"uuuuhhhh…" Natsu groaned, he turned over on his stomach and put the pillow he was laying on over his head, "Happy…answer the lacrima…" Happy continued to snore and the damn thing kept ringing, "…what the hell does that old man want now?" Natsu scooted to the edge of the bed and peaked an eye open, using his left hand he reached down and unzipped his bag grabbing hold of the loud, offending item. He brought it up to his face instantly turning his head away and hissed, squinting his eyes and turning back to the harsh light that blinded him for a moment he looked at the still face on the crystal and sure enough there was his uncle. Sighing Natsu let a small bit of magic flow into the crystal and answered the call, he knew if he didn't Atlas would just keep calling, "…yo…" he greeted in a groggy voice.

"NATSU!"

Natsu pulled the crystal away when Atlas shouted at him, "Damn old man, what was that for?" he switched the crystal into his other hand and shoved a pinky into his ear to get rid of the ringing, "THE HELL YOU MEAN WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! It's been over two weeks since you last contacted me and I've been worried sick, ungrateful brat!"

Natsu sighed then rolled over on his back and held the lacrima above his face with one hand and place the other behind his head, "sorry uncle, I meant to call you last night but we got in late and I passed out before I had a chance to."

He heard Atlas sigh, "alright alright…I forgive ya. Tell me, what have you been up to these last couple weeks then?"

Natsu smiled at his uncle, "a lot actually and you're gonna be happy." Natsu proceeded to tell Atlas about their trip to Hargeon, Plue finding them, saving Lucy and then running from the Rune Knights which made Atlas crack up. Then Natsu told him about Fairy Tail and how he and Happy joined the guild then he told him about going up to Mount Hakobe with Lucy and Plue and saving Macao and bringing him back home. Natsu didn't even realize it but it was Lucy who he mainly talked about and he didn't even see Atlas smirk the longer he talked, "then she basically dragged us to her house and said we were staying with her until we could go on a few jobs to make some more jewel and get our own place and that's where we are at now." Natsu ended his tale and finally looked at Atlas only to cringe at the face he was making, "…what?"

Atlas chuckled, "oh nothing, but I'm pretty sure I can tell you exactly what this Lucy girl looks and acts like with the amount you've talked about her." Atlas wiggled his eyebrows at his nephew and Natsu quickly sat up to deny what he just said but the more the thought about it his uncle was right, all he did was talk about Lucy. After a second of processing it, Natsu's face exploded with a bright red color, "I-I-I…uh…sh-shit…" Natsu stuttered before giving up and closing his eyes so he didn't have to look at his uncles' smug face. Atlas' laughter rang all throughout the room and despite it being directed towards Natsu, he smiled, he's missed his uncle, "oh…my little Natsu is growing up! I'm so proud!" Natsu watched as Atlas fluttered his eyelashes and pretended to wipe a tear away and Natsu growled, "OI! Shut up, ya geezer!" Atlas wave the insult away and gave Natsu a gentle smile, "seriously though Natsu, I am proud of you. I'm glad you finally joined a guild, puts my heart at ease knowing you're not still running around low on money with no place to go."

Natsu smiled then chuckled and ran his free hand through his rosy hair, "aye…Happy was bugging me about it for months. It honestly was lucky that we ran into Lucy and Plue when we did, going to Hargeon was probably the best decision we've made. We've found a place to call home and a pretty awesome family too. I do miss you though uncle…"

"I miss you too Natsu, the mansion is definitely colder since you left but I'm glad that you've finally found a family again. Might just have to come and visit ya when I can get away." Atlas chuckled but you could see the sadness in his eyes, he really did miss Natsu and he missed his uncle just as much.

Atlas cleared his throat, "Well then! It's about time you get your butt up and train for the day don't ya think?" Natsu choked on his spit and looked at his uncle with wide eyes, "you CANNOT be serious?!"

Atlas gave him a wicked smirk, "have I ever joked when it's come to your training?"

"YE-uh…damn…no…no you haven't"

"Exactly, get your lazy ass up and get to training. You need to continue getting stronger now that you're in a guild, you've got family to protect again."

Natsu sighed and shook his head, it seems he's been accepting his fate a lot lately, "alright alright, you win."

"Damn right I win!" Atlas boosted, "and you better be getting up, I'll keep calling you if I have to to make sure you're training!" he glared hard at Natsu making sure he knew that he would continue to call and make sure he was doing what he was told, "Yea yea alright, geez. I getting up old man, see?" Natsu kicked the blankets off and swung his legs over the bed, stretching his arms high in the air letting out a grunt, "alright brat, I've got to go. You call me next week so we can catch up, you hear me?" Natsu waved a hand in front of his face, "I promise uncle, I'll call ya in a week. Love you!"

