Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I do not own High school DxD or Fairy Tail they are property of Ichiei Ishibumi and Hiro Masima respectively.

-ORC Building-

"I will stop you right there, your offer is rejected. I have no intentions of trading Asia, she is a valuable member of my peerage but above that, I see her as a little sister similar to Wendy. Using a roster trade to get the woman who rejected you doesn't only show me that you lack proper manners, but it also shows me that you have no idea what she wants," Rias rejected Diodora.

The black-haired devil had come to the ORC building in an attempt to trade two of his bishops in hopes of obtaining Asia as one of his peerage members. Upon hearing the rejection Asia felt overwhelming joy, not only because she could stay with her friends and Issei, but also because of Rias seeing her as a little sister.

"It is disappointing that my offer today was unsatisfactory, but have no fear Asia, my dear, for I won't let this dissuade me. Our meeting and reunion have both been predestined. For you, I would stand against all the forces in the underworld," Diodora said while standing up before moving over and kneeling in front of Asia, taking d in his.

Issei, having seen enough of Diodora not respecting Asia's personal space and overstepping his bounds, took action, advancing on the heir to the Astaroth house. Issei laid a hand on his shoulder, ready to forcefully pull him away with a proclamation of "Get your damn hands off her."

In an instant, Diodora slapped Issei's hand off of him and started to rise with his hair covering his eyes. Slowly he brushed his shoulder as if to wipe dirt from it.

"You revolting Dragons should know your place, never touch me again you base-born," Diodora said as he glared at Issei with disgust.

Issei's eyes lit up in rage but before he could utter a word a pressure descended on the room. A dark being materialized in a dark mist behind Diodora while a dark scaled draconic claw emerged from the mist and laid itself upon the Devil's right shoulder.

"A devil who thinks Dragons are base-born. Clearly, you have no idea how the world works whelp," Natsu's growling voice sounded from the mist as two draconic eyes lit up with a brilliant golden colour.

"Get that disgusting thing off me," Diodora screeched, not realizing the danger of the current situation. A green magic circle formed in Diodora's left hand as green strands of magic started to leak out of it. Diodora attempted to slam his magic into the draconic claw but before he could he found himself face-first against the floor. Natsu slowly lowered his scaled face down so that his mouth was next to Diodora's ear.

"Dragons stand above you and if you ever think of Dragons as an inferior species compared to you, you will feel my wrath. It's devils like you that cause me to despise your species. This time I will only punish you lightly but remember that you are the base-born as you put it, or as I like to say, you are lower than the dirt we tread on daily," Natsu whispered into Diodora's ear. His tone was too low for the other devils to hear.

A pained scream escaped Diodora's mouth as a set of claws pierced his right shoulder followed by a burst of dark green flames.

"Hopefully that will be enough of a warning," Natsu softly said as he god walked out of the room, heading towards the kitchen as if nothing had happened, leaving a screaming Diodora on the ground.

The members of Rias' peerage watch this happen in utter shock, no expecting that level of ferocity Natsu used. Wendy stood up and left the room, following Natsu while the other devils just stood still. Only after another pained scream from Diodora as the green flames lingered, did the other devils stir.

"Akeno, will you please see if you can aid Diodora so that he can take his leave?" Rias asked in a matter-of-fact tone. She was shaken by the events but held her composure. Akeno quickly moved to a nearby cabinet and got a first aid kit.

"Come now, we can't have you bleeding out here, he might come back for more," Akeno said as she knelt down next to him and dabbed a cloth on the flames to extinguish them, a sadistic smirk on her lips as she saw the fear that filled Diodora's eyes at the mention of Natsu returning.

"Issei are you alright?" Asia asked as she took his hand in hers and looked it over for injuries, also distracting him from Diodora. Issei had been glaring at the devil throughout the entire ordeal and if Natsu hadn't shown up, he would have given the bastard a real beating.

"Yeah, how about you?" Issei asked. A soft smile was the only answer he got from Asia before they heard Diodora's shaken voice.

"W-We will meet again at the Rating game, and don't think the outcome will follow this. I bid you all a good day," Diodora started shakily but managed to reign himself in and regained his calm demeanour near the end before disappearing with a teleportation circle.

"Would have been funny to watch him squirm under Natsu's gaze," Koneko commented once Diodora was gone.

"Yeah, though his fearful eyes were a treat, it was gone too soon," Akeno agreed with a giggle.

"I just hope this won't cause problems down the line," Rias sighed before asking her peerage to turn their attention to the next match that has been recorded.

-With Wendy-

Wendy walked through the kitchen door with a concerned and saddened look on her face. She saw Natsu standing by the sink cleaning some pots.

"Natsu, what you said to Diodora…" Wendy started in a faint voice, her sentence trailing off since she didn't really know what to say. She heard a sigh escape Natsu as he stopped what he was doing.

"So you heard everything right?" Natsu said as he turned to look at her. With her concerned expression clear on her face Wendy nodded. Natsu moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.

"Wendy, my opinion on most of the Devil community is low at best, but know that there are always exceptions. I deeply care for you, it extends far beyond fulfilling your mother's last wish. I watched over you for your life and through your actions, you had wormed your way into my heart. The reason I have such a low opinion on devils comes from their selfish natures and how they are willing to through away those around themselves to further themselves without a care in the world. You and the devils I interact with regularly, have shown me that your hearts are good. I'm sorry that I caused you to doubt yourself, Wendy," Natsu said to the girl in her embrace.

"I'm sorry I thought you saw everyone like that. I'm happy I was wrong," Wendy whispered out as a tear rolled over her cheek as she found comfort in her protector's arms. A comforting silence came over the two.

"Wendy, I know your birthday is coming up tomorrow, and I want to show you a few things and I want to know if you would want to spend a day with me," Natsu broke the silence.

