A/N: A few things before we start! This takes place right before the Battle of Fairy Tail Arc, so Lucy and the team just got back from the Tower of Heaven. Now, I'm open to suggestions including pairings, and this will either be NaLu or LucyxOC (Jack). So please let me know what you guys think? This is a Lucy gets stronger story, so I hope I do this right!
"You know Mira…" Lucy started, dropping her head onto the bar counter with a sigh. "Even though I'm a part of Fairy Tail's strongest team, I don't feel very strong." Before Mira could say anything, Lucy held up her hand. "No, let me explain. Erza is the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, I've seen her knock out several guys with just one attack. Natsu, well he's Natsu. And Gray is just as strong as him. I just feel that I'm the odd one here."
Lucy felt uncomfortable with how many time she ended up on the sidelines, or watching the other three members put up an amazing fight while everyone watched in awe. And…what did she do? She loved her spirits, but she herself held little fighting abilities. Her whip couldn't really do much, sure she could hurt someone but it wasn't a finishing blow like one of Erza's many weapons.
The whole battle with Lullaby made her realize just how lacking she was. How could she be a part of the strongest team when she wasn't capable of fighting alongside them? Happy played a role in Natsu's fighting, so she couldn't say that she did more than the cat.
"Lucy, you are strong. Your spirits could knock the daylights out of anyone!" Mira encouraged, using a light pen to draw a cartoony picture of Taurus and Aquarius. "And from what I've heard, Natsu, Erza, and Gray would have been stuck at that train station due to the wind of Erigor if it hadn't been for Virgo!" She offered a bright, warm smile that normally would have made Lucy blush at the praise and sheer positiveness Mirajane always radiated.
"She's right Lucy." Erza started, coming up behind Lucy and pulling her into a one armed hug. Which would have been nice if Lucy's head hadn't been smashed against her armor. "You've helped us out, why do you feel like you're not contributing?"
The blonde wizard let out a little groan, rubbing her head where it bumped into the armor. "It's just that…with the fighting and other battles I feel like I'm not doing anything. Without the help of my spirits, I can't fight." The fight on Galuna Island with Sherry reminded her of that. Sure, she had been able to use Aquarius's attitude to her favor, but what would have happened if she hadn't been able to close Taurus's gate? Then there's also what happened at the Tower of Heaven. If she didn't have Juvia's water to summon Aquarius from, what would she have done? She didn't want to stop using her spirits completely, but she just wanted to be able to have something to fall back on. Maybe even fight alongside them more effectively.
Erza seemed to acknowledge this, looking Lucy up and down. "I understand." The female knight crossed her arms, deep in thought. She certainly didn't think Lucy was a weakling, but she did see a few flaws in Lucy's fighting style. Perhaps she needs a weapon? No, Lucy doesn't hit me as the brute force type. Maybe-
The guild doors opened, and she heard Mira welcome back whoever walked in. Erza turned around to see a certain female wizard, and suddenly a light bulb went off. Of course, she comes from a village where they have books on old magic, she'd be able to help Lucy! "Lucy, I don't think you've met Inna, so come!" she yanked the blonde away from her vanilla milkshake and marched over.
"Ouch Erza what do you mean-" Lucy started but paused upon seeing a young female wizard, around the age of nineteen, standing in front of her. She had a large backpack on, showing she must have been gone for a while. The girl had tousled medium length auburn hair but the messy look actually suited her. Her light tan skin complimented the dark orange colors of her eyes that vaguely reminded Lucy of a jack-o-lantern. Her outfit consisted of a white long sleeve shirt that was cropped, paired with high waist black pants tucked into a pair of worn dark brown boots. A red long coat was tied around her waist, and for some reason that coat looked oddly familiar. As if that wasn't familiar enough, the necklace around her neck had a wooden ring hanging from it. That looked really familiar too.
Lucy realized she was staring too long, and cleared her throat. "Oh, hi! I'm new here, so I don't think we've-" She realized Inna was staring at her strangely too, before she suddenly looked surprised.
"Lucy? Is that you?" She asked nervously, tucking hair behind her ear. Lucy spotted a single earring which was a lavender feather. Wait a minute…
"Inna? As in Inna Bunker?!"
Erza looked confused, as did a few other guild members who caught onto the exchange but they were shocked to see Lucy suddenly attacking the other girl in a hug. "Inna! Oh my god, I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I heard a girl named Lucy joined Fairy Tail, but I didn't know you were that Lucy!" Inna cried, hugging her old friend back as they spun around cheerfully. Gray came up behind Erza, frowning. Inna had been a part of Fairy Tail since she was fourteen, but was so shy she often hid in the back corner of the guild when not away on jobs. If she wasn't hiding in the corner, she was hiding behind either Mirajane or one of Team Shadow Gear's members since she shared books with Levy often meaning she was friends with the team.
"Wait, so you two know each other?"
Lucy and Inna looked over and they both nodded. The latter, feeling a small blush form from Gray's attention, shifted behind Lucy. The blonde smiled, remembering her nervous habits from when they were kids. "Yeah, we met when we were kids. Her and her brother were in the town I grew up in, dancing and playing instruments on the sidewalk."
Lucy held onto her maid's hand as she navigated through the streets. It was busy with business but several townspeople greeted Lucy Heartfilia as they walked through. The small girl looked around in wonder, having not been out of her family's estate very often. Soon she heard music being played, and Lucy paused seeing two kids her age.
