2nd February – 8:10AM

"Hey, Anna, could you come down to the basement once you're dressed." Natsu stuck his head into the priestess' bedroom and addressed the woman who stood in a towel by her wardrobe. "I need to test-fit the bracelet and make sure the shield module functions properly."

"Alright," Lelyanna glanced over her shoulder with an excited smile and she took out a knitted sweater and skirt and then took her undergarments out from the bedside table's draws. She turned to the man and raised a hand with the fingers spread apart. "Give me five minutes, please."

Natsu nodded and he closed the door. He headed down the stairs and down into the basement then into his workshop. The almost fully assembled golden shield unit sat on his desk, just waiting for it to be test-fitted onto Lelyanna's forearm and have the final adjustments made. While he was waiting for the woman, he picked up the device and ran a few tests on it to ensure that it was operational and to reduce the risk of something going wrong when it was time for human trials. His concentration was broken by a flash of light illuminating the room.

"Hi-didily-ho!" A jovial voice called out from behind the man. The pure-white goddess sat down on the workbench and crossed her legs, offering the man a warm smile. "How's things going?"

"I'm definitely getting better." Natsu replied. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the goddess. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing straight white for once. "What happened, did someone splash you with ink or something?"

Ceres looked down at herself then back to the man with a slightly exasperated smile. Aside from her golden jewellery, she was wearing a light blue henley shirt under a white hooded jacket and a Prussian blue tiered midi skirt. Her sand open-toe heels swayed casually in front of the desk. "I lost a bet with Io and she threw out my entire wardrobe. I lost the majority of my clothing except for what could be worked into coloured outfits – like this jacket. She even made me grow my hair out longer." She whined softly and combed her fingers through her waist-length snow-white hair which had little white flowers attached to the golden filigree circlet.

"You might want to be careful," Natsu softly cautioned the woman. "Hisui is still sticking around here even though I said that she shouldn't expect to be able to stick around for long… and she will probably come across you if you wander around the manor."

"You already told her about your situation, right?" Ceres shrugged and she leaned back, supporting herself on the desk with her hands. "There shouldn't be any major impact in this world if people see me, they wouldn't realise who I really am anyway."

"Ceres… You have an unparalleled beauty – even if I say that I think Lucy is more beautiful than you, it's only my personal bias since I'm in love with her. You'll draw even more attention than those succubus sisters I employed."

"While you are right, it still won't matter – I hope. They would likely assume that I look like Lelyanna since her appearance started to change to look more like my own, though it wasn't a full change as you can see by her eyes and hair being a pale turquoise and bluish-sliver instead of eyes like white-opals and having snow-white hair."

The door opened and it drew their attention to the priestess as she bowed respectfully to the goddess. "Good morning, Lady Ceres."

"Speak of the devil," Ceres giggled softly. She hopped off the desk and approached the priestess with a motherly smile. She stopped in front of the woman and ran an adoring hand through her silvery hair. "Good morning, Lelyanna."

"Isn't Natsu supposed to be the devil?" Lelyanna giggled softly and she flashed a playful smile at the deity before moving past the woman and approaching the pinkette. Her eyes were drawn to the two halves of a golden hinged cuff bracelet that sat in front of the man. "Is that it?"

"Yep. It should fit since I made it to the measurements of your wrist but it's best to double-check before I do the final assembly." Natsu picked up the ornament and nodded to the woman's left arm, silently asking her to push it up. Once her pale wrist was exposed, he gently put the device around it. "Alright, I need to take a little bit off to make it a better fit but with just enough of a gap to account for any swelling that may occur during being in the hotter seasons or biomes."

"It looks amazing! I didn't realise that you were a skilled jeweller. You don't seem to be in the same trance that you usually fall into when using the crystal."

"It's something I did to keep my hands busy and make some extra cash on the side while I was between deployments." The man murmured as he carefully filed down the mating surface with a thin file while he held the bracelet around her wrist with his left hand. "Alright, this should work. I just need to set the hinge into the recesses and it'll be complete."

"Right." Lelyanna watched on curiously as the man fastened the ornament into a jeweller's vice and carefully inserted the spring-loaded hinge into the two halves before taking to it with a small filler rod and a precise flame.

Once he was done, he polished the seam until it was practically invisible and took the bracelet from the vice. He turned back to the woman and placed the bracelet around her wrist. "Firstly, you'll notice that there is no physical release for the catch, Anna. This is so that it can't be removed by anyone other than those keyed into the system – in other words, us two. Pay attention to your arm and focus on my magic." He wrapped his hand around her upper forearm and he began to channel a small amount of magic down through her arm and to the bracelet, directing it to the right side of her wrist. "Can you feel where I'm sending the magic into the device?"

"Yes." Lelyanna nodded quickly. The man's magic was just as warm as he was and it caused her arm to tingle slightly. She ignored the ticklish feeling and concentrated on how he was manipulating the magic. The right side of the bracelet suddenly popped open and it dangled loosely on her wrist, open just wide enough for her to slip her hand through.

"Since it's perfectly shaped to your wrist, the position should be in about the same each time you put it on. If not, then it wouldn't be hard to find it."

The priestess closed the bracelet around her wrist and then focused her magic to hidden release catch to unlock it. After a few tries, she raised her eyes to the man and she gave him a large smile, silently urging him to continue. He fiddled with the bracelet again and the crystals lit up with a rich blue. A small blue ring appeared in the top right of her focus too, causing her to let out a surprised murmur. "Huh?"

"Alright. There are two sensors in the module; a threat sensor and an intent sensor. Stand against the door and I'll demonstrate the threat sensor." Once the woman was in place, Natsu picked up a screwdriver and threw it at her with such speed that it seemed to vanish from his hand.

Lelyanna fought the urge to throw her arms up in front of her to block the projectile but she couldn't stop the flinch and she closed her eyes, turning her head slightly to the side. But the hit never came and she heard the screwdriver clatter against the ground at her feet. The small circle in the corner of her vision broke slightly at the top but it closed a moment later.

"Why did I flinch! I missed it activating…" The priestess cried out and she lightly thumped a fist against the door in a bout of cute frustration. "Please do it again, Natsu."

"Keep your eyes open this time, will ya?" Natsu sighed softly but he flashed the woman a small playful grin as he held out his hand, recalling the screwdriver with Macro. He brought his arm back once again and threw the tool at the woman's chest only for it to strike her shield just a few millimetres off of her body and send a barely visible wave of energy radiating out from the impact point before petering out after it travelled a few centimetres. "Did the status icon flicker?"

"Yes. Both times."

"Good. As I said before, that was the threat sensor and it detects any object that has the potential to cause you harm. I'll show you what the intent sensor does." Natsu rose from his seat and approached the woman like he would any other time but the moment he got within arm's reach, his right hand shot forth and he grabbed her by the hair. As he pulled her head back, his left hand flashed up with his KMXX combat knife firmly in his grip. It slashed across her throat but instead of cutting into her, it just skimmed along her shield and left her skin unharmed. "Hm, that may need a little bit of tuning. It picked up on the intent to slit your throat but not the initial attack."

Lelyanna blushed as she stared into the man's cold but curious eyes. Her heart was racing and she brought a hand up to tap Natsu's right hand lightly which was still holding firmly onto her hair. "It could also be that you're just too good at hiding your intent until the very last moment."

"Still, I should fix that considering it puts you into a vulnerable position." Natsu loosened his grip and he gently combed his fingers through the priestess' hair, smoothing it out as he put his knife away. "It shouldn't allow someone with ill intent to grab you at all. If they come up behind you and cover your mouth, not only does it stop you from calling out for help but they can also put you off balance by pulling you back. It allows them to snap your neck and I doubt that even you could heal that."

"I don't exactly want to find out…" Lelyanna replied with a gentle shiver and wide eyes. She held out her left arm and watched as Natsu tapped a pattern on the largest crystal, activating a holographic interface that was filled with lines upon lines of code. "So, the intent sensor detects when someone intends me harm and will trigger the shield when they haven't been identified by the threat sensor?"

