The door to The Shack creaked open with force as Boro’s silhouette framed itself in the doorway like a monolith. Natsu’s mess of blonde hair and bruised features told the full story of the fight he had just had with Ryo. Gale popped inside right behind Boro with his usual bright smile plastered over his face, scanning the room to see Ari and Shadow already sitting at the their usual corner table. Nina’s heels clicking on the worn wooden floorboards trailed right behind them, accompanied by Sakura, who was staring down at her feet.

Toru, standing guard behind the bar counter, his arms folded over his chest, narrowed his eyes. The air grew heavy, thick with the scent of old wood and beer.

“Hmm.” Toru grunted toward them walking in, “What’s the deal with those two? This ain’t no place for an after school hangout.” He motioned with his head at Nina and Sakura.

“Damn old man, not going to ask about Natsu?” Gale joked back.

“The kid’s tougher than he looks, I’m sure he’s fine.” He grumbled back, “Now, about them two?” He re-asked.

Boro lowered Natsu onto a nearby bench with a gentleness that did not match his large physique. He straightened back up and faced Toru head-on. “They uh— Just kind of followed us after a fight.” He rubbed his head.

Nina stepped forward, her blue eyes unflinching under Toru’s scrutiny, vastly different than the pink haired Sakura who was shrinking away as every second passed. “We’re here because we want to make sure Natsu is okay!” She declared, her tone steady.

“Well, mission accomplished. Like I said, the kid’s tough.” Toru retorted.

“Just because he’s tough doesn’t mean he doesn’t need help every once in a while..” She replied a bit quieter.

Toru widened his eyes for a split second, so quick that it would have been easily missed if they hadn’t been staring at him. This was very unlike the gruff man, but he smirked for a second, and grunted back at her reply. It looked as if he was amused.

“Alright that’s enough interrogation old man, they’ll be fine here.” Ari jumped into the conversation, also amused by these two new girls.

“Fine. But they look too proper to be in a place like this, not like you trouble-makers. No drinking for them.” Toru said with finality as he walked towards the backroom of the bar to continue what he had been doing before.

Ari was now leaning against a wall, the red of her hair looking a dim amber in the low light of The Shack. Her eyes, sharp as ever, were flickering between Sakura, who was now hovering above Natsu’s prone form, and Nina.

“So who are you two?”

“My name is Nina,” She walked toward Ari, hand outstretched for a handshake. Ari quickly high fived her with a smile.

“Umm. I’m Sakura.” She said quietly, obviously out of her element here.

“Well hi Sakura and Nina, I’m Ari, the only responsible one in this little group—” Gale interrupted her introduction with a snort, to which Ari shot him a glare, “How’d you guys get to know these idiots?”

“Classmates.” Shadow said from the table.

“It’s a bit of a long story but he’s been studying with us—” Nina began to explain, much to Ari’s shock.

“Studying! Man, I really didn’t think he’d stick to going to school,” Ari laughed a warm laugh that made the entire atmosphere a lot more welcoming. Nina couldn’t help but imagine what her relationship to Natsu was. Here stood a slightly older woman, who at the same moment, seemed composed and nurturing and as wild as Natsu was.

“Y-yeah,” Sakura joined in, “He’s done a really good job! I’m proud of him.” She spoke much clearer when discussing Natsu, Nina noticed, and was reminded of their conversation that night.

Before the conversation could progress any further, a low groan cut through their conversation. They all turned to Natsu’s eyes opening, revealing their brown hues. His breath was raspy as his awakening brought forth the pain from the fight in full force, and his facial expression showed every ounce of it. He shifted slightly, as his body seemed to protest even the smallest movements.

“Damn…” Natsu’s voice rang out, barely above his labored breathing. It was like he had to fight to push each syllable out of his lungs.

“Take it easy, man,” Boro said, as he placed a steadying hand on Natsu’s shoulder. “That was a pretty intense fight, even for you.”

Natsu only grunted in response, his jaw tightly shut bracing the waves of pain. It had been a while since he had felt it this bad. Nina looked toward him with a mind full of worry, not used to seeing him like this. His piercing eyes, however, were now alert, scanning the faces of those around him and taking the scene in, with his gaze lingering on Nina and Sakura for a heartbeat longer than the others.

Natsu’s hand, unsteady, reached out to the dust covered bottle of Brandy on The Shack’s battered table where Shadow was sitting. His fingers grazed the glass before gripping it tightly. With a twist of the cap that echoed in the still air, he poured the amber liquid into an empty glass, clinking as he did.

“Umm— Natsu,” Sakura’s soft voice said, with her eyes wide in shock, “Should you really be drinking that right now?”

