The following day, Natsu and Erza had returned to their guild. As soon as they walked through the doors, they got surrounded by their guildmates who bombarded them with questions, especially from a certain talking blue cat who had crashed into his foster father's chest in the blink of an eye and had refused to let go for several minutes. But now that Ezra had answered most of the questions, the atmosphere had changed to one of relief and exhaustion after a lot of worry and agitation.
"I can't believe those stupid arrests and trial were just a deception. I was worried sick for nothing." Lucy complained with her head slumped on the table.
"I still don't get why they needed to use two wizards as scapegoats." Gray wondered aloud.
"Actually, only I was put on trial and found guilty. Natsu decided to stay with me but could have come back yesterday. He hadn't even been placed under arrest." Erza clarified while savoring a slice of strawberry cake.
In an instant, everyone turned their head towards said pinkette who was sitting at the bar, patting his blue-furred friend. For a short time, they were all just silently staring at him. When he noticed the uncharacteristic silence, the pink-haired mage looked around the guild and was confused to see everybody staring at him. However, he didn't have much time to dwell on these thoughts before he was bombarded with questions once again.
"What did they want?"
"Did they ask you anything about Fairy Tail?"
"Do you work for them now?"
Natsu just looked at them awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Luckily for him, Makarov stopped the endless flow of questions for him. "SILENCE!" like that. It was pretty effective as all his children instantly shut up. He then turned to the source of attention and continued. "But I must admit I am curious too Natsu. What did the council want with you?"
"Officially, they wanted to make me a Wizard Saint." he answered casually which got many people to gasp in surprise.
"And…how did it go?" the guild master asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess you could say it didn't go down well." Natsu answered.
'You can say that again.' Mavis commented.
"I see." Makarov reacted, appearing slightly distracted.
"Is everything okay master?" Mirajane asked.
"Yes, I'm just a bit tired….He's back." the old man responded and right after all of the guild members started falling asleep one by one. Except for Natsu who was the only one completely unaffected whatsoever.
When they were all on the floor, sound asleep, the guild doors opened and a single mysterious figure walked in. He wore a dark blue cloak, a dark blue bandanna with a silver forehead protector, and a green mask that obscured the bottom half of his face to hide his identity and his arms and legs were mostly covered in bandages. He carried various Magic Staves on his back, which were held by a dark green strap going across his main body.
When he walked by Natsu, the pinkette raised his hand in greeting. "Mystogan."
The man, now revealed to be Mystogan, stopped in his tracks and nodded at his guildmate as a response. "Natsu. Still immune to my sleeping spell I see."
"It is pretty strong but I have seen stronger." the pink-haired man explained.
The masked individual nodded in understanding and then resumed his way to the request board. Once there he picked one of the requests and showed it to the barely awake guild master. "I will take this job." He then started walking away.
"Wait. Lift your spell before you leave." Makarov instructed.
Mystogan then started counting down from five and by the time he got to zero, he was already out of sight. Shortly after, people started abruptly waking up. And they weren't happy with what had just happened.
"Did Mystogan come back?"
"He is such a jerk."
"Does he really have to do that every time?"
While most of them were complaining left and right, Lucy was mostly confused. "Who is this Mystogan you're talking about?"
"Well, for starters, he is a contestant for Fairy Tail's strongest mage along with Natsu." Elfman answered.
"And for some reason, he doesn't want anyone to see what he looks like, so every time he comes here to take a job, he casts that same sleeping spell you've just experienced. Master Makarov is the only person who has ever seen him." Gray added.
