Chapter 11

"You brats can never stay out of trouble," Makarov sighed.

Lucy looked around at the guild members—Mira, Levy, and Erza—huddled together in Makarov's office, none of whom struck her as "troublesome." The only ones in the room befitting of the title were Cana, who was chugging down a barrel of beer, and Natsu, who was lightly snoring as he leaned against the wall.

As she stared at Natsu, the weight of the wrinkled paper in her pocket seemed to triple. She wanted to discuss it with him, to find a quiet corner of the guild far from overeager listeners, though such an opportunity had yet to arrive. They had come back from Malba yesterday, which Natsu had spent by recovering from motion sickness and fishing with Happy. Until this meeting ended, the message would have to wait.

"Dark spots, demon gatherings, hideouts, hospital visits..." Makarov continued. "If I had known the direness of Malba's situation, I would never have sent our newest recruit."

"Honestly, I'm fine," Lucy said. "I'm far from the main concern right now."

That main concern being... Gray.

"So, what's the plan, Gramps?" Natsu asked. "When are we gonna get the ice princess?"

The guild master crossed his arms. "There isn't a plan, Natsu. Not yet."

"What do you mean there isn't a plan? Are you saying that you haven't even found him?"

"Natsu," Erza chided. "The guild has only known of Gray's predicament for several days. We need patience."

He raised an eyebrow. "Patience? I've been patient—for a week. He's been gone for a week, and we've got nothing. How much longer are we gonna wait?"

At Makarov's silence, Levy spoke for him. "We have little information on Tartaros. I've been searching the guild's records for them, and other guild members have already begun the search, but it's going to take some time."

"So why can't you send me out there? We got back yesterday, and all I've done is nothing."

"We need to stay on the down-low, Natsu. They've already caught Gray, and I would assume they'd be looking for potential companions."

When Natsu sighed, Lucy thought he was cooling down. His clenched fists, however, suggested otherwise.

"What good is a guild," Natsu whispered, "if we can't even save our own members?"

"We will do something," Makarov calmly replied. "We're going to get him back."

Natsu's fist covered in flames. "I know that! But why can't we even do—" Natsu cut himself off. He stared at his flaming fist, wide-eyed, as did all of the others.

Several threads of darkness wove through his bright, vermillion flames.

Lucy rubbed her eyes, but the black spirals didn't fade from his magic. She didn't have time to ask him, however, for Natsu sprinted out of the room.

Erza recovered first from the daze. "I'll go after him," she said, closing the door behind her.

Lucy put her hand on the knob, but she stepped back when she felt something flick against her wrist. She looked down at the floor and picked up a card: A two of diamonds.

"Sorry, Lucy." Lucy turned to Cana, who held several cards in her out-stretched hand. "I didn't want you following them. Not yet, anyway."

Lucy rubbed her wrist. "And why is that?"

The brunette took another gulp from her barrel. "The cards said so."

Levy leaned over to Lucy. "Cana's cards can help predict the future, or parts of it anyway. Never make gambles with her, if you'd like to keep your money."

"I wasn't planning on it." Lucy looked over at Makarov. "Has something like… that ever happened with Natsu's magic before?"

Makarov rubbed his chin. "Once or twice, when that boy's been enraged, his magic had black specks. But it's never before held such a concentration of dark magic."

"But what could cause something like that? Isn't dark-colored magic something you inherit?"

Levy hummed in agreement. "Dark magic signifies demonic ancestry. You're either born with it, or you're not. At least, that's what common knowledge holds."

"I remember Natsu playing with his fire when he was in my hospital room," Lucy recalled. "That was only a couple days ago, and it had been normal. The only thing that I remember Natsu having done was... he said he'd explored Malba with Happy... looked into some other dark spots..." she paused. "Now that I'm thinking about, Natsu said he met a demon. A really powerful one. Could that have something to do with it?"

"It's a stretch," Levy admitted. "And yet, it's a possibility. I'll have to look into this, in addition to the situation with Tartaros."

Cana belched as she laughed. "I never knew you could get overwhelmed with research, Levy."

Levy waved her hands. "I'm not overwhelmed, it's just… trying to find out about their organization has been more than a challenge. They've been really under-wraps, and I'm still waiting for replies from my other sources."

"Other sources? Are you running a spy network or something?"

"I'll have to apologize for your current workload," Makarov interrupted. "The other guilds agreed to help with gathering intel, but they still need more time."

"Time," Lucy repeated. "You'd said that to Natsu, about Tartaros. But were you leaving something out?"

Makarov shifted on his stool. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not accusing you or anything, but... I don't know. It seemed like you guys were evading Natsu's questions about Gray."

Levy gave her a solemn smile. "You're rather astute, aren't you?" At Lucy's stoic expression, she continued, "We do, in fact, know more about Gray's location than we'd let on. Gray is likely being held in a main base or the headquarters of Tartaros, which is exactly why we can't let Natsu know. If Natsu found out, then he would—"

"Raid the base on his own," Lucy finished. "Yeah, I can see why you didn't tell him."

"We have already sent teams to scout the potential bases," Makrov said. "Once they report back, we can finally take the initiative."

"And we're trusting that Gray will be all right?"

