Categories > Anime/Manga > Fairy Tail

After beating Phantom Lord, Natsu and his team take a job tracking and catching two criminals who have ran for seven years. But Natsu notices the date they started running: A week after the dragons...

Category: Fairy Tail - Rating: G - Genres: Fantasy - Published: 2025-08-15 - 4395 words
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Eastern Forest

Porlyusica was in her house, studying a vial of medicine, before adding some leafs to the mixture. Nothing happened, much to her disappointment. She let out a sigh before opening the door to her house to get some air. Walking to a clearing that gave her a perfect view of Magnolia, she let out another sigh for her detest of humans.

Suddenly, her ears pick up a rustling sound. Turning her head, she saw two figures walk, or rather fell into her sight line. Two humans, male and female, laid there, both severely injured, covered in bruises and dried blood.

She wanted to leave them both there, but she knew if word got out about two humans dying in the forest would only attract more of them. Begrudgingly, she dragged them both to her house for medical aid.

Fairy Tail guild hall (what's left of it)

Phantom Lord was defeated and disbanded two days ago, and now the wizards began to rebuild there work place. At a makeshift table, Team Natsu sat bored. Lucy was complaining that her rent was due soon, but as usual she was out of jewels. At that moment, the guilds barmaid, Mirajane, walked up to them. "Hi guys" she said before noticing their expressions. "What' wrong?"

Her former rival, Erza looked at her and explained that everyone was tired of only rebuilding and that Lucy's rent was due. "Sounds like you guys need some excitement," the silver haired woman said. Receiving a nod from the armored wizard, the bartender suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right. I forgot about that request".

The sudden outburst pecked the Dragon Slayers interest. "What request?"

Mira walked over to the bar, and the four wizards and the blue cat followed her. She explained while searching for the paper on the shelf "Well it came in while you guys where on Galuna Island. I was going to give to you guys, but then the Phantom Lord thing happened."

Curiosity now peaked, they waited a few seconds before they heard "Ah, hear it is." Handing the paper to the Ice Make Mage, the team read the request in their heads.

"Wanted

Two Dangerous Criminals:

Nicholas "Rockslide" Bouldton and Brianna "Madam Myth" Greenhawk

Picture of Bouldton. Picture of Greenhawk

Both use powerful Magic and should not be taken lightly

To Accept: Head to Eastern Forrest and look for Suishou

Reward: 700,000 jewels"

After reading the request and the reward, they all had the same question, and Gray was the first to ask. "Why is this job just for our team?"

Mira looked confused, then she noticed that the bottom of the job was folded over. "Hang on a second." She took the job, unfolded the bottom, and handed it back. They all now saw why the job was perfect for the team.

"Extra Information

These criminals have been on the run for seven years. Need mage who can track over great distances."

They all nodded as they realized why Mira what them on this job. Since Natsu is a dragon slayer, all his senses where enhanced and could put any animals sense of smell to shame. He would essentially be a hunting dog that would lead them to an easy 175,000 jewel apiece. "We leave now", Erza ordered at the others as she walked away.

As they walked out of the town, Natsu had something on his mind aside from fighting and food. "Seven years, that's about the same time that Igneel vanished..."

Eastern Forrest

Porlyusica's House

Fire rage as it burned down one house after another. Bodies laid on the ground, their blood spilling from their bodies on to the snow covered ground. Two figures coated in shadows emerged, one was a child. Suddenly, the child burst forward, anger and blood lust in his eye.

"No!" Lurching forward, a man awoke from his nightmare, gasping for air.

"So, your finally awake?" Porlyusica spoke, turning to face the man she literally dragged from deaths grasp. Finally able to see the face of the man, she certainly could describe his appearance as ... unique.

He appeared to be at least 17. His brown hair went down to the back of his neck, and just slightly above his eyes. His blue eyes were above small freckles that heavily contrasted his dirty peach skin and his nose was a slightly shorter than normal. Around his neck hung a broken, circular amulet made of a gray stone.

His attire was also different from most of the humans she knew. (Like most of the males in this universe, under his attire is a well defined chest). He wore shirt with only a strap that went over his right shoulder. The shirts main color was brown, with dark blue lines that flowed on the shirt at an apparently random pattern. On his right arm was a blue bandana with orange lines tied around his mid-arm. On his right hand was a finger-less black glove. His left arm had an orange bandana with blue dots was tied around his upper arm and a red bead wristband.

