Titania and The Hunter

Chapters 30: Drums of War

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As if it wasn't already a certain fact, Erza keeps her status of Badass firm and strong.

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"Ahhhhhhhh~. Smell that great Magnolia air~."

Naruto never could explain it, but something about coming back to this place after a hard mission or long trip just relaxed him. The way the sun lightly shined down on the town making it warm but not too hot. The fresh scent of water coming from the aquifer, foods and merchandise from the streets, and the sounds of people going about their day was just relaxing.

He loved this town!

Now that he was back from his job, he was gonna take a break. Enjoy some downtime. Hang around the guild. Eat some of Mira's food. Talk with his friends. Play with Koyuki. Maybe he and Erza could go up to her room in Fairy Hills and have some alone time. He was feeling energetic.

Of course, he probably wasn't gonna be able to hide what he did over the last job. He still had bandages all over his body as proof. He would have to tell Jiji about it. And Erza too.

...

Shit. They were gonna be so pissed at him.

As Naruto was deep in thought, he heard people mumble while sparing him glances. He blinked and stopped while listening to the whispers around him.

"That's one of the Fairy Tail Mages, right?"

"That's Naruto-San."

"It's so unfortunate what happened to their guild."

"Do you think he knows?"

Naruto's attention perked with their rumors and a pit started to grow in his stomach. He started to pick up speed and ran around the last few corners before arriving in front of his guild.

Or what was left of it.

Several large, stainless metal pillars were skewered into the building like it was a crappy pin cushion. The once old but beautiful structure was now broken and disgraced by the injustice that had been done upon it.

Naruto's eyes were wide and frozen before they slowly started to narrow. He gripped his fist until his knuckles went white and he growled, "Who the hell did this?"

########Hunter########

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN WE AREN'T GONNA DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?!"

Everybody flinched when Natsu's booming voice resonated through the 1st basement floor. Although they weren't voicing their displeasure as loudly as the Dragon Slayer, they agreed with him 100%. They knew who had disgraced their guild and has a chance to make them pay.

Makarov dug one finger into his ear, "Okay Natsu, first, you need to lower the damn volume. The basement has really good acoustics so you're basically ripping through our ear drums."

"SCREW THE VOLUME!" Natsu yelled again angrily while pointing up the stairs they just descended, "They wrecked our guild! We know the guys who did this, right?! Let's go kick their asses!"

There were murmurs and grunts of agreement all around them.

Erza was consolidating an upset Koyuki before looking at their master with conflict in her eyes, "I know we aren't trying to instigate inner guild fighting Master, but we can't let something like this go so easily."

"That's right!"

"They wrecked our home!"

"Those bastards!"

Gray sat down at one of the tables in the basement and scowled, "Those stupid Phantom assholes have always been bashing heads! If they wanna fight I say we kick their asses and make them pay!"

There was a resounding roar of agreement between the members as they were ready for battle at any moment.

"Hey!" Makarov clapped his hands and got their attention. He patted his knees, "We aren't gonna fight these guys just because of something like this. Inner guild fighting is prohibited by the Magic Council and fighting would threaten both guilds with being disbanded. I'm not risking a chance like that over some petty vandalism."

"Petty!" Elfman argued, "Master they nearly leveled the whole guild hall!"

"Ah, this baby's had cracks and breaks in her for dozens of years! Get some planks, some concrete with a little elbow grease and she'll be good as new!"

"Master-"

"It's final." Makarov spoke firmly while looking at the members of his guild, "You are not to engage the Phantom Lord guild in any fighting. Is that clear?"

The members of the guild all looked between each other and grumbled.

"Is. That. Clear?"

"Yes sir." They all nodded their heads, some still showing great displeasure at leaving this act unpunished but still following their master's order.

Suddenly, the sounds of creaking wood and stomping feet reverberated over their heads. It started getting louder and louder as it moved towards the door to the basement. The Mages all readied themselves for the worse and prepared for battle.

Naruto came sprinting down the stairs with a frantic look, "What the hell happened to our guild?! Did you idiots throw a party with monsters or something?!"

They all sighed in relief and relaxed when they realized it was just Naruto.

Erza came to his side, relieved that he was still okay, "Naruto! Thank god you're all right! We didn't know what happened to you!"

Koyuki hugged her big brother tightly, "Onii-chan!"

Naruto was a bit surprised by their worried behavior and tried to calm them down, "Y-yeah, don't worry, I'm fine. But what happened to the guild? Why are there metal spikes sticking out of it?"

"It was Phantom." Macao said from over at a different table, "They attacked in the middle of the night when no one was around."

Naruto snarled his teeth. There was always an animosity between their two guilds but they never played on it because it was illegal for guilds to fight each other. And yet now those bastards were destroying their guild hall.

Naruto took a deep breath, "What are we going to do about this?"

"Nothing." Makarov retorted immediately. Naruto looked like he wanted to say something but the short man spoke first, "We aren't waging war. It's just a building we can fix. It's not worth the trouble of putting a bullseye on our backs for the Council to aim at. If any of you have any more complaints, shove 'em down your throats and keep 'em there."

Makarov swiftly ended all arguments that the whiskered man and the rest of the guild had to give. Naruto grumbled and sat in a chair, "This is bullshit."

Natsu frowned, "Totally."

"Like I said, keep your complaints to yourself. Now on to another matter..." Makarov firmly pointed at Naruto and yelled, "Where the hell were you when we were calling you several days ago?!"

Most of the guild looked at the bandaged blond as he sat up at all the attention. He tilted his head, "What?"

"We tried to communicate with you to try and have you go on a rescue mission." Mira said from besides Makarov, "But every time we contacted you we couldn't reach you."

Naruto blinked, "You guys didn't contact me."

"Yes we did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes we did!"

"Hey if you guys tried to contact me..." Naruto held out his hand and his Communication Lacrima appeared from his Requip, "Then I would've gotten a message that said...holy shit, you did. Thirteen times. Huh." Naruto looked back up sheepishly before grinning and scratching his cheek, "My bad."

