All Rights to Hiro Mashima
Enjoy the chapter my precious cupcakes :3
THREE
Natsu wasn't sure of many things at the moment, but he was positive he at least understood exactly three things.
One, he was absolutely certain that Gray was the worst person ever and he was justified in the glaring matches that they had been sharing.
The second being the small blue cat…Exceed…whatever, was the most mischievous thing in the entire world. The glimmer in Happy's eyes was nothing short of devilish.
And three…Lucy's hips were incredibly hypnotizing. They swung like a pendulum in front of him and he felt a trickle of heat creep down his spine.
He liked being lead around by her, with her hand clasped firmly in his own. He could feel the rough calluses on the pads of her fingers and palms, and it made him feel warm.
Safe.
Content.
Another great reason was the view. Small skirt, swaying hips, legs that just kept going. He still had basic bodily functions still and those pesky, sometimes painful emotions that dredged up flashes of the memories and the imprints they had left behind.
Some of them were fleeting glimpses of something, but most had revolved around the woman that he was trailing behind like a lost pet.
He already knew he was hopelessly out of his depth. With his magic, with Lucy…with everything that had been going on since he could remember.
Had he really only been that morning that he had woken up unaware of everything? It felt like days and weeks instead of mere hours.
The most troubling thought that had silently slipped through his broken mind was the fact that he didn't have the full extent of his magic now. He didn't even know how to use what little was left, let alone do anything heroic to protect the most important people in his life.
He didn't know much, but he knew all these people in this building…guild…in Fairy Tail, were his most precious people. And if anyone asked…Lucy would be somewhere at the top.
It was either instinct or an impression or gut feeling, but he would follow that woman around to the ends of the world, go where she went, protect her without a second thought.
But he also had a distinct feeling that it went both ways. She would be by his side through thick and thin, remind him of what was important, keep him grounded. Trust him completely…
He cringed and staggered back into Gray who had been trailing behind him. The brooding popsicle shoved him and cursed until Lucy – who had stumbled when Natsu had suddenly stopped walking – pushed in between them with such a worried look on her face that Gray lost his trail of thought, words petering out into an awkward hush.
But Natsu didn't notice any of that because his head was pounding again and he was so dizzy that he just wanted the world to stop spinning for one minute, please.
Then a flash, a single image that lasted for a moment and a thousand years.
She was plummeting off a tower screaming his name. Phantom pain burst through his lungs and his legs and his heart squeezed with panic while his stomach squirmed and flopped about.
Golden hair whipped around her face, eyes shut tight.
Falling.
Falling.
She was going to crash into the ground and he needed to go so much fucking faster. She was going to die and she was screaming for him. For him to catch her.
He couldn't move fast enough, he was going to miss—
Like a rubber band, he snapped back into the present, heart beating wildly, panting and heaving as if it
had all just happened.
"Natsu? Can you hear me?"
He nodded and swallowed thickly, finally noticing that he was shaking with adrenaline and terrified over the fact that he hadn't been able to catch her. But Lucy was there, she was standing right in front of him, amber eyes stormy with confusion and worry.
"What happened?"
"—you jumped. You were falling and I—I couldn't…"
Her hands caught both sides of his face and he was forced to stare directly at her fierce expression. "You caught me. You always do."
His heart stuttered again. "How many times has this happened?"
She laughed quietly and waved the question off like she didn't launch herself over cliffs and off towers with only the thought that he would be at the bottom. It was ludicrous. She was mystifying and it terrified him. "At least…twice? Probably more."
"What?!" His yelp startled her into giggling.
"I'll tell you all about it later. But you always catch me Natsu. Always."
"How can you be so sure? What if—?"
Lucy shook her head vehemently. "No. You will always catch me."
"How do you know that?"
Her blinding smile punched him in the stomach and he was breathless for a moment. "Cause I trust you."
Natsu nodded slowly, remembering the overwhelming trust that had ripped that broken memory out of his mind. It wasn't just his trust in her, it was the feeling of her trust in him.
