~ FTC ~
~ . ~ . ~
Chapter 4
~ . ~ . ~
Despite not planning on sticking around for long, Natsu ended up staying for the rest of the period anyway. In fairness, he couldn't really help it — they were a fascinating bunch, and talkative at that. One conversation led to another, which led to another, which led to another, and before they knew it, half an hour had flown by.
In truth, it was a bit strange for him; maybe even a little uncomfortable. He had never been around such sociable and enthusiastic people, which in turn made it difficult for him to answer their more personal questions. He managed to get by with quick replies and curt deflections, but he'd be surprised if his refusal to talk about himself didn't raise a few eyebrows.
He did learn a lot about them though, which he guessed was a good thing since they seemed to be the group-to-know around school. From what he could piece together, Lucy, Erza, and Gray grew up together. They met Levy in elementary school, Loke in middle school, and Cana in the summer before high school. In their freshman year Lucy met Gajeel, though it was more of a tormentor-victim type relationship at first. Things got better over time and he eventually joined their friend group at the end of the year, shortly before Jellal came along.
He didn't get a lot of information about Jellal, but he managed to pick up on a few things here and there. He was a childhood friend of Erza's who moved around a lot and ended up in the wrong crowd. When he transferred to Fairy Tail it was along side a rowdier bunch, or as Erza elegantly put it, "a group of delinquents". The two groups apparently had quite the rivalry for a while, resulting in plenty of fights and destruction of school property. Eventually they made peace, though they still maintain a friendly rivalry of sorts.
He was also told there were a few others in the group that were not around for one reason or another. He was vaguely described a blue-haired girl who was away at a swim meet and was basically Gray's girlfriend; something the guy strongly denied but the others quickly refuted. Two siblings were mentioned as well to be out of town for a family matter; one of them played on the football team and the other had graduated last year but had returned to work as a school TA. There was also a brief whisper of the familiar name "Laxus", but it wasn't elaborated on.
All in all, he was able to learn quite a bit about the group and he could genuinely see them becoming good friends. He liked a lot of them, though a few did stand out as question marks.
Loke's constant flirtatious attitude annoyed him, but he was otherwise alright. Cana was pretty funny and laidback, but the constant stench of booze irritated his nose to no end. Gray flat out got on his nerves, and he had a feeling the feeling was mutual.
However, the one he was most unsure of was Gajeel. The guy didn't say much aside from the snarky insult here and there. That was fine with him though; he needed to find out what his deal was before he was out forging any friendships. What had happened before was not something that could be ignored. Everything in his body told him something was wrong and until he could figure out what, he would be cautious. Something just didn't smell right, and he didn't like it one bit.
The sudden ring of the warning bell brought him out of his reverie and he grunted in annoyance. His thoughts would have to wait. For now, he had one last class to attend to. At least it was his most interesting one.
It was oddly difficult to find the location of his Combat Training class. His schedule said it was in the Underground Gym, but this wasn't listed anywhere on the directory boards. He ended up having to ask around, to which he was directed to the shadiest looking tunnel he had ever seen near the back of the school.
Unlike the main hallways this tunnel was not furbished whatsoever. Exposed pipes ran along the top ceiling and the ugly beige paint was peeling from the brick walls. Dim lights flickered overhead as the faint hum of machinery echoed through the desolate hall. The tunnel wasn't that long, probably about the width of a football field, but the eerie atmosphere made it feel twice as long.
Eventually it led him to two large metal doors, kind of like the big double doors to the Emergency Room at a hospital except with large panic bars that jutted out in front. Natsu looked at them cautiously, tugging on the strap of his gym bag that held his casual clothes, before slowly pushing it open.
As he entered the gym, his first thought was that it was much bigger than he had imagined. In fact, it was probably the about size of most professional fighting gyms. Loads of equipment lay everywhere. To his left was an entire wall of punching bags, benches and bars, and to the wall adjacent held everything from gloves to pads to medicine balls. In the middle sat two boxing rings, bright red in colour and looking as new as the day they were bought. To his right was a floor lined with mats and other unique sets of equipment lining the walls. This was also where a group of students stood around, speaking to a larger man in a brown jacket.