Some of them just hung their heads and groaned at the blond's stupidity.

"Idiot."

Naruto laughed a little before looking at the master seriously, "But what happened? Why did you need to contact me?"

Makarov crossed his arms, "We needed you to take on a capture and return job for the guild. One of utmost importance."

Naruto sat up, "What was it?"

Loke pointed at the people sitting besides Naruto, "Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray all took an S-Class request from the board and ran off."

Naruto blinked. He looked over to see Lucy, Gray, Natsu and Happy all avoiding their gaze in shame. Naruto turned to look back forward and was just silent.

A corner of his mouth turned upwards...

And then the other side...

Then he started stifling a laugh so arduously that tears started appearing in the sides of his eyes.

"Pfft...pfft...pfffff-ahahahaha. Hahahahahahahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Naruto lost all control and started cackling like a demon. He coughed and covered his aching ribs and lungs but still couldn't stop laughing, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-ah, ow! Oh, it hurts to laugh! But-ahaha!"

Natsu slammed his hands on the table, "IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!"

"OH YES IT IS!" Naruto stood and yelled back. He looked at his hands, "Finally! Years now! Years! Years I've been the only idiot who was ever stupid enough to steal an S-Class request! And now, four idiots do the exact same thing at once! It's like a dream-fucking-come true!"

Lucy cowered in fear, "H-he's joking right?"

Gray shook his head, "Nope. Not in the least."

Naruto was literally bouncing on his feet like an eager child, "Oh! Oh! Please tell me the punishment hasn't happened yet! Please tell me I get to watch it! Oh, I need to get a camera! I'm not losing this chance!"

Everyone actually leaned back a bit to give room to the surprisingly eager mood of the blond. Makarov shook his head, "We aren't punishing them yet."

You could literally hear the sound of Naruto's soul cracking from dissapointment.

Makarov drank from his mug, "We need to sort out this little dispute with Phantom first. That takes precedent over the punishment. If I still feel like it afterwards then we'll do it but right now we need to concentrate on the matter at hand."

Naruto blinked for a moment before pointing at Natsu and the others, "I'll give them the punishment. Please. Let me have this."

Makarov just gently chopped his head, "Nope."

Naruto was frozen in place after being denied his dream. Mira walked up to his side and patted his head, "There there."

While Naruto slumped, Mira looked over her friend and noticed the bandages that covered his body. Mira asked, "Naruto, why are you injured? Did something happen?"

Naruto stood back up ridged, "Oh, um-"

Makarov stood up, "Yeah, what exactly could you possibly have been doing to get so beat up? And why the hell couldn't you come when we called?"

Naruto blinked and looked around at the condition everyone else was in, worried and preoccupied with the situation at hand. He saw Erza and the others look at him for an answer before he scratched the back of his head, "Actually Jiji...can I talk to you upstairs? Alone."

Makarov raised an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders and jumping off the counter, "Whatever kid, your call."

Makarov started jumping up the stairs as Naruto followed shortly after. He felt someone grab his arm and looked back to see Erza staring at him with concern, "Naruto, what happened? What do you need to tell Master?"

Naruto smiled and kissed her on the forehead before smiling, "I'll tell you later, I promise. But I just feel like Jiji should hear this first." He took Erza's hand off his arm before climbing up the stairs and out of sight.

The others watched Naruto leave before Gray turned around and jerked his head over, "What do you think he wants to tell Jii-San?"

Lucy looked timid, "Do you think he's okay?"

"Ah, he's fine!" Natsu waved off their concern with an annoyed glare, "Naruto's a tough bastard so don't worry about him. We should be trying to convince Jii-chan to help fight against those Phantom assholes!"

Mira reprimanded the Dragon Slayer, "No Natsu. I know you're upset, we all are. But Master is just as mad about it as the rest of us-"

"Really?!" Natsu yelled as he pointed upstairs, "Because he didn't look upset! Not at all! It looks like he doesn't even care!"

"Natsu!" Erza yelled at the pink-haired man. She faced him, "This isn't about us yelling and shouting to try and get retribution! Master knows that if we take action, there will be consequences! Ones we won't be able to walk away from! It might seem painful right now but don't be goaded into playing this game with that guild. Trust Master. Are we clear?"

Natsu exhaled heavily and grumbled.

"Natsu..."

Natsu closed his eyes, "Yeah. We're clear."

Natsu scowled and walked away as Erza sat at the table tiredly. Gray nodded his head, "I still think he's right. We should teach those guys a lesson."

"I don't like this any better than you." Erza said, "But there are serious consequences to fighting with other guilds like this. The reason we have rules against actions like this is so the terrible battles and fights guilds had together over a hundred years ago don't happen again. When guilds fight, there is nothing but destruction and pain as the result."

Lucy nodded, "No, she's right. I remember reading about the early days of when guilds were setting up everywhere. They were always fighting each other for territory. For sponsorship. To show that they were the strongest to trust in. And it was...just horrible."

"Master wants to make sure we don't go too far with this and start a war." Mira lowered her head, "He's just as concerned about this guild as much as us."

"Lisanna!"

They looked back to see Natsu and Happy standing there while Lisanna walked away. Happy looked up at his best friend in confusion as Natsu scratched the back of his head.

Gray sighed and shook his head, "Guess this is the part that sucks the most. The fallout."

"YOU DID WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!"

The entire basement shook and rumbled as Makarov's booming voice resounded through the structure. Everyone covered their ears as his baritone pounded through their ears. They heard a lot of smashing and crashing before it all went silent again.

...

"What the hell did that idiot do this time?"

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"Geez, that got serious really fast." Lucy stated to herself as she walked along the bank of the aquifer that ran through their town.

Lucy remembered reading the stories about Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord having a strong rivalry. For years now there had been a dispute about which guild was the best of the best.

Phantom Lord was the bigger guild, there was no doubt there. It had dozens of sub-guilds covering the country with hundreds of members. It was the older of the two guilds as well, being one of the most famous guilds for many generations now. And for a long time when you were asked which guild you thought was the best in the country, the answer would probably have been Phantom Lord.

