"Natsu!" My mother shouted from the kitchen, "Come down for dinner before your food gets cold!"

I jumped in my chair, turning on the television, "in a second mom! The match is about to begin!"

She scoffed, "Are you watching that boxing stuff again?"

I stiffened, "Yes?" I said, unsure if I answered that question correctly.

She sighed, "what am I going to do with him. Eight year old boys shouldn't be watching that kind of stuff," she said, setting the table.

I straightened my back in my chair staring deeply into the television waiting for the match to begin.

Gildart's against Byro Cacy.

The most anticipated fight of the year.

Two legends in the ring going head to head and I'm alive to see it.

I watched as the ring announcer walked into the ring wearing the same jet black suit with the red bow tie. Clearing his throat he grabbed the microphone hanging from above, "ladies and gentlemen!" His voice boomed from every corner of the stadium, further exciting the crowd, "coming to the ring, your world champion, Gildart's Clive!"

Excitement buzzed through the charged air as the legend came from the tunnel and onto the ring. He was a legend after all, traveling country to country fighting the strongest of the strongest and never lost a single battle.

I remember watching my first boxing match with my dad. We had front row seats to one of his matches and I was so excited to finally be up close to see him fight. I remember watching him and seeing how fast and swiftly he moved dodging the opponents punches. Ever since that match I knew I wanted to become a boxer just like him.

"And on my left entering the ring, they call him the reaper himself, Byro Cacy!" The crowd went just as insane as they did when they introduced Gildarts. Byro was just as amazing as Gildarts. He was known for his brutal fighting style in the ring. His last match ended with his opponent in a coma.

I watched as their coaches talked and prepped them for their match. I stared at Gildarts corner watching him talking to his coach. The legendary coach himself, the Aviator.

Weird name huh? But he is responsible for coaching some of the best fighters and he himself was a fighting legend.

"Let the match begin!" The ring announcer yelled.

As soon as the whistle blew, the two fighters knocked their gloves together and got into their fighting stances.

Gildarts put his gloves up covering his face while Byro went straight for the kill and started throwing cross punches toward his face. Gildarts stood his ground as each punch landed on him. Soon Byro started getting faster and faster with his punches, not giving enough time for Gildarts to respond.

"Come on Gildarts!" I screamed, gripping the arms of my chairs.

"Keep it down!" Mom yelled.

Byro wasn't giving up. He threw every punch he knew at him and it didn't seem like he was losing any stamina.

"What are you doing Gildarts? Fight back." I gripped the handles of my chair even tighter, nervous about the outcome of this fight. I watched closely trying to figure out if Gildarts had a plan. There was only a minute left in the round and all Gildarts was doing was blocking the punches.

Three minutes passed and the first bell rang indicating the first round was over. Both fighters went backed away, still staring at each other.

Byro pointed his fist at Gildarts, smiling, "the king is dead, " he laughed.

Gildarts turned his head over his shoulder watching the mad man laugh, "the king is dead!" He repeated.

I watched as Gildarts sat in his corner and his team trying to heal him in what few seconds they had left. As the camera zoomed in on him I couldn't tell what he was feeling. All I could see was an emotionless face staring into space.

A minute passes and the bell went off, ending the minute break.

Both fighters went back into the ring and faced off again.

Byro still threw the first punch while Gildarts was still dodging. As the fight went on it was like Byro's punches got even faster and stronger. I could tell Gildarts was struggling to keep up with him even though his footwork was about flawless, he still needed more energy and technique just to keep up with Byro and his insane punches. The more punches Byro threw the more he lead Gildarts into the corner trapping him.

"Fight back Gildarts! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, Byro broke through Gildarts's defense catching him off guard. Byro landed punch after punch on Gildarts making it harder for Gildarts to get back into his blocking stance. He had a crazed look on his face as he punched him repeatedly in his face and on his side. The more punches he landed the crazier and faster his punches got.

"What the hell?!" I yelled, hanging off the edge of my seat.

"What was that?" My mom questioned.

"Nothing mom!"