As he slowly approached the class, doing his best to make it seem like he was not obviously late, he suddenly caught the eye of the man and froze. They held their gaze for a brief second before the man broke out into a smile, and that's when he noticed the familiarity of the man.
"Ah, Natsu. Nice of you to finally join us," Gildarts greeted.
Dozens of eyes briefly glanced to him and he scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh yeah, sorry about that. I had trouble finding my way."
Gildarts simply chuckled, waving him off. "Don't worry about it. That tunnel's a bit hidden from the rest of the school. I always give kids some leeway for the first week. So, do you have your waiver forms on you?"
He nodded and swung his bag around, removing his stapled papers and handing it to the larger man.
"Perfect, and its all ordered for me too. Why don't you mingle with the rest of these kids? I've got a bit of paperwork to sort through before we start."
"Um, sure," Natsu replied as Gildarts headed for a room off to the side.
He suddenly felt very awkward just standing around. The other students were all gathered in groups, stretching and chatting amongst themselves, which made him feel a little isolated. Glancing around, he spotted several bags and shoes deposited on a shelf against the wall, so he quickly moved to do the same.
Removing his shoes and socks, he flexed his toes against the cool mattress beneath him. It was a forgotten feeling for him; he hadn't trained on a mat for quite some time now. He bounced on the balls of his feet, shifting his weight from one leg to the other and getting a feel for how the mat agreed with his weight distribution. It was nice; a lot better than the cold hard ground that he was used to.
After depositing his things, he started through his warmup routine; really stretching out his arms and legs and getting a feel for how his muscles contracted in the cooler air of the gym. He closed his eyes and listened to the gentle whir of the fan above him, dropping into a lunge as he inhaled deeply. He felt the air current around him and breathed accordingly. These were all things Igneel had taught him a long time ago.
"Breathe the air around you. Feel the Earth beneath your feet. Understand your surroundings; test its impact on your body. It is just as important for you to know your environment as it is to know your opponent. One sudden muscle contraction, one single misplaced breathe, could be the difference between life or death…"
A tap on his shoulder abruptly broke the memory and he instinctively swung around, fist extended and all. Realizing what he was doing mid-swing he quickly pulled back, just as a hand came in and caught his fist.
Natsu blinked, staring at his fist in confusion before a familiar red head peered around the punch aimed for her face. The look she had was one of surprise and intrigue.
"Erza!" he exclaimed, quickly returning his hand to his side. He looked behind her to find Jellal and Gajeel standing close by; the former looking amused and the latter bored.
"That's quite the swing you have there Natsu," Erza noted, shaking out her hand as she spoke.
"Yeah, sorry about that. You startled me."
Erza shook her head furiously and bowed. "No, I should be the one to apologize. I did not mean to disturb your concentrated warmup. Please, strike me for my penance."
He backed away nervously. "Um, that's alright… I think I've thrown enough punches for today."
And boy, has he ever. In truth, he was stunned that Erza was even able to stop his fist at all. Granted he let off before contact, but he had enough power behind his fist to punch through a wall. He could have killed her if he hadn't caught himself.
"So what are you all doing here?" He asked awkwardly, only realizing how dumb a question that was.
Lucky for him he had Gajeel to point that out.
"You an idiot? Why else would we be here?"
"Gajeel!" Erza barked.
"Yeah, whatever."
She sighed. "I also apologize for him Natsu. He may act tough on the outside but on the inside he's as soft as a teddy bear."
"Oi Red! Don't go spewing nonsense!"
Erza smirked.
"I wasn't aware you knew how to fight Natsu," Jellal noted curiously.
"Just a bit," he lied. "I took some boxing lessons when I was young and my dad taught me some MMA. Nothing too crazy though, just some basics."
