Author's note

Hello, my friends, I come bearing gifts.

As promised chapter 36 is here and it didn't take 4 months this time! Now be warned this chapter is the farthest thing from plot-relevant, though it does add a few new Story Mechanics and character interactions/relationships that will continue to be important throughout the story as it continues. So basically it's more of a storytelling/ putting people where they need to be/ comic relief chapter than anything else.

Sorry if that's not what you were hoping for, but at the end of the day, we are in the Loke arc where not much happens anyway. I did however enjoy writing a lot of this chapter interestingly enough, even though there isn't a ton of my character in it.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I left a little surprise at the end. Hopefully, it's the first of many.


The Greyhound Part 4: A Place to Lay His Head

Chapter 36.

"UAuugh" Was the first thing out of his mouth as he woke up. A not so subtle yawn, and stretching his one working arm. The other limb was still held in its sling and pulled tightly to his core.

After assessing himself the next thing in his morning routine was to take in his surroundings, and sitting up on his sleeping mat he started to scan.

Right in front of his little campsite, was the lake he'd grown accustomed to seeing at this point. The water reflected a soft blue, and small waves pushed up onto the short beach it touched.

Behind him, nothing but forest. Large oak trees were the only thing in sight, and there were no signs of human life save himself.

So concluding his surroundings to be secure he let out a deep sigh and managed to force his body to relax.

"Holy shit, that was stressful." He thought to himself all too happy to be out of his own head. Don't get him wrong, that was a conversation that needed to happen, but that didn't mean he enjoyed doing it.

And the whole thing was made even more stressful by the fact that Ur was practically able to read his mind, or at least had access to his memories. Honestly, it was just too much.

"Let's hope that talk keeps her off my case for a little while." He pleaded internally.

"Don't count on it."

He shot up straight and Re-Quipped his pistol so quickly Alzack would have been impressed, (Not that he actually knew who Alzack was.) and all but flailed uncontrollably as he went about looking through his surroundings a second time. Tossing blankets and knocking over gear in the process, he stumbled to his feet. But even then, even after circling multiple times, he couldn't find anything, even Talionis wasn't picking up the slightest trace of Ethernano.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"Huh is someone there, I didn't notice anyone?" the voice rang out again.

This only served to increase Kinzo's panic, as he still couldn't find them.

"Where the hell are you!?"

"What is this brat on about? There's no one here." came the stranger's call.

The statement under normal circumstances might have irritated the boy, but he was far too preoccupied by the fact that someone had managed to sneak up on his campsite without him knowing.

"Well clearly there is because you're talking back!"

"Wait. Can you… hear me right now?" the intruder questioned.

"Obviously dumbass." He answered in his own mind, deciding to stay quiet for now.

But a response still came

"WHO IN THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A DUMBASS, BRAT?!"

And it nearly blew his eardrums out.

"Argh!" He yelped in pain. But the more he focused on the discomfort that shout had caused the more he realized his ears were fine, and that it was his head that actually hurt.

What was happening?

"Ya didn't like that did ya, maybe next time think before you speak."

And then all the pieces fell together.

"Wait, Ur is that you?"

"Ya, who else would it be?"

"Oh don't start acting smart, you were just as surprised as me a second ago."

Well, this was quite the development.

"So what, you can talk outside of dreams now?" he asked

"Ya seems that way. Not sure what caused it though."

"And not only can you hear my voice."

"But my thoughts too?"

"Loud and clear kid. And not just that but your senses too, I'm basically seeing the world through your eyes right now."

"And I gotta say, wow enhanced senses are kinda kickass."

"Interesting." He voiced before starting to ponder the implications, and potential uses Ur could have in daily life and in combat.

"... Uh, hey kid. So you planning on putting the gun down and picking up camp at some point or?"

As she said it he realized she was right he was still holding up the revolver and his campsite was in disarray after he tore threw it.

"Haaaah" And so with a quick Re-quip, he summoned his holster setting the weapon aside. Intent on getting his stuff straight.

But as he started to reach for the tossed gear he couldn't help but feel his back starting to lock up.

"Araugh!" Oh shit, he managed to squeak out before the muscles running along his spine seized, and refused to let go.

"Ow ow ow"

"Pfffft."

"Shut the hell up Ur."

"Hey, it's not my fault you decided to sleep on the ground instead of a bed."

Forcing his back straight through the pain and obvious resistance He found that he really didn't have the energy to argue with her.

And for the first time since the old man had said it, he wished he'd taken Makarov's advice.


7:45 A.M.

That was roughly the time he arrived at his first stop of the day. A massive tree in the middle of the woods. Covered in moss with twisting roots and large branches spreading out in every direction. From a distance, it would have blended in well with the rest of the forest, but the closer he got the more easily he could make out stone steps and a stained wood door.

Yep, this was definitely it, Porlyusica's home. He'd already been here once this week where he'd begrudgingly told the old bat the recipe to his father's healing potion, well most of it anyway. In exchange, she bought the ingredients. They were very expensive all things considered.

He held on to the last ingredient needed to really make it all come together but the woman didn't need to know that. She'd probably figure out he was swindling her eventually, but that wasn't really his problem, not at the moment at least.

Truthfully he would prefer to not have to interact with the elder at all. She was more than a little off-putting. And not just the way that she seemed to hate being around other people, he could actually relate to that on a damn near-spiritual level, but more so, in the same way, Mystogen had made him uneasy.

Her magic circuitry was all backward just like his.

But regardless, standing here thinking about it wasn't gonna solve his problems.

So he knocked on the door. And a moment later a rather irritated woman with a bun of pink hair opened it.

"Oh, it's you." She let out in a tone that wasn't quite passive-aggressive but was close.

"Trust me I don't wanna be here any more than you do." Was his neutral reply.

The atmosphere had a slight tension to it and honestly, he was fine with it. He preferred being around people he couldn't quite trust or relax around far more than the overly friendly people at Fairy Tail anyway.

Maybe it was just more familiar to him that way, maybe he was just glad they were on the same page about it.