And then came Fairy Tail.

A newer guild, causing ruckus and mayhem everywhere they went. But the people in the guild were goodnatured and righteous, helping everyone that asked them for assistance no matter the danger. Their Mages were strong and kind, and they were the guild that seemed the most like a family. And with these positives, it became more and more famous to rising and aspiring Mages.

And then, there was the news that the guild's strongest members conquered Damnation, the Independent guild that had terrorized people everywhere for decades.

People were so frightened of Damnation's name and reputation that they never dare challenge one of its brutal members. Yet this guild conquered and defeated those monsters, bringing the once horrific guild into a downhill fall and causing the remaining members to run off into hiding.

People around the nation cheered for Fairy Tail and sang them praises. In an instant, Fairy Tail had skyrocketed to the top position and became the most famous guild in Fiore.

Which meant that Phantom Lord probably wasn't happy their reputation was being compared to the newer guild's achievement.

Lucy stepped off the ledge and walked along the sidewalk, "Man, and I almost joined Phantom Lord too. When you start off wanting to join a guild, your thoughts instantly go to either Fairy Tail or Phantom Lord. But the way everyone was talking about them, they must not be as great as I thought." Lucy thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and smiling, "Oh well, I'm in Fairy Tail now anyway. And I can't think of anywhere else I'd like to be than there with all my friends."

Lucy unlocked the door to her apartment and opened it...

To reveal all her friends.

Gray bounced on the bed with a pleasant smile, "Wow Naruto, you were right, this thing is super soft."

Koyuki pouted and waved her arms around, "Gray-niichan that's no fair, I wanna sit on the bed too!"

"Well stop complaining and get up here kid." Gray reached down and helped the little girl onto the bed before he patted her head, "Better?"

"Yep!"

Erza sipped from her tea cup and smiled, "Lucy has very good tastes in tea. This is delicious."

Naruto walked out of the kitchen with a sandwich, "Yeah but she needs to buy some more food. There's only enough food in there to feed one person. What was she thinking?"

"Lucy's not very smart." Happy informed them while he scratched his claws against the fresh carpet, "She can never plan ahead for anything. That's why we're so worried about her."

Natsu was just lying on the floor with a scowl on his face.

They all looked up to see Lucy standing in the doorway with eyes as big as plates.

Happy waved, "Hiya Lucy!"

Gray nodded, "Yo."

Koyuki cheered, "You're home!"

Erza bowed her head, "We are very grateful for your hospitality."

Naruto waved and ate the sandwich, "You need to buy more ham."

"WHY ARE YOU ALL IN MY HOUSE?!" Lucy yelled angrily while pointing at all the intruders.

Erza answered, "The Master wants to make sure we aren't attacked by ourselves so he ordered us to stick together. We're a rather close group so we decided to stay together until this is all over."

Lucy's eye twitched, "But why are you in my house?"

"You're the newest member so we wanted to protect you. We snuck in through the window to prepare for everything."

Lucy rubbed the bridge of her nose, "You know, some people call that breaking and entering."

Erza had a twinkle in her eye, "We call it camaraderie!"

Lucy opened her mouth to comment but noticed in the corner of her eye that everyone was just shaking their heads. She promptly shut her mouth and reluctantly agreed with letting them stay with her.

########Hunter########

Lucy walked out the bathroom after her shower and was drying her hair. She let out a content sigh before looking at her friends, "So is this the first time Phantom has ever attacked us, or is this a recurring thing?"

Erza was sitting on the edge of her bed while Naruto sat further in, Koyuki on his lap as he dried her chestnut hair. The red-head shook her head, "We've butted heads before but nothing on this scale."

Naruto grumbled, "Yeah. It's usually just between which of us deserves to take a job."

Natsu spat out, "Or how they're a guild that can get anything done better."

Gray continued, "Or how they've got seniority over us." Gray sat up in her desk and waved the pieces of paper in his hand, "Hey, are you writing a story with Levy or something?"

Lucy immediately snatched the papers back from him and pushed him out of her seat, "Ow! What the hell?!"

"Don't read this! It's private!" She opened a drawer and threw the papers inside before locking it shut. She turned around and everyone was staring at her questioningly. She blushed and fixed her hair, "Yeah, so, Phantom. Can we do something about them?"

"We shouldn't." Erza crossed her legs and shook her head, "The argument can go on for as long as we want but the truth is our guilds are rivals. We're evenly matched in power."

Natsu scoffed, "They wish."

"It's the truth Natsu, no matter how much you say otherwise." Erza narrowed her eyes, "If we have quality in our members, then Phantom definitely has quantity. Their master holds the same rank as ours does, One of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Lucy eyes widened, "Wizard Saints?!"

"Yep." Naruto nodded his head, "The top tier of Mages in Fiore chosen by the Magic Council. Jiji's one of them, just like Master Jose of Phantom."

"And Siegrain of the Magic Council." Erza said with narrowed eyes.

"Plus Phantom's got its own best Mages to worry about." Gray said while sitting up on the floor, "The Elemental Four. Four strong wizards that are basically the S-Class of their guilds."

"W-woah." Lucy spoke nervously, "That's sounds bad."

"Yeah, but that's not the worst part!" Happy flew up in front of her and started waving his paws, "Besides the Elemental Four, they also have a super powerful Mage as their ace! A Dragon Slayer!"

"What?!" Lucy yelled before looking down at the pink-haired Mage lying on her floor with a scowl.

Natsu glared at the ceiling, "'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox. The Iron Dragon Slayer."

Lucy was completely overwhelmed by this information. She sat back in her chair and looked at all of them in surprise, "There are other Dragon Slayers?"

"Of course." Erza nodded, "Even if it is a rare form of magic, there is always a possibility of others practicing the same magic. Although 'Black Steel' is the only other Dragon Slayer we know about."

"Really?" Naruto raised an eyebrow before tilting his head, "Because I've met-like-two others besides Natsu."

