DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its sister series. Please support the official releases if you like this.
Chapter 3
"Man, this is so boring!" Natsu groaned loudly as he flopped down on his bed. As Natsu sighed and stretched himself on his new queen-sized bed, he sat up and grumbled while crossing his arms. "I still don't get why I can't go on missions!" He knew Erza was trying to protect and help him, but Natsu was never the type to sit around and wait for others. He was always the type to get up and go right into the action, consequences be damned! "And I will take a job if I want to! I'm my own man, damn it!" As he jumped up from the bed with his fist raised in the air, he slowly lowered when a thought popped into his head. "But... How will I get away without Erza knowing...? Because if she finds out that I betrayed her..." Natsu held onto himself as he shuddered at the thought of how the redhead could and would punish him. "But I gotta get out! I'll be so bored!"
Suddenly, a thought popped into his head and he smiled as he remembered what his scarlet-haired girlfriend had told him before she left. "That's right...! Erza said that she had to do something for Gramps today! I can still go on missions! It'll just have to be when she leaves; when she does, I can go on any mission I want! But, I have to make sure no one else from the team sees me. AH! That won't be trouble! I'm sure that it'll be fine!" Natsu chuckled after he exclaimed. He soon got into his usual outfit and happily walked out from his cottage home.
'And now I just have to think about what kind of job to go on...'
"Natsu, I promise I won't be gone long."
"I got it, Erza."
"I'm serious, Natsu. There's no need for you to get worried."
"I know, I'm not worried. I'm fine."
"Maybe I should leave a phone with you so you're not too worried."
"ERZA!" The redhead flinched as Natsu snaked out from her possessive hold. He then groaned before chuckling. "I will be fine! Geez, you'll only be gone for most of the day is all. Don't worry about it! So, can you please stop worrying? Everyone is looking at us..." The Fire Dragonslayer's cheeks began to redden as he sheepishly looked away while pointing to their guildmates, all of whom were smirking and smiling smugly.
Erza quickly grabbed Natsu's hands and as he turned his head toward the redhead, Natsu's eyes widened as Erza's were filled with determination. "Kiss me before I leave then. That'll help me not to worry."
"WHA?!" Natsu blushed furiously as he shrieked. "E-ERZA! Everyone is looking at us!"
"And?"
Natsu stared at the redhead in disbelief. "But, Erza...!" He flinched as he felt Erza firmly hold onto his hands, her stern face not faltering. Natsu sighed then swiftly puckered his lips, giving the redhead a quick peck on her cheek. As Natsu pulled away, he cringed as he saw the redhead glare at him while frowning at him. "What's the matter?!"
"You know what I meant, Natsu. And I'm not going anywhere until I get it."
"B-But we're in the guild and everyone is already looking at us!"
Erza crossed her arms while pouting and facing slightly to the side. "And here I thought that you loved me, Natsu. But I suppose I was wrong..."
"O-Of course I love you!" Natsu shouted as he stomped his foot. "There's nothing that's going to change that!"
"I don't know if I can believe you if you can't kiss me..."
"F... Fine then!" Natsu firmly held Erza's shoulders, making her face the Dragonslayer as he kissed the redhead. With his eyes closed, Natsu could see the cocky smirk his girlfriend had until he pulled away. Natsu blushed heavily when he saw the look on Erza's face. "Y... You tricked me!"
"No tricks, just the art of persuasion is all." Erza giggled as Natsu grumbled. "But since I haven't left..." She then grabbed Natsu's face and swiftly as well as passionately snatched the Fire Dragonslayer's lips, making Natsu's eyes widen from shock and his face erupt in red. Much of the guild whistled and burst into joy as the two shared such a passionate kiss. As Erza pulled away, Natsu stood stunned with a heavy, and Erza giggled at his face. "Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone, alright?" She spoke warmly as she caressed Natsu's cheek.
"Y-Yeah, yeah. I'll behave. I won't get into any trouble." 'Any trouble that I can't get out of at least...' Natsu thought deviously.
"Good. I'll be back soon, I love you, Natsu."
Natsu blushed heavily as he sunk his head into his white muffler. "...I love you too, Erza." Erza smiled as she kissed Natsu's cheek once more before walking out of the guild and waving at the entire guild body. As the large wooden doors closed and Natsu finished waving, he soon walked to his team's booth and sat down. He then flinched as he saw Lucy and Gray smugly smile at him. "W-What's up with you two?"
"Oh, nothing, we're just enjoying seeing the infamous Salamander's face turn red just like his destructive flames. Seems like Erza has you tied around her finger doesn't she?" Gray chuckled as he saw Natsu gasp loudly before crossing his arms as he grumbled.
"W... Whatever, Gray! I can do whatever I want! Nothing is holding me down!"
"Sure~, Sure~, Whatever you say. That's until Erza finds out and punishes you right?"
"Huh! Yeah, right! I can take Erza on any day! I'm not scared of her, even though we're dating, I'm still free to do whatever I want!" Natsu turned to face Gray and Lucy as he slammed his hands on the booth table. "Erza may be intimidating and scary as all hell, but that doesn't mean I can't do anything without her..." He crossed his arms as he turned his head away from the two. "With how she is, it just makes me want to prove myself to her. I want to be strong so she doesn't have to worry about me. I get she cares. A lot. But if I can just prove to her that I'm strong, maybe she won't worry as much. I want to prove to her that I'm strong because I do love her and she's too precious to me for her to think I'm weak. Besides, it's really cute of her whenever she worries, seeing that worried face shows that she does care and it's really sweet that she does." Natsu chuckled to himself as he thought of the many expressions Erza had. Some were angry, some he thought were cute, and others he found that fit her warm and caring nature perfectly. "She is so lovely..." Natsu's eyes widened as a large blush flourished on his face before he shook his head. "A-ANYWAYS! I can still-!" He then cringed as he saw Lucy and Gray leaning on their elbows as they smiled smugly. "Wha...! You know what?! I'm going to go fishing!"
