CH15: Run amok

Zancrow woke up in a comfortable bed. A little too small for his taste but it was soft enough to make him overlook that fact. Then it occurred to him that it was not his bed. He looked over to find a naked Lacey all curled up next to him under the covers. Zancrow observed every curve on her body and soon realized he was naked too.

'I don't even want to remember what happened last night.' Lacey was one of Zancrow's closest friends and last night he allowed boundaries to be ignored. He left the bed and got dressed to go back to the guildhall. Conscidering their history, the God Slayer left a note on Lacey's bed stand apologizing for things getting out of control the night before. He really didn't want anything to change due to a spur of the moment sexual encounter. Zancrow never in a thousand years thought HE would be the one doing the walk of shame. He usually took pride in every woman he has bedded. Lacey was different though. And now because of last night, he was a bit worried their closeness as friends would be in jeopardy.

It's high time Zancrow went on a job to start making some money again. After the traffickers roughed up Lacey last night she's going to need all the help she could get. It still boggled the God Slayer's mind how such a disgusting business could make so much money and affect those closest to him. Had he failed to rescue Lacey, who knows what would have happened to her. Perhaps she would have been sold off to the highest bidder. No doubt she would have been sent off after the hosts had 'tried' her out themselves. You simply don't treat women that way. If Zancrow ever encountered the leader of the trafficking ring, he would make sure he paid for getting into the wrong business.

Zancrow reached the guildhall and he of course was hungry, especially after a night of hardcore exercise. The guild by now had accepted the fact that Zancrow was here to stay. Everyone had stopped making glares at him and Mira went as far as to even cook for the ex-dark guild member.

"Here you are Zancrow." Mira brought the God Slayer his breakfast with her signature smile.

"Thanks." Zancrow stated plainly. He still was cautious around the S-class mages in the guild, not wanting to piss them off. However, a certain Dragon Slayer mistook Zancrow's caution for rudeness.

"Hey you! Don't be rude to Mira. She works too hard for ungrateful people like you to diss her like that." Natsu said.

"The hell you talking about. I clearly thanked her for the meal. And it's none of your damn business whether I'm being polite or not dragon breath." The God Slayer responded with a smirk on his face.

"Just like a dark guild member. Never caring about anyone but yourself. When was the last time you ever did something for someone else Zancrow?!"

Zancrow looked over at Erza establishing a level of understanding. She had not forgotten how he had blasted the traveler's back at Lacey's cottage for manhandling her. But as Erza was about to speak up, the doors to the guild flew wide open.

Everyone stared in bewilderment at the trio located at the guild's entrance. There was a chubby old man accompanied by what appeared to be his wife. She was blonde and appeared to be several years younger than her husband. In between them was their daughter… "Lacey?" Zancrow stated.

"Zancrow!" Lacey sprinted towards the God Slayer enveloping him in a massive hug. "How can I ever thank you for last night?" She asked teary eyed.

"LAST NIGHT? IS VIOLATING WOMEN WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU RUN AMOK THE CITY AT NIGHT ZANCROW? Erza asked in disbelief. "What has this dog in heat done to you?" Erza's face was as red as her hair when she drew her sword ready to defend the young girl's honor.

"Lady it's not what you are imagining." Lacey lied sheepishly. Both she and Zancrow remember quite well what had happened once they had arrived at her place the night before.

"Are you the young man that saved my daughter from the clutches of Bora?" The old man was now directly in front of Zancrow."

"Who wants to know? And who the hell is Bora?"

"Bora is the man at the top of the human trafficking ring in Fiore. He was taken down a couple notches by a young wizard in this guild who could breathe fire but since then he has returned keeping his business circle smaller for security purposes. I am Lacey's father and would like to reward the wizard who helped save my daughter from a life of enslavement. Are you her rescuer or not?"

Zancrow looked around to find out that once again all eyes were on him. Surely Zancrow, an ex-dark guild member couldn't care less for a helpless girl much less save her from abductors. The God Slayer scratched the back of his neck, "Yea, I guess I am," he said embarrassed.

"Excellent." The old man shoved his daughter aside and crushed Zancrow in his own bear hug making the God Slayer gasp for air. When he was done, Zancrow was out of breath and felt dizzy. He looked up to see a massive sack lobbed onto the ground in front of him.

"What's this?"

"A token of my appreciation. You do not realize how precious my daughter is to me and I figured what's five hundred thousand jewel compared to her life. This is for saving her from those horrific men." The old man responded with a smile.

It was quiet for a couple minutes before the whole guild cried in astonishment, "FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND JEWEL?"

Zancrow looked at the bag and decided he had no use for it. He already had a house, job offers every day, and a place to live in his guild should anything happen to anything he owned. He smirked. "Thanks old man, but I can't accept this. Your daughter was not a mere job that I expect to get paid for to save. She is my friend. Call my good works towards your family a personal service."

Lacey's father looked stunned. 'Did he really turn down my money? Why? Is it not enough?' He thought.

At this point Lacey's mother, chimed in. "Lacey said you would probably reject the reward so me and her put together a gift basket for you. At least accept this gift as a token of our sincere appreciation for what you have done for our daughter."

Zancrow looked the basket over. It was full to the brim with ripe fruits, baked goods, and a card that said thank you on it. Zancrow did not know what to do but say thanks.

The family stayed in Fairy Tail for a couple of hours talking to Zancrow. After a couple of awkward conversation of arranged marriages, "extracurricular" bed activities, and possible future grandchildren, the family said their goodbyes.

"If you ever need any favors, politically, financially, or otherwise, feel free to let me know." Lacey's father said as he left with his wife. Lacey winked at Zancrow as she left with them.

"Drop by soon okay?" She said.

Zancrow was relieved that the relationship between and his best friend had not changed since last night. As he watched Lacey and her family leave the guildhall, Zancrow held onto the gift basket unsure of what to do with it. No one had ever given him a gift before. Well a physical present type gift. He then turned to Natsu with a devious grin on his face.

"To answer your question dragon breath, the last time I did something for someone else other than myself was last night. When I saved that girls life."

Zancrow then pushed past the Fairy crowd that was in disbelief to what they just witnessed. He plopped himself down at the nearest table next to Erza and began chowing down on his present. He then looked at the scarlet mage and offered her some fruit.

"Grape?" He asked with a genuine smile.

Erza who had since put away her sword and calmed down smiled and gratefully accepted.