Everyone else in the room looked at the whiskered blond in surprise. Nastu sat back up with wide eyes, "What?!"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded his head, "I've met two more Dragon Slayers, they were just kids but they definitely used the same kind of magic."

Natsu jumped over the table and grabbed Naruto's shoulders, frightening Koyuki as she clambered over to Erza's side, "Do they know where Igneel went?! Can I ask them?!"

Naruto head flew back and forth before he grabbed his friend's hands, "Natsu! Calm down! I tried asking them that already!"

Natsu looked hopeful, "And?"

Naruto gave his friend an apologetic look and shook his head. Natsu let go of Naruto and hung his head, "Dammit."

Happy came flying over to Natsu's side and patted his friend's head, "It's okay Natsu. We'll find him one day."

Gray looked over at Naruto, "You met more people like Charcoal Brain? That's crazy."

"You wanna know what the craziest part about it was?" Naruto looked at all of them, "They both had cats!"

Everyone in the room just blinked in silence before looking towards Happy. Lucy asked, "Like, normal cats or-"

"Like Happy cats!" Naruto interrupted, "Talking. Walking. Annoying as hell! Both of 'em! One of them could fly!"

"That...definitely sounds like Happy."

"That's amazing."

"Happy!" Natsu looked at the cat, "Why didn't you tell me about this?!"

"I had no idea!"

Gray sighed, "The world is bigger and stupider than we can ever imagine."

Natsu groaned and rubbed his head, "Ahhhhh! This day sucks more and more! Our guild gets attacked! Lisanna's mad at me! And Lucy doesn't have enough food!"

"I wasn't buying for a group!"

Natsu fell back on his ass, "My head hurts."

Erza and Naruto looked at each other. Naruto looked down at the hot-headed Mage, "Natsu, have you said anything to Lisanna yet?"

Natsu looked at him in confusion, "What?"

"I mean have you gotten a chance to talk to her since you got back?"

"No." Natsu crossed his arms with a miffed expression, "I tried talking with her earlier but she just walked off all pissed and mad. Don't know why."

Erza gave Naruto a knowing look and he nodded. He looked at his friend, "Natsu, you should apologize to Lisanna."

Natsu blinked, "What? Why?"

"Because she was worried about you running off like an idiot and taking that request. That's what happens when you do something dangerous."

Natsu looked off for a moment, "But I came back alive. I'm fine. Why is she worried?"

"Natsu..." Erza spoke in a calm tone while looking at her old friend, "How she feels right now...is the same as you felt when she went with Mira and Elfman on that S-Class job."

Natsu's eyes widened in realization as he looked down in shame. Happy came flying over and hovered by his head, "Natsu?"

"Yeah...okay." He turned around with a smile and motioned for Happy to follow, "C'mon buddy, let's go see Lisanna before she gets more angry at us."

"Aye sir!" Happy cheered with a smile while he followed behind the Dragon Slayer. They charged out the door and left the others behind in Lucy's house.

Gray shook his head, "1000 Jewels he screws thing up even more." He felt a soft kick in his shoulder from Lucy as she glared at him and shook her head.

Lucy looked up at the couple sitting on her bed, "How did you guys know that was why LIsanna was mad at him?"

Erza looked at Naruto expectantly and he shrank back a little. He looked away from their gaze, "I kinda had to deal with the same thing when I stole an S-Class request a few years back."

Lucy eyes widened, "You did what?!"

Gray chuckled, "Oh man that was funny. You got yelled at for days, and your punishment! Man, I thought I peed my pants when you came back."

Naruto smirked, "Keep laughing asshole, you guys are gonna have to do it too soon enough."

Gray's laughter and smile died completely as horror plastered itself over his face. Lucy was scared at the sight of the Maker Mage losing his happy expression and cowered, "Seriosuly, what's going to happen? Can someone please tell me already!"

"There's no fun in that."

While Lucy shook in fright and the depressed look on Gray's face contiuned, Naruto and Koyuki just laughed at their misfortune, the little Senju just following the example her older brother was setting for her.

While they laughed, Erza looked at her boyfriend, "Naruto?"

Naruto wiped a tear from his eye and answered, "Yeah Erza?"

"What did you tell Master earlier that made him so angry?"

This time it was Naruto's turn to lose his smile, but unlike Gray his smile slowly fell into a straight line. Both Gray and Lucy were brought out of their stupors as they looked at the whiskered blond, also wondering what he had said earlier that made Makarov yell so loudly.

Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I wanted to tell you in a more private situation but...I should be telling this to the others too." He looked between all of them, "I did something while I was working on my last request. Something bad."

They gave the S-Class Mage their full attention as Erza tried to assist him, "Naruto, you can tell us anything. We won't be mad at you."

Naruto shook his head and looked his lover in the eye, "Actually Erza, you will."

########Hunter########

Lisanna walked out of the bathroom with her towel wrapped around her body. She sighed contently while walking back to her bedroom.

"Lisanna!" Elfman's voice carried over the stairs, "Nee-chan is almost done making dinner! It will be ready in five minutes!"

"Got it! I'll be down in a sec!"

Lisanna shut the door behind her before peeling the towel off her chest. She ran it over her unruly white hair and moaned lightly at the feeling of freshness encompassing her. After all the hectic worrying everyone did at the guild, it was relaxing to have this moment of peace to herself.

*Tap*Tap*Tap*

"Lisanna, you in there?"

Lisanna froze in horror and slowly turned her head towards her window. Floating outside was Natsu with Happy holding onto his back.

He was tapping the window with an irritated look, "C'mon Lisanna, open the window! You're in there, right?!"

Happy spoke up, "Maybe she's eating dinner with Mira and Elfman? We should go in."

Natsu grinned and ignited his fist, "All right, let's start knocking!"

Thank god this window was tinted and one-way.

"What are you doing you jerks?!" The window momentarily opened and a towel flew out to cover Natsu's and Happy's face. They flew around sporadically before grabbing the cloth and tossing it aside. The Dragon Slayer wiped his face before pulling the agar window open, "Lisanna?"

