Holy Crap. I'm sorry that took so long. School kind of blew up in my face, then there are my two different sports that take up five days a week, and etc, etc, etc. This was kind of a rewrite of Will-O-the-Wisp, with similar story, but it was necessary for the next chapter. Enjoy!
(Mirajane's POV)
"Alright. Does everybody remember the plan?" It was evening, the day they would put their plan into action. Lisanna and Elfman nod. They both understood how crucial it is to stop the apple thief here and now. With the strength and power he had shown the last time, it would be dangerous if he were just let go.
"Hai, Onee-sama" Elfman turns around, and leaping off to his section of the forest. Mirajane turns to her younger sister, who seems to have a newfound interest for shiny apples, as she had staring very intently at it while Mirajane had been talking.
"Lisanna, I want you to be especially careful, okay? If you even think you spot something suspicious, throw you lacrima okay? Elfman and I will run as fast as we can" Mirajane reached to gently grip her sister's shoulder in promise, but Lisanna took a step back, a smile set on her face.
"Of course Mira-nee! Don't worry about me! Just focus on catching that little thief!" Mira agreed awkwardly, noting her sister's change in attitude.
"Of course" She turned, and she too leaped off. Lisanna was less energetic than her siblings. Walking away, Lisanna pushed a bush past, and sauntered off.
(Natsu's POV)
Gulp
Dipping his hands into the river, he took a last sip of cooling water. He was ready, and began with a sprint, slowly speeding up to a jog. Natsu ran weaved through his home's garden. At this rate, he wouldn't arrive until midnight, and he still had a ways to go. As he rushed to face the silver haired girl again, bits and pieces of the past week flashed through his mind. Things his father had taught him, things he had discovered himself, and a bit of both.
(Flashback/The past week…)
"Nani? How does that work?" Natsu struggles to understand what Igneel has just told him. The dragon raises his scaly eyebrow.
"Is it really so hard to believe child? Don't you shoot flames from your mouth and fists and feet on a regular basis?" Natsu shakes his head.
"Yeah… But that's different…" Igneel isn't surprised at how Natsu is unable to comprehend such simple things. To Natsu, some things were right, the others, wrong. End of story.
"Nandehmonai. Never mind. It doesn't matter if you get it or not, if you can just channel your energy, and release it there, then it'll be fine" Giving up on understanding, Natsu shrugs and gets into his stance.
"Fire Dragons Flame Elbow!" His elbow jetted out a furious uncontrolled flame, causing him to smack his face and send himself into the ground. Igneel gave a hearty laugh.
"HAHAHAHAH! It's so much fun to teach you things!"
"Fire Dragons Flame Elbow!" This time, Natsu flew out of the hole he had made, and almost hit his father, but Igneel twisted his neck and easily evaded it. Upon landing, Natsu stomped his foot.
"Damnit Tou-san! You can just twist you neck and avoid everything! That's not fair!"
"That's why your learning Dragon Slaying magic isn't it? To make everything fair? Then stop whining, you have much more to learn" Igneel turned around, and Natsu had a sneaky idea.
"Fire Dragons Wing!" Jumping above Igneel's neck, he vaulted up, and came falling down, hands still ablaze. Of course, Igneel once again dodged the attack, but this time, before the flames on his hands died, he cried
"Fire Dragons Claw!" Fire erupted from his foot, and he was redirected to Igneel's face.
Smack
It hit. It actually hit. Igneel had been so surprised at this unorthodox move, he had stopped to stared in awe. But even though he had been hit, he wasn't a dragon for nothing. It stung a little, but Igneel bit Natsu's foot gently, and tossed him down. Rolling, Natsu reduced the impact and hopped back to his feet.
"HA! I GOT YOU! I FINALLY GOT YOU! YES!" Igneel rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes. You may have been able to hit me then, but I still could have killed you afterwards" But of course, Natsu wasn't listening, instead he was dancing in circles singing
"I hit you I hit you! I finally can hit you!" Igneel blew flames at his son, but Natsu cart wheeled away.
"We still have much to do, and that move wont work again without the element of surprise! Now keep up! Break time's over!"
(Flashback over/present time….)
Natsu chuckles. On his own time, he had tried to perfect the move, but it hadn't worked so well afterwards. But his efforts still bore fruit.
"Fire Dragons Claw!" Using the fiery explosion of power, Natsu was faster than an Olympic runner, with a thousand times as much stamina.
"DEVIL HERE I COME!" He screamed to the afternoon sun.
(Lisanna's POV)
Mirajane knew. She knew that her little sister was hiding something, but she didn't know what. Ever since she had heard Mirajane recording her message on the letter, she had kept her distance. It wasn't like she was trying to, but every time she saw her in the halls, bathroom, wherever, she would shy take another route, or just not speak up. They saw each other at dinner, breakfast, and lunch from time to time, but that was about it.
"This can't go on forever…" She told herself. "Eventually, we'll catch him, and it'll be over…" But would it? From the way Mirajane had been talking about it, it had seemed to be pretty serious. What if… What if…
Rustle… Rustle, rustle…
Lisanna whirled to her right, knees bent, senses sharp. Then a mouse ran out. Lisanna breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hello little mouse. How are you today?" The mouse squeaked, and ran back. Another rustle came from the bushes. Lisanna just continued walking, determined not to be frightened by every little thing. Then she saw the shadows of the trees elongate, and her back grew warm. She turned around and saw a boy with pink hair fall from the sky, hands on fire.
