run away from, nor ignore forever and that is a fundamental part of who people are. Still, there is a guild in Fiore that has plenty of people that had troubled past and some still has to face it. But amongst them, a certain fire slayer never forgot his and now will have to face it to end what started long ago.RatedM beacuse I'm paranoid discontinued

2. Chapter 2: Awaited moment

Ok, you don't know how much I desired to write this chapter and how much satisfaction will give me writing the next one, unfortunately, before I did it, I will have to write other stories and little news: maybe I will start a fourth story but I won't say anything more. As for what concern this story, I hope you're enjoying and liking it so I won't steal anymore of your time and leave you to the chapter, so good reading.

-Awaited moment-

'What a nuisance…' Kalameet thought in his mind while his body was lying on the deck of a ship that was heading toward the destination after which, he would leave the guild that hosted him for years and go on with his plan. Still…this wasn't the cause of his annoyance, rather he was indifferent to the idea of leaving Fairy Tail no, he was happy, because in this manner, he wouldn't have had to continue to fake motion illness! Really, he knew how dragon slayer magic worked and the consequences of learning it and worst of all, the fact of having motion illness and considering the fact that he had presented himself as such kind of slayer, it would be strange if he was the only one of them that didn't suffer it, even the second generation had inherited this trait!

However, returning to his current situation, he was on a large wooden boat, together with all the other members that were to take part in the S-class trial of this year and their partner. Now, normally he would have chosen Lisanna as partner, knowing full well her ability and her power, but he had a bad feeling about the place in which the trial would have taken place this year and he wanted to keep her safe, so he chooses Happy. But, despite the clear message he had told her with how he acted, she was a stubborn one and found another way to come there and it was by being Juvia's partner. This making him slightly annoyed that she didn't listen to him, but relieved at the same time, since he would have had someone that could really help him if he needed to.

'Am I always been such continuous contradiction…or did I became after that?' He wondered in his head, forgetting the fact he was supposed to be in pain due to the ship's movements and letting his memories flow. Years of events and facts resurfaced in his mind, but the one that he was now focused on was one that he considered as his second birth: it's been so long since then, but that memory was still as fresh as if it happened yesterday. Slowly, his mind continued to focus on this thought and soon he lost the sense of time and also forgot to fake the illness that was typical of the dragon slayers. This didn't go unnoticed by Lissanna, who in response let out a sigh in slight annoyance, but soon a small smile formed on her face and her annoyance disappeared completely, then she returned to doing what she was doing before looking at him: enjoying the trip with a little addition, the fact that she had also to keep an eye on Kalameet to make sure that no one noticed the fact that he wasn't feeling hill anymore.

Time seemed to flew, neither of the two caring to notice how much they had to wait before reaching their destination and simply enjoyed their trip. One by thinking about the past and the many adventure he lived, the places he visited and what he did, the other instead by talking about everything that she could think about with the other passengers of the ship, this by not mentioning certain delicate matters that weren't suitable for the context she was in. A few hours had passed since they left the continent to head to the place in which the trial was going to take place and still, the ship didn't seem to show any sign of stopping, the sails still outspread and waves were still splashing against the ship's hull which continued undaunted to push forward.

Still, the more they neared to their destination, the more Kalameet could feel that something was wrong, or rather, he could feel an energy source that was different from any other he had felt before. But, it also felt awfully familiar, as if someone he knew was wearing a mask over his face that was so thin that he could partially see its face, yet, he couldn't understand or remember who was under that mask and this was really pissing him off. However, this wasn't all that he could feel, because, if one of the two energy signature was 'blurry' the other was clear enough to let him understand its origin and this made him only more worried and caused his guard to reach its top. He had already felt that kind of energy in the past and those who had it were always enemies that weren't to be underestimated. So, it wasn't a surprise that his expression had turned from one that showed that he was lost in thoughts from one of complete seriousness. His mind trying to understand the reason that brought them on the island that was sacred to Fairy Tail, maybe it was due to the fact that the island was said to have some kind of hidden power that no one could really understand properly, or maybe it was because the first master's grave was said to be there. No, neither of the two could explain why they were there: if they were after an energy source, surely they would've went after him and he doubted that they were interested in a grave that he knew wasn't there. How he knew this? Pretty easy, when Mavis was still alive, so he was, he heard rumours of her but wasn't interested and put them aside, this until the news of her sudden disappearance followed by her death months later, all this in coincidence with an increased amount of death's energy that would have made someone he knew pretty satisfied. Still, this news caught his interest and so he started to search for her to clear some of his questions, but unfortunately his search was fruitless, he couldn't find any traces that could lead to her or her corpse and when he thought that he had found a trail it always reached a dead end. However, he was sure of two things: first, her grave on Tenrou island was a fake one, second, her body was somewhere in Fiore, he could still feel small traces of her energy in the country, but he couldn't put them together to find her. So, this lead to his current question: what were 'they' doing there?

"Maybe they decided to make a tour of the world." A voice said from over him, his body still lying next to the fence that delimitated the deck of the ship. Slowly, he turned his head up and what he saw were a pair of blue eyes combined with short white hair an almost childish face that looked so innocent and a smile that made him let out a small laugh in response.

"I think they won't do one until they will be sure that I'm either killed or gone." He answered sarcastically while deciding that he had enough of lying down and got up on his feet, then the first thing he did was starting to stretch his limbs, starting from his legs and concluding with his arms. Not having a chance to walk or move and having to fake an illness that he didn't have, made his body protest for the prolonged broken immobility.