"Make it quick." She relented before moving to the side and letting him enter.

Her home was really just the inside of a hollowed-out tree. A single room with a high ceiling made up of a bed and a counter with medical supplies on it. Talk about minimalist living, he couldn't even tell where she cooked.

"Your potions are on the counter." She revealed more than a little impatiently. But even if she hadn't said that it wouldn't have taken long to find. There were only so many places to look after all.

And true to her word there they were, 6 bottles of gray liquid. He was quick to swipe them up Re-Quipping them into his storage space for later use. But for now, he needed to get out of here. After he mixed in the last ingredient it would take about a day for the potions to prime and be ready for use.

In the meantime, he would talk with Gray but first, he needed to get the hell out of this old hag's house. She had started to give him the stink eye.

"I'll be on my way then." He said, taking a step past her and reaching for the door.

"That's far enough." she halted him.

"What?" Okay, that was out of character, she wanted him to stay now?

"Do you take me for a fool?" She asked in a somewhat offended tone.

"I know the difference between an active potion and an inactive one."

"Well shit."

"Ha, how's it feel to get called out by an 'old hag'?"

"Not helping."

"What are you talking about?" He tried to play it off.

"Boy, our deal was you would give me the recipe, the full recipe, in exchange for buying all the ingredients to replace what you used on Fairy Tail. I don't know if you thought you were being clever by hiding the primer from me but if you don't correct your mistake I'll have no choice but to tell Makarov."

He bit the inside of his cheek. He expected to get outed eventually but not this quickly. And honestly, he was getting tired of hearing the same threat over and over again. Not to mention the ache in his back was only making the whole interaction worse.

"You people seriously need to find a way to get what you want without the old man's help. All I ever hear is Makarov this, Makarov that whenever anyone wants something from me."

"Well clearly it's proving to be an effective method, and perhaps I wouldn't have to resort to such things if you weren't being so underhanded."

He grit his teeth a bit but inevitably relented.

Walking back over to the counter he Re-quipped two items. The first a bottle of the inactive potion, the second a small gray stone. With his one good arm, the first thing he did was pop the potion's lid, and next, he took the rock in his hand before squeezing it down, crushing the item.

He was quick to drop the newly made dust straight down the bottle, tighten the cap again, and shake it.

Almost immediately the liquid turned from gray to a vibrant purple, a few seconds after that the reaction seemed to die down and the bottle was left appearing the same as it had originally.

"There, if you can't figure out what I just put in there then you don't even deserve to call yourself a healer." Having said that he was quick to leave, pushing past the old witch and through the door, before returning the potion to his storage space.

Seconds later he was already deep into the wood line. Ready to be far away from the woman who had apparently seen right threw his ruse.


"Silver stone from Stella, how interesting." The old healer mused. It did make sense though, all the other ingredients listed on the incomplete recipe list she'd been given were known for their use in medical items. The problem was there was nothing to bind it all together.

When she mixed everything in all she got initially was a mediocre medicine that would have struggled to close a few cuts. But, add in silver stone which was commonly used in smithing to increase the magic affinity of weapons, and that mediocre potion became the life-restoring elixir Fairy Tail had mentioned.

"Whoever made this must have been a genius. Why they decided to give such a thing to a brat like him I'll never understand."

Honestly what her old teammate had told her about the boy was hardly accurate.

"Heh, hardened assassin? Please, he's just an angry child."

How could Makarov not see that? He might try to act tough, but just from that one interaction where she'd bested him, she could tell how immature he could be. After all, his response to being called out for lying wasn't guilt, regret, or even to laugh. No, it was irritation, to throw a small fit, just like a child. The only difference being he was probably far more dangerous than a kid.

There was no way Makarov hadn't noticed that. Maybe he had, maybe that was why he was keeping the brat around? Who knows, either way, unless the old fool asked for her help, it wasn't her problem.


About 40 minutes later a still somewhat testy Kinzo found his way to the Temporary guildhall, and pushing past the tent flap started to search for his second target of the day. Interestingly enough this one actually called out to him first.

"You have some nerve showing up here so soon after the stunt you pulled, bastard."

He hadn't even made it three steps before a rather angry, and tired-looking Gray stomped up to him. Seriously though his eyes were bloodshot and he seemed to be constantly checking his surroundings even as he tried to maintain a glare pointed in his direction.

"What the hell happened?" He asked his surrogate brother "You look like shit."

Though he didn't really have any room to talk. Despite sleeping relatively well, he was still incredibly tired. It would seem that a few good nights of rest couldn't quite undo months of sleep deprivation. Add on to that the tension that still hadn't released in his back, plus his dominant arm being in a sling, and he was in just as rough a state.

"What happened? What happened!? You, you are what happened!" he yelled.

"You left me alone with HER! Do you have any idea what kind of hell I went through? I was trapped in that city for hours with her hunting me down the entire time. I barely managed to lose her long enough to hop on a train."

It took him a minute, but despite the lack of detail, Kinzo did piece together what and who his brother was talking about.

"Oh, that water mage who's been following you around? Did you manage to tell her to leave you alone?"

It took everything Gray had not to attack the rogue. His nonchalant attitude about something he had caused was really pissing him off.

But even through grit teeth, he managed to answer. "Yes, I did actually."

"... and?"

"She didn't take it well. When I told her to leave me alone she damn near lost it. Actually, scratch that, she did lose it."

"... well, don't stop now."


Yesterday

Gray had been running for what felt like hours at this point.

The day had started well enough. Traveling to Sakuramori town with Kinzo had been easy and he quite enjoyed the trip despite being forced to wait in the bar like a child while the assassin went to the back. And then being treated like even more of a child after his partner returned to find him dealing with a handful of degenerates.

Truly though the sarcastic comments, the jibes, even being belittled; to an extent, he could handle all that. But what he couldn't handle was abandonment, being left helpless and without support by the man he called a brother.

And that is exactly what he did when he

"I can't believe he left me alone with this crazy broad."

Left him alone with one Juvia Lockser.

"Gray-Sama wait, Juvia can't keep up!"

