I don't usually put notes before the chapter, but some housecleaning needs to be done. At the end of the first fic I wrote, there was a note concerning a sequel that some folks following my profile might be waiting for. Remember, I also mentioned taking a break from Naruto in general. That story was long, drawn out, and burned me out for a minute. The sequel will come, just after this story.
Anyone who's here to actually read this story...enjoy. Or not. I won't tell you what to do.
Chapter 1: A Demon Dancing with Fairies
The gentle sloshing of a calm, modest river gleamed with the brilliant light of the sun that hung high in the air. Warm heat of the midday blanketed him, a gentle breeze caressed him, and the soft songs of nature serenaded him as his body held perfectly still at the water's bank. The water was so clear that his eyes didn't need to strain themselves to see the bed that sat no deeper than four feet beneath the water's surface. It made his searching easy; it made the sheen of blue and silver scales that would jut this way and that as they glided smoothly with the current obvious to the boy. He didn't jolt at any and every fish that darted before him, that would be a waste of time and energy reserved for less practiced hands, and instead waited for the perfect fish that swam too close to the bank he was squatting upon. Toes dug into the soft soil, clenching subconsciously to grip the grass and dirt as his hand dug into the water in a single sharp thrust. Water splashed upward, dappling his face and painting his bare upper arm in moisture as fingers gripped tightly around slick scales and a coiled body. Retrieving the limb, fingers were stalwart under the pressure of a flailing body that flicked water onto fair skin further. It was a dance that was danced all too shortly, however, with a burst of flames erupting from the hand and halting all movement within the fish. Flames pluming outward in a burst of crimson with streaks of yellows and oranges enveloped the fish for a single moment only to dissipate as quickly as it appeared, leaving only a charred fish in its place with meat fully cooked beneath the sooty scales.
Those flames, the flames that reflected off of dark eyes through the bright daylight, always bathed him in a warmth that was unmatched by any other. It wasn't the warmth that wrinkled the skin or dried the flesh, but rather a warmth that gripped his mind and soul in a peace that couldn't be found anywhere else. The fire that he wielded was the one of two things that his mind clung to when he woke up so long ago. He didn't know where he came from, he didn't know where he was, he definitely didn't know where he was going, but he did know that he wielded the power of his crimson flames, and he knew his name. Other than those two things, Natsu Dragneel was simply chasing glimpses and flashes of the life he held before he woke up in a place not dissimilar to what surrounded him now. All he knew was to try and piece together who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Neither of those things mattered in the here and now as Natsu fell back out of his squat and into a seat on the ground by the stream as he ate. Simple pleasures never needed complex problems.
His eyes scanned across his surroundings as he bit into the fish in his hand with vigor. Leaves danced in the wind with each other amongst the trees that sat several yards removed from the riverbank that was a near mirror of the land on Natsu's side of the gentle stream before him. He's been here before. His eyes were keener than most, but he could not identify these trees and these leaves in a way that stood out to the thousands of other sites that sat before him in much the same way. His ears were sharper than many others, but they couldn't pick up a sound or rhythm that couldn't be found elsewhere. His nose was more sensitive than plenty, but the scent that wafted into his nose, though pleasant and calming, couldn't be used to identify where he was. What Natsu did have was a feeling. It wasn't a traditional sense that people had, or at least he thought it wasn't, and one shouldn't confuse the feeling with that of the sense of touch. No, this feeling was simply other. When something bad lay before him, the feeling came in a pit that weighed within his stomach, when someone meant to do him harm from the shadows the feeling came in a shiver down his spine, and when he felt a sense of familiarity there was a hum that reverberated in his chest. Perhaps some would describe Natsu's feeling as intuition, but he knew better.
Natsu ate his fish in peace, letting the nature around him dance its dance as he took a break from his travels. Legs extended before him, tattered and stained fabric that covered his legs swaying with the grass it laid in, and arms propped behind him bare except for the wrappings that covered the right up to the elbow, Natsu was at peace. That wasn't always the case. Either he followed conflict or conflict followed him. It didn't matter which way it went, but there were times when he simply basked in the peace around him. He didn't have to worry about who was out there plotting what, nor did he have to let the flashes of the past send him marching toward the next town or settlement looking for answers. It was just Natsu Dragneel and the world that surrounded him. Or, it could have been had his stomach not filled with what could only be described as hot lead pooling within him in a violent churning. On instinct, Natsu's head snapped to look over his shoulder in a direction that was displayed with dense brush and the shadows of small critters near the ground that thought to inspect the intruder of their home.
