Ch 3: A New Life
December 26th X784 at Tenrou Island during the S-Class exams:
"Is this really how it's all going to end?" was the unanimous thought going through the mages of Fairy Tail as they looked up at Acnologia. Who didn't even have a scratch after all of them attacked him with some of their strongest moves in the misguided attempt to scare him off.
"He's just playing with us." stated Gildarts as he looked at the dragon now taking flight.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." replied Gajeel, feeling worse than the others since this is what his magic was given to him for. Yet trying with all of his might and with the help of two other dragon slayers, he still couldn't even make a scratch on the monster before them.
"What are we supposed to do?" asked Lucy now in tears as she looked at her friends who all had hopeless expressions on their faces. Seeing that all of them were actually losing hope was just too much for her, causing her to fall to her knees as she could only think that this would have somehow gone differently if Natsu was with them. But before she could dwell on that thought for very long she felt a small paw pat her shoulder gently, looking at the source was none other than Exceed of the man she was thinking about.
"All we needed to do is unite like the family that we are and everything will be alright. At least that's something that I think Natsu might say in a situation like this." he said with a big smile as he offered her a hand while floating next to her.
"Happy's right, we can't lose hope just yet. That's something that Natsu would never allow to happen right now if he was with us." said Erza loud enough for everyone to hear her.
"The Flame Brain would probably be still attacking him right now." stated Gray with a grin as the atmosphere slowly became better.
"That kid never stays down." said Laxus with a smirk as he remembered his last fight with the fire mage. Gajeel also couldn't help but grin as he remembered his first real fight with Salamander who seemed to defy all logic and not stay down when any other mage would have.
"He probably would have started to attack us for almost throwing in the towel like that." chuckled Gildarts as he remembered all of the times that he knocked the mage out with just one hit.
"Everyone who can used defensive magic should do so now." stated Erza as she looked up at Acnologia who was charging up a roar to unleash on them.
"It would be better if we all channeled our magic to just one person like Freed." shouted Levy, catching most of them off guard since she rarely raises her voice. But considering the circumstances that they were in it seemed appropriate for her to do so, and all of them could see that this had a better chance of working.
"Everyone hold hands." declared Mira already holding the hands of her two siblings. And within the next few seconds everyone was holding hands together and making a large circle now having slight smiles on all of their faces. Because even if this was their last moments at least it was with those that they considered their family.
Makarov couldn't have been prouder of his guild at this moment, because even in a situation like this they still remained united as a family. He also couldn't help but smile at the fact that even when he wasn't with them Natsu still somehow gave them the determination to not give up. Makarov wasn't the only one who had a thought like that going through his head right now, which is probably why most of them had those slight smiles on their faces.
One of the people thinking about him the most right now was Erza, who couldn't help but feel terrible since she once again wasn't strong enough to protect those that she cared about. So with her head down she let a few tears fall while whispering to herself. "Sorry Natsu but I don't think I can keep that promise to you."
"Don't worry Erza, he'll understand and then he'll probably do it for you." whispered Happy, after somehow hearing her previous statement. Erza couldn't believe that he heard her, but when she looked at the Exceed holding her hand she couldn't help but be reminded of Natsu since Happy's face had on a confident grin that the dragon slayer would always have before doing something reckless that would eventually turn out to for the best.
"You're right." she replied with a slight smile, knowing that Happy was correct. And if they didn't make it out of here she knew Natsu would look out for guild in their place.
"To Fairy Tail." shouted Makarov which was soon followed with everyone shouting it again together as Acnologia unleashed his roar at them. After the roar died down there was absolutely nothing left of the island that once stood so proudly out in the middle of the ocean.
With Natsu:
All of a sudden Natsu felt as if he was stabbed in the heart, not just once but several times all at once. With one of them being so painful that he fell to his knees while clutching his chest with one hand as the other one gripped the handle of his sword so hard that it left an impression in it. But he couldn't dwell on this since an attack was coming straight at his head, only giving him enough time to roll to the side and flinging dirt up at his attacker.
"Smart move Natsu, most people would have been at your mercy with a move like that." stated Kagura as she grinned at him after taking down her arm that blocked the dirt flung at her.
"None of my tricks seem to help me against you." he replied now holding his sword with both hands in a defensive stance waiting for her to come at him.
"Not true, because without doing that little trick of yours the fight would have already been mine by now." she said as she looked at his stance and couldn't help but be proud of herself since it was almost perfect. And that was because in the past two weeks she took Natsu from a complete amateur with the sword and has already gotten him to the point where he is better than most people who use a sword. Granted that excluded most people who were formally trained, but it was still incredible since it would usually take at least a year for a normal person to get to this point.
But something she learned about Natsu real quickly was that he was anything but normal. His reflexes were better than hers, which is something that she has always prided herself in. Not only were all of his other senses sharper than hers but his stamina and strength were off the charts when compared to her, and she was by no means a weak person in any sense of the word. And the one thing that really caught her off guard was how serious he became while training with her and wouldn't stop until he got whatever she showed him down to the point that she was satisfied with it.
He seemed to also have a pretty firm grasp on how to fight against someone who has a weapon, but he was still learning how to do that with a weapon of his own. This did speed up that process and also allowed him to come up with tricks like the one he just did, or even just attack her back with a different part of his body while they locked their swords together. So to put it simply he was the best student she could have ever asked for since he was still able to push her to the point that she had to come up with new tactics of her own just to not let him get the upper hand.
"I just wish I could have attacked back." he stated while carefully watching each movement she made. Waiting until he saw the telltale signs of her launching an attack at him that he would have to come up with a counter for in a split second.
"So what happened there?" she asked while lowering her sword and giving him a concerned look.
"This isn't some sort of trick of yours you're trying to pull on me like last time?" asked Natsu while still staying in his defensive stance.
"I promise that this isn't a trick like last time Natsu, I'm honestly concerned since you've never faltered like that before. And you were even clutching at your chest as if you were in great pain." she stated still with a concerned look on her face.
"So concerned that you tried to use it to finish our duel." he scoffed back at her as he lowered his defenses.