"Love you too kid…"

Natsu watched the crystal lose the magic he put into it and blacken out, he was actually really sad to see his uncle go but understood that he didn't want to risk Igneel finding out that they have been talking since he left a year ago.

Doesn't make it hurt any less though…

He misses his uncle dearly but still doesn't regret leaving

Natsu sighed again and slowly stood up making sure not to jostle the bed too much and wake Happy up, "better do what the old man said and train. Have to keep getting stronger now." Natsu smiled at that thought then reached down and picked up his bag. He opened it wider and pulled out his folded clothes till he found his sweat pants, he put the rest of his clothes and lacrima back into the pack and zipped it up setting it back on the floor. He then pulled his sweats on and grabbed his halter before he walked to the door opening and closing it quietly as he went, he wasn't going to bother with his shoes since he will be on the grass outside. He visited the bathroom first to relieve himself and wash his hands and face then walked out into the living room.

He stood in the center of the room and looked at the hammocks resting in the corner, he could hear Plue snoring away without a care in the world in his and then he looked to Lucy. Her scarf was resting directly above her head and she was laying on her stomach with red blanket covering her entire body with only a small amount of her head showing, though she had an arm and a leg hanging over the side of the swinging bed. Natsu would have laughed at her position if it wasn't for the fact that Lucy's leg was completely bare, and it was then that Natsu had seen the small pile of clothes and her sandals on the floor.

…oh gods…

Natsu reached up and grabbed hold of the gold key pendant resting on his chest to try and ground himself to reality while he turned his head away gritting his teeth and balled his fists to resist the urge to walk over and slowly run his large hand up her long, smooth looking leg. Natsu took a deep breath in through his nose and let it back out of his mouth in an attempt to cool himself off, no need to be thinking that way about his new best friend anyways…

"…Erzie always told me staring is rude…"

Natsu about had a damn heart attack and jumped a good five feet in the air, 'DAMN IT! She caught me…shit…what do I do now?!' he screamed inside his mind slightly panicking, 'gods above I don't want her to be mad at me and think I'm a pervert…' he was so busy ranting inside of his head that he didn't see Lucy slowly sit back on her knees with her blanket still resting over her shoulders and blink sleepily at him. She yawned loudly and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "what'er you doing up this early anyways?" she questioned, sleep still heavy in her voice.

Natsu finally snapped his eyes to hers and they grew wide, "I-I'm sorry!" he quietly shouted out making sure not to wake Plue or Happy, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to stare, I promise…"

Lucy's mind was still having a hard time processing anything at the moment so she just waved him off, "eh…whatever…anyways, what you doin' up this early? Figured I'd be the only one up at this time," she turned her head to look out the window seeing the first rays of sun peaking over the horizon and turned to look back at the stunned male standing in her living room, "you wake up this early every day?" he suddenly questioned her and Lucy nodded moving carefully to sit down on her wobbly bed, "…why?" he questioned while raising a brow at her.

Lucy yawned again and Natsu's eyes -weirdly- went straight to her fangs, "training time, I wake up before everyone and work on my body and magic before breakfast."

"…oh…" was all Natsu was able to say and he looked back into her eyes.

Lucy raised a brow at his odd behavior, "and you?" she questioned again, "actually…same. Was going to train some before everyone woke up." he finally answered awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

That seemed to snap the rest of the sleep out of Lucy and she perked right up, "wanna spar?! Best way to train is with someone else!" she quickly said and beamed at him

Natsu smiled back, having not expected that at all, "sure! I'll spar with you." Natsu was relieved actually because not only was Lucy not mad at him but her training with him will help him get his mind off missing his uncle, "awesome!" Lucy quietly shouted then jumped out of her hammock, the moment her feet hit the floor her blanket fell off her shoulders and pooled onto the floor below her.

Natsu's mouth ran dry…then flooded…and his eyes popped out of his skull…

Her hair was down and he found out that it fell to her hips but that wasn't what had the blood rushing a little too far south -though it did help-…she was literally only wearing a pair of very small, cloth, black bikini panties and the bandages that she tightly wrapped around her unbelievably large chest…and that was it.