"Basically, yeah." Natsu adjusted his code and fixed up a few errors that he noticed. "Seems like there was a little bug in the sensors talking to each other. The intent sensor should have told the threat sensor that I meant harm from the get-go but the information was delayed slightly and it allowed me to grab you. It's an instantaneous thing now, there should be no lag between detection and activation."

Without warning, Natsu's hand snapped up and enclosed around Lelyanna's throat faster than she could see, causing her to gasp and reactively grab his wrist but his fingers never touched her neck and were instead straining against the shield. She could see the status ring be slowly depleted and by how Natsu's arm muscles were bulging, she could tell he was putting considerable force behind the attack. "It's working, right…?"

"Yeah, it detected my intent that time and I was keeping it at the same level as before. Must have been a bug somewhere that I couldn't pick up on without proper live testing." Natsu slowly turned his head to look at the woman and he slowly withdrew his hand but, in an instant, his right hand shot forward and his drove his fist into her stomach.

It sounded like a cannon had been fired in the room as the sudden attack collided with her shield. It had stopped the attack but the sheer force slammed Lelyanna into the door and almost through it. Though with all the power behind the punch, she didn't feel the impact or any effects of the kinetic energy transferred between the fist, the shield, and the door.

"Good, the kinetic and inertial dampeners work too." Natsu remarked, noticing that her eyes remained focused intently on him – even if they were wide with shock. "Even if you get knocked flying, you won't get any damage from colliding with stuff and you shouldn't get any internal injuries from your organs moving within you. Like brain damage, for example."

"Even if you hit me with one of those ember-clad punches?" Lelyanna asked softly and she gently pushed herself off the creaking door and took a step forwards, returning to her position in front of the man. A memory flashed before her eyes, of bloodred snow that was all that remained of a man who had been on the receiving end of this magic-imbued punch and was rendered down into a chunky red paste blown back in a cone from the impact point.

"Probably, though you'd likely have to overcharge the shield to survive and that's only going to protect against the impact, you still have to deal with the kinetic energy transfer that would send you flying into whatever is in the way of your flight path." Natsu closed down the holographic window that was hovering above the bracelet and returned to his workbench. "There is an information document built into the interface if you want to read up on it. It'll tell you all of the intricacies of the device."

"Alright."

"How do you feel?" Ceres asked curiously as she eyed the priestess with a raised eyebrow.

"I admit, I'm feeling a little shaken and my heart is racing but I'm starting to calm down. I wasn't expecting him to be that violent." Lelyanna replied softly, placing her hand over her rapidly beating heart. "But… it is still reassuring that the shield can handle a strike from someone as strong as Natsu, even if he didn't put his full force behind it. Any normal person with ill intent won't be able to lay a finger on me."

Natsu reached out a hand to the priestess and he beckoned her forward. Once she was within reach, he ran a soothing hand through her hand and manoeuvred her onto his lap so his warmth would put her at ease. He turned his attention to the goddess and asked, "So, why are you here?"

"I've deemed it necessary to update the crystal that I had placed inside of you. I want to add information from this world that would be useful in your future endeavours. Like the clockwork automation this world uses; how they work and how they're made for example. I also want to make some adjustments based on the readings I've gotten from your body when you access the crystal, so it will be easier to call up the information stored within it." Ceres stretched out and looked over at the door that Lelyanna had slammed into and badly damaged during testing. With a casual wave of her hand, the cracks and priestess-shaped dent shrunk rapidly until the door looked as good as new. She then brought her hand to the man's chest and removed the crystal from with. After a little bit of manipulation, she replaced the divine treasure back into the man and sat back on her hands. "I figured that you would like to create proper factories, and so the information I'm giving you will allow you make these factories look normal while still keeping them automated to keep with your particular mythos."

"Alright. I guess I better do up some plans for expansion sometime soon. Considering Hisui seems to be more than willing to have me outfit her forces. I'm going to need a decent amount of capital though since it won't be cheap get set up – what with the cost of land, building and materials."

"Want me to go over to your world's Fiorian Bullion Depository and bring all of those gold bars here?" Ceres asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I think the security systems are still running, so I'll have to go all 'cat burglar' on it."

"Sure. Knock yourself out." Natsu shrugged casually. "At least it lets me pay the Church back for the money you funnelled into my account."

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that." Lelyanna instantly pushed back against the man's wish and continued to ramble, "Honestly, it was just a drop in the pond for us. We get donations all the time from the noble families as a form of repentance and to make themselves look good in the eyes of their peers. You don't have to pay it back, and even so, what you've done for me is more than enough repayment."

"Still, I'd like to pay it back." Natsu drummed his fingers in his workbench as he ran through various plans in his head. After a few minutes of silence, he let out a short sigh and gently patted Lelyanna's side to get her to vacate his lap. "I better get started on my day. I've got some things to look into for this business expansion and I want to head to the guild hall later afterwards."

"Thank you," Lelyanna looked down at the bracelet around her wrist as she rose to her feet. She turned to face the man as he stood up and she wrapped her arms around his head, burying his face into her chest with a warm smile. "For making this for me."

"It should keep you safe from people like Sebastian or whoever else is out to get you, considering that you're a prominent figure." Natsu mumbled into the woman's soft breasts and he lightly ruffled the priestess' hair. Once Lelyanna had released the man from her plush prison, he made his way to the door but came to a stop just as he grasped the doorknob and he looked back at the goddess still sat on his desk. "Make sure the gold bars are all marked correctly for this world, I'm sure there would be some differences in hallmarks and serial numbers and so on. Plus, I'm going to need a vault to store them in."

"Yes, yes, don't worry about it." Ceres waved her hand, shooing away the man's remark. "I'll make sure it all looks proper so there will be no issues with their use in this world. Just so you know; the current standard for gold is just a smidge over two-thousand Jewels per Troy Ounce. Use that to judge how much you'll need to hand over for buying stuff."

"Ceres, while you're over there can you grab the motorbike gear from my old house; the helmets and riding gear. Since Lucy has come into my life, that gear has a use again."

"Sure. I'll put them in the garage with the bike."


Fairy Tail Guild Hall 4:20 PM

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNN!"

Natsu's eyes darted to the left as a white blur flew uncontrolled through the air on a course to intercept him on his way to the bar. It was a voice he was familiar with and likely a situation too. He slowed his stride just enough to prevent a collision and reached out a hand, catching the stubby man before he could collide with anything or anyone else. Natsu turned the man around to face him while still holding him in the air by the back of his white suit jacket. "Persistent, aren't you."

"A man fights for his woman's affection!" Ichiya struct a pose as he slowly came face to face with his saviour, a large glowing red boot print on his rectangular face from Erza kicking him across the guild hall. "Wait, you're that man who lives with Natsumi in that manor. Báleygr, if I remember correctly. Hm, you seem a little different than the last time I saw you at Fairy Tail's Christmas party. Allow me to introduce myself; Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, the ace of Blue Pegasus and the leader of the Trimens."

"A decent haircut and a close shave probably helped freshen up my appearance… Natsu 'Báleygr' Dragneel. And before you ask; there is no relation to Natsumi. I only met her at the start of winter." Natsu bowed his head politely and he put the man down onto his own feet. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Kotobuki."

"I see, though you do seem a bit less gloomy these days. I've seen you in the papers recently, the gunsmith who not only makes incredible weapons but can use them with devastating precision and skill." The short man dusted himself off and looked up at the salmon-haired man and nodded his head in a polite greeting. "And please, Ichiya is fine. We're all friends here, after all."

"You say that but if you had hit the wrong person then I'm sure the guild would have devolved into an all-out brawl."

"That's just the type of comradery that your guild has, Men."

"Just don't get turned into another human wrecking-ball, will you." Natsu murmured offhandedly as he stepped past the diminutive man and continued on his way to the bar. His eyes were drawn to a pair of pale breasts jiggling away behind the bar before darting up to the blue eyes of the woman they belonged to. "Hey Mira, been busy?"