"You would have done the same, so what's going on with you?" she asked as she slowly walked towards him. Taking in the sight of his well chiseled body that was ripped with muscles, but all of them were formed specifically to match his fighting style which was one of high movability and power. Not only that but one that was to always confront whatever stood in his way, which could be seen by the fact that his only scars were on the front of his body that was currently covered in sweat as he just stood there in a pair of black pants.
"True, and I don't know what it is but I have a feeling that something really bad happened to my friends. The only other time I felt something like this was when I thought my closest friend at the time died, which she didn't but we didn't learn of that until two years later." he replied with a frown, thinking about a certain red haired knight that promised to look after them for him. Now wondering if she was the cause for that one intense pain he felt, but he could only shake his head at that and started to remember who he was thinking of. A person that he had grown to rely on as the one to finish off any enemy that he might not have been able to take down by himself like he usually tried to do.
"We can still go back and check on them." stated Kagura seeing that he was really concerned about his friends right now.
"No it's fine, I'm confident that I was just imagining things. Besides they should be taking the S-Class exams right now. So all of Fairy Tail's strongest members are in one spot and nothing could bring them down." he replied with one of his confident grins. That was then turned to one of pain as the hilt of Kagura's sword was thrusted into his chest and sent him flying back.
"Good to hear Natsu, and you should know that you can never trust the words of your enemies." she replied with a smirk that was lost when a flaming kick was sent at her and caused her to slide back five feet.
"Oh I know that Kagura, more than you do considering who I've dealt with so far. But I thought since this was just a friendly duel I could let my guard down for just a second, turns out I was wrong about that." he said while attacking her viciously with his sword while every once in a while throwing in a flaming kick or punch that she usually dodged.
"I thought that this was just a sword duel." she said with a few grunts as she tried to hold off his assault on her.
"Didn't you just say to never trust the words of your enemy?" he asked right before kicking her in the chest and knocking the wind out of her as she hit a tree. As she tried to get back up she felt a blade pressed against her neck that caused her to let out a depressed sigh as she no longer tried to get back up.
"You won this one, even if you cheated." she said with a slight pout as the blade was removed from her throat.
"Says the person that cheated first." he stated with a little chuckle as he sat down next to her.
"Good point, next time I do that I'll make sure you don't get a chance to get back up. And we really need to find you a sword that can handle your power, what number is that one now that you've reduced to the point of just being a piece of scrap metal?" she asked him with a little smirk.
"It's number ten, and I'm honestly trying to be as gentle as possible." he replied with an embarrassed look now on his face as they both looked at the sword in his hand that had actual chips taking out of it. And it now looked like it would shatter if he swung it just a few more times.
"I know which is why we need to find you a sword that is strong enough to handle your own strength." she stated as she rested her head on his shoulder. Something that she kept finding herself doing whenever the opportunity presented itself, that somehow made her happier than almost anything else in the world could.
"Can't we just get another Archenemy?" he asked, and only received her trying to stifle her giggles at such an idea as a response from his partner.
"Sorry Natsu, but almost all swords are one of a kind. And that is one hundred percent the case when you're talking about swords that aren't just a simple piece of steel like Archenemy." she answered after her little fit of giggles stopped.
"Whatever, but constantly breaking swords is going to burn through my jewels." he stated with a slight frown.
"Now that you know you can't put your fire on your sword I'm positive you'll only break just one at most once each week." she replied with slight grin.
"I hope you're right, and have you ever left the country before?" he asked while resting his head on hers that was still on his shoulder.
"Nope, why are you just bringing this up now?" she asked him back.
"Because we're now just a day's walk away from crossing the border and I don't really know what to expect." he replied, once again trying to figure out why he felt that sudden stabbing pain in his chest all of a sudden.
"I'm guessing that we won't even notice when we're cross over into Bosco." she answered.
"You're probably right, well I'm going to go and clean up in the stream if you want to join me." he said while getting up much to the displeasure of his companion. Who now was really red at the thought of bathing with Natsu like he kept offering to do with her after long hours of training together.
"W-why do you keep asking me that?" she mumbled to herself, too embarrassed to actually say it directly to him.
"Because it would be more efficient if we cleaned up at the same time so we could get back to traveling sooner. Also you remind me a lot of Erza and she always said there was nothing wrong with good friends doing something like this so I thought you might think the same. But then again she might have been completely wrong about that since Lucy kicked me really hard in the face when I asked her the same thing one time on a job together." he stated while scratching the back of his head. Once again Kagura was reminded that Natsu of course wasn't trying to do anything funny by such a proposal like this and was only offering as a friend. Even if he didn't know that friends definitely didn't do things like this, but that is definitely Erza's fault which she might have to thank her for if they ever meet up in the near future.
"Okay, but I don't want to catch you staring at me." she replied in a nervous tone, honestly surprised that she agreed to it. But that could possibly be her just trying to make up for not being with him as long as some of the friends he's told her about, one person in particular had her really trying hard for some reason. And that was Erza Scarlet, one of the people he brought up the most whenever she asked him about his past and was constantly being told how similar they were. She would have taken this as a huge compliment to be compared to the famous Titania, but once again she didn't know why but she wanted to prove to him that she wasn't Erza and event strived to try and be better than her.
"You won't since Erza thought for some reason I might become a pervert when I was younger and beat me until I learned exactly what not to do." he replied as he walked to the stream that was only a few yards away from them.
"It seems she beat you up a lot." she stated with a little grin as she followed him.
"Yeah, but she only does it since she really cares about us. Well every time except for when her cake is destroyed, that's when she's just doing it because she's angry and needs to let off a little steam." he said as he reminisced about the few times he purposely destroyed her cake so that she would let out some of the stress that she would constantly bottle up with no intentions to ever let out.
"How does beating you up show that she cares?" asked Kagura as she turned around in slight embarrassment as Natsu was now just in his boxers.
"She's never really been good with her feelings which I guess is something that we both have in common. But that's probably because of what happened to her at the tower and not like me who just doesn't understand some of the more complicated feelings one can have. But back to Erza since you asked about her, she initially didn't want to let anyone get close to her probably afraid that they would betray her like he did." stated Natsu with a slight growl at the end that surprised Kagura.
