Chp 4: Confusions

"Oh? Fairy Tail, huh? So you're a wizard from one of those legal guilds..." said the person with a sneer in his voice.

"Huh?" was what Natsu said when he looked only to be suddenly kicked in the face. "Sh-shikamaru?" he asked in an unsure voice as the figure before him was blurred.

"But you're not as cracked up as what they say to be! You know what we call you guys? Pests!" spat the man.

Suddenly, Natsu's fists began to fire up as he swung them at the rude stranger who quickly jumped back. "Bastard! Who do y-? AH! It IS you SHIKAMARU! What are you still doing here? and where did you get those clothes?"

The man in front of Natsu frowned in confusion. This man indeed had a pineapple-like hairstyle but his clothing was all white consisting of a simple jacket and pants bordered with sea green."Huh? Who the hell is Shikamaru?" said the man slipping his hands into his pockets. Suddenly a magic circle appeared at his feet and out flew three purplish black shadows which knocked the Salamander off his feet. "Hmph, whatever as long as I- WOAH!"

Suddenly the train screeched to a stop, causing the stranger to lose his balance and stumble forward as a ghastly looking wooden flute with a skull flew out of his white jacket and landed on the ground near Natsu.

Elsewhere...back at Onibas station...

Everyone looked at Erza with dead-panned faces from a distance as they watched a security guard yelling at Erza for pulling the emergency stop lever.

"The woman sure likes to do things at her own pace huh?" commented Shikamaru bluntly with Dia nodding in agreement while Happy sat on her head.

"Aye," agreed Happy as well.

"Quit yappin'..." grumbled Gray as he tugged on the rope attached to Shikamaru lightly, earning a glare from Dia.

"So this is how Fairy Tail members work, huh?..." sighed Lucy in an exasperated voice.

"Not me," insisted Gray who had ironically (and unknowingly) stripped again.

"How about you put on some clothes and then we'll talk?" muttered Shikamaru sarcastically while Lucy quickly covered Dia's eyes before she saw anything. Gray and Shikamaru instantly locked glares with each other, narrowing their eyes.

Back on the train, a recovered Natsu quickly threw a punch at the stranger who attacked him earlier. "THAT WAS FOR KICKING ME IN THE FACE SHIKAMARU! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

The stranger staggered a little as he got up. "Are you deaf or something? I am not this 'Shikamaru' person, ok? And don't you'll get away with injuring a member of Eisenwald!"

At the mention of the last word, Natsu narrowed his eyes and growled before his fists lit up. "I thought there was something funky about you! So you're a member of that trash guild Eisenwald all along, huh? Bet you're a spy or something, Shikamaru!"

Natsu's opponent groaned exasperatedly and slapped his forehead. 'My God, this kid's an idiot...'

All of a sudden there a slight jingle as the voice announcement came on. "This emergency break was a false alarm, we will be moving this train soon."

'Uh-oh!' thought Natsu as he quickly grabbed his stuff getting ready to split but not before turning back to his opponent. "Hey you! We'll finish this fight outside!" demanded the Salamander but it was too late as the train shifted and began to move.

At that moment, there was the roar of a motor as a small green car came sailing through the air and landed next to the train. Erza sat at the wheel with something that looked like blood pressure strap attached to her wrist. Gray was hanging on like crazy to the roof of the car while Lucy stuck her head out the window. Inside, Shikamaru (still tied up) was being bounced about along with Dia and Happy due to the crazy and reckless driving bumping their heads together hard all at once.

"Mendokuse! Damn stupid magic transport thingy!" grumbled the chunnin loudly.

"NATSU!" called Lucy loudly. Seconds later, Natsu came crashing out a train window looking sick to his stomach.

Shikamaru, Dia and Happy watched through the window as he flew towards the car followed shortly by a loud thud and a chorus of painful yells. Suddenly the car screeched to a stop throwing everyone inside the car about causing Shikamaru to fall towards Dia but he quickly turned to avoid the child. However, while doing so Shikamaru collided with Lucy who got thrown back inside and fell on top of him while Dia and Happy dog-piled on them forcing their bodies together.

Happy lay sprawled across Dia's chest while the girl ended up sitting on Lucy with their eyes all swirly from dizziness. Meanwhile Lucy and Shikamaru found themselves staring into each others eyes, both which have widened a couple of sizes bigger as their faces were a mere inches from each other. To add more fuel to the fire, their lips had accidentally lightly brushed against each other during the commotion, resulting in two glowing scarlet faces.