"Not much more than usual, Natsu." Mira offered the man a quick smile and she placed the glass that she had cleaning onto a shelf underneath the bar. "We've got a few guests in from the other guilds, just Blue Pegasus and Mermaid's Heel. They have taken jobs in the area and decided to come here for bed and breakfast."

"I see." Natsu sighed softly as he sat down on a barstool. "Well, I'm a nobody in their eyes so at least I should be left alone."

"Said the man living in a manor."

"Hey, let's not forget that Lucy grew up in a full-on mansion that makes my manor look like a cottage." A small smirk flittered across Natsu's lips as his gaze snapped to the barmaid once again. "And my manor isn't overly flashy anyway, compared to others in the city."

"That's only true if you look at the outside only. On the inside, it makes you look like some kind of genius inventor with crazy advanced technology." Mira returned the playful smirk and leaned down on her elbows in front of the man, resting her chin atop her folded hands. "What can I get you?"

"Some Midian Cognac and a newspaper if you have any lying around."

"I gave the last one to Gildarts, do you want me to see if he's done with it?" Mira pushed herself up off the bar and turned to the shelves of alcohol behind her, grabbing down a circular bottle.

"Please. Hopefully he hasn't shredded it accidentally."

"Who knows, Sugar." Mira smiled and she poured a glass for the man but left the bottle beside the drink. "Keep the bottle, I'll put it on your tab."

"Thanks." Natsu's eyes followed the woman to the end of the bar before lowering to his glass and raising it to his lips. But before he could take a sip, a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck and his nose was overwhelmed with the heady scent of rum. His swords shifted silently on his back as a sizable chest pressed against them and the heady scent of booze wafted into his nose. He turned his head slightly to look back at the woman out of the corner of his eyes. "Hello Cana."

"Hiya Hotstuff." The brunette flashed a drunken grin and released the man, stepping beside him and pushing herself up onto the bar. "Mind if I take a swig?"

"Just leave some for me."

"Yeah, yeah." Cana slurred her words as she snatched up the bottle of alcohol and brought it to her lips. After gulping down a few mouthfuls, she let out a hearty sigh and grinned down at the pinkette. "That hit the spot."

"Well, looks like that bottle is going on someone else's tab." Mira playfully jabbed as she walked up behind the man and bopped the lush on the head with the rolled-up newspaper in her hand before placing it down in front of the man. "There you go."

"Thanks again, Mira."

"Oh, you should check in with Lucy." Mira pointed to the blonde woman who sat at a table on the other side of the hall and was talking animatedly with Natsumi, a sheet of paper between them. "She had me reserve a job contract so she could talk to you about it. She'll give you the details."

"Alright. I'm curious to see what she grabbed." Natsu downed his drink in a single go and gathered up the newspaper as he rose to his feet. "Looks like you get to keep the bottle to yourself after all, Cana."

"Hell yeah!" Cana cheered and she took a hearty gulp of brandy. She leapt from the counter and sauntered off across the guild towards her father, bottle in hand.

As Natsu crossed the hall – walking towards the busty blonde who sat at a table with her back to him – he noticed her head slowly raise from the job contract print-out in front of her and she glanced over her shoulder, seemingly sensing his gaze on her. The woman's face lit up in a bright smile and she quickly rose from her seat and met him halfway with the contract held close to her chest. "Mira told me you have something?"

"Yeah, it's kind of an escort job but with a twist." Lucy rambled her explanation as she thrusted out the sheet of paper. "You see, there has been an up-tick in piracy on the shipping lanes that run between Fiore and Ca-Elum to Alakitasia. Well, not only that but there have been sightings of leviathan-class sea monsters in that stretch of water."

"So, are we protecting a boat or something?" Natsu asked while skimming through the information sheet.

"Kind of…" Lucy murmured and she slid a finger down the page and pointed out a specific detail. "We're to protect a luxury ocean liner carrying high-profile VIPs as they travel from Hargeon to Alvarez in the Alakitasian continent. The ship is called RMS Jade Queen in honour of Hisui. She's the pride of Fiore's fleet of ocean liners."

"Hm, I've never been on an ocean liner before… let alone seen one." Natsu lowered his voice to a hush and he lifted his gaze to look into Lucy's chocolate-brown eyes. "We had cruise ships but they were more for pleasure than travel, tourism too. Is it just going to be you and me?"

"I'd love that, but common sense tells me that we'd need to at least bring a healer." Lucy gave the man a slightly irritated smile and she let out a gentle huff. "We should also bring extra fire power. I know you're strong, but you're also very inexperienced in our line of work so I don't know how well you'd do against a leviathan-class monster out in the open ocean."

"Lelyanna should be free, though I don't really know what her schedule looks like… but aside from her, we should probably take Natsumi since she'd probably be the most useful out of your team."

"Grace would work well too."

"I remember there was this story of a liner sinking on its maiden voyage; hit and iceberg and broke in two. I don't really want to reenact that." Natsu shook his head slowly. "Do you want to go and ask Natsumi about joining while I contact my little 'emotional support priestess' as you love to put it."

Lucy giggled softly and she gave the man a light, playful smack on the chest and a small wave as she turned and walked towards her best friend who was in the middle of butting heads with Grace.

Natsu's eyes were glued to the sway of the woman's hips but the swish of her long dazzling hair snapped his gaze upwards where their eyes met and Lucy subtly blew him a playful kiss followed by a bright smile. A short chuckle escaped Natsu's throat and his lips parted into a natural fanged grin as he turned away from the woman who tugged at his heart with ease and he made his way to the table that she had vacated. He closed his eyes and shifted his consciousness into Lelyanna's body, finding himself sat at a desk with documents splayed out atop it.

"Is there something I can help you with, Natsu?" Lelyanna asked quietly, addressing the foreign presence in her mind. A small smile spread across her lips as she signed one of the documents.

'Lucy and I are going on a job but we're planning on bringing you and Natsumi. It's an escort job but we'll be on an ocean liner bound for Alvarez. Do you have time to spare to come with us?'

"Let me check my schedule…" The priestess murmured and she reached into one of her desk's draws, pulling out a leather-bound planner. She skimmed through the upcoming days, muttering about the various tasks before snapping the book shut and placing it back into the draw. "I'll just palm it all off to the other sisters. Do you have the job sheet with you?"

"Yeah. You can borrow my eyes if you want to read through it."

"Please."

Natsu withdrew his consciousness from the woman's mind and slowly opened his eyes, looking down at the paper sat on the table in front of him. He felt Lelyanna follow him back into his mind so he began to slowly read through the job contract. He got the key points; departure from Hargeon was on the 6th of February at 7AM and travel time would be between four and five days depending on the conditions and if they run into trouble. They would arrive at the port city of Frederica where the ship will be docked for about two weeks as they do inspections unload then load people, mail and goods, do maintenance and resupply and prepare for the return trip. They would depart from Frederica on the 25th of February to return to Hargeon which marks the end of their contract and another group will be cycled on for the ship's next departure.

"You said that it will be you, me, Lucy and Natsumi, right?" Lelyanna asked the man.

'Yeah.' Natsu replied within his mind. 'Are you fine with being away from the cathedral for this long?'

"Let me talk to some sisters and organise for people to take over my tasks while I'm gone. I don't have any visits scheduled right now, so I don't have to attend to any duties as a healer… but don't worry, I'll make every effort to come along."

'I'll let the girls know. See you tonight.'

"Bye-bye." The priestess' cheerful voice rang through the man's mind and she withdrew back to her own mind moments later.

"Did you get the chance to speak with Lelyanna?" Natsumi asked as she dropped down onto the seat opposite her counterpart while Lucy took the spot next to him.

"Yeah, just finished chatting, actually. She's got some things to organise but she wants to come along." Natsu replied quickly and he turned the paper around and slid it toward the woman. "Here."

"I bet that when they see Lucy's and Lelyanna's names, they'll probably stick us in first class." Natsumi remarked with a soft chuckle. She raised her eyes from the paper and looked at the blonde, flashing a playful fanged grin. "Hey, doesn't your family hold a stake in the company operating the ship?"

