Chapter 46: The Beast Unbound
Akane Resort.
Early afternoon.
The island rose from the turquoise sea like a dream given form, pristine white beaches, palms swaying in the warm breeze, and at its heart, the sprawling luxury complex that Loke had somehow procured tickets for.
"ALL-INCLUSIVE?!" Gray had shouted on the boat over. "HOW DID YOU EVEN…"
"I have connections," Loke had replied smoothly. "Also, I may have saved the resort owner's daughter from a burning building three years ago. She sends a fruit basket every other month."
"THAT'S NOT HOW CONNECTIONS WORK…"
"It is now."
Lucy stood at the water's edge, the gentle waves lapping at her ankles, and let out a long, contented sigh.
"This is exactly what we needed."
"Aye!" Happy zoomed past with a tiny coconut, a tiny umbrella, and a tiny smile. "FISH TIME!"
"There are no fish in coconut water, Happy."
"THERE WILL BE!"
Gray had already abandoned his shirt, naturally and was engaged in what he called "beach reconnaissance" and what Lucy called "finding the most strategically advantageous spot to nap."
"This one has optimal sun angle," he announced, spreading his towel. "And minimal seagull traffic."
"You've been here five minutes."
"I'm a professional."
Lucy laughed and let herself sink into the warm sand.
It was perfect.
Except…
"Where's Natsu?"
Gray shrugged. "Said he had a headache. Went to lie down."
"Natsu? Headache?" Lucy frowned. "He never gets sick."
"He's been training nonstop for days. Even fire breath needs a day off."
Lucy looked toward the resort, at the rows of gleaming windows reflecting the afternoon sun.
*You've been gone so much lately. What are you looking for?*
"You have a fever."
"I don't have a fever."
"Your skin is hot."
"My skin is always hot. I'm a Fire Dragon Slayer."
"This is different."
Erza pressed the back of her hand to Natsu's forehead with the clinical precision of a battlefield medic. He was sprawled across her bed, her bed, because his room was apparently on the other side of the resort and he hadn't made it past her door, looking distinctly miserable.
"You're pale. Your breathing is shallow. Your pupils are dilated."
"I just need to sleep it off."
"You've been saying that for three hours."
"...three hours?!"
"You walked into my room, announced you had a headache, and collapsed on my pillows. I've been monitoring you ever since."
Natsu groaned and pressed his face into the nearest cushion.
"I don't need monitoring. I need quiet."
Erza ignored him completely. She was already rearranging pillows, adjusting the blinds, and somehow, producing a cold compress from within her Requip space.
"Sit up."
"Erza…"
"Sit. Up."
He sat up.
She placed the compress on his forehead with exaggerated care, her brow furrowed in concentration. The image was so absurd, Titania, the Queen of Fairies, reduced to a fussing nursemaid that Natsu almost laughed.
Almost.
"You're terrible at this," he muttered.
"I am excellent at this."
"You're holding the compress like it's a sword."
"Proper grip is essential for any task."
"It's a wet cloth, Erza."
"And yet you are not complaining about the headache anymore."
He wasn't.
Silence settled between them, soft and strange. Outside, the distant sounds of the beach, Gray's shouting, Happy's laughter, Lucy's quiet joy… filtered through the closed window.
Natsu stared at the ceiling.
Erza stared at her hands.
"...can I ask you something?"
Her voice was quiet. Careful. Not the commanding tone of the guild's champion, but something smaller.
Natsu turned his head. "Yeah."
"That day. On the hill."
She didn't look at him.
"You said you wanted both Lucy and me to be yours."
"Like I told you, I meant it."
"I know." Her fingers tightened around the edge of the compress. "That's what I don't understand."
She was silent for a long moment.
"I have always seen you as..."
She trailed off.
"...as what?"
"As my brother."
The word hung in the air, heavy and honest.
"Not by blood. But by something stronger. You were the reckless little boy who followed me into battles you couldn't win. Who stole my attention, my patience, my…" She stopped. "…my family. You were family."
"And now?"
Erza met his eyes.
