Before I get into this chapter, I would like to say one thing: I do not deserve you guys. The amount of support I've received in my last update was...overwhelming, to say the least. The only thing I can do is say "Thank you." and continue to work on the series.

All of the checkups I had this month came out clean. Which means, that for today, I am cancer free. I have yet to have my bowel and stomach endoscopies, but those will come in 2018. I still have the issue of lumps under my right rib, but all of my doctors said it's not dangerous, and I sure as hell hope so. It appears all of my symptoms were caused by the amount of stress I was in due to personal situations, and when combined with my anxiety and fear of cancer...well, a truly killer combo.

Once again, thank you all for your support and I promise I will never take a break this long again. Not giving you guys usual chapters hurt me and I'm finally glad to upload again. This chapter may not be the greatest, but Tenrou Arc will be the bomb, that I promise you.

With that said, enjoy Chapter 16!

December 2nd, Fairy Tail Guild

December continued with its weather shenanigans, chilly morning air pinching the skin of those sentenced to be currently outside. Erza continued on her way through the city, her usual armor covering her body. Although she now preferred her new, civil clothes, she just couldn't approach a working day in a jacket. Still, she'd lie if she said she didn't miss the warm sensation on her body.

Erza made one last turn and crossed the remaining distance to the guild. She pushed the door and entered the pleasantly warm building, some members already greeting her. Erza waved them back and out of habit did a quick scan of the hall, her eyes searching for her team. She did find them a moment later, and couldn't help but smirk in slight amusement at the thought, that now it came much easier than previously - there was only one member in the guild, who had pink hair.

Natsu was, surprisingly, not sitting alone. In front of him sat Gray and Lucy, both of them busy with their activities. Gray was, as usual, reading something, with a cup of coffee set on the table before him, while Lucy was cleaning her keys, occasional yawns taking over her jaw. The trio was not talking to each other, but to Erza, this sight was already a big progress.

"Good morning." greeted them Erza after walking up to the table.

The trio murmured back, acknowledging her presence. She was already used to lack of Gray and Lucy's fondness when it came to getting up this early.

"Well then, shall we start our day?" asked the knight.

"Best to get it over with." Gray sighed tiredly and closed his magazine. "Just make sure not to pick anything over the top, I'd gladly do something smooth."

"I'm afraid that is not up to me." replied Erza. She then faced Natsu. "Ready to choose?"

The Dragon Slayer looked at her with a slight frown. He then remembered what she'd promised him and his face immediately relaxed: he was genuinely looking forward to seeing what legal jobs looked like.

He got off his seat and started to walk toward the counter, where Lisanna and Mira were wiping off the dishes. Erza blinked at the sight.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

He turned around with his eyebrows slightly raised. "To get a job. What else could I be doing?"

"We choose jobs from over there." she said and pointed at the board at the end of the hall. "We bring them to the counter only to get a stamp that we'll be gone."

Natsu frowned. Now this was the first change. Still, he simply shrugged and walked back, before stopping in front of the board. He started to scan the sheets of paper with his eyes, and slowly, but surely, he felt that he was getting cold and sweat was starting to form on his forehead.

Erza used this occasion to sit down to her teammates.

"All done!" announced Lucy to herself, pleased with her work. She took care of her keys, that's for sure, but she was still amazed by how different they looked after a good scrub.

Gray arched an eyebrow. "They look the same to me." he said before ducking just in time to avoid a punch aimed at his face.

"I have to say, I was quite surprised to see you three together when I walked in." threw in Erza, mostly to cut off Lucy, who was about to retort to Gray's remark. "Who joined who?"

"We did. He was the only one in the guild when we came, we thought we might as well sit with him" said Gray.

"Well, he does live here, after all." added Lucy and looked at the Slayer.

"I see."

Erza also looked at his back. He was still staring at the board, probably getting accustomed to his new working environment.

"By the way." Lucy's words snapped her back to reality. "What did you guys hear at Porlyusica's? Is he alright?"

"It's complicated." sighed Erza. "Long story short, he can't overexert himself for a while, so his fighting capabilities are, to some degree, limited. However, his life is not in danger, so it all comes down to how he handles himself from now on."

Erza couldn't help but notice Gray's eyes and immediately understood his thoughts. They could never forget what they saw back in the Tower: such display of strength was something neither of them had ever seen in their lives.

"You think he'll get picked?" asked Gray all of a sudden.

Erza blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You know." he said, putting some weight on the words, trying not to reveal what he meant to Lucy.

"Oh." It took Erza a couple seconds to click. "I genuinely have no idea. With the way things are, I find it unlikely, but Master has a mind of his own. I stopped being surprised years ago."

"I guess you're right." replied Gray, his voice disappointed, for reasons known to the redhead.

"Huh? Picked for what?" asked curious Lucy.

"He's taking too long." said Erza while looking at Natsu, dodging the question. "I'll go check on him."