"Aren't you worried that someone might notice you?" Lisanna asked looking around and noticing with relief that no one had noticed them yet, nor they were looking at their direction and paying attention to them. That was a true luck, because if someone would see their cheerful and hot-headed dragon slayer not suffering motion sickness, then they would have most surely started to make questions and neither of the two wanted to answer them. Besides, they actually had much more important matters to deal with, such was the reason behind the presence of 'who they knew who' on their destination.

"No besides, we're almost…!" Suddenly Kalameet stopped his speech, his eyes suddenly looking at the ship's prow, his mouth left open to show his confusion and surprise. Then, without any warning, he started to walk toward the direction he was looking at, until, he reached the limit of the deck and the he put his hand on the nearby fence, his eyes still looking in the same direction: toward Tenrou island, which now was visible to them. However, his sudden behaviour, was making Lisanna worried and she was about to ask the reason behind such change, when he talked.

"He's here…" His voice now was different, seeming distant, his mind drifting thinking about other things that only him knew and his eyes looking at the island in the distance seeking for something that they couldn't find. His grip on the fence becoming stronger and then cracking it, his teeth gritted in frustration and anger.

"Kalameet…?" She said putting a hand on his arm, hoping to understand what was bothering him and had suddenly caused him to act in this manner. Still, he didn't look at her and continued to stare at the sole piece of earth that was visible in that endless sea with such fury that she was sure that if he would have had the occasion, he would have flown at full speed toward it and then unleashed his power until even the ashes would remain. Seeing that he wasn't going to answer nor to pay her attention, she decided to return to the others, knowing that soon the trial would begin.

"They're to pay the bill and finish the job." He stated with the same anger of before. His words like a sea that didn't show any sign of storms, but that was about to show how cruel it could be. However, upon hearing his words, something inside Lisanna clicked, an idea about what he was thinking making its way in her mind.

"You can't mean…"

"I do." He replied, not giving her the chance to finish her sentence, having by now understood that she had got what he meant when he spoke before. Surprise turned into shock and then fear overcame everything other in her, she had to make use of all her self-control not to let herself be drowned by her emotions. She was expecting this to happen, yes, but not so soon and not in such an occasion and place. In this manner they would only attract more attention, so why? Why this sudden action?

However, her thoughts didn't last long, because suddenly the ship stopped, the sail that had been fuelled by the wind up till now, suddenly stopping. It wasn't a very sudden motion, the boat itself wasn't travelling at great speed, still, the friction caused by it, made all the present took a step forward to avoid falling, except Gajeel and Wendy who were still lying on the floor and were now slowly getting up, no one spotting 'Natsu' or Lisanna.

Then, the next thing all of them noticed, was Makarov dressed in a small summer skirt covered in Fairy Tail's symbols on the second floor of the deck of the ship with his body covered in sweet like all the other, only exception being: Kalameet and Juvia, even Lisanna had to fake her condition to not risk to raise any suspicion.

"It's said that, Fairy used to live on this island..." The short man declared with stern eyes, making Kalameet not believe him. He had already visited that place in the past and last time he checked, on that island weren't fairies, but a small town of people and a guild, of which he didn't remember the name. However, they were wiped out during a guild war with another one and from what he gathered, only two people were able to escape and survive one being Mavis Vermilion, as for the other, he didn't remember it.

"…and here sleeps Fairy Tail's first master: Mavis vermilion." Second lie, her body wasn't there, but somewhere else in the continent and he hadn't been able to track it up till now.

"Only the team that get through this will clear the first exam." He continued, showing how the first part of the trial would work through a magic projection and to say the truth: to Kalameet it could be both a good thing and a bad one. There were a total of ten paths they could chose, three lead to a battle against the remaining three S-class mage of the guild, four to two different area in which he assumed the groups that met each other would have had to fight and finally the last one was the quiet path, which he assumed meant that those that chose it wouldn't have had to fight. Now, if the condition would have allowed him, Kalameet would have choose one of the three battle against Gildarts Mira and Erza, but this wasn't the case; however, he couldn't use his ability to probe all the ways to choose the fastest path, otherwise his enemy would be alerted of his presence and know where he is and he doubted that they would be so kind not to attack him on the spot, moreover, he had to preserve as much energy as he could, because what he was going to do would cost him a lot.

"Your goals in the first exam are power and luck!" He stated pointing at the mass of people on the ship's deck with folding fan in Japanese style. Still, his words left some the people a little 'surprised'? Obviously they were scared of having to face one of the three monsters that were those S-class mages. Still, there were other people that didn't feel the same way: for example, Lucy and Cana were excited and trusted their luck in choosing the right path, Elfman and Evergreen were kind of indifferent and Gajeel was feeling excited at the thought of a good fight. The pink haired slayer and Lisanna, on the other hand were rather worried and stressed by their situation and by what they knew they would have to face.

"Logically, only 6 out of 8 teams can clear this exam." He continued, causing a certain ice stripper to react to this statement and, much to the joy of a certain water stalker mage, he was naked, missing even his boxers, which often were the only part of his cloths that weren't taken off. Still, before he was wearing only them, so the fact that he took them off was because he couldn't do the same with any other thing.

"WHAT!? ERZA AND GILDARTS ROUTE ROADS ARE OFF LIMITS!" He yelled in panic, seriously, he didn't want to face one of those two monsters, not that Mira was less dangerous, only he, like any other in the guild, had become accustomed to the now calm and cheerful Mira, not the one that was called the 'She-Devil'.

Still, this affirmation caused Kalameet to feel a little satisfied, he really didn't like Gray's way of acting, knowing that it was due to his past, but still finding irritating sometimes and, he also knew that with his current power he could take down all possible threat that this exam could make him face, only, against the light brown haired crash mage he would be forced to put more effort than against the other two.

