Heart pounding and muscles screaming, Yukino skidded around a rock and ducked into the shadows; scraping her knees against the stoney ground. She was supposed to have returned to the guild days ago, surely someone would be looking for her by now. Sting must have noticed her prolonged absence. He'd promised to watch out for her when she agreed to return to Sabertooth, but maybe those had been just words. After all he hadn't been paying much attention to her, at least not more than he did anyone else in the guild.

The sound of approaching footsteps jerked Yukino from her thoughts of her blonde Dragon Sayer. She couldn't afford to focus on the confusing thing developing between her and her guild master. She needed to focus on finding an escape from whoever was pursuing her.

She'd finished her assigned mission easily enough, a day early even. She'd been so proud and excited to return to the guild and announce her success, but then…then she'd changed her mind. It was strange. Yukino couldn't remember exactly why she'd suddenly decided, after receiving the payment for defeating the monster, to stay an extra night in a small inn at the edge of a massive forested mountain near where she'd defeated the creature.

The inn had been beautiful; walls sculpted with little pictures and stories, every surface gleaming and sparkling. When she'd stumbled onto the inn, Yukino had thought she'd found a hidden gem. A place she could share with her friends. Everything about it had been inviting,comforting, and safe. The people had been kind, the food had been heavenly and the bed had been like a cloud. She should have known it was too good to be true.

Nothing ever worked out right for her after all.

While she had slept, the illusion of the inn had vanished and instead of awaking to soft sheets and a warm meal, she had awoken alone and in the middle of a forest. She'd barely had time to register what had happened before the beasts had attacked.

Instantly, Yukino had been forced to fight for her life against a pack of wolves, the size of bears, with eyes that glowed like coals and bodies that seemed to vanish in the moonlight. Hellhounds, she'd determined by the third time they'd attacked her. No one Yukino knew had ever seen them, but there'd been whispers of them in the scary stories of her childhood. Hearing about them had been terrifying, but fighting them had been far worse.

After killing the last one, Yukino had a moment of breath before something else began to chase her. She'd sensed whoever it was when she was fighting, but had been unable to waste any energy or attention to it. Sting had taught her that. If it's not an immediate threat don't waste time on it.

Now she knew, she shouldn't have ignored them. The instant the wolves had disappeared, Yukino's magic disappeared as well. Then a cloaked figure had stepped forward and she'd been forced to run, too exhausted to even consider fighting the powerful, dark mage.

The only thing she had yet to figure out was why. Why someone would go through so much trouble just to get to her? The few glimpses she had risked behind her while running had revealed nothing but a figure in a dark cloak and a face shrouded in darkness; so she had no idea what her pursuer looked like either. She doubted it would help even if she did. She didn't know enough about the rogue mages and guilds to identify the person, let alone figure out what they wanted from her.

Hearing the steady footsteps that had been following her ceaselessly, begin to approach her hiding place, Yukino's mind began to race once more; and a cold realization struck her. There was no way she was going to escape whoever was following her. She'd been trying to for days; getting sleep and rest whenever she was far enough away. But she never really was far enough. The person never seemed to rest; never seemed to do anything but walk, at the same steady pace, after her. As if they knew eventually she would fall into their trap. Yukino had struggled to escape for so long, but every time her magic came back the hellhounds would too. She was well past the point of exhaustion; it was wonder she hadn't fainted already.

What she needed was a way to let whoever came looking for know she was in trouble and where to start searching. But that was easier said then done. She was miles from wherever she'd started and much higher up then she dared to admit to herself. There wasn't a way for her to leave a written message and her time to come up with a solution was running out.

Desperately, her eyes scanned the ground around her for something, anything. Finding nothing, aside from leaves and twigs, Yukino's eyes turned to the rock temporarily hiding her. It was sharp; jagged bits running and jutting out everywhere.

Before Yukino could second guess what she was about to do, she jerked out her left hand and slashed it cruelly against the rock; biting back a hiss of pain as bright red splashed across the pale brown surface. Her scent would linger there for days now, Sting or Rogue would be able to smell it and know she was in danger. They'd come save her now.