"Well, yes…" Lucy smiled awkwardly. "The Heartfilia Konzern has played a massive part in the nation's transportation infrastructure. So it is only natural that we have investments in maritime businesses." She looked between both pinkettes and asked "Should I go and accept the contract?"

"Yeah, please." Natsu mirrored Natsumi's fanged grin, finding a little bit of second-hand satisfaction from the pinkette's teasing. He gave the woman a small wave of his hand, playfully shooing her over to the bar. Both fire dragon slayers followed the blonde to the bar with their eyes before turning their attention to each other.

"Dumb question, but you know how to swim, right?" Natsumi asked casually.

"Yeah, I can."

"Even with all those muscles?" The woman raised an eyebrow and lowered her gaze to the man's shadow-blue dress shirt and black waistcoat, eyeing the muscles hidden beneath. "I know Elfman is bigger and bulkier than you and has no trouble staying afloat but you've got all your high-density muscles on that lean frame. Surely you have some trouble with buoyancy?"

"In my armour, I'd sink if I didn't do anything to prevent it." Natsu nodded slowly. "I can keep my head above water pretty easily outside of it though. Weight and density aside, my legs still work perfectly fine so..."

"I get it, I get it." Natsumi chuckled softly. She rose from her seat and bend down across the top of the table, propping herself up on her elbows and resting her chin in her hands. Her playful, fanged grin sat less than half a metre from the man's face. "I've heard that this ship has a swimming pool~, and the three of us have swimwear from a certain somewhere~."

"Guess we're in for a treat, huh?"

"That's if those snobby prudes don't get pissed off at all of us for showing skin, you included. You'd probably put them to shame." Natsumi plopped down atop the table as if she had deflated and she stared up at the man with a glimmer of annoyance. "You know, for all the sexy photoshoots Mira and some of the other girls here do – including myself – you'd think people would be used to seeing skimpy clothes. At least we'll be able to swim together."

"I have noticed that people like us seem to dress differently to common folk. Chalked it up to preferring to fight in something that is comfortable and allows you freedom to move."

"That's mostly true. But part of it is looking good while we fight." Natsumi replied as she swayed her hips side to side and causing her short, pleated skirt to swish around her stocking-clad legs. "I can do my job just fine in a pair of trousers or shorts but-" Her voice dropped down to an excited purr "-I enjoy the rush from accidentally exposing myself."

"Why doesn't that surprise me." Natsu muttered and shook his head, though he couldn't stop the amused smile from forming on his lips.

"I get horny a lot, and that's only grown since I've met you. But that's just my dragon instincts telling me to fuck you and have your kids." The woman stated bluntly. "I don't know if it's the same for you, it could just be something with female dragon slayers."

"I wouldn't know, I'm a demon and not a dragon slayer, after all."

"Yeah, yeah." Natsumi waved her hand at the man and she straightened up since she could sense Lucy coming back. She turned to her best friend and flashed her a fanged grin. "How'd it go?"

"It went through." Lucy replied brightly and she waved the stamped sheet of paper in front of the pinkette's face. "We should head to Hargeon a day early so we can get acquainted with the ship and her crew."

"You should probably take the lead for this, Lucy." Natsu turned on the bench to face the blonde and he gave her a small smile. "Since you two are widely known. Lelyanna likely won't be in her priestess garb and I'm just a gunsmith."

"That's fine." Lucy spun on the balls of her feet and fell back onto the bench, resting her back against the man's chest. She glanced over at Natsumi and asked, "Are you going to call your sister? It's not often that we head over there or she comes here."

"Yeah, I'll do it tonight." Natsumi replied and she smiled gently at Natsu and softly said, "I've already told her about you, she's interested in meeting you and getting her hands on you… not in the way I want to, though. She wants to check you over with her magic."

"I'm curious to see if she is anything like my brother." Natsu remarked casually but quietly so they wouldn't get overheard. He slipped an arm around Lucy's waist and stroked her side idly while rolling out the newspaper that he finally had the chance to read. "You know, I don't think I ever asked about Mavis, since Zeref is a girl, is Mavis a guy?"

"Oh, yeah. He's called Mavin." Natsumi nodded quickly and she grinned playfully. "I keep giving my big sis shit for having a thing for shotas. Though, they managed to fix his body sometime after I burned the Ankhseram curse out of them. He looks good, but he isn't to my tastes. I like guys who can make me submit and Mavin is just too soft."

"Yes, we know." Lucy smirked at her friend. She let out a gentle groan as she stretched out against the man's warm body and slid down the seat so her head was resting on Natsu's lap. "I really need to go and organise transportation for us, but you're too comfortable."

Natsumi leaned down and looked at the blonde under the table, giving her a teasing grin as she pointed out, "It looks like you're sucking him off in the middle of the guild when you put your head there."

"Yes but no one would expect that of me, unlike you." Lucy replied smugly. "So I'd be able to get away with it."

"Oh~?" Natsumi purred and she gave the blonde a feline grin that would make Happy proud. "Betcha won't back that up. Go on~ stick him in ya mouth~."

"You think I won't?" Lucy turned her head down to face Natsu's lap and brought her hands up, beginning to fumble with the man's belt and zipper. A large warm hand closed around her hands and brought her to a dead stop, causing the blonde to look up at the man above her with an embarrassed blush. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really, I just don't think it's a good idea doing this at this particular table – it's too open here. So, if you really want to prove just how much of a naughty girl you are then we should probably move somewhere else." Natsu prompted, hosting a similar playfully-perverse feline grin to the woman across from him. "I don't think you're quite ready for sucking a cock in the dead centre of the guildhall."

Lucy placed her hands flat on the man's lap and slowly pushed herself up, bringing her face so close to the pinkette's that she was almost kissing him. Her molten chocolate eyes shimmered with a lustful gleam as she purred, "That doesn't sound like that bad of an idea~, but if you think I'm going to let you tease me like that then you might just find yourself getting edged for as long as I desire~."

"I won't have to wait long, then…" Natsu growled faintly and a domineering expression flashed across his face before it returned to a playful grin. He slid a hand through Lucy's hair and closed it into a fist at the base of her skull, firmly grasping her hair and tilting her head back slightly as he slowly skimmed his lips along the woman's cheek until they were next to her ear and he whispered, "Try and edge me as much as you like but you won't make me beg. You'll give in before I do and you'll beg for my load like the submissive little bitch that you are – sat on your knees with your tongue out, excitedly waiting for your delicious treat."

"If you had a tail, I bet it'd be wagging like crazy right now!" Natsumi laughed loudly at the stunned blonde who had the tables turned on her. She reached across the table and firmly slapped the woman's ass, causing a jolt to run through her body and a reflexive moan to escape her throat. "And you thought I was domineering."

An involuntary shiver ran down Lucy's back and her cheeks and ears rapidly flushed a rich red. She became hyperaware of the raw heat radiating from Natsu and soaking into her chest and even the sizable bulge underneath her hands. She snapped a hand back and grabbed the hem of her skirt, pulling it down to hide the rapidly growing dampness of her panties as she weakly glared at the man with a cute pout. Natsu had never treated her roughly before, he had always pampered her with gentle touches as he waited for her to be ready to take the final plunge. But this aggressive side of him had awoken something in her that she didn't know existed and now her mind was plagued with an explicit slideshow that ranged from being taken from behind on her hands and knees to being willingly tied up and taken advantage of. Her thoughts grew lewder and lewder by the second until they were interrupted by the man lifting her up and sitting her down on his lap with her back resting squarely against his chest and her soft and slender legs nestled between his muscular legs.

"You're too cute for your own good, Luce. I can't help but want to tease you." Natsu whispered into the woman's ear and he snaked his left arm around her waist while turning a page on the newspaper with his free hand. "I'm sure she had told you all about what we had been like."

"Yes… In, um, graphic detail." Lucy replied quietly. She glanced around subtly and began to fidget on the man's lap, wiggling her hips in a slow circle to try and ease the pressure building in her core.

"Someone wants to fuck." Natsumi teased the blonde, flashing a large toothy grin.

