Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Fair warning: this fic is rated M for a reason.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

Angel pushed herself up and sent a glare at her opponent, there was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of defeat. Gathering her strength, Angel willed herself to stand up. Across from her, Vergil stood impassively with his arms folded over his chest.

"Again!"

Letting out a battle cry, Angel charged at the blue clad man and tried to kick him. When she was part of Oracion seis, Angel possessed some level of fighting skills, but against Vergil they were useless. Vergil sidestepped her kick and landed a palm strike to her back, not strong enough to hurt her but enough to send her eating dirt.

Chapter 28: The Strongest Guild

"Enough…" panting, Angel flipped up so she was facing up. "I'm exhausted"

Vergil scoffed "I am disappointed. You should be capable of more."

"I'm a celestial mage! I don't specialize in hand to hand fights, my spirits fight for me!" She knew her words would fall on deaf ears, but she still found herself repeated them.

How did she find herself on this situation? Today, Angel expected to have her date with Natsu-kun but, to her unpleasant surprise, the mentioned slayer had gone on a job. To make matters worse, the newly introduced Vergil dragged her out for "training" without her having a say on the matter.

"You shouldn't rely on them. One should only trust on himself and his own power."

Knowing it was pointless to discuss with him, Angel slumped down defeated. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Angel inspects her dirtied and ruined clothes with a sad look. "You're going to buy me a new wardrobe, you got that!"

"I don't have money for such trivial things" Hearing him, Angel slumped down crying cascading tears. "But, I have a proposition for you: I'll get money to buy you those things…"

Angel lit up at his words, but she quickly got suspicious: "what's the catch?"

"You have to defeat me."

Angel gave him a "you're kidding, right?" look, but seeing his stoic face she knew it wasn't a joke "Forget it, I could never beat you."

"I'll take that bet"

Angel and Vergil turned to find Erza "Vergil, if I defeat you, you will go on a job and buy her a new wardrobe."

Vergil looked at Erza straight in the eye as if evaluating her; from the dozens of mages in Fairy Tail, Erza was one that merited recognition. "Very well, defeat me and I will honor my proposition."

The moment Erza sent him a competitive look Vergil knew his opponent would not be as easy as Angel. Ex-quipping to her black wing armor, Erza went straight at Vergil who was forced to parry her sword with his own.

From the sidelines, Angel watched the two combatants letting loose in a display of tremendous speed and ability. Hearing the commotion, a few mages came outside and witnessed the fight going on.

"EVERYONE, COME HERE! ERZA IS FIGHTING VERGIL!"

Everyone inside the guild rushed outside to observe the fight. It was a rare sight to see Erza fighting someone who could keep up with her, and Vergil seemed more than qualified for that.

Seeing she wasn't landing a hit, Erza changed to her heaven's wheel armor and unleashed hundreds of swords against her opponent while Vergil met each blade with one of his summoned swords. Next, she switched to her purgatory armor and slammed her massive sword against Vergil's fragile looking Yamato, but the katana seemed powerful enough to block her attack with ease.

"Wow! They're on pair with each other!"

Not far from the others, Laxus watched the two of them fighting and reached his own conclusion: "That guy…he's just toying with Erza."

Indeed, Vergil was holding back on this fight, but this was the best workout he had in a long time. He was enjoying himself too much to end it, but it had to. Dispersing the flames Erza sent his way, Vergil spoke.

"That is enough, for now" Looking from a surprised Erza to Angel, Vergil said "You, come with me"

"What…where?"

"We are going on a mission." Vergil stated. They way he said it made it sound more like an order than a request.

It took a moment for Angel to process what he told her before she formulated her answer: "Wait a minute! I'm not going with you. I'm gonna stay here and wait for Natsu-kun Hey!" Angel had no time to finish her sentence when she was dragged by Vergil.

"If you want money for your wardrobe, then follow me"

That was enough to shut Angel up.

"Erza Scarlett" Vergil said before disappearing inside the guild "I would like to continue on from where we left."

Erza nodded to Vergil before he left with a ranting Angel. Once the show ended, the present mages went their separate way leaving Erza alone with Makarov.

"What is your analysis?"

"He's strong alright" Erza replied "I dare say, much more than me."

"You're being modest Erza, he might be stronger than Gildarts….or me" Makarov said, leaving that last part for himself.