"NOW LET'S BEGIN! EXAM START!" The short man yelled, making some of the people surprised by his affirmation, two of which were Gray and Loke.

"Aren't we still on the ocean?" The lion stellar spirit asked, sharing the same confusion as his teammate.

"HAPPY!" Kalameet shouted and before anyone could notice a blue blur went straight for his back, lifting him up and heading for their destination. He wasn't allowed to waste time, nor he was going to, his anger was growing again, increasing itself after each passing second. On the other hand, the blue Exceed was excited and joyful for the trial that awaited them, but failed to notice, his teammate emotions. He was then about to leave the ship, when suddenly he impacted against an invisible barrier, this surprising him and making the small cat with wings back away. In that instant then, it became visible to all the other that the ship's border was covered in runes that generated a force barrier around it.

Immediately all of them understood who created them and started to curse the rune mage that was Freed, who simply replied by saying that the barrier would disappear after a few minutes. Still, Kalameet didn't have that much time, nor he would spend one more second on that ship, so, ignoring all the voices that were talking under him, he charged at the barrier one again, his right fist ready to hit its target, but brute force wouldn't be enough to create the opening that he needed. So he waited, until his fist was about to connect with the force that stopped him from leaving that place and then, when it was mere centimetres away from it, black flames engulfed it and when he hit the barrier, a crack wide enough to let he and Happy go was created.

"Let's go Happy." He said to the surprised animal, not expecting this outcome and not noticing the fact that both the slayer's eyes and voice weren't filled with the usual excitement that he would normally had when he had to face a strong opponent and being instead cold and scaring.

"AYE SIR!" He shouted, before sprinting in the opening and leaving behind the rest of the teams, minus Leavy, Gajeel, Elfman and Evergreen, who knew enough of rune's magic to allow them to escape easily. He on the other hand, didn't know that kind of magic very well and had to use his fire to consume the magic that generated that barrier, still, he decided not to use too much power to allow his target of his previous fist to regenerate and not let any other mages escape, the more they were far from him, the better it was. Unfortunately, once he reached the shores of the island, he found himself seeing eight different caves with a different letter over them, but only seven of them were available, one having a cross over its entrance, sign that the duo that left the ship before him had choose to take that path.

"Natsu, what path should we choose?" Asked Happy on his side, knowing that his friend loved fighting, he would almost surely try to choose one of the path that would allow him to satisfy his desire, but he wasn't really fond of this and somehow hoped that he ended up choosing the quiet path.

Still, he didn't give him an answer and his eyes wandered on all the entrance that were available, he didn't spend energy or time trying to figure out what path was the quickest one to pass the exam and instead he focused on the track of energy that his target was letting out. Almost all the roads he could choose had the same amount of energy that he was looking for, only one seemed to have slightly more and that was the path that coincided with the letter E. So he was about to walk toward it, when the small ball of fur talked again.

"Natsu are you ok?" He asked with concern, worried about how what he considered as his best friend was acting. Never before he had seen him do so. Yes, there had been times in which his usual cheerfulness was subsided by sorrow or anger, but he always acted in response to his own emotion. This time it was different: his behaviour was cold and calculator, as if he was a complete different person. This normally would make him tease him in some manner, but this time the aura that leaked from him, was enough to scare him and not make him act as usual.

"Yes, I am…" He replied. Hearing his words, together with a quick glance at him, make him remember that it was better not to lose his mask of Natsu Dragneel and continue to act as such, because if they knew who he really was, then the consequences would only cause him troubles.

"HAPPY, I'M SURE THAT THE RIGHT PATH IS THIS ONE! THAT E MUST BE FOR ERZA!" He exclaimed with fake excitement, simulating how the person that everyone in the guild knew would act and choosing the path that could be the best one for him.

"BUAHAH WAIT FOR ME ERZA!" He continued while running inside the cave with Happy right behind him and his wings spread.

However, shortly after he entered there, he slowed down. The place was dark, to the point that he could barely see around him. Still, he could distinguish enough to understand that it was a simply cave with rock walls that went straight without stopping and what's worse, nothing was happening. This making his nervousness rise, glancing around as if expecting some kind of surprise attack while also trying to focus on the track that he was following to understand where 'he' was. Still, he wasn't able to figure this out, that a sudden light blinded him. His eyes slowly readjusted to the change and then allowing him to see clearly his surrounding: he was now in a wide cave with its ceiling with some opens that allowed the ray of the sun to light the place, its walls, however, had a particular form with the rocks having a round form with some moss practically everywhere, also there were some various kind of plants sprouting in that place that went from cactus of various heights, ferns and what looked like dandelions. The floor instead was quite different, being made of gravel and other kind of small rocks.

Looking around, Kalameet found that the energy signature he was following had grown a little but was coming from the opposite part of the place he was in and between him and his target stood the last person he wished to fight right now, not because he couldn't beat him, but because defeating him would mean to use some of the power he had kept hidden from everyone.

'I'm really starting to think that back then he cursed me with eternal bad luck.' He thought annoyed by the situation and mentally rolling his eyes. Normally he would have done it, but if he would do it, but he opted for not showing his current thoughts.

"Yo Natsu, looks like you got bad luck this round." Gildarts said with a small smile, his eyes showing his determination and decision. To him this was an interesting determination, knowing that 'Natsu' would do anything to defeat him and making him wonder how far he would push himself to win this fight. On the other hand, the small fur ball that was his teammate had anime tears streaming down his eyes, knowing just how powerful the brown haired mage was and already imaging the outcome of the fight. Oh, how wrong both of them were. Kalameet.

