Chapter 13: Wyvern's Heart

It had been three months since the death of Lisanna. This were slowly starting to return to normal, or at least the new normal. Elfman doubled down and devoted himself to his training and becoming the most 'manly' version of himself possible. Mirajane, on the other hand, did a complete 180. Her personality had shifted entirely. No longer did she don her gothic attire, instead she wore pink, frilly, girly dresses. Instead of her signature ponytail, she allowed her hair to flow freely, white the exception of pulling her bangs up into a smaller ponytail. She also became nicer, a lot nicer. It seems Mira's edge died along with Lisanna.

Natsu took as many jobs as he could during these past three months. He couldn't stand the somber atmosphere the guild had adopted.

Cana was sitting at a table by herself. Ever since Lisanna's death Natsu had become more distant than he already was, even with her. She would catch glimpses of him as he was leaving the guild and she was coming in. It seemed like as soon as he would finish one job, he'd start another. She missed him. She missed him a lot. But she knew Natsu handled thing in his own way, and while Natsu wasn't particular close to the deceased girl, he didn't outright hate her. She knew Natsu just needed his own space, but she needed Natsu.

Cana continued to sulk in her chair, but a piece of paper dangling in front of her face broke her out of her thoughts. "Come with me on this job?" She knew this voice well. It was Natsu.

"Natsu you're back!" Cana exclaimed, almost too excitedly.

"I am. Now, do you want to come with me or not?" Natsu asked impatiently.

Cana took the paper from Natsu and began examining it. It was an extermination job. The target, a Dark Guild called Wyvern's Heart. "Hold on Natsu," Cana looked up from the paper to Natsu. "This is an S-Class job. Neither of us are S-Class mages. We can't take it." She handed the paper back to Natsu.

Natsu frowned. This wasn't what he was expecting to hear. "If the Tincan and the Demon can do these, then so can I. I'm stronger than the both of them combined." Natsu grumbled out. He would never admit it, but the fact that Erza and Mirajane, people he viewed as beneath him, held a higher position than him, really bothered him. "Cana." Natsu called out her name as he peered deep into her eyes. "It will be okay. I'll be there. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Cana sighed before lowering the paper and looking back towards Natsu. "What if something like Lisanna happens again?"

"It won't."

"You don't know that."

"I will protect you."

Natsu noticed the look in Cana eyes and decided to try and ease the tension. "What you think something is going to happen and then you'll have to come back here and play barmaid?" Natsu motioned to Mira who was working at the bar. "Though, I do have to admit, you'd be a pretty cute barmaid."

"Shut up!" Cana screamed, glossing over the fact Natsu had just called her cute. "I know nothing is going to happen to you, you can handle yourself just fine. But what if something happens to me?"

"Well, I don't think I'd make a cute barmaid at all." Cana rolled her eyes at Natsu's comment. Natsu fumbled around with the paper again. "It's dumb that I'm not allowed to do this job because I'm not S-Class. I'm more qualified than anyone else here." Natsu's temper flared.

"You know exactly why you haven't been made S-Class yet Natsu. You have the skills yes, but you don't play well with others." Cana smirked at Natsu. "Geez after all this time you still don't like us huh?"

"I like you." Natsu retorted. She knew he didn't mean it like that. Like she wanted him to mean it. But to just bluntly state something like that? Natsu truly was one of a kind.

Natsu pushed the paper back towards Cana. "C'mon Cana. I want you with me." Seeing as she still wasn't convinced, Natsu decided to pull a page from Cana's book. He couldn't do the pouting look nearly as good as she could, but it always managed to work regardless. "Please." She peered into his onyx eyes. She saw right though them, but it didn't matter. She missed him, and if going on this job would let her spend some time with him, she'd do it. She knew there would be consequences when they returned but it didn't matter.

"Fine. Let's go." Natsu cracked a smile as Cana agreed to his demand. "But promise me if things get too intense, we will leave."

"They won't. But if it'll make you feel better than fine." Cana sighed at Natsu's confidence. "Look, just finish up whatever you're doing here, find someone to watch the cat, and the meet me at my house. Okay?" Cana nodded and Natsu took this as his cue to leave. About halfway from the door, Natsu stopped and turned back to face Cana, meeting her quizzical gaze. "Will you bring some food with you? I'm starving." Natsu complained while holding his stomach.

"Why can't you just get it now?"

"Important stuff to do. Thanks! You're the best!" Natsu called out while rushing out of the guild.

Cana sighed before checking her stash of spending jewels. They annoyance on her face only deepened when she saw the lack of jewels. She pulled a card from her deck and reached into it, pulling out a few jewels. "That jerk owes me."

