Thanks for all the well wishes, guys! I got through the first week of school with almost no hitches! I say almost, because I accidentally skipped my first history class... But, oh well, my professor was understanding and took pity on my poor, little freshman self. And speaking of my professor, guys... OHMIGOD. I HAVE TO RANT ABOUT HIM. HE'S SO COOL. I'll probably post something on my tumblr in a little bit since I don't want to take up so much space here...ehehehe. Anyway, school's good. I get calls from my family constantly, and my siblings actually tell me they love me and miss me, which just melts my heart.

Crap. Now I feel a little homesick. *sigh* Oh, well.

Special shout out to Sinares for being the 1,700th reviewer! Wow, you've gotten a shout out three times now! That in itself deserves a shout out! And props to my lovely beta, MsTeaN!

Adherence

o0o

The Hunt

"So he's gone after the Belladonna, has he?" Makarov hummed thoughtfully, using his index finger and thumb to rub over his white mustache. "Impulsive brat," the old man muttered.

"Oi, oi, you can't be serious," Gray snorted with a displeased scowl from his usual seat at the bar, swirling his drink in a deceptively-lazy circle. The ice mage, like every day before, was suspiciously rid of his shirt and his cargo pants were riding awfully low on his trimmed hips, threatening to drop at any second. "What does that idiot think he can do by himself? We've been sending out recon teams for a whole month now and they haven't come back with sh—crap," he amended after his dark gaze caught sight of Asuka standing innocently in the back of the hall.

The last thing Gray needed was a raging Bisca hounding his ass because Asuka had expanded her vocabulary to include new, more colorful, terms.

"Droy and I," Jet started, his tone suggesting that he was somehow mildly insulted by all of this, "have been doing our best work to track them down. And like Gray said, we haven't come up with anything noteworthy so far." His already narrowed eyes grew heated, and he didn't bother to hide the resentful glower that he sent the stripper's way.

Droy, a fattened drumstick in his hand, was quick to add between bites of his midday snack, "Shadow Gear is the best team when it comes to reconnaissance and intel." Unlike Jet, though, his voice was filled with pride—as though he were proud that his team hadn't been able to scrape anything together.

And of course they hadn't been able to, Gajeel thought acidly to himself, because they were missing their most powerful link—Levy. Shadow Gear was pretty much useless without their brain, the solid script mage; though, that was just Gajeel's honest opinion. Levy, for whatever reason, seemed to feel differently; said that Speedy and Chunky were just as talented mages as she was. Which was a total load of bull, Gajeel knew. But, either way, the fact remained that Shadow Gear couldn't be relied on because Levy wasn't participating in said reconnaissance.

And a good thing that was, too. Well, to Gajeel, at least. While he was here because of the last-minute emergency meeting, Levy was back at home, probably curled up in her bed and getting some much needed rest. He'd completely tuckered the poor thing out during the past few days; not that he was at all sorry about that. But the shrimp needed some serious R&R and he'd be damned before he let the comedic duo try and drag her out on recon duty.

She wasn't going anywhere where Gajeel couldn't see her—that was the new rule. With everything going on, the threat of the invisible Belladonna looming over the guild's head, there wasn't a snow ball's chance in the seven hells that she was going somewhere without him. Speedy and Chunky would probably throw fits when they found out, but, hell, Gajeel didn't give a rat's ass about their feelings in this whole matter.

This was an issue of Levy's safety, therefore it pertained to strictly himself and Levy—no one else.

So, when Speedy sent a glare sharp as daggers to Gajeel, the iron dragonslayer merely lifted the corner of his upper lip and bared his teeth. Levy was not going on recon—that was final.

"Is it wise for him to go alone?" Mira cut in after noticing the hostile way that Gajeel and Jet were scowling at each other. And while her sweet voice cut through, leading Jet to grudgingly avert his gaze, Gajeel continued to glare in the general direction of both Shadow Gear members.

"Natsu-san isn't alone, he has Happy with him," said Wendy.

"Oh, please," Gray snorted, rolling his eyes, "that's even worse. Natsu by himself is trouble, but when you add Happy into the mix, the two get into all sorts of…problems." He was quick to amend himself once more. Man, keeping his tongue on a leash just wasn't something that he was used to. But, he supposed he had to learn some way or another—because he highly doubted that Lucy would want him cursing around her kid.

She was more liable to hit him than Bisca was, too.

Mira made a thoughtful noise as she languidly dragged a wet rag across the bar's countertop. "Then…should we send someone after him?"

