p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu and I walked side by side. It was a position I wasn't used to, as August usually did the talking, leaving me to trail behind the main group. But August wasn't here to help me this time. Lucky for me Natsu seemed quieter than usual, perhaps it was because he knew I didn't want to talk. I hoped not. I didn't want any favors from him. Not when…/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Are you excited?" Natsu asked. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"The question startled me. "Hmm?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Excited for the job?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Oh," I shrugged, "I mean, I'm excited for the money."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Not for beating all the other guys?" Natsu asked./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I guess I just don't like confrontation as much." I said, "I'm not that good at it anyway." emliar./em/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I'm sure you're plenty good," Natsu said. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I shrugged, brushing of the complement. I didn't want it. I didn't want him to be nice to me. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"We walked in silence a little longer, and after what seemed like forever, the cobbled streets gave way to packed dirt and we entered the forest. We were getting close. "So…" I said, "What's our plan of attack?"/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu rolled his eyes, "We go in there and beat the crap out of em." he said./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Great plan." I muttered./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I try to keep it simple," Natsu surged. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I knew he was trying to be funny, but I was in no mood to take a joke, so I said nothing./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Soon, we were able to see a structure through the trees, it was old, and crumbing, but I had to admit it did make a cool hideout. We walked towards it, and I noted a large oak tree a way off from the entrance. If I looked closely I could make out a wisp of white, part of my mast, waiting where August had left it the night before. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Now I just had to get in, wait until Natsu and Happy where distracted, and then get out. Then the real work would begin. I sighed as I watched the ground pass beneath my feet. I noticed a few feet ahead of us there was a strange kind of glint along the path, like some kind of string... Too late I realized that it was. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Stop!" I cried to Natsu. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""What?" he took one more step, activating the trip wire what had been set. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I lunged forward and tackled him to the ground just barely missing a magic dart. Alarms sounded from the building. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu and I lay on the ground in a heap, but only for a moment, before we both stood and faced the building. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Looks like they know we're here." I said. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Thanks." /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Thanks?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""For saving me," Natsu explained, "I thought I was toast."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I tightened my grip on my danger, it had only been self preservation. If he died now, I wasn't sure I would be able to get out of this. I was confident in my skills, but I knew it would be impossible to fight a whole guild by myself. I had to keep Natsu alive for now. Just until it was the right moment to kill him. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah, no problem." I muttered. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Slowly the door to the building ahead opened. The people inside were not friendly looking. I couldn't see all of them clearly, but there where at least ten, most of them male. They all looked decently strong, but I could sense that Natsu and I were the only mages in the area. This would be hard, but not impossible. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu smiled, "Awesome," he said, "Why go to them when they'll just come to us." /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I understood his reasoning, but this new development would be problematic. If Natsu and Happy didn't go inside the building, there would be no chance for me to retrieve my mask without getting caught. I had to think of a way to get rid of him for a few minutes, but in the meantime we had to deal with the thieves. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Even though we were ridiculously outnumbered, many of the figures inside the building seemed hesitant. I could feel their fear. I reminded myself to take it easy on the silver tongue. I didn't want to burn myself out before the real job started. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Finally, one brave soul charged as, soon followed by his buddies. I pulled out my danger. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu planted himself in the dirt in front of me and promptly erupted into flames. He had no intention of running into the building. I would have to inch us toward it during the fight, as well as not letting my guard down. This was going to be a pain. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took a few steps back as the first of the thieves got close to us. Natsu released a gust of flame straight down the path, forcing the enemy to scatter in all directions. I saw this as an opportunity, it would be less dangerous to get up close when they were spread out. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I ran, veering to the right, the first man I came across threw a slow punch, but I ducked and slammed my elbow into his stomach. He shrunk away, leaving himself open, but I couldn't kill him. Not in front of Natsu and Happy, so I kicked his legs out from under him and went on. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Natsu was getting closer to the building. We wanted to stay close to me, but he didn't like where I was leading him. He didn't want to go inside. emTo bad. /em/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took down a few more thugs before I came to one that was obviously trained in fighting. He wasn't just throwing punches like a bar fight the way the others had. He had a good stance, and fast hands. I had to keep my guard up. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I locked in. he was faster than I'd expected, but not as fast as me. I ran in circles around him, dogging as I went, searching for an opening. I thought I had found one, but when I went for it he tripped me. I staggered, struggling to retain balance. One hard blow to to my right cheek and I landed on my butt. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I swung my legs and knocked his away. At least now we were both on the ground. The only thing I could think to do was jump on top of him, smashing my knee into his face in the process, but he wasn't down yet. I placed my hand on his forehead and flooded his mind with apathy. His body relaxed, and I let go as soon as I could, but I still got a strong dose of his emotion. Fear, and the shame of losing. I pushed the feelings down. I couldn't let them affect me right now. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I got up and looked around to find that more than half of the thieves were down. Time was running out. I had to find a way to get to my mask unnoticed. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu appeared at my side, still engaged with someone. "You good?" he asked as he dodged a punch, "You used magic."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah…" I nodded. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""What did you get?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I was used to this question coming from August, but it hardly mattered, his concern gave me an idea. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Anger," I lied./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Do you know how to get rid of it?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah!" I pumped my fist, "Punching people!" I turned and sprinted inside the building./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Vi? Wait!"/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I knew Natsu won't be able to finish of his attacker in time to follow me closely. I had a chance. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"The building was full of thieves, but I ignored most of them and looked for some kind of back door. Lucky for me there was a doorway behind a bar marked exit. I ran to it and vaulted over the counter. On the other side was some kind of kitchen, but I paid it no attention and ran back outside. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I kept close to the wall and crept back around to the front of the building, just in time to see Natsu and Happy barge inside, followed by the remaining thieves. Perfect. I dropped into the bushes and crawled over to the big oak tree. I made sure no one was looking before grabbing the mask and gloves and then sinking back into the underbrush. I quickly pulled off my shirt and pants, leaving me in only the stealth suit that had been hiding underneath. I put on my gloves to stop any unwanted reading. I twisted my hair into a low pony before shove it under the back collar. I put my mask on then pulled up the hood. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took a deep breath. There was only one last thing to do. Kill Natsu Dragneel./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Are you excited?" Natsu asked. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"The question startled me. "Hmm?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Excited for the job?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Oh," I shrugged, "I mean, I'm excited for the money."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Not for beating all the other guys?" Natsu asked./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I guess I just don't like confrontation as much." I said, "I'm not that good at it anyway." emliar./em/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I'm sure you're plenty good," Natsu said. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I shrugged, brushing of the complement. I didn't want it. I didn't want him to be nice to me. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"We walked in silence a little longer, and after what seemed like forever, the cobbled streets gave way to packed dirt and we entered the forest. We were getting close. "So…" I said, "What's our plan of attack?"/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu rolled his eyes, "We go in there and beat the crap out of em." he said./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Great plan." I muttered./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""I try to keep it simple," Natsu surged. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I knew he was trying to be funny, but I was in no mood to take a joke, so I said nothing./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Soon, we were able to see a structure through the trees, it was old, and crumbing, but I had to admit it did make a cool hideout. We walked towards it, and I noted a large oak tree a way off from the entrance. If I looked closely I could make out a wisp of white, part of my mast, waiting where August had left it the night before. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Now I just had to get in, wait until Natsu and Happy where distracted, and then get out. Then the real work would begin. I sighed as I watched the ground pass beneath my feet. I noticed a few feet ahead of us there was a strange kind of glint along the path, like some kind of string... Too late I realized that it was. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Stop!" I cried to Natsu. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""What?" he took one more step, activating the trip wire what had been set. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I lunged forward and tackled him to the ground just barely missing a magic dart. Alarms sounded from the building. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu and I lay on the ground in a heap, but only for a moment, before we both stood and faced the building. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Looks like they know we're here." I said. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Thanks." /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Thanks?