"Um...Hi..." said Lucy awkwardly while Shikamaru was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, the passenger door flew open causing the four to tumble out. A flustered Lucy quickly picked herself up and brushed dirt of her clothes before helping Shikamaru to his feet and brushing her hair behind her ears. The two were still blushing a little as they averted their gaze from the other. Happy and Dia looked at the two before looking at each other in confusion, scratching their heads.

"Dammit, that hurt Natsu!"growled Gray rubbing his forehead where he and the Dragon collided.

"Oh Shut up! You guys left me behind!" snapped Natsu angrily.

"That we did, but at least you're ok," said Erza in relief slamming Natsu's head into her armored chest with a loud clang.

Cringing in pain, Natsu's frown didn't leave his face as he straightened himself and rubbed the sore spot on his head.

"Whaddaya' mean, OK? Earlier on the train I was fighting that bastard Pineapple-Head, Shikamaru! And get this, he's a member of that Dark Guild Eisenwald!"

"YOU IDIOT!" cried Erza slapping Natsu's face real hard out of the blue. "EISENWALD IS THE GUILD WE'RE CHASING! WHY DIDN'T YOU CATCH HIM?"

Shikamaru and Dia exchanged incredulous glances with each other. "Gee... I wonder if it has anything to do with fact that I've been tied up and held captive by you guys for the past hour?" suggested Shikamaru in a loud sarcastic voice.

Erza glared at Shikamaru before slightly blushing and averting her eyes in embarrassment. "Oh yeah..."

"OH! SHIKAMARU, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE?" exclaimed Natsu in shock once he realized the chunnin's presence.

"He's been with us this whole time, you dolt," pointed out Gray irritably. "Only an idiot like you wouldn't notice."

"SHADDUP! Anyway, if Shikamaru's over HERE," said Natsu, emphasizing the last word by jabbing his finger at said person. "Then WHO THE HELL DID I JUST FOUGHT BACK THERE?" he demanded jabbing a finger in the direction of which the train left in.

At that moment, a thought struck Erza who quickly jumped back onto the four wheeler and attached the magic strap to her wrist once more. "I have a pretty good idea who, if we hurry we might catch up with the train!"

"So what was this Shikamaru-double like?" asked Gray.

Natsu paused to think for a while. "Well he definitely looked like this guy only he dressed weirder..." began the boy jabbing a thumb at Shikamaru whose eye twitched at the comment for the hundredth time . "Oh yeah, but he did have some ugly, wicked looking flute with a three-eyed skull on it..."

"A three-eyed skull?" exclaimed Lucy suddenly in shock.

"What's wrong Lucy?" asked Happy surprised.

"I've heard of that flute...Lullaby... is a Song of Curse...Magic of Death!"

"What?" exclaimed everyone in shock.

"I've read about it in books...One of the forbidden magics is the curse of Death right?"

Erza nodded her head, her expression grim. "It's a type of black magic that slowly saps the life from whoever it is cast upon..."

"But Lullaby is the worst! It used to be just a mere tool for curses but a Dark Wizard known as Zeref turned it into a demon flute! Whoever plays the flute can create a mass genocide in seconds!"

"Then what are we waiting for? GET ON!" commanded Erza causing everyone to scramble on board the vehicle with Gray hanging on to the roof for his dear life as Erza sped off down the bumpy road. "Dammit! We have to hurry! If Erigor gets his hands on the mass killing flute, god knows what he'll do!" she growled under her breath ignoring the screams of her passengers who were getting freaked out by the woman's reckless driving.

However, it thanks to Erza that the group arrived at Kunugi Station, which was the next stop, in no time. The group stopped momentarily to see a huge group of passengers who were forced off the train earlier by members of Eisenwald. From what they overheard, it seems like the group they were chasing after has gone off with the train.

"I don't get it, why train? Wouldn't it be easier by car or something?" wondered Happy out loud.

"True but it's faster by train anyway right?" pointed out Shikamaru bluntly. He was still a little sour after being tossed about in the car AND still being tied up.

"If that's the case, then Eisenwald would be in a big hurry, huh?" suggested Gray who had gotten into the car and once more stripped again.

"PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!" demanded Lucy when suddenly Erza fired up the car and sped off again causing another round of Chaos in the Car.

