Protection: A Fairy Tail Fanfiction

Chapter Eight: Salvation

"The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility." - Vaclav Havel

CHAPTER VIII: Salvation

THE guild was in an uproar. Zeref stared as several of the members ran around between the chairs, screaming something about the Magic Council. A couple of chairs were thrown into the air and a can of molasses was thrown at his head. Zeref leapt to the side and stared as it splattered against the door.

"What...?" He asked out loud, and glanced at Levy. She shrugged and walked off, joining the metal dragon slayer who was obviously her boyfriend. He looked around and saw Natsu by a counter, drinking something. He skirted the outskirts of the chaos and joined him, plucking it out of his hand.

"Oi!" He took a gulp from it and then promptly spat it out when it scalded his tongue and throat, spluttering. Natsu laughed as Zeref's eyes watered.

"That thing is like a million degrees or something!"

Natsu snatched the cup out of Zeref's hand and took a gulp of the drink. Zeref gaped at him in disbelief. "That's what you get for taking my food."

"Y-you—" His fingers twitched by his side with the urge to wrap around his neck. He'd forgotten just how infuriating he could be at times. "How can you drink that without scalding your throat?"

"I'm a fire dragon slayer, remember?"

"Nope. Nope. Still not an answer. It is impossible for people to be able to drink something that hot."

Natsu shrugged. "I just like my food really, really hot?"

Zeref groaned. He still didn't understand how that was even possible.

"Stop!" Makarov roared, and the guild stilled and went silent. Zeref went silent as well, wondering yet again why the guild was in such an uproar. He was pretty sure he hadn't done anything himself – he'd been as good as a puppy was. Which, wasn't very good actually... "Jellal, explain. In detail." He pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was exhausted. Or just done with the entire guild in general.

There were footsteps coming from the back of the guild, and Zeref's head turned. Whispers broke out as a figure – a man, probably – cloaked in blue garments walked out from the shadows. Lisanna and Elfman, Mirajane's siblings, stepped out of his way and the person spoke a soft, "Thank you."

Male.

The man, Jellal, knocked the hood off his face in the dramatic fashion that Fairy Tail seemed to possess. His eyes were pitch black, contrasting sharply against the red tattoo that wound around his eyes and his pale skin. Their eyes locked for a heartbeat and Jellal's eyes widened for a moment, before they slid over to Natsu. His brother shook his head, and Zeref looked at him in confusion.

"Err, right." Jellal said, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Some of you may be aware that I've been working to infiltrate the new council—"

"Again?" Someone muttered, and Jellal smiled at where the voice came from. It was an older member—the one who chain-smoked.

"With good intentions and on Makarov's orders, Wakaba. Don't worry." And then his expression darkened and he turned his gaze back toward Makarov—wait, no. He was looking at Erza. She was sitting next to Makarov on the countertop, her expression serious but with something else in it as well. Worry? Admiration? Is he her boyfriend?

"The chairman of the new council has issued an order to search every guild for unmarked members... on the claim that one of them is hiding Zeref."

Short, blunt, and to the point. Several heads spun and several gazes fell on him, and Zeref carefully studied the grain in the wood floors of the countertop. A part of him considered dropping a pin on the ground and seeing the reaction of the guild. The rest of him wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. He'd never done well with having a lot of attention fixed on him.