"Hey, what were you talking about?" getting nothing out of Erza, Lucy turned to Gray, who started coming up with excuses.

Erza stood up and crossed the guild, leaving her friends behind. The knight walked up to the board and met Natsu, who was slightly leaned towards the board. His eyes were squinted and his mouth was moving, as if he was whispering to himself. Confused, Erza looked at the board, more specifically where he was looking. He was staring at a simple, quite short job request worth 800,000, paid for cleaning out a mine full of creatures. Erza frowned. The request was simple, it had barely any text and the reward for completing it clear to see, yet he continued to stare at it in concentration, his mouth continuously moving. And then, suddenly, as if someone hit her head with a hammer, it clicked.

"Natsu." she called out to him quietly. He jumped in his spot, startled. If she managed to startle a Dragon Slayer with her presence, that alone was a proof of how focused he was on this small piece of paper.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Do you want to go on this job?" she asked, pointing at his sheet of paper.

He did not reply. Her hunch deepened, so she decided to push it further.

"How about this one?" she pointed her finger at another poster, his eyes following her hand. "100,000 for finding a lost dog. The client will provide some clues, such as its collar, so with your nose, finding it will be a matter of time."

Once again, no reply. After a short while, he grabbed his previous target and ripped it off the board. "Let's go with this one." he said, before turning on his heel and heading towards the counter.

Erza stared at his back, her eyes narrowing. She took her hand off the request and followed him. The poster then fell off the board and landed on the floor, revealing its contains for everyone to see, not a single word mentioning a lost dog.

"I picked this" announced Natsu and threw the request on the table. Gray and Lucy leaned in to read it.

"800,000 for cleaning out a mine? We're lucky." smirked Gray. He liked easy money.

"Each of us gets 200,000?! I'll be able to pay two months worth of rent at once!" celebrated Lucy.

"Don't get cocky." scolded them Erza, who was now back at the table. "We have no idea what sort of creatures are hiding in there. We must be prepared for a tough battle."

"There she is." breathed Gray under his nose, unfortunately for him, a little too loud.

"Did I just hear something?" asked the knight, her eyes slowly transforming into daggers.

"Nope." replied Gray before the cold from her eyes could reach him.

"That's what I thought. We're leaving in an hour. Let's meet at the station."

Gray and Lucy nodded and got up from their seats in order to get ready. Despite Erza's warning, their previously foul moods were now gone - they missed going on jobs, and this was a golden opportunity.

"Well then, I'm off as well. I have to get some stuff from my apartment. Do you know your way to the station?" Erza turned to Natsu.

"Yeah, I'll find my way." he replied, his voice slightly off.

"Very well. See you in an hour." she smiled at him before walking out of the guild.

As soon as she found herself out of the guild, her smile dropped, now replaced with a small frown. Although she had no further proof, she already came to a certain conclusion. Realising that confronting him in private would be the best scenario, she made a mental note and made her way back to her apartment, her smile returning to her face. She was very excited to be back in the field again.

An hour later, Erza and her team found themselves at the station, ready for departure. While Gray and Lucy, who had trouble staying awake not so long ago were not perfectly fine, Natsu was slightly nervous and couldn't stay in a single spot.

"Are you okay?" asked him Lucy.

"Yeah." he replied shortly. "I just don't like trains."

It took the blonde a second to connect the dots. "Oh. I see." was all she could force out.

Though now knowing his lack of fondness for trains, Lucy caught herself looking at him for slightly longer than necessary. He noticed that as well and met her eyes with his, only to miss her gaze, as she quickly turned around. Although she's now fully accepted him into the team, being around him felt slightly weird. She didn't hate him, nor did she find him repulsive because of his face, but the vibes he pumped out were much different than those of the people she'd been around for the past year. Getting used to him could take a while.

Twenty minutes later, the group was now seated in their compartment, with Lucy and Erza sitting on one side, and Gray and Natsu on the other. Gray was looking out the window, not paying attention to his neighbor. Natsu, on the other hand, was leaned in towards the floor, his hands joined and on his lap. His breaths were loud and deep, sweat already dripping down his face, which took a color of gentle green.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked him Erza with concern.

He weakly nodded in response, probably not talking on purpose. Right now his mind was focused on not going all the distance.

Not buying it, Erza sighed and turned to Lucy. "Could you switch seats with him, please?"

The blonde blinked, but obliged. "Sure."

Lucy stood up from her seat and waited for Natsu, who took slightly longer to get off his. They passed by each other on the way and plopped in their new seats, Natsu releasing a quiet groan after sitting down.

Erza straightened herself in her seat and reached out to Natsu, her hand landing on his neck. "Come here." she said shortly.

The Dragon Slayer looked at her confused, his neck instinctively tensing up from her touch. "What for?"

"Just come here." she said, slightly pulling his neck towards herself. "Trust me." she added with a small smile.

Still not entirely convinced, Natsu felt another attack that forced him to his absolute limits to fight off and ended up taking the knight's offer. He let her hand drag him down and, to his surprise, he soon found himself lying on her lap, his head resting on her thighs.

