I'm enjoying this story myself, hopefully I don't disappoint you guys. Loving the reviews!
~ Lukillah
Early the next morning, Erza arrived to the guild and marched to the bar counter where Mirajane greeted her kindly.
"Good morning Erza," Mira smiled softly.
"Morning, have you seen Gray and Natsu?"
"I have," she replied, "Gray is at the northern outskirts, and Natsu just swung by."
"What was Natsu doing here?" Erza asked with a flustered expression.
"Picking up his scarf."
Erza looked down where his scarf used to rest around her neck, remembering how she threw his scarf on the ground before leaving him that night.
"Right…" she murmured to herself.
"If what I heard is right," Mira pursed her lips; "you had a little moment with a little someone last night."
Erza blushed, "Who told you that?"
Mira winked at her, "I can't say, but I'm sure Natsu enjoyed it."
Erza's gaze turned away from her, "It wasn't Natsu…"
She raised one eyebrow, "Hm?"
"I've got to go." Erza fled the conversation and the guild silently.
He threw his scarf from his neck over his nose, obscuring half of his face as he traveled down the street to the outskirts of Magnolia. It was early and the streets were still mostly empty. Arriving at the edge of Magnolia's boundaries, he found Gray lounging around with Juvia talking quietly. Natsu did not disturb them and sat on a barrel on the other side of the street.
"I can't believe that Master sent him with us after what he's done." Gray said loud enough for Natsu to hear but he didn't react.
"Please Gray, don't start anything now." Juvia begged.
"I didn't start anything," he rebutted, "he did."
Natsu dug his chin deeper into the scarf just as Erza arrived.
She looked at Gray and Juvia, then to Natsu.
She walked over to where he was and spoke only audible to him, "Natsu, we need to talk-"
"Save it." He spat. "We need to focus on the mission first." He gazed into the dense forest trying to avoid her glare and remained seated.
"Look at me when you speak to me!" she demanded, rising Gray's attention away from his conversation with Juvia.
Natsu rose from his seat meeting Erza's eyes only inches away, despite his scarf, she could see him scowling.
"Let's get this over with," he whispered.
She nodded irritably, and turned to the others. "Juvia, we need to leave now."
"I understand," Juvia bowed slightly and turned back to Gray. She leaned in to kiss him but he stepped away and began his trot as she fell on her face.
"Iʻll be back." He stated.
He blushed when he heard her respond, "Iʻll wait for you." He gave her a small peek before turning back to the party.
"How far is this place?" Gray asked.
"About twenty minutes on the train, but an hour walk. It's only the next town over." Erza replied.
"Then why are we walking if it's twenty minutes by train?"
"We were told to do recon, and not engage in anything unnecessary."
"Whatever." He replied looking over at Natsu marching shortly behind. "First time lizard boy isn't obnoxious," he instigated expecting a reaction, but he kept his pace without a word.
"What? Tired from hurting our friends?" he continued.
"Gray!" Erza snapped, scaring Gray back a few steps.
Now Erza was a little curious, it was unlike Natsu not to fight with Gray despite the hardships he'd endured. She peeked back at him hoping for an interaction. Natsu refused to socialize with either of them and focused on the direction they were headed in.
The rest of the trip was silently awkward for everyone. As they approached the small town Natsu's shuffle came to stop.
"Is there something wrong? Natsu?" Erza came to his side.
He had been here before. It was the town he came to with Happy to defeat the monster that terrorized the townsfolk.
"Natsu," Erza repeated sternly. She crossed his stare between him and the city as he focused on her.
His eyes narrowed, "No. It's nothing." He turned his head away from her as Gray strolled back to them.
"Are we just gonna stand out here?" Gray interrupted, upset for the sudden stop.
"No, we're going." Erza replied sharply turning back toward the city.
"Geez, what's your problem…" Gray muttered.
"What's that?"
"N-nothing!" he stuttered.
She shook her head and led the group out of the forest, down into the open streets. As they moved down the street an elderly lady approached them.
"Ah! Natsu!" she exclaimed. Natsu's curious look was enough for her to continue. "I was here the last time you came not too long ago."