"They're not going to kill him," Cana said, revealing a ten of spades. "He's got value to them. Whether they realize it or not."

Erza knew where to find him. She moved away from the plaza's distant thrums of banjo strings and the shrills of wooden flutes, arriving at a little garden, a private haven, adorned with rows of poppies, lavenders, and daffodils. In the center of the verdant green stood a marble statue of Mavis; the woman-turned-goddess held a Magnolia branch, a symbol of peace, in her left hand, and an opened book in her right.

Natsu sat on the statue's ledge, and his head remained lowered as Erza sat beside him to observe the azure sky.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Natsu turn towards her. "Well?"

Erza ignored his gaze. "Well, what?"

"When are you going to ask? About my flame?"

"Only if you would like to discuss it, as I am simply here to enjoy the scenery. I assumed you were not opposed to my company, for you did not change locations upon my approach."

From his strong sense of smell and hearing, Erza knew he was aware of her arrival. "I was too lazy to move," Natsu denied. "That's all it was."

"A rather amusing answer, coming from a hyperactive mage."

He huffed. "And here I thought you'd come for the scenery."

"Touchée."

After a moment, Natsu said, "I'm just as clueless." He paused again. "About my magic. I don't know what's up with it, why it looks like a demon's. None of this makes any sense."

"None of this makes any sense," Erza repeated. "A rather apt description of our world."

He crossed his arms, letting loose a groan. "Tell me about it. I don't remember everything being so confusing back in the old guild days. Do you you still remember those times? With you, me, and Gray?"

"Of course I do. How could I forgot your antics? You and Gray used to share the guild's record for the greatest number of brawls."

"I'm the current champion of that record, ya know. Gray's a sissy these days."

"Or perhaps he's matured." Erza placed a hand against the base of Mavis' statue. "I still remember your first fight with him, on your first day in the guild."

"Man, even back then, he was such a pain in the ass. I mean, his first words were like, 'You stink.'"

"I recall your colorful reply, Natsu."

"That's one way of describing it."

"What's up with you? You really stink."

"Yeah? At least I'm not running around half-naked."

"I don't know what you're—dang it!"

"In my defense," Natsu claimed, "Gray started it. Can you blame me for stinking after sitting in the streets for a week?"

"In Gray's defense," Erza retorted, "You'd randomly appeared in the guild and were scowling at everyone. He did not realize what you had gone through, or where you had come from."

"I shut him up pretty quick. A good punch to the face is all it took."

"And he punched you right back. Your little brawl only ended when I came over."

Natsu scrunched his eyes. "Geez, Erza. No need to remind me. You scare me enough as it is."

Erza casually polished her armor. "Would you like to repeat those words, Natsu?"

He gulped. "Nope. Not at all. Not whatsoever."

"Boys.What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Who the heck are you?"

"Oh great, we're in for it now, you dung-head."

"An astute observation, Gray."

"We settled that score, ya know. I went after Gray later, to get back at him. It was at this statue, actually. But by then, he'd found out what I'd been 'dealing' with, and didn't want to fight me—"

"—As he rightfully should—"

"—But then he came at me anyway. It was a battle between men, after all."

Erza gave him a fond smile. "A battle which ended with both of you on the ground; there was no clear victor."

"Lies," he hissed. "He so passed out before me."

"So you say."

Natsu closed his eyes. "That bastard… it didn't matter to him, who or what I was. He just saw a kid who ticked him off."

"You say that, but Gray deserves more credit. He was annoyed at you, at least at first, but he fought with you for your own benefit. You arrived at the guild with a countenace of disgust, cloaked in solidarity, so Gray wanted to give you an equal. A rival, so to speak."

"I don't care who you are,

I don't care where you come from.

You pissed me off, and that was all."

"Looks like the feeling's mutual."

He took a deep breath. "The ice princess better get back here, soon. I need to beat him up again, for ticking me off with flashbacks."

Erza rose from the statue's sidestep. "And he will return. To remind you that, no matter what happens, he'll fight against and with you."

Natsu looked down at his fist, willing it light. He observed his flames, still emblazoned with the swirling black tendrils, before closing his fist once again.

He looked back at Erza. "I guess that was your indirect message, that this doesn't define me. You guys'll have my back, as you always do." Natsu gave a nefarious grin. "Once that guy gets back, I'mma whoop him with my cool-looking magic."

"Is that the only welcoming you can provide him with? A fist fight?"

"Nothing says home like a smack to the face."

Erza innocently looked away. "It is my duty to intervene in such a fight, but perhaps I can make an exception. As I have finished admiring the scenery, I hope to see you once again in the guild, Natsu."

With a final nod, Erza headed towards their home.

After snuffing his flames, Natsu followed after.

A/N: I'm a fond believer in developing all characters, and Erza deserves such development. She and Natsu were both close with Gray, and it was only fitting for them to find solace together. (For all Nalu fans, I assure you that Lucy will have her share of moments down the line.)

As stated previously, I will not be posting next week. After that, we'll finally delve into the contents of the letter, and begin the next arc centered around Natsu's "initiation" (as well as several other plot threads). I hope you've been enjoying DH, and I hope you have a lovely week. Until then :).