A/N: Reviews out the wazoo, yo!

Fairy Tail High

Chapter twenty-eight: Outnumbered

Uneasy was one way to describe how Gajeel was feeling. Something just didn't sit right with him. His deep crimson eyes scanned the area as he leaned against a wall in the gym area, clicking his tongue in annoyance as he folded his arms beneath his chest. What the hell was he even doing here? Things would just be so much simpler if Senji got off his back. He wasn't even supposed to be here, dealing with someone else's mess. Natsu and he had known each other since they were kids, sure, but that didn't necessarily mean that they were good friends or even remotely got along.

But there he was, in some pansy-ass school, watching as their so-called seniors were having a blast at prom. It honestly made him sick when he thought about how half of these pompous assholes knew nothing about what was happening on the other side of the wall. But, as much as he hated it, he'd see it through to the end.

Never could it be said that Gajeel Redfox went back on his word, no matter how said word was given.

Several 'fuck you's were undoubtedly added into the mix.

A rough sigh escaped the dark haired teen's throat as he proceeded to fix his tie, hating the damn thing already. He was hating on a lot of things lately, he realized. Well, granted, a lot of things deserved his hatred. Senji first, Natsu second. Assholes, he thought, irritated. Gajeel's eyes drifted to one brown haired Cana who had been sitting alone at a table, seeming too bored for his own liking. He quirked an eyebrow at this, something stuck in his brain. Turning to the side, Redfox gave a quick glance towards where Natsu had left, being quickly followed by that redhead he was into. They were gone for a while now, so Gajeel figured Natsu probably wasn't going to make an appearance until the main show started.

Shrugging, he shoved his hands into his pants' pockets and made for the female, "Guess I'm not the only one who's bored as shit on this absolutely lovely night, huh? Where's the booze when you need it." He complained aloud, earning a chuckle from the female.

"Got that right." Cana responded, "This place is just so dull. Like, yeah, Rookiez and all that was cool, but now it's just so damn boring." A grin came to her features when Gajeel mentioned alcohol and she fished out a flask from – yep, you guessed it – in between her breasts, and tossed it to the dark haired individual, "You're Natsu's friend, right?"

Gajeel almost gagged at being labeled as such, and took a very large swig of the alcohol provided, forcing the Alberona to smirk in amusement, "I wouldn't say friend. More like babysitter."

She gave a sharp yet amused hah at this, "Yeah, I could see how that's a thing. That idiot somehow always manages to get himself into some kind of trouble."

"Trust me, it ain't any different now." Gajeel added tiredly, pulling up a chair and taking a seat in front of the brown haired beauty, "Gajeel." He said, introducing himself as he passed her back the flask.

She took the item back into her hold, "Cana. A pleasure, I'm sure." The female replied and took equally as large a swig from her drink, "So why are you here again? .esides looking after that pink haired moron? I mean, you're obviously not from around here."

Gajeel hummed at the question, a smirk making its way to his lips, "I heard there was this one hot chick over here that was just so damn bored. Felt like I should keep her company, you know?" He said, his smirk only growing when he noticed that she had reacted positively to his words. Positively meant leaning over the table just enough to expose her quite sizeable cleavage.

He would've enjoyed the sight, honestly, if it weren't for the small disturbance behind him.

A disturbance that made his world spin when it hit him in the form of a bat to the back of the head.

Gajeel's world blurred as he fell forward, trying to support himself with his hands on the table. Everything suddenly went very silent for him, but he could make out the sight of Cana standing up hastily, screaming something that was honestly inaudible to him. He felt another sharp sting in his side, and he clicked his tongue as the interruption pissed him off beyond belief.

When the offender tried to swing his bat again, Gajeel was on him in the blink of an eye. He caught the bat with his hand and pulled the guy towards him before elbowing the asshole square in the face. The strength behind the counter was enough to knock the offender out on the spot. Gajeel then proceeded to stand up from where he had been sitting, shaking his head to get the dizziness out.