Happy was flying circles around Cana as the two made their way to Natsu's abode. Cana had already made plans for Mira to watch over Happy at the guild, but Happy said he had to ask Natsu a question first and insisted he do it himself. "Now Happy, you promise after you ask him, you'll go back to the guild?"

"Yes! But it's really, really, really important that I ask Natsu. He is the only one that can do it." Cana had mixed feelings upon hearing Happy's words. On one hand, she found it cute that Happy kept trying to get close to Natsu, even if it was a fool's task. But on the other hand, she was a bit annoyed Happy didn't think she could do whatever he needed.

The two arrived at Natsu's house and Cana reached for the door. "Well go ahead and ask him. Then get back to the guild little buddy, okay?" Happy nodded as he flew through the opened door, with Cana soon following. Once she entered the house, she saw Happy was already attempting to butter Natsu up before asking his request. Natsu placed the book he was reading on the table. Cana only caught a glimpse of it, but she swore she saw the familiar image of a tarot card on it.

Natsu sighed and straightened in his seat, preparing for whatever nonsense the cat was about to spew. "Okay Natsu. I have something very important to ask you." Happy stated in an almost too eager tone. Natsu huffed and signaled the cat to continue. "I know you are going on a secret mission, and I know that it's S-Class." A look shock grew on Cana's face, while Natsu continued to stare at Happy. "And you're taking Cana. Very irresponsible." Natsu quickly rose from his chair and snatched the cat from the air by his tail. Happy attempted to fly away, but Natsu's grip was strong. Cana walked over and gently pulled on Natsu's arm, causing him to release Happy.

Happy flew higher and began stroking his sore tail. "If you would have let me finish, I was going to say I am willing to let you buy my silence."

Natsu's eyes rolled while Cana let loose a giggle. "What do you want Cat?"

"Well, you see, near the town you're going to is a lake that is briming with magical energy. The fish there are supposed to be enormous." Happy's mouth started watering thinking of the giant fish he soon hoped to sink his teeth into. Shaking his head from the illusion of the fish he continued. "If you bring me one of those fish, I promise to not say a word about any of this. Deal?"

"That's blackmail Happy!" Cana cried.

"Yes, it is." Happy retorted. Turning back to Natsu he asked once again. "Deal?"

"No." Natsu quickly shot out, causing Happy to scream and fall towards the ground. Cana ran to catch Happy. After catching him, she gave Natsu the 'you-better-fix-this' look. With a sigh, Natsu said "Fine, we'll bring you your stupid fish." Happy jumped back into the air, dancing around at the promise of this special fish.

After calming down, Happy set off for the guild, leaving Natsu and Cana to prepare for their journey. Cana took the time to look over to the book Natsu had set down when they arrived and found out it did indeed have a picture of a tarot card on it. "So what that your reading?"

"Oh it's nothing." Natsu tried to downplay it but after seeing the skeptical look on Cana's face he gave in. "Fine, it's a book of Tarot magic. I'm trying to figure something out."

"Why didn't you just ask me? You know this magic is kind of my specialty."

"Yeah I could've done that, but…" Natsu trailed off. "it's just… Well it was supposed to be a gift, but I just can't seem to figure out how to do it."

"Do what?" Cana asked.

Natsu pulled out a single tarot card from his bag. It looked normal enough to Cana, then it hit her. This was a blank card. She had only ever read about those, she never thought she'd see one in person. Excitedly, she ran up and took the card from Natsu and began inspecting it. "Holy shit Natsu, how did you find one of these? They are super rare… and super expensive." She looked up at to see a smiling Natsu.

"Surprise!" Natsu exclaimed in a moment of uncharacteristic joy. "Now, uh, how do I pour my magic into it?"

After a brief explanation from Cana, Natsu placed his open palm in front of the card and focused his magical energy into the card. It took a bit, but eventually he was able to fill it with his Dragon Slayer magic. Natsu picked up the card and showed the face side, which was now briming with the swirling black energy of Natsu's magic to Cana. "Here you go. This card has my roar. You can use it whenever you like. I think I put enough magic in there so it will recharge on its own, but if it doesn't just bring it back to me and I can fill it up again for you."

Cana reached out and took the card from Natsu's hand. The card felt… like him. This comforted Cana, who held the card close to her chest. "Thank you Natsu. Truly, this means a lot." The two stared at each other for a while, neither yielding their gaze. 'Tell him. Tell him now.' Cana's mind told her. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Natsu cut her.

"We should probably get going."

