Unlikely Herosim

"But Lucy, you can't just go alone!" pleaded the armored woman. "Would you just listen to reason? You're taking on a mission on some far away island. It'll take days for any of us to reach you. Who knows what could be out there!"

Lucy just smiled. "I'll be fine Erza, I promise. I've been working a lot harder on my magic and I want to be able to take on a mission by myself. I can handle it, trust me. Right, Plue?" The blonde-haired girl smiled down at the strange carrot-nosed creature standing by her side. It smiled back and gave a cheerful Plue!

Erza sighed. She knew Lucy was right. It would be good for her if she was able to take on a mission by herself, even if they were a team. In the long run, she was sure this would help make Fairy Tail's strongest team even stronger. Besides, it wasn't like she’d taken an S-class mission. "Alright, are you sure you have enough money?"

"I'm sure," Lucy said with a laugh. "Don't worry about me Erza; I've got everything under control." The blonde embraced her friend in a hug before smiling and walking out the doors of the guild. The redhead watched her go.

From behind her, Erza heard a long sigh. She turned around to see a certain pink-haired fire mage sitting with his arms and head sprawled out over the table, his tongue hanging from his mouth. "This next week isn't going to be any fun at all without Lucy..." the boy said.

"Aw c'mon Natsu, you've still got Gray and me," Erza said. “Cheer up.”

Natsu looked at her with an expression of disgust. "You guys aren't any fun at all. You're more annoying than fun."

"Well you're not so great either!" Erza yelled, and punched him so he went flying across the room and halfway through the wall.

"Ow! Why you..." Natsu growled as he got up from the wreckage. His fist lit on fire and he ran at Erza, who ex-quipped a large sword and pointed if right at the fire mage. Upon seeing this, Natsu screamed and ran the opposite direction, knowing he'd be dead meat if he got hit with that thing.

Ignoring the two wizards in the background, Mirajane smiled at Gray who was sitting at the counter with his head propped up by his hand, she said, "What's the matter Gray? You seem a little depressed."

The ice mage heaved a sigh before replying. "It's just that... I don't want Lucy to get hurt on this mission. If she got hurt in any way or even..." Gray was unable to finish what he wanted to say. Mirajane tilted her head.

"Or even what?" she asked.

"I just... don't want her to get hurt; otherwise I'll feel responsible for letting her go on the mission alone." Gray said, clenching his hand on the counter into a fist.

"Don't worry Gray, Lucy has been working constantly with her stellar spirits and she's become very strong. There's no need for you to think she’ll get hurt." Mirajane said in her soothing tone.

"But what if she... What if she dies?" Gray mumbled and suddenly the fighting behind them stopped.

"W-What did you say..." Erza said staring at Gray while she held a beaten Natsu by his scarf, ready to punch his face in.

Gray turned around to face Erza. "I said I don't want her to... die."

Upon hearing this, all the color in Erza's face drained, leaving her looking like a pale ghost. Jumping at the chance for freedom, Natsu pulled his scarf from her hands, the motion causing her to fall over. He leapt across the guild and stuck his tongue out at the wizard.

"Haha, you can't get me!" he teased like a five year old.

Unfazed by the boy's outburst, Erza lay on the ground with a horrified expression on her face.

"Erza... don't pay attention to what Gray said. He's just being a worry wart, there's no way Lucy is going to get hurt."

"How do you know?!" Erza yelled, suddenly very animated. "She could get lost in some desert and not have any food! She could run into a pack of hungry wolves in some forest! She could fall off the boat and drown in the ocean!" Erza kept spewing up tragic things she feared could happen to the stellar spirit mage until finally she stopped and her expression turned to one of determination. "That's it," she said in her serious voice, "I'm going after her!"

"Erza you can't do that!" Mirajane yelled, "She'll be so disappointed that you guys didn't think she could do it on her own! Her pride would be crushed!"

Not paying any attention to anything the white-haired woman was saying, Natsu and Gray stood up and yelled in agreement. "Yeah, let's go find Lucy!" they shouted in unison then glared at each other.

"No! Absolutely not!" Erza growled at them.

