Chapter 3 - A Mermaid Encounter…

A loud wind blew through the forest as the sun began his descent while the Moon took over. Light was starting to disappear in this healthy forest as cloaked figure walked through it. He had his hood down since no one was around, his salmon hair on his way to the wildness, freed identified him to the entire world as the Salamander. As he started to find a proper clearing to make camp, preferably by the lake so he could fish. His days had been quiet since he encountered Gildarts in the woods heading home. His search for the black wizard was a bit grim seeing he had no leads. Natsu found himself suddenly sniffing the air. He turned his head sideways to confirm what his senses were telling him. The quiet days were coming to an end. He put his hood up and jumped between two trees to climb it and get a better advantage over his visitors. He had found it to be very helpful since he used it against his old role model. But not everyone was Gildarts…. Two mysterious figures walked through the forest coming to a small clearing, which banked at the lake.

"This looks like a good spot Kagura" A familiar cat woman said.

"Yes, this should be a nice spot for the night" And a dangerous sword wielder replied. Natsu realized who they were and relaxed himself.

"Ahem!" caught attention of the two mages who readied themselves for battle face the scorn pinkette.

"NATSU!" the yelled in unison.

"I found this place first hoggers!" He replied with a mean look.

"We heard you left Fairy Tail!" Millianna replied

"And now you can leave my campsite" he replied ruefully.

"Haven't you ever heard of manners?" Kagura replied getting a little annoyed by the pinkette.

"Yeah I have… I have heard that manners are for idiots, now get to it you two, I'm not in a fighting mood at the moment"

"Good then you can get your ass kicked!" Kagura replied as she launched herself at him meanwhile Millianna just found herself to be a very scarred bystanding kitty.

Kagura attacked Natsu with her sword in sheath, to which Natsu just raised his arm. The impact was more like a love tap for the dragon slayer. "Are you serious, you know I can kick your ass right?"

"I like to see you try!" Kagura replied delivering another blow as she did a 180 to attack him on his right gut, but that was also stopped by the same hand moving down to catch the blade this time. She looked at him with widest eyes, she knew she might have to go all out on him. He pulled her blade back up with it Kagura. Face to Face, breath to breath, Millianna found herself blushing at the two.

"Say at the grand magic games you went all out against Erza, while she kicked your ass right?" she just stood there with no reaction yet. "While I went against the Sting and Rogue with maybe half my power" now she found a terrifying feeling in her gut "So do you really think you can beat me?" she gulped down the last bit of saliva she had left. She started to find her sense of security after the seconds had passed, and decided she was gonna attack him once again this time with her sword to teach him that she was no pushover. Yet Natsu sensed it before she could make a move "Fuck it" he thought as he did his own 180 to throw Kagura in the nearby lake to her surprise. Millianna found herself going after Kagura to see if she was okay.

Natsu started setting up his sleeping bag and fire. Natsu found a stick to which he could fish with, while Kagura and Millianna found themselves spying on the man from the forest. Both of them were wet because of Natsu. Millianna had found herself looking for kagura who didn't know how to swim. As they spied on him they saw him catch over 50 fish's back to back in an hour. No matter what happens in the world Natsu will never lose his motion sickness and appetite. They saw him cut some of the fishes up and put it in a pot above the fire with water and a few vegetables to make some soup. Something the other two could definitely use. Then he drew a circle around the site and spoke out the words "Wyldfire!". Turning the circle into a fire barrier to keep the other two out. Whom he had started to smell as soon as they got dry. "I know you're out there! I just casted a barrier around my food if you try to break it you will severely burn yourself, and last I checked the closest hospital is a little over 50 miles away, see ya!"

"Damn him!" Kagura mumbled beneath her breath.

"Hey Kagura, I have an idea on how to get back at Natsu" Millianna whispered towards her. Kagura raised an eyebrow as she saw the evil glare in her eyes.