A very dangerous growl escaped the tall brunet's throat when he saw the blazer his attacker wore. Grimoire. Fuck, they're here sooner than we thought, he thought to himself idly. Some students shrieked in horror when similarly dressed individuals began storming the gym hall, and Redfox began feeling dread churning in his stomach at their sheer numbers.

Dread that was shown in the form of an amused chuckle as he saw multiple guys surrounding him.

Gajeel turned to Cana, "You might want to get out of here. Shit's about to get busy." He informed and the girl, despite the shock factor, nodded swiftly and moved to join the other students, leaving the dark haired male to fend for himself, which he honestly thought was a good idea. She'd only be in the way.

A sigh escaped him at the sight of the Grimoire students who looked positively hungry for a piece of him, "Fuckers never learn, do you?" He said to no one in particular before he proceeded to rip off his own tie and later take off his blazer, leaving it neatly placed on the backrest of his chair. He rolled up his dress shirt's sleeves, and looked around. Finding what he was looking for, he took the bat that his previous attacker used and hoisted it over his shoulder, motioning for the plethora of black-clad students to have at him, "Come on, I don't have all night."

One of the Grimoire students took personal offence to what Gajeel had said and charged right at him, breaking off from the rest of the group. The aforementioned Redfox just grinned and met the guy half-way, jumping forward and swinging his bat as though he was about to receive a fastball. The guy was on his ass from that one hit alone, unconscious. Several others jumped right in, outraged, but Gajeel made short work of them. One had received a kick to his midsection, forcing him to gasp for breath before Gajeel's bat met his jaw, breaking it instantaneously. Another managed a hit at Gajeel's temple, but that did little to deter the dark haired teen. Hell, it only served to feed his bloodthirst as he swung his bat sideways and forced the guy to back away in order to dodge. Gajeel, however, didn't let him get too far as he jumped towards him, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled his head down as raised his leg and kneed him right in the face.

As if on instinct, Redfox crouched down, dodging a swing from yet another bat that threatened to knock him the fuck out. Using the ground for support, he spun as he extended his leg and planted a kick in the offender's cheek, knocking him into a nearby table.

His eyes drifted to the sight of the bat his attacker had left behind, and he smirked to himself as he took the object in his free hand. Standing up straight, a very wide grin was plastered all over his face as he now dual-wielded two baseball bats, ready to issue punishment.

Yet, before he could even move, a roaring pink blur appeared in his peripherals, planting a knee in the temple of one of the Grimoire students, sending him flying. He grasped at the arm of another guy who was attacking him, and flung the sorry sod over his entire form and into three others, forcing them to the ground, "Didn't miss much, I hope." Natsu mused as he turned to Gajeel, grinning.

"Naw, it was just getting fun." Gajeel grinned back at Dragneel, letting one bat rest on his shoulder while the other was firmly in his grip. He moved to stand back-to-back with the pinket, the situation they were in making him feel a sense of nostalgia. He never really got along with Natsu, if he was painfully honest. But whenever they were on the same side of a fight it was the most fun Gajeel ever had.

"Natsu! What is-" Mira ran up to him shouting, yet was interrupted when Natsu's blazer was thrown towards her and ended up covering her face.

"Yo. We'll take care of this." Natsu said, looking at the white-haired beauty from the corner of his eye, cracking his knuckles all the while as he readied himself for what was about to come next.

When Mirajane was about to protest again, what seemingly was the umpteenth sigh escaped Gajeel's throat, "Listen, sugartits. Get all of these people and your own sweet ass out of here. These faggots were aiming to trash this place anyway. That's why we're here."

"Yeah, what he said." Natsu said with something akin to an uneasy chuckle when Mira glared in response to Gajeel's remark, "Might as well call the police, too. Here-" He tossed the girl his phone which she caught, "Dial Senji. He's the chief of police."