The bell went off again announcing that the round was over, but Byro had other plans.

He landed a right hook on Gildarts's head causing him to fall.

"Gildarts!" His coach ran to him, trying to get him on his feet. He glared at Byro, "you knew the bell rang!"

Byro towered above them, blocking the venue lights from above them, "Sorry, my fist slipped," He chuckled, releasing such a strong aura that even I could feel.

"I'm fine coach," Gildarts said, standing back on his feet.

I let out a sound of relief when I saw him getting up from the ground. The coach helped him to his feet and back into his corner so he could attend to his wounds.

"It looks like Byro won't be playing fair tonight folks," one of the commentators said.

"Like that's a suprise. Ever since this man has made it into the big leagues he's never played fair. He's a monster in the ring and won't lose to anyone, not even to the legend himself."

The next few rounds were all the same. Byro throwing punches and Gildarts dodging them.

"Why isn't he doing anything?" I whispered.

As the round went on I noticed Byro's punches were getting weaker and his footwork was getting sloppy. His punches soon started to slow down giving Gildarts a little more breathing room to block Byro's repeated attacks.

It was then I saw that sly smirk appear on Gildarts's face. Then it popped in my head, "Gildarts you genius!"

As soon as Byro's last punch hit him, Gildarts put on his famous smile.

Everyone knew when you saw that smile the match was over.

He let Byro get in a few more punches, not daring to let his guard down even once.

"Get him Gildarts!" I screamed from the top of my lungs.

Finally Gildarts landed an uppercut sending Byro flying to the ground. The crowd roared when they finally saw Gildarts doing what he does best. Byro sat up on his knees, trying to regain his composure. Quickly, he shook his head and got back into the fight.

Never had anyone got that much of a strong punch on Byro since his first fight in the league.

Byro wiped the side of his mouth, staining his glove in his own blood. He glanced back at Gildarts, "you're a dead man!"

Gildarts smirked, "what? Afraid of a little blood?"

The referee gave the go for the match to start again giving Byro the opportunity to charge at Gildarts giving him some of the most powerful punches he ever threw.

Gildarts dodged each one of his punches moving his body left to right while throwing some attacks at Byro.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I jumped in my seat, throwing punches along with Gildarts.

Gildarts landed jab after jab, damaging Byro even further. He packed all his energy into one punch and threw a overhand punch at Byro, knocking him to the floor.

"One!" The referee yelled, counting down, "two!"

Gildarts smiled as he saw what looked like a lifeless Byro laying on the ground.

"Five!" Byro still laid on the ground lifeless which meant to Gildarts a victory was on his path. He lifted his glove in the air turning his back toward Byro, making the thousands of people in the crowd go insane.

"Seven!" The referee yelled.

As the camera zoomed out from Gildarts I glanced back at Byro to see he was getting back on his feet. Fear invaded my body as I saw his eyes.

Those eyes. I can never forget them.

As I stared into them all I saw was death.

I saw Gildarts turn back around with his eyes widened and his mouth slightly parted.

"I'm not done with you yet Clive!" He punched his gloves together and growled at him.

Gildarts swallowed the lump in his throat. Never had he felt this feeling before when he entered the ring.

That feeling was fear.

They once again touched gloves and got into their fighting stance. This time it wasn't Byro who threw the first punch, but Gildarts. Gildarts knew if he wanted to win this match he would have to give it all he's got in the first minute of the round. He had to go faster than he's ever went before, he had to throw the strongest punches, and his technique has to be flawless.

Punch after punch landed onto Byro's side and face. Gildarts punches felt as if they gotten weaker and weaker the more energy he used, but soon he realized that wasn't the case.

He landed one more punch on Byro's face, but what seemed like the impossible just happened.

As Gildarts threw his last punch Byro stood his place looking down at Gildarts with those same eyes. He smacked his fist away from his face and threw a jab landing onto Gildarts's jaw.

I shook in my seat watching this fight. My palms were sweaty and I couldn't keep still. I watched the clock and saw they had thirty more seconds left until the break, "just keep going for thirty more seconds Gildarts!"