"What are you doing here Natsu?!" Lisanna popped up from behind her bed with a pink hue on her face, fixing the ends of a sky blue shirt she threw over herself in a hurry. She straightened her short shorts and walked out, "I was terrified seeing you floating outside my window like a ghost!"

Happy placed Natsu on the floor and floated up to her, "Sorry Lisanna. We didn't wanna freak out Mirajane or Eflman because we thought they'd be on edge after the stuff at the guild."

Lisanna sweats a little at their logic, "So you thought it'd be better to scare me?"

"Well Mira would probably scream and Elfman would charge at us for sneaking up on them like that."

Lisanna looked off to the side with a tired expression, "Well, you're not wrong."

"Hey Lisanna." The Strauss sibling looked over at Natsu as he spoke up through their banter, "You're mad at us, right?"

Lisanna blinked in surprise before giving a hesitant nod, "Y-yeah."

Happy raised his paw, "Erza and Naruto told us."

Natsu frowned, "Y'know, if you were angry at us, you should've told us. We never woulda figured it out unless they told us."

Lisanna pouted, "I think the point of being angry at someone is that they figure it out themselves."

Natsu felt a tick over his eye and argued, "How were we supposed to figure that out?!"

Lisanna threw her arms down indignantly, "Just think about the stupid stuff you did recently that'd make a person mad!"

Natsu threw his arms up, "I can't count that high stupid!"

Lisanna grew red in the face, "That's your own fault jerk!"

Happy shook his head and shrugged his little shoulders, "It's like watching little kids bicker."

"SHUT UP HAPPY(x2)!"

The sound of footsteps ran through the floor as someone came charging towards the door. It burst open to reveal Elfman with a smudge of grease on his face and wearing a pink apron. He asked frantically, "Lisanna, are you okay?! I thought I heard something!"

Lisanna was standing in the middle of her room with a nervous smile. She shook her head, "Nope, no one here Elf-niichan! You must've just been imagining it."

Elfman entered her room and did a quick sweep to see that there was nothing out of the usual. He looked back to his little sister to see her trying to look inconspicuous with a big smile, "Lisanna, are you sure you're all right?"

"Never better!" She spun her brother around and started pushing him out the door, "Now get out of here, Mira-Nee needs your help!"

"All right! All right! Stop pushing I'm going!" Elfman closed the door behind him and left his sister in her room.

Lisanna sighed in relief before kneeling down and lifting the blanket from over the bottom of her bed. She whispered, "He's gone. You can come out."

Happy popped out quickly and rolled on the floor with a moan. Natsu's hands shot out and struggled to pull him out of the cramped space. With a pained yelp, he finally pulled himself out with stretch marks over his face, "Why did we have to hide in the tiny space?"

"Sorry." Lisanna clapped her hands together and apologized with a bow, "Elf-niichan would have been really mad if he saw you here. I panicked."

Happy rubbed his aching ears, "I think I rubbed down my brain."

Lisanna patted his head, "Sorry Happy. I'm sorry."

Natsu sat up and crossed his legs while rubbing his head. He looked up to see Lisanna rub Happy's head gingerly while apologizing to the cat. He sighed, "Lisanna..."

The Strauss girl looked over to him as he looked to the side, "I'm sorry. Sorry we ran off to take the S-Class without telling anyone. I know it's dangerous but...I wanted to do it. Just to see if I could."

Lisanna looked at her friend as he admitted his mistake. She looked down to see Happy looking up at her with sorrowful eyes and nodding in agreement to what his friend just said. Lisanna's expression fell and she looked down at her knees, "I know you're strong Natsu, but you remember how dangerous those missions can get even when you're prepared. We were all so worried for you guys. And we didn't know why you left. Why did you go?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes before looking at his friend, "I wasn't there when Hashirama-jiichan got killed by those Damnation guys. I wasn't there when Erza and the others went to go fight them off. Mahiro left to go fight all those assholes around the world. Gildarts still hasn't come back from that job he went on. I still feel like a damn useless brat after all these years. I'm sick of it!"

Natsu glared down at his own hand, "I know it dangerous to do stuff like this, but it's way more painful to just sit around and let this shit happen! I wanted to prove that I could beat something stronger than me and protect what I care about! I'd...I'd rather put myself in danger than sit around and let everyone else get hurt while I just sit on my ass like a moron."

Happy looked up at his best friend with a concerned expression, "Natsu."

Lisanna leaned forward, "Natsu...you're strong. And you're only gonna get stronger if you keep trying." She reached out and grasped his hand, "But you need to take the time to gain that strength. So please don't jump at the chance to risk your life like that."

Natsu hesitantly looked up to her, "You think?"

She nodded, "Of course. You just shouldn't do anything stupid to do it."

Happy walked up and jumped into Lisanna's lap, "That doesn't sound like Natsu at all."

Natsu chuckled before nodding, "Okay. I'll try Lisanna."

Lisanna smiled and leaned in to hug her friend tightly. Natsu waited a moment before doing the same.

"Lisanna." The door swung open to reveal Mira and Elfman standing outside, "Elfman thought you might not be feeling well. Are you-"

...

They all blinked in shock as a stagnant silence descended on them.

Elfman charged forward, "NATSU YOU BASTARD!"

And the entire house started to shake as screams and explosions filled the halls.

########Hunter########

Levy was quietly kicking up dust as she walked down the street with Jet and Droy arguing behind her. Her thoughts continued to drift to how her guild, her home, was close to being nothing more than rubble and nails now.

"Hey Levy!"

The blue-haired girl was shocked out of her thoughts as Jet's yell reached her ears. She looked back, "What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

The hat wearing member of Shadow Gear snarled his teeth and started his argument again, "I said what do you think is gonna happen after the crap Phantom pulled doing this? They gotta pay for doing this in the first place, right? They should be punished! Suspended or something!"

Droy shook his head, "They won't suspend Phantom. They're one of the oldest guilds in Fiore. They're gonna avoid causing a major stir up and try to handle this matter quietly." The Plant Mage looked angered but kept it in control, "They'll probably just foot them the bill and make them pay for the repairs."

