Magnolia, 12:24pm
Natsu groaned as he awoke from a deep and refreshing slumber, he could feel a weight on his left side and chest, and he glanced down, meeting the sight of a gorgeous white-haired woman and he became aware of the soft, silky smooth skin that was pressed against his own.
He smiled and slowly tried to slip out of bed without waking the sleeping beauty only for her to groan softly and shift about tiredly.
"Shhh." Natsu murmured softly as he gently rubbed Mira's cheek, causing her to smile softly and snuggle up to his pillow instead of him. He managed to slip away and go for a quick shower before throwing on a maroon shirt and some denim jeans. With a quick glance back at the woman sleeping in his bed he left his bedroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
"Kami forgive me…" Natsu quietly said as he looked around at the mess they made in their lustful endeavours. The pinkette shook his head with a smile and started cleaning up the clothes, tipping the knocked over furniture back over and removing any stains that were left behind.
Smiling as he gazed at his handiwork, he went over to the kitchen sink and washed his hands "It was messy but really fucking worth it." The soft mumbles of a sleeping Mirajane reached his ears causing him to smile some more and decide to let her sleep in for as long as she wants.
He entered his garage and in the low light, he found his bike parked in front of his black muscle car. It seemed in one piece and wasn't leaking anything onto the concrete which he was grateful for.
He flicked on the light and gave his bike a quick once over. "Well shit… I need to replace the tyres, looks like the past few days took a toll on them… might be a good idea to take a good look at it at the workshop instead of here…"
He grabbed his helmet and put it on then hopped onto his bike and cranked it over, hoping that the noisy bike didn't wake up the beauty in his bed. He walked the bike out of the garage and hit the button to close it before taking off down the street and making his way through the city. When he reached the HQ, he coasted down into the underground carpark and over to the vehicle lift hidden in the far wall.
Thankfully the wait was short as the doors opened moments after he hit the button. He rolled forward and parked in the large lift, he slowly descended down to the vehicle workshops which were surprisingly quiet. Natsu guessed that everyone had gone for lunch. He brought his bike over to one of the nearby booths and got it set up on a stand. The pinkette checked the bike's oil then lets it cool down while he looks over the moving parts.
"Oi Natsu, when did you get back?" Called out a raven-haired man as he made his way over to the pinkette.
"Hmm?" Natsu leaned back and looked out of the booth. "Oh hey Frosty, I got back late last night, wasn't very far away."
"Heard it was a job in Hargeon, they were playing the footage from your contacts for the Agents-in-Training when I walked by them on the way here." The agent replied, ignoring the mocking handle.
The pinkette stood up and cleaned some grime off his hands with a cloth. "Yeah Grey, we finally caught that bastard who fucking stole my name, bragging about being me to lure girls to be kidnapped and sold as sex slaves."
"Well that's one good thing, who was that blonde?"
"Lucy?"
"Yeah that one, the one that you were asked to bring here ASAP."
"The dossier said she was a mage, celestial magic, with a lot of potential, comes from the Heartfilia line of extremely talented mages." Natsu said as he went to the bar fridge in the workshop and pulled out a can of soft drink.
"Pass me one, lemonade, aren't the Heartfilia all female celestial mages?" Gray asked as he caught the can that was lazily lobbed to him.
"That's the one, couple of notes about her lineage in the dossier but I don't have that on me… wait yes I do, it's in the pocket dimension."
"Save it, she'll tell us if she wants, any idea what the Director wanted with her?"
"I don't fucking know." Natsu said with a shrug and sipped his drink. "But if I come across anything I'll let you know."
"Thanks, man, so I saw you jumped this baby off a back of a truck into one of the Ospreys." Said Grey as he walked around the motorbike.
"Had no other choice, wouldn't have done it otherwise, now I just need to make sure nothing is loose or damaged from doing that, plus I need new tyres on the front and rear, pretty sure a couple of bullets grazed the sidewalls."
"Yeah I saw the whole clip, good call on the jacket, she copped a bullet on the bike and I think I saw one graze her in the casino, security cam caught it."
Natsu nodded and started taking the wheels off the bike. "I'd rather get shot and be injured than have someone else get shot and I have to drag them all the way out of the ship or building or something like that and onto my bike or into my car. They'd bleed out, but on me at least I can cauterise the wound shut, unlike them."
