Natsu cracked his knuckles and stretched, ready for his course.
"Same rules apply." Hibiki warned him. "Alright. Let the game begin!"
Natsu started walking down the trail when he heard a subtle rolling noise.
And then someone yelling, "Chooo chooooo!" Ichiya appeared, riding a miniature train with a conductors hat proudly sported on his head. "You look tired! Let's go for a ride!" He happily called out to Natsu, waving him over.
Natsu was already holding back his vomit just by looking at it. He should have suspected this much.
Ichiya waited for him to climb aboard.
"Where are we going?" Natsu asked, warrily getting on the train.
"You'll see at the destination!" Ichiya pulled the horn and turned the train around, heading toward wherever he was heading. "Let's see how long you can last! Maybe even last longer than Gajeel..." Ichiya temped Natsu, trying to fire him up.
Upon hearing this, Gajeel's face immediately dropped, sticking out his tongue in disgust. At least he knew what to expect.
Natsu could barely keep himself conscious as he clutched the sides of the train for dear life. He had to beat Gajeel.
Natsu lay limp, half of his body draped over the side of the train as his scarf skimmed the ground. "Are we... blergh... almost... blerg...th-" Natsu clamped his hands over his mouth desperately trying to keep the contents of his stomach in.
"Alright. We are now entering the Blue Pegasus station! Please hold on as the train comes to a complete stop." Itchiya mimicked the typical warning in his best conductor voice.
Natsu slid out of the train compartment and landed with a thud on the ground, groaning. However, within seconds, he regained his composure and was right back to the confident, fired up Natsu. "Alright! That was easy! What's the next challenge?" He started stretching again.
Natsu's nose twitched as he caught a whiff of fire. His stomach started grumbling and he eagerly dashed toward the smell. His eyes widened in pure bliss as he saw several torches.
Hibiki appeared again. "You seemed a little hungry, thought you could use a snack. Bu-"
"Ah man. Thanks, Hibiki. You're the best." He happily cheered, sashaying towards one of the torches, grabbing it casually. He began to munch on it, "Mmhhm... this really hits the spot, yah know?" His words were muffled by the fire.
A few seconds passed before his face turned completely red. "What was in that fire?!" He desperately looked around for some water, all the while desperately fanning his tongue.
Hibiki started laughing as Natsu suffered. "You should've let me finished explaining."
Natsu grumbled, the intense burning taste slowly disappearing.
"Listen closely. Each of those torches has a secret ingredient added into the fire. Only one is normal fire. You have to find that one before you can move onto the next round."
Natsu took a moment to process the situation. "So all I have to do is find the good fire, right? Psh. That's easy thanks to my nose." He brushed aside the challenge and began sniffing out the fires.
"Not so faaaaast." A voice in the distance began to get louder and louder by the second. Ichiya could be seen flinging through the air before he landed with a glorius pose. "Men." He held a small bottle high in the air and the light gleamed off of the pink liquid. He promptly opened the vile and the liquid evaporated as it touched the air, engulfing the entire perimeter. "This is my special parfume. Itchiya by Blue Pegasus."
Natsu quickly grabbed onto his nose to avoid inhaling the scent. He knew that the moment he smelled Ichiya's special perfume, he would start to get dizzy. Before he could run out of time, he scanned over the torches and tried to see if there were any differences between them. He grimaced as his back-up plan didn't work. Accepting his fate, he slowly released his nose, catching a whiff of the smell. But to his surprise... It actually smelled good and wasn't overpowering. Still enough to cover the scent of the fire, to his dismay.
"Alright. Let's do this!" Natsu ran to the other torches and began to stuff his mouth with the "flavored" flames. The second one he grabbed took him for a ride. He barely tasted it and his entire body cringed away from the intense sweetness that gave his body the sugar rush of his life. He jumped from place to place collecting each torch and tasting gruesome flavors after gruesome flavors. There were two in particular that gave him the creeps and he tried to stay away from them, hoping he'd find the "normal" fire before he had to test his luck with those. Alas, to his disappointment, he had to pick between the two. He took a moment to compose himself, clutching his stomach as he started to get a stomach ache from all the combinations of fire.
Hibiki appeared again. "So Natsu, you've come down to the final two." He had a sinister tone to his words. "These two flames are special. Both of them contain Ichyia's failed parfume experiments.. We don't even know how they'll react to you."
"What do you mean?! You're telling me that I'm supposed to eat these without knowing what they'll do to me! And what happened to the "normal" fire!" Natsu started to get angry in disbelief.
"There never was a "normal" fire." Hibiki revealed to him with an evil grin. "But relax. It's not gonna kill you." Hibiki reassured him. "Besides... It's not like you go down that easily." Hibiki muttered to himself.
"Hey! I heard that!" Natsu's fist burst into flames.
"Remember what I said about using your magic." Hibiki warned Natsu. Natsu grit his teeth, remembering what they did to Gray. His flame gradually diminished.
