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kofi.c om (slash) christopherdragkrow

Normal POV

Light loosely filtered in through Natsu's eyelids, returning his sight and his other senses followed shortly after. The feeling of the rocky surface under him felt somewhat uncomfortable, but it wasn't something he wasn't used to. His body felt quite sore, but all the pain was gone, as if his fight with Acnologia had been nothing more but a dream, but the tattered clothes and the blood stains told him otherwise.

Though that all begged the question,

Where on Earthland was he?

His nostrils suddenly caught the sweet aroma of blueberries which he had come to love coming closer and closer towards him and not even a few seconds later, Kei entered his line of vision, with a beautiful smile adorned on her face.

"Natsu…you're awake!" she immediately dashed towards him before pulling the Dragon Prince into a hug, one which he returned without any hesitation. It felt like such a long time since he last held her like this without needing to worry about anything. No guild-related events, no fights against enemies from the future, and most importantly of all, no dragons.

All they had now was nothing but pure and unconditional love for each other.

"How long was I out for?" Natsu mumbled softly as Kei hummed, "About a few hours. Leila was the one who healed you so we assumed you would have woken up a bit later, guess we were wrong about that."

"I expected to be out for an entire day with all the battling I've done. Guess I'm already used to battling top notch opponents." The Dragon Prince joked, but of course his mate hadn't appreciated it as she slapped his back with an audible smack, of course it wasn't enough to hurt him.

"You're also good at making me worried about you consistently. At this rate you're going to make me grow grey hairs…" The ravenette pouted though Natsu chuckled before placing a hand on her cheek, leaning close to her.

"Even if you had one or two strands, heck even if you totally have grey hair, I'll still love you no matter what." His hot breath touched her neck which caused her to shiver before she punched his arm, turning away from him to prevent him from seeing the blush which formed on her face.

"Idiot…" Despite her harsh words, Natsu could tell that she didn't mean it whatsoever and chuckled to himself.

"So, what about Acnologia?" Natsu asked and Kei frowned at the mention of the dragon. After all, she had almost killed the most important person in her life had he not been miraculously healed by his mother.

"It's a surprise you didn't even notice her the moment you got up." Kei said pointing to the side, and true to her word, there laid the black dragon, her eyes still closed and the Dragon Prince was slightly worried that she might be dead. He quickly turned to his mate, who seemed to have read his fear through his eyes and gave him a reassured smile.

"Don't worry, she's still alive. Though, Leila was this close in murdering Acnologia herself, but for some odd reasons Happy stopped her from doing so." Kei said, a confused look appearing on her face, and Natsu couldn't help but release the breath he held in relief after hearing that and this was reinforced after he saw the slight lift of the dragon's chest.

"That's good that he did, it would have caused a lot more problems if she killed her." Natsu grunted as he slowly got up with Kei helping him up.

"What do you mean by that?" The ravenette asked curiously. It was weird to hear considering the two had been battling to the death, and he hadn't even wanted her killed?

The Dragon Prince instantly went silent for a split second, his bangs covered his eyes before finally looking up, "…Acnologia wasn't in control during her attack on Crocus." Natsu revealed and the girl's eyes widened in shock when she heard that.

Natsu then explained the signs he noticed throughout his fight with the dragon before pulling out some scrapes of metal from his pocket which belonged to the device he had destroyed before.

"If that's true then…who's the one who organised the attack?"

"I don't know, but I'll definitely be making a report to the Dragon Knights about this case." Natsu sighed, knowing that he'd have to deal with more work. Meanwhile, Kei sported a worried look, as she processed the information she had just received.

If Natsu's words ring true, then what was their intention of doing so? And how strong were they if they managed to control a monster like Acnologia?

The girl was immediately broken out of her train of thoughts when she felt a warm touch on her cheeks. She smiled softly as she leaned in towards the comforting warmth of her mate's hand.

"What's wrong Kei? You know that I don't like seeing that look on your face…"

"I'm just feeling worried is all...Who could have done this? And what's their purpose in all of this? Why would they-" Kei immediately stopped when the Dragon Prince placed his other hand on her cheek, directing her head in order to make sure she was looking directly at him.

