Just like the title suggests, fighting scene coming up… I'm NOT good at writing fighting scenes, so you have been warned. I find it difficult to use the right amount of details when describing a fight. Also, I don't really like it when people shout out their attack move for all to know, so although I will use the attack names when writing, I will not let the characters shout it out.

Also: OMG I got 10k words! This chapter turned out longer than expected, so I officially crossed the 10k line. It might not seem like much when reading, but I never even got more then 5k when writing fanfics before, so this is a nice milestone for me ^.^

…

Still don't own Fairy Tail T.T

Chapter 7 – A fight at last

After packing up their camping gear, the group set out to cross the rest of the forest. Aside from the long walk, which Lucy complained a bit about (who wears heels when tracking through a forest anyway?), it was actually going fairly smoothly. As of yet, they had not come across any monster like they had been warned for. "I thought that Shaun guy said that the forest was habited by those monsters?" Gray didn't mind the calm walk, don't get him wrong, but he wouldn't mind having some action either. Natsu, although he would never admit it out loud, could only agree with the ice mage. After the eventful night, he wanted to do nothing more than release some of his frustration. And what better way was there than to take it out on the source of his frustration?

"Well, he did say that it was just a rumour. For a we know the villagers spotted one of the monsters inside or near the forest and automatically speculated that more resided within the woods. It would have been too dangerous for non-mages to check it out for themselves, so instead they went with the most likely option" Erza defended the kind bartender. "Also, after our last encounter at the train tracks, I noticed that it looked like it had not eaten for a long time. Humans might not even be on its normal diet, which would mean that they would not approach humans unless necessary".

Although Erza made a compelling argument, her answer didn't sit right with Natsu. He couldn't help but wonder why the monster in his dream had attacked him, seemingly without reason… Wait, why was he thinking about it anyway? It had just been a stupid dream, so there was no point voicing his doubts… Not that he would have done so anyway. There was no telling what the red head would do when told that she was wrong. Especially without having any solid prove.

But before their conversation could progress any further, the group was alerted by a sudden noise right from them. Lucy slowly turned towards the source, the beginnings of fear starting to show in her eyes. "That… was just a small, cute bunny that was hopping around, right?"

He knew that her hopes were wrong the moment the others started to adapt a fighting stance (except for Happy, who flew around in panic for a bit, before opting to hide behind the blonde). Lucy had only time to scream "Dammit Gray, you jinxed it!", after which a few dozen of monsters started to charge at the group from all sides. They didn't seem to care about the celestial mages distress, so she decided to call on Taurus to at least defend herself from the oncoming threat.

Seeing that Lucy was relatively save and protected for now, Natsu charged at the beast closest to him. He was still aching to let go of that pent-up frustration of his, but the weird feeling in his stomach seemed to have gotten worse. Not paying it any mind he stomped his fiery fist against the monster's belly, knocking it out in one blow. However, when turning around to look for his next opponent, he had lifted his eyes up a bit too much, causing him to look straight into the eyes of the beast next to him… big mistake.

The surrounding noises started to fade away; the only thing he could still hear were his panting breaths and the accelerating beating of his heart. 'it got me…' Natsu could not avert his eyes from his impending doom 'the blood, the eyes…' in his turmoil, the fire mage did not notice the monster charging at him. Even though he was awake, he was stuck once again in the odd nightmare, his scar stinging anew with phantom pains.

Gray had just wanted to brag about his monster count, when he noticed that Natsu was not moving (and the monster that was his opponent very much so). Not wasting any time to think about what the hell the idiot was doing, he struck the beast down with his ice-make lance. That seemed to snap the pinky out of it. "Flame brain, what the hell was that all about?!" Gray didn't get the time to decipher the odd look on the squinty eyes' face, for it quickly turned ashen once Natsu noticed one of the monsters creeping up behind Lucy, who had her back to the two male mages. Natsu quickly struck it down with a fire dragon's roar, his body snapping into action once more.

He didn't really take notice of the blondes quick "thanks!", as he tried to make sense of his unexpected reaction. Okay, so I just have to avoid looking into those bastards' eyes… easy… damn it, they got six of 'em! And so, Natsu set out to attack the remaining monsters. However, unlike his usual fighting style, he only attacked the beasts from the sides or from behind, avoiding the six beady eyes while doing so.

Gray, understanding that now was not the time got back to fighting as well, all the while keeping track of the fire mage… just in case. With everyone back in the game, it didn't take long to finish off the remaining beast, leaving the forest ground filled with cadavers. "Do you… think that was all of them?" Even though Lucy did not fight of that many monsters, she could already feel the strain on her magic reserves, so she really did not look forward to the prospect of fighting off even more monsters. "It would be a save assumption. Taking into account how long it took for them to attack, as well as the amount of beasts there were, I would say they grouped together before engaging us in a fight" Erza responded with a frown.