"But slowly she started to warm up, but back to how her beating us up shows that she cares is actually quite simple. If she didn't care she wouldn't take the time to try and help us by correcting whatever we're doing wrong with a beating and would just continue on like she didn't see anything." he answered right before jumping into the stream. She was once again surprised by how he could analyze something like that and pick out the positives that most people would just see as someone taking their frustration out on their friends.
"You coming in?" he asked with his usual grin now with the water up to his waist.
"Yes, but I don't want you watching me undress." she replied while giving him a slight glare.
"Okay, just wanted to make sure that you didn't come here to just watch me because that would kind of be weird." he said with a little chuckle before falling back into the water and just floating there. And he stayed that way until he heard a splash meaning that Kagura had finally joined him, causing him to smile since most of the girls at Fairy Tail were quite confident about their body which wasn't the case for Kagura.
"Glad that you finally joined…" he started to say but was so surprised at what he saw that put him at a loss for words. Because across from him was Kagura now in nothing at all as she started to go about cleaning herself as if he wasn't there. That is until she finally noticed him staring at her completely frozen in his spot, which caused her to let out a cute scream as she tried to cover herself.
"You said you wouldn't stare!" she shouted at him now only having her head out of the water.
"Yeah, but I didn't think you were going to be nude!" he shouted back as he stood up showing that he was still in his boxers. This caused a whole plethora of emotions to go through Kagura's head, but the biggest one was embarrassment at letting him see her and not realize that he most likely thought she would be just in her underwear.
"But you can't clean yourself properly if you still have your underwear on." she declared, realizing that she wasn't completely in the wrong for making that assumption.
"True, I just didn't think you'd be comfortable with that right away. Sorry Kagura for not being more clear with what I said earlier, that's something I really need to work on." he replied with a slight frown, that she never really liked to see on him.
"It's okay Natsu, I should have just asked you to clarify my thoughts before making an assumption." she said while still remaining under water so he couldn't see her clearly.
"I made a false assumption as well so it's just as much my fault, now I feel bad because I said I wouldn't stare which is exactly what I did." he said still having his frown.
"There's a way you could make it up to me." she replied as her blush became even brighter while barely being able to talk to him.
"You name it Kagura, I'll do anything to make it up to you." he declared with a slight grin since he didn't want to lose his traveling companion just yet.
"You could just join me." she whispered while looking into the water wondering what in the world she was doing. This is the exact opposite of what she would have usually done in a situation like this; scratch that, up until two weeks ago she never would have been in a situation like this in the first place. But something about being around Natsu caused her to start acting differently than she once would have and overall he just made her happier than she had ever been since she lost her brother and the rest of her family.
"What do you mean, oh okay, that's easy enough to do." he replied with his usual grin as he took off his boxers without a second thought and threw them to where the rest of his pants were. Honestly he was completely comfortable in nothing at all, and the only reason that he actually started to wear clothes in the first place was because Igneel told him that is what humans did. Well that and he didn't want to be similar to Gray who was almost always just in just his boxers and unfortunately sometimes he didn't even have them.
"Does anything make you shy?" she asked after seeing how easy it was for him to just discard the last of his clothes.
"Nope, not really but if I had to choose something it would probably be starting a relationship with someone. Or when I have no idea what the group is talking about and it's supposed to be really important for the job. Otherwise I'd have to say that I don't really get shy since nothing really good comes from it." he answered while he went about getting rid of the dirt that accumulated during their training. This caused Kagura to start thinking about the last thing that he just said and came to the realization that he was correct about it, every time that she became shy about something it usually turned out worse for her.
"Is that why you always seem to just charge straight in without looking at a situation properly?" she asked with a slight smirk as she too started to clean herself again.
"One of the reasons I guess, but honestly I mainly did that because it was fun. But after what just happened to me I don't think I'll still be doing such a reckless strategy like that anymore." he replied with a serious expression making its way across his face.
"That's probably for the best and it's surprising that you're still alive after doing that for so long." she replied in a cheerful tone since she could already tell he was remembering the mages that he had to kill in order to just get to their Master that day.
"Hey, just because I would make a big entrance doesn't mean I didn't come up with a plan while I started fighting them." he stated in a defensive tone while giving her a slight glare that she just giggled at. And for the next half hour they chatted like they usually did while lounging about in the stream since they finished cleaning themselves within the first ten minutes. They only got out so that they could head into Bosco early next morning and figure out what their next move was going to be since right now they both agreed on wanting to try and do something about the slavers being unopposed.
"I still don't know why you think I need to wear all of this." stated Natsu as he started to put on the outfit that he and Kagura picked out in the last city they went through a few days ago. Starting from his feet which he used to only have sandals for he was now sporting a pair of black boots that almost went all the way to his knees. That had five straps that secured them to him with no chances of them ever falling off, the straps also allowed him to put a dagger or knife there if he wanted to which he didn't at this time.
His pants were no longer the baggy white ones that he constantly wore around and were now replaced by a pair of sleek gray ones that he tucked into his boots. They looked normal except for the slightly darker patch that covered the front side of his thighs, which upon closer inspection revealed to be a hard piece of leather stitched inside of the pants to add more protection. And holding these pants in place was a black leather belt that came with six small pouches that he wore with three on each side since he chose to carry his sword on his back because that was where most people carried an Odachi due to its size. The belt buckle was deep green that matched his fire and was actually the main reason Kagura picked it out for him, other than that it was just a normal belt.
All of this Natsu easily adapted to, but what he now wore over his chest felt like it was just too much when compared to him only wearing a vest before. First was a plain white undershirt that was then covered by a custom made leather tunic that had three pieces on the front and back so that he could maintain all of his movement that he had before while just in a vest. It was a plain gray that even Natsu had to admit was incredibly durable for how light it was, which meant that as long as he didn't take a direct hit from most weapons he wouldn't even get a scratch thanks to it.
