On the next day morning, Bash is back at Mercurius as he is dragging Natsu who is asleep. He is walking in the hallway corridor where they meet up with Arcadios who is standing by an open back gate.

"you arrived." Said Arcadios in seeing the cowboy. "I hope that you got a go-" the soldier knight stopped mid sentenced as he sees Bash's bloodshot eyes with black bags underneath. "I don't think you got any sleep."

"the brat snored like a damn pig…" Bash muttered out before he glares angrily at Natsu who continues to snore while asleep. "..i couldn't get any sleep nor could I beat him up to wake up. He's deep in the damn dream land!"

"I can see the result of it…" said Arcadios with a sweatdrop before he looks at Natsu. "so? The kid still not waking up?"

"I've tried everything." Bash replied as he pulls Natsu up before he slams the kid's head to the floor harshly but all he got was more snores. "from loud noises to damn torture. This brat just sleeps through it all."

"you…that's just being cruel." Said Arcadios with a deadpanned face.

"say that when you tried every trick in the book to wake a damn snoring kid." Said Bash before he kicks Natsu's back to try and get him to wake up, but the boy just sleeps.

"the kid doesn't even flinch or anything, huh?" Arcadios stated while crossing his arms.

"this is probably because he was sleeping in the wild that any noise or disturbance doesn't bother him at all." Bash replied as he takes out a cigar and lights it before he started to smoke. "the damn kid just sleeps through it all."

"but we can't let him sleep all day." Said Arcadios while looking at Bash. "his entire background ID was finished and done; he also got to start his young soldier training that will start soon."

"god damnit.." Bash scratches his head as he soon sighs. "I've tried everything to wake this kid up."

"have you tried splashing some water on him?" Arcadios asked as Bash nodded. "how about pinching his sides?"

"I slapped, kicked, hit, and did everything I could think of to wake him up." Bash replied before he sniffed his nose a few times and looks to the side. "what's that smell?"

"ah, the chefs today are preparing a meal for the new recruits." Arcadios replied. "I heard that they're preparing a big portion of beef stew."

"as always the king is thoughtful to those who join." Said Bash before blowing out some smoke to the side.

The smell of the cooking beef stew just spreads as Natsu's nose sniffs it a few times before the young boy wakes up and sits up straight with his eyes snapping open.

"WHAT'S THAT SMELL?!" Natsu exclaimed with sparkling eyes and a drooling mouth.

"HE WOKE UP?!" Bash and Arcadios shouted in unison.

"food~!" Natsu ran off as he chased after the delicious scent.

"hey brat! Come back here!" Bash shouted before he chased after Natsu.

Arcadios stayed behind as he shakes his head while raising his hands up.

A few minutes later, Arcadios came to an open training field by the back of the castle where there are many young rookie recruits gathered.

"attention!" one of the many rookies shouted out; assumingly the leader of the current generation.

The instant the call of attention was shouted; many of the rookies went into a stance and saluted to Arcadios who saluted then lowers his hand in command for them to follow the same.

"good morning, everyone!" Arcadios called out. "as today is your beginning training to become a knight for the kingdom, I am here to announce a new member who shall be joining you!"

Arcadios looks to the side as Bash came dragging Natsu who was munching on a big piece of roasted meat that he got at the kitchen which was provided thanks to the cowboy pleading with the chef to give it to him so that they could get to the training field.

"his name is Natsu Dragneel, play nice with him." Said Bash before groaned as he got Natsu to stand up straight, but the young boy was still eating his meat. "hey! Greet your comrades!"

"iwom Bwatsu." Natsu greeted while still munching on his food as this made Arcadios and the rookies all sweatdrop in seeing his attitude which got a knock on the head by Bash.

Arcadios sighs while shaking his head before he coughs into his fists a few times.

"We will now begin your training!" Arcadios called out. "first, we will have a 5 lap run around the entire Mercurius ground! This will train your stamina; so take your time and make a rhythm for your use of energy!"

The rookies saluted before they started to move into a line and went outside to an open gate.

"hey, you too." Said Bash while pushing Natsu who finished his cooked meat down to the bone. "follow the others and start running the laps around the castle's ground."

"what does that do?" Natsu asked while munching on the bone.

"it's called training." Said Bash while crossing his arms. "you can't start becoming a mage or a knight of the kingdom just by joining. You got to go with some training in order to become one."

"sounds boring." Said Natsu with a bored face. "this training is dumb, I'm already strong enough to become a knight or a mage just by joining."