It was almost too much, and he didn't know what to do but stare at her some more. He knew without a doubt that he would do anything in his power to catch her before she ever hit the ground.
An awkward cough pulled Natsu back to himself as Erza slid pointed looks at them both. They were surrounded by bewildered and amused guild members while a slyly snickering Happy floated above Gray's head.
"They like each other."
Lucy rolled her eyes, ears pinking slightly as she breezily sidestepped the true meaning of that statement from the blue-furred devil. "Of course I do. Natsu is my best friend."
Natsu's stomach erupted in warmth and he glanced down surprised that he wasn't actually on fire. That was something he could do, right? He had heard enough from Makarov and Lucy to know he accidentally lit lots of things on fire.
But no. It was just a feeling he had. Something…inherently happy.
He was pleased that he was her friend. Her best friend. That meant that they were close, right?
"You know that's not what I mean Lushi." Happy floated down into her arms again and snuggled up to her bosom.
Lucy only sighed and hummed noncommittally, shot the sniggering guildmates a flat look that had them turning hastily around, before continuing on their path to the bar.
She still hadn't let go of his hand, and that was more than okay with him. They were best friends after all.
Although…as Natsu watched Lucy bark at Gray to stop unbuttoning your pants, I don't need to see your dick again you ridiculous stripper he thought that perhaps best friends wasn't quite the words he was looking for.
It didn't seem like enough.
-ooo-
"Hey Mira, where's Romeo? I thought he would be back from that job he was on but I can't find him anywhere." Lucy plunked down the lightly snoozing cat in her arms on top of the bar counter, and watched as he just rolled over mumbling about 'sweet fishies.'
Erza and Gray split off from them, accepting a couple of dark drinks from a woman wearing a bright blue bikini and chestnut hair.
Natsu took a seat at the bar beside Lucy and looked around at the white-haired woman in front of them.
A shiver of trepidation ran down his spine. He knew that this woman, however, sweet looking was inordinately terrifying.
"Good afternoon Lucy, Natsu. I got word from Max earlier today, he and Romeo got waylaid in Oshibana. Something about the trains being down for routine maintenance. They should be back tomorrow in the afternoon sometime." Mira smiled sweetly and waved one of her hands around in an airy manner.
A frown started to pull at Lucy's face. Natsu didn't really like that look on her, the smile she sometimes wore was so much better. "Don't worry Luce, it won't kill me for a day."
She looked at him and contemplated her options. "Yeah, I guess not. Master asked me to show you around, jog your mind if I can. At the very least help you find your way around Magnolia without getting lost, seeing as you don't have your enhanced senses anymore." A small smile started to curl at the edges of her mouth replacing the frown.
"You know, you don't look so weird when you smile." The bare truth slipped out of his mouth before he could reel it back into his throat. The words felt natural though like he had said them a million times before.
Or maybe he had only thought them.
"Thanks, Natsu." To his relief, and ever maddening surprise, Lucy started to giggle and an absolutely adorable blush started to wind its way up her cheeks, tinting them a light pink hue.
It was cute, and he couldn't help that self-satisfied smile that pushed his lips.
"You know, I should be used to you calling me weird by now."
It was another one of those instincts that he had, something that he had strong feelings over. Lucy shook her head a little and swiveled back towards Mira and abruptly froze in her seat.
The woman looked ravenous even though there was nothing more than a placid smile on her face.
It was in her eyes, the look of a predator that had zeroed in on a kill.
"Oh Natsu, how nice of you to complement Lucy like that, it was very….unexpected." She murmured demurely as her ice blue eyes flashed.
Something thumped against the wooden bar top beside him.
Lucy had dropped her forehead onto the counter in front of her and huffed tiredly. "Mira, stop it, he has no memories and his magic is gone, we're tired and I want a bath and lots of wine. I would also like it if you would stop playing gam—Natsu?"
"Yeah?"
"Did she stop listening?"
"Uh huh."