Demon. His mind supplied instantly. If there was anyone to ask him how he knew or what told him as much, there wouldn't be an answer Natsu could give them. He simply had a feeling. Sucking air in through his nostrils, filling his lungs with one last calming breath, Natsu leapt to his feet in a single fluid movement that sent the old, ragged brown cloak around him into a snapping motion before it settled around his form and the chained locket around his neck thump on his chest from the explosive motion. No sooner than when he reached his feet did Natsu fall into a sprint that followed the trail Natsu's feeling led him, his eyes focused forward and his blood boiling beneath his skin in a way that was all too familiar.
Fighting was at the heart of his being. It didn't matter if he liked it or not. When he was just a kid, he woke up to a world unfamiliar, in woods similar to those he sped through with bounding steps and heavy footfalls that let his calloused soles sink into the soft soil and grass below. No matter how hard he looked, Natsu couldn't find what he was looking for. No matter how long he sat and pondered, he couldn't remember what it was he was missing or should be looking for. Black hair, a soft smile, and draping fabrics of black and white would scurry past his mind's eye but never lingering long enough to grace him with substance that he could use. In the years since, Natsu wandered where his senses carried him. He searched for what he was missing, for what left him all alone, and all he's found are those that meant to do harm. Be it cultists, savages, or acolytes of beings that were summoned from books with blood and ritual, Natsu always stumbled into them and always fought his way out. Words of the past, muffled and haunting, would linger in his mind as he did, but would leave him just as alone as he always was when he was finished.
This time would likely be the same.
Breaths came in forced bursts as his legs pushed endlessly against the ground below him, carrying him out of the grove he rested and into a field that quickly thickened into a forest once again as the sun fell from its perch and toward the far-off horizon. The fire that flowed beneath the skin burned hotter as Natsu drew closer. The feeling that carried him here grew more intense, and it was soon that Natsu could put a name on what the feeling was telling him. Zeref. The name rolled through his mind with well-worn familiarity. If there was a demon to be fought, chances were that it was a creation of the Black Wizard, the most infamous dark mage the land of Fiore had ever known. Four hundred years gone and yet the monstrosities of his work taint the land in the forms of his own created demons that mages of ill-repute sacrifice everything around them, and somewhere along the line themselves, to free with the intent to cause the most destruction imaginable. On occasion, given the right set of circumstances, natural demons, beings born of this world as the nature around him was, can succumb to urges of destruction. Still, Natsu's found those experiences few and far between when placed in the same breath as a demon from the Books of Zeref.
When his feet finally halted beneath him, black eyes didn't need to search for what caused such a foul stench in the air or what made the feeling set every nerve in his body alight. It towered above the trees many times over, leaning over itself to look upon the ground before it. A head of curled horns turned upward attempted to scrape the sky with every movement the demon made, the face beneath it was gnarled and savage with spiked points at the cheekbones, nose, and chin, and even more spikes rose across the demon's shoulder width and down its arms. A hulking chest surrounded by matching capped shoulders separated into strong, rigid tendrils before coming together with their lower halves, leaving nothing but a gaping hole in the demon's torso. Tendrils twisted into strong forearms and massive hands just as the upper body was connected to the similarly stout lower body that allowed clear view through the connecting gaps. A black haze hung over the grand stature like a menacing cloak of the shepherd of the dead, one that matched the foul stench that filled Natsu's nose.
The stink of death. He was sure of it. He's smelled death too many times to assume otherwise, and only once was necessary for such a stink to linger in his mind. It was magic crafted to kill, and while Natsu only viewed the right profile of the beast, peering through the branches above him as he remained hidden from the clearing that the demon and its targets rested within, he still knew who that magic belonged to. "Lullaby," he whispered just loud enough for the air before him to drown in the word, but no further. It was another question of his existence that remained unanswered but one he didn't have the time to ponder in the here and now. The question of how simply drifting into the background of his mind.
