Fairy Tail
Scarlet Dragon
Authors' Note - So by popular request, this story will remain a Natsu x Erza and not a Natsu x Harem.
Also I decided I would just post these whenver I have the chapters up... hope you'll forgive me.
But anyway, here's Chapter 2 everyone, hope you enjoy.
The next day, at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall, it was Mirajane who noticed a significant change.
Erza arrived at the guild early in the morning, just after she opened the Hall for the day; lately it was rare for Erza to be at the hall before lunch.
Erza walked into the hall with a slight smile; Erza was always expressionless at the best of times the past couple of years.
The last was Erza taking a seat at the bar; she would often sit at a corner table away from anyone who might be in the Guild at the time.
"So what happened?" Mirajane asked Erza as she set a cup of tea and some toast before her.
Without answering, Erza immediately took a sip from her tea, finishing with a satisfied sigh. Only then did Erza choose to answer.
"I've been thinking it over and I realised there is no other way to get you to do what I need you to do" Erza replied as she stared into her tea.
"What would that be?" Mirajane asked, confused; she even sounded different, like there was color in her voice once again.
"I need you to halt all requests for the next few days" Erza answered, looking at Mirajane with a knowing smile.
Mirajane could only blink at that, "Uhh... I mean, if there's a reason I'm willing to hear it..."
"I couldn't think of any other way to convince you" Erza said, frowning, "So though it'd ruin the surprise for you, I have no choice" she looked up at Mirajane with a serious yet... happy... expression, "Last night on my way home, I ran into Natsu".
Erza's words froze Mirajane in place.
"I know... I'm sure it's very surprising" Erza commented as she took another sip, "He said he'll need a few days to rest before coming to the Guild again; I want there to be as many of us as possible waiting for him for when he does".
"In order to do that I need to halt all requests... right?" Mirajane asked, receiving a confirming nod from Erza, "Very well... unless it's an emergency request, I'll halt all requests... but..."
Erza looked up at that, wondering what was making Mirajane hesitate.
"Where has he been?" Mirajane asked, bewildered, "He's been gone for three years... he never sent word on where he was".
"I got half of the short story last night" Erza replied, "Though I feel like that's Natsu's story to tell".
Mirajane nodded, "I'll halt all requests... for now, we should just make sure that he gets enough rest".
Erza nodded in return, "Say... I'm sure he misses your cooking; I'm planning on visiting him after this cup, want me to bring him any food?"
Mirajane laughed, "That's a strange way to ask me to cook him some food".
Erza smiled, "Well?"
Mirajane also smiled, "Very well, I can whip something up in about fifteen minutes".
...
Natsu rose from his bed with a massive yawn; looking to his left at his clock, he saw the time was ten o'clock in the morning... he'd slept for twelve hours.
Natsu looked out his window, looking upon the familar scenery of the forest whose edges he had built this shack on.
It was nice and sunny, no clouds and the wind blew cool air; it was perfect weather.
"It's nice to be back home" Natsu smiled, "However..." just then, his stomach growled something fierce, "I may or may not be starving".
"Good thing I had Mirajane cook this up for you" a voice spoke behind him.
Turning, Natsu saw Erza silently close his front door behind her, walk to his table and place a large covered plate on top of it.
"Mira's cooking?" Natsu asked, a little in shock.
Erza nodded, "I had to tell her you were back to convince her to halt all requests for the next few days; she was more than happy to do this for you... I'm sure she's excited to see you again".
Natsu smiled, "We don't need to make a big deal out of all this" Natsu stood up and took a seat, taking the coif off of the plate, revealing a meal fit for a king.
"I have no idea how Mirajane was able to cook all of that in just fifteen minutes" Erza muttered as she looked at the large rack of roasted ribs, the mountain of buttery steamed potatoes, the field of salted boiled peas and the sea of baked beans with islands of buttered toast.
"It's simple" Natsu grinned widely, "But this is perfect" without a word of warning, Natsu immedately grabbed the fork Mirajane provided and began digging into the ribs; Erza watched him eat with an affectionate smile the entire time.
It may have taken Mirajane only fifteen minutes to make this meal, but Natsu devoured it in less than five; upon completing his meal, he sat back with a relieved sigh, patting his belly.
Erza leaned over and placed the coif back over the plate... then it disappeared.
"Your Requip magic?" Natsu asked and Erza nodded.
"I do use it for regular everyday items as well you know" Erza replied, taking a seat opposite to Natsu.
Natsu nodded, "Thanks for bringing it... and thank Mirajane for me".
"I will... now then..." Erza folded her hands beneath her chin, staring at Natsu, "Shall we continue our conversation from last night?"
Natsu sighed, "Aren't you a little TOO eager to hear what I've been up to?"
"Am I wondering why it took someone so close to me three years to return home?" Erza asked him mockingly, "Surely you know the answer".