"I don't know who did it, but I promise you that they won't get away with it. Alright?" Natsu reassured with a smile, and while her anxiety didn't completely disappear, it had certainly put her mind at ease.

"I'm sorry for being such a worrywart…" Kei frowned and Natsu shook his head.

"Hey, don't say that. I'm worried about all this too, but I know I'll be able to overcome all the odds if you're here by my side."

"Even if I aren't able to have your back in battle?"

"I don't need someone to be able to stand beside me during battle or anything, all I need is someone to support me through thick or thin, and that's you."

"So, can I take it that you would still want me as your mate?" she asked quietly as the Dragon Prince chuckled slightly.

"That's the thing Kei. You're my mate, meaning you belong to me…forever." Natsu responded as he proceeded to place his lips atop of hers as Kei pulled him closer towards her.

After breaking apart, the two stared deeply into each other's eyes, smiles gracing on their faces, and if anyone were to look at them, they'd be able to see a fluffy, pink space which surrounded the two.

However, a pained moan was suddenly heard which snapped the two out from their passionate gaze, as they turned to the direction of the sound and there they saw Acnologia slightly shifting her massive body.

Natsu narrowed his eyes as he released his hold on the girl and walked in front of her protectively, so that he would be able to step in if the situation requires it.

"…Where am I?" A rough, yet feminine voice resonated in the air and the owner of such a voice was none other than Acnologia herself.

Seeing that his opponent was awake, the Dragon Prince turned towards her and took a step forward only for Kei to grab his hand, stopping him from advancing. Giving his mate, a reassuring look, he continued his walk towards the massive beast in front of him who finally took notice of him.

"Natsu…it's you." Natsu raised an eyebrow when he heard her call out his name.

"How do you know my name?"

"You may not believe me, but I've known you for a very long time now, Natsu. Longer than you've ever known…" Despite her ominous words, the boy in question, for some odd reasons, felt that he could trust her.

"Well if you say so then…"

"You sound like you don't believe me though." the dragon pointed out and the Dragon Prince raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well sorry to say, but it's rather hard to believe the words of a dragon that's easily a hundred times my size." Natsu retorted.

"Well if you're that worried about my dragon form, then let me just revert back to my human one." The dragon's body was immediately wrapped in a cocoon of magic and its form gradually started to shrink. When she'd shrunk to the size of an average human, the cocoon of magic dissipated.

Similarly to that of a caterpillar who would undergo metamorphosis where they would encase themselves into a cocoon before transforming into a beautiful butterfly. What emerged from the light was a beautiful woman who had long black hair with blue highlights at the side of her bangs, slightly tanned skinned and she was wearing a knee-length black kimono with a tint of blue at the end. The kimono was a perfect fit on her hourglass figure.

"There, are you happy now?" Acnologia questioned though she received no answer as both Natsu and Kei were completely shocked by the sudden change of appearance, but Natsu was quick to break out of his stupor, "So that's your human appearance, eh?"

"You seem surprised? I'm sure Igneel and the other dragons would have mention to you about my gender."

"They did, but I never expected you to look like…this."

"If you really to, I can let you see so much more than just this." She responded shyly, a small blush forming on her face and as Natsu was about to respond, he was suddenly cut off by his mate,

"Natsu, I don't think it's a good idea for you to get close with her. Who knows? Maybe she might go crazy and attack us again." Kei said, pressing her body closer to Natsu, which caused him to blush slightly at her bold action while Acnologia glared at the ravenette who returned it one of her own.

If anyone were to stare closer, they'd be able to see sparks emitted from both of their eyes.

"You two seem rather close even though you've just met." Natsu smiled and as soon as he uttered those words, the two girls turned their heads to him before,

"We're not close!" the two shouted at him simultaneously, which shook the ravenette, before they returned to their glaring contest.