"Now I look at you and I don't know what you are."
Her voice cracked, just slightly.
"You're still my brother. You're still the boy who challenged me in the guild hall and the idiot who nearly died on Galuna Island. But you're also..."
She looked away.
"...something else. Something I don't have a name for."
Natsu was quiet.
"I understand," he said.
Erza blinked. "You do?"
"You're confused. You're scared. You don't know if these feelings are real or if they're just... a reaction. To everything we've been through."
He sat up slowly, the compress slipping forgotten into his lap.
"I'm not going to force you, Erza. I'm not going to pressure you or manipulate you or try to make you feel something you don't."
His voice was steady. Certain.
"I just want you to know I'm here. That's all."
Erza stared at him.
Something shifted in her expression. The tension in her shoulders, the constant, unconscious readiness for battle, softened.
"...thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For understanding."
He smiled. Small, genuine.
"Always."
And then…
'No.'
The warmth in his chest curdled.
It came from nowhere and everywhere, a pressure building behind his sternum, hot and black and hungry. His breath caught. His fingers dug into the bedsheets.
"Natsu?"
Erza's voice, suddenly sharp. Alert.
"What's wrong?"
He couldn't answer.
The Primal Domain was erupting.
Not the slow, simmering pressure he'd felt in the hallway. Not the controlled release he'd forced against Gajeel. This was raw, untamed, savage, the dragon in its cage slamming against the bars, demanding release. The one from Galuna Island.
"NATSU!"
He rolled off the bed, hitting the floor on his hands and knees. His body was on fire. His veins were screaming. The lust, the rage, the need, it was too much, too fast, he couldn't hold it…
"Get away from me!"
The words tore from his throat, ragged and desperate.
"What?! No…"
"GET AWAY!"
He kicked against the floor, rolling, writhing, his back arching as the pressure built to an impossible peak. His vision was bleeding red at the edges. His hands, his claws bwere digging furrows into the hardwood.
"Natsu, stop!"
"I CAN'T!!"
Erza's hands gripped his shoulders.
"I'm not leaving you!"
"PLEASE!!"
"NO!"
He could hear it now, the crack in her voice, the panic bleeding through her iron control. *Crying*. Erza was crying.
"Natsu, please, what's happening…"
"I don't want us to start us like this…"
"THEN FIGHT IT!"
"I'M TRYING…"
His body convulsed. His vision went white. For one endless, agonizing moment, he was suspended between man and beast, consciousness and instinct, himself and the thing clawing its way out of his soul…
And then…
Silence.
The pressure released.
Not through eruption. Not through conquest. Simply... stopped.
Natsu went limp.
His breathing was ragged, his body drenched in sweat, his muscles trembling with exhaustion. But he was himself. He was still himself.
"...oh, no..."
Erza's arms were around him.
She was holding him, not the clinical grip of a medic, not the commanding embrace of a warrior. Just... holding. Her face was pressed against his hair, her shoulders shaking with silent, relieved sobs.
"It's okay," she whispered. "You're okay. You're fine."
"You don't understand," he gasped. "I couldn't…"
His words died in his throat.
"...Natsu?"
He didn't answer.
His head slumped forward.
And the world went dark.
A pulse.
Not magic. Not fire. Something older, deeper, a wave of pure, black energy that radiated from Natsu's still form and swept across the room.
The windows trembled.
The light flickered.
And Erza Scarlet…
Erza stopped.
A low, guttural sound.
Not human.
Natsu raised his head.
His eyes were not his own.
The colour was gone, swallowed by something ancient and feral, slitted pupils dilated, irises burning with a hellish, crimson light. His teeth had sharpened. His breathing was slow, deliberate, predatory.
He turned to face her.
And Erza…
Erza looked at him.
Her tears had dried. Her panic had faded. Her face, so recently open with fear and desperate concern, was now perfectly, terrifyingly blank.
But her eyes.
Her eyes burned with a thirst that was not her own.
"...Natsu," she breathed.
It was not a question.
It was an invitation.
The Beast met her gaze.
And smiled.