Natsu giggled, "When you phrase it like that... I guess..." Natsu leaned back, placing his hands on the back of his head, "I told you how it took a year to settle down Alvarez into what it is now; the Republic of Alvarez" he paused, "Then I told you I trained with Alvarez's top instructors for half a year in order to increase my vessel for magic".
"Indeed, so I still need to hear the second half of your time away" Erza confirmed.
Natsu nodded, "For now I'll skip the details; it's not the kind of thing I can just sit down and talk about randomly, you'll have to settle for bits and pieces of the specifics over time... but as for a broad overview..." Natsu stood up and headed over to his fridge... which was empty...
"You do realise you still need to go shopping right?" Erza questioned and he laughed in return, "Don't worry, I can sort this out for you" with that she used her requip magic once again, this time bringing out a pitcher of water.
"I wish it was something heavier" Natsu said, taking a seat, "But this will do".
After pouring himself a cup, taking a drink and sighing contentedly, Natsu looked back at Erza, "After I increased my magic power, I decided I needed to work on my abilities more".
"For another six months I went around the Western Continent" Natsu continued, "With Brandish and a few members of her old squadron, we went monster hunting across the entire continent, anything from Basilisks to Elder Wyverns".
"In that time, I was able to grow more accustomed to my new level of magic power, being able to scale up my old abilities to my new level of magic power; I even added a few new moves to add to my arsenal" Natsu frowned, "It was around then that it happened".
"What happened?" Erza interrupted, pouring his cup full of water again.
Natsu took another drink, "I realised I still had Igneels' power; Fire Dragon King Mode".
Erza blinked at that, "The power you wanted to use to destroy Zeref..."
Natsu nodded, "Now I realised there was no longer a limit on it; I could use it as often as I liked... it just burned through my magic like it was nothing".
"So I assume your next move was to master using it" Erza poured her own cup, "To a point where you could freely use it without thinking".
Natsu nodded again, "But because of that, Brandish and her men had to return to Alvarez; I was too dangerous at that point in time since I didn't have full control over it".
"How long?" Erza asked.
"I spent another six months in some stranded mountains in a corner of the continent where no one lived before I could feel comfortable with it" Natsu replied, "Then I returned to Alvarez and Brandish and her team set off with me yet again, this time aiming for only creatures of higher difficulty".
"We hunted Elder Wyverns like it was nobody's business" Natsu took a drink, "We even hunted these giant lizards in the wastes that were sort of like Dragons; Cobra would've loved them, they spit poison at you".
Erza raised her eyebrows; she hadn't heard of a creature like that before.
"We were out there for a few months; in that entire time I managed to translate all of my old abilities into my Fire Dragon King Mode" Natsu continued, "Now I can use it as freely as I used my regular flames before I left... and throughout all of that my vessel for magic power also increased... it's hard to tell by how much though, but it feels like a significant difference".
Erza looked at Natsu with curiousity; if everything he said was true... then there was no telling what he could do.
"Nowadays I have to wear this" Natsu went further and indicated a black ring he wore on his left ring finger, "Apparently it was a failed experiment of Zeref's; he tried to find ways to suppress his curse, but it didn't work... thankfully it works for me".
"It works for you?" Erza asked, confused, "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean".
"Erza" Natsu said, closing his eyes, "Given everything I have said, given that you could FEEL the pressure from the Spriggan Twelve... don't you find it strange you can't sense anything from me?"
Erza's eyes widened; he was right... now that she thought about it, she felt nothing from Natsu...
"This ring suppresses my magic" Natsu went on, "Currently I couldn't even light one of Wakaba's Cigars... otherwise I would have to constantly concentrate just to regulate my body temperature, even whilst I sleep".
"Your... body temperature?" Erza frowned; what was he on about?
"If I took this ring off and didn't regulate it" Natsu explained, "Well... I'd probably melt everything within a few kilometres..."
All that Erza could do was stare... was he pulling her leg right now?
"People?" Erza asked.
"People too" Natsu nodded, "When I say everything, I mean everything".
Erza leaned back, covering her eyes with her hand; she made a mental note to make sure Natsu only ever took that ring off when he was ready.
"Anything else?" Erza further asked, hoping there wasn't anything else... she was disappointed.
"Well..." Natsu began, "You see... there is another form...".
"Another form?" Erza asked, disbelief in her eyes; was he implying he was even more powerful now?
Natsu nodded, "My Etherious form... in other words, my Demon form".
Erza began to shake; wait... what was he saying?
"So you're saying... you're still a demon?" Erza asked Natsu, almost in a panic.
"Relax, you're not in any danger, it's not like I know how to use it yet" Natsu tried to calm Erza down, "When Lucy rewrote my book she only severed the connection between Zeref and myself; afterwards I think the power went dormant... but since I began to grow rapidly in power, I think it decided to resurface".
"Can you suppress it with that ring?" Erza asked; Natsu nodded.
"Zeref created the Demons of the Books of Zeref using his own form of magic which was tainted by Anksehlem" Natsu explained, "This tainted magic became what is known now as curses, so this ring was designed to hold back both magic and curses... so E.N.D shouldn't be making any surprise visits so long as I have it on".
