The afternoon sun spilled through the wide windows of Fairy Tail, painting the wooden floor gold. The guild buzzed with its usual rhythm — laughter, clattering mugs, and the faint sound of someone being launched through a wall in the background.
Everything was peaceful…Until Natsu Dragneel exploded out of his chair.
"ERZAAAAA!!!"
The roar shook the guild. Plates rattled. A few mugs rolled off tables and shattered.
Heads turned instantly.
"What's he yelling about now?" Macao muttered, already bracing for property damage.
"Did Happy step on his tail again?" Wakaba asked, exhaling a puff of smoke shaped suspiciously like a question mark.
Erza Scarlet, sitting two tables away, didn't even flinch. She sat with the poise of a dictator, fork delicately cutting into her slice of strawberry cake. The sunlight glinted off her scarlet hair as if nature itself understood not to interrupt her dessert.
Natsu's voice boomed again. "Erza! You owed me a fight! You said before the last mission that we'd fight when we got back!"
The guild went dead silent for half a second——before erupting in chatter.
"Oh boy, here we go again!" Macao groaned.
Gray snorted from across the room. "You sure you wanna die today, flame brain?"
"Manly!" Elfman declared, pounding his fist into his palm. "Challenging Erza like that is the height of manliness!"
Happy zipped through the air, holding a tiny flower. "Aye! Lucy, start preparing Natsu's tombstone!"
Lucy looked up from her drink, horrified. "Huh?! Why me?!"
"Because you're the responsible one!" Happy chirped.
"You flying cat!" Lucy shot back, slamming her hand on the table.
Amid the chaos, Erza calmly took the last bite of her cake, dabbed her mouth with a napkin, and stood. Her armor gleamed faintly as she turned toward Natsu with a small, knowing smile.
"You've grown stronger since last year, Natsu," she said softly. "A fight with you will be… interesting."
The entire guild exploded.
"OOOOH!""Erza accepted!""Let's go outside!"
Benches scraped. Doors swung. Half the guild stampeded toward the front entrance before Natsu even had time to respond.
Outside, the cobbled street in front of the guild turned into an instant arena.
"Place your bets, everyone!" Cana shouted, jumping onto a barrel with her tankard in hand. "Ten jewels minimum, don't be stingy!"
Macao and Wakaba huddled together like conspirators.
"I'm putting everything my wife gave me for groceries on Erza," Macao said.
Wakaba exhaled a ring of smoke shaped like Erza's head. "Same. You'd have to be drunk to bet against her."
"You are drunk."
"Exactly."
The two nodded solemnly, satisfied with their logic.
Cana cackled, her barrel overflowing with jewel bags. "Keep it coming, boys! The house always wins!"
On the main street, the crowd spread wide. Fairy Tail members encircled the two combatants, their voices rising with excitement. Even passerbies started gathering — shopkeepers, travelers, children perched on fences, eager to see what wild stunt the famous guild was up to this time.
"Fairy Tail's at it again!" someone laughed. "At least they're fighting each other this time!"
At the center of it all stood Natsu and Erza.
Natsu rolled his shoulders, fire flickering around his fists. "Yosh! Let's begin!" The flames roared to life, his grin wide and wild.
He lunged first — the ground cracked under his feet. His flaming fist shot forward like a comet.
Erza jumped back lightly, the air shuddering where his punch landed.
"Nice," she said evenly. "You've improved."
Natsu smirked, teeth glinting. "I'm just getting started!"
He blasted fire from his feet, propelling himself forward in a fiery blur. Erza's eyes sharpened.
"Requip!"
Her armor dissolved into light, reforming into her Heaven's Wheel attire — silver and white, with dozens of floating swords glimmering in the air.
The guild erupted again.
"Here it comes!""Requip time!""Man, that's always so cool!"
And among the crowd, at the very back, a trio stood slightly apart.
Cid leaned casually against a post, flanked by two of the most unremarkable people in existence — Jaga and Hyoro.
Hyoro's jaw dropped as Erza's new armor materialized in a burst of light.
The guild's golden child stood framed by magic — silver plates gleaming, swords orbiting like stars, a faint veil of shimmering energy hugging her figure.
"Wooooah…" Hyoro breathed, eyes bulging. "Every time she uses that magic, she's like—like a goddess descending from heaven!"
Jaga's head bobbed furiously beside him, pupils practically sparkling. "Yeah, man! It's like—BOOM!—light, metal, curves!"
He leaned closer, elbowing his partner in perversion. "That magic veil… you can't see anything, but you can feel everything! It's like the universe wants us to imagine what's hidden!"
Hyoro nodded vigorously, drool starting to gather at the corner of his mouth. "Totally! That's the real genius of her magic. True art, man. The perfect balance between mystery and temptation!"
