Disclaimer: Yo! Terevi no maino mina and whatever the hell that follows. I don't own this stuff. With that I mean, I don't own Fairy Tail. It's Mashima's, weee~. Sorry about that.


Family.

(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fanfiction story.)


Domus Flau…

Central Arena…

Sliding in between the two girls that were lunging towards him from the side, Natsu didn't have to do anything for the first strike against his older kids, seeing as the girls didn't get to catch him and his son leaped and landed over them. He only stood where the girls were a moment ago and stared in boredom at how their offensive was thwarted, with Lotus swinging his blades against the Elis and Eris, and the latter two using their own weapons to block their brother's strike.

"Oi! I'm here." He called mockingly, knowing that his taunts would get under his son's skin faster than with the girls.

"Damn old man!" And he was right. Lotus rushed blindly again and tried to cut him only to meet the same result.

"Tch, and Erza says you're like me." The pink-haired man sidestepped the blades to his chest and grabbed his son's wrists, pressuring them slightly to force him into letting go of the weapons before throwing the young man against the far walls surrounding the arena. "She's right on that… but I always tried to keep my mind focused on the fights."

Lotus's body collided against the walls of the coliseum with his form remaining glued to it and his eyes white due to the impact that made him lose consciousness. Seeing this, both girls remembered who they were dealing with, throwing careful glances at the old man in the arena.

"Now, you two…" The man who was their father was not a simple wizard from the previous generation, no, he was also one of the strongest from the mentioned one and a Dragon Slayer to boot. He looked at them and motioned for them to attack him, using a hand with one finger to produce the action. "What are you gonna do?"

His eyes set on the two and his fists still ablaze.

He just swatted the strongest of the three like nothing and they knew he didn't even use a tenth of his power.

This really put the twins at odds about what to do.

Silence surrounded the arena and Natsu grew impatient, calling for them again. "C'mon, we don't have all day, remember?"

'W-we cannot win… not against him…' Elis admitted with gritted teeth and lowering her head. She had a few spars with her mother to perfect her swordsmanship a few times when she was around and, remembering those times, in which her mother didn't give in an inch of ground, she was able to get a pretty good idea of how fighting their father would be. 'T-this is just for father to show us that we're not ready for the tougher jobs.'

She was going to throw her claymore away and call for surrender.

"Tch! We know that!" When a loud yell from her left made her snap back to attention and take a look of her twin, who was infuriated as her but with less depressive thoughts in her mind. Eris called off the spear of fire on her hands and stood ready to charge at her father again. There was no way she would lose after all she heard, after knowing both their parents had prepared all of this for them. "Stop acting like a wiseass and fights us fairly!"

Jaws dropped at her claim, including Natsu's.

"S-s-sister, what are you saying!?" Elis almost fell face-first against the ground at the insult. Never in her life had she thought of calling their parents offensive names like that.

"S-she called dad a… a…" Little Erza was really shocked, to say the least.

"A-aye…" Happy as well though with less shock, having short flashbacks of someone in particular that always did the same thing.

"W-wiseass!?" As for Natsu, he was feeling a mixture of astonishment, hurt and anger. His little girl was insulting him! Calling him a wiseass because of his sudden cold and unresponsive attitude! In his mind, it felt like a thousand arrows have been shot and lodged themselves in his heart. No, really. He was crying because of this. "W-what did I do to deserve this!?"

Okay, he did that plenty of times with every single person that got to his nerves.

Still, he never thought that his little girl would go and do the same to him!

Her own father!

'Wait, didn't I call Igneel names too?' The question made him get into his memories for an answer and lose sight of the current situation, also of the sound of rushing footsteps and warnings. He sweatdropped as he continued to try and recall if he ever insulted his foster-father before. 'O-okay, I might've done that a few times…'

"Heads up, moron!"

"U-uh? W-waaaaaaaaah!" Returning to reality, his eyes widened when a blazing fist entered his field of vision, colliding against his left cheek and sending him staggering comically a few steps back. He cried in mild pain and astonishment at the sucker punch from his daughter, now more shocked than before. "W-what the hell are you doing!?"

