Gamer of Magic
Xerzo LotCN: I mean yeah, 2nd generation is basically a false dragon slayer but considering the magic does still slay dragons and the whole canon being a bit confusing on whether they are proper dragon slayers, I just took my own take on it. You got the dominate part of the quest spot on. As for the levelling, Lexi may be a higher level but stat wise she is weaker than Natsu. Natsu levels up due to experience while stats is from training, only HP and MP are effected by both. Natsu's stats are very high for his level, comparable to those around approximately level 150 but since his level is low, his HP is lower. Practically why he fights like a glass canon to strong enemies like Jose.
erasenpai946: more Natsu likes Nyoko more so he talks about it around Lexi so she might give her thoughts on it. Realising Lexi is not the best one to talk to about it, he quickly ends the conversation.
daniel2610994: thank you for being an absolute machine, typing all those reviews. Really appreciate that.
"You little brat" Lightning smacked the ground as Lexi charged at Nyoko. "Lightning Dragon – Destruction Fist"
"Golem Skin" Natsu stepped in front of the lightning taking the hit, relying on his defensive magic. "Oi, I told you two not to destroy my fucking house".
"Fire Dragon…" Nyoko jumped on his shoulders and pounced of Natsu, like a springboard. "Iron Fist"
Natsu gritted his teeth and grabbed Nyoko's ankle before she flew at Lexi. "That's enough" he pulled her back towards him. Wrapping his arms around her torso and constricted his grip. "Both of you, settle down".
"Natsu, let GO!" Nyoko slammed her head back into his face. Breaking free from Natsu, she charged at Lexi again. Nyoko didn't get far as Natsu managed to kick her foot making the pinkette comically trip.
"Lightning Drag-" Lexi gasped as a palm hit her gut. "Fast as ever, Natsu" she slammed her fist down, striking his shoulder. "But get out of my way" Lexi smirked as Natsu fell to one knee. Unfortunately for her, Natsu quickly got up again, grabbing he wrist and the collar of her shirt before spinning around, tossing her further away from Nyoko.
"Come on, both of you" Natsu stepped to the side, positioning himself between them. "Nyoko, stop fighting… this isn't a usual guild brawl, you are going to get yourself hurt" he turned his head to the blonde. "Lexi, you are a S class mage… have some restraint, getting yourself so worked up" Nyoko and Lexi growled lowly but stopped moving. They continued to glare at each other before they turned to Natsu. "Okay, now if can listen f-whoa!" he jumped back as Lightning flew past his cheek.
"Fire Dragon – Talon" Nyoko leaped at, aiming a flaming kick at Natsu's torso but her easily blocked with his arm.
"Nyoko?" he looked questioningly at her. Natsu wasn't able to ask further as a lightning covered fist, struck the side of his head.
"If you are going to get in the way of our fight Natsu, we are going to take you down first" Lexi sparked.
Natsu stared at Lexi, void of enthusiasm. He then turned to Nyoko to see her ready to attack me. 'Forming a group to take me out… huh?' Natsu rolled his arms, hearing multiple cracks. "Let's take this outside" he slammed through a window, shattering it to pieces. 'A little more damage won't matter to the already damaged house' he grunted as he noticed Nyoko and Lexi jump out of the window. "Ready?" Natsu sighed, looking around subtly confused. 'No quest? Alright'.
"Born ready, Fire Dragon – Roar" Nyoko yelled.
"Water Dome" Natsu waved his hand as water surrounded him. The flames mashed against the dome, creating an explosion of steam. 'As expected' he sidestepped a lightning fist. 'Dragon Slayers are completely unhindered when blinded by something like steam.
"Lightning Dragon – Roaring Thunder" Natsu turned to where Lexi yelled. He merely crossed his arms and tanked the shockwave covered fist. Gritting his teeth, Natsu skidded back.