"Master! Are you sure?"

Nodding, Makarov added "He's hiding his true power, also; I'm not the master anymore. Laxus!"

"What?" The thunder dragon slayer emerged from his spot.

"Follow them. The First might trust him, but I won't take any chances just yet."

"I'm not one of your mages anymore, I got excommunicated, remember?" Laxus replied, making Makarov mad "And even if I was, you're not the master anymore, you can't order me around. But... I'll follow them, just for fun."

While Makarov was irate due to Laxus response, he had to agree with him. "I'm not the master anymore…but it's time a new one is chosen"

"Master" Erza spoke "Will you let Laxus return?"

"That's for Macao to decide, but I'll think about it."

"Kill…me…now…ugh"

Lisanna patted Natsu's head resting on her lap "There, there."

Lisanna, Lucy and Happy, decided to board the train to reach their destination sooner. Natsu was sort of dragged by force, but that's another story.

"Lisanna, you should give him the Erza treatment" Happy said to her, Natsu mumbled-agreed with his partner.

"I could never do that. That would be too cruel for Natsu-kun" Lisanna replied, ignorant to Natsu's desire for her to knock him out.

"I think riding the train is crueler for him" Lucy thought, knowing of Natsu's aberration of transport.

"Happy…gulp…it's up to y-you"

"Aye!"

Before they knew what he was planning, Happy flied straight at Natsu's gut at full speed, knocking both of them. The nearby passengers were startled at first, but quickly returned to their own business.

"Sigh, I should have expected that" Lisanna said and accommodated the knocked out Natsu and Happy on the seat. While she did this, Lucy caught a glimpse of something shining in Lisanna's hand.

"Lisanna, what is…Oh my!" Lucy gasped in recognition "That's an engagement ring!"

"Yeah, hehe" Lisanna forgot to put the ring away and was now forced to explain it to Lucy. "Natsu proposed to me a few days ago."

"Why haven't you announced it?"

"Natsu-kun and I wanted to wait a bit, you know, until everything calmed down a bit."

"I understand. With everything that's been happening I'm not surprised you would want to wait" Lucy knew not only there was the seven year timeskip, she also heard from the couple about Vergil. Lucy shuddered recalling the time Natsu was possessed by the half devil and threatened to decapitate her.

"Then again, maybe we can announce it when we return" Lisanna said.

"About that; what about Angel, how will she take it?"

"She will have to accept it" Lisanna said with a smile, but even Lucy could feel the dark aura she emanated.

"I…I guess." Lucy hesitated for a moment "Lisanna, can I ask you something?"

"Sure" The white haired girl had a feeling it was related to the bond.

"About what's going on with you and Natsu and Angel…how can you stay as calm about it? If it were me, I don't think I could handle it."

"To be honest…I'm still getting used to it." Lisanna confessed to her "But then again, I've gotten used to all of Fairy Tail's crazy behavior."

The rest of the trip was met in relative silence after that, although Lisanna was starting to wonder if she would ever be truly okay with another woman in Natsu's life.

"…My point is that I've decided to retire.' Makarov announced at Fairy Tail "And now, let me introduce to you the next master to you all."

"Wait a second! I'm not ready for…" Macao started saying when Wakaba cut him off.

"It's not you"

Back to Makarov: "The fifth master of Fairy Tail is…Gildarts Clive!" Makarov announced and pointed behind him, unfortunately only Mira was there. "Whaaaaaaaat? Where is Gildarts?"

"He left a letter here" Mira handed him the envelope.

"To master and all friends here; to be the master…Sorry to say I am not suited for it. As Fifth master I'd like to do two things: First is to acknowledge Laxus as a mage of Fairy Tail. Second, is to nominate Makarov Dreyar as the Sixth master of Fairy Tail"

"Me again!" Makarov cried while the Thunder god tribe celebrated the return of Laxus to Fairy Tail (with Laxus himself absent)

"I will travel around for some time and will come back some day. Take care, all of you."

Mira then approached Cana; "He left one for you too"

As Cana opened the envelope, a card depicting Gildarts fell out.

"Cana… Sorry to leave you again. You can always pray to this card when you miss me, and your feelings will reach me."

"I told you that I like the life I have, damn father" Cana thought of tearing the card, but instead got a wicked idea. Approaching the weeping Makarov she said: "Don't worry Master, he'll be back."