"She's humming, right?"
"Yes."
"Twirling around with a manic look in her eyes that could scare anyone into an early grave?"
"Uhhh…yeah."
Which was the truth, the barmaid had stopped listening somewhere during Lucy's tirade and was now gracefully spinning around and refilling drinks for other patrons.
Lucy rolled her face to look at her partner, her cheek pressed against the wood grain. "She'll be preoccupied for hours." She stifled a yawn and Natsu finally remembered how tired he was.
His eyelids drooped as he yawned wide. He could probably sleep right here in the bustling beer hall of this noisy guild.
"I think a nap is actually in order."
"That sounds—" His words were cut off with a louder, longer yawn than the last. Even his bones were exhausted. "—great."
"Come on Natsu. Let's get out of here while we can."
He was already halfway out of his seat, clumsily reaching for her hand before he caught himself. Lucy's cool hand slipped into his as if she didn't see his hesitation. She tugged him out the large double doors letting them boom softly behind them.
-ooo-
Lucy had shown him the quickest route to her apartment, but Natsu knew that he wouldn't be able to retrace his steps if his life depended on it. He was more interested in the town and all the people and the way Lucy glowed as she passionately explained things.
She pulled a small brass key off a separate ring on her belt, unlocked the door and stumbled into her apartment with Natsu right behind her.
They kicked off her shoes and ambled up the stairs slowly. Natsu stopped in his tracks at the top when he watched her face twist into something strange.
Was she bemused? Confused?
Something like that.
"What?"
She snorted and shook her head. "It's nothing really. I was just thinking about how that was the first time you've used my front door since I moved in here."
"Seriously?"
"Well, yeah. You aren't the most conventional person in the whole world."
"How the hell do I usually get in?"
Lucy laughed at his bewildered face and pulled thick blankets and a couple pillows out of her linen closet. "It took me a couple of weeks to figure it out and catch you at it because you were normally just waiting for me to get home. I should have caught on earlier…"
Natsu followed her pointed finger towards the closest wall. "The window? I would break in through the damn window?"
"Yeah."
He stuck his head out the open window and looked down, balking at the distance to the ground. "What the fuck." He whispered to himself. "Who the hell am I? What the hell am I?"
"I got used to it after a while. You kept doing it and refused to use the door because it was too normal or something."
"Normal?"
"Sorry to break your brain Natsu, but none of us at Fairy Tail are normal. You eat fire like it's going out of style and were raised by a Dragon, Erza has a strange and terrifying love of all things strawberry, Gray has his own stalker and I was once sacrificed to a temple that turned into a giant fish. And Happy…is just Happy. That's just our team too."
"You were sacrificed?"
"Oh. You bet. It's crazy how many times people have come after one of us because of our magic. There was this one time…"
They fell back onto the couch, legs tangled, and covered in blankets while Lucy told him all about Zentopia and the Neo Oracion Seis.
Their tiredness was forgotten for the moment.
-ooo-
Lucy woke up only hours later to a blood-red sunset. Realizing that they had dropped off into slumber on the couch while in the middle of her stories, she blearily looked down at her best friend.
His face was smashed between her and the couch, face pressed into her stomach, small snores escaping ever once and a while.
She shifted to give him more room but she couldn't move too far away. Natsu's arms were wrapped around her like a clingy octopus preventing her escape.
Even she could recognize that she didn't truly want to leave this bubble of peace. But she tried for posterities sake but gave up after only a couple of seconds.
Lucy sighed and let a small smile brighten her face. Laying back on the pillow, she swept the spiky pink bangs back from his forehead.
Natsu grumbled and murmured slightly before settling back down.
Lucy closed her eyes as her heart gave a silly twirl in her chest, happy for the moment that this was familiar, that Natsu still unconsciously stayed close to her.
Some things never change.
-ooo-
Natsu woke, still drowsy but he definitely felt better than he did earlier that day. He watched the moon rise high into the sky while the stars glimmered.