Over top of that he had another undershirt that actually made it hard to notice the armor underneath it. But that was far from the last piece of clothing that he now had covering his chest, because right over top of that he now wore a long sleeved button up green dress shirt that once again was the same color as his flames. The next piece of his item was something that he was initially excited to pick out since he's always worn a vest, but once again Kagura decided that it needed to be leather one to add an extra layer of protection.
They both finally settled on a black one that almost looked like it had the same pattern of his scarf which made Natsu wonder if that was intentional or if they had to have it that way because of whatever creature they got the hide from. The only other thing that stood out about the vest was its collar and three buttons that made it look as if it was originally intended to be a piece of a fancy suit.
After that he also had a black leather jacket that just barely went past his waist and otherwise was very simplistic. That is if you disregarded the fact that it had hidden shoulder pads inside of it made out of black steel which is as strong as normal steel even with it being half as thick. Making it the choice of most people when they wanted to try and keep their weight down on a new set of armor, other than that it only had two side pockets for you to stick your hands into while walking around.
Natsu thought that this was going to be the last piece of his new outfit but boy was he wrong. The next thing that he would put on was a pair of black fingerless gauntlets that he wore overtop of his jacket. On the forearms of them they had a large plate of black steel, specifically designed to fully block an incoming attack from a normal weapon with no fears of it breaking. Now the finally piece of his outfit was by far the most elaborate of everything else and was one of most unique coats he's ever seen.
It was another piece of his new outfit made out of black leather that went to just a foot from dragging on the ground that had a back slit on it that went up to six inches below his waist to make sure he could easily run in it. The lining of it was the same green as his shirt, which was also the accent color on everything else on it such as the buttons or the flaps covering the pockets. Or the elaborate design of flames that went around the bottom of the coat and at the ends of its sleeves, once again something that Kagura liked and he could care less about.
The collar of the coat when turned up would cover over half of his face and was able to hide the hood of the coat when he didn't want to wear it, which was only when he wasn't on a job or fighting someone. And just under the collar covering from the shoulders down to under his pecks was another piece of leather that wrapped around him that was in a really dark gray trimmed in green, which gave the coat a feel of having layers. Over all the coat felt like it was too fancy for him to most likely ruin in a fight that was bound to happen in the near future, but just one look at Kagura's happy face was all he needed to be convinced that he should wear it.
"Because it'll obviously help protect you from getting wounded like you normally would have." replied Kagura with a slight grin as she put on her coat. She too decided to change her outfit like she said she would and it was pretty much the female version of what he was wearing, which might have been the reason that she wanted him to wear that so they could pretty much almost match each other exactly. Of course there were a few differences like her not having a vest, or the tunic; both of them were replaced with a black corset that she wore over top of her two shirts. Natsu couldn't help but take notice how the corset made her already large bust look even bigger which was definitely not needed in his opinion, but he knew he didn't really have a sense in fashion so he remained quiet on that.
Another difference was she didn't go with fingerless gauntlets like Natsu did with his and her boots have laces rather than the ones with straps that he wore. Her coat also was quite different than the one he now wore; this one actually had layers that were each a different color. The first and top layer that consisted of her upper chest and also included her arms was the same green as his fire. Underneath that layer was a dark gray that covered her stomach and went just a little under her waist, which stopped at the final black layer that went all the way down to just a foot off of the ground. The last thing that set the coat apart from his was that she didn't have a collar like his but instead had a cape that only covered the right half of her back sided. This cape was the same dark gray as the middle layer of her coat and was designed to be removed and replaced with a different one if she chose to do so later on.
"I've been completely fine without any of this so far, so why would I need this stuff now?" he asked after adjusting his coat that he still thought was overkill.
"That was while you were in Fiore Natsu, we're now heading into Bosco which is almost a lawless place if half of the things I've heard about it are true." she answered as she inspected him, thinking that he looked really good in it. And she was happy that she convinced him to not go with white like he initially wanted to by insisting that they might need to be stealthy every once and awhile. Not only that but wearing white clothing was really hard to keep clean in their line of work which was something that she learned the hard way.
"You're making it sound like we're going to get mugged as soon as we get there." he replied with a little chuckle.
"Natsu that could very well happen, none of this is stuff you should be joking about." she stated while giving him a slight glare.
"Come on Kagura, you don't need to be so serious all the time. Especially when it's just the two of us, besides if someone does try to mug us they'll learn real quickly that they just made one of their worst decisions ever." he declared with both of his hands covered in flames as he smashed a fist into the palm of the other hand.
"You're right, so let's get going then." she replied with a slight grin as they started to walk together after grabbing their bags.
"I really think that one of us should learn re-equip so we don't have to carry these things around." he suggested while shrugging the shoulder that his bag was slung over.
"That's definitely on you since you're the experienced mage out of the two of us." she stated with a smirk. Because over the last two weeks she learned that even though Natsu wasn't the smartest person about a lot of things, magic wasn't one of them. He seemed to have a very deep understanding of it and had already explained to her why she was having such a hard time with her magic. She could already use her magic ten times longer than she had before, and despite Natsu denying that he had anything to do with it she knew that it was all thanks to him.
"I guess it won't hurt for me to look into it, and you're already becoming a formidable mage after receiving a few pointers." he said as they came out of the woods that they were in. That now allowed them to have a good view of the country off in the distance that they were hoping to have a huge impact on in the near future.
"It's a pretty view." Kagura said as she looked over the vista.
"That it is, well you've treated me well Fiore but we've got the rest of the world to explore." he said in a cheery tone as he headed down the hill with a confident grin spread across his face.
One week later:
"Why are you doing this?" asked a man with a long cut running down his cheek as he backed into a wagon that was fitted with a large cage. As he clutched at the cut with one hand hoping to stop the bleeding but having no such luck as he looked at the two figures in front of him. Both of them wearing coats with hoods up so that no one could see either of their faces, even though that didn't matter when both of them had very distinct things that set them apart from everyone else. The woman was wielding her sword while still in its sheath while the man had green flames that could go right through metal when he wanted them to.
"For the same reason that you are selling people as slaves in this fucking shit hole of a country." growled the man as he spun around and smashed the face of the man trying to sneak up on him into the ground so hard that he made cracks form around the spot of the impact.
