Click!
The door creaked open as Lucy stepped inside her cozy little home, humming softly to herself. But the instant she looked up, her cheerful smile fell flat.
"Oh, you're back! One-two-one! One-two-one!"
Natsu was lying on her bed—her bed—doing sit-ups like it was the most natural thing in the world. His shirt was half undone, sweat dripping from his forehead, and his grin stretched ear to ear as if nothing were wrong.
Lucy's face darkened.
"Ugh, that smell!" she gagged, taking a step back. "You reek of sweat!"
Before Natsu could react, Lucy's leg shot out like lightning—BAM!—and he went flying off the bed, crashing into the wall.
"If you want to train your muscles, do it at your own house!" she roared, pointing accusingly.
"Don't say that, Lucy!" Natsu said, scratching the back of his head with a laugh. "We're teammates, remember? Look, I even brought you a gift!"
He rummaged through who-knows-where and pulled out a bright pink dumbbell, proudly thrusting it toward her. "See? For training! You gotta build strength if you ever wanna beat people like Laxus or Erza!"
"What does that have to do with me?!" Lucy snapped, her temper flaring again.
Completely oblivious to her rising fury, Natsu just kept grinning.
"I've decided, Lucy! We're gonna take an S-Class mission together!" he declared triumphantly.
"I'm not going!" Lucy said immediately, crossing her arms.
She had just learned from Levy how dangerous those missions were. There was no way she was risking her life for one, not without an S-Class wizard leading the team. Natsu was strong, sure—but she valued her life far too much to gamble it.
"Aw, come on!" Natsu whined. "Happy, show her the request! It's not that hard!"
"Eh? Wait, I… I thought I had it…" Happy started patting his tiny body, checking every pocket, his little face turning pale. "I swear I had it! Where'd it go?!"
Natsu's smile froze. He slumped forward, defeated. "You what? I told you to keep it safe!"
Lucy sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You two… honestly. You've got some nerve even thinking about stealing an S-Class job. Go home and sleep, Natsu. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
She yawned, already exhausted just from arguing with them.
"Alright then, Lucy! Tomorrow I'll come pick you up!" Natsu said brightly, leaping onto her windowsill.
Before she could shout at him again, he and Happy were already gone—one man and one flying cat disappearing into the night.
Lucy ran to the window, leaning out to watch them vanish down the street. She sighed in relief.
"At least they didn't actually get the request slip…" she murmured. "Good. Maybe now I can finally relax."
She stretched and headed for the bathroom. "Ahhh, nothing beats a hot bath. Home sweet home~"
She hummed cheerfully as she filled the tub, completely unaware that Natsu had, in fact, successfully stolen the S-Class mission slip earlier—only for Kael to quietly take it from him afterward.
Somewhere outside the guild, two culprits were sprinting down the dark street, still bickering.
"Happy! Did you really forget it?!" Natsu growled.
"I don't know! Maybe I dropped it on the second floor?" Happy meowed nervously.
"Then let's go back and find it! That was our big chance at an S-Class mission!"
They raced toward the guild—but as they rounded a corner, Natsu slammed to a halt so abruptly that Happy had to grab his scarf to stop mid-air.
Someone was standing in their path. Someone who definitely shouldn't be there at this hour.
"Ha-ha! Kael! What are you doing here?" Natsu said, forcing a laugh, his voice cracking slightly.
"Y-yeah! We were just… um… out for a night jog!" Happy added, fluttering his wings and nodding furiously.
Kael folded his arms, his expression calm but sharp. "A night jog, huh? Interesting. Then why did I just hear something about the second floor and S-Class missions?"
He took a slow, deliberate step forward. Then another.
Natsu and Happy froze, their bodies inching backward as Kael's shadow loomed over them.
SMACK! SMACK!
Two quick hits—one for the boy, one for the cat—and twin lumps appeared on their heads.
Kael sighed. "You two have guts, I'll give you that. But if Master Makarov finds out what you were planning, you might not have a place in Fairy Tail anymore."
The color drained from their faces.
Kael continued, voice firm. "And besides—you're not ready for a mission of that level. Not yet."
Natsu clenched his fists, wanting to protest, but one look at Kael's eyes and he bit his tongue.
"…Got it," he muttered.
"Good," Kael said simply.
The two turned, shoulders slumped, trudging away like scolded children.
But just before they disappeared around the corner, Kael spoke again. "I never said you couldn't do it."
They froze mid-step.
"Wh-what do you mean?!" Natsu spun around, eyes lighting up.
Kael smiled faintly. "Leave the request slip with me for now. Meet me at the guild gate tomorrow morning—on time. And bring Gray and Lucy with you."
He folded the paper neatly and slipped it into his coat pocket.
"Whaaat?! Why Gray?!" Natsu groaned, stomping the ground. "We don't need that ice freak! We can do it ourselves!"
Kael ignored the complaint, brushing some dust off his shoulder. A golden magic circle flared beneath his feet, and in a flash of light, he vanished from sight.
Of course, Kael had his reasons. The mission was closely tied to Gray's past, and perhaps, through this, Gray could finally confront the shadows that haunted him—and maybe even achieve the wish buried deep in his heart.
The street fell silent once more, leaving only Natsu and Happy shouting after the vanished Kael, their voices echoing down the empty night.
Eventually, with a grumble and a sigh, they dragged themselves back home.
The Next Morning
Bright and early, Lucy was still asleep when she felt a strange, burning sensation—as though someone's gaze was piercing through her dreams.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
"Yo! Morning, Lucy!" Natsu said cheerfully, grinning from ear to ear as he crouched by her bedside, watching her like some kind of overexcited puppy.
"NA—TSU!!!"
Lucy's scream rattled the walls.
"Get out of my room!" she roared, launching into a flying kick that sent him crashing through the air.