A couple of hours later, Gildarts burst into the guild, shocking the present mages.

"I CHANGED MY MIND! LET ME BE THE SEVENTH MASTER!"

In the end it was decided to just start anew and name Gildarts the Fifth Master (much to Makarov's pleasure). Sending a look towards Cana, Macao and the others wondered what did she told Gildarts to have him back here in such a short notice.

Outside, away from prying ears, Cana was talking to Gray.

"What do you mean we should take it slow?" Gray asked after what his pseudo-girlfriend had just told him.

"Just that, to take our relationship slow" Cana tried to calm him down "there's no hurry, right?"

"One thing is to go slow, as in once or twice go on dates, a few kisses here and there, but you want to keep it a secret from everyone!"

"Only for a while" Cana tried to convince him "Besides, we haven't even told Juvia about us"

"If that's what's bothering you then I'll tell her right now" Before Gray could leave, Cana grabbed his arm.

"Please, don't. I don't know how she will react."

Gray looked at her and tried to calm himself "Cana, what's wrong? Tell me."

Cana wanted to tell him that she was worried about Juvia's reaction, on top of that, the news of her father being named the fifth master of Fairy Tail had put some pressure on her, but she just looked to the ground and uttered: "Please, let's just wait before telling the others. Please."

The ice mage was lost on what to do; was she embarrassed? Having second doubts? Back at the island she acted very different, but now.

"…Fine"

"Thank you" Cana felt relieved by his answer. Gray just shook it off and started walking away "Where are you going?"

"I need time to think. Alone" Was all he said.

If she was to be honest, she was shy about it. It was the same dilemma of telling Gildarts the truth all over again, only this time it was about telling the others about them. As she watched him go, Cana started feeling she had made a huge mistake.

Once they left the train, Lucy, Lisanna and Happy rested on a bench until Natsu was feeling better.

"Say Natsu, what's the job again?" Lucy asked. "You never told us what it was about"

"Hmmm" Natsu scratched his chin in thought "something about dealing with a band of thieves"

"Did you even read the post before taking it?"

"Of course!" Natsu proudly declared showing Lucy the post.

"I asked if you read it" The celestial mage inspected the post and was glad it was a normal request, not a crazy S-class one, but what really got her attention was the reward."10,000 jewels!"

"More than enough for the four of us" Lisanna added.

"Four, you're not referring to Happy, right?" Lucy asked "What use can he give to the money?"

"To buy fish" Happy replied."Greedy Lucy wants it all for herself!"

"I'm Not Greedy!"

"I think we've rested enough" Natsu announced "Let's get going!"

"Aye!"

Natsu and Happy broke into a sprint, forcing Lisanna and Lucy to catch up with them. The dragon slayer was fired up, eager to complete the job, but his excitement was cut short when they reached the place where the person that requested the job was:

"What do you mean the job was already done?" Lucy exclaimed.

The four of them were in front of the town leader, an obese man behind a desk, as he explained it to them: "I'm terribly sorry, but we asked another guild to help deal with the thieves."

"But, we informed you that we were coming" Lisanna argued, knowing how the guild system works "you can't just change your mind at the last second."

"I know it's not conventional to make a change like this, but to be honest; your guild reputation is well known for being, let's just say, not very professional." Each word that came out of his mouth made Lucy, Lisanna and Happy mad, but not as mad as Natsu "Let's face it: in the last years, Fairy Tail has reached rock bottom, you're lower than trash…"

Angry by the amount of crap he was mouthing against his guild, Natsu punched the desk breaking it in half, scaring the shit out of the guy.

"W-WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" The town leader was irate by Natsu's actions, but he was more scared for his life by the look Natsu was giving him.

"Keep talking trash about our guild and the next thing I'll break will be you." Natsu wanted to tear this asshole a new one, but he realized it would only cause more trouble for his nakamas back at home.

"This better be the last time you request something from our guild." With that said, the four of them left the office, leaving the man alone cursing. Lisanna, Lucy and Happy were glad for Natsu's action; if he hadn't done that, either one of them would have ripped that guy to shreds.

