#fairy tail big bang 2018

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon (Chapter 31)

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Chapter 31

Soulmates have existed for as long as any dragon can remember, it’s one of the first things they teach us as whelps, and many dragons seem to have one. However, there is little recorded information on how they came to be or what the effects of soul bonds are on mated pairs.

“Tell me about it,” Atlas grumbled. For all the scrolls he’d pored over, there was little useful information. He continued reading, hoping that this journal he’d found, written by a dragon named Alienòr, whose scrolls he vaguely remembered reading, would end up being useful.

Not having a soulmate of my own, I became increasingly interested in this topic, curious to understand if there was something I was missing. After spending several centuries observing as many mated pairs as I could find, I have come to the following conclusions on this topic.

Although I came no closer to determining how this bond comes about, I determined that there are several stages involved in reaching a successful mating:

I call the first stage awareness - Many mated dragons described sudden knowledge that their soul mate had come into existence. They did not know who it was or where they might be, but they were full of certainty that they had entered the world.

The second stage is pull - Years after they achieve awareness, the dragons will inevitably meet; they will experience a sort of pulling sensation that will guide them to their mate. One fire dragon I talked to described a pull so strong it drove him to fly one thousand miles to a place he was unfamiliar with, only to find his mate living in a cave there.

The next stage is recognition - Mates will immediately recognize each other once they are in each other’s presence, regardless of age or gender. It is more common for this to happen after the onset of puberty, but I also witnessed it in younger dragons. The relationship remains platonic until both dragons have reached sexual maturity.

Atlas stopped his reading to think about how that applied to what he knew of Natsu and Igneel’s situations. Why had they ended up near this tiny village? Had it been arbitrary, or was Igneel drawn here? He couldn’t be sure. Igneel had been acting strangely at the time, but they’d both been under a lot of stress.

Natsu, however, had described a scent that guided him to fly to where Gray was. Atlas remembered Igneel’s insistence that Natsu did not need to go off searching for Gray as he would make his way to Natsu on his own. That sounded like the pull Alienòr had described.

He also knew that both Natsu and Igneel had immediately recognized Gray and Porlyusica as their soulmates. So far, their experiences matched up to what the journal described.

Once mates have recognized each other, a sort of courting process begins, which seems to vary both in time and method from race to race, although the overall goal to impress the other remains the same.

Fire dragons, for example, use involved flying acrobatics to impress their mate. I have added an extensive list of some feats I witnessed in my notes.

The dragons offer tokens to each other when they are ready to mate. The mating act itself seems to be what causes the souls to rejoin.

Although soul bonds are not sentient, they behave in a way that suggests specific aims.

The bonds seek to have mates coexist in each incarnation for as long as possible. This phenomenon is most noticeable when the mates are from different races. As an example, I observed a mated pair comprising an Earth dragon and a Sky dragon. The Sky dragon was the elder of the two by about two hundred years.

I have known Earth dragons to live upwards of fifteen hundred years, whereas a Sky dragon’s lifespan is around six hundred years. However, this Sky dragon lived to the unlikely age of close to a thousand years, while the Earth dragon died at eight hundred.

I have listed additional examples in my investigation notes, but this pattern was consistent across mixed-race soulmates.

“Where the hell are these notes he keeps talking about?” Atlas muttered to himself. He couldn’t recall having ever come across them, and it sounded like they had information he might find useful. Looking down at the mess of scrolls and books that took up almost every inch of his room, he sighed, knowing finding them was unlikely.

With natural death, mated dragons with longer life expectancies died earlier than was usual, while dragons with shorter life expectancies saw their lives extended.

When a mate’s death is precipitated by anything other than natural causes, there is a powerful urge for the surviving mate to take their own life. This urge can be surpassed, but it is rare to see the dragon reach full maturity. It is my opinion that there is some outside force working away at their life force so the cycle can begin anew.

Side effects/ Abilities of the soul bond

Although there doesn’t seem to be one unified experience, there are certain phenomena that are oft-repeated:

Mates have limited telepathy with each other; however, they cannot intrude on each other’s thoughts. This ability can improve with practice.

Heightened senses let them detect each other’s location.

Lying or acting in any way that will upset their mate will cause acute anxiety and inner conflict.

Mates cannot consciously hurt each other.

Have an open mental connection often described as a continuous background hum, allowing them to recognize any significant shift in emotions or pain levels

Based on these observations, I have devised spells that will grant me the ability to examine souls. I hope that reviewing what differences might exist between the souls of dragons with soulmates and those without will give me new insight. I’m also quite curious to learn if there is any way to study the soul bonds directly.

Atlas turned to the next page excitedly, wanting to read any results or conclusions Alienòr might have reached, but to his dismay, there was nothing but empty pages.

“Damn it!”

He slammed the journal on his worktable in frustration. Atlas knew he recognized the dragon’s name, but he couldn’t remember which of his scrolls he might have read. With no other alternative left, he began sorting through the mess, trying to locate Alienòr’s work.

0-0

Gray had informed Atlas and Igneel of his decision as soon as he’d returned from his trip with Lyon. Igneel had acted pleased while Atlas had disappeared to his room in a foul temper, claiming he needed to work on the spell. He only came out to eat and to spend time with Igneel.

Gray had left them to their preparations while he focused on training, applying himself with the same dedication he’d had when learning Ice Make magic from Ur all those years ago. He practiced his astral projection for hours at a time until he felt comfortable leaving his room and exploring the cave. Sometimes Igneel joined him, and they’d chat about Natsu, which only bolstered his determination to work hard. During those moments, Gray could tell that Igneel seemed sad about something, but he followed Lyon’s advice and didn’t let it worry him.

“I think you’ve got the hang of this now, how about we try something new?” Igneel asked, appearing in Gray’s room just as he was getting ready to move around.

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”

“I thought you could try to use your magic.”

“I can use my magic like this?”

“Of course. Your magic is a part of you, you might as well get used to wielding it.”

“Does that mean I’ve always had ice magic?” Gray puzzled. Until he’d met Ur, he’d had no sign that he had any magical power.

“Yes, it might just have taken a while to manifest while your dragon soul learned to adapt to being in a human body.”

Gray supposed that made as much sense as anything else.

“Will it be different from what I already know?”

“Why don’t you try it and see?” Igneel encouraged, watching him with great interest.

Gray thought it best to cast a spell he used often, since he was nervous about invoking his magic while in astral form.

Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur

An ice sword materialized in front of him, just as it always did, but this time it clattered uselessly to the floor when he attempted to close his fingers around it. It was only then he remembered he no longer had fingers to speak of. He’d also forgotten to account for his now larger size, so the sword looked more like a toy than a weapon.

Igneel chuckled at his horrified expression. “You might have to change how you think about it, though. Creation magic is powerful. You’ll just have to devise ways to use it that will suit your dragon body. Until then, your talons, fangs, wings, tail, and even the horns on your head are all powerful weapons you can use to great effect. As a dragon you’ll also gain a breath weapon and improved control over your element.”

Gray hadn’t even considered he might have to use his magic differently once he switched bodies, but he’d figure something out. That was the thing he’d always loved about his magic. It would never fail him as long as he could think his way through a problem.

He couldn’t contain his excitement at the thought that in a few short weeks he’d be with Natsu again. And this time he’d be the one to surprise him with a grand gesture, just like he’d always wanted. They’d be able to have the life they’d always dreamed of.

He was still nervous about how that was going to play out, though. He knew next to nothing about being a dragon.

“What’s the matter? You look worried. Are you afraid you won’t be able to do it?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just, I don’t know the first thing about being a dragon and-”

“You’ll be fine,” Igneel assured him, “Believe it or not, a lot of it will just come to you by instinct. I have to say, I’m a little curious though. It’s obvious you’re some sort of ice dragon, but you don’t look like any I’ve ever seen.”

��I don’t?” Gray frowned, not understanding what Igneel meant until he remembered the last dragon that had attacked Talos. It had been an ice dragon, and it’d been white and smaller than Natsu.

“No. All the ice dragons I’ve encountered have had white, light blue or silver scales, and they were on the smaller side. They looked nothing like you.” Igneel said, pointing at Gray’s navy blue fur and larger size.

Gray was a little disappointed, Natsu had found ice dragons pretty, and he’d been looking forward to his reaction when he realized his mate had turned into one. Then again, he had a feeling that would be the last thing on Natsu’s mind when he saw him

.

“So how do I use my breath weapon?”

“Can you feel your magic inside you?”

Gray nodded, it didn’t feel any different than usual.

“If you’re used to creating things with your ice, you probably let out your magic in even spurts. Am I right?”

“Yeah, I don’t really need to use a lot at once unless I’m molding something large,” Gray agreed.

“Breath weapons are very effective, but they take a bit of time to charge up. That’s why you need to learn how to use other parts of your body to fight while that happens. Now, I want you to collect as much magic as you feel comfortable with, and then I want you to let it out all at once through your mouth. You can’t hurt anything here, so aim wherever you want.”

“Okay.” Gray closed his eyes to settle his nerves and began calling on his magic, letting it collect until he didn’t feel like he could hold it in anymore. It felt like a tremendous amount, even though it was only a fraction of what was available to him. He released it all at once, feeling as it traveled through his lungs, up his long neck and out through his mouth.

Considering what he’d seen of Natsu’s breath attack, even in his human form, he’d expected to see a large cone of ice spewing out from his mouth. However, no ice had come out at all, even though he’d felt something. It took him a moment to notice a sort of fog surrounding him.

“Well, that was pretty pitiful,” Atlas snorted from behind him, “What’s the matter, forget how to make ice?”

Gray startled at Atlas’ voice and instantly felt something shift in his magic. He didn’t quite understand it, but he noticed the mist had gotten thicker.

“What the hell?” Atlas sounded puzzled, and he stared at Gray, eyes narrowing as his brow furrowed.

“Is there a reason you're gracing us with your presence?”

“Look at his side,” Atlas urged Igneel, who only shrugged.

“I don’t see anything.”

“It’s not doing it on that side too?”

“Doing what? What are you talking ab-,” Igneel moved to stand beside Atlas, peering through the mist to get a look at Gray’s side.

“What is that?”

“No idea, I’ve seen nothing like that before. Did that mist get thicker when it started?”

“Could be. Are those markings?” Igneel muttered, “Do you think they mean anything?”

“Maybe? Maybe some kind of mutation,” Atlas suggested, “or he could be some special type of ice dragon? Might explain why he looks different.”

“I don’t understand, why didn’t any ice come out? My ice make worked just fine,” Gray interrupted the two brothers before they got involved in one of their discussions.

He didn’t get why they were so worked up about the inky tendrils that had appeared on his forearm and shoulder. Frankly, he was more concerned with his magic not working the way he’d expected.

He didn’t really get why they were so worked up about the inky tendrils that had appeared on his forearm and shoulder. Frankly, he was more concerned with his magic not working the way he’d expected.

“I don’t know,” Igneel admi, d, “but it’s the first time you tried to use your breath weapon, it could be you just need practice.”

“I guess,” Gray said, feeling disappointed. It had felt like he’d done everything right.

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Atlas said, “the astral realm doesn’t work the same way as what you’re used to. Things here work off two things: intent and instinct. You followed your instinct, but since you don’t know what to expect, it would make it difficult to visualize the outcome well enough to materialize it here. I’m sure that will change after-”

“So what did you come here to tell us?” Igneel changed the subject abruptly.

“I’m taking off for a while. I found something I think might be helpful, but it’s incomplete. Maybe the rest of it is still in Desierto.”

“It’s a waste of time, we have everything we need here,” Igneel argued.

“No. We don’t,” Atlas growled, “I’ll be back in a week. You should do some research on those markings while I’m gone, it could be something. Odds are if we haven’t come across something like that, he hasn’t either.”

The hellfire dragon disappeared from their view before Igneel could protest further, and although he still looked upset, he also seemed pensive.

“Why don’t you try one more time before we call it a day?”

Gray nodded and began collecting his magic once more.

0-0

Atlas hadn’t returned to Desierto since they’d moved to the mountains near Talos some twenty-five years earlier, but he’d lived there for almost four hundred years. He still knew just about every nook and cranny of the vast cave system they’d called home. He’d first explored it as a whelp along with Igneel, Deliora and several of the other dragons they’d grown up with.

It was also the place where he’d first discovered his love of magic, something his parents had quickly recognized and done their best to encourage, despite him being a hellfire dragon and unlikely to progress very far. It had taken him decades to see any development, but once he had he’d never looked back, learning more and more until it seemed like there was no problem he couldn’t solve with magic.

Atlas had told Igneel he’d only be gone a week, and it had taken him two days of swift flying to get here. That left him with about two days to search and one day to rest before embarking on the flight home.

Atlas knew Igneel had probably been right in saying this was a fool’s errand, but if he could somehow keep his brother from having to give up his life to do this for Natsu, it would be worth it.

Familiar scents greeted him as he stood inside the main entrance, filling him with a profound sadness. A lot of those dragons had passed away during the war, and would hopefully be reborn soon. But some hadn’t been as lucky. For those, the only remaining trace of their existence lived inside Acnologia.

It grieved Atlas to think of how many soulmate pairs the renegade had destroyed with that soul reaping spell of his. He wished they’d realized how dangerous Acnologia was earlier. They might have had a chance then, before he’d collected so many types of magic and become so unpredictable. It would have saved them a lot of heartache. Sadly, there was no magic that could turn back time, and it was something he had very little of at the moment.

Where should he look first? The old library seemed the most likely place to start, but he’d supervised its relocation himself, so it was unlikely anything of import would still be there. Alienòr was a name he’d vaguely recognized, so he’d likely died before Atlas had been born, as he’d apprenticed under all the red dragons that had studied magic.

Atlas found his way to the old library, which as expected was empty. While debating which areas of the lair had the highest chance of gaining him results, he felt a pull and groaned, recognizing it as Natsu wanting to communicate.

What now?

He headed to his old quarters, casting a barrier spell at the entrance on the off chance there was someone else inhabiting the cave. Natsu waited for him at their usual meeting place.

The souls that visited the astral plane could shape it into whatever guise they wanted. For Igneel, that often meant a volcanic region, but for Natsu it was their mountain. He sat atop it now, staring up at the stars as he often did when he was home.

“Everything okay?”

Natsu sighed, “Yeah. We’re almost done sending the dragon slayers home. Most of them had their magic removed.”

“I see. Does that include Wendy and the others?”

“No, they all kept theirs. I had to remove Irene’s magic, though.”

Atlas couldn’t help but notice the sad expression on his nephew’s face. “Something’s bothering you. Out with it.”

“I didn’t have time to tell you last time, she began to dragonify.”

Atlas grunted his displeasure at the news. Irene was a friend. She’d fought hard for them from the very beginning, having come from Dragnof where dragons and humans had once lived in harmony.

“How bad?”

“Her face, I’m not sure where else. I removed her magic to keep it from progressing, but she-”

“Let me guess, she doesn’t want Anna or Erza to see her like that?”

“Yeah.”

“Stubborn as always, but don’t worry about it. Tell her I can help her, but only if she comes home.”

“Thanks, I was hoping you could do something.” Natsu looked relieved, but Atlas couldn’t help but notice that the underlying sadness remained.

“It’s the least we can do for her,” Atlas smiled, remembering some of Irene’s feats. “Erza’s the one that used to beat you up when you were a kid, right?”

Natsu nodded, his eyes soon returning to the night sky. “How’s Gray doing?”

“About how you’d expect, he mopes around without you and complains about the heat.”

Natsu chuckled, but soon turned quiet again. His tail twitched behind him, giving away his agitation.

“Seriously, kid, what’s eating you?”

“Sting and Rogue are coming home.”

“And you don’t want them to?” Atlas wondered out loud.

“I don’t know. Talos is their home, even more than it’s mine. It’s just—I’m worried,” Natsu said, “You know what? Nevermind, it’s stupid.”

“I don’t follow. Is it because you’re still angry?” Atlas pressed.

“No, I mean I am, but that’s not really it.”

“Then, why don’t you tell me what it is you’re worried about?”

“It’s just—things between me and Gray are hard enough now. He goes off to work every day, and I do my King thing. Neither one of us fits into the other’s world. Not as things are. And I know he says he’s happy, but he’s my mate. I can feel his sadness.”

Natsu teared up. “How’s he going to feel when he’s confronted with Sting and Rogue? When he sees them having what we once had, but never can again. Is it going to destroy what we do have? Is he going to resent me?”

“Why not go somewhere else then?”

“I can’t take Gray away from his brother and his friends, that wouldn’t be fair. And where would we go, anyway? I can’t take him to Drak Aast, not after I agreed to remove all humans from the island.”

“Ugh, this whole thing sucks!” Natsu roared out his frustration. “This is exactly why I wanted to set him free.”

“You know that wouldn't have changed anything. From what Igneel tells me, Gray would be a lot more miserable without you, and I think he’s right. Think of how far that boy came to be with you. I think you should have more faith in him.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’m just scared. Now that he’s been living with us—I don’t want to go back to the way it was before.”

“Things will work out somehow, I’m sure of it.” Atlas nuzzled his nephew’s cheek, wanting to offer him some comfort from his gloomy thoughts.

“Thanks. I should go, there are still a lot of things I need to do before I go.”

“Sure. When will you be home?” Atlas asked, trying to appear uninterested in the response.

“One week’s time. At least it was a brief trip, huh?”

“Yeah, we can talk more when you get home.”

Natsu grunted his agreement, “Bye, Atlas.”

And just like that he was gone, and the mountain along with him. Atlas’ soul returned to his body, and he was once again in his old bedroom. He paced the large room, cursing this newest problem.

Atlas wanted to tell Natsu the truth. He thought Igneel’s plan was unnecessarily cruel, but he supposed it would be even crueller to make Natsu choose between his father and his fondest wish.

Natsu was coming home in one week. If Atlas didn’t return right away, they might not have enough time to perform the spell before Natsu arrived with the dragon slayers.

But he hadn’t even searched yet.

Natsu doesn’t need me anymore, but he needs Gray. This current arrangement they have, you know it’s hurting them both.

Igneel’s words haunted him. Damn it, why did he always have to be right? It pissed him off.

And how the hell could his brother expect him to let go of him so easily? The only time they’d been apart since they’d hatched was when Igneel had lived in Talos with Porlyusica, and even then they’d seen each other regularly.

Igneel was more than his brother, he was his best friend. Atlas had never needed anyone else. He’d come to Desierto in search of a miracle, desperate to find anything that would keep him from having to let go, but…

Igneel had long ago made his peace with his sacrifice. Atlas was being selfish, and no matter how much Igneel’s decision hurt him, it wasn't his choice to make. And Natsu had unwittingly confirmed why it was so important.

After everything Natsu had done for them, didn’t he deserve to live the life they’d always promised him? Especially when Gray was willing to trade everything he was on the off chance they could manage it.

Atlas could spend days here, but he knew he was unlikely to find anything that would help. They had moved everything of importance twenty-five years ago. Even if he found those notes, they might not help him at all. And then he’d have missed his last days with Igneel for nothing.

He’d always bet on magic to solve all his problems, and maybe with enough time it could. But he knew he had to follow his heart this time, or he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

He would head home in the morning, but first he needed to rest.

0-0

Gray raced down the mountain path, making his way towards the lake where he knew he’d find Lyon and Erza. They went there every day to watch the sunset before heading home to get dinner started.

Natsu and Happy would be home in four days, but for once that wasn’t the reason he was so excited. Atlas had told them the dragon slayers would come with them. All of them.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Sting and Rogue’s return, but he also knew it wouldn’t be an issue. By the time they arrived, he’d more than likely be a dragon. If that were the case, it would be a lot easier to forgive them for what had happened.

Gray ran past the field and through town, waving at the people that greeted him along the way. He didn’t stop until he saw Lyon and Erza standing by the shore. It took him several minutes to catch his breath and by that point his friends had already noticed him and were watching him with concern.

“Is something wrong?” Erza asked, and he wanted to laugh because it was just the opposite but held it in to avoid choking and really worrying her. Instead, he raised his hand at her and gestured for her to wait.

“They dragon slayers are coming home,” Gray finally managed to get out in between pants. He peered at Erza with a big smile and added, “All of them. Natsu got in touch with Atlas and told him, they’ll be here in four days.”

“My mother?” Erza breathed, tears welling in her eyes. “She’s coming home?”

Gray could only grin at her as she tackled him so hard they both fell on the ground.

Lyon helped them up, laughing at Erza’s embarrassed expression as he wrapped her up in a hug. “That’s amazing! She’s finally coming home, I’m so happy for you.”

Gray couldn’t resist teasing his brother, “You’re going to get to meet your mother-in-law, I sure hope she likes you.”

Lyon glared at him, but Erza was quick to shut Gray down, “Nonsense! Of course she’ll love him. How could she not?”

Gray could think of a few reasons, but he kept them all to himself because Erza turned to smile at him then and she looked so radiant it took his breath away, the setting sun no match for her beauty.

“Why am I standing here? I have to tell Anna!” Erza glanced over at Lyon, “Do you want to come?”

“I’ll stay with Gray, there’s something I want to talk to him about, and I imagine Anna would rather hear the news in private. Take your time, I know the two of you will have a lot to talk about.”

Erza waved at them and then ran in the orphanages’ direction.

“It’s nice to see her so happy,” Lyon commented, as he watched her retreating figure. “She’s waited for that for so long.”

“Yeah, she certainly has.”

“So, what does this mean for you? You’d said you needed to do your thing before Natsu returned.”

“I’m handing in my resignation tomorrow morning, so I guess I’ll say my goodbyes then. We’re planning on doing the spell the day before Natsu arrives to give me some time to get used to—uh, everything I guess. Not sure what will happen after he gets back.”

“Have you thought about what you’re going to tell people?”

Gray hadn’t given it any thought. “Why would anyone care?”

“Because you’ve been a guard for a very long time?”

Gray shrugged, “I dunno, I guess I’ll say my husband and I are moving away somewhere.”

“As crazy as it sounds, I’m so proud of you. I’m sorry I gave you a hard time on that trip. I just—”

“I know. You were trying to look out for me, I’m glad I stuck it out though.”

Lyon squeezed his shoulder, “I am too. I know it wasn't easy, but now that you’re about to get what you’ve always wanted, I couldn’t be happier.”

He suddenly laughed, “You know, I never thanked you for nagging me to move here. And I’m glad everyone is coming home, it hasn’t been the same without them.”

Gray smirked, “Maybe you can take down Wendy someday... but I doubt it.”

“You promised you’d never bring that up again,” Lyon whined, much to Gray’s delight.

“They’re going to be different,” Gray warned, thinking of the things Natsu had told him.

“I know, but we can still be here for them.”

“You’ve grown up a lot.”

“I had an outstanding teacher,” Lyon remarked, playfully punching Gray’s shoulder.

“Have you told Erza about the spell?”

“No, I didn’t

know what to say, and I kind of thought you’d like to tell her.” Lyon snapped his fingers, “Don’t forget you promised me a ride!”

“Sure, sure. You’ll probably crap your pants,” Gray snorted, but Lyon’s words served as a pleasant reminder that his brother loved him no matter what.

“Hey, do you remember that time we iced Sting’s locker?” Lyon giggled.

“His face!” Gray roared, laughing at the memory. “And then Natsu refused to help him melt it, so Rogue had to phase into it and get everything out for him so he wouldn’t be late for his shift.”

They sat down to watch the sunset together, laughing as they looked back on the good memories they had made during their earlier years in Talos.

0-0

“Do you have a minute?”

Gray looked up from the sketch he was working on before going to bed to find Igneel standing at the room’s entrance.

“Yes, of course,” Gray put his pencil down and gestured for Igneel to come inside, curious what his father-in-law wanted to talk to him about.

Igneel ambled in, “I just wanted to let you know Natsu got in touch with us a few minutes ago. They’ve just left.”

Gray tensed up at the news. It thrilled him that Natsu was coming home sooner than expected, but it also reminded him how little time they had left.

Igneel glanced around the room, his eyes coming to rest on the piece of paper Gray had been working on, “I didn’t know you drew. Is that Natsu?”

“Yeah, it is.” Gray scratched the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious. He’d only ever let Natsu and Lyon see his drawings. “It’s not something I do often, just when I’m anxious, I guess. Keeps me from getting inside my head too much.”

Igneel nodded in understanding, “I suppose that would be magic for me. Speaking of which, I’m sorry to say we’ve yet to find any information on those markings of yours, but we’ll keep looking.”

“I still don’t get why you guys are so excited about that.”

“Well, it’s because it has the potential to be a weapon against Acnologia. We don’t understand much about how his magic works, but he has one spell that allows him to reap a portion of a dragon’s soul. When successful, he links the soul to his magic and gains a certain resistance or immunity to that magic.”

“That happened to you, didn’t it?”

“Yes, along with many other dragons. It’s why he’s so hard to kill, he’s made it so our magic is useless against him. But if we could find something he’s never encountered before,” Igneel shrugged, “who knows?”

“I doubt that mist would do much of anything against him,” Gray muttered.

Igneel chuckled at him. “Don’t sell yourself short, we don’t know what it can do yet. I’m sure Atlas will figure it out once you can wield it. It will be an excellent distraction for him.”

Gray stopped to wonder what it would be a distraction from, but the sheer panic at having to fight Acnologia someday soon replaced it.

“I’m going to fight that thing?”

“It’s possible. Does that scare you?”

“Well yeah, he held his own against all of you, and you knew what you were doing.”

“There’s something I told Natsu a long time ago. It’s likely the most important thing I ever taught him, and I’m going to share it with you as well.” Igneel disclosed.

“Regardless of who you’re fighting, the critical thing in any battle is to keep a level head. You have plenty of weapons at your disposal, but your mind is the most important one. If you let yourself panic, then you’ve already lost. I think as a creation mage, this is especially relevant to you.”

Gray nodded, understanding the truth in those words. He only hoped he’d remember them when the time came. He was aware of how terrifying Acnologia was. Then again, the next time they met things would be different. He’d no longer be a human, and Natsu would be right by his side. Not to mention, Gray had a score to settle with him, for hurting Natsu the way he had, and for taking away the life they’d just begun.

He did, however, want to change the subject to something more pleasant, especially with Natsu on the way home and the possibility of danger never far from his mind.

“Do you think you could teach me how to fly once I’ve changed? I’d like to surprise Natsu and I’m not sure I could survive Atlas teaching me anything else,” Gray implored, recalling how miserable he’d been when the hellfire dragon had taught him how to astral project.

“You don’t think you being a dragon will be enough of a surprise?” Igneel joked, but his laughter sounded hollow, and Gray couldn’t help but notice Igneel had averted his eyes.

“Igneel?”

The fire dragon stared at the ground, remaining silent long enough to make Gray feel uneasy.

“I haven’t been entirely truthful with you,” Igneel admitted, looking up at Gray at last.

“What do you mean?” It amazed Gray how calm he sounded, because inside he was anything but. He’d known from the beginning that Igneel was keeping something from him, and as much as he wanted to know what it was, he’d also been dreading it.

“I’m afraid I won’t be here after you’ve changed.”

“Won't be here?” Gray repeated, “I don’t understand.”

“What we’re trying to do, frankly, it’s never been attempted before. I’m not sure anyone but Atlas could manage it, and it would never work if you didn’t possess a dragon soul.”

“How to explain it?” Igneel’s talons tapped the cave floor as he thought.

“Energy can’t be created, it can only transform from one form to another. And it will take a lot of energy to create the body that matches your soul. To accomplish this, Atlas will have to deconstruct both our bodies and transform the released energy into your new body.” Igneel explained, gauging Gray’s reaction before continuing.

“However, despite having a dragon soul, your current lifespan is still that of a human. So the second part of the puzzle was, how can we prolong that to closer match Natsu’s? There’s only one solution. I will merge my remaining life force with yours. From what Atlas discovered in his research, your soul bond should take care of the rest.”

“Are you saying in order for me to become a dragon, you have to... die?” Gray balked at the thought.

“Gray—”

“No!” Gray stood up from his chair, moving to bridge the distance between them. “How can you talk about this like it’s nothing? Do you have any idea what your death would do to Natsu? Because I do. I’ve lived it.”

It scared him to think of how Natsu had acted after that nightmare, and back then he hadn't even known for a fact if Igneel was dead.

“Gray—”

“How can you ask this of me? I’ve already put him through so much, I can’t be the one responsible for taking you away. Can’t you see that? And how the hell is Atlas—”

“GRAY!” Igneel roared, cutting off the rest of his protests.

“I understand how you feel, but I assure you I didn’t decide this lightly. And I do know what it will do to him. But I also know that Natsu is strong. Losing me will make him sad, but it won’t destroy him. Losing you, however, is a different matter.”

“But your soul,” Gray objected, trying to think of anything that might change the dragon’s mind. “Natsu told me if you died before Acnologia you wouldn’t be able to—”

“I appreciate your concern,” Igneel frowned, “but any doubts I may have had were gone the moment I realized your magic might be what we need to defeat that abomination.”

“But we know nothing about it!”

“It’s still the only lead we have. I’ve had a wonderful life, Gray. Full of love and magic. It’s all I ever wished for. So please, don’t change your mind now. I know it’s asking a lot, but let me do this for the two of you. I want to.”

This was insanity. There was no way he could be a part of this. Natsu would never forgive him. Not in a million years. Gray felt the room closing in around him as everything fell apart.

“I can’t—,” He didn’t know what it was he couldn’t do, breathe, go through with the spell, understand what was happening? It felt like all of them at once.

“Just think about it, okay?” Igneel pleaded.

“I have to go.”

Gray turned around and ran out of the cave, not at all sure what he was running away from but needing to breathe some fresh air, heat wave be damned. He headed down to the lake again, knowing it would be cooler near the water. Maybe he’d go for a swim. He needed to think, and it was late enough he didn’t expect to see anyone.

He stripped before wading into the water, letting himself float while looking up at the night sky. The stars shone brilliantly, reminding him of all the nights he’d spent at the top of the mountain with Fukou.

What was he supposed to do?

According to Lyon, he wasn’t responsible for the choices of others, but surely there had to be a limit to that. Going through with their plan meant Igneel would die.

But Igneel said it was something he wanted, and Atlas wasn’t trying to stop him anymore.

If he went through with it, would Natsu hate him for taking his father away?

If he didn’t would he regret it when he died and Natsu had to continue living alone because of the promise he made?

Back and forth Gray went, getting no closer to an answer he could live with. If only he could talk to Natsu to get a feel for what he’d want him to do. That was what he hated the most out of all this. This decision affected both their lives, yet he needed to make it on his own.

Why couldn’t they just wait until Natsu returned?

“Gray?”

He forced himself back to the present, glancing at the shore and finding Juvia peering at him with a concerned expression. How long had she been calling for him?

He didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment, but he also didn’t want to be rude.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said, standing up in the water and walking towards the shore. “No need to make that face, I just felt like cooling down.”

“Oh,” She didn’t look very convinced, but she didn’t call him on it and she perked up when she saw he was walking over.

“Juvia is glad to run into Gray. Juvia was afraid she wouldn’t get to say goodbye when she missed the meeting.” She sat down on the sand, delicately arranging her skirt around her.

“Well, Natsu won’t be back for another two days. I’m not sure when we’re leaving,” Gray said, grabbing his clothes and putting them on before sitting next to her.

If at all.

“Juvia also heard congratulations are in order.”

“Congratulations?”

“Gray married Natsu,” She blushed prettily.

“Oh that,” Gray had forgotten he’d announced it at the meeting, “uhm thanks.”

“Lyon said Gray had been in love with Natsu since he was very young. And when Natsu went off to fight in the war, Gray wore his scarf and waited for him to return for so very long, never giving his heart to anyone else.”

“Gray is so very romantic!” Juvia cooed.

“He didn’t say this in front of anyone else, did he?” Gray groaned at the thought.

“No,” Juvia giggled, “Only Juvia. Lyon is proud of Gray. Juvia thinks he’s a bit of a romantic too.”

“He’s something, alright,” Gray laughed along with her. “How about you? How’s the mysterious boyfriend?”

“Juvia is on her way to see Logan. He lives on the other side of the lake,” Juvia smiled, her eyes shining as she looked across the water.

“I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy.”

“Juvia is too, it’s much nicer when the other person likes you too.”

“Juvia... I’m sorry—”

“No, no!” Juvia raised her hands in protest. “Juvia didn’t mean it like that!”

“Juvia had no one to teach her how to use her magic. So Juvia made it rain all the time, and it drove people away. Juvia was always lonely. Then Gray defended Juvia, and Juvia wanted to believe it was because Gray loved her.”

“So Juvia forced her feelings on Gray and drove him away too. Anna helped Juvia understand that was not what love was. Then Juvia met Logan, and he was very interested in Juvia and Juvia’s friends.”

“Oh, have the others met him?”

Gray couldn’t recall hearing anything about it, but that wasn’t all that unusual. He didn’t precisely socialize with anyone outside of Lyon and Erza, and his problems had distracted him from everything else.

“No, Logan doesn’t enjoy crossing the lake, but he cares about Juvia. Logan asks about Juvia’s day and about her friends. And now, Juvia is happy. She would do anything to be with Logan.”

Gray blinked at her, knowing those words sounded familiar. It didn’t take him long to remember why. He didn’t need to guess Natsu’s answer, because he’d already given it to him when they had been trying to find their way back to each other.

If there were any way to change what I am, I’d do it in a second. I’d do anything to be with you…

There might not be a way to change what Natsu was, but Atlas and Igneel had given Gray the opportunity to do just that, and he’d come so close to throwing it away. While he still didn’t feel right about Igneel’s sacrifice, he would accept it. After all, hadn’t his own parents given up their lives for him?

“Thank you!” Gray wrapped Juvia up in a quick hug, flustering her even as she looked confused by his outburst. “I have to go!”

He scrambled to his feet and ran back home to tell Igneel what he’d decided.

Juvia watched him leave in stunned silence. Gray had been the first man Juvia had ever loved, even if he’d never returned her feelings. And he’d also been the first person to show her any kindness. She would always remember him fondly.

She waited until she couldn’t see him anymore and then turned to the water and waded in. Once the water reached her neck, she switched to her water body and swam across the lake, her mind filled with her upcoming rendezvous.

It didn't take her long to reach their meeting spot. Juvia dispelled her water body, her clothes already dry by the time she reached her lover.

“You’re late,” Logan snapped.

“Logan waited for Juvia!” Juvia ignored his rebuke. She walked up to her boyfriend and grabbed his one hand in both of hers and smiled up at him. “Juvia is sorry for being late. Juvia ran into one of her friends on the way.”

“It’s alright,” Logan drew in a long breath before returning her smile. “I was just worried about you.”

“What should we do tonight? Shall we go to Logan’s house? Juvia can make some food if Logan is hungry.”

“It’s such a pretty night, why don’t we go for a walk?” Logan offered, leading Juvia towards the forest once she agreed.

The blue tattoos that ran down Logan’s arm gleamed in the moonlight, contrasting with the dark skin that Juvia had always considered exotic. She stared at them briefly, once again wondering what they meant. She’d asked him one time, but he’d changed the subject.

Gray had referred to Logan as mysterious, and Juvia had to admit he wasn’t wrong. She knew little about him, even after months of seeing each other. Whenever she asked him questions about his past, Logan somehow turned the conversation back to her.

“So which of your friends did you run into?”

“Oh, it was Gray,” Juvia replied, her attention on a flower that only bloomed at night.

“Wasn’t he the ice mage that was injured during the dragon attack?” Logan’s tone was casual, but his hand squeezed Juvia’s tighter than usual.

Juvia frowned. She’d been about to complain when he relaxed his grip, flashing her an apologetic smile.

“Sorry darling, you know how just the thought of dragons gets me all worked up.”

“It’s alright,” Juvia assured him, “It’s not something Juvia likes to talk about either, but yes, that was Gray.”

“And how is dear Gray doing these days?” Logan let go of her hand, picking the flower Juvia had been admiring and placing it in her hair.

“Wonderful!” Juvia blushed at his attention, her hand moving up to her hair to touch the flower. “Gray’s husband is coming home at last, and they’ll be moving away soon.”

“Who is his husband again?”

“Juvia has never met Natsu, he’s one of the dragon slayers that left to fight in the war.”