"The hell?" muttered Gray, not entirely sure what he was witnessing.

Erza met his eyes and blinked. "What? I've seen Levi do this for Gajeel, and it worked wonders. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, of course not!" reassured her Lucy with an awkward laugh. Leave it to Erza to miss a clue.

Gray simply shrugged and looked back to the window. Lucy, who was now itching to speak out leaned in to get closer to the Maker and whispered.

"Are you okay?"

He looked at her, his brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, with how you act when this" she continued, pointing at Natsu with her finger "happens, I was expecting you to have a smirk glued to your face by now."

Gray's face relaxed, as he also leaned in. "If that was tincan over there, trust me, I would be rolling on the floor now, but in this occasion, I would prefer not to die at the age of 18."

Lucy blinked. "I really don't think he would overreact like that. He may be wild, but..."

"I wasn't referring to him."

With that said, everything made perfect sense and Lucy simply nodded in approval, her eyes shifting onto Erza on their own. She cleared her throat and leaned back, her neck meeting her seat.

"Besides" continued Gray,his voice still low "I'm kinda excited to see this guy in action. I've always wanted to go on a job with Laxus, but he'd always turn me down, so seeing someone of the same level in action might be a good experience."

"Huh~." hummed Lucy under her nose. "You know, I'm actually kind of surprised at how easily you've accepted him into the team, considering how aggressive you were when we met him again."

"Not like I had a say in this matter now, did I?" he sighed, forcing Lucy to agree with him in her mind. "But other than that...let's just say some things changed. I can't keep on holding grudges left and right. We're not kids anymore. Some things are better being let go off."

Knowing where he was coming from Lucy couldn't help but look at her hands. She's still yet to talk to him about what happened back there.

"I think we should all follow in Natsu's footsteps and get some sleep as well." Erza's words echoed throughout the room, with a now sleeping Natsu still on her lap. "There's a long way ahead of us, followed by a tough job. We must bring out best into this."

"Now that's something I would never argue with." agreed Gray with a yawn and adjusted himself in his seat, so that he could nap off.

Lucy also agreed with the knight and leaned in to her left, her head gently tilted to the side. The trio then closed their eyes and soon fell asleep one after the other.

Six hours later, Birchwood Town

After a short nap, the group spent the remainder of the journey talking and playing cards. Couple hours later, they found themselves at their destination, with Natsu loudly expressing his joy of getting off the train.

"It's kinda nice in here." noted Gray, as he looked around the town. It reminded him of Magnolia.

"I've never been this deep into the country." added Lucy, also admiring the town.

"Focus." scolded them Erza, now with the job request in her hand. "Sightseeing will come later. We must head to the mayor."

A while later the team was walking through the town with an annoyed Gray up front and giggling Lucy following him, Natsu and Erza behind them. After learning that they were on their way to their client, Natsu could not get over the shock of how different legal jobs are from what he used to work with.

"I'm starting to regret what I said earlier." groaned Gray.

"You still lasted longer than I expected." laughed Lucy.

"So, there really is no middleman?" asked Natsu for the third time.

Erza, who was on both sides of the coin, was the one to provide answers to all of the Slayer's questions, her patience hard as steel. "Yes, Natsu, there is no middleman. By submitting a job to the Council and later a guild, you are expected to sign official paperwork, that confirms your identity. Even if someone used a third party, the client would still be known to the Council. The very concept of a middleman is supposed to push all the risk onto someone else, usually to keep someone's reputation clean with no ties to the request."

"What about the reward? The client will hand it in person?"

"Yes, once the task is fulfilled and the client is satisfied with the results, we will receive our reward, handed directly by him."

"Wouldn't it be safer to leave the money in a designated spot? That way, there are no chances of trying to force more money from the client."

"Once you decide to take a job, your guild sends this information to the Council, so anything that happens to the client is immediately tied up with the guild that'd accepted the request. Even if we tried to steal or force more money from the mayor, all he has to do is report it and we will be held responsible. Unlike the Underground, we have a system that has been used for decades. The rules of that place do not belong here."

With all of his questions answered, Natsu stopped nagging his teammate and frowned to himself. Everything he just learned went against years of his experience. Getting used to the changes could take a while.

"Here we are." announced Erza, causing the group to stop. They were now standing in front of the mayor's office. Erza pushed the door and entered the building, her team right behind her. They were met with the sight of an older lady with glasses sitting behind a desk, right by stairs that led to the upper floor, where the mayor most likely had his office.

"Good morning." Erza greeted the woman. "We are mages from Fairy Tail, my name is Erza Scarlet. We have accepted your job request and we would like to speak to the mayor."

Erza passed the sheet of paper to the woman, who took it and quickly read it's contains.

"I see." replied the woman, before handing the paper back to Erza. "I'm afraid you will have to come ata later date. The mayor is currently not in the town, however, he is expected to come back tomorrow at noon. I will write down your name and notify the mayor about your visit as soon as he gets back."