"That's not good enough!" Jet snarled angrily, "They need to pay for what they've done!"

"Y'know Jet, it wasn't just your guild!" Droy got up in his friend's face with equal ferocity, "Try to think about the rest of the guild before you start shooting off your mouth like that!"

"Guys!" Levy pushed them apart and got between them both. She looked up at her friends with a gloomy tint in her eyes, "We can't argue with each other! That's not gonna help us in any way! So stop!"

Jet and Droy looked down at their leader and back at each other before stepping away. Levy's arms fell to her sides as she looked down dejectedly, "The guild hall was our home. I'm not all right with this either. None of us are. But...but we have to grit our teeth and bear with it for the guild's sake." A small tear ran down her cheek and she whimpered, "We have to stick together. Because we're all we have in the end. We're family."

The men of Shadow Gear looked between each other as Levy wiped her eyes with a quick sob. They tried to console her, "Levy..."

"You're right. We shouldn't be fighting. Not now."

"Because we're Shadow Gear! The best team in Fairy Tail! And we stick together through and through!"

Levy looked up at her partners as they grinned and nodded confidently. Levy sniffed a little and smiled with slightly swollen eyes, "Right."

"We can handle anything thrown at us!" Jet gripped his fist.

"Yeah! Nothing's gonna bring us down!" Droy agreed with a big grin.

Levy looked at both of them and nodded eagerly while throwing her arms up, "We're Shadow Gear!"

Two metal poles shot down from besides her shoulders and slammed the two men directly in the chest. It imbedded them into the concrete and pushed them several meters through the rock.

Levy stood there, staring in horror as her shaggy hair fluttered in the sudden gust of wind. The metal poles pulled back and away from Jet and Droy long enough for them to gasp in pain.

Levy turned around and looked up towards where the attack had occurred from.

Standing on top of a building in the light of the moon was a man with wild long hair. The metal piercings over his body reflected the light from the moon behind him. His burning red eyes pierced the darkness and his sharp white teeth widened in a maniacal grin directed at her.

Levy nearly choked on her breath as she shook in fear.

And the figure jumped down towards her while laughing madly.

########Hunter########

*SMACK*

Lucy and Gray flinched as Erza's hand came swinging down and struck Naruto's face with a resounding clap. Koyuki was scared as Erza looked at him with a burning and untempered fury in her eyes.

Naruto wasn't surprised by the slap. In fact, he was expecting something like it to happen.

This was something you had to expect when you confessed that you had fought against one of the most notorious Dark Guilds in Fiore by yourself.

She gritted her teeth, "What were you thinking you idiot?! No, were you even thinking when you decided to attack a Dark Guild alone like an insufferable moron?!"

Naruto didn't change the direction he was silently staring at and nodded, "Yeah."

"What was it then?! Tell me what you were thinking while you went and nearly got yourself killed?!" Erza yelled.

"W-wow. Grimoire Heart." Lucy was clutching her chest as a cold pit started growing in her stomach. She gulped, "I-I mean I know they're bad...but I can't really imagine fighting them. That's..." She shook a little, "That's terrifying."

Gray leaned back on the ground in surprise at Naruto's story. He always knew the whiskered man was strong and always ready to help...but he fought off some of the primary members of an infamous Dark Guild all by himself. It's...overwhelming to believe something like that could be real.

"I had to think what was best for the town." Naruto spoke with an absence of heart in his speech, like he was reading off a line he thought of before. He contiuned, "If I didn't do something as soon as possible, then they would have had to pay for it with their lives. I had too-"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Erza interrupted him with a yell before he looked up at her in shock. The others looked at her in surprise as she just shook her head and glared at him, "I'm not talking about why you decided to fight them...I'm talking about why you decided to fight them alone? Why you couldn't even contact us-contact me-before you decided to fight them! I want to know why!"

Gray and Lucy blinked before looking towards Naruto patiently. Koyuki looked up to her big brother as his hair covered his eyes and he clasped his hands together. She watched him slowly grind his teeth...

"Because I hate them Erza."

Naruto looked down at the floor as emotion returned to his voice, fueled with anger and distaste for the Dark Guild on his mind. He clenched his hands, "I hate what they do. How they destroy homes and kill people indiscriminately for their reasons. How they've gotten away with their crimes for so many years because they've become so strong they're nearly untouchable now. I hate that I had a chance to stop them years ago but I was so damn powerless that I felt like a fucking child swiping at air. And I didn't call any of you to help...because I didn't want to get you hurt while facing them."

Naruto separated his hands and rested them on his knees as he gripped tightly, "They're planning something big. Something terrible. And if I get the chance to stop them, I won't hesitate to take it. This is something I need make up for. No matter what."

Lucy looked at Naruto in complete amazement and disbelief at his words and the weight they carried. Every time she had seen him before, he always carried himself like a goofy, happy-go-lucky guy that believed in himself and everyone in the guild. And now he was sitting there, talking about hatred and his willingness to face a powerful danger despite the hardships it might bring.

Gray looked at his friend and lowered his head, understanding the overwhelming power hatred had on a person.

Erza...completely understood what he was saying. Because she understood him better than anyone.

Naruto once told her about what he cared most in life about. Her. Koyuki. The guild and everyone in it. These were the things he loved and cherished, and he never wanted to lose them.

Then there were the things he hated. Dark Guilds. Damnation. People that hurt others for their own selfish reasons or just for the sake of entertainment. Those that abused their strengths for their own gains. And people that wanted to hurt the things he loved. He swore that he would fight them off and never back down as long as he was standing.

But there were special cases. Certain people. 3 people that Naruto despised so much that when he thought about them, he was almost like a different person.

There was Danzō. The ruthless and cold-hearted ninja that used him like a weapon to kill off his enemies. He made Naruto's early life a living hell and left a deep impression in Naruto's mind that he might never be able to move on from his past.

Then there was Alexander Sorrento. Founder of Damnation and 'Tyrant King' that plagued the world for half a century with pain and death. He had caused many people to die, some of whom were family or related to other Fairy Tail members in some way. But the most definite loss they had experienced together was when Hashirama Senju was killed by this monster. And Naruto had become so angry that he lost himself in a rage and killed the man, nearly losing his own life in the process.

