Dawn of Adventure {Book One of The Paths We've Traveled}

Chapter Forty-Eight: Natsu vs. Lucy

"You're going down, Dragneel."

"Yeah, real creative, Heartfilia."

"Why the face? What, did my taunting already get under your skin?"

"Nah, it's just real hard to say Heartfilia and sound tough."

"I can't even tell if that's an insult."

"Of course it is!"

"Whatever! Let's just get this started already!"

"You're super anxious to have a beatdown, huh?"

"Oh, we both know this is the time I'm gonna beat your ass."

"Keep dreaming."

"Come at me!"

The two wizards leapt into action, magic already flying. Flame burst out in spirals, twisting around a whip of pure energy. Golden light burned, followed by a woman's raised voice.

"Hey, no fair! We said no spirits!"

"Star Dress isn't a spirit. It's just me using my resources!"

"Ugh, you're impossible!"

The blonde's grin only grew wider, and she cracked her whip once more. The earth rumbled beneath her feet, causing the Fire Dragon to jump backward to avoid the split in the ground.

"Hey!" He complained again.

She laughed. "Quit complaining and fight me for real. I'm not going to break if you land a punch."

"Yeah, but I don't wanna hurt you."

"The whole point of this was so I can train and get better. Besides, when you fight with Gray or Erza or anyone else from the guild, you don't hold back. What makes me so different?"

"I love you?"

"Sweet. Love you too. But seriously, if you don't actually start fighting me, you're gonna regret it."

"And what're ya gonna do?"

"You could wait and find out, or you can just treat me like a threat."

"You're the biggest threat I know."

"Flattery won't work."

"But a distraction did." And just like that, his flames burst from the crack she'd formed in the ground, dancing over her feet and forcing her to stumble backward in order to keep the fire from burning.

But her eyes sparkled. "That's more like it." Then they were both jumping into the action again, exchanging blows and taunts with increasing ferocity.

"What's going on out here?" Jellal stepped out of the hotel, blinking as he emerged into the sun and took in the scene before him. Lucy and Natsu sparred in the empty clearing beside the hotel, their fight already garnered the attention of many and drawn a small crowd around them. Happy and Wendy stood off to the side, cheering on their friends with giddy expressions. Carla offered up a word of encouragement every so often, but she spent most of her time bent over a notebook, scribbling furiously (he guessed the Exceed was deciphering a new premonition, but he had quickly learned that it could be quite anything and preferred to not assume what it was she wrote). Erza and Gray finished out the group from Fiore, both standing at the outskirts of the crowd but watching the fight intently. As he approached, he noticed them leaning toward the other and whispering, likely something to do with the match before them.

Erza smiled when she saw him arrive. "Jellal."

"Erza," he greeted, ignoring the flutter in his stomach when he looked at her.