A few seconds later...

The group shortly arrived in a town with Erza speeding dangerously through the streets. "Erza, you're going to fast!" yelled Gray sticking his head out the window.

"We don't have time to slow down! People's lives are at stake here!"

"But what good would it do if you're out of magic? This machine is currently using up yours right?" asked Shikamaru calmly leaning near the window behind Erza's head.

"Then Ill fight with a stick if I have to," came the woman's firm reply as she carried on driving towards the next train stop, Oshibana station. "And besides, I have Natsu and Gray with me!"

Shikamaru didn't say anything but raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at the said Dragon Slayer who was currently half hanging out the car window nauseously with Lucy restraining him. Just then Shikamaru felt Dia clutch at his sleeve making him look down to her shaking a bit in fright. "Daijobu..." he whispered a bit to the girl reassuringly.

It wasn't before did the group arrived at Oshibana station only to find that they were a bit too late as they saw smoke arising out from the top of the tower. The car quickly skidded to another stop as Erza jumped from her seat and ran up to one of the guards.

"What's the situation?" she demanded.

The man barely even had time to fathom what was going on when Erza suddenly punched his lights out. Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy watched incredulously as Erza repeatedly kept doing to the other unfortunate guardsmen who were unable to answer quick enough.

"Not very patient is she?"commented Shikamaru side-glancing Gray who was still hanging on to the rope holding him.

"That's Erza..." replied Gray not even batting an eyelid.

"So is this guy my responsibility?" asked Lucy bluntly referring to a still sick Natsu who was leaning on her support.

Just then Erza came running back from her 'interrogation'. "Eisenwald is still inside, lets go!"

"Matte!" called Shikamaru to Erza who was just about to turn. "Cut me loose."

"No," replied Erza flatly. "Natsu's fight with the Eisenwald member from before may have proven that you and Kageyama are different people but it still doesn't prove that you are really a friend instead of foe."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at Erza. "Look woman, from what I've been hearing so far, this Eisenwald group is going to be a load of trouble. You want me as a prisoner? Fine, I don't care, I've got nowhere to go anyway. But you're going find the situation more troublesome with me tied up."

Erza said nothing as she considered his words before making a sword appear. Shing! was the sound of the sword whistling through the air as it slashed the ropes of Shikamaru. The others looked on in surprise as the the chunnin's bonds fell to the ground.

"But Erza-!" Gray was about to say in protest when Erza gave him a look that silenced him.

"I hate to admit it but he does have a point," explained Erza begrudgingly, before suddenly jabbing the sword just inches from Shikamaru who made no emotion. "But mind you, if you dare to flee, I'll label you as an enemy and I will hunt you down!" she warned before turning and running into the station.

Shkamaru stared after her when he suddenly felt Dia grab his hand. The chunnin looked down at the girl and gave her a reassuring smile before grasping her hand in response.

Seconds later, the group was already running halfway through the station. Gray and Lucy were running closely behind Erza along with Happy who flew next to Shikamaru who was piggybacking an unconscious Natsu while holding Dia's hand so that she could keep up.

"It seems that the guards went in to confront Eisenwald not too long ago but so far they haven't been heard from since," informed Erza who was in the lead.

"And I think I see why..." added in Shikamaru.

Sure enough, just a little up ahead was a large staircase where the unconscious and badly injured bodies of the said guards were scattered all over.

"They've been wiped out!" exclaimed Happy in shock.

"They were up against a whole guild, Happy, they never stood a chance," said Erza grimly as the group climbed up the stairs and found themselves in the main hall where a surprise awaited them.

A tall skinny man with a scythe chuckled sinisterly prompting the large army of evil looking wizards the snicker as well. Right in front of the group was the guy everyone has been confusing Shikamaru with, Kageyama himself. Shikamaru was standing right behind Erza keeping out of sight but he could see the snide smirk on his look alike's face.

"Woah, that's a lot of wizards..." commented Lucy in shock. Erza tilted her gaze upwards to the tall skinny guy who sat above them by a large window.

"You fiend, you're Erigor aren't you?" demanded Erza angrily while Lucy was trying to get Natsu back on his feet.

Instead of getting the response she wanted, Kageyama narrowed his eyes. "You flies! It's because of you Erigor-sama got mad at me!" he spat.

"Just what are you scoundrels after?" demanded Erza again. "What do you want with Lullaby?"