"You really can't blame him, you know"

Natsu stopped in his tracks and turned to the guy that said that. Behind them was a man wearing a red suit, complete with a crimson mask and hat. His hair was set in a ponytail and carried himself in a flamboyant way. Next to him was a well endowed girl with short white hair with a black rose resting on the left side of her head. She was striking similar to Angel, from her appearance to the way she dressed. The only difference was her stoic expression.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Oh! Where are my manners? I am Rufus Lohr, and my partner here is Yukino Aguria. It's a pleasure to meet you" Rufus introduced himself , ignoring Natsu he grabbed both Lucy and Lisanna's hand to try and kiss it, only for both girls to pull it free at the last moment, leaving him a bit embarrassed. Straightening himself he added: "As for who we are, we are mages from Sabertooth, the strongest guild in Fiore…and the mages that took your job."

The way he said the last part made Natsu want to knock his lights out, but decided it wasn't worth it, besides; the one to blame here was the town leader who discarded Fairy Tail in the first place. "Whatever"

Signaling to his girlfriend and friends to follow him, Natsu was about to leave when Rufus stopped him.

"It is tradition to introduce oneself after asking one's name"

Without turning around, Natsu said: "Natsu Dragneel. Fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail"

Rufus eyes widened at the revelation "Y-You…you're Natsu! That means…" Looking from Natsu to Lisanna and Lucy, Rufus thought: "then the rumors are true: Fairy Tail's core members DID survive the incident of seven years ago…Wait till I tell Rogue and Sting"

While this exchange was going on, Lisanna noticed that the girl accompanying Rufus was transfixed on Natsu with glossy eyes "What's wrong with her, why is she looking at Natsu like that?" Upon further inspection she noticed something else "Is she… blushing?" Shaking her head, Lisanna looked back at Yukino to find her back in her stoic expression from before: "That's weird? I could have sworn she was looking at him."

Back with Rufus, the Sabertooth mage was now eager to return to his guild "We should take our leave. Until our paths cross again" Without waiting for a response, Rufus left with Yukino in tow.

"Weirdo" Lucy muttered while Happy said "Aye"

Once outside, the four of them decided on what to do; there was no point in staying since the job was lost, so Lisanna proposed they returned to the guild.

"Well, I guess we better head back home"

"Yeah, you're right Lis-chan"

Lucy sighed as she inspected the city. "It's a shame; I've heard this town is beautiful at night. I really wanted to experience it, at least once."

Hearing her lit a bulb inside Natsu's head: "Hey! Since we're already here, why don't we go on a date Lis-chan!"

"That's actually a good idea! It's been a long time since you took me out somewhere" Lisanna said feigning an angry look.

"Seven years to be precise" Happy added, causing them to burst out laughing. That is, until Lucy sent their hopes down.

"Aren't you forgetting something? We don't have enough money to spend, besides renting our rooms for the night."

"Aye! And Lucy doesn't have a date for the night" Happy added. "Lonely Lucy"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY THAT!"

"He's just kidding, don't take him so seriously Lucy" Lisanna said "Worse to come, Happy can take you out tonight"

"She's not my type" Happy replied.

"AND YOU ARE MINE?"

A bright light announced the arrival of a celestial spirit "You do have a thing for cats, Lucy-hime"

"L-Loke?" Lucy was taken back by his sudden arrival that she quickly distanced herself from him.

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation and I think that's a great idea!" The celestial spirit said to the group.

"See Lucy? Now you have a date for the night" Lisanna said to the still shocked blonde.

Shaking her stupor for a moment, Lucy turned to the others "That still doesn't change the fact that we don't have money to blow out."

"Not exactly" Loke informed as he got his wallet out "I have enough here from my past missions when I was a Fairy Tail mage. Celestial spirits don't have use for money after all."

"Then it's settled!" Natsu took Loke's wallet in a flash "Lis-chan, let's go to the inn and get ready!"

"W-Wait up!" Lucy called to them, but the couple was already long gone, leaving her alone with Loke.

Once Natsu and Lisanna were out of earshot, Loke dropped his cheerful personality and smiled "Lucy…it's good to see you again."

"Loke" Lucy felt ashamed, realizing she hadn't summoned any of her spirits since her return. As she tried to say something, Lucy was silenced by a finger to the lips.

"We'll talk more later on tonight, for now get ready for our date. Oh, one more thing: Virgo will come in a few minutes to provide you and Lisanna with a proper wardrobe. Until later, Lucy"

And just like that, Loke returned to the spirit world, leaving Lucy speechless. Gathering her wits, she ran to the inn to get ready.