And finally, there was Hades. The mysterious master of Grimoire Heart, one of the pillars of the Balam Alliance. From what Naruto said, he was an old man with extraordinary power and zero concern for the people he uses. Naruto had been beaten like a dog by this man at his weakest point, and even if Naruto did leave an injury on the man he wasn't satisfied with just that. Erza had to admit, she had a strong animosity for this man when Naruto told her that he had given the Zeref Cult the idea of creating the R-System they suffered in. But Naruto's hatred was far more focused and boiling over after losing so badly to the old man. He won't be satisfied until he got his vengeance and made the man suffer for what he's done.

Erza stared at him for a moment before lowering her eyes until they couldn't been seen by anyone else. She tensed her shoulders and spoke quietly yet clearly, "I know you want to stop them Naruto. I know how much that means to you. And I promised that I would always be by your side no matter what. But...when you endanger yourself like this...when you become so angered and ready to fall to that hatred..."

When she looked back up, her eyes conveyed so much pain and worry that he didn't know what to say. She nearly whispered, "I'm afraid you might go too far again."

Naruto looked up at her silently as he was surprised by what she said.

Erza let out one long breath before walking away and heading out the door, "I'll be back in a minute."

She closed the door and Lucy blinked in surprise. She stumbled out of her chair and headed to the door to follow, "W-wait Erza! Wait for me!"

When Lucy closed the door, only Gray, Naruto, and Koyuki were left in the apartment in silence.

Gray sighed and with some extra effort to not irritate his wounds, he stood up and took Lucy's chair for himself. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at his friend, "Considering who was yelling at you, I'd say you got off pretty easy."

"Really?" Naruto looked down at the floor, "Because I feel like I just got hit with a brick."

He felt a small hand start to smack his cheek lightly. He looked over to see Koyuki pouting at him in a gesture of anger and slap him a few more times, "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

Naruto let out a dry laugh as Koyuki's little hand stopped smacking his cheek, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Gray looked at Naruto's vacant expression while he stared down at the carpet. No doubt the red-head's words were bouncing around inside his head while he was sitting there. He didn't know what Naruto went through to make him so angry at that Dark Guild, but he did know what he was experiencing right now.

"Do you know what happened on the S-Class job we just took?"

Naruto looked over to Gray after his question pierced the silence. Naruto shook his head and Gray rested against the chair. He took a deep breath, "We went to Galuna Island to try and help the villagers there. They wanted us to destroy the moon. I don't know how the hell they thought we could do that but they wanted nothing more than to see the moon break up into pieces. But underneath the earth...hidden away from sight was something terrible."

Gray sat back a little, "A demon. One from the Book of Zeref. Deliora. The monster that was single-handedly responsible for slaughtering my family, killing my master, leaving me orphaned and homeless, and destroying the bond I had with a guy that was basically my brother. Well, not single-handedly, but he definitely got it started."

Gray didn't bring any attention to the surprised look on Naruto's face as he contiuned, "So there it was, the demon that ruined my life, frozen in ice my master sacrificed to make, and the person trying to free him from that cage was a fellow student and my brother-in-arms. I was so angry I was seeing red and ready to give my life to make sure that monster never escaped. All because I let my hate consume me. But Natsu stopped me before I went too far."

Gray looked down at his hands and contemplated what had happened to him over the last few days. He mused, "If you let your hate become the only thing you think about, you lose sight of everything around you. The life you have. The people you've bonded with. Everything you've made and built. It will all come crashing down if you give yourself to hate. And you aren't the only one to suffer if you come crashing down like that."

Gray finished making his point, and looked up to see Naruto looking down in deep thought. The whiskered Mage felt Koyuki crawl up besides him and wrap her little arms around his neck lovingly, trying to show that one of the people that loved him most was right by his side when he needed it. He wrapped his arms around the young Senju in return before closing his eyes, "I know what hate does to a person...but I just can't stop it sometimes."

"I'm not saying it's easy." Gray agreed, "But we can't let ourselves lose to it."

########Hunter########

Levy bounced off the concrete and gasped in pain as she settled on the rock. She struggled to lift herself up to her hands and knees while her vision constricted into a tunnel. The only sounds ringing through her ears right now were her breathing and heartbeat.

Her eyes wandered and she caught glimpses of Jet and Droy lying unconscious, beaten, and bloody along the sidewalk. Even after the initial surprise attack, they continued to lift themselves up and fight against their adversary. And they held out for as long as possible. She was proud of them. But...

This man was ruthless. Like a monster.

Levy saw the man speak, "Shit, is this seriously all you Fairy wimps can do? Fuck me, whoever thought you guys were equal to us musta been smokin' some serious shit. If this is all to expect I'm pretty sure I could beat everyone in your guild with my hands tied and blind in one eye."

Levy struggled to stand on her feet before flinching and clutching her aching ribs. She took rapid and uneven breathes before she started writing in the air. Her Solid Script activated as she wrote FIRE in the air. The letters immediately changed into the element and spread out towards her attacker until he was engulfed in them.

But when the flames disappeared, it revealed him standing there with shiny skin and unmarked by her flame attack. He smirked with a toothy grin and held his arm out until a long metal rod extended from his hand and struck her directly in the chest.

Levy felt a massive wave of agony spread through her body until she let out one last moan of pain and passed out on the street. Her eyes fluttered a few more times until they closed as she embraced unconsciousness.

The figure stood out of the shadows and over his defeated pray. He was a man with long, spiky black hair and metal piercings over his face and arms. He wore a black vest without sleeves to show off his muscular and scared arms to his foes. His teeth had unnaturally sharp canines and his eyes were red like blood.

And on his right shoulder was the guild tattoo of Phantom Lord. He was 'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox, Iron Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord.

Gajeel sighed disappointedly before groaning, "Well, I had my fun..." He walked over and stood over Levy's unconscious form, "Time to send the message."

