Okay guys, for me, my school years are about to restart, so as you have undoubtedly noticed over the past week or so, I shall be unable to update so frequently. So sorry guys. But enough about me. Commence story!

(Natsu's POV)

Puff

Huff

Puff

Natsu kept a rigorous pace the whole time he ran back. That devil-girl could catch up to him in a second and he was taking no chances. As soon as he spotted the red mountain of his father he tackled him as best as a human could tackle something forty times his size.

"OI! TOU-SAN! DAD! WAKEY WAKEY!" Still sluggish from slumber, Igneel merely rolled over and half-heartedly swatted his son away. His strength as a dragon was still mighty, and Natsu was smacked into a boulder, creating a small crater the shape of a child. Not even fazed, Natsu clambered out and kept jumping on Igneel. More irritated this time; Igneel turned to the side, and squashed his excited child. Again, not discouraged in the slightest, Natsu wriggled out and yelled in his father's ear.

"HELLO? ANYONE THERE! SAY SOM—" Igneel promptly squished him under his claws. Natsu squeezed out of his grip and laughed.

"So you're awake!" Igneel grumbled, still grumpy from being woken so rudely.

"Yes, thanks to you. Do you have ANY idea what TIME it is?" Natsu stroke his chin, then beamed and answered

"About midnight!" Lashing at him with his tail, Natsu utilized the training he had been given and hopped onto his father's head.

"Hey! Guess what? I fought this devil lady! She was super strong, and I almost beat her. But she almost beat me and I had to run away! Ahahahahah!" The boy had planned to ease this part into their conversation, and escape punishment. "So… Uh… How was the fish? Is there anymore?" Of course, it didn't work.

"You were nearly beaten? By whom?" Natsu's eyes tiptoe to the side.

"Well… By… A girl…"

"And…?" Natsu stared into Igneel's eyes from atop his forehead.

"What do you mean 'and'? Isn't that bad?" Igneel snorted, smoke engulfing Natsu face, causing the boy to cough and fall on his backside.

"You really think the opposite gender are so weak? I must disagree. Even if you are human, women can be just as strong or even stronger. Why do you think otherwise? Well trust me son, if you've ever seen an angry dragon mother trying to protect her children, you would change your mind in an instant. I doubt even I could handle that" Natsu's eye's widened.

"Uso! No way! I don't believe it!" The dragon bellowed with laughter.

"Believe what you will child, it's the truth. I hope you will have a different opinion in the future" Reluctantly, Natsu nodded and stood back up.

"Yoshah! Let's do this! Tou-san! Teach me to get stronger! Oh, and by the way, I did that wing move you showed me the other time. It was kind of weak, but yours was really strong. Could you show me what I did wrong?"

"Do it again" Natsu got into his stance and roared

"Fire Dragon's Wings!" He rushed at the tree and swung his fist. Demolishing its base, the tree toppled over. The fire was still burning strong, and it started to catch onto other trees, until Igneel smothered the flames with his forepaws.

"You still haven't mastered burning only your target? You have a lot to learn" Natsu looked at the ground dejectedly. But what Igneel didn't say was how impressed he was that Natsu had already learned how to use the 'Fire Dragon's Wing'. It wouldn't do to inflate his already huge ego.

"Gomen" Shaking his head, Igneel waved away the apology.

"It's fine, you'll learn later on. Now, to help you stand up to this female…" A cold feeling crept over Natsu, causing him to involuntarily shudder.

(Mirajane's POV)

"Okay! Last week will not be like today! We WILL capture that little thief tonight!" Lisanna sighed. It had been like this for the past week. Mira-nee had politely 'asked' them to just leave it all to her, although to the younger sister, 'commanded' would have been much more an apt word.

"Mira-nee, exactly how will this be any different from the past week?" The elder sister laughed manically.

"I shall tell you dear little sister! For the past week, I have been going out on my own and coming back late at night. Why? Because I was planting these little babies!" She pulled a lacrima out of her sleeve; an orb of energy that did whatever it was created to do. This specific one was designed to explode when something entered its sensor perimeter.

"Ta-da! It's the explosion Lacrima! I managed to finally place these all over this guys yard! You two have no idea how hard it is to memorize all the places I already put them and then put them everywhere. I even set off a few! You should feel proud of me!" Elfman clapped slowly. Being Elfman, the Lisanna had no idea if this was actual sarcasm or not, but Mirajane laughed and enjoyed it anyway. "Thank you! Thank you! Hahaha!" Then she coughed and continued on.

"Ahem. Anyway, so yeah, I put the Lacrima all around the property, and now, if the thief tries to come close… Boom! Any questions?" Elfman raised his hand. Mirajane pointed at him.

"Hai! Yes! You! Little brother!" Elfman turned to face the window.

"Nee-san. Did you tell the employees who work on growing the apples about the Lacrima?"

…

…

…

A moment later, a scream, a flash of light, then—

BOOM

Mirajane and Lisanna sweat dropped, while Elfman remained as deadpan as ever.

"Well… We'll just have to tell everyone to stay out later. They should know to stay out by now" Lisanna smacked her face. Her sister never thought anything through. Hurriedly, Mirajane finished her presentation.

"So. The three of us by ourselves will be patrolling the area, with these maps that I have drawn out. They show the only paths you could take without making anything explode. Each of us will carry an explosive lacrima so when we find him, we'll rendezvous at that spot. Do you guys understand now?" She handed out the maps, obviously hand drawn. The squiggles and marks were barely recognizable. But it was better than nothing. Lisanna shrugged and placed hers in her back pocket.