At hearing her voice Gray only increased his speed, ignoring the ache in his legs and the pain in his lungs as he weaved through the crowded streets of the city he still wasn't familiar with.

He'd looped around this area three or four times at this point trying to stay close enough to the train station that he could hop on it last minute and leave her there. But running through the same area was also what kept letting her find him.

He realized now that he couldn't keep running around out in the open. The next train to Magnolia leaves in 30 minutes, he would need to hide until then.

And the universe seemed to be on his side too because as soon as he turned down an empty side street he saw a sign for a set of public restrooms. That would be inconspicuous enough, and there wouldn't be anyone close enough to tell her where he went.

So busting a hard left he slammed into the men's door and all but threw himself inside.

Once he was there the first thing he did was catch his breath. "Hah hah hah" leaning over one of the sinks to take some of the stress off his legs. "Holy hah crap hah"

It took him a second but eventually, he'd manage to control his breath, slowly his heart rate fell. And once it did he started to take in his surroundings. It was a pretty standard public restroom. A few stalls, a couple urinals, and way more sinks than would ever be necessary.

It was hardly a glamorous hideout but looking toward the door he was confident it would keep him safe for now. That is until he realized something.

The door had no lock.

I mean it wasn't likely that she would find him anyway but if she did he needed a way to keep her out. So quickly he moved back to the entrance and decided out of necessity to destroy government property.

With a simple wave of his hand and a flash of magic, he froze the door to the frame. And once again let out a sigh of relief.

Not a moment too soon either since a second later her voice assaulted his ears.

"Gray-sama where'd you go?"

He recoiled at the sound, unable to stop himself from tumbling backward and landing hard against the ground.

"Ahh!"

His heart stopped, and his hands shot over his mouth.

He was a fool, falling was one thing but letting himself yell there may very well end up being the death of him.

Even so, all he could do was wait.

"..."

Wait for her

"..."

To find him?

"..."

"Huh, maybe I wasn't as loud as I thought."

Ya, that or the fact that you're in a public bathroom. I mean come on man would you walk into one of these if you could hear someone grunting from outside?

"Huh, that's actually a pretty good point."

Ya, it is… wait did you just hear me? But I'm the narrator.

As Gray finally came back from his fear-induced panic and managed to stop talking to the voices in his head.

His heart once again began to beat.

*Rattle-Rattle*

Until he heard the sound of someone turning the handle.

*Creek*

And trying to force the door open.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no."

He couldn't take it, couldn't handle it, couldn't stand to hear her

"Huh? Why won't it open?"

That wasn't her voice.

For what seemed like the 1000th time today Gray managed to relax again.

*Smash*

Until whoever was outside started slamming into the door.

"Jeez, what did someone wedge something against the door?" the man asked.

*Smash*

"Come on now."

Gray, despite being once again on edge decided not to act, for now, confident that the person would take a hint and realize that if he couldn't open the door then the city had probably closed it down for the day.

*Smash*

*Chink*

Until his ice started to crack a bit. And he realized that the author must have been out to get him from the start…

"Huh? Oh, I think I felt it move a bit." Came a happy cheer from the outside.

Gray was on his feet a moment later. Because he knew he needed to do something. Not only was this guy drawing way too much attention right now he was also about to break into his hiding spot.

"Alright almost there just a few mor-"

"It's under construction!" He yelled through the door.

"Huh!?"

Gray's shout had no doubt caught him off guard.

"What did you say?"

"Uhh? Um, a… a couple of… pipes busted. So the city has this place closed down until we fix them. But it's probably gonna be like an hour tell we're done though, so I would go somewhere else."

There he'd said it, or at least he'd said something. The question was would it work.

"Oh ok."

Oh, thank God. It seemed like things might work out after all.

"But why didn't you just say tha-"

"GRAY~SAMA."

"Ahh!" that was the only thing Gray managed to squeak out before his body locked up.

"No, no, no! Didn't she leave already, shouldn't she be gone by now?"

"Oh, Juvia knew it was you, in there!"

"Someone please get me out of here." he desperately pleaded.

I'm sorry little one, but we all have our part to play in this story.

*Bang Bang*

"Gray-Sama open up." Came the clang of vibrating metal. Something was striking the door far more harshly than that man had earlier. And speaking of the man.

"Hey lady, didn't you hear em? It's being worked on right now, plus you're a girl why would you even need to b-?"

"Are you trying to get between Juvia and her love!?"

"... Uh never mind."

Gray listened in on the short conversation in a slight daze, vaguely picking up on the sound of someone scurrying away before-

"Well now that the distraction is gone, Juvia can get back to what's important."

*BANG BANG*

"Open up darling!"

-part of the door actually broke away from the frame.

And at that moment he decided to put everything he had into reinforcing his bunker.

"You- you stay the hell away from me!" He screamed while coating not only the door but the entire wall in a solid layer of ice several inches thicker than what he'd placed previously.

"Just leave me alone!"

He heard a surprised squeak come from the outside world, and the successive tap of heels striking the ground, before a question found its way to his ears.

"Leave?" She asked, barely audible, through the ice.

"You… don't want Juvia?" Her voice sounded so meek.

"But why? Why when Juvia loves…"

He didn't quite catch the rest, but the genuine confusion and hurt in her soft voice actually made him pause. And the slightest trace of guilt slipped into his mind.

"No, stop it, she's crazy. Don't let her trip you up now!" He told himself, and not a moment later he was telling her.

"That's right I don't like it when you hang around me all the time. I'm telling you to stop following me, and give me some personal space!"

"..."

No response, no noise. Was it over, would she listen?

"Is it another woman?"

"What?"

"Did some homewrecker sink her teeth into you?"

"Is she joking? She can't actually think that right?"

"Some temptress is blackmailing you into staying away from your precious Juvia aren't they!?"

"She can't be serious!" Oh but she is.

"What no no that's not i-!"

"Don't worry darling. Juvia will fix this."

After that all he could do was listen, as the sound of her footsteps moved farther away.

Wait, was she leaving? To go deal with the imaginary 'other woman'?