"That's not true." a voice called out from the second floor. When everybody looked up, they saw it belonged to a very tall and muscular young man with blue/gray eyes ; his blond hair was slicked back, its numerous spiky strands pointing backwards, though some fell down in a small tuft on his forehead. He had a distinct lightning bolt-shaped scar on his right eye, and his eyes had dark circles, with each of them possessing a single, prominent eyelash jutting outwards. He donned a leopard-print, orange tunic with dark-lined sleeves reaching down below his elbows, and fur on the lower edges and sported a bright red cape, tied on the front with a garish knot, which bore a large, lighter Fairy Tail symbol on the back, and loose, baggy dark pants tucked inside light metal greaves. Around his waist was a simple belt to which he attached the device linked to his headphones. He also had a small chain tied around his right wrist. He was resting his chin in his hand, looking down at them with an arrogant smile. "I've seen him before."
"Laxus!"
"It's so rare to see you here."
"Yeah, you never stop by."
"He's another contestant." Gray explained which surprised Lucy.
"Mystogan is just a bit shy. You all should respect his privacy." the blonde man said with the same grin. "I'm surprised such a weakling as Natsu could withstand his spell though."
This comment caused everyone to turn their gaze towards said pinkette expectantly. But since he wasn't in the mood to be harassed with questions again, he spoke up first. "Before you ask, I don't know anything about him. And even if I did, it wouldn't be my place to reveal it." he said, much to his guildmates dismay. His gaze then turned to the source of all this unwanted attention. "And as for you Laxus, it's rich that you call me weak while the two of us have never sparred. Now that I think about it, you never spar with anyone."
"Why would I? You're all beneath me. I'm the guild's strongest wizard!" the blonde scoffed then declared confidently.
"Yeah, whatever you say. You know, your great-grandfather used to be just like you. Luckily for him, he had true friends by his side to open his eyes. But in your case, I honestly don't know who's gonna save you." Natsu replied, shaking his head horizontally. This shocked everybody to the core as their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, especially Makarov and his grandson. Even Mavis couldn't contain her gasp.
Laxus' shock was quickly replaced by rage and he shouted at the pinkette. "HOW DARE YOU?!"
He then launched a bolt of lightning from his hand to Natsu who merely raised his own hand and dissipated it upon impact. Although, he did feel something special when the two made contact. 'Interesting.' he thought.
"Laxus! That's enough! Even if you feel like Natsu has crossed the line, you've done even worse." the guild master ordered.
"Tch! Get lost, old fool." the blonde man insulted and disappeared in a flash of lightning.
After that, a heavy silence occupied the whole guild. On the outside at least, because inside one of their heads, a debate was taking place.
'That was really harsh, Natsu.' the first guild master of Fairy Tail scolded.
'Maybe, but he is a jerk and needs to be treated as such. And if I don't do it, who will? Makarov who's afraid of hurting his feelings? His team who's much too busy licking his boots? The others who are too scared of him or wouldn't know how?' her host countered.
After a pause, Mavis finally responded, seeing his point. 'I see. You must do what you feel is right, of course. Now, let's go on a job.'
'...What?' Natsu reacted, incredulously.
'You need to vent and I need to have fun after having to stare at wooden doors for so long.' the blonde ghost explained.
Agreeing with his old friend, and not seeing the point in arguing, Natsu silently walked to the regular request board, picked a job and walked out the door, still without uttering a word.
When he was gone, Mirajane finally turned to Happy and broke the silence. "Aren't you going to go with him?"
"No, he needs some time alone. Besides, I don't have any fish left so I'm gonna go get some instead." the blue feline responded.
"After all that talk about saving him from the council, now you just let him go without you?" Lisanna asked in disbelief.
"But now I know he's fine. And I need fish to recover from all those emotions." the cat answered, lightening the mood up a bit.
One person, however, was still just as lost in thought as before. 'Natsu,...did you know my father?...No, that's impossible. He's way too young. But what did Master Mavis tell him then?'
A few hours later, Natsu was on his way to the town where the job request he had taken came from. It wasn't all that close but he wanted to walk to clear his mind, so that's what he did. Mavis had decided to remain silent until now as to leave to his thoughts. He also hadn't said a word the whole time.
However, as the silence began to weigh on her and she had some questions, the blonde finally spoke up. 'So…what happened back there, Natsu?'