“Natsu,” Logan’s voice dripped with a venom Juvia had never heard him use before, “I sure hope he gets the welcome he deserves.”

“Logan?”

A/N: One chapter to go! I'm so excited and I do plan on continuing through to the end. Next chapter will feature some guest writing from my husband so expect a nice fight scene as well as a beautiful art from @khaoticvex​! As the song that makes me think of the next chapter goes... It's been a long time comin'

#gratsu #fairy tail #update #gray x natsu #fairy tail big bang 2018

[ao3feed-akeshu]

Neither Fish Nor Flesh

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAnoxW

by swan_songs

Mermaid AU. The world is cruel to those that don’t fit in. Both Akira and Akechi are outcasts in their respective societies – the first one because of a false accusation that tarnished his name, the second one because of being born with a cursed tail color. Both are trying their best with the cards they were dealt, but it’s considerably harder for Akechi who is being chased by people who hunt supernatural beings like himself for profit.

For Akira, a normal teenager still living with his parents in a remote city by the sea, meeting a creature straight from fairy tales might be both the worst and best thing that has ever happened to him.

Words: 7488, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Persona 5

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Akechi Goro, Kurusu Akira, Morgana (Persona 5)

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist

Additional Tags: mermaid au, Merman!Akechi, Human Akira, But Things Might Change(tm), Enemies to Lovers, at least from Goro's POV, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Tags will be updated with new chapters added, ShuAkeShu Big Bang 2018

#akeshu #shuake #goro akechi #akira kurusu #p5 fanfic #ao3feed

[ibitchytimemachine]

FanFiction Recommendations

Pretty much everyday I see some post about people looking for Vegebul fanfics. Here is a list of fics I have read (or are currently reading) and enjoyed. There are other fics I have read and liked, but maybe not enough to recommend (if that makes sense). Some of these I already have longer reviews for and I have linked the review just incase you want to see what I thought about it before you read the story. Some of these I have reviews in process. I will update the post as I read more, and as I review more fics! I tried to tag any of you that I could, If you aren't tagged, just send a message and I’ll pop you in! Dig in Below the cut! 

Some of the fics below are our lemon goodness (with some plot) I will mark these with a ~

Black Coffee - @jadefyre

Concerto - @bitchii-usa

Red - LadyVegeets (I need more of this one!!)

On Set - LadyVegeets

City of Stars - Mynsii

Girl Next Door - LadyVegeets

Hindsight - @neala-ernswa.  (see My Review)

Choices - @saijanbulma

Ready? - LadyVegeets

Never Ever Land - @dragonbabezee

Endlessly (and the sequel Butterflies and Hurricanes)- @froglady15 (see My Review)

Accidental Intimacy - Springandbysummerfall

Vengeance - catgirl26 (See my review)

~ Blue Doll - LadyVegeets

Friends - LadyVegeets

Hiraeth - @jbae654

Clandestine - @thats-my-bulma

Surviving Paradise - theAsho

Diamond in the Rough - vegebul_soup

Matchmaker - @jadefyre

Burnout - blackcatscratch

Out of Time - Writersblock42

The Lost Prince - PearlsValeMel

~ Insurrection - ScarletRaven1001

Cut from the Team - @rockykelboa (see My Review)

Camp Four Star - vegebul_soup

Road to Recovery - @lovethecrystalrose (see My Review)

Playing to Win - springandbysummerfall

Purge - @brinker-hadley

~ War Drums - Cardinal_Daughter

The Prince of Ash and Snow - @thenotsosupersaiyan

~ Monkey Business: A Misummer’s Night Dream - dragonbabezee

Tit for Tat - @the-tesseract-wrinkling-time (See my review)

Yellow Roses - SarahW

~ Lectures on Phonetics - saiyan_no_hime

A Glad Day - Lisalu.  (see My Review)

Keiyaku (and the sequel Kotonari) - @emmaekay

~ Tell Me - MajinNeda.  (see My Review)

Broken Down Universe - dragonbabezee.   (see My Review)

Fire Meet Gasoline - MsDocWho

The Sweetest Dream - @blacksheep115stuff

The Art of War - Roz

Places That We Knew - wbss21

~ Selcouth - jbae654

Something Borrowed, Something Black and Blue - @rcmclachlan

College 101: Intro to One Night Stands - Vegebul_Soup

Additions as of January 2019

Big Bang 2018 STORIES

First of all, if you haven’t checked out the Vegebulocracy Big Bang Stories and Art, go do that now! I 100 percent recommend those fics. HERE IS THE LINK TO MY REVIEWS OF THE FICS!

Lucid Dreams - @hannabelllecter​

Fake It Till You Break It - @aladylan

Glorious: Book 1 - @froglady15​

On Guard - @maiikawriter​

Gunship - @rockykelboa​

Emissary - @jadefyre​

Illuminary Inc. - @dragonbabezee​

Retribution - @scarletraven1001​ (See my in depth review)

Other Fics

Unwanted - LavenderGoddessV (see My Review)

In the Shadows - @niteryde (see My Review)

Hookups and Hangups - springandbysummerfall

Collide - @aladylan

Into This Night I Wander - @nudepasta

A Gift Lost - Zero_paradise

~Heavy Lifting - @1vulgarwoman

Additions as of July 2019

Mini Bang 2019 Stories

You can read through my reviews of all the stories here.  

Although everyone did an amazing job writing their fics and you should read as many as you can (and the art was amazing), my favorite picks from the mini were:

Dive @rockykelboa

Blinded @scarletraven1001

Life at the Edge of a Blade @bearstarseraphffxi

Within @blacksheep1105

#Bandman @1vulgarwoman

Elusion @piccoloisgreen

Beatae Memoriae @ambrosiaswhispers

Revel @jadefyre

Sanguinary @ibitchytimemachine

Other Fics

At His Mercy @neala-ernswa (See my review)

Flight bluelily3 (See my review)

Command Me Lightphyre (See my review)

Galactic Pursuit @lady_red (see my review)

Obsession @vegebul-soup

Evil AnyMonoUs

Grand Opening xingshous

Nothing Interesting Happened Today pandare

Small Miscalculations jacotaco

A Place in the Sun @rockykelboa

Capsule Corp Cryptid WugBug

Pop Culture Mahagonydoodles

Destiny Khandy_raynne

Bandaids on Bulletholes @1vulgarwoman

Cake, Coffee and Confession @ultra-butane-baby

Reign @thats-my-bulma

I read MOSTLY VegeBul Fics, however there are two non VegeBul fics that I 100 percent recommend. 

Real Men Don’t Make Sandwiches - anenglisheducation

Hilarious, Krillin and Veggie. (see My Review)

Fairy Tails Don’t Exist - Under8000

Raditz Centric, heartbreaking must read

Writers who I enjoy pretty much everything 

I have probably added some of their works above, but literally everything I have read from these writers has been fantastic. 

@ladyvegeets

@scarletraven1001

@rockykelboa

@sarahw-world

@vegebulsoup

@jbae654

@dragonbabezee

Shameless Self-Promotion

I can promise you that my writing is nowhere as good as some of the stories above, but if you want give my stuff a chance, here are the links! 

Sanguinary

Book one of a trilogy. Vegeta-sei AU. Bulma is a warrior. Written for VBO mini bang. Complete

In His Head

Vegeta introspective following the three year gap. One shot, subtitled Resting Bitch Face. 

Childhood Memories

Written for TPTH Smutfest 2019. Mostly fluff, complete. 

Hippies

Veggie at an Earth Day festival. (for Vegebulocracy BBB)

Training Day

Daddy/Daughter training (for the TPTH BVDN 11/18)

~ The Story of Us

Pure Filth, for the TPTH SmutFest 10/18

~Long Time

Also Pure Filth

Here are some links to other lists like this one. 

The only reason I have my current list is because I ran into other peoples lists of fics, so here are a few I have kept over time and refer back to when I am in the mood for something not bookmarked on Ao3. 

Vegebulocracy’s Author Showcase: Volume 1

Jbae654′s Fanfic List

List of authors

@ultra-butane-baby‘s list of Vegebul Reads in 2017

#fanfiction #list #Vegeta x Bulma #vegeta #bulma #recommendations

[shibuemiyuu]

Desires - Hakuoki Fanfiction - Chapter 16

Hello guys! How do you do? 

Here’s another update! And this will be the last chapter I can update on weekly, because the next chapter is still on progress. I don’t know if you noticed or not but I once said in the early chapter that I’ve posted this story on ffnet and ao3. And this chapter is the last chapter that I’ve posted on that site. I have joined an event (Fairy Tail Big Bang 2018/2019, have you heard about that?) and it requires my full attention. And I have another event in real life that’s also taking up most of my time. So... I won’t be able to post another chapter at least until the mid of March. 

Though there is one thing that change from this chapter and so on. My beta reader, @impracticaldemon, wouldn't be able to help me anymore. It's not because we had a fight or something like that. She had a health issue back then and that's why she wouldn’t able to help me for unforeseeable future. Thank you for all the help Oni-chan! The one that will be my beta reader from now is @nalufever. All the editing credits goes to this wonderful person :)

With that being said, I hope you can enjoy this chapter and be patience for the next chapter :D

Chapters of the story:

Prequel - Prologue - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - Omake - XIV - XV

@hijichiweek @kirakirachiizuru

Miyuu

-XVI-

No other words could describe the cord of tension between Hijikata, Chizuru and Kazama except that it was very thin and strained; even a dull knife could cut the string and snap it. Each of the men glared at the other with unwavering focus.

Hijikata, who had just arrived at the scene, was greeted with the oni captain focusing on Chizuru with a murderous look. Not to mention the close proximity between Kazama and Chizuru. The man was holding the woman's arms in a tight grip, while the latter was trembling in her captor's arms.

Oh, yes, Hijikata knew without having to see with his own eyes that Chizuru was trembling at that moment. Trembling with fear and anxiety. He could feel it in his deepest gut. He didn't like when he was right regarding this particular thing. Anything but this. Hence he drew and threw his smaller sword at the oni captain when he was closed enough to them. The seething anger that had rapidly grown inside him since the moment his eyes saw Kazama and Chizuru's situation was on the verge of of erupting. Blood would be drawn to quench his desire of protecting the woman.

'So be it.'

Kazama, the oni captain, only wanted to take the pureblood female oni with him and make her his bride, leaving the insect -the human- behind. Never in his wildest imagination had he ever thought that the situation would turn out so outrageous and ridiculous like the one he faced with now. Angry was not a word to describe the feeling bubbling inside the core of his body now. He was livid.

How dare this human touch what belonged to him?

Kazama knew who the man was that had made a bond with Chizuru. That one word, one name, and the way the pureblood female oni had addressed the man… he knew who he had to kill and who was responsible for the wrath that he felt right now. He could already taste and smell the blood of the man who had spoiled his perfect plan.

'No one should ever defy me.'

Chizuru, the focus of all the tension that was brewing at that moment - even though she was completely unaware of what the main reason Hijikata and Kazama were throwing murderous glares at each other - was overwhelmed with the situation. She still felt very shocked by Kazama knowing her situation. Her body was numb and her limbs were as useless as the other parts of her body.

No one should have ever known of her situation!

Although she previously had thought that the oni captain could somehow decipher her situation, a secret that could not be known if she didn't tell a soul of what had happened (Osen-chan had assured her of this), she never expected that Kazama could really guess it on his own this fast. Had she underestimated the oni captain? No, that wasn't the case. She just didn't want Kazama to be this perceptive, had hoped beyond hope that it would not happen. And when it happened, her mind had stopped working.

From what she knew so far, Kazama was a prideful oni. Being the head of the Kazama family had made the blonde oni to uphold an enormous sense of pride. Unconsciously, Chizuru had acknowledged Kazama's prideful sense of being an oni. The way he carried himself, his low-velvet tone, and the confidence that he would always exude around him. If not for the arrogance and his haughty acts, Chizuru would feel proud to be of the same ilk as the blond oni. Pride was everything for Kazama. And now someone had wounded his pride. She really couldn't… didn't want to imagine what the blond oni would do because of his savaged pride. Sen had warned her not to aggravate Kazama. If they could come out from this situation somehow ALIVE... that would be more than enough. But surely blood would be shed - and whose blood, would be the question.

Hijikata stopped beside Chizuru. "Are you okay?" Hijikata asked Chizuru without his eyes leaving Kazama. His voice was tight and strained, a sign of his bottled up emotion.

"H-hai," Chizuru replied weakly and tried not to whimper. It couldn't be helped the shaking that seeped into her tone when she answered back. Her state of mind was anything but fine.

Hijikata peered to his right to look at Chizuru. Aside from the shaking tone, the anxiety plus frightened expression in her brown eyes, he didn't see anything that was life threatening on her. And for that, relief sent his shoulder sagging just a little; Chizuru was unharmed. She seemed almost fine. But again, he knew better than just to look on the surface. Then he saw her pink kimono's sleeve had a bloodstain.

"Your arms…"

Chizuru's hands instinctively covered her upper arms. When Kazama gripped her arms to get an answer of who had made a bond with her, he had used his strength a little too much squeezing the answer from her. She had felt the oni's fingernails dig into her skin. No wonder she had bled. Being who she was, the wound had been healed nonetheless. It was just she couldn't hide the bloodstain, the remaining evidence of the accident, that had seeped from her wound on her kimono. In her mind, it wasn't something to be worried about. Then again, she should know that nothing could escape Hijikata's perceptive eyes.

"It's nothing," Chizuru tried to assure the fukuchou.

It was not nothing if Chizuru tried to cover it from him. He then remembered her and Kazama's position before he threw the knife to separate the two. His eyebrows furrowed with displeasure. His eyes wandered to assess the situation. Only then he noticed Inoue and the soldier's dead bodies behind Kazama. He returned his focused back to Kazama. The purple eyes shined with cold fury. The oni had crossed the line.

Hijikata was seeing red.

Kazama saw every movement and facial expression the Shinsengumi fukuchou made. From the look of it, the man thought that he was the one who killed his fellow member. Manic feelings rose inside him from the misunderstanding. Savage joy bubbled in his chest. Kazama wanted to see the struggle, the devastated and defeated look on Hijikata's face when he slay and killed him for taking what should had been his. His bloodlust would not be satiated if he didn't torture the man responsible in this situation.

The oni decided that he wouldn't charge first, he would let the man approach and be the author of his own destruction.

'Let the games begin.'

Chizuru watched the silent exchange between Hijikata and Kazama with bated breath. Her eyes also followed every move that Hijikata made. When Hijikata saw Inoue's body, she knew where his train of thought led him. She shifted her eyes to Hijikata's hands that were clenching hard; knuckles turning white. She turned her head to look at Kazama. The oni didn't seem like he would be clearing the misunderstanding on the situation. In fact, the oni hadn't moved an inch since Hijikata had arrived.

What was on Kazama's mind?

He was clearly furious, knowing how he had talked to her previously. But why he didn't do anything and just stood like a statue?

What was his plan?

"You," Hijikata snarled, "You killed them."

Kazama arched an eyebrow. "What? Do I need a reason to kill an insect?" He purposely drawled his answer to provoke and taunt Hijikata. "Killing them wasn't my intention in the first place. They were just in my way. Better to dispose of anything that hinders your plan, isn't it?"

Hijikata was ready to charge the infuriating oni. He would show Kazama how, as he said, the insect, was something he should not underestimate. His hand, that was already on the hilt of his katana, pulled the blade a little while his body prepared for the charge. But then, a pair of hands grabbed his leg, preventing him moving forward.

"What are you doing Yukimura? Get your hands off of me and stay put. Better if you can move and go from here." Hijikata commanded the girl - he didn't want to involve Chizuru any longer than necessary. This fight was between him and Kazama.

"Hijikata-san, you've misunderstood something," Chizuru tightened her grip on Hijikata's leg, in defiance of Hijikata's order. "It wasn't Kazama-san that killed Inoue-san. It was the rebels. Kazama-san was the one that saved me; he killed the rebels when they were trying to attack me." For whatever reason, Chizuru didn't want Hijikata to fight with Kazama. She didn't know what Kazama would do, but she knew, she had this feeling that if they did fight, something drastic would be the outcome. Something really, absolutely terrible would happen. "You don't need to fight him."

Hijikata turned to look at Chizuru. His face was void of expression. But somehow she could feel the anger built up inside the man subside a little. She just had to convince Hijikata a little bit more to leave the scene and go back to the rest of the Shinsengumi.

"Was that what truly happened?" Hijikata returned his focus to Kazama.

"So what if it's truly happened or not. They are all the same." Kazama said uninterested. "In fact, it was an interesting scene. The Shogun army killed within themselves. It was merely proof to me that all you humans are as what as I thought. Insects." The oni spat the last word disgustedly.

Hijikata's glare became instantly murderous because of the oni's words. He hardened his jaw and his stance which had eased a little, was back to a rigid and tense one.

"Looking at the state of things, it isn't hard to see how this war will turn out in the end," Kazama relaxed, folding his arms over his chest. "The Satsuma-Choshu alliance is waving the Emperor's flag. And they have been authorized by the Imperial decree. It's only a matter of time until you're exterminated. That being said, in other words, you are losing the war." He purposely taunted Hijikata with his words, adding oil to the already raging fire. He waited for the fukuchou to charge. Later when he killed the man, he could say that it was the man's fault for charging at him when he knew that their strengths were on different levels, with him as strongest. No one could blame him for defending himself. He had the Kazama family name to uphold. As the head of his family, his name couldn't be sullied by some false charge of killing a man who had attacked him first.

The game was on and he would come out the winner. A smirk spread on the oni's face. "I don't care about your situation, honestly. You can do whatever you want. My business is only to take the Yukimura woman and be done with all of you humans."

"She's not going anywhere with you!" Hijikata said fiercely. "Don't go deciding people's lives as if they are yours. Yukimura is under the Shinsengumi's protection. And I will protect her. That is my promise to her!"

Kazama's smirk slowly turned into a scowl and his playful aura was replaced with murderous intent. "My only intention was taking that woman with me. But that was before I knew something atrociously ridiculous had happened. Something that you had done to her. And for that I will make you pay for ruining my plan. No one should ever take what is mine."

"What are you talking about?" Hijikata didn't understand what Kazama meant by 'taking what was his'. He thought that the 'you', whom Kazama referred to, was the Shinsengumi, and he could swear that they didn't take any of the oni's belongings. And Chizuru was not his to begin with. If the oni insisted that the Shinsengumi had taken Chizuru from him, he would gladly knock sense into Kazama's delusional mind. The fukuchou really didn't have any idea that Kazama's words were more personal. "We never took anything that belonged to you. Yukimura was never yours to begin with."

"Are you pretending to be dumb and oblivious or are you really that stupid that you don't know what I'm referring to?" This human was trying his already thin patience. How dare he try to escape under these circumstances?! "You call yourself samurai, but your actions are far from what you are claiming yourself to be. Such a disgrace." Kazama mocked Hijikata with disdain.

"What the f**k are you saying? Don't go beating around the bush and say the words already! You don't have any right to tell us what we are. You are no better than us." Hijikata gritted his teeth hard. If not for Chizuru's hands that still held his legs, he would have already dashed to the blond oni and beat him.

"At least I don't deny everything I have done. Not like you," Kazama spat the last word, "the very human that has spoiled my plan! Because of you, my plan to make the Yukimura woman mine and to produce a powerful heir will be ruined!" The previous calm and collected demeanor that Kazama had displayed was starting to crumble. He couldn't contain any longer his anger and rage since the moment he knew of Hijikata and Chizuru's condition. "How dare you bo-"

"KAZAMA-SAN!"

The two males were startled by Chizuru yelling Kazama's name. The woman slowly got up from her sitting position. Her eyes were no longer brown, they were golden. Hijikata and Kazama looked to Chizuru, confused by the sudden outburst.

"No one was at fault on this matter. Or if there is, it was me. You can't blame anyone for something that the person isn't aware of. Stop talking nonsense and making false accusations. It isn't your business to begin with. So, please… stop." Determination and conviction shone from Chizuru's golden eyes. Chizuru had unconsciously emitted her oni persona as a pureblood.

Two heartbeats were beating a little faster at the moment.

Hijikata never knew that the woman, his woman, could look so regal and yet so adorable. His hands were itching to grab Chizuru and ravish the woman's lips -the same lips which had spoken with a firm yet soft voice. His desires were on the borderline of taking over control of his conscious actions.

'Get a grip of yourself, Toshizou!'

Kazama knew Chizuru was something else. He had always had good eyes for finding something valuable. This woman was no exception. He'd had indeed his fair share of women - in his family territories or any other place he had visited. But no one had intrigued him as much as Yukimura Chizuru had. Well… That self proclaimed Sen-hime was also something else. Still, his eyes had been set on the Yukimura woman. If only she hadn't made a bond with this blasted human-

Kazama stopped those thoughts and contemplated Chizuru's words. Something on what she had said was wrong. What was it the woman had said back then? That he couldn't blame a person who wasn't aware of something? He stared at Hijikata and Chizuru, back and forth. Then his mind clicked on what was amiss. He looked at them, his eyes focused on something that he had missed seeing before.

Chizuru interrupted Kazama right before the oni could expose the secret. She didn't want Hijikata to know about their situation like this. There's no way she could let that happen! With sudden bravery that welled up inside her, she yelled Kazama's name and startled the two rivals. She tried to suppress the nervous and agitated feelings that almost overwhelmed her. She needed to speak to Kazama, to reason with him… if she could.

Hijikata wanted to ask Chizuru something about the woman's words before. Some questions emerged in his mind that begged to be answered.

What did she mean by a person that wasn't aware of something?

Who was she referring to?

What was that something?

What was she talking about, that Kazama knew and he didn't?

It grated that the blond oni knew something about Chizuru he didn't. But before he could ask his questions, something else caught his attention.

Kazama laughed loudly.

"Ahahahaha!"

Chizuru and Hijikata found it rather strange for Kazama to laugh like what he was doing at the moment. Did the blond oni find something amusing enough to laugh about? Because, neither Hijikata nor Chizuru found their situation laughable.

"Ahahahaha!" Kazama continued to laugh, careless of Hijikata and Chizuru's reaction. A minute or two later the oni stopped his barrage of laughter. "This is very funny. So ridiculously funny. How could I be blinded and become oblivious for a moment because of a human." Kazama sneered and suddenly he dashed towards Hijikata and Chizuru, startling them. Hijikata was not fast enough to block Kazama's punch to his stomach. He was shoved to the side and his back slammed into a tree, making him lose his breath because of the hard impact.

"UGH!"

The oni's speed was faster than any other opponents Hijikata had ever fought. He had to concentrate and focus if he wanted to match Kazama's speed. His guard was down because of the unexpected laugh the oni had let out. The fukuchou berated himself inwardly for the recklessness on his part while trying to regain his composure.

Kazama grabbed the flustered Chizuru and spun the woman around, her back pressed against his body. He circled his arm around her shoulder from behind. He put his mouth near Chizuru's ear.

"It's incomplete," whispered Kazama. "You really had me fooled for a while back then. But your words before…" Kazama smirked, "Did you realize that you slipped, telling me something important about your situation?"

"W-What do you mean?" inquired Chizuru, confused by the oni's words.

"I will tell you something-" Kazama eyed Hijikata and tightened his grip around Chizuru, "-You will still be mine. "

"Let Yukimura go!" Hijikata put his hand on his stomach. Kazama's punch was no joke. His breathing had turned jagged and the pain from the punch was spread around his body. If the oni had hit his chest… he grimaced inwardly, thinking of the result. His body was screaming and writhing with pain but the scene in front of him made him ignore his pain. He gritted his teeth, trying to quell the helpless feeling that began to rise inside.

'Damnit!'

"It's as I said before, it's incomplete," Kazama continued, ignoring Hijikata's words. "The bond that you made is incomplete." The oni felt Chizuru's body stiffen. "Don't dare deny it. I have my own way to know about this kind of thing."

'How…?' Chizuru was rendered speechless. Even in her mind, she couldn't form a complete question. Kazama never bluffed. If he said that he knew, then somehow, by whatever method, the blond oni really knew about the incomplete bond.

"I always get what I want. Looks like this time is no exception." Kazama let out a derisive laugh. "Don't worry. I will treat you really good."

A shiver ran down through Chizuru's body. She remembered Kazama's words about doing anything whatever he wanted to teach her a lesson. A sudden anger and irritation with Kazama erupted inside her. She yanked Kazama's arm that circling her shoulder then pushed him as hard as she could. Chizuru took her kodachi that was still on the ground and pointed the small blade at Kazama. A surge of adrenaline from her anger gave her energy. She had had enough with the stuck up attitude and arrogance of the blond oni.

Kazama was surprised with the pushing. With how docile Chizuru had acted in his embrace earlier, he didn't expect the woman could still move. Wasn't her spirit broken? The empty look on her face and the sagged shoulders when he told her that he knew about the incomplete bond meant he was right. But...The woman was really persistent!

The amusement that he felt for Chizuru had began to change into full blown irritation.

'Tch!'

Chizuru glared hard at Kazama. "My answer is still the same as before. I'd rather die than let you do whatever you want to do to me." Chizuru gulped and braced herself to say the next words, "Whether it's incomplete or not, it isn't your business in the slightest Kazama-san. I will never be yours... I will decide who I want to be with. So, please stop."

Chizuru looked straight at Kazama, her palms were sweating. The oni stared back at Chizuru with an unreadable look. Her feelings were mixed up.

Nervous.

Agitated.

Angry.

Worried.

Chizuru couldn't pinpoint what she felt the most at the moment. Her train of thought had imagined the worst scenario from her attempt on being brave. But then, before she could imagine something more gruesome, it stopped suddenly. One hand was placed on her shoulder and then a tight and restrained voice was heard behind her.

"Don't you go and decide to throw away your life. I never gave you permission to do such a thing."

"Hijikata-san," Chizuru felt Hijikata's hand placed on her shoulder grip it hard. She dropped her hand. Was it her imagination that it was also trembling a little...?

"I won't allow any such action for someone under my command. You have to learn more about obeying your superior, Yukimura. Sheath your kodachi."

He walked and stood in front of Chizuru.

"I…"

"Stay back and let me protect you. That's an order."

Chizuru didn't know what to say and honestly, she was too overwhelmed by her feelings. She felt elated and happy by Hijikata's saying that he would protect her. The feelings that spread inside her body gave her another dose of courage and confidence that somehow had gone the moment Kazama knew about her exact condition. She would let Hijikata protect her. She would believe and put her trust fully, more like blindly, on Hijikata that he would be able to protect and save her from Kazama.

"...Hai."

Chizuru sheathed her kodachi. She would do what Hijikata told her to - it was the only thing that she could do right now.

Hijikata knew his body was at its limit already. But he was willing to die trying rather than doing nothing at all. He would surpass his own limit. Chizuru had put her trust him. And he would definitely fulfill his promise. With new determination and vigor, Hijikata glared at Kazama with brilliant fires shining in his eyes; fires of not giving up. He took a subtle deep breath, and with tight and deliberate purpose, he gripped his sword. It whispered through the air as he raised it in an attack stance.

Kazama stood and watched with knitted brows. That Hijikata guy was only spouting rubbish and empty promises. What did a man that could barely stand on his feet do? Did he want to fight in his weakened condition? Be killed in the process probably? The ridiculous implication made the blond oni laugh derisively.

"I like someone who doesn't give up easily," Kazama said slowly. "A trait I find admirable." Then, he scrunched his face, showing displeasure. "But for someone that doesn't know when to back down, I despise that kind of person very much." Kazama drew his katana from its scabbard, his eyes trailed Hijikata's ready stance. "You can't protect Yukimura Chizuru. You don't have the ability. Don't make me repeat the same words countless times. You are surely a foolhardy one, but the truth stands as it is. Just face and accept it."

"Don't put words into my mouth," Hijikata said curtly. "I don't give a damn to whatever truth you've spoken. I am a man of my word. I will do what I've said."

"Enough of this stupid game. Let's get this over with." Kazama walked towards the duo, wielding his katana. He was already out of patience. To hell with his dignity.

"Step back," said Hijikata to Chizuru. Then he launched himself toward Kazama. With all of his weight behind the blade, he aimed for the oni's neck.

CLANG!

Kazama flicked his sword up to catch Hijikata's. Hijikata pushed forward with all his might; his sword hissing back and forth through the air as if it was possessed. Kazama blocked, parried, and received all the attacks with the swiftness no human could. Chizuru looked at the two unblinking. Even though Hijikata was not as fast and powerful as Kazama, somehow it looked as though they were evenly matched.

"Hnh!"

At one point, Kazama's calm and serene expression changed. He was stunned by Hijikata's sudden strength. The vice commander was only a human, not to mention that he was injured already by his punch earlier. Did he underestimate this insect too much?

"Guh!"

This was the first time a human had overpowered Kazama by strength. His face was warped with frustration and surprise. Kazama was pushed by Hijikata's blade which slammed again and again into Kazama's with more force. Chizuru could understand now; why Hijikata was called the oni fukuchou. Not only because of his coldness when he dealt with the Shinsengumi's matters - but his strength also something to be reckoned with.

"HYAH!"

With a loud roar, Hijikata thrust his katana toward Kazama's body. The oni leapt backward and stumbled on one of the rebel corpses.

"Tch!"

Kazama kicked the corpse into the forest to clear his path. Annoyed with the interruption, he looked back to Hijikata. "I will admit I have underestimated your strength too much. You have surprised me with strength able to withstand my own. But, don't think that you've won this fight. Because I haven't even used half of my power on you."

The wind rustled around Kazama as he released his oni force. A moment later, a white-haired oni with gold eyes and three horns adorning his head was standing to replace Kazama. It was Kazama in his oni form.

"I will tell you this. The moment your eyes behold an oni in its true form is the moment of your death. Be honored. You will be dead by my hands, you filthy human!"

And with that, the flow of the battle changed. Kazama's katana hummed and flickered through the air with ease, far faster and smoother that it had a minute before.

"Gah!"

Hijikata gritted his teeth, his mind focused on Kazama's attacks; it was all he could do to anticipate and block the oni's strikes. It left him no time to try and land an offensive blow of his own.

"Where's the fire you had a moment ago?! Is this the most you can muster from that insect body of yours?" Kazama provoked Hijikata with his words. Even if Hijikata wanted to argue back, with Kazama's katana smashing on his own, all he could do was grit his teeth, harder and harder.

Chizuru watched the fight with bated breath.

"Hijikata-san!"

"STAY BACK!"

Kazama's demonic strength and endurance were beginning to show; he wasn't even breathing hard from all the movement. On the other hand, Hijikata was quickly running short of breath. He threw his full strength behind his sword and once again lunged at Kazama. But the oni anticipated his blow easily and twisted to the side as Hijikata's katana swept past him.

Kazama's hand snapped out and Hijikata's katana fell, clattering to the ground.

"UGH!"

Hijikata fell to his knee, chest heaving. Sweat rolled down his forehead in streams and his light blue haori was soaked.

"Hijikata-san!" Chizuru ran to Hijikata and squatted beside him. Panic was all over her face.

Kazama lifted his katana and pointed it at Hijikata. "This is the end. You won't last with how things are going. Just be grateful that I've decided to end your life without the punishment that you so richly deserve for daring to take what's mine."

Kazama raised his hand to slash Hijikata but Chizuru blocked him with her body. "Stop it!"

"Yuki-mu-ra…" Hijikata muttered the woman's name. His vision was getting blurry from all the sweat streaming down his face. Not to mention the fatigue and all the blows he received made his body and arms begin to feel numb. He was still having difficulty slowing his breath to normal.

Chizuru stood between Hijikata and Kazama. She sent a stern look to the other oni, her hand readied on the hilt of her kodachi.

Kazama raised on brow, "Stop your absurdity. I won't allow these ridiculous matters to prolong any longer. Step aside."

"No!" Chizuru's brown eyes turned gold. Her hand was drawing the blade of her kodachi, but before she could withdraw it fully, Kazama grabbed her hand and pulled the woman closer to him. "Let go!"

"With the death of this insect, you will also be released from the suffering of an incomplete bond. Yes, it can be canceled by force." Kazama leaned closer and said only loud enough for Chizuru, "A bond that is incomplete is worth nothing."

"It's my business whether it's complete or not. And it's not nothing, it has value to me!"

"Trying to reason with you is such a pain," said Kazama while pulling his head a bit from Chizuru. "You, woman, are really a weird creature. Let me show you that what I said was right."

"I don't want to know!" Chizuru struggled to get free from Kazama.

From where he kneeled, Hijikata dragged his tired body across the ground, toward his fallen katana. With his last ounce of strength, he lifted it up once again, stood, and turned to face his foe.

"Wait," said Hijikata in a raspy voice. The two onis looked across towards the fukuchou. They watched as he pulled out something from his haori. Chizuru's face lost its color when she saw the object Hijikata held. A tiny bottle with red liquid.

"Ochimizu," said Kazama, disgusted.

"No…" said Chizuru only above a whisper. Inside her mind was screaming for Hijikata not to take that blasted potion. But she couldn't voice it out loudly because she felt that all her strength was leaving her body. If not for Kazama holding her, she would surely fall to the ground.

"How much of a fool can you be? How far do you mean to take this idiocy?" Kazama questioned the man in front of him in bafflement.

Hijikata replied with a bitter laugh. "A fool? Idiocy? Like I care what s**t you think." Hijikata opened the bottle's lid.

"Hiji-kata-san," Chizuru called the man's name with a pleading tone.

"Do you want to turn into that disgusting imitation? Even at their best, a Rasetsu is just a fake oni. You won't be able to defeat me with fake strength and power." stated Kazama with cold confidence. "You are not a challenge to me."

"Well you never know until you try," said Hijikata. "The Shinsengumi were always a pack of idiots. We shared an idiot's dream that we were all too bullheaded to give up on. And now, here we are. We're halfway up the hill. If we stumble now, we're gonna fall all the way back down."

With that, Hijikata lifted the bottle to his lips and drank the contents.

Chizuru watched in horror as Hijikata's beautiful black hair turned silvery white in a matter of seconds. Her screamed of utter despair could be heard far and wide as Hijikata completed his transformation and became one of the damned; Rasetsu.

"NOOOO!"

To be continued

#hakuoki #fanfiction #angst #romance #yukimura chizuru #hijikata toshizo #kazama chikage #chapter 16 #disclaimer: hakuoki is not mine #writings

[fairytailevents]

Out of curiosity, what exactly are "gen events"?

Gen events are ones that are not specific to any pairing. For example, Fairy Tail Week (@fairyweek) 2018 that ran from October 15th-21st of this year or the Fairy Tail Big Bang (@ft-bb) which is a writer/artist collaboration.

#fairy tail #admin Maria #anon #ftevents #Anonymous

[xseedgames]

2017 End-of-the-Year Q&A Extravaganza Blog! #1

It’s time for our first 2017 End-of-the-Year Q&A Extravaganza! We’ve got a bunch of these we’ll be posting over the holiday break, so please look forward to them. Now, let’s roll right in!

We have answers from: 

Ken Berry, Executive Vice President / Team Leader John Wheeler, Assistant Localization Manager Nick Colucci, Localization Editor Liz Rita, QA Tester Brittany Avery, Localization Producer Thomas Lipschultz, Localization Producer

Question: Has selling your games on PC worked out for you so far? I know supporting the PC platform is a relatively recent choice for XSEED. - @Nate_Nyo

Ken: Being on PC has been great for us as it allows us to reach anyone anywhere in the world regardless of region or console. We were probably one of the earlier adopters in terms of bringing content from Japan to PC as we first published Ys: The Oath in Felghana on Steam almost 6 years ago in early 2012.

Brittany: I love working on PC. The work involved is greater than working on console, but I feel like it's a bigger learning experience, too. For console, the developers normally handle the graphics after we translate them, and they do all the programming and such. For PC, everything falls on us. I wasn't that experienced with Photoshop in the beginning, but I think I've gotten a lot better with it over the years. We can also receive updates instantly, and since I talk with our PC programmer through Skype, it's easier to suss out our exact needs and think of ideas to improve the game or bring it to modern standards.