He made a quiet noise, at least he's almost positive he did, what kind of noise? He wasn't even sure but it was definitely high pitched and sounded somewhere between a choking moan and a pained cry…yea he had no idea…although Lucy didn't seem to hear it so that's all that mattered at the moment, he definitely wasn't thinking about his uncle anymore…

Then he got to watch her stretch…

Natsu tried…he will swear to all the gods above and magic in the world that he tried to pull his eyes away from -what he considered- an erotic site…but he couldn't

The way her body arched when she leaned backwards…

The way her leg muscles tightened when she stood on her tippy toes…

The way her abs contracted when she let out a breath…

The way her long, golden, silky hair spilled over her shoulders and covered her chest when she bent forwards…

She turned around and slowly bent at her hips to pick her blanket and pants up off the floor and Natsu knew he was drooling now…her ass was phenomenal…he was convinced that one wrong move and that flimsy piece of cloth that covered his little piece of ecstasy would burst with how large and round and tight it was…he almost wanted to walk over and help the material burst…all he desperately wanted to do at that moment was run his fingers over the curve of her ass to grip her hips tight enough to leave his hand prints and-

Natsu forced his eyes close and violently shook his head…

Nope…

Not ok…

Stop it Natsu…

She's your best friend…

Nothing more, nothing less…

Natsu quickly turned around so his back was facing her now and reached down to…adjust…himself before she could notice, "I'll-uh…I'll meet you outside, alright?" he didn't wait for her answer and practically ran out the front door.

He slumped himself against a tree, bumping his head against it a couple times and closed his eyes, '…holy hell…why does she have to look like that! Did she even realize she was almost naked in front of me?!'

Natsu sighed, 'No…probably not and knowing how she is she probably didn't care what I seen…or at least wouldn't understand why it wasn't alright for me to see her like that…'

Natsu groaned very loudly and scrubbed his face with both of his hands in an attempt at washing away the image of her bent over out of his mind, 'no thinking like that anymore Natsu…just stop…focus on training…you need to get stronger and Luce is willing to help you. Be grateful for what you have.'

Natsu heard her lite footsteps approaching and he steeled himself one last time, 'training, that's all you are to think about. Get stronger, that's it!'


Natsu stumbled into the guild behind Lucy and limped his way to the bar, he plopped himself heavily down on one of the stools then slammed his forehead onto the counter, "oh my, what happened to you Natsu?" Mira questioned the moment she walked up to him.

Natsu made a pathetic whine in the back of his throat but said nothing, "don't worry about him," Mira looked to the two cats sitting on the bar next to the pouting male, "he's just being a baby about his training this morning. Could we get a couple fish please?" Plue asked

Mira reached down to the cooler underneath the bar and pulled out two fish handing them both to Happy and Plue, "training?" she questioned and set her elbows down on the bar resting her chin on her hands, "aye," Happy chirped, "Natsu's been training ever since he was young to stay fit and get stronger and I guess Lucy helped him out this morning." Happy chuckled behind his fish and Plue joined him. Mira stood back up and place a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, "well, I can say I feel for him. Lucy is a beast when it comes to her workouts, Gray once said that she ran him so ragged that he couldn't move his limbs for two whole days, he hasn't trained with her again since. I suppose it's understandable though, Erza was the one to train her first and we all know how she is." Plue let out a knowing laugh while Happy just gave her a confused look, "oh don't worry Happy, you will find out soon enough." Mira winked at him then went about her work handing out drinks and food, "is this Erza lady really that mean?" Happy looked at Plue and Plue shook his head, "Erza is a fine tuned warrior toughened by her hardships in life yes but she also has a kind heart. Though when it comes to Lucy, that is the only time Erza will ever shed all of her armor, from what I have heard before my time here Lucy attached herself to Erza within the first day of her joining Fairy Tail and I guess it was the same for Erza. They just clicked and have been together ever since, so it's unsurprising that Lucy takes after Erza sometimes." Plue looked to Natsu who had passed out and was now snoring away, "I'm actually amazed he was able to still walk this morning, your partner is pretty strong." Happy smiled at the complement for his friend then went back to eating his fish.

"NATSUUUU!"

Natsu's eyes snapped open and he jolted out of his seat causing him to fall off his stool and crash to the ground, "owww…" he groaned rubbing the back of his head, "geez…what Luce?" Natsu turned his head and watched her run up to him, she crouched down to his level and gave him a weird look, "whatcha doin' on the ground weirdo?" Natsu rolled his eyes at her then raised his hand to her, Lucy smiled and grabbed it pulling him up with her as she stood back up, "come on sleepy head I found a good mission for us!"