"So that you can still daydream about Erza~?" Lucy cooed.
"N-NEVER YOU MIND, LUCY!" Natsu exclaimed as he stormed out of the guild, his face brighter than a ripe summer tomato. "I'M GOING!"
As Natsu swiftly ran out of the guild, Happy landed next to the Celestial and Ice Wizard. "I'm going to go with him."
Lucy raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Get as much juicy details as you can, Happy."
"And what makes you think I'll get anything out of him, Luce?" Happy tilted his head as he placed a paw on his furry chin.
"Because you're his best friend and foster son. Besides, don't you want to know what they have been doing since you moved out? Seems a little unfair that he hasn't told you anything, isn't it?" Lucy spoke in a faux-sad tone as she lifted her hands.
Happy nodded as his eyes slowly widened. "You know what? You're right, Lucy!" He then pulled out his angel wings and flew after the Fire Dragonslayer. "NATSU! I'M COMING WITH YOU!" The Exceed soon disappeared.
Gray chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Like father, like son."
"I know," Lucy began giggling herself. "That's what makes it so fun to tease those two."
As Natsu and Happy sat on the forest floor next to a lake, Natsu grumbled as he held his fishing rod. "Just who do those two think they are? Teasing me like that... I can do whatever I damn please with or without Erza!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy held up a paw as he exclaimed.
"So what if she's scary and stern?! I'm not scared of anybody!"
"Aye, sir!"
"And what if Erza is just worried about me? And she'll give that worried cute pout that she always gives? Seeing that cute face is just gonna make me sad for worrying her..."
"... You are a tsundere, Natsu." Happy chuckled at the Fire Dragonslayer.
Natsu gasped loudly as he whipped his head toward the blue cat, mouth gaping and face slightly reddened. "HAPPY! YOU TOO?!"
"What? It's not my fault." Happy spoke through his chuckles. "Ever since you and Erza became a couple, you've been blushing at how affectionate Erza is and you seem to daydream about her. Always staring into space as you smile while you think about her. Seems like she does have you wrapped around her finger~"
Natsu grumbled as he sunk his head in his white muffler, turning his head away from the Exceed. "Whatever, Happy. I'm still able to do whatever I want. Can't a guy just be happy to have the girl he loved for so long?"
"Of course, you can!" Happy exclaimed as he placed his furry paws on Natsu's hands, making the Fire Dragonslayer turn his head to see the blue cat's excited expression. "I'm happy for you, Natsu! It's just that you haven't told me anything! And it's been killing me! I need to know! Just what are you two like when you're by yourselves?! How could I can't stay with you two?! Just tell me the truth, Natsu!"
Natsu's eyes widened slightly before he scratched his cheek lightly as he looked away. "Happy, I didn't want to kick you out, I would love for all of us to live together. It... It's just that it'd be too awkward if you did."
Happy tilted his head as he sat down. "Why would it be awkward? I've seen you and Erza naked before and it never bothered me."
Natsu chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "That's not the problem. Seeing us naked is fine, but it's what we do naked that makes it awkward. I wouldn't want you to hear or see us having passionate sex because I doubt you want to see that!"
"I KNEW YOU TWO WERE HAVING SEX!" Happy exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and pointed his paw to Natsu.
"WOAH! WOAH! Calm down Happy! There could be people listening!" Natsu placed a finger to his lips after checking his surroundings. He sighed in relief as he saw no one before turning his gaze back to the cat. "Yes, Erza and I have been having sex and I didn't want you to catch us because it'd be awkward to explain. See it from my point-of-view: for my little buddy who is like a son to me to catch me having passionate sex with the girl I love. How would you go about dealing with that?"
Happy placed a paw on his furry chin as he began to ponder the situation. "Do you and Erza have sex every day?"
Natsu's cheeks reddened slightly as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "W-Well, not every day! More like every other day?"
"So, you two have sex every other day, are you guys loud and aggressive? Is that why you're embarrassed about it?" Happy smirked and began snickering as he saw Natsu's face flush red as he looked away. "I figured that would explain those moans I've heard while passing by the house~"
Natsu's eyes widened as he whipped his head toward the Exceed. "Y-YOU HEARD US?!"
"Now, who's the one yelling~?"
"H-HAPPY!" Natsu facepalmed himself as he groaned while leaning back on the soft grass. "That was the last thing I wanted! Oh no... What exactly did you hear?"
"I'd say about three weeks ago, I was walking toward the house after a fishing trip then I heard 'Natsu, your tongue feels so good~! Fuck me harder with that Dragon cock! AH! Your cock is so big and hard! It's getting so-!"
"ENOUGH! ENOUGH! HAPPY, I GET IT!" Natsu blushed furiously as he covered Happy's mouth, his face fully flushed and red as a beet while Happy smirked. "This is so damn embarrassing... Just don't tell anyone about this, please! I'll die from the embarrassment..."
"Alright, I promise I won't say anything, Natsu. Cross my heart!"
Natsu sighed in relief. "Thank you, Happy. And don't tell Erza that I'm going on a mission by myself today, alright lil buddy?"
"AYE SIR!" Happy's eyes widened after smiling gleefully as he placed his paws on Natsu's lap. "WAIT, WHAT?! Why the hell are you going to do that?! Erza'll pummel you!"
"Not unless she doesn't find out," Natsu whispered as he smirked.
"NATSU, ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
"CRAZY BORED!" Natsu yelled as he crossed his arms. "Happy, I spend most of my day waiting for Erza to come home and all I do is just chill at the guild! Just joking around with everyone but I can't spar or get into any fights because Erza's too worried. I can't stand it! You know me, Happy, I need action! I can't stand just being under home arrest. It's making me go crazy! So! I'll go on a mission without Erza finding out right?" Natsu leaned into Happy's face as he spoke, his tone being very demanding and condescending. "Because you wouldn't your best friend to be murdered would you? After all, who's gonna cook your favorite fish dishes just how you like them?"
