Yeah sorry for the wait needed to think of a way to get this chapter to flow and the number of other stories that were getting demand for update wasn't helping and I'm still not counting college work but that aside I going to have to make these chapters shorter if I want to update this story as fast as you guys are demanding I mean I'm not aiming for a chapter a week in fact I don't know how often I'm aiming for it's more like I update when I do but you know nothing to out of the question I'm not going to leave a story for an entire year before I update it and if I do it's because I either forgot about it or it's on hiatus. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter.
The next day in the Fairytail guild hall mages were rushing in and out mission after mission in order to complete the job in order to receive a spot in this year's S-class promotional trials, the only ones that weren't doing any jobs were the S-class wizards consisting of Mirajane, Erza and Gildarts.
"Yo gramps I'm taking this one" *Gray*
"Hey Mira put me down for this job" *Nab*
"There ain't no way popsicle is getting ahead of me" *Gajeel*
"I must take Laxus' place as an S-class wizard" *Freed*
Various wizards wanted nothing more to prove themselves that they were the best the guild had to offer and that they had what it takes to become Fairytail's next S-class wizard. "They sure are lively this year aren't they master?" Mira asked the old guild master who easily downed a pint of ale to wash away the sorrows of billing. "That they are although I'm worried about Natsu while he did complete that mission and it was classified as S-class I don't think that that alone is enough to give him a permanent place for the trials" Makarov spoke up while Mira handed him a refill, a frown adorning her face.
"I see; I can understand what you mean. This rule where Natsu has to accompany Sorano at all times would definitely decrease the number of jobs he'll be able to get done compared to everyone else but still I don't think that you or Erza for that matter give Natsu enough credit" Mira said in a slightly cheerful voice catching Makarov's attention. It was then Gildarts decided to weigh in with his decision "She's right you that last job I read it, it would have been a toughie even for Erza or Mira at their best but the kid is also growing up you realise he's just going to be another me don't you it's the nature of his magic that's costing you the money not his inability to think during a fight. When it comes to battle Natsu's instinct and ability to make decisions are practically second to none so try putting a little more faith in the kid master" Gildarts said before finishing his drink and getting up to leave.
However, he stopped when the guild doors opened revealing both Natsu and Sorano without here crutches. The guild was silent for a moment a few stares that didn't go unnoticed by Natsu made their way onto Sorano who frowned upon feeling their gaze. "Yo speak of the devil we were just talking about you kid, hope your still in the running for S-class this year because I distinctively remember you saying this was the year you were finally gonna beat be" Of course it was Gildarts who broke the silence as he slung his prosthetic metal arm over the pinkette's shoulder knocking the wind out of the dragonslayer as he did so.
"Why would you even ask that, wait did gramps say something?" Natsu asked the older mage before looking over towards Makarov who had put up his hands in defence, "Never said anything of the sort, you're our prime contender just don't let the fact that you were allowed to do that S-class mission get to your head and slack off. Remember many minor jobs are the equivalent of one S-class so you could lose your place if you slack off enough" the guild master reminded the young mage in a sagely manner.
"Why the hell would I do that Gramps, I don't exactly feel spiffy after doing it for reasons you know all too well, though I lost half the reward for damages but I got a new friend out of it" Natsu replied to the old guild master in lost tone before it turned cheery and his attention turned towards Sorano giving her his thousand gigawatt smile causing her to smile in response. Makarov, Gildarts and Mira smiled although a certain blonde celestial spirit mage was seething through her teeth as she still believed this all to be a part of some act and that she was bound to slip up eventually and when she did she'd be there to send the former dark mage right back to prison.
"So I take it you're here to take a mission of two?" Mira asked curiously while inside her inner pairing devil was thinking of situations the two could get into, it didn't help that Mira saw the underwear happy had brought into the guild before that belonged to Sorano which made the she devil's mind wander straight to the gutter luckily she was brought out of that dark place by the dragonslayer's response. "If there are a few in around the same area as another or ones that we could do on the way back from another job then yeah if not then just the one job" Natsu said in a calculating tone surprising everyone that was listening that Natsu actually thought something out that wasn't a fight.
"What I can be smart when I want to be" Natsu replied in an offended tone, "Then be smart all the time and stop costing me my rent money!" Lucy shouted across the hall towards the dragonslayer, "Nah too much effort" was his deadpan response before focusing his attention back on Mira who came back with some jobs and set them in three piles.
