2

Fishy Tail

The day after Natsu was cursed with cat ears and tail, everyone in the guild were disappointed - especially the girls. Now it has been a week since the curse, and Natsu believes that he no longer has to worry about anymore of them. He has not received any notes with Zeref's name on it, nor did he get cursed again for the entire week.

'I guess it was a one-time thing for Zeref to curse me. He must have been bored or something,' he thought. Natsu feels like he can breathe again, so he is relaxing on his hammock with a stretch of his arms and legs. 'I guess I better get ready for the day.'

Natsu stands up and gets something to drink before heading to the pond in his back yard to take a quick bath. After he got out of the water, he dried himself off with his fire magic, and then put his clothes back on before making his way to the guild. Before he left the forest he checked his head to make sure nothing had appeared there – he has made this into a sort of habit after he learned he was cured with cat ears and walked around the whole town with them without even realizing it. He didn't have a desire to have a repeat of that day.

He resumes his pace to the guild hall, glade that his head is clear of ears that aren't his own still. Once he got there, everyone was already in a fight with each other. He was disappointed that he wasn't the one to start it off today, but no matter. However, just before he joined his fellow guild members in the brawl, Mira's voice cuts through the loud shouts and the smashing of chairs and tables like butter – to him at least.

"Natsu, come over here real quick!" Natsu wondered what it was Mira wanted, so he heads on over to the bar. Once he is standing in front of the white-haired woman she hands him an envelope. "This was here when I got here. It's for you," Mira told him.

Natsu got a bad feeling all of a sudden, but took the letter anyway, albeit reluctantly. He breaks the seal keeping the envelope closed and pulls the letter out. He lays the envelope down on the bar counter before unfolding the letter to read.

By the time you're done reading this,

Natsu didn't bother finishing the rest of the letter, knowing where it was going and who the sender was. 'This is how I got cursed least time! I'm not falling for the same trick twice!' He burnt the letter into a pile of ashes with an air of satisfaction. He watched as the blackened flacks of the remains of the letter fall to the ground with a smug look. He dusted his hands of the ash, but before anything else could be done, a bucket of salted water landed on his head. A weird sensation fell over him and the result is falling onto the ground with a thump.


Zeref is sitting up in the rafter of the Fairy Tail guild hall looking down at the brawl he caused. It was so easy. All he had to do was throw a pen at one of the mages closest to the door and that is all it took. The guy accused another member for throwing it and attacked him, which then led to the other crashing into another, and it was the domino effect from there. It was so easy Zeref could cry from laughing so hard.

He was bored with waiting for Natsu to show up and read his letter, hence the brawl TV show down below. He sent that letter late last night so it would arrive this morning for when he got there. Zeref turns his eyes to check on the bucket of water next to him and smirk. Natsu is going to think the letter is cursed, but in reality it's the water inside the wooden bucket that is.

He plans to drop this bucket on Natsu's head when he is done reading his letter. He has a feeling his little brother isn't going to finish it all, believing the paper to be the one cursed. That is why Zeref is here, to show Natsu that not all his letters are going to be cursed, but other things – like the sea water in the bucket.

Oh, his brother just walked in! Zeref couldn't stop to quiet, mischievous chuckle from escaping his throat. The look of disappointment on Natsu's face is funny. 'Guess that means Natsu is the one to start these brawls. He is just like dad,' he thought fondly.

Mirajane called Natsu over and handed him the letter. Zeref took the bucket into his hands and waited. Natsu didn't read for long, if he had to guess Zeref would say that his baby brother stopped at the first comma. Natsu had stopped reading the latter and burned it quickly as to not be cursed by it.

'Oh Natsu…that is not what's going to curse you.' On cue with his thoughts, Zeref dropped the bucket and watched the water touch Natsu's body and the bucket land on his head like a hat. Shortly afterward, Natsu collapses and his legs change shape. 'Hopefully his cat friend won't find him too appetizing.'