"Told you I was coming!" Eris stood proudly where he father previously was and scoffed, shaking the hand she used to punch her father so as to get it rid of the slight pain she could feel in its knuckles. Resting her hands on her hips, she eyed the heart-broken, teary-eyed man with narrowed eyes and grinned in amusement, finding the picture incredibly funny. "Sup, dad? Caught you with your pants down?"

"H-Hell no! And what the hell with that attitude, girl!?" Natsu yelled in rage, pointing an accusing finger at the chuckling girl meters away from him while the rest of the spectators only stared at the scene without knowing how to react. "Wiseass!? Moron!? I thought I taught you better than that!"

"Uh… nope, that was mom." The girl answered casually, scratching the back of her head in thinking. "She tried really hard to make me into a proper lady and whatnot…"

The pink-haired man narrowed his eyes, not getting the point in her words. "A-and why do you still talk like that, then!?"

"Oh!" Eris grin widened and she stood proudly at her next words, a finger pointing at her smiley face. "Because you always told me to be myself, remember?"

Elis, Happy and the little Erza sweatdropped at the answer, directing their eyes at the man guilty of this.

And Natsu went pale. "I… I did what…?"

"She's right."

The man's eyes widened and he was forced to get away from his spot in the arena.

"You always told us to be ourselves when we were kids, old man." Reappearing a few meters away, at some good distance from the girls and his son, Natsu heard Lotus reminding him of what he said many years ago. The young man looked a bit bruised, probably for the strong collision against the walls, but nonetheless fine and suited to continue with the new pair of swords in his hands. "Don't say you forgot your own words."

Clicking his tongue at the taunt, the pink-haired, who was already tired of so much thinking, went back at it and tried to remember if he really said such a thing.


Flashback~

"Lotus! Clean up your room! Eris! Elis! Stop fighting for that doll!"

"I cleaned it last week!"

"Give me that! It's mine!"

"No! It's not!"

"Natsu! Help me out, will you!?"

"Uh… they're just being themselves… what's wrong with that?"

"Yeah! Dad's right!"

"Thanks, dad!"

"NAAAAAAAAAAATSUUUUUUUUUUU!"

End of the Flashback~


'Oh yeah… I got beat up because of that…' The man thought grimly after the short, family flashback was over, scratching the sides of his chest –where his wife kicked him for a day after that- because of the memory. He really was dense back when the kids were troublesome brats and said more than a thing or two that was now biting him back in the ass. 'Erza really had the time of her life with me back then…'

Talking of Erza…

"Dad! Look out!" The little girl yelled loud enough for him to pick up her voice and he came out of his musings, just in time to notice a massive claymore about to turn him into something close to thin paper and jump away. The little girl heaved a sigh of relief.

"Erzy! Not fair! You're on our side!" Elis yelled to the little girl in the stands, who stuck her tongue out and did a funny face in answer with Happy giggling next to her. The strict twin got stiff and felt a vein popping on her forehead at the action, wanting now to switch targets and see if she could slap some sense into her little sister's head. "Y-you brat…!"

"Jeeez, that was close." The older wizard of the four stood back again and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He stared at the three youngsters in the arena with him and shook his head after a moment, directing a thump up and a grin to the youngest of them, "Thanks, Erza!" before returning to his solemn demeanor with the others. "As for you three… I guess this is a good time to start getting serious."

"Serious?" Elis asked with an eyebrow quirked in confusion.

"You're the only one taking this as a joke, old man." Lotus shook his head not believing in the threat.

"Yeah, and that's because we're trying to distract you and… beat you… without you noticing… it…?" Eris started to say but stopped when it was already too late, having noticed the signs made by her siblings to keep her mouth shut and not spout about their plan to defeat the older wizard. She dropped to her knees in shame. "O-oh shit… what did I do…?"

Natsu chuckled at the picture and shook his head with a small, teasing smile. "Well now, isn't that just a super-secret plan no one would've noticed?"

The mastermind of said plan, Elis, blushed in embarrassment and yelled to her father. "S-shut up!"