Everyone knew that he couldn't have gone far—even if he did have a two day head-start. If he was alone, or with Happy, then he wouldn't force himself to ride a train or anything else that was motorized or traveled above a ten mile per hour speed; meaning, that he was within walking distance still. More than likely, if Makarov send out a few teams, one of them would find Natsu. The only trouble would be bringing him back—the boy was a force of nature to be reckoned with once he had his mind set on something. Doubly if that something just so happened to pertain to Lucy.

"No," Makarov said, waving a hand, "let him be."

"Wait, so we're just going to let him go barging out there?" The ice in Gray's glass cracked, as if it was voicing his irritation. The ice mage crossed his arm across his bare torso, his right hand's index finger tapping against his bicep rhythmically. Obviously, he didn't favor the idea. "Even if he does find the Belladonna, which I highly doubt, what's he gonna do? Even he can't take on an entire gang by himself; especially if they're as dangerous as Galahad says they are."

"They are," a deep voice assured. Galahad was lurking in the corner, his usual spot, and he was smoking again. A shock to some of the guild mates—they'd never seen the man smoke before, only a select few had. "Gray's right. It's highly unlikely that he'll find the Belladonna on his own. If they don't want to be found, then they typically aren't."

He would know—he'd tried to find them outside of the appointments they'd set up countless times, only to come up with a big wad of nothing, nada, and zip. If they wanted to stay hidden…then there was no stopping them; even if there was a brutish, hound-like, dragonslayer on their trail…if they'd even left one. Which, Galahad was nearly sure, they hadn't.

"But if Natsu does, and he engages them," because there was no doubt in anyone's mind that if Natsu did somehow find the Belladonna, he wouldn't think twice about trying to pummel them, "he will lose."

That struck a chord with everyone present, the room falling silent. The air was suddenly much heavier, almost suffocating, and it was so quiet that even a dropping pin could have been heard. Because, everyone knew that when Galahad said lose, he didn't mean just the battle… Natsu's very life was on the line. Only Galahad dared to even move and break the eerie silence by deeply inhaling on his cigarette, then blowing the smoke out through his nose like a bull, appearing unfazed by this.

Even Gajeel, who had a lack of decorum and proper manners, didn't so much as snort. He may not have had manners, but Gajeel did have a vague sense of respect when it came to life and death—he was still working on that. The Salamander's life was nothing to scoff at. Especially since he was a worthy comrade and someone the iron dragonslayer considered a thrill to fight beside.

"Then we will send out a search party if he doesn't return in three weeks," said Makarov clearly, his old voice tough and hardened, like he was preaching a battle strategy. "We'll need our most skilled Mages, in case that brat gets himself into some trouble or doesn't feel liked coming back home. Laxus, Gajeel, Gray, and Erza will be the rescue party—be prepared," the older man advised his brats, eyeing the four he'd named seriously. "I would have called on Gildarts, but that idiot's off gallivanting somewhere, as usual."

Cana snorted from the bar, brown eyes narrowing over her mug that she was drinking from. "He's in Crocus," she muttered.

Makarov sighed, having suspected so. "Really, he takes off without a word when we need him the most. I don't suppose you could call him back, could you, Cana?" the lecher asked, fixing the bodacious woman with his most pleading stare.

She only scoffed. "I could, but I'm not going to. Do you have any idea what kind of smothering I'd have to go through? Any time I ask him for anything he's far too compliant…" she snarked into her ale. But, despite her harsh words there was an underlying affection, however grudging.

"We should start preparing, should we need to set out," Erza stated, crossing her plated arms with a clink. "We might have to bring him back forcefully, which means that we," and here, she eyed her teammates, "cannot afford to go easy on him."

"Hah, like we ever go easy on that idiot," Gray scoffed.

"True. I still owe him for setting my coat on fire," growled Laxus from a table, glaring reminiscently at the fur lining his trademark black cloak. That fiery-bastard had accidentally set fire to the fur on his coat while he'd been napping; Natsu claimed he tripped and let loose a little spark in surprise. The stocky blonde snorted. Obviously it had been revenge for the whole slavery thing, when he'd made both Natsu and Elfman his personal errand boys a few years ago—they still hadn't let go of their grudges.

Oh, Laxus decided, he'd be more than happy to beat some sense into the fire dragonslayer.

Likewise for Gajeel. He was still bristling over the fact that Natsu had actually dared to set foot in Levy's apartment the first morning after their mating. Which, Natsu had to have known at the time, was not okay on so many levels.

"So, three weeks then?" Gray mused, dark eyes lifting to peer up at the wooden ceiling, soft light peeping through the rafters.

"Three weeks," confirmed Makarov, "and then you can drag him back here." And, as if just considering something, the Master turned to the darkest corner of the room, where Galahad lurked. "Galahad, did you want to go as well?"

