Juvia awoke to the sound of shuffling and strangled gasping, sleepy haze quickly clearing from her vision as she sat up in her sleeping bag and looked towards the source.
Alarmed at the campsight's lack of Natsu, she squinted her eyes and focused on the commotion just downhill of the compact clearing in the surrounding bustling flora.
Through the clouded forest, which came as another form of night, trees of every hue cloaked in white velvet, the water mage was able to briefly spot a familiar streak of pink hair.
Scrambling out of the comfy confines of her sleeping bag and gingerly stepping over the ashy remains of their campfire, Juvia pushed on despite the chill that bit at her bare legs and arms.
Natsu's own sleeping bag was clumped up, telling of someone who left in a hurry.
His beloved scarf was still laying among the blades of grass like a white scaled snake.
Dots of flickering humming green swirled in clusters around and inside the messy tree line, fireflies and crickets throwing visual and audible noise in the confused Juvia's direction. Following the trail of footsteps that left the earth blackened and scorched, the rain woman continued downhill, stepping over fallen logs consumed by tenacious vegetation with alarmed urgency.
With each step and the subsequent crunch of fallen flaky leaves, she grew closer to the sound of snarling pants, softly calling out among the chorus of sleepy chirps, "Natsu?"
Carefully weaving through the clutter of towerings trees and shrubs, Juvia finally got a full view of where her temporary partner was.
Down on his hands and knees, chest heaving with strained intakes of oxygen, was a quivering Natsu.
Thick sheens of sweat moistened the plains of muscle that was his bare chest, dripping from his forehead and streaming down to his wide yet unfocused eyes. The busy forest floor around him had been disturbed by the dragon slayer's erratic movements, jubilant carpets of pine needles, acorns, and grass melted to meaningless black mush.
Behind the broken windows to the soul that were his pupils, laid thoughts so scattered that normal functioned was rendered nigh impossible.
"Natsu!?" despite the pain that nipped at the soles of her bare feet, Juvia rushed over to him, her own breath getting snagged on her ribcage, "Natsu, what's wrong!?"
Body shuddering and plentiful scars aching, the dragon slayer said nothing, calloused hands gathering blankets of fine nurturing roots into his clenched fingers.
Kneeling beside him, Juvia felt the gnarly heat pulsate from him, yet still decided to touch his molten skin.
"Natsu, talk to me, please! What's wrong?!" she urged softly, voice burdened with potent worry.
The already shivering Juvia felt a trill run along the length of her spine upon seeing the intricate rather imposing coal black tattoo that had appeared on his right bicep.
Something had spooked, rather pressured him into activating that form.
Fire Dragon King Mode, in all of its tempestuous and monumental majesty.
As he was now, there was no one in the guild that could stand up to his strength. Even Gildarts would not last long against the full force of this extraordinary transformation.
While it didn't amp him to the same ridiculous degree his natural Dragon Force did, she could still feel it multiply his base, albeit heavily suppressed, magical energy by a factor of 20.
Juvia, along with nearly everyone else, knew very little about Natsu's transformations. But most had enough common sense to realize that they were used sparingly, and that if they appeared, the situation was dire.
Despite the risk of startling someone capable of killing her with a twitch of his eyebrow, someone who had access to the unfathomable power of a real Dragon's magical spells, Juvia pushed against his shoulders without a sliver of reluctance.
From the pupils as thin as pinpricks, and defiant scowl that signified his battle readiness, Juvia understood he suffered some sort of night terror or panic attack. There was no fear, no terror in his expression, just the frenzied willingness to fight.
Despite that, he still seemed so vulnerable.
Chanting his name dulcetly until his eyes snapped to her, Juvia positioned herself closer, wrapping lithe arms around his shoulders and pulled his head to rest against her chest.
"It's alright Natsu, it's okay. You're okay. No one is here except you and me." the blue haired woman sung softly, the pad of her thumb sliding across his marred cheek over and over again.
Returning from the realm of subconscious action, the huffing Natsu seemed to realize what the situation was. Scanning his surroundings and the plants that shored from the earth, blanketing the land in the promise of life, his shoulders went lax.
"Shhh, just relax. You don't need to do anything, just breathe in and out." the water mage soothed, running pale fingertips through his mess of pink bristles.
Crooning gently with reassuring benign pitch, Juvia continued to sit there and hold him, not caring how long it took to provide him with some ration of comfort.
Natsu's own trembling arms encircled her bare belly, squeezing with desperate protectiveness, as if he was attempting to keep her from leaving, from going somewhere where he couldn't protect her.
Memories, as hot as a wretched branding iron, pressed against his brain over and over again, harsh reminders of the many times he hadn't been able to keep his family safe.
Watery gatherings obscured his sight for a second before clearing, something so forigen yet expressly familiar stirred, like opening a book that had already been read for the first time in ages. However, even if the dam broke, the lake it was containing had long been dried up.
It seemed the last tears his body would ever be able to provide had been shed over Mavis. Just thinking of her name nearly restarted his anxiety as the source of his initial panic attack swirled in his head. Recalling the long blonde hair and doe green eyes, the innocent features, soft yet wise words, Natsu began to choke up on his own panting and growling.
He could have saved her, he could have kept his beloved First Master around, if only…. If only….
Fortunately the familiar scent and presence of Juvia prevented any reawakenings or continuing of that train of thought.
The silvery feminine song of Juvia's coos and the feathery affectionate touches soothed a soreness inside of him he wasn't even aware existed.
No one had ever comforted him before.
He had no memories of his mother, and Natsu could recall very, very little of the blonde woman who knitted his scarf, so there had never been anyone to fill that role.
And what big sister figures he did have and grew up with, had spent their childhood actively doing the opposite of comforting.
Natsu really didn't mind, he was okay with pain.
As long as he himself was able to give comfort, he could not care if ever received any.
But that wasn't to say that having gentle arms wrapped around him, still leaving him with space to breath, did not feel good.
"It was just a nightmare, just a nightmare." the rain woman murmured as she rocked him back and forth, snatching a page out of Natsu's 'soothing people' playbook, continuing to chant sweet nothings after advising, "Focus on my voice, nothing else."
It had not been a nightmare, more so a vivid remembrance of a fight, the fight, of before and after that battle had concluded.
