What's up guys? It's been a while, school has been hectic. But I'm back! Some updates will be coming out. Phantom Lord part of the story so yeah. Not really sure what I'm going to do for some of it, but I have an idea. Anyway, On with the chapter
Natsu sighed inaudibly as he stared at the scene before him. Three of his guildmates, friends, hanging from a tree. While he knew Mira could handle it, he was glad that she wasn't here to see this. He'd only known these people for a little while and she'd known them most of her life. He wondered what she'd do if she found the culprit. The town square was completely empty, silent. Nobody was there. Natsu pulled a lacrima out of his pocket and snapped a picture using it before flaring his magic. It only took a few seconds for him to feel a second, albeit smaller flare from the guilds direction. Gildarts could only flare his magic so much before it destroyed everything in a few hundred-meter radius. It was quite a handy communication method as it let them communicate over long distance.
Natsu lit a small, golden flame in the center of his palm and threw it at the tree, engulfing it in flame. The flames slowly crept up the dry bark, slowly reaching the three victims hanging there. The flames burned the metal bands holding them up before crawling their way onto his friends. The flames seeped into their skins giving way to blue flames, causing them to glow briefly before all of the wounds disappeared. Natsu easily made his way over to the trio and pulled them down slowly as not to disturb them. At least they weren't in critical condition any more.
A minute or two later, a small burst of crash magic roared through the street straight toward Natsu and the trio behind him. Natsu didn't spare it a glance and simply held his hand out, pulling the magic out of it and turning it into fire. Natsu swallowed the portion of fire before turning around to see Makarov, Gildarts, and most of the guild trailing behind them. Gildarts accidently let off small bursts of crash magic as he ran, disrupting the others causing them to trip over each other as they struggled to keep up with who seemed to be the guild's adoptive dad. Gildarts reached Natsu first and Natsu simply extended the camera out to him while gazing at his three friends.
"Natsu what happened?" Makarov asked, slightly out of breath. Gildarts slipped next to Makarov and handed him the lacrima. For a good minute, nothing was said. And despite all the people now in the square, not a single thing but the rushing wind could be heard. The lacrima made its way around, showing the pure savagery of the culprit. The Phantom Lord guild mark glowed brightly on their bodies in the picture, sending one clear message.
"They can destroy my guild hall, they can desecrate our land, but this has gone too far. I draw the line at harming my children," Makarov muttered, "Tomorrow, we go to war!"
The guild cheered. It seemed a bit out of place to Natsu but he brushed it off. People cope in weird ways he supposed. Natsu again, sighed inaudibly and glanced over to Gildarts who gave him a look. Natsu knew what it meant. Natsu walked over to Gildarts and sat on a bench towards the edge of the square. A few wordless moments later and both of them had a pretty good idea of what the other was thinking. Gildarts was strong but his magic was unpredictable and that meant Natsu was going to help the guild. Natsu figured Gildarts would simply step in if things went too far.
Natsu sighed, "I guess I have business with their dragon slayer so I might as well go anyway. I was hoping I wouldn't have to but I've got a bone to pick with him now."
"Then I say go for it," Gildarts said evenly, "Just don't kill anyone yeah?"
Natsu nodded before setting off to find Makarov. On his way, he tried to get a tally of everyone who wasn't around. Almost everyone was there except Mira, but he had walked her home not even ten minutes ago. Nothing could have happened to her, right? Natsu thought about it for a second, just as Makarov came into view. Natsu slipped right by him too, dashing through the streets towards her house. Elfman wasn't home either. Natsu had seen him running up.
Natsu jumped from roof to roof, eventually reaching Mira's house. Natsu landed in front of Mira's house, calmly knocking, his demeanor not matching his feelings. He glanced around and strained his ears to hear any issues. He didn't smell anything abnormal and he could hear her breathing evenly. He imagined if she was in trouble, she probably wouldn't have an even heart beat. Natsu shook his head and tried to rid himself of any worries as the door swung open. Once again, it appeared to be Erza. How had he missed her not being there?
"Problem Natsu?" Erza gazed at him, "You look worried."