This time Byro's punches were even more powerful and faster. The look in his eyes sent chills down everyone's spine.

Everyone knew now Byro wasn't just trying to win, but now, he was out for blood.

Gildarts didn't even have time to dodge, let alone think. He kept taking punch after punch after punch.

"Just five more seconds Gildarts!" I was on the verge of tears. Never had I seen him this vulnerable, this weak.

I thought to myself, has he finally met his match?

Everyone in the crowd was on the edge of their seats, watching this one sided match.

Then Byro threw the last punch. His infamous uppercut.

The punch sent Gildarts to the ground. With his blood splattering all over ring.

It was like my whole world crashed down as I saw his lifeless body on the ground. His blood all over the ring, his eyes swelled closed, his face and body covered in cuts and bruises.

"Eight!" As the referee was counting down I couldn't believe my eyes.

My hero was about to lose.

"Ten!" The referee blew the whistle hovering over Gildarts's body, "knock out!" He yelled. The crowd was silent as they saw Gildarts's stiff body remained on the ground.

The aviator rushed over to his body, "Gildarts get up!" He splashed a little cold water onto his face to see if he would wake up, but it wasn't working. He then felt for his pulse, but couldn't feel anything. His face paled as he continued touching his neck, searching for his pulse, "we need an ambulance! I can't feel his pulse!" He cried out.

The crowd was dead silent watching the scene unfold.

Men with a gurney came out putting Gildarts on it.

"Gildarts! What's going on!" I screamed.

"Just in, it seems like Gildarts is being rushed to the hospital," the commentator said.

"After that last blow, I definitely didn't think it was going to be easy for him to get back onto his feet."

"Such a shame. If he would have held out for just one second he would have made into the next round."

I looked at the clock and the commentator was right. Just one second was all he needed. Just one second...

"Gildarts," I tried holding in my tears, but my eyes wouldn't allow it, "Gildarts!" I cried out, "you can't do this! You can't!"

I heard mom come rushing into my room, "baby what's wrong?" She asked, alarmed.

I was in too much of a shock to respond to her. I rushed into her arms, needing her embrace. I soaked my tears into her shirt, "I don't think you ever cried this much since your father died," She whispered. She looked at the TV screen and saw exactly why I was upset.

My idol, my hero. He was on the ground, lifeless.

She knew how much he meant to me. How much he meant to us.

"Come on." She picked me up in her arms, combing her fingers through my hair, "your dinner is getting cold."

It's been few days after the match and I can still hear the news anchors words from this morning echo in my head.

Gildarts was pronounced dead from trauma to the head.

It was raining as I was walking home from school. It was Gildarts's funeral today.

I wore my best shirt for the occasion. My oversized signed shirt from him when me and my dad went to one of his matches. I clenched the scarf around my neck, making sure to keep it close to me at all times.

It was last thing my dad left for me.

"Stop it!" I heard screaming coming from the park, "please stop!"

Without thinking I rushed to the screaming, dropping my bags. I saw the same two middle schoolers who bully me all the time beating up a girl who looked about my age.

"Stop it!" I screamed as I punched one them causing them to fall onto the ground. He grabbed his brushed cheek, glaring at me.

"What's your problem kid?!" One of them asked.

"Didn't she tell you two clowns to stop it! Last time I remember you aren't supposed to hit girls."

"Oh yeah?" One of them cracked their knuckles, "and what do you think you can do about it?"

I took a quick peek at the girl, "get out of here. I can handle them while you run away." She quickly got up and dashed in the opposite direction.

"Where do you think you're going?!" One of the boys yelled.

Before they got any closer to her, I punched him in his gut and then threw a jab in his jaw. He fell to the ground along side his friend. They both glanced at each other suprised, "when did this loser learn how to fight?!"

"I've been waiting to practice my new moves anyway," I thought. I glanced back at the girl to make sure she was out of sight from these losers. She was nowhere in sight thankfully. I faced back to the two losers, "get up since you guys are so tough and like to beat up girls."