He didn't move away from his blonde captive in his arms, he didn't want to. He was warm and comfortable. Listening to Lucy breathe and hearing her heartbeat was oddly soothing, and it did wonders to ease his whirling mind.
Home.
An inexplicable feeling of contentedness flowed through him like a river.
He relaxed back and breathed in slowly, letting his mind go, not thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow, or the day after, not worry about his memories, and just enjoyed the feeling of being safe.
Before he dropped off again, he had a thought that perhaps home wasn't a building, but a person.
-ooo-
At breakfast the next day, Natsu was startled out of a bacon haze – he had never tasted something so delicious before – by Lucy as she dropped seven leather bound books beside his plate.
"What're these Luce?"
She smiled and brushed the spine of one of them with a fond smile. "Our adventures."
Natsu quickly pulled the top one off and cracked it open to the first page were the words "The Battle of Fairy Tail" in neat cursive.
She gently pulled the book out of his hands and replaced it with the thinnest one that was bound in a soft hunter green. "Here Natsu, I know you have lots of questions, about everything I would imagine. This is everything that's happened to us since you brought me home to Fairy Tail for the very first time. It's all from my perspective, but I think it'll help your curiosity."
He opened the one he held to see the same writing with the simple title of "The Salamander" and grinned up at Lucy who looked down bashfully.
"You wrote all of these?"
"Every single one. I've never let anyone read them before, but if they have to be read by someone other than me, then it would always be you."
His eyes flitted down to the first page. "I'm the Salamander, right?"
Lucy smiled and laughed. "Just read Natsu, I promise they were answer everything you want to know about our life together fighting and living and going on adventures. I'm going to take that bath that I wanted yesterday then we can head back to the guild after lunch. We can talk to Romeo and train with him if you think you're ready."
Natsu nodded absently, already immersed in her written world that seemed so alive. She giggled at this side of her best friend that she rarely got to see. He was so hyperactive that this amount of inactivity was strange.
Lucy ran her fingers through his hair and tousled the unruly locks further. "Call if you need anything, alright?"
She didn't get an answer, but that was okay with her. The bath was calling her name.
Natsu kept reading, feeling a pull from these words deep in his mind, every sentence read with a hint of déjà vu. This was his life too, but he didn't remember it at all.
…his hair was the strangest shade of pink I've ever seen and when I locked eyes with him…the Salamander's spell broke almost immediately. That disgusting creep had been using a charm spell on everyone, but thanks to the boy and his flying cat, I wasn't another victim…
-ooo-
"Natsu!? What the hell?"
"…fucking Bora was using my name? To kidnap women!? What the fuck!"
"Yes, I realize it was an injustice to your good name or whatever, but he was taken to jail by the rune knights. We saved all those girls on his ship and the human trafficking ring was broken."
"Okay. Right."
"Good. If that's all…could you please get the hell out of my bathroom! I'm naked Natsu! GET OUT!"
-ooo-
"All right brats, stop your blabbing and report back. Laxus, please tell us what you've found while you were hunting down Mystogan."
Two days after the first meeting, Makarov had called for an emergency convening of everyone who had been tasked with figuring out what the hell happened and where Natsu's magic had gone. The only thing he would tell them was that Gajeel had come across something big, but even he didn't know what it was.
Romeo had been invaluable to Natsu for two entire days, first by teaching him the basics of fire magic – as he had learned from his father Macao – then moving into intermediate spells when Natsu caught on awfully fast. It turned out Natsu's fire was very close to Totomaru, one of the vanquished Element Four, although Natsu couldn't control fire to the extent that he could.
Unbelievably, or perhaps it was quite believable when Romeo had started to show Natsu moves that he used in sparring against other opponents, his body had still remembered everything that he previously. Muscle memory as it were. Lucy was relieved and Natsu was as well, glad beyond belief that at least part of him knew how to fight still. Unfortunately, he had to unlearn some of his regular moves. The first time Natsu had shut his brain off and let his body fight on instinct alone, he had done a maneuver that he normally didn't need to think about it, but as he breathed deep and yelled "Fire Dragon's Roar" he was bowled over with a splitting headache and weak knees, along with a fleeting vision of a massive red beast.
