Hey, guys! Marty here. I have been writing this petty little chapter for a year now. I'm so excited to publish it as it is my first major story. I'm very new at writing, so any and all criticism is welcome.
This story takes places AFTER the main Fairy Tail manga and BEFORE the 100 Year Quest. Just a heads up.
DISCLAIMER: (for you babies)
Intense language, sexual innuendo, violent sequences, etc. Enjoy homies.
Lucy watches as Natsu's tensed hands reach out towards the fire pit. With a small jerk, the fire grows wilder, and Lucy pulls in her foot to avoid the heat. The magic emitting from him was slow and oozing; it thickened the air enough to cause Lucy to take deep breaths. Mixed with the smoke billowing from the flames, Natsu's magic made the fire take different shapes and sizes – moving with the curves of a woman or the wings of a bird.
She wondered what he was thinking about.
"Where did you learn to do that, Natsu?" she asked softly.
He twitched his hands again to make it take form of another pointless shape. "Um, I dunno. I've always liked playing with it so I guess it just sorta happened. Though I can make more, um, defined shapes if I'm really focused and relaxed."
She watched again as he took in a breath and leaned with his hands extended. Blue and orange flame started to grow taller as they whipped and twisted into what looked like an old tree. The roots overlapped the wood that was placed underneath as growing leaves licked up the imaginary bark. It pulsed like a gentle beacon and swayed with the breeze that was sucked out towards the sea.
"Reminds me of the Rainbow Sakura tree I saw all those years ago. You remember that Natsu? It was tied to a row boat while it floated down the main river," she looked towards the dark ocean they were camped near, "It caused quite the spectacle."
Natsu hummed in response as he let his tree die down into the kindling. "You think we need more firewood or are we good for tonight?"
Neither of them wanted to get more. Both of their legs were sore from the hiking and the insects that buzzed about chewed on any piece of flesh shown. Even Natsu's cat, Happy, was frustrated with the conditions and he was built for this type of humidity. It was the first day of their four-day mission and things were already going south. Lucy caught a thin bug on her thigh with a slap and examined her hand with disgust. This island was rumored to be ruthless but all she witnessed were the annoying insects. How could she let Natsu talk her into this type of job? He was so lively when he explained it to her.
"It's like something straight out of an action movie!" He gushed. Natsu leaned on her desk with the paper crinkled in his hands.
"The woman who runs the hotel is called Woodrig. She's older than dirt but the locals say she used be a part of some gang back in the day. Real spunky type of gal. Anyway, her son likes to mess with obscure magic and try it out on the costumers that stay at her hotel. It seems he hurt a kid, and Woodrig kicked him out for a bit to learn a lesson. Since he hasn't come back, she thinks he got captured by some mage group that calls themselves The Butterflies."
Lucy was trying to keep up with him; he was talking and gesticulating so fast that it was hard to process. She put her hand up to stop him.
"Natsu, this hardly sounds real –"
"But it is!"
"It just doesn't seem practical. The Butterflies? That doesn't sound threatening."
Happy jumped up onto her desk chair and chimed in. "Neither does Fairy Tail but we are."
Natsu patted him on the head. "'Atta boy, Happy!"
Lucy turned to walk to her kitchen for something to drink. She stuck her head in the fridge and fiddled with the choices available. She needed to go shopping.
"Okay but listen," she shut the fridge empty handed and turned to their figures past the doorway, "We don't know anything about this group or the land it's from. And we don't even know if he was captured or not. You really believe this?" Lucy pointed towards Natsu.
He frowned and let his shoulders droop. "I know what you're thinking, but I have a feeling about this woman. The way she sounded over the lacrima... she was in hysterics, Lucy. She's really worried about her nephew."
Lucy tried to look past him at this point. She knew if she looked at him any longer, the option of turning down the job would dissipate. How could she logically explain to him that this didn't seem like a good idea? The report was too vague; that means that the mission was immensely unpredictable.
"Natsu, I know how you're feeling—"
"No you don't."
"—And what I'm trying to tell you—"
"Is that you don't trust my plan."
"—Is that anything could happen on this job, which means it is incredibly unsafe and—"
"Haha, okay?"
"—And that you're being an asshole right now." She was getting annoyed. He can be pointlessly stubborn sometimes.
Natsu let a long sigh out and looked at the paper clenched in his hand. All Lucy could do was watch him slowly unfold this report, stressfully skim it again, and look back at her. He seemed apologetic.
"I know it's stupid, okay? I'm honestly not too sure about it either but I know what I felt. This woman needs help; she sounds like she lost her kid or something. I can't sleep knowing that she doesn't know where he is." Natsu balled up the report and dropped it on her desk. Happy awkwardly leaned in and told him, "You could have just folded it."
