"You're going down, Dragneel."
"Yeah, real creative, Heartfilia."
"Why the face? What, did my taunting already get under your skin?"
"Nah, it's just real hard to say Heartfilia and sound tough."
"I can't even tell if that's an insult."
"Of course it is!"
"Whatever! Let's just get this started already!"
"You're super anxious to have a beatdown, huh?"
"Oh, we both know this is the time I'm gonna beat your ass."
"Keep dreaming."
"Come at me!"
The two wizards leapt into action, magic already flying. Flame burst out in spirals, twisting around a whip of pure energy. Golden light burned, followed by a woman's raised voice.
"Hey, no fair! We said no spirits!"
"Star Dress isn't a spirit. It's just me using my resources!"
"Ugh, you're impossible!"
The blonde's grin only grew wider, and she cracked her whip once more. The earth rumbled beneath her feet, causing the Fire Dragon to jump backward to avoid the split in the ground.
"Hey!" He complained again.
She laughed. "Quit complaining and fight me for real. I'm not going to break if you land a punch."
"Yeah, but I don't wanna hurt you."
"The whole point of this was so I can train and get better. Besides, when you fight with Gray or Erza or anyone else from the guild, you don't hold back. What makes me so different?"
"I love you?"
"Sweet. Love you too. But seriously, if you don't actually start fighting me, you're gonna regret it."
"And what're ya gonna do?"
"You could wait and find out, or you can just treat me like a threat."
"You're the biggest threat I know."
"Flattery won't work."
"But a distraction did." And just like that, his flames burst from the crack she'd formed in the ground, dancing over her feet and forcing her to stumble backward in order to keep the fire from burning.
But her eyes sparkled. "That's more like it." Then they were both jumping into the action again, exchanging blows and taunts with increasing ferocity.
"What's going on out here?" Jellal stepped out of the hotel, blinking as he emerged into the sun and took in the scene before him. Lucy and Natsu sparred in the empty clearing beside the hotel, their fight already garnered the attention of many and drawn a small crowd around them. Happy and Wendy stood off to the side, cheering on their friends with giddy expressions. Carla offered up a word of encouragement every so often, but she spent most of her time bent over a notebook, scribbling furiously (he guessed the Exceed was deciphering a new premonition, but he had quickly learned that it could be quite anything and preferred to not assume what it was she wrote). Erza and Gray finished out the group from Fiore, both standing at the outskirts of the crowd but watching the fight intently. As he approached, he noticed them leaning toward the other and whispering, likely something to do with the match before them.
Erza smiled when she saw him arrive. "Jellal."
"Erza," he greeted, ignoring the flutter in his stomach when he looked at her.
Gray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "If you're gonna flirt, go find somewhere else, alright? I'm tryna watch the show."
"All we did was say our names," Erza retorted calmly. "And this isn't a show. It's a training bout between Lucy and Natsu. If this was a real fight, I doubt Lucy would be landing as many hits as she has been."
"Do things like this occur often?" Jellal asked.
Gray shrugged. "Eh, sometimes. Back at home, Natsu was always searching for a new fight that his opponent always won. Well, 'cept for that one time he fought Max."
"But don't the members of your guild get into fistfights daily?"
"That… may be true," Erza acknowledged with a partial smile and partial frown. "But Natsu tends to participate in organized fights. He and I had one, right around the time Lucy first joined the guild."
"That doesn't count," Gray scoffed. "The whole thing got interrupted before anything good could happen. Stupid Magic Council."
"You know I was on the Council at that time."
"Yeah, so was Ultear. And you both were a little crazy at the time, so don't be too offended if I don't give a crap."
"Gray!"
"What? It's the truth."
"No worries, I'm not offended. He's right, after all."
"That doesn't mean he needs to be so blatant about it."
"It doesn't bother me." Jellal smiled down at Erza, reveling in the way the afternoon sun danced through her scarlet hair. Ever since he and Erza had finally admitted to their feelings last week, he'd determined he needed to turn over a new leaf. That is, he vowed he would no longer be so bogged down by the past. It happened, yes, and it was horrible, but there was nothing he could do to change it. That was the whole point of Crime Sorciere, after all. He'd sinned in the past, and now he must atone for those sins, no matter how much they still hurt to think about. It helped to know that all he had to do was reach out a hand and Erza would be there. He'd always known that, he supposed, but there was something relieving about having it confirmed.