"Okay this pile here is the single jobs one their own, this slightly smaller pile here are a some out of the way jobs it will take you a while to get there maybe a week but the pay is amazing and negotiable depending on how far you've travelled and there all around the same area with both of you and happy it should take at least a week and a half to do these but the best thing is that you can do this chain of jobs from this pile on you way back and again the pay is amazing, here see" Mira explained as she combined the jobs she was explaining while using a light pen to draw a map and connecting the destination of each of the jobs before connecting the last one back to magnolia causing the dragonslayer to go deep in thought.
"All in all it should take at least three and a bit weeks to complete your first major stop and mission is in a snowy region in a city known as Albion, nearly every city or town you'll be travelling to after that will have a job for. There are 15 jobs in total ranging from high B's to High AA's so you'll have to be careful and if there are no damages *Natsu* without taking into account negotiable reward money, then the combined total of the mission should come to roughly between three and four million jewels.
Hearing this causing more than a few people's eyes to light up, one exceeds eyes lit up at the prospect of how much fish he could buy with his share of this trip, one perverted old man thought of the fame the guild would receive and the amount of beer he could buy with the guild's cut and one blonde thought if she could keep her cool around Angel and keep Natsu from blowing shit up then she wouldn't have to pay rent for ages.
"Natsu we have to do this think of the fish"
"You must do this child, think of the booze"
"Natsu take me with you I need rent"
"Hhhhmmm, maybe, maybe and no" Natsu replied before returning his attention to Mira causing Lucy to face plant the floor and cause Makarov and Happy to inch closer and closer in anticipation. While it sounded good it could also be dangerous as Sorano wasn't completely 100% healed and that many missions in succession is dangerous for even the most seasoned wizards except when you name is Gildarts or ends in Dreyar then you should be fine. Seeing that the dragonslayer was having a hard time deciding what to do, which the celestial spirit mage assumed was because of her, she chose to ask the old guild master a question.
"Master Makarov forgive me but with all due respect if Natsu were to do this and complete all 15 of these missions would that not more than qualify him for the S-class trials. I mean by the time we get back it would near be time for the trials to start anyway?" the white haired beauty asked causing Makarov to think about this, he also had to consider the S-class mission Natsu did which did bump up Natsu's reputation and apparently his fan base, yeah he had one, who knew.
"Well mission's aside Natsu has the heart, magic ability and soul of an S-class wizard that much has always been apparent to me it's his ability to control himself that has held him back from achieving greater things than he already has" Makarov said as he shot a glance towards a shocked glance. "Now in terms of missions he has one legal S-class mission under his belt I can't count any of the missions prior as it would unfair to the others so if there are no complaints about Natsu's destructive tendencies from more than 10 of the clients then Natsu will automatically secure himself a place as an S-class candidate but if there are complaint from 6 or more of the clients then it shall be the opposite and he will have to wait until next year…so Natsu what will it be?" Makarov asked in a serious tone leaving a deadly quiet atmosphere in the guildhall.
"…UUUMMMMM!?" the dragonslayer had no idea what to do this was such a tempting offer not to mention he'd be set for a while not that he needed money the hoarder he was but an automatic place in the trials was very tempting indeed. "But Sorano" Natsu's thought were drawn back to the white haired celestial mage who sensed his hesitation.
"You know Natsu I'm all for doing this, I would like to get a good few missions under my belt as soon as possible in the guild and it's not exactly like I'm a newbie when it comes to doing mission like monster extermination. Even if it is according by the council I am registered as an S-class mage so let's do it, I want to make sure you become S-class before your friends" Sorano said causing the dragonslayer to grin "Okay let's do it, Mira put us down for the job. Me, Sorano and Happy ae gonna get a few things extra for the mission so inform the client." Natsu said in a cheerful tone before he, Sorano and Happy made their way out of the guild, "Oh and Gramps I promise I'll be doing those trials this year!"
and with that they were gone leaving a smiling trio at the bar and a mumbling guild hall mostly about what they were talking about before and some of which were talking about the new recruit some off which would have resulted in a certain pinkette leaving them with multiple injuries had he hear what they'd said.
Down the paths of Magnolia from the guild our trio were making their way to gather extra supplies for their mission, Happy was busy singing about how much fish he would be able to buy with his share from the money. Natsu and Sorano were walking side by side while said exceed was flying a little farther ahead, "Thanks for giving me that push….Sorano" Natsu spoke up in a warm tone causing the stellar spirit mage to smile, "I told you I knew this was important to you and that I was going to help you all the way there and if a little push is all you need then at least I'm capable of that" she replied in a kind tone before they made their way into a store.
The bell of the store chimed signalling there entry into the small store which had an assortment of clothing designed for exploration of all types and weather. They were soon met by a man of average height and build with dark brown curly hair and blue eyes, "Ah Natsu my lad it's been too long since you were last in my wife's been asking about you this last while. So what can I do you for, need new equipment for you and your, um friend?" *wink* the man asked in a cheery tone before it turned a bit suggestive towards the end.