Question: What non-XSEED games do you praise the localization for? - @KlausRealta

Brittany: Final Fantasy XII. I love everything about Final Fantasy XII's writing. I'm also a big fan of the personality in the Ace Attorney localizations. I'm still playing Yakuza 0, but you can feel the passion of the localization team in the writing. There are some projects where you can tell the editing was phoned in, and then there are games where it's obvious it was a labor of love. All of these games have a color I aspire to.

Tom: Probably going to be a popular answer, and not an especially surprising one, but I've got to give props to Lost Odyssey. It's hard to deny the timeless quality and absolutely masterful English writing that went into basically every line of that game's massive script, with the many short stories being of particular note. That game really does represent an inspirational high bar that I think most everyone else in the industry will forever strive to reach in their own works.

For a more unexpected answer, I've also got to give mad props to Sega for their work on Monster World IV. As a Sega Genesis game released digitally in English for the very first time less than a decade ago, I guess I was kind of expecting a fairly basic "throwaway" translation -- but instead, the game boasts a full-on professional grade localization that's easily up to all modern standards, brimming with charm and personality. It's really nice to see a legitimate retro game being given that kind of care and attention in the modern era, and it makes it very easy for me to recommend (as does the fact that the game is actually quite fun, and is sure to be enjoyed by anyone who's played through all the Shantae titles and really wants to try something else along similar lines).

John: I played Okami on PS3 earlier this year (before the remake was announced), and I was awed by how skillfully the team handled text that is chock full of localization challenges like quirky nicknames, references to Japanese fairy tales, and regional dialects. I was especially amused to see a reference to "kibi dango," the dumplings Momotaro uses to bribe his companions in that famous story. We dealt with the same cultural reference with STORY OF SEASONS: Trio of Towns.

Nick: My go-to response is always Vagrant Story, because it’s the game I credit with getting me really interested in a career in localization. Before that point, I had enjoyed games for their story and characters, but hadn’t realized just how much the specific word choices and tone contributed to a reader’s perception of a story as a whole. The gents behind VS’s localization would go on to be industry luminaries, with Rich Amtower now calling shots in Nintendo’s Treehouse department and Alex Smith being synonymous with the highly regarded prose of Yasumi Matsuno’s games – including the cool and underappreciated Crimson Shroud for 3DS, and Final Fantasy XII, which as anyone who’s played it can tell you is a stellar localization. Having spent a lot of time with FFXII’s “The Zodiac Age” remaster this year, the care and attention to detail put into the localization still blows me away. The unique speech style of the Bhujerbans (with...Sri Lankan inflections, if memory serves correctly) sticks with me, because I knew that I myself would never have been able to pull off something like that so deftly. I guess you could say Vagrant Story started a lineage of games that’s always given me something to aspire to as an editor.

Final Fantasy XIV, which I’ve been playing this year, also has a very good localization, especially considering the reams of text that go into an MMO of its size and scope. Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and his team have done a bang-up job giving life and personality to the land of Eorzea, and I’ve enjoyed seeing how the localization has changed in subtle ways as time has gone on. The initial “A Realm Reborn” localization sort of cranks the “regional flavor” up to 11 with heavy dialects and vernacular, but in subsequent expansions, they kind of eased up on that and have found a good mix between grounded localization and the kind of flourishes that work well in high-fantasy settings.

 And, while I haven’t played it in a number of years, I remember Dragon Quest VIII having a really great localization, too, with ol’ Yangus still living large in my memories. Tales of the Abyss was fantastic as well, and both DQVIII and Abyss delivered some really brilliant dub work that showed me how much richer one could make characterization when the writing and the acting really harmonized. I still consider Tales of the Abyss my general favorite game dub to date. The casting is perfect, with not a bad role among them. I also want to give mad props to Ni no Kuni’s Mr. Drippy, just as a perfect storm of great localization decisions. Tidy, mun!

Question: How hard is it to turn in game signs and words to English for Japanese? Is it as simple as going in and editing text? Or as hard as creating a whole new texture for the model? - @KesanovaSSB4

Tom: We refer to this as "graphic text" -- meaning, literally, text contained within graphic images. How it's handled differs from project to project, but the short answer is, yeah, it involves creating a whole new texture for the model. Sometimes, this is handled by the developer: they'll just send us a list of all the graphic text images that exist in-game and what each image says, we'll send that list back to them with translations, and they'll use those translations to create new graphic images on our behalf. For other games, however (particularly PC titles we're more or less spearheading), we'll have to do the graphic edits ourselves. When the original PSDs or what-not exist for the sign images, this is generally pretty easy -- but as you might expect, those aren't always available to us, meaning we'll sometimes have to go to a bit more trouble to get this done.

John: The best practice is to review graphic text very early in the localization process because it takes effort to fix and can throw a wrench in schedules if issues are discovered too late. On occasion, it is too difficult to change ubiquitous textures, especially those that might also appear in animation. This was the case with "NewTube" in SENRAN KAGURA Peach Beach Splash, which the localization team wanted to change to "NyuuTube" to make the wordplay clearer to series fans.

Question: With the Steam marketplace becoming increasingly saturated and being seen as a greater risk to publish on in recent times, what does XSEED plan on doing in order to remain prominent and relevant in the PC gaming space? - @myumute

Ken: It is indeed getting harder and harder to stand out as hundreds of new titles are releasing on Steam each month. We are working our way towards simultaneous release across all platforms to help leverage some of the coverage from the console version to get more attention to the PC release, so hopefully that's something we can accomplish soon. For PC-exclusive releases it continues to be a challenge, but at least they have a long tail and even if it's not an immediate success at launch we know it can continue to produce sales for years to come.

Question: What was your favorite film that you saw in 2017, and why? - @Crippeh

John: I'm way behind on movies this year (haven't seen Disaster Artist, Phantom Thread, or Get Out, for example), but recently I've enjoyed both Star Wars and Lady Bird. I expect I'll watch my favorite film from 2017 sometime in 2018.

Ken: Wind River. Mainly because of Jeremy Renner's performance and how many quotable lines he had.

Liz: Get Out for horror mindblowing amazingness, Spider-Man Homecoming for genuinely fun comic book movie, and The Shape of Water for Guillermo del Toro. Guillermo del Toro should always be a category.

That’s it! Stay turned for blog #2 later this week. Here’s a preview of the kinds of questions we’ll be answering:

Question: Have you ever considered selling the music CDs for your licenses stateside? - @LimitTimeGamer Question: If possible, would you please consider researching and localizing classic Korean-made PC xRPGs? - @DragEnRegalia Question: Do you have any interest in pursuing the localization of any of the large, beautiful Chinese RPGs that have been hitting Steam? Or are you focused exclusively on Japanese titles? - @TheDanaAddams Question: What inspired you all to do this kind of work in the first place? Also, what’s the story behind the company name XSEED? How did you all come up with it? - @TBlock_02 Question: What was everyone's favorite game(s) to work on this year? - @ArtistofLegacy Question: What's everyone's favorite song from the Falcom games you've released so far? - @Crippeh

#XSEED #Q&A #Localization

[ao3feed-p5-boyslove]

Neither Fish Nor Flesh

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAnoxW

by swan_songs

Mermaid AU. The world is cruel to those that don’t fit in. Both Akira and Akechi are outcasts in their respective societies – the first one because of a false accusation that tarnished his name, the second one because of being born with a cursed tail color. Both are trying their best with the cards they were dealt, but it’s considerably harder for Akechi who is being chased by people who hunt supernatural beings like himself for profit.

For Akira, a normal teenager still living with his parents in a remote city by the sea, meeting a creature straight from fairy tales might be both the worst and best thing that has ever happened to him.

Words: 7488, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Persona 5

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Akechi Goro, Kurusu Akira, Morgana (Persona 5)

Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist

Additional Tags: mermaid au, Merman!Akechi, Human Akira, But Things Might Change(tm), Enemies to Lovers, at least from Goro's POV, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Tags will be updated with new chapters added, ShuAkeShu Big Bang 2018

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2HAnoxW

#akeshu #shuake #akira kurusu #goro akechi #persona

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 29

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch28

Chapter 29

Since the moment Natsu had left to go talk to Gray, Igneel and Atlas had done nothing but read through old magic scrolls, trying to find anything that might help them figure out a way to permanently transform Gray into an ice dragon. Assuming Igneel’s theory of the boy possessing a dragon soul was correct.

The scrolls represented the collective magical knowledge accrued by the red dragons since time immemorial. Some of them were so old that they were only held together by the barest of magic. Every generation had added their own scrolls, and it had always fascinated Atlas to trace the magic back to the dragon that had created it.

Over the years, he and Igneel had added their own discoveries to the collection, and Atlas had held the hope that given his immense magical talent Natsu would someday do the same. Still, he knew that even if that happened, he would probably be the last red dragon to do so.

As hard as it was to accept, the fact remained that they were nearing the end of their existence. The red dragons had been the vanguard of the front lines and had been mostly obliterated during the war. There were less than a dozen left. Natsu would more than likely never father offspring, and their line of Royals would end with him.

Atlas looked up from the massive pile of scrolls he’d been studying, finally realizing it had been quite a while since Natsu had left.

“Aren’t you concerned Natsu isn’t back yet?” he asked Igneel, who was immersed in his own mountain of scrolls.

“Not really,” Igneel replied absently, “he and Gray had a lot to talk about. I think we both know if Acnologia had found them, he would’ve already come for us.”

Atlas grunted in agreement. He stared at the scrolls once again in frustration.

“Your research not going well?” Igneel peered at him.

“Not really, transformation magic is useless for all the reasons we’ve already discussed. Soul magic is more promising, but once again, there’s the energy problem, and I can’t find a way to generate the amount of energy needed.”

“I thought I told you not to worry about that.” Igneel reminded him, “I’ll come up with a way to get you the energy you need.”

“Yes, but you haven’t told me how you plan on doing that,” Atlas complained.

“I have a few ideas,” Igneel replied vaguely, “Have you figured out how to get a look at his soul?”

“Sure, that part’s easy, we just have to get him to astral project.”

“I don’t think that’s a skill humans are born with,” Igneel pointed out, “You’re going to have to teach him how to do so.”

“Me?” Atlas balked at the idea, “How am I supposed to teach him that? Can’t we just cast a spell on him or something?”

“Do you think he would trust anything that came from a spell he didn’t cast?” Igneel replied, “Would you?”

“No,” Atlas admitted grudgingly.

“Besides it would be good for the two of you to bury the hatchet. What did you do anyway?”

“Why do you automatically assume I was the one to do something?”

Igneel roared with laughter, “Are you saying you weren’t?”

“Well no, but would it kill you to give me the benefit of the doubt?” Atlas groused.

“Brother, I’ve known you for hundreds of years. What did you do?”

“I wanted to show Natsu that the boy had grown and could handle seeing dragons, so I showed myself to him.”

“As intelligent as you are, you can be such an idiot sometimes. Let me guess, he attacked you?”

“Something like that,” Atlas grumbled, looking embarrassed.

“Yes, I rather think teaching him how to astral project will be a good opportunity for the two of you to put aside your differences. He’ll be one of us soon enough.”

“You really think we’re going to be able to pull this off?”

“We have to, for Natsu’s sake.”

Atlas grunted, he wasn’t pleased with the idea of spending time with Gray, and he had no clue how to go about teaching a human how to astral project, but he would figure something out.

For Natsu’s sake.

0-0

Gray was a nervous wreck by the time they arrived at the cave’s back entrance. He was no less determined for them to stay together, especially after the last two weeks they had spent together.

However, telling Natsu he wanted to live with him and moving into a cave with four red dragons were two completely different things. Especially when he was well aware that at least two of them disliked him.

“It’s going to be fine, you’re their Dragon Queen, remember?” Natsu tried to get a rise out of him, no doubt feeling his nerves through their bond.

Now that everything had been sorted between them, Gray could feel his mate close to him at all times, and it was a wonderful feeling. They could send feelings back and forth and could communicate without speaking if they wanted. Although they hadn’t done it much yet, it was reassuring to know they could.

“Atlas and Happy aren’t going to like my living here,” Gray muttered.

“Well, you could always try to, I don’t know, apologize?” Natsu pointed out, “They’re not unreasonable, and if they don’t accept it, at least you tried. It’s all you can do, Ice Block.”

“Ugh, it’s gonna be so hot, isn’t it?”

Natsu laughed, “Yep, maybe I can try to do something about our room, Atlas might know of some magic to keep it cooler than the rest of the cave.”

“You think so?” Gray asked, hopefully.

“Anything’s possible, but he’s the magic expert, not me. Now come on, let’s get this over with, they’re all inside.”

They walked into the cave, and Gray was immediately amazed by how big it was. He’d only ever been in the front rooms, and as they walked past many of passages he’d never seen before, he could see that it would take him a while to find his way around without getting lost.

“This place is huge!”

“Yeah, all the red dragons used to live here, although most of them were already off fighting when I was little. I only ever met the ones who were close to my father.”

As they got closer, Gray became more and more nervous until he felt Natsu’s wing surround him in a hug.

“It’s going to be okay,” Natsu assured him with a smile, and with a spring in his step, he entered the main room, calling out, “We’re home!”

“Natsu!” Happy ran at them, attempting to tackle Natsu in a play fight as Gray skittered out of the way.

“Hey buddy, did you miss me?” Natsu laughed, letting the younger dragon lick his snout a few times before pushing him off.

“Natsu, you’re home!” Igneel entered the main room quickly, nodding at Gray in acknowledgment.

“Took you long enough,” Atlas grumbled, coming in behind Igneel. “What’s he doing here?”

“He’s going to be living here from now on,” Natsu explained, his tone of voice inviting no argument, “I would like it if you could please make him a bed and if you could do something to make the temperature in my room more comfortable for him, that would be great.”

“I will do my best to make our Queen comfortable.”

Natsu peered at Atlas in shock, even though his tone had been laced with sarcasm he still hadn’t expected him to be so agreeable, at the very least he’d expected some kind of pushback.

“Okaaaay, uhm, thanks,” Natsu replied, switching his attention to Igneel, who only gave him an indifferent shrug in response.

“Thank you,” Gray bowed his head at Atlas. “I want to apologize for how I treated you, I, uhm, -”

Atlas cut him off, “There’s no need to apologize, that was my fault. I thought you would be able to handle it. I was wrong.”

“Thanks?” Gray had no idea how else to respond to that. The dragon certainly wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t precisely make Gray feel like they had progressed any.

“I’ll go make your room more hospitable,” Atlas muttered as he left the main room and headed to Natsu’s bedroom, Happy trailing behind him and asking if he could make him a bed too.

“Did I do something wrong?” Gray wondered, confused by the dragon’s behavior.

“You’re fine,” Igneel chuckled, “Believe it or not, that’s as close to an apology as I’ve ever seen him get. His people skills are pretty much nonexistent, but I know he does regret causing you pain.”

Gray wasn’t entirely sure he believed that, but before he could give voice to his thought, he felt the heat of Igneel’s gaze on him, “I trust you were able to sort out your differences?”

Natsu nodded, “We have reached an understanding.”

“Wonderful! Make yourself at home Gray, and welcome to the family, odd as we are.” Igneel lowered his head in what appeared to be an act of respect. “I’m going to go supervise Atlas before he gets too creative.”

Natsu laughed heartily, and Gray tried to draw strength from it. Overall it had gone better than he expected, but he knew it would be a while before he felt comfortable in his new home.

“You should go see your friends,” Natsu encouraged, “They’re probably worried about you, plus you’ll need to get your stuff. I can meet you at the field later to help you move it.”

“They’re your friends too,” Gray reminded him. “Lyon and Erza know about what happened, I’m sure they’d like to see you.”

“I’ll think about it,” Natsu replied rather unconvincingly, refusing to meet Gray’s eyes.

“Natsu!” Gray demanded, waiting until the dragon met his gaze. “If I can accept you the way you are, don’t you think they could too?”

Natsu remained stubbornly silent, but Gray thought he noticed a slight softening of his expression. One that signified that his mate was indeed thinking about it.

Natsu hadn’t really changed all that much. He was just communicating in ways that Gray wasn’t familiar with. So over the last few weeks, he’d put considerable effort into learning to decipher the clues hidden within Natsu’s behavior. Studying his gestures and combining them with the emotions he could feel through their bond until he felt like he had reached a better understanding than he previously had.

“Do it for Erza,” Gray pushed, even though he knew it was a sore subject, “you’re the only one who has come back. Don’t you think you owe her some answers?”

“I don’t really think she’d like what I have to say,” Natsu replied and thinking over everything he’d learned Gray found he couldn’t really argue that point.

“Alright, I’ll leave it for now, I might as well go get their interrogation over with,” Gray remarked, sticking his tongue out at Natsu when he heard him respond Better you than me in his head.

Your time will come soon enough…, Gray mock threatened. He gave Natsu the closest thing to a hug he could manage, wrapping his arms around the dragon’s long neck, and smiling when he felt Natsu rubbing his head on his cheek.

After giving him a kiss on his snout that had Natsu purring, he exited the cave, beginning the long trek to the village.

Later, loser, Gray thought with a smile.

Try not to get killed, Princess.

Gray snorted at the retort, content in the knowledge that when he returned with his things, Natsu would be home to greet him.

0-0

“This is great, thank you,” Natsu praised Atlas when he saw the results of his uncle’s efforts.

When Natsu had realized he’d no longer be able to change back, he’d removed the contents of his room, not wanting a visual reminder of a life he could never have again. Atlas had made a bedroom for Gray, but he had put some thought into his interactions with Natsu.

He had made a bed similar to the ones Natsu preferred but had crafted it so that Natsu could easily curl around it, keeping Gray close to him while they slept. He had somehow also managed to lower the room temperature somewhat, enough so that Gray wouldn’t have to call on his magic to be comfortable.

Happy decided to move into Atlas quarters to help keep the temperature down, and probably to limit his contact with Gray. Ether way, Natsu was grateful.

Atlas had also crafted additional pieces of furniture to hold Gray’s things. There were shelves on a wall above a desk and chair, a wardrobe, and a dresser for his clothes. All organized in a way that would still make it easy for Natsu to move around the room.

Natsu couldn’t wait to see Gray’s reaction. It wasn’t exactly what they’d had in mind so long ago, but it was a home they could easily share, and right now, that was more important to both of them than anything else.

He was still thinking about what it might be like when Igneel interrupted him.

“Gray is going to be gone for a while,” Igneel noted, “and I’ve missed you. How would you like to go flying with me for a little bit?”

Natsu felt the excitement creep up his spine. It was rare that Igneel asked to do stuff together.

“Sure!”

He followed his father out the back entrance, and soon they were in the air, flying side-by-side. Close enough their wings almost touched.

“Did you tell him everything?” Igneel asked, and Natsu immediately knew what he was referring to.

“Yeah, he knows about your part in what happened in Isvan,” Natsu revealed, “He doesn’t hold you responsible, though.”

“That’s a relief. Was it your idea to have him live with us?”

“No. To be honest, I was surprised when he suggested it. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but Gray wants us to fulfill our vows regardless of our situation. I just hope it won’t be too much for him to bear.” Natsu confessed, expressing his fear for the first time.

“He’s a strong man,” Igneel reminded him, “I’m really quite proud of the both of you for coming this far.”

Natsu still felt embarrassed over some of the decisions he had made, but he knew he had to put them behind him. Regardless of how they’d turned out, he’d done his best to protect Gray, and he’d have to be satisfied with that.

“Where are we going?”

“Remember that place Atlas and I used to take you when you were little?”

Natsu paid more attention to where they were going and noticed the outline of the mountains where his father and uncle had taught him fire dragon magic. It was also where they’d taught him to hunt and fish, and he grew excited to experience it again, this time as a dragon.

They hunted, more for sport than out of any real hunger, but they ate everything anyway, finding it disrespectful to not consume what they had killed. Igneel looked tired, so Natsu suggested they rest atop one of the mountains surrounding the lake basin where they had often fished. They lay side by side, listening to the sounds of nature all around them.

“Your mother would have liked it here, I think,” Igneel remarked, breaking the comfortable silence. Natsu held his breath, afraid that if he made a sound, his father would stop talking.

“There were so many things I wanted to show her, but there just wasn’t enough time,” Igneel sighed. “Let that be a lesson to you, son, don’t put things off. You never know when your time is going to come to an end. Human lives are fragile.”

“What was she like?” Natsu couldn’t help but ask, hoping that this time his father would answer.

Igneel closed his eyes, and Natsu was disappointed, thinking the topic was over. That was until he heard a grunt right before an image projected itself in front of them. One of a young man and woman running across the very field that Natsu and Gray had spent so much time on. Natsu recognized the man as the one his father had turned into when taking Utari into the village, and the woman, who wore a scarf he knew very well, was clearly the one in the picture Anna had shown him.

“I remember everything,” Igneel admitted, “I know I should have shared this with you sooner, but I- I hope you can understand.”

Natsu nodded absently, transfixed by what he was seeing.

They were both laughing, Igneel tackling Porlyusica to the ground. Natsu watched his parents look into each other’s eyes and smile with a joy he instantly recognized. Two souls combined into one.

The image faded to be replaced with a hundred others, each a small glimpse into his parents’ life together until Porlyusica appeared before them with a swollen belly.

Igneel let these linger the longest, and Natsu watched as his mother appeared to be talking and singing to him. He observed her wonder and joy at his kicks and the awe on his father’s face whenever he looked at her. After all these years, Natsu was finally able to sate the hunger he’d always felt for the mother he’d never known.

He knew the end was near, but he couldn’t look away, watching his entrance into the world with a heavy heart, knowing the price that had been paid. Tears streamed down his face as he watched his mother hold him for the first and last time. She kissed his head and whispered something to him before the image faded away.

“What did she say?” Natsu asked nervously.

“She said, I love you,” Igneel said simply, lowering his head. Natsu could see the slight shuddering of his body that announced the coming of tears his father didn’t want him to see.

That was all it took to break him, years of guilt overwhelming him with a sadness he couldn’t contain.

“I’m so sorry,” Natsu sobbed, “I took her away from you.”

“You did no such thing,” Igneel chided, straightening up so that he could rub his head against his son’s, their tears mingling briefly before evaporating. “Your mother knew what could happen, Natsu. She made her choice, and she never regretted it, and as devastated as I was by her death, I never regretted it either.”

“We both loved you,” Igneel smiled through his tears, swishing his tail until it was petting Natsu’s back, “from the moment we learned of your existence. And when I see her again, I’m going to tell her all about you. So that she can be as proud of you as I am.”

“I am so sorry for all the times I failed you over the years. I thought I was protecting you,” Igneel declared, “but that was never what you needed. I realize that now, and I promise I will do everything in my power to get you what you do need. You’ve suffered long enough.”

Natsu wasn’t entirely sure what his father meant by that, but he filed it away for later, content to bask in his father’s love. He closed his eyes, holding on to the image of his mother holding him in her arms.

0-0

Gray stood at the entrance to the Guard Headquarters feeling oddly nervous. He knew his decision to live with Natsu would come as a surprise to his friends, but he was still confident it was the right one. They had already been forced to spend too much time apart over the years.

The knowledge that Natsu could live for hundreds of years weighed on him deeply, and it filled him with a determination to spend as much time with him as possible. It would be an adjustment, but as far as he was concerned, he’d already made the biggest one in accepting Natsu as he was.

He was about to open the door when he was hugged from behind. Turning his head to see who it was, he was surprised to recognize Juvia and stiffened slightly.

Not this again.

“Juvia is so glad to see Gray is safe. We were so worried!”

Juvia let go of him, blushing prettily as she realized she might have overstepped.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“That’s okay,” Gray smiled, feeling slightly less uncomfortable now that he recognized she hadn’t reverted to her old ways.

He finally opened the door for both of them and waved goodbye to Juvia before entering the changing room for the male guards. After taking his first real shower in weeks, he changed into his uniform, and once he deemed himself presentable, ventured out to look for Erza and his brother.

He found both of them in Erza’s office, where they were preparing for the daily briefing. Gray grinned, noting how closely they were standing together even while talking about work.

“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

They both looked up at the same time, their eyes widening into matching surprised expressions.

“Gray!”

They both rushed at him, and Gray soon found himself sandwiched in their embrace. He couldn’t help but smile.

He was home.

Erza left for a few minutes to issue some orders but soon returned, and together they made their way to the lake where they sat on a blanket Lyon had grabbed from Erza’s office.

“Were you able to talk some sense into him?” Lyon asked, studying him intently. What he was looking for exactly, Gray wasn’t sure.

“It wasn’t easy, but we talked sense into each other,” Gray amended. His eyes met Lyon’s, “We went to Isvan and back to where we first met.”

“That must have been hard,” Lyon observed.

“It was, but I think we both needed to see it. To really understand where we were each coming from and begin to move forward.”

“I’d like to talk to him,” Erza spoke so softly Gray almost didn’t hear her.

“I know, I’m trying, but he’s still resistant to the idea. I think he’s embarrassed at having lied to you for so long,” Gray confided, “I also think he’s nervous about how you will react. He cares about you a lot, and he’s already lost so much.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Erza protested, “I don’t care about that. He was only doing what his father asked. I understand that better than anyone and Natsu is Natsu no matter what guise he’s in, we’ve known each other most of our lives.”

“Just give him some time,” Gray advised, “I think he’ll come around, but it’s too soon to push.”

“Of course,” Erza agreed, “I apologize.”

“It’s just... he saved my life. I didn’t really think about it until after you left, but if he hadn’t shown up when he did-,” Erza shifted her gaze towards the lake, “I never got a chance to thank him.”

“Give him time,” Gray repeated, “I’m sure he’ll come around.” He reached out to squeeze her hand and felt her squeeze back.

“So are you back for good? It feels like you’re working your way up to something,” Lyon noted, as observant as always.

“Yeah, for the most part,” Gray avoided looking at Lyon, “I’m moving out of town, I’ve convinced Natsu to let me live with him.”

He waited for the protests that never came, confused until he saw Lyon and Erza gazing at each other with fond smiles.

“We expected as much,” Lyon clarified with a smirk, “You’ve waited for him for a very long time. You should do whatever works for both of you. God knows this situation is messed up as it is.”

“Yes,” Erza agreed, “You deserve to be happy. Are you planning on staying on as a guard?”

“For now,” Gray confirmed, not really knowing what the future had in store or if he’d have to move to that island Natsu had told him about at some point.

“Then we are happy to have you back. Now, since you have just returned from a two-week vacation, I’ll expect you to cover some shifts for the guards that had to work extra shifts during your absence,” Erza intoned, beginning to outline his schedule for the next two weeks.

“Starting tomorrow,” Erza flashed him a sheepish smile, “You may have the rest of today to move your stuff to your new home.”

Gray groaned, but then again, it’s not like he’d expected any different, and he was grateful that they had accepted his decision without argument. He waved goodby and headed to his apartment to pack the things he wanted to move to his new home.

0-0

It had been an unusually hot summer, and Gray had come to depend on the relief that the cooler temperature in their room provided him, as the rest of the cave was much too hot for his comfort. He and Natsu spent most of their time lounging in there, or outside.

Nights when he couldn’t sleep, Natsu would fly them to different places, often stopping atop snow-capped mountains to let Gray revel in the cold temperatures, so different from their cave.

It was mid-August when Gray arrived home after working a double shift to find Natsu waiting for him in their bedroom. There was something in his demeanor that made Gray uneasy, and he collapsed on his bed, too worn out from the long workday and the walk back from town to do anything more than wait for Natsu to get whatever it was off his chest.

“I’m going to have to leave in a couple of days,” Natsu began, narrowing his eyes as he took in Gray’s exhaustion.

“What?” Gray protested, “Already?”

Natsu had mentioned that he would have to go on one of his trips to the mysterious dragon island soon, and no amount of arguing or pleading on his part would get him to agree to let him come along.

“Yes, I’ve already put it off for too long.” Natsu admitted, “Belserion is very unhappy with me, things are happening that need my attention.”

“Why can’t I go with you? I can just stay with the dragon slayers.”

“I’ve already told you, humans are not allowed there.”

“Then why are the dragon slayers there?” Gray pointed out hoping to get through Natsu’s stubbornness even though he’d already tried this tactic several times before.

“They are there with their parents, and I’m not even sure how much longer they’ll be able to stay, that’s just one of the many things that I need to deal with.”

“I thought you said I was their Queen,” Gray crossed his arms in annoyance.

“You are my Queen, and those close to me will respect that, but that won’t get you very far on that island. If enough dragons were against it, your presence could start a civil war.”

“My father worked very hard to make this truce happen. Please, Gray, don’t fight me on this,” Natsu’s eyes were imploring as he explained his feelings.

“How long would you be gone?” Gray sighed in defeat.

Natsu’s grin was instantaneous, “Only a month.”

“A month?! You’re not going alone, are you?” Gray charged, aware as always that Acnologia was still out there somewhere.

“No, Happy is coming with me, in case I need to bring the slayers home. Plus, he always cheers Rogue up.”

“Are you going to talk to Sting?” Gray pressed his luck, knowing that this was one particular topic that usually caused Natsu to shut down, and as expected, he didn’t answer.

“Fine, I won’t push,” Gray sighed, choosing to let it go. The truth was he wasn’t too sure how he felt about Sting either, so he couldn’t precisely fault Natsu for his stance. “But if you’re going to be gone for a month, I demand cuddles. Now. Lots of them.”

Natsu pretended to be annoyed by his demands, but they both knew he loved any physical closeness they could manage just as much as Gray did. He curled up around Gray’s body, holding him as close as he could, and they spent a long night nuzzling and talking.

If only it were enough, Gray thought sadly.

0-0

Two days later, he watched Natsu take off with Happy. Natsu had promised to let them know when he arrived safely, although he hadn’t really explained how he was going to manage that, and Gray couldn’t help but worry.

It must have shown on his face because Igneel immediately attempted to assure him, “He’s made that trip many times, Gray. Happy too. They’ll be fine.”

“I hope so,” Gray replied, hating how scared his voice sounded.

“What about you?” Igneel asked, “What are your plans? Will you stay with us while he’s gone?”

Gray nodded, they were in the middle of a heatwave. As hot as it was outside, their bedroom in the cave was more refreshing than his apartment, plus he wanted to be close to where he could get news of his husband.

It made him nervous, though. This would be the first time he would be alone with the other dragons. Igneel always seemed happy to talk to him, but Atlas was another story. They hadn’t really had much contact since he had moved in, the dragon keeping to his room most of the time, making Gray wonder if it was because of his presence.

He determined to make an effort to come to some sort of understanding with the hellfire dragon, knowing it would make Natsu happy.

He swallowed the last vestiges of fear he felt toward Atlas and bravely addressed him, letting his curiosity guide him.

“How is it that Natsu will let you know when he arrives?” he asked, wondering if it was something he could also do.

“Astral projection,” Atlas answered in a bored tone.

“Astral projection?” Gray repeated with no clue what it meant. He looked at both dragons wanting to hear more, but the combined heat they gave off was already working against him.

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation in your room,” Igneel suggested kindly.

Gray nodded gratefully, immediately feeling better once they were inside his bedroom. He sat in his desk chair, peering at Atlas expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

“It’s a way for the soul to temporarily separate from the body, allowing it to travel and enter the astral realm. So even if Natsu is far away, my soul can travel to his, and we can communicate briefly.”

“So your soul would travel to the island?”

“No, it would meet Natsu on the astral realm.”

“Perhaps you could explain it in a way that he might understand better?” Igneel suggested drily.

“Fine,” Atlas huffed, turning his attention to Gray.

“All living creatures are made up of two main components, the physical and the astral. Your body is the physical, it houses your soul and allows it to interact with objects in this plane. Does that make sense?”

“Sort of, but what is the soul exactly?”

“That’s a little more difficult to explain, but basically it’s what defines who you are. You will live and die many times throughout your existence, but you will retain the same soul, it will just move to a new body and begin the cycle again. You might change gender or physical attributes from life to life, but your most basic characteristics will always remain the same.”

Gray thought about that, and as he did, he noticed Atlas and Igneel holding a silent conversation he wasn’t entirely sure he should interrupt.

“So the soul is capable of leaving the body?” Gray finally asked, tired of waiting.

“Yes,” Igneel replied, “With enough practice, the body can be trained to temporarily release its hold on the soul. It remains tethered but is free to explore on its own.”

“Could I, uhm, could I do that? Talk to Natsu while he’s away, I mean.” Gray puzzled, the whole idea sounded a little scary to him, but it’s not like he had a whole lot of anything else to do for the next month, and it would be fun to surprise him.”

“How should we know?” Atlas grumbled moodily, “you’d have to try. Do you know anything about meditation?”

Gray shook his head, “Would it be dangerous?”

“No,” Igneel assured him, “It’s quite safe. As I said, your soul remains tethered to your body, and that connection can only be broken in death.”

“It’s not a very effective method of communication, but since my telepathy can’t reach him where he is, it’s all we have.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, to be able to communicate with Natsu, he’d have to also be projecting at the same time. Usually, it would be a lot of trial and error, but Atlas taught Natsu some magic, which allows him to sort of tug at his soul to alert him when he’s trying to communicate with us. Then Atlas and I can meet him on the astral plane.”

“There’s an astral plane?” Gray was fascinated by everything he’d heard, having never known about any of these things before. He wondered if Ur had been aware of any of this.

“You don’t need to worry about any of that. I doubt you’ll be able to project in this room, let alone go to the astral plane” Atlas scoffed.

Gray huffed at the disdain he heard in the hellfire dragon’s voice, “I’ll have you know I’m a swift learner.”

“Is that so? Well then, if you can manage to do that much, I’ll teach you how to reach the astral plane myself,” Atlas’ contemptuous laugh echoed around them, making Gray want nothing more than to make the dragon eat his words.

But it turned out he wouldn’t have to wait long to see him knocked down a peg,

“Why wait?” Igneel declared, startling the both of them, “You might as well teach him from the beginning. You could start now.”

“What?!” Atlas sputtered at his brother’s words, “Surely you’re joking?”

It was hard to miss the glee in Igneel’s eyes at his brother’s reaction, and Gray found himself smirking in response.

“Not at all, who is better suited to teach him? You teach Natsu magic all the time,” Igneel reminded him.

“Yes, but Natsu listens to instruction,” Atlas pointed out, “I’m not sure about this one.”

“I already told you, I am a quick learner. Assuming you are any good at teaching that is,” Gray taunted, determined to prove Atlas wrong.

“Well then, no time like the present,” Igneel encouraged them, “Try not to kill each other.”

It was only when he noticed the satisfied glances the two dragons flashed each other that Gray realized he’d been had. He just wasn’t sure to what purpose.

He tried not to worry about it too much. After all, if he managed to learn how to do this, he’d be able to see Natsu while he was gone, and that was surely worth it.

0-0

“Do you even know the meaning of the word relax?” Atlas snipped for the fourth time in the last ten minutes.

It so wasn’t worth it.

Atlas was demanding, and he rarely handed out compliments. He was long-winded in his explanations and quick to anger. There had been at least three different occasions when Gray had wished he could manage to freeze the hellfire’s snout shut.

“How can I relax with you constantly breathing down my neck?” Gray snapped, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down.

They engaged in a staring contest, both glaring until Atlas decided to back down.

“Natsu had a hard time at first too,” Atlas chuckled, and it was hard to miss the affection in the gravelly voice. “He’s always had a hard time sitting still, especially to do something as stupid as breathing. His words, not mine.”

Gray grinned, that definitely sounded like his Flame-Brain. He willed himself to loosen up, knowing he’d make no progress until he did. Atlas was at least right about that much.

“I know you don’t think very much of me, Gray, but remember this at least. As different as we are, we share one significant thing in common. We both love Natsu very much.”

“I know,” was the best reply Gray could come up with, surprised as he was by the dragon’s attempt to get through to him. “I’m trying.”

“Alright then, Natsu got the hang of it eventually, so can you. Let’s try again, empty your mind of everything except breathing.”

Gray chose to move to his bed, figuring if he was going to remain seated for so long that he might as well get comfortable. Emptying his mind of any extraneous thought, he closed his eyes and began to focus on his breathing.

Time had ceased to exist, there was only the briefest of gaps as one breath flowed into the next. Gray had never considered how exhausting breathing was, one breath following another over and over with no end in sight. A simple action, quickly taken for granted until you were forced to account for every one.