"And what reason is that?" asked the man not seeing how them all of a sudden attacking his group had anything to do with them being slavers.
"Because we can." replied the woman as she did a quick slash with her sword and the few conscious slavers watched in disbelief as their boss's head fell from his head. Along with the cage that was behind him as its top slid off to the side thanks to all of its bars being cut clean through.
"You are all no longer slavers and will find a different job that doesn't prey on the weak or so help me I will hunt each and every one of you down and burn the flesh right off you." said the man as green flames coated both of his clenched fists as he glared at all of them. Even though they couldn't see that detail they all clearly got the message as they gulped and nodded their heads together.
"Now hand over all your jewels and anything worth any value." shouted the woman with the sword causing all of them to do as she commanded them to.
"Get the hell out of here before we decided to finish you all off right now, oh and if you run into any of your old friends that are slavers be sure to tell them that we're coming for them." said the figure as he threw some of his fire at them to speed up the process of them leaving.
"Who are you two?" asked one of the slavers as he looked back at the two strangers who destroyed a group of thirty slavers as if it was nothing.
"Two individuals who hate your kind enough to finally start doing something about it." said the female as she turned away from him and headed towards the people that were just saved from a life of slavery.
"That's obvious, but what exactly do people call you?" he asked, internally cursing his curious nature that just had to know.
"Don't really have one, and you really shouldn't care because if we do ever meet again it will most likely end with you buried in the dirt." said the fire mage with the green flames as he launched a ball of fire only a foot to the side of the slavers head. Who then let out a girly scream before running away as he clutched the side of his face that felt like it was on fire.
"It's okay everyone you have nothing to fear." said the swordswoman as she approached the terrified group of people that watched the two of them tear through the slavers with no mercy.
"Why are you honestly doing any of this, are you only freeing us from them to be sold off by you?" asked a man that stood in front of the rest in a protective manner.
"We're only doing this because slavery is wrong." she replied with a slight frown since the last group that they saved thought the exact same thing. It just showed her and her companion how awful this country was that the people being freed from slavery only thought that they were just being captured by other slavers.
"It's the truth, and as a show of proof any of you can go now if you want. But if you do make sure that you grab enough supplies from the things that the slavers left." stated the fire mage as he removed his hood and showed all of them his pink hair and caring smile. Somehow just by seeing those two things most of the people felt a wave of relief wash over them knowing that he was completely honest about his intentions.
"We'd be just walking straight into the hands of another slaver or guard considering that we're all marked as slaves." pointed out one of the people that still didn't trust the two strangers that are claiming to only want to help them. As she showed off her right wrist that had a freshly branded symbol on it that let all the citizens of Bosco know she was a slave.
"True, which is why I would recommend that you all stick with us until we get you out of the country." stated Natsu still having that caring smile of his, which still surprised most of them after watching him fighting like a demon just a few moments ago.
"And how in the world do you two plan on doing that?" she asked as she glared at the two of them.
"By the same way that we freed all of you, destroy anything that tries to stop us. It also doesn't hurt that my companion can detect people from a mile away on a bad day, so with that we should most likely be able to sneak you into Fiore which is the closest country that doesn't have slavery." replied Kagura as she too removed her hood since Natsu already decided to show himself. And he was someone that you'd never forget just because of his hair alone, that most people believed only women ever had.
"That still doesn't explain why either of you two are doing any of this. None of us can pay you and probably won't be able to for a really long time." stated an older gentleman as he came to the front of the group.
"Damn, never thought that the hardest part of helping people in Bosco would be getting them to believe that we have no other motives than just doing what's right." stated Natsu with a smirk.
"Sorry Sir, but that is something almost unheard of in this country." said a different woman that had a slight blush as she looked at her male savior.
"We're quickly learning that, but we need to get moving while no one is trying to hunt us down yet." stated Kagura as she gave the woman a slight glare.
"She's got a point there, so let's move out everyone and depending on how motivated you all are we should be able to get you to Fiore by tomorrow night. After that you'll all be on your own, hopefully there'll be enough jewels for all of you get as far away from this terrible place as possible." said Natsu as he grabbed one of the largest packs left behind by the slavers and took the lead with the rest forming a line behind him.
Later that night:
"They were pretty determined to make it as far as they could today." stated Kagura as she sat down next to Natsu.
"Can't really blame them when freedom and a better life is just a few miles away." he replied as he looked at the group of about thirty men and women that also included an additional ten children of varying ages.
"I just hope that none of them will have to experience anything like this ever again." she stated while resting her head on his shoulder.
"Me too, but I really wish you wouldn't have killed him." he said with a slight frown.
"We've already been over this Natsu, there's no way I'm just going to let you do all of the killing of those terrible people. Even though we agreed it's for the greater good, it doesn't make it any easier taking away someone's life. And because of that we'll share the burden together." she replied while taking his left hand and holding onto it with both of hers.
"You're not going to back down on this one are you?" he asked her with a slight grin.
"Not on your life, which is going to be a long one with just you and me together helping those in need." she said only to realize how that sounded after it had already escaped her mouth. And because of that she was now completely red in the face nervously waiting for his response to such a bold statement in her opinion.
"I like the sound of that, the two of us being together for a long time helping out people like we just did today." he responded not noticing that her blush from before remained the same after his reply. The only difference in her expression was her lips were now turned up into a bright smile that was rarely seen on her by anyone else but him.
"You do?" she asked, thinking that what she just heard might be her just having a really good dream that she wouldn't want to wake up from.
"Of course I do Kagura, you've already taught me so much about swords and how to evaluate situations better than I've ever done before. Not to mention that I just enjoy talking and being with you like we're doing right now." he answered while resting his head against hers. Right now Kagura could very well be the happiest woman in the world, granted she still didn't know if he liked her in the same way that she liked him. But this was definitely a really good start in her opinion and she was going to make sure that it progressed from here to much more in the near future.
"Thank you Natsu." she said in just a whisper as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the heat radiating from her partner.
"You're welcome, but what is that even for?" he asked not moving since he could tell she just found a comfy spot on him.