"I… I-I'm really sorry, sis…" Eris called from her position on the ground, extending a hand to reach for her sister's forgiveness. "I-I just blurted it out… I-I…"

"You too! We could've beaten him if not for you!" Elis changed her target and now yelled to her twin, obviously enraged at her failure.

"B-but sis…!"

"Shut up already!"

And all the while, Lotus felt like using his own swords to stab himself, so as to win some time in this one-sided fight. He brought a hand to cover his ashamed face and stepped a few inches away from them. "I can't believe they're my sisters…"

"Anyway…" The pink-haired man went back to business and eyed the three youngsters with narrowed eyes, calling for his flames again at the same time he closed his hands into fists. If he needed to be more graphic for them to understand, then he had no troubles whatsoever. "Get ready."

The three youngsters stopped their shenanigans and turned to see their father with attention.

They felt not just a change in his tone, it was also in the magic power emanating from his body.

"Don't lower your guard." Extending the fire burning brightly around his fists to the rest of his body, Natsu became a walking torch with wild flames dancing around him, making the air of the coliseum suffocating and difficult to be breathed by his offspring. Glowing red eyes stared from the inside of the inferno to the kids and all of them gulped in preparation. "Here I come."

He leaned forward to signal his charge and disappeared before the surprised faces of his kids, reappearing in a blink before his oldest and only boy with a fist embedding itself in Lotus's gut.

"G-gah!" The strongest was sent flying again and Natsu stood alone with his eyes seeing the boy flying to the skies.

"Eris!" The stoic twin appeared behind him with her weapon raised…

"I know!" …and the other was in front of him with a blade of fire in her hand, both aiming to strike him at the same time from different angles to leave him with no exits.

A shadow hid the pink-hair's eyes from view and he disappeared again, this time moving fast to hit Elis with a kick to her left side and swipe Eris off her feet in one motion.

It all seem to go in slow-motion for him; the girls were shocked and still in the air that surrounded him for when he stood upright again.

This was really out of their league.

"Fire Dragon's…!" A loud yell from above and Natsu snorted in dry amusement, looking up to see Lotus inhaling a large amount of air in preparation for a spell that he knew like the back of his hand. The older Dragon Slayer clicked his tongue and threw a small fireball to the young man's mouth, silencing him and stopping the incoming attack before it could be made. "W-waah!"

"I really, really need to teach you all how to fight." He stated once the boy hit the ground and the girls recovered from the early shook up. Some part of him was relieved to know that they weren't ready to take onto the more difficult missions, since Erza's current job was suited for wizards like the two of them and was more than likely to be lethal. Yet, the other part of him was disappointed, and with good reason. His kids were all strong, stronger than most youngsters of their same age, and they were still unable to even lay a finger on him. Even though he was only giving a tenth percent in the fight. "I can't believe you're all so weak."

"S-shut up!" Using her hands to support her body upside-down, Eris tried to deliver a spinning kick to the man's face and a hand grabbed her ankle, throwing her towards the rising Lotus and leaving them both down for the moment. "D-dammit…"

"Y-you're heavy…" Lotus grunted from beneath, barely able to breathe.

"S-shut up…" The girl retorted half-harshly, not having too much strength to berate him.

"Sure, you have guts and all…" Natsu closed his eyes and remembered the lesson he got back when he was still young, the lesson he got at that time he fought someone stronger than him. Back in the island belonging to his guild. Someone unreachable for his former self. "But if you don't know your limits, those same guts will be your end."

"We know that!" A tremor was felt and the pink-haired man jumped from the cracking ground, looking back and down to Elis and her massive claymore, which was embedded in the ground. Despite her panting form, she still had some strength left, enough to raise her weapon and create an opening for her two siblings. His father was in the air now and that meant he wouldn't be able to dodge so easily. "L-Lotus! Eris!"

Both siblings stood up quickly, albeit a bit shakily at the call and prepared themselves.

"Oh?" Curious about this, Natsu chose to wait and see what the kids would do.

"Ready?" Lotus asked to his sister, handing her one of his swords.