Erigor snickered at Erza. "You still don't know? What do you think is at this station?" he suggested when he started floating in the air.

Shikamaru stared up in shock. 'He flew?'

"He's a Wind Magic user!" warned Happy as Erigor landed and squatted on top of the trains broadcasting speakers, giving the group a clue.

"You plan on broadcasting Lullaby?" exclaimed Erza in shock.

Erigor simply smirked as he straightened himself. "Hmm, I wonder just how many onlookers are gathered around here?" he sarcastically wondered out loud. "If you increase the volume, it will resonate through out the whole city. The Melody of Death that is."

Erza glared at Erigor in hatred. "So you do plan on killing thousands of innocent people don't you?"

Erigor shrugged indifferently. "It's a purge. A purge of fools who guard their own rights without considering the loss of the same rights of others. Their sin is living without realizing the world isn't just. That is why, the Shinigami is here to take care of them!"

"And you think this is going to get you your 'rights' back? You got kicked out of the League for doing this kind of things in the first place!" yelled Lucy, glaring at the man.

"Silly girl, we don't care about the rights! It's the power!" declared Erigor. "The power that allows us to clear the past and rule the futu-!"

"Oh cut the crap will ya'!" interrupted a new voice. The whole dark guild looked on in surprise and shock as a familiar face walked out from behind Erza. Shikamaru glared up at the man. "I'm getting real tired of listening to troublesome idiots like you blab on about 'power'. IN the end, it's always the same spread terror and evil...yada-yada-yada..."

"Oi, look at that guy!" "He looks like Kageyama!" "No way!" But he looks a little younger though..." were the chorus of loud whispers from the enemy army.

A vein throbbed in annoyance on Kageyama's forehead. "ARGH! ENOUGH ALREADY! LET'S JUST GET THEM!" yelled the man slamming his hand on the ground.

Before anyone could react, his shadows came rushing at and emerged from the ground as fists aiming straight for Lucy when suddenly BAM! there was a rush of fire as Natsu miraculously recovered in the nick of time and dispersed the shadows with his fire.

"Dammit, it's you!" exclaimed Kageyama while Natsu smirked.

"You bet, I knew it was your rotten voice I heard!" replied the Dragon Slayer getting all fired up, literally speaking. "Ooh, and there's a whole bunch of enemies to pummel, this is going to be fun!"

"We're Fairy Tail's strongest team, you guys better watch out!" declared Lucy jabbing a finger at Erigor, who began floating in the air. Shikamaru didn't like the look on his face. Something inside him told him something was up.

"Well then I'll be making my leave! Show them what a Dark Guild is really made off boys!" said Erigor who disappeared in a rush of wind.

"Natsu, Gray," called Erza softly to the two. "Go after him, we'll take care of these guys. So long as you two are working together, you can definitely beat even the 'Shinigami' Erigor!" she said until she realized that the two she was talking to were engaged in a glaring contest. "WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"

"AYE!" the two quickly responded in fright before dashing off.

"HEY THEY'RE GOING AFTER ERIGOR-SAMA!" shouted one wizard.

"No problem, I'll take care of them!" declared a dark skinned guys wearing a navy blue jacket with a bee striped hood as he flung his hands upwards creating a bunch of black elastic straps to appear and wrap around a banister on the upper floor allowing the guy to bungee upwards. "I, Rayure, will take them down!"

"Hold up! I'm coming too! I've got a score to settle with one of them!" said Kageyama as a glowing circle appeared beneath him as he sank into a shadow and disappeared.

Shikamaru frowned and was about to go after them when Erza grabbed his shoulder. "Oh no you don't, you're going to help us out here! We can go after them after we take care of these goonies!"

"The three of us against this many?" exclaimed Lucy incredulously.

"Oh please! And what's a bunch of pansies like you gonna do to us?" mocked one of the men cracking his knuckles.

"Hmph, wretches," said Erza as she stuck out a hand creating a red glowing magic circle to appear. In a flash, a magnificent silver sword came flying out and was caught by Erza.

"A magic sword!" said Lucy in awe.

"One more insult to Fairy Tail and I can assure you all will never see the next day again!" warned Erza wielding the sword before her.

"Like we haven't heard that before!" retorted one of the men as the army began their attack. "We've got our own magic swords!" he said as the men came pouncing on Erza.