Gray's spirit started to rise.

*Crash*

until he heard a door get kicked open through the wall.

"What the?" But that didn't make any sense. What other doors would even be around he-?

"The women's restroom!"

Faster than should have been possible he turned to the left, staring at the wall that separated the room he was in now from the one just across it. And he took a step back.

He felt trapped, like a caged animal. Even so, since there was no way out, that meant there was no way in either, which gave him a little comfort. He kept his guard up nonetheless.

But no matter how alert he was, no matter how much mental prep he did, there was simply no way to account for what was coming.

...

A slow minute had passed in relative silence, but as quickly as he noted the fact, his nightmare started. At that moment she began her siege.

It wasn't flashy, or grandiose, no it was far more subtle. Far more unnerving.

The faucet started to leak, and slowly from the spout water drained.

Honestly, he might have just ignored it altogether, but he noticed that the water was beginning to float into the air, and he remembered what kind of mage his opponent was.

His eyes locked onto the suspended liquid before the most horrendous sight greeted him.

Slowly water materialized skin. Skin, hair, lips, teeth.

"Who is she?"

Soon enough followed a nose, ears, eyes.

"Tell Juvia who she is."

It was her head. Her head was floating there.

"gRAy~SamA!"

Two seconds, that's as long as he lasted, before panic took him.

"Ahhhhhh!" he screeched, launching himself toward the wall.

Subconsciously forging a massive construct he cratered his way through the frozen barrier, dropping onto the street below before dashing off in a mad hysteria.

"Ahhagh Haaaaarah!" came his panicked screams as he charged full force toward the train station.

"Ah, no Gray-sama wait! Juvia can save you from her! Wait!"


"So I managed to hop on a train and made it back without her finding me."

The boy finished before slumping forward in a tired heap. Rocking the small table they'd moved to.

"Oh? You didn't tell me Gray had a girlfriend!"

"Huh, I thought you could see all my memories?"

"Not all of them, just the ones you view as important or memorable."

"Hmm? Interesting."

"Are you even listening to me?" came Gray's voice, pulling him from the private conversation.

"Huh? Oh, damn that's nuts… so did the city find out you were the one to bust up their bathroom?" He asked.

"... Really that's what you're worried about? I just told you about how the lunatic, who's been stalking me, attacked me. And that's what you're worried about!?"

"Oh calm down, she didn't attack you, she's just being clingy."

"Clingy? YOU CALL THAT CLINGY!?"

"I thought it was cute?"

"She's a love-struck teenager who has no idea how to vent her emotions, so ya I'm seeing this as her being clingy. I mean some similar stuff happened to me in Alvarrez too so it's not that uncommon.

"Though Dimaria was being possessed so maybe not the best comparison."

"No kidding."

"Besides you seemed to figure things out since you're fine now." He concluded, effectively brushing off the issue, and ignoring his teacher's sass at the same time.

Gray wasn't having it.

"Oh no, my story isn't over yet."


Man, it had been a long day, but finally Gray was home.

There had been no other sightings of Ms. Crazy today and he'd made sure to stick close to the guild just in case she tried something but all seemed to be well. At least for now.

He quickly opened the door to his little apartment. It was small, only a kitchen and bedroom mix with a bathroom to the side. Honestly the more he thought about it the more jealous he was of Lucy. I mean really how did she manage to find such a nice apartment for so cheap?

Regardless this place had been his home for the last five years and he was actually pretty attached to it at this point. His own little bubble that no one bothered him in. Partially because it was a little too small to have company over, but mostly because he hadn't told anyone that he lived here.

No one at the guild had really asked where he lived, and if by chance they did he was vague about it. So in the end this cramped little place was his safe haven.

Sadly that sense of security would be shattered tonight.

Stepping in and kicking off his boots, the boy let out a yawn. Yep, he was gonna sleep well tonight (not likely) but before he did he needed to eat somethi-.

*Sniff Sniff*

"Why do I smell food?"

Pushing his head around the short corner he saw it. A bowl on his kitchen counter with steam billowing off it.

Confused but not otherwise alarmed he made his way over. And once he was at the table he realized there were noodles in the bowl. Not just any kind though.

"Yakisoba?"

It was his favorite meal.

Glancing around the rest of the kitchen he noticed that there were a couple of things out of place. A pot and a couple of other cooking utensils had been washed and placed on the drying rack.

"Huh, so this stuff is homemade?"

It was a little off-putting but he figured someone from the guild had made it and left it for him, but who.

He briefly thought about Mira, he'd talked to the barmaid a bit today so she knew what kind of day he was having. But how did she know where he lived if this was her? And how did she get in? Not to mention how did she know he liked Yakisoba?

"Ah whatever" he finally stopped himself.

Before picking up the bowl, and the chopsticks sticking out of them.

He wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, plus this saved him the trouble of cooking so he could go to bed earlier.

With a swift motion, he took his first bite and noted just how good it tasted. "Dang Mira, you outdid yourself with thi- huh?"

His compliment halted, as did his eating when he noticed that there had been something underneath the bowl. A letter.

And so after stuffing a quick second bite in his mouth he started to read it.

To Juvia's dearest Gray-sama.

Juvia wants to apologize for earlier, she accused you of cheating on her with another woman even after you said you weren't and realizes that was a hurtful thing to say.

Juvia was still skeptical at first but after looking through your apartment and not finding any trace of another woman, Juvia realizes she was wrong. So to make it up to you Juvia prepared your favorite meal.

Don't worry Juvia will always love you and is always watching over you. Juvia will keep you safe from other women even if it takes a lifetime.

Rest easy, Love your dearest Juvia.

*Pugh! Cough Cough!*

The first thing he did was spit out the food he nearly choked on, as a mass of thoughts struck him.

"She was here! She was in my house!"

The second he got himself under control he did an immediate sweep through his home. Checking every nook and cranny to be certain he was alone. After the search came up empty he almost let himself relax, but then he remembered how she got to him earlier in the day.

At lightning speed, he ran, desperate to close off every water valve that connected to his apartment.