"Just for you being yourself." she stated with a content smile spread across her lips.
"Okay I guess, sometimes I …" he said only to stop as his nose picked up a few new scents coming their way. So without saying anything to Kagura he abruptly stood up and put his hood up while also grabbing his sword and slinging it over himself so it was now on his back.
"How many?" asked Kagura knowing that he would only act this way if enemies were heading their way.
"I can smell five of them, but the fifth one is very faint as if they're trying to cover it up." he stated as they started to run towards the enemies tracking them down. Most likely with the sole purpose of recapturing the people they just rescued from a life of slavery.
"Anything else?" she asked as they both lowered themselves as they entered the wheat fields that came up to the edges of the woods they were hiding in.
"They're all mages, so watch out." he replied just loud enough for her to hear as they continued on their fast pace towards the upcoming battle. They were trying to get far enough away from their group so that none of them would even realize that they were fighting off some more slavers coming after them.
"Hold up." said the last guy in the group of five men going towards the camp of runaway slaves a little less than a mile away.
"Why, we're just about to catch those slaves that thought they could actually get away from us." said the front most member of the group as he took off from the rest only to let out a scared scream as a burst of green flames shot into the air.
"Because it felt like a trap you idiot." stated the first man to talk.
"Where the hell are they boss?" asked a different guy as he now had a sword drawn which was covered with orange flames. All of them were now a little scared except for their boss who just had a slight smirk on his face as his men started to scan the wheat field for any movement.
"Isn't that the million jewel question." he replied with a light chuckle as another one of his men let out terrified scream after somehow being separated from the rest of the group.
"Shit, this isn't good boss." stated the other mage as water surround both of his fists that formed into gauntlets.
"No, this is to be expected when going up against a predator such as the one before us." he answered as a figure stood up a little ways away from them and started to walk towards them.
"There he is, let's show him why we're not to be taken lightly!" shouted the man with the sword as he and the water mage charged the figure that was just about twenty yards away from them. But just as they reached the halfway mark they both let out a startled yelp and disappeared into the wheat only for a new figure to stand up in the place of the two.
"I'm quite impressed by the coordination and skill you two used to dispose of my men." said the boss as the two figures drew nearer to him.
"I'm surprised you aren't running for the hills right now." said Natsu as he re-ignited both of his fists that gave off an eerie green glow in the night.
"And why would I do that when I have an opportunity to meet the two responsible for my last two shipments not arriving." he replied with a smug grin that then turned into a grin as a white sheath went straight through him.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Kagura as she backed away from the man slightly in shock of her sword meeting no resistance whatsoever.
"He's just a thought projection." stated Natsu as a grin made its way across his face.
"It seems you've run into someone who could do this already, darn I was wanting to mess with you two for a little bit." he said with a slight frown.
"Can he cast any spells?" she asked while never taking her eyes off of the man.
"Nope, but whoever this man is he's extremely strong to be able make a projection like that. If I hadn't run into one before I would have never noticed that he was one, I mean he even has a scent." answered Natsu while still grinning at man.
"I'm impressed that that you could even smell that since it's only faint, I take it that you have that ability because of your magic?" he asked now having a thoughtful look on his face.
"Yes I do, but I really don't feel like talking with you anymore." replied Natsu as he brought both of his hands together and shot a stream of fire at the man.
"Like that's going to do…" started the man until his projection just vanished into thin air.
"What did you just do Natsu?" asked Kagura with a shocked expression as he got rid of his flames before the whole field could catch on fire.
"I just overloaded his projection with my own magic, he probably didn't believe I would have enough magic of my own to do that. It'll make him realize that we're not two random mages who just got lucky these last two times." he responded as he started to walk towards the men that they just took out.
"Was that really a wise decision to let him know how much of a threat we actually are?" she asked him while thinking of all the ways that this could go wrong for them.
"I think it'll actually turn out better for us this way, if he's afraid of his teams being destroyed by us then he might group them up so they have a better chance to succeed at bringing them back. That would mean less groups out there capturing innocent people hopefully." he replied while bending down and burning something into the first man's arm. Once he let it go Kagura was shocked to see that he branded the man as a slave, there by sentencing him to a life of pain and suffering like the man probably did to so many others during his life.
"They could just capture more slaves with that many people together in one place. And you do realize that they will not be able to go back to their homes after you do that to them." she pointed out after Natsu branded the second one just like he did with the first one.
"They could start doing that, and if that's what happens then I really didn't change anything by showing off a little bit of my power back there. And of course I know that they won't be able to go back to slaving which I know is exactly what they would have done if we just left them here. The other option to stop them from doing that would be death or maiming them in some way, but I'd prefer to not do either of those unless I have to or I'm really pissed off." he said while branding the last two and then heading back to their camp.
"Aren't you concerned that they might attack us again once they wake back up?" she asked looking back at where they left them.
"Coming after us will be the last thing on their minds when they realize that they're now marked as slaves." he stated with a proud grin spread across his face.
"We'll see about that." she replied with a slight grin of her own.
The next day at a town just pass the boarder of Bosco and in Fiore:
"We're seriously all in your debt and I don't know how we'll ever repay you two." said one of the women as the rest of the group boarded a train that was headed towards Crocus where they definitely wouldn't have to fear being hunted anymore.
"There's no need for that, just go and live your lives and maybe we'll run into each other again." replied Kagura with a kind smile.
"And if that does happen in the future then you treating us to a meal will be more than enough to repay us." stated Natsu with his usual grin that caused the woman to smile back at him.
"That would be the least that any of us could do for our saviors." she replied before the train blew its whistle signaling that it would be departing soon.
"You better hop on or you'll have to continue on your journey all alone." stated Kagura with a slight smirk.
"Well thanks again you two, I wish you'd tell us your names." she said while halfway through the door hoping that they would at least tell her their first names.
"Sorry Emily, but the less you know the better." replied Natsu with a smirk as he turned away with Kagura and started to walk away from the train station. Leaving behind a very confused Emily who didn't know how he knew her name since she also never introduced herself to them.
"How do you know my name?" she shouted out as the train started to creep forward.