"Yo Michael, yeah you're spot on" Natsu greeted Michael in his usual childish tone not getting what the older man was suggesting. "This is Sorano, she's a new member of the guild we're going on a job together so the clothes and equipment is more for her. She'll need stuff that's highly resistant to cold our first stop is Halcion and after that we have a few jobs in the region before completing a few more jobs on our way back home to Fairytail" Natsu said while Michael began to take down things before going off into the back of the store.
"You two seem to get along well" Sorano spoke with a smile on her face while looking at the pinkette who scratched his head sheepishly, "Me and Michael go way back to like when I first joined the guild and started doing missions, on one of my first jobs I saved him from a group of regular bandits and since then he's been providing me with equipment at a significant discount" Natsu explained smiling as he reminisced about the good old days.
"Sounds like a pretty sweet deal" Sorano said in a plain tone with a smirk etched onto her face seeing the smile on the pinkettes face. "Yep he's one lucky wizard, I don't know any other wizard that would get the quality of stuff he's asking for at the price we're giving it to him for" Michael said coming back into the front carrying a box of clothes and equipment, "But business has been booming so it's the least we could do for you" Michael continued in a calm tone as he seat the box down on the counter and began tallying up.
A few minutes after getting the equipment the team of mages were at the train station and Sorano had this weird sensation that they were being followed, "Hey me and Happy are going to get the tickets for the train, you wait here for us" Natsu said in an excited voice as he motioned to the nearby bench "Okay" was her simple reply as she set her bag of supplies down on the bench beside her.
However as soon as Natsu and Happy Left her sight she felt that same presence as earlier, "Why are you following me?" she asked loud enough for anyone in the surrounding area to hear her, it was then that Lahar made himself known to Sorano. "You didn't really think you'd get free reign so easily?" he said in an amused tone while Sorano just glared spitefully at him "What the hell does that mean?!" Sorano shouted but it sounded more like a growl.
"I mean that you being taken into Fairytail's protection was planned on our end, but that was only phase 1 of the plan. We have an offer for you Angel and providing you comply we're willing to wipe your slate clean all you have to do is help us disband Fairytail" Lahar spoke in a serious voice that unnerved Sorano. "Why would I betray Natsu, Happy, Mirajane and Master Makarov? The others mightn't have accepted me into the guild but they have and I won't betray the trust they've placed in me!" Sorano shouted back at the ruin knight.
Seconds later Natsu and Happy returned with the tickets "Hey Sorano I got the….what the hell are you doing here Lahar, if you lay a hand on Sorano I swear you'll be leaving with that hand missing" Natsu snarled out aggressively as steam started to roll of his body while he strode towards the black haired man. "Relax Salamander I only came to see how things were going, the council would have routine check-ups on any 'ex-criminal'. We were just making sure you were sticking to your word and following the conditions of the agreement" Lahar said in even tone with a narrowed gaze seemly unfazed by the intimidating aura Natsu was giving off.
"Natsu don't do anything stupid he's with the council, if you do Master will get in trouble" Happy called out to his partner while he floated protectively in front of Sorano who looked at the pair in front of her with a fond smile on her face. Clenching his fist in frustration Natsu let out a huff of frustration, "Whatever, we're going on a mission so you can tell those council chumps what's happening" Natsu said before heaving Sorano's bag over his shoulder "Let's go" he said plainly before the group left for the train leaving a smirking Lahar.
"Well if that's the case I guess it doesn't really matter if she helps or not, the information our other source inside the guild has supplied is almost enough for us to disband that guild of ruffians but if there is any definitive information to clinch it then it should be on their sacred grounds" Lahar said in barely a whisper as an evil smirk made its way on to his face.
On the train
The whistle for the train blew and Natsu was glad the medicine he had taken was still in effect and hoped it would last for the remainder of the job but three and a bit weeks may have been asking a bit much off something that was due to run out any day now, at least Happy could sleep through the train ride like he was doing now. As the train pulled out of the station Sorano was facing an internal crisis "What do I tell, if I tell him the council is planning to disband the guild he'll suspect me and never trust me again but if I don't do anything then the guild will have to disband. I might only been a member for a few days but it will destroy Natsu and Happy if that happens!" the celestial mage screamed inside her head as she clutched the two keys of Caelum and Draco tightly in her hands.
