Couch now thrown across the room, any and all intentions to be calm and rational were thrown out of the window.
Claw's cheek was cut from your assault, nose broken and left eye swollen.

"I will die before you ever lay your hands on them," you said, standing over him. "How dare you threaten them in front of me!" You held your arm up above your head. A blue and white magic circle appeared, donning four Yin Yangs on each side.

"Fifth Circle." It's been a while since you last said those two words.

"Wait–wait..." He said, trying to scoot out from under you. You smashed your foot against his shoulder, halting him there. "Wait! Please, stop!"

"Azroz." You dragged two swords out of the circle, one black and one white. Claw writhed underneath you, eyes widening in realization.

"Wait! Please! I'm sorry! I won't do it, I swear!!"

"I promise you," you said, pointing the white blade at him. "I will kill anyone who dares to threaten the lives of my friends."

"No... no way... you wouldn't..." He whispered, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "That's... that's... impossible!" Eyes slitting, you raised both of them above you. The blades took on a glow, signaling their magic is ready to use.

"Fifth Circle—"

"STOP...!"

"—Death to Magic."

~
"Y/N!!"
Natsu came running up to you on the street, a wide smile on his face.

"What now?" You sighed, rubbing your forehead. Happy flew up and held a flyer.

"..." You blinked. "... what the FUCK!?" You grabbed Natsu by his scarf, shaking him back and forth.

"YOU TOOK AN S-CLASS FLYER!?!? WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!?!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING!?!?"

"But, if you go on it with us, doesn't that mean we can go on it?"
You stopped shaking him to glare.

"Where are you getting at?" Your expression darkened. He avoided your gaze, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I-I just thought since you're an S-Class Mage and all, you could go with us..."
You narrowed your eyes at him.

"You just want to bring me so you won't get in trouble."

"EEEEKKKK!!!!!!!!!!"
You pushed him away and sighed, crossing your arms.

"You're bringing Lucy, I assume?"
They nodded vigorously.

"... fine," you gave in, "But go tell her quickly. They no doubt noticed and I don't feel like getting into trouble."

~
You, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were at the port town of Hargeon the next day, looking for a ride to Galuna Island.

"Wow! This brings back memories!" Lucy exclaimed, "This is the town where I met Natsu and Happy."
You tilted your head at her.

"Brings back memories? It wasn't that long ago," Natsu said.

"You sound like an old lady," Happy added. You dug your elbow into each of their faces.

"Don't be fuckin' rude," you said, "Let's just find a boat to take us." You walked away from them.

"BOAT?!" Natsu quickly slid up to you. "Don't be crazy! We're swimming there!" You rolled your eyes.

"That's an even crazier idea."

You and the rest walked up to different sailors and asked if they would take you to Galuna Island.

"Galuna Island? Yeah, right! We ain't going near that place!" The one said.

"Forget it. We don't even wanna hear that name."

"Sailors around here won't even talk about that island."

"That place is cursed. Going there would be nothing but bad news."

"Don't know what your story is, but you won't find any sailors who'll go there. Even pirates avoid that place!"
A vein managed to pop in your forehead.

"Are all of you too pussy to row us to a fucking island?"
The last man flinched away from your glare, but his eyes flashed familiarity with you.

"It's decided! We swim!" Natsu declared happily.

"We're not swimming!"

"Found you~"
Natsu and Lucy let out a shriek before jumping away. You rolled your eyes at them.

"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?!" Natsu asked.

"Gramps ordered me to bring you back," Gray explained.

"OOOOHH?! We got found out already?!"

"Who knows. If you come back now, he might not kick you out. Let's go." Gray smiled smugly.

"Kicked out?!"
You walked up between the blonde and the pinkette, wrapping your arms around their shoulders.

"Relax Gray," you said with a lopsided smile. "I'm here. They'll be fine." Gray crossed his arms at you.

"Gramps really likes you and Erza respects you. I don't want to know what it's like getting on their bad side."
Your smile dropped.

"I've been on the bad sides of people much more fearsome than them. I'm prepared to defend myself if necessary."
Gray found it hard to argue with you. In hindsight, you were of a higher ranking than him. You could go on this quest by yourself. He's just afraid the other two would slow you down.
The last thing he needs is news of your death.

"Wait!" The man in the boat stood up. All of you turned your heads to him.

"You! Aren't you Y/n L/n? The Woman Who's Never Been Beat?" His eyes were wide as he stared at you. You tilted your head at him.

"That'd be me, yes."

"Are those other guys wizards? Wait, are you going to break the island's curse?!"
You shrugged lightly.

"That was the plan, yes. We have a flyer," you replied.

"You're not going anywhere," Gray said.

"Get in!"

"Huh?!"

"Seriously?!"

"Hey!"
You jumped into the boat with a cheer, almost overturning it in the process.

"Road trip!!" Next thing you know, Natsu kicked Gray into unconsciousness.

"Oh, all right! We'll take this boat there!"

"We're taking Gray with us?!" Lucy inquired.

"If he goes back to the guild, Erza will come next."
After that, the both of them hopped into the boat quickly.

~
The day quickly transitioned into the night. As you traveled farther into the ocean, the mist became denser. Natsu was leaning over the side of the boat, trying not to vomit.

"I know it's too late to say this, but I'm scared now," Lucy said.

"You tie me up and then say that?!" Gray, who was now awake, exclaimed. "And you! Why did you agree to take us?!" He aimed that at the sailor. He turned around.

"My name is Bobo. I used to live on Galuna Island," he replied. You perked up slightly at that. "I fled from that cursed island. Disaster will befall you all, too. Such is the fate of those who visit that island. Can you really lift this curse—" He moved his arm out from his cloak, revealing his right arm. It was black and gnarled—disfigured.

"—this demon's curse."

"Mister! Your arm..." Gray said.

"Curse? You don't mean...?!" Lucy trailed off.

"Don't worry, dude," you spoke up for the first time in a while. "We'll figure this out." You smiled at him. A sickeningly sweet one.

"I dabble in the occult myself. This shouldn't be too much of a big deal."
Bobo eyed you warily. There were rumors that the L/n family, the dark wizards, dabbled into the supernatural.
Tearing his eyes from you, they moved upwards towards the horizon.

"There it is," he said, "Galuna Island." You turned your head and saw the distant land mass. At the top of the island was a bright light.

"What is that? The mountaintop is glowing," Lucy said. Your eyes narrowed slightly.

'I sense magic at the top.' You thought.

"Huh?! Where'd he go?!" You heard Lucy exclaim.

"Did he fall overboard?!"
You looked over and saw Bobo was no longer in the boat. There was no sign of him.

"He just suddenly disappeared!" Happy added. The boat underneath you began to rock incessantly.

"Uh, guys?" You spoke, eyeing the giant wave next to you. The other two looked in the direction you were and shrieked. The wave crashed over you, overturning the boat and sending all five of you swirling into the ocean. Disoriented and spinning, you managed to open your eye.

'Fifth Circle!' Feathery black wings transitioning with blue streaking through it popped through your back. They helped stabilize you under the water. You opened both eyes, looking around. Even in the darkness and through the blurriness, you could see well.

'Where are they?' You thought, blasting through the depths of the water. You breached the surface and flew high into the air, looking around. You didn't see any sight of the others.

'Shit.' Without a second thought, you took off towards Galuna Island.

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}