"I..." Happy wiped his mouth as he began to drool, making Natsu smirk. "Do you even have a plan on how to do this?"
Natsu chuckled as he crossed his arms. "Of course, I do, being stuck at home made me think of the perfect plan. You don't need to be involved at all, I need you not to tell anyone. Do it and I'll cook you some nice charred salmon."
Happy's eyes glistened in excitement. "With the lemon zest sauce?!"
"Especially with the lemon zest sauce." Natsu smiled as he extended his hand to the Exceed. "So, we have a deal?"
"AYE SIR WE DO!" Happy excitedly took and shook the Fire Dragonslayer's hand.
Natsu smiled as he walked toward the booth where the Sky Maiden and her white Exceed resided. "Hey, Wendy! Hey, Charle!" Natsu happily chirped, making Wendy smile at him.
"Hello, Natsu! Is there something that I can help you with?" Wendy smiled warmly as she stood up.
"Funny enough, there is! Say, you wouldn't happen to still have that batch of motion sickness brownies Yukino gave you, would you? I've been meaning to test them out and want to do some endurance training."
Wendy placed a finger on her chin as she briefly began to remember their location. "Yes, I believe that they're still in the Guild refrigerator. I'll get some now, how many do you need, Natsu?"
"I should be good with just two."
Wendy smiled happily as she nodded. "Then, I'll be right back!"
Natsu smiled as he bowed with his hands clasped together. "Thank you so much, Wendy! I truly appreciate this!" As Natsu stood up, he raised an eyebrow as he saw Carla look at him with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. "What's up, Carla?"
"And exactly what kind of endurance training are you looking to do? I understand that you've never taken them but I can assure you that the brownies are quite effective."
Natsu chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm going to train myself by building up my endurance on this boat I bought a while back. I've always used it for fishing trips with Happy, but since I can't go on missions, I figured it'd be better use for endurance training, ya know?"
Carla nodded her head as she smiled. "I suppose that you're right, I wish you good luck in your training then, Natsu."
Natsu nodded his head as he smiled and as he turned around, he was greeted by the young Sky Dragonslayer holding a paper bag. "Here are your brownies, Natsu! I wish you good luck in training!"
"Thanks, guys! This will sure come in handy!" Natsu then waved goodbye to the two and made his way to the booth where Lucy was sitting and writing. Natsu smiled happily as he walked toward his friend. "Hey, Lucy! What are you up to?"
Lucy smiled as she returned Natsu's smile with her own. "Oh, just writing down some thoughts for a potential story later. I'm meeting up with Levy for a writing workshop so sadly I can't hang out with you today, Natsu. Sorry!"
Natsu waved his hand as he chuckled. "Nah, it's OK. I understand because I'm going to be busy doing training later anyway."
Lucy raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "Training as in regular training right? You're not going on a mission by yourself, right? Because you know what Erza said."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just going to do some endurance training on a boat in the woods. That is all."
"Oh, good." Lucy sighed in relief before smiling. "Well, don't overwork yourself, Natsu. Else, you might drown." Lucy chuckled as she joked, making Natsu laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. That's why I asked Wendy for those motion sickness brownies, I'll get to see how strong they are." Natsu chuckled before looking to see the Ice Mage standing in front of the request board. "What's Gray doing?"
"Looking for jobs to go on. He's been up there for an hour already."
Natsu chuckled as he smirked. "I'm gonna go mess with him. I'll see ya, Luce!" Natsu waved at the Celestial Blonde who just rolled her eyes and scoffed as she smiled. As Natsu walked up to the request board, he crossed his arms and chuckled. "Geez, has the ice finally gotten to your brain, Gray? I've heard that you've been up here for an hour, ice-block!"
"If you must know, pyro, I'm trying to find a good job because they're all just monster-defeating jobs. Some of us are trying to get intellectual jobs." Gray turned to face Natsu with a cocky smirk. "But I get it, you're just going stir-crazy since your girlfriend is keeping you on house arrest. Must be pretty boring huh? I certainly can't relate."
Natsu chuckled as he looked at the board, seeing that many of the jobs were C and D-rank missions of defeating monsters such as Vulcans, Blood Wolves, and Piercer Parrots. However, among them was a B-rank mission where there was a request to rid a certain village of a notorious group of bandits. Natsu smirked as he studied the jobs and he then swiftly turned his head back to Gray. "Geez, Gray, you need to control your stripping habit. How many pairs of pants and shirts have you lost?"
"Wait, what?! Crap! I didn't mean-!" The Ice Mage looked down at his legs but then raised an eyebrow as he realized that he was still wearing his pants and his black T-shirt. "What the hell?! Natsu, you son of a bitch! You lied!" He then yelled and pointed his finger at the Fire Dragonslayer in anger.
"Got ya! You're so easy to fool, well I'll be seeing you Gray!" Natsu turned to walk down the stairway but was then grabbed by Gray, making the Fire Dragonslayer raise an eyebrow in confusion. "What's up with you?"
"Hold it! You did that to sneak away with a job request didn't you?" Gray let go of Natsu's arms and crossed his arms as he furrowed his brow.
"Is that what your intellectual self thinks?" Natsu chuckled as he turned to face Gray. "In the few seconds that I tricked you, how would I be able to sneak a paper past you? You would have heard the paper crumble wouldn't you?"
Gray squinted his eyes as he scoffed. "You're not fooling me again, Natsu."
"Fine then," Natsu then extended his arms and legs out. "Search me then."
"I will!" Gray then patted Natsu down, checking both his pockets and the inside of his vest. He then smirked as he found a paper bag and held it before Natsu. "AHA! And what is this?!"
"If you must know, in that bag are two motion sickness brownies and I plan on using them to improve myself during endurance training. I plan on going to the woods to help train myself during motion sickness." Natsu smirked cockily.
