A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to a new chapter!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail, I only own my OC.

CHAPTER SEVEN: NATSU VS ERZA

The Magic Council discusses the increasing number of Dark Guilds and contemplates ways to eradicate the problem. The conversation soon turns to Fairy Tail. Siegrain is thankful that Fairy Tail was able to take care of the Eisenwald incident, going as far as saying that if anything would have happened to the Guild Masters, it would have cost the Council's heads. This obviously irritates some members of the Council, who direct the conversation into Fairy Tail's destructive nature. They come to a decision to make them pay the price.

At Magnolia Town, Lucy is writing a letter to her mother. She writes about the Eisenwald incident and expresses her delight for being part of Fairy Tail's strongest team. When she finishes her letter she thinks about how she is going to spend the day.

"70,000 Jewel a month is a good price for a place like this." Aira said. Lucy turns around to see Aira in his usual attire sitting on her couch. "Great find, Lucy!"

"Breaking and entering!" Lucy screamed as she kicks him hard.

"Hold on! You've got the wrong idea!" Aira stops her.

"Out!" She points to the door.

"Today's the day, you know. I'm here 'cause I thought you might've forgotten!" Aira stated.

"What day?" Lucy questioned.

"See, you did forget..." Aira muttered. "Remember what Natsu said before we left?"

People are gathered around in the middle of town, cheering for Natsu and Erza.

"Natsu and Erza are going to fight!" Aira said. They leave together to watch the match in the middle of town.

Lucy comes into the crowd, pushing Wakaba aside. "W-Wait! Are they both serious?!" Lucy watches her two friends face each other.

"Oh, Lucy!" Mira said.

"They're serious, all right! They're not men unless they're serious!" Elfman said.

"Erza is a girl, you know." Mira pointed out.

"More like a female monster." Gray stated.

"But if two members of our strongest team clash...!" Lucy said.

"Strongest team? What are you talking about?" Aira asked.

"You, Natsu, and Erza! You're the top three in Fairy Tail!" Lucy replied.

"Huh? What rubbish. Who told you that crap?" Aira said. Mira innocently smiles at them. She breaks down into tears. "Oh, it was you, Mira-chan?" Aira begins to panic, trying to calm her down.

"You made her cry." Lucy disappointingly said.

"I do recognize Natsu and Aira's manly spirit, but I can't sit by and let them be called the strongest. Fairy Tail is filled with plenty more powerful people." Elfman proudly points to himself. "Like me!"

"I'm pretty sure Erza is the strongest female member, though." Levy commented.

"As for the strongest man, you can't overlook Mystogan or Laxus." Jet said.

"I just thought that Natsu, Aira, and Erza had the best team chemistry..." Mira's tears drop little by little.

"Huh?" Lucy looks at her. "Weren't you worried they would fight whenever Erza wasn't around?"

"In any case, it's going to be an interesting fight!" Elfman stated.

"You think? I predict Erza's going to completely destroy him." Aira said.

"How many years has it been since we last locked horns like this?" Erza asked.

"I was a kid back then. Things are different now!" Natsu said. "I will beat you today!"

"I'm going to fight for real, too." Erza requips into her Flame Empress Armor.

"Flame Empress Armor? That's strong against fire!" Macao commented.

"That'll halve the power of Natsu's fire!" Laki added.

"Erza! That's clearly going overboard!" Wakaba said.

Happy thinks hard for a moment. "Can I bet on Erza after all?" Happy hands his money to Cana whos collecting money on all the bets.

"What a loveless cat!" Lucy commented. "I don't like stuff like this! I don't want either to lose!"

"You're surprisingly pure hearted." Aira said.

"Flame Empress Armor, huh? That's perfect!" Natsu chuckles to himself. "Now I can go all out without any hesitation!"

"Begin!" Master Makarov starts the fight.

Natsu charges at Erza first. He tries to hit Erza with his fire, but she dodges it and attempts to slash him. He evades her attack and tries to kick her twice with his leg covered in flames, except she evades the attacks.

Erza kicks Natsu and sends him flying into the ground. Natsu shoots fire out of his mouth towards her, but easily dodges it. Erza swings her sword at Natsu who tries to punch her with his fist engulfed in flames. Just when they are about to clash, a messenger, who looks like a frog, of the Magic Council arrives, interrupting their fight.