Despite these bouts of alarm having become so common to the point he refused to sleep, not wanting to rile slumbering instincts, their potency never faded or softened.
Clearing his throat in the same way one would reignite a sputtering engine, Natsu's breathing eventually steadied and blood extinguished the blazing call for battle within.
Juvia tucked his head under her chin, drawing circles on his shoulder blades with soothing repetitiveness, attempting to find a serviceable medium of secure comfort and space. When pink haired mage unconsciously nuzzled the side of her face and gave a strangled warble, she felt a balming relief flow through her the fact she was doing something right.
"I-i'm alright." the dragon slayer rasped shakily, feeling the blue haired woman shiver as the nightly permeating fog draped a crystal-white gown of chill around them both.
With a tut and miffed huff, Juvia rebutted with maternal sternness, "No, you're not, you just had a panic attack Natsu. And that's okay, you're allowed to not be alright."
Memories, nothing more than a teddy bear made of glass shards that pierced deeper the tighter he clung to it, remained very much present.
Juvia oh so desperately wished that Lisanna was here, as she was probably the only person that could properly comfort the dragon slayer when shame and guilt squished his soul.
She may possibly be the only person he didn't put up a strong front around, the youngest strauss had never ever doubted Natsu's strength after all. No one else in the guild could say the same.
Understanding nothing else was going to be said, and desperate to get out of the cold, the blue haired woman guided Natsu to his feet and assisted him in trudging back towards their abandoned campsite.
As they walked, the pink haired man gradually sobered, using his free arm to steady the both of them against any rough pillars of wood they came across.
"I-i'm alright now." Natsu rasped, scanning the campsite for intruders on unreasonable instinct upon arriving. "I'm sorry for waking you with all that." he apologized.
Juvia frowned tightly, sitting him down atop his sleeping bag, "You are in no place to apologize mister, so don't talk like you're a burden."
Snatching his beloved scarf from the ground, the blue haired woman gracefully lowered herself to her knees and wrapped it around his neck, chastising, "Let yourself be vulnerable again. You've told us time and time again that there is no shame in it, remember?"
Natsu sat with legs crossed and shoulders slumped, wiping where his eye and the bridge of his nose met with the back of one hand. The water mage could practically see him force harsh memories back down everytime they dared show defiance.
When the faint chittering of Juvia's teeth reached his audience, the dragon slayer flexed his internal temperature and sent a glance towards the extinguished heap of grey dust. With just a glance, Natsu reginited the fire, summoning warm orange tongues of flame to heat the air.
Juvia however, continued, still steeled to get reason through him, "Natsu, if someone hurt me, if someone scared me, and I came to you, would you protect me-"
"I would have never allowed anyone to touch you in the first place." he interrupted, his talking a natural growl. The flickering shines of fiery color failed to reflect in the obsidian of his eyes as he swiveled his neck back towards her, magical power pressuring the atmosphere. "I will always be there to protect you. Do not doubt that."
She held up a hand as to say 'let me finish', unable to hide her flush and grin at how quick he could activate his fearsome protectiveness. Having someone so active and upforth about their affection, platonic or not, for her was a drastic change in pace to the few and far between subtle hints her beloved Gray dropped.
But with Natsu, he would not beat around the bush.
Juvia, hoping the dragon slayer wouldn't take the hypothetical at face value, retried. "If someone hurt me, and I came to you scared, would you judge me for it, for relying on you? Would you look down on me because I wanted your protection?"
"Of course not." both said in unison, to which the blue haired woman gave a tiny victorious smirk.
Natsu, not having bothered to search for argumentative protests, exhaled through his nose in reluctant admittance.
"I know that we've hampered your mental state, we took away your own self worth from you, but as much as I feel guilty for my mistakes, for what the guild has done, I have seen how you have risen above that." Juvia admonished, giving her head a half tilt quizzically, "So why can't you afford yourself that same understanding and kindness you would me?"
With intense pondering lighting up the dark caves of his pupils, he glanced away, finger tapping against his knee as directed his attention to the campfire.
Lost in a sea of balloting flames, his brows furrowed as the glint in his eyes echoed the lively mesh of swaying red and orange, as if the two blazes so close and so distanced had very much to express to one another. The swirling colors slowly darkened to crimson as his mere stare caused the fire's grooving sharp blades to curl and bluster, flaring outwards.
"N-natsu?" a timid mewl instantly yanked the pink haired mage from his trance, head snapping towards Juvia, who nodded to his right arm. With hands placed on shivering knees, she shuddered, blushed, and sheepishly requested, "C-could you turn t-the... The…. Could you turn that off?"
Natsu's stomach dropped as the rain woman confessed, feeling as if the draconian surge of unfathomable raw potential had practically forced her into submission, "I-it's giving me the heebie jeebies, you know?"
Fire Dragon King Mode. He had yet to drop out of the form, the scalding tattoo still printed to his arm.
Having a bad habit of leaking energy, sometimes not even magical in nature, just power in its truest form, had been amplified twenty fold by the presence of this transformation.
Juvia, an experienced mage who had mastered the ability to detect magical signatures, was rightfully overwhelmed as a force that rivaled if not surpassed Gildarts beared down on her every sense.
Clenching the tattoo, Natsu's jaw tightened as he visibly wilted with shame, bowing his head to offer a dulcet yet sincere apology, appearing as if he was getting a virulent headache.
As his devastating presence and the tattoo signaling it faded into the night, Juvia winced at his reaction yet stopped holding a breath to her chest.
The image of her staring at him with such submissiveness, not born out of trust but bred from pressure, damaged Natsu's heart in unfathomable ways.
"Hey, hey, we talked about this." the rain woman said slowly, clearly, as she scooched over to lean against him, sensing his turmoil, "I know what's going through your mind, and I want you to nip it in the bud right now."
"This doesn't go away after just one talk Juv." Natsu practically defended his shame, seething to himself. However, his clenched fist instinctively loosened when the rain woman slithered her hand into his, long digits curling around Juvia's palm with such steady gentleness.
The blue haired mage said, "See? Your body immediately relaxes, your body, you, despite all of your power, it knows how and when to be gentle." Baby blue seas of frazzling waters stared into Natsu, barging past his embittered veneer, "Do you know what that tells me?"