"You sound jealous." Lucy shot back with a half-hearted glare. "Maybe you wish it was you sitting on his lap."

"Nah, I'd rather be bent over the table and getting railed from behind by Natsu's big hot cock while I moan at the top of my lungs." Natsumi replied playfully as she slowly rose from her seat and leaned down across the table as if she was getting into said position. She ran a seductive finger down her neck and between her cleavage, tugging on her shirt and waistcoat to jiggle her breasts enticingly. "Hell, I'd do it here and now. Right in the middle of the packed guild."

"Both of you need to calm down." Natsu sighed softly and he adjusted Lucy on his lap to take some pressure off of his erection which was being squashed and grinded against by the fidgeting blonde's soft arse. "You're driving me crazy and it's taking a lot to not fondle either of you."

"What if I want that?" Lucy asked as she looked back at the man with a cute little pout. She spread her legs a little bit and guided the man's right hand down under her skirt and up between her thighs until she could feel his fingertips graze against her lace panties. She turned slight and brought her lips to the man's ear, whispering, "Can you feel how wet you make me? I want you to touch me, to play with me and make me feel good."

"I could tell that you're wet without needing to touch you, Lucy." The salmon-haired man chuckled softly. He gave the woman's clit a quick flick – earning a sharp gasp – before withdrawing his hand from her skirt and folding up the newspaper. He smirked teasingly at the blonde and gave her a quick kiss. "Since I'm feeling particularly vindictive, I'm going to let you stew in your lust."

"You're so mean~." The blonde whined softly, though she was trying and failing to stifle her giggles. She stretched out her limbs and slowly rose from the man's lap. Before stepping away, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips and smiled warmly. "I better go and make these calls. I also need to tell the client that we intent to arrive the day before departure to get acquainted with the ship and her crew."

"You know," Natsumi murmured as she watched the woman almost skip over to the bar. Her teasing grin dropped to a happy smile as she turned to the man sat across from her. "It's good seeing this side of her. She warmed up to you really quickly and fell in love harder than a train crash."

"Let's just hope it doesn't turn into one." Natsu chuckled quietly. He smiled at the blonde's back and picked up the newspaper as he rose from his seat. "Though, part of me is glad that it's starting to feel like before. Even though this place is so different from that place, she's still the same cute and clever woman that I had fallen in love with. I'm getting another drink, want something?"

"Since you're offering; Single malt whiskey."

"Right." The man nodded and he traced Lucy's steps to the bar. As he approached it, he noticed the team of Mermaids gathered around the blonde, talking animatedly with her and Erza. But his attention was quickly drawn away from the gossip as shouts rang out from his left.

Just as his eyes snapped over to the middle of the hall, Gajeel put his fist through a table which sent a set of playing cards flying into the air as he accused the Bickslow of cheating. But since he disrupted the game, Elfman – who was also playing – drove his fist into the dragon slayer and knocking him across the hall and through many other tables but he had knocked over Laxus' tankard and spilled his drink, earning the man's ire. The large man was promptly sent flying in a different direction to Gajeel thanks to Freed though this resulted in the greenette's face being met with a savage back-handed slap from Evergreen who sprouted wings and flew off after her man with a worried yet slightly-irritated expression. This little spark of conflict was all it took to ignite a guild-wide brawl and throw the building into chaos.


5th February – 2:16PM

White clouds billowed into the skies as a steam train raced through the countryside, accompanied by the rumbles and chugs of the steel beast rolling along the tracks. It was supposed to reach the port city of Hargeon in about fifteen minutes but it was running slightly behind schedule.

A soft tune filled one of the cabins in the frontmost passenger car, played from an Alpine Zither which was sat on Lelyanna's lap. The priestess' fingers danced across the many strings of the instrument, plucking away as she tapped her foot and hummed along with the tune.

Natsumi sat across from the small woman with her attention on the scenery passing by beyond the window beside her. She rubbed her arm against the window, clearing the condensation that had formed from her hot breath hitting the cold window.

Natsu sat directly across from the pinkette, between the priestess and the window. With pen and paper in hand, he constructed potential plans for the future to keep his mind occupied and the memories of his past at bay. They ranged from sketching designs for weapons and machines of war to expanding his business into various facets of a military-industrial complex and some more civilian-orientated developments that would improve life for the regular citizens of Fiore.

The cabin door softly scraped as it slid open and Lucy stepped in. Her long blonde hair swished around her as she spun on the balls of her feet and closed the door behind her. Once she was sat beside her best friend, she let out a gentle sigh and her shoulders slumped slightly. "I spoke with the conductor. He said that we're five minutes behind schedule so we'll be arriving just a little after half-past."

"Is that going to fuck up the ride you organised from the station to the port?" Natsumi asked quietly as she turned her head to the blonde.

"It shouldn't." Lucy shook her head and she gave the pinkette a gentle smile. "Even if we consider that it would be poor professionalism to abandon a client because their train was running a little behind, they wouldn't want to stand me up."

"Heh, I suppose it wouldn't be a good look if they pissed off on their boss' daughter."

"Yes, but Mother isn't their boss. Well, not directly." Lucy pointed out. "We own the company but we don't run it personally, their boss answers to our company. We are the parent company and they are our subsidiary, one of many."

"Still, I'm sure if the young Lady Heartfilia took issue with the service of one of the employees from these companies, there would be hell to pay." Natsumi's lips tipped up in a teasing smile as she leaned in a little closer to the busty blonde. "Have you forgotten that time in Violet Town when you had some nobleman on his hands and knees and practically kissing the mud for being crude because they didn't realise who you were until it was too late. Or that time in Aster, or Amaryllis, or Cassia… Need I go on?"

"You're making it sound worse than it was. It's not like I forced that guy to the ground, he prostrated himself before me of his own accord."

"And earnestly begged for forgiveness too, let's not forget that."

"Wow, sounds like you've been a bit of a dominatrix." Natsu looked up from his notebook with a playful glint in his eyes and a devilishly teasing smirk. "I can practically see the heel of your boot being ground into the poor bastard. And considering you already carry around a whip wherever you go… Oh, and you also have a maid that begs for punishment every time she comes through her gate."

"Virgo is not my fault; she's always had that perverse streak." Lucy shot back quickly, her eyes snapping to the man. "And my Fleuve d'étoiles isn't just some whip, Natsu. It's an item from the Celestial Spirit World. It's a very useful weapon that I can use to move around the environment with, like latching onto branches or poles."

"Notice how she didn't deny the implication that she whips people with it." Natsumi piled on the teasing with a gleeful grin. "And I know for a fact that it has be used to whip people who have slighted her into submission."

"Of course I wouldn't bother trying to deny that!" Lucy half-shouted as she rounded on her friend. "It's my weapon, I use it in combat, so of course I whip people with it! Just stop making it sound like I get some perverse satisfaction out of doing it!"

"We should probably keep our voices down." Lelyanna suggested, cracking open one of her closed eyes to look at the trio while her fingers continued to dance across the string instrument. "This is a public space, after all. Even if we're in a private cabin."

"Ah-" Lucy's gaze snapped to the closed door and her cheeks took on a faint pink tint and she sank back in her seat, withering with embarrassment. "-right." She let out a sigh and looked down at her lap. Her attention was drawn to the leather holster strapped to her right thigh and she placed her hand over it, rubbing it gently before drawing her pistol and turning it over in her hands. "Natsu, I wanted to ask; there won't be any issues taking your weapons out to sea, right? I know saltwater can be bad for firearms since corrosion sets in faster."

"As long as you keep the guns dry then you should be fine. But if you do get saltwater on them, then it is good practice to make sure that you dry them as soon as possible and then clean and oil them to protect the metal components." Natsu gave the woman a gentle smile as he leaned in and tapped the slide of the pistol. "That said, the alloy used in my weapons grant them a greater corrosion resistance than regular gun steel. Not only that, but each part is ran through a special hot chemical bath prior to final assembly which protects them from exposure to the elements as well as minor physical damage from general use and wear. It creates a nanoscopic protective layer on the surface while also penetrating into the metal to ensure this barrier lasts for a long time. It's a process that I decided to carry over from the manufacturing of my own guns."