"Ready!" Eris took it in her hands and enveloped it with her flames.

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts!" The young man spun his sword at the fastest speed he could and let its tip be consumed by fire, which started to form a ring of his size before him. He narrowed his eyes at the pressure, at the amount of magic he was gathering and shrugged it off, swinging his blade with all his strength and sending a swirling mass of flames to surround his father. "Crimson Lotus! Blazing Wings!"

'So… finally managed to use that one in combination with your sword, huh?' Natsu thought nostalgically, amazed at the sight of his magic joining that of his wife in one destructive spell made by his son. The old Exploding Flame Blade joined together with Erza's Sword magic to create many waves of oppressive fire, even more deathly than the original and perhaps stronger. It brought a small nostalgic smile to crack his serious façade. Despite the other things, his boy didn't stop surprising him. But… "Using fire against a Fire Dragon Slayer is not smart, Lotus."

The whirlwind of flames was heading straight for him, ready to overwhelm him with multiple barrages of explosive fire from all angles. Not many would be able to escape such spell unscathed. Yet, Natsu only had to raise a finger, reach into the essence of the fire and change its direction to his mouth. Eating the boy's trump card without a single droplet of sweat falling from his brow.

Glancing down at the scowling face of his son, Natsu was going to praise the new technique of the boy… "Impressive, Lotus, but that's the end of-"

"Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts!" …but a voice from behind made his eyes widen. He noticed now, his boy was grinning smugly at his lack of sight. Eris wasn't next to Lotus anymore and instead used the diversion made by the swirling flames to slip past the pink-hair's defenses and strike from the rear. Looking over his shoulder, his thoughts were confirmed.

Eris was in the air with him, having used a boost of flames to get herself into the same height as him, and she held one of her brother's blades high with both of her hands enveloping it with flames. She smirked at the shocked face of her father and brought the sword down, along with the spell she created. "Scarlet Rose! Infernal Blade!"

The flames gathered on the edge of the blade, turning into a concentrated slash of fire and Natsu noticed that he had no way to counter it when it was released.

The attack connected and sent him plummeting to the arena in less than a second, raising a large amount of sand and dust upon his crashing.

The younger of the siblings, Erza, who was watching the fight from the sidelines, stood still in both shock and amazement.

Her brother and sisters managed to hit her father.

"W-wow…" Even Happy was amazed by the feat, having no more words to say than what he mouthed.

It really was impressive.

"D-did we do it?" Eris asked shakily once she landed on the ground, falling to one knee in exhaustion with the sword helping her in keeping herself steady after the spell she used and that consumed most of her magic.

"I don't think so…" Lotus whispered once he joined her side, eyeing the crash site with attentive eyes and helping her up by taking one of her arms and swinging it across his shoulders. The blade he had in his hand and the one he gave to his sister were returned to his pocket dimension.

"But that weakened him a little, right?" Elis asked them a bit nervous, rushing to her siblings' side and guarding them since they were now spent. She was in no better condition, but it was still better than theirs.

The dust continued to float around the area where Natsu fell and the three youngsters remained tensed, waiting for a silhouette or voice to confirm/deny their suppositions.

"Damn."

Until they finally heard a voice from in between the settling dust, one that they didn't recognize as their father's.

"You gotta admit they did a number on you, flame-brain." The voice continued, puzzling the kids with the different tone, its mocking nature and the nickname at the end of the sentence. That wasn't their father. Who could be there in the middle of cloud of dust with the pink-haired man? "They even caught you off-guard."

"Tch, that's what ya get for braggin', Salamander." And yet another voice they couldn't pin-point made itself known, though this one seemed a bit more familiar. "Should've kicked their butts while ya still could."

"Oh, shut up." A wave of magic erupted from the center of the cloud and cleared it out, letting the siblings see what was happening in its midst and find their father, with the sleeves of his black trench coat ruined, and flanked by two other men that seemed to be as old as him. He looked extremely annoyed by the two guys' presence in the arena. "And who told you to come here, huh? I can handle this by myself!"