"It tells me that all of this is in your head. When I said you're one of the most gentle people I know, I meant it. Stop doubting yourself, doubt kills. All you need to do is just be."
Unable to argue, Natsu pursed his lips, cinders of confliction fluttering in his head much hotter than the campfire before them. Resting her head on his shoulder, draping swathes of soft blue down his back and chest, Juvia waited a beat, allowing lively songs of the slumbering forest and crackling of fire to soothe his exasperation.
"You're too smart for me." was Natsu's eventual response, which drew a breathy chuckle from her, "You and Gray's kids are gonna be freaking scary."
Haltingly, she said, "Let's not get off topic. That's just a hypothetical, and also far down the road." Juvia denying was rendered moot by the dumb grin that lit up her soft features as her subconscious swooned at the idea of offspring with her beloved.
"Uh huh." Natsu 'agreed' causastically, seeing right through her.
Clearing her throat as if to restart their conversation, Juvia deflected,
"A-anyway…" the water mage looped both her arms around Natsu's right, prompting, "What was that thing again? Blaze Emperor something or other?"
Bicep stilling, he corrected with caution, "It's Fire Dragon King Mode. You were sorta close-ish."
When the dragon slayer sent a wary glance towards his own arm, as if his own body was not to be trusted, Juvia jostled him lightly,
"You just showed me you can control it. Your power isn't a side of you that needs to be contained or hidden. That's you, your strength."
Plucked from his daze, he said, as if he had arrived at that conclusion far before she had, "I know."
"So, where did it come from, what does it do besides boost your power? Is it a lesser form of Dragon Force?"
"The form grants me access to spells that Dad himself innovated and refined. The entire concept of it is completely unique to me, it probably didn't even exist until I got Dad's power. All I did was give it a name."
Natsu elaborated with a surprising amount of eloquence, "If the same circumstances happened to another dragon slayer, it would merely give them a boost in strength. My old man was actual dragon royalty, if that even exists. He was an actual king."
Juvia nuzzled his cheek and stifled coming yawns, "I thought Acnologia was the Dragon King?"
"Juv, anyone can call themselves anything, doesn't mean it is true. Acnologia thought just because he came in towards the end of a war and wiped out both weakened sides, he got the right to call himself 'king'."
"Dad was very much the rightful King, per Draconian customs and traditions, he had earned the title by beating the previous rulers." the dragon slayer stated firmly.
"Ooh, those were some big words."
Natsu snorted at the sleepy yet playful quip, but finished still, "However, my using Dad's power was just a one off, a one and done deal. The first time I used the form, it was astronomically stronger than it is now, seeing as I have to use my own power as a substitute."
Producing a small mewl of understanding, Juvia felt herself melt against him, the bare skin of her arms and legs no longer cold to the touch. "Well, I like the ring to it Mr. Dragon King."
Natsu was able to keep his expression from bittering at that, as unworthiness flowed through every pour in his body.
"Do I have to call you 'my highness' now?" Juvia giggled sleepily, dropping churning unease in the dragon slayer's gut.
"Please don't. I'm not above anyone." he responded disturbed, which only drew more snickering. The thought of Juvia, or any of his family for that matter, at the mercy of anyone enough to stir up growls deep within his sore throat.
Slapping his chest lightly, the water mage chided, "Hey, quit your growling. It's bedtime, not 'protective Natsu' time."
"We have a big day tomorrow, we need to get back to sleep." stifling a yawn, or rather failing to do so, she crooned gently, "I'll be right here, I promise."
Being one of the few awake in the snoozing maze of vegetation and foggy pine, the two settled into a sleeping bag. Juvia, ready to provide further relief if needed, understood that the best way to comfort his nerves was to allow him to cling to her bare stomach and bury his face in her back.
It broke her heart in so many ways, seeing that it had gotten to the point Natsu needed constant self confirmation that she was there, somewhere he couldn't fail to protect.
The last thing Natsu's mind registered before resigning to rest was the familiar soothing scent of a friend and Juvia rhythmically stroking the devastated back of his hand.
"Hey, what did you mean last night when you said Igneel had earned the throne?"
Juvia's soft silvery voice cut through the verbal noise of Magnolia's broiling markets, snapping Natsu from his stoic daze as he gazed out into the sky. The clouds had not graced the skyline since he had blown them far away days ago in a slip of composure.
Thankfully, the question gave him an excuse not to wince and scold himself. Having both his and Juvia's travel bag shouldered, Natsu met the quizzical glance the water mage sent him from over her shoulder.
Pink eyebrows curling, Natsu grunted an expectant 'what about it? over the marriage of noises that were the city streets, from friendly bartering to the clatter of spinning wagon wheels.
Juvia elaborated as her companion effortlessly caught up to her via his much longer strides, "Does that mean there were multiple Dragon Kings before him?"
Watching city folk hang up their laundry to dry over wires that connected rooftop to rooftop, Natsu gave a ragged hum of confirmation. "Yeah, Dad used to tell me stories about them when I was little."
Bumping her shoulder against his, the ever curious Juvia demanded lightly, "Ooh, do tell."
"Really? No one has ever been interested in Dragon culture?" Natsu admitted, adjusting the collar of his duster, recalling, "I mean there was that one time I took Levy to an ancient library in the desert looking for books about it since the Dragon Historia book was a full of crap, but then we got attacked by a giant owl before the whole thing sank into the ground."
Juvia blinked dumbly, "Story for another day that one."
As the townspeople flowed around them like a jagged stone knifing through the current of a river, some even murmuring in awe and surprise, the rain woman moved closer to him and somehow cobbled together a response to that.
"Well I am very much interested." she stated with vehement seriousness, which was in turn negated by her suddenly stopping in her tracks to admire a jewelry stand.
"Oh Natsu, look at this adorable little piece! Do you think Gray would-" the blue haired mage gave a girly yelp when Natsu gently tugged her away by the wrist, apologizing to the befuddled stand owner for the commotion.
Natsu pulled her to his side and rumbled, bemused, "Focus Juv."
Sheepish, Juvia fiddled with her hair like a shy child and murmured a plea for the dragon slayer to continue.
"So you wanna know about the rulers before Igneel?"