"Excuse me," Erza broke in, "how do you know Natsu?"
"He defeated a Rakurai that was attacking our home a few weeks back. Or was it days…" she pondered.
Erza turned to Natsu coldly, "You didn't want to share this information?"
He shrugged his shoulders and turned away from the group.
"Are you his girlfriend?" the elder asked.
Erza blushed at the accusation. The alarming question flustered her enough to choke her from answering until Natsu did.
"No," he uttered, "she's not."
His blunt answer reminded her of last night and his painful expression in front of her and Jellal. Her confusion was immediately lifted as realization set in.
"No, I'm not…" she added.
The lady cocked her head to one side, "Oh, my mistake. You two would make a cute couple." She smiled slightly at the two frowning faces.
Gray charged back to the group, "Hey, I found some information on the new guild!" He paused to catch his breath; "It's a few miles further out east." He examined the looks everyone wore, "did I miss something?"
"Let's go already," Natsu spoke irritated, deciding to ignore his question.
"I'm not listening to you," Gray snarled. "Erza, what're we doing?"
"We're going." She replied taking lead ahead of Natsu. Gray sighed and followed.
"Be careful," the elderly lady cheered as they left her.
Exiting the safety of the civilized grounds, Erza's mind revolved around that conversation, primarily on Natsu's response. She recalled how exactly the elder knew Natsu. She knew that Natsu had gone on a mission with Happy alone, but to find that he confronted a Rakurai alone Natsu must have been extraordinarily fortunate to survive, let alone claim victory. She peeked at Natsu once again in the corner of her eye to no avail as he continued his speechless, glaring trot.
Coming into a clearing, they were shocked to find an overwhelmingly large, well-fortified castle structure on one end of several acres of open grassland.
"Trippy," Gray commented.
Natsu stared at the numerous purple cloaks entering the building.
"I agree, it appears they're ready for a war." Erza added.
Just then, one of the unknown members stopped, letting the other members enter, and turned in their direction.
"Hide!" Erza commanded, as each of them dove for cover behind a tree. She peered out to find that the stranger had disappeared.
"We're clear." She called coming out.
"Not quite." Gray said.
She checked again to find that the figure stood on the walls of the structure staring directly at them. It slowly lifted one arm, pointing at their position.
"I think we should go, now." Gray exclaimed, running off in the direction they came. The other two followed closely behind him.
They ran continuously for what felt like hours, stopping momentarily to catch their breaths until they sprinted back into town.
Gasping for air, Gray collapsed to the ground.
"Finally… We're… clear…" he wheezed.
"I… hope so…" Erza said, resting with one arm against the wall of a building.
Natsu panted with his hands on his knees, lowering his scarf to get air.
After catching their breath, Erza spoke, "I think this is a pub. We can rest here for awhile before heading back."
"Right." Gray nodded and went through the small wooden door.
Erza paused to look back at Natsu fixing his scarf before entering.
They sat down at a table and shared lunch in utter silence. Occasionally, Erza and Gray would share small information and such but Natsu refrained from doing so. After finishing their meals, Natsu stood, setting down his share of the bill, and exited the pub. Erza excused herself shortly after, and followed after Natsu hoping to finally have their personal conversation. Entering the cluttered mid-noon streets, she found him speaking with a stranger across the street.
"No, I'm sorry, I don't know who that is," the stranger shook his head. Erza watched him leave as she approached Natsu.
"Natsu," she addressed.
He turned to her with a blank expression save for his single risen eyebrow.
"We need to talk."
"I'd rather not." He replied.
"Knock it off," she so naturally commanded firmly before catching herself. "I mean… I want to talk about last night."
Now he spun completely to her, "Now you want to talk! After ignoring my pleas to hear me out, you want me to hear you?" He yanked his scarf from his face, exposing his scowl. "I don't think so, Erza. Drop it!"
Her irritation rose to anger, "No! You want to talk about you're little outburst on the town?! Fine, it wasn't you-"
"Yes it was!" he interrupted. "How many times do I have to repeat it? It was me!" he yelled moving closer to her, making her heart race. "I turned on my guild."
