Right, so it's been a while since my last update, this is due to my final exam, and sadly enough I failed it, so I've been preparing for my re-exam which is in about 2 weeks. That being said, I finally got back to this story, and I'm tossing out another chapter. I will quickly go over a few things here, that will be expected from this chapter, but also from the coming chapters.

First off, Tiamat has felt his demonic side, E.N.D, and this will be a prominent thing that I haven't spoken about before, but just to clarify, since Natsu is aware of who he is, due to Zeref revealing it in the manga, but also considering how I started the story, so far he has refused to use to power of E.N.D, but this will change. The big change it will have is that his demonic side now has been brought out, permanently thanks to him being reincarnated, but at the same time, it's monumentally different from being a devil, he is a demon, far stronger and a more primordial version of a devil so to speak, this is my decision, and I know many will not agree with my decision to make it so, but that's how it is.

I'm also gonna skip a few weeks in the start of this chapter, but what happened during those weeks will be explained, as the story goes along. I like the feeling of surprise and uncertainty.

Last thing I will be addressing before I start the story, is that I have gotten quite a few complaints about how I explained Natsu's current power ranking, and well, not to offend anyone, but this is my story, I'm writing it as I see fit, if you don't like it, don't read it.

Thanks for listening to my little rant. Now on with the story.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

'Casting spell'

Chapter 4 – The hunted fights back

Previously:

She regarded him with a slight smile, recognizing the same hatred for devils and she herself held, but she felt something different on him, something far more demonic than a common devil, it felt so much different, mainly because magic was not present in this feeling.

"What is your name?" she asked, "I'm Natsu! Natsu Dragneel, son of the fire dragon king Igneel!" He said excitedly, she looked at him with slightly wide eyes, 'a dragon king?' she thought.

"My name is Tiamat, the chaos karma dragon, a former dragon king of this world"

The Familiar Forest

It's been around 6 weeks since Natsu had first come to the familiar forest, and it had been a strange experience for him. First of all, he didn't really know how he got here, but that was later explained by his new friend, Tiamat, who explained to Natsu how magic worked in this world, and how he had essentially teleported to the forest, by creating a rift in space that would allow him to pass. It sounded reasonable to some extent, but at the same time, he didn't possess that kind of power, but then again, Tiamat had explained that devil's magic is different from his own. Natsu's magic was based on his training with Igneel, learning specific spells, techniques that is only usable by him, whereas devil magic is based on imagination. This was of cause confusing as well, since Tiamat had explained that even though magic was based on imagination, it was also fueled by willpower. So even though teleportation through rifts, was the foundation for dimensional travel, normal devil's had to prepare teleportation circles to travel, and Natsu was certain that he didn't do that, mostly because he didn't know how.

So the conclusion they both arrived at, was that through sheer willpower to leave the underworld, Natsu had willed a rift into existence and traveled to the place that reminded him most of home, a forest with no population nearby, just like when he lived with Igneel.

Natsu was now sitting under a waterfall, meditation while the pressure of the water was coming down hard on his shoulders. Black markings were now showing all over his body, as he meditation, he was forcing himself to access the power of E.N.D, trying to control a power that was directly the opposite of his magic, since It didn't use magic, so he had a hard time using it. Normally when he used magic, all he had to do was open the valve that kept his power suppressed and let it flood out. It was very odd not being able to release the power of his curses the same way, but he was slowly getting the hang of it. He was preparing for the inevitable, as Tiamat had explained to him, he was now considered a stray devil, and would be hunted, be it bounty hunters or devils being tasked with bringing him down, it would happen sooner or later.

In a different place of the familiar forest, Tiamat was walking around in her human form, she had become accustomed to this form from the moment she met Natsu, it was an odd feeling for her, she liked her dragon form, and so did Natsu, but she found herself wanting to stay like this, just for him. It had started 3 weeks ago, when he had commented on her appearance, by saying, that her dragon form was awesome, and her human form was beautiful, and not just beautiful, but the most beautiful women he had ever met.

That being said, he had simply told her because she had asked what form he would prefer her to be in and what would make him most comfortable with, and he actually never answered it, just said those two things.