"I appreciate it." the knight gently bowed her head. "Before we leave, there is something I'd like to ask you."

The woman looked at the redhead from behind her glasses. "Yes?"

"On our way here, we couldn't help but notice that there is not a lot of people in the town, especially for this hour. Is this connected to something, perhaps an event of some sorts?"

The woman's eyes glimpsed, which did not go unnoticed by Erza. "It must have been your imagination, or you simply had no luck in meeting the locals."

"I see." replied the knight. "Well then, we shall come by tomorrow afternoon. Sorry for disturbing you and have a nice day." She said with a bow, before turning around and leaving the building.

"So you've noticed too, huh?" asked her Gray once they crossed the door. "Maybe she is right, even Magnolia has quiet places."

"I do hope so." said Erza, dragging the syllables. "Well then, since we've got nothing to do today, I think we can look around the town for a while."

"I saw a cool shop on our way here, they had some nice clothes on display." said Gray with a grin.

"You're just gonna lose them anyway." pointed out Lucy.

"Shut up." he retorted, slightly red on the face. "They also had some magic items, they may have some keys."

"Count me in, then!" smiled Lucy and started to follow Gray into the town.

"Wait!" called Erza after them. "We don't know our way around here. I think it'd be for the best if we checked in an inn and then wandered off."

"Then do it there." said Gray and pointed with his thumb. Just few blocks away from the mayor's office was an inn. It was quite small, but looked like it could fit the four of them in for the night.

"Very well. I will rent us rooms. Just make sure not to spend too long out there!"

"Yes, mom." threw Gray in farewell and waved her with Lucy by his side.

The knight sighed and looked at her last remaining companion. "What about you?" she asked Natsu.

"I wanna check something out too. Won't take long."

"Okay. See you later."

"Yeah."

With that said, the pair split up and Erza headed into the inn, her bad feeling about this place still with her. She just couldn't shake off this feeling of déjà vu. Praying that she was wrong, she entered the building and walked up to the counter.

Early December 3rd, Inn

Erza groaned and turned over in her bed. She frowned when the light from a street lamp hit her face through the window and opened her eyes, now awake. She blinked a couple times, her eyes sandy and stinging. She raised her hand and massaged the corners of her eyes, before sitting in her bed and looking around the room. The only place available was a small room with four beds stuffed inside, basically right next to each other. Under normal circumstances, she would've rented a room someplace else, but since they were here for only one night, this was more than enough. Lucy was gently sleeping right beside Erza, her covers tugged right by her chin, her legs curled up underneath the material. Gray was sleeping in front of her, his covers thrown to the side, as he snorred lightly. Erza's eyes fell on the last bed and as soon as they did, a quiet sigh escaped her mouth against her will.

Natsu's bed was empty, with no signs of being used what so ever. Knowing that finding him could very well turn out to be impossible, at least until morning, she still threw her legs to the side and put on her slippers. Erza quietly exited the room and went downstairs, where the main hall was. She didn't even bother changing from her pajamas, mostly because the only thing she could find downstairs was the female owner and a small bar with one table and two chairs.

Once she walked off the final step, she already knew she hit jackpot, her eyes meeting his messy pink head sitting by the bar, alone. Erza slowly crossed the hall and pulled out the second chair, already aware that he knew she was there.

"Hey." she said, her voice somewhere between her usual tone and a whisper.

"Hey." he replied back, his grip on his glass.

"Miss, would you like to order something?" asked her the bartender.

"I'll have what he has." she replied.

The man nodded and reached out for the bottle.

"Why are you here? Can't sleep?" Erza asked Natsu while waiting for her drink.

"Not really." he replied shortly. "I was about to go hit the hay though."

Before Erza could respond to that, the bartender put her glass before her. She grabbed it and gently took a sip of its contains, her eyes widening in surprise at the taste of juice spreading over he tongue.

"What?" asked her Natsu.

"N-nothing. I just...didn't expect-"

"It's not like I drink whenever I get the chance, you know." he cut her off, seemingly hurt by her reaction.

"I wasn't implying that!" she tried to defend herself, only to see him smirking.

"Relax, I'm just kidding."

Slightly embarrassed that she allowed herself to be played so easily, Erza cleared her throat and took another sip of her juice. This was the moment she's been waiting for, she might as well use it.

"Were you going to sleep outside?" she asked him out of the blue.

Natsu looked at her, slightly surprised by the question. "No. Why?"

"Master told me you've been sneaking out of the guild for the night after your first day in the guild." she explained, her voice growing slightly stern. "Is there a reason for this?"

The Dragon Slayer took his time with answering the question. "I'm just not used to sleeping in the same place for longer than one night. I like it in there, I appreciate the hospitality, but it's hard to sleep there for longer than one night. So I've been sleeping outside of town."

