Hey Guys thank you for your patience! This chapter unfortunately isn't longer but hopefully has some good action in it for you. If you can't tell this is my first fight scene and will hopefully be my last lol not a fan but I feel like the details needed to be in the story. So sorry if it's not your cup of tea no worries there probably won't be many of these in here but then again I'm just following the flow of the story thats in my head soooo there might be more.

Thank you all for sticking with me and the great reviews I appreciate them all. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and have had a great start to the new year. I'm just over 7 and a half months pregnant so really excited for this year and all the wonders it will bring!

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 22

The larcacam scanned an open field showing Erza, Gildarts, Gray, Juvia, and Wendy standing in the middle of a field. Within moments all the dragon slayers appeared surrounding the field and Natsu steadily made his way to the center of the field. Natsu turns to Wendy, raising his brows, "You will stand back for this."

Wendy trembled feeling the authority in his voice loud and clear, "I um came to mediate and ask for this to be a battle to unconsciousness based on skill and technique instead of power."

Natsu's brows shot up, "and why would I grant this?"

"I-I believe in this family we can all understand everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Without using power wouldn't it be better prove who was the strongest and most skilled?" Natsu tilted his head back and forth considering her request."Also wouldn't it be better to have such strong members to protect the nest instead of destroying them? You know no one in our nest would do such a thing and isn't our guild our nest?"

Wendy met Natsu's gaze but quickly went back to looking at her feet. Natsu looked at each of his opponents before nodding and patting Wendy's head, "alright."

He to the group behind the Sky Slayer, "Understood? She will tend to your injuries, and stay with you. If any harm comes to her it won't just be me coming to burn things to ash."

"We understand, and would never let anything harm her and survive anyway. Now who would you like your first opponent to be?" Gildarts asks with a slight smile to his face. He was concerned about if Natsu was still in there somewhere but even in the fog of his sickness he would never permanently harm his nakama.

Natsu let an anticipatory smile streak across his face, "since you volunteered."

Their fists collided and Gildarts grunted as he was pushed back. Without pause Natsu then grabbed Gildarts fist and threw him across the field. Gildarts smiled and flipped himself midair landing in a low crouch, Natsu appeared next to him in a blink of an eye. Gildarts hooked an arm around his leg and another around his neck then pushing upward he threw Natsu into the ground.

Gildarts always had trouble holding back but now it seemed he didn't even need to contemplate it. Natsu was far more focused and honed then Gildarts had ever seen him. He couldn't help but feel a fatherly sense of pride at the young man standing before him.

While he and the others agreed they needed to string this out for as long as possible he reminded himself to try and take this seriously as Natsu's very sanity was on the line according to Wendy.

The others watched in awe as the two made crater after crater pounding each other into the ground. "Natsu-san has greatly improved in hand to hand combat, but Juvia wonders should we play to Natsu-san's strengths or our own?" Juvia ponders out loud.

"Hmm that's a good point Juvia, I know Wendy said to not use magic but perhaps we could each meet him with something a little different." Erza tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Well I'm definitely willing to have a bare knuckle brawl with ol'e Flame Brain but you guys are right he needs to feel challenged." Gray mutters.

"I will challenge him to a duel with weapons, I can provide the weapon of his choice," Erza smiled satisfied with her answer.

They all jumped at the force of the ground shaking and cracking beneath their feet. They look to see Natsu carrying Gildarts out of the hole they created. Gildarts was muttering under his breath about being to old for this crap while also saying Natsu owed him a new arm and leg (the ones he previously lost to Acnologia).

Natsu sat him in front of Wendy, "he has admitted defeat, my need to challenge him is satisfied."

"I will fight you with any weapon of your choice but I will fight with nothing but my scales and claws." Natsu growls turning to Erza. Slowly ruby red scales spread down his arms, across his chest, and up his throat. He raised his hands to show his black taloned fingers, "let's get started I have a mate to find."

Erza streaked towards him without a second thought her Fire Empress blade reequipping into one hand and her Sea Empress Blade in the other.

Wendy kneels over Gildarts and begins working on him, "so Natsu accepted her terms with a twist. If you come up with the right terms with a specific skill in mind he might accept yours too."

"What exactly are you getting at Wendy?" Gray and Juvia share a confused look.

"Well Gildarts is known for his strength so they fought hand to hand. Erza's skill in swords is unmatched and it all about technique. Those are things a King values so your guys could try for tactics, or ummm power, or something like that?"

"Gray-sama what if we fought Natsu-san together?"

"Like a combination of brain and brawn? Hmmm I like it."

"If you want it to be a surprise I wouldn't say anything out loud if I were you, kids hearing is a whole hell of a lot better than I thought." Gildart grumbles, "kid could hear my moves."

"Like Cobra?" Gray turned to see the dragon slayer in question smirking at him from across the field.

"Not quite Natsu's healing is better now, but his eye sight is also on another level. He can't hear what you are thinking but with his instincts its pretty close," Wendy whispers.

"Does Gray-sama remember the game Juvia taught him?"

Gray just smiles.

Erza grunts as she uses her swords to block one of Natsu's fly kicks. Initially she was surprised at how Natsu used his claws as though they were twin blades. He skillfully combined them with his fighting style and became a whirling dervish. I focused on the battle and let the others fade into the background I could do no less than give this fight everything I had, Natsu deserved no less.

Having a plan in mind the others stood back and watched in amazement as Natsu stood toe to toe with Erza. And not only that but with blades no less errr well blade like weapons. Erza's battle ended with her blades broken, a few cuts, bruises, and a slight concussion.

Juvia and Gray stepped up, "Drip Drip Drop." The skies opened up and it poured, no discussion, no requests, nothing; just rain. "Juvia is the rain woman and no one messes with her Gray-sama."