"Yeah, right and we'll just-!" Gray stopped talking and his eyes widened, when he opened the paper bag, it was filled with two brownies, quickly shutting him up. "... Fair enough..."
Natsu then held his hand out. "Can I go now?"
Gray grumbled as he then handed the bag back to Natsu. "Fine, yeah, you can go. You better not do anything stupid, Natsu."
Natsu chuckled. "I won't, anyways, you better find a job so you can focus on keeping your clothes on."
Gray snickered and scoffed as he crossed his arms. "You're not going to fool me again."
"GRAY! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES! YOU'RE GONNA SCAR WENDY!" Cana yelled as she covered the blushing Sky Maiden's eyes.
"OH, CRAP!" Gray then ran away, looking for his discarded clothes.
"I'll see you guys later!" Natsu then waved goodbye to his guildmates as he walked out of the guild. As he got a good distance away, Natsu smiled deviously as he placed a hand in his scarf, pulling out the B-rank request paper to rid Amefurashi Village of a pack of Dark Wizard bandits. "Should have checked my scarf too, dumbass. And now to finally get some action in! Amefurashi Village, here I come!"
"Gotta say that brownie does work wonders! Good thing I saved the other one!" Natsu chuckled as he smiled while walking down the dirt path to Amefurashi Village. As he walked, Natsu's eyes widened as he saw a man with thick brown sideburns and a woman wearing a blue dress with a white hood chasing after a wooden prairie schooner. The woman had fallen to her knees and sobbed loudly.
"Come back with our daughter and son, you bastards!" The man yelled in agony as he cried, picking up rocks and throwing them as he regretfully began to slow down.
One of the bandits who was driving the wagon, cackled evilly as he drove the wagon faster. "HA! They're our property now, old man! Too bad, so sad! Just like the other kids we nabbed!" As the driver and the other bandits snickered and laughed, a little girl with oak-brown hair sneaked out of their grasp and attempted to run out.
"DADDY! MOMMY! ANYBODY! SAVE US!" The little girl was then pushed down onto the hard wooden floor as one of the other bandits pushed her face down.
"SHUT THE HELL-!" Before the bandit could speak another word, his face was suddenly whipped by a fire lash, sending him out of the wagon and surprising everyone inside.
"What the hell was that?! Does the old man have Fire Magic?!"
"No, but I do." As the bandit driver turned his head forward, his eyes widened as he saw Natsu standing in front of the prairie schooner with his arms crossed and a cocky, determined smirk on his face. "Your buddy was taken out by my flames and I'll take the rest of you out with them if you don't let that little girl and boy go right now. So, are we going to make this easy or are we doing this the hard way?"
The bandit gripped the rope connected to the mule's halters. "What? Do you think that just because you're the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail I'll just listen to you?! Fuck that! I'll just kill you myself!" The bandit then reached inside a nearby satchel, pulling out a vial of purplish-green liquid and two syringes. "You think you're all big and tough so let's see how you deal with this!" The bandit smirked devilishly after he filled the syringes with the liquid, he then injected the liquid into both mules and filled them. As the mules screamed in pain, they slowly began to moan and groan as their bodies changed shape and form before finally becoming a mix of equine, canine, and reptilian. The mules had now doubled in size with large canine fangs filling their mouths and had eyes that had changed into draconic slits and their skin was now covered in thick scales with their hooves now extended into minor claws. "Now, go my beasts! Kill Natsu Dragneel!"
"NYEIGHAAHHH!" As the chimeric beasts roared and sprinted toward Natsu, he was not fazed and jumped into the air with his flaming hands behind his back.
"FIRE DRAGON'S WING ATTACK!" After rushing toward the beasts with flame-covered hands, Natsu sent the chimeras flying backward and left them burned as they crashed on the ground. As the beasts cooled down from burning, they slowly reverted to normal mules. Natsu then turned to cockily smirk at the three bandits before cracking his knuckles. "Seems like your little pets are back to normal after a good beating, I guess you guys are going to need the same treatment."
One of the other bandits fearfully spoke as he tapped the shoulder of the grumbling bandit. "H-hey, Bax, maybe we should stop this... Let's just turn ourselves in because this isn't another farmer."
"This is the Salamander!" The third bandit yelled in fear.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" The bandit now identified as Bax yelled as he angrily scowled at the other two bandits, making them cringed in fear and grab each other. "FINE! You cowards want to be wimps, so be it! But I will see my ideal of being a top Dark Mage fulfilled!" Bax then pulled out a vial of black smoking dark indigo liquid, making the other two bandits' eyes widen in shock.
"BAX! YOU CAN'T USE THAT! THE MERCHANT WE BOUGHT THESE VIALS FROM DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT DOES!"
Bax cackled as his fellow bandit tried to warn him, he ignored them as he swiftly popped the top of the vial off. "I don't care! All that matters is that I beat that Fairy bastard and get what I deserve!" Bax then poured the dark indigo liquid down his throat, swallowing the smoking liquid, and as he finished it, Bax then whipped his lip. As he happily glared at Natsu, he then held his chest as he coughed violently and began groaning in pain as his muscles swelled and expanded, causing everyone around to look at the man worriedly. "YAH!" Bax yelled in pain then dispelled a purple smoke from his mouth and ears, quickly engulfing the space in the layer of misty smoke.
"B-Bax!" One of the other two bandits waved his hand in front of his face as he coughed and stepped closer to where Bax was standing. "We told you not to..." As the bandit was finally able to see, he lowered his hand and his eyes widened in shock from what he saw.