This confession put Erza at ease. Although it looked fine on the surface, he was still under arrest. All of his activities had to be monitored, and entire nights on his own could end up in a disaster to the guild.

"Well, this is a brand new location, with a warm bed to sleep in and trustworthy people around you. I think it easily beats cold grass under some tree." smiled Erza.

Natsu snorted into his glass. "You got me there."

Silence fell between them, but it didn't feel awkward. Although neither of them would admit it, being around each other brought the feeling of peace and comfort to both of them. Maybe it was their shared experience, maybe it was the time they spent together. They didn't know each other for long, hell, it hasn't even been three weeks, but they still felt pretty close. Understandment was the foundation of what they had at this moment, and it might have been just be just as strong as years of seeing each other in the guild.

"There's something I've noticed this morning." Erza broke the silence.

Natsu looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I'll be blunt. Do you know how to read?"

This question caught him completely off guard. He simply stared into her brown eyes, unsure what to do. After a short while, he sighed, knowing that there was no escape before her gaze and gave in.

"I know letters, I can put together short, easy words, but other than that, no, I can't. I didn't really have time to learn. When I was with Sunspear I spent my entire days out in the woods, and after that...well, an opportunity never came. All of the jobs I'd picked up were given to me by bartenders and third parties in private." he confessed, before chugging down his glass. "You can laugh now, you know." he added with an uneven smile.

"I would never do that." she said truthfully. "In fact, the complete opposite. I have a proposition for you."

Natsu looked at her questionably.

"When we get back home, I will teach you how to read. Since you're in my team, I am responsible for you, and it is my duty to make sure you can live among people like everybody else, on even terms. I will teach you how to write as well, because both of those skills go in pair."

Natsu didn't know what to say. Couple weeks ago he'd never even give learning how to read or write a second thought, yet here he was, being offered both of those things for free, without a care in the world. Feeling that it could help him getting used to his new environment, he signaled the bartender for a refill and gave Erza an answer.

"If you feel you're up to it. I am a terrible learner."

Erza smirked at those words. "And I am a strict teacher. I think we'll get along just fine."

Natsy laughed and raised his glass. "Let's seal the deal."

Erza laughed as well and met his glass with hers. The pair emptied their glasses in one go, before putting them down on the counter.

"Let's get back to bed, it's getting late." said Erza before getting off her chair.

Natsu nodded and followed her upstairs. They quietly entered the room and laid down in their respective beds. Natsu stayed awake for a while longer and caught himself at Erza's sleeping figure. His eyes laid on her uncovered arms, her sleeves rolled up, revealing her wrists. Seeing them gave him an idea he couldn't wait to put into life. With a small smirk on his face, Natsu has also drifted towards warm embrace of sleep.

Noon of December 3rd

As promised, Team Erza arrived at the mayor's office. Upon reintroducing themselves, the secretary asked them to wait and soon invited them into the office.

The room was quite modest. At the center by the back wall was a desk with an elderly man sitting behind it. Behind him were two big shelves filled with books and papers. The floor was decorated with a grey carpet with a bizarre pattern, and the windows were half covered by curtains.

"Welcome, my young mages." greeted them the mayor. "How may I help you?"

"My name is Erza Scarlet, I am a mage from Fairy Tail. We have accepted your request." introduced herself Erza.

"Ah, I see." said the mayor and gestured at the chair in front of his office, asking Erza to sit down. The knight took his offer and sat down. "First of all, I am honored to be graced by your presence, Miss Scarlet. You are quite famous in this region."

"I do not deserve your kind words." replied Erza with a gentle bow.

"Nonsense." laughed the mayor. "However, as much as honored I am to welcome you into our small town, I'm afraid you have come here for naught. The issue described in the request has already been resolved."

The knight frowned. "With all due respect, the request sent to our guild sounded to be an issue of quite a big scale. I refuse to believe this problem has been resolved on its own. If any guild before us had accepted the job, we would have been notified."

"The back entrance to the mine has been left open specifically because of this issue. It leads to an uninhabited area. The creatures that terrorized the mine have all left yesterday." said calmly the man. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way, but there's nothing I can do about it. To repay this mistake of mine, I will cover the expenses of your travel back and forth."

Erza continued to stare at the man, not buying his story one bit. Seeing that this front was closed, she decided to take a different approach.

"I understand. If the issue has already been resolved, then there's nothing left for us in here." said Erza. "However, I think there is one more thing you could help us with."

"I'd be glad to." smiled the elder.

"Upon our arrival, we've noticed that despite its quite expanded size, there were no people on the streets what so ever. However, in early hours the people swarm the streets, all of them in a hurry. Are those two things, the people and the mine, connected in any way?"

Checkmate. The mayor's face dropped, a small glimpse of panic spreading over his face for just one moment that was noticed by everyone present in the room.

"When we were out shopping yesterday, the people in the stores acted weird around us." said Gray after taking the hint. "Some of them even threw us out and told us to go somewhere else."

"It's almost as if they were afraid of anyone being outside." added Lucy.

