Fire, Blood and Stars

Chapter 15

A/N I know it's a short chapter, so I made up for it with this.

Gray knew he had to remain quiet. This was a really dangerous undertaking. He just had to go to the second floor, grab a request, and run. Simple, right? The only problem was Laxus. That guy was still sitting out there in the guild hall. When is he going to go home?

Bringing his hands together, he whispered, "Ice Make: Gray!" An identical replica of him came into being beside him.

Being a practitioner of non-living ice magic, the statue Gray made couldn't move. It was also deathly pale and reflected light. And it was Laxus, an S-Class mage, whom he was trying to fool. But still, it was worth a try.

He didn't need to worry about Laxus. Laxus didn't care whether he took an S-class mission or not. Laxus saw him, yes, but didn't do anything.

No, the one he did need to worry about was her.

Gray looked at the list of jobs. There was something about an island. Nah, that looked too creepy. Wait, there was something about rescuing survivors from some place. That was easy. Gray snatched it off the board and turned, coming face to face with a redhead.

"E-E-Erza!"

Erza punched him in the head. "If you wanted to go on an S-class quest, you could have asked any S-class wizard, you know? Like me, for instance!" she whisper-shouted, headbutting him in the face.

Gray blinked rapidly in irritation, his mouth full of red hair. Taking this opportunity, Erza grabbed the request paper from Gray and opened it.

It read;

Rescue Mission [Officially Sanctioned by Magic Council of Fiore]

Location: coor-182bhg54jhf: loc-tower-r-system-8: -towerofheaven

Colloquial name- Tower of Heaven

Description: The R- System was a regretted portion of our history, when several towers were established to resurrect the dark mage Zeref. Seven of these towers were successfully destroyed, however, we had missed one of them, also known as the Tower of Heaven. A few weeks ago, we received news that the tower was destroyed by a mystery persona. This is an official mission to rescue any survivors, and, if possible, find the person who caused the destruction and bring them in for questioning.

Payment- 2700000 jewels + any bounties and expenses

Urgency- Redder than a pool of blood viewed through a ruby

Unknown to Gray, thoughts were churning through Erza's head a mile a minute. The whole place was destroyed? But that means... Simon. Sho. Milliana. Wally. All of them. Are they dead? What about Jellal? Jellal!

Erza gripped Gray's shoulders. "We have to go! Come on!" Looking down to Laxus, she shouted, "Laxus, we're going on the rescue mission! Tell your crush to register it!"

Laxus glared at them. "What the- She's not- Gah!". Gray and Erza had already left. Laxus had one thought only circling through his head. How the hell did they know? So, he didn't notice a blue cat grab onto another S-class and fly out of the window.

The next morning, Mira asked, "Hey, who took the S-class missions?"

Laxus cleared his throat. "Gray and Erza took the rescue mission and told me to tell you."

Mira still looked confused. "Then who took the Galuna island mission?"

That one line sent the whole guild into an uproar.

When Lucy woke up the next morning, she expected to see Natsu in her bed again. So, she was understandably perplexed when she saw him reading a note on her bedside table. She was even more surprised to see the broken expression on his face.

She went over to him and gently put her hand on his shoulder. He immediately turned to face her. She was shocked at the tears in his eyes. She slowly took the note away. He didn't even try to resist.

Dear Natsu,

This is from an anonymous person. I was looking for you for the last few days. You're never around, now that you're training Lushee. I am leaving this in her apartment because you will definitely go there.

I know that I'm just a cat. I'm probably bothering you right now. So, you can be happy to know that I will be gone for a few days, and when I come back, I am going to be respected by everyone. I'm going to complete an S-class quest to an island! I hope it has fish. I haven't had fish for the last few days. The shop owners won't allow me there without you. :(

Your faithful cat,

Anonymous.

Lucy took another look at Natsu's face, and then, without warning, she hugged him close. He stood still for a second in surprise, then he buried his face in her shoulder. It would have been a profound moment had he not had to bend so much.

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