Hiding in a corner, a girl listened to their plans for the night.

After learning that the core members of Fairy Tail were alive, Crime Sorciere made plans to meet up with them, however, they would have to do so in secret. Jellal's reasoning was for the best; if they were seen alongside Fairy Tail, it would damage the already declined fame of the guild.

However, that didn't stop Ultear from going to Magnolia.

She couldn't wait any longer, just one glance at the ice mage to verify for herself that he was really alive and well. As Ultear slipped unnoticed into the city, she wondered how much had Gray changed during his seven year absence.

"Does he still remember me at all?"

Coming to a halt, Ultear realized all of her thoughts with Gray were just wishful thinking; he was never close to her to begin with, aside from their last battle they had no other real interaction between them, plus there was that other girl, Juvia. From Meredy, she had learned that the water mage was deeply in love with her Gray.

Her Gray? Since when did she thought of Gray as hers. "God, I'm starting to act like that water mage."

Even when she was so close to his guild, Ultear felt nervous to see him again. Deciding to leave, she backed away when a familiar voice was heard just around the corner:

"I need time to think. Alone "

Recognizing that voice Ultear felt her heart skip a beat, there was no doubt it was Gray. She didn't recognize the other voice, but she didn't care. However, she was curious; after 7 years why didn't his voice change? Overcoming her nerves she walked the last lane and took a peek at the two mages, when she saw them she froze: They hadn't aged at all! But how was it possible?

The Ice mage, for his part, was still mulling over Cana's request. Gray would never admit it, but when he knew about Cana's feelings for him he felt whole. To know someone liked him made him feel happy, only to have his hopes crashing down by her disguised "we need a break" speech.

There was still Juvia, he reasoned, but for some reason Gray was unable to return the feelings she had for him. Besides, he would never threat her as second best. Although Lyon's constant appearances near the water mage were starting to form in Gray a feeling dangerously close to jealousy.

But asides those two girls, there was a third one that kept appearing inside Gray's thoughts: "Ultear"

Unaware of it, said woman was following him. As she watched him, Ultear's resolve was slowly slipping away; at first they had a seven year gap between them, but now the age difference was another obstacle in her way. Feeling more depressed than before she exited the city and began her trip back to the others.

She was halfway through the forest when a voice stopped her: "Hold it!"

"Shit!" Ultear cursed her carelessness; not only had she been spotted, but by Gray nonetheless.

Taking a step forward, Gray eyed the cloaked person "Who are you? And why were you following me?"

Nowhere to run, she removed her cloak to reveal herself to Gray.

"Ultear?"

"Yes, it's me." Feeling his eyes upon her she shyly looked down "It's been far too long, Gray."

"For me it's only been a few days." Watching her expression he explained: "We were on some sort of sleep for seven years."

"Oh."

Gray laughed a bit: "and here I was just thinking about you"

Ultear felt her heart skip a beat and blushed, Gray doing the same when he realized what he just said to her. "I-I MEAN…Not in a strange way or something like that!"

"It's ok, I believe you"

An uncomfortable silence fell before them, both mages too embarrassed to say something. Trying to break the silence, Gray spoke first: "Lyon told me something about you and Meredy; that you freed Jellal and now the three of you form a part of a new guild, one that has destroyed several dark guilds over the last seven years."

Glad for the change of topic, Ultear answered him: "Yes, that is correct. Our guild is trying to rid all the darkness Zeref and the dark guilds have helped create in the world. I know our sins will never be forgiven, but this is the least we can do to redeem ourselves."

"I see, however you haven't answered my question yet " Even when he knew she was no longer part of Grimoire Heart, Gray was still cautious around her. "Why are you here?"

"When I heard Tenroujima had survived I had to see if the rumor was true, that all of you were still alive."

Seeming to accept her answer they once again fell into silence, seeing that there was no more to be said Gray took his leave. "W-Well, I better be going. I guess I'll see you around…"

"Gray!" Ultear's voice stopped the Ice mage from leaving; her tone carried a pleading tone in it. Confused, Gray stopped and regarded Ultear. "What do you think of me?"

"What?" Gray looked puzzled at Ultear, who was now feeling her blood rush to her cheeks.

