Time skip: Two weeks later
The seconds wasted away, transcending into minutes which in turn turned into hours, the hours turned into days and days to a week and then two. Natsu stayed with Mira throughout the ordeal. He would bring her whatever she needed, from food to other necessities. He would even buy her clothes or take her shopping. Needless to say, this had a very positive effect on Mira's health. She was recovering at a slow but sure pace. She could now talk about the incident and had already talked to Natsu about it.
The guild was still unaware of what had transpired, and as per Mira's wishes they would be forever. A few days after the 'incident', Makarov had announced that Natsu would now be an S-Class Mage. This, of course drew a mass amount of backlash from a certain Ice Mage. However, given some time, he too gave up on changing Master's mind and joined in on the celebratory party.
Makarov had planned on putting together a search party to find out who the miscreant was but on request of the dragonslayer, he decided to let Natsu handle the matter on his own. Natsu had pledged that he would do what was right, and that's all Makarov needed. If he did know of what Natsu had planned out, he would've immediately refused, given that he was unaware he couldn't prevent Natsu from dirtying his hands. Lisanna and Elfman often visited Mira, asking her whether she was faring well or if she needed something.
Natsu had withdrawn from Team Natsu, citing the reason that he had to train his powers. The members of Team Natsu were reluctant but understood the need to let the Slayer go on his own. Of course, it wasn't without a few Ice Make:Lances, a few tears and a rather steely hug. Quite a few members had noticed the absence of Mirajane, they were worried and often took up the matter with Lisanna and Elfman. They would just platonically reply that Mira was down with a fever. When insisting that they wanted to see her, Natsu would jump in, courtesy of his amazing hearing and 'accidentally' crash into them, causing a guild fight to occur.
After two weeks, Mira had finally come back to the guild, giving much needed relief to the worried Macao and Wakaba. Mira was pretty much back to her prior self, no trace of the atrocity having occurred, except for a few shudders and wide eyes whenever someone got too close for comfort. She could also often be seen going home with Natsu, which did raise several eyebrows. However, thankfully everyone respected their privacy and never asked what was going on. Things were finally going back to normal.
Natsu and Mira had developed an unprecedented bond, they could be seen consistently using pickup lines on one another at one point and then being completely oblivious to the others feelings. Mira had grew on him, he loved her. She was the light in his darkness, the one person who he knew he could trust completely. Natsu wanted to tell her, but was afraid of what would happen if he was to be rejected. Unknown to him, the barmaid too was developing feelings for his foolhardy self. She had always wanted someone who would treat her with kindness like he did, with love like he did, and had a stupid grin like he had.
Natsu's place
Mira entered Natsu's room, tiptoeing to help avoid breaking the Dragonslayer's daze. She eyed him and instantly knew what she must do. She crept behind him and suddenly screamed in his ear, making him jump and fall face flat onto the floor. He groaned in pain and rubbed his face. Mira, seeing that the slayer had no intentions of getting up anytime soon, took up the same position as him, all the while giggling to no end.
"So Natsu, what were you thinking about?" Mira asked, a smile forming on her angelic face. Natsu pondered for a second before a grin split his face and he replied.
"Oh, I was just thinking about how you can be so cute without trying" Natsu replied, his grin turning into a smirk at the sight of the now blushing barmaid.
"Mira" Natsu started, turning his back towards the floor and gazing into Mira's eyes.
"I'm not gonna be here tomorrow, I have a few things to take care of. You can stay here or you can head over to Lisanna and Elfman's place. Also if you feel like staying there now that you're alright, I'm okay with it. Just make sure to not forget me." He finished, adding a teasing remark to help lighten the mood.
"Natsu, I can't forget you and I won't forget you. You've helped me out so much, you were there for me, you helped me recover and you were there every step of the way since then. I couldn't have asked for a better person to be by my side through this whole mess." Mira said, her eyes welling up as she recalled the kind gestures of the Mage throughout the time period between the incident and the present.
Natsu couldn't help but smile, he got up and lifted her bridal style before letting her stand daintily. He then took a deep breath and shut his eyes before confessing.
"Mira I've wanted to tell you his for a long time, I just didn't know how to go about it. You're amazing in so many ways and I always felt like I couldn't compare to some of the guys after you. That aside, I was also afraid that I wouldn't be enough, that I would fail and be rejected. Mirajane Strauss, I want you to know that I love you." Natsu confessed, as he slowly opened his eyes to see her reaction. He was surprised to see her crying like a baby and grinning at the same time.