The blue-haired boy nodded. "You've got some good experience then. Most people come into this class without any and struggle. I'm sure you'll be able to keep up just fine."
"You'll be learning a lot from Gildarts as well," Erza chimed in. "Gildarts is an excellent teacher. He used to be a professional fighter himself and learned plenty of exotic techniques from his travels around the world. He doesn't teach all of them in this class, but he does for our bi-weekly fight club." She ended her last comment with waggling eyebrows.
He looked at her suspiciously. "Is this a ploy to get me to join more school clubs?"
Erza simply smiled. "Perhaps."
A scoff caught his attention and he turned to see Gajeel looking at him with distain.
"We ain't even know if the runt can fight yet and we're already giving him an invite to the big league? Wait an' see if he can even pass initiation first."
"True," Erza agreed. "He will need to prove his worth to be accepted."
Natsu blinked in confusion. "Initiation? What are you talking about?"
Just as Jellal opened his mouth to respond, the sound of a door being thrown open echoed through the gym and everyone turned as Gildarts strolled back over.
"Alright kids, gather around. It's time to get started, and we've got something real interesting for today!"
The students began to hoot and holler as they made their way over to the man in charge. Many fist bumped each other and a few sent brief glances towards him as they joined the increasing group of students.
"What's going on?"
"You're about to find out," Jellal grinned, giving him a bump on the shoulder before turning to leave. Gajeel followed without a word.
"Good luck," Erza said with a smile before spinning on her heels and following the crowd.
Confused, Natsu stood there for a moment, wondering exactly what he had been signed up for. Things were oddly beginning to feel like the introduction to a frat, and that wasn't exactly what he planned on doing here. Ultimately, he moved his feet to join the rest of his class, but it wasn't without hesitation.
As he entered the semi-circle surrounding his teacher by the near wall, Gildarts spotted him in the crowd and began motioning for him to enter the circle. His classmates around him noticed and split, allowing him to slowly walk into the center. When he neared Gildarts, the older man slapped to hands on his shoulders and spun him around, facing him towards the rest of the class. The many grins, similar to that of the Cheshire Cat, kind of freaked him out and he briefly thought of all the ways he could escape if it became necessary.
"Alright everyone, I'd like to introduce our new student, Natsu Dragneel. He's new here to Fairy Tail but more importantly, he's new to my class. And we know what that means…"
Natsu literally flinched at the roar of voices from his classmates.
"Initiation! Initiation! Initiation!"
"That's right, it's initiation time!" A cheer went through the crowd and Gildarts chuckled. "So, what are we going with this time?"
"Heavy bag!"
"Circuit training!"
"Peg board!"
"Fuck it, just throw 'em in the ring."
The last comment earned a few laughs, including one from Gildarts.
"Gajeel, you know we can't do that one."
"…dumbass rule…" he muttered under his breath.
Now, Natsu wasn't one to be nervous, but he could honestly say he had no idea what an initiation was for and it was setting him on edge. Gildarts finally seemed to sense his distress and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"I'm sure you're confused," the man said with a chuckle. "Want an explanation?"
Natsu nodded. "Very."
"It's tradition that the new students of this class are thrown right into the fray on their first day. It gives me a chance to see their level of experience coming in and tests the student to adapt to unfamiliar territory. It's essentially a trial by fire, if you will. A right of passage."
"Ok… so it's basically a fighting test?"
"Exactly."
"Ok cool, I'm down for that." Now that he knew what was happening, he was looking forward to what his test would be. He was always up for a challenge.
Gildarts nodded, turning back to the rest of the class. "Alright, come on, someone give something interesting. You're all just repeating the usual things."
"How about grappling?" Jellal spoke up. A couple students around him nodded in agreement.
"Grappling! Yes! Excellent idea!" Gildarts emphasized this by slamming his hands on Natsu's shoulders, causing him to wince slightly. "Do you know how to grapple Natsu?"
"A bit," he lied.