Instead of Bax standing there, what should there was a hulking and very muscular mixture between man and beast. The beast had a lion's face and mane, hands and arms like that of a gorilla, sharp pointed horns like that of a ram, sharp jagged teeth like that of a Great White shark, hind legs of a horse, and the ears and tail of a wolf. Bax lifted his hands and gazed at his new body before grinning darkly as he then flexed his new muscles. "HA! Now with this new powerful body, I can end you, Natsu Dragneel!" Showing off his new sharp fangs in a malicious smile, Bax clenched his fist as he trusted his fist toward Natsu.
As the fist came flying toward him, Natsu defended himself and readied for the impact. Natsu grunted as he took the heavy blow and clenched as he slid backward slightly. As he stopped, Natsu stood up and shook his arms as he smirked. "That was a pretty heavy hit, but I've felt worse. That the best you got?"
"THEN TAKE MORE, YOU FAIRY BASTARD!" Bax then lunged toward Natsu with his left fist clenched in anger as he yelled. As he thrust his fist toward Natsu, Natsu jumped into the air and struck his feet toward Bax's fist, making the chimera stumble backward from the collision of forces. "What the hell?!"
"Now it's my turn!" Natsu then jumped into the air with a giant fireball above his head and he smiled as he thrust his hands down, making the fireball descend quickly onto Bax. "FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" As the fireball engulfed Bax, he yelled as he was getting burned while the surrounding area was soon cleared from the intensity of the flames. When the flames subsided, Bax stood on his feet with his massive arms covering his face, he groaned as he fell on his knees. Natsu stood in front of him as he glared. "Give up now? As much as I'd love to beat you and your buddies up all day, I think you'd want this end so you don't embarrass yourself anymore."
Bax grunted his sharp teeth as he glared at Natsu. He then began chuckling as he swiftly spun his monster body and struck Natsu in his stomach with his massive furry tail, sending the Fire Dragonslayer to land against a nearby tree. "To hell with that! If I'm going to go down, I'm taking a few hostages with me!" Bax then stood up and ran toward the other two bandits and the children, all of whom were quivering in fear as the monster man ran toward them with crazy eyes and an even crazier face.
"To the hell with this!" I'm out of here!" One of the other two bandits swiftly jumped out of the remains of the wooden carriage with the other bandit quickly running after him.
The young daughter's eyes watered as tears fell from her eyes in fear. She then fell on her behind as she wailed in anguish. Her brother held onto her as his eyes began to water as well, his teary eyes witnessed this monster sprint toward him and his sister. The young boy closed his eyes as he screamed. "MOMMY! DADDY! SOMEONE! HELP US!"
As Natsu stood up, his eyes widened in shock as he began sprinting toward the children. 'I have no choice but to do this!' He then slapped his hands together, creating a thunderous clap and causing time to freeze. Just as time froze, Natsu continued to sprint but he stumbled as his head began to pound. 'Crap! Those two hits did more damage than I thought! I'm reaching my limit!' He thought as he continued to run, despite the throbbing headache pounding in his head. "I can't let those kids get hurt! I need to move faster!" Natsu's eyes widened as he saw Bax begin to move toward the children, swinging his massive hands down on them. "NO!" Much to Natsu's surprise, he swiftly lunged forward and grabbed the children with his eyes closed, ready for the impact. After a few moments, Natsu slowly opened his eyes and his eyes widened as he saw Bax continue to descend his hands toward Natsu and the children, his insane face not faltering and still having that wicked smile on his face. Natsu then turned to look at the children and they still were grabbing onto each other while crying profusely. Natsu tilted his head but soon picked up the children and jumped out of the carriage when he turned to look at Bax, his eyes widened as he saw Bax finally bring his hands down to grab a chunk of the carriage and slowly guffaw without letting out the sound. Natsu's eyes widened in shock as he just realized what he had done. He had made time to move forward! This was something new! He figured he could only stop time but now he was able to make time move forward! "What the hell else can I do with this power?!" Natsu excitedly exclaimed as he looked at his hands. He then shook his head as he realized where he was. "That can wait for another time. Right now, I need to finish this fight!" Natsu then snapped his fingers and the flow of time reverted to normal.
"BWAHAHAHA! NOW, WHAT WILL YOU DO, DRAG-?!" As Bax brought his hands down, his eyes widened in shock as he realized that he was holding remains of the the wooden carriage. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Hey Monster Man," As Bax turned to his right, his eyes widened as he saw Natsu standing in front of the two children with his right hand encased in lighting-coated fire. "Sorry, but you're not taking any hostages! Time we finished this! LIGHTING FIRE DRAGON'S FIRING HAMMER!"
As the large torrent of lighting-laced fire began flying toward him, Bax's eyes widened as he held up his hands in fear, quivering in fear as he screamed. "DAMN YOU, NATSU DRAGNEEL!" As the lighting and fire finished flowing, small clouds of dust floated and as they dissipated, Bax landed on his back in his normal human form. His body was riddled with whelps and burns as he lay unconscious with his mouth hanging open.
Natsu sighed in relief as he stood up, the two children and their parents smiling with teary eyes which caused Natsu to smile warmly and reassuringly. "I wasn't going to let those bad people take you away from your parents, now let's get back to your parents."
The two children grabbed onto Natsu's legs as they hugged him. "Thank you so much, Mister!" The two children then ran to their mother and as she held them, the father ran up to Natsu as he bowed.
"Thank you so much! How much do I need to pay you? I can-!" The man's eyes widened as Natsu chuckled while shaking his head and waving his hand.
"Ah, no worries, it's my job as a Fairy Tail Wizard to protect people." Natsu smiled his trademark warm toothy grin as he nodded. "If you guys ever need help again, just send another request and I'll be right on the way!"
Erza opened the large wooden guild doors and stepped through them. As she walked through them, she smiled and waved to her fellow guild members before walking over to the booth where Team Natsu normally resides. Erza smiled as she saw Gray, Lucy, and Wendy smiling back at her. "Hello you three," She spoke warmly as she stood in front of the three.
Lucy smiled brightly at the redhead. "Hey, Erza! I guess you finished your mission real huh?"