Gray picked up on the uneasiness in her voice and caught on to what she was trying to say. "Wait, you don't think that they… planned this, do you?" he really hoped not, because that would mean that the monsters were more intelligent than they had given them credit for. Erza elaborated on her unsettling thoughts. "We cannot rule out that option. Maybe the monsters live together in packs or herds or whichever you want to call it. We may have stumbled on their hiding place and alerted them with our talking. But considering that the monsters from the last mission did not show such behaviour, it would be a save assumption that they actually grouped together in order to fight us". None of the group members liked this thought. This would mean that the monsters might be capable of strategizing, which could prove to be a problem. Powerful monsters would be no biggy, the 'strongest team' of Fairy Tail could overcome that easily. But monsters that could plan ahead, however limited that ability may be, could prove to be dangerous. What if the monsters decide to hide until the mages leave the town, before attacking once more? This could only spell trouble.

While the girls (and cat) discussed the potential threat this new revelation could pose, Gray decided that now was the time to pull Natsu aside by his shoulder. He had not forgotten about the mishap during the fight. "The hell was that all about?" Natsu was so not in the mood for this. "What?" "Don't play dumb. You completely froze during the fight! Had I not been there to save your sorry ass…" Natsu slapped the hand away that was still holding him by his shoulder. "So what, you want me to thank you? We both know that's not gonna happen" and with that he turned away, deeming this conversation over.

Gray, however, did not. When Natsu opted to walk away, the ice mage took hold of his shoulder once more, keeping a sturdier grip on it than before. "No, what I want is to know why you decided to shut off that small brain of yours during a fight"… alright, it might not have been the smartest idea to antagonize the dragon slayer… but dammit Natsu, you scared me. Natsu just narrowed his eyes, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. "I just had a rough night, nothing to get all worked up about." "A 'rough night' alone wouldn't result in you changing your fighting style, now would it?"

This stopped Natsu short, only widening his eyes in response. "Yeah, I noticed. In all those years I know you, you have never attacked your enemy from behind. Not on purpose anyway. Care to explain what that was about?" "Geez ice princess, I didn't know you cared" Natsu tried to change the subject by sparking up a fight, which might have worked had the situation been different. "Of course, I care! I was worried about you!" the statement took both mages by surprise, but even so Gray continued without letting his own surprise show. "You always help your nakama fight their demons of the past. You always seem to know when someone is in need of a shoulder to lean on, to share their troubles with you. Why can't you let us do the same for you?!"

This seemed to finally do something to the dragon slayer, making him pause. He had not expected to have a heartfelt moment with Gray of all people, but he didn't exactly mind it either (although neither of the two would ever repeat this moment to anyone else). Grey could see that Natsu was making up his mind about something… looking at his eyes, he felt that he would not like the direction the pinkettes decision was taking. His thoughts were confirmed when Natsu slapped the hand holding his shoulder away once more, albeit a bit more gentle than before. "That's because there isn't anything to share. I had a weird dream, and those bastards' eyes reminded me of it. That's why I decided to fight without looking at their eyes, that's all. Let's just get going before we get our asses beat by the she-devil" and with that he sped away toward the rest of the group, who had not slowed their pace.

Gray knew that he hadn't been told the whole truth, but it was more than he had expected (truth be told, he wouldn't have been surprised if their conversation had ended in a fistfight). He had actually surprised himself by saying… all of that. Both mages knew that they cared, they just would never express it out loud, let alone to each other. At least I seemed to have gotten through to him a bit because of it. Looking at Natsu's retreating back, it became clear that this topic wouldn't be discussed again any time soon. Unless something like this happens again, of course. If that happens and he still refuses to talk, I'll tell Erza. But for now, there was nothing he could do. Even they had a silent agreement to not involve the red head unless it was really necessary. And thus, Gray could do nothing except let it go… for now…

Dammit Natsu

OMG, the fluff! I see Natsu and Gray's relationship as a brotherly one, with Gray being a bit more mature/ upfront if necessary. But like I said before, you folks can interpret and ship the characters any way you like ;-P.

Stay foxy 'till next time!

x-elmsvuur-x

(ps. I don't know if Natsu has never attacked someone from behind before or not. To me, he seems to be a guy who likes to face his opponents head on. No 'sneaky stabbing in the back when they're not looking' kinda thing. Maybe in the heat of the moment, if he's focussing on something/ someone else, or when he's playing ninja, but not as an intentional battle strategy... I could be wrong, but it fits the story better this way so... yeah ^.^')