Natsu let out a sigh of relief as he saw a mop of platinum blonde hair poke out behind the armored woman, "Phantom Lord attacked Levy, Jet, and Droy."
Natsu heard the metal gauntlets whine as Erza gripped them, "When and where?"
It wasn't long before everyone was filled in. Both were in arms over the incident which was to be expected. Natsu informed them of the plan to attack the guild tomorrow and they calmed down, but just barely. Natsu suggested that they spend the night together in case there were anymore attacks and they agreed. Natsu was sure Makarov would come up with the same plan. He bid Erza goodnight and said it to Mira for the second time. After the door closed, Natsu let out a long breath. People around him would have been acutely aware of the air heating up rapidly as water began to sizzle and evaporate. Had there been anything dry around, it would have likely been smoldering.
Natsu took a deep breath and reigned himself in. He would do this town no good by getting mad. He glanced around before making his way back to the rest of the guild. He caught Makarov's eye and the older man beckoned him over. Natsu's eyes narrowed as he cast a glance towards the tree. The trio seemed to be gone, most likely in the infirmary or something of that vein.
"Gildarts informed me of your plan," Makarov said. His voice had a hard edge though Natsu didn't blame him, "I want to hear it from you too."
"I'm going to have some words with their dragon slayer," Natsu said, running a hand through his hair, "After that, I'll be around to help if it's needed."
The older man stared at him before sighing and rubbing his mustache and sighing, "How do you know its a dragon slayer and are they dangerous?"
"I can smell him. You're wondering if he's dangerous?" Natsu glared at the tree, "No. He won't be after I'm done with him."
"What if he's too much for you to handle?" Makarov asked. Natsu didn't take any offense to it. It was a genuine question, even if it was misplaced.
"I kill dragons," Natsu said as he held up his tattooed arm and jerked his thumb towards his necklace, "He's not a problem. Trust me."
"Alright child," Makarov dropped his gaze to the floor, "I let this happen."
"Maybe, but you did what you thought was right," Natsu said evenly before starting to walk. Natsu needed to let off some steam. He called over his shoulder, "You can't blame yourself for that."
Makarov gazed at the retreating man and shook his head. If Gildarts trusted him, why shouldn't he. He looked around at his family, his children, and suppressed a scowl. He knew each and every one of them was ready to tear Phantom Lord apart. He trusted his kids, and yet he still felt uneasy. He sighed. If something happened, Gildarts was always around just in case.
While Makarov was lost in through and the rest of the guild was preparing for the morning, Natsu was following his nose. He had a pest to deal with while the others were busy. Besides, he smirked and blew out a puff of black smoke, the night was still young. Natsu found his target in a matter of minutes. All that separated them was a pesky metal door. Doors were never a problem for Natsu though. He grinned as he reared his fist back and slammed it into the door, easily blowing it off its hinges. The crashing sound of metal resounded through the hall.
Natsu could see a younger man with long, black and white hair tied up on the back of his head, a portion of black hair overlaying the front and left side of his head, leaving the smaller white portion concentrated on the left. He sported a simple marking consisting of three horizontal black bars passing across the ridge of his nose and both cheeks in a linear formation, with the one in the middle being the longest. The second figure was a tall and muscular young man with long, spiky black hair. He had red eyes with slitted dark pupils. Most of his exposed body was covered in sets of round metal studs. The third man had weird green hair and a monocle with a small green mustache. Other than those three, a few others dotted the various tables but they weren't worth his time. He glanced around.
"Everyone but you," Natsu said as he pointed at the studded man, "Out."
One unlucky soul was feeling particularly ballsy and shouted, "Why should we? You're outnumbered."
Natsu easily appeared in front of him. He stood nearly a foot taller than the poor fool in front of him. The man gulped as Natsu stared down at him. Natsu spoke calmly, "And you're still outmatched."
Natsu heard the studded man laugh boisterously and turned to him. The idiot he'd previously been in front of felt like this was a good time to catch him off guard and tried to strike at him. Natsu easily backhanded him into a wall without looking at him. He had other interests at the moment. He strolled over to the taller man and cocked his head, "You're Metalicana's kid?"
