Summary/Disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Swordsmen and Thief. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I do not own any rights to Fairy Tale, Hiro Mashima, Kodansha and a few others that I may write about.

Erza was surprised Clell could actually fight for a thief.

"Hmm…" Erza hummed while Clell matched blades with Erza. His knives were red hot as he sighed.

"I'm starting to regret asking if you could train me." Clell muttered while he looked over the blades in his hands.

"Where did you get skill like that?" Erza asked while Clell holstered the blades on his hips. He was glad at the very least his weapons didn't break.

"Would you believe it's due to hours of practice?" Clell asked while he dusted off his hands. "I told you I have to fight off bandits and such usually." Clell stated while dusting off his hands.

"Well, I was holding back entirely." Erza stated while crossing her arms. "But you acquainted yourself well." Erza said while Clell nodded and bowed to her.

It was enough to make Erza laugh despite herself. She changed from her Clear Heart outfit to her regular clothing.

"It's hard to tell if your serious or not." Clell stated before brushing off the handles of his blades.

"Well, I am still fighting a bandit who ran away from the police several times." Erza said with a slight smile. Clell rolled his eyes and hummed.

"Just because I'm a thief… THIEF, there is a big difference." Clell stated, waving his hands dramatically. "Bandits are dirty cowards who kill people. Thieves are people who steal to support themselves and only use violence as a last resort." Clell added while Erza shook her head with amusement.

"Just because I'm a former thief?" Clell asked Erza while resting his hands on his hips. "Doesn't mean I can't fight. I spend a lot of time learning how to use knives. You can NEVER tell when you're going to need to need to fight." Clell said before drawing his knives.

Erza walked over to examined the blades in question. Clell could tell she had clashed blades with dozens of people. It was hard not to know who Erza Scarlet was.

"Those blades aren't normal," Erza began as she walked up to Clell. "Are they?" Erza questioned Clell who simply shrugged.

Clell felt the daggers leave his hands as he looked at the S-Class Mage.

"Where did you get them?" Erza asked. They had the symbol of a creature that resembled a dragon on them.

Erza didn't recognize the lack of wings or the multiple heads on them. Clell gently took them from her.

"It was on the first theft I did." Clell stated before turning them over. "I stole these from an abandoned house. The money we got was supposed to feed us for a few months." Clell stated while letting out a sigh.

Erza watched as the thief slumped his shoulders. Clell looked ready to break down and explode with anger at the same time.

"When I found out I had taken these from a recently deceased family?" Clell asked before running his fingers over the blades. "I told him he could go to hell. They got the police instead of me. We found the son of the family? He told me to keep them since they weren't the most important heirloom of the family." Clell finished before balancing the blades on his fingers.

"They let you keep those knives?" Erza asked Clell who hummed and nodded.

"Yes." Clell stated before he sheathed the blades on his hips. Clell sighed before looking to Erza.

"You still didn't answer my question, you know." Clell said as he turned to look at Erza. "The one about combat." Clell stated while Erza grinned.

(Unknown Location)

If Clell had bothered to really look into who was hunting his group? He would have found out quickly just how much trouble this group who was after him was.

"You're sure they won't know about the duplicate?" One figure asked another while humming.

"That idiot barely understands basic magic." The other figure stated while crossing his arms.

"Why don't we just attack now?" The other figure questioned while he tapped on the tree. "We have more then enough manpower to take Fiore." The figure added.

"We don't have enough power to hold it." The first figure said as he turned to look at the second. "We'd lose the city in a few months. You know very damned well we need to lure them out and kill them. Simple assaults won't kill Fairy Tale. That guild has survived much worse than us." The first figure said before sighing.

The duo left, wishing to report to their master as soon as possible.

(With Erza and Clell)

Clell looked at Erza before shifting his gaze up and towards the stars. He leaned on a tree stump next to him.

"You know? I've heard things about you." Clell asked Erza who raised an eyebrow. "What, you didn't expect one of the biggest mages in the entire kingdom to be a nobody?" Clell asked Erza as he chuckled with sheer amusement.

"I just didn't expect you to know so much. You know, with the education I'm sure you have." Erza stated while Clell smirked and hummed.

"Funny, I didn't think you had a sense of humor." Clell said while brushed off his arms.

The duo looked up at the stars overhead. Clell cocked his head to the side.

"Me and my friends used to watch the stars." Clell stated while Erza turned to look at him. "We would just look at them. I would always wonder what it's like to be up there." Clell said while waving his hands through the air.

Erza didn't expect a thief like Clell to be… So thoughtful on matters like this. A thief cared usually cared about getting the most money and taking care of themselves.

"You really cared about your comrades, didn't you?" Erza asked as Clell hummed and nodded.

"I told you before." Clell said while narrowing his eyes. "I will protect the people I care for. Everyone who has someone they care about and will die for. That's how I view it when it comes down to it." Clell put in before he cracked his neck and let out a sigh.

"I don't even know where to start looking for whoever is hunting them down." Clell said as he rubbed at his temples. "Whoever did want us? I know they're a lot more danger then I thought. They've got a lot of resources and manpower." Clell stated before cupping his chin and sighed.

Clell needed to think. He wanted to make sure he could deal with the group in question.

"Would you know how to deal with them if we found them again?" Erza questioned while Clell nodded.

Author Notes

Phew, another chapter done! I want to point out that Erza and Clell will be fighting as a team soon. I also want to point out Clell has some skills at combat, but he's not as good as Erza yet. next chapter will be on Thursday and might be a bit shorter. It will show Erza and Clell bonding more and the first fight with the enemy army. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!