"You know how I hate holding back." The crash mage added. Kalameet instead had his eyes shadowed by his hair, his mind trying to figure out a way to pass this exam without wasting too much energy. But considering his opponent, there were two things he was sure of: first, Gildarts wasn't someone to take lightly, his crash magic could obliterate almost anything that touched, this making it a good defense but also a powerful weapon, still it had its limits and he knew how to make use of them; second, he couldn't waste too much energy against him or he wouldn't be able to achieve what he was planning to do and that was out of question. Still, if he was sure that Makarov wasn't stupid enough to think that the ace of his guild could be defeated easily, so the true trial here was to achieve the requirements that were necessary to go on.

"Yes, I do…and this is why I won't play around." He replied, showing to him his eyes and letting his power flow freely in his body. In what he was going to do after this the surprise factor was useless, 'he' was probably expecting him to arrive and knew that he would come after 'he'. So at least he would use this fight as a warm-up. Taking his battle stance, he glared at his opponent who smiled to his determination and did the same, Happy instead wisely decided to get far enough not to end in the cross fire. As for Gildarts, he was surprised by how the slayer reacted and of the seriousness that was visible in his eyes, never before he had seen that gaze and it somehow scared them, but to him this was only the proof that he was going to give his best to pass the exam this year.

Not wasting the time, he had, Kalameet sprinted toward his opponent at such speed that left him surprised. The slayer then found himself close enough to his opponent to use his fist and he immediately send one straight to his face, but the crash mage wasn't the ace of Fairy Tail for nothing and caught his fist with his own hand just in time before it connected to his face. But, this wasn't a surprise for the teen who instead let a small grin surface and before the crash mage could realize his next move, a burst of orange flames with accents of dark yellow came out from his fist and hit his upper body, making him back away of a few centimetres. This slightly annoying the teen, who feared that the power he had just used wouldn't have been enough to defeat this man. However, what he did took both Happy and said man completely off guard, sure they both knew that Natsu was powerful but to push Gildarts back, well that was a surprise.

Noticing the opening and not desiring to waste it, Kalameet charged at his opponent again, going for a frontal attack with his fist ablaze. But this time, he wasn't able to land the hit he desired and instead found himself in the trajectory of a fist charged with crash magic. However, he had fought stronger opponent and wasn't as obvious as many thought. The attack that was directed at him hit instead the ground where he was standing a moment ago. This again left the brown haired mage surprised and his surprise only increased when saw the teen behind him, but before he could react, he felt a sharp pain on his good side, where he hadn't been hit by Acnologia during his century quest and then, he was sent flying away of more than a good metre. Understanding that now he had ended in a loop of dodge and hit, he planted himself on the ground and with his teeth clenched rose his good arm in the air before slamming on the ground: immediately a white wave of magic destroyed the area around him in a range of four meters. It was really hard to hold himself back, especially with Natsu charging and attacking him in such aggressive manner, but this wasn't a true fight, but an exam.

"…Really Natsu…I didn't expect this from you. You really surprised me with those moves?" He asked with a grin, to him Natsu was almost like a son, he had saw him grow and his tendency to go and look for a fight when he could, made him really someone similar to him. Still, the person he was fighting against wasn't the same Natsu he knew, no this person was different, each attacks and movements were calculated and well done, each with a precise objective but that had one final target: to defeat the opponent. The Natsu he knew would have probably charged at him recklessly and tried to take him down by pure force, but this one knew the importance of when to hit and where, making him much more dangerous. However, this only meant that he had grown over time and had matured, something he could only be happy of.

"Time is a great teacher and the world is quite wide. You can never know what will happen." He answered not losing focus on the fight, if he really wished to win quickly and by not wasting too much energy, then he needed to hit the right spots at the right time. Still, he couldn't aim for vital spots or he would most surely end up killing him and this was a nuisance, since he normally tried to be as effective as possible when fighting and not making a problem to kill the opponent.

"AHAHAHAH…I see. Seems like these last years had taught you something!" He continued enjoying the fight he was having and oblivious of Kalameet's thoughts and of the expression of utter shock on Happy's face. The small exceed would have never expected his best friend to be able to hold his ground against the most powerful mage in their guild that could be considered as on par with their master, but the fact that he even pushed him back was something he never thought possible.

As for the two opponents, they had temporary stopped and were eyeing each other, probably looking for any kind of opening or chance to land aa good hit. But while Kalameet had a firm position that didn't show anything of what he was thinking or planning. Gildarts, instead, was much more relaxed, considering this fight nothing more than a chance to see how much Natsu had improved and if really was wroth being S-class and until now he had to admit that he was, the only negative thing being the cold and almost menacing attitude he had showed him since the fight begun. However, this calm was starting to irritate Kalameet, he didn't have time to lose and if his opponent didn't want to act, then he would.

"…Fire dragon's ROAR!" Flames came out of his mouth like a torrent, burning and scorching everything they came in touch and they were heading directly toward the crash mage that was the opponent of the owner of those flames. Still, the target of said fire seemed unfazed by the display that was being directed at him and kept his gaze on the incoming attack, this without that losing his grin. This fight had been pretty intrusting until now and he was sure that the more it progressed, the more he would be able to enjoy it. There was just one problem: when he had fun, he tended to forgot to hold back and the consequences of it was something he would prefer to avoid.