Lullaby straightened suddenly, a groan emanating from the sturdy body that moved with clear intention. A grin played at Natsu's lips at the sound. If all of the trees that surrounded Natsu slowly collapsed to the ground, the timber growling in the movements unnatural to its structure, he was sure it would match Lullaby's own movements. A lumbering mass of wood proved well for the fire that burned beneath Natsu's flesh, but the growing haze of black magic removed any thoughts of confidence that would distract him. He didn't need to focus on the dulling leaves, wilting flowers, or fading grass that paid for Lullaby's growing power with the life that flowed through them. Time was already short.
Natsu shoved forward, breaking through the line of trees that he stayed behind to enter the clearing that accommodated a wide space of well-kept land. He saw the grand building that sat within the demon's shadow opposite to him, he felt the gazes of those gathered far off to his own right, but Natsu only focused on the mountain of wood and the three glowing purple eyes that sat at its top. Crimson flames ignited in his palms, crawling up toward his forearms with a bright intensity until they growled louder than the demon's body groaned. Only when Natsu jumped and his yell ripped through his throat to echo loudly in the air, did the demon finally acknowledge his being there, but it was too late. The spell sat at Natsu's lips before the demon's turning right shoulder could clear all three of Lullaby's eyes from Natsu's path. It was the demon's booming voice that sounded first, reverberating through the air and rumbling through Natsu's own chest as he flew toward the massive being.
"And who dares approach me so boldly? I am Lullaby! A demon of the Books of Zeref! No mere human dares to simply attack and think to live through it." Lullaby's wooden face moved rigidly and creased immensely to accommodate the disgust the demon clearly showed for Natsu. The air was thick around Lullaby, the dark magic that clung to its titanic frame only growing through the demon's frustrations, but Natsu made no move to slow his approach. In fact, the resolve within the man only grew as one of Lullaby's great fists drove through the air with wind growling across its surface as it made to swat Natsu from the air as he would a fly.
It was a well-worn dance for him. Be it man, demon, monster, or something in between, Natsu felt as if he saw it all. The size of the fist, the title of what stood before him, the magic that coated the demon, none of it was alien. With flames flaring off of his arms, the momentum of his leaping charge could be shifted far and swift enough to evade the lumbering punch from the demon. Extending his magic further, Natsu raised his flaming arms above him to gather the crimson, orange, and yellow tails of flame into a gathering sphere of intense heat that growled in activity. The sun was still shining in the hours of the late-afternoon, or early-evening, but the display of light and heat that Natsu created almost acted as a slight to the sky-bound fixture as it continued to grow in Natsu's grasp. As his mouth opened, a magic seal of a deep red flared into life in front of the man.
"Fire Demon's Infernal Blaze!" The words tore through Natsu's throat with little gentleness and even less hesitation. As he spoke the words, the large ball of flames in his hands was thrown forward, through the magic seal and directly into the body of the demon before him. Despite leaving his grasp, Natsu's spell only grew as it flew and retained every bit of control as it did when he held it. Only when the sphere contacted the massive demon did it detonate in a glory of flames bursting in every which direction. Only, it wasn't simply left at that. The blaze that he created wasn't merely a detonating explosion bundled with unbridled raw power. A demon's flames were much too greedy for such a thing. As heated tendrils of flame exploded from the epicenter of the attack, infernos sprouted across Lullaby's wooden surface at every point the flames drew too close. Instead of simply dying away, the fire latched onto the demon and ate at the body of Lullaby gluttonously.
There was no need for further action. Natsu knew that all too well. Lullaby, though imposing in size and intimidating in look, was a weak demon by any measure. Gifted with a song that could slay any who heard it, Lullaby was granted little else by Zeref in his creation of it. As the flames spread across the demon's wooden flesh, there was naught it could do except swipe at its pains and howl through its agony.
And howl it did.
In the world of magic, there were many flames for many things. Flames could heal, flames could grasp and cling, flames could even freeze should you look hard enough, but most flames were there to simply destroy. Natsu's flames were especially made to destroy. Though he knew not from where, Natsu did know that his were the fires of a demon. A wicked, tainted flame that was made for the specific purpose to slay a demon where it stood. It was the flame of a Demon Slayer. Skin augmented to dispel the heated lick of a burn, lungs vulcanized to expel a demonic rage, and a stomach hardened to digest even the hottest embers. He needed little and less of his gifts to handle Lullaby, however, as his flames themselves quickly grew from its single explosion to a grand display of heat that had fully enveloped Lullaby.
