MDLH CH 4
JBB: Hey guys, sorry this is a lil late, stuff kept getting in the way.
So the 12th is mine and Cass' Birthday, yes we share a birthday, only I'm a year older than her. This is why we call each other twins! That and we're so similar it's scary. So before anything else, Happy Birthday younger twin! XD
Anyway, here it is, the long awaited chapter 4 XD
If Natsu could use one word to name his mood, it would be irked. Had he a better grasp of the English vocabulary he was sure he could come up with one more colourful. But this was not the case, and he was perfectly fine with 'irked'.
Not only did he waste his time travelling all the way to stupid Crocus, for that stupid arrogant man calling himself the new King. He had to then ride Happy all the way back to blasted Hargeon, and unwillingly take a stupid boat to a stupid Island to slay a stupid dragon!
Oh, and save some princess or something? Not that he was too interested in that.
Hargeon was the main port town of Fiore. If you needed to go somewhere out of the country Hargeon was the place to be. Known for its fishing, most of the locals owned their own boats and had many stalls opened to attract the attention of the new arrivals.
Natsu liked this town. The people were always cheerful and friendly, and don't have much of a problem if you try to haggle. Not that Natsu was very good with that.
But that was before the new crappy 'King' had taken over. Now it was a place for pickpockets and untrustworthy vendors who would sooner chop your hand off than haggle anymore.
It had been a while since Natsu had to go to the port side of Hargeon. More than a few years in fact.
He had received a tip that a dragon had made an appearance in the port and decided to investigate.
Biggest. Waste. Of. Time. Ever!
Not only was there no trace of a dragon whatsoever, but the tip was referring to a man who called himself the Salamander. At that time Natsu was not aware that the name 'Salamander' was actually used by the public to describe himself, so the identity theft alluded him.
It was only after he found out that the same man was using the guilds name that he decided to teach him a lesson.
You could call Natsu all the names you wanted; 'demon', 'freak', 'pyromaniac', you name it. But try dragging down the name of his guild and you would be lucky to leave with one bone unbroken.
Not only did he beat the imposter black and blue, he discovered this guy was kidnapping and drugging women and selling them as slaves. And to top it off the guy was a wanted criminal with a bounty.
In a way it wasn't a total waste of time; he at least got money for food when he cashed in the bounty, then again had to subtract it from the fee he had to pay for damaging the port.
So he made sure that when he returned to the guild he punched the man who tipped him off in the face, and warned everyone there that if he got given a dead end lead again he would make them pay.
This was his way of justifying why he was so adamant to take on missions about dragons at the guild. He didn't want to get all fired up only to end up disappointed and with too much energy.
Now that he was back on the port side he had to find a bloody boat willing enough to take him to some unknown island, and for a reasonable price. If these people think they can swindle him just because he may puke on the boat, they are sorely mistaken.
But… before going anywhere near that floating death-trap called a boat, he needed his equipment repaired.
His sword was a special custom made device, one that only one man on the continent could repair.
A blacksmith with a penchant for fights and a diet high in iron.
One Black Steel Gajeel.
Natsu looked at the blacksmith's sign with apprehension.
Meeting with Gajeel could go two ways; you could either leave with large bruises and a very empty money pouch, or you could leave with multiple bruises and an only slightly empty money pouch.
And he wonders why his business isn't doing well? A mystery indeed…
Natsu and Gajeel had a somewhat complicated relationship, if you could even call it that. They sort of hated each other, but when times were tough they knew that they could rely on each other as well. They were neither friends nor enemies… perhaps allies? Maybe dialled down to acquaintances?
Natsu sighed in annoyance and rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh well, might as well get this over with" he muttered in annoyance.
He tied Happy's reigns to a post, gave him a fishy smelling carrot, and then made his way to the front door.
He was just about the reach the handle when he heard a commotion from inside. Sensing movement, Natsu sidestepped away from the door just in time to avoid a man thrown right through the wood of the door.
The man screamed as he flew and landed directly on his face on the brick street.
The door fell off its hinges on the floor and a shadowed figure appeared in its way.
"Think ya can cheat me with fake gold coins do ya? I don't know what rock you slithered from you snake, but nobody tries to make a fool outta me and gets away with it!"
Out from the shadows came a tall bulking man around the same age as Natsu. His eyes were blood red, which only made his angry scowl ever more terrifying. His long black hair is slicked back and loose. His forearms, nose, ears, eyebrows and even his chin are pierced with studs, his right arm adorned with scars.
This, was Black Steel Gajeel.
"I see business is the same as usual" said Natsu with a cheeky grin.
Gajeel moved his gaze from the man he threw earlier to Natsu and smirked.
"Well, well, if it ain't Salamander. What terrible thing did I do to deserve a visit from your ugly mug?" he asked with crossed arms.
Natsu chuckled and raised his fist toward Gajeel, who did the same.
To a stranger it would seem as if they were about to punch each other in the face but…
It was just a fist bump.
"You're calling me ugly? You even own a mirror metal mouth?" asked Natsu with a grin.
"And get distracted from my work by how fine I look?" asked Gajeel with a matching grin.