Natsu paled, "job?! You killed me this morning! I don't have the energy to do anything now!"

It was Lucy's turn to roll her eyes, "oh come on, you can't tell me that a little workout can knock you out for the rest of the day, who are you, Gray? How do you expect to get stronger with an attitude like that?"

This woman was a demon…and he was pretty sure she insulted him comparing him with that Gray guy…

"FINE! We'll go on the stupid job…" Natsu growled out throwing his hands in the air and Lucy beamed at him, "I don't know why you're so angry, weren't you the one that said you needed to make money quickly so you and Happy could move into your own place? Though you still haven't told me why…do you not like living with me and Plue?" Lucy gave him puppy dog eyes and shot her bottom lip out and Natsu had to turn away to hide the blush that coated his cheeks, one she was fucking adorable…two he really had no business thinking about this morning again, "of course we like living with you…we just need our own place is all…" he cleared his throat then looked at her, "I didn't mean any offence by it, I'm sorry."

"naaah..." Lucy shook her head, "don't worry about it," she grabbed his hand, "come on, let's get this job done really quick. It's not far away so we will be back today and the pay is nice too." she smiled up at him then looked to their two companions sitting on the bar watching their interaction, "Happy, Plue come on, you're coming too!"

"AYE MA'AM!" they both shouted out summoning their wings to catch up to the two wizards.

"So, what's this job we have to do?" Natsu questioned once they were walking away from the guild. Instead of answering him she handed him the job flyer, "let's see…" he said as he read the flyer, "Shirotsume Town huh…" he looked back at Lucy, "you do realize that we will have to take a train there if we want to get back today, right?" he watched Lucy tug on her scarf and paled considerably then turned a little green, she swallowed thickly, "…a-a-aye…" Natsu hesitated for a moment before going back to the flyer, "Duke Everlue has a book called 'Daybreak' and the client wants us to infiltrate his mansion and destroy the book? That's a little weird…but for 200,000 jewel can't be picky I suppose. Considering what I have left and then splitting the reward with you I would still have more than enough to get a place and the essentials for it." he looked back at Lucy and smiled before reading the rest of the flyer, "please note that Everlue is a dirty old man who is currently looking for maids with…blonde…hair…" suddenly this mission wasn't looking so great anymore.

"I ain't doin' it if that's what you're thinking…"

Natsu looked back at Lucy, she had crossed her arms and was glaring at the ground, "that little pervert isn't getting me into a maid outfit…" she hissed out and Natsu was torn between being immensely relieved and being somewhat disappointed though he wasn't sure why he would be disappointed…ok maybe he did but he wasn't about to admit it, "alright…how are we supposed to finish this job then?" he raised a brow when she grinned at him, "don't worry, just leave that to me!"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders and then grinned back, "if you say so, lets head to the station. The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get back." he almost laughed when she paled again and let out a little whine.


"I'm never riding one of those things ever again…"

Natsu laughed this time and Lucy growled at him, they had made it to Shirotsume Town fairly quickly though not quick enough for Lucy, "let's just get to the damn clients' house so we can get this mission done…" Natsu smirked and Happy and Plue laughed when she stomped away from with an angry huff, she was something else.

When they made it to their clients' mansion Lucy could tell something was off by the way it smelled something was definitely fishy but she decided to keep it to herself for the time being. Natsu's suspicions were elevated with Lucy's when their client, Kaby Melon, and his wife raised the reward to 2 million jewel instead of the 200,000 he originally posted just to destroy this book in Everlues' possession but he kept it to himself as well.

Something told them both that they weren't getting paid for this mission but went along with it anyways.

"Alright Luce, how we getting this done?" Natsu questioned once they were standing outside Everlues' place.

Lucy smirked and then wiggled her brows at him, "simple, follow me." she said and he watched Plue grab her vest and flew up to the roof of the large home, Happy grabbed hold of his dress shirt and followed them up setting him down once they made it to where Lucy and Plue were.

He then pinched the bridge of his nose and rested his other hand on the hilt of his sword when he spotted her burning a hole in one of the windows then reached in and unlocked it allowing them entrance, "you do realize this is breaking and entering right?" he questioned with a raised brow when she jumped inside.