"Ever since our last fight, what was your impression of me?"

Quelling the hope in himself, Gray answered her as best he could: "We'll…at first I was surprised to learn you were Ur's daughter. And you're a very strong mage by your own right."

"That not what I meant" feeling embarrassed she was about to leave when Gray's words stopped her.

"I think you are a beautiful woman; you have Ur's will and determination running trough you, not to mention her beauty. Any man would be lucky to have your love."

Ultear couldn't help but smile hearing exactly what she wanted to hear from him. "There's no one I'm interested in, but one" Giving him a loving stare she added: "The man that sealed away my darkness."

"Seal away the darkness!" Gray recognized those words; they were the same words Ur once told him when she faced Deliora. Ur sacrificed herself and used Ice shell to defeat the demon, but more importantly: to seal the darkness that surrounded his heart. Now, years later, somehow he had done the same for Ultear. Looking at her, Ultear now seemed more fragile than the fearsome mage he had faced before, in her place now stood a woman that wished to be loved.

Emotionally exhausted due to Cana's words, Gray felt his resolve slip a bit; "Ultear…I don't know if I love you" Ultear lowered her gaze after hearing this. "But, I do feel something for you. Maybe with time I can learn to love you like you love me."

"Really!" The raven haired woman was astonished by his declaration "But what about that girl, Juvia?"

"I know Juvia has a crush on me, I'm not that dense. But I can't return her feelings she has for me"

"W-what about the difference between our ages? Could you love someone older than you?" While Ultear looked left and right for excuses, Gray had shortened the distance between them and silenced her with a finger on her lips.

"You know; you look cute when you stutter." Caressing her face he lifted her chin with his hand "Not to mention that ribbon in your hair makes you look adorable."

"Gray…" Ultear closed her eyes and brought her lips to meet his, however before they made contact she hastily pulled away from him, earning a confused look from Gray.

"I can't! I shouldn't be doing this! Our guild, Crime Sorciere, has a rule: punishment." seeing his confused expression she explained "We are not allowed to be happy, so I can't be with you as much as I wish it. I'm sorry"

"I see, however let me tell you three things, one: Your guild is not a recognized guild in Fiore, technically it's a dark guild, so your rules mean nothing. Two: That's a stupid rule, who invented it anyway?"

"Me…" Ultear answered his question with an embarrassing blush.

"Oh! Well... never mind, and Three: "Taking hold of her by the shoulder Ultear gasped as she looked at the intensity in his eyes "I don't care!"

Crushing his lips into hers, Ultear tried to fight but she gave in and returned the kiss, rules be dammed! Deepening the kiss Gray licked her lips with his tongue asking for access which she gladly granted. After several minutes of lip-lock, a new arrival made her presence known. In record time, both Ice mages separated just as Cana emerged from the forest.

"Gray! Wait up!" Cana realized she had screwed up and wanted to make it right with Gray, but when she finally found him she was surprised to see him in close proximity with another woman "What's going on here? Who is this?"

"This is Ultear Milkovich" Gray said while keeping a careless expression "She's a…friend of mine"

Ultear felt disappointed by the "friend" designation, but decided it was for the best… for now: "It's a pleasure to meet you, friend of Gray"

However Cana was not fooled one bit, looking from Gray's calm expression to Ultear's fake smile, the card user knew something else was about to happen before she came into the picture. "Not in my watch!"

Instantly latching to a surprised Gray's arm, Cana regarded Ultear with a smile: "Nice to meet you Ultear! I'm Cana, Gray's Girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Gray was shocked when Cana said the word; not once since Tenrou Island had the card user admitted that.

Ultear didn't miss the heavy emphasis Cana used in girlfriend, or Gray's surprised expression. Catching on quick, Ultear returned the hypocrite smile with one of her own: "Nice to meet you too, Friend of Gray."

While they seemed to be cheerful, both girls were actually throwing daggers at each other:

"Gray is my boyfriend, I won't let you have him grandma!" Cana thought, sending a murderous look at the slightly older girl.

"If that's how it's going to be, so be it! I didn't wait seven years just to give up now, you Hore!" Ultear thought, noticing Cana's choice of attire.

In the middle of it all, Gray couldn't help but fear for his well-being. "How the hell did flame head survive this?"