"Indeed, it wasn't too much trouble. Just a simple mission of monster hunting is all. I had to finish early so I could return to check up on Natsu. Speaking of whom, where is he?"
Lucy crossed her arms as she raised an eyebrow. "I figured that you'd see him first, Erza."
"And why's that, Lucy? I know I finished early but I've been gone all day on a mission per Master's request." Erza furrowed her brow as she crossed her arms. "Neither of you wouldn't happen to know where my reckless boyfriend has gone do you?"
Gray shrugged as he leaned back into the booth. "Well, Natsu had said that he was going to do some motion-sickness training in a lake near his house, at least that's what he told me, Lucy and Wendy." The two girls nodded their heads after Gray finished talking.
"I'm guessing it must be very rigorous training because we haven't seen him all day, Erza," Wendy spoke as she tilted her head while placing a finger on her chin. "That would explain why he would need two of the motion-sickness-preventing brownies."
"Then that's where I will check first. Thank you, you three. I will see you tomorrow." As Erza turned and began walking out of the guild, Lucy called out to the redhead.
"Don't you want to just wait and see if he'll come here first, Erza?"
Erza stood in front of the doors and turned to face the three Wizards with an eerily calm smile on her face. "Well, I need to check out on my boyfriend. Because I have a sneaking suspicion that Natsu did something stupid and I will find out for myself. Because if he did..." Erza grabbed the guild doors and caused them to crack and break slightly from her grip. "He better have a damn good reason as to why he disobeyed me." The redhead soon walked out of the guild, leaving everyone quiet as they sat in fear. Fearful for the young Dragonslayer, they all unanimously thought:
'Please don't piss off Erza, Natsu!'
As the redhead was trekking down the forest path, her face hardened as she walked. 'Natsu...' She growled internally as she continued to walk. 'I swear if you had disobeyed me, you can forget about my little surprise for you because I swear you'll taste my iron-.' As Erza stood in front of the lake, her eyes softened as she saw familiar salmon locks on a wooden boat. "Oh Natsu, you are here." Erza placed a hand on her armored chest as she sighed. "You had me worried."
"This the best you got?!" Natsu's determined voice echoed from the boat, making Erza smile.
"Well, I see you've been busy with training. Why don't you stop so we can go home? I have a surprise for you tonight~" Erza cooed as she held up her hand.
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled once again, making Erza tilt her head in confusion.
"Natsu...?"
"I can take anything you diss out, bring out the challenges!"
Erza brought her hand down as she furrowed her brow. "Alright, Natsu, that's enough. Let's go home now."
"Now, I've got a fire in my belly!"
Erza groaned as she rubbed her face. Natsu was delusional from this training and now he was speaking nonsense. As she stepped on the pier, she untied the rope and began pulling in Natsu's boat. "Natsu, just how many-?" Her eyes widened in shock for when she grabbed and turned Natsu around, she realized that she was holding onto a large plush version of Natsu, and taped to his chest was a large Lacrima sphere repeating phrases. Erza's eyes widened slightly before her hair began swaying in the wind as she glared at the doll. "Natsu..." She growled but then lifted her head as she heard twigs snapping behind her. As she turned her head, she saw a familiar shade of blue darting away from her. "HAPPY!" She then stood up and threw the doll on the ground as she turned. "GET BACK HERE!"
Happy then began running away quicker when he heard Erza's commanding tone. 'I knew you'd get into trouble, Natsu!' The Exceed thought frantically as he ran, Happy ran through bushes and under trees to hide himself. Just as he reached an opening grassland, Happy quickly pulled out his wings and flew into the air. Happy sighed as he flew because he didn't see any red behind him. "Guess I lost her..."
"And just who do you think you lost, Happy?" Happy slowly turned his head forward and quivered in fear as he realized that Erza was floating in front of him, adorned in her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Before the cat could utter a word, Erza swiftly grabbed Happy's furry cheeks while glaring daggers into his soul. "You will tell where Natsu is... Else, I will force it out of you... Understood?" As Happy eagerly nodded his head, Erza smiled coldly. "Good..."
"AH! That was just what I needed!" Natsu exclaimed as he placed his hands on the back of his head. He turned his head slightly to watch the setting Sun on the ocean horizon before he smiled wide. "And I got to fix my mission before Erza got back! Without anyone catching me! And here Happy thought I'd get into trouble. Trouble doesn't mean a thing to me! I can get out of anything that comes my way!" Natsu then thrust his fist into the air as he smiled triumphantly. "I better check up on everyone so no one thinks I drowned." Natsu chuckled as he walked up to the Fairy Tail guild. "Hey, guys!" He happily shouted as he kicked the doors open, but he stopped once he realized everyone was quiet and stared at him. He then raised an eyebrow and tilted his head as he looked at everyone. "...Geez, what's with you guys? You look like you guys have seen a ghost or something..."
"We very much might be looking at one..." Laxus spoke as he stood up and stepped away from the Fire Dragonslayer.
Natsu snorted as he crossed his arms. "Oh, ha, ha. Funny joke, Laxus. I didn't drown, I'm real! I know I was gone most of the day but I survived my training, I'm not dead! Come on, guys, why's everyone so quiet? What happened?"
"She knows, Natsu..." Lucy and Wendy timidly spoke as they quivered.
Natsu raised an eyebrow. "'She knows?' Who is she and what does she know? What the hell, guys?! You're not making any sense!" Natsu yelled as he crossed his arms. "Why is everyone acting weird?! What happened?!" After he groaned, Natsu perked up as he saw Happy slowly walk toward him. "HAPPY! Tell me that this all is just a joke! I'm sure you're sane, right?"
Happy rubbed his paws as he couldn't look Natsu in the face, making Natsu raise his eyebrow. "I-I'm sorry, Natsu... I... I couldn't lie to her. I couldn't lie to Erza. She knows..."