"Y-yeah." the water woman cleared her throat, "I only saw him once, and other than his mere presence requiring me to get a new pair of panties, he seemed nice enough. A lot like you."
"Pfft, you think that overgrown lizard is scary?" Natsu's laughter came flowing and free, the scars of his face stretching as he grinned, "Yeah, he looks terrifying, but he was basically a giant eldery golden retriever."
His fond cortles that graced Juvia's eardrums with their presence lifted her spirits, leaving her unable to call the last time Natsu had genuinely laughed. Not a dry arid chuckle, not a bitter snort, but a sound that showed honest to god happiness.
"He was a big ole' softie Juv, and if he was here today, I assure you he would love you, love the guild. Dad would gush over Wendy just as much as I do."
Smiling ear to ear, she shared, "Well he sounds like he was a good ma- dragon. A good dragon."
A variety of emotions, some of which Juvia didn't want to see in him, scurried across his expression, showing unresolved grievances, and peace not yet made.
They both stopped at a street corner right next to the gaping river that portioned the city into unequal sections, waiting for a line of carriages to make their pass, horses giving impatient whines.
"Well, that story is a bit long, but you're smart so I think you'll be fine." he began, setting his jaw.
"When Earthland was still just a collection of gas and dust hurtling through space, a galaxy far from our own, much larger than our own, suddenly vanished. It had been wiped from the cosmos, destroyed by the birth of something."
Juvia's baby blue waters began to churn with interest, hearing Natsu, who had recently done his best to speak in short sentences, obviously not interested in talking, utter words in a manner that convinced her the dragon slayer finally wanted to stretch his vocal cords.
"From the center of a supernova came 7 beings, their blood flowing with sin, as they were said to be disgraced angels of God, rising from hell to tarnish his precious creation out of spite." started Natsu, tilting his head back a few minute degrees.
"The Elder Things, the Deep Ones, the Lords of Sin, they went by many names, but the form they took earned them the title 'the Dragon Emperors'." Natsu said, the neutrality of his tone, it's unwillingness to take itself lightly or seriously, earning every bit of the blue haired woman's attention.
"We don't know why they decided to take the form of Dragons, of why they wished death upon the stars, or how many galaxies they destroyed during their conquests. All we knew is that they eventually made their way to Earthland."
Finally able to cross the cobblestone street, Natsu headed off towards the sparsely populated bridge that oversaw the busy river, Juvia hot on his tail.
"Dragons have existed for hundreds of millions of years, and Dad was one of the oldest to ever exist. Older than Acnologia, than Zeref, than the Dragon 'God's', he was there long before they were." he revealed, onyx gaze darting every which way, from the couples leaning against the bridge railing to the dozens of fishing boats that sailed past beneath them.
"They're that old?" Juvia whispered to herself, to which Natsu nodded, shifted their travelling bags in his grip.
"Dragons were one of the first creatures to ever roam the planet. But their reign was almost cut in half when you know who came along."
While Happy would very much enjoy the tangent aroma of fish, Juvia did not, her delicate features scrunching up in a grimace as she peaked over the stone bridge to see a timeworn sailboat, a veteran of the brine, its deck loaded with crates full of trout and bass.
Now she missed Happy.
"So what happened?" the water mage prompted, watching fishermen exit their barges to throw bundles of nets onto the dozens of wooden piers that stood in the shifting waters.
The question drew a 'really?' look from Natsu, who kept the caustic remark silent and answered bluntly, "War."
"The seven of them, Sodom, Vars, Kamukura, Gladios, Ganglion, Dioramos, and Megidora, almost wiped all life on the planet out. Just one could have destroyed the planet with a snap of their fingers, cleaned out the solar system itself of matter, but they wished to sully it, disgrace the planet God had created for the beings he had made in his image."
"D-destroy the planet?" Juvia squeaked out, lips trembling.
"Yes. They could bend the universal laws to their whim, comprehend, reside in, and destroy higher dimensions that us humans cannot perceive. They are cogs in reality, anomalies that are capable of turning creation to ash."
Rubbing her arms, the water mage ushered him to continue, or rather piece it all together, "Okay, freaky story, but how does this relate to your Dad becoming King?"
"Simple. Dad beat em'."
"W-what!?"
While passersby held their aching ears and sent Juvia dirty looks for her outburst, Natsu reiterated, scratching an eyebrow "He beat them, fair and square, by their own rules."
While the rain woman withered with embarrassment and clung to her companions' sleeve, they rounded a street corner, their vision able cut through the swathes of people littering the hug of houses and small businesses to see their guildhall just a block or so away.
"Before them, there was really no need for a king. Not enough dragons. But the Dragon Emperor's came in, claimed the top, and created rules for anyone foolish enough to challenge them."
Juvia cocked her head, "Rules?"
"In order for one to rightfully take the title of Dragon King, they must win a one on one match vs another challenger, both participants at their best. If one receives outside help, so does the other."
Not knowing enough about Natsu and the other dragon slayer's fight with Acnologia, the water mage remained silent, having nothing to add.
"So, one by one, dragon by dragon, emperor after emperor, the Fire Dragon Igneel became the Fire Dragon King Igneel." Natsu continued, still so uncharacteristically unemotional.
"W-what happened to them?" she pipped shakily, "Where did they go?"
"Dead, whatever soul they had left cast back down to hell by Dad. When the dust settled, Igneel stood atop a pile of their bodies victorious, the fallen Emperors now a single King." he answered, stepping away from Juvia to allow two scampering giggling children to slip between them as they chased a ball.
Massaging his throat yet again, "For millions of years, no one dared to challenge him. When other incomprehensible horrors from deep within the cosmos decided to pay a visit to Earthland, the dragons and their king stood waiting, ready to put them down if needed."
Juvia's pale fingertips tightened around the cloth of his duster sleeve as the two passed a group of men, all of which sent the water mage stares she was not a fan of. She wasn't scared in the slightest, the squeeze only there to signal Natsu intervention was not required.
Thankfully, the dragon slayer's protective instincts were tempered enough by her presence so that the only action he took was giving the group of lecherous men a stern glare.
Said group of over exuberant fans immediately slinked off into the alleyways, shielded by houses but one handshake door to door.
Juvia cleared her throat in an attempt to balm the tension, "So, your father was really, really strong."