As for the fact that he was now face to face with a torrent of fire aimed at him, he didn't feel any fear. Sure, he could feel the power behind that fire, but it was nothing he could handle, so, he prepared himself and when he was about to be hit by Natsu's breath attack, he punched it straight in its centre and then, it split, like it was made of solid material, the fire was divided in numerous cube that fell on the ground before disappearing into thin air. At this point the brown haired mage thought that Natsu would go for an attack on his side or even on the front, having used that breath attack as a distraction to give him the opportunity to attack. However, he noticed that he was nowhere to be found around him, immediately a thought passed in his mind and made him look up. His eyes widened slightly and the grin that was on his face became even more evident: over his head was his opponent and he was ready to unleash another attack.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" At this point his fist was covered in orange fire, not surprising the crash mage, who had already witnessed this attack, but didn't expect what happened next. Suddenly, the fire that was only present on the fist, engulfed his entire arm, then, he reached the ground and surprising him again, he didn't hit him, not that he had aimed at him, but the ground right in front of his feet, cracking the rocks and making him lose some balance, creating the opening he was waiting for.

Having his vision obstructed by the fire that was engulfing his arm, he couldn't see what his next move would be. This making his grin disappear for a second while his eyes looked at the fire expecting an attack that was sure would come.

"Fire dragon's slash." Kalameet muttered at low voice, deciding to use one of his new moves, this was both a good chance to test a theory and to fight in a more familiar manner to him.

Removing his arm from between him and Gildarts, he widened his other hand and then dark red fire covered it, before extending in four long claws that were aiming at the crash mage's torso, not intending to kill him, but to incapacitate enough to allow him to pass the exam. Moreover, the brown haired man, couldn't dodge the attack, the timing of the teen's attack was practically perfect, he had used his first move to approach him and position himself so that he could create the opening he needed to have a chance of attacking and then he used that chance to strike. However, he wasn't someone to give up easily and the excitement of the fight, made him forgot that what he was doing wasn't an actual fight but a test. So he readied his fist, bringing on his head's side, white magic energy charging on it before he unleashed it toward the teen. His claw met his fist, both unleashing their power and causing an explosion that shook the entire cave and blinded both the fighter and even the only one Happy, who had to close his eyes and tried to shield himself with his paws, the force of the explosion reaching even him and making him back away of a few feet. Then something flew from where the impact had taken place and crashed on one of the walls of the cave, causing a crater of medium size to be created there and to rise a good amount of dust created by the crumbled rock.

"Tch." Kalameet grunted while he forced himself up by using the debris around him and what remained of the wall on which he crashed to stand once more. He hadn't received any particular damage or wound, only a few scratches and a pair of bruises. However, he didn't even loo at himself, already knowing that he could go on without problems, still, he was annoyed by the fact that Gildarts had been able to push him back, not because this meant that he was stronger than him or anything, he could care less about it. But if he had been able to accomplish what he had just done, then that meant that he now would most likely fight him with all his power and at that point the only way for him to fight back and hope of pass the exam would be to fight him seriously. At that point that wouldn't even be a true fight, but rather an overkill from him, but he couldn't do it, because otherwise he would end up not being able to fight properly after this and that was exactly what he must avoid at all cost.

"AHAH…sorry Natsu, I think I overdid with that last attack." The brown haired mage called out with a grin of apology and embarrassment while scratching the back of his head. These, clear signs that he didn't intend to unleash so much power, especially considering that this wasn't a real fight but a test. Despite this, he couldn't help but be surprised by the fact that even though that the blow that the teen had just received was quite powerful, he seemed perfectly fine with only a few scratches.

"Though I have to say that you improved more than I imaged eheh…" He continued with the same tone and expression of before. He was really enjoying this fight, more than what he had imaged and he would gladly continue it, but unfortunately that wasn't his purpose. He knew Natsu very well and knew that in terms of power he could already be considered as an S-class, still, he was missing something to be reach that level and his task now was to be sure that he was ready for the burden that came in becoming S-class. So, with some reluctance, he prepared himself to finish that fight and made sure that the slayer in front of him was ready. His grin disappeared and his eyes lost all their cheerfulness, his expression turning completely serious. This made Kalameet rise his guard, this was a clear sign that something was up and he wouldn't let the man in front of him take by surprise.

"Natsu, you really improved in the past years, more than I could have imaged, but, my duty is to make sure that you are ready to pass this exam. So, I will ask you: do you think you're ready for this?" The air around them seemed to become completely motionless and everything became as quiet as it could be as the dead. Tension grew between them, each other gazing in the other's eyes, studying them, analysing them, looking for an opening or simply trying to understand the other thoughts; even Happy, from his position, could feel how the situation was developing and he didn't like it.

"It's not up to me to decide if I'm ready or not." Kalameet replied with no particular ceremony and keeping a stern voice and continuing to eye the crush mage in front of him. He had already figured out what he meant and in truth, it wasn't even the first time he had a discussion of this kind so he already knew how where it would end.

"Eheh…you really changed Natsu. Well, if you say so…then my duty here is concluded. You have passed the test." He concluded with a grin of his own and with a hint of satisfaction. To say the truth, he still didn't really know if Natsu was ready or not to take the burden of being S-class, even if he had showed him that he had changed and matured, he still felt like he was missing something important but he couldn't understand what it was.

However, once the teen heard the crash mage's words, he let his magic disappear and was about to let out a sigh of relief, but decided against it. Finally, that fight was over and on top of that, he had passed the exam, this was really a good thing, almost too good from his point of view to believe it. Lucky him that it wasn't a dream of some sort but was in fact real and he wouldn't waste such occasion.

"Happy, let's go." He called out, not forgetting that beside him and Gildarts, in that place was also his little companion, Happy and forgetting him would cause suspicious to rise on him and during that fight, he already showed enough of his true self. Still, the small fur ball that he had called out didn't move immediately and continued to stare with his mouth wide open the two mages. He had saw all the fight between them and for how short it could be, he couldn't believe to what he saw, not only Natsu was able to damage, even if weakly, Gildarts, but he even pushed him back and endured one of his attack without receiving much damage and he could hardly believe it. But that was only what really happened and there was nothing he could do.