"Really? Because I think the two of you can get along just fine." The Dragon Prince muttered underneath his breath as a sweat dropped from his head before coughing into his fist, "So…could you tell us everything that happened?" Natsu asked with seriousness laced in his tone, and suddenly the light atmosphere which surrounded them disappeared, as if it were never there.

Acnologia nodded her head as she tried recalling the event in her head,

"As I'm sure the both of you know already, but I did not attack Crocus and its people on my own free will, I was being controlled by someone who was wearing a black cloak."

"A black cloak?" Kei questioned and Acnologia nodded her head,

"His power was surreal and by the time I had even realised he was there, I had fallen victim to his brainwashing." Natsu processed the information before placing a hand underneath his chin.

"Since you've met up with him before, could you detect his scent?" Acnologia shook her head with a frown on her face, "Unfortunately, the cloak he was wearing helped blend his scent with the surroundings."

"So that's how he managed to get you by surprise." Natsu nodded his head before furrowing his eyebrows, "Even if that's the case though, what were you doing so close to Crocus anyways? Say you were near Tenroujima, it'd take at least half a day for you to get here."

"A few days ago, there was a surge of magical energy which could be detected in Crocus, so I decided to investigate it in order to find out what was wrong."

"Natsu, could she mean-"

"Future Rogue? I'd say that would be the most likely case." Natsu finished and the thought about explaining this to his mother for it to be brought up in the next meeting.

However,

"Tch, but knowing those old farts from the Dragon Council, they probably wouldn't even try to listen to reason and try and get her executed regardless…" he muttered underneath his breath, something Acnologia picked up on.

"Natsu, I-" The Dragon Prince immediately placed a finger on her lips, stopping her from speaking as a tint of red dusted across her cheeks, something Kei caught on, shooting the girl a small glare from where she stood, not that she noticed it anyways.

"We can discuss about that another time when it's appropriate. For now, you should focus on recovering from your wounds." Natsu said, getting a timid nod from the girl as she decided to lay her head back down on the ground, this time with a small smile on her face. The ravenette smiled at this before turning over towards his mate who was pouting and had her head turned away from him.

"What?" Natsu asked but instead of getting a response from his mate, the girl stomped away to where Sachi and her sister was, leaving the confused Dragon Prince with the unconscious girl.

'Did I do something wrong?' the ravenette thought to himself before eventually shrugging as he turned his attention back to Acnologia.

As he stared at the black-blue haired girl, the Dragon Prince couldn't help but feel as if he had met her before.

A thought quickly came to him as the Dragon Prince closed his eyes before extending a hand out towards Acnologia before he began muttering under his breath as a red aura covered his hand, "Seal!" The moment he uttered the word, a red outline covered her body and a small draconian mark appeared on her neck.

'Well now that that's settled, I guess I should go and find Kei and Leila to get her healed before finding a way back to Magnolia…it's going to be a hassle when questions start coming in.' Natsu sighed to himself as he stretched his body and picked the girl up from the ground, placing her on his back as he used his enhanced smell in order to find his mate.

Upon detecting her smell, the ravenette began walking at that direction and as he got closer, he realised that Happy, Leila and Sachi were with her as well.

The moment the Dragon Prince appeared in their range of vision, he received mixed reactions from them. A confused look from Sachi, a smirk from Happy, and glares from the sisters.

"Glad to see you're finally awake, Natsu." Happy said, though his eyes were clearly telling him that it would be better if he would quickly pretend to return to the land of unconsciousness.

"Who is she?" Sachi asked curiously, pointing at the girl.

"Ah, well this may turn out to be a surprise to you all but this is actually Acnologia." Natsu said nonchalantly and Happy gave him a look of understanding seeing as the Dragon Prince had already explained the gist of everything to his partner while Sachi looked surprised and would have questioned it had it not been for Leila,

"Well then, what is she doing on your back?!" she snapped, glaring at the sleeping girl who looked contented look on her face as she snuggled up to the ravenette's back.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at the Angel Slayer in front of him. Did Kei tell her about this change or did she disregard that piece of information?