When Natsu's veil broke and a proud grin tugged lips upwards, the water mage couldn't help but do the same.
"Yep. He was an old fart by the time he adopted me, but in his prime, he would have no trouble against Acnologia. I mean, he did beat the 'Lords of Sin' after all."
Juvia's face flipped to an expression of alarm, "W-wait, the story is true!?"
While having enough tact to not repeat her past mistake of screeching in public, her shrill voice raised an octave higher than she would have preferred as cold alarm drenched her back.
"You said it was just a campfire tale your dad told you?! Now you're telling me aliens exist!?"
Natsu simpered, shooting back smugly, "Why are you acting surprised? You started asking questions that implied you thought it was true as well."
Juvia's composure simmered into steam, "Because I was interested in it you dummy! Sorry for thinking your father was super cool!"
A bark of laughter escaped the dragon slayer, watching the soft spoken polite Juvia freak out, "Hey, silver lining, your reaction tells me I told the story correctly."
Rubbing her palms against her face, Juvia groaned, brain struggling to fully comprehend what she thought to be an effectively chilling legend to tell children.
"All of it's true?" her weary prompt came muffled, which was almost devoured whole by the noise of the city streets and its hues of artistic dreamtime.
She received no answer.
Splitting two fingers apart, Juvia stared at her companion's face for any sign of a confirmation or denial.
All she got from the pinkette was a coy smile and shrug, something his younger self would do often. Neither a yes or no.
"That's the least 'answer' answer ever. You jerk, I want to sleep tonight." Juvia murmured as she took off her cap to soothe down some of the blue friz underneath.
As they grew closer to the guild, Natsu offered somewhat soothingly, "Hey, don't worry about it. They're all dead, so it's a moo point."
Juvia corrected, eyeing the unusual crowd in front of the guild hall, "You mean 'moot' point?"
The dragon slayer scoffed, "What? No, don't be ridiculous. It's a moo point."
Eyebrows stitched together in befuddlement as Juvia mouthed 'what?' to herself. Catching that, Natsu elaborated as if his companion had gone insane, "It's a moo point, you know, like a cow? It's a cow opinion, it just doesn't matter. It's 'moo'."
The rain woman pursed her lips as if she had swallowed something bitter, giving her head a small shake of disappointed understanding before looking ahead.
All of her attention now diverted to the guild hall, her audience came back to the growing crowd of people that had formed in the street right in front of it.
"Hey, what's everybody doing outside?" when her gaze flitted to the side and saw the dead seriousness that had etched itself into the scars on Natsu's face, Juvia felt her stomach clench. He knew something she didn't.
The dragon slayer broke out into a hasty jog, which his blue haired companion was forced to replicate.
The two expertly navigated their way to the crowd of familiar and unfamiliar faces, the congregation's numbers too plentiful for them to catch a glimpse at what had so strongly demanded their attention.
The very intimate sounds of battle punctured the jubilant cheering to reach Natsu's eardrums.
The shrill clang of blade impacting parrying surfaces, the dull yet heavy thumps of blows landing, the rush of whiffing air that followed a missed strike, they all served to encourage Natsu's feet to move that much faster.
The only sense other than sound he could rely on was sight, keen eyes allowing him to catch fractured glances of the fight from over the heads of guild members and spectators.
Gingerly grasping Juvia's wrist so as to not lose track of her, Natsu and the water mage dove headfirst into the wall of bodies, the height of the audience not short enough so he could assess the situation from afar.
Thankfully, his flaring energy signature served as a more than strong enough 'ringing bell' so that people were instantly informed of his presence, and as such gave him and Juvia plenty of clearance.
Natsu pushed aside the cacophony of astonished shouts and queries that came from his observing guildmates, and strangers, as his grizzled intuition caught on to the battle's combatants through the increasingly more clear signals.
"Oh snap, is that Natsu?!"
"Hey Droy, Natsu's back!"
"Kid, where the hell ya been?!"
"I told you Freed, there was no way he wouldn't show up to watch eventually!"
"Okay, but why pink?"
Finally, both mages broke through the innermost circle of the sudden conflux to a sight that left them stunned.
The street fight's participants were none other than Gray, Erza, and Mira.
From the looks of it, the alliances were obvious, a 2v1 with former rivals working in tandem to challenge the ice mage, to less than stellar results.
If this was a year ago, Gray would have gotten his ass handed to him.
He was stronger than them individually, and had been for a good while, but the two women made such a formidable team that not even Gray, with all his strategic abilities, wouldn't have lasted long at the time.
While Gray had evolved as a fighter in every conceivable metric since, Erza and Mirajane's growth were comparatively shallow, with only new armors and transformations to assist them. They had kept themselves in shape and went through several harrowing and grueling battles, but they hadn't sought to actively push themselves in the same way he had.
Meanwhile, Gray himself had unlocked two new transformations, along with having mastered several new arranges of spells and hand to hand techniques.
That very much reflected in the fight, with the ice mage able to competently fend off the combined efforts of both Erza, who had donned her Nakagami Armor, and Mirajane, who was utilizing her most powerful and infamous transformation, Satan Soul: Sitri.
Fortunately, it seems as if magical spells as a whole had been prohibited, leaving the street fight as an anarchic melee between mages who could all level islands if they didn't restrain themselves.
So there was still plenty cause for alarm.
The three combatants moved as blurs, slithering about with such speed their shadows struggled to keep pace.
To most, whatever was going on was completely indecipherable, but to Natsu, their movements were very much readable.
To their credit, Erza and Mirajane had been able to come together to create a well oiled machine that constantly forced their opponent on his toes.
Deadly and precise flurries of lethal slashes, lunges, and blows made sure Gray could never stay in one spot for long.
These efforts never actually managed to harm Gray however, let alone tag him.
When the ice mage bobbed and weaved his way through a string of hastily thrown jabs and hooks from Mirajane, the moment a palm thrust or back fist sent her sprawling, Erza was right there to continue the attack.
The lustrous blue and gold bladed halberd the scarlet knight wielded allowed her superior reach over her opponent, and when combined with the immense strength the armor itself provided, it gave Gray a very convincing reason to keep his guard up.
With each swing, the shimmering blade left streaks of illuminative grey in its wake, making it near impossible to deduce where the weapon actually was to most.