"Fire Dragon – Brilliant Flame" the remaining steam quickly dispersed as Nyoko threw the large fireball, striking Natsu in the back. Natsu released a fraction of wind magic, blowing all the flames away from his body. "Fire Dragon – Iron Fist" Nyoko dashed forward but Natsu parried the punch. She smirked, twisting her body to grab his wrist. Nyoko grappled Natsu down into one of his own armlocks however, he snapped his arm the wrong way quickly. Before she could realise what happened she felt a shove on her back making her stumble away a few steps. "Huh? What did you…" Nyoko paused as she noticed Natsu's arm dangle. Before she said anything else, Natsu grabbed the arm and jolted it up with a loud pop. Seeing Natsu's arm begin to move again, Nyoko sighed in relief.
"You really picked up on those moves I taught you, Nyoko" Natsu smiled but it quickly vanished as a bolt of lightning struck his face. "Lexi, do you mind? I was talking" Lexi just roared as she charged him with lightning covered fists. 'Better just to avoid Lexi's attacks, they have more precision and have a lot of raw strength… if she fought a little smarter, she could be trouble'. Natsu ducked and rolled, leaving his foot out tripping her up. Unfortunately for him, Lexi took no time to recover and was immediately at him again.
"Lightning Dragon – Crushing Jaw" she slammed both her fists down. Barely blocking with his arms, Natsu fell to one knee under her strength. Lexi smirked, as she brought her foot up. Knowing Natsu was unable to get away physically in his current position, Lexi booted his chest sending him skidding back. "Heh… pathetic, guess I was wrong? You aren't so tough".
"It's all a matter of perspective" Natsu pushed himself off the ground.
"Yeah and I can see you were the one on the floor" Lexi sparked. "Lightning Dragon – Roar"
"Golem Wall" the large amount earth emerged in time to meet the large flow of lightning. As it hit, the wall was completely obliterated by the attack as the lightning followed through, hitting Natsu. Although, with the initial impact of the roar gone, Natsu easily waved the lightning away with his own magic.
"Fire Dragon – Sword Horn" Nyoko shot like a bullet. Headbutting Natsu in the gut, he fell to one knee holding his gut with a pained expression. "How'd you like that Natsu?" Nyoko grinned. "Natsu?" her grin lowered as Natsu made no response. He just stood up slowly, still holding his gut. Natsu ducked as a fist went over his head. Lexi gritted her teeth as she missed, before she could do anything else, Natsu grabbed her wrist. Spinning Lexi around quickly, Natsu shoved her away enough to make her stumble into Nyoko. "Lexi… wait" Nyoko gently pushed Lexi off her.
"Get off me!" Lexi shoved Nyoko away from her. "The title… I will be the strongest in the guild" Lexi broke out into laughter as she charged at Natsu.
"B-but Natsu is…" Nyoko almost choked on her own spit as she watched Natsu blocking and weaving out of Lexi's assault. "He's not fighting back…" she raised her voice but fell on Lexi's death ears.
…
"Cheers!" a round of shouts echoed throughout the Fairy Tail guild hall, followed by clanking of mugs and gulping. "We did it, we beat Phantom"
"I can't believe we managed to beat them so easily"
"I mean I have gotten stronger" Macao flexed his arm.
"You're just trying to look good for little Romeo" Wakaba took a large puff of smoke. "If you ask me, I think you are getting on in the years… you should probably retire soon" he chuckled, jabbing at his old friend.
"Hey, I'm younger than you" Macao slammed his hand on the table.
"Certainly don't look like it" Wakaba snickered as Macao had steam whistling from his ears.
"God, you two are like an old married couple" Cana spoke between large gulps of her drink. "You know it was Natsu that did most of the heavy lifting right?"
"Come on, don't compare us to Natsu" Wakaba sighed.
"Yeah, Natsu's a pure monster… like Erza" Macao whispered the last part, aware that the red head was in the guildhall. "Though I doubt even she would have a chance at beating Jose and 3 of the Element 4".
"Did you say something!?" Erza's voice echoed through the guildhall.
"I'm sorry" Macao ducked under the table, spilling his drink everywhere.
Silence resounded around the guildhall. Erza turned her gaze to the man with a cocked eyebrow. "What are you doing?" she put her hands on her hips, expecting an answer.
"N-nothing" Macao scrambled himself out from under the table.
