Ch. 6- An Armored Heart
Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima
Story and OCs © Me
~Flashback; Year X779~
Erza grunted as she sliced through one of her training dummies with her broadsword while nearby, Makarov, Elektra, Natsu, Gray, and Haru watched. On the ground, there were several other dummies, all of them sliced in half by the young Requip Wizard's blade. As Erza made her sword return to its dimensional space, Elektra clapped her hands in praise, as did Haru, who smiled in admiration for her older sister figure.
"Great job, Erza!" the Magnetism Wizard exclaimed.
"Yes, you've really been improving," Makarov agreed.
"You were awesome!" Haru added.
"Thank you," Erza said with a bow.
"Hey, watching Erza train is great and all," Natsu began, "but can we get lunch, now? I'm hungry."
"Figures that's the only thing you focus on, Flame-for-brains," Gray muttered.
"I do not, Pervy Popsicle!" Natsu argued.
"Boys," Elektra and Erza both said in a warning tone, causing the two to tense, which made Haru giggle a little.
"Alright, alright," Makarov said. "That's enough training for today, Erza. Let's all go back inside and eat."
"Yeah, food!" Natsu cheered as he ran inside. "Elektra, can I have fire chicken, please? And fire pasta, too?"
"Yes, yes, Natsu, anything you want," said Elektra as she walked alongside him. As they walked, Haru stopped to take a look at Erza, smiling at her long, braided red hair, her brave, cool expression, her pristine armor glistening in the light of the sun. She was always so cool and pretty. Of course, Haru still loved her brother, Natsu, but she would always look up to Erza as an older sister figure and one of the biggest role models in her life.
As soon as they were back inside, Elektra served the youngsters their food... but as Natsu noisily gobbled up his fire chicken and fire pasta, Haru noticed that Erza was sitting away from the others, eating a slice of strawberry cake.
"Hey, Haru," Gray said as he held a loaf of bread in his hand. "Aren't you gonna eat?"
"Do you not want your food, sis?" asked Natsu.
"I was wondering," said Haru. "How come Erza always sits by herself during mealtimes?"
Gray tensed a little at that.
"And how come she's always wearing armor, too?" Haru asked.
"Search me," Natsu shrugged as he kept eating while Gray sighed quietly.
"Haru, I gotta talk to you after we eat, okay?" the young Ice-Make Wizard said, causing Haru to blink at him.
"Why?" Haru asked.
"Hey!" Natsu shouted as he slammed his hand on the table. "You better not try any funny stuff with my sister, Gray! I told you, she's off-limits!"
"I'm not, you moron!" Gray spat. "Quit assuming that, already!" He then looked at Haru, fixing her with a serious gaze, something she rarely saw from someone like Gray. "It's about Erza, okay? I'll tell you about it, but not here."
Haru blinked at Gray in bewilderment, then glanced back at Erza, who was still eating her cake and sipping her tea.
~Flashback end~
Haru gripped Blue Fang's collar with a determined expression as the duo headed up the stairs, knowing that Natsu and Happy were already on their way to the top. Even now, though, Haru continued to let her mind wander to the days of her childhood... of the memories she had with Erza... as well as her words from before, saying that no one would ever see the Requip Wizard again, regardless of whether this battle was won or lost. Haru tensed her shoulders, gripping Blue Fang's collar even tighter than before.
'Whatever you're thinking, Erza... I won't let it happen,' she thought. 'You're coming home, even if we have to drag you back with us!'
At that moment, Haru and Blue Fang finally arrived at the next floor... but the sight that greeted them caused them to gasp in shock: Simon and Happy were lying on the floor, the former battered and beaten while the latter was lying on the ground, his fur singed and smoking... and also, Gray, who was panting heavily as he stood facing a tall, muscular man with an owl-like head... and suspiciously familiar spiky pink hair.
"Mr. Simon?!" asked Haru. "Happy?! Gray, too?!"
"Haru!" Gray exclaimed as he noticed her and Blue Fang enter.
"What's going on?!" Haru asked. "What happened here?!" She then looked around... and that's when she noticed that someone was missing, which caused her to tense as she felt an impending sense of dread.
"W-where's Natsu?" she asked... and Happy groaned as he shakily pointed his paw at the owl-man, who glared at them.
"Salamander is here," he said as he put his hands over his stomach, "in my belly."
Haru gasped, her eyes going wide in horror while Blue Fang growled in fury.
"That is Fukuro of Trinity Raven," said Simon as he got to his knees. "He, along with two others, was hired by Jellal to stop us from interfering with his plans. Fukuro's Capture Magic allowed him to swallow your brother whole!"
"He... swallowed him?" Haru asked, her voice shaky and quiet.
"Indeed," Fukuro answered, "and in just 10 minutes, Salamander will have melted down inside my body, and his magic will be mine!"
"I just got here, so I don't know how the hell your idiot brother got himself swallowed, Haru!" Gray said. "Still, if we don't do something-"
"Spit him out," Haru spoke, causing Gray to glance at her. "Spit him out!"
"I shall not!" Fukuro exclaimed. "Salamander is a villain against justice and therefore must be eradicated!"