“Right now?! Should you be drinking at all!” Nina added loudly. Her usual composure was cracked, yet again today, with concern. She knew he skipped school and got into fights. She knew he had a troubled relationship with his dad, and she had even seen him step outside their study sessions to smoke a cigarette, but drinking seemed.. He really shouldn’t be doing that, she thought.

“Relax,” Natsu grumbled back, “It helps with the pain.”

“Put it down for a second Natsu.” Shadow’s voice wasn’t loud but it cut straight through the haze of Natsu’s thoughts like a knife. He might not speak much, but when he did, it was usually a good idea to listen. “We have a few things to talk about.”

Natsu’s hand paused mid-air, the shot glass touching his lips. The words sank in, and a second later the glass was back on the table. “Hmm?”

“The main thing. You beat Ryo.” Shadow said as he motioned for the rest of the group to sit down at the table. Boro, Ari, Sakura, and Nina did as he beckoned without saying a word.

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“Yeah, and?”

“We talked about this already. You’re now The Tenth at Hatsuka.” Shadow spaced his statement out with a moment of silence, to allow him to process what it really meant.

“Right.” Is all Natsu could muster up through the pain.

“Responsibility and danger,” Shadow continued, stepping closer. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, locked onto Natsu’s. “They come with the title.”

“Why the melodramatic act man?” Natsu asked sarcastically.

“There are a myriad of rules—“ Shadow stopped briefly, scanning Natsu, “I don’t think you’ll care about most of them so I’ll leave them for now. But there are a few things to keep in mind.”

Natsu took the shot without saying a word; the only response was a small gasp coming from Sakura that was quickly extinguished.

“Great. I love rules.” Natsu said, blowing air out to cool the burn of the alcohol. The shot glass clinked as he set it back down and began pouring another. Nina reached over the table unexpectedly, placing her hand on his to try and put the bottle down gently. Ari found it amusing, knowing how Natsu was, but was surprised when he placed it back down without a fight.

Shadow’s lean figure looked both relaxed and on edge, as he furrowed his eyebrows, nearly highlighting the small scar he held above his eye in focus. “The rules are simple. You fight for the Ten, bleed for them if you must, and all the other students when Nisha High delinquents start a fight. Their battles are now yours. Ours.”

“I’m guessing I don’t have a choice.”

“No. You’ll have to keep in mind that every fight you have, every punch you throw, now reflects on all of us in the underworld. Above that, you’ll also have to fight people from Hatsuka who want your position. You got lucky with the one you beat being Ryo, he won’t cause you any trouble, but usually they’d want to have a rematch after a loss.”

“Hmm.” Natsu had resigned himself to listening.

“Being The Tenth is the most likely to get you into fights. Most people won’t challenge anyone higher on the totem pole, but if they beat you, they’re allowed in. I’d suggest beating The Ninth as quick as possible, so you can avoid having to gatekeep every fighter looking to get in.”

“Couldn’t I just fake a loss and get out of the whole thing.”

“Potentially. But people will still target you as a former Ten. Not only that but if they know you faked it—“ Shadow leaned in, “Let’s just not let that happen.”

“Hmm..” Natsu said, more seriously.

“It’s a serious thing.” Ari jumped in, unusually serious for her personality. Nina could tell she was in college, and so accurately guessed that she must have been in the same system they were talking about when she had been in high school. Natsu looked at her and nodded slowly.

“Keep in mind, that internally fighting between The Ten only happens when someone is trying to move up. If someone above initiates the fight, then the lower is immediately kicked out. Doesn’t really happen unless it’s personal for the person.“ Shadow was lessening his imposing appearance and leaned over the table to grab the bottle. He poured one for everyone except Nina and Sakura, though he did nod questioningly at them, to which they both responded with a frantic shake of their heads.

“Keep your friends close,” Shadow advised, the unspoken message clear— trust was a luxury he couldn’t afford. They all took a moment to knock back the shot that he had poured for them.

“Now. A few other things. As The Tenth, you’ll want to grow your group if you can. Ari is out,” Shadow said causing Ari to shoot him a glare, but not speak up, “So that leaves me, Boro, and Gale as your crew.”

“I can handle my own fights.” Natsu shot back.

“Not up to you.” Is all Shadow offered in return.

“Yup, got your back even if you say no!” Gale laughed as he patted Natsu’s back.

“You know I’m with you.” Boro added.

“So that’s that. Don’t be too reckless, for our sake.” Shadow said.

“Alright, alright. I get it, but is anyone going to congratulate me on that win or what? Ryo was tough.” Natsu said, breaking the tension that had been building on purpose.

“That Beast mode he went into was insane. It felt like he had actually changed.. Kind of like you when you get serious.” Boro said. Shadow glanced between the two of them but said nothing.