'Uh yeah, we probably should." Cana agreed, trying to hide the fading red on her face. Cana watched as Natsu made his way to the door and held it open.

"Cana, you coming?"

"Oh right! Sorry, I was a little distracted."

"Well snap out of it. We can afford to get distracted on this mission."

Cana nodded. She pulled out the S-Class flyer and looked at the location. "It's pretty far from Magnolia. All the way on the other side of Fiore. We'll have the element of surprise so we can take our time getting there. I know you don't like it, but a train would be much faster than walking."

"Or." Wings erupted from Natsu's back, pushing his flesh aside as they took their shape. "We can fly." A smug look formed on Natsu's face as he wrapped Cana in his arms and took off towards the town housing the dark guild.

After a few short hours, Natsu and Cana arrived in the town of Lupinus. They agreed to go around the town to try and get an idea on the dark guild that cast its net over this town. They went around asking questions, but it seems like no one had any answers for them, or more likely, they were too afraid to give them any. This went on for half the day. Everyone they asked either blew off the question or pretended nothing was wrong in the town. Just when it seemed like they would have to go in blind, they were approached by an elderly man.

"You two are here to take out Wyvern's Heart, right?"

"Wyvern's Heart? That the dark guild?"

"Yes. Their influence runs deep in this town. They rule by fear. That is why no one has been cooperative with you on your search. They fear what Wyvern's Heart would do to them, to their families, if they spoke out against them."

"So I take it you'll tell us what we want to know?" Natsu asked.

"I will." The old man responded. "There are about 30 members, give or take. From what little I know of magic, they seem to be mid-tier mages, but they are more than anyone in this town can handle. Their leader, he usually stays in the guild. I've only seen him once, but it's clear he is a few leagues above everyone else."

"I see. Can you tell us the direction of the guild?" Asked Cana. The old man nodded and pointed West.

"It's about an hour's walk from here." The old man noticed Cana and Natsu waiting for the man to continue. "I'm sorry. That's all the information I know. I wish I could be of more help to you."

"No. You've done enough Old Timer. We can take it from here." Natsu said.

"If everyone is afraid to speak against them, why are you telling us what you know?" Cana chimed in.

The old man hesitated for a bit, and a sad expression covered his face. "At this point, I don't care what they do to me anymore. They've already taken my wife and grandchildren. I… I just want them gone. I want the people of this town to be safe again. If my life is the price I have to pay to insure that, they I will gladly give it up!"

"It won't come to that. I assure you I'm more than enough to crush them." Natsu said, planting his fist into the palm of his other hand. Cana couldn't help but admire his confidence. It was but one of the many things that made her fall for him.

As they were about to make their leave, the old man called out to them once again. "Please you two, save our town."

"How much longer to we have to wait?" complained Cana.

"Not much longer. I just want to wait until it's darker, so just a few more minutes."

"Oh you want utilize a surprise attack under the cover of night. That's smart." Cana gave Natsu the compliment accompanied with a pat on the back.

"Uh not exactly. Since all my senses are enhanced, that means my eyesight is great in the dark. And unless any of them have magic that lets them see in the dark. It'll be a piece of cake for me."

"So the plan is?"

"I'm going to go up to the front door and unleash my biggest roar. Then if anyone is left, I'll beat them down. Then it's onto the leader."

"That is… not that great of a plan." Cana turned but Natsu was gone. "Natsu? Natsu?" Cana scanned the area and sure enough, there was Natsu walking right up to the guild doors. "Could he be any more of an idiot?" Cana asked herself before repositioning herself for the coming attack.

"CHAOS DRAGON'S ROAR!" A dazzling beam of swirling black energy erupted from Natsu's mouth. The chaotic beam assaulted the guild hall, tearing through it with effortless ease. This roar was merely an opening theatric. The ringing of a dinner bell. And sure enough it worked. One by one, dark mages poured out of the whole Natsu made. With a smile, Natsu assumed a battle stance and prepared to enter the thrill of combat.

Effortlessly, Natsu danced through the mages delivering a series of swift punched and kicks to his enemies. The unconscious bodies littered the grounds and Natsu continued to blaze his path through the mages.

Cana, summoning rope from one of her tarot cards followed after Natsu, tying up each of the downed mages. In truth, she was glad she wasn't having to fight. She much rather enjoyed watching Natsu. He was moving with such grace, such elegance, he hadn't even used his magic to deal with them, aside from his initial roar to draw their attention. Soon the last mage was defeated, and it seemed like they had one.

"That was…"

"Too easy? Yeah, I know." Cana said, catching up to Natsu.

"Keep your guard up. There may be more inside."