"Good, because I would have made you do it anyways." Gildarts grinned as he walked past him, motioning for the rest of the class to follow. "To the mats people! We've got an initiation!"
The entire class stampeded back to the mats with Natsu following close behind, quietly with a grin of his own. He always enjoyed a good grappling match and was curious to see the level of competition the class shared.
As the other students spread out in a circle, forming a ring, Gildarts directed him to stand beside him in the middle to await his matchup.
"Ok kids, you all know the rules for grappling. No punches, kicks, or direct blows. No choking or attempt at harm. The goal is to get your opponent to submit, not to leave them unconscious. Three taps and we call it. Got it?" The class nodded. "Good, so who wants to try their hand first?"
Students whispered about as they urged one another to step forward. Fortunately, Natsu's hearing allowed him to hear exactly what they were saying.
"I'd pin him down in an instant. You go."
"No way, I'm a way better grappler than you. You'd be a better challenge."
"It can't be me. I'm way out of his league."
He had to stop himself from laughing out loud. The downside to every competent fighter is they tend to have a bit of an ego, and he was no exception. He was really going to enjoy this. Perhaps he might even have some fun with it.
As he awaited a challenger his ears picked up on a certain conversation that piqued his interest.
"Gajeel, why don't you take on Natsu? Prove some of your arrogance from earlier, hmm?"
"Waste of my time. If he can't beat one of these small fry he's got no shot with me. 'Sides, I could say the same about you Red."
"I wish to observe before I make an official challenge. It would be foolish of me to enter a fight without doing the proper reconnaissance."
"Erza, you are aware that this is only a spar, right?"
"Nonsense. A fight is a fight, and if I am to enter in battle I will not hold back."
"Red's off her pills again. What 'bout you Blue?"
"Gajeel, how many times do I have to tell you I dislike that nickname. And no, I too wish to observe."
"So yur a wuss then."
"I don't believe I see you stepping up to fight."
Natsu simply rolled his eyes.
Eventually he did get his first challenger: a lean boy by the name of Sawyer. He recognized him as the owner of the red Camaro in the parking lot. Through hear-say he heard Sawyer was an alleged street racer by the alias of Racer — not a very creative name if you asked him, but who was he to judge?
"Alright, we got our first challenger!" Gildarts announced, moving to join the outer ring. "Sawyer lets see if your grappling skills have improved since your last defeat."
"Shut up old man," Sawyer snapped, turning his attention to Natsu, who raised an eyebrow at the attitude. "So, you're the new kid, huh?"
"I suppose."
"What makes you think you're good enough to stick around in this class?"
"I don't know."
"You're starting to annoy me."
"Ok."
"You always got something quippy to say?"
"Yup."
Natsu grinned, clearly seeing Sawyer begin to get frustrated with his lack of response in his trash talk. He crouched down as Sawyer slowly approached, watching carefully as his opponent sized him up.
In the next second he was on his back by a quick leg takedown. It completely took him by surprise by how fast Sawyer moved. He barely even saw him come in for the tackle. Natsu quickly recovered as Sawyer mounted him from above, fending him away with his legs as he fought for positioning.
"Come on Natsu, you'll have to move faster than that!" Gildarts' voice called out.
Natsu calmly ignored him, watching his opponent attempt to pin him down and noting multiple openings where he could strike. Instead, he loosed up his defense a bit, feigning exhaustion. Sawyer quickly took advantage by pouncing on him, locking his shoulder between his arms and clamping his legs around his thighs to restrict movement.
"That's it Sawyer! Natsu, you've got to tighten up that defense!"
"That's pathetic," he heard Gajeel's voice grunt out. "He got taken out by that scrawny kid? Pinky can't fight at all."
Natsu chuckled under his breath, to which Sawyer tightened his hold and threatened submission. Under normal circumstances he was probably in a losing situation; pinned to the ground with no leverage and caught in a tight shoulder lock. But he wasn't normal, and in fact he had complete control of this situation.