The mayor was now sweating. After a short moment of shock, he laughed and waved his hand. "It must have been your imagination. My people, although kind, do not take well to strangers. Especially those with guild marks out for everyone to see." he pointed at Gray and Lucy. "We do not have a guild in our town, so the people are wary. I assure you, there is nothing dangerous in this-"

"Are you being threatened?" cut him off Erza. "Is the mine, as you said, full of "creatures"?"

The man shook his head. "I believe we're done here. Please wait downstairs, I shall write out the check that will cover your way back home."

"Did you decide to finally get rid of your oppressors and when you thought of the consequences, you started to fear for your people and decided to leave things as they are?" the knight pressed harder, her voice now barely above whisper.

"Please, leave!" yelled the mayor. He was not angry, nor did he intend to scream. He was afraid, plain and simple. This alone answered all of Erza's questions.

"I appreciate your concern. But there is nothing you can do. There is too much at risk here. Please, leave us and do not mention what's happening here to anyone." pleaded the mayor.

Erza was in a pinch. If she went in there right now and caused havok, she would be held responsible for acting without an official decision. She needed his permission.

Just when she was about to try and reason with the elder once again, Natsu walked up to her and patted her shoulder. Upon looking at him, she noticed he waved his head to the side, telling her to get out of the chair. She did so, and soon Natsu plopped on her seat, before leaning in towards the mayor.

"I'll be as clear as I possibly can." started Natsu. "There is one thing you must know, something you're probably not aware of. Whoever it is that terrorizes this town - they already know you tried to get rid of them."

The mayor's face became white in color. He opened his mouth, as if trying to say something, but not a single sound came out.

"You want us gone? Fine." continued Natsu. "But let me tell you what will happen after we leave here, step by step. First, you will be visited by the people in charge. You will be confronted about what you've done. You will try to defend yourself, but they will not listen. They will either take you prisoner or torture you, to give you a lesson."

"Natsu, that's enough-" threw in Erza after taking a step in his direction, only to be stopped by Gray.

"Wait." he whispered.

Erza looked at him in disbelief, but complied and restrained herself for a while longer.

"Then, they will take care of the town. Best case scenario: couple destroyed buildings. Worst case, they will burn everything and kill everyone who lives here. Except you. You will watch everything and when the last victim lets out their last cry, they will leave you somewhere in the wild to die. They'll even leave you a rope to hang yourself on if they're kind. This is what is going to happen after we leave."

The mayor started to sob after finally breaking down. Salamander did not stop and leaned in even closer.

"Or, you can let us help you. Stamp the job, point out in the right direction and finally be free of this nightmare. In case of situations such as this one, the Council provides protection to the people, so even when we'll be gone, you'll still be protected."

The elder lifted his head and met Natsu's onyx eyes with his. "How can you be so sure?" he asked weakly.

"Because I've seen this happen many times. Both versions." answered grimly Natsu.

Erza and her team could only stare in shock. What seemed like an insensitive, inhuman act turned out to be plain, simple and pure experience. This must have been the reason he managed to convinced so many people to sell out their oppressors over the years, this must have been the way he managed to get the Council's attention.

"How can you even know if you can win?" asked the mayor.

Natsu dropped his intimidating face, his muscles relaxing. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't."

This seemed to be the last nail in the coffin. The elder wiped his face and once again faced Erza. "Very well. A chance like this might never happen again. I would rather die trying, than let my people perish for nothing."

"No one will die today. You have my word." assured him the knight. "Now please, tell us everything you know."

Six hours later, Birchwood Town Mine

The team hid behind nearby bushes, their eyes glued to the entrance to the mine. There were two guards outside, with the rest of the guild inside. According to the mayor, they came down into the town once every week with all of their members to collect supplies and money. Today was the day of the next pickup.

"So, what's the plan?" Gray asked Erza. "We can't just sit here all day."

"We can't just barge in either. We must know how many of them are there and whether all of them are guild members." said Erza.

"Fifteen."

The trio turned around to look at Natsu, who was behind them, his nose continuously sniffing the air.

"There are fifteen people in there." repeated the Dragon Slayer. The mayor said there are 15 of them, so I guess we have the full set."

"I see." said Erza, while leaving a mental note about how much easier would future jobs be with his keen senses.

"So, what do we do now? Barge in?" asked Lucy.

The knight shook her head. "We can't. Even if the numbers match up, there is still a possibility of someone outside of our list of targets to be in there."

"If we wait long enough, they will leave and we will lose our chance." threw in Gray.

"I disagree. If we catch them on their way into the town, we'll have a higher chance of recognizing them and subduing them. That mine could be full of traps." Erza once again shook her head.

"If we catch them outside, they'll have a bigger chance of running away." argued Gray. "I say we ambush them in a tight place, with no way to run."

"Wrong."

Gray's head quickly turned around, his eyes landing on Natsu. "What?"