The eldest Strauss was about to say something else when she noticed how steeled Natsu's gaze was, not to mention the determined and… expectant grin on his face. When she realized that the pinket was now in full-on Salamander mode, she knew there was no arguing with him, "Okay. Just… be careful, alright?"

"Always am." Natsu said, ignoring the memory of him getting himself shot. "Oh, and Mira?" The girl turned to him, "Erza's outside the gym, probably heading over here as we speak. Make sure she gets herself out of this place too, alright?" When the girl swiftly nodded, Natsu silently thanked her and focused on the task at hand as the Fairy Tail students cleared the area.

"I don't really like our odds, pinky." Gajeel voiced as he scanned the area, staring dead in the faces of over fifty Grimoire students standing before him.

"What, you getting scared now, Gajeel-chan?" Natsu asked through a grin, watching as almost the same amount of fodder was on his side of the gym as well.

"In your wet fucking dreams." Gajeel replied and, with a battle cry, charged forward, Natsu doing the same as he bolted into the fray. The two of them went swinging, mowing down a good portion of black-clad guys surrounding them. Natsu mostly employed his newly-learned fighting style made up of acrobatic lunges and strikes that took advantage of the enemy's weight and numbers to bring them down, often using a variety of kicks and punches in between his very literally rehearsed dance of pain. Gajeel, on the other hand, almost destroyed the two weapons he used, crashing through the skulls of whatever assholes that decided to get into his increased range of punishment.

However, neither of the duo were untouchable, especially when considering the numbers they were going up against. Both Natsu and Gajeel sustained multiple injuries, ranging from cuts to bruises as they made short work of Grimoire's pawn squad.

Eventually, as time passed, both of them stood firmly, breathing heavily in the middle of over a hundred unconscious people, "That… was fucking… a-annoying…" Gajeel groaned out as he rotated his neck, holding only one bat after the fight, and even that one was about to snap in two.

"Can't believe… I'm about to agree… with y-you…" Natsu breathed out, chuckling humorlessly as he inspected his ripped up shirt, wiping some blood away from his lip as he did so. And yet that short moment of happiness was interrupted by unfamiliar laughter. Well, unfamiliar to Natsu, anyway. An equal number of Grimoire students as before rushed the gym area again, and Natsu's eyes couldn't help but bulge out, "Dude, how packed is your school, anyway?"

"Don't even fucking ask." The dark haired individual rolled his eyes, watching in annoyance as a certain part of 'Black and Yellow' made his presence known.

"Didn't expect you here, Gajeel-san." Sting voiced out as he jumped up on a table and crouched down, whistling at the sight before him, "Holy shit, you guys sure beat the crap out of them."

"Who the fuck's this clown?"

"Oi."

"Heh." Gajeel gave a short laugh in response, "That's Sting, the current… head of Grimoire." He said with as much venom and disgust as he could muster, and it was a lot, "Where's your girlfriend, bitch?"

"If by girlfriend you mean me, I'm right here." Gajeel practically cringed when somebody spoke from behind him, and he instinctively spun and extended his bat, intending on making the dude fly to kingdom come. He was taken aback, however, when his weapon made contact with nothing. Eyes drifting down, he managed to make out Rogue's form before a kick from below sent him flying backwards.

"Gajeel!" Natsu yelled as he watched his partner be sent backwards, his body dragging along the floor. The pinket was about to go help him out when he heard footsteps. Turning, his eyes widened when this Sting person closed the distance between them in a heartbeat and opened up with a swing of his fist which Natsu was forced to block.

"Heads up, Salamander-san."

"I'm fine!" Redfox growled out, standing up straight, his bat nowhere to be found, "Mind your own fucking business!" Gajeel held up his hands in an 'x' formation in front of his face to block a kick that would've impacted his jaw. A grin morphing on his face, he caught Rogue's foot and tried to elbow him in the knee, but the other dark haired individual would had none of that. His feet leaving the floor, Rogue's body twisted as he jumped and kicked at the side of Gajeel's head with his other leg, forcing him to back away after blocking, "Motherfucker."