(Natsu's POV)
Utilizing the power from his feet, he jetted forth, careful not to set anything on fire, but it was a challenge. Often he had to stop to put out a flame here or there, and it slowed him down. But overall, he made much progress. It was only sunset, and he could smell that woman nearby. Aiming for the nearest tree, he landed with a thump on his feet, and lay flat on the branch. His heart was thumping in his ears, body tense, ready to move, just waiting for his rematch. But this time, the results wouldn't be the same.
There she was, from what Natsu could tell. All black and glittery silver same as the last time. There was a rustle, and all the pent up energy Natsu was storing nearly made him jump out of his tree. But it was just a field mouse. The she-devil was just as surprised, but she bent down to pet and talk to it… Hmm… To talk to a mouse… Being a devil must be lonely… But never mind about that. She was distracted. So Natsu acted. Silent as he possibly could, he whispered
"Fire Dragons Fist" And jumped. Wind whistling in his ears, he raised his fists, and screamed in triumph, the devil girl looking up and— Wait! It wasn't the devil-girl! Even though they smelled and looked the same, they weren't the same person. He put out his flame and tried to warn the girl and get out of the way, but he was in the air. There was no way to dodge, and even if he yelled there wasn't any time for her to—
Wham
Suddenly Natsu could feel his body change direction and he blasted back to Earth. He felt heavy, but it still wasn't as bad as when Igneel sat on him and told him to do a push up. Groaning and swearing, Natsu strained his muscles, flexed, and managed to shove the weight off of him. Then he got a clear view of his assailant. It was that spiky haired guy.
"Onii-chan!" The girl cried. She didn't immediately attack with anger, instead looking to her brother with worry, which further enforced the feeling Natsu had the wrong girl.
"I'm fine!" He called back. "Find Mirajane! Go!" The girl hesitated, but did as she was told, running off in the opposite direction. The fire mage tried to offer an apology, but before he could, the boy's stone arm smashed the tree beside him, and the shrapnel forced Natsu to back off.
"You. You will pay for trying to harm my family"
(Elfman's POV)
Tsuyoi. Strong. Much stronger than last time. How had he become so much better in such a short time? Elfman grunted and hopped back to avoid another flaming punch. But that wasn't to say he hadn't been training for this moment too. In order to protect Mirajane and Lisanna, he had been secretly working out, running, lifting, and sparing with his elder sister from time to time. Even with experience was on his side, while he was admittedly a little stronger; the kid's style of fighting was still too earnestly simple.
"Fire Dragons Wings!" Trails of fire were left behind his swinging arms, which were a pain, because even if dodged, the heat was still uncomfortable, adding them all up, Elfman's clothes were starting to smoke. Elfman twisted down, stabbed the dirt, and flung a handful of dirt at the boy's eyes. Natsu's eyes widened and he bent his back as if he were doing limbo, avoiding the attack. His relief was cut short, when Elfman was suddenly sailing down at Natsu, stone arm aimed at his head.
"Fire Dragons Roar!" The column of fire pushed Elfman off course, and taking advantage of this, Natsu rolled to the side, ready to attack again. Elfman anticipated the counter, and struck the ground with this arm when he landed. Cracks, rumbling, and flying debris unbalanced Natsu. This time, Elfman wasted no time with jumping in the air, he had already been proved to that the boy could move fast. Instead he opted for the less powerful, but swifter move. Knocking him out with a punch while he restrained him.
But Natsu wasn't making it any easier for him, squirming and struggling away, annoying Elfman with not-so-harmless fire attacks. Elfman grabbed Natsu's feet but the boy just yelled
"Fire Dragons Flame Elbow!" span on the palms of his hand like a top, and Elfman was forced to let go before his own barf was splattered onto his face. Elfman groaned. This boy was proving to be much more a nuisance than expected. Great. If he didn't finish before Mirajane got here, she would be—
A large log impacted with Natsu's face, and blood spurted.
"Whoops. Did I hit him too hard?" Elfman tried to look up, but his lunch was almost lost from the effort.
"Nee-san… I…" Trying to offer some excuse before the usual abusive insults, but surprisingly, she just shook her head.
"It's fine. I could barely take care of him even after he fought with you last time remember? Whenever you feel better, feel free o help me kick his ass" Elfman nodded, from shock or in an effort not to throw up, he didn't know.
"ITEH! That hurt a lot you damn monster!" Mirajane put a hand to her mouth and laughed.
"Monster? Oh please, I'm not that good! Compliment me more!" Natsu bared his teeth and growled.
"I'll beat the crap out of you!" Shrugging, the eldest of the Strauss siblings smiled evilly.
"I'd like to see you try"
"Fire Dragons Roar!"
"Satan Soul!"
Mirajane shot to the magenta sky, perfectly content as lord of the sky, but Natsu blood was boiling, so even though he knew the risks, he gave a leap, and engaged in combat in the devil's territory.
I can't promise that the other stories will have a shorter wait time, but I can promise to work on it when time allows me to do so. I need to work on my promise keeping, but Lisanna plays an important part to this series. Not telling.
-Justin, Lover of anime, enemy of haters, and family to all my otaku brothers and sisters. Welcome to my world! XD