"Oi, is that how you talk to us after so long?" The first to speak was a man a few inches taller than Natsu, with black, almost dark blue hair and squinted eyes. He was currently wearing… nothing, making the girls look away, and was standing with an amused smirk on his face and arms crossed over his chest. "You never change, Natsu, always blowing things up."

"Kekeke, give pinky some credit, stripper." And the second one was the same person that told them of their father's whereabouts earlier. Long and untamed black hair, many piercings… yes, it was Gajeel Redfox alright. "At least he managed to not blow this up… imagine what his woman would've done to him otherwise."

The first man, Gray Fullbuster, shivered at the mere mention of the pink-hair's wife, suddenly feeling terrified. "Y-yeah, Erza would've made him rebuild the damn coliseum if he happened to go overboard."

Natsu was pale at realizing the truth in their words, suddenly feeling very grateful for how he contained himself during the test he gave to his kids. "Oh shit… you're right."

Gray and Gajeel smirked smugly at him. "We always are."

"U-uh… sorry to intrude but…"

"Huh?" Looking to the front of them, Gray almost screamed like a little girl at the sight of the scarlet-haired woman standing a few meters away. That is, almost. It took him a second to remember that this was one of the woman's daughters and not the real deal. This wasn't the one that could scare the hell out of him with a simple glare. "Yeah? What do you want?"

"Is the test over or what?" Lotus asked to the group of guys, walking a bit slow towards them because of the weight of his sister that he was carrying and his own fatigue. He recognized them from a long time ago, people that were now in different places and following their own paths. He knew they were friends of the family, hence his lack of respect while talking.

"Beats me… we don't know jack shit about a test in the first place." Gajeel answered crudely, smirking in amusement when he noticed what the boy had revealed, looking back to the pink-haired man for clarification. "Oi, Salamander, what's this? A test? I'm pretty sure that woman didn't ask you that."

'Great… why don't you just sell me out with her too?' Natsu felt the confused eyes of his kids on him and he groaned, immediately kicking the black-haired man away in answer. "Stop making me look like a bad father, metal-head!"

"Hah! You don't need any help with that, fire-breath." Gray commented with amusement, watching how the two Dragon Slayers got into an argument of sorts because of that kick and shaking his head at all of it. Some things never changed, indeed. He turned to the group of kids, catching from the corner of his eyes the approach of the younger one of the four, and nodded to them when they were all in one place. "And about that test… and your mother…"

The siblings stood to attention at the mention of their mother.

"I'll tell you all about it once we stop these two and get you three patched up." The Ice Devil Slayer concluded simply, shrugging to their baffled expressions and turning to follow the Iron and Fire Dragon Slayers out of the arena and towards the infirmary. "Hey! Stop fighting! I won't pay a single jewel in reparations, you hear me!?"


Outside of Crocus…

Several hours later…

Night fell across that side of the world and covered it all with its azure tints, those almost reaching an impenetrable black if not for the dazzling shine of the moon, which happened to be in its first quarter, and surrounded by the many stars that painted the skies as if it was covered by glitter without missing a single day.

Quite the beautiful and poetical sight for sore eyes.

Especially for those which were camping in the middle of the forest at one side of the road.

That same forest around the clearing was calm, perhaps too calm, some of the youngsters noted, not even showing the slightest hint of a breeze to sway the leaves of the trees or the sounds of the animals around. Maybe there was someone watching them, waiting for them to drop their guard, but if the older men with them didn't do anything, who knew? Maybe they were being a little paranoid?

"Tch! Relax, you brats!" Gajeel scolded for the umpteenth time since they left Crocus and the safety of its walls for the unknown surroundings of the forests to the north. He crossed his arms and glared at each one of them, except the little one, who he figured that was afraid because of inexperience. "No damn vulcan or beast's gonna jump from those bushes!"

"H-how're you so sure?" The little one asked, being the most frightened at the moment and getting even more edgy at the man's words. Vulcans? Beasts? Those didn't sound… good, in her opinion.

