"Have a nice day!"
The bell fixed above the door jingles merrily as Lucy exits the shop. She emerges onto the bustling street of Royal City and easily blends into the massive crowd milling around.
"So I talk the guild into saving the kingdom, aid Earthland's Fairy Tail in getting back their stolen city, fight fearlessly in a battle against the corrupted capitol…" Lucy sighs. "And here I am, doing grocery shopping for a bunch of starving morons."
She looks around the city as she walks, taking in the sights of reconstruction. The people of Edolas work day and night to repair the half-destroyed capitol. The famous fight between the so-called Demon Lord and the new king had done a real number on not only buildings, but they had also torn through streets and destroyed personal properties.
But that doesn't seem to put a damper on the spirits of Royal City citizens. They work tirelessly with excitement, reveling in the hands-on labor that had been unnecessary when they had magical items as luxuries for their daily lives.
Of course, Lucy and the rest of the guild had volunteered to help. Seeing as they were no longer wanted criminals, the members of Fairy Tail were eager to help with the reconstruction and be seen as the good guys. The only reluctant one was Lucy, who had some doubts about the people of the capitol and the authorities who ran it.
An engine roars behind her. Lucy turns in time to see the crowd part with alarm to let a ridiculously decorated magical four-wheeler car through the packed street. It pulls up right next to her, revving its engine with an air of show-off-y flamboyance. The window rolls down to reveal the pink-haired driver leaning casually back in his seat. He lifts his goggles and raises an arrogant eyebrow at Lucy.
"Well, well," he says. "Look at little miss housewife here. Going to pick up the dry cleaning next?"
"Shut your mouth, Natsu," Lucy growls.
He laughs easily in response. "Come on, Lucy. Watch where you spit your venom. I just got this baby fixed."
Lucy spared the flame-painted door a glance.
"You got this thing running again? Where did you find the magical energy to fuel it?"
"I didn't," Natsu replied. "But I found an alternative fuel source. A shopkeeper in Louen had this cheap kind of energy that came in a slimy liquid form. He said it was some form of oil or something. So I put it in my four-wheeler and bam! It works like a charm."
"Alternative fuel source…" Lucy muttered. "This could be the solution to our problem! If we could get enough of this oil, we can use it in the place of the magical energy." She turned to Natsu. "You…did think about this, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. Don't take me for an idiot," he says, rolling his eyes. "I was just on my way to the king to give him the news."
"And you felt the need to fix your car first?" Lucy asks, voice simmering with malice.
He gives her a sly smile. "Priorities are a matter of perspective."
"Whatever," she hisses, turning away from the car to start walking away. Natsu keeps up at her pace, honking his horn to part the thick crowd.
"Man, these people need to learn to look both ways before crossing," he mumbles, beeping at a group of people wheeling away a mound of rubble.
"There's too many people here to being with. I mean, how do these people live, being so close together like this?" Lucy swerves around a small family, almost knocking down a child with her groceries. "It's suffocating and gets on my nerves."
Natsu shoots her a smirk. "Still not used to the city life?" he asks teasingly.
She scoffs. "The people here are so proper and happy, even the store clerks. I mean, who does she think she is, telling me to have a nice day?"
"That's called manners, Lucy," Natsu chuckles, leaning back in his seat. "Of course, you wouldn't know anything about t—"
His words cut off as Lucy reaches inside the car, grabs him by the collar, and pulls him halfway out of the window. Natsu shrieks as she bares her teeth.
"What was that, you little wimp?"
"N-n-nothing, nothing! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he stammers, melting under her dagger-filled glare.
Lucy sniffs at the abrupt change in his attitude. His fingers clench around the steering wheel in a desperate attempt to keep at least a part of his body safe in his vehicle. A part of her wanted to yank the rest of him out of the car to see how much more she could push him, but she didn't want the townspeople seeing her as some sort of a sadist. And plus, the groceries were getting heavy.
She shoves Natsu back into his car and all but throws the bag of groceries into his lap.
"Take these back to the guild, you gutless baby. And don't think I'm letting you off for that comment."
Back in his confidence-boosting vehicle, Natsu only shrugs at Lucy's threat. "What, just the groceries? Don't you want a ride there?"
"Like hell I do!" Lucy spits, glaring at him.
But she gets in the car anyway, not looking forward to walking all the way to their newly placed guild at the edge of the city.
The guild is nearly empty when the two return. Mira is at the bar wiping down the counter, Gray sits at a table drooling over the apathetic Juvia, and Cana refuses yet another drink from Macao. Levy and Elfman are playing cards in the corner, looked on by Jet and Droy. Including them, there are only about a dozen people relaxing in the guildhall.
"Oh, Lucy. You're back early!" Mira calls from the bar.
Lucy strides over and dumps the load of groceries on the counter, leaving it to the barmaid to handle the rest. "Yeah, well. Natsu gave me a ride back so it saved some time. But he had to go right back to the capitol to—"
Levy's cold laugh interrupts. "Would you look at that? Lucy's getting' it on with the wimpy Natsu!" The guild joins in her laughter.
"Shut your ugly mouth, Levy!" Lucy spits.
"Why don't you make me, spineless worm!" Levy shoots back.
"You flat-chested sewer rat!"
"You useless fatass!"
"What did you call me?!"
"What did you call me?!"
"Now, now. Let's cool it down." Mira must be feeling suicidal to have put herself in between the two with a smile. "We just got the guild all patched up. It's not worth tearing it back down because of a slight disagreement."
"Oh, it's worth it all right," Lucy growls, clenching her hands into fists.
Levy mirrors her movements. "You got that right. Get out of the way, Mira. I'm gonna punch her sorry face in—"
"That's going to have to wait."
Everyone freezes at Jet's interruption. He points towards the door and they all turn in unison to look at the newcomer. Collective gasps echo through the hall.
"K-Knightwalker?" Elfman stutters, backing up a step.
The Royal Army Captain of the Second Division and former Fairy Hunter, Erza Knightwalker, strides into the guild with a purposeful air that no one takes lightly. With the recent disappearance of their magical weapons, the members stand uneasily with their bare hands poised to strike.
"Can we help you?" Mira calls cheerfully from the bar, barely ruffled by the presence of the murderer of half of her friends and guildmates.
"We're done fighting," Lucy says, stepping forward. "You have no weapon to protect yourself with, and if you think you can take on all of us empty-handed, you've got a nasty surprise waiting for you."
"I have no intention of fighting," Knightwalker responds coolly.
"Then what business do you have here?" Lucy snarls dangerously.
There is a noticeable hesitation before the hunter replies. Her eyes flick over each present member before fixing onto Lucy.
"I want to join your guild. I want to join Fairy Tail."
A/N: *cries because I started a new fairy tail fic when I still didn't finish the other one*
I'll get to that one eventually I promise.