"Who's asking?" the man asked as he held out his hand, "Gajeel Redfox. S-class mage of Phantom Lord."
The pinkette took his hand, "Why don't we take this outside?"
Gajeel narrowed his eyes before nodding. Dragons were honorable and to Gajeel, this Natsu kid didn't seem like a problem at all. The green haired man Natsu had seen protested but was quickly silenced by a glare from the iron dragon slayer. The guy with the two toned hair simply shook his head and sat back down. Natsu glared around the guild, daring any of them to make a move. Nobody did. As soon as they were outside, Natsu leaned against a tree and stared at the slayer opposite of him.
"I see Metalicana didn't forget to teach you basic manners," Natsu rolled his eyes as the taller man crossed his arms.
"What do you want?" Gajeel asked, "I'm a busy man."
"Won't be for much longer if you keep this shit up," Natsu said as he glanced at his nails.
"Big words for a little brat," Gajeel growled, "What's it to you?"
Natsu closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree, "Use that nose of yours and find out."
Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he stared at the man across from him before smirking. He was being far too confident for his liking. He subtly hardened his fists before rushing at him. He quickly closed the distance before being blown back by a wave of overwhelming heat. Natsu opened an eye and stared down the bridge of his nose at him. Gajeel growled before taking a deep breath. Natsu made no move as the iron slayer charged up a roar. Natsu opened his eyes fully as the attack raced towards him. To Gajeel's credit he did manage to keep it going for quite a while and he might have been able to keep going had not been fighting Natsu. The fire dragon simply took the attack before walking forward. Gajeel couldn't see him as Natsu reached out and grabbed him by the face, stopping his attack easily. Gajeel found that he couldn't even bring himself to move his jaw.
"Now let's not be difficult," Natsu drawled before smirking. He easily lifted Gajeel by his face and slammed him into the wall of the guild, "I'd hate for you to get hurt."
Gajeel felt himself be released and instantly dropped to his knees, coughing. He'd been beaten, but he'd never had anyone stop a breath attack like that, "Who are you?"
"I told you to use your nose," Natsu said as he walked back towards his tree. When Gajeel stood up, he saw that Natsu was once again leaning against it without a care in the world. Gajeel's temper flared as he saw the smirk on Natsu's face, "Didn't I?"
Gajeel would have tried something but he felt like he couldn't move his body. He glared at the man in front of him and deflated a bit. He took a deep breath through his nose and was quickly overpowered by the scent of dragon. He took another breath and felt to the ground as the scent of blood overwhelmed him. He struggled to breath for a little bit before finding his bearings. He slowly stood up and backpedaled away from the man ahead of him.
"You're his kid?" Gajeel asked frantically. It was uncharacteristic of him but perfectly justified.
"Oh no," Natsu smiled, "We've fought a few times but no. I'm not."
"Who are you then?" Gajeel asked, silently relieved.
"Natsu Dragneel," Natsu offered his hand this time, "Son of Igneel and fire dragon slayer."
"What do you want with me," Gajeel asked again, gazing warily at his hand.
"We're dragon slayers," Natsu shrugged, "You hurt some people I care about."
"Who?" Gajeel asked before his eyes widened, "Those damn fairy fucks?"
Natsu leaned his head back again, "I'll give you a pass because you're a dragon slayer."
"Why shou-"
"But listen to me now," Natsu straightened up. Gajeel watched as the pinkette in front of him took on a more draconic visage and walked towards him, "Do it again and you're dead."
Gajeel could feel himself sweating as the man approached him. He wanted to scramble back but he couldn't move. He barely managed to stutter out an acknowledgment.
"Now," Natsu said cheerily as he clapped the studded man on the shoulder, "I'll give you two options, sound good? You join me and my guild or you vanish off the face of Earthland."
"W-what?" Gajeel stumbled back, "Join you? Why would I join you you crazy bastard?"
"I'll give you a few days. Oh and Redfox," Natsu said as he turned on his heel before looking over his shoulder, "I better not see you fighting tomorrow."
And with that, Natsu vanished.