The boys had a good laugh for a minute until they heard a loud groan from the side of the road. It was coming from the man Gajeel had thrown out, he was getting up from the ground while trying to hold his concussed head.
"You bastard Gajeel! I-I'll be sure to tell my boss about this! Y-You better watch your back!" yelled the man as he ran off with tears in his eyes.
"Tch, lousy scumbags. You know he tried to pass off smelted iron as gold pieces by painting em?! I mean, how idiotic can ya get!? I work with metal for a living!" yelled Gajeel in disbelief.
Natsu laughed loudly. Clearly that man had not done business with Gajeel before, nor heard rumours of his skill if he had tried to pull off a stunt as stupid as that.
"Well, every town needs a village idiot" said Natsu as he wiped a tear from his eye with a dying chuckle.
"I thought that was why we had you" said Gajeel with a smirk.
Natsu glared at Gajeel "Oh hilarious, don't quit your day job buddy, you ain't no court jester" said Natsu with an unimpressed look.
Gajeel chuckled and punched Natsu in the shoulder lightly.
"So seriously, waddya want. Last time ya came here you brought me two pieces of your sword" said Gajeel with an unimpressed scowl.
"You don't have to remind me, I still can't bend my arm like I used to from the beating ya gave me" muttered Natsu in annoyance as he unconsciously rubbed his right arm.
"And now you know better. At least that's what I'm hoping, so once again; waddya want?" asked Gajeel with crossed arms.
Natsu rubbed the back of his head nervously. He just wanted his flame sword tuned up, did he really have to go through the third degree before he even asked?
"Well ya see, I just took on a job and it's gonna take a while by the looks of it, so Etherious needs a quick tune-up. Think ya can handle it?" asked Natsu challengingly.
"Tch, don't act cute with me Salamander. Just get inside and hand me the sword, I still don't know why you picked such a lame name for it" said Gajeel as he walked past Natsu and back into his building.
"Oi! Etherious is a fearsome name, you're just jealous that I'm the genius that came up with it!" said Natsu with a proud look as he followed Gajeel inside.
"Yeah, a genius would be smart enough to know that a dragon wouldn't show up in a port" said Gajeel with an unimpressed look.
"Would ya let that go?! It was one time!" said Natsu in frustration.
Gajeel chuckled at Natsu's reaction and put his hand out.
"Just hand me the sword, you're in a hurry right?" asked Gajeel.
Natsu grumbled in irritation and handed his sword to Gajeel with a huff. Gajeel swiped the blade out of Natsu's hand and inspected it thoroughly.
"You use this thing recently?" asked Gajeel as he brought the blade to his workbench.
Natsu rubbed the back of his head "Well sorta, this idiot pissed me off and I used it to scare the shit outta him" he said with a smirk.
Gajeel sighed in annoyance and started tweaking the sword. Natsu was bored out of his mind and decided to snoop around for anything interesting in the blacksmith's shop.
"So what kinda job you doin' this time?" asked Gajeel distractedly.
"Let's just say I'm taking care of unfinished business" said Natsu as he picked up a shuriken that had some sort of freezing mechanism in it.
Gajeel looked at Natsu over his shoulder with a raised brow. He was well aware of what Natsu's specialty was, but he thought Natsu had already killed all the dragons. Did that mean there was still one left?
"Is the job far away?" asked Gajeel curiously.
Gajeel knew better than to pry for more details than this, when it comes to guild jobs you shouldn't divulge information unnecessarily unless it will help with the work in the end.
"Yeah, get this; I have to go all the way to bloody Galuna Island!" said Natsu in annoyance as he stumbled upon an odd pair of gloves and scrutinized them.
Gajeel stopped moving and stared at Natsu in shock. Galuna is known as a cursed island, it is said to be abandoned and a toxic wasteland. No man dares to even go near it, but that was not the part that shocked Gajeel the most.
"Ya mean you gotta take a… a boat?" asked Gajeel who suddenly became a little green.
Natsu was also a little green now "I don't have a choice, it's the only way to get there" he said reluctantly.
"Damn, glad I'm not in your shoes" said Gajeel as he turned back to the sword.
Natsu growled and decided to pocket the gloves he was looking at; they appeared to utilize flames somehow so Natsu figured that they might be useful on his job.
"Whatever man" said Natsu with a grumble. Suddenly he remembered something very amusing and he decided now was a great time to get some payback.
"By the way, I saw that little blue-haired girl today…" he started with a mischievous smirk.
A loud clang was heard as Gajeel had abruptly lost his concentration and dropped his tools on the floor. He tried to fake indifference but his eyes gave him away easily.
"Y-Yeah? Is that so?" he asked as he cleared his throat awkwardly.
His stutter also wasn't helping his case either.
Natsu was desperately trying to stifle his laughter at Gajeel's reaction. He had to keep Gajeel as distracted as possible, that way he could sneak out more tools for his mission and not have to pay for it.
"Oh yeah, she seemed to be in a very good mood this morning, she was practically glowing" said Natsu as he snuck some smoke bombs in his pocket.