A brief fight ensued between the two pairs, the fighting prowess of Natsu and Gajeel making them able to fight back, yet not for long. Having fought with over a good fifty guys each just moments before burned them out, and fighting with significantly stronger guys this time around was proving to be too difficult.

Natsu breathed heavily, sweat trailing down his temple as he attempted to perceive Sting's next move. The blond's moves were rather plain, easy to predict; but he was fast on his feet to the point that Natsu had trouble keeping up despite knowing what he would do. Blocking several strikes, Natsu grit his teeth as he strained himself to catch Yellow's leg when the guy tried a roundhouse kick. Salamander roared as he flung Sting over himself and smashed his entire body into the wooden ground, almost cracking it on the spot.

Sting gasped as the air was knocked out of him, but quickly retaliated by twisting, forcing Natsu's hold on his leg to weaken before he used his other leg to kick the pinket directly in his nose.

Dragneel groaned as he stepped back, shaking his head to get himself out of the post-traumatic daze. Looking up, his eyes widened when Sting came down on him with a sweeping kick. Teeth grinding, Natsu managed a block, and counter-attacked with an uppercut to Sting's mid-section which the blond dodged.

Natsu clicked his tongue when he realized his attacks were getting slower each time he strained himself, not to mention that the 'oomph' behind them was fading too. The fatigue was getting to him, and he was already contemplating using that.

His onyx eyes drifting to Gajeel, he realized the guy was in a similar state.

Redfox growled as he stood back up from being knocked around, irritated by how Rogue didn't give him a single second to correct himself. Seriously, he was like that one douche who would keep you in a corner in Mortal Kombat and not let you get back up on your feet, "You should give up, Gajeel-san."

"Bite me, asshole." Gajeel answered, grabbing at a random shoe that was lying around and chucking it at the other red-eyed individual. Rogue sighed tiredly as he swatted the object away, yet his eyes widened when Gajeel was on him before he could realize what happened. He tried blocking when Gajeel went for his mid-section with his knee, using both hands to repel the attack. However, he was helpless to dodge the elbow that made contact with his face, making him take a few steps back.

"Payback time, you bitch." Startled, Rogue looked up, groaning when a fist made contact with his face. Gajeel was repaying the favor from before and begun a relentless assault on Black, not giving him any breathing room whatsoever. However, what had slipped Gajeel's mind was that Rogue was essentially faster than him, and was eventually able to counter his attacks by dodging after the initial shock, "…wha-UGH!" Gajeel gurgled out when Rogue's fist met his throat, and he was later sent flying back after a well-aimed kick smashed against his chest.

In the middle of his fight, Natsu managed to witness the strike to Gajeel's throat, and he hesitated for a split second, giving Sting an opening to knee him right in his temple, shaking his entire world as he was sent sliding back, "Goddamnit…" He groaned, trying to correct his posture.

"Looks like Sally's getting the shit beaten out of him again." A familiar voice called for his attention, wide eyes looking up to notice Zancrow, Midnight and Cobra making an appearance, walking to stand with their backs to the stage. Zancrow had this sickening grin on his face while Midnight looked disinterested with the entire charade. Cobra, on the other hand, looked absolutely heartbroken by the sight – something Natsu wasn't really surprised by.

What really got Dragneel's gears grinding was what, or rather who, he heard next.

"Pathetic." Natsu felt a shiver run down his spine as his onyx eyes met a singular person who walked in on stage. His hair was pitch black, covering a good portion of his face, yet his crimson eyes still shone almost devilishly through his bangs.

Zeref.

Natsu moved instantaneously.

"What the-" Sting couldn't even react when Natsu bolted past him, completely ignoring his entire existence. He mowed through what Grimoire student was standing in his way, either punching his way through them or ignoring them altogether. Cobra's eyes widened when Natsu passed the three of them like an intangible shadow. Zancrow attempted a punch which was easily dodged and disregarded as Natsu left the trio in the dust.