"Even if we catch them inside, they can always create their own exits, or simply use secret tunnels and bail out. If even one person escapes, it could all end in a disaster. Besides, this mine belongs to the town. By destroying it, we would be crippling them, even if we managed to capture everyone." explained the Dragon Slayer.

"So what do you propose?" asked him Lucy, his reasoning convincing her more than Gray's idea.

"We wait until they step outside and get them all at once."

Gray frowned. "Didn't you hear what I just said? That leaves them more escape routes!"

"If we ganged up on them as a group, yeah. But if one person crosses their way, they will take the challenge. That will be the moment they fall." replied calmly Natsu.

"I disagree with this idea." Erza shook her head. "We are a team, we have to stay together and cooperate. We can't just send one person to do all the work by themselves. That's how a team works, by working together."

Natsu met her eyes with his. "You didn't let me finish. While I'll be down there, you will support me by surrounding the area. I don't expect any of them to run away from me, but if it happens, you will be there to cut them off."

Erza bit her lip. She took this job to show Natsu what teamwork looked like, something he definitely lacked. Pushing all the responsibility onto him and letting him act on his own was something that went against her wishes. However, if it was for the sake of the mission...

"I've been doing stuff like this for years now. Trust me." pushed Natsu.

This seemed to do the trick. Although still hesitant, Erza slowly nodded to Natsu, with Gray and Lucy agreeing as well. Just when the team came to an agreement, their targets left the mine, heading towards the town.

"Be careful." the knight warned her team and with that said, the team split up, with Natsu walking down to meet the dark mages.

Not particularly hiding his presence, Natsu walked down the hill and walked towards the group with casual step in his legs.

After a short while he was spotted and the man who looked like the leader of the group raised his hand, causing his men to halt. He was a man of quite an abnormal build, standing at approximately 2 meters tall, with broad shoulders.

"You lost, buddy?" he asked, completely on guard.

"Not really." answered Natsu. "I'm here for you, actually. All of you." he added while gently leaning to the side to get a look at all the men behind the leader. 15 - perfect.

The man laughed. "I don't think you took the hint, son. I asked you: Are. You. Lost?" he repeated.

Natsu did not answer and continued to stare at the leader, his face unchanged. This pissed the man off beyond belief.

"I bet it's that damn mayor. He looked suspicious last week, I bet he grabbed what was left of his balls and sought help." laughed another man in the back.

"That true?" asked the leader quietly, now slowly walking up to Natsu. "You a merc? Did our good old friend pay you off to beat us up? I guess he still hasn't learned his lesson. Perhaps your head in a bag will be a good enough wake up call? Huh, what do you say?"

The man walked up to Natsu and put his hand on his head, tousling his hair. The Dragon Slayer continued to look him into the eyes, not intimidated at all. Since it was getting dark, it was hard to read the Dragon Slayer's face, so only when he got closer did he notice the scar on his face. This seemed to have calmed him down a little, at least enough to keep him talking.

"Take my advice, kid. You look like you've been through some shit in your life. I like people like you. You've never had it easy, you had to work for your survival. I don't want to kill you, so do me a favor and get out of here. I will turn a blind eye on this whole situation, and we will-"

Before he could finish his sentence he was struck with a flaming fist in the abdomen. The punch bent him like a twig, air and spit mixed with blood escaping his now wide from agony mouth. As if in slow motion he slid off Natsu's fist and fell before his feet, unconscious.

"B-boss!" yelled his men, shocked to see their leader being bested in one strike.

"How dare you do that to our boss?!"

"Kill him!"

As soon as the command was given, a group of at least eight people threw themselves at Natsu, knives and magic in their hands.

"Wait a second." whispered the youngest looking member of the guild, who stayed behind. "Black clothes, white scarf, fire magic...No way..."

Natsu was now mere few feet from his opponents, completely open and unguarded. Smirking in triumph, dark mages prepared to attack the Dragon Slayer all at once, not suspecting their upcoming defeat.

"Run!" roared the younger man all of a sudden. "Save yourselves! This guy is-"

Before he could finish his warning he felt his throat being crushed by pressure. The air became heavy, gravity increased around them. One by one, all of the remaining members of the dark guild fell to their knees, Natsu's magic power grinding them into the ground. Upon securing them all in one place, he then proceeded to walk towards them, before hitting the back of their heads one by one, rendering them unconscious, at the same time keeping them in binds with his magic.

Just when he knocked out the thirteenth man, Natsu walked up to the youngest one and stared deep into his eyes. The man met Natsu's eyes, a decision he immediately came to regret. Although his face was calm, his eyes did not belong to a human being.

"Salamander..." wheezed out the mage before receiving his share of Natsu's fist and fell onto his face, unconscious.

The Dragon Slayer took a deep breath and released his magic, before looking around the area. He successfully managed to capture all of his targets and prevented unnecessary violence and destruction. Happy with himself, he couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his work: it usually did not end up this well. He then turned around and raised his hand, a signal to his teammates.