As he heard all the whispers around him and felt Sawyer putting all his weight into the hold, Natsu quietly bent his right leg beneath him, giving him a prop off the ground. Sawyer, who despite being incredibly quick when it came to takedowns and pins, lacked foundational balance and with a single raise of his torso, Natsu was able to elevate and loosen his opponent's hold.
Then, before Sawyer could readjust to a more secure lock, Natsu pushed off his prop leg, throwing them into the air and flipping them around. Sawyer, who was completely caught off guard, hit the ground hard and had the wind knocked right out of him on impact. Natsu immediately took advantage and wrapped his opponent in the same shoulder lock he had just been in, only more secure, and used his legs to tighten his hold. Instantly Sawyer tapped out and Natsu eagerly bounced to his feet, turning to the astounded crowd of students.
The match only lasted about a minute, with his counter-takedown taking all but a few seconds. Judging by the shocked looks and impalpable silence, he guessed it was rare to win that quickly. Perhaps he should have dragged it on a bit more, if only to keep up the beginner appearance.
"Wow, that was… something. I did not expect that," Gildarts said in astonishment. "Where did you learn to fight like that Natsu?"
He shrugged, hoping to just play it off. "My dad. He only taught me a few moves. Guess I just got lucky enough to pull that one off."
"Lucky is right," Sawyer mumbled behind him, slowly getting to his feet as he tested his shoulder. He gave him a sour look before returning to his spot in the outer ring.
"Remember Sawyer, failure is just another step in learning. I've got some ice in my office if you need," Gildarts said. Sawyer grunted in response before moving to grab the ice. With that settled, Gildarts turned back to his students with a grin. "Who's next?"
Immediately the class erupted into shouts of calls and dibs as people fought over one another to see who could challenge him next. Natsu could only smile brightly, eager to take on his next challenger. In the corner of his eye he spotted Erza and Jellal; the former giving him a nod of approval and the latter giving him a thumbs up for encouragement.
With blood pumping in his veins and the thrill of enjoying a spar for the first time in a while, he backed up into a crouch and faced the crowd with a smirk.
"Bring it on! I can take on anyone!"
Little did he know someone had quietly moved to the corner, red eyes watching him fiercely as the next match began.
~ . ~ . ~
Hundreds of miles away in the Mojave Desert, two figures stood over a rocky edge, watching as the sun slowly set behind the dusty orange hue of a distant mountain. One of the figures, cloaked in black, observed the landscape with distain, grinding their boney teeth together in frustration and annoyance.
"Bring him."
The other figure, also covered in black, nodded and walked over to the parked van overlooking the ridge. They knocked twice on the rear doors before swinging it open and stepping inside. A moment later a body was tossed out and the figure followed behind, shutting the door behind them.
"For fucks sake, I was trying to nap."
"Stand up," the figure demanded.
"And how am I going to do that wise guy? I've got my hands cuffed behind my fucking ba-"
A swift kick from the figure to the gut of the prisoner shut him up. He began coughing heavily; his throat already hoarse from dehydration and the scratchiness of his voice causing him to taste blood in the back of his mouth.
"Shut up."
The figure grabbed him by the collar and dragged him along the ground towards the edge where the other figure stood waiting. Once there the prisoner was dumped to the ground and given an additional kick, which caused him to groan and roll over.
"God, do you guys have to be so violent?" he grumbled with his back on the ground. "You know you can't kill me."
No answer.
"Are you going to tell me why I'm here?"
"Find him," the first figure spoke, the accent strange and unlike anything known to man.
"Find who exactly? What's up with all this cryptic bullshit?"
"Three," the voice spoke sternly. "Find Three."
The prisoner blinked, manoeuvring his way into a kneeling position and peering up at his two abductors in confusion. Then he scoffed once, twice, before erupting into a hysteric fit of laughter.
"That's why you dragged me out here? What a waste of time! What makes you think I'd help you hunt my own kind?"
"You will do it."