As he climbed out of the bed, he showed her his lower body. He wore blue shorts with two orange lines that shot up from his knees to his belt line, with a third one connecting to big lines. The pockets on it where orange as well. His foot wear consisted of some socks and a pair of black and gray boots. All across his body where bandages that she put on.

But the most unique thing about him was once again on his face.

Across his mouth was scar that went from under his right nostril and end just after his lower lip and above his chin. She tried to heal it, but it was too old and wasn't going to go away. As he stood up, she heard a jingling coming from his pockets.

The pink haired healer glared and spoke. "So, are you going to tell your name, or do I have to hit first?"

The man looked at her. "Doesn't the host usually introduce themselves to their guests first?" He asked in a mildly deep voice.

She glared, then let out deep breath. "Porlyusica."

After she said her name, the man's eyes shined with hope. "So, we really did make it the Eastern Forrest."

"I'm still waiting for a name" she said getting slightly angry.

The man breathed deeply, looked at her, and said his name. "Nicholas Bouldton."

Eastern Forrest

As Team Natsu walked through the forest, they all called out for this Suishou. Soon enough, the heard rustling in some bushes. Summoning a sword, Erza pointed it at the bushed and yelled at it. "Who goes there?"

A voice, deep yet squeaky, answered back "My name is Suishou, who are you?"

Putting her sword back into her storage, she answered back. "We are the wizards from Fairy Tail. We here to help capture the fugitives."

Curious, the voice asked, "Which of you is the tracker?"

Natsu, pounding one fist into his open palm, smiled. "That be me. I'm a Dragon Slayer."

"Dragon Slayer, Fairy Tail? Oh, so Salamander and his friends have answered my request. This is perfect." The rustling resume and out stepped their employer. To say his appearance was not what was expected would be an understatement.

In front of them stood a child, about thirteen years old, who appeared to be incredible fit of his age. His grey hair was tied in a chonmage with a black string holding it in place. His eyes were a dark brown. Decorating his face where two white, wing-like tattoos under his eyes that went up diagonally. His outfit consisted of a white tank-top under a brown trench coat, black cargo pants, and grey sneakers. On his left index finger was a strange black ring.

"You're our employer?" Lucy asked clearly surprised by his appearance.

"Yes, and both me and my partner will be joining you on this hunt." He answered

The ice mage was curious. "Whose your partner?"

"His name is Astoroth, and he is the demon of vengeance." Suishou told them, expecting the shocked looks on their faces.

Lucy, terrified, screamed "A Demon?!"

"Relax, he's not a bad guy once you get know him." Suishou said defending his partner.

Erza was unimpressed by all this. "I mean no disrespect, but are you sure you want to accompany us? You said yourself that these criminals used powerful magic."

Suishou gave small smile. "Let me show you something." They all watched as he closed his eyes and gathered his magic energy. Quickly, he opened his eyes and slammed his open palms to the ground. "Glimmering Pillar!"

A magic seal appeared behind him, then a large pillar, made entirely of crystal, shot out of the seal, growing higher than the tallest tree in the forest. As quickly as it materialized, it dissipated and was no more. The four Fairies and the cat where in awe of the power shown by the young wizard.

From behind, they heard a demonic voice. "Was that really a smart idea, Suishou? We're trying to be stealthy, and you make pillar over 30 feet tall?" Turning around, they meet Astoroth.

Landing in front of them stood Suishou's partner. Astoroth was tall figure with with curly brown hair that covered his ears. His face was extremely balanced. On top of his head were two small orange horns. His skin was shade of red. His fingers were more like claws with orange nails. Collapsing into his back were two bat wings. The pataguim were orange, and the bones were brown. Wrapping around his right wrist was a intricate snake tattoo. His attire was simple straps on his chest, and torn brown pants.

"They doubted my power and wanted a demonstration." Suishou said nonchalantly.

The demon sighed "Lets just hope they didn't see it." The two began to walk away, when they noticed that the help they hired wasn't following them. "You comin'?"

Shaking their heads to remove the shock, the Fairy wizards began to follow them. After a while, Suishou broke the silence. "Okay, last time we saw them, they were fairly injured. Any ideas where they could find a place to heal?"

Erza spoke next. "There is an old friend of our master in this forest. If they are anywhere, it's their."

Lucy was confused. "I thought she hated humans. Why would they be there? She won't help them."

Astoroth stopped. "Knowing them, they probably forced her to treat them."