"Ohi, Earthland to Happy." Kalameet said while waving his hand in front of the exceed, his brain clearly was still processing what he just saw. Seeing that he was still motionless and with his mouth wide open, he took a thinking pose, that 'Natsu' would normally assume when he is trying to figure out a way to solve a problem. But in reality, he was kind of annoyed by the fact he was there, not moving of an inch and making him lose time, still, he assumed this was the price for having enough luck not to have to get serious during his fight with Gildarts. As for said man, he was looking at the duo with a smile, happy that in the end, Nastu was always the Natsu they all knew, or so he thought.

Finally, after nearly five minutes of thinking, in which Kalameet was practically eating his nails and cursing whoever he could think of for the scene he had to fake not to make his cover blow, he faked the reaction that the Natsu that was known from the guild he was in when he found a solution to a problem. Even if he originally had planned to leave the guild shortly after the trial, he still preferred not to blow up his cover, after all, it could come in handy in the future.

"HEY HAPPY CHARLE IS HERE WITH A BOQUET OF FISH!" He yelled, thinking of the reaction that he would cause to the fur ball and already laughing internally. That exceed had two great passions, one that he had since birth, fish, and the other that was more recent, Charle; so putting those two things together for him was like heaven to him and probably he had dreamed countless times about this.

"EEEHH! WHERE!? WHERE!? WHERE!?" He yelled with his wings out and his eyes looking frenetically around in search of such paradisiac vision, a small drop of droll escaping from the corner of his mouth, showing that he was in fact a true glutton when it came to eating fish. This made him laugh, but for the sake of not causing any unwanted suspicious to rise he accentuated it by making a loud laugh that echoed in the cave and letting himself roll on the ground while putting his hand on his belly to fake his condition. Sure he found the way the exceed reacted funny, but not as funny as to justify his reaction.

"EEEEHH! Natsu you're so mean." Happy called out while lightly scratching said slayer in protest to his joke that made him cry anime tears.

"Ahahah…ok, ok little buddy, once this will end we'll go to fish, ok?" He asked, trying to calm him and continue to advance. Slowly then, both of thme made their way toward the exit where Gildarts was standing and having a clear view of the duo, which caused even to him to laugh. No matter how much time passed or how Natsu could change, those two always get along with each other, or so he thought. Still, when the pink haired teen was next to him, he took the chance to say some last words before he let them continue.

"You really have changed Natsu, back when I still had my arm and leg you would have refused the chance to continue and instead would have tried to fight me." He said with a small smile, causing to said slayer to stop and look at him for a second before answering back.

"I know my limits and for how much I can love fight and want to surpass them, I also must know when to quit." These words left the crash mage quite surprised, not expecting such thing from him. However, his surprise didn't last long and his expression changed into one of satisfaction, he had understood the true meaning of this fight and on top of that without forcing him to beat the crap out of him to make him understand it. On the other hand, Kalameet had already figure out what the crash mage was aiming to and so he decided to play along. The other option was that he would have had to use his true power to defeat him and pass the exam, but that would have only caused him more trouble than anything and to add another reason why he thought that his decision was the right one was the fact that now he would have had to fight with everything he got if he hoped to have a chance to win.

Giving the teen a nod of approval, Gildarts let the duo continue with the exam, allowing both of them to get out of that cave to join all the other members that had passed this part of the trial.

Letting his eyes close for a second, Kalameet let his mind focus again on his true task and on the energy signature he was following before he started his fight. It was getting closer after each step he made and slowly, he was starting to understand his position with more precision, but both his current condition and the fact he was in a cave didn't allow him to determine with precision the exact position of his target and this kind of annoyed him.

Finally, after another pair of minutes of walking he saw the light of the end of the tunnel that the cave they had entered had become. Once they were out of it, they were greeted by a total of five people: Levy and Gajeel, who seemed to be in a very bad mood, Lucy and Cana and then the master.

"Ehi Natsu, so you passed too." Lucy called out waving at them with a large smile. However, he didn't respond to her and walked past her and the others, before sitting in a near rock with his eyes closed. He preferred not to talk or interact too much now, fearing that he could betray himself with either the words or the tone, even his behaviour was different than usual, but this was something he couldn't help. He just wanted to go and search for his target as soon as possible and in truth, he hoped that the next part of the trial would have allowed him to be either left alone or wander freely around the island.

On the other hand, the way he was acting caught the others by surprise, all except Gajeel who was too busy brooding over something that probably only he and Levy knew about. Lucy was then about to go and ask Natsu why he was acting so when she heard a noise coming from some near bushes and shortly after she heard it, two more contestant came out, these being Gray and Loke, otherwise known as Leo.

"So you made it through the first exam after all." The blonde replied with a small grin, for some reason her concern for the teen had quickly disappeared as soon as they arrived. The reason: it was because Kalameet wasn't in the mood to talk and so he used one of his ability to 'influence' ensure that no one would pay him too much attention, this way he would have had some privacy. However, he didn't really have a chance to relax and try to isolate himself from the noise that the others were causing, that Makarov stepped into the small clearing where they had gathered and talked, this forcing him to pay attention.

"Well…is everyone here?" He asked walking toward them while analysing all the groups that were able to pass the first part of the trial, already knowing the path that each one of them had choose and in consequence, who they had to fought against, except Gajeel and Levy, to arrive there.

"Well, it seems so." He called out looking around and scanning each of the present team and stopping for a second on a certain fire mage. This didn't go unnoticed by said person, but he preferred to ignore him and pretend that he didn't notice it.

