Chapter 72: Saving A Damsel In Distress

Ultear left her hiding place after ending the call and decided to do her council work. She called the nearby 'Rune Knights' and arrested all the 'Phantom Lord' members, including their guild master Jose. Each of them would face their trial in the council.

She also thought of contacting Natsu but ended up deciding against it. She knew that Natsu was already aware of their plan. So, unless something drastic happened, she didn't want to contact him unnecessarily.

'Natsu, I miss you so much already. I can't wait to meet you again.' She internally thought while giving commands to the 'Rune Knights'.

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Meanwhile, Natsu and the group arrived at their destroyed guild building. Makarov ordered every guild member to join the reconstruction of the guild, to which nobody had any objection.

A month quickly passed. During this time, the 'Fairy Tail' guild's base had been completely renovated and refurbished. It was now an extravagant three-floor building, retaining the pyramid shape of the previous building. This one though, strongly resembled a castle in appearance, having battlements on top of its two upper floors. While the ground floor had a more Western-looking roof than the former building, consisting of many small, square tiles of different sizes. Over the battlements, several large torches were lined up. Topping the building and the last floor was a small, tower-like dome containing a large bell, which had a pointed roof made of tiles. Two more towers were present at both sides of the entrance, having elongated glass windows running through them and weathercocks shaped like 'Fairy Tail's' symbol on their tile tops.

Natsu also found out that Lucy and Gray were grounded in the basement for a month as punishment. Natsu was quite happy about it since Lucy managed to avoid any harm because of it. Natsu also noticed Loke's worsening condition. It looked like it was almost about time for Loke's spirit to dissipate. He knew he couldn't do anything to help him, so he just let Lucy deal with it herself.

Gray started training even more seriously after his punishment. The 'Galuna Island' incident made him realize how weak he truly was. So, he opted to increase his training intensity to never feel such weakness again. He still picked a fight with Natsu whenever it was possible though. Natsu could only shake his head in exasperation and knock him out as usual.

Mira also started taking her training more seriously. The 'Phantom Lord' incident made her realize her weakness as well. She couldn't do anything to help neither her guild master nor her lover. She didn't want to keep relying on Natsu for everything.

But before starting her training Mira didn't forget to tease Erza by making her act like her exclusive maid for the whole day. Erza could only grit her teeth and follow her every instruction like a faithful command. Natsu could only smile wrily watching this.

Erza, on the other hand, decided to repair their relationship first. She was already powerful, so the standard training methods had stopped being effective for her. She spent most of her time during the month with Natsu, going to various patisseries and bakeries, eating different cakes and pastries. Natsu was glad to see Erza giving more priority to their relationship rather than her strength. Like this, they slowly started opening up to each other again.

Today, Natsu was taking a walk in the forest, heading towards Magnolia. He'd just finished a job and was on his way back home and wanted to have a nice walk to relax his nerves. Teleportation was pretty useful, but sometimes taking a pleasant old walk was a good way to relax. The gentle breeze blowing across his face felt pretty uplifting. He could almost feel the breeze washing away all his worries and anxieties. He closed his eyes and savored this feeling to his heart's content.

While he was enjoying himself, he heard some pretty disturbing voices. When he opened his eyes, he saw a girl about sixteen years getting cornered by a Vulcan. The Vulcan had a lewd tint in his eyes while looking at the terrified girl. The girl, despite her scared expression, had quite a cute face.

"WOMAN!! I LOVE WOMAN!" The Vulcan shouted while beating its chest, making the girl even more afraid. It looked ready to pounce on her.

"NO!!! Get away from me! Somebody help me!!" The girl shouted before falling on her butt, tears leaking out her eyes. She didn't want to get r*ped by a stupid Vulcan. Her dignity would be left in tatters if that were to happen. She closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to witness her upcoming defilement.

When the Vulcan was almost upon the girl, Natsu suddenly appeared in front of her and punched it in the chest, making it soar through the air while crashing into and destroying multiple trees along the way.

The girl waited for some seconds and when she didn't feel anything different, she opened her eyes. In front of her appeared a handsome pink-haired man, who wore baggy pants and a sleeveless, gold-trimmed black waistcoat, which was left open and untucked, exposing his bare chest. The guy also had a scaled scarf on his neck, which seemed strangely suited for him.

"Are you alright, miss?" Natsu asked, approaching her with a warm smile on his face.

She was dazzled by his appearance. He was by far the most handsome man she'd ever seen. She blushed a little when she realized that she had been staring at him so intensely.

"Cough, cough, yes, I am. Thank you for your help." The girl said before standing up and greeting him with a bashful smile. She still had leftover tears in her eyes, which only made her current expression breathtakingly captivating, but Natsu was shocked to see her appearance for a different reason.

'Oh my God, she's Kagura for goodness's sake. I didn't think I'd meet her here.' He thought while looking at her with his mouth agape. Kagura looked at his surprised expression in confusion. Why was he so surprised to see her? This seemed to be the first time she'd met him after all.

Kagura was a young, slim woman, with large budding breasts and long, straight black hair that fell to the middle of her back. It was cut in the traditional Japanese "princess style." She was wearing an elaborate blazer with gold lining and a large collar, which was open to reveal a collared shirt and red tie underneath. The cuffs of her jacket were tucked into a pair of white wrist-high gloves. On her legs, Kagura wore a pair of black tights, which were tucked into a pair of knee-high boots and sat under a short white frilled skirt. Kagura also wore a white headband with a white ribbon tied at the middle in a bow, pointing straight up.

"Is there something on my face?" Kagura asked with a cocked head, making Natsu regain his calm. He didn't want to look like a creep in front of her.

"Ahem, there's nothing on your face. It's just that I was surprised to see someone so beautiful alone in the forest. If you don't mind, could you tell me why you're here? This forest is quite dangerous, you know." Natsu coughed to change the topic and decided to sate his curiosity at the same time.

Kagura became depressed upon hearing his question. She looked as if she were about to cry, making him panic. He didn't want to make her cry after all.

"You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable with it." He hastily spoke, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

"It's okay. *Sniff* *Sniff* I was searching for my brother Simon. We were separated during our childhood, and I've been searching for him ever since. He's the only family I have left, so I want to find him at any cost." She replied, sniffing. Natsu sighed while looking at her. He forgot that her brother was currently at the 'Tower of Heaven'.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find him someday. There's the saying 'Seek, and you will find' after all. If you don't give up on your search, I'm sure that you'll find your brother someday." Natsu said while wiping off her tears with his thumbs. He internally promised to prevent Simon's death. He knew Erza and Kagura would be pretty traumatized by his death, so he didn't want it to happen if he could avoid it.

Kagura smiled gently upon hearing him. "Thank you, mister. Now, I suddenly feel like I'll meet my brother soon."

"You can call me Natsu. I'm Natsu Dragneel, a mage from the 'Fairy Tail' guild." Natsu replied, introducing himself.

"My name is Kagura Mikazuchi, Natsu-san. I'm happy to meet you." Kagura said, introducing herself as well as performing a small traditional bow.

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~Edited by Nyanodesu

Read up to chapter 75 in advance at my p@treon:

p@treon. com /xumit

(A/N: A little longer chapter enjoy ^^)