But Gray was able to duck and dodge with grace that was unmatched among the other combatants, snaking blows to Erza's torso or face every time he used his forearm or shin to block either the flat side of the blade, or the lengthy handle itself.
Mirajane leapt back into the fray, effortlessly blending into and contributing to Erza's assault, forcing Gray onto the backfoot, turning his agile dodging into careful blocking.
This didn't last long, as he caught Erza's halbert mid-spin, and snapped an elbow across her cheek.
With speed neither woman could compete with, the ice mage blocked a jumping knee from Mirajane with a palm before sliding between them.
They both let out strangled yelps of pain when he lashed out with a leg, a harsh knee burying itself in Erza's spine before bouncing off to stuff a heel in Mirajane's gut.
On the sidelines, the moment Natsu made the slightest motion to imply his intervention by dropping their bags, Juvia stopped him, holding an arm out in front of him, "H-hold on Natsu, we don't know what's going on!"
"It's pretty freakin' obvious what's going on." the pinkette stated sternly, gesturing to the scuffle with his chin, "Someone is going to get hurt if this keeps up."
"Just wait!" the water mage urged as she swiveled her head to scan the crowd, hoping to spot some figure of authority.
Upon spotting a head of dark orange hair and a familiar ragged cloak, she ordered with as much firmness as she could muster, "Please, don't make a scene, I'm going to find out why this is happening."
"I'm pretty sure the scene has already been made!" Natsu shouted out as his companion slipped back into the broiling hornet's nest that was the crowd, frowning tightly in muffled frustration as he turned his attention back to the fight.
Natsu knew what his best friend/rival was capable of, and as such was aware that this match was over the moment Gray didn't even need to bust out the dreaded Curse Slayer Mark.
While he was on his guard, he wasn't serious, only using the full force of his base state to seize control of the battlefield.
While having beyond expert level battle-strategizing, Natsu was forced to admit to himself that Gray was a literal master in that regard.
Gray's ridiculous versatility, overwhelming arsenal of spells and contingencies, as well as the raw physicality and aggressiveness to match his own, came together to form an opponent Natsu knew Erza and Mirajane had no chance of beating.
The crowd's intrigued murmuring turned to winces and 'oofs' of sympathy as Gray seemed to finally put an end to the fight.
While the scarlet knight was skidding across the pavement by an expertly placed uppercut to the chin, Mirajane took the chance to charge the occupied Gray with enough speed on her side he might not be able to react to.
He turned around just enough to get a demonic fist, encoated with ominous hues of azure and purple, planted firmly on his cheek. Loose stones were sent skybound from the blow, dug up from the smooth marbled streets only to settle against the ground after a brief moment of airtime.
Almost everyone present felt gnarly trills run along the length of their spine when the temperature abruptly plummeted more than 10 whole degrees.
White nihilistic ice spread across the ground beneath Mirajane and Gray, sparkling mist swirling and rising from the glossy sheen.
Slowly forcing his head back to face the she-devil, Gray stood completely unaffected from the most formidable strike Mirajane could muster. Sinister black markings spread across one half of his body, a visualization of venomous power spreading through his every nerve ending.
Even the recovering Erza staggered to a knee at the perilous magical energy.
Doleful obsidian tattoos practically preened as they stretched like a jagged serpentine over his right side from head to toe, slowly coming up to overlap an eye socket. Gray's jet black hair told gravity 'no' as it bristled and spikened, now pointing up and every which way.
The ice mage, now stood, a devil slayer.
Mirajane visibility gulped, fear registering across her delicate yet sharpened features before she let out a hoarse gasp upon feeling cruel frostbite, not nip, not bite, but chomp at her hand.
Rearing back her other arm, the she-devil brought down several more straights upon the side of her opponent's head, only for none of them to have any actual effects.
If victory for them was nigh-impossible for them before, now, an infinite multiverse with infinite diverging timelines did not have a single reality where they would win this fight.
The devil slayer, eyes freezing and ice running through his veins, reached forward to tightly grasp one of Mirajane's horns.
Fingers squeezed with terrifying strength, to which the white haired woman cried out at as she feebly attempted to tug herself free, both hands desperately clawing at Gray's wrist for some sort of leverage.
When Mirajane's quivering knees could support her no longer, she buckled, defiant growls falling upon merciless ears.
Soon said growls morphed to gasps and whimpers.
Steeling her nerves, Erza steadied herself and lunged, her halberd at the ready, her legs tensing as they channeled every ounce of strength they had into the charge.
Leaving a trail of uprooted marble and stone in her wake, she let out a fearsome battlecry, eyes a lit with vitriol.
Gray, unnervingly calm, merely turned around and caught halberd's blade in his palm, halting both it and its red headed wielder in their tracks. A blast of whipping wind pushed against the audience as all the ridiculous power behind the scarlet knight's attack was utterly defused in an instant.
His mere touch cooled the weapon's molecular structure to almost absolute zero, smashing its atoms completely.
With a simple flex of his fingers, Gray reduced the halberd to shimmering dust, which gathered in uneven unfair piles at Erza's feat.
Lacking enough magical energy to replace the weapon, the redheaded woman remained steadfast and lashed out with a punch capable of leveling a dozen city blocks.
The ice devil, still having Mirajane writhing on her knees before him, merely caught his guildmate's forearm, leaving Erza's knuckles mere inches from his nose.
The two women bucked helplessly in Gray's tormenting vice grip, liquid forlorn seeping into their every pour as his mere frigid touch scalded their pale skin.
Soon, both Erza and Mirajane let out strained groans of pain, expressions twisted and defiled by the throes of agony.
"Enough!"
Natsu's voice bellowed with such authority nearby windows shuddered as he dove into the fray, patience tested, no longer able to play the part of neutral spectator.
The dragon slayer leapt in and sent Gray, who had managed to let go of the two women in tme and cross his arms in front of him, drifting across the cobblestone surface with a palm thrust.
The devil slayer was impossibly quick to recover, his heels having dug out a half-foot deep crevice in the ground beneath him as he came to a stop, visage one of pure surprise.
Taking in Natsu's appearance, which had melted what little ice blanketed the street into steam, Gray opened and closed his mouth several times, his brain hiccuping as he searched for an appropriate response.