Gray finally broke his silence. "You two sure seem to know a lot about these punks."

Suishou turned around, never breaking his stride. "We should. We've been hunting them for seven years."

Porlyusica's House

"Bouldton? Strange name." The healer spoke before inquiring further, "So, care to explain who you got so badly injured?"

"Oh you know. Just out for a stroll together and then we..." Nicholas started, avoiding eye contact the whole time.

"Don't lie. I want the truth. Now!" She cut him mid sentence. Nicholas dropped his head, as if to hide his shame, before explaining.

"We- We were running for some hunters and fell into a trap. We were surrounded, but we barely managed to escape. I know basic healing, and these were anything but. She told me of a great healer that lives in the Eastern Forest. Last thing I remember was carrying..." He stopped and looked up, then around the house, almost in a panic.

"If your looking for your female friend, she's fine". He turned his head to the healer as she explained further. "Your injuries were much worse than hers, so I treated you first."

"Where i... Ow!" He stopped mid question as Porlyusica had thrown an apple at him, hitting him square on the head.

"DON'T INTERRUPT!" She screamed, as this was one if her many pet peeves of humans. "She's right there", she said, pointing at a makeshift cot. He turned and jumped over the bed, landing at her bedside. What he saw made lowered his head once more.

The girl laying down was about a year older than him. Her once light green hair was now a mess of greens and oranges. Her locks cast over her right eye, hiding it from view. Her lips held a shade of cherry and her skin a very light peach.

Like him, her attire was different than most people. She wore an orange-red shirt, with a triangular opening on top, slightly showing off her ample bust. Her shirt had two canary yellow lines that went from the shirts collar to the orange ends of the sleeves. It also had three pairs of lemon yellow stripes at the collar going down, her sleeves and just under her bust. On her right wrist was bead wristband similar to his, but hers was more of a maroon shade. Decorating just past her shoulder was an elaborate, tribal-like tattoo in black ink.

The lower part of her hour glass figure was covered by a set of golden orange knee long pants with two orange waves going up full length, ending just below her red belt. Tied just below her right knee, was a purple knee band. Completing her look was a pair navy blue high heels that went up to her ankles with a single black strap keeping them in place.

As he grabbed her hand, Porlyusica could only make a few words like "forgive". As she watched, she noticed a few small tears began to form around his eyes, and she couldn't help but form a small smile. At first, she wanted to smack him with her broom for blatantly ignoring his injuries, but she remembered what Mystogan said about the sacred light.

As he regained his composure, those thought quickly left her mind, as the male patient ran up to her and wrapped his arms around the healer. Her eyes wide, she heard Nicholas whisper "Thank you."

"GET OFF ME!" Quickly letting go, the healer brushed off any dust. "If you really want to show some gratitude, gather some morning dew flowers. They'll help with the healing." He nodded, walked to the door, opened it, and walked out.

He stepped out of the house, fully intent on gathering the flowers to heal his sleeping companion. A few feet away from the house, he found the plants needed. As he gathered some in his arms, he felt the ground shake. He had an idea of what it was, and quickly ran back. He slammed the door shut and put his back against it.

"What now?" Porlyusica demanded to know. He ignored and looked out the door window. Coming out of the woods were six figures, two he knew all to well. He pulled the blinds down in a panic, and ran over to his companion. Shaking her shoulder, he tried to wake her. Groaning, she opened her eyes, showing sea green orbs.

"Wha? Oh Nicholas, morning." Her voice sweet and innocent spoke.

Panicked, he uttered three words that shook her core. "They found us."

"Excuse me!" Porlyusica screamed getting their attention. "I don't know what's going on, but if your leaving now, you will need some supplies." She then prepared a small sack with medicine and handed it to Nicholas. "There's a back window. Now get out." Nodding in agreement, he picked up the female in a bridal style and jumped out the window. At the same time, someone knocked on the door.

Outside (the same time)

"So, this is the place?" Suishou asked unimpressed.

"Yeah, this is Porlyusica's house." Lucy answered.

"Well then, lets go." Suishou started walking towards the house when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Erza's.

"It's not that easy.", She explained. "She hates humans with a passion."

Astoroth chuckled slightly. "Good thing I'm not human." Then he started walking towards the house. He knocked on the door, and the pink haired healer opened it.

"Excuse me, but me and my partner are tracking two dangerous criminals. Maybe you've seen them." He handed her a copy of the wanted poster.

