Lucy and Gray sat at a table in the Guild Hall looking as if they were in deep thought. Next to them Wendy and Juvia looked at them with saddened faces. Gray didn’t look sad, he just looked confused and like he was thinking of solutions. He kept tapping his fingers on the wooden table while loudly slurping down a glass of ice water. Lucy kept sighing and looking off into the distance. She looked sad, and worried. Wendy and Juvia felt bad for them.
“Gray, Juvia doesn’t like seeing you like this.” Juvia whispered. Gray ignored her.
“Come on guys, it’s not that bad. You heard Natsu, he’s not going to stop teaming up with you guys because Master told him to team up with Ember today. He would never ever let that happen.” Wendy smiled, hoping her cheerfulness would rub off on her friends.
It didn’t.
Erza walked over to the table, her armor clanking and her sword swinging at her side. She put her hands on her hips and looked at Gray and Lucy with a disturbed expression.
“ENOUGH YOU TWO!!” She yelled while slamming both her fists down on the table.
Gray jumped out of his seat, while also taking his shirt off and accidently freezing his glass of water. Lucy screeched and fell backwards off her seat and onto the floor. Wendy looked down at her shocked, Lucy groaning. Juvia’s face turned bright red from the proximity of a half naked Gray so close to her face.
“GRAY CLOTHES!!” Erza yelled.
“Y...yes Erza!!” Gray stammered.
“LUCY OFF THE FLOOR!!!” she yelled to the floor.
“S...Sorry Erza!” Lucy whimpered as she climbed from the floor back onto her seat.
“Now, enough of this pity party. You know Natsu is still allowed to work with us, and that he is still going to. So stop being foolish. Lets get out and enjoy the day.”
Erza walked away, her shoulders held high, while her friends watched after her clearly defeated. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Every single one of them jumped out of their seats and fell into step behind her.
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Ember and Natsu arrived at their destination on foot, with Happy flying above them. Much to Natsu’s relief, before they got onto the train Ember freaked and asked if it was close enough to walk. He gladly agreed to walk, no matter how far it was. But they had walked the entire way in silence, both either staring straight ahead or sneaking sideways glances at the other. They may have had the disdain of transportation in common, although for different reasons, but Natsu still was not willing to even let down a brick of his walls. And Ember was in no way about to break those walls down.
“Now what do we do?” Ember asked.
“Gramps said there were two wizards causing problems in this town. We just have to find them.” Natsu replied.
“What if they find us first?”
“Doubt it. I already know where they are.”
“Yeah.”
The two wizards walked in step with each other towards the outskirts of town on the other side of where they were. As they twisted and turned through the cobbled roads they pondered in silence how well this mission would go. Natsu wondered if Ember would bring him down, or turn on him. Ember wondered if she would even be able to keep up with the legendary Salamander.
Within moments they reached the end of the road. Straw rooftops decorated the stone houses in this area of town. The trees shaded the neighborhood, and the gardens were a rainbow of beautiful flowers and herbs. It smelled lovely. Ember closed her eyes and breathed in deeply the smell of rosemary and honeysuckles. Natsu looked around the rooftops.
“Natsu.” Ember whispered, her eyes still closed. “You are going to want to move.”
“Why?” He asked, but before he could do anything something whizzed by his head making a whistling noise in his ear.
He followed the trajectory and saw a turquoise arrow sticking out of one of the trees. He looked at Ember in shock.
“How did you….?”
“Now is not the time.”
They both turned around as another arrow came in their direction. They jumped out of the way, both in different directions. When the arrow, this time slick black, hit the ground it exploded, sending jagged pieces of rocks in every direction. Ember looked back at the arrow that was stuck in the tree and noticed that the tree around the arrow was slowly turning to liquid.
“You two are quick. Lucky lucky lucky!!” A giggling perky voice echoed through the street.
Ember and Natsu looked from rooftop to rooftop looking for the source of the manic laughter. “Over here” the voice said, and they both looked up at the roof of the house right next to them.
Standing on the straw was a tall curvy woman not much older than the two of them. She had her blonde hair in a high ponytail on top of her head, and she carried a large wooden bow with a quiver filled with arrows of many different colors.