Vergil and Angel's job was completed in record time; they were tasked with dealing with some random bandits, a job Vergil found extremely boring, and now both of them rested in a makeshift campsite. While Angel wanted to wait until morning to leave town, Vergil was against it and dragged her back to the guild when night fell on them.

"I told you we should have waited till daylight" Angel whined "now we have to sleep here, in the middle of nowhere"

"You were asleep for seven years in the open" Vergil referred to her time at the island "this is nothing compared to it."

"Great! First I miss my date with Natsu, and now I'm stuck with this brooding asshole!" Turning away from him, Angel snuggled in her sleeping back and tried to sleep, but after a few moments she realized sleep was not coming to her and decided to speak:

"Vergil, tell me about yourself?"

Vergil looked from the campfire to Angel, who had her back against him, and returned his gaze to the burning embers "What do you wish to know?"

"Anything about you" Angel turned around to face him "you're a complete mystery to us. We want to know more about you."

"My past is irrelevant" Vergil said from his seat, his eyes never leaving the fire. After a few moments, Angel realized that Vergil was not going to say anything else.

"You're not going to tell me anything, won't you?"

"What was your first clue?" Vergil said as he directed a rare smirk to the celestial mage. With a scoff, Angel turned away from him and returned to her task of trying to catch some sleep.

A few moments passed until Vergil softly whispered: "I once had a brother. Sometimes I wonder what happened to him. In some ways, Natsu reminds me of him…" Hearing some snoring, Vergil realized that Angel was fast asleep. Standing up he spoke to the person nearby:

"You can come out now"

At first nothing happened, but after a while Laxus emerged from the shadows when he realized his cover was blown: "When did you found out?"

"Since we left the guild" Was Vergil's answer. "I take it that the old dwarf doesn't trust me?"

"Got that right" Laxus replied. "However…there's another reason why I followed you here."

"And that would be?"

"I wanted to see your real strength, not that pathetic show you put out for Erza."

Vergil would have ignored his request, but after the disappointment of facing those bandits, Vergil wanted to let loose some steam. Without saying a word, Vergil started walking away from the campsite with Laxus close on his heels.

Moments later:

A battered, bruised and defeated Laxus watched with slight fear at the devil before him. The lightning dragon slayer gave it all he had, and while at first they seemed equal in terms of strength in the end it was Vergil who emerged victorious.

"What are you?" Laxus asked as he cradled his arm; fortunately nothing was broken, only his ego.

In front of Laxus, a blue winged devil stood before vanishing in a flash of magic, revealing Vergil with wounds similar to Laxus, albeit healing faster. "I am a devil"

With that said Vergil went to grab his discarded coat before walking back to the campsite. "Go back to the guild. Tell your master I don't care if he trusts me or not, I will honor my debt with Mavis."

"And then what?" Laxus asked, stopping Vergil in his tracks "I can see it in your eyes, you're after something else. What is it?"

Vergil looked at Laxus from the corner of his eye: "My plans are mine alone, but, I will tell you something: Lisanna, Mirajane and Angel will one day be as powerful as me, maybe even more."

Laxus just stood there processing what Vergil had just told him. Looking at the devastation their fight had caused, Laxus couldn't help but smirk; he always wanted strong members for his guild.

"This shirt itches" Natsu said trying to scratch his back for the umpteenth time. Sighing, Loke grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"Stop fidgeting Natsu. You'll wrinkle it"

"Why the heck do I have to wear this anyway?" Natsu referred to the dress shirt Virgo had given him earlier.

"We need to look our best for the ladies" Loke said. Just then, the door to the girl's room opened, revealing Lisanna in a shoulder less tight pink blouse and black miniskirt. Next to her was Lucy in a spaghetti strap red blouse and dark miniskirt.

Both Natsu and Loke were left speechless by the beauties before them. Although Lucy often dressed in similar fashion, this time it felt different for her. Looking to Loke she shyly asked: "How do we look?"

Natsu locked eyes with Lisanna and replied: "Beautiful"

"Natsu took the words from my mouth" Loke added. Giving her his arm, Lucy latched on to it while Lisanna did the same with Natsu.

"Hime! I'll expect my punishment later on" Virgo announced while standing next to a sulking Happy.

The exceed was bummed he was going to stay behind, but he didn't want to be the third wheel in the date. "I wanted to see the fish lady instead" Happy referred to Aquarius, earning a stomp from Virgo.