'What do you mean? You were there, you saw it all.' the pinkette responded.
'Yes, I did. And that's my point. I have spent almost every second of the past year with you and I have never seen you lose your temper like that.' Mavis clarified.
Her interlocutor sighed at her comment before answering. 'It's because I'm sick and tired of this guy's attitude. He's been treating everyone in the guild, even his own teammates and grandfather, with nothing but disrespect and disdain for years. Yet, everybody seems to let him get away with it for one reason or another. Well, I will not have it. I would rather beat him up in a regular fight to get rid of his over-sized ego. But he won't fight me, probably because he's afraid to lose. So I have to rely upon less…clean methods. Besides, it's not like I'm completely wrong anyway.'
'What do you mean by that?' the dead girl asked.
'Don't try to make me believe you don't know. In fact, I think you'd known since the very beginning.' Natsu said in a serious manner.
'Know what?' Mavis wondered, though having an idea of what he meant.
'That Yuri was just like what Laxus is now: self-centered, dishonest and devious. It's only thanks to you, Warrod and Precht that he was able to get back on track. Deep down, they're both good people. They just forget it sometimes.' the pinkette explained.
Once again, there was a short pause in the conversation during which Natsu anticipated all the answers he thought he would receive. As it turned out, he didn't anticipate well enough. 'Thank you.'
'F-For what?' he stuttered in confusion.
'For being such a good friend. For looking after my guild ans its members. For trying to help my friend's descendant when no one else would. For continuing to teach me after all this time. Among other things.' she explained, her voice full of emotion, as if she was about to cry.
Hearing this made Natsu smile fondly. 'I could pretty much say the same about you, Mavis. You have done a lot for me too. Whether you can see it or not. Whether you meant to or not.'
'Yeah. Anyway, let's talk about something else. Like that job you took. What is it? I didn't get enough time to see back at the guildhall.' the girl answered, sniffing a bit all the while.
'It's a wyvern extermination quest.' the pink-haired mage supplied.
'Wyverns, eh? I think I've read about them. Aren't they distant cousins of the dragons?'
'They are, with a some significant differences. First of all, dragons have four legs and two wings while wyverns only have two back legs and two wings. They are also a lot smaller, with the biggest of them only about a fourth of the biggest dragons. They are far less intelligent, not even capable of dialect but they are a lot meaner and more vicious. Just like dragons, they have elements associated to them but are a lot weaker.' Natsu explained.
'And their biology is close enough to that of dragons for your Dragon Slayer Magic to be effective against them.' the thought projection theorized.
'Exactly.' the pinkette confirmed.
'Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!' Mavis exclaimed with enthusiasm.
Another few hours later, the two, or at least Natsu, had reached the town and learned that it unsurprisingly was the mayor who had sent the request. Once they had located and made their way to the town hall, they were greeted by the mayor's secretary who brought them to the waiting room. Mavis wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of standing around and not doing anything again but Natsu managed to calm her down by making conversation with her.
'What is it with you and waiting anyway?' he asked, curious because the girl was usually so patient.
'I don't have a problem with waiting. It is when people make me wait that I hate.' she answered with a pout and was surprised when her friend chuckled. 'Why are you laughing?'
'It's just that you have lived for 24 years and existed for something like 110 years. But you still behave like a 13-year-old.' Natsu explained, struggling not to burst out laughing.
Mavis herself emitted a few muffled giggles. 'Yeah, well, that makes up for your constant seriousness.' she teased back.
'What do you mean by that? I can let loose sometimes.' the pinkette denied.
'Sure you can.' the blonde mocked in an amused tone.
'Wha-' he didn't get enough time to argue, for someone entered the room. 'We'll continue later.'
The aforementioned person was a middle-aged with short graying hair and an expensive-looking costume. Both of the Fairy Tail members concluded he was the mayor.
