Beta: Pixie Duck
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The Moon's Flame: Chapter 03
It was a quiet and sunny day. The rays of light illuminated the forest on the outskirts of Magnolia. The leaves were moving gently to the beat of the wind. It would appear that nothing could disturb the peaceful day.
Well, almost nothing.
"AH!" Suddenly a scream broke the peace surrounding the forest as a pink-haired young man fell seemingly out of nowhere.
He forcefully landed on the earth and quickly stood up, looking at his surroundings with caution.
A few meters away from him, a portal opened and from it, a beautiful naked girl appeared.
Once he saw her, he shouted.
"What the hell, lady?! What did you just do? Where have you taken us?" He asked her, not letting his guard down.
She looked at him with amusement in her eyes and responded.
"Calm down, Natsu, I just teleport you to a more appropriate place for our duel. That is all," Selene said.
He narrowed his eyes and he was about to say something when the wind blew in his direction, bringing her aroma with it.
As soon as he sensed it, his eyes went wide, and the words that he was about to say died in his mouth.
Natsu couldn't believe it. She smelled like...
She smelled like a dragon! But that was not possible. She looked just like a human. Could it be a trick to throw him off balance and attack him?
Sniff, sniff.
He smelled the air once more and shook his head. No, that couldn't be. He still hadn't found anything that could deceive his nose.
But then how? Natsu asked himself. He didn't remember Igneel taking a human form.
"Who are you!? How can you smell like a dragon? Do you know where Ignnel is?" He asked her, clearly agitated.
If it was true, if she really was a dragon, then maybe she knew where his father was.
Selene just looked at him, the smile still on her face.
'So he can smell the dragon scent in me,' she thought.
That was interesting. It might even be an opportunity.
Still smiling, she said.
"Do you really want to know?" She asked him.
He nodded his head, without taking his eyes off her.
"Then how about a bet?" The blonde woman said.
He narrowed his eyes at her words.
"What kind of bet?" He asked her cautiously.
Selene's eyes shined with mischief.
"How about this? We fight each other. If you win, I will answer any question you have," Selene said.
He looked at her, thoughtfully.
"And if you win?" He asked her.
Her smile widened.
"Then you will let me live in your house and help me solve a little problem that I have," she responded, surprising him.
He couldn't believe what he had heard. She wanted to live with him? Why would she want that? What the hell was going on?
He tried to calm himself and think. He didn't know anything about her and inviting a complete stranger to his and Happy's house could be very dangerous, especially if she was stronger than him.
'That spell that she used on me before…'
She just waved her hand and a portal appeared under his feet! That could be dangerous. She could be very dangerous.
But his thoughts were interrupted by a teasing voice.
"What is the problem? Are you afraid? Or you don't have trust in your skills?" She said, provoking him.
"WHAT?!" He shouted, letting his magic power free and flames started to emerge from his body. She internally smiled at his reaction.
'So easy,' she thought with amusement.
"You want to go, lady!? Very well then, wish granted!" He said, as his flames grew more and more.
Selene frowned at this display of power. He was young, but the level of his power was not too bad. Still, based on the words of Igneel, she was expecting better. Far better.
Before she could think of anything else, something went flying her way.
With her hands, she caught the object and examined its identity.
It was a long, sleeveless black waistcoat. She turned her eyes at the Dragon Slayer and saw that his upper body was bare. She tilted her head in confusion.
"What are you giving me this for?" She asked him.
"Why do you think, lady?" He shouted at her. "The fight hasn't even begun and your naked body is already distracting me. In a duel it is important to begin in equal conditions," he said as if it was the most obvious thing.
Her eyes widened at his words before her laughter filled the forest.
'What a naive and adorable boy he is,' she couldn't help but think as she put on the waistcoat just to humor him. 'Maybe Igneel's plan will be more entertaining than I thought.'
Still, that kind of mindset would have to be corrected.
'He will eventually learn.'
Once she buttoned up the clothes, she asked him.
"Is this better?" She said, showing him her clothed body. He was taller than her, so the coat came down to her mid-thigh.
"Yes, now prepare yourself!" Natsu said as he charged at her.
Having closed the distance between themself, Natsu started attacking her with a series of punches and kicks covered in fire that the Moon Dragon blocked with her bare hands like it was child's play. This surprised the young man. There were not many people who could block his attack with such ease. They generally dodged it or covered their own hands with their magic.
Meanwhile, Selene just sighed at the display. She might have not been in her best condition, but she was still able to tank attacks of that caliber. 'Was this all that he had?
He was supposed to be a Dragon Slayer, so for his attacks to prove so ineffective against her was very disappointing. He would never injure a dragon, let alone slay one at this rate.
Natsu directed a blow to her head, only for Selene to grab his wrist, and throw him against a tree. Natsu's body broke the tree in half followed by several more others.
He finally landed in a clearing, not too far away from where they started.