Erza shook her head at the display. "I see no fault in your statement, there's no way I could defeat Phantom's elite like Natsu" she rubbed her chin in thought. "I doubt I could beat Jose by himself… Natsu is on a whole other level".
"Yeah! Natsu's a real MAN! Like me!" Elfman pointed to himself cockily.
"If you want to fight Natsu, be my guest" Erza spoke surprisingly nonchalant. "Hm, we should probably hold the proper celebrations until Natsu comes back, he did play a big part". She looked up in thought "I know Natsu isn't much of a party person but I thought he would still be here".
"Is he okay?" Lucy hummed. "I don't know Natsu as well as you Erza but every time there is a party, which is like all the time here, Natsu shows up even if he doesn't take part in the celebration".
"Maybe not this time, he had a massive fight with Phantom plus he has to deal with Nyoko" Gray waved off all concern. "If I had to deal with that I would want to sleep for days".
"Which part, the Phantom part or the Nyoko part?" Lucy giggled at her own joke.
"Nyoko is definitely more annoying" Gray answered without hesitation. "Whenever me and Nyoko fight, either she notices Natsu and runs off in the middle of the fight or we bump into someone like Erza".
Erza crossed her arms "maybe I wouldn't interrupt but you two make such a mess when you fight".
"You and Mira made a bigger mess back in the day" Gray muttered.
"What was that!" Erza snapped as Gray shrunk in his seat, mumbling out a 'nothing'. "Me and Mira never made a mess… also no one stopped us, Master was always filling out apology forms for destruction on quests, Gildarts was away on jobs, Lexi didn't care and Natsu wasn't strong enough back then to take both of us out easily".
"She denies it then admits it" Lucy sweat dropped.
"Hmph" Erza grunts looking around. "I will go and check on Natsu, make sure he is feeling alright".
Gray grinned "and you will do a bit more than that now he is under your armour".
Lucy giggled "I don't think Erza will need armour where she is going".
"H-hey that's n-not t-t-true" Erza froze. "I-I am n-not d-doing a-anything of the s-sort" her face flushed as she began moving stiffly embarrassed. "Y-you can…" Erza turned and slapped herself lightly on the cheeks. Regaining her composure she turned to them again "you can come with me, I have nothing to hide".
"If you say so" Lucy smiled.
…
"Raging Bolt" lightning went haywire as Lexi brought it down upon Natsu. As the dust cleared, Natsu's form gradually showed itself, battered and burned, his clothes ripped and ragged. Lexi snarled across from him, not a scratch on her but she was panting heavily. "Why won't you fight back? You always get in the way, now you are being all mellow".
Natsu glanced to the side at Nyoko, who just stood with a worried expression. He stared back at Lexi sombre eyes "why do you persist on fighting?" Lexi growled a threw another lightning bolt at him. Natsu bit his lip as the lightning struck him with no resistance. "Lexi…" he stepped forward but collapsed to one knee. "Are you done? Can we just end this here?"
"What!" Lexi clenched her fists, shaking in anger. "Fight back now, I will prove that I am the strongest and that we… can be something".
"No, there's no need for that…" Natsu lowered his head. "Lexi, you are stronger than me so just leave… please".
"I'm stronger, huh?" Lexi frowned. She raised her fist as lightning cracked dangerously around her "I will finish this now then, Lightning Dra…".
"Lexi, stop this now" Nyoko stepped protectively in front of Natsu. "Don't hurt Natsu anymore!"
"Hmph, little brat" Lexi lowered her fist slightly. "Get out the way or I will crush you first" Nyoko just growled in response. "You're too cocky, thinking you can beat me" Lexi raised her fist again while Nyoko mirrored the action except covered in flames.
"Nyoko…" she turned to see Natsu standing up beside her. "This isn't your fight" he pushed her gently to the side.
"No!" Nyoko put her foot down. "I don't know what you are doing or why you are doing this, but I am not going to watch you get beaten up". She shook her head "if you refuse to fight, then I am going to fight Lexi".
"Don't you dare fight, Nyoko" Natsu panted. "I-I… I will… I won't talk to you again if you do".