"Hello and welcome." he greeted with a polite smile, presenting his hand for a handshake which Natsu accepted. He then started walking towards a specific room which Natsu assumed was his office. "I'm so glad such a prominent guild as Fairy Tail accepted my request. Even though they only sent one wizard, I'm confident you'll be able to take care of those pests in no time. There is but one small problem." he explained, opening the door at his last statement.
Natsu was about to ask what he meant when his words got stuck in his throat and his eyes widened in tremendous shock at what he saw in the office. 'What. The. Fu-'
The reason for his reaction was sitting on one of the two chairs in front of the office's desk. It was someone he knew well, very well. It was a petite girl with fair skin and long, dark blue hair that reached down to her waist, with two bangs framing her face which reached down to her chest alongside her brown eyes. Though he couldn't see it, Natsu knew she had elongated canine teeth. She was wearing a simple dress with two wavy stripes running across the dress and ending in small pointed edges at the bottom. Around her arms and legs she sported wing like attachments. On her right shoulder, she had a blue guild stamp resembling a cat which the pinkette had never seen before. She still had Natsu's goodbye gift securely around her neck.
In her arms was a small, white cat like Happy with pink ears and brown eyes. It also had two whiskers on each side of its face. Unlike his blue-furred friend, this cat was actually wearing clothes: a top that consisted of a mustard yellow and red top with a pink bow tie and another near the end of its tail. It had a pink skirt with this top. This attire indicated its female gender.
It was the first time Natsu saw another member of Happy's species and he would have been intrigued by it, if he hadn't been so focused on the girl. 'Wendy…'
'Wendy? Ooh! That's your little sister? She's so cute!' Mavis realized and exclaimed but her host didn't even notice.
Speaking of noticing, the teenager in question and her feline companion hadn't even noted his appearance. That is until the mayor himself entered the room and walked to his chair behind the desk. This attracted both their gazes to the pink-haired mage and they got confused by his sudden presence.
Shaking his head to come back to reality, Natsu then fully stepped into the office himself, closing the door behind him but choosing to remain standing.
All the while, the blue-haired girl was observing him. It was really weird for her. She knew for a fact she had never seen this man before, but for some reason he felt incredibly familiar.
She was brought out of those thoughts when the mayor's voice rang in her ears. "You see, in an attempt to get this predicament solved as quickly as possible, we sent the same request to multiple guilds. It seems that, this resulted in the two…um I mean the three of you taking the job at the same time."
"Well, it seems very clear to me that since we came first, we should take care of it." the white feline declared.
"Carla! Don't be rude like that! It seems like a difficult job anyway. I don't see why we couldn't work together." the bluenette scolded and then turned to the other mage in the room, her attitude changing to one of extreme shyness, barely able to look him in the eyes. "I-I mean, if you want to."
Natsu had to refrain himself from smiling at his little sister. She hadn't changed one bit. "Of course. The more the merrier."
After that, they collected all the information they could from the mayor and headed off to attack the wyverns. All the while, Carla was eyeing their new teammate with mistrust. It wasn't exactly personal. She was just aware of his guild's reputation and didn't want him to influence Wendy.
For the first time since her initial comment, she decided to voice this sentiment. "You didn't tell us your name, what is it?"
"Natsu. Natsu Dragneel." the pink-haired mage simply answered while walking but stopped when he noticed the two females' eyes were as wide as they could get.
"D-Dragneel? Y-You mean the Salamander of Fairy Tail?" Wendy asked in disbelief.
"That's what they call." he confirmed.
At this point, the white cat forgot all her initial misgivings in favor of the exceptional opportunity that had just presented itself. She turned her gaze towards her guildmate and spoke up. "Well, what are you waiting for Wendy? This is your chance, take it." she encouraged but her partner only frantically turned towards her with a blushing face.
"W-What do you mean by that, Carla?" the blue-haired girl denied.
"I confused too. What's going on here?" Natsu agreed.
