Dead or Alive Vs. Fairy Tail
Chapter 03: Ally or Enemy
The ground was singed bare, sprinkled with fits of flame all over the path of Natsu's attack. The only thing that was more bizarre than his attack was that the path of his attack curved to the side a bit.
"NATSU YOU IDIOT!" were the only words that said fire breather heard before he was smashed into the ground, headfirst.
"How dare you use magic on an unarmed civilian? Because of you he died, and he's not coming back. How can you continue living with yourself?"
"How is that even possible? Even Natsu would've known better than to do that, and didn't the announcer say magic would be nulled if the opponent wasn't able to take it…" Lucy said to herself as she watched the scene before her, "But, then again, are those rules even in effect yet?"
"Hm, hold on a second Erza," Gray said as he looked closer at the burnt landscape.
"No, Natsu must be punished for his carelessness. Starting with his legs," Erza stated as she approached a very terrified Natsu, cracking her knuckles all the while.
"But where's the body?"
"Hm? Burnt to ashes of course. Natsu's flames aren't cool like your ice you know," Happy chimed in.
"That's not what I meant," Gray continued, "Look there. The track of his flames obviously bend which means those flames never touched the guy."
They all observed a bit more closely before believing Gray's statement held any merit.
"Well if they never touched him, then where did he go?" Gray finished.
"Excellent question," Erza said as she finally removed her foot from the back of Natsu's skull, allowing him to get his face out the dirt.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GOING AROUND PUTTING PEOPLE'S HEADS IN THE GROUND FOR!"
"SAYS THE GUY GOING AROUND LAUNCHING DRAGONSLAYER MAGIC ON UNSUSPECTING PEOPLE!"
Erza and Natsu immediately began yelling at each other while Gray and Lucy stood by.
"Hey, shouldn't we go looking for him? I mean, he'll be completely helpless if he stands on his own tomorrow," Lucy said worriedly.
"A guy who can survive Dragonslayer magic isn't some slouch. He'll be able to handle himself."
"Ok, but then we should be focused on another issue…"
"Yeah?"
"Do we want to stand with him or do we want to fight against him?"
"HEY!"
Lucy and Gray turned to the now free Natsu, more than surprised that he was able to survive that run-in with Erza.
"He has nobody else here on the island that he even knows. We have to be the ones that'll be there by his side. If we don't help him, it could take forever to find our way off this island."
"True, but where are we gonna start looking for him?"
All of Fairy Tail looked off in different directions, unsure of which way to take. Then an idea hit Erza.
"Natsu, can you smell him out?"
Said Dragonslayer was already on it, though he looked like he was confused about it all.
"Well that's strange… he barely has any sort of scent on him at all…"
"Look, Natsu, can you find him or not?" Erza asked a bit impatiently.
"It's not that I can't FIND him, it's just that there's another smell over him."
"Another smell?" Lucy asked. "Like what? A kidnapper? An enemy?"
"No, it just smells like… flowers…"
Elsewhere…
Two people were staring into each other's souls at the moment. It was a stalemate, a standoff, and it was going nowhere anytime soon if they had anything to say about it.
On one side stood the newly informed Damien, who appeared perfectly unharmed save for the singe marks on his jacket's right sleeve. A pair of silver eyes looked out from under the black hood to gaze upon the other person occupying the clearing they were in, in the forested area of the island.
On the other side stood a girl with purple hair and red, aggressive eyes looking back across the clearing. She was wearing her purple ninja gear, weapons included, along with a headband that was an even darker shade of purple than her hair.
"Seeing how pathetic you were when you first bumped into me I'd have never figured you'd be the key to getting off the island…"
Damien stared across the clearing at the somewhat rude remark that she made.
"Says the girl who went out of her way to save me without even giving me a chance to live it out. Of course, it must surprise you that I'm not even effected by that guy's fire, let alone I was able to deflect it before you even had a chance to save me… I hope you know that if I had did nothing we'd both be a pile of ash right now. And I thought I told you before I never ran into you, you ran into me!"
"Whatever."
"I'm just saying," he began as he slightly shrugged his shoulders, "If that's the fastest you can go it'd be of no surprise to me if you couldn't handle yourself."
"You're crossing a very thin line…" the kunoichi said, a slight growl in her voice.
"I know, but I just had to say it. The look on your face right now is just something between slightly adorable and cute all the same…"
In less than the blink of an eye the gap between the two was closed and Damien found that he was standing to the back of the kunoichi. It'd have been an ideal situation if he didn't see the short blade ready to pierce his body.
"Hmm… I see that I've seemed to strike a nerve there…"
"You want to say that again, Damien?"
"Of course I WANT to say it again, but the circumstances don't exactly allow for such a careless slip of the tongue."
She lowered her sword and took a few steps back, facing Damien once again.
"Well, as fun as it's been, I'll see you around," Damien said as he turned his back on her and began walking away, leaving the girl stunned for a moment. Any ninja would've probably been thrown off seeing as how this guy just walked away after being in a near-death experience.