"Let's just say I've got really good ears, and tell the rest that I wish them luck he replied while continuing to walk away.
"I will figure out who you two are one of these days!" she shouted out with a big grin as she waved at the duo walking out of the station.
"We might have been being a little too secretive with them, I mean just giving them our first names wouldn't have been too bad." stated Kagura with a cheery smile as she walked with him taking the lead.
"You're probably right, but I have a feeling that we're going to be making a lot of enemies in the future and if keeping my identity hidden protects the people we save then there's no reason not to do it. But I guess we could come up with new nicknames that won't give away our true identities." he said while starting to look around for something.
"What's wrong with using your old moniker?" she asked since it really fit him well considering that he pretty much was untouchable with fire.
"My old what?" he asked with a confused expression as he stopped and looked at her.
"Moniker is another word for nickname, and I don't see why you can't just keep using Salamander." she explained with a little smirk at his lack of a refined vocabulary.
"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" he asked but only received a slight glare from her that caused him to let out a little chuckle and move on. "And the reason I don't want to use that moniker, is due to the fact that it's tied to Fairy Tail already and has a long list of enemies just wanting to take me down. So I think right now is as good as any time to pick out a new one." he said as his eyes lit up at the sight of a distant building that he then started to head towards.
"I can understand why you'd want to do that, but if you aren't going to go by your old one then what do you have in mind to go by now?" she asked as she picked up her pace to keep up with him.
"I have no clue, actually I don't even know how I got the Salamander moniker." he replied while emphasizing the last word, which resulted with him getting smacked in the side by the pommel of her sword. Of course she didn't do it very hard since she could tell that he was just trying to tease her about it as he gave her a quick grin before going into the building that they were now right outside of.
"So you're saying that you just got it and went with it?" she asked as she could tell that the building she was in was the post office of the town.
"Yep, and unless you can come up with a really cool one for me in the near future I'm going to do the same thing now." he said as he pulled out an envelope and headed to the person at the front desk.
"How may I help you Sir?" she asked in a bored tone as she took in his unusual outfit that matched the girl with him.
"Can you send this to Magnolia?" he asked her back while placing the envelope on the counter.
"If you don't care about how fast it gets there you could just put a few stamps on it and slip it into the slot outside at any of our different branches across the country. But if you want it to get there at a certain time then coming here was the correct decision so long as you have the jewels for it." she explained in the same tone as before while pointing to a sign that showed the prices for their standard shipping.
"Here you go, I'll go with the express delivery." he replied while giving her his usual grin and the correct amount of jewels. But rather than how most people react to seeing his grin, this lady just made a grunt while grabbing the envelope and jewels and then headed into the back.
"Is that a letter to your friends?" asked Kagura with a slightly surprised expression since she never saw him write a letter.
"Yep, there are actually two of them. One to the guild in general while the other one is for Happy since I still feel really bad about leaving him like I did." he said now with a slight frown as they went back into the town and started to head towards Bosco.
"There's a good reason that you did that Natsu, what we're doing is an extremely dangerous occupation." she said while grabbing his hand to let him know that she was there for him.
"I know that Kagura, it's the main reason that I don't plan on ever really telling any of them where I'm at since who knows who would come and try to find me. But as long as they're at Fairy Tail I know they'll be fine, also I've got you as my partner and that's more than enough for me." he replied while giving her hand a little squeeze and flashing her his toothy grin.
"I'm going to take that as a complement." she said with a slight blush as they continued to hold hands as they made their way outside of the town. And just as they got about a mile outside of town a bright flash occurred in front of them, only to reveal someone Natsu never would have expected to appear like this all of a sudden.
"Loke, what the hell are you doing here?" asked Natsu who couldn't believe that one of Lucy's spirits randomly appeared in front of him. But one of the most shocking things that he noticed was that the spirit appeared to have just recently gotten out of a battle if the bandages were any indication.
"I've come to give you something very valuable Natsu that should help you on your journey." answered Loke as he slipped off the Odachi strapped to his back. The handle was green with black leather straps wrapped around it making the grip a checkered green and black pattern, while the guard and pommel were both silver. Etched around the guard was an emblem for each of the twelve Zodiacs and the pommel looked as if stars were falling from the sky and going to meet at the center of it.
The sheath of this Odachi main color was black with all of the decorations being either green or silver. Wrapping around the sheath starting from the tip and ending at right under the guard was a green dragon that looked longer and more serpent like than Igneel ever did. And in the spots that the dragon didn't cover were once again the signs of the twelve Zodiacs in silver and just barely able to be noticed unless you inspected the sheath like Natsu was doing right now.
"Why in the world are you showing up now of all times to give me a sword?" asked Natsu as he took the weapon from the spirit who was also an old friend of his. He felt the weight of it and gave a few swings with it while it was still sheathed to get a feel for it, which somehow instantly felt right to him even with it still sheathed.
"Because the Spirit King told me to, and it also doesn't hurt that you're actually being taught how to use it now." said Loke with a smirk as he started to check Kagura out and couldn't help but be impressed with how Natsu somehow kept finding women like her and Lucy by pure dumb luck. He would have continued to check the woman out if his instincts hadn't told him to run for it as a low growl came from the dragon slayer in front of him now giving him a very intimidating glare.
"Why would he want to give me something valuable since I usually just destroy things? Also what in the world happened to you, and more importantly are Lucy and the rest okay?" he asked with a concerned look in his eyes, knowing that he didn't have to warn the spirit about Kagura being off limits after the face he saw him make just a few seconds ago.
"The Spirit King along with the rest of Lucy's spirits have always admired your drive and commitment to your friends. And we're proud that you consider all of us that as well, which is why the Spirit King decided to give you this sword as a way of saying thank you for what you've done for Lucy and the rest of us." answered the spirit with a proud smile since he was lucky enough to be friends with the dragon slayer for a long time now.
"Thanks Loke, and of course you're all my friends. Just say the word and I'd be more than happy to help any of you with whatever problem you might be having." he declared with smirk.