"That wasn't mentioned in the manual that came with the guns." Lucy blinked slowly. She slipped the handgun back into her holster and rose to her feet, grabbing her bag down from the shelf above her head. She rifled through it until she found the handbooks for the rifle and pistol and skimmed through both cover-to-cover. "Yeah, at no point does it mention the protective coating…"

"If I mentioned it, two things would happen: One; people would likely ask questions, and probably won't be satisfied if I say it's a proprietary secret. And two; people would likely forego proper maintenance of their weapons, expecting the protective coating to do all the work for them and then would come bitching to me when their guns don't work." Natsu sat back with a sigh and threw up his hands casually. "So, I decided to leave it off the handbook. Keen-eyed people might pick up on it but not know what it does. But I'm hoping everyone will just follow the manual and maintain it like you would a normal gun."

"I might have to get you to treat my falchions with that shit…" Natsumi murmured as she placed her hands on the pommels of her twin swords. "Sounds useful."

"It is." Natsu nodded. He grinned and half withdrew one of his twin Messer from the scabbards attached to his belt, revealing the black blade which had thin blue swirls down the length of the weapon. "I treated each of my swords too. It's great for protecting them against dulling from fat and blood, also makes that shit slide right off them too."

"Yeah, I definitely need you to do that to mine when we get back from the job."

Lucy placed her manuals back into the bag and sat down with it beside her. She removed the rifle that was strapped to the side of it and deployed the folding stock. She removed the magazine and ejected the chambered round – catching it in mid-air but fumbling and almost dropping it – then placed the cartridge in a pocket for the time being while she checked over her weapon.

Natsu watched the woman work for a little bit, silently scrutinising how she handled the rifle. She seemed to have been taking her practice seriously since he couldn't find much to fault. If she continued with her training then he would be able to rest easier knowing that she could handle the firearms. The man lowered his gaze to his notebook and returned to putting his ideas down on paper.

The scenery beyond the window began to change as more and more buildings came into sight. There was a knock on the door and it opened a moment later with the conductor appearing in the doorway. He bowed politely and said, "Pardon the intrusion, Sir and Madams. We're approaching the station now. We apologise for the delay."

"Nah, it's alright. Shit happens." Natsumi replied brazenly with a carefree fanged grin as she waved away the man's apology. "It won't take us long to get our shit together so we'll be ready to hop off once the doors open."

The man bowed his head as he stepped out of the doorway and closed the cabin door behind him. His silhouette moved away from the lightly frosted glass but his voice could just barely be heard just a little bit down the hall.

Lucy fastened her rifle to her bag and rose to her feet while putting her arms through the straps and bringing it up onto her shoulders. "I really need to learn how to use Requip magic…"

"Heh, it really does make life easier." Natsumi chuckled softly. She leaned back on the bench and placed her hands behind her head, grinning at the blonde. "I can give you the instructions that Natsu gave me if you like. You'd probably have an easier time learning it than I did."

"Do you have them with you?" Lucy looked down at the pinkette and she raised a curious eyebrow. "It would be good to have it to pass the time with while we're out at sea and in Alakitasia."

"Yep." Natsumi brought one of her arms down and held out her hand as light filled it, being replaced by the little instruction booklet moments later. "Here. It's fairly easy to follow. It just took me a fair while to get my head around things and get my magic to do what it was supposed to. I guess that's the downside of being heavily specialised in offensive magic, it takes a bit to understand something like Requip."

"It's because we don't use Spatial Magic, so learning it for the first time is difficult. We use lost elemental magic." Natsu leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he sent his notebook away for safe keeping and slid his pen into one of his coat's inner pockets. "Our magic is incomprehensibly powerful and devastating. And while normal fire mages can conjure, manipulate, and control their fire, no one can compare to us two in raw power and utility. And that's before taking into account our demonic fire. All this boils down to is just that we aren't used to this type of magic, so it is difficult to learn unless we are particularly motivation – like wanting to use it to mess with Lucy."

"Transformation magic?" Natsumi questioned with a playful grin.

"Oh god… don't remind me." Lucy sighed softly and ran a hand down her face. "I still feel a little embarrassed that it took me a while to actually get that to work."

"Well, teasing Lucy aside. You can also use it to spice things up." Natsu shifted his gaze to Lucy and gave her an amorous smile. "Imagine Lucy as a cat-girl or a succubus and you'll get an idea of some of the things I've seen my Lucy do with transformation magic."

"Meeow~." Natsumi purred playfully and she smirked at the lightly blushing blonde. "There're a few ideas for you to try out."

"Nat! Now's not the time…"

"So you'll give them a try later?" The pinkette's seductively smoky purred playfully and she leaned in closer to her friend, moving onto her hands and knees as she prowled towards the blonde. "I gotta admit, it's a sight I gotta see too."

A gentle vibration rumbled beneath them as the train braked and began to come to a stop at the station, bringing an abrupt end to the teasing.

Lelyanna's instrument vanished from her lap with a flash of light and she rose to her feet while lifting her hood over her head and obscuring her face. As she made her way to the door, the three other members of the group fell in behind her and the priestess led the way to the nearest exit. One-by-one they stepped out onto the platform and headed for the station building.

Lucy glanced around as they walked through the building, quickly spotting a news agency and she murmured, "I wonder if I should buy a paper…"

"I reckon the ship's crew will have one somewhere." Natsumi replied quickly, turning her head to look at the blonde. "Nothing interesting has happened or is due to happen so it's not worth throwing a few coins at it, even if you've been able to save more money since we live with Natsu."

"That's assuming she hasn't been buying more sweets and clothes." Natsu playfully jabbed over his shoulder, looking back at the two women briefly before returning his gaze to the front.

"Guilty, though only a little bit." Lucy laughed softly and she gave the man a light slap on the back. "I was actually thinking of making my own sweets but, err, I think I'll need you to write down a few recipes for some good ones that I could make."

"Yeah, I'll do it once we've settled down on the ship. Same with helping you learn Requip, like I said; you shouldn't have that hard of a time learning it since it's in the same vein of magic that you're used to."

"Hey Lucy," Lelyanna started quietly as she slowed her stride to fall in line with the taller woman and she glanced at the bag on her back. "Since the three of us all have our bags stored away, would you like me to carry your backpack for you?"

"Oh, uh, you don't have to do that. But since you're offering…" Lucy gave the priestess a kind smile and she took off her backpack then removed the rifle from it before handing the bag to the woman. "Thank you, Lelyanna."

"Once we get on the ship, I'll give it back to you." Lelyanna's arms sagged from the weight of the bag but she returned the kind smile and sent the bag to her pocket dimension with a flash of light.

Lucy slung her rifle across her body and let it hang under her right arm. She took a few quick strides, pushing to the front of the pack as the exited the station and she had a quick look around, searching for the car that would be taking them to the docks when a man called out to them and beckoned them over.

"Lady Heartfilia, over here!" The man was dressed in a crisp suit and his sandy-blonde hair was neatly tucked under his chauffeur's cap. His emerald green eyes scanned across the three Jaegers and the priestess which he quickly recognised as an archbishop and he bowed politely. "Your Grace. I am Jules Monroe, from Orion Transport Services. I will be your chauffeur today."

"Sorry for making you wait, Mister Monroe." Lucy instantly shifted into a well-practiced formal tone as she addressed the man and she gave him a small, graceful bow. "A small horde of goblins with some hobgoblins tried to throw themselves onto the rails to throw us off them. They were dealt with before they could damage the train but it caused us to fall behind schedule."

"Blasted goblins…" Jules snarled but he quickly rearranged his expression back to the professionally neutral smile he held previously. He stepped aside and opened the rear left door of his black sedan. "Please, hop in."

"Thank you." Lucy slid into the car first. The sedan had been lengthened by the company to fit an extra bench seat in the centre of the car which faced the rear bench seat. Lucy took the spot on this middle bench with her back to the driver's seat. She was followed in by Lelyanna who sat next to her, Natsumi took the spot across from her and finally Natsu, who sat opposite Lelyanna.

