The Pursuit of Family
Chapter 3
Natsu vs. Gray
The two of them stared each other down before making the first move. In the blink of an eye, Natsu charged right at Gray and launched him into the air. For everyone who was watching, they couldn't believe Natsu's power. Gray was flying high in the air as they started to distance themselves from the fight.
"Ice Cannon!" In his hands, a huge ice cannon appeared and he shot several shots in Natsu's direction. From his view, it appeared it hit directly, but after a few seconds, Natsu swept away the debris and smiled. "Ice Make: Lance!" As he returned to the ground, he launched an army of lances right at Natsu. That's when Natsu made his move. He ignited his body and weaved through his attack.
"Karyuu no Houko!" He grew closer to Gray, leaving him only one option.
"Ice Make: Shield!" Ice formed up around his body, but the power of Natsu's attack caused the ice to shatter and hit him head-on. He was hit and slid back a few feet before retaliating. "Ice Make: Hammer, Floor, Battle Axe!" Incredibly, Gray launched three attacks back-to-back. First was the ground. It turned to ice, causing Natsu to loss his footing. Then, the hammer and battle axe pinpointed his location and crashed right into him.
Boom! A huge explosion lit up the area causing everyone to gasp. Gray sharpened his eyes on Natsu' location when he saw him standing straight up, completely unscathed.
"Is that all you got? I know you're better than that." Gray gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. At that same moment, he rushed towards Natsu with just his fists. When he arrived, he swung at his face, into his gut, and down at his legs. His attacks kept on coming and Natsu wasn't putting up much of a fight.
"You bastard, you came here for a fight! Grow up and punch me back." Gray charged up one huge punch and landed it right across Natsu's face, sending him rolling through the snow. Gray watched him roll around as if he was a rag doll and couldn't help but grow even angrier. "This is pointless if you're gonna do this. It's obvious that nothing's changed. I'm the stronger one. You should just leave." Gray looked at him one last time and saw that he wasn't getting up. He turned around and walked back to his house.
"Gray-sama!" he looked and saw Juvia pointing in the other direction. He quickly turned around and a fiery fist ran right into him, sending him back into the house.
"You've changed. You've lost your edge. Your attacks mean nothing. It's like you're not even here."
"What are you talking about? It's you whose not here. If you're trying to act cool, it ain't working." Suddenly, Natsu raised his head and looked Gray straight in the eye.
"And you're trying to ignore what's around you. Why do you think we came here? It's because you need us and we need you."
"Shut up!" Gray lunged towards Natsu and punched him right in the face. However, Natsu was quick enough to stop it before he could. "You have no idea what you're talking about." Suddenly, Natsu's hand froze. "You're exactly the same as when we fought Mard Geer. Selfish." Then, the ice travelled up to Natsu's shoulder.
"You're wrong." Out of nowhere, the ice shattered and Gray quickly stepped back. He grabbed his hand as the heat from Natsu's hand managed to scorch him a little. "I can never think of myself. That's what keeps me going. Worrying about everyone else makes me stronger; it's what makes all of us stronger. You're just too busy worrying about your own problems to see it."
"Enough! I'm done hearing anything from your stupid mouth." Gray clenched his fist and his right forearm started to light up. Natsu saw what was happening, but did nothing to prepare for. He noticed the area around him start to freeze up. However, it didn't affect him. He could barely even feel. He just stood there and waited for Gray to make his move. "I wanted to avoid doing this to you Natsu, but you need to learn your lesson." All of a sudden, the cold air and wind started to swarm on top of Gray. "Hyouma no Gekikou!" He aimed his body right at Natsu and a huge snowstorm was launched at him, almost like his breath attack. The attack reached Natsu and started to freeze him solid. Second after second, his body was covered by thicker and thicker ice until he could barely be seen.
From behind, everyone watching was completely shocked. This fight wasn't what they were expecting. They were expecting a lot more fighting with a lot of childish behavior, but it was so different and with an even more shocking result. Gray finished his attack and walked over to the block of ice as he pressed his hand against it.
