The Problem Child (Fairy Tail Fanfic)

Meaningful

{NADIA'S POV}
I dash through the canal frantically. If Reiki catches me, he'll figure out the truth quickly. As soon as I'm far enough away, I climb out of the canal, startling a couple nearby.

"What are you doing?" The man asks.

"It's hot outside. I was taking a swim."

They stare at me like I'm crazy. I look down at my wet clothes in dismay. A second later, I hear Reiki calling for me in the distance. I try to run, but I'm sluggish from the extra weight of the water and my soggy shoes leave muddy footprints.

I light my body on fire. The couple screams and runs away. My fire easily evaporates the water and drys my hair. Satisfied, I duck into a side alley.

A second later, Reiki catches up. He stands where I did before, and whips his head in all directions, searching. "Natalie! Where are you?"

"Um, excuse us, but is Natalie the girl in the canal?" It's the couple from before. They must've realized the fire was magic, not spontaneous combustion, and come back.

"Yeah. She has pink eyes and black hair. Did you see which way she went?"

The woman glances at her man, forehead crinkling in confusion. "The girl we saw in the canal had pink eyes but her hair was pink too."

"That's right." He agrees. "We didn't see which way she went because she started to use fire magic, so we got scared and left."

All the color drains from Reiki's face. He grips the shoulders of the girl. "Did you say... pink eyes and pink hair? And fire magic?"

The couple nods. Reiki looks like he's trying not to faint. He's mentally connecting the dots. I back slowly into the alley.

I hear Reiki run away, in the direction of the guild hall. When I leave the alley, the couple is gone. I sigh in relief.

I know what I need to do. "Cindy! Rio! Anya!"

I go around searching for them. I eventually find them, in the guild hall. Aside from them, the entire building is deserted. I run up to Cindy.

"Nad—err, Natalie?" She looks startled. "Your hair. It's pink."

"Technically, it's salmon. And you can say my real name. Reiki knows." I tell my friends what happened with the couple and the canal.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, looking around.

"They got a clue about where Akuhei Tanaka's base is. The entire guild went to check it out."

"Ooo, ooo," Anya pipes up. "I saw them meet up with Reiki as they were leaving. They were really shocked by what he said."

"Do you know where they're going?" Both Rio and Cindy shake their heads.

"Something about the sewers." Anya says. She's always been the best at gathering information.

"My keys?" I hold out my hand. Cindy fishes my key ring out of her pocket and tosses it to me.

"Thanks guys." I hug all of them and leave the guild hall. I find a manhole cover in one of the streets, and pry of the lid. I attach my keys to my belt, take a deep breath, and jump in.

I land on my feet, but of course the first thing I do is slip on the damp floor and land on my back next to the smelly brown sewage.

"Ow," I groan, rubbing my sore back. I stand slowly and observe my surroundings. I catch a whiff of something from the right side of the tunnel.

Smoke. I race off in that direction. A couple twists and turns later, I stumble to a stop before I run into the backs of my guild mates.

The tunnel opens into a massive cavern. The ceiling is so high, it's probably visible from the surface, perhaps disguised as a warehouse. Akuhei Tanaka likes those.

In the middle of the cavern, a battle has just taken place. Men and women wearing darkly colored clothes, presumably members of Corpse Harvest, lay all over the ground. Everyone in my guild is okay, just minor bruises and scratches.

Then someone starts clapping slowly. I duck in the entrance to the tunnel, just before Akuhei Tanaka comes into view. On his right is Scar, and the man with the chain-sickle is on his left.

"Well done, Fairy Tail! I would love to stay and chat, but, unfortunately, my business is not with you." Akuhei Tanaka smiles almost pleasantly. Beside him, Scar scowls.

"You think yourself a businessman?" Mom asks.

"Of course." Akuhei's smile turns wicked.

"Then I have a deal for you. Never ever mess with my daughter or my guild again, and when we crush you we'll try to make it as painless as possible." She threatens, the look in her eyes scary.

"By daughter, do you mean Miss Natalie, oh sorry, Nadia? The one who made me the bane of Fairy Tail and a celebrity in the underground? That girl would have been better off if she stayed dead."

I grit my teeth. This guy...

"Did any of you ever think about about why Miss Nadia didn't return to your pathetic guild? She easily could've, but she didn't. What did you do, I wonder, that made her want to leave so much?"

My guild mates look hurt and guilty. I can't take it anymore. "It wasn't them. It was me."

Heads whirl. People gasp as I come out of hiding. The crowd parts as I walk through them, straight towards Akuhei Tanaka and his two lackeys.

"Akuhei Tanaka." I stop and point my finger at him. "I accepted the request to bring you in. If I fail twice it'll make Fairy Tail look bad, so prepare yourself. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be."

He holds his arms open, inviting me in.

I crouch into a runner's stance. My fingertips brush against my keys. "I know I haven't summoned you guys a lot recently, but I'm weaponless so I'll be counting on you." I whisper.

Then I superheat the soles of my shoes and use the power as a speed boast, flying at Akuhei Tanaka. His eyes widen. If it wasn't for Scar jumping in front of him and catching me with his iron covered hands, I would have knocked Akuhei Tanaka out with a well placed headbutt to the solar plexus.

Without pause, I twist my body and follow up with a flaming roundhouse kick that makes Scar slide back a few inches. He grabs my foot while it's in the air and pulls, making me lose my balance.

As I struggle, I see the bladed end of the chain-sickle flying at me in my peripheral vision. I push up with my foot that's on the ground, hearing the blade whoosh under me, missing by a millimeter. Scar takes the opportunity to spin, and chucks me across the room. I land with my feet on the wall, creating a crater, and push off.

Setting my fist on fire, I fly straight towards Akuhei Tanaka, screaming, "Let's finish this!"