"Well, since she was still injured from the battle, I thought it would be best to bring her over to you so you could heal her up." He shrugged and the white haired girl stared at him as if he had grown another head.

"You want me to heal her?! What if she turns crazy and attacks us again?!"

"You don't need to worry about that at all." Natsu said as he pointed to the mark that was present on the girl's neck before explaining what it was to them.

"I never knew you had such an ability…" Leila said and Natsu waved it off, "Think nothing of it, besides, the condition that's set on this magic spell is that I can only use it on Dragon Slayer's who have completely lost their minds in order to prevent another Acnologia from happening."

"So…what are you going to do with her?" Natsu placed a hand on his chin as he hummed.

"Well, I probably need to bring her back with me to Magnolia for the next Dragon Council meeting…as for after that, I'm not so sure."

That was when he caught several familiar scents which were headed at his direction, Natsu turned towards where the smell was coming from.

"What's wrong Natsu?" Kei asked and Natsu sighed.

"Well, it's time for me to face the music." He responded and not long from that, the mages who had escaped Crocus during the Dragon Prince's battle with Acnologia all appeared.

Ahead of them was Makarov and as soon as he saw the familiar mop of black hair, a massive smile formed on his face, "Natsu, Happy…I'm glad to see that you're alive." Fairy Tail's 6th Guild Master said in relief as Happy flew over to where Natsu was.

The Dragon Prince turned to face everyone who all looked either tearful or relieved. The two partners looked at each other and with a nod they smiled and made the Fairy Tail symbol with their hands. (A/N: The 'L' shape gesture in the 2nd Episode of the FT series)

The mood surrounding the area was filled with light-heartedness as everyone, which included Kei and Leila, smiled.

However, the atmosphere was quickly broken when,

"Who's she?" Gray suddenly asked, pointing at the unconscious girl who was lying on his rival's back, and the girls who all had a crush on Natsu, immediately turned to the Dragon Prince, their glares clearly demanding him to respond.

Not seeing a reason to lie, Natsu responded nonchalantly, "Well, this may come off as a shock to you all, but this is actually Acnologia."

An amused look found its way to his face when he saw the incredulous looks on his face, before quickly covering his ears as if expecting,

"What?!"

That.

"Are you sure Natsu? This is no time to joke around." Erza spoke up and the boy in question who raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're right, I have no reason to joke around. That's why I'm telling you the truth." Some looked unbelieving of his words, and Natsu himself knew it was reasonable.

"Well, why didn't you kill her then? After all she's done to us…back at Tenroujima Island, even now…" Gray growled, clenching his fists tightly and Juvia placed her hands on his in hopes of calming him down.

"While I have no idea her reason for attacking us at Tenroujima, but as for her attack here…" Natsu began explaining to everyone about how Acnologia had been controlled by a mysterious man wearing a black robe and he showed the scrapes of the device which controlled the dragon to them when asked whether she was trying to lie or not.

"That is truly something that is in need of discussion…" Jura muttered underneath his breath and Makarov nodded his head in agreement. Seeing as the two of them were members of the Wizard Saints, they'd be summoned by the Magic Council regardless.

The old man then shook his head, "Putting that aside, I'm glad to see you're alright Natsu, but there is one question I'm sure we all want answered…" Makarov said and the Dragon Prince closed his eyes, already expecting the question ever since waking up from the battle.

"How'd you manage to recover, much less beat her? The last we saw you, you were on death's bed." It was the Ice-Mage who initiated the question and Natsu scratched his head, turning over towards Happy for support, but obviously the Exceed turned away from him.

'That damn traitor…' Natsu sighed.

Looks like the cat was out of the bag.

"Guess there's no reason to hide it any longer." Natsu muttered as he placed the unconscious Acnologia on the ground before taking steps away from the group. As he walked, flames then engulfed his entire body, and the moment he stopped, the flames dispersed, revealing Natsu in his Dragon Prince form.

"I'm the Dragon Prince." The group all stared at the ravenette's appearance, shock clearly evident in everyone's eyes and they only thing they could say was,

"What?!"

End Chapter

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