The messenger informs that Erza is under arrest for damage property and 11 other crimes from the Eisenwald Terrorism Incident.

The rest of Fairy Tail retreats to the guild, upset about the recent events, but cannot do anything against the council.

"Let me out! Let me outta here!" Natsu, transformed into a gecko and trapped in a glass, shouted.

"Be quiet, Natsu." Mira said.

"Let me out!" Natsu continues to shout.

"You'll go on a rampage if we do." Mira stated.

"No, I won't! Turn me back to normal!" Natsu waves his arms up and down.

"If we do, you'll say, 'I'm gonna go save her!'" Mira easily foreshadows his actions.

"No, I won't! Like I'd ever help Erza!" Natsu said.

"This is the council we're talking about. There's nothing we can do." Aira said.

"Let me out!" Natsu demanded. "I'm gonna give 'em a piece of my mind! I don't care if they're the council or not! They're the wrong ones here!"

"If the council says you're guilty, you're guilty. Even if you're innocent." Aira stated. "They'd never listen to us."

"Still, after every thing we've done, why now?" Elfman questioned.

"Yes. It's beyond comprehension." Laki said.

"There's definitely another side to this!" Lucy said.

Meanwhile, at the Fiore Branch of the National Council, Erza is greeted by a Thought Projection of Siegrain just before she enters the courtroom. They argue a bit and then Siegrain leaves, but not before reminding her to keep quiet about the past for both sakes. Inside the court, Erza's prosecution begins.

"We can't ignore this after all! Let's go testify!" Lucy said.

"Hold on, now!" Master Makarov said.

"How can you say that?! She was unlawfully arrested! We need to get there before they reach a verdict!" Lucy stated.

"It's too late for that now, however much we hurry!" Master Makarov added.

"But...!" Lucy said.

"Let me out! Let me out...!" Natsu continues to thrash around inside the glass.

"Are you really sure you want out?" Master Makarov asked. Natsu stops complaining, standing there, thinking for a second. They all stare at him in confusion. "What's the matter, Natsu? You've suddenly lost your spunk." The Master uses his magic to break the glass, setting the gecko free. The gecko is shown to be Macao.

"Macao?!" Levy shouted in surprise.

"What the...?!" They all shout together.

"S-Sorry. I owed Natsu a favor..." Macao explained. "So I transformed myself into a lizard to pretend to be him."

"Then where's the real Natsu?!" Lucy asked.

"Don't tell me he went after Erza!" Aira angrily said.

"Yes, probably." Macao replied.

"You gotta be kidding! I can't see him trying to beat up the council!" Elfman said.

"All of you stay quiet!" Master Makarov demanded. "Just wait quietly and see how it turns out."

Erza is found guilty of the charges as witnesses claim that the culprit had been an armored female Mage. At the same time, Natsu, dressed as Erza, shows up and destroys half of the courtroom. They are both escorted to the cellar where Erza tells Natsu that the arrest was just a show. The Council convinced her to appear as if they actually enforce the law. She is mad at him at the moment, but shows her appreciation for his thoughtfulness.

The Next Day...

Erza and Natsu return to the guild. "The air on the outside is so nice! It's the greatest!" Natsu screams in joy, enjoying the freedom. "It's wonderful being free!"

"Quiet!" Jet gets annoyed of him.

"Freedom!" Natsu runs back and forth with his arms in the air and spitting out fire.

"Shut up!" Droy yelled.

"This side of him is adorable!" Mira commented.

"I can't believe it was a symbolic arrest. I was worried for nothing..." Lucy exhaustingly said.

"I get it! They let her 'leaf' early because they were all bark!" Aira exclaimed.

"O-Only a water wizard could make such a frigid pun..." Elfman commented, muttering to himself. "So, what about your man to man battle with Erza, Natsu?!"

"Man?!" Lucy added.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot!" Natsu walks over to Erza. "Erza! Let's pick up where we left off!"

"Don't be silly. I'm tired." Erza said, setting her cup down.

Natsu lights his hand on fire, charging at her. "Here I come!"

"Sheesh..." Erza gets up and launches a punch right into his stomach which makes him faint. "Very well. Let's begin."