“Who are you?” Natsu yelled up at her.
“Mmm I’m Jesy. The greatest Archery wizard in all of Fiore.” She said, with a crazy wide mouthed smile.
“If you were so damn good why did you miss us?” Natsu laughed.
“TWICE!!” Ember yelled.
“Because I wanted to. “ She smirked.
With incredible speed she loaded another arrow and shot it, but Ember and Natsu were able once again to avoid it. The arrows kept coming, and each time they hit something they had a different reaction. One in the garden let off a purple smoke. One that hit another tree turned all the leaves dead and black. Another caught a straw roof on fire.
Natsu tumbled and rolled and then launched himself at Jesy. She went to shoot an arrow at him but his flame engulfed fist reached her face first. She stumbled backwards but lifted her bow without missing another beat, but this time she pointed and shot it at Ember. Ember swung her scythe as the arrow came at her and deflected it. In the split second that Jesy turned her attention away from Natsu he blasted her with a Fire Dragon Wing attack. Jesy fell and rolled off the flaming roof, landing on the stone road with a thud. She groaned and tried to get back up but she just fell down again, and then she didn’t move. Natsu landed on his feet right next to her with a smile on his face. Ember nodded at him with a smile.
“Nice scythe moves.” Natsu complimented.
“Your moves were wayyyyy better.” Ember laughed.
“Tsk tsk tsk……” another woman, coming out from around the back of the house.
She was even taller than Jesy, with long legs and extremely revealing clothing. Her breasts were almost uncovered. Her blonde hair hung over her shoulders and to the middle of her back. Her lips were the color of blood.
“I knew that was too easy.” Natsu scowled.
“ You took down my sister. Hm. Pity. I guess now I am going to have to take you down. The name is Cheza.” The woman smiled, her teeth shining in the sunlight.
Natsu went to charge at her but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Ember looked at him with wide eyes. He didn’t move. Cheza stood there smiling and laughing.
“You're not going to attack me hot pants.” Cheza giggled.
Natsu stood there, stone still. His fists were shaking and sweat was dripping down his forehead. His eyes were glassy and his cheeks the same shade of red as a tomato. His bottom lip quivered.
“No! How could I ever attack someone so…..beautiful!!” He stammered.
“Natsu!!! What?? Ew!!” Ember choked.
“My kind of man. Now why don’t you come over here to mama.” Cheza said and beckoned Natsu to her with a seductive wave of her finger.
Natsu nodded, a goofy smile appearing on his face. He walked towards her, his knees wobbling. He might as well have been drooling. Ember was utterly confused. This was not how she had imagined Natsu to ever act. She had never heard anything of this sort about him in battle. He got closer and closer to Cheza, Ember not knowing what to do. When he got right in front of her she reached her hands out and grabbed him into a hug, burying his face in between her two large breasts. He got a nosebleed. Ember gritted her teeth in frustration. And then all of a sudden Natsu was flying through the air past her and slamming into the ground, a cloud of dust and rock rising into the air. He laid there face down, his face still goofy.
“Idiot!” Cheza laughed uncontrollably.
Then it clicked. Ember understood it now. She was using charm magic on him. A rare and not very often used magic, in fact she was pretty sure it was banned a long time ago. This manipulation made her even angrier. In her mind dirty tricks like that were cheating. She gripped her scythe with both hands and started running towards Cheza. Her charm magic wouldn’t work on her, she wasn’t interested in big breasts. Ember let out a yell as she got ready to swing her scythe down onto Cheza.
“Death Scythe Hound’s Tooth attack!!”
The ground burst to pieces in jagged edges. Dust clouds filled the air. Ember coughed and caught her breath. She didn’t see Cheza.
“Oops. You missed.”
Ember turned around to see Cheza right behind her. She went to raise her scythe again but Cheza used the same attack she had on Natsu and forced Ember flying backwards through the air. She hit the side of the house and slid to the ground in pain. She looked over at Natsu and he hadn’t moved.
“Natsu….NATSU!! YOU ARE CHARMED!! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REALIZE IT AND THE CHARM WILL BE BROKEN!!” Ember yelled at the top of her lungs. She let out a small cry as pain shot through her ribs.