From this, she came to the conclusion that staying in the human form, was the best choice since he found it beautiful, and it made her blush how direct he had been about it.

So now she was walking around the forest, thinking about Natsu, and how he had explained where he was from, and his mission so to speak. She had believed him, that he came from another world, the things he explained, talked about, it sounded so real, but her biggest doubt was when he said he was a dragon slayer. That had made her doubt everything he said to begin with, but when he unleashed his power, when she felt how much stronger than her he was, it floored her completely. Worst of all, or best of all depending on the perspective, she fell hard for him at that moment, the power he radiated drew her in right away, and she almost jumped him then and there. But alas, she didn't, she wasn't sure that he noticed or even felt that way, sure she could just ask him, so far whenever she asked him something he was brutally honest and spoke his mind, not seeming to become flustered or embarrassed about anything, and her being a dragon, was so attracted to his draconic power, that she found it hard not to just jump him. In her mind, he was the ideal mate, but the biggest attraction she had towards the dragon slayer, was his unyielding kindness, he wouldn't ever hurt anyone, unless they wronged him in a degree he couldn't forgive, and that's saying something if the tales from his world was anything to go by.

As Tiamat walked around the forest, she came upon the waterfall Natsu was meditation under. She stood rooted, looking at the shirtless Natsu as he was unleashing his demon powers, she took in his defined torso, his strong arms, and the look of serenity on his face, Tiamat blushed, she found him so attractive it was almost stupid, but looking at his face made her hesitate. From what he told her, everyone he knew, was dead, he was sent to a different universe, just to train even more to kill his brother, and that was something she could not comprehend, how could someone related to Natsu, be the most evil person in his world, it was so unrealistic, and she felt so bad for Natsu, but the face he made right at this moment, was the first time since they met, that he had looked somewhat at peace.

Tiamat walked towards Natsu, and when she stepped within 10 meters of him, he opened his eyes, his black marking slowly fading, but never disappearing completely, he smiled at her, "Hi Tia, is there something you need?" He asked her.

"Hi Natsu, I just came to see you, I wanted to speak to you about something, and.." she stopped, blushing a little, the smile he was giving her was small but radiating, "I… I wanted to talk to you about..." She hesitated again, "something related to dragons, especially how I… how I feel about you..." She blushed a little more, but kept her composure, and waiting for Natsu to speak with a smile on her face.

"Sure thing Tia" Natsu replied with a smile.

She looked at him, her nerves settling a little, "Natsu, I don't know if you know this, but .. Dragons are attracted to power... and I... I have been attracted to you for a while now, I'm finding it harder and harder to stay away from you... and I'm afraid that you might not feel the same way about me, when you are so much more powerful than me..." she finished, with a small look of dread on her face, she was looking down, and couldn't look at Natsu right now.

"You're a silly dragon Tia, how could I not like you? You're kind, you're adorable when you blush, and you don't judge me, on top of that you're the most beautiful person I know, it's something I think about every day" Natsu smiled at her again.

She looked up, the smile adorning her face shining, and she did the only thing she could think of. She jumped forward taking Natsu into the water, and kissed him.

~BREAK~

Occult Research Club

Rias was currently sitting at her desk, her peerage spread out in the room, the last 6 weeks had been crazy, and her husband, even though she still didn't like him, had been murdered by her new pawn, and she was contemplating how to deal with it, she had explained the whole situation to her brother, and he had issued, that Natsu was a stray guilty of murdering his master's husband, and he got classified as a S-Rank criminal, but that wasn't what bothered her, what really bothered her had been the reaction of her pawn when he was told that he was now her servant, and that he had been turned into a devil.

Natsu had reacted rather violently, he didn't take well to being a slave, but even less to the fact that he was turned into a devil, and she didn't understand why. She could not comprehend how he could not be grateful to her, she turned him into a superior race, for the low cost of his humanity, he would now have power even greater than before, or so she had thought. When he lashed out, when he unleashed his power, she had frozen in fear while Riser had chased after her pawn, and then he did something Rias thought impossible, he killed a phoenix, with his bare fists. No god level strike, no overwhelming stress to the phoenix mind, he straight up ripped his heart out as if he had been a simple human, and she didn't understand how he could do that, how he nullified the power of immortality.