"Natsu, I can't tell you how much I've wanted to hear those words from you. I can't tell you how many times I've just gone into a stupor thinking about you. I can't explain how the butterflies come about and how I feel when you smile genuinely. I love you Natsu Dragneel, and there's no one else I'd rather spend my life with." Mira confessed as she hugged him with all her might, afraid that the moment would end and that his strong arms would let go of her. Though the moment ended, his arms didn't let her go. He pulled her closer, before gently placing his lips on hers.
After a few seconds, Natsu withdrew and tilted his head. He then bared his fangs and ever so gently pierced her porcelain skin, letting his magic flow into her. Mira didn't feel pain but in fact felt sensual. She knew however that this was the mark of a Dragonslayer's mate. She knew this due to having stumbled upon Levy reading up on it, when asked why she was doing it Levy became flustered. Mira had decided to leave it alone. She let out a moan before Natsu left her neck, causing him to smirk gently. They gazed into each other's eyes, promising each other everything, in complete silence.
They stayed like that for what felt like eternity but would probably be about 5 minutes. After relishing the moment, Natsu left her embrace, knowing now, that he had to do it. He hugged her one last time before bidding her goodbye and leaving. Mira felt more lonely than she ever had, and she was embarrassed to accept that the Slayer's absence was the reason.
Magnolia's Forest
Natsu POV
"I'm sorry Mira, but I have to do this. I can't let anyone hurt you and I have to punish the ones that did." I said to no one, hoping that it would be heard.
I retraced my steps and the almost nonexistent scent for hours, finally coming across an empty patch of ground with a single tree adorning it. This was it, his scent couldn't have faded, it was way to strong and I was right. He was going to pay, he had to, for having hurt a Dragon's mate is a fate worse than death. My instincts took over as a feral grin donned my face. My eyes turned slits scanned the area, and my sharp nose picked up the scent. My scale-covered claws picked up the source, a stray piece of cloth. I had him, he had messed up. I stalked the scent, chasing it for miles altogether.
General POV
The hut was small, nothing great and would've passed off as a lumberjack's for anyone else, anyone else but a Dragonslayer. Natsu could smell it, the despair, the sorrow, pain and blood, he could smell him. It took him a while to calm himself down enough to not barge in and burn the place down. He had it all planned it out, every single detail. The man inside, Raven, was an SS-class bounty hunter. Natsu's lips tilted upwards before breaking into a full sized smirk. He knew that SS Class mages were strong, but a dragon transcends such titles and that's exactly what he was, a dragon stalking his prey.
Natsu slowly let his flames surround the area, trapping the hut in a vortex of arguably the strongest flames on Earth. He raised the temperature so much that the hut started melting. As a flustered man, rushed out from the melting building, Natsu made his entrance. He dropped down from a tree, and walked through his flames, his voice booming.
"O petty human, for you have transgressed the laws of beings transcending the heavens and hell, your fate is but sealed. Your Icarus-like end shall be my salvation and your Prometheus-like fate my pleasure." Natsu declared, bearing a feral look and baring his sharp canines. A dragon reminiscent of Igneel, behind him, roaring with fury.
"What the fuck, who are you?!" Raven screamed, his expression a mixture of fury and fear. To his surprise, the flames stopped burning and they stood still, almost as if time itself was frozen. He would've believed that was the case, if he didn't see Natsu walking towards him leisurely. He couldn't do anything, he tried using his magic, but he couldn't form seals with his shaky hands, he tried running across the flames but as he neared them, the temperature became unbearable, he tried attacking Natsu, but his hands wouldn't move out of fear. So he did what any other man would do, he stood there quivering in fear, waiting for Natsu to come, knowing only death awaited him.
Natsu walked towards him, the walk an eternity to Raven and a minute for Natsu. He closed in on him, flames crackling around him, till he came close enough to see Raven's face. He let his flames go as he didn't want to end it, not yet.
"In response to your prior question, I'm a dragon and I'm your judge." Natsu said, his face inches away from Raven's, still sporting his crazy look. He then lit his hands before crafting two chairs of fire.
"Sit" Natsu commanded, only to have a crying Raven trudge towards the chair. As he neared the chair, Raven realised that the fire was insanely hot, and would melt his skin. He looked back at Natsu, only to find himself in the chair, courtesy of two fire chains that erupted from the Earth.
"Don't worry, it's just barely hot enough to melt your skin, it won't kill you, it'll just hurt you a lot." Natsu said in a singsong voice, taking a seat in his own chair. He went to open his mouth to speak but realised that Raven couldn't carry a conversation while screaming like a banshee. He reduced the temperature before asking.
"Do you know why you're here?" Natsu asked, his voice solemn.
"No" Raven croaked out in his miserable state.
"Do you know who Mirajane Strauss is?" Natsu asked, his anger rising.