"What the hell was that?"
"Oh? The Dragon?"
"Yeah."
"That's your father. Igneel."
"Goddamn, he's big."
Lucy had laughed herself into tears. "No shit Natsu. He was a Dragon."
They were happy though, that Natsu wouldn't be as vulnerable as they thought, and with Lucy at his side, they would be a formidable team.
Although, Lucy had reminded him that he would need to learn what each of her spirits did, and meet them all again so that there were no misunderstandings in the middle of a battle. He had laughed loudly and reminded her of their first unofficial mission together, going after Macao on Romeo's behest.
He had attacked Taurus thinking he was another monster.
Natsu had been devouring the books of her reading, although there hadn't been much time between training and sleeping in the past two days. He had asked Lucy to carry the current journal he was reading everywhere they went and pulled it out at periodic down times.
Like where they were now, situated in the Master's office, squished together like sardines in a can. Natsu was seated in an armchair with Lucy perched on the arm, completely engrossed in the third journal bound in light gold fabric that shimmered in the light. Lucy smiled as she recognized that one.
It was their first official guild quest, the one they took to destroy the book Daybreak.
Everyone had given Natsu a bewildered look, trying to wrack their minds for another time they had witnessed the Slayer completely still and silent while reading.
Lucy held no illusions though. She knew that Natsu – if he wanted to show it – was brilliant in his own right – his actions during fights where obvious. He could be obtuse but never dumb. He just usually didn't give a shit about stuff like that.
The only one that seemed to take offense in the fact that Natsu wasn't paying attention to them, was Gray. Who had tried on more than one occasion to get him riled up. But he was brushed off easily by Natsu who with only a single scowl and a "piss off ice princess" had gone back to his book. So, Gray pouted and threw Natsu petulant glares over his shoulder and once tried to get into his face, but was stopped by Erza's hand clamping down on his shoulder in an iron grip.
So now here they were, with Gray on the other side of Erza with both her and Lucy standing in between them, with an engrossed Natsu silently sniggering over Virgo's original form on one side and a fidgety ice make mage on the other. Erza's presence really helped to ensure "good behaviour" but Lucy was under the impression that Natsu wasn't really thinking about brawling at the moment, as the last one – which was instigated by a very idiotic Natsu calling Gray out of his "tiny icicle dick" only that morning – that had sucked in mages from all over the guild that didn't usually brawl, including Levy and a very annoyed Laxus.
Natsu was still sporting a bruised jaw and Gray's shiner was practically glowing against his pale skin.
Wendy had refused to heal them on the basis that they were being stupid. Lucy agreed and no amount of whining from Natsu had her changing her mind.
She was still pissed that they managed to ruin another one of her skirts.
Thus, the physical barrier between the ice princess and fire crotch.
Suddenly, in the middle of the lull, while everyone got their notes in order, a large burst of golden light and bedazzling sparkles lit up the room, scaring the pants off all the mages present in the office.
It literally scared the pants off Gray.
As well as his shirt.
"Holy hell Loke!" The playboy lion took a short bow to the Master and turned towards Lucy with a wiggle of his eyebrows and practiced sex-eyes. "Lucy, my lioness, your love called me through the gate into this realm...your knight in perfectly tailored armor has arrived."
Lucy scoffed and rolled her eyes, slightly pissed that Loke had so much power he could just walk through his gate at any time. Handy if she needed help but didn't have enough magic power to open another gate. Not so helpful when she was…in the bath and he just showed up out of nowhere.
Repeatedly.
"Can it fuzzball, we both know I didn't summon you. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you remember the conversation we had last week about you popping in and out of your own accord?"
She watched Wendy wave the lingering glitter in the air away before she sneezed. "And seriously Loke, what the hell is with all the sparkles lately?"