Natsu moved. He shook his head and turned towards her. His eyes burned with anger. His entire body shaking with his power. He stood up, but he was still a little shaky from the charm spell. Ember knew what to do. She gripped her scythe with both hands and closed her eyes. “HELL FIRE!!!” The entire scythe erupted in orange and gold flames, black smoke rising in furls into the air around her. She opened her eyes and looked over at Natsu, raising the scythe and swinging it in his direction.
“NATSU CATCH!!”
The flame attack flew through the air in Natsu’s direction. His eyes grew wide and his mouth fell opened. Cheza began to laugh, thinking how foolish it was for Ember to attack her own teammate. But her laughter cut off when she noticed that Natsu was eating the flames, his stomach extending as he gulped them down.
“Wh….what the hell?” Cheza gasped.
Natsu smirked and wiped his mouth with his fist. He stood up straight and shot Ember a thankful glance.
“That fire was delicious. Now I’m all fired up!”
Cheza had no idea what to think or even what to do. And before she could react, Natsu was coming down on top of her with a flaming dragon iron fist attack. The ground shook and exploded around them. Ember shielded her face from the debri. When the dust settled she opened her eyes to survey the damage. Natsu was standing over a knocked out Cheza, looking over at Ember. He nodded, and Ember closed her eyes to rest.
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“So are your ribs okay?” Natsu asked as they walked back to the guild.
“Mm they will be alright. I just hit that house really hard. To bad it wasn’t made of jelly or something.” Ember laughed, and then winced as her ribs pinched.
“Maybe we should take the train.” Natsu sighed.
“No! No I can make it. I’m tougher than you think.”
“Okay.”
They walked in silence for a long time until Happy decided to make his presence known. He had been silent the entire trip, and didn’t even make any moves during the battle. So when he talked, Natsu and Ember were both hit by the curiosity of exactly why he hadn’t said anything. Happy was never the one to be quiet.
“Natsu, how did you like Ember’s fire?” Happy quipped.
“It tasted awesome. But hey, why didn’t you do anything during the fight buddy? You always help me!” Natsu said shaking his fist up at the flying cat.
“I was told not to.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”
“Did I say that?”
“I think Master Makarov told him not to do anything so he could report exactly how the fight went. I also think he teamed us up in a bid to try and ease the tension.” Ember interjected.
“Yeah well it was a bad idea. You got seriously hurt. You aren't strong enough.” Natsu huffed.
“Oh, you're welcome for the fire pal.” Ember gasped, offended.
“Natsu, don’t be so mean to Ember. She’s Fairy Tail too!” Happy said, flying in circles.
“Why don’t you like me Natsu? What did I do?”
“Nothing. I don’t hate you or anything. I just don’t trust you.”
“Huh?”
Ember stopped walking. He didn’t trust her? She just didn’t understand why. And for some reason, him saying that hurt all the way down to her bones. Her stomach turned, and she again winced from the pain in her ribs. She clutched at her injury, feeling tears burn in her eyes. She honestly didn’t even have the energy to try anymore.
Natsu stopped walking, sensing that Ember had fallen behind. He turned around and looked at her. Seeing her in the state she was in bothered him a little bit, but he wouldn’t show it, and he certainly didn’t trust that feeling. As much as he didn’t trust her. She may have helped him in the fight, but that didn’t change his stance.
“I’m sorry. But that’s just how I feel. Now let’s go.” He said in a low voice, and then continued walking forward.
“I hope that….one day….you can trust me. Natsu.” She whispered to herself, and began to follow him.
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Ember and Natsu noisily arrived back at the guild hall. Natsu’s clan of friends perked up and ran to him, flurrying him with questions. Ember hobbled over to the bar holding her side and Cana and Mira ran to her aid. They helped her from each side and got her back on balance.
“What happened Ember?” Mira asked concerned.
“ I got thrown against a stone house. Hard.” Ember laughed.
