The Mating Season | NaLu Fanfiction

02: Target

"Fuck," Erza cursed under her breath. She could taste steel on her tongue, a crimson liquid dripped down her chin. The pain she had just received after she hit her back on a wall made her take heavy breaths.

"Erza!" Mira yelled from the other corner. Both of them already had a fair share of bruises and minor injuries.

How long had it been since the runes got activated and Lucy was taken away for Porlyusica? Only five minutes.

It had only been five minutes but the fatigue felt worth more than that. They had recently gone through a huge battle that lasted for days and they survived it, however, it was different this time around. They weren't fighting to kill with their full power, but to pin down someone with such hostility all the while making sure that he wouldn't be harmed. The sealing magic chains weren't even working on him.

It was more exhausting.

Aside from them having a hard time to move freely because of the runes caging them, it was also caging the heat coming from Natsu's flames. It was suffocating.

The sweat trickling down their skin felt irritating. The painful heat sinking into their flesh was sucking their energy off.

Erza looked around. They couldn't just remove the runes. It would cause more damage...

Since when did they start caring about the damages, though?

"Freed!"

She came back to her senses when Evergreen's voice echoed. Natsu was already attacking Freed.

"What happened?!" Erza stood up and helped to defend. Her body glowed, changing her destroyed Flame Empress Armor to the Heaven's Wheel.

"Freed is suddenly his target!"

Makarov's order was to not involve Freed Justin in the battle for a reason. And it seemed that Natsu had already figured that out.

Erza yelled, dragging swords across the ground as she began running towards them. "He's planning to take down Freed to break through the runes!"

"I'm capable of defending myself," Freed remarked. "Just focus on your job."

Mira's heart sank as she watched how everyone in the guild surrounded Natsu. It felt wrong...to fight a guildmate this way. A member of their family. However, it wasn't like they had any other choice.

It's different from the Battle of Fairy Tail... She blew out a sigh. Let's just do this quickly and get it over with.

Meanwhile, Gray's team had already met up with Gildarts along the way. He was now the one carrying Lucy as Lily had already turned into his small form.

They were like arrows piercing through the wind, dried leaves and twigs cracked beneath their feet. The forest was silent, making the tension somehow more profound. The branches of the gigantic trees were like huge umbrellas protecting them from the sharp droplets of rain that began to pour.

"Damn. We have to hurry."

Gray removed his coat and draped it over Lucy as the rain turned heavier by the minute.

"The heavens know what's up, huh," Gildarts muttered. "The weather is on our side."

"I don't think so," Gray waved his Lacrima Communication Device where Makarov's name was displayed on the screen. He pressed the answer button.

"Gray."

"Should we worry?"

The silence from the other line was enough for them to figure out the situation. How did he even manage to escape from the high caliber of Wizards trying to stop him in the guild? Mirajane? Erza? Gajeel? The Thunder Legion?

There's only one thing that possibly happened. Natsu had beaten Freed. But how did that happen when Erza and the others were there to prevent that from happening?

I wonder...

Gildarts let out an exasperated sigh. Wet strands of hair dangled on his forehead. He looked up at the sky as they came into a stop. It was dark, the clouds looked heavy.

Despite the rain, it wasn't enough to put off Natsu's flames.

The situation made some memories linger in Gray's head. During the war with Alvarez, he had tried killing Natsu after learning that he was END. However, his power to kill demons wasn't even enough to stop Natsu. His flames still managed to break through his ice.

At the moment, Gray was worried that some remnants of demon seed were still within Natsu. If his ice couldn't do something against him, what more this simple rain, right?

"I'll...face him, too." Gray stared at Gildarts. "Let Lily take care of Lucy."

Seeing the finality in his eyes, Gildarts nodded in defeat. He carefully handed Lucy to Lily who had turned into his battle form once again.

"Gray-san, Gildarts-san, he's getting nearer!" Wendy announced with urgency.

"We'll take our leave now," Lily didn't wait for any of their words and spread his wings. Carla carried Wendy and followed, same with Happy and Romeo.

"Happy," Romeo looked up at him as they flew away. The Exceed was no longer crying. Instead, his expression had hardened with resolve.

"I'm fine. I promised Natsu that I'll look after Lucy while he's...away."

Now it was Gildarts and Gray waiting for Natsu's arrival. The splatter of the rain and the rustles of the branches were the only ones that filled the air. The droplets then began turning into crystals as the temperature dropped drastically, black markings began crawling across Gray's right arm until it reached half of his face and body.

From afar, they watched how the trees began turning into ashes, although ice started covering it before it could even spread out and cause wildfire.

Despite the overwhelming tension, Gildarts managed to chuckle.

"It's not that bad to let you stay here, huh."

Gray fought the urge to roll his eyes.

The two turned serious when an ominous feeling reached their senses. In a blink of an eye, a roar of fire lunged towards Gildarts. Just like any other survival instinct, he raised his hand and used his magic without thinking. Everything in the scope of his attack sliced into small cubes—whether it's trees, a portion of land, rocks, or Natsu's flames—and scattered around with destructive impact.

The old man obliterated a huge part of the forest when it wasn't even an intentional attack.

Gray muttered curses as he protected himself with his ice from the debris. However, before he even knew it, a fist covered with fire broke through his defense and landed a hit on his face.

He had flown across the area and managed to stop the momentum with boots creating friction and his fingers digging into the muddy ground.

"What the hell?"

He spat blood. His cheek stung.

This bastard...

Veins popped up in his forehead in irritation when Natsu smirked at him smugly, dark flames surrounded his body. Despite not being in his consciousness, the Dragon Slayer still didn't fail to get into his nerves.

"It seems like he already has a target in mind even before he arrived," Gildarts laughed heartily from the branch of a tree. He sat there comfortably as though they weren't in a serious situation. "I guess I'll stay on the sideline for a while."

Gray snickered, a smirk with no humor on his face. He was really, really annoyed. "Better go home. I don't need your help."

I gotta get even.