"Now: Cana and Lucy won against Freed and Bixlow in a fight route. Natsu and Happy were able to pass against Gildarts. Levi and Galjeel were lucky to take the quiet route. Gray and Loke defeated Mest and Wendy in the other fight route." He listed, letting all the present know who the other members had to overcome to arrive there, all this accompanied by the unnecessary comments of Gray, which almost made Kalameet punch him in the face, but he decided otherwise and remained on the rock he was lying on.

Still, after that he called the last team, his facial expression suddenly changed turning onto one that even Kalameet considered as impossible to make and he had seen things that should be impossible but that had been realized, somehow. However, the expression he made caused a certain ice mage to slightly back away and he didn't even try to hide it and instead voiced his thoughts.

"Wh-What's with that face gramps…?" He hesitantly asked. Both his hands raised over his head and his voice a little shaken by the guild master's look.

"Juvia and Lissanna met her…the female knight that doesn't know to hold back." He answered with both his eyes and his voice hollow, as if someone had taken away his soul, in a metaphorical manner. If such thing would be to truly happen, then a certain someone would have recognised such act and would have acted according to the situation. He had seen many thing during his 'life' and even thing such as the theft of souls and what happen when it is truly taken away can be considered even worse than death from a certain perspective, but also less painful from another.

When Kalameet head the name of Lisanna and the fact she had lost, he immediately understood that at least she wouldn't interfere with his plan, she probably had decided to lose on purpose to be able to see how things would develop form far and then act only if necessary. Surely what he was going to do was something he considered as his fault, so it was up to him to rectify it, or so the little pride he had left told him and in truth he really wanted to do get rid of it, but he wasn't able to and for this reason he kind of hated himself, however, he knew how important this mission was and if he wouldn't be able to accomplish it alone, then he would ask for her help.

'Use everything that is at your disposal to accomplish what you want and never let yourself be blinded by your vanity or pride, because that's the worse error you can made.' These words echoed in his mind, bringing some of his numerous memories back and making him grow a small smile. To him it still seemed yesterday that all this started and it could effectively be, after all time to him wasn't a constant but a variable.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts, that he almost missed to notice the yell that the older 'brother' of Lissanna let out to announce the fact that even he made through it. Slwoly he got up from his position and looked at the last team and noticed that both of them weren't in a good shape. Their bodies covered in bruises of different size and even a pair of cuts here and there. He then got completely up and stood again on his two legs, then he lightly dusted his pants, a gesture that was aimed more to let time pass than to clean his clothes. But, before he had finished to do it, he heard something from the duo that had just arrived that caught his attention.

"I can't say that as a man…" Elfman said with depression filling his voice and showing on his face, his eyes looking at the ground in shame. Apparently it seemed that the only blonde of the group had asked them how they were able to pass the test, knowing that they had to fight against Mira and she wasn't an opponent to scoff at. Even he would have been able to use some more advanced 'tricks' than his fire dragon slayer magic to defeat her. This because he couldn't bring out the true potential of that magic unless he fought to protect something that was precious to him, stupid fire dragons and their overprotective attitude. Indeed, he knew the importance to protect, but, at the same time he knew the importance of attacking and that magic didn't allow him to go on pure offense and he mainly preferred to fight in that way.

"We managed to strike her in a second-split opening." Evergreen replied with some nervousness. Clearly both of them weren't exactly comfortable with what they did to pass, probably they did something embarrassing that they partially regretted. Still, such matter didn't interest Kalameet too much, who decided not to lay down again, knowing that now that all the participants had arrived, Makarov would have proceeded to introduce the next part of the exam.

"Very well…now, these five teams have passed the first part of the trial. Now the second, shall begin…" He called out, catching everyone's attention. All of them focused on what he would say, each one determined to become S-class and not to fail the trial.

"The second part of the S-class mage exam will consist in finding the grave of our first master Mavis. The time limit is of six hours. I'll be waiting there." The old man said before disappearing in the foliage behind him and probably preparing to cast a spell to teleport himself to his destination.

Although, knowing that he would have been near the grave, would have meant that for Kalameet would be an easy task to track his magic signature and then arrive there. Moreover, despite the great camouflage used to hide it, he could feel that on this island there was a powerful magic that had a similar signature to 'Fairy Sphere' but that was somehow different. Well that didn't matter to him right now, because this second part was exactly what he needed to do what he was there for.

"Happy, let's go!" He said, trying his best to seem excited and fake his 'usual' self, but it was near to impossible for him. The moment was tense and he knew that if he failed then the consequences would be impossible for him to endure. So it was fundamental that he succeeded. Unfortunately, this didn't go completely unnoticed by his companion: he had known him ever since he was born, literally, or at least, he had known the same side of him that everyone in the guild knew and the hint that his voice had caused him to became suspicious and worried for him. The way he talked and fought back against Gildarts was different from the Natsu he knew and this made him worried and made him…scared.

"Natsu...is everything alright…?"

'Dammit…' Kalameet thought, resisting the impulse to bit his lip, he knew that he had just made a mistake that could cost him much. He knew that he had to keep the mask he was wearing, but it wasn't easy to do it.

"Yeah, just a little tense about the trial." He replied, wanting not to make him understand what he was hiding. Still, his affirmation made him even more worried.

"But, you had never been tense before!" He almost yelled, never before his friend had been tense or had acted as he is doing now.

"Well, yes…but…this is my chance, to show everyone how much I've improved and if I become S-class, I'm sure that Igneel will be proud." He replied with a toothy grin. His mind trying to think of something that could justify his previous statement and lucky him, it did, now the only thing that he could do was hope that his companion would have believed him.