Seeing this Natsu got slightly worried, not just from the shaking of her hands but from the far off look in her pupils "Sorano you okay, did that council bastard say something to you?" Natsu started off softly but it soon turned into an angry tone which snapped the celestial mage out of her thoughts "Eh? No d-don't worry, I'm fine!" Sorano replied rather to quickly and panicky to sound convincing but Natsu decided to leave it be, if she didn't want to talk about it then he wouldn't force he to, "If you say so" Natsu replied in a bored voice before returning his attention to the passing scenery of the outside world.
"Natsu do you really trust, you aren't just doing because of the council?" Sorano suddenly asks getting the slayers attention but a confused and offended look more so than anything, "Huh why would you even ask me that? Of course I trust you, with every fibre of my being I do. I don't even know why but I just have a really strong feeling that I could trust you with my life" Natsu tone was offended at first but it softened along with the look on his face as he stared into her eyes.
"While at first it was just to stop the council from killing you, after seeing what an amazing person you were it made want to protect you even more that's why I suggested for you to come back to Fairytail where you could be part of a family again and where we would be able to negotiate things calmly with the council and seeing as master Makarov is a wizard saint I thought he'd be able to help, but the council are more childish than you'd believe" Natsu continued on getting a look of surprise from Sorano.
"Y-you trust me that much, you'd go that far for me?" she asked as tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes causing Natsu to panic because if there was one thing he wasn't good with it was being alone with a girl and said girl crying. "Ah wait don't cry I don't know what I said but I'm sorry" Natsu pleaded but stopped when he was pulled into a tight hug "I'm crying because im happy, idiot" Sorano said in a soft voice "If he trusts me that much I can't tell him, it will destroy him I'll have to figure this out myself" she thought to herself in a determined voice.
1 Week later
Things went very much as they would have between the trio, they talked, ate and slept to pass the time of the 1 week journey but for Sorano there was still the fine line she was treading deciding on how she would save Fairytail and only one method had come to mind offer all she had to know about the Oracion Seis and the Baram Alliance, meaning all the secret bases and lists of guilds under the Oracion Seis' control that were known to her in the hopes that the council would take that in exchange for leaving Fairytail alone.
"Ugh train bad, walk good" Natsu slurred out as he slumped out of train cart, as it turns out the medication had worn off a little earlier than expected and by a little like two hours after they left magnolia. Sorano can only give the dragonslayer a sympathetic look as she steps out of the train her bag on her bag and Happy laying asleep on her head. Natsu couldn't believe how fast the exceed had gotten so close to Sorano not that he wasn't happy about it he just didn't expect him to warm up to her so fast, it took the blue cat ages to even get comfortable around Gajeel but at least they sort of friends.
"I never knew you had it so bad, maybe it's a dragonslayer thing although I don't think I've ever once seen Cobra feel ill while travelling on a vehicle even on one of Racer's bikes" Sorano said as she rubbed the dragonslayers back which resulted in what she could have sworn was a noise similar to purring. "Thanks, but I don't think this is a dragonslayer thing neither Wendy nor Gajeel or even Laxus for that matter have motion sickness" Natsu replied in a neutral as he stood back up.
"Laxus?" Sorano asked in a confused tone at the unfamiliar name, "Oh yeah Laxus was one of Fairytail's strongest wizards, an S-class wizard who was a second generation dragonslayer and also is Gramps' grandson. But he had issue's and he turned against the guild in an attempt to take it over for himself by challenging the entire guild to a battle royal" Natsu replied in a saddened tone which further confused Sorano but before she could ask anything he continued talking while they walked to their first client's house.
"He almost succeeded too, at the time Gildarts wasn't around and Laxus had Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow helping him out so things became complicated especially with all of Freed's different barriers forcing us to attack one another. Laxus fought Mystogan, Erza, me then me and Gajeel together and we still couldn't beat him. I couldn't help but at the time think what a monster he really was, but the scariest thing was that Laxus was so far lost that he had no sense of reasoning left that he would even go as far to hurt the people of Magnolia and use Fairy Law one of the three great fairy magics that defeats anyone the caster sees as an enemy…." Natsu paused as a shiver went up his spine at the recollection of the amount of magic power he felt in that moment.
"Seeing him cast that spell so perfectly and feeling the amount of magic power that he gathered instantaneously I now I would have died if Laxus was able to see us as an enemy" Natsu said in a mirthful tone. "What do you mean?" Sorano asked as they continued walking through the snow covered streets of Albion "His magic was able to see his true feelings, deep down though he would never admit it he valued everyone in the guild as comrades, but even still he continued to fight I honestly couldn't believe that he had any magic left and when I got up to fight him again he was still able to overwhelm me if it wasn't for Gajeel I wouldn't have gotten my opening to stop that madness although I don't consider that fight as a victory more like a draw because it was Laxus against everyone else. As much as I would hate to admit it back then if Laxus was serious from the get and used 100% of his strength I would most likely be dead right now" Natsu replied in a childlike tone as he remembered the injuries he sustained from Laxus compared to those Laxus received from him, Gajeel and Mystogan.