"We just know, okay?" Gray reassured them poorly, now fully clothed and throwing another log to the fire they made to keep themselves warm during the night. If it were up to him, he would keep his mouth shut and let them deal with it on their own, but since they were all stiff and looking everywhere… 'I'm pretty sure we weren't this scared when we were their age.' "Ease up and enjoy the warmth."

"Here," Natsu scooped the little girl in his arms and made her sit on his lap, holding her close to his chest without waiting for any words to be said. He looked down at the little one and cleared away the doubt in her eyes with a bright grin. "If something appears, I'll just beat the hell out of it, okay?"

"O-okay…" Little Erza fidgeted a little more in her position until she decided to just forget about it, lean back and place her trust in her father. From what she saw earlier, her father was more than capable of protecting them if anything were to happen, and if he said everything was alright, she was going to believe him.

The twins eased their own nervousness at the sight, smiling slightly in memory of when their father did the same for them.

Nice memories from times that were gone, yet not wasted.

"Okay, they stopped fighting and we're patched up." And Lotus; he was on guard currently, seeing as his shift was the first of the night, and he wasn't able to do the same as the others and relax. Even if the scene of a minute ago tempted him to do so. He sat at the middle branch of a tree nearby, arms crossed, Happy sleeping on his lap and gaze looking for anything that could be moving in the darkness. "Can you tell us what're we gonna do?"

"Yeah… you said our mother didn't agree to that test of earlier." Eris mentioned with her eyes fixed on Gajeel, remembering his words earlier.

"But then… father spoke to mother before the fight and she said it was okay." Elis recalled as well, suddenly confused by the contradictions.

"Oh? You managed to convince Erza, Natsu?" Gray asked curiously to the pink-haired man opposite to him, separated only by the small fire of their camp.

"Yeah… she relented for some days but I managed to change her mind about it." Natsu answered quietly, focusing his eyes on the fire to avoid the inquisitive eyes of his children.

"If she wants to take her family to that job, she better be damn sure they're ready." The Iron Dragon Slayer commented, narrowing his eyes to a passing thought in his mind. Something that troubled him for a second before he resumed his talking. "From that show earlier, they're almost there. Almost, that is."

"…maybe." The pink-haired answered in the same fashion, giving a weak smile when the little girl in his arms looked up to him in worry.

"Man, it's probably going to be too much for them." The Ice Devil Slayer muttered, eyeing the youngsters and remembering their performances during the short fight. He watched the whole fight by hiding in the grades of the top, using a cloak to cover himself from view and be undisturbed during the fight. Though he remembered that one of the twins got a glimpse of him when they were entering the coliseum. Oh well, he was no expert in infiltration, that's for sure. "But if we're there, there might be no need for them to do a lot."

"What do you mean?" Elis asked in cluelessness, the same cluelessness that she shared with her siblings. This conversation seemed very interesting and more. The curiosity to know all the details was killing her. And still, the older wizards didn't look willing to give them all the information. "What's the job that mother took?"

Gray returned his eyes to the fire and Gajeel occupied his mouth with some bolts he brought as snacks.

Leaving only Natsu to answer his kids' questions.

She looked at him and saw the doubt in his eyes, of something troubling him.

It prompted her to ask again to get his attention. "Father?"

"Erza's job involves stopping an invasion in Isenberg, to the north." The pink-haired man begun, keeping his tone steady and his eyes on the fire. He was troubled about what they had to do and if it was really needed for this many people to be gathered, asking his wife more than once if it was really needed for Gray, Gajeel, his kids and him to go and assist her. "It would be something simple if it were a normal invasion… but…"

"But it's no normal invasion." Lotus finished for him, focusing his attention more on the conversation than in the peaceful surroundings. He knew that being careful was not a bad thing but he was sure that his troops and he cleaned the forests around Crocus in a weekly basis, so as to protect the travelers. Like them now, so he didn't see the point in focusing whole-heartedly in standing vigilant. "What's the catch?"

"The country that's invading is also bringing wizards with them… or that's what Erza said, at least." Gray followed, poking a few logs in the fire with a stick to rearrange them and keep it burning brightly. Truth be told, he had the same worries as his rival, and they sure were annoying the hell out of him.