Erza and Mirajane crumbled to the floor with the same pep as a dead body, dropping out of their strongest transformation and armor, left completely exhausted evident by their ragged huffing and puffing.
That was all that could be heard as the crowd was rendered dead silent, the once rowdy rainbow of people arching through the marble top streets now a scattered collection of dumbfounded faces.
Towering over and in front of the two protectively, Natsu almost barked, "What in the world do you think you're doing?"
Breathing unsteady, Gray narrowed his eyes,
"Sparring." he answered steadily, "What does it look like?"
"You seriously call that sparring? We haven't fought in months, so I know you aren't concussed. So what exactly lead you to think doing all this in front of a bunch of strangers would be a good idea?"
Natsu couldn't help but hiss, "Do you know how many people you could have hurt with this stunt?"
If this conversation had happened 3 years ago, Gray would have remarked on the irony of that statement. But in the present, his reply was much different,
"We know how to control ourselves." Gray stated, bare chest wheezing with each breath as he prompted as if his rival had gone insane, "Is there a reason you're acting like this?"
"Pray tell, on what planet is doing that to your family called control?" Natsu scoffed contemptuously, pointing to the two prone women behind him with an open hand.
Gray was, ironically enough, the first one to lose his cool, "Dammit Natsu, why don't you come down from that moral high ground of yours and listen!?"
"You've been here, what? A minute? Stop acting as if you know everything that is going on!"
Natsu's eyes narrowed in disgust as he spat, "Trust me, I've seen more than enough."
"Oh, come on then!" the ice mage taunted, scowling as he gestured to their surroundings, "Enlighten me as to what is going on! Conjure up something, and see if it holds true!"
"We make a pact Gray! Or have you already forgotten?" came the dragon slayer's growl, searing with aggravation and hurt, "It was you and me, we both agreed that the cycle of violence stopped with us."
Gray's frustrated veneer melted for a moment as curled fingers lost their tension, forehead puckering and brow loosening . The recovering Erza and Mirajane, while still dazed, were coherent enough to listen in with perspective few others could claim.
Stalking forward, Natsu, completely aloof to the spectating mob, continued,
"When we inevitably surpassed them, we would not use our strength to hurt. We would not do what they did to us! We would not put them down, belittle them, we would turn the other cheek."
The two prone women shriveled with guilt as they finally understood why the argument that came from nowhere had turned into such a fierce tornado of words.
There were few times Gray and Natsu actually argued, not bickering, no banter or teasing, but actual disagreements that strained their relationship. Of those few times, they seldom came to harsh words, but when they did, no one in the guild, no one, was brave enough to get between them
The dragon slayer swallowed thickly, jaw clenching and setting as if trying to keep down bile, "It didn't matter what they did to us as kids, we would rise above it."
It was Gray's turn to appear betrayed, starting with a raspy murmur, "Is that what you think of me? Is that really what you think happened?"
Mumbling something indecipherable, the devil slayer eventually stomped forward to meet Natsu in the middle,
"Do you really think that I came up to them and said 'Hey ladies, want me to kick your ass in front of a buncha' strangers?'. You seriously believe that after all this time of being stronger than them, I choose now to break that pact?"
"Newsflash asshole, they came to me!" Gray revealed, jabbing a finger at them then back at himself, "They challenged me to this fight, they wanted to see for themselves how much stronger we we're."
The two men stood eye to eye, forehead's half a foot apart as Natsu let out another scoff, "You really expect me to believe that?"
"I don't give a shit what you believe, that's the truth whether you like it or not." the devil slayer shot back, nostrils flaring with indignation, "They aren't delicate flowers that need to be coddled Natsu. They are grown women who have to accept the consequences of their actions, just like the rest of us!"
The dragon slayer almost faltered, lips pursing as if he knew the correct response but refused to say it, or rather wasn't sure the most appropriate manner to put it.
Gray went for the throat, irritation having boiled over, "Just because you feel as if you failed to protect your precious Wendy doesn't mean the rest of us have to be babied!"
Thrashing flames licked at Natsu's fingertips as his lips pulled back, growling as he grew even closer, moments away from throwing hands,
"You leave her out of this." he ordered darkly, perturbed horrified disgust turning to genuine anger. Gray, fully realizing his mistake, still refused to back down, ice spurting at his heels.
Natsu was not an angry person, despite overwhelming popular belief. In his youth, he was brash and easily riled up, but in the last 3 years, the dragon slayer had become downright patient and level headed.
Most of Natsu's anger was righteous, coming from a place of compassion, which served as fuel to the fire. The pinkette was forgiving of transgressions done to him, almost to a fault. However, with his family, with innocents, he was much less composed.
The only reason he was known for having a temper was because the buttons one would have to press to rile him up were quite well known and exploited often. The standard harm, abuse, or sometimes threats, towards his guild and civilians, was a tactic most enemies employed.
But if that shortened his reserves of patience, then doing the same to his Wendy ignored any composure in its entirety.
Natsu Dragneel's true berserk button, for a lack of a better term, was his oh so precious baby sister.
The moment the two rivals tensed in preparation, a blue blur cut between them.
"S-stop!" Juvia demanded with as much authority as her nerves could muster, pushing Natsu and Gray away from each other to halt another potential scuffle, "Both of you, just relax!"
Surprised by the rain woman's attempt to assert herself, the two men let their glares slip from their veils, feeling the tension that hung thick partially give way.
Curious murmurs broke out within the stirring crowd, but the three mages ignored them entirely.
With one rival on either side of her, Juvia placed dainty hands square against each of their chests, "Come on, your both better than this!"
Seeing as they two were in opposite camps, blind to each other's good heart, building barricades in lue of bridges, the blue haired woman went to defusing the brewing bomb around her.
"Natsu, Gray's telling the truth." she revealed, sweat sliding down her cheek from both the polarizing difference in temperatures and rising magical energy.
"Gildarts told me everything. Him and Gray were taking care of Asuka, and Erza and Mirajane challenged him to a spar." throwing a nod towards her left, Juvia watched Natsu's attention follow.
The fire bundling in his palms was extinguished upon seeing the crash mage standing at the front of the crowd, a stoic expression painted upon the canvas of his face.