He thought he felt something shift inside him but couldn’t risk the distraction. There was an audible gasp next to him, and he opened his eyes slowly. He couldn’t remember getting up, but there was Atlas encased in his flames as always, although Gray felt they looked somehow different.

Atlas pointed at Gray’s bed, confusing him, but he complied, turning his head to see what the dragon wanted him to see. He was able to see his body sitting on the bed, which seemed a strange thing for it to do without him.

The moment it dawned on him that he’d finally succeeded in projecting himself out of his body, he felt himself careening back into it.

“I did it?” Gray asked, puzzled as to what had just happened.

Rather than answering him, Atlas began to yell. “Igneel! You need to get in here.”

Gray was still trying to suss out why Atlas was acting so strangely when Igneel hurried in.

“Is something wrong?”

“Just the opposite, you were right,” Atlas began to pace around the room. “Tiamat’s tits, we might be able to pull this off after all!”

“Did he see it?” Igneel asked, looking just as excited as Atlas until Gray couldn’t take much more.

“See what? Will one of you tell me what the hell you’re going on about?”

“If you can manage to do it again, you’ll see for yourself,” Atlas smirked in challenge.

It took a long time to quiet his racing heart, but he found it wasn’t as hard to fall into the rhythm he’d achieved earlier now that he understood what to do. It still took a rather long time to feel that shift once again.

Once he did, he opened his eyes, feeling more confident, knowing that he had achieved this once already.

He saw both Igneel and Atlas standing a ways from him, although they looked almost shimmery, like what he imagined ghosts would look like. Atlas smiled at him encouragingly, which was already surreal, considering how the hellfire dragon had been acting all day.

But Igneel was gawking at him, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. Gray went to rub his neck as he often did when he was confused, only to find that his neck seemed longer than usual.

He looked down at himself and startled. He felt his soul start to move back towards his body, but he actively fought it. As much as he was having trouble believing what he saw, he wanted to get a clearer picture.

Gray managed to move until he found himself in front of the mirror that hung above his dresser. He could rather understand Igneel’s reaction now, seeing as he was having a somewhat similar one himself. The face he had seen reflected back at him more times than he could ever care to count was nowhere to be found. There was the face of what could only be an ice dragon staring back at him in its place.

About the only thing he recognized was the eyes, which looked much the same as they always had, despite being almost comically large in his alarm. Spiky horns seemingly made of ice protruded from his navy blue colored head, and as Gray lifted his hand to touch them, he realized that his hands had somehow transformed into talons.

That was too much for him to handle. He slammed back into his body so hard it fell back on the bed.

“What the hell was that?” Gray spluttered, quickly standing up and moving away from the two fire dragons.

“What did you do to me? What kind of magic was that?” He yelled at Atlas. His heart was racing so fast he swore he could hear the blood traveling through it.

“I didn’t do anything,” Atlas protested.

“Gray, listen to me,” Igneel interrupted, keeping his voice level. “He really didn’t do anything but teach you the barest minimum of how to astral project. I am sorry we had to trick you, but I needed to know whether my hunch was right.”

“What hunch?” Gray’s eyes darted from one dragon to the other.” What are you talking about?”

“When you came here looking for Natsu, you didn’t set off any of the protection sigils we had on the entrances. Sigils that are designed to alert us of a human entering the cave. At first, I thought that was because you were soul-bonded to Natsu, but I realized it wasn’t possible. Natsu had damaged your bond so much that the sigils wouldn’t have been able to detect his soul at all.”

Gray peered at Igneel uncomprehendingly.

“So there had to be another reason,” Igneel gazed at him with concern, “Why don’t you sit down? This is a lot to take in.”

Gray shook his head, “Just tell me what this means.”

“It means you have a dragon soul,” Atlas explained, for once getting straight to the point. “You are a dragon that was reborn as a human.”

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient! It's been a rough few months, but things are starting to look up and I was able to finally devote some time to this story. I am not sure when the last chapter will be up as I have not started working on it yet, and both the Pride event and Gratsu Summer Solstice events are coming up in June and Gratsu Week and Slayer Week in July. Hopefully by the end of the summer!

@ao3feed-gratsu​

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #update #fairy tail big bang 2018

[shibuemiyuu]

Chapters:1/10

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Rating: General Audiences

Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Language: English

Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Mirajane Strauss, Erza Scarlet, Mavis Vermillion

Additional Tags: fairy tail big bang, ft-bb, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Many pairings, Pairings will be revealed as the story goes on, Friendship, Romance, Fluff, Humor, Drama and angst at the later chapter but not heavy, art colab, Biweekly Update, tumblr event

Summary:

Lucy was a new journalist in Weekly Magazine. She's assigned to interview a flower shop, Fairy Heart, as her first job from her boss. In the end, not only she would get her assignment done, but many things would follow. Including stories of the customers in Fairy Heart, the love life of the florists itself, the inspiration of chasing her dream again, and last but not least, a certain pink haired man with a dashing smile.

Here’s my contribution for the Fairy Tail Big Bang 2018/19, @ft-bb. Thank you for creating this wonderful event :)

It’s an alternate universe story and the story will be focusing on the character’s relationship problem. Each chapter will tell a story of one pairing. Yes, there will be many pairings in the story. There will be 10 chapters in total, including prologue and epilgoue. And I will update the story biweekly.

All the editing credits goes to my beta reader @nalufever who also happened to be my artist! Such a happy and amazing coincidence! I have worked with her on my other story and with this wonderful person feedback and opinion, she has helped me to create this enjoy reading story. Thank you so much for all the help XD

The picture will be uploaded on later date. Please stay tuned~~

Hope you like and enjoy this story :D

#ft-bb #fairy tail #writing #fanfiction #lucy heartfilia #mirajane strauss #erza scarlet #mavis vermillion #event

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 30

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch29

Chapter 30

“I have a what?!” Gray spluttered, starting at the two dragons in front of him in disbelief.

“A dragon soul,” Atlas repeated slowly, “As in, you used to be a dragon.”

“How the hell does that even happen?!”

“Many years ago, there were all kinds of dragons on this Earth, but in recent years that has changed. Disease, infighting, and of course, the war all took their toll on our once numerous populations,” Igneel explained calmly, intuiting that this approach would be more productive than Atlas’ bluntness.

“It is my guess that as fewer dragons were born and human populations exploded, the dragon souls found their way into humans. Nature has a way of balancing inequities out,” Igneel shrugged.

Gray stared at him, his mouth still open in shock, but there was something in his expression that gave Igneel hope. He could tell that the boy was already considering this information and what it could mean to his situation.

“Natsu’s mother?” Gray asked, his brows furrowing as he tried to understand, to give credence to what he was being told.

“We think she might have possessed a dragon soul as well,” Igneel responded. “It would explain why her magical ability was so much stronger than any other human I encountered while living in Talos, or why she was my mate.”

“I used to be a dragon?” Gray’s voice trembled as he looked down at his body, “That is very hard for me to accept.”

“I’m not going to try to convince you one way or the other. You already saw it for yourself,” Atlas said impatiently, “You have within you the soul of an ice dragon. There haven’t been many of those for a long time.”

“That explains so much, though,” Atlas’ mirth was loud, his laughter echoing inside the room and irritating Gray.

“What’s so damn funny?”

“Well, while it’s true that you can never be sure who you will end up with as a soulmate, most pairings happen within races. Matings between dragon races are not unheard of, but it is quite rare to find them within dragons of opposing elements.”

“That is true,” Igneel agreed, “but when they do happen, as in the case of Sting and Rogue’s dragon parents, the bonds that develop are incredibly strong, just like the bond you share with Natsu. I highly doubt many other bonds would have survived the damage yours suffered.”

Gray’s eyes widened as he absorbed Igneel’s words. “Okay, let’s say for now that I believe you,” Gray said, “Why does any of this matter? Regardless of what kind of soul I have, I’m still human, and Natsu is still a dragon.”

He fixed his gaze on both dragons and tried to wait patiently for an answer as they once again had a conversation he wasn’t privy to.

Igneel finally faced him, looking more solemn than Gray had ever seen him. “What if there was a way for you to live your life out with Natsu as equals?”

“As equals? What do you mean-,” Gray stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly grasping what the dragon was asking him.

“You want to turn me into a dragon somehow?!” The words sounded ridiculous to his ears, but he could see from Igneel’s quiet nod and Atlas’ scowl that it was precisely what the dragons were proposing. “But how is that even possible?”

“It would be a gamble,” Atlas revealed. “But I’ve been looking into soul magic, among other things, and it is at the very least within the realm of possibility to move your soul into a dragon body.”

“You can’t be serious,” Gray argued, “That’s impossible.”

“Not impossible,” Atlas corrected, “It would just require very complex magic. The amount of latent energy existing within all lifeforms is enormous. It’s a combination of magical potential, body size, and lifeforce. Some spells, like the one Igneel used to turn into a human temporarily, require so much magic that they eat up amounts of your lifeforce in exchange. If we deconstructed your body and converted all of that energy into magic, we can harness it to-”

Atlas stopped in midsentence, his gaze shifting to Igneel and studying him carefully. His expression twisted into one of distress as he yelled out, “Is that how you were planning to generate the energy we need?”

Igneel remained silent, but he looked away, and that seemed to be answer enough for Atlas. “NO! I will have no part of this!”

“Atlas,” Igneel finally gazed upon his brother, his expression too complicated for Gray to interpret, “There is no other way, you must know that.”

“NO! I will find another way!” Atlas roared, charging out of the room.

Gray had no idea what was happening; he hadn’t understood much of what Atlas had been trying to explain, but given his reaction, it was clear that there was more at stake than what he was being told. “What’s going on? Why is he so upset with you?”

“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” Igneel smiled, but Gray could tell that he was upset about Atlas’ reaction. “All you need to do is decide whether this is something you want. Would you give up the life you have now for a chance to live together as a pair of mated dragons?”

Gray didn’t like being kept in the dark, but he supposed it would only be a problem if he decided to go through with it, and he could always ask more questions at that point. “How long do I have?”

Igneel tilted his head as he thought over Gray’s question, “I wouldn’t take longer than a week or two to decide. A spell of this magnitude requires a lot of preparation, and we’re only going to get one shot at it.”

“Only one? Why?”

“I won’t sugarcoat it. There are risks involved in what we are attempting, but it’s still a windfall given your situation. You should continue practicing your astral projection,” Igneel advised, “Learn to control it so that you can remain in that state for long periods, no matter the circumstances. It might very well mark the difference between success and failure.”

Gray got an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. Igneel had always answered all his questions honestly, but he had clearly avoided this one. Just what did this spell entail?

“I’ll take my leave now; I should go speak to my brother.”

Gray watched Igneel leave, trying to ignore the tense way in which the dragon held himself as he walked towards what would most likely not be a pleasant conversation.

I have a dragon soul.

He allowed that thought steep in his brain. Was it actually possible? Gray knew what he had seen in that mirror, but could he trust it? The whole thing felt so surreal, and he wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

But if there was even a sliver of a chance at having a semblance of a normal life with Natsu, one where they could live together as a couple for longer than one day out of the year, shouldn’t he risk it? Would he come to regret it if he didn’t?

He sat back on his bed, determined to practice his astral projection. Maybe spending more time as his dragon self would help him to arrive at a decision.

0-0

“I said that I want nothing to do with this, and I meant it,” Atlas roared the second Igneel entered his bed-chamber.

“Atlas -, “ Igneel took a deep breath, collecting all of the patience he’d developed in his long tenure as King.

“No. Don’t you dare Atlas me!”

“It’s the only way, and you know it,” Igneel kept his voice low and soothing, the same way he did when trying to calm Natsu down.

“How can you expect me to just go along with it?”

“I have been responsible for so much pain over the years, but none worse than the grief all my mistakes caused Natsu. Gray as well, for it was my apathy that killed his family. If I can do this for them, I have to try. You must see that.”

“That’s not true. I’m the one that accelerated his transformation. If anyone should pay the price for what happened to Natsu, it should be me.”

“Atlas, I’ve lived a long, happy life. I found my soulmate, fathered a child, watched him grow into someone I’m proud of. You know this, you were always right beside me. I know this is hard for you to accept, but I want to do this. Natsu doesn’t need me anymore, but he does need Gray. This current arrangement they have, you know it’s hurting them both. Besides, it’s time for me to return to Porlyusica.”

“If you do this now, you won’t be able to return to her,” Atlas announced, “Acnologia has a portion of your soul trapped inside of him, if you die before he does, your soul will disintegrate into nothingness. You’ll never be able to reunite with her.”

“I was hoping you hadn’t figured that out,” Igneel grimaced, even as his shoulders sagged, “ but that still doesn’t change my decision.”

“You know, and you’re still willing to go through with this? This is madness! At least let me go after Acnologia, once I kill him then we can do this,” Atlas pleaded, “You’ve waited for so long, what’s a little bit longer?”

“We are only going to get one shot at this, and Natsu can’t know about it before it happens. He would never agree.”

“You can’t just leave him like that, Igneel! He’s already lost so much,” Atlas pleaded, clinging to anything that could change his brother’s mind.

“I’ve already said my goodbye to him,” Igneel said simply, giving his brother a sad smile. “Please, don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

Atlas refused to let things end like this for his brother, so while Igneel continued to work out the specifics of the spell they were writing, Atlas began the long process of poring over every single tome and scroll in their library. Searching for any scrap of information regarding soulmates and soulbonds, anything that might help him keep his brother from suffering a fate that he knew would be worse than death.

0-0

“Okay, what the hell is going on with you?” Lyon demanded, sitting down at the table Gray had chosen to eat his lunch in the dining room of the Village Guard headquarters.

Gray turned his head to the side, surprised to find his brother next to him.

“Huh?”

“Exactly that, you’ve been distracted for days,” Lyon pointed out before shoving a heaping spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

“Oh, just have a lot on my mind, I guess,” Gray chuckled nervously, not having the first clue on how even to begin to explain to Lyon the thought that was always on his mind.

Would you give up the life you have now for a chance to live together as a pair of mated dragons?

Lyon would think that the stress of his situation with Natsu had finally driven him mad, and Gray couldn’t blame him. The whole thing was insane. Deep in his heart, Gray knew what he wanted to do, but he also realized it was selfish even to consider it.

The same excuses repeated themselves in his head. There were plenty of people who needed him - Lyon, Erza, Anna, even Juvia. They all cared about him, and he would hurt them if he suddenly disappeared from their lives, this time for good. Then there was the promise he’d made to protect the village from danger, which he took very seriously.

Even so, he’d spent hours training his astral projection, remembering Igneel’s warning. The more he practiced, the easier it became to separate his soul from his body. At first, he had only thought about getting good enough to have Atlas teach him how to reach the astral realm so that he could talk to Natsu.

Then he realized that would be a mistake, how would Natsu respond to seeing him there? To know that despite Gray possessing the soul of a dragon, their situation hadn’t changed. He couldn’t do that to his mate, not until he had come to a final decision.

“Worried about Natsu?” Lyon asked, and when Gray nodded, he quickly changed the topic. “ I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he announced in between bites, “I’m planning on visiting Ur’s grave in a couple of days. Would you like to come? It’s been a long time since we’ve been to see her.”

Gray thought about it briefly, according to what Igneel had said he still had plenty of time to make his decision, and it had been a very long time since he had gone to visit her. “Sure, sign me up!”

“Great, I’ll make sure Erza gives you the same day off,” Lyon declared, “So, how are the dragons treating you? I can’t even imagine how you manage the heat, the one time I was in there I was miserable.”

“No joke! It is stifling, especially with this heat. Natsu’s uncle cast some spell in our room that lowers the temperature so at least it’s comfortable in there,” Gray explained, “To be honest, it hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be, Natsu’s dad is nice, and the other two mostly leave me alone.”

“God, this summer has been brutal! Erza used to stand in front of the refrigerator to get cool until she realized that she could turn me into her personal cooling unit,” Lyon sighed, but they both knew he was full of it, he loved every minute of it.

Gray laughed and listened to Lyon go on about Erza and even managed to offer some Natsu stories in return. Lunch was over much too soon, but Gray eagerly awaited their upcoming day trip.

Several days later, they set off towards the village where they had lived with Ur, reminiscing on some of the people they had known and wondering what had become of them. They stopped at a field not too far from their destination to pick flowers for her grave.

Gray found himself wondering what Ur would have advised him to do if she’d been aware of his predicament. She had never been one to tell them what to do, preferring to let them figure things out on their own, occasionally guiding them when she felt they had lost their way. It was one of the things he’d always admired about her.

Remembering her love of roses, Gray carefully molded some around her headstone, creating small crevices where they could arrange the flowers they had picked.

“You’ve always had such a great eye for detail,” Lyon praised, admiring Gray’s creation, “I rather think you would have made an excellent artist if you hadn’t had magic. I was always too impatient, so Dynamic Ice-Make was a better fit for me.”

Lyon grabbed some of the flowers and placed them in pleasant bursts of color. “You know, it’s been all these years, but I still miss her.”

“I do, too,” Gray admitted, grabbing another bunch and helping Lyon. He tied the remaining flowers together with a bit of string and placed them underneath the engraving of her name, Ur Milkovich. He spread the blanket they had brought along and sat down facing the grave.

Lyon joined him, and they sat quietly for a few minutes, each caught up in thoughts of their teacher.

“So, are you finally going to tell me what’s bothering you?” Lyon asked; his eyes never straying from the headstone.

Gray gawked at his brother in disbelief, “Are you telling me that you planned this whole thing just to manipulate me into talking to you?”

Lyon chuckled, “I mean, I had been planning on asking you to come with me to visit, but I kept putting it off. There never seemed to be a right time. I think she’d like to know what we were up to.”

Gray debated keeping the situation to himself, but he quickly realized there was no one better to discuss it with. Lyon had always tried his best to be supportive regarding his relationship with Natsu. It would be a colossal mistake to waste this opportunity when his brother was clearly willing to listen. He threw caution to the wind and confided, “What would you say if I told you that I had a dragon soul?”

“A dragon soul?” Lyon pulled out a blade of grass and chewed on it thoughtfully. “Where did you get that idea?”

“The dragons, but It’s not an idea. I’ve seen it,” Gray emphasized, not wanting there to be any misunderstanding on the matter.

“I guess I’d say start from the beginning,” Lyon shifted until he was lying on his side, propping his head up with his hand as he got ready to listen.

“You’re not going to say I’m insane?”

“Nothing that comes out of your mouth surprises me anymore. You’re married to a fucking dragon for God’s sake.”

Gray laughed at his response, feeling relieved now that he knew Lyon wasn’t going to attempt to discredit what he was going to tell him. The words poured out of him. He recounted how he had learned how to astral project in the hopes of being able to communicate with Natsu while he was away. Described his shock at seeing his reflection in the mirror and his reluctance to accept what he had seen.

He told Lyon everything, including how the dragons had thought there was a chance they could create a spell that could move his soul into a dragon body and his suspicion that Igneel was hiding something from him. Once he was finished, he waited for any response from his brother.

“Wow, gotta say I wasn’t expecting that,” Lyon admitted, sitting up and staring at Ur’s grave while he thought. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Gray confessed, “I know what I’d like to do, but it doesn’t feel right.”

“Can you show me what you look like?” Lyon asked, his eyes full of a curiosity that made Gray smile.

“Uhm, yeah, sure,” Gray closed his eyes briefly, focusing on what he’d now seen many times in the mirror before calling on his magic and creating a small replica in his hand. He took great care to add as much detail as he could remember.

Gray started by creating a basic dragon shape, with its four legs directly underneath it, each foot sporting three forward-facing claws and another backward-facing one at the rear of the foot. Next, he worked at the snout, making it narrower and forming the spiky horns that sat atop his head, their shape resembling the ice swords he often molded in battle. Gray added the elegant fin-like membranes of the wings, which looked like they were crafted from the smoothest ice he’d ever seen. Lastly, he focused on the tail, shaping the fins that covered the lower half of it, culminating in a clump of ice spikes that tapered into a very sharp point. There was no easy way to show the fur covering his body, but he tried his best to give the impression of it. Gray kept working at it until he was content with the results, only then was he ready to show it to his brother.

Lyon’s sharp intake of breath was unexpected, as was the request to hold the sculpture. Gray handed it over, watching as Lyon turned it around and around, looking at it from every possible angle until he seemed satisfied.

“That’s beautiful,” Lyon breathed. He put the sculpture down gently on the blanket and worked at creating his own. He worked at it for a few minutes, but as he’d mentioned, he wasn’t the most patient. However, it didn’t take long for Gray to understand what Lyon was trying to do. He was creating a likeness of Natsu. It was much less detailed than Gray’s dragon, but it was still easily recognizable. Once he was done, Lyon imbued it with some of his dynamic ice-make magic, and the sculpture began to fly gracefully around them. Lyon grabbed Gray’s sculpture carefully and did the same until both dragons flew side by side in fluid, graceful movements. It made his heart ache to see his fondest wish displayed right in front of him.

Lyon chuckled at whatever he saw reflected in Gray’s face, “It seems to me you’ve already made your decision. So what’s the problem?”

“How can I leave you all behind, after everything you’ve done for me?” Gray voiced his concern, expecting his brother to understand his feelings on the matter.

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Lyon snapped, displaying an anger Gray had rarely seen, especially directed at him. “Don’t you dare use us as an excuse! You’re being offered an incredible opportunity, one that solves all of your problems. If you’re afraid of going through with it, then you need to admit that to yourself. Fear is healthy, and you can figure out where it’s coming from. Heck, I’ll even help you, but this has nothing to do with any of us. This is about you and Natsu.”

“But what about whatever Igneel is hiding?” Gray nibbled on his lip, hoping Lyon could tell him something that would make him feel better about the whole mess.

“What about it? Do you trust Igneel?”

“Well, yeah, as far as I know he’s never lied to me, and he’s always been kind,” Gray replied honestly. He liked his father in law very much, but he couldn’t stop wondering what it was that he was keeping secret. It gave him a bad feeling.

“Then you just need to accept that whatever he’s hiding is his problem, not yours. You aren’t responsible for the choices or actions of others,” Lyon pointed out, pragmatic as always. “All I know is, if Erza and I were in your situation, I wouldn’t think twice about it. I’d be a dragon already.”

Gray didn’t question the truth of that statement. For all the wavering and insecurity Lyon had held at the beginning of his relationship with Erza, Gray was aware there was nothing his brother wouldn’t do for his wife.

“Do you still hate dragons?” Lyon asked him quietly, a contrast to his previous outburst.

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just, I don’t know the first thing about being a dragon,” Gray finally admitted, “If I changed, I’d really be the Dragon Queen or King or whatever. What if I mess everything up? Not to mention I’d have to leave everything I know behind, I’d never see you or Erza again.”

“Whoa there, dude, you’re making me anxious just listening to you,” Lyon complained, “Of course you’d see us again. What’s the big hurry anyway? Can’t you just talk to Natsu about this when he returns?”

“No, they want to do the spell before Natsu returns from his trip, Igneel said I had about two weeks to decide.”

Lyon studied him intently, his words coming out as a groan, “Why is nothing ever simple with you two?”

He scratched his head, “In the end, none of that changes anything. It’s just noise. There is only one question you need to ask yourself. Do you want to be able to spend the rest of your life with your husband as equals, or are you happy with things the way they are?”

“You know I’m not, I want to go back to the way things were, but that’s not possible.”

“Then isn’t this the next best thing? Don’t forget, dragons live for a very long time. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn everything you need. Just promise me you’ll give me a ride once you change!” Lyon grinned excitedly.

“God, can you imagine what Ur would have thought of all this?”

“I think she would have enjoyed fighting against an ice dragon,” Gray mused.

“Oh, definitely, kind of curious what types of things she would have molded,” Lyon landed the two sculptures gently and handed them to Gray to examine.

He looked at the two dragons standing together, and he felt his chest tighten. This could be them.

Gray knew Lyon was right, about everything.

He was afraid, which was one of the worst reasons to shy away from a course of action. And he couldn’t deny what his heart wanted. To be free to give and receive affection, to fight for fun like they used to do, to experience life on their terms. He could almost imagine the shock on Natsu’s face when he saw him, and he smirked in anticipation, remembering how Natsu had said ice dragons were pretty. For once in their tumultuous relationship, fate had seen fit to correct a mistake. He’d be a fool to refuse this chance.

“Alright, I’m going to do it!” Gray exclaimed, and now that he’d finally come to a decision, he began to feel excited about the future. He still had a lot of work to do on his end, and he was determined to do everything in his power to help things along.

“Good.” Lyon smiled, giving him a quick hug before unpacking the lunch Erza had prepared for them. “It’s about time something went your way. I swear, sometimes I wonder who you two managed to piss off up there.”

Gray nodded, grabbing a sandwich and wolfing it down. They began reminiscing about their childhood and their time with Ur. Once lunch was over, they talked to their teacher, telling her everything that had happened since they had last seen her.

The time to leave Ur was soon approaching, and it made him sad to know he might never be back. It was a grim reminder that he would also have to say goodbye to Lyon and Erza soon. Something he wasn’t ready for, despite his growing excitement about the future.

“I never thanked either of you for coming to my rescue at that bakery,” Gray lamented, “You’ve been such a great brother ever since, even when I was difficult.”

“You’ve always been difficult,” Lyon teased, and when Gray began to sniffle, he couldn’t hide his own tears. Gray felt strong arms wrap around him tightly, and he rested his head on Lyon’s chest, letting the tears flow until there were none left.

“You know Ur didn’t like tears,” Lyon chided gently, “How about we show her how far we’ve come instead.”

Lyon stood and immediately got into his molding stance, and Gray followed suit. He’d always loved sparring with Natsu, but Lyon had been his first real opponent, the one that he measured himself against. He did his best against him now, eager to show off his progress to the woman who had given him a home when he’d had none.

0-0

Natsu and Happy had been flying for days. They usually didn’t take a direct route to Drak Aast, well aware that Acnologia was out there somewhere, and he was more than likely trying to find its location. They had only managed to keep it a secret by not telling any dragon outside of their most trusted circle where it was.

Acnologia’s absence was something that was beginning to work at Natsu’s nerves. He wasn’t naive enough to believe that the renegade had given up.

And it wasn’t just Acnologia who was absent, neither Natsu nor Atlas had found any sign of any of the other renegades for months. Something which made them think that either Acnologia was attempting to unite them under him for an all-out attack, or something even more sinister was going on.

Neither possibility was particularly reassuring. Natsu knew they needed to come up with a strategy to take the renegade out once and for all, but it seemed like an impossible task. Their most significant asset, which was magic, was useless against him. Having absorbed portions of the souls of so many dragons and linked them with his magic, Acnologia had managed to make himself immune to most of their attacks.

Natsu knew there had to be a way to defeat him, but he couldn’t see it. He could only hope that the next time they met, he’d be able to figure something out since so far he’d been the only one who had managed to injure the renegade significantly.

His thoughts were interrupted by his first glimpse of the island; its shape barely discernible in the distance. He extended his senses out one last time to make sure they weren’t being followed and began his approach with Happy on his tail.

Natsu relaxed as they got nearer. Although he knew Belserion was frustrated by his long absence while he had worked things out with Gray, it rarely took long to get the dragon to relax. Natsu would get all his duties taken care of as quickly as possible and spend the rest of his time visiting his friends and exploring the island with Happy.

It wasn’t long before he realized he could kiss his plans goodbye. The sounds of a fight reached his ears, and it was clear that it wasn’t a friendly spar. He and Happy looked at each other in confusion and hurried towards the noise.

A group of dragons hovered near the entrance of his cave, launching their breath attacks at the Talos dragons, who were positioned in a defensive circle around the dragon slayers. Belserion yelled at the slayers to run into the cave as Metalicana took to the air.

“What is going on here?” Natsu yelled, hoping that his voice would be enough to stop the fray, but both sides were too intent on the other to hear him.

“Happy, go in the cave and protect the slayers,” he commanded, wanting to keep his friend out of whatever this was.

“Aye, sir!” Happy chirped, making his way carefully to the cave’s entrance.

Once he was inside, Natsu made his way over to Belserion landing at his side.

“Nice of you to show up,” the dragon scowled, letting Natsu know he was still pissed.

Natsu ignored him for the moment, examining the dragons that were attacking. There were several types of dragons present, so whatever they were unhappy about was something that affected multiple dragon races. They continued launching their breath attacks, but now that the slayers were safely inside the cave, the Talos dragons were retaliating, which was only going to escalate the problem.

Natsu wasn’t about to let that happen. He let out the most imposing roar he was capable of, determined to get their attention. He followed it up with a bellowed command, which he knew they’d be conditioned to follow.

“ENOUGH!”

The other dragons finally noticed his presence, and both sides ceased their attacks, although none of them seemed content to do so.

“Did you learn nothing from the war? We can’t afford to fight amongst ourselves,” Natsu reminded them, shifting his gaze from dragon to dragon, disturbed when all met his gaze evenly. Whatever this was, it was important to them. It would need to be dealt with, or the peace they’d managed so far could shatter.

He recognized one of the attacking dragons, an Earth dragon that had fought at his side during the war and called out to him. “Efigénia, can you tell me what this about?”

Efigénia bowed his head as an indication of respect before addressing Natsu bravely. “Dragon King, we demand that the slayers leave Drak Aast immediately.”

Natsu was caught off guard by the anger he’d heard in the voice of the Earth dragon. He’d been somewhat aware of some animosity developing between the dragons and the slayers, but he clearly hadn’t understood how far it had progressed.

“But this is their home. They are here with their parents,” Natsu responded, trying to think of a way to mediate this to a peaceful outcome.

“This is our home, the only safe place left for us to thrive,” Efigénia declared to the boisterous agreement of the other dragons that stood with him, “Our eggs will soon hatch, and we don’t want the slayers here when that happens. They betrayed us once, and they could do it again. We are not willing to take that chance.”

Natsu wanted to defend his friends and protest that they would never do that, but he remained silent, reflecting on the dragon’s words. Dragons were extremely territorial, having them all share one island already placed a lot of stress on them. Creating a situation where they were also anxious for their young might push them well past their breaking point.

The dragons only wished to protect their offspring from an attack that, in their minds, could come at any time. As much as Natsu would like to tell them they were worrying over nothing, he knew he couldn’t do that.

Despite possessing dragon magic within them, slayers still thought of themselves as mostly human. They had different desires and motivations. The truth was that it wasn’t an unreasonable request, and if he wanted to maintain their hard-earned peace, he had no choice but to support it.

“Very well,” Natsu responded, “I have heard your demand, I give you my word that I will consider the matter. Belserion and I will discuss how to proceed. Return tomorrow for my decision.”

The dragons nodded their acceptance and flew away. Natsu waited until he could no longer make them out before turning to Belserion. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize things had gotten this bad. I would have attempted to get here sooner.”

Belserion shrugged, “There’s no point in fighting over things that can’t be changed. The question is, what are we going to do about this?”

“The only thing we can. We have to tell the slayers they have to return to the human world. I mean, do they even want to stay?”

“Some of them do,” Belserion pointed out, “Irene, Wendy, maybe some of the others. Then there’s Sting and Rogue,” he added carefully, aware that it was a sore subject.

“What about them?”

“Where are they going to go?” Belserion asked, the severity of his expression confusing Natsu.

“Home?” Natsu shrugged, not understanding the issue.

“I didn’t expect to hear you say that after what happened,” Belserion replied honestly.

“Talos is their home,” Natsu declared, and this was the truth. They had lived there most of their lives, and he had no desire to take that away from them. “They are welcome to return there if they so choose, I won’t stand in their way.”

“I think they would only accept that coming from you,” Belserion remarked, observing Natsu hopefully.

“I will consider talking to Rogue later,” Natsu muttered, “I am interested to see how he’s doing with Gajeel’s contraption.”

“Natsu-” Belserion attempted, but Natsu didn’t want a lecture at that moment.

“That’s the best I can offer,” Natsu declared before turning away and entering his cave.

The dragon slayers stood huddled together in the cave’s antechamber looking spooked, while Metalicana and Skiadrum stood guard over them.

“Hey, Uncles,” Natsu greeted them with a fond smile, happy to see them again after several months away.

“Natsu,” Metalicana grinned, “That was quite the roar, Gajeel almost soiled his pants.”

“Hey! Speak for yourself, Bucket of Bolts!” Gajeel snapped, and Natsu couldn’t help but laugh at how little the two had changed.

He looked around the cave until he found Happy excitedly talking with Rogue. He observed the dragon slayer for a minute, noticing the metal legs. He was pleased that Gajeel’s idea had worked, he’d hated the thought of Rogue being unable to move on his own for the rest of his life.

“I see you were good for something after all,” Natsu praised Gajeel, nodding his head towards where Rogue stood.

Gajeel flushed at the compliment, “Yeah, we had a few false starts, but we figured it out. He won’t win any races, but he can get along on his own pretty good now.”

“I’m glad,” Natsu declared, “Thanks for not giving up.”

“It’s not like there’s a hell of a lot else for me to do here,” Gajeel grunted.

“About that, I’d like to talk to you and Irene in private,” Natsu requested, knowing that the two were considered the leaders of the remaining slayers.

“I’m here,” Irene announced from behind Natsu, and he turned to greet her, immediately dismayed by what he observed. It was a sight he was familiar with from when he had been injured. Some of the skin on Irene’s face was cracked, revealing red scales underneath.

She had begun to dragonify.

It hit him harder than he thought it would, and he could understand why the dragons were so riled up, that must have brought back terrible memories for them. He had a bad feeling that Irene wouldn’t want to return home after all, and he could only think of Erza and how long she had been waiting for her mother’s return.

Natsu chose to remain silent for the moment, deeming it better to wait until he could talk to her alone. “Let’s go to my room.”

Belserion, Gajeel, and Irene followed him, none of them speaking until they had arrived at his chamber, the one place where they could be guaranteed not to be interrupted.

“Belserion and I have discussed it, and we think it best if the slayers leave Drak Aast and return to the human world. As their leaders, we’d like your help in coming up with a reasonable plan of action on how to make that happen safely.” Natsu examined the expressions of both dragon slayers at his decision, wanting to gauge how much opposition he could expect, but neither looked particularly surprised by his proclamation.

He waited a few minutes more to give them a chance to protest, but again there was nothing.

“They’ll be able to decide where they want to go and we can provide transportation. If we do it at night, we should be able to avoid detection.”

“What about their magic?” Gajeel asked.

“If they wish to keep it, they are welcome to. They’ve earned that right, I think. If they wish to remove it, we can do that too. We will need to remove all memories of their time here, though. I don’t want there to be any chance of them returning or worse leading someone here.”

“You’re thinking about Acnologia, aren’t you?” Irene guessed.

“He hasn’t been seen since his attack on Talos, I don’t know what he’s up to, but we have to assume he’s trying to find us. ”

Irene and Gajeel nodded in agreement.

“He won’t stop until he achieves his goal of destroying all dragons,” Irene frowned, “It’s a little concerning that he hasn’t shown himself in so long.”

Gajeel frowned, “I think a lot of the slayers understand the situation, but I’m gonna be honest, you’re going to get some pushback on the memory spell.”

“That part is not up for discussion,” Natsu snapped, ”I am not about to create a situation where one of the slayers could lead Acnologia here in exchange for their life.

“I’m not saying you’re in the wrong Runt. I’m just telling you that you can expect pushback,” Gajeel remarked.

“Right, sorry,” Natsu apologized, realizing he’d overreacted.

“You know, rather than getting pissy at me, you should just have it out with Sting about what happened,” Gajeel pointed out.

“How many dragon slayers are currently on the island, and how many days will they need to get ready to go?” Natsu ignored Gajeel’s words causing the Iron Dragon Slayer to sigh.

“There are fifteen altogether,” Irene declared, “most of them from different towns. We should coordinate groups, with Acnologia still out there I don’t think it wise to send any dragon out alone.”

“That’s true, and I’d have to go on every trip as I’m the only one besides Atlas who can cast the memory spell,” Natsu reasoned, “Belserion should stay here in my absence, so I guess I’ll have Metalicana and Skiadrum come as backup.”

Belserion grunted his agreement at his choices. “We could start three days from now, that should give you enough time to deal with the most pressing issues before heading out. You and Happy can take the Talos folks home when you’re ready to leave. Bright side, you’ll be home much sooner than usual.”