"Oi Virgo, I thought you only specialized in spirit world clothes?" Natsu asked.

"This is a special occasion" Virgo replied "and there are spirit world clothes, just look at Hime's skirt." Without warning, Virgo lifted Lucy's skirt to show them the spirit brand, and at the same time gave them a clear view of her panties.

"HEY! DON'T DO THAT!"

As the couples left, Virgo retreated to the room with Happy. What neither one noticed was the girl hiding behind a large pot in the hallway. Leaving her hiding spot, Yukino stared at Natsu with longing.

"Natsu…"

A younger Yukino found herself locked in a dark cage. Bandits had come to her town in the middle of the night and kidnapped her, as well as several other young girls, to sell her in the slave market. She hugged her legs when all of a sudden the front door of the hideout was blasted open by a group of mages, forcing her to close her eyes in fear. Before the bandits knew what was going on, they were knocked out by a combined array of magic attacks.

"Are you alright?"

Yukino slowly opened her eyes to meet Natsu's concerned stare. Breaking down, she latched onto his neck and cried in relief.

Seven years ago, team Natsu rescued her and the others from a horrible fate. As the years passed, Yukino's goal was to join the strongest guild in Fiore, at the time Fairy Tail, when the Tenrou incident happened.

But now he was back, and even though her allegiance was with others, Yukino wanted nothing more than to be close to her savior.

Author's Notes:

Let me first say thank you all the feedback my story has been having. While I do appreciate the reviews from you, I have to say this:

I WONT REMOVE THE BOND BETWEEN ANGEL AND NATSU

Although I like to listen to positive feedback, that doesn't mean I will sell myself out and completely change the story just for the sake of a few. I've seen it happen before with some stories, the author changes the story completely, and in the end it all comes out all bad.

This story is a HAREM and it will stay like that, sorry if I gave the impression it was something else. If you don't like it, I'm sad to say that you can look for another story to follow (Check my buddy Digitail-Mail story Burn for an exclusive Natsu and Lisanna story). If you decide to keep reading, I can safely say that Lisanna will remain as the Main girl for Natsu.

Moving on, here's a funny fact I discovered in an extra manga chapter of Fairy Tail: Freed is Gay! (Big surprise huh, yeah right) If you don't believe me, look for the extra chapter of the manga where they sell Jenny Realight magazine after she lost her bet with Mirajane (manga followers will get this)

As for Yukino, in the last chapters we've seen more about her (I won't spoil it) but regardless of that, I might or might not use her canon background for my story. The same goes for Angel after it was revealed that she will re-appear in the anime. Although I will use her new look for my story...

Now, for some reviews:

trinityblade13: Regarding the wedding, I haven't decided if either before the Grand games or after, I'll let the readers decide that.

Digital-Mail: I was just kidding about that Dante rumor (although I might have him appear eventually on this story).

xgensean: Natsu will eventually learn to use the blue flames again. Thanks for the review.

Ryvius: I was going to use your idea (about Vergil and stuff) but I'll save it for a latter chapter. As for Deimos, he'll reappear soon.

Frozen-Tundra88: Thanks for the link to the picture, as you saw in the PM I sent ya; I will use Angel's new appearance soon. Thanks for the review.

Death1500 etc…: As I said before, Angel (and Yukino) will remain in the harem. Sorry, but that's just how I planned it. I hope you will still read the story; it's your choice after all.

P.S. Your petition idea is a good one thought (don't know if you follow the manga, but Lisanna and Natsu had a small scene in the last chapter)

RememberTheName76: Think about it. If you decide to stop reading this story, that's ok.

YggdrasilSama: The same as before: I won't change the harem. I might use your idea of forcing Angel to go with Rogue or Sting though, but not in the way you would like to. Dante will be…something, later on.

Guest: Hey, thanks man! It's good to see the support of a fan instead of wanting me to change the plot. Thanks for the review.

THEgirlWHOshipsLISANNAxLUCY: Thanks for the review, and for the award (Just for that I will definitely give it a try about writing a Lucy x Lisanna oneshot)

Dreamgirl32: If you don't like harem fics, I bet you're going to be disappointed in future chapters…

Next chapter will continue the double date, as well as more about the background I wrote about Yukino. Until next time

Demonwithasoul