"That smart mouth is going to get you killed," one of the boys said getting up.

"I'm ready," I said, swallowing the huge lump in my throat.

They both charged at me throwing sloppy punches and they were all over the place with their footwork. I used this to my advantage when I tripped one of them and kicked the other one in the gut.

"You've got some balls kid!"

"Thanks," I replied.

They stood back up and charged at me again, but this time their was more rage in there punches and movements. I tried throwing another punch, but he grabbed it. Smirking, he punched me in the nose, causing blood to fly everywhere. I fell to the ground and punch after punch, kick after kick kept landing on me. The air was knocked out of chest causing me not to be able to breath.

"Please stop!" I managed to get out.

"What happened to all that talk you were doing earlier?" He lifted me up by my collar, "It's going to cost you something to get me to stop." He looked down at my shirt, "nice Gildarts shirt you got there." I couldn't even protest as he took off my shirt and put it on him.

He turned to his friend, posing for him, "perfect fit." He said.

"G-Give it back."I protested.

The both came back and kicked me in my chest, while the other boy unwrapped my scarf, "no please stop. Don't touch that!" I crawled on the muddy ground, attempting to get my scarf back. The boy who stole my shirt just kicked my chest again and I could feel one of my ribs break, causing me to scream out in pain.

He kneeled next to me, "This scarf must really mean something to you huh?"

"It was..." I sighed, "it was the last thing my dad left me before he died."

He touched his chest, "that's so sweet." He dangled my scarf in front of me, "I wouldn't want to ruin a precious gift that a loving father gave to his child before he died."

I manged to stick out my hand, attempting to grab the scarf, "thank you-" my eyes widened at the sound on the fabric ripping.

He ripped the scarf in half letting it fall in the soupy mud.

Tears involuntarily left my eyes as I saw the two pieces of my scarf on the ground.

"That will teach you to ever fight back against me." He whispered in my ear. They both walked off, laughing with each other, leaving me shirtless in the rain, beaten up.

I crawled over to my shredded scarf, brining it closer to my chest.

I couldn't move anymore. It was too painful. As I laid there I thought I was going to die here. I didn't have enough energy to call out or to move.

"You should have ran." I opened my eyes to see a girl staring from above me.

"Who are you?" I whispered out of breath.

"Wow, it's been only a few minutes and you've forgotten about me."

"Oh, you're that girl from earlier."

"No, my name is Erza scarlet not that girl." She crossed her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I closed my eyes, not having enough energy to keep them open anymore.

She sighed, "It's ok. Thanks for saving me by the way, not that I needed your help anyway."

"No problem." She watched me as I breathed in and out.

"Well let's going, can't have dead people lying in the park. It'll scare off the little kids."

"You're a little kid too y'know."

"No I'm not," she pouted, "I'm a lady."

I chuckled even though I ended up hurting myself.

"Good thing I brought my wagon," she said.

"Why would you need a wagon?"

"Duh, to carry around things! How hard did they hit your head?"

"Pretty hard," I said rubbing my head. She managed to pick me up and put me in her wagon, "Wow with that strength you could have fought them all by yourself."

"I told you I didn't need any help." She took off her jacket and covered my bare chest with it, "I hope that's enough to warm you for now."

"I just hope I don't get sick from all this rain," I coughed causing an excruciating pain in my chest.

"Don't talk anymore," she said dragging the wagon who knows where.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

"I said don't talk," She said, "your going to hurt yourself more."

"Then tell me where we're going."

She groaned, "to the hospital dummy."

"That's like five miles away. We won't get there until nightime and you'll get tired by then."

"Well that's a risk I'm going to have to take."

I smiled, "you're really nice y'know that?"

"No I'm not!" She pouted.

He chuckled at her, "thank you, Erza. No one has ever done anything this nice for me."

"Don't you have any friends?"

I sighed, "No not really."

"Shocker." She replied.

"Hey!"

She giggled, "Well, then consider me your first friend."