She turned her face away from him, lowering her eyes as he continued.
"And last night? Nothing happened! It meant nothing to me." His words made her heart drop as they spewed from his mouth. After everything they'd been through together, after the short moments they spent that weighed so heavily on her mind, after leading her to believe he might have liked her more than the respectful fear everyone shared for her, he didn't hold back and his words certainly didn't have an opening for reasoning.
She shook away the forming tears and glared at him coldly, "Alright, I understand how you feel but we need to get this out so we can be a team again."
"Count me out," he grunted. "I'm done with this shit."
She watched as he whipped away from her and began stomping away. As he left she felt the urge to run to him and wrap her arms around him. She gasped as she realized that her hand had searched unconsciously for his scarf. Lowering her hand she could see it was clutched in his fist in the distance.
He knew how the words he said effected her, they shared the pain. Retreating was the only way he could stop hurting her. He was regretting telling her off until he remembered last night. Sulking around the town he wound up at the top of the defense tower he camped at with Happy. He shoved his rage away as he slid down against the wall.
"I'm done," he told himself calmly.
"Shutting away your emotions is bad for your health," a familiar voice rang.
Natsu looked up to see a tall dirty blond haired man standing in front of him with his arms crossed. He wore a dark vest with silver chain links entwined to the pockets that clinked as he knelt down beside Natsu.
"Remember me?"
"Katsugi, right?" Natsu responded.
"Yup, heard you were looking for me."
"I'm ready to get that drink you offered."
Katsugi chuckled, "Sorry man, I just got called to work but saw you head inside here. Want to tell me what's going on?"
Natsu looked at his scarf before rolling it back around his neck and sighing. He explained everything that had happened. Maybe it was the spur of the moment, or the urging desire to recieve advice, but Natsu didn't hesitate to vent. After he finished, Katsugi seemed disturbed as well.
"Well," Katsugi began. "I don't know what to say bro. You serious about leaving them?"
"I don't know… I think so."
Katsugi rose to his feet, "I'm running seriously late now, we'll finish this later." He walked over to the stairs and turned back to him. "You should probably get back to your friends."
"Yeah, probably. Thanks." Natsu stood as Katsugi left.
Natsu sulked back to the pub meeting Gray and Erza outside in the road. Gray noticed Erza had glanced at Natsu before turning away with a sad but relieved expression.
"You look happy that he came back," Gray approached, "but there's something bothering you, isn't there?"
She shook her head, "The sun will be setting soon. We need to hurry back to Magnolia, we've outstayed our welcome here."
Gray stared at her shortly before nodding and following her out of the town.
The small party moved quietly through the dense forest until Erza and Natsu came to an immediately halt.
"Huh?" Gray stopped as well, "What's wrong?"
Erza was surveying the area as Natsu stood in a ready position.
"We're surrounded." Erza stated, "Requip." In a flash of light her armor transformed. She wielded two slender blades, wore a red flame pattern hakama and her hair in a ponytail - her Japanese-style armor. Though she wore no chest protection, she was well balanced when equipped.
"Come out!" She called.
Suddenly, the ambuscade exposed itself. Their numbers were incredulous. Each of them wore the purple robe they had seen from that night.
"That guild… I knew they looked familiar," Gray muttered, "They're the ones that attacked us the night of Fair of Fairies!"
"There are a lot more now, and we don't have Lucy or any backup for that matter." Erza warned. She saw a pink streak in the corner of the eye. Spinning around she saw Natsu charge into the growing crowd of purple.
"Natsu-" Erza called, but was interrupted when the large ambush commenced. The three-man squad pushed back and split up, overcome by their numbers. The struggle for survival became worse as it seemed that more members were showing up.
"Will this ever end?!" Gray yelled, "Ice-make!" A large ice cage trapped several members before one of them used their own magic against him.
"Lightning magic!" A large burst of electricity struck Gray from the back as he released a cry of pain.
"Bastard! Ice-make!"
The battle continued and no end seemed to be coming anytime soon. The sun set after a few hours of non-stop fighting. The three wizards were exhausted and backed into a corner when Natsu took the front lines alone. Erza and Gray watched as he recklessly attacked.