"We have a winner!" Happy said. Elfman and Aira erupt in laughter.

"You're so lame, Natsu!" Aira laughed.

"Erza really is strong!" Elfman laughed as well. Master Makarov sits on the bar counter, thinking to himself.

"What's the matter, Master?" Mira curiously asked.

"Oh... I'm sleepy..." The Master replied. "It's him..." Mira gets drowsy as well, falling asleep.

"This is...!" Aira feels tired, not being able to keep himself awake.

"I'm sleepy..." Laki added. The rest of the guild falls asleep right when a mysterious man walks in the guild.

"Mystogan..." Master Makarov muttered.

"I'll be back." Mystogan said.

"Hold on! Lift the sleeping spell!" Master Makarov drowsily said.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One." Mystogan counts down as he walks out of the guild. Everyone suddenly wakes up except for Natsu who is still sleeping.

"Th-This feeling... Mystogan?!" Jet said.

"His sleep magic's as powerful as ever...!" Levy exclaimed.

"Mystogan?" Lucy questioned, half awake.

"He's running for the strongest man in Fairy Tail." Elfman responded.

"For whatever reason, he doesn't want anyone to see him. So he puts everyone to sleep like this whenever he takes a job." Aira explained.

"Are you serious?! That's way too suspicious!" Lucy said.

"So no one but our master knows what he looks like." Aira said.

"No. I do." A mysterious voice grinned.

"Laxus!" Elfman shouted. "You're here?!"

"This is rare!" Wakaba commented.

"Another candidate for the strongest member." Aira rests his head on the palm of his hand, looking up at Laxus.

"Mystogan is shy. Don't get too nosy." Laxus said.

Natsu immediately wakes up when he hears Laxus' voice. "Laxus! Fight me!"

"Erza just gave you a beat-down!" Aira reminded him.

"That's right! You don't stand a chance against me if you can't even beat mere Erza." Laxus stated.

"What does that mean?!" Erza angrily asked.

"Whoa, calm down, Erza..." Aira nervously sweats.

"I mean that I'm the strongest!" Laxus bragged.

"Come down here, you jerk!" Natsu growled.

"You come up." Laxus taunted.

"Fine by me!" Natsu gets off the table, rushing to the second floor to fight Laxus. Master Makarov transforms his arm into a large arm, slamming Natsu to the ground.

"You're not allowed on the second floor! Not yet!" Master Makarov said.

"Got yourself in trouble." Laxus laughed, looking down at Natsu.

"Laxus! That's enough out of you!" Master Makarov shouted. Natsu struggles to get out of the Master's fist.

"I won't let anyone take the title of Fairy Tail's strongest!" Laxus said. "Not even Erza or Mystogan. I'm the strongest!" He points to himself as he brags about how strong he is. They all look at him in annoyance.

Later, Lucy asks Mira why the second floor is off-limits. Mira explains that there is where they keep their S-Class quests and that only a Mage of the same level can pick them up.

When she returns home, Lucy finds Natsu and Happy exercising in her room. She wants to kick them out, but they show her an S-Class request. Natsu and Happy goes to on the request, but Lucy gets left behind. Once they leave, the request falls onto the floor. She reads the request and finds that the reward includes one of the 12 Zodiac Gate keys. Instantly changing her mind, she follows them willingly to go on the quest.

At the guild, Mira informs the Master that an S-Class request is missing, causing Master Makarov to spit out his coffee in a delayed response.

When Fairy Tail speculates about who stole an S-Class request from the Request Board, Laxus claims that he saw a cat with wings take it, making the whole guild realize that the culprits are Natsu and Lucy. Laxus states that since they took it without permission, they must be expelled if they return.

"Laxus! Go bring them back!" Master Makarov ordered.

"Don't be silly. I have my own work to attend to." Laxus refused. "Members of this guild are supposed to be able to take care of themselves. Right?"

"Out of everyone here, who else besides you can bring Natsu back by force?!" Master Makarov asked, yelling at Laxus.

"Gramps." Aira said, getting up from the table. "I can't let that comment go." Aira volunteers to go get Natsu and Lucy from the S-Class request they're about to go on.

A/N: There you go! Another update done!

Hope you enjoyed!

~Kyle