Steeling her nerves one last time, Yukino dashed out away from the wall. Racing in another direction, praying they'd follow her immediately instead of wasting time to examine the rock. Risking a glance backward, she saw her prayers had been answered. They were closer than ever before, but any interest in the rock had vanished the moment she reappeared from behind it. Maybe, just maybe her desperate plan would work and her Sting would save her.

That was the last thing Yukino thought as she turned forward again only to find she run out of ground and was tumbling through the open air.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in frustration as she jumped once more in an attempt to reach the object her teammate held teasingly just out of reach. "Give it back." She pouted, stomping her foot when she again failed to reach her book and instead found herself barely even reaching his elbow.

Natsu grinned as Lucy's body fell against his; the dragon slayer's eyes alight with impish delight. Despite herself, Lucy blushed. She was finding herself doing that a lot around Natsu lately. Especially whenever they happened to touch; a jolt of electricity would shoot through her body and heat would immediately rise to her cheeks. Normally she would take a few steps back, but now was not the time to focus on the growing tension between her and her best friend. No Lucy was determined to get back her book before Natsu damaged it or, Mavis forbid, read it.

Even the thought of Natsu reading what she had written sent a shiver of dread down the Celestial Spirt Mage's spine. There was no way she could ever let that happen. Steeling herself she launched one final attack on the Dragon Slayer, slamming into him and knocking them both to the ground. Before Natsu could recover fully, Lucy scrambled forward and secured her book; wrapping her arms securely around it, while straddling his stomach.

"Jeez Lushi," Natsu grumbled as he looked up at her. "That hurt."

"Idiot! You stole my book!" She cried, her brown eyes flashing dangerously.

Natsu brought his elbows up behind him, causing Lucy to slide backward into his lap. "I borrowed it weirdo." The two teammates stared each other down for a few seconds before Natsu caved. "You never let me read any of it." He muttered.

Confused, Lucy relaxed her hold on the book slightly, wondering why that even mattered to Natsu. It wasn't like he liked to read stories and he knew how she felt about people reading what she had written. It was private. As it stood currently, only Levy was trusted enough to read any of it and that was only because the blue-haired girl had begged and pleaded until Lucy caved, simply because she'd wanted to get the Solid-Script Mage off her back for a bit. It turned out to be a good decision, given how helpful Levy was with editing and critiquing Lucy's story. Not to mention, it had brought the two together, something both girls were eternally grateful for.

"Why does that matter?"

Natsu, if possible, pouted even more. "Because we're teammates."

"So?" Lucy pressed, tilting her head as she struggled to understand.

"So, you know everything about Happy and I, don't cha?" Furrowing her eyebrows, Lucy considered the question seriously.

Of course Lucy knew that Natsu statement was not entirely correct. There were things that she and the rest of the guild didn't know or understand about the Fire Dragon Slayer, but that could be said about either of the other two Slayers as well. Natsu didn't even know the answers to the questions burning in everyone's mind. But aside from the things that no one knew, she really did know a lot about him. She knew how much he liked to sneak into her room and cuddle with her when he thought she was fast asleep; she knew how protective he was of all of his nakama, no matter how old or new they were to the guild; she knew his favorite food, drink, clothes, table, and even his preferred fishing spot (a trip she would never be repeating); she knew him at his weakest and his strongest. Lucy Heartfilia even knew where the Fire Dragon Slayer used to sleep before she arrived in the guild; hell she'd even cleaned the place for him and Happy on the rare occasions she'd visited their little cabin. All of that considered, Lucy could honestly say that she probably did know all of Natsu's secrets and it warmed her heart to know that he'd trusted her above anyone else in the guild.

"I guess I do Natsu, but what does that have to do with my book?" Natsu raised his deep grey eyes to meet Lucy's brown ones and she was surprised to see a slightly hurt expression dancing in them.