"I suppose we should alert Mr. Morbis to our plan?" Mirajane nodded.

"You're right Elfman. Before anyone else gets hurt, its better to go now and—"

BOOM

Another explosion. They rushed out of the room to find Mr. Morbis so they could pass on the responsibility.

(Igneel's POV)

Natsu lay on the ground, drenched in perspiration. His breath came hard and fast, and Igneel was thoroughly enjoying it. The past week, the dragon had increased his son's 'chores and exercises' threefold to prepare him for this girl that was stronger than he was. Natsu had hated every second of it. But even he had to admit that the results were apparent. Muscles had formed over every corner of his body, his stamina increased, and as for his dragon slaying powers, he had properly learned to use the 'Fire Dragon's Wing' and a few other secret dragon moves that should never be used under normal circumstances. Ever.

"So, did you enjoy this past week son?"

"S-screw y-you p-p-pops. I-I'll get you for this o-one day" Igneel chuckled.

"If you say so. I think this should be enough. For now. If you lose… well, I'll have some more fun for the next month…" Natsu clenched his fists, and swore to himself, there and then. He would win, or go back hell would be waiting. Igneel guessed what the boy was thinking and smiled. Good. He expected no less from his child. "Rest up son. Tonight, you shall return to the orchard. But for now, you had better get some sleep" Without further ado, Natsu conked out, his snores disturbing nearby wildlife.

(Lisanna's POV)

Tonight would be the time. When she would meet this mysterious person that had defeated Elf-niichan, and escaped Mira-nee, even hurting her when he ran.

"I'm so not looking forward to this… I just hope Elf-niichan and Mira-nee will be close by…" Before she did anything big, or anything that she would consider life threatening, she liked to splurge a bit. Though she probably wouldn't die, it could still take hours before he was found, or even the whole night. Who was to say he would show up tonight? So she would take a bath.

Thankfully, Mr. Morbis had been kind enough to lend them the use of all the utilities in his house, which were a lot. From what Lisanna had seen from her stay, in the few places she had gone, their had been barber shops, large bathrooms, empty bedrooms, storage units, and had even glimpsed a pool that took up a whole floor. But the real prize was the bathhouse she had spotted.

There was nobody else there, and that was how she liked it. Peace and quiet. Nobody yelling, no messes to clean up, and nothing that might fly at her face. It was all well and good back home, but when she needed to rest and relax, that had to be changed.

"Ah…" Settling herself into the heated water, she exhaled in content. This was the best. Then she noticed the little waterway that led to the outside. Squealing in excitement, she swam out, and let the small Lazy pool sweep her outside.

The view was amazing. The mansion of Mr. Morbis was built on top of the tallest hill in the small village. And that gave her the best front row seat. Against the contrast of the pitch black night sky, the lights danced in the sky, twinkling, talking, laughing. The pregnant moon outshone them all, showering everything under her gaze with a dim, distinct light. Whichever star she laid her eyes on, the neighboring star beckoned for her attention even more.

"This is the life…"

(Natsu's POV)

It was time to go. He was being sent on a mission by his father to see if he was ready or not. He couldn't fail. Especially if he would have to return to see Hell again… Natsu shook his head.

'Don't even think about stuff like that about right now' Slapping his cheeks, the boy reestablished his determination.

"Time to leave already huh? Be sure to remember what I told you. No need to rush, or do everything at once. Your attack should be like the winds. May the skies guide and protect you" Disciple bowed respectfully to his master, and master to disciple. Then son attacked his father with a hug.

"Even if you tried to kill me during training, I still love you Tou-san" Igneel gave a small laugh.

"That's good to know. Gambattene! Good luck son" Natsu saluted, hugged his father once more, than gave a powerful leap into the trees, disappearing form sight.

(Lisanna's POV)

"Ah… I think I've fallen in love with that bath…" Lisanna fumbled with her suitcase, finally managing to punch in the correct code. "I think I'll go again with Elf-niichan tomorrow if that guy doesn't show… Huh?" Inside the briefcase, was black, black, black, shorts, tights, weights, and all sorts of boyish clothing.

"Uh oh. Did Mira-nee take my suitcase? Good thing she's only staying four rooms away" Getting up and rolling the mistaken suitcase behind her, she strode over to her elder sister's room. "Nee-chan—" She began, and was about to knock on the door, but stopped when she heard her sister talking.

"…And I have reason to believe he is the one we are looking for. This guy can shoot fire out of his body and is crazy durable. No way a normal person can deal and take punches like him. I have a genius plan to capture him, so you don't need to worry too much, but it would be so much easier if you got here and dealt with him. So hurry up Gramps cause I don't wanna—" Lisanna didn't hear a word more. She had already ran off.

(Mirajane's POV)

Mirajane looked out of the door cautiously. There was nobody there. Had it been her imagination? Yeah, probably, she just needed to rest and— She looked down, and saw a suitcase. With her clothes in it. Weird. Whatever.

Ah… Listening to some of my favourite songs from 3 years ago… So nice… Reply by Iyaz… Then kinda-sorta re-discovering and artist i know about. There was this awesome thunderstorm last night, and I went outside to see the lighting. And hear the thunder. Or see the thunder. Don't make that mistake guys. Would have danced in the rain, but I sprained my ankle. Boohoo. More Strauss and Natsu in the next chapters!

- Justin, Lover of anime, enemy of haters, and family to all my otaku brothers and sisters. Welcome to my world! XD