edited chapter 2
It has been one month, now in early March, since Natsu joined fairy tail high.
In that time, he's made friends with Elfman and Laxus.
Elfman being junior and siblings to Mira and Lisanna,
And Laxus is a senior like him who just so happens to be dating Mira.
Unfortunately, he didn't have lunch with them, speaking of the lunch period.
He refused at first, but Wendy was very persistent. Eventually, he caved to her request.
He would eat lunch with her and her friends two to three times a week.
Like right now, they're at a table inside since it was sleeting rain outside.
Every time he ate with them, he sat beside his cousin, much to his nervousness, Ultear beside him.
Once or twice is a Coincidence. Every time after that, Natsu knew something was up.
He didn't mind sitting next to her, but it was clear to him and presumably his cousin and Ultear this was intentional of Erza and the Strauss sisters.
It was a Friday, meaning he has an MMA fight going on tonight.
Thankfully with help from his gym teacher, Mr. glive, no one beyond his cousin Wendy knows.
"Wendy, are you busy tonight?" Lisanna asked
"Yes, actually!"
"If you don't mind what it is, we haven't hung out on a Friday night in just over a month!"
Thankfully the bell rang signally. Lunch was over, bailing her out of answering the questions for Natsu's sake.
For the remainder of the day, Erza and the Strauss sisters were Curious why Wendy never hung out with them on Friday since Natsu transferred to their school.
Once school let out for the day, Natsu and Wendy head off. Unknown to them, they were being followed.
"Girls, I really think this is a bad idea!" Ultear said with a nervous tone.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud Ultear. We all know you want to know just as much as we do!" Mira declared, getting backed up by her sister and Erza.
Ultear just stayed quiet as they followed Natsu and Wendy.
After close to half an hour, they saw him pull into the nearby gym. They parked far away, not wanting to blow their cover.
Once Natsu and Wendy got out of his car, they carefully and silently got out of Mira's car.
Once they are far enough away, they follow them, making sure not to get caught.
After about ten minutes of following them, they find themselves way in the back of an arena packet to limit.
In the center was an MMA octagon. Their initial thoughts were Natsu and Wendy going to watch an MMA fight.
A reasonable conclusion seeing Wendy and her mother on the front row of the arena.
The four girls decide to stay in the back. Not wanting to blow their cover.
Strangely they didn't see Natsu anywhere. Erza was the one to state he probably went to the bathroom.
They didn't have time to ponder this possibility when the spokesman announced the first fight.
Followed up with a tall, lean man with dark skin and maroon hair walking to the arena, followed by another man, they shocked them to the core.
It was Natsu. He was wearing MMA fighting gloves and shorts.
Pink dusted their cheeks. This is the first time they saw his lean muscular body.
Before they could process it, they got a look at his back, showing off an eastern red dragon tattoo.
Then the bell rang signally at the start of the fight. They didn't say a thing as the two guys punch, kick, and block each other.
The fights ended after a few hours, with Natsu coming out as the victor of tonight's event.
Then they noticed Wendy and her mother getting up from their seats and an older man with straight red hair.
Then a man with jet black hair with a girl around his age with long blonde hair.
Not wanting to push their luck any further, they decided to head home after a long night.
The ride home was silent. Mira dropped off Erza first, then Ultear.
Thankfully Natsu's car wasn't home allowing Ultear to let out a sigh of relief.
She waved goodbye to the Strauss sister before heading inside.
"I'm back, mother!" She said as she went to the kitchen to get something to eat after a long night.
Her mother just stayed on the couch, continuing to watch T.V only for her daughter to join her.
"So what did you and the girl do tonight,"
She was reluctant to say this but knew it was pointless, knowing it will come out eventually.
"They dragged me along to find out why Wendy wasn't hanging out with us on Friday nights."
"Oh, so did you find out why?"
Again she paused for a few moments as her mother's gaze didn't let up.
"We followed Wendy as she and Natsu went to a nearby gym. It turns out he's an MMA fighter. After watching his match, he's good, really good!" She said, looking away with a blush.
Ur knew that blush all too well. She did the same thing when she laid eyes on Ultear's father.
"If what you say is true, you better hurry up, or another girl might take him," she teased, causing her daughter to blush even more.
Suddenly, loud engine noise was heard outside, going outside to the porch to see two cars parked on the street.
One is Natsu's red Camaro. The other is a black dodge dub challenger right behind him.
Car doors on both of them open up. The Camaro, to no surprise, is Natsu and Wendy.
The challenger doors opened, revealing the man earlier with distinctive red hair.