Natsu looked down at Happy and dejectedly shrugged. "But folding is stupid."
"Balling paper up in your sweaty hands is stupid." Happy told him.
"You're being kinda mean today, you good?" Natsu patted him on the head and looked back at Lucy, who was thinking this whole discussion through.
Natsu lazily waved his hand at her. "You think my hands are sweaty, Luce?"
She walked over to the desk and picked the report up to read it again. "They usually are so I'm going to say yes."
"Oh come on, they aren't usually sweaty." He ran his own fingers over his palm and smiled as he tried to hold a laugh in.
"They're more moister than raw chicken, Natsu." Happy giggled.
Lucy held a finger up. "First of all, ew. Second of all, it's just moister."
"Stop saying my hands are moist, it makes me uncomfortable."
"Then why are you touching them like that?" Happy criticized.
Natsu looked up. "Like what?"
Lucy suddenly gasped and stepped close to Natsu. "Look at this! Did you see this? In the mission's Item Descriptions, it lists a scroll documenting the Dragon King Festival dating back to 400 years ago – X300. You were born around that time, weren't you, Natsu?"
She saw Natsu's face suddenly wince at the reminder. He tried to hide his discomfort and parted his mouth to get out a response. He stuttered out an answer. "Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?"
Lucy felt bad about bringing it up; she knew that he hated talking about the life he couldn't remember before Igneel. It was a life that she and everyone else would never understand. A life before electricity and transport. A life where a petty crime like theft meant death, and death was an abundance in the filthy streets. Dragons governed magic, people, and law, as the mages in that time were new. Their frail, human bodies were adjusting to the new blood. This blood could contort and glow; it could grow outside their bodies and take the form of beasts. A beast that would devour one's soul or make love. In this old life, people wandered the streets through their own sewage and fought for bread. Women could be sold as geisha's for families and men; becoming moving works of art and commodities for sex. Boys would be ripped from their houses to work or to sell; having no laws to protect them. In this old, lawless life, Natsu chose not to remember. He was fearful and betrayed, and it was because of this reason that Lucy immediately regretted her question.
"Well, sorry, I was just really interested in the fact that a historical document like that wouldn't be in a museum. It says that it's available to search for during the mission, and if we bring it to the authorities, there's a bonus." She tried lightening her tone as she hinted the extra Jewel.
Natsu looked calm in the face and she knew he was hiding his discomfort. He swallowed hard and shrugged to say he didn't care too much, but was open to the opportunity.
"What's the Dragon King Festival?" Happy asked.
Natsu answered first. "It was the big war between the dragons and humans all those years ago. Basically the creation of Dragon Slayers."
Happy's ears instantly perked. "We have to find it then! You would want to see that, right, Natsu? And you too, Lucy? I know I do."
Natsu was already nodding his head and distancing himself from the conversation. "It's cool an' all, but the main focus is Woodrig's nephew. We gotta make sure he's okay and back with his aunt before we do anything else."
Lucy agreed. "You're right. But I'm still saying, this mission is dodgy. There's not a lot of description about the location or the people involved. There are no references, no destination, or key info."
Natsu stepped nearer and peered onto the paper. "Yeah there is. Location is Uragirimono Island and the key info is that asshole-nephew-boy was probably taken by The Butterfly gang."
She looked up to meet his eyes. He had that cheeky ghost of a smile that prompted a challenge. Her lips tightened to keep from smiling back.
"Do you even know his name?"
His brown eyes flickered down to her mouth and back up to meet her gaze. He innocently grinned.
"Duh," Natsu drew out quietly, "Fuckin', uh, asshole-nephew-kid."
She really couldn't hold back a small laugh at that. "Really?"
He giggled. "I mean, yeah. Sounds accurate, right?"
"You're dumb."
"No, you." He teased.
"You guys are both dumb for not telling me the reward for this mission," Happy cut in. "What's my cut?"
Natsu lightly grabbed the paper from Lucy's hand and unintentionally let his fingers linger there. "You're a cat. You'll just buy fish right?"
Happy tried to claw his way up to get a look. "Is that a problem?"
Natsu, still smiling, turned the paper up so that the bottom was more visible. He felt Lucy tense next to him.
She breathed out. "2,000,000 million Jewel."
That statement left a cadence in the air. Natsu stared at the numbers, desperately trying to count the zeros again. Unbelievable. He finally lifted his hand and curled his fingers into his now sweaty palm. Slowly looking down at Lucy, he could see that a piece of her golden hair was stuck to the corner of her mouth as she read the total in her head.
Happy leaned onto Natsu and whispered, "If she's this quiet while reading it, that means she'll say yes."