Carla only sighed at their reactions before responding to the pinkette. "What's going on is that ever since Wendy heard about your existence she has wanted the chance to meet you."
This only got said girl to look away in embarrassment with an even heavier blush, especially when Natsu looked her way.
As for Natsu, he had a hard time containing his smile of amusement and love for his adoptive sibling. "But why me?" he asked, having some idea of the response but playing dumb.
"Because you're a fellow Dragon Slayer." Carla answered.
"Oh, I see. Well, if there is something you want to know, feel free to ask." he encouraged the young girl.
Upon hearing this, the Sky Dragon Slayer took a deep breath, gathered all of her courage and looked him dead in the eye. Carla was right, she had been wanting to meet this man since she first read about him in Sorcerer Weekly about two years ago and there was no way in hell she was going to pass up that chance simply because she was shy or embarrassed. This meant too much to her. Besides, he seemed like a nice guy and even gave her permission to ask him questions. "Is it true that you are a Fire, Ice, Water and Gravity Dragon Slayer?"
This got Natsu to grow a wry smile, getting some idea of where this was going. "Yes, it's true."
His response caused Wendy to light up and her eyes to shine with hope and enthusiasm. "Then, do you know anything about a dragon named Blazeel?"
Natsu's smile got bigger at this while both female were impatiently waiting for his answer. "Well, I might know a thing or two but we should really take care of the job before we talk about that."
'A thing or two?' Mavis repeated in a mocking manner.
The Sky Dragon Slayer was both overjoyed and disappointed at his response. Overjoyed because for the first time since she and her big brother split up, she had a serious lead to find him. And disappointed because she'd still have to wait a little to learn what she desperately wanted to know. That being said, she could see his point and decided to postpone her interrogation until the wyverns had been dealt with.
A little later, the group had made its way to the wyvern's nest in a dark forest about thirty minutes away from the town. They were currently hiding behind some bushes, observing the dragon relatives. There were six of them: a dark green wyvern with bright green eyes, a brown one with purple eyes, an orange one with yellow eyes, a white wyvern with bright blue eyes, a gray one with white eyes and a dark purple one with red eyes. Natsu identified their respective elements to be: plant, earth, magma, snow, wind and poison. They were now negotiating about who would do what in the fight to come.
"So, how do you want to do this?" Natsu asked the bluenette.
"You take the magma, snow and plant wyverns. I'll take the other three." Wendy answered with determination in her eyes.
Even so, Carla was skeptical. "Are you sure about this, child? I feel like two wyverns is challenging enough for now."
Wendy then looked at her white-furred friend with seriousness. "No, Carla. I've told you before that I need to get stronger. The only way I can do that is by fighting strong opponents."
Natsu was observing the conversation curiously, wondering where Wendy's newfound fighting spirit had come from. Last he remembered, she wouldn't stop telling him how much she hated fighting. For now though, he decided not to question it. On the contrary he brought the subject back to the strategy they were going to use. "How do you want to proceed?"
"We will attack simultaneously from two sides. You will take the left, Carla and I will take the right." she elaborated.
Natsu then looked at the white feline curiously. "You can fight?" Happy sure couldn't.
"No. But I can use Aera Magic which allows me to fly and carry Wendy." the cat responded.
After that, the group separated into two and each one moved into position. When they were all ready, Natsu and Wendy nodded at each other and jumped on their respective target right after.
Natsu jumped on the closest wyvern, the magma one and delivered a magic-less but powerful punch to the top of its head. It was strong enough to force the creature's head to the ground. Naturally, all of its congeries turned their attention to the pink-haired intruder which prevented them from noticing the other one attacking from the other side.
"Sky Dragon's Twirling Fist!" the young girl yelled out as she hit the earth wyvern's left hip, making a wide and deep cut in it and causing a lot of blood to spread on the ground.
The wyvern roared in pain and tried to crush its attacker with its wing but was unsuccessful thanks to Carla who had been faster and managed to grab Wendy and fly her out of the way in time.