"AAHHH! WHO DARES–?! WHAT ARE YOU?!" The three eyes of Lullaby focused on Natsu through the blazing fires, bursts of purple in a sea of red, orange, and yellow. Natsu's feet landed on the ground before the demon, keeping his back to those that still remained in the clearing. He didn't even think to answer the question that echoed through the sky, preferring to simply watch the shadowed frame of the demon within the flames that only burned broader and brighter shrink under the ravenous embers. When Lullaby's feet grew more unstable, earth-shaking steps carried the demon toward the grand building he stood next to. It was squared with three floors at its bulk under a steep roof that was eclipsed by the towers that rose from each of the building's corners. Fine decorations trimmed the perimeters of the dark wooden building and around each window and door, a building with importance to be sure, but none of that mattered when the flaming bulk of Lullaby's body fell into it.
Gasps and murmurs rolled through those that stood near the treeline behind him, likely the pedestrians that were using the hall before the demon came stomping through, but Natsu didn't turn to them. Instead, his focus was on the flames that began to mount their assault on the rubble and debris that Lullaby now bathed in. Taking a deep breath, Natsu walked toward the growing bonfire that was quickly sprouting before him, his eyes on the quickly disappearing frame of Lullaby. Had he not been looking for it, the demon slayer may have missed the subtle glow that followed the quick disappearance. He didn't however, and it made it clear that it was time to put an end to it. A hand pushed through the tattered brown cloak draped over his shoulders and a bandaged appendage ghosted over Natsu's view of the fire in a silent hover. Just like that, at a single beckon of its creator, the flames died without so much as a single ember left unsnuffed.
When he came to the entrance caved into the building's side, bursting into what was likely a nice gathering hall only moments ago, Natsu saw the book laying amongst the rubble. Most would have likely skimmed over it, not passing a single thought to the book that lay among stone, lumber, and ashes. Natsu felt as if his eyes were locked on the untouched leatherbound book that flatly lay closed on an angled piece of broken wood. One would think, given how the book was laying, that there would be pages wafting between open covers as gravity influenced the book open, but the volume of Zeref's library remained unmoved. He had meant to take continuing steps forward, to see if he couldn't grasp the tome that lay before him, but before his first step could be taken there was a rippled burst of magic that came from the book before it was bathed in black magic. In a singular moment, the pitch black layer of magic over the book went from emanating a threatening aura to simply not existing at all. Where the book previously laid upon the cracked wooden beam was empty and the taint of the black magic was gone. Another one that simply vanished before him.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" The shout came from an obviously angered voice that grew in volume as more words were yelled at Natsu. If the words weren't enough of a give away, the spike in magic from his right and the kicking footfalls across the ground would have warned him plenty of the incoming attack. The tingling that ran down his spine, aggression and fury targeted at him prodding at his mind and body, was as unnecessary as it was comforting to the man as his body primed itself for more fighting. His left foot kicked into the ground with intensity and an explosion of flames trailing from it, one that carried him backward a dozen yards and out of the way of the initial charge from the shouting voice. Natsu's feet weren't granted any peace when his soles landed on flattened ground that was compressed by Lullaby's heavy mass, ground that was cold to the touch against calloused skin.
"Ice Make: Floor!" A calmer, deeper voice came from what was now in front of Natsu, his body facing the group of people that were there before he entered the battlefield and the group that his initial attacker came from. In a flash, the ground between Natsu and his attackers was covered in a sheet of gleaming ice that found itself between the demon slayer and the ground below. Again, Natsu's feet left the ground in a leap. This time, it was straight up that his body was carried into a backflip that saw the mouth of Natsu facing directly down at the sheet of ice below.
"Fire Demon's Rage!" From his open mouth, a torrent of crimson flame followed Natsu's grating voice and poured over the icy ground in a perfect stream. As his feet continued to swing and fall back toward the ground, the stream of flames continued to flow up the length of the iced surface and toward the gathered mages that sat at its other side. Only when the ice melted in its entirety, and the outpour of fire tickled at the feet of his attackers, Natsu clamped his mouth closed and landed on the ground with his knees bent under him. His eyes met the dark pair of the ice user who had his fist buried in its opposing palm with frost cascading around it, but the man made no show to move. The women that stood on either side of the ice mage looked on relatively unmoving and the rest of the people that populated the clearing still mingled by the treeline far behind his attackers. A simple enough get away by his standards.