"But Erza, why not?!" Gray yelled, "We're her friends too!"

"And if you were her friends you'd stay here. We all can't follow her, what if she sees one of us?" She averted his gaze to the pink-haired mage. "I'm just going to follow her from a distance and if she gets into any trouble I've save her without being seen. If you two came along there's no doubt she'd find us. Anyone can hear your fighting a mile away! Besides, neither of you have cleaned your apartments in the last month. I want them cleaned by the time I get back."

"What are you, our mother?!" the boys shouted together.

"I might as well be since no one else is going to keep you in line."

After much "calm discussing" of the matter at hand—which happened to include some very bloody, violent bashing of skulls on Erza's part—the two morons gladly accepted to stay behind and take a week to tidy up their apartments. In fact, it would probably take them a week to finish cleaning, if not more.

The armored wizard set out for the island Lucy was taking her mission on. That night, in a small boat she’d borrowed from a kindly old man, she set out for the island, and by dawn the coastline could be seen. The redhead was nearly asleep in the boat when she arrived. She looked up at the sky and was shocked to see how late it had gotten. Quickly, she paddled the boat ashore and jumped off; tying it to a nearby stake in the ground so it would not be carried out to sea.

"What exactly is this island?" Erza said, stunned, as she stared up at the building towering over her. She averted her gaze from the giant tower and looked around to see that, from here, it looked as if the entire island was covered with nothing but urban landscape.

"What kind of person would want to build a city on such a beautiful, sunny island?" Erza wondered aloud as she began walking forward onto the street that protruded from the sand of the beach.

The strangest thing about this island, Erza concluded after walking among the buildings for what felt like ages, was that there was no one around. Nobody was in the streets, nobody was in the shops or the apartments or the hotels. Not a single soul. "What is wrong with this city? Shouldn't there be someone here?!" she growled to herself. Maybe that was the mission Lucy had accepted. Maybe some sort of evil monster was terrorizing the city and she was sent to vanquish it and then all the people would come out of hiding. But the city didn't look like it was being terrorized. It looked perfectly fine.

As she traveled through the city, Erza began to doubt her theory of everyone being in hiding. She didn't see a single soul peering out of a window or any signs that humans had been there. It was all shiny, brand new.

"What is with this place?" she growled, becoming impatient.

"Well looky here, our second citizen!" came a deep voice from above her. Erza looked up to see an ugly-faced stranger standing on top of one of the buildings smirking down at her.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing up there?" Ezra shouted to him while readying herself in case he might attack.

The stranger did not answer her question; instead he smiled wider and said, "So what made you come to this fine new city? Did you hear about the dance clubs, the restaurants, the strippers?"

Erza had no idea what he was talking about. "Look pal, I didn't come to this city for any of that. I had no idea this city even existed. And besides, it doesn't look like you're doing a very good job of attracting people, there's no one here!"

"That's why I said you were our second citizen. This city has just been built and we need to get people to come. So you're going to experience all our attractions and then tell people to get over here, got it sweet cheeks?"

Erza glared at him, unsure of what he meant by 'second citizen'. "Thanks but no thanks, I'm not here to play. I'm looking for someone."

"Oh don't be shy!" he shouted and suddenly, the shadow of the building on which the man stood began to move. Erza stared at it, shocked, as she watched the shadow change into something that did not resemble the building at all. Now, instead of a rectangle, the shadow twisted into the shape of a menacing, clawed hand, and then sprung from the ground as a three-dimensional object.

"W-What the hell is that?" she stammered staring at the massive figure before her.

"It's just my way of persuasion," the man said, grinning. He then cocked his head to the side, using the movement to command the shadow hand to grab hold of the redhead standing before it.

But Erza was ready for it. As she was standing there, seemingly dumbfounded, she was actually ready to ex-quip into her armor at any time. Right at the moment the man moved his head, she'd flung herself back, away from the long, pointed fingers of the dark figure and in a half second, she was standing in her golden armor.

The ugly man scowled at Erza's smirking face. He raised his arm and the shadow hand copied his movements. It detached itself from the cement it had struck and got itself stuck in and launched forward as the shadow mage flung his arm out.