Jaga clasped his hands as if in prayer. "Requip magic… truly the highest form of cultural expression."
Hyoro sighed dreamily. "Those forms—those outlines—just barely hidden by that glow. Like divinity wrapped in armor…"
They both froze mid-drool, utterly entranced.
Cid commented internally, expression perfectly neutral.
(As expected of a shōnen manga. No matter the situation, the ratio of fanservice to fight scenes must remain sacred.)
Erza sent her blades forward. Natsu charged again, flames clashing against steel, sparks scattering into the air.
The crowd roared, the air buzzing with excitement.
The heat from Natsu's last punch was still hanging in the air when a single, sharp shout sliced through the chaos.
"STOP!"
The crowd froze instantly.
Even Natsu, who had been seconds away from roaring another battle cry, halted mid-motion — his fist still glowing faintly.
Every head turned toward the source of the voice.
Through the wall of spectators waddled a squat, green figure wearing an official navy cloak embroidered with the symbol of the Magic Council. His webbed feet slapped wetly against the cobblestone as he huffed and puffed his way forward, parting the crowd with surprising authority.
"A… a frogman?" Lucy whispered, blinking.
Wakaba squinted through the smoke of his pipe. "Nah, that's the council assistant type. One of those council errand-frogs."
The frog straightened, tugging at his crisp collar before clearing his throat importantly. "Ahem! Excuse me! Please step aside! I'm on official Council business!"
The words Magic Council alone were enough to shift the air. Only Natsu didn't register it immediately...
He turned toward the newcomer, irritation flaring in his eyes. "Oi, what's the big idea interrupting—"
Then he noticed the insignia on the frogman's chest. The exact same one the Council officers wore during investigations.
His voice died in his throat.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
(Crap… almost decked a government official… that would've been a really bad idea.)
He took a nervous step back, awkwardly scratching his cheek.
The frogman finally stopped between Natsu and Erza, taking a deep, dramatic breath. The entire guild had gone silent — even the usual background brawls paused, as if Fairy Tail itself wanted to eavesdrop.
From above, Erza floated down gracefully, her swords fading one by one into motes of light. Her armor shimmered and shifted back into her usual form as she landed softly beside Natsu, composed as ever.
"What's the meaning of this interruption?" she asked firmly.
The frog adjusted his collar again, his throat puffing slightly. "Erza Scarlet," he croaked solemnly, "by order of the Magic Council, you are hereby placed under arrest."
The words hit like a slap.
"What?!" several voices shouted at once.
Lucy's jaw dropped. "Under what charge?!"
Even Cana, halfway through collecting bets, froze with her money bag in hand.
Natsu's eyes widened, and for a second, he looked like he might have misheard. "Arrest?!"
The frog nodded, tone unbending. "In view of your involvement in the destruction of the Guild Masters' Hall in Clover Town, and the endangerment of Council-sanctioned personnel, you are to be detained for questioning."
The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.
Then the entire guild erupted.
"THAT'S RIDICULOUS!""ERZA WOULD NEVER DO THAT!""ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FROGGY MIND?!"
The frogman stumbled back slightly, clutching his papers. "O-order! Order!"
Natsu stormed forward, his magic flaring in anger as he grabbed the councilman by the front of his uniform. "What the hell are you talking about?! You've got it all wrong! It wasn't Erza who destroyed that hall!"
He shook him once, causing the frog's eyes to bulge alarmingly. "It was that Shadow guy! You know, the mysterious weirdo who fought that demon! He's the one who caused all that damage!"
The frog croaked nervously, papers fluttering in his hands. "S-Shadow…? W-we are aware of what you recounted, but there is no official record of such an individual in the Council's archives."
Natsu scowled. "Of course there isn't! He doesn't register! He just appears, beats up monsters, and disappears like smoke!"
"Like a ninja," Happy chimed in, nodding seriously. "A super cool, scary ninja."
"Happy, you're not helping!" Lucy hissed.
Erza placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, gently pulling him back. "Enough, Natsu." Her voice was calm, but her eyes were cold steel.
Turning to the council envoy, she asked, "Am I to assume there will be a hearing?"
The frog nodded quickly. "Y-yes! A formal inquest will be held in Era tomorrow morning. You are to accompany us immediately for questioning."
Cid, watching from his quiet corner, tilted his head.
(In a way, sorry Erza…)
Then, aloud, he mumbled with perfect mob seriousness, "Poor Erza… the justice system sure is scary."
Jaga and Hyoro nodded somberly beside him.
"Yeah… I heard they make you sit in chairs all day answering questions."
Cid sighed, eyes half-lidded.
(Truly… the life of a mob is bliss. No accusations, no heroics. Just juice and commentary.)
(Mob blending… not mob-ilizable.)