The drive to the docks was peacefully quiet. Natsu kept his eyes on the city outside the window. Like Magnolia, Hargeon was vastly different to the city he knew. It was smaller, cleaner, and there was less traffic. The buildings looked just as old-fashioned and gothic as Magnolia's and the ever-present ticking of clockwork mechanisms also pulsed throughout this city.

The scent of fresh fish filled the air as they entered the docklands. It was busy, with people walking along the sides of the roads, moving from stall to stall to check the various fish caught that day or heading down to the various ships docked at the harbour.

"This is as far as I can go. It's a pedestrian road from here on." Jules announced as he pulled his car over to the side of the road at the end of a cul-de-sac. He got out of the car and walked around to the rear left door and opened it to let out his passengers. "Good luck on the job."

"Thank you." Natsu stepped outside the car and adjusted his coat while looking at the docks around him. He moved out of the way and his Grosses Messer and Kriegs Messer materialised on his back in their respective clamshell scabbards. As the women filed out behind him, he scanned his gaze across the various ships docked nearby in search for the one they were meant to board.

"Trouble finding the right one?" Natsumi asked playfully as she stepped out in front of the man, spun on the balls of her feet and grinned up at him.

"I'm half marvelling at how old they all look and yes, trying to work out which ship is the one we're meant to get on." Natsu murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly. He lowered his gaze to his alluring counterpart and nodded to the ships. "So, which is the right one?"

"Lucy?" Natsumi leaned to the side, looking past the man at the blonde who had finished paying the chauffeur for his service and finally joined them.

"Docking Bay C4. We've got to head to a different section. That's why you can't see it, Natsu." Lucy replied. She glanced up at the man and offered him a small smile as she walked past and took the lead. They moved through the sparse crowd, drawing the slightly more than occasional glance due to either Natsumi's raw sex appeal, Lucy's beauty or the presence of an archbishop.

Natsu's ears perked up as he picked up on the gossip spreading throughout the dockworkers and travellers but it always fell silent the moment his gaze passed over them and a visible shiver shook their bodies. Though occasionally, he caught murmurs of his professional name Báleygr come from more than a few of the individuals in the crowds. It seemed that he was quickly becoming as recognisable as the women before him due to recent articles in newspapers and magazines.

"This is the ship." Lucy announced as she turned down a busy landing and kept out of the way of dockworkers as she approached a pair of sailors who were taking a smoke break while they watched the dockworkers load the ship. She pulled the job notice from her coat pocket and held it out to the two men. "Excuse me, we're the team from Fairy Tail who have accepted the contract to protect this ship on its next voyage. Could we speak to the ship's captain?"

"Hm, let me see that…" One of the sailor's leaned in to read the document before straightening up and pointing up at the ship with the cigarette in his hand. "Captain Barlow is up there, leaning on the railing above the loading bay. If you head up the loading ramp and show one of our crewmates that paper and they'll take you up to the captain."

"It'll be quicker if we fly up there." Natsumi suggested and fire burst from her back, forming into shimmering feathered wings. Leaving no room nor time to argue against her, she scooped up Lelyanna, leaving Natsu and Lucy on the ground as she flew up the side of the ship.

"Is she always this impulsive?" Natsu murmured, bringing his gaze down from the flying woman to the blonde next to him, only to be met with a playful smirk. "What?"

"You're one to talk." Lucy giggled softly. She placed the job contract back into her pocket then cradled her rifle against her chest as she stepped closer, motioning after her best friend with a jerk of her head. "Up we go."

"I'm not as impulsive as she is." Natsu quietly argued while leaning down and lifting the woman into his arms. Fire began to fan out from the soles of his boots, pushing him into the air and slowly forming into jet cones which propelled him skyward after Natsumi. He shut off the flames one after the other as he stepped onto the railing and looked down at Natsumi and Lelyanna. "Where was the rush?"

"Aw come on~," Natsumi laughed heartily as she set Lelyanna down on her feet. Her wings flapped idly before folding in against her back. She looked up at the man towering over them and gave him a toothy grin, baring her fangs. "I know you love the freedom of the skies just as much as I do."

"Here, kinda. Back where I'm from, no. It was too dangerous most of the time so I had to save it for special cases where time was of the essence." Natsu stepped down from the groaning railing and landed on the floor with a soft thud which sent a slight vibration through the deck. He let Lucy stand on her own and turned to the man, inclining his head slightly. "Sorry for Salamander's antics, she can be a bit of a handful sometimes."

"Heh."

Ignoring Natsumi's chuckles, Lucy stepped forward and produced the job notice once more. "Captain Barlow? I'm Lucy Heartfilia, we're here on contract for your job request."

"Ah, good. Let's talk in the bridge away from this racket." Captain Barlow waved his hand to the work below them and then waved for the group to follow him as he moved past them and headed into the ship. He led the way through the corridors and stairwells until they reached the bridge where he took a seat in the Captain's Chair and spun it to face the mages. "Thank you for coming, Lady Heartfilia. I recognise Salamander, but who are the other two members of your group?"

"They're two members of Fairy Tail's Hellhound Squad. The priestess is Archbishop Lelyanna, and the man next to her is Natsu, better known as the Jaeger and gunsmith Báleygr."

Natsu's eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the man's appearance. It was clear that the captain wasn't human as his skin was dark with a purple hue and both his long hair and eyes were silvery but shimmered like liquid mercury. He also had the long knife-like ears of an elf but he didn't match the few he had seen before. Though he did stir a memory from Natsu's previous life, of Happy playing a video game – this man must be a member of some kind of Dark Elf race.

It seemed that Captain Barlow was also quietly scrutinising the man before him as he lifted his chin slightly and remarked. "You are ex-military, aren't you?"

Natsu silently stared the man down with cold eyes. Instead of answering the question, he decided to make his own observation known. "You're ex-navy. Likely a Commander or Captain who transferred to civilian maritime work for one reason or another."

"Perceptive. You are likely ex-army or something similar, given how you carry yourself. It's far different to any Jaeger that I've seen before. And you move silently even though you weigh more than you look going by that thud from when you landed on the deck and the groaning railing. Lady Heartfilia may be well-endowed but she wouldn't add enough weight to cause that. So you're more than a regular grunt. Anyway, our past is just that." Captain Barlow rose from his chair and bowed his head to the group. "I'm Captain Matius Barlow, thank you for responding to the contract we put out. As mentioned in the request, there have been sightings of pirates operating along the route as well as one or more Leviathan-class monsters. We're a high-value target for these pirates so it's almost guaranteed that they'll come after us at some point in the journey."

"Have you had trouble with these pirates before?" Lucy asked. Her attention shifted midsentence as Natsu moved out from behind her and walked across the bridge to the map laid out on the navigation table.

"Yes. But recently they've been coming with larger numbers. They usually use small but fast boats to swarm their target and board them."

"So we can likely expect them to attack under the cover of night and ambush us somewhere along the way." Natsu spoke up from the navigation table as he scanned their route for possible ambush points. "Do you know where they're based out of?"

"An archipelago beyond the territorial boarders of Ca-Elum and Fiore, out in the open ocean." Captain Barlow replied while walking over to the pinkette. He pointed out the island chain on the map and then the sea route they'll be taking to reach Alakitasia. "Unfortunately, we'll be passing nearby. Their scouts would see us coming and likely get word back quick enough to get their ships to intercept us. I don't know what you've got hidden away, but that rifle that Lady Heartfilia has won't be able to sink those boats."

"Biggest I've got is a 14.5mm rifle." Natsu let out a slow breath through his nose and he drummed his fingers against the tabletop. "If we can get a jump on the boats then I might be able to sink those before they get close. But that's if we see them coming. Otherwise, we're going to have to fight within the ship."

"Try to limit the damage as much as you can if that does happen." Captain Barlow sighed and he returned to his captain's chair. "Do you girls have any questions?"