Dragneel leaped up on stage, roaring as he jumped towards Zee. He felt his muscles burning, his teeth grinding as he aimed an enhanced kick that made contact with the side of his archenemy's head, sending him crashing backstage, completely destroying everything his body made contact with, raising dust everywhere.

Natsu was positive he had snapped the guy's neck, and yet he didn't feel a single shred of remorse.

The entire gym suddenly went eerily silent as Natsu landed back on his feet, breathing heavily. He felt a painful sting in his leg, his muscles screaming out in protest, but he ignored it, his eyes glaring holes at ground zero. Cobra, like everyone else, stared wide-eyed at the scene that had transpired before them, some of the Grimoire students taking a step back in shock, their minds unable to wrap around what just happened.

"Ow." Natsu's eyes widened to unimaginable proportions when something backstage rustled. His body instantly tensed, and he couldn't register anything that was happening other than that one area where Zee had come crashing down into.

"How- that's not-" Natsu choked out, shaking as he watched in horror as Zeref came out of the rubble, seemingly unscathed after taking his strongest attack face-first, literally.

"You've learned something new, Natsu." Zeref spoke, a smile making its way to his lips as he slowly walked towards the horrified Dragneel. The dark haired individual honestly felt happy to see Natsu again. He was his favorite, after all. The one person that gave his life meaning.

What seemed like hours to Natsu passed before Zeref was standing only inches from him, their eyes making contact, "But it's only a cheap imitation… of this." In a split second Natsu felt his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets when what he determined was an enhanced punch made contact with his stomach. He had taken Senji's version of this attack and it hurt like a motherfucker. But this…

This was at least ten times stronger.

Natsu coughed out blood, momentarily losing all feeling to his entire body as he was sent flying off of the stage, almost being knocked unconscious as he helplessly rolled along the floor. He grasped at his sides, finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. When his mind finally realized what had happened, his nervous system sent signals all throughout his body. Signals of pain. He screamed in agony, realizing that at least five ribs had been utterly shattered from that one punch.

"Oh how far have the mighty fallen." Midnight mused through a dark chuckle as he walked up towards the writhing Natsu. He crouched down and grasped at the pinket's hair, lifting his head off of the ground, "How does it feel, you fucking traitor?" He growled out, suddenly in the possession of a knife that he pushed against his throat, "To be alone. Abandoned by everyone. Beaten and bruised, on the verge of death?" He questioned, his voice growing increasingly more agitated as Natsu simply gurgled out a pained breath, "I asked you how it feels, you cunt!" He roared before smashing Dragneel's head against the ground, pure rage in his eyes.

"Midnight!" Cobra called out hastily, both angry at the guy and worried for the barely conscious Natsu. The dark haired individual in question growled, but managed to control himself.

"Bring them here." Zeref ordered, Zancrow and Midnight complying. The knife-wielding member of the duo drug Natsu towards Zeref by his hair, ignoring the pained groans of the pinket.

"On your knees, asshole!" Zancrow roared as he kicked at the back of Gajeel's left knee, forcing him to the ground.

"I'll cut your fucking balls off, you-" Gajeel was interrupted when a kick to his stomach courtesy of Zeref made him taste metal coming up his throat. His eyes widened when Zee grasped at his throat and easily lifted his entire body off of the floor, their crimson eyes meeting. Gajeel was forced to bite down a shiver as his eyes shook. For the first time in a long while he felt fear. Fear. The way Zeref was glaring at him as though he was nothing more than a meat-suit filled with bones terrified him, making him realize that the current leader of the Six held absolutely no regard for human life.

On his knees, Natsu once again coughed up blood, feeling his entire body shaking almost madly, the pain of his broken ribs almost making him double over, "I wonder… If I took another from you, would you show me what I have been looking for all this time?" Zeref's voice made Natsu glance towards him and Gajeel, shock overtaking him. Natsu was about to say something when he saw Gajeel's hands tightly grasping at Zee's outstretched arm. Dragneel and Redfox made eye contact, and the taller dark-haired man shook his head, eyes filled with unrestrained resolve.