Nyoko glanced at him, seemingly unfazed. "Go ahead, I don't care… it won't matter what you say or don't say to me later, nothing will change my mind on always wanting to protect you".
Natsu sighed, just looking at Nyoko sadly. "Fine… Lexi, the plan failed… you can go now" he waved off.
"Huh?" Nyoko blinked in confusion. "Plan?"
The sparks dissipated from Lexi as she relaxed. "Sure, I'll go now" Lexi bit her lip. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Lexi… sorry for asking you to do this" Natsu admitted.
"Can someone tell me what is happening!?" Nyoko yelled.
"Right…" Natsu turned and walked away. "I'll… tell you, just follow me" he limped forward. Nyoko smiled uneasily as she grabbed his arm and lifted him over her shoulder. "Now you are making me feel useless".
"That's why I am here?" Nyoko bounced up slightly, kissing his cheek. She stuck her tongue out with a small blush on her cheeks, Natsu just shook his head with a small smile. They continued their walking until they reach the park in the centre of the city. "Here will do" Nyoko nodded as she moved to the bench he pointed at. Placing him down on the bench, she sat down beside him. Nyoko stared at him intently. "So are you going to tell me what this plan of yours is?"
Natsu's dropped as he nodded "I suppose I do owe you an explanation". He closed his eyes "I tried to make you hate me… or at the very least not like me enough to date me but I wasn't able to do that to you directly, so I tried being subtle but you don't get subtle". Nyoko took a deep breath as her body stiffened but she waited for Natsu to continue. "Don't take this the wrong way, I still love you… but you deserve better than me, a lot better".
"How could you say that" Nyoko spoke calmly but her clenched knuckles showed she was on the verge of bursting. "After all we have been together for… was it meaningless? How could I find anyone better than you?" Nyoko's voice broke. "Do… do you just love someone else more?"
"No… look at me" Natsu paused until her eyes met his. "I have and still do love you the most, my most special little dragon" he chuckled sadly. "Unfortunately, as cliché as this may be, it's not you, it's me". He placed his hand on top of hers "Nyoko, I… have done some terrible things".
"But I forgave you, remember?" Nyoko squeezed his hand. "You did those things on your decade quest but I don't care, we have an open relationship, I don't want anyone else but I don't mind you with other girls so you can't cheat on me…"
"This is a bit different Nyoko" Natsu reeled his hand away from hers. Turning his body round, Natsu closed himself away from the fellow pinkette. "I have betrayed your trust and broken your promise" he clasped his hands together nervously. "I made the promise not to kill anyone, yet I almost immediately did with Jose and Gajeel… and I… I never even trusted you so I hid your memory of when I killed Gajeel".
Nyoko's eyes widened as memories flooded in her head, as the memory magic dissipated. "I… I don't… understand, why keep this from me?"
"I suppose I just wanted to keep you safe" Natsu shrugged. "Not that it would work, you always run into trouble".
"And why are you telling me when you could have kept it a secret?" Nyoko deflated.
"Because I care about you too much for what happens next" Natsu admitted.
"Natsu" she placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I don't blame you, you got angry at them and scared I would leave you… I would probably do the same if I could". Nyoko leaned her head on his shoulder "for what it's worth… I forgive you… just please don't hide things from me… I want to protect you too".
Natsu nudged her off his shoulder "that might not be possible". He stood up slowly "I am going to turn myself in to the council… I'll probably be locked away… for a very long time".
"No!" Nyoko jumped up. "I-I don't… no, if you really need to do this, I…"
"Nyoko" Natsu reached into his inventory and took out a sealed envelope. "If you still care for me after this, one month from now… open this" he dropped the envelope in her hands. Natsu leaned in close to her ear "it will explain everything but please don't open it before one month". He stepped back with a smile as Nyoko nodded with sad understanding. "You know Nyoko, you really are one of a kind… I have never met anyone like you before in my lives… life".
"Natsu…" Nyoko sniffed. "You're an idiot" she pushed herself on her toes, reaching up to give him the last kiss for a while.
Chapter end
I can bet some were disappointed with a lack of a Lexi Lemon. I will get back to that, just a bit later but someone else comes first. Until next time.