Still lying on the ground, he grunted at the pain in his back. 'God, she is strong'. Before he could think of anything else, a portal opened above him and Selene fell on top of him, her delicate feet crushing his stomach.
"Agh!" He shouted at the pain.
Still on top of him, she said.
"Is that it?" Selene said, her voice full of disappointment.
Gritting his teeth, he breathed in before putting his hands together in front of his mouth and letting a sea of fire from his mouth.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" He shouted as the fire tried to reach his target. It was impossible to block at this distance!
Or it would have been. But Selene was not a normal foe.
Immediately after the fire appeared, she created a portal in front of her to redirect the flames. A couple of meters above them, another portal opened and through it, the flames were harmlessly expelled.
Natsu could only stare at her in wonder. In that split second that it took for his spell to reach her, she counterattacked with her own.
He had never seen someone cast magic so quickly!
Before he could regain his bearings, the blond dragon kicked him in the jaw this time, sending him once more far away.
"Agh!" He screamed once more in pain. What strength she had!
Just as he was about to land, a portal appeared before him once more, and he went right through it.
On the other side of the portal awaited Selene once more, this time with a fist aimed at his head.
"Don't think that I will let you hit me so freely!" He said as he turned around in the middle of the air and counterattacked with a fist of his own.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He shouted, striking her hand with his own.
As the two fists collide, a wave of magic arises from it, destroying their surroundings.
"AHHHH!" Shouted Natsu, putting all his power into his fist.
He would not lose! He would win this fight and make this lady tell him everything that she knew about his dad!
Feeling his power increase and watching so much resolution on his face made Selene smile for the first time since this fight started.
She genuinely thought that she would end this fight with her last attack. But not only did he react to it but he managed to send an attack of his own.
He had good instincts and excellent reflexes, even if he still lacked power.
As she was having these thoughts, she could feel how his power was growing, the heat around his fist increasing. Not nearly enough to penetrate her skin, but still...
'Maybe Igneel was right about his potential'.
Deciding that she had played enough with him, she put more magic in her fist and pushed.
Natsu opened his eyes wide in disbelief. He was losing! He couldn't lose this fight! But before he could say anything else, he heard.
"You have done nicely, better than I expected. But I think it is time to end this," she said, as her fist pushed his away before making contact with his face.
The last thing that Natsu remembered before her attack reached him was her blonde hair as the wind generated by their magic moved it at the beat of her power.
'Beautiful,' he thought before all went black.
Happy couldn't believe what he was seeing.
Once Natsu and that crazy lady disappeared, he flew from their house looking for his friend, only to find him just as that lady struck his head, winning their fight.
He could see how her fist sent his face to the ground with so much force that a crater was formed.
"Natsu!" He shouted at his friend as he rapidly descended.
Selene, after using most of the energy that she had left, fell to her knees. She started to pant from exhaustion. She was in far worse condition than she thought. She raised her head and looked at the young man currently taking a nap.
A smile started to form on her face. Well, at least she managed to acquire the means to her recovery. As she was having these thoughts, she heard a scream in the sky.
She looked up and saw the one responsible for them and blinked at the view. A blue, flying cat that started to quickly start to approach.
As the little creature landed on the pink-haired boy, she thought. 'How curious, what is an exceed doing in this dimension?'
As she was thinking this, the blue cat raised his eyes and said.
"Who are you and why did you attack Natsu?!" He yelled with tears in his eyes.
She raised an eyebrow at his question and, smiling at the little thing, she said.
"Hello little exceed, I am Selene and it looks like I will be your new roommate," she cheekily said.
Happy looked at her gaping, His new what?!
"What are you talking about lady? What do you mean by 'new roommate? And what did you just call me? My name is Happy, not exceed!" He said rapidly.
She tilted her head in confusion. Could he not know what he was? Well, not that it mattered, what was important wasn't him, but his friend. Standing up, she started to walk toward them with a little difficulty, making the cat nervous.
"Natsu and I made a bet. If he wins the fight, I will answer all his questions and if I win, he will let me live with you guys. And it looks like I won," she said as she stopped in front of them.
Happy widened his eyes in response to her words.
This lady will be living with them?! Why... No, more importantly, would the three of them even fit inside? Their house was not very large and they did not even have a bed.
So how could she...
Dread started to crawl inside him. She wouldn't try to kick him out, would she?
Trying to fix the situation, he said.
"Um, you see Miss Selene, our house is not that big and I don't think that the three of us will be able to live inside. So how about I show you a nice inn where you can sleep for the time being, how about that?" He said, giving her a shaking smile.
Ignoring his suggestion, Selene simply picked Happy up, grabbed Natsu's ankle, and dragged them in the direction of the house. Happy tried to break himself free, but after a while, he stopped struggling, realizing that it was impossible.
"I am afraid that won't be possible, little one," she responded to his proposition as she quietly continued walking, without caring that Natus's body collided with rocks and roots in the way. "You see, I need Natsu's help with something and it won't work if I am not near him," Selene said.