"So that bitch sent you here huh? Should've fucking killed her when I had the chance, atleast she was a good fuck" Raven spoke, bursting into a crackle.
"Raven, you should know that I'm not going to kill you yet. You may think that by angering me you will be able to get me to kill you but I'm not dumb." Natsu said, a smile still evident on his face, as he watched all the colours drain out of Raven's face.
"You see, I'm a dragonslayer. My name's Natsu Dragneel but most people call me"
"Salamander of Fairytail" Raven interrupted his mind perplexed as he knew fairies didn't kill, causing Natsu to reprimand him.
"Raven! It's bad manners to interrupt someone, so where was I? Oh yea, I'm Natsu Dragneel, as you may know Mirajane Strauss is my guildmate. This is off-topic but are you aware of how Dragon Slayer Mating works?" Natsu asked and Raven shook his head, causing Natsu to continue.
"Well, as it so happens my mate is Mirajane. We Dragons, tend to treat our mate as the most important person in our lives. What do you do when someone defiles someone more important to you than the world? I'm not gonna wait for you to answer, I'll just tell you what you do. You make them suffer till they accept torture as their fate and then you steal that away too. That's exactly what's gonna happen to you, you'll fall, forget, regret and finally you will die." Natsu declared to a shuddering Raven.
Raven POV
Salamander did what he promised, he tortured me so much that I lost all hope. He chained me to the god forsaken chair and raised and cooled the temperature at multiple times. Everytime I came close to death, he brought me back only to send me to the brink again. He isn't fucking human, he's the devil himself. I went through his regime for a day before he released me. That wasn't the end though, he told me I didn't deserve to die peacefully. He told me to run, I couldn't but I forced myself to anyway. My skin was almost completely burnt off, every step stung more than a whip of fire. I ran a good metre before I turned back. I broke, behind me were flames morphed into his shape. I didn't want to be caught so I ran, till I finally tripped. He appeared next to me, and he told me I did good. He turned the other way and I felt the flames engulf my leg. It started eating away at my leg, charring it as I let out screams begging for mercy. The flames ate away at me. Before everything faded, he turned towards me and I couldn't believe it, he was laughing.
The Next Day
Mirajane woke up to the refreshing smell of pancakes, she knew who it was. Natsu had returned yesterday, and they both had cuddled for a while before. Natsu then told her he had something to confess as he didn't want to build a relationship with the foundation being based on a lie. Mira was nervous, how couldn't she be? Her boyfriend and the guy she wanted to spend her life with had declared that he had to tell her something that might break them up. However, she trusted him just as much she trusted herself, maybe even more.
"Good morning Natsu!" Mira chirped as she got out of the shower, wearing her signature dress. She walked towards the breakfast table and sat down, motioning for the slayer to take a seat.
"Good morning Mira, did you sleep well?" Natsu asked, flashing her a smile.
"Yes, I did. So Natsu what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Mira asked, her voice showing slight fear. At the mention of the topic, Natsu's mood changed and his smile dropped. He shut his eyes close for a second, before taking a deep breath and speaking up.
"Mira, I've killed someone. I tortured him for a day and then killed him." Natsu confessed, watching Mira intently. When he realised that what he said was too vague, he immediately continued.
"It was him, the guy who did that to you. I had to do it Mira, he harmed my mate. In Dragon laws, if anyone hurts a slayer's mate, their punishment is supposed to be worse than death itself. He forced you, there were no two ways about it. So I tracked him down, I found out who he was. His name's Raven, an SS-class bounty hunter that uses rune magic. On the day I confessed to you and officially marked you as my mate, I killed him." Natsu said, his voice shaky and nervous. He expected her to be repulsed by him, what he didn't expect was, for her to start crying.
"I'm sorry you had to do it. It's all my fault. You had to kill because of me, I'm now worth it" she said, through her cries. To say Natsu was shocked, was an understatement. He quickly put that to rest by hugging Mira. He kissed her tears away as he whispered in her ears.
"You're honestly too good for me. I'm sorry about what I did, I had to do it to protect you. I love you, my Demon" Natsu whispered, holding her tightly.
"Thank you. I love you too my Dragon" Mira whispered back through her silent cries.
A/N: I'm kinda disappointed at how this fic turned out. I thought i could do better. I'm seriously considering deleting this. If you could, please tell me whether I should delete this and add another oneshot or just keep the fic as is. I think I'm gonna stick to writing one-shots for now.
A/N: Just updated it a bit more, I'm probably gonna prolong the ending too. Like Lordelxx (sorry if I made a mistake here) suggested, the news is only broken out to Makarov, Lisanna and Elfman. I'm planning on prolonging the ending so that it doesn't feel as rushed.