"Alright done." he thought while breathing a sigh of relief. But then yet another thought hit him.

"Wait if she knows where I live… she could be watching me!" He internally screamed as he looked toward his uncovered window.

Launching himself toward it he all but slammed into the wall taking a seat next to his window and cautiously glancing threw it out into the night looking for his tormentor.

Though if he was being honest he was doing a good job of tormenting himself with some of the questions he kept asking.

"How? How did she figure out where I live? How did she get in? Did she do something to the food? Wait, more than that, How did she know I-"


"How did she know I liked Yakisoba!? HOW DID SHE KNOW KINZO!?"

"He always did like it when he was younger."

"Ahh, jeez keep it down would you." The rogue countered, rubbing his ear.

"Grrrr take this seriously man, come on!"

"What are you so worked up about?" He asked in irritation.

"Oh no, I'm a 17-year-old boy being followed around by a beautiful 17-year-old girl who's just desperate to shower me with affection. She cooks, cleans up after herself, and leaves me love notes every time she's home. Honestly, it's just horrible, I don't think I can go on like this." He mocked in a whiny high pitched voice.

"Ya, that's you."

"Stop bullying your brother."

"Bite me."

"This isn't a joke man!" Gray tried to plead.

"Of course it is."

"Ahhhh, I don't know why I'm even trying to talk to you about this."

"Ya me either, but since you're here there is something I need to talk to you about."

That gave him pause, and despite the irritation he still felt toward his friend for effectively ignoring his problems, he decided to listen. Because whenever Kinzo wanted to talk, it was almost always serious.

"Alright, what's up?"

He didn't answer right away, instead reaching his hand down through his shirt collar and pulling out a necklace he didn't even realize the boy was wearing. It looked almost identical to the one Kinzo had made him when they were kids, the only difference being a thin layer of Ice that seemed to overlay the steel.

"I want you to wear this when you sleep tonight."

"..."

"..."

"... what?"

Kinzo only gestured to the piece of jewelry again, not bothering to repeat himself.

Gray was on his feet a moment later. "Do you have any idea how weird that is?" he asked while standing over his partner.

Said partner just shrugged.

"Will you at least tell me why?"

"No, it would be better for you to see it yourself. If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Oh whatever, just give it here." He said putting his hand out.

Kinzo's response was to stuff the chain back under his shirt. "No, I'll stop by your house tonight and you can put it on then. I'll crash there for the night, and we can talk again in the morning."

"... Uh, okay but, why not just give it to me now? And why do you have to stay at my place?" It was cramped enough there with just him.

"I'm not comfortable being away from it for any extended period of time." Short and to the point. What he got in return for his answer was anything but.

"Geez if you needed a place to crash for the night you could just say that, no need to hide behind a necklace."

"Awwww, is someone having separation anxiety?"

"Both of you shut up."

"... What?" The only one out of the loop questioned.

"Nothing," Kinzo said, realizing his blunder.

"Careful Kinzo, keep slipping up like that and people will start to think you have problems."

"The only problem here is you enjoying your newfound freedom a little too much"

"But either way tonights not gonna work." The ice mage unknowingly cut in.

That got his attention. "Why not?"

"Because I'm going on that little hot spring trip with the rest of my team today and we're staying overnight so I'm not gonna be home."

Huh well, that complicated things a bit. Wait, didn't Erza mention something about that? Didn't she invite him to that?

But did he really wanna waste his day and night at some hot spring with these clowns? At least he was thinking that way until the tension in his back started to flare up again. Suddenly the idea of a warm bath and sleeping on a real bed didn't sound so bad.

"That shouldn't be a problem, I can just go with you."

"Uh, sorry Kinzo but we kinda rented the place and only have so many tickets."

"I'm aware. One of those tickets was offered to me."

"... Um, by who?" he questioned, more than a little skeptical.

"Erza."

"What!?"


He ended up laying in his hammock all morning. Long after the sun rose, long after the birds started to chirp, and long after Happy left for the guild. Hours spent just hanging there, unable to fall back asleep.

The pain in his side had dulled, and while physically he was alright, even he knew that mentally he was a wreck. He couldn't go more than a few minutes without his thoughts traveling back to the monster in his mind.

The monster whose name he didn't know, only claiming to be his end.

It would have been one thing if he was just tormented inside his mind, but now that he knew this thing could touch him, could hurt him. Well, how could he not fear it?

Years ago Natsu would have told you he wasn't scared of anything. And really what did he have to fear? His father was a dragon, after all, an Apex predator in this world that kept him safe and trained him to be just as strong.

But then he woke up one day and his father was gone, Igneel had left him with nothing more than a scarf made from his scales. That was probably the first time he'd really felt fear.

The fear of being alone, of losing it all.

And that's what Igneel was, he was everything. He was all the boy had, Natsu knew nothing without him. Honestly, he didn't even remember what life was like before the dragon found him. He didn't have family or a home, there was no one else out there who was looking after him.

Or was there?

The occasional flash of black hair and a bright smile might come to mind but he never knew what to do with those thoughts so he pushed them away in favor of the father figure who was here now.

The same father who left him.

Ya isolation and loss, those were the first things he learned to fear.

But soon enough those fears were quelled by an old man promising family, friends, and an endless adventure. And Gramps had kept his word. Fairy Tail ended up being everything he needed, everything that was missing. Everything Igneel took with him.

For years it was effortless, and he forgot what it meant to be afraid yet again.

Sure there were things that 'scared' him, but not in any meaningful way. Mira when she was angry, Erza when she was angry, and transportation (Especially transportation), but those things were more unpleasant than scary.

No looking back, during those early years he was living in yet another bubble. Protected by someone a lot stronger than him. Unfortunately, that protection couldn't cover him forever.

Lisanna, perfect beautiful Lisanna. The person he'd probably grown closest with, the girl who'd always been willing to help, the one who did help him raise Happy, and the only one who believed him when he claimed to be a dragon's son.

"She's dead."

When he heard those words, when he saw Mira and Elfman in such a pitiful state, it was impossible to stop the feeling from coming back.