"this little smug brat." Bash gritted his teeth while holding up a shaking right fist. "there's a thing called limits, you know?"

"now now." Arcadios held a hand towards Bash before he looks at Natsu with a smirk. "the kid is probably scared that he won't be able to finish it and that's why he doesn't want to do it."

"what did you say?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily at Arcadios. "who is scared?! I'm not scared!"

"then would you care to show your determination and run with the rest of the class?" Arcadios asked while motioning Natsu to follow after the rookies who are probably starting their training already. "I'm sure that you're brave enough to follow after them."

"I'll show you brave!" Natsu exclaimed before he ran off at high speed out of the opened gate. "just watch as I run 10 laps instead of 5!"

Bash blinked his eyes before he looks at Arcadios who has a smug smirk

"daring the kid to do something he doesn't want to do." Said Bash while shaking his head and grins a bit "you sure can read people's characters and use their personality against them."

"when you have to guard the kingdom's one and only princess, you got to learn a thing or two about it." Arcadios replied with a chuckle. "come on, let's make sure that the kid does what we dared him to do."

Bash shakes his head before he and Arcadios left the training field.

A few minute later, Bash and Arcadios were looking in pure surprise and awkwardness, the rookies were standing behind the two and have the same face as their superiors because Natsu is currently running around Mercurius at high speed.

"oraaaah!" Natsu shouted as he just bolts past the group in a blur while leaving behind a dust trail.

"h-hey…how many times has he gone around the castle?" Bash asked out loud before seeing Natsu running past them again.

"a-about t-twenty times, sir." A rookie replied as Natsu came running past them yet again.

"you sure that kid….really is a kid?" Arcadios asked Bash who looks rather awkward.

"I…." Bash replied before seeing Natsu run by them but while leaving behind burning footprints. "…I don't think so?"

The day goes on as Natsu along with the rookies were trained in every sort of manner; from physical body training to weapon sparring against one another. All which Natsu trashed and lead through each time.

"oraaah!" Natsu shouted out as he wields a wooden training sword that he swung and slams against a rookie who blocked but was getting pushed back. "come and get some!"

Natsu keeps on swinging his training sword at his opponent who was soon disarmed of his weapon when the salmon-haired boy swung his weapon upwards and deflected it.

The rookie fell back as he looks rather scared at Natsu who huffs while his eyes glow red, and the wooden training sword is pointed at the poor recruit.

"The kid is gifted alright." Said Arcadios as he looks at a roster paper. "Stamina training, speed training, strength training, and now sparring training?" the knight then looks at Bash who is smoking beside him. "he is a literal monster."

"yeah, I know." Said Bash who soon blows out some smoke to the side while watching Natsu sparing with another rookie in training; both instantly started the spar, but the young salmon haired boy just overpowers his foe. "I thought he had potential when I met him back then. but I never thought he'd be this gifted."

Before long, the sound of a wooden snap was heard as Bash and Arcadios sees Natsu's sparring partner was on the ground with a broken wooden training sword that was snapped in half along. The salmon haired boy stood over his foe while holding his wooden sword that is in a similar manner.

"hey! I need another sword!" Natsu called out while holding up his broken wooden sword.

"even the weapons can't keep up." Said Bash in a small voice while adjusting his hat as there is a pile of broken wooden swords nearby that was resulted by Natsu's spar with his foes. "if he's this deadly in training…"

"just imagine how this kid will be on the battlefield." Arcadios finished Bash's statement before drawing a check on Natsu's name on the roster.

The training goes on as the day slowly turned eve. The rookies went for a whole day of training as it wasn't easy to be a soldier or a knight for the kingdom. Natsu however just skims through every single training that he was given as he was a monster.

"all of you! In line!" Arcadios shouted out as he was standing near a line of recruits who are facing some wheat dummy targets. "ready your stance!"

The rookies held up their bows and readied their arrows. Natsu is one of them as he readied his bow and arrow.

"aim!" Arcadios shouted as everyone pulled their arrows on their bow's strings with their focus on their target. "fire!"

Arrows went flying as each one hits their targets, but one didn't and it was Natsu's arrow.

"damnit!" Natsu readied another arrow as he pulled on it before he fired it but the result was the same. "what?!"

Natsu started to pull and fire more arrows as he just keeps at it while the rookies changed turns.

Arcadios sees Natsu not hitting his target at all as Bash came to his side and sees it as well.