She peeked her head back out to look at him still standing on the roof and shrugged her shoulders giving him a bright toothy grin, "eh…we'll just be stealthy, like ninjas!" he rolled his eyes when she wrapped her scarf around her head so only her eyes were showing, "yes…very stealthy…" he whispered but smiled at her and jumped inside anyways, "assuming this is like every other mansion the guy has to have a library somewhere. The book should be there." Natsu pointed once they were quietly making their way through the vast hallways, "you must have been in a lot of mansions to know something like that- "she trailed off when she opened a random door and peeked inside. While she was looking in the room she wasn't able to see Natsu flinch and Happy quickly waving his arms back and forth when Plue turned around too, "u-uh…yea…sure." he cursed under his breath for his stupid response and slip up but made sure to smile at her once she looked at him again, Happy slapped a paw to his forehead, "nothing in there, let's keep moving." she stated and walked ahead of him.

Happy flew up and bopped Natsu on the back of his head, "NATSU!" he hissed quietly, "I know Happy! Keep it down…" Natsu hissed back, "keep what down?" Lucy asked and looked at them over her shoulder, Plue had landed on her head and was looking at them as well, "nothing, don't worry Luce." Natsu quickly smiled at her and she gave him a look like she didn't believe him at first before she shrugged and turned her head forward again, the moment she turned her head though the ground in front of her burst upwards and all of a sudden a very large pink haired maid was standing before them, "looks like the master has some intruders."

Immediately after that the ground behind the maid burst again and there standing wielding various brooms and mops were four more…interesting...looking maids, "LET'S TAKE THEM OUT VIRGO!" they all shouted out in unison.

The four weren't sure what they were looking at really, the maids seriously looked like they belong in a zoo.

Plue flew off of Lucy's head to hover next to Happy behind Natsu while they waited for the fight about to happen, "could you tell us where the library is? We need to get there as quickly as possible."

Natsu, Happy and Plue sweat dropped at Lucy's question, she can't seriously be that oblivious can she?

They all watched the large maid jump high in the air and headed straight for Lucy, "no?" Lucy questioned again before the maid belly flopped on top of her, "LUCY!" Natsu shouted and went to help her but was suddenly surrounded by the other maids, "oh no you don't! We'll stop you here and now!" they shouted then charged at him. Happy and Plue flew higher up so that they wouldn't be caught in the on slot, Natsu glared at them then drew his sword and in the blink of an eye all of the maids' weapons were cut in half and they were all laying on the ground knocked out, "wow…he's actually really good…" Plue said in awe and Happy just smirked.

Natsu quickly turned around with the intention of helping free Lucy but stopped dead in his tracks when the maid began rising up with Lucy pushing, Natsu gawked at her strength and suddenly decided that he wanted to train with her more, "I guess we will just have to keep looking ourselves then!" Lucy then threw the maid in the air then lit her foot on fire sending a vicious kick to the maid and sent her flying over the second story banner.

"Well…now that that's taken care of let's find this book!" Lucy grinned walking away again leaving Natsu standing there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Plue floated down and used a paw to snap Natsu's jaw shut, "careful lover boy, you were drooling." Happy quietly snickered following Plue to catch up to Lucy.

Natsu flushed a very bright red and dropped his gaze to his boots slowly following behind his three companions.

Luckily for them the next set of doors they opened revealed a very large library, "wow, didn't think that pudgy guy was actually a bookworm…" Natsu said in awe. It didn't compare to the one back at the Dragneel manor but it was definitely huge, "let's start looking, that book has to be here somewhere." Plue stated flying to one of the shelves to start looking.

Not even five minutes into their searching Happy shouted, "GUYS LOOK! I found a book and it's shiny!"

Natsu sighed, "Happy quit playing around we have to find that b- HOLY SHIT YOU FOUND IT!" he yelled once he seen the book Happy was holding and sure enough in big bold letters was the title 'Daybreak'.

Natsu's eyes narrowed on the book, it was giving off faint pulses magical energy and it seemed that Lucy could feel it too if her bristling up once she was standing next to him was anything to go by, "something isn't right about this book…" Natsu spoke quietly while he studied it further.

It was written by the famous author, Kemu Zaleon, an author Natsu was very acquainted with. He and his mother use to sit on their library and read his books together in his childhood and he was positive that he had read everything the man had ever written…so where the hell had this book come from and why is there only a single copy of it, "there's a secret about this book and I'm going to find out what it is…"

Lucy gave him a confused look, "how are you going to do that?"

Natsu smirked at her, "on top of my dashingly good looks, toned body, strong magic and fighting skills, I'm also a bookworm."

Lucy raised a brow and then snorted, "where'd the cocky attitude come from all of a sudden?"

