The training yard behind Fairy Tail's guildhall was scarred from years of duels, explosions, and wildly uncontrolled magic. But today, the space held a different kind of tension — quieter, tighter.
Ren stood in the center, breathing slow, calm… but not relaxed.
Across from him, Erza Scarlet tightened the strap on her gauntlet. She wore no armor — just her standard heart-shaped blouse and skirt. No swords, no shields.
She didn't need them.
"I heard about the Rift Stone," she said, stepping forward.
Ren didn't respond immediately. He met her eyes — serious, storm-gray, unwavering.
"You think I'm dangerous."
"I know you are," Erza replied without malice. "But so am I."
They stood in silence, only the wind speaking between them.
Then she added, "I asked Makarov for this duel. Not to punish you. But to understand you."
"Then you'll understand nothing," Ren replied. "Because I'm not sure I understand myself."
He took a stance.
Erza smiled faintly, stepping into her own.
"Then let's let our instincts talk."
---
Clash.
The first blow came from Erza — a blur of movement and a fist aimed at Ren's shoulder. He shifted just enough to deflect it with a burst of void energy around his arm.
She backed up, already circling. "No counterstrike?"
"You want my instinct? Here it is: don't escalate."
Erza lunged again, faster. Ren ducked a punch, slid under a kick, and delivered a palm strike charged with Null Magic.
Erza's body twisted midair and landed in a crouch, her palm on the ground to absorb impact.
The soil beneath her cracked.
"Your magic suppresses mine," she noted.
"I suppress everything," Ren said.
---
Inside the guildhall, Natsu leaned on the windowsill, watching wide-eyed.
"They're really going at it," he muttered.
"Erza's testing him," Gray said beside him. "But if he pushes too hard…"
"Makarov wouldn't let them if it was unsafe," said Mira. "But... I've never seen her this serious outside of missions."
"I have," Macao muttered. "When she thinks someone's hiding pain behind silence."
---
Back in the courtyard, Erza summoned her magic at last — Requip: Flight Armor — and rocketed forward. Her speed nearly broke the sound barrier as she spun low, delivering a flurry of rapid strikes that forced Ren onto the defensive.
He deflected the blows with flickering shields of void magic, each one cracking under the pressure.
"She's testing your threshold," Ren told himself. "Not your strength. Your restraint."
Fine.
Time to show it.
---
He stepped forward instead of back, letting her next punch land — just barely — before activating Void Channel: Magnetic Vein, a short-range gravitational twist that redirected her momentum and sent her flying past him.
Erza caught herself mid-flight, using a burst of magic to skid to a halt.
"That's not Fairy Tail magic," she said.
"No. It's mine."
Erza narrowed her eyes. "You don't use it like a tool. You wear it like armor."
Ren nodded. "Because if I ever stop wearing it, it might wear me."
---
She charged again, switching armor mid-dash to Heaven's Wheel — dozens of swords forming a storm around her.
Ren clenched both fists, pulling from the well of energy he rarely tapped.
Void Surge: Cancel Field.
A dome of anti-magic expanded from him in a blast — not offensive, not violent, but erasing energy as it spread.
Erza's blades froze midair.
And then fell.
Clank. Clatter. Thud.
She dropped from the sky, landing hard but steady. The dome faded.
She stood, staring at him.
"You… erased my magic."
"Briefly. I can't hold it for long," Ren said, breathing heavier now. "That's why I don't use it in real fights. It cancels everyone's magic — not just enemies."
Erza slowly approached, letting her armor vanish.
"So, you fight like that all the time? Knowing one mistake could hurt your friends?"
He looked away. "That's why I stay on the edge. Never too close. Never too far."
She studied him, then said quietly, "That's no way to live."
Ren gave a bitter smile. "It's the only way I can live."
---
They stood inches apart now.
"No more attacks?" Ren asked.
"No more," Erza said. "You've already won."
Ren blinked. "I didn't even—"
"You showed restraint," she interrupted. "Even when you had the upper hand. Even when I pressured you. That's harder than winning."
She looked down at her hand — a bruise already forming.
"You held back power most mages would kill to possess."
Ren lowered his guard completely.
For the first time, he felt something stir beneath the coldness he carried. Not warmth — not yet — but understanding.
---
Later that evening, as the guild returned to its rowdy rhythm, Ren sat alone in the corner, bandaging his forearm.
Erza sat across from him, sipping tea.
"I still don't trust your magic," she said bluntly.
He nodded. "Neither do I."
"But," she added, "I trust your heart."
That stunned him.
She stood, placing her cup down gently. "Train with me. You'll need someone who can hit back without breaking."
He looked up, cautious.
"You'd help me?"
"I'm not doing it for you," she said with a smirk. "I'm doing it for Fairy Tail."
And with that, she walked away.
Ren sat there for a long time, listening to the sound of laughter, firecrackers from Natsu, Gray shouting about stolen underwear, and Mira humming behind the bar.
It didn't feel like home.
But it didn't feel like a battlefield either.
For now... that was enough.