"I'm sorry Natsu. You just don't understand." He bowed his head and then looked at everyone else. "As for you guys, you're wasting your time. The Master is never gonna return. Just find some place to settle down in. This is all just a waste of time. I'm sorry Natsu pulled you into this." Out of nowhere, Gray jerked his hand off of the block of ice. It was hot. However, it didn't look like it all. The block of ice still maintained its shape yet when he touched it, it felt like lava.
Boom! The block of ice shattered and sent large pieces of ice everywhere, some managing to hit Gray and send him back a few feet. When he looked up, he saw Natsu's body on fire, completely fine as if his attack had absolutely no affect.
"Impossible. There's nothing stronger than Devil Slayer Magic."
"Don't think so high about yourself. It's your heart that's in the wrong place. "Karyuu no Tekken… Yokugeki… Kagizume…Koen!" Attack after attack, Natsu was unrelenting. He kept on going without giving Gray any chance to breathe. "Karyuu no Kenkaku!" Once his attack put some distance between them, something unexpected happened.
All around them, the snow started to melt and the temperature started to rise. Everyone looked around in confusion and wonder. Was this Natsu's power? They all looked at him and he was still standing strong.
"I'm sorry Gray. I have to do this. You need it." Natsu closed his eyes and prepared for the final attack. When Gray looked up from the ground, he saw a huge fiery beast emerge from behind Natsu. His eyes widened as he was running out of options.
"This isn't over yet!" He got on his knees and aimed his arms right at Natsu. From all around him, snow and cold wind started to shoot right at Natsu. This was unlike the other attacks. It was a relationship to the Devil Slayer Magic as he was able to manipulate the atmosphere around him and make things even colder than nature can allow. "NATSU!" Suddenly, Natsu opened his eyes and aimed right at Gray. His vision was impaired due to his attack, but he didn't hesitate for a second.
"Metsuryuu Ougi. Guren Bakuenjin!" He swiped his arms in a circular motion as his attack broke through the snow and wind. Incredibly, the huge wave of fire flew at Gray and he knew that it was over. Everyone else was watching and was completely speechless. They watched his final attack hit Gray directly. After that, the snow started to fall again and things started to get cold. When the snow debris finally cleared, he saw Gray lying on the ground unable to move. He slowly walked over to him and picked him off the ground. "You're strong. Use that power to protect this family," he whispered into Gray's ear.
…
A couple of hours went by and Gray finally woke up. He cracked open his eyes and saw that he was lying down on his bed. He looked around and saw Natsu, Lucy, and Juvia sitting next to him. On the other side of the room, he saw everyone else working hard and finding the next person. He sat up slowly as if there was something to be cautious of.
"What happened?"
"We fought. You don't remember?"
"No, I do. It's just that it didn't even seem like it happened."
"Yeah, let's pretend that it didn't." Natsu stuck up his arm and smiled. Gray scoffed and smiled as he rammed his arm against Natsu's. "So are you with us?"
"For the guild, of course."
"Alright, things are going according to plan."
"Natsu, why did you come to us?"
"Because we need to gather every from before. I had this plan ever since I found out about the disbandment. We start low and gradually pursue the S-Class mages." Suddenly, Gray and Juvia widened their eyes.
"Are you sure we can do that? Everyone's been getting stronger and have started to pursue other paths aside from guild work. It's been a while since we last spoke, but I'm sure Erza's on a completely different level now."
"Well, we'll just have to convince her otherwise." Gray looked outside of his room and saw everyone talking and referencing to books and other things which peaked his interest.
"So what are they doing right now?"
"I had a list of who we should find and now, we're trying to find that next person."
"And I was the first person?"
"Well, technically Wendy was the first one. You wouldn't believe where we found her."
"Why did you choose me to one of the first ones?"
"Because we have a history together. When the others see us back together, it could motivate them to become the old Fairy Tail again. That's what we're striving for." Gray nodded his head and looked down.
"So who's next?"
End of Chapter 3