As if on cue, an eerie laughter broke out. "Well, it seems a pack of wyverns were no match for a dragon. How about another dragon then?" A tall, athletically build man stepped from the rubble of the now destroyed guild hall. His shoulder length black hair flowed freely in the wind. A sly smile flashed across his face. His long canines prominent as he continued to smile at the pair. "I suppose I'll tell you my name before I kill you." The man leaped down to the ground, level with Cana and Natsu. Instinctively, Natsu raised his arms to shield Cana as the man walked closer. "Hello, I'm Jynso. The Jade Dragon Slayer. Any you two are about to die."

Natsu got a better whiff of the man called Jynso scent as he grew closer. Indeed, this man was dragon. And not a fake dragon like Laxus, but a true dragon. One like Natsu. The thought of fighting his own kind after so many years excited Natsu. Finally, he would get the chance to let loose. Only there was one problem. Cana. As long as she was here, he would have to worry about her safety, meaning he couldn't truly let loose and fight freely. He knew what he needed to do. "Cana. You need to leave."

"But Natsu, there are two of us. We can take him out no problem."

"I. Said. Go." Natsu stated in a quiet rage. "If you stay here, you'll die."

"I can handle myself just fine. I may not be the powerhouse you are, but I'm fully capable of taking care of myself. I'm a big girl, remember?" Seeing Natsu's demeanor remaining unchanged, she opened her mouth to speak again, but was quickly cut off.

"It was a mistake to bring you here Cana. I realize that now. Go back to the guild. You'll be safe there."

"But I thought you said you could protect me? What, are you saying this guy is too much for the great Natsu?" She yelled in a mocking tone.

"Not at all. I can take him down no problem."

"The what's the issue? Why can't I help you? If he isn't the problem, then what is it? What can you not protect me from?"

Sighing, Natsu gave her the answer he was trying to avoid. "Myself." Seeing her confusion, Natsu explained further. "It's been a long, long time since I've fought someone like me. So I don't plan to hold back. I don't want to. But I can't do that with you here. I need you to leave." Despite knowing this would cause a strain to their friendship, Natsu said it anyways. Cana stared at him before begrudgingly running off back towards the town.

"Well now that that's done," started Jynso, "What do you say we cut to the chase and kill each other?" A low growl emanated from Natsu's throat. He wasn't dying, not here. Wasting no more time, the two Dragon Slayers rushed each other.

"CHAOS DRAGON'S BRUTAL FIST!" / "JADE DRAGON'S GLEAMING FIST!" The two dragon's fists collided, coughing a shockwave to ring out. Both combatants jumped backwards in an attempted to regain their footing. Natsu, being the quicker of the two launched off his back foot and delivered an elbow to Jynso's stomach. The Jade Dragon Slayer folded in pain as the elbow made contact with him. Stepping backwards, Jynso wiped blood from the corner of his mouth as he prepared a counterattack.

"JADE DRAGON'S SHIMMERING CLAW!" Jynso yelled as his fingers hardened into claws and made their way towards Natsu. Natsu raided his arms defensively and let out a small cry of pain as the claws ripped at his forearms.

"CHAOS DRAGON'S PEIRCING FANGS!" both of Natsu's elbows were slammed into Jynso's side causing him to scream out in pain and cough up more blood. "CHAOS DRAGON'S MAIMING STRIKE!" Natsu's knee flew up and caught Jynso just under the chin, sending him flying.

Natsu waited for the Jade Dragon Slayer to get back up. He wasn't done having his fun. He wanted to play with his prey a little more before he ended this. As Jynso rose to his feet, his face covered in blood, a manic laugh oozed from the man. "Is that all you got? Heh, you're strong. I'll give you that, but you'll have to do a lot better than that. JADE DRAGON'S STALAGMITE ROAR!" The roar came at Natsu with speeds far greater than they should be. Natsu barely had time to throw up arms and block the incoming attack.

Natsu prepared his own roar and began gathering energy from the surrounding area. "Copying me? Well, let's just see whose is bigger." Jynso said while also gathering energy for his own roar.

"CHAOS DRAGON'S ANNIHILATING ROAR!" / "JADE DRAGON'S STALAGMITE ROAR!" Twin beams of black and green collided, each refusing to yield. Each Dragon Slayer pour more and more power into the roars in an attempt to overwhelm the other. Natsu's beam was becoming the more dominate one and soon it overtook Jynso's own. Narrowly dodging the roar, Jynso rolled to the side and quickly fired off another roar, only this one contained far more firepower.