'So, that's her name.' She thought to herself before she answered the demon. "No, I haven't. Now leave me alone." She said before slamming the door in his face.

Walking back to the group, Astoroth looked disappointed in himself. "She says she hasn't seen them, and she doesn't just hate humans."

All the while, Natsu was smelling the air. "Hang on. That's new."

Everyone turned to the dragon slayer. "What is it, Natsu?" Erza asked.

Suddenly, Natsu sprinted forward, screaming. "I got them." The others knew what he meant and quickly followed him.

With the two

'Damn it, how do those two always find us?' Nicholas cursed in his head as he ran through the forest in no real direction, carrying Brianna, braking branches as they past them. 'It's been like this for seven years. Can't they just let go of it?'

Soon, they approached an open quarry surrounded by stone walls and at the base was a waterfall, leading into a river. He stopped in front of the fall. 'No choose then.' "Hey, Brianna."

Nudging his sleeping companion, she awoke. "What?"

"I know your still hurt, but we have to use your magic." Backing away from waterfall, he prepared to sprint. Looking down at her, she gave him a nod and he began running towards the fall. Half-way there, she muttered four words. As she did, a glow came from the woman and they passed through the fall.

"Come on, this way!" Natsu shouted at the party, urging them to catch up. As he entered the quarry, he stopped, causing everyone behind him to crash into him. As Erza rose from the pile, she punched Natsu on the head. "Warn people when you're just going to stop!"

Happy was curious. "Why'd you stop Natsu?"

"The smell, it just stops here." Everyone was curious: how can a scent end without the person being there?

"Well, it's getting late." Everyone turned to Suishou. "We should probably set up camp."

Erza nodded in agreement, and they began setting up their make-shift camp.

After setting up camp, the gathered food from the river and let it cook by the fire.

"So," Gray looked at Suishou. "Wanna tell us about these two and why you have been chasing them for seven years?"

Suishou sighed as he looked up at the stars. "Alright, if we're gonna work together, you should know the full story."

He looked at the team as he began his story. "I was born in a small village on Mt Hakobe..."

Near the base of Mt. Hakobe, a villiage nestled in the snowy terrain. The houses where made of wood, dragged from a nearby forest. Mothers were out with their children, fathers teaching the boys the art of hunting. In the distance, children where practicing magic. In the center of the village sat the house of the village chief, Chief Greenhawk.

"Wait," Lucy interrupted. "Brianna's from the same village as you!?"

He simply nodded. "I was the apprentice of the village doctor, and she was the chiefs only daughter. She was a good friend. But it changed when he showed up."

"How so?" Erza asked.

"You see, our village had a policy; any lost travelers were welcomed and they could stay as long as they want. 7 years ago."

7 years ago

Suishou and Brianna were talking about their magic training when the village bell rang. They ran to the center and pushed through the crowd. When they reached the center, they saw Suishou's father and next to him, a child.

He had messy brown hair, a scar on his face, a green shirt, and blue jean shorts. Around his neck was a broken pendent, made from some sort of stone. He was looking down, tracing lines with his foot.

"Everyone, this Nicholas Bouldton." Suishou's father began explaining. "His father went missing, so I agreed to take him into our homes. Please be kind to him, he's very shy."

As he finished, Brianna and Suishou ran to the boy known as Nicholas. "Hi, I'm Brianna and my daddy's the chief here."

Nicholas looked up from the ground. "You're kinda cute." Brianna blushed at the comment.

"My name is Suishou. Pleased to meet you." Nicholas looked at him, said nothing and walked away. "He's real weird."

"I don't think he's weird, just lonely." Brianna told him, still red from the complement.

"Okay, so your Dad brought him in," Natsu said. "How'd you go to hunting them?" Suishou sighed and continued.

"A few days after that, I was coming back from an unsuccessful hunt with the chief."

Three days after Nicholas arrived.

Suishou and Chief Greenhawk returned to find a horrifying sight. The village was burning and the ground was littered with bodies. Men, woman, children, none were spared. Greenhawk dropped his spear and ran into the remnants of the village, with Suishou following close behind. "Brianna!" The chief cried, looking for his daughter.

"Daddy!" He turned around to see his daughter, covered in blood, tears in her eyes, running to him. Suishou was happy his best friend survived, and as she jumped into her fathers arms, he knew things would be okay.

"Who did this?" The chief asked his daughter.

"N-n-ic-cho-las." she muttered through her tears.