"Over my dead body. Oh wait, that's impossible! You can't kill me!" Another slew of cackles left his mouth. He was only quieted by the steel toe of a boot contacting his jaw, sending him sprawling back to the ground.
"Fuck me, if this is your method of persuasion then I'm sorry to say, you're pretty shit at it," he said, spitting out a bloody tooth and wiping the remaining blood on his shoulder.
"You will do it," the figure repeated.
"Alright, I'll bite. Why exactly do you think I'd help you?"
"You have no choice."
"You realize I can just refuse? What will you do then?"
The two figures glanced at each other, seemingly having a mutual understanding. Suddenly the second figure picked up him by his collar once more, this time holding him slightly over the edge of the cliff side.
"Woah now, what are you doing?" he questioned, looking down at the long drop to the bottom.
"Do you see this cliff?"
"What do you mean do I see this cliff? Of course I see the fucking cliff. You're holding me right over it you dumb bastard."
"Good. Cooperate or we will drop you."
He scoffed. "What's that gonna do? You already know you can't kill me."
"Yes, we can't kill you, but you can still feel pain," the first figure spoke.
"So?" He retorted, though his voice wavered slightly.
The figure inched closer. "We will drop you, then bring you back up, then drop you again. We will drop you over, and over, and over. We will continue to drop you until you beg for mercy, death even, and still we will drop you. We cannot kill you, but we will make you suffer."
His eyes were wide as the figure backed away. He nervously glanced down at the one-hundred-foot drop and gulped.
"Haha, haha, come on guys, there's no need for that. I'm sure we can come to some sort of a compromise."
"Find. Number. Three."
"C-come on, you know I can't do that."
"FIND. NUMBER. THREE."
"I can't. I won't. They're my own kind."
"FIND. NUMBER. THREE."
"No, I-"
He was suddenly grabbed by the neck and completely held over the cliff side, a boney hand strangling him and holding him close to a face of death. He was so close he could smell the being's breath; the stench of rotten souls and the promise of nothing but the harshest of suffering.
"YOU WILL FIND NUMBER THREE OR YOU WILL DROP! YOU WILL DROP FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"
Trembling in the being's grasp, he slowly looked from the empty eye sockets to the drop beneath him, and back to the emotionless being before him. Struggling to breathe at this point, he hesitated, before slowly nodding reluctantly.
"O-ok… I'll… do it…" he managed through faint gasps, feeling his windpipe being crushed beneath the tight grip.
"Good."
The hand tossed to back to the ground where he fell into a fit of coughs. His body continued to tremble, both in fear of his situation and of what may be soon to come.
"Find Three," the figure repeated.
"Ok… Alright… I'll need… I'll need something with their scent. Something I can trace."
The being reached into their cloak and produced a dirty white t-shirt and tossed it to the ground. Upon inspect, he realized the t-shirt was not covered in dirt but rather dried blood.
"Is that… is that Three's blood?"
"Years ago, he escaped our grasps. That will not happen again." The figure moved away from the cliff, stopping briefly beside his hunched over form. "Find him, Six, and when your time comes, I will ensure your death will be quick and painless."
He grit his teeth. "Erik. My name is Erik."
The figure paused. "Very well, Erik. Find Three or you will face punishment worse than death."
He watched as the being retreated to the van, stopping at the door to speak with the other demons inside.
He glanced down at the bloodied shirt, then at his tormentors, suddenly feeling a wave of unrepented anger rise through his body.
"FUCK YOU!" He shouted, spinning around and facing the van. "FUCK YOU! FUCK ALL OF YOU TO HELL! I'LL KILL ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! FUCK YOU!"
Within seconds his cursing was turned into a long-held scream as he plummeted off the cliff.
He fucking hated boots.
~ . ~ . ~
Author's Note:
I don't actually know anything about fighting and I guess more specifically, I don't know anything about grappling. I pretty much wrote it based on some basic research and a few reference videos, so I apologize if I'm missing certain aspects or using certain terms wrong.
Hope you enjoyed.
~FTC