"It's always been there," Natsu casually said looking back at the book and opening it up, "I'm just a gentleman first and foremost."

'At least that's how I was raised to be, mom would kick my ass if I behaved otherwise…' he thought

What Natsu didn't see was the slight pink that dusted Lucy's cheeks before it quickly disappeared, "uh-huh…alright bookworm, what's with that book?" she asked placing her hands behind her head while she studied Natsu.

Natsu's brows furrowed as he continued to read, "…I don't know…but this book is definitely hid- "

Natsu was interrupted when the ground in front of the doors to the library burst and out popped the ugly little man known as Duke Everlue, "well well, what do we have here? A couple of thieves looking to pilfer 'Daybreak' from me huh? boyoyo"

"Boyoyo?" Lucy whispered while stepping in front of Natsu, she pointed a finger at Everlue, "you're really weird you know that? Not Natsu and Happy weird because I like their weirdness, you on the other hand just seem annoying." Lucy shrugged her shoulders and placed her hands back behind her head not noticing everyone stunned by her brashness yet again, Natsu and Happy both blushed at her statement, "…r-regardless…I will not allow you to continue to place your filthy hands all over my possessions, COME FORTH VANISH BROTHERS!" Everlue yelled out.

The four watched as part of the bookshelves parted to reveal a secret entrance and standing in that entrance was two men, "you called upon us sir?" they heard a casual, slightly bored voice, "can you believe these punks are from the Fairy Tail guild?"

At the last statement Lucy's eyes narrowed and she brought her hands back to her sides, Plue walked up to her and tapped her leg, "Lucy be careful, that symbol on their arms, that belongs to the Southern Wolves. They are a mercenary guild…"

Lucy scoffed, "got yourself some bodyguards huh?"

"Boyoyo, the Southern Wolves are always starved for fresh game and you thieves' shall be the main course." Everlue mocked while pulling on his mustache.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "yea ok, whatever you say little man. OI! BOOKWORM!"

Natsu looked up from the book and pointed the slayer with a weak glare, "you go on and figure out just what that stupid thing is hiding, I'll handle the three morons." Lucy looked back at two mercenaries and the Duke before looking over her shoulder again, "Happy, Plue you guys go with him, keep him covered."

"Are you sure Lu?" Plue nervously asked not really wanting to leave her side in case she needed help. Lucy gave him a bright grin, "these guys are small fry- "she was interrupted when the two brothers shouted 'HEY!' but she completely ignored them, "-I'll catch up with you guys in no time, don't worry."

Natsu hesitated for a moment then moved to exit the large library through a door on their right, "fine, we'll go but you better meet up with us soon and in one piece, got it?!"

Lucy didn't bother looking at him only waved her hand, "yea yea got it, one piece, geez, you guys have no faith…" she pouted still looking at their enemies, Natsu shook his head and ran through the door with Plue and Happy flying behind him.

Almost as soon as Natsu left, Everlue started to disappear below the ground, "you two take care of blondie here, I'm going after pinky." then he vanished underground, "HEEEEEEEEEY!" Lucy pouted again, "that's not fair…you can't just go disappearing underground, COME BACK SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!"

"I think you'll find your hands more than full with us and we promise you won't be meeting up with your friends."

Lucy looked back up at the two and smirked before giving them a bright grin, "alright, I'm all fired up now!"


Natsu wasn't sure how but they somehow managed to find their way to the sewer when he had plopped himself down and was currently quickly going through the book with a special set of glasses he always kept with him in an attempt at figuring out just what secret this book was holding. The room of the sewer had been shaking on and off since they made it down there and the three could only assume that it was Lucy's doing, "I hope she's alright…" Happy trailed off while looking up at the ceiling, "don't worry about Lucy, I'm sure she's just fine. How bout you Natsu? Did you figure out what's with that book yet?" Plue asked looking down at the man.

Natsu snapped the book closed and took off his glasses, "aye, I figured it out and it was definitely worth fin- "Natsu suddenly jumped up and out of the way when the wall behind him burst open with Everlue popping out, "boyoyo, well then mind telling me exactly what secrets that pathetic man decided to hide in my property? I did have the book commissioned after all…"

Natsu snorted at the man while Happy and Plue landed on the ground behind him, "yea-no…not happening because I'm not telling you shit." Natsu reached into his key pouched and touched a key, 'Cancer, please allow me the use of your armor' he didn't have to wait long before his call was answered, 'you got it boss *ebi* just let me know when'

"A celestial wizard ey? Well that will do you no good against my diver magic!" Everlue quickly vanished underground.