Happy looked at her with interest. Despite the situation that he was in, he couldn't stop his curiosity.
He just hoped that curiosity didn't kill the cat this time.
"Um, help with what? And I already told you, my name is Happy, not little one," he said, a little annoyed at being called that constantly.
The Moon Dragon looked at him in the eyes before letting a little smile and hugging him to her chest.
It was starting to get dark and she could feel that the moon was starting to come out. She started to breathe with more ease as the light of the moon fell on them.
"Haaa," she let out a sigh as she felt how his body started to recover its energy.
She heard a cough and she looked at Happy, who was glancing at her, waiting for her to respond to his question. She could also note that he was worried for his friend.
"Don't worry Happy," she responded with a friendly voice. "I don't mean any harm to your friend," she could feel his body relax a little at her words. "As for what I need, I will tell you after I talk with Mister Comatose over here," she said, glancing behind her at the dragon slayer's body.
Outside of the wounds that she provoked him, he looked fine, despite all the rocks and other things lying on the floor of the forest. It was to be expected, after all the body of a Dragon Slayer was tougher than most.
Happy just looked at her for a few more seconds before relaxing in her embrace. She didn't look like she was lying. He just hoped that he wasn't wrong.
A comfortable silence reigned while they completed the journey to Happy, Natsu, and now Selene's home.
She opened the door once more and she just looked at the mess in silence. 'This won't do,' she thought.
Letting go of Natsu's ankle, she looked at Happy and, giving him a sly smile, asked.
"Do you happen to know how close the nearest town is?" She said.
The blue cat tilted his head at the question before he answered.
The rays of the sun invaded the house through the window, waking Natsu from his dreams.
Natsu squeezed his eyes shut, turning his body to the other side, and hugged his pillow, trying to regain his sleep. It was still too early for him.
He was dreaming that he was fighting a beautiful and powerful blonde lady when the damn sun woke him up.
He was squeezing his face against his pillow, feeling comfortable when his entire body went stiff.
'Wait a minute,' he thought.
He remembered that he didn't have a pillow. Or a bed for that matter.
He had a hammock that was on the opposite side of the window, so this whole situation was just wrong.
Opening his eyes he looked at the pillow and realized that it was not a pillow at all. They were the breasts of the beautiful lady he was dreaming about. The beautiful girl was looking at him right now with an amused yet sleepy smile.
"Good morning Natsu, are you comfortable?" she asked.
"Waa!" He shouted, letting her go and jumping off the bed. He landed on the floor on his two feet and, blushing, he pointed at her while saying, "What the hell, lady, what are you doing in my be—" he started asking when he realized that it wasn't his bed because he didn't have one. So where did it come from?
He looked around him and what he saw left him speechless. This was his house... but it was different.
For starters, his hammock was gone. Instead, there was a huge bed just below the window.
All his possessions looked to be stored on shelves when he remembered they were on the floor. And speaking off the floor...
It was clean, there were no strange stains or dust on it. All his clothes were in a closet that he also didn't remember having. The air was clear of any smell of sweat and smoke that filled it before.
In other words, he barely recognized his room.
He hadn't inspected the rest of the house, but he suspected that it was in a similar state.
He turned around and looked at the woman with whom he was sleeping.
"What have you done to my houuu...?" He meant to ask, but he trailed off at the vision before him.
Selene was stretching her body with her eyes closed, raising her arms in the air and unintentionally revealing the rest of her body. He hadn't realized before when he was hugging her, but she was naked.
She was as naked as the day he met her, but this time he could really look at her carefully. Blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. A voluptuous body that could put even the most beautiful lady in his guild to shame. Pink eyes and lips of the same color as the petals of the Sakura tree.
'She is probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,' he thought, completely captivated by the woman in front of him.
When she finished stretching, she opened her eyes and looked at him. She smiled at the trance that his host was in while looking at her body.
"Like what you see?" She asked him, breaking his daze. She then looked down at his body and smiled. "The young ones are definitely the best..." she said, biting her lips. He looked at her in confusion before following her gaze and widening his eyes. He was also naked, and... well, he had just woken up so...
"...since they are so healthy," she finished saying.
All the stress accumulated after all the events of yesterday – finishing a difficult job, finding a complete stranger sleeping in his house, meeting a possible dragon, getting his ass kicked by said dragon – finally reached their boiling point with her final words.
Honestly, it would have been even stranger if he didn't have a reaction after all of that.
In the forest, the animals were slowly waking up and starting their day. The morning was warm, the sky was clear...
"Kyaaa!"
...And a certain Dragon Slayer was screaming like an embarrassed little girl.
Not paying any attention to it, the animals of the forest just continued with their lives. Not realizing that in a house nearby, two people who were destined to change the continent were beginning to meet each other... in the most embarrassing way possible.
Hoped you like it.