"Why can't I know all of yours then?" Taken aback, Lucy dropped her hands and the book so that it lay unprotected in her lap. Surprisingly, Natsu didn't make a dive for the book and instead waited for her response.

"Natsu, you do know all of mine. Everything I've tried to hide, to bury away…you've ripped out of me." He grimaced at her words, and she realized how they sounded. "Not in a bad way. It hurt at first, but it's left me better. Stronger even." As if to demonstrate, Lucy lifted her right arm and flexed her muscles for Natsu who laughed and showed off his own to which she only rolled her eyes. "I can't even begin to explain how much you've helped me Natsu. You're the first—and best—friend I've ever had."

Eyes dancing with laughter, Natsu smiled and nodded towards the book still in her lap. "I don't know that though Luce." Glancing down, the blonde bit her lip. That was true, Natsu didn't know what lay between the carefully hand-written pages, but he couldn't ever read it. He'd know then. He'd know that his smile released a million butterflies into her stomach; that every time he took her hand in his, a shiver would travel from their intertwined fingers throughout her entire body; that walking up beside him every morning, made her feel more content than she ever had before. He'd know all of those things, and so much more. Everything would be out in the open between them and nothing could ever be the same again. Lucy couldn't let that happen. She would never risk losing the bond she and the pink haired Dragon Slayer had. The blonde knew she could ignore the feeling erupting inside of her, so long as Natsu continued to look at her with that same innocent smirk.

"Natsu…" Lucy tried, searching for the words to explain why he couldn't read it. Words that he would understand but not be suspicious of. "It's not finished."

"Why does that matter? Levy reads it already."

"She's…she's proofreading it for me though."

"Proofreading?" He questioned, his face distorted in confusion.

"Ya, she's reading over what I've written and letting me know how it is and what I need to improve on."

Natsu nodded slowly, "like a trainer?" Lucy rolled her eyes, but nodded. Leave it to Natsu to relate everything back to fighting. "Then let me proofread it too!" He exclaimed suddenly making a mad grab for the book.

Before he could however, Lucy had ripped it out of her lap and behind her back, out of his reach; at least for the time being. "No!" She cried, squeezing her eyes shut to block out any hurt expression he might have. "You can't! I want…I want to save it until it's finished. Then everyone can read it."

Opening one eye when no response came, Lucy's heart sank when she realized the entire guild had grown silent and was watching the two of them. Which meant everyone had heard what she had just said. Which meant that everyone would expect to read her story now. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"Alright." Natsu drawled, his tone already indifferent. "I get to read it first then, got it?" The look he shot her made Lucy remember he was anything but indifferent and she nodded before she could think to argue anymore.

"Oi, Flamebrain! Who says you get to read it first?"

Jumping up at the challenge, Natsu met Gray head on—literally—and yelled right back, "I do Pervert! You got a problem with that?!"

Gray jabbed a finger at his bare chest, "Lucy's my teammate too! I want to read whatever she's written more than you do! Besides you probably can't even read, moron!" He'd barely finished his sentence before Natsu's flaming fist slammed into the side of his face and a brawl between the two escalated from there.

Meanwhile, Lucy had taken refuge at the bar, away from the dueling mages and any rouge chairs that might be flying around the guild.

"You're not really going to let Natsu read that, are you?" Levy whispered, appearing beside the blonde mage.

Shooting a wary glance behind her, to be sure he was still distracted, Lucy shook her head. "No one other than you will."

"Why's that Lucy?" Just as suddenly as Levy had appeared, so did Mira, her eyes alight with curiosity.

Sighing, Lucy bowed her head in defeat. There was no way she could escape this one. Natsu was easy to distract and defuse. He was a dense idiot most of the time. Mira on the other hand was anything but.

"Oh because Lu-chan sometimes writes more into the story than she intends." Levy answered for her, a smirk on the small mage's face, while Lucy groaned inwardly.

"What does that mean?" Mira asked sweetly, but the Celestial Mage knew better than to buy into the tiny smile the white haired woman was giving her. One glance into her bright blue eyes, would reveal a gossiping and love-obsessed Mira ready to pounce.