"So what happened after that what did Master Makarov do?" Sorano asked curiously as she hugged a shivering Happy close to her chest and started stroking the feline. "While I was annoyed with Laxus' temper tantrum for not being recognised as his own person I still think that expelling Laxus from Fairytail was a bit much. He may have been a bit of a dick but he was someone I looked up to, someone I strived to become better than and to tell you the truth I kind of thought of him as that 'I don't give a fuck' older brother so I was I little upset about his expulsion but I suppose I do understand Gramps' reasons" Natsu said in a neutral tone before he turned around and smiled at the sight of Sorano hugging Happy it reminded him of how Lisanna would often hold him.
"We're here" Sorano spoke up snapping Natsu back to reality making him realise he was staring at the white haired spirit mage for a while which got him a bit flustered. "Hmm seems like a normal enough place, well let's make ourselves known and get any information that weren't on the flyers, this client has put up a few of the missions" Sorano said as she continued to walk into the building without Natsu who had suddenly just realised what he had been forgetting for the last week and a half "MOTHER FUCKER IT'S STILL MATING SEASON!" the dragonslayer mentally cursed to himself for being even more stupid than he usually is "Natsu what's wrong hurry up" Sorano called back to the pinkette once more bringing him back to reality as well as waking up the exceed in her arms.
"AHHWAAAHH, yeah Natsu think of all the yummy fish we can buy with the money" Happy yawned out in a groggy tone causing Natsu to sigh, guess he'd just have to find a way to cage the dragon at least until his season passed, at least it only meant having to wait out a few more days to a week at most, how hard could it be?
A few hours later at an inn
"So we're dealing with a small dark guild, an extermination mission to get rid of some mountain Vulcans and a wyvern or two as well as an item retrieval mission. Seems simple enough can use Draco and Caelum to support you from Long range in the fighting and if I need any help Happy will fly me to safety won't you little guy" Sorano said in a happy voice while turning childish towards the end as she scratched behind the exceed's ear "AYE!" Natsu could only smile at the interaction between the two it was like they had known each other their whole lives, they just seemed to get along so well, it made him happy to see it.
"Looks like you two have become really close" Natsu said in a happy tone causing both to look towards him with smiles on their faces, "Of course who couldn't love a little cutie like this guy" Sorano said as she squished her face against Happy's. "Sorano is the best Natsu she's so nice, she gets me fish whenever I want and unlike you she's easy to have a conversation with because she isn't stupid" that earned an awe and a giggle from Sorano but a massive "HEY TAKE THAT BACK YOU FLYING FURBALL!" from a rather angry dragonslayer who had several tick marks on his head which result in further insults been thrown back and forth between the comedic duo while Sorano continued to giggle in fits of laughter.
Luckily it only took a few minutes to calm down, "So which one should we do first?" Natsu asked curiously as he looked at each of the different jobs, each had a good pay grade and with no damage costs all the three missions together amounted to around a total of 700,000 Jewels. Sorano adopted a look of thought on her features while Happy simple floated overhead above the pair. "The best option in my own opinion is to take out the dark guild first, it the furthest from the city out of the three and trust me dark mages no matter how weak can be unpredictable, they're still people so they are capable of thinking and strategizing so they aren't as predictable as animals" Sorano said in wise tone as she then started examining the map of the area.
"Wow you're really smart, how did you come up with that on the spot?" Natsu asked as he scooted over closer to the spirit mage who got a little flustered at the closeness of their proximity, she eventually frozen when she felt Natsu lean his head on her shoulder and his warm breath against her neck, it sent shiver down her spine. Immediately after doing so Natsu wasn't faring much better, like Sorano he had completely froze and his face was lighting up something fierce but unlike Sorano who was just embarrassed Natsu was very turned on as almost all his will power crumbled at the perfect view he had of Sorano's cleavage, it was like an abyss calling to him dragging him down deeper and deeper.
"YOU'RE IN LOVE"
Thank god for Happy's signature teasing remark for it snapped both out of their trances and in Natsu's case he was more grateful because he didn't know what would have happened "So how about that mission then?" Natsu asked trying to switch the topic and clear the awkward atmosphere, luckily it worked.
"Sure let's go kick some ass"
"Aye!"
Chapter End. So how was that? Next chapter will be Sorano and Natsu's first mission together and depending on what direction I take it in well we'll see where it goes anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter.