The dream caster had been out on very few missions since he'd decided to help keep watch over Lucy. Makarov felt like the boy needed to stretch his legs a little—not using one's powers for so long could have negative effects on their mindset; which was the last thing Fairy Tail needed at the moment.

But, Galahad only shook his head. "No," he said. "I need to continue my watch over Lucy. I don't feel comfortable unless I know for a fact that she is safe." In fact, he was antsy now just thinking about it. She only had Juvia for protection… What if the Belladonna decided to strike now? He wouldn't be able to get there in time…

"Very well, then." Makarov nodded. "And…has anyone bothered to let Lucy know of this?" he asked curiously, peering at all of his children.

"She is unaware," replied Erza. "We fear that if she knows Natsu might be in danger, she could stress herself too much. It's dangerous for her to be so anxious right now."

The Master nodded again, closing his eyes. As much as he hated keeping things from any of his children, he would do whatever he had to in order to protect them. Lucy would probably be furious with all of them later, but the lasting thing Fairy Tail wanted was for her to go into premature labor. Giving birth two weeks early was doable, but over a month? The child probably wouldn't survive—at least, not with the technology they had available and at their disposal.

Gray shuddered in his chair. "She'll rip us all a new one when she finds out…"

o0o

"Ne, Natsu… We've been walking for hours… How are we gonna find the Belladonna?" Happy asked with a grimace.

His paws were beginning to ache from walking for so long, the grit and dirt getting stuck underneath his claws—and he couldn't fly because his wings were exhausted as well. How Natsu could still manage to keep going, the Exceed didn't know. By all means, Natsu should have stopped at least three or four times by now to get a snack, or use the bathroom, or even to just horse around—he couldn't do one thing for too long, he got easily bored.

But, not this time. This was the first time where Happy had actually seen Natsu go without eating, or even mention the fact that he was hungry, for four hours straight.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was doing this for Lucy. That was probably it, now that the cat thought about it. Natsu always seemed impossibly untiring when Lucy was relying on him.

Looking over his shoulder, Natsu said nonchalantly, "I caught the scent of the bastard in Lucy's apartment a while ago. If I smell it once I can remember it."

Which, of course, Happy already knew. Natsu was practically a bloodhound with that nose of his—though he resented being compared to one. But, even with his hound-like nose, the attack had easily been over a full month prior, which meant that there was no possible scent to follow. Time and rain had destroyed any and all possible traces of that scent.

"But, Natsu, you can't track his scent," the feline reasoned, feeling puzzled.

"Nope." The fire dragonslayer shook his head. "But, I can head to all the recent crime-scenes." He grinned, as though very proud of himself, and folded his arms behind his head as he walked.

Happy squinted into the sharp, afternoon light, even more confused. "I don't get it… How's that gonna help us find the Belladonna?"

"Hmm, well, the way I figure, the guy that attacked Lucy was a real bastard, right? Only bastards attack women when they're defenseless. And since he's a bastard, he probably likes to cause trouble, so while he's been leaving Lucy alone…he's probably been out and about terrorizing other people," the dragonslayer explained in a rush, as though if he didn't get it out fast enough, he'd suddenly lose track of his entire thought process. "So, I'm hoping that by going by some crime-scenes that Macao told me about, I might be able to pick up that scent again—fresher." He shrugged. "It's a start."

Behind him, Happy blinked. Wow. For Natsu, that was actually a pretty good idea. Usually, it was Lucy coming up with the plans and the strategies. Natsu was usually just the brawns of the group; smashing was his forte, not thinking and planning. So, Happy was very impressed.

"Aye, sir!" he exclaimed excitedly. Then, he frowned, remembering the ache in his paws and his belly. "But, Natsu, can we take a break now?"

"Eh?" Natsu looked over his shoulder again, frowning as well. "Didn't we just take a break?"

"That was over four hours ago!"

The pink-haired dragonslayer stalled, mouth falling open. "Oi, seriously? Why didn't you say something, Happy?"

"I did!" the flying cat whined.

Natsu laughed meekly. "…Oh, sorry about that, Happy. Dinner break, then?"

"Aye, sir! You brought fishing poles, right?" Happy's dark, beady eyes were wide and practically sparkling with anticipation.

"Of course," Natsu said as he reached into his pack and pulled out a long pole with a reel and wire and a smaller set, for Happy. "Good thing there's a river." He nodded towards the riverbank that was just down a steep slope from the path they were on. "After dinner, we can set up camp for the night. We gotta be well rested for tomorrow."

Because, no doubt, they'd be walking miles and miles like they had today.