"It means that writing helps me…think through things. Sometimes those things work their way into the story."

"What things?" Mira pressed, bending her body down, over the counter, so her deep blue eyes met Lucy's brown ones.

Huffing air upward into her bangs, Lucy sat up and rested her cheek heavily on her palm. "It means that…" She searched for the right wording to get Mira off her back. Lucy would have loved to tell the Take-over Mage the truth, but she knew better. If Mira knew her feelings for Natsu, then she would meddle and, well her heart was in the right place, Mira and meddling was bad. Dangerous even. "It means that all the painful things I've gone through here…they're written in there. And it would hurt Natsu to read it." Understanding danced in the white haired mages eyes, and she nodded.

"Oh Lucy…" Mira reached out and grasped her hand. "You're such a good friend!" She squeezed the blonde's hand once before flashing the two girls a final smile and sweeping off to the other side of the bar where Cana needed another barrel of alcohol.

"Well that was…" Lucy began, unsure what to say.

"Surprisingly easy." Levy finished for her. "You don't really think…"

"Not at all." Lucy answered, eyes trailing after the white-haired beauty. "There's no way Mira would ever fall for that. Which means…"

"She probably already knows. But why hasn't she said anything?"

"Why indeed?" Lucy murmured, an uneasy feeling taking refuge in her stomach. Mira, love master of Fairy Tail, hadn't attempted to set her up with anyone for weeks. Months even, now that she thought about it. There was no way she didn't know. The only reason she relented when it came to couples was when she was scheming. The thought sent a shiver down Lucy's spine. Meddling was bad, but scheming…scheming was far far worse.

"You don't think?" Levy whispered, horror evident in her voice.

"I do." Lucy moaned.

"Oh Lu-chan…" Levy murmured comfortingly; laying a hand on her friend's arm. "Maybe her plan won't be so bad this time?"

Lucy didn't bother replying. They both knew that wouldn't be the case. Levy herself had already suffered three failed schemes á la Mira. After each one, the poor girl had been unable to face Gajeel for three straight weeks. To his credit, Gajeel had showed no obvious outward changes, but Lucy was observant enough to spot the slight coloring on his neck whenever he and Levy had gotten anywhere near each other afterward. Others had been less fortunate, Romeo and Wendy were still avoiding each other after a scheme which had occurred over a month ago, and Juvia had returned to watching Gray from afar, after a particular horrifying plan gone wrong. There was no doubt that whatever Mira's plan was, it would be nothing short of terrible.

"Master Sting!" The Light Dragon Slayer glanced up moodily from the glass he'd been staring into. Before him stood a new addition to his guild, a boy, about eight years younger than Sting himself, but promising nevertheless. If he could recall correctly, the boy had joined shortly after the Grand Magic Games and had rather impressive water magic. Nothing on level with Juvia of Fairy Tail, but one day he might prove a worthy opponent for the Fairy Tail mage. Not that there would be any reason for the two mages to fight, the guilds being on relatively friendly terms now.

"Keith right?" The boy nodded eagerly, his long brown hair sweeping over his face. Inwardly, Sting grinned. He'd been trying to remember all the newbies names, to prove that he was a better master than Jiemma and that Sabertooth had changed from the power hungry guild it had once been. "What's bugging you?"

Seeming to remember why he was there, the boy's smile faltered. "Well…well it's just that Yukino's been absent for a while sir. Much longer than she should have been given her mission." Sting's frown returned at the boys words. Keith wasn't telling Sting anything he didn't already know. From the moment Yukino had left the guild for her first solo mission, the Dragon Slayer had been on edge. He hadn't wanted to admit it at the time, but he was worried about her. It wasn't that she wasn't capable of taking on the relatively easy mission, but that he wouldn't be there to protect her. Not that she needed his protection per say; just that in his absences she could be hurt and Sting hated to think of anything injuring the Celestial Mage further. Sabertooth had done enough to her, while that bastard, Jiemma, had been in charge, to last anyone a life time. Especially if that someone was as compassionate and beautiful as Yukino.