Erza nodded, "In the meantime you can..." Erza frowned, "Wait, is the reason why you only now decided to return home-?"
Natsu laughed, "Gray... he can help cool me down if necessary".
Erza blinked at that; would Gray actually be able to do ANYTHING to Natsu now?
"Since his magic is Demon Slayer Magic" Natsu began, "His magic is super effective against me when I'm in E.N.D form; unless he's gotten much more powerful in the past three years, he'd be no match for Fire Dragon King Mode... but E.N.D? He can at least hold me back".
Erza sighed a breath of relief; at least there was a backup plan just in case.
"So when you decide to start working on E.N.D" Erza began, "You'll want to have Gray by your side whilst you train?"
Natsu nodded, "Naturally he'll still need to work to make a living... so I plan on taking on a lot of high paying jobs first so I can pay him off to be my bodyguard basically".
"You'll have to pay him enough for three people just so you know" Erza said with a knowing smile.
"Three?" Natsu asked, his turn to be confused, "What are you on about? If you include Juvia that's only two".
"A lot has happened in the past three years" Erza explained, "Currently, Gray and Juvia are expecting to be parents in just a few months".
Natsu's eyebrow twitched in shock, "Say... what?"
Erza laughed, "You should look at your face... and that's not even half of it; Lucy has a boyfriend now, he seems like a decent man from what I've seen... rumors have it that Gajeel and Levy are also expecting a child... Elfman and Evergreen are married... Laxus and Lisanna are engaged... let's see... is there anything else or-" however Erza was cut off her rant.
"Hold up hold up hold up" Natsu exclaimed, waving his hands, a little breathless, "Slow down... So Gajeel had a kid or... Lisanna got... or... you said it all a little too fast... I..."
Erza could see Natsu's brain overloading, and couldn't help but laugh at the sight, breaking Natsu out of his confusion.
"Why are you laughing?" Natsu asked, surprised by her reaction.
Erza stopped laughing, giving Natsu a smile he had not seen on Erza before, "It's nothing... I'm just happy there's still some of the old Natsu in there; I was afraid you may have changed too much".
Natsu smiled, "Oh come on, no need to be so... anyway" Natsu smirked, "It'll be good to see everyone again".
Erza nodded, "But like you said you need a few days to rest, remember?"
Natsu nodded and Erza continued as she stood up, "I'll make sure everyone is at the Guild at midday on Thursday... all you need to do is show up and do whatever it is you feel like doing".
Natsu laughed, "You're really eager for this to be a surprise huh?"
Erza gave Natsu a warm smile, "I just want everyone to feel the same happiness that I am feeling right about now".
Natsu stopped laughing, looking at Erza seriously as she walked past him and towards the door to the shack.
"I'll remain at the Guild until you make your appearance" Erza informed him, "In the meantime rest as much as possible... I'll have Mirajane bring you food after she closes up the Guild at night".
Natsu smiled, "Let me guess; you want me to be asleep when she drops by?"
Erza laughed at that, "If you want... but she already knows anyway, so it makes no difference".
Natsu nodded, "Have a safe walk back to the Guild".
Erza left Natsu's shack feeling elated; she was glad that Natsu hadn't really changed all that much... until then she hadn't really realised it was something she had been worrying about.
But no matter; Natsu was back... he was still Natsu... and in a few days...
Erza smiled at the sky as she walked back into Magnolia; in a few days, everyone else will feel the same way she does... or perhaps they'll feel... Erza stopped.
Why? Why would they feel different than her? She questioned herself... why did she think that?
What is so different about the way THEY feel about Natsu compared to how SHE felt? Why was she thinking these things?
Erza shook her head; she would worry about this another time... for now however... Mirajane likely as not had a plate of Strawberry Cake with her name on it...
...
Natsu stared at the black ring on his hand.
"Why?" Natsu asked himself.
It was after Erza had left that Natsu began to berate himself, staring at that ring.
"Why?" Natsu gritted his teeth.
Erza's horrified expression flew into his mind when he told her he was still technically a Demon.
"Why?" Natsu sobbed.
Erza's relief when she realised he hadn't actually even begun to Master the power of his Etherious Form.
"Why did I lie? Why couldn't I tell her..." Natsu closed his eyes in shame, "Why couldn't I tell her that I already mastered it? Is it because... I'm afrad she thinks I'm a monster?"
Why?
Natsu's eyes shot wide open; why what?
Why are you concerned Erza might think you're a monster?
Because I care about her... she's my friend...
Yet you worry only she will think you're a monster? What about Lucy? Gray? Everyone?
What are you getting at?
You know what I'm getting at.
Natsu gritted his teeth and slammed his hand against the kitchen table, splitting it in two; why was he having such strange thoughts?
Authors Note - So there you have it, Chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed it; at my current pace I should have the next chapter in just a few days, so be sure to look out for it. Until then, have a good day.