"looks like he has one imperfection." Said Arcadios as Bash nodded in seeing how Natsu just can't fire his arrow to hit the target no matter how many times he does it. "he doesn't have good aiming skills."

"for a kid who lived in the wild, I thought he learned everything to survive." Said Bash in seeing how Natsu just angrily shouts and throws his bow on the ground then steps on it multiple times in frustration. "well, not everyone can be a talented archer. But he got to start somewhere with his training."

"a big talk from a guy who is a gunslinger and an archer at the same time." Said Arcadios with a smirk towards Bash. "you started just like him, didn't you?"

"that's an old story." Bash replied while adjusting his hat. "I trained hard to become who I am now." The cowboy then looks at Natsu who decided to throw a fireball that just miss his target. "the kid will just have to do the same."

The hours go by as night finally comes. The sky turned dark and the moon with the stars appeared to replace the sun that had set.

By the training field, there were no one there anymore but except Natsu who is just frustratingly still tried to hit the dummy target with a bow that fires arrow which keeps missing every single time.

"god damnit!" Natsu shouted as he throws his bow down on the ground and just started ranting out all angry because he just keeps missing his target that has arrows and scorch marks all around it. "The stupid thing just can't get hit!"

Natsu keeps on his angry rants as he just curses the dummy target that sweatdrops.

Bash came into the scene as the cowboy sighs in seeing just how Natsu is in an angry tantrum.

"geez, he has been keeping at it for the entire night." Said Bash while shaking his head before adjusting his hat. The cowboy then decided to go to Natsu who stops his tantrum in seeing him. "still can't get a hit on it?"

"the stupid thing just moves when I tried to hit it!" Natsu exclaimed, whining while pointing a finger at the dummy target.

"hey, it can't move." Said Bash while taking out a cigar that he lit and started smoking with. "you just got poor aim, don't vent it out on the dummy target or your bows."

"I don't got poor aim!" Natsu shouted before he pointed at his thrown-away bow. "this thing is the problem!"

"really?" said Bash with an eyebrow raised. The cowboy went and picked up Natsu's bow and arrow as he soon aims at the target. "let's see how this thing is the problem."

WHOOSH!

Bash fires the arrow as it flew and hits the dummy right on the target.

"wha!?" Natsu's jaw dropped as Bash blows out some smoke from the side before looking at the young boy.

"This bow got no problem at all." Said Bash as he gave the bow to Natsu. "it's just you who got the problem. You just got to aim really good if you want to hit the target."

"I did aim!" Natsu shouted. "it's the arrow's fault!"

"hey, when will you learn to not put the blame on everything if you can't hit it?" said Bash while scratching the side of his head before he got behind Natsu and start positioning him with his bow and arrow. "you got to take this stance if you want to shoot the arrow."

Bash held Natsu's hands as he got the young man to aim his arrow that he pulls on his bow.

"Close your left eye and just focus your sight with your right eye." Bash instructed Natsu who followed his orders while looking right at the target with his arrow that is just tensing up the bow's string. "take a deep breath and just ease your mind before firing, got it?"

Natsu takes a deep breath as instructed with his eye just focused on the target.

WHOOSH!

The arrow is fired as it flew and hits the dummy target but inches from the wanted target.

"it hit!" Natsu exclaimed with a big grin.

"see? It's all about patience." Said Bash as Natsu cheers for the first arrow that managed to hit the dummy target.

"one more time!" Natsu exclaimed as he got another arrow and started to pull it on his bow while aiming at the target.

"hey, ain't it time for you to call it a night?" said Bash before he sees Natsu firing the arrow that suddenly hits the target right on the center. "it hit!?"

"right on!" Natsu cheers as he started to fire more arrows that keep on hitting the target.

'this kid really is a monster.' Bash thought while looking at Natsu who keeps on firing arrows with his bow. 'he got good just after being taught, he'll probably be the best mage and knight for the kingdom.' The cowboy blows out smoke while adjusting his hat. 'looks like I was right in taking him here.'

"hey, Bash! Teach me more!" Natsu exclaimed to Bash. "if I get better at this, I might be able to shoot down Igneel if I see him! That way, he won't be able to get away while I pummel him for leaving me without a word!"

"hey…he's your dad, right?" said Bash with an awkward smile and a sweatdrop behind his head. "is that any way to do so?"

Natsu keeps on ranting to Bash about training him how to use the bow and arrow as the cowboy could tell that the young boy is going to be something when he grows up.

That's a wrap!

Bye bye