"We know, just another reason why the sword is being given to you. And as you could probably already tell that sword isn't like any of the other ones you've been destroying during your training. So first of no Natsu it can't shoot off any sort of spirit attack like I know you're hoping for it to do, but it is by far one of the strongest and sharpest blades you'll ever find. Something that you'll definitely appreciate since you've never been good at holding back." explained Loke as he let out a little chuckle at the end.
"Rats that would have been so cool, and hey I have been great at holding back. If I wasn't then nothing would be standing after I got done fighting whoever tried to stop me from completing my job." he stated while giving his old friend a slight glare.
"If what you just said is true then this is a sword made with you in mind Natsu. And the reason I say that is because if you do happen to break the blade while using it, then all you need to do is put it back into the sheath and a few hours later it will be as good as new." said Loke with a huge smile spread across his face.
"You've gotta be kidding me, a sword like that actually exists!" shouted out Kagura as she looked at the sword in Natsu's hands.
"Yep, and your boyfriend is now the proud owner of it." replied Loke, enjoying how quickly Kagura's face turned red at such a simple tease. Letting him know that she had already fallen head over heels for the dragon slayer standing next to them, apparently too deep in thought to even hear what was just said.
"He's not my boyfriend." mumbled a now completely embarrassed Kagura as she tried to make sure that Natsu didn't notice her blush.
"Maybe not now, but I can already tell that you want him to be." teased the spirit as Natsu finally unsheathed the blade. Showing off the completely white blade of the sword, well everything except for the thin green line that followed the waves on the sides of the blade.
"Shut up, and no I don't." denied Kagura in hiss as she glared at the spirit, but before Loke could continue to tease her Natsu spoke up.
"Why are the main colors black and green?" he asked while sheathing the blade and replacing his old one with it.
"I guess that's the other special thing about the blade, it can change its colors to match its master's magic. That's why there is green on it now, as for the black that as far as I know has always been its main color. Well since I've done what I was told to do I think I'll be heading back so you two love birds can have some alone time again." he said with a smug look as Kagura started to blush again and decided to put her hood back up to hide it.
"Wait one second Loke, you never told me how Lucy and the rest are doing." said Natsu as he grabbed the spirit's shoulder before he could disappear.
"Sorry about that Natsu, as you can see we ran into some trouble with a dark guild during the S-Class exams. But don't worry, everyone's alright so why don't you take that beautiful lady of yours out to eat and make the night all about her." replied the spirit with a sly grin only to disappear as soon as Natsu let go of him.
"Don't listen to him Kagura, he used to be known as the playboy of Fairy Tail." he said while turning to see a now slightly sad Kagura looking back at him. And in that moment he realized he once again said something that was most definitely misinterpreted from what he meant it to be.
"Shit I didn't mean it like that Kagura, you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Not to mention one of the strongest as well and that's coming from someone who grew up with Titania and the Demon of Fairy Tail." he hurriedly explained, not wanting her to be sad due to him and his big mouth.
"Do you mean it?" she asked once again having a blush spread across her cheeks.
"With every fiber in my body, so how about we take a break and go get something to eat even if the idea did come from that womanizer." he answered with a smirk as he grabbed her hand and started to head back to town before she could even reply.
"I'd like that a lot." she replied with a smile, making a note to thank the spirit the next time she saw him.
Spirit World:
"Job well done." stated the Spirit King as Loke appeared in front of him.
"I feel sick having to lie to him like that." he replied with a frown.
"I know you do my friend, but it was necessary otherwise the boy would have charged straight back to the guild." replied the Spirit King with a somber expression now on his face.
"And why is that a bad thing, Fairy Tail could use Natsu right now since they believe the rest of the Tenrou Group are dead?" asked Loke in a louder voice than he intended to use.
"I couldn't agree with you more my friend, but doing what we just did now was the most that we can get involved with their affairs without one of them being a Celestial mage. As soon as there is another one out there with your key you're free to do as you please. But until that time comes we can only sit back from here on out and observe what happens in their realm." explained the Spirit King as he looked at Loke with a stern look.
"He has the right to know, and if he doesn't find out before they leave Fiore then who knows when he will. Not to mention how upset he'll be with me for lying to him." stated Loke as he looked down at his feet, now wishing that he had told the dragon slayer the truth rather than following orders.
"I know it's hard to not help your friends my old friend, but it's out of our hands now and giving him that sword is the best that we could do. Also don't beat yourself up since you actually didn't lie about them being fine, it'll only take some time for him to realize that as well and he'll forgive you right away when he finds that out." said the Spirit King with a slight grin.
"I know, but what he goes through until that time is what I don't want him to feel since he's already experienced more loss than someone ever should." replied Loke as he decided it was time for him to go back to his place.
"But this time he'll have her at his side." pointed out the Spirit King with a bigger grin as Loke let out a few chuckles before he was gone.
"Natsu Dragneel, you've a long and hard road ahead of you. But you're one of the few humans that I know who will be able to persevere through it all and come out stronger than anyone could possibly imagine." thought the Spirit King as he watched an image of Natsu dragging Kagura to a restaurant, both of them with smiles on their faces. Not knowing that in just a few months how hard it would be for both of them to be that happy again. But the Spirit King knew that given some more time that they would both be able to be this happy again and maybe even happier if things played out as he thought they would.
"Protect her like you've protected Lucy and the rest of Fairy Tail." stated the Spirit King as the image of the two disappeared as he got up and left his throne room.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it, if not tell me what I did wrong so I can hopefully improve my next chapter. So as you could probably tell this chapter's main purpose was to set up a few things that are going to happen later on in the story. A few of them will be addressed in the next chapter that I plan to have take place three years from now in the story. Also I've never been really good with coming up with names, so I would like to offer you all the chance to possibly have your suggestion become part of this story. Now the names that I am hoping one of you could come up with a really good ones for are the new monikers for Kagura and Natsu, and also his sword. And since I have a trouble with this I can understand if you don't have any, if so then I'll go with what I already have planned out for this story but I just wanted to see if there was something better out there. Well thanks once again for reading my story and also this note at the end, so like I always say here don't be shy and feel free to leave me a review or PM and I'll get back to you as fast as possible.
Until the next Chapter
Digem Out!