“Oh, almost forgot. Remember that kid who fought you a while ago? Akemi?” Shadow asked.

“Ah that pain in the ass, yeah, why?”

“Don’t know what he did, but he just got made The Fifth of Nisha High.”

“Him? How the hell did he make it that high up, he could barely fight!”

“Nisha is smaller, they only have The Five,” Shadow answered, “But don’t mistake their top four as weak. I don’t know yet how he got in; I’ll have to look into it..”

From her corner, Nina was watching the exchange, her heart pounding inside her ribcage, though she showed no outward signs of it. She knew the dangers of what they were talking about, even she had heard about The Ten; she had seen enough of their influence as the class president. She had been able to turn a blind eye as they kept the fighting away from the school grounds, but the clashes weren’t just brawls, but miniature war between factions.

Her mind was racing with emotions. She worried for his safety, the image of his passed out self still vivid in her memory. Yet, underneath that feeling, was another, stronger one. Whenever she looked or talked to him there was a warmth that spread throughout her chest; one that knew he seemed to understand her if even a little. Without warning, and against her conscious thoughts, she slipped her cool hand into his rough palm. Her grip was soft as she looked at him.

“Listen, Natsu,” she said, her voice more akin to velvet than steel at this moment, “I don’t really care about all this title and honor and fight talk you guys are having. But you made a promise right?” She asked the question timidly. “Just don’t get .. hurt out there, okay?”

Natsu felt a warmth creek ip to his cheek, dissolving the pain and usual brashness he had. He attempted to keep his smirk but it instantly dropped as he looked at her sincere eyes.

“Yeah.. Alright.” He managed to murmur out. The rest of the table was silent but grinning at this display, with two expectations; Shadow and Sakura. Shadow wasn’t really the type to smile, but Sakura almost seemed bothered by it.

“Alright now that all that’s over, I have a bone to pick with you!” Ari said as she pointed her finger squarely in Gale’s face.

“The hell I do?” Gale said, mocking surprise as he smiled at her.

“Look at you!,” She motioned to his still bruised self, “Looking worse than my laptop after I tried pirating that visual novel.”

“Uh— What the hell are you talking about?” Gale burst out laughing, joined by the others.

“I swear if you weren’t so good looking..” Ari muttered, “I go to look after you like usual and the nurses tell me you just disappeared! Without letting me know!”

“I—“ Gale started to say but was interrupted by Sakura.

“You told me you had been let go by the hospital!” Sakura said, leaning toward him.

“Sorry pretty lady, but you had me convinced I had to go see Natsu right away” He winked at her. “And Red, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He said re-directing his gaze at Ari, with a slight wince as the turn hurt him.

“Whatever. You’re not off the hook! I guess you need someone watching your every move so that you don’t act like an idiot.”

“And that’s you? Miss Red Terror of Hatsuka?” Gale joked.

“Exactly, who better than Hatsuka’s most infamous delinquent?” She stood up in a dramatic fashion, to everyone’s laughter. Nina looked back over at Natsu, inspired by Ari’s show.

“You better remember that you have responsibilities outside of these… extracurricular activities,” Nina said, as she pushed her glasses up, mimicking Ari’s seriousness.

“And here I thought you were finally being cool.” Natsu jokingly rolled his eyes.

“Those study sessions you’ve been ditching? They aren’t optional.” Nina pressed on, her gaze much more intense, “Your grades are hanging on by a thread thinner than my patience when you open your mouth.”

“Ouch, Prez, that stings.” Natsu replied, rubbing his chest as if he had suffered an actual blow.

“Good, maybe you’ll finally listen.” Nina said, not able to hide a smile she was wearing.

“Fine, fine. Just don’t give me another one of those death glares of yours, Ice Princess.” He joked. Nina grimaced for a second, making Natsu regret using that term, but she recovered and replied;

“Just be there, or else.”

“Or else what?” Natsu raised an eyebrow.

“Or else I’ll make sure your next fight will be with algebra equations I come up with.” Nina said. Sakura was looking more and more bothered by their back and forth.

“Umm.. Why don’t we just have our study sessions here from now on? That would make it easier for you right Natsu?” She spoke up.

“Hmm. Yeah, not a bad idea.” He smiled back at her, trying to get her to ease her nerves a bit.

As Ari continued to fuss over Gale, threatening to bubble-wrap him for his own safety, and Nina issued her academic ultimatums, The Shack hummed with the energy of a misfit family—a chaotic blend of concern, friendship, and the unspoken promise to weather any storm together.

This feels nice, Nina thought to herself, feeling calm despite the turmoil they had just been in.