Never Again

Author's Note: Nē, mina! Please excuse my Japanese. My parents got me a Japanese Rosetta Stone for Christmas, and I've been messing with it ever since. It's actually quite easy to learn. Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been working on my actual stories lately, but I've been having really bad Writer's Block with NCD… so… yeah. But at least I still have my oneshots going, right? I decided to update these separately rather than as different chapters. :3

So…this one is a little bit more…angsty. Nevertheless, I hope you guys like it!

Something isn't right, he thought to himself as he walked toward her house one night. He could smell a strange presence, and it got stronger as he closed in on her apartment. He didn't like the smell, not one bit. It unnerved him, worried him. Just outside her door, he reached for the knob and turned it. Something is definitely not right. She never leaves her door unlocked, especially not at night. Something's wrong. He cautiously stepped inside. "Luce?" he called. He was shocked by the sight that greeted him. Her living room was absolutely thrashed. Books were thrown from the shelves, mirrors and picture frames were shattered, her couch was toppled over. He carefully surveyed the room, his sharp eyes scanning for anything that could clue him in on what exactly happened. And then he smelled it, and just as it hit his nostrils, his heart stopped and the air left his lungs.

Blood… A lot of it…

Where is she? he asked himself, desperately searching through her living room and bathroom. His heart had regained its movement, but it was frantic, pounding hard against his chest. Lucy was hurt, he knew it. When he walked into the kitchen, he couldn't stop the gasp as he instinctively sucked it into his lungs, his eyes widening slightly. There was a knife on the counter, blood dripping from its blade to the floor below, a small puddle collecting on the tiled surface. His breathing was now in short, scared pants. He took a step forward into the kitchen, but stopped short when he felt something squishing beneath his sandal. He stepped back and looked down, noticing the thin trail of sticky, scarlet liquid on the floor that led out of the kitchen and through the door of her bedroom. He swallowed the large lump in his throat and carefully approached the door, which was slight ajar. He placed a hand against the cool wood and slowly pushed it open.

"Luce…?" he called again, stepping inside. He followed the blood trail with his eyes as it went across the room. At the end of the trail was Lucy, terribly bruised and unmoving on the floor beside her bed. He quietly stepped toward her, afraid he would startle her if he ran to her side. Hearing his careful footsteps on the floor, she whimpered and writhed.

"Please…" she said, her voice coming out just below a whisper. If his sense of hearing wasn't nearly as sharp as it was, Natsu wouldn't of heard it. He stopped, looking at her beaten form with worried eyes.

"Lucy…"

"No…" This time, she reached a hand above her head and attempted to crawl away, but she didn't have the strength. "Please don't hurt me anymore…" Natsu's eyebrows furrowed. What was she talking about? He would never hurt her. He kneeled down and reached out to her, placing a gentle hand on her trembling shoulder.

"Lu—"

"No!" she screeched, swiftly rolling over and away from his grasp. The dragon slayer jumped, caught completely off guard by her sudden outburst. Her eyes were shut tight, so she couldn't possibly have seen that it was him – Natsu, her best friend – and not the person who had hurt her so badly. "Please!"

"Luce!" he said over her screams, scooting closer to her as he reached out his hand again. "Luce, calm down!"

She wouldn't listen to him, just continued to cower away from him, thrashing whenever his hand touched her. "Leave me alone! Go away!"

"Lucy!" The boy had finally managed to reach out and get a good grip on her, gently cupping her face in his hands. "Lucy, stop screaming! I'm not gonna hurt you! It's me, Natsu!" Breathing heavily, the distraught blonde ceased her screams, her body relaxing a little. "It's me," he repeated, his voice soft. She kept her eyes tightly closed, but even so, several tears had managed to squeeze through, running down her scratched and bloodied cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumbs, taking care to not irritate the large bruise around her left eye. "Luce…look at me." She choked back sobs for a couple of seconds before he saw her face begin to relax, and her eyes finally opened. They were shining from unshed tears, and her usually bright and cheerful chocolate eyes were now a dull brown, void of her signature bubbly happiness. Locking her gaze with his, he smiled warmly at her, hoping to comfort her a little. "Hi," he whispered.

She didn't answer, and her eyes were quickly filled to the brim with fresh tears, and when she blinked, they were let loose simultaneously. She swiftly wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled herself into him, ignoring the screams that cried out from her strained and injured muscles. "Natsu," she sobbed, fisting her hands in the back of his vest. Natsu was a little surprised by the sudden embrace, but he almost instantly recovered, carefully wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He tried not to hold her too tightly, afraid he would break her in her fragile state.

"Lucy…" he murmured, stroking her hair. "What happened to you?"

He felt her arms tighten around him and she sniffled, before pulling away from him, keeping her gaze on the floor. "He…he picked the lock to my door…" she said slowly, her voice shaken. "I went for my keys, but…but he threw them out the window. He came at me with a knife…and dragged me into my room…" She inhaled a very shaky and unstable breath, her shoulders heaving. Natsu reached for her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Her tone was filled with some kind of emotion he'd never heard in her voice before, and he didn't like it. "He…he beat m-me…" she continued, finally beginning to stutter. "And th-then… and then he r-raped me…" Utterly broken, she collapsed against his chest, new sobs wracking her body. Natsu couldn't believe what she'd just told him. Somebody…raped Lucy…his Lucy…

"Oh, Luce," was all he was able to say, gently pulling her closer to him. She lifted a bloodied hand to his chest and clasped his vest. He could feel his blood begin to boil, and he tried with all his might to keep his body temperature from rising. In more ways than one, someone had violated his friend's body, the friend he had secretly been so madly in love with for years. Somebody…some sick, twisted, heinous bastard hurt and raped his Lucy. He made his Lucy cry, he made his Lucy bleed. Oh, there will be Hell to pay. "Lucy," he said sternly, pulling away just far enough to look her in the eyes. "I will find the guy who did this to you, and when I do, he will not see the light of another day. He will never hurt you again. I promise."

At hearing those words, Lucy cried even harder as he pulled her back against his chest. He will make this bastard pay for what he did, but his best friend needed him to be by her side right now. And so he would do exactly that. He would sit with her, holding her until morning, and once she was ready, he would take her to Wendy. Carefully reaching one arm around her shoulders, and the other under knees, he lifted her off the hard floor and sat down with her on the bed, cradling her in his lap. He gently hushed her until her crying dwindled down to soft whimpers, and before long, she fell asleep. He leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry I let this happen to you, Luce, but I will never again allow you to feel this kind of pain," he promised into her hair.

"Never again."