Natsu thought about that, deciding it was worth the hassle if he was able to both appease the dragons and get home to Gray sooner than expected. “Alright, that sounds good.”

“Gajeel, can you go talk to the slayers? I need to talk to Irene for a bit.”

“Sure thing, your Runtness,” Gajeel gave him a mock bow and made his exit.

Natsu snorted at the moniker but quickly turned his attention to Irene.

“When did it start?” He asked, examining the scales more closely now that they were alone.

“A few months ago, I was hoping it was just a fluke, but as you can see, it’s only getting worse,” Irene gave him a crooked smile. “I should have expected it; I’d just hoped that I could escape it.”

“Has Grandine tried to heal it?” Natsu fretted, trying to think of a way to make it go away so that Irene could return home.

“Yeah, both her and Wendy tried, it made no difference,” Irene shrugged disinterestedly, “There are more pressing things to worry about at the moment.”

“You can still go home,” he implored, “Did you know that Erza’s married now?”

“She is?” Irene breathed, the longing in her eyes unmistakable, although a steely glare immediately replaced it. “Who did she marry? What are they like?”

“She married my mate’s foster brother, an ice mage by the name of Lyon. He doesn’t have any problems putting me in my place,” Natsu grinned, “I’m sure you’ll love him.”

“Anna misses you too,” he added, hoping that bringing her up would sway Irene.

“I can’t let them see me like this, Natsu,” Irene pleaded with him.

“What if I removed your magic?” Natsu peered at Belserion for an answer to his next words, “If I did that, it shouldn’t be able to progress, right?”

Belserion appeared pensive, tapping his claws against the cave floor, “I think it should stop.”

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but it wouldn’t get rid of what’s already there,” Irene pointed out.

“It’s a start,” Natsu urged, “Atlas was able to create an illusion spell that covered my scales so that Gray wouldn’t see them, maybe he could do the same for you. You can’t give up, Irene. Do it for Erza. Don’t you think she’s waited long enough?”

Irene’s eyes bored into him, “I could ask you the same thing. Don’t you think Sting has waited long enough for you to talk to him?”

“That’s an entirely different situation, and you know it.” Natsu could feel the anger building as it always did when the topic of Sting’s betrayal came up.

“Is it?” Irene squared her shoulders, “I know things can never be the same between you, but can’t you at least grant him forgiveness? He still loves you.”

“Don’t ask the impossible of me!” Natsu snarled, his tail swishing dangerously behind him. “All of you need to back the hell off. You have no idea what he did!”

“Of course we don’t!” Irene pressed her lips together, “ Because you refuse to talk about it. All I know is he sent Acnologia to Talos.”

“Isn’t that enough?” Natsu ranted, “Or are you fine with him sending that abomination to where Erza is?”

“Of course not,” Irene argued, “But everything turned out alright in the end, didn’t it? You managed to protect the town. Everyone is fine, and he’s sorry. He wants to make amends.”

“He wants to make amends?” Natsu growled in outrage.

“Let me see if I understand. Because everything supposedly turned out okay, I’m just supposed to forget the whole thing ever happened? Is that what you’re saying?” Natsu knew his voice was getting louder by the second, but there was no holding back now.

Irene backed up towards Belserion, who was watching him with concern.

“You want to know how okay everything turned out?” Natsu roared, finally fed up with everyone’s well-intentioned meddling.

“Fifty years, Irene. I was supposed to get at least that much time with Gray before turning into a dragon for good. Thanks to Sting’s betrayal, I got six months. Six months!”

“Turned into a dragon for good?” Irene balked, “What are you talking about? How could you expect Sting to know something like that?”

“No, he’s right, Irene, I did know,” Sting’s voice pierced the air of the cave, “I was the only one besides the red dragons who did.”

He made his way inside slowly, struggling with every step as Rogue tried to pull him back.

Natsu bristled at seeing Sting enter his room. “Get out!” he seethed.

“No,” Sting replied calmly, “This has gone on long enough. I know you’re angry, but you’ve avoided me since you found out what I did, and this might be the only chance we have to talk. We’ve been friends our entire lives, Natsu. There has to be a way for me to make this right.”

Natsu couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, “No, there isn’t. You don’t even understand what you did, do you?”

“Then tell me! Yell at me, fight me, I don’t even care what you do. Just do something, because the silence - it’s killing me.”

Rogue let go of Sting’s shirt with a long drawn out sigh, choosing to grab his hand and stand by his side in a display of solidarity.

“We need to know what we did,” Rogue pleaded, “You’ve kept us from it long enough.”

Rogue’s words sliced through some of his anger. Ever since Natsu had learned of Sting’s betrayal, he’d focused most of his rage on him. Even though on some level he’d always realized that Rogue wouldn’t have been entirely blameless. But Rogue had also suffered his own set of consequences during the war. Consequences that could have been avoided if Natsu had just stayed with him instead of letting him take on that dragon on his own.

But it was more than that. Rogue had been the first one of the slayers to see his dragon form and accept it. He had kept something from Sting just to help him protect Gray. And despite learning Natsu hadn’t been entirely truthful with him about what he was, he’d still offered his support when Natsu came clean to the others.

Sting had taken the only course of action available to him that allowed him to protect his mate. Natsu had always understood that. What Sting didn’t seem to understand, was that in doing so, he’d put Gray in danger, and that was not anything Natsu could ever forgive. His much stronger dragon instincts wouldn’t permit it.

But as much as he wanted to remain angry, Natsu found he couldn’t do that when faced with Rogue’s resigned gaze.

“You took away my future, Sting. How can you expect me to forgive that?” Natsu stared into Sting’s eyes, hoping the dragon slayer would back down from a conversation that would only hurt them, but he remained resolute.

“I have to know,” Sting pleaded, and Rogue nodded his agreement.

Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. So be it, he wouldn’t keep them from it any longer.

“Fine, I’ll tell you. Gray and I had just returned from our honeymoon when he showed up,” Natsu recounted, telling the story as calmly as he could manage, given the circumstances. “Gray refused to flee, so I had no other choice but to transform to save the town. Acnologia came at me hard. Our fight pretty much wrecked the village. He got away from me and went after Gray, slamming him into a building, breaking his back and nearly every other bone in his body. And I couldn’t do a damn thing to help him until I chased that monster away!”

“Do you have any idea how it feels to see your mate bleed out before your eyes and not be able to do a damn thing about it? Because that’s what I had to do until I could get him somewhere safe.”

“Gray- is he-?” Rogue wasn’t able to finish his question, covering his mouth with his hand, but it wasn’t enough to silence the whimper.

“He’s alive,” Natsu monotoned, trying his best to stay in some semblance of control, ”It took almost every ounce of magic I had left, but I was able to heal him enough that he survived.”

He could see Rogue relaxing somewhat at that, and it irked him because, to him, what came after was much worse.

“You wanna guess as to what happened once Gray came to and realized what I was?”

Sting shook his head slowly, turning his face away so Natsu couldn’t see his tears, but he could still smell them.

Natsu disregarded Sting’s refusal, wanting him to understand just how far the repercussions of his actions ran. “Well, it should come as no surprise to you,” he fumed, “He rejected me. Just like I always feared he would.”

“Stop,” Sting pleaded, “I can’t-”

“No!” Natsu responded coldly, “You wanted to know, so I’ll tell you the rest of it.”

“I ended up removing Gray’s memories of our time together, so he didn’t have to remember that I was a dragon, or live with the guilt of having rejected me.”

“So don’t you dare tell me that you’re sorry, or that you want to make amends. What happened with Rogue was an unfortunate accident, but you knew damn well what would happen to me when you made your choice.”

“You make it sound like he had a choice,” Belserion argued, “You know more than anyone what it’s like to stand against that monster. The pure unadulterated fear he invokes. What did you expect him to do, just let Acnologua destroy his family? Could you have done that to protect him?”

“I know I wronged both of you, but I’ve spent all this time trying to come up with ways to redeem myself,” Sting cried, “Can’t you at least let me try?”

“You want to redeem yourself? Go home, Sting. Make it up to them. That’s a much better use of your time, and your efforts will at least be appreciated.”

“Please!” Sting beseeched, leaving Natsu feeling uneasy because Sting Eucliffe did not beg.

Natsu turned away, hating that the tremor in Sting’s voice affected him in any way. “I can’t forgive you, but I suppose I can’t stop you from trying to change my mind.”

“Thank you,” Rogue bowed his head, and grabbed Sting, pulling him out of the room before he could do anything to jeopardize what he’d earned.

Natsu nodded, watching their exit with mixed feelings.

Now that he’d let out some of his rage, he didn’t feel as confident as before. He and Gray were together again. Their situation wasn’t ideal by any measure, but it was better than he could have hoped for under the circumstances. Should he continue to hold a grudge, when everyone else seemed to have forgiven him?

He could feel Belserion and Irene observing him, and despite how tired he felt, he wanted to get out of the cave, which suddenly seemed much too small.

“I’m going to see what’s changed since the last time I was here,” Natsu muttered, feeling adrift for the first time since he’d understood Sting’s role in what had happened. He could hear echoes of Sting’s pleas playing in his mind, in stark contrast to the loud objections of his dragon instincts.

A/N: Once I started plotting out everything that was left it became clear that there was too much still left to happen. Much more than could realistically be held in one chapter.

So the bad news is you're going to have to wait a bit longer for the conclusion. The good news is there will be two more chapters! I do hope to finish it out in the next week or so, as I don't plan on working on any other stories until this one is finished. This chapter took about 4-5 days to write so I don't think I will be done by July 31st as I don't anticipate them being any easier, lol.

@ao3feed-gratsu​

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #fairy tail big bang 2018 #update

[kaito-yuki]

Tagged by: crap, forgot who I copied this from…

Tagging: anyone who wants to!

Nickname: Kenta, Arima, Xan Gender: male Star Sign: Mr. Krabs Height: 169cm / 5′6.5″ Time: 8am Birthday: July 10 Favorite Band(s): Simple Plan, ONE OK ROCK, Nickelback, Skillet Favorite Solo Artist(s): Guy Sebastian, Jay Chou, Ed Sheeran, NateWantsToBattle, Amalee Song Stuck In My Head: I Just Had Sex… (FML) Last Movie Watched: Black Panther Last Show Watched: Big Bang Theory When Did I Create My blog: 3 Feb 2018 What Do I Post: things related to muse, usually RP replies, (face claim) pictures, quotes, mun interactions, crack and so on. Last Thing I Googled: wiki may 20 Do You Have Other Blogs: Heaps, please look back at my main blog, kenta-koma! Do You Get Asks: Sometimes Why Did You Choose Your Url: Kaito’s default name for Fairy Tail universe. Following: 112 Followers: 29 Favourite Colour: black, blue, white Average Hours of sleep: 6-8 Lucky Number: 7 Instruments: piano, I’m rusty af now though What Am I Wearing: classic 90’s Wolverine shirt, black Nike shorts (my PJs before work haha) How Many Blankets: One Dream Job: Working for Square Enix, Nintendo, Google, or even Tumblr! Dream Trip: Osaka or Tokyo (again), and I will make it happen soon! Favorite food: sushi, satay foods, mango pancake, chocolate Nationality: Chinese born Australian (migrated when I was 2-3), bringing dishonour to my family ever since!

#mun stuffs

[thatshighlyoffensive]

THAT’S HIGHLY OFFENSIVE: THE SAG AWARDS 2018

So much pink! So many sparkles! it was actually pretty hard for me to be offended by this year’s SAG awards, but don’t worry- there were plenty of people who wanted to make it easy on me... Let the skewering begin!

Danielle Brooks- I think if her hair had been left wild and naturally beautiful, this would have been my favorite look of the night. Her dress is amazing! She looks like a badass, villainous ruby slipper! Or the glam version of the villain in Never-ending Story part 2. I love alllllll of it.

Chrissy Metz- i know it’s not gonna be cool for me to say this, but… let’s kill her off This Is Us so she’s free to star in my new Lifetime Fiction Made for TV Movie, “Violet Beauregarde: After the Gum, Before the Juicing.”

Giuliana Rancid- First things first: She looks like the child of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jay Gatsby and the blonde vulture from the cartoon “Jungle Book.” I’m gonna be honest- I’m having a hard time coming up with new or interesting ways to call her an ungodly shade of orange or the Queen of the Antz. Because while she will always remain those things, she’s constantly finding new ways to offend me and the rest of America by being the most obtuse yet anorexic hymenoptera on the red carpet.

Abbie Cornish- Modeling the newest addition to the Elle Fanning & American Girl collaboration with Frederick’s of Hollywood.

Allison Williams: Some college sophomore who became anorexic in preparation for her Chicago audition.  

Sterling K. Brown’s wife (who they keep trying to pretend/cram down our throats is an actress): You’re at the Spelling Bee and your word is DOILY.

Alison Brie: While I’m not obsessed with it, I love how her dress coordinates with her show. It’s fun, it’s eighties, it’s GLOWing.

Niecey Nash- No one cares, except me, but you stole my costume from when I played the Charo originated role of Frog Momma in “The Swan Princess.”

Halle Berry: I kind of love everything about this. It’s pink and berry and sparkly and has black tulle, so LOVE. But i cannot and will not with that My Little Pony Tail. You’re better than that, Halle. Shave that shit off like you did after David Justice!

Laurie Metcalf: If Angelina Jolie had worn this, my head would have exploded. You’re borderline just as devastating bc i LOVE YOU. Well played, sir.

Mary j Blige is clearly on her way to a ballet themed MET Gala dressed in Kmart’s Black Swan collection…

Only Taryn Manning would put a white, ankle strapped, Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls heel with an elegant, black, Audrey Hepburn-esque dress. Because ALL HER CHARACTERS.

Reese Witherspoon looks like a beautiful emerald earring. But when did she get that gap in her teeth?? @jenniferhintonmarion

Saiorse Ronan- If not for the bolo tie wrapped around your waist, i’d say you are a delightful version of Audrey’s character in Funny Face guest starring in a Moondreamers Valentine’s Day special.

Tracee Ellis Ross- At first I thought this was pants. I wasn’t going to like it then and I’m sad to say I shan’t be liking it any more upon realizing it’s a dress. It does nothing for her body and those shoes resemble something Angela Sephton purchased from Gadzooks circa 2004. Maybe if you get your pay raise, you can afford more attractive clothing.

Kate Hudson- The first time i saw this mess, i said to my friend @loganyost “It’s like Samantha the Victorian American Girl doll raped a care bear.” And I stand by that. #whattheactalfuck

Lupita Nyongo- On TV, that dress is PERFECTION. In photos though, it kind of resembles a silver tooth that’s gathered some Oreo around the gum line…

i didn’t think anyone could be as boring as Alexis Bledel at the Golden Globes (or in any role she’s ever played)… Olivia Munn has proven me wrong. #snooze

Brie Larson matched her eyeshadow to her dress. I love all the colors, but I do not love all the things.

Greta Gerwig: i freaking love everything about this. The color (which is giving me major Nicole Kidman in Dior circa 1997 vibes), the shape, the way she looks in the shape, the makeup that works with it all… LOVE.

Why is Molly Sims at the SAG awards? And why is she dressed as a saloon stripper named Cerulean Sarsaparilla???

Nicole Kidman- This is what you look like with the flu?!?!?!?!? i die. This looks like a chic, ruby-encrusted trash bag with a SJP shoulder flower and i love all of it.

Allison Janney came dressed as a SAG statue tonight, manifesting a win. And it worked. And I couldn’t be happier. Her performance in “I, Tonya” made started my year off RIGHT.

Susan Sarandon’s dress is what i want to own in every single color and fabric and have it be the only thing i ever wear to awards shows. And the sunglasses? Does she think she’s actually Bette Davis? I’m fine with it.

Did all the females in the ‘This Is Us’ cast decide to dress in the same shade of blueberry for a reason? Did they think  this was the blue version of all black everyone pulled at the Golden Globes? That being said, I definitely think Mandy Moore takes the prize for Best Use of Cobalt, 2018.

Aside from the cheap looking hem on Margot Robbie’s dress, this may be my favorite look of the night. She looks like an Ice Capades Barbie at the black tie gala on the eve of her big skate and i love allll of it.

Dakota fanning ALSO looks like a Barbie, but the #myfirstbarbie version.

Marisa Tomei- Perfection, as always. The ultimate modern bombshell. Pink. Glitter. Yes.

Kristen Bell: Great job as the hostess of the evening. HOWEVER, on the red carpet, she just reminded me to pick up medication for my next UTI.

Holly Hunter: Why am I so obsessed with this? Is it because you are one of my favorite actresses of all time  AND you happen to play a fellow ECU alum in your last amazing film, The Big Sick? Is it because there are pockets? I guess we’ll never know.

Connie Britton: Although I cannot forgive your latest role as a 911 operator (even if it is in a Ryan Murphy show), I am obviously obsessed with your pink, sparkly dress! It doesn’t fit even remotely like a dream, but i repeat: PINK AND SPARKLY. If your hair was blonde, the dress actually fit and you had red star earrings with a holographic fairy godmother on the other end, you’d be Jem.

Mary Steenburgen’s dress? Great. The color, the fit, it’s all working. I cannot, however, condone that HAIR! It’s like the brunette Deborah Rush spontaneously cut bangs so she could replace Jeri Blank in the Flatpoint High production of Chicago.

Omg Laura Linney- You look like some sort of beautiful pink bird in a cage in Barbie’s dream house. C’est magnifique.

ALRIGHT Y’ALL... I’D WRITE MORE, BUT FRANKLY, I’VE BEEN DRINKING WINE ALL DAMN DAY AND IT’S TIME TO GO THE PINK SATIN TO BED. LOVE YOU AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!

#screen actors guild awards #sag awards #sagawards #sag #fashionpolice #eonline #giulianarancic #kristenbell #bullying #thatshighlyoffensive #shamblesinc #shambles #celebrities #redcarpet

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 23

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch22 @ao3feed-gratsu

After Natsu had left him without any explanation, Gray had spent all of his free time searching the woods for any signs of him. He could feel through their bond that Natsu wasn’t far, but no matter how hard he looked, he could never seem to find the elusive dragon slayer.

He’d even ventured towards the dragon slayers cave once, figuring Natsu must surely be there, but he lost his courage when he heard the noises coming from inside. Loud roars and heavy dragging sounds accompanied by scuffles, obviously belonging to multiple creatures, led him to believe some of the dragons might have returned as well. An image of Atlas covered in hellfire was all he needed to turn himself back around.

He was having a hard time cataloging his emotions. On the one hand, he now knew for a fact that his mate was alive, and that made him incredibly relieved. On the other, he was frustrated that he had no idea what was going on. Why was Natsu hiding from him? Where had he gone? More importantly, and the one question that kept him up at night, what had happened to make Natsu so reticent and full of despair?

His mind, which had already been filled with questions relating to his missing memories, was now even more overloaded, and a part of him began to wonder if the two things could somehow be connected. He’d heard a voice when he’d woken up in the field, a familiar voice that had asked for his forgiveness. Could that have been Natsu?

The uncertainty continued to gnaw at him, and after a particularly long day of training and patroling, he found himself drawn to the lake. It wasn’t a place he often visited, much preferring their field, but it was peaceful, so he sat down and stared out at the water while his fingers did their usual dance with the fringes of Natsu’s scarf. He had no idea how long he’d been sitting there when he felt someone sit next to him.

He didn’t bother glancing to see who it was, automatically assuming it was Lyon. Gray had made the mistake of telling him everything that had happened between him and Natsu during the summer solstice, thinking that Lyon would be happy for him.

He now had undeniable proof that Natsu was alive, but Lyon had been furious. He was determined that Natsu had used him and then disappeared, adamantly refusing to listen to any of Gray’s claims to the contrary.

It was only in the last few days that they’d begun to talk again, but it was still awkward, and he was too tired to deal with it now, so he remained silent.

“I see you’ve found my thinking spot,” Erza remarked, smiling at him warmly when he startled at her words.

“It’s nice here,” Gray replied simply.

“It is,” Erza agreed, working her hair into a ponytail as the wind began to work at it, “I like to come here to think about my mom.”

“It’s hard not to know, isn’t it?”

Gray nodded, absently playing with his scarf once again.

Erza studied him briefly before asking in a kind voice, “Does Natsu know how you feel about him?”

She chuckled as he blinked at her, his features settling into a shocked expression before blurting out, “Did Lyon tell you?”

“No, Lyon would never betray your confidence, not even to me,” Erza assured him, remaining quiet for a few moments, eyebrows furrowing in thought before finally explaining.

“When I saw how upset you were when Natsu left, I first thought the two of you had become very close friends. After all this time, though, the only reason I could think of for you to continue carrying on this way was if you were in love with him. Then it was just a question of thinking back to how you acted around him.”

Erza’s eyes twinkled at his bewildered expression, and she asked again, “So, does he know? “

Gray thought about denying it, but the truth was now that he knew Natsu was alive; he saw no point in it, “He does.”

“I don’t understand why you felt the need to hide it, it’s not like you’re the only ones. Sting and Rogue, my mother and Anna, and I’ve seen a few other couples around town. There’s no shame in it.”

“You mom and Anna?” Gray thought back to another time they’d sat at the lake, suddenly understanding what Erza had been trying to tell him. “I didn’t realize.”

He thought about how to explain his feelings in a way that would make sense, but he knew a lot of it had been stupid superstition on his part, “We’d just gotten together before he left. We never got a chance to discuss it, and then I felt like if others knew, he might not make it back. It was stupid.”

Erza grabbed his hand and squeezed it sympathetically, “No, I understand that quite well, actually. I’m sorry for all the Juvia business,” her expression was sheepish as she apologized, “I just wanted you to come alive again, but I should have talked to you instead of trying to force something on you that you clearly didn’t want.”

“It’s fine,” Gray dismissed her apology, now that Juvia was content to be his friend he’d rather not remember how things used to be between them.

“I was, uhm, actually looking for you,” Erza stammered nervously, “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Erza’s cheeks rivaled her hair, and that alone was enough to grab Gray’s interest. Erza rarely acted this way, so he assumed whatever she wanted to talk to him about must be related to his brother.

“Lyon asked me to marry him last night.”

“He did?! That’s amazing, when’s the wedding?” Gray managed an honest smile for his friend, pleased that his brother had finally gotten the balls to ask her and surprised that he hadn’t mentioned it.

“I told him I needed some time,” Erza blushed again, “I wanted to make sure you were okay with it before I gave him my answer. I know you need him right now, and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

Gray was incredibly touched by the gesture, but it made him sad to think that the two people closest to him would put their own future on hold for his sake.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you never know what’s going to happen. If you get a chance at happiness you need to grab it before it can be wrested away from you. I know you know that too.”

“I’ve known Lyon most of my life, and I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s with you.”

Erza tried to hide her smile, but it shone through all the way to her eyes, “Thank you.”

Gray enveloped her in a heartfelt hug, “I hope he makes you as happy as you do him.”

“He does,” Now that she was sure of her decision, Erza’s entire face radiated joy, and Gray could feel some of it rubbing off on him.

Erza was a beautiful woman, both inside and out, with a will of steel and a heart big enough to hold the entire town in. Lyon really was quite lucky, and Gray was pleased for him.

“And if he ever gets out of line, I will gladly beat him up for you,” Gray cracked his knuckles in demonstration.

“I can handle that myself,” Erza replied, eyes blazing with confidence.

“Oh, I know, but it would be fun for me,” Gray laughed, the first real one he’d managed in weeks. He’d been debating whether to tell her about seeing Natsu or not, but now that they were sort of having a moment, he felt she should know. The dragonslayers had been her friends first, after all.

Gray peered down at his hands, not sure how Erza was going to react to what he was about to say. “I uhm, I saw Natsu a few weeks ago.”

“You did?” Erza’s excitement was unmistakable, “Were the others with him? Are they okay? Did he say anything about my mom?”

“I couldn’t get much of anything out of him before he took off again,” Gray admitted, “Only that the others are all alive, but I think some of them might be hurt. He uh, he had a lot of scars, some of them looked pretty bad.” He could hear the way his voice was trembling, and this time it was Erza who was hugging him.

“Natsu is strong, it’s not just his magic, it’s his will,” Erza reminded him, “No matter what he has to go through, he will find his way back to you in the end. I know it.”

“And when he does, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind,” Erza fumed comically, “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that date was with you!”

And in the blink of an eye, she beamed at him, “He did say it was perfect, though!”

Gray could only marvel at her response, but it was enough to lift his spirits somewhat. Erza was right. Something was obviously going on with Natsu that he needed to sort out before he could return to Talos for good. As much as it irked Gray to be kept out of it, he would just have to trust that Natsu knew what he was doing. He just wished the idiot wasn’t so reckless, though.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the sunset, neither one noticing Lyon watching them from a distance, a pleased smile on his lips at seeing the two people he loved the most sharing a moment.

0-0

The Village Guard had spent a lot of time and resources on putting the village back together after the attack of the black dragon. In doing so, they had neglected some of their regular duties. That, coupled with the decrease of the number of red dragons in the area due to the war, had allowed the Vulcan population to grow unchecked, which in turn had begun to attract larger predators, hungry for a substantial meal.

More and more Gray and the others spent their time tracking and hunting Vulcans, trying to keep their numbers away from Talos, but no matter how many they killed, more seemed to show up in ever greater numbers.

Gray and Juvia were patrolling the area near the mountains. Gray was only half listening to Juvia chatter on about how beautiful the colors of the changing leaves were when he heard a loud noise through the trees, getting closer at a fast rate.

A group of Vulcans ran towards them, and Gray and Juvia readied to fight, but the Vulcans raced past, paying them no mind as they screeched in palpable fear.

That’s when Gray heard the much more disturbing noise, as a giant creature flew past them, the flapping of its mighty wings causing some of the colorful leaves to fall prematurely from the trees. To their horror, both recognized the shape of a dragon flying overhead towards the town.

Without a word, both mages raced toward Talos, hoping to get there in time to help the other guards fight off the creatures, with Gray creating a trail of ice to speed up their progress. He tracked the dragon’s flight, noticing it was smaller than the sampling of red dragons he had seen.

There was no time to heed his growing fear, all he could think about was reaching Lyon in time. He tried to attack the Vulcans with some of his ice spells to attempt to distract them or, at the very least, redirect them away from Talos, but they were moving too erratically.

Soon Talos came into view, and he heard the alarm going off. The town engaged in the type of chaos that can only be created by people who are in a state of panic. Adults collected children, dragging them to the guard headquarters, which was the safest place in the village. Guards running towards the town entrance donning weapons and regrouping at the request of Erza’s barked orders.

Gray and Juvia finally entered the village and took their places next to the other mages. All their regular fighters engaged the Vulcans even as the dragon loomed overhead. Gray could feel eyes on him and turned to see both Lyon and Erza watching him worriedly.

The sound of a child’s scared cries was followed by Anna screaming out a name in desperation. Gray’s eyes widened when he spied a young boy, one he vaguely remembered seeing running around town, outside the town’s walls.

Memories of Isvan clamored for his attention, but he refused to let them paralyze him. Without a thought to his own safety, he ran towards the boy, wanting to protect him as his parents had done for him. He could hear Lyon, Erza, and Juvia screaming out his name, but he kept running.

He peered up at the dragon, seeing it had begun to dive towards the boy, its talons searching for the tender flesh. Gray molded an ice bow, using it to shoot arrow after arrow at the creature, but with what almost passed as a grin, the dragon opened its mouth and unleashed an attack with his breath weapon, and Gray found himself on the receiving end of his own element.

He managed to tackle the boy, covering him with his body while creating a cocoon of ice around them to try to deflect as much of the attack as he could. He could hear Lyon screaming his name, right before molding his snow dragon to fight against the ice dragon. The fear in his voice making Gray wince guiltily.

Checking on the boy and finding him unhurt, Gray dispelled his ice, grabbing him in his arms and running back through the entrance as fast as he could. He peered at the sky, wanting to know where the dragon was and seeing Erza hovering in mid-air, requipped into her Heaven’s Wheel armor, one of her prettier ones in his opinion. A large circle of swords surrounding her, all pointing toward the dragon.

Juvia was also attacking the dragon with her water slicer spell, but none of their attacks seemed to be doing anything. Gray got the boy back to Anna, who hugged him so tightly in her relief, he almost collapsed to the ground.

He watched with dismay as the dragon readied his breath weapon against Erza, who was in the middle of requipping to a different armor. He attempted to scream out a warning, but before he could open his mouth, he was distracted by a red blur that was advancing at an alarming pace.

He blinked his eyes quickly, trying to get a better look at the object which had materialized into a red dragon, one that placed itself in between the ice dragon and Erza.

“Move back!” the dragon growled at Erza, who looked as perplexed as Gray felt, although she complied, coming down to stand by Lyon, who was checking her frantically for any injuries even as she waved him away.

The red dragon butted heads with the ice dragon, his arms reaching out to grapple with the smaller dragon. He breathed a cone of fire into his face hot enough to make the ice dragon howl in pain.

“The Dragon King has decreed this village and all the humans in it to be under the protection of the red dragons,” the red dragon hissed, “Leave, now.”

Although the dragon had not uttered a threat, the implication was unmistakable.

Lyon, Gray, Juvia, and Erza stared at each other in shock, trying to understand what was happening.

The ice dragon didn’t seem pleased with the outcome of his attack. However, it backed down against the might of the more massive dragon, grabbing one of the Vulcans that were still fighting the other guards in its talons before flying off in the opposite direction, the Vulcan still struggling and screeching in its grasp. The red dragon followed them, flying away from Talos without speaking another word.

Juvia’s eyes were glued to the red dragon, her mouth open in disbelief.

“What is it?” Lyon asked.

“That’s the same dragon that fought the black dragon,” Juvia announced.

“Are you sure, Juvia?” Erza asked.

Juvia nodded, “Juvia is sure, it had the same scars. That is the dragon that saved Gray and took him away.”

Gray could feel a headache coming on, he still refused to believe what had happened, attributing it to Juvia’s overactive imagination, even though he had no other explanation for how he had gotten to the field while injured.

“What did he mean about the Dragon King?” Lyon wondered out loud.

Gray shrugged, suddenly feeling overcome by exhaustion as all his actions in the last twenty minutes caught up to him. He allowed himself to collapse where he stood, and the others did the same.

“I have no idea,” Erza replied, her brow furrowed in thought, “but it seems I was correct in my assumptions, the red dragons have been protecting Talos all these years, and now it seems like they are back.”

“Are you alright, Gray?” Juvia asked, noticing he’d withdrawn from the conversation.

“Just great,” he responded with a definite edge to his voice.

“This could be good news,” Erza remarked, “If the dragons have returned, maybe the others will too.”

“Let’s hope so,” Lyon said before lying back on the grass with a groan, “I hate to admit it, but that red dragon has saved our asses twice now. Ugh, it’s not even noon, and I’m already exhausted.”

Erza and Juvia agreed that it was indeed lucky that the dragon had interceded on their behalf.

The others continued their chatter, and Gray ignored them, lost in his own thoughts. Natsu had said most of the dragons were gone from this world, yet they had seen more dragons in Talos since the dragon slayers had left to fight in the war than ever before.

Natsu had clearly said that his wounds had been caused by other people. What did that mean? Had he been fighting those renegade dragonslayers that he’d talked about before he left? Is that why he’d had to go again, were they still fighting? But if that were true, then why were the dragons back? No matter how much Gray analyzed the little information he had, it made no sense to him. Could Natsu be trying to protect him somehow? Was he afraid those same renegade dragon slayers would follow him to Talos?

Then there was Juvia’s observation. As much as he wanted to deny it, Gray couldn’t help but think that the red dragon had information he wanted, no needed. If it had fought in the war, which seemed likely given its scars, maybe he had information about Natsu.

If nothing else, maybe the dragon could tell him why he had ended up in the field and who else had been there with him. The idea of searching for the dragon was not one he was very keen on, but he was tired of having only questions. Besides, it had said all the people who lived in Talos were under the protection of the red dragons, so he should have nothing to fear. Right?

0-0

As rational as his little pep talk had sounded in his head, it still took Gray several days to get the courage to go looking for the mysterious red dragon. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t terrified.

No matter how many times he conjured up images of Happy embracing Natsu to try to soothe him; or reminded himself that the dragon had said they were all under its protection, he still couldn’t help but think that what he was doing was insane.

Dragons killed people. He knew that better than anyone. Thoughts of Happy were quickly replaced by images of Deliora and Atlas, and he almost turned back, but then he remembered the despair in Natsu’s eyes and let that image bolster his resolve. Natsu trusted the red dragons, and so he would try to as well.

He arrived at the beginning of the path the dragon slayers had traveled daily, taking a deep breath before following it up the mountain. He strained his ears, trying to pick up any noise that might tell him where the dragon might be and hoping against hope that he wouldn’t be inside the cave with the others. Gray wasn’t sure he could handle that.

It was a crisp fall day, full of sunshine and cold weather, the combination making for a pleasant hike with breathtaking views of the changing foliage below. He continued climbing until he reached a path he wasn’t familiar with.

After some deliberation, he decided to follow it, curious as to where it led. He followed the path for about thirty minutes through increasingly rougher terrain, almost deciding to turn around when he found what looked to be an entrance to a cave, complete with a large ledge that jutted out from the side of the mountain. On this ledge lay a sizeable red dragon who appeared to be sleeping in the sun, much like a regular lizard.

Gray wasn’t dumb enough to wake it, so he decided to sit down on a flat rock, as far away as the ledge allowed and wait for the dragon to wake on its own. He examined the creature from the safety of his spot, fascinated by the number of scars that littered the parts of its body that he could see, several looking severe enough to be life-threatening. He could instantly see why Juvia would recognize it. Once seen, those scars were not easily forgotten.

This was a dragon that had been in many fights. The fact that he had managed to survive them all spoke of his fierceness and determination. Or maybe like his mate, he was just too stubborn to know when to give up. The thought brought a wry smile to Gray’s face that was quickly followed by a longing so intense it almost made him cry out.

The dragon shifted in his sleep, muttering uncomfortably, and for a moment, Gray thought he saw a red glow coming from the dragon’s claws, but he soon forgot all about it as a sense of peace soothed away his previous distress.

He shifted slightly, trying to keep his limbs from falling asleep in case he had to make a quick escape. His body tensing as the dragon moved once again. This time opening its eyes and sniffing the air before scrambling into an upright position with a speed that was almost comical. Until you remembered it was a giant dragon.

Its bright green eyes fixed on Gray as it remarked gruffly, “What are you doing here?”

Gray’s mouth dried up, and his mind immediately went blank, his initial courage disappearing as he began considering his life choices. That was until he felt a warmth on his chest and looked down to see that his necklace was glowing brightly, something he’d never noticed it do before.

What the hell?

That was enough to break him from his panicked state. Gray noticed the dragon staring at his necklace with interest.

“Why is it doing that?” Gray asked, somehow knowing that the dragon would know.

“I have no idea,” the dragon responded, but he looked away, making Gray think he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

“Well, it’s never done it before,” Gray insisted.

The dragon remained silent, but its eyes never left Gray.

Gray was beginning to get irritated, “I wanted to thank you for saving my friend the other day,” he managed through clenched teeth, wanting to work his way up to his real questions.

“I didn’t do it for you,” the dragon shrugged, “as I said, Talos is under our protection. Why are you really here?”

“What is your problem?” Gray snapped testily.

The dragon’s eyes widened, and it muttered something under its breath before remarking, “Don’t most humans dislike dragons?”

This time it was Gray who looked away. “Fine, you’re right, I didn’t come all the way up here to thank you, I wanted to ask you some questions.”

The dragon seemed to think about it for a bit before responding, “Ask your questions then.”

“Do I look familiar to you?”

The dragon startled but answered honestly, “You are the human Acnologia attempted to kill some moons ago.”

“Why did you save me?” Gray asked anxiously.

The dragon shrugged, not giving the question much importance, “You were hurt and smelled of dragon.”

“I smelled like a dragon?”

The dragon nodded, “Yes, I flew you to safety and healed what I could. If that is all, I must go.”

“No, wait!” Gray exclaimed hurriedly, afraid the dragon would leave before he was able to ask the question he most wanted answered. “Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon slayer, do you know where he is?”