"Need a hand?" Asked the icy agent.
"Yeah can you change the tyres for me, I need to make sure nothing is broken."
"Got it." Grey said as he picked up the wheels and headed for the fitting machine. "Erza is running ahead of time by the way."
"There is no surprise there, she is efficient like that, how long do you reckon?"
"Half a week at most, tonight at the very least."
Natsu popped his head up from behind his bike. "Nah not tonight, she'd have to be done soon, unless she is getting flown back in?"
"Probably man, scuttlebutt said that the Director has news for us active agents, apparently we are getting another recruit and he'll attach them to one of us for training." The raven-haired man called out over the noise created by the machine.
"Another one?" Natsu replied as he raised an eyebrow but got stuck into inspecting the bike again.
"Yeah, they'll most likely need a full training regimen to bring them up to operational levels."
"Man I don't envy the sucker who gets stuck on babysitting duty."
"Well, it's more time to relax and put your feet up, you know, just chill out." Grey said with a shadow of a smirk thrown over his shoulder.
"Fuck off." Natsu shook his head with a small grin as he flipped off the ice mage. "Anyway, like I was saying, I don't envy them, I just prefer to keep busy than sit on my arse all day waiting for a rookie to get good."
"It's not all bad, I was aiding one of the young bloods with their training, and she seemed to have a good hold of things."
"How young are we talking?"
Grey carried the wheels back to Natsu, complete with brand new tyres. "Twelve I think, so not that old, but she shows promise."
"The younger they are the better they pick this stuff up, I was how young when I bumped into Gramps?"
"Eight I think it was, that or nine." Grey replied as he knelt down and started fitting the wheel back on the bike while his friend changed the air filter.
"And after all my training I'm considered one of the best A rank operatives and am eligible for the S rank promotion."
"Don't let your ego get too large, I won't be able to stay in this workshop and help you, it would just push me right out."
"I said one of the best, I know there are other operatives that are in the running for the promotion too. One of them is right in front of me."
"Thanks for the compliment." Grey laughed and stood up. "Well your tyres are done, I'll be in the next booth working on my car."
"The usual go around or the ZL1 Camaro?" Natsu asked as he too stood up.
"Camaro, I'm going to give it some blue and white flake in the paint. I actually finished masking it all up when you turned up."
Natsu nodded as he thought about how the car would look. "Any idea when the old man is going to give us the news?"
"I reckon he'll call for an assembly once Erza gets back, but who knows, it could be before that."
"Well, don't take too long with your painting, you might miss it or worse, have to leave the job half done."
"Yeah, yeah." Grey replied with a wave over his shoulder as he made his way to the car. "Before you head off you wanna give me a push into the paint booth?"
"Sure." The pinkette said as he followed the agent to the other booth and moved behind the car. He put his hands on the rear end of the car and waited for the word to go.
Grey got into his car and put it into neutral then released the handbrake. "Ok let's go."
Natsu started pushing while Grey stayed in the cabin, so he could steer the car and stop it when they get into the paint booth. "Well, I'll leave you to it, going to head up to the offices and see what's going on over there and hand in my report."
"All good, thanks for the hand."
"Likewise, see you around Grey." Natsu said with a wave as he headed to his bike.
"Yeah, see you Natsu."
The pinkette started up his bike and drove back to the lift. He took it back up to the carpark and parked the bike near the elevator bank. He took the keys and sent his helmet away while he made his way into the nearest elevator and went up to the offices. The doors dinged open and revealed a bustling floor with guards and staff moving from one place to the next.
Spotting a flash of blue hair and snapping to it like a hawk, he darted out of the elevator and hurried after the woman. "Levy!" He calls out through the busy crowd.
Levy whipped around and quickly spotted the source of the voice, she gave the man a smile as she waved him over. "Natsu, how did your mission go?!"
"Better since you were able to get me that intel. Still ended up a mess though."
"Yeah I saw, I had a feeling that the police would jump the gun." The blunette sighed and frowned up at the man, her eye twitching in annoyance. "I did a background check on the lady running that operation and she has a history of making rash calls, but at least the police that stormed the ship were SWAT fully kitted out in armour, they didn't receive any casualties."