A feminine growl that matched the shouting voice from earlier sprouted from Natsu's left a moment after a tingling sensation enveloped his left side, ghosting a touch that wasn't there. Natsu's head turned to see a golden clawed hand fashioned with long, savage nails wrapped in a magic dyed deep purple flying toward him with a snarling face following behind it. The magic only covered the right forearm of the woman before transitioning back to pale skin that was only a few shades darker than the mass of stark white hair that was pulled into a high ponytail. The magic was familiar to him. Too familiar. It wasn't a magic that was shared with Lullaby, but Natsu knew a demon's magic when he felt it. With a lean of his body, Natsu let the fist just miss the left side of his abdomen and overextend before him. In a flash, a fist of crimson flames shot out and gripped that extended arm with an audible hiss of burning flesh following suit. Natsu's foot violently lashed at the woman's stepping shin, tripping her as he pried the offending arm to fold behind her own back as she fell. When all was settled, his knee was pushed heavily into the woman's back and his burning hand tightly gripping the augmented arm as he glared at the rest of the mages.
The ice mage stood as he was, fist in palm and his body rigid and oddly half bare with a shirt laying near his widened feet. Near black hair that matched his pants drifted idly in the gentle breeze of the early evening, but that was all on the man that moved as his eyes flickered between Natsu and the woman pinned beneath him. On the ice mage's left stood a woman considerably less resolute in her place half a step behind him, brown eyes showing a fear and concern that was out of place on a field of battle. However, seeing the woman grip the ring of keys that dangled from a leather belt over a blue short skirt, Natsu would guess that she wasn't a fighter anyway. The tight white top with blue fabric lining its perimeter was stainless on the woman's body, not a single blonde hair out of place, and even the whip at her side remained tightly bundled together as it dangled opposite to the large, shining keys. No, she didn't wear any evidence of fighting, nor did she show any hints in changing that here and now, but the same couldn't be said about the woman on the other side of the ice mage.
"Let her go. Now." A stern, demanding voice came from beneath an equally stern glower of a hardened pair of brown eyes. Scarlet locks of hair fell between the eyes, mostly obscuring the right eye of the woman, but that didn't distract from her commanding presence by any means. To demand when Natsu held her teammate in a compromising position, even when he surged his magic to incite a muffled growl of pain from beneath him, was more telling than anything else could have been. A breastplate, gauntlets, and spaulders protected the woman's upper body and a pair of swords appeared to fill each hand without so much as a word of command for the magic. Even if there was only a dark blue skirt and a pair of greaves and sabatons to protect her lower body, Natsu knew that she would be a challenge. He could always tell. Those who boasted the loudest tended to hold the dimmest candle when the fighting came, those that were reserved as the ice mage was presented a varying degree of skill that was usually significantly more than a boaster, but those that could manage a command when at a disadvantage had to wield a certain confidence in their battle prowess for good reason.
Narrowing his eyes at the scarlet haired woman, Natsu thought about his next action. These were likely the mages that summoned Lullaby, they were the closest ones here and the Books of Zeref never opened themselves up, and yet it was their associate beneath him that drew their attention more than anything. Over the years of encountering zealots of Zeref just like this, never has Natsu found himself in this position. He could simply get up, free the thrashing woman beneath him, and remove himself from the situation. No more fighting needed to be had. But if they didn't want a fight they wouldn't have summoned Lullaby. They wouldn't have attacked the moment they saw me. His mind made, the flaming hand on the woman's wrist below him tightened as he began to inhale a sharp breath, a breath that was immediately interrupted by a voice that seemed to call from just behind the trio before Natsu but there was nothing to be seen once it snatched his attention.
"I think that will be enough, won't it? There's no reason for people on the same side of things to fight over nonsense and misunderstandings." The voice was deep, aged, and utterly carefree as it drew closer bit by bit. Yet, as close as it was, there was still nothing to be seen from Natsu's position, though it wasn't necessary. As strong as those that could command an enemy on a battlefield were found to be, those that were wholly unfazed was another matter entirely. At first, Natsu released the woman beneath him for the sake of readying himself for whomever spoke through the wind, but there was clearly little to ready himself as the voice was joined by its owner.