"Oh, you mean the conversation we had after I materialized in the shower with you? That one?" Lucy's eyes snapped up towards the obnoxious cat whose grin seemed to be splitting his face in half.
Natsu's head whipped over to glance at Loke, his book snapped shut with more force than necessary in a clenched hand.
"Yes, that conversation." She snipped back at Loke. Natsu shot annoyed glares towards the flirty cat spirit as he stalked towards his key-wielder.
Loke adjusted his glasses on his nose and gave me the once-over with his green eyes. "I chose to ignore most of what you said, truthfully I don't remember it all that well, I was…distracted…by all that skin." He practically purred, obviously reminiscing happier times.
Lucy crossed her arms under her bust and feigned disinterest, but her small smile was wicked. "Tsk. Naughty kitty. What would Aries think if she caught you flirting with me?"
Loke look torn between answering with another painfully obvious pick up line and sobering completely as he was entirely loyal to the ram spirit.
Gray sniggered into his closed fist. "Shit, she's got you there man."
Collectively, the guilds foremost perverts chuckled and guffawed like morons. Which wasn't to say much because all but Wendy, Levy – because she was engrossed in an ancient book as big as her head – and Natsu, who was too busy giving Loke a look that would have killed the pesky cat many times over if it were at all possible.
The temperature in the room started to rise which was a surprise to Lucy especially. He never usually had problem with his body heat regulation.
She would have to ask Romeo about that when they saw him next.
"Loke," Lucy's no-nonsense tone stopped him in his enthusiastic rendition of their extravagant wedding they were going to have in the future, "why are you even here? I've been waiting for Crux to get back to me, but haven't heard anything yet."
"Crux found something and was going to let you know, but I haven't been to Earthland in a while and volunteered to come in his stead. He's been researching the problem with Natsu since you summoned him last. He's found out bits and pieces of information that might be of help, but would like to confer with Levy sometime to help accumulate and narrow down the data." I look over at the Levy and she nodded.
"Please tell Grandpa Crux that I will be summoning him later to help with the research, but after this meeting is done."
Loke grinned back at Lucy, but it was strained. He always worried needlessly about her, ever since the Dragon King Festival. "Anything for you…princess, call me if you need help in the shower again, I would love to wash your back. Oh, and the sparkles are just for fun. You know you love it when I make an entrance." Loke winked one before he dropped a loud smacking kiss to her forehead. He poofed away in a shower of effervescence that looks suspiciously like a fairy exploded.
Lucy was stunned for a moment before she smiled fondly. She knew that Loke would always have her back in everything they did together. He was a loyal lion after all. A true Leo.
"Tch, show-off." Natsu rolled his eyes, opened the journal and continued reading. He didn't look very happy and his temperature was still climbing.
Fast.
"Damn it Natsu! Tone down the heat would yah? It's like a fucking sauna in here." Laxus and Bickslow throw off their ever-present cloaks onto Evergreen and she buckled slightly from the weight of them.
Natsu smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck and the air decreased to a bearable temperature. "Sorry, I still don't quite have a hold of that feature of my magic yet. Romeo says it will take some time to get it."
Master Makarov tapped out a pile of used herbs from his pipe and reloaded. "Let's get back on track, shall we? Laxus, your report please."
"We searched for two full days using my teleportation to get us between towns. The last time anyone saw a hint of Mystogan was way out in the Waas Forest, but that was over a month ago. The witnesses said that he had a woman with pink hair with him, which at this point we believe was Meredy."
Master stroked his beard sagely, letting smoke rings drift up towards the ceiling. "I see. Well, we can't really confirm or deny anything until we get a hold of Jellal. I still can't get a reply from him. Alright, Wendy, you spoke to Porlyusica about implanting the lacrima into Natsu again, yes?"