Natsu turned his head in all direction waiting, with his hand on Cancers' key, for the opportune moment to use his magic, Everlue suddenly popped up directly underneath him and he quickly jumped out of the way to avoid the pudgy man's grasp, "I don't understand why you are adamant about keeping that book from me, it's hard to believe that something as poorly written as that was created by the great Kemu Zaleon- "Everlue disappeared beneath the ground only to swiftly pop back up underneath Natsu but he was quick to jump away yet again, "-IT IS INEXCUSABLE!" Everlue shouted before diving back into the earth, "your arrogance knows no bounds does it?" Natsu questioned while glaring at the ground, "you had to blackmail Zaleon to write this book for you by threatening to take away his families citizenships…"

Plue and Happy gasped from behind Natsu, "…that's horrible…if his family lost their citizenships then they wouldn't have been able to join any of the guilds and make a living…does he really have the power to do that?" Plue whispered out

"I HAVE THE POWER TO DO ANYTHING!" Everlue shouted then burst from the ground once again and landed in front of Natsu.

Natsu lowered his glare to the floor, "…you locked him up…for three years…DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THAT MUST HAVE BEEN ON HIM?! ON HIS FAMILY?!" Natsu shouted lifting his head to glare at the small man in front of him, "tell me, how do you even know all this in the first place." Everlue asked keeping his eyes locked on Natsus' form.

Natsu held the book up, "it's all right here, in this book."

Everlue gave Natsu a confused look, "that's impossible…I've read that book from cover to cover and that worthless author is nowhere in it…"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders, "and in your case you would be right but what you didn't know what before Kemu was an author…he was a wizard."

Everlues' eyes grew wide, "…what did he do?" he hissed through clenched teeth

Natsu smirked, "after he finished the book he gathered the last of his remaining strength and cast a spell on the book."

Everlues' fists shook with pent up rage, "of all the dirty…rotten…" the disappeared underground again only to advance on Natsu with every step and jump he took to get away, "GET OVER YOUR SELF!" Natsu shouted while he continued to dodge Everlue, "it's true that he did write about all the pain and torture that you put him through over his years in confinement but that is only a small fraction of the actually story within, in fact what was written has absolutely NOTHING to do with you at all!"

Everlues' eyes grew wide and he gaped at the rose-haired man before him, "wh-what do you mean?!"

Natsu took up his fighting stance while handing the book over to Plue and Happy, "we are not giving this book back to you because it was never yours to begin with…" he calmly stated pushing his magic into the key his fingers were brushing against, 'Cancer, if you would please.'

Natsus' body began to glow with a bright golden light before it quickly vanished to reveal him covered head to toe in bright red armor, the only spot visible of him were his piercing onyx colored eyes from the small opening in the helm. While Aquarius' armor allowed him the use of her spells and some defense, Cancer's armor gives him a massive increase in defense while also giving him the ability to slice or crush any material known to man. Where a set of gauntlets would normally adorn his hands there was a pair of vicious looking crab claws, the only downfall to this armor was his speed was greatly reduced to make up for the massive defense increase.

What Natsu was not ready for, however, was Everlue pulling out his own key and summoning a spirit from the Celestial world, "I don't know how you managed to summon the Celestial armor but that won't save you now, OPEN! GATE OF THE MAIDEN! COME FORTH VIRGO!"

Natsu tsked, "I thought something felt familiar about that pink haired maid…just didn't think she was a zodiac spirit…" he said quietly when the gorilla maid appeared before them.

"VIRGO! RETRIEVE THAT BOOK AND CRUSH THAT PATHETIC MAN!" Everlue shouted while pointing at Natsu, "As you command master" the gorilla maid calmly stated and Natsu sighed, "I do apologize Virgo…I do not wish to harm you at all…" he said with a heavy heart while he got into fighting positon lifting the claws of his armor into the air.

Virgo moved quickly and ran towards the armor man, Natsus' body tensed ready for the impact of the giant maid but before she even got close she was suddenly being forced to the ground creating a very large crater. Natsu blinked stupidly before looking closer at Virgo's back and there was Lucy, Natsu looked directly above her and seen one of the many holes that Everlue created, "WHEN I SAY DON'T MOVE I MEAN IT!" Lucy suddenly shouted, "geez…do you know how hard it was to track your scent with all this nasty around here?!" she huffed and crossed her arms while she continued to stand on Virgo's back, "LUCY!" Happy and Plue shouted and she turned to the sound of their voices, "oh! HEY GUYS!" she gave them a bright smile then focused on Natsu, "WOAH! NATSU YOU LOOK SO COOL!" she shouted as she ran up to him.