The dragon blinked at him, his bright green eyes dimming before he lowered his head, “That I cannot tell you.”

“Please, I’m his mate, surely you can tell me something! Is he in danger?” Gray pleaded, desperate to know any detail, no matter how small.

The dragon remained stubbornly silent, and Gray began to feel the worry consume him again. What did this dragon know about his mate?

“Natsu Dragneel is assisting the Dragon King,” the dragon finally explained. “The best thing for you to do is to forget him. He can never return to you.”

“That’s not true!” Gray protested, he just wished the words didn’t sound so empty, “Natsu will always come when I need him, he’s told me that many times!”

“Do you need him now? Cause I don’t see him anywhere.” the dragon was gazing at him with what seemed almost like pity.

“You don’t know anything!”

“From when I stand, you’re the one who seems to be in the dark. Forget him, human. Move on. Dragneel will cause you nothing but pain.”

“Please,” Gray begged, hating how pathetic he sounded but not caring if it got him what he wanted. “Please tell me what you know.”

Silence was his only response.

“Natsu was wrong about dragons,” Gray spat out, “you are heartless after all.”

“I’m sorry,” the dragon said before taking to the air and flying away from him. If Gray hadn’t known better, he would have sworn the dragon had looked sad.

As ready as Gray was to hate the dragon for its callousness, those words rang too familiar for him to ignore. He’d heard them from that very same voice once before. And while he was disappointed to discover Natsu had not been there, a bigger question remained. Why had the dragon felt the need to apologize to him in the first place?

He sat alone for several hours waiting for the dragon to return, using the time to think over what it had said, and the strange way it had acted. Gray was somewhat surprised to realize that even though he had disliked it, and had wanted to throttle it on instinct, he’d still never felt the urge to attack it.

0-0

Gray couldn’t pinpoint when it had started, he vaguely remembered seeing a likeness of the dragon drawn with red chalk on a shop window. Soon other shops followed suit. Then the townspeople began leaving tokens of food outside the wall as an offering, hoping to ensure the red dragon’s continued protection. He’d even heard the Talos elders were already planning some sort of festival for the summer solstice dedicated to the creature.

It was almost impossible to walk around town without bumping into kids pretending to be dragons, arms flapping as they ran in pretend flight. Juvia and Erza thought it was adorable, the latter even telling stories of how Sting would do something similar when he was a child with Natsu and Rogue never far behind.

Now that she knew about their relationship, she’d begun sharing stories of Natsu’s exploits whenever she noticed Gray struggling with his emotions, knowing it never failed to put a smile on his face. Gray wasn’t sure if she was just oblivious to Lyon’s scowls at those times or if she just chose to ignore him, but either way, he was grateful for her efforts. It kept Natsu near even when he felt so far away.

He was tired of not knowing if Natsu was alive or dead, of the constant worry and fear, and although he knew it wasn’t fair, he couldn’ t help but think that the happy moments in their relationship had been few and far between.

He knew that wasn’t Natsu’s fault. He couldn’t help his situation. On days when Gray was feeling generous he even somewhat understood the impossibility of the choice his mate had been forced to make. But there were other days, ones where his darkness was at the forefront when he wondered if it was all worth it. If perhaps the dragon hadn’t been right all along and it was better to just let go rather than continuing this destructive pattern that Gray knew was tearing both of them apart. He tried to fight it as best he could, but it was getting harder every day.

It certainly didn’t help that the damn dragon seemed to be everywhere. It flew over the town daily, often rewarding the children’s happy cries with involved aerial shows, which as much a Gray hated to admit, even he enjoyed. The dragon’s scarlet scales glinted prettily in the sun as it moved gracefully in the sky before flying back towards the mountain.

Gray knew everyone loved the dragon, heck even the other guards seemed to like it, so he kept his opinions to himself. Until the dragon managed to do something so unforgivable in his eyes that he could no longer remain quiet. When Gray arrived at their field, the one that he felt belonged to him and Natsu, he found the red dragon already there, surrounded by the town’s children.

The children talked eagerly, asking the dragon all manner of questions, and unlike his own experience, the dragon was actually answering. If that wasn’t bad enough, they had begun to climb on it, squealing happily as they used its large body as a climbing toy while Anna watched from a safe distance. The dragon smiled, seeming content with the children’s play.

Maybe it was the smile that proved to be too much, but Gray found he’d had enough of this ridiculous dragon fever the whole town had succumbed to. The wretched creature had the nerve to invade his field, and it needed to leave.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gray raged at the dragon, not caring about the surprised looks he was getting from the children, who had never seen him upset before.

He addressed them as well, “Get down from there!”

“Aww, Gray,” the kids complained, “Why? We’re having fun, and Anna said it was okay.”

“Because it’s not a playmate, it’s a vicious creature.”

He could see the dragon huff angrily, and once again, he felt the necklace warm-up, distracting him for a moment from his rant, but when he looked down, it seemed dimmer than he remembered. Before he had a chance to wonder about this, Anna stepped in to humor him.

“Alright children, listen to Gray, he’s a guard and just wants to make sure you are safe. Besides, its time for your afternoon snack,” Anna reminded them cheerily.

The children cheered at this news, climbing down carefully and waving goodbye to the dragon as they ran back towards the village, all promising to play again soon, much to Gray’s dismay.

“Do you have something against me in particular or just fun in general?” the dragon demanded, surprising Gray with its terse tone.

“I don’t trust you,” Gray enunciated each word, squaring his shoulders and feeling his magic respond to his unstable emotions, creating an icy mist around his fingers in preparation for his molding.

“Therefore, I don’t want innocent children around you. What if you took one home to eat or something.”

“I would never do that!” the dragon protested, and Gray could feel the air around it becoming hotter as it became angry.

“Right, cause dragons don’t do that sort of thing,” Gray retorted sarcastically.

“Don’t stand there looking all high and mighty, you don’t know the first thing about dragons, Gray,” the dragon seethed.

“We’re on a first-name basis now?” Gray raised an eyebrow, for some reason enjoying getting a rise out of the dragon, “And what pray tell, should I call you?”

The dragon remained stubbornly silent, and Gray pushed further, “What’s the matter, too stupid to know your own name?”

“Fuck you!”

“Rather unorthodox, wouldn’t you say?” Gray smirked, “But I can work with it. Fine, I’ll call you Fukou. Rather perfect actually, it means sorrow and misfortune, among other things.”

“I know what it means,” Fukou grumbled as he started at Gray unblinkingly.

“Well, then you’ll know I’m right, fukou is all you will ever bring to everyone you meet,” Gray sneered.

“You’re probably right,” Fukou acknowledged, “but I tried harder than you’ll ever know.” And with that, he took off, looking incredibly hurt.

And even though Gray now had full reign of the field like he’d wanted, he found no pleasure in it, suddenly feeling like the monster he’d accused the other of being.

A/N: I won't lie, I had been dreading this chapter and its companion also known as Chapter 24 from the moment I thought of this part of the story. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what you think is happening and where you think the story will go from here, so feel free to drop me a line.

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #update #fairy tail big bang 2018

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 24

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch23

It had been weeks since Gray had seen any hint of Fukou. The first few days after their confrontation the dragon would still fly over the village on the way to the mountain and perform aerials for the kids when they cheered for him, but Gray could tell these were lackluster at best, and a strange feeling of sadness would come over him as he saw this.

He had enjoyed watching the dragon dance in the air, and he was fairly certain the change in Fukou’s behavior was his fault. He had been unnecessarily cruel to a creature that had done nothing but protect him and the village on multiple occasions, and he felt a small level of shame for his actions, although not enough to seek Fukou out and apologize.

The idea that dragons were capable of being hurt by something as simple as words was something Gray had trouble accepting. His natural stubbornness still determined to question everything he'd learned about dragons from Wendy and the other slayers and even what he had seen through Happy’s actions.

Lyon had told him a long time ago that maybe he needed to limit his hatred to the one dragon who deserved it, and Gray was grudgingly beginning to understand that his brother might have been on to something. The hatred he held on to continued to cause him nothing but trouble, creating a wedge between him and his mate and causing him to lash out at innocent creatures.

But it wasn’t a switch he could easily turn off. Deep down, Gray knew that the only way he could truly overcome his hatred of dragons was to deal with the underlying trauma of what had happened to him, and he wasn’t sure he could do that yet.

Life in the village slowly went back to normal, their surroundings soon turning gloomy as the only speck of color to be seen for miles came from the evergreen trees that grew in the forest near the base of the mountain. The villagers busied themselves with preparations for the snow that would signal the beginning of the winter months.

Occasionally they would catch sight of a red dragon flying towards the mountain, but this one was smaller, making Gray think it might be Happy. Fukou was nowhere to be seen, and Gray was able to put him out of his mind for a while.

He’d begun taking a lot of solo jobs, determined to help Lyon pay for the new house he would move into with Erza, as well as help him furnish it. He was fully aware that part of the reason for doing so was his need to live vicariously through his brother, who was getting ready to embark on the life that Gray desperately wanted to live with Natsu. Either way, he was running himself ragged between those jobs and keeping up with his regular guard schedule.

Which is how he suddenly found himself faced by a group of bandits determined to separate him from his hard-earned jewels. At first, Gray wasn’t overly concerned, he was a powerful mage after all, but he soon realized he’d used up most of his magic fighting off that chimera that had been terrorizing Aster, a larger town a few days walk from Talos. He’d have to rely on his fighting skills to get out of this one.

Gray called on just enough magic to mold his Cold Excalibur and immediately went on the offensive, not wanting to give his attackers a chance to surround him. He fought hard for what felt like forever was probably no more than ten minutes.

Slashing in all directions, he attempted to keep a healthy distance between himself and his attackers, but his efforts weren’t enough. No matter how many bandits he managed to incapacitate they were immediately replaced by others. And as he felt himself losing more blood from the stabs that he hadn’t been able to defend against, Gray worried he might not be able to get out of this one.

He cried out in pain as he felt another blade pierce his back, his fingers coming away coated in blood as he once again tried but failed to ice his wounds. His legs gave out from under him, and all he could think was what a stupid way this was to die, alone in some random field. Lyon and Natsu would never forgive him.

His thoughts remained with Natsu, calling to him, telling him how much he loved him and how sorry he was, utterly oblivious to the sound of loud roars behind him or the screams of panic from his attackers or even the fact that the field he was on had somehow burst into flames.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” A voice yelled, surprising Gray with the fury behind it. He turned his head slowly, coming face to face with an enraged Fukou. “When are you going to stop being so reckless?! I’m not always going to be around to save your ass.”

Gray blinked slowly, having a hard time understanding what was happening.

Fukou appeared frantic, eyeing the flames that were getting ever closer. “Climb on!”

“What?”

“Climb on! We have to get out of here, this is my fire, I can’t eat it.”

“No,” Gray protested weakly but with no less determination.

“We don’t have time for your bullshit,” Fukou shrieked, and when Gray refused to move, he launched himself into the air, quickly diving to grab Gray in his talons before flying them away from the blazing inferno.

“Let go!” Gray yelled, thrashing as the harsh wind acted against his wounds, “You’re hurting me!”

That seemed to get Fukou’s attention, and Gray could hear him cursing loudly, the sound of it amusing him slightly.

“If you weren’t so fucking stubborn, you could be riding on my back, where I could protect you from the wind.”

Gray screamed in agony, the pain too much for him to handle. He could feel them losing altitude, the ground looming ever nearer until he felt Fukou land using only his rear legs, his muscles tensing as he tried to keep his balance. He released Gray, gently placing him on a soft grassy area.

Gray took a moment to look at the dragon who had once again come to his aid. He was shocked to see the amount of anger still present in the creature’s eyes, although he was taking deep breaths, almost as if trying to calm himself down.

His eyes shone a beautiful shade of emerald green, and his talons glowed with a red light that sent warning signals to Gray’s brain.

“What, uhm, what are you doing?”

“I’m going to heal your sorry ass. Again,” Fukou groused, “Do you have a death wish or something? What would you have done if I hadn’t happened by?”

“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Gray crossed his arms over his chest in defiance, for the moment ignoring the pain the simple movement caused him, as he scowled at the implication that he was always in need of rescue.

“Whatever you say, Princess, all I know is if you keep this up, I’m going to have to learn new healing spells.”

“Don’t call me that!”

Gray screamed in agony as his wounds were healed, Fukou making no effort to be considerate.

“Ow, damn it! Can’t you be gentler?”

“I could, but I want you to remember the pain,” Fukou declared with a self-satisfied smirk, “ then maybe you’ll be more cautious in the future. I always wondered why Atlas did that, now I think I’m beginning to understand.”

Gray let the words swim in his brain as the pain began to subside, the warmth of Fukou’s healing magic still managing to soothe him despite the dragon’s attempt to teach him a lesson. He felt his wounds closing up before hearing one single last word. “Sleep.”

0-0

Gray woke to find he had been moved to another location. He seemed to be inside a cave but could tell right away by its size that it wasn’t the red dragon’s cave near Talos. Sitting up slowly and noticing his wounds had all but disappeared, he searched the cave, looking for the dragon that had saved him, finally finding him sitting outside the entrance of the cave looking up at the stars.

Fukou turned his head to look at him. Where before he had seemed furious, his expression was now too complex for Gray to read.

“I trust you are feeling better?”

“Yes, uh, thank you.” Gray sat near the dragon, leaving a healthy amount of space between them, feeling self-conscious as the words he had said to the dragon the last time they had met replayed in his mind.

They sat in companionable silence for a while, Gray struggling with the words he knew needed to be said. He coughed uncomfortably, “I, uh, I wanted to say I was sorry about before.”

“The struggling?” Fukou asked, the small grin that tugged at his snout, making his fangs appear sharper, “I should have expected that.”

“No, uhm, back when I named you, I was an ass, I didn’t mean it. So you know if I, uhm, hurt your feelings or anything, I’m sorry.”

The dragon shook his head before looking back up at the stars, “No need to apologize, Gray Fullbuster, it is a most fitting name. Sorrow and misfortune are indeed all I have ever wrought.”

Gray winced, realizing just how deeply his words had hurt the creature. He quickly changed the subject. “Where are we?”

“I didn’t think it wise to return to Talos straight away, those men could have decided to follow us. Now that you are awake, we can use the cover of night to return.”

There was something that was confusing him, and Gray figured he had nothing to lose by asking, “Why didn’t you just kill them?”

Fukou continued to stare at the stars, making Gray think he hadn’t heard him until he finally replied, “I don’t enjoy killing.”

Gray lowered his head, pondering Fukou’s response with some skepticism but growing admittedly more curious about the creature, “Is that why you have so many scars?”

Fukou chuckled, “No, I was actually trying to kill that one, he just bested me.”

A laugh escaped Gray at the unexpected response, which he soon tried to hide behind a cough, but Fukou’s eyes twinkled regardless.

“Where have you been? It’s been months since I last saw you.”

“Why? Did you miss me?” Fukou teased, laughing at the dismay in Gray’s face at his retort.

Before Gray had a chance to deny his words, Fukou explained his absence, “The Dragon King required my assistance. I was returning home when I smelled your blood and went to investigate.”

“I don’t understand you. Why bother with saving me at all?”

Fukou studied him fixedly before shrugging his massive wings, “Perhaps I seek to change your mind of the notion that dragons are heartless.”

Gray’s lips tightened into a hard line, not willing to concede on that point yet. He wasn’t satisfied with that answer, surely there had to be more to it. Why would Fukou care about what he thought?

“We should get going, we’re still a long ways away from Talos.”

Gray watched as Fukou lowered himself and stared at him expectantly.

“Oh, hell, no!”

“Surely, you’re not expecting us to walk there? It would take days. I could always cast that sleep spell on you again...”

“No! Fine, I’ll do it, just don’t drop me.”

“You know, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have bothered healing you first.”

“I’d feel more comforted if you weren’t grinning at me like some sort of psychotic overgrown lizard,” Gray complained, the sound of Fukou’s unabashed laughter irritating him in ways he hadn’t felt in a while.

Fukou attempted to explain how to get on his back, but Gray ignored him in favor of using his ice to lift him up to the desired height. He crawled across the dragon’s massive back and towards its long neck, searching for a spot where he could sit and hold on properly.

He was amazed to find the dragon’s scaly skin did not feel as rough as it looked. Gray ran his hands over it, curious about the texture, which was akin to the feeling of wet sand between his fingers. A pleased rumbling sound from the dragon beneath him startled Gray from his unintentional petting. He stopped his hand midstroke, but then remembering how the dragon had saved him despite his harsh words, he rewarded Fukou with a few strokes to his neck before holding on for the trip ahead.

Gray was terrified, although if he was honest with himself, a little excited as well. He’d never considered the idea of flying. He held on to the excitement, frantically trying to distance himself from how he was achieving it.

The dragon took off without any warning, his wings spreading majestically and flying them ever higher. Gray let out a startled squeak, much to his embarrassment, before clutching Fukou’s neck tightly as they fought air currents until reaching a smooth patch.

They flew by the light of the moon, man and dragon choosing to remain silent, although they would have been able to converse had they wanted to. Gray felt overwhelmed, not just by the fact that he was riding a dragon, but that he had somewhat willingly chosen to do so.

He couldn’t say he regretted it though, the feel of the wind caressing his skin and hair was exhilarating, to say the least, as was knowing that he was one of the few humans to ever experience such a thing. The last time he had felt this alive was during the previous summer solstice when he and Natsu had made love for the first time.

Fukou’s body exuded constant warmth keeping Gray comfortable despite the cold air around them. Slowly, a sense of peace settled over him as he found himself up among the stars, and he relaxed, loosening his grip on Fukou’s neck. He could hear the dragon chuckling softly, although he didn’t comment.

They landed right outside the town walls, Fukou waiting patiently for Gray to climb down. The journey had ended much too soon for Gray’s liking, and he found himself disappointed that it had been too dark for him to really see much.

He was about to say thank you, only to discover Fukou had already left.

0-0

Once Lyon had gotten over Gray almost dying on one of his jobs, he listened raptly to the story of his rescue. He had taken to teasing Gray that while most people had a guardian angel, he seemed to have a guardian dragon. The irony of the situation amused Lyon greatly.

Regardless of which, he immediately forbid Gray from taking any more solo jobs at least until after the wedding, ignoring all of Gray’s protests to the contrary. It was frustrating, but he could see his brother’s point, so he tried to fill his free time with additional training, still embarrassed by how easily he had been beaten.

With no means of escaping the village, Gray found himself thinking about Fukou often, it was hard for him to understand that a dragon would take it upon himself to try to change his mind. Why? What was it about Gray that compelled the red dragon to act this way? To rescue him when by all logic, he should have just let him die. Was he just amusing to him?

Regardless of his hatred for dragons, Gray was well aware that he wasn’t a particular threat to them. His attacks on Atlas hadn’t even gotten within ten yards of the hellfire dragon. Heck, he hadn’t even been able to really injure Happy when he was a baby, that had been Sting with his dragon slayer magic.

So what could Fukou possibly gain by changing his mind? Was he just drawn to the sadness that lived within Gray, did he maybe feel the same? Could he just be looking for a friend? Did dragons even have friends? It was frustrating not to know, but he had a feeling if he asked Fukou, the dragon wouldn’t give him an answer.

It was funny, in some ways the dragon reminded him of Natsu. His recklessness, sense of humor, and the playfulness he’d exhibited with those kids had made Gray wonder if his mate had acquired those traits from the dragons that had raised him. None of that, however, managed to explain the odd feeling of peace he felt around the dragon sometimes.

It was a beautiful winter night in late January when Gray decided to go for a walk. Snow fell all around him, keeping everyone but the most enthusiastic inside. Ever since acquiring his ice magic Gray had enjoyed going out in winter weather, and Lyon would usually be right there with him, but he had been busy with wedding stuff, and Gray hadn’t wanted to interrupt. Besides, it was best if he got used to the idea that he would be alone soon. Lyon would be moving out after the wedding, and although they would still see each other at work, their relationship was bound to change. Lyon belonged to Erza now, and soon they would start a family of their own. It was the natural order of things.

His walk took him towards the field, fond memories of snowball fights with Ur and Lyon keeping him warm. These were soon replaced by more recent ones with Erza and the dragon slayers. It was perhaps the only activity where he and Lyon could best the others, and they both enjoyed it immensely. More often than not, Natsu would get overexcited, his body heating up more than usual and melting all the snow around him as Gray took the opportunity to mock him mercilessly. He chuckled, remembering Natsu’s pout as Wendy rushed to console him as usual.

The memories were too close tonight. On a whim, Gray kept walking, reaching the mountain path and following it up, past the red dragon’s cave, all the way to the top of the mountain, hoping exhaustion would settle in and give him one night of peaceful rest, away from the dreams that often haunted him.

It was there he found Fukou, once again looking up at the sky, even though the stars were hidden behind storm clouds. He nodded at Gray briefly in recognition but otherwise remained silent.

“What is it with you and the stars? You can’t even see them tonight.”

Fukou tilted his head to the side, considering Gray’s words for a long while before answering, “It doesn't matter whether I can see them or not, they are still there, shining down on us.”

Gray examined the dragon, noticing some new scars that hadn’t been there before, making him wonder what he’d been up to, “Where do you go?”

“Hmm?” Fukou peered at him in confusion.

“When you disappear for long periods, where is it you go? Is it dangerous?”

“I go check on the other dragons, make sure they’re okay.”

‘Why wouldn’t they be? Isn’t the war over?”

“Dragons are still being hunted,” Fukou explained.

“By the renegades Natsu talked about?”

“Not tonight," Fukou replied, refusing to answer Gray's question. "The ghosts are too close,” his only explanation.

Fukou looked back up to the sky and spoke not another word, leaving Gray to sit in silence beside him.

When he woke up in front of the town gates the following morning, he couldn’t remember climbing down the mountain, and he wondered whether Fukou had flown him down. Either way, he had slept fitfully for the first time in a long while.

That night began an odd routine.

On days when he couldn’t sleep, Gray would make his way up the mountain, searching out the company of the quiet dragon. Fukou wasn’t always there, and even when he was, there were nights when not a single word passed between them. On these nights, Gray could sense a deep sadness come over the dragon. It was one of the reasons he continued to come, he too felt similar grief, but somehow sitting together on that mountain, it was alright.

0-0

Gray noticed Happy flying over the village once again and instinctively knew Fukou had left on another one of his trips. Shrugging away the gloom he felt, he explained it away, telling himself he was only bothered by how the dragon's absence would affect his sleep. Still, he kept an eye on the sky, hoping to catch a glimpse of the dragon’s return.

When it came, it was unexpected. Gray had been dreaming of Natsu when he woke with a strange pain in his heart. After making sure it wasn’t anything to worry about, he sat up, shrugging on some clothes and hurrying outside, worried the pain might have something to do with Natsu.

It was then he heard a loud disconsolate wail in the distance. It didn’t sound at all human, and his thoughts immediately went to Fukou. Gray set off at a fast run, arriving at the base of the mountain in record time. The hopelessness of that sound set him on edge, and he trudged on, not sure what he would find when he reached its source.

The sound led him to the path he'd followed the first time he’d found Fukou. Gray followed it, stumbling in the dark as he attempted to navigate its unknown twists and turns.

The sight that awaited him was one he hadn’t expected. Not only was Fukou the one making that awful sound, but he was covered in blood. His markedly different appearance made Gray wary of approaching him.

It didn’t seem like the dragon was aware of his presence, so he sat on the same rock he had used that first time and waited, trying to swallow the fear he felt. When Fukou finally settled down, Gray approached him slowly, making as much noise as he could. The last thing he wanted was to startle the dragon when it was acting this strangely.

Fukou finally looked in his direction, his entire body tensing, prompting Gray to put his hands up in front of him in a calming gesture.

“What happened?”

“It’s Happy,” Fukou’s face had streaks from where his tears had briefly landed on his skin before evaporating.

“Is— is he okay?” Gray asked anxiously. Happy was a complex topic for him, but he would never forget everything he had done for Natsu, not to mention his mate would be devastated if something happened to the dragon he had adopted as part of his family.

Fukou shook his head, a whimper rising up his throat. Gray didn’t know what to do, he had no idea how to comfort a dragon. Instead, he decided to bring Fukou’s attention to his injuries.

“You’re hurt, shouldn’t you heal yourself?” Gray kept his voice as gentle as he could, although every instinct he possessed was telling him this was a mistake, and he should get his ass back home.

“It’s Happy’s blood,” Fukou explained, seemingly oblivious to the blood that was gushing from an open wound on his chest.

“Look again,” Gray prodded, trying to keep himself calm, “You’re bleeding.”

Fukou looked down absently before Gray saw the familiar red glow of his healing magic.

“What happened?”

“Happy and I were attacked by renegades,” the words flowed out slowly, the dragon still mostly in a daze as he recounted the events, “ I managed to kill one, but the other went to get reinforcements. I— I tried to heal him, but I could smell more of them coming, so I grabbed him and flew him back to Atlas. I don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

At this, the whimpering began again, but Gray’s blood had started to boil. Fukou had just admitted to killing a human.

“You killed a human?” Gray’s voice was stiff as he threw the dragon’s words back at him, “ I thought you said you didn’t like killing.”

“I don’t,” Fukou appeared confused by Gray’s sudden change in attitude, “I had to, they were going to kill Happy.”

“You had to?” Gray mocked, ignoring the hurt on the dragon’s face as he yelled. “You outweigh them by hundreds of pounds, and you have an arsenal of fire magic at your disposal.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Fukou snarled, Gray’s words inciting his fury, “These humans possess magic that can kill us. What was I supposed to have done? Should I have let them kill Happy on some sort of moral principle? Let them kill me? Are we not allowed to defend ourselves?”

Gray had no answer to that, but he couldn’t just approve of Fukou’s actions either. His head throbbed as his childhood self argued unyieldingly against Fukou’s words.

“And you call me heartless?” Fukou laughed mirthlessly at Gray’s silence, before peering down at him with an expression more serious than Gray had ever seen from him before, “I wonder if your answer would remain the same if it was Dragneel in there fighting for his life.”

Gray couldn’t meet the dragon’s glare, knowing damn well if Natsu had been involved, he wouldn’t have cared who died as long as his mate could return to him safely. It was selfish but no less accurate, and the realization made him feel sick to his stomach.

‘You are such a hypocrite,” Fukou spat, his words all the more scathing because they were true.

“You think the war is over, but the truth is that for some of us, it never ended. We’re hunted down for no other motive than greed.” The air around Gray sizzled in response to Fukou’s fury, and still, Gray couldn’t say anything, held captive as he was by the righteousness of Fukou’s words.

“The human renegades seek to bathe in our blood in an attempt to sate their neverending thirst for power. Until they are destroyed, no dragon will ever be safe. So yes, I will kill every single one of them if that is what it takes to keep all dragons safe. If they come after me and mine...I will show no mercy.”

Most of these were done by people...

Gray recalled Natsu’s words and suddenly understood the meaning hidden behind them. Natsu was off fighting these renegades, protecting the dragons he loved so much. As much as it stung that his mate had chosen to continue fighting for the dragons rather than return home to him, Gray sought to be understanding. Natsu had always done what he felt was right. And if his dragons, no, his family, were in danger, he wouldn’t hesitate to fight for their safety, no matter what the personal cost.

He wished Natsu would have trusted him enough to ask for his help, it was laughable to think he would ever do so, given what he knew of Gray’s feelings. And once again, he had no one to blame but himself for that outcome.

Gray sank to the ground holding his head in his hands; the shooting pain made all the worse by the suffocating heat. How he wished he could live in that world of gray areas that both Natsu and Fukou traversed so effortlessly.

It must be nice to be able to face a visible enemy, but how were you supposed to defeat your demons when they all lived inside you? His hatred had been imprinted on him at such a young age that he couldn’t seem to fight his way out of it, and he had been trying to fight it. Natsu, the other dragon slayers, and even Happy had begun the process, but it had been Fukou that had forced him to see dragons differently. It just wasn’t enough to surpass over a decade of hatred.

“I know a dragon brought you much pain, Gray. I do not deny it,” Fukou addressed him, surprising Gray by using his first name. The dragon’s voice was calmer than before, although he could still hear faint traces of anger intermingling in words.

”What Deliora did to your village and your loved ones is unforgivable, but your misguided hate will not bring your loved ones back. It has only caused you to hold on to the pain you should have put to rest years ago.”

“Dragons have played a bigger role in your life than you are ready to admit. Not only have they protected the village you claimed as your new home from harm, but they saved your life many times. They raised your mate to be the man you seem to think so highly of. So the way I see it, you have two choices. You either have to accept that not all dragons are evil, just as not all people are and open your heart to those who would call you friend,” Fukou paused, giving him time to absorb his words.

“Or you can continue to live with the hatred that is destroying everything you hold dear. I have done all I can to show you who we are, but I can’t force you to change your mind, only you can do that.”

Gray nodded slowly, accepting the truth in his words but still not daring to look at Fukou, afraid of the judgment he might see in his eyes. He remained in his uncomfortable position long after Fukou had entered the cave to check on Happy.

He didn’t remember walking home but knew this time he had managed it on his own.

0-0

Gray’s mind remained in a constant jumble, Fukou’s words continued to wage war against his inner self. Some days it seemed like he had made some headway only to revert back at the memory of the destruction of his village and the pain and fear he’d felt during his parent’s last moments. His mind berated him for betraying their memory in what amounted to a fit of weakness.

He was stuck, and he hated it. Thankfully Lyon’s wedding was coming up quickly, and that kept him incredibly busy. Last-minute preparations took up a lot of his time. Then there was Erza, who had chosen him to take command of her post while she and Lyon went on their honeymoon for a few weeks. Her intense training regimen to prepare him for the challenge ate up the rest of his free time.

Before he knew it, April showers had given way to May flowers. He hadn’t seen Fukou since his last trek up the mountain, assuming he would probably no longer be welcome. It seemed Gray was only good at one thing, and that was pushing others away, and the loneliness felt at the dragons’ absence from his life was something he couldn’t deny.

Life moved on regardless of his discontent. Lyon and Erza had their wedding and left for their honeymoon soon after. For a brief moment, Gray was able to experience genuine happiness, even if it was for someone else.

Erza seemed almost disappointed to discover the town hadn’t self-destructed in her absence, but she gave him glowing praise for his efforts. Her expression growing concerned when that barely got a smile in response.

Gray helped Lyon move his things to his new house, listening to him chatter happily about his trip, and snickering as Erza ordered his brother around with her very definite ideas of where things belonged in their new space.

Gray had missed them greatly, especially the relief they provided from his thoughts. But after several weeks of doing Erza’s job, dealing with all of the issues that came up daily, not to mention all the people that demanded his attention, he had both an even bigger admiration for Erza and a desperate need to to get away.

Preparations for the villages’s Red Dragon Festival, which was scheduled to take place during the Summer Solstice, had already begun, and that was yet another thing that Gray wanted to leave behind. The festival was a constant reminder of both Fukou and Natsu and he was so tired of worrying and obsessing over both.

He’d already picked out a job during his brief stint as Acting Captain. It was only two days' travel, and it would keep him away for three days at most. Erza signed off on it without complaint, offering him an understanding smile and bidding him to be careful.

He walked away from Talos, through their field, and towards the nearest road, briefly looking back at the mountain he had come to know so well. A hint of sadness threatened his good mood as he thought of what he had lost through his own stubbornness.

He cast the thought aside, attempting to focus on the refreshing warmth of the mid-June sunshine on his skin as he got further away from his home. Gray focused on the beauty of the surrounding landscape, entranced by the wildflowers that adorned both sides of the road with every color imaginable.

He stopped to pick a flower that reminded him of the ridiculous color of Natsu’s hair, twirling it between his fingers with a smile. It filled him with longing for the things he had once taken for granted. He’d love nothing more than to spend a lazy afternoon sitting among those flowers, just threading his fingers through Natsu’s soft hair and listening to him talk for hours, green eyes sparkling with excitement, hands flying every which way.

Gray tried to imagine them sitting just like that, hoping to get some pleasure from it, stunned to discover all he felt was a resentful rage.

Why couldn’t they have that? Why couldn’t Natsu just pick him for once, and how much longer would he be forced to wait for his return? For the life that Natsu had promised him when he’d said they would spend the rest of their lives together.

He might be Natsu’s mate, but time and time again, Natsu had shown him the dragons would always come first. Even above the bond that marked them as soulmates. What was left for him then? All the time spent worrying and making excuses for him, what was it all for?

Gray realized then that if he didn’t get some answers soon, he might just be done with all of this. He had to look no further than his brother to understand that the words he had fought against for so long were valid. Even Juvia had moved on from her obsession with him to find love with someone else. He thought of Anna who was in a similar position as him, waiting for her love to return to her, but at least she had the orphanage to keep her busy.

He had made it so that without Natsu, he was nothing, and that was his own fault.

Gray had been letting his life pass him by, on the hope that the man he loved would return to him, and as much as it hurt to even think about moving on from the only thing he’d ever wanted, perhaps it was time for him to want something else.

His thoughts remained gloomy for the rest of his journey. The sun’s warmth, which had been such a comfort earlier became a reminder of the heat that he was well on his way to convincing himself he’d never have again.

He’d just arrived at the outskirts of the town of Calluna when he first noticed a distant blur flying towards him. Its brilliant scarlet scales identified it as a red dragon, even from far away, and Gray stopped to examine it, part of him hoping it might be Fukou.

The dragon was flying lower than what Gray would have considered wise, not seeming to be paying any attention to its surroundings, almost drifting along rather than navigating. Gray continued walking, figuring he’d get a better look the closer he got to his destination.

When he was about a quarter of a mile from the town, he began to hear panicked screams, which soon had him examining his surroundings, seeking to determine what might be causing their alarm. Peeking back up at the sky, he noticed the dragon was closer now, enough for him to be able to recognize that it was indeed Fukou, his scars immediately giving away his identity.

He was so used to the dragon that it took him a full minute to understand that Fukou was the cause of the commotion, a fact the dragon also seemed oblivious to. Gray’s heart raced painfully when he saw the first bolt sail through the air, missing its target by mere inches. Even then, Fukou did not alter his trajectory.

Gray's sharp eyes sought out the source of the bolt until he discovered a pair of ballistas, manned by a group of very excited soldiers who were already reloading the weapons with more oversized arrows.

“FUKOU!” Gray yelled as loudly as he could manage, trying to warn the dragon and hoping a familiar voice might rouse him from whatever trance he seemed to be under.

Fukou startled, his head darting from side to side in search of the owner of the voice. It was at that moment that two of the bolts hit their mark, tearing through the membranes at two different points of one of Fukou’s enormous wings. The dragon cried out, flailing his wings in an attempt to remain airborne, but it was a losing battle. The air currents had grabbed hold of the tears, ripping them further until they had merged into one large hole, the flap of loose membrane waving in the wind. Not being able to control his descent, Fukou fell to the ground with a resounding thud. Soldiers ran out Calluna's gates armed with arbalests, a smaller version of the ballista that had already caused the dragon so much damage.

Fukou struggled with his torn wing, still striving to get back in the air. Gray watched and waited, resigned to the attack he assumed would soon follow as the men surrounded the dragon. He wouldn’t enjoy what was to come, but after giving thought to the words Fukou had yelled at him in his rage Gray had come to the conclusion that the dragon had every right to defend himself from an unprovoked attack.

However, instead of using his fire magic, the dragon simply growled and whipped his long tail about, trying to intimidate his attackers into leaving him alone.

Gray couldn’t understand why the dragon wasn’t fighting back, it should have been easy for him to overpower them with his magic. He continued to watch from where he stood, not knowing what to do until he heard Fukou whine as his abdomen, one of the few areas of the dragon’s body not covered in scales, was pierced by a bolt from one of the arbalests.

That whine traveled straight through to Gray’s heart and lured him into action. He couldn’t just wait for the dragon to save himself, not when Fukou had come to his rescue so many times. Fukou was in trouble, and it was time for Gray to repay his debt.

Gray ignored the protest inside his own mind, having seen enough of the situation to be disgusted by the soldiers’ actions. He grabbed an item from his travel bag, shoving it into his pants pocket before dropping the bag and running towards the dragon.