It puzzled her, but it also frightened her greatly.

Knock knock

A sudden knock on the door dragged Rias out of her musing, "Come in" she spoke, and the door opened revealing Sona Sitri, her best friend and student council president along with her peerage.

They walked in courtly and sat down on the furniture in the room.

"I heard what happened to your husband" Sona started, "Not that I feel bad for him, knowing who he was, but I need to know, how it happened Rias, we have been issued the task of finding him and bringing him back to the underworld, and from what I hear, it's not going to be an easy task" Rias looked surprised from what she just heard, it made no sense, she had explained the power her pawn held, so how could they give this job to Sona?

"What! Why were you given that task? Natsu is easily ultimate class, how could they not send someone stronger than us?" Rias all but shouted, and Sona looked at her with calculating eyes, "They have not classed him as such, neither was I given any information about his circumstances, just that he killed your husband and I am to bring him in. That's why I have come to you, I need to know why he did what he did, what magic he has and how to best bring him in" Sona spoke, given no room to argue.

"I'll answer the best I can then" Rias started, "From our encounter just before he killed Riser, he used fire magic, and it was fire magic so strong that not even Grayfia could freeze him…" Sona's eyes widened at that, but she said nothing as Rias continued, "As for how he got so mad, it was really odd to me, I found him in a crater on our territory, he appeared in a bright flash of light, a sudden explosion and then he just laid there, unconscious. He was radiating so much power for a human, so I figured I would add him to my peerage, my 7 remaining pawn pieces all mutated before entering him, and I took all of them to turn him, I couldn't resist having such a piece. And when I told him that I turned him into a devil and I was now his master, he flipped out, saying he would serve no one and that the only master he ever had was his gramps, then he shot through the roof, and killed Riser as he took pursuit. The only thing I cannot answer is how to best bring him in, I simply do not know, and I think you should talk to your sister about getting someone else to do the job" Rias ended her rather long explanation.

Sona and her peerage stood there looking at Rias, mouths slightly apart, looking at her as if she was plain mad. "Rias, did you ever consider that turning something far more powerful than you into a devil without its consent while it's sleeping is a horrible idea?" Sona asked her, not expecting an answer, considering the expression Rias was currently wearing.

Sona stood up, biding a quick farewell, and exited the clubroom with her peerage, but just before she left, she looked to Rias and spoke one last time, "We heard a rumor of someone appearing in the familiar forest, and the familiar master have reported that a few forest fires have been started by someone fighting Tiamat, we will start there" After saying that, Sona left the clubroom, leaving Rias to her own devices.

~BREAK~

Familiar Forest – With Sona

Sona and her peerage arrived at the familiar forest later the same day, they were on edge, the prospect of meeting the person Rias had described, but at the same time, the reincarnated devils in Sona's peerage could easily understand why he had reacted harshly to being reincarnated against your will. They had all chosen to become devils, so they were content with the decision, but Natsu was not. He had been forced to become something he had no desire to be, and it infuriated him.

As they walked through the forest, they had been informed by the familiar master prior to their arrival that a lot of explosions had originated from near the cave of Tiamat, so they slowly traveled towards that direction. They knew that Tiamat was not keen on devils at the moment, especially because of something that happened between her and the other dragon kings regarding the devils, they didn't know what had happened, only that she was no longer a dragon king, be it her renouncing the title or it being involuntarily taken from her.

Alas they went towards her, in hopes that should they bump into her they would be able to persuade her to let them pass without incident and catch a stray devil, they hoped the stray devil would give them enough cooperation from Tiamat to let them pass without incident.

As they neared the cave, they found the atmosphere around them tense, none of them speaking, hoping to get past the cave of the former dragon king themselves, but luck was not on their side. As they neared the entrance, a booming voice echoed through the forest

"What are you filthy creatures doing at my home? Answer me now, or DIE!" The voice of Tiamat bellowed, sending shivers down the spines of everyone in the peerage.