The other door opened to reveal Grandeeney. Then, shortly after, a guy little older than Natsu with slick jet black hair.
Not long after, a girl about his age with blonde hair meeting up with the guy with black hair.
They all headed inside for the evening.
"I wonder who they could be?"
"The man with the red hair is Igneel. The couple coming out of the challenger, I believe, is Zeref and Mavis," Ur answered.
"Oh!"
"Seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" Ur teased.
"Mother!" He said in a hushed tone dragging her mother back inside.
With Natsu
Natsu, with his family, headed inside to Grandeeney and Wendy's home.
His brother and father just gave him a combined bear hug for winning tonight's event.
When they finally let go, he practically collapsed on the couch.
He may have won, but his body is still sore from all the hits he took.
He is very fortunate for the vaseline rubbed all over his face.
Otherwise, he'd have to come up with convincing excuses why his face got all beat up.
"Keep this up, Natsu. You might get scouted for the big leagues!" his brother complemented.
"He's right. Not even your brother could take that much damage and keep going!" Mavis said, elbowing her man in the side.
"Ow!" he glared back at her, only for her to match it.
While the two had a glaring match, Igneel being a father, had to state the obvious.
"So how are the ladies here at fairy tail high?" he said lightly, elbowing his side with a grin.
Natsu just looked away, trying to hide the pink gracing his cheeks. Causing his father to laugh uncontrollably.
Zeref and Mavis stopped the glaring Hearing Igneel words before joining him.
"IGNEEL!" Grandeeney said with a cold tone causing her brother to clam up.
This got a chuckle from everyone when the table turned on the father.
20 something years later, and Igneel still retained some traits of his frat boy days.
"Ok, jokes aside, how do you like your time here?"
"It was a little overbearing, changing school, not seeing all my friends. But it's not so bad since Wendy is here." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"So, Wendy, how is Natsu fitting in at school?" Zeref asked since Grandeeney is still glaring at Igneel for his earlier remark.
"Natsu became friends with Laxus and Elfman. Then, after enough asking, he eats lunch with my friends and me!" She had a big smile at the end of it.
All eyes minus Wendy landed in him, each sporting an amused expression.
It was then Wendy realized what she just did and blushed like a Ripened tomato.
"It's not what you think!" He said with a raised voice.
"Sure….." Zeref quipped.
"I'm going to my room!" He goes up the stairs, hitting the steps with a little more force than usual, causing them all to break out laughing. You gotta love family.
"Since he's gone upstairs, what's the scoop, Wendy?" Mavis nudged her to continue.
"Well…."
She told them how he was clearly interested in Ultear and how she was kind of into him.
Natsu was obviously a guy, but Ultear was a little trickier to get that information.
The shining beacon of hope to bridge the two was they were both hurt by someone they thought they loved.
Igneel and Zeref were Visibly the most ticked off at the memory when Natsu's heart was stabbed straight through.
When that Incident happened, Igneel was furious. But, unlike some dads, Igneel likes Natsu's gentle nature.
It was his mother's prominent trait he inherited from her.
Unfortunately for all of them, she passed away from cancer when he was ten.
Zeref was 14 at the time, and thankfully Mavis was there to keep him from doing something stupid at the loss of his mother.
Both his dad and older brother like it, In a strange way, their mother is still part of their family through him.
He may be gentle in nature, but he is still a boy with all the desire that comes with it.
When he turned 14, Natsu joined his brother for MMA classes. Not only was he still gentle, but he could also lay the smackdown when the need arose.
Back to the present, after a few minutes, everyone moved past the painful memories.
It was getting late. Grandeeney allowed them to stay the night since she didn't want them to drive drowsy.
It is a two-hour drive back to Alvarez, depending on the traffic.
Mavis stayed in Wendy's room for the night while Igneel slept on the lazy boy in the corner. Zeref took his spot on the couch.
With Natsu
Natsu was lying in his bed, looking at a picture of his mother. He keeps it stashed in his wallet.
The picture in question was on his ninth birthday. They had a party at an arcade.
She was his brother's spitting image, especially with her jet black hair tied up in a bun.
The picture in question was of him and his mother in a photo booth.
They had one of the photos expanded in size.
It was of him sitting in his mother's lap while she had her head next to his.
His smile is a mile wide, mirrored by his mother.
Unfortunately, that would be the last photo of them together with this smile.
A few months later, they learned she had cancer, less than a year after she died.
It devastated both sides of the family, him in particular since she was always gentle with him.
And in turn, he was always gentle with those around him unless they did something to hurt those he cared about.