"W-Why would I care about that?" asked Gajeel as he picked up his tools and pretended to be busy with Natsu's sword.
"Oh I'm not implying you would. It's just that seeing a maiden in love is a rare sight these days-"
CRASH
"Son of a-!"
BANG
"That sounded painful" said Natsu with a snigger.
Gajeel had somehow dropped a large hammer on his foot, then bumped his knee on his work table until finally tripping on a metal plate on the floor and falling flat on his back.
Natsu took this opportunity to pack in some flaming lacrima bombs in his backpack.
After some fumbling Gajeel finally managed to get back on his feet and glared at Natsu like he wanted to strangle him.
Natsu grinned mischievously and Gajeel felt his eye twitch in anger.
"And just how the hell do you know what a 'maiden in love' looks like?" said Gajeel with a deadly glare.
Natsu blinked and gave Gajeel his most innocent look he could muster.
"Well she said 'I am so in love right now I can't stand it!', so I figured that was a pretty big hint" he said with nonchalance.
Gajeel was shocked to his core, he wasn't sure how to feel right now, and he needed more information!
"Is that all she said?! Did she mention anything else?!" asked Gajeel frantically.
Natsu nodded his head in confirmation.
"Oh yeah, her exact words were; 'I have never been so happy, I am so in love with-'"
"Who?! In love with who?!"
"'-This book! It's the best thing I've ever read!' or so she claims" said Natsu as he stifled his laughter with his hands as he watched Gajeel's reaction.
Gajeel was not by any means a murderous person, in fact if you get to know him you'd see that he's actually a nice guy way deep down. But it's at times like these when Gajeel wants to throw his kindness away and destroy those around him; his first victim, a cherry-haired idiot who is currently suicidal.
Natsu knew he was gonna be in deep shit after this, but he was not anticipating the sheer intensity of Gajeel's glare. If looks could kill Natsu would have died five times over by now.
"Grab your sword and get the hell out before I use it on you" said Gajeel threateningly.
"Sheesh, someone can't take a joke" said Natsu with a smirk as he grabbed his sword and put it back in its sheath.
"I hope you burn yourself" said Gajeel in annoyance.
"Not likely! See ya lug nuts!" said Natsu as he walked out the door with a mock salute.
Gajeel just shook his head in annoyance and scratched the back of his neck.
Once he was sure Natsu had gone with his horse he locked his front door and pulled out a small lacrima device from his pocket.
"Yo, this is Iron Dragon, ya there Rain Woman?"
"…bzzt… Ju-Rain Woman is here Iron Dragon …bzzt…" said a dainty feminine voice from the lacrima.
"Just had an interesting conversation with Salamander, looks like he's going ta Galuna Island to slay a dragon".
"…bzzt… Oh my, so the She-devil's Intel was correct then …bzzt…?" said the voice with concern.
"Looks that way, at least now we know where he's headed. Galuna ain't exactly a family vacation spot, my question is why would the Underworld king want to slay a dragon there in the first place?" asked Gajeel curiously.
"…bzzt… Ju-I can't say for sure. There is a lot about Galuna that we do not know. Juv-I will do some research in the archives and see what can be found …bzzt…" said the voice seriously.
"Ya know you should be more careful with your habit of talking in third person. It could cause ya some problems later" warned Gajeel.
"…bzzt… Yes I know, J-I am trying to work on it. But back to business, I'll contact you as soon as we find anything relevant …bzzt…" said the voice determinately.
"Roger, I'll keep in touch, Iron Dragon signing out" said Gajeel as he rubbed his neck in irritation.
"…bzzt…Roger, Rain Woman out …bzzt…" said the voice as the lacrima shut off.
Gajeel sighed in annoyance, he was used to this whole double life thing; he was good at it so he never complained. But the fact that he had been doing it for so long was starting to irritate him. He longed for the days when he no longer had to hide who he was from the rest of the world. And once they succeed with their overall mission, maybe he could finally tell her how he felt and they could be together… that is if she reciprocated his feelings.
Natsu just had to play on his insecurities, he should have punched him for good measure…
Now that he thought about it…
"Hey! That ass stole my stuff!"
"No way! Not for a million Jewel!"
"Wha-?"
"That island is cursed! Only a fool would try to go there!"
"Come on mister, it's not like I wanna take a boat but it's the only way to get there!" said Natsu desperately.
"Forget it! Unless you got a death wish I'd stay the hell away" said the sailor as he pulled out supplies from his fishing boat.
Natsu blinked in shock, he knew that sailors were superstitious but this was just ridiculous. The way this was going he may have to swim to the island. As much as he hated taking transportation there was no way he could actually get to the Island by swimming, it was too far and there are sea monsters to worry about. He wouldn't have the energy to fight the dragon if he swam.
"Man, it's in situations like these when I wish that Happy could fly"
JBB: Finally done! And just before our birthday! Happy Birthday twin, and welcome to the land of adults! Mwahaha!
RC12: No need to remind me Grandma 3P Thanks for the shout out and awesome chapter. Glad to share a special day with you my friend (VwV)
Thanks everyone for reading. Give us a shout out in a review to tell us your thoughts and have a lovely day!