"Strong wizards." Gajeel added with a feral grin, looking forward to the fights with his mind leaving the doubts aside. If anything were to happen and they were tricked, he'd just fight his way out as always.

"Aye… that's why she needs back-up." Natsu finally looked up from the fire and eyed the youngsters, his wife and his offspring. They were all eager and willing to go and assist their mother and father in whatever endeavor they might have. Still, he was troubled about it all. 'I have a bad feeling about this.' "And that's why we're going to Isenberg."

The youngsters looked at each other in trouble and then at the older men, trying to figure out what to do in this situation. They really wanted to go, help their parents and maybe grow a little stronger in the process.

"Wait." Eris spoke up in the silence, calling some eyes to her. She brought her knees to her chest and threw a side-glance to her father, suddenly remembering something that was making the situation a little confusing to her. "Mom said that she was doing a ten years S-class mission."

Natsu nodded. "She is."

"All this thing about an invasion…" Elis continued, now having noticed what was wrong and that her twin sister was trying to point out. "An invasion doesn't last ten years… how's-?"

"That's because this shitty war could've been avoided if someone had done something ten years ago." Gajeel barked after spitting some rusty bolts to the fire, narrowing his eyes at the group of kids. "The original job was to go and try to make peace between Isenberg and that other country… no one took it."

"And now we have war." Gray sighed and ran a hand through his locks, a bit embarrassed about the whole issue even if it didn't have anything to do with him. Maybe, if he weren't so inclined to fighting-based jobs, he could've done something. But then, if no one else did, he figured it wasn't his fault completely. "The job's objective changed, the client is the same."

"Aye… and Erza took it to help the people there." Natsu sighed as well and shook his head, lying his chin at the top of his now sleeping daughter's head. He cracked a smile when he managed to hear a barely audible snore coming from her, aside her rhythmic breathing against his chest. "Problem is, she cannot face an army on her own, at least not if there're also wizards in it…"

"So we're going." Lotus looked down with pensive eyes and then nodded, accepting the job without anything else to be said. It could be a good time to exit the capital and test out his abilities, like his father told him to do when they met that afternoon. "I'm in."

"Same." - "Me too." Elis and Eris nodded too. The two of them could use some time away from their guild and Hargeon, get a bit of fresh air and also experience from looking at their parents dealing with a tough job. Nothing lost, several gains.

"What about the lil'one? It'll be too dangerous for her, pinky." Gajeel reminded the group, his eyes fixed on the man serving as the girl's pillow and his dumb smile when gazing at her sleeping form. "I don't have anything against her coming… but I ain't no babysitter."

"Me neither." Gray added dryly, poking the fire one more time before giving it a rest to hear what his friend had to say.

"Don't worry."

Remembering his previous worries and bad premonitions about the job.

Natsu took a good amount of air and released it all through his mouth.

Forgetting all about them with a smile working its way to his lips.

He looked down when she snuggled against his chest to be more comfortable.

And his smile widened.

"I'll look after her."

The end.


A/N: *hides behind some crates* Okay, don't kill me, I know I finished the story at the most intriguing part but that's because... well, you know, author's stuff... that and I'm still busy with college. Some time will pass before I can dedicate this idea and A Change of Scene my full attention. I mean... I think I have Finals from this next week up to the 17th of December! *faints slightly* Oh my... I wonder if I'll survive.

Anywho, what do you think? Does this idea have potential? Can you see it as a full-fledged story? Anything you'd like to point out? Whatever comes to your mind and that you want to ask or etc, I'm all ears... erh, eyes. Yeah. It'll be nice to see if this story has future or not... because, as you might have read from some other authors "why would I continue a story that people don't review? It makes me feel like I'm writing for myself... and if it's like that, I'd rather keep it all in my comp instead of publishing it here.". I think it was an author from the Elsword archive... or maybe it was Nispedana... who knows? I just know I read it somewhere. *nods*

Okay, enough rambling.

Thanks for reading this small story, let's hope that we meet again for its continuation.

Saludos.