"Aye, sir!" Happy leapt into the air, wings beating excitedly, and swiped his pole from Natsu before flying straight down to the riverbank. When fish was involved, there really was no stopping that cat; he was like a freight train.

"Oi, Happy," Natsu laughed, "wait for me." He began half-jogging down the slope, trying not to trip and fall and summersault down the grassy hill—because he'd done that before, and it'd hurt like hell. The guild—specifically, Gray—had gotten a good kick out of the huge lump that had been on his forehead as a result.

Thankfully, Natsu didn't fall, or trip. He almost toppled over from stopping too fast, however, but rightened himself quickly. He was halfway down the slope when he froze.

The wind was carrying a scent from just over the riverbank. It was faint, barely there, like a few drops of lemon juice in a glass of water—just barely tainted, but tainted enough to know that something was off. Natsu could smell it, and the red flags started going up. It was the scent. Here, at the river of all places.

"Oi, Happy! Forget the fishing, we gotta move!" Natsu shouted down to his Exceed partner.

The blue feline's head swung around, disbelief written clearly across his furry face. He'd just set himself up, sitting comfortably on the grass, fishing pole already cast into the river, the buoy bobbing with the lax current. "What?" he demanded. "But, we can't leave without catching a fish or two…or ten! What about dinner?"

Natsu's stomach rumbled. Dinner. Yeah, he needed something to eat. He'd only had bread and a few torches for lunch—which, for Natsu, was practically unthinkable. He usually ate until he was so full that he could barely move an inch.

"Dinner can wait…" he muttered, disappointed as well. "I've picked up the scent. We need to follow it before it fades away, hurry!"

"…Aye, sir." Happy reeled his wire back in, gathering his pole glumly.

Inhaling deeply, Natsu skidded down the rest of the slope, tucking his fishing pole away. His stomach growled in protest, but whatever, he decided. Food wasn't as important as Lucy's safety was—and he had a feeling that the guild would probably go comatose if they ever found out that he'd passed up an opportunity to eat. Because for him, skipping a meal was sacrilegious.

"Where's it coming from?" the Exceed asked as he joined his partner.

Natsu sniffed the air again. "It's weak, but I think it's coming from the other side of the river."

Happy cocked his head to the side, black nose twitching curiously like any other feline. "Near Akane Beach?" Which, the cat had a hard time holding back his dark chuckling, had an overabundance of fish.

Who cared if fishing was technically illegal on the beach.

"No," Natsu shook his head, "it's a little more north, towards the mountains and forest area. Let's go, Happy, before the scent fades!"

For now, they had to follow that scent, even if it was a trap. They needed some kind of lead, and if it was a trap, then Natsu wasn't too worried. He could get himself out of any damn trap if he wanted to. But, he did have to admit that suddenly finding that scent in the middle of nowhere when they'd been searching for it for the past two days to no avail was a little, as Happy would have said, fishy.

Ah, well, whatever. Right now, they had some Belladonna-ass to kick.

Finally on the trail of Lucy's attacker...? Next time! Chapter 38: The Finding

KUDOS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED: SunsetRika, LoveTheCrazy, Guest, OtakuFangurl, wheathermangohanssj4, shanielle murrain, dragonslayerEDWARDELRIC, CelineFullbuster, Angel Yang92, Kohryu, Pink Angel Feathers, The Keeper of Worlds, Laila, Nephilim, Pikaskye, JadeAnime, Victoria Camrince, Guest, Animefun17, Lolibeagle, ZeldaWithAShotgun, KHLostEmpress, of kerfuffles and apples, DD42, Unspokenheard, theformulaofpudding, mra zala, raydark182, TheCookieMonster77, Kira, prettykitty280, NeverMakesSense, IndestructableLove, Professor Nebilim, Guest, BlackasEbony, LuvlyLadyLexi, hundefrau, pufuu bai, Sinares, Darklight0303, nessa, TabsTeam, kaykay, Guest, Rainbows-and-Rainclouds, blackopus, cerrdy, leoslady4ever, Guest, Llaelien, Winto-kun, Aquamarine2002, DeathBerryHime, Atari, Ha Ha Ha, LadyRosalie29, I saw the monster in you, XenotheWise135, lilpumpkingirl, Alice Harkey, Catwho, LunnarChild, Aslan9001, Guest, Tacokiss, KawaiiOdango, Danny Phantom Fan1

So, guys, things might get a little hectic now that both my beta and I are in college... Rest assured, I am DEFINITELY NOT abandoning this story. But, the updates might not be as regular as they used to. I have to figure out how to fit writing into my new schedule now that I have a LOT LESS time for derping around on the computer. I actually have to study and do homework and whatnot...