"Yeah, at least she didn't take half measures on that." Natsu replied as he fell in step with the shorter woman as they headed through the hallway.
After a few moments of peaceful silence, Natsu turns his head to his companion. "So have you heard anything about what Director Makarov is going to talk about?"
"Have I?" Levy replied with a small smile. "I AM the Archivist, after all, I have the access to all of our data and so I can help all of the agents with up to date intel on the field."
"Well?"
"Sorry Natsu, while I do know, I'm not exactly allowed to speak about it beyond what is already rumoured."
"So we are getting a new recruit and they'll be paired with one of the experienced agents?"
"That's about the gist of it." Levy confirmed as she gazed up to the male's dark eyes.
"How old are they?"
"Not much younger than you."
"Wait What?!" Natsu shouted in surprise.
"Indoor voice Natsu."
"But if they are practically my age then they won't have gone through all the conditioning that you, me, Grey, Erza and all the other agents have gone through…"
"I know, I don't like it either but it's not my call to make." Levy agreed with a nod as she led the way into the Café to have her lunch.
Natsu crossed his arms as his face hardened into a serious visage. "They'll freeze up and break down in combat Levy. I've seen it happen before."
"Which is why they'll be placed in the care of an expert, for training and to break them down so they won't break down when the time comes."
Levy walked up to the counter and smiled at a busty woman with white hair that ends above her shoulders. "Hiya Lis."
Natsu waved at the younger sister of Mira as his mind went back to the previous night, his eyes glazed over slightly while a small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Afternoon Lisanna."
"Oh hey you two, what can I get you?" The blue-eyed woman said.
Levy looked back at Natsu who spoke up. "Just a bottle of Coke will do me."
"Alright." She nodded and turned back to Lisanna to give her their order. "A bottle of Coke and one of Sprite please."
"Coming right up." Lisanna cheered merrily as she grabbed the requested drinks out of the nearby fridge. "Anything else Levy?"
"Yeah." The bluenette said as she put a finger to her cheek in thought. "Can I have a wrap with shredded ham, pepper jack cheese and the lot Lis?"
"Sure, give me a minute and I can take it to you if you want to find a seat?"
Levy nodded happily and grabbed the two drinks, she looked around quickly and headed over to an empty table with Natsu hot on her heels.
"You need to stop ogling poor little Lisanna, if you stared at her any longer you would have started drooling."
"Yeah, yeah, anyway back on topic, how is one of us supposed to train the new recruit? While we are all trained to resist torture, we have been exposed to it for a long time, so we won't break easily, what are we supposed to do with them?" Natsu asked as he took a seat, he was starting to become a little frustrated.
"Train them to be as good as they can be, and try not to break them too hard I guess…" Levy replied as she sipped her drink.
Natsu sighed and gave in. "I guess it is what it is, as I said to Grey, I don't envy the person who has to train them."
Levy hid her smirk behind her drink as she looked over the top of it at the man before her. "Careful what you say, it may end up being you in that position."
"Please no, I'm the worst example to be following, I'll freely admit that. You know my history."
"Say what you will Natsu, but you are one of the best we have, even if you aren't S rank, you are as good as one." Levy said as she pointed her finger at him.
"I also got yelled at for destroying things the most too you know."
"Granted those times you are using your magic which is in its nature to be destructive but here is the thing, you don't and can't rely on it anymore. You have the skill and raw talent, not to mention quick thinking and are deadly accurate with all manner of weapons." Levy rebutted as she flicked her hand at him.
"That's me, how am I meant to transfer those attributes to another?"
"Through hard work and dedication." Came a second female voice, the two looked over and saw Lisanna standing there with a platter containing Levy's lunch. "You just have to push and push, train and train, going as hard as possible until they can perform."
Natsu threw his hands up in mock defeat, it was two against one now. "Well, I guess we'll see where the chips fall."
"That you will Natsu, now I have a question for you." Lisanna said as she pulled a chair over and sat down.
"Shoot."
"You wouldn't happen to know where my Big Sis is?"
"Oh she and I had some celebratory drinks for a successful mission, had some at the bar then went back to my house for some more drinks."
"Oh ok, well I hope she hasn't got too much of a hangover, I might go over there and see how she is if she doesn't turn up by the end of my shift." Lisanna said in a caring tone as she rose from her seat.