"What is it you want to show me?" Wendy asked with curiosity filling her brown eyes.

"I can't go spoiling the surprise already, but we will be back during the evening so that you can spend some time with the others as well but that does mean we will have to be up early," Natsu informed her with a small smile.

"I can't wait," Wendy smiled back at the man.

"Now if you want to go and join Rias again feel free to, I think there is a lot to learn from watching others compete," Natsu said as he returned to the sink. With a final 'Good bye', Wendy left the room, her heart at ease and looking forward to what the next day will bring.

-Gremory household-

The day had come to a close and Natsu was helping Grayfia with preparing a few things the next day to lighten the load on her. The rest of the residence had already turned in leaving the two mates the only ones awake.

"I'll be gone most of the day tomorrow with Wendy, when do you want us to be back for the celebration?" Natsu asked the silver-haired beauty next to him.

"I know she will enjoy the time with you, especially with what you have planned, so I don't want to rush you. I should be able to have everything prepared just after three so honestly any time after that," Grayfia said after taking a moment to think with a finger on her chin.

"I don't want to deprive her of her other friends so I will attempt to be here between five and six," Natsu decided.

"All right, I'll be sure to have everything ready before then," Grayfia agreed. She was suddenly pulled from the counter by a strong arm and found herself against a strong rigid body.

'Why don't you prepare everything up to snacks, and then when I come back we can get dinner ready for everyone, I'm sure they will be getting hungry around then," Natsu whispered into her ear and then proceeded to place a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I'll be waiting," Grayfia replied as she leaned into his warm form, inhaling his smoky scent.

-With Wendy-

Wendy turned her head to her window and saw the first rays of dawn peeking out over the horizon. She had woken up earlier than she usually would because she couldn't contain her excitement. Today was her seventeenth birthday, but the main reason she was so excited was that she was going to spend time with Natsu and he had things he wanted to show her.

Her dreams were filled with the time Natsu took her to the land of the Sky Dragons. The pure winds blowing around the floating island were refreshing and the bond Wendy formed with Eossinth was something she will cherish for a long time.

So needless to say, the young devil was looking forward to the day she will be spending with Natsu. She heard a knock on the door and her eyes snapped towards it. She quickly got up and moved to open the door. As she neared the door the smell of fresh bacon and eggs invaded her scent glands.

"Happy birthday Wendy," Natsu said as soon as the door opened. In his hands, he had a tray with a plate of bacon and eggs, another plate with a stack of pancakes, and finally a fresh glass of orange juice.

"Thank you," Wendy smiled back. She quickly ate her breakfast while trying to get Natsu to tell her what they were going to do, but unfortunately for her Natsu just kept smiling while telling her that she will have to wait and see.

"Wendy, I'm sorry to begin this day off on a sad note, but I want to take you to your mother's grave, not the one where she was buried, but the one that I made for her," Natsu said after Wendy was done with her breakfast.

"You made a grave for my mother?" Wend asked.

"She was an amazing woman with a kind heart, much like yourself. The gravesite isn't as grand as the one the Devil community made for her but I made it in a place that meant a lot to me," Natsu explained.

"Can we go there now?" Wendy asked in a soft voice.

"Sure, now take my hand," Natsu said as he extended his hand. Once Wendy took hold of it an azure blue flame spread across the two, soon mixing with a violet purple and aquamarine green flames. Wendy felt as if a gentle breeze was blowing over her instead of a blazing flame before the flames died down, revealing a large open space that was surrounded by ancient stones and a dense forest beyond. In the middle, two tombstones stood, one visible older than the other.

"Can I?" Wendy asked in a timid voice, gesturing to the two tombstones. Natsu answered with a kind smile and a gesture that told her to go on ahead.

Wendy walked on the stony floor, noting intricate lines running all over the surface, but the moss that had grown on the ground shrouded her view of what the lines were. Wendy noted that the light that was illuminating the area originated from a few lightning bugs that kept to the edge of the forest, not moving past the ancient stones.

The closest tombstone was the older one. Wendy looked at it and saw that it was well looked after and the name "Zeref Dragneel" was displayed. Remembering that it was the name of Natsu's brother, she started to realise the significance of the place. The other tombstone had more detail compared to the first and Wendy could identify strange runes running along the edge of the stone. She quickly cast a glance at the older tombstone and managed to make out something similar there.

"The runes are in Ancient Draconic, they keep the souls of the dead protected so that none can fall to the same curse my brother had to endure," Natsu explained as he knelt before the older stone.

Wend turned her attention back to the newer tombstone. Inscribed on it was the name of her mother, "Grandeeney Marvel". A lone tear rolled off her cheek as she looked at the name, lost in her own thoughts.

"Your mother loved you with all her heart, and if there was one thing she wanted more than anything else, was to watch you grow into the strong and beautiful young woman you are. I know I'm not her, but I am proud of you and who you had become," Natsu said from beside her, a warm and comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Natsu," Wendy said as she hid her teary face in his chest. Natsu wrapped his arms around her mall figure and stood still, giving her all the silent support she needed.

"I'm ready to go now, but I would like to come back again some time," Wendy finally said after a long silence.

"You need but only ask. Now let's go to a place that will surely be a lot happier," Natsu said with a kind smile as he once again extended his hand.

Hey there everyone. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I had a serious case of writer's block and just couldn't get the right words to convey the story. So the next chapter will be Natsu and Wendy's time together, if you want to see anything specific, feel free to let me know. I will see how much I have to write with Wendy and Natsu's time together but after that, the rating game with Diodora will commence and all the events that are connected with it. I will be going at it from some of the other perspectives, so most of the things shown in the anime I won't write about just to let you guys know. Anyway, leave a review with your thoughts and I will see you all next time.