Wassup, mates? Here's a new chapter. Not super long, but that's because I didn't want another timeskip so soon. That's right. Next timeskip will start right before the canon Fairy Tail begins. Hope ya like.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any trademarks of Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail and all trademarks of Fairy Tail are owned by Hiro Mashima.
It was a gloomy day in Magnolia. Near the outskirts, a pink-haired man in a purple cloak wept in front of a grave, muttering under his breath.
The pink-haired male, also known as Natsu Dragneel, was saying the same thing over and over to himself. "I'm weak. I'm weak. I'm weak. I'm too weak!" he yelled at the end as he punched the ground beside him, creating a small crater.
Natsu had an unreadable expression as he stood up. He clenched his fists, and fire burst out of his feet, projecting him into the sky. He landed in an empty clearing. His face still devoid of emotion, he requipped his sword out as fire flared along its sides.
He began training.
Two and a half years have passed since Natsu joined Fairy Tail. Gildarts is aware of his relation to Cana, and has been with Cana more - going on jobs less. Most of Fairy Tail, particularly Erza, Cana, Mira, and Lisanna, have trained relentlessly so that they can reach Natsu's level. And about two years ago, Natsu was offered a position as a Wizard Saint. Of course, he declined the offer, saying that he didn't like responsibility.
Unfortunately, only a week ago, Lisanna was killed in a mission. The guild has been sad ever since, and Mira, Elfman, and even Natsu have blamed themselves for her death. Natsu had been on a job at the time, and Mira and Elfman weren't strong enough to do anything.
"BOOM!"
In the guild hall, people looked up at the sound. Most had been sulking, and some just weren't coming to the guild. Erza narrowed her eyes at the explosion - or what sounded like an explosion.
"I'm going to go check that out," Erza said as she walked out the doors.
Erza followed the noise - which repeated itself many times - to a large clearing surrounded by mountains. At least, it was supposed to be surrounded by mountains. She looked in disbelief at the destruction. The mountains were completely gone, and insanely large craters disfigured the ground. As she looked around for the cause, an unbelievable amount of fire full of lightning blasted straight at her.
With sharp reactions. she yelled, "Adamantine Armor!" Her requip was almost instantaneous as she pushed the two large half-shields together that she had recently summoned.
She was just in the nick of time. The lightning-enforced fire hit the shield and knocked her back at least thirty meters. Her shield slowly broke apart, and the armor started to follow before the relentless attack ended.
Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, she looked around for the enemy. She finally noticed someone in the middle of the destruction. It was Natsu.
"Natsu? What are you doing out here?!" she yelled to him as she requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor.
Natsu turned at the sound of his name. "Erza?"
"The whole guild could hear you, so I decided to check out what was going on. So what's going on?" Erza asked.
Natsu looked at her with emotionless eyes. "Training," he stated simply.
Erza was taken aback by his expression. "Natsu? Are you alright?"
Natsu didn't smile reassuringly, or laugh at her concern. Instead he answered in a few words, "I need to be stronger for my friends."
Erza looked at him for a moment, before walking over and embracing him. "You can't blame yourself for Lisanna's death. You weren't even aware they had gone on a mission. Being more powerful would have changed nothing. In fact, by your reasoning, we would all be responsible for her death. You need to think about how she would react to seeing you this way. Lisanna would always try to make everyone smile and laugh. She would hate to see you here, sad because of her."
With every word, she pulled him closer. "And I hate to see you sad as well. If you won't do this for yourself, do it for all of your friends," she whispered into his ear.
Suddenly, Natsu began crying. "Y-you're r-right…"
Erza requipped into her white blouse and skirt, so as to not hurt him with her armor.
Natsu pulled away for a moment. "B-but still, I… I need to train to help my friends."
Erza smiled at him. "Then train. Get stronger for your friends. That's fine, but you can't live in the past, and continue blaming yourself for something you played no part in. In fact, even Mira has started to get over it. She's realized all of this herself, and knows what Lisanna would want."
Erza hugged him tightly again before letting go. "I'll train with you, Natsu."
Cana looked up from her latest barrel. "Those sounds are getting louder, and there are more of 'em. I wonder if Erza found anything."
She got up. "I'm gonna go see if Erza's okay."
When she got to the place recently occupied by Erza, she couldn't comprehend the ground and mountains having been obliterated. Where the mountains were was nothing but pieces of stone littered around in the grass. The "ground" was now a twenty-foot-deep pit.
As Cana looked into the pit, she noticed two familiar figures throwing magical attacks along with actual weapons everywhere. Their collisions with objects created loud explosion-like noises that could be heard miles away.
She realized the two figures were actually Natsu and Erza, and began walking toward them. "Guys! What are you doing?"
She made sure to watch out for the attacks that were flying everywhere. At her voice, they quickly stopped, and the two turned toward Cana.
"Hey, Cana. We're just training," Natsu replied with a smile that hadn't been seen since Lisanna died.
"I see you're upbeat. I can't let you and Erza have all of the fun, you know," she said as she took out a couple cards. "Let's train!"
So, yeah. Timeskip at beginning of next chapter as well. Peace.