The late night was catching up to him. He put the picture away before sleep claimed him.
With Ultear
Ultear went to her room after seeing Natsu and his presumed family.
She laid down in her bed, going over tonight's events.
First, Natsu being an MMA fighter and figuring out why he didn't want anyone to find out.
Of course their also the strange red dragon tattoo on his back.
That piqued her interest the most. So why is Natsu hiding that tattoo?
The dragon was of the eastern style straight red in the setter of his upper back.
It is about 30 cm tall, 10 cm wide. Then noticed when the tattoo was revealed, the entire crowd went nuts.
She heard the announcer go off on it, but the roar of the crowd distorted the words beyond recognition.
She and her friends were way in the back on top seats focusing on Natsu.
They hardly paid attention to anyone but Natsu when the match started.
She never would admit it, but his moves and speed with his flexibility and the desire to feel how strong they were, was crippling.
Not too big, not too small, just the right size in her mind. Unfortunately, they're only one way to confirm it.
The chances of doing that, well, a snowball has a better chance.
Unfortunately, she and the girls really want to ask him about his match.
But the fear of a less than stellar reaction at the news they followed him kept the mouths shut.
She would, at least, Erza probably along with lisanna but, Mira concerned her the most.
"Well, no use worrying about the outcome," she let out a yawn as she snuggled into her bed a little bit more.
Monday
When Natsu met up with the girls, he could feel the tension in the air.
He was curious about it. Then, after a few minutes, he realized he was the cause.
But why, though, as far as he knows, he didn't do anything to keep them tight-lipped.
He glances at Wendy to see she is just as clueless as him.
Scanning Erza, she seemed to be deep in thought. He didn't worry about her.
Every time he crosses paths with her besides lunch, she is always busy with something.
Looking to Lisanna, she was busy eating her launch taking glances at her sister.
He passed Mira to Ultear. She had the same expression as Erza.
Finally, Mira worried him the most. Since he first enrolled here, he learned she was a bit of a gossip queen.
The silence was maddening for him. It was clear to him he'll have to be the one to break the ice.
With a cough, "ok, something on your mind, I can feel the awkwardness in the air, so spill it!" this put the four girls on edge as they traded glances before nodding.
"Why didn't you tell us you do MMA Natsu?" Mira stated without any hesitation.
Natsu cringed at her words. Then, finally, after taking a minute, it made sense.
He looks at Wendy. They both realized they didn't do the best jobs keeping this on the down-low.
"What about the tattoo?" Erza added, forcing Natsu to cringe even more.
He took minutes to collect his thoughts before letting out a sigh.
"My brother and I would get into fights all the time as kids. Finally, my father had enough of it since we would often break stuff. One day, he enrolled Zeref, then later Me in MMA classes to give us an outlet. Why beat each other up, when we could do against a stranger and in a controlled environment!" he said that last part in air quotes.
"And the tattoo?"
"That was the result of a bet that I lost, forcing me to get one. It ended up giving me the Nickname, Salamander the Red Dragon. Most people during my matches just called me Red Dragon."
"How often do you fight?" this time, it was Ultear to ask.
"Mm, every two weeks or so, I took weight lifting gym class so I can train while staying under the radar."
"Who else Knows!" Mira followed, not letting up.
"My gym teacher Mr. Clive knows since he is one of the Sensei's," he quipped.
"Who were the people sitting next to Wendy!" Mira filled up.
He pulls out his wallet, pulling out a picture of his family, holding it up.
"The man with the red hair is my father, the guy with the black hair is my brother Zeref, next to him is his girlfriend, Mavis. But, of course, you already know my Aunt Grandeeney and Wendy," he put the picture back.
This got nods from the four girls, "so would it be Ok if we come and watch your matches" Ultear said, looking away.
Taking another deep inhale, then exhale. "Fine, but don't tell anyone, ok!"
All the girls nodded in response before they could continue the bell ringings ending the lunch period.
The following two weeks were uneventful minus the occasional question from the girls, wanting to know more about him and MMA."
Except for him and Ultear getting closer, neither of them didn't mind.
It is Friday once more, meaning Natsu has another Match.
This time the girls didn't have to worry about getting found out by him.
But they were cautious since they get a lot of attention from the male population of the school.
They can handle themselves no problem, but they didn't want to jeopardize Natsu's secret.
They also didn't want to deal with their thirsty behavior.
That was another plus side of Natsu. He didn't treat them as objects like most of the men at the school.
They sat a row behind his family, who got front row seats.