Despite the voice coming from their side of the field, Natsu wasn't alone in his shock at the interruption. All three of the mages standing before him jumped at the kindly old man voice, with a less than capable mage beneath him relaxing beneath the knee pinned on her back. Whether that was from the removal of his hand or the introduction of the newcomer, Natsu didn't know or try to solve it. Instead, his focus was on the figure that was revealed when the ice mage took a step to his left toward the blonde mage. Immediately, the confusion of the disembodied voice was solved when the stunted man standing a few inches short of four feet walked forward with a broad, warm smile stretched beneath a bushy white mustache. Wrinkles bore through the skin on the man's face and the flesh seen on the hands poking from long sleeves, the top of the head was bald with a crown of white spikes of hair around it, and the gaze that was turned to Natsu bore years too many to count then and there. Still, despite the obvious age that the man held, the strength was undeniable. A smile was shown, but there was a strong resolve in the way the man's eyes remained unmoved from Natsu, the way his face around his smile was still as stone to display the strong brow, chin, and cheek bones that lay beneath the age, and the way his hands gently intertwined with themselves in front of him. Aside from the dark pants and boots that showed underneath, the fine coat draped over the old man's shoulders was the only piece of clothing that could be seen. A golden mantle adorned the man's shoulders that covered, and easily fell into, fine white fabric extending the length of the man's arms and just past his knees. Around the wrists, about the hem, and up the loosely separated front panels of the coat to bend around its collar was plush white fur that was unstained and unfettered. It was far from a plain coat, one that boasted a certain stature that Natsu hadn't the ability to place but one that was seen by the golden clasps that kept the coat on the elder man's neck and the blue medallion that hung off of his left breast. A single line of yellow surrounded by a deep blue hung from the coat's fine shell to show off a dark blue, almost midnight, medallion that held what looked similar to a compass rose on its surface as the dying light behind Natsu's back glimmered brightly off of it.
"Now, how about you free my mage from under your knee and we can talk about this properly, hmm?" The voice remained calm, it remained relatively joyous, but Natsu had an inkling that the statement was more so a command than it was a suggestion. Eyes bore into him with a weight that should have been impossible from an angle beneath Natsu, despite him being on a knee. For a moment, the demon slayer considered simply remaining where he was, but that precious moment was broken by his better judgment. Magical pressure, usually, was a tool used by mages to size each other up. Displaying how much magic one could idly discharge was a good indicator of how much raw power they held, even if that rarely translated to fighting ability. Yet, the elderly man hadn't flexed his magic once, not even when his first announcement hung in the air, and yet Natsu felt the man's magic easily enough. Titanic. That was the only word that came to mind as a web of tingles and feelings rolled through the slayer's body and the locket and chain around his neck seemed to grow ever-denser as it freely hung off his forward-angled body.
Natsu, ever so carefully, raised himself from the mage's back below him. A groan, or growl, came from the woman, but Natsu didn't address it. Even as the woman rose from the ground, standing tall only inches from him with a glare leveled at the side of his face, Natsu didn't dare remove his eyes from those of the old man. As keen as his focus was, however, Natsu couldn't brace himself well enough for the words that followed his cooperation of the old man's words.
"Good man. Now, let me introduce myself." Without a single tone of caution or glance of warning, the old man walked forward a few more paces as the woman put as much distance between herself and Natsu as she could and held out his small arm and hand at Natsu. "My name is Makarov Dreyer. I am the master of Fairy Tail and of the mages that you see before you. Let me extend our gratitude for removing Lullaby for us."
Whatever weight was in the old man's eyes, whatever threat lay beneath the surface of his words, all of it was gone instantly. Now, standing before Natsu and reaching just above his waist, was a truly jolly old man that extended a hand of greeting. Dark, hesitant eyes stared at the hand, inspecting the wrinkles that covered the surface as if they would show him a secret hidden within them. There had been those over the years that extended hands to him. They are few in number and most had been in the most recent of times, but there were instances that Natsu could recall nonetheless. None of them, not a single one, was in mere greeting. None of them showed to be in genuine good faith as this one seemed to be. No promises, no grand plans, not even a suggestion thrown his way. It was new. So new, in fact, that he simply missed his chance. The old man pulled back his hand moments later, but a frown had yet to reach his face when Natsu found himself out of his mild bewilderment.