He moved his foot under her stomach and flipped her over on her back. He bent down and spread her shirt open to reveal her bra and bare stomach. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small container of dark purple body paint.

He took a clump of it on his fingers and started spreading it over the unconscious girl's stomach. After this, he had to put them somewhere Fairy Tail will notice them and get the message. He grumbled, "Stupid fucking plan. What the hell was Master Jose thinking when he told me to do this? I can barely draw shit. If he wanted me to leave a message I could've wrecked the rest of their guild or-"

...

Gajeel stopped halfway making their insignia before something caught his attention. There was a strange yet familiar scent in the air. Something he was very accustomed to.

The same smell he noticed when he entered his room.

The smell of a dragon.

Gajeel's eyes opened as he ducked his head immediately to avoid a flaming hook kick aimed at his skull. He kept to the pavement and slid away from his attacker before looking back up. The person standing over the unconscious blue-haired girl had his entire fist covered in flames, with his eyes peeking out of his pink hair and glaring at the Phantom Mage.

Gajeel realized who it was and smirked, "Salamander. I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

"Natsu!" A shrill little voice echoed through the night as a blue cat with wings came swinging around the corner. He called, "Why did you run off? You just dashed and-Levy! Jet! Droy!" He looked at their fallen comrades in horror before looking at his friend, "Natsu, what happened?!"

He received no answer as Natsu just dashed forward at the black-haired man standing across from him. Gajeel smirked and started to bounce on his feet as Natsu swung a kick out at his head. Gajeel leaned back and caught his foot before spinning around and tossing him down the street.

Natsu gripped the concrete and slid along it in time to look back up and see Gajeel ready to smash his head in. He blocked Gajeel's heavy strike with his arms before trying to sweep his feet. But Gajeel jumped over his attack before attempting to knee his face only to be met with Natsu's palm. They pushed off each other and glared before jumping forward with their fists pulled back. Natsu brought his fist down into Gajeel's cheek while the Iron Dragon Slayer dug his fist into the Fairy Mage's gut.

They jumped further back and Natsu's fist burst into flame, "FIRE DRAGON'S-"

Gajeel's hand became covered in metal, "IRON DRAGON'S-"

"IRON FIST!"

"HARD FIST!"

Their fists impacted and a loud explosion was created as the two powerful attacks negated each other. Nastu came flying out one side and bounced off the concrete before grunting and finding his footing again.

The dust started clearing and Gajeel was standing very far away before he started running in the opposite direction, "I wanna keep this goin' Salamander, but I was told to leave the moment one of you losers came charging! See ya later!"

"Bastard!" Natsu started giving chase, "Come back here you-"

"Natsu!"

Natsu looked back to see Happy standing next to Levy and nearly crying. He sobbed, "We have to help them!"

Natsu growled, sending a look back to Gajeel's retreating form, before he shook his head and ran back to his friends' side. He gently lifted her back and shoulders, "Levy! Levy, wake up! Jet! Droy! Come on dammit!"

"Natsu?!"

He looked up to see Erza and Lucy come running down the corner still dressed in their PJs. They stopped, Lucy covering her mouth in horror as Erza looked at the scene in shock. She narrowed her eyes, "What happened?"

"We need to get them help first!" Natsu looked to Happy, "Happy, go get Lisanna! Tell Mira! Tell everyone!"

Happy flew away, "R-right!"

Lucy fell to Levy's side and started crying over her, "Levy-chan. Oh god no."

Erza continued to stand there in silence as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.

########Hunter########

It was morning. Lucy and Mira were sitting in the hospital room with Levy, Jet, and Droy. Lucy had not moved from Levy's side the entire night and bags started to form under her eyes from crying.

A teacup was lowered into her sight and she looked up to see Mira with a sad look on her face. She comforted her, "You need to drink something. You'll only be hurting yourself if you don't keep up your strength."

Lucy looked at the cup and took it before just resting it in her lap. The young blonde's shoulders started to shake before Mira bent over and wrapped her arms around her in a comforting hug.

The door to the room creaked open and got the girls' attention. Makarov stood in the doorway silently as he stared at the room. He slowly walked in before jumping up on the side of the bed. He looked down at Levy, then over at Jet and Droy, before back down at Levy. He spoke, "How are they doing?"

Mira pulled her arms away from Lucy before fixing her dress, barely able to keep tears from leaving her own eyes. She took a deep breath, "They...they were all beaten very badly. And they'll be unconscious for awhile. We think they were ambushed, from what Natsu told us. It could've been worse but..." Mira stopped speaking as her voice started to break and she tried to calm herself down.

Makarov didn't wait any longer before he jumped off the bed and walked out of the room. He silently walked through the hospital before emerging out of its doors.

Standing all around the hospital, swarming the street outside the building their friends were healing in, was everyone in Fairy Tail. They were all just standing patiently and looking towards Makarov as the door closed behind him.

He lowered his eyes and spoke loudly, "I was fine with them destroying our guild. It was just a building. Something that we could rebuild and fix. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't truly harm our guild just by wrecking a building. But this..."

His voice became fueled with an edge of anger, "They attack our family. They beat and ridicule them. Because of what? They want to fight? They want to prove they're still the strongest? Fine. We wanted to avoid this fight, but if they think it was a smart move to provoke us by hurting our friends, then they've got another thing coming. Phantom wants a war..."

Makarov's magic flared to its highest point and he roared, "LET'S TEACH THESE BASTARDS WHY FUCKING WITH FAIRY TAIL WAS THE WORST DECISION THEY COULD HAVE EVER MADE!"

The guild members roared.

There were no more thoughts about negotiations.

There was no mercy.

If Phantom wanted a war...

Then they just got one.

########Hunter########

Done

Usually, I'd use this after message to tell you what's on my mind about a story, or talk to you all about something.

But if any of you truly call yourselves nerds, there's really only one thing that should be running through your head.

~I had strings but now I'm free~

There are no strings on me.

Jesus, I didn't think you could make a lyric from Pinocchio sound so terrifying but MARVEL did it.

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