Impossible not to fear that he would lose even more of them, that he would be left alone again.

After all, another part of him had just been stolen, what was stopping the rest of them from leaving too?

But years passed on, and no one left. They stuck by each other, they stuck by him.

The grief he felt at losing Lisanna was more than he ever hoped to go through again, but if nothing else, the way his family came together because of it was something he was grateful for. It gave him comfort, and if it wasn't quite fearlessness, if nothing else it was confidence.

And up until today that was how he lived confidently. He knew at the end of the day he was gonna be okay. He never feared for himself, only for his family. But in the last 2 weeks, that paradigm was flipped on its head.

The more he looked back the more he realized that maybe his family didn't need him to worry about it as much as he did. After all, they'd handled Lullaby, Deliora, and Phantom Lord just fine. And while yes he'd played a large role in all those events, it wasn't like Fairy Tail didn't have other members who would be more than willing to step up in his place.

He didn't need to worry, his family would be fine. No, for the first time since Lissana's death, for the first time since Igneel left, he was afraid for himself.

Afraid to be alone. Afraid to see the demon again.

Before when the thought of isolation plagued him he had others around to push it away, but now knowing what he could do, what he could turn into, he couldn't even ask for that help. Because what if?

What if they were afraid of him?

What if they hated him?

What if they thought he was a monster?

What if they were right?

But even if he did muster up the courage to ask, and even if they did accept him despite it all, what could they do?

How do you comfort someone who's being hunted in their own mind?

How do you save someone who's afraid to sleep?

*Beep Beep Beep*

The alarm rang through his little cabin. Something he'd set last night just to make sure he got up with enough time to reach the guild before his team was ready to leave.

But for some reason he just couldn't be bothered to move, more than content to just stare up at the ceiling.

"Haaaah." but that just wouldn't do, if he stopped showing up at the guild people would start asking questions. Meaning the truth and his fears would be realized even sooner. That wasn't an option. So he stood up and convinced himself to march on through the day.

He had to keep up appearances after all.

Though there was one thought that almost had him crawling back under his covers. One more thing he was now afraid of.

Having to see her.


It was well past 11 when he finally strolled through the temporary guild tent, and it took little effort to find his team. Lucy, Gray, and Happy all lounging at a table seeming to enjoy a light-hearted conversation before the trip. Both had small bags at their sides, no doubt packed with a change of clothing for tomorrow. Something he hadn't bothered to do himself.

Regardless that's where they were so that's where he should be too. He briefly traced the bandage on his cheek thinking about what to say if anyone asked him, but he didn't need to worry. He'd gone over what to say dozens of times in his head, for his cheek, and for his torso if anyone saw it at the hot spring.

So without another thought, he started stepping in their direction only to be stopped almost immediately.

"Natsu, where have you been?" By the stern voice of a Scarlet knight.

His heart rate increased at an alarming rate, the sound of her voice putting him on edge.

When he turned things only got worse as he felt one of her armored hands grip his shoulder, and her features came into view.

His chest was pounding and his throat seized when he saw her, unable to speak, all of his will focused on stopping him from running away.

"Well answer me. Where have you bee-" but he watched as she caught herself because she knew something just wasn't right.

Ah hell, how bad did he look right now, what was his appearance that she felt the need to stop herself?

"… Natsu are you alright?"

And there it was, genuine concern in every word. This was his Erza the real one, the girl who'd looked after him, taught him to read, a pillar of strength in his mind.

Why was he so shaky, this was her damn it.

someone he could trust.

Then again he'd thought the same thing last night.

If he had let himself think properly he might have seen her worry, her concerned eyes. The way her brow furrowed like she was trying to figure out what was bothering him if only to try and help.

But even if he had it probably wouldn't have mattered, he'd seen it all last night, and he'd been wrong to trust it.

"What are you talking about, this isn't a dream anymore. This isn't that thing, it's Erza, calm dow-!"

He tried to convince himself, but all rational thought went out the window when he felt metal grazing his skin. And looked to see a gauntlet pressing against his bandaged face.


Erza was worried about the boy in front of her. Ever since the fight with Phantom Lord he'd been acting strangely. Not in a way that was weird, more so in a way that was… subdued. He just didn't have that fire he normally carried himself with, and it startled her.

So when she called out to him and a face of panic was all she got in return her worry only grew.

Something was wrong, something was very wrong. But when she asked him directly what it was he didn't answer.

That was when she noticed the bandage on his face that had the thinnest stain of red leaking threw it. Was he hurt?

Call her overprotective, accuse her of being a worrywart, she didn't care. And she couldn't stop herself from reaching out to the wound and asking him.

"Natsu what happe-?"

She didn't even get to finish before a strong grip latched onto her wrist and forcefully pushed her away, stumbling back a couple of steps.

Suprise was the first thing she registered. She wasn't expecting a violent reaction like that at all, and it took her a second to regain her balance, both physically and mentally.

Next came a feeling of warmth in her hand, and as she looked toward the limb she could see the metal glowing a bright orange.

Realization struck her "He just used magic on me." and with it came a trace of anger.

That emotion all but fizzled out when she looked up at the boy in question, and watched his face morph from fear for himself, to fear for her. Coming to grips with what he'd just done. Realizing he might have hurt her.

Now there was no doubt in her mind, something was very wrong.


As wisps of orange sprang from his hand a kind of instinct overtook him. Last night he'd been a victim, allowed himself to be treated like prey, not this time. This time he'd scorch anything that tried to stand against him.

And so with all the grace of a wild animal, his burning palm gripped metal and forced it away.

His enemy took a few steps back regaining her footing, before stopping and glancing at her own hand with a wince.

For a moment his eyes were brought there as well, surprised by the look of slight pain on her face, only to find that her gauntlet was glowing an angry shade of orange. But that didn't make any sense at all.

Why was this thing reacting to heat? He'd hit the demon with a far stronger spell last night and it hadn't even flinched. So why was-?

It clicked in his head again, that this wasn't a dream.