"I don't think you heard me!" Haru shouted as she charged at Fukuro. "SPIT MY BROTHER OUT! NOW!"
"HARU, NO!" Gray cried.
"WAIT!" Simon yelled.
"LOOK OUT, HARU!" Happy shouted.
"Fire Dragon ROAR!" Fukuro boomed as he opened his mouth, causing a blast of fire to come out at Haru, who gasped as she froze on the spot.
"GET DOWN!" Gray yelled as he pushed her to the floor, pinning her down as the hot flames just barely singed the ends of their hair.
"Haru! Gray!" Happy shouted while Blue Fang whined with worry... but thankfully, the two of them were unharmed.
"Dammit, Haru, what are you thinking?!" Gray questioned as he and Haru sat up.
"He... he swallowed Natsu...!" Haru said through clenched teeth, her eyes threatening to well up with tears.
"I get that!" Gray replied. "Believe me, I'm angry about it, too, but you can't just charge in like that!"
"Then what do we do?!" Haru questioned.
"We'll take him out, together," Gray said. "Okay?"
Haru seethed before she quickly took a deep breath to calm herself down, then wiped her eyes.
"Okay!" she nodded.
"Look out!" Happy cried. "Here he comes again!"
"Fire Dragon ROAAAAAAAAAR!" Fukuro shouted as he blew another fire blast at the two, but this time, Gray pushed Haru behind him, bracing himself against the flames. At first, Simon gasped in horror, thinking that the Ice-Make Wizard had sacrificed himself to protect Haru... but then, to his shock, Gray threw his arms open and the flames turned into ice!
"What?!" Fukuro questioned in disbelief.
"He... he froze the fire!" Simon exclaimed.
"Heh..." Gray smirked as he wiped his lip, his body a bit singed but otherwise unharmed. "You call that hot? Even Flamehead's fire is hotter than that... fake!"
"Hoo-hoo!" Fukuro hooted as he charged at Gray. "That's very powerful magic you have! I think I'll capture you, as well!"
"Oh, no, you don't!" Haru shouted as she and Blue Fang stood in his way. "Beast Siren: HOWL!"
The Beast Wizard and silver wolf opened their mouths, unleashing a powerful sound wave that shook the room and pushed Fukuro back. Seeing that he was distracted, Gray ran in, his arms covered in icy spikes... but even in the heat of battle, his mind wandered back to 5 years ago.
~Flashback~
Haru and Gray sat near the riverbank together, the former sitting with her arms folded under her knees while the latter leaned back with one leg propped up, a look of deep contemplation on his face.
"It felt like yesterday since Erza joined up with us," said Gray. "I remember when I first saw her: she had a patch over her right eye... and she was covered in dirt, blood, and it looked like she had lots of scars, too."
Haru blinked at Gray, whose eyes darkened somewhat as he continued speaking.
"Even after she was with us for a while, Erza was always by herself and she was always wearing armor," he said. "We tried to talk to her, but she acted like she didn't hear us... and it made me mad. I thought that she thought that she was better than everybody and was acting all haughty because of it... but that's when I found her alone, one day."
"What do you mean?" Haru asked.
"...Erza was crying," said Gray, sadly. "She said that she didn't like being around people because it made her feel uneasy... but even though she was by herself, she wasn't happy."
"She wasn't?" Haru asked in concern.
"I think Erza is actually really lonely," said Gray. "She puts armor on to make herself better... because she's been hurt by people before. Even though she's found a place where she can call home... I think she still feels afraid. She didn't just put armor around her body... she put it over her heart, too... at least, that's what Gramps and Elektra say."
"...Wow..." Haru whispered, worriedly. "Poor Erza..."
~Flashback end~
"HOO?!" Fukuro squawked as Gray used his magic to pry his mouth open.
"HARU! NOW!" Gray called, and soon, Haru came rushing in, reeling her arm back.
"COUGH NATSU UP, RIGHT NOW!" the Beast Wizard shouted. "FERAL BEAST FIST!"
WHABAM! She punched Fukuro in the gut, causing him to gag and retch as his stomach made an ominous churning noise... and soon after, Natsu came out with a thick and slimy SPLAT!
"Ice-Blade: SEVEN SLICE DANCE!" Gray shouted as he used the ice blades on his arms to slice Fukuro up, and as bloody gashes appeared on the owl-man... he finally collapsed in defeat.
"Erza... belongs in Fairy Tail," Gray said, panting heavily. "That way... she'll never cry, again!"
"Urrrgh..." Natsu groaned as he sat up. "Has the room stopped spinning, yet?"
"Natsu, you're okay!" Haru exclaimed as she and Happy hugged him.
"Aye! You didn't turn into bird food!" Happy cheered... but then, he and Haru grimaced as they both pulled away as they realized that Natsu was still covered in Fukuro's saliva.
"Eww, gross! You're all slimy!" Haru complained.
"Aye..." Happy agreed in disgust. As for Simon, he sat there, gaping in awe at what Gray and Haru had done... before he smiled, knowingly.
'You've found yourself some really good friends... Erza...'
This one is a little short, but better than nothing!
Review, please!