Lucy reluctantly followed Natsu.
According to Happy, the reason was simple:
"Aye~ Lucy doesn't trust Natsu to meet other women."
Lucy's rebuttal was loud, heartfelt, and completely ignored.
And so, three humans and one cat set off for the Council riding two massive Crabs.
Rhode and Happy shared one; Lucy and Natsu took the other.
The journey began peacefully enough. Happy, ever the chatterbox, sat on Rhode's shoulder and enthusiastically recounted their adventures from the past two months.
Usually, when he told these kinds of stories, they all followed the same rhythm:
"What Natsu destroyed,"
"what he destroyed next,"
and "what he destroyed again."
This time, though, there was some improvement.
Now the stories went: "almost destroyed, stopped by a teammate who needed money, mission completed, Natsu trained alone, Happy failed to stop destruction anyway."
Progress!
Well, sort of.
Whenever the team tried to stop Natsu, the chance of success was still only about fifty-fifty. Sometimes it did prevent damage… other times it just made things worse.
Still, their strength (and luck) kept them afloat, and they even earned decent money.
Wendy and Carla earned the most, mainly because they didn't go on every mission. When they did, Carla's foresight magic often saved everyone's lives and the local property.
Rhode listened with amusement, then asked in a serious tone,
"Happy, let me ask you something important."
Happy puffed out his chest. "Aye! Ask away."
Their eyes met, solemn, unwavering. The air grew heavy, as though this were a conversation that would shape the guild's future.
Finally, Rhode spoke:
"How many times has Natsu seen Lucy naked in the past two months?"
"Don't ask that kind of question!!" Lucy's outraged voice echoed behind them, then quickly faded into the wind, since Natsu's crab was already racing ahead.
The purple Crab darted across the riverbank with incredible speed. Natsu, thrilled by its agility, whooped in excitement.
He hadn't ridden anything like this before, carriages, trains, magic cars, yes, but this was new.
He urged it faster and faster, shouting, "Let's gooo!"
Lucy, bouncing wildly behind him, desperately clung to his shoulders. Every time the crab surged forward, she nearly went airborne.
Meanwhile, Happy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… That's a tough question. I need to count."
He raised a paw and began listing. "Let's see… the bathroom… the mixed hot spring… when they trained together and Natsu accidentally burned off Lucy's clothes..."
Happy stopped, looking at his paw in dismay. "I'm out of fingers."
Lucy, flying past on the next acceleration burst, screamed, "You don't have to answer seriously!"
They bickered all the way until they reached the entrance of the Council, where they finally quieted down.
By the time they arrived, even Natsu had calmed down.
Rhode explained their purpose at the entrance. The guards, looking stunned to see this particular combination of people, quickly sent a report inside.
Moments later, approval came back: visit granted.
The Fiore branch prison was located deep underground, and two frog-like officials with staffs were assigned to escort them.
Rhode walked calmly, hands in his pockets, like a man visiting a friend's wine cellar.
Natsu and Lucy, on the other hand, were on edge, eyes darting around as they descended the long, torch-lit stairway.
The frog-men seemed more nervous than their guests. They'd escorted visitors before, but never a Wizard Saint and two notorious troublemakers.
"Please," one of them said, voice trembling slightly, "do not speak loudly, do not engage with other prisoners, and absolutely do not use magic."
Before he could finish, a small flame appeared at the tip of Natsu's finger. "It's too dark. This should help!"
"Idiot! Didn't you hear him?!" Lucy hissed, immediately grabbing his wrist and blowing the fire out.
Her voice echoed through the corridor.
From one of the cells nearby, a voice growled, "You…!"
A tall figure stepped forward from the shadows.
Happy blinked. "Ah! Erigor! Hey, remember me? Natsu's here too!"
Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!
Three rapid knocks, Rhode's signature "disciplinary tap."
All three of them, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, immediately crouched down, clutching their heads in practiced reflex.
Rhode gave the frog-men an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry. These three didn't quite hear what you said earlier. I'll keep them in line."
"N-no problem, sir!" The frog-men looked flustered. Being apologized to by a Wizard Saint was beyond their pay grade.
One of the frog-men raised his staff; a soft white glow bloomed at the tip, illuminating the dim corridor. The other immediately pointed his staff toward Erigor's cell.
"Wah...ahhh!"
A surge of crackling current burst from the runes at Erigor's wrists and ankles. Sparks danced across his body as he convulsed in pain, falling to his knees.
Lucy winced. "That's… a little harsh. Are prisoners always punished like that?"
The frog-man replied calmly, "No. Only the unruly ones."
That might have been the rule, but Lucy couldn't help noticing the way he said unruly, as if its meaning depended entirely on who was holding the staff.
They moved on quickly, the echoes of Erigor's scream fading behind them, until they stopped before a quiet cell at the end of the hall.
"This is her," one frog-man said.
Inside sat a red-haired girl.
Compared to Erigor, her conditions were almost luxurious. She wore handcuffs, yes, but no shackles on her feet. Her cell even had a desk, and on it lay several books. The one on top was titled Legal Knowledge.
Beside the books were a few folded newspapers. The text was too small to read from the hallway, but Rhode could tell she'd been poring over them carefully.
"She's not a violent offender," the frog-man explained in a low voice. "Her sentence ends in less than a month."
Flare sat curled on the bed, knees drawn to her chest, long crimson hair spilling like silk across the blanket.
The Raven Tail emblem on her chest had been removed; in its place was a new red mark, faint, half-concealed beneath the open collar of her prison uniform.
Even dressed plainly, she'd left the top buttons undone. Maybe it was for comfort… or habit.
Rhode's gaze lingered on the half-faded mark.
'That's not a guild emblem I recognize.' He made a mental note to ask about it later, then turned toward Natsu.
"Well? Have you ever seen her before?"
Natsu squinted at her, tilting his head, brow furrowed as if the answer might fall out of his brain if he shook it hard enough.
Inside the cell, Flare lifted her head slightly. Her gray eyes met theirs, and when she saw Rhode, a flicker of fear passed through them. She quickly buried half her face behind her knees again, leaving only her eyes visible between the strands of hair.
"Nope," Natsu said finally. "Never seen her before."
Lucy, however, frowned. "That's weird. I feel like I've seen her somewhere. She gives me… I don't know, a guild member kind of feeling."
"Erza?" Happy guessed immediately.
Lucy shook her head. "No, Juvia. She's got that same gloomy aura." She shivered. "You know, like when Juvia stares at me from across the room for no reason."
Rhode chuckled softly. "If anyone's qualified to recognize that kind of stare, it's you, Lucy."
But he was half-serious, Lucy had years of experience being on the receiving end of "intense female gazes."
"Hey!" Natsu suddenly leaned forward, pressing his face right up against the bars. "Do you know me?"
...
Bonus@400