"I would like to know the name of the man that saved my mages a lot of hassle and the land much damage." Again, Natsu was looking at the warm grin on the old man's face and the bright white teeth that snuck through separating lips. What is my name? The thought came without genuine questioning. He knew his name, among the few other things about himself, but he hadn't been asked of it in too long. Another name followed him with a title following close by, neither of which were asked for. The question drew another pause, one born from Natsu's lack of participation once again, but this time the man, Makarov Dreyer, waited patiently for his response as seconds stretched comfortably into minutes.
"Natsu." It came in almost a whisper. When not shouting spells, Natsu didn't use his voice much. It'd been too long since he had anyone to talk with. He knew he spoke to the Black Haired Man, but he didn't remember their conversations. Only the echoes of the Man reached his ears every once in a while. His name was spoken thickly with tension in the throat that it came from, so much so that Natsu couldn't be sure how well it was heard until Makarov spoke again.
"Natsu," he began with a soft smile on his face, "a fitting name for a mage of your sort, I'd say." More than once, Natsu thought much the same. His name meant summer and fit quite well with the magic he wielded. Was that a coincidence? Had it been what led to him becoming a fire mage? Who could say? "Tell me, Natsu, where were you headed before you stumbled on our misadventure, my boy? Perhaps we could aid you in some way as a form of payment for your help."
No more than a moment after Makarov's offer were there three distinct voices that clearly displayed their dislike of the offer. A sword cut through the air in an iron grip as the knight made her disagreement known, the rough sounds of the shirtless ice mage's voice joined the knight's immediately, and the woman that was just within Natsu's grasp had her own declarations with significantly more vigor than her companions. The blonde seemed to remain silent as she fell to the background of the discussion, her eyes darted to everyone within the immediate area without any intention to intervene. Input aside, Natus didn't have much to make of the question. Where was he going? That was kind of the question that always followed him. Where can I go when there's nowhere to be? Another silence was poised to reign over their gathering, but before there was a chance for it to truly take hold there was another call that announced yet another newcomer to the odd stalemate Natsu found himself in.
"In the name of the Magic Council, I order all of you to halt!" A strong, unyielding echo burst through the clearing from behind the mages in front of Natsu. Heads and bodies turned to look at the source of the call, dragging their attention to the mouth of the path that led from a nearby town to the clearing they stood within. It wasn't a wide path, holding no more than seven or eight people shoulder to shoulder on its soft dirt surface before falling into thick blankets of grass and ruffage. Yet, when that slim path was filled by lines and lines of men in matching uniform, that path becomes quite formidable.
White hats that came to a point on each of their heads, folds of the white fabric extending to their own flaring points on either side like a flower's bulb unfolding in the early spring. White cloaks were clasped around each neck of a standing man within the path, the fabric pooling around their necks and climbing into a wide high collar. A sleeveless gambeson fell over red sleeved tunics and baggy white trousers to display a ringed cross on a light blue field. It was the uniform of the Rune Knights of the Magic Council, a uniform that was joined by a long red staff that stood above most of the men that carried them with a bright blue crystal adorning the staff heads. Leading the contingent of Rune Knights was a man that wore a similar cloak as the Knights, nix the high collar, but underneath the cloak was a dark blue coat lined with light purple up its seam and over its fastenings. A tight-fitting light blue shirt underneath the coat bore a black version of the ringed cross before the shirt was tucked into belted white pants.
The man that led the Rune Knights wore a rigid expression on a sharp face as he walked toward the gathered mages. His black hair was pulled into a knot near the top of his head, but the locks of hair that fell on either side of his face rocked and swayed with every strong step as lenses over his eyes glared back the sharp light of the setting sun as he approached. Following the man's lead, the Rune Knights filled in the clearing, though with much more vigor. No less than three score of men moved to surround them on the three sides that weren't blocked by the smoking building that sat to Natsu's left. Suddenly, the simple battlefield between the demon and its slayer was saturated with bodies that turned their attention to Natsu almost exclusively.
While Natsu didn't have an extensive understanding of the Rune Knights that now surrounded him, the demon slayer knew better than to consider them allies in the stalemate he found himself in. Any time he encountered the men bearing the Magic Council's symbol, they always demanded Natsu to be contained and chained for one reason or another. He knew they weren't the same as the dark mages he would fight against, but he trusted the men no more than he would a mage that sought blood to revive another of Zeref's creations. Although, as he found himself now, Natsu was finding narrower and narrower windows of escape. Something large, something fast, and something to give him enough time to put space between himself and everyone here.