"WOOOOOOOOOW!" she awed at him while running her hands all over the suit. Even though Natsu couldn't feel her hands he couldn't help but feel somewhat violated by her fingers and the thought made him blush as bright as the red of his armor, "L-L-LUCE! C-can you cut it out now please…we do still have a battle to win after all…" he pleaded with the clueless slayer.

She blinked up at him then turned her head to look over her shoulder, Virgo had gotten back up and was standing next to Everlue once again, "oh…well damn. I thought we were done." she laughed then got into a fighting position next to Natsu, "keep Virgo occupied for me while I go after Everlue, sound good?"

Lucy didn't look at him but did grin and lit her hands on fire, "aye" and then ran full speed towards the spirit engaging her in combat.

Natsu turned his attention back to the tiny man and ran as quickly as his armor allowed towards him, he swung his claw out intending on capturing Everlue in a crushing grip but only caught air as Everlue used his diver magic to disappear back underground.

Natsu let out an aggravated sound and then grunted when Everlue's body suddenly hit Natsus' then vanished again, this happened several more time with Everlue laughing all the while, "did you honestly think you could defeat me with that measly Celestial power?" his voice rang out all around him and it just proved to make Natsu angrier.

Natsu stood completely still and closed his eyes taking a deep breath in and out, he blocked out the sounds Lucy was making while she fought Virgo, he blocked out the shouts and cheers of Happy and Plue, he blocked out everything until the only thing he could hear was silence. He waited, straining his ears to listen for any hints of Everlue beneath the ground and it was around then that he wished he had Lucy's hearing. However, he didn't have any more time to dwell on that thought because he was able to pick up on the faint sounds and vibrations underneath him. Natsu grinned then jumped up just as Everlue burst through the ground underneath him and Natsu quickly swung a claw around and snapped it shut, "AAAAHHHH! RELEASE ME YOU WRECH!" Everlue shouted and Natsu could feel him struggle within his grasp, he opened his eyes and sure enough Everlue was stuck with no way out, "not so measly now is it?" he questioned before lifting Everlue higher up. His black eyes bore into Everlues' beady ones and Natsu watched as he swallowed and sweat started trickling down his face, "and for the record," he brought Everlue closer to his face, glaring at him behind his armor, "I'm a Celestial Warrior…" with that Natsu quickly slammed Everlue against the ground then lifted the dazed man back in the air and chucked him away with enough power that when he hit the wall Natsu was aiming for he left a crater knocking the man out cold. The moment Everlue lost consciousness Virgo was forced back to the Celestial world.

They had won.


The group high-tailed it out of the mansion before the authorities arrived and headed back to the clients' house. He was not happy with the group at first once Natsu presented the book to the man stating that if he really wanted it destroyed, then he should do it himself. The moment that Kaby tried to burn the book a magic circle suddenly appeared blinding them all with a bright flash of light everyone was stunned and watched as the words within the book suddenly flew up and jumbled themselves in the air before returning to the book. The last thing that happened was the letters on the cover rearranged themselves and spelled out 'Dear Kaby', when the magic was finished casting the book floated back into Kaby's hands and he collapse to the ground. Natsu had stated that the book was his ultimate master piece and it was everything that Zaleon had ever wanted to say to his son.

Kaby and his wife were unsure of what to say and simply cried, however, the moment Natsu and Lucy tried to walk out of the house they were stopped, "W-WAIT! What about your reward?" Kaby questioned stopping them at the door.

Natsu and Lucy looked to each other while Plue and Happy landed on their shoulders, then looked back at the man and smiled, "even if you could pay us sir we couldn't accept it, we didn't complete the job." Lucy stated, "…I-I don't understand…" Kaby quietly stated and Natsu smiled, "we knew from the very beginning that we were never going to get paid for this job and even if you could we can't accept the reward. You clearly posted that you wanted the book destroyed and we failed to do so."

Lucy smiled at the distraught man, "it would look bad for Fairy Tail if we did but thank you anyways and make sure you make it home safe." Lucy winked at them then turned around to follow Natsu and Happy home.


~AN~

UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

I never liked this arc….bleh….even bigger pain to write….more bleh….

Hope you like it though and you'll have to let me know how I did!

UNTIL NEXT TIME AS ALWAYS!

Much love from a tkitty! XD