As Natsu opened his mouth to speak the PA system came alive with Makarov's voice. "Can all active A-Class and S-Class agents assemble in Meeting Room 1 in the next 10 minutes."
"Well, I guess duty calls?" Natsu said as he got up. "No rest for the wicked."
"Lis and I will be there after I've eaten." Levy spoke up as she looked over the wrap hovering right in front of her mouth at the pinkette.
"You sure you don't want anything Nat?" Lisanna asked curiously.
"Hmm, you know what, can I get a chicken schnitzel burger with the lot, to go Lis."
"Sure, come back to the counter with me and I'll get it all sorted for you." She replied as she turned on her the balls of her feet and quickly walked back over to her station.
The man followed the white-haired woman, his eyes falling down to her ass, noticing that today it was confined in tight daisy duke denim shorts then back up her slim torso that is covered by a baby blue singlet top. He came to a stop at the counter and watched her get to work on the food.
"Any idea why he called all of us in for a meeting?" Lisanna asked with her eyes down at the burger she was working on.
"Rumour is it is a new recruit, Levy said that they'd be paired with one of us for guidance and training and that they are about a year younger than me."
"So they'd be my age right, Natsu?"
"Yeah seems like it."
"Well here is your burger, I'll be right behind you, I have to clean up and give someone a call so they can take over."
"Ok well, I'll see you there." Natsu said as he took the packaged burger with a smile and headed out for the meeting.
He sipped his drink and ate the burger while he walked down the hallways, nodding greetings to passers-by and stopping for quick conversations with some.
A door opened to his immediate left and out came a black-haired man, neither person could stop in time and they collided.
"Ah sorry, I didn't see you." Said the man.
Natsu shook his head slightly and took a good look at the man, noting that he had dark marks under his eyes from lack of sleep and a thick, coarse black stubble that spanned his jawline and up under his messy black hair.
"Long nights again, Brother?" Natsu asked the man followed by a bite of his burger. "Mavis is going to kill you when she gets her hands on you."
Zeref blinked and focused on his younger brother as a yawn escaped his mouth. "Yeah… I've been going over footage of the recruits, forming training regimes and just working out ways to help them improve."
The pinkette held out his bottle of Coke to the older man who just held up a hand and politely declined the proffered drink. "Sorry Natsu, I was actually about to grab a coffee from the break room nearby."
"All good, you heading to this meeting?"
"Yeah, I need to see what I am working with so I can get an idea of what kind of plan I need to make for them."
"Well from what Levy has told me, this new person is about my age and as green as grass in the Magnolia central park."
Zeref sighed as his shoulders slumped in slight defeat. "Fuck the coffee, I need some hard liquor. And a long nap."
"That nap might end up as a 3-day comatose sleep going by the look of you." Natsu jested with a cheeky grin.
"That might be the case." Zeref said as he started making his way to the meeting room. "Come on, let's not be late."
"What no comeback?" Natsu said as he finished his burger and set the paper wrapper alight.
"No. I'm too tired for your shit right now." The black-haired man replied firmly. "And others' shit too."
"Yeah, you need a good sleep. And some time with Mavis."
"No shit, I look like a racoon. And like you said, she'd kill me if she saw the state I've put myself in."
"You sure you don't want that coffee?"
"I'm sure, I'll sleep on the couch in my office after the meeting."
"Just as long as you don't fall asleep in the meeting again, Zeref."
"I'll try not to." Zeref said as they entered the meeting place to a room full of agents and a handful of other personnel.
The two Dragneels parted ways and sat in their respective chairs, they chatted among their peers as they waited for the Director to arrive.
After a noisy ten minutes, the wizened Director enters the room with the youth-like jubilance that he has maintained despite his many years as Director.
His eyes scanned the room as he jumped up onto the table. "Is everyone here?"
"Aside from Erza." Replied Zeref as he yawned tiredly. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked down the door during this meeting."
"I'll get her up to speed later on, I'll try and make this quick." Makarov stated as he started pacing the length of the table. "As I'm sure some of you have heard, we have finally made a breakthrough and caught up to that elusive identity thief of Natsu's, Bora of Prominence. He has been detained by the Hargeon Police Force and has been transported to a secure facility."