Twin pigtails bounce as she nodded. "Yes master, I called as soon as you asked, but she needed to do some research about it. She called me back last night after I left the guild for the evening. She says that it is possible to implant the lacrima back into his body. However, she says that the lacrima and the magic inside of it may not take to him as before, and there is no guarantee that he would even survive the process." She grimaced. "She also gave us a warning about the magic housed in the lacrima. She says that because it holds such ancient magic that the lacrima will start to break down and deteriorate. Natsu's magic along with his memories will be lost if too much time passes."
"How much time do we have child?" Master asked gently. Lucy's hand crept silently into Natsu's where it sat limply on the open book page. She squeezed lightly to give comfort, and he leaned into her side as if to soak up her warmth.
"We have no more than a month until everything is lost. She recommends that we don't take longer than two weeks though, as a precaution." Wendy was on the verge of tears now. Erza opened her arms and dragged the tiny Slayer into a gentle hug as Charles whispered from her spot in the young mage's arms.
"Thank you, Wendy. Please let Porlyusica know that we might need her services to implant the lacrima later if all else fails to transfer Natsu's magic back into him without the need of surgery." Makarov rose his eyebrows towards Levy and waved his hand.
"What have you two found out?" Master looked at them with expectant eyes.
Levy pulled out reams of yellowed parchment covered in strange languages and runes, giving half to Freed to hold. "As far as we can tell Master, it is entirely plausible that we could put Natsu's magic back into him. We would just need to reverse the spell and have someone with an abnormal amount of magical power cast it. You would have the necessary reserves to do it, Master, Gildarts could do it too if we could find him…maybe Laxus in a pinch, but it's a fifty-fifty shot with him."
I swivel around to look at Levy, but I get caught off guard by the affronted look on Freed's normally stoic face. "Laxus could do the spell no difficulties Ms. McGarden, just you watch." Freed sniffed and looked over at Laxus with puppy dog eyes.
The hulking man just rolled his eyes, pretending to not notice Freed's gaze while he fiddled with his sound pod. However, a hint of a blush was creeping up his neck turning the tips of his ears pink, whether from embarrassment at Freed's words or something else.
Interesting.
Lucy caught Bickslow's glowing green eyes beneath his visor and he grinned, showing off his guild mark. She mused silently that Laxus and Freed would make a good pair, as soon as Freed stopped his hero worship and Laxus pulled his head out of his ass.
"Well, that's good to hear about his magic. But you never mentioned his memories."
Freed sighed heavily. "It's because we just don't know. We can't even project the possibility of his memories being correctly inserted again because as far as we can tell, this situation that has arisen has never happened before. The spell should only take away a person's magic. So, we are literally out of our depths in this case. Hopefully conferring with Ms. Lucy's spirit will shed some light on the issue."
"So, what does this mean for me? Will I not get my memories back?" Natsu sounded like he was gearing up for a panic attack. His body temperature rose again. Lucy shifted closer to keep him grounded.
"Calm down Natsu, you're making me sweat again, and not in a good way." Gray stripped of his undershirt – which was a miracle that he still had it on – and stood in only his boxers. This wasn't anything new to anyone. We had all seen way too much of the ice mage than we had ever wanted to see.
Natsu's face contorted to one of confusion, anxiety forgotten for a moment. "When would you ever sweat in a good way?"
Gray looked smug. "Sex, you flaming fart. I meant sex."
The ex-Slayers eyes cleared up instantly. "Oh. Why didn't you just say so?"
Just as Lucy suspected, the gleam in Natsu's eyes was a knowing one. She always suspected that he acted denser than he actually was. That way, people underestimated him and his enemies were always caught off guard.
Although Lucy had to admit, the smirk on her best friend's place was much more sensual than she remembered. It made him look roguish and charming.
"Natsu…where did you learn about sex?" Because it wasn't Lucy who had explained it to him this time around, and she knew for a fact that it was Gildarts who had done the birds and the bees with Natsu when he was much younger.
Natsu gave her a flat look and threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Bickslow."
Of course.
It was either him or Cana. Those two were just two smutty little peas in an even smuttier pod.