"Do you mind if we stay on the ship tonight?" Lucy asked curiously. "We'd also like to have a look around to get to know the ship and crew before we set sail tomorrow."

"Are you comfortable sharing one of the suites?"

"Perfectly comfortable." Lucy nodded gently. "The four of us actually live together, so the living conditions would be near identical."

"One of the Prominade Suites on Deck B is free and it's likely to not be filled by departure. I'm happy to allocate that suite to you."

"What comes with this suite?" Lelyanna asked softly, curiously raising a hidden eyebrow.

"A private fifteen-metre promenade deck, two large bedrooms, two walk-in wardrobes, a private bathroom, lavatory, and a spacious sitting room." Captain Barlow replied, turning his attention to the veiled priestess. "It's one of the best cabins we have to offer."

"And you're okay with us using that?" The short woman pressed, tilting her head slightly.

"As I said, we're unlikely to fill that room by tomorrow morning. And I'd rather keep the moral of the people protecting us as high as I can, so I'm not going to shove you into the darkest corners of the ship."

"No point arguing about it." Natsumi remarked offhandedly and she shrugged her shoulders. "We'll take it."

"Alright." Captain Barlow clapped his hands then pushed himself to his feet once more. "I'll sort out the room and have the keys brought to you, I only ask that you hang around here on the B Deck for the time being so we can find you and give you said keys. After that, you're free to explore the ship and talk to the crew provided you don't disrupt their jobs too much."

"Thank you for your generosity." Lucy smiled as she bowed politely. "We'll wait by the cabins and put our things away before we go wandering about."

"Right, someone will be along shortly then."

Natsu looked back at the women as the captain left the bridge and the pinkette made his way over to them. "Seems like we get to stay in the posh room. I wonder if it's because you're here, Lucy, Lelyanna too."

Lucy threw up her hands and gave the man a look that said 'Oh well, what can you do' and she sighed softly. "We should head over there and get settled in."

"After you, Lady Heartfilia." Natsumi teased her best friend, grinning wildly at the woman.

"Shush~," Lucy placed her hand against the woman's cheek and pushed her teasing grin away while smiling softly at her antics. "Princess Dragneel. Maybe I should start calling you 'Your Highness' instead."

"Just kiss already." Natsu chimed in, in mock annoyance.

"Oh? And what makes you think I haven't kissed her before?" Natsumi purred playfully, turning her sights on the sole man in their group.

"It does happen…" Lucy admitted meekly, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Not often, but it's always when we're drunk. I'm needy and submissive, and she can't hold back her need to dominate… And one thing leads to another. I'm not really attracted to women, but things tend to go out the window when we're drunk and alone."

"Sex is sex." Natsumi shrugged as she voiced her honest thoughts. "As long as I can get off and I can get the other person off too, and they're happy then I'm good for whatever. Don't get me wrong, I love getting railed by big hard cocks and filled to the brim with semen, but sometimes I don't feel like hunting down a man. It's easier getting Lucy riled up."

"This kind of doesn't surprise me. Lucy and I sometimes invited another woman in when we were pretty drunk and she'd actively play with the other woman; kissing, touching, everything." Natsu sighed softly and he not-so-subtly adjusted his slacks. "Great… now I'm fucking rock-hard. And I know it's not going to go down anytime soon…"

"Oh~?" Natsumi hid her nefarious grin behind her hand as she lowered her gaze to the bulge in the man's pants. She slowly took a long sidestep toward Lucy then immediately turned and snaked an arm around her waist and pulling her flush with her body while pinching her chin between a finger and thumb, tilting the blonde's head up slightly as the pinkette edged her out on height. "Wanna help me tease the bastard for leaving us as horny messes when we wanna get fucked by him?"

"Nat~…" Lucy whined softly and she gently pushed the woman away. "I know you're in a teasing mood but we're in public. And while we're currently alone on the bridge, someone could walk in at any moment."

"Can you not be a horny bitch for five minutes? Do you really need to have a cock shoved inside you that badly?" An exasperated Lelyanna asked and she crossed her arms under her cloak, glaring at the pinkette through her veil. "Natsu can keep it under control, why can't you?"

"Because after feeling his delicious heat, I can't be satisfied by cold meat. I've gotten so close riding that cock only to get blocked so often that it's driving me crazy. My instincts are literally all over the place and I'm barely holding things together as it is. You don't know just how badly I want to rip his clothes off and ride him like a madwoman and make him cream me over and over, right here and now."

"Let's just…" Lucy sighed softly and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let's just go to the suite already. Before you two start going at it like a pair of wild animals."

"Fucking or arguing?" Natsumi asked playfully.

"Either, both, I don't know!" Lucy turned her friend toward the door and put her hands on the woman's back, pushing her out into the hallway and forcefully guiding her to the cabins.

The short walk was just enough no allow Natsu to calm down and push the lustful thoughts from his mind. When they reached the Prominade Suites, they were met by one of the crewmembers who was dressed in a crisp suit – the uniform of the front-facing staff. The man bowed and handed them a set of four identical keys to the room he was standing outside of then returned to his duties to prepare the ship for her induction of passengers for the coming voyage. As the man walked away and even though he had handed the keys off to Lucy, Natsu grasped the doorknob and a faint click came from the lock as he unlocked the door and opened it. Leaving two stunned girls behind, he entered the flashy suite and glanced around with Natsumi following him in and throwing herself down onto a plush couch.

"This place is almost as fancy as the Heartfilia mansion." The pinkette groaned softly at the softness of the couch and she kicked off her boots. She rolled over and stuffed a cushion under her stomach and hips to get even more comfortable and she let out a pleased sigh.

"Well this is the best suite they have on offer." Lelyanna reminded the woman as she lowered her hood and turned to Lucy. She brought the woman's bag out from her Requip dimension and held it out to her with a smile. "Here you go. Whose taking what room?"

"Um, I know he may be comfortable with both of you, but could I share with Natsu?" Lucy asked, her gaze shifting from Natsumi to Lelyanna and back again as she slung her bag over one shoulder. "It's just that my presence would be the most reassuring and calming for him if he does wake up in a panic."

"I'm right here, you know…" Natsu reminded the women but he had a thankful smile and he let out a light-hearted chuckle as he made his way to one of the two bedrooms.

"That's fine, but if I hear you two fucking each other then I'm going to come barging in there." Natsumi looked back at the blonde and grinned mischievously.

"Yeah, yeah." Lucy followed Natsu into the bedroom and she beelined to the walk-in wardrobe. She rested her rifle against the wall beside the door then began hang her clothes and fold her undergarments neatly and place them on the shelves. The blonde looked out the doorway at Natsu who was looking out the glass sliding door to the private promenade and she quietly asked. "Natsu, could you hand me the other two bags?"

Natsu looked over and crossed the room, a gentle smile set on his face. As he stepped past the woman, he rested a hand on her hip and started to lean down while the two suitcases appeared beside them.

Lucy turned in his light grasp and snaked her arms around his neck, quickly closing the distance between them and doing her best to keep silent while they kissed. Her arms tightened slowly as she drew the man in closer, quietly relishing how his incredibly warm firm body felt against her soft curves. As she began to run out of breath, she slowly pulled back and gave the man a warm smile while slowly drawing her arms back and resting her hands on his chest, whispering, "Thank you for holding onto those."

"Do you need a hand with anything else?"

"Not right now, but maybe later~." Lucy purred and she gave the man a playful wink before turning her back to the man and returning to placing her clothing in the wardrobe. She felt his arms slowly encircle her waist and she brought her hand up to his cheek, caressing it softly. "Stop making my heart melt, you big softy~."


On that note, I think I'm going to end this chapter here. It took me a fair bit longer than I was planning but other things kept getting in the way of writing. I also had to rewrite a few parts a few times too because I wasn't happy with how things were looking. But it is done, finally. I'm going to work on the next chapter for The Agency before starting the next chapter for this story, I want to do the mission over there before the ideas completely leave my mind but thankfully, I still remember what I wanted to do for it.

Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you have enjoyed it. I'll see you in the next one.