Erza jumped back, avoiding another attack and pulled out her sword. She held it behind her as he sprinted forward and then swung it with great force into the hand's enormous palm, causing it to disappear into thin air with a loud hissing sound.

"H-How did you do that?!" he shouted, astounded at the girl's power.

Erza didn't even bother to look at him as she leaned against her sword which she'd stuck into the ground and said, "It was the easiest thing I've ever faced in my life. I'm sure a dog would have put up more of a fight." The man clenched his teeth and held his tongue as he watched her walk away with her sword over her shoulder. As he stood there, the corners of his tight scowl slowly turned up and into an amused grin. Suddenly, he raised his opposite arm he'd used before; causing another huge shadow of the building adjacent to the one he was perched on to spring to life behind the armored mage.

"You'd better watch your back more carefully next time!" he shouted as the fingers clasped around her body.

+x+X+x+

Meanwhile, back at Fairy Tail, Natsu and Gray were having a challenge of their own in Gray's apartment. The two boys decided that it would be easier if they both helped clean each other's place and after many rounds of rock-paper-scissors, Gray's was to be done first. Neither of the two had been in their apartments for awhile, other than to change and take showers, seeing as they were always in Lucy's, so there was never any need to clean them.

When the mages entered the room, Natsu was horrified at the mess that scattered the floors, although his was easily twice as bad. "What is that disgusting smell?" the fire mage exclaimed and held his nose from the reeking stench of onions and rotten eggs.

"That's my unfinished lunch from a few weeks ago," Gray said stepping into the room and obviously unfazed by the smell. Reluctantly, Natsu followed after him.

"So where are we going to start?" he asked looking around.

"I'll start cleaning the kitchen and you can start in here," Gray said indicated the room they were standing in with his arm. Natsu snorted, thinking Gray had the easy job and would probably just sit around eating while Natsu did all the work in the other room. Nonetheless, Gray left the room and they both began working.

Natsu began hunting around the room, trying to decide how he was going to go about cleaning all this up when he slipped on something on the floor and fell on his ass. He growled and got up to see what caused him to fall. To his shock and embarrassment, the pink-haired boy had fallen on a pair of the ice mage's boxers.

"Stupid idiot can't keep his clothes in the right place..." Natsu grumbled blushing and looking away from the plaid pair of under garments. He then realized, as he looked at the piles of clothes on the floor, pairs of underwear were everywhere. Natsu's eyes just about bulged out of his head. There was no way in hell he was going to touch all of those dirty pairs of boxers. How was it even possible that one boy could have so many pairs of underwear in the first place? "Gray!" he yelled, storming into the kitchen where the black-haired boy was busy washing the dishes. He looked up when he saw Natsu in the doorway.

"I thought we had an agreement to work in separate rooms so we wouldn't beat the hell out of each other," Gray said, obviously annoyed.

"Well I'm not working in the living room! Switch with me!" he shouted.

"No, it's my apartment and I told you to clean up the living room!" he growled and turned off the faucet.

"I am not touching your disgusting underwear!" Natsu shouted as he lit his hand on fire.

"We're both guys, why does it matter?" Gray yelled back, creating an ice spear in case Natsu decided to launch fire at him.

"That's what makes it disgusting! Why weren't you born a girl?"

"Because if I was there'd be two Erza's to kick your ass!" Gray smirked but it was soon replaced with a shocked expression as he barely escaped a fiery attack launched at him, melting the ice spear he held in his hand. "You bastard! Are you trying to ruin my apartment?!" he yelled and fired ice crystals at the salamander.

Natsu jumped over the oncoming icicles and then used his Dragon Roar to fire an attack at Gray from his mouth. Thinking quickly, Gray held his hand up to the fire and froze it instantly before it could touch him. He then ran straight into it, kicking through the ice barrier and right into Natsu’s face.

The two then began beating each other senselessly on the floor. Finally, after a good fifteen minutes, both their faces were bruised and bloody and they called a truce.

"L-Look... let's just get this done..." Gray breathed, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Before Erza gets back and really beats us for not having our rooms cleaned..."