The two followed the pinkette back down to edge of the lake as he stopped in front of it. He cracked his neck and back before he stripped himself of all his clothing. Kagura and Millianna were blushing to Natsu's bare ass. They found the young dragon slayer to be one of the hottest being to ever live, figuratively and literally! As Natsu entered the cold water he sat down at the north edge to relax. Only his shoulder up was visible, he relaxed himself at the edge and suddenly a peculiar mist rose up from the water. Apparently Natsu's body had turned the cold water into a hot tub. As Natsu relaxed, closing his eyes he rested his head back, and his bulky arms on the ledge. The girls witnessed his wet hair dripping over the ledge, as they saw this their entire being was struck in awe of his innocence at the moment. Little did they know there wasn't much innocence left in that man, if there was it was not going to come out for a rather long time. About a half hour went by as Natsu woke up again, and noticed that the scent of the two women had retreated. Natsu got out of the lake, still completely naked, and found his clothes missing. He gave up in defeat as he realised this was payback from the two.

Somewhere else Kagura and Millianna were facing each other, slumped down on opposite trees.

"Millianna, I think we might have gone a bit too far, I mean we didn't even leave him his shorts!" Kagura said disagreeing with her friends methods.

"Oh please Kagura, I know you're happy about this little payback, now he'll get sick too!" Millianna replied.

"You know it does kinda feel good…" Kagura sneezed afterwards and then widened her eyes "Millianna!..."

"What Kagura?"

"What if he comes looking for us… And we just took all of his clothes!" Kagura replied as both their face went redder than the blood in their bodies.

"Ahem!' Natsu cleared his throat. The two turned around to see the naked pinkette with his arms folded and everything out in the open.

"I am a dragon slayer you know!"

No reply came from the two as they admired his body. And when I say his body I mean every single inch of it. Natsu just stood their with a straight face as if standing naked is the same as standing fully clothes.

"You can take the rest if you want, I know I went a bit too far, but give me back my scarf or the beating you got from Erza would seem like child's play!"

"Why the scarf and not the boxers?" Both wondered in unison.

"Nope you can have all of it, only if you share your food, we were following you all day and forgot to hunt!" Kagura replied looking away with a huge blush.

"Yeah I knew that would happen, I caught extra just for you guys, and your soup should be ready soon" Natsu replied as the two turned to his eyes in envy, but realised he is still naked.

They walked back to the campsite where Natsu put on a pair of his night shorts and the scarf around his neck. He still didn't wear a t-shirt, which the girls occasionally admired. An hour or so passed by with small talk as they found themselves circled around the fire, that blew even higher now. Natsu smoke his fish and drank his soup, to fill his weary stomach. As Kagura was about to pick her first bowl of soup up, Natsu hit her hand away with a stick and Millianna's for going after the fish.

"Your clothes… get rid of them!" He said in a mean tone.

"WHAT?!" The two said in unison.

"You guys are already sick, if you don't want to get worse, I suggest changing into something more comfortable, and less wet"

"But we didn't pack extra clothings" Natsu hanged his head in defeat.

"Jeez what are you guys even doing here so deep in the forest?" He asked as he took out two of his biggest T-shirts and handed it to them.

"We're on a quest!" Millianna replied as she and Kagura went behind the trees to change into the shirts. AND THEY WORE NOTHING ELSE….

As they ate their food Millianna asked Natsu about his scarf.

"Igneel gave it to me as a present…" he replied.

"Igneel was your dragon right?"

"Yeah… I have no idea where he is right now, but one day I'll find him"

"I hope you do…" Kagura replied.

"So what's this quest?"

"We are tracking a mage who's been destroying this forest, apparently parts of the Forest are found dead" Millianna replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah apparently he's a lone mage, his trail leads us in this direction"

"It isn't you is it?" Kagura asked out of the blue sipping her soup away.

"No… but I should tell you turn back and return to your guild anyhow" he replied finishing his food.

"And why is that?" Kagura asked.

"Because the wizard you're looking for is Zeref, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to die"

"WHAT?" Both yelled again.

Natsu fiddling his ear replied "Do you guys practice this?"

"Zeref's dead Natsu has been for a long time" Kagura said.

"Well then I wonder who the guy was at Tenrou Island, who destroyed a part of that Island just like this forest… Oh and we can't forget him calling Acnologia too" Natsu replied with a straight face.

"Wait zeref's alive, then why was Jellal trying to revive him?" Millianna asked.

"It's a long story and I am pretty tired, so the short version is that Jellal was brainwashed at the time, and the people who were doing that to him were under the pretense he was dead and on Tenrou Island, so now that you have had your questions and half my meal, I'd like to get some sleep!" He replied yawning, trying to get away from the conversation.