At the same time, the white wyvern spat a torrent of snow at Natsu who ignited his body on fire in response. This caused the snow to melt before reaching him. But the water created didn't even get time to reach the grass as it was sucked into the pinkette's mouth.
When he turned his head around, Natsu saw the magma wyvern lower its head down on him in an attempt to eat him whole.
Understandably not fond of the idea, the Fairy Tail wizard extended his arm towards the beast's maw and called out. "Ice Dragon's Spike." His arm then turned into an icy spike which elongated at breakneck speed. The dragon relative didn't have enough time to react and the spike went right in its mouth and through his head, piercing its skull and killing it instantly. Its dead body then collapsed on the grass.
As for Wendy, she had taken advantage of the elevated position Carla had provided her to attack the poison wyvern. "Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" she shouted, expelling a whirlwind of air from her arms. The spell hit its target in the back, creating gashes so deep they condemned the creature to bleed to death.
In the mean time though, the wyvern was still capable of fighting. It gathered magic in its mouth and sent a torrent of purple poison at the two females.
In response, Wendy sent her own breath attack with healing magic infused in it to gain an elemental edge over her opponent. "Sky Dragon's Roar!" When the attack collided, they struggled for a bit but Wendy's eventually triumphed and dissipated the poison. It then made its way to the purple wyvern, finishing it off.
Back with Natsu, the plant wyvern had used its magic to spawn vines from under his feet and got tangled around his body to prevent him from moving. However, Natsu's physical strength alone allowed him to break the plants by spreading his arms to the side.
He then turned to his attacker with a dark smirk and unexpectedly saw fear in its eyes. It was right to be afraid. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu sent a jet of flames at it and, because of its element, it caught on fire with ease.
As it screamed and writhed in agony, Natsu actually felt pity for the creature and decided to put an end to its suffering. He jumped at it and brought his foot, covered in water, down on its head. "Water Dragon's Talon!" The impact crushed the wyvern's brain and extinguished his flames.
Wendy and Carla didn't have much time to celebrate their victory over the poison wyvern as they noticed the wind one hovering over them. It flapped its wings in their direction, creating a strong draft. When it hit them, Carla was unable to resist and they went crashing on the ground.
When they recovered and looked back up, they saw an even stronger stream of air rushing towards them. This time, it came from the wyvern's mouth. Narrowing her eyes, Wendy opened her mouth and started eating the attack.
When she was done, she swung her hand and subsequently generated a large and very powerful tornado. "Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!" The tornado was powerful enough to destabilize the creature and cause it to fall to the ground.
Running towards where it was going to fall, Wendy then jumped and swiped at the wyvern's neck with her fingers leaving a wake of wind behind as she did so. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" The attack was powerful enough to slit its throat and by the time it hit the grass it was already bleeding to death.
Natsu was now caught in a snowstorm. Yet, he was just standing there, unaffected and unfazed. He didn't even bother to raise his arm to his eyes in protection. On the contrary, he was immobile with his head down, focusing on his hearing. Suddenly, he crouched down and the snow wyvern passed over him. It had tried to capitalized on its spell to lunge at the pinkette but had underestimated his other senses.
While it was still above him, Natsu's fist was imbued in purple energy and he punched it in the stomach. "Gravity Dragon's Propelling Fist!" Upon impact, the snow creature was thrown high in the air and the air flow it generated dissipated the snowstorm.
The pink-haired man then used his fire to propel himself above its opponent and gathered magic in his mouth. "Gravity Dragon's Roar!" He sent a tornado of purple energy at the wyvern which sent it back to the ground at high speed. Once it had hit the ground, it was only a puddle of blood, bones and scales.
After landing gracefully, Natsu turned around to check on his little sister and was horrified by what he saw.