"Aw, Brianna, you ruined the surprise." The men looked up to the child, a smile on his face, arms covered in blood.

"How could you, after everything we did for you?" Suishou screamed at the murderous child.

"Easy, they were weak and I was strong." Nicholas callously explained.

The chief stood up, his daughter still in his arms."How dare yo-" He never finished his sentence, as Suishou noticed blood dripping from the chest, near his heart, were Brianna was. He looked and was speechless.

Brianna had her hand dug into her father's chest. As she pulled out, her hand was different. Instead of five fingers, three long claws emerged. As he fell back, his said his last word. "Why?"

"Brianna, what is wrong with you?" Suishou shouted.

"You did good Brianna, very good." Brianna turned and ran to Nicholas. As she ran, her arm returned to its normal state. Once there, they embraced in a hug.

"Brianna, y-you helped him?" Suishou was shocked by what he was seeing.

"That's right, I did. And it felt good." Brianna told him as she stood by Nicholas.

"What did you do to her?" Suishou asked Nicholas enraged.

"Nothing, this was her choice. All I did was tell her my plan, and she went along with me. I didn't force her one bit. Let's go." The two turned and walked away, as the lone survivor fell to his knees, weeping as his destroyed home turned to ash.

"Wow, that's horrible." Lucy said.

Erza was deep in thought. 'Betrayed by someone close to him.'

"Yes, it was. I still see the chiefs face at night. It haunts me." Soon, they could hear sniffs as Suishou was crying.

Astoroth put his hand on his partners back as he weep. "That's when I arrived."

Astoroth was walking in the snow when he saw smoke coming from a mountain. 'This isn't a volcano.' Astoroth quickly spread his wings and took flight.

Soon enough, he arrived at the remnants of a village, bodies sprawled across the ground, apparently all murdered. 'I don't think there are any survivors.' Astoroth was about to leave, but a sound caught his attention. He followed it to the source; a child, perhaps the only survivor. "Excuse me, what happened here?"

Sniffles could be heard as the child explained. "They-they killed everyone. Its all his fault, that kid's. This all started when he arrived."

Astoroth was surprised that children could do this level of destruction. "What is your name?"

"S-sui-shou. My name is Suishou." The child answered

"Hm. Good name." Astoroth placed his hand on the child's shoulder. "I am Astoroth, the demon of vengeance. I can help you."

Suishou looked up with hope. "You mean it?"

"Of course." Astoroth said with a semi smile. "I will help you bring them to justice. Now, lets go. You're gonna catch a cold."

"Since then, I have aided Suishou for seven years."

"Wow, that's tough." Natsu said as he looked up at the sky.

"It is." Suishou said as he regained his composer. "But it was worth it. So enough, they will pay for their crimes. Well, its getting late. We should get to sleep."

One by one, they all fell asleep.

A Cave behind the Waterfall

"We should be safe here for now." Nicholas said as he applied the medicine to Brianna's back.

"I'm scared. There right outside. What if they find us?"

Nicholas sighed as he applied some to her arms. "If that does happen, I want you to run as far as possible."

Brianna snickered. "You know damn well that's not gonna happen."

"I tried, didn't I?" After finishing, they fell asleep.

The Next Morning

Natsu awoke as the others were packing up the camp. "Breakfast?"

Erza sighed. "Happy's catching it right now." Natsu could see the blue cat at the waterfall, trying to catch the fish as they fell down.

"Gotcha!" Happy had caught one. But this one had a lot of fight in it. "Come on. Whoa."

Suddenly, Happy was pulled face first into the fall. But the weird part was he was staying in the middle of the fall, despite his wings disappearing. Erza saw this and put the pieces in place.

"Gray!" She shouted. "Freeze the fall!"

"Got it." He channeled his magic into his hands. "Freeze!"

The fall froze solid as Erza Requipped into her Purgatory armor. Shattering the ice with one strike of her mace, everyone saw a hand sticking out of the rock, holding Happy.

"Natsu!" "Right!"

Natsu charged forward. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist! Let Happy go!" The attack connected with the wall, causing a huge explosion.

As the dust settled, the could see the two fugitives behind the remnants of a wall of stone. "Damn it! Should just let the fish go."

Erza Requipped int her Heart Kreuz armor, sword in hand. Pointing it at them, she glared at the two "No where left to run!"

Nicholas sighed. "Well, guess there's no choice left but to fight!"
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