"Yeah... that stupid motherly jerk..." Natsu panted, picking ice pieces out of his arm.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," Gray said getting up and walking back into the kitchen which their battle had ended up rolling out of.

Too tired to argue, Natsu groaned and walked back over to the mess in the living room. Again, the pink-haired boy eyed the boxers. And Natsu, being the strange kid he was, was unwilling to pick them up before he examined them and made sure there was absolutely nothing wrong with them.

He walked over, got down on his hands and knees in front of the boxers he'd slipped on earlier, bowed his head down low and gave them a quick sniff. He paused for a moment before sniffing them again, this time moving his nose a bit closer. Coming to the conclusion that they didn't smell as bad as he thought they would, he carefully picked them up with his thumb and index finger by the waistband and walked them over to the laundry basket, holding them at arm's length away from himself.

He repeated this with every pair of boxers on the floor until it was spotless. By this time, Natsu finally noticed Gray leaning against the wall by the entryway to the kitchen, his arms crossed across his chest watching him with an amused expression on his face. Natsu glared at him. "What are you smiling at, asshole?" he sneered.

This only made Gray grin wider. "Oh nothing, just that you're afraid to pick up a pair of underwear. You could have been finished this whole room by now if you hadn't been wasting your time picking up one pair at a time."

"I doubt you would have gone any faster if you were picking up my underwear!" Natsu snapped back.

"Would too," Gray said, pushing off the wall and walking over to where the other boy stood.

"Look, I just really want to get this finished as soon as possible, so I'll help you finish out here." Natsu nodded, not wanting to argue with him and have Gray make him do the whole room himself.

After ten minutes of working silently, Natsu looked over at Gray to see that he wasn't wearing his shirt. "Hey, you're just making more work for me, aren't you?" Natsu growled at the back of his head.

Gray turned around and looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?" Natsu pointed to the boy's bare chest and Gray looked down to find himself shirtless. He sighed. As much as he would like to admit that he knew how this kept happening all the time, he had no fucking clue.

"You're trying to make me have to pick up more aren't you?" Natsu accused.

"I wasn't trying to do anything like that," Gray said in his defense.

"Liar!" Natsu shouted and hurled himself at Gray with his fists flying, causing both the boys to fall on the floor.

"Natsu, you idiot!" Gray shouted as he blocked his flurry of fists with his arms. But Natsu wouldn't stop throwing punches at the raven-haired boy and Gray wasn't in a position where he could fight back. Worried that he would begin spitting fire in his face, Gray reached up and grabbed a pair of his dirty boxers from the laundry basket and held them in Natsu's face.

Disgusted, Natsu recoiled and began coughing like he was going to die. Gray found this hilarious and got off his ass and got on his hands and knees and moved forward, waving the under garments in Natsu's face.

The fire mage, now in the position Gray had previously been in, tried to back away but couldn't get up because he couldn't see a thing with those disgusting things in his face. Gray had just about pushed Natsu into a wall when Natsu went to put his hand down and it slipped on Gray's discarded shirt, causing him to slip and fall on his back. Gray, who was only being held up by Natsu's outstretched hand which was pushing against his chest to try and push him away, fell on top of the pink-head when he slipped, and to their misfortunes, landed lip-to-lip.

It took them both a moment to register in their tiny little brains what exactly had happened. They stayed in that position for a few seconds until Natsu pushed the teen away in disgust and fury. "What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled and spit on the floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What do you mean what am I doing?! You're the one who pulled me on top of you!" Gray shouted. He stared at Natsu as he pretended to throw up. Gray knew he should be feeling the same way as well, but, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he had enjoyed the momentary kiss. Natsu looked up at him and they locked eyes. "What are you staring at?" Gray said resuming his anger.

"Why are you blushing?" Natsu asked, slightly disturbed.

"I'm not blushing..." Gray said turning his face away to hide the growing blush. He heard Natsu get up and walk over to the door. He was about to yell at him to stay and finish cleaning up, but decided against it since he was sure the boy was embarrassed and sickened with him. Gray looked up and watched his back as he left the room, seeing only the last of his plaid scarf before the door slammed shut.