"FLAMING JADE DRAGON'S ROAR!" A mixture of his normal green energy and fire danced a deadly combo that was making its way right towards Natsu. Once again, he raised his arms to block it, and it worked for the Jade energy, but the fire caused his nerves to spasm.

"Wondering how I can do that? Well I might as well tell you seeing as how you're about to die soon." Jynso started as his flames died down. "See, once a Slayer's magical container is empty, you can refill with an element different than your own. And if your body doesn't reject it, you'll be able to call upon that element as well once your magic is replenished." Natsu let loose an evil laugh as Jynso continued his explanation. "What are you on about brat?"

"Oh no, please continue. I'd love to learn more" A sarcastic tone leaked from Natsu.

"Tch, whatever. You're one element will never stand against my two."

"Tell me sometime, what happens when you combine every element?"

"Every element huh? Boy you sure do like to talk."

"Oh come on, you can do it. Just guess at what it'd be called."

"There's no point. Something like that could never exist."

A frown formed on Natsu's face. "You give up? That's a shame. I guess I'll just have to tell you." In an instant, Natsu vanished, surprising Jynso. Almost as quickly as he disappeared, he reappeared behind the Jade Dragon Slayer. "You'd call it chaos!"

"CHAOS DRAGON'S WICKED TALON!" Natsu yelled while slamming is foot down on Jynso's head, sending the Jade Dragon Slayer plummeting to the ground. Natsu also fell to the ground, and seeing Jynso not moving, Natsu assumed he won the fight. Sighing a breath of relief, Natsu allowed his guard to lower. His body ached, but he had done it. He had won.

"NATSU WATCH OUT!"

Instinctively, Natsu's body dodged upwards upon hearing this warning. A huge fireball came crashing down in the area Natsu had just inhabited. Smoke littered the battle ground, hampering Natsu's vision. When it cleared, Natsu's worst nightmare had come true. In front of him was Cana. And around her neck was Jynso's hands.

"Not another step, or I snap her neck." Jynso threatened. Natsu remained still. "Now you're going to stay right there while I leave. And I'm gonna use this pretty little thing to make sure you don't move." Jynso began inching away from Natsu with Cana as his hostage.

"Natsu…" Cana called out in a broken voice. "Help me." This was all it took to break Natsu out of his trance. A primal rage took over his body and an animalistic screech came from his mouth. Black scaled took the place of his skin, with silver markings decorating scales along his back and arm. With an unrivaled speed, Natsu closed this distance between them. He grabbed one of Jynso arms from around Cana's neck and twisted it until if fell limp. A guttural cry of pain escaped the Jade Dragon Slayer as he released his hold on Cana.

Cana scampered away and could only look on in horror as Natsu proceeded to pulverize the man. Just as Natsu seemed finished with the broken dragon, he grabbed Jynso by his face and forced his jaw open. Without some much as a word, Natsu summoned another roar and fired a continuous beam directly into the mouth of the Jade Dragon Slayer. Natsu's magic coursed through Jynso, refilling his contained and causing it to overflow. The high concentration of Natsu's Chaos Dragon Slayer magic pumped through Jynso's entire body, causing it to glow and pulsate. Eventually, the magically output became too much, causing Jynso's body to explode, killing him.

Natsu threw what was left of his body down and he powered down. Usually, after this transformation, Natsu would be on the ground unconscious, but he was still standing. Natsu examined the remains of the defeated dragon. "Huh, looks like the body can't handle three." Natsu gave an amused snort at his own words before turning to see Cana on the ground. She was staring at Natsu with a look he had never seen her wear before. As Natsu took another step towards Cana, she crawled backwards.

"Cana? What's wrong?"

"Y..You.. You killed him."

"He was… going to… hurt you…" Natsu's breaths were becoming labored. "I wasn't… going to let him… hurt you…" Natsu continued to stumble towards Cana. "A dragon… protects… its treasure…" Natsu's world faded to black as he fell towards Cana. Reacting with the speed of a dragon, Cana caught Natsu and gently lowered him to the ground. She rested his head on her lap and stroked his messy pink hair.

'I'm your treasure huh?'

Hello everyone! Sorry about the late update again, but I'm officially finished with school so now I'll have more time to devote to other things (like writing this fic). I'm going to be visiting my grandparents for the holidays and they don't have wifi but I'm going to keep writing while I'm there so hopefully I'll have a few chapters ready to go when I get back. Also, sorry if the action is a little lacking, I know that's not one of my strong suits in writing and I need to get better at it, but I wanted to get you lovely people an update before I went away. I hope you liked it! Until next time, have a good day! And thanks for stopping by! - Sinh