"Wait," the girl said as she reached her hand out, emphasizing she was a bit more than eager to keep him there for even a few moments longer.
"What are you going to do? It'll be an all-out brawl from tomorrow on. Sure, you may be strong, but I don't think you'll be able to outlast all the opponents you'll meet in this tournament alone, let alone any of us ninja."
"I see, then as far as I'm concerned, I'll just have to fight smart."
"So, what? You're going to take everyone on? Alone?"
"Yes… though initially I was planning to just leave the island, you know, save my own skin, but then the image of an exploded boat just entered my mind and, well, I'd rather not join its fate. Therefore, it's decided: I fight."
"Then allow me to be your first opponent," she asked, a look of determination etched deeply unto her face.
"Alright, but on two conditions," Damien answered without much hesitation.
"What are they?" the girl asked, crossing her arms and not at all trying to hide the growing aggravation swelling up within her.
"First off, what's your name?"
She looked at him as if he was playing a crude joke on her, which she definitely wouldn't have found funny. Then again, she figured a name would be harmless to give away. He was a new face anyway.
"Ayane."
"Ah, Ayane, what a lovely name. Anyway, secondly, if I win..."
"No, not happening," Ayane quickly interjected.
"Geez, at least humor the idea, like, damn, aren't you cocky... Anyway, if I win, you have to stay out of my way for the duration of these tournaments. I can't have enemies piling up just because they lost."
She looked at me as if she was ready to bust out laughing at the idea of her losing to me. Regardless, she nodded her head, agreeing to the terms.
"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me I really must be finding that hotel again. Surely it must be dinner time."
Ignoring the dumbfounded look on her face I began walking off in the direction I believed was the hotel. After all, dinner wasn't going to last all night... Or was it?
A few minutes later and I stood face to face with the hotel. Or, rather, a white haired woman in-between me and dinner. Oh decisions decisions...
"So, Damien, was it?" she began and my first thought thereafter was "Great, a talk before the main course. And here I was trying to have my final meal before chaos ensues..."
"Yeah, but if you don't mind I'd really appreciate it if we can have this talk over dinner, I'm kind of hungry..."
"Or," she said as she walked closer and ran her finger across my chin, "We can stay out here where prying eyes and curious ears can't reach us."
"OR we can eat. I mean, come on, this should be a no brainer."
She suddenly chuckled and I had no idea what she found so funny but I did know that she was still keeping me from eating.
"Well, since we can't reach a compromise I'll let you go..."
I began walking past her but she firmly gripped my shoulder, stopping me in place.
"After you answer one question."
I'll give her points for persistence, if nothing else. Though this act was getting old. I mean the end of the act was in sight, why couldn't I reach it? Oh, right, this eager, active lady was standing in the way like an irritating set piece.
"Fine, whatever, just hurry it up."
"Alright then," she said as she generously advertised her cleavage, "How much can you tell me about yourself, Damien? Who's the real you?"
Oh, I was supposed to be entranced here, I get it now.
"Look, lady, I don't know anything about myself. I do know, however, that you're keeping me from my dinner so, if you'll excuse me..."
I shook my shoulder free and began walking away but...
"Oh, right," I said as I looked at her over my shoulder, "I know it's one thing to have it and flaunt it but take a page out of my book and just don't. Otherwise it loses effect."
Thoroughly amused, I was finally able to enter the hotel for dinner. I'd worry about the upcoming days later.
Outside the Hotel...
The white haired girl simply smirked at the antics of Damien as she lifted her finger to her ear.
"He knows nothing, it'd be an absolute waste to pursue him further."
"Doesn't matter, pursue him at once. I want him back in the lab where he belongs before these tournaments come to a close."
"As you wish," the white haired girl responded.
"Good. If you fail, you're taking his place so use THAT as incentive to not fail."
The white haired girl scoffed at that remark but the other speaker was long gone.
Silence held in the open courtyard for a few moments, the cool island breeze soothing to its audience.
"So, Ayane, eavesdropping becoming a favorite hobby of yours?"
Said ninja calmly dropped from the tree to confront the other woman.
"It's my job, so sure, you could say that. Great to see some things never change Christie, you know, you being in bed with the enemy. Again."
Christie simply laughed at this.
"You know, I thought ninja were supposed to cling to the shadows and be the strong, silent type. Honestly, it's as if your technique has gotten sloppy."
"I'd agree with you if I was actually supposed to be trying. If you knew I was there this whole time you could have just waited to contact your boss there."
"Hm, you're smarter than you look. Anyway, I'd best prepare for tomorrow. As you heard it I have myself quite the man to catch."
Ayane was taken slightly aback, though quickly regained her composure as Christie walked away, chuckling to herself the whole way.
"I have something I need to do too," Ayane thought as she walked towards the hotel.
A/N: I know this has been a long time coming, believe me. It was just weird since half this was written months ago and then I had to continue awkwardly from that point. Anyway, I'd appreciate some criticism on this as I'm not 100% sure where this is going. Till then I'll be re-reading my other stories so I can continue with them