"Happy, what's with?!" Natsu paused for a moment as the last statement Happy said began to sink into his head. "... Y... You saw Erza?"
"Indeed he did, Natsu..." Natsu stood up and began to sweat profusely as he heard that statement coldly stated. As Natsu slowly turned around, his eyes widened and his face paled as he saw his scarlet-haired girlfriend glaring swords into his soul as malice leaked out from her presence. As Erza stood up from leaning on the wall, she walked toward the quivering Fire Dragonslayer, her stern glaring eyes caused Natsu to shrink from the intense pressure. "You snuck out, Natsu..."
Natsu gulped loudly as he quivered before the redhead. "E-Erza! Wait! I can explain!"
"Don't..." Before Natsu could utter another word, Erza swiftly and powerfully struck him on the back of Natsu's neck, effectively knocking out the Fire Dragonslayer and making him fall into the redhead's arms. As Natsu lay limp in Erza's arms, the redhead then picked Natsu up and carried him out of the guild. "We'll decide your fate after you receive your punishment. Everyone, we will see you tomorrow. After I punish this trouble-maker..." Erza then walked out of the guild, carrying the knocked-out Natsu Dragneel.
As the wooden guild doors closed, Happy flew toward Lucy and Gray, tears spilling from his eyes. "LUCY! GRAY! Go talk some sense into Erza! We can't let her kill Natsu!"
Lucy smiled reassuringly as she patted Happy's head. "I wouldn't worry too much, Happy, we know Erza won't kill Natsu..." Lucy looked away from the blue Exceed as she smiled sadly. "... But I can't say that she won't beat Natsu up... He did sneak behind her back after all..."
"B-But, Lucy! He had a good reason!"
"Don't get involved, Happy." Happy frowned as Gray sternly spoke up. "If we get involved, it'll only be worse for Natsu. We'll just wait until tomorrow or do you want to piss Erza off even more?"
"N-No!" Happy exclaimed.
"Then, just wait and pray for Natsu's survival until tomorrow. That's all we can do."
"Mm..." Natsu's eyes slowly opened and as they did, he slowly began to understand that he was sitting in his home. He turned to see that he was sitting on his big brown couch and the walls were green, the many pictures of his fellow guild members were hung on the wall, and there was firewood in his chimney. He was home! As Natsu jumped to his feet and smiled, he stopped and flinched as he saw Erza standing before him. Arms crossed and her eyes filled with that deadly malice as they were before. "H-Hey, Erza..."
"I'm giving you five seconds to explain why you sneaked out and went on a mission without my consent." Erza coldly stated as she glared.
Quivering under the intense pressure, Natsu bowed as he shouted. "I did it because I was getting cabin fever, Erza! I... I couldn't take it anymore! I was going crazy and getting bored!"
Erza snorted. "Natsu, it's only been two months and now you're going crazy? How foolish of you. So, you defy your girlfriend's wishes because you get bored? I guess you'll get bored of me too huh..."
Natsu stood up and looked at Erza with wide eyes, filled with concern. "Of course, I would never get tired of you! Erza, I love you!"
"And I love you, but you went behind my back and defied me." Erza looked away from Natsu as she furrowed her brow in anger. "What would possess you to go against me? Why, Natsu? I'm not making you stay home because I think you're weak!" Erza then stood up and hardened her gaze on Natsu. "I'm doing so because I don't want you to get hurt when I can't get to you right away! Natsu, please understand! I care and love you! If anything would happen to you that would leave you greatly hurt or damaged, it would cause me so much heartache!"
"And making you watch me like this is causing me heartache!" Natsu yelled as he stepped closer to Erza, making the redhead's eyes widen in shock. "Erza, believe me. I know where you're coming from and I truly appreciate it but you know me! I can't stand this! Not because I have to sit by and do nothing! It's because I feel like I'm making you feel like I'm taking advantage of you!" Erza's eyes shone slightly as she heard this. Natsu rubbed the back of his neck as he sighed. "All I do all day is wake up, see you go off on missions, chill at the guild, and wait for you to get back before the cycle repeats. I'm your boyfriend! Someone who you love and someone who you can be your protector! How can I prove to you that I can protect you if I'm always just waiting for you to return home? How would I feel adequate as your romantic partner if I'm making you do all of the work? I can't let you do everything because it's just going to make me feel like less of a person! It doesn't sit right with me! I have to prove my worth to you because you're strong so I have to be even stronger so you and our family don't have to worry! I need to be a man who you can be proud of, Erza! How can you be proud to say you love me if all I'm doing is taking advantage of you?" Natsu then looked away. "... I'm sorry I went behind your back and you do deserve someone better so why do you and I just break-?" Natsu was silenced as a resounding clap filled the house.
Erza had just slapped Natsu.
"Don't..." Erza spoke low as her gaze hardened. "Don't you dare say that, ever again. I would rather die than for us to break up. Natsu, I can't see myself with anyone but you. Not because you're strong but because you make me so happy. I don't have many people in my life who can just make me happy, just by doing simple things like feeding me breakfast in bed, finding a new way every day of making me laugh, and allowing me to hear those three sweet words: "I love you." Natsu, what would ever possess you to think you need to do more for me?" Erza's face softened as she caressed Natsu's cheek. "You've saved me, cheered me on, and have seen as well as helped me when I was at my weakest... I didn't want you to feel inadequate, that was never my intent. I just wanted you to feel that you can rely on me because I've felt that I've always relied on you. I want you to feel that you can trust me and rely on me whenever you need to. Let me be your rock because you've always been mine."
Natsu smiled as he tenderly held Erza's hand. "I will, thank you. And I swear, no more going behind your back. If I need to do something, I swear that I'll be honest with you."
Erza smiled warmly. "Thank you. And Natsu?"
"Yeah, Erza?"
Erza leaned into Natsu's face, making Natsu blush at the redhead's sudden closeness. "Did you feel what you said? That you'll be strong for our family? Does... Does that mean you'll want to have children with me?"