Natsu sat back up after his fall while rubbing his sore head thanks to it hitting the ground on the way down with a wooden bucket in between. His eyes are closed when he noticed an odd feeling on his legs; however, this wasn't the only thing he noticed. The whole guild became quiet. He is surprised that they even noticed his fall.

He opens his eyes, deciding to finally look at his legs to see what was wrong with them. What he saw was – to him – horrifying.

"HAPPY! PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" Natsu shouted in terror. The reason for why he shouted this is because his legs aren't legs anymore. No, in their place is a hot pink fish tail.

"Don't worry, Natsu. You look too human still for you to be edible," said Happy reassuringly.

That is when everyone in the guild heard laughter coming from the rafters. Natsu snaps his head up. He knows that whoever is laughing up there is the culprit for the bucket falling on his head. There in the rafters is none other than Zeref the black wizard.

Natsu growls in anger. "Is this your doing?!" he demanded while pointing at his legs.

Zeref looks down to meet Natsu's eyes and say, "What do you think?"

"How did you even curse me this time? I didn't even finish reading that note!"

"Simple… The note said that once you finish reading is when you'll be cursed, not when the note itself is read to its completion." Zeref then pulls out another note from his robes. "Here is a copy of the note you destroyed. I had a feeling you were not going to read it in full and then destroy it, so I made sure you will read it all." He tossed the letter down to Natsu, who was unable to catch it due to his new tail. Lucy was the one to snatch it out of the air and read it out loud for everyone to hear.

By the time you're done reading this, a bucket of sea water will land on you and turn you into a merman. – Zeref

Lucy finished reading the note, and then turns to Natsu. "He's right. There is nothing in this note that says that you had to finish this for the bucket to land on you," she told him.

"Well, now you know that not all my notes are going to be cursed themselves, but there will be a curse close by to them," Zeref said with an innocent smile. "I shall take my leave now. This was fun, Natsu! Hopefully you will continue to bring me entertainment." With that said, Zeref vanished from sight.

"Hey wait! When is this curse going to come off?!" Natsu demanded, but no answer came from Zeref.

"It might be just like last time he cursed you, Natsu," said Lucy.

"How long was that?" Natsu asked.

"Um…" Lucy thought. "I'm not sure… I wasn't there when you got the ears and tail of a cat, but I did notice that they left at midnight. Maybe that is when this will come off too?" she asked unsure.

"BUT THAT IS 12 HOURS FROM NOW!"Natsu exclaimed loudly in dismay.

"Hey, someone get a kiddy pool for him!" Gray called out with a grin on his face.

"You darn ice-brain…! If I didn't have a fish tail right now, I would kick your butt till it melts!" Natsu cried out in anger.

"Sorry Gray, but we don't have a kiddy pool," Max said.

"However, we do have the indoor pool," Cana said with a sly grin.

"I guess I'll help Natsu to the pool then, shall I?" Erza walks up to Natsu, who is growling at his guildmates with teeth showing. Natsu stopped what he was doing when he noticed Erza coming up from behind him. He yelps when he is lifted and carried away towards the pool.

"Hey, put me down!" Natsu demanded, but quickly quieted when he saw the glare Erza gave him. "Uh, you know what, carrying me to the pool is fine," he said nervously.

"Good," Erza said firmly, and then walked through the door to the indoor pool.


I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing it. :)

Natsu: A merman? :(

Zeref: You should have given him a seashell bra that he couldn't take off.

Enj/Dark: I had thought of doing that, but I thought the hot pink fish tail was enough torture for him this early on.

Natsu: Wait…does that mean that you are going to do worse the farther we go into this?

Enj/Dark: With giving you breaks here and there, yes. There will be chapters where you are going to want to kill Zeref. Don't be so down though… *whispers: The last chapter, maybe 50 or 100, you will be getting revenge on him by pranking him back. I might need help with that though. It has to be the best prank of them all. Better than what is going to be down to you.*

Natsu: O.O… }:) Oh…you just made my day.

Zeref: Whatever you're planning Natsu, I get the feeling it won't happen for a long time.

Enj/Dark: ^^' Sadly he's right…

Natsu: T^T

Zeref: Please review! :3