“STOP!” Gray yelled at the top of his lungs, swiftly closing the distance between them. The men stared at him briefly but went right back to jabbing at Fukou. Gray settled into his molding stance as soon as he thought he was close enough for his magic to be effective.

Determining they seemed to enjoy arrows, Gray decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. He called out his first spell, “Ice-Make: Arrows.”

A large bow materialized in his arms, and he used it to send arrow after arrow at Fukou’s attackers. He watched with a satisfied grin as his ice arrows raced towards his targets, wounding several of the soldiers before they even realized what was happening and causing chaos within their ranks.

Gray was already running again, moving his position to further disorient them. He placed his fist in front of his palm, summoning his magic once again. This time allowing his anger to fuel his spell.

“Ice-Make: Freeze Lancer”

As the lances hit their marks, Gray made his move, creating a path of ice that would lead him straight towards Fukou and slip up any soldier that got in his way. He quickly molded blades to his shoes, which provided him an additional speed boost. Once he reached the dragon, he gathered all of his magic, imagining the end result he wanted before calling out his final spell.

“Ice-Make: Dome”

Ice rose out of his hands at high speed, expanding and curving until it began to surround them on all sides. Fukou, catching on to his plan, soon hunched down so Gray wouldn’t have to expend as much magic.

Although the dome he'd created was smooth on the inside, Gray had designed it with thick spikes on the outside to buy them more time. As soon as they were entirely surrounded by ice Gray ran over to Fukou, climbing over him to get a good look at his wing injury.

Fukou’s eye’s followed his every move even though he remained silent. Gray couldn’t tell whether the dragon was still angry from their previous confrontation or just embarrassed to be rescued by him. He decided to try to lighten the uncomfortable moment.

“Who’s the princess now, huh?” Gray snorted when he saw the outrage in Fukou’s eyes at his remark.

“Seriously though, why weren’t you fighting back? You could have taken those guys easily.”

Fukou’s voice came out in pants, eyes hooded with pain, “They didn’t have any magic, it wouldn’t have been right for me to retaliate. Besides,” he shrugged before hissing at the pull on his injured wing, “I’ve had worse injuries.”

Gray gawked at the dragon, surprised by its admission.

“I don’t see why you’re looking at me like that, “ Fukou groused, “I’ve told you several times I don’t enjoy killing.”

Gray wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so he kept his head down and his mouth shut, testing his ice and noticing that it was already beginning to melt. Fukou’s body temperature and the late spring sun were working against it steadily, not to mention the soldiers who seemed to be aiming their bolts at the spikes. Gray continued to feed more magic to his ice, strengthening the structure wherever he could.

“Well, be that as it may, you better hurry up and heal yourself. Your body heat is working against my ice, we won’t have much time to get out of here.”

“I uhm, can’t really do that, healing requires a lot more magic than I have available at the moment.” Fukou managed to look sheepish even though they were now both in danger.

“I had a feeling you might say something like that,” Gray muttered, grudgingly taking the item he had grabbed out of his travel bag and looking at it with dread. “I can’t do anything about the bolt with what I have on hand, but If I stitch up your wing, you think you can fly us out of here?”

Fukou ignored the question, eyes widening in dread as he saw the needle Gray was holding, and for a moment, it looked as though he wanted to scurry away.

Gray chuckled nervously, “Don’t be such a baby, I’ve had to do this for Natsu a couple of times, I know what I’m doing.”

Fukou appeared skeptical, engaging in some sort of exaggerated deep breathing that made Gray want to thwap him on the head. “Oy, stop that! I haven’t even started yet,” Gray scolded.

“Now, do you think you can make a small flame to sterilize the needle?”

Gray placed the curved needle in a small metal tray near the dragon while he grabbed the catgut. When he looked back, the tip of the needle was already glowing, and it was his turn to take an exaggerated breath as he tried to convince himself that this was no different than patching up his boyfriend.

He threaded the needle and moved over to the injured wing, trying to determine the best way to patch it up. He positioned the flap carefully in place and began to painstakingly stitch it back together.

“Ow, couldn’t you be a little bit gentler? That hurts!” Fukou whined.

Gray smirked, remembering the dragon’s words to him and repeating them, “I could, but I want you to remember the pain, then maybe next time you’d look where you were flying.”

Fukou sulked but otherwise refrained from complaining any further.

Gray felt drops of moisture land on his head and hurried, knowing he couldn’t bolster his ice and tend to Fukou at the same time. He set the last stitch and looked at his handiwork, biting his lip in frustration as he realized it had been pointless. There was no way Fukou would be able to fly them out of there, there were too many open spaces in between his clumsy stitches, the wind would just tear it apart again.

“Alright, can you run? Flying is a nogo,” Gray rubbed the back of his neck, seeking to come up with another plan as they both stared at the bolt that was sticking out of the dragon’s abdomen.

“I won’t be able to get very far with this stuck in me,” Fukou responded, “We’re going to have to get it out somehow.”

“I could try to pull it out?” Gray offered, desperately hoping the dragon would disagree.

“I’m going to need you to do that,” Fukou whispered before closing his eyes in preparation. “As soon as you get it out, I’ll cauterize the wound.” The temperature in the dome rose quickly as Fukou readied himself.

Gray gazed nervously at the long wooden shaft protruding out of Fukou’s body before wrapping his hands around it and tugging gently to get a feel for the force needed. Fukou cursed loudly just at that. Gray gulped, already feeling sick to his stomach. “I—I can’t do this.”

“You’re doing fine, one hard tug ought to do it,” Fukou encouraged, making Gray feel even worse.

He took one deep breath before freezing his hands to the wood of the shaft. Pulling with all his might, he tried very hard not to think about what he was doing, which left him wholly unprepared for the sudden release of the bolt, a problem which was further amplified by the startling sound of Fukou’s cry. Gray found himself on the floor still holding on to the bolt. He dispelled his ice quickly, not wanting to be connected to it any longer than he had to. He scrambled to his feet, refusing to look at the clumps of tissue that were attached to the bolt’s head.

The ice continued to melt at an even faster rate as the air around them heated up from Fukou’s efforts to cauterize the gaping wound the steelhead had left behind. Not quite able to speak yet, he gestured for Gray to climb on, and this time, he did not protest.

Fukou took off at a run, moving swiftly but unsteadily on his rear legs as he did his best to balance both their weights on his tail, all while keeping his wings close to his body to prevent them from being damaged by the wind. Gray could tell the dragon’s injuries were taking a lot out of him. The soldiers followed after them for several miles, but as their bolts were no match for the dragon’s speed, they eventually gave up.

When they were but specks in the distance, Gray announced, “I think you can stop now, it looks like they’ve given up.”

They had reached one of the wildflower fields Gray recognized from his walk, putting them about a day’s walk from Talos. Fukou stopped right where they were, his legs crumpling underneath him, breath coming in ragged pants. Gray climbed down quickly, peering at the dragon with concern.

“I think I’m just going to close my eyes for a second,” Fukou muttered, immediately falling asleep and serenading Gray with his deep snores.

Gray almost laughed at the irony of his predicament. Instead of spending a lazy afternoon with his mate as he'd fantasized, he was stuck babysitting an injured dragon.

At least this makes us even now, Gray thought, before falling asleep next to Fukou, not noticing when the dragon wrapped his uninjured wing around him like a blanket, almost as if by instinct.

A/N: This was a rough one but I hope you like it. I ended up enjoying the writing of it more than I thought I would. I want to thank @oryu404​ and @xhorhasian-aki​ for their advice and encouragement through some of the harder parts of this chapter. Thanks guys, you're amazing! There should be another update next week! Enjoy.

@ao3feed-gratsu​

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #update #fairy tail big bang 2018

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 28

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch27

Gray walked around the remains of his village, a place he had never revisited outside of his worst nightmares. He wasn’t sure what he’d hoped to accomplish by coming back here; he just knew it felt like the right place for them to talk.

Maybe he’d just wanted Natsu to see where he’d been coming from all this time. Not that he’d ever thought the dragon slayer — no, he corrected himself, Natsu had never been a dragon slayer, he was a dragon — had ever doubted him.

Mounds of scorched rubble lay amidst the few structures that had managed to remain standing, a stark contrast to the vibrant village of his childhood. When he’d escaped during its destruction, he’d been too traumatized to look back, not wanting to see the charred remains of his parent’s bodies intermingled with the rest. He’d still been able to hear the roar of the flames as the fire continued to devour everything in its path, the black smoke reaching up towards the morning sky, darkening it as if in mourning for what it had witnessed.

The air had been oppressive as he’d run deeper into the woods, full of smoke and the horrid smell of the villagers’ burnt flesh. Gray had run fast and true, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself, the last cries of his parents, and the roaring laughter of that evil dragon that had tried to kill him.

Now that he was older, all Gray could feel was a sort of detached surprise at the fact that the woods had somehow remained unharmed. There had been some cleanup over the years, and even though he was grateful that someone had apparently taken care of the bodies, he wished they’d placed some sort of marker somewhere, anything to let him know where his parents had been laid to rest so that he could pay his respects. He stumbled around, trying to find the location where his house had once stood.

He heard a noise behind him and turned to observe Natsu, also wandering over to the remains of the village, his features exhibiting a fury Gray had never witnessed before.

“Natsu?” Gray ceased his search and ran over to the dragon, startled to see Natsu showing so much emotion considering he’d probably seen much worse over the last few years.

“This is not what red dragons are about!” Natsu seethed, “They stayed away from humans, and once my father decided to side with them, they protected them. This should never have happened.”

“I know that now,” Gray assured him, “I think it took talking to your father for me to finally accept all the things you’d been trying to tell me over the years. I hadn’t wanted to believe that dragons could be intelligent or have complex emotions. If I continued to think of them as mindless beasts, then I wouldn’t have to face my own guilt. It was much easier to blame everything on Deliora and anyone like him.”

“Your own guilt?” Natsu looked puzzled, “What are you talking about, what could you possibly have to feel guilty about?”

“I -- I killed my parents,” Gray admitted out loud for the first time, “Or rather, I may as well have,” He cut Natsu off before he could try to convince him any differently.

“Deliora destroyed our village, yes, but if it hadn’t been for me, my parents would have survived.” Gray oriented himself, he began walking towards the spot where it had all happened, and Natsu followed, his previous fury doused by his concern at Gray’s words.

“We were all woken up by the roars of the dragon, although we had no idea what it was at first,” Gray began, his eyes becoming cloudy as he surrendered himself to the memory. “We were luckier than most. We’d been planning on going camping that night, so we had bags packed. My father went outside to see if he could help, but he returned quickly, whispering something to my mother,” Gray closed his eyes for a moment holding on to his parents faces.

“They told me I needed to be very quiet, that everything would be fine once we reached the woods, but even then I knew it was a lie. How could anything possibly be alright when I could hear the screams of the other villagers and the roar of the fire as it destroyed everything I knew?”

He stole a look at Natsu, wondering if, in his tense state, he would see him as his love or as the villain, and was pleased to know that he still clearly saw him as Natsu. Gray was glad his mate wasn’t a hellfire dragon like his uncle, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to accept that as easily. Not that any of it had been easy, of course.

Gray recognized the sympathy in Natsu’s eyes and offered him a tight smile. He was relieved that Natsu wasn’t trying to interrupt him with platitudes, seemingly content to just listen to him.

“They told me to focus on them as I ran in between them. We were almost at the woods when I tripped. My mother caught me before I could fall, and she tried to keep me from looking, but it was too late. I had tripped over what was left of the body of one of my friends, and I started to scream, drawing Deliora’s attention to us.”

“If I had just kept my mouth shut,” Gray’s voice broke, no longer able to continue. He felt a light embrace and was surprised to find Natsu wrapping one of his wings around him in a manner he recognized. He’d seen Happy doing the same thing for Natsu years earlier. It was surprisingly comforting.

“You were a child,” Natsu spoke even as he made soft purring noises that helped to soothe Gray, “It was their choice to save you, and one that any loving parent would willingly make for their child. Even now, I have no doubt Igneel would do anything he could to protect me,” Natsu chuckled, “Atlas might let me die, though.”

Natsu had meant that as a joke, knowing full well Atlas would never let anything happen to him despite how he pretended to act. Hell, if it ever came down to it, Natsu had a gnawing suspicion Atlas would even extend that protection to Gray, but judging from the way Gray tensed up at the mention of his uncle, a hellfire dragon like Deliora, it might not have been a good idea to bring him up.

“There is enough guilt to go around,” Natsu sighed, knowing his father wouldn’t want him to hide his role in the events that led Deliora to this village, “And none of it changes a damn thing.”

“I have something to tell you, and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him because, for some crazy reason, my father really likes you.”

Gray stared at Natsu with dread, not knowing what to expect from that statement. He tugged at Natsu’s wing, trying to show him he wanted to be held tighter. Natsu capitulated, holding him closer while continuing to make those soothing noises. Pressed close to him as he was, Gray felt Natsu take a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m not sure if you know this, but my father is the King of the Red Dragons.”

Gray looked up at Natsu in surprise and horror as he remembered the way he’d acted when they had met, “K-king?” He gulped.

“Yep. Anyway, once my father declared his decision that the red dragons would side with the humans, not all of the red dragons were in agreement. Deliora, in particular, was furious, and he challenged him. The way Atlas tells it, they fought for days until my dad finally won. He should have killed Deliora then, but he chose to exile him instead. He thought that was the end of it, but, well, you know what happened after.”

Natsu hung his head, ashamed for having kept it to himself for so long.

Gray blinked as he processed Natsu’s words, not missing the stiff manner in which the dragon held himself. He decided to lighten the moment while he tried to figure out how he felt about this new information. “Are you trying to tell me I’m a fucking princess?!”

Natsu stared at him in open-eyed wonder for a full minute before letting out a deep rumbling laugh. “I never thought of it that way, but I guess. Although technically, you’d be more like a Queen.”

Gray was so happy to hear Natsu laugh again after such a long time that he disregarded his words, thinking them a continuation of the joke.

His enjoyment was brief as Natsu soon became serious again.

“You should know, you don’t have to worry about Deliora ever again.”

“Why’s that?” Gray couldn’t deny the relief he felt at those words, but there was something in Natsu’s voice that terrified him. It had sounded cold, which is not something he’d ever associated with him. Even when he’d been attempting to maintain distance between them, there had always been warmth. It was something that was just a part of him.

“He’s dead, I killed him,” Natsu stated simply, letting go of Gray and once again turning towards the remains of the village, but not before Gray felt a wetness on his shoulder. Natsu was crying? What the hell had happened?

“You killed him?” Gray chased after him, full of a need to know what had upset Natsu so much. “What aren’t you telling me? We both know the only way this is going to work is if we’re honest with each other. No more secrets.”

“Can we not?” Natsu pleaded, and that should have been his clue to leave it alone, but he was too used to pushing and fighting Natsu to realize when to let something go.

“No more secrets,” Gray repeated firmly.

Natsu tried to stare him down, but when he realized Gray was not backing down in the slightest, he kicked the nearest object in anger, watching with satisfaction as it flew in the air for quite a distance before landing on a large pile of rubble.

Natsu’s voice was tense when he began to speak, and Gray resolved not to interrupt, hoping it would make it easier for him to get through the telling.

“Deliora made an alliance with Acnologia. Once Igneel and Atlas learned of it, all dragons were tasked with killing him on sight, but he managed to hide for months. Until the day Rogue and I came upon two enemy dragons during a routine patrol, one hellfire, and one acid.

“I recognized Deliora right away. He was the only other hellfire dragon in the area, and we had met once before. Rogue knew how badly I wanted to go after him to avenge you and my father, and like an idiot, I let him convince me to stay and fight rather than going for help, even though I knew better.

“I — I let my desire for vengeance cloud my judgment, and I left my friend behind to fight against a dragon whose element was extremely hazardous.

“We split up,” Natsu continued, his remorse weaved into every word, “Rogue asked me to let him down so he could fight his dragon. He was doing well, and I was only gone for a few minutes. That’s how long it took me to kill that bastard. I rushed back to help Rogue with his fight, but, uhm, I was too late.

“I found him writhing on the field, the acid from his injuries eating away at his flesh,” Natsu was filled with anguish as he recalled finding his friend in that state. Still, he did his best to finish, “I tried to head it off as best I could, but I wasn’t able to stop the damage soon enough, and he-- uh -- he lost both his legs up to his knees. Sting blamed me for what happened, and he was right. I should never have left Rogue to fight on his own.”

“So, when you asked me if you were a monster?” Gray prodded, recalling the night he had found Natsu sitting outside their hotel room in the middle of the night. Natsu nodded, no longer able to hold back his tears.

“Oh Natsu,” Gray was heartbroken for everyone involved, he tried to hug as much of the enormous body as he could, knowing it wasn’t enough, would never be enough to ease a trauma that large.

“Was Wendy able to help?”

Natsu shook his head, “She can’t regrow bones, she could only finish healing what I couldn’t,” Natsu answered, keeping his head down.

Gray stared at Natsu, his hand covering his mouth as he attempted to digest what Natsu had just told him. “Is - is he okay?

“Yeah, he’s fine. He can still move around if he uses his magic. From what I’ve heard, Gajeel and Metalicana have been working on something that might help him walk again.”

“From what you’ve heard?’ Gray repeated, puzzled by how aloof Natsu sounded. It was surprising considering they were discussing one of his closest friends. Until he remembered Igneel’s words.

“I haven’t talked to them in about two years,” Natsu shrugged, clearly done with the topic.

“Two years?! Don’t you think it’s time for you to talk to Sting about it again? I’m sure by now, he must realize it wasn’t your fault.”

Gray stopped to examine the dragon in front of him, trying to read his gestures. Had Natsu been in his human form, this would be a lot easier, he could read human Natsu like a book, but dragon Natsu was still a mystery he was slowly deciphering. Although he was confident with time, he would manage it.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, any friendship that existed between Sting and I is over,” Natsu seethed, “Can we please talk about something else?”

He sneaked a quick glance at Gray only to find his eyes had never wavered from him.

“No. This is important. Sting is your best friend, I’m sure whatever happened between you, you guys can work it out.”

Natsu began to laugh, but this time it was dark and mirthless, the sound making Gray take a step back. “There are some things that can’t be worked out Gray. What he did, while I understand it, I can never forgive him.”

“What did he do?” Gray whispered, a feeling of dread settling over him, knowing it would have to be quite terrible for Natsu to not be willing to forgive his closest friend.

Natsu studied him for a long time before finally responding, “He’s the one who sent Acnologia to Talos.”

It took Gray several minutes to piece together what those words meant. Sting had set the events in motion that had put an end to the life they had built together. He could feel the rage rise within him at the injustice, even though a part of him still had trouble believing it, “But why? Why would he do that?”

“Because if he hadn’t, Acnologia would have killed all of them, so he did what was necessary to protect Rogue. I don’t fault him for that, I probably would have done the same thing if you were in danger,” Natsu tried to sound convincing, but Gray could still hear the hurt in his voice. Sting had been his best friend since he was eight years old, he knew the betrayal had to have been a blow, especially on top of his own rejection.

“I don’t understand any of this,” Gray interrupted, wanting to move the conversation away from what had happened. “Before you left, you’d said renegades were just dragon slayers that had turned against the dragons, but Acnologia was a dragon.”

Natsu sighed, “Something went wrong with Atlas’ spell, or maybe the dragons who cast it messed it up. We don’t know exactly what caused it, but for some of the dragon slayers using a lot of dragon magic, combined with the blood of the dragons they slew changed them, and they somehow gained the ability to turn into dragons.”

“So they turned into something like you?”

“No, the renegades are something entirely new. I was born from a dragon and a human, so my body could take both forms, at least it used to be able to,” Natsu amended, his forehead creasing briefly before he continued his explanation.

“The renegades, however, were human, and the process ended up destroying their minds. While they can change between either form at will, they aren’t really human anymore. But they aren’t truly dragons either. Acnologia is the strongest of them, and he has declared himself their leader.”

“And Deliora joined up with him?” Gray thought this seemed rather short-sighted, “But wouldn’t Acnologia have just killed him later?”

“Probably, I doubt he really cared. I think his hatred blinded him to anything else, or maybe he thought he could handle Acnologia on his own,” Natsu shrugged disinterestedly, “Who knows?”

“I can tell you this, Acnologia is like no other renegade. He reaps the souls of his opponents, keeping them inside him and fusing them to his magic to give him immunity to ours. It makes him almost invincible.”

Gray found himself thinking of the malevolence he’d felt from the renegade and shuddered to realize it was something he’d never felt from any of the other dragons he’d encountered except for Deliora.

“Y-you told me Acnologia almost killed you, did — did he do the same to you?” Gray didn’t really understand what soul reaping meant, but it sounded terrible, and he instinctively didn’t like it.

“He uhm, he tried,” Natsu’s face was grim, “And there would have been nothing I could have done to stop him if Belserion, he’s my father’s advisor, hadn’t sacrificed himself for me. Acnologia ended up with his soul instead.”

“I managed to take one of his arms in that battle, but he destroyed most of my side,” he pointed at the X shaped scar near his hip bone, deciding to leave out the part about how the renegade had eaten his tail. He didn’t think Gray would handle that well.

“I was fading fast, but then you came to me and asked me to come back to you, and I — I couldn’t leave you.”

“That — that really happened?” Gray blanched, remembering the pain he’d felt at that moment, and his face contorted in terror. His arms immediately wrapped themselves around as much of Natsu as they could, finally understanding how close they had come to losing each other.

“You saw something?” Natsu peered down at his mate with interest.

“No, I didn’t see anything, but I heard your voice, and then I was hit by this incredible wave of pain, and I tried to call out to you. I did tell you to come back to me, but then I blacked out,” Gray recounted, still shaken at the realization that for that brief moment, they had been connected.

As much as he’d been determined to learn everything, he realized Natsu had been right all along. He wasn’t ready to hear anymore. He needed time to process even the little he’d just heard.

“I wish I could go back and do so many things over. My parents, you, Lyon,” Gray cried out in frustration, “I screwed up so much, and look where it led us.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, love,” Natsu protested, and Gray felt himself perk up at the familiar nickname, “None of what happened was ever your fault. I could have trusted you more.”

“No, you had it right the first time, what were you supposed to do when I hated everything you were? That is the truest thing you ever said to me. I understand that now. I just wish..., there were so many times I could’ve made better choices.”

Natsu sighed, “We both screwed up a lot. We were stupid and scared to lose what we had, but I never doubted your love for me, even after what happened in the field,” He tried to phrase the rejection as tactfully as he could, knowing it was a touchy subject.

“If there were any way I could change what I am, I’d do it in a second, I’d do anything to be with you,” And he absolutely would, but he also knew there was nothing to be done in this case and he needed Gray to understand that. Before he wasted his life trying to find a miracle cure that just didn’t exist.

“But the truth is, I was already having trouble changing back during the war. The longer I remained a dragon the worse it became. And after Acnologia almost killed me, they had to use massive amounts of dragon magic to reconstruct parts of my body. When I changed back into my human form, all those areas were covered in red scales.”

Natsu saw the disbelief on Gray’s face and hurried to drive the last point home. “That tattoo I had? It was an illusion spell Atlas created for me so I could hide them from you. The battle within my body is over, and the dragon won. I’m sorry, but this is how I will always be. Not even magic can change that. So if that isn’t something you can accept or —”

“If you even attempt to finish that sentence, Natsu Dragneel, I will end you,” Gray threatened, “I’ve already told you, I don’t care what you are. I care about who you are, and I am never leaving you again.”

Natsu didn’t reply. Just watched him with a sorrowful expression Gray didn’t understand. Shouldn’t he have been happy with his declaration?

Gray’s head was swimming, and he looked for a distraction, something to take his mind off things for a little bit. He was back in his village for the first time in twelve years. Deliora was finally dead. It was time to put all this behind him. But first, there was something he needed to do. Something he should have done years ago.

He looked around for materials, settling on some rocks and small branches. He collected a large number of them as well as some vines and moved them over to where his house had once stood, letting himself think about the good memories he’d once had, back when his family had been whole.

If he concentrated really hard, he could almost see his parents. Images of them flitted through his mind, chasing after him as they played with faces full of carefree laughter, or tucking him into bed at night and reading him stories even though he complained he was too old for such things. It had been a good life.

Gray remembered how his mother’s wish for his happiness had been simple: a wife, a family. While his father had merely wanted him to be kind and strong. What would they have thought of his husband, the dragon?

He could feel the tears stream down his face, and he didn’t fight them. He had never allowed himself to properly grieve their loss, too caught up in his anger. But he knew it was time. If he ever wanted to move forward, he needed to start here.

Gray felt a tentative pull through his distress, and he waved Natsu away, needing to experience this fully.

“My dad, he was uhm, really fun. He liked to tell jokes and play pranks on my mom, “Gray wiped his eyes as he talked to Natsu, “You would have liked him, I think.”

He could hear Natsu moving behind him and wasn’t surprised to find himself once again enveloped by a large wing. “My mom,” he began but got no further as he dissolved into sobs.

“Shh,” Natsu soothed, “I’m sure she was amazing too.” Once Gray had calmed down a little, he asked, “Would you like some help?”

Gray nodded, not trusting his voice yet. Natsu nuzzled him as best he could before getting to work, placing the rocks Gray had collected in a large circle in what used to be their backyard.

“I wish I knew where they were buried.” Gray sniffled.

“Isn’t it better to honor the place where they lived?” Natsu suggested, and Gray decided his mate had a point. This was where they had been a family, this is what he would choose to remember from now on. And with that thought came an idea. He molded a knife and used it to scratch his parents names, Mika and Silver Fullbuster, on the branches he had chosen, tying them together with the vines and pounding them into the ground with an ice hammer.

Gray sat in the circle and closed his eyes, trying to remember as many details about his parents as he could. He shaped his ice, carefully making adjustments as he went, until a near-perfect sculpture of the three of them playing and laughing together stood before him.

Once he was satisfied with the results, he infused it with as much of his magic as he could manage, wanting it to last as long as possible under the summer heat. He made his way over to Natsu, who had moved away once he’d realized what Gray was attempting.

Natsu admired his work, sighing contentedly, “I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but I’ve always thought your magic was beautiful.”

Gray smiled at the compliment before turning into a mess when Natsu added, “Just like you.”

He nudged the dragon playfully, only to hear Natsu laugh at him. They remained silent until the sun began to set, content to sit together and enjoy the memorial they had crafted together.

“Let’s get out of here,” Gray suggested, standing up and dusting off his clothes as he felt Natsu rise beside him.

“I know just the spot,” Natsu murmured, and Gray climbed on the dragon’s back, sparing one last look at the place where his life had begun before finding himself in the air once again.

0-0

They hadn’t been flying for very long when Natsu touched down. Gray looked around, feeling there was something familiar about it.

He could feel Natsu’s nervous excitement, but it was dark, and the woods all looked the same to him at night.

“Where are we?”

Gray could tell that Natsu was a little disappointed at his lack of recognition, but he soon perked up. “Go look at that tree,” Fire lit up one of Natsu’s talons, and he neared it to the tree trunk, carefully revealing a clumsy heart with the names Natu and Gay carved inside it in barely legible letters.

“Natu and Gay?” Gray collapsed into giggles. He was incredibly touched by the gesture, and he didn’t want to hurt Natsu’s feelings, but it was hilarious. “Oh, my poor stomach!” Gray complained, still unable to stop laughing. “How old were you when you did this?”

“Eight,” Natsu pouted, “Forget it.”

“No, no, no, I’m sorry,” Gray apologized through his giggles. “Is this the tree I rescued you from?”

“Yeah,” Natsu grumbled, looking away.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that, I wanna hear about it,” Gray urged, “Please?”

“Fine,” A little bit of mischief was reflected in his eyes as he revealed.” My dad forbade me from searching you out, but he never said anything about not returning here.”

Gray snorted in response, not surprised in the least at the defiance. He could only imagine Igneel must have had his hands full with child Natsu.

“I had to,” Natsu defended, “I didn’t want to forget we had met, and I was scared I’d lose your scent, so I snuck away again as soon as I could. I tried to carve our names, but I’d only just started learning my letters,” Natsu frowned, “I’ll fix it.”

“Don’t you dare touch it,” Gray objected, “It’s perfect just the way it is.” And he meant it, too. There was something about learning that Natsu had come back here on his own and done this that freed him from his previous guilt at having attacked him more than any of Natsu’s earlier assurances that he’d never hated him for it ever had.

Natsu lit a fire near the tree, and once he was satisfied it was safe, he gestured for Gray to sit down. “I’m going to go hunt us some food,” Natsu announced before disappearing.

“Natu and Gay,” Gray muttered to himself, once again giggling, but this time he felt his body overflow with warmth. Stupid romantic dragon. He wished that just once, he would be the one to surprise his mate with a grand gesture. One that would show him once and for all how he felt, especially after all the pain he had inadvertently caused.

Natsu soon returned, and while Gray cooked the rabbits he’d caught, he made a nest for them to sleep in. When Gray offered him some food, Natsu only replied he’d already eaten.

“Where do we go from here?” Natsu asked after watching Gray eat quietly for a while. The apprehension in his voice was hard to miss.

Gray studied him thoughtfully for a few minutes, mulling it over. The truth was he had no idea either. They had hurt each other deeply over the years, and while he wanted nothing more than to pretend none of it had ever happened, he knew that was the wrong approach to take. Especially given the considerable hurdles they would have to face in their future.

“There’s really only one thing we can do,” Gray wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly feeling vulnerable, “We keep talking, we make things better, and more importantly, we stay together. I — I’d like us to go back to living together. “

Natsu’s jaw dropped, “You’re an ice mage, you can’t possibly want to move into a cave with four fire dragons.”

“Well, you don’t exactly fit in my apartment anymore, do you?” Gray quipped, drumming his fingers on the ground, his nerves keeping him from being able to stay still.

This was one of the things he’d decided during those days he’d sat on the mountain, waiting for Natsu to talk to him. They were married, and he wanted to go back to acting that way, even if it seemed ridiculous given their circumstances. They had pledged their lives to each other through good times and bad, and he wanted them to fulfill that promise.

“No, I guess I don’t at that,” Natsu cocked his head and stared into his eyes, reading them as he always had. “This means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” Gray confessed, “I know this isn’t how we wanted it to be, but if we’re married, it’s important to me that we act like it.”

“Alright then,” Natsu agreed, “we’ll try to make it work. I’ll have Atlas make you a bed. You can always go back to your apartment when I’m gone.”

Gray glared at him menacingly now that he had gotten his way, “And on that note, no more suicide missions. I might only be a human, but I promise you, I will find a way to make your life miserable if you ever do something that stupid ever again.”

He could see Natsu wanted to protest, but instead, he nodded his acceptance. “I promise I won’t go after Acnologia by myself again, but that doesn’t change the fact that I will have to go after him at some point.”

“Why, why does it have to be you?” Gray complained, terrified by the mere idea of Natsu going after that monster. “Haven’t you done enough already?”

“There’s still a lot we need to discuss, but there is one thing you should really know. The times I told you I was off helping the Dragon King, that was a bit of a lie.” Natsu announced, somehow managing to appear sheepish.

Gray stared in disbelief for a moment, trying to understand what Natsu was implying and groaning when he remembered him saying he would be a Queen, not a Princess, “Let me guess, you’re the Dragon King now?”

Natsu chuckled nervously, “Surprise?”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me?!” Gray sputtered, “How even?”

“Belserion mostly. Igneel and Atlas kept me far removed from other dragons, even red ones, for most of my life. I mean, I knew other dragons existed, but Metalicana and the others were the first ones I ever met outside of my family. I knew next to nothing about our politics. Even the fact that my father was the King of the Fire Dragons was more an interesting bit of trivia than anything that held any importance.” Gray tried not to feel disheartened by the fact that Natsu had included himself with the dragons, it only made sense now, but it brought home the crux of their situation. Natsu was a dragon, and he was not.

“When I got there, that changed. Suddenly there were dragons everywhere, all kinds, even ice ones. They’re really pretty,” Natsu recounted. Gray could hear the excitement in his voice, and he had to smile.

“Anyhow, it turned out that every race of dragon had their own royal families, and Acnologia and Deliora had systematically gone about destroying them all. My father, uncle, and I are all that’s left. So my father was made King of the Dragons. It’s complicated, but mistakes were made, and Atlas magic had caused too much havoc, so that left only me. Belserion recognized that early on, and without me realizing it, he began to build me up. After I was able to wound Acnologia and survive, it cinched it.

“I couldn’t really get out of it, so I made a deal instead. I agreed to take my place as King, but only on the condition that Belserion would act as my regent until your death.”

“Is that why you were so anxious to leave?” Gray wondered, remembering how determined Natsu had been to put as much distance between them and Talos as possible.

“Yeah, I was afraid something would come up, or someone would change their mind, so I grabbed you and ran. I didn’t want to spend any more time apart,” Natsu admitted shyly, “And I don’t regret it, that time we spent together, it was the happiest I’ve ever been.”

“Me too,” Gray agreed, those months had been everything he had ever dreamed, even if they had been too short. He would do anything to get that closeness back. He finally got the nerve to ask what had been worrying him since Igneel had checked their bond. “Our bond, is it — is it going to be okay?”

Natsu looked down, and Gray could feel his guilt at having tried to destroy their bond, although it was more muted than before. “I think so, but it’s going to take time.”

Gray was surprised to see a sudden change in Natsu’s features until he looked down and saw that the pendant was glowing slightly.

“It looks like it’s already begun to heal,” Natsu’s eyes shone with emotion, and once again, Gray felt it inside. He focused on their bond, wanting to reassure himself that their connection felt a bit stronger.

They stared at each other in amazement, neither really knowing what to say.

“I love you,” Gray finally burst out.

“I love you too,” Natsu nuzzled his cheek gently, “I’m sorry I made such a mess of things.”

“We made a mess of things, this wasn’t just your doing,” Gray reminded him, “I was too stubborn to see anything other than what I wanted to see, and I didn’t leave you very many choices.”

Gray could tell that Natsu wanted to say something more. He’d caught him staring at him and shaking his head several times already, and it was making him anxious. “Just spit it out already.”

Natsu dragged in a long breath before speaking, alerting Gray that he wasn’t going to like whatever it was. “I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but there’s another reason why I need to go after Acnologia, and it’s important.”

“Belserion?” Gray guessed, remembering Natsu had said the dragon had sacrificed his soul for him. “Vengeance is not a good enough reason to get yourself killed, Natsu.”

“It’s nothing like that, and it’s not just him. It’s also my father and all our dragon slayers’ parents too. He has pieces of their souls inside him, Gray. If they died before he did, they’d never be able to rejoin their soulmates. Their cycle would be destroyed forever. I can’t let that happen to my parents or any of the others.”

Gray stared at him in dismay, remembering how Igneel had looked when talking about Natsu’s mother, and as much as he hated the idea, he knew Natsu was right. They couldn’t allow that to happen.

Gray relented with a sigh, “I don’t like it, but I understand. Just remember your promise.”

“I will,” Natsu assured him, “I give you my word. I won’t go after him on my own.”

“Good, we should go to bed, it’s been a long day.”

Natsu grunted in agreement as he lay down in the nest he’d made earlier, beckoning Gray to join him. “Yeah, I’m beat.”

“I still can’t believe I get to be with you like this and not have to pretend to be someone else.” Natsu’s smile was dazzling, even as a dragon.

Gray crawled in and lay next to him with a chuckle, “I feel pretty stupid for not realizing it sooner. I mean, looking back now, outside of that awkward formal speech you used when you weren’t freaking out on me, it should have been pretty obvious.”

Natsu laughed, “I wasn’t expecting you to show up, I kind of panicked. That’s how Belserion talks.”

They snuggled together in the nest, Natsu wrapping his wing around Gray in a combination hug and blanket while they stared up at the stars quietly.

“Hey, Natsu?” Gray prodded the dragon, whose eyes were struggling to stay open.

“Hmm?”

“How long do dragons live?”

“I don’t really know, the oldest I’ve heard of is over a thousand years old,” Natsu replied dreamily, his eyes beginning to close once again, “Atlas and my father are close to four hundred, I think. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering how long I’d have to wait to meet you again in another life.”

“Every day away from you will feel like an eternity.”

Gray giggled, and Natsu frowned at him, “What?”