"Ah, Lahar. It is about time you've made it here, though I fear the problem has already been taken care of. My friend Natsu here slayed Lullaby before your timely arrival." Makarov spoke with joy in his voice, but not in the same way as he spoke to Natsu just moments before. A certain flatness flowed through the old man's voice, one that was caught by the black-haired Lahar who walked through the gaps provided by the Rune Knights to allow him to join Natsu and the mages of Fairy Tail. The leader's gloved hand rose to push the frames of his glasses up his face quickly before a scoff shot through his throat.
"We are not friends, Saint Dreyer. Your guild is nothing more than a headache for the Magic Council, but that is not why I'm here. Not yet." A rigid and icy glare was sent from Lahar's eyes to every one of the Fairy Tail mages and returned just as quickly, albeit with some confusion from the blonde woman, before Lahar turned his attention to Natsu. "And I'm afraid you're mistaken on another matter, as I've come just in time. Lullaby may be gone, but there is one more pest here. By my authority as Head Captain within the Magic Council's 3rd Contingent, I order the rogue mage by the titles of the Wandering Demon of Fiore, the Akuma, to be taken into custody of the Magic Council."
Dark eyes were unmoving once they met Natsu's own, the man clearly confident in his orders being administered with or without Natsu's cooperation. The crystalline heads of each staff around the demon slayer glowed without care of the mages that were in between Natsu and a number of the Rune Knights. His hands twitched at his side, fire surged beneath his skin with a growl echoing within his mind, and the cold metal of the locket around his neck only solidified Natsu's resolve. The muscles through his legs tightened, preparing to leap just as his hands fled to utilize the flames that roared within his flesh. A burning sensation bathed the surface of Natsu's right arm under the wrappings that remained undisturbed even after the spell he used against Lullaby. All that was needed was a spark through the silence to send the field into a burst of flames.
"You have no authority for such things, Lahar." Makarov's voice was as hard as stone, though still sharp enough to cut through the tension that stretched across moments of silence without issue. Lahara sent a glance to Makarov, not betraying any obvious emotion aside from the annoyance that seemed forever painted on his face. Makarov continued without Lahar directly responding to the rebuttal. "You call him a rogue mage, but I just accepted the boy to join my own guild moments before you arrived with my own witnesses here to hear it all. Isn't that right, children?"
Makarov hadn't needed to even look or urge a response from three of the mages from his guild, with the blonde following along closely thereafter. Natsu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the side of the old man's short-standing head. By the time he realized the error of his glance, Makarov had already met Natsu's gaze with thinly veiled amusement. "And we Fairy Tail mages stand by our own. Don't we, Natsu?"
He hadn't much experience in talking himself out of situations, in all honesty. In fact, it was probably safe to say he hadn't much experience talking to many people at all. Yet, even in his lacking experience, Natsu knew there was only one correct answer here. If he denied Makarov's story, he'd be taken in by the Rune Knights around them and likely the Fairy Tail mages along with them. What else could he truly do?
"Yes." Natsu didn't know what his face did as he answered Makarov Dreyer, but he knew it wasn't the gleaming smile or mad cackle that the old man proudly displayed at the answer. The fire was forced down into a calm flow with Natsu, heat cooling in his right arm, and he almost didn't realize it when his fingers wrapped around the locket on his chest protectively in the wake of his decision.
"Words can either be as weightless as wind or as sturdy as stone. Make sure that when you speak, Natsu, there is an importance that follows." The voice was more delicate than a whisper as it echoed within the back of his mind, the delicate flap of draping cloth following close behind as an image of black and white flashed behind his eyes. His grip tightened on the locket around his neck before limply falling to his side as the clearing became empty again aside from the gathered mages around him and those that still stood gathered near the tree line behind the Fairy Tail mages.
Natsu had a feeling everything was about to change.
I wrote this at the end of summer, I wanted to get a good backlog of chapters done first. I got about 100k words done with this already, so we're cooking with gas. With my last story, I updated every three days for a whole ass year. Not doing that again. Fridays will be our days together and there will likely be the occasional double upload week when I'm feeling antsy. However, nothing will stop that once a week. We go until we're done.
or I go until I'm done. This may be something that 0 people read. That'd be hilarious.