Cana looked over at Natsu and gave him a dirty look. How he could arrive back at the guild with an injured team mate and not so much as show concern was not like him, and she certainly didn’t like it. She knew Ember, and she wasn’t a bad person, and she was getting damn sick of people acting like she was.
Master Makarov slammed his fist down on the bar to get everyones attention. His eyes were closed and he had a drink in his hand. Everyone looked to him, waiting for him to speak. He took a sip of his drink, his cheeks flush from the alcohol, and then he opened his eyes.
“So how did it go? Happy?” Makarov asked.
“Aye! They traveled on foot because neither of them like transportation. Natsu gets sick and Ember is a scaredy cat. Heehee. They ran into two female wizards. One used arrows that did all sorts of cool things like explode and smoke, and the other used charm magic and sent both Ember and Natsu flying. But Ember was thrown into a stone house and hurt her ribs. But while Natsu was weakened she used her Hell Fire attack with her scythe and scent the flames to Natsu for power. He said they were delicious. Both wizards were defeated and arrested by the Magic Council Guards.” Happy said, very quickly as he flew in frantic circles above everyone.
“Mmmm sounds good.” Makarov nodded.
“Not good at all Gramps. She is too weak. And I can’t fight alongside someone I don’t trust.” Natsu said, his arms crossed.
“Oh, is that right?” Makarov said, squinting his eyes at Natsu. “Yet she powered you with her Hell Fire attack, and you thought it was delicious?”
“So what??? She got thrown against a house and was pretty much defeated, and she can hardly walk!!” Natsu yelled.
“Yeah well if you didn’t get charmed and become all goo-goo ga-ga over some slutty blonde bimbo then it wouldn’t have happened in the first place!!! And don’t forget when I warned you of the arrow that would have melted you’re fire breathing ass if it had hit you!!” Ember yelled at Natsu.
“If you had attacked in the first place instead of standing there like an onion then I wouldn’t have gotten charmed in the first place!!”
'“Standing there like….an onion? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Asshole!!”
“That’s enough. This is worse than Gray and Natsu on their worst days.” Makarov said slamming his fist down.
“HEY!!!” Gray and Natsu both yelled.
“You two need to grow up, and learn to work together. We are all a part of the same family here. You are all my children. I have had enough of this negativity. It has gone on long enough. This is not the way we welcome new members. I don’t know when you all became this way, but it’s time to put it to rest.” Makarov said calmly.
“I’m not working with her again. I want to stick with my team.” Natsu said, gritting his teeth.
“You will be working with her again. I assure you. Now go home and get some rest, the both of you. You need it.”
Natsu shot one last dirty look at Ember and then left the guild hall. Lucy seemed to catch his attitude because she did the same, and followed after him. Happy flew out next. Ember breathed heavily as she looked around the guild hall. Everyone was looking at her. Watching her. Judging her. Erza and Juvia looked at her with what she could only assume was pity. Gajeel and Levy refused to even pay her attention. Gray shook his head and sat down. Even Macao and Wakaba seemed to look at her as if she was some week thing for people to feel bad for. She felt her anger rage through her. She clenched her teeth, trying with all her might to hold back her emotions.
She always knew that her emotions could bring out the worst in her, and she knew she had to control them. But right now she was injured, and her pride was hurt. So were her feelings. People she wanted to accept her kept shunning her. They wouldn’t even give her a chance. Her body shook with her power, and everyone in the guild hall snapped their necks to look at her. They could all feel it. Her hair fell in front of her face and she smirked a fanged grin. Good, let them feel it. Bastards. Orange and Gold hell fire erupted all over her entire body. The black smoke rising towards the ceiling. When she heard people gasp, and even a startled cry, she snapped out of it. The flames went out in an instant and she snapped her head back up.
Ember looked around the hall with wide eyes. Everyone looked shocked. Some scared. Even Mira and Cana, the closest people she had to friends, had backed away from her. Makarov looked at her and shook his head, and then jumped off the bar and disappeared upstairs. She breathed heavily. Why had she let herself lose that much control? She would ruin everything if she let this happen again, if she hadn’t already. Tears started to stream down her face and she began to limp towards the door to leave.
“Ember wait, you need your wounds to be treated.” Mira cried.