“Nothing, you’re just incredibly romantic, I need to step up my game.”

“Nah, I love you just the way you are,” Natsu mumbled.

“Go to sleep, you idiot,” Gray scolded, not bothering to hide his smile at those words.

“Did I ever tell you that when we first met, I wanted to take you home with me?” Natsu’s voice had turned dreamy, “I wanted us to go on great adventures together. I had it all worked out, too. We’d fly until I could feel myself changing back, then we’d explore wherever we ended up and camp out until I could fly again, and then we’d start all over again.”

The last part had been almost unintelligible, accentuated as it had been by snores, but still, Gray’s heart felt like it would burst at any minute.

He was beginning to understand what Natsu had tried to warn him against. So many times that day, Gray had wanted to kiss his lover like he was used to. To play with Natsu’s hair or do any of the myriads of gestures he’d been used to giving and receiving.

Only to be confronted with their reality. The holds and wing hugs were pleasant, but they were nowhere near the same, and it grieved Gray to realize that it would be almost a year before they could once again do all the things they had once taken for granted. He told himself it didn’t matter, Natsu had gotten through it, he could too.

A/N: Natu and Gay, that is all. Heh, the things that come from typos! This was a rough chapter, but it needed to happen and I tried to lighten it up a bit. While they obviously didn't get through everything I tried to get the most important ones out of the way. But, yay, the boys are back together again!

I’m excited for the last two chapters and I hope you are too. Thank you once again to @oryu404​ for their help betaing, this one was a beast! See you in two weeks!

@ao3feed-gratsu​

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #fairy tail big bang 2018 #update

[mdelpin]

The Red Dragon - Chapter 27

AO3 | FF.Net | Tumblr: Ch1 | Ch26

The next day, Gray went to the top of the mountain where the red dragon could usually be found, but there was no sign of him. Still, he sat there and called Natsu as loudly as he could through what was left of their bond, trying to make the stubborn dragon hear him, to no avail. He repeated this for two more days hoping to show Natsu that he was determined, but it made no difference.

“Gray?”

Gray could hear Lyon and Erza calling to him as if from a great distance, but he couldn't bring himself to answer. It was dark now, and he had no idea how long he'd been sitting there, just wondering how things had come to this. Of all the possible outcomes to their relationship Gray had ever envisioned, he could never have imagined something like this.

He didn't want to talk, didn't want to move. He was emotionally exhausted and filled with a sense of hopelessness. Why was Natsu so damn stubborn? He just wanted to talk to him. And as much as he hated to admit it, he missed the red dragon too. It felt like he'd lost his two best friends.

Erza and Lyon sat on either side of him, and he sighed. "I'm fine, you guys can go home."

"You're not fine, Gray," Erza said in the softest voice he'd ever heard her use, "You've been gone all day again, and we're worried about you. When was the last time you ate or slept?"

“I wasted that whole day, Erza,” Gray groaned in frustration, “Now, I won’t be able to see him for another year, and that’s assuming I can convince him to come back to me.”

“What are you talking about?” Lyon asked him, grabbing on to his brother’s hand and squeezing it. “What happened?”

“Natsu is the red dragon.”

“You’re not making any sense, did he hit you on the head or something?”

He heard a sharp intake of breath to his right and saw Erza covering her mouth with her hand.

"Natsu is the red dragon? Are you sure?" To Gray's surprise, she didn't attempt to argue with him when he nodded or try to tell him it was impossible. And although she remained quiet, he could tell that she was thinking hard.

“But why? Why wouldn’t he tell us? All of us, we were dragon crazy back then. Gods, especially Sting, he wouldn’t shut up about them.”

"Because of me," Gray admitted, "When Natsu and I met when we were little, he tried to tell me what he was, but I didn't believe him. It had only been a few days since Deliora had destroyed my village and killed my parents, and I got so angry at him that I hurt him, and he ran away. He told me later that when his father found out what happened, he forbade him from telling anyone else to keep him safe."

“I knew there was more to that story than what you two were saying!” Erza blurted out before staring off into the distance.

“Poor Natsu, that must have been so lonely,” She wiped her eyes quickly before her expression changed to one of annoyance, “Wait a minute, does that mean he was going easy on us all that time?”

Gray shrugged, he didn’t have an answer to that question. Natsu had always been unbelievably strong, they might have never seen him at full power.

"I found out what this is," Gray said slowly as he held up the pendant and looked at it. He was suddenly afraid to take it off, knowing if he didn't feel anything this time, he was sure to break.

“Natsu made it for me. He gave it to me when he proposed,” With a sad chuckle, he added, “I guess now I know why it only shocked Juvia. Natsu placed a lot of protection magic on it. It must have seen her as a threat.”

“Proposed?” Erza squeezed his hand again and looked at him worriedly when he seemed to be having a hard time continuing.

"Yeah, it turns out Natsu and I are married," saying the words out loud for the first time was harder than he'd imagined. He felt a small twinge of happiness that Natsu had loved him that much, had wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. Even after everything Gray had said and done over the years.

“M-married?” Erza looked horrified, “Now I feel even worse for trying to force Juvia on you. I had no idea. I thought you were just shy.”

“It’s alright, your heart was in the right place. I didn’t really know myself, it was mixed in with the rest of the memories that I lost.”

“What else did you remember?” Lyon asked, taking in how bedraggled he looked.

“I didn’t lose my memories because of the concussion, Natsu cast a spell to lock them away,” Gray replied, trying not to remember the sorrow in Natsu’s eyes right before he’d done it. A sorrow that Gray had caused with his thoughtless action.

“He did what?!” Lyon roared, his nostrils flaring at Gray’s words.

Gray hurried to defuse his brother before he got the wrong idea, “It’s not what you think, he was trying to protect me.”

His voice broke as he recounted with shame, “I learned what Natsu was, and I rejected him. Even though we were married, even though he almost killed himself healing me after Acnologia attacked me. He uhm, he locked them away to keep me from my guilt.”

“Is that what he told you?” Lyon arched an eyebrow, clearly still not convinced of Natsu’s good intentions.

“No,” Gray clarified firmly, “It’s what I know. I saw it in my memories. Right before he locked them away, he said he was setting me free, that I deserved to be happy.”

Lyon sucked in a breath at his admission, choosing to hug him tightly rather than saying anything more, only letting go when Gray struggled against him.

Gray told them everything he’d discovered and everything he'd figured out, and they both hugged him tightly. They forced him to go home with them. Erza wasn’t satisfied until she had seen him eat and then she threatened to knock him out if he didn't get some sleep before leaving him and Lyon in their guest bedroom.

Lyon, surprisingly, was the one who suggested Gray go to the cave and confront Natsu.

“Here are some clothes you can wear after you take a shower,” Lyon handed him some sleep clothes and Gray headed into the bathroom.

When he came out of the shower, Gray was surprised to find his brother still sitting on the bed, his expression thoughtful. He waited to speak until Gray was seated next to him.

"Look, we both know Natsu has never been my favorite person, " Lyon began, and Gray waved him off, not wanting to hear his brother's rant against his husband.

"Hear me out," Lyon insisted, "I'll admit, a lot of that was jealousy on my part. Even when you first moved in with Ur and me, Natsu was the most important person in the world to you. You talked about him all the time, you trained hard so that you could show him how far you'd come when you saw him again."

Lyon sighed, "You’d met the guy for maybe a week, but somehow he held a place in your world that I could never touch. We lived together for years, and yet you always kept me at a distance. I’d lost everything, you and Ur were my world. I was lonely too, Gray.”

Gray stared at his brother in astonishment, Lyon had never opened up to him like this before, and he realized with a pang that everything his brother was saying was the truth. From the moment he'd met Lyon, he'd told himself that he wouldn't let him in so quickly, still hurt from his encounter with Natsu. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lyon was already continuing.

"When we got here, and he barely gave you the time of day, that pissed me off. Hell, it wasn't until that first time the two of you really fought that I finally saw how much he actually cared about you," Lyon paused, and Gray knew he was trying to piece his words together.

"Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it, and I couldn't resent him anymore. You both looked at each other the same way, and when the two of you were together, it was like no one else even existed."

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry this is happening to you, but if you want to salvage something out of this mess that both of you have created, you need to stop being so passive and go fight for what you want. Natsu is just as stubborn as you are, and he’s not going to show up just because you call for him. Not while he thinks he’s protecting you. For fuck’s sake, you know where he lives, stop pining like a lovesick idiot, and go make him talk to you.”

Lyon patted Gray on the back and got up to leave, but Gray quickly stood up and grabbed him, holding Lyon tightly against him in a heartfelt embrace. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize. I never meant to hurt you."

Lyon's body stiffened, but he soon relaxed into the hug. "It's fine, I understand now."

They separated, and Lyon ruffled his hair before murmuring, “You’ll find a way, I’m sure of it.”

“Now get some sleep, you look like crap,” Lyon grumbled as he turned the light off on his way out, leaving Gray alone with his thoughts in the darkness.

O-o

“Natsu Dragneel, get your dragon ass out here!”

Igneel was startled out of his thoughts by a human walking into the main room of his lair and yelling angrily for his son.

How had he managed to get into the cave without setting off the warning sigils he and Atlas had placed on all the entrances and exits? They were supposed to go off whenever a human attempted to enter the cave.

Igneel watched him curiously from where he'd been sitting looking through a magic scroll. He readied his magic. Although he still liked to believe that humans were inherently good, years of fighting against renegade dragon slayers had taught him not to be overly trusting. He wasn't too worried, although Acnologia had weakened him considerably, he knew he could still hold his own against a human wizard if it came down to it.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” the man continued to yell, heading towards Natsu’s bedroom.

Igneel's eyes were drawn to the scarf that was wrapped around the man’s neck, a scarf that he was intimately familiar with. He’d been so focused on it he almost missed the sword pendant that was peeking out from underneath it. He instantly recognized it as well from having watched his son work on it for hours on end. Both items marked the wearer as Gray Fullbuster.

Well, that explained it. Gray and Natsu were bonded soulmates. Their souls were intertwined, which probably confused the sigils.

Although he'd heard many things about his son's mate over the years, this was the first time Igneel had ever seen him. He examined him more carefully before entering the main room.

Gray had longish dark hair that stood up in unruly spikes, and even from this distance, Igneel could make out deep blue eyes that exuded both intelligence and determination. He could also feel a strong magic signature emanating from the ice mage. Not that he'd expected any different, Porlyusica's magic signature had also been immense.

“Natsu’s not here at the moment,” Igneel said, trying to hide his amusement at Gray’s reaction when he found his way blocked. The ice mage jumped back several feet but instantly tried to regain his poise, gazing at Igneel defiantly.

Igneel continued to move into the room slowly to avoid appearing threatening, “Can I help you with something?”

“Who--who are you, and where’s Natsu?”

Gray stared at him, awaiting a response, gaze still defiant, and Igneel could see the layer of frost surrounding him as he fought against his instincts. He remained silent, considering how best to handle this situation, well aware of Gray’s opinion on dragons, and red dragons in particular.

Although, was it possible that could be changing? Natsu hadn't given him many details on what had happened on the solstice, but he'd been distraught before he left to check on the other dragons and slayers, demanding to go alone. Igneel hadn’t fought him knowing his son needed some time to himself, but he'd felt uneasy ever since, and having Natsu's mate suddenly show up was not helping.

Igneel traveled through his own memories, the painful ones that he'd set aside so that he could live and take care of his child. It hadn't been so long in years, but to his soul, the separation from Porlyusica felt like centuries. It wasn't uncommon for dragons to die soon after their mates, the pain of their loss so strong they lost the will to live.

He’d had Natsu to think of, though, and he didn’t regret any moment of it. Raising him had kept Porlyusica with him. The pink hair, green eyes, and desire to help others, as well as the incredible kindness that Natsu had, all came from his mother.

Unfortunately, so did the stubbornness and short temper. Igneel had always wished that Porlyusica had gotten a chance to meet their son, and he hoped wherever she was, she was as proud of him as Igneel was.

He knew he'd made mistakes, but despite that, Natsu had grown to be an exceptional human, as well as a dragon. He was curious and brave, and although he might not be the most patient, his loyalty was unshakeable.

Like Porlyusica, he had a big heart. To know Natsu’s love was to bask in the warmest sunlight, and no one knew that better than Igneel, except perhaps the man standing in front of him. He brought himself back to the present to answer Gray’s question.

“I’m Igneel, I’m Natsu’s father,” Igneel replied smoothly.

Gray stared at him, eyes growing larger the more he examined him. He looked as if he was ready to bolt, but he held his ground, and Igneel admired that.

“Natsu isn’t here.”

"Where did he go?" Igneel could almost touch the fear Gray was exuding, and all of a sudden, his own uneasiness exploded as well.

“He went to check on the others,” Igneel replied slowly as his brain tried to puzzle together what Gray was so afraid of, quickly realizing whatever it was must be great if it prompted him to visit their cave. “He left the morning after the solstice. Why do I suddenly get the feeling that’s not where he is?”

“That moron!” Gray shouted, his voice echoing loudly in the cave. He paced the room in agitation, “He went after Acnologia after all. I have to find him. This is all my fault!”

“He what?!” Igneel roared, in a fury. Disregarding that five minutes earlier, he'd been surprised to see Gray there at all. "You knew he was planning this, and you waited until now to tell us?"

“I didn’t think he’d actually do it!” Gray protested, even though he should have known, had seen how determined Natsu had been. He’d just hoped his words had held more weight with the dragon.

Igneel was beside himself. His fool of a son had gone after Acnologia by himself?! Why hadn't he seen it? Natsu had been upset, and Igneel had wanted to believe that he just wanted to spend some time with his friends. He should have known, should have realized what that determination in Natsu's eyes had meant.

“ATLAS!”

Atlas soon rushed into the main room, hellfire already blazing in anticipation of an attack. Happy wasn’t far behind. Atlas stopped in his tracks when he saw no one but Gray in the cave.

“What’s the matter?” Atlas asked, not bothering to mask his concern, “And why didn’t the sigils go off?”

Igneel noticed that Atlas was not looking at Gray very fondly and wondered what else he didn’t know.

“Natsu went after Acnologia,” Igneel informed his brother, ignoring his other question, “We need to find him before he gets himself killed!”

Igneel could hear Atlas cursing under his breath as well as throwing some insults Gray’s way. He shrugged it off and headed to the cave exit, Gray could show himself out.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Atlas asked as he blocked Igneel’s path, “You should stay here in case Natsu comes back. Happy, and I can handle this.”

“That’s my son out there, how can you expect me to stay back?”

“You’d only be a liability in your current condition,” Atlas snapped.

“What did you say to me?” Igneel covered himself in his hottest flames as he attempted to stare down his brother.

“The truth and you know it,” Atlas remained utterly unfazed by Igneel’s attempt at intimidation, “I watched Acnologia almost kill you once, I won’t do that again. Stay put and let us handle it. Come on, Happy, let’s go.”

Happy stopped a moment to glare at Gray before quickly following Atlas to the cave exit.

Igneel stared after them, furious that his brother considered him a liability and terrified that they wouldn’t get to Natsu in time.

He shifted his attention back to the human that was standing in his cave. Gray looked equal parts worried and scared, but he hadn't left, earning Igneel’s respect.

“I think it’s time you and I had a talk,” Igneel growled.

“What happened on the solstice?” Igneel’s roar sounded like thunder as it bounced off the cave walls and into Gray’s ears.

Gray tried to swallow down his fear, when Natsu had been in his red dragon form he had usually made himself look non-threatening, probably knowing Gray would not react well after he’d seen him with Atlas. Igneel was angry and had no such qualms at the moment.

Gray looked towards the ground and mumbled something Igneel was not meant to hear, but, of course, being a dragon, he heard him quite clearly.

“You made a mistake?” Igneel glared at him, incredulously, “What is that supposed to mean? What could you have done that would make my son go off to attempt to destroy that monster on his own?”

"I asked him to tell me the truth, and I couldn't handle it!" Gray yelled, releasing all of his anger at himself and at Natsu. Maybe part of him wanted to be punished because he couldn't think of any other reason why he would be yelling at the ginormous angry dragon that was quite obviously trying to keep himself under control.

“I sent him away.” Gray kept his eyes glued to the floor of the cave, not wanting to see how Igneel would react to his admission.

“So you finally know the truth,” Igneel said calmly, his anger seemingly deflated.

Gray looked up in confusion, not expecting the dragon to back down after what he’d said.

“But how, how is it even possible for Natsu to be a dragon?” Gray protested, the impossibility of that statement, making him forget who he was talking to. He needed answers to try to understand their past and to attempt to find a solution to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles they faced in the future. He could only hope that Igneel would give them to him.

Igneel remained quiet for long, torturous moments, occasionally fixing his gaze on Gray before muttering to himself. Gray was becoming increasingly nervous, he'd never expected to be faced with Natsu's father, he thought at worst he'd have a shouting match with Natsu. He was cursing himself for having ever listened to Lyon in the first place when the fire dragon finally spoke.

"Magic," Igneel explained, "I cast a spell to make myself a human temporarily. I needed to find out what humans were really like, and I thought that was the best way to observe them. I met my mate, Natsu’s mother, while in that form. But because I was still a dragon, Natsu was conceived as a combination of both dragons and humans. I-I never thought we could have a child."

Gray was amused to see the giant red dragon look embarrassed, but he only nodded his head, eyes never leaving Igneel's face. As he became more comfortable in Igneel's presence, Gray started to notice the similarities between father and son, and it made his heart ache for the dragon he wished were there in Igneel's place.

Igneel continued, "Dragons are usually hatched in eggs while human beings are birthed. I’m not entirely sure how it all worked, but as we quickly learned, humans are not meant to gestate dragons. The pregnancy took a lot out of her, and she, uhm, died a few minutes after Natsu was born."

Igneel paused, and Gray watched him collect himself. He wanted to say something, but nothing seemed appropriate. It still surprised him to see that dragons were capable of complex emotions like grief.

“Natsu’s a special being, the only one of his kind,” Igneel explained, “For the first few years, we didn’t think he was a dragon at all, he remained in his human body and was from what we could tell, a healthy human child.

“Then, one day, there was a baby dragon in his place. His dragon nature was trying to assert itself, but he couldn’t hold the form for long, usually only for a few hours, and he had no control over how or when it happened.

.

“That's how Natsu found you, you know. He got away from us and went exploring. He latched on to your scent and followed it all the way back to you, and somehow in the short time the two of you spent together, Natsu discovered you were his mate. He returned devastated by your rejection, and I forbade him from searching you out."

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” Gray objected, the familiar guilt he’d never quite been able to shake returning, especially now that he understood just how much his actions had impacted Natsu’s life.

“You were a child, one who had just experienced a very traumatic experience at that. I could never blame you for that, especially when part of it was my fault,” Igneel said cryptically.

“While I would have preferred for him to be mated to another dragon, there was no fighting it. I realized then that I would need to prepare Natsu to live among humans so he could eventually have a life with you.

“I sent him to school in Talos so he could learn human ways, and I forbade him from showing his magic or his dragon form to anyone, afraid of what might happen if another human learned of what he was.

“I thought I was protecting him,” Igneel said, lowering his head sadly, ” but all I accomplished was to make him hide who he was, and that made it worse for him when his friends did eventually find out the truth. And now, after what happened to Rogue, Sting has never forgiven him."

Something happened to Rogue? Sting and Natsu weren’t friends anymore? When did all of that happen? Natsu hadn’t said anything about any of that. Igneel was still speaking, so he brought his attention back to what the dragon was saying.

“When you showed up in town, Natsu didn’t know what to do. He wanted to tell you the truth, but he was afraid you’d reject him again. You’d know the rest better than me since I left soon after.”

“So,” Gray asked the question that had been nagging at him since he had come to understand what Natsu was. "What you're saying is that Natsu was always going to end up being a dragon?”

"The war sped up the process, but yes, we think it was probably inevitable." Igneel revealed, “Natsu had hoped to remain human long enough to be able to spend the length of your lifespan with you, but then Acnologia showed up, and the choice was taken away from him.

Gray absorbed that, remembering how Natsu had wanted to run away from Acnologia and finally understanding the why to that very uncharacteristic act. If he had just allowed it… no, there was no sense in having those thoughts. Natsu might have tried to run away, but Gray knew he would never have been able to do it, and even if he had, he would never have forgiven himself.

"Can I ask you something?" Gray was uncomfortable asking Natsu’s father for such private information, but it's not like he had any other choice at the moment.

Igneel grunted his assent, his eyes peering down at Gray curiously.

"I can't feel Natsu as well as I could before, and he said something on the solstice that worried me. Is it possible for a soulbond to be broken?"

Igneel ignored his question in favor of asking one of his own, “What did he say?” He tilted his head to the side as he waited for Gray’s answer.

“I release you from our bond,” Gray repeated the ominous words that had been troubling him since he’d heard them.

Gray didn't like the way Igneel's breath caught or the way the dragon wouldn't meet his gaze. He was once again deep in thought, and his expression kept changing, sometimes looking furious and other times looking worried. He finally gestured at Gray to come closer.

"May I look at your pendant?" Igneel asked, waiting for Gray's permission before holding it with a care that seemed impossible for a creature of his size. Igneel's claws glowed as he probed the pendant, and Gray felt the already sweltering temperature of the cave rise slightly in response to the fire dragon's magic.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked nervously, suddenly aware of how fragile his and Natsu's bond really was. That vague hum that had used to feel so vibrant was now but a whisper, and though there was no pain, it hurt just the same.

If he was honest with himself, their bond was something he'd always taken for granted, but now that it might be gone, he couldn't think of anything more important. He could feel a slight pressure working on the crystal and a sort of poking at the place where he was used to feeling Natsu.

“I’m trying to check the state of your bond, it’s not easy to explain. Soulmates are something that until recently only dragons have had, which is why it’s interesting that both Natsu and I have had human ones.” Igneel fiddled around with the pendant some more before putting it down and snorting.

“Natsu did try to break your bond, but ironically, the amount of protection magic he worked into the stone kept him from succeeding completely. Your bond is fractured, which is why he feels so faint to you, but it’s still there. It can be salvaged, but only if you sort things out.”

“And if we don’t?”

"I really don't know. I've never heard of anyone willingly attempting to break a bond before. Usually, it only happens when one of the dragons dies. It is excruciating to endure. More often than not, the surviving dragon dies quickly, choosing to follow their mate so the cycle can begin once again."

“I-I don’t understand any of this.” Gray struggled with what Igneel had just told him. “I told him I wanted to work things out. Why would he do this? Why won’t he talk to me?”

“You’d have to ask him yourself, I suppose.” Igneel shrugged his rather broad shoulders, “My son is not the easiest person to understand, but you’d know that better than anyone.”

“He’s as stubborn as his mother was. Between you and me, not their best trait.” Igneel winked at Gray. “Knowing Natsu, he would’ve done what he thought was best for you.”

“Now it’s my turn. May I ask you something?”

Gray nodded at the enormous dragon that was his father-in-law.

“Now that you know what Natsu is, and that he’s not likely to return to his human form, what is it you plan to do?”

“I want to find a way for us to fix our bond and remain together. I love him, I always have.”

“Do you love him enough to let him go if that’s what he needs? Or to get past the hatred that has guided you for so long?”

Gray looked at Igneel with surprise, what exactly was he asking? Gray didn't know what to answer. He'd learned a lot about dragons today. They were a lot more complicated than Gray had given them credit for. He thought about Igneel's words and came to a sad conclusion.

"I don't want to let him go, but if that were what he needed, I would do it."

“That is exactly how much he loves you.” Igneel pointed out, “And as for your hatred?”

“I’ve learned a lot about dragons in the last few years that contradicts what I used to think. I--I eventually enjoyed spending time with the red dragon without ever realizing it was Natsu.”

Gray scratched the back of his head as he thought about his next words carefully. “This time around, when I saw him transform, I still wanted to stay with him.” Gray met Igneel’s gaze, which had softened considerably since they’d begun talking, and added earnestly, “I don’t know how I feel about all dragons, but I know how I feel about Natsu, and I really don’t care what form he’s in.”

“Then that is what you need to make him understand,” Igneel tried to encourage him, “I know it won’t be easy to get through to him, it never is when he’s being stubborn. But don’t give up on him yet.”

Gray nodded, “Thank you for talking to me, Igneel, and for giving me a chance.”

“I will tell Natsu to get his dragon ass over to you, once he returns,” Igneel grinned mischievously at his son in law.

“I’m sorry about that I--,” Gray was incredibly embarrassed, he hadn't expected anyone but Natsu to hear him.

"Don't be, I needed a good laugh. Take care of yourself, Gray Fullbuster," Igneel turned around and headed towards a part of the cave Gray wasn't familiar with, marking the end of their conversation and leaving Gray to start the long trek back home. He didn't really feel any better than when he'd arrived, but he was at least content in the knowledge that Atlas and Happy would hopefully keep Natsu safe.

Natsu, you fucking moron, you better not get yourself killed.

0-0

Three days later

“Where did you find him?” Igneel asked Atlas as he stared after the sulking dragon that walked past him without saying a word, heading straight into his bedroom with Happy following close behind.

“He was further away than I’d thought,” Atlas commented, but added no details, “I had a hell of a time getting him to return. He hasn’t said a word since we headed back.”

“I suppose it’s to be expected,” Igneel grunted, “I’ll go have a talk with him.”

Atlas wished him good luck, and Igneel heard him grunt under his breath, You’ll need it.

When Igneel entered Natsu’s bedroom, he found his son huddled in the darkest corner of the room, staring off into nothingness. He wanted to yell at him for being so reckless, his anger itching to make itself known, but he knew that wasn’t the right approach this time.

“You lied to me,” Igneel announced softly, “You went after Acnologia by yourself, didn’t you?”

Natsu didn’t reply, but he looked up at his father’s voice.

“You also tried to break your soulbond,” Igneel continued, undeterred by Natsu’s silence, “Tell me something, were you going to let Acnologia kill you? Was that your plan?”

Natsu remained silent, his features emotionless.

Igneel watched him for a few minutes waiting for some kind of response, but none seemed to be forthcoming.

“You failed, you know,” Igneel informed him, “You only managed to fracture it, but I assume you know that by now. Lucky for you, the protection magic you placed on that firestone was quite advanced. Strong enough to even protect him from you.”

Igneel could see Natsu’s eyes narrowing into slits as he thought about his words.

“How do you know about that?” Natsu finally spoke, and Igneel smiled to himself.

“Didn’t Atlas tell you? Gray came looking for you. He’s the one that told us what you were up to.”

“Gray, came here?” Natsu asked, and it broke Igneel’s heart to see the desperate longing in his son’s eyes.

“Indeed, he did. He wants to talk to you, and I think you should listen to what he has to say,” Igneel began to pace around the room, still trying to keep his anger in check at the extent of his son’s recklessness.

“Natsu, what you did was very reckless. If those protections hadn’t been in place, you could’ve killed him. As it was I could barely feel…,” Igneel paused in mid-step, finally grasping the implication of something he’d ignored before.

“What are you talking about?” Natsu asked, confused by his father’s behavior.

Igneel shook his head for a moment before continuing with his explanation, “Gray is human, you had no way of knowing how his body would have responded. Soulbonds are not meant to be broken, except in death. You can’t possibly understand how painful it is when it happens. It’s like being torn in two, only to discover that all the best parts of you are gone, and all that’s left is this deep emptiness that only death can quiet.”

“Is that how you felt when Mom died?” Natsu asked, waiting for a response that Igneel had never been willing to give.

Igneel sighed, knowing that at some point, Natsu deserved to hear about his mother. He wished it wasn’t so hard to talk about her still. “I had you.”

Natsu waited before admitting with a whisper, “I didn’t want to hurt him, I just wanted to set him free from this nightmare.”

“That’s not really for you to decide on your own,” Igneel pointed out, he knew Natsu’s heart was in the right place, but he really needed to stop making these decisions on his own. “It’s also not what he wants.”

“Just how long was he here?” Natsu asked, surprised by the respect he could hear in his father’s voice.

“Long enough for me to like him,” Igneel snarled, “You need to go talk to him and tell him everything this time. That boy deserves better than what you’ve done to him twice now. There’s a lot more to relationships than physical intimacy, and he’s grown more than you realize.”

Even though he didn’t respond, Igneel could see Natsu was mulling his words over, so he left him alone.

O-o

“How did your talk with the boy go?” Atlas asked offhandedly after Natsu had left, and Igneel smirked at his brother’s attempt to sound disinterested.

“It went better than I’d hoped,” Igneel replied, “It got me thinking. I want your help with a project.”

“A project?” Atlas arched one of his eyebrows in interest, already excited by the prospect. Igneel’s projects were rarely straightforward, and Atlas loved a challenge, especially if they brought with them the chance to create new magic, his one true love.

“I was thinking about the sigils,” Igneel explained, “How did Gray get in without us being alerted?”

Atlas shrugged without much interest, “He’s bonded to Natsu, I would imagine the sigils detected that and misclassified him as a dragon.”

“That’s what I thought too, but that’s not possible,” Igneel reported, “Natsu tried to break their bond and almost succeeded. There wasn’t enough of his soul present for the sigils to recognize, which makes me wonder.”

Atlas looked slightly more interested, “What are you thinking?”

“Well, we’ve known for a long time that dragon births have been declining more every year. What if I managed to discover something by accident?”

“Wait a minute, surely you can’t be suggesting that dragon souls are being born as humans.”

“Why not? Soul mates are something that, as far as we knew was exclusive to dragons, but now both Natsu and I have had human mates. Doesn’t that make more sense than dragons suddenly having purely human mates? Not to mention, their magic signatures are immense, much more than a normal human would be capable of.”

Atlas closed his eyes in what Igneel recognized as his thinking face.

“Remember how quickly and strongly Natsu and Gray bonded, you know it’s possible, Atlas,” Igneel prodded.

“Alright, assuming this little theory of yours is true... So what?” Atlas pointed out, “What’s the point of knowing this if nothing can be done about it? The only way you met your mate was by casting a spell on yourself that shortened your lifespan, and it was a complete coincidence, and then you sired a hybrid that can’t even do that.”

“Well, it could mean that eventually once all the dragons die out, we’ll continue to find each other in human bodies as human populations increase. Nature always finds a way to balance things.”

Igneel became excited as he remembered something Porlyusica had told him, “Did you know that magic has only been found in humans in the last hundred years or so?”

“So now you’re saying that all humans with magic have dragon souls? That doesn’t make any sense. Magic has always existed. It’s in the ethernano in the air, it’s just a question of being able to absorb it and harness it. Besides, the magic signatures of both Porlyusica and Gray are more powerful than any of the other humans we’ve encountered, excluding the dragonslayers. Your logic is flawed, Igneel.”

“Ok, yes. You bring up a good point, but my initial theory is still possible. Maybe it’s the dragon souls that are giving these individuals a bigger potential for magic.”

“Alright, now we’re back to so what?”

“If Gray has a dragon soul, isn't it theoretically possible that we could find a way to transform him into a dragon?”

“AHAHAHA! That’s amusing,” Atlas laughter boomed all around them, “I’d be tempted to try it just to see his face when you suggest it. It’s pointless, that boy would never agree to such a thing.”

“I think you’re wrong, he gave me the impression of being desperate enough to at least consider it.”

“Your heart’s in the right place, Igneel, but even if we managed to create the proper spell, you already know what the problem is going to be. The boy has a human body, his magic might be able to fuel the transformation, but for how long? Human life spans are short, the spell would eat up his life force very quickly.”

“I don’t mean temporarily, I mean permanently,” Igneel announced.

Atlas balked, “You want to turn him into a dragon permanently? Are you out of your mind? Transformation magic has limits, you know that.”

“What about soul magic, can we do something with that?”

“You mean like extracting his soul and implanting it in a dragon body?”

“I don’t know, maybe? It’d have to be an ice dragon since that’s his magic.”

“Wait, you want two fire dragons to somehow create an ice dragon? You don’t ask for much, do you?”

“I have faith in you and your abilities,” Igneel grinned, knowing that would goad his brother on.

“I don’t know, the energy requirements for something like this would be huge, where are we going to get access to something like that?”

“Why don’t you let me worry about that? First, we have to determine whether my theory is correct or not,” Igneel pointed out, desperately trying to keep his brother from figuring out what he’d already decided when he’d set upon this course of action. Atlas stared at him for a few moments trying to figure out what he was planning, but the way he kept glancing at his room told Igneel he’d managed to pique his interest.

0-0

For the first time since the day they’d met, Natsu was absolutely terrified of seeing Gray. How many memories had returned to him since the last time they’d seen each other? Had he already remembered why Natsu had taken his memories in the first place? Natsu really hoped he hadn’t, he wanted to grant him at least that small mercy.

He paced around the field that had played such a significant role in their relationship over the years until he knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. Natsu reached for the weak link that still bound them together. He called his mate to him, not entirely sure if there was enough left for Gray to hear him. Still, he kept trying, calling Gray to him over and over until he finally saw his husband walk towards him as he had so many times before.

He couldn’t read Gray’s expression in the slightest, and it fed into his fear. At this point, it was only Igneel’s words that were keeping him there. They were both silent, staring at each other as if sizing up an opponent before a battle, and Natsu mused that was probably exactly what they were doing.

“You came,” Natsu broke the silence, “I, uh, wasn’t sure you would.”

Gray bowed his head for a moment before reaching out and touching Natsu’s muzzle gently. “I am so sorry for how I treated you.”

Natsu was too surprised to react to the words, his eyes widening comically. Gray pressed his forehead to Natsu’s snout rubbing in a way that felt almost like he was forcing Natsu to scent-mark him.

“Y-you didn’t do anything,” Natsu tried to keep his racing heart at bay, confused by Gray’s actions and what they meant, “I was the one who lied to you all these years.”

He noticed that Gray was still wearing his scarf. The pendant he had made for him with Gajeel’s help, as a token to their union, peeked out from underneath its folds. Could his father have been right? Was it possible Gray still wanted him, even knowing he couldn’t change back? He had said so on the rooftop, but Natsu had attributed it to Gray trying to talk him out of going after Acnologia.

“We have a lot of talking to do,” Gray stated flatly, “And I don’t want to do it here. I want you to take me somewhere.”

“Y-you want to ride me?” Natsu sputtered, wholly shocked by Gray's words.

Gray nodded, “I want you to take me to Isvan, I think that’s where we should talk.”

Natsu was still confused, but he allowed Gray to mount him as he thought about his husband's words and realized he was right. Isvan was where it had all begun.

Natsu had never been there, but he'd heard that like a lot of other towns that had been destroyed, it had never been restored.

“Are you sure you want to go back there?” Natsu asked, concerned about what it would do to Gray to return there.

“Yes,” Gray replied firmly, no trace of doubt in his voice.

Natsu could feel Gray touching the scales on his neck and back, and purrs of contentment escaped him before he could contain them.

“I’m not saying what you did was right, but I know that I hold some of the blame as well. Now let’s go.”

Natsu took off into the air, reaching out with his senses to make sure they weren’t being followed. He headed in the general direction he knew Isvan to be, having seen the name on maps during the war.

Gray didn’t say a single word during the trip, but Natsu didn’t mind much. His own brain was a jumble of confused thoughts and a desperate yearning for what he knew deep in his bones he couldn’t have. He was just happy to have Gray with him, even though he had no idea where this conversation was going to take them.

A/N: Here we are a year later. I am rather proud that I have managed to keep to the schedule I planned out all those months ago, even with a hiatus I hadn't factored in. I'd never attempted that before. However, we will be going back to every other week from now until the end. There are three chapters left and only half of one is written up, even though I do know what is going to happen.

This chapter is actually two meshed together as I didn't want to go past the 30 chapters I had planned but it all kind of worked together anyway.

For those of you who have come along for the ride from the beginning, or early on, thank you so much for giving this story a chance. It means a lot to me. This is probably the biggest story I have ever imagined, and that is terrifying on so many levels. I am sad to see it nearing its end, although I am also excited about what's coming.

 As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I know I say this a lot, but I do enjoy hearing from you. I am a fan of this story too, and I love talking about it. So, don't be shy. Thanks to @oryu404​ for the beta read!

@ao3feed-gratsu​

#fairy tail #gratsu #ftlgbtales #fairy tail big bang 2018 #update