SHING! SHING! In a flash, Erza swung her sword taking down the whole lot in seconds before she made a great leap and took down another large group of men in no time.

"You bitch, eat this!" cried another Eisenwald member as he and two others created a few magic circles and blasted a bright stream of light at Erza who jumped high into the air to dodge making another two magic circles appear by her side. In another bright flash, the sword in her hands immediately transformed into a large spear much to the shock of everyone, including her own teammates.

In two swings, Erza took down another two large groups before her spear disappeared and became a pair of swords this time.

"I've never seen anyone Requip so quickly!" commented one of the members loudly.

Shikamaru, Dia and Lucy turned to Happy who was hovering in the air next to them. "Requip?" echoed Lucy curiously.

"It's sort of like your Celestial Magic Lucy!" replied Happy. "Requip magic allows the user to store weapons in an alternate dimensional space and summon them when needed!"

'Well that explains how that guy managed to pull weapons from the air..."thought Shikamaru recalling his fight with the bandit from a few days before. 'I bet Tenten would love to learn this ability...'

Suddenly an evil smirk came on Happy's face. "Erza's only getting warmed up!"

Lucy reached for her key pouch and pulled out a golden key with a crab motif. "Well then, I guess I should fight too!" she declared as she spun the key in her hand. "Gate of the Crab I open thee!"she announced before jabbing the key into the ground. "CANCER!" she called as a magic circle suddenly appeared.

Shikamaru watched in shock as a figure of light grew out of it which dissipated to reveal two pairs of long , pointy scissors that resembled crab claws which were quickly caught by a funky looking man with crab legs sticking out of back with a super crazy crab hair style. His sunglasses gleamed as he was softly muttering his own jazzy rhythm.

"Cancer~..!" he said as he brandished his scissors with a flourish.

"So it's a fight this time-ebi?" asked Cancer to Lucy.

Shikamaru and Dia looked at each other before looking at the crab man. 'Ebi?'

Lucy smirked as she folded her arms. "Cut this fight short, would you please?" she asked in a sneaky sweet voice.

"YOU WITH THE FREAKISH HAIRDO! WILL GET YOU GOOD TOO!" declared the hoard of men who flying at at Cancer who suddenly turned and jumped at them. In a quick flurry of scissor snips, Cancer appeared behind the men with his arms and scissors crossed in front of him.

"Ebi," was all he said when suddenly all the men's weapons began to fall apart they had been cleanly cut to pieces. But that wasn't the only thing that got cut.

"OUR HAIR!" cried some of the guys in despair as their hands felt the shiny surfaces of their new bald heads watching tearfully as pieces of their hair floated about them.

Shikamaru smirked as he looked at the large group in front of him. By his side was Dia who made no emotion on her face.

"Looks like it's our turn. Time to see if this works!" he said as he whipped out his own Celestial Key and swung it in the air. "Gate of the Great Bear, I open thee! URSA MAJOR!" Shikamaru cried as he unlocked a magic circle in front of him.

There was a great roar as the two storey high, armored bear emerged from the circle with his claws a gleaming."About time you summoned me kid!'

Shikamaru smiled a bit at the bear as he stood beside him while Dia stood on the other side. "Sorry Uncle, I was tied up, literally."

"No matter, let's get down to business shall we?" suggested Ursa as he gave a great roar and went charging head first, barreling through the men easily while slashing at another group.

Shikamaru ran forward, whipping out his trench knives just in time to block a couple of swords before high kicking someone in the face. Erza watched Shikamaru, slightly impressed with his fighting skills while Lucy was watching Ursa the bear in awe with sparkles in her eyes. "It really is him! URSA THE GREAT BEAR!" she squealed excitedly while Happy sighed and shook his head.

Suddenly, Lucy and Happy saw another large group sailing through the air heading straight for Dia who had her back turned. "OH NO DIA-CHAN! Watch out!" she screamed alerting Erza, Shikamaru and Ursa who snapped their heads around from their fights.

At that moment, Dia turned around to see the group coming at her.

There was a rush of wind circling around her as the ground at her feet glowed with a bright pink magic circle. Dia's dress and long hair fluttered about when a rush of wind lifted up her fringe which curtained her eyes revealing them for the first time.

The Fairy Tail wizards and Shikamaru gasped as they saw that the child's eyes were not that of a human's at all. They were bright pink with slitted pupils, the eyes of a beast.