Natsu turned back to the torches and hesitantly chose one. He swallowed hard before eating it. He felt a slight pressure on the top of his head, then a loud pop before his head got heavy.
Natsu could hear the howl's of laughter coming from the sidelines before Hibiki appeared with his monitor.
"Buahaha.. Look at you!" Hibiki clutched his stomach as tears streamed down his face.
"What's so funny!" Natsu demanded, reaching up to feel what was on his head. His hands touched something soft and slightly squishy. "Gaaah!" He cried out trying to pull it off his head, but it wouldn't budge. "What the heck is this thing?!" He kept touching whatever was on his head, trying to figure it out by the shape of it.
Hibiki could barely contain his laughs as he turned off the monitor for a second so Natsu could see his reflection.
Natsu's eyes bulged out in disbelief. He had a giant mushroom stuck to the top of his head. "Okay. Where is Ichiya!" He demanded, stomping around the area.
"Come out here now!" He kept trudging through the bushes and trees until Ichiya came.
"You raaaang?" Ichiya asked, trying to ignore the mushroom.
"What are you going to do about this?! Fix it!" Natsu pointed frantically to the mushroom.
"Who are you calling an "it"!" An angry voice called out. It had the twang of a grouchy gangster from way back in the day.
Natsu fell back in shock. "Wha-wha-wha..."
"Yeah yeah kid. It's a talking mushroom on your head. Be amazed." The mushroom acted so nonchalantly about the situation as if he's done this a million times before.
"I-I-Ichiya. What's going on?!" Natsu sat there, floored from shock.
"Men. This is an odd situation you've gotten yourself into." Ichiya walked around Natsu with his hand on his chin, making 'mm' and 'mhm' noises.
Suddenly, Ichiya snapped his fingers and took in a deep breath to get ready to explain things. Natsu jumped up from the ground, getting his hopes up.
When Ichiya couldn't inhale anymore he let out a very quick and confident, "I have no idea."
Natsu bent over in defeat.
"Listen, kid. I'm not too happy being stuck witchu either."
Natsu grumbled, throwing a fit. "Well, how long are you going to be on my head?"
"It depends. Can be a few hours to a few days to a few months. I can't really say." If the muchroom had arms, it would probably be shrugging right now.
Natsu let out a sigh of defeat. All he knew for certain is that he would be stuck with this thing on his head for at least an hour. "So... What's your name?" He asked; might as well get acquainted with this thing.
"Eh... Call me Don." The mushroom replied.
"Well, Don. I'm Natsu Dragneel!" Natsu returned to his typically self. He wasn't going to let a stupid mushroom stop him.
Hibiki quickly returned, as he was about to say something, he was shoved aside by Gajeel, tears flying off his face from his body shaking with laughter.
"You look like an idiot!" Gajeel taunted him.
"Oh yeah? At least I only look like an idiot because I have a mushroom on my head! You look like an idiot 24/7!" Natsu shot back.
Gajeel's face went from pure happiness to complete annoyance within the blink of an eye. "Come here and say that to my face!" He challenged.
"You can bet on it!
Hibiki managed to regain control and pushed Gajeel away with his magic. You could hear Gajeel groan as he hit a tree. "Stay where you are. You're not finished yet."
Natsu stopped, remembering that he was still in the middle of a competition.
Natsu groaned, crossing his arms. "What's next?"
"You didn't eat the last torch."
"Aw, come on Hibiki. Don't you think this is punishment enough?" He pointed to the mushroom.
"Ay! What's that's supposed to mean?" Don complained, slightly offended by his words.
Hibiki thought for a moment. "Mmm... Fine. I'll let it go. Follow me." He led Natsu down to a little clearing up ahead.
Natsu stood in the middle of it, confused.
"Psst. Hey, Kid. What's goin' on here?" Don whispered to him.
"I'm in the middle of a competition/punishment. I...uh... Got someone angry at me..." Natsu trailed off, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"What kinda competition?" Don asked, skeptical of the situation he found himself in.
"I...uh... don't know yet. They still have to tell me."
Don groaned. "Alright... Just don't kill me, kid. I might not seem like it, but I've got a good couple years left in me."
Natsu laughed. "Don't you worry. I'm not one who likes to lose." Natsu punched his open hand with his fist, getting fired up.
He heared a rustle to his left and he immediately swirled toward the sound. A figure started stepping out of the shadows. Natsu got into his fighting stance, ready to attack.
The person slowly came into the sunlight and Natsu was taken aback. "Lucy??!"
"Hey, kid. Who is this girl? Your girly friend or something?"
"My what?" Natsu asked in confusion.
"Ah.. Nevermind."
"Lucy... What the heck are you doing here?" Lucy just stood there, her face contorted in anger.
"Hey... What's that look for?" Natsu started to get nervous. It was the look that sent shivers down his back because he knew that he was in trouble when she looked at him like that. But he hadn't done anything wrong.
Hibiki finally appeared to explain. "Have fun playing dodge ball." He disappeared as quickly as he came.