All the agents gave their full attention to their Director as he continued to speak to his audience. "You would have all seen or heard tell of the mission that Agent Natsu has recently returned from."
The old man gazed around at the nodding heads. "I've had it played for the recruits for a number of reasons, first and foremost being a showcase of what to do when the shit hits the fan, keep a level head and continue with the mission, even if mission objectives and situations change."
"In the instance of Natsu, the local police force jumped the gun and set the ship on high alert." He paused in front of the pinkette and gestured to him. "This, in turn, escalated the mission's difficulty, going from a simple sneak into the secure area, neutralise the target and sneak out with the hostage, to protect the hostage at all costs as you fight through an entire ship full of hostiles armed to the teeth."
"It was such a fucking hassle, the hostage was trigger shy too so I couldn't do much there." Natsu piped up as he put his feet up on the table and his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner.
"To be fair she lacks the training you have had Natsu." Levy spoke up.
"Still, it was your duty to protect her with your life, and that you did." Makarov continued as he continued to pace the table. "Even on the way back, you ensured her safety and thanks to your quick thinking with the jacket. You prevented her from taking a bullet in the back."
"You did all you could to keep her safe given the circumstances and completed the mission successfully, as that is why I chose to have it shown to the agents in training, audio and all."
Ignoring the audible groan let out by the mentioned agent, Makarov continued with the meeting. "Now moving on, the other reason I have brought up Natsu's mission is that we have a new recruit that I'll be inducting into the Fast Ball Program, no doubt some of you have heard that they'll be paired with someone in this room so they can be trained up and shown the ropes quickly so they are mission ready ASAP."
Murmurs of curiosity and annoyance spread around the room like wildfire, some uncomfortable with taking a completely green recruit under their wing, others expressing their concern for the unknown recruit being placed in the program, citing that the stress would get to them and they may break.
The Director held up a hand, silencing the table around him and allowing him the quiet he needs to continue speaking. "I know all of your dispositions on this particular subject, there are those among you who publically speak out against this type of training within the agency walls, but it has shown in previous cases to be an effective means of teaching."
"In fact there are some prime examples in this room." He continued as he looked around the room, his eyes lingering a few moments longer on Zeref before moving on. "So let's cut to the chase and get onto introductions."
He turned to his assistant who was standing by one of the side doors and nodded to her, signalling her to bring in the new recruit. "Now before you all voice your concerns, I've had our resident doctor, Dr Porlyusica, runs tests on the recruit, in her evaluations she scored exceptionally well for all the requirements for being an agent, and while she isn't the best in show right now, given training I'm sure she can roll with the best of you."
Levy spoke up as she leant forwards in her chair, resting her elbows on the table with her fingers interlocked and forming an arch upon which her chin rested. "Will she be able to undergo the Enhancement Therapy?"
"The good Doctor has tested her DNA compatibility along with the reactions to the therapy on the blood extracted for the usual tests, she has proved highly compatible with the most current formula and as such will rapidly adapt to it." Makarov replied as he faced the blunette completely and answered her assuredly. "But first she'll need time to settle in and have a little bit of training under her belt before we get to that stage."
Levy nodded and sat back, more relaxed than before as she was content with the answer she was given, allowing silence to fall over the meeting room for a few moments before the door once more opened for the assistant.
After a moments pause, caused by him turning his attention to the newly opened door, Makarov spoke up once again. "Agents, I'd like you to welcome the newest recruit and soon to be protégé to one of you, Lucy Heartfilia." He extended his arm to the door as a blonde woman walked in, dressed in a white and blue Heart Cruz crop top with a black short skirt and matching black knee-high boots.
Natsu's feet dropped to the floor as he rocketed forwards in the chair, hands landing hard on the table with a bang, shock evident on his face as he exclaimed. "What The Fuck Is This?"
Well that's the end of this chapter, I would have gotten it out a bit sooner but I got tied up with other things, coming next in the pipe is another chapter for Continued Life of a Dragon Slayer, hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, it was a little bit slower than compared to the first lot of chapters but I suppose it can't always be nonstop action.
Again, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to follow or favourite to stay up-to-date, and if you feel like it then leave a review for me. I'll see you all next time.