Don't you fucking dare! He could envision Gajeel saying, whatever this son of a bitch wants, he can go fuck himself!

Natsu let his head slump down, his mind amiss for what to do. What once again seemed like hours passed until a chuckle escaped the pinket's throat, calling the attention of everyone present, especially Zeref, "D-do… your… w-worst…" Natsu stammered, a bloody grin on his face as he looked up, giving his archenemy a defiant glare.

"You piece of shit!" Natsu groaned in pain as Midnight, who was still holding him by his hair, pulled at his head, growling.

Zeref hummed, his eyes slowly drifting back to Gajeel, "So be it." He concluded and put more strength into his grip, watching as Gajeel's eyes widened, a pained howl escaping him as his throat was being crushed.

"I fucking knew this would happen. Goddamnit."

Before Zeref could finish what he was doing, he felt a hand grasping at his wrist. Turning, his world darkened for a split second when a roundhouse kick sent him flying backwards.

Natsu felt his body being freed, confusion overtaking his mind. His head lifting, he watched with shock as Cobra made short work of Zancrow and Midnight, forcing the duo back, "You guys owe me one for this."

"Y-you're fucking l-late... you dick!" Gajeel groaned, coughing multiple times as he tried to stand up, "That asshole almost crushed my throat!"

"Yeah, well, I fucking told you to run if you saw him."

"Getting me mixed up in your 'The Six' bullshit… I fucking hate you guys."

"Oi, you got involved by yourself." Natsu said through a chuckle, fighting the pain as he tried to stand up. Cobra was quickly by his side and helped him on his feet, "Thanks."

"Thank me when we get out of here."

"If we get out of here." Gajeel said, coming to stand back to back with the other two as they were being surrounded. Zancrow. Midnight. Sting. Rogue. Not to mention all the Grimoire fodder that were with them.

"That's… that's a lot of them." Natsu thought, sighing tiredly.

"You think we can make like 300 and just go THIS IS SPARTA! all over their asses?" The redhead asked, honestly feeling very little to no confidence considering their odds, the other two replying with nothing but dry laughs.

"That's gay, man." Someone from the crowd of black-clad students shouted.

Cobra growled, "Your two dads are gay, asshole! C'mere!"

"Enough!" A voice suddenly boomed, silencing everyone present as Zeref kicked away the table he ended up under, making Natsu grin weakly. "Cobra, are you betraying us?"

"Hah! What do you think, dumbass?" The red haired individual spat, flipping his 'boss' the bird, "I was never with you in the first place, you murderous cunt!"

Zeref's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Very well…" He said lowly and nodded to everyone that surrounded the dynamic trio.

And boy did all hell break loose.

"M-mother…fucker…" Cobra groaned, lying prone on the ground, bordering corpsehood.

"You know… t-that actually went… b-better than I… t-thought it w-would." Natsu said, coughing out blood as he was also on the ground, barely conscious and wondering how he was still alive in the first place.

"At least… you know… at least you didn't g-get kicked in the… b-balls…" The redhead heaved out between breaths, eyes drifting to watch at Gajeel's writhing form, his hands grasping his groin.

"P-poor… Gajeel…" Dragneel replied, both of them laughing when Gajeel glared at them weakly.

"Hey… Erik?"

Cobra rustled, surprised that Natsu would use his real name. After everything that happened with the Six, he never thought he'd hear his friend use his name ever again. Honestly, he thought Natsu hated him, "Yeah?"

"You think they'll… fuck, ow… you know, let me transfer to… G-Grimoire?"

Cobra's, or Erik's, eyes widened. His mind instantly began racing, trying to understand why Natsu would ask such a question… when eventually it clicked. A very distraught sigh escaped the redhead at the thought of Natsu having to throw himself back into such a life again. However, he quickly realized that, like it or not, Natsu never even left.

He smiled, "Yeah. With open arms."