"Dodge b-" Before he could finish his sentence, something whizzed by his head, but from behind him. He spun around to see another Lucy appear. He looked back and forth between the two Lucys.
"Natsu!" She yelled his name. "What did you do!" She screamed, obviously angry about something.
"Hey... Hey Lucy. What's going on?" He was sweating bullets.
"Don't play innocent!" She grabbed something from behind her back and chucked it at him. He leaned back, narrowly missing the book.
"I swear! I didn't do anything!" He pleaded with her.
"Don't lie to me!" Another voice said from another direction. Now there were three Lucys. That one was enraged to say the least.
"Look at what you did!" A voice demanded his attention from another direction, holding up one of her prized books. More and more Lucys appeared, eventually surrounding him.
"K-kid. What's going on?" Don stammered. Absolutely terrified by all the Lucys.
"I'm as clueless as you." Natsu tried to keep his voice calm.
"I didn't damage your book!" Natsu tried to defend himself, holding his hands up in front of him in defeat.
"Shut it!" One of the Lucy's said between clenched teeth.
"Kid! To your right!" Don yelled, trying to tug Natsu to the left.
Natsu felt a small pain as the damaged book was thrown at him, a page grazing his cheek. "Agh! Paper cut!" He clutched his cheek, rubbing it. "Oww... That hurt." He pouted.
"That's the least of your worries, kid!" Don's voice grew louder with despair as he saw something coming in fast that Natsu wasn't aware of yet.
"Duck, Kid!" Don yelled and Natsu dropped to the ground. "Phew.. Thanks, Don." The section of grass he was standing in was waist high, so when he dropped, the grass partially hid him.
"So, Don. What do we do?" Natsu asked, stuck on what to do.
"Well, clearly this challenge of yours is to dodge your girly friend's attacks."
"Do you think I could rest down here a little?" He stayed like that for a minute or two and almost thought his plan was going to work until he felt himself get pulled off the ground, getting twirled in the air like a ribbon before he was let loose to fly through the air. He hit the ground, rolling like a tumbleweed.
"You okay, Don?" Natsu asked, groaning from the pain.
"Ye. What about you?"
"I've been better." He forgot how strong Lucy could be when she got angry.
He saw a shadow glide above him and something dug deep into the ground. He quickly clambered to his feet to get a better view of the situation. "Tell me what you see, Don."
"Youse got three of your girly friend's to your right. Five behind you, 2 to your left. And then the remaining in front."
"Well... These all can't be Lucy. So it's probably one of Ichiya's tricks." If that were the case, he could defend himself better.
He felt a hand try to grab him but he quickly pushed it away before it could fully grasp him. As soon as he did that, a loud 'poof' noise echoed throughout the clearing and a cloud of smoke appeared where one of the Lucys just was. Natsu's smiled a wicked grin.
"Cover for me, Don!" Natsu started sprinting toward one of the Lucys, a plan in mind. The Lucy drew her arm back to throw the book at him but before she could do it, Natsu yelled, "Hey, Lucy! Did you gain some weight?" Natsu smirked as that caught the Lucy off guard.
"What did you say?!" She was furious but that gave him an opening to gently push her. Just as before, she disappeared.
"Alright! I have a plan. Let's go Don!" He started to run around to other Lucy's while Don warned him of any projectiles.
"Kid! To your left!" Don warned, and Natsu changed his course. Along the way, he figured out he didn't even need to push her. All he had to do was touch her and she'd disappear.
He went around to the three Lucy's to his right and began to tickle them. Something he would never get a chance to do again, all the while antagonizing her.
"Remember that time where you tried to flirt with that guy in your maid outfit but you were flat out rejected?" He could see all the of Lucys turn three shades redder.
"Or that time I used you as a puppet?"
"Oh! Oh! And how can I forget about all the times I went into your apartment and ate your food?"
Natsu was having too much fun with this. Granted, the more he irritated them, the more things were thrown at him. But with Don looking out for him, he could easily dodge the books. All but two were gone, and they both were at a standstill; one waiting for the other to make a move.
Natsu smirked as he thought of the finale.
"Hey..." Don whispered to Natsu. "I don't trust those two." He looked at them warily. "I don't think you should mess with them." Don tried to be the voice of reason.
"Relax." Natsu's smirk turned into a big grin as he finally figured out what to say. "Remember that time I asked you to go somewhere with me but you'd just avoid me?" The Lucys just glared at him.
"Juvia told me that you were avoiding me because you thought I wanted to ask you out!" Natsu burst out laughing. "You? Never!"
Natsu broke out into a cold sweat when he felt the instense aura of the two Lucys. One of them ran away in a different direction as the one in front of him kept throwing books and dodging his attacks.
Suddenly, he was retrained. He try to wriggle out of Lucy's grip but it was futile. She whispered in his ear in a threatening voice. "What did you say?"
"Ehe... Nothing?" Before Natsu could glance refocus on the Lucy in front of him, his world went black.