Juvia added context, "He was here the entire time to make sure no one went too far. If something happened, he would have stepped in."
While Natsu was still visibly unsettled, the very familiar learning tool known as regret washed over him for what seemed to be the thousandth time in his life. Drowning with watery shame, onyx eyes dulled as they flickered from Juvia, to Gray.
He was unable to hold the devil slayer's gaze, now realizing the weight of the accusations he had thrown at his best friend.
"I-i didn't…" Natsu didn't bother finishing the sentence, letting his counterpart's previous point settle true.
He didn't know. He had come to an express distraught conclusion on a situation he was largely ignorant to.
Natsu mentally added yet another mistake to the long list of missteps.
"Alright, alright! Enough fun for one day!" Gildarts announced, sounding far more flaccid than Juvia's squeaky pleas.
The crash mage stepped forward and scanned the crowd, "Show's over people, everyone who ain't Fairy Tail just go about your business."
The horde of spectators remained still.
"Now would be nice."
With that, the townsfolk quickly dispersed, scattering back into the surrounding city blocks, some satisfied from the street fight, others confused at the subsequent turn of events, most being both.
It wasn't often Fairy Tail's dirty laundry didn't consist of destructive misconduct.
As the slithering ebony venom of the Curse Slayer Mark receded into Gray's skin, him and Natsu lowered their magical signatures, conscious of a way out of her depth Juvia between them.
Gildarts huffed, scratching his stubble, "Alright gang, back inside, we've made enough of a scene."
The rest of the guild, eyes still glued to Natsu and Gray, voiced their weak protests before eventually meandered past the points of interest and back into the guild hall's interior, gossip now very much rampant.
Natsu gathered himself, shoulders hanging half an inch lower, and managed to keep Gray's stare long enough to say softly, "I'm sorry."
The dragon slayer lowered his head and stalked off towards the still prone Erza and Mirajane, kneeling down in front of them to murmur soft words of concern.
The pinkette gently grasped their slim forearms and lifted them to their feet, providing a pillar of support much like Juvia had done for him the night before.
As Juvia's throat squeezed out a weary sigh, the ice mage behind her mumbled his thanks.
"T-thanks for… for keeping things from getting ugly."
What Gray didn't expect was the girl very much smitten with him to rear on him, hissing,
"Gray Maurice Fullbuster, I could slap you upside the head!"
This promptly drew the attention of Natsu, the two S-class women, and the lingering Gildarts.
Lightly cuffing him upside the head, Juvia chided her beloved, "What on earth is wrong with you?"
Rubbing his aching skull, Gray seemed far more intimidated by her than anything Erza could threaten him with.
"You could have avoided this entire mess by just saying, and watch my lips closely, 'no'." the rain woman scolded, nailings biting into her palms, "They can't force you to do anything anymore." she added.
"They can be so cruel when they sense weakness, what was I supposed to do? Let them walk over me? Roll over and take it?!"
Juvia rolled her eyes and gave a haughty half laugh, admitting quietly to his point before moving to the crux of her frustration.
"Alright fair point." she relented under her breath, before snapping an index finger under Gray's nose. "But!" Juvia reminded sharply, "That doesn't excuse you bringing Wendy into it."
Gray winced at that. His hindsight, too languorous for its own good, just now arriving on scene.
Bunching her fingers together, she pressed them against her own temples over and over in a balked display, "What about that could have possibly seemed like a good idea? Using her to make a point in front of her own big brother! You know who you were talking to, right?!"
The ice mage nodded dumbly.
"If you weren't practically brothers, he would have revoked your arm privileges."
Shuffling his feet, a portion of the strenuous shame that Natsu was carrying now found itself nestling on his shoulders.
"Beyond his relationship with her, you should still be ashamed of yourself." Juvia's embittered berating calmed, words much more earnest in meaning beyond her showing concern for her beloved how she saw fit.
"That is the sweetest little girl to ever walk the plant. And guess what? She looks up to you Mr. Fullbuster! Do you want to see her face when she finds out one of her idols used her as leverage in an argument?"
Gray cringed, disgust settling in his chest as he envisioned the times Wendy had looked up at him with such innocent admiration. Beyond being Natsu's little sister, Wendy was the guild's little sister.
As her beloved wilted, Juvia roamed her eyes over his bare chest, and instead of the usual nose bleed, she found sympathy talking hold of her. Gray had his own fair share of bruises, and wounds that neither Erza or Mira had, gashes and cuts.
He didn't want to beat the two women down, rather tire them out, and his lack of offense until the final few moments of the fight were obvious when comparing each side's injuries.
For someone much stronger to the point they could have ended things right away, Gray sure had a lot of knicks. It just went to show, Mirajane and Erza weren't weak, Gray really was just that strong.
Natsu, who had gently thrown both women over his shoulder, much to their dismay and mewls of indignation, passed them with eyes downcast.
Juvia's eyes softened considerably, "Look, I get that you were in a bad situation, but when it got worse, you certainly did not help things. He may have messed up first, but your response wasn't all that much better."
"I know. I sorta forget what headspace flame brian is in." he admitted, wiping blood from his chin, "I-i'm sorry."
"Me too. I-i…. I shouldn't have struck you."
Gray shook his head, reassuring with a quick grin that made Juvia's insides swoon "Don't be, I deserved it. I was being a dick."
Looking over his shoulder towards the still open guild hall doors and his comrades just inside, a ponderous thought crossed the ice mage's mind.
"How is he?" Gray questioned bluntly, not bothering to look at Juvia as he watched Natsu carry Erza and Mirajane to the clinic, Gildarts on his tail. More guilt stirred upon seeing the splotches of blue and purple had had left upon his friend's pale skins.
Gray knew that conversation, this whole ordeal, wasn't over.
He added cautiously, "Is he still all 'there'? He still Natsu?"
"Some parts of him are still there." the fond smile that Juvia took was quickly swept from her face as oceanic pupils overflowed with moisture.
No tickling or scaring when they bathed in rivers, no groaning or vomiting when they were forced to take trains, no enthusiastic remarks for upcoming fights. He was still affectionate and protective, just as always, but most physical contact had to be initiated by her.
Juvia's voice cracked with grief as she finally admitted to him, and herself,
"But most of him isn't."