"Did I just? No no no no." The fire mage started to panic.

Why was this happening, why did he do that? Was he really in such a bad state that he couldn't control himself even to this extent?

Had one twisted nightmare really screwed with his sense of reality that badly?

"E-Erza! I, I'm sorry!" He forced out. A rushed apology being all he could manage at the moment.

He figured she would be angry, that would make sense. And as he watched her straight back up he readied himself for a beating. He would take it without complaint, he only hoped he wouldn't react to the blows like he just had.

But before all that, the first thing he noticed after coming back from his thoughts was a quick flash of magic. And looking up he saw that the redhead's scorched gauntlet had been Re-Quipped away. Leaving the arm bare, the slightest red tint on the skin. No doubt from his fire.

She started to move, walking toward him. A neutral expression on her face, something he wasn't sure how to interpret. Not that he had any time to do so.

She was on him in less than a second, and as her hand reached out for him again, all he could do was close his eyes and wait for the pain.

But it never came, instead just pressure on his collar, and a force pulling him away.

His eyes shot open again, and he could see as well as feel her gripping his vest and dragging him, albeit pretty gently, toward the bar.

When they reached it Erza was quick to move around the table, Dragon's son in tow, before pushing past a sheet that separated all the cooking supplies and alcohol from the rest of the tented area.

Mira was out serving drinks at the moment so there shouldn't be anyone asking too many questions about the act.

When she brought them to a stop there were a lot of possibilities running threw his head about what she might do, most of which he would be okay with.

But of course, she went with the worst possible one for him.

"Natsu, tell me what's wrong."

Of course, she was still trying to help. Why couldn't she just be mad at him? Smack him around a bit, tell him not to be so reckless, and then carry on with her day. But sadly that wouldn't be happening.

Because when he looked down all he saw was determination on her face. No anger, no resentment… She just wanted to help.

In his mind that was so much worse. "Please don't ask me that." because now she wasn't just irritated, she was suspicious.

Please don't ask me that. That was something she never would have expected her friend to say, and just another piece of the mystery.

It was strange, Erza was used to Natsu being an open book, someone she could understand at a glance, but this was nothing like the boy she'd come to know.

"No, we need to talk about this. You've been acting differently ever since your fight with Gajeel. What happened?"

He froze for a moment. Not really sure how to continue without everything falling apart, and making himself look even more suspicious. He needed a minute.

Erza wasn't so patient. Placing a hand on his chest and pushing him back. It wasn't a harsh push, just enough to make him bump into the crates behind him, and look back up at her.

"You're not getting out of this so stop looking for one. I know somethings wrong, and you are going to tell me." She was forcing the issue whether he liked it or not.

And realizing that was the case, he played the only card he could think of.

"Look ya you're right, just, not here. Not… now." He couldn't do this right now, he was awful at lying. So if he had any hope of keeping things hidden at this point he needed time, time to think through what he'd say in his head.

"You expect me to ignore what just happened?" She accused.

"No, I really don't. Just please can you not tell the others about this. You're right, ever since the Phantom Lord attack I've been on edge… but."

"Come on Natsu, think of something to throw her off even if just for a little while."

Ah, that could work.

"I don't wanna ruin Lucy's trip, you know how much time she put into setting it all up. And everyone else needs a break too, I just don't want to ruin that for them right now."

"... Natsu you just used magic subconsciously to attack me. If it was someone else, or even if it was me without my armor on, that could have seriously hurt someone."

"I know… I know, just please, can this wait until we're back? I promise something like this won't happen again, I swear it won't." He was desperate at this point, he had no clue what to do if she said no right now.


She was skeptical, to say the least. Natsu was avoiding the issue like the plague, unwilling to tell her anything. She'd honestly never seen him like this. Through all the years she'd known him, she'd never seen him so stressed, so unsure, so tired.

So the thought occurred. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to push him right now, maybe she should be a little patient with him. Maybe it would be better to let him tell her when he was ready.

Then again he wasn't the most stable he'd ever been right now, that much was obvious.

But he was asking for space, something he'd never done before. But that didn't necessarily mean it was a good idea to give it to him.

"Haaaah" How troublesome.

She'd made her decision.

And with a stern look, she said. "We will be talking about this tomorrow."

It took a second for him to really register what she said, but when he did his face lit up with relief.

"Thank you Erza, thank you."

"Don't go getting all excited. Like I said something is clearly wrong, and you will be telling me what it is. But if you need a day to relax and gather your thoughts that's fine as well."

His features tightened a bit after that but he nodded all the same. More than content with the arrangement.


A few moments later the duo pushed back through the tent flap, and wasted no time reaching the table the rest of their party was seated at.

"Oh there you guys are, where've you been?" Came Lucy's peppy voice, no doubt excited for their little Hotspring getaway.

"Oh just telling Natsu off for showing up so late, nothing much," Erza covered.

Gray chuckled at that. "Heh, Flame brain deserves it too." But strangely the Dragon Slayer didn't even react to his taunting.

"Regardless, now that everyone is here, we should be ready to leave yes?" The redhead redirected, noticing Natsu's lack of reaction.

"Huh? Oh, not quite we're still missing one." The ice mage replied.

And just like that, she was confused. Doing a quick headcount revealed all four of them (plus Happy), so who was missing.

"Wait who's not here?" She asked.

And just like that Gray was confused too. "You don't know? But didn't you invite him? At least that's what he told me."

She invited this person? But the only person she invited was-

"Sorry I'm late, Mira wanted some help moving supplies from the guildhall over here," Kinzo called out to them.

Erza spun around in no time flat. "Kinzo, you're coming with us!?"

He leaned back a bit, somewhat surprised by just how surprised she was. "Ya, you said I could. Unless that offer's not on the table anymore?"

"Oh no no it's fine!" she told him.

"Alright. Then we should probably get going, didn't you want to leave by noon?"

That was all it took for the rest of the group to stand up and throw on their bags, before marching on. More than ready for a little RnR.

Erza on the other hand stood still for a moment longer, contemplating everything that just happened. Everything she now had to worry about.