"Well done." praised him Erza. "But next time, we do it together."

"Fine."

The knight nodded and Requipped a rope, before Lucy and Gray walked up to her.

"If I ask you really nicely, do you think you can find it in yourself not to do it ever again? At least when I'm around?" whined Lucy, aiming her words at Natsu.

"At least it wasn't as bad as last time." said Gray on his way towards Erza, before taking his share of rope from the knight.

"Lucy, Natsu, get to work. We must bind these men and let the Council know what happened here." threw in Erza, busy with tying the leader up.

"Sorry." said shortly Natsu before taking his rope and wrapping it around his last victim. All of this felt so weird. Usually, he was nowhere near as gentle with his targets as he was now. Thinking to himself that this was yet another part of the game he had to get used to, he tied the knot and Started with his second catch.

Noon of December 4th, Magnolia

Shortly after they captured the dark mages, Erza notified the Council of what happened. An hour later, Birchwood Mine was visited by several Rune Knights led by Lahar. Upon receiving the testimony from both Erza and the mayor, Lahar concluded the report and thanked Erza for the service of both her and her team. He couldn't, however, hide his displeasure of being in Natsu's company, most likely not accustomed to working with him, rather than trying to capture him.

After learning of the fate of his oppressors, the mayor bawled like a child and continuously thanked Erza, making her uncomfortable in the process. She was forced to receive his gratitude, at the same time fighting his urge to paying ten times the amount of what they were promised. After long negotiations, she took the promised 800,000 and once again accepted the mayor's gratitude. The team then spent the night in their rented room and left the town in the morning, their way back passing by pretty much the same as how they got there.

"Well then, I'm out." said Gray upon getting out of the train at the station. "I got something to take care of."

"I think I'll take my leave, too. I'd give anything for a shower." breathed Lucy while stretching. "See you guys later!"

"Have fun." smiled Erza and watched the blonde leave with her eyes. She then turned to Natsu. "Are you, perhaps, headed in the guild's direction?. I must report to Master and talk to Levy."

"Yeah." mumbled Natsu in response. "Actually, wait, before we go..." he added as soon as the redhead turned around in her spot.

Erza turned her head back around and looked at him curiously. "Yes, what is it?"

Natsu reached out to his back pocket and pulled out a small box. "When I was out in the town two days ago, I saw something and decided to get it. Not for me, but...for you."

He awkwardly handed the box to the knight, who blinked in surprise. She was genuinely curious what he got her. Erza gently took the box out of Natsu's hand and opened it.

"I saw you walking around in those gloves and thought they simply did not fit, so I figured you could use something more...practical. I thought of your hair and that's where the color came from. I hope they're fine."

Inside the box was a pair of red wristbands. They were slightly longer than usual, reaching one-third of her forearms. As soon as he mentioned her gloves she knew what they were supposed to be used for and she couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." she said after looking him in the eye. "They are way better than just fine. I really was getting tired of those gloves."

Without a warning she Requipped right in the middle of the station and emerged from the light clad in her blue skirt and white blouse. She pulled the bands over her wrists and admired her hands, smacking herself over the head for not thinking of picking up something this practical sooner. But deep down, she was glad she didn't.

"With each day you continue to amaze me..." she started after turning in his direction, only to meet his back with her eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked him, now concerned. "Was it too bright?"

"Yeah." replied shortly Natsu. "It's just...when you do that I can see more than others. I think we already talked about it."

Erza blinked in confusion, and it took her good couple seconds to click. Her face slowly matched the color of her hair, and she quickly grabbed her bag and strolled across the station.

"W-well then, Let's just get back to the guild."

Shortly after Natsu caught up to her and walked by her side, his hands deep in his pockets.

"For this stunt, I am pushing the time of our reading lessons from 8 to 7 AM." she stated after a while of silence. "We start tomorrow."

The Dragon Slayer stopped walking and watched her pass him. "But I didn't even do anything!"

"6:30 AM."

"You're a demon."

"6 AM."

After that, Natsu's voice died down, replaced with the sound of his legs repeatedly kicking a nearby rock on the ground. The pair continued to walk through the town in silence, a silence they both enjoyed. Just being close to each other was enough, and both of them were about to find that out in the upcoming weeks.

End of Chapter 16. To be continued in Chapter 17: Struggle.

In case you forgot(which you have every right to), the last bit about Erza being embarrassed comes from Chapter 4, where Natsu admitted to seeing her naked. Since he's kinda strong, so are his eyes, so whenever she changes armors he can see her naked for a split moment, more specifically between her Requips.

This chapter may have seemed to be weak, but that's mostly because I am out of shape when it comes to writing. I promise next uploads will be much better, after all, we're slowly entering Tenrou Arc. I can tell you that - if you enjoyed my fights scenes up until now, you are going to love the ones that are about to come.

I've already said everything I wanted to in the upper Note. Leave them reviews and see you next time! Which will not be as far as the last one.