Disclaimer: see previous disclaimers.
A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated, and I'm sorry. Here's the latest chapter.
The next day came quickly, as did the planned duel between Natsu and Gray. Though Erza had originally set it for that evening, the two boys pretty much just charged at each other as soon as Natsu stepped foot in the Guildhall. They managed to exchange a few punches before Erza, eyes blazing, pulled them apart and said that they were under no circumstances to fight before the sparring match that evening. Looking sufficiently abashed, the two had reluctantly agreed. This lasted for all of ten minutes before they were at it again. After the fourth time, the redheaded girl finally relented and went to fetch Makarov. Soon the four of them were out the back door, on the beach. Makarov as sitting on a large rock, which almost brought him to Erza's eye level. The re-quip mage was standing with her arms crossed seriously.
Natsu glared at Gray. "You're going down, ice princess!" He yelled. Gray smirked fiercely. He had already lost his shirt somewhere.
"I don't think think so, moron."
Makarov shook his head at their antics. Really, they were quite alike at heart, but they seemed oblivious to their similarities. "You may begin!" He called. Without even a moments hesitation, the boys sprang at each other, yelling.
Makarov soon stopped watching the fight and switched to watching Erza. Her eyes were flicking from one combatant to the other, taking in every movement, every feint, every strike. It was atonishing to him how natural the girl was at all kinds of combat. He didn't know all the details of her past, but he was quite sure that she had never been properly trained, yet she handled all kinds of weaponery as though she had been born with a sword in her hand. In addition, she was an expert at hand to hand combat, and she had the moral code of a paladin. Above all, she was an extremely powerful wizard. Her opinion about this fight would be very important, and very interesting.
Natsu's strength had taken him by surprise, mostly because of his youth, but now that he was getting used to him, it had become clear that the redheaded girl was in fact considerably stronger than him. The dragon slayer was actually on par with Gray. Who was also something else. There was no doubt in Makarov's mind that the new generation of Fairy Tail wizards was going to be exceptional.
And would probably bring a mountain of paperwork.
Erza's brow furrowed slightly as the fight went on. She watched as Gray ducked under a wild punch thrown by Natsu, and retaliated with a kick to the pink haired boy's stomach, which knocked the breath out of him, and sent him back a few paces. Before the shirtless kid could press his advantage, Natsu recovered and blocked the next punch with his forearm, catching Gray off guard and managing to hit him square on the jaw. With a growl, Gray hit back.
Erza glanced at the sun. It was shinning brightly in the sky, telling her that they had been here for some time now. And both boys looked worse for the wear, though Natsu was clearly worse off. However, though they were a bit battered and bruised, neither looked close to giving up. They were out of breath and had to be tired, but the requip mage could admire their determination.
Suddenly, with a powerful strike, Gray sent Natsu flying. Gasping for breath, the pink haired boy sat up, one arm resting on his knee, trying to catch his breath and recover enough to keep going. Gray stopped to wait. Good, that showed he had honour. Erza thoroughly approved of honour. She couldn't stand cowards.
"Get up!" Natsu said, sitting up. Erza raised her eyebrows. Was he talking to himself? It didn't sound like it somehow. Had he been hit harder in the head than she had originally thought? Gray looked equally puzzled. Natsu glared at his rival.
"Come on, get up!" He repeated.
"You're the one who needs to get up, so you come on!" Gray yelled, pointing angrily at the fire mage. Dragging strength up from somewhere, Natsu pushed himself to his feet and charged at the other boy with a yell. His attack was wild and uncontrolled, and Gray had no problem dodging and striking back. This time Natsu lay on the ground, panting.
"Sorry, but you lose." Gray declared, not sounding particularly sorry at all, before turning to walk away. He only made it a few steps before Natsu stopped him.
"Hold on." He said, still panting, but able to sit up. One side of his face looked swollen and scrunched up, but he got to his feet. "This fight's not near over, Gray!"
The ice mage's jaw dropped slightly, before he grinned darkly.
"Well if that's the way you want it!" He said as he rushed forwards with a battle cry. Natsu did the same.
Erza watched critically. Both boys were exhausted, and they now seemed to be taking turns actually hitting each other. Oddly enough, their abilities seemed to have evened out at this stage of the fight. Before, it had been clear that Gray was the more competent fighter. To Erza, it was obvious that he had more experience and better technique. Which made sense, when you considered that Natsu had been raised by a dragon and was unlikely to have ever fought another person. Therefore his fighting method was based on instinct and brute strength. Gray had most likely, from the way he moved, had a sparring partner before, and it had paid off. And yet now, at the end of the fight, somehow Natsu was finally on par with his opponent.
"I'm not! Gonna! Lose!" Natsu shouted between punches. Gray snarled.
"You're gonna have to, cause I! Wanna win!" He replied, with equal anger and determination. Then, as one, they both yelled,
"You're going down!"
They both put everything they had into their final strike, and to Erza's surprise, they both found their targets. They had managed to hit each other in the exact same place, and then they both fell onto their sides in mirror images of each other. They even had the same identical look of surprise and outrage on their faces.
It was a tie.
Erza looked down, going over the last few seconds of the fight in her mind.
"Well that was certainly interesting." Makarov said mildly. Erza, for once, ignored him.
I'm not gonna lose.
I wanna win.
That was the difference. It was small, but nonetheless important. Gray had only wanted victory. Wanted it very much, certainly, but still only wanted it. Natsu simply would not lose. Their words made it clear to Erza.
"So. What can you tell me, Erza?" Makarov asked, curious as to what the girl had picked up on. She snapped out of her thoughts, realized she had been ignoring the master, gasped, and slammed her fist over her heart.
"Forgive me, master Makarov! I was distracted. This is not acceptable. If you like, you may -"
"That won't be necessary..." Makarov replied nervously, aware that Erza, following her strange and very strict code, was about to suggest that he punch her. Luckily, she didn't insist, and returned to the matter at hand.
"Though they are both equally strong and fast, Gray is the superior fighter. He has better technique and more experience." She relayed. Makarov raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Then why did they draw at the end?" He asked carefully. He had his own suspicions, and just wanted to know whether the girl would confirm them. After a moment's thought, she answered.
"Whatever they were fighting for, Natsu's motivation was more important to him than Gray's did, and it allowed him to make up for the skills he lacked and to draw level." She shrugged slightly. "Sometimes, even if you're physically weaker, why you're fighting can be just as crucial as how you fight." Her eyes grew distant. "One day, Gray may enter a battle in which the reason he fights will be enough to allow him to overpower his enemies. In this case, it just meant more to Natsu." She explained.
Makarov closed his eyes and smiled slightly. His thoughts precisely. The girl was really quite impressive, and not just for her power or skill. Erza turned away.
"It appears we are done here. In that case, I suppose I could leave for my mission today instead of tomorrow as I had originally planned. Farewell, master." She said as she walked away.
Makarov watched her leave, before turning to look at the two boys, who were still lying on the sand recuperating. Gray was staring at the sky with a strangely angry look on his face.
A very interesting new generation indeed...
A/N: Thanks for reading!