"What the hell is he doing?!" Gray called. "If he doesn't try to block anything, he's going to die!"
Erza watched in horror as Natsu's continuous attacks were finally interrupted when his offense broke. He was struck and launched several meters back, crashing into the base of a tree panting.
"Natsu!" Erza cried as she ran over to help him up. She reached down to lift him, but he shoved her arm away.
"Stop, I don't need you help…" he muttered.
She was surprised but refused to obey him. "I don't care how you feel right now, cut the suicidal tactics! You need my help, you're in pain!" she began pulling him by the arm until he shoved himself free again, throwing himself back to the ground.
"I prefer this kind of pain," he replied as he trembled to lift himself back up, "I can stand on my own."
He did not flash the confident smile she so desperately hoped for but dove straight back into battle. What does 'this kind of pain' mean? She thought to herself.
He spun in with a large 360-degree fire roundhouse, a move he picked up during his training. It launched a number of the members back, knocking over a portion of the crowd. Natsu collapsed back down to one knee from fatigue and checked on Gray to find him still perched out of reach on his ice cage.
Erza was still kneeling down, catching her breath as she devised an action to get them out. Suddenly, a cloaked figure appeared in front of her. He held one hand out against her forehead and flicked her. Suddenly, she felt drowsy as her remaining energy disappear. She shifted back, collapsing to a sit.
Gray, staring in shock as their strongest fighter dropped, leaped down to her side.
"Get up Erza!" He yelled, shaking her violently.
"I… can't…" she whispered before passing out.
"Shit! Natsu!"
Natsu spun around to see the ambush no longer focused on him, but on his defenseless friends. They charged forward, now confident they could win.
"Ice-make: shield!" A large ice wall formed in front of him and Erza. He sighed, relieved that he materialized it in time. Unfortunately, he failed to realize that one of them had made it past before it was developed and furiously swung a large broadsword. He closed his eyes, and leaned over Erza to protect her. When nothing but silence came he peeked up to see Natsu, arms spread out and head hanging low, looking down at them. Behind of him, a man-like figured was melted in his ice wall where Natsu must have burned through.
The blade had slid through numbingly. He couldn't feel where it hit exactly, but he could feel his warm blood seeping down his back, soaking his torn shirt.
He spun around, "Fire Dragon: Iron Fist!" punching the attacker through the ice shield.
"Natsu," Gray froze, still awestruck.
Natsu stumbled forward a step. His ears were ringing from the deafening crash, and vision was blurring. His legs shook violently as he struggled to remain standing. He peeked back over her shoulder, his words came in heaves "Still... my... promise."
"Stop," a voice called from behind the mob. Emerging from them was a purple hooded figure with a shell necklace.
"You," Natsu said before coughing up blood. "I'll… kill... you all."
"You? I'm impressed you can even stand, Natsu Dragneel."
"How… do you-"
"I've been watching you for awhile now, and to make things short before you might die, we need you." He pointed at Natsu with one finger.
"Natsu, don't do it!" Gray called who was holding Erza up. The same figure appeared in front of him, flicked his forehead, and dropped him drowsily as he repeated, "Don't… do… it…"
Natsu peered back at them before looking at their ringleader. Taking a deep breath, "Let them live,… and I'll go with you."
He shook his head, "If I do, they'll come for you."
Natsu glared at him, reaching behind of himself. He pulled his hand out, dripping in blood. "Dying… pretty fast… over here. Let. Them. Live." He repeated somberly.
The leader chuckled, "You are an impressive one! Luckily for you, I have one of the best psychological wizards with me." He motioned with one hand, emerging another cloaked figure, clinking as he came forward. "Erase their memories to before they left that village and take them back to the pub before they wake up."
"Yes sir," he replied sourly. Natsu tried to make out the figure but his vision was too poor to count his own fingers.
"Good, now let us go Natsu Dragneel." He commanded.
Natsu pulled his scarf off, and dropped it onto his friends before stumbling forward. As they cuffed him, he peered back at Erza and Gray lying helplessly in the dirt.