Still, the small fur ball that was Happy, simply nodded and stayed silent, this making the slayer to release a sigh, knowing that this wasn't enough for the exceed to truly believe him. Still, he knew that he had one weakness that was fatal to him and he was going to use it to his own advantage. He then lowered himself until he was face to face with him, a smile on his face while one of his hand was on his companion's head and started to ruffle it.

"Come one, I promise that after this exam is over, we will spend an entire day fishing. How does it sound?" He said, causing Happy's eyes to widen and his expression to bright a little at his offer.

"REALLY?" He shouted with excitement.

"Yes." The pink haired teen replied not stopping to ruffle his fur, making him smile in return.

"So, let's go and find that grave shall we?!" He asked, but it was more of an affirmation to keep up the façade and considering how he reacted, it seemed like it succeeded in its purpose.

"AYE SIR!" Happy yelled in excitement and immediately summoned his wings on his back and then, in less than a blink of an eye he was on Kalameet's back and took off at high speed. This kind of surprised the slayer, but he didn't complain about it, because it was exactly what he wanted. To say the truth, he was partially surprised by the fact that this exceed could guess what he thought, or to be precise what Natsu would thought.

"Good job Happy, now I will be able to find the grave in no time!" Kalameet exclaimed, keeping up his mask while looking around himself and trying to focus on finding what he was looking for. At first, the signature he was following felt weak and not clear, but the more he focused, the more he could understand where HE was. Still, the energy signature wasn't clear enough to allow him to locate HIM with precision, no matter how much he focused or tried and in truth he was growing annoyed by this. This, until he didn't felt it: a sudden increase in its power that was still growing and becoming stronger after each second, as if it was about to explode.

"THAT WAY! I'M SURE IT'S THAT WAY THE RIGHT ONE!" He yelled, his mask slowly crumbling and letting his true self come out. Still, he was managing to not make Happy suspect anything, but he didn't know how much he would be able to keep this up.

"AYE SIR!" She shouted before sprinting at light speed toward said direction, nearing toward the same direction were that sudden increase that only Kalameet had felt. Not that he was surprised by this, the energy he was feeling was something only a few could detect, sure, once that the energy he was nearing everyone would have been able to feel it, but for now, he was the only one that he could do it and he was going to take full advantage of it.

Within seconds, they were practically over where his target was and then the small fur ball started to pant heavily, sweat started to come out of his body and to soak his blue fur. Each passing second only increased the amount of effort he needed to put in flying. Kalameet wasn't blind to this and immediately understood what was happening: his target must have understood that he was coming there and had started to intensify his aura there to avoid that some unwanted guest interrupted what was about to happen.

"Happy, I think we should land here for now." He said, this time not bothering to hide anything and letting his own anger to start to ooze out of him. As for the Exceed, he didn't even bother to complain about what his friend had just said and landed on the ground, the fatigue from remaining in the air was starting to become too much for him and so he didn't even notice the change in tone of the slayer or his anger.

Finally, when they reached the ground, Happy started to feel much better, feeling like his energy were slowly returning to him and he was sure that he now would be able to fly again but carrying his pink haired friend was now out of question. Seconds later after they landed on the ground, a third figure appeared in the clearing where they landed. He was looking rather young, maybe a pair of years older than Natsu; he had short black hair and dark eyes. His attire was formed by high-collared red and tan robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. Still, there was one particular thing about his look that almost caused Kalameet to lose his cool and attack him as soon as he entered in his field of view and it was his smirk.

"Happy, leave this place now!" He nearly shouted, his anger rising by the second, but he needed to remain in control of himself.

"WHAT!? WHY?" The exceed replied, not wanting to leave his friend there, but then something caught his attention and when he looked in that direction, he saw the young man with dark hair and the aura that surrounded him, this making his entire body to start to shake in fear.

"You see it right. Leave this place before it's too late." The teen said without looking away from the dark haired teen, a silent dialogue was takin place there between the two.

"But…but…" The flying cat tried to argue, but couldn't find the words to do it, he knew that his friend was right, but he refused to let him alone. It was in front of this hesitation, that Kalameet stopped for a moment to stare at the other teen and looked directly at the small fur ball: his eyes softening and a toothy grin spread across his face, this made his buddy relax a little.

"Don't worry, I will be alright." He said with confidence, although, he knew that he was lying, after what would happen, he would have needed at least an entire week of relax to recover and he would be lying if he would have said that he wasn't looking forward it. Then, with a quick nod of his head, Happy took off again and left that place while shouting to his friend to be safe and to return. However, he didn't pay too much attention to it and focused again on HIS target.

"You really have decided to associate with strange people." He stated with the same smirk as before, his voice betraying a sense of satisfaction.

"You should be more worried about what will happen to you, Hangyaku." Kalameet stated coldly with hate dripping from each of his words.

"Really, well sorry to disappoint you but this body is quite comfortable."

"That body doesn't belong to you and I will make sure you will regret taking it."

Silence then fell on the place and the air between the two became so tense that it could be cut with a knife. One of the two was staring at the other with satisfaction and malice. Kalameet on the other hand had now his hair black and his eyes yellow, his gaze letting Hangyaku know that he held nothing but hate for him and was about to let it out. But such hate wasn't like a fire that burned everything on its path, but more like an ocean that was now calm but that could turn into a storm without that anyone could anticipate. He had waited for this fight for so long, years, decades, centuries, even he didn't know any more for how much time he had waited for this moment, but at least it had come and he wouldn't have wasted it, this time he would make sure to make up for his errors.

Well, nothing particular to say. I hope you had liked this chapter and wait for the next one, because there will be the first, true fight of Kalameet, because don't even think that the one against Gildarts was as such, because as I said in the story he was holding back, but next time, it will be finally time to go all out, so wait for it.