Not only was Natsu acting the way he was, something she would no doubt need to keep an eye out for. But now Kinzo was coming too, which meant it would be the perfect time to try and have that conversation she'd been wanting to have for damn near a week now.

Well, that meant she was gonna be busy, but she could handle it.


Extra #1: The List

Mira had just come back from the guildhall, with Kinzo carrying supplies for her. She'd seen him sitting by the edge of their little tent guild just waiting, and figured she could get some use out of him. Not to mention the interesting conversations she normally had whenever they talked.

Though now that she thought about it, most of their conversations had been negative, with the exception of their first meeting. And she really wanted to correct that.

But sadly as they went about the process of picking up barrels and moving food items no such conversation started. And not for lack of trying.

She asked all kinds of questions.

"How's your recovery going?"

"How's training with Cana?"

"What are you planning on doing today?"

All decent enough openers, but every single one of them was met with a short and simple reply. He didn't bother building off of any of them. And more than that every time he did answer, once he was finished he just stared off into nothing, and his facial expressions changed rapidly.

Irritation, humor, contemplation, etc. She could see it all flashing across his features like he was having a full-blown conversation inside his own head.

Which was interesting enough to think about, but not so good for conversing in the moment.

In the end, he helped her unload everything and then went about his business, it was rather disappointing.

But then just as she was starting to feel down, the most interesting sight brightened her mood.

Natsu being dragged away by Erza, to the supply tent at the back of their portable guild. A place where they would no doubt have plenty of privacy.

The platinum blonde wasted no time hiding behind a table, and began to dutifully stake out the entrance they'd walked threw.

And then a few minutes later when the two walked back out, she continued to observe. But this time she noticed something all too interesting. Natsu had this relieved, almost at-peace-like look on his face.

Mira was unable to stop her eyes from sparkling at the sight.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" She internally squealed, and in a fraction of a second pulled out a notebook she always kept on her.

Doing a quick once over to check that no one was watching her she opened it up. Showing that more than half of it was already filled out.

If someone ever managed to get their hands on it they would have seen headers at the top of each page reading things like "Fairy Tail's Favorite Foods." or "Member Birthdays."

Simple collections of interesting facts about each member. The things they liked and disliked, along with a few dirty little secrets no one would want getting out. But that wasn't what she was after right now.

No instead she opened it to a page simply titled "The List"

It was a collection of ideas.

Theories so strange and outlandish, that if proven to be true no doubt the world would lash out in defiance. Families would be torn apart, friendships ruined, wars would be waged, and all over something that was so simple when she thought about it.

Yes, the information she had would be truly volatile should anyone see it. Because what she had was-

A list of Ships.


The List

(X778, Aug. 14th) Natsu x Lisanna: Oh these two are so cute! They're already playing house as a little family. I can tell my little sis already has dragon boy wrapped around her finger. And he would never dare hurt her or break her heart because I already told him what I'd do to him if that ever happened. So ya they're gonna live happily ever after, guaranteed! (If only.)

(X779) Gray x Cana?: They hung out a lot as kids?

(X779 Nov. 28th) Elfman x ?: Note to self, find a girl for Elfman so I can have the house to myself more often (P.S. that's gonna be hard if he keeps saying MAN all the time… hopefully it's just a phase.) (Edit: It was not a phase.)

(X779 July) Mira x Laxus?: He's kind of an ass, but kinda cute. I'd consider it. (Edit: On second thought no, just no.)

(X780) Alsak x Bisca: This is so obvious, I don't know why those two keep dancing around each other.

(X780) Levy x ?: Jet and Droy are obviously interested, but the bookworm obviously isn't.

(X782) Macao/ Wakaba x Death: I swear if either of those two hits on me one more time…

(X782) Mystogan x ?: This might be easier to figure out if he was ever around.

(X783 Mar.) Laxus x ?: He needs to fix his bad attitude before I can even think of matching him with anyone.

(X784 July 4th) Natsu x Lucy: A new girl showed up at the guild today and I have high hopes for her.

(X784 July 4th )Mira x ?: There's no one that I like right now and it's kind of depressing :(

(X784 July 26th) Kinzo x _ : Oooh new guy came to the guild today! He's a tough cookie to crack but I think given enough time I can manage him. But the real question is who's he gonna end up with?

(X784 July 27th) Kinzo x Nobody!: Because he's a jerk!

(X784 Aug. 1st) Kinzo x Lucy?: Don't get me wrong he's still a jerk, but he did help save her. And that mermaid was laying it on pretty thick. Hmmm?

(X784 Aug. 2nd) Kinzo x Mystery Councilwoman: More information needed, but Erza is convinced.

(X784 Aug. 3rd) Gray x Juvia: Oh my gosh Gray is actually getting attention from a girl! Don't give up Juvia, I'm rooting for you!

(X784 Aug. 4th) Kinzo x Cana: This would be so cute. All she ever talks about anymore is training with him, and she's drinking less now, so I think this would be good for her. And for him.

(X784 ) Master x Porlysica: The old lady claims she doesn't like people but anytime we mention Master she comes running. It actually kinda cute, to bad Master married someone else when they were younger.

(X784 ) Mira X ?: There's so much love in the air, maybe some of it will rub off on me? Oh, who am I kidding, this is hopeless. I'm never gonna get married (T_T) Author, why don't you love me?

(X784 Aug. 5th) Natsu x Erza: What did I just see!? OMG OMG he looked so relieved! What did they do in there!?


She could barely contain herself as she furiously wrote down her latest theory. Was it true? She didn't know, nor did she care, Just so long as it was enough of a distraction from her own hopeless love life.


Author's note

And there you have it the end of a pretty fun, laid-back chapter, and the introduction of my first Extra scene. Hopefully, that wasn't too boring for you.

I managed to finish this chapter start to finish in about a week, but sadly the next one is going to take longer because I have training this upcoming week that's going to have me sleeping out in the woods for a couple of days, so I won't have access to my laptop. So sorry about that but work comes first.

Hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far, I know I still enjoy writing it. Till next time.