Lucy shot a look at Bickslow who only grinned back at her with no shame in his eyes. "Don't look at me Cosplayer, he asked."
"I asked only because I literally saw it happening – which was just all kinds of weird – right in front of my eyes."
Lucy gripped his shoulder. "What do you mean you saw it? You have no memories." I looked around the room and everyone looked over at Natsu expectantly. All but Laxus and Bickslow. Wendy looked like was trying to find a hole to swallow her up and spit her back out somewhere far away from this conversation.
"I wouldn't have any memories of it Mira hadn't asked me to grab another bottle of spiced rum from the far back storage room last night."
Natsu's grin widened into a wicked point before his eyes flashed over to Gray.
The ice-make mage was standing perfectly still with murder in his eyes. He has visibly stiffened but looked like a frightened animal about to bolt.
A smirk found its way back onto Natsu's face as he hummed before continuing his story.
"You would not believe what I saw the ice-princess doing to that brown haired drunk, I didn't even know anyone could contort like that." As one, all the heads in the room swivel to take in a slumped Gray who looked completely defeated.
Suddenly, it started to pour outside. Like the heavens were trying to drown them for their sins.
"Oh Fuck, Juvia's gonna murder Cana." Bickslow cackled in the background as the door slammed open and an actual tidal wave swept through the room.
Sometimes it was hard to forget that Gray had a literal stalker that loved to eavesdrop.
A loud voice screeched "LOVE RIVAL" and no one had any doubts about who was yelling. Everyone laughed and tried to stand again after being bowled over by the impromptu flood.
Natsu hauled a shivering Lucy into his lap. He raised his body temperature - this time on purpose - as she started to shiver.
"You are so dead you flaming fire fuck."
Said fire fuck only shrugged and smiled so innocently that Lucy could almost believe it. Until he looked down at her and winked, situating her in his lap so that they were more comfortable.
Lucy shot a look at Levy who shook her head and gave her another pointed look. This one was well used seeing as their family was full of Fairy Tail mages.
The I haven't got a fucking clue look.
"Alright then…uhm…Lucy, please tell us what you have observed about Natsu and his abilities over the past two days." Master tried to bring the meeting back to order while everyone was wringing out their hair and clothes the best they could onto the stone floor. Erza just re-quipped into dry armour.
Cheater.
Natsu reached up and ran his hands through his hair, letting the steam swirl up towards the ceiling. He started on Lucy's hair – who thanked him quietly – while she addressed the entire room. "Luckily Natsu's fighting abilities weren't taken. He is still being taught by Romeo to control his fire abilities, but his instincts are still ingrained into his body, like muscle memory or something. He just can't do some of his Fire Dragon abilities. He has lost all his heightened senses, and is less resilient seeing he has no access to his Dragon scales or Dragon force."
Master seems satisfied before he pulled a pocket watch out then glanced at the door.
"He's late."
Levy piped up from where she was situated between Wendy and Laxus. "I assume you mean Gajeel?"
"Yes, he's the reason we are even meeting again so soon—"
Not a moment later Gajeel crashed open the door looking decidedly rumpled and very very wet. "Who the fuck pissed off the Rain Woman?"
We all point to Gray who ducked his head and swore his vengeance under his breath.
"Whatever, fucking apologize already, it feels like monsoon season out there."
Master cleared his throat before that debate could get underway. "Alright, Gajeel, what have you learned while being undercover?"
Gajeel sobered immediately. "We have a huge problem on our hands. Someone's been recruiting mages from all the major dark guilds. As far as I could tell it started at least three months ago. There was also some chatter about a breakout from the council jail beneath ERA." He looked pointedly at the Master. "It was cell block B, old man."
Laxus and Makarov looked like they had been punched in the face. "Are you positive Gajeel?" Makarov wheezed out.
"My information is good. The recruitments started almost immediately after. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."
Laxus growled and started to spark sporadically. "He's out?"
"Yeah. You're old man's out there again."
Master slammed a massive hand down on his desk. "Damn you, Ivan!"