Sona stepped forward, taking the lead as she should for her peerage, and spoke calmly, but with a hint of nervousness and fear in her voice. "My name is Sona Sitri, I seek a stray devil who have been sighted in the forest, he is charged with murder and we have been charged with bringing him back." There was no answer for a few minutes, but before Sona voiced her task again, she was interrupted by Tiamat coming out of the cave in human form. To say the group of devils were enchanted by her beauty was an understatement, but none more so than Sanji. "Holy shit she is hot!" He voiced out, but immediately covered his mouth with his hands, because a growl now originated from the cave, but nothing showed.

"I advise you to not hit on a dragon who has been claimed by another, we tend to be rather possessive." She glared at Sanji, who was hit over the back of the head by Sona. "I also advise you to leave immediately, you are trespassing and my mate is not interested in seeing any devils for the foreseeable future." Tiamat spoke to Sona, keeping eye contact with the devil.

"Your mate?" Sona asked, "What do you mean by mate?" She was confused, she thought only dragons and other species mated with each other, but not humans nor devils. Mating was forever and when mated, no other person would come between you and your mate.

"It is as I said, he is my mate, he is part dragon, part demon, he will have nothing to do with you filthy devils who have done nothing but wrong him since he arrived in this world, now LEAVE!" Tiamat's voice boomed as she ended the sentence, showing power through her voice alone.

"We cannot do that, he has murdered what is essentially royalty in our faction, and must stand before his crime" Sona said, standing her ground.

This time, a low but feral growl came from Tiamat, but she didn't get to act on it, before a voice came from behind her, from the cave.

"It's okay Tia, I will take care of this, I'm not going anywhere." The voice of Natsu came from the cave as he slowly emerged. Tiamat turned around and walked towards Natsu, and when she reached him, she planted a small kiss on his lips, before standing back, ready to act should Natsu call for her.

"I have no intentions of ever returning to your underworld, you say I have to stand trial for what I did? How about Rias, is she to stand trial for robbing me of my freedom? Is she to face the consequences of her actions?" Natsu stated calmly, a minute went by, and Sona went to answer, but was interrupted in her stride by Sanji. "Listen dude, you killed someone, it sucks that you were robbed of your freedom, I get it, I was human once, but killing someone is not the answer, you could have risen in rank, become higher in standing with the devils, got your own peerage and leave the peerage you were in, sure it would have taken a few years, but…" Sanji didn't get to finish, Natsu blurred from their vision, and before anyone even thought of reacting, Sanji was hit in the face by Natsu fist, sending him crashing back into the trees, several hundred meters before stopping.

"I said I have no intentions of going back there, and if you even try and tell me you know how I feel, think again, I'm from a different world, all my friends have been killed and I'm here only to train to kill the bastard who did it, and now you wanna drag me back to the underworld on a detail such as me killing one of the people who practically imprisoned me? Leave me alone" Natsu stated. Sona looked towards her pawn, then towards Natsu, her group was in combat position, but she had a feeling they wouldn't be able to even scratch him, and Natsu, seeing their aggressive stances, unleashed his power. Everyone was sent to the floor, the ground cracking underneath them from the sheer pressure, this was the last warning they were given. Natsu stared at them for 10 seconds until he released the pressure, turning around and walking back to the cave, Tiamat walking in behind him.

Sona was speechless, everything Rias had told her was real, and this guy, he was far stronger than ultimate class, she could feel it, the power he unleashed to keep them down was forced not to hurt them further, it felt like it wanted to rip them apart, and she swore she could see a giant red dragon behind him. A power the stated it would NEVER be controlled by anyone other than Natsu.

She prepared a teleportation circle and they left.

~BREAK~

Occult Research Club

Sona and her peerage teleported to the ORC, with two goals, to treat Sanji the blow he took to the head, which appeared far more severe than first anticipated, and to inform Rias of what had happened in the familiar forest.

When they arrived, they were met by Rias standing close to the teleportation circle, with an expression screaming, I told you so.

~END OF CHAPTER~

Right, so another chapter done, I will try and update next time far faster than the previous one, I'm very sorry that the updates are coming out slow, but I'm working on it! Enjoy this chapter, and toss me a review.

Update: This chapter has been edited by my beta reader: GUIDx