Then the announcer called the two combatants to enter the Octagon.
The first, of course, is Natsu in his red shorts and Gloves with a firm look in his eyes.
His opponent is a guy with the same build as him but has blonde hair. He wore white shorts and blue gloves.
They stood across from each other ready for the match.
"Today is a special fight, with a familiar hair color is The red dragon Natsu Dragneel. The man across from him is the white tiger Sting Eucliffe!" He announced states.
The two tap the fist before going into a fighting stance, practically standing on their toes.
Sting makes the first move coming at Natsu on his right side.
Natsu ducks before retaliating with a nailing Sting on his eyebrow, causing blood to gush out onto the canvas.
"Salamander Red Dragon Dragneel is the first to draw blood, tonight folks!"
In a rage, Sting threw a few punches. Natsu dodges the first and only gets nailed on his head's right side.
They continue to trade blows. Dodging some and getting hit by others.
Sting got cut on his left eyebrow. Thankfully the blood isn't blinding him.
Neither wanted to end this fight from an injury like a mundane cut leaking a small amount of blood.
Natsu has a slightly larger cut on his lower right cheeks to his jaw bone.
And, of course, several spots on the body that will become bruises the next day.
Sting kicks up high with his left leg on, Natsu to block it but not without feeling the power behind it.
They continue this game, striking, dodging, and blocking.
They're now in the third and final round of their fight.
Both were incredibly exhausted, but Natsu can hide it better.
The proof was the heavy breathing Sting was doing. He could tell he's on his last leg.
And his reaction time is slowing down, He needs to end this right now, or Sting could seriously hurt himself.
He hates himself for doing this. He'll have to liver-shot Sting to put him down for good.
He immediately goes into a defensive stance needing to wait for an opening.
The moment Natsu changed his stance, Zeref, Mavis, and Igneel chuckled, knowing what he plans to do.
Wendy and Grandeeneyshared a concerned look for Sting, knowing what was coming.
The four girls had questioning looks after noticing the change in behavior of Natsu's family.
Natsu ducked, dodge, and back away, wanting to get this done in one shot.
Sting charges forward with his right fist, intending to end this.
That was a mistake. Natsu brings up his left leg underneath Sting's arm.
The look of determination on Sting changed to fear, knowing what Natsu was going to do.
He didn't have time to react as Natsu struck him hard.
Sting instantly became paralyzed from the pain as he collapsed to the ground lying on his side.
The announcer called the match, giving Natsu the victory.
"Sorry I had to do that, but I can tell you couldn't hold out much longer," he said with a grin.
Sting let out a chuckle at this "next time, Salamander, I will win!" he said through painful breaths.
with a grin, "I look forward to the fight, Sting!"
The four girls were shocked at how one kick made Sting collapse to the ground.
They look to his family, hoping to get an answer.
"I can only assume Sting was on his last leg, so Natsu liver shotted him. But, of course, he only does that if he wants to keep the blood to a minimum." he points to the blood peppering the canvas floor of the Octagon.
After getting patched up and the B.O washed away, Natsu ran into his family and friends.
They stood backstage waiting on him. Then, finally, they tried to ask him some questions.
The four girls tried his family just to let him through. Then, finally, they followed him to the medical tent.
Sting was lying down, still recovering from the liver shot.
Next to him is his guy with the same size and build with black hair, a girl with white hair, and another with long black hair and two buns.
"Again, sorry I liver shot you Sting, but if we kept going...well, you get the point!" He said with a nervous tone.
"We know Salamander!" The guy with the black hair replied.
"Just making sure Rogue, the same for you, Yukino and Minerva." He added.
Zeref walked up behind his brother, "you gave my brother a good run there, Sting!"
"Thanks, spriggan!" He said with a smirk ticking off the older black-haired guy.
He hated being called that nickname, but there was little hope of changing after his earned reputation.
That's when the four noticed the rest of the Natsu group behind the brothers.
"I see you two didn't let up on your training!" Igneel praised, pushing his son out of the way, getting glares from the two.
"Thanks, Igneel, and who are these fine ladies behind you, Natsu?" Sting said weakly, only to get a smack to the back of the head from Minerva.
"Sorry, babe," he said weakly, getting a chuckle from everyone.
They chatted back and forth before calling it a night,
Natsu offered to take Ultear home since it was getting late, she accepted it since it was easier.
Wendy got in the back since she was smaller, allowing Ultear to take the front passenger seat.
On the way Home, Ultear kept taking a glance at Natsu. Wendy had an amused expression as she stifled her giggles.
that it for this chapter
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