Ember looked back at her, sorrow and embarrassment flowing down her face in a steady flow of tears. She gathered up all the energy she could muster and ran out the door.
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“What in the fuck was THAT???” Cana exclaimed.
“That was some serious magic power. And Natsu said she was weak?” Macao pointed out, and Wakaba nodded in agreement while puffing his pipe.
“Natsu is obviously an ass.” Gray said. Everyone turned to him.
He stood up, and of course his shirt was off. Erza yelled at him but he ignored her. He put his hands on his hips and looked over at Cana and Mira.
“You know her better than anyone else here. What are we missing?” Gray asked.
“Nothing. She’s a very nice girl!” Mira squeaked.
“She really is. And she holds herself back most of the time because all of you jerks intimidate her so much. Maybe if you all weren’t such judgemental assholes this would not have happened. Now look at everyone, they all have a negative opinion now!!” Cana freaked out at Gray.
“Do you really blame anyone?” Gray yelled back at Cana.
“Yes! Yes I do you naked fool!! Maybe if your thoughts were as free flowing as your clothing you would get it. You all made her uncomfortable. All made her feel unwanted. And now you are surprised she lost her cool? One time? You mean like you and asshole Natsu do ALL THE TIME!!!”
“ Listen I didn’t start this!!! It was all Natsu and Gajeel!!”
“Hey!! Watch it frosty!!” Gajeel growled.
“Well, is anyone going to go check on her before she destroys the town or something?” Gray sneered.
“Screw you. Seriously Gray.” And that was the last thing Cana said.
“Everyone leave her alone for now. She needs some time to herself.” Mira said calmly. No one fought with her.
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Ember stumbled into the forest and fell to her knees. She gripped the grass in her hands as she cried. Every so often she would let out a loud screech due to the pain she felt every time her sobs made her ribs quiver. She straightened up and pulled her scythe off her back, holding it out in front of her. Engulfed in flames one second, and then the next her beloved friend Nunu was standing in front of her.
He looked down at her and tilted his head. He sniffed at her face, whining, and licked at her tears. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his fur. He sat there and let his friend cry. Ember gripped at his fur and tightened her arms. She didn’t want to let Nunu go. He was her only friend. And he probably always would be. She hated that she was so emotional. And always so nervous. But it was these kinds of things that made her this way. That made her want to forever stay isolated and alone. But she was sick of being lonely. She had had enough. She didn’t know what to do anymore, and the more she thought about it the harder she cried. Even Nunu’s warmth wasn’t helping.
Out of nowhere Nunu started to growl, and Ember could feel his body vibrate. She was pretty sure his growl vibrated the Earth they sat on. Then she felt it. That dark presence. Her body went cold and her eyes snapped open. He was here. Why now? Why here? Of all places, and after all this time. Shaking, she parted herself from Nunu and looked up. And there he stood. His emotionless eyes looking down at her. His black hair falling in front of his eyes. The sweet face of a boy hiding the evilness of the worst demon.
“What are you doing here?” Ember said, clenching her fists.
“I can’t say hello?” He asked.
“No. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
“I felt your darkness. So I came.”
“And? It doesn’t concern you.”
“But I think it does.”
“BE GONE ZEREF!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!”
He disappeared in one blink. The wind began to blow again, and the birds began to chirp. The sun was still setting and night time would soon be upon them. She looked at Nunu and wiped her eyes. Catching her breath she went to stand up but fell back down. And, she sensed another presence behind her. One she had never sensed before. She turned around, slowly and cautiously.
Standing there in between the trees was an old woman in red. Her hair was a similar color to Natsu’s, and it had a wand with crescent moons on either side of it sticking out of the bun on top of her head. She looked at Ember with curious eyes.
“Who….are you?” Ember stammered, wincing in pain. The pain was getting worse.
“When are you going to tell them?” The woman said in a voice like creaking wood.
“Tell who...tell who what?” Ember breathed.
But before the woman could say anything more, Ember’s vision went black and she folded to the ground. Nunu whined and sniffed her, nudging her and licking her face. He didn’t growl at the woman in red. He knew she meant no harm. He knew she was only there to help.