"Either way we are going to accompany you tomorrow morning, since you seem to be heading in his direction"

"I am not just going his direction, I'm going for him, I need to get some answers, and you can't come, I've got a particular goal in my mind which needs my immediate attention so I'd like it if you would go back to your guild, and spread the word to the other guilds, to train themselves and prepare"

"Prepare for what?" Millianna asked.

"A war!" he replied as he fell asleep on his tarp and with his stuff under his head and a blanket over him.

"Hey you can't go to bed after saying something like that wake up!" Kagura yelled at him, while shaking him awake.

"Just shut up! I have had enough for tonight! I'm gonna sleep, why don't you go too, I'll drop you guys off to the nearest town, we'll talk tomorrow!" He replied turning away.

"Fine but where are we supposed to sleep in this cold?"

"Why does this happen with me!" Natsu cried in his sleep. Getting up he opened his blanket up to the largest portion. "I've only got one, so we gotta share!" he replied.

The girls blushed at this but since they had no choice they both sandwiched Natsu with their huge tits to finally get a poky reaction of the pinkette underneath the tight blanket. They were hugging him tightly for the warmth that radiated off of him. And Natsu tried his best to fall asleep.

The Next Morning.

A bright light and some very annoying poking woke her up. Kagura opened her eyes to find Natsu, almost finishing his packing with an apple stuck in his mouth. To her right was Millianna waking her up.

"What's going on?"

"He was gonna leave us here all alone if I didn't wake you up" Millianna replied a bit worried.

"Where are you going?" Kagura asked him.

"After Zeref"

"What?! Why!"

"None of your business now tell me anything I might have missed?" Natsu asked to which Kagura just felt confused.

"What, what are you talking about?"

"You know any evidence I might have missed while investigating the forest"

"Well for that I need to know what you know, you idiot?!"

"Forest Dead, tracks leading this way" Natsu said pointing under the sun.

"That's about all we know too"

"Man you guys are useless" Natsu replied with a pouty face.

To which Kagura just yelled back at him while reaching for her sword. But thanks to Millianna a fight was avoided. She held her while Natsu resumed his journey.

"Hey wait you still haven't told us about what you said last night" Millianna called out, which Kagura suddenly remembered.

"Hey Wait!" They yelled after him but he silently kept walking as they tried to question him. They found no response in him, so they just like him walked silently with worried faces. Kagura walked side by side with Millianna and Natsu lead the informal group. One by one he kept eating his snacks that kept coming from his sack. The two hungry girls wished he would share but alas they had to hunt and scavenge for their food.

A few days went by with this routine. Natsu was questioned again and again till the grls gave up. It was almost time for them to return to their guild. But Natsu just kept walking in the opposite direction. There was no sign of the black mage he was in search for until on the fourth night of their gathering they heard a loud burst of Magic in the area. Natsu was setting up his tent when he left half his things in the middle of the forest as he dashed to it. Natsu was fast…. Faster then he had been during the grand magic games, it was proved in the eyes of the sword wielder. Natsu made his way through the forest so fast that his scarf was gliding of his shoulder. Of course he caught it before it could get away till he came upon a wizard in the middle of the forest. On his Knees, he had tears coming down his cheeks as the forest around them had withered and died.

"ZEREF!" Natsu angered.

The black Mage in his usual robes turned around to find the pinkette staring at him while two of his companions caught up to him. At their arrival he whispered "Natsu…."

"He's Zeref?!" Kagura wondered.

"Not at all what I thought he would look like" Millianna whispered back to Kagura. They held a certain grudge against him, but looking at him like this they couldn't come to harm him.

"Natsu what are you doing here?" He asked

"Looking for you…" Natsu replied relaxing himself.

"Why?"

"I came to join you what else?" he replied with his toothy grin.

"WHAT!" The girls yelled in unison.

Sorry guys this was a bit too short but I just didn't want to reveal too much this week. I just wanted to thank you guys for the reviews, I want you guys to know I will answer your questions when I publish the next chapter for this. Review, reply, suggest whatever you guys want I am open all ears. And I will see you guys soon. Thanks….

Shay