Natsu's eyes widened as he blushed harder and he looked away sheepishly. "I-I mean yeah! I can't imagine anyone else being the mom of my kids, ya know? But I mean you're probably not ready and I get it! It's just my wishful thinking after all, don't worry about it!" After Natsu sheepishly laughed, he turned his head back to Erza and his eyes widened as the redhead wrapped her arms around his neck as she smiled sultrily.
"Then, how about you and I get started on that~?" Erza smirked as she sultrily whispered, however before she could snatch Natsu's lips, she pouted as Natsu covered his lips.
"W-We can't, Erza. I'm on punishment, r-remember?" Natsu blushed while looking away.
"And I hit you so the punishment is over with, now come here!" Erza frowned as she grabbed Natsu and passionately kissed him, making Natsu's eyes widen. As Erza pulled away from the stunned Natsu, she smiled and caressed his cheek once more. "There's always time for us to kiss, punishment or not. But now that the punishment is over, we can go over your reward!"
"Reward?" Natsu chuckled as he tilted his head. "I don't think you should reward something who went behind your back."
"In normal circumstances, you're right. However, you went two months without sneaking out and when you did, I heard that you rescued an entire village's offspring without taking any money from them. That is something I should reward you on because it just shows our chivalrous my boyfriend is. So, to reward you, I will be cleaning our house for you!"
Natsu's eyes widened then he waved his hand. "What? No way! You don't have to do that, Erza! It's OK!"
"No, I must!"
"But, Erza..." Natsu was quickly silenced as Erza glared at him. "O-OK! OK! Fair, you'll clean!"
Erza smiled. "Good. Now, choose my outfit: are you in a bunny girl outfit or a maid outfit?" After two glowing beams of light finished, in her hands, Erza was holding a skimpy black and white maid outfit and a luscious bunny outfit. Erza smiled as she held the two outfits in front of Natsu. "Well? Which would you think would look best on me?"
Natsu blushed at Erza's eagerness. In all honesty, Natsu knew that Erza would look great in whatever he chose. She was stunning, in whatever or however she chose. Natsu gulped as he began to study both outfits and he knew that they both would definitively make the redhead look incredibly hot! But if he saw her wear both... She'd look stunningly sexy! But would she? 'I mean she did say choose and nothing wrong with both right...?' Natsu looked at Erza's eager smile. "Maybe, wear both? I can't think which would make you look sexier so I say wear both."
Erza smiled as she then encased her body in a yellow light. "If that's what you wish~" As the light dissipated, Erza stood there in a combination of the bunny and maid outfit. Erza stood smiling as her breasts were hugged by the bunny leotard. Her wrists and ankles were covered with flurry cuffs from the maid outfit. Her well-toned stomach was covered by the short silky apron and on her head was a fluffy cap with bunny ears, all with her hair tied into a long ponytail. "How do I look~?"
"Amazing..." Natsu stared at his girlfriend's natural sexiness, causing Erza to smile and giggle at his honesty.
"Well, thank you, but let me get straight to work!" Erza then summoned a duster and turned around, dusting off and cleaning the many objects within their home, doing so with a smile on her face.
'I can't just watch Erza clean like this!' Natsu thought as he watched the redhead clean, but then smirked as another thought popped into his head.'Or maybe I can~' Without Erza noticing, Natsu snapped his fingers to initiate time to move quicker. As time began to speed up, Erza's movements became faster, and soon enough, the redhead had finished cleaning the kitchen and living room. Natsu had kept up with the speeding redhead as she soon walked into their bedroom, as Erza dusted off the nightstands and cleaned off the bed, Natsu curled his fingers inwards. Suddenly, time seemed to work backward, and Erza stood up from the bed, readjusting the sheets once more. Natsu took this moment to truly appreciate the big bouncing breasts his scarlet girlfriend had. Despite being covered by the outfit, Natsu could swear that with each motion, those giant orbs would bust out and flop themselves on his face and he would be enveloped by the softness that would Erza's perfect tits. Natsu then extended his fingers forward, signaling for time to speed up, and when it did, Erza soon began dusting off and mopping the bedroom floor. As she cleaned, Erza's big behind swayed and bounced with each motion. The way the leotard hugged and formed the perfect peach-shaped behind Erza had made her more alluring. 'I could watch Erza's sexiness all day...' Natsu thought with a dreamy smile. 'Well... Not all day, if I did, she wouldn't be able to leave the house. I should stop her now, else she really will need to clean!' Natsu then circled his fingers clockwise to fully speed up time and just as Erza had finished cleaning the entire house, Natsu snapped his fingers once again.
"And done!" Erza happily chirped before sighing. "I don't why I'm so tired."
"Well, you did hush home from a mission to find me after all." Natsu smiled. "Let's head to bed, we both have had a long day." Natsu yawned as he stretched.
Erza yawned as she sat down on the bedframe, quickly reequipping into her purple pajamas. "Yes, it would seem that we're both tired. Let's head to bed." She then lifted the comforter blanket and as Natsu slid inside, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. With the two holding onto each other, Erza slowly began drifting onto the land of slumber as Natsu's heartbeat began to hypnotize her.
Just before sleep took them both, Natsu rubbed and kissed Erza's head. "I love you, Erza."
"And I love you, Natsu."
Just as the two uttered those last words, the two Wizards happily slept with sweet dreams of each other and had endearing thoughts of how to best show each other that they truly did love the other.
Omega: And Chapter 3 is now up! Thanks so much for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. If you like this, please leave some comments as well as likes so I know to keep making more! Let me know which stories you want updates next or if you'd like to see something new, I'd be happy to provide!
If no one tells you this: remember you are loved, you are enough and you're worth the effort. You are an amazing creation and the world needs to know your story so just remember to love yourself, you are awesome! Thank you so much for reading my story and I hope to see you in the next one! Sayanora!