On the flying carpet, Natsu was having the time of his life. He bounced around in the center, grinning ear to ear. "Happy, look at me! I'm full of energy!"
The blue cat was just as thrilled. "Aye, sir! It's amazing! Natsu's not even dizzy!"
Lucy turned around, shocked to see Natsu so lively, then remembered—this guy gets motion sickness from transportation!
"Wait, isn't this a vehicle too?" she asked.
"Of course it is," Kira replied. "But I cast a balance spell on the carpet. Most of the transportation I make has this magic—it keeps the user from getting carsick, seasick, or carpet-sick. That's why Natsu's so full of pep."
Kira explained to Happy and Lucy, "This carpet's pricey, you know. If Natsu hurled on it, even selling Happy wouldn't cover the cost."
"I'd never sell Happy!" Natsu protested.
"Yeah, no way!" Happy added.
"Balance magic?" Lucy asked, curious.
Seeing her confusion, and with the mindset that everyone in the guild was his underling and should know the basics, Kira patiently explained. "My Word Magic is pretty versatile. One of its tricks lets me alter something by tapping into the true meaning of words. For example, I tweaked the carpet's balance, so Natsu doesn't get dizzy."
Lucy didn't fully get it, but she was impressed. "Sounds like some seriously powerful magic."
Then Kira went on to introduce the others' magic to Lucy. "You already know Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic—immune to fire and can eat it to recharge. Erza uses Knight Magic, a type of Requip Magic, letting her switch armors and weapons for battle. And Gray's got Ice-Make Magic."
Words, knights, ice?
"Gray, why don't you show the newbie your magic?" Kira suggested.
"Ugh, you're such a pain…" Gray grumbled, but whether he was just following orders or showing off, he got to work.
"Ice-Make!" He clapped his hands together, and a wall of ice—tall as a person, wide as two outstretched arms, and ten centimeters thick—appeared on the carpet, perfectly blocking the oncoming wind.
Well, great. The wind was gone, but now the high-altitude air felt even colder…
Fire? Ice?
Lucy's brain clicked. "Oh! Is that why Natsu and Gray don't get along?"
Erza tilted her head. "Is that so?"
Gray scoffed. "Whatever you say…"
"Don't let their bickering fool you—they're actually pretty tight," Kira teased.
"Who's tight with him?!" Natsu and Gray shouted in unison, their faces full of mutual disdain.
"See? Perfect sync!" Kira laughed.
The two immediately shut up, awkwardly turning their heads away, which only made Lucy half-believe Kira's claim.
"It's nice to see comrades getting along, isn't it?" Erza said, clearly pleased. She loved nothing more than seeing the guild like one big, happy family.
Kira suddenly had a thought. What if… Erza's secretly a schemer? Maybe she enjoys watching Natsu and Gray squirm, pretending to get along in front of her while dying inside, and that's why she keeps up this pure, serious act?
The idea was chilling. What if Erza's the only one in Fairy Tail who's better at acting than me?
He shook his head, snapping out of it, and lightly slapped his cheeks. Erza noticed, giving him a puzzled look, sensing he was thinking something weird.
"Ahem… Anyway, as usual, let's divvy up the roles!" Kira said, changing the subject.
Lucy blinked. "Divvy up? Divvy up what?"
Happy explained, "It's Kira's thing when he's on a mission. Back when we worked with him, he'd always scout the enemy beforehand. For team missions, he assigns opponents to make things more organized."
Assigning opponents? That was new.
"How do you pick?" Lucy asked, curious.
She got her answer a second later when Natsu and Gray's faces lit up with "this sounds fun" grins. They loved fighting.
Natsu's fists burst into flames. "No need to assign anything! Just leave it all to me!"
Gray's hands shimmered with icy mist. "Give me the strongest one. Natsu can handle the small fry."
What kind of opponent-picking was this? This was just them hogging the fights! So "assigning opponents" just meant picking who they wanted to punch?
Lucy bopped Natsu on the head. "Idiot, we're up against a whole guild, and there's only five of us!"
"Natsu's no good. Just leave it to me," Gray said smugly.
"What'd you say?!" Natsu snapped.
As the two started butting heads, Kira sighed. Did they forget Erza's right here?
He glanced at Erza, who was calmly gazing into the distance, completely ignoring Natsu and Gray's squabble. She had the air of a big sister watching her little brothers bicker.
Since Erza wasn't stepping in, Kira had to. "Hey, you two, cut it out! We're on a flying carpet—think about safety!"
No effect. They completely ignored him. The guild had plenty of strong people, but only Erza had the authority to shut them down. So…
Kira looked at Erza pointedly.
"Enough!" he shouted. "Erza's watching, so sit down and listen!"
Sure enough, Erza's name did the trick. Natsu and Gray instantly sat down, behaving like perfect angels.
"Ahem…" Kira cleared his throat. "Eisenwald's not that strong, but they've got numbers. Here's the plan: Natsu, Gray, and Lucy handle the grunts and a few lieutenants. Erza, you focus on Erigor—he uses wind magic. Got it?"
Natsu and Gray looked disappointed. "No way! I want Erigor!" they both protested.
Kira shook his head. "Nope."
"Wait, what about you?" Lucy asked.
"I'm on backup duty, covering any surprises. If Lullaby goes out of control, you'll need someone with full stamina and magic power to step in. I'll only act if it comes to that."
Truthfully, Kira just wanted to slack off…
"Erza!" Natsu suddenly called out, dead serious, making Gray and Lucy turn in shock. Is this guy trying to steal Erza's fight? Is he insane?
Then Natsu said something even crazier.
"I'm fine with the plan, but when this is over, let's have a real fight!"
"WHAT?!" Lucy, Happy, and Gray gasped. "Is he trying to die?"
The air on the carpet froze. Erza locked eyes with Natsu, whose fiery, cherry-blossom-colored hair matched his determined, confident gaze, burning with strength.
Looks like Natsu's really grown, Erza thought, feeling the pride of an older sister watching her little brother mature.
"Alright," she said. "I'll take you on seriously when we get back."
"It's a deal!" Natsu's body burst into flames, his excitement blazing. "I'm all fired up!!!"
Lucy smacked him. "You moron, put out those flames! What if you burn the carpet?!"
"Relax!" Kira chuckled. "This carpet's fireproof—" His expression suddenly darkened as something wet caught his eye. "But water's another story."
They turned to see Gray's ice wall melting from Natsu's heat, soaking half the carpet. A furious roar startled a flock of birds nearby.
"You two idiots!!!"
---