As soon as she had defeated the wind wyvern, the blue-haired girl had gotten struck by the earth one's tail, sending her flying into a nearby tree. The wounds that had ensued weren't too severe thanks to her body's natural toughness as a Dragon Slayer but she had trouble getting back up. Moreover, the wyvern was now getting ready to impale her with the tip of its tail which was a large and very sharp rock.
Without wasting a single second, Natsu rushed to the wyvern and requipped his sword in his hand. He then used it to cut the tail off before it could use it.
When it felt and saw its member falling to the ground, the beast turned around to look at the culprit and, when it did, instantly froze in terror.
Even though they weren't smart creatures, wyverns still had a kind of arrogance and they always considered humans to be so far below them that they weren't any threat whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the only species the wyverns truly feared were the dragons. But the being that was standing in front of this one…would terrify any sentient being on the planet. His entire face was shadowed by his bangs thus hiding all of his features except for his two piercing crimson eyes that shone through the darkness.
Without a word, Natsu threw his sword at the petrified creature and it went right through its heart, killing it. When it had fallen on the ground, the pinkette extended his hand and arm and the sword flew in his open palm and he requipped it away.
Natsu's eyes returned to normal as his gaze returned to his sister who was pretty much fine but was looking at the ground with a frown. Carla was also by her side. After he had walked to her, Natsu knelt down next to her and used his magic to heal her wounds.
When she was fully healed, the young girl stood up, her gaze never leaving the grass. "Thank you." she muttered and started walking away in a random direction.
Natsu and Carla stood there, looking at her departing figure for a bit. The pink-haired mage then turned to the cat and asked. "Why is she so upset?"
The white feline sighed before answering. "She's disappointed in herself because you had to save her. She took this mission with the sole purpose of fighting strong opponents and she didn't use her enchantments just to make it harder and almost got herself killed. That is why if you have information on Blazeel, you must tell her. He's the only one who can convince her to stop this madness."
After a few seconds of reflection, Natsu spoke up again. "I see. Tell you what, why don't you go and tell the mayor we have completed the job? I'll go and have a word with her."
Carla was reluctant but finally agreed, knowing it was probably the best thing to do.
Wendy was now sitting at the edge of a cliff, looking at the sunset thoughtfully. "No matter what I do, I'm still hopelessly weak. I'm useless. No one would ever want me as their little sister, especially not him."
"You're too hard on yourself." she heard behind her and frantically turned around to see her latest teammate standing there with a kind smile.
"Thank you but I don't think I am." the bluenette denied.
Natsu then walked closer and sat next to her. "Come on, Wendy. Killing two full grown wyverns is no small feat. I don't think any mage from my guild has ever done that."
"It's still not good enough. I need to get stronger, much stronger." the Sky Dragon Slayer argued.
"Why? Where is this obsession with power coming from?" Natsu asked, thoroughly confused.
Wendy sighed and then looked back at the descending sun. "A few years ago, when my mother disappeared, another dragon found and adopted me. He was the Fire Dragon King, Blazeel. He took care of me and trained me for a whole year, I wouldn't have survived without him. But after a year, he told me we had to part ways. I was heartbroken but he promised me he'd find me again and when he did, he'd want to see how much I had progressed. But if he saw me now, he'd be so disappointed in me. I mean, how could the most powerful being in the world accept someone like me as his little sister?" she explained, touching her necklace all the while.
Natsu sighed upon learning the reason behind her attitude and felt a bit guilty. "A brother who would reject his sibling because they lack strength is no brother at all. Believe me, he'd be proud of you for who you've become."
"Thank you Natsu but I'm still sacred of what he will think." Wendy replied with a small frown.
"Oh Wen, don't tell me that you have already forgotten what I told you about fear." Natsu told her with sly smirk.
The young girl then turned to look at him in confusion but realization soon hit her and she covered her mouth with both of her hands and her eyes widened in shock. There was only one person, or rather one dragon, who had ever called her that. The same one who had taught her to overcome her fear. "Blazeel…"