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""For saving me," Natsu explained, "I thought I was toast."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I tightened my grip on my danger, it had only been self preservation. If he died now, I wasn't sure I would be able to get out of this. I was confident in my skills, but I knew it would be impossible to fight a whole guild by myself. I had to keep Natsu alive for now. Just until it was the right moment to kill him. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah, no problem." I muttered. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Slowly the door to the building ahead opened. The people inside were not friendly looking. I couldn't see all of them clearly, but there where at least ten, most of them male. They all looked decently strong, but I could sense that Natsu and I were the only mages in the area. This would be hard, but not impossible. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu smiled, "Awesome," he said, "Why go to them when they'll just come to us." /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I understood his reasoning, but this new development would be problematic. If Natsu and Happy didn't go inside the building, there would be no chance for me to retrieve my mask without getting caught. I had to think of a way to get rid of him for a few minutes, but in the meantime we had to deal with the thieves. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Even though we were ridiculously outnumbered, many of the figures inside the building seemed hesitant. I could feel their fear. I reminded myself to take it easy on the silver tongue. I didn't want to burn myself out before the real job started. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Finally, one brave soul charged as, soon followed by his buddies. I pulled out my danger. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu planted himself in the dirt in front of me and promptly erupted into flames. He had no intention of running into the building. I would have to inch us toward it during the fight, as well as not letting my guard down. This was going to be a pain. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took a few steps back as the first of the thieves got close to us. Natsu released a gust of flame straight down the path, forcing the enemy to scatter in all directions. I saw this as an opportunity, it would be less dangerous to get up close when they were spread out. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I ran, veering to the right, the first man I came across threw a slow punch, but I ducked and slammed my elbow into his stomach. He shrunk away, leaving himself open, but I couldn't kill him. Not in front of Natsu and Happy, so I kicked his legs out from under him and went on. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Natsu was getting closer to the building. We wanted to stay close to me, but he didn't like where I was leading him. He didn't want to go inside. emTo bad. /em/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took down a few more thugs before I came to one that was obviously trained in fighting. He wasn't just throwing punches like a bar fight the way the others had. He had a good stance, and fast hands. I had to keep my guard up. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I locked in. he was faster than I'd expected, but not as fast as me. I ran in circles around him, dogging as I went, searching for an opening. I thought I had found one, but when I went for it he tripped me. I staggered, struggling to retain balance. One hard blow to to my right cheek and I landed on my butt. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I swung my legs and knocked his away. At least now we were both on the ground. The only thing I could think to do was jump on top of him, smashing my knee into his face in the process, but he wasn't down yet. I placed my hand on his forehead and flooded his mind with apathy. His body relaxed, and I let go as soon as I could, but I still got a strong dose of his emotion. Fear, and the shame of losing. I pushed the feelings down. I couldn't let them affect me right now. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I got up and looked around to find that more than half of the thieves were down. Time was running out. I had to find a way to get to my mask unnoticed. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"Natsu appeared at my side, still engaged with someone. "You good?" he asked as he dodged a punch, "You used magic."/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah…" I nodded. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""What did you get?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I was used to this question coming from August, but it hardly mattered, his concern gave me an idea. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Anger," I lied./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Do you know how to get rid of it?" /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Yeah!" I pumped my fist, "Punching people!" I turned and sprinted inside the building./p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;""Vi? Wait!"/p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I knew Natsu won't be able to finish of his attacker in time to follow me closely. I had a chance. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"The building was full of thieves, but I ignored most of them and looked for some kind of back door. Lucky for me there was a doorway behind a bar marked exit. I ran to it and vaulted over the counter. On the other side was some kind of kitchen, but I paid it no attention and ran back outside. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I kept close to the wall and crept back around to the front of the building, just in time to see Natsu and Happy barge inside, followed by the remaining thieves. Perfect. I dropped into the bushes and crawled over to the big oak tree. I made sure no one was looking before grabbing the mask and gloves and then sinking back into the underbrush. I quickly pulled off my shirt and pants, leaving me in only the stealth suit that had been hiding underneath. I put on my gloves to stop any unwanted reading. I twisted my hair into a low pony before shove it under the back collar. I put my mask on then pulled up the hood. /p
p style="margin-left: 36pt;"I took a deep breath. There was only one last thing to do. Kill Natsu Dragneel./p