The girl was dancing, spinning around hold a tambourine and tapping it against her hand. Her long skirt was tattered due to the amount of dancing she must have done. A boy who must have been her brother, was playing a lute to the tune of his sister's tambourine. He had messy dark brown hair unlike his sister but he shared her orange colored eyes and light tan skin. He saw Lucy was staring and looked wide-eyed, before grinning at her. He nudged his sister, who paused in her dancing. She blushed seeing they were being stared at, before smiling. The boy gestured for Lucy to come over, and she did.
"Hey, do you want to try?" He offered, holding out his lute. She shook her head.
"I don't know how to play..."
He seemed to think about this, before looking over at his sister. The girl seem to understand what he was thinking, and skipped over to Lucy holding out her tambourine. "Here try this. It's really easy!" Lucy was hesitant but upon seeing their smiling faces, and the small giggle the maid had, she tentatively took the instrument and shook it a bit.
Trying to mimic what the girl was doing before, she tapped it against the palm of her hand before spinning around. The boy whistled cheerfully and the girl giggled, clapping in encouragement.
"Aw, that's really cute!" Mira squealed, listening in. She looked at Inna who seemed to have a sad smile on her face. "Inna, I had no idea you performed as a child." Gray nodded.
"Yeah, I don't think anyone knew that. Why don't you dance now?" He asked. Lucy frowned, looking over at her childhood friend. Inna no longer danced?
"It's officially been a year since we've met!" Jack, the brother of Inna, declared as he appeared in the park behind his two favorite girls. A box of donuts was clutched above his head victoriously as he sat between the two. Lucy clapped her hands in joy and set down the pitcher of lemonade she had brought.
"An awesome year." Inna gently voiced, fiddling with a wooden ring. Lucy looked over at the two, before picking a small wrapped package out of her pocket.
She had a present for the two. Since they've brought her happiness and comfort, especially due to the isolation she felt due to her father, Lucy wanted to give them a gift. With the help of one of the staff members, Lucy did some research on the small village her friends said they came from. The reason they were in the town was because of their uncle being a merchant selling his wares. After researching, she found that feathers were a traditional symbol in the village.
So she had picked out a gift she was sure they would love for it reminded them of home. "Here!" Lucy held out the package. The two looked surprised, though Jack grinned and tackled Lucy into a hug.
"Gah, Lucy you didn't have to do that!"
"Lu-chan, we don't have anything for you…" Inna trailed off feeling bad now, but Lucy shook her head rapidly. Before she could answer, Lucy froze hearing a loud voice.
"Lucy, GET AWAY FROM THOSE GYPSIES!" Her father had come over, looking angry as he was followed by one of the servants, who looked apologetic to Lucy. They must have told him where she was at.
"We're not gypsies!" Jack immediately stood up. Jude scoffed at the boy before grabbing Lucy. In her surprise she dropped the package as her father dragged her away from the two.
"My daughter will not be around people like you! Tell your uncle he has twenty-four hours to leave, or else I'll have him accused of theft." Lucy cried out in horror, before looking back at her two friends.
That was the last time she saw them.
Inna gave a sad sigh, before tapping the single feather earring. Lucy's gift. "I…my brother Jack went missing before I joined Fairy Tail." Lucy's eyes widened, as did everyone else's. "While I like dancing, I'm too shy to do it by myself and with Jack gone, I don't think I can do it."
"You never told us you had a brother." Gray mentioned, causing her to blush from his attention. Lucy quirked a brow, looking at her friend and the Ice wizard. Oh no, if she had a crush on Gray…Juvia wasn't going to be happy.
Inna didn't have an answer for this and just looked down. Lucy, though happy to have reunited with her childhood friend, felt saddened hearing that Jack had gone missing. He was always so energetic and protective of his sister. "I'm so sorry Inna."
The wizard looked up, and decided to change the topic. "A-anyways, how have you been Lucy? It's crazy to think we would be in the same guild after all these years." This brought Lucy back to her current dilemma, and she groaned.
Erza's eyes lit up at the topic, and she quickly grasped Inna's shoulders. "Inna, I am well aware you come from a village of old magic, right?" The girl nodded rapidly, a little intimidated by Erza's abrupt ways. "Well, Lucy has been having trouble and wants to learn new ways of protecting herself, so I was thinking…" she trailed off, hoping she would get the message.
Inna's eyes widened, and she looked at Lucy, back at Erza, and back at Lucy again. Slowly, she nodded. "You know…it's been a while since I've been home. Lucy, why don't you come with me? See the place where Jack and I grew up?" Thinking better of it, Inna looked at the rest of Lucy's team. "Hey, why don't you guys come along? If you're teammates with Lucy…"
"That sounds fun, I think we will go. Right boys?" Erza looked back at Natsu and Gray, who quickly hugged each other.
"YES THAT SOUNDS SO MUCH FUN!"
"AYE!"
Somewhere else…
A sword flipped in the air, before a gloved hand shot out and caught it. A young man, around nineteen, lounged in a wooden chair leisurely, watching his fellow members of the dark guild drink and laugh about the latest crimes they've committed. An older woman sat at the table with him. "So Jack Seven-Blades, what are your plans?"
A pair of glowing orange eyes glinted underneath the hood of the red cloak he wore. "You really have to ask, Master Khen?" he chuckled darkly. He flipped his sword in the air one last time before hurling it at the wall, startling some of the men. "I'm heading home…to destroy the place I once called home."