"I know, Keith." The boy's face seemed to drop; as if he was fearful of a lashing for his worries. "But thanks. For worrying that is. Proves I was right to bring you into our guild!" Sting grinned widely at the clearly shocked boy. "I want only guild members who worry and care for their nakama in Sabertooth." Keith nodded and smiled back at his master, showing that there was a gap between two of his top teeth.

"So there's nothing to worry about then?" Sting's grin slipped slightly at the question.

"I didn't say that." He murmured barely enough for anyone other than himself to hear, before answering much louder, "not at all." Reassured, the boy scampered off to rejoin his fellow guild mates and their loud antics.

"Lying already?" Came an even voice from behind the Light Dragon Slayer.

Turning, Sting half-shrugged. "Not lying exactly, just not…ya alright lying." He chuckled lowly, running a hand through his spiky hair. "She's been gone over a week Rogue. That's way too long for a simple mission like that."

Rogue nodded, his eyes traveling around the guild to watch for any eavesdroppers. It wouldn't be good to introduce trouble to such a new group of people. Too many unknowns. He knew Sting was right to lie, but that didn't mean the Shadow Dragon Slayer was happy about it. "We should send a search party. Keep it small though. Need to know basis."

Sting's smile returned slightly. "Sounds like a job for the Twin Dragons" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"You'd be leaving Sabertooth without a master."

"Rufus and Orga are more than capable of watching over everything while I'm gone. Besides, I'm tired of sitting on the sidelines while you get to have all the fun. It's time we started taking missions together again." Sting threw his arm around his friend, drawing him closer.

"Things have changed Sting. You know that." Rogue warned, not bothering to fight off the brotherly affection.

"Doesn't mean everything has to." The blonde Dragon Slayer countered easily. Already, his eyes were searching the guild for the other two GMG team members. Spotting them nearby, Sting began to drag Rogue over. "It's like testing the waters. Nothing too big. Just making sure Yukino is alright."

Rogue decided it was better to not argue. From the way Sting was pushing the matter, he doubted his friend would settle for anything less than finding the white haired mage for himself anyway. Despite his ability to seem aloof and disinterested in others, the Shadow Dragon Slayer knew that the Celestial Mage was special to his friend and was secretly cheering the two on in their clumsy advances.

"Rufus! Orga!" Sting greeted the two men.

"Master," Rufus responded respectfully, while Orga simply glowered down at them.

"No calling me Master, remember?"

Rufus tipped his hat, but did not agree to the request. "What can we do for you?"

"Rogue and I wanted to go on a little…trip." Sting began, careful to avoid sounding suspicious at all. Which only served to do the opposite.

"A trip? My memory doesn't recall any previous trips. May I inquire on the destination?" A small smile crooked at the corners of Rufus's mouth, but otherwise his face and voice remained impassive as ever.

"No where particular. More to explore and have some fun. I've been stuffed in here too much lately. I want to get out and throw a few punches."

"You can throw a few punches here Sting." Orga spoke, amusement in his eyes.

"True, but a Master shouldn't fight his guild. He might hurt someone." Rogue glanced sharply at his twin. The challenge there was undeniable. Sting was strong, but Orga was not someone anyone normally challenged. He'd fought Fairy Tail's Laxus in the Grand Magic Games and barely lost. Even Natsu couldn't challenge Laxus properly. Did Sting honestly think he could defeat Orga so easily?

Luckily, Orga laughed and slapped a hand on Sting's shoulder. "A funny jest indeed. What is it that you want from the two of us?"

"I want you to watch the guild while I'm gone. Temporary leaders, I guess. Just keep everyone out of trouble." The men nodded.

"Fair enough. When can we expect you to return." Sting glanced at Rogue, silence stretching awkwardly at Rufus's question.

This time it was Rogue who answered, "we'll send word." Rufus nodded, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Good luck then."