"Humph." Erza rolled her shoulders and returned her attention to the action, eyes tracking Lucy's every movement. The Celestial Spirit mage moved gracefully, her whip cutting through the air as she spun and jumped and lunged. Natsu egged her on, pushing her to her limits and never giving her a moment to breathe. Her body shone with golden starlight every few minutes, each time a new Star Dress revealed and immediately put to use.
"She's gotten a lot better," Gray commented, appraising her technique and skill. The scarlet warrior nodded, shifting her weight between her legs.
"Indeed. This past year has helped her improve greatly. She's able to hold her own even without any of her spirits fighting with her. Maybe within a few years, she'll be just as talented without magic at all."
"I don't get why she wants to prove herself without magic," Jellal said. "None of us would be anywhere as strong without our magic, and we likely would have lost many more fights. So why is she so determined to train this hard?"
"She feels like she's always the weak link," Erza murmured, gaze trained on the blonde. "She doesn't seem to understand that, if any of us had been in her position, we probably would have struggled just as much as she did."
"There are some things that you can never make people understand." Jellal's eyes focused on a point in the distance, his own treacherous feelings and doubts rushing back in. Erza slipped her hand into his and squeezed, grounding him before his thoughts could take flight. Releasing a shaky breath, he smiled down at her only to be greeted by her own smile. His chest tightened.
Gray cleared his throat. "Anyways."
Erza snorted, releasing Jellal's hand. He missed her presence, but he didn't complain. Neither of them were used to this domestic touch defined by a relationship, and all he truly needed was to feel her by his side. For however long they could stay like this, he would be happy.
The bout dragged on for seemingly hours. Both were exhausted and flagging, but Lucy refused to stop, and Natsu couldn't deny her. So they continued, heaving for breath and dragging their feet and still wheezing out spells.
"Should we make them stop?" Gray asked, sitting beneath a tree to shade his face from the late afternoon sky. "It's just painful at this point."
"Oh, and when you and Natsu beat each other senseless behind the guildhall for hours, it was a walk in the park?"
Gray narrowed his eyes at the red-head. "We were children," he retorted hotly. "Lucy and Natsu are grown adults."
Erza rolled her eyes with a light smile. "I suppose. But you're right. We should intercede. The ship is set to leave early tomorrow morning, and I do not want to delay our departure any later than necessary."
"It's crazy to think that we're going back home tomorrow," Gray mused. "Took us long enough."
"Indeed," Jellal agreed, tilting his head back to look at the sky filled with soft clouds and high-reaching buildings. "Your guild anxiously awaits your return. All of Fiore does, in fact."
"Hm, I doubt they'll be saying that when another apocalyptic situation brings destruction raining down again."
"It's not just your team responsible."
"Yeah, but we tend to cause the most trouble." Gray fell silent, mind returning once more to the letter in his back pocket. Just as it always did when he thought of the hurt and suffering he created. Shit, he really needed to get back home.
"It'll be okay." The Ice Make wizard glanced over at the Heavenly Body mage. Jellal gave him a comforting look. "I may not know all that has gone on in Fairy Tail these past few years, but I do know that no one truly blames you for what happened. Although I do believe that Gajeel and Cana have threatened to fight you."
"That's unsurprising," Erza chimed in. "But highly doubtful that either of them truly mean it. Both tend to talk big. I can't think of a single guild fight Cana has put herself in."
"Yeah, but Gajeel's thrown himself into every fight he can," Gray mumbled, feeling hot under the shirt he somehow still wore.
"You'll be fine." Erza's hand landed on his shoulder, the impact resounding through his body and down to his feet. "Besides, you and Gajeel are a pretty even match. I don't see him causing you much trouble."
Gray grunted, rolling his shoulders and shaking off her touch. "Yeah yeah," he mumbled, staring pointedly at the fight to show the conversation was over. Erza let it end, turning her own attention back to the match.
Sweat dripped from Lucy's brow and slid down her back, a puddle of damp spreading across the waistband of her skirt. She shook her hand, the muscles trembling from long hours of nonstop action. Every time she inhaled, her throat burned and she fought back the urge to cough. Yet her veins thrummed with life and her heart pulsed vigorously with energy and power. After the countless training sessions in the past year, she'd begun to understand why her guildmates enjoyed fighting so much. There was just something invigorating about showing off your strength and how much you'd improved while still learning more about the skill that might very well save your life in the near future. Not that she planned to throw herself into the brawls back home. Those were just plain stupid.
"Giving up?" Natsu panted, tugging on his scarf to get some air on his neck. He'd shed his vest some time ago, and Lucy was finding it hard to not be distracted by the large amount of tanned skin on display.
"Never," she gasped out, ignoring the tremor in her leg. "I'm going to beat you."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
"Better open your eyes then."
She tightened her grip on her whip, eyes narrowing as she prepared for the next attack. Already, both scraped together their last traces of magic, drained far beyond their usual reservoirs. Her mouth opened, air rushing into her lungs as she began to speak.
"Alright, enough." Erza's clear voice cut through their battle haze. Lucy blinked and lowered her whip to her side. The required mage looked between the couple. "You've been going at it for many long hours, and we all need to get some sleep tonight."
"But Erza," Natsu whined, "we don't know who won yet!"
The look she gave him sent shivers down his spine and fear into his heart. He held up his hands in surrender.
"Hah, you gave up first." Lucy slipped her whip into place on her belt, grinning tiredly as her Star Dress melted away. "That means I won."
"Not real!"
"So real."
"Nuh uh."
"Yuh- No, I'm not getting into this. Erza's right, we need to stop. If we go any longer, tomorrow's really gonna suck." She held her hand out, and Natsu shook it reluctantly. Then he grinned back at her and pulled her in. She complained as his arm settled over her shoulders, claiming that they were too sweaty to be touching, but she made no attempt to move away.
"Glad you two finally stopped," Wendy called as she pushed herself to her feet. "I was about to fall asleep out here."
"Also, I'm starving!" Happy proclaimed, swooping down with Carla to join the group.
Natsu pat his stomach in agreement. "Man, now that you mention it, I could go for some grub."
"You could always eat," Gray shot back, oblivious to the shirt he left behind. "I can't think of a single moment when you were full. You're literally always starving."
"Not my fault that food is good."
"Boys," Erza interjected, stepping in before they got out of hand. As they fell silent, she turned her attention to the group as a whole. "Let's go get some dinner. And then it's early to bed. I'd like to be out of here by eight at the latest."
Natsu and Happy groaned, but Lucy poked the Dragon Slayer in the ribs. "Oh, it won't be too bad. Remember, once we're on the boat, we can really just sleep or do whatever for an entire month."
"Ugh, don't remind me about that month in hell." Natsu's skin turned green, a change that wasn't lost on Carla.
"That boat ride isn't until tomorrow morning, and you're already becoming sick merely at the thought of it?" The Exceed sniffed, rolling her eyes at the pathetic man.
"It's not my fault that boats are the devil!" He tried to defend himself, but the impact was weakened by his pallid face.
"Yeah yeah, you're the big strong martyr." Lucy muttered, all the while pressing herself closer against her boyfriend. Before he could object, she plowed forward. "Come on, I need a shower and a meal. That dinner's not going to eat itself."
Wendy snorted and followed the pair back into the hotel. Everyone else trailed behind, preparing themselves for one last night in this foreign land.
Almost home! Ahh, I debated whether or not to keep this chapter, but I think it was a good call to leave it, right? And I'm sorry for hinting even more at what was in Juvia's letter, but just hold on. Only a few more chapters and then you can find out :) Hope it's not driving you all too insane. Wonder what Gray did that's got Gajeel and Cana so worked up...
On another note, I started college this week! Well, classes start tomorrow, but I've met a bunch of people and been to events, and I'm actually excited for school to start (which I never thought I'd say before). If this past week is